“And What Have You Been Doing Since You Left Your Last Job?”

11 February, 2009 (13:49) | mpnThoughts

Grrrrrr…there’s that old chestnut you get from clueless relatives and suspicious HR coordinators again. “Looking for a job, stupid” you’re tempted to reply. One of the silver linings of all the bad news about job losses from the ruins of the Bush economy is the fact that people will hopefully cut you a little slack now. But, hold on. If you can provide some concrete, constructive answers to this question to show how you have been developing your talent, learning new skills, and discovering new avenues and ventures, you have an opportunity to turn the question around and show just how good you are. Some of the things that MPNers have done in this regard include (1) going back to school to get another degree or certificate, for example, a course in HTML at Boston University or a certificate in Direct Marketing from the DMA; (2) immersing yourself in the literature/journals/blogs of your area of expertise and catching up on all those books, articles, studies, etc. that you always promised you’d read, but didn’t have the time; (3) writing an article or column for a trade publication, either printed or online; (4) publishing a blog, provided that you fulfill the four requirements of blog writing (see past post); (5) volunteering to help out an industry association — keeping in mind that whatever you do, you better do it well, because you will be judged by your peers, the very people who could help you find your next job — for example, writing their newsletter or recruiting speakers for panels and workshops or organizing a membership drive; (6) donating your time and skills to a non-profit, pro bono consulting group like Taproot which, provided it doesn’t take too much time for process/scheduling/project management requirements, can show potential employers that you can work in an advanced function or in a new media, for example, by writing the content for a website; (7) getting involved in a community project such as becoming a big brother for a young immigrant teen in a charter school or a big sister in a local school; pursuing a lifelong interest in a hobby, for instance, helping out at a local radio station devoted to jazz which in turn leads to a chance to try your hand at being a disc jokey; or (9) taking some time for a fast-disappearing experience in our culture, solitude, by going, as a couple of MPNers have done, to the Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health in the Berkshires for three or four days to really do some long overdue soul searching. In short, there’s no end to the number of things you can do to prepare yourself not only for that obnoxious question…but for the next stage of your career.

To Blog or Not to Blog…Four Criteria to Help You Decide

22 January, 2009 (14:27) | mpnThoughts

Many people ask, should I do a blog? Will it help my search? Will it demonstrate my New Media savvy? Sometimes we come up with some useful job-search criteria at our weekly meetings (despite the best efforts of the Admin Guy!). We did so at our last meeting in terms of the characteristics you should have before you start a blog. They are: 1) Be an expert in your field or, at least, be able to blog in depth about your area of expertise; 2) Be a good writer. If you don’t like to write, if you struggle to get out a paragraph that sings even a little bit, you may not be cut out for blogging; 3) Be a self-promoter, or to put it in a little nicer way, be perfectly comfortable treating all subjects that come your way in an unselfconscious and enthusiastic way. In addition, an MPNer had another criteria worth adding to the list: 4) Be authentic. If your blog doesn’t really reflect you or your true values or what you believe in… if you don’t quite feel genuine doing it, don’t! We might also add that a blog isn’t a blog if you don’t do it regularly. So next time someone says to you, “Why don’t you do a blog?”, and you decided not to, just choose one of the above. But if you feel qualified on all four counts, go for it! And send us your link!

With the Recession Breathing Down Their Necks, How Are Marketing Departments Responding?

30 December, 2008 (09:24) | mpnThoughts

MarketingSherpa had a graphic in their most recent newsletter showing what marketing departments had in mind for handling the downturn. And just this week they began a two-part series on ways to deal with budget cutters.  If you don’t receive their newsletter, you should. It’s timely, very readable, and focuses on the future, i.e. Internet marketing. As they noted, “The crush of a recessionary economy is pushing marketing departments to reevaluate their spending plans. Expect travel, vendor contracts and staff to take the biggest hits.” At the same time, virtual training, including web conferencing solutions, are sure to be in big demand. Remember, while the bad news about the recession is making headlines, there are people out there quietly making money in their own niches. Take heart, put on your thinking cap, and keep a sharp eye out for opportunities.

Tough Times in the Job Market… So what are YOU doing about it?

20 November, 2008 (09:00) | mpnThoughts

At last week’s MPN Soiree we saw a decided increase in attendance, about 40%. (“It’s the economy stupid”, as Bill Clinton famously said in 1992.) Which is what we all know, unless you have been on a media holiday for the past six months. The question is what are you doing about it? We’ve published a first draft of a paper on “Strategies for Surviving the Recession”. Nothing too earth shattering in it, yet taken together, all of the strategies comprise most of the things any job seeker in MPN should be doing anyways including networking as if there were no tomorrow; revising your household finances to fit the present family income; looking for part-time work; weighing the merits of a contract position far more carefully; knowing the contract recruiters in your field; “sharpening your saw”, as Stephen J. Covey, would say, by reading, taking courses to upgrade your skills, staying in shape, etc.; and, of course, attending job seekers groups like MPN. One of the strategies we did not include in this draft is the issue of the time value of money or, more accurately, the present value of money. To put it prosaically: a bird in the hand… In other words, are you going to hold out for your full value, with the notion that a full-value job may not come along for six more months, or will you take something that is slightly less than you deserve (or were making in your last position) today? Don’t kid yourself: every employer with any sense is taking a hard look at salaries and how they can keep them down. This is clearly not a time for salary inflation; so do your math well as you set your value on the job market. An overblown sense of your dollar worth is just as damaging as an undervalued one.

Your Admission Ticket to Any Networking Conversation.

5 November, 2008 (15:23) | mpnThoughts

If getting a new job is 50% or 75% or more about networking, then any help you can get in that department is worth it, right? Consider one of the best books (at least in this writer’s experience) on networking, Dig Your Well Before You’re Thirsty by Harvey MacKay. The book is jammed with ideas on how best to build a network; not just to pass your business card around a meeting and move; not just to grab or grin; but to really dig in. As he says, “Building a network is about paying attention to what people want.” At the same time, what do you do if you are the shy and retiring type? If it seems strange or difficult to go up to someone and start talking with them at an event like the MPN Soiree that is coming up on November 12th, here’s a tip from MacKay that’s well worth the money: “For a shy person or for someone who worries about running out of things to say, there is no better resource than the Sunday edition of the New York Times.” It’s a summary of the week’s events, the movie reviews alone will provide you with something intelligent to say about one of the topics that many people pay attention to, and there are always one of two articles on topics you’d never find anywhere else. Did you know that there is a small but growing movement to having weddings on farms? Or that there is a new book out about the letters between two of the foremost poets of the 20th c., Robert Lowell and Elizabeth Bishop? Minor details to many, but intriguing stories that when referred to in just the right way can be conversation builders with other people. The Sunday Times may be written in Moscow, as one of my favorite conservative friends claims, but it still offers an invaluable source for conversation topics with friends and, more importantly, soon to be members of your network. Read it. 

The Loneliness of the 21st Century Job Seeker.

6 October, 2008 (09:16) | mpnThoughts

Today, the job search can be a lonely one. You’re probably working out of your home, as companies have been cutting back on outplacement benefits, in which case you might have had the benefit of a temporary office. You spend a good deal of time online—alone mind you—as you search for job leads and expand your LinkedIn contacts and answer email, whether it’s vital or not. You might even get the chance of doing a mock interview with an outplacement counselor who videos you, alone in action. And, finally, when you do get an interview, you’re lucky to even get a cursory email back. In short, you can all too easily fall into the loneliness of the long distance runner. Yet, there are places out there, and MPN is one of them, where you can find support—and more importantly feedback. Witness last week’s workshop on Acing the Interview: not only was it highly interactive with everyone getting a chance to be interviewed and then reviewed by other participants, and in a positive way, too, but people followed up with each other afterwards to make further suggestions and share more tips. Now, how many times has an interviewer given you specific feedback about your presentation, your posture, and your persona in an interview setting? I wager none; nada; zed. Yet, how else are you going to learn but through practice and more practice? After all, not everyone is born with Paul Newman’s charisma. Interviewing is not acting, but it definitely is the fine art of putting your best foot forward (and not in your mouth!). Just ask those who attended; everyone had something valuable to learn — and, maybe most of all, they did it together, and not alone.

What I learned on my summer vacation hiking in the North Country.

27 August, 2008 (11:18) | mpnThoughts

Essentially, take one step at a time and focus your energies entirely on making it a smooth, safe and efficient one. When your mind wanders and you start worrying about other things you’re bound to make that false step that could well lead to an injury. Sounds pretty corny, but what you do on the hiking trail in the mountains of the North Country applies just as well to the job search. In fact, I’ve heard far too many people say, after a good meeting with a new contact who is in a position to help them (and vice versa) in the years to come, that it was good, but, well, gee they don’t have a job yet so what good is it and so forth and so on. Whoa. One step at a time. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, I believe the Chinese say (although I doubt Mao Zedong said that back in 1934 as he started out on the Long March). And, so too, if you can just focus on doing as much, as productively, and as efficiently as you can every day, things will eventually fall into place. Worried about the gas crisis? According to a saleswoman at a store I spent far too much time at while my wife shopped for rugs (!), people are still driving as much, they’re just not buying as much. Worried about the stock market? Some people I know  — and who should know — are feeling that the markets could well bounce back and make major gains in ’09 which bodes well for us job seekers. So, put the worries aside, tie up your boots, and get out on the job hunt trail. Besides, when you get to the summit, and you have signed your offer letter you can always have a nap after your lunch…before you head down to your new office!

The Economic Contraction Is Making for An MPN Expansion

21 July, 2008 (07:54) | mpnThoughts

It now appears that the forces roiling the economy and the stock market are now being felt in the marketing community in the area. We had one of our largest meetings in recent memory last time, and interest in MPN seems to be picking up quite a bit. Whether credit is as tight as some would argue, or whether gas prices are having an impact on peoples’ spending and thus on retail sales of all kinds, it’s hard to ascertain. But it’s not hard to figure out that this is probably no time to take the summer off. In previous summers, there would be a noticeable dip in attendance—and effort—on the part of MPNers as they treated their employment hiatus as a chance to take a vacation and head to the beach or the mountains…or both. Which isn’t such a bad thing if you’re looking for a job, as most people would agree that it is hard work—in some cases, harder than working at their old job. And it’s not a bad thing to get outside, get some color, and feel rested and ready because employers are always looking for people with vitality and energy. Still, the old days of a slow summer in personnel are gone. Companies are hiring based on need and future projection, not season, so it pays to be out there, replying to postings, meeting with old colleagues and friends, and doing your utmost to make new ones along the way. Funny, but that sounds suspiciously like “networking”! But which I prefer to refer to as building your network—something we all should be doing as a matter of course anyway. And what better way to do that than…you guessed it…come to MPN meetings this summer! In fact, we have added some extra meetings so as to be available to you. Come join us.

The golf courses just opened, but PARs are always in season for job seekers.

19 May, 2008 (07:55) | mpnThoughts

We just completed two workshops on PARs (Problem Action Results statements) entitled, “Developing and Delivering Your Success Stories”. They were well-attended—the first was full—and by all accounts were well-received. If you haven’t prepared your PARs…or if you haven’t polished them up recently…now is a good time. Just like spring cleaning! Because a well-told story with lots of details about what you did and how you did it, and lots of specifics on products and places and profits (proper nouns!), can be far more persuasive than an atonal droning on about your generic marketing capabilities. People like people stories; they are pleased by a well-structured narrative; and it gives them plenty of opportunity to plug you into their fantasies for the future. In other words, if you solved an international product launch for one company, they will start to think about hiring you to do their own international product launch two quarters from now. It’s human nature. Speaking of which, don’t be afraid of sharing the trials and tribulations you went through before you arrived at a successful conclusion. It’s the archetypal American story, and we all love the person who was down and out, yet came back to win the day. Why else would the Rocky movies be so popular? (Except for the overt racism of them, but that’s another American story, and an ugly one at that.) One tip: we found in the workshops that the real key to a good PAR is a very clearly and concisely defined problem statement. Be sure that your problem statement sets up and is aligned with your actions and results so it all makes sense. A good rule of thumb: Keep the problem statement to no more than 20% of the total time; give the same for the results portion; and devote most of the time—60%—to the actions you took to solve the problem. After all, that’s the real meat of the story…at least when it comes to getting a new job. For more on PARs, watch our calendar for the next workshop.

With All This Talk of Recession, What’s the Impact on MPNers?

24 March, 2008 (07:48) | mpnThoughts

I hear it all the time: How are things at MPN? Are the numbers increasing in this “bad” economy? Is the recession affecting employment for marketers? The fact is, the numbers in MPN are too small to generalize, but if I had to, I’d say that there has not been an appreciable increase in the numbers at MPN nor a significant decrease in the number of marketing jobs out there. Right now. But tomorrow may be different. Many job indexes are down, although they tend not to be for the highly skilled workers that are in MPN. On the other hand, executive recruiters continue to be busy and the demand for temporary and contract workers — which often is an indicator of hiring trends — has remained steady according to the American Staffing Association. Still, the expansion seems slowly teetering towards a contraction; how prolonged it will be no one knows. And it remains to be seen what impact the Federal Reserve’s recent aggressive actions will have on growth. What is clear is that there is enough uncertainty to warrant a weather eye on things…and an extra effort to get out and keep your network alive and well. That’s why those MPNers who are currently in jobs and are attending tonight’s Soiree are smart: They’ve learned, often the hard way, that it pays to stay in touch with others in the industry. And there’s nothing better than face time to reconnect with old friends and colleagues, and to meet some of the newcomers in MPN. So, until you can find a one-armed economist, you should probably play it safe and take care of business: first comes your network.