The Voice of Job Seekers

Mark Anthony Dyson ★ Career Writer ★ Speaker ★ Thinker ★ Award-winning Blog & Podcast! ★ "The Job Scam Report" on Substack! ★ I hack and reimagine the modern job search!

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References Must Speak to Your Current Skills

References Must Speak to Your Current Skills

Your job search should be a lifestyle. But, unfortunately, there are too many components to ignore in 2021 and beyond.

I bet your references and mentors are perpetually in motion.

References can be that landmine if you didn’t vet them, what they will speak to, and share the value you are adding to the inquiring company. Employers want to be assured you can solve their problem, and your reference needs to speak to how you effectively solved past ones.

Some of your references are mentors who will have progressed in their careers in similar ways you would like to. But I bet you call them to mentor, and you’re unaware of how they successfully navigate their career.

You can learn from them, so it’s a good idea to keep them engaged. But if it’s been more than 10 years since they worked with you, find five to seven references you’ve worked with more recently who can also vouch for you.

Simply, references if not vetted or relevant to the problem you’ll solve for the employer is hazardous to your job search.

Think about it:

How many of your references have worked with you in the last 5 years? The last 10 years?

Think of the technology, what you’ve learned, and the life changes in the last two years?

I’ll let that simmer with you. It’s time to get new references if you are convincing employers and recruiters of your value. Your references need to match your relevance no matter your age.

Remove the landmines

On #JobSeekerNation this past week, we talked about landmines in your job search and during the interview process. You can see the entire show here.

Here are other landmines that can entrap you and make your job search more difficult:

Background checks

I tell a story about a client who once lied to her potential employer. But, first, let’s say that a “white lie” is still a lie if it misrepresents you and your integrity.

Afraid of Potential Consequences of Being Fired

The most successful CEO has been let go due to performance. It’s not because they didn’t work hard. I offer some suggestions here that should help you overcome the antiquated narrative about being fired.

Sharing accomplishments that help your potential employer

What sells you sharing expected results and strategies used to get the job done. The more you offer showing how thoughtful you are, increasing the chances of continued conversations. Using words like “great” or “excellent” matters less if the stories you share demonstrate elements an employer needs.

Being unteachable and unflexible

Nobody wants to hire someone who stays stuck in their own mud. But, that’s how a good leader or manager will see someone who doesn’t absorb new information and doesn’t customize a current strategy to fit the situation.

You don’t listen

Most people try to listen for words that seem wrong. You have to listen for what people don’t say because there’s much intel to gather from silence or omission. You can actually listen for the intent of an omission through your silence and being present in the moment.

There are opportunities left on the table because job candidates are not as thoughtful and reflective of what an employer says. And it often shows through the lack of engagement and discernment from the application process to the reference checks. It is possible to defuse the mines before they go off by investing time into what the employer wants and needs.

About Mark Anthony Dyson

I am the "The Voice of Job Seekers!" I offer compassionate career and job search advice as I hack and re-imagine the job search process. You need to be "the prescription to an employer's job description." You must be solution-oriented and work in positions in companies where you are the remedy. Your job search must be a lifestyle, and your career must be in front of you constantly. You can no longer shed your aspirations at the change seasons. There are strengths you have that need constant use and development. Be sure you sign up to download my E-Book, "421 Modern Job Search Tips 2021!" You can find my career advice and work in media outlets such as Forbes, Inc., Fast Company, Harvard Business Review, Glassdoor, and many other outlets.

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Lost Your Job? Bill Withers Said, Survive By Using Your Left Hand

Lost Your Job? Bill Withers Said, Survive By Using Your Left Hand

Most of us favor our jobs over our livelihoods. We favor it as much as we do our right-hand. And it’s human nature, we use our left-hand only when our right-hand is rendered or declared useless. Similarly, we do the same if when our jobs lay us off, or we become useless, and then we consider new skills. Now, we’re going to make this left-hand useful because the right-hand has worth, but the job market says it’s useless.

Years ago, teachers used to make children who were left hand use their right hand. There have been studies that have documented the plight of left-handed people, and especially children.  Left-handed people are not cursed, but there are fewer than right-handed people.

We’re so used to depending on the right hand

In many ways, left-handed people were practically hazed and treated indifferently. As a society, we are right-handed and refer to the right-hand as the stronger hand.

Losing a job under any circumstance is the same as losing your right-hand (or left). For many, self-worth came from the job as did the monetary, relationship, and some emotional needs. The right-hand was the primary tool for everything, just like the job.

The left-hand is the default hand. The left rides shot-gun to support the right. Until the job was gone, the left-hand had a limited role. When the time came to learn how to write left-handed, there were no other choices.

I wrote on LinkedIn and Facebook recently,

In offer some job search advice, I decided to include some Bill Withers musings: Bill’s wife Marcie had an MBA, Bill cleaned toilets while in the Navy. His first major recording was published at 33 years old (that’s 50 in today’s pop music scene). This breaks all the rules for career change today. And breaks all of the dating advice about women who shouldn’t date “down.”

Although we live in a right-handed world, to write left-handed is not natural or advised for most of us. Many of us will learn to write left-handed when this COVID19 crises is over. You will have use or learn skills you don’t know now. You’ll be asked to write left-handed and you won’t.

You’ll realize that you should have learned years ago. Proud you’re old school? You’ll need to dismantle your resistance to write left-handed. Get ready to write left-handed. This is “Job Search 3.0!” Listen to the word of this song about a soldier who lost his right hand in battle. He has someone write a letter home to tell his family what happened to him.

Many will be forced to use the left-hand.

Remote working might be your left-hand. Communication could be your lefty.

Many have already given up or settle for whatever happens. The literal use of the left have similarities, to job loss and learning the other possibilities, skills, and purpose. Your responses may fit the ones below, trying to write left-handed:

    • I can’t write left-handed at all. People are not learning new skills until a crisis. They hope someone saves them. Prepare your career long before losing your job, and before the writing is on the wall.
    • I can’t understand my writing at all. You get a few points for trying, but you haven’t used other job skills much at all. It takes patience, but you must keep trying to enhance work skills. No one says that using another talent or learning another profession would be easy.
    • This is so strenuous. You neglected your left hand for most of your life unless you became injured. If you ignored a specific skill set because someone else you didn’t need it, you no one else to blame. Take charge of your career.
    • I barely wrote my name, but can’t write anything else. Although it is better than most, you don’t stand out. Barely “knowing” or “barely can do” is a weak core competency.
    • This hand tires so quickly. When you learn something new, it is more challenging and trying. It takes up more brain space and muscle activation because it’s unique. Don’t think that it is just about getting one degree, certificate, or reward.

Learning is a continual process that will enable longevity. Learn for life, and train to use the left and right equally. Are you training, learning, and developing so that your left is as useful as your right? If not, what is holding you back?

About Mark Anthony Dyson

I am the "The Voice of Job Seekers!" I offer compassionate career and job search advice as I hack and re-imagine the job search process. You need to be "the prescription to an employer's job description." You must be solution-oriented and work in positions in companies where you are the remedy. Your job search must be a lifestyle, and your career must be in front of you constantly. You can no longer shed your aspirations at the change seasons. There are strengths you have that need constant use and development. Be sure you sign up to download my E-Book, "421 Modern Job Search Tips 2021!" You can find my career advice and work in media outlets such as Forbes, Inc., Fast Company, Harvard Business Review, Glassdoor, and many other outlets.

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9 Reasons Your Spouse Lost Their Mind When You Lost Your Job

9 Reasons Your Spouse Lost Their Mind When You Lost Your Job

9 Reasons Your Spouse Lost Their Mind When You Lost Your Job

Your spouse mind raced because you announced you were let go from your job. It is one thing that you have had steady employment, another when the safety net disintegrates. Many changes are about to take place, and some will affect you.

via GIPHY

Read 7 Signs That A Moratorium On Marriage Has Occurred (Until You Find a Job)

The Huffington Post recently reported that marrieds that are on the brink of divorce are waiting because of the lack of employment.

In March 2007, before the bubble burst, 4.6 percent of the labor force was unemployed, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Three years later, the unemployment rate jumped to 10.2 percent. Divorce, on the other hand, decreased by 1.4 percent between 2007 and 2008, according to the report, and then by another 2.8 percent between 2008 and 2009.

Your spouse lost their mind over time. Remember when he or she lost it because you worked overtime? You are not alone. At least stats show that it’s a slow but grinding process, so there is hope if it seems bad now.

Read Marriage and the Unemployed Spouse

Hiring in your career industry appears bleak, and your marriage has peeling chips from its paint. I have listed a few reasons why your spouse is losing their mind if it’s still a mystery to you:

  1. Your spouse thinks you should have seen job loss coming. This premise exposes the lack of communication you had before it hit the fan.
  2. You are minimizing the impact on the family. Saying things like, “It’s not so bad.” “I’m glad its over.” “My boss was out to get me!” Transparency is the key, and never talking about it with yours spouse is a problem.
  3. Either laid-off or Fired, you were dishonest about how it happened. That will tick him or her off for sure. Own up to a poor job performance, or an incident that was your responsibility.
  4. You’re the one freaking out. You are lashing out at your spouse, children, for no reason. Showing control and restraint is YOUR responsibility. Practice temperance and reason and everyone else should follow.
  5. You lack updated, relevant skills to find a job. Unfortunately, a spouse that has encouraged you to go back to school, or  pursue another career track will have little mercy on you. It is best to be humble, hear the noise, and push forward.
  6. Your spouse knows the lazy person in you will not conduct due diligence. He or she knows that your ambition barely treads water. Diffuse the bomb before it explodes, and be aggressive in searching and researching jobs. Let your family see your research, talk with your spouse about potential decisions critical to the household (night job or day, lower pay, mandatory overtime).
  7. That makes two. When both spouses are out of work, the panic button is abused. Keep your hand off the button!
  8. You won’t take on extra chores since you have extra time. Unemployment has fringe benefits, but another way to reclaim your spouse. If there is a disconnect, then find ways to reconnect. If you know what makes your spouse tick, then be what they need to make him or her happy.
  9. The lack of money will eventually exploit all marriage weaknesses or at least most. However, the focus on money can into idol worship, thus an even larger issue. Don’t be surprise if this was always prevalent in your marriage.

Read 10 Ways Your Spouse Can Boost Your Career

    Sure there are other ways to keep the peace. The unemployed spouse has to compensate for the fear of not contributing financially. Although decisions made out of guilt or compulsion are potentially hazardous to any relationship, this is the kick in the behind you need.
    Many issues existed before you lost your job. How you deal with it will determine if your marriage grows or perishes down the line.
    What are other reasons spouses go CRAZY when job loss in the family occurs? Perhaps there are ways to properly handle a spouse’s job loss. Please share either by commenting below.

About Mark Anthony Dyson

I am the "The Voice of Job Seekers!" I offer compassionate career and job search advice as I hack and re-imagine the job search process. You need to be "the prescription to an employer's job description." You must be solution-oriented and work in positions in companies where you are the remedy. Your job search must be a lifestyle, and your career must be in front of you constantly. You can no longer shed your aspirations at the change seasons. There are strengths you have that need constant use and development. Be sure you sign up to download my E-Book, "421 Modern Job Search Tips 2021!" You can find my career advice and work in media outlets such as Forbes, Inc., Fast Company, Harvard Business Review, Glassdoor, and many other outlets.