Teaming with Others Often Strengthens Your Chances for Success
As the month of February begins, I turn the page on my “Motivations” calendar for 2012 and am greeted with a team of stampeding horses galloping along a snowy plain. Underneath the picture lies the following quote, “A dynamic team is unstoppable.” Certainly it would take a very brave soul to stand in front of this charge of majestic animals. However, often times when we’re faced with the challenges of our life, we can often feel that we are up against impossible odds to help address the situation at hand. When we choose to go up against those obstacles individually, we often make the situation that much more difficult for ourselves.
One of the first things I try to emphasize with the job search and career change candidates that I coach is to not try to go through the search process alone. In fact, those who have chosen to reach out and work with a coach have taken a big first step in realizing their search is strengthened by having a partner to work with to whom they are accountable. However, even working with a coach one on one is only the start of the job search candidate building that “dynamic team” for themselves.
To the job searcher looking to make a significant impact in terms of the effectiveness of their search, anyone they come in contact with is a potential member of their job search team. While the searcher always keeps control of all aspects of their search, they are aware that it is through others they will learn of potential leads, be referred to resources who may help further their search and that it is essential that they are talking to potential hiring managers, as opposed to sitting back and waiting for others to contact them. In the past I have referred to the four contact methods of how individuals move their search forward. Those four are direct contact, networking, search firms and ads. The Five O’Clock Club’s career search and outplacement services studies they have conducted with their clients, show that 80% of their attendees wind up landing positions through either the direct contact or networking approach. These two approaches have more impact because they put the job searcher in the role of initiating the action in their search, as opposed to sitting back and waiting for responses dependent on the actions of others.
Those who have not had to face the prospect of searching for employment for a number of years or have recently started the search process are amazed to see the number of support groups that are available for job seekers. While some are sponsored by government agencies many start as “grass roots” initiatives. One such effort that I have become familiar with in my own home state is called “Neighbors Helping Neighbors”. Starting in one local library with a group of job seekers looking to pool their experiences together to learn from each other and help each other in their respective searches, it has now expanded to be a fixture in over a dozen libraries around my state. In its year of existence almost 40 of its attendees have landed employment by helping each other through the search process. Many of those who have been attendees continue with the organization as facilitators to help others navigate a process that they themselves have just completed experiencing.
While there may be honor in standing up alone in the face of adversity, it does not hurt to have assistance. No one person has all the ideas and answers. Those clients that I work with in one on one career coaching scenarios will point out to me that I may often think of an approach that helps add to their search strategy that they may have forgotten. Others can put a different perspective on an approach that you may have dismissed or felt did not work. When a team works well together, no matter what the endeavor, it can lessen its chances of being stopped at the early roadblocks that may occur.
If you have been struggling through an adverse situation in your life, (whether it is in job search or in some other aspect), consider seeking out other team members to work with through the situation. Yes, you still own the choices along the way as to how your issue is best solved to your satisfaction. However, moving from a mindset that you must have all the answers to one which allows you to come to them with the input and assistance of others is a very empowering experience. Consider such an approach as you look to “stampede” forward through the challenges you face in 2012.
