#57 on my 101 Things in 1,001 Days List was to read all of Seth Godin’s books. I was already about halfway done, when I added this to my list, but then he just kept on writing books! Give a girl a break, and let me catch up! ;) If you’re unfamiliar with Godin, he’s a best-selling marketing and business author who writes “bite size” marketing books and a blog.

My favorite book of the 12 is Small Is the New Big: and 183 Other Riffs, Rants, and Remarkable Business Ideas. I like how this book is divided into alphabetized one page blurbs. While not all 183 are “remarkable” ideas, it’s a great way to bring you out of the details of getting things done on a day-to-day basis. It adds a little caffeine to your marketing day. This book is better listened to than read. I really enjoy listening to an audio book that’s narrated by the author, because it’s much more personal and you feel like you’re getting the right tone/inflections.

I just finished his last book, Tribes — We Need You to Lead Us.  As usual, it was a quick read and resonated with me in a Gandhi sort of way, “be the change you want to see in the world”.  This book isn’t on how to be a better leader, just about deciding to lead. I think my favorite thing was going to read the review on Amazon and finding this in the Editorial Review section:

“The advice found in this book should be used with caution. Change isn’t made by asking permission, Godin says. Change is made by asking forgiveness, later. That may be true, but in this economy and in certain corporations, it may also be a good way to lose a job.” –Publishers Weekly

Hilarious! Seth Godin, are you laughing?

My only critique with Godin’s writing is that he’s often too quick to dismiss stable and “boring” businesses. There’s a time and place for unconventional (that’s why it’s not called “conventional”). For example, I don’t want my toilet paper to be hip and clever– it’s just toilet paper. And it doesn’t matter how “outside the box” your company is if you’re still unprofitable. I am a huge fan of his books though, I just like to take everything with a grain of salt.  :)

1. Set up RSS feeds. Just because you’re unemployed doesn’t mean that you want to spend hours every day combing through the same websites.  First, create a list of sites that you frequent for your job search.  Then, using iGoogle (personalized home) or Netvibes, create an extra tab and start adding RSS feeds and/or bookmarks (if RSS isn’t available).  I use Craigslist.org, Indeed.com, Monster.com, Careerbuilder.com, and a few industry/regional specific websites.  I also have a Note widget on my iGoogle that I use to record the date, company and position I applied for, just for future reference.
2. Template your resume and cover letter. By assembling several resumes and cover letters you can save time when you actually find a job to apply for.  I’m not suggesting you do a “find and replace” on the company’s name, but if you have different cover letters geared towards different industries and highlighting specific skills, it makes it that much easier on you to personalize it further.  Why reinvent the wheel everytime?
3. Put the word out. Assuming you’ve already assembled a killer resume, email it to your network.  While friends and acquaintances are higher in quantity, people who have seen you in action (coworkers/bosses) are usually more valuable, leverage that relationship.
4. Manage your online presence (eg. Sign up for LinkedIn). As much as I loath using internet marketing buzz words,  if you’re on the job hunt it’s imperative that you use it to your advantage.  Not only should you know what the first 10 Google results are for your name, but you should be on LinkedIn (and actually using it).  Also, if your Facebook and MySpace profiles aren’t set to “friends only” or “private”, take a look from a future employer’s perspective.  Even if you’re employed you should be aware of this.  Last year, I had the laughable good time of looking at my assistant’s MySpace page to discover that his “cronic migraines” were instead hangovers (as posted back and forth between himself and a friend).  Thanks for making my job easier buddy!
5. Find ways to stand out from the noise. Seth Godin and Auren Hoffman had good posts about this recently.  Economic downturns flood the job market with “talent.”  However, it’s also a great time to let go of underperformers.  So while you might be an A-player, your resume will blend in with all the C-players out there.  So find a way to stand out.  A few ideas:  make your cover letter content useful, get recommendations on LinkedIn,  leverage your contacts who can attest to your A-playeresque (my new word) qualities as recommendations.

Along with the above tips, I also try to allot a specified amount of time per day for job searching, (almost no exceptions).   By living your life as if you were gainfully employed — including getting up at a reasonable hour and putting clothes on — your job search is just part of your daily routine.  Personally, this puts the “demoralizing” part of being unemployed to a minimum.

Got any job searching tips?  Do share!

What did I learn? Not what I thought I was going to learn. When we first started the program, one of the professors said that getting your MBA usually isn’t about what you think you’re there for. After the first year, that really sunk in. So yes, I learned how to apply business school principles to my job, but more than just statistical analysis and economic theory (which are helpful if you know when and how to use them), I learned about myself. Yes, that sounds kind of cliché, but I don’t really care. There’s definitely something to be said for everything you learn in business school, but the process is just as important. Note: I did not just use the word “journey”. OK, I’m going to go buy a wooden bead necklace, practice meditation and drive a Pious, I mean a Prius; maybe later I’ll stop wearing a bra and discuss my personal vision. :)

Differences of opinion aside, it’s great to be reminded of taking mini-retirements. The first section is about fear and defining what you’d like to do and the worst case scenario if it didn’t work out. The next section covers freeing up time, so it’s kind of the opposite of “Getting Things Done” and more about streamlining so you have less to get done. The rest of the book was about outsourcing your life and generating income, so I really enjoyed the first half of the book a lot more. Overall, I would recommend the book because it makes you take a closer look at the life that your living (or not). Sometimes it’s good to take a zoomed-in look at your life, decisions, and future plans.

The List: 52 Book | 52 Weeks

Small Is the New Big: and 183 Other Riffs, Rants, and Remarkable Business Ideas by Seth Godin

The List: 52 Book | 52 Weeks

The List: 52 Book | 52 Weeks