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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

I was reminded of the importance of networking in the job search by a couple of events recently. First, two MPNers who found jobs this past month attributed their success to their networking efforts. While it doesn’t always happen this way, it does more often than not. So sitting in front of a computer screen and hoping that Monster or CareerBuilder or TheLadders or some other job board will do the heavy lifting for you offers faint hope. It can happen, and it does, but not often enough to bet the house on it. Secondly, there is that small matter of your enthusiasm level. (No question it helps in the job search.) For everyone—extrovert and introvert—getting out and about and meeting people, interacting with professionals in different settings, can be a tonic to the mid-winter job search blues. Especially when you attend industry events, you can run into people whom you wouldn’t otherwise have access to. And you’ll have that all important face time that can make all the difference. Why do you think all the Hollywood moguls make sure to get out and do lunch and schmooze as much as they do? So take a page from their script and get out to an event or two this month…and be sure you’ve registered for the MPN Soiree. You won’t have to wear an evening gown or a tux, but you’ll feel much, much better after you attend!

I recently came across a quote by the granddaddy of all self-helpers, Earl Nightengale, that’s worth repeating here: “The biggest mistake that you can make is to believe that you’re working for somebody else. Job security is gone. The driving forces of a career must come from the individual. Remember: Jobs are owned by the company, you own your career.” Whether he spoke or wrote these words in the Fifties as he was getting out of broadcasting and into publishing or in the Eighties when he was nearing the end of his life, they are as pertinent today as they were then. We’ve all heard (or should have by now) of the concept of You, Inc. and how you are truly the boss of your career, no matter who you work for. Yet the corollary of this concept is often overlooked: not only are you the boss, but you are responsible for the ongoing R&D of your product/service at all times…including when you are not working for someone else (i.e. unemployed). Taking a course, attending seminars and conferences, reading trade journals and books, getting up to date on the latest developments in your field, and picking up new tech skills are all part of it. What some overlook though is the interpersonal side of the equation. If you’d been in a job for a long period of time, the process of getting out and meeting new people doesn’t come easily. The process of forming alliances with all those around you, especially around the table at MPN meetings, can be foreign to some. They see MPN meetings as the time to fish for job leads and contacts and miss the oftentimes rich opportunities of forming long-term bonds with those who are in similar situations. Just ask any MPNer who has gone on to get a new job just how valuable those relationships can be. After all, it’s all part and parcel of developing You, Inc. Don’t lose out on a golden chance to grow your brand some more.

A friend who follows the financial markets for a living asked me recently if the local job market for the people I work with is tightening up. I replied that I hadn’t seen any signs of it, and if the continued flow of job leads—and good ones at that—that comes through our job lead programs is any indication, it isn’t turning yet. But it did remind me that if you’re looking for work, you can be very emotionally sensitive to the ups and downs of the unemployment reports and job numbers. A suggestion? Try not to let it get to you: there’s macro and micro; there are jobs that are counted and then there’s the hidden job market. Hopefully, you’ll gain access to the latter through your contacts and through MPN. Right now, at least, there are opportunities out there for you. It’s just a matter of looking in the right places.