Update on William's 1,000 Job Applications

William was our job-seeker who made 1,000 applications in 13 weeks

This is a video update to William's story...

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Sharing Great News

I know I should do more of this, especially when there is great news to share…

A good friend to ExploreYourCareer.com (and work/life fusion) has just found and started a new job

Art was one of the first people to sit our Job-Seeker’s Interview last year (you might find it interesting to take a look at his answers, particularly now he has landed this new role)

In the end it all happened in a flash (there were less than 2-weeks between first-contact and his start-date) but a quick turn-around like this hides a great deal of hard work and effort

Today I wanted to celebrate Art’s great result (and rightly so!) but I also wanted to celebrate every single one of those hard-won yards that played a part in this well deserved outcome

If you’re looking for a job right now a story like Art’s might catch your eye

Sure it has the happy ending we might all like to hear (at least every now and then) but I reckon there’s even more to take away from a personal job search story like this...

Art might not have known how it would come (or even where it would come from) but something in his interview answers tells us he knew a result was getting closer

Even when the going got tough (and when is it anything but tough on a job search today?), Art stayed positive, stuck to his task, remembered his value to employers and shared experiences (back and forth) in a small group he trusted

Art’s too modest - unlike me, I'm a blogger ;) - but he might forgive me for saying this in public one more time…

Good on you Art, you’ve earned this. Congratulations once again!

And all the very best for the future in your new job.

Paul

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William's 1,000 Job Applications

William made 1,000 job applications in 13 weeks

For all his effort he only got 1 reply and that was a 'No'.

Numbers like these are more than disappointing. What makes them even worse is that William achieved them on an 'intensive job-searching course', which means he was under someone else's care. A company or a group of professional people who were supposed to be helping him and his job search.

Despite the negligence and unprofessionalism of everyone involved with William's intensive course, these numbers hide something positive and encouraging that now belongs to William - and can belong to anyone else who has experienced something similar on a job search.

By any measure, 1,000 applications in 13 weeks is an impressive workload. It shows real effort and determination on William's part. He could have given up after 500 applications. Many people on the same course did nothing like his total, let alone half of it. If there was any failure it wasn't in William's effort and persistence.

Here's another failure William can't take the blame for. He was encouraged to send out as many applications as he could. 'It's a numbers game' he was told. 'If you send enough emails and letters and make enough calls, something will come back'. Empty statements like this are hard to argue with, especially when they're coming from an 'expert' or a 'professional'.

William was encouraged to make as many applications as he could instead of trying to make every application count. At the end of his 13 weeks there was no way for William to tell how many applications even reached a real person at the other end. There was no attempt to measure anything he could follow up on. There were no connections or interactions for William to learn from. There was nothing coming back the other way at all.

A job search is much more than racking up numbers and, as William's experience shows, it is much more than effort and persistence too. A job search is built around a combination of many things but somewhere close to the heart there has to be the knowledge, the feeling even, that we are making progress. We need something to measure and therefore prove that the applications we make add up to more than just a number.

William will never repeat this experience on his job search again (maybe this was one more valuable thing he learnt on this course?). From now on he isn't measuring his effort or his job search by the numbers. William no longer thinks will have to make another 1,000 applications and I agree with him. That's because instead of vast numbers of job applications, William is now focused on the people he is able to meet and talk to one at a time. He's also much more focused on the work he is able to do. The skills, experiences and qualifications he has earned over the years, the skills and experiences that will help him get back to work.

William's job search is now focused on much smaller numbers. He talks to people about the company they work for, the job they might be offering, the qualities in the person they are looking for, the skills and experience they need. William's job search might only be moving forward in single figures but they are now based on real conversations, genuine connections and personal interactions. His job search will still take time but he now has proof of his progress. Maybe a statistic on a spreadsheet somewhere won't show a big enough number but in William's opinion that's just something else he doesn't have to take the blame for.

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This post has also been published on

www.exploreyourcareer.com

Proof that You're Making Progress

Everything we do on a job search counts towards the final goal

Every effort, every rejection, every unreturned email and phone call plays its own unique part in the end result.

It doesn't feel that way sometimes

But those feelings couldn't be further from the truth.

Infinity: The art of reflection [Image courtesy of Mrs Logic on Flickr]

Let me make a comparison,

In October 2008 I said the following on this blog...

When choice - even limited choice - is available,

knowledge and understanding are available too.

Reading it back today, what I really wanted to say was this...

Our choices always teach us something.

I'm still the same person but for some reason I'm now a bit clearer. A little bit sharper and more to the point.

[By the way, I could choose from a hundred other examples that show the same thing. How "No one is born with knowledge of work. Knowledge of work is something we have all acquired." now becomes "Anyone can learn anything about work." How "Personal success is a particular way of considering success. Not better or worse in comparison to anyone else, just appropriate to your unique perspective." can be simplified to "Measure success by the way it makes you feel."]

If I hadn't said or done any of the above, and then looked back to see how to improve it, I wouldn't be able to prove that you can make the same progress.

When it feels like the right time, take another look at your job search. Look at what have you said and what have you done. How could you do things differently now? In what ways are you clearer now or easier to understand?

A job search is just another way for us to learn about ourselves. To get closer to the facts, to keep the things that feel right, work hard on the things we want to change, speak as clearly as our voices will let us today and do our best to be even clearer tomorrow.

A job search can be proof that you're making progress.

All the best for now,

Paul

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Experienced Job-Seekers Wanted!

We all struggle with a job search at some point in our careers.

But not all of us struggle with the same thing.

Someone out there (looking for work right now) could use your experience.

Someone else has experience that can help you.

Some people call this the wisdom of crowds.

I prefer to see it as the best reason for job-seekers to start helping themselves.

Discovery begins with experimentation
[Visual experimentations shared by Sanchtv on Flickr.com]

What it does for job-seekers?

If you're a job-seeker and you want to get involved (in something with the potential to help you and people just like you) to get the ball rolling just answer this short list of questions I'm calling The Job-Seeker’s Interview.

You'll get immediate pay-back if you do because this interview helps you understand your job search experiences and learn more about the support that you need.

Your pay-back for taking part will also grow as more people like you take this interview, adding to the knowledge and experience within the group.

If enough job-seekers share their stories and talk about the things they are struggling with (and I'm making it my job to see that they do) a cross-over of experiences will start to take place. Job-seekers will start helping job-seekers. People will be helping themselves as they help others.

OK, I'll take the interview. What happens next?

When you have submitted your interview, I’ll get back to you with a unique reference number for your answers. Right now the counter stands at ‘00000’, which means the first set of answers I receive will be labelled ‘00001’ and we'll go upwards from there.

When you have your number, I’ll post your interview up on the Explore Your Career blog so that you and other job-seekers can read it and the exchange of experiences can begin. Only you will know what number you are, so the whole thing can be anonymous if you want it to be.

Each numbered interview will have its own permanent page and can be commented on and even linked to other job-seeker's interviews where cross-overs happen. You and anyone else can comment on any interview and talk/network as much as you want. When you comment, you can use your own name, a nickname or your unique interview number, it's your choice how you get involved from there.

Looking Further Ahead

I see a community of job-seekers helping themselves. Sharing their 'real-world' job search experience. Encouraging and supporting one another as they go. It will take time to arrive at a place like this but I believe it can be done and that there is genuine potential to move careers and job searches forward along the way and when we get there.

In the meantime, whether your number is ‘00001’ or ‘01001’, I know there is value in this interview (even if you do it alone) because it gets to grips with life as a job-seeker and aims to do something positive with the experience. Something positive that has the power to benefit you and other people just like you. Out there right now looking for work.

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Be one of the first to take The Job-Seeker's Interview
Do you have any questions or suggestions?
Send them in here or add a comment below!

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Experience versus Opinion

Experiences stand where opinions fall

"Opinions are like small intestines: every body has one." Anon.

Ask these questions and you'll get an opinion...

What are my options?

Where should I go from here?

What would you do in my place?

Why am I in this position?

Ask questions like these and you'll get much more...

How have you made difficult decisions in the past?

What makes you confident about the future?

What got you through your last job search?

What tough times have you lived through?

The difference is all down to experience...

Nobody ever photographed an opinion

[Image courtesy of EBONY~CAT on flickr]

Opinions that read perfectly on paper or sound just right in conversation don't always work in the real world. When you are job searching or deciding where you want your career to go, opinions can be confusing and that gets in the way.

True experience is always grounded in fact. Good, bad or indifferent, an experience can teach you something. Someone else's experience can be just as valuable to you as it was to them. What you have learned through experience can always be relied upon, it happened to you after all.

Instead of asking someone's opinion, ask what they have done, find out what they lived through, what they rely upon and the lessons they have learned. Find out from them what has worked.

When an opinion just doesn't feel right, seize the opportunity to ask for an experience or share one of your own.

Discover for yourself why it makes all the difference.

Keep Going

So many times I gave up in my head

Called it a day and went back to bed

keep going

[Image courtesy of victorsounds on Flickr]

Experts can talk about tough times for careers. How being laid-off is nothing to worry about. How the knocks and the setbacks on long job searches can be overcome. How to renew ourselves after long periods out of work.

But the choice to keep going is ours.

See that delightful break come your way

Ask Questions

Learn Lessons

Make Gradual Improvements

Keep Going

Who is That Guy?

You know the guy I'm talking about. He's usually on the cover of a book with a smile on his face and a gleam in his eye.

He's got neat hair and white teeth too. And he really, really wants you to be successful. But how important is your personal success to that guy?

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying he wants you to do badly. I actually believe he wants you to do well. That guy knows what's best for you but there's one thing he can't know, and that's what you want.

That guy will probably sue me*

Figuring out what you want is a big part of career success. That guy did it his way but success at work might mean something different for you. You might value things differently. You might enjoy different things. You may have different priorities when it comes to grooming.

That guy won't ask what you want and really listen to the answer. But he's not all bad. It's not his fault. He is trying to help after all. And there's a great deal we can learn from him about figuring out what we want and getting motivated. He did that successfully after all.

We know his individual story but what of our own?

Maybe it's not up to that guy to ask us this question. Maybe it's up to us to find out more for ourselves.

Why not make it your business to find out what you want. Ask questions and explore your career for yourself. Find individual answers and make important discoveries based on your experience.

Questions like:

What's important to me?

What am I good at?

What keeps me going?

When did work last give me a good feeling?

Where should my career go in the future?

Share your career answers, ideas and questions below if you want to. Jump to That Guy's defence if he has helped your career move forward.

I want to hear what you have to say. That Guy doesn't have a monopoly any more.

All the best for now,

Paul

[*Disclaimer: Any resemblance between the above photograph of my Uncle Brian and any persons living or dead is entirely coincidental.]

Fill the Void

Ending a job starts one of the biggest changes of routine most of us are ever likely to experience.

The place you visited every day of the week disappears overnight. It doesn't matter if you chose to leave or the choice was made for you, a change of routine like this hits just as hard.

Most of the things you did for your job [your - Ahem - skills that pay the bills] are put on ice temporarily. Colleagues and workmates are no longer with you everyday. The guy you bought your coffee or sandwich from, the lady who knew what paper you like, the ticket collector or car park attendant you greeted at the top and bottom of every day. They're all still there but now you're somewhere else.

So where does all this change leave you? What new routine do you adjust to? What are you doing with all of your time? Can anything possibly fill a void like this overnight?

Lots of space to fill: Worry or Opportunity?

[Wailea Horizon - courtesy of Rosa Say on Flickr]

If you're looking for a new job right now, you might have heard it said that, 'looking for a job is a full-time job' but have you ever found this to be true? Has anyone ever found this to be true?

When's the last time the person telling us this spent 8 hours a day at their computer, at the library, on the telephone, reading the job pages of newspapers and everywhere else a job search takes us? Even that 'full-of-good-advice' well-meaning person would have to admit that as a new routine, 'making your job search your new job' isn't a patch on the old one.

What you fill the void with - whatever it is - is up to you. And no-one does it overnight. No matter what they say.

Adjusting to change as big as this takes time and needs a steady, determined approach. You can adjust and you can build a new routine and it can start on day one. But it will work best for you when it's built on small, gradual steps to get your career back on track. You'll do all of things you already know you have to do. You'll also learn plenty of new things along the way. And you can do it without all that pressure and expectation on your back.

The steps we take to adjust to a new routine might seem small and insignificant at first but they all add up. And they can add up to something that fills the void when a job disappears overnight.

Pick a question if talking about voids has got you in the mood:

What helped you get back to work when you were searching?

What big changes did you face after leaving your job? How did you handle them?

What did changing jobs teach you about your career?

What new routine are you adjusting to right now?

Comment below and join the conversation...

All the best for now,

Paul

Work Matters

How you feel about work matters. How your work makes you feel matters too.

This post is dedicated to a friend. He's looking for a job right now and trying to make sense of his career at the same time. This friend has been through a run of bad luck recently. But he's still wise and courageous enough to know that his luck will change and that he's the most likely one to change it.

He's still learning from recent experiences, some of which he'd rather not repeat. In fact, he's aware and smart enough to know that he's still learning from all of his career experiences. And at no time is this more true than when you're looking for work.

Old decisions, old situations and past conversations often come back to haunt you. You can easily find yourself getting caught in loops of "If only", "What if", 'Should've' and 'Could've'. And if your career has ever been somewhere similar, you'll know this leads nowhere.

[By the way - I'm sure I sat next to the Shouldves or the Couldves at a wedding. Lovely couple, if a little hard on themselves.]

Reaching High, Courtesy of Rosa Say on Flickr

So what message did I want to send my friend here?

You know more about your career right now, than at any other point in the past. You'll know even more tomorrow too because every day you're learning something new.

This time around, you're also making discoveries for yourself. Sure, there are people who can and will help you, people whose opinions matter, people you need to take care of. But most important right now is the understanding you're building for yourself around work. The figuring out that focuses on your personal relationship with what you choose to do for a living.

Only you can know what work has made you happy in the past. You're the only one who can get excited by new work you could be doing right now - whether it's out there in your community or in a place you've not even visited yet.

You're the only one who'll find the work that puts a smile back on your face and the right sized pay-check in your pocket. You're the only one who can understand where your own desire comes from and how it keeps you going. You are the only one who can make yourself feel more secure in each step, as you get your career moving forward again.

As you probably already know, there's no magic bullet when it comes to careers. No easy answers. But there are plenty of questions. And if we're courageous, determined and willing enough to face these questions - as I know my friend is - the absence of easy-rides, short-cuts and quick-fixes all becomes worthwhile.

Hope this helps in some small way :)

All my best for now,

Paul

Career Heroes

A client asked me yesterday [in my professional capacity as a career coach], “Have you ever struggled with career decisions or had moments of crisis or doubt?”. I replied, “All of the time.”

That was when he laughed.

Actually, we both laughed because it reminded us of past ‘experts’ who showed no weakness in themselves. Those super-men and wonder-women [with brightly coloured capes and underpants worn outside of their tights] who made us feel a little embarrassed for needing their help.

It really is a super-power that super-heroes can make us feel self-conscious when it's them who dress so badly :)

[Bay Bridge Sunset - see more at Saundra's Flickr Photostream here]

A career coach admitting to career issues might sound like a fundamental flaw. Like a seasick sailor, a cowboy with a horse-allergy or an entomologist scared by creepy-crawlies. Sometimes, our career-heroes appear to have a flawless history but appearances can hide a great deal. Sometimes neat packaging is nothing more than that.

In my client’s position, I’d want the truth because it would help me to use better judgement and make better decisions. Much of my work together with this client focused on doubts and testing beliefs. Our relevant personal and professional experiences on both sides could only help.

So what's your opinion?

✪ Of all the pleasure boats in the harbour you might still choose the one with the sickly looking Captain. [He is telling you the sea might be rough. If you decide the trip is still worth it, grab a sick-bag and get on board!]

✪ She might have bloodshot eyes and a runny nose but would you ride home the cattle with anyone else?

✪ Your comments [particularly if you are a successful entomologist with arachnophobia] are welcome!

All the best for now,

Paul

Opportunity Management VI - Persist

Only a handful of encounters are genuine career opportunities.

When everything falls into place, one single opportunity will become your next job and the next step in your career.

Until then, you might finish runner-up a few times, get overlooked or maybe even completely forgotten.

Throughout all the unsatisfactory outcomes - or lack of outcomes in some cases - your career experiences grow, your knowledge builds and your awareness deepens.

And you move one step closer to your goal.

[Pacifca Beach View - see more at Saundra's Flickr Photostream here]

All of your research, your preparation, your hard work, sticking-to-the-task, persistence, early mornings, late nights, wins, losses and everything else besides, count towards the end result when you finally achieve it.

Whether you are job searching, changing careers, facing or dealing with redundancy or layoff, your story, your questions and your opinions are welcome here as always.

All the best,

Paul

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Follow these links for more posts on Opportunity Management, Research & Persistence:

Managing career opportunities

Why we work

Research not Job Search

When failure defines success

Why we search

Job search is about finding work. Career research aims a little higher.

Research helps you understand the work you want and how to find it.

Career research aims for a job and an environment where you can get the most from your strengths, where you are valued for what is important to you and motivated to achieve new career goals too.

Does it sound like an impossible task when put like that? Like looking for a needle in a haystack as your Granny might say?

[Derek saw it, but his next job was a long way off]

 [Thanks to Saundra for the use of this image.

Check out her amazing Flickr Photostream here!]

Research ensures that all of your experiences count. Even the ones you might look back on as mistakes. Research helps to make your learning cumulative. Each phone call, interview, application process, networking conversation or chat over coffee, moves you one step closer to your goal. The goal of work that satisfies our short-term priorities but also moves us closer to personal career success as a long-term objective.

Earlier posts on this blog have shown how even the knock-backs and the disappointments can work in your favour. You might resolve never to make a particular error again, or that your communication will improve in a particular situation, or that your next opportunity doesn't break down for the same reasons as the last.

Stuart (a friend who is currently career researching & job searching) recently said to me that his entire career experiences are what he gets most excited about when he talks to potential employers. Not just his glowing successes or wonderful references - all of his experiences. All the past lessons, struggles, errors of judgement, obstacles and challenges too.

Stuart realised that his career experiences - when looked upon as a whole - are what make him an attractive proposition in the job market. That is because, without the full range of his experiences, he wouldn't be the same person. The person who can now confidently state where he wants his career to go in the future. The person confident he will recognise the right job opportunity when he encounters it. The person who knows what he has to say and do to make the right opportunity count.

In my opinion, Stuart is absolutely right. When we realise the value to employers in all of our career experiences, we present answers and solutions in a more human form. Our experiences can prove that we know what we are doing and where our careers are going too.

Stuart and I apologise if any of this upsets your Granny but - with the right support from career research - the needle and the haystack need no longer apply!

Here are some more posts on research, job search & managing your career:

Research not Job Search

Know what you are doing

Listening to career feedback

Career Management from within

When failure defines success

Failure & Success: Inseparable Career Twins

All the best for now,

Paul

Listening to career feedback

Listening to feedback is important but how we react to feedback has the greater impact on our career & job search success.

Sometimes we get feedback that stops us in our tracks. After an unsuccessful job application or interview for example. In an appraisal with our boss or maybe even in a frank conversation with a friend. But what do you do with this information once you have heard it?

Do you need to change something? Should you act differently from now on? How do you know the opinion is valid? What evidence should you rely on to support or refute it?

[London Underground know we're not listening so they write on the ground too.]

'Best-in-class' career management requires that we listen to opinion & feedback regardless of its source but that we also apply questions like these before deciding what to do next:

✪ Has someone told me this before?

✪ How does this new information sit with someone whose judgement I trust? (a career partner for example)

✪ What does this feedback ask me to do differently?

✪ What facts agree/disagree with this opinion?

(e.g. in my career values, talents & goals)

✪ If I act on this feedback, what improvements might be made?

Listening to opinion and feedback - or perspective as last week's blog post described it - is essential to our career success. Feedback confirms what we know about ourselves because it is proof that other people see it too. It also helps us to understand the things we are less aware of about ourselves and keep improving as a result.

From a career management point of view, gathering external perspectives never really stops but choosing how we apply the learning that feedback offers, is where the real gains are made.

What is the most helpful feedback you have had in your career?

Your emails & comments are welcomed as ever!

All the best for now,

Paul

More career perspectives

A big message in a recent career management conversation has been the importance of perspective. How it is essential to career success that your view of yourself is one that the job market can agree with.

Differences in perspective are sometimes needed - particularly if you are seeking career progression and development - but there should also be fundamental agreement between the way you view yourself (experiences, strengths, challenges, etc.) and the way other people see you.

Where there are differences in perspective, we need to be aware of them to deal with the questions and responses they provoke. Differences between perspectives can become ideal talking points, explored together with recruiters, potential employers and our network of contacts, feeding valuable information to both sides.

[You haven't lost perspective. Pikachu really is that big!]

Managing perspective in this way helps you to actively bridge the gaps between the things you know you can do [with the right support, in the right environment, etc.] but have yet to prove yourself in.

Career management steps in to help you manage perspectives by providing strategic and evidential support to your conversation with the market. The job market is too mature to take long-odds bets on hiring people without relevant experience but it is flexible enough to promote the right aptitudes & attitudes and make joint commitments - between employer & employee for example - to achieve mutually beneficial outcomes.

So how might we prepare ourselves to manage perspectives positively?

✪ It is up to each of us to know the skills & experiences we possess

✪ To clearly communicate the direction we want our careers to follow in the future

✪ To take the initiative in seeking out the partnerships where opportunities can be created on both sides

These are examples of strategic career management in action. Individuals who manage career perspectives well are finding success even in this challenging employment market and - as was alluded to in an earlier post on this blog - the barrier to adopting these practices and attitudes for yourself, exclude none of us from making a positive start!

Links with more on perspective & your career:

Career perspectives

A broader perspective

work/life fusion, perspective and perception

Practical exercise I

All the best for now,

Paul