The Meaning of Life: Discover Your Purpose

The Meaning of Life: Discover Your Purpose

Posted using ShareThis

Discover Your Passion

After a 90-minute dialog with a client recently, I sent her an email summarizing our observations. I include it here so you can get the “flavor” of this process.

Hi, Rachel,

It was good talking with you this morning! I hope at some point in the not too distant future you’ll find a way to come back here for a visit!

As we discussed, networking to find the type of position you want is going to be a whole lot more effective than searching in newspapers and the Internet, and then submitting a resume. That is what most people do and it really puts everyone of them, including you at a disadvantage - you are in competition with all those other people for a single job, via a resume and no personal interaction (unless you happen to get an interview). But in order to network effectively, you need to be able to express clearly what the ingredients of an ideal position should be.

Here are some observations from our talk:

1.   All three events you mentioned reflect the importance to you of interactions with people. The first one you mentioned was the selling of lingerie at Macy’s. The particular aspects of this that have meaning for you appeared to be: that you are able to intuitively connect with people, that you are sensitive to their “place” - i.e. being able to read people, their moods, needs, what will help them fulfill their need; that you are able to fulfill that need, and receive feedback that this indeed occurred. You got enjoyment from being able to meet the needs of the customer.

A Probing Interview – Unusual, but Effective. Worth Thinking About

You won’t often hear these questions in a job interview. But the way you answer reveals a great deal about you, and how you would fit into an organization’s culture. It is worthwhile to consider this possibility and prepare for it.

• Take a minute and think about your most outstanding, significant professional achievement.  What about you made this achievement possible?
• What do you value deeply?  How are those values reflected in your work?
• We all seem to have events in our lives that turn us in a new positive direction.  Sometimes they are the things that make us go “aha!”  What was one of the most memorable experiences for you? 
• As a result of that experience, what would you bring to our organization?
• Tell me about a time when you were a member of a group that collaborated to achieve amazing results, perhaps even in the face of many challenges.
• I know that I have had some great experiences as a customer and as a provider.  I would like to hear about the most memorable experience you had as a customer.  Now can you share with me the most satisfying experience that you had serving someone else? 

Unusual? You bet. Be prepared!

Job Objective

An effective resume needs a clearly stated Job Objective.  And it must be focused on the employer, not on yourself.  Let me explain.  I have seen many resumes with an objective that focuses on

“opportunities for advancement”

“contributing to the company while improving my skills”

“allow myself to grow”

“to obtain long term employment with growth potential”

“put to use my diversified abilities to advance with the company”

Excuse me?  This is all just a bunch of gobbledygook.  If  I were an employer reading this resume, I would immediately drop it into “file 13”.  Why?  Because it says nothing about my expectations as the employer.