A Guide to Dealing with your Feelings While Out of Work

Hello Everybody,

This post is going to go over Appendix B of What Color is Your Parachute, A Guide to Dealing with your Feelings While Out of Work.

The psychological cost of job search rises the longer someone is unemployed. But don't worry, Bolles is here to help.

Ten Things We Can do to Deal with Our Feelings, When We are Unemployed

1. We can catch upon our sleep. The world never looks bright or happy to us when we are very short on sleep. The world never looks bright or happy to us when we are feeling depressed.
2. There are other things that we can do to keep ourselves more physically fit while unemployed. Get regular exercise, involving a daily walk. Drink plenty of water. Eliminate sugar as much as possible. Take supplementary vitamins daily. Eat balanced meals. All that other stuff our mothers always told us to do.
3. We can do something about the physical space around us. Our surroundings often mirror how we feel about ourselves. When we determine to always put our things away in a timely fashion, neatness will begin to appear.
4. We can get outdoors daily and take a good walk.
5. We can focus on other people. Help people worse off than you.
6. We can go on fun mini-adventures. Places tourists would first "hit" but maybe we have never been to.
7. We can deal with our feelings by expanding our mental horizons, and learning something new. Read about things that you've always been interested in but never had time for. Learn something about the mind. Or explore he world around us.
8. We can talk, talk, talk with our loved ones, or a close friend, about all the feelings we have. Stuff bottled up inside us tends to fester and grow.
9. We can pour a punching bag or even some pillows, to get some of the angry energy out of us.
10. We can make a list each day of the things that makes us grateful, glad, or even happy, day by day. Focus on what precious gifts we have, don't brood over what's wrong in our lives.

We can revisit or picture of God and how he works in this world. To believe in someone is to trust them, and to trust that they feel toward us as they say they feel. We can, instead of abandoning our faith, put some energy into rethinking our faith on a higher level. God isn't responsible for every small thing, because of our freedom. We can, realize that religion isn't necessarily a blessing. 

Feelings are often a messenger bringing gifts. If being unemployed makes us do all the things listed above, than maybe our unemployment is a gift in disguise.

Until next time,

Caitlin Campbell

Finding Your Mission in Life

Hello Everybody,

In this post I will be covering Appendix A from What Color is your Parachute, Finding your Mission in Life. Just to pre-warn you guys this section in the book might come off as a tad preachy, so if you're not religious this might not be the post for you. Feel free to browse any of my other wonderful posts.

Now let's get down to it. Job-hunts offer a chance to make fundamental changes in our whole life. We want to feel we were put here on Earth for some special purpose, to do some work that only we can accomplish. Use your unemployment as life transition. Just keep in mind while writing this section that Bolles is writing from a lifelong Christian perspective and trusts his readers to translate what he says into our own thought forms and that the steps he describes are not the only way.

These are the steps towards finding your mission.

1. Seek to stand hour by hour in the conscious presence of God, the one from whom your mission is derived.
   To do this you need to unlearn the idea that our mission is primarily to keep busy doing something (here on Earth) and learn instead that our mission is first of all to keep busy being something (here on Earth).
2. Do what you can, moment by moment, day by day, step by step, to make this world a better place, following the leading and guidance of God's spirit within you and around you.
   "Being" issues into "doing". We need to unlearn the idea that everything about our mission must be unique to us and learn instead that some parts of our mission here on Earth are shared by all human beings. We need to choose the paths that bring my love in the world.
3. a) Exercise the talent that you particularly came to Earth to use - your greatest gift, which you most delight to use
   b) In the place(s) or setting(s) that God has caused to appeal to you the most
   c) For those purposes that God most needs to have done in the world
   You need to unlearn the idea that the part of our mission that is truly unique, and most truly ours, is something our creator just orders us to do. Also unlearn that our unique mission must consist of some achievements for all the world to see. We nor those who watch our lives, will always know what we have achieved by our life and by our mission. Unlearn the idea that what we have accomplished is our doing, and ours alone.

Until next time,
Caitlin Campbell

How to Start Your Own Business

Hello Everybody,

This week I will be writing about chapter 11 in What Color is Your Parachute, How to Start Your Own Business.

Is starting your own business as difficult as everyone makes it out to be? When looking at past success stories there are a few things that they have in common. These people didn't need a whole lot of money to launch their own business. They did have to do research, sometimes plenty of it, to make it work. A lot of them use the internet to make their product, service, or expertise, known. None of them went down the traditional paths that people used to go down, when considering self-employment, such as buying a franchise, or being sucked in by one of those well-advertised "work-at-home" projects. Being "self-employed" wears quite a different face.

When you have no idea what business you want to go into there are four steps.

1. Write.
   Do the flower diagram, (see posts part 1, part 2 and part 3). Ultimately, what you decide to do should flow from who you are. Jot down any ideas. Use same piece of paper for any ideas as you read the rest of these steps. Write your resume answering all the questions in chapter 2 under a starter kit for writing your resume (or read my post on that chapter). If nothing inspires you, try Daniel Pink's Prescription. List 5 things you're good at, list of 5 things you love to do, list of where the 2 lists overlap, and read that list and ask yourself, "will anyone pay me to do these things?" If none of that works check out O*Net.
2. Read.
   Read up on all the virtues that perils of running your own business. Self-employment has become a broader concept than it was in another age (not just people with own businesses but also independent contractors, temps and contract employees, limited-time frame workers, consultants). Try checking out Working Solo, Small Business Administration, A Small Business Expert, Business Owner's Toolkit, The Business Owner's Idea Cafe, Nolo's Business LLCs & Corportations, and Home Businesses.
3. Explore.
   

   A - B = C

   "A " is what skills, knowledges, or experience it takes to make this kind of business idea work, by interviewing several business owners.
   "B" is skills, knowledges, or experience that you have.
   "C" is list of skills that are required for success in such a business. Go hire someone that does.
4. Get Feedback.
   Are you cut out for this sort of thing? Only you can answer that.You can try to find out by doing self-examination questionnaires on working solo. Check out Checkster, which is a free talent checkup. It emails 6-12 people you choose, and asks them to answer a few brief questions about you and your past work. Then it removes the names and mashed the info together and gives you a summery report. 

This may go without saying, but since Bolles felt the need to specify, I will too. If you have a spouse or partner, tell them what you're up to and what you're thinking. Find out what their opinion is and explore whether this is going to require sacrifices from them, and not just you, and how they feel about that. You only have one life, so while you're here you should do what you want. There is always some risk in trying something new. Make sure ahead of the time that the risk aren't avoidable, but instead manageable. Talk to others who have already done what you are thinking of doing; then evaluate whether or not you still want to go ahead and try it. Have a plan B as to what you will do if it doesn't work out.

Good luck!

Until next time,

Caitlin Campbell

The Five Ways to Choose/Change Careers

Hello Everybody,

This post is going to be covering chapter 10 from What Color is Your Parachute, The Five Ways to Choose/Change Careers.

The First Way to Choose/Change Careers : The Internet

Richard N. Bolles suggests the used of O*Net Online, a digital, online treasure house of information and it's up to date. Suggested careers are grouped by industries in great demand, green economies, largest number of openings anticipated, STEM discipline, amount of preparation or training required and more. When you find an occupation they have a specially developed content model to help you learn more.

The Second Way to Choose/Change Careers : Tests

They're not really tests, but more so instruments or assessments. Before  you proceed with the "tests" method there are 6 things you should know

1. You are absolutely unique. There is no person in the world like you. It follows from this that no test can measure you; it can only describe the family to which  you belong.Tests divide the population into groups, tests are about families, not individuals. You may be exactly like your group or you could be completely different.
2. Don't try to figure out ahead of time how you want the test to come out. Stay loose and open to new ideas. If you;re going to take tests, you need to be open to new ideas.
3. In taking a test, you should just be looking for clues, hunches, or suggestions, rather than for a definitive answer that says, "this is what you must choose to do with your life."
4. Take several tests and not just one. One can easily send you down the wrong path. Tests are notoriously flawed, unscientific, and inaccurate.
5. In good career planning, you're trying, in the first instance, to broaden your horizons, and only later narrow your options down. You are not trying to narrow them down from the outset.
6. Testing will always have "mixed reviews" some people it helped, others it has ruined.

The Third Way to Choose/Change Careers : Using the Flower Exercise

This refers to an exercise we completed in a couple posts back. Click here for the intro, part 2 and part 3. Basically look at your past, break down those experiences down into its most basic "atoms," then build a new career for the future from your favorite "atoms," retracing your steps from the bottom up, in the exact opposite direction.

The Fourth Way to Choose/Change Careers : Changing a Career in Two Steps

This is not a way to identify a new career, as more a way to move into that career, once chosen. Changing careers in two steps, not one. A job is a job-title in a field. A job has therefore, 2 parts : title and field. Title is really a symbol for what you do. Field is where you do it, or what you do it with. a Difficult path is changing both at once (one step). But in 2 steps, you can claim experience.

The Fifth Way to Choose/Change Careers : Finding Out What the Job-Market Will Need

Not based on your wishes, but rather the job-market. Not what you want, but what the market wants. Technically called "projections" or also, "hot jobs". "Projections" is really just a nice word for guesses.

Conclusion : Eight Cautions about Choosing/Changing Careers 

1. Go for any career that seems fascinating or even interesting to you. But first talk to people who are already doing that work. Every man and woman may see their vocation in a different light. Don't assume that the way the person you are interviewing defines it, is the way you must also. Beneath any job-title, there is often lost of room for you to maneuver and define that job in a way that unique suits you, your gifts and your creativity.
2. Make sure that you preserve constancy in your life as well as change. Don't change everything. You need a firm place to stand when moving your life around you.
3. You'll do better to start with yourself and what you want, rather than with the job-market, and what's hot. The difference is being "enthusiasm" and "passion".
4. The best work, the best career, for you, the one that makes you happiest an the most fulfilled, is going to be one that uses: your favorite transferable skills, in your favorite subjects, fields, or special acknowledges, in a job that offers you your preferred people-environments, working conditions, salary, and goals and value.
5. The more time and thought you can give to the choosing of  anew career, the better your choice is going to be.
6. It's okay to make a mistake, in your choice. Most of use will  have 3 careers, and 8 or more jobs in our lifetime.
7. Choosing and then finding employment in a new career that you really fancy, should feel like a fun task as much as possible.
8. College degrees do no guarantee you a job. Do something that you feel passion for, rather than just getting a degree to get a degree.

Until next time,

Caitlin Campbell

How to Deal With Any Handicaps You Have

Hello Everyone,

In this post I will be covering chapter 9, How to Deal with Any Handicaps You Have, from What Color is Your Parachute.

There are a million different kinds of handicaps (physical, mental, past, foreign, age). But you only have a handicap that will keep some employers from hiring you, not all. All employers divide for you into just 2 tribes, employers who are interested in hiring you for what you can do vs. employers who are bothered by what you can't do. When you run into the latter, ask if they know of anyone who would be interested in your skills, thank them and courteously take your leave.  Everyone is handicapped. A real handicap means dis-ability: there are some things that a person does not have the ability to do. This encompasses everyone. So what's so special about your handicap? Nothing.

What about a disability that negates your dreams? Try to find a way around it, great minds are inventing new technologies everyday. Just a few years ago people were marveling over smart phones now look at us, some babies even have one. So google experts in a field dealing with your type of disability, contact them and ask for advice or help. If nothing can help, look for jobs that are similar. Remember there are two different types of handicaps, disability or prejudice. A disability is something within you. A prejudice is something within the employer.

Here are key prejudices

1. Out of work too long. 
2. Age. There are a lot of baby boomers out there that don't have quality pension plans so they're still working within the "retirement" years. They will hire you if you have a positive attitude towards aging, if you convey energy, and if you keep working at it.
3. Returning Veterans. This usually has to do with the fear of PTSD. But keep in mind a lot of employers are actually biased towards veterans and hold a lot of respect and would be proud to give you a great opportunity.
4. Ex-offenders. Look on the internet, there are a lot of great resources out there to help you reenter the work force. And Obama is trying to pass new laws to help people with past records so hang in there.
5. Former patients (psychiatric or mental hospitals). 19% of U.S. adults had a mental illness in the past year, you are not alone. Stigma is slowly lightening.
6. Others. Just remember employers are human beings, they are flawed just like the rest of us. And no matter what your prejudice is, keep working at it. There is some employer out there that will look right over that just in order to hire you.

The last and most strong handicap is shyness. One way to take care of this handicap is through enthusiasm. This is where the PIE method comes into play. In order to conquer shyness you need to focus on the P in the method, pleasure. Find something you are enthusiastic about and talk to someone you don't know about it. Remember self-esteem is an art, an art of balance. We are on a tightrope between egotism and thinking too little of ourselves. We are taught that egotism is bad so we usually dive the other direction which can also be departmental to ourselves. The more you see your own gifts clearly, the more you pay attention to the gifts others have. You make yourself equal by not lowering yourself, buy by raising others.

Until next time,

Caitlin Campbell

You Get To Choose Where You Work

Hello Everybody,

In this post I will be covering chapter 8, You Get to Choose Where You Work, from What Color is Your Parachute.

Some people will look at their flower diagram and know right away what they want to do. But odds are that's not what's going to happen to you. So here are the steps that follow after creating your diagram and how to use it. You need to find out what careers or jobs your flower points to. First look at your diagram and write your three favorite knowledges on a piece of paper in order of most important to least. Look at your top skills and pick five, write those down on the same sheet. Show your list to five people, and ask what jobs or work does this page suggest. Jot down their ideas. Look at your notes, and circle what interests you. Keep in mind, do you want to work with people, information or things. If you're unsure your favorite skill is most likely to give you a clue. Remember what you're trying to do here, don't think in only terms of what you'd die to be able to do, but don't forget your dream either.

Your next step is to try on careers before you decide which ones to pursue. What looks good on paper doesn't mean it will work out best for you. Talk to people who are already doing that kind of job you're thinking about. Ask them how they got into their line of work and what they like the most and the least. Next you need to find out what kinds of organizations have such jobs. Think of all the kinds of places where one might get hired. "Kinds of places" also means places with different hiring options besides just simply full time (examples could be part-time, temp, volunteer). Next you need to find names of particular places that interest you. For a successful job-hunt you should choose places based on your interest in them and not wait for them to open up a vacancy. If you have too many names narrow it down by location, number of employees, and what you want to do. If you don't have enough names broaden your search, include locations that might be a little more of a commute.

Next you need to learn as much as you can about a place before formally approaching them. It creates a good first impression of you when you show that you have the dedication to look into them before walking through their door and asking for their time. Talk to friends and neighbors, ask everyone you know if they know anyone who works there. People at the organizations in question or similar, you can go in person to ask them questions about the place. Be sure you don't ask questions that are in print and you could have found the answers on your own, before wasting their time. Also approach the gateway people and subordinates before anyone else higher up, don't use this as a rouse to meet the boss.

After you find out all the information you were looking for be sure to send a thank you! E-mail them that night and send a nice one by mail the next day. Send one to everyone that helped you, and spell their names right. Nothing is more of a turn off then people repeatedly spelling your name wrong (I spell "Caitlin" with an "I" not a "Y", come on people). Be sure to be prompt and brief and professional. This might be the graphic designer in me, but use this opportunity to sell yourself. If your handwriting is bad, then print it. And please stay away from casual fonts, like comic sans, we graphic designers hate comic sans.

Until next time,
Caitlin Campbell

You Need to Understand More Fully Who You Are : Petals 5-7

Hello Everyone,

This post will be covering the 3rd and final section of chapter 7 of What Color is Your Parachute : 2016, You Need to Understand More Fully Who You Are. If you want to read the introduction to this chapter, click here. If you want to read petals 1-4, click here.

I Am A Person Who Prefers a Certain Level of Responsibility and Salary

Fifth Petal: My Preferred Salary and Level of Responsibility

 Goal: Gain a realistic picture of how much money you will need to earn
Look For: A range - you'll want your bottom range to be near the top of their's
Form: Total dollars needed, weekly, monthly, or annually

Money is important.
Happiness is important too.
But money does buy happiness, but only to a point ($75,000)

1. The first question here is at what level would you like to work in your ideal job? Level is how much responsibility you want in an organization. 2-3 word summary of your answer.
2. The second question here is what salary would you like to be aiming for? Think in terms of minimum and maximum. Figure our your minimum, or just getting by, by adding all your bills (rent, phone, food etc.) 

Also figure out if there are any rewards besides money that you want.

I Am a Person Who Prefers Certain Places to Live

Sixth Petal: My Preferred Place to Live

Goal: Define where you would most like to work and live and be happiest

Look For: Having a clearer picture about what you hope for, in life. Now or later.

Form: Stay general

1. Create this chart on a large piece of paper
2. Column 1, list places where you have ever lived.
3. Column 2, all the factors you disliked about each place. Good things in column 3. If some factors repeat, put check marks after listing. Disregard column 1, once you have written all the things you disliked.
4. Look at column 2, try to list opposites into column 3.
5. Column 4, list positive factors in column 3 in order of most important (to you) down to least important. Use a Prioritizing grid if it helps.
6. Write the top 10, and ask people if they can think of a location like that. Circle the 3 most interesting. Enter in column 5. Add to Flower diagram if you're doing this alone without a partner.
7. If you have a partner, skip column 5, when you have finished column 4, look at your partner's and copy it into your column 6.
8. Now in column 7, combine your column 4 with column 6.
9. List top 10 factors and both of you should show it to everyone you meet. Again circle 3 that are the most interesting to the 2 of you. Enter into column 8.

I Am a Person Who Has a Certain Goal, Purpose, or Mission in Life

Seventh Petal: My Goal, Purpose, or Mission in Life

Goal: Know the moral compass or spiritual values by which you want to guide you life.

Look For: Some definition of the purpose and mission of your life.

Form: Description of what kingdom of life you want to make better.

The Nine Kingdoms of Mission and Purpose

1. The Mind. When you have finished your life here on earth, do you want there to be more knowledge, truth or clarity in the world, because you were here? Concerning what in particular.
2. The Body. Wholeness, fitness, or heath in the world? Wounds, feeding, clothing.
3. The Eyes and Other Senses. More beauty? What kind of beauty?
4. The Heart. More love and compassion? For whom? Or what?
5. The Will or Conscience. More morality, justice, righteousness? Areas of human life or listening? What geographical area?
6. The Spirit. More spirituality in the world, faith compassion, forgiveness, love for God and human family in all its diversity? Ages, people, or what parts of human life?
7. Entertainment. Mere lightening of people's loads, giving them perspective, forget their cares, more laughter and joy? What kind of entertainment.
8. Our Possessions. Is your major concern the often false love of possessions in this world? Better stewardship. Quality rather than quantity.
9. The Earth. Is the planet on which we stand a major concern? Better protection for life on earth.

Which on draws you? Enter a summary paragraph on goal, purpose or mission in life petal. 

I Am a Person Who Has Completed My Flower

Here is an example of a completed flower diagram. Congrats you now have a better understand of who you are as a person,what you want and what works best for you!

Until next time,

Caitlin Campbell

You Need to Understand More Fully Who You Are : Petals 1-4

Hello Everybody,

This post is the second post going into detail about What Color is Your Parachute, chapter 7 : You Need to Understand More Fully Who You Are : Petals 1-4. If you would like to read my introduction to this please click here. If you would like to proceed to the next post, petals 5-7, click here.

I am a Person Who Knows These Particular Things

First Petal: My Favorite Knowledge or Friends of Interest

Goal: Summarize all that you stored in your brain, subjects you already know a lot about.

Look For: Guidance to what field you would most enjoy working in.

Form: Nouns

Begin making a worksheet, treat it like a gathering place

1. What you know from your previous jobs. Even if it seems obvious, list it, it could help you see the bigger picture (hiring, bookkeeping), then pick your favorites.
2. What you know about, outside of work (like stuff you learned in high school, training seminars, or studied at home).
3. What fields, careers, or industries sound interesting to you. Start broad then drill down. The job market consists of 4 broad arenas: agriculture, manufacturing, information and services.

I am a Person Who has These Favorite Kinds of People

Second Petal: My Preferred Kinds of People to Work with

Goal: Avoid past bad experiences. The people we work with are either energy drainers or energy creators.

Look For: 1) What people will help you 2) Who you want to serve

Form: Adjectives describing different kinds of people.

Fill out the columns by using the help of the Prioritizing Grid. This will be used for several exercises for our petals so try to make a note of it.

These are the instructions for using this grid

1. Write down all the factors from the second column. (Focus on the 10 you dislike the most)
2. Compare 2 items at a time. Circle the one you dislike the most. Go diagonally down the list, so as to not be biased.
3. At the bottom of the gride write down how many times each number got circled. Resolve any 2 way ties by going back to when you compared these 2 and give the winner (the one you dislike more) half a point. 3 way ties mean you contradicted yourself, pick the worst one and then give 3/4, second worst 1/2 and then none to the last one.
4. Recopy the list in order of most disliked to next most and so forth.

Then you can go back to the first chart and copy first 5 factors from section D into the 3rd column. Write opposites in the 4th column of the first chart. By putting your negative list in the exact order of what you want to avoid you now know what you want to find by writing their opposites.

There is also the Party Game Exercise. Basically there are 6 people environments.

1. R=Realistic. These people like nature, animals, athletics, tool and machinery and being outdoors.
2. I=Investigative. These people are curious, investigate and analyze.
3. A=Artistic. These people are artistic, imaginative, innovative and don't like time clocks.
4. S=Social. These people who are bent on trying to help, teach or serve.
5. E=Enterprising. These people who like to start up projects or organization, sell things, influence and persuade people.
6. C=Conventional. These people who like detailed work and like to complete tasks or projects.

Everyone has 3 preferred people environments. So look at the party game exercise. Think about which corner you'd go to first. Then if those people left, which one would to head to. Then if those people left which group would you head to next for the rest of the party. This way you know your 3 preferred people environments.

I Am a Person Who Can do These Particular Things

Third Petal: What I Can Do and Love to Do (My Favorite Transferable Skills)

Goal: Discover  your transferable skills.

Look For: Not just what you can do, but what you love.

Form: Verbs

Here is a crash course on "Transferable Skills". Understanding the word will help you put yourself ahead of most other job-hunters. These are the most important truths you need to keep in mind about transferable skills.

1. Your transferable (functional) skills are the most basic unit - the atoms - of whatever career you may choose.
2. You should always claim the highest skills you legitimately can on the basis of your past performance. Look at this chart below, simple skill at the bottom with the more complicated ones at the top.
3. The higher your transferable skills, the more freedom you will have on the job. The higher the skills you legitimately claim, the more discretion to carve out the job the way you want it.
4. The higher your transferable skills, the less competition you will face for whatever job you are seeking, because jobs that use such skills will rarely be advertised through normal channels. If you can legitimately claim higher skills, you may approach any organization that interests you , whether they have a known vacancy or not. You will find fewer job-hunters to compete.
5. Don't confuse transferable skills with traits. These are the style in which you do your transferable skills.

In order to try to recognize your skills

1. Write a Story (the first of seven). Human beings are "a writing people" we only need a topic we have passion for or interest and Bam! This will be your office blog. Each story should have the following Parts
   a) Your goal: what you wanted to accomplish
   b) Some kind of hurdle, obstacle, or constraint that you faced (self-imposed or otherwise)
   c)A description of what you did, step by step (how you set about the ultimately achieve your goal, above, in spite of this hurdle or constraint)
   d) A description of the outcome or result
   e) Any measurable/quantifiable statement of that outcome, that you can think of
2. Analyze your story to see what transferable skills you used. Look for patterns.
3. Write six other stories, and analyze them for transferable skills. Even look for skills outside of work.
4. Patterns and Priorities
   a) Patterns because "once" proves nothing, "again and again" is a way of convincing.
   b) Priorities (skills most important to you) because the job you chose may not be able to use all of your skills. Know what you're willing to trade off and what you can't. Use the Prioritizing Grid to get scientifically your priorities. Copy the top 10 on to building blocks diagram (above) and favorite transferable skills petal. The virtue of breaking down "who you are" into building blocks is that the top will help you define the kind of job or career you're looking for. But the rest show the other possibilities you have also.
5. "Flesh Out" your favorite transferable skills with your traits.

I Am a Person Who Has Favorite Working Conditions

Fourth Petal: My Favorite Working Conditions

Goal: State the working conditions and surroundings that would make you happiest

Look For: Avoid past bad experiences

Form: Descriptions of physical surroundings your physical setting where you work can cheer you up or drag you down. We do our best work under certain conditions start with what you disliked in previous jobs chart.

Utilize the Prioritizing Grid above. This time when comparing, ask yourself, "if I were offered 2 jobs, 1 had 1 bad thing but not the other and vice versa, which one would I take? Write the opposite. Copy into the favorite working conditions petal.

Until next time,

Caitlin Campbell

You Need to Understand More Fully Who You Are : Intro

Hello Everybody,

This post will be covering chapter 7 of What Color is Your Parachute :2016, You Need to Understand More Fully Who You Are. Now this chapter is a rather lengthy one with at a lot of important information so I have broken it into three different parts. This one will cover the introduction, click here for part 2 or click here for part 3.

Introduction

Why does an inventory of who you are, work so well in helping you find work after other methods have failed? Let Richard N. Bolles count the ways...

1. By doing this homework on yourself, you learn to describe yourself in a least size different ways, and therefore you can approach multiple job-markets.
2. By doing this homework on yourself, you can describe in detail exactly what you are looking for. 
3. By ending up with a picture of a job that would really excite you, you will inevitably pour much more energy and determination into your job-search. 
4. By doing this homework, you will no longer have to want to approach companies until they say they have a vacancy.
5. When you are facing, let us say, nineteen other competitors for the job you want - equally experienced, equality skilled- you will stand out because you can accurately describe to employers exactly what is unique about you and what you bring to the table that the others do not.
6. If you are contemplating a career-change, maybe - after you inventory yourself - you will see definitely what new career or direction you want for your life.
7. Unemployment is an interruption in most of our lives. And interruption are opportunities, to pause, to think, to assess where we really want to go with our lives.

So use this opportunity. Make this not only a hunt for a job, but a hunt for a life. The saddest pieces of advice in the world is, "be realistic".  The best parts of the world were not fashioned by those who were "realistic".

The Inventory

In order to begin to create this inventory you'll need to strip yourself of your past job-title. You are a person, not just a role. Change your way of defining yourself. You are complex, there are multiple sides that come together to make you whole. You are like a flower, with multiple petals, like so.

You are a person that is made up of seven sides (or in this case petals). These are seven different ways to think of yourself.

1. You can describe who you are in terms of what you know.
2. Or you can describe who you are in terms of the kinds of people you prefer to work with.
3. Or you can describe who you are in terms of what you can do, and what your favorite functional/transferable skills are.
4. Or you can describe who you are in terms of your favorite working conditions.
5. Or you can describe who you are in terms of your preferred salary and level of responsibility.
6. Or you can describe who you are in terms of your preferred geographical location or surroundings.
7. Or you can describe who you are in terms of your goals or sense of mission and purpose for your life.

You are all these things.

You can choose which or how many sides of yourself as your guide to defining what kind of work matches you. Your total flower is a picture of who you most fully are.

Click here to proceed to the next post in this series.
Click here to proceed to the third and final post in this series.

Until next time,

Caitlin Campbell

What to Do When Your Job Hunt Just Isn't Working

Hello Everybody,

I will be covering chapter 6 of What Color is Your Parachute, What to Do When Your Job Hunt Just Isn't Working. It's frustrating. You keep looking, but sometimes things just keep falling through on you. And it's hard, but never give up. Figure out what is in your control and try a different approach. Work harder at a different strategy, not just work harder in general.

There are two ways to hunt for a job. One is the traditional route which you have probably already been doing because, well, it's the traditional way to look for a job. But there is a second way to job hunt and it's called The Parachute Way. In doing The Parachute Way, you begin with yourself instead of the job-market. If you have the book check out the chart on page 101 to get more in depth idea of what the author means by saying The Parachute Way. This second way of job hunting works about 50% of the time when the traditional way falls through.

The Twelve Best and Worst Ways to Look for a Job
(Listed from least effective to most)

1. Looking for employers' job-postings on the internet. Works about 4% of the time. Most effective with tech related jobs.
2. Posting or mailing out your resume to employers. Works about 7% of the time. You also need to be careful when posting your resume online because once you're resume is out in the internet, it stays there. So if there is so much as a tiny fib on that resume, it can come back to haunt you years later.
3. Answering local newspaper ads. Works between 5 - 24% of the time.
4. Going to private employment agencies or search firms for help. Works between 5 - 28% of the time. This is due to the differences in staffing, some companies have incredibly competent staff, others don't.
5. Answering ads in professional or trade journals, appropriate to your field. Works about 7% of the time.
6. "Job Clubs". Works about 10% of the time. More like a job-search support group than anything, which can still be helpful and important, you always need support when going through something as stressful as a new job-hunt.
7. Going to the state or federal employment office. Works about 14% of the time.
8. Going to places where employers pick up workers. Works about 22% of the time. Best for union members or day-laborers.
9. Asking for job-leads. Works about 33% of the time. This is when you simply ask family, friends, neighbors, connections on LinkedIn, or whoever if they hear of anything to let you know.
10. Knocking on the door of any employer, office, or manufacturing plant. Works about 47% of the time. Works best with small employers of about 25 people or less.
11. Using the Yellow Pages. Works about 65% of the time. Call them, set up appointment, go visit, and explore whether they are hiring or not.
12. The Parachute Approach. Works about 86% of the time.

Job-Hunting methods were not created equal.

Good luck job-hunters!

Until Next Time,

Caitlin Campbell

The Six Secrets of Salary Negotiation

Hello Everybody,

In this post I will be covering chapter 5 of What Color is Your Parachute?, The Six Secrets of Salary Negotiation.

The Six Secrets of Salary Negotiation

1. Never Discuss Salary Until the End of the Whole Interviewing Process at that Organization, When (and if) They Have Definitely Said They Want You. If a possible future employer raises the question of salary early on in the interview process, try to hold off the conversation by simply saying that you want to wait to decide if this is a good fit before discussing salary. If they're pushy say something like, "I'll gladly answer that, but can you help me understand what the job entails first?" And if they won't let it go, give them a range, but try to avoid this until you have a chance to make an impression on them. You want their decision to be based on you and your skill set, not a dollar amount.
2. The Purpose of Salary Negotiation is to Uncover the Most that an Employer is Willing to Pay to Get You. Range between the lowest they're hoping to pay vs. the highest they can pay.
3. During Salary Discussion, Never Be the First One to Mention a Salary Figure. Whoever mentions a salary figure first, generally loses. But at the same time don't go as far in this game of chicken to not determine a salary before ending the interview, you can't just assume that you'll automatically get a fair wage.
4. They'll Try to Get You to Say it First. Respond with something along the lines, "well you created this position, so you must have some figure in mind, I'm interested in hearing that figure". 
5. Before You Go to the Interview, Do Some Careful Research on Typical Salaries for Your Field and in that Organization. The internet is your friend, so use it to get salary research. Try to not turn to books for your information, they become outdated too easily and quickly. Also try talking to other people. If you don't know where to look, ask teachers at a local  college and they can usually point you in the right direction.
6. Research the Range that the Employer likely has in Mind, and then Define an Interrelated Range for Yourself, Relative to the Employer's Range. Start by defining your goal. It'll be less than the person above you makes and more than what the person below you makes. You can look at their competitors for an idea of their range. Be prepared to show in what ways you will make money or in what ways you will save money for that organization. If you're dying to work somewhere but they can't afford you, offer to work part time.
7. Know How to Bring the Salary Negotiation to a Close; Don't Leave it "Just Hanging". Be sure to discuss "fringe benefits", trust me, you never realize how important these are until you need them. Be sure to get the amounts and other information you agreed upon in writing and signed. You can do this easily by Googling a letter of agreement to make it official.

And there you have it. Salary negotiation is always and scary and stressful conversation, but if you have a plan of action and research under your belt, you can enter that conversation confidently. 

Until next time,

Caitlin Campbell

Sixteen Tips About Interviewing for a Job

Hello Everybody,

And this post will be covering Chapter 4 of What Color is Your Parachute, Sixteen Tips About Interviewing for a job.

Job interviews can be a stressful experience for both sides of the desk. But thankfully, What Color is Your Parachute is here to help by giving us some tips.

1. There is no such thing as "Employers." Work on breaking yourself on the idea that all employers are alike and all want the same thing. Do your best to not generalize and become discouraged.
2. An interview should be prepared for, before you ever go in. Do research on the company before you show up on their doorstep.
3. Honor Agreements. For example, if it was you who asked for the interview, set a specific time and then stick with it. Say something like 19 minutes on the dot, and HONOR that. It shows that you're quirky and that you take your promises very seriously.
4. An interview for a job is a lot like dating. We've covered this idea before, an interview isn't only about you trying to get the job, a lot of it is has to do with you deciding if it's a job that you actually want.
5. Questions to expect from them, then questions you can ask. They will more often than not, ask you, "tell me about yourself". This question is a test. Don't answer it with a question, be prepared and ready to go with a your previous experience, skills or other things pertinent to the job. Don't mention your hobbies unless you think you're in a type of situation where they will actually end up helping you. The main questions you can expect in different forms are 1) "why are you here?" 2) "What can you do for us?" 3) "What kind of person are you?" 4) "What exactly distinguishes you from 19 or 900 other people who are applying for this job?" 5) "Can I afford you?" And don't forget this is a two way street, be sure to have your own questions in mind and ready to go.
6. During the interview determine to observe "the 50-50 rule". They talk half, you talk half, as simple as that.
7. In answering the employer's questions, observe "the 20 second to 2 minute rule". This one goes hand and hand with the previous tip. In your half of talking try to answer every question between 20 seconds and 2 minutes. You don't want to be to short that it looks like you're hiding things or too long where you just go on and on and on.
8. The employer is primarily concerned about risk. Keep in mind that the employer is worried about hiring the wrong person, because it can cost the employer 1 to 5 times the bad hires salary or more. They'll be on the look out for people who can't do the job, or can, and will leave once they find a better one. Be part of the solution, not part of the problem.
9. Its the small things that are the killers in a job interview. Losing to mosquitoes when you were prepared to fight dragons. A lot of employers believe that microcosm reveals macrocosm. So they will be looking out for the little things like your appearance and volume of talking, to determine how you will carry yourself doing this job.  
10. Be aware of the skills most employers are looking for, these days, regardless of the position you are seeking. Things like being punctual, dependable, good attitude, self-disciplined, can handle people well, use language effectively, computer skills, committed to teamwork, flexible, trainable, project-oriented, creativity, integrity, loyal, and able to identify opportunities are something that every employer wants.
11. Try to think of some way to bring evidence of your skills, to the hiring-interview. For example, as a graphic designer I will always need to bring my portfolio. Bring whatever proof you have of your past work.
12. Do not bad-mouth your previous employer(s) during the interview, even if they were terrible people. This will help show that you are the bigger person even if they know of this past difficult relationship, and reassures them that even if things don't pan out between the two of you, that you won't go around bad-mouthing them.
13. Throughout the interview, keep in mind employers don't really care about your past; they only ask about it, in order to try to predict your future (behavior) with them, if they decide to hire you. Try to figure out the reason behind the questions that they are asking you about your past in order to understand the question they are actually trying to answer.
14. As the interview proceeds, you want to quietly notice the time-frame of the question the employer is asking. They're going to start off asking about your past, than slowly proceed to current than hopefully futuristic questions. If this is happening the interview is looking good for you, if they're staying in the past maybe not so much.
15. Before you leave the (final) interview there, assuming you have decided that you like them and maybe they like you, there are five questions you should always ask: 1) "Can you offer me this job?" 2) "When may I expect to hear from you?" 3) "Might I ask what would be the latest I can expect to hear from you?" 4)"May I contact you after that date, if for any reason you have't gotten back to me by that time?" 5) "Can you think of anyone else who might be interested in my skills and expertise?"
16. 1)Thank you notes must be sent after every interview, by every job-hunter. 2) Most job-hunters ignore this advice. 

And there you have it! 16 tips to help you ace that interview. And even if you follow all of these steps and still don't get the job, remember that all employers are different and that you're just one more "no" closer to hearing that "yes".

Until next time,
Caitlin Campbell

There Are Over Eight Million Vacancies Available Each Month

Hello Everybody,

This post will be covering chapter 3 of What Color is Your Parachute? 

Yes. You read the title of this post correctly. "There are over eight million vacancies available each month". Trust me, I read the chapter and I'm still a little weary of it, but it seems legit enough. The author, Richard N. Bolles also goes to say, "the job-hunt hasn't changed at all in its essence since 2008." Contradiction? Yes, but then again no. He goes on to explain that while the behavior of the job hunt is always changing with technology (internet, computers, social media and so forth), the essence remains the same. Job-hunting is like dating. First question, "Do you like me?" Second question, "Do I like you?" It's a two way conversation. So while you might feel powerless remember, there is always at least a small part you have control of. And that small part could be the thing that makes or breaks you.

There are jobs out there. It might be hard or difficult to get one. But they are out there! The reason things look so bad is because that is how the information is presented through the media. Moral of the story is to take everything with a grain of salt. In conclusion, job-hunting is not a science, it is an art. Job-hunting is always mysterious, we will most likely never fully understand it. There is no "always wrong" way to hunt for a job or to change careers. Job-hunting is, or should be, a full-time job (what you put in to it, is what you're going to get out of it). A lot of it just comes down to luck, so keep your fingers crossed!

Until next time,
Caitlin Campbell

Google is Your New Resume

Hello Everybody,

This post is going to go into detail about the second chapter of What Color is Your Parachute? 2016.

This chapter focuses on job-hunters' favorite things, resumes. Resumes have evolved over the ages. No longer is it just simply a list of your experience, it has become bigger than that. It has taken the form of your online footprint. 91% of U.S. employers have visited a job-hunter's profile on social networks to weed out if it is the type of person they actually want to hire or not. Things that will get you rejected by an employer are things such as bad grammar or misspelling, lies, talking trash of your previous employment (avoid this in interviews also!), racism (avoid this in your life all together!), prejudice, screwy opinions, indicating alcohol or drug abuse, and inappropriate content. If you fear you may have some disconcerting posts on your social media, it's simple enough to edit or delete. If you're unsure on how to do something, Google it. Some social media sites even have built in features that will help you monitor who gets to see what on your profiles. So unitize privacy settings and use discretion before posting.

While it's easy to see how your "Google resume" could be departmental it could also be the reason why you get a job. Here are somethings to keep in mind when building your Google resume.

1. Volunteer, community, and unpaid work.
2. Educational
3. Sales or Account Management
4. Administration, customer service, and accounts
5. Responsibility
6. Events or Conference Planning or Logistical Management
7. Computers
8. Mechanical
9. Building, Construction, Electrical, and Plumbing
10. General
11. Positive Feedback
12. Memberships
13. Published or Presented Work
14. Looking Ahead.
15. 
    

Just remember that traditional resumes are still important even if they aren't as important as they used to be. And just keep in mind that some employers prefer different styles of resumes than others. Like the person that had created the resume featured above. He was able to get a job with that resume but after the fact, when a lot of employers were shown his resume, their reactions were more negative than positive. Everyone's tastes are different so you never really know what you're going to get. Just work hard to make sure you give yourself the best possible chance. The purpose of your resume is to get an interview, which will hopefully lead to a job.

Until next time,

Caitlin Campbell

It's a Whole New World For Job-Hunters

Hello Everybody,

This post is going to go into detail about the first chapter in What Color is Your Parachute? 2016.

The first chapter covered a lot of different topics but I'm going to mostly focus on what stood out as the most important aspects for me, what has worked in my personal experience and what I have seen work for others.

The most difficult part for job-hunters is that they go in practically the opposite direction that employers go when looking to hire someone. The reason why this happens is that job-hunters and employers value different things. As job-hunters we value time. We know how difficult it can be to find jobs now a days, so our main concern is spending as little time as possible on each job opportunity so that we have time to apply to other positions and increase our chances for getting an ideal job. Employers value risk. The less risk the better. The less riskiness of a hire the less likely the possibility for loss time and loss of money.

• So the number one way to hire with the least amount of risk is to hire from within. I worked for 4 years at a retirement home and they were constantly providing incentives for wait staff employees to go to school so that they could become CNAs or nursing staff and promote employees from wait staff into those open positions. This worked out best because these employees already knew the campus, the residents, and the other employees. And if there was only a few CNA shifts open, these employees could lob between wait staff shifts and CNA shifts to get in all their hours. 
• The second choice to hire is using proof. This is something as a graphic designer has been engraved into my brain. I don't know how many times I've had to explain to my dad that my grades from college don't actually mean anything in the real world. A 4.0 does not mean you can actually design an effective poster. Showing a potential employer a powerful poster you designed, means you can design. Straight and simple. So whatever your skill is collect proof, make a portfolio, or act least come up with real life examples of your skills to share in the interview. Hearing a true story of how you utilized certain skills means more than you simply listing them.
• The third is using a best friend or business colleague. People take into account people they trust's opinions. Network, network, network. It might not be entirely fair but the world is all about who you know. This was how my mom was able to leave a job that was weighing her down. While she had a lot of interviews at a lost of different companies and her resume was impressive, the job that she actual was able to get only happened cause she knew an employee already at that company.
• The fourth is using an agency they trust. 
• The fifth is using an ad they have placed.
• The sixth is using a resume. When I was looking for an internship for the summer, I contacted a design firm in my town with a  thoughtful email and I attached my resume. I never heard back. I doubt they even opened the attachment. Just sending out a resume is the least effective way to get a job.

For more helpful information order your own copy of What Color is Your Parachute? 2016.

Until next time,

Caitlin Campbell