Job Search

How To Talk About Yourself While You Are Unemployed

January 19, 2013 By Katherine Burik

Editor’s Note: This is part 2 of a series of blogs regarding Catherine Rampell’s article, “Are there really no good job applicants out there?” in The New York Times on Wednesday, January 9, 2013.

This fascinating article begins with the fact that three out of ten companies surveyed by the National Federation of Independent Business in December 2012 indicated there were few or no qualified applicants for open positions. This at the same time 12 million people was still unemployed.

Average hourly earnings of private sector employees have declined indicating that despite the perceived lack of candidates, employers are not increasing wages to attract the available qualified candidates. This means to me that employers must not be as desperate to fill positions as they claim.

Finally, recruiters and unemployed candidates report that many employers refuse to hire unemployed candidates regardless of qualification.

Everyone knows someone who is or has been out of work. I have been there too.

I was still reeling from leaving my last position. A few days after leaving the job I spoke with a friend who is also a recruiter. He asked me what happened so I told him the sordid details. He paused in the conversation and said this to me: “I am saying this as a friend. I never want you to tell that story again. Ever. To anyone.”

Why would he say that? No one wants to hear why I left my last position. Telling that story emphasized that I was out of work and sounded like I was complaining. The story diminished me as a viable candidate.

I thought about it for a long time. I changed my story. I started describing my situation like this: “It was the right time for me to leave. I completed the challenge I set out to complete in that position so I left to return to the consulting practice I started in 2004.” My version was true but it was also true that the new President did not want me any longer. Which response makes a better impression?

You can change your story too. Make yourself more attractive to overcome these powerful barriers against unemployed people by changing the way you describe yourself. Here are some tips:

Choose your words carefully. Every word must be strategically chosen to enhance your skills and distract away from your current employment situation.
Think through your skills very carefully. Be certain you can articulate a very close match between what is expected and what you offer.
Have a prepared, rehearsed way of describing your current situation that moves the conversation to what you have to offer and away from the reason you left your last position.
Practice until your response to all potential questions comes across comfortable and relaxed. If you are nervous about your current situation so will employers.
Seek professional help to revise the way you present yourself to employers.

This means war. Drastic means are necessary if you are an unemployed candidate. Change your story to change the way you are perceived in the job market.

Thoughtful article: “Are there really no good job applicants out there?”

January 15, 2013 By Katherine Burik

In a fascinating article recently, “Are there really no good job applicants out there?” Catherine Rampell in Economix points out some interesting facts. In December 2012, three out of ten businesses surveyed by The National Federation of Independent Business reported they found few or no qualified applicants for open positions. You might think from that statistic that there is a shortage of available workers, hard to imagine when “there were more than 12 million unemployed workers per available job,” based on the latest Labor Department job openings data.

Rampell argues that if there is a shortage of workers you would think the businesses would be “bidding up wages to attract the few qualified workers who are out there.” Evidently not. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, average hourly earnings have fallen at the same time employers are complaining about a shortage of workers.

Evidently traditional supply and demand we learned in college no longer applies. Employers must be refusing to hire available workers if workers remain unemployed in the face of vacant positions. Employers are not offering higher wages as supply and demand would indicate.

We have heard this argument before. I am not telling you anything you do not know. Everyone knows someone who has been out of work for a while. People who have been unemployed for a while are highly frustrated about the situation.

Dan Toussant reports that employers he talks to are “less likely to consider applicants who are not working,” essentially freezing unemployed folks out of the job market. This can be puzzling to recruiters too.

The competition for attractive workers excludes 12 million unemployed people the pressure on the employers must not be sufficient to force them to increase wages to attract qualified workers. And since employers are not accessing qualified employees from among the unemployed, leaving positions vacant for a long time, those positions must not be very important to employers.

We can complain about this situation all we want. What can you do about this if you are unemployed? Make yourself look like you are employed. Here are some tips:

Consulting: Offer your services to companies, even at lower rates, to work on short projects in your specialty. You can put this on your resume as your current employment. If there are open positions then there is work that needs to be done. Get out there and offer yourself for consulting positions directly to employers.
Temporary Employment: There are agencies that specialize in temporary employment for most professional fields.
Volunteer: Offer your professional services to a local non-profit organization. You have the time. Put it to good work. Then adjust your resume to reflect that you are working. You know you are volunteering but you are also working.
Start your own business: What have you always wanted to do? Is there a way to offer that service in your own business without spending money you don’t have while you are unemployed?

Most of these ideas have the added benefit of bringing in some money while you are unemployed. This might impact your unemployment benefits but this small disadvantage will be offset by making you appear to be employed so you are not overlooked by employers biased against people who are unemployed.

NEXT: How to talk about yourself while you are in transition

Appropriate Employment References

December 14, 2012 By Katherine Burik

You love everything about this new job possibility. The people are great. The position is challenging. The location is perfect. The prospects are good. They seem to like you. The conversation moves to details. They ask for references. Now what?

In the olden days you typed up their contact info and kept the list in your portfolio. When asked for references you could whip out the list. Voila! Done.

Hold on there, bucko. Not so fast. The new world requires a different response. Nothing is static anymore. A pre-typed list of folks who long ago agreed to vouch for you is no longer sufficient.

Here are some tips for using references in today’s job market:

Identify: Identify 5 or more people you worked with who can vouch for your skills and experience. Talk to them ahead of time to obtain permission. But don’t just type up the list and keep it in your portfolio. Consider in advance how you can use those folks.
Customize: Like everything else about job searches today, references must be customized. Consider the specific job you are interested in. Which references can vouch for the skills and experiences you want to highlight for that particular job? Probably a few are better than others. If you have five references identified, perhaps only three have first-hand knowledge of your skills and experience. These are the folks you want to have as references in Job A. Other references might be better for Job B.
Contact: When the discussions with a company are going great and you think a job offer might be close, contact the three or four folks who previously agreed to be references and ask permission again to use them for references. Talk to them about this specific job. Tell them the details. Share what areas you would like them to focus on if called. Ask them if they would be willing to highlight certain aspects of your skills and experience that you have been highlighting in your own discussions. If they are agreeable, confirm the contact method they prefer. Be sure to confirm phone numbers and email addresses to be sure you have the most recent contact information.
Create your list: If the people you just contacted about being a reference for Job A agree, now it is time to type up your list of references. Include the contact information you just confirmed. Now you can put this list in your portfolio for the moment you need it.
Call each reference just prior to releasing the reference: Tell your reference about the specific job and a little about what you want them to say.
Share your list at the right time: When a company asks you for references, you can pull out the typed sheet or email/text the list to them. If you have the opportunity, tell your potential employer a little about each person including how you know them.
Follow up with the reference: Find out what the potential employer ask, what kinds of comments were made, and whether the reference gained any insight into how the potential employer felt about your chances.

References can make or break your candidacy. Be smart and strategic about which references you use to highlight the information about you that you want to highlight.

Be sure your references fit into your Personal Marketing Plan. The Interview Doctor can help!!

Keeping Up Your Spirits When The Job Search Takes A Long Time

December 7, 2012 By Katherine Burik

A job search has its peaks and valleys. You start out with enthusiasm, confident that you offer something special that companies will want. You get a few interviews. You talk to a few people. Then slow spots. No one calls. Nothing happens. You want to scream! It is harder and harder to keep up the enthusiasm you felt at the beginning.

I know. I’ve been there. Martha is making a job change. It wasn’t her idea but she is getting into it now. She shared some ways she keeps her spirits up when the search drags on longer than she expected:

Reduce your family budget to the lowest possible level as soon as possible to make your funds and unemployment last as long as possible. Stop all unnecessary expenditures. Martha even eliminating a planned vacation that she really wanted to take.
Don’t eliminate everything that is fun. Find a different way to do what you love to do. Martha stopped giving store-bought gifts but instead makes cookies to give away. She is a great baker so this is no hardship. For Christmas, she invites friends over and makes it a fun weekend of baking family favorites. Then as Christmas approaches she delivers her gifts to ooohs and ahhhs that can’t be purchased with money.
Get plenty of exercise. Martha gave up her gym membership but she walks her dog every day and works out with a Wii so she stays fit. This helps her stay positive.
Keep up your skills. Martha took some classes to qualify her to teach at the community college level until she finds the perfect job.
Consider consulting. Consider doing odd jobs in your field either through a temporary service or by offering your services to colleagues. This keeps your hand in and puts structure in your day.
Get out of the house. It is important to have a place to go periodically and people to talk to. Job seeker groups give you a chance to meet more people, practice your elevator speech, and learn about opportunities you might otherwise miss. Volunteering at local organizations gets you out of the house and meeting people – a good way to keep your spirits up.
Network, network, network. Martha uses LinkedIn regularly to research people she meets and companies she is interested in. She probably spends a few hours a day on LinkedIn talking to people and doing research. This counts as networking. Her contacts are leading to meetings and telephone conversations. She polished her networking approach so she is comfortable.

The trick to keeping your spirits up is staying physically and mentally active. Smile when you can. Pretend to smile when you are down. The real smile will come to you eventually the more active you are.

Tracking Job Seekers, with a Nautical Edge

October 12, 2011 By Katherine Burik

I am tracking half a dozen job seekers right now. I met these folks after doing their resumes or coaching them as they work on their searches. It occurred to me that job seekers these days are like little ships on a big dark sea. It is tough and scary. Not everyone has the right tools. I want to help but I am not with them in their little ship. They pretty much have to steer this thing on their own.

Some of the job seekers I am tracking have been at it for a while. They are getting tired and beat up from this “adventure”. A couple are just starting out but they are changing careers or companies after long service. They don’t know what to do. One person has been at it so long her unemployment is just about over. It is tough out there. I bet you all know someone with a similar story. What can we to do help?

There are five ways to help with a nautical edge:

Be sure your navigation equipment works. Get a second opinion on whether your resume is helping or hurting your efforts. If you keep coming up short after interviews, get coaching. You are probably unaware of the ways you could improve your interview or networking techniques.
If you stall, readjust the sails. Turn the ship in another direction so the wind can catch the sails again. One fellow caught a new wind by networking in a different way. He checked out some new groups at LinkedIn and found new people to network with. He made some contacts and got a new feeling of hope. Another woman started listening for job openings by widening her networking base. She learned about a quiet opening through this new networking and might have an interview. This has given her new confidence.
Don’t go it alone. Find support from other ships. You can’t just sit at home staring at your computer and phone. Get out there. Join some job seekers groups. Volunteer a little at church or at the local elementary school or charity. Go to the library to use the computer instead of sitting in your kitchen. Attend seminars and workshops for job seekers at your library or local college. The trick is not to be alone. It feels so much worse when you are alone.
Turn on your radio. The other day I was shocked to learn that a job seeker out of work for months was not networking through LinkedIn. How could that be? He was conducting a job search without a radio. I patiently explained how this tool could be helpful. I linked with him when he set up his profile. In a week he networked with more people than he had the first six months. His search was invigorated, he felt better, and he is making better use of his time. All because he turned on his radio. Be sure you are using all the tools you could use.
Be persistent. A positive attitude helps in difficult seas. It is tough out there. Use every trick you can think of to keep positive. A negative attitude is like garlic. It comes out through your pores. To keep positive, be sure to exercise to pull out those endorphins. Eat right. Set a regular sleep schedule. Be social. Get out of the house regularly. Look people in the eyes and be confident.

Let me know if I can help.