One of the things I hear the most from job seekers is how difficult it is to quantify results form their past work experience. Everyone agrees that doing so is helpful, if not critical, to the job search. However, most find it difficult to show a measurement for something they have done in the past. They didn’t keep track of the numbers, or they cant remember them now, or they “were just doing their job” and don’t really know what measurable impact their impact had on the end result. Or, and this is really most often the case, they are confused and scared as to how to do this important work.

If you are one of the people who has had trouble quantifying results, then I’d like to invite you to join me in this week’s challenge – “One CAR Statement per day.” Writing one a day will help you get past the fear and confusion to take a giant leap forward in your career search. Here’s how it works.

1) Go to the section on “Writing CARS” in Careers 2.0. Here’s a link (you will have to log in to Careers 2.0)
2) Work on one (just one) CAR Statement each day.
3) Post it here in the comments of this blog post to share with others and get their feedback.

You can use these on your resume, in your networking, as part of an interview, and in negotiating for a higher salary! It’s simple. I’ll start.

CONDITION: In the fall of 2001 five denominations were planning their joint summer camp curriculum for the next summer.

ACTIVITY: They brought a group of us together to brainstorm themes and activities based on a topic that would be used nationwide by more than 200 camp programs. I was assigned to write the curriculum for the older children (grades 4-6). I had to research both the topic and the learning styles/needs of this age group.

RESULT: I wrote a curriculum and it was well received. I turned in my curriculum on time. One Camp Director even said that it was the best in the series (in her opinion). Curriculum titled: “Under God’s Roof: Daily Discoveries for Older Children”, Summer Camp Curriculum, published by the Cooperative Publication Association, March 2002.

STATEMENT: Researched topic and learning needs and wrote a curriculum that was used by over 200 summer camp programs nationwide in 2002.

Will you join me in this week’s challenge? Post your CARS Statements in the comments and let us all know what you have accomplished.

When you go through a grocery line today the bagger asks you how you want your items packed. “Paper or plastic?”  Many stores do not even offer us an option. They hand us our items bagged in plastic. There was a time when all groceries were packed into paper bags. Plastic bags were uncommon but not anymore. Today plastic bags are the norm.

Last week I stated that traditional jobs were going away. I recommended that it was time to change your career strategy and stop looking for jobs and start looking for work. The insight I want to share with you this week is that work used to be packed in paper bags but today it is being packed into plastic bags. There is work to be found but more and more companies are offering it in unconventional ways.

We are used to looking for work packed into job positions with clear cut duties. The jobs were offered in a paper bag called full-time, or permanent work. Today many employers are packaging work into plastic bags called projects, temporary work or contract work.

What is happening?  Companies are finding that they have to be flexible and nimble in order to compete in today’s market. They need to enlarge their workforce on short notice in order to produce a product or service. Once they have achieved their objectives they need to reduce their workforce rather than pay out wages to idle employees.

Think about the difference between paper bags and plastic bags.  A big paper grocery sack could hold a lot of groceries. You could pack many items neatly into one bag. The bags had a rigid shape and fairly predictable volume of room. Traditional jobs were like paper bags, sturdy and dependable.

But today employers are packing much of their work into plastic bags. Work today is much more flexible, odd shaped and comes in smaller units. Plastic bags are a better container for holding or assigning work.

Be careful that you do not overlook, ignore, or turn down work because it is being offering in “plastic” as contract work, temporary work or as a consulting assignment and not offered as “paper,” a full-time job. Plastic not paper is the new norm for work today.

So, which is it for you?  Paper or plastic?

When I asked for input on what to write about in this blog I received the following request from Doug:

“I would be interested in hearing about effective uses of time when you are looking for work.  How much time should be spent on internet search engines, linkedin, attending network marketing meetings, having one-on-one network meetings, time spend with an accountability partner, exercising, prayer/meditation, time spent not working on the job search (I feel guilty doing this), volunteering, or other valuable uses of time.  Alternately, what are poor uses of time.  As I go through this process, I have been advised to do everything and say a yes to everything.”

This is a GREAT question Doug, I’m glad you asked it. Let me take a shot at answering it. . .

Going through the job search process is challenging.  Because it’s so new to most of us, choosing how to spend out time each day/week/month can be confusing.  On top of the confusion there are several pressing issues, such as:

• our husband/wife wondering when we will find a job and asking us daily what we did to accomplish that goal.
• our own feelings of self worth (or lack thereof) — let’s be honest, in our culture one of the first questions asked when we meet a new person is, “What do you do?”  If we “don’t” then how do we answer that question?
• advice from everyone and their brother as to how we should navigate this time – “go to everything you can”  “put this on your resume” “don’t put that on your resume” “always wear a tie when you leave the house” “don’t dress to formal or people will know you are unemployed” and so on.
• a feeling that sometimes we just want to curl up in bed and avoid the whole thing.
• a desire to make the most of this time with family and friends — “After all, I have a lot more free time now that I don’t have work getting in the way.  So why do I feel guilty when I’m out enjoying myself with the kids?”

As someone who has helped hundreds of people successfully navigate unemployment and career transition this past year, let me share with you some of what I see to be most effective uses of your time in this process.

1. Don’t bother spending more than about 30 hours per week in the job search.  There are physical, social and psychological effects of being on a job search that make it unproductive for us when we go past 30 hours per week.  I know you are supposed to consider your job search to be a “full time job”, so for our purposes let’s consider 30 hours to be “full time.”
2. Spend some at least 20 minutes EVERY DAY doing some form of physical exercise.  Go for a walk. Go go the gym. Play with your kids on the jungle gym.  Exercise is good for clearing out the brain and increasing energy.
3. Don’t spend more than 37 minutes per day on the computer. Likewise, DON’T go online during daylight hours.  Think about it, if 80% of jobs are found through some form of networking, then you should spend at least 80% of your time networking.  The internet will be there when you get home, after everyone is in bed.  Heck, you are probably going to be awake at 3:00 this morning anyway.  If you spend the whole day online, what will you have to do when you wake up in the middle of the night?
4. Have a networking strategy and stick to your plan.  This is tricky, because your plan should evolve as you progress in your job search.  I would recommend that early on in your search you attend lots of events where other job seekers hang out.  These are great places to meet new people, develop and practice your elevator pitch, and get some support.  However, within 6-8 weeks you want to begin moving AWAY from those kinds of events to places where potential employers and people close to potential employers hang out. The former of these events will usually be free.  The latter may cost you something.  That’s why you want to work out the bugs in your verbal and printed “brand image” in the early stages of your job search.  And yes, Doug, this means you will say no to some things. You want to be strategic!
5. An accountability partner is a great idea! Plan to check in once a week for at least an hour.  Take notes and hold each other accountable for goals set at the previous meeting.  Choose wisely. To be successful at this you need to choose someone who will kick your butt — not be your friend.

Some of the activities that have proven to be the worst use of time for job seekers include:

1. Spending time on the Internet job boards – less than 6% of all available jobs are posted on these boards. If you were digging for gold, wouldn’t you want to spend your time in a place where other people have found gold rather than someplace where the prospects for finding gold are shallow?  Well guess what. . . you ARE digging for gold! The best place to find it is through your network of friends and colleagues.
2. Writing/revising your resume (or your LinkedIn profile. Or your Visual CV. . . ). Yeah, I know, you NEED a resume.  It needs to be polished and professional.  However, your resume is a dynamic, living document. It will need to be revised continuously throughout your career.  Work on it a little at a time and track your improvement.  Besides, YOU are your best resume, so get out there and show people what you have to offer!
3. Simultaneously, paying someone to write your resume for you is a huge waste of both time and money – unless you are a high level executive commanding a 7 figure salary.  If you feel the need to pay someone, pay them to coach you how to write a quality resume. You are going to go through the job search process again in the future, so this is a skill that is worth learning as best you can! Besides, the tools you use to write a resume will be extremely helpful in interviews, and it’s pretty tough to get a professional resume writer to go with you to an interview!

This is just a beginning list of how to structure your job search efforts.  The key is to have a strategic plan with specific goals that you can track and measure each day/week.  We have more resources on this topic inside the Careers 2.0 membership site.  The Basic Membership is free, so sign up and take a look!

Thanks for asking Doug!

How about the rest of you?  What would YOU like to read about in this blog?

Related Posts:

• Our 4 Step Process for Writing An Elevator Pitch
• How To Conduct An Informational Interview
• What Is A Personal Brand And Why Do You Need One?
• How to Work With A Recruiter In Your Job Search
• Why A Great Resume Is Not As Important As A Decent Network

When you are out of work (or going through a significant life change) little things can make you feel frustrated, overwhelmed, angry and/or irritable. Today’s post is intended to help you move past those feelings and live in the reality that is today.

Today I will point you in the direction of some great resources that will help you put this job search time into a positive light.  One is an interactive diagram that is based on the work of William Bridges in his book, “Transitions.”  The other two are a couple of very well written blog posts that encourage us to think about focusing on living in the present and utilizing the gift of time wisely.

Here’s the link to the Bridges interactive diagram:  http://careeradvice4u.com/moodle/file.php/3/Transitions/engageTransitions.html.  Note, you will need to sign up for a FREE account at Careers 2.0, but it’s totally worth the brief hassle!

Our guest blogger, Larque Goodson, shares with us what she is learning about herself while on a job search.  Yesterday she wrote a post asking for Santa to bring her “presence”.  How many of us could use a heaping dose of that?! (Read Larque’s thoughts at: http://happyasalarque.wordpress.com/)

My good friend Megan Strand writes a blog (InCouraged) on a variety of subjects encouraging people, especially entrepreneurs, to take inspired action. The theme for this week was: Creating and Honoring Space…the spaces in which you sometimes find yourself, the space necessary to rejuvenate those creative juices. I am inspired by her thoughts.

OK.  That’s it.  Now click on the links above and check out the goods. Then go and enjoy the day. . . the weekend. . . and your wonderful life!

30 Day Blogging Challenge – day 4.  Tomorrow’s post: “How To Deal With Stress While Searching For A Job.”

Welcome December!  This month I am participating in a 30 Day Blogging Challenge with some other bloggers.  As you know, this blog is all about helping people find a new job. Not just any new job, mind you, but rather, the perfect career. That’s why we write about acing the interview, cutting time off your job search, and using Internet job boards (like LinkedIn, Monster.com, and Twitter).

This 30 day blog challenge will allow me to develop some new material to use in the Careers 2.0 website.  That means two things for you: 1) you get the opportunity to add your 2 cents to the conversation, and 2) you get it for free before everyone else! This blog is all about offering free job advice, free job resources, free resume examples, and much more. We deal with topics such as networking, building a personal brand, working with recruiters, unemployment, interviewing and salary negotiation. What would YOU like to see us cover during the 30 day challenge? I hope you will participate by adding your thoughts to the conversation.  Actually, it won’t be much fun without you! Oh, and don’t forget to pass the links along to your fellow job seekers.

While the long term goal of this blog is to help everyone in America find the perfect career for this time in their life, my short term goals are a bit more attainable. Here are my goals for 30 day blog challenge:

1. create 5 posts on Personal Branding as it relates to the job search.
2. create 5 posts on interviewing and interviewing tips for job seekers.
3. add 50 followers to Facebook blog list.
4. add 200 people to newsletter mailing list.
5. get 3 posts to get picked up by a national venue.

Thank you for joining (and encouraging) me on this 30 day blogging journey.  And don’t forget, happy hunting!

30 Day Blogging Challenge – day 1.  Tomorrow’s post: “Do You Have A Professional Photo?”

What would you give to have a career – job or business – that made you want to get up in the morning and get to work? Would you take half of your old salary to wear casual clothes, learn from your team every day or be your own boss? Have you ever had a work situation that made you happy … contented?

These questions have been rolling around my skull during my months of unemployment and even prior to being laid off. Lately, I have been talking to a lot of people who are also pondering the balance between money and happiness. Just this week a friend said he’d be happy to have a full-time job at fifth of his old salary (he was a six-figure salesman) with benefits just for the security. But then he mentioned a position that didn’t fit him at all. So I asked, if you don’t care how much you make, why not do something you are passionate about?

It all goes back to how we search for our career. If I am a square peg, then why do I keep trying to shove myself into a round hole? Babies learn pretty quickly that the triangle doesn’t fit in the hexagon spot, yet we adults have a tough time using this metaphor in our own lives.

Before you can brand yourself using the tools in www.CareerAdvice4U.com, you have to explore your passions. That’s why “Career Crossroads: Finding the Perfect Career” starts with personal assessment.

I wasn’t surprised by the results of my Myers-Briggs Type and Keirsey Temperament Tests because I had already made a long list of my passions. I already knew some of the careers I fit from past experience.

So I continue to ask myself – “what am I worth?” and “what makes me happy?” I know I don’t want to go back to being a starving reporter, but I’m not sure I need to match my previous six-figure salary along with the stress, migraines and loss of sleep that accompanied it. I think I would accept lesser pay for a boss that doesn’t scream at me – or to be my own boss and solely responsible for my successes and failures.

Possibly we can all have the perfect career and make great money. Why not? I am just suggesting that if we seek jobs only because of pay, and not because of what we are passionate about, well, we will probably be doing this entire job-seeking routine again in a year or less.

I definitely deserve money. I also deserve to be happy in my work. So, my goal is to find the medium and have both. With guidance from the career wizards, I believe we all can.

[Editor’s note: Guest blogger, Larque Goodson, has been unemployed for 7 months and has become a Careers 2.0 client within the last couple of weeks. She says that the resources in the Premium Membership are some of the most valuable tools she has found in her entire job search. She lives in Portland, Oregon and is searching for a communications job that utilizes her excellent skills in writing, presenting, photography, marketing and sales. If you would like to share your story, please send an email to: info@orcms.com.]

It has been seven months since I was laid off. My credit cards are maxed and my husband and I juggle bills like circus performers on a tight rope. Yet, this journey is helping me examine my own self-awareness and work on my personal ideology. I have gained some invaluable insights, like the following:

• I am not a job. I am not less valuable because I lack employment. On the contrary, I am priceless and it would be a shame to take a job in which I’d be miserable. How would that be a step forward?

• To go forward, I need to find ways to help others succeed in their job search. Career Advise, http://careeradvice4u.com, is an amazing program for discovering my true aspirations. Career Enlightenment, http://careerenlightenment.net, is equally remarkable for mastering social media and turning aspirations into a profession. I found both by asking people for guidance and personal recommendations.

• Ask for help. Networking is vital. I decided to start with people I knew and told them I am looking for work. It is tough at first, but people I didn’t tell found out anyway. I was incredibly fortunate to be invited to the Sandler President’s Club by former sales coach Jeff Schneider, www.schneider.sandler.com. Because of this group, I have confidence and a network of fellow trainees who I greatly admire. Watching the videos on the Careers 2.0 website is helping me figure out other places network and how to be more productive at it.

• I must keep my options open. My big break may be lurking around an unsuspecting corner. Opportunities tend to arise when – and where – I don’t expect them. I don’t always see the “point” in prospecting or networking activities until later. So, if I receive an invitation to connect, why not explore it?

• My time is precious. That means I need to find a fair balance between studying, learning, networking, job searching and enjoying life. Being smart saves me time. I am using www.twitterjobsearch.com instead of perusing the same old job boards. I’m finding tools like these are much more productive which leads to much more happiness. Why shouldn’t I do things that make me happy? So I take a hike, volunteer, cook a gourmet meal … I am enjoying doing things my job schedule once prevented. These things relieve stress and stimulate my mind. Great ideas pop into my head while I am traversing through the mountains.

• And finally, I need to RELAX more. This last, important ingredient is vital to maintaining my sanity throughout this job search process. I know this transition isn’t easy, but being frantic and stressed out won’t land me a job any faster. Frantically searching the job boards will not tell me who I really am or where to find my perfect career. I must take a breath, relax, and go do some more networking. A good start is to make a list of things I am grateful for despite my lack of work.

What about you? What have you learned about yourself since you have been laid off?

I don’t often hand out testimonials for other career coaches, but when it comes to getting the most out of your job search I’ve been impressed with the work of Joshua Waldman. Joshua runs a website called Career Enlightenment (at www.joshuawaldman.net).  Joshua is a former sales and marketing professional who brings his expertise to help job seekers learn how to effectively use social media in the job search. His career advice is right on. In my opinion, Joshua gets it.

Joshua knows that the job search is about more than simply checking out the job boards.  He knows that in order to find the perfect career, you must utilize the best job search tools available to you.  Joshua teaches his clients how to use LinkedIn, facebook, Twitter and other social media tools to promote your personal brand.  Joshua searches the Internet to find helpful tools that make your job search more effective.  He conducts interviews with key career coaches and industry leaders. His recent blog post (“Is Your Brand The Ultimate Narcissism?”)  has even been featured in the Brazen Careerist.  Other professionals recognize Joshua’s work as well!

One of the reasons I feel so strongly about Joshua’s work is because he understands how to network.  Joshua’s philosophy on networking is a lot like mine – give, give, give, and good things will come back to you. Joshua gives of himself, his time and his expertise to help people in their job search.  Lately Joshua has been speaking to job seekers in my home town of Portland, Oregon.  I caught his workshop and was impressed with his knowledge.  For those who see the value in what Joshua has to offer, he is available for individual coaching.  If you want to learn how to use social media to extend your personal brand, give Joshua a call. I have learned a lot from Joshua, and you can too!

If you are in a job search, thinking about changing careers or just getting started at choosing a career, check out Joshua Waldman’s work.  He is a great networker and a powerful resource for anyone in the job hunt.

Join us next time for: “The Cost of Being Unemployed”