career opportunities

When to consider relocation

August 14, 2015 By Marta Goertzen

Joe is an HR executive I’ve known for years. He took early retirement during a restructuring but he still intends to work. We had a conversation recently about his job search. He saw lots of opportunities for relocation in other parts of the country but very little in his town.

He wondered what he should do. His wife wasn’t thrilled with relocating but the difference between working and not working was compelling to them both.

I am from Chicago originally, born and raised. I worked the first half of my career there. My family is there or rather most of them lived in the Chicago area when I made the decision to move. Nowadays my family is spread out all over. Then I met my husband, Kermit, and I had a decision to make. Do I marry the man that will make me happy? But he lives in Canton, Ohio. Or do I stay in Chicago with family and jobs.

It is a tough decision. The place you live is your home. Even after relocating, you find the local grocery, dry cleaners, and coffee shop and suddenly you are at home.

Sometimes we are all confronted with the need to make big decisions that shape the rest of our life. For me it was marrying Kermit. I decided to move to Canton, Ohio and make Northeast Ohio my home. Despite my Northwestern University roots, I became a Buckeye. I made new friends and found some wonderful positions. My career took off. My family thrived. It was the right decision. I never looked back.

Joe has to make a decision. He has to choose between the comfort of home-base and the location of the job he wants. It is simple as that.

So I developed a rule of thumb. If the job you want is out of town and you choose to stay home, then you might be out of work for a while. The choice is yours. No one can make it for you. I can’t make the decision for Ali.

This is not just a question for job changers. Many companies, especially large companies, have multiple locations. Often they ask talented folks to relocate for promotions. What will you do?

Ask yourself:

What do you want?
How much do you love your community?
How much do you want a job?
How long do you want to wait?
Will the relocation get you closer to what you want?

Even if you really love your community, keep an open mind. It is possible that relocation to another part of the country might move you closer to your career and life goals.

Going out on a Limb … in a Boat!

July 24, 2015 By Marta Goertzen

Imagine the wind on your face, the sun reflected off the water. It is quiet. Life is simpler.

I want to go to that place!

But like most people, I live in a house with my family and all my stuff. I work hard to maintain all that ‘stuff’ that makes me feel successful. I worked in Corporate America for years creating and implementing plans and programs that advanced the corporate cause. I am proud of that work but it is exhausting and takes a toll. Like many people I dreamt of something else.

We are all one business meeting away from finding a new job. I know because I have been there. Now I have my own company, The Interview Doctor, where I work harder than I’ve ever worked before but I do that willingly to control my own destiny. With my business partner, Dan Toussant, we help companies and candidates organize job search better which helps advance our mission of helping people achieve their dreams.

Steve Jobs famously said, “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.”

We take that idea to heart! So effective this week, my husband, Kermit Ruegamer and I along with our cat, Jack, will be moving on our boat full time. Yes it is true!

We are making a huge Lifestyle and Life change.

I have been reluctant to talk publically about this. I don’t like to be the center of attention. I would rather focus on my clients. But I have become convinced that talking out loud about this change is an important way to pull the various threads of my life into one consistent message. I have been told our life change is inspirational. That makes me uncomfortable but if that is even a little true then I want to share my life changes so you can pull some confidence from me to live your own genuine life.

This life change is complicated. We have kept many balls in the air for many months preparing to move on the boat. We are renting our house. We let go of almost all of our possessions except those few things that fit into the storage closet under the stairs at home (mostly the paintings on the wall and family photos – not to mention my Kitchen Aid. I am not getting rid of THAT!) Most of our furniture now graces someone else’s home. Most of the clothes and “stuff” are available at our local Salvation Army store. Even the books were sold at Half Price Books.

Crazy you say? Yes, it is crazy. I know you have some questions so let me take a shot at answering a few questions that come up all the time.

Why?

We want to live a simpler, more genuine life without a lot of things. We want to travel and see the world from the water while we are young enough and in good physical condition. We want to demonstrate to our clients and friends that it is possible to get what you want.

Aren’t you scared?

Sure, a little. We tried this for 14 months in 2012 / 2013 when Kermit and I took our boat on the Great Loop, circumnavigating the eastern part of the US by water in our 36 foot powerboat. We loved it! We even loved being together 24 / 7 which shocked everyone who knows us. We have been preparing for this transition for over one year. We believe that all this preparation will make the transition successful.

What about The Interview Doctor?

I will run The Interview Doctor exactly as I have in the past, better I hope. I proved it can be done when I ran the business while on the Great Loop. I plan to return to northeast Ohio monthly for meetings and speaking engagements. We have several Interview Doctors who work with clients now. Most of our work is done on the telephone anyway. With a computer, smart phone and hot spot I can be in business anywhere! Who knows, we might uncover some great ways to utilize my travel to market The Interview Doctor in different ways and in different places!

What kind of boat do you have?

We have a Cruisers 4450 Express with twin Volvo diesel engines. This boat weighs about 30,000 pounds (15 tons) so it is not a row boat. We have a dinghy on the back for zipping around.

Our boat is named “Good Karma” because we want to live our life in a way to warrant good karma and because Kermit likes to respond to people hailing us on the radio “You’ve got Good Karma”!

Good Karma has three cabins (bedrooms) with queen beds, two heads (bathrooms) with separate shower stalls and a salon (the main room with a dining table, kitchen and couches). I even have a little office space in the aft cabin (the master bedroom in the back of the boat) with a desk and storage cubbies. We are exchanging our 3200 square foot house for 675 square feet of floating condo.

Good Karma holds 500 gallons of diesel fuel and 150 gallons of fresh water so we can be self-sufficient if we choose to anchor out and not go into a marina but we tie up at a marina most times. We use regular dishes, cook our own meals and enjoy the occasional bottle of wine just like regular people in regular houses. Our “house” just moves.

Where will you be located?

We are based out of a marina in Sandusky OH, a short drive from Cleveland, for the warm five or six months of the year. In mid-September this year we plan to take the boat east to the Atlantic Ocean and make our way to Florida and the Bahamas for the winter. I plan to return to northeast Ohio every month for my regular meetings and to see clients and contacts. We will take our Suburban to Florida and leave one car in Canton OH for trips home. In the spring we will travel in the boat back to Ohio for the warmer months.

How can we stay in touch?

The same ways you have in the past – by phone or email! I am still in business and still available for coffee and conversation. We just have to schedule a little differently. I will write about our adventure in The Interview Doctor blog, on Facebook and in our boat blog, goodkarmaloopin.blogspot.com.

Jimmy Carter said, “Go out on a limb. That’s where the fruit is.”

Sometimes we just have to do something different. I am going out on the limb to find the fruit. Come with me on the journey so you can decide which limb you want to go out on.

Small Business Saturday

November 28, 2014 By Marta Goertzen

Interesting quote from Catherine Clifford in CNN Money, “Necessity is the mother of invention: In this economy, if you can’t find a job, make one.”

Ms. Clifford tells us the “percentage of Americans starting businesses in 2010 and 2009 was the highest in 15 years“, according to a report from the Kauffman Foundation.

Small businesses often started out as opportunities for folks to make opportunities out of necessity. In fact, in 2013 22% of new businesses were started by entrepreneurs coming directly out of unemployment, according to the Kauffman Index.

The Interview Doctor started this way. I knew for years that I wanted to do something else other than be an HR executive. Every day I thank my former employer for helping me make the decision to open my own business.

Dan Toussant joined The Interview Doctor the same way. He knew he wanted something else and he too can thank his former employer for helping him make that decision. Now we are partners helping people find the career they love and helping employers find the candidates they will love. We are a local small business helping our community get stronger.

We all need to support small businesses! Saturday November 29, 2014 is Small Business Saturday.

On this big Saturday following Thanksgiving don’t go to a big box store! Stop at the local small business in your community instead. You can find everything you need at a local small business.

So let’s take a bit of our shopping time this shopping season to support our hard working local businesses! These entrepreneurs are supporting our communities while they live out their dreams and create jobs!

Doing More with less is an opportunity not a curse

May 6, 2014 By Marta Goertzen

I gave up pop (soda) for Lent. Now, I love Diet Dr. Pepper in particular. It tastes great. In the middle of the afternoon when I need a lift, I looked forward to that drink. Yum. But I gave it up for Lent to see what would happen. Could I be comfortable without those bubbles, that peculiar taste?

I did this once before. That time I couldn’t get the idea of Diet Dr. Pepper out of my head. This time was much easier. Occasionally I had an urge but for the most part I went through the six weeks without a problem. This time I did not have the urge for pop (soda) that I did before. Maybe I broke the habit. I got more creative to find refreshing snacks to replace my beloved Diet Dr. Pepper. After Lent I have no desire for a Diet Dr. Pepper at all. I am pleasantly refreshed with a nice ice tea or ice water.

It got me thinking about living within restraints. When I gave up pop for Lent I created a restraint and learned to live within that constraint. It was easy. It inspired me to seek out alternate snacks for the afternoon.

Constraints come to us voluntarily or involuntarily.

Give up cigarettes. Stop eating red meat. Give up sweets for your diet. Exercising instead of being a couch potato. These are voluntary constraints we impose on ourselves. Losing your job or retiring are involuntary constraints that change the way we live. We have to adjust our spending or we run up debt.

It is possible to find these constraints refreshing or invigorating. The adjustment requires creativity.

I found this interesting article the other day that reinforces this idea of working within constraints, “The Weird Strategy Dr. Seuss used to create his greatest work (and why you should use it too)” by James Clear. Evidently Bennett Cerf, founder of the publishing firm Random House made a bet with Theo Geisel (Dr. Seuss) that he could not write an entertaining children’s book using only 50 different words. Working within that constraint, Dr. Seuss wrote the best seller, Green Eggs and Ham, which has sold more than 200 million copies. He rose to the challenge!

James Clear offers ways that setting limits for ourselves (constraints) can be invigorating. He says:

Constraints inspire creativity. If you are looking for a job or working towards a promotion you work with what you have. You make lemonade out of lemons. You find ways to reach out to people who can help you. One recent client started writing a blog to get his name out there. Another wrote a paper on a topic that interested him and pertained to his work. Then he blasted his article out to all his contacts and used it to leverage appointments. Get creative within your constraints.
Constraints force you to get something done. Set goals. One client made a personal goal to have 10 meetings per week. Do you know how many calls he has to make to have 10 meetings per week? A lot! I write 2 blogs per week. Each blog takes about an hour. That means I have time constraints if I want to get everything done. But I get it done because I have to. Set time limits and create a schedule. You will be shocked how much more you can get done.

Recognize the constraints in your life and use them to grow and become more creative. Practice doing more with less resources and see what happens?

If you liked this blog, check out this other Interview Doctor info:

Getting Something Done – How to Schedule your time during a job search

The Magic of Doing One Thing at a Time

The Job Search Marketing Plan – Declare to the World how you will find your next job!

I Wish I Wrote That: A Rant on Companies

February 18, 2014 By Marta Goertzen

I just read an article that I wish I wrote, 10 Ways Companies Drive Away Talent, by Liz Ryan. This article is just the best. Liz Ryan outlines in no uncertain terms the ways the candidate’s poor experience during the recruiting process drives talent away.

This exact topic comes up over and over again with our clients. Companies are shooting themselves in the foot repeatedly with foolish systems, processes, and rules that drive talent away. It is astounding.

It is not possible for employers to continually complain that the talent is not out there when you put up a huge wall preventing talent from reaching you. It makes no sense.

Reid, a new connection and former HR Director now on the other side, complained bitterly about the electronic barriers erected by companies to prevent candidates from reaching a real person. He is appalled and embarrassed because once long ago he implemented these kinds of systems without understanding the implications.

Ms. Ryan has some great points:

The black hole where resumes go to die. Inflexible rules that serve no apparent purpose. Hiring managers that have no idea what they really need.

This rant is not only directed to human resources people, although they should know better. Folks outside of HR are just as guilty or at least complicit. Bringing in new talent is about building relationships. There should be no barrier between talent and the people in your company who want to have a relationship with talented people.

Employers, check your processes. Better yet, apply for a job at your company and see what it is like. What impression are you leaving with candidates? I guarantee you in the future when they have choices of vendors or service providers they will remember that bad experience. I’ve heard the stories.

Judy worked for 30 years as a research lab manager. For 30 years she refused to purchase a particular brand of beakers because that company treated her badly during the interview process 30 years earlier. People remember.

Think of the recruiting game as a match making experience. Would you put up these kind of barriers if you were seeking a new mate? Of course not. Selecting a new teammate is almost as important. You cannot have barriers between you and candidates. Period. Fix it now or you will regret it for years in the future.