First off, this is a position that I really, really want. Since I’ve been interviewing it is one of only a very few that I have been very excited about. This isn’t pretend excited, this is chomping at the bit to get started excited. I was beginning to wonder if such a job exists or not… well, it does.

The reason for this post is because I learned something completely new and different. I’ve done a lot of interviewing. I mean a LOT. I’ve probably personally interviewed well over 100 people. I’ve asked technical questions, I’ve asked behavioral question, I’ve made people really squirm. On the other side of the interview table, I’ve learned to answer questions with stories about my past rather than general feel good statements. This week I learned an interview technique that applies extremely well when you are interviewing for a role that has many different interpretations. Ask the interviewee to present what the role means to them in 10 minutes or less. SO Simple. Duh! I should have thought of this!

Actually, it’s a little more than that:

• Describe what you think that this role is
• Describe how you’d approach this particular role in this company
• Describe what makes you uniquely qualified for this role

So simple. But yet, so effective. I put together 8 slides and presented them to a panel of interviewers who then asked me questions about my background and my presentation. It was a quick, effective way to get to understand how a person would approach a job. I’m going to remember this for when I am interviewing to fill positions again.

So, you’re probably wondering… how did my interview go? I’m cautiously optimistic. My one regret is that I wasn’t able to sit down with everyone individually. It is much harder for me to make a connection with people when I am talking to a roomful. I don’t know how much that hurt me.

As you probably know, I’ve taken a few kayaking vacations in the past, I’ve spent a week in the Alaskan wilderness camping and paddling Kenai Fjords National Park. I’ve also spent a week sailing and kayaking in the Galapagos. Those were two trips that I will remember for a lifetime. I love being outdoors, and I love the sense of satisfaction that I have after a long day of activity. This has prompted me to investigate a self-guided tour of the Cape Lookout National Seashore of NC. This trip has been in the works for a while now, and I’ve gotten so excited about it that I HAVE to talk about it. Click to see an interactive map.

For those of you that aren’t familiar with Cape Lookout, it is one of the few pristine barrier islands left on the East coast. The islands are only accessible by boat. You can explore about 50 miles worth of island. Some people bring their 4×4s on the car ferry, but we plan on paddling and camping as much of the island as possible. Camping is primitive and there are only a few sites where potable water is available. You have to bring all your food, and enough water to last a few days in case there are issues with the drinking water supply. We are talking some packed kayaks. Food will definitely require some creativity without the ability to take along big coolers. We also have to worry about raccoons – so I’ll be packing the bear vaults to keep the critters out!

A side purpose to this whole trip is a fascination that I’ve had with lighthouses. I’ve visited all of the major lighthouses of NC except one – Cape Lookout. I’ve driven down the Outer Banks – climbing Currituck, visiting Bodie, seeing Hatteras before the big move, and taking a car ferry to Ocacroke. I’ve taken a side trip to Oak Island as well. I’ve even taken the ferry to Bald Head Island just to see “Old Baldy”. Now it is Cape Lookout’s turn for a visit. Cape Lookout is the one with the diamond day mark.

I’ve set a date in the early summer and I’ve rounded up a few friends who will hopefully be able come along. Timing is important – I want to do this when the ocean is warm enough for swimming but the nights are still comfortable for sleeping. Here’s the plan:

• Leave the truck in the long term parking lot for the park and put in the kayaks at Harker’s Island near high tide. Ride the tide all the way out to the tip of Cape Lookout. Spend a night camping in the shadow of the lighthouse.
• Pack up the gear and paddle North about 3-4 hours or 10-12 miles a day, taking into account the timing of the tides.
• Spend the rest of each day playing in the sand and surf or exploring and taking pictures of the wildlife.
• Repeat until we reach the abandoned town of Portsmouth (stretch goal!). Explore there.
• Paddle South until we find the truck again
• Head home, exhausted, tanned and relaxed

Where’s your sense of adventure?

What’s that noise? Well hello – it’s our 13 year old tank water heater. My friend, your time is almost up – you’re well past your expected lifetime you know. You’re the time bomb in my attic over my master bedroom suite. Tick tick tick. I’ve been eying you suspiciously for a while now, waiting… wondering… when are you going to leak? Will it be when I am at home? Will it be when I am out of town for a week? Will you ruin two stories of dry wall and insulation? Well, I am not going to let you rain on my parade.

I’ve been procrastinating on this, but one of my neighbors came home to water streaming down the outside of their house recently. Their old water heater blew. Yikes! I didn’t want that to happen to me too. Time to get proactive.

Boy there are a lot of choices out there for water heaters! I would love to do a solar one or maybe a tankless. Unfortunately those are about $3,000-$7,000 installed and even with the 30% federal tax credit that’s a bit painful. I don’t know if I’ll find a new job outside of NC so I can’t justify that kind of expense for a house I might wind up selling. Tank water heaters have gotten a bit more efficient as well, even if they aren’t quite as good as the solar or tankless models. My target was a nice energy star tank water heater that was about the same configuration as my old one to facilitate easy installation. Why you ask? Because my husband and I were going to install it ourselves. In this land known as Frugalistan you never pay someone to do something that you can do yourself.

My job was to pick out the water heater, arrange for delivery, and make sure that I bought enough parts to do the installation without multiple trips to Home Depot. (there are a lot of things to consider – let me tell you!) His job was to wield the propane torch for the copper piping and to provide the brawn to break the seal on the gas line. Oh, didn’t I mention? Yes, we have a propane gas heater! There’s nothing like playing with highly combustible materials on a Friday night. Together we were responsible for getting 175lbs of new water heater up two flights of stairs. I got the job pulling on the handles of the appliance dolly. Hurray! Those things are big and it sure isn’t easy maneuvering up two staircases each having a quarter turn. Good thing I eat my spinach.

I have to say – this was a surprisingly *easy* job. Cutting, fluxing and soldering copper pipe is a no-brainer. The gas line was a little disconcerting, but we reused all of the black iron pipe, so that wasn’t an issue either. The worst part of it was moving the water heater vertically. Down for the old one was easy, up for the new one was the hard part.

New water heater – $675, plumbing supplies – $100, the satisfaction of a job well done – priceless.

What is wrong with this picture? Nothing! New water heater installed and running on the left, old water heater on the right ready for its trip to the dump.

For a quick read that gives a good overview of this topic, see the following article on Karl Albrecht’s website.

• Leave the person sitting unattended for hours at a time – Nothing says you’re insignificant and we don’t really care that you’re part of our team like this one. If you tell them that you want to meet with them first thing in the morning on their first day – make sure to show up at least an hour late. They can cool their heels in the receptionist area waiting. You know you have more important things to do.
• Ignore the person’s background when you provide training – Just because everyone is different doesn’t mean you need to customize how you bring them up to speed. It’s much easier to just train everyone the same way regardless of what they know. So what if it is frustrating for someone that really knows what they are doing – or is too complicated for someone who has never done the job before.
• Forget them around lunchtime – This one is especially entertaining if the person is new to the area and has no idea where to go to get some food on their first day. Leaving them behind at lunch is a great way to be able to talk about how annoying it is to train the new guy.
• Don’t have their computer systems and accounts setup – This is best for people whose jobs really depend on computer access. Give them some out of date printouts to read while they wait a week (or more) for their computer to show up. Nothing says loving like dry hardcopy in an 8pt font.
• Give them the worst desk and chair in the office – Especially effective if you can find a “trick” chair that has a habit of tipping over or has a bad pneumatic lift mechanism.
• Don’t provide them with a buddy – Buddies get bothered with all of the stupid questions. If you don’t provide one, the new hire will have to figure everything out for themselves.
• Make sure to hit on your new coworker – This doesn’t scream “awkward situation” for a new person trying to learn their way around their new office and among their new coworkers.

Clearly I’m being facetious with my advice, but I’ve had all of these things happen to me at one time or another when I’ve started a new job. Here’s hoping that my next position won’t provide me with a new way to expand my list!

Some argue that the loss in happiness due to unemployment is actually worse than that due to divorce. It can lead to passivity – a lot of television watching – and alcohol consumption. Even in countries like Holland and Sweden, which give the unemployed good financial support, there is still a drop in happiness, health, and mental health. And you don’t get used to it, even after two years; and when you go back to work, there is a scar, some permanent damage to our capacity to enjoy our work.

wow.

I’m not going to deny it, being unemployed is tough. There are days where I have what I call “household ADD”. I find myself wandering from room to room doing little things here and there but not really finishing anything. It is weird, especially for me because I am usually pretty focused. Some days are worse, there are times where I feel more than a little hopeless. But, that’s ok. I wallow in it for an hour or two, and then I get over it.

However, it hasn’t been all bad. I have a great network and a lot of good friends who have done their best to help me in my search, but the economy isn’t really cooperating. That’s not their fault, nor my own. Thankfully my family can live on one salary for an extended period of time. And even more thankfully, my husband is still gainfully employed.

I’ve also done a few things to maintain a schedule and to help provide a daily purpose. I usually do not turn on the TV until after my husband comes home from work. I don’t need it to keep me company – during the day it is just a bunch of mindless junk anyway. Occasionally I’ll watch “Cash Cab” while I’m on the Stairmaster because I find it fun to play along. Every morning I eat a healthy breakfast to start my day. I always workout for about an hour in the morning. There is nothing that lifts my spirits more than a good workout. I have days where I don’t want to do it, but I find that if I drag myself into the exercise room and just “do a little something” that I’ll complete a full workout and feel much better afterwards. I’ve also come to love my local library. Reading is a great way to expand my mind and I’m in the habit of reading about a book a week now. Best of all, it’s FREE! I hope that I can continue this once I start working again.

Having all this extra time has allowed for a lot of reflection as well. There have been times in my life where I’ve been on that hedonic treadmill, pure and simple. I wanted a new car, some nicer clothes, a better house and so on. I’m not a big “shopper” in the usual sense, but when it comes to some of the bigger wants I’ve had them all. I’ve come to realize that they never make me happy – they typically add more stress. New car? Don’t get it dinged in the parking lot! Bigger house – how much are my taxes?!?!! Come to find out I don’t need a lot of stuff to be happy. You know what I felt most grateful for yesterday? Here are the top 3 (and there are many more):

1. Napping on the floor in the sun with a really warm purring black cat
2. Eating eggs benedict and steamed broccoli with hollandaise sauce for dinner
3. Feeling the satisfaction of having a clean house

What is missing here? Everything to do with money, career, and possessions. I’m a driven person. I’m not patient. I’ve been told that I can be too competitive. When I look at my life and who I am, those parts of me aren’t really the highlights. They’ve made me appear successful on the outside. What makes me really successful – and what will make me survive this period in my life – is all about who I am on the inside.

One of my dreams is to own my own business. I vacillate between a high tech business and one that is not. There are benefits and detriments to both. I’ll touch on the non-high tech options a bit. There are a lot of costs. Here are but a few.

• Loss of salary – ok – I’m already there, starting a business now doesn’t mean I will lose anything. However I might delay how long it takes to get back to a good salary.
• Loss of identity – I’ve lived and breathed high tech my entire career. It is part of who I am. That would be gone. This one really hurts. I have a strong resume and I would be turning my back on it.
• Loss of stability – I’ve always had a “job” working for someone else. This is all up to me!
• Loss of expertise – Time to learn something new – and not be an expert anymore.
• Closing a door – Once you leave high tech, it is almost impossible to get back into it because the technology changes so quickly. Is it worth it?

What’s the cost of your dream? Do you think it is worth it? I’m still trying to figure that out.

If you want to get a feel for what this book is like – check out an adaptation from the book on his website. How Do You Know If Your Dream is Obtainable?

I’ve never read any of his books before and I just happened upon this one in the library while I was in the throes of navel gazing about my own future. These last 9 months (nine!! where does the time go?) of job searching and soul searching have been both good and bad. At first I really needed the time off but more recently I’ve determined that it is time for me to *DO* something productive. The question has been: “what?” Do I want to keep doing what I had been doing? Or do I want to try doing something completely different with a huge learning curve and a higher likelihood of failure? I’ve gone back and forth from one day to the next. I’ve been on interviews that seriously felt like my soul was being sucked out of my body… and then I’ve regretted not being more enthusiastic about the position! Well, maybe my gut was trying to tell me something. I think that it is time for a change. I am always happiest when I am learning something new. The bigger the learning curve and the more support I have while learning, the better off I am.

This book really helped me put my dreams about the future into better focus. I think that my favorite question is “The Ownership Question: Is my dream really my dream?” Who hasn’t said that they want to do something because it’s what they are “supposed” to do? Clearly that’s not your dream. Or maybe you are doing something for someone else… that too, not yours. Sorry. How about you want to keep working on something because you’ve been doing it for all of your career but it isn’t fun anymore? hmmm. Sounds like that isn’t your dream anymore either.

I’m all for leveraging strengths and I know what mine are. I connect with people and I like to think that I bring out their best. I don’t lose sight of the big picture. I am extremely organized and I can be detailed oriented when necessary. I can run a complicated project like no ones business. I just need to apply all that to something a little different than what I have been doing.

I leave you with this final thought:

“Think of your comfort zone as a prison you live in – a largely self-created prison. It consists of a collection of cants, musts, must nots and other unfounded beliefs formed from all the negative thoughts and decisions you have accumulated and reinforced during your lifetime.” Jack Canfield

One of the key messages that hit me revolves around how do you fire someone, and when do you do it. If you are going to fire someone for reasons other than pure performance – for example due to behavior that is threatening or otherwise intimidating you need to do it as soon as possible. This doesn’t mean that you don’t tell the person directly why their behavior is inappropriate in order to remedy the situation. The problem is that most people are loath to approach someone like this in the first place. They wait and wait until a seemingly small infraction becomes the straw that broke the camel’s back. This is bad news. First off, the behavior has been implicitly condoned rather than immediately addressed. Secondly, the perpetrator has become more and more invested in their job over time. And third, since the firing appears to be over a small matter it may be taken badly since the person knows they have done more egregious things in the past.

Another key point of this section is to make sure to treat the person with dignity. If you’re afraid of them, don’t bring muscle into the meeting. No security, no cops, no escorts. This is counter intuitive, but showing your fear and the expectation of a bad outcome actually empowers the person to create one. You are showing that this is what you expect, no? This doesn’t mean that they shouldn’t be available if a situation escalates, but this backup should not be visible.

Clearly another key item is to not beat around the bush when you tell someone they are fired. Be clear. You don’t want them to assume that it is just another performance appraisal and a request for change. Also do not negotiate. I loved the boomerang line – “If you had made the decision to leave we would have respected it, and we expect the same from you.”

There are many more lessons in here that can be used in running a successful business. I’ve also added more intuitive skills to my arsenal due to reading this as well. As a woman who has extensively traveled, I’ve become accustomed to late night arrivals and dark parking lots and garages. This book helps me to be better prepared to recognize a situation before it becomes a bad one.

First off, I take a look at my exercise program and determine if I’ve been lazy. Am I skipping the hardest exercises? Have I reduced the number of days I lift or my reps or weights because I’m not feeling strong? The worst for me is aerobic exercise. I hate it. Have I been avoiding running or getting on the stairmaster? Exercise is pretty easy for me to address. Food is always harder. I think this happens to everyone. You eat healthy but eventually you sneak in a cookie, or maybe some cheese, or some chips, or what about pizza and beer after volleyball? After a while you get used to that and you add something else. Before you know it, you’re eating a lot more calories. Time to start weighing and measuring. My favorite site for calorie monitoring is fitday.com. It’s free and easy to use and it makes it painfully apparent when I’ve been adding “snacks” to my diet.

This approach can be used on your business as well. Have you examined your costs lately? You don’t want to be cheap, but being frugal sure can help in this economic environment.

• One of the easiest ways to cut costs is to look at your broadband, telephone, and wireless expenses. If your contracts are up you will almost always be able to find a better deal. How do I know? I’ve done it. Actually I cut costs *and* I tripled the bandwidth of a company I worked for by doing a little comparison shopping.
• Does you company have multiple sites? Do you do a lot of travel between them? Do you have a corporate discount at a local hotel? Check out the competition. There is sure to be someone who wants to undercut your current deal.
• If you’re doing a lot of travel – don’t underestimate the savings you can obtain by planning in advance. Short notice flights will cost you dearly.
• If you’re really small do you negotiate with vendors to cut training costs? I’ve managed to secure free conference attendance for my team – something that should have cost $800+ a person. I’ve done this in two different companies.
• When you buy a new hardware or software platform do you ask for a discount? You’d be surprised what you can get if you just ask nicely. I’ve managed 10-35% discounts pretty easily by asking.

This isn’t rocket science, it’s just a matter of paying attention to what you’re doing. Whether is what you put in your mouth at meals or what you spend on an ongoing basis – the solution is the same.