The other night, my parents and I hit a local restaurant for happy hour. We ordered a round of drinks at discounted prices and were hoping to get a final round in before the cutoff time (happy hour ended at 6:30). We called the server over at what we thought was the right time and ordered. She went to grab our drinks but came back and said it was two minutes past the cutoff. Drinks were now full price. She asked if we still wanted them. Mind you, we were already eating appetizers and had let her know we would be getting dinner after as well. But she didn’t seem to think we warranted making an exception or even much of an apology. Was the waitress doing her job? Yes. She was following the rules. But let’s be honest: two minutes late seems a little silly. Of course, we still placed our order and it wasn’t a big deal. But it set off alarm bells for me. How often do we follow the rules at the expense of something else, perhaps more important? In this instance, it was at the expense of exceptional customer service. It would have been so easy for her to “wow” us in that moment. She could have come back and said we were past the cutoff but that she was going to try to get an exception from her manager. She would have shown a desire to please us by averting the silly rule and, whether or not the exception was made, we would have felt special. It would have been so easy! This whole experience made me realize something: When you're blindly following orders, you might be doing your job, but you also might be missing the bigger picture. The Trouble with “the Rules” I’m not saying you always have to break the rules (or even bend them) to make people happy. But we all know there is leeway in much of what we do. The rules are there to give us a structure. But sometimes, the rules are just plain silly. I’m talking about more than customer service now. I’m talking about the business rules and processes and systems we follow each and every day. The patterns and routines we accept as simply being “the way we do things.” When we blindly follow, we stop seeing opportunities. We stop seeing inefficiencies. We close ourselves off to “a better way of doing things.” We must be willing to sometimes bend the rules—or break them entirely—and make up new ones for the sake of the customer, or the team, or productivity, or simply for the sake of innovation. There are plenty of reasons. Business is always changing. New circumstances are always surfacing. Every now and again, we have to take a risk and try a new way because the old way no longer makes sense (maybe it never did)… or because it’s downright counterproductive. Let’s face it: If our waitress had even attempted to forego the rules for our second drink order, her tip would have likely reflected it. Our entire customer service experience would have felt different. And isn’t her role (primarily) to provide outstanding customer service? Is that the restaurant’s primary concern? Do you think her manager would have thought twice about making the exception for a table with a bill totaling over $100? If she were thinking in a “big picture” kind of way, it would have been a no-brainer. I bet everyone has an experience like this, where they experienced less-than-exceptional service because of some silly rule. And I bet at least a few of us have had amazing service—the kind you tell your friends about—because someone was willing to “think outside the box” and make an exception to a silly rule. Let’s think about other areas where this concept might apply. Evaluate the rules you live and work by. (Yes, this applies to your personal life as well.) Where have silly rules prevented you from performing at your very best? What rules do you blindly follow at the expense of more important things? What would happen if you offered a new rule? What would happen if you adopted a new rule without anyone granting you permission? Just to be clear, I’m not advocating blind disregard for the rules either. I’m just asking you to think critically before obeying or disobeying… which is sadly rare for many of us. Chrissy Scivicque (pronounced “Civic”), founder of Eat Your Career, is an award-winning freelance writer/editor with a passion for two things: food and helping others. Please visit her website and download her FREE mini-workbook called, "How Nourishing is YOUR Career?" Read more » articles by this approved career expert | Click here » if you’re a career expertImage from Andy Dean Photography/Shutterstock
Is your job search turning into a grind with no end in sight? It may be time to take a step back and reevaluate your entire approach.
In cold weather climates, the beginning of spring is a time to clean the house and get organized—a practice known as spring cleaning. Through the years, spring cleaning has taken on a larger meaning with people using the time to organize and declutter things in their lives.
For professionals on the job hunt, a little spring cleaning (metaphorically speaking) could be a great way to reinvigorate your job search. Here are a few strategies your job search spring cleaning should include.
Reevaluate Your Job Search Approach
BigstockMake a list of the last handful of jobs you applied for and see if you can identify any positive or negative trends. Consider things like:
- How did I learn about this job?
- How did I apply for the job?
- Did I earn an interview?
- What was the ultimate result?
A lot can be learned about your job search approach just by answering these questions and identifying patterns. For example:
Negative Trends
You discovered five jobs through job boards, applied to all of them via the job boards, and never heard back from any of them.
The common pattern here is applying through job boards. This isn't to say that job boards don't serve a purpose in the job search process, but they have their limitations, and you can't run your job search entirely off of them. When you apply through a job board, there's a good chance that your materials will never get past the applicant tracking system (ATS) and never be seen by an actual person.
One simple fix is to research who the hiring manager or recruiter is that posted the position and email your materials to them directly.
The more efficient fix would be to take a proactive approach by putting together a bucket list of companies that you want to work for and start making connections on LinkedIn with people who work at those companies. You may already know some people who work there or have connections that can refer you to some individuals.
This is a great way to network your way onto a company's radar.
Positive Trends
You applied to three jobs via referral, were invited to two job interviews, and made it through multiple rounds of interviews for one of the jobs before being passed over for someone with a little more experience.
The pattern here is that getting referred to a job by a professional acquaintance is a great way to land a job interview. This indicates that you're leveraging your network well and you should continue to focus on your networking efforts.
The next step is to review the interview process and determine what went well and what needs to be improved. Sometimes the interviewer will provide feedback, and that feedback can be valuable. However, not everyone is comfortable with giving feedback.
Chances are you probably have a good idea about areas of improvement and the skills you need to gain. Put together a plan for addressing those shortfalls.
The good news in making it deep into any interview process is that it indicates that the company likes you as a potential employee (even if the timing just wasn't right) and the experience could be a roadmap to a job with that company at a later date, or another similar opportunity elsewhere.
Give Your Resume & Cover Letter Some Much-Needed Attention
BigstockAre you continuously sending similar resumes and cover letters to each job opening with only minor adjustments? If so, your strategy needs some serious spring cleaning.
Let's start with resumes!
Every resume should be tailored to the position in order for it to stand out to recruiters and hiring managers. It may seem like a lot of work, but it's actually less work than submitting the same resume over and over again and never hearing back.
The reason why it's so important to tailor your resume is that throughout your career, you acquire numerous skills, but the job you're applying for may only be focusing on 6-8 of those skills. In that case, those skills must rise to the top of the resume with quantifiable examples of how you successfully used those skills at previous jobs.
Remember, recruiters go through hundreds of resumes. They need to be able to tell from a quick glance whether or not you're a potential candidate for the position.
While updating your resume, you could also spruce up your LinkedIn profile by highlighting the skill sets that you want to be noticed for by recruiters.
As for writing a good cover letter, the key to success is writing a disruptive cover letter. When you write a disruptive cover letter, you're basically telling a story. The story should focus on how you connect with the particular company and job position. The story could also focus on your personal journey, and how you got to where you currently are in your career.
If your resumes and cover letters aren't unique, now is the time to clean things up and get on track.
Build Your Personal Brand
Just because you're looking for work doesn't mean that you don't have anything to offer. Use previous career experiences and passions to build your personal brand.
Ask yourself, "How do I want other professionals to view me?"
Pick an area of expertise and start sharing your knowledge and experience with your professional network by pushing out content on your LinkedIn and social media accounts. Good content can include blogs, social media posts, and videos.
By sharing content about your experiences and passions, you slowly build your personal brand, and others will start to notice. The content could lead to good discussions with others in your network. It could also lead to reconnecting with connections that you haven't spoken to in years, or making new connections.
You never know when one of these connections could turn into a job lead or referral. The trick is to get on people's radars. So, when you're cleaning up your job search, be sure to build a plan for personal branding.
Maintain Healthy Habits During Your Job Search
BigstockYour job search is important, but it's even more important to know when to pull back and focus on personal health and spending time with family and friends.
There are actually things that you can do for your own enjoyment that could help your job search in the long run, such as:
- Grab coffee with a friend - It's good to engage in light conversation with friends during challenging times. And if your job search does come up, remember that most people have been through it themselves and you never know when a friend may provide you with a good idea or lead on a job.
- Volunteer - Volunteering is a great way to get involved in the community and help others. In addition, if you develop a little bit of a career gap while looking for a job, you can always talk about how you filled that time volunteering, if you're asked about it during a job interview.
- Continue to focus on other passions - Are you a fitness nut? Blogger? Crafter? Continue to do the things that bring you happiness. And if you're in a position to profit from your passion through a freelance job or side hustle, even better!
Spring is the perfect time to clean up and improve your job search so you can land the job you want. If you're struggling to find a job, follow the tips above to reinvigorate your job search—and watch your career blossom!
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This article was originally published at an earlier date.