Do your homework

This past weekend I was preparing for a job interview at a photo sharing, publishing and storage e-commerce company. I am excited about this opportunity for I've been a user for a few years now and understand the business and products. Deepening my knowledge, I spent time online searching for the latest news,financial reports and blog chatter about the service. I did this to not only deepen my knowledge, but to help develop and refine my thinking for strategic insights and business development recommendations to share during the interview. Given the competitive job market, it's more important than ever to bring to an interview thoughts on what can be done to build a business as opposed to just having deep knowledge of the present business. This may seem like a "well, duh" insight, but according to comments made in the "Where the Jobs Are: Special Report" on CNBC, this may not be a focus for many interview candidates.
So how does one do this? Do your homework! Get to know the industry the company plays in and most importantly, understand the forward looking trends. I ran several Google searches on industry related topics (opposed to company)such as "digital photgraphy," "photo printing" and "self publishing" to gain insights on where the industry is heading on a macro level. I also read through a few tech and photo blogs to understand the latest industry and consumer thinking about the industry and the company. Lastly, I took note of how I use the product, how I take pictures and share, what devices I use to take pictures with. There is no better way to gain insight than to USE THE PRODUCT.

Note that this process will take time. Don't start the night before the interview...an interview is like a mid-term and final exam, but the grade has a financial impact on you. Once you've digested the data, the trends, etc. brainstorm with your friends, spouses, significant others, etc. I found conversations with others about the product insightful. For example, I learned that many of us share the same frustration that there is no easy way to bulk upload and share all the pictures on our Smart Phones. I also learned that many people are using their Smart Phones to take pictures...and find themselves using their digital cameras less. I took these insights, gathered data on Google and formulated a recommendation to share during my interview. Cool.

I learned that I am one of 3 other candidates for this position. I know I've done my part in positioning myself as a valuable player for this organization. Now it's up to the company to decide who is the best "fit" for the job. That is completely out of my hands.

Turn off the pessimistic news...it's not that bad out there!

A week or so ago CNBC aired a special report called "Where the Jobs Are: Special Report" hosted by Erin Burnett and Carl Quintanilla. I was unable to watch the program, but was able to find the content online. I think the site is worth a review...and we all may want to find future airings and get it on the TiVo. I will focus my next several blogs on offering my point of view on this content from the perspective of a e-commerce/Internet marketing in the Silicon Valley.

I understand the fear of being unemployed that grips people. Not being employed and having an income is scary, but I think the pessimism within the market and country is exacerbating the problem. The CNBC report mentions that nearly half of all Americans FEAR of becoming unemployed and 90% say now is a BAD TIME to find a quality job. This language may reflect the sentiments of Americans...but is the fear warranted or does it inhibit us from finding the solution?

The unemployment rate in some states is hovering around 10%...but that means 90% of the people are employed. If I remember my econ policy class correctly, the unemployment rate during the Depression was roughly 25%....and capacity set idle for several years. Unfortunately too many politicians are saying "the worst economic environment since the Depression." These repeated statements reinforce the fear. Based on these data points, it sounds like we are NO WHERE NEAR that state of the economy during the Depression.

Now I am an optimist and see the glass half full. Since I've started my job search in early February I have found opportunities to explore. I've spoken to recruiters who have all said "there are jobs out there...just be patient." I've had phone screens, interviews...and have been doing A LOT of networking. But the opportunities are out there. All of us on the hunt must leverage our networks, apply new tools available like Jobaphiles or TwitterJobSearch and continue to do our home work for where opportunities may exist. Unlike the Valley in the mid 1990s where the jobs found us, we now must find the jobs.

I suggest that we all turn off the news for a while and get busy searching.

This too shall pass.

Stay positive and on routine

This morning I was following up with several friends and contacts who I reached out to late last week. My goal of these follow-ups is to keep top-of-mind of friends as if to say "hey, I'm here...don't forget about me." The goal is NEVER to be a pest, but to simply keep oneself visible as employed contacts deal with their hectic days and always growing email in-boxes.

One of my emails this morning was to a friend who works at a potential employer that has a great CRM opportunity. My contact knows the internal recruiter for this job...so it's important to stay visible and connected. The follow up email did it's trick and I confirmed that my resume is now in front of the right people. Thanks!

However, out of this correspondence came another job search "nugget" of advice. My friend has always had a great sense of balance and presence both physically and mentally. It's relaxing just be be around him. In his response back to me he closed his email with a piece of wisdom spiritual masters typically provide during daily contemplative prayer.

"Stay positive and on routine."

Being laid off displaces all of us from the basic daily routine of working....getting up in the morning, working out, going into work, driving home, having dinner and spending time with the family...and the cycle starts again the next day. I thinking maintaining the same routine reduces the shock of being laid off and enables stronger focus on the goal of finding the right next job. It also helps keep a positive outlook when the "we found another more qualified candidate" emails and phone calls come in.

Great advice.

School is never out

I just had morning coffee with the VP of the last group I worked in before leaving eBay. As a marketing professional myself, I greatly appreciate this VP's mentoring and marketing insights for he lead organizations at Proctor and Gamble, Taco Bell and eBay. He knows his stuff and is a Marketer's marketer.

We spent the first 10 minutes updating each other on our personal lives and then we got down to "business." I provided my standard 2 minute "elevator" pitch that begins with "when I made the decision to leave eBay" and ends with "and then the revenue dried up and now I'm on the hunt." I also brought optimism to the conversation by sharing that I had interviews at PlayPhone, Shutterfly and Chegg. Vice Presidents are sharing a different elevator pitch.

"I think the days of having a big budget, a staff and a corner office are gone," he began. "Any company that has a budget...is holding it tight. I think more companies are looking are marketing on more of a project basis...they want to accomplish a finite task...and then move on. There simply is not enough company revenue out there to do BIG stuff."

I took a sip of my cooling latte.

"I'm starting my own consulting company...which is strange for me. I want to provide a service that helps a company evaluate their products, or evaluate their current marketing tactics...to then develope a plan to lead and execute for them. So I'm pulling together a lot of the programs and thinking that we did at eBay and providing that bundle as a service. Having to pound the pavement for new business is tough."

The next several minutes were spent talking about the realization that in downtimes marketing teams need to really demonstrate their value...and adapt to the changing environment. We also discussed the fact that school is never out for a marketer...or for any business professional for that matter. The strategies and tactics marketers applied 5 years ago are very different than those of today. The social web, for example, has brough the concept of "direct marketing" or "1:1 marketing" to an entirely different level where brands talk to and interact with consumers directly.

"Always keep up on what's going on in the marketing world...understand the new ways to approach marketing...have a point of view...and be able to articulate what to do with it," he added.

"Yes, I agree," I replied. "But I really think that it's those of us with deeper experience who know how to integrate the new thinking (tactic) into the overall marketing strategy so that it's effective. The more experienced marketer continues to add a lot of value provided we keep current."

I hope I'm right...or experienced marketers like the VP and I will be out of a job!

The lesson learned this morning is to always keep refining and building the "tool box" for whatever profession you are in. These new tools will help all of us adjust to any industry changes that ARE happening now.

Well, I'm off to half.com to buy the latest marketing books to learn about the latest trends. I think my first stop will be "Marketing to the Social Web," by Larry Webber.