After so many years in the same job, we feel entitled to things like
more vacation time, higher pay, and opportunities for promotions.
If you’re looking for a job, that all goes out the window. Skills, experience,
talent, expertise, and tenure may no longer be enough. Do you know
what companies are looking for? Is the make-up of a corporate culture
young and hip? Are they looking for independent thinkers who are creative
and innovative? You may not be able to put all of the weight you want on
a certain skill set you possess, your years of experience, or your specific expertise.

All of these components may support a way to differentiate yourself,
but they could also be a hindrance if you put all of your stock into
saying that your résumé will sell everything for you. Today’s environment
is constantly evolving, and certain organizations may be looking for traits
that go beyond experience level or past years doing a particular job. The
important thing to remember is not to be surprised when this happens.
What’s vital is that you understand how to deepen your own thinking to
align yourself to the creative thinking of the culture of the organizations
you want to be a part of. Once you start to work with it, you will become
more nimble in your job-seeking and networking discussions.

Thomas B. Dowd III’s books available in softcover, eBook, and audiobook (From Fear to Success only):

• Now What? The Ultimate Graduation Gift for Professional Success
• Time Management Manifesto: Expert Strategies to Create an Effective Work/Life Balance
• Displacement Day: When My Job was Looking for a Job…A Reference Guide to Finding Work
• The Transformation of a Doubting Thomas: Growing from a Cynic to a Professional in the Corporate World
• From Fear to Success: A Practical Public-speaking Guide received the Gold Medal at the 2013 Axiom Business Book Awards in Business Reference
• The Unofficial Guide to Fatherhood

See “Products” for details on www.transformationtom.com.  Book, eBook, and audiobook (From Fear to Success only) purchase options are also available on Amazon- Please click the link to be re-directed: Amazon.com

My number one priority was to find a job. As the book title says,
my job was to look for a job. It is hard not to get frustrated when
people you’ve networked with or sought assistance from don’t return calls
and messages within your timeframe, but a colleague of mine put it in
perspective for me: “When you’re done talking with them, they go back
to their job.” As painful as it was to hear at the time, she was right that
my priorities may not have directly aligned with those of everyone with
whom I was speaking. My goal shouldn’t have been to change their priorities
to match mine. The goal should always be to keep the process flowing
and build a relationship strong enough that it can be further developed
over time.

When setting up networking sessions, if you are waiting for something
from someone, gently nudge things along with a reminder. If someone
requests a reminder, give it. In fact, be proactive enough to ask if it’s okay
to follow up if you don’t hear from someone after a certain deadline. You
must maintain your own priorities, but be conscious that they may not
match someone else’s primary focus. Understand that after you hang up
the phone, your network contact goes back to work. Don’t take it personally,
but do take the steps necessary to remain professionally relevant.

Thomas B. Dowd III’s books available in softcover, eBook, and audiobook (From Fear to Success only):

• Now What? The Ultimate Graduation Gift for Professional Success
• Time Management Manifesto: Expert Strategies to Create an Effective Work/Life Balance
• Displacement Day: When My Job was Looking for a Job…A Reference Guide to Finding Work
• The Transformation of a Doubting Thomas: Growing from a Cynic to a Professional in the Corporate World
• From Fear to Success: A Practical Public-speaking Guide received the Gold Medal at the 2013 Axiom Business Book Awards in Business Reference
• The Unofficial Guide to Fatherhood

See “Products” for details on www.transformationtom.com.  Book, eBook, and audiobook (From Fear to Success only) purchase options are also available on Amazon- Please click the link to be re-directed: Amazon.com

In the middle of a real interview, the HR Director says to me, “Stop the
BS and stop with the buzzwords. What do you really want?” So, this
interview must have been going well. Based on what I had learned while
preparing for the interview, it became obvious before I even walked in
the door that my background and style wouldn’t fit well with this company.
However, I wanted to keep it moving in case my assumptions were
wrong, or at least get in the practice of interviewing.

I knew less than five minutes into the questioning that I would not
be hired. Instead of loafing through the rest of the interview, I made a
conscious effort to make the most of the experience. I challenged myself
to adapt to the interviewer’s style. I pushed myself out of my comfort
zone by trying to be even more creative than usual with my answers and
tested various versions of my elevator speech. My goal was to see what
could potentially work and what might not. Why not? What did I have to
lose? I loved the challenge of the uphill battle. I even saw enough pause in
some of the HR director’s questions and answers to indicate that she was
considering changing her mind—not enough to hire me, but enough for
me to walk out of there happy that I had gone through with it. If your interview
is not going well, you can use the experience as practice for future
sessions. What could have been a terrible interview turned out great—at
least in my eyes, which was a confidence boost.

Thomas B. Dowd III’s books available in softcover, eBook, and audiobook (From Fear to Success only):

• Now What? The Ultimate Graduation Gift for Professional Success
• Time Management Manifesto: Expert Strategies to Create an Effective Work/Life Balance
• Displacement Day: When My Job was Looking for a Job…A Reference Guide to Finding Work
• The Transformation of a Doubting Thomas: Growing from a Cynic to a Professional in the Corporate World
• From Fear to Success: A Practical Public-speaking Guide received the Gold Medal at the 2013 Axiom Business Book Awards in Business Reference
• The Unofficial Guide to Fatherhood

See “Products” for details on www.transformationtom.com.  Book, eBook, and audiobook (From Fear to Success only) purchase options are also available on Amazon- Please click the link to be re-directed: Amazon.com