Job Search

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!

Tech Tools to Help People With Disabilities Advance Their Careers

March 25, 2021 By Katherine Burik

The Interview Doctor wants to make sure everyone has the tools to reach the careers they aspire to.

We seldom have guest writers at The Interview Doctor, Inc., but this article was so compelling, that we made an exception. Patrick Young, with Able USA, shared these wonderful tips to help people with disabilities advance their careers. Thank you, Patrick!

For centuries, people with disabilities have been held back in the workplace, either through direct discrimination or simply due to a lack of suitable accommodation. Although this issue is far from solved, we are closer than ever to a truly equitable workplace. Thanks to booming technological advancements, there are more opportunities for people with disabilities than ever before.

Here’s a look at how you can use technology to make your career dreams come true:

Create a Home-Based Business

Because we’re so connected through the internet, it’s never been more possible to create your own home-based business. This can be an absolutely invaluable tool for people who would like to become entrepreneurs but aren’t able to work outside of the home. If your own four walls are the place you’re safest and most comfortable, then that’s the best place to make your business ownership dreams a reality.

If you’re starting a home-based business, however, you can’t rely on foot traffic to catch people’s attention. You’ll have to invest in a great marketing plan in order to get your business off the ground. If you’re not sure where to start when it comes to marketing, you can find plenty of e-commerce marketing experts for hire online. Hiring someone in a freelance capacity can give you the help you need to come up with a solid, effective plan for getting clients and customers.

Search for Remote Work

Not interested in starting a business? You can still find plenty of work to do from the safety and comfort of your own home. Remote opportunities have been on the rise for years, and the pandemic has opened companies’ eyes to the benefits of this hiring option. More businesses than ever are opening up remote roles, aware that this gives them access to great candidates they may have never seen otherwise.

At the same time, however, remote work is still a highly competitive job market. Although the pandemic has made more businesses open to remote employees, it has also increased demand on the job searcher side. That’s why it’s so important to make sure your resume, cover letter, and other hiring materials are as great as possible. Getting a resume reviewer to look these materials over before you submit can give you a serious edge on the job market.

Explore Assistive Technologies

Finally, take some time to explore the assistive technologies that are out there. If you were only recently diagnosed, you might not yet know all the tools out there designed to meet your needs. Working with your doctor or an occupational therapist is a great way to get informed. This is also a great time to check in with your disability community. Other people who have the same disability or symptoms can give you valuable insight when it comes to how a certain tool works and what it’s best for. Look into joining communities online to get firsthand insight and learn how to best use assistive technologies in your personal and professional lives.

For example, screen readers can help people with visual impairments, as well as those with visual processing disorders or dyslexia. Time management tools can be absolutely invaluable for people with executive dysfunction. These are just a few examples of the types of assistive technologies that are out there – explore the options to figure out what works best for you.

Although we still have a long way to go when it comes to creating a truly equitable workforce, technology has made more and more opportunities accessible for people with disabilities. Whether you hope to pave your own path or find the right fit with an existing company, we hope these tips help you secure the future you deserve!

Want help with the job hunt? Check out our coaching services.

Find Joy at Work!

We are allowed to be happy!

When you live your daily life in conflict with the principles you hold dear, then you will be frustrated and unhappy. Build your career on the solid foundation of principles that are important to you.

This book, Live your Principles, shares with you the steps to recognize what is important to you and take steps to align your work and personal lives. Knowing this is one of the Secrets to a Solid Career Foundation!

Click here to purchase your copy now for $9.

Some careers are never coming back

January 28, 2021 By Katherine Burik

The covid-19 pandemic brought terrible disruption to every corner of daily life.

Unheard of loss of life. Threat of illness just from leaving the house. Schools closed. Communities disrupted. Support systems cut. Jobs in limbo.

Life changed mid-March 2020 with covid-19… a pandemic.

We can get our children back to school in some fashion. We can wear masks and work from home. We will mourn our losses. But, closer to home, what about those jobs that will never come back? What will you do if you spent your life in a career that might never come back?

Over 22 million jobs disappeared at the start of the pandemic, according to NBC News. Some changes were inevitable. Technology, automation, and outsourcing have steadily eaten away at some jobs.

Admin jobs like secretary, typist, receptionist, or switchboard operator have been disappearing for years, replaced by automation and personal computers as people do their own typing and admin work.
Well-paying factory jobs like machine operators, finishers, and press operators in industries ranging from aircraft manufacturing to plastics to nuclear have been replaced by automation and outsourcing. This trend continues.
Previously strong, well-paying postal service careers are projected to decline by almost 18% by 2029, replaced by automation and consolidation. Look for a 20% decline in floral designers! The impact is everywhere.

Restaurant and hospitality work will eventually come back. But how should you respond if you are in one of those jobs that are NOT coming back? What does the future hold for those people? Are you one of those people?

An individual life is not a straight path but a series of twists and turns as we respond to what life throws at us. I imagine life like one big game of Wipeout! I love that show. One part of the Wipeout course requires the contestant to travel across a narrow path along a wall, avoiding punching hands popping out of the wall trying to push the contestant off the path. Failure to respond lands the contestant in a puddle of mud.

Doesn’t 2020 feel just like that? A bunch of punching hands trying to push you off course into a messy mud bath? Job loss during a pandemic feels like a muddy, messy punch in the gut. We have no choice but to wash ourselves off, climb back on the course, and find a new path. We review, revise, reimagine, and reformat our lives within the new parameters.

“Re”… A strong concept meaning “back” or “again”. According to Membean, “re-“ intensifies any word to which it attaches itself.

2020 was a challenge – not a year I want to repeat. But it was a year that requires review, with all the intensity the “re-“ prefix requires.

In 2021, we here at The Interview Doctor, will employ the “re-“ concept in our blogs, videos, and social presence to encourage you in your ongoing efforts to review, rebuild, refresh, redefine, reinvent, and perhaps even retreat. We might go some places you do not imagine, but that is part of the fun, right?

To get prepared, click here for instant access to The Interview Doctor’s Job Search Quiz to see how ready you are to get started reimagining your life!!

How to Set Up your LinkedIn Profile

Your LinkedIn profile is home base when it comes to a job search.

It is a wonderful way to demonstrate what you can do and who you are and it can “work” for you even when you are not online. Having a LinkedIn profile is the first step to networking online to find a job. Check out the Interview Doctor’s mini-course, How to Set Up your LinkedIn Profile.

It includes 8 video lessons and a workbook to walk you step-by-step.”

Click here to get started today and uplevel your LinkedIn presence!

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!

There are some big changes here at the Interview Doctor

October 30, 2020 By Katherine Burik

Progress often comes in small steps.

In fact, I think it is better that way. Every year, here at The Interview Doctor, we set challenging goals designed to offer services that make our clients more successful.

Now, I know 2020 has been a challenging year for… well just about everyone. Between the pandemic and how that has affected industry, jobs and people, along with the movement for racial justice, and then add in all the politics for this year… and, frankly 2020 has been a year for the books.

But here are some things you need to know.

Not all is lost. Companies are still hiring; people are still working, and we all need to believe that those in charge will make the decisions they need to ensure the USA gets back on track so that everyone can thrive.

Yes, I did say companies are still hiring. People are still going on job interviews. People are still searching for new jobs and new careers and there are job openings out there. The trick is in finding them and doing this with an effective job search. And having a plan for a job search is crucial, especially in today’s changing world.

This year at the Interview Doctor, we have also been changing. I want to share some of these new changes with you. Because frankly, the old way of applying for jobs by sending in resumes to job posting sites will not work.

Here are some stats for you:

Only 17% of all online applicants even make it to the screening stage.
The odds of you getting a job these days from a job posting online is under 5%.

And the best one to think about…

60% of all jobs open these days are NOT even posted online!

That’s right! Not only are less than half of all open jobs posted online, but your odds of finding one of these is very slim with the traditional job search approach.

This is why, during the pandemic this year, I have been busy with two main activities:

Coaching clients who are looking for new jobs.
Updating and creating some new courses in order to help more of the people looking to learn the new ways of finding a job.

Why the new courses? Primarily because I know that more people than ever are looking for jobs today and not everyone can afford to hire a career and interview coach. So, I created programs that offer the help you need within most budgets. Today, I want to share these new programs and how they can help YOU.

New Programs, New Look and New Books!

We now offer two (2) Job Search and LinkedIn training programs, along with two (2) mini courses … these are all geared to help job seekers land their dream job! The details on the courses are below. If you have any questions about which one is a fit for you, please book a complementary call with me via my online calendar.

How to Setup Your LinkedIn Profile: $37

This mini-course walks you through the steps to create and update your LinkedIn Profile. Eight (8) Videos are included with the workbook to walk you step-by-step on how to Set Up your LinkedIn profile.

Resume in a Box: $29

Our second mini-course helps you step-by-step with lessons and templates to build your STAND OUT Resume that will help you get that job you want.

LinkedIn Training for Job Seekers: $147

This self-study course walks you through the steps that share how to use the power of LinkedIn and the network to find the perfect job – literally – the inside scoop you need to succeed. There are 5 (five) modules of training to help you know exactly what to do to use LinkedIn to find a job.

Job Search Marketing Plan Training: $197

This self-paced course teaches you how to plan a job search to market yourself (yes, a job search is like marketing YOU!) and use the available tools that work in today’s job market. You get six (6) training modules with video lessons, handouts, resources, and workbooks to help you implement the training, a special training on Busting 7 Myths about Job Search and a BONUS Video Resume Review! Get the details here.

A new look for the Interview Doctor website!

We have updated our look online and just love this sleek, simplified new look that shares with visitors all we offer to job seekers. We crave simplicity in everything – our writing, our website, our product offering, our job search programs, even our private coaching is better when it is simpler. Our simplified approach is a great platform for YOU to build your career growth.

The new look makes it easy to find what you want and highlights the many tools and tips we offer to ignite your job search. We want you to find that nugget that makes the difference in your career. It makes sense to continuously seek a sleek, simple look for the website.

Check it out today!

New Job Search and Career eBooks

All for $9 each or take the entire bundle for $35!

That is what my team and I have been doing during this pandemic, creating more ways to help you find your dream job or career!

We have more up our sleeves as we search for new and innovative ways to serve job seekers and career explorers everywhere. Let us be your guide! Check out the updated website and the new online courses to position yourself to find your ideal job.

In all our marketing research creating these courses, we found many training programs about job search but very few explain job search plans and tactics in such a practical fashion. We hope you will see them the same way. Practical lessons to help you find a job in a not so normal job market! Check out all the details here.