You are currently browsing the tag archive for the 'career' tag.
I’m always curious at strategies aimed at finding the work one loves to do. Desired careers don’t typically just fall on your lap. You have to identify what it is you want to do, pursue that work on your own, or find the companies that are involved in it. If you are looking to join a company there will be tough competition. You must make yourself stand out from the pack and that is the subject of a recent post from Dan Miller. How can you give yourself a better statistical opportunity than everyone else in the running for a particular job?
Here is Dan Miller’s 48 Days Job Search Strategy:
- Identify 30-40 target companies.
- Send a letter of introduction to each company.
- Send cover letter and resume — one week after letter of introduction.
- Phone call to follow up. Very important. My experience is that only about 1-2% of job-hunters do this.
It is very easy to bring your name to the top of the list if you just do a follow up call. Don’t be afraid of being persistent! Keep in mind that if you just send cover letters and resumes (#3), you need to send out 254 to have a statistical chance of getting a job offer. If you combine that with a phone call, the number drops to 1 out of 15, a dramatic difference. Add to that an introduction letter and the results will amaze you. This is a SELLING process. We use a 3 time repetitive process because of understanding marketing principles. If you are selling recliners, having someone see or hear about them 3 times will increase their response. In this process you are selling a product, and that product is YOU! Just commit to the process and a time line.
Full process outlined in 48 Days to the Work You Love.
From the 48 Days blog of Dan Miller who is author of “No More Mondays“ and “48 Days To The Work You Love”.
Does this reader question/comment ring any bells with you?
“I have never understood the question (or variations on it) of “What would you do if you didn’t have to worry about money?” as advice for finding one’s calling. I guess it’s because I would stay in bed, eat junk food, and watch TV. I’ve never seen any job that had any real purpose either, so who I would want to trade places with is meaningless as well. Can’t really say I’ve ever felt alive.”
Here’s why the question makes sense. In as much as you may think you really would lie around the house, eat Twinkies and watch Seinfeld reruns – my observation is that no one enjoys doing that for more than a couple of weeks. I’ve had the pleasure of working with lots of people over the years for whom making money was no longer an issue. But that really brings to the forefront the question: “ What would you do if you didn’t have to worry about money?” Those people don’t have the easy out that “I only work because I have to.”
See it’s actually a whole lot easier to just barely squeak by week after week – having no extra time and certainly no extra money. In that situation no one expects you to deal with the important questions of life – you’re just doing what you have to do – right? But when confronted with having more time and money than ever needed, a person has to really decide, “How am I going to invest my time – and money?” “How can I make the world a better place?” “How am I going to make my life matter?” Yes, you really can have only so many cars, cruises, houses, and pieces of art. And my observation is that those people are immediately attracted to ideas that serve others. I don’t see many who want to plan to spend it all selfishly and just die on the same day the last dollar is spent. Rather, they, like some of you are already doing, look for ways to:
- Share your time and money with those who have not had your same advantages
- Bring hope and encouragement to others
- Volunteer in a worthy church or community program
- Start a social entrepreneurship venture
- Sponsor a children’s sports program
- Revitalize the downtown area of your town
- Give money strategically – not just 10% dropped into the collection plate
- Teach life skills to those with self-defeating patterns
’Feeling Alive’ is one of those interesting by-products. It’s not something we can approach directly – it flows out of a meaningful life.
You may think you are eagerly awaiting ‘retirement.’ But time invested in meaningful activities makes ‘retirement’ diminish in its attraction.
So go ahead: spend three days staying in bed, eating Moon Pies, and watching the political drivel the news teams conjure up. See how quickly you feel worthless in body, mind and spirit.
But here’s the deal. You don’t have to wait until retirement or until you win the lottery to decide what you would do if money were no longer the issue. You really can just make those decisions now – live as if you have an abundance of time and money. Start one of the above activities today. And you might be surprised at what happens to your actual bank account when you realize what you already have to give and share.
And if you want to see what can happen to someone who just wants to eat, drink and be merry, check this out: Eat, Drink and Be Merry.
Sometimes it becomes necessary to make self inflicted changes or allow fate to intervene and shake things up. It is the only way you can regain a vision of the larger story, allow your dormant ideas to take actually take shape, and tackle fresh challenges to bring you back to life.
I’m looking forward to traveling on a new road. A journey that will allow me to reside in the new world of the music industry, to encourage forward thinking, and to make a real impact with people who “get it”.
Interestingly enough, this is not the only new adventure I am on right now. There is another one happening within my life that I can’t mention at the moment, but I will soon…..when the time is right. It is beyond exciting and places this career drama into its rightful perspective.
Life is good and getting better all the time.
Thanks to all of you who have reached out today: Jesse, Jim, Beverlee, Carol, Luke, Kevin, Chris, Patches, Andy, Chad, Tim, Stephanie, Tony, Denise, Nathan, John, Mary, Frank, Rosey, Jim, Bill, Andrew, Jackie, Greg, Randy, Clayton, Tom, Jeff, Elizabeth, Brian, Lisa, Kelly, Erin, Peter, Shane, David, Cara, and Barry. I know I’m leaving some people out, but I appreciate the emails and phone calls from everyone.
It’s refreshing to see how people actually care in what can be a cold hard business. But all is well in God’s time and purpose. I feel good and very hopeful about what is next. There are so many known and unknown possibilities. I will be exploring them all and continuing to blog in the process.
Onward and upward.
A good majority of people define themselves by what they do for a living. It is even more true in the music industry. We like the business because it is more of a lifestyle than a job. Since it is a lifestyle, it starts to define us. Isn’t the question, “So, what do you do?” one of the first things people ask when you meet them? Do you do the same to others? Yeah, we all do.
What is our motivation for that question? Are we just trying to network and hoping this individual can be a stellar contact or are we generally interested in the person? Do we secretly want others to ask that question of us so we can impress our new friend by what we do for a living? Has it happened enough where we actually define ourselves by what we do for a living and not by who were are as a person? That’s happened to me and the struggle continues.
Sure, I am proud of where I work, the people I work with and the artists I work for. It is definitely part of who I am, but it is not ALL that I am. Don’t be defined by what you do for a living, no matter how cool it is or how passionate you are about it. You are better than that. And next time you meet someone, let’s all try to be interested in them no matter where they work.
