Reason to hire John #234: Perseverance

"Don't give up ... don't ever give up!"
~ Jimmy Valvano

These words eloquently spoken by the legendary college basketball coach have been echoed and quoted a million times, but very few us actually take them to heart.

When I was in the seventh grade, I was cut from the middle school soccer team. When I was in the eighth grade, again, I was cut from the middle school soccer team. At this point, most people would have thrown in the towel and joined the track & field squad, but I didn't like running around in circles. I loved to play soccer- that was my sport.

So what did I do? I did something about it. I played more games. I practiced more on own in the backyard. I went to a week-long soccer camp at Indiana University. I played indoor soccer during the winter. I made that soccer ball my best friend. I watched every game that was on TV. I ate, drank, breathed, slept and dreamt soccer.

I barely made the team my freshman year of high school, but just being on the JV squad wasn't good enough, I wanted to be a starter for the varsity.

So what did I do? I did something about it. I played more games. I practiced more on own in the backyard. I went to a week-long soccer camp at Indiana University. I played indoor soccer during the winter. I made that soccer ball my best friend. I watched every game that was on TV. I ate, drank, breathed, slept and dreamt soccer.

When most of my teammates hit their peak in terms of developing as soccer players, I kept improving my game year after year, and the coaches noticed it. In the face of adversity, I didn't give up. I stayed the course and kept pushing toward my goal even others said it couldn't be done.

Perseverance: per⋅se⋅ver⋅ance   [pur-suh-veer-uhns]
–noun
1. steady persistence in a course of action, a purpose, a state, etc., esp. in spite of difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement.

Reason to Hire John #526: Leadership

I grew up in the Boy Scouts and earned the rank of Eagle Scout by the age of 16. While in the scouts, I learned the importance of effective leadership. My troop was a "scout-run troop." The boys planned everything- the adults supervised, and when I say planned everything, I mean everything. We planned the camping trips, put together the food menus, duty rosters, etc.

As I got older I took on positions with the troop that required more and more leadership responsibility on my end. The highest role within the troop is the Senior Patrol Leader. The SPL looks over the Patrol Leaders and the PL's have their assistants. These duties showed how difficult managing your peers can be. Influencing different persons to work together for a common goal takes a great amount of effort. How one person is motivated is different than another. Scare-tactics might work for one team-member, positive reenforcement only works for another. As Senior Patrol Leader, I had to work with each of my Patrol Leaders differently to get the troop's overall goals achieved.

These basic leadership skills carried over into other venues. Strong leadership traits allowed me to be a successful soccer and rugby team captain, and be elected to my college fraternity's executive board. During summers 2005 and 2006, I worked as a backpacking instructor at the Philmont Scout Ranch in Cimarron, NM. Leadership in the backcountry wilderness is crucial, because mistakes in the backcountry can be life-threatening and help is hours away. However, I effectively led groups of teenagers on 10-day backpacking trips through adverse conditions and rugged terrain with no major incidents.

In 2007, I earned my fraternity's highest chapter award- the "Herman B Wells" Leadership Award, which goes to the member who best exemplifies the ideals of Sigma Nu as an undergraduate.

To this day, I continue to develop as a leader as I train to be a reserve firefighter with the Eureka Fire Protection District.

Why you should hire John B. Fischer

Readers both New and Old,

It's a dog eat dog world out there, especially right now given the current economic situation. As those close to me know, I've been out of full-time work since September 2008. It's been tough no question about it, but everyday I try to keep a positive attitude and do whatever I can to better my current predicament.

One thing my dad instilled upon from an early age was the importance of reading to gain more knowledge. Okay, like most college students I crammed for tests and skimmed through text books, but even with my undergraduate years behind me, I find myself reading a variety of material. Lately, it's been mostly "career advancement" and "how to find a job" type stuff.

The majority of this content is about how traditional job-hunting tactics don't produce results these days. Job seekers must think outside the box and be creative. In the April 13, 2009 issue of Fortune magazine, I read how young professional Jamie Varon, 23, had her heart set on working for Twitter. To get get noticed, she created the website twittershouldhireme.com.

I really liked this and thought I could use my blog in a similar way. For the time being, each of my blog posts will feature a reason why Company X should hire John B. Fischer. These reasons will vary from character traits to experiences from my life that set me apart from the crowd.

As someone who studied journalism and mass communications, I believe in the power of the media. Media is a powerful tool and hopefully I can harness that power and use it to my advantage.

Nulli Secundus!