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The Importance of Keywords in your Job Search

December 16, 2014 By Marta Goertzen

Keywords are words the employer uses to describe the position you want to hold.

You need to do some research to figure out the correct keywords for the position you want. This is important whether you want to find another job or just want to use the Internet and social media to learn and grow within your current position.

You can find keywords in the job descriptions employers post for position like the ones you would like to hold. The words you see consistently used to describe the position are the keywords!! Put those keywords in your social media profiles so you can get found.

If you want some help figuring out the correct words to describe the keywords for the position you want, let us know. We can help you figure this out!

Be Prepared to Turn a Casual Meeting into a Job Interview on the Spot

December 12, 2014 By Marta Goertzen

Marissa wants to go to a full time MBA program next year. Remember back to your experience applying to college and you can appreciate what she is going through. Grad school is the same drill. Study for the GMAT. Take the GMAT. Study some more and take it again to bring up that math score. Research schools to see which schools have the programs and teaching style she wants. Write essays conveying how her experience translates into business school material. Submit applications. Now it is time to visit the schools.

Marissa knows the drills about interviewing. She hears it from me often enough. But she insists these school visits are NOT interviews. All she will be doing is visiting some classes, taking a tour and talking to the Admissions Director. NOT AN INTERVIEW, she says repeatedly as she tries on clothes that walk a fine line between dressy business interview clothes and clothes she would wear to class. She wants to fit in with the students after all. And it is NOT AN INTERVIEW.

She finally selects a black blazer with a nice white blouse over brand new dark jeans and her pretty heels. And lipstick. Don’t forget the lipstick. She is charmingly dressy casual. Perfect she thinks.

On her drive home after visiting the school she calls and sheepishly admits that the meeting with the Admissions Director and several people on her team went well. But it was an interview, not just a casual meeting. The Admissions Director even called it an interview when Marissa arrived at the school.

Uh oh… “I wish I wore the black pants instead of the jeans.” You think?

Every interaction with someone in authority when you want something is an interview. Always be prepared to interview on the spot. That means knowing what you want to say, being nice to everyone you meet including the janitor and receptionist and dressing the part. Even if there is only a slight chance that the meet-up will turn into an interview.

When does this advice apply? On Friday morning when you go to that “casual” networking event, your local professional association, a church business meeting or a volunteer event. Dress to impress. Just because it is Friday does not make it “jeans day” for job seekers or career people who want to make an impression.

It doesn’t cost much. Put a little extra effort into your clothes and grooming whenever you go out of the house. You never know who you will meet. You never know when that casual meeting will turn into an interview when you least expect it. But if you look the part you will be more attentive to the opportunities.
Marissa is visiting another school this week. You can bet she will be dressed in “interview clothes” designed to impress. She might even wear make-up!

Did you ever make this mistake? I would love to hear your stories!! Promise I won’t say “I told you so”!!

How to Answer “How am I different?” During a Job Interview

December 5, 2014 By Marta Goertzen

Recently a boating friend asked me, “Tell me about this business you run. What do you do? What makes you different?”

Ever been asked that question during a job interview? I bet you have. Job Seekers get asked that question frequently. You have to have a good answer ready. Otherwise you look silly while stammer and stuttering around.

In this video, Dan Toussant shares some ideas about how to demonstrate that you are different in your next job interview.

Give this question some thought. Plan and rehearse a good answer to “What makes you unique?” Have a good story to describe how you are different or better than the other candidates. Otherwise you will get pushed off into a corner. We wouldn’t want that!

An interview is a terrible thing to waste! Candidates who work with The Interview Doctor convert 74% of their interviews into job offers. Get help now with our one on one Job Interview Coaching program, and be prepared to stand out from the crowd.

Use a Mind Map to Set your Job Search Goals

December 2, 2014 By Marta Goertzen

MindMapping can help your job search plans!

My mind is a whirl of great ideas running around out of control. “Wow, look at that!” “Gee, I can do that!” Lots of exclamation points in my head and in my writing!! The challenge is getting that energy out of my head and into action.

I am always looking for an orderly way to get the thoughts out of our heads and on to paper so I can put my ideas into action. Mind mapping works for me.

I use mind maps when I prepare for speaking engagements or workshops. I also use mind maps to organize The Interview Doctor. You are thinking to yourself, “What the heck are you talking about”?

According to Mind Mapping, “Mind mapping is a highly effective way of getting information in and out of your brain. Mind mapping is a creative and logical means of note-taking and note-making that literally ‘maps out’ your ideas.”

The illustration in this blog is a mind map I created to organize my thoughts about finding a job. Maybe this can be useful to you? We have so many opportunities for action that it is hard to keep ourselves organized. Similarly, there are so many opportunities for action as I build a business and guide clients. I am constantly seeking a better way to organize all these opportunities into coherent action. Enter mind maps.

The goal is the big orange ball in the middle. In this case, the goal is to get the job you want, whether that is a new career, a promotion or a new position. Then coming off the center goal are the actions related to achieving the goal. In this case, the actions are:

1. Decide what you want
2. Create a job search marketing plan to get organized
3. Get the tools you need
4. Know where to find what you want
5. Understand what you are willing to do to get what you want
6. Know what to say when you have the opportunity to talk about yourself

From these “themes” are actions that can have sub-topics below them.

Since we can’t work on everything at once, a mind map can help us select which area we want to focus on at any given time. We can build structure into our lives (or in this case into our job searches) by picking one thing to work on at a time.

Let’s say we want to work on Creating a Job Search Marketing Plan. Perhaps on Monday morning you allocate 3 hours to making a written plan. That means during that time you will not be checking social media, pinning interesting recipes on Pinterest or chatting with your neighbor on the phone. If you will be working on a written plan, you won’t be checking LinkedIn or making appointments or submitting applications.

You can only do one thing at a time. By focusing during specific times of the day on the specific tasks that move your job search forward, you will be more productive and get more done. You can move your job search forward by using your time wisely. Get started today!!

If you want help knowing what to include in your job search plans, check out our free Job Search training mini course. Learn the ins-and-outs of a modern job search! Gone are the days of classified ads and online job search at sites like Indeed and Career Builder aren’t much better. Discover a proven path to finding your ideal job or career with these lessons — 5 Tips to a Successful Job Search.

Small Business Saturday

November 28, 2014 By Marta Goertzen

Interesting quote from Catherine Clifford in CNN Money, “Necessity is the mother of invention: In this economy, if you can’t find a job, make one.”

Ms. Clifford tells us the “percentage of Americans starting businesses in 2010 and 2009 was the highest in 15 years“, according to a report from the Kauffman Foundation.

Small businesses often started out as opportunities for folks to make opportunities out of necessity. In fact, in 2013 22% of new businesses were started by entrepreneurs coming directly out of unemployment, according to the Kauffman Index.

The Interview Doctor started this way. I knew for years that I wanted to do something else other than be an HR executive. Every day I thank my former employer for helping me make the decision to open my own business.

Dan Toussant joined The Interview Doctor the same way. He knew he wanted something else and he too can thank his former employer for helping him make that decision. Now we are partners helping people find the career they love and helping employers find the candidates they will love. We are a local small business helping our community get stronger.

We all need to support small businesses! Saturday November 29, 2014 is Small Business Saturday.

On this big Saturday following Thanksgiving don’t go to a big box store! Stop at the local small business in your community instead. You can find everything you need at a local small business.

So let’s take a bit of our shopping time this shopping season to support our hard working local businesses! These entrepreneurs are supporting our communities while they live out their dreams and create jobs!