You need a better answer than, "I've just been job hunting."
Everything comes to him who hustles while he waits. – Thomas Edison
I’m privileged to serve with a bunch of great individuals on the board of Launch Pad Job Club. Each and every one of them are hardworking, caring professionals who make awesome contributions to help job seekers in our community. One of our fellow board members is Jim Adcock, who I think has been a shining example of Edison’s “hustle while you wait” mentality during his own job hunt. In a recent article, he addressed a very good question that gets asked a lot these days in interviews – “What have you been doing since your last job?” Jim’s personal response involves volunteering, getting new training to keep his skills fresh, and even giving training to others.
He writes:
I’ve participated regularly in five professional organizations, volunteered regularly at a community service organization (and was elected to its board of directors), organized a volunteer service project event (and am working on a second one), and presented two different topics at three venues. I’ve also been trying to keep my skills fresh by attending online training and reading technical publications related to my career.
What Jim doesn’t mention that he’s doing while he “waits” for his next great job is the blog where he posted this article. He might not tell interviewers directly about it (though he certainly could), they will find out about it if they check him out online – and, apparently, a significant number of hiring authorities check out candidates’ online presences these days. Through his professional blog, Jim is demonstrating his subject matter expertise, as well as creating internet visibility for himself in the marketplace. You see, Jim isn’t a journalist, a recruiter or a career coach, he’s a techie guy – an expert in something called SharePoint technology – and he devotes most of his blog topics to his subject matter expertise. Talk about hustling while you wait!
Jim concludes his article with 2 very important questions:
- What have you been doing since your last job?
- What can you be doing right now to give yourself a great answer to that question?
I join Jim in daring you to be creative in your job search. I dare you to hustle while you wait so you can come up with a better response than, “I’ve just been job hunting.”
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You’ll definitely want to tune in for our next radio show on Saturday, March 6, at 10AM CST. Our guest is Laurel Donnellan, President of ThreeGiantLeaps and author of “Born To Do: The Practical Guide To Loving Your Work”. She’ll join us to talk about how positive psychology and ancient wisdom can help you find work you love. Sounds sorta mystical, doesn’t it? I can’t wait to hear what she says!
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Angela Loëb is an author, speaker and career coach. She and her partner, Jay Markunas, help people make successful career transitions through seminars, webinars, tele-coaching events and individualized coaching services. Listen to them on The Job Search Boot Camp Show. Find out more about their programs & services at www.greatoccupations.com.
Tags: career transition, interview, Jim Adcock, job search, job search strategies, Laurel Donnellan, The Job Search Boot Camp Show, unemployed, Volunteering, work you love