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Nelson Mandela: Inspiration to Job Seekers

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This is an episode offering inspiration to job seekers or for anyone. Keith (virtualizedgeek.com), Bianca, and I shared some of our thoughts from Nelson Mandela’s quotes below. The show’s purpose is to inspire everyone, but specifically job seekers who are struggling to find light to encourage their hearts. We realize that a few job seekers are a quote away from being successfully employed or a decision away from giving up.

Sometimes job search techniques alone fall short of remaining steadfast and motivated.

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These are quotes we discussed but I’ll post the rest we considered as well:

“There is no passion to be found playing small–in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.”

“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The Brave Man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.”

“It always seems impossible until it’s done.”

“Do not judge me by my successes, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again.”

“After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb.”

“In my country, we go prison first and then become President.”

“Know your enemy__and learn about his favorite sport.”

“It is what we make out of what we have, not what we are given, that sparates one person from another.”

We don’t mind if you share some of your own thoughts on the blog in the comments section published on TheVoiceofJobSeekers.com. Originally, I was going to insert a holiday job tip this week but I wanted this show to focus offering a tribute to Nelson Mandela, who is more to the world than he is to solely South Africa.

I hope everyone finds inspiration from this episode who are treading the unemployment waters.

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by Mark Anthony Dyson

If You’re Snaggled Tooth, and Batfaced, You Won’t Get the Job

Employers are biased pigs at times, unfair, unjust, and unfortunately won’t change.

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We’d like to believe that but really, it is the job seeker, not the employer.

So we’re told by the Job Preparedness Indicator study.

The right candidate goes up and beyond the job description. If you are too different despite clearly stated quantitative and qualitative results you will likely miss opportunities that are only accurate on paper.

So we’re told.

Many job seekers without hesitation will attempt to please every type of employer. This is a dangerous practice, one that extends unemployment and sustains the under employment statistics that yet to exist. You, the job seeker, must diminsh the tangible reasons for not being hired.

Employers are looking exclude you to lower the amount of choices, even if you have a snaggle tooth or halitosis, there are biases that are enacted, intentionally or not.

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Remember, it’s you. Not the employer. Afterall, it’s your biases don’t matter.

Can’t help it, if they wanted to

Hiring managers, recruiters, human resource screeners in the hiring process can’t help if his or her personal biases influence employment decisions. It goes way beyond the scope of race, gender, creed, color, and sexual preference.

Take if easy on yourself as you will likely be turned away because of a bias that has nothing to do with skill compentency.

No one really knows why that in high volume job hiring campaigns the reason that people don’t get jobs. In a Wall Street Journal article last May, one consultant stated that specific feedback is unlikely given upon a job candidate’s request because there is a fine line between objective and subjective.

No surprise here. What if an employer told you, ” So your southern drawl is a distraction for most of us northerners anyway. How would you even relate to our high-end Yankee clients?” We can chalk that up to the cultural noise bias that exists. This report says there are 10 types of hiring biases (thanks to Joann Corley). Interviewers are fundamentally learners, and they have to be. They are ascertaining new information that is critical to their investment in you as the employee. They live, they learn.

The objective and subjective has arms, legs, and can color differentiate and discern societal lines.

Employers will find reasons

Employers have to like you. Like learning, past personal preferences play a valid part of your decision making abilities. Interviewing is learning as it should be an adult pedagogical theory of its own. Hiring managers are often untrained interviewers who rely on their own personal, but basic training and knowledge when thrown for a loop. This is not a good thing at all, especially when this could mean the job candidate is much sharper than the interviewer. But they many, like regular folks, decide not to like you.

Temperance, good judgement, relevant hard skills, and evident soft skills such as flexibility should regulary be noticed. You have to sell yourself. You have to “fit” the company culture. There is not an auto-convinced button to be pressed. Having just enough for the job is at times, too little to be remembered by.

If the candidate is snaggled-tooth and offensively unattractive, he or she is subject to a number of hiring biases without saying a word. By the time they reach a competent career coach, despite the job seekers lousy formatted and faulty strategy resume, the person positively stands out.

What? Good job candidates with lousy resumes get hired! But that is why we (career coaches, advisors, recruiters) tell you its the relationship and your presentation that will get you noticed, not the dental work employers think you need done.

by Mark Anthony Dyson

Bad Job Advice Revealed (PODCAST)

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In this 16th edition of the podcast, Keith (virtualizedgeek.com), and Bianca “HR Sassy Girl” Thompson, and in spirit, Sandra Tedford (wetalktoday.com) and I present a new segment of the show, “Would you resign this way?” The main discussion focused on bad job advice people still give that is a decade or more old. I discovered an old resignation letter from the blog, Before You Light That Match, that posted a humorous article about the way a man resigned from his job:

Dear Barton:

You have a man in your employ that I have thought for a long time should be fired. I refer to Sherwood Anderson. He is a fellow of a good deal of ability, but for a long time I have been convinced that his heart is not in his work.

There is no question but that this man Anderson has in some ways been an ornament to our organization. His hair, for one thing, being long and messy gives an artistic carelessness to his personal appearance that somewhat impresses such men as Frank Lloyd Wright and Mr. Curtiniez of Kalamazoo when they come into the office.

But Anderson is not really productive.

As I have said his heart is not in his work. I think he should be fired and if you will not do the job I should like permission to fire him myself. I therefore suggest that Anderson be asked to sever his connections with the company on [the first of next3. week]. He is a nice fellow. We will let him down easy but let’s can him.

Respectfully submitted,

Sherwood Anderson

We also discussed the U.S. News and World Report article that gave 10 job advice myths that many people in general advise the job seeker in his or her life. Some of the antiquated job advice people still give we discussed:

1. Use a landline for a phone interview

2. A resume can only be one page

3. Every job has to go on your resume

4. Include an objective at the top of your resume

5. Invest in good resume paper

Please, enjoy our show and kindly provide an honest review in iTunes and Stitcher for our show!