The Title of This Story is 'Match'
by Brendyn Schneider
I lead a double life. At night, I dash around stages and coffee houses as a professional storyteller. By day, I am a job search workshop instructor. My love for Kal-El notwithstanding, I've found that these two worlds are not mutually exclusive. The job search is a story, in real time. And the most important word in this story?
"Match."
I don't care who you are, where you've been, what year it is or what industry you're targeting. The most important word in job search is, and always will be, "match." How are you a match? How does your story match the job title, the organization and the industry that organization is sitting in? Which of your transferable skills and accomplishments does the job title call for? How does the organization's mission match your philosophy, your life direction? What parts of your experience match the industry's service to the world?
As job seekers, the only way to answer these questions is through another two words. First, “research.” Don't just research the job title but the organization that houses that title and the industry that organization is a part of.
How does the organization's story fit into its industry? What is it about that organization's mission that resonates with your experience and professional trajectory? What is it about that particular job title that merits tailor-making your resume, cover letter and interview talking points? Hint: It's got to be more than "because they're hiring." Will they value what you have to offer? Will you develop professionally if you join their team?
Research it. Unemployment is back to school. It’s research, and not just external research but internal research as well - self-research, self-assessment. No matter the reason why you’re unemployed or underemployed, fate has presented you with a crossroads. Professionally, what do you not want to do again? What's your heart pushing you toward? Never mind if it sounds hippy-dippy. What's the dream job? Research it.
The second word is a favorite in workforce development: “networking.”
But that's really just a fancy pants word for talking. Talk. Talk to Everyone - the person at the bar, in church, at temple, in line for coffee. This type of talking is trifold.
First, gather information to make decisions on your career path. Next, offer to help your contacts with their needs. Last, ask who else you should be talking to.
This talk is never asking for a job.
When you talk, tell the people out there how psyched you are to be pursuing a role in industry x. If you're not psyched, get a new job search. Change the story. You don't have time to mess around. Life's too swift.
Along those lines, never identify yourself as "unemployed." "Un" is no good. "Un" means without. You're not without. You've got skills. You've got passion. Identifying yourself as "unemployed" is defining yourself by what's back there, over your shoulder. Instead, define yourself by where you're going, what's ahead.
I tell workshop attendees all the time that we are not human magnets. Negativity will never attract a positive outcome. You might get some pity but that won't get you through the door. Save any luggage relating to your job search - dysfunctional organizations, crap bosses - save all that for family and friends. That's one of the reasons why they're there for you (and why you're there for them). When it comes to your job search story - the resumes, cover letters, interviewing - all of it must be positive. Positivity only sounds like a used car salesman from the 50s if you don't believe it. This is why it's so important to believe in your own story and the direction through its pages.
Some say that the job search is figuring how to sell yourself. When you research and network to find the connections between yourself and the job title, the organization and the industry it's all sitting in, you don't have to sell anything. The stories match and fold into one another.
And when that happens, the title of the story becomes "Success."
