A discourage turkey wrote and I responded belatedly

Dear So and So,

{Woosh, TurkeyMaster rushes in to “help”. Yeah, I know, a little late. But, I didn’t notice the message.}

I see that LaneC is on the task.

I’d love to be able to “help”. Lane probably has the “help” well in hand. (Right Lane?)

So allow me to comment for the others out there who are “feeling” similarly.

(1) You must discharge all the negative “static” electricity around your circumstances. When I interview people, take networking meetings, or just “chat”. I can detect when someone is carrying emotional baggage. SO for example, to pick upon XXXXXXX, “Í was severed” just drips with pain. I can feel it. Been there, done that, and have the tshirt with scars for it. But, that’s not accurate, descriptive, or helpful. (Other than to get everyone’s attention.) One has to have an emotionally neutral way of describing your circumstances so as not to give away that you were fired for “stealing the pens, getting drunk at your desk, and bonking the boss’ secretary” (as we used to say at AT&T, describing the three things that could get you fired in those days) How about “A major energy company in Chicago area and I separated when my IT management/Customer Relationship management role was relocated.” “Or, reorganized.” “Or, downsized” “Or, Offshored”. See emotionally neutral. See the difference?

(2) When you ask for help. Be easily helped. “Can someone take a look at my resume” is not “easy to do business with. I’d say something like: This fat old white guy turkey would like you to look at my resume at http://tinyurl.com/22onnq and comment by email at http://tinyurl.com/2rlpef“. See the diff? Make it easy for people to find what you want them to help with. imho

(3) Yes, it is a numbers game. “I’ve been applying regularly and have gotten quite a few interviews and although close I did not receive any offers.” Well, I would be interest in how you are measuring things. “applying regularly” could mean every day I submit on one job I find on Monster. “Quite a few interviews” could mean 10, 100, or a 1,000? “Close” makes me cringe. It’s like “try”. There is no close. There’s only “yes” or “no”. So for example, I can tell you the last search I did — after accepting my current job but before I collected my first paycheck — I send out 40 items with my Resume Version 18 & 19 resumes and Cover Letters 38 & 39 and that, within 14 days, RV18CL38 received an 80% response rate! RV19CL38 got 30%, RV18CL39 got 0%, and RV19CL38 got 0%. I liked CL39 but clearly it has a problem. Shredder for that one. See the diff. I know I’m an injineer and I like to measure things. The glass can be both half-full and half-empty. But it can’t be “close”, “a few”, or “regularly”.

Sorry I wasn’t here promptly when you needed it, but hopefully this will be of some assistance. I invite you, or anyone, to visit my “turkey farm” http://tinyurl.com/lxu93 for my view of “transition”. And, if you drop me an email, I have some stuff I’ve created that might help. http://tinyurl.com/2lo4hw

Again, sorry to be late to the party, I myself am being reorged. And, have been busy, surfing “the dangerous winds of change”. As some smart Chinese fellow observed about “Opportunity rides …”

Hope I can help,
Fjohn
The Big Fat Old Turkey