Marta Goertzen

I GOT THE JOB!

November 20, 2018 By Marta Goertzen

This is a story of success and failure.

“I GOT THE JOB!!!

Compensation and bonus aligned! I start Friday!!!

Thank you again for this last push of encouragement and belief! I truly appreciate it!”

Amy

A great deal happened between this joyful message and the depressed mess Amy was a month earlier before we worked together.

The trick to coaching people around careers is figuring out the problem. Many times the clients have no idea what is going on. They just know something is very wrong.

Amy, an HR executive recovering from a layoff, was well networked. Her job search tools (resume and LinkedIn profile) were good. She had numerous interviews but never managed to land anything. She was depressed, frustrated, disappointed, embarrassed, humiliated… She embodied the entire range of job seekers’ emotion.

I made a calculated guess that Amy’s issue concerned interviewing. We spend an hour preparing for an upcoming interview using The Interview Doctor’s unique approach to interview preparation. Amy went away to practice as instructed. We exchanged a few texts and then she went off to the interview. She was nervous but had girded her loins with preparation, Interview Doctor-style.

She did great! With her preparation she was able to focus on the hiring manager because she was confident about what she wanted to say. They established an immediate rapport. Amy networked through a common connection who vouched for her skills and character which boosted her status to the hiring manager. She advanced to the next level and did great with the rest of the team and peers. After 3 rounds of interviews and some reference checking, the stars aligned for the job offer Amy wanted and that excited email you see above.

What makes the difference between getting the job and not? Sometimes it is as simple as getting some support.

Amy’s situation ended well because someone (me) listened to her, figured out the core issue and gave her the tools and the confidence to knock that ball out of the park! How would your career or job search change if you had that support behind you?

To improve your ability to get what you want in your career, check out The Interview Doctor’s worksheet, Tell Me About Yourself. Learn to interview like a pro! Let me know if you want more personal help with interview coaching for a specific opportunity. That investment in yourself might make the difference between success and failure.

Volunteering to Expand your Career and Job Search Visibility

November 13, 2018 By Marta Goertzen

Get out there and get involved!

I could hear the hammers before I turned the corner. Midday on one of the hottest days during a very hot Canton, OH, summer; and the Interfaith Habitat workers peeped out from their work stations. They knew I brought lunch!

Trinity United Church of Christ built two Habitat for Humanity houses this summer. I wanted to help but I am a documented klutz. No one wanted me to swing a hammer. But I can cook! This was a perfect opportunity for The Interview Doctor to contribute to a wonderful cause!

I laid out BBQ Chicken Pot Pie with homemade cornbread lattice crust, crunchy vegetable cherry coleslaw with a vinaigrette dressing (wouldn’t want to poison the fine volunteers with a mayonnaise dressing on a hot day!), a vegetarian corn, bean and tomato salad and little tiny fruit pies individually wrapped in wax paper. Kosher, halal and vegetarian for the interfaith crowd. I even brought cold ice tea! The crowd ate it up as they rested for a bit in the shade before returning to work.

Volunteering is a wonderful way to contribute to a better world. Here at The Interview Doctor, we volunteer all the time without tooting our own horns. I speak at many job seekers clubs for no fee in an effort to guide more people to new jobs.

I offer scholarships for job search coaching. Sometimes a confused job seeker reaches out to me with a networking question and I realize this person will never become a client but with a few minutes of coaching on the house, could turn the corner on their job search.

These small contributions by The Interview Doctor add up to big changes in some people’s lives.

Volunteering is also a strategic way to grow a business or manage a job search.

Start-up businesses these days often make a contribution to some charity as a way to market themselves or differentiate themselves from other businesses. Many companies like Toms, Salesforce, Tesla, Deloitte, Novo Nordisk and Connors use volunteering as a way to attract millennial workers who value social action.

A recent article describes how Giving Back to the Community is Good for Business. There are technical benefits like a charitable deduction for the food I purchased for Habitat for Humanity, but more important, volunteering in your community can be a great way to promote your business and get your name out.

I sometimes feel uncomfortable publicizing my community involvement. I could have (but didn’t) passed out business cards for The Interview Doctor or had a big sign saying, “Food Provided by The Interview Doctor, Inc.” (but I didn’t). I could have sent out pictures on Facebook, but I didn’t do that either. I guess I am doing it now though, by just talking about my community involvement.

Job seekers and entrepreneurs can volunteer to receive positive exposure and make valuable new connections while giving back to the community. A client, Agnes, is giving a keynote address at a national conference this winter. She is not charging a fee but is receiving excellent exposure and making valuable contacts. Another client, Marvin, made valuable job search connections volunteering at a local historical society.

Consider how you can publicize your community contributions through social media to raise visibility and improve your image while doing something good for your community!

Sometimes you can move your career forward by getting outside of yourself. Learn how to Grow Your Career Through Relationships! Check out The Interview Doctor’s 10 Be’s to Grow your Career for some ideas.

Job Search with a Difference

October 30, 2018 By Marta Goertzen

What are You Doing to Differentiate Yourself?

Seen recently in a marina bathroom Milwaukee: a pile of resumes tacked to a bulletin board stuck in a plastic sleeve with a picture of a smiling guy and the slogan, “Seeking Employment Take a Resume”. In the women’s bathroom! My husband saw the same thing in the men’s bathroom. What a creative idea! After all, the person who could hire him might have a boat in the marina.

Once I met a job seeker who wanted to get into the IT Department at a local hospital. He rode the elevator most of the morning one day in an effort to meet the VP Information Technology. He “ran into” her close to lunchtime and started a conversation about their ongoing system conversion. She was intrigued, invited him to the office like an old friend and introduced him to the team. In a short while he was a member of the team.

A current client coming out of the insurance industry saw the perfect opening at USAA. He submitted his resume according to the ad instructions. Then he started finding ways to get in front of the hiring manager, even though he does not know who that is. He reached out to two former co-workers currently employed at USAA. He found several people with a title that might be the hiring manager. We figured out some creative ways to get introduced to all of those folks.

What are you willing to do to get a job?

Are you willing to put yourself out there and try something unusual? How can you get your credentials in front of the right person?

Stop doing job search the “normal” way. Brainstorm some creative ways to get into your target company as a way to increase the odds that you will get the job you want. Check out The Interview Doctor’s 10 Be’s to Grow your Career for some ideas.

Do You Want to be Found on LinkedIn?

October 16, 2018 By Marta Goertzen

Put your contact information to work for you in LinkedIn.

Dear Interview Doctor,

My friend and I are having a debate. Do I include my contact information visibly in my LinkedIn profile or only have it listed in the contact section visible to my first level connections? Which is better?

Foggy about Visibility in Cleveland

Dear Foggy,

It depends. Do you want to be found or not?

If you are in a job search or even just want to grow your career, what is the downside to giving recruiters and networkers a way to contact you? Make it easy and people will reach out with opportunities. Make it hard and they will move on to the next person. Your choice.

You are not obligated to share your contact information. Some people are very concerned about their privacy. The default is that your email address and phone number are visible in the Contact section, visible to your first level connections.

There are several places you can put your contact information so it can be visible.

In the body of your LinkedIn Profile Summary. I like to say something like, “Connect with me at Katherine@Interviewdoc.com to continue the conversation.”
In the top of the LinkedIn Profile Summary. Some folks recommend putting it at the top of your summary so your email address can be visible in the first 3 lines of the summary on the mobile app. The first line of the summary could sound like this, “I am passionate about improving the job search process so you can make a better career match. Let’s talk about your career needs at Katherine@Interviewdoc.com.”

Be sure to include your personal website (if you have one), your consulting website, your personal portfolio or other social media sites in your Contact section found in the top section of your LinkedIn profile. Access the edit function by clicking on the little blue pencil in the upper right hand corner of that top section next to your picture.

How do you prefer to share your contact information? Do you share? I would love to hear your opinions on this interesting topic. In the meantime, check out The Interview Doctor’s LinkedIn Tip Sheet for more ideas about how to use LinkedIn to advance your career.

Are You a LinkedIn Believer for your Job Search?

October 2, 2018 By Marta Goertzen

Have you tried using LinkedIn for your Job Search?

Brian doubted me but he tried it anyway. He is setting up a consulting practice while searching for a job. I suggested that the same techniques to market a consulting practice on social media can be applied to job search. In his case, he could get a double whammy with some strategic social media marketing.

Basic marketing techniques for consulting practices often include creating or sharing content on social media that supports your business philosophy so readers can understand your application to their needs. The content must be interesting and it must be placed directly in the path of the ideal client. These techniques also apply to job search.

Brian took me up on it!

He wrote a great blog article describing his sales process, a method of sales effectiveness or process improvement reflected in his website and consulting materials. This is the technique Brian has used with proven results.

The response was swift and positive. He received several messages from potential clients. A CEO called to activate a seemingly dormant job opportunity. The post received 2300+ views in two weeks! Isn’t that wonderful?

Brian is still shaking his head. Of course there is no guarantee that the first effort will bring in paying clients. Marketing is just marketing until someone makes a purchase. This is just the start, laying the groundwork for future relationship building. Brian is a true believer now in the power of LinkedIn to get his message out.

You can use this same technique to put your career or job search message out in front of the ideal company. What do you stand for? What techniques do you have that have proven successful in the past that someone might find useful to solve a business problem in another organization?

Check out The Interview Doctor’s Career Advancement Tip Sheet for more ideas on how to reach your target audience!