This blog is written solely by Angus Margerison. Should there be anything that you would like to explore further through coaching, please fill in the contact form and we will get back to you as soon as possible.
I recently saw a Pepsi ad on television and found it quite amusing. It entails someone who applies for a job at the same time as a friend. The friend goes into the interview and starts screaming and throwing things around. All the other candidates leave the waiting room and the other friend (the one who actually wants the job) gets the job. You can view this ad on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKV0QuQsonk
It is obvious that the Pepsi ad was inspired by the challenges that many people are facing in the current job market. I know that it is just an advert but at the end of the day, it shows someone thinking creatively in order to secure a positive outcome to a job interview.
How are job-seekers coping within this turbulent job market? How many people are finding the strength to cope and how many are actually folding under the pressure that the job hunting puts them under? What are the solutions?
Things that you should not do include staying indoors all day focusing on the fact that you are unemployed. You need to do anything and everything that stops you from wallowing. So, get out of the house, find yourself a coffee shop and get creative. Never leave home without a notepad and a pencil or pen! You never know when you might need to write down some creative idea.
In this article, I’d like to show you how to turn a bad situation into a positive situation.
Fact or perception: One of the first things about dealing with an issue is deciding if it is based on fact or perception. If you are unemployed this is definitely a fact, not a perception so that is half the problem solved. Accepting this fact and looking forward is the next step. However, many people will dwell on the fact that they are unemployed, that the market is difficult at present, thereby unintentionally wallowing in the fact that they are unemployed and therefore not seeing beyond this fact. People can spend ages thinking about why they cannot get a job, why it is happening to them in particular, reading more and more news about the level of unemployment and how it is not going to get any better, worrying about how they are going to pay bills at the end of the month, worrying about losing their homes, and really just focusing on the enormity of the problem. Is this wrong? Not at all, it is the most natural response, but it is not productive and will not lead to the solution. It is a symptom of not just accepting a fact, but of embracing the fact. In effect, we let the unemployment become us, to take over our lives and we find it difficult to see beyond it. It surrounds us, envelopes us, but only because we let it. We have all heard about getting sucked in, about a vicious circle…well, this is a classic example of that!
Break the cycle: say to yourself “okay, I am unemployed but I am active, the unemployment is passive”. You are unemployed but you have not become unemployment. Having accepted the fact, it is time to find ways forward. Sitting around doing nothing is not going to help.
Start being creative: find that creative being, trapped deep inside. One thing you could consider at this stage is aiming to make sure that you look at jobs that you really want to do. I know that in the current job market that you can’t always be too choosy. However, this might be a time to really focus on not only your strengths, weaknesses and skills, but also on what it is exactly that you want to do. Why? Because this will help you to be more motivated in your job searches and also give you that energy boost. Getting that buzz will help! Being creative allows you to see outside the box.
Get to know who you are: How do you know more about what you want to do? Start by looking at your values and deciding what is important in your life. If it is money, for example, know that money is not a value, but what money can bring you is more of a value. So, look at what your values are and see if you can link them to your job searches. While it is important to return to employment, don’t rush into the first thing that comes along. It won’t help you rebuild your life. Instead, you will continue to feel that you’ve not achieved your full potential.
Keep an open mind: When you are searching advertisements, don’t search “in desperation” in which you turn everything you read into your “ideal” job, just because you’re so desperate to get another job. Read with discernment and as you’re reading, look for your values in the advertisement. Remember, you want to get the job you’ll love, not the job you’ll hate.
Revamp your CV: Look at your CV, is it the usual run-of-the-mill? If it is not getting you shortlisted, then maybe your CV is not saying what it should be saying? Then you have your cover letter/letter of motivation: are you communicating what you can bring to the company? Are your values coming through?
Visualise your dream job: Think about the future, not about the present. Paint a better future in order to get away from the oppressing present. Picture your new job, what you’ll be doing, what your office will look like or if it is not an office job, what your new work space will look like.
So, to summarise:
For coaching on any of the above issues, please email me on angus@coachexec.co.uk or fill in the contact form on this website.
Do you ever feel frustrated when you see someone in your team underperforming? Do you find yourself wondering why your team does not achieve its full potential? Perhaps you own a small business and you’d simply like to motivate your staff to reach their optimal performance? How might you do this on your own?
Start with yourself
I believe that before you can expect to get the best out of others who rely on you for leadership, you need to examine what it is you are currently doing and see if there is anything you could be doing better. If you are brave enough, you could ask for some feedback from your team similar that of a 360° assessment. This would give you some honest opinions from your team as to how they perceive your strengths and weaknesses as a leader. However, this is not for the faint-hearted.
What exactly is your task?
Looking at your own leadership, the starting point might lie in the way in which you communicate with your team. Having a clear idea of what it is you’d like to achieve and being able communicate this desire effectively to your team will get the ball rolling. Make certain that you know exactly what it is you want your team to achieve.
How does your team operate?
The next step might be to identify how your staff thinks and feels and tap into their preferred thinking and learning styles in order to bring them more closely on board. Treating your staff as individuals and then arranging for them to work more closely with other staff members who think and learn similarly might also be effective.
Setting goals and a time-scale
Setting CLEAR and SMART goals with time targets is also an important step in motivating your team. In other words, your plan of action and call to action must be established from the start. Equally important is to set check-points – let your team know precisely when you will be assessing their performance – this will help to keep them on track. Set them a clear expected delivery date and reward the team appropriately when they deliver.
How could coaching help you achieve all of this more effectively and in less time?
If you’d like some help motivating your team in order to achieve optimal performance in your business, contact me at angus@coachexec.co.uk or fill in the contact form on my website.
At the most basic level, career coaches and recruiters want the same thing: candidates and clients who present a professional cover letter and CV, a successful interview and job satisfaction. What then, is the relationship between career coaching and the recruitment process and how can recruiters and career coaches compliment each other’s individual skills more effectively?