You Have to Have a Vision

Last year I was involved in a leadership course through MGSM. Being a sponge for knowledge I really enjoyed this course and kept comprehensive notes on all things “leadership”.

One of the activities during this course was visualisation. Having a strong imagination and an easy ability to “float off” I found this challenge a welcome distraction.

We were asked to visualise ourselves in 15 years time at a party. I love parties, so it was not hard to imagine being at one!  

Where was it? Who were we with? What were we celebrating?

Falling into a party vision for me was wonderful, my mind really ran with it - so much so that I had my first real sense of clarity through this one 5 minute exercises.

We were asked to draw a picture of our party. (pic below, remember I am not an artist).

My party went something like this:

It was a summery dusk evening in Sydney with a purple pink sky littered with a few clouds. I was standing in a room full of smiling friends and family with a glass of champagne in my hand. I’m sure I was wearing Akira. Bright, light and happy. Even though I normally shy away from being the centre of attention, I was happy having glasses raised around me.

The penthouse venue was floor to ceiling glass on one side and we overlooked the gorgeous Botanical Gardens; I will never tire of this view. It was a party in full swing, joyous and celebratory.

I was on the board of directors for a not-for-profit organisation and we were celebrating a successful execution of a project in a developing country - slightly hypocritical being in such a swish place - but I justified this as a corporate sponsorship party. After all, fundraising is key to any successful not-for-profit organisation.  

I loved my vision, it seemed achievable and gave me something I could work towards. A solid and clear goal that sat well with my character.

The next step in the exercises was to write a timeline on how we would manage to achieve this party, and this is where the real clarity set in. In previous goal setting exercises I always started at the beginning, not at the vision.

What personal attributes did I need to ensure my vision became a reality?

- Greater business acumen

- Fundraising skills

- Financially independent

- Support from family and friends

The next step was to work out how I managed to attain this. As a project manager, I have learnt to map everything out as small achievable tasks and put them into a timeline. This has proved more useful in my unemployment than when I was managing large scale projects.

Not only was I now looking for a job, but I was looking for a job that would lead me on my path to my vision. The role I would land would be one small component of my “Vision Project”.

In order to do an organisation true justice I would need more experience in a  middle-management position in my field of expertise: Crisis Management / Emergency Assistance. Being a niche market this may be difficult to procure, so I have also considered other industries and roles where my skills can develop further.

I need greater general management experience, preferably offshore in a developing country.

I also need to be financially independent. Thus the 15 years.

To achieve these goals I knew that not only did I require more hands on experience but also formal qualifications. This will provide theoretical knowledge and would also would give me a disciplined approach to learning.

My vision is written on a piece of paper I keep beside my bed for easy reference. I have not added or amended this vision and given its importance I think I will have it laminated to keep with me at all times.

I have absolute belief in myself that my vision will be realised - starting with a new Akira dress.

Personal Branding and Social Media

Imagine walking around with a little swing tag on your hip that describes who you are.

Is it plain white on expensive linen cardboard with a single classy statement? Is it something a little rough at the edges and colourful, or is it cheap and nasty and something that is just not quite “right”.

I came to realise how I portray myself on social media is my private little swing tag after a particularly brilliant workshop where the light going on above my head was not only very bright, but also very loud! My personal brand was in need of a revamp - that’s not to say I was a cheap and nasty swing tag, but I knew that there were some “finishing touches” to be done.

My social media networks are all public illuminated billboards of who I am so I want to make sure I am showing myself in the best way possible.

My first task was to write down how I wanted to be perceived and how I thought people saw me, then match up reality with fact.

I asked someone in my workshop to write a review on me from a ‘strangers” point of view and I asked him to be brutally honest. I needed to know for my own good what kind of a message I was sending out of myself. The purpose of this exercise was to gauge what a potential employer might see in me as well.

A few days later he came back with a comprehensive assessment from a corporate executive position. Some of it was hard to read but bravely I did, and I am thankful for it.

He noted that my LinkedIn and Facebook were very different, and we both agreed this was a good thing. Facebook to me is my “downtime” while LinkedIn is a professional profile about my history, experiences and skills with the purpose of landing me my next full time career.

From Facebook he said:

“Lisa, you drink a lot of coffee, go to a lot of cocktail bars, and seem to love socialising. I don’t think you have time for work!”

I changed my "check in" regularity. 

Despite my profile set to “extremely private”, who’s to know if there is a technically clever hiring manager on the other side checking out my social life. He also noted that I have a strong family focus and a love of travel and also regarded my comments and statements as positive and upbeat. He acknowledged that I am one of the few who do not post offensive language, I don’t “Facebook” when drunk, and I never make political, religious, racial or gender remarks. Agreed.

From a review of my LinkedIn profile he said:

“Great profile, you have everything listed except your personality. You may like to add a little bit about your interests so a hiring manager knows you’re not a robot”

I agreed, my LinkedIn profile was very serious so I changed the profile photo to make me look less severe and added some more “about me” info to ensure I came across as human!

On both Facebook and LinkedIn I have very private settings and I like to think I have control about who sees me and who doesn’t. A favourite past time is looking at my LinkedIn stats to see who has been “checking out” my profile and interestingly enough, there are quite a few ex-colleagues who still find me interesting enough to look up weekly.

Twitter is another social tool I use to connect with people, but here I have absolutely no control of my audience. They could be anyone, from friends and family to potential employers and maybe even a few lunatics. I am a conservative tweeter and still have not really found my comfort levels with it.

My blogs (of which I have a few) are written from the heart; honest accounts of my experiences in life. Like most things when thrown out into the www space, I have very little control of who is reading my thoughts and I choose to post them regardless. I remain honest, but cautious.  

In all forums I am extremely aware of the statements I make, and regard each post as permanent. These comments are indelible; they will never wash off, once posted those comments live forever.

My swing tag may not be pristine white linen - but at least it is unique and eye catching!

Looking for a job is like looking for a man.

I am very fortunate to say I am happily married and not on the market to be searching for a man, but the parallels are so similar that whenever I catch up with single girlfriends, it’s almost like we’re talking about the same thing.

Take my friend (not her real name) Sophie. Gorgeous, intelligent, funny, cheeky, independent and extremely interesting. After months of searching for Mr Right, she is now employing a strategy similar to my previous job search strategy. Online.

She has set up a profile on an online dating service, just like I set up a profile on various online recruitment pages.

Her profile outlines her specific characteristics that she hopes will attract the right person to contact her for an invitation to discuss meeting.

My LinkedIn profile was carefully written with the help of a professional consultant in order to attract people to view it with the hope of contacting me to discuss employment opportunities.

She has a set criteria for the kind of man she wants and definite ideas on the men she wants to avoid. I think her “men to avoid” list is quite long.

I have very specific criteria of the organisation I want to work for and especially those I would never contemplate being employed by. My ideal job is with a Not For Profit organisation doing a role similar to what I am great at - crisis management. My list of least favourite jobs is long, with gambling organisations and garbage runs at the top of the list.

When contacted by a man to meet up, Sophie gets very excited. After googling and researching the “most wanted” lists to clear her date, she’ll let her friends know about him and ask for advice on what to wear and what to talk about. She’ll prepare a mental list of questions and discussion topics and rehearse in front of the mirror her first impressions smile and “look”.

When I get a call from a company about a job, I am thrilled. I start a comprehensive research paper on the company including their organisation culture, growth, major competitors, attrition rate and reputation. I let close friends know about it and then I plan on breaking-the-ice topics, as well as a list of questions for the interview. I recall advice on what to wear (and what not to wear), practice my smile, and then I rehearse my 2 minute elevator pitch in front of a mirror. (Unless my children, husband or dog are home and then they get to rehearse with me).

On the date, Sophie shines. Why wouldn’t she? She’s gorgeous, funny, very intelligent and the least “needy” person I know.  

In an interview (apart from the shoe-less one) - I shine too! I can engage easily with the hiring manager, I can rattle off my knowledge of the company and I can pitch my value proposition statement without coming off as desperate.

At the end of the date, Sophie likes to know if there is a future (short or long term). Its cruel to set an expectation and not follow up. Sophie values honesty and appreciates a man who is brave enough to say whether or not another date is on the cards. Or even if he’ll call and actually mean it.

At the end of my interview, I like to know the next steps. But this is where I get stuck. I get caught in the limbo of not knowing when to follow up after an interview or when to leave it be.

In the past I have been told - “we’re so interested in getting you on board, lets get something in writing to you at the end of the week” and then had to anxiously wait for more time than is expected, only to be told “another month”, “next year”......

I think I might read the book “He’s just not that into you”. 

Interviews - With or Without Shoes?

I’ve sat on both sides of the interview table and I know which side I prefer.

The hiring side! Although in saying that, I have also enjoyed the interview process from the candidates point of view (mostly).

The best kind of interview for me has been the coffee shop catch up. Casual, safe and with refreshments!

Then there are the one on one's in an office interview which are semi-structured but still slightly casual.

There are also the more intimidating - the panel interview of which I have normally been the hiring manager.

Recently I was interviewed for a position that I knew I was over qualified for. My coach suggested I still go because A) they had called me and B) interview practice.

Prior to the interview I was asked to submit a 5 minute screenr (like a webinar) on their product aimed at Corporate brand managers. Easy! Not only did I provide a brilliant marketing job for them, I really enjoyed doing it.

The job was very basic and a third of the salary I was expecting, so I considered that I would blitz the interview in a second. In fact I fantasised about having to turn them down gently. In my fantasy they acknowledged how great I was and wanted to throw more money at me just to have me on board. Fantasy over.

I recalled my stylist session and wore a nice crisp suit which was newly dry cleaned. My makeup was natural, and my hair had been done. I wore stockings. Silk no less.

I arrived on time, even after being caught in the rain, with my hair not quite so hairdresser perfect.

I made small talk about the open office and location when I introduced myself to break the ice. I smiled.

Then, I noticed the hiring manager was not wearing shoes.

We sat in the middle of the open office on very low couches (I regretted wearing a skirt suit) where I was joined by the the sales and marketing person as well as the shoe-less hiring manager.

The shoe-less one was typing on her laptop in front of me while asking questions. I had no idea if she was typing about me, or just carrying on her job in the middle of my interview. It unnerved me greatly. I was uncomfortable talking about confidential matters including salary in the midst of potential colleagues. I froze.

Instead of singing my praises about my numerous achievements, I stuttered. I wisp-ed. I flunked.

Needless to say the job offer of my fantasy world didn’t appear, in its place was a four letter rejection email from the shoe-less hiring manager: “I think we’ll pass”

I think I’ll pass too thanks.

Acceptance

I have had less than a handful of jobs in my life, in fact in the past 20 years I have only ever been employed by three companies.

I was fresh out of high school when I landed my first job and it was merely by chance. I was visiting a friend for lunch and met her boss who offered me a job. It was entry level and doing basic administrative tasks and worked perfectly around my study and social life. I stayed in that company for 5 years learning the basics of business and only left because of my love for travel.

The second company I worked for was with my husband. When we had our son he decided to start a boutique IT company and I was excited to be involved in the start up. This experience gave me insight into running a company, general management, human resources, marketing and provided finer detail on business administration. I left after eight years to focus on family after the birth of my third child.

I’m a stayer. I find my place within a company quite easily; I land a role and I make it mine.

Leaving the first two companies was my choice and one that I had given much thought to. Acceptance was a given.

The third company I worked for was a large multi national where I started at the bottom of the ladder and worked my way up to dizzying heights over eight years. Because I was made redundant with immediate effect and not given prior warning, this made my departure much harder to accept.

Prior to acceptance there are many steps to process that are rarely discussed.

Disbelief. Anger. Despair. Anger again. Acknowledgement. Acceptance. Denial was never a part of the process for me but I believe many people who have been made redundant after long term employment also go into a denial stage where they fail to acknowledge they have lost a job.

My executive coach and consultant told me it would take time, and after 6 months I agree.

I now feel comfortable with the fact I do not work for that company anymore. I am no longer angry, or sad, or in disbelief.

Perhaps it was the lead up to the New Year in which I wrote my long term goals, or perhaps the cycle of time has led to this acceptance. Regardless, I am at peace with what happened and ready to move on to a new and great career.

After all, there are at least another good 20 years left in me!

Reinventing Myself: New Year New Me

There is a brilliant saying that goes something like this:

“If you always do things the way you have always done them, you will continue to get the same results you always get.”

This is great if you’re Warren Buffet or anyone else onto a good thing. But for those like me who have been trying to reach a goal without success, perhaps its time to tackle it in a different way.

I don’t really have a New Years resolution, but I do have a New Years goal. And that is to find a wonderful new job that I can grow into for a few years. So how do I achieve this?

Well for starters, the strategies I went with last year obviously didn’t work.

Here’s what I did. I went online and looked for ads in various job seeking sites.

www.careers.com.au
www.seek.com.au
www.ethicaljobs.com.au

Most of the jobs had been listed for some time and for each job there were a million applicants. (well perhaps a large percentage of the 40,000 unemployed in Australia who are out searching for jobs).

For each job I wrote award winning cover letters. I read the job description and broke it down into key elements which I addressed in my letter as being able to meet. I was articulate and succinct.

I started a spreadsheet of all the jobs I applied for and kept a record of my success. Of the 486 jobs I applied for over a six month period, I received 75 identical rejection emails, 3 phone calls and 1 interview. I’m not a gambling woman despite a few wins on the Ladies Day Races but even I could see the odds were against me using this method.

I registered with two leading recruitment agencies in Sydney. Both shall remain nameless for fear of defamation because I have nothing nice to say on either.

In the first agency I was interviewed by a woman barely out of training bras who was sweetly condescending about how wonderful I was. After an hour of honeyed promises to find me the best job because I was such an amazing candidate, I was whisked out of the swish offices to the elevators and felt only slightly optimistic.

The next agency was only a phone call with a promise of getting me in for a formal interview to get to know me better so I could be placed appropriately. The Parramatta Road car salesman technique of this English man was impressive if I were in the market for a new Honda. I am not. He gave it to me straight though which I liked. He worked off commission and with my skills I should be landing a high paying job and therefore his commission could see him spending a few months in South East Asia surfing. I had more faith in this approach than that of the blue eyed 12 year old at the recruitment agency I met a few days prior.

Neither have amounted to anything and I have since learnt a thing or two about most recruitment agencies. They are sharks. They skim the job ads and re-advertise to get candidates in without having any contract with the company in the first place. They earn up to 20% of the salary in commission if they are successful in getting a candidate in front of the hiring manager and employed. Again with the betting scenario, the odds are great. They only really have to place 3 executives a year and they’ve made enough commission to live comfortable on $100k+.

Networking is said to be the best chance at landing the next role and I’m good at this. I only dipped my toe in the water with networking last year so my immediate focus right now is writing a strategy on networking.

Tips welcome, I am free for coffee.