Thursday, June 21, 2012

How to Find a Job in This Job Market

I want to preface this by stating that I have been a practicing career coach for six years, during which time I have helped almost 400 job seekers. Every case is unique because no two circumstances are alike, but ultimately there is a lot of commonality between job seekers. Finding a job, especially in today’s job market, is supercompetitive, so let’s not forget that. In principle, there are two significant steps every job seeker has to master. Without that mastery, chances are slim for getting a job. The first step involves the résumé, and the second, interviewing skills.

Résumé

The résumé is the most important document a job seeker needs. At the résumé submission stage, the competition is fierce. An advertised position could draw literally hundreds and hundreds of résumés. The quality of such résumés of course varies from blatantly poor to stunningly excellent. In the middle are several that are very good. Sorry, though, but those will not be in the running. Why should a human resources rep, a recruiter, or even a hiring manager consider those when plenty of excellent résumés have been submitted to select from? My point is that only excellent résumés will be considered.

So, how does one produce an excellent résumé? After years and years and seeing hundreds of résumés myself, I am completely convinced that it takes a professional résumé writer to do that. Statistically speaking, the vast majority of job seekers initiate their own résumés. Next, they ask others whose opinions they respect to comment and possibly edit. And by accepting others’ recommendations, they’re thus covering a patch with a patch.

At times, a résumé morphs into something very different from what it started out to be. With all due respect to those who are willing to help others in need, the fact is that most of those people are simply not professionals at writing résumés. They want to help and are doing their best, but the final product will not be at the excellent level. Opposite this are professional résumé writers, some of whom are certified, have years of successful experience, and strive to be good at this service because their livelihood depends on it. They keep taking courses to learn what’s new, and they clearly know what sells. They not only craft a good-looking résumé, but they know how to weave in the right keywords and in sufficient numbers. Without the right keywords, résumés go into a black hole and may stay there for a very long time, if not indefinitely. Many people declare themselves professional résumé writers to attract clients. Best is to use one who comes highly recommended by several people. Their fees vary, but I’ve learned that you get what you pay for.

Interview Preparation

This is the area I specialize in. Again, from my experience I conclude that only a tiny fraction of the population is innately good at interviewing. Job interviewing essentially calls for being an actor onstage. Many people phone me, say, two days before they’re scheduled for a critical interview. This is clearly not enough time to prepare. It takes a significant amount of practice to review common interview questions and be ready to answer them proficiently.

The interview process involves not only going through the motions but also understanding interviewers’ thinking. When interviewers ask about your weaknesses, do you know what they mean? Do you know what you’re being tested on?

Interviewing well can be learned. It is certainly not as complex as brain surgery. It just takes practice till you feel confident. And if you exude confidence, the interviewer senses that. Congratulations! An offer is coming your way.

Posted via email from The Landing Expert

Sunday, June 17, 2012

Too Old to Be Hired?

The law says employers are not permitted to discriminate because they deem someone too old, yet employers do so every single day. How can they get away with it? The answer is, By thinking it but never talking about it or documenting it. When questioned, their answer is, It was not a good fit.

There are many reasons people who are no longer young are associated with certain preconceived ideas—for example, poor physical appearance. In some cases, it’s true, and a candidate should show concern and responsibility for improving such an image. Easily said and challenging to reverse but often can be improved through, say, physical fitness, a more contemporary eyeglass frame, better-looking and better-fitting clothing, and proper grooming can make a huge difference. Another example is the expectation that an older and more experienced person is expecting—and needs—more money. In many cases, this is not true. While everybody wants more money of course, there are many situations in which the person has already built a nest egg, and money is a secondary or tertiary concern. Going out and working, regaining identity, contributing, and just being with other people often outweigh everything else. One more example is the preconception that younger people are more tech savvy. Yes, that’s often the case, but I can easily argue that an electronics engineer with years of experience and who’s gone through the technology evolution has a profound understanding and a big-picture point of view, which could be major assets. And how about the notion that older folks have low energy, often have a so-called corporate mentality, and a lack of flexibility? Again, some of those might be true in some cases, but from the examples I’ve presented here, it’s easy to see that each case must be judged independently and weighed on demonstrated facts.

How can a candidate mitigate often-false prejudices? First, a candidate must be careful about social media presence. Ninety percent of employers check out candidates prior to making a first contact. Why this practice? Because it’s simple, quick, and free. The way candidates do the same by checking out the company and, possibly, everything they can about those they’re going to interview with at the company. It’s called due diligence on both sides. As a job candidate, you should check out your own social media score via mywebcareer.com. Furthermore, check out your social media presence via socialmention.com. The latter Web site takes a holistic approach, including videos.

Second, if you’re not clear on how the potential interviewer might view you, a session with a career coach can surface and reveal all your doubts. In fact, if the career coach is in the habit of using a video camera, you could see it for yourself. In addition, do not be embarrassed to initiate a conversation on this subject with your spouse and your good friends and possibly do a mutual exchange of opinions with other job seekers.

Third, get into the frame of mind that says that as an older person, you possess a special asset: experience. Practically speaking, that means that all of the past mistakes were made on some other employer’s account and would not be repeated. How about your problem-solving skills, which are by now well developed? And how about the fact that you’re already in the habit of practicing good judgment and have good work habits. After all, you come from the old school.

Posted via email from The Landing Expert

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

In Transition: So What's Your Brand?

More than ever, when you are in transition you should have a brand. Why? you ask. Because that is how you differentiate yourself and stand out from the proverbial crowd.

Branding is not about what you like but about what employers like. Your branding statement—whether in writing, on the Internet, or spoken via your elevator pitch should have the triple purposes of gaining credibility, arousing curiosity, and increasing your likability factor. And your work toward those goals will not be in vain, because 90 percent of employers check out candidates prior to making initial searches via, say, LinkedIn, Spokeo, or ZoomInfo.

Nowadays, employers use Google when searching for prospects. Research shows that

29% of people use two words when searching, 28% use three words, 17% use four words, and only 11% use one word. This means that your résumé or any other information about you should be rich with nouns and phrases. This advice is different from what we were told in the past: that résumés should have lots of action verbs. In fact, a combination of both is best. Yes, certainly computers are looking for keywords, but when people actually read about you, they want to see both action and accomplishments.

A recent study found that 90% of people search on the first three pages of search engine results and that 62% search only on the first page. Good branding work rewards candidates by resulting in a high ranking on Google searches. To find out what’s out there in cyberspace, here are the most common social media search engines:

Setting it up is a bit time-consuming, but you might be surprised at the information available about you and that you didn’t have a clue about. One of the best ways to find out what people are saying about you is to monitor your reputation via www.google.com/alerts.

It’s very important to communicate properly, for this is how people judge you. And there are certain words and phrases you should avoid because they’re overused and most often meaningless. Here are a few examples:

  • Extensive experience
  • Motivated
  • Dynamic
  • Team player
  • Problem solver
  • Innovative
  • Results oriented
  • Proven track record
  • Fast paced
  • Entrepreneurial

These days 90% of recruiters check LinkedIn. Therefore it makes good sense for you to improve as best as possible the information on your LinkedIn page. Here are a few simple ideas:

  • Increase the number of recommendations.
  • Ask questions and provide answers.
  • Update your status periodically.
  • Inform your connections about projects you’re working on.
  • Connect with your Twitter account.
  • Share links to articles of interest.
  • Import e-mail addresses from Gmail, Yahoo! Mail, Hotmail, and Outlook.
  • Connect with ex-colleagues: people on LinkedIn from companies you worked with before.
  • Connect with people you met in person via networking events and whose business cards you collected.

As you can see, branding yourself is of utmost importance. Otherwise, you stay hidden from those you really want to see you.

Posted via email from The Landing Expert

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

The Trouble with Your Elevator Pitch

 Scott Morgan is my guest-blogger.  He wrote a terrific short piece well worth reading

Alex

4-U: 4 Tips for Better Communications

 The Trouble with Your Elevator Pitch

by Scott Morgan, President of 4West Communications

 You walk into a networking event, your business cards at your hip, the inner gunslinger in you waiting to draw, when a pleasant person walks up to meet you and asks “What do you do?”

So you bust out your elevator pitch. Only to watch the other person walk away. What went wrong?

1) You tried too hard. I sympathize with anyone whose brain gets hogtied in one-on-one conversations. In an effort to sound impressive, hit emotional buttons, and leave a lasting impression, you say things like “I am the cement that binds you to your customers.” That stuff works in a speech, but try saying it as a direct answer to “What do you do?” and watch the eyes start rolling. The antidote? Relax. Don’t try to knock it out of the park, then out of the whole stadium. Nix the big words and just be direct.

2) You didn’t rehearse. The great Jackie Gleason never rehearsed and he was a killer comedic talent. You are not Jackie Gleason. The antidote? Work on your response. Practice it until it sounds natural; until it sounds as if you casually whipped it off the top of your head. The only way to do it is to say it and say it and say it and say it.

3) You spent all your time on you. Rattling off a list of your services and punctuating things with “because I’m the best there is” works with potential business partners as well as it works on a first date (seriously, try it, and please post the hilarious results on YouTube). The antidote? Frame your response to reflect what you can do for them. What needs do they have that you can serve? Here’s a hint: Look at what you do for a living. You do it because it needs to be done. So that’s the need you’re serving.

4) You didn’t stop talking. People babble when they get nervous. That’s how cops know who did it. And it’s easy to just keep your lips moving long after you’ve made your point. The antidote? If you feel you’ve made your point and are uncomfortable with the hovering silence that follows your succinct response, turn it back on the questioner. Ask “So what do you do?” It’s an amazing way to, you know, start an actual conversation. You both might find you need each other.

Want to stay up on the latest from 4West Communications? Look for the “Follow” button at the bottom right of my homepage, www.4-west.com, to follow my blog. 

Scott Morgan,

Speaker, Author, Editor, Ghostwriter, Consultant

President, 4West Communications: Expert Copywriting and Copyediting

609-372-0548

www.4-west.com

Posted via email from The Landing Expert