Looking out on the morning rain,
I used to feel so uninspired.
And when I knew I had to face another day,
Lord, it made me feel so tired.
Before the day I met you, life was so unkind,
                               But your love was the key to my peace of mind.
                                Aretha Franklin – “A Natural Woman”

Although the Queen of Soul first belted this hit over the airwaves more than three decades ago, its sentiments are as relevant now as they were then.  Today, every media vehicle teems with negatives.  Browser pages on our computers greet us each morning with news of natural disasters, violent crime, and the ever-sinking economy.  In such times, we grasp for and cling to encouragement wherever we may find it.  When truly fortunate, we are directed to something whose intrinsic worth is more far-reaching than immediate forms of respite and motivation.  Often, that “something” is a “someone:”  a role model.  Neophytes in business have dedicated mentors; sports figures have team captains and coaches.  While these are avenues and examples of traditional role models, we sometimes find our guiding lights through routes perhaps not as obvious as these.

When Taylor Hicks first entered our living rooms in January of 2006 via American Idol, he seemed to have anything but “role model” stamped all over him.  Gleaning a single winner from the 100,000 hopefuls nationwide, Idol represented the back door, the “hidden job market,” if you will, to Hicks.  As one of the oldest contestants and the only one sporting prematurely gray hair, Taylor’s powerful, emotional voice was throwback-bluesy and flavored with old school soul; his stage presence recalled the iconoclastic and admittedly spastic Joe Cocker.  Hicks, a Birmingham, Alabama son born and bred, was 180 degrees removed from the ultra-cool vocal styling and fashion sense of the younger, hipper, more marketable competition that had historically reached the summit of the Idol ladder.  Taylor knew full well that he was facing an uphill battle.

However, as Simon Cowell unleashed a resounding “Nay” to this underdog’s entry into the competition, few could have envisioned that Taylor would not only win American Idol, but become a role model for so many, including the founders and members of charitable organizations that sprang up in his honor, and those of us now facing apparently fruitless job searches.  An obscure singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist touring the Deep South for nearly ten years, Taylor conducted his own brand of networking via his job search for a seemingly elusive record contract.  Half musician/singer/songwriter and half self-promoter, Taylor marketed himself ferociously to all potential employers.  Peddling his independently released and self-bankrolled CD’s, “In Your Time” and “Under the Radar,” from the back of his van, he pitched record producers, DJ’s, and other would-be reps:  the counterparts to human resources personnel, hiring managers, and recruiters.  But all of his knocking never opened a single door.  Undeterred, Taylor re-applied himself to his job search with unwavering focus and drive.

He researched, contacted, and sweet talk-badgered booking agents, gaining occasional buy-in’s from established luminaries such as Jackson Browne and James Brown, who allowed Taylor and his band to open for them … without pay.  The never-say-die Alabamian also networked with rising stars such as Dierks Bentley, a buddy from Taylor’s frustrating Nashville days and now a country music recording star.

The inroads that Taylor carved, however, were not enough for a man driven to make his living exclusively by crafting, recording, and performing his music.  In desperation, he turned to the one place where he was almost certain to meet defeat:  a reality show whose audience seemed to crave younger, moldable talent ripe for commercial radio.  In capitalizing upon his equivalent of the hidden job market, Taylor realized his dream, hopping a train to victory paved with the tracks that he had laid with faith, focus, and application.  Garnering the lion’s share of the final 63 million public votes, Taylor Hicks nailed a million-dollar contract with Arista Records.  When this relationship later dissolved via mutual consent, and through Taylor’s desire to gain full creative control over his work, the winner continued to market himself conscientiously, expanding his network of possibilities.

Now flying under his own label, Modern Whomp, Taylor will launch his newest work, “The Distance,” on March 10, 2009, as produced by Eric Clapton/BB King/Faith Hill collaborator Simon Climie.  His additional, independently won accomplishments include a bring-down-the-house role in the Broadway-gone-national gangbusters play, “Grease,” and a Lifetime Achievement Award bestowed by the renowned children’s medical research and services organization, the Shriners Hospitals for Children.  A clear winner on many fronts, Taylor does not rest on his laurels:  he continues to market himself constantly.

Attempting entry into a job market glutted with competition, we, as job candidates, can take inspiration from Taylor’s trials and triumphs.  If the job boards, print ads, and recruiters do not yield viable opportunities, we must network via less obvious routes.  We must establish connections and/or reconnect with members of industry/professional groups, school alumni associations, and various organizations, such as local Chambers of Commerce as well as charities for which we may volunteer.  (Taylor, by the way, was “giving back” to the community even as a struggling musician; primarily to Kid One Transport and Studio by the Tracks).  We must also capitalize upon opportunities inherent in the ever-growing member populations of Internet sites such as Linkedin, as well as the large social networking boards:  Facebook, MySpace, and the recently popular Twitter.  Like Taylor Hicks, with diligence, concentration, and the courage to step “outside the box,” we may yet emerge as winners.

For those candidates who desire to be more proactive in their job searches but do not know where to begin, consider utilizing the following approach:

1. Research 10 or more companies for whom you would like to work.  For job seekers today, the Internet is a treasure trove of information.  With a little effort, one can find business news and review the Websites of desirable potential employers.  Often, the Website includes investor information indicating the firm’s current financial position and plans for growth.  Other independent Web sources, like Hoovers.com, can provide additional information.
2. Find out the name and contact information of hiring managers within the company.  You are not looking for the name of a Human Resources representative or manager, but rather the people with the authority to hire.  Here, you may have to be a bit of a sleuth.  Of course, a good deal of information is available online.  If your online efforts, however, fail to bear fruit, then you may have to pick up the phone, call the company, and get that information from an employee.  You will need to use tact, courtesy, and relationship building skills.
3. Focus on the company’s needs and wants.  If you have done your research correctly, you will have identified the company’s mission, perspective, position, and outlook.  This information will be invaluable to you in the next step.
   
4. Write a letter directed to the person in charge of hiring.  Make him aware that you know the company, like the company, and have something specific and valuable to offer.  The goal is to get this person to contact you one way or another. 
5. Listen.  Once you have initiated a dialogue – via telephone or correspondence – with the hiring manager, listen.  Ask questions.  Delve deeper into his organization’s problems, needs, and wants, and offer solutions as to how you can contribute to the achievement of those goals. 
6. Follow up.  Regardless of the outcome, always send a follow-up letter or a thank you note.  This will serve as a reminder of your initial contact, set you apart from potential competitors, and position you as a professional and prospective valuable addition to the company.

And, in all of your efforts to contact prospective employers, always consider the company’s point of view.  If you do not know or cannot articulate why it is they should hire you, then it is extremely unlikely that they will know either.

Job seekers today can find themselves in the same predicament as the seven blind men asked to describe the elephant.  Touching the beast’s trunk, the first man exclaimed, “The elephant is shaped like a snake!”  Exploring the elephant’s leg, the second man argued, “No, the animal is like a tree.”  As the lack of consensus continued with the remaining men, not one of them was able to form an accurate picture of the elephant, because each had perceived the animal from his own limited perspective. 

When preparing resumes, job seekers often make similar errors in judgment by failing to see the big picture.  Although candidates, with no plan for the distribution of their resumes, may be eager to incorporate minute details of every job that they have ever held into their job hunting documents, they often fail to consider what the employers themselves wish to see.  Confronting mounds of resumes either prepared directly by candidates or by resume writing services, employers are more concerned with what applicants can bring to their specific job opportunities.  Therefore, in conducting job campaigns, job hopefuls should configure their resumes so that their current skills mesh with the demands of the available positions.  This can mean tailoring or “fine-tuning” resumes according to responsibilities defined in the employers’ job descriptions.

When such a task seems daunting, savvy job seekers turn to professional resume writing services.  Such services possess the expertise to accurately portray candidates’ skills while giving employers the information that they want and need to make an informed hiring decision.

Not all forms of prejudice are as blatant as Karl’s situation.  Although Equal Employment Opportunity legislation was enacted to prevent job-related discrimination, the law, as written, can differ vastly from its practice.  In a society that prizes and glorifies its concepts of good looks, bias based upon an applicant’s appearance is often so subtly ingrained that an employer can be unaware of the fact that he or she is prejudicial.  Married to tall, well-conditioned frames, handsome or pretty countenances can open doors faster and wider than their plainer counterparts.  However, there are exceptions.

Is it possible to be so beautiful that looks can eclipse one’s abilities, clouding the hiring manager’s vision so that all he or she sees are the applicant’s external attributes?  The popular television program, “Beauty and the Geek,” revolves around the accepted premise that attractive individuals are considerably less intellectual, and less capable of reasoning problems through to successful resolution, than their ordinary-looking, more scholarly partners.  Over the months that the program airs and the contestants evolve, this supposition is debunked to a certain degree.  However, a job applicant does not have that luxury of time. Numerous psychological studies have indicated that human beings form impressions of others within the first thirty seconds of meeting them.  How will you be perceived when you face your prospective employer?

The English poet John Donne expressed this sentiment almost four hundred years ago.  Yet, it seems particularly appropriate today.  Bad economic news abounds across the globe.  And, since domestic business in every nation is dependent upon global markets for significant portions of their revenues, the American sub-prime mortgage crisis has spawned a worldwide economic meltdown of epic proportions.

Recently, in the U.S., CitiBank announced plans to lay off more than 50,000 employees nationwide while senior executives of the three major domestic automobile manufacturers pleaded their cases before Federal legislators, desperate to obtain funding that would enable their corporations to stay afloat.  Added to the unprecedented federal bailouts of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Goldman Sachs, and AIG, these more recent developments indicate that as the “bell tolls” signaling layoffs and unemployment for millions of Americans, it also “tolls” an alarm for the rest of us who are still employed.

As the value of stocks plummet and consumers curtail all but the most vital spending, the axe continues to fall on the American workforce.  How solid is the company in which you are employed?   How safe is your job?

Like the early bird that catches the worm, the proactive job seeker stands a greater chance of securing employment than those who adopt a “wait and see” approach.   Armed for a targeted job search, a current resume and persuasive cover letter will enable you to get a head start on your competition.

As the economy spirals downward, don’t despair, act!  Develop a resume and cover letter that will maximize your strengths and entice potential employers to grant you interviews.  In that way, if the “bell tolls” for you, you will be prepared.

You may be asking yourself, “what does this have to do with my job search?”  At first blush, one might discern no connection between the respective subject matter of the story and that of your job search.  The surprising answer, however, is “more than you can possibly imagine.”

Consider for a moment the purpose of your job search.  If you are thinking “to find a job,” then you are only partially correct.  The purpose of a job search for the vast majority of seekers is not simply to find a job, but to find the right job – the job fulfilling a litany of different job-seeker requirements in areas including compensation, challenge, advancement, and geography to name just a few.

If your purpose is to find the right job, then you need to begin by developing or securing materials that will define and describe you to a prospective employer.  These materials may include a resume, cover letter, letters of recommendation, a portfolio, certifications, licenses, and a host of other such materials specific to the particular employment search.  Of course, the quality of these materials will be critical to your potential job-hunting success.

Assuming that these materials are of impeccable quality, however, what should be the next step in your process?  Quite obviously, the answer is to commence a job search.  Given that your goal is to find the right job, the underlying, more significant question is “how will you conduct an effective job search?”

The information and other resources available to today’s job-seeker are staggering in their volume and scale.  How will you efficiently employ the resources available to optimize the success of your efforts?

In a sense, you – as a job-seeker – are very much like a political candidate or a product or brand seeking recognition in a crowded marketplace.  How will you capture the attention of those who might might be searching for a candidate like you or who may be of benefit to you in your search?

To gain optimal exposure and recognition within your market, you need to develop a plan, an organized course of action enabling you to systematically utilize all available job-seeking resources to your maximum benefit.  Too many job candidates employ a haphazard approach in their job searches; thereby, leaving their job-hunting success, careers, and futures to chance.   Even if these candidates find jobs (as most all will ultimately do), it is unlikely that they will find the right opportunities.  And, since one job influences the next job and so on, one can only speculate on the damage done to such careers.

Without a plan, its execution, and effective materials promoting a candidate, the job-hunting process is very much like that of Griffin, the mad scientist.  Your efforts will produce relative “invisibility” in the employment market, make it difficult for you to return to the right career track, and utlimately become a source of concern and vexation in your life.