Job Networking

Forgetting to follow-up on potential leads?

June 8, 2020 By Katherine Burik

Are you forgetting to follow-up on potential leads? Here’s how I’ve dealt with the same issue.

Dear Interview Doctor,

HELP! I realized the other day that I forgot to follow-up on an important lead that a high-value contact gave me. I feel so stupid. I know this will reflect badly on me. I am not sure how to fix this. Any ideas?

Thanks, Forgetful

Dear Forgetful,

Been there, done that. The month following my father’s death, I completely forgot about an important interview. Just blanked on it. And I worked so hard to get that interview. That morning, the hiring manager called and asked if I would be joining them. I had to reschedule for a week later, then dragged myself into the meeting. Needless to say, I did not get the job. Your situation doesn’t have to be like that.

Sounds like you need a better tracking system to remind yourself of important activities. You need some sort of CRM or a detailed spreadsheet so you know who you need to talk to or follow up with. This is something we help participants in our Job Search Marketing Plan Training program – we have a tracking tool, to help in a job search.

In the meantime, let’s look at some ways to recover from this situation. Everyone forgets now and then so, first, take a deep breath and stop feeling so bad. If this happened to me, I would reach out as if nothing had happened. It is ok to pretend you didn’t forget to follow-up. Reach out and explain who you are and who referred you as if there was no delay. Then follow-up with the person who gave you the referral to thank them and keep them appraised of your action.

This actually happens to me with LinkedIn. Sometimes I get behind in responding to my invitations. I am tempted to beg forgiveness and offer explanations to cover my disrespectful behavior. Then my good sense takes over. I just respond to the invitations and messages as if I just received the invitation. I try very hard not to drop the ball over the next portion of the correspondence. It works for me. It might work for you.

If you are looking for a new job, or want to make a career change, you need to know the ins-and-outs of a modern job search.

Check out the free training we offer at Interview Doctor – 5 Tips to a Successful Job Search. A proven path to finding your ideal job or career!

HELP! Sending out resumes is not working for my job search.

May 11, 2020 By Katherine Burik

Here’s an email I received and my response about resumes:

Dear Interview Doctor,

I saw your posting to make a list of target companies. I’ve heard this before and I struggle with it and maybe that’s ok because maybe it doesn’t pertain to me. My target companies are ones with sales of $10M to $60M. A company only has 1 CFO or Controller. So, what good does it do to target these companies if they don’t have an open position? I will be waiting a long time. So I continue to scour LinkedIn for postings to apply to. Am I thinking about this wrong?

Thanks, Persistently Frustrated

Dear PF,

I feel your persistent frustration. I hear this question all the time. I know it sounds counterintuitive but try looking at your effort based on your results.

Applying for jobs has about a 6% chance of success. Networking, on the other hand, has a 60% to 80% chance of success, especially at your level.

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over again and getting the same results. Why do that? Most job seekers can document dozens, perhaps hundreds, of resumes submitted to job postings without a response. Why not try the counterintuitive approach and switch it up a bit!

In an 8-hour job search day, I recommend spending about 1 hour per day on job postings and at least 6 hours on networking. Otherwise, you are just spinning your wheels on job postings.

So here is your day. You get up, scour the ads and LinkedIn. Find a few you like. Submit your cover letter and resume.

Spend the rest of the day networking. Turn the job postings into networking experiences. Research and explore that list of target companies. Go to LinkedIn and try to find the hiring manager. Reach out and talk – connect through LinkedIn and start a conversation about anything.

Turn your LinkedIn conversations into coffee meetings (virtual these days). Talk about anything – NOT about your job search. That is a non-starter. Your goal is to build a relationship with the people you connect to. That means you know something about them and they know something about you. You talk about business issues and help each other solve business problems.

The fact that a company has no posted opening does not mean the hiring manager (CEO / President?) is not frustrated with the current occupant or knows something about the current job holder that you do not know. If you talk to that person, find something in common, build a relationship, then you increase the chances that WHEN they have an opportunity, they will call you.

Building a relationship puts you in the right place at the right time, even when you have no idea how to fully define either concept.

Make sense? Let me know what happens when you try this technique!!

Discover the tactics to using LinkedIn as a critical part of your job search plan. Check out our free training, How to Use LinkedIn to Get the Job You Want.

Life is full of tough job search choices!

January 27, 2020 By Katherine Burik

Life is full of choices. Should I wash the car or go to the movies? Should I buy that house or this one? Bacon or sausage with your breakfast platter?

The options are astounding, sometimes even overwhelming. Some are big decisions, others are small but every time we decide to zig instead of zag, we are making choices that impact our lives. Most times we are unaware of the impact a choice will have on our lives.

Job search is full of choices. We must make choices but how can we be sure we are making the right choice? Will either option bring me to the right place?

Recently a client, Marcus, reached two job search decision crossroads.

First Crossroad. He received a job offer from his number two company. His top choice seemed to disappear into the wind after a few seemingly successful interviews. Should he take the offer in hand from Company #2 or wait to see what happens with his top choice, Company #1?

Marcus has a family to support. He was out of work for months and feeling nervous. He tried stalling Company #2 while prodding Company #1 but for reasons beyond the hiring manager’s control they were stuck. Then Company #1 got a new president which put a monkey wrench in all hiring.

Marcus felt he had no alternative but to accept the offer from Company #2 even though he was not thrilled. About the best he can say is that it pays well and looks good on the resume.

Second Crossroad. I bet you can guess what happened next. A month after Marcus accepted the offer from Company #2, Company #1 came back to him. “Can you come in next week with an interview with the hiring manager? Things settled down and we still want you.”

Should Marcus take the interview and potential job offer after starting work with Company #2 only a short time earlier? Some people couch this choice in terms of loyalty. Loyalty? Why should Marcus feel any loyalty to his new employer? Companies (any company) are not very loyal to employees these days. They hire and fire at will. Shouldn’t the employees have the same option?

What does it hurt to talk to another company? Shouldn’t we always have our feelers out to protect ourselves and advance our careers? It’s just a simple conversation.

Is Marcus happy at Company #2? Could he be happy? What could he do to be happier? Is the grass greener at Company #1? Will leaving Company #2 after such a short time harm Marcus’s his reputation? Is he burning bridges?

Here are some tips to making these choices:

Compare both jobs to the list of preferences you made at the beginning of your job search in your job search marketing plan. You should always make job selection decisions based on an unemotional list of preferences, not on emotion-laden spur of the moment when you get an offer. If Company #1 is still a better option than Company #2, I would proceed with interviews.
Do an extra thorough investigation of the people, responsibilities and expectation at Company #1 to be sure you will enjoy the job and thrive in the environment. You don’t want to jump away from Company #2 and be unhappy at Company #1. You also don’t want to make this important decision on money alone. If you feel completely sure that Company #1 is better then you must proceed.
Imagine yourself ten years from now. Will you regret not taking this opportunity with Company #1? Then you must proceed.

If you decide to proceed with interviews and potential job offer with Company #1, handle the situation with Company #2 very carefully.

Be gentle but firm when you talk to your boss. Give her plenty of advanced notice. “Boss, a company I pursued during my job search just made me an offer I cannot refuse. I love it here but I owe it to my family to make the decision that is best for my career. I will be leaving in two weeks. I really appreciate everything you have done for me. Thank you.”

Do not use this other offer to negotiate a better package from Company #2. They will always doubt you in the future. If you want the offer from Company #1, then take it, but be respectful of Company #2.

Be very conscientious about transitioning your work to someone else. Like the Girl Scouts say, leave your campground cleaner than when you found it. It is the least you can do to ease the interruption your unexpected departure will cause. This careful handling minimizes the bridge burning possibilities.

Sometimes the wrong choice brings us to the right decision. Company #1 or Company #2? Make your decision based on factors important to your career and your family and you cannot go wrong!

To help with making the right decision and help in your job search, check out The Interview Doctor’s free training, How To Use LinkedIn To Get The Job You Want.

Podcasts: A Networking Pro Tip

June 24, 2019 By Katherine Burik

Jeff, a client who is a very savvy networker, recently discovered a great way to find conversation topics!

As an Interview Doctor client, he understands that the core of any well-organized job search marketing plan is your customized list of target companies. Researching this list reveals people to talk to. Then he can reach out to start conversations.

Like many clients, Jeff was stumped at the conversation stage. He was reluctant to reach out to people he did not know. What could he talk about? Why would anyone want to talk to him?

Ever feel that way?

His research on one particular company revealed that the hiring manager had a podcast!

Do you listen to podcasts?

Podcasts are trending these days. It seems like there’s almost as much watercooler conversation around podcasts as Game of Thrones. As of April 2019, over 700,000 shows have released over 29 million episodes. Even The Interview Doctor got into the act with our own podcast (off the air right now – sorry!).

According to Podcastinsights.com, 51% of the US population has listened to a podcast. Most of that listening is done at home (49%) with 22% of listening done in the car. Podcast listeners are very loyal, listening to an average of 7 shows per week.

Just about anyone can make a podcast – individuals, students, small companies, large companies. You can publish a podcast if you want.

Given all that content, chances are pretty good that someone at one of your target companies has a podcast.

Jeff listened to that particular podcast from someone at his target company with renewed enthusiasm for networking! He found the podcaster’s name in the podcast notes, looked him up on LinkedIn and felt confident enough to send an invitation to connect, with a note and question about that podcast. The fellow responded and they had a great conversation!

Jeff wanted me to share this pro tip with all of you. He found all these cool things to do with podcasts:

Get insight into a target company. What are their priorities? Get a flavor of the culture and how the leaders think.
Find topics to discuss with the podcaster. Do you agree or have different opinions?
Gives a reason to reach out and connect on LinkedIn, along with something to say. “Hi Joe, I loved your podcast on supply chain insights. I share your views about negotiation. Have you had success with XYZ strategy? Katherine”
Gives you background information on individuals as you prepare for interviews.
Makes the person you are trying to connect with more of a human being and perhaps less scary.
Maybe you learn something!

What a great way to expand your networking!

Since you probably already listen to podcasts, go into your favorite podcasting service like Apple iTunes, Spotify or Stitcher, and search for your target companies or people you are trying to connect with. Listen to the podcast, then reach out through LinkedIn to the host to start a conversation about the podcast topic. I bet these podcast hosts would be thrilled to speak with you about their favorite subject!!

Do you listen to podcasts? Have you used podcasts as a networking technique? I would love to hear your experiences!

Check out The Interview Doctor’s Shy Person’s Tips to get the courage to reach out and network!

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.