Sex and Your Job Search 2013: A Guide to Scoring Your Dream Job (7 page)

9. START YOUR OWN BUSINESS

“
Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.
”
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

“
Continuous effort—not strength or intelligence—is the key to unlocking our potential.
”
- Winston Churchill

I will be blunt: If you would rather watch TV, go out for a nice dinner, or go to a bar, as opposed to working on your own business, starting a business may not be for you.

20/20
did a special on billionaire secrets. I took what I saw there and combined it with what I’ve heard from millionaires (seeing as I don’t know any billionaires) and the financial advisors of said millionaires. There are two ingredients to becoming wildly successful at starting your own business:

1. Enthusiasm. You love what you do.

2. You’re not afraid of failure.
OK, maybe a little bit, not enough to stop you.

Steve Jobs and Bill Gates loved computers and started computer-related companies. Mark Cuban bought a basketball team because he loves sports. Before that, he started an Internet company that reported on sports. All three went on to earn billions. You need to love what you do and go for it.

Where Do I Start?

You have several options. Take your interests, skills, and abilities and start a small business based on those. Or you can purchase an existing franchise. Whichever you choose, do as much research as you can. Talk to as many people as you can in related fields. And have a thorough business plan.

Here are a few great places to begin your research:

Magazines:

Entrepreneur
: entrepreneurmag.com. The website has stories on business opportunities, top franchises, and running and growing a small business. Their magazine is a goldmine as well.

Fast Company
: fastcompany.com. This magazine is a little more technology focused, but has great articles on innovation and leadership.

Fortune
: fortune.com. Global business website and magazine with info on managing small and big businesses.

Forbes
: forbes.com. “Information for the world’s business leaders.” Great information on how to build a business and investing.

Books

How to Win at the Sport of Business: If I Can Do It, So Can You
, Mark Cuban. Genius advice and Mark’s rags-to-riches story. A quick, affordable read. Mark can also be seen on
Shark Tank
on ABC.

Losing My Virginity
, Richard Branson. This bestselling book reveals Sir Richard’s personal philosophy and inspirational story of founding companies like Virgin Airlines, Virgin Records, and Virgin Money.

The Essential Business Handbook: The Nuts & Bolts of Getting Up and Running Fast
, Beth Andrus. This short, easy-to-follow handbook will guide you through the process of setting up your business quickly in 85+ clear and concise pages.

The Art of the Start: Time-Tested, Battle-Hardened Guide for Anyone Starting Anything
, Guy Kawasaki. Legit advice on starting any endeavor. He’s on Twitter and also has a blog.

Make Millions Selling on QVC: Insider Secrets to Launching Your Product on Television and Transforming Your Business (and Life) Forever
, Nick Romer. Nick made over four hundred thousand dollars in ten minutes on QVC and is an incredible entrepreneur. Great advice in his book.

Websites

Small Business Administration: sba.gov. Good advice on starting and managing a small business, including loan resources. There are also SBA offices around the country that can help you succeed.

Nolo: nolo.com. Excellent do-it-yourself resource for legal advice, books, and articles.

Money.cnn.com and finance.yahoo.com. Small business, personal finance, and investing advice.

Business Insider: businessinsider.com. Business and entertainment news website with edgy commentary. They are sometimes quoted by the
New York Times
and National Public Radio.

Your Local Colleges and Universities

Business teachers and students may be able to assist in business plan development for little or no cost, as well as consulting services at a discounted rate. There are lots of opportunities at the collegiate level to receive advice on business best practices. Look for contacts on the business school’s website and go from there.

10. RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS

“
Do unto others (the unemployed) as you would like done to you (if you were unemployed).
”

The Golden Rule has its roots in numerous belief systems, from Christianity to Judaism to Buddhism. There is even a Wikipedia page dedicated to its history.

I have found that the majority of Believers (people of all faiths) will give you the shirt off their back. I’m talking about the type of people who donate hundreds of millions each year to charities, shelters, and disaster relief. These are the good people who were some of the first to give their time and resources during disasters in New Orleans, Haiti, Thailand, and Japan. These are individuals who have compassion toward all people.

That being said, here is how Believers can help you in the job search:

• By offering to connect you with successful business owners and benefactors who support local congregations (including doctors, entrepreneurs, and healthcare institutions)

• By providing inexpensive or free clothes (suits and dress shirts) via Goodwill-type thrift stores

• Free food through food pantries and holiday giveaways

• By giving you an opportunity to make friends that support you

I am not recommending you fake it. Like HR reps, church leaders are good at reading people. But if you are genuinely looking for help, they
should
be glad to help. An easy way to approach them, even if you’re skeptical of organized religion, is by saying this:

“I’m looking for assistance in meeting my income needs and/or clothing needs and/or food needs. Can you help me?”

It
is
also OK to say: “I am not looking to convert. But I heard you may help people.” Let them take it from there. If this works for you and you are in a position to help someone in the future, please consider doing so.

About a year ago, a friend asked me to help out in a food pantry run by a local church. It was right before Thanksgiving, so I thought it would be a great way to spend the evening with her.

That night, we helped create several hundred meals-in-a-bag that were to be distributed to the less fortunate in the community. It was a wonderful experience.

While I was there, I talked to a supervisor about how they run their operation and came away impressed. He and another person coordinate hundreds of volunteers a year and do a lot of good for the community.

Fast forward one year and the food pantry supervisor applied for a high-level community relations position at the hospital where I work. I knew the good work he did in his spare time and gave him a good reference. He got the job!

Moral of the story: Churches help people. Volunteers help people and are perceived to have a good work ethic. Volunteering looks good on a resume and lends itself to networking with people in the community.

11. GOING BACK TO SCHOOL

Yeah, I’ve watched
The Notebook
. Because every girl whose hand I’ve ever wanted to hold has seen it and I wanted to understand what it was all about. It wasn’t nearly as painful as I thought it would be, and I actually kinda liked it. I can’t believe I’m admitting that.

Here are two things I learned from the movie as it relates to your job search:

• You have to work on relationships (personal and professional)

• You have to make a plan as to how you will earn an income

In
The Notebook
, Noah (Ryan Gosling) made a plan so that he could afford the Windsor Plantation and maintain the property. His dad would help him buy the estate and he would fix up the old house himself. His income would cover the other living expenses.

However, if Noah wasn’t good with tools, he might have planned to go back to school for a degree in Construction Management before taking on this big project.

Sometimes to make money, you have to go back to school to gain new skills. Before doing so, please be sure to ask yourself these five questions:

• How will I pay for school?

• How much money will I make with that degree? Will that amount cover my expenses once I finish?

• How much time and energy will it take?

• What are the alumni networking opportunities in my chosen field at the school or schools of my choice?

• Is this profession going to be in demand when I finish?

As we will discuss in Chapter 15, most medical professions have a great future ahead of them. Especially Physical Therapy and Nursing. I know right now things may be a little difficult for new graduate nurses, but that will drastically change in the next two to five years. Baby boomers make up over half of the nursing profession and millions of them will retire in the next few years.

12. SENDING OUT RESUMES

Sending out an unsolicited resume and expecting to get hired is the acting equivalent of walking down Hollywood Boulevard and expecting to be discovered. You may want it to happen, but it probably won’t! Things don’t work like that anymore.

I can’t remember the last person I hired off a resume alone. In fact, I will say this: I treat an unsolicited resume
with no follow-up
like an email from a prince that wants my bank account information to transfer twenty-five million dollars. At best, I may look at it for two seconds and then I ignore it.

Yes, I’m being a little more direct with you on this method because I want to help you find a job. Sending a resume and then waiting for a response may work in rare cases and at very small companies. In reality, it does very little for you.

Here are the four ways a resume should be used during the job search:

• On your LinkedIn profile

• Copied into your formal online job application through a company’s application tracking system

• Sent to an employer, then followed up by a phone call and a hard-copy version (preferably hand delivered in a portfolio)

• Handed to an interviewer when you arrive for an interview

In Chapter 5, we will discuss resumes in greater detail.

OTHER JOB SEARCH METHODS
THAT MAY WORK

Job Fairs

Job fairs are like speed-dating events. Employers are there to pick you up, in an employment sort of way. But they’re not sure what they’re going to get.

Use job fairs as an opportunity to get information from an employer. I recommend introducing yourself and then asking these three questions. It would even be OK if you read these questions to the employer. I wouldn’t mind if I was the employer; the questions are intelligent and I could tell you were trying.

1. “What temporary agency do you use?” This may be the best reason to attend a job fair and the best question to ask there.

2. “What is the best way to get into
your
company?”

3. “How did
you
get in?” People love talking about themselves. Listen to key words the person says and write them down
immediately
after your conversation, before going to the next table.

Here are eight tips on making job fairs work for you:

• Don’t apologize for taking their time. Both of you are there for the same reason.

• Start up a conversation. Employers are there to
talk
, not take your resume as hard as you can give it.

• Your first words should not be: “Do you accept resumes?” This is like proposing marriage at the start of a first date.

• Your first words should not be: “What are
YOU
hiring for?”

• Do not ask: “Do you need me to beat someone up?”

• Do not wear clothing or accessories that can be construed as flashy for that industry.

• Do not discuss your gastric bypass or bariatric surgery. Just because I work at a hospital doesn’t mean I like hearing about your poop. Just say you had a good experience at my hospital. I’m cool with that and will be happy for you.