Don’t Forget To Share Your Success

The best time to look for a job is when you have one.  We all know that instinctively.  Yet, when most jobseekers get a job, the first things that go out the window are the good job search strategies that won them the new job.  Now I’m not saying that you start posting your resume updated for your new position while you fill out your new hire paperwork, but I am saying that you maintain your network and do all the good habits that support your career maintenance.  One of the best habits gained during a job search is networking.  One of the best ways to maintain your network is to give your thanks and share a success update.

When you get that new position (or even that latest job lead), go back to the person who referred you or gave you the idea to pursue that company or gave you advice on your resume.  Tell them what happened.  Be specific and gracious about how they helped you.  I estimate that it is fewer than 10% of candidates who thank me for job leads, advice, even actual positions that I have given them.  Sometimes I run into them at a separate event and they sheepishly admit that they should have circled back to me.  Sometimes I hear from them because they are asking for another favor.  Instead, dramatically differentiate yourself by following up!  Even if you have let a relationship lax and realize that thanks is way overdue, get back in touch anyway.  People are very forgiving and will often be happy to hear from you. 

The ultimate job security isn’t the stable job or company.  Lifetime employment at any one place is unrealistic given how the market works.  What makes you secure is the knowledge that you can get another job, regardless of the market.  You have good job search technique.  You know your strengths.  You know your objectives.  You position yourself well for the next stage of your career.  You have a strong network willing to help you and extend itself on your behalf.  You have a strong network because your friends realize that you are thoughtful and generous.  You say thanks and share your success.

Filed under: career coaching , gratitude, job search, networking, relationship management

SixFigureStart Quoted On Philly.com

See Caroline’s advice in Melanie Wanzek’s article, “Catch 22:  You need experience to get experience”

http://www.philly.com/philly/jobs/CTW_jobs_20091103_Catch_22__You_need_experience_to_get_experience.html

Filed under: career coaching, resource recommendation , job search, Melanie Wanzek, Philly.com, entry-level jobs, internships

Passive Job Search Strategies

Once people start feeling better about the market, those currently employed will feel braver about considering job alternatives. While the market has not completely recovered, I find more people emboldened about their prospects and planning to look in early 2010. If you are one of those employed jobseekers itching to test the market, here are some strategies for a passive job search:

Shore up your job search foundation. Update your resume. Complete your LinkedIn profile. Send a holiday mailing as a fun way to get your contacts organized. Reach out to references, mentors, and your key stakeholders from past positions to make sure you haven’t lost touch. Do these basic maintenance chores now while you are not busy actively looking.

Take time for internal reflection. If a great opportunity came along, would you recognize it? Do you know what would make you leave? Do you know what you need in your next role to ensure it keeps you on the career path you desire? Are you ready for that next professional challenge or just bored (in which case you might want to start a hobby rather than a search)?

Get yourself known. If a great opportunity opened up, would the hiring company recognize you? Have you published or presented? Are you active in social networks? Are the people who do know you and like you able to describe what you’re good at and what interests you?

If you’re not sure about launching a search but want to test the waters, you need to use these passive job search strategies. Once you master job search strategies and incorporate them into your regular career management, you won’t need to worry about missing that next big thing. You will naturally be in touch with the market and able to pounce on opportunities according to your interest and timetable. That is the ultimately job security.

Filed under: career coaching , career management, career planning, job search, LinkedIn, references, resume

When A Job Search Moves Faster Than Expected

I asked an executive at a networking meeting for an informational interview and she wants to speak to me this week.  I thought these things take time, so I haven’t researched her company or her industry.  I don’t feel prepared but I don’t want to miss this opportunity.  What do I do?

This is a luxury problem!  Congratulations for putting yourself out there, asking for a meeting, and clearly representing yourself well enough that this executive wants to meet with you!  Too often we don’t celebrate our job search successes.  There is a ways to go before an offer is closed, but this is a step in the right direction, so take time to acknowledge this and savor a task well done.  Celebrating here isn’t just about feeling good.  There are practical benefits.  When I coach clients to troubleshoot their search, we don’t only look at the trouble; we also look at what went well.  You want to build on your successes, so capturing data on what works enables you to replicate the success for other prospective employers.

But we still have to get through this meeting.  Before an informational interview you want to research the person, her company and her industry.  The more research, the better, but there is plenty you can do even in a few days (or overnight if needed).  So never let a good opportunity disappear just to do more research.

Read the person’s LinkedIn profile, blog and Twitter feeds if they have any.  If they have presented or published, get to know their expertise.  Use Hoovers or Vault data to understand the company.  Read the press releases.  Understand what projects are in the works, what opportunities and challenges exist for them, and any recent accomplishments.  Check out the related industry’s professional trade association.  There may be a list of competitors, industry surveys that give you a snapshot about key issues for the industry, and cutting edge news.  You want to have a sense for the published information so you don’t ask questions about items that are readily available.  I’ve listed a lot of sources but with information readily available on the Internet, this process takes just a few hours.

Now form hypotheses.  A powerful informational interview is not just a laundry list of questions.  Your questions are a reflection of your interest and your expertise.  So take the extra step of forming hypotheses from the above research to test in your interview.  Instead of asking what challenges exist, offer what you think the biggest challenge is and ask your interviewee to confirm or refute.  This takes the burden off of them to come up with ideas.  They will appreciate the time you took to learn their industry.  Once you’ve collected their answers, it will be that much easier to speak to their competitor – not because you share confidential data irresponsibly (informational interviews don’t usually yield top secret data anyway) but because you can then say in your next interview that you’ve spoken to another leading company in that industry and here’s what you’ve found.

Good informational interviews build on each other.  They are a critical component of a proactive job search.  So when you bag a big target unexpectedly, it’s cause for celebration, not panic.  When a job search moves faster than expected, run with it.  There will be other companies that move more slowly than anticipated.  One fast company does not mean a fast job search overall.  Keep flooding your pipeline with more companies, ask for more informational interviews and don’t stop till you’re at your new job filling out your new hire paperwork.

Filed under: career coaching , informational interview, job search

SixFigureStart Quoted In CBS Moneywatch

Read my thoughts on working for free in Louise Tutelian’s latest article for CBS Moneywatch:

http://moneywatch.bnet.com/career-advice/article/volunteer-work-when-unemployed-should-you-work-for-free/356882/

Filed under: career coaching, resource recommendation , BNET, CBS Moneywatch, job search, Louise Tutelian, volunteer

How Final Round Job Interviews Are Different…Or Not

A workshop participant recently asked me, “How do I prepare for my final interview at [major financial institution]?”

Kudos to this person for recognizing that final round job interviews are different from other interviews.  At the finalist stage, the prospective employer knows much more about you and can tailor the interviews accordingly.  So dissect the rounds prior to this one and review what everyone who interviewed you asked and what you answered.  You need to be consistent.  You need to recall everyone by name (to show that you care).  You need to be able to summarize what you discussed (to show that you were listening).

However, you can never know that this is indeed the final round.  Unless you are a student and there is a very structured “Super Saturday” campus recruiting process where all interviews are completed in a day, it is never clear – even if they tell you it’s the final – that it’s the final.  A key decision-maker may not show.  The job spec may change ever so slightly just after finals time, and it turns out they need to screen for additional things.  Because you should never feel certain the final round is the final you need to interview as if there will be more rounds.  Don’t get over-anxious that this is a make or break.  Don’t get presumptuous pushing for a decision or making a hard close.  In this way, treat the final round like any earlier job interview.  Explicitly reiterate your interest.  Have intelligent questions to ask.  Leave them wanting more. 

I don’t want to give the impression from the above general pieces of feedback that I would not change how I coach a client through subsequent job interviews v. a general first round.  Since the employer knows more at this stage, so should my client.  We would need to review exactly what she said, not just to ensure consistency, but to assess what worked and what didn’t, what was left unclear or unsaid, what needs to be highlighted or refined.  Ultimately, the strategy for dealing with subsequent job interviews is highly personalized because each interview changes the nature of the job search relationship.  As the candidate, therefore, you need to be tracking this type of data and review it for what needs to be done specifically at this time and for this employer.  If you have two “finals” with two different employers, your strategy would still be different (same you, but different targets).  Final rounds are different, but each job interview is different, and a distinct, highly focused approach to each is required.

Filed under: career coaching , job interview, job search

3 Tips For Productive Interview Practice

A lot is written about how to interview well.  Most of the advice includes the benefit of practice.  But do you know the best way to practice?  You do not want the practice to turn into canned, impersonal responses.  You do not want to practice only specific questions so that you can’t deal with a question you didn’t expect.  You don’t want to practice bad habits.  Instead, here are 3 tips for productive interview practice:

Practice the process.  Dress up for your practice interview.  Set the environment to match where you might be.  Match the practice as close to the reality as possible.  In my mock interviews with clients, we open the session in interview mode.  No warm up coaching.  We just start.  The small talk we do is in the style of what would happen in the real interview.  That’s the way interviews are, and that’s the way they need to be practiced.

Practice phone interviews.  All of my clients practice phone interviews, not just live.  You need to handle phone interviews differently than live interviews.  The atmosphere is different – there is a danger of being too informal as you are typically in a more comfortable space.  The medium is different – energy doesn’t travel well over the phone.  The conversation is harder – you lose the visual cues so you have to listen more carefully in order to engage your interviewer.  If my clients are up to it, we tape the interview – no way to argue with their own voice saying those jumbled, hesitant, off-target responses.

Practice with someone who can actually help you.  One client gave me an interview response he learned from a family member that had me burst out laughing.  Turns out, as I expected, this person hadn’t been on the market for a decade, which explained the out-of-touch response.  Before you take advice, think about where it’s coming from.  If it’s a jobseeker, are they successful and do they work where you want to work?  If it’s a recruiter, what is their agenda and why are they being so candid?  (When I recruited I never gave candid feedback for liability reasons,)  If it’s a coach, are they psychoanalyzing you or do they know what it takes to get someone hired?  You want to get credible advice that you can actually use.  You don’t want to practice bad (or laughable) interview technique.

Filed under: career coaching , interview practice, job interview

Don’t Tell Me About Yourself

When recruiters ask the popular question, “Tell me about yourself,” they don’t really want you to tell them about yourself.  Recruiters don’t care to know where you’re born or why you selected that college or how you got your first and subsequent jobs.  They may ask and nod appropriately but they don’t really want to know.

Instead, they only want to know about you in relation to them.  If where you grew up means that you have an affinity to a geography that’s pertinent to an open position or their searches in general, then they care where you grew up.  If your first job is a direct parallel to a role they may have for you, then they want to hear about that.  The items of interest aren’t about you, but rather the link between you and the position.  Therefore, your primary objective isn’t to talk about yourself but rather to make that link between you and the position.

To this extent, your answer to “Tell me about yourself” can and should be different depending on who is asking you.  There are many facts about yourself so you can still be truthful while being selective.  Select those facts that highlight and strengthen the link between you and the person with whom you are speaking.  This of course implies that you know something about the interviewer and the position (remember to do this critical research!).  Then you can pick specific stories and examples that parallel the skills and experience you are expected to have.  You can highlight the interests that confirm you are motivated for the right reasons.  You don’t just tell them about yourself, but you reveal the myriad reasons why you are exactly what they need.

Remember, tell me about yourself = tell me why I should hire you.

Your interests = your desire for the job

Your background = your relevance to the job

Everything you say must promote and further your candidacy.  There is no line of questioning in the interview that is separate from the job.

Filed under: career coaching , job interview, job search

Social Networking Is Not Just About Networking

Because LinkedIn and Facebook are referred to as social networking, most jobseekers use them primarily or even exclusively as networking tools.  However, social networks are valuable at every stage of the job search, not just networking.

Target identification.  Use the detailed profiles in LinkedIn to get a better understanding of different job functions and career paths.  If you think you want to work in corporate philanthropy, find people who have these jobs and review their experience, skills, and projects.  Use this as a guide to what you might need in your career, or at least as good issues to research.

Company and industry research.  Again using the profile data, pay attention to how people talk about their work.  The projects people are working on are invaluable clues to deciphering what their company exactly does, especially when it is a small, privately held company with little published information about clients or projects.  Group Discussions are another way to get a sense for a company or industry.  Find a company alumni group or industry niche and follow the discussions or ask questions out right.

Salary data.  Use the Q&A function or specific Group Discussions in LinkedIn to collect data on salary, lifestyle, growth prospects, and other useful information for your own offer negotiation.   Because so many geographies and industries are represented on online social networks you can specify exactly what you are looking for and likely find a close proxy.

Filed under: Salary tip, career coaching , company research, Facebook, LinkedIn, salary negotiation, Social Networking

Do You Know Where Your Stakeholders Are

When I was growing up, there was a popular TV public service announcement that would ask, “It’s 10pm.  Do you know where your children are?”  This would presumably remind parents that they should keep tabs on their children.  They’re precious.  Parents are responsible for them.  Of course parents should know where their children are.

If you look at your career, there are stakeholders who are invested in your career.  These people are your precious allies.  They are relying on you so you have a responsibility to them.  But take your nose out of your work for a moment and think:  who are your stakeholders?  Is your boss a stakeholder?  Is it people in the department that you often have to share data with?  Is it senior management, two or three levels above you?  Is it your mentor, from an area of the company that isn’t much related to yours?  Do you know where your stakeholders are? 

Stakeholders are the people who have a vested interest in the success of your career – because it helps their career, because they happen to like you, because what you do makes their job easier.  Whatever reason it may be, you need to have stakeholders because these people will fight for you when plum assignments are given, when raises are decided, when restructuring means someone gets the short end of the stick. 

So your first step is to identify your stakeholders.  Who benefits from your work?  You then need to nourish these relationships.  Figure out why they are invested in you and make sure you play your part.    Finally, you should continually watch your stakeholders’ moves.  If your stakeholders are leaving, you need to know you can replace them or be prepared to follow them out the door.  If your stakeholders are doing well, see how you can move into their expanded sphere of influence. 

Proactive career management means that you pay attention to the benefit you bring to the company and your stakeholders.  Do not just blindly assume that people will notice your good work.  Be specific and deliberate about who you are serving and the value that your work provides.  You cannot be successful all on your own.  You couldn’t possibly know everything that is going on in the company or be at all places at all times to influence all people directly.  You need to cultivate stakeholders who will believe in you and speak up for you when you are not there.  In a market of increased job insecurity, powerful stakeholder relationships are a critical way to recession-proof your job.

Filed under: career coaching , career management, career planning, recession, stakeholder management, mentors