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If you’re following along, you’ve made a list of the problems you’re passionate about solving.  Now what?  How’s that list going to help you land a job?

To answer those questions, the Career Coach in me needs to point out that every problem has a related set of products or services that are designed to solve the problem or mitigate the effects of that problem.  So what are the products and  services that help people solve or mitigate the problems you’re passionate about solving?

With that in mind, the Career Caoch in me asks the following question:

Who makes, distributes, delivers, services, maintains, or installs those products or services?

The answer to those questions is the list of companies you should target for your job search.  And from that list you’ll find your secret job – the job everyone else has overlooked.

Here’s why that’s true.  If you are really passionate about solving a particular problem, every company on your list offers you the opportunity to do just that -  solve the problem you’re passionate about solving.   And name me a company, that doesn’t need more people who are passionate about what they do.

Here’s the Quick Start Guide for putting this advice into practice:

1) Make a list of problems you are passionate about solving.

2) Identify the products and services that are designed to solve those problems or mitigate their effects.

3) Match the products and services to the companies that make, distribute, deliver, service, maintain, or install them.

Now, Go, Run, Do.  You’re on your way.  Next time, I’ll put on my Employment Coach hat and offer some practical advice for getting decision makers to drop what they’re doing, clear their calendar and ask you for the pleasure of an interview.

Last time I pointed out that jobs exist because problems exist. I also said that recognizing that fact is the 1st step in creating an unfair competitive advantage.

This time I’d like to show you the next step in creating an “unfair competitive advantage in your job search.

Here’s the deal. 99.9997% of all job seekers are looking for a job – when they should be looking for problems to solve.  And when you think about it, a job is nothing more (and nothing less) than a symptom of the problem. And as all 1st year medical students quickly learn, chasing symptoms is a very quick way to kill your patient.

The same is true in job search. Chasing jobs is a very quick way to kill your self-esteem, your savings, and your relationships.

Chasing problems, however, leads to great insight, creativity, and power. It’s the difference between being controlled and being in control.

Look at the great problem solvers throughout time: Da Vinci, Edison, Einstein, even Colonel Sanders. They all had a driving passion and curiosity to identify and solve problems.

In fact, it was these attributes that gave them their incredible competitive advantage. They didn’t waste time looking for a job. The jobs came to them.

So what problems are you passionate about solving? – Health, Financial, Relationship, Emotional, Recreational, Spiritual?  It’s up to you.  The possibilities are endless.

Next time: How to leverage this fact while creating the conditions for great jobs to find you.

A funny thing happened in Atlanta on Saturday.  I was hosting a job-search boot camp and I decided to ask everyone in the auditorium what I thought was a very simple question: “Why do jobs exist?”

I got answers like, “So I can pay my bills”, “To keep the economy moving”, and “So I have a place to go during the day”.

But no one got the right answer – and that got me thinking.  If no one in an auditorium full of motivated, intelligent job seekers understood why jobs exist, is it any wonder the headlines and newscasts are filled with stories about people who are struggling to land a job?

Here’s a thought that shouldn’t come as a surprise anyone: “If you don’t know where you’re going, how do you hope to get there?”  By way of analogy, “If you don’t know why jobs exist, how do you hope to find one?”

Enough depressing reality check.  Here’s some exciting news.  I’m about to tell you why jobs exist and once I do, you’ll know something that none of your competition does.  Here it comes, don’t miss it:  ”Jobs exist because problems exist”.

Now that you know this fact, you’ve just taken the first step in creating an “unfair competitive advantage” you can leverage for the rest of your life.

Next time I’ll tell you how to take full advantage of this new found insight.  Until then, happy hunting.

Here is the next step and there is no cost.

The Job Coach asks you to identify the employers who are waiting to hire you, you have to answer 2 questions:
1)    Wh

Last time I asked “Who are you serving?” This time the Job Coach shows how to focus on “How to Serve” and why knowing how to serve can put you ahead of 95% of all other job seekers.

Let me start by saying something shocking. Something you probably won’t believe at first. But something that is nevertheless, quite true.

Regardless of industry, regardless of product or service, and regardless of where you live, there are only 3 ways employers want to be served”.

That’s right, employers are only looking for 3 things. And interestingly, it’s always the same 3 things. Employers the world over are looking for people who can serve them by:

• Making them money
• Saving them money, or
• Making them more efficient

That’s it. No fancy equations. No mysteries or puzzles to solve. No moving parts. It all boils down to everybody’s favorite radio station: WII FM (What’s In It For Me?).

These are the only 3 things employers are buying (or hiring) regardless of the economic conditions or exchange rates.

Unfortunately most job seekers (and a lot of people who call themselves “job coach”) focus on polishing up the old resume and in the process, they miss the whole point of the exercise – figuring out how to serve the people around them in the way they want to be served.

In this sense, your competition has it all backwards. Their resumes highlight what they’re selling – not necessarily what the employer is buying. And that leads us to one of the big reasons people struggle to get back to work – they’re selling the wrong thing.

The key to beating out the competition and cutting your job-search time in half (or more) is to focus on what employers are buying – not what you’re selling.

Next time, The job coach will share a few ideas you can use to instantly identify the employers who are waiting for you to step up and serve them – whether they say they’re hiring or not.

I encouraged you to get clear on what you want to do.  Most people don’t and end up paying a huge penalty (85% of all employees are miserable in their job because they didn’t figure out what it was they wanted to do – before they accepted the job).

Assuming you’ve got some sense of what you want to do, the Job Coach in me has to ask: “When you’re doing what you say you want to do – Who are you serving?  (i.e. who are you helping?)

Let me ask the question another way, “Who – other than yourself and your family – benefits from you doing what you said you want to do?”

The answer to this question is invaluable because it gives us a “direction”.

For the moment, think of me (your job coach) as a travel agent or a concierge at a fancy hotel or spa.  When I ask you what you want to do, I’m really asking you for a DESTINATION.  And when I ask you who you’ll be serving, I’m really asking you for a DIRECTION.

You see, knowing the destination doesn’t always tell you the direction you have to travel to get there.  You need both a direction and a destination to build a successful job-search roadmap.  Because unlike Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz; you won’t always be able to see the Yellow Brick Road beneath your ruby-red slippers.

The point is this.  Knowing what you want to do is a huge step in the right direction.  But we also need to know who you’ll be serving when you get there, so we can get you there safely – as fast as possible.

As with any life-changing journey, there are things you’ll need to learn along the way.  Next time, we’ll discuss one of them – how you plan to serve the people you’ll meet along the way.

Have you ever asked yourself why am I trying to send out resume’s that no one reads then going to interviews with people that have no idea as to what you are supposed to do. Sending resume’s and going to gatekeeper interviews is putting other people in charge of your career and access to your next job. We are excited to be able to put you in charge of your career and your life.

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