OK. I can’t stand it any longer. I have this song that will not stop playing in my head. Does this ever happen to you? I’m not talking about the song that someone hums in the AM and lives with you for a few hours. I’m talking about a song that has been lingering upstairs for nearly four weeks now.
It is a Beatles song which is unusual. Because although I like a lot of the Beatles music, I feel like it is dramatically overplayed on the radio.
And the only way I can think to remove it from my consciousness is to write about it. There must be some reason that it has not left me. Kind of like that TV show called “Medium” where Alison gets haunted in her sleep by people who need their help. I hope this isn’t the case with me because I really like my sleep!
Well, I feel pretty confident that Ringo Starr is not in need of my advice, so the song’s presence must have another purpose.
The song is Octopus’s Garden and you can read the lyrics here. Maybe there’s a secret message for job seekers there. Let me know if anything hits you.
The song was written by Ringo for the 1969 album, Abbey Road. He was inspired, it seems, by a trip on a boat where he was told that the octopus likes shiny objects and goes around the sea bed collecting them to build a small garden around their “front porch”. Perhaps to attract a mate?
Well, you may know that I love music and that I see music as a powerful influencer to help manage your psychology during job search. So maybe that’s it.
But I don’t think so.
I think it has more to do with this idea of “shiny objects”. You see, during job search one of the hardest parts is determining how to attract others to your candidacy. Getting the attention of recruiters, hiring managers and the staff of an HR group.
We try a lot of different ideas, don’t we? A few interesting examples I’ve heard of:
- Interviewing with a restaurant company? Walk in the door wearing a chef’s hat.
- Send your resume inside a really big box sent via fed ex to the hiring manager.
- Use shiny or colorful resume paper. Maybe they won’t file it if the paper is really pretty.
- Write a cover letter that overuses formatting to highlight every third sentence.
- Put your face on the cover of Time magazine using PhotoShop and add the headline “The Greatest Salesman on the Planet”
The reality though is that while the initial attraction may work, grabbing long term interest and engagement is what you really need. If you simply walk outside with a small mirror and shine it in the eyes of a recruiter, you will attract attention. But what will you use to keep that attention once their vision comes back?
I guess my point here is that shiny objects generally don’t work. The job search community is not like the animal kingdom. Not like an Octopus’s Garden and certainly not like the mating dance of an exotic Bird of Paradise. You really need to click on getting attention for your resume. Does this look like you or anyone else you know in their job search or networking effort?
So what DOES work?
Well, I hate to make it sound so simple, but it is. You have to create compelling marketing materials that are less shiny. Materials that clearly and confidently identify your unique skills and experiences. Ones that can help someone imagine you doing all those great things you describe. In their company.
So, have a SoloSheet. And a FlashCard. Build a compelling resume. If you need help to pull your greatness out of your career history, go get it.
And to Ringo Starr, I hope that’s what you were looking for. When you first decided to haunt me with that song of yours. Now, can I get some sleep?
