What Worked?

What Would I Do Differently?

Peter Fitzgerald has been chronicling his process of navigating from losing his job to a new and brighter tomorrow. To read other posts from the series, see “Job Transition: A CareerSherpas’ Odyssey”.

Peter Fitzgerald is the founder of CareerSherpas.com and is currently working on his first book, preparing to start a new day job, connecting individuals with ideas and opportunities, and (periodically) attempting to learn the bagpipes.

Yes I had another crazy week that kept me away from blogging. However unlike the last sojourn the week was incredibly productive. Going into last week I had a conversation and one interview planned, by the end I’d attended four interviews and accepted a position which starts next week.

I will quite happily admit that at the end of the previous week I was a little concerned at the lack of activity. Maintaining a positive attitude through the job search is not an easy task and the down swings take a lot of energy to get through and recover from. Being able to go into an interview and present a strong, confident you is crucial to getting the right place.

At the same time I’ve found a lot of positive things in this search process. I’ve proven to myself the strength, vibrancy and diversity of my network. I have much of that network to thank for the support, guidance, encouragement and connections that got me through to a better spot.

I’ve also had my drive to help others in their career growth renewed. As I go into a job where I will get to stretch myself and gain experiences I’ve been looking for, I’m seeing the fruits of the struggles. I’m hoping that as this new chapter unfolds and others read through my journey that it gives them hope and new tools to approach their ever expanding horizons.

Which leads me to a wonderful documentary that I’d like to share called “Lemonade”. Lemonade explores the opportunity that being laid off gives everyone and the positive cycle that can be set in motion. By following the paths taken and the stories of a group of individuals laid off from the advertising industry, the film paints a wonderful montage of the possibilities. The film presents stories of a new mobile coffee venture and a self-published advertising commentator, a full time artist and a yoga instructor and more.

It’s a little off-beat in parts, but the message is clear: If you’re let go you’ve been given an opportunity and it is whatever you choose to make of it.

Peter Fitzgerald is the founder of CareerSherpas.com and is currently working on his first book, preparing to start a new day job, connecting individuals with ideas and opportunities, and (periodically) attempting to learn the bagpipes.

As I regroup from a very active few weeks, I wanted to share an update and give a bit of a preview of some articles I have in the works.

Unfortunately my absence doesn’t mean that I landed a position and was whisked away to intensively draw in the needs, expectations and environment of a new role. There have been ups, downs, an unexpected trip to Australia for a wedding in which I gauged the job market in Sydney and Melbourne (the trip was unexpected, the wedding was not) and lots of rushing around to get out submissions for positions. There have been some phone screens, a lot of positions taken off the table by internal candidates and a number of promising opportunities that haven’t provided feedback but that I have to assume aren’t in play anymore.

All that being said, the flow of opportunities hasn’t slowed much and there have been a number of roles popping out of the woodwork. I’m seeing a lot of available positions and I’m seeing a pretty good response for phone screening. I’m still hopeful, but I am concerned about the holiday season being just around the corner which presents its own issues to landing a new position.

More to come on the experiences and I’ve been working up some articles along the way. So over the next week you can expect to read more thoughts on the job search including:

• Recruiters: What they can and can’t do for you
• Things to consider in using social media
• Disappointments and staying positive

Peter Fitzgerald is the founder of CareerSherpas.com and is currently working on his first book, looking for a new day job, connecting individuals with ideas and opportunities, and attempting to learn the bagpipes.

I had a good interview this morning. Perhaps I should say that I did well in my interview this morning.

I woke up sick and with almost no voice to speak with. After spending some time coaxing it back into life, I was able to get to and make it almost all the way through the interview without it failing on me. By the end of the interview I had made myself a viable candidate, but was quite ill by the time I made it home. After a couple of initial follow-ups I pretty much fell apart, being either unconscious or incoherent for the rest of the day.

Much as fate has a nasty way of throwing up these roadblocks, if you can avoid this situation somehow I highly recommend it.

As you can imagine it drove my contacts to distraction pretty quickly. Of course I didn’t discover this until the fever cleared, and it made it difficult to figure out what had occurred during my personal “outage”. I have some explaining to do which will hopefully be understood.

In any case, some recovery is in order and taking it easy is going to be a priority to make sure this doesn’t get worse. It’s better to lose a day than to lose a week.

Peter Fitzgerald is the founder of CareerSherpas.com and is currently working on his first book, looking for a new day job, connecting individuals with ideas and opportunities, and attempting to learn the bagpipes.

A wild ride through the last few days has left me a bit tired.

I spent two days largely in wait for some spark in the search. Sadly, much as I put a bunch of effort into follow ups and new leads, I’m not seeing progress that I’d like. Then again, where one door closes I’m looking for the ones that open beyond.

It seems that often, just when an opportunity disappears there are another two to take its place. In the last couple of days two positions that were moving forward have closed. Each time there’s a natural let down, but the pendulum has been pushed up again each time with new options.

I have had a number of positive discussions and there are a number more to come in the next week.

Admittedly I’m not feeling particularly insightful this evening, but there are lots of positive signs.

Peter Fitzgerald is the founder of CareerSherpas.com and is currently working on his first book, looking for a new day job, connecting individuals with ideas and opportunities, and attempting to learn the bagpipes.

As you can imagine, I’ve been voraciously looking for ideas and guidance to help in the job search. What I’ve been surprised at is how little variation there is in the copious articles, books and videos out there.

Taking my own experience and casting it against the backdrop of all the material I’ve read, this is what has been working and how it compares with common wisdom:

• “It’s not what you know, it’s who knows you’re looking and interested in your success” – Rather than the adage that “who you know” is the most important, it’s really about connecting with the right person. Knowing someone isn’t enough, you have to actively connect. The thought is summed up nicely by J.T. O’Donnell’s comment that “it’s the physical connecting that gets you hired” in “Is getting a job really about who you know?” by Anthony Balderrama that my wife stumbled across on CNN.com
• “Polish your interviewing skills” – No matter how good you have been in the past, practice is important. This seems to be a pretty consistent theme in conventional wisdom dissertations.
• “Every lead is a good lead” – I haven’t found anybody to really agree directly with me on this, but no matter how odd a lead looks there’s always something positive to learn from it or another connection to be made through it. Opportunity usually only knocks once and you never know when something that looks like a blind alley has a golden door at the other end.
• “Be flexible and be polite” – You’re the one who’s asking for favors. Even if someone’s working to find you a job, it’s your job to make it easier on them. Make yourself available however, wherever and whenever you can to connect on the other person’s schedule.

That simple? Pretty much.

Peter Fitzgerald is the founder of CareerSherpas.com and is currently working on his first book, looking for a new day job, connecting individuals with ideas and opportunities, and attempting to learn the bagpipes.

I had a good phone screen this morning followed by a strange and disjointed “video interview” process with a recruiting company.

I can see how the video interview concept could be very useful. It gives the hiring manager the opportunity to see their candidates and put a “live” face to a resume. On the flip side it feels like you’re coming into a video dating service. Admittedly mine was a bit less organized than it should have been since one set of questions wasn’t available beforehand, but even taking that into account it stands out as one of the stranger pieces I’ve gone in for in this search. I fully admit that it made me more nervous than it probably should have, but it didn’t help that my voice kept cracking in mid sentence.

The phone screen, by comparison, was a relaxing experience. I find it engaging to be able to connect with a person, to really understand where they’re coming from, and to share how I fit into their puzzle. It helps that it seems it went well.

I’m ending the day following up with people who haven’t gotten back to me. Not the most fun of exercises, but definitely important if any of those opportunities are going to go anywhere. Dealing with a lack of communication tends to be a delicate matter.

If you’re dealing with a recruiter, it can mean a lot or it can mean nothing. Given the recruiters I’ve worked with in my career, the initial recruiter responses generally fall into a handful of categories, which says a lot about how you should be able to follow up:

• “I’m really excited to meet you, but I don’t have a good fit right now.” In this case, following up isn’t too hard, but it’s highly unlikely that they’ll call you. This might also come along with the message that you should keep in touch. The good news here is that following up once a week is a great way to be top of mind when a good fit shows up.
• “I’m thinking this would be a good fit, but it isn’t in your sweet spot.” Often when submitted for these kinds of positions it’s a hit or miss type of arrangement. If you hit, it moves fairly rapidly. If you miss, you may never hear from this recruiter again. No harm in following up, but don’t push too hard.
• “I’ve got these positions that look like good fits for you, which ones do you think make sense?” Personally, I like this response. It shows that you have someone who thinks they can place you and is looking to see (and even interested in) where you want to be. Not hearing from someone in this case is usually not a bad thing and probably means that the process at the hiring company is moving slowly. Checking in periodically and asking what sort of time frame you’re looking at probably will give a pretty clear idea on what to expect.
• “I’ll let you know if something comes up that looks like a match.” This would be my least favorite response. In my experience it’s roughly equivalent to saying “I’m putting you on the shelf.” Recruiters take note, this is a real put-off and doesn’t come across as being as nice as you think it does. A better option would be to suggest that the candidate call you after some specified time period to follow up. In any case, checking in no more than once a week is probably wise.

In each case the odds of you actually getting a call back if there isn’t a direct submission in play are pretty much zip, but it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t touch base periodically. Giving yourself a shot at being top of mind when the right role comes along never hurts.

If you’re dealing with someone you’ve applied directly to it gets a bit trickier. In this case it’s all about who your contact for the position is and being judicious about how you approach them. Gauging how frequently and by what means you should follow up with someone is a very delicate balancing act. You don’t want to over-do it and appear pushy (or desperate), but you do need to know what’s going on.

The most direct and honest approach is usually the best: Just ask.

You’re trying to prevent yourself from being a pest here. So asking up front what kind of time line the company’s process works on and if, when and how you should follow up allows the other person to set the rules that suit them. Particularly if you’re talking to the hiring manager, it doesn’t hurt to show initiative in meeting their needs.

Get in there, follow up, and make every check in a positive experience for you and whoever is on the other end of the line. Whether they’re a recruiter, internal human resources representative or hiring manager it’s worth the effort – so long as you aren’t pestering them!

Peter Fitzgerald is the founder of CareerSherpas.com and is currently working on his first book, looking for a new day job, connecting individuals with ideas and opportunities, and attempting to learn the bagpipes.

Following fairly constant and somewhat chaotic work finding contacts, following up, responding to follow ups and generally chasing everything that looked like an opening, Day 13 made for a good chance to take a small breather.

Taking a day to rest up ahead of a busy day turned out to be a great tonic. Time spent on hobbies and checking in on other activities let some of the stress and strain flow away. Much as I didn’t entirely plan for it, the handful of follow ups interspersed with carving (a hobby I haven’t indulged in too long) and simple relaxation with family was another reminder of the importance of self care.

The process of searching is very consuming. The ups and downs of positive connections, progress and unexpected lapses in communication takes a toll. Without stepping back occasionally we lose focus and miss important openings to try different approaches and work our way into a better spot.

Today was a great day to rejuvenate and enjoy the last rays of summer sun. It’s hard not to find that appealing!

Peter Fitzgerald is the founder of CareerSherpas.com and is currently working on his first book, looking for a new day job, connecting individuals with ideas and opportunities, and attempting to learn the bagpipes.

I’ve had two very different experiences with recruiters today. One very promising and the other may be promising after the fiasco that preceded the meeting.

On the one hand I have a recruiter who is doing all of the right things:

• Following up on a regular basis
• Explaining changes in the process
• Sharing new information as it becomes available
• And moving things forward to get responses from and co-ordinate with the hiring manager.

On the other hand, sometimes the person you make contact with drops the ball. Sometimes this happens repeatedly. When that happens, and it almost certainly will, there are a couple of ways to respond:

• Cut ties and go somewhere else
• Carry on and see what happens

After a fairly frustrating series of dropped balls ahead of getting a meeting set up, I followed through and went to catch up with a recruiter. Between going to the wrong location, (Not being given directions makes things a bit difficult. Also, Google apparently doesn’t always know all.) not getting the contact details for the person I was supposed to be meeting from the person I had contacted, and not getting any response from my contact when called the setup could be considered a disaster.

So on arrival, and finding the front desk unattended, I proceeded to wait. Five minutes later I took a guess at the business card I thought was the recruiter I was supposed to meet with, not having a last name to work with, and called from the waiting area. To make all this more fun, my resume had not been passed along to the recruiter I was to talk to.

However, none of this was the fault of the recruiter I was meeting! The meeting itself was positive, covered my experience and interests fairly well, and left me with an appreciation for the way it was handled. Going ahead with the discussion turned out to be a good thing and I wound up with a positive connection.

The moral of the story? It’s important to know when to reschedule and when to go forward with a conversation. If an intermediary drops the ball, you don’t have a lot of options to work with. At the same time, not giving up and not letting your frustration get the better of you usually lands you in a good spot.

Peter Fitzgerald is the founder of CareerSherpas.com and is currently working on his first book, looking for a new day job, connecting individuals with ideas and opportunities, and attempting to learn the bagpipes.