Issue No. 479 of Your Weekly Staff Meeting highlights a new street-smart guide for your “Next Job, Best Job.” It’s a must-read—even if you’re not yet in between jobs. And this reminder: click here to download free resources from the 20 management buckets (core competencies) and click here for the new book from John Pearson and Jason Pearson, Mastering Mistake-Making: My 25 Memorable Mistakes—And What I Learned. See Mistake #5 below.
Imagine the chess match...if both the interviewer and the job seeker have read Next Job, Best Job!
Avoid Sameness and Nonstarter Resumes
In a perfect world, I would pay to be a fly on the wall and watch this job interview scenario:
MANAGER: Wow, Joe! Your impressive resume got you past the first obstacle (our HR team). Nicely done! But beware: I just read Next Job, Best Job—so I know all your clever tactics for this 30-minute interview.
JOE: Well then…you already know that I’m not your typical “Swiss Army knife”—hedging my bets by listing every job I’ve ever had. And you also know from my cover letter that my experience aligns extremely well with the specific needs you have. I’m guessing that your second quarter hiccup last year was a big challenge for your department? (LOL! I’ve read Next Job, Best Job also!)
Really…I’d pay serious money (or at least chip in a generous Starbucks card) to observe the jousting in a job interview where both the interviewer and the candidate were fans of this new truthteller, Next Job, Best Job: A Headhunter's 11 Strategies to Get Hired Now, by Rob Barnett.
Trust me. This is not your typical blah, blah, blah, blah bromide. Who should read this hot-off-the-press book?
• You—no matter your job status.
• You—if you’re not in your sweet spot.
• You—because your position might be eliminated in the future.
• You—because you’ll likely move on sooner than you think.
• You—because your HR team probably won’t read this!
• You (even if you’re retired)—because you’ll recommend Next Job, Best Job to dozens of family members, friends, and colleagues seeking your advice.
If you’re currently in between jobs again (the author’s label: #iBJA), this is a must-read. And good news! The author feels your pain (he’s been there). Before I give you my “Seven Best” (below), please note this caveat.
I had the privilege of leading three national/international associations over 25 years and—no surprise—about a dozen headhunter firms thought I worked for them! (That comes with the territory for association executives.) Some still email or call me: “John, who would you recommend as VP of Operations for XYZ?” Headhunters are a unique breed. Some are even good friends! But…
…when they read that Rob Barnett, the author and headhunter, only became a headhunter in 2018—whew!—one’s natural tendency will be to dismiss the book, his ideas, and his 11 strategies. My counsel: don’t.
Perhaps because he’s been on the other side of the desk for decades, and just more recently put out his headhunter shingle, I’ve discerned that the author’s unique background has powered fresh, original thinking, enriched his savviness, and fueled dozens (actually hundreds) of insightful tactics that make this book so worth the read.
Here are my SEVEN BEST for Next Job, Best Job:
#1. BEST CHAPTER. “The Perfect 30-Minute Interview” (Chapter 9) is unlike anything I’ve read on navigating your actual interview. Shocker: “…your number one goal in any first job interview isn’t to get hired.” (The goal: score that second interview.)
#2. BEST JOB SEARCH REGIMEN. Read the detailed three-page schedule for organizing your daily job hunt routine from 9:00 a.m. to 5:25 p.m. (10:20 a.m.—get off social media! At 10:25 a.m.—“I’m not kidding. Turn your social apps off.”) Did I mention the author could do stand-up comedy?
#3. BEST “WHEN TO WALK” ADVICE. When should you reject an offer—and how? The author delivers detailed nuances I’ve never, ever read before. When you say no to a new position—be prepared for four possible reactions from the interviewer, including this (the third version): “I respect your decision. I’m sorry we couldn’t make it work and I hope we stay connected.” Barnett calls this person: “A pro who took it like a pro.” And more good news: perhaps “that relationship can be revived again in another opportunity down the road.”
#4. BEST THERAPY. The author won’t let you wallow in your in-between-jobs-again (#iBJA) status, but he’s unusually sensitive to the emotional challenges of being #iBJA. In his twenties, he joined a Tuesday evening group of seekers with Father A.A. Taliaferro, who invited them to join a “secret group” called the Worrier’s Club. Just one requirement: “We would be allowed to worry our heads off, but only for five minutes each day, because worrying accomplishes absolutely nothing.” (Listen to this three-minute excerpt at Libro.)
#5. BEST NONSTARTER RESUMES. “Hiring execs want specialists—not generalists,” writes Barnett. “Don’t be a Swiss Army knife.” He lists 12 nonstarter career aspirations that should never see the light of day on your resume or on LinkedIn. Examples:
• Seeking my next career opportunity
• Storyteller
• Creative People Person
• Thought Leader
• Freelancer
• Consultant
• Experienced professional, passionate, dedicated, driven to succeed
#6. BEST PROCESS. The author’s “North Star” theme oozes throughout the book and he walks you through a process to find your best job. “Branding yourself with a clear North Star in the headline of your resume and LinkedIn profile defines the role that best reflects your passion, expertise, and experience.” (Be prepared to toss your current resume and do a major rewrite of your LinkedIn profile.) What does your heart compel you to be and do? Barnett admonishes:
“If a company is looking to hire a butcher, saying you’re a butcher, a baker, and a candlestick maker doesn’t give you a leg up. Quite the opposite. You’ll be three times less likely to be hired if you tell everyone that you’re seeking three different jobs.”
#7. BEST REBRANDING. Oh, my. The author gives away the store—for just the price of a book. The 37-page chapter, “Marketing Yourself,” is a crash course in your professional rebrand: a new resume, the strongest LinkedIn profile, the perfect headshot, the right wardrobe, a new bio, convincing recommendations, and a killer cover letter. Follow his detailed/detailed counsel and your stale LinkedIn profile will be rescued from “the world’s largest pile of sameness.”
I could go on…but I hope you’ll read the book. In the BEST chapter, Barnett counsels you on how to answer the common interview questions as well as the curveballs that good interviewers will speed your way. One big idea: recruit “preppers” to conduct mock interviews. You must prepare your best answer to: “What’s your dream job?” He also helps you structure a memorable response to “What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given?”
So…whether you’re interviewing or being interviewed, enjoy this book. Checkmate!
One More Caveat: In Next Job, Best Job, the author uses a few “non-church words.” (That’s how Trey Gowdy labels his own occasional word choice! See Gowdy’s recent book on persuasion—also a helpful tool for job seekers.)
To order this book from Amazon, click on the title for Next Job, Best Job: A Headhunter's 11 Strategies to Get Hired Now, by Rob Barnett. Are you a listener? Listen to the book on Libro.fm (8 hours, 5 minutes). And thanks to Fortier PR for sending me a review copy.
YOUR WEEKLY STAFF MEETING QUESTIONS
1) Next Job, Best Job suggests (get ready for this!)…you review EVERY contact on your iPhone, plus EVERY friend and follower on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, and other social media accounts. Someone may be the perfect connection for you and your Next Job, Best Job.
2) Barnett urges, “Learn all you can about your next company’s social media policies before you start typing a single word.” Why might that be important for job seekers? And…is our organization’s social media policy clear to all insiders?
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Mistake #5 of 25:
Thinking Leadership Is Learned by Magic
Insights from Mastering Mistake-Making: My 25 Memorable Mistakes—And What I Learned, by John Pearson with Jason Pearson
“In my early years, you could have rubber-stamped ‘Mistake! Mistake! Mistake!’ over much of my work.” So grateful for Olan Hendrix, Peter Drucker, and other authors/leaders.
“I missed the memo about focusing on results and SMART goals.” That’s the subtitle of Mistake #5 in the new book by John Pearson with Jason Pearson. John describes the day that his wife, Joanne, rescued him from a low-priority workshop and redirected him to a management workshop led by Olan Hendrix. “That day-long crash course in Management 101 changed my life,” he notes.
John writes, “In my early years, you could have rubber-stamped ‘Mistake! Mistake! Mistake!’ over much of my work. My biggest mistake: not understanding the importance and power of SMART goals. And aligned with that mistake (or rather, misaligned)—a frenetic focus on activity instead of results. I learned the hard way—but you can learn the easy way: identify and get buy-in on three to five annual SMART goals and report on them monthly.
For Mistake #5, John shares what he learned from Peter Drucker and these two books:
• A Year With Peter Drucker: 52 Weeks of Coaching for Leadership Effectiveness, by Joseph A. Maciariello (click here for the index to the 52-week blog series)
• Drucker & Me: What a Texas Entrepreneur Learned from the Father of Modern Management, by Bob Buford (foreword by Jim Collins)
Click here to view the list of all 25 mistakes and read the introduction to Mastering Mistake Making. To order this book from Amazon, click on the title for Mastering Mistake-Making: My 25 Memorable Mistakes—And What I Learned (10 Minutes for Lifelong Learning Workbook), by John Pearson with Jason Pearson.
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JASON PEARSON: UNEXPECTED CREATIVE. Are your “Worrier’s Club” moments inappropriately focused on your communication strategy? Jason can help you with both therapy and creativity! Check in at Pearpod Media (branding, digital, print, and video).
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