Career Basics Course: Week 8, Day 40

"If baking is any labor at all, it's a labor of love. A love that gets passed from generation to generation." ~ Regina Brett

"The future... seems to me no unified dream but a mince pie, long in the baking, never quite done." ~ Edward Young

“Just don’t give up trying to do what you really want to do. Where there is love and inspiration, I don’t think you can go wrong.” —Ella Fitzgerald

Send A "Looking For A Job " Email to Five Close Friends

YOU'RE CROSSING A THRESHOLD the moment you turn to a friend and vocalize that you have been unhappy at you work (of that you're about to lose your current position). You are ready for a change. Feelings you may have been feeling for months are now out in the world -- you have begun down a different path.

You have two choices in this moment. Either you settle into a rhythm of unhappiness at your job and continue complaining about it for the next five years, or you choose to do something, so take the first step.

When you choose to commit to changing, things shift slightly. There is a little more space between the everyday stress of the job and your identity. The office looks different, out of sync with the way you're feeling. Take some time to notice this feeling and make note of the differences. This feeling is a sign that you are on the right path.

This is the moment that you need to send a "looking for a job" email, beginning with five friends that are closest to you. ...

Sending emails out to close friends (and family members) can expand what you see as possible for yourself and will immediately widen your job search prospects. Friends will refer you to friends looking for someone like you. Before you send these, there are sever important things to remember that will help ensure that you get a useful response.

• Ask the questions that you want answers to. ... If there are specific questions that seem obvious but feel vulnerable, you don't need to ask for opinions on them just yet. Sit with them a little longer. It's okay to ask questions you already believe you have an answer to as long as you are open to changing your opinion and gaining new insight.
• People will always tell you to do what they do. .... Keeping this in mind, remain grounded and don't automatically assume they are right.
• Give yourself permission to ignore most of the advice. You should listen and be open to learning from all advice, but this doesn't mean that you have to implement it, not does it mean that you have to argue with it. You can listen and learn without doing either.
• Make sure that you separate what you want from the path that you want to walk. ... When you open yourself up to others, the advice they give you will be an unsorted mix of methods and experiences. Making sure you are clear on how those would fit for you will help you sort out what advice to pay attention to and what advice to graciously listen to and ignore.

These four points are constant reminders and practices to keep in mind as you begin to send out your email to friends. Remember -- adapt and adjust based on your own needs and relationships. You are the one who knows best the people you are sending this to. Often a quick text message to close friends can be easier ...

The Exercise

This is a great way to engage your friends in your job search. It has the dual purpose of opening up new and exciting dialogues and saves you from rehashing the same conversation about your job hunt.

1. Choose five friends?that are either close to you or connected to different worlds than yours.
2. Send them an email?putting the other four in the CC field.
3. Tell them that you are looking for your next job?and share with them some specifics or the results of?your career path map?You could even send them your?Artist Portfolio?Still not sure how to explain what you are looking for??Practice Three Different Ways of Introducing Yourself?
4. Ask them for any advice, thoughts, or people that come to mind who you should talk to.
5. Assess?the kinds of feedback and types of people that you are getting referred to: is it interesting or a little bit off of the mark? Do people respond to the group or to you privately?
6. Tweak your email based on this initial five person test?and then send it to another five friends using the same method. If you feel confident about your email, send it to as many friends as possible in BCC.
7. Expect less of a response when you are sending the email in BCC. Follow up individually within a week with those who didn’t respond to your BCC message. People are often busy and BCC feels impersonal at times. You can open up doors by sending a more personalized email a week later saying, ‘Hey (person’s name), I would love to actually chat with you about this and hear your thoughts.’

Note: This is

• Way 34, if you reference the 2018 version of the book, which I have, and,
• Way 38?if you're looking?in?50 Ways to Get a Job: An Unconventional Guide to Finding Work on Your Terms.

For me, ... admittedly, in earlier transitions, this took a longer time to take this step because it had taken sometime to understand that I was unhappy, that the change and reorganization was imminent, and then, my pride prevented me from stating the obvious -- that I needed support and assistant to process and manage the change that was forthcoming -- and, even more so, when it arrived.

For me, ... these are all good steps, to which I would add,

• Talking to someone directly also works, i.e. reaching out to set up an in-person meeting or coffee, a Google Meet, a Zoom call, etc
• Serendipity also works ... as when I'm walking Carlos, my daughter's rescue dog ...
• Once you send the first five emails, send another five emails, and another five emails, and .... I like to do these every 2-3 days in order to give me time to follow-up with the responses; create a spreadsheet to manage, and track your outreach and follow up.
• Be sure that you're reaching out to the breadth of family and friends and be direct, if you're less inclined to be so and give them the information that you need for them to convey to others.

For me, ... and, if you can do this with a friend or colleague, all the better...

Good luck; keep me/us posted with what's working for you and your suggestions for advice and learnings that you might offer.

Peace and blessings.

Gerald Doyle

A Happy Friday (on Monday) ... Week 8, Day 40!

All the best for the week ahead; amazing that we've reached Week 9 -- while very much closing out Week 8, albeit a few days later than anticipated. We're very grateful for those who have reached out across these weeks.

Three cheers to those of you who have landed and others who are gaining interviews and traction; remember, we're all in for everyone and we will not rest until everyone has set themselves squarely on a path that's right for them at this moment.

We have welcomed three individuals who will continue throughout the remaining 3 weeks of Career Basics Course as Contributing Respondents. They are:

• Caila Howell?... a business/digital marketing professional and education advocate. We're delighted that Caila has joined us in this journey.
• Kathleen O'Brien 欧凯林?... a mission-motivated, people-oriented and a collaborator between and among cultures. We're delighted that Kathleen has joined us in this journey.
• Lap Gong Leong, a writer, author and political commentary who shares his thinking and writing regularly, most recently authoring,?Uncovering Sensibilities: rethinking axioms in the world of work for autistic people.

All the very best to everyone. Much peace.

Gerald and?Al Nunez

P.S. Enjoyed making a chocolate chip cookies last evening with my son (recipe from the The Washington Post and an apple pie yesterday morning (recipe from Rosie's Baking Basics).