Michele Woodward

Powerful Coaching. Powerful Results.

careers

Do You Think Like An Hourly Employee?

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City commuters. Abstract blurred image of a city street scene.

 

It takes a lot to blow my mind. Really, a lot.

And recently I have, indeed, had my mind blown.

So let me tell you about it.

First, this thing kept coming up over and over again in my one-on-one coaching sessions. At first, just one person said it, then another, then three more and then – obviously, I’m lightning quick on the uptake – the shape of the thing became clear.

And I leaned back in my chair and said, “Wow.”

The realization is that some of us, even if we have a capital C in our title – CEO, COO, CFO – still see ourselves as hourly employees.

Especially if our parents were hourly employees. If our grandparents were hourly employees? Well, in that case, the mindset is often completely baked in.

So what, you ask? What’s wrong with hourly employment?

Nothing – I’ve had plenty of jobs that paid by the hour (Would You Like Fries With That?). There’s dignity, importance and purpose in working this way.

Though, sometimes, the clues we get working in hourly jobs are these:

  • The boss is the boss and I do what the boss tells me to do
  • I do my shift and that’s all I owe them
  • Work is drudgery and it’s impossible to get ahead
  • My schedule is not my own
  • I could be fired at any time for any reason so I better sit down, shut up and look busy

These clues add up to an attitude we take with us when we move into a salaried role. I’ve seen it so many times, manifested as:

  • Being fearful of (and overly deferential to) leadership
  • Not taking a stand or having an opinion
  • Working to the clock
  • Anxiety, depression and uncertainty

Other folks take it in a whole other direction. They make it:

  • “I’m being paid so much money – I have to give this job everything I’ve got!”
  • Fearful of losing the job they never believed they could have
  • Working with no boundaries
  • Anxious about having sole responsibility for decision-making
  • Impossible to have difficult conversations with subordinates
  • No or limited interests outside of work

Now, of course, this doesn’t affect every hourly employee who’s ever moved into a salary role and not everyone responds the same way.

But enough do that it warrants a little exploration, if you ask me.

Because I have seen people sabotage their careers because they haven’t been able to make the mental jump from “someone who does what other people tell them to do” to “I tell people what to do.”

They can’t seem to figure out how to move from “I am on a tightrope over a chasm of failure” to “Mistakes happen and my role makes it possible for me to learn and lead regardless.”

It’s a big leap from “I’m a cog in the machine” to “I run the machine.”

Most of us will work for years and years. My Social Security summary shows that I paid my first FICA tax in 1977 (from an hourly wage job!). Assuming that I continue working until I’m 70, that’s a work life spanning 53 years. Fifty-three years, darlings.

That is a long time to simply survive.

It’s enough time to realize that each of us what we learned in the past may have suited us in the past, but today is today. And it’s completely fair to consider: What works for me today?

Could it be appreciating an hourly past but living right now, in these circumstances?

Maybe it’s creating a life and a career that works not only for you but for the people you’re connected with – family, friends, colleagues and superiors alike.

I believe it’s also the satisfaction that comes from knowing, regardless of all the obstacles, that you’ve persevered and made a difference.

All of us owe it to ourselves to know where our feeling of limitation and anxiety is rooted and then pull up the roots and take a hard look.

If your ancient, inherited attitudes toward work are holding you back from being fulfilled and happy (which you can be even with work that’s challenging) then perhaps it’s time to toss those old roots onto the compost pile and start planting new seeds. And my hope is that they flower as a new way of being – and success – in your own +50 year work life.

 

 

 

One of Those CrazyGood Weeks

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There are times in your life – specific days or maybe even entire weeks – you will always remember. Weeks which are indelible, with so much happening, full of such a feeling of profound change.

This past week was that kind of week for me.

On Monday, I unveiled a new look for my website – MicheleWoodward.com – designed to make things simpler and easier for you to find and enjoy. To me, it’s gorgeous, and powerful. Inviting. And just what I wanted,  thanks to the talented Victoria Potts Keale, my Everything Web guru who pulled off an amazing feat in an incredibly short period of time.

Because, you see, I had learned on Friday that The Wall Street Journal would be running a feature on my work with a client on Wednesday of the next week, and I wanted my site to be ready to handle the people who’d come to check me out. And, boy, they came by the boatloads. Folks signed up for the newsletter, sent me messages via email and LinkedIn, and said, “atta girl” profusely on Facebook and Twitter.

The client, Becky Johnson, also received a lot of love from her friends, colleagues and even strangers, including a heartfelt phone call from a reader on the West Coast – just to say how inspired she’d been by Becky’s journey.

Although client confidentiality is in my marrow and I never disclose who I’m working with unless the client discloses first, when the WSJ reporter contacted me to see if I had a good story to tell about a client who made a career breakthrough after getting coached, I immediately thought of Becky. How thrilled was I that both she and her CEO, Lisa Gable, agreed immediately to participate. Their openness and generosity allowed thousands if not millions of people to see that there might be a new way to manage leadership growth within organizations. They saw Lisa and Becky’s success and learned from it. Maybe they’ll even model it.

And, for the curious, all the work Becky and I did together consisted of five coaching sessions. Five. Hours. With some email thrown in there. Five hours and Becky got promoted to VP.

For long time readers, you know I love being a coach. But having a story like Becky’s out in public reminds me about why I deeply love this work. It’s transformational. It’s positive. It’s powerful.

And it works.

Can you say that about your job?

I sure wish you could. Wouldn’t that be something?

This busy past week I also interviewed Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-Arkansas, retired), who was the youngest woman in history to be elected to the U.S. Senate. Blanche talked about how she ended up in public service, and how she managed to chair the Senate Agriculture Committee while raising twin toddlers. Seems we like to beat up on politicians these days, but listen to Blanche talk about her work with heart, and passion, and you’ll understand her drive to serve – it’s  inspiring.  Take a listen: WiseWork radio show

This week, too, I am launching my Annual Coaching Program for 2014. It’s a rather novel approach to coaching – a deep dive into whatever you want to transform with all the coaching your schedule will allow. I tested the program with six clients this year, and I have to admit – the successes have been compelling. And amazing. And, once again, I am reminded how much I love what I do. Look at the information page for more details, and let me know if you have questions.

And people have started using  the 2014 Personal Planning Tool which is up and ready for your use. It’s a downloadable pdf worksheet you can use to review 2013 and make a solid plan for what you want to accomplish in 2014. There’s no charge for this 13-page tool – it’s my gift to you.

Because when I stop to think about my legacy and what I hope to create in the world, you figure prominently. I want you to have the success Becky’s found. I want you to be clear, and confident, and visionary, and able to handle crisis. To step up and out, as needed. To make changes where changes will help you, and to have the clarity to go out and do the kind of work you can be proud of.

It’s a big vision, I know. But in my experience, utterly, entirely, totally doable.

Let’s get started.

 

WiseWork Career Story: NASA’s Cady Coleman

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Cady Coleman

 

About a million years ago in the seventh grade, I met a small, observant girl with dark bangs. We both played the flute, we both liked to write, we both had a fairly sly sense of humor.

Which meant, for middle schoolers, that we were slightly beyond potty humor. Only slightly.

Cady Coleman was someone I admired in school because she was wicked smart and had the kind of industrious work habits my parents could only dream of for me. Through middle and high school, we often found ourselves in the same science, history and literature classes, but over time Cady went deep into the sciences and I went deep into writing. (I only took physics, as an example, because there were 23 boys in the class and only two girls. That particular sort of math still happens to appeal to me.)

After high school, we went our separate ways – Cady to MIT to study chemistry, me to Virginia Tech to study writing.

Around our tenth reunion time, I learned that Cady had become an astronaut. A real, honest-to-goodness astronaut. At NASA.

And you know what? I wasn’t that surprised, because in my mind Cady embodied all the characteristics you’d want in an astronaut – smart, resourceful, resilient and diligent.

Over the years, Cady has been up on three missions – she’s the 333rd human to go into space – including a six-month stint in the International Space Station. For that mission, she was launched the day after her 50th birthday proving that age has nothing to do with anything whatsoever.

Cady was my guest this past week on the WiseWork radio show, and she was her usual charming, self-deprecating, wise, insightful self. Would you like to listen to the thirty minute show?

NASA Astronaut Cady Coleman on Working in Space

When Cady describes what it’s like to be launched, what it’s like to orbit the Earth and to see our bright blue ball from space – you can sense her awe and passion.

When she talks about how her family couldn’t afford college but how she made it work for herself, you’ll see grit and determination.

When she talks about the road she walked to get to the place where she could join the astronaut corps, you’ll be inspired.

When she talks about how she leaned in, you’ll be intrigued.

And when someone walks into her office looking for cake right in the middle of our interview, you’ll hear her kindness as she directs her colleague to the fridge.

I am all about working smart with heart, and Cady Coleman exemplifies how any of us can dare greatly enough to reveal our passion for our work. And feel fulfilled as a result.

Thousands of people have listened to the show since last Tuesday. It’s really making an impact – and for that I’m exceedingly grateful, because Cady’s story deserves telling. You can listen by going to BlogTalkRadio or iTunes.

Cady – that flute playing, science-loving, funny, smart seventh grader who sat one desk over from me in so many classes – went on to become one of a handful of American women who’ve been in space. What a privilege it is to see, firsthand, what’s possible for any of us who dare to work smart, with heart.

 

 

 

Salad Dressing, Change and Career Paths

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Have you been in the salad dressing aisle recently?

Let’s see, there are: Organic, Orange. Paul Newman, Paul Prudhomme. Annie, Amy. Nature Valley, Natural. Balsamic, aromatic, diabetic, gluten-free, fat-free…

On the other hand, let’s explore my mother’s choices – which were: French, Blue Cheese, Italian, Oil & Vinegar.

Thus, my darlings, has the world changed.

It used to be that women like my mother could choose careers like they chose salad dressings. If they wanted or needed to work “outside the home”, they got to choose between nursing, teaching or secretarial roles.

Simple? Yes. Straightforward? Uh huh. Opportunity to do as your wits and passion directed? Not so much.

Even today, with so many career options open to women, we struggle with work. Did you see the now-famous essay by Dr. Anne-Marie Slaughter in The Atlantic this week? Titled “Why Women Still Can’t Have It All”, Slaughter explores the dynamics of professional success for women who want to be at the top, the unfulfilled promise of feminism, the gulf between the attitudes of men and those of women, and suggests that young, ambitious women freeze their eggs in their 20s in case they work too hard and miss the window of opportunity on their fertility.

OK, then.

Can we look at a bigger picture, my friends? A larger context to why there are so many anxious strivers out there, and why the workplace is hard for so many? Why, yes – let’s do! Here is the big picture context:

The world sneaked up on you and changed.

Sometimes you have to look back to really get a picture of the future. Cary Campbell Umhau, friend and founder of SPACIOUS, highlighted this interesting article on her Facebook page this week – Ten Most Significant Cultural Trends of the Last Decade by Andy Crouch. And what’s changed the most? I’d lump all ten together and call it The Status Quo.

In my mother’s day, the majority got to dictate the status quo, and they determined – like salad dressings – that there would be  one or two or maybe three ways to be “successful”. But now? As Crouch writes, there is no more majority – there were more “minority” babies born last year than “majority” babies.  So what we have today is a minority majority. In fact, if no one is in the majority, then we are all minorities.

That’s a helluva shift.

And what does it mean?

It means the status quo we grew up with is gone.

And we all get to be much more agile, collaborate and create our own definition of success. Unlike my mother’s limited, status quo salad dressing choices, we face a  wide array of possibilities…

And some people, and organizations are not aware of the change that has already happened.

Or are confused by it.

Invested in the past.

These organizations cling to the old status quo. They liked being the majority. It worked for them. They knew the rules. They had power.

But the rules have changed and continue to change. And those organizations will have to change, or die. We’re already seeing it happen with booksellers, camera stores, the travel industry, newspapers. Next to fall? Academia, insurers – anyone who relies on controlling information to generate revenue. Those barriers are leveling.

And where we’re going is faster, more collaborative, more streamlined, more niche – which is, when you think of it, reflective of needs of minority majorities.

Here’s a peek at the future. Right now, today, a kid is sitting with some friends in a room tweaking code that will change our lives in the next two years. She needs no permission, no credential, no template, no budget approval.

All she needs is an idea, and the oomph to see it through.

Maybe that’s the definition of our new and dynamic status quo, then: Embracing change. Valuing flexibility and agility. Collaboration. Being a part of the power of the minority majority. Limitless creation.

Those invested in the old status quo will lose. It’s just a matter of time. And those who embrace change, new definitions, new ways of being? They will truly have it all. On their terms. In ways that matter.

It’s time for you to let the old go to make room for the new. Even if it means change. Even if it means new rules or no rules. Even if it means you have to learn something new.

It’s time. Do it.

It. Will. Be. Worth. It.

 

Larger Than Life?

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Sometimes there’s a confluence of stuff that starts to happen.  He mentions this, a few days later you read something, then a friend brings it up, too, and sooner or later you put the good old pieces together and see that there’s a bigger picture emerging.

It’s become what my internet friends (and various teenagers) tell me is called a meme.

So let me tell you about the meme I’m seeing.

For me, it started with Lisa de Moraes’ July 15th article in the Washington Post called “The Key To Reality-TV Superstardom? It’s All About Being Larger Than Life.”


“For a cast member to really give breakout performances, it’s critical that he or she has been born without the self-edit gene. ‘They have to be completely unguarded — if they’re a recessive character, they’re never going to make it to season four or five,’ noted Damla Dogan, VP at E! Entertainment Television.”

I was actually horrified at this idea. Larger than life, my dears, is how the Snooki-fication, too much information-ification, the oh-my-god-can-you-believe-that, train wreck of television has occurred.

But it’s just not in TV that we’re urged to be larger than life. Business “gurus” tell us the same thing. “Go big, or go home” – ever heard that before? I spoke with a disappointed woman recently who paid $15,000 to such a guru for a year’s worth of fawning training in How To Go Big. Unfortunately, the only place the big money is rolling in is to the shiny, pretty, unavailable guru who’s depositing all those $15,000 checks.

I don’t know about you, but I am fatigued with shiny, pretty. I am tired of empty promises and vague premises. I am sick to my stomach when I think about self-proclaimed, fast-talking experts taking advantage of good, maybe even slightly desperate, people who just want to grow a good business.

I am finished with those whose only motto seems to be “Shout loudly and carry a big schtick.”

Maybe it’s just my own, well-developed spidey-sense that sniffs out over-weening ego. Because that’s what I think most of this is really all about. Go-big rah-rah’ers are often walking fabulists who want other people to fawn, adore, worship work with them solely to reinforce their self-perception of fabulousity.

Which almost always includes an admonishment that you, too, must be larger than life to succeed. Hey, you want to be on TV, don’t you?

I was pondering this when my after-my-own-heart friend Fabeku Fatunmise wrote this excellent post: Go Big. Or Not. He said:

“But what I think really sucks is the subtle (or not) implication that if you’re not going big that you’re f-ing up. That you’re cheating yourself. Or your audience. Or the world. That you’re a lamer. Or, even more craptastic, a poseur. That, somehow, if you’re not taking epic leaps every single day then you’re just a spineless looooooooooooooser.”

Say it, brother.

A few days ago, my friend Kathy Korman Frey, a Harvard MBA and entrepreneurship professor, wrote a post where she says, “The old ‘get-obsessed-and-do-whatever-it-takes-to-get-it-done’ part of me is possibly gone, or on hiatus.” Now, if you know Kathy, you know she has more energy in her pinkie than do many small nations. But what she’s asking is right in line with the meme – given the realities of my life: what suits me? What is good enough? What is big enough?

And here’s the dealio – it’s always up to you. You decide what’s big enough, what’s good enough, what matters to you. No guru, regardless of how much you pay him or her, knows you better than you know yourself.

I recently had a young woman client say to me in frustration about her job search: “Would you just tell me what to do?” Know what? I’m not gonna. What I am going to do is help you discover your strengths, honor your priorities, center in your values and get absolutely clear on who you are. After you know that, you are going to know what’s right for you.

And it may or may not be big.

But I trust you. Whatever you choose is going to be fine.

Love Your Work? (What Are You, Crazy?)

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I got an email this week from a lovely 25-year old reader – she asked:

Since you work with a lot of professionals and others in the work force – what’s your experience? How many people out there really love their jobs?  I wonder if I was being too negative in thinking that there’s no such thing as the perfect job or that I’ll never just LOVE going to work every day.  Any advice to thoughts along these lines?

This is a great question, whether you’re 25 and just launching your career, or if you’re 55 and in the thick of your working life.  Can’t wait to answer it.

First of all, there seems to be a collective idea about The Plan.  Know what I mean?  The Plan goes like this: Do well in high school –> go to a great college –> go to law school/get a MBA/become a doctor –> get the perfect job.

And guess what? Doesn’t always happen like that. Sorry to burst your balloon, kiddo. There’s a story in the Washington Post that might be of interest – 22-year old Bekah Steadwell graduated from a competitive college – Oberlin – and is working two jobs as a cook while living at home with her parents. And her two college-graduate sisters. Her path is much different from the one we outlined above, huh?

The trick for Bekah and anyone else whose path did not go the way they planned – they couldn’t get a job in their field, or worse, got a job and realized they didn’t really want to do that kind of work – is to accept that their path is different, and that it’s not necessarily a bad thing.

Because sometimes the deviations from The Path turn out to be the most serendipitous. Don’t believe me? Watch Apple’s CEO Steve Jobs talk about his own Path in this Commencement Speech delivered at Stanford.

Perhaps the biggest hurdle is accepting that The Path is a myth – one which creates legions of quietly desperate anxious strivers in pursuit of the impossible. Because you could go to the very best schools in the world, achieve academic excellence, get a coveted job in a prestigious place – and absolutely hate what you are doing.

It happens.

So what do you do if you find yourself hating your job?

Here’s what I tell my clients who find themselves in this fix – ask yourself four questions:

  1. What can I do all by myself to create a better work situation? Could you break up the monotony by consciously doing things differently? Can you learn to manage difficult people?
  2. How can I shift my thoughts away from the negative, toward the positive, about this job? Can you focus on the outcomes – like how, because of your job, you can afford that gym membership, or that trip? Can you seek to find the good?
  3. Have I ever been happy? Look at past happy experiences and see if you can replicate any of the factors you loved back then into your current work. But if you’ve never been happy in any job, then there may be something you need to explore. See #4.
  4. Are there underlying issues I need to work out? If you’ve had a series of unreasonable, demanding female bosses and you had an unreasonable, demanding mother, it doesn’t take Dr. Freud to determine that a bit of therapy might be in order. Really. Burying past ghosts is the single best path toward creating a happy now.

The first step in any situation that’s not working is to look  at yourself and make positive changes.  And if you try, and you still can’t find relief… then it’s time to leave.  No matter what The Plan says.

I’ll write more on figuring out when it’s time to quit – and how to do it – next week.

The Integrity Thing

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A few weeks ago I talked about how to get  Finally Un-Stuck – remember?

“People who are stuck often face some kind of big decision or life change.  And they torment themselves with, ‘Is this the right choice? What if I make a mistake?’ That is the stuck place.  Can’t move forward for fear of doing something wrong, and can’t go back due to the space-time continuum, so… stay stuck. There’s only one way to break through the muck and get un-stuck. And that is to reframe the question from, ‘Is this the right choice?’ to ‘Am I choosing growth?'”

So, we choose growth, and get un-stuck. But there’s something else – something vital – to factor into your decision-making.

It’s called integrity.

To me, integrity means I’m not going to lie, I’m not going to cheat, I’m not going to take advantage of anyone, I’m not going to allow anyone to take advantage of me.  I will say what I mean, and mean what I say.  I will do what I’ve promised to do.

You may have other elements surrounding your personal integrity – but if you don’t, now’s the time to get clear on them, pardner.

Because when you choose growth within the framework of integrity – there is no way you can make a mistake.

Want an example?  Okie doke.  Tom is offered a  job working for his company’s biggest competitor and marketplace rival.  It’s a big leadership job, and it feels like growth to Tom – exactly the kind of step up he’s been looking for.  The new company promises him a signing bonus (asks him to keep quiet about it) and then kinda asks if he can bring over his files on a particular innovation Tom has been overseeing at the old company.

Now, some people would say, “Sure, that’s the way the game is played.  He should absolutely bring everything to his new employer!  What are you, Michele?  Some kinda dope?  This happens all the time.”

Ah, yes, grasshopper, it does happen all the time. Especially with people who have lost touch with their own integrity.  And that’s why this is such an important moment for Tom – he can choose a new opportunity where he knows his integrity will be challenged, or say no and preserve something important to him.

I’m going to humor those who say, “Take the money and run, Tom!”  Let’s say he chooses to take the new job.  A year later, where’s Tom?  Unhappy, compromised, constantly fudging the facts and lying to his team.  He’s miserable. And his former colleagues? He’s lost them – they’re still smarting from his conduct as he walked out the door. Day to day, he’s struggling with the consequence of abandoning something really important to him – his integrity. It’s crushing stress.

I’ve seen this sad scenario play out hundreds of times.

Remember this line from above?  When you choose growth within the framework of integrity – there is no way you can make a mistake.

Well here’s the corollary: Any opportunity that asks you to put your integrity aside is most assuredly not a growth opportunity – and ultimately will be a mistake.

There’s a lot written these days about “Your Personal Brand” -hey, I’ve even written about it:

…your own personal brand is really about living in alignment with your integrity and what’s best about you. And when you’re truly in alignment that way, life becomes easy.

Any of us can convince ourselves that nearly anything is a growth experience. The gut check, then, is seeing where the new opportunity lines up with your integrity. When you can grow while preserving your integrity, you are, indeed, making the absolute right choice.

Would You Like Fries With That?

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During my senior year in high school, it became glaringly evident that my need for hip huggers and puka shells exceeded my parents’ willingness to underwrite my wardrobe.

It was clear that I needed a job.

One crisp autumn day, I walked into the fast food restaurant closest to school — a Roy Rogers, then owned by Marriott — and asked if they were hiring.  I imagine I was wearing jeans with huge bell bottoms.  I may have had a plaid shirt on.  I was likely wearing either desert boots or Famolare Wave Sole shoes.

I was totally rocking the fashion. Which is why I was looking for a job in the first place.

The manager, a woebegone man who’d seen many a late night and too few an early morning, looked me over, head to toe, and wearily asked,”What do you do over at the high school?”

“Well,” I chirped. “I’m President of the Student Union, on the Superintendent’s Advisory Committee, in the ski club, in the drama club, and I’ve applied for early admission to Virginia Tech.”

I was hired on the spot, and given a schedule and a uniform.

Roy Rogers was a Western-themed fast food restaurant, so my uniform consisted of a calico skirt, a white peasant-type blouse and a red and white cowboy hat.

Which totally offended my fashion sensibilities.  And since the restaurant was across the street from my high school, I was continually embarrassed to be seen by classmates who came in for a tasty Double-R-Bar burger.

But Marriott offered a terrific training program.  Believe it or not,  I use what I learned then every single day.

  • I rotate my stock — when I go to the grocery store, the new can of diced tomatoes goes behind the old so I’m always using the oldest stuff first.
  • I know when to flip — my hamburgers come out medium every time.
  • I know how to listen to customers and what they want.

And I know how to do suggestive selling.  Which is when you ask, “Would you like fries with that?” or, since our Roy Rogers fries came in particular packaging, “Would you like a ‘holster’ of fries?”  [Yes, the large fries were served in a cardboard gun holster.  What can I say?  It was a different time.]

I mention suggestive selling for a reason.

News reports out this week indicate that the real U.S. unemployment rate  stands at 17.5 percent:

In all, more than one out of every six workers — 17.5 percent — were unemployed or underemployed in October. The previous recorded high was 17.1 percent, in December 1982.

This includes the officially unemployed, who have looked for work in the last four weeks. It also includes discouraged workers, who have looked in the past year, as well as millions of part-time workers who want to be working full time. (New York Times, Nov. 6, 2009)

If you are out of a job, now is the time to do some suggestive selling.

In a regular economy, 70% of job openings are not even advertised and are filled by personal referral.  In my experience, right now it seems that about 90% of jobs are filled that way — because if an organization can only hire one person, they want a sure thing.  A personal referral from someone who knows you and has worked with you is testimony that you’re smart, sharp and can do the work.  With a meaningful personal referral, you will get you the interview, and probably the position.

To get the referral, you have to suggestively sell your contacts.  You have to tell them what you want and how you can solve the pain of an employer.  Because all job hires are made because someone, somewhere is in pain.  There’s the pain of work overload, there’s the pain of work not getting done, there’s the pain of opportunities missed.

There’s always pain.  Identify it, sell how you can solve it, and you will rise to the top of the list.

If you’re working part-time, it’s even more important to suggestively sell.  Saying things like, “I noticed that XYZ is not getting done. I’d be happy to do it,” is the perfect way to move into a full-time slot.

And remember.  Every job in your past has contributed to the skill set you have now.  Play up all of your talents to sell yourself. Just because you had a certain job title in your last position doesn’t mean you are limited to only that kind of work. I’ll bet there are a lot of things you can do.  Even though I’m no longer “Pardner Of The Month” (March, 1978), I could walk in any fast food joint today and make a credible hamburger.

And know how to ask, as I was trained, “Would you like fries with that?”