I Showed Up in Jeans and Didn't get the Job!

I was listening to the radio and a guy told a story about how he heard that there were a lot of oil jobs in North Dakota, so he put on his suit and drove 20 hours north and tried his luck in finding a new job.  He wasn't the only one with the same idea, but he was the only one dressed in a suit.  He got a six figure job that day.

Did wearing the suit get him that job?  No, but it was one of the factors that figured into his hiring!

I have a friend that runs a staffing agency.  He once told me that none of his clients ever called him back and said, "I really liked that candidate, but she was really overdressed!"  

Every time I talk to a group of owners and bring up this story, they always chime in with the times when a job candidate shows up inappropriately dressed. Always!   

I believe that job candidates do this because they have never been taught the right way to find a job.

Have you ever gone into a business and seen a teenager sprawled out across a counter filling out a job application.  Usually, they are not dressed well; this may be the first impression they are giving to the person who will be hiring - not good!

Here's a plan.  Dress up in business casual and go to the place of business where you want to work.  Ask for an application and ask who does the hiring (see if you can get contact information).  Also, ask when this person works.

Next, take the application home and take some time filling it out. Find someone with great penmanship and spelling skills to help if you can.  Dress up again and go in and turn in your application to the hiring manager, if possible.  Pick a time when you think the business is at a slow time of the day - don't go into a fast food place at noon.

If you are able to actually turn your application into the hiring manager, be sure to ask for the job.  After you leave, if you were able to get the manager's contact information, send a thank you note and again express your desire for the job.

If you do this, you will stand out!

Professor Tom Laurie

author of Conquer the Losing Attitude of Job Hunters

and The Losing Attitude for Dieters

Hold the Cheese!

When I was a kid my mother always made my sandwiches the same way; two slices of Wonder bread, a slab of meat, and a slice of cheese.  Forget everything else.

As I have grown older, my tastes have changed, and I make my own sandwiches a little differently.  I now use whole grain bread and  I actually add romaine lettuce or alfalfa sprouts.  Sometimes I add a slice of tomato or avocado and I top it off with some designer mustard (never did like mayo).

Because of tradition, I still always add a slice of cheese.  Cheese is one of my favorite foods and I would never think of not adding it to my sandwich!

One day I didn't have any cheese (a national disaster) and made my sandwich sans cheese.  After I finished eating I realized that my sandwich didn't taste all that differently than it usually did with the cheese.  I guess the way my sandwiches have evolved over the years with all the yummy additions has really masked the taste of the cheese.

I thought, "Why not leave the cheese off from now on and save almost a 100 calories on every sandwich!"  So, I now just say, "Hold the Cheese, please!"

Professor Tom Laurie

author of Conquer the Losing Attitude of Job Hunters

and The Losing Attitude for Dieters

A Diet Surprise

I had gained a few pounds over the winter; I think it was all in my belly.  Therefore, I decided to limit my carbs.

welcome to the wonderful diet of eggs and bacon for breakfast and steak for dinner.  More vegetables than you have ever seen!

My wife and I hadn't been shopping at Sam's Club for 5 minutes when my eyes lit on a 5 lb bag of real bacon bits!  I think my eyes glazed over a little bit, but I resisted as I sometimes know what to stay away from.

I was almost in the clear when I wife said, "Why don't you take a bag?"  I stuttered, "No?"  when she grabbed a bag.

Then there was a wonderful diet surprise.  My wife read the label and found there was a lot less fat than regular bacon and get this; only 25 calories per Tablespoon.

I have a wonderful lunch prepared of a lettuce wedge with blue cheese bits, dressing, and bacon bits!

Professor Tom Laurie

author of Conquer the Losing Attitude of Job Hunters

and The Losing Attitude for Dieters

5-day Zero Calorie Jumpstart Diet: Day 5

I should know more about the motivation of dieting than anyone - right? Didn't I write the book!

It didn't stop me from slowly gaining back half the weight I wrote about in my book: The Losing Attitude for Dieters. Gaining weight is really insidious; A few ounces a week doesn't really show until the next thing you know, you have gained twenty pounds!

I had to break the cycle, do something drastic. The only problem is that I have been posting on many different weight-loss blogs that the only way to lose weight is slowly; 1-1.5 pounds per week. Well, when did I ever listen to myself anyway?

I remember watching Michael Phelps in the Olympics and saw that he trained for six hours a day and ate 15,000 calories per day. I really wanted to be Michael Phelps; at least the eating part.

But what if I could burn off every calorie I ate in a week. How much weight could I really lose?

Day 5:

So, I had to go to my nephew's birthday party. I did pretty good with a salad and a medium piece of Lasagna (400 calories). I skipped the birthday cake!

Can't stop a good thing. I started the day off with a cup of a honey nut cereal (110 calories) and 40 minutes doing some strength training and stretching (-200 calories).

For lunch I had a tuna fish wrap (220 calories).

For dinner I had my best meal of the week with steak tips and lot's of veggies (535 calories). I played basketball again today and burned off 1200 calories.

You can see that on my last day, I ate 865 calories and burned off 1400 calories for a net gain of -535 calories - net weekly loss at -601 calories. A great work week and a great jump start to my diet

I lost 12 pounds in these 5 days.  What a way to get back on the diet horse!

Professor Tom Laurie

author of Conquer the Losing Attitude of Job Hunters

and The Losing Attitude for Dieters

5-day Zero Calorie Jumpstart Diet: Day 4

I should know more about the motivation of dieting than anyone - right? Didn't I write the book!

It didn't stop me from slowly gaining back half the weight I wrote about in my book: The Losing Attitude for Dieters. Gaining weight is really insidious; A few ounces a week doesn't really show until the next thing you know, you have gained twenty pounds!

I had to break the cycle, do something drastic. The only problem is that I have been posting on many different weight-loss blogs that the only way to lose weight is slowly; 1-1.5 pounds per week. Well, when did I ever listen to myself anyway?

I remember watching Michael Phelps in the Olympics and saw that he trained for six hours a day and ate 15,000 calories per day. I really wanted to be Michael Phelps; at least the eating part.

But what if I could burn off every calorie I ate in a week. How much weight could I really lose?

Day 4:

So, I had to go to my nephew's birthday party. I did pretty good with a salad and a medium piece of Lasagna (400 calories). I skipped the birthday cake!

Can't stop a good thing. I started the day off with a cup of a honey nut cereal (110 calories) and 40 minutes doing some strength training and stretching (-200 calories).

For lunch I had blue cheese bacon wedge (140 calories)

1/4 head lettuce
1 T blue cheese crumbles
1 T dressing
1 piece bacon

Veggies for dinner dipped in Ranch Dressing (100 calories).

You can see that on my fourthday, I ate 650 calories and burned off 200 calories for a net gain of 450 calories - net weekly loss at -66 calories. still on the negative side of calories burned versus ate.

Professor Tom Laurie

author of Conquer the Losing Attitude of Job Hunters

and The Losing Attitude for Dieters

5-day Zero Calorie Jumpstart Diet: Day 3

I should know more about the motivation of dieting than anyone - right? Didn't I write the book!

It didn't stop me from slowly gaining back half the weight I wrote about in my book: The Losing Attitude for Dieters. Gaining weight is really insidious; A few ounces a week doesn't really show until the next thing you know, you have gained twenty pounds!

I had to break the cycle, do something drastic. The only problem is that I have been posting on many different weight-loss blogs that the only way to lose weight is slowly; 1-1.5 pounds per week. Well, when did I ever listen to myself anyway?

I remember watching Michael Phelps in the Olympics and saw that he trained for six hours a day and ate 15,000 calories per day. I really wanted to be Michael Phelps; at least the eating part.

But what if I could burn off every calorie I ate in a week. How much weight could I really lose?

Day 3:

OK, I had a ten hour workday to look forward. It ended with an Open House where a lot of food was available. I did OK and managed to eat only raw veggies dipped in ranch for dinner!

Another day in a row. I started the day off with a cup of a honey nut cereal (110 calories) and 40 minutes doing some strength training and stretching (-200 calories).

For lunch I had blue cheese bacon wedge (140 calories)

1/4 head lettuce
1 T blue cheese crumbles
1 T dressing
1 piece bacon

Veggies for dinner dipped in Ranch Dressing (100 calories).

You can see that on my second day, I ate 350 calories and burned off 200 calories for a net gain of 150 calories - net weekly loss at -516 calories. Another great day for my zero calorie diet and I planned well.

Professor Tom Laurie

author of Conquer the Losing Attitude of Job Hunters

and The Losing Attitude for Dieters

5-day Zero Calorie Jumpstart Diet: Day 2

I should know more about the motivation of dieting than anyone - right? Didn't I write the book!

It didn't stop me from slowly gaining back half the weight I wrote about in my book: The Losing Attitude for Dieters. Gaining weight is really insidious; A few ounces a week doesn't really show until the next thing you know, you have gained twenty pounds!

I had to break the cycle, do something drastic. The only problem is that I have been posting on many different weight-loss blogs that the only way to lose weight is slowly; 1-1.5 pounds per week. Well, when did I ever listen to myself anyway?

I remember watching Michael Phelps in the Olympics and saw that he trained for six hours a day and ate 15,000 calories per day. I really wanted to be Michael Phelps; at least the eating part.

But what if I could burn off every calorie I ate in a week. How much weight could I really lose?

Day 2:

I tossed and turned all night and when I woke up I felt like my sinuses were packed with mud. It would have been easy for me to stay in bed a little longer and ditch the exercise and diet!

One of the tricks I have learned is to think about being sick on your diet in this way, "If I'm already feeling lousy, I might as well keep dieting!" This instead of the old wives tale, "Feed a cold, starve a fever."

Why change a good thing. I started the day off with a cup of a honey nut cereal (110 calories) and 40 minutes doing some strength training and stretching (-200 calories).

For lunch I had blue cheese bacon wedge (140 calories)

1/4 head lettuce
1 T blue cheese crumbles
1 T dressing
1 piece bacon

For dinner I took out a cup of left over spaghetti and added some tomato sauce sprinkled with parmesan cheese (250 calories).

You can see that on my second day, I ate 500 calories and burned off 200 calories for a net gain of 300 calories - net weekly loss at -646 calories. Another great day for my zero calorie diet and I adverted the effects of feeling poorly.

Professor Tom Laurie

author of Conquer the Losing Attitude of Job Hunters

and The Losing Attitude for Dieters