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Introduction 0:02
Welcome to the #PirateBroadcast™, where we interview #interestingpeople doing #interestingthings. Where you can expand your connections, your community, #kindnessiscool and #smilesarefree. Let’s get this party started.

Russ Johns 0:22
Good morning, another #PirateBroadcast™ and I'm here with a blushing bride, Loren. She just got married, and she's showing up at the #PirateBroadcast™. That's a pirate. Hats off to you, Loren, welcome, for being here on the #PirateBroadcast™ . How are you today?

Loren Greiff 0:41
Good morning. And thank you so much for, Russ. I'm so happy to be inaugurated as a pirate this morning.

Russ Johns 0:48
Oh, fantastic. And thank you so much for being here. We were talking before the show, and we wanted to kind of explore some of the ideas that you're working on right now. The portfolio rocket was something that you started out of wanting to help others. Explain how you kind of developed this system you have. And the backstory to give us a little context today.

Loren Greiff 1:19
Sure, happy to. And good morning, everybody out there in pirate land or soon to be one. So portfolio racket is a system that I created out of years and years of watching the process of job seeking. For the past 10 years prior to starting this I had been on the recruiting side of life and working in executive search and all that good stuff. And I love those days. So this is no ding on anybody that's doing this or, you know, I love recruiters and they can be your best friends in a job search. But you can't expect them to do everything. They're not here to kind of make everything okay, you have a responsibility as a job seeker. And I specifically work with senior level creatives and marketers, who for more than 30 years had been speaking to and learning about in so far as how they are able to, clearly, concisely impactfully influence their own outcomes as it relates to their next ideal career move. And unfortunately, they are so skilled and adept at marketing everybody else's product, whether it's Apple or Google or Amazon this or square that. But when it comes to themselves, it's a whole nother ballgame. And the portfolio rocket system is a repeatable and consistent system that enables them to make it through the labyrinth of that job search process in the most efficient and effective manner.

Russ Johns 3:05
It's amazing that you say that because I have been guilty of the same thing, even as an independent contractor, and someone that owns their own business and been an intrapreneur and entrepreneur and everything in between. I often feel I get the sense that, okay, if I do good work, people will show up. It's like, hey, if I put my LinkedIn profile out there, people will show up. There's a lot more to it. There's a lot of details that need to go into it. So what are the highlights that someone might want to start thinking about? Or reach out to you for? What's an indicator that, okay, I'm not doing everything I can, I need to do something different? What are some things that people typically talk to you about?

Loren Greiff 3:55
Sure. So I like what you said. And I'll just piggyback on that, you know, great people don't always land in great jobs. But great job seekers have a much greater chance. So they're not always apples to apples and the primary thing that job seekers need to understand is that they need to be able to clearly articulate this. What problems do you solve for those companie?. So any company that is going to be interested in you is going to want to know, okay, so how did you transform past businesses? Where might that transformation be most effective going forward? What have you actually done to change, you know, build a revenue stream or change an efficiency flow or build some kind of brand awareness that we never even identified? So it's really about your instrumental impact from what you've previously done and how that can translate and transfer over into the next opportunity.

Russ Johns 5:05
There's a lot of people that don't even recognize the value of transferable skills. I'll give you an example of a friend of mine in Houston, he's teaching military individuals that people have just exited the military, on technology and use certain technologies. And, you know, so those skills are very transferable. A lot of the language in the military is different than civilian life. So it's just a matter of aligning that language, that naming convention of whatever they're working on, and allowing that to be present and transfer into civilian life. I think that goes along with job to job because I've had photographers that I've converted into IT people, into web developers, and over my career, it's really interesting, when you can see it, why is that?

Loren Greiff 6:10
We're in the jam jar.

Russ Johns 6:11
The pickle doesn't read the label, right?

Loren Greiff 6:16
You're stuck, you don't even know what berry you are. You're just smushed in there with all this stuff. It sounds like it would be really easy. Most of the folks that I work with, say, God, I can't believe that I can't like see this, I can't get that. But we all have our own blind spots. It doesn't mean that there's anything wrong with you, it means that you're doing it right if you can't see it, because it's probably so innate to what it is that you do and what it is that you own, that it's impossible. It's like telling somebody, go pretend you have brown eyes when you already have them. It's like, I know that, you know, it's embedded into who you are.

Russ Johns 6:59
Yeah, it's crazy. And it's so true. So what are some things that you're seeing in the industry? I know, 2020 is a crazy year, you decided to get married, it's like add some romance to the world. Congratulations, I just want to say that.

Loren Greiff 7:17
Thank you so much.

Russ Johns 7:18
I just think it's so exciting and thank you so much for being here as well. It's like, and I know that this is not what we would normally see. So has that changed how you're doing your portfolio rocket business, or how has it evolved for you personally?

Loren Greiff 7:41
So I started this about two weeks before the pandemic. This is happening no matter what, as far as I was concerned, what's been amplified, is needs for things like resilience and consistency. I think that a lot of those terms are kind of thrown around. And in some ways, they become a little bit on the generic side. But this is a time for everyone to man up, muscle up and recognize your current situation isn't your final destination. This is not forever, nothing is, everything will change. You win. And I can't tell you how. But the most important thing is that you stay consistent with whatever those deliberate actions are. Because once you stop that, that cycle, it's not only harder to get back on, but the exponential, an incremental growth is shunted, it doesn't have kind of the momentum to keep on going. And, you know, I often say, hang around for the miracle. You don't even know what's around the corner, and I'll have somebody going down this path, and then they're like, you wouldn't believe what happened. And I'll say that's because you did not take your foot off the gas. Good things happen when you are in action, and thinking about things, how I need to think about it. I'm not really a big fan of that. So I'm more of the mind that you know, things happen and the thinking will happen clearer when you are moving forward and whatever that ascribed action can be.

Russ Johns 9:39
Yeah, it's sometimes the work gets done when you do the work. There's no other way. I love the idea of this, you know, something in motion continues to stay in motion and consistency day after day is something that's really important for people to understand. It's like, okay, you can actually improve your skill versus bingeing on Netflix, you know, you can improve your impact by going out there and doing the work. Like you said, just showing up on LinkedIn may not necessarily, that's not the end of the road. That's the beginning of the road, you know, and continue to reach out, make those connections, make those conversations take place, invest in the time to initiate those conversations.

Loren Greiff 10:36
Hundred percent. I mean, I use this example all the time, because I think it's such a truism for all of us. If I think about working out, I'll never feel better, because I'll just live in the procrastination. When I get to that workout. I never say to myself, wow, that hour, dang, that was a waste of time. It never, never fails. And when I pushed myself to do it, even when I don't think I want to, it changes everything. I feel like a rock star, you know, like, oh my God, I didn't work out. There's a sense of self respect and dignity, and you need that as a job seeker, you will do, you need to know, I built that equity and that equity can compound. And that's what we want, we want to build a pattern of compound equity or momentum, or small wins.

Russ Johns 11:40
Small wins make a big difference. Huge difference. And I think that's a little slice of being resilient, recognizing that the lows are not permanent, and the highs are not always going to be there. And just recognizing that your continued effort will continue to make a difference. I really appreciate what you're doing and thank you for sharing this today. There's a few people in the room that you probably know, I just want to say Angie's here, hola pirates. Nick Gemmel...and just by the way, everyone, if you are not connected to Loren, you probably want to be connected to Loren because you never know when you need a portfolio rocket in your pocket. So just gonna say that. Kevin. Kevin's a pirate. He's been here. He's great to be here, Loren. So hey, Kenneth Lang. KENNETH is in here. Want to be a pirate?

Loren Greiff 12:50
Yes. Make this man a pirate

Russ Johns 12:53
Make this man a pirate. Let's connect. Russ and Leah Hedge in the house. Oh, Jeff Young. Fantastic. Sorry, I'm late. Good morning, Russ and Loren. Then we got Jesse Roberts. I'm late. Thanks, man. Just, by the way, you can always find the podcast, the repeats, the everything at RussJohns.com. And it's out there on the on the web forever. So I want to talk a little bit about...you came up through the recruiting process. Now you're helping people see their secret sauce, their magic dust and the value that they bring, the gifts. And I believe that everybody has a gift and a message to share. So what do you see on the roadmap going forward? You've been this last several months, and it's been building up and there's a direction you're headed. Where do you see that direction going for you?

Loren Greiff 14:05
Are you speaking specifically about portfolio rocket? Or are you just saying...

Russ Johns 14:10
Yeah, let's talk about portfolio rocket, then we'll venture off to another...

Loren Greiff 14:15
You know, part of what I see right now is there are still so many people who are on the search.We are not in the clear, it's still a very, very high unemployment market right now. And what I tell a lot of my clients or anybody that I'm speaking with is that right now, as competitive as the market is because it is still highly competitive, what's really been happening just from a supply and demand point of view, is that up until the pandemic, we were in a very low unemployment level and candidates really had the upper hand. Meaning that most of the candidates that I ever saw would say things to me, I have two or three offers here and there, and I don't know which one is really the best for me. Now the employer has a little bit more of the upper hand. That doesn't mean that people aren't negotiating multiple offers and it doesn't mean that you won't have lots of choices. That's really what I think is, of course, the ideal situation is to be able to pick and choose. But being in a competitive marketplace, means you really don't have a lot of leeway in terms of finalizing and being really clear and concise about what it is and what you do and even what you want. That doesn't mean that everybody has a clear path. That's why it's important to develop one, and it can flex here and there throughout the way. So it's not like it's carved in stone. I get a lot of people well, you know, I really don't know what I want to do. So I really shouldn't start yet. All roads lead to home. So, get on a road, and it will reveal itself. Don't sit back and pretend like it's gonna show up by virtue of divine intervention or anything like that, because chances are, that those two things need to work together. And it will eventually, especially, as I mentioned before, with consistent action, but what I want to talk about also is in the near term, we're talking now, December, January, it is very likely that a lot of people are going to start checking out. So it's going to be Thanksgiving next week and I think normal mentality is oh, you know, I should just kind of downshift on on my efforts, and take the time off, which I'm not saying don't enjoy your family and don't enjoy the holiday. Of course not. What I am saying is, people will still be hiring. We know that because just historically, the marketplace has a tendency...the barriers tend to get a lot lower, because most people are checking out. And so you have an opportunity to really be more visible because the traffic can be lower with LinkedIn. So you want to take advantage of that time, especially as January is coming around the corner, and companies are apt to be upping their hiring budget. So that's super important is now.

Russ Johns 17:51
Zig with a zag.

Loren Greiff 17:53
Exactly, exactly. And then, I think that the other thing that I am really learning more and more and more and more, which just makes total sense is, make a concerted effort to really build referrals, especially there are employers that have very strong referral programs, referral programs are becoming the most valued way that everyone can win, because it is literally about a quarter of the cost to an employer to pay somebody out. And I mean kudos to Kevin Turner, he told me that he literally was at a place where he was getting about $10,000 per referral, and they had to change the program because he was going to break their bank. Good things are real. And you know, if you are serious about a company, find out if they have one and find out who who can refer you because that person is going to win, the company is going to win because forget even about the cost, you're acquiring that candidate, the likelihood that they're going to stay longer is doubled, and the likelihood that they will be happier is also dramatically increased. So it's just a wonderful, wonderful win/win.

Russ Johns 19:28
You know, where my head went to was, man, you could find a couple of companies that pay referrals and that can be a side hustle. It'd be great side hustling if you're a great connector.

Loren Greiff 19:40
Totally, totally.

Russ Johns 19:44
That's how my head works. I just really find it fascinating that you know, I'm trying to think back, probably throughout my career, I don't think I've ever...I'm trying to...I'm cataloging this. Every job I've ever had has been through a referral, not a referral, but a relationship. So I encourage people that are searching or thinking about searching for a job tp build relationships with people that you can actually have a conversation with about the company about the organization or the industry. I just found that that's always been productive for me, personally, and I don't know if that's an industry, something you're teaching.

Loren Greiff 20:39
Actually, in the latter part, when people start to have their offers coming in and things like that, there's a phase that I call sniff testing. And sniff testing is essentially, these people, who they say they really are, like, let's figure out what we can understand beyond the niceties and the best behaviors. If they're not on their best behavior during the interview process, then there's a real problem. But if everything seems really to be moving along well, and it seems like a company that you want to be interested in, do a little bit more digging, and speak to the people that are working at the company and ask them what is the day in the life like, with so and so and so and so. I run into this all the time, especially with folks who are really passionate about diversity or purpose driven or mission driven companies, not enough to put it on your website and to tout it as a poster or any kind of lip service. Find out what's actually been done recently, so you can always benchmark it against COVID, during COVID. Tell me about the missions that the company has actually pushed forward. Or tell me about some of the diversity efforts that have launched? Not the rhetoric.

Russ Johns 22:14
Yep. So are there any industries that you're seeing that are really, you know, if you listen to the news, nobody's doing anything and everything is shut down. And you know, it's just like, the sky is falling, right? Don't watch the news. Just don't do it. However, I know that there are industries that are still growing, they're still thriving, they're still expanding, they're still hiring. Are there any specific areas that we should be thinking about considering if you're looking for work or

Loren Greiff 22:51
It's important to keep your eyes and ears open. And I don't mean to get mired in the negativity. But clearly, you know, anything healthcare related, telehealth, digital health, health tech, and tech is off the charts. I mean, who isn't doing some kind of online learning? So that's pretty obvious. If you look around, I mean, I have a client who became a hiring manager for an edtech startup. How that all started was she was frustrated watching all the modules that her elementary school child was going through, and finding all these flaws. She literally started posting about all these things that she was noticing, and here's an improvement. And here's a way to solve this and literally got found by an organization as an edtech expert, where she had virtually no experience doing that, but she had enough understanding of user experience to understand how it could be improved. And like I said, now, she's a hiring manager at it nationally. So, you know, look, keep your eyes and ears open for things that are happening. Clearly the restaurant and the hospitality industries are struggling, but that customer service, transferable knowledge is being applied in so many other places, and your client who just came in from from Marriott and his operations background, his marketing know how and the way that he has learned about every single customer touchpoint and how to create a positive experience from end to end is going to translate in so many other places. So, you know, just because your industry may be taking a dip, doesn't mean it can't be applied in other places where that need is in high demand.

Russ Johns 24:50
Well, I always believe that a little bit of courtesy, little empathy, a little bit of customer service goes a long way in any industry, I mean, from the front door to the loading dock, everything and everyone can contribute to the customer service experience. It cannot be emphasized enough.

Loren Greiff 25:15
And there are many bad ones. There are so many bad ones, those are also great opportunities, assuming that there are people that want to change it to bring that forward.

Russ Johns 25:28
Yeah. So now that you're married, and you're moving forward, and you got all these things going on, what's in the future for Loren? What are you excited about, what brings you joy every day?

Loren Greiff 25:39
What brings me joy and, and my why is pretty strong and solid. My why is really to have people working, specifically senior level creatives and marketers. I believe, like no other, that they are the greatest leaders, and the greatest transformers of business. And so creating more leaders, it doesn't apply to your title, it applies to your impact. So you know, creating, and helping those folks become even more instrumental in business, having the ability to verbalize and demonstrate how they're able to change it. The best part of all, is that they're hungry to do it. It's not that they don't want to, it's almost like a horse that's sitting in a gate. They just need to know which track to take. And once you lift that gate, they're like, ah, and that's a beautiful thing. And that brings me just infinite amount of joy. I want to see people working not just for the paycheck, because I I believe and I know for myself, that when you're working, everything is better. And your relationships are better at home, you feel better about yourself, you have more to give and more purpose to really share and that's fulfilling, that's rewarding and brings smiles to people's lives that they have even a routine and a consistent system thing to do each and every day to to make life worthwhile.

Russ Johns 27:28
That's fantastic. You know, it's really gratifying to know that there are people out there like yourself, helping so many others in the industry. And I know there are a lot of people, you know, LinkedIn is a huge community for people helping people, owners helping business owners in a lot of relationship building opportunities out there. And so any last minute tips, legacy advice, or anything that you you want to share with people searching for or considering even looking for a job or transferring what they're doing right now into something else.

Loren Greiff 28:10
You know, as far as LinkedIn goes, I find that a lot of people just don't know how to get over that hurdle of connecting with somebody that they don't know. There's another piece called networking with strangers that I have in my module, because we're like, oh, that's so weird. Yeah, why would I do that? And that's how we met and how I met all these other wonderful people that are on your show. But the point is, is that lurking? You know, limit the lurk. Spend as little time as you can, just going out there and checking it out, it's okay to dip your toe in and see what somebody's doing and interact here and there. But pull the trigger at some point, and be brave. It is not going to fall on deaf ears. And even if it does. next you know, there's always another one. So don't get hung up on anything that didn't work out and just keep keep going and moving forward, connect with so many wonderful people. It is such a generous and welcoming platform. I can attest to that, it has been so fulfilling. I do feel like I have LinkedIn family. And that's a beautiful thing.

Russ Johns 29:32
I love the idea of making new connections. Part of the reason I started the #PirateBroadcast™ was because I wanted to highlight the people, the individuals that wouldn't necessarily be seen by someone else, you know, cuz you get in this, you get in the lane and all of a sudden you're in that lane unless you start venturing out and meet somebody else and start seeing a new community. It's you just kind of shake it up a little bit. And so if I can share you with another community, that'd be fantastic. That's a win for me. So it's like, it's great news.

Loren Greiff 30:09
It is. It's wonderful.

Russ Johns 30:11
And I have friends all over the world as a result of LinkedIn. So it's just amazing. It's just amazing. I encourage everyone to take the time and the effort. Connect with Lauren, go check out what she's doing, why she's doing it, make the connection. Make the comments, interact, ask questions. It's a simple process and just consistency every day makes a huge difference. In a matter of a short period of time, you can make a huge difference. Huge, for sure. So well, thank you so much for being here. Loren. I really appreciate you. Congratulations on your...

Loren Greiff 30:49
I feel like I should have an eye patch.

Russ Johns 30:50
Yes, I got an eyepatch right over here with your name on it. Stay connected and as a follow up everyone, I am really working hard to share more content out, more information and build this community to where it benefits everyone. So subscribe to the YouTube channel. Help me grow that the podcast is out there. The live stream is on replay on RussJohns.com. So connect, engage. Have a conversation, start a conversation today and make a difference. #make it matter because #kindnessiscool, #smilesarefree, and you #enjoytheday. Don't go away.

Exit 31:41
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