By Mary Ann Faremouth,
The second step of the Faremouth Method is “Ask Better Questions.” Many people right now are asking questions about how they can get a new job to be able to move on with their lives and be able to afford things like Christmas. We all want to get back to a time where we could travel, see friends and family, attend sports and music events, and indulge ourselves in things that bring us happiness. Perhaps, most of all, we are wanting to re-establish a routine in our lives where we have a job to go to, a career to get back on track, and a purpose to fulfill. Perhaps we are also anxious to get back to going to work physically rather than just virtually. It’s not just our livelihood that we miss. We want that interaction with our coworkers, our clients, our teams.
The other day, I heard a remark from a candidate who had been out of work for quite some time after being furloughed due to the pandemic, and he said, “All I want for Christmas is a job. How do I make that happen?”
I was reminded of two songs that have always been favorites of mine during this time of the year:
“All I want For Christmas is My Two Front Teeth,” written by a young man named Donald Gardner, and “All I want for Christmas is You” by Mariah Carey.
The first song was born when Donald Gardner was teaching music in a public school in Smithtown, NY. During a lesson in one of his second grade classes he asked his young students what they wanted for Christmas. As each child answered, he noticed something they all had in common. Every student was missing at least one front tooth, causing them to answer with a bit of a lisp or whistle. Within thirty minutes Gardner had penned the silly little holiday tune which was published in 1948 after an employee of a music publishing company heard Gardner sing it at a music teachers conference. While it might’ve been a simple little song, it was really about a basic need. It was about missing and wanting something that was essential.
The second song by Mariah Carey is obviously about wanting to have a significant other. During this time of the year, many might get somewhat sentimental about not having someone to share things with or even feel sad about someone they have lost. We all want someone to share those special moments in our life with.
These two songs made me think about this time of year when we really stop to reflect about what it is we truly want. While we might sometimes want things that are material, during this holiday season we also think about what we want that money cannot buy. We want that thing that makes us feel like we have purpose and meaning. Having a job to go to gives us that sense of feeling like we matter and that we are doing something meaningful.
The year 2020 has caused many of us to reflect on what we have lost or what we feel is missing in our personal and professional lives. It’s funny how much our daily lives in the last several months are similar to Gardner sitting in front of a second grade class, noticing that all the children were missing their front tooth which hindered them in some way. We can all identify with the feeling of that one thing that is missing being what we want the most. We want to return to a time where we felt whole and complete. We might also be experiencing loss in another way, like Mariah Carey’s song, of someone who had been significant that might not be here this Christmas.
What if we all became creators of a new song going forward? I think the current song we might be singing is:
“All I want for Christmas is a Job.” Let’s look at strategic ways to make that happen where we start humming a new tune in the coming year and make our lives more “merry and bright.” Using the lyrics of Mariah Carey’s song, “All I want for Christmas,” let’s look at efforts we can make now to make our song a more happy and positive one:
1. “There is just one thing I need”
A good starting point in this journey of finding a job is a positive mindset. We need to believe we have what it takes to find a job and then implement the right strategies to make it happen. We need a plan with our goal in mind and strategically take the steps necessary in order to obtain our desired end result.
2. “Make My Wish Come True”
I’ve heard wishes will always only be wishes if we don’t write them down and put a date by the time we want to actualize the wish into a goal. Writing down a daily, weekly, and monthly list of what we wish to happen is a good first step in the process of making our wishes a reality.
3. “To Hear Those Magic Reindeer Click”
The little magic reindeer should be the thoughts in our head telling us we have what it takes to direct our skillset sleigh into the New Work World and apply our perhaps forgotten transferrable skills into a new area. To hear our own magic reindeer click, we might need to seek out the assistance of a “Santa’s Helper” in the form of a Career Consultant, to give ourselves the gift of new beginnings to move forward.
4. “What More Can I Do”
There is ALWAYS more we can do. We can:
a. Have a professional review our resume for better results
b. Take a class to enhance our skillset
c. Send out more resumes
d. Connect with more LinkedIn and network associates
e. Engage in more mindfulness practices like Yoga, Meditation, Prayer, positive thinking, etc.
f. Participate with others who are in the same industry as you to share ideas and collaborate
g. Increase our exercise for the increased endorphin benefits, etc.
h. Get on a new and more healthy food plan to feel better about ourselves, physically and emotionally, and gain more clarity of mind
5. “I just want you for my own, More than you could ever know.”
I think finding a job just might be the greatest gift many people can receive these days. I am convinced that with the right mindset, strong determination and perseverance, and a methodical approach, we all can be singing a new tune that will make us happier. With the right plan of action and approach, we can make what we want, happen. It all starts in the mind. We must think clearly with that goal firmly seated in our mental thoughts as we set out to achieve what we want the most. With desire as the starting point of our motivation, and the new job in the New Work World as our end result, we can achieve what we want the most for our very own.
Ask yourself your own questions on how you can make this holiday more merry and bright even with impediments that you might be facing at this most beautiful time of the year. There is a wide variety of things that you may perceive as standing in your way of making your wishes come true but with the right plan, desire, and motivation, you can overcome those gaps to reach your goals in a reasonable amount of time so you can get back to your own routine that brings you the most satisfaction and completeness.
“More than you could ever know, You can “Make Your Wish Come True!”
Mary Ann Faremouth is the founder and CEO of Faremouth & Company and a highly regarded recruiter, career consultant, speaker and writer. She has been a placement specialist and a leader in the national recruiting community and has placed thousands of employees since 1982. She was the 2016 president of the Houston Independent Personnel Consultant Group and is a board member of the NASPD (National Association of Steel Pipe Distributors) and Authors Marketing Guild. She specializes in recruitment of professional, clerical, and temporary placements, with a variety of industry specific positions in various fields. Her expertise is in matching quality applicants with the right job, serving companies ranging from thriving independents to global conglomerates, tailoring each engagement to the client’s needs.
Mary Ann holds a CPC (Certified Personnel Consultant) credential, was certified by the Board of Regents of the National Association of Personnel Consultants in Washington, DC, and was awarded an Advanced Communicator Bronze, Advanced Leader Bronze Awards by Toastmasters. She cofounded Jobs: Houston magazine in 1997. Mary Ann maintains affiliations with professional organizations in various other industries, including oil and gas, financial, construction, IT, and structural, mechanical, and civil engineering. She has a keen understanding of the marketplace and its specialized needs and requirements.
Mary Ann brings a wealth of expertise to clients looking for the right individual to maximize and empower their team. As a consultant she is available to assist both the applicant and the client to quickly adapt to the New Work World. She also offers virtual and in-person workshops to guide individuals through personalized self-discovery to find new career paths. She continues to build her affiliations with recognized leadership organizations to best serve her clients and applicants by creating a network of highly professional contacts throughout the world. She utilizes her platform as a writer and speaker through her articles and affiliations to reach those in need of help, offering hands-on guidance to navigate this uncharted territory. (More information on www.faremouth.com)
Mary Ann’s award-winning first book Revolutionary Recruiting has been listed by Book Authority as Number #1 of the Best 100 Recruiting Books; #1 Best Seller, Non-Fiction by Amazon (2019); Top 20 Recruiting books by Recruitics; Readers’ Choice finalist (2019) by Houston Literary Awards; Best Non-Fiction (2018), Best Cover (2019), and Best Self-Help (2018) by Authors Marketing Guild. Her books support individuals and corporations, teaching them how to tap into each candidate’s unrealized potential to find the right person for each job, maximizing both employee satisfaction as well as the employer’s bottom line. Mary Ann also showcases her expertise of the recruiting world on a monthly podcast for The Price of Business and weekly articles for USA Business. Mary Ann lives in Houston, Texas.
