If you know anything about me, you’ll know that for better or worse, I’ve had my fair share of jobs. Trust me, it’s nothing I’ve ever wanted to be known for, but it’s an unfortunate truth borne out of a bad economy, bad choices or the dreaded “bad fit.”

So what the hell does all of this have to do with my headline?

My ability to feed my family and/or avoid crashing on one of your couches for any extended period of time is almost entirely due to social media engagement and networking … with a dash of reasonable skill in the areas of marketing strategy, social media engagement & content creation. And thus … the tie in to my headline.

Social Media Club PDX is bringing Social Stallion Joshua Waldman to town to show you how to discover those hidden job nuggets using social media tools and ways to pay it forward in true “You-Tweet-my-Back, I’ll-Tweet-Yours” fashion. Here’s the title and some eloquent prose from my social chum @unclenate, Prez of @SocialMediaPDX:

“Job Searching With Social Media For Dummies” author Joshua Waldman

“For anyone looking for a first job, exploring a career change, or just setting up for future success, social media is a proven platform for facilitating connections, demonstrating passions and interests, and ultimately landing the job. Joshua Waldman, author of “Job Searching with Social Media For Dummies” enables you to harness the power of the Internet to research and identify job opportunities, and create a strategy for securing a position.”

Other nuggets include:

• creating effective online profiles and resumes to sell your strengths
• maintaining your online reputation (and ensuring that employers who Google you like what they find)
• understanding electronic etiquette
• using the power of personal branding
• building your brand online
• avoiding common pitfalls, such as jumping into filling out a social media profile without a strategy
• getting to know Twitter, the only real-time job board with literally thousands of jobs posted daily
• using social media sites to uncover opportunities in the “hidden job market” ahead of the competition

This is your chance to meet some really cool and connected people as well as escape the job or the people you hate — for three whole hours! Just sign up already!

DETAILS
January 18, 2012 at 6:00 PM | $25 Online, $45 @Door | Limit: 100

Collective Agency
322 NW 6th Ave
#200
Portland, OR 97209

Those who know me or follow my social media escapades are all too familiar with my recent prowess for landing coveted marketing positions in what I’m told is a bad job market in a state with one of the worst unemployment rates in the country.

What’s my secret? I stopped looking for a job. I look for people who work where I want to work.

How’s that workin’ out for ya?
Trust me, this isn’t something I wanted to be known for in the marketing world or among my friends and family. In fact, the joke has become, “Yeah, we know you can get a job. Now, let’s work on keeping one.” No office pools or stop watches, please.

Truth is (and this has been true for every job I’ve ever had), I hope my  most recent position — as the Director of Marketing and Engagement at Attensa -- will be the last job I will ever need.

Now that I am, at least for the moment, gainfully employed, I feel like it’s my duty to share with you some of the things I’ve done over the last two years to survive two gut-wrenching layoffs and a “thank you for playing” pat-on-the-back/kick-to-the-curb after a predecessor came back to grab his old job.

But let’s take a moment to grieve
Getting cut loose sucks. If you’re like me, you take it personally. As a sign of failure. You wallow. You plot against perceived enemies. You become a complete idiot who loses focus on the real problem at hand. Um, Mr. Bitterman/woman..You need to pay for stuff.

Even so, getting downsized, made me question everything about myself and my chosen profession. It led to a momentary lapse of reason where I was going sell scintillating haiku on a warm beach somewhere.

And then I just got pissed.

Mostly at myself for my pity party. Anger begat focus, which quickly led me to the people I trust. Today, more than any other time in my lifetime the trite“It’s not just what you know, it’s who you know” is an absolute truth.

No employer wants to sift through 800 resumes only to come up with a candidate that can sell himself or herself well in an interview. They want proof that you can do the job. And, in the age of social media, online recommendations and online fact checking to ferret out B.S., this is where you can and should plug in to not only serve your own interests but help others serve theirs. So, if I were in your shoes right now, or if I am ever again, here’s what I would do:

5 Tips for Landing the right Job in a Bad Economy

Tip 1: Be  good to people in good times and bad — Got a job? Help others find one. Got a skill, but out of work? Help someone in your network in need — even for free if asked. You will be seen as someone who is genuine, hardworking and willing to do whatever it takes. It gets remembered and reciprocated.

Tip 2: Search for a Company. Not a Job — Pretty basic advice. You know people who have jobs. Some of them want to see you succeed in life. Find them online, offline and in person to discuss how your skills could be of use to their company — if in fact you think you actually want to work there.

Tip 3: Look for people and organizations in your community (online or offline) that need your help – Let’s face it. You need some good juju. I’ve also found it reaffirming to have someone tell me they appreciate me and think I’m awesome after a recent career disembowelment.

Tip 4: Beat LinkedIn like a Rented Mule — If you are not on it, get on it. Fill out a profile right now. If you are on it, learn to use it. Check for updates, high-five people who announce new gigs and search for places you want to work and the people you know who work there.

Tip 5: Know your strengths and expose your weaknesses -- This is key to finding yourself a good professional home. Fudging your ability to meet expectations to land a job will get you back to the breadline in a hurry. I’ve gone so far as to ask people to rip me in recommendations to give future employers so they know exactly what they will be getting. Trust me. I don’t want a bad job anymore than the employer wants a bad hire.

For what it’s worth…the position you are in is brutal, but survivable. If I can help you, I will. Feel free to reach out to me on LinkedIn or Twitter to talk about it.

Keep your head up.
Mark

The Marlboro Man Prequel (mouse up to the top of the page after clickthrough for the full obituary)

Jack Norman Evertz (March 8, 1927 – July 27, 2009)

The words “They just don’t make ‘em like that anymore” come to mind when I think about my gramps. Part redneck, part roughneck and all man in an increasingly domesticated man’s world, Grampa Jack was quick with opinions and head-shaking dismay despite his lack of a high school diploma to back him up. Common sense ruled — in the shop, around the card table, on the porch and anywhere else he chose to plant his Size 12 Tony Lama boots. A simple wisdom left permanent marks, like these gems:

Grampa Jack on Stress:
“I just never could understand why you and your dad always worried to high hell about everything. More than half the time, it never turns out that way and the rest of the time it’s not nearly as bad as you think. And if it is ever that bad you’re too damn worn out from worrying to do anything about it.”

Grampa Jack on Women:
“Nothing’s harder on a man than an angry woman.”

Grampa Jack on Manhood:
“The world doesn’t owe you anything and it will knock you on your ass every chance it gets. Your job is to keep gettin’ up.” His favorite movie was Cool Hand Luke if that tells you anything.

He laughed at the pussification of the American male and would routinely harken back to his Golden Era of the’50s and ’60s where smokin’, drinkin’ and raisin’ hell were a man’s God-given right –  and anybody who said otherwise could go straight to hell.

Some of that tenacity and toughness no doubt makes you strong on the battlefield or in the bar room, but I had the hardest time convincing Grampa Jack that his Advanced Coursework in Manhood for his only grandson was losing the battle in the boardroom. “There’s ego, politics, turf wars, and hurt feelings that come into play. You have to be nice,” I told him.

“What the hell does nice have to do with business?” he asked. “And, did you say hurt feelings?”

Never did give him any good  answers on why brains had rapidly replaced balls for dominance in the American West, except to throw another cliche at him that got him to come around half way. “You get more bees with honey, Grampa.”

Well, with him cashing in his chips at the end of July to spend the rest of eternity with my Gramma Grace (a tough cookie in her own right), here are 5 things Grampa Jack taught me that make me a better man and a better marketer.

1. If you don’t mean it, don’t say it.

2. Shut up. You just might learn something. (Still working on this one)

3. If you make a mistake, own up to it. Then work like hell to fix it.

4. If you believe in what you’re doing, don’t back down.

5. A man is only as good as his word.

T-5. Outwork your co-workers. Outsmart your enemies.

R.I.P. Gramps. You were a helluva lot smarter than you gave yourself credit for.

Every once in a while I bump into something or someone who just speaks the truth or hits the Hallelujah point for me.

This month, that person was Renny Gleeson, the digital marketing guru at Wieden & Kennedy. His parallel of present-day marketing and advertising following into the bumbling footsteps of the music industry struck a life-affirming power chord in me.

You’ll also appreciate his insight on digital being only one shiny element in a dynamic marketing mix, and not a singular answer to budget slash, here: For me, this dude just gets it. And I hear he’s a big proponent and avid user of the F-bomb…double bonus!

A few years ago, at an event at Marylhurst University, I asked Dan Wieden about  the then-emerging social media and interactive marketing push. I was curious  what a company so entrenched as a marketing innovator and cultural bellwether was  doing to foster relationships and communities online with clients and end consumers. He sheepishly dipped his head, smiled and admitted that he and W+K were lagging in that area and said that needed to change. It appears that with Renny there now things have changed and will continue to do so, quite rapidly, I suspect. Thankfully, however, they left the door open a little for the rest of us.

<MOMENT OF GRATUITOUS SELF-PROMOTION TO MAKE A POINT>That little cat nap, in my humble opinion, helped spawn a unique niche in marketing that my colleagues at Babcock & Jenkins and a select few others have been all too glad to fill. I’ll let you read more about what we/I do, but I’ve found that marketers focused on lead generation and helping clients nurture current customers don’t appear nearly as beaten down by the economic downturn. Don’t get me wrong, I still bite my nails on occasion, but I sleep a little easier knowing that I have a hand in  uniting print & Web storytelling with  real-time campaign performance analytics to help clients land customers and cultivate relationships that turn into revenue.

HaaaaHaaaHaaa Crappy economy, nagging backache and  a recent head cold aside, I have laughed a lot recently and thought I’d share. I’m a big fan of the political hair-parter and often, the more snarky the better, but this recent  exchange between Sen. Richard Shelby (Alabama-R), and Lawrence Summers of the National Economic Council was snark-free, apt and beautifully understated. Leading Republicans warned Sunday that the Obama administration’s $800 billion-plus economic stimulus effort will lead to what one called a “financial disaster.” “Everybody on the street in America understands that,” said Sen. Richard Shelby, the ranking Republican on the Senate Banking Committee. “This is not the right road to go. We’ll pay dearly.” But Lawrence Summers, the head of the administration’s National Economic Council, said Republicans have lost their credibility on the issue. “Those who presided over the last eight years — the eight years that brought us to the point where we inherit trillions of dollars of deficit, an economy that’s collapsing more rapidly than at any time in the last 50 years — don’t seem to me in a strong position to lecture about the lessons of history.” Classic!

On an even more somber note, I have had more friends and former colleagues than I have fingers and toes reach out to tell me recently that they’ve become yet another layoff statistic. I am keeping my eyes open for all of you and will publish your names, contact info and desired positions in this blog if you think it would help. Just let me know. Until then, keep your spirits up with these two entries: One from The Onion that might hit pretty close to home. I’m calling it: Office Space 2.0, the Recession Years. Hey Man, You Got A Second So I Can Fire You? Another is a video to laugh about the plight of Jemaine and Bret. If it gets this bad for you, call me.

Meanwhile, Asteroids, Van Halen-style can and will  dull the pain.

Hell Yea! I am lucky enough to have a music-driven workplace and an addiction to http://blip.fm. Here are a few bands that are floating my boat right now that you should check out: Bon Iver — Skinny Love N.A.S.A — Whachadoin The Foals — Olympic Airways The Jam — Move on Up Blitzen Trapper — Furr Bonus Cut: The Kills — Tape Song So….live the lessons in this blog until we meet again. Ponder. Laugh. Jam. Adios! ME, aka, Ev, aka T.C.P.