How To Get a Job, Grow Your Business, or Improve Personal Positioning

The numbers of Unemployment are staggering….over 9,000,000 working age Americans. Most are choosing to opt out of the labor force, (which I fail to grasp).

And Underemployment is also staggering…as high as 7,000,000 by some estimates. The definition of underemployment: Workers that are highly skilled but working in low-paying, low-skilled jobs or part time workers that would like to be full time.

Consequently, this article is design to solve a bit of this problem. I can hear your reaction: “Bill, you’re nuts. You can’t solve this in a blog post.” Oh yeah? Watch me.

Caveats. This will be apolitical so you trolls step back. This is about personal responsibility of the worker. And I consider that politically neutral.  This also is not about macro-economic trends. I’ll leave that to people smarter than moi.

In order to get a job, you have to have a System.

And that’s what I will teach you here: A systematic approach to job improvement is essential. If you have no system, you’ll be at the whims of the market. You will lose control. You will be powerless.

If you’re OK with powerlessness, stop reading this IMMEDIATELY. This will not help. Get to therapy now, where you can lay on the couch and discover your self-imposed limitations.

But for others, here we go.

STEP 1. Get Clear On What You Want

Most aren’t. When I say this, I mean, What does your ideal day look like? What does your ideal pay look like? What does your life look like, in your eyes, 1, 3, 5 years from now? Set some goals. If you’re struggling, find someone who can hold you accountable for this exercise. Setting these types of goals will begin to clarify what “success” looks like for you.

Begin writing. Buy a $10 journal and get to work.

Don’t go to Step 2, until you’ve spent 4 hours on this step. “Four hours!!? Are you kidding me? I don’t have time for that!” No, not kidding. Come on. Grow up. Your clarity is key to this. It will help you chart your course from where you are to where you want to be. There is no path to the unknown – only drifting.

“If you don’t know where you’re going, any path will get you there.” -Alice in Wonderland

STEP 2. Assess Your Virtues – Craft Your Story

What are you talented at? What do people tell you you’re good at? Take stock of those. You are a brand so begin acting like it. Brands need to know the impact they have on consumers. In this case, your future employer is your consumer, so get clear on how to position yourself.

2B. Your Story. Another way to do this is to think of your life story. What were the times when you almost gave up? When did you stand tall? When did you play large? Or small? What books have had the most impact on you? What guides came into your life at just the right time?  What seminars have you gone to that had a lasting impact? (No books? No guides? No seminars? Then start now).

Your story depicts who you REALLY are – not some resume. No one has YOUR story. No one has lived YOUR life. Period. So, tell it proudly.

Hint: You can put your “story” into the Reach Out Email (below) if you’d like, or, in a blog post. Your call. Go for it!!

[shareable cite=”Bill Caskey”]Your story depicts who you REALLY are, not some resume.[/shareable]

STEP 3. Create Your System

My suggestion is that your System have 5 parts to it.

1. Craft The “Reach-Out” Email

This is the email you will send when you come across someone who is hiring in a position you might want to pursue. Craft it with your personality. No stiff, contrived stuff here. Here’s an example:

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“Mr. Smith. I saw your ad for (insert the position) in the (insert where you saw it) and it looks like something I might be interested in, if you haven’t already filled it. Attached is my resume but also, below is a link to some of the work I’ve done (more on this later). 

If you have some interest in speaking, I would too! The best way to get on my calendar is to go to this link (More on this later) and set up a quick phone call. Would love to chat when you’re available.  

Calendar Link:

Samples of My Work:

Regards, 

(Your Name)

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If you’re merely contacting people who are NOT looking to fill a specific job function, then this email below might be better.

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“Mr. Smith. This might sound like a presumptuous email but bear with me. 

I’m in the process of improving my career. I have no idea if your company is looking for people like me but I thought I’d take a shot in the dark. To start this process, I am attaching my resume and also, below is a link to some of the work I’ve done. I know resumes can all look alike so I decided to take a different tact. 

If you have some interest in speaking, I would too! The best way to get on my calendar is to go to this link and set up a quick phone call. Would love to chat when you’re available.  

Calendar Link:

Samples of My Work:

Regards, 

(Your Name)

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Program this as one of your Signatures in your email software. That way, you can click on it quickly and not have to re-write it each time, although you’ll need to slightly modify depending upon the circumstance. That is a genius idea, if I may say so 🙂  You might insert two sigs for the two emails I gave you.

Have a couple of smart people in your life read your email and comment on it. Improve it. But DON’T let them suck your personality out of it. Being YOU is the key to all of this.

2. Craft A Sample of “You”

This is more difficult but stay with me. If you’re pursuing a “white collar” or “knowledge” position, writing will be your friend. I want you to have a blog or at least a LinkedIn profile where you can post content. This content will offer the world your perspective on things. (Or, it could offer the world your story.)

If you’re a college graduate, write about the quest to find the perfect job. If you’re an out of work middle-aged exec, write about that process. Be personal. If you’re a person who already has a career but you’re getting restless, write about principles that you live by. Give people a sense of how you think and how you observe.

Why? You MUST stand out. You having a perspective will go further than you having a resume.

Companies want to hire people who can communicate. Who observe the world. Who can put their thoughts onto paper. Nothing helps you do that like this.

Then, you will link to this content in your “Reach Out” email. Plan on writing a new article every week. Yes, every week. Doesn’t have to be long — 300-500 words will do. Don’t write a novel.

And, your Story above would be a great thing to put on your About Me page on your blog. Be real. Be raw. Give people a glimpse at who you really are. The more personal, the better.

3. (Advanced). Produced Media.

Produce something. Use your creative skills. Create an audio of something you’re interested in. Go interview someone – or a number of people. A USB mic is $59. Don’t tell me you can’t afford to do this. It will take some time but who cares? Spend a weekend on this and you’ll get it going. Turn off “House of Cards” for a month and work on this.

Why? Puts you in the top 1% of people immediately. It changes the game for you. No longer are you pursuing them…they begin pursuing you. It positions you as someone unique. 

4. Scheduling Software.

I recommend Calendly.com. It syncs with your gmail/or other calendar. This makes it easy for the company representative to schedule a quick call with you. Plus, it will impress them that you’ve gone to the trouble to do this. It shows innovation and spirit. Calendly is $100/year. A cheap way to schedule interviews.

Why? Your job is finding a job, or a better one. Create an easy path for someone to speak with you. Don’t be emailing back and forth trying to find a time to talk. This takes that away. If you’re too much hassle to schedule, they will abort.

5. Resume.

Yes, you can attach your resume with the “Reach Out” email, or not. Your call. But you WILL need a resume. Make it simple – one page is plenty. If you follow my system, the resume becomes less important. More important is the process you’re going through. There are plenty of YouTube videos on resume writing. Go sample.

STEP 4. Invest Time.

Schedule a specific number of hours/week for scouring journals, ads, websites of companies. Remember, most of the good jobs don’t show up on a job site. You aren’t looking for those jobs. You are interested in positioning yourself as someone who is talented and a person they want to find a place for. 

Every company I know (I work with many as a trainer / coach) will gladly “find a place” for the right person.

When you find a position/company, find the HR person or whatever area you’re interested in, and send your “Reach Out” email. Begin the process.

Don’t get too attached to an answer. If they don’t get back with you, you could send a “nudge email” or you could move on. I like the nudge better.

Here’s an example of a nudge:

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“Mr. Smith. Good morning. Hope your day is off to a good start. I sent you an email a while back and I never heard back. It might have gone to spam or gotten lost. 

I reiterate my interest in your company and exploring together if there’s a fit between us. I’m in the process of improving my career (use whatever words you want there) and thought we should speak. 

Again, here is my Calendar link and some of my work (link to both).

Look forward to hearing back from you. 

Regards,

Your Name

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Closing

Easy, right? Successful people have great systems. And now you have one.

Work it. Tune it. Execute it. Do this 50 times in the next 90 days and watch what happens to your future. Set a goal of sending the Reach Out email. You could easily do 1/day. Once you get your system built, the rest is easy. It’s merely sending the email and letting the system work.

The Resistance

Ah yes, I almost forgot. Resistance. You will feel resistance as you start this process. Your lizard brain will pull you back. That’s what it’s designed to do: Keep you out of trouble.

But you want trouble. Stir sh** up a little. You want people to send you the REPLY email and chide you for being presumptuous. They won’t like your email. They won’t like your content. They won’t like your scheduling system. Who cares? You want to stand out, not be obscure. And certainly, not be like everyone else. 

But you will get that one person who is looking for someone JUST LIKE YOU. And that’s who you’re wanting to attract. Not the rest. Just that one.

Good luck.