Posts tagged: Career Mistakes

Do you have the right tools for your search?

Like most recruiters, I attend too many networking events. Once a person hears that I’m a recruiter, they generally want to engage me in some conversation that usually ends up with giving me a business card or resume. WRONG TOOLS.

Even when I meet candidates, not for an interview, but just to help them in their search they give me a business card and a resume. WRONG TOOLS.

Most candidates don’t have the right tools for the right purpose or they have one set of tools for every aspect of their job search. WRONG AGAIN.

When one is trying to fix anything, they need the right tools to do the job correctly. Would you try to hang a picture on your wall using a 16 pound sledge hammer?

One tool does not fix all problems – same with a job search.

At a minimum, there are two types of tools you need to use during a job search. One set is for networking, and the other set is for use when applying for a position, interview, responding to ads, or anything directly related to a specific position.

Networking tools are designed to accomplish a couple of specific goals:

1) Assist the person or contact in remembering you and something about you. The contact needs a tool to identify you from all of the other contacts in their stack of business cards. This is so they can refer you. In two weeks, most contacts don’t know which Pat you are in the stack, if Pat is male or female, or what industry Pat has experience in. Not a good way to get a referral.

2) Assist with referrals and introductions. How many times have you had a networking meeting with anyone and walked away with a specific referral to a hiring manager, HR person, lead directly into a company that fits your background, or someone other than a service provider or recruiter. It happens, but this is less often.

These two things happen because most candidates don’t have the correct networking tools. They too often just hand the person their resume and a general business card. THESE ARE NOT NETWORKING TOOLS. Stop using them. They are the wrong tools.

Get the right tools.

1) Use networking business cards. These cards use the back of the card. On the back is a list of industry experiences, titles, target companies or anything that will help the person remember you from all the rest in their stack of cards.

2) Use a bio not a resume. Don’t just use a generic bio. Use a targeted and focused bio on what introductions and referrals you are seeking. The bottom third of the bio should list the specific company names and people you want to meet. This way when the contact is looking at your bio they can easily identify if they know the company or person. Then right there on the spot they will often indicate they can facilitate an introduction.

There are other tools you need, but these are the most important.

Good networking tools help people help you by remembering who you are and what connections you are seeking

To download the free chapter on Conducting an Effective Phone Interview from our book “This Is NOT The Position I Accepted” CLICK HERE and then click on the Free Search Resources link.

How effective is your job search?  If you are not sure, download our free 8 Matrix Job Search Self-Assessment Scorecard. CLICK HERE and then click on the Free Search Resources link.

I welcome your thoughts and comments.

Brad Remillard

 

Starting a Job Search? Start By Knowing The Three Required “P’s”

Q. I’m just starting my job search after working for the same company for the last 20 years. What tips can you give me to help me get started and do it right?

I would start by knowing the three P’s required for an effective job search.

1) Presentation. I speak on this all the time. Candidates so often down play this or take it for granted. For some reason candidates just don’t focus enough energy here.  This is the most basic of basics. Remember, the most qualified person doesn’t always get the job. The person with the best presentation and some minimum level of qualification will often get the job.

2) Preparation. If the presentation is working, now it is time to start preparing. This is a big job and again so often taken for granted by candidates.

Prepare your marketing plan. Are you in the right networking groups? Maybe it is time to change the groups you are attending. Are you meeting the right people? Look back over the people you met within the last 3 months and evaluate who and what types of people have been helpful and those that didn’t provide any assistance. Identify companies and people you want to meet. Set up a plan to meet them. If you contacted a company 6–8 months ago things may have changed, so consider reconnecting or finding another way into the company.

3) Practice. This is probably the most important of the three “P’s.” Everyone has heard, “Practice makes perfect.” Well this applies in a job search. Practice your body language, how you use your voice to stress points, answering succinctly, and the important questions you want ask.

Practice exactly how you are going to answer the standard questions asked in just about every interview. I always have the candidates I coach write out complete answers to these. Then we practice them until the candidate has succinct answers. These should be so well rehearsed that they come off as if it is the first time you answered the question.

To download the free chapter on Conducting an Effective Phone Interview from our book “This Is NOT The Position I Accepted” CLICK HERE and then click on the Free Search Resources link.

How effective is your job search?  If you are not sure download our free 8 Matrix Job Search Self-Assessment Scorecard. CLICK HERE and then click on the Free Search Resources link.

I welcome your thoughts and comments.

Brad Remillard

Are You Blundering Through Your Job Search?

How to blunder your way through an executive job search

This blog post by Eliott Lasson in the Baltimore Business Journal triggered an observation I’ve been thinking about during this depressing job market.

Most of the executive job search candidates I come across appear to be “blundering” OR “stumbling their way through a job search. I’m not surprised it’s taking the average executive over a year to find a new opportunity. When are you going to stop the blundering and start using job search best practices.

Wait – do you even know what are the top ten job search best practices? If not, how do you plan to learn them?

Or, do you prefer to muddle through your job search in a state that Steve Covey called being “unconsciously incompetent?”

Although Elliot’s article focused on young graduates, the same concepts apply for more experienced executives. Here’s a comment Elliot made about resumes that I find are a major source of blunders:

 

Always have a resume that is good-to-go to include in your email or promptly forward after a phone call. A turn-off is a resume with spelling errors and spacing issues. It is always a good idea to have some sort of objective at the top as to what you are looking for. The resume should not be over-the-top for where you are at in life, whether educationally or professionally. Make sure to list your technical skills with software, systems, and professionally relevant social media. Just saying non-descriptive terms like “proficient in Microsoft Office” might be construed as “I have a 5th grade literacy level.”

Your move – what are you going to do right now to put your job search back in effective mode and land a great opportunity in 90 days?

Barry Deutsch

Have you test-driven our Job Search Workbook – This is NOT the Position I Accepted

To read the full article by Eliott Lasson, please click below:

Top 5 job search and networking mistakes of the young — and not so young – Baltimore Business Journal.

Making A Career Change After 25 Years. Is It Possible?

Q. I’ve been looking for a position for just over a year. Many have recommended a career change, but I don’t know if that is even practical. What have you seen with regards to people making career changes? I have a lot of skills after 25 years in my current career.

Jumping into a career change is tough enough, but not knowing what skills you bring to the party and how you can leverage these skills will make the transition even tougher. Many candidates believe that just because they have a skill it makes them marketable. This is not necessarily true. You are only marketable if a need exists for that skill. You can’t assume that there is a market, and that the market is willing to pay what you are asking.

Also, others may have the same skills, and some additional experience using those skills, which makes them more desirable.
A suggestion would be to first conduct a skills assessment (download a free Skills Assessment at www.bradremillardcareercoach.com). I suggest that you complete this, but also have others complete it for you too. Those that know you the best will see your skills from a different perspective.

Next you will have to determine if there is a market for these skills, where the market is, and the value of these skills in the market. It will be important to leverage these skills on your resume and when you interview. You can’t forget that others have these same skills. If they have some additional or unique experiences that you don’t, then your market and value in that market is decreased.

To download the free chapter on Conducting an Effective Phone Interview from our book “This Is NOT The Position I Accepted” CLICK HERE and then click on the Free Search Resources link.

How effective is your job search?  If you are not sure, download our free 8 Matrix Job Search Self-Assessment Scorecard. CLICK HERE and then click on the Free Search Resources link.

I welcome your thoughts and comments.

Brad Remillard

Resume Tweaking May Be Better Than An Overhaul

I was meeting with a candidate today, we will call him Andy, who recently landed. He had been on the market for about 5 months. He did all the right things, went to the networking meetings, drank more coffee than he should have, reworked his resume over and over, all for nothing. He would get interviews but never make the cut. He had sent out lots of resumes with moderate success.

About 2 months ago I met with Andy and a group of financial professionals, mainly CFOs,  to do a resume review exercise. You might try this exercise.  Everyone brings their current resume and passes them face down to the person next to them. Then at the same time everyone turns the resume over and for 10 seconds reviews them. After 10 seconds all resumes go  face down again. The next step gets to the real purpose for the exercise. The person that read the resume for 10 seconds gives feedback on exactly what they learned about the person’s background, companies, position, location and any other information they took away in that short period of time. Why you ask? That is about how long most people first look at a resume, so the purpose is to find out if the person reading the resume for 10 seconds captures from the resume what the owner of the resume wanted them to. If not, then they need to change the resume.

After the meeting I started working with Andy as part of our Job Search Coaching program. The first thing I noticed was Andy’s resume had him as a CFO. The reality was that compared to other CFOs in the group Andy could not compete. He was really a controller. Andy was trying to play at a level that he wasn’t competitive.  He lost out every time, either when the resume was submitted, or during the interview.

We made a small tweak to his resume by taking off  all references to CFO and changed them to controller. Everything else remained the same. Within two weeks Andy started getting interviews and within 6 weeks he was working. He credits all of the activity and the job to this one tweak of his resume.

Sometimes one small change can make all the difference. Make sure you are playing in the right league. Andy wasn’t, and his resume clearly communicated that. Like most candidates I coach, candidates think only about themselves and not the competition. Andy had clearly done this. He would have been working months earlier had he thought about this.

To download the free chapter on Conducting an Effective Phone Interview from our book “This Is NOT The Position I Accepted” CLICK HERE and then click on the Free Search Resources link.

If you would like to know if your job search is fully utilized and you are doing the right things, download our free 8 Matrix Job Search Self-Assessment Scorecard. CLICK HERE and then click on the Free Search Resource link.

I welcome your thoughts and comments.

Brad Remillard

 

Prepare Sound Bites For Your Next Interview

A job search is much like a cable news show,  you have to get your point across in sound bites. You often don’t have time to give a detailed answer. Candidates need to get comfortable with doing this.

Think about all the times during your job search when you are required to give the famous, “30 second talk.” Many times during the interview process you have a short period of time to answer the question or give your introduction, you use bullet points on your resume and even your business card,  and all of these require you to express yourself in just a few words.

This is one reason why a job search is so difficult. Not only is it very difficult to speak in sound bites, most candidates are not prepared on how to do it. This technique takes practice and fore thought. This is not a case where you can just wing it. How many times have you left a meeting, only to realize you didn’t give a great answer to a question, didn’t get your point across as well as you would have liked to or thought, “OOPS I forgot to say ___.” This happens mainly because the candidate hasn’t taken the time to really get prepared.

A job search is not the time for on-the-job-training.

It is our experience that candidates wait too long to understand this point. You can’t wait and hope you will do just fine. First off,  “just fine” in this economy doesn’t cut it. Secondly, in this economy, there may not be a second chance for months.

As part of our job search coaching programs, we spend a lot of time preparing candidates for these short sound bites.  Although frustrating for candidates, we have seen these sound bites pay off so many times, we have to continually reassure the candidates of the need to prepare for them.

Candidates need to spend more time preparing and less time running to networking meetings, coffees, and one-on-ones until they are completely prepared. We find that candidates waste  excellent opportunities because they were not prepared on how to communicate in sound bites. I get calls weekly asking how best to do a do-over because the candidate believes they missed an opportunity.

There are rarely do-overs in a job search.

To learn how to speak in sound bites consider:

  1. Write out what you want to say. Then wordsmith it until it is less than one minute.
  2. Get help. This is a difficult task that takes experience. Don’t be afraid to invest in some professional help.
  3. Take the known items and the comments or questions, such as your introduction, elevator talk, the question,”Tell me about  yourself,” or “So, what do you do?”  Most of you know these, after all you have been asked them many times during  your search, and convert them into short sentences that get the point out in less than one minute.
  4. Practice them. Go to people in your network and test them. This is like any marketing campaign.
  5. Once you have the answers for these then add one more set of comments and answers. Having two different sound bites is always a good thing.

Take some time to step back and get prepared. I know every candidate wants to jump into a job search as soon as possible. The problem is this jump is often in the wrong direction.

Like most things in life, if  you do the ground work, get prepared, and do some planning things go a lot better.

To download the free chapter on Conducting an Effective Phone Interview from our book “This Is NOT The Position I Accepted” CLICK HERE and then click on the Free Search Resources link.

If you would like to know if your job search is fully utilized and you are doing the right things, download our free 8 Matrix Job Search Self-Assessment Scorecard. CLICK HERE and then click on the Free Search Resource link.

I welcome your thoughts and comments.

Brad Remillard

Use The Power Of First Impressions to Win the Interview

First impressions are so important in the initial meeting that one would not be too far off base if they argued the most important part of the interview. First impressions set the tone for the interview and often determine the types of questions, length of the interview, and ultimately the outcome. Making a strong first impression is often the deciding factor in who makes it to the next round. If the candidate makes a strong first impression they are immediately liked by the interviewer. This candidate just moved up the point scale towards the next round and they haven’t even been asked one question. On the other hand, if the candidate makes a weak first impression, the candidate starts out in the hole. This hole if often so deep  that no matter how well they answer the questions, the interviewer cannot overcome their first impression. In fact, they may have decided right in the lobby that this person isn’t getting the job.

Tips to making a strong first impression:

· Good eye contact.

· Remain a comfortable distance from the person.

· Firm handshake – even if you think you have one ask someone who will be open and honest. Many don’t, so don’t assume you do.

· Strong introduction coupled with a smile, a strong handshake and eye contact. Practice this introduction.

· Have a couple of conversational questions prepared in advance to engage the interviewer.

· The most important of all are the four “A’s.” A VP of HR at Rockwell Corporation gave us these. They are so important more than 25 years later we still remember them.

  1. Appearance
  2. Articulate
  3. Assertive
  4. Affable

Bring these four to the first impression and you will move up the scale – not down.

Study after study reveals that likability is the single most important factor used when determining who ultimately gets the job. Underestimating this is a failure of many candidates. Those that make a strong first impression will often do better in an interview than candidates with better experience.

To download the free chapter on Conducting an Effective Phone Interview from our book “This Is NOT The Position I Accepted” CLICK HERE and then click on the Free Search Resources link.

If you would like to know if your job search is fully utilized and you are doing the right things, download our free 8 Matrix Job Search Self-Assessment Scorecard. CLICK HERE and then click on the Free Search Resource link.

I welcome your thoughts and comments.

Brad Remillard

Watch Out For This Job Search SCAM

Q. I have been contacted by a firm that promises to market my skills to companies. They claim to have many contacts with local companies. I’m not sure it is worth the cost. Any recommendations regarding using someone to market me?

I have two words for you, BUYER BEWARE. Too often these firms claim a lot and deliver very little. Since they contacted you, that is a red flag and you need to do your research. These firms always spring up in times of high unemployment.

Some things to consider before writing a check include: Are they claiming or even implying they will find you a job? If this is even implied, run and run fast. Do they claim to have access to the “hidden job market?” Have them provide references of other candidates they have worked with that are now working due to their help. If they are as good as they claim to be, they should have a list of raving fans.  You should speak with people currently in the program. Contact the Better Business Bureau to check for any complaints. If they claim they have companies they work with regularly ask to speak to someone at the company. Don’t accept any excuses for not being able to do this. Do they offer a money back guarantee? Ask to speak to someone they actually refunded the money to. Don’t accept that they have never had to give a refund. No one is that perfect. Is the full fee paid up front? Finally, you should write out a list of expected results you want them to deliver and over what period of time they will deliver these results. Make them very specific. If they don’t meet them then they need to agree in writing to refund your money.

I know too many candidates that have fallen prey to these firms. There are good ones and many excellent professionals, but be careful. Remember, if it sounds too good to be true it probably is.

To download the free chapter on Conducting an Effective Phone Interview from our book “This Is NOT The Position I Accepted” CLICK HERE and then click on the Free Search Resources link.

If you would like to know if your job search is fully utilized and you are doing the right things, download our free 8 Matrix Job Search Self-Assessment Scorecard. CLICK HERE and then click on the Free Search Resource link.

I welcome your thoughts and comments.

Brad Remillard

Assess Your Skills Before Considering a Career Change

Recent surveys and news stories are addressing the issue of how many people are changing careers due to the recession. For many this is turning out to be a very positive experience. For some it is an opportunity to do something they have wanted to do for years, but never had the chance. Regardless of your reason for wanting to do something different, it should start with an assessment of your skills and which of these skills is transferable.

Jumping into a career change is tough enough, but not knowing what skills you bring to the party and how you can leverage these skills will make the transition even tougher. Many candidates believe that just because they have a skill it makes them marketable. This is not necessarily true. You are  only marketable if a need exists for that skill. You can’t assume that there is a market, and that the market is willing to pay what you are asking.

Also, others may have the same skill, and some additional experience using that skill, that makes them more desirable.

A suggestion would be to first conduct a skills assessment. We suggest that you do this, but also that others do it for you as well. Those that know you the best will see your skills from a different perspective.

Once you know what skills you have rank them. The ranking should not only be based on how strong a skill this is for you, but also if it is a skill you really enjoy using. Just because you have a skill and are good at it doesn’t mean you enjoy it. For example, you may have a skill that allows you to really get into details, quickly grasp the issue, and come to a conclusion. However, if you hate getting down into the details, have dreaded it every time you have had to do it, it may be a strong skill, but not a skill you want to base a career change on.

Next you will have to determine if there is a market for these skills, where the market is, and the value of these skills in the market. More specifically not the value as a whole, but as it relates specifically for you. You can’t forget others that have these same skills. If they have some additional or unique experiences that you don’t, then your market and value in that market is decreased.

You can do some of the market research on the Internet. Go to the job boards and search open positions seeking these skills. This will give you an indication of market size and value. For example, if 100+ job openings appear and the compensation is in line with your expectations, you are more likely to be able to make that career change than if there were only one or two openings.

Don’t ignore the colleges and universities that have majors in the functional area in which your skills align.You might even discover some additional education you need to be successful.

Finally, I believe too often candidates don’t even explore the opportunities to buy a business or start a business. I would recommend contacting a business broker and at least having a conversation with them to discover if this is a viable option for you.

Making a career change isn’t easy, it takes time, planning, and the right set of transferable skills to be successful.

To download the free chapter on Conducting an Effective Phone Interview from our book “This Is NOT The Position I Accepted” CLICK HERE and then click on the Free Search Resources link.

If you would like to know if your job search is fully utilized and you are doing the right things, download our free 8 Matrix Job Search Self-Assessment Scorecard. CLICK HERE and then click on the Free Search Resource link.

I welcome your thoughts and comments.

Brad Remillard

Be Prepared For That Next Interview

A job search is much like a cable news show,  you have to get your point across in sound bites. You often don’t have time to give a detailed answer. Candidates need to get comfortable with doing this.

Think about all the times during your job search when you are required to give the famous, “30 second talk.” Many times during the interview process you have a short period of time to answer the question or give your introduction, you use bullet points on your resume and even your business card,  and all of these require you to express yourself in just a few words.

This is one reason why a job search is so difficult. Not only is it very difficult to speak in sound bites, but most candidates are not prepared on how to do it. This technique takes practice. This is not a case where you can just wing it. How many times have you left a meeting, only to realize you didn’t give a great answer to a question, didn’t get your point across as well as you would have liked to or thought, “OOPS I forgot to say ___.” This happens mainly because the candidate hasn’t taken the time to really get prepared.

A job search is not the time for on-the-job training.

It is our experience that candidates wait too long to understand this point. You can’t wait and hope you will do just fine. First off,  “just fine” in this economy doesn’t cut it. Secondly, in this economy, there may not be a second chance for months.

As part of our job search coaching programs, we spend a lot of time preparing candidates for these short sound bites.  Although frustrating for candidates, we have seen these sound bites pay off so many times, and we have to continually reassure the candidates of the need to prepare for them.

Candidates need to spend more time preparing and less time running to networking meetings, coffees, and one-on-ones until they are completely prepared. We find that candidates waste  excellent opportunities because they were not prepared on how to communicate in sound bites. I get calls weekly asking how best to do a do-over because the candidate believes they missed an opportunity.

There are rarely do-overs in a job search.

To learn how to speak in sound bites consider:

  1. Write out what you want to say. Then wordsmith it until it is less than one minute.
  2. Get help. This is a difficult task that takes experience. Don’t be afraid to invest in some professional help.
  3. Take the known items and the comments or questions, such as your introduction, elevator talk, the question,”Tell me about  yourself,” or “So, what do you do?”  Most of you know these, since you have been asked them many times during  your search, and convert them into short sentences that get the point out in less than one minute.
  4. Practice them. Go to people in your network and test them. This is like any marketing campaign.
  5. Once you have the answers for these then add one more set of comments and answers. Having two different sound bites is always a good thing.

Take some time to step back and get prepared. I know every candidate wants to jump into a job search as soon as possible. The problem is this jump is often in the wrong direction.

Like most things in life, if  you do the ground work, get prepared, and do some planning things go a lot better.

To download the free chapter on Conducting an Effective Phone Interview from our book “This Is NOT The Position I Accepted” CLICK HERE and then click on the Free Search Resources link.

If you would like to know if your job search is fully utilized and you are doing the right things, download our free 8 Matrix Job Search Self- Assessment Scorecard. CLICK HERE and then click on the Free Search Resource link.

I welcome  your thoughts and comments.

Brad Remillard