Marta Goertzen

The Interview Doctor Anniversary Celebrations Continue!

May 1, 2015 By Marta Goertzen

We continue to celebrate our successes of the past 10 years with the Interview Doctor. Part of this is sharing with you – our online community – and in some cases people we see face to face too!

Last month we had an awesome response to the Sale-abration with our ebook 7 Steps to a New Career Path.

This month in May we continue to highlight one of our eBooks: Pearls of Wisdom about Changing Jobs.

Changing jobs happens to many of us – whether by our own design or by the actions of our current employer.

When you are thrown into a job search many people are sure where to start. This ebook will guide you through the process of a job search that seems so complicated…but it doesn’t have to be.

A good job search takes organization, networking, and most of all, a plan.

This workbook will help you take control of your job search and your future, using expertise we at The Interview Doctor have accumulated over many years in human resources and in our own personal job searches. You will learn many tips about changing your job and finding the right job for you.

Purchase your copy in May and save – pay only 99 ¢.

Don’t Panic when the time comes to make a Career Change or when you need to Change your Job!

Our Pearls of Wisdom eBook will walk you through how to plan out a job search – a job search where you are organized, use networking, and most of all, is a plan to succeed and find that job you are seeking.

This workbook will help you take control of your job search and your future. Purchase your copy today for only 99 Cents.

Volunteering can lead to new Job Opportunities

April 28, 2015 By Marta Goertzen

Winston Churchill said, “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give” and an added bonus for job seekers, volunteering can lead to new job opportunities!

In theory we understand that a life worth living is about what we give to others. We nod our heads to this idea. But how can we put this idea into practice when we focus all our attention on our internal struggles? Make a living. Put the kids through school. Transport the kids to this activity or that. Move that stack of paper from one side of the desk to another.

Find a job. Now that is a big one.

What if making a life is interrupted by finding a job? Finding a job takes precedent over most everything, doesn’t it, especially if finding a job undermines our personal security. Then giving back moves to the back burner.

I have been there myself. When I had mouths to feed and a mortgage to pay and a job to find, it was all I could do to muster the energy to network with a smile on my face. I had little energy or interest in giving back. That could wait until life became more settled.

But what if there was a way to combine the idea of giving back and the need to make a living? Intriguing idea isn’t it?

I practice what I preach so I have lots of coffee with lots of interesting people! Yesterday I had coffee with the head of Junior Achievement in our area. A mutual friend introduced us so we met for coffee to explore what we can do for each other. I take this networking business very seriously!

My new friend, Michael Gaffney, came up with an intriguing idea. What if job seekers opened themselves up to volunteer with Junior Achievement? Interesting… Think about it for a moment.

Consider what you need to find a job these days:

Lots of energy… even when you don’t feel energetic
A plan so you don’t wander around aimlessly waiting for the phone to ring
A wide network of people
Creative ideas to get your name out there to people who can help you find what you want
New ideas to think about and talk about to others
A reason to get out of the house

Michael might be on to something here. Junior Achievement’s tagline is “Empowering young people to own their economic success”. JA volunteers teach students a prepared curriculum about the business world, personal finance and economics. Volunteers select the time frame that works best for them. You talk about something you likely know a bit about with students who are interested in what you have to say.

You get more than you give! Here are some of the advantages I can think of off the top of my head:

Be around young people with lots of energy
A chance to focus on something other than yourself
A place to be at certain times of the week
Something to put on your resume and talk about with prospective employers
A way to meet and network with people who can help you find what you want

The list of companies that support Junior Achievement in my community reads like a Who’s Who of desirable employers.

Wouldn’t it be nice to get the energy, information and contacts you can use in your job search and give back at the same time?

I am giving it a try! I volunteered to teach a program on Global Market Place (curriculum and activities all provided to me) at a local elementary school in May. I will report back how it goes. But I am confident that volunteering with Junior Achievement will be a win-win for the community and for me! How about you? Check out Junior Achievement for yourself and find your own win-win!

Making a Great Career or Job Match

April 24, 2015 By Marta Goertzen

Let’s get back to basics about what we are really looking for in a career or even a job. We are looking for a way of making a living that matches your skills, strengths and weaknesses with the other people you work with and the responsibilities you have to fulfill.

To make this work you have to understand what you offer. You have to have a clear idea what is needed. You have to have a good way to make a match.

Maybe you want to take it further. You want to learn and grow. You want more responsibility. You want constructive feedback so you can grow. You want a lifelong journey.

Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for a newer and richer experience.” THAT is a lifelong journey, isn’t it?

Finding a job or finding the right candidate is a journey. The purpose of the job search is to find the candidate that has the life experiences and mindset to be on the journey with the company, to take the company to the next experience to achieve goals.

It is about matching needs, experiences and life’s journey with a person who will add value to the organization because they fit.

Here are some questions for companies and candidates interested in making a great match:

Understand what you want. What is the job that needs to be done? What kind of job will use your skills in a way that will make you successful?
Make a list of knowledge, skills and abilities required to do the job very well. What kind of experiences should the right candidate have had to demonstrate that they can do the job that needs to be done? What kind of experience do you have that demonstrates you can do the job? What kind of people do you want to work with? What kind of person will enhance the team and get the job done?
Evaluate whether this person or company will be a good match for the job that needs to be done and the skills you bring. Did the meeting make you feel optimistic and hopeful? Can you see how the person will fit with the team? Can you answer yes to the 3 main questions any company asks: Can she do the job? Will she love the job? Will she get along with the team?

Making a good match is about more than hiring the person you want to have a beer with or taking the first job that is offered. Making a good match ensures that this next candidate hired or next job accepted will last a little longer than a year or two because you fit together well.

As we say in my house, I am searching for my kind of crazy! I won’t stop until I find it. Neither should you.

Bucket Lists and other Important Stuff

April 21, 2015 By Marta Goertzen

I often give a presentation “What will you do to get what you want” helping people create a job search marketing plan. The first step is to understand what you want. After all you can’t get “there” unless you know where “there” is!

One of the elements we talk about is a bucket list. A bucket list is more than a 2007 movie starring Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson. It is a way of putting your dreams into action!

I have had a bucket list for years. My parents had one before me. Their bucket list included things like learn to fly, ride motorcycles, and travel the Oregon Trail, take an Alaska cruise. These things would never have happened if they did not write them down.

As I clean my office in an annual spring cleaning ritual, I found bucket lists my daughter Marissa and I created in 2002. Both lists have 27 items. As I look at my list 13 years later, I feel proud.

Of the 27 items on my list I’ve already accomplished 11 dreams. These are wide ranging items including:

Get published in HR – I have three books to my name!
Volunteer at church – I was president of consistory in 2006
Be a consultant so I can set my own hours – I founded The Interview Doctor in 2004
Open a restaurant or store – we have a store on The Interview Doctor website. That counts doesn’t it?
Earn over a certain large number – I did!!
Pay off my house – I did in 2004
Be a thought leader – my ramblings get shared so I guess that counts
Have a house by the water – we plan to live on our boat
Teach in a college – thanks to my friend Chad Cook I taught classes at Baldwin Wallace University last year
Be an actress – I sang a four line uncredited solo in Children of Eden last year. Small I know but it counts. Plus I now know how terribly hard this is!
Learn to pilot a boat – I can run our boat! Just don’t ask me to dock yet…

It is amazing how powerful words can be. According to this list, I still have some work to do. Many of my other bucket list items involve travel and history, some of my favorites. Some involve life changes we plan for the near future like living somewhere warm and traveling by boat to New Orleans. Some of them involve activities I am not too well suited for given my clumsiness like climbing a mountain and learning to ski. I plan to tackle all of these bucket list dreams however challenging.

Spring cleaning season is the perfect time to take stock. Maybe you will find the bucket list you put aside years ago. Take a few minutes to image what you want to check off your list in the next 15 years.

I have said it before and I will say it again. Writing down your dreams really CAN make them come true!

The Interview Doctor Clothing Drive Celebrates Ten Year Anniversary

April 17, 2015 By Marta Goertzen

To celebrate our ten year anniversary and help job seekers get what they want we are holding a clothing drive in conjunction with Stark SHRM!

After ten years with The Interview Doctor, we have helped hundreds of candidates make good matches. It feels wonderful to get that call or email from an excited candidate about the job interview that went perfectly and the job offer they waited so long for. I feel tingly and happy deep down inside when my clients get what they want!!

These ten years have flown by. Now we also help companies improve their hiring process. We have books, audio recordings, training materials and hundreds of blogs.

But still candidates have trouble knowing what to do, who to talk to and how to set themselves up for success.

We want to do more! We have to do more… until it is easier to make a good match.

We want to bring you with us to see job seekers as hard-working people trying to get ahead. You can help The Interview Doctor give job seekers a hand.

We are collecting clean, still wearable business clothes for Stark County job seekers at the May 2015 Stark SHRM meeting. All clothing will be donated to the Stark Social Workers Network for their clothing closet.

I have at least 15 beautiful suits in perfect condition that don’t fit me any more along with dress shoes that I do not wear any more. Someone surely can use that clothing to look and feel great for their next job. How about you?

I can hear you thinking, “Katherine, that is nice but I don’t live anywhere near Stark County in Ohio”. That may be true. But consider how you can clean your closet to help someone get a job this spring. Many larger cities have Dress for Success chapters that will distribute your clothing to job seekers. Many Urban League chapters including Urban League of Akron have clothing closets. In fact, Urban League of Akron is currently seeking men’s suits for their clothing closet.

Marta Goertzen

We continue to celebrate our successes of the past 10 years with the Interview Doctor. Part of this is sharing with you – our online community – and in some cases people we see face to face too!

This workbook will help you take control of your job search and your future. Purchase your copy today for only 99 Cents.

Winston Churchill said, “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give” and an added bonus for job seekers, volunteering can lead to new job opportunities!

Consider what you need to find a job these days:

Let’s get back to basics about what we are really looking for in a career or even a job. We are looking for a way of making a living that matches your skills, strengths and weaknesses with the other people you work with and the responsibilities you have to fulfill.

Here are some questions for companies and candidates interested in making a great match:

As we say in my house, I am searching for my kind of crazy! I won’t stop until I find it. Neither should you.

I often give a presentation “What will you do to get what you want” helping people create a job search marketing plan. The first step is to understand what you want. After all you can’t get “there” unless you know where “there” is!

I have said it before and I will say it again. Writing down your dreams really CAN make them come true!

To celebrate our ten year anniversary and help job seekers get what they want we are holding a clothing drive in conjunction with Stark SHRM!

Join with The Interview Doctor and clean out your closets. Let a job seeker making a tough transition get a leg up.