The movie Guilt Trip was not one of the most exciting(albeit entertaining) films I have viewed but there was an underlying theme which could be of value to job seekers. A young scientist traveled across the U.S. in a compact rental car with his nudge of a mom trying to pitch his environmentally friendly liquid cleaner. One retail company after another quickly grew bored of his highly complex presentation and blew him out the door. On his last stop, he realized he was losing his audience and use his mom's idea of drinking the cleaner to prove how safe it was. This approach met with great success and enthusiasm.
Think about your interview process. Do you find that it seems like it has started to drag five minutes after you enter the room and the interviewer keeps looking at their watch, cell phone, the window, etc? Perhaps, it is time to look for a way to somewhat alter your approach. As soon as you come out of your next meeting, find a place to stop and write notes about everything that took place. When you get home, analyze the interview and see when you lost your audience and what you had just said. Look for a different way to answer the question that stalled you out. Do this after the next 3 or 4 interviews and look for a trend.
Finally, make a conscientious effort to change your approach. Most of us believe our way of doing things is the only way. Sad but true, there are many methods of operation and sometimes, we are too stuck in our ways to notice we need a subtle adjustment. As someone who is very resistant to change, I definitely advise you to consider making alterations if your current style is not ending up in job offers.
Tuesday, December 25, 2012
Monday, December 3, 2012
Screeching Chalk!
Do you remember the sound of chalk screeching on a blackboard, sending chills down everyone's back and causing entire classrooms of students to go into shock for a moment or two? If you were educated in the age of smart boards, keep quiet for a minute! Those of us who remember know just how awful that sound could be! There are things that happen in the job search arena that replicate that annoying sound.
Very recently, a job seeker told me that they gave a company $4,000 to develop a marketing strategy guaranteed to deliver a successful job search. What they got for their money was a poorly constructed resume and a web page dedicated to their search which was very generic and resulted in absolutely no results. The ongoing technical and coaching support which was part of the package seems to have vanished into thin air.
A hiring manager told me of a person they added to their staff who stayed about 4 weeks then jumped ship for double the money. Just a few weeks later, it was learned that this individual was out of work because they gave notice without a confirmed offer and the new job was placed on hold before the reporting date.
Someone lamented to me that she was not receiving many bites from her resume. I asked to see it and questioned how she could have gotten to the level she was working at with only an Associates Degree. Her reply was that she had a B.A. and half of an M.B.A. but that they were not from a school in the U.S. so she left them off!
Decision making is a crucial part of running a great job search. Please do not make unilateral decisions. Seek out the advice of several people such as former classmates, relatives, former colleagues, career coaches, clergy people, etc. Look for a common ground among those opinions and I am pretty sure you will avoid the screeching chalk torture!
Very recently, a job seeker told me that they gave a company $4,000 to develop a marketing strategy guaranteed to deliver a successful job search. What they got for their money was a poorly constructed resume and a web page dedicated to their search which was very generic and resulted in absolutely no results. The ongoing technical and coaching support which was part of the package seems to have vanished into thin air.
A hiring manager told me of a person they added to their staff who stayed about 4 weeks then jumped ship for double the money. Just a few weeks later, it was learned that this individual was out of work because they gave notice without a confirmed offer and the new job was placed on hold before the reporting date.
Someone lamented to me that she was not receiving many bites from her resume. I asked to see it and questioned how she could have gotten to the level she was working at with only an Associates Degree. Her reply was that she had a B.A. and half of an M.B.A. but that they were not from a school in the U.S. so she left them off!
Decision making is a crucial part of running a great job search. Please do not make unilateral decisions. Seek out the advice of several people such as former classmates, relatives, former colleagues, career coaches, clergy people, etc. Look for a common ground among those opinions and I am pretty sure you will avoid the screeching chalk torture!
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