photo by SeeMidTN.com (aka Brent)

Some of you may recall my recent hit with a power outage. The journey since then has been very interesting. My deductible is higher than I remembered. I think I forgot to read the small print in an addendum that raised the $250 to 1% of whatever the value of my house is at the time of loss which puts us at $1437 right now. Then there is the $172 claim-free discount that I would lose with a claim for three years.

I am very grateful it isn’t a bigger claim but now I have unbudgeted items for a furnace repair, new surge protector strips to replace the blown ones, son’s TV that he just paid for two weeks ago, the garage door opener, and other minor things.

Loss of Power

Yesterday, my Internet was down more than up and since I live online, that’s a problem. More than 80% of my client base is now somewhere else in the United States or elsewhere and I use Skype and phones to connect and share screens, I need my Internet. I already knew people on my side of town not connected to the power outage who had been having trouble with their Internet. Their provider was also Charter. However, at least one of them said they called Charter and there were no outages in our area.

My router and/or modem could have taken a hit that made them unstable since the surge protector they were connected to blew out but they were working. Puzzled is how I feel right now.

Within a mile of my home office, there is a major re-engineering project on an intersection. I can hear the heavy equipment banging as I work. You never know how that kind of construction affects communication either. Too many variables.

Yesterday, I felt like the dog in the photo. No matter which way I went, I was frustrated. The dog got stuck in the sleeve and couldn’t move forward or back. But I could.

Step back and reassess

Due to the frustration of fighting technology, I decided to step back and give up trying for a bit. I did it three times yesterday. First, I changed my lunch plans with my friend, Linda, from going out to eat to cooking here. Then I went out in the garden to pick peas and pull a few weeds which also gave me a break to think more clearly.

We made salmon on the grill in the middle of the day and experimented with grilling beets. We sat down to a nice lunch and just enjoyed each other’s company.

I had given my 2pm client in Florida a heads up that I was having issues with the Internet and met with her anyway. Skype didn’t work and I couldn’t keep my Internet up long enough to really exchange files by e-mail more than once. But I did have time to give assignments, get clarification, and assure my client that we would be able to get the project completed on deadline.

Then I took a nap to clear my head. Sometimes you just have to step away. When you can’t move forward, you have to step back and see the options. I know some of mine.

Job seekers who feel powerless

Job seekers face those moments of frustration too. They want to get the new job but they hit walls and at times those walls may seem insurmountable and they feel powerless. You can keep struggling but maybe this is the time to find some alternative activities to divert your attention from the problems. You can then come back with renewed focus to solve the problems later.

When we feel stuck, struggling to move forward, wanting to move back to a more comfortable time in life, sometimes the best think is to step back. What do you think?

This assignment from Laura, however, turned into a very interesting benefit for me too. What I found was an avenue to share my posts with a wider audience. I get complacent and behind and forget to add my new posts to this platform but when I do, things change. You can see in the chart at the left, the many views that came from Business Week.

Today, for the second time since I started putting my posts on the Business Exchange, I am their featured user. (See below.) The first time was when I was in Baltimore at the Career Thought Leaders conference in March. I wasn’t able to see what was going on at the time because I didn’t have access during the day to wifi and I didn’t have a Smart Phone. But I did notice new people adding themselves to my network. I share not only my own posts but others in the career industry and in other fields as well. If I think that business professionals will benefit from posts I read, I share them on the platform just as I RT other people’s posts on Twitter and share them on Facebook.

As a job seeker in today’s world, there are more opportunities than ever to use the tools available and to find new tools to network both online and in real life (IRL). Sometimes we think that it is one more thing and we don’t want to exert any additional effort to find that new position. All of my career industry organizations require an investment on my part but because of that investment, I benefit from the expert advice and direction I get from the leaders in the industry.

When you are struggling with a job search, you need to have experts on your side to help you find the tools you need to make your job search shorter. Fortunately, you have more resources than ever to help you change careers or end your job search.

Recently, my colleague, Dawn Bugni wrote two posts that both touched on the computer skills that job postings often require. In her first post, Ya But, Dawn said, “I spend a good deal of time on the phone speaking with potential clients. During those conversations, I generally offer a bit of guidance to help the caller, whether they use my services or not. Sometimes they get it. Sometimes, they “ya, but…” themselves right out of an opportunity for greatness.”

One of her Ya, buts was this:

You really need basic computer skills to compete in today’s market.
Ya, but …
I never really needed to know how to use a computer in my last job.
I don’t have time to go to school.
I’ve tried. I just don’t get it.

Dawn followed that post with Basic Computer Skills, please define in response to a Facebook readers question. She gives pointers on what she defines as basic, like: “This would include, for example, knowing how to send and receive emails, as well as attach documents to an email and open them when attached. It also includes an ability to know how to copy and paste information and use the Web for research.” Go read her post for more of her suggestions.

Her posts resonated with me because my clients have had the same concerns and same Ya Buts for years. Here’s some of my thoughts on this.

You really need a computer in today’s job search. Laptop prices have dropped considerably in the last few years. I would consider a laptop over a desktop for today’s job seeker for a number of reasons. A laptop is portable. It can go with you anywhere, letting you work in coffee shops or hotel rooms and keep your figure on the pulse of your job search. A laptop lets you take notes after an interview in the car or even give a presentation in the interview using PowerPoint. You can network using LinkedIn on your laptop.

Microsoft Word at the minimal must be on the computer. Why? Most resumes are created in MS Word and it is still the most popular software in your hiring manager’s office. I have had clients who don’t know what is on their computer or assume MS Office is standard issue. It is not. Often they have confused it with MS Works which is not compatible with MS Word and then they wonder why their new resume doesn’t open for them. Or worse, they open it in Notepad and wonder where all the formating went.

As Dawn says, you need to know the basics about word processing for today’s job search. You need to know enough that your perfectly formatted resume has to be converted to a text resume for many of the online applications. The text resume (ASCII), however,  should be opened in Notepad.

Your typing speed should be fast enough to meet the basic office requirements. Many staffing agencies such as Kelly Services and even prospective employers test candidates on typing / keyboarding speed and accuracy. Recently, I had a client ask about that. Her ya but was that she used a laptop and was too slow. I use a laptop too but I use an additional cordless keyboard and mouse. I encouraged her to invest in a set for herself and then find one of the online keyboarding games and practice so she could boost her speed for the next time she takes a test at a company

If you spend a little time and perhaps a little money investing in technology, you will be much more able to handle the challenges of today’s job search. Any other suggestions on how to be computer savvy?

Talk to me, I talk back!

Choices? You face them everyday!

Sometimes we think about customer service as it relates to Breaking All the Records. Jim Connolly wrote about customer service in What’s your Experience, asking you to analyze what makes you choose one service or business over another and what makes a wonderful buying experience.

Jim’s post inspired Robin Dickinson to write his post, The Golden Key to being Remarkable They both spoke about the peak and off-peak experience.

Robin asked  “Why don’t businesses design their services for peak times?”

I talked about my restaurant experience but it is bigger than that. Customer service issues crosses the lines to all industries, retail shopping, grocery shopping, restaurants, coffee shops, and client-driven businesses like mine, Design Resumes. When I made the decision to focus on Design Resumes, it was a decision to start being deliberate, and not random.

It takes work to provide over-the-top customer or client service!

As Dan Gacke said yesterday in his comment, he wants to be in a WOW experience so that he will not only want to come back but he will bring all his friends. I understand how hard it is to consistently deliver a WOW experience but that’s not what puzzles me.

What puzzles me as a career industry professional who has spent most of her life crafting resume strategies and career marketing materials, why in this economy are we still getting BAD customer service?

If you are a job seeker now, you know that it is tough out there. Even with professional help, job seekers are finding it hard to find a new position. But if the statistics are right, about 90% of people are still employed.

With the threat of more unemployment ever looming, wouldn’t you think that every one in a job right now would be focusing on how they could remain a Job keeper so that they don’t have to compete in the marketplace as a job seeker?

I’ll tell you why it doesn’t happen that way. The mind is very talented at forgetting painful experiences. Ask any mother who has given birth, after a short time, you only remember that the experience of giving birth gave you a precious child. You forget the pain for the most part.

Unfortunately many job seekers also forget the pain of looking for work

They forget the pain of seeking a job and forget how they felt, how long it took, and all the effort that went into finding a new position. They get complacent. They start complaining about their new job, new boss, new customers… If you want to stay a job keeper or even grow to a more challenging and responsible role, I think the focus should be on the things Jim Connolly spoke about:

The kind of positive, commercially valuable experience I’m talking about here, needs to penetrate your marketing, your delivery, your customer service, your design – everything.

Robin Dickinson said:

You want to take your remarkability to the next level?  The golden key is to design your customer/user experience to be remarkable in both peak and off-peak periods.  This will put you at an immediate advantage against off-peak only providers.

Provide incredible customer service wherever you are working now as a “job keeper.”

What do you think? Talk to me, I talk back!