Merry Christmas, all...

I’ve one more post breaking down the methods I was using to find a new job, you can find the first one here and the second here, but before I post it I thought it might be appropriate to say at least some of it worked – I’m now gainfully employed.

Rock and roll.

The company is called Nehmedia and we’re an organization devoted to help companies, both large and small, optimize their web presence, improve traffic, and develop meaningful content. Think of it this way – any time you search using Google the results that come back are ranked and ordered the way they are because of a series of tools and algorithms that Google uses. Our company helps you determine what you should be targeting in regard to keywords and tags and then helps develop corresponding content so your Google ranking improves. A higher listing means higher traffic, more leads, more reservations, more sales, etc.

Because we’re a small company I’ll have the opportunity to learn, manage, and execute quite a few aspects of the business. Color me stoked. More to come on specifics later.

For now, I’m grateful to have found a gig that’s both exciting and full of opportunities to grow and learn. It’s a damn nice Christmas.

Ho-ho-ho…

Stay positive.

I can’t emphasize that enough. Stay positive. Easier to do, I think, if you’re seeing what’s out there or getting in some interview practice, but it’s an absolute must if you’ve been cut loose from your job. You’re going to go through all the stages of grief – in all likelihood more than once – and you must, must, must get into a positive head-space if you’re going to be effective at finding a new job. I’ll touch on this a bit more later, but for now remember this: there isn’t an interviewer out there that will appreciate you venting about what a douche your old boss was.

Okay, moving on. A few more things you should get going are:

Build your contact list on LinkedIn: Doesn’t matter if you’re an animation designer or a manager at Pep Boys – you should actively connect with professionals in and around your field on LinkedIn. You should also connect with vendors you’ve worked with, thought leaders in your field, and peers from your current and previous companies. These are the folks you’ll be reaching out to when you’re ready to actively look, so having a nice pool of people to contact is a good thing.

Join LinkedIn Groups – With the Pep Boys example from above in mind, I just did a LinkedIn search on “automotive retail professionals” and the results came back with almost 40 groups with more than 2,000 combined members. That’s 2,000 people that might know of a gig that fits your experience. Also a good bet that recruiters keep an eye on these groups for potential candidates. Keep in mind, like any other social media group, joining is only part of the gig – you should also try and be active in discussions. Members will be more inclined to help/make introductions for people they’re familiar with.

Get Social. In addition to online groups like you’ll find on sites like LinkedIn, chances are there’s a local group for your industry that meets periodically. To be honest, I haven’t had a lot of luck here – I seem to be meeting quite a bit of people in the same position I’m in. But you never know. That guy you met last month might hear about something that reminds him of you and he could send the lead your way. Bottom line – every tool you have to increase the number of job opportunities that come your way should be leaned on.

Have a personal business card: Like it or not, part of your job search is going to involve networking. See above. And while you can always frantically scribble down a name or email address during a conversation, having a professional, well-designed business card you can hand over not only makes things easier, it looks better. If you’re not comfortable with designing one or don’t have a buddy that knows her way around Photoshop you can find many templates to use online. Be sure to include your name and title, all contact information, and your areas of expertise.

Okay – still with me? That covers most of the basic work you should get going. But, stay tuned – there’s more to follow.

One of the things I’ve done here at Stone and Sea for the last couple of years is to include the birthday message from the Commandant of the Marine Corps that’s distributed each November. As my Corps’ birthday is actually 10 November I’m a little late, but I imagine he won’t mind. Ooh-rah, Jarheads…

Sixty years ago, the United States Marine Corps—as it has throughout our history—demonstrated its vital role as America’s Expeditionary Force in Readiness. Just weeks after North Korean Communist forces crossed the 38th Parallel, the First Marine Provisional Brigade landed in South Korea, forming the backbone of the perimeter around the city of Pusan. The efforts of the “Fire Brigade” at Pusan allowed for the daring amphibious landing at Inchon and set the stage for one of the most savage campaigns in our Corps’ history—the Chosin Reservoir. As we pause to celebrate our 235th Birthday, we pay special tribute to the Marines of the Korean War and recognize their contributions to our enduring legacy.

This past year marked the end of Marine Corps combat operations in Iraq. Beginning with the invasion in March 2003 and through the next seven years of fighting, our Corps acquitted itself valiantly in the Anbar province and throughout the country. Locations such as Fallujah and Ramadi have taken their place in the illustrious battle history of our Corps. Our efforts in defeating the insurgency helped to build a brighter future for all Iraqis.

For 235 years, at sea and ashore, Marines have succeeded in every clime and place . . . where hardship and adversity have often been the common thread. Today, in the rugged mountains and valleys of Afghanistan—and recently in earthquake-damaged Haiti . . . in flood-ravaged Pakistan . . . or off the coast of Africa—we continue to protect our Nation, just as we did 60 years ago in Korea.

To the Marines and Sailors deployed overseas, to those training and preparing for their next deployment and to the warriors who no longer wear our uniform . . . we honor your selfless service to the Nation. To our loved ones who endure the many difficulties that come with being part of the Marine Family, I want to extend my sincerest thanks for all you have done and all you continue to do.

Happy 235th Birthday, Marines!

Semper Fidelis,

James F. Amos
General, U.S. Marine Corps

Hello, old friends. We’re going to call this a fresh start, shall we?

For now, I’d like to talk about silver linings. For those of you that don’t know, my employment at Hoover’s has come to an end. New VP, new vision, so it goes. It’s business, I suppose, but the short version is I’m no longer with the company and am steadily working to move on to greener pastures.

It’s an interesting process and one that’s taught me a few lessons. Lessons I’d like to pass on to you should you find yourself in a similar situation. Perhaps you can start in a better place than I did and save yourself some time and energy – both of which you’ll need plenty of when looking for a new gig.

Finding a new job (part 1)

Keep an updated resume: Believe it or not, this took me almost a week to get together. In my case, it was a matter of compartmentalizing a mass of responsibilities in a way that not only captured my experience, but also involved quite a bit of research to track down the various supporting metrics I could use to illustrate the value that experience provided for potential employers. Moving forward, I plan to spend a few hours on a random Saturday every six months or so to make sure it’s current. You might want to do the same.

Keep a log of the big projects you’ve completed: This should include all relevant information – summary, business challenge, strategy, metrics, etc., and should also include both the projects that performed well and those that didn’t. Not only will this make updating your resume a much easier task, you’ll need examples of both when you interview. You’re bound to get the “Tell me about a time when you didn’t succeed” question at some point.

Keep your LinkedIn profile current: This presupposes you already have a profile, but if you don’t – by all means get one going. Seriously. It’s free, fairly easy to do, and will be invaluable to you on the job search. Consider this stage 2 of updating your resume. Once it’s complete you should regularly transfer that information over to LinkedIn. More on this to follow.

Get LinkedIn recommendations: Whether it’s from peers, supervisors, or vendors you’ve worked with, reach out and request they provide a short write-up on your profile for a job well done. Most people are happy to do it and having other people say you’re awesome is a great addition to you saying you’re awesome. Keep in mind – it really, really helps to do this when the project is recent. If you ask for feedback about a project that happened last quarter or last year you’re putting them in a difficult spot and they might not remember details that would help you shine. Savvy?

More to come next post. Grab some coffee or a Diet Coke – there’s much more for you to do.

I found the following this week and thought it was not only interesting, but pretty cool, too. If you’d like to see the rest of the posts for this week, you can visit the site here.

The gent that commented, bless him, said basically this: be honest; appropriate to the point of their maturity and emotional ability. Good advice, right? It was this kind of thinking, coupled with the Graham essay I quoted in the post, that caused me to blink, shake my head a bit, then re-read a post titled, “Talking to children about evil.”

It’s by a wonderful and witty writer named Delia Lloyd; a journalist who currently lives in London and writes about adulthood, politics, family, and a host of other topics definitely worth reading. Check her out.

You can find the post I’m talking about here, but the first paragraph reads thus:

My daughter came home from school yesterday and told me that her best friend had a “hate list.”

“What’s that?” I asked.

“It’s a list of all the people in the world that she hates.”

“Don’t make one yourself,” I said quickly. “That’s not nice.”

“Yeah, but I only have one person on it,” she responded.

“I don’t care. You’ll hurt someone’s feelings.”

She looked up at me, wide-eyed. “But it’s Hitler.”

“But it’s Hitler.” What the hell do you say to that?

I won’t spoil her post, but I’m left with another point of view that’s both valid and worth consideration. It doesn’t conflict with Tim’s comment, necessarily, but it might provide a different definition of what’s “appropriate.”

What do you think? 

Image by John-Morgan

So that didn’t suck.

While he was here I had the opportunity to do something I don’t often get - watch a little football with a guy. Don’t get me wrong, Sarah enjoys football just fine and she’s always down for kicking back and watching a game, but watching it with a another guy is, well, different. It was nice.

So my question: since Minnesota’s absolutely ridiculous loss to the Saints I keep thinking about Brett Favre, his last play of the season (as well as the look on his wife’s face one of the multiple times he was pounded into the ground) and continue to draw a blank.

So let me ask you: Does he come back next year?

Take a recent interview with Ted Nugent (see the entire clip here) where Fox host David Asman says the following:

“Well Ted, you have common sense, which probably 98 percent of the people inside the Beltway don’t have. And common sense means much more to living a good life than any kind of degree from an Ivy League university. These government officials, just because they have an Ivy League education doesn’t mean they know more than we do.”

Take away for a moment that, well, it kind of does, and instead consider this: when did having an education become a negative? That former President Bush projected the everyman persona any time he was in front of a camera boggles my mind. That the country elected him twice while he did so makes me want slam my head into a wall. Twice. The right’s continued love of former Governor Palin (due in large part to the same kind of personality) does the same.  

Sure, we elect politicians. But it’s important to note that we call them by another name, too – leaders. And don’t we want our leaders to have a first-rate mind? One that’s informed and analytical and capable of attacking the problems our country faces – problems that are incredibly complex, nuanced, and in dire need of all the brain-power we can put behind them, by the bye - with a little more intellectual might than Joe the Plumber?  

Thoughts?

Thanks to Eileen Smith at In the Pink for the original post.