Use Your Head to Get Your Foot in the Door by Harvey Mackay Read Free Book Online Page B

are a lot of companies that are going back to basics. That mantra has become one of the hottest marketing mantras in the present downturn. This doesn’t mean accountants are now being recruited for their skills with an abacus or their ability to chisel Roman numerals onto slate. In a back-to-basics organization, hard-nosed skeptics are generally rewarded. They find a way to make do with what the organization has. The back-to-basics types often overlap with the Turtle Wax sorts, but not always. Some back-to-basics advocates have no interest at all in working harder. They just don’t want things to cost more.
    Myth three : A pitch shouldn’t be too narrow in its demands. Don’t assume that because your niche is larger, it’s better. In marketing, wouldn’t you rather be fighting for half of a 28 percent segment than one-seventh of a 44 percent one?
    You may have lost your job as IT director for a mature $200-million company. An offer comes along for a position with the same title at a $100-million company with high growth prospects at half the salary. Many companies, as I point out elsewhere, are skeptical about people willing to take large salary cuts. However, if you really want the job, you can make a convincing case that you’re committed to signing up with a shooting star. After all, doesn’t the fact you’re on the pavement say it all about the risks of being attached to a butchered cash cow?
    Myth four : A pitch has to be neat. Although most searches are much more sharply defined these days, not all of them have the sharpness of a surgeon’s scalpel. On the retail sales front, there are liquor stores in the toniest sections of Manhattan, Chicago’s Gold Coast, and Beverly Hills that do as much volume in Château Ripple, vintage Wednesday, as Château Lafite-Rothschild, vintage 1895.
    Again, research is king. Some companies are wildly inconsistent in the way they are willing to spend money. The corporate offices could be lavish, but everyone may be expected to travel coach and lunchtime dining could mean a trip to the fast-food court. Learn the profile and do your best to squeeze yourself into the company suit.
    Mackay’s Moral: You’ll never please everyone, but you only
have to please a few people to get an offer.
    Quickie—Should You Go Under the Knife After You Get the Ax?
    • A 2009 article in the Chicago Tribune says, “People who lost stable jobs in 1982 suffered an immediate 30 percent drop in their earnings, according to Social Security and other government records. As a group, they never recovered . . . A decade later, their earnings were down 20 percent compared with workers with similar profiles who avoided a layoff. After 15 years, they made 10 percent less. Even 20 years down the road, they hadn’t caught up.”
    • This is tough news to take, especially if you’re over fifty. This trend will not change for people losing jobs today. In fact, it may get worse.
    • A personal makeover is the solution. Retrain the mind and keep one’s skill sets up to date. Stay abreast of the latest in trend information and current events. Physical wellness and fitness are an absolute top priority.
    • Some people think more drastic measures—like a tummy tuck, whittling away those love handles, or breast reduction—can make you look younger and more employable.
    • A 2009 ABC News report noted, “The American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery reported that 75 percent of its members have patients asking for cosmetic surgery to stay competitive in the workplace.”
    • I’ve judged beauty pageants, including Miss America, but in my mind the jury is still out: Can you face-lift yourself into a new career? Fitness, continuous learning, and social awareness are—I believe—the core skills that will make you desirable to an employer. If you don’t have these, no surgeon in the world can compensate for them.

Chapter 16
    The Continuity of Contrarians
    You’re smart, or they