SPEAKING FROM EXPERIENCE: ‘V’ is for the victories you make in the job search

By Tom Brophy
In my opinion, victories are the single most important ingredient to the jobless in getting back on track.
   Oh sure, THE JOB, is the goal and the ultimate victory but without little itsy-bitsy wins or victories we simply can’t survive. They are similar to water to us humans in that without them we could die. Yes, die. They are an absolute must in order to recover from the devastation of losing our job. The question becomes, how do I get a victory? We’re so darn busy sending resumes and making phone calls and trying like heck to look normal that we get lost in our rote existence and aren’t aware of what has slowly been happening to us.
   We have slowly and steadily been given doses of rejection caused by the resume, the telephone and the job interview. Since we are allergic to rejection our whole thought process has slowly been put out of kilter. Imagine an imaginary scale inside our brain with two small plates on each side of the scale to maintain balance.
   As weeks go by being jobless one of the plates has slowly but surely become weighted down by REJECTION, thus, putting the scale out of balance. When this happens we are not capable of thinking like we did before we lost our job. The change that I’m referring to happens somewhere between week 12 and 18. What used to be simple everyday decisions now become a chore and almost impossible. Our mind is not clear and we know we’re different but we can’t put our finger on it. We trudge on and on and with each passing day without a victory we get closer and closer to shutting down completely. We find ourselves becoming more and more of a recluse and less and less sure of ourselves.
   How do we stop this downhill spiral? What can we do to get back to thinking clearly? How do we get victories? That is the million-dollar question. Victories are achieved by eliminating doing the things that cause rejection. That means filling the world full of resumes stops immediately. Remember, 92 percent of resumes are never read. If you have sent out 100 resumes out over a three-month period and received 4 responses, the only thing you learned is that 96 people think you don’t have what they want.
   Resumes are deadly. The down side far outweighs the upside. They are vastly over rated as to their importance. This one change will stop the daily doses of rejection that we have been ingesting. By being able to acknowledge and recognize that it has happened is a major step. Watch the length of time we spend on the phone. After 1.5 hours we lose our effectiveness.
   We then have a tendency to speak in a monotone voice and sound like someone who is not very interested in talking. A very good idea is to check your voicemail at home and listen to what you sound like. Is the voice your hearing a voice that exudes confidence and energy? If not, wait until something good happens and then re-record a new message so there is confidence in your voice.
   When making a phone call make sure we know the name of the person we’re trying reach. Ask for them by name. Are they the decision maker? What are you going to say? Why should they want to talk to you? What are you going to bring to the table? You should have done your homework and the first 15 seconds are critical because that’s where you make your impression. Don’t sound like every other Tom, Dick and Harry and say “ I’m calling about the position that you had in the paper”. You have just wasted your time and his. Have an idea ready to give him about his product or a strategy that needs further discussion.
   We also have a tendency to make phone calls out of guilt. We will look at our watch and see it’s 10 a.m. and we feel we must get on the phone and make some calls. We haven’t thought much of who were calling or what we’re going to say but we think we must do this. This exercise leads to rejection because by not being prepared we can feel the animosity on the other end, can’t we? It is painful. So, my question is “why do something that causes pain”. Learning to make upbeat calls and phrases that are not awkward but rather friendly can make your hour on the phone a pleasant experience. By altering your game plan on both the resume and the phone you will eliminate 75 percent of your rejections, thus vastly improving you confidence and in the process creating all important victories along the way.
   Victories are the answer. They are the difference between making it and not making it. They are the single most important things you can do for yourself. There is nothing better than a returned phone call. You were acknowledged as a human being. Is there anyone better to take care of the most important person on earth than you?