Blog [ Original ]

Companies and Candidates Actually have the Same Goals

December 13, 2013 By Marta Goertzen

I’ve worked on both sides of the job search. I have recruited candidates to fill positions and I have been a candidate looking for a job. From my perspective on both sides of the interview desk, employers and candidates are more similar than different.

Let’s explore this idea a bit.

Building relationships

Employers hire people they know or people recommended to them from someone they trust.
Candidates make contacts. Don’t just collect business cards or contacts. Talk to people, listen, and reach out to help. Building relationships like this gets you noticed and may move you to the top of the list.

Social media is key

Both candidates and employers should be visible in places where the other party looks
Have lots of contacts who know you
Contribute to social media conversation regularly to learn and maintain visibility
Create a consistent brand or profile across many social media platforms

Contacts look ahead to future needs

Neither candidates nor employers want to be surprised when a need smacks you in the face
Always consider your next career step or talent need

Interview talk is (or should be) based on matching candidates to critical job requirements

Avoid gut decisions or at least confirm your gut instinct with facts
Know what you want or what you have to offer

Have a marketing plan

Know what you want so you recognize it when you see it

Successfully leverage your brand

Build on your reputation
Consistently play on the positives to support your claims and enhance your reputation

If you understand that both sides of the table have the same objectives, you can build a plan that displays your credentials in their best light.

Do you know someone looking for a new position? Job interview coaching makes a great holiday gift! Contact The Interview Doctor for more details.

Can Social Media create an advantage in your job search?

December 10, 2013 By Marta Goertzen

Do you agree that knowledge is power? With social media, just be willing to look.

A couple of months ago, my partner Katherine Burik and I wanted to have a presence at a state professional association meeting. Neither of us could attend, so we decided to advertise our Interview Doctor business, and invite participants to connect with us using Twitter. Since that event, attended by 200 professionals, yes, we did connect via Twitter with some of the participants that attended. The real benefits came in learning about the other Twitter-savvy vendors, companies working in our jobs-careers-interviewing service arena. And then, investigating who they are and what they do; it’s taught us a lot more about our marketplace.

Here’s a sampling of the new Twitter connections, with vendors from the conference:

@get_jobLinked: a headhunter group from Montreal Canada, “Headhunters of the New Generation.”
@InterviewIQ: that’s Karalyn Brown, HR person and “the most connected Australian woman on LinkedIn.”
@NewCareerGuru: Holistic Job Search, a web site that offers some basic tips, and uses their site as a search engine conduit for employers and job seekers.
@HR_Missy: HR person, a Michigan fan, who tweets and twitters, now over 1,000 followers; learned from her that you can engage another Twitter person to retweet your favorite tweets.
@JenBest: a one-person resume-writing service.
@VelocityS2: a site that “creates tools for job seekers and employers looking for the perfect talent/company.”

Of these six Twitter sites (15 others not listed here) that posted at the Ohio state HR conference like The Interview Doctor, only one, @HR_Missy, has more followers than our Twitter connection (@interviewdoctor); we’re at 686 followers today. Nearly all of the others were in the 200-300 follower range. This was kind of an eye-opener to me. Our message must be spreading on social media.

How is your message getting out on social media? Do you have a robust LinkedIn profile? Are you connected on Google+ – we hear this is becoming LinkedIn’s biggest professional-jobs-oriented social media competitor. And do not forget Twitter – a lot of information, a lot of resources, and a lot of connections with which to network. What we learned about these companies helps us in our business. What you may learn about companies where you may want to work, and finding out what’s going on in your profession, is available to you.

Here are some suggestions:

Use social media to find out what is going on in your arena, connected to your brand. LinkedIn for sure, maybe look at Google+ and Twitter, too.
Build a social media footprint by connecting with others who have similar professional interests.
Learn a little bit more about your industry every week. How can these sites connect you with opportunities?
Share an opinion – make it helpful – when you have one. Opinions get followed on social media.
Use it to set appointments. Face-to-face, or as I recently heard, belly-button to belly-button, is still the best way to find your next gig.

Are you using Social Media to your advantage? Fifteen minutes a day; that’s all. Gain the knowledge, and learn some very current facts you can use in your search or in your business.

We are thankful to have you in our life. Happy Thanksgiving!

November 26, 2013 By Marta Goertzen

The Interview Doctors
Katherine Burik and Dan Toussant

Maintain energy during your job search

November 22, 2013 By Marta Goertzen

I attended TEDx in Akron, Ohio, a few weeks ago with a dear friend. I love watching TED talks on YouTube. I try to see one every week or so, to give myself something new to think about. The Akron TEDx is an annual event highlighting local speakers who have made a meaningful contribution to the community in some way. The speeches are videotaped and made available to the public on YouTube.

Attending Akron TEDx in person put me inside the videos. One speaker in particular, Tony Troppe, an urban developer in Akron, brought a great idea. Attacking a problem with “can do” positive energy allows you to take on blight or problems to create something new.

Tony Troppe’s challenge is abandoned buildings. He tackles those challenges with a “can do” attitude. He brings a positive energy, making it almost impossible to ignore him or push him aside. He has a string of revitalized buildings in downtown Akron to demonstrate the success of his approach.

I have been turning this idea around in my head for a while. What a powerful thought! We are all seeking something: a new job, a promotion, career change, the right candidate to fill a role. The process of seeking is a problem, the search is the challenge. The energy we bring to the problem differentiates one person from another and can predict success.

Blighted, abandoned buildings are as large a challenge to Tony as your search is to you. By persevering with positive energy, you too can take on your challenge and find what you want.

That kind of energy is irresistible. Keeping the energy strong then becomes the real challenge.

Here are some tips to maintain positive energy to take on a big challenge:

Keep your thoughts positive. Harder said than done, but well worth the effort. When you notice yourself sinking into melancholy, stop in your tracks and reverse course to a positive direction.
Have a plan. If you have a plan, you can periodically refocus attention on something positive.
Set goals and have intermediate milestones so you can see progress – another way to maintain or rebuild energy periodically.
Keep moving towards the milestones, one step at a time.
Refresh yourself with exercise, family, friends, and new ideas like TED talks.

Give yourself something positive to think about to refresh your energy. Positive energy will take you to your goal.

The Word is Spreading about the Job Search Marketing Plan

November 19, 2013 By Marta Goertzen

The other day our marketing leader, Kathy, sent me a link. She said, “Open it and get a thrill,” Normally emails like that are discarded to the junk pile. I don’t want to see the “thrills” some emails have in store for me.

This one was different. I opened the link to discover Walmart is carrying our book, The Job Search Marketing Plan! Wow! How word spreads. I am delighted by the reaction we are getting and how the word is spreading.

Isn’t that what we want for ourselves? You work hard to develop a brand…a reputation that tells a good story. It is gratifying when word spreads. After all, a great product (or candidate) without a solid reputation goes nowhere.

Thank you for your support and kind words. Check out the Job Search Marketing Plan at Walmart in addition to Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Apple.