Career Corner

Job Search Check Points

Been in your job search a while? Starting to feeling a little bogged down? Here are some tips:

Pause … re-group … and master any neglected areas mentioned here. Work with family and friends to thoroughly practice, polish, and hone your skills!

• Are you fluid with your verbal communications? "Tell Me About Yourself?": Can you present You, Inc. clearly and concisely?: "Why are you looking for a job?", Professional Objective – are they solid?
• Have you completed your resume? Updated it on the websites where it's posted?
• Are you confident in writing brief and clear letters that describe your skills?
• Have you completed a marketing plan along with a list of 40-50 target companies?
• Have you continued to increase your skills/adeptness in researching companies and industries (on the web or in your public library)?
• Is a space in your home set up to support your search?

Five Tips For Job Hunting in Today's Economy

In difficult economic times, job hunters often think, “There are no jobs out there.”However, even if the unemployment rate is 10%, that means that 90% are working. It’s true that hiring slows down, but it does not stop — there is always turnover and change.

Successful job hunting — in good times and bad — depends on the effectiveness of the job hunter. In bad times, it’s especially important to be focused and diligent and to have a well-organized job search strategy. Be sure your plan incorporates these key steps:

1. Define your personal job market.Create a marketing plan specifying the work you want as well as the geographic location, industry, and size of the organizations you will pursue. It’s the condition of your personal job market that’s most important, not the condition of the larger national job market. And, if the condition of yours is not great, you can modify your parameters to improve it.
2. Have a targeted list of companies in writing. A targeted list is just as important as a resume. It focuses your search and makes networking easier. Without one, you can’t be proactive.
3. Use progress measurements and benchmarks. Managers often say that “if you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.”
4. Beware of the Internet. It’s easy to get caught up in online job postings and ultimately neglect the important role networking plays in the job search. While the Internet is a useful tool to incorporate online postings and research to your overall plan, don’t let it control your search.
5. Take good care of yourself. If your progress measurements tell you that you have made good progress this week, take some extra time off — a long weekend, maybe — and do something relaxing.

Use the above tips to help you plan an effective search. With patience and persistent effort, you will successfully transition into a new job.

 

Career Direction-Can Tests Help??

I recently read an article about a parent who was trying to help her college-bound daughter select a career path.  She engaged a psychologist who administered an expensive series of tests.

This article peaked my interest because many of my clients come to me with questions about new careers. Some from burn-out and some from a real desire to follow their passion.

And, I do sometimes administer tests such as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® and/or the Strong Interest Inventory®. But tests are only the beginning. They usually prompt more thought and ask the participant to do some really soul-searching.

The author sums it up best when she says--“Trust your own interests. Do your homework. Tune in to the big picture. And be honest with yourself. If you can line up your passions behind your natural talents, even the most daunting obstacles may shrink to surmountable size.” Sue Shellenbarger at sue.shellenbarger@wsj.com

Don’t avoid career-base tests but don’t expect them to provide direct answers.

Accomplishments in Job Search

As I’ve mentioned before finding, remembering and documenting accomplishments/achievements is usually a serious challenge for most job seekers. If you’re like most of us you go to work every day, work hard and usually accomplish good things. Sometimes by yourself but, more often as a part of a team.

Then, once that project is over or the goal is attained you dust off your hands and start on the new work. We soon forget about the old work because we’re buried in the new stuff.

Now along comes the job search and someone in an interview asks---“Tell me about a time when--------.” Or, “Describe a situation when------.” And we go blank. We’ve all had it happen. Trying to remember all those good achievements in the middle of an interview is very difficult.

But having those real-life examples can make all the difference when the prospective employer makes its hiring decisions. It’s been estimated that over 70% of today’s employers use “behavioral-event” interviews to screen potential employees. To ace these kinds of interviews requires the ability to tell good stories.

My company teaches our job search clients to use a special technique to help you remember and tell good interview stories. This technique is called SOAR. That stands for;

Situation- what was the overall situation or problem you were faced?

Obstacle – what unique circumstance made the problem difficult to solve?

Actions– what specific action or actions did you or your team take?

Result(s) - how did your employer benefit from your actions? More revenue? Less cost?

So, the next time you are preparing for an interview use the SOAR technique to develop compelling stories to highlight your strengths and make you the preferred candidate for the job.

Handling the Salary Question

One of the toughest interview questions is “What did you make last year”. Or, “What is your salary requirement?” It’s just so easy to say $30,000---or whatever the amount.

So simple to answer-----but so dangerous.

A direct answer to most interview questions is the best policy. In this case, however, a direct answer may cause you to be eliminated from further consideration.

The salary question is asked for only one reason, to disqualify you. The recruiter has many resumes and must reduce the number quickly. The salary question is the best method.

From your standpoint, however, when you name a number—any number—you lose. How so, you ask?

If you state a number that is too low you may to seen as under qualified. The recruiter may reason “How could he/she possibly have the right experience at such a low salary?”

On the other hand, if you name a number that is too high you may be seen as over qualified. “We can’t afford to pay that much.”

And, naming a number that is in the range may limit your ability to negotiate a higher salary when the job is offered.

But what to do?

Try this. Simply say “I was well compensated in my last job, but what is the hiring budget for this job?” You may be pleasantly surprised at how often the recruiter will tell you the range. You can then say “It sounds like we can work something out when the time comes. In the meantime, please tell me about-------“; and then change to subject. Ask about anything other than salary or benefits.

Using this approach may save you from elimination during the screening process. It can also position you for a better salary negotiation when the job offer comes your way.

The DOL to the Rescue!

Thinking of changing careers but don’t know where to turn for help. Well help is just around the corner!

The Department of Labor has created one of the best online tools for helping people solve difficult career problems. The O*Net Center http://online.onetcenter.org/ has been developed to house a number of different tools to assist career changers.

You can research job titles, discover what skill sets are needed for what jobs and much more. The site also contains links to other sites such as Career One Stop http://www.careeronestop.org/ that helps to connect people with employers, research salary information, write resumes and learn about interviewing skills.

These are marvelous resources that all job seekers should know about and use on a regular basis.

The Main Thing

Job search slowing down? Anxious to “kick-start” your campaign?

As the proverb says, “the main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing”. Having a laser-like focus in your job search is critical to your success. And a list of target companies is critical to your focus.

A well-researched list of companies that could hire someone with your talents and skills can provide focus to your search. In addition, showing your list to anyone that you know can give your search a needed boost.

Your acquaintances are unlikely to know of a job or an opening but they may well know something about some of the companies on your list. Making the list the subject of your discussion can:
• Provide your friends, relatives and contacts a way to help you in your job search
• Eliminate the uncomfortable feeling of “asking for a job”
• Give you valuable information and possible contacts inside a target company.

So to re-energize your job search develop a list of companies and show that list to everyone that you know. Don’t ask for a job or information about openings. Ask for information about the company.

Then when someone gives you information about a company simply ask “How do you know that”.  Very often it’s because they know someone at the company.

Developing a Career Vision Can Energize Your Job Search

Having a clear picture of who you are and what you want to do is at the heart of any job search. Yogi Berra said it best when he said, “You gotta be careful if you don’t know where you’re going because you might not get there”.

Developing a career vision can be a terrific way to focus your job search efforts. A career vision is a statement about what you’ll be doing at some specific time in the future; say, five years.  What kind of job will you have? How will you spend your day? Will you be going to an office? Working from home?

Spent some time thinking about how you’d like to live and work. Now it’s time to write down your thoughts. 

Tip: Write your career vision in as much detail as possible. The more detailed the more real your vision will become.

Here is an example of Paul’s career vision:

“In five years I’ll be a consultant with clients in the transportation, warehousing and manufacturing industries. My projects will include distribution, logistics and supply chain management. I’ll work from my home office and will have 1,500 billable hours a year. My clients will be nation-wide and I’ll travel over 50% of the time. When I’m ready to retire I’ll sell my business to a national consulting firm.”

Remember, you need to really focus during a job search. Having a detailed, realistic career vision is a way to concentrate your energy and achieve your objective.

The Other Use for Networking

We often focus on networking as a way to uncover “hidden” job opportunities. And, there really is no better approach!

But are there other benefits of networking? You bet there are.

Just the other day a client was telling me about his exciting new position; the job of his dreams! It turns out that he found his job online but that the secret to getting the position was networking. Having initially located the opening and applying online he didn’t stop there.

By working his network contacts and using LinkedIn he was able to find several people who could tell him more about the company. He was even able to talk to a reporter who had written about the organization.

And he found several people who had worked in the same office. They were an invaluable source of information about the culture and even about his potential new boss.

In short, he became very knowledgeable about the company. And he used that information during his interviews. He was able to relate stories from his prior jobs that showed how his skills and experience that would be useful to the new employer. And, by the way, his former employer was in a very different line of business.

So who couldn’t resist hiring someone so well informed? It made their choice easy.

So don’t stop after applying for the job. Use your networking skills to actually get the job!

Rush to Judgment (Resume Judgment that is)

Many folks in job search rush to complete their resumes before considering the audience who will read them. Or, more important, what they want to do in the future.

It’s true that employers want to know what you can do for the company. Not, what you want to do for yourself.  That’s the reason we recommend not starting a resume with an objective statement. The company really doesn’t care about your objective.

But, you need a career direction so that your efforts will be targeted and productive. I recommend that you take the time to carefully consider your skills, personal characteristics, values and interests before you dive into resume writing. This review will help you to determine what kind of job is best for you.

And assistance is available. Many local community colleges offer career counseling services. The cost is usually reasonable. In this area one might try Johnson County Community College.

Or you might try My Life Coach http://www.mylifecoach.com/. You can take assessments and get feedback online.

One way or the other most job seekers will benefit by developing a solid career direction that will form the basis for their communication strategy including their resume and cover letters. And their job search efforts will be more focused and productive.