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Job Search Inspirations: The Taylor Hicks Style

Looking at the morning rain

I used to feel so uninspired.

And when I knew I had another day to face,

Lord, you made me feel so tired.

Before the day I met you, life was so cruel

But your love was the key to my peace of mind.

Aretha Franklin – “A Natural Woman”

Although the Queen of Soul first released this hit more than three decades ago, her sentiments are just as relevant now as they were then. Today, all media vehicles are full of negative aspects. The browser pages on our computers greet us each morning with news of natural disasters, violent crime, and the ever-sinking economy. In those moments, we seek out and cling to encouragement wherever we find it. When we are truly lucky, we are directed toward something whose intrinsic value is more far-reaching than immediate forms of respite and motivation. Often that “something” is a “someone”: a role model. Business neophytes have dedicated mentors; sports figures have team captains and coaches. While these are avenues and examples of traditional role models, we sometimes find our guiding lights along paths that may not be as obvious as these.

When Taylor Hicks first entered our living rooms in January 2006 via american idol, seemed to have anything but “role model” emblazoned all over it. Obtaining a single winner from the 100,000 applicants nationwide, idol it represented the back door, the “hidden job market,” so to speak, for Hicks. As one of the oldest contestants and the only one sporting premature gray hair, Taylor’s powerful, soulful voice was bluesy and flavored with old-school soul; her stage presence was reminiscent of the iconoclastic and admittedly spastic Joe Cocker. Hicks, a son born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama, was 180 degrees removed from the ultra-cool vocal style and fashion sense of the younger, hipper, more marketable competition that had historically risen to the top of the idol ladder. Taylor knew very well that he was facing an uphill battle.

However, when Simon Cowell unleashed a resounding “No” to this underdog’s entry into the competition, few could have imagined that not only would Taylor win american idol, but become a role model for many, including the founders and members of charities that sprang up in his honor, and those of us now facing seemingly fruitless job searches. Taylor, an obscure singer-songwriter and instrumentalist who toured the Deep South for nearly ten years, made his own brand of networking through his job search for a seemingly elusive record deal. Half musician/singer/songwriter and half self-promoter, Taylor fiercely marketed himself to all potential employers. Selling his self-financed and independent CDs, “In Your Time” and “Under the Radar,” from the back of his truck, he introduced record producers, DJs and other potential representatives: the counterparts of HR staff, managers hiring and recruiters. But all his blows never opened a single door. Undeterred, Taylor re-devoted herself to her job search with unwavering focus and drive.

He did his research, contacted booking agents and sweet-talked them, landing occasional contracts from established luminaries like Jackson Browne and James Brown, who allowed Taylor and his band to open for them…without pay. The Alabaman who never says he dies has also been associated with rising stars like Dierks Bentley, a friend from Taylor’s frustrating days in Nashville and now a country music recording star.

However, the advances Taylor made were not enough for a man driven to make a living solely by creating, recording and performing his music. In desperation, he turned to the one place he was almost certain to find defeat: a reality show whose audience seemed to crave younger, more malleable mature talent for commercial radio. Capitalizing on his equivalent of the hidden job market, Taylor made his dream come true, jumping on a train to victory paved with tracks he had laid with faith, focus and application. By getting the majority of the final 63 million public votes, Taylor Hicks landed a million dollar deal with Arista Records. When this relationship was later dissolved by mutual consent, and by Taylor’s desire to gain full creative control over his work, the winner continued to market itself conscientiously, widening his web of possibilities.

Now flying under his own label, Modern Whomp, Taylor will release his most recent work, “The Distance,” on March 10, 2009, produced by Eric Clapton/BB King/Faith Hill collaborator Simon Climie. Her additional independently-earned accomplishments include a stunning role in the nationally-gone Broadway play “Grease” and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the renowned children’s medical services and research organization, Children’s Hospitals. Shriners for Children. A clear winner on many fronts, Taylor is not resting on his laurels: he continues to constantly market himself.

As we seek to enter a competitive job market, we as job candidates can take inspiration from Taylor’s trials and triumphs. If job boards, print ads, and recruiters don’t provide viable opportunities, we need to network through less obvious routes. We need to make connections and/or reconnect with members of industry/professional groups, school alumni associations, and various organizations such as local chambers of commerce, as well as charities that we can volunteer for. (Taylor, by the way, was “giving back” to the community even as a struggling musician; mainly to Kid One Transport and Studio by the Tracks.) We must also capitalize on the opportunities inherent in the growing membership population of Internet sites like Linkedin, as well as the great social networking boards: Facebook, MySpace, and the newly popular Twitter. Like Taylor Hicks, with diligence, focus, and the courage to step “outside the box,” we can still emerge as winners.