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There has been a rumor going around asserting that it is “impossible to multi-task.” I suppose a declaration of this kind allows those who aren’t skilled at multitasking to feel triumphant, but very common examples of real life multitasking prove this theory incorrect. If we couldn’t multi-task, then:
When driving, we couldn’t look both ways and behind us at an intersection, activate a turn signal and apply pressure to the brakes (all within 15 seconds).
A mother couldn’t hold her child on her back while she walked to the store or while she was making dinner.
We wouldn’t be able to guide cloth through a sewing machine and watch to ensure the stitching is straight, while also accelerating the pedal that runs the motor.
Musicians couldn’t sing while they play an instrument, let alone dance while they are doing both.
A police officer wouldn’t be able to direct traffic and be cognizant of the crowd around him/her.
An epiphany hit me recently after reading an article about the current status of job loss in Washington State. Reporting “no jobs” does not necessarily mean there is “no work available.” The term “jobless,” doesn’t have to mean “without work.” When I think about it, passively waiting for a job to open up when there is so much work around us to be done may not be the best approach to what could be a dire situation. Too many people are trapped in the mindset that a job is the only way to find income. I think there is another way we all could be looking at a “jobless” economy.
You may have found the past year has been riddled with indecision and apprehension regarding many important issues: the economy, jobs, politics, healthcare, and government spending, to name a few. The list could go on forever. This past year left many people feeling somewhat out of control. In response to everything that was up in the air in December, you may have made a concerted effort to create goals for the New Year that only you can control the progress on. Before we get fully underway in the New Year, it’s a good idea to identify last year’s personally painful points and set up remedies for this year. The following are some questions to ask yourself. Did you:
Start out with good intentions but found out your resolutions fizzled by March?
Make promises but didn’t keep them?
Find yourself with unmet goals?
Remain at the same dumb job?
Make excuses throughout the year for why things didn’t change?
Leading up to each New Year, it is common for people to establish a long wish list and/or a list of resolutions. The problem is that neither is typically tied to a plan of action and rarely is either list completed by the year’s end. Funny thing is, year after year, people repeat the same behavior and end up with the same results.
This year, make sure your wishes come true and your resolutions become habits, by starting out with a plan for success. Consciously think through what you want and what it will take for you to get there. This year, take control of what you can do to make things happen the way you envision. The following are some steps for getting started.
Although a candidate may be extremely focused on their own behavior and speech, it is just as necessary to pay attention to what the interviewer discloses through conversation or body language throughout an interview. In addition to debriefing an interview to learn where improvement may be required, a review can also help you pick up on clues the employer provided that could alert you to a dysfunctional work situation.
It’s always best to know of potential issues/personalities you might encounter in advance, so your interpretation of any odd behaviors is closer to the mark. When advance information from insiders isn’t possible, the following are some things to pay attention to and their potential causes.
Interviewing is tough business. A candidate is typically facing a complete stranger and has limited time to develop rapport, assess the environment, assimilate the conversation and interpret body language. Reading an interviewer is also a risky endeavor. Typically, only an objective ear can distinguish between what went “really well” and what went “really south”. Unless a candidate is ready to face what their interviewing challenges are and embrace the remedies, it is likely they will continue making the same mistakes (and continue getting the same results).
Taking the time to debrief an interview can sometimes lead to surprisingly easy things to change and other times it may require learning new behaviors. A debriefing session is a method of examining what was said, versus what might have been heard, in addition to identifying any red flags. Whatever is ultimately exposed during a debriefing session, it is necessary to plan on incorporating new behaviors in the approach. Changing or developing new behaviors will take time to adjust to, so it is important to discover the needed improvements and work on them, long before the next interview.
Every few days there is a tweet linking to a Wall Street Journal article talking about the dismal job prospects for recent college grads. If you have one of these living in your home, here are some suggestions to help them get a job and out of your house.
Some friends agreed to host the newly graduated son of close friends who live in another state. My friends, both professionals who have changed jobs numerous times over the years (including as recently as this month) were shocked at what "kids today" don't know about looking for work.
Every couple of years, my husband and I get in a debate about the term “common sense”. I believe common sense is something people either have or don’t, and he believes that it revolves around skills that are learned. Regardless of wherever it comes from, the question still remains: why don’t more people use it?
Each week I receive communications from people that are in dire straits financially. Most have waited more than a year to think about changing their job search strategy. (Thinking about change typically occurs when the unemployment checks are about to run out, or shortly thereafter). It is still surprising to me that when I ask how they have been searching for work, many describe the same process.
Recently I was deeply struck by a post called The Statute of Limitations on Regret- posted on the Get Rich Slowly blog. It was on the author’s reaction to a couple who was beating themselves up for the money mistakes they made. And now they are focused on just getting through the day, marking time and feeling depressed. Yikes.
Well, we all make money mistakes. And on top of our mistakes, we feel horrible about them. Do you struggle with being critical of yourself over a money mistake? Are you plagued with regret over what you did- or didn’t do? Do you keep thinking and thinking and thinking- swirling in a circle—wishing you’d done things differently?
To compound our woes, we rarely talk about them. When we make relationship mistakes, we often hash over the “I can’t believe I did that” with girlfriends over a glass of wine. But when it comes to money, we can be extremely self-critical—suffering pangs of regret and remorse- replaying our money mistakes over and over in our head– mostly in isolation.
Some days, I just shake my head when I watch how people approach their job searches or career planning. After 15 years, I would say I have developed a pretty solid recipe for getting people where they want to go in regard to employment. No matter how many times the process is described by yet another successful candidate (now new employee), someone always thinks there is a short cut and wants to put their own spin on it. It made me think of an analogy that might make it a little clearer:
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