Always Be Job Hunting

Lessons to Be Learned from Mark Winter’s Job Hunt

Posted on July 13, 2012 by John N. Frank

AlwaysBeJobHunting.com has been running a series of posts about a colleague who turned to Facebook in his quest for a job during troubled economic times. I loved hearing his story when he mentioned it to me over the phone one day in the course of our working together and asked him to send these posts because I thought they would contain lessons for our readers. I was right. What are those lessons?

One is in our book, Always Be Job Hunting, namely that job hunting is a full-time job and that you need to use every weapon possible in your quest. You are at war, fight it as aggressively as you possibly can.

Mark talked about applying for hundreds of jobs, not 10 or 20, hundreds. That’s the reality of the job market today.

He also went beyond just answering ads to create his own Facebook group to help his search. And he offered 10% of a month’s salary to anyone who found the job. Now, neither of those worked, but I think they helped him in the long-run because they made him feel he was doing something very active to find a job. Job-hunting can be so psychologically crippling, making you feel powerless and worthless. You have to fight that feeling anyway you can because you need to remain positive about yourself for when an interview does come along.

Interviewers can sense people that have lost faith in themselves. Who wants to hire a beaten-down person? Would you? I’ve interviewed people like that when I’ve been hiring and couldn’t end those interviews fast enough.

Mark also mentioned taking on part-time jobs while he searched. I think that’s crucial because it provides some income but more importantly keeps you busy and so wards off depression, and it shows a potential employer you weren’t just sitting at home giving up while you searched for a new job.
Thanks again, Mark for sharing your story, I invite other readers to share theirs as well.
—J.N.F.

Posted in job hunting | Tagged Always Be Job Hunting, Facebook, frustration, job hunting, search tips | Leave a comment

Guest Post, Part III: Facebook Job-Hunting and Finding a Job

Posted on July 12, 2012 by John N. Frank

Mark Winter is a London-based designer who is a colleague at my present job. He recently saw my blog and mentioned his job-hunting efforts. I found his story so full of lessons others might use I asked him to write some posts about it for AlwaysBeJobHunting.com. This is the third of three installments on Mark’s creative approach to finding a job in a terrible economy. Part I discussed losing his first job and early attempts to get more training to help in his search. Part II discussed his out-of-the-box thinking that involved creating a Facebook group to find work and offering a fee to anyone who got him a new job. Here, he discusses the results. In my next post, I’ll review the lessons you can learn from in his experiences.

The whole (Facebook group) experience was worth it. The general feedback from people I was getting was positive and the negative, while it did hurt, I soon began to ignore as the praise would soon drown it out.

The biggest hurt of all that I won’t ever fully understand is the lack of response from potential employers. Of the hundreds (and that is by no means an exaggeration) of applications I sent, I received very few responses. I did receive quite a few automated responses acknowledging my presence but it was to the point I could probably recite the response in my sleep. I can completely understand that any company that advertises a job vacancy may not be able to respond to all applicants. Unfortunately, I will not accept that this is so easily acceptable. I genuinely feel for anyone in this position as it is incredibly hard and lonely not having your voice heard. Continue reading →

Posted in job hunting, Job search tips, unemployment | Tagged Facebook, frustration, job hunting, search tips | Leave a comment

Guest Post, Part II: Using Facebook to Find a Job

Posted on July 11, 2012 by John N. Frank

Mark Winter is a London-based designer who is a colleague at my present job. He recently saw my blog and mentioned his own job-hunting story. I found his story so full of lessons others might use that I asked him to write some posts about it for AlwaysBeJobHunting.com. This is the second of three installments on Mark’s creative approach to finding a job in a terrible economy. In the first, he recounted how he found his first job but was laid off as the economy soured. Here, he talks about using Facebook after all else seemed to have failed to find him a new position.

Months passed…long months of photocopying at a secondary school, wishing the ideal job would find me. I began to feel down about what I was doing with my life and wondered if my college course was worth the time and money. And then… one late night, completely fed up… I decided to create a group on Facebook.

‘The Employment of Mark J Winter’ was born. I began to fill in the description of the group, with definite tongue in cheek: “HELP ME GET A JOB & WIN 10% OF MY FIRST MONTH’S WAGES.”

I decided that if I had the help of my friends behind me, I could increase my chances of finding something. The thought of giving away 10% never bothered me in the slightest. In real terms, what is 10% of one month in a career? Also, when you take into account I’ve never been particularly driven by money it would’ve been silly of me to expect to get something for nothing.

At around 1a.m., with my face lit by the light from my ever trusty MacBook, I began laughing quietly to myself as I continued to type: Continue reading →

Posted in job hunting, Job search tips, unemployment | Tagged Facebook, frustration, job hunting, search tips | Leave a comment

Guest Post: Job-Hunting Lessons from a Creative Seeker

Posted on July 10, 2012 by John N. Frank

In the Summer of 2007 I started a new job, my first as a graphic designer. At this stage of my career, with no university degree and some rather underwhelming A level results behind me, I was very lucky to get this position. Along with the new came a promise of both on-the-job training and various courses to pursue my interests in design.

Unfortunately, the job was too good to be true. Thirteen months later and with little more than a day course in PowerPoint (I hate PowerPoint) to my name, I was made redundant. The recession had hit hard in London and I was the first of many to leave the company. Continue reading →

Posted in job hunting, Job search tips | Tagged back to school, Facebook, frustration, job hunting, search tips | 1 Comment

A Job-Hunting Lesson in the U.S. June Unemployment Report

Posted on July 9, 2012 by John N. Frank

Job growth is the U.S. economy is still anemic, the June U.S. unemployment report demonstrates. Only 80,000 jobs were created in June, far below the average 226,000 monthly pace of the first quarter of this year. The unemployment rate remains stuck at 8.2% and that doesn’t include all the out-of-work people who have become so discouraged they are no longer looking for work.

What does all that mean for job-seekers? A tough slog of job-hunting will continue, that’s the most obvious answer. But looking deeper into the report, I was struck by the difference in job creation early in the year and at mid-year. I think one lesson is that the first three months of a year are the best time to find a job. Companies have new budgets and new hopes that the coming year will be better. That’s when they’re most likely to fill positions.

That means that as a job hunter, you need to be networking and sending out exploratory e-mails and letters in the last quarter of the year, a time normally thought of as a slow job-hunting season. Get your name in front of people about to hire in January and the first quarter. Don’t wait until after New Year’s Day, there may already been a pile of resumes in before yours at that point. And keep searching intensely through March. I once started a new job on January 3, a job I had networked about in the fourth quarter of the prior year.

For companies in this economy, by June reality sets in, budgets start being cut and managers start being told to do more with less. I’ve lived through that in every job I’ve had during these tough economic times, it’s real, believe me. Search in the fourth quarter and the first quarter until economic times get better for better odds of finding something.
–J.N.F.

Posted in finding a first job, job hunting, Job search tips, unemployment | Tagged job hunting, search tips | Leave a comment

How Stressful Can a New Job Be?

Posted on June 29, 2012 by John N. Frank

Buy “Always Be Job Hunting” today. Click on the book cover to go to Amazon.

I started a new job, and a new career, in mid-February and for the first few months spent time trying to learn a mountain of new procedures, forms and jargon. I was managing a veteran team of three who, more than anything, just needed me to stay out of their way and let them work.

But then suddenly two of them quit within a few days of each other and I needed to find and train replacements, plus fill another open spot, while also doing my first big work project. The result so far — I’ve been working late every other night for the past two and a half weeks. I’ve also worked two of the past three weekends.

It all has to do with being in a new job I’m trying to learn while I also hire and train three new staff members and meet earlier than usual work deadlines for July output.

To say it’s stressed me out is an understatement. Days like yesterday, when I got home at 9:30 p.m and then had only five hours sleep, have become all too common.

To read more on how I’m coping, and how you can cope with a similar situation, check my other blog, guysandgoodhealth.com. And buy my new book, Always Be Job Hunting to see what tips and advice await you there. Starting a new job is stressful but also exciting, don’t forget that part of it.
J.N.F.

Posted in finding a first job, job hunting, management issues | Tagged Always Be Job Hunting, career changes, coping with a new job, new job stress | Leave a comment

Always Be Job Hunting is Available on Amazon

Posted on June 28, 2012 by John N. Frank

My new book, Always Be Job Hunting, is now available for $9.95 on Amazon.com. I’m including links here, searching for it on Amazon itself may take some doing.

There are a lot of job hunting books on Amazon, but mine is the one you need because I give you real-world experiences I’ve lived through that will help you in job hunting and career planning.

Buy “Always Be Job Hunting” today. Click on the book cover to go to Amazon.

Buy it today and then post a review on Amazon and here on the blog. And let’s continue the discussions I started in the book about job hunting.

J.N.F.

Posted in career switch, finding a first job, job hunting | Tagged Always Be Job Hunting, job hunting | 1 Comment

Always Be Job Hunting is Ready to Buy

Posted on June 18, 2012 by John N. Frank

Always Be Job Hunting, my personal account about how to find a job in any economic conditions, is now available for sales through CreateSpace.com on its own page. It will soon be available on Amazon.com in both the U.S. and across Europe, priced at $9.95 and its Euro and British pound equivalents. Be among the first to buy a copy. A Kindle version also will be available in a few weeks (or longer depending on how quickly Amazon moves on that project).

“Always Be Job Hunting.”

The publishing process took much longer than I expected, we started by sending in a manuscript in late March, so I’m glad it’s finally available. Once you have your copy, please give me feedback here on the blog and share your own job-hunting experiences.

I hope to be doing book signings in the Chicago area this fall.

–J.N.F.

Posted in finding a first job, job hunting | Tagged Always Be Job Hunting, career changes, job hunting, new job | Leave a comment

Is It Difficult Being a Middle Manager?

Posted on April 30, 2012 by John N. Frank

Asking our headline question about being a middle manager is something akin to asking if the sun is hot.

Middle managers take heat from the people below them and the people above. I was reminded of that last week when, a day after doing a reasonably good job in my first speaking engagement for my new job, I returned to the office only to hear from senior managers how behind schedule my team was in everything it was doing for May while hearing later in the day from my team how senior management didn’t understand what it was asking for and had simply imposed a lot of changes without asking them what they wanted (which, unfortunately was to keep everything exactly as they had known it).

Being a middle manager is like trying to wrestle a big fish into the boat...while someone is tossing you over the side.

That was a long sentence that reflects the frustration I felt at the end of that day. It’s at times like that when you realize that a manager, much as he or she would like to be friendly with staff, is still a manager who sometimes has to make the hard calls and say, meet your deadlines, or work harder, or just suck it up and get it done.

I’m afraid no matter what business or industry you’re in, that doesn’t change. So remember, when you’re just starting out and waiting for the day you get promoted out of the ranks to be a manager, be careful what you wish for.
JNF

Posted in management issues | Tagged bosses, fighting with the boss, frustration, middle manager | Leave a comment

“Always Be Job Hunting” Has a Finalized Design

Posted on April 28, 2012 by John N. Frank

I signed off this week on a final interior design for Always Be Job Hunting. I’ve scanned in the first page of chapter one and the table of contents for you to see here.

The first page of chapter one of "Always Be Job Hunting."

It should now take about two weeks before I receive the entire manuscript laid out and ready for a final proofing. I’d hoped to have it ready by early May but that seems out of the question now, I’m amazed at how long each step is taking, I would have thought Amazon could move things along a bit faster than this.

Despite the delays, I plan to begin writing college placement offices offering myself as a speaker on job hunting to graduating seniors and others. If anyone in the Chicago area is associated with a school or organization that addresses the job hunting topic, drop me a line about possibly addressing your group in the near future.