All I Want for Christmas is My House to Sell!

Well, I have been remiss in  posting since Thanksgiving, and I apologize for that. But I had a good reason which I will discuss here.  Several days before Thanksgiving I was offered two positions that are outstanding, from companies that I would be proud to work for.  I had a difficult decision to make, which one do I accept?  I promised both companies I would make my decision the day before Thanksgiving.  I was stressed out; would I make the right decision, would I pick the company that would be a mutual fit?

The first company to make me an offer was for a position that I did not apply for!  I was being interviewed for another role, one that I was very over qualified for, but I liked the company and thought it would be a great way to get my foot in the door. When I went for my interviews for a Director of Supply Chain position, I was told that my resume had been passed around and there was interest from other groups in the company and a desire to interview me for other roles.  They asked if I would be interested?  Of course I would!!!!  What happened next was a whirlwind of creating a new position for me: Asst. VP Consulting, HealthTrust/Parallon.  The company felt that based on my broad experience in healthcare that I could help them build the supply chain practice.  

The second company to make me an offer is a large consulting firm with which I have ties going back to my CapGemini days.  Great company, great people, again I would be proud to work for this company. They offered me an Advanced Senior Manager position with a fast tract to Partner/Director.  I would be building the Supply Chain practice as well.  

My conundrum was that both positions were great and offer advancement opportunities, both very ethical, both had fantastic cultural fits, compensation, benefits, etc. all wonderful.  So how did I make my decision? It all came down to timing, the offer I accepted was the first I received.  The second offer came a couple days later and with no other real differences between them I took the one that came in first.  

Now that I have crossed that finish line the real fun has started.  I am in the midst of relocating to Nashville, TN.  This will be my third corporate relocation, the first time around the holidays.  I also had committed to babysit my granddaughter in Massachusetts so I am doing everything remotely right now. UGHHHH.

Ok, who has applied for a mortgage lately?  WOW, it has gotten ugly what you have to do to get pre-qualified. My daughter doesn't have a scanner so I have become best buddies with the guy at Staples.  I have had over 100 pages of documents scanned that I had to sign, and I am not done yet.  The bank basically wants your next of kin to sign that they will name their next born child after the bank.  I actually had to write a letter explaining why Pier 1 Imports had inquired into my credit history 3 weeks ago.  I had gone to Pier 1 to ask them to help me stage my house for the holiday showings.  If I opened a Pier 1 charge card that day I would get 20% off my entire purchase.  Well I may be blonde, but I am not stupid and I took the deal. They did an awesome job with suggestions for staging. It looks awesome!

Here's hoping I get an offer on my house Carmel so I can start shopping for my house in Nashville.

The saga will continue.........

When it just keeps getting worse, who you gonna call? Ghost Busters!

It is Halloween time, everyone has  their pumpkins on their front stoops, festive orange lights around trees, and corn stocks around the lamp posts.  Pretty soon the ghosts and goblins will be arriving at my door asking for their treats. Witches Brews will be simmering, although I think the aliens are at my door already!

I have been having interviews with multiple companies over the past several weeks, some further along in the process than others, yet all of them require moving out of Indiana.  Moving is not a problem for me, I am looking forward to moving to a new location and starting a new chapter in my life, a new adventure!  In the process of going through my stuff to weed out the junk that doesn't need to move with me, I am stirring up memories that are overwhelming me.  You see I am in the middle of my second divorce, yikes say WHAT?????

Yesterday I found my wedding and honeymoon files which brought back very fond memories.  We rented out the Publick House in Sturbridge, MA for the wedding. We had the place packed with family and friends.  So what do I do with the stuff I keep asking myself? Keep it or toss it?  Even though the marriage is failing, the wedding memories are still good right?  Darn it those Phantom ghosts and Evil B*tches from the past.  What about the mementos from the Mediterranean cruise we took for our honeymoon?  All the ticket stubs that I was going to put into a scrap book, do I keep them or toss them? So many questions and so many haunting, fun and adventurous memories. What to do, what to do?

So you can see my Conundrum.  One side of me is in melancholy, the other side is excited for the new adventure.  Speaking of which, I finally received my first unemployment check, er deposit, debit card, whatever they are calling it now.  What an adventure that turned out to be.  I really feel for the folks who are not as fortunate as I am who really depend on that money to keep their families safe and fed.  While the government Vampires may think they are doing people a favor by only using these debit cards, it makes it very difficult and challenging to get the money in the appropriate place without any extra fees that only dwindle the amount that you actually receive.

While I may have  poked fun at being required to attend an orientation session at the WorkOne office is Fishers, I have met some lovely people there.  One woman that I met and I meet weekly to discuss our progress in the job  hunt, discuss the barriers, and Zombies we have come across in our travels.  It is welcoming to be able to vent and share without prejudice. 

You may have noticed the bold, italicized and underlined words in the post today.  They are all Halloween wines.  I recommend going out and trying some different brews; and hang on to the bottles, they make great conversation pieces.  I will never forget when my husband bought me the Evil and B*tch wines and put them side by side.  Hmm......wonder if that is why I am getting divorced.   Happy Halloween!!

We are off to see the Wizard

As I discussed last week, I was required to attend a session at the unemployment office.  Well, last Tuesday was the day and it was, lets just say it was interesting. I felt like I had been picked up by a tornado and dropped in Oz!  This whole process of searching for my last best job has been like traveling down the yellow brick road.   Where will this search take me? How many cowardly lions and witches do I have to run into before I get back to Kansas?

I arrived at the WorkOne office promptly at 9 am as instructed and took a seat. The Wizard was at her desk trying to get the computer to boot up.   I was given a form to fill out that was quite lengthy and  I questioned some of the questions, such as who my next of kin was.  Why would the unemployment office care?  If I died tomorrow my benefits stop immediately.  I also noticed the Munchins all around me.

I kept answering the questions and when it came to "What was your hourly wage at your last job?" I kind of got stuck because I didn't know where this form was going and I had already provided all of this information when I filed for benefits.  I asked the Wizard in charge why they needed it and she said it was to match us to open positions that they had.  I chuckled, as I have conducted job searches on the WorkOne website and I get ZERO matches.  Apparently Supply Chain and Purchasing are not jobs that they are familiar with.  

But maybe the Wizard can help!  I asked her if they would make me take a job at McDonald's or some such other place. She said no, they can't make you work, but you have to show you are looking.  Looking I am doing, but thank god. Can you see me working at McDonald's?  Picture this scenario:

- Woman walks into McDonald's and stands in front of me at the counter contemplating the vast and diverse menu, and stares, and stares, and does not order, continuing to try to figure out what to order.

- Type A Linda the new cashier , McDonald's newest counter person patiently waits for 5 seconds then shouts "it is fast food for crying out loud, that means you have to order it fast. How difficult can this be?"  I yell as the manager escorts me out the door.  

Yes, good thing they won't make me work at McDonald s.  

Onto the session.  I had a cynical view when I came in, I was not sure what to expect; I was not  hopeful that I would gain anything useful out of being here for three hours.  When the session started the Wizard introduced herself and said we would get a chance to introduce ourselves later on. First she wanted to go through a PowerPoint presentation, which included how to use the internet, how the work force has changed since the 1980's (that was useful).  Very condescending almost, is how I felt.  I was thinking "can I get up and leave, I felt this was for  people who had no clue?"  I did sit right next to the door and I swore if they discussed knife skills, that was it, I was out the door.

But, I stayed, what else did I have to do?  As the morning went on we finally got to introduce ourselves.  Linda, our Wizard started out asking for volunteers.  As I listened to the introductions I thought that this is the place for most of these folks, they need the help.  When it came to me I toned down my introduction and focused more on how I could help some of the folks in the room.  One woman was laid off from Molly Maids and wanted to start her own cleaning business. I told her I would hook her up with my sister who started her own cleaning  business. One woman was a program manager and felt her scope of looking was limited as she had worked at Raytheon. I told her not to feel that way, her PMO skills were transferable to any industry and I had some contacts for her.  At that point the Wizard told me it was not networking time and basically stop talking!  I was deflated..................

In the networking session I connected with the two ladies again and discussed my womens'  networking and mentoring group and getting connected and helping them out.  I guess it wasn't such a bad idea to go to this session as I was able to  help some folks out in their job search.  I didn't sign up for the "counseling sessions" as I didn't feel that they would have much to offer me as I am working with multiple recruiters at this time. Besides, this would free up time for other more needy folks.

We got a tour of the facility by the Wizard, quite entertaining to hear about the copiers and free wi-fi for use!  I know, I am being cynical but I guess I need to put myself in someone else's shoes.  I am very fortunate to have what I have.  Actually, I am not fortunate, I worked very hard for what I have and I am proud of my accomplishments.  Everything that I have I have earned with hard work and saving. It has nothing to do with being fortunate.  How can we get that into people's heads?  That is all it takes, hard work and some sweat equity and yes you can have things.

I am not one for handouts and taking unemployment  is hard for me, but why shouldn't I? In my 30 plus years of working I have never had to take unemployment.  Some would say I was lucky, I would say I worked hard and my employers knew it.

 

When we were finally done just after noon all I wanted to do was click my ruby red shoes and head back to Kansas!  But instead I snuck around the corner and climbed into my Mercedes and drove home.

FALL is Here and so is the Unemployment Line!

I had the pleasure of visiting my unemployment office today. This has to be one of the most humbling experiences of my life.   In Indiana you have to file online for your claim before you can move to the next step.  I had originally filed September 9,  a couple weeks after my severance pay ran out.  While I am a pretty bright person, navigating through the system is very confusing to say the least.  I wonder how folks who do not have internet and  computers at home get through this process. 

First things first - THE PROCESS

I went on Google and found the website and read all the instructions on how to apply.  The first thing they tell you is that by Indiana law you don't get paid for your first week of unemployment and then it is a 3 week period before you get your first check.  Oh, and by the way, you won't be getting a check you will get a debit card, that if you don't follow all the instructions just right your money will be eaten up by fees.  Apparently this is such a problem that they have a class on how to manage your debit card to avoid the fees.  Seriously?  Just give me a check.  The card is supposed to save the state money - me I think it is to collect fees off of the poor folks who have no job.  Did I also mention that they ask if you want to have the taxes withheld or pay them later?  Taxes on unemployment? At this point why bother?  By the time I actually get any money there won't be any left after taxes (more unemployment tax on my unemployment check, isn't that an oxymoron?) and fees.  

After you file your initial claim you are told that you have to register on Indiana Career Connect site and do job searches weekly.  I went to the site, registered and started the process of uploading my resume etc.  At one point you are asked to go through a skills assessment to rate your skills in varying different categories.  The one that I thought was the most interesting was when they asked me what my knife skills were, did I know how to use a knife? Well, I had to ponder that one for a moment; if they were referring to cutting vegetables then yes!!  Eureka, I have knife skills; but are they referring to skinning a deer with a knife, if so then I hate to admit but I don't have those knife skills.  Daringly,  I checked yes, I have knife skills in case that one my job offers would require me to have knife skills.  

NO I DON'T HAVE THIS SKILL

YES I HAVE THIS SKILL

At this point I have checked off all of my skills and I am ready to run my first job search on the site; which is required even though I have 25 job searches on other sites, and I am working with several recruiters,  but whatever.  I have put in all my criteria, my experience level,education,  location (anywhere basically), and I hit "RUN".  

I wait, wait, wait for it, and nothing.  Not one job fits my criteria.  Not one. So I went back in and took out some of my requirements (like education), and still nothing. They actually don't even have supply chain as a  job category I discovered.  Very helpful.  

I gave up and went through all the assessments and waited to hear from WorkForce Development, that is the fancy name for the unemployment office.  I got a card in the mail that said welcome to the system.  Every Sunday I have to go into the system and file my weekly claim along with documenting my job search.  When you go to the site to file your claim you also get messages on things you need to do. 

Yesterday my message was to go to the local office.   They didn't say to do anything at the office, just go.  So off I went this morning to the local office, which is 20 miles away mind you.  At the office was a very nice man named Randy.  He walked me through the process of what I had to do today;  I had to sign in and he will note in the system that I signed in.  He then proceeded to tell me that I had to take a 3 hour class tomorrow on how to navigate the system.  Hmmm, wouldn't you think this class might have been more appropriate before I started all this stuff? But, heck, who am I to tell anyone how to do something more efficiently?  I only have 20 years experience of doing just that!  But, I didn't say anything, I just smiled and said what time?  So tomorrow morning from 9-12 I will be taking a class on how to navigate the unemployment process.  

So you may ask, why am I going through this painful process?  You might say, "it is your right, you paid into the system long enough".  Well I think I might actually learn something  along the way, and maybe, just maybe I can help someone navigate this system that really needs the money to survive and provide for their family a lot more than I do.

 

Football and Finding the Right Fit with the Right Company

Thank goodness it is finally football season!  My most favorite sport to watch is finally back. I am an avid fan of the New England Patriots and all other teams (when they are not playing the Pats, I root for them all).  In my time off I have wondered why I like football so much and I think I have discovered why.  

Football is a game of strategy -  the team can fail one week, but the day after the game the team is right back at it reviewing what went wrong and revamping the strategy to fit the next opponent.  That is very much like what I have done in my career.  In consulting I would go to a client (opponent), develop the strategy that works for them, implement, then go on to the next client.  While working at hospitals I had a similar approach - looking at each location or department and figuring out what works best for that particular location, then  moving on to the next issue.  

One of the things I have reflected on while being unemployed is how to  find the right fit with the right company.  In the past I have jumped at opportunities to switch companies when recruiters called because I felt I had to make up for lost time when I stayed home while my children were young.  I thought "wow, they want me, I must move to this position" but I didn't do a great job of determining upfront if the company had the same cultural fit that would work best with my style.  Similar to football players moving around the league because they too are looking for the right fit with a team.  Do you ever wonder why some players do so lousy with one team but excel with another?  It is because we all react to different cultures, management styles, and values in different ways.   Highly successful people are not afraid to fail and move to a better opportunity.  Failure does not define who you are, how you handle failure does.  

It is similar to people looking for new positions.  If we are truly going to succeed in our positions, we must find a good fit with our prospective employers and that takes work.  I have told many recruiters and HR personnel that I am taking my time to find the one last position that will be the best fit for both me and the employer.  I am willing to wait for the perfect position. 

The work I go through when deciding to apply for a position involves a lot of internet research.  What are people saying about the company? What are they not saying? Are they always in the news for the wrong reasons? Who is on their executive team? Are they well respected in the industry?  I do my research  and it would be fitting if I could show the companies that I apply to how much time I took to select them to apply for.  However,  it is difficult to show them in a cover letter just what I have gone through to get to that point. 

The most difficult task is trying to determine what the culture is truly like.  I ask myself questions like: "will they really embrace a female leader?", "Is the company ready for me and my style?". Those are hard questions to get answers for and I am struggling with that.  I want my last great job to be with a company that embraces my level of enthusiasm, someone who wants to have fresh ideas and input often on how to make things better, and someone who is not going to judge me because I like colorful suits!

The moral of today's blog is that you can have a great career with a great company, but you have to do the work to find out who you are first and what is important to you in your career, and take the time to find the right employer that fits with who you are and what your style is.  You may not find it on the first try, but like the football players who move around the league, eventually you are going to find the team works for both of you.

Taking Stock of Your Pantry and Your Skills

In today's crazy world of bombings, gas attacks, and natural disasters we should all take a few minutes to look at our pantries to see if we could last a couple of days with no outside contact. Here in Indiana there are many advertisements for "stockpiling" food, tornado shelters, etc.  Since I have been canning like a crazy lady I have quite a bit of food stored and I have some bottled water. I will check to make sure that I have batteries and matches as recommended.  This seems to be the norm here.  

But how many of us take stock of our personal and business skill sets?  Not many I imagine; which makes it difficult to tell someone what your skills are off the cuff when looking for a new position.  I mentioned  LinkedIn previously and this is a great place to start to take stock of your skills.  You can also just start an Excel spreadsheet, below I show how I have mine set up.  I started by just adding what I use and what I do on a daily basis, then I added the level I felt I was at, and lastly calculated how long I have been using it (this will help you determine the level you are at).

Type	Skill	Level	Yrs Used
Professional	Excel	Advanced	17
Professional	Word	Advanced	17
Professional	Internet	Advanced	17
Professional	Supply chain	Expert	22
Professional	SC Operations	Expert	22

I also have my personal skills included.  You would be surprised how your personal skills can be transferred to professional jobs.  As an example, if you are an artist and love to create things at home, say paintings and crafty things,  you would be a great candidate for a creative design job.  You can take pictures of what you have done, invitations, paintings, etc to use as part of a job application. Having it all down on paper or in excel makes it easy to see the transfer of skills.  

Another example could be that you are a great party planner, so good that other people ask for your help in planning parties.  Why not get paid for that skill? There are corporate event planners at most large companies and you can use your personal skill to help you land a professional position.  

Documenting your skills also shows you where you have a gap or weakness.  It can also boost your morale!  Most people have skills that they don't even think of as a skill and most are transferable.  Ask your friends what skills they think you have and include them on your list. You can then compare your skill set with job opportunities to see if you qualify for a position. 

Finding the right job is a job in and of itself, but if you take the time to do the work you will find you are more qualified for  positions than you think.  I am also  learning that it is more important to find the right fit with a company from culture to vision and values than it is to just find a job.  I am on a search for the best "last" job of my career, and it takes a lot of work to find the right company to fit into  my goals and values the same things I do.

I am off to write labels for the 19 quarts of tomato sauce I canned yesterday. 

Serenity and Handling Rejection with Grace

One of my hobbies is taking pictures of nature.  I love to watch birds and photograph them. I have several bird feeders in my back yard and I am always amazed when a yellow finch sits on the thistle feeder.  They are so bright and vibrant.  How can a bird be that colorful?  A couple of weeks ago Jim and I went to Fort Harrison state park in Indianapolis.  I brought the camera and on our way I saw this bird sitting on the shore on a dead tree.  The colors are gorgeous, it is hard to see in this small picture but he (I am assuming it is a he as most male birds are the colorful ones, my apologies to the bird if it is a she) is actually almost turquoise.  Every now and then he would squawk and elongate his neck. 

This is how I want to react when I get rejected for a job.  However, I know better so I thought I would share some of my tactics when I get rejected.  I do try to learn something from everything, but learning from rejection is hard.  Your first reaction is to say a few choice words, get the blood pressure up and toss a few things around the room.  I am not saying that is what I do, just saying that is what some people do!  

Research will tell you that the best thing you can do is ask why you were not selected to move forward.  This can be hard, but if you want to learn and grow that is what you should do.  So, I have asked that question when companies have actually gotten back to me.  Interestingly, most state that I have wonderful qualifications, experience, etc, but that I don't have the industry experience that they were looking for. Well, that is interesting because on my most recent rejections I was contacted by the recruiters because of my experience they felt I was a perfect fit for the positions (their words not mine).  

What do I take from that? Well, I could be cynical and say that they needed a female in the mix to satisfy affirmative action requirements and they knew all along I wouldn't go any further. I was probably a good candidate, but not a great one. 

So what is a girl to do?  In retrospect, one of the positions was a stretch, and maybe I should have turned the recruiter down from the get-go.  But if you don't take a risk or stretch yourself how do you grow?  You don't, so toss that thought out the window.  What you do is keep on moving on, keep on looking for that great job that is out there, you and the company just have to find each other.  If there are things that are mentioned that you can work on, for example if they state that you don't have enough excel experience - take a class.  Do internet research and when you are done make sure you add it to  your resume!

Morale of the story:  When you want to squawk like a green heron because things aren't going your way make sure that you are in a enclosed room where no one can hear you.  Then walk out and join the rest of the world who is looking for a position, refreshed and ready to move on!

Cabernet and the Cover Letter

I hope you are all seeing my theme here. I love wine so I am trying to weave my love of wine into my job search.  The past couple of evenings Jim and I have been sipping some nice light Cabernet, as it is still warm out I am not into the  heavy reds yet. On Sunday I opened a bottle of Raven's Wood 2011 Cabernet.  This wine has a very nice aroma and has hints of blackberry in it and it is very reasonably priced.

Okay, on to the job search. I will share some of my stats (remember I am anal and track everything!) Today I am 2 Months unemployed.  I have applied to 20 positions of which I have had no response from 13 of them, to be fair some of them I have applied to  recently.  I have been contacted by 7 recruiters for positions and 4 of them are still very active.

To date I have discussed the resume and how to use LinkedIn.  Today I will discuss the cover letter and what my research has told me is successful.  If you look up "cover letters" on the internet you will find lots of resources, so many in fact that it can be overwhelming.  I was looking for help in writing a cover letter that showed I was sincere in my job search and that I had researched the company and wanted the job.  Why those things? Because that is what I looked for when I was hiring staff members.  The resume tells a hiring manager about the person's experience, but the cover letter tells them why they are applying.

Based  on what site you go on and what type of position you are applying for you will find all kinds of variation in what the cover letter should say and what it should look like.  The best advice I have received from a recruiter was to not sell myself in the cover letter but to offer solutions to how I can help the company achieve their goals.  Not an easy task and when you write it the first time it kind of sounds like you are selling yourself.  The difference lies in how you phrase the sentences.  Remember, your resume outlines everything you have done, you don't have to say it again in the cover letter.

Here are some examples:
Selling yourself:

• I have 25 years in the healthcare industry
• I have managed 10 direct reports
• I reduced supply expenses by $10  million

Offering solutions:

• I can help XYZ company become a leader in the industry by using my network to bring talented staff in
• I will work to reduce your expenses by implementing successful strategies I have used in the past. For example, if you currently use xyz strategy, then I would work to covert it to ABC, which has been discussed recently in the news as the most cost effective way to manage this strategy. 
• I will mentor my direct reports in XYZ  company to become skilled in ABC which makes the company stronger.

Before you write your cover do some research and find out about the company you are applying to.  This is where you get to be a detective!  You want to find out the hiring managers name if possible.  One way to find this out is to see if the job description says who the position reports to.  If so, then go to the company website and look for a page that lists the leaders in the company.  I have actually found organizational charts on company websites.  If you get lucky that way, find out the name and address your cover letter directly to them.  Also, see if you can figure out the email address of the hiring manager and send them your cover letter and resume directly.  If you do this, you should also apply the way the company specifies, but state in the cover letter that you are sending this to them as well as through the website (or however you will be applying) so you are sure that they see your qualifications.  

If you can't find out who the hiring manager is, go to LinkedIn and search for the company.  See if there is anyone in your network that works for that company and ask them about the position and who the hiring manager is.  You can also find the email address this way.  If you can send your cover letter and resume directly to the hiring manager you have a better chance of it being seen!

I have actually been called directly by the  hiring manager using this technique.

So now that you have some resources for cover letters make sure you do your homework. Never send a resume in without a cover letter. Even if you apply online and there is no way to upload a cover letter use this trick.  If it appears that you can only upload one file here's what to do:

1. Create your cover letter
2. Open up your resume file and paste the cover letter at the beginning of the resume
3. Make sure there is a page break between your cover letter and resume
4. Name this new file: Yourlastname_companyname_combo.doc.  That way you know that this is a customized cover letter resume for that company.

Enough for today on cover letters.  A quick update on my job search.  I have 4 positions that I am actively involved with, all of them are from recruiters who have called me!  I hope to have something finalized in the next couple of weeks.  Keep your fingers crossed.