Finding Work: It’s an Inside Job

It really isn’t about finding work; it’s more about work finding you and you finding yourself. That’s why I call it an inside job. It’s about being open to what may be trying to find you. I have worked with hundreds of job seekers and many have told me that one piece of my advice has stuck with them for many years. It is this: Your next job will drop on you right out of the sky while you are busy doing all the things that all the books and other career coaches tell you to do. You may or may not see a relationship between those activities and the job offer hitting you on the head but it is there.
If it is going to fall out of the sky, why should you do all the typical, tried and true job search activities and all the social networking recommended today? Why not just wait patiently? Because most people don’t wait patiently. Most people fill waiting with questioning. Most people don’t know what else to do.
We ask ourselves: Does my experience entitle me to have my dream job or any job? Do I have an executive presence? Do I have the necessary skills? Have I held successively responsible positions? Am I able to work both independently and as a member of a high-performing team? Am I an agile leader? A visionary? Have I had P&L responsibility? Have I impacted the bottom line? Increased revenue? Cut costs? Have I worn many hats? Can I build team spirit and develop people? Am I an excellent communicator with a strong action-orientation and senior level credibility?
Am I worthy? That’s the real question at the bottom of it all. Ask yourself now: is that question a block or barricade to your success or is it a handle that will open the door to opportunity?
Contrary to what many job search coaches say, the 1st step is self-definition not job definition. While it is true that if you don’t know what you want, you’re not likely to get it; it is even more true that what you are looking for, you are looking with. In other words: define who is looking.
Get yourself into a quiet place where you won’t be disturbed, close your eyes and whisper: Who am I? listen inwardly then ask again. The first time I did this and listened I got “Judy” in response. As I continued this practice and got more and more quiet, I began to hear other things. You will too. I ask this question every morning during my regular meditation practice but, for now, I am suggesting you repeat the whispered question slowly and repeatedly for a few minutes. Listen quietly for a few more minutes then make some notes on what you heard. You may want to spend a few minutes journaling, if that feels right to you.
Your next step is to repeat the exercise with a twist. Become still again and this time ask: how can I help? Again, listen, get more quiet and listen some more. Journal whatever you “hear.”
This exercise will help you begin to formulate what makes you unique and what you have to offer. When you come from your authentic self and focus on helping rather than marketing, you will not only feel better, you’ll do better.
Consider creating a Sankalpa. That’s a Sanskrit word denoting a promise formed by your heart and mind and made to your highest self. It is your strongest intention, your point of highest resolve. A Sankalpa is a tool meant to harness the will, and to focus and harmonize mind and body. In practical terms, it is a one-pointed pledge to focus both psychologically and philosophically on a specific goal. I like to think of it as my foundational purpose. It is what I measure all goals and intentions against. My Sankalpa is the statement I call upon to remind me of my true nature and to guide my choices. A mundane example: Let’s say my overriding goal is to be happy. Later I have a choice to make between 2 activities. To honor that Sankalpa, I’d ask myself which one would result in my happiness.
But what about all those career coaches? Should you still follow their advice? I’d say most of what they say is on target, but I’ll add that you should follow it from the inside out letting your strongest purpose (your Sankalpa) guide you. Let’s look at the common tools of a job search from an inside angle.

To have a new beginning, you need a comfortable ending. It should be described in your exit statement. This explains why you are on the job market. It is your bridge from the past to your future. Career coaches will recommend you give a group answer if possible. So, you don’t say, “well, my boss hated me,” but something more like, “my division was eliminated because the business was turning in a different direction.” I agree with this and taking a more internal perspective, I recommend that you hone your statement by 1st meditating on it until you are 100% comfortable that it is authentic while still representing you in the best possible light. You want to be able to deliver your exit statement with grace and poise. Your vibration should be positive and practiced and spoken in such a way that your listener is put at ease.
Outplacement counselors will say you need a strong professional objective. Again, I agree wholeheartedly. Go back to the “how can I help” exercise. Vision on the idea and journal to consciously refine your goal until it essentially sings. If you are working with a coach or buddy, try it out on them. Once you believe it with all your heart, write it on the inside of your eyelids and on your bathroom mirror but not necessarily on your resume.
I recommend a “Value Offered” section on your resume rather than an objective. Let’s face it, those resume readers — the headhunters and recruiters of the world don’t really care so much about what you want. They are looking for what they want. Take the reader’s perspective and imagine what they want to know about you. What do you bring to the table? How can you help solve their problems? How do you know what their problems might be? Research! Read industry publications. Go to companies’ websites and read what is going on with them. Do you know people in the industry who will have coffee with you, so you can ask what keeps them up at night? Create a list of the “problems” facing companies, managers and executives today and prepare a few words to show you can solve them. This information feeds into your self-marketing strategy.
Once you have created that value statement, turn it into an affirmation. Affirm: I AM that outcome-driven Human Resources Executive/Senior Leader with 10+ years’ experience in full-spectrum of strategic and administrative leadership roles in high-performance organizations, with 5+ years in senior HR leadership roles — for example.
Job search consultants will advise you to create a positioning statement. Some call it an elevator speech. It’s a concise verbal statement that highlights your profession, expertise, types of organizations/environments and unique strengths. This is something you could say to someone in less than 2 minutes. Insider tools for this are meditation and affirmation. As you practice your statement, affirm to yourself that you already have the work you desire. You might also visualize that this ideal job is looking for you. This is also a good time to engage a buddy, so you can try the statement aloud. If you are working with a coach, run it by them. Saying things out loud lets you hear what you are saying. You may want to revise it a bit based on how it sounds to you and/or your buddy.
At this point, I must bring up the ever-popular (and essential) accomplishment statement. All career counselors recommend these even though they may call them by different names. Basically, they are pared-down success stories. You recount a time when you felt proud of something you did at work and write it out in a specific format — what was going on — the situation or problem; what you did — your solution; and the result. Here’s an example: When I started as Acme, it took the AR team 5 days to gather information and create the invoice before it could be sent to the customer (the situation). I divided the team into 2 groups. One did the research and the other created the invoice (what you did). We were able to reduce the invoicing time from 5 days to 2 (the result). This story would then be reduced to a concise statement of 2 or 3 typed lines which would appear on your resume. When I was working with job seekers, I recommended they write 25 success stories from both their personal and professional lives. They often resisted but the inside purpose was to surreptitiously raise their vibrations by spending time looking at what made them proud, what bolstered their confidence and enhanced their dignity. It gave them the opportunity to feel accomplished (pun intended) and realize how they’d made a difference. Of course, you don’t use them all on your resume.
I mentioned the resume in passing. The value statement and the accomplishments are the building blocks of a good resume. For many job seekers, the primary focus is creating their resume. Some career counselors try to slow people down and at one point in my career, I tried to do this, too. The rationale was that the job seeker might not be emotionally ready to start sending out resumes and they might “burn” some of their best contacts by acting when they were still too bruised from what happened that dumped them into a state of joblessness. After a few years as a consultant, though, I came to the realization that the resume process is an important healing tool. Since the resume is a compilation of past success and it is opening the door to get desirable work, it also raises positive vibrations. The process is important and the product (the resume) is valuable in its own right. Your resume is a snapshot of your experience and expertise. Seeing your value and accomplishments in an attractive and readable format, will make you feel good. I guarantee it.
What is a resume? It is not a legal document; it is a marketing tool — just part of your overall strategy. I don’t say that to imply that you can fib on your resume, but you can leave some things out. If you spent 30 years at your last company, you don’t have to spell that out — you can just write about the last 10 years. If, several years ago, you spent most of your time doing something you never want to do again, you can omit that. If you innovated, created, demonstrated something as a member of a team, you can claim it on your resume (and so can the rest of the team). Your goal with the document is to show yourself in the best possible light and be able to honestly talk about everything that you include. Most important, your resume should demonstrate that you are qualified to do everything in your value- offered statement.
My favorite guru of career coaching is still Richard Bolles, author of What Color is your Parachute, first published in 1970 and updated every year, now by his son. Before his transition in 2017, Bolles had this to say about resumes. Consider it a cautionary tale.
On that paper was a summary of where you had been and all you had done in the past. From that piece of paper, the employer was supposed to guess what kind of person you are in the present and what kind of employee you’d be in the future. The good thing about this — from your point of view — was that you had absolute control over what went on that piece of paper. You could omit anything that was embarrassing, or anything from your past that you have long since regretted.
Short of their hiring a private detective, or talking to your previous employers, a prospective employer couldn’t find out much else about you. That was nice. But now those days are gone forever. Since 2008, and even before, there’s been a new résumé in town, and it’s called Google. (Bolles, “Parachute”)
Don’t forget about Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and other social media. If you think employers and their recruiters are not looking, think again. You may want to revise or even delete some of your social media accounts.
The purpose of your resume is to generate interest in you — ultimately enough interest that you get an interview. On your own — with some quiet thinking — you can predict the questions you’ll be asked in an interview. As you prepare and refine your answers to those questions and practice them out loud, you are engaging in positive self-talk which in turn, increases your enthusiasm and optimistic mindset. I suggest writing out answers to the 5–6 most likely questions and practicing them out loud. I subscribe to the Miss America theory here. You know how Miss America finalists are asked those really deep questions before the winner is chosen? I guarantee that those women have already prepared their answers and when they reply, they do so even if it doesn’t precisely answer the question asked. If you prepare 5 or 6 well-thought-out answers to potential interview questions, you’ll be prepared to answer nearly anything that may be thrown at you. Here’s another inside tip. Think of the question you hope they don’t ask. Maybe you’re concerned they’ll ask about a work relationship you don’t want to discuss. Perhaps you are concerned you can’t answer why you were terminated without getting overly nervous. Maybe you dread the salary question. Whatever your nightmare question is, I recommend you prepare for it in the same way you do the others. That way, you’ll answer smoothly and confidently.
People ask about references and often former colleagues will offer to give you a reference. Some postings ask for references and salary history when you apply. I recommend a statement that you will discuss that in a conversation and leaving it at that. Regarding actual references, solicit references among former colleagues, your network contacts and friends. Tell them what you are looking for and what you want them to say. Spell it out. If you want someone to write a reference letter, write it yourself and ask them to edit at will and sign it for you. Clue your references in on your marketing strategy. Defining the organizations you want to pursue helps keep you on track and provides your network with specific information that facilitates their participation in your search.
Make sure everyone on your reference list has a copy of your entire reference list. That way if a sharp recruiter asks one of them who else they might call; your reference will give them another person from your list. Openly express gratitude to those who are helping you in this way. During quiet times mentally send them your thanks. Gratitude opens the gates for good to flow toward you. Keep your network (not just your references) up-to-date. Ask for help. Ask for critique on your resume but you don’t have to take everyone’s advice. Ask if they know someone you should be talking to or a resource you haven’t explored. Send your network a “progress report” monthly.
Now for my best inside tips:
· Meditate daily
· Work with a buddy/advisor/prayer partner
· Play this game at least once a day — on a piece of lined paper write these words: Won’t it be great when… then write out 5 or more endings to that sentence. Examples: when I finish my resume, when I get a call back from Joe, when I have a successful interview, when I have an offer in hand, when I meet the people I will be working with.
· Now my number 1 insider tip: write yourself an offer letter. Spell out what you will be doing, where you’ll be doing it, your boss, your title, work hours, work environment, your salary and bonus structure — everything that matches your ideal job.
Oh, you haven’t created it in your mind yet? Well, that’s your next assignment.
Richard Bolles, in a talk delivered to a roomful of Career Counselors, said they didn’t have to worry that his book, What Color is your Parachute, would deprive them of clients because no one would ever do all the exercises on their own. I suppose that is true of all career or job-hunting advice including this. You will pick the ideas that resonate with you and delay or discard the others. It is in your hands and mind and heart now. Be well.
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