The Tripletz: 23 Days

By John R. Nocero, Andrea L. Bordonaro and Nicole M. Palmer

JRN: 23 days. That is how long it took me to get a new job from the time it took me to leave my previous one. I am not saying this to be braggadocious, just spitting facts. Here’s how I did it.

Accept It’s Over: I didn’t spend more than 12 hours mourning my previous job. It’s not like I lost it due to embezzlement or was accused of sexual harassment. It was strictly a business decision. I was expendable because my salary was high. Okay. Next. I can accept that. It was not my skills that were called into question or I couldn’t do the job. I called the people that I needed to say goodbye to, said goodbye and that was it. What also helped me was that I have been in this position before. The first time I lost a job, it was a definite blow to the ego. On top of that, I lost it because I was a flat-out prick. But I was able to find a job again after that, so I knew I could find a job this time. It was having the plan and working the plan.

Having the Plan, Working the Plan: ?The first message I sent when I lost my job was to Nikki and we immediately went to work on what we would do. She immediately set up a podcast and invited me as a guest. I then reached out to others who were doing podcasts and asked to be a guest as well and got invited to two of them and immediately took them. It was a focus of staying relevant as I didn’t know how long this would last.

The plan was simple – my new job became finding a job. I would get up, workout for a couple hours, eat, sit down at the computer and look for a job for about 10 hours, workout again for a couple hours, eat, and then go to bed. That was the routine that I followed strictly for 23 days. It was not about watching any games or relaxing. It was finding that hunger again. For the first time in god knows how long, time was an asset so I used it to my advantage. I felt recharged. I am hungry now as I type this and can’t wait to get back to the game on Monday.

The plan was a combination of applying to jobs and networking. I followed Lisa Rangel’s ROTH method to the letter – Reach Out To Humans. You can’t just apply for positions and wait, you have to reconnect with some folks and see if people can help. Everyone can give you a lead. You just have to have the discipline to follow up. I don’t know how many jobs I applied to, I don’t know how many rejections I got. I don’t know how many e-mails I sent. I didn’t care. I was looking for a job like I was looking for a college scholarship: you only need one.

Lessons Learned:

1.?? If you are not getting results, it is because something is wrong. I don’t know what it is. You need to figure it out. Most likely it is not your resume. Don’t be snaked into spending money you don’t have. Re-evaluate the plan. Continue to reassess until you get a job.

2.?? Don’t get all up in your feels and be sad. Don’t post about how you are down to your last dollar and you are going to get kicked out of your house. People won’t tell you this. But I will. That‘s a bad look. People told me that during the last three weeks. Just focus on being as positive as possible and working the plan. We say all the time: trust the process. Work the plan.

3.?? At the end of the day, all you are doing is looking for a job. That’s it. Have a full life. Your job is a significant part of it, but so are your friends, families, hobbies, passions, etc. You want to be the whole person. It’s like dating, which is an article for another week, probably next week.

?Meanwhile:

Nikki: you have a lot of people coming to you about finding a job. What is your best piece of advice to them?

?Andrea: You and I were talking the other day and you mentioned you have a ton of former students and friends entering the job market. What is your best piece of advice to them to be competitive with the top talent that is currently also looking for their next gig?

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ALB: My best piece of advice, although?it's been a VERY long time since I've been in the market for a new job (26 years to be exact) is to make your new job looking for a new job and to take advantage of networking - take advantage of who you know who knows someone else. Make connections. Reach out to real people instead of just applying blindly to companies because?they have openings that may suit your profile. Research a company that?you'd like to work for inside and out before interviewing or talking?to someone in charge so you know why YOU want to work for them and so you can sell yourself. It's a competitive job market out there and some people are cut-throat in getting what they want, so it's essential to find a place in a career that respects your inner peace, mental health and your outside life. In other words, I think it's smart to take into consideration what is a good fit for YOU, not only the other way around. You'll be spending many hours of your life there or devoted to it, so it has to bring you gratitude and happiness to an extent.

All of these are important besides a healthy salary. My youngest, who is eight years old, just asked me the other day, "mom, would you rather have a job you couldn't stand going to every day but made so much money that you didn't know what to do with it all or have a job that you loved going to every day and made just okay money?" I took that as an opportunity to talk to her about how I feel happiness trumps money any day and money doesn't necessarily buy happiness. It led to a really meaningful discussion between us that perhaps a lot of people lose sight of as they get olde

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NMP: Getting told that this is your last day without any warning is like a punch to the face you didn’t know was coming. You can knock me down but you can’t knock me out. I will get up every time. I will find a way.

?Day 1 Process: Take the time to process what just happened. Mourn. Go through the motions. If you need closure, find out if you can if getting laid off was led to your performance, salary, or strictly a business decision. This will help you in your job search.

?Day 2 Plan: Come up with a plan that works for you. As John mentioned, your new job is finding a job. You want to apply to jobs and be in the top 100 to apply. If you are number 500 odds are they will find someone prior to looking at your resume. Reaching out to as many humans as you can. Schedule time to talk to your network. Get on the Zoom call. The more people you talk to the better. Use social media to your advantage. Ask to be a guest on a podcast, ask to write a blog or an article to popular magazines. Attend as many conferences and webinars as you can. Better yet, attend as a speaker and network your ass off there!?

?Eating healthy and exercising is also important. If you noticed, I had John on my podcast and shortly after he appeared on 3 more. We also write an article for Clinical Leader. The goal is to get everyone to know you and you are the expert in your field. These are all things you can add to your resume.

?Get a journal and record your journey. Remind yourself to follow-up with your connections if that is the plan. Ask your connections for advice. One of the questions I like to ask on my podcast, which is one of the last 2 questions is, what’s the best career advice you’ve ever received and who is it by? I’ve learned so much from the answer to this question? because they are never the same and it’s super motivational. If you get anything out of TMF Daily, skip to the last 10 minutes and see what my guests have to say.

?Day 3 Consistency: Follow the plan and adjust what isn’t working. If you aren’t getting the results you are looking for, change something. If you get feedback during an interview that you seem to be job hopping a lot. Explain why. Companies want to know you are invested just as much if not more than they are. Lay out for them that you are looking for stability. Explain that the company is everything that you are looking for and here’s why you are the perfect fit. This is the job you want to retire at if say, you are 50 years old. Don’t just say it, mean it.

?The Goal: The goal is to reach out to as many humans as possible. But you have to be tactful about it. Not hey, I need a job ASAP or I’m going to lose my house. It’s okay to let others know you are looking for work, but the key is to exercise the point that YOU are the subject matter expert (SME). Ask your connection questions. Ask how you can help them! Provide them with value.

?It’s Okay: Remember it’s okay to pivot your career. If you need to take a position that is not in clinical research to pay your bills, that is okay. Clinical research isn’t going anywhere. It will always be here. I know that is a hard pill to swallow. Yes, it’s harder to get back in once you are out of the field for a while, but it is not impossible. We can always work on this later and have your resume show the transferable skills that you gained.

?Reality: If you truly love clinical research you may have to take a lower paying job, work in an office, or travel for work. If you aren’t willing to be flexible in this crazy job market you may take longer to land a job.?

?Remember you can always negotiate your salary or additional benefits later on. For example, If I meet your goals for me in 12 months, would it be possible to receive a bonus of $1,000? Worst case scenario, they say no. The decision is yours. If they say yes, make sure it is in your contract. Whatever you negotiate and they say yes to, get it in writing. A verbal agreement is not valid.

?The job market is hard out there but it isn’t impossible. I log into LinkedIn every day, and I am still seeing people land jobs. If you have a solid plan and keep networking like it’s your job, stay open and flexible, you too could land a job in 23 days or less.

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