JT: This week’s “how I did it” comes from Kathie Maxwell who was looking for a position as what she calls a “baby catcher” – that is, a midwife. Her story is a wonderful example of how a person can get better at job searching as they go.

Dale: One of the reasons that job searching is so discouraging is that every day the search goes on is another day that you did NOT find a job. So, if you let it, the job search is just a series of failures. However, if you are determined to learn and get better at searching, and use the experience to get stronger professionally, there are chances for victories every day.

JT: When we asked Kathie what she had learned during her search and she started by telling us what did NOT work…

There’s that darn question about “Describe a difficult situation you found yourself in and how did you handle it.” I used to tell this awful tale about how I had been abused in the workplace (blah, blah and poor me). I learned to turn that around and tell a funny story about how I overcame some problems by using humor to diffuse the situation. It really had nothing to do with anything I would encounter now in a job, but it was so different from anything they had heard before, they were amused.

I got my dream job. Along the way, I learned that you should give yourself credit for learning as you go. Don’t consider not being hired as a failure, but figure out what you can learn from what went wrong and be honest and self-critical about what you need to do better. For instance, I am older and learn to turn that around by letting them know I had the physical stamina to do the job, and also that my age was an asset because I’ve experienced a lot of situations and had lots of life experience.

Dale: Naturally, I asked Kathie about the story she started using in interviews to describe solving a problem. It’s too long to repeat here, but the essence of it was that she and her colleagues worked in a room with the door that had a small window, and an employee from another area was continually spying on them. The denouement of the story, in Kathie’s words, was this:

When we’d had enough, we figured out a way to put all those ancient National Geographic magazines in the waiting room to good use. We found a picture of one of those apes with the big red butt and taped the picture to our little spy’s window. The next time he snuck in to peer through his window, he finally had something to look at. I guess he figured he had met his match and finally started treating us like professionals.

WHAT’S THE GEM WE CAN CARRY AWAY FROM THIS STORY?

JT: To keep learning, of course. If you really are focused on establishing a good connection with the person interviewing you, you’ll pay attention to how they react to everything you say. That way you can go back and mentally replay the interview and decide what could have gone better.

Dale: I also like the fact that Kathie wasn’t afraid to bring up her age. This is the sort of thing an interviewer is thinking about, but afraid to ask. By bringing it up, Kathie was able to reassure the interviewer on any age concerns, and to do something more: When you bring up something the interviewer is wondering about but can’t ask, you demonstrate that you understand the interviewer’s problem, and by dealing with it, you are demonstrating what a great employee will be. No wonder Kathie landed her perfect job.

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We’d love to hear YOUR success story – please visit jtanddale.com and learn how you can help and inspire those looking for a great new job.

Jeanine “J.T.” Tanner O’Donnell is a professional development specialist and founder of the consulting firm, jtodonnell.com. Her new book is CAREEREALISM: The Smart Approach to a Satisfying Career.

Dale Dauten’s latest book is (GREAT) EMPLOYEES ONLY: How Gifted Bosses Hire and De-Hire Their Way to Success.

2008 by JT O’Donnell and Dale Dauten