You may recall from past posts that I have a propensity towards obesity. As a result, I have had to work extremely hard to keep my weight down. I am proud of the fact that over the last two years I have lost over 30 pounds and have kept it off! However, this is not by accident. Instead, my nutritionist has shared and I have adopted many rigorous routines to keep my weight in check especially my binge eating.
One of my primary strategies is keeping a daily food log. This entails writing down everything I eat in real time including calories, grams of protein and grams of fiber. Many times I despise doing this because it is very tedious and time consuming. Furthermore, I cannot take a day off even when I am on vacation. Instead I just want to splurge, eat what I want and not write anything down. Unfortunately, if I do so I will slide back into oblivion.
My nutritionist constantly reminds me that there is no magic bullet to weight loss. Instead, you have to continuously remind yourself of “the power of push.” This means incessant, positive self-talk to reinforce appropriate behaviors even when I am totally against them.
The same is true for job seekers. As I have shared numerous times previously, many job seekers work hard, but they do not work smart. They blindly send out countless resumes and get mad when they do not have any results. Instead, I recommend networking to generate interviews. Though it is very tedious to meet people and sell them on yourself, research shows that this is the most successful way to land a job.
There are two basic types of networking: 1) electronic networking and 2) traditional networking. Electronic networking entails leveraging social media sites such as LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter to meet others and learn about useful job related information. Traditional networking is the old fashioned form of joining associations in your field and meeting key decision makers.
Whichever form of networking you choice, I recommend developing a 30-second elevator pitch. During this pitch you want to quickly convey three things: 1) who you are 2) what you are looking for and 3) your 2-3 greatest strengths for the job you seek. Practice this pitch in the mirror, in your tape recorder and on video tape until you prefect it. Then share it with everyone you meet.
Also, similar to my food log, I recommend maintaining a daily networking journal. Set a goal to meet three new persons a day and then share your 30-second elevator pitch. You never know who might know about your next job. Monitor your progress with this log. If you have a bad day, snap back tomorrow with a strong one. This is all very tedious work, but as I learned from my nutritionist, there is no magical formula! Instead, you need to push yourself every day in order to succeed in landing your next interview and in turn your next job.
