Kevin Fanning

I did a funny thing with this book. Well, first a funny thing happened in my life: I was not searching for a job, but on a rabbit-hole, petulant kind of day, I saw a job post that made my heart stop a while. Somewhere in my brain someone blew a thick layer of dust off an old book like in a movie. Unfortunately, the job was too perfect, too good for me, and therefore I couldn't apply for it. No way. But it was too bad, because it was a life-changer. It was terrifying, and right. And I wanted to think that I could.

Two weeks later I'd changed my mind, and I bought this book the same day I decided to go for it. And what I did, was I read this section-by-section, each step of the way. I read the resume chapter while I worked on my resume, and reread it, until I was ready to move on to the cover letter chapter, and work on my letter. I didn't really read ahead until I reached the new stage in the process.

So technically I read this very fast, but the entire process took a long time. 4 1/2 months. For one job application's life cycle.

The book was my nice buddy, giving me nice thoughts, and telling me some stuff I didn't think of. I just felt like I needed it there, and I took my time, and I made sure I did everything absolutely the best I could, and as much to the author's advice as possible. I took some risks and plotted them carefully, wishing the book would answer every specific question I had. The author is such an awesome personable guy, it is pretty hard to rein yourself in from drafting him like seven emails about your problems, like he's an advice column. Perhaps that's what they call an occupational hazard. Perhaps that's what they call a godawful joke. I don't know, anyway, it's true. (And probably his inbox says so.)

But, what I was doing was different than most of what the book is aiming at, which is the stuck-in-rut repetitive depression of an all-out job search. Which is fantastic to aim this advice at, because I've been there too, and I've seen others go through worse, and boy do you need cheerleaders, and books that tell you you are doing awesome. But, I wasn't searching this same way. I was trying for one thing and seeing what happened. And it was very new, a career change among other major things.

And that's a real big different approach, emotionally, than the rut you're in when you're applying for dozens of the same thing. Kevin does mention these issues somewhat, but they're not what most of his cheering is for. But still, I was happy with it, because first of all books are not yet psychically powered, and secondly his advice is both general and specific enough in parts that I felt it mentally prepared me to do awesome at my task. Which I definitely felt I did. Best job application I ever did, 5 stars, would send again.

Then, I had three months of tumbleweeds. In the first month, I read the phone interview chapter, just in case. Optimistically. A phone can literally ring at any moment! Then I skimmed the onsite chapter, but we were getting ahead of ourselves. Later, it was clear there wasn't anything happening to me any more, and I poked through the rest of the book reluctantly.

Then, one moment, the phone really did ring, and the next day I had a meeting. For which I was far more prepared three months earlier. But it was a miracle; I wasn't gonna complain. Instead I worked really hard that night. I reread the book, I Googled the Google searches the author recommends, I wrote out notes on a notepad like I was researching a paper in high school. I decided the heels looked terrible with everything I own. In the morning, I was too nervous for breakfast and I pretended I was riding my new commute. It was scary. But I did fine. The best I could. The doubts worry you, the fact that you can't say every passionate thing you feel about the job in one meeting haunts you, but that still means you did ok. KEVIN SAYS SO.

But, so it goes. A month later my follow-ups and thank-yous hadn't been replied to, and finally I got the news officially, and that, too, is ok. It sucks very much, also. Because it was big; it was the first time that a job, for me, would have been the key to unlocking the person I want to become. Which I've been searching for. It also happened to have been able to tie up some loose ends of unspeakable length. And I was afraid of it, the whole time. I am fighting against the lesson that scary things frighten you because they're not right to try for, because you will fail. Kevin says to believe, believe.

(And it's no accident that he also says, "If you’re not qualified, you’re not going to get the job. This is the hard truth of the application process. None of us are ever qualified for the job we really want. We have to apply for jobs that we are qualified for, put in our dues, develop our skills, and hopefully eventually become qualified for the jobs we really want.")

I wish I could be one of the reviewers saying that they got a job while they read this book, that they're naming their first dental copay "Kfan". But still this book was important, because it gave me a clear process and also confidence with which to do my very best on an application. I am very, very proud to know that I did this well enough to earn an interview, because it makes me believe I can do that again. The doubts, they creep, but it's true. I don't know what I will do next, because it might be something else. But still a door is open now that wasn't.

Also, my favorite character was Loretta.

LAFAJ, FTW.… (mer)