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This is the title of a chapter in Jon Kabot-Zinn’s book Wherever You Go There You Are. In it, he tells the story of Buckminster Fuller who was going to take his life but instead decided to live as if he had taken his life, thereby freeing himself from worrying about how things worked out for him personally.
My favorite part of the Buckminster Fuller story is that, according to Kabot-Zinn, he started to ask himself, “What is it on this planet that needs doing that I know something about, that probably won’t happen unless I take responsibility for it?”
I’ve started to use this question in the 5 or 10 minutes of meditation I manage to sneak in before I start my day. At the end of sitting quietly, I bow and ask myself: “How can I give and how can I serve all those I come into contact with today?” (A question inspired by Deepak Chopra’s Seven Spiritual Laws of Success.) And then, “What is my job on this planet with a Capital J? What needs doing that I know something about, that probably won’t get done unless I take responsibility for it?”
I’m not quite sure of the answers yet but I feel certain that asking the question on a daily basis is the first step.
I recently attended an event with a pre-networking component which allowed me to see that some of my networking skills were rusty. I spoke with one woman and quickly realized we had little in common. I knew there was a polite way to leave the conversation so we could both move on to other people but couldn’t recall what it was.
Following this event, I happened upon a booklet put together by PricewaterhouseCoopers with networking tips. I like what they have to say on this topic:
- After a reasonable time networking, comfortably disengage by saying something such as “I don’t want to take up too much of your time. It was great to meet you.”
- Wait until you have just finished speaking before trying to disengage to avoid giving the appearance that you were not interested, were not listening, or did not hear what the person just said. Then politely excuse yourself.
- Whenever possible, introduce the person to someone else in a way that helps create conversation so that the other person is not left standing alone or feeling abandoned.
- Offer a reason for leaving the conversation: “I need to discuss something with a colleague.” Then do what you said you are going to do. Do not go directly to speak with a person nearby – walk away first.
This is the number of resumes a small arts nonprofit in NYC received for a current job opening, according to a friend of mine. 900 is the number they received in one day.
I report this not to inspire fear or doom in jobseekers but more as a reminder to applicants that when you apply cold to a job posting, your resume is going in a very very large stack and may never even get looked at, and it’s not because you’re not qualified or the best person for the job.
In a nutshell: use your networks.
When Felix Frankfurter, a U.S. Supreme Court Justice from 1939 to 1962, was asked how he became successful, he is said to have replied that it was “luck.” Similarly, Sandra Day O’Connor, the first female justice appointed to the Supreme Court, averred that her appointment to the bench was a “classic example of being the right person in the right spot at the right time”. Simply stated,” she said, “you must be lucky.” [1]
Luck has traditionally been defined as “good fortune; advantage or success, considered as a result of chance” but can it be true that at least two appointments to seats on the highest court in the land were simply a matter of “luck”? Similarly, do you need to have fortune on your side when searching for a job, or engaging in any endeavor for that matter, in order to be successful?
According to Ko-Yung Tung, [2] a distinguished attorney and professor at Yale Law School who, among his myriad of endeavors and accomplishments, has recently been giving lectures to students about the concept of luck, the sort of “luck” that Felix Frankfurter was talking about is actually comprised of three important parts (which are, thankfully, far more in one’s control than mere good fortune or chance).
As Ko-Yung sees it, the essential components of luck are: (1) Preparation (2) Awareness and (3) Action, all of which are discussed in greater detail below.
1. Preparation: Felix Frankfurter and Sandra Day O’Connor weren’t picked at random and they didn’t become Supreme Court Justices overnight. These Justices attended the best law schools, worked in top positions in the government, and spent years honing their skills. They were selected as Justices because they were prepared to be selected. The message here: Make sure to to spend time building your skills. Especially if you’re not feeling “lucky” in your job search at the moment, you can use it as an opportunity to refine your skills and to nurture important relationships.
2. Awareness: Sandra Day O’Connor said that she might not have been chosen in 1981 if she had not randomly met Chief Justice Warren on a houseboat vacation. It is hard to quantify the impact of that chance meeting on her selection, but there is an important lesson to be learned here. Every day people come into your life and connections are made, if only for an instant. You need to keep your eyes open and become aware of the individuals and opportunities that come into your life that may lead to exciting opportunities down the line.
3. Action: Once you become aware of the opportunities and connections that exist, you must be ready to act and to seize any opportunities that present themselves. In some cases that may mean sending a follow up e-mail, in others making a call or sending your resume. Sometimes it may simply mean saying “yes.” Only by taking action will you be able to make the most of the opportunities that come before you.
Were Justice Frankfurter and Justice O’Connor “luckier” than the rest of us? Maybe. But, with these tips, and maybe just a little bit of good old fortune, we can all create our own luck.
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1. Notably, both Justice Frankfurter and Justice O’Connor had difficulty finding a job out of law school due to religious discrimination and gender discrimination, respectively. This of course didn’t stop them from reaching the highest level of their profession.
2. Special thanks to Ko-Yung Tung who inspired this blog post!
Check out My So-Called Freelance Life: How to Survive and Thrive as a Creative Professional for Hire and The Anti 9-To-5 Guide: Practical Career Advice for Women Who Think Outside the Cube by Michelle Goodman.
Anyone who is thinking about working freelance or shaking up the normal paradigm of work in this country, or has already launched a new business endeavor, will benefit from reading these two books. I have only read The Anti 9-To-5 Guide (not just for women despite its title) and it was chock full of useful information and reminders about being your own boss, creating your own career path and surviving as an entrepeneur. It was also easy to read and full of humor – unlike many of the boring books in the how to start your own business genre. I’m sure her latest is just as great.
Check out her books and web site at http://www.anti9to5guide.com/.
If you’re at an event—a conference, a seminar, a networking event, a cocktail hour, whatever—you’re hopefully meeting people you’ll want to stay in touch with, because they’re interesting, they’re potential business associates, clients, mentors, friends. In short they can help you or you can help them. And the way to stay in contact is by exchanging business cards. Napkins, the back of someone else’s card, slips of paper, even writing your name in their daily planner just don’t cut it. You want to be remembered as someone who has it together, and together people have business cards.
I’ve asked a few people why they don’t have business cards. The top three answers are: I forgot; I don’t have any; I don’t know what to put on it.
If you forget your business cards often, stash stacks in your different bags or the pockets of suits and coats you wear out. If you’re at an important event, like a conference that you shelled out hundreds of dollars for, get some. If you’re at a nice hotel, the business center can probably produce a bunch by the end of the day. If you’re in a town or city, any copy center can do the same.
If you don’t have any business cards, period, get some. Many people get their cards done at vistaprint.com. They’re cheap, they’re quick, they look good and you don’t have to be an artist to make them snazzy because they have hundreds of templates. But do splurge the extra $10 or so to have the Vista Print logo removed from the back. You don’t want to look careless or that penny pinching. (Unless you really don’t have the money, in which case having the business cards is more important than not having the advertisement.) There are lots of other online sources and brick and timber printing or copy stores that can do them for you. If you do them at home, on your printer, make sure they look professional.
If you don’t know what to put on it because you are a job seeker, job changer or a recent grad, or for whatever reason don’t know what title to put on your card, don’t. Make sure your card has your name and contact information (email and phone numbers) and that’s enough.
If you don’t know what to put on your business card because you do too many things, or because you do one thing professionally and something else because you love it, get different business cards. One for each job title and decide which to hand out based on your conversations.
The point is that you exchange business cards to stay in touch, so your name and contact info is the most important parts of the card. And if you don’t have a business card, you just wasted some of your valuable time.
You are less alone in your job search than you might think. Your network of friends, former co-workers and mentors are waiting to be tapped as a resource. People enjoy helping others; I know I do. While getting your personal network on board with your job search is important, knowing how to ask for help is just as important as asking. After receiving quite a few emails lately – both good and bad – from jobseekers, I thought I’d share some of my thoughts about what makes for an effective pitch to your network.
1. Do let a wide network of friends and supporters know that you are looking for a job. I receive job postings all day long from a variety of sources but unless I know someone is looking for the type of job that comes across my radar, I hit the delete button. I also don’t like to clog inboxes with emails but if someone asks to be sent job listings, I gladly forward them along. Your contacts can’t help you unless you let them know you need help.
2. Don’t attach your resume in your first email. There’s nothing I dislike more than when an acquaintance attaches his/her resume and asks me to forward it to my contacts. I can’t do your job search for you. What you can do is say in the initial email that you’d be happy to send your resume if it would be helpful.
3. Do be as specific as possible. Many people send around job search emails but forget to provide enough information about what they are looking for. If you are not clear yourself, then perhaps it’s time to work with a personal coach or do some journaling and career assessment tests. The clearer you can be about what you are looking for, the faster the leads will come through your network.
4. Do provide your network with a list of 5-10 companies that would be your dream location to work. Paint a picture for your network of where you envision yourself. A recent contact sent around an email saying she was interested in positions in “the arts”. This could mean any number of things. What does this mean to her? I asked her to send me a list of 5 dream companies and she replied with museums and historical sites. Now I had a much better picture of what she had in mind. I also learned that she was looking to stay in the Washington, DC area, information that was not supplied in her original email.
5. Do let your network know the department, division and job title you envision yourself with. Similar to letting your contacts know where you see yourself working, let them know in what role(s). For example, a large institution like NYU or any other major university has a communications staff, finance, fundraising, teaching roles, positions that involve more writing than others, working with students or not. What types of skills and experience do you have and what areas do you see yourself in? Also, are you looking only for full-time or are you open to part-time and freelance? Let your network know as best you can.
6. Don’t write an email that is long-winded. I recently received a job search email that was two long paragraphs of text. I wished this person had made it easy on me with some bulleted points. Keep your email short and formatted for easy reading. It should be straightforward and simple but with substance. Ask yourself if someone could get the gist of what you are asking for quickly. This is what you are going for.
7. Do ask about informational interviews. While your network may not have job leads for you, chances are some have contacts in your desired field. Informational interviews provide you with face time with someone working where you might like to be. They can be step one in creating the ideal job for you rather than waiting for it to come along.
8. Don’t forget to say thank you and report on any successes. I give out leads all the time but only a fraction of people follow up to let me know of any successes. Those who do make my day, and are certain to receive my help in the future. Let people know where your leads took them. You can never say thank you enough.
I’d love to hear other suggestions about what you think makes for a successful ask from your network.
The non-profit job bank and career resource center, Idealist.org (where I found my last two jobs), recently published a book that is part career guide, part activist’s handbook:
“The Idealist.org Handbook to Building a Better World provides tools and inspiration for anyone who wants to make a difference but doesn’t know where to start. Inspired by Idealist.org’s 600,000-member online community and their ongoing search for work that gives back to the world, this practical reference walks readers through the different ways they can get involved and the range of possibilities for applying one’s interests and skills to meet their community’s needs.”
Idealist.org also features two free, online books providing non-profit career guidance for first-time job seekers and sector switchers. Chapters from both books can be found on their website.
Jen Bird
Suzanne Grossman
Nicole Lisa
Alyssa Best
