Timely Transitions: By Rebekah Clough

Transitions are hard. You expect one thing and get another. The difference between what you expect and what you get is typically called “DISAPPOINTMENT.” I’m learning to call it “JOY.”

My story…

As a college graduate, I planned a life-long career as a sign language interpreter. Most things were going as anticipated, until I burned out my arms by excessive use (think Carpal Tunnel pain throughout both arms). I experienced significant loss that I could no longer use my God-given ability. This loss impacted me physically, emotionally and mentally.

Since then, I’ve worked in a few different jobs, trying to find my next career. In the process, I’ve met some wonderful people, both colleagues and bosses. I’ve also discovered some skills that I would have never unearthed, had I remained as a sign language interpreter.

So, all of this has helped me reframe my thought process about job transitions. While they are challenging (and even frightening), they can be insightful and generate great personal satisfaction.

Steps:

1)   I have learned that life is a journey, not a destination. 

I love the quote, “Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass, but learning to dance in the rain.” That has inspired me even in the darkest times of my career.

A few years ago, my husband and I were both laid off at the same time. We chose to see the time together as a gift, instead of just a set-back.

Nature is one of the best reminders for me of transitions. The changing seasons, realizing ALL seasons are needed for growth—not just Spring and Summer. I love this poem that emphasizes the value of each season. Every Season of My Soul. Also, a great resource for bringing healthy perspective to change is Necessary Endings by Henry Cloud.

2)   I have reached out to friends and family.

I have realized — and perhaps you will realize the same thing — that being vulnerable is hard, but necessary.  You may realize the folks that you thought would help you most, don’t even respond. But you may also find people – who you least expect – become your biggest cheerleaders. My recent coworkers have become my biggest advocates, and that has meant the world to me.

3)    I have learned the value to do one hard thing every day.

I often dread doing something hard, but find that not only am I energized by it, I feel better about myself, and humanity in general. Laying aside our insecurities is frightening. For some, picking up the phone to make a cold call, going to the dentist, confronting someone, wondering what others think, if you strike up a conversation in the elevator. What is your hard thing that you must “gather up your courage” to accomplish?

Recently I was an attendee in an auditorium during a Christmas program and realized there was a deaf person on the front row, obviously confused because there was no interpreter. I saw the need and was compelled to meet it. However, was I willing to gather my courage and stand up in the middle of the program, in front of everyone, and move to the front row to give this guy a gift?  I struggled with it, but did accept the challenge. What I found: great satisfaction seeing my interpreting come alive again, and even more satisfaction hearing this guy had attended this Christmas program for 10 years and had never understood the story. He was incredibly grateful. I knew I had connected with a person and done the right thing. That is very empowering.

Find some great people – anywhere – and also expand your network in the process. Pick just one hard thing each day, and you will find that your cumulative courage inspires you to be stronger each day.  

4. I have learned to take inventory of my skills.

I realized that I have multiple talents and skills. And I’m sure you do too. Look at the things you do that may not be “tangible” for your resume, as well as the things that are.

For example, I’m good at managing projects and making sure they are completed. That’s a tangible project management skill. But I’m also good at encouraging others to meet their goals. I’m sure some people would call that “coaching”, but I like to consider it being a good colleague.

I also found that I have some skills that I can develop for future jobs. For example, I’m good at budgets and cutting costs. So recently, I’ve taken accounting courses to get formal training.

Thus, look at your wide range of skills. Some can be listed on Linkedin or developed for your next career. Others can be skills that bring you great personal satisfaction. Either way, they help define you and what you can bring to your next company. Here is an assessment that I've found helpful because it evaluates four different areas: skills, interest, personality, and values. https://www.crossroadscareer.org/careerdirect/

As much as transitions are frightening, I’ve learned to manage them a lot better and understand that disappointment can really become joy. To do so, you and I must learn to reframe our thinking.….We don’t always get what we want. But the happiest folks are those who are happy with what they have. 

About The Author:

Rebekah Clough is new to blogging, but excited about trying new things. She likes productivity, people and spending time in a coffee shop, with a good cup of tea.  She has tremendous faith in people and God, and believes life is to be lived well.To learn more about Rebekah, click here

The Life of the Unemployed Professional: The Pitch

After over a decade in sales and marketing, I have learned that a story is everything. A compelling, interesting, meaningful story will engage your audience, draw them in, and can make them fall in love with you. 

On the flip side, an unorganized list of bullet points, a rambling narrative without direction, or an unrelatable tale can do more harm than good. 

An elevator pitch is a statement that tells a high level summary of who you are and what you offer within 20 seconds (or the time it takes to ride in an elevator). As any good sales person will tell you, this is key to getting past the first introduction and can either make you or break you.

Articulate. Concise. Descriptive. Smooth. Flexible. These are all the ways you can describe a good elevator pitch. But that doesn't really help you. You probably know this already. What might be helpful is a couple best practices in developing your own elevator pitch that will draw people in, make you relatable and get you past the initial hello.

Lets start with Articulate. 

Think about your audience for a moment. There will be moments when you are with "your people". Industry functions, trade shows, company parties. These are all times that you can use your big MBA words and industry jargon. But then there will also be those times that you will be around the rest of us. Us simpletons that have no idea what it is that you do and will not understand the acronyms that you use all day, every day. This is such an important distinction. In fact, this is best practice number one. Think the engineer talking to the attorney. Two smart people; just smart in different areas. Being articulate is more than flowery words. It is about being relatable and understandable by the audience you are in front of. 

Concise: 

As you work towards taking all the years and all the experiences you have gone through it can seem overwhelming to narrow that down to just a couple sentences. In developing mine, I listed out all the different areas that I have experience in. I allowed this list to continue to growth over a few days. What are you good at, what do you enjoy? List out as many as possible. Reference your resume, ask those that are close to you; get yourself a list of 20. 

Next you will find that some of those skills start to lump together into a general category. For example on my list, inbound lead generation, digital marketing and email marketing can all be summarized into Lead Generation or Marketing Automation. I have to remember, though, unless I am speaking to fellow marketers, that might not mean anything to my audience. So alternatively, I call it "finding the right potential customers and and making sure they are a good fit." Categorize all your skills into the top three high level skills you have and adjust those skills to the audience. Remember, no more than 20 seconds!

Descriptive: 

There are two best practices when it comes to being descriptive. Allow for understanding and make it about the customer. What is wrong with this statement?

"I analyze BI and look for trends that become content I push using marketing automation software to pre-identified targets and key KOLs to generate leads for a field team."

Crickets.... right?  This is an extreme example, but we all do it. We all have acronyms or terms that make perfect sense to us, but have no meaning to those outside of our world. Additionally, This is about what I do, not about what my clients get out of it. Compare that statement with the one below: 

"I am a sales and marketing leader that uses new and innovative tools to better identify the potential customers that are more likely to buy. and Those leads are then passed over the to sales team so that they have more direction on who to target and who will purchase." 

See the difference? I have taken industry jargon, transitioned it to a generalized conversation and included the benefit the audience gets from the work. 

As a side point here. Sometimes we try to be smart instead of relatable. We all do it. Somehow, we feel that if we are able to use the biggest words possible so that no one understands us, we will come across better than if we are relatable and understandable. Overcome the urge to show off your big brain and just be a nice, articulate person. 

Smooth:

Practice, Practice, and more practice. In front of a mirror. To your spouse or best friend. To your favorite barista at Starbuck. The more you say it, but more comfortable you will be with it. Do you know how you get smooth? you guessed it. Practice. Enough said on this one. 

Flexible: 

Adjust your pitch as needed and be flexible to learn what will work the best. In marketing, we call this A/B testing. A practical example of how we use A/B testing is in email marketing. Did you know that almost every email that fills your inbox from some company has had two versions, slightly tweaked, of the same email? Companies send both versions to a segment of their intended audience and they watch the response. How many opens, how many clicks to a website, so on. If you get a better response with version A over version B, then you move forward with version A. Then you make a slight tweak again, send two versions out and watch what happens and, once again, go with the most successful version. 

You can do the same thing with your elevator pitch. Use two different versions. Try them both out at a party. If one seems to connect better with your audience, run with it! Ditch the other version and now you have a slightly better version to move forward with. 

An elevator pitch is your first impression. It is your chance to connect and show that you are someone that should be recommended. That you are confident and will be an asset to any company. Remember, Articulate. Concise. Descriptive. Smooth. Flexible. I feel like that should have been an acronym. 

Keep Climbing

John

About me: 

My name is John Constantine and I am a executive leader of sales and marketing. As a sales leader I have driven organic growth from $4M-$65M through building a highly successful sales team. As a marketing executive, I have directed rebranding initiatives, developed websites and print collateral and designed/implemented various marketing campaigns using digital tools to score and track leads. In everything I do in my corporate life, I drive growth through supporting and improving the efficiencies of the sales team. Personally, I am passionate about giving back to the world; whether it is a church plant in Colombia, South America or helping to develop the go to market strategy for a hospital in Rwanda, Africa, I feel that we are called to service. Additionally, I extend my desire to go above and beyond in a very real way through my mountaineering and backpacking treks. In 2016 I summited Mt Rainier in Washington State and now I train for an Alaska expedition in Denali and a possible fundraising climb of Kilimanjaro.  

To learn more, go to http://www.johnaconstantine.com/

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The Life of the Unemployed Professional: The Friend and Family Connection

You are more than just bullet points on a resume. You are color and life. You are the summary of your previous life experiences. All of this makes you.... you. 

This has been the first time that I have been on the "market" for a new position. I have always been fortunate to have been recruited away from a current role to the next step. As I am approaching my sixth month as an independent free agent after the downsizing of a start up, I find that the "full time job" of looking for my next consulting gig or my next leadership role, is not that different than how I spent my time as a sales and marketing executive... only a lot less time on conference calls. 

When you break the job search down, I am my product. My job is to get my product in front of as many potential "customers",  (hiring managers) as possible. As I have honed the process of marketing myself, I have collected the top 5 ways that I have found to market the product of John Constantine the most effective way possible. 

Over the next few weeks, we will take a deep dive into the following areas: 

1. Talking to Family and Friends

2. Developing Your Elevator Pitch 

3. Networking in Your City

4. The Importance of the Face to Face Meetings 

5. Look Out for Others More Than You Look for Yourself

Today, let's jump right into number one. 

I recently ran into a close friend at Starbucks while we were back in Indianapolis for the holidays. First an awkward man-hug/handshake (because that tends to happen to me... I'm a hugger...) and then the question "Hey man!! How are things?" ....

I let my pride do the talking. "Great! We are loving Atlanta! We have great neighbors, have found an amazing church, kids have adjusted well, We have a new unicorn that provides us with rainbows and butterfly toots anytime we want, its an AMAZING life...."

I didn't actually say the unicorn part but it would have fit with how well I stated things were at the moment.

I also exaggerated how well the consulting firm I'm working on was going at that point. We walked away from the conversation with a less awkward man-hug this time and he said he was happy for how well things were going for us. And there it was... A lost opportunity. In his mind, things were going so well, I didn't need anything from him. 

So.... I'm a bone head... While we have found an amazing church, our neighbors and neighborhood are fantastic, and our kids act as though they have always lived in Georgia, the part I overstated; the consulting firm was not actually a business yet. In fact, I had a couple proposals out, but I didn't, yet, have one paying client. And I needed more leads. 

Now here is the rub. This buddy of mine is very well connected and I missed an opportunity to tell him about how I could use his network. I let my ego take over. Now, I was going to need to back track, swallow my pride, and go back to him for help, which I imagined being more awkward than that hug-shake thing. When I called, he was more than happy to help! In fact, he connected me with two people right away. The moral of the story is this; I almost let a great opportunity pass me by because I didn't want to let him know I could use his help. 

Haven't you found that you do the same thing? Especially with those that we are close to? We sugar coat everything. We hide our concern. We are too prideful sometimes to ask for help. It is as if we feel as though we need to wear a mask and not allow those that are close, come behind our wall, join our team, and walk along side us to help.

These situations happen to us all the time. We have an opportunity to tell someone what we are looking for; an opportunity to allow them to serve us, and we let it pass us (and them) by. In the sales world, it is called "asking for the sale". As long as sales peeps have been selling stuff, it has been a best practice; once a prospect has reached a certain point in the sale's cycle you say something along the lines of,  "So you know what we are capable of. You know that we are a good fit. Are you ready to sign up?" It seems crazy to be this forward to those that are not in this type of role, but the secret is that it works in the sales process and it works in these situations as well. 

Ok, Now, let me be clear. I am not suggesting that you become Debbie-Downer. Don't turn into Eeyore from Pooh and talk about the sky falling. (I think I'm mixing up my childhood stories but you get the idea) There is a simple way that you can talk to friends and not make them feel sorry for you. Instead they can align with you on your goal of getting back to work. And then you have the opportunity to ask for help.

Here are a couple things you can keep in mind before you find yourself in these situations.

Number one: Know what you are going to say in advance. Don't allow yourself to get surprised in these interactions. Come up with your conversation piece you will use when you randomly run into someone at the grocery, in the gym, or at church.  Make sure that it is authentic and honest, but positive at the same time. This is called the elevator pitch and....

Don't use the same one that you will use in your professional life... they might not have any idea what you are talking about if you use key MBA buzz words and industry acronyms. 

"I have over 13 years of executive experience building companies as a sales and marketing leader.  I have led the charge from $4-65M in a national sales leadership role building a sale team as well as the systems that support that team. I'm also an experienced executive marketer building brands, creating products and then releasing them to the world. I'm looking for a few small to mid-sized companies that might need corporate experience but can't afford a full time Chief Sales or Marketing Officer.  I come into companies and make the current process of growing better as a part time consultant and an extension of the leadership team." 

That is mine. Develop yours! More to come on developing your perfect elevator pitch in future blogs.

Number two: Practice it at home.... Out Loud, not just in your head! The truth is, I say this to people all the time and rarely do people do it because it is weird. But it works. Practice it on your spouse. Practice it in front of the mirror. Practice it to the guy sitting next to you at the stop light in traffic who has his window down. Practice makes perfect, as they say.  You know this... the more your practice your interactions before they occur, the better off you will feel during the interactions. The more confident and nature you will become and the more that they will want to help you.

Number 3: While talking with friends and family, think about their network. I have made it a best practice, in almost every interaction with someone, to ask if there is someone they know that might be a great new connection for me. You know, just to grab coffee with. We will talk about this in later writings, but the more people you meet with, the broader your network. The broader your network, the more famous you are. And the more famous you are, the larger your pool of potential employers.

Finally, Number 4: Follow up. While your friends and family love you and want the best for you, connecting you is not their top priority. And between their own busy and full lives it has a tendency to slip their mind. If they offer, though, it means they want to help. Do not feel bad about following up with a reminder. And do it quickly. For example, if you are talking with your brother at a family birthday and he says he has a buddy to introduce you to, send a follow up text later that night: "Hey Bro! Great to see you today. I appreciate your willingness to hook me up with ______. talk soon!" You might be saving them from feeling bad later if they forget. 

Those that are closest are your biggest fans. They believe in you and they want to help you. In fact, they will feel amazing about themselves if they actually are able to help. The only thing stopping them might be your ego.

Don't let your ego rob those you love from feeling amazing about helping you!

Prepare in advance.

Don't hesitate to ask for the help.

Always be positive.

And follow up proactively. You never know where it might take you.

And as always, keep climbing.

John 

About me: 

My name is John Constantine and I am a sales and marketing executive living in suburban Atlanta. Throughout my career, I have been able to drive growth repeatedly in a variety of capacities. As a sales leader, I have built, expanded, and improved high performing teams to promote expansion and profitability. As a marketing executive, I have led teams in the creation and launching of new brands and products. I have managed inbound lead generation campaigns and created online and print branding standards that stand out from the pack and engage employees to take pride in their organization. As an executive of strategic initiatives and a field operations leader, I have implemented programs and processes that have differentiated my organizations and provided predictable revenue forecasting to the C-suite; all the while increasing productivity and accountability of the front-line team members in the organization. I now leverage these experiences to help other companies stand out and manage growth. 

To learn more, go to http://www.johnaconstantine.com/

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Lessons From The Mountain #3: A Mountain Lesson on Work Life Balance

Over the last few weeks, I have been highlighting the lessons that have been learned through my mountaineering experience that are applicable on the ground in the business world. Each week, I have discussed a simple little truth that hopefully allows you to maintain a positive perspective; regardless of what you are going through at work. I hope you enjoy week three. Feel free to comment and share. 

Lesson #3: 

Save some for the return. While on the mountain, it is so easy to set your sights on the top and convince yourself that the summit is your goal. But what any seasoned mountaineer will tell you is that the summit is only halfway. Your goal is always making it back down and making it home. In every case of climbing, the return trip is the hardest and most demanding but the most overlooked. You have expelled your energy on the way to the top and now, with your energy depleted, you run the risk of a misstep, a simple error or a fall that could cause serious injury; possibly death. You need unbelievable focus despite what you have just achieved. This is often the part of the climb that is overlooked while driving forward, step after step towards the top.

It struck me as I was making my way down Mt Rainier this year that this is a great analogy for the balance between my home life, and my professional life. For way too many years, I focused almost exclusively on the "summit" of my career, be that a title, a project, or a dollar figure. And the return trip, my time at home, was neglected. I hadn't left enough in the tank for the ones that loved me. For those of us that are naturally prone to "workaholism", this can be easy to do and, if we are honest with ourselves, this is a common pitfall of all of us. 

All too often, we get tunnel vision around our careers, and we forget that we are to be just as focused on the return; our personal life. Emails creep into dinner. Conference calls interrupt our kids' soccer and baseball games and and our thoughts are filled with the dealings of our profession while they should be focused on the beautiful (or handsome) person we are walking through life with. We have distractions and those distractions erode into the focus that we should be giving to those that we love. As in mountaineering, this lack of focus and weariness is where the injuries can and do most often occur. 

This is not to say that our professional goals should be decreased and our drive should disappear. In fact, for those of you that are christian, it is written in Colossians 3: 23, "Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men." It is a biblical principle that we are to be motivated, and driven, and that we should seek excellence in all that we do. We should still drive for the top, but we need to learn to train ourselves to achieve our own professional summit while leaving enough for the personal trip home. The return trip should not take away from our drive towards the summit. You just need to prepare adequately for the round trip; the full package.

Here are a couple quick ways that you can save some in the tank for those you love. 

1. Quiet your world for 5 minutes before walking through the door. Give yourself 5 minutes of time with no traffic, no calls, no email, no distractions to think about the things that you are most looking forward to as you walk through the front door, our out of your home office. Communicate what you are most looking forward to, to your family. "Tonight, I can't wait to....  .... with y'all!"

2. Invest and train in your personal health. If you are going to operate at your best in all you do, you can't do it without proper training. Exercise is not just about looking better in your suit. It will calm your mind, increase your stamina and allow more focus into your life. Summits can never be reached without proper training. 

3. Talk openly at home when you have a heads up that work will increase for a time and that times of stress will be coming. Explain why you need to take this extra work on and align personal goals through this season with professional ones. Often, we know in advance that a season of extra work is coming, but we fail to communicate that at home in advance. We see that budget season is upon us. Or that a new client will be coming on board, or that someone key is off work and we all need to step in to assist in the extra work created. Get your spouse involved in the process and communicate those times in advance and together as a team you can manage through the rough times. 

4. Practice your profession. Just as I was the weirdo jogging up and down the hills of my neighborhood with my pack on while training for the mountain, so you should be practicing your profession. Not great at reading a P&L, ask for help. Don't have the product knowledge you feel you should? Take someone out for coffee that knows. Don't know how to manage an Excel file properly? Take a class. The list of opportunities for training and improvement are everywhere and an increase in knowledge will decrease the emotional energy you expel on stress of the unknown leaving more for those that are at home. The longer you operate as if you are not living up to your true potential, both at home, and at the office, the more emotionally drained you will be. 

As you go through your day today, remember, the time you spend at your desk, on the phone, in the board room or with your customers, is just half the journey. You need to have balance in your life. If you use up all your energy during your day gig on your way to the summit, you will have nothing left in the tank for those that you share life with at home. What are some best practices you have learned to keep some energy in the tank for your return trip?

Keep climbing and check in next week as we end this series with the importance of a positive perspective. 

John

About the author:

My name is John Constantine and I am a sales and marketing executive living in suburban Atlanta. Throughout my career, I have been able to drive growth repeatedly in a variety of capacities. As a sales leader, I have built, expanded, and improved high performing teams to promote expansion and profitability. As a marketing executive, I have led teams in the creation and launching of new brands and products. I have managed inbound lead generation campaigns and created online and print branding standards that stand out from the pack and engage employees to take pride in their organization. As an executive of strategic initiatives and a field operations leader, I have implemented programs and processes that have differentiated my organizations and provided predictable revenue forecasting to the C-suite; all the while increasing productivity and accountability of the front-line team members in the organization. 

 To learn more, go to http://www.johnaconstantine.com/