Dealing with Stage Fright in a New Job

Posted on April 23, 2012 by John N. Frank

I’m about to make my first public presentation for a new job I started back in February. This job entailed changing careers for me. After 35 years as a journalist, I’ve moved into research and analysis now.

A friend tried to tell me I’m still a journalist because I still write, gather information and disseminate it, but I disagree completely. I use those skills, but what I’m producing, how I’m delivering it and what end-users expect from me has changed radically as has the issue of immediacy, which I always felt was the essence of being a journalist. Today, I’ll be speaking about research one to two years old, for example, hardly news or hardly journalistic.

And that likely explains why I’m so tense about this first public speaking undertaking in my new role. I don’t know whaht’s expected of me or what will be a measure of a successful presentation.

In my business attire, ready for my speech.

I think the best way to deal with such tension when preparing to address a meeting in a new job is to practice, practice and practice again before you speak. Know your material so you’re ready for questions. And expect the unexpected when it comes to discussion.

Practice in front of real people to get feedback. Don’t be afraid to create a detailed outline of what you want to say but try to avoid a word-for-word script. Someone reading a presentation usually sounds like just that and can be deadly boring.

And be yourself, above all else, get comfortable with who you are in your new position and what you bring to the table.

JNF

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“Always Be Job Hunting” is One Step Closer to Publishing

Posted on April 17, 2012 by John N. Frank

It’s almost midnight Monday and I’ve just finished sending in style changes for a mock-up of the first chapter of Always Be Job Hunting, my new book that gives you lessons for finding your next job based on my 35-plus years of experiences in finding jobs.

I’ll paste in the mock-up of the title page here, click on the link below; I don’t like the typeface the publisher has chosen and so am asking for changes, so this is a collector’s item already.

A draft of the cover design for "Always Be Job Hunting."

Also pasted here is PDF mockup of the first spread, which includes some run-over from the table of contents that needs to be removed, and the first page of Chapter 1.title page

Kudos to anyone who knows what the picture is. I’ll give you a hint, it’s in the Chicago area somewhere and it has to do with one of my early jobs.opening
JNF

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“Always Be Job Hunting” is in Production

Posted on April 3, 2012 by John N. Frank

I uploaded the text and photos for Always Be Job Hunting this past weekend to Amazon. Amazon needs between six and eight weeks before the book is available through Amazon.com. I was still editing until the last minute, making sure the lessons listed at the end of each chapter provide valuable advice for anyone looking for a job, no matter at what stage of their careers.

A draft of the cover design for "Always Be Job Hunting."

In addition to being able to order a paperback version of Always Be Job Hunting, you’ll also be able to download an e-version to your Kindle reader or any device that has the Kindle reader app, as I understand it. Once the book is out, I’ll also be scheduling speaking engagements at colleges in the Chicago area to discuss job hunting with this year’s crop of new graduates. Hopefully the economy is picking up a bit for them so they won’t have as hard a time finding that first job as grads did in recent years.

If you belong to a career support group or other organization that you think would benefit from hearing what I have to say about job hunting and career development, please drop me a line at John_N_Frank@yahoo.com.
JNF

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Getting That First Job, a Roadmap, Part II

Posted on April 2, 2012 by John N. Frank

What follows is the second and final installment of a guest post by my son, Matt, who managed to find a first post-college job, after years of effort, in the worst US economy since the 1930s. Read what lessons he learned that can help you. Click here to read part one.

In the meantime I began looking for volunteer opportunities and internships that might relate to my degree. This was the only other option for getting my foot in the door. I was able to find a paid position as a rain garden design consultant, working very limited hours each month for a non-profit organization. Simultaneously, once the weather turned warmer, I was juggling the consulting work with the coffee shop job and the landscape laborer position just to pay monthly rent and bills.

Matt and I on his graduation day.

It was at this point that I realized the need to broaden the scope of the type of work I was looking for and where I was looking for it. I would recommend that recent graduates keep an open mind when trying to land their first job – search for positions in the private, public and non-profit sectors, search for available internships and volunteer positions, and don’t turn down an offer simply because it’s unpaid.

A year and a half after graduating I landed an internship position working in administration for an environmental non-profit organization. Although I worked there for free one day a week in the beginning, I figured it was a step in the right direction. Eventually it led to a paid part-time position, and finally, two years later, a full-time salaried position. Although I never pictured myself working in administration and research after graduation, I am grateful to be employed and am gaining beneficial professional experience to boot. While I’m not working in the landscape design field, I’m still able to promote environmental practices through research and report writing. The lesson learned here is to stick with it – don’t give up on searching for a job in your desired field. If your dream job is unattainable at the current moment, seek for work related to your areas of study and expertise.
Matt Frank

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Getting That First Job, a Roadmap

Posted on March 31, 2012 by John N. Frank

What follows is the first installment of a guest post by my son, Matt, who managed to find a first post-college job, after years of effort in the worst US economy since the 1930s. Read what lessons he learned that can help you.

I graduated from the University of Minnesota in December of 2007 amidst the beginning of the Great Recession. My student job in administration for the department of architecture ended as I was handed a diploma. I had quit my previous coffee shop job prior to receiving the student job a year and a half earlier. Job prospects looked quite dim – my recent degree in landscape architecture seemed useless as most design firms were struggling to find work, which equated to employee layoffs and dwindling landscape architecture staff. More often than not it seemed that landscape architecture was seen (in both the academic realm and the business realm) as after thoughts – akin to the unwanted stepchild of the more prestigious architecture profession. During an economic downturn this became even more apparent; money was lacking for new building developments and was thus next to non-existent for landscape projects.

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What was I to do? Upon graduation, I began scheduling as many informational interviews as possible with local firms throughout the Twin Cities (note: looking back I now realize I should have started doing this months in advance of graduation). More often than not I received the same message from prospective employers, “we’re looking for someone with a Masters degree and 5+ years of experience”, or, “no positions are available at this time, I’d suggest going back to school”. I’d just endured four and a half grueling years in school and was ready for an academic break, going back immediately for a Masters degree seemed out of the question. I wanted a job and the benefit of experiences that came with it, however, this proved harder than I’d even imagined. In the months that followed graduation, I was only able to land a couple interviews even though I’d sent out many resumes.

After realizing how slim my chances were at landing a job in the design field I rang up the coffee shop where I’d worked years earlier and was offered the job back – making $7.75 an hour as a part-time employee. I had worked the previous summer, before my last semester, for a landscape company as a seasonal laborer and had an offer to return. In Minnesota, because of the five-month long winters, seasonal work lasts from April to October, thus leaving me unemployed for five months a year – hence my return to serving java after graduation.
Matt Frank

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Mad Men, Working Women and My Cousin Jeannette

Posted on March 26, 2012 by John N. Frank

I received the sad news Sunday morning that a cousin in New York City had died after four years of battling cancer.

With Mad Men back on the air this week, there’s been a flurry of newspaper and magazine stories talking about how the lot of women in the work world was starting to change in the 1960s. In my childhood world, my cousin Jeannette was always my symbol of the changes going on in those days.

My cousin Jeannette, far left, with me, third from the left. and other cousins in happier times in 2005.

She started high school when I started grade school in September 1959, so the early 1960s were her time to go to work, as so many young women did then. But she wasn’t content to just be a secretary waiting for some guy to marry her. She worked in a bank and, I think, became a manager, something unheard of for a woman then. Continue reading →

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Have You Ever Yelled at Your Boss?

Posted on March 19, 2012 by John N. Frank

Greg Smith, a former official with Wall Street firm Goldman Sachs, has been getting a lot of attention in the business press for how he blasted Goldman in the New York Times.

Have you ever had a major fight when quitting a job, or when getting fired, and verbally blasted your former boss?

A draft of the cover design for "Always Be Job Hunting."

My wife always worries about me telling bosses exactly what I think of them when I leave a job. You can read what I’ve told and written to former bosses, and about lessons I’ve learned about such fighting, when you read my soon-to-be-published book, Always Be Job Hunting.

Read how I told one boss he didn’t have the b—- to fire me. Read about a major mistake I made with another boss that still haunts my career to this day, 13 years later.

And speaking of bosses, in my last job I had a major fight with my then publisher, saying I didn’t trust what he had been telling me. He was shocked, saying no one had ever called him a liar.

I just found out he left that job almost exactly a month after I did, which means he must have been looking to leave when I had that conversation with him or shortly after, which in turn means I was right not to trust what he was saying.

Luckily for me, I didn’t and I got out before he did, so I won’t have to clean up the mess he left behind.
JNF

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When Will “Always Be Job Hunting” Be Available to Buy?

Posted on February 21, 2012 by John N. Frank

Thanks so much to everyone who has started reading this new blog.

Several of you have asked me where you can buy Always Be Job Hunting, my survival guide for anyone in a career, trying to preserve a career, or starting a career.

The book isn’t printed as yet. I’m publishing it through Amazon, aiming for an April publication date to coincide with spring job-hunting season for new high school and college grads.

A sample of my many busienss cards over the years.

The manuscript has been through a thorough editing by a professional journalist/editor. I’m making final changes now before we go to press. I still need to work on a design for the pages and the cover.

Once it’s done, I’ll have a link here to give my blog visitors a special price on the book. I’m also planning an eBook version through Amazon, so if you have a Kindle, you will be able to read it there as well.

In the meantime, this blog will continue to run excerpts from the book, as well as posts about jobs and careers, so keep visiting and reading. Thanks again.
JNF

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How Hard is It to Change Careers, or Jobs, After 50?

Posted on February 20, 2012 by John N. Frank

The Chicago Tribune recently had an eye-opening article about the difficulties of changing careers after you hit age 50, and about the increasing necessity to do so given today’s difficult labor market

I’m in the process of changing careers as I near 60, so reading the article really hit home for me. I’m making the change on my own, rather than being forced to after losing a job as were some of the people written about in that article. But it’s still tough.

I just finished my first week in the new job, and the new field, and I feel like I did when I first started high school so many years ago. Very little that I know matters at this point, it’s all about learning.

Luckily, I love to learn, so I’m concentrating like I haven’t done at a job in a long time.  Change is constant, especially in today’s job market. Keep reading excerpts from my upcoming book, Always Be Job Hunting, to learn how to embrace change and anticipate it so you can stay one step ahead of the unemployment reaper.

JNF

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Why You Should Read “Always Be Job Hunting”

Posted on February 16, 2012 by John N. Frank

What follows is an excerpt from my soon-to-be-published book, Always Be Job Hunting.  I would love to read your comment, please let me know what you think, and what you’re going through in your job search.

I’ve done a good job of finding work in hard times, of staying one step ahead of companies being shut down, sold or reorganized (all common occurrences in today’s workplace and in my work history). I’m very proud of the fact that in my 35 years of working, I’ve only been unemployed for roughly a month and half – and this came early in my career.  when the newspaper group where I worked was sold.

My goal is to give you a handbook you can use in your career and in your job-hunting quest. Learn from my mistakes and my triumphs – and learn from the pro’s advice. Know through it all that you are a valuable human being who has a great deal to contribute to the workplace; temporary employment setbacks don’t change that fact.

The chair I used to sit in, emtpy now.

If you’re honest about your capabilities, if you keep current with the ever-changing skills needed in your profession, and if you stay open to new possibilities, I think you can’t help but succeed.

So with all that said, what about this new job I have? I’ve recently agreed to become editorial director of two trade magazines related to the food business. They’re based in suburban a Chicago and were once part of a magazine group where I worked from 1993 through the end of 1995.

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