Hireway.com

Go Above and Beyond

If you have spent a good deal of time seeking out a new position, chances are you have had a number of interviews only to get cut from consideration in the final round. Maddening! The trick is to go above and beyond all the way to the end. It is in the final round where your stress is at its peak and your interview know-how begins to falter. Here are three ways to stay strong and see success.

Three ways to interview like a true pro:

1. Prove it. Convey your IMPACT and VALUE all the way through. This starts on your resume and it continues during phone screens, which are the two key points where prospective employers are trying to rule you out, not in. During in-person interviews, that frame of reference shifts for them and they become truly receptive to what you bring to the table. Don’t let your guard down. The first interview is to solidify your talents and clarify expected contributions to a new team. Final round interviews contribute significantly to final decisions about personality, likability and overall fit. Convey concrete examples of your successes within a team including how you worked well with team members and team leads plus examples of how you treated each other accordingly.

2. Align it. Make sure the prospective organization does not have any doubts about your technical abilities. Whenever there are technical qualifications spelled out, take the time to learn more about any of which you are not truly proficient and well aware of the software vendor’s strategic direction. Go to their website and read the product reviews, press releases and yes, take advantage of the customary 30-day free trial. Show prospective employers that you have what they need, in detail. Talk about a technical requirement like it is the most comfortable topic in the world.

3. Connect it. Connect your list of references to the job you want. In other words, compile a list of professionals who can verify that you have done the tasks that will be required of you in a new position. But go above and beyond and provide additional contacts that can speak to how well you gel with a team and how you support the team’s efforts from start to finish. Find people who will verify that you were able to re-energize the team when the project bogged down or presented a creative solution when initial plans went awry or was the first to congratulate everyone on a job well done and voiced credit to others in a truly supportive way.

So, stay strong through to the finish line. Start with these three tips for first-round interviews, too, because sometimes that’s all they need to make a decision. And remember that competition remains fierce all the way up to the point of the job offer.

You can do this!

-Lisa

Change Your Job, Change Your Life

The “usual tactics” just won’t cut it!

Go Beyond the Basics:
Following basic advice will yield basic returns. That simple statement speaks volumes, especially in this ultra-competitive and saturated job market. The unemployment rate jumped from 4.7% in November 2007 to 10.2% in October 2009 and the Bureau of Labor Statistics expects the rate to drop to 5.1% in 2018. “The unemployment rate associated with full employment is thought to be around 5.0 percent” (BLS, Monthly Labor Review, pg 13., http://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2009/11/mlr200911.pdf). That’s good news for the longer term, but what do you need to do NOW?

Stop Chasing Job Leads:
Conventional advice tells you to find job openings that match your skills and qualifications. These days, the emphasis needs to be upon the companies themselves, not posted openings. For example, if you are looking for work in higher education, create a list of all the colleges and universities in your target area. Learn all you can about each one and build your network alliances within each. Looking for a job in finance? Build your list of financial institutions. No matter what industry you want to work in, first build your list of companies within that industry and your geographic location.

Build Allies, Not Contacts:
It is not about your number of contacts, especially if you are not maintaining a productive dialogue with a large percentage of them. Pull up your list of contacts and objectively evaluate each one. Which ones are currently employed with direct access to the hiring managers within their organization? Which ones are hiring managers themselves? Which ones previously worked at a company on your list and can give you the inside scoop in terms of company culture, hiring process, and divisional structure? Once you have them identified, see my tips on “Working Your Network”.

Find Out, Never Assume:
Check your assumptions at the door. These could be assumptions about your resume, job search strategy, opportunities that do or don’t exist, your age, your industry, your certifications… you name it. Question your sources of information. What qualifications do the people have who are providing you with advice. Are they providing you with real, usable knowledge? Or are they simply fueling your assumptions? One useful starting point: 2008-2018 Employment Outlook produced by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, published November 2009. Previous employment projections were based on 2006-2016 horizon and had not taken current economic conditions into consideration.

Kick off 2010 armed with the very best information and tactics. Keep your hope, faith and ENERGY alive. You can do this!