anne hubben, creative career coach         anne@rubycreatives.com 917.834.0354

are you dreading a conversation?

Monday, March 15th, 2010
 

i often help my clients prepare for conversations with various people such as a boss, direct report, interviewer or even just a person that they’re networking with. Everyone has varying degrees of trepidation about whatever conversation or meeting they are about to have.

My own experience has shown that most of the time what we imagine will happen is much worse than what actually happens. However, it’s important to be prepared.

Preparation is different in each case, but some possibilities might be:

1 — asking for a raise: be prepared to explain why you deserve one. Talk about problems you’ve solved, results you’ve produced, accounts you’ve won, etc.

2 — talking to a direct report who is having some performance issues: Think about the person’s personality and decide what will be the most effective way to communicate with them. Hopefully you’re already familiar and comfortable with this, but just think about it with specifics. Do you have an idea of some tools that could help this person change? Do you have a solution to share or help them arrive at on their own?

3 — if you’re going to an interview: Make sure you’ve researched the company and have some questions prepared. Make sure you can present your portfolio well, that you’re prepared to discuss salary and that you’re on time.

My point with these examples it to say that you can pay attention to things that are within your control, but you don’t know exactly how it will go and that’s okay. You might really click with the person or not. You might love the vibe in the office or not. There are so many variables that you have no control over that the best thing you can do to prepare is whatever it takes to calm your mind and detach from your expectations.

Be confident in the fact that you’re as prepared as you can be, you’re smart, capable and experienced and you can handle whatever comes your way. I had someone fall of her chair in the middle of our interview and we hired her. She was very experienced but clearly very nervous. It was okay. She did fine and it just made me like her more, but I’m a sucker for slapstick.

Posted in be ready, communication, networking, solutions, state of mind | No Comments »

no, you’re not crazy

Friday, December 11th, 2009
 

I frequently hear from people who have been looking for a job for months and are starting to wonder if there’s life out there on our planet. They’ve worked their networks, they’ve updated their resume, portfolio, cover letters, they apply to every possible job at every possible level and still – silence…Enough silence that you realize there’s a mouse living in your walls – never noticed it because it only comes out during the day and you’re usually at work. All of the daytime renovations in your apartment building are probably a revelation too. You might not have known that your upstairs neighbor was gutting her kitchen until you stopped going out during working hours in case you missed something at your computer.

By the time these job seekers call me, they’re not only exhausted but they’ve begun to question their abilities and their sanity. If you’ve gotten to this point, I highly recommend you contact someone who can give you an objective opinion about what might be going on. Sure, you can blame some of it on the economy, but there’s probably something you could change that could make a difference.

It’s often hard for us to see these things for ourselves, so you could call that friend of yours who just got a new job (they’ve just experienced it themselves so could have some good insights), a career coach or a recruiter that you trust. Talk to this person about all that you’re doing and see if they can help you do some tweaking.

If you’ve already tweaked like crazy, you might think “tweak what?” but believe me, with a fresh pair of eyes, there’s always something to tweak.

One common energy drain that I see is people applying to endless job postings. First of all, it’s sad but true that most of these online application systems are blackholes. But still, it’s their procedure, so you need to do it. But, don’t stop there. If you really want the job and feel that you’re a good fit, then see if you can find someone who can get you in front of the right person.

That takes energy too, so don’t waste it for jobs that you’re overqualified for or that you don’t really care about. I say “overqualified” specifically because in a market like this, recruiters are seeing tons of overqualified candidates and they’re probably not going to call you. They want people who will be challenged and stay in the job for a reasonable amount of time.

If you’re finding that you’re not hearing back from jobs that you’d be perfect for, then there could be something wrong with your resume or your portfolio. Try to think back to comments that people have made when you do talk to them. I had one client who was told by someone that she didn’t know what to do with her based on her resume. It turned out that that was my initial reaction to her resume too. It was too broad. So we worked on changing the resume to make it more specific and she’s already getting more calls and interviews.

Another thing to ask yourself is how are you networking? If you’re just connecting to everyone on Linked In, but not having actual conversations with them, then that’s not going to help very much on it’s own. You might be hesitant to “bother” people more than requesting a connection, but it’s all in how you communicate. Be respectful of their time and make your communication brief and direct.

Maybe you know a friend of a friend who works at the type of company you’d like to work at. You could send them an email saying “I’m Joe’s friend and we met at that Halloween party. I was the Balloon Boy. I’m in the process of looking for work and saw that you work in my industry. Could I buy you coffee or lunch so I could ask your advice about some things?”

I know it feels like a bother to this guy, but you’re not asking them out for an evening. It’s just lunch or a coffee break. Everyone needs to eat and take breaks. Also, most people do like to help others. They also like to talk about themselves. What have you got to lose?

These are just a couple of examples, but my point is that while the job search used to be very straightforward (illustrated by how your parents can’t figure out why you just can’t get a job), it’s no longer that way. It’s a search that requires you to be strategic, flexible, humble yet confident. Another thing is make sure you’re taking care of yourself. You might have had to cut back on the pedicures, but that doesn’t mean you can’t give yourself a break and have coffee with a friend who has nothing to do with your job search. They just make you laugh. Because if there’s not time for that, then what’s the point of any of it?

Posted in networking, persistence, resume, solutions | 3 Comments »

connecting while searching for a job

Friday, October 23rd, 2009
 

Something I’ve been thinking about is how when someone loses a job unexpectedly, it can really turn a life upside down. Everyone handles it differently, but one thing to watch out for is isolating too much. You can have the illusion of being connected by plugging in to all the social networks, checking job postings, sending resumes out, but if you never leave your house for fear of missing something, that’s too much isolation.

As someone who likes to spend time alone, I understand completely the tendency to want to take care of things on your own. There’s plenty to do on your own, but if you really want to make things happen and stay sane, stay in contact with other people.

You’re not just hunting for jobs. You’re exploring, researching, sharing, connecting, asking, offering, discovering and eventually landing your next job. You can do all those things by yourself, but interacting with other people offers different perspectives that can accelerate the process.

Of course, its possible to go too far in the other direction too. Although I’m not just talking about getting advice, if you seek advice from too many people, it can get confusing with so many different opinions. In the end, you have to go with your gut. To “listen” to your gut, you need quiet time to hear it. But this post is for people with too much quiet time.

If you’re out, at a coffee shop or even at the gym, someone could give you a lead, or mention something that reminds you of a person that you had neglected to call. If you have lunch with a former colleague, he might mention something that he thought you were really good at, that hadn’t even occurred to you and could go on your resume. Often it’s hard for us to be objective about our own skills, strengths or accomplishments.

The point is to get out there, engage with the world, use your friends to help you shift your mindset and don’t be afraid to ask for help. If you hate asking for help, then balance out the karma by offering to take another friend’s kid out to lunch to talk to him about putting a portfolio together.

Networking doesn’t always have to be with someone who you think can get you a job. Networking can include seeing old friends, doing some kind of service to get out of your own head. Even if it takes a while to get that new job, you’ll feel better in the process if you’re not doing it all alone. We’re all connected and we thrive when we feel that connection.

Posted in action, communication, networking, state of mind | No Comments »

guest blogger Kate Hubben on networking

Friday, October 9th, 2009
 


So much about the job search has changed over the last few years, but something that still remains important and relevant is face-to-face networking. Since I often focus on the digital kind, I’ve decided to go to someone I consider brilliant at networking and that’s my sister, Kate. Like many people I know, she is looking for full time employment and is tireless in her efforts. I recently went to an event with her and got to see her in action. It was inspirational and I’ve talked about it with several of my own clients to illustrate how to network.

Rather than report on her techniques, I thought I’d let her tell you directly. Kate has a background in TV, politics, development and nonprofit leadership. Although she’s not in a creative field, networking is networking, so here she is, my sister, Kate Hubben:

“Networking” conjures up images of business card shuffling, over zealous handshaking and cheap chardonnay. It can make the most earnest of us feel sleazy, but I choose to look at it as connecting with friends – making the effort to connect with new friends and reconnect with old ones. Some of these friends end up being great connectors and help me get new clients and find better jobs and the others are just great for support or a few good laughs. Here are a few ground rules that I follow:

1) Connecting is an act of love.

I only ask to meet with people in person that I know. They know more people and so on. If they feel I should meet someone else, they will let me know. So I call my friend or associate and tell them about my life. For me personally, I have a lot to cover……Over the last six months, I went on a diet, my boyfriend dumped me, I started doing yoga and oh yeah, my business went belly up and this prompted me to reach out to my friends and say “think of me.” I genuinely try not to have a firm agenda except to remind my friends that I am looking for a new job and that I could use some good news. Everyone loves to be the “king maker.” Identify those friends who you can imagine sitting around at a luncheon saying “I got Kate that job!!!!!” and those are the ones who are likely to pick up the phone and help you.

2) Everyone loves the underdog.

Don’t be a showboater. If you want help from friends, don’t tell them how rich or thin you are or how great your marriage is. Yuck. I love to help the friend who is down and will remember me when she is up again. She needs a friend who will be her ringside coach. Recently, I went to lunch with Julie, a newly displaced Ivy Leaguer who loves to talk in shorthand. She gossiped about her nanny, complained about her kitchen renovation and then asked me to introduce her to three specific contacts. The kicker was she did not pay for lunch. Julie is still looking for a job as far as I know.

3) Be specific

When you meet someone for coffee, don’t say that “you are a generalist” or “you love people” or you “can do a lot of things.” Say as much as you can about where you want to work, what you want to do, and what you want your job to look like. A bell will go off in my brain when someone tells me they are looking for a consultant who has fundraising experience. I remember that Cathy told me she wanted fundraising project work. VOILA. If you don’t give any specifics, no bells go off when an opportunity is presented.

4) Don’t wait for a meal.

Everyone is busy so if you want to make sure your friend knows you are looking for a job, make an appointment to see them in their office. “I wanted to respect your time and just let you know that I am looking for my next job and you sit in a lot of meetings all day where you hear about jobs.” I know that it is more fun to have lunch or coffee but it also takes a lot more time, people are busy and when you’re looking for work, you want meetings to happen sooner rather than later.

5) Pay it forward.

If someone asks you to meet with someone else or talk to their friend, do it. Several years ago, a young female engineer asked to have coffee with me. I did not have any idea how I could help, but I went and gave her advice about some civic activities she might pursue. Within a few years, I went to hear our U.S. Senator speak and she was his aide!!! When I went to lobby him about something, my call was returned quickly, I got on his schedule and she never forgot that I helped her. Not only is it the right thing to do to help others, but you NEVER know where people are going to land. An unemployed marketing professional could be a successful CEO one day. We just don’t know what the future holds.

6) To thine own self be true.

When we are roaming around making new friends, there is a possibility that we will follow advice from others instead of listening to our own internal voice. We may do it to make others happy or we may do it because we have lost our confidence but we must try hard to be true to ourselves. I will admit that after two cups of coffee and some compelling conversation, I once considered becoming a stockbroker, a pilot and an interior designer. None of these are good options for me, let me assure you.

So go forth and network. Just be safe about it and write hand written thank you notes.

Posted in communication, guest blogger, networking | No Comments »