10

Proving You’re the Person They Need

The historian Christopher Lasch observed that “nothing succeeds like the appearance of success.” Your PADMAN Plan will help you highlight your success so the employer is impressed. We showed you how to use Facts, Demonstration, Credible References, and Stories, and now it’s time for you to prove you’re the person the employer needs.

MAKING PADMAN WORK FOR YOU

You know the job you want, and have listed your prospective employers’ needs in each area of PADMAN. Now it’s time to develop proof that you possess the attitudes, qualities, and skills they need. Let’s get started.

Step 3. Prove You Can Do the Job

Review each employer need on your list, and ask yourself, Why do I think I’d be good at this? and When have I done this before? We often overlook our own strengths, so answering these questions with someone else who knows your accomplishments often produces greater results. Then, on the same line, under the column My Proof, denote which technique you intend to use to prove you can meet the need—Fact, Demonstration, Credible Reference, or Story. Write the details in a job search journal.

When writing the details in your job search journal, list the skill, quality, or attitude you’ve proven in a different color on the outer margin so it’s easy to find. Remember, the same accomplishment can often prove several different skills or qualities. Keeping a journal may seem like extra work at first, but a couple of hours now will save you lots of time and frustration later. Once you’ve developed your proof, you can use it for lots of employers and adapt it for other jobs.

Employers value accomplishments from your paid work and formal education most, so look there first to prove you meet each employer need. Next, transfer proof from other fields, then less traditional sources, and be sure to follow the rules in Chapter 9. Tailor your proof to match the employer’s needs. For example, if your knowledge or experience goes beyond what the employer needs, you may be screened out for being overqualified (employers fear you won’t be happy with the level of salary or responsibility, willing to take orders from others, or stay long-term). Kick it down a notch—“seventeen years’ experience” becomes “more than ten years’,” “business owner” becomes “general manager,” and an

SAMPLE JOB SEARCH JOURNAL ENTRY

“MA in Economics” becomes “course work in Economics,” with no mention of your master’s degree.

Once you’ve compiled your proof, notice how impressive you are. If there are a few employer needs you can’t prove you meet, they become barriers you must overcome to get hired. In Part 3, we will show you how. For now, list any employer needs you can’t prove you meet on the second page of the PADMAN Plan, next to the related PADMAN area under My Barriers. So if the employer requested Good knowledge of the area, you would write:

SAMPLE PADMAN PLAN

If there are several key needs you can’t meet, consider changing your job target to one your transferable skills match more closely. If there are only a few needs you can’t meet, it shouldn’t be a problem. If the thought of listing your barriers feels overwhelming, we understand. Don’t be discouraged, you are in good company. Everyone has barriers to employment . . . even Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft! He is a university dropout. Before he proved his worth, some employers would have screened him out. He has proven that neither age nor lack of education has to hold you back. In truth, many of the world’s most successful people overcame major barriers on their way to the top.

Oprah Winfrey is an African-American woman in an industry dominated by white men. Today, she is one of the most powerful people in entertainment, showing that once you’ve proven your value, race and gender don’t have to stop you from succeeding.

Tom Cruise battles with dyslexia, yet he and his directors have never let it stop him from learning his lines and creating blockbuster movies.

Chris Gardner, whose life story is told in the movie The Pursuit of Happyness, struggled through homelessness and single parenthood while proving to Dean Witter, a top financial company, that he was the best man for their highly sought-after stockbroker position. His persistence drove him to success, and today he is worth millions.

Each of these people faced barriers, believed those barriers could be overcome, and made it happen. Having barriers is not the problem, failing to deal with them is. In the next section we’ll show you how to create solutions for your barriers, before they distract employers from seeing your true value.