The Unified Approach

So I had my interview yesterday and I think it went pretty well. The role was in digital media sales for a company that would involve a cross-country move. That's as specific as I am going to get with respect for the organization.

The interview involved a few comprehensive questions about digital media, personal questions and some sales role-play.  While I had prepared the most for the role-play I ended the interview wishing, probably not unlike many people do, that I wished I'd had planned better answers for the personal questions "tell me about yourself." Funny that should be a hard question at this point in my life.

Aside from that, every time I was asked a question by the interviewer I had an answer prepared and delivered it in a manner I am satisfied with...but on that personal, I admit, I rambled. The core answer related back to the job (I'm passionate about media) and was earnest (how that passion has developed in my life) but still caught me off-guard.

Thinking about it from the perspective of the interviewer - it's a great question. In practice for an interview, we each prepare answers that reflect the kind of candidate who employers want to hire. We try to make that the truth, or at least close to it, but that isn't what the interviewer wants to find. They want someone who genuinely is the right candidate, not a great interviewer, and they know how to sniff out the truth.

Upon reflection, I think one of the keys to getting the (right) job (for you) is to know - before you even apply - that this job is a reflection of who you are, what you want to do and (most importantly) what you are capable of being/doing in said job. So many people waste years of their life trying to be something that they just aren't and never will be, which is why so many people end up working jobs that don't make them happy but suffering through it in the name of...god only knows. Maybe if they did they could answer a simple question.

So on that note, I hope I do get this job because its congruent with my career goals, and frankly sounds like an awesome growth experience, but I doubt it will happen. Because when he asked me to close in the role-play I felt exposed, like an actor who had run out of lines. That's a lesson, though I'm not quite clear what I learned yet. So far I'm just sure that I need to spend more time doing what I love rather than just applying to jobs that relate to it. Not jobs that will just pay for a new camera or sound like the right career path.

So I'm going to try and dedicate myself to writing again because that's the one constant my life. It's my truest passion and the one thing that, aside from finding a job to take care of myself, I simply can't NOT do...and something tells me that it's going to get me where I need to go one way or another.

That plus networking, which I will have a lot more time for when I don't spend so much time applying for jobs.

Another Day Another Dollar

Another day another dollar. That's a statement usually associated with the employed but I am finding it equally applicable on the job hunt. Every day I add another dollar to my emotional bank account.

Over time, it becomes easier and easier to stop doing the things that lead to personal growth. It's nothing to be ashamed of - who has the time? When every morning for a month you've been getting up early researching companies, putting out applications, writing new cover letters and have nothing to show for it what are you supposed to think? Naturally, you think, I better increase my production and find a way to do this thing better. Sharpen the saw before using it.

In Stephen Covey's Seven Habits of Highly Successful People he tells a story that I am quite fond of about lumberjacks clearing a path in the jungle. The lumberjacks are progress-focused so they get up every day and whack away at as many trees as they can until sundown. Conversely, their manager climbs a tree to get some perspective on their project and discovers that the lumberjacks are whacking away in the wrong jungle! When he calls down to the lumberjacks to tell them, they respond: "shut up we're making progress!"

This experience must be very deflating, to the point where choosing ignorance almost seems logical for the lumberjacks. Similarly, after spending an entire month looking for jobs only to find that you have been sending resumes out with an embarrassing typo it's the worst kind of punch in the belly and you just want to pretend it's not true. But like any other challenge, those setbacks can be what teaches you a lesson or what pushes you further away from personal development. The choice should be no choice at all, yet it's amazing how often people still say "shut up" in the name of "progress."

Today I have my first big interview of 2014. Over the past few months I have been focused on getting a job with a media agency, specifically; in sales or media planning. Having a Communications degree is kind of like having a degree that relates to everything but is specific to nothing. In my experience, what makes all the difference is how clear my intentions are and how well I articulate them as they relate to the job in question.

But that's only once you have the interview - the journey to that point is what really challenges you.

Now a few years ago, in all my over-educated wisdom, I would have laughed at the thought of spending time reading self-help books while unemployed. Today's Shawn spends his time reading because it a) is enjoyable, b) challenges and informs and c) empowers all other activities. Much like having a daily workout regimen makes daily tasks easier - due to the benefits it has on your respiratory system and brain functioning - reading is a way to empower your mind for tasks where novel thinking will be helpful. Lastly, and most importantly, devoting time to activities that increase your production capability (physically and mentally) is the best way to ensure that your making the best use of your time when the job hunt makes you feel powerless.

It is also a good idea to service your spiritual side by performing activities that leave you feeling fulfilled, for example; I enjoy writing (blogs, scripts, essays) and the more I do that activity with intention the better I a) feel and b) become at doing it in areas that might lead me on the right path (cover letter). The biggest key for me is to focus on being happy with what I already have, because while the desire to have a job that fulfills you is always going to be in your heart, every day is still a gift and if you focus only on what you want for then future then happiness in the present will always be out of reach. Studies show that happy and positive people - the ones who practice mindfulness and live in the moment - are far more employable for a whole plethora of reasons. Here's some. 

So anyways, wish me luck on this interview, I hope I get it because it's a great opportunity and I have been preparing for it very hard. That said, I woke up early this morning to do my routine of reading, exercise and spiritual activity so I already feel a dollar richer today. The rest is out of my hands and can only be a good thing, whether I get the job or simply learn from the experience.

Control

There is no greater peace than letting go of the ego and its selfish desires. There are only a few years left in my twenties. They are half-way over and I have the world on my shoulders if I let it rest there. What I am learning to do instead is putting my mind’s eye onto one thing at a time – what I can control. 

My need right now, or to put this in a better way, my deepest desire that I believe should be worked towards is to find a job. The reasons are the trouble. One part of me wants the money and respect that comes with a job.  Another side wants the activity and self-assurance that comes from a job. Still another wants to the transcendent quality of a job that stands side-by-side with my heart and dreams. 

All of these things may not be found in my next job – or rather – as I search for the right job I feel like I am being stretched in one too many directions as I try to account for all these disparate and contradictory impulses. My degree and my soul are too separate truths – both are relevant in the hiring process - whereas my heart and mind are what does the work and I need all ships traveling in the same direction. 

What scares me is that my ladder is propped up against the wrong house or to no house at all. There is nothing unique about a desire to write a Family Guy script or sell the value of a unique advertising concept to a hot brand and trying to find work in that area is like trying to find candy in a health store. Sure it would be great, says society, but grow up idiot and get in line for the vegetables like the rest of us! Less you want to end up lining up outside of a doughnut shop that may or may not open for the rest of your life. Maybe once you get used to it and grow up you will become more marketable.

The question that everyone should ask themselves everyday - am I doing the things that I can't NOT do? They don't have to ask it in a double-negative format but you get my drift...if it's not important, why do it? You've got kids and need money, stick with the program. You've got money and a secure position but hate your life, time to ask questions. You're unemployed and feel like punching your mac in the face from frustration and can't stop renegotiating decision you made in the past for insights, you're better off living to be happy now.

The hardest part about being unemployed is that the thing you want to change the most in your life is completely outside of your control. Sure, you can send out resumes until your inbox is inundated with more "thank you for applying" messages than spam for a few days...but it like putting a band-aid on an open wound. Not only does it not solve the problem, but it can be disheartening when those same companies (the nice ones) come back with "sorry we went with someone else" messages until your self-esteem is little more than a memory. Not saying we don't have the choice to rise above it - hell, we have to - but sometimes the important thing about contorl is to know when to change your focus.

This week I am reading a new book every day. This is something I have tried to do for years but usually lead to me taking out far more books than I could keep up with akin to someone filling up their plate to access at an All You can Eat Buffet. The thing is, in a day, it is completely possible to read a book. Heck, college kids do it every year around exam time. Some do it all semester long and - I tell you this - its very unlikely they are ever unemployed for long.

So in close, always remember that you have control over your time. Time is money, but more importantly, time is your life.

Entertainment

Every day I am so grateful to live in a time where nearly unlimited content is available on so many platforms for almost nothing. 

You know what really has helped me lately?  Workout videos on youtube - they are a great way to break up time and refocus when I start getting tunnel vision from the application process.  Another big help is reading, which is so much more invigorating than Television, and over the last year the diversity of my interest has increased because of it. 

The key for me has been to remember that the goal is always not to seek entertainment but instead to condition my character with these rewarding activities. 

That's the difference between a beer and a binge too.

Staying the Course (Pt. 2)

So it's been awhile since my last post and I thought I'd explain why...since then I have had a full-time job and a slew of part-time jobs that did not turn out to be the final destination of my transition period that I thought it would...

Shortly after New Year's 2013 I landed a full-time job that, at first, I thought was the perfect situation for me.  The role was in my hometown so I could continue living at home and save money for the future. Much to my happy surprise, as Central Connecticut is not a media hub by any stretch, the role involved skills and subjects (CRM, Sales, Sports Entertainment) that I was passionate about and the company had plenty of great benefits like free meals and professional development courses.  What could go wrong?  Being that I came in with a hungry can-do attitude, at first, nothing went wrong. 

Meanwhile, I had accrued a number of unique part-time jobs along the way to this moment.  So I was getting good experience on my resume, facing diverse challenges and my student loans were being paid on-time.  Except that once my full-time job started I found that I was working seven days a week and often two jobs a day so after a few months I made the decision to resign from the part-time roles. I figured that the full-time job was my main priority and all I needed to traverse this next period of my career. What could go wrong?

Well fast-forward a year or so and the job did not work out due to various reasons.  For a number of reasons, both personal and professional, the perfect situation I had found myself in required a special type of engagement to maintain.  In other words, the job was mine to create not merely to have and the things that led to my departure were preventable, as they always are in hindsight. Same old story.

So what did I do next? Dust myself off and get back on the train of course. No room for losers in this house, not after all the adversity I had overcome from getting laid off the first time.  Right off the bat I began researching jobs and filling out applications with the same dedication. While at times it was hard, the impulse to feel sorry for myself was outweighed by my desire to optimize.  In this way, I could rationalize what occurred as something inevitable - rather than another grievous error on the road of success - I had just found the wrong role and next time I would know better.

While I did learn from the experience, just as I had a year prior in New York, this time there was no reason to feel like I had to rebuild from square.  This time it was partially my fault for picking the wrong role and environment. Sitting at my desk in the first week of July 2013 I thought to myself: "soon I will start my next job and it will feel a thousand times more right," and "this time my insights and experience will make me more prepared than ever."  Heck, it could almost be looked at as a good thing - a little course-correction from the wrong path.  Time to move to a role in another city or make a good salary somewhere nearby and then build from there.  What could go wrong?

Writing this six months later I can confidently say there was plenty I had yet to learn.  Moreover, my transition period was about to get a lot tougher from a confidence standpoint.  Because while this was different than the first time I was laid off - starting out in the biggest city in the world with nothing but my bootstraps - and it would be much harder to swallow.  This time it was all about growing up.