job interview

What if? A Tale of Dreams and Time

June 10, 2021 By Katherine Burik

Sometimes I stop my work, lift my head, and look around, wondering where the time went. Do you ever do that?

I have been working hard at The Interview Doctor since 2005. In 2021, we celebrate 16 years, helping clients find the career or job they love. Seems like a lifetime! I can barely remember doing anything else.

I love being my own boss, coaching and sharing my knowledge, so people find a better job search technique to shorten their transitions and move on with their lives. I particularly love creating training programs and workshops to help the most people in the most efficient fashion.

I guess I spend at least 50% of my work time writing and supporting the marketing effort. I have written almost 700 blogs, published three books and numerous eBooks, and released about a dozen online training programs. I am enormously proud of this body of work.

The rest of my work time is spent with clients. I have coached at least 725 clients in the last 10 years. It has been my biggest pleasure to see you thrive.

In the background, I really enjoy living and traveling on our boat, Good Karma. My husband and I have been living mostly on a boat for the last 10 years while I have been busy working. I write another blog about our travels, dabble in watercolors, walk, and bike, and get creative with cooking.

I have a full life.

Lately I have been wondering, “What’s next?” Daydreaming. Imagining.

I finally put pencil to paper earlier this year. I created a list of dozens of things I would rather do, which led me to wonder about my life balance.

I believe I am at a crossroads between my passion for job seekers and my urge to get out and explore the world. Everyone eventually comes to some sort of crossroads. Maybe you know how I feel?

I have coached many people through career crossroads. It is kind of funny that it took me a long time to figure this out for myself! The cobbler’s children have no shoes. I concluded that something must change!

What is Changing with the Interview Doctor?

Like you, I want to live my life fully, with abundance, discovering all the wonders the world offers. If the covid pandemic has taught us anything, it is that life is short. We do not have too much time. I am determined to make the most of it!

What I have decided is that … I am going to back off on the Interview Doctor marketing work while continuing to work with anyone who needs my help.

I will continue to post my thoughts on LinkedIn and on my website, but we will temporarily stop issuing weekly newsletters and the coordinated social marketing effort.

My website and training programs and ebooks remain active and available to you. I am open for speaking engagements, particularly virtual engagements.

I am calling this a sabbatical!

My husband and I plan a lot of travel, some on the boat and some on dirt. I have a few more books in me, which takes time. And plenty of friends we have neglected in the whirl of work. Feel free to stay connected and keep up with me on Instagram or LinkedIn!

As I say in my LinkedIn profile: Change is the only constant. It is time for a change! I am excited about the possibilities!

How to prepare for a job interview

December 7, 2020 By Marta Goertzen

Has this ever happened to you? You get invited to a job interview for your dream job.

You’ve been busy so you don’t give preparation much thought. After all, they want you. The interview takes a disastrous turn about ten minutes into the discussion when it is very clear you have no idea why you are there.

Ooops! Should have prepared!

Check out this cringe worthy moment in Gilmore Girls, A Year in the Life, when Rory was unprepared for the job interview. A total waste of an opportunity and completely avoidable with a little preparation. Heck, the character spends more time selecting an outfit (the wrong outfit too) than she does thinking about what she wants to say.

Naturally Rory blows the opportunity. We will never be sure if this was the right opportunity or not because she messed up so badly.

Whatever your point of reference, just know that it takes a little preparation, a little advanced thinking, to shine at an interview.

Here are some tips:

Know what you want them to know about you. You only have 30 to 60 minutes to demonstrate why you should have this job. Winnow down your information into a concise format that applies directly to the position at hand.

Be strategic about how you can solve their problem. Every company has a problem. Every position has a goal of solving some problem. Part of your preparation should include some consideration of how you can solve some problem they are grappling with.

Have clear answers prepared. Avoid that “deer in the headlights” look by designing solid answers to the frequently asked questions that are sure to come up. We have a list of 30 Frequently Asked Questions on our website for your use.

Prepare your job interview stories. Stories are a powerful way to make a great impression in a job interview but stories seldom come out correctly off the top of your head. It requires some advanced thought.

Get a coach for an outside opinion. You serve yourself well to engage a qualified interview coach to give you unbiased feedback. An interview coach can listen to your responses and suggest ways to improve your presentation to support your overall goals.

Naturally, I think The Interview Doctor offers the best interview preparation out there. After all, the company is named for our interview preparation expertise! Our clients get the job offer!

Take Control of your Future

So you want to find a new job but you are not sure where to start?

It all 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. We think writing your thoughts down is critical to understanding and expressing what you want. People who cannot express what they want take a long time to get a job that they might not even like.

Purchase your eBook today for only $9!

What to Do When You Don’t get Called Back after a Job Interview

October 15, 2020 By Katherine Burik

I received this question wondering how long you should wait to hear back about a job interview and thought I would share a few ideas on a follow-up process.

Dear Interview Doctor,

I had a great job interview a few weeks ago. I seemed to get along with everyone. I had great answers. I saw good overlap between my skills and the company’s needs. But I’ve never heard back. What is going on? Should I move on or hold on?

Dear Hold On Tight,

Don’t assume silence means anything! In this crazy job search world, radio silence does not mean no.

This happens all the time. Think about what might be happening on the other end. The hiring manager could be slammed with some emergency. She could be traveling. She could have a huge project crisis that cam up suddenly. Maybe her boss has a bigger priority that is taking up her time. Or something happened in her personal life like a vacation or a family crisis. We do not know.

These distractions take the hiring manager’s eye off the recruiting ball. It is human nature to fill in information vacuums with what sounds logical to us at the time. Usually we decide it must be something about us. I did something wrong in the interview. Or worse, I am “too” something. Too black or white, too tall or short, too old or young. We take this silence very personally when it might not have anything to do with us at all.

It is very possible that what is going on has absolutely nothing to do with you. We need more information. Make follow-up a normal part of your interview routine. You want to be somewhere between a pest and a ghost.

Your follow-up process should include:

Immediately. Thank you note immediately after the interview, via email or snail mail or both. To everyone you met. Remind them of some important point you want to emphasize.
1 Week to 10 Days. A note to one or all the people you interviewed with, “I’ve been thinking about this opportunity and have this idea…” Don’t give away all your ideas. Just a teaser to remind them you are out there.
1 Week to 10 Days Later. An interesting article. “I found this article on that topic we discussed and thought you would like it.” Keeps them interested and reminds them that you are out there without being pesty.
Anytime you feel like it. Check in. “I was just checking in to see how the deliberations are going.” OR “I am putting together my calendar for next week and wonder if we could get together to talk about [WHATEVER THE BIG ISSUE WAS YOU WERE DISCUSSING AT THE INTERVIEW].” Each of these ideas gives the hiring manager a little poke to remind them you are out there hanging in the wind.

Should you go to HR? I am not sure I would unless I was in HR. If you established a really good relationship with the HR person while in the process, then by all means talk to them but don’t be surprised if it is a dead end. The HR folks are busy and they have little invested in getting you hired other than paying attention to their hiring stats. I don’t mean to be mean here. The hiring manager is your target. They will be making the decision and working with you every day.

At some point you might decide to throw in the towel. I won’t blame you. Just be sure you followed up with at least 3 or 4 steps about a week to 10 days apart before calling it quits. At that point, if they want you, they will come to you. You move on to the next target. There are always more targets!

Radio silence is normal and not always (or usually) related to you. Do not draw any conclusions from radio silence. I’ve seen companies come back months after interviews assuming they can pick up where they left off. Follow-up as much as you want but please have a follow-up process in which you talk professional to professional to the hiring manager on a regular basis. Or at least you try. And NO BEGGING!! You are better than that!

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!

Job Search Tip: Why is my job search stalled?

September 12, 2020 By Katherine Burik

Have you ever tried looking for a job and all of a sudden you feel like it’s stalled?

To keep the process moving, you have to follow through on all of the steps. You need to go through a process daily or weekly to achieve the goal that you want … finding a job.

Learn the steps to take to keep your job search moving forward and closer to your goal of an ideal job.

Learn what you are missing in your job search marketing plan and start making progress in your job search with this FREE quiz.

Job Search Tip: Am I too old to find a job?

September 10, 2020 By Katherine Burik

In this job search training lesson today, I answer a question from a 63 year old person wondering how they can compete against 30 million people in their job search.

Learn how to bust the myth that you are too old to find the job that you want.