The Carnival's In Town!

posted by Waffles

Being in a job search can sometimes feel like a trip to the carnival:

• They have a gut wrenching roller coaster with extreme twists and turns
• Side shows include Carney Barkers and it’s all about the money (yours, leaving your wallet):
• Games of Chance!
• Games of Skill!
• Games of Strength!
• Goofy, worthless prizes!
• There’s always the Freak Show, and these babies are the real thing!
• Don’t forget the Music Express, the superfast cars where you’re always stuck going as fast as you can in back of a random person who got there ahead of you, blasted with noise and shooting round and round in a circle, ending up where you started, dizzy and worn out with nothing to show for it.
• Hey, there’s always the Bumper Cars! No insurance on those babies, by the way, but it’s all in fun!
• Speaking of fun, there’s the Fun House, the House of Horrors and industry specific closed loop rides designed to thrill for a minute with illusion and tricks then tempt you to ride again.
• Don’t eat the cotton candy: looks pretty, mostly air and the rest is empty calories. Don’t you remember some job interviewers that fit that description closely?
• Ever wonder what they really put in hot dogs? The executive level job search of 2009 often resembles a sausage factory, so you’re likely to find out.
  So, what’s a poor Job Seeker to do with this circus parade (oh, I didn’t mention the clowns, but we’ll save that for the “Job Search is like a Day at the Circus” blurb)?
  Here’s some well worn and time tested Barrett pearls to add to your necklace:
• It’s not the prize, it’s the game. When you find yourself aiming a metaphorical air rifle at a rusty metal allegorical hinged groundhog, forget about the proverbial stuffed toy. Hey, you threw on the suit, or new dress (or branded sneakers nowadays) and fired up the ol’ GPS to get to the place, you’re there, so you might as well have a great time meeting some new people and learning what their deal might be. Okay, maybe you don’t get the job offer, maybe you don’t want to work there, maybe you took a left turn into the Freak Show by mistake. Sit back, make sure you’re belt is on tight and enjoy the ride. People are people, you never know…
• Reality, life and business are on separate orbits around the sun. This central, inescapable truism should really get more press, but its underlying stark principle might be missed by the Spastically Occupied Job Seeker (we call them SOJS, because the world needs more four letter anagrams to balance out all the 3’s). Here’s the deal: you cannot control that which is beyond your control, but you can make informed, responsible, inspired choices. You are not your job, career, name or address, you are more than that. You are a shining, perfect Creature of God, tossed on this random rock for a truly Divine Purpose which you may never understand. It’s okay. As a matter of statistically proven, scientifically derived fact, it’s all okay. So don’t sweat it, learn from it, enjoy it or do something else. At Barrett (we are, after all, CareerChange.com!), we have helped many, many professionals and executives do just that: something else.
• The Zen of the Search. True wise men and wisewomen (as opposed to wise guys)tell you what you already know but need to hear. You can tell with a simple litmus test: true wisdom embarrasses; the real deal never elicits “Why didn’t I think of that?”, it’s more “I knew that…musta forgot”. You’ve heard it a thousand times, because it’s true. Become unattached from the goal and it will be achieved. In so many of the searches we manage here at The Barrett Group, our client will be totally overwhelmed and exasperated over having to decide and negotiate three offers that come all at once. When the team pulls her through the crisis and the inevitable happens (she accepts the best offer, based on our criteria, which can include over 100 categories), there is relief, but the euphoria stays on our end of the phone. I wondered for many years why the clients didn’t seem happy when we achieve the success we’re all working towards, but now I know. The offers come when the job seeker is totally at one with the process and has disassociated entirely from the outcome. When the offers pour in and pile up, it’s disconcerting, a distraction, an unplanned interruption from the search. This is an easy attitude to describe, but making the journey to truly get yourself in that mindset can be the greatest challenge in a search.
  I’ll meet you on the midway!