Marta Goertzen

Where is The Interview Doctor in June?

June 2, 2017 By Marta Goertzen

Here are a few of the places where Katherine will be speaking in June.

There are links to the events that are open to the public to register and attend.

June 8, 2017

Performance Management
Kent State University
Half day workshop – Private Session

June 13, 2017

Performance Management
Kent State University
Half day workshop – Private Session

June 14, 2017

Proactive Recruiting Techniques

Cleveland SHRM

11am – 1pm – Open to the Public

June 15, 2017

Interview Like a Superstar

Voiland Management Conference – Kent State Stark Conference Center

All Day – Private Session

Rewriting Your Resume

May 30, 2017 By Marta Goertzen

Resumes should be a solid representation of you and what you want in your career.

Graham left a leadership role in medical device company. He was done with leadership, just sick of it. All he wanted to do was sell. “Just give me a bag and leave me alone to get results,” he said.

Graham had not looked for a job in a long time. He was coming from many years in leadership with the same company. He spent some money with a resume service and got a one page resume. It looked ok on the surface but Graham really hated it.

I met Graham as a referral from my business coach Sherry. She knew a person who knew a person. That is how business contacts are made – through networking like that!

I took a look at Graham’s new resume and had to agree with him. It was awful.

The way to measure effectiveness of a resume is not just the way the resume looks. Does the resume actually support the candidate’s overall objectives? NO on both counts in Graham’s case. Plus the resume service just created the resume. They did not help Graham navigate the job search world. He had no idea where to get started or how to use this new resume. Even if the resume was perfect, which it was not, Graham did not know what to do with it. That seems wrong.

Here is what we did:

We corrected Graham’s contacts. The telephone number on the resume belongs to Graham’s wife, not to Graham – kind of a basic problem.
We added a headline identifying Graham’s ideal job. How is anyone supposed to know what Graham wants if there is no headline? The headline informs the reader. The reader will consider whether everything else he / she reads after that supports the headline.
We simplified. We took out every other word like a sculpture leaving only the essential information that supports the ideal job.
We added accomplishments related to his sales goal. The original resume was just a list of tasks related to Graham’s former leadership position. Not an accomplishment to be seen in general and no accomplishments at all related to sales. But Graham had many sales successes. Accomplishments are like adding color to a black and white movie. It makes everything make more sense.
We took out anything that was not sales related. It is not necessary to talk about overall business results if Graham does not want to be a general manager any more. So out it went.

It took one meeting and a few hours of time to restructure Graham’s resume to support his goal to find a position as a sales rep. We spent the next meetings teaching Graham how to optimize his LinkedIn profile and use LinkedIn for networking.

This is more than a resume. Resumes are the foundation of job search these days but they are not the most important job search tool by any means. Graham’s first resume was awful because it did not support his career goals at all.

If your job search materials do not support your career goals then maybe you need more than a Resume! Our Resume Writing and Job Search Coaching Package offers you this option because your job Search is much More than a Resume.

Find Opportunities for Career Growth

May 26, 2017 By Marta Goertzen

A fulfilling career is the intersection of something you find fascinating and something you are good at.

This article is an excerpt from our BizTV video, which can be viewed online, simply click this link.

In a fascinating Forbes article, Why you can’t find a job you love, author Louis Efron points out some reasons why so many Americans are unhappy at work. Setting the “my boss is a jerk” issues aside, much of the problem comes from a misalignment between passion and skill. That misalignment leads to communication and performance problems but also to boredom, a real career killer.

Passion alone is not the single path to career fulfillment. Passion might point us in a direction but skill and curiosity has to figure into the equation.

Here are five tips to find opportunities for career growth:

Start with passion. Identify one idea, activity or concept you find interesting about your current role. It could be a problem you see that others do not. This could be your niche.
Dig deeper. Can you see a solution that other people cannot? Do some research, identify resources, then put your idea in writing. Become the expert in your passion.
Raise your hand. Say “yes” to new experiences, particularly those related to your passion.
Share your ideas with a mentor for insight into how to put your ideas into action.
Stay positive. You can’t grow if you are grumbling about that glass being half empty.

Build career growth on something you find fascinating and something you are good at. The opportunities are all around you if you keep your eyes open.

In the meantime, check out this great resource to learn more about solving conflicts in your workplace or to view other videos featuring other strategic job search tips and tools from The Interview Doctor click here.

Find Your Dream Job Podcast

May 23, 2017 By Marta Goertzen

There’s one question that is often used first in job interviews, “Tell me about yourself”.

It is THE one QUESTION that can really throw people into a panic too. You NEED to be prepared to answer this question. Fully prepared. That is why I often speak and share resources about this, like our free download that helps you get started to answering this very question.

Because I am so passionate about this “Always Asked Question”, I was very honored to be invited as a guest speaker on Mac’s List podcast and I’m thrilled to share it with you today!

If you have a solid answer to this question, YOU set the stage and tone for the entire interview. So in essence you get to create the overall ‘feel’ of the interview before it’s underway and take some control. This can help shape the rest of it, allowing you to shine through it all!

Listen to it here and get the 5 Step Approach to nailing this question.

Shy Person’s Guide to Information Interviews

May 19, 2017 By Marta Goertzen

You need to do information interviews when you’re seeking a new career.

I wonder what a Process Engineer does? I wonder what is involved in being a Product Manager? What is that “Coding” I keep hearing about?

When you find yourself asking, “I wonder…” you know it is time to get more information.

We call those kinds of discussions “information interviews”. Talking to an expert about something you are interested in. A way to confirm or deny a point of view. Gathering information from others to help you reach a conclusion about your life.

Sometimes asking Google just isn’t enough. Sometimes you just have to talk to an expert. Especially in situations involving your career.

Easy enough to say but hard to put into action.

I have clients right now who balk at the idea of talking to someone about career options.

Laura is killing herself at a project manager job in a consulting firm focused on training and development. She thinks being a Human Resource Business Partner would be a good use of her skills. But she doesn’t have time and is very shy about talking to people she doesn’t know.
Chantel wants out of her data analytics management role but she is not sure how her skills translate to Marketing Product Manager. The thought of talking to someone about what they do makes her quake.

I am pretty knowledgeable about many careers so I can give guidance but I am not a substitute for talking with someone who is actually doing the job.

Why is it so hard for shy people to talk to gather this information? I can speak from my own experience.

I like to tell people I would rather pick up dog poop in the front yard than pick up the phone to talk to someone I don’t know. It feels like an imposition. I am not sure what to say. I am not sure why anyone would want to talk to me anyway.

The answer is just figure out a way to do it in a manner you can handle.

It got easier for me through repetition. I just gutted through and forced myself to do it often enough that, although I still blanch a bit, I can do it.

Here are some tips that might help you:

Email can be a less scary way to talk to people. Use our Networking Guide for Job Search Success to create your own email networking process that turns strangers into friends. You can still ask your questions but you won’t be making cold calls. You will be making warm calls. By the time you get to a coffee meeting you will feel like the other person is almost a friend.
Set realistic goals. Build up your “networking” strength by making one call per day or maybe even one call a week. Set a time every day (or week) that you will force yourself to pick up the phone. Then give yourself a reward for achieving this small but very difficult goal.
Use a script to reach out. You will feel more confident if you feel prepared. Plan out what the other person might say and how you would respond. Know exactly what you want to ask – a meeting or a simple question about the other person’s career.
Avoidance is still an option for extremely shy people. You won’t get as much out of the information but it is better than guessing. Do your research online using Google and LinkedIn. The reference librarian at your local library could be a great source of information.

Here is how it worked out for my clients:

Laura is lucky in that I am very familiar with the Human Resource Business Partner role. I am the expert she can talk to! She plans to avoid networking by using LinkedIn to connect with people associated with HR Business Partner jobs posted online.
Chantel will read many job descriptions then look at LinkedIn profiles of people who hold the job “Product Manager” to see how those folks describe their jobs. Then she will start adding those folks as LinkedIn connections using the Networking Guide as her model.

These three shy folks found unique ways to get the information they need with less stress. Sometimes a workaround is just what is needed!

If you are shy or introverted there is no shame in that but it may be blocking you from getting the career you want. There is help for you! Get your free copy of the “7 Tips for Career Success for the Shy Person” and begin to step out, beyond these barriers, onto a new career path today.