The Care and Feeding of a Job Seeker

September 2009

Like many of you, I took some time off this Labor Day holiday. The fresh air and change of latitude opened up my busy schedule and let in some much-needed light.

E-mail had already trickled to a slow drip by Thursday morning. This August resembled a ghost town more than a vacation. Since work is slow or non-existent for so many, people are taking advantage of the recession to spend more time with family before the routine of school starts again.

We're now heading into month nine of one of the most extraordinary years we'll ever experience in our lives. Many people are tired. Some don't have enough work. Others have too much, from juggling multiple projects just to make ends meet. As one colleague put it: "I've never worked so hard to make so little money."

Marathon runners train for the long haul, but how can ordinary mortals cope? Here's a few tips for those laboring to have more labor, whether they're seeking a full-time job, or working to keep a business going.

Get Endorsements

Getting recommendations, endorsements or any other kudos serves two purposes:

It provides content to share with the world to tell them you're awesome.

It makes you feel great.

Both are wonderful things.

LinkedIn is a great place to start. Most people are familiar with the site and its features. They know recommendations are part of a profile and they can easily add one. This content can also be included in your Web site or even in a non-traditional résumé format.

Getting this type of feedback is also a way to boost your résumé content. I often have bluefeet clients send a list of questions to a few trusted colleagues such as:

What do you think are John's best skills are?

What projects or activities is John most known for?

What do you value most about John?

This exercise is particularly helpful for the most humble of job seekers. It has the added benefit of jogging your memory, especially if it's been a long time since your last résumé. It's not unusual for the most important content to come from these questions.

Have a Laugh

In his book Anatomy of an Illness, Norman Cousins describes how he healed himself of a serious disease through megadoses of Vitamin C and laughter. His favorite medicine was a regular dose of Marx Brothers movies. In his way, he proved that laughter is the best medicine.

Cousins was no lightweight. Among his many careers, he also did scientific research into the biochemistry of human emotions. This work continues today at the UCLA Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology.

If the impact of emotions on our well-being is worthy of a word that long, surely laughter can help anyone get through the recession. Have no shame in this regard. If it makes you laugh, it's worthwhile.

If you need some suggestions, here's a list of the top 50 best comedy movies of all time. Here's another list, from Bravo.

You might consider sharing a laugh too. At just under seven minutes, this video is much shorter than a movie, and you can watch it and laugh right now. If you're really in a hurry, it starts to get good around the two-minute mark. The title, "Bodhisattva in metro," implies that sharing laughter is even a spiritual practice. Who knew such serious stuff could be so funny?

Hug a Job Seeker

Some people may be tempted to avoid a friend or colleague who is out of work or struggling with his or her business. Even if you don't have a job or client to offer, there's a lot you can do to help out. If you know any job seekers or struggling entrepreneurs, give them a hug. Depending on your relationship, this may be a literal hug. But there are lots of other things you can do that can feel like a hug.

Make an introduction. This doesn't have to be a promise of job. A lot of businesses aren't hiring right now. But a lot of people -- both employed and unemployed -- are considering future opportunities. An introduction to someone in your colleague's industry or profession could lead to a future benefit for all.

Invite them out. This could be a lunch, coffee, dinner, or to a networking or educational event. Job seekers need to get out, but it gets old going to everything alone. Even inviting someone to join a dinner party could result in a future contact, and a boost to their spirits as well.

Stay in touch. When anything goes awry in life, people tend to congregate at that moment, and then go about their business. But the person who's been downsized is living with the situation every day. Check in from time to time to let that person know you get it. Just having some validation can go a long way.

bluefeet Can Help

Introductory discounts are still available through October for the bluefeet for Job Seekers workshops. This involves nearly 20 hours of workshop time, including three hours of private consultation.

The bluefeet philosophy is that every person is extraordinary. Most people just have a hard time explaining what makes them so special.

If this sounds like someone you know, help them get their very own bluefeet with a personal branding workshop or private branding package.

Find out more