Mark Hirschfeld

As I reflect on my career, there is a quality that has helped me be successful and navigate the occasionally bumpy waters of my career…

… I’ve never stopped learning.

Employers like to hire people who like to learn. Why?

The speed of change is coming at us quickly, and will only increase. What we learn and master today may be obsolete tomorrow.

Guess what? Employers know this as well, so they’ll work to verify you have the skills that can be of value now, and you can stand out from the competition even more if you can showcase how you have learned new skills.

As you are searching for a job, take time to reflect on what you’ve learned along the way.

There are training videos on the web site of my faith community and a handout. This content is free: https://www.thetablempls.com/jobresources

How do you answer the question “what are your weaknesses?”

Please don’t answer “I don’t have any”, because we all have them and that response will not go over well.

Two approaches:

• talk about a weakness that you are aware of that either wouldn’t be a big problem in the job for which you are applying; or
• a weakness you have learned how to manage. For example, I’m not very organized, but I’ve developed systems and techniques that help me stay organized.

Make sense?

What it comes to naming your weaknesses, tell your story and tell it well.

There are training videos on the web site of my faith community and a handout. This content is free: https://www.thetablempls.com/jobresources

You hear athletes talk about times when they are “in the zone”, when they’re performing at a high level and time seems to fly.

Research shows that all of us can experience this feeling, and if we are in the right job can experience this in our work.

Think back on you prior work experiences:

• Have you had times when you felt “in the zone”?
• If so, what were you doing?
• With whom were you working?
• What may have gotten in the way of that feeling?

You will likely be more successful and enjoy your next job more if it gives you an opportunity to be in the zone.

Want a satisfying job? Find your zone.

There are training videos on the web site of my faith community and a handout. This content is free. Please pass along: https://www.thetablempls.com/jobresources

I’ve spent too much time complaining about… socks. Why, because too many socks are one-size-fits-all, which if you have a size fourteen shoe like me that means no-size-fits-all.

I’m old enough to remember when having one resume and cover letter was standard fare, which you carefully prepared on your typewriter and copied.

Those days are gone.

You now have the ability to customize all your job search communications. You could apply to ten different jobs and have ten different cover letters and resumes.

Really, why?

When you take the time to customize your messaging to a specific employer, you increase the perception that you have done your homework about the employer and are truly interested in them.

They like people who show interest—they’re funny that way.

To have one “cookie cutter” set of correspondence these days is just plain lazy, and makes you stand out in a way that doesn’t advance your search.

There are training videos on the web site of my faith community and a handout. This content is free: https://www.thetablempls.com/jobresources

Oprah Winfrey once said: “helping others is the way we help ourselves.”

That is true for folks who are in the job search.

Back in my days as an outplacement consultant we used to hold a Monday morning session for the job seekers. It was helpful in a number of ways:

• By having it on Monday morning, it got everybody and up and moving, which in and of itself is good,
• Each person shared what went well the week before and what they were planning on doing that week, which helped with reflection and accountability, and
• We also had a time in the meeting when job seekers could ask for help, for insights into an employer or help networking

From my experience, the people who came to the weekly meetings, on average, landed more quickly than those who didn’t.

Find and join a group. Often faith communities or colleges have groups.

And if you can’t fine one, start one.

There are training videos on the web site of my faith community. This content is free: https://www.thetablempls.com/jobresources

The great basketball coach John Wooden once said: “It’s what you learn after you know it all that counts.”

All of us can still learn, and improving your skills is a great way to use some of your time as you conduct your job search. Here are a few resources:

• There’s this fun place you may have heard of called… a library! Call or stop by and ask what classes are available,
• Your local community college,
• Check out possibilities from schools from which you graduated,
• There are lots of online courses available. An example is Coursera, and
• There are paid sites as well, such as MasterClass.

As part of your online strategy, post what you’re learning. This could be a photo of a course completion certificate, or better yet insights you have gained. Prospective employers may value learning about what you’re learning.

There are training videos on the web site of my faith community. This content is free: https://www.thetablempls.com/jobresources

You land the new job. You’re not sure you’ve made the right choice.

Be awesome anyway.

Your new co-workers are, at best, okay.

Be awesome anyway.

The pay and benefits are fine, but you’re not going to get rich.

Be awesome anyway.

This job looks interesting, but you’re not sure there are opportunities for you to grow here.

Be awesome anyway.

It’s a longer commute than you were planning, and that’s stressful.

Be awesome anyway.

There are far more reasons why a new job might not be great, and the temptation would be to mail it in while you look for something better.

If it’s really bad, go ahead and look for another job. But in the meantime give them more than an honest day’s work.

Why?

If you do leave, the worst thing they can say about you is “there goes an awesome employee’.

More importantly, you will have the satisfaction of knowing that even in less than ideal conditions you acted with honor and integrity.

And that’s worth a lot.

There are training videos on the web site of my faith community. This content is free: https://www.thetablempls.com/jobresources

… and you’ll break your mother’s back.”

As a kid I once tempted fate when I was upset with my mom. I stepped on a crack.

Her back didn’t break, but I still avoided cracks.

Irrational thinking, right?

As you consider your job search, you too will need to face some irrational attitudes that may be getting in your way:

• “I’m too old”, or “I’m not old enough”, or
• “I don’t have the right experience”, or “I’m too experienced”, or
• “There aren’t any jobs out there”, or
• “You can’t change industries”.

Although each of these mindsets may have a grain of truth, not exploring an opportunity because of these attitudes may really hurt your search. Your attitudes would be a good to discuss with your coach or job search support group.

Maya Angelou said: “If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.”

What attitude do you need to change?

There are free training videos on the web site of my faith community: https://www.thetablempls.com/jobresources

I’m not going to tell you my age today– there are a lot of candles on the cake!

It is against the law for employers to discriminate against an older candidate. You cannot be asked your age, and if someone does in a job interview I urge you to move on.

What can you do?

• List your educational experiences on your resume, but do not put the year you graduated.
• Most employers will be interested in your last ten or fifteen years of work, so list only those.
• Be aware of language that may signal your age. I still think “groovy” is a fine word… maybe not.
• Look for opportunities where “gray hair” may be of value. One client with a younger employee base was looking to hire a couple of leaders who had more experience in an allied industry; in this case experience/age was an advantage, and
• Keep learning and growing personally and professionally.

If you are older, there are places where your skills and interests will be of value. Find them.

There are training videos on the web site of my faith community and a handout. This content is free: https://www.thetablempls.com/jobresources

You see an internal job post where you work. It looks like a job you would have a real chance of getting, and it fits your career plans. Since it’s an internal post you probably don’t need to do the things you would do for an external post, right?

Wrong.

You should put in as much effort into an internal posting. You’ll want to:

• validate that the job is a good fit,
• prepare a cover letter and resume that is customized to the opportunity,
• network with people who know about the job and can provide good coaching,
• do homework to determine salary, if that information isn’t available,
• practice for an interview so you can tell your story and connect to the job requirements, and
• prepare follow up correspondence after the interview.

All this work may seem unnecessary, but these tasks are all within your control and give you the best chance possible to be successful.

Do the work. Identify needs. Tell your story.

There are training videos on the web site of my faith community. This content is free: https://www.thetablempls.com/jobresources