The Exclusive Career Coach Lesa Edwards

This week’s episode features my guest, Bob Tiede. Bob is a 20-year of the U.S. Leadership Development Team of Cru (formerly known as Campus Crusade for Christ). He has written six books including “Great Leaders Ask Questions” and “Now That’s a Great Question.”  We talk about the importance of asking great questions as a leader. If you aren’t yet in a leadership role, he also offers great questions to ask of your leader.  Bob gives you his favorite leadership questions and why they are so effective.  You can subscribe to Bob’s blog, LeadingWithQuestions.com.  To check out Bob’s free e-books: https://leadingwithquestions.com/books/ (https://leadingwithquestions.com/books/)  Are you in the wrong job that chips away at you every day? The document and coaching programs offered by Exclusive Career Coaching will help you find a job that uses your zone of genius, recognizes your value, and pays you what you’re worth.  If you’re ready to take your job search to the next level by working with a highly experienced professional with a track record of client success, schedule a complimentary consult to learn more:  https://calendly.com/lesaedwards/zoom-meetings2 

A concept that I think about A LOT as a small business owner is that a person has to know, like, and trust me in order to buy from me.  How does this play out in my world? As the person selling a service to someone, people need to know...

A listener reached out to me about this topic and it resonated with me. At the beginning of the year, I started casually looking for a part-time job in Tallahassee – not so much for the money as for the human interaction. As a solopreneur working from home, I feel pretty isolated. I thought a few hours a week would help me meet some new people, possibly make some new friends, and have more human contact.  I set up a search on Indeed.com – and what I’ve received since then has been pretty pathetic. Granted, I didn’t do much to refine my search because I was open to any number of things. Mostly what I knew was what I DIDN’T want – full-time, inflexibility with my schedule, being a front-line contact for people.  I got custodial jobs, server jobs, and delivery driver jobs. Of course, these are important roles and someone needs to do them – just not me.  So when the listener suggested this title, I put it on my list of topics I wanted to explore for an upcoming episode. So here goes.  What exactly are you looking for? Some definitions are in order. There are professional part-time jobs for people who want to pursue an opportunity within their career field – just not on a full-time basis. They could be downshifting into retirement, raising children, or helping with an elderly parent.  Then there are part-time jobs for professionals – perhaps to make a bit more money, to (like me) fulfill an unmet need in their regular job, or to pursue a passion.  It is important for you to assess why you want a part-time job and what your non-negotiables are for that job – just as you should do for a full-time position.   Where should you look? Most job boards have a filter for part-time positions, so you’ll want to utilize that. When I tried LinkedIn, I was able to filter for part-time, mid-senior level, and in-person; I could have also filtered for a salary range.  I tried this out on Indeed as well, but wasn’t able to simultaneously filter for as many criteria as with LI. With part-time, I couldn’t find a way to also search for a type of job – and when I did, it reverted to full-time positions. Perhaps Indeed isn’t the best place to look for a professional part-time job, but could work if you are looking for a part-time job as a professional.  I didn’t try other mainstream online sites, but most if not all of them should have the part-time filter – the question is what other filters you can engage at the same time.  There are also sites that cater to part-time work, like flexjobs.com. Many sites have cropped up since Covid specifically for remote work, so if that’s what you are looking for, here are a few good ones: -remote.co-ratracerebellion.com-weworkremotely.com There is also the gig economy with sites like Upwork if you have a skill set that lends itself to this type of work.  I want to briefly mention turning a hobby or passion into something you get compensated for. When I was in higher education, I started a jewelry business – I had no background in it but started beading and fell in love. I quickly realized I could either have a very expensive hobby or start selling my work and so I did. It was time-consuming and in no way easy, but very flexible and it provided a creative outlook my job just didn’t.  I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the option of multilevel marketing – now often referred to as network marketing or direct selling. While this industry is often painted with the broad-brush stroke of pyramid schemes, many are legitimate and it can be a very flexible source of additional income. Because it is commission-based, this might be a better option for someone who doesn’t have to rely on a certain amount of steady income.

I want to start this episode by debunking a myth out there that you can NEVER, EVER say anything negative about your current/former employer or boss in a job interview. Under no circumstances. Full stop. I’ve coached hundreds of clients on how to improve their interviewing skills. In my career in higher education, I interviewed dozens of job candidates and helped hundreds of college students prepare for their first-ever job interviews. Early in my career as an Area Training Coordinator for the now-defunct Eckerd Drug Company, I represented the company on college campuses, interviewing seniors for positions as Assistant Managers.  All of that is to say I have a great deal of experience in this arena, and what I’ve come to understand is EXACTLY where that line – what negative information you should/shouldn’t say – is.  Why would you even bring up something negative? Because it’s the truth – and because you can’t fully tell your story without that truth. This will become clearer in my examples.  Facts, not gossipHere’s exactly where that line between facts and gossip is: State the facts of the situation, with absolutely no negative emotion or unfavorable characterizations.  Where we get into trouble in job interviews is when we start placing value judgments, criticism, and negative energy around something negative that happened.  And while I want you to tell the truth – I DON’T necessarily want you to tell the WHOLE truth. What you say should be correct, but you can and should leave out parts that don’t present you or your former employer in a positive light.   Example #1 – You are asked “Why did you leave your most recent role?” Here’s the truth: You left because you found out some things about the boss that were, at best, unflattering, and at worst, illegal. Your boss confronted you about what you knew and wanted to fire you. You convinced him to let you quit in exchange for not pursuing legal action against the company for wrongful termination. He told you the company would give you a neutral reference if called.  Here’s an option: “I quit because I found out some things that were happening at the company that were against my professional morals, and I could not in good conscious remain there.” Why this response works: Because you are showing evidence of high moral character. You are not giving any specifics about what you found out – nor will you if probed with further questions. This answer also works because it is a concrete reason to leave a position, as opposed to a vague response such as “I wanted to pursue other opportunities.”  This answer gives them a satisfactory response and a reason to move on, whereas something vague like pursuing other opportunities might very well raise their BS antennae.  Where you get into trouble: “My boss was cheating on his wife AND stealing from the company – and I found out! He was furious and tried to fire me. I convinced him to let me quit instead, or else I told him I would sick my lawyer on him.”   Example #2 – Your application indicates you were terminated from your most recent role and the interviewer asks you about this.  Here’s the truth: Your former employer fired you to make way for a younger, less expensive version. You decided not to pursue legal action.  Here’s an option: “In a cost-cutting measure, the company chose to replace me with a more entry-level candidate.” I would absolutely follow this answer up with “I am looking for a company that values my experience and skills.

If you listen to this podcast on a regular basis, you know that many of my topics come from clients – what they are struggling with, the questions they are asking me. Today’s topic is one such example.  Two of the things I hear most frequently relative to networking is:  #1 – I don’t know very many people #2 – I only know people in my job function/industry, and that’s no help to me because I want to pivot As a reminder, here are my definitions: A career pivot is like a pivot in basketball – you keep one foot on the floor when you aren’t dribbling the ball. A career pivot means you are either keeping a foot in your job function or your industry – and pivoting out of the other.  An example of pivoting out of your industry might be changing from a human resources director at a hospital to HR director at an automobile manufacturing plant.  A pivot out of your job function might be moving from IT at a tech company into a sales role at a different tech company.  A career reinvention means you are moving both feet – to a new career function AND a new industry. An example would be changing from a marketing executive at a CPG company to do Foundation work at a university.  So back to “I don’t know anyone” and “I only know people in my job function/industry.” Here are my strategies:  You DO Know People…More Than You ThinkA good way to begin to grasp your true network is to jump on LinkedIn and a) review your existing connections for growth possibilities there, and b) connect with people you haven’t yet connected with. Keep in mind that you don’t have to already know these people – your invitation to connect is you saying that you WANT to get to know them.  To review your existing connections, use the Advanced Search function. Rather than giving the steps here, which will likely change in the not-too-distant future, reach out to me if you don’t know how to use this resource.  One you’ve opened the filters, select “2nd connections” and put in the name of your connection you want to review. This will open up all of this connection’s connections, which you can then mine for possibilities.  I recommend a message something like this: “I see we’re both connected to Jim Smith, one of my former colleagues. Let’s connect!”  This previous method works from who you are already connected with. Let’s say you also want to connect strategically with people who work in a certain company, hold a certain job title, or have worked there or held that title. The Advanced Search function comes into play here, as well.  If you want to find the Director of Operations for ABC Company, used the Advanced Search function with the filters of Current Company and Job Title.  You message for this situation might be: “I see we both used to work at XYZ company – let’s connect!” OR “I am impressed by the level of engagement you have on LI – let’s connect!”  If you are going to use the approach of commenting on some aspect of their profile, you MUST customize this so they know you’ve actually looked at their profile. Nothing as generic as “Great profile – let’s connect!”  Notice that with all of these messages, I am not revealing my true intentions. Any sales person will tell you that someone has to know, like, and trust you to buy from you – and the people you are connecting with don’t know you and therefore can’t like or trust you yet.  Come up with a 3-to-4 step approach with these connections, starting with your invitation to connect. Then perhaps your next communication, which should be once they accept your invitation, is to ask them a soft-pitch questions they are uniquely qualified to answer,

Let me start today’s episode by saying loud and clear: EVERYONE has setbacks and obstacles in their career. NO ONE has a perfectly linear journey, where they leave each job at the height of achievement, only to land in an even better job – no gaps i...