How Doug Got Hired After Two Years of Searching

Dear Liz,

I wanted to write and share my story in case it could be useful for someone else in my situation. I'm an electrician. I worked as a union electrician for twenty years and then moved into a management job running electrical construction and maintenance for my local school district.

I must say I loved my school district job. The people there are great and unlike some general contractors I could mention, they have very high standards for electrical work and every aspect of managing school facilities. I loved visiting schools and working with the rest of the Facilities staff. I thought I was going to retire from that job.

Budget cuts eliminated my job in 2012, putting an end to my plan to retire from the school district. My boss was sorry to see me go but there was no money to keep me on board.

I knew I was going to have a tough time getting a new job.

How many people compete for the few Facilities jobs that come open in city, county and state government? A lot of people are going after too few jobs.

I sent out over 200 resumes, not just in my state but across the Midwest. I have to work so I took a retail job and they were very good to me there. They talked about promoting me but I didn't want to lead them on since I was committed to getting back into my field. I job-hunted with hardly a nibble for two years.

Every single week, no matter what, I sent out a few resumes. I'd estimate that I got one reply, usually an email auto-responder saying "No thanks," for every 50 resumes I sent out. I had a few first interviews and no second interviews - not one.

I'd never heard of you or Human Workplace until my wife turned me on to you. I didn't have a LinkedIn profile. I started reading your columns and I got hooked. Now I read everything you write. I felt like you were talking directly to me.

I knew from experience that the Black Hole recruiting system was broken, but I didn't know what to do about it. I started to follow your advice and change up my job-search approach.

You showed me how to take my career under my own control. My wife says I'm a control freak anyhow so the taking-control approach suited me perfectly!

My wonderful wife bought me a bundle of Human Workplace services for my sixtieth birthday. What an eye-opener! I was halfway out of the box already, and I saw that I was only hurting myself by trying to stick with convention. When it comes to job-hunting, the traditional way is the worst way to go.

I started writing Pain Letters. i put a human voice in my resume like you write about. I got a consulting business card. I wasn't sure what to put on it, so I just used my name and cell phone number, the title "Facilities Management" and the sub-title "Electrical Construction and Maintenance."

I went to every networking event I could, even though I hate those things. I figured I'd be the guy talking to the other people who hate networking events. I made some coffee dates.

I got a consulting job through one of my coffee dates. It was a Chamber of Commerce that has a historic building that hasn't been well maintained. I ran a small renovation project for them and they were pleased. They asked me to consult on some other projects.

Actually this was the first time I've consulted but it felt very natural. The Chamber of Commerce people referred me to the city. They needed someone to take a look at their annual facilities plan.

This was pure consulting with no actual construction to manage. I wasn't sure what to charge them. They asked for my hourly rate.

I asked myself "What would Liz Ryan tell me to say?" and I said "I don't have an hourly rate, but I have a day rate of fifteen hundred dollars."

They didn't blink. In my old job I got paid ninety thousand dollars a year. At my new consulting rate I would make ninety thousand dollars in sixty days. I can see why you always recommend that job-hunters become consultants!

It wasn't just the money. I felt like myself again on those consulting projects. I remembered what I'm good at. I felt like a professional person again, which frankly is not how I felt at my retail job when someone asks me to get a comforter down off the top shelf.

The city people introduced me to a guy who was on the City Council for years. He has a new business designing low-energy lighting systems for factories and offices. I met him once for just a few minutes.

I figured, Why not send him a Pain Letter? I did. We talked on the phone and then set up a face-to-face meeting. Together he and I designed my job as Director of Installation in the company. I started the job three weeks ago.

Liz, I couldn't be happier. I'm back to my old self again. My mojo flame is re-lit, as you would say.

I love the people I work with and I almost whistle going to work every day.

I owe so much to you and your columns for giving me my mojo back. I felt angry, confused and hopeless before I started reading your blogs. Now I know where I'm headed and I know what pain I solve. If you ever need new lighting in your office, allow me to take care of that for you!

All the best,

Doug

Dear Doug,

My Buddhist friends say that everything happens for a reason. No one would have wished those two years of frustrating job-hunting on you, but look how well it all turned out!

You and your wife are the heroes of this saga! You, for stepping out of a box and trying something new, and she, for nudging you to stop beating your head against the wall. After your two years of painful job-hunting, you'll never go to sleep on your career again.

You'll never let your network languish and lose track of the pain you solve. That's the key -- not the job hunt itself or even the wonderful new job, but the muscles you've built for yourself!

I have two assignments for you, Doug. One is to get that LinkedIn profile up and running if you haven't already. Send me a connection invitation!

The second assignment is to write to everyone you met in your job search, and thank them. Tell them where you landed and thank them for their support, even if they didn't really do anything.

That's okay. Tell them that you appreciate having them in your network. Maybe your note will be the spark that grows their mojo just enough to do something nice for the next person they meet, or to take a step for themselves.

Hats off to you, Doug! You are a superstar, and I don't doubt that your story will inspire other job-seekers to give up on the broken traditional approach and step into their power!

Thanks for sharing your story -

Liz