job interview

Take Networking For a New Job To a New Level

February 22, 2013 By Katherine Burik

Networking for a new Job Networking is the center of The Interview Doctor approach to finding a new job. It is by far the best source of a new job.

According to a poll of nearly 600 U.S. and Canadian employees conducted by Right Management, 50% of people surveyed think they will find their next position through networking. “These findings track well with actual outcomes,” said Monika Morrow, Senior Vice President of Career Management at right Management. [1]

It is easy to say. We recommend networking all the time but many clients find it more difficult to manage. They find it difficult to reach out. They are not comfortable with what to say and how to act while networking, as if networking were something unusual.

Actually networking is a strategic extension of talking to people. With networking your conversation has a purpose. LinkedIn is great to expand your contacts. But to make a real connection you need to get out of the house and meet people in person.

An interesting article gives great tips on how to use business lunches to make strategic connections moving you further towards your goal, “5 Reasons to Schedule More Business Lunches” by Kevin Daum in Inc. Magazine^{^[2]}. We think these reasons apply just as well to networking by scheduling coffee.

Here are the five reasons to suggest meeting for lunch or coffee in a place you choose:

You will control the environment. You want to meet people on neutral territory like a coffee shop or a restaurant. Pick a location that is quiet so you can talk and hear each other. I love the suggestion to pre-arrange with the wait staff in a restaurant to take special care of you and your guest. This increases your power.
Going to a neutral place puts you on equal footing with the person you are meeting. Most people in a job searching feel less powerful anyway. Reduce the tension by going to a restaurant or coffee shop where you are both equal and you will not be interrupted.
Your contact will be captive. Lunch usually lasts about an hour. Coffee can last for 30 minutes. On neutral territory like a restaurant or coffee shop you will have their undivided attention for the entire time. I love the suggestion to leave your laptop at home. If you want to share information, bring a paper copy. Talk to the person to connect socially. You want to give them a chance to like you.
You will create a shared experience. The point of networking at lunch or over coffee is to make your contact feel comfortable so you can talk and make a connection. Have a point for the meeting and make your point with humor and openness. You want them to remember you.
Do them a favor. Pick up the check. If money is an issue, go for coffee instead of lunch. They will owe you. I love the suggestion to give your credit card to the waiter privately before lunch so there is no question that you will pick up the check.

Increase your networking by meeting contacts in person in a neutral place, picking up the check, and letting them see you as a person so you can connect on a personal, social basis.

[1] http://www.right.com/news-and-events/press-releases/2013-press-releases/item24727.aspx

[2] http://www.inc.com/kevin-daum/5-reasons-to-schedule-more-business-lunches.html

Why Should I Care ‘Who Will Be My New Boss?’

February 19, 2013 By Marta Goertzen

In deciding whether a job offer is right for you, many strategic career-minded people remember to consider, (a) Are there promotional opportunities within a company? ‘Can I be promoted within two-three years?’ ‘Is this a company with a good reputation, well-run, growing, and where people seem to move up regularly?’

(b) Is there a learning environment where I can pick up a marketable skill through challenging work assignments and the training offered? Do they offer formal technical training programs to new staff? Are teaching webinars part of the way people are developed? Does this company do mentoring programming? Is the performance feedback helpful and regular?

(c) And, is work-life balance part of the deal? Can I have a life? Will I be able to get time off periodically? Will there be times to slow down after a hurry-up project push? And if I have a family, will that be okay, or will I be penalized for it?

All good questions. A couple of ‘ah-hah moments’ for me in the last 48 hours reminded me that ‘who will be my new boss?’ may be THE question to ask in any job change. If the person-in-charge gets what you bring to the table, believes in you, and trusts you from the beginning, and, btw, most likely approaches work in a manner similar to your own, promotional opportunities will be there; a good learning environment derives from a strong mentor-boss, and work-life balance can be achieved when you have a good boss-relationship from the beginning. So if you want a position with the potential of really making a difference, loving what you do, and building a nice career, ask yourself, who will be my new boss?

I Want This Job Because…

February 15, 2013 By Katherine Burik

My father loved sleight of hand. I loved it when he pulled quarters out of my ears. It tickled. I always wondered how that quarter got up there in the first place!

Of course we all know I don’t have quarters in my ears, at least not lately. My dad practiced all the time to make the trick appear seamless. He was always moving coins between his fingers.

It got me thinking about the relationship between what you want and what you should have. I wanted to be able to do that trick but I never got the hang of it. Wanting something does not automatically lead to getting what you want.

This is true in the business world too. You might have business goals but what have you done to make those goals reality?

Kelley works is an Assistant Store Manager. She loves her job and wants to be promoted to Store Manager. She wants it really bad. She wants it so bad she is willing to go to another company to get the promotion she wants. She is frustrated with her lack of response from management.

The big question Kelley needs to ask herself is what has she done to warrant the promotion?

Kelley’s complaint is not unusual. We have heard this before. Lack of recognition by management is a leading cause of employee discontent. Many employees leave their jobs because management ignores performance.

Here are some tips to increase the chance you get what you want:

Make sure your bosses know what you want

Do what you say you will do – be reliable

Have accomplishments you can point to. Make sure management is aware of your accomplishments.

Dress and behave like the folks who already have that job. Make it obvious that you will fit into the role.

Take on extra work or additional projects to display your abilities to influencial people who can help your career.

Become indispensable but not so valuable that your managers never want to promote you to another position

Train a replacement. Sometimes really valuable people are not promoted because no one is available to take their place.

Find a mentor among influential people in management so you have someone who can lobby for you.

If all else fails, start looking for a position with a company that will value what you bring. You still have to be able to describe what you want and why you should get it. No one will give you a promotion just because you want it, or even if you deserve it.

You will get the position you want only when you can describe succinctly what you want and why you should have it.

The Interview Doctor can help you

What Will People Remember About You In Your Next Job Interview?

February 1, 2013 By Katherine Burik

I love Super Bowl ads. The commercials are the best part of the game to me. Every year just prior to the Super Bowl you can find TV specials about the best or worst Super Bowl ads, just to get you ready for the best part of the upcoming game.

Here is my favorite from the past: The Tide-to-Go Super Bowl Commercial, My Talking Stain Ad from 2008. The hiring manager asks, “So tell me about yourself”. (Of course he does.) The candidate starts his response but so does the stain on his shirt. Every time the candidate talks the stain talks. The hiring manager can’t take his eyes off the stain! I crack up every time!!

Comedy is funny because something bad is happening to someone else. Comedy is rooted in truth. Someone out there has had his stained clothes speak for him or the lipstick on her teeth speaks for her. It happens. Such mishaps mess up everything.

What will the hiring manager remember about you the next time you interview? If you want them to remember YOU then be sure you think ahead to make the best impression. Here are some tips:

Check your clothes carefully. No stains, tears, spots, rips, or signs of wear. Ever. Take your interview clothing to the cleaners for professional attention if possible. Treat even the most casual interview clothing with the utmost care and attention.

Check your personal grooming carefully. Makeup should be simple and applied correctly. Teeth brushed. Hair clean and groomed. Nothing outlandish. Be conservative and avoid having your personal grooming take center stage instead of you.

Shine your shoes. Shoes are very important. Shoes should be shined and clean with no visible scuff marks. Even the soles should get some attention. You would be surprised how many hiring managers check shoes as an unscientific way to evaluate candidates.

Have professional looking tools. Get a professional looking portfolio and a pen that does not advertise the local dry cleaners. If you bring a briefcase, make sure it is clean and polished. The materials you bring with you represent you. Make sure you make the best impression.

Human resource people get lots of laughs from poorly prepared candidates. Let someone else be the butt of a joke. Make sure you attend to the little details so you make the best impression.

The Magic of Doing One Thing at a Time

January 25, 2013 By Katherine Burik

How many things do you try to do at once? Are you driving and talking on the phone? Are you sitting at your desk with a deadline, watching email scroll while half listening to a webinar? Or worse still, are you trying to make dinner while hungry kids congregate around the table while you talk to a client?

I am guilty of all of the above. And I am tired and I feel just a little a bit guilty. How much am I really getting done? What service am I providing to any of those I serve? What is the cost I am paying for my divided loyalties?

According to Tony Schwartz in his fascinating Harvard Business Review article, “The Magic of Doing One Thing at a Time”, this frantic pace does cause some damage and might not be the most effective way to operate.

He says switching around tasks like that can impact productivity by an average of 25%. Plus you burn out your available sources of energy. Focusing attention on one thing at a time for a specified period allows you to get more done more effectively, probably with higher quality results.

There is a corollary here to job search. Job seekers have interruptions and distractions just like any other person. If you are working, you need to devote sufficient attention to your job to avoid drawing unwanted attention to yourself. If you are unemployed, unless you take steps, unstructured time can be as frantic as obligations from a formal job.

Distraction might always be there but unless you figure out how to productively search for a job, you will not achieve your job search goals.

What is a job seeker to do? Structure your day so you have time to focus on your job search without distractions. This requires an orderly approach to your day, which will be good for all aspects of your life. Let’s back into what you need and how to find it.

We know that networking is the best way to find a job. Networking includes LinkedIn updates and comments (about 15 to 30 minutes a day), setting up meetings with people who can help you (probably less than 30 minutes a day to identify folks and make calls), having coffee or lunch to network (probably 2 to 3 hours per week, which is averages about 30 minutes per day), responding to ads (15 minutes a day max) and correspondence such as thank you notes and follow up (maybe 1 hour per day). Add that up and a job seeker should probably spend less than 3 hours a day on a solid job search, some days more and some days a little less.

Where can you find that kind of time? More important, what are you willing to do to find that kind of time in your day? Assuming you still need to sleep and work if you are employed, the time needs to come from giving up something else or reorganizing your day. Again I ask, what are you willing to do to make that happen?

Tony Schwartz says “the best way … to fuel higher productivity and more innovative thinking is to strongly encourage finite periods of absorbed focus, as well as shorter periods of real renewal.” I agree completely.

Tony Schwartz recommends three changes to personal behavior. I would like to adjust them for job seekers:

Do the most important thing first in the morning, preferably without interruption and before normal work hours if possible. If you are employed, schedule a meeting in your calendar for one hour first thing in the morning. Schedule a conference room for privacy if you need to. Then attend that meeting every morning to read and comment on LinkedIn, make appointments, handle correspondence, and follow up with previous meetings. Use your personal telephone and computer if possible.

Establish regular, scheduled times for networking meetings. Put these times on your calendar and do not allow other meetings to interfere. Schedule and be sure to attend the local chapter meetings of your professional group.

Take a real break every day. Take time off and truly disconnect, as Tony Schwartz says. Put your phone aside, step away from the computer and be in the moment with your friends and family. Laugh. Breathe. Think about something else. You will return to your regularly scheduled activities refreshed.

If you focus on what you want you will achieve your goal. What are you willing to do to get what you want?

The Interview Doctor® can help you organize your job search so you find the job you love. Call and find you how.