Randy Pausch was a professor of Computer Science, Human Computer Interaction, and Design at Carnegie Mellon University. From 1998 to 1997, he also taught at my alma mater the University of Virginia.
You may know Randy from his famous Last Lecture video called "Really Achieving Your Childhoold Dreams." The lecture was recorded on September 18, 2007 in front of 400 people at Carnegie Mellon University. This inspirational video went viral on YouTube and has been viewed over 10 million times!
If you have not seen it, do yourself a favor and spend one hour gaining a greater appreciation for how blessed we all are in life and how important it is to follow through on our own dreams.
Better yet, read the story behind the story. The National Bestseller co-authored with Wall Street Journal columnist Jeffrey Zaslow titled The Last Lecture offers amazing lessons on life.
I often reference Randy's book in my own lectures to job seekers. While there are countless lessons from this book and video, one chapter is my favorite. It is titled "The Happiest Place on Earth" and tells the story of Randy's dream to get a job with the Walt Disney Imagineering Team.
Randy dashed off numerous letters of applications to the Disney Imagineering Team (with a new PhD from Carnegie Mellon in hand) and received some of "the nicest go-to-hell letters" he ever received.
Randy did not give up. He finally discovered who he needed to contact at Disney, set up a lunch interview (in California!), and spent eighty hours of homework preparing for that one meeting.
Following the interview, he received his dream offer to participate in a sabbotical project on the Disney virtual reality Aladdin ride. His "once in five careers opportunity" though was shot down by his faculty dean at the University of Virginia because of concerns over the release of proprietary research. He did not give up and escalated his childhood dream to another dean, and finally received approval to conduct the sabbatical. Randy completed his job of a lifetime.
There are three career lessons I took away from this heart-warming story:
1. Set A Goal
Whatever it is, whenever it is. Write it down and make it happen! If your goal is to get your foot in the door at a particular organization, determine what steps you need to take to create that opportunity. Randy set a goal to design rides at Disney when he was eight years old.
I always remind myself how powerful it is to write down goals (especially short term ones) by following one simple exercise: Step 1 - Write down your goals for the day on a post-it in the morning. Keep the note visible at all time during the day. As you complete each activity, check it off. Step 2 - The next day, decide not to write down your goals. Step 3 - Compare your accomplishments between day 1 and day 2. The results are dramatic.
2. Be Persistent
Randy did not give up even after countless letters of rejection. He was persistent but professional at all times. He knew he was qualified to do the job. It takes leadership to open doors. It takes courage to walk through them.
I've received rejection letters throughout my whole life. We all have. I was once told by a recruiter at a large corporation there were no openings available in my area of expertise. So I discovered who was the hiring manager, contacted him, and offered to do pro bono work for 80 hours. Two weeks later, a full time contract position was created on my behalf and I was hired.
And then sometimes rejection just happens for a reason we may not initially understand. In high school, my college application was rejected by UNC Chapel Hill so instead I attended James Madison University (where I met my wife) and then graduate school at the University of Virginia. I'm very happy that worked out!
3. Prepare for the Moment
When you have that one shot to meet the right person for a new job, go overboard in your preparation. Don't forget Randy spent 80 hours preparing for a lunch interview and drove across country for that one opportunity. You too will have one shot at an informational or a formal interview. Do not wait until the day before an interview to start preparing.
I once spent hours in the public library while on vacation so that I would be better prepared for an interview when I returned home. It was worth it. I got the job. To quote Alexander Graham Bell, "Before anything else, preparation is the key to success."
On July 25, 2008 Randy Pausch lost his battle to pancreatic cancer. His legacy lives on. You too will create your own legacy by making a difference for others every single day. Do not ever give up.
Professor Pausch reminds us in his Last Lecture: "The brick walls are there for a reason. They're not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something."
Author:
Brent Peterson, PMP, MS, MBA, is the founder of Interview Angel Inc, a company that offers a comprehensive guide and toolkit to executing near flawless job interviews.
This past week, Brent also organized the Get Hired! Virginia speed networking event in Doswell, VA to raise money for the Dress for Success charity and to connect professionals in his home state. One of his company's goals is to share this same networking concept in other states across the country.
Discover customer testimonials, blog posts, upcoming events, and media interviews at www.interviewangel.com.
Brent is also on Twitter at (twitter.com/InterviewAngel.com) and in LinkedIn at http://www.linkedin.com/in/brentpeterson.
