Getting Coached Is Catching On

One of the most basic rules in economics deals with supply and demand. Today’s job market certainly has a significant supply: 13.9 million people looking for jobs. But demand has been meager for the past several years; it probably will continue to be for the near future; and—at least at this point—it does not show any robustness. The immediate impact of this discord manifests itself by only a few people getting jobs.

In theory, the process of getting a job is simple: human resources department employees, outside recruiters, and hiring managers review multitudes of applicant résumés and eliminate all except outstanding ones. There are many of the latter, and less-than-outstanding résumés get filed in the black hole. A further elimination process is in place via phone or video screenings, with the target objective to request applicants appear for in-person interviews—but typically, no more than three to five of the seemingly best prospects. Ultimately, of course, only one is going to get the congratulatory letter.

In practice, since more and more job seekers know the rules of the game, they’re trying to maximize their chances by getting outside help. There’s been a significant uptick in the trend of job seekers’ hiring professional résumé writers, followed by the trend of working with career coaches to specifically improve interview skills. Both professional résumé writers and people who offer career coaching services appear to be costly. Plus the expense comes at a person’s time of trauma, anguish, and high frustration level, but what is the cost of those things combined with lack of a steady paycheck?

Most people realize that job seeking has become very competitive in every occupational field. Even most colleges, as part of their applicant-screening process, interview potential incoming students before making final determinations. As a career coach specializing in the interview process, I see more and more such college student applicants who engage my services. Furthermore, many military veterans returning from years of service find themselves unprepared for the next phase in their lives, and they reach out for assistance with job search counseling and interview skills enhancement.

It’s not enough to be able to say you did great things in past; you now need to sell that to someone who’s willing to pay you. Do you know how to do that?

Posted via email from "The Landing Expert"

How to Turn Networking into Interviews

People in transition know that 60 to 80 percent of job seekers get their next positions through networking. Consequently and whenever possible, they focus their daily activities on such networking. But despite their—sometimes admittedly awkward—efforts, nothing comes of it. The reason is that they don’t have an understanding of the actual purpose of networking and how to turn it into interviews.

The purpose of networking is to cultivate relationships for advice, information, leads, and, hopefully, referrals. While it’s important to know others for this purpose, it’s equally important that those others know you. Most people are willing to network, but they have the right to expect you to (1) focus on specific companies and (2) demonstrate to them that networking is a give-and-take transaction, whereby they, too, may get from you in turn some industry intelligence.  For those who don’t know how to go about approaching a person for the purpose of networking, here’s a simple script that can be used either over the phone or via e-mail.

My name is Jane Jones. Our mutual acquaintance Stan Smith suggested I give you a call [send you an e-mail] because he feels
you’re an expert in the pharmaceutical industry. Stan suggested you might be of assistance to me. I’m in transition and looking
for a role as a marketing director. I don’t expect you to know of an opening in this area, but perhaps you can share with me
your thoughts about ways I can find out who’s hiring.

The mechanics of a networking dialogue should have the following components. An initial rapport building to establish the relationship. An agenda for the purpose—and that consider how you, too, can add value. Try finding out whom the other person knows or what good contacts the person has. Another element is likability. You must develop your relationship on trust, integrity, and shows of enthusiasm, motivation, and drive. Nobody enjoys a conversation with someone who’s depressed—with the possible exception of a psychologist! And last, get engaged in the exchange, and try to feel comfortable asking for referrals. When you get them, make sure you keep your host in the loop.

If you follow these guidelines, it’s very likely that you’ll generate more interviews. In that event, make sure you’re well prepared. You don’t want to drop the ball once you’re so close to scoring.

Posted via email from "The Landing Expert"