How to overcome 5 major Obstacles between you and employment.

How to overcome 5 major obstacles between you and employment.

                                                       

There’s a term for people who enjoy the thrill of the job search: happily employed. For the rest of us, looking for a job ranks right up there on the list of things to avoid alongside root canals, traffic jams, and the plague. If you’re stuck in a job you hate, or stuck on your couch watching soaps, it’s probably because you prefer your current state of misery to the pain of job hunting. Few things in life have the power to discourage you quite like being rejected or ignored by an employer you don’t really want to work for in the first place.

It’s that feeling of inferiority that makes the job search so dismal. So what is it about you that makes you look and feel inferior? The answers are all in your head. All the negative, depressing, defeating thoughts you entertain as you send out resumes and trudge through interviews . . . they’re all true. But you can use them to your advantage, and stand out of the crowd.

1. To the employer you are nobody.

                                                                            

Anonymity is safe. That’s why you apply online, email your resume, and post your job seeker profile with the millions of other strangers in line at the virtual employment office. You’d much rather be ignored by a computer than rejected by an old acquaintance. But anonymous, absent job hunting is a formula for safe unemployment. If you stay holed up at home in your pajamas in front of your computer, you will never stand out to an employer.

Employers, by the way, are people. To be somebody, you need to connect with somebody, not a Web site. Spend at least a couple of hours every day connecting with real people. Wasting away the hours on Facebook or Twitter isn’t a waste if you are socializing with purpose(use Linkedin). Let people know you’re looking for work and listen to people who are looking to hire. Make lunch appointments, make office visits, and discuss your industry with people you like. This will greatly increase the chances of working with people you like.

2. Employers don’t care about you.

                                                                      

In time, the people for whom you work might care about your problems. That time is not now. The only concern weighing on the minds of a hiring company is the need to fill job openings and accomplish business objectives. Most job candidates have one objective in mind (usually stated nebulously and needlessly atop their resumes): get a job. But if you focus solely on getting a job, you’re probably ignoring how you could succeed at that job. Shift your attention away from you. Think about the needs of the company and how you could help meet them if you had the job. If you can imagine yourself doing the job instead of just landing it, an employer will find it much easier to imagine themselves hiring you.

3. You’re not good enough for this job.

                                                                     

Do you know what happens when someone arrives at being perfect for a job? They get promoted to a tougher one. Having a successful career is all about improvement. You might not have every qualification the job listing asks for, you might not be the ideal candidate. But if you have the basic skills necessary to learn the job, you are a viable candidate. Most employers will expect new hires to go through some sort of training and develop along the way. They will see your potential if you do. And think about this: who is currently doing the work laid out in the job description? Probably no one. Could you do a better job than no one? That’s the spirit!

4. That job description doesn’t sound like you at all.

                                                                                  

Ask some employed friends to tell you their current job descriptions. If even one of them can tell you what it is, he or she probably just completed an annual review. But most job descriptions are professional BS that fail to portray what you would actually be doing. Cut through the fancy HR crap and figure out what the job is really all about. Call someone at the company (or find someone with an online presence) and ask him or her to tell you about the position. No real person talks like a job listing. A human being will give you a clearer picture of what’s essential to the job.

The main reason most job descriptions are inaccurate is because most positions evolve according to the strengths of the people who fill them and the ever-changing shifts of the company. Don’t get discouraged if the fourteenth point in the list of job responsibilities is completely foreign to you. If you can handle the main essence of the job, you’ll be fine. Stay focused on the things you do well rather than getting tripped up by the things you can’t.

5. You are entirely uninteresting.

                                                                                  

Nobody likes talking about themselves. The people who do are usually unlikable. But the only thing worse than listening to someone boast about how great they are is listening to some self-conscious twit stammer through a wandering stream of consciousness with no direction, meaning, or enthusiasm. We understand you know your weaknesses better than anyone, but don’t force a room of interviewers to live inside your head. It’s okay,  no, it’s mandatory for you to put up a polished veneer of confidence and pride in your accomplishments and qualifications.

If you’re uncomfortable focusing entirely on yourself, good. On your cover letter or in your interview, link the things you say about yourself to attributes of the company you want to work for. Show the employer what you have in common. Excite them with the parts of who you are that are relevant to the company. But for the love of all that is  holy for you, be enthusiastic about who you are. You are the only one who will promote yourself. And if being a tad too boastful doesn’t land you the perfect job, at least it will save everyone involved from an excruciating interview.

Will it work? What do you think? I Would love to hear your thoughts

Open Letter to all MBA's out there

Letter To All MBA’s out there

MBA's are risk averse.

Business school students are among the smartest and hardest working, but they are some of the most risk averse people in the world. Many of us were driven by fear of not having, not succeeding, and not “making it”. We’re running as hard as we can, but we’re not necessarily sure where we’re running to. Sometimes it’s best to just stop, be still, and listen to your voice within. The greatest risk in the world is not taking any risk at all.

(Most MBAs wouldn’t do this with their career unless a lot of other MBAs were doing it too.)

MBAs are some of the most underemployed people in the world.

Underemployment is the biggest issue facing MBAs and the world. Underemployment is when you’re working below your full potential. Anyone who has said they hate their job is likely underemployed. Underemployment has nothing to do with income. It’s about how passionate you are about your daily work.

Imagine having a sample economy of 100 people where 10 are unemployed and the other 90 are only 50% engaged or underemployed. 90 x 50% = 45 people being unemployed which makes it 4.5 times bigger of an issue than unemployment. In addition to being some of the smartest and hardworking, MBAs are equipped with an amazing set of leadership and business skills that position them to building teams and solve the world’s greatest problems. The sad part is that most MBAs don’t seek professional paths that tackle the world’s greatest problem. If not us, then who? Underemployment has nothing to do with income. It’s about passion.)

                                                 

                                                                                                     (It’s says all)

MBAs make you money, not happy.

I even have classmates who are unemployed right now, but it is because they would rather be unemployed than underemployed. Their self-confidence gives them the strength to hold out so that they can find the perfect opportunity instead of potentially missing it because they are caught up somewhere else. Whenever someone is underemployed, not only are they unhappy, but what they produce is not top quality, therefore the customer is unhappy, and then the company is unhappy. Everybody loses. Full employment means the perfect alignment of your passions and purpose with your profession.

Your purpose and passion are too big to fit into a single profession or job title. Your career is just one avenue to exercise and fulfill them.  Under employment, unemployment or full employment. You choose.

(This guy probably think his job is the $#!+)

MBAs should focus on creating value.

MBA programs, even on-line MBA programs, focus more on capturing value (business models) than creating value. Whereas leadership is the process of taking smart risk and creating value, management is the process of sucking risks out of a business and capturing value. Keep in mind that entrepreneurs don’t love risk—they actually hate risk. True entrepreneurs are just willing to take the risk necessary to achieve a larger purpose. The Masters in Business Administration (MBA) should be changed to a Masters in Business Leadership (MBL) or Masters in Value Creation (MVC). This would change the focus of the curriculum, students, and programming. Though most people go to business school to change careers, it has the power to change the world.

MBAs are taught to believe in the law of scarcity.

I think MBAs get it from economics which is based on the law of scarcity. Scarcity of natural resources. scarcity of jobs (Get in where you fit in). Scarcity of great talent (the whole premise of business school). Scarcity of idea (someone’s going to take my business idea). The perception that things that are scarce are more valuable (i.e. MBA admissions) is killing us…literally. Mother Earth produces more than enough food for everyone in the world to eat, yet there is still starvation. Why? If the world is abundant, but everyone believes that it isn’t, then people tend to hoard or capture what they can get. People take more than they need and others are left without.

(Scarcity of food or is it?

MBAs should learn to value time over money.

The only scarce resources that really exist is your time, thus making it your most valuable resource. You choose how to spend and invest it, not your company, not your parents, not your family or friends. Anyone not in control of their own time is a __________________ (I’ll let you fill in the blank). You probably know exactly what’s in your bank account right now, but nobody knows how much time is in their time account. Whoever said time is money was all wrong. Time IS LIKE money in that you can spend it, lose it, waste it, invest it, and run out of it, but Time IS NOT LIKE money in that you can’t get it back or make more of it, or measure how much you have left. Even Bill Gates can’t buy another second of time. Everything costs time (not money). An iPhone priced at Rs.50k cost the CEO who makes approximately Rs.900k/month, but it cost the entry level employee who makes Rs.30/month. The CEO and employee are paid based on other’s perceptions of their ability to create value. We should embrace the law of abundance given our capacity to innovate and create value.

                                                                                                            

(Time is NOT money?)

So how do I find my passions?

First and foremost, I don’t believe that you don’t know your passion. It’s an easy excuse. You’ve likely been using your passion all of your life whether you know it or not, but you’ve probably never thought about it in a professional context. For example, I think Sachin Tendulkar, one of the greatest cricket players ever, But what if cricket was only a manifestation of his true passion? Let’s say he didn’t want to become a professional cricket player. What else could he do with that passion? I think he would make one hell of a strategy consultant, sports coach, or military general. Why? Because the same mind set required being a great cricket genius is required to be great at those other things. If he could see those careers as one big cricket ground, the transition wouldn’t be that hard. In the same way, there is no difference between someone who is passionate about bargain shopping and someone who does mergers and acquisitions for a living. It’s the same game on a larger scale. List all of your favorite activities, projects, books, movies, TV shows, and discussion topics from childhood to now. After that, ask yourself what part of this thing I loved. For instance, let’s say that you used to want to be an archeologist when you were younger. That may indicate your passion for digging for information, studying history, or comparing cultures. Once you complete this list, you’ll be able start to see patterns and uncover your true passion because all of the things you engaged with.

(Sachin Tendulkar)

Can I make money with my passion?

You can monetize any passion if you’re passionate enough and (you get) other people (to) love it too. It’s more of marketing question than a money question. The deeper you delve into your passions, the more business opportunities you will see. Don’t expect to put your big toe in the kiddies’ pool and expect to find hidden treasure at the bottom of the sea. Immerse yourself in your passions.

                                                                                                  

                                                                          (Passion is like fire inside you)

So if I follow my passions, the money will come?

Not quite. You’ve probably heard the saying “Follow your passion and the money will come.” They skipped a step. It’s follow your passion, get great at it (meaning crystallize it into a skill), and then the money will come. The only difference between a professional athlete and an amateur is that they are able to replicate success at a given activity more than an amateur. Do you realize that you be great at almost anything you want if you commit to it? Unfortunately, many millennial are non-committal and self-discipline is a scare resource. But, the worst thing you can do is get great at something you hate. Breaking out of that mold is 10 times harder than starting off on the right path.

                                                                                                                  

(Murder mediocrity and sharp shoot for your dreams)

What about on-campus recruiting? Avoid it!

Avoid on-campus recruiting. It creates career tunnel vision and the time line is screwed up. Have you ever been in a crowd an experienced everyone just starts running? You’re not sure why people are running, but you figure that you better run too. That’s exactly what on-campus recruiting is. Just because the companies are ready to hire doesn’t mean you’re ready to be hired. A successful on-campus recruiting season is not measured by the number of offers you get. It’s actually measured by how FEW interviews if takes for you to find your fit. Since business schools like to golf, you understand that hole-in-ones are better than bogies. There are more jobs in the world where you could create (and capture) extreme value than the limited number of ones that come to campus. Get off campus and go find them.

Don’t be recruited by a company. They will never know you the way you know you. All they are really looking for is a huge ball of clay talent to mold. You can try to fit in, but you are who you are. Therefore, recruit the company you want. Find the company that will fit you by thoroughly researching opportunities (usually off-campus). I would recruit like an archer instead of machine gun. Rather than shooting everywhere hoping something hits, I would take my time, take aim, and release. You save a lot of rejection, inauthentic conversations and stress that way. When I went to business school, I knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur. When I failed to position myself as an entrepreneur post-MBA due to some poor leadership choices, product delays, and lack of funding, I knew myself so well that I interviewed with one company and got the job.

                                                                                                                    

(Don’t be recruited. Recruit the company you want.)

Won’t business school help me find what I love?

Business school is simply a space for you find yourself and what you love if you choose. Most people come to business school or grad school in general to hide out for two years because they hated their previous job and don’t know what they want to do yet. Everyone is hoping that business school will help them find IT, but in reality, they must find IT using business as a time and tool. What sucks is that recruiting starts right after mid-terms as if the student has had time to do real self-discovery between the time they left their previous job and started school. The problem is that grad school buys you more time, but it doesn’t guarantee self-discovery. Most people graduate from grad with a master’s degree but no mastery of self. If you know who you are and what you have to offer, you will always be able to find a place to fit and a way to contribute and create value. If you simply know your options, but don’t know who you are, the likelihood of you finding a fit is a shot in the dark.

A master’s degree doesn’t mean self-mastery. You have to make time for that just like you would a class or else you’ll end up in the exact same situation you were in after undergrad in a new company and perhaps industry with a new title making more money. I repeat, school does not promise to help you discover your passions, purpose, or profession. Maybe you’re okay with that. How is that hundreds of the world’s best and brightest all want to do the exact same few jobs? Consulting, banking, and brand management. Do you really know that is what you want to be? Why? How do you know?  How many people have you talked to that do that? Do any of your mentors do that? How did you decide on this? What other (non-traditional) career opportunities did you explore? What made this one the best? Don’t lead on an employer who wants to get married when you aren’t even “engaged”. They will find out. You can only fake love for so long.

                                                                                                              

(A master’s degree doesn’t mean self-mastery)

So what should I do in business school?

Do everything you couldn’t do if you weren’t in business school. Fail BIG. Travel EVERYWHERE. Create VALUE (from scratch). Be GREAT.

Finish unfinished business.

First and foremost, do what you didn’t do in undergrad. If you’re in a good business school, you likely did well in undergrad, but if you could do it all over again knowing what you know now, you might flip undergrad a little differently.   Since I finished undergrad in 2 years, I didn’t get a chance to study abroad, so that’s one thing I regret. Fail BIG while trying to create extreme value.

Usually starting a company is the best way to fail. When I say fail big, I don’t mean fail intentionally. Try to succeed. But do something that you’re not sure you can do. Stretch yourself. Even if you fail and you don’t get the outcome or income you expected, you will still have stretched and expanded your idea of what’s possible. I failed at two businesses while in business school—an online green products store and a people-based search engine. These were the greatest leadership lessons I could ever have. The process of trying to create value from scratch and building a team challenged me in a way that a classroom couldn’t. Most people in the world, even MBAs haven’t made more than Rs.100k on their own outside of a company. Try to create value (innovation) and capture it (business model) whether you intend to be an entrepreneur or not. People who have an entrepreneurial mind will lead in the 21st century because they know how to identify problems, develop iterative solutions, and execute. The world is evolving too quickly for you to think you’re going to be able to hide inside a company and take an elevator to the C-level suite without solving a major problem. Any company not solving a major problem in the world will not last and likewise, any employee now solving a major problem for a company won’t last either.

Declare your greatness.

Like I said before, you can be great at anything so why not get great at the thing that you want to be great at. Declare what you are committed to being the world’s greatest at. As talented as MBAs are, if I asked everyone in this room the question, “What is the one thing you are committed to being the world’s greatest at?” many people wouldn’t have an answer. We’ve become comfortable with “good enough”. We were good enough to get into b-school. We were good enough to get that grade or GMAT score. We were good enough to get that job or internship. But what are you great enough to do?

Take a second. Think about it. If you had to choose one thing to be great at, what would it be? If it immediately comes to mind, then write it down. If not, then write the question down until you choose an answer that resonates with you. With the exception of biological feats like the world’s tallest person, nobody in the Guinness book of world records got there by luck. Everyone made a conscious choice as some point in their lives to be the best. And no matter how obscure the thing they chose, most of them are making a living doing what they love. Now keep in mind that I when I say best, I don’t mean better. This is not a competition with anyone else. It’s all about you. You can be your best without being the best and your can be the best without being your best.

Is entrepreneurship the only way to find the perfect career?

No. I’m confident that if I wasn’t an entrepreneur, I would be perfectly fit for a leadership position in HR at a company I cared about or student life and admissions at a major university. How many people MBAs do you know would even consider that as a career option? Too many people are looking for the sexy jobs when the ones they should marry are right around them. There are more companies than the 50+ that recruit on campus and there are more paths out of business school than 5.

I’m not saying that you have to be an entrepreneur. You can also be an entrepreneur. Instead of trying to fit into a job description on a company’s website, you can propose an entrepreneurial idea that will solve a huge problem in their company or industry. We do it in our case studies in class all the time. After railing on an entrepreneur for decisions in the past (even though their company is worth billions today) we come up with these great ideas for companies that we could actually propose as jobs, not just ideas. Dissect the company or industry you want to work for and make a proposal. As long as you can demonstrate that it will create more value than the cost of your salary, you’re a go. But again, most people haven’t gone through the process of creating value and capturing it on your own. That’s why I highly recommend taking on a project or entrepreneurial venture that will allow you to explore that during business school.

(Understanding how to create and capture value will make you forever rich)

What do you think about making money and then giving back?

I don’t believe in charity as a solution to the world’s greatest problems. I believe you are the solution to world’s greatest problems. Charity is nice-to-have, but how many charities or foundations do you know have obviated them because they solved the particular problem they were created to address?  I’ve heard the quote “I can’t give back to the poor if I’m one of them.” That’s B.S. Has it every cross your mind that it’s not money that the poor need—it’s actually financing for all of the million dollar ideas they’ve thought of because they’ve been undercapitalized (not poor) for so long. Bill Gates proves that even with a lot of money impact isn’t guaranteed. The world needs you now! As stated earlier, your time is your most valuable asset, not your money. You can express your passion. But it isn’t just the desire to achieve some goal or payoff, and it’s not about quotas or bonuses or cashing out. It’s not about jumping through someone else’s hoops. That’s drive.”

                                                                                                                 

My final thought.
In closing, I hope that I’ve created life changing value for you. Though you’re reading this online and accessing it for free, it cost me to create this. I’ve invested years of disciplined study, spiritual practice, self-evaluation and reflection to produce this insight for you. I believe that the wisdom I’ve shared with you will bring you abundance personally and professionally, otherwise I wouldn’t have written it.