Know when to say, When.

Knowing when to say “When” is a highly undervalued trait.  I encountered this reality earlier in the week while travelling from Cleveland back home to Saint Louis.  If you paid any attention to the weather then you were aware of the major winter storm system which hit the Great Lakes region pretty hard.  Freezing temperatures and snow made for the perfect storm for winter driving.

I made the trip from Cleveland to Columbus, Ohio in just less than three hours and at speeds of roughly 45 to 50 mph.  That posed a serious delay to my trip and there was no way I would make it home in the normal nine hours.  After watching two cars spin out and hit the highway median, I decided that it was time to stop and seek shelter for the night.  Thankfully a Days Inn was right at the exit which presented my last chance to bail from the highway before becoming entangled in the ensuing traffic jam (brought to us courtesy of the two drivers who chose to do 65 in the slush and snow).  I rested overnight and struck out for home by 9:00 A.M. (I almost wrote 0900, but figured most readers would be lost on the meridian time reference).  My decision to stop fighting the storm and wait it out overnight graced me with clear roads capable of 60 mph travel.  Along my route I counted 14 over-turned or otherwise disabled tractor-trailers, and a handful of passenger vehicles abandoned on the side of the highway or in the grassy medians.  It looked like a war zone!

That’s when it struck me; all of those drivers were presented with the same problem and opportunity that I was.  However, they chose to bravely (or fool heartedly) press on with the challenge.  Now, no doubt, many hundreds of other drivers safely made the trip, but it is worth taking the time to weigh the options that were available and the methods chosen to deal with the problem.  Such decision making can similarly affect our results while tackling challenges at work.  Often, we rush ourselves to resolve problems quickly so that we can continue focusing with daily business.  As a result, we often miss solid opportunities to refresh our minds, step back, and view the problem from alternate perspectives.  Over the years, I’ve watched groups of supervisors pool their ideas and attack a problem head on, which is admirable in its own rite, only to see a resolution severely lacking in solid root cause and course of action analysis.  The motive was simple: Just fix the problem!  The motive should always be: What is causing the problem, and how do we prevent it from occurring?  The answer is not always found in a quick fix.  I’m talking PDCA or DMAIC principals here (do a little research on those terms).

For another perspective, I use to tell my teams about the Lumberjack.  In days of old, a company clearing woodlands in the northwestern states hired a new lumberjack.  On his first day he cleared 50 trees!  The second day, he cleared 40.  By the fifth day he barely cleared 10 trees.  As the management scratched their heads wondering what happened to the stellar lumberjack they had hired, it never occurred to them that he never took time to sharpen his axe.  As he continued to plug away at the challenge of falling as many trees as possible, his axe dulled and became ineffective.  Like that lumberjack, we must at times remove ourselves from the problem at hand in order to sharpen our axes (euphemism for our minds, in case you missed the connection). 

As a leader, such ability to know when to say when and approach a plaguing issue in a new manner is vital at maintaining the morale of your team.  So, off we go to the grinding stone!

Will post again soon. I've been travelling again.

Managing the Survival Fund

Logic would mandate that there is no better way to gauge your preparedness for an emergency then actually experiencing said emergency.  (It worked well for BP and the whole gulf oil spill crisis, right?).  While my emergency action plan did not have to account for any environmental impact on walruses (research BP's plan and you'll get that), it did have to account for supplementing my expected unemployment benefits.  Allow me to expound that point: plan to supplement your unemployment rather than planning to live off your survival fund and you can extend the solvency of the fund.  Thankfully I had a very good idea that unemployment would be a strong potential in the near future, and I was able to save the equivalent of four months of expenses with another four months locked up in 180-day CDs. 

From the time that I starting prepping the survival fund, I knew that I would not be able to maintain the expenses commensurate with my current lifestyle.  The Country Club membership and the yacht payments both got placed on hold.  Okay I don't live that kind of life, but I have plenty of expenses that cannot be justified if the income is drying up.  That raises a novel idea: Stop spending money! (I really wish I could scream that loud enough for Washington to hear).

I had to plan to survive on $1,200 a month and whatever supplemental amount would be required from my survival fund in order to cover mandatory expenses: utilities, rent, car payments, cell phone, internet access (bet you thought that would be cut, but how else would I conduct my research and job search?).  With rent accounting for roughly 50% of the UE benefits and the car payments taking up another 40%, I quickly figured the leftover amount would not comfortably cover the remaining expenses.  Enter Plan A: the Survival Fund.  I am now in Week 8 and have just made my second withdraw from the fund.  I've been able to hold off this long by reducing spending on unnecessary items and placing memberships with monthly recurring charges on hold.  I really feel for those who are caught by surprise with UE and don't have a survival fund in place.  Generally they turn to Plan B: charge everything to the credit card.  I have used the credit card for major expenses that have popped up, and send a small payment monthly to keep them happy, but I wouldn't advise the credit card as a primary means of survival.  I would much rather survive the winter wearing a sweater in the apartment with the heat turned down then, try to resurrect my credit score once the employment situation is rectified.

So do I live like a church-mouse?  Heck no!  I'm just frugal (I said frugal, not cheap!) with my money and try to plan all of my errands into one trip rather than multiple trips during the day.  And wouldn't you know it, Christmas decided to pop up right in the midst of UE!  No way the nieces and nephews are going to be left out of my budgeting.

A final point to raise and it's purely a personal budgetary decision, but I caution to not stop your tithing.  Certainly reduce in order to align with your new temporary income level, but do not skip out on this important responsibility.  There are plenty of people in more dire situations than you, no matter your situation, and we are called to support those charities that help the neediest of our communities.  Always remember how far the poor widow's two coins went in the Kingdom of Heaven (read it Luke 21:1-4).

Rewriting the resume.

A few posts back I promised a review of my resume critiques.  If you are very proud of, or attached to your resume, then you had better grow some thick skin when you present your resume for a critique.  The common, initial review that you can expect: "You're resume fails to sell your most important qualities."  (Wow! That person on the other end of the email in that city 2,000 miles away REALLY knows you!).  Of course they feel it fails to sell you, they're in business to convince you that your resume is weak and that you need their services to clean it up and make it marketable.  Regardless what decision you make, remember that you are dealing with sales people and a little research on your own first may be helpful.  If you've read my previous posts, you may now be calling me on the fact that I recently paid for a resume rewrite.  Yes, I did.  I stated my reasons clearly and I chose the service that I felt offered the best results.

My experiences with resumes is limited to the Operations/Logistics field.  Other fields certainly have a different audience and resumes targeting those fields would have their own style demands.  But one guiding point is constant across all of the fields: You must sell yourself.  In today's market, a resume that simply tells an employer what you were responsible for doing doesn't do the trick.  Your resume must demonstrate what you did that helped the bottom line for your company.  I wrote about quantifying your results previously and this is where all of that comes into play.

Styles vary and their effectiveness varies as well.  A general point, keep the overall style simple, if a resume is too busy it may be received negatively; though a Marketing type may appreciate the extra effort.  A standard rule of thumb for style nowadays is as follows.  Three sections: an executive summary of who you are and what you can do; a key skills section listing areas of expertise (this is primarily for the computer scanner's benefit); and the employment summary section.

Finally, be careful of headings in boxes within your resume (title sections, etc). These can often cause formatting issues when uploading on a company's website.

Maintaining the Ego.

One aspect of unemployment, which requires some attention, is maintaining the ego.  The initial joy of not having to go to work or answer to anybody can easily morph into depression and lowered self esteem.  With all of the well-wishers asking you daily, "Have you found a job yet?" or "Why don't you try the XYZ Company? I hear they're hiring," you may feel unable to enjoy a simple family gathering without being reminded that you are jobless.  And wait a minute!  Did Aunt Bessy just look at you sympathetically and make that tisk tisk, poor thing noise?  While fighting the urge to point out to them that the XYZ Company focuses on chemical engineering and that, ever since almost failing Chemistry in your sophomore year of high school, you have no background in that field, it is important to check your frustration and remind yourself that the well-wishers are good intentioned and truly do care for you.

Your best response is to remain positive and answer in such a manner that demonstrates that you are making forward progress.  To demonstrate, simply say "Well I haven't heard anything new this week, but I've been reworking my resume based on a few comments I received during my last interview" or "I've gotten some new contacts from yesterday's networking event, and I'll be following up with them."  If you haven't exhausted all of your resources and connections, then you have no reason to sound defeated.  By keeping this positive angle, you will also keep your mind in the proper forward gear and maybe even generate constructive conversation which may lead to new ideas.  I take a similar approach at networking events.  It can feel a bit odd when introducing yourself to someone as the "unemployed guy," so I simply state that I'm a "free agent."  That usually brings a smile to the person's face and sets a tone that I'm not a negative person; a key characteristic of a good employee.

Another simple step you can take: Get dressed in the morning.  I heard this advice years ago while watching a news reporter interviewing a woman upon reaching her 100th Birthday.  The woman stated that the key to keeping a healthy outlook in life was feeling human, having a purpose; and that could easily be achieved by getting dressed and being presentable each day.  This is easy to do during the first few weeks as you should still have the daily wake up routine in  place.  It becomes a challenge as the weeks go by and can easily fall by the wayside.  So wake up at a decent time (no sleeping in until 10:00 A.M.), shower, shave or put your face on, and get dressed.

If you require structure then it may also help to create a schedule for yourself.  Sounds silly, but remember, you are dealing with a situation that is out of the norm, and you don't have all of the familiar workday events occurring that provide that structure.  Set some goals and work those into your daily schedule as well:  clean the garage, sort through your old storage bins, hit the gym daily, etc.  These don't become your primary focus, but they give you a periodic break from the job hunt and allow your mind some free time.  Just don't use them as avoidances from the job hunt, that will easily be noticed by those around you.

So stay in the game, don't give up.  You are not a failure and you are not alone.  Get out and start networking, meeting others in your field.  There are always opportunities to learn more and improve your skill set during down times.

Working with recruiters.

Five to ten years ago I would have been nervous talking to a recruiter.  But having recently been reintroduced to them, I have come to realize that many generic ones don't have a solid grasp of the industries for which they are recruiting.  I have even encountered a few that I would refer to as the ambulance chasers of the internet job boards.  Of course that doesn't apply to all of them but it sets the stage for determining if they can really help you.  Strong recruiters have a reasonably good understanding of the position's requirements and their client's needs when searching for prospective candidates.

So that brings us to you, the candidate.  The prime thing to remember when dealing with a recruiter is that you are a commodity.  Their goal is to quickly find a match between you and a client employer, which can leave you feeling rushed at times.  A good recruiter will take the time to conduct a thorough analysis between your skills and a position's requirements to ensure a good match.  And that recruiter will also not place you before a client until you demonstrate a solid understanding of the client company.  Back in 2000,  when I was working through a national recruiter to find a position after leaving the railroad, I participated in a three day mass hiring event which hosted at least 50 prospective candidates and almost the same number of companies.  I took offense to the recruiter's lack of preparatory efforts and their assembly line approach to our needs: rewrite the resume, 20 minute mock interview and place you before an employer.  I didn't complete the entire event after declining to meet with two prospective employers during our second day.  I had no interest in the companies selected for me and the recruiter was visibly annoyed that he wouldn't be able to move me along easily.  So if you feel like you're being rushed or not provided ample information to prep, then it may be time to have a talk with your recruiter or walk away and find another one.

Another thing to consider is their knowledge of the industry.  If they are asking a lot of questions about what you do and don't seem to understand, then they may not have a grasp on what it is you do or what exactly you can do for a company.  I recently interrupted a recruiter during a phone interview and asked what exactly he thought a Supply Chain Manager did because his questions were leading toward a Supplier Quality Engineer type of position.  Obviously not a good fit.  I have found that those recruiters who work independently, and not as part of large, national recruiting chains, have been able to better match me with opportunities.

If a recruiter reviews your resume and suggests rewriting then by all means take their advice and work on a rewrite.  They're handling a lot of resumes daily and have a fairly good idea of what types of resumes are generating interest.  It is easy to take offense at someone telling you that your resume won't sell, but so what, take them up on a rewrite.  Keep a couple of versions and after awhile you'll be able to compare and contrast for yourself and build a better resume.  Remember, the resume is a living document, keep it fresh.  you may even need to tweak it for different positions.  I always share my resume with friends in my industry and ask for copies of theirs.  Sometimes I find a good idea hidden in one and make use of it in mine.

Again, everything contained in these blog entries is based on my experience, so you may have a completely different experience for better or for worse.  I only hope to provide a reference point.

Remember Interviewing?

Well if you're like me then it has been quite a few years since you've really interviewed.  When you sit and think about it, many of us have a hard time expressing what we do and how we add value to our company, especially quantitatively.  My advice now is to keep track of any major accomplishment, sale, contract, whatever that you achieve in order to be able to draw on that information later.  In fact it wouldn't be a bad idea to just add a bullet point to your resume recording the event and the impact.  And if you can add numbers to demonstrate the value then all the better!  I'll post later about the resume critique that I paid for and the results.  For now I'll focus on the interviewing portion.

So two types of interviews are out there: phone and in-person.  Although the phone interview has a lot of appeal (not having to leave the house and being able to wear comfortable clothing like my robe and fuzzy bunny slippers) I much prefer the in-person event.  It is hard to beat the impact of a face to face impression.

If I'm scheduled for a phone interview I like to do a few things in preparation.  First, wake up early.  There is nothing worse than sounding like you just woke up.  You can't hide it, the person on the other line will sense it, and it sends a poor image of yourself.  Second, prepare index cards with answers to typical key questions.  Questions such as: Describe your major contributions in your last position, or Walk me through a situation where you had to define a problem, design a solution and implement the change.  You can find plenty of websites offering example prep interview questions.  So I will generally take a key event or two from my most recent positions and jot them down in the STAR format (Situation, Task, Actions and Results).  These cards define the situation that was a concern, the tasks required to develop the fixes, the actions taken to implement the developed fixes, and finally the results.  Can you quantify the results?  That part is key and difficult at times as many of our results aren't necessarily measurable.  For instance a more motivated worker, etc.  But when you drill down into the result, even that motivated worker should show some improvement in productivity.  My other preparatory step for a phone interview is to dress in a business casual mode.  Sounds weird but its the old psychological step of getting your mind in the right frame.

As for the actual interview, your goals are to present a professional image through your appearance and demeanour, and to establish a conversation rather than an interrogation.  Unless specifically directed otherwise, dress in the traditional shirt, tie and sports coat (or appropriate corresponding female dress code if necessary).  This is a sign of respect for the interviewer; it says I see this as a very important event.  The next challenge is to establish a conversation about your skills and qualifications for the position of interest.  This can be a challenge as not every interviewer is skilled at setting a good interviewing tone/environment.  How many times have you felt that you were just interviewed by the first person that walked into their manager's office and was handed your resume ten minutes before your arrival?  If by chance, you are the interviewer, then put some effort into it and prepare yourself.  Read the resume and make notes on it (though not in red ink, I did that once and it had the interviewee very concerned as he noticed all of my red notes all over the resume).  Both sides need to do their best at establishing an open environment that allows a true conversation between two professionals.

So give it your best and good luck if you are interviewing soon.  At the very least you might not receive an offer but you might make a new contact in the field (there's networking at work again!).

Networking Events

I promised a summary of my current networking events and here we are.  First off, we're not talking about any sort of internet connectivity issues here, so get your understanding of "networking" straight.  Simply put, we're talking about attending social events with other professionals, generally within your field, with the intent of getting to know people and making contacts that you may eventually be able to call upon for employment or even business development opportunities.

I have attended a few so far hosted by the Traffic Club of Saint Louis (an organization local to St Louis) and the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals.  There are of course numerous other organizations but I feel that you need to minimize and keep them focused.  One thing to keep in mind though is budgeting for these events as they can run from $20 to $50 a piece (most do provide receipts that you may be able to use for tax purposes though).  Another point to consider is the timing of these events.  If the event is held during the day, unless as a seminar setting, there will likely be more job-hunting attendees than company types.  A bunch of unemployed job hunters bumping into each other at an event doesn't really generate many results unless you're willing to share potential leads.  I prefer the more mixed events so that I can meet people within other companies and learn about their role in the industry.

A few points to keep in mind while attending the event.  First, control the job hunting urge.  The people in attendance are good resources but not looking to interview and hire right then and there.  If there is a company that you're targeting then it's a good opportunity to look for someone from that company, strike up a conversation and go from there.  Your goal is for that person to go back to work and remember or refer you for an opening.  Second,  this isn't a yearbook signing event.  I get mild amusement from watching the people running around and trying to meet as many people as they can and collect business cards.  Be open to everyone there but if you're job hunting and paid good money to attend, then focus on those you feel may be able to help down the road.  On the same token, you can't stand and talk to the first person that you bump into, unless of course they have a job opportunity and you have their undivided attention.  A balanced approach seems to work best.  Circulate and don't feel weird about ending conversations at some point and moving on to other people or groups there.  That's why we're all there, but do put some effort into good segues (a smooth transition makes circulating a lot easier and less awkward).  Third, consider printing some personal business cards with your contact information.  There is no sense using your old business card and scratching out contact numbers, etc., but it is appreciated by any contacts that you meet if you have something to hand them with your contact information (and no, a cocktail napkin doesn't do the trick... once that person gets back to their car and has to wipe some bird crap off their windshield, guess what they'll be using). Finally, be somewhat up to date on the happenings within the industry you are targeting.  This helps in maintaining interesting conversations and demonstrating a bit of your knowledge.  It's also good professional development and if you search the web you can certainly find free publications with news about your industry of choice.

Alright, time for me to print more business cards for Thursday's networking event!

Setting Goals

Setting goals; always important but even more so while swimming in the lake of unemployment.  Of course the main goal at that point can easily become just landing a job.  But I've found that without simple goals directing the job search, you can lose focus of your main employment goals: type of job, specific industry, growth potential.  You need to identify what you want to do, where you want to work, and who you can contact to learn more about or get your name in the running for any particular positions.  Simply searching online for a position, clicking "Apply", and moving on does not meet the requirement.  That method will only lead you to waiting for someone else to do the job search for you by finding you. 

I have set my goals.  On the business front, I am targeting Supply Chain Manager positions, within small to mid-size companies in the area that show the potential for growth in regional and global markets.  While on the personal front, I am wanting compete in a half marathon before I hit 40 (yes, I see it advancing in the rear view mirror and it doesn't seem to lose any ground regardless of how many sharp and erratic turns I make).

So we set our goals and move on right?  Once set they will naturally look after themselves and we'll wake up one morning, scan the headlines of the local newspaper and take joy in the one that states "Pete has achieved his goal of...." (replace 'Pete' with your own name for a more personal experience).  That's what we forget, no one else is watching out for our goals.  And my experience has been that we don't do a very good job at defining those critical milestones that tell us whether or not we are on track.  This is an area that we as middle and senior level managers can improve upon.  Right now you should be thinking "Performance Reviews".  Put some actual thought into them, you owe it to your juniors to provide pertinent feedback and to help set realistic goals.  Challenge them when a goal is vague or too short/long sighted for their position.  And most importantly ask them how they intend to accomplish those goals and help them set milestones to review their progress.  We've been down most of the roads that they are now staring at and it only helps us to tell them about the potholes along the way.

These milestones also help us keep goals realistic.  Isn't that what we've always been told?  Goals should be challenging, attainable and realistic.  To put in another perspective, let's consider my goal to run 13 miles.  I can hit the asphalt and run three miles every other day but without setting the five-mile and eight-mile milestones, I will never attain my goal.  It's the same with employment.  If you want to be a senior level manager, then you must target those jobs along the way which expose you to more responsibility and liability.  Unless you know someone, you will not be selected for higher levels of supervision if you continually fill lower level positions and don't take steps to advance.

So that's that.  I think there's a logical thought process contained in the preceding paragraphs; hopefully these commentaries will instigate some thought.

A quick assessment of internet job boards.

Let's face it, all of the information we come across is indicating that fewer and fewer employers are actually hiring off the internet.  At a recent networking event the guest speaker stated that internet job postings accounted for only 8% of hires in the St Louis area.  Still, we have to get our resume out there and so we go to the job boards.

I currently have mine posted on Careerbuilder, Monster, Jobfox, LinkedIn and TheLadders (and maybe one or two other smaller ones that I can no longer remember).  My synopsis, they all have the same postings and it appears that employers are not doing the best job closing out filled positions as I have encountered enough instances of clicking on a posting only to receive a message that the posting has been filled.  All conspiracy theories aside, this makes you think that the job boards are providing a method of formally posting a job for which the employer already has a candidate in consideration.

Let's immediately rule out JobFox; just mark it as useless.  The job recommendations are rarely relevant and the majority of communications from them are purely advertisement for educational institutions.  Monster and Careerbuilder are basically mirror sites so as long as you're posted on one of them, you won't miss anything. I've applied to a number of positions through Careerbuilder and am averaging 45 to 60 days in order to receive a response from any of the companies that are responding.  Not bad, but the biggest drawback is the lack of single profile application.  The majority of postings take you to the individual company's website on which you must create a profile, upload your resume and then apply for the job.  Didn't we satisfy those requests when we created our profiles and uploaded our resumes on the job board?  I cannot keep track of how many profiles I have on how many company websites.  I tell myself that at least my resume in being stored in each company's resume repository for six months and may generate a lead (it helps me sleep at night).

As for TheLadders, it's a premium site for Executive levels seeking $100k+ positions.  I did sign up for their resume writing service for the whopping $700.00.  I look at it as a short term investment for long term gain.  Did I expect to land an executive position as a result?  No.  My theory was that I would benefit from a resume written by people who are familiar with that level of job search.  So now I have a reasonably well written resume that has garnered more hits and interest than my personally written one.  So in the end money well spent, but perhaps a bit pricey... just a bit.

The best site that I can recommend at this point is LinkedIn.  You can job search and click apply, fill out a brief cover letter and done!  Plus if you know someone who knows someone at that company you can also ask for an introduction.  Truly networking at its best.  So if you're not on there then get moving and create your profile.  Think of it as the Facebook for professionals site.

Joining the Ranks of the Ten-Percenters

So here I am starting week seven of my official unemployment.  Thankfully my situation was by choice and I had time to prepare.  I figured that I would start this blog as my collection of random thoughts which I envision ultimately routing toward a relevant theme.

I must say that it is interesting to find myself on this side of the table.  After many years of seeing people in my workforce go through temporary layoffs and unemployment, it is eye opening to experience the system personally.  I must say that is sadly not setup to support the needs of any serious employment search.  But this will not veer into a rant against the government system (though I may at times opine on how things could be done better).

I'm including a link from the Missouri Division of Employment Security (that's our state's euphemism for Department of Unemployment I guess) which allows you to calculate the effect any part-time employment wages would have against your weekly benefit.  I'm certain other states have something similar.  It is a little disheartening to see that the state has zero interest in creating an incentive for people to secure a part-time job by offering a tiered structure of benefits rather than simply reducing benefits corresponding to wages earned.  Instead it ends up not being worth the effort to go to work and buy gas, etc in order to earn $64 more than one's base unemployment benefits (I based that off of a weekly $320 benefit and the 20% earnings allowance by Missouri). Think about the added revenue that could be created through taxing actual wages earned rather than unemployment wages.

I'll also be adding some insight into my experiences with networking.  I finally have the time to attend many of the events that I could never break away for due to work in the past.  It's interesting to watch the hardcore networker running around collecting as many business cards as he can and adding to his LinkedIn account, or the networker that will spend the entire event talking to the first person that said hi to them.  I am trying a more balanced approach and we'll see how well it goes.

I'll put together a few of the networking functions I'm using as well as my critique of the major internet job boards I've been using next time.