Deep in the Heart of Texas
Residents of the Dallas Metroplex would seldom refer to our metropolitan area as “deep in the heart of Texas.” However, a recent trip to Chicago (after a long stint sans travel) reminded me of a few lessons I’ve picked up since I started calling Dallas my home. After my first human encounter at Chicago’s Midway airport, I thought to myself “we’re not in Kansas, er… Texas anymore! I’m not sure I agree that “God Blessed Texas”, but I hope you can glean a little something from our interesting state.
Be friendly to everyone you meet
I had a stark reminder that I had landed in new territory every time I smiled at a stranger at the airport. Most of them looked at me like I was crazy as opposed to returning the smile like my fellow Dallasites would do (that is unless we were on the freeway in which case all bets are off). In spite of my frustration with the lack of legitimate coffee establishments at the airport (seriously, what airport doesn’t have a Starbucks in every terminal!), I flashed my warmest smile at a woman working an espresso machine at a Hot Dog Stand and complimented her blue nail polish. She was all sunshine and roses after that – and even gave me a free banana (the only healthy item I consumed all weekend).
Always look good, no matter what
This is probably a lesson we learned from Mary Kay herself, whose headquarters is nestled in the heart of the Dallas Metroplex. I actually read a book right before leaving Jersey called the Yankee Chick’s Survival Guide to Texas by Sophie Dembling. There was a chapter entitled, “I am Woman, Hear me Jangle.” It is no joke, Dallas women always look good (with the exception of transplants like myself who will leave the house in – gasp – sweatpants and no makeup!). Whether they weigh 100 or 300 pounds or if their clothes were purchased from Neiman Marcus (another Dallas-based landmark) or K-Mart, most women in my city carry themselves confidently as if they just had their hair blown out at the salon. A former boss used to say, “at least if I look good I’ll start by making a positive first impression". I think it’s true – if you look good, you often feel good too. I can't be much help with what comes out of your mouth, however.
Keep it Positive
You may recall that I grew up in the kind of household where we competed for sympathy points by sharing our respective dramas of the moment. I took this skill with me to New York where it was well received, but early in my move to Texas I learned that Dallasites don’t like a “Negative Nancy”. At first it annoyed me. Why does everyone always put on a happy face in this town and act like nothing is the matter? Then I realized that most of the stuff we complain about is totally outside our control. Several times during my weekend in Chicago (which seriously cut into my exam study time) I caught myself moving toward a negative and stressed out place, so I either removed myself from the situation to calm down or just turned the negativity down. Who had I become? My own mother wouldn’t recognize this positive side of me!
Final Thoughts
Consider using the next few weeks to spring clean and give yourself an attitude check. If you are a student, try to come back to campus a little friendlier, better groomed, and more positive. Channel your inner Texan, at least as it relates to the aforementioned lessons. I am still trying to understand the rest of what makes this crazy state tick!
Texas-sized Career Blunder
When I transferred to my firm's Dallas office from New York, I fully expected my new colleagues to embrace the wonderful ideas and best practices I was prepared to share from up north. Doesn't everyone care about how things are done in the mothership? Holy cow (cows are no joke in Texas), I couldn't have been more wrong! Every time I opened my mouth to share something about how "we used to do things in New York" I was received by rolling eyes or hard stares. Fortunately, no one on my team was fond of using the all too common Texas refrain, "Oh, bless your heart" (translation: Oh, you poor, pathetic excuse for a normal functioning human being. Don't you know better?) or else I'm sure I would have heard that too. Although my "wonderful" ideas could have been met with a little more honey rather than vinegar, my colleagues certainly had a point. When you start a new job, it is critically important to do more listening than talking. Establish rapport and credibility first and then share those brilliant brainstorms.
For next time...I am starting a "Life After Professional Services" series. I'm looking for guest bloggers to tell the good, bad, and the ugly behind public accounting, law, consulting, but most importantly - the lessons you can impart to others. If billable hours were previously part of your world and you lived to tell about it, I want to hear your story! Entries can be short or long and anonymous or credit-bearing. Email me at sweatstosuits@joyschwartz.com if you would like to be part of the process.
L.A. Law
I just returned from visiting close friends of mine (let’s refer to them a Rachel and Luke) who recently relocated to Orange County, California. It was a job opportunity for Luke that brought them out to this suburban paradise adjacent to the ocean. Unfortunately, Rachel was unable to secure an opportunity for herself prior to the move and is still on the job hunt. Not surprisingly, I started grilling Rachel about her networking efforts about thirty seconds after we loaded my suitcase in their practical automobile and sped off toward the sea. My interrogation did not go as well as planned thanks to an afternoon of bridesmaid dress shopping and subsequent plans with new friends of Rachel and Luke’s. Fortunately, the distractions gave me a chance to realize that I was coming on too strong, so I backed off and let the story of Rachel’s job search unfold on her time line rather than on mine.
Toward the end of the weekend, I was able to observe Rachel networking in her own way (after I dragged both she and Luke into Los Angeles to meet two friends of mine who happen to be attorneys). I stopped myself from forcing the conversation immediately into the powerful connection that I believed could be forged between my L.A. friends and Rachel. In her own natural time, Rachel managed to explain her legal interests and as I suspected, the eyes of our attorney friends lit up as the wheels started turning in their brains about how they could help Rachel get connected to the right people. One of my L.A. friends even offered Luke a consulting opportunity after Luke’s area of expertise came up in conversation! I just sat back and watched it all happen.
Throughout the course of the weekend, Rachel provided insight into her extensive networking activities and the organization with which she approached the job search process. I was so proud of her networking efforts that I thought I would share some highlights from her experience with you:
Join Local Professional Associations
Rachel joined both the Orange County Bar Association as well as the Los Angeles Bar Association in order to broaden her search and network of connections. Thanks to our fortuitous meeting with the LA Attorneys, Rachel learned of two new legal organizations she plans to join this week. She set up numerous luncheons and coffee meetings with attorneys she met through these associations and has even heard about a few job openings before they were widely advertised (i.e. what we refer to as “the Hidden Job Market”). These “gatekeepers” were the human contacts essential to making sure her job applications and resume did not get sucked into a black hole.
Leverage Religious and Cultural Connections
I knew that this was one area where Rachel would make great strides and it was confirmed yesterday when she shared that she knew how to get home from Newport Beach because we had just passed the Orange Country Jewish Bar Association building. Beyond the combined legal-religious connection, Rachel also signed she and Luke up for numerous Jewish young adult functions in the OC. Even if none of these new friends and acquaintances practiced the kind of law that Rachel wanted to practice (or even if they were teachers – one friend was), they may ultimately know people with whom she should become acquainted. Lesson: Meet as many people as you can and let EVERYONE know what you are looking for. Also, if you choose to identify yourself as a member of an underrepresented minority group, most major cities have Chambers of Commerce and other industry/profession-specific affinity groups you can join. After having attended numerous ALPFA (Association for Latino Professionals in Finance and Accounting) and NABA (National Association of Black Accountants) conventions, I can tell you that the members of these small, yet growing communities look out for each other and know how to have a lot of fun in the process!
Devise a Contact Management System
Rachel kept a spreadsheet with the contact information for each firm, organization, and individual she was pursuing. While it is nice to have a spreadsheet like this to keep everything in one place, the important part of having a CM system for your job search is noting the type and time line of your contact with various institutions and individuals. Leave notes for yourself about what you discussed with each contact and what key action items he or she had for you and vice versa. If you were promised a deliverable, e.g. a new contact or the forwarding of your resume, be sure to note the date of the interaction and the timing of when you plan to follow up to ensure that the action items actually occur.
Keep Your Networks Warm
The timing of your follow up with contacts and organizations will vary, but ultimately you are in charge of making things happen for yourself. Remind the person what he or she promised you in your thank you message and then set an appropriate date, usually one week out to send a friendly reminder. With regard to keeping your networks warm in general, three months is a typical length of time to pass before reminding your contacts who you are and that you are still looking. This communication is also a good opportunity to express your gratitude if one of the contacts or a piece of advice he or she offered to you has benefited you in some way. These contacts will also probably appreciate receiving updates on your search process, so be sure to share any relevant milestones when you do reconnect. Rachel was very sensitive to the demands of her contacts, and strategically planned her follow up when things were less busy for these individuals.
Engage in Strategic Volunteering
Although Rachel has only started the process of aligning herself with a firm with which to volunteer, she recognized the value of a.) leveraging her legal expertise to assist people in need and b.) giving others a chance to see the quality of her work product. You don’t have to be an attorney to volunteer in a job-related context. I just sent another friend of mine with an interest in organizational development consulting the contact information for the Director at the Dallas Center for Nonprofit Management in order to offer herself up as a volunteer consultant for organizations in need. Two of my other friends interned at DFW-area nonprofits while earning a part-time income elsewhere. Several months in, both of them received job offers. Why is strategic volunteering a good idea (besides the aforementioned a and b you may ask? Engaging with others in your field of interest is a great way to develop your experience and it also puts you right under the radar when/if a position opens up.
Final Thoughts
Before departing this morning, I shared an observation that came to my jet-lagged mind over breakfast. I asked Rachel if she thought that she would have engaged so actively in her networking efforts had she moved to the OC with a job in hand. Without hesitation, she replied “absolutely not”. Perhaps the silver lining of being unemployed in a new city is that it forces the job seeker to rapidly expand his or her network of contacts for an immediate need. The added benefit is that networking on the front end can yield tangible benefits in the long run from a career transition perspective. I shared with Rachel that once she does land a job, she could leverage all of these fabulous contacts to pay it forward to other similar-minded attorneys in need. In the meantime, she is getting to know her new home and making some great friends in the process!
Career Blunder: In my previous life as a recruiter in New York, I worked with a student (I’ll refer to as Craig) who took networking to an extreme. Craig did not receive an offer at the conclusion of his internship. During the twenty some-odd conversations he engaged in with people he met during his internship, he complained about how unfair it was that his classmates received offers, but he did not. To be nice, most of these people made the mistake of telling Craig to contact them “should he need any help down the road.” The sour grapes did not go away once Craig walked out the door. He proceeded to take matters into his own hands by calling national firm leadership to complain some more. Then, he reached back out to these individuals (on numerous occasions) to ask them to help him with his job search. Yikes! Moral of the story: If you burn your bridges (i.e. leave on bad terms), do not expect your previous colleagues to assist you or vouch for your candidacy. If you reach out to former colleagues who offered to help you and they do not respond, let things go and don’t persist.