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If you can’t find a job, try creating your own opportunities

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For many people, it’s not easy finding a job these days. Ensuring that your resume is up to date and that you have a well written cover page is very important. Still, there are often many candidates competing for that one position. To increase your chances of success, you need to differentiate yourself from the rest of the pack. The same is true for companies who are having a hard time finding new business. They need to leverage their existing client base and find new ways to provide products and services.

I offer the following to get you thinking about how you might create your own opportunities. Whether you are looking for a job, employed by a company that needs more work, or the owner of a company that needs more business, the concepts presented here can help you get there.

In 1988, I was looking for a job but very few companies were hiring. Laptop computers were just beginning to get attention in the computer market. While not many were being sold yet, they had evolved to a place where they were being considered as an alternative to the standard desktop computer. Three major global companies led the way with innovative products.

Victoria is the capital of British Columbia and is situated on Vancouver Island. The majority of public sector purchasing decisions are made in this city which is a ferry ride or short plane trip from the mainland. I had developed some very good relationships within that space so I decided to call some of my contacts and ask them the following questions:

• What are your thoughts about this new technology?

• Have you begun purchasing laptops?

• Which of the 3 major manufactures do you prefer?

• Is there anything they could do to get more of your business?

The answers were pretty interesting. By and large, they all thought the emerging technology had enormous potential and were beginning to purchase a few laptops. The purchases were split evenly between the three manufacturers. They felt that if one of them had a local presence and would demonstrate the new products on a regular basis they would likely gravitate towards that manufacturer.

I called a few of my friends in the computer industry to find out who the national sales managers were for the 3 companies. I was given referrals to two of them and contact information for the third. Armed with this information, I called the first company on the list.

Speaking directly to their VP of Sales for Canada, I introduced myself and gave him a bit of my background. I made sure he understood that I was well referenced and had a good reputation in my part of the world. I explained what I had discovered in conversation with my clients. I then pitched him the idea that if his company created a position for me and provided products to demonstrate, they could own the lion’s share of this market. He responded by telling me that he appreciated my initiative but that his company was sticking to their strategy. I politely suggested that he should perhaps revisit this strategy in light of what he had just learned. He re-iterated his position. I thanked him for his time and told him that I was going to call the next manufacturer on my list. He chuckled, wished me luck and finished again by telling me he thought I had shown a lot of initiative.

I called the next manufacturer and spoke with their General Manager. I pitched the idea and also told him I had spoken to one of his competitors. Within a week I was flown to Toronto. Two weeks later I was sitting in an office with product and actively engaging the local market. A year later, we had 80% market share and I was back in Toronto attending a sales conference. The General Manager walked up to the microphone and said it was time to announce this year’s National Account Executive of the Year. He then said “This year’s winner is the only person I have ever hired who told ME that I needed to create a position for him”. I almost fell out of my chair! I had good friends in that room who are professional, competent, well respected and accomplished business people. The highlight for me was when they all walked over to shake my hand. It was a very humbling experience to be congratulated by people I held in such high esteem and is a moment I will never forget.

While this all took place in the computer industry, you can apply the thinking to whatever marketplace you may be in. As well, it does not need to be about creating a new job. It could be about creating a new initiative within the company you work for or manage.

Consider the following ideas as food for thought and a place to start:

  • Take some time to give ample thought about where your market is going. What are the new trends? What are the new products and/or emerging service delivery needs? In other words, what will the market need tomorrow that you or your company should start positioning for today?
  • Stay Positive. When you are working with a positive mindset, you are thinking about what you CAN do. When you are negative, it’s all about what you can’t do. People pick up on this. Stay positive!
  • Networking is a key ingredient. Interacting with your contacts keeps you active and plugged in. In my experience, the best opportunities always come from being “in the know”. With the economy the way it is, many companies are cutting back. Often, because of knee jerk reactions, they will over-cut. By doing so, they inadvertently compromise their ability to service their own requirements or their clients needs. For you, this represents opportunity. Staying in touch with your clients and business contacts can open doors for you to provide those services.
  • In a down market, smart companies are always willing to entertain new ideas. Their boardrooms are busy with meetings aimed at finding new business, driving efficiencies or looking for ways to capitalize on their competitions weaknesses. This is a GREAT time to be pitching them ideas that increase revenues or reduce their cost of doing business.
  • Showing initiative is always a good thing. Even if no immediate work comes from it, you will have demonstrated your resourcefulness and an enterprising spirit, things that put you in a good light. Moreover, you will have been productively engaging your mind in a positive way. You’ll feel good about yourself and only good can come from this.
  • In my geography, most major companies base their sales teams in Vancouver and send a rep over to Victoria once or twice a month for a day trip. I have always felt that this is an enormous strategic error. In my opinion, constant presence is vital to ones success in any given market. This doesn’t just happen in Victoria. It could be happening in your own city. If so, regardless of the industry, you may have a great opportunity to create a position for yourself.

One last point. Sometimes when trying to solve a problem, we are asking the wrong question. For example, if you consider all you just read, my question back then was not really how do I find a job but rather where can I find a job. In this case, where included geography and industry. Once I knew the where, the how fell into place.

Stay positive, be creative, think outside of the box and look for opportunities where your unique skills can be married to emerging needs. You have nothing to loose and everything to gain!

Good luck!

 

Photo Credit

Image From – The Microsoft Office Clip Art Collection

First posted on March 5th, 2009 at synaptici

 


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Comments

  3. hi…. I need a job… can you help to find a job….?
    I need a job now because I want to help my family…

    Reply

  4. Hi Ross,

    Thanks for your comment and also for your kind wishes. Colleen says hello 🙂

    I appreciate what you are saying. Knowing you as I do, I know you have many skills which could be applied towards emerging opportunities. Not sure if you read this piece but it might add a bit of balance to what the one above.

    http://lifeasahuman.com/2010/mind-spirit/inspirational/convergence-seeing-the-windows-of-opportunity/

    One thought is that there are likely a great many web properties out there that could use your skill sets and the tools you have at your disposal.

    Some things that pop to mind are things like:

    production of ‘high quality’ pod casts
    intro music for pod casts
    production of ‘high quality’ sound bites
    remixes of older things that need polish ( like me LOL )
    instruction and advice

    These may or may not be practical ideas but they could be the seeds for others that are.

    Hitchhiking on what Sandra said, I had to pretty much re-invent myself to do Life As A Human … lots of learning! But now I can take those new skills and apply them elsewhere. Wasn’t always easy, but it’s been a really amazing ride and one that’s just now getting revved up!

    I’ll call you a bit later in the week and catch up!

    Thanks again for sharing your mind Ross.
    Cheers,
    Gil

    Reply

  5. Hello Ross,

    I relate to what you are saying. However, I wonder if sometimes we hold on too long to things that we are passionate about but they are not profitable (and therefore cannot sustain us?) Years ago in the early 80’s I started an organic farm. Out of 18 years of selling to stores, restaurants and farm gate, I made a profit one year, broke even two years and lost money 15 years. We held on way way WAY too long. Ended up having to sell the farm and 110 acres of riverfront property to pay off the Farm Loan and start over. I was 54. Had three kids to put through university and an invalid mot her. That’s when I started to freelance. Scared the you-know-what out of me. But you know what? I started with what I knew. How to grow vegetables. I wrote how-to columns on home gardening, cooking columns etc. to get my feet wet then expanded like crazy. I got very aggressive about learning what I could about the writing business. Switched from harvesting and selling vegetables to harvesting and selling stories. Found mentors. Networked like crazy. Used a lot of the principles Gil talked about. But I also had to learn new skills … so took photography courses, writing course etc. + joined writing organizations (instead of farming organizations.)

    I have no idea what the solution is in your field and at the risk of sounding preachy or sanctimonious, it may be time to think of a new profession. What skills do you have that are transferrable? What expertise do you have (aside from recording studio) that people in the music industry … or other fields … could use?

    Even now I have to re-invent myself as a writer on an ongoing basis. It’s tough and tiring by times but also exhilarating and satisfying.

    Hope you can re-invent yourself also!

    Sandra

    Reply

  6. Hi Gil,

    Happy New Year to you and the family, a little late I know, however better late than never.

    Both of your articles are very interesting (the problem solving one also), using a broad general attitude\outlook usually will bring good results in most industries. I say most industries because not all industries work this way. Sales have always been your forte and you have always been extremely successful in this line of business. Also, management has always worked for you very well because of the type of good and loving person (people person) that you are (I know you well and I have had the pleasure of knowing you for quite some time).

    Your advice again works very well for most industries, however in this turbulent time of economic downturn the first thing to go happens in my industry (the recording business). With the introduction of computer based recording programs (even though they cannot compete with a real professional recording studio – clean, heavy, powerful sound wise), most people believe they can compete with the pro’s while producing their own CD’s for release in the professional market.

    Although my attitude is a very positive one, trying to find clients to spend their money using a professional recording studio during this economic time is extremely difficult, and clients are almost non-existent.

    Please do not take this comment as a “crying in my rum & coke comment (instead of crying in my beer, lol)”, but as an understanding that not all industries can be lumped into the same basket of ideas or advice. Some industries are specialty business’s and need a much more deep approach to finding solutions to problems and different directions to finding more clients.

    The potential clients in my industry either do not have the resources available to them, or do not want to put out the proper resources to achieve their professional goals.

    The potential client base in a small city like Victoria is not even close to the potential client base in a city like Calgary, Winnipeg, Toronto, or Montreal (examples).

    I thank you for your professional comments as always, however please keep in mind that not all industries can be treated the same, there is no broad stroke brush that can be used to solve all issues\problems or build up a client base.

    Take Care & Stay Safe,

    Ross

    ROSS HOLLOWAY
    C.E.O.
    ONTRAC MUSIC LTD.

    http://www.ontracmusic.com

    Reply

  7. Enjoyed this Gil. I think we all have the potential to be mini-businesses but we don’t think of ourselves in that light. Although I’m a freelancer, I could never survive by writing articles alone but when I started thinking outside the box … taking my knowledge/skills and figuring out how to match those with prospective client needs … then things started to happen. I also zeroed in on my love for teaching, and now give different kinds of writing course, including how to start a freelance business!

    I love your list of suggestions and would add one more thing (which you also do) … share share share. It will come back to you tenfold.

    Cheers,
    Sandra

    Reply

  8. Good work Gil. I had trouble finding a job when I got to Alberta, so I hung out my shingle as Writer for Hire and found this small community south of Calgary was starving for a writer. Now I’ve got a corporation with a couple of writers on standby ‘cuz it’s so busy! What a wonderful surprise! You never know until you try. Cheers to you for a great job on this article and with LAAH, Peg

    Reply

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