|
|
|
|
This week's Q&A
It takes just one Yes
Talk to Nick: For job
hunters, managers, HR.
Rule of 6: Get mentored! |
|
Stories of pain... and success
This is normally a Q&A column where a reader submits a problem
and I do my best to offer advice. We're always tackling problems. In
today's economic climate, we hear enough about frustration, despair
and pain. (And there is plenty more to go around.) So I'd like to
leaven it with some hope and success.
Over the past few months, I received a string of e-mails from the
wife of an Ask The Headhunter reader in Hawaii. Helen started writing
to me last August when she found a collection of Ask The Headhunter
columns and articles on her husband Greg's desk. She told me how Greg,
in utter despair over a career crash and the inability to land a new
job after a lengthy job search, just up and disappeared. Walked out
the door and never returned.
|
|
A very Merry Christmas
to you & yours!
...or whatever you celebrate this time of year!
I wish you peace, health and prosperity in 2010.
There will be no newsletter for the next two weeks during the
holidays. See in you 2010 in the January 12 edition!
-- Nick
|
|
|
|
Want a dose of
The Headhunter
every week—for free?
This newsletter is not normally archived online (though this
special edition is). Only subscribers receive it via
e-mail each week.
Don't miss the Q&A, How to Say It, the Readers'
Forum and other features including dialogue with the
smartest subscribers online...
Get your own free subscription: Sign
up NOW!
|
Two weeks ago, Helen wrote me that Greg's body was found on a
mountain hiking trail, an apparent suicide.
I've gotten to know Helen as best one can get to know anyone
thousands of miles away via e-mail. Her story is just one of many that
play themselves out on the ebbing and flowing tide of our economy.
Some fare better than others, and some just can't survive. It's not
easy to know what fortune will come to whom—or who can make it
through these trials.
Every one of us has opportunities to reach out to others who are in
distress. Sometimes all it takes is a friendly word that reminds a
depressed job hunter that they are not alone. Sometimes the fog of
despair clears a bit when we realize that there are other blessings in
our lives—and those blessings are usually other people. But when the
waters are dark and we've gone numb, other people have to step up and pull us out.
Please: This holiday season, and in the new year, reach out
to someone who needs pulling out. Take a couple of hours out of your
day and take them to lunch. You don't have to find them a job—just
be with them for a while. Let them talk about their pain, but watch
them light up when you ask them about the work they are very good at.
It'll give them courage. It'll remind them that even though
circumstances are bad, they're still good at their work. Let them
display their value and you will increase their self-confidence. The
simple reminder that "the job market" does not define
them—people like you do—can give them the courage to persevere.
(Don't know how to mentor others? Learn about Mentoring
& Getting Mentored.)
But it's not all dark and despair. This churning
economy produces successes, too. A reader sent me this note a
while ago. (It might as well have been today.) The message is simple: You
will hear No a thousand times. You need just one Yes, but you also need the perseverance to get to
it.
Nick, I wrote you several months ago for advice on trying to land a job in finance and investments, preferably as a stock analyst. You even got a friend to e-mail me with very specific advice.
It made me realize that even though I didn't have any experience in this area, it wasn't totally hopeless and I started making contacts within my company which helped me
focus on what I wanted to do and what departments I should be looking at. This week I accepted a position in my company's Investment Management & Trust area. I'm tremendously excited about this opportunity and I feel it's a solid step in the right direction on a long-term career path.
So to everyone reading this message, hang in there and keep plugging away. If you keep working towards what you want to do, eventually you'll be in the right place at the right time. Nick, thanks again for all your advice and encouragement! |
So, you
can change careers, or you
can stay put and change jobs.
Another reader talks about the importance of
making informed choices. All I gave him was the nudge to do his
homework before he chose the company to pursue.
|
I wanted to say thank you for all your good advice. I had a job that paid well but did not allow me to use my training and education. After my boss and personnel
department decided to pull yet one more stunt, I decided to find the employer who needed my skills and
who would provide a pleasant working environment.
The process led me to your site. Intrigued by your articles, I bought your book. Following your suggestions, I took an active role in researching companies, reputations, and needs—along with clarifying
what I wanted and what I could offer.
The result is the job I dreamed about but did not think existed. I work in an extremely supportive environment doing engineering design. My boss makes time for everyone who needs him. If something is urgent, just ask and you will end up with more than enough helping hands. The number of employees who left only to return after realizing all that glitters isn't gold is astounding and speaks well of the firm.
Thank you so much. My father is now reading your book and couldn't agree more with your statements regarding human resource people.
|
It seems trite to suggest you should just
keep plugging away, or that defining what you want will help you get
it. Helen told me that Greg's defeats seemed to stem from pursuing
jobs he felt obligated to apply for, and that he was in such despair
that he forgot the things he was really good at. There's no guessing
at what takes a man over the edge, but I know that doing things I love
keeps me away from it.
Helen's early e-mails were naturally marked with
a sense of hopelessness. But her recent notes are filled with awareness
of the lives she has touched during her years in the medical field.
She has recovered her sense of herself—from her interaction with
other people. I don't know what life holds for Helen, but courage
marks her attitude now. She's reaching out. I read in-between her
words a desire to do more for others. My hope is that others will
reach out to her, too. It takes just one Yes.
(Please check the How to Say It
sidebar at the right, and come join us to discuss how we can help.)
Best,
Nick Corcodilos
Ask The Headhunter®
Have a question? Ask
away. Each week I'll publish a Q&A that I think readers will find
helpful. I will not publish your name if you submit a question through
this link. Please see terms
of submission below. Sorry, I cannot answer questions privately. Please do
not send me resumes; I won't read them.
|
|
|
This popular new feature is a way to talk with me directly in private.
Are you job hunting? Are you a manager trying to
hire more effectively? Maybe you work in HR and would like
some insight on recruiting or hiring matters.
Sometimes you have a question too detailed for the
newsletter, or it's confidential. I'm not a counselor, nor do I want to be. I
will not hold your hand through a job search or consult to you
for a year. Talk to Nick
enables you to ask me specific questions in short conversations privately via telephone.
Fee: $79 for half an hour, $150 for a full hour. E-mail me
your Talk to Nick request in 50 words or less. If I have room in my
schedule, I will e-mail you to arrange time to talk. (Payment: Via PayPal or major
credit card. For now, this service is available only to U.S. subscribers.)
|
|
|
This is where readers mentor one another—job hunters,
employers, HR folks. You've heard of six degrees of
separation? Well, I figure that among the many subscribers
to this newsletter you'll find one who can give you the advice
and insight you need... That's the Rule of 6.
People who need help, advice and
introductions please submit
your request to me (50 words max, please!). I'll review and post
it in the next newsletter. Include your e-mail address. Mentors who want to
offer advice: Please click on the reply-to link in the yellow
box below and share your advice directly...
please cc me (mail@asktheheadhunter.com). Remember: This is for mentoring. Please don't
ask for jobs or submit job postings. Ask for advice and
insight from folks who might be able to help you!
|
Query: Each week's newsletter includes new mentoring
requests from subscribers. You have to subscribe
to participate!
|
(Got a Rule of 6 idea to help readers leverage
Ask The Headhunter? Tell
me!)
|
|
Feedback
Did you like something you read here? Did my advice bug you? Is there a topic you'd like to see covered? Have an idea about how to improve this newsletter?
Please
let me know.
|
|
Your Subscription
If you'd like to sign
up to receive your own Ask The Headhunter Newsletter, please click
here to subscribe.
Notice about delivery issues: Some newsletters never get delivered or "bounce back"
for any of several reasons including: subscribers' mailboxes are full, their e-mail service providers block or filter
the newsletter, or due to any of a number of other factors I can't control. Subscriptions will be suspended if delivery repeatedly fails.
Please set your filters to let the newsletter through.
I'm glad to help if you have a problem
with your subscription.
|
|
Syndication & Content Licensing
Ask The Headhunter features are available for newspaper and magazine
syndication via my good buddies at
Universal Press
Syndicate. Join the many newspapers that feature Ask The Headhunter,
including The Seattle Times.
Or... Does your organization need insider advice about job hunting or
hiring? Does your school want to give students and alumni an edge on their careers? Does your company want to keep job applicants "close" rather than pay to recruit them again later?
A custom Ask The Headhunter Newsletter
can help! Just ask
how.
Want to use this content some other way? You can purchase a license to use
this content legally.
Just ask.
|
|
|
|
BUNDLED for Savings!
ORDER
BOTH myth-busting books!
How to Work with Headhunters
&
How Can I Change Careers?
Regular Price for the pair: $52.90
|
How to Work with Headhunters
I just downloaded How to Work with
Headhunters. Excellent! I will recommend that each of our Executive MBAs get this book. It's a very
comprehensive treatment of every aspect of recruiting, search firms, career management firms and more. I especially like the
Back of the Napkin section at the end. Looks like you thought of everything!
Susan Dearing
·
Director, ProMBA Career Management Center
· EMBA Career Coach
UCLA Anderson School of Management
|
Just $44.95!
Myth-busting
ANSWERS
for fearless job hunters!
|
How Can I
Change Careers?
"One of the hardest things about dealing with the issues of transition is trying to make some sense out of something that leaves many of us with the feeling of being
caught in a maze and continually running into dead ends... My suggestion is to check out Nick's latest which he calls "an answer kit" that carries the title of (as you might guess)
How Can I Change Careers? This is a 36 page PDF crammed with answers on this tricky challenge."
Dave Opton
ExecuNet
|
ORDER
BOTH myth-busting books!
Not $52.90!
Just $44.95!
|
|
Readers' Comments
"Nick, as always, great advice. Have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. As a side note, although I am semi-retired from work (67), I am active in business as a
consultant and your comments keep me sharp. I refer people to your web page, etc. when they need sound, hard advice. Take care."
Larry Kozoll
Oh, Yeah! I love success stories, thank yous, and examples of how Ask The Headhunter worked for you. Don't hold back:
Please share your comments.
|
|
| |
How to Say It
In today's column: Some readers have sad tales
to tell of job hunting gone bad. Others have found success after trials and
tribulations.
You know someone who despairs over their failure in the job
search. They're down, they're out, they feel like they're in deep, cold water. You'd like to help pull them out. How do you say it?
How to Say It: "Come on. Let's go have lunch. We'll
talk."
Yes, it can be as simple as that.
If someone has helped pull you out when you felt like your career was
spiraling down the drain, how did they do it?
Have you helped someone out? What did you do?
Got an idea to help us all do something to help out someone who needs
it? My suggestion is above. But I'm all ears. Please
head
over to the Blog and share it!
Brazen Plug: There are over two dozen How
to Say It call-outs
in the new book How to Work With Headhunters! Order
now! |
Don't know How to Say It? Send
me your quandary and we'll try to tackle it! (Please don't confuse this
feature with Q&A topics, which are about advice. This is about how to say
something.)
|
|
| |
Readers' Forum
My turn to ask you: The current edition of Wired magazine features an article about failure that occurs in science labs.
A sidebar in that article is titled How to Learn from Failure. It suggests that when scientific experiments fail, the outcome is an anomaly. Anomalous outcomes should makes us analyze failure in four
steps.
It set me to thinking. (Everything I read flows through my headhunter filter.)
How can this be applied to solve job hunting or hiring problems?
The four steps are listed and discussed in the Ask The Headhunter Blog. My
challenge to you is this: How can these four failure analysis steps be used to learn from failed job interviews?
Check the
Blog, read the article, and help
me find the connection.
Got a topic? Something to get off your chest? Something on which you'd like input from other readers?
Send it here.
|
|
|
|
Copyright © 2009 North Bridge Group, Inc. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Re-printing, re-distribution, re-publication or re-dissemination, including posting to news groups, is expressly prohibited. Please ask friends to
sign up for their own subscriptions.
Ask The Headhunter® and other titles are trademarks or registered trademarks of North Bridge Group, Inc. and Nick Corcodilos.
Interested in reprint rights? Please drop me a note.
Terms of submission: Your submissions make this newsletter relevant, and I welcome and encourage you to write me. When you submit questions, comments or any other correspondence, you grant me the right to edit, excerpt and
publish that material non-exclusively. That is, you are still free to do with it
as you will, but I can use it, too. In order to protect your privacy, my policy is not to publish your name if I print your questions in the Q&A section. However, since other areas of Ask The Headhunter are for sharing ideas and comments, please be aware that I may credit you
there by printing your name along with your submission. When
you submit a Rule of 6 request, you agree to let me publish your e-mail
address and you acknowledge the disclaimer below.
Click for full terms of service &
disclaimer. In brief: This publication is offered
as-is and without warranty of any kind. Neither North Bridge Group, Inc., nor its employees
or contributors are responsible for any loss,
injury, or damage, direct or consequential, resulting from your choosing to use any information presented here.
Use your judgment and do the best you can.
Thanks for subscribing to Ask The Headhunter.
If you're with the media or have a business
question please e-mail:
nick@asktheheadhunter.com.
North Bridge Group, Inc. P.O. Box 600
Lebanon, NJ 08833
about
ask a
question feedback
subscribe
www.asktheheadhunter.com
visit the blog
get nick's tweets
|
| |
