I love the idea of doing what you love and I’ve taught my kids well in that regard. And it’s something I teach in my GPS 4 Your Career program.

Most of my clients come to me in some state of crisis. They insist they’ve done everything right (and to some degree they have.) They want action. So when I explain that we will be spending some time on attitude I usually get silence on the other end of the phone and I swear I can see them roll their eyes! They like what I teach but they recoil at the idea of something “touchy feely.”

However if you talk to any of my prior clients they will tell you that I’m not known for being “touchy feely.” What I am know n for is my ability to assess the situation, provide a strategic plan that gets results, and motivate my clients to the finish line. So how does attitude fit into that?

Well it fits this way.  When something traumatic happens in our lives there is medical proof that it leaves an imprint. Think of it this way – If there is snow on the ground and you drive through it, your tire will leave an imprint. Your car is traumatic to that fluffy white snow. And losing your job is one of the most traumatic experiences you will ever have.   For most people it can create a mild form of Post Traumatic Stress (PTSD.)

We start with the change cycle. The short version (we go into this in more detail in my class) is that whenever we are faced with a trauma we have a physical reaction and an emotional reaction. There are several phases we pass through ranging from shock to fear to anger to acceptance. Some people move quickly, some move slowly. Some move in a linear fashion, some hop back and forth. Some of us get stuck in one place.

The two most common sticking points that will have a HUGE impact on your job search are fear and anger. Having hired thousands of people in my career, I can tell you that when someone walks in with unresolved issues I recognize it on a subconscious level. When I’m reviewing candidates later, I will remember the ones who showed signs of fear or anger and usually we will pass. Sometimes we will do a follow-up interview to make sure, but in a competitive environment like today we would probably pass.

So part of what we do in my program is help you get back to being in love with who you are, the job you’ve chosen, and the potential of working for that person you are interviewing with. Think of it as a dose of Red Bull, Moon Pies and some antibiotic cream. By the time I’m done with you, you will LOVE what you are doing. And maybe have a little Sputniq on your Ipod.

GPS 4 Your Career – helping you navigate today’s career market.

At the top of today’s to-do list is to watch a movie that another Career Coach sent me. Lemonade. I’ve been really busy the past two weeks and I don’t realize that my whole life is about to change.  7 minutes in I feel sick. It’s Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome. I’m looking at the faces of the people who sat across the desk from me when I said “I’m sorry, your job has been eliminated.” I’m looking at the faces of my current clients. I’m looking into your face.

In the world of corporate downsizings, I’m the hated HR person. Only I’m also the loved HR person. The HR person everyone went to for help. Help me get promoted/turn my bad performance around/communicate better with my manager.  Help me with the scary guy in the next cubicle/my ex-significant other stalker/the guy who talks about bombs in the lunch room. I have a new baby/got married/got divorced/I have cancer/my wife just died. I have a gambling/drinking/drug problem. Help me be a better manager/employee. Help me put together a pizza party/bbq/holiday party.

My PTSD is so bad that the last time my former company did this process I went into shock and walked around looking like someone who had just exited a mine field in Iraq. My staff was so worried about me they called EAP. It was that moment I knew I had to leave the job I loved – the job that was 95% great stuff but the 5% was so bad that I couldn’t face it anymore. Long story short – I left and started GPS 4 Your Career. Instead of telling people they don’t have jobs, I help them FIND jobs. New, great, exciting jobs. And once they land that new job, in most cases my clients tell me that losing their job was THE BEST thing to ever happen.

Fast forward 23 months. I’m watching Lemonade.  I’m crying, laughing, and celebrating with each and every person. And I think about my life. In the past 18 months  I’ve helped over 1,000 people find new jobs. Some were friends, some were pro-bono, some were part of groups at companies that were closing, many were referrals. I live for the email saying “I GOT THE JOB!” It’s WAY better than when I sat across that desk and dropped the bomb into someone’s life.  

The truth is I love my life. I get to talk to great people and help them achieve their goals. I get to pick the clients I work with. I’m writing the book I’ve talked about writing since 1995. I can work from anywhere, so last year I criss-crossed the country in my car to see friends and relatives that had been too long neglected.  I spend more time with my kids (20 and 22) than I did when they were growing up. Oh and I became the person I’ve always wanted to be.

One of my favorite things is sitting on the back patio watching the sky – there is nothing like the sky in New Mexico. It’s big, blue, and it changes every minute. I sit and look at the clouds – I see a dragon. I see a lamb. I see a big foot…no wait that’s Italy! It’s all about our perceptions isn’t it? Did your last employer hand you a basket of lemons? If so, let’s make some Lemonade.

GPS 4 Your Career – helping you navigate today’s career space.

To watch the movie Lemonade go to Itunes or Hulu.

My private clients average less than 90 days in their job search, however the Bureau of Labor Statistics says the average job hunter will spend 9+ months searching for a job in today’s market. This means you can develop habits – some good and some not so good.

If you’ve been in the job market more than 60 days it’s time for a Job Search Breakthrough. Often by making small changes you can see huge results in your job search. Here are a few tips to get your search back on track:

• Finding a job IS YOUR JOB. How many hours did you work when you were employed? Are you spending that many hours a week on your job search? Is that “value added” time? Research shows that most job seekers are spending 4 hours or less per week on actual value-added job search tasks. (Seriously – how often do you check your email looking for a job lead and end up spending a couple of hours reading chain emails, or the latest news on Yahoo/AOL/etc. and think you spent 2 hours on your job search? We do it all the time!)

• If you are not getting results from your resume, it’s time to brush it off and take a fresh look. Ask yourself – if this resume came across my desk would I be interested in talking with this person? Does it reflect the most common key words in your industry so the computers are seeing it as a 100% match? Is it beautiful in person but when you upload it there are suddenly many problems with the text? If your resume disappearing into a void, it’s probably time to get a professional review.

• Do you have a strategic networking plan? Do you make regular contact with your core network? Are you comfortable asking for help? Do you use both in-person and social media? If you are an introvert do you understand how to maximize your networking and are you pushing yourself out of your comfort zone to attend professional meetings? All of these are critical especially if you’ve been in the market more than 90 days.

• Do you have a great profile on Linked In? Do you belong to a mix of job search groups and professional groups? Are you active on a daily basis, reading, posting, even creating discussions? Social media is a MUST in today’s market and how you use it is critical.

• Have you considered the Federal government? The Federal government is HIRING and has jobs to fit just about everyone. The process for applying is different so be sure to seek out expert advice in this area.

• Are you creating space for success? Do you have specific space in your home to work and keep things organized? Have you worked through the emotions from losing your job? In working with clients once we calm the emotions, set the work space, or organize things the search immediately is much easier and the results increase dramatically.

• YOU GOT THE INTERVIEW! Good for you. Now be prepared to stand out as the most impressive candidate. This takes research and preparation. Using a system like STAR, CCAR or SOAR will help you stand out. If you are not familiar with these systems we will be teaching one on the Job Search Breakthrough telesummit.

The Job Search Breakthrough telesummit is a no-cost series of conference calls from experts who will help you jump start your search. Job Search Breakthrough is part of the Pay It Forward Jobs Program launched by GPS 4 Your Career Our goal is to help 500 people find a job in the next 100 days. Let us help you have a breakthrough!

Last fall one of my friends applied to what appeared to be the perfect job – it was local but was with a national company.  She sent me the posting and it read almost identical to her resume. She hired me for a single session consult to discuss the job and her resume. She held off applying for 3 days until we met. During her consult we made some minor tweaks to her resume, talked about how she could network for the job and a few other things. The job had posted on Monday and she applied on Friday.

Weeks passed and she didn’t hear anything. The job continued to show up on various websites. It was such a perfect match for her that other friends often sent it to her. She used all the tips I gave her about networking and tried hard to network locally but couldn’t find anyone in the local office.  The holidays came and went and on January 3 she called me.

“Ok, I give up. HELP!” she said.  I laughed.  Our former boss, now VP at a Fortune 25 company had sent her the posting saying a recruiter had contacted him about the job and he referred them to her.  Only it had been 3 days and still no call.

She hired me and I used many of the techniques I share in my free call (http://gps4yourcareer.com/preview/. I made a network contact with the corporate recruiter. She had a phone interview in 48 hours and was on a plane to Corporate Headquarters within a week. During the phone interview she mentioned that she had applied on-line in October.

After she got the offer, I called the corporate recruiter and asked what happened. He told me that the first day the company received over 200 resumes for this job.  The recruiter spent 2 weeks going through them and in the end had 10 qualified candidates. He pulled the ad off of that board the following Monday but by then he had over 1000 resumes. He sent the 10 resumes to the hiring manager and they spent 3 weeks interviewing everyone. He went back in and closed all the resumes they had received the first week without ever having reviewed them.

Now you can probably guess that after the interviews none of the 10 qualified candidates from day 1 ended up in the job. But neither did any of the qualified candidates from the first week. In fact, the job was posted 3 times before my friend hired me, was interviewed, and got the job offer.

There are several lessons in this story:

1)       Have a great resume you can easily modify and submit the first time you see the job.

2)      Networking will get you in the door even when your resume goes into the black hole.

3)      A great job coach can make your search faster, easier and result in less time without a paycheck.

4)      You too can find a job in 90 days or less:  Listen to my free call  and learn the insider secrets. http://gps4yourcareer.com/preview/

GPS 4 Your Career – Helping You Navigate Today’s Job Market

Welcome to the launch of GPS 4 Your Career. This site and program has been a labor of love for me. Two years ago I left my corporate job…just days before the economy started to crash in the fall of 2008. I immediately started getting calls from colleagues, friends, and referrals asking for help in their job search. And I got calls from HR professionals asking me to provide outplacement programs when they were forced to downsize. I literally went from the frying pan into the fire.

Over the course of my career I had set up several staffing departments. This made me an expert at the insider point of view on hiring. I knew all the latest technology. And I had stepped in to several “broken” staffing areas and had hiring managers raving about the change within weeks.  I routinely reduced hiring times from months to weeks. I had started my career in a staffing department for a Fortune 50 company, I had more than 15 years as a hiring manager and had sat in on hundreds (probably thousands) of interviews.

For my first outplacement I put together four hours of training and delivered it by webinar. Each person was given 1 hour with me – they could get a resume review, coaching in one specific area, or just let me buy them coffee and process their emotions. Most of my meetings were over the phone and were practice interviews.

Two weeks after the last class I got a call from one of the job seekers (we’ll call him Richard.) Richard had just finished a panel interview for his dream job. At the end of the interview the hiring manager pulled him aside and gave him feedback. The manager told Richard  he had never seen someone so well prepared for an interview. They had interviewed dozens of people over many weeks and had not found anyone even close until now. A few days later Richard got the job offer. He was my first success story.  

Over the next 90 days I got calls and emails from others. At the end of 90 days (from the date of our first class), over 85% of the professionals had new jobs or were expecting offers any day. Most landed jobs that paid better than the jobs they were leaving. At the height of the panic and going into one of the worst recessions we’ve ever seen.

I began to research career coaches, job coaches, resume writers, and others who provided similar services. I looked at sample resumes and was horrified – people were paying hundreds and even thousands of dollars for resumes that wouldn’t get them past the first gate. People were paying thousands of dollars to attend “classes” where much of the information was outdated and some was just plain silly.

I kept getting calls. My clients came from a variety of sources. Some I met on websites like Linked In and Facebook. Others came through referrals – friends, other people I helped. I was hired to help other groups where companies were downsizing or closing. I added special topics like federal employment and social networking. And an amazing thing happened – people got jobs.  Federal clients were making “best qualified” on most of their applications. Private sector clients were getting hired in 90 days or less.

While I have helped over 1,000 people get back to work in the last 18 months, this program is just now “going public.” You will have a chance to see the program launch (and get discounts for being in the first group when we launch something new.) You will get access to free resources. And you WILL get a job.

But I’ll warn you:  this program is not for everyone. It’s for professionals who believe they can get a great job they will love. It’s for people who believe great things can be accomplished in a short period of time. Think of this program as a boot camp – when someone enlists, they go through a boot camp to get them in shape mentally, physically and emotionally. This program focuses on your job search but it will impact every area of your life. In fact, if you follow this program IT WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE. 

Thanks for joining us – for trusting us with your most important decisions. Remember:  If you planned your vacation like you plan your career, would you end up on the beach or broken down at a truck stop? GPS 4 Your Career…Finding Your Way in Today’s Job Market.

Have you been job searching for more than 60 days? That means you’ve probably developed some habits – some good and some maybe not so good.  It’s time to step back and take a fresh look at your job search.  Here are 5 tips to help you refresh your job search.

1) Finding a job IS YOUR JOB.  How many hours did you work when you were employed? Are you spending that many hours a week on your job search? Is that “value added” time? Research shows that most job seekers are spending 4 hours or less per week on actual value-added job search tasks. (Seriously – how often do you check your email looking for a job lead and end up spending a couple of hours reading chain emails, or the latest news on Yahoo/AOL/etc. and think you spent 2 hours on your job search? We do it all the time!)

2) Do you have a strategic job search plan? Do you know how you will spend your week or are you going from job posting to job posting? Treat your search like a job: set your work hours, identify work space, plan your week, eliminate the non-work distractions like household chores, television and non-work related meetings. One of my clients tracked her time and realized she was spending almost 15 hours a week having breakfast or lunch with friends. While these can be valuable networking meetings, in her case she was simply catching up with old friends and not getting any leads.

3) Are you “shotgunning” (sending resumes to any/every posting that “might” be a fit”) or are you clear on your target market? Do you have a list of specific companies you want to work for and know why you want to work for them? Do you know the specific job(s) you are qualified for and should be targeting? Are you actively cultivating contacts at those companies? If you’re shotgunning you are wasting your time and the company’s time/resources.

4) Do you have a GREAT master resume that you adjust to each position you apply to? Not one your cousins neighbors friends aunt did for you because she used to type resumes for college students in 1980 but one that fits today’s market? Do you understand key words and why they are important?

5) When you submit a resume to a job post, do you immediately find a way to network to the recruiter or hiring manager and then follow-through? Do you stick with it until you find them or do you give up after a few emails or calls? Do you realize that making those connections are the way you will get your job? Is it hard for you? Every time you hesitate to make a call ask yourself:  “Which is more painful – being unemployed or making that call?”

As a professional career coach and former hiring manager/HR exec, my advice is to step back and take a fresh look at your job search. While there are some markets that are tougher than others, in most it is possible to have a new job in 3 months. My typical client comes to me after having been out of work for 6-12+ months, was previously making $60k-$120k+ and has not had an interview in 2 months. They are often angry, depressed, unmotivated, lost, afraid, or just feeling clueless or overwhelmed by the process. I work 1:1 and through group coaching/home study/webinars. Check us out:  www.gps4yourcareer.com

(Click the Image for Video)

Is a Federal Job For You?

Have you considered the Federal government as your next employer? Over half of my clients during the past year have not only considered but have specifically targeted the federal government.

As a Certified Federal Career Coach and newly appointed Executive Director of the Academy for the National Association for Federal Career Advancement (NAFCA), I’m an expert at helping people land a federal job.

Here are some of the reasons you might want to consider federal employment:

Fact: There are jobs EVERYWHERE. Only 15% of federal jobs are actually in DC.  That means almost 85% of the federal jobs are outside of DC throughout the US and the rest of the world.

Fact: The government PAYS WELL. Government salaries have risen faster and higher than private sector salaries.  In most cases you will find that they are very competitive.  In fact, it’s been reported that from 2000 to 2008, the pay for federal civilian employees skyrocketed 57%, while the pay for workers in the private sector grew by only 31%.  And the White House recently proposed a 1.4% pay increase.

Fact: Federal jobs are a great way to make a difference. Find an agency with a mission you believe in or support. For example, give back to our Vets by working at the VA. Interested in international aid? Consider USAID or the Peace Corps (yes there are jobs here in the US as well as abroad.) Want to help people affected by disasters? FEMA, SBA and Health & Human Services all have groups that respond during crisis.

Fact: Federal jobs are not wired, or only for certain people. If that was the case, then the government wouldn’t currently have over 60,000 job openings worldwide. From new college graduate to over 50 with strong experience to share, federal jobs are a great bet.

Fact: There are all kinds of jobs in the federal government. In fact, there are over 2000 classifications and over 300 departments and agencies. Here is a very short list of federal job titles: Accountants, Business Operations, Police Officers, Fire Fighters, Administrative Assistants, Secretaries, Assistants, Civil Engineers, Airline Pilots, Computer Systems Analysts, Program Managers, Construction Managers and Social Workers

Fact: The government is no more bureaucratic than many large companies. Some people like working for large companies, some like working for small companies. The Government is made up of over 300 departments and agencies and each operates as their own stand alone “corporation” within a network of companies designed to serve the best interest of America. It is possible to find a match whether you like big or small.

Fact: There are many places to find federal jobs and we teach you what those are. Only about 70% are on USA jobs. Many jobs (perm, temp, special) are on agency websites.  And some are not posted on the sites at all.

Fact: Just like the private sector, some agencies will grow, and others will not. However, when was the last time you saw the government announce a layoff? In addition, the Office of Personnel Management projects that between now and 2015, 34.5% of the federal workforce will retire. This will result in almost 800,000 jobs JUST TO REPLACE THE CURRENT WORKFORCE. This does not include any projected growth.

So is a Federal Job for YOU? Find out by attending our FREE 1-Hour Webinar.