Laid Off Means Don't Lay Down
June 02, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
A layoff, firing, cutback, or Insert Euphemism Here presents the massive challenge of repackaging your skill set for another buyer. Refining your resume, interview skills, and job search strategy becomes a daily chore. The work is tough. The rewards, somewhat elusive in this brutal economy.
Productive breaks in the job search refresh the mind, renew the body, and revive the spirit.
Reading.
Exercising.
Meditating.
Writing will also be a productive use of time during a layoff. What better way to show your expertise than starting a blog, writing an Op-Ed piece for your local paper, or authoring an article for a scholarly business or legal journal?
Channeling the writing skills that you use to burnish your resume, cover letter, and follow-up E-Mail communications can be an immensely valuable resource during a job search. Ceteris paribus, a tangible example of your expertise, passion, and knowledge will set you apart from the competition.
Wouldn't you rather show your depth in an article than explain it in a cover letter?
There's a hidden networking value as well. With the credential of researching an article, getting into inner sanctums will be smoother than if you're armed solely with a resume and cover letter.
Wouldn't you rather appear as an insider with sincere interest about the opinions, experiences, and challenges of decision makers than a simply competent professional with similar credentials as the competition's?
david@davidkrell.com
A layoff, firing, cutback, or Insert Euphemism Here presents the massive challenge of repackaging your skill set for another buyer. Refining your resume, interview skills, and job search strategy becomes a daily chore. The work is tough. The rewards, somewhat elusive in this brutal economy.
Productive breaks in the job search refresh the mind, renew the body, and revive the spirit.
Reading.
Exercising.
Meditating.
Writing will also be a productive use of time during a layoff. What better way to show your expertise than starting a blog, writing an Op-Ed piece for your local paper, or authoring an article for a scholarly business or legal journal?
Channeling the writing skills that you use to burnish your resume, cover letter, and follow-up E-Mail communications can be an immensely valuable resource during a job search. Ceteris paribus, a tangible example of your expertise, passion, and knowledge will set you apart from the competition.
Wouldn't you rather show your depth in an article than explain it in a cover letter?
There's a hidden networking value as well. With the credential of researching an article, getting into inner sanctums will be smoother than if you're armed solely with a resume and cover letter.
Wouldn't you rather appear as an insider with sincere interest about the opinions, experiences, and challenges of decision makers than a simply competent professional with similar credentials as the competition's?
The Power of Writing
June 01, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
While recently re-reading Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead, I came across a passage that goes to the heart of writing -- its power, joy, and inspiration.
In the story's final scenes, Gail Wynand is a media mogul whose New York Banner suffers a severe workers' strike. He begins to take on several jobs at once to maintain the newspaper's daily publication. Editorial writing is one of these jobs.
Wynand enjoys the challenge of conveying ideas, thoughts, and inspirations into tangible expression.
The pressure disappeared with the first word he put on paper. He thought -- while his hand moved rapidly -- what a power there was in words; later, for those who heard them, but first for the one who found them; a healing power, a solution, like the breaking of a barrier. He thought, perhaps the basic secret the scientists have never discovered, the first fount of life, is that which happens when a thought takes shape in words.
Indeed, writing is a basic yet powerful tool of communications. Digital devices allow immediate communications access to send and receive messages, most likely via E-Mail. That access is wonderful, powerful, and convenient. However, quick replies to instant communications on a Blackberry, iPhone, or computer, sometimes cause the underpinnings of an idea to get lost, misinterpreted, or conveyed incompletely.
To fully realize the power of words like Gail Wynand, one must first appreciate the power, whether the message is to 1 or 1 million. Remember that the words chosen for your message will be the words remembered.
In digispeak, Think before you hit the Send button!
david@davidkrell.com
While recently re-reading Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead, I came across a passage that goes to the heart of writing -- its power, joy, and inspiration.
In the story's final scenes, Gail Wynand is a media mogul whose New York Banner suffers a severe workers' strike. He begins to take on several jobs at once to maintain the newspaper's daily publication. Editorial writing is one of these jobs.
Wynand enjoys the challenge of conveying ideas, thoughts, and inspirations into tangible expression.
The pressure disappeared with the first word he put on paper. He thought -- while his hand moved rapidly -- what a power there was in words; later, for those who heard them, but first for the one who found them; a healing power, a solution, like the breaking of a barrier. He thought, perhaps the basic secret the scientists have never discovered, the first fount of life, is that which happens when a thought takes shape in words.
Indeed, writing is a basic yet powerful tool of communications. Digital devices allow immediate communications access to send and receive messages, most likely via E-Mail. That access is wonderful, powerful, and convenient. However, quick replies to instant communications on a Blackberry, iPhone, or computer, sometimes cause the underpinnings of an idea to get lost, misinterpreted, or conveyed incompletely.
To fully realize the power of words like Gail Wynand, one must first appreciate the power, whether the message is to 1 or 1 million. Remember that the words chosen for your message will be the words remembered.
In digispeak, Think before you hit the Send button!