Gene Nokes

"Tips from the Career Coach"

Gene Nokes is a Career Coach and Business Development executive with a 3o year record of achievement in high-tech markets. Gene has also ministered to the unemployed and underemployed a St. Raymond's Catholic Church, in Dublin, CA since 1995. His specialty is coaching individuals in the high-tech industries of Northern California. He is also very interested in assisting mature workers find meaningful and rewarding work. He offers private career coaching as a lay minister to Christian Churches throughout Northern California.

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Enneagram 09 - Peacemaker
October 17, 2011 by Gene Nokes
Type 9 of the nine Enneagram social styles has an uncomplicated view of life. For the Nine each day is sufficient unto itself. Nines are grounded and peaceful; if a friend is in need the Nine will drop everything and rush to their friend’s side. Often the Nine will neglect their own needs to minister to the needs of others. Procrastination is the biggest weakness for a Nine when conducting a job search.

Although Procrastinators, Nines are Confident in the Future

Nines do not panic easily nor are they loaded with anxiety. They are confident that things will work out. When a Nine is not motivated to conduct a professional job search, just about everything gets in the way of a productive job search. Nines like to take it easy. 
 
I like to team up a Nine with a Three or maybe a well rounded or non-phobic One. These types are driven to do well and the Nine can bring balance to a success team that includes these social types. Nines need to experience the drive in others so they can evaluate their own performance. The other types will compel the Nine to perform and the Nine will keep the others in the group from being over anxious. 

Success Teams – Eight People dedicated to Team Success

This is a good place to talk about Success Teams. This concept grew from the 40+ Groups, job clubs popular in the 1990’s. There still are a few active 40+ groups in the country, many 40+ groups now operate under different names but trace their history back to 40+.   These groups typically require a member to perform a service for the others in their group by donating their time for the good of the entire group. A Success Team in the modern concept would have no more than eight people all dedicated to the team concept, all looking out for the welfare of the members.
 
If you are unable to find enough people dedicated to a search in your specialty; consider having a “search buddy”. Nines should not do a job search alone. Nines enjoy networking, but they do not enjoy the job search stresses and pressure. Since the Nine tends to procrastinate, joining a group that requires the members to do the homework is the best kind of environment for a Nine. 
 
A professional job search as espoused by Our Experience Counts requires doing things that are uncomfortable for the Nine. Having a daily schedule that requires making informational interview calls to people that you do not know well is not a natural act for a Nine, but a necessity in today’s job search environment. Meeting people that you hardly know for a coffee at Starbuck’s is not a comforting act for most Nines, but the laws of social networking indicate that networking with people you hardly know (weak ties) introduces new opportunities.
 

Nines Must Accept Need for Professional Job Search

A Nine will do well to internalize the professional job search process as espoused by Our Experience Counts and develop a “faith” in the process. Gaining agreement with the Nine that targeting potential hiring organizations is a worthwhile process will help the Nine to accept the fact that they must make phone calls to people that they only know from online research or learned about in an informational interview.
 
The Job Search Action Planning Kit offered free to members by Our Experience Counts on this web site is a good place for the Nine to start to develop their personal marketing plan. I particularly like the STaRs exercise for the Nine because Nines tend not to acknowledge their achievements. STaRs stands for Situation, Tactics and Results. This is a method for quickly and succinctly describing a significant accomplishment.   Recalling achievements will help the Nine to interview well because they will have an easier time recalling significant events in their work career. It is also an affirming and energizing exercise. 
 
Having a solid plan with a defined weekly schedule helps the Nine stay the course in their job search. Having a “home” success team or job club and a “search buddy” will help the Nine with discipline. Finally, networking with people outside of the home network at events like the Chamber of Commerce mixers, professional association meetings and Toastmasters will be fun for the Nine and lead to new job opportunities. 
 
Nines make good friends and they need to be good to themselves by embracing the job search process, adopting a good plan, adhering to good discipline and networking with new people.
Categories: Career Management & Transition, Self Assessment
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