Job Search Lessons From The Super Bowl

The Super Bowl is a game but, like sports in general, it offers useful life lessons that we can take with us . . . if we only look below the surface. As I watched the game, I saw a number of things. How many did you see?

1. Winning is a team effort. The teams that make it to the game don't get there by accident. There are teams of planners and leaders who are constantly evaluating player performance and performing competitive analysis of the team and its capabilities with others. Scouts are looking to improve it. A GM looks at the draft and player cost to see where he can improve. Trainers and doctors are reviewing medicals. And then the coaches start getting involved.

You need to look at your own career in the same way in advance of when you need to make a job change. What is the market like for what you do? Do you excel, are you ordinary or below average? What can I do to upgrade my skills before management starts looking for lower cost alternatives? What is my real value (and understand that is a changing figure both up AND down)?

2. It is important to network to develop close and effective relationships with other professionals in your field. When management starts looking to hire new players, they are working with player agents who they often know from other negotiations. Doesn't that make the process smoother for everyone?

3. Attack your search like your life depends on it. Teams often come out attacking their opponent on both offense and defense. You need to attack your search with ferocity and not casually.

4. If your plan isn't working, make adjustments. Both teams enter the locker room with concrete feedback about their plan and how it's working or not working. If your plan isn't working as well as you like, change it using the feedback you're getting, just like the pros do. Analyze what is working and what isn't and adapt.

5. Keep a level head about you. It's one thing to play with a lot of emotion on the field, but it's hard to sustain for 60 minutes. Both the Eagles and Patriots came out with aggressive blitzes early in the game and attacking offenses before settling into a rhythm. In job searching, you may start off the search with a lot of fervor, but you need to remember that a search can take a long while. You need to manage your emotions for a 60 minute game and not just the first quarter.

6. Try not to be predictable. A football team that runs the same plays in the same sequence or under the same circumstances becomes predictable and other teams learn what they will do and will out perform them

7. Big mistakes can be critical. It's one thing to be defeated on a play or a series. It's another to make a bad call and be left exposed to a big play at a critical time like the Patriots did letting the Eagles back in the game with a 30 yard touchdown late in the game. When you get to the end of the search, it is best to have an agent negotiate for you, rather than leave you exposed to your own emotional whipsawing; if you aren't being represented by one, try to get input from trusted advisors with real knowledge (not your uncle who knows nothing about your industry but has good intentions).

8. Planning starts as soon as the game is over. As soon as the teams walked off the field, I can assure you that both will be planning for change for the next season and will take steps to rectify perceived weaknesses. What that means for you is that you continue your career development, training and networking even when you've just started a job. After all, the time when you have the most leverage in a negotiation is when you don't need a new job.

© 2005 all rights reserved.

Jeff Altman - Concepts in Staffing

Jeff Altman has successfully assisted many corporations identify management leaders and staff in technology, accounting, finance, sales, marketing and other disciplines since 1971. He is also co-founder of Your Next Job, a networking group focused on assisting technology professionals with their job search, a certified leader of the ManKind Project, a not for profit organization that assists men with life issues, and a practicing psychotherapist. For additional job hunting or hiring tips, go to http://www.newyorkmetrotechnologyjobs.com

If you would like Jeff and his firm to assist you with hiring staff, or if you would like help with a strategic job change, send an email to him at jeffaltman@cisny.com (If you're looking for a new position, include your resume).

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Google News Updated : Tue, 07 Oct 2008 14:49:35 GMT Pentagon denies US jet forced to land in Iran - guardian.co.uk Daily Mail Pentagon denies US jet forced to land in Iran guardian.co.uk - 36 minutes ago The Pentagon today denied a report that a US plane had been forced to land in Iranian territory. Iran's Fars news agency claimed that five US officials were questioned and released by the Iranian authorities after the plane they were flying in ... Iran says it forced down Western plane The Associated Press Iran says US plane violated Iran's airspace Reuters Bloomberg - BBC News - AFP - United Press International all 270 news articles Publ.Date : Tue, 07 Oct 2008 14:12:58 GMT McCain aims to slow Obama momentum in debate - Reuters BBC News McCain aims to slow Obama momentum in debate Reuters - 51 minutes ago By John Whitesides, Political Correspondent NASHVILLE (Reuters) - Republican John McCain hopes to halt Democrat Barack Obama's momentum and gain new life in the White House race on Tuesday when the presidential rivals meet in their second debate. A little word makes big waves on campaign trail CNN Political Ticker Tonight's debate is in McCain's favorite style The Associated Press CQPolitics.com - Washington Post - New York Times - AFP all 1,928 news articles Publ.Date : Tue, 07 Oct 2008 13:57:52 GMT Where Angels go...heartbreak follows - Baltimore Sun Los Angeles Times Where Angels go...heartbreak follows Baltimore Sun - 3 hours ago If you didn't stay up to watch, the Angels came back from a 2-0 deficit last night and had the go-ahead run on third base with one out in the top of the ninth, only to have the situation blow up in their faces when manager Mike Scioscia (right) called ... Oh, what a ninth! Sox-Halos a classic MLB.com Angels seething after being squeezed out ESPN Boston Globe - FOXSports.com - USA Today - Los Angeles Times all 569 news articles Publ.Date : Tue, 07 Oct 2008 11:42:08 GMT The Ike Whitaker Saga - Washington Post Washington Post The Ike Whitaker Saga Washington Post - 40 minutes ago In case anyone missed Zach Berman's story in today's paper, Ike Whitaker appears to be done at Virginia Tech. I raise the story in this forum because Whitaker chose Virginia Tech over Maryland amid the usual fanfare that accompanies a top-level recruit ... Va. Tech WR Whitaker faces misdemeanor charges SportingNews.com More alcohol woes for Tech wide receiver Whitaker Richmond Times Dispatch Virginia Tech Collegiate Times Online Edition - The Virginian-Pilot - Daily Press - Washington Post all 32 news articles Publ.Date : Tue, 07 Oct 2008 14:08:42 GMT Nobel Prize awarded for AIDS, cervical cancer research - Los Angeles Times CTV.ca Nobel Prize awarded for AIDS, cervical cancer research Los Angeles Times - 7 hours ago Luc Montagnier dedicated his award to AIDS sufferers and predicted results on a "therapeutic vaccine" for the pandemic within four years. 2 AIDS researchers receive Nobel Prize Chicago Tribune Three Europeans win the 2008 Nobel for medicine International Herald Tribune Detroit Free Press - People's Daily Online - The Associated Press - WTOP all 1,190 news articles Publ.Date : Tue, 07 Oct 2008 07:01:27 GMT Fed creates commercial paper-buying facility - Reuters Reuters Fed creates commercial paper-buying facility Reuters - 32 minutes ago By Mark Felsenthal and Glenn Somerville WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve on Tuesday announced it would create a special-purpose facility, with the Treasury Department's blessing, to begin buying commercial paper in yet another emergency move ... Euro, Dollar Gain on Fed Move Wall Street Journal Fed to Purchase US Commercial Paper to Ease Crunch (Update1) Bloomberg Washington Post - MarketWatch - New York Times - International Herald Tribune all 1,209 news articles Publ.Date : Tue, 07 Oct 2008 14:17:04 GMT US, Britain, and UN weigh options amid rising violence in ... - Christian Science Monitor AFP US, Britain, and UN weigh options amid rising violence in ... Christian Science Monitor - 40 minutes ago By David Montero Against the backdrop of a string of suicide bombings in Pakistan, British, American, and United Nations officials are grappling with the idea of a negotiated settlement with the Taliban. UPDATE 1-Afghan govt denies Saudi meeting was peace talks Reuters India Afghan official: no talks held with Taliban Xinhua AFP - Minneapolis Star Tribune - The Associated Press - Hindu all 453 news articles Publ.Date : Tue, 07 Oct 2008 14:09:17 GMT Clickbank Legitimate Work From Home Jobs

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