Questions like, “Why did this happen to me?” or, “How long and difficult will it take to get another job?” or, “Am I too old to get a new job?" do not inspire high-quality answers or rapid employment.  In the fast-paced, post pandemic world of conducting a job campaign, the adage ‘knowledge is power’ has never been more significant. Yet, it's not just about the quantity of knowledge one acquires, but the quality of the questions one asks to attain it.  High quality questions (In PARWCC’s CEMP certification, I refer to them as, ‘courageous questions’), hold an unparalleled power in conducting successful rapid employment campaigns, not to mention creating even better masterpiece resumes.

Not all questions are created equal

Consider the typical job interview when, toward the end of the interview the job seeker is asked if they have any questions to ask the interviewer.  Rather than asking customary and unimaginative questions like, "Can you share the specific expectations of this role?," a more courageous question might be, "If hired today, a year from now, how will you know I exceeded your wildest expectations?”

Keep in mind that the quality of questions asked determines the quality of one’s emotions.  And the quality of one’s emotions has a direct effect on the quality of one’s responses and subsequent actions.  Picture a spouse who returns home at the end of the day ragged, and looking like she’s been through the ringer and back.  Is there a difference if her spouse greets her at the door and asks, “What’s wrong with you?” as opposed to, “What’s troubling you?”  Or later, “What do you want for supper” as opposed to, “What can I make you for dinner that you’d enjoy?”

Now consider a job seeker who has just been downsized who asks, “How am I ever going to face my family?” as opposed to, “How can I rally my family to help me land a better opportunity, and to be an example to others on how to overcome adversity with class and dignity.”

When job seekers ask more precise, penetrating questions, they can easily filter through the noise of generalities, repetition, and monotony that their competition will embrace, to elevate every aspect of the job campaign including killing it on resumes, when networking, and in interviews.  Not to mention, consistently remaining in a peak-performing state of mind especially when encountering bumps in the road. 

Resume writers and career coaches inspire job seekers to ask courageous questions

Imagine the difference when you inspire job seekers to transition their inquiry from “Why on earth do I have to endure another torturous day of job hunting ?” to, “What action must I take to ensure that I control what I can control, so I design my future on my terms?” 

Don’t reframe questions – recreate them

Reframing questions is not what we do.  We don’t reframe – we recreate. By definition, reframing a questions is a methodology to solve problems by looking at problems with a new outlook or from a different perspective.  That’s great, but the problem with reframing questions is that the problem remains the same problem!  By asking courageous questions, we seek to transform the problem into an opportunity or possibility, with no deception, BS, or smoke and mirrors. For example:

Negative question:                        Why do I have to network and beg people for a job?

Reframed question:                      How can I successfully network for a job, and truly enjoy the process?

Courageous question:                 How can I successfully recruit an active sales force to promote me – for free!?

Let’s be honest, how many people say, “I can’t get to sleep at night because I’m so excited to wake up in the morning to start networking for a job?”   In reality, to most job seekers, networking means begging - massive pain. 

But when we give this more thought, we discover that networking is merely the process of recruiting a proactive personal salesforce (promotions team).  When job seekers share their unique selling propositions and organizational value with people they know, they create a team that will be on the lookout for job opportunities within their respective communities. 

I think you’ll agree that most job seekers will work harder, smarter, and more enthusiastically knowing they have a personal salesforce, as opposed to their typical association to networking.  When job seekers ask courageous questions, this opens their mindsets to come up with courageous answers to achieve their goals – while being fully and enthusiastically engaged.

When Michael J. Fox was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, asking courageous questions allowed him to accept and battle the disease in a constructive and dignified manner. He asked the question, “What good can come from this, and how can I turn this around?” He came up with a courageous answer. He said, “I can’t control the disease, but I can become an active participant in raising money to find a cure for this disease.”

Fox also asked the question: “What do I have to do to live as normal a life as I possibly can, and accept that lifestyle?” Here again, he asked courageous questions that resulted in courageous answers. “I came to the realization that Parkinson’s changes you. I’ve discovered a certain level of surrender to it, which isn’t to say capitulation or allowing it to overwhelm me.  By accepting it, it saves me a whole lot of mental work. It is what it is.”

Courageous questions are questions that inspire empowering answers, reduce fear, and ignite hope.  Consider the following:

•              How have I successfully dealt with this problem in the past? 

•              How have others effectively dealt with this issue in the past?

•              How do I turn this problem into a challenge and meet this challenge with a positive attitude?

•              What can I learn from this, and how can I apply this to achieve the success I deserve? 

•              Who do I need to work with, or invest in, to ensure I achieve my goals quickly and enjoyably?

•              Will this matter a year from now?

•              How can I be a hero to myself and to others by meeting this challenge head on?

•              Am I spending more time on the problem than on the solution?

Taylor Swift’s journey to success, like most success stories, was not easy. She faced many challenges, including public scrutiny, personal attacks, and lawsuits. But she says that the questions she asks when dealing with difficult times is what keeps her going.  Swift habitually asks, “Am I willing to give up on my dreams?” and “Am I prepared to compromise my values and not be true to myself,” and “Isn’t everything I do a force for good - the whole reason to relentlessly and persistently do what I do – and accept the uncomfortable?” 

The opposite of a courageous question is a destructive question.  Destructive questions are those that destroy (or limit) optimism, possibility, and potential.  When job seekers become aware / mindful of questions they ask, they can then begin replacing destructive questions with courageous questions that lead to rapid success… while actually enjoying the journey in pursuit of a new job.

Destructive question:                  Why does this always happen to me?

Courageous question:                 What’s the blessing in disguise?

Destructive question:                  Why is the job search so uncomfortable and painful?

Courageous question:                 How can I become fully engaged in designing my future on my terms?

Destructive question:                  Will my spouse stay with me through this ordeal?

Courageous question:                 How can we enrich our lives by effectively resolving our manageable issues?

Destructive question:                  How will I ever get a new job at the same pay at my age?

Courageous question:                 How do I showcase achievements I’ve made in past jobs to land a great new one?

Destructive question:                  How long will the job search take?

Courageous question:                 How do I enjoy every day, knowing it’s one less I’ll have in this lifetime?

Destructive question:                  Where can I get my resume done the cheapest – or free online?

Courageous question:                 Who can I invest in to create a resume so I don’t cheapen my future?

Summary

The journey towards rapid employment in today's ever-evolving, artificial intelligence-driven job market, necessitates having the courage to ask higher quality, courageous questions.  This often means questioning the, “this is how we’ve always done it” wall of resistance.   Courageous questions to break through the wall might include, “Does this serve me?” or “Does this even make sense,” or “Do I know this to be true?”  or, “Is this the most empowering question I can ask in this situation?”

By empowering job seekers to harness the power of inquiry, they can better, and more rapidly, navigate the complexities of the employment landscape (and life) with confidence – and, most importantly, with a high degree of enthusiasm and engagement. 

* For more information: https://parwcc.com/page/CEMP_new