Very often we get in on ourselves when we are unemployed (or in Career Transition as I would prefer to call it). We can become bitter and resentful of other people’s success. We look with envy at friends and family members…..oh how easy their lives are we mutter.
However we must stop ourselves doing this and remember that most people pass Failure on the way to success. I am sure that very few friends or family members have lived a life without some heartache and stressful moments.
Even the vast majority of the “Rich and Famous” have struggled with rejection on their long journey to success. Here are some of my favourite examples…..
Walt Disney – was fired by a newspaper editor because, “he lacked imagination and had no good ideas.” After that, Disney started a number of businesses that didn’t last too long and ended with bankruptcy and failure.
Marilyn Monroe - told by modelling agents that she should consider becoming a secretary. She was not polished enough to be a model.
Madonna – served customers at Dunkin’ Donuts while trying to get her break.
Steven Spielberg was rejected from the University of Southern California School of Theatre, Film and Television three times. He eventually attended school only to drop out before finishing.
Messi - was told he was ‘too small to play’ football as a youngster.
Lucille Ball was fired from an ice cream shop for not remembering to add bananas to banana splits.
Mick Jagger used to be a porter in a mental hospital. As a child, he also had a summer job selling ice cream from a refrigerated trolley.
Oprah Winfrey was fired from her job as a television reporter because she was “unfit for TV.”
So make the conscious choice not to waste your time feeling resentful and bitter and look to the future with inspiring eyes!
Still not inspired? Take 15 minutes out to listen to this Steve Jobs talk to students of Stanford University.
So get inspired and remember nothing in life lasts forever….Even in these hard times!
However the speed in which you will get out of these tough times will depend upon the action you take now. As yourself” How am I responding to my current circumstances?
Remember “Life is ten percent what happens to you and ninety percent how you respond to it.” ~ Lou Holtz
Argh….this is always a difficult question to answer at interview. And many people have different ideas on how best to answer this one. Thanks to everyone who suggested it. Click on the video to hear my thoughts.
PS. Sorry for the abrupt end, what you didn’t see was a few hecklers pulling funny faces behind the camera. So I had to transform into Rocky and go and sort them out.
Would love to hear your thoughts on how best to answer this question.
Let me know if you have another question which you dread hearing at interview.
Thanks to Laney for this great question. “Tell me about yourself” is one of those questions that is so broad that we can often end up babbling away and lose our focus. So how should we tackle this question in an interview? Here are a few of my thoughts.
So here is the first question – Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
Despite the dark clouds in the sky I hopped outside to give you my thoughts on how one might answer this question. What are your thoughts? How do you tackle this question at interview?
Welcome to our new series of videos on Interview questions. We want you to tell us about the questions that you struggle with at interview. Do you have any questions you really dread hearing from the interviewers mouth?
Post your questions to our Facebook wall and I will get back to you with some thoughts on how you can answer the question well at your next interview.
Oh yeah and while we are on the subject of interviews, what is the stupidest and most bizzare interview question you have ever been asked?
Here are a few of the craziest I have heard lately:
“Using a scale of 1 to 10, rate yourself on how weird you are.” — Capital One
“How many balloons would fit in this room?” – PricewaterhouseCoopers
“If you were shrunk to the size of a pencil and put in a blender, how would you get out?” — Goldman Sachs
“You have a bouquet of flowers. All but two are roses, all but two are daisies, and all but two are tulips. How many flowers do you have?” — Epic Systems
“If you could be any superhero, which one would you be?” — AT&T
“How do you weigh an elephant without using a scale?” — IBM
“If you had 5,623 participants in a tournament, how many games would need to be played to determine the winner?” – Amazon
“How many bricks are there in Shanghai? Consider only residential buildings.” –Deloitte Consulting
“You have five bottles of pills. One bottle has 9 gram pills, the others have 10 gram pills. You have a scale that can be used only once. How can you find out which bottle contains the 9 gram pills?” –eBay
“How would you market ping pong balls if ping pong itself became obsolete? List many ways, then pick one and go into detail.” – Microsoft
So please leave us a question you would like answered and/or share your opinions and thoughts. Be part of the conversation.
Thanks to everyone at Sunshine 106.8 FMfor inviting me into the studio to talk about Social Media for job seekers.
If you missed the show you can listen to a podast here.
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When: Wednesday, March 30th @ 6.30pm
Price: Admission free, but booking is recommended
Where: Business Library, ILAC Centre, Henry Street, Dublin 1
This Free Workshop will look at how job seekers can use Social Media to find work.
The event will look at 10 steps to find a job using LinkedIn, Twitter for job seekers and can Facebook really help me find a job.
All are welcome to come along to this free event, which is an invaluable opportunity to gain expert advice. However, due to popular demand, booking is recommended, either in person at the Business Information Centre, by telephoning 01 873 3996 or emailing businesslibrary@dublincity.ie.
By now many of you will have seen Myself and John Kamara getting scorched on the Dragons Den. We wanted to let you know our thoughts after the event.
Still up for some more chat?
So where do you think we went wrong?
Finally, I would love your opinion on CareerNews.tv.
Do you think a site that offered video job bulletins (with the latest job vacancies, tips and career events) would add value to your job seeking efforts?
What are your thoughts on online video?
Would you watch a free video on interview techniques before an interview? Would you be interested in viewing videos giving an insight into what it is really like working for various companies?
Thanks to everyone who attended the ‘Getting your HR right’ session at the NCI.
As promised please find my presentation on Recruiting Great People. The slides maybe worth a look for job seeker’s too as you can get an insight into the steps employers take to find the right candidate.
I was hit for six when I found out I was been made redundant. I think I went into complete shock for about 6 weeks. I had been with my company for 3 years and in many ways had become a bit lethargic.
When I awoke from my dormant subdued “shock” phase real anger and resentment set in. Why me?…Poor me…Damn them. After a week of raging anger…..Fear and anxiety arrived. What if I cannot find another job? I am not getting any younger. How am I going to support my family? By this stage I was completely crippled by my own fear. Every ounce of energy I had was sucked into the Fear vacuum. My lack of motivation and my appetite for dreadful day time TV was mind boggling.
About a month later it dawned on me….It was not the Fear that was holding me back, it was the fact that my life had no direction, no shape…..No Structure!
From birth we are shaped into a routine and that never stops. Remember your childhood? School start s at 9am, finishes at 3.30pm, PE on a Wednesday, Dinner at 6, The park on a Sunday, bed by 8pm. Our routine changes somewhat as we grow up, but our reliance on it doesn’t. I remember my last job – I had to be out the door by 8.15pm to catch the 8.20am train. I methodically checked my emails first thing and finished my day off with sales calls (which I hated by the way). I knew where I stood. So what is my point?
Well I realised that in order to get moving again…I needed to structure my day and I created a rigid routine (well not overly rigid).
So what did I do?
I set some ground rules. No TV on between 9am until 5pm. (Many day time sporting events were sacrificed). I ditched the kitchen table as an office and dedicated a space specifically to work. In fact I made myself a little office space behind the TV.(so there was no way I could look at it). This made a big difference as I was not conveniently distracted by laundry or dirty dishes that urgently needed washing.
Bizarrely, one of mv favourite times of the day was when I was commuting to and from work. This was when I planned my day and got my head focused on the tasks that lay ahead. On my way home I had the opportunity to switch off. So I started to get into the habit of going for a 30 minute walk every morning. I grabbed some fresh air and planned my day. At the end of the day I would go out for a quick walk around the local park and celebrate my day’s successes and leave my disappointments behind. This not only made me feel much better in myself, but also lead to a much happier household. – I was more relaxed with my wife and children.
I actually treated my job seeking seriously. I became a proactive job seeker. I attended networking events. I met with agencies face to face and I spent time targeting employers and sending off speculative applications. I also ensured that every application I made was followed up with a phone call. I built a weekly timetable and stuck to a routine.
I was persistent…..many days I had to push myself to get out of bed and did not feel like being a job seeker that day. But I did it and was always grateful for my persistence at the end of the day.
Now I must confess my new routine only lasted 3.5 weeks, as after 5 months of unemployment I was offered a new job opportunity. Believe it or not an even better one than before. So I am now happily adopting a new routine. Bring on the drinks this Friday;)
