Hired! Cut Your Career Search Time in Half | JobSearchTV.com
By Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter
George C. Murray is a manufacturing ops leader and author of “Hired: Cut Your Career Search Time in Half” (Amazon https://amzn.to/3uXc0H1) who needed to job hunt frequently and learned how to fast track his results. We cover a lot of territory in this interview.
Jeff Altman
So my guest today is George Murray, who’s a self described tenaciously optimistic person. He inspires business owners and professionals to go from where they are today to where they want to be tomorrow, and hashtag get better. He is a keynote speaker conducts trainings and workshops on career job transition business transformation. And he knew there’s a reason he’s on the show today. He’s the award winning author of higher cut your career search time in half. George, welcome.
George C. Murray
Hey, thank you, Jeff. I appreciate it.
Jeff Altman
You’re very welcome. So when I saw your background, you’re you’re a global ops leader working in manufacturing? How did you wind up writing a book about Java then? Why did you write write it?
George C. Murray
Well, first of all, you know, we’re in career transition, or first time for the most part in our mid 40s. And it’s kind of like a deer in the headlights look right? You know, no one, there’s so many people have gone through this process. But no one actually wrote a book of time that you left your last job, whether you got fired, reduced in workforce, or what have you, to the time that you land, there’s a whole things to consider. And so as I went through my first career transition, I realized that there’s a bunch of processes like an operations guy, there’s process steps, no one clearly defined. And that’s the reason why I wrote the book, I was so frustrated, so many people that pass this gates, but never wrote the book. So hence, I did
Jeff Altman
magic. So for you writing the book, what I saw is he had to deal with it twice in pretty short order. So the first time you learned it the second time you applied it.
George C. Murray
Yeah, as a matter of fact, you know, my first career transition took a lot longer than I expected, most people feel Hey, you know, with an unemployment rate relatively low, I’m going to find a job really quickly. What I’ve realized from the data that I found, during my career, first career transition, it took me 13 months, right? So here are my 13 months, towards the end, just frustrated. So it kind of thought about it after the time that I landed here, you know, what if I learned in new all this stuff ahead of time, I could have cut my time. And ironically enough, a year later, I had to actually prove that to be the case. And so the second time, it only took me five months. So excellent.
Jeff Altman
So what’s someone’s job as a job? Like you’re in search? What’s your real job there?
George C. Murray
Yeah, I mean, what you realize is, is that, especially for me, a professional or an executive, you know, we’re basically delegating a lot of things. The thing is, is that you cannot delegate job transition, it is your job, you are the CEO of you incorporated, and you need to be the CEO, the CMO, and at the end of the day, you’re the janitor, right? So it’s a lot of heavy lifting, right? And I think that’s what really frustrates people is this, what do I need to do? How do I need to do it? And in the book, it really tells that Canadain a life
Jeff Altman
chain, we’re going to get to that in just one second. But you know, folks, I’ll just simply say, for those of you who follow me for a while, you know, I’ve got 2300 episodes of a podcast, and over 7000 videos at job search tv.com. There’s so much detail that goes into search, and no one really knows, unless you’ve lived in this world, Georgia is absolutely right. You know, it’s, it’s one of these things that you need to know, no one tells you about the learn through trial and error. And then you wonder, gee, I could have done for me things are so much better. And get out there. Yep. Yep. So in the book, you talk about value propositions versus elevator pitches. I’m not a believer, elevator pitches. Pitch, the pitch says, What’s, what’s the value proposition?
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George C. Murray
So let me tell you, you know, what, I realized that my first career transition, I spent some time in Korea transition groups, because I think it helps a lot of people who are new to the transition to understand people’s kind of trial and errors, right. And so what I realize is they’re going around, they’re giving this elevator pitch, right? And it’s literally just like everybody else. It’s like, you know, I’m an executive that, you know, 20 years of experience with NBA, wah, wah, wah, you sound like Charlie Brown’s teacher, right? And so, as they started coming around, I’m like, you know, I gotta sound different than the seven other operations people, right? So my value proposition is, is that because we live in a Attention Deficit society, it’s got to be short and sweet to the point and it’s got to be to the listener, not to what I’ve actually done, because I’m going to force the listener to try to well, how does that relate to me? Right? And so, when it came to my turn, I said, Well, you know what? I’m repelled master. Much like my military career. I drop into difficult situations, I quickly assess the group, develop a collaborative strategy and execute the plan. My team always exceeds the bar. Do you know anybody that needs to repel master that’s less than 30 seconds, I know that you can come in quickly assess, set the team in the right direction, all the things that companies want leaders to do, right? So they’re really zeroed in. And it’s all about what they need and want, not what you can have done in the last 2030 years.
Jeff Altman
And folks we see here is don’t bask in your own magnificence. Connect the dots for people for what you can do for them. Instead of what, I’m just going to tell you everything about myself. And you should listen there for half hour at a minimum. Because I have wonderful things to say about myself. Have I mentioned to you that I’m a really interesting person?
George C. Murray
And you’re absolutely, and you’re not.
Jeff Altman
So that’s what a value proposition is. And like you said, elevator pitches, I hate them. I hate them. When I speak to the networking groups around the country, I tend to arrive after they do their pitches, because I just can’t stand listening to these things. The boring, repetitive, awful. So you talked about a day in the life as part of your process. Tell folks about
George C. Murray
Yeah, I think one of the things that I maybe took too long to learn was is that, although each day may feel like a month before three months passed by, you haven’t really done a lot, right, you look back on it. So, you know, when we left our corporate or ajar last job, we had a structured day, right? We got up at a certain time we did certain things. We went to the office at metrics, we had certain meetings, all that’s gone if you don’t recreate that yourself. So one of the things that I help clients is is that, what am I supposed to do? hourly, daily and weekly, that’s going to get me closer to my goal. And each three or four weeks, I’m evaluating what’s working for me, what’s not, what should I tried differently? You know, I went in on a dare that said, Hey, go go cold calling. And I’m like, does that really work anymore? And ironically enough, after I reached out to 10, CEOs, now these are a lot of fortune 500 CEOs, I had seven respond back to me within a few weeks, which was incredible. But again, it’s short and sweet. It’s not this three or four minute message
Jeff Altman
into the model Hmm. So in that day in the life that that someone is performing, you know, I think about what someone’s job is, and the kinds of things that could be doing to keep their mind going. And it’s not just simply the calendar. And, and the kind of job search stuff that goes into your calendar is the days folks where you know, the calendar is gonna be pretty empty. That guy that I coach who called me up on Monday morning, I’m looking at my bye week, I got nothing booked. And he’s wanting me to give him a pat on the back. I said, we’ll go back and do some work. Okay, change that. And you call me later in the week to say, Okay, go for interviews on Friday to one Thursday. And we’ll let me get briefed on briefed me again on on interviewing for these kinds of roles. And there’s other stuff too, that people can be doing to keep their minds going before they start going down that rabbit hole of Oh, woe is me. What sort of things did you do to trauma? You know, first symptom?
George C. Murray
Yeah, I mean, the first three months, I was literally lost. Like I said, deer in a headlight looked, I looked in the mirror, and I said, you know, what, what I’m going to chain things that I have control of, I can’t control whether I’m going to get hired tomorrow or not. I mean, it would be great if that happen. But I started looking at it, you know, I was the heaviest I’ve ever been. And of course, you could see it, you know, meetings not eating well and not sleeping. Well. I made that a focus part of my focus. In in my first career transition, I dropped 40 pounds right now that’s going to help with energy, the way I look, I look in the mirror, Hey, I like that guy. Right? And so you start to build your confidence because again, as long as career transition lasts for people, the longer happens, it really deteriorates our self confidence. So you’ve got to find ways, right and so I got up in the morning. You know, listen to podcasts, you know, worked out start awkwardly walking, because if I started jogging foot it died. Right? But you just build up over time and those are the things that are going to turn around to help you carry you through
Jeff Altman
and you start looking better in a suit.
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George C. Murray
Yeah, exactly.
Jeff Altman
I hope you weren’t saying I’m too sexy for my shirt.
George C. Murray
We’ll date ourselves.
Jeff Altman
I already have. Look, folks, white beard. Anyway, networking, everyone tells you the network, what kind of networking did you do? What sort of things do you recommend people do?
George C. Murray
Well, you know, I was, believe it or not a very introverted person, right. And so, kind of like when we were growing up, you know, in order for us to learn how to swim, if we got close to the pool, we were thrown in the deep end, well, introverts are going to get close to the pool, right? So you have to figure out a way to wade into the pool. Right? And so, you know, part of my process in the book, as well as what I coach is, is that, how do I start, right? How do I just connect with people that I already know I feel comfortable with. Because what you’re trying to do is your strength, what I tell people as you’re trying to establish cheerleaders out in the workforce, so that when somebody says, Hey, I’m looking for a particular opportunity, or somebody this skill set, the first person they come to hate Georgia is out there. I just talked to him, and he might want to talk to you.
Jeff Altman
So that sounds like you encourage people to do touches with folks from their past. To, to let them know of availability, see how I’ll be you for a second, Hey, how are you? What’s going on? Yeah, I’m doing one of those again, just just want to see how you were and reconnect. And if you hear about something related to such and such, try and keep you in mind? Is that what you would say to folks?
George C. Murray
Yeah, I mean, I think just general, I think the thing that’s most important for a lot of people who are in networking, get out and I actually made this mistake, my first time, it’s all about me, right? I need a job or whatever. But one of the things that I tried to look at, and based on the people I met early on in my career, they set me on a great path. And they said, Hey, listen, you know what, go into the meeting to figure out how you can help them. Right. And so even though you may not be, you know, employed, the fact is, you got a lot of skills, you got a lot of people you know, so that maybe you’re networking with a CFO, and they may be looking for an accountant, hey, you know what, I know those people, and you can introduce to them. And guess what, people are more susceptible of hiring somebody that they know, like and trust, right, as opposed to taking the guests and getting a resume and hoping for the best. You’re providing that introduction. And guess what, you’ll also help them save money on recruiters.
Jeff Altman
Hey, I’m a former recruiter. Be nice. Be nice. Recruiters are not such bad people are not. Some are but most of them, at least the ones who’ve been around for a long time. So branding is advice that people get all the time. Develop a personal brand for yourself. What does that mean?
George C. Murray
Well, you know what my first career transition, I thought brands were for products or companies, I never realized that, you know, you have to create your brand, right? And it’s kind of like, you know, company culture, you know, it is what it is until you actually make adjustments in the sale to where you want it to be. And so I actually reached out to a brand specialist, Catherine Crandall, I mean, I’m sure everybody has other people, but she was so significant in creating who I was, and what makes me unique and different. Because again, 7 billion people on this planet, you know, you had well over 144 billion odds that you were born. So there’s definitely something unique and different. You got to be able to find and connect your unique indifference to the demand and need out in that workforce.
Jeff Altman
How did she identify? I presume she was involved with the repel Master
George C. Murray
series? Yeah, as a matter of fact, she goes, you know, take a look, take something unique, and try to transform it to really makes you unique. I mean, I go to coffee shops, they don’t remember my name, but they’re like, Hey, you’re that repelled master.
Jeff Altman
That’s interesting. So if you were recommending someone how someone could identify their own brand. How would you recommend that they do? And how would and how did you market it in yourself?
George C. Murray
Yeah, copyright it, right. I mean, as a matter of fact, I actually helped. Here’s an example prime example CFO reached out to me they were looking to go out on their own right. And they said, hey, you know, I need to get a brand I need to get this pitch or whatever. And come to find out. He was a band coordinator in college and in high school. And I said, well, that’s kind of like a CFO right there orchestrating all different types of departments and getting the organization in the right direction, right. He goes, I never thought of it that way. And so it’s interesting. He got his First two clients when he first met by using that pitch, he goes, George, he goes, not only that, but you know it, you believe it right? And it comes through in your passion when you’re talking about it versus I’m an executive that’s got 20 years of experience MBA. Yeah, exactly.
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Jeff Altman
Sleeper. I was, I was stifling the yawn, folks for those of you wind up listening on the podcast version. So the idea is looking for something unique to yourself. And then translating it into the workplace is a way of trying to differentiate yourself, and what you might say about yourself so people can connect with you.
George C. Murray
Absolutely. I mean, ironically enough, one gentleman I was out reaching. We talked our first 20 minute networking was just about our family relationships, right. And over a period of time, he and I have exchanged introductions of executives back and forth. It’s a relationship. It’s not just a one and done, right. And you need to make sure that your value proposition is insightful for people that says, hey, you know what? I can relate to that. Right.
Jeff Altman
And they can understand it, too. Yeah, part of that is, you know, for example, in the person that you coached, I was a bandleader in school. In other words, I orchestrated results. So audience would enjoy them and enjoy themselves. And like he was the repelled Master, you tied it into something professionally, so that people would get it. And with that, be able to remember you.
George C. Murray
Yeah, as a matter of fact, that’s how I got my last role as the CEO. And we got to the final final, he goes, you know, what, George? And remember that his response when I actually gave him that pitch, he goes, you know, what, I don’t know what a repel Master does. But it sounds like I need one. Interesting.
Jeff Altman
So in your case, you identify this one or with, with support, you identify this one quality, and zeroed in on it and translated into a way that serve the people that you would be working with got absolutely good. So much I want to cover. Let me back up for a second, because you did something that you mentioned here that people don’t do anymore. That was cold color. Yeah. Why? Why do you think it worked for you?
George C. Murray
Because I targeted specific people that were kind of, you know, would potentially be looking for my skill set. The job may not be posted. And again, a lot of times, you know, I think it’s more than 70% of jobs are through networking. Right. So it’s really in your best interest to network with the right folks. The other thing was is and I actually did it out there, right. One of the people I was talking in career transition, that just I’m like, I’ll do it just to kind of pacify it was actually shocked. He just said, You know what, George, just make sure your message is clear and concise. So when I got through the networking, and connected and left a message, it was short and sweet. It was, you know what, here’s the deal. I’m a recently transitioning executive where I took a company from 100 to 180 million in 18 months, I’m looking to network with a medium to large business community would love your advice, click. And one of the Fortune 200 company guys called me two days later, I was I was shocked. He goes, George, I just want to know more how you did that in such a short period of time. So it’s again, it’s a taste of the cake, not the total ingredients,
Jeff Altman
Taste of the cake. I love that! That’s gonna be the title of the show. So there’s so much in the book, folks, it’s not a big read. And there’s a lot packed in there. So what are the big takeaways that you would suggest people pay attention to?
George C. Murray
Yeah. Yeah, I mean, first and foremost, you know, I always try to tell people, I’m a simple guy. I’m an Army guy. We’re taught that things got to be learned quickly when you’re getting fire right on the line. And that’s the hence the book, right? It’s 136 pages. It takes I’m a slow reader, it takes me two days to read the book. And I’ve read it a couple of times, right? But it’s that’s the intent really, it’s supposed to be a reference. But for to me, it’s really just a energy, enthusiasm, positive attitude, always, I think, to your earlier comment, right? You know, it’s not doing it 12 hours a day until you literally run out of gas because again, it’ll come off and that really throws people off. So you want to show up your genuine vested person, right? And so there’s times when you need to take time off and that’s okay. I think that’s one of the things that we we fail to understand a career transition, just like a job it is a job, take some time off even if it’s Friday night. afternoons and go for a walk, take the family out. The second thing out of the three is really that day in the life structure day in a life, evaluate it, make adjustments, make changes, what’s working, what’s not working, you know, do some brainstorming. To me, everything was a discipline process. I’m an Army guy, Lean Six Sigma guy. So, to me, it’s all about process and evaluating the process and the rewards. And so every Saturday morning, every three weeks, I would from 735 to 815, I would basically what’s working, what’s not working? What can I actually do brainstorming, and that set my next couple of weeks up, right. And then the third and final thing, I tell people, your personal board of advisors, these are three to five people that can help you, they can guide you, they also hold you accountable to say, hey, you know what, George, you’ve been crying about this for three days, man up, get out there and stop, you know, and get out there. Right? So those three things I’d say is very important.
Jeff Altman
And that board of advisors? How did you find them? How did you identify the right people for you?
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George C. Murray
Well, first and foremost, you don’t want to have five operations, in my case, five operations, because it’ll be like, Hey, let’s go off yet. Right? To me, it’s really people that, you know, different walks different, you know, I had a marketing person, I actually had a LinkedIn expert, I had an energy, what I would call an energy coach. This would be somebody you know, when you get that dreaded, thanks, but no thanks. But you’re on a Friday, and you have nobody to call, you can call this person and literally, in 510 minutes, you’re on cloud nine and ready to attack the day. And you need those people. Because again, your significant other is basically Hey, what’s all this coffee talk in this network, and when you’re actually going to submit jobs and go for interviews, right, you need to turn around and use that because you can’t give it to that spouse or significant other, they’ve already have a lot of stress.
Jeff Altman
And they’ll worry, it’s going to take them down. And you need their support, in order to do the kinds of things that you want to do. And that’s not a gender thing. This isn’t about men relying upon women, it’s women, we’re relying upon men, women relying upon women, men relying upon the spouse, the partner starts to worry too much. And then they start asking the questions. Hey, how’s it going? Agent shred that question. Oh, yeah. It’s like, it’s so damaging to hear that question. You know, you start wondering, What am I doing wrong? And then you start thinking of lying to them.
George C. Murray
Now, I mean, the good thing was, is that, you know, my wife is extremely supportive, you know, but again, you get those dreaded, you know, how’s your day going? I mean, my wife would, you know, basically tell me quite often. What about all these coffee meetings? It’s called a lot of expense. What is this all gathering us, like, you know, Bade this particular process works, it’s just going to take a little bit of time, just have a little faith.
Jeff Altman
So, you know, we’ve got an interesting economy going on right now. I saw the jobs report today, a lot of jobs got filled. 600,000. 649,000! We’re recording this at the beginning of March 2022. And then when you look at the report, and two thirds of them were part time. Yeah, that isn’t in the headline, you have to actually read it to find that out. So is this going to work in this kind of economy? Is this the kind of thing? Is this an economy where people who are professionals or veteran individuals, skilled laborer, going to be able to apply this and be able to land?
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George C. Murray
Yeah, absolutely. So to give you an example, my first two career transitions from 13 months to five months, and then I just actually had a career transition recently, post pandemic. And I want to tell you, 35 days, 35 days, from the time that I left, did all the networking and process I had actually three offers. So that actually even works even better. You apply it but it’s heavy lifting, right. And I think that’s the thing, if you haven’t been in career transition, 510 years, the game has changed. And you’ve got to be able to turn around and do a lot of the heavy lifting. You can’t delegate it.
Jeff Altman
How do you think the game has changed?
George C. Murray
Well, I think the fact is, is you’ve got to now a lot less people are not willing to do that face to face. So you’ve got to have the technology. You got to make sure that you know you’ve got a great background. It’s not distracting all those things are in the book, right to put you in the best foot forward. Whether you’re in a hybrid situation, face to face, or what have you.
Jeff Altman
Terrific, George, how can people find out more about you the work that you do the job
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George C. Murray
Well, they can go to my website. It’s George claesson Marine comm.
Jeff Altman
Would you spell it, please?
George C. Murray
Yes, G-E-O-R-G-E C-L-A-Y-S-T-I-N M-U-R-R-A-Y.COM I’m on Amazon. And you can also check me out, follow me on LinkedIn, because I actually have a LinkedIn live event, the first and third Saturday of every month. And it’s always an opportunity to help businesses and professionals get better.
Jeff Altman
Super. If memory serves me, right, there’s a little bit of a discount that people get if they use a link at your website versus buying it on Amazon. Am I right about that?
George C. Murray
That’s correct. 15% off. Right.
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Thank you Jeff so much for taking the time with me and review my book HIRED
You are very welcome, George. Folks, if you haven’t watched this yet, it is worth the time.