Answering Those Box Checking Interviewing Questions – Audio Recording

Don’t Be A Box-checking Victim

STOP allowing yourself to be box-checked in the interview by recruiters, HR, and hiring managers. You CANNOT SUCCEED in the interview if you are being box-checked against a traditional job description listing precise years of experience, exact industry experience, product knowledge, specific channels, and detailed skills. No one could pass these interviews with flying colors. Successful interviewing requires you to move the interview from a typical interrogation into a conversation about the needs and obstacles in the job. Brad and Barry provide specific examples, tactics, and recommendations in this radio program on how to move every interview from a box-checking interrogation into a conversation about the work that needs to be done.

To listen or download this recording from our audio library CLICK HERE.

You can also join our LinkedIN Job Search Networking Group. CLICK HERE to join

The Curious George Approach to Interviewing

As many of you know, I follow an large number of blogs every day on a wide range of subjects – hiring, job search, motivation, blogging, retention, performance management, social media, internet marketing, basketball coaching – every interest that I have both personally and professionally. I get hundreds of ideas about blogging, marketing, FREE tools to offer YOU – the list is endless.

Which begs the question – what are you reading?

Do you have your books list up in the LinkedIn Application? What blogs do you subscribe to and read consistently in some RSS feeder like Google Reader? What blogs/forums are you commenting on what you’ve recently read?

(Little sidenote: There are few activities that a professional, manager, and can engage in that will lead to as many benefits as a high level of reading and exploration – do you make reading and exploration a big priority in your job search?)

Shoot us back a note in the comments about your favorite blogs that keep you informed, moving to a new level of learning, and turned on about new knowledge.

YOU MIGHT ASK  – where are you going with all this? You might ask – how does all this talk about blogs relate to job search and job interviewing?

I was reading one of my favorite blogs on how to blog better, ProBlogger , and Darren Rowse, the blog author, talked about the lessons learned from reading Curious George Books with his 3 year old. You remember Curious George – I still have the ones from my childhood and I had the chance to share them with my kids when they were younger.

Here’s what Darren said in his blog article titled A Lesson from Curious George for Bloggers:

The books of choice at bed time in my 3 year olds room are all Curious George books at the moment. He’s crazy for George.

Needless to say that the 6 Curious George books that we have are getting read again and again – I pretty much know them off by heart…. to the point that I’ve started taking less notice of the story itself and more notice of HOW its been written.

There’s one thing about Curious George Books (or at least the ones we have) that I’ve noticed that really makes them more engaging than some of the other kids books my boy reads.

Do you know what it is?

It’s something that draws my boy further and further into the book.

Any ideas what it could be?

It’s a technique that actually causes my little guy to ask me to turn the page – something that gets him thinking about what is coming next – something causes him to be curious – just like George.

What do you think it is?

This technique is not only a page turner – its something that draws my boy from being a passive listener/reader of the book – but actually gets him interacting with the book – talking about it as I’m reading.

Have you guessed what it is?

The technique is simple – on every second page there’s a question.

It’s not a question that needs an answer – but it’s a question that engages the person reading the book and draws them deeper into the story.

They are questions about what will happen next, questions about what the reader thinks or knows, leading questions that draw readers to keep reading but also to become engaged.

I’m reading the blog article and all of sudden it hit me – this is the same best practice technique that most top candidates use in an interview to engage with hiring managers (Thanks Darren for letting me borrow your analogy). The same concept applied in a writing a popular children’s book can be applied in a high level interview.

Do you engage, build rapport, draw the interviewer toward you, and build passion in them around wanting to learn more about YOU? Think about your last few interviews.

• Did you wait till the end to ask questions?
• Did you use your questions as a technique of engaging and stimulating a conversation instead of an interrogation?
• Did you get ask questions to get the hiring manager talking?
• Did your technique of asking questions last for a moment or two – or were you able to sustain it through-out the entire interview?
• What happened on the interviews you were engaging through questions vs. the interviews where you didn’t ask very many questions?

Download a few of our FREE Audio recordings of past Radio Broadcasts that Brad and I have done on interviewing best practices.

You can also find more details on how to prepare and ACE a “Curious George” Interview in our Job Search Workbook.

Try the technique on your next interview. Let us know what happens.

Who would have thought a simple children’s book could provide so much insight about interviewing?

Barry Deutsch

Our LinkedIn Job Search Discussion Group frequently discusses best practices for interviewing. Learn from some of the best in how the instinctively use the “Curious George” Technique.

5 Most Frequently Asked Job Search Questions I Receive

On Friday’s from 9 – 10 AM PDT we often conduct free “Candidate Open Forums.” These are conference calls open to all of our candidates, in which we discuss topics and answer questions directly from you – our candidates. Unfortunately, we are limited to 50 people on the line at one time, so often we can’t get to all of the questions submitted ahead of time via email.

We believe these are important, so from time to time in this blog we will discuss the topics and questions we, 1) don’t get to during the conference call, 2) are asked over and over again (so these are probably on your mind too), and 3) just consider important for you to know.

Remember, we are retained executive recruiters so the answers and thoughts come strictly from that perspective.

1) Chronological vs. functional resume? Easy answer – NEVER, NEVER, NEVER, use a functional resume. In my almost 30 years of recruiting I have never had any recruiter or hiring manager support the functional resume. I have also been on many panels where all of the panelists agree to NEVER use a functional resume. Functional resumes just scream out,”Try to figure out what I’m trying to hide.” See our free audio file on resumes.

2) How do we overcome negatives such as age, turnover, time between jobs, etc? We believe you address them head on. If you have a negative, avoiding it doesn’t make it go away. We have a blog entry “Preemptive Strike” which you should also consider reading. If you have a negative item, you should bring it up straight away, discuss it openly and then whatever happens, happens. Don’t assume, “They didn’t bring it up so it must not be a problem.” They didn’t bring it up because they already settled it in their mind. You need to preempt any preconceived ideas before they come into play.

3) What is the best method and frequency for following up on a resume? For us, as recruiters, we prefer via email or one of the social media forums, Linkedin or Twitter. Recruiters have reduced staff just like many other companies, while the number of calls from candidates has skyrocketed. It isn’t possible to call every person. Email allows us to reply late at night, on weekends, or even while waiting in the lobby of a client. I can’t do that with phone calls. Regarding frequency, if in fact you are dead on perfect, then after two weeks send a follow-up email.

4) With so many top level executives in the market, how do you differentiate yourself from the pack? This is the 64,000 dollar question. We believe the best answer is to have a very compelling resume which is targeted specifically to the position. A generic, one size fits all resume will not differentiate you. That is what “generic” means. In today’s market our clients and therefore recruiters, are seeking very specific backgrounds. We are not looking for the proverbial, “Jack of all trades,” we are looking for the, “King or Queen for a specific role.”

5) Is negotiating with the employer different today due to the economic situation, and if so how? There is a difference given today’s market. For example, most companies will not relocate today especially in a large market area. Also, companies tend to be closed to severance agreements. If you aren’t working, they figure there is no reason to give an agreement and they are in control. You have to pick your issues and know where to compromise. This is all part of the pre-planning process for a job search. What issues will you compromise on and which ones should you dig in your heels?

You can download a free 8 Point Job Search Plan Self-Assessment that will help you evaluate exactly what you need to do to improve your search. CLICK HERE to download.

Is your Linkedin Profile going to get you noticed. Our FREE Linkedin Profile Matrix will help you develop an outstanding profile. CLICK HERE to download yours.

Join our LINKEDIN Job Search Networking group. Over 4200 people have joined. CLICK HERE to join.

We realize not everyone will agree with these answers and that is healthy. So if you don’t agree, or wish to comment, we encourage you to do so. Just click the link below.

Brad Remillard

You can’t interview yourself out of a wet paper bag

The vast majority of candidates Brad and I meet are horrific at interviewing. It’s bordering on embarrassing and humiliating. WHY? (Here’s a little hint to keep your interest – it has nothing to do with the actual interview presentation)

Before we get into the WHY – let’s establish our credentials for making this bold and outrageous claim:

Job Search and Interviewing Expert Credentials

Brad and I each have over 25 years of executive search experience. We’ve interviewed hundreds of thousands of candidates.  We’ve worked on over a 1000 executive searches, trained over 30,000 CEOs, Presidents, and Senior Executives in how to make better hiring decisions. We’ve written THE definitive guide for executives on hiring top talent called “You’re NOT the Person I Hired”, have over 10,000 copies of our book in print, and have been awarded Speaker of the Year by one of the most prestigious CEO organizations in the world, Vistage International.

On top of those credentials, we’ve developed an award-winning job search process called the Career Success Methodology, which we’ve been teaching to candidates for a quarter of a century. We wrote a book on this Methodology called “This is NOT the Position I Accepted”. The Methodology is based on our extensive background as recruiters interviewing candidates every day of the week for real world assignments. We’ve researched it, field tested it, and validated it as a methodology to reduce the time it takes for you to find a great job by at least 50%.

I felt it necessary to pull out the proverbial brag sheet and first establish our bona fides before I jump up on my soapbox and lay on you one of the biggest contrarian pieces of research you’ve probably ever heard.

Interviewing Mistakes and Failure

Most candidates stink when it comes to preparing for interviews. I’ll bet that’s shocking to most of you.

Everybody thinks they do a great job preparing for an upcoming interview and then they wonder why their “hit rate” – the percentage of offers to interviews is below 1-2%.

The ability to screw up the interview becomes obvious minutes into the discussion. Most of you lack a command of details, specifics, and quantification for your claims. Brad and I eliminate over 90% of all executive search candidates in the very first question within the first 5 minutes on a phone call.

Here’s how it goes:

Please share with me your most significant example of taking initiative in your last job – where you went above and beyond the call of duty to deliver a significant result to your (company, team, department, function, office, group).

Deafening silence.

Let’s ask it a different way: How about sharing with me your most significant example of where you were proactive – where you achieved a great result for something you thought needed to be done but you were not forced or required to do it.

I helped to create a new process.

More silence.

Tell me about the process. For example, why did it need to be created. When did it start. Who else was on the team. What was your contribution? What was the quantifiable outcome of creating the process – what business result was achieved? Did you win any rewards or recognition for it? What would your boss tell me about your achievement? Would they consider it a significant example of initiative?

5 minutes later it’s obvious you’re trying to make up the answers OR you really didn’t drive the project results OR it’s an insignificant example – but it was the first thing that popped into your mind.

If you’re not prepared at a management or executive level to delve into the depths of your most significant accomplishments  – scope, pace, size, outcomes, timeframe, problems, issues, conflict, people, resources, budget, changes, learning – then prepared to be blown out after a couple of minutes.

The vast majority of candidates we meet at a managerial and executive level treat interviewing like “I’ll just waltz in and take the questions as they come – my background speaks for itself.” I cannot begin to tell you the number of times I’ve seen candidates look down at their resume and try to remember what the details were behind a bullet point they listed.

You  might be able to fool a few ignorant and ineffective executives with this form of interviewing, but the vast majority of sophisticated and capable hiring managers and executives will cut you off at the knees after a few minutes. Here’s the sad part – they’ll give you hope by granting a courtesy interview and then telling you at the end “we’ll get back to you” – yet your phone never rings. 90% of the reason you never got asked back was that you FAILED to prepare properly.

Your ability to ACE an interview is not how you do in the interview, it’s what you did to prepare before you ever got to the interview.

Action Steps to Correct Interviewing Failure

Take a few minutes and listen to our archived audio programs on interviewing from our Internet Radio Talk Show or join our LinkedIn Job Search Discussion Group to learn more about effective interviewing. Have you downloaded for FREE our most popular chapter on the phone interview from our workbook? Finally, a significant element of our Home Study Job Search Kit is focused on how to prepare for an interview.

Have you gone through the chapters in our Job Search Workbook that take you painstakingly step-by-step through how to effectively prepare for an interview. Exercise and exercise, template after template, writing down your accomplishments using a structured response approach, practicing it until your head is ready to explode.

You could be the world’s most introverted and shy individual, and still perfectly ACE an interview. Success in the interview IS NOT about making a great presentation – it’s about the preparation required before sitting down with a hiring executive or manager.

Your effective preparation gives you the confidence, content, and capability to ACE most of your interviews and get a high percentage of call-backs for additional interviewing.

Barry Deutsch

PS – Remember the key to effective interviewing is preparation, preparation, preparation!

photo courtesy of NickySmith

10 Simple Job Interviewing Questions Most Can’t Answer

I was sitting in on an interview with one of my clients recently, when out of nowhere came a question that not only made the candidate take pause, but also probably eliminated him for the job. It wasn’t a trick question or illegal question. It wasn’t a question that the candidate couldn’t answer. In fact, it was so simple the candidate should have been able to answer it easily. Instead, he sat there like a deer in the headlights thinking, because he didn’t have an answer. The mere fact that he had to think on such a simple question was a problem to begin with.

So what was this simple question, “What is the most recent book you have read that will help you be a better employee?” This could be any business related book on,  leadership, management, social networking, staffing, biographical,  functional, organizational, self-improvement, etc in the last 6 months. The person has been unemployed for 3 months so it isn’t  unreasonable to assume they read, or is it?

So what would you have replied? Please leave your answer in the comments section.

I find it amazing how many professional people don’t read on a continuing basis. If for no other reason than to stay up to date on trends, changes and advancements in their field. So many candidates stop reading non-fiction after college. We find that the very best candidates we work with are continually improving themselves by reading. Not just periodicals like the WSJ, trade magazines, or blogs, but books.

I started thinking back about other similar questions I’ve heard asked, usually by CEO’s, during an interview that most can’t answer. I’ve listed them below to help you out, so you don’t end up looking like a deer caught in the headlights.

1. What do you do to stay current and up to date in your profession?

2. How many workshops, seminars or training programs have  you attended in the last year?

3. What is your favorite book on leadership?

4. What book has impacted how you manage or lead the most?

5. If  you could only refer one book to someone coming up the ladder what would it be?

6. What do you do regularly to improve yourself?

7. In your annual reviews, what has your boss recommended you need to work on or improve on? After they answer, the follow-up is, What have you done to work on those issues?

8. How many books have you read in the last year?

9. What periodicals do you read daily or weekly?

10. What is your favorite business book of  all time?

I have heard all of these asked in one form or another in my 30 years as a recruiter. In fact, I even ask them when I know a client will ask them.

The fact that these questions may not directly link to one’s ability to perform in the job, they do reveal a lot about the person and their understanding to constantly improve themselves. A CEO that wants to constantly improve the company wonders how a candidate can do this, if they don’t even work to improve themselves.

I hope this helps you better prepare not only yourself, but for an interview.

Join our Linkedin Job Search Networking Group. 3400 others have joined in on the discussions and articles. CLICK HERE to join.

Download our FREE sample cover letter. This is a proven cover letter that gets your resume noticed. CLICK HERE to download.

Have you browsed our FREE audio library?  All of the recordings from our talk radio show are there for you to download and listen to for free. CLICK HERE to download.

I welcome your thoughts and comments.

Brad Remillard

I’m Getting Interviews But No Offers. WHY?

This was a question a potential job search coaching candidate asked me. Although frustrating, at the same time it is a very good problem to have. At least she was getting interviews.

In today’s world just getting up to bat can be difficult, but striking out is frustrating. So what do you do if this is happening to you? Over 30 years of working with candidates and over 10,000 interviews, it is my experience that when this happens the candidate is generally making some fatal mistakes in the interviewing process. They don’t need a major overhaul. They are either doing something small, that is easy to fix, or in most cases NOT doing something that eliminates them.

After all, the hiring manager has seen their resume, often interviewed them and asked them back, and they may have even come in second place a couple of times.  So rarely, if this happens a lot, is it always experiences, skills or abilities. Those have already been taken into account. Also, as everyone knows that has done extensive  hiring, the most qualified person doesn’t always get the job. Often, and unfortunately, it is the best interviewer that gets the job. A fact candidates have a very hard time accepting.

Many candidates have this  happening to them and never really understand, “why?” The sad part is the candidate ends up spending a lot more time in job search mode than necessary. Often months and that is expensive. To help, our job search workbook, “This is NOT the Position I Accepted” deals extensively with this exact issue.

The first step in dealing with this issue is knowing the answer to this critical (yes critical) question, because if you don’t know the answer chances are very good you will never know what’s wrong, so you can’t fix it. What are the most important three words in a job search and interview? Hint, they are the same words for both a job search and interview.

If you guessed preparation, good guess, but wrong. Preparation is the outcome of these three words.

Presentation is key, and the answer. Candidates are judged so much on the their presentation that it is often a bigger factor in getting a job than qualifications. For example, I heard on a news channel that Whole Foods will not hire anyone that shows up to an interview wearing a suit. I don’t know if this is true or not, (just because it was on the news doesn’t make it true) but that is presentation. Show up in a suit, and before you even leave the lobby, before you introduce yourself, in less than 1 second the hiring manager has already decided you won’t fit in their company’s culture. They assume you didn’t research the company or you would know this.

If this is happening to you, I have found from coaching candidates that it is time to take a hard look at their presentation. This is very hard to do. It means I have to be tough, possibly risk hurting feelings, get critical, tell people they come across too casual and therefore possibly signaling a lack of energy, and for older candidates this is often interpreted as burned out or just waiting to retire.

None of these may be true. It doesn’t matter if it is true or not. It is reality. A dose of reality is often exactly what many candidates encountering this issue need.

Another issue is confidence. Too often when candidates become desperate and really need a job they are too afraid to engage the interviewer. This lack of confidence comes across as weakness. This is the kiss of death especially if you are interviewing for a manager.

You should always interview the same way you would if you had a great job and didn’t need this job. That confidence will come out. Most companies want to hire people that are leaders, and confidence is an essential element of leadership.

Join our Linkedin Job Search Networking Group along with the other 3300+ members. The discussions and articles will do nothing but make your time looking for a job shorter. CLICK HERE to join.

If you are getting interviews but no offers, you should consider reading our job search workbook, This Is NOT The Position I Accepted. It was written to get you through the interview with confidence. We will send it to you to review for just$5. CLICK HERE to get  your copy.

I welcome and encourage your thoughts and comments.

Brad Remillard

Are You Speaking the Right Language During the Interview?

Candidates too often focus exclusively on the verbal communication aspects of a job search. How much time have you spent on the body language aspect of communications?

Some say body language is 70% of communications. Whether or not you agree with this  percentage is irrelevant. All will agree it is a high percentage. So that begs the question, “What have you done to ensure your body language is communicating the right way?”

Knowing I was going to write an article on this topic, for the last two weeks I have asked over 100 candidates, “What have you done to ensure you are using proper body language during your job search?”  Not surprisingly, most just looked at me like a deer in the  headlights.  A few actually knew what I meant and one even admitted they had thought about it. The famous thought about it, not necessarily done anything about it. Two indicated the outplacement firm had videoed them so they could see themselves.

Given this incredibly high percentage, I would think more candidates would at least have read up on the subject, maybe videoed themselves in a mock interview, or practiced so as to be aware of what to do and not to do.

The reason for this topic is because of feedback I received from an interview one of my candidates recently had. The problem wasn’t regarding the person’s technical abilities, it was around the candidate’s body language and what it conveyed. Right or wrong, it doesn’t matter. In this economy the company can move on to the next candidate, get the same technical abilities and body language that conveys the right message.

When I met with the candidate, I noticed a couple of issues and mentioned them to the candidate. One was poor eye contact and the other was how he sits in the chair. He looked at me when the question was being asked, however, as he started to answer the question he would lose eye contact. He would look down, glance up from time to time then look back down, adjust his glasses, and then look down. I mentioned this to him. At first he was shocked, denied it, and flat out didn’t believe me. I have mentioned this hundreds of times to candidates over the last 30 years. This is a common reaction by most candidates. They don’t even realize they are doing this. Nobody has ever told them, and since they have never been videoed, they can’t see it for themselves.

The second thing I mentioned was how he sits in the chair. He was rather tall so he tended to slouch down in the chair almost like one does at home on the couch while watching a baseball game. I strongly recommended sitting up straight, and when wanting to stress a point, he could even slightly lean forward to engage the interviewer. Coming across overly relaxed in a somewhat formal setting of an interview is not the proper presentation. As my client said, “This would not look appropriate during a board or investor meeting.”

As a candidate, you should not assume you have good body language. You should test it. Consider videoing yourself. You will not only notice  poor body language,  but you will also pick up little nuances that you don’t even realize you are doing. This is a powerful tool. Most candidates have or can  borrow a video camera to work through this exercise.

Don’t underestimate body language. It not only applies during an interview, but also in your networking. People only want to refer others they are proud of. If you present poor body language in a one-on-one networking coffee you probably will not receive any referrals.

Download our free LinkedIn Profile Assessment and make sure your profile is as compelling as it can be. CLICK HERE to download your free assessment.

Our Linkedin Job Search Networking Group has over 3000 members and provides a wealth of topics and resources for you. CLICK HERE to join, it is FREE.

Also, our Web site has a sample cover letter for you to use that will help you stand out and align  your background with the job needs. You can find it at the bottom of our home page at  www.impacthiringsolutions.com in the “What’s New” section.

I welcome your thoughts and comments. If  you have a story about poor body language, please share it so others can learn.

Brad Remillard

Don’t Underestimate the Power the Four “A’s” Have On Your Interview

In a previous article, “Leveraging the Power of the First Impression Helps You Win the Interview” we discussed just how critical (not important, critical) the first impression is to the interviewing process. One of the suggestions was to understand the most important points known as the four “A’s.”

These four “A’s” can dramatically impact the interview before the interview even starts. That is powerful.

Each of these must be integrated into your interviewing style and come off as if they come naturally to you.

• Appearance – This is not just how you dress for the interview, it is much more than that. It includes your body language during the interview, how you sit in the chair, the appearance of your resume and cover letter, the appearance of any materials used during the interview, eye contact, and I hate to say it, but it does include physical appearance.
• Assertive – This is mostly about how you project yourself during the interview. Please take note, the word was not “aggressive.” There is a big difference between aggressive and assertive. Most interviewers respect an assertive person and dislike aggressive people. Do you come across as confident, do you answer the question with a strong voice, do you engage the interviewer during the interview, do you ask probing questions or just sit there and answer questions, do you mirror the interviewer, does your body language and voice have a strong presence?
• Affable – Are you friendly, outgoing, easy to communicate with, engaging and even have a sense of humor? Does the interviewer feel comfortable talking with you, are they relaxed and feel at ease, do you have some conversational questions to bring up on the way from the lobby to the interviewing room, do you engage in casual conversation and are you building rapport with the person the second they lay eyes on you?
• Articulate – How well do you communicate? Do you listen to the question? Are your answers sharp and succinct? Do you have proper language skills, syntax, avoid using the word “like”, proper sentence structure and use of verbs? Do you ramble in the interview to make sure you hit every point in your background or are you able to quickly get to the point? This can be one of the easiest of the “A’s” to master. It takes practice and rehearsing, and you will probably need a coach to help you with this one.

On the surface, as you read these, they seem so obvious. Most are thinking, “I already know this stuff.” This may be true, but I think the purpose of the four “A’s” is to highlight in a very simple way some of the key issues many candidates take for granted. As a result they don’t work on mastering them.

There are a lot of dynamics happening at the same time during the hiring process. The more you can master, the better your chances of getting the green light.

Join our Job Search Networking Linkedin Group. There are over 2700 members and an extensive supply of resources for you to tap into. CLICK HERE to join. Membership is FREE.

We have numerous free downloads on our Web site to help you in your search. Sample cover letters, audio downloads from past radio shows,a transferable skills list, Linkedin Profile Assessment Matrix, and our Job Search Self-Assessment Scorecard. All can be downloaded from our home page. www.impacthiringsolutions.com.

Every Monday at 11 AM PDT listen to our radio show from anywhere in the world on www.latalkradio.com channel 2.

Leveraging The Power of the First Impression Helps You 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. Affable

   
   

4. Assertive

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.

Join our Job Search Networking Linkedin Group. There are over 2700 members and an extensive supply of resources for you to tap into. CLICK HERE to join. Membership is FREE.

We have numerous free downloads on our Web site to help you in your search. Sample cover letters, audio downloads from past radio shows,a transferable skills list, Linkedin Profile Assessment Matrix, and our Job Search Self-Assessment Scorecard. All can be downloaded from our homepage at www.impacthiringsolutions.com.

Every Monday at 11 AM Pacific time listen to our radio show anywhere in the world on www.latalkradio.com channel 2.

I welcome your comments and thoughts

Brad Remillard

How To Shoot Yourself In The Foot While Conducting A Job Search

I think the best way to shoot yourself in the foot while in a job search is not having a structured, formal, repeatable job search methodology or process. In the case of a job search HOPE and LUCK are not a process.

A methodology has a series of steps, that when followed, increase the probability of a desired outcome. This also implies that when a step is skipped the probability of the desired outcome is less. There is only one thing worse than skipping a step in a methodology, and that is not having one at all. Unfortunately, we find that most candidates don’t have a real methodology. Most tend to have a little of this and a little of that and candidates are easily distracted. The results tend to be no methodology.

Our job search workbook, “This Is NOT The Position I Accepted” is a 5 step process for making you a sales person during your job search. After all, when you are in a job search you are in sales. There are 5 basic steps in the sales process that are a good outline for a job search.

1. What is the product or service? Before a sales person can sell a product they must know all about the product. This not only includes the facts about the product, but what makes this product better than the competition, what makes this product unique, how the buyer will benefit from the product, and often a SWOT analysis is performed. Since you are the product in a job search have you addressed all of these issues?
2. Once step one is completed it is time to identify the customers and put together a marketing plan. Not everyone may need or want your product. In fact, your product probably is not right for everyone. So you must identify the high potential customers. Those that have a high probability of not only buying your product, but also can afford your product. Why waste time meeting customers if they don’t fall into one of these categories? In a job search we call this, “networking with a purpose.”
3. Now that high potential customers have been defined and identified, every sales person needs marketing materials. Marketing documents, regardless of the form, strive to get to the customer’s underlying motivation. Often this requires multiple marketing materials and multiple formats. Regardless of formats, most marketing documents are about the customer, not the seller. Is your resume a marketing document? Is it about the buyer or all about you?
4. Sooner or later every sales person has to make a sales presentation to get the sale. Top salespeople have this down pat. They rehearse, they anticipate questions and practice the answers, they know what the buyer’s objections to the product are, and have thought through how to overcome them. Finally they have studied the competition and know exactly why their product will better meet the customer’s needs. Obviously, this is the interview for those in a job search. Would you be considered a top sales person?
5. Finally top salespeople know how to follow-up and close the sale. This is the most difficult part of any sale. It must be done tactfully, in a manner that engages the customer without bugging them and continues to overcome issues as the process continues. For candidates, this is all of the additional interviews that take place as you move through the hiring process.

These five steps are the basic steps in an search process. Just like the sales process, there is a lot more that goes into each step. Top salespeople spend an enormous time training, preparing and practicing each step. Top candidates do the same.

Join our Linkedin Job Search Networking Group for a lot more help with developing and enhancing your job search methodology. CLICK HERE to join the group.

Our job search workbook, “This Is NOT The Position I Accepted” is based on the five steps outlined above and goes into great detail on each step. We will send you the book to review for just the cost of shipping $5. CLICK HERE to read more. Readers have rated this workbook 4.5 stars out of 5.

I encourage your comments and feedback.

Brad Remillard