Find a Job
Introduction
According to the Department of Labor, and if you talk to your neighbors, you will find that more than 1 in 10 people don't have a job because the economy has been in decline.
As a result the remaining jobs are few and far between and more people are working harder and longer and barely making ends meet. If you're looking for a job the first thing to appreciate, is that there is a lot of competition for good jobs with good employers. So the question is how do you get a job and compete?
Tip 1 - what employers want
Smart employers want employees who enjoy their job because they will make the work place enjoyable for everyone else and do a better job. If you love your job you're going to do a better job and your company will succeed. So the first thing is for you to go to the library, ask the librarian to help you to research all the jobs that you might enjoy doing. Really think about all the possible jobs you might enjoy doing. Do you like interacting with people, scooping ice cream, gardening, ballet, welding, accounting, fishing, painting boats, or helping people? You may not find that the exact job opportunity is available to you. If you're 410 pounds you may not make a great ballet dancer but you may find a related job in the ballet theatre selling tickets, or making stage sets or sewing the costumes or coordinating the lighting or helping people to their seats. You get the idea, the job you seek may not be the exact one that is available but there may be something related that can later lead you to your dream job. If you really love working in ballet you are probably not going to enjoy being a coal miner as much. As the saying goes "life is not a rehearsal" if you spend your life in a job you dislike you are putting yourself on a path that leads away from your dreams. You may make more money as a miner but you may end up costing yourself more in mental, physical and emotional health.
Your employer is responsible for the success of the business. When you go to an interview, you need to first research and understand the goals of the employer and how your contribution will help achieve those goals. It is up to you, to convince the employer that hiring you will make their job easier and help achieve success for the business. I once interviewed a woman in her twenties who told me all the things that she wanted from her job. She never once described why or how she was going to contribute to the company. The next interviewee had researched my company and he spent time describing in detail how they intended to help the company grow. Guess who I hired? He had little experience in the industry but his enthusiasm and commitment to the company's success was what I, as the employer, new would positively benefit the company and the rest of the employees.
In summary you will do best at what you enjoy most. Spend the time identifying those jobs that you might enjoy. If you can't find the exact job, take a related job. Finally, remember that a good employer is looking for someone who is willing to learn and wants to help the company succeed.
Next week we will discuss how to identify all of the jobs you might like.
All the best,
Andrew Martin
Tip 2 - Compensation
Ok last week we discussed how important it is to find a job you like or one close to it. This week is about YOUR COMPENSATION! This is a touchy subject for both the employee and employer. The employer wants to keep costs down and pay a little as they have to. You however want to make as much as possible or at least what is fair. The good news is most people want to be fair in giving a salary and receiving one.
How do you know what is fair? Well, first you research the salaries of people who are doing the same or similar jobs with the same degree of experience as you. The person hiring you can't be faulted for hiring someone who has researched what is fair compensation. Remember, hiring you is a risk for the person doing the hiring. They are taking a risk -----on you. If you don't work out they get blamed. They want the best people who ask fair wages. You can research the wages of anyone through the US dept of Labor online.
Bring this to your interview and let them know you know what you are worth.
Once had another twenty something come in for an interview and she asked for the wages of someone with much more experience and success. Because she had done research on her wages and was so knowledgeable about my company I hired her and told her she could work up to the wages she wanted when she proved herself. She became President and replaced me.
All the best,
Andrew Martin
Tip 3 - Making a good impression
There is an enormously successful project in San Francisco that provides rehabilitation to hundreds of former convicts, drug addicts and others who have had a bad time in life. It is called Delancey Street.
The founder is one of my heroes. She deals with people who have pretty hard challenges and helps them become part of society.
One of the things that they are taught is manners. They are some of the most courteous and polite people I have met and are impressive. They have discovered that manners help you in life and make life a bit more pleasant for everyone. It is basically thinking of others not only yourself.
An employer, if they have manners, will recognize this in you. If the employer is ill mannered you may want to think twice about working for them as they will likely be inconsiderate of you in the future.
So, what are manners? It is how you behave toward others. Holding a door open for someone isn't sexist its
considerate. Letting someone talk and listening is polite and you will learn more. Chewing with your mouth open is not only disgusting but makes others feel grossed out. Etc etc etc.
"Manners makes the man" is an old but true expression and applies to women to. It is also much more fun than being rude and helps friendships and loving relationships. The same holds true with co workers.
Employers know if you are rude and ill mannered you will probably be a problem with your co workers and not be considerate of others. It is above all else what I find most important in a person as it make them and me feel we can create a healthy relationship.
Try it for one day and see how you feel. If you already practice courtesy and manners then "good on ya".
All the best,
Andrew Martin
Tip 4 - Competition
Every company has competitors. Imagine you were the company you want to work for. Do you want to hire someone who is going to help your company compete? That would make you a valuable employee. So if you want a job and want to make yourself more valuable then before you go on your interview do some research about the competition. Try to think of ways that your prospective employer might be more competitive. If you put a lot of effort and thought into it you might come up with a really valuable idea.
Even if you don't come up with an idea tell the employer about what you found out about the competition and that you want to help them compete. It will show them you care; you are a team player and want to help the company. It also shows you have a brain and have ambition not only for yourself but for the company.
An employee once came to me and said she had an idea. Her idea had to do with pricing and our competition. It only saved pennies on each bill but saved the company several hundred thousand dollars over the years. I fired her. Just kidding. She went on to become President of her own company and we funded her.
Next week: Be Punctual and smile!
All the best,
Andrew Martin
Tip 5 - HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Dear friends,
To start off the new year, we would like to hear from you.
Send us a question that you have in regards to FINDING A JOB.
I look forward to offering further tips over the next weeks that simultaneously provide possible solutions to questions that you may have.
Send your question to tips@commonkindness.com
All the best,
Andrew Martin
Tip 6 - Be punctual and smile!
Always amazes me when people are late for a meeting. Psychologists call is passive aggressive behavior. Basically being late says " your time isn't valuable so you can wait". In Hollywood it is a power game that adolescent movie people play on each other to make people believe they are more important than they really are. In fact, "punctuality is the courtesy of kings". Hollywood thinks of itself as kings but its manners suggest otherwise.
Being late is not only rude and obnoxious but self defeating. It starts a meeting off on the wrong foot. If you are looking for a job it is really stupid to be late. It says you are disorganized, disrespectful and not in control of your own schedule. Hiring or doing business with a person who is late for a meeting is asking for trouble in the future. Unless they have a darn good reason for being late I suggest you be careful when you deal with them in the future. If they are late for you they are more likely to be late on other tasks and meetings.
This is not rocket science. Ask yourself how you feel when someone is late to meet you?
A candidate for a job once was 12 minutes late for their interview. They apologized with a pretty lame excuse. I told them that that 12 minutes cost me 20% of an hour and if they paid me the amount I charge for that time I would interview them. They huffed out.
Being on time is an act of honor. When you say you will be somewhere at a certain time you are making an informal promise and putting your credibility on the line. If you are late, why would you expect anyone to believe you on other issues? Punctuality is the courtesy of kings. If kings can be punctual then maybe you might behave more nobly and be punctual too, if only for your own self esteem and reputation?
Tip 7 - Dressing the part
In the recent movie about Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg's business attire is a sweatshirt. In California and especially in the internet community the uniform is "casual". In Hollywood the uniform is Casual expensive. In NY the uniform is "classic". In the Midwest, well, it's something. Everyone in each of these areas and industries has their "uniform". They think they are original and creative but they are actually wearing what everyone else wears and are uniform with everyone else. Zuckerberg looks like every other baggy sweatshirt in Silicon Valley. In NY I wear a suit and look like every other suit.
So, if you want to be uniform just wear the uniform of your industry. If you want to come across as someone with a bit more style then add a bit of style. My creative flare is bright ties that you can see from another state. Zuckerberg wouldn't wear a tie because too many people would want to pull it very tightly, but he could try combing his hair.
When I hire people I look to see if they are neat and clean. Bad personal hygiene and being a slob is not impressive, it's pretty gross. In an old fashioned way it is also disrespectful. When people I meet in business dress like they just got back from a long night out, I figure they could care less how they appear or how someone feels about how they look.
Wear whatever you want. If you want to be uniform in California and Silicon Valley and look like everyone else then follow Zuckerberg's style. His style is a uniform everyone else has been wearing there for years. He may have made a few billion or so dollars but that doesn't give someone style or class.
You can have class wearing clean jeans and a button down shirt. Most women and men can have class just by looking like they care about their appearance. How others see us is important. Just think how you feel about someone when you see a slob compared to a well dressed person.
I am not talking about spending a lot on clothes. My ex-wife was a fashion model. She could have bought any clothes she wanted. Instead, she knew what a rip-off the fashion industry is and refused to buy new clothes from retail stores and only bought second hand clothes- still does. She always looks great and has both elegance and class.
Lastly, is personal hygiene? Wash you hands and face, don't pick anything, if you sneeze or cough cover your mouth. Don't smell bad. Sounds like your mother eh? Well ----SHE WAS RIGHT.
Tip 8: Next time-----Be outrageous!!!!!
All the best,
Andrew Martin
Tip 8 - Be outrageous!!!!!!!!
To be outrageous seems a pretty crazy bit of advice but in some cases it may help. You need to determine if the job you are seeking is appropriate for being outrageous. Know your audience. If you want to be hired as a funeral director or banker or other more serious occupation it might be best to be more conservative. BUT-if you are looking for a job in sales, advertizing, theater, arts, or any public facing position being outrageous may be highly attractive to an employer. Outrageous doesn't necessarily mean showing up to an interview naked or wearing a clown nose BUT you can present a side that may suggest you are not afraid of being creative.
Being outrageous may also describe how you find a job. A student once sent me a handmade really tasteful greeting card to introduce himself. It worked as I was impressed that he had thought of the card, sent such a thoughtful and beautiful one, and had done it unsolicited. His thinking was, to some, bold and opportunistic but to me it was creative yet tasteful.
Tip 9: Next time-------------CommonKindness is hiring
All the best,
Andrew Martin
Next tip coming soon!
