Finding the Payoff
from Following the Methodology:
Club Members Outperform Competitors & Land New Jobs
by David Madison, Ph.D., Director
of the National Guild of Career Coaches
of the Five O’Clock
A Trade Show Reunion
Many people who
lose their jobs receive Five O’Clock Club job-search help because they ask
for it as part of their separation agreement—that is, their companies
agree to pay for our outplacement services. Pete Healy took this approach;
he knew he wanted to work with the Club because, during his fourteen-year
tenure with Moody’s, he’d become acquainted with one of our senior career
coaches, Chip Conlin, a Moody’s HR officer at the time. “I wanted to have
him as my coach,” Pete says, “because I knew how skilled he is.”
Pete’s last position was with Mergent’s Inc., a former division
of Moody’s. He has enjoyed a successful twenty-year career in financial
information services, so the Seven Stories Exercise confirmed what he
already knew about himself. “Still, I got more focus after doing this
exercise,” and he points out this kind of assessment would have come in
handy at an earlier age: “The Seven Stories and Forty-Year Vision were
certainly helpful, but they would have been perfect when I was 22!”
Pete relied heavily on the books to get a grasp of the Five O’Clock Club
methodology. “The books are excellent—on a scale of one to five, they’re a
five. Chip is a five also.”
With so many years in his field, Pete
decided to use his network of contacts to get meetings, and it turned out
that a trade show encounter—with people he already knew—proved crucial in
landing his new position. He chatted with a couple of representatives of
Edgar Online at the Securities Industry Association trade show. “I told
them I was exploring the financial information services market, and one of
them suggested that he call her in a few days because she knew of an
opening at the company.” Pete’s interest was high; he considered Edgar
Online a good fit because it is in the business of selling SEC documents
and fundamental data, both of which he had worked with extensively in his
career.
“The Seven Stories Exercise and
Forty-Year Vision
gave me focus.
I wish I had done them when I was 22!”
Pete was called in for an interview with the man
who ended up being his manager. The day after the interview, Pete sent an
email thanking him for the meeting, and indicating that he would follow up
further in a letter by regular mail. For the letter he followed Five
O’Clock Club advice about doing more than expressing thanks for the
meeting. “The influencing letter is a great idea,” Pete acknowledges. “I
put a lot of thought into it. I summarized the meeting and my strengths
and pointed out what I could do for the organization. My new boss said to
me, ‘Thank your for pursuing us.’ He took the formal letter as a very good
sign that I was interested and that I could do things for them.” The
process took a couple more interviews and a few more weeks, but Pete
landed the job. He is now Assistant Vice President of Corporate Sales,
working with sales reps to bring in new datafeed business, and also
managing existing accounts.
“Keep in mind what the company needs. Think broadly
about how you can be of service to them.”
While Pete played the end-game well, he credits
the role of interview preparation. “Following the format of the books was
very helpful, as was the Two-Minute Pitch. I’d not done something like
that in my previous job searches. The group was helpful for practicing the
pitch.” He attended the Penn Station Branch of the Club for two months,
participating in Chip Conlin’s small group—and he saw Chip for five
private sessions as well. To other job hunters, Pete advises, “Keep at it,
keep at the networking,” and, speaking as one whose career focus has been
financial data, he notes the value of research: “Use the web to keep
up-to-date on companies in the industries you’re looking at. Use Google to
keep a watch on the people and companies you’re interested in.”
“The influencing letter is a great idea. I put a lot of
thought into it.”
Being
Ready for Luck
We know from our work with
thousands of job hunters that a few searches require months of blood,
sweat and tears, while others appear to be a cakewalk. But even an easy
stroll to a new job can demonstrate the truth that luck favors the
prepared. And Heather knows that she probably landed her new job easily,
because she had been well grounded in the Five O’Clock Club methodology.
Unemployed as a result of a downsizing, she had been attending her group
faithfully, but, due to family reasons, had not been pursuing her search
aggressively. Part of being prepared for the rigors of job search, of
course, is attitude, and Heather’s coach, Bill Belknap helped her get to
the right place emotionally. “You’re never prepared psychologically for a
job search and I might have wanted to indulge myself with self-doubts.
Bill didn’t ignore these; he addressed them as normal feelings, then I was
able to move on, which was extremely helpful. Bill was very focused,
knowledgeable and reliable. He gave excellent advice.”
“Hearing what others had
to say got me going
for
the week.”
The group played its role too in her being ready
when the right opportunity presented itself. “The group was motivational
because the information that people provided was very useful. Hearing what
others had to say, what they were doing, the things they were
encountering—all this was very specific and helpful. This was what got me
going for the week.”
Heather’s luck took the form of a chance
encounter with a former colleague while shopping, which resulted in an
invitation to send her résumé—which then resulted in three interviews and
a job offer. But was it all so easy as might seem at first glance? Heather
points out that the situation developed in her favor because of three
principles stressed by the Five O’Clock Club. “It was most helpful,” she
points out, “to know that you can negotiate the job. I would have walked
away from a number of opportunities, including the one I ultimately got,
because they started talking about jobs I really wasn’t all that
interested in.” To overcome this, she points out, “I played the role of
the consultant, as opposed to focusing on my needs. I stayed focused on
the company’s goals and they ended up being really impressed—but you have
to work at that. And, by the way, you can’t respond immediately when they
try to start talking about salary.” The third factor that helped her get
the offer was to do a short-term research project for her prospective
boss. “This reminded her of the quality of my work,” Heather says, “and
her colleagues got to see me in action.”
She recalls that, after
dropping off her résumé initially, she was even hesitant to make the
follow-up phone call. “It doesn’t feel good to make those calls,
even in a case like this where she had asked for my résumé. But Bill kept
saying to me, ‘Make the call, make the call!’ So I strongly recommend that
job hunters do that. And when you get in for the meetings keep in mind
what the company needs. Think broadly about how you can be of service to
them. Make them realize that you’re valuable.”
“It was most helpful to know that you can negotiate the
job.”
Making
an Internet Lead Work: A Smart Cover Letter…and Follow-up
For a lot of people, an Internet job search means
finding and clicking—that is, they scan job postings and mindlessly click
to submit their résumés to dozens or even hundreds of companies.
Frustrated HR officers check their full in-boxes and wonder, “Did these
people even bother to read the ad?” Perhaps because she is an HR
professional, Jasmine knew better when the time came for her to look for a
job. She found an Internet posting at a not-for-profit organization that
looked perfect for her, so she followed Five O’Clock Club advice on cover
letters. When she clicked “send” she included a letter that drew attention
to the exact match between the job requirements and her accomplishments.
And she followed up immediately by telephone, since she was scheduled to
leave town just two days later. She wanted to confirm that her documents
had been received, and let the HR officer know that she was going to be
unavailable for a week.
“I got back on a Tuesday,” Jasmine
reports, “and the next day I got a call to come in for an interview on
Thursday. I met for an hour with the woman who turned out to be my boss.
The chemistry was great, we really hit it off.” As soon as she got home
she wrote a solid letter detailing how she could help, and sent it along
with an article covering one of the topics discussed during the meeting.
Jasmine feels this follow-up helped advance the process: “I was called for
the second interview, and the following Tuesday I met with two more
people. As soon as I got home I emailed my comments and thanks, and by the
end of the day I got a call offering me the job.”
She included a letter that drew attention
to the
exact match between the job
requirements and her accomplishments.
Jasmine attended the Club for 13 sessions, hardly
missing a meeting. She was in coach George Hahn’s small group. “Jasmine
attended every week,” George recalls, “and from the very first it was all
about the fundamentals. She worked on her résumé, her marketing action
plan and Two-Minute Pitch. She generated interviews and learned how to use
the consultant approach. She did a wonderful job of applying the
methodology.”
It is important to note that Jasmine’s search took
place during the summer. “Don’t give up during the summer,” she urges.
“It’s not a time to get discouraged. I enjoyed the support from the group
and George. It really helped me.”
Aim for the company, not the job. If they don’t
have a job for you now, they may later on. Keep in contact with those you
met.
Aim
for the Company, Not the Job: Stay in Touch
We’ve always encouraged job-hunters to attend their groups
consistently, because skipped sessions can mean losing momentum. Although
Walter lost his job as a publishing production manager in a downsizing in
January, he didn’t put his search into gear until April. But then he did
attend ten sessions in a row, and met as well with his private coach, Ruth
Robbins. After the tenth session he was able to return to report on his
successful search.
“When I finally got down to business in
April,” Walter says, “I met with Ruth and we charted what I was aiming
for. In the beginning it was hard to push myself to meet people. I spent
more time in the library than I ever wanted to—it’s very quiet there.”
Walter confesses that, with “traditional channels, ads and the Internet, I
had no luck at all. So I got to work networking. I have lot of contacts.”
And he found that the Club’s advice “aim for the company, not
the job” paid off. He was encouraged by a networking contact to interview
for a job he knew he wasn’t qualified for, at a major publishing firm.
This interview, indeed, was a flop, but he stayed in touch with the
company—and was invited back for another interview when an appropriate job
in production came along. After a series of meetings, he landed the job,
which gives him visibility and the chance to work with a people.
Ruth valued Walter in her group for his consistency and sense of
humor: “It was wonderful having him take part every week.” Walter points
out that “everyone goes through the peaks and valleys. The great thing
about the whole Five O’Clock Club experience is the feeling that there’s
continuity. You’re not out there by yourself. If you have some
uncertainty, you can always bounce it off the others.” He also now values
networking more so than he did before: “Stay in touch with the friends in
your network. This is a life skill to help you carry on.”
“In the beginning it was hard to push myself to meet
people. I spent lots of time in the library. It’s very quiet there.”
Keeping Up the Good Work
When Gerard came back
to the weekly meeting to report on his successful job search he had just
accepted a part-time consulting assignment—so he shared suggestions for
maintaining momentum in the market. His new consulting job had, in fact,
resulted from a networking meeting he had gone to months earlier. He
admits that he didn’t keep in touch as faithfully as he should have, but
even so he received an email asking if he were still available. “I always
push for the face-to-face meeting,” Gerard points out, “so I called right
away to arrange a time to go in. A week later I started on the
job.”
Gerard’s job-hunt fell during the summer months, and he
learned the value of the Club’s advice about not giving up because of the
season. “Make sure you keep networking during the summer,” he insists.
“When September comes, the hammer will fall and everybody will be out
there looking. So it’s very, very important to try to get those 6 to 10
things in the works. For me, this was not only for practical reasons, but
just to keep my sanity during the summer.” This activity, in fact, lead to
interviews, and at the time he started the consulting assignment, he still
had several other opportunities pending.
“The whole Five O’Clock Club experience is the feeling
that you’re not
out there by yourself.”
But there are dead-ends to avoid. As an IT
specialist himself, Gerard had this warning: “My advice to IT people
especially is to get off the job boards. Trying to fit yourself into those
little niches is a waste of time. Use other methods for getting those 6 to
10 things going.” In reviewing other Five O’Clock Club techniques that had
proved useful, Gerard suggested: “Use the books and plagiarize the
templates for the cover letters. Act like a consultant, which means
anticipating the needs of the companies you’re talking to. And you’ve got
to keep repeating what you can do. You’ve got to remember what good
trainers do: They say, ‘This is what I’m going to tell you,’ then they
tell you and review what they’ve told you. That’s what to do in your cover
letters and follow-up letters.”
Gerard attended 14 sessions at
the Grand Central Branch, and was in coach Jim Borland’s group. Jim
pointed out that Gerard had finished his college degree during his job
search. “His energy was tremendous,” Jim commented. “He worked very hard
and was really a great help to other people in the group.”
“Get off the job boards. Use other methods for getting
those 6 to 10 things going.”
Finding Out Their Objections
At the time
Loretta accepted her new job she had ten possibilities in the works and
two other offers. “This method really works,” she commented, “but the most
important three words I can say to you are ‘persistence, persistence,
persistence!’” One of her three offers, for example, had resulted from an
interview that took place six months earlier, “But I kept in touch with
the hiring manager every month.” This is what the Club means by being in
Stage 2: keeping in touch with people who have liked you—and can hire
you—on an ongoing basis.
Persistence must, of course, be
accompanied by substance, and Loretta left nothing to chance. When she
landed the interview that put her on the path to her new job—through a
former colleague—she knew she had a weakness, as well as the obvious
strength that she was coming in on a favorable recommendation. Loretta’s
specialty is fund-raising for hospitals, but this new opportunity
encompassed handling public affairs as well. “That was not something I was
so confident about,” Loretta admits, so she knew she had to do some
research. She called a friend whose specialty is public affairs and said,
“I need five key talking points about public affairs to help get me ready
for this interview.” Armed with new information and insights, she went for
the meeting, and “I knew I’d made a hit.” So much so that she was called
back for a second interview with four people.
She wanted this job enough to do exactly what the Club
recommends: find out what the problem is!
After the meeting, she followed up by telephone
with the person who had arranged the interview, pointing out that she
would soon have to make decisions: “I’m getting close to some other
things, but I’m really excited about this.” The answer she got sounded
very much like a rejection: “Loretta, I’m not sure what’s going on here,
but you shouldn’t turn anything else down.” Loretta wanted this job enough
to do exactly what the Club recommends: find out what the problem
is! She called her original contact to help get feedback and shortly
got the information she needed: some of the people on the second interview
wanted to hire her on the spot, but others felt she had talked too
much!
“It’s not enough to
interview. You’ve got to probe.
You have to be so proactive.”
Loretta called back and asked for another meeting:
“You know, last my interview was very rushed and I was so excited at the
time. There are more questions I have about the job.” She was given the
benefit of the doubt and invited back—and made sure she didn’t dominate
the conversation. In other words, she overcame the talked-too-much
objection—and she got the offer.
“It’s not enough to interview,”
Loretta advises. “You’ve got to probe. You have to be so proactive, and do
whatever it takes to keep up your confidence.” And as her group coach
pointed out, nothing builds confidence more than having ten possibilities
in the works as you go in for closing interviews.
Career Change: Creating the
Perfect Job for Himself
“When I go to bed at night,” Pete Ice says, “I’m so
excited about getting up for work the next morning that I can’t get to
sleep. I sometimes have to get up and watch TV to settle down.” This is
the happy ending that Pete could not have foreseen when he first lost his
job in a downsizing. He admits that he was “angry at the world for the
first few weeks, and I wasn’t very open to coaching.” But he agreed to
begin working with his coach, Suzanne Harwood. “She didn’t want to hear my
complaining—she wanted me to get on with finding my next job.”
“I’m so excited about
getting up for work that
I
can’t get to sleep at night.”
But there was something about the shock of being
unemployed that worked in Pete’s favor. In short order, he came to look
upon this twist of fate as an opportunity. “I wanted to think outside the
box. It’s too easy to just continue what you have been doing. For thirteen
years I’d been selling educational products to schools, but my gut said
‘there’s a bigger purpose.’ I was in the field by default because it had
been my first job.” One thing that emerged from Pete’s assessment was his
love for houses. “Suzanne and I looked at the various industries and areas
of industries where this might apply, and we thought I should explore
becoming a home inspector.”
“My coach didn’t want to hear my complaining—she wanted
me to get on with finding my next job.”
Fortunately, Pete has a relative back in
Minnesota, where he was raised, who has been in real estate sales for
thirty years. He set up a meeting with her, which turned out to the one of
those rare life-altering events. “You’d make a fabulous inspector, Pete”
she told him, “but most real estate agents already have good inspectors
they rely on and the income will always be in a certain range. Our family
has been in this community for 120 years. I’m here to answer questions and
be your mentor. You’ve been a salesman for 13 years—you should think about
real estate sales.” Pete did think about it, for about six hours, as he
recalls. “Then the light bulb went on… ‘oh my gosh, this is it,’ I said,
‘I’m going in this direction.’”
Suzanne’s reaction was one of
caution, since real estate sales is one of the toughest fields for people
to get into—and survive for more than a few months. Pete was determined,
but he also saw the wisdom of doing as the Club suggests, namely, talk to
people in the industry as a reality check. His relative/new mentor helped
him get a meeting with the head of the largest real estate firm in
Minnesota, Edina Realty.
Suzanne helped him prepare the list of
questions to ask: What’s it like to be in real estate sales? What do you
see in people who are successful? (And in those who aren’t
successful?) What are your expectations for new hires? “Suzanne
coached me on how to approach it all as a consultant, and the interviewer
was impressed with how I handled myself. He told me they would love to
have me on board as soon as I passed the real estate exams.” But Pete
wanted other opinions as well. Altogether, he met with eight other real
estate agents, some of whom had been in the business for less than two
years. “They told me,” he remembers, “that they struggled the first year.
It’s all about hard work.”
“I would tell anyone to use job search as a time to
really create a vision for
the rest of your life.”
Pete finished his licensing courses and went to
work for Edina. And he remembered the Five O’Clock Club message about
right attitude and correct positioning. “At my first big open house, I
wasn’t saying to myself, ‘I am a brand new agent who hasn’t done a deal
yet.’ Rather my attitude was ‘I am the best and the brightest and I’m the
top selling agent on Lake Minnetonka!’ It’s all about confidence.” And
after his first full year in the business he can look back with
satisfaction: “My boss can’t believe it,” he reports, “I’m on course to
triple what is expected of new agents.” He expects to do more than $7
million in sales by the end of his first year.
Reflecting on his
Five O’Clock Club experience, Pete especially credits his work with his
coach: “Suzanne was phenomenal. She’s the one who picked up on where I
was—on the rebel side—and challenged me, got me engaged in the process. I
was committed to not just accepting another job. I would tell anyone to
use job search as a time to really create a vision for the rest of your
life.”
If there is something you need to know before an
interview, research it
and be prepared.
Call friends, go to the
library, surf the Internet.
Now firmly settled back home in Minnesota—not
known for its mild winters—Pete’s website is www.anothericehouse.com, and his
firm can be found at www.edinarealty.com
.