First, just because you are 55 old and older does not mean you can’t find a job. The greatest obstacle you may find is you. If you believe you can’t find a position, you won’t. The best way to get a job if you are in this age category is networking. With your years of experience, you will know lots of people. I challenge you to tap into your network and find people who you know. The opportunities will come as you get past your first degree of separation and tap into the people your colleagues know. Who you know that knows somebody, that you need to know? That is an important question for you to answer.

Networking your way into a position may be uncomfortable to you, but it is a valuable skill to master. Talk to colleagues, enlist them into your job search. One place to start is LinkedIn. Get your resume out there. Find people from your past who are willing to connect with you. Set up informational interviews with people willing to share their experience.

Become an entrepreneur. If no one will hire you, create a job for yourself. Start a business. Small businesses are a viable option for those who are struggling to get employed. What do you have a passion for? Can you tun that passion into a successful business.

Become a teacher at the college level or in the various schools from Elementary School to High School We need good teachers teaching this next generation of leaders coming up. Most school districts can’t find good qualified teachers.

Here’s my bottom line: Get creative in your approach for getting yourself re-employed. It may take longer to get employed, so know that going into your job search, but don’t let anyone tell you that you are not employable – Hog Wash! You can and will get a job, even if you have to create it for yourself!!

Post from: EveryJoe

Job Opportunities for Employees 55+

As I muse over being a person who has high expectations for myself and others. I am challenged by the thought that one of the biggest reasons Michael Jordan was able to play the game in the face of the limitations of his body on that particular day, was because of the investments he made years ago when nobody was looking. The hours he spent playing by himself, rain, sleet or snow. The investment he made to get on the courts when his friends were doing other things. The investment he made to get on the courts when he didn’t feel good. His investment paid off during the NBA Finals that day when he was sick. He became a skilled craftsmen in his choice of profession. It didn’t happen overnight. Jordan’s assent to being classified as one of the best to ever play the game, came at great cost to him years prior to him playing for the Chicago Bulls. He invested in the game, in his skills and abilities when no one was looking.

It wasn’t about what his coach did or didn’t do during practices. It wasn’t about what others did or didn’t do for him, though I am sure there were people who were part of his supporting cast, that assisted him in ways we may never know about. What I want you to consider is the investment he made as a player. As a person. He wanted to be the best and a result HE, Jordan made an investment that seeded his life for years to come as he played the game of basketball. So when he was sick, he had no problem suiting up that day. The investment he made years prior to that game prepared him for the challenge. And in the end he was successful and his team was successful. I believe he scored 46 points in that game. (I could look it up, but I am more interested in remembering that game than checking all the facts). I know it was an insane score that a sick man should never have been “allowed” to make in the course of a professional basketball game, but I digress.

Let me say it another way. If you plant a seed in the ground. It takes awhile to actually have evidence that life exist. You may not know for days, months or years if the seed you planted will actually yield fruit. But if you water it, and weed the soil and care for it, there is something going on underneath the ground that you can’t see with the naked eye. The time you take to care for that soil, is your investment in the expected fruit. When that seedling pokes its head through the soil, what a day that is. You can see that your investment paid off.

That’s how I see it for Michael Jordan. But really this post is not about him, its about you. It’s about your investment. How much have you invested in your career of choice? Do you complain when things don’t go your way or all of the resources you need are not available? Can you see the investment your boss or organization has made in you that if you shifted your perspective and began to see what they offer, the good, the bad and the ugly, it actually might help move you forward under the soil to breakthrough?

The best of the best in anything make an investment that no one sees. It’s what they do in the wee hours of the morning, or the time they spend learning a new skill or ability that no one may ever know about. It may just be quiet time to think through a problem or issue until you reach a creative solution that turns a project around that seemed impossible. At the end of the day, if you are not the best of best, it has more to do with your investment or lack of investment than anything else. Something to consider!

Post from: EveryJoe

The Best of the Best Invest

Labor Day is a great day to assess the previous year of labor, your work and what you accomplished over the last year. Today, Tuesday is a great day to implement new work habits, new goals, a new perspective on the work you do.

Here are a few suggestions on new goals or work habits you may want to implement as you get a fresh start today:

1. Develop better communication with people at all levels of your organization

2. Develop clear goals for yourself and/or your work team and communicate them

3. Develop a plan for accomplishing the work you do – Look for areas that steal your time and delete them

4. Get organized

5. Be an intentional worker – Work with purpose

I want to focus on these suggestions over the next few days. I will begin with communication today. Misunderstandings account for a large percentage of conflict in the workplace. I find that poor communication accounts for more issues within organizations than almost anything else. Consider implementing better communication with your team, your boss and others you work with in the organization. If you decide you want to communicate better, understand that others may not be willing to change right away, however, your commitment to better communication will make a difference in the overall climate of the organization. Start with people within your sphere of influence. Make sure they are clear about your expectations, your goals, your needs, your values and how what they do impacts the overall success of the goals of your department, or the jobs you do.

One of the keys to better communication is that two communication will always net you more than one way communication. In other words, create dialog, ask questions, give others the opportunity to speak into the goals and outcome of the work you do. A second key to communication is clarity. If people are not clear about your expectations, you will constantly be in a place of frustration. People interactions can bring frustrations. Especially when they are not clear about what you want. I challenge leaders to clarify expectations as often as possible. Once people are clear about expectations, than you can hold people accountable for what they do and don’t do.

Lastly, if better communication is your goal out of the gate as we move into the later part of this year, understand that strengthening communication is a process. Things may not change right away, but with a commitment to improve communication, you will see in due season you will reap the fruit of your efforts

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Post from: EveryJoe

Focus on Communication – Reap the Benefits

The “machine gun” approach to your job search may land you a job, but is it the right job for you? If we apply Habit 2 from the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People to your job search strategy, than you are forced to evaluate what type of job you are looking for. Be specific. What type of organization are you looking for? These two questions will move you closer to your job search and better utilize your investment of time you use to work your job search.

When I was in the market for a job years ago, my clearly defined goal was to find senior level training manager positions. I wanted to manage training departments and I wanted to work with senior people in the organizations. I wasn’t looking for entry level positions. I was only interested in jobs that allowed me to manage people and processes at a high level. I wanted the opportunity to train senior leaders in the organizations and I wanted autonomy for the results of my team. That is exactly what I got in the last two professional positions I worked.

What is your desired outcome? When you sit across from a hiring manager, can you clear communicate the goal of your job search? If your goal is to get a job, than any job will do. That is not how I see the world. Nor should you. Figure out what your really need. What’s most important to you when you evaluate where you have been before and where you are headed.

There is no way that you can accomplish what you want in your job search if you don’t have a specific, clearly defined goal. Be intentional in your job search. Don’t allow the difficulty of the market to be a hindrance to your search. Decide what you want to do and go for it. And don’t accept anything less than what you want for your job.

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Post from: EveryJoe

Begin With The End In Mind

Social Media & Your Job Search

1. Social Media & Your Job Search

2. Social Media & Your Job Search P.2

3. Resistance is Futile – Social Media I Mean

4. Social Media & YOU

5. Are You LinkedIn To Social Media

6. Twitter Your Way To Your Next Job

I realize as I am formatting this post that I did not put a post together concerning Facebook and Your Job Search. Let me take a moment and end this recap by saying what some of you may already know about my thoughts on Facebook for job seekers. Facebook is a great place to connect with people. I love it. I have connected with friends and family that I have lost touch with over the years. Because of what I do as a blogger, I set up a Facebook profile, not knowing that it would allow me to connect with people that I thought I would never have the opportunity to see again. I am forever grateful for Facebook and the technology that allows us to connect and communicate with people in a matter of key strokes. That being said if you are a job seeker, I don’t recommend Facebook as a tool. I believe if you have a friend who you would like to add to your professional network, connect with them on LinkedIn. Save Facebook for social interactions outside of your job search.

My second thought on Facebook for job seekers, be careful what you do and say as a part of your social interactions. You may not think that what you do and say will impact your job search or your current job for that matter, but you are mistaken. Your profile is on a public site and all of your friends connect with people you don’t know. In your quest for fun banter you may find that your personal life leaks into your professional persona and you will have a problem if the personal and professional persona are inconsistent. There is so much I could say on this topic, but just consider that in this day and age you don’t want to put your professional career in jeopardy because you are having a great time on Facebook. Have a good time. Save the antics that may trip you up in an interview or on the job for face to face interactions, rather than trusting that your personal life is private on Facebook. It is not and it will not be and it will come back to bite you.

Enjoy Social Media for what it is – a tool and resource, for both personal and professional networking. Use it as such.

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Post from: EveryJoe

Social Media & Your Job Search Recap

If you are looking for a new job, and you don’t think you will find one, you will still be looking while you sit in that mindset. I write about this a lot in my column here, but I don’t think I can say enough. I talk to job seekers daily and more people are stuck in their stinking thinking than you might imagine. Most of the negative junk comes from unresolved life issues, offenses that have turned into unforgiveness. Anytime you spend more time blaming others for your current or past state of affairs, you are struggling with offense and unforgiveness and you won’t move very far in life. And it will be very difficult in this current employment climate to get a job.

Let me talk about success a moment. Let’s define success. Ha! It’s not my definition that matters. You have to define success for you. I can’t define it for you. Each of us must define it based on who we are. What we believe success looks like for us. Success for me is about impacting people’s lives. I want to create value that transcends my life. In other words, when I am gone, I want the things I have sown into the hearts of people within my sphere of influence to continue to resonate within them after I am gone.

That’s my definition. What’s yours? My primary focus is to assist job seekers. I want every single job seeker I coach to have a successful job search. I would like to see them get the jobs they want to get. So, a successful job search is not about just getting a job, but about getting the job you want to get. But again, your definition may not be that – maybe it is just getting a job. Just be clear. And understand that your mindset, your thoughts, your thinking, your fixed beliefs about you and others, will determine whether you actually successfully reach your goal. Think about it and have a great Saturday!

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Post from: EveryJoe

Your Mindset Is Important To Success

One of the things I am learning to do when I find myself in this situation is ask for help. You know, there are many people out there including me, that try to juggle too many balls. There are so many things in the air and sometimes out of fear of letting something drop, nothing gets accomplished. I wonder if I am the only one who feels this way?

Anyway, another thing to do when you are attempting to keep your head above water is to re-prioritize. When everything is important, and nothing is optional, you still have to take the time to re-prioritize your projects. That is one of the things I will be doing this weekend. Re-evaluating, re-assessing and making sure that all of the projects and tasks I am juggling really need to be juggled. Or can I let one go, or delegate.

That is my third recommendation. Delegate to others. Understand that in order to successfully delegate, you actually have to trust others with your tasks and/or project. They may not do it quite like you do it, but if is that important, and you can’t get to it, delegate. One of the most important things about delegation is ensuring that you delegate the right things to the right people. Some people are better skilled at things than others. So take the time when delegating to assess the skills of the people you are using to help you. Make sure you give the right delegated tasks to the right person or you may end up with more work than what you started with.

Last thought – learn how to dog paddle. You may laugh or not, but I am totally serious. Sometimes surrendering to the pressures and priorities seems like a great idea, but if what you are juggling truly needs to get done, than start paddling and keep dog paddling until you get it done. Did you know that to successfully dog paddle, you actually have to be moving. It will cost you some sweat equity to stay above the water. But what a celebration when you actually get to the place where you can actually stand up and touch the bottom of the ocean again. When your desk is clear and your projects have been successfully completed and you can actually move on to the next project without that feeling of being overwhelmed.

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Post from: EveryJoe

Drowning In Your Work?

My Twitter profile was born on my vacation last April and I have been playing in Twitter ever since. I am not a Twitter junkie, but I see value in developing a profile and connecting or following people. As a job seeker you have permission to insert yourself in conversations, the endless conversation of Twitter, by typing a question or comment and pressing “Enter. It is that simple. Why should you jump on the Twitter bandwagon as a job seeker?

1. There are lots of organizational leaders at various levels chatting on Twitter.

2. There are job opportunities posted on Twitter, all day, every day.

3. People chatting on Twitter are willing to answer questions. It is an open forum to meet and connect with people.

4. Twitter has helped to birth JobAngels which is a site that was developed to assist people in their job search.

5. Follow JobAngel and you will have access to a wide array of open positions across this country.

6. Twitter will help you connect to key leaders in organizations in a matter of moments rather than fighting with gatekeepers who are paid to keep you out.

7. Twitter is a way for you to develop your personal brand and become a resource for others.

Twitter more about giving than taking. It about connecting with people, and joining the ongoing dialog about whatever it is that you want to chat about. I don’t recommend that you live on Twitter as a job seeker. I do recommend that you use Twitter as a resource, a tool in your job search to connect you to people and organizations that you are interested in pursuing job opportunities.

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Post from: EveryJoe

Twitter Your Way To Your Next Job

It is critical in the Social Media world to be connected. The stronger your network, the stronger you can become as you navigate the hiring process. Welcome to part 5 of my series on Social Media & Your Job Search. I want to discuss the importance if LinkedIn. Ignore my reference to the weakest link above and follow along with me for a moment. LinkedIn is a resource for job seekers. It is free, unless you decide you want to pay for premium services. You decide if you want to buy. I believe you can get a lot of traction from the free services available through LinkedIn. So get out there and get your profile done and start linking up with others you may have lost touch with over the years.

Let me share two things about LinkedIn that I believe can make a difference in your job search. The first thing, as you begin to network and connect with people, from recruiters to decision makers and everyone in between, you begin to penetrate organizations in a very unique way that didn’t exist prior to 1999. If you are Linked into the right people you can pass some of the traditional barriers erected by organizations to ward off potential job seekers in the past. If you are Linked into the right person, you may get to skip the automated application process, at least initially. You might actually get to meet and speak to the hiring manager without having to be an invited guest, go through two to three interviews and hope you’re still in the running. LinkedIn helps you move past some of those obstacles and allows you to rub shoulders with as many people as you dare to reach out to.

Second, LinkedIn is gives you an opportunity to share your knowledge with others. It provides opportunities for you to become a strong link to others, to help respond to questions and answers and become a contributor to the larger community. The beauty of it is you never know who you will meet as you reach out to help others. In my humble opinion, this is one of the most powerful ways to connect with people. BE A RESOURCE! I am not actually shouting, but I want to emphasize this point. As much help as you believe you need in your job search, can you stop for a moment and invest time to help someone else? As I mentioned in part 4 of my series on Social Media & Your Job Search – Social Media & You, you will reap what you sow. If you determine that you want to help others in the larger community of LinkedIn, it will come back to you in unexpected ways that will help move you forward in your priorities.

There is so much more I could share, but I just wanted share two points tonight concerning LinkedIn and your job search. If you need some help getting started with LinkedIn, check out my series on LinkedIn – LinkedIn Review. More to come on my series on Social Media & Your Job Search!

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Post from: EveryJoe

Are You LinkedIn to Social Media?

If you are not interested in connecting with others to advance your job search, you will not move forward and you will not be successful. Let me rephrase that, you will not have a successful job search – hence you won’t get a job and you will continue to spin your wheels in frustration.

I met a very nice man yesterday who is struggling to get a job. He believes the reason he is not getting a job is because of the vocation he has chosen. He believes that the times are bad and the competition is stiff, so he won’t get a job. I don’t believe that. I believe anyone can get a job in this market. Will everyone get a job in this market? Probably not, but I do believe that anyone can get a job. How, you might ask me? “You don’t know my situation!” I don’t know your situation, you’re right. But it is not about your situation, it’s about you and your stinking thinking! As I have said so many times before, “if you think you can’t, you’re right!” IF YOU don’t think you can get a job in this market, you’re right. And nothing I say or do will changed your fixed belief.

YOU are the most critical component of your job search. Social Media/Social Networking are tools available to you to help you successfully navigate the hiring process and land a job, but if YOU have issues (and we all do to some extent), than YOU will become the obstacle in your way more than any hiring manager or previous employer who doesn’t or didn’t like you.

Here’s my point - Change your attitude about YOURSELF. Decide that YOU are the best thing since sliced bread and ACT like it. And if you’re not the best thing since sliced bread, than get to changing so that you can get out in this market and impress an employer who needs your skills abilities. If you listen to “bad tapes” about who you are and what you can bring to an organization, EJECT the tapes and put some new ones in. Be honest with yourself. If you got fired or let go, take some time and assess what happened. What can you do differently in the next opportunity so that getting fired or laid off is not your portion in the next job. Does it mean you won’t ever get fired again? Nope! But you can certainly position yourself so that it becomes difficult for the employer to let you go. And if they do, there must be something else you should be doing.

YOU are the product that you are selling to people. Get yourself in front of people and start selling. Get yourself connected through some of the social media tools available to job seekers and start connecting. And here’s a news flash for you. Get yourself out there and start helping others! The biblical principle of “reaping what you sow” is also a universal principle. It is real whether you believe it or not. Just like the times have changed and getting a job like we did two years ago is very different today, whether you believe it or not. Put your best foot forward, let go of anger, bitterness, frustration and choose to enjoy the process of connecting with people by any means necessary and watch the doors open!!

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Post from: EveryJoe

Social Media & YOU!