Well, hello there and thanks for surfing my wave!
A couple of weeks ago at one of my weekly workshops, a question was posed to the group:
“Who do you have to become to land the job you want?”
Wow! Talk about grueling interview questions! We were asked to think about it for a future discussion; well, we haven’t gotten around to it, but I for one am ready…
This is a fabulous question that has many legs to it. Five years ago, I would have said I’d want to become a GM at some Los Angeles television station or a CEO at some entertainment conglomerate or a similar high-level title to better leverage a deal, right? The more experience and higher up the better – makes sense. Today? Are you kidding? With the parameters of our global trade and industry meltdown, I’d venture to say these people can’t even answer the question. There is so much unrest and vacillation within business sectors, if you have a job, who really cares what it’s called; do the job, cover your ass and hope the paycheck meets the criterion. When technologies, product delivery systems, consumer and market trends change the way they have been lately, all indicators are apt to create unrest, so it’s no wonder folks are running around in a tumult. The reason this is happening is because there is too much reliance on information media. The problem is not in the messenger, but the message itself. The Federal Government is contracting with groups that are giving them the answers they want to hear, not what is realistic and true. If you heard or were told that not only does life exist on Mars, but every job on that planet exceeded a million bucks, and there are plenty of them, would you pack your bags or think it through for awhile? Haven’t we been told about fraud on the internet and be cautious when we click on email from unknown senders? Does anybody listen? Now I am in no way indicating that the news is fraudulent, but skewed in a fashion that looks rosy when, in fact, it isn’t. We need to learn to take a breath before we react to everything put before us; do the research first.
People are looking for fast resolutions and quick fixes to their problems without pondering consequences. We want to become anything in our power to land any job at this point. But wait a minute; wouldn’t that in and of itself be fraudulent?
Even in the toughest of times, we still must be true to ourselves. If employers see us as desperate or representing ourselves as someone we’re not, they might suspect that our resume is a stretch or completely inaccurate altogether.
So the simple and best answer to the question is, “just me”. However (and this goes without saying, but I’ll use some poetic license and do so anyways) we must continually strive to refine that “me” to become the best that you can be. Use all the tools available to market and make you number one. You can only know and be responsible for whom you are; especially in this day and age, you probably don’t want to be in someone else’s shoes as it could be quite worse, hard as that might seem. We must now, more than ever, concentrate on being exemplary prospects for employment. Everywhere we go, prepare as if someone is going to ask you some question that could land an interview. Don’t let your guard down.
Never be someone you’re not – it’s not believable or sincere and hiring managers will see that. Now where will that get you? Are you going to land the job you want doing it that way?
Why Just Look For A Job? Create One!™
TheUnemployMENTOR – email@theunemploymentor.com
