My friend Mark Goldman, owner of MGR Personnel, submitted this to me and gave me permission to share with the San Antonio Jobing community.

The stock market is up about 50% from it’s low earlier this year. You likely have heard that the recession is over on one or more news networks. And yet, unemployment is at the highest it’s been in over 15 years. If you are one of the 9.8% nationally that are unemployed, or one of the fortunate individuals that found a job after a layoff but had to settle for somewhat of a lesser position than you had before, then the recession doesn’t feel quite over for you.

Securing a position in an employment market such as this requires more ‘perfection’ in your approach. Some key items to remember…

Networking. Almost any article you read about a job search will recommend networking. That is because of the simple fact that it works. In a tough job market, it is even more imperative. Simply put, you should let everyone you are acquainted with know that you are on the market and what type of opportunity you are looking for. And in addition, you should work to expand your contacts outside of those people you already know. For friends that you don’t know on a professional level, letting them know that you are looking for a job isn’t enough, you must let them know what you do and what to look out for. Email has made getting your resume out almost effortless. At a minimum you should get your contact information out to as many friends and acquaintances as possible, if not your actual resume. The more people that are aware of your search, the better.

Attitude. The longer your job search takes, the more difficult it can be to maintain a positive, professional, non-desperate attitude. Coupled with this, the truth of hiring is that the factor typically carrying the most weight in the decision as to whether or not you are the candidate that is picked for a particular job is simply the quality of the connection you had with the hiring manager during the screening process. If you come across stressed and frustrated, the interview will be awkward and the connection with the hiring manager will be weak, likely costing you the job. Whatever you do, keep your spirits up. Read positive attitude books and find supportive friends you can talk openly with. If you do not have such a support group, there are local churches that host job seeker groups that assist with advice for job seekers and provide you an environment populated with people in the same career transition situation. It is important to consciously monitor your attitude so that it remains calm and positive. Anything different may cost you the opportunity that you are so diligently working towards.

When searching for a new career opportunity in a difficult economic climate, it takes a high level of mental focus and diligence. As cliché as it sounds though, once you have secured a new position you will likely find yourself in a better position than you were previously sooner than you think. Most people are.

Much success to all in search of their next career opportunity.

Mark Goldman, CPA, is the President/Founder of MGR Personnel, a specialized recruiting firm in San Antonio.

Ever see the sitcom Bob Newhart? Well there was one episode that has been made quite famous. It's known as the "Stop it" episode. You can log onto U-tube and pull it up. It has Bob Newhart in his office with a lady coming in for a counseling session. The jest of the episode is that each time the lady tells Bob about something she is doing, Bob says "Stop it".

Now the reason I reference this is we need to "Stop it" more often. Not meeting goals - Stop it! Not making the calls - Stop it! Not calling our Mothers - Stop it! Not taking time with our children - STOP it!!! Not saying No when we should - STOP it!!! Not... Not ... Not... Stop it!

I know it sounds too simple. I have also come to the conclusion that we over complicate things. Stop it! You say but .. Well Stop it and get your but out of the way. Yeah but the economy. Stop it! No the economy is not going to wait on you. So you just as well get on with whatever it is you need to do. I am speaking to myself as I say all of this. It is so easy to lay blame, give excuses, look the other way, not take responsibility or worst still - give up. STOP IT!!! STOP IT!!!! STOP IT!!!!

If you are in a rut, can't seem to get past a certain level or plateau, then reach out to someone you know who can give you insights to where you are at. Someone who is not going to sugar coat things and open your eyes to the truths of the situation. You have to be ready for what they are going to say. You have to be open to what is said. You have to not hold it against them. Otherwise, it is not going to be worth the words that are spoken. Next be ready to act on the conclusions you come to. If you simply take the information and file it away, did you really accomplish anything?

We are in the fourth quarter of the year. For most of us, it is time to make things happen before December 31st rolls around. If you haven't been tracking yourself and you are behind the curve on hitting your goals - you have some making up to do. That means you've got to STOP procrastinating and make some things happen fairly quickly. The key here is get on with it. Next key is to plan and execute better in the coming year.

Here's to your success in STOPPING IT whatever it is!

This week alone, I think I have heard the phrase "adding value" at least a dozen times. Everyone is needing to add value to this or that. Everyone seems to want more value for their dollar today. I have listened to this and wondered, at what point does a product/or position reach its complete value?

Everything seems to have some type of value. It is a perceived value. The person who is holding the object or receiving the service is determining what the value is to them. The giver of the object or service also has their own idea of what the value is of the object or service. Each can be different. The person who is on the receiving end may evaluate the value much higher than the person who gave it. That is when perceived value is greater than the actual cost of the item or service.

Supply and demand will also play a factor in value. Economics show that when demand is high and supply is limited - value is high. Also, when demand is low and supply is plentiful, the dollar value or perceived value is also low. In the job market, when there are a lot of people on the market in a particular field, the dollar value of those positions go down. When there are few people in the market and there are lots of positions to fill; then, it becomes a bidding war to get the best out of a limited supply.

So if you are looking in the job market and you are trying to set yourself apart from the rest, how do you do it? How do you add more value - without lying - and get the position of your dreams? That is an often asked question. First, you have to have a resume that presents you like a top dollar person in your field. You have to have the skills and experience to back it up. So for starters, take a look at the top people in your field. How do they present themselves? Where did they get their education? How many years of experience do they have and with what types of companies? What in particular sets them apart from everyone else? It's called market research on your part. Once your research is done, then go to work on how do you stack up? How do you present yourself in comparison to these icons in the industry? And now - how are you going to show that you have "the-and-then-some" factor? Also, how are you going to prep yourself for responses? How are you going to prep yourself for the interview? What are the possible questions that will be asked of you? How are you going to respond?

When you have done the research and come up with answers to these questions and scenarios, then you will really be ready to find that dream job.

Here's to your success in adding value to yourself!

It's been one of those days where the boss walked in frowning; couldn't find one good thing to say about anything; spilled  the coffee on today's report while handing it to the boss; a mountain of customer complaints came through and the dog died.  Ever had a day like that? What was your first escape thought? Gee, I have to look for a new job? Or, hum I think I need to call my recruiter and start a search. 

When I was in executive recruitment/coaching, I often received calls from candidates who had just had the worst day/week of their lives.  I would listen to them; ask them pertinent questions to get them to think about why things happened the way they happened and to figure out if there was anything they could have done differently. Many times they would come to the conclusion that yes, there was more they could have done if they would have planned better and not pre-judged some situations. They also admitted to not following-up in a timely manner and to some general sloppy habits they had fallen into. At the end of calls like these, the candidates agreed that the grass is not always greener on the other side. They would thank me for helping them realize that they were reacting to a situation rather than reflecting and responding to the situation.  I would ask them, do you think you are never going to have a bad day at some other company?  Most often they would agree.

In some instances, the candidate would describe situations where they had done everything in their power to make things right, and it still did not work. It came down to either they were not being challenged enough; or they were in a situation where there was a huge personality conflict - culture did not match due to management changes or to changes in their own lives. In these situations, the grass is greener on the other side. They need to make a change and do it pro-actively for themselves and the company they are working for.

It is not an easy process.  However, when a good recruiter is handling situations like these; they will coach the candidate through the thought process and into making the correct decision. As a company doing a search to fill a position; or as a candidate doing a search for a new career path; that is the type of recruiter you want to work with - one who takes themselves out of the picture and asks key questions that get to the root of the situation. A recruiter who is not worried about the immediate dollar but who wants to make the very best match for their client and the candidate. A recruiter who is truly a coach and who has the best interest of all parties foremost in their sights. One who can peek through and see the green fertile pastures for a particular situation - because it just may be your own backyard.

Here's to success responses!

I am an avid reader. Since I was taught to read I have always preferred reading to other hobbies or ways to pass time. It has served me well in that it has given me a great base of knowledge across a wide variety of subjects. One of the subjects that I do a lot of reading in at this time is self-improvement and training. Being a business coach, I would. I love being able to recommend good books to my clients, family and friends.

My reading adventures recently took me to Jeffrey Gitomer's "Little Red Book of Selling". This book is filled with great material. I highly recommend this book for everyone, not just sales people. Gitomer says that it is not that we don't know this stuff, it's we just have to be reminded from time to time. I must say, this book points out numerous things that I had forgotten and appreciate being reminded of and he stated many things in a way that it was fresh and new to me. For example, and I quote from his book:

"Philosophy drives attitude. "Attitude drives actions. Actions drive results. Results drive lifestyles." That's a quote from America's business philosopher, Jim Rohn. If you don't like your lifestyle, look at the results. If you don't like your results, look at your actions. If you don't like your actions, look at your attitude. If you don't like your attitude, look at your philosophy. Most salespeople make the fatal mistake of starting in the middle. They start with "action." If you have no philosophy and you have a lousy attitude, what kind of actions are you going to take?"

I know Gitomer references salespeople in this quote. I personally think this applies to all people whether they are salespeople or not. In some way we all are salespeople. We all end up selling to someone at some point in our lives. As kids, we sold our parents on allowing us to have something or to do something. As adults we sell our kids on the idea they are to do something or the other or not to. Boy, girl, man, woman, child or adult - we all learn to sell. We all have a philosophy, an attitude (changes by the minute) and we put them into some type of action. The results are driven by these.

Does make you think a little, doesn't it?

Here's to your reading successes!

BFO.  You thought it was going to be something else, didn't you? 

I wish I could drop in a big flash bulb going on and off here. Just to give you a visual.  A BFO, blinding flash of the obvious, is one of those Aha moments. When something that has always been there suddenly hits you between the eyes and almost knocks you down with how simple it truly is. Kind of like the V-8 juice commercial where the guy or woman gets thumped on the head as a reminder - "dummy you could have had a V-8".

On those rare occasions that we get BFO's, what do you do with them? Ever thought about it?  The best way you can honor a BFO and utilize it is:

1.  Tell others about it (reinforces your learning).

2.  Write it down -  so you don't forget it.

3. AND put it to use. Don't let it just be a story or amusing thought. Put it to good use.

One of my recent BFO's happened when I was reviewing some communication materials for a client. During this process I thought, gee I am predominatly an audio learner. It would therefore stand to reason that in my goal visualization process that I would be able to further solidify that visual of my goal if I voice recorded my goal and played it back to myself.  When this thought occured to me, it was like a huge beam of light came down on me. I was amazed that I had not seen or thought of this before. And it was so simple.

We can learn new things every day, we just have to keep ourselves open to the opportunities as they come to us.

Here is to your BFO success!

I speak to business professionals every day. All of them have the same challenge: not enough time in the day to do everything they need to do. I often ask them why they think that is? I get responses from "there's just too much to get done" to "it seems like the more I do the more there is to do".

The first thing I have a busy professional do is track their time and how they are using it in fifteen minute segments for a good week. At the end of a week, we review their calendar and it is amazing to them how they have wasted so much time. Then we categorize their time so they can have dedicated segments of time to accomplish certain activities (email, exercise, return calls etc.). Through categorizing their different types of activities we invariably identify areas they can clearly delegate low level activities to a personal assistant or someone else in their organization. The huge realization is that they have to realize they can't do everything and delegation is not a dirty word. When one delegates activities to someone else you are giving that individual an opportunity to grow. Now key factor here is delegate and not micro-manage. Initially, they will not do the job as well as you; however, the job will get done and the results, most of the time, will be good.

Here are Patsy's tips for time management:

• Summarize your day at the end of the day. Identify your wins, your challenges and give yourself credit for the good things that happened that day.
• Make a list of the six most important things to do the next day (six not thirty-six); categorize each item by importance - the most important activity you need to complete goes at the top of your list. If you do not complete all six items, you move them to the following day.
• Have yourself a default calendar created. You have a week at a glance, planned out where if you had nothing better to do than your ideal activities, what would they be? Plan each day Monday through Friday. Include your exercise time, your reading time, your lunch, slot in telephone calls (return/follow-ups), meetings, key money making activities in your business, put them all on there and make sure you have a time for them all. This way, throughout your week, when you suddenly look up and go "oh what's next?", You look at your calendar - nothing? - then you go to your default calendar and have an answer.
• Clear your desk at the end of each day - and never leave your office until you have done the first two items on this list.

Here is to your time success!

Ever wonder what makes you stand out from the crowd? What is unique about you? What do you have that no one else in your field can offer? Or how can you stand out from all the others in your category? What will make someone remember you over and above all the others? And once you've figured that out, how do you articulate it so that you are not sounding boastful or arrogant?

All good questions, wouldn't you say?

In answering them, do your homework; research. Find out what is it all the other people in your field of expertise has to offer. What is their typical education, experience, outside interests, companies they have worked for, etc.??? How do you stack up? After you have done that assessment, figure out what additionally you have to offer? Any additional education, classes, certifications, broader experience, awards, etc. Once you know what your USP (unique selling proposition) is; you can capitalize on it. Learn to articulate your passion for what you do. Back that passion up with examples of successes. You have to infuse your passion with excitement and true desire to the point that it is oozing from your pores. People should feel and know what you are all about without asking. You attract those to you whom have a like mind and focus.

Everything you do either magnifies and tells what you are about or it detracts from what you are. It will help define who you are; what you are; why you do what you do; how you do it and when you do it. Take the time to define who you are. What is it you stand for. What purpose. Be specific. When you finish, be able to talk about who you are in detail - when asked without it sounding like an ego walk. Brand yourself - you are a product of all that you have learned; experienced; give it your best presentation always. Each time you are asked, what is it you do, have your own PSA (Public Service Announcement) down to an art. Practice it often. Always customize what you say to your audience so they think you are talking directly to them - everyone wants to feel special - let them think you prepared it specifically for them.

Apply the same techniques to responding to job opportunities. When following-up for a specific opportunity, direct yourself to that company; their specific needs and how you can fill them. Again, do your research on the company so when you do get to talk with them, you can direct the conversation to their needs and how it is you can fill those needs. Build yourself a list of tactical questions to ferret out information you want that you can not find on the company website. Leave them wanting to know more about you. It will get you an invitation to the next step in the process. Take the time to build your case in direct alignment with that companies requirements. Then do the and then some. Make sure you connect - show your personality.

Under promise and over deliver. If you do this one thing, it will always give you the leading edge.

To your success in making yourself stand out in a crowd!

If I were asked which skill is most important: listening or speaking, I would have to rank listening over speaking. Why? Because you have to be a good listener in order to be a good speaker. If you do not know what your audience is wanting to hear, how do you know what to say?

We have all heard the saying: God gave us two ears and one mouth for a reason - to listen more than we speak. How many times have you asked someone how they are and in response you get a dissertation on their whole life to-date? I have this one person that I know when we get in a conversation, it ends up a very one sided conversation. Typically I end up listening and this person is going on and on about some subject that most of the time I could care less about. In a case like this, being a good listener is sometimes a case of being too nice. You have to be able to politely cut someone off and let them know when they have more than filled their content level of the conversation. Mary Kay Ash, founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics, often praised the virtues of good listening to her field consultants stating that if they but listen to what their customers are saying that the sale will occur naturally. Wow, a novel idea. Listen to what the customer is saying and just fill that need with your product.

When one listens to a conversation, what does it entail? Does it mean we are to sit and be quiet? Does it mean we are to pay attention to the speaker by looking them in the eye, nodding at pertinent points, take notes, shake our heads yes or no in agreement, smile, frown, scratch our heads, wiggle in our seats, pace around a room or something similar? When someone else is speaking, one should show interest or in a polite manner excuse oneself from the conversation. During an interview, one should not only be mindful of good listening techniques, but also one's body language. Even if you do not speak a word, your body will speak a thousand words for you. It can be said through your eyes, through your facial expressions, the way you hold your body - forward, back, tilted to one side or the other, the constant swinging of a foot or leg, or the tapping of a finger. Amazing how those little things can say so much. We just need to make sure our messages are communicated in a respectful, humble manner and that each message is saying exactly what we want it to say. If you want the prospective employer to know how interested you are, make sure your body language is conveying that message along with what you say. Listen with your ears, respond not only verbally but physically (with your body language).

Through good communication - both listening and speaking - we will achieve our ultimate goal - to be heard, to be acknowledged and to be responded to.

Here's to your success, in listening and speaking!

Ever feel like you are constantly hitting a brick wall? Same routine every day, talking to the same people, getting the same answers? If so, you need to, as Bob Newhart would say, "stop it"!!! What is the definition of insanity? Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Well, if you want different results you are going to have to do something different to get those results. Right?

Awareness is the key to change. Awareness is the starting motivator to change. You have to be aware of what you are doing and what you are not doing before you can even attempt to make change happen. To do this you have to be dissatisfied where you are. Your dissatisfaction has to be Soooo HUGE that you can actually see yourself doing something different -that's called getting a vision for yourself. Multiply your dissatisfaction by your vision - if that equals a pretty great motivator for you then you are ready to take the first steps to changing where you are and where you are going.

Your vision and dissatisfaction have to be huge for you to commit to the first steps - baby steps - to getting you out of your current routine. And it is a routine - you are so comfortable in this routine that when you start to do something different it's going to be painful - it's going to feel uncomfortable - it's going to feel strange. We are all such creatures of habit - that's why change is so difficult for us all. When you are ready for change, you must - MUST - find someone whom you trust, confide in them and get their support. It has to be someone who will commit to not letting you slide. Someone who is not going to judge you. Someone who wants you to succeed in your mission. Someone who will encourage you when it really gets tough. Someone who will not let you wallow in self-pity but who will tell you to stop whining and keep moving forward. Someone who will challenge you to go beyond the discomfort of the change period.

When you find someone like that - hold on tight to them and make sure you let them know how much you appreciate their support. They are a true coach, mentor, friend. They are invaluable in your life. They will help you change because they care about you.

Here's to your success - every day!