An image of a life monitoring device sourced from http://www.sxc.hu/photo/36776
[info_box]Originally posted on the Simply hired Blog By Andrew Neitlich[/info_box]

Looking for a new job and not having success? In this four-part series, discount you will increase your odds of job search success in four steps.

Step One: Pretend that you’ve just gotten the scariest call in your life, order and get in the right mindset. Before you read about what this means, please realize that step one might be a reach for some of you. You might roll your eyes. You might want to stop reading immediately. However, if you can suspend your disbelief for a moment and take in what I am asking you to do, then you might find that getting a new job becomes much easier.

Here is the scenario: Assume you get an anonymous call on your cell phone. The person on the other end gives you very scary news. They are holding hostage the person in your life that you hold most dear. You have exactly 30 days to find a new job, or you will never see this person again. At the same time, if you fail, they will come and get you next. Then they hang up.

Most people in this scenario would be clueless, but not you. You are going to take this scenario seriously.

You really are going to act as if your life depended on getting a new job. Most people lack urgency and edge when they want a new job – especially compared to someone whose life depends on it. Many are so cynical and discouraged that they give only a half-hearted effort. Others don’t work full time at it, even though they claim that they are. Too many job seekers treat the exercise as if their life were a dress rehearsal, not their one and only chance in this brief moment in this very short life.

You are different. You realize that getting a new job in just 30 days is going to be like pushing a boulder up a steep hill. You understand that you have to put five, 10 — even 20 — units of effort in, just to see one unit of result come back to you. While others barely get the rock moving before they quit, you are going to keep pushing and pushing – no matter how exhausted you are, until that rock starts its way up the hill. And then you are going to keep pushing. Even if you have to take a step or two backwards, you are never going to give up. You will keep moving up that hill.

One other thought: People pushing a boulder up a hill don’t have time to think about status, pride, or whether the next job is going to be as good as the last one. You also don’t have the luxury of going back to school or making a long-term plan to change your skills. Right now, you don’t have a job, and your life is at stake. You don’t have the luxury to whine, or think like a victim. Keep pushing up the hill!

Before you read the next part of this series, get into the mindset that your life – and the lives of those dearest to you – literally depend on your getting a job, fast. Then think about what you are going to do next.

Read more on the Simply Hired Blog: http://blog.simplyhired.com/2011/03/finding-a-new-job-as-if-your-life-depended-on-it-part-one-get-in-the-right-mindset.html#ixzz1HRDF0wT4

 
[info_box]Originally posted on the Simply hired Blog By Andrew Neitlich[/info_box]

The previous blog entry presented the first in a four-step process for finding a new job. It challenged you to pretend that your life – and the lives of those dearest to you – depended on finding a new job. It asked you to pretend that you get an anonymous call on your cell phone. The person on the other end gives you very scary news. They are holding hostage the person in your life that you hold most dear. You have exactly 30 days to find a new job, page or you will never see this person again. At the same time, pill if you fail, prostate they will come and get you next. Then they hang up.

Step one was to get into the mindset you would have if this really happened to you. Now you are ready for step two….

Step Two: Create messages that communicate your value. Lives are at stake, but you can’t just scramble around looking for a new job. You have to be efficient. You need a strong foundation before you can take action. You have to know how to communicate your value to others so that they notice you, and think of you first when they have a need.

Most people have no idea how to communicate their value to other people. Specifically, they can’t justify how they can bring value equal to two, three, five, even ten times their salary and benefits back to a company.

Once again, you are different. You can tell people precisely how you help them, and the benefits they get by hiring you. How can you help increase sales? Decrease costs? Improve customer relationships and create raving, loyal fans? Bring new products to market more quickly and successfully? Save your boss time and hassle, so that he can focus on advancing his own career?

Once you figure out how you add value, you need to be able to explain your unique edge. Why you? What sets you apart compared to everyone else looking?

Finally, you need to prove that your claims are true, with past achievements, references, and case studies about your results.

If you can do this, you have a good chance of seeing your loved one again. If you can’t, you need to finesse your story as best you can because, again, your life depends on it.

Once you have your messages in place, you can move to Step Three, coming next.

Read more on the Simply Hired Blog: http://blog.simplyhired.com/2011/03/finding-a-new-job-as-if-your-life-depended-on-it-part-two-communicate-your-value.html