September 30, 2014

Underdog Seeking Work and Redemption

UNDERDOG was a Saturday Morning cartoon series that I watched when I was young. Underdog was a dog with a cape and a big “U” on his chest! He would arrive in the nick of time and save the day against overwhelming odds.  I thought about this cartoon character after a discussion I had with Justin Paperny. Justin was explaining that people in our position have to understand we are now Underdogs and that we face a long uphill struggle to return to a “normal life”with a meaningful job after our journey through the Federal Justice System.

So what do Underdogs do to be successful in a job search:

  1. BELIEF.  An Underdog believes in his ability to beat the Odds! An Underdog understands the significance of an old quote from Henry Ford.  “IF YOU THINK YOU CAN OR CAN’T, YOU’RE RIGHT! ” I think I can! If you think you can’t , stop reading because the rest of this blog will do you no good.
  2. PASSION. An Underdog is passionate about his work and achieving his goals. People easily sense when a person is passionate about a goal or a position. Given the choice, an Employer will select the passionate worker over the non passionate worker.
  3. FEARLESS. An Underdog does not let fear hold him back. The fear of failure causes people to take the safe and established route to reach their goal. If you are an Underdog, the safe and established route will probably not let you beat out the Favorites for a position. You need to construct a fearless strategy to compete with the favorites!
  4. WORK ETHIC. An Underdog has to out work the competition. If the Underdog and the Favorite put in the same effort, the favorite will usually win.
  5. A PLAN. An Underdog carefully crafts a plan to reach his goals. When seeking a position, The underdog knows he needs more than an average resume and cover letter to impress a potential employer. He studies his potential employer, looks for resources inside the company or people who know resources within the company to support his application. He may publish a paper or blog on a topic that is relevant to his potential employer’s business. This helps the Underdog distinguish himself from the crowd of Favorites.
  6. REBOUND. An Underdog is going to lose more than He wins! We have all heard that a Felon may have to apply for a hundred jobs to get a single job interview! An Underdog has to rebound quickly from  rejection, learn from it and refine his approach so his next opportunity has a successful outcome.

It is a natural reaction for people to like and support an Underdog. Use the strategies above and your underdog status to redeem yourself and gain the meaningful position you deserve.

Ken Flaska

Unknown

 

 

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