Psychology of Job Hunting

BUY THIS BOOK - $2.99

This book is about Cold Calling.

It's good for anyone who has phone fear.

Critics have called it a shallow pep-talk by an unqualified author but I think it's the best self-help book you're ever going to read.

So who's wrong, them or me?

Here's my pitch

My idea is that job hunters have to be sales people but that most of them have absolutely no aptitude for the role.

They are obliged to market themselves to employers but sales is not something that they would do if they didn't have to.

This means that they are not going to do it or that they are not going to do it well.

This conflict between ability and necessity provides the logic for a book that tells people who are not psychologically suited for sales how to change their thinking so that they can become sales people.

So, this Is a guide for anyone who feels nervous about cold-calling busy strangers.

I contend that these people have two weaknesses:

1. A childish fear of punishment that doesn't really exist.

2. Guilt that tells them they have to surrender to punishment by the angry strangers they think they are going to disturb.

For a mere $2.99 you can own this future classic: download it here.

How to update an existing copy: Details here

Tell me what's wrong

I can't really say that I love punishment but I do want to know where I went wrong. So write a short review that tells me where you think I've done so. If you send it to me, I'll publish it here.  If you feel shy, read the first round of reviews. You'll see that anything goes.

The Critics Roared

"Animal doesn't have the professional credibility to write a book about psychology."

"its strengths are overwhelmed by the chosen plot device and the loose editing."

“Job-Hunting for Pussies”, is what Animal clearly wanted to call this book.. Even at the low, low price of zero dollars for the Kindle edition, this vanity publication is somewhat overpriced."

"When Recruiting Animal sent me his latest ebook, I was expecting to read the same direct, down-to-earth job search advice that I see from him on social media. I imagined job search strategies delivered “Anthony Bourdain-style”. That’s not this book"

You don't need a Kindle

Just download the Kindle software and you can read it on your PC.

Download Kindle software here.

Contact Me

If you have any questions you can reach me on Twitter at @animal

 

How To Update An Existing Copy on Amazon

Amazon says:

1. You can get the updated version of this book by going to Manage Your Kindle.

2. Find the book in your Kindle Library

3. Click on the "Update Available" link next to the book's title

4. Then follow the update prompts.

5. All your devices that have the eBook currently downloaded will be updated automatically the next time they connect to wireless.

 

Review by Johanna Rothman

November, 5, 2013.

Hi Animal,

I hope all is well with you. I haven't used "fungible" in a long time :-)

I'm writing "Manage Your Job Search" and I want to reference "The Psychology of Job Hunting" because I like what you say about rejection.

Do you want me to use "Animal, Recruiting" as your last name, first name??

Johanna

Rothman Consulting Group, Inc.     781-641-4046
Speaker, Author, Consultant - Managing Product Development
==========================================
The Pragmatic Manager newsletter: http://www.jrothman.com/pragmaticmanager
New: Hiring Geeks That Fit, http://leanpub.com/hiringgeeks

Review by Harry Urschel

@animal Just read: The Psychology of Job Hunting. Would give it a bad review, but can't - will be quoting it extensively to my job groups

— Harry Urschel (@eExecutives) June 28, 2013

Great read to overcome fear of networking ~ The Psychology of Job Hunting by @Animal http://t.co/MshgvaiFTx

— Harry Urschel (@eExecutives) June 28, 2013

Alternate Cover

Review by Sharlyn Lauby

“The Psychology of Job Hunting” is a good book with sound job search advice.

That being said, I did walk away from it wanting more. When Recruiting Animal sent me his latest ebook, I was expecting to read the same direct, down-to-earth job search advice that I see from him on social media.

I imagined job search strategies delivered “Anthony Bourdain-style”. That’s not this book. It isn’t bad – just wasn’t my expectation. For whatever the reason, I felt Animal held back and delivered a more reserved approach.

Again, the book is good but could have been better with some well-delivered “Animal style”. I believe job seekers today don’t want fluffy, motivational advice. They’re looking for straight-up, candid tips and resources that will yield them results (i.e. a new job).

Sharlyn

 

Review by Mark Salke

read the book. I can't review it on Amazon cuz it was a free download. So here it is:

The Psychology of Job Hunting – The Recruiting Animal

I am not a professional recruiter. I am an alternatively highly motivated and completely demoralized job seeker. And this book hits a little too close to home for my comfort.

The use of eavesdropping on dialogue as a literary device is both intriguing and annoying. Intriguing because one finds himself empathizing and actually
finishing thoughts for the characters - annoying because it feel like you’re intruding on a real conversation where the guy keeps repeating himself. You
wanna say, ok! I get it. Until he asks if you got it, and you reply, “uh, I think so.”

The labels assigned to various personality types are laughable, yet, again, a bit too close to reality. Am I a “Lily-Livered Loser”? or, just a “Nice Guy”? We
see some of ourselves in each one, I fear. And in many of the others. It makes you uncomfortable. So, it’s not a mindless summer beach read. This is, believe it or not, a book that will cause you some rather painful introspection. So be ready. And be careful - meaning that even if you gain some revelational insight about yourself, the book is rather light on the steps you need to take to initiate corrective action. I recommend it highly to youthful readers – those with the benefit of less life lived in forming difficult to change habits!

The book reveals some surprisingly deep (and intellectually and academically-founded) psychological concepts. The title is a bit misleading, though, as I waited and waited for a concrete ‘tie-in’ to job hunting. I must’ve missed it. Or perhaps I’m dense. Or I was worried about being a “Nice Guy.” You know, the kid in school that everybody thought was ‘nice’ but got chosen last for the games? See? I digress in my self-analysis. Animal did his research. It’s all in there in the Notes section. Impressive, and thorough – even if you think it feels like the Pop Psychology.

Best,

Mark

Review by Tom Bolt

Find the original (with pics) here.

Preface to the review.

If you just want a recommendation instead of reading a crappy story about a book I read, just buy this thing… just do it! I paid for my copy of the book, I get nothing for pushing it, there is no reason I can think of that I need to suck up to Animal, but as a job seeker advocate I highly recommend you own a copy of The Psychology of Job Hunting if you are in a job search. It costs less than 3 bucks and even if you have been unemployed for 2 years you can probably find that much loose change between the cushions of your couch. Spoiler alert: It will change your mindset on how you look at your search and understand it from a sales approach. You won’t be sorry you did it.

A few weeks ago.

Sound of dial tone followed by a pause as speed dial kicks out a number.

Steve: Hello… Oh, hi Tom. How’s it going?

Tom: Pretty good. I bought Animal’s job hunting book. It didn’t pass the first page test so it probably sucks. I usually give books only a page or two to grab me before I read the rest of it.

Steve: Oh no. I don’t have mine yet, but plan to read it.

Tom: Yeah, I’ll probably finish it when I get time. It really isn’t what I expected. It is written like a play with characters talking to each other in a script-like format. I found it distracting to focus on the story line.

The following week.

Phone rings. Steve’s name appears on caller ID.

Tom: Hey, Steve. What’s happening?

Steve: I read Animal’s book and it’s actually pretty good.

Tom: That’s good news. I haven’t had time to get back to it, but I’m going to dive back in and finish it. I was hoping to hear that it was going to get better.

Steve: Yeah, he did a pretty good job. You’ll like it.

Later, Tom is seen launching the Kindle app on his iPad to give it a second look. A smile comes over his face as he sees that this psychology thing is really important and that Animal’s take on how a job seeker should view the search is not the typical drivel seen in Twitter chats. Midway through Chapter 2 when he talks about how the brain processes information Tom is hooked. It is now familiar turf because of research he has done personally for previous articles he has written. He catches himself laughing out loud, “I thought I was the only recruiter who knew what an amygdala does!” He appears to be satisfied that there is no pretense of psychological expertise and Animal even calls it “homespun psychology” several times. It may be homespun, but it is spot on!

Hypothetical conversation continuation.

A Hypothetical Real Psychologist: I could poke holes in Michael’s theories, but since he did classify it as his own ideas it makes sense. The thoughts are logical and follow a definite pattern that is probably helpful to those stuck in a rut. The only way to do something differently is to think differently.

A Hypothetical Real Book Editor: This guy could really use my help! The ideas presented are conversational and easy to follow, but he could make a lot more money if there were attention to punctuation, syntax, and structure.

A Hypothetical Real Sales Person: This advice for a job seeker to think like a sales person is so correct if the pitch of selling self is to be successful. As a female sales person, I wonder about the title alluding to “Sales Man” on the cover, but it doesn’t take from the message. He usually recognizes gender neutrality by alternatively switching “his” and “hers” in his texts.

A Hypothetical Real Job Seeker: OK, I’m now going to focus on the product I’m selling, ME! I’m also going to acknowledge that much of my hidden agenda is to protect that product from failing… which is the ultimate irony.

Tom: I wouldn’t get a decent book report grade from Ms Roof, my 8^th grade teacher, and the New York Times is probably not going to hire me to do other book reviews, but if I have any influence over the job seekers that my colleagues and I engage on social media I would consider this a teaser to let people know about Animal’s book. Spread the word. No, he is not paying me to do this and doesn’t even know I’m writing about him. Just buy the damn book and shut up!

The curtain closes and Recruiting Animal comes out to take a bow.

Review by Kelly Blokdijk

When a person (or puppet) with: “feel free to criticize me in public” on their Twitter profile decides to author a book, naturally they invite scathing critiques.

Fortunately, I didn’t line up at midnight for the presale release party, but I did take advantage of Recruiting Animal’s offer to read his book for free on 5/30/13. I must say, it was well worth every penny spent.

The first thing you might notice about the book is the peculiar title: The Psychology of Job Hunting. That along with the Dr. Seuss-esque graphics make you wonder what you might be in for…  Aside from perhaps people in the psychology field, I’m not sure anyone else would voluntarily read a psychology book on ANY topic. More importantly, the world would be better off with many things; another job hunting book is not one of them.

Reading (skimming) the content took about an hour and a half, and it was an easy read. The stated premise was about the merits of cold calling in order to get a new job. I patiently waited in anticipation for the point of the book to materialize.

Recruiting Animal’s writing quality was acceptable, though the dialogue was rather flat between the two characters, Lewis and Morris. Neither of them was particularly appealing. Lewis was a dull dolt and I found Morris’ constant anecdotal examples or history lessons tiresome. If any of his stories were
memorable or meaningful I’d share a specific example, but most made my eyes glaze over as I clicked to the next page. What might have made the message more tolerable would have been more Recruiting Animal style “yell it like it is” attitude or controversy in their conversations.

My main observation about the book was that the correlation between the core content and job hunting was skimpy at best. Aside from referencing a “gate-keeper” receptionist occasionally, there wasn’t much of a connection to the job searching process. Rather, the book seemed focused on overcoming fear of rejection and feelings of inadequacy. That’s all fine and does pertain to what a person may encounter during a job search, but I expected a stronger link between psychology and practicality.

If the intent is to equip a wimpy job hunter to be more gutsy in their approach, some real-world pointers would have been far more valuable than the psychology focus. For instance, if the main purpose is for a job hunter to get confident and comfortable with cold calling, it would have made sense to
illustrate that concept based on Recruiting Animal’s or any of the cast of characters’ from his professional life experiences and expertise.

Promoting a sales-focused, cold-calling method as the best way for a job hunter to find a job should include actual techniques on how to successfully close the deal, not just psycho-analysis of emotions preventing that person from picking up the phone. Recruiting Animal constantly berates his BlogTalkRadio guests, if they don’t get to the point and spell out their methods or opinions. Readers of this book will likely have a similar reaction and struggle to find enough potency, relevance or compelling ideas that will benefit them in their job hunt.

Kelly Blokdijk (block-dyke)
@TalentTalks

Reply To My Critics

I have to thank the people who wrote critiques of my book. First of all, they took the time to read it. Also, it takes guts to tell someone you know that you didn't like something in his work or, indeed, any part of it.

And that's what the book is about: giving readers what these critics already have - courage in their relationships with other people.

The book tries to build courage by convincing people that their feelings are, for the most part, garbage. That's fantastic news because if your fears are nonsense, you're actually safe and if you're safe, you have no reason to be afraid.

Even people who are generally my boosters, however, were not overly enthusiastic in their reviews so I have to conclude that something went wrong. I don't believe it's the content so I'm going to guess it was the delivery and, in fact, no one liked the format.

I wanted the book to be very easy to read so, I kept it short and I put the discussion in the form of a conversation between two people because this would allow me to use very colloquial language. However, no one seemed to find that particularly useful.

People also complained that the conversation lacked wit. They expected some humour and I must confess that working out the ideas and putting them into a form that was easy to read was difficult for me so that by the time I was finished I did not have the urge to re-write it and, besides, I'm not that funny.

Now, I might rewrite the book in a straight prose style to see if that will help the ideas to come across with more impact. No one commented on them and I think they are good because I not only tried to make a case with my basic ideas but I tried to answer all of the questions that might arise from them so that no loose threads were left hanging.

Then, finally, after I write a prose version, I might try to write a third that is more like my radio show. At that point, with three tries under my belt, I should get it right.

 

Stephen O'Donnell

From: Stephen O'Donnell

“Job-Hunting for Pussies”, is what Animal clearly wanted to call this book, but simply didn’t have the cahonas to.

If you only ever buy one book on the psychology of job-hunting, then for pity’s sake buy something else. Even at the low, low price of zero dollars for the Kindle edition, this vanity publication is somewhat overpriced. 

In fact Animal should be paying you for the time it takes to make the purchase, and read the first few pages before your first “Oh for the love of God!”, (and there will be several). I want to say the word puerile, but that isn’t quite it.

PS. The book begins with the “Forward”, and that kind of sets the linguistic tone. Not the Foreword mind you, as you might be used to from every other book on the planet. The clue is in the word itself; Fore meaning in front of, or before, and word, meaning … well you get my drift.

The truth is that this is either a very short book or a very long pamphlet. Animal does come at his message from several angles, but is basically telling the reader to man (or woman) the hell up, and grow a pair, when it comes to their job search. The rest is the usual psychobabble claptrap that you most commonly dismiss in motivational messages on Facebook. If you have the misfortune to be connected to a Life-Coach or any born again Christians, then you’ll know precisely what I mean.

So buy the book, don’t buy the book; it makes no difference. However if you do have a morbid compulsion to do so, then forgive the spelling and grammar, and don’t be afraid to skim.  Whatever you do, do not tell Animal you ever got a job as a result of this book.