Career Hub

Summer's Start - New Networking Opportunities

As we prepare to honor the contributions of our country's veterans as well as our current military personnel around the world this weekend, it's also a good time to move your search into high gear. Memorial Day weekend is the traditional kick-off to summer ... and typically provides great opportunities for informal networking. Whether it's at your town's parade, your neighborhood picnic, or your family get-together, you'll probably have a number of good opportunities to use your 30-second elevator speech (you've been refining it these past few months, right?).

Some job-seekers worry that the months of June, July, and August represent the doldrums when it comes to decision-making and even interviewing. My recommendation counters this: Seize the opportunities when office staff is typically reduced to make even more contacts, provide clear representations of the value you offer, and be more aggressive than ever in mining those relationships and managing follow-ups.

While taking vacation time yourself this summer, use quiet opportunities to contemplate on where you'd truly like to land ... and craft a strategy to gain the right access. With real diligence, you should find yourself well-positioned come Labor Day.

A Fresh Approach

I really enjoy Troy White's "Word Wealth" blog because he makes me think about my business, and that's what his most recent post is about ... looking at things a little differently.

He's talking about marketing in the traditional sense, but when you're looking for a job, you are engaged in marketing whether you like it or not.

The Very Best Interview Advice Ever

The single best piece of advice for interviewing success is: LISTEN. You can talk yourself out of an opportunity by saying something that the interviewer doesn't like or agree with, but if you get the interviewer to do the talking and you are the listener, it is not likely that you are going to listen yourself out of a job.  You want them to come away from your appointment with a positive  impression, or at least NOT a negative one.  By holding your tongue and sticking to their questions rather than volunteering more information, you will hear what is most important to them.  Be sure to address their concerns and show how you can solve their challenges. That's what they want to know.  By listening and nodding and smiling and answering appropriately, you'll whet their appetite to learn more. Then on the next round, you can come in prepared to address their requirements in greater depth to ace the interview and enhance the first impression you left with them.

Resume Killers

Last night on the 11 O'clock news in NY the ABC station did a piece on the worst thing you can do on your resume.  Normally I watch something other than the news before bed since most of what we see there is violence, lies and corruption - lovely bedtime fodder.  But this had a headliner intro... hmmm... so I tuned in to watch what the world needed to know about resumes. 

Are you ready for the big news?

Don't lie on your resume.  You knew that right? 

The biggest tip that these folks had was about stating that you had a PHD when you actually have a B.S. or are full of B.S. that you would be found out.  Oh and dates of employment seemed to be a sticking point too.  So I sat through reports of a myriad of unpleasant topics for this tidbit.  On a serious note - a resume is considered a legal document and anytime you may want to s t r e t c h the truth you had better be able to back it up. If you are caught in a lie on your resume it can be grounds for immediate termination.  Not Good! 

Endings & Beginnings

It's May already; the flowers are blooming and graduation day has arrived. Time to take that walk across the stage, gather the diploma, and head out. For some, the next step is easy and has been in place for several months. No big deal. For others, though, the "what next" piece comes with a fair amount of anxiety, uncertainty, stress and fear of what's going to happen to me now? Will I make it? Can I do it? Endings. Beginnings. What now?

This morning, I started a new career transition project with a high-level executive who had been with a company for 33 years when he lost his job. Endings. Beginnings. Whether you're 18, 22, or 56, starting anew means letting go of the known, embracing the unknown, and staying in the hunt until you get where you want, or need, to be in the future. Onward, through the fog...

One Candidate's Limbo

Last week my daughter had her final interview to become a Product Representative with a major pharmaceutical company. At age 24, her pedigree includes a Bachelor’s in Journalism and nearly 2 years as a leading producer in the mortgage lending industry.

I have been with her every step of the way. So treasured are opportunities in pharmaceutical sales that she found herself much like the American Idol finalists, steeped in heavy competition. As a parent I have been a wreck but as her Coach I have had a far better opportunity to witness hours of mandatory preparation toward a winning performance than anytime in my practice.

Considering the staggering competition, it’s been repeatedly proven that one’s performance in presentation and persistence in pursuing a job offer is as important as what qualifications one brings to the job. The contest begins with the résumé, continues through additional appearances and culminates by winning the offer during or after the final interview. Job offers are not a matter of mere credentials or luck, and candidates have far more power than they realize.

This company initially called in 30 candidates and then invited eight back for a second interview. Some returning candidates had direct pharmaceutical sales experience and some were 15 years her senior. With nothing to lose she wrote one last “hire me” thank you note based on the manager’s repeated statement that he needed to final the missing piece to his hiring puzzle. With customized stationary left over from the 1990’s featuring an embossed puzzle piece, her presentation began with, “I am the missing piece to your puzzle.”

This candidate, complete with the talent, image, personality and temperament did all the right things by going after what she wanted. Every step was perfectly-executed and yet she may never be selected to work for this organization. Disappointment will loom large but when a candidate performs this well it’s only a matter of time until another sales manager will ask, “When can you start?”

Do your critical business conversations ramble or sizzle?

In six- and seven-figure executive job search and career management, the ability to deliver a brief, clear, ROI-driven message of value is critical to success.

Do you know your executive brand and your best accomplishments? Can you quickly and powerfully articulate the impact of your accomplishments on your organizations? Can you succinctly identify the challenge you faced and the steps you took to produce stellar, bottom-line, strategic results?

Most people can’t. And that is because most people think logically — from beginning to end. When considering an accomplishment they review the challenge they faced, what they did and how they did it. Only then do they say what happened and why it was important. When talking or writing about an accomplishment they tend to ramble. They don’t edit as they go – they 'think out loud' and say or write far too much. Ironically, the more they say, the less they actually communicate. The most critical information is all but lost at the end of the ramble.

To communicate the critical - to make a great impression, especially upon a time-squeezed decision-maker - it’s important to train yourself to think in ‘headline’ terms.

That’s because on resumes and in interviews, the ‘what happened’ is the critical information that will WOW a decision-maker. In sales circles this is sometimes called ‘selling the sizzle.’ So when presenting an accomplishment on a resume or in an interview, the WOW has to lead, followed by the supporting information on the situation and process.

Use these tips to stop rambling and start sizzling.

• Imagine that you have an interview with a CEO who has only 10 minutes to see you. He / she asks you to ‘Bottom-line your impact to your current organization in 30 seconds.’ How would you reply?

• How does each accomplishment fit with your brand and target? Challenge yourself to describe, in just two sentences, why the accomplishment is important to your target. Compose another two sentences on how the accomplishment clearly reflects your brand.

• Think about the strategic impact of the accomplishment. What was the result? How did you make it happen? What were the initial problems / challenges?

• If you are having trouble identifying your accomplishments, ask yourself, ‘What would NOT have happened had I not done my job well?’

• Imagine that to get an interview you are required to write an accomplishment on the back of a business card. What would you say in that small space that would have enough sizzle to get that interview?

Are you sizzling yet?

Rip-Off The Band Aid

While coaching an executive level client that is currently out of work and in a particularly sticky situation he came to a profound realization. As a career coaches we often see mistakes that candidates make during a transition are clearly be tied to the fact that they are hell bend on remaining on to a career path that they are no longer meant to be traveling.

"Bob" was a rising star in the investment banking industry and made an honest but, somewhat detrimental error that resulted in the loss of his job and a mark on his permanent record.  This error is now keeping him from obtaining another position with a reputable firm while earning a salary that is commensurate with his experience.  So what’s an investment banker to do?  Change paths you say?  Capitalize upon one’s transferable skills you say?  Explore other options you say?  Or how about beat his head against a wall until he gets a concussion before realizing that he needs to shift gears?

Let’s face it change stinks, it is not fun and can be scary.  I come from the rip the band-aid off quickly vantage point and get it over with!  After much deliberation Bob has decided to capitalize on the transferable skills and change directions to nullify his one barrier to gainful employment – the negative mark on his record.  Amen & Hallelujah!   I’ll let you know when his offers start rolling in!

Who Ya Gonna Call?

In the tough times, we all need a support system. While most of us have a close circle of tried-and-true friends and family, sometimes the most help comes from unexpected sources.

This week, a friend was visiting me from the Boston area when she learned that her home had been affected by the massive rains and flooding (the worst in 30 years!). She made arrangements to get home as quickly as possible and found that her neighbor had gone above-and-beyond to stem the worst of the damage. In addition to pumping, cleaning, and restoring his own finished basement, he spent hours and hours working on hers - even calling on his own network of construction professionals to help.

The point is, she had asked him only to check on her home and let her know what to expect.

The point for job search is, you never know who in your network is going to go above-and-beyond for you. Don't make assumptions about who can or can't help you - don't limit your outreach to people you think will be influential. Talk to everyone you know! Have your 30- to 60-second "pitch" ready to deliver at any time to any audience. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at who steps up to help you and how far some of those helpers will go.

Who's Zoomin' Who?

The answer is... recruiters and potential employers are zooming YOU.

Zoominfo is just one of several emerging online tools and resources that savvy researchers are using to find out about potential employees. When they enter your name, what do they find? And what can you do about it?

I've just returned from the Kennedy Recruiting Conference in Las Vegas, where I asked Zoominfo reps what you can do to affect what comes up when your name is entered into their search engine. Here's their advice:

1. BUILD YOUR PROFILE. Right on the Zoominfo site, you can click the green "Be Found" tab and create your own summary. This ensures that something (and the correct information) appears when you are "zoomed."

2. BOOST YOUR VISIBILITY. Zoominfo collects and archives online business info such as news stories, annual reports, and articles. You will increase your visibility by appearing in the news, and if for some reason your stories don't appear you can add the links into your Zoominfo profile. So go ahead - write and publish an article, send a press release, or create your own website. For best results keep the content "all business" and relevant to your job search.

3. LAUNCH A BLOG. Because blogs are typically updated frequently, they have high ranking in many search engines. They're easy to create and update - they just require a bit of time and a lot of opinion! While they don't have the same authority and credibility as third-party news sources, they can help you establish and communicate your brand to potential employers. Here at Career Hub, we use TypePad to create and manage our blog.

Be sure you're ready to be "zoomed." If you're not proactive, you might find that negative information or no information at all can damage your search.