By Larry Goldsmith, CWDP, P.E.T.
A client expressed concern that they felt their search had lost its momentum. They were hesitant where or how to further their job search. I suggested they forget for a moment about looking forward and go back to their foundation; review some basics.
You know it is not always about trying to hit a home run. Keep in mind that it is the little details which make us successful. It is covering all the bases. For example successful athletes don’t always swing for the fence or make every toss a 60 yarder into the end zone. Instead they work at doing the little things right.
For example. a good baseball player will work on their stance, perfect their swing by keeping the shoulders level, maintain eye contact with the ball. They worry about their feet, their grip and their attitude. Imagine that one of the premier baseball pitchers of our time, Johan Santana of the New York Mets is pitching. He is standing up against one of the greatest hitters of our era, New York Yankees Alex ‘A-Rod’ Rodriguez. We have a match of heroic portion. There is Santana on the mound, thinking how is he going to pitch A-Rod? What is his strategy to keep A-Rod off-balance? He thinks, does he throw outside the strike zone, change speeds, vary pitch location, change velocity or alter his grip and the break on the ball? How does he keep A-Rod guessing, keep him off balance? What did his pitching chart say?
60 feet away is A-Rod. He watches Santana leans from the pitcher’s mound. Do I use my power stroke, contact swing? Will I be able to get my muscles into it and swing for the fence, he says to himself? Timing the pitch is my key. What’s coming, three balls is the count, advantage me. It will probably be down low in the strike zone. I have to gauge the speed. Do I try to hit a fly so the runner can tag up? Can I do a hit and run? Maybe I will get a good pitch to hit to the opposite field. Maybe get behind it and hit it to the right side.
These are two all stars at the top of their game. They are there because they did not leave their careers to chance. They understand to be successful they need to understand not only themselves but how the competition thinks too. Over time both Santana and A-Rod learned to play to their strengths and their opponents’ weaknesses. They have refined not only their ‘hard skills’ of swinging and throwing but also the soft skills that attempt to explain and predict, trying to be objective and see things not only through their perspective but also the eyes of the competitor.
Same stands true for your successful job search. Do the little things right. Write a perfect Résumé. Fine tune your cover letter. Work on your voicemail message. Prepare a telephone closing before you pick up the telephone. In many cases, the job search is won or lost before the first résumé is distributed, the first phone call is made, attend your first interview or negotiate that first contact. In other words, it is doing all the little things correct. Be brilliant with the fundamentals.
