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Surf’s Up: What Surfing Can Teach You about Your Job Search

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The “Memories” feature on our phones is a wonderful thing, reminding us of people and places in our lives. This morning’s collection was from fourteen years ago when I and two cousins paddled out for the first time. What a joy that was! A few years later, I wrote an article about how surfing is similar to the job search and am reposting it here for those in job search mode. Have a “swell” day! 

I am a surfer, or at least aspiring to be one.  Recently, I was out on my board in York, Maine on a day with few good waves and plenty of downtime to ponder this gleefully addicting sport and life in general and began to realize that there are many parallels between the job search and surfing.

Like the job search, surfing depends as much on one’s skill and experience as it does a host of conditions that we have zero control over.  Weather.  Crowded surfing areas and beaches.  Wave size and frequency.  Swell direction.  The list of potential challenges may seem endless, just as it is when you are seeking a new job in a competitive market or industry.

Once you have decided to get in the water (or start looking for your next career opportunity), you paddle out and try not to bump into others.  In the job search, this can be those baby steps that are really critical to overall success, such as writing your resume, crafting solid cover letters, beefing up your LinkedIn profile, and letting people in your network know that you are open to a new opportunity.

Experienced surfers will have multiple boards to choose from to suit their mood or the conditions. Savvy candidates will do the same. Perhaps your “board” will be resumes that highlight different skills and career objectives depending on the jobs you are interested in, or cover letters that will be your differentiator. Knowing yourself and the tools that are available to you is key to success.

Like choosing the right job to apply to, choosing the right wave is essential.  It would be physically and emotionally exhausting to paddle out, attempt to get in the right spot at the right time, pop up, and stay balanced if surfers went after every wave that came along.  Be selective in the job search so that you are fresh and energized when the right one comes along.

Hang ten.  Surfs up.  Cut the curl.  These are not sayings that you will hear on a golf course, tennis court, or basketball court. They are specific to the sport of surfing. An industry will have its own language and catch phrases.  Do your research so that you can communicate in a way that resonates with the people you are interviewing with, as it will help gain their trust and confidence.

Enjoy the ride, even if it is not the perfect wave.  There are days that I get out on the board, and I am just not feeling it, but I still enjoy being out there.  The same can happen in an interview when the job and company look great on paper, yet in the light of day you just do not feel that spark.  Relax.  Every interview is an opportunity to practice and a chance to expand your network.   Surfers talk about catching the perfect wave, but in reality, we try and try and keep getting back on the board, even after falling or not doing our best.

Having a good surfing instructor helps.  Even the most experienced surfers sometimes need a fine tuning on their technique, someone who can help them to look at their style and approach and make suggestions.  In the job search, working with a specialized career coach or recruiter can be invaluable, as they will take a fresh look at your resume and help you to identify the skills and experiences that you should highlight in the interview.

Ultimately, you may need to try a few waves before you find the ideal one, but in the end, there is no feeling as satisfying and euphoric as catching that perfect wave.  The same holds true for the job search.  Keep at it, and you will catch the right job and have the ride of your life.

P.S.: If you are in the York, Maine area and want to try surfing, I highly recommend the team at Liquid Dreams!

About Pillar Search & HR Consulting: A woman-owned business based in Boston, Pillar Search & HR Consulting provides executive search/recruiting and human resources consulting expertise to nonprofit and mission-driven organizations, working with senior leaders and boards of directors to hire and develop the very best talent across all functional areas of the organization. For more information, please visit www.pillarsearch.com.

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Certified Woman Business Enterprise

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I am pleased to share that Pillar Search & HR Consulting, a consulting firm that works with nonprofit organizations, has been certified as a Woman Business Enterprise in the categories of executive search, recruiting, and human resource consulting by the City of Boston’s Equity and Inclusion Unit of the Office of Economic Development.  Pillar is proud to be part of the vibrant Boston small business community!

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Grief and Loss in the Workplace During COVID-19: Best Practices and Strategies

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This morning, I had the honor of co-presenting a timely webinar with Susan Retik called Grief and Loss in the Workplace During COVID-19: Best Practices and Strategies. Today’s session was attended by 365 members of the Massachusetts Municipal Association (MMA) and the Massachusetts Municipal Human Resources Association. This included human resources leaders and town administrators. It was a great opportunity to speak with leaders about how to provide support, guidance, and psychological safety to their team members in a time of crisis. We especially loved this feedback from a participant: “This is truly the best webinar I’ve been on thus far. Thank you so very much for sharing your personal stories. These tips you have provided are spot on and more helpful than you realize.” 

 

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The Dreaded Office Move: 6 Tips for Navigating the Change

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I am excited to have another article on Thrive Global!  Read more about how to handle the dreaded office move on my Thrive page!

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Pillar Joins the Massachusetts LGBT Chamber of Commerce!

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Pillar Search & HR Consulting is proud to be a an ally to and founding member of the Massachusetts LGBT Chamber of Commerce.  The Massachusetts LGBT Chamber of Commerce seeks to promote economic growth and viability for LGBT-owned and allied businesses, corporations and professionals throughout the Commonwealth.

Pillar provides national executive search services for exceptional non-profits and foundations and socially responsible for-profit firms desiring top talent who want an occupassion, not just an occupation. In addition, Pillar offers human resources consulting services including leadership coaching, human resources audits, handbooks, assessing organizational design, training, team building, and employee communications. A woman-owned business, Pillar is based in Boston, MA, and works on both the local and national level.  For more information, please visit www.pillarsearch.com or email Pillar’s CEO, Cindy Joyce, at ci***@**********ch.com.

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10 Things Nobody Ever Tells You about Working from Home

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When I started Pillar Search & HR Consulting, I went from working in the office 5 days a week to working from home 3-4 days a week. I have loved every minute of working from home. It has been a total game changer. There have been some surprises, though. If you are considering a role that allows you to work from home almost exclusively, here were a few of my “aha” moments:

  • I miss coworkers. Sometimes. Granted, I no longer have to listen to Ned from Accounting complain about the quality of coffee or Mabel from Client Services go on and on about her cats, but I miss the comradery and the ability to bounce ideas off of people. I try to do client or candidate lunches once or twice a week. Some days I will sneak out to the gym just to see another person during the day, because once in a while it feels isolating.
  • Be prepared to redecorate. Believe me, this was on of my biggest surprises. Spending hours on end in your abode will make you realize that cannot stand the paint color in your immediate work area. It started to feel too dark, so I painted it. And then the bedroom looked too dark. And then the guestroom. If the dog stands still long enough, he may get a coat of paint.
  • My dry cleaner misses me. We used to be on a first-name basis. Now I am just some person who brings in her “fancy” clothes every few weeks since the days of suits and dresses are few and far between.  Now I work in yoga pants.  You know it’s bad when I justify that they are my “dressy” ones, though on the plus side I am saving a considerable amount of money.
  • I now regret the money spent on shoes (okay, not really…) It’s just a wee bit challenging to justify what I spent on my shoe obsession when I now spend most days in gym socks.  Same for the suits and dresses that now collect dust.  If you believe that working from home will be your reality for the foreseeable future, consider paying it forward by donating some of your former work wardrobe to an organization like Dress For Success. 
  • Maintain a Network:  If you work remotely, you can still have a relationship with colleagues, albeit virtually.  However, having people you see live and in person can be crucial to your sanity.  Join a networking or professional group to ensure that you maintain much-needed, real, live contact with others in your profession or industry.
  • Those appointments that I used to schedule way in advance are a breeze. Those annoying four hour windows from the cable company? No problem! I’ll be here!  Doctor has nothing in the evenings or Saturday for months?  I’ll take that random Tuesday afternoon time slot!
  • Toilet paper. Not to be indelicate, but you never think about that when in an office. Ditto for water, pens, post-its, and coffee/tea. In an office, those things somehow magically appear. You will be amazed at how quickly you run through them. Be sure to stock up.
  • Time Management. Without the normal office cues to indicate time, it is so easy to get sucked down the rabbit hole of a project, look up, and realize the day is gone. You do not see people coming and going, or have the same number of meetings to break up the day – it is great because it keeps me focused, but sometimes I need to set a timer so that I remind myself to take a breather.
  • Family and friends think I am free to play. Set boundaries if you start to work from home. People assume that it means that you can chat on the phone at any time or meet them for downtime when they have a day off. That is not the case. I am working from home, with a big emphasis on the w-o-r-k.
  • MOVE! Living in the city, I often walked a mile to and from the office, and clocked thousands of steps while there going to meetings or to grab lunch. Now I need to remind myself to move. One thing that helped my waistline is the lack of the office candy bowl and endless birthday cake and leftovers from catered lunches, and if I  ended a conference call in the office and started doing pushups, I would have been looked at funny. At home, it is a judgment-free zone.

There are a million perks to working from home, and if you can work around the very few challenges, you may just find your professional utopia.  Good luck with it!