Okay, so you gotta get out. I hear you. You’re practically screaming it from the rooftops. It’s time.
But let’s not be hasty here. Believe me; I’ve done this a few times. It’s much more effective to focus on doing it right. Here are a few of the ideas I like to review with my career coaching clients when they’re ready to give up and go home.
As a globally recognized Certified Professional Resume Writer, Executive Recruiter, and founder of Haute Resume & Career Services LLC, I review hundreds of resumes each year for unemployed job seekers who’ve often spent months unsuccessfully searching for a job. Most of these costly mistakes are easily preventable when the job seeker has educated him/herself in the art of resume writing.
Avoid these common mistakes on your resume!
Job seekers sometimes tell me that they’re actively looking for a job, but they haven’t seen anything online for a week or two, and they feel like their job search is becoming stagnant. This can be a very frustrating situation when you’re in desperate need of work. What can you do to move your job search forward when there doesn’t seem to be anything appropriate available?
This advert demonstrates an interesting way of making sure you're the last candidate standing (or sitting) at a job interview! What we want to know is-how did the two friends make sure they got shortlisted for the same job interview, on the same day?
I am trying to help a gentleman who was let go from “ABC Company” last month. My first impression was that he was laid off, but when I asked him some questions about the change he said he was terminated. Obviously I wasn’t there, but this person was at “ABC Company” for 20 years, had very successful performance reviews and then got a new manager (and from what it sounds like) this manager just really wanted someone different in his role and instead of laying him off, terminated him through progressive discipline and said he wasn’t meeting the requirements of the job. He won his unemployment case, but he’s having difficulty talking about this when he interviews. This person is very smart, focused and it’s hard to imagine him being terminated.
How should he best deal with this in job interviews?
There’s no question this can be a difficult situation, however, a 2-step strategy may be appropriate:
If, in an interview, he’s asked about the circumstances of leaving his last job, his initial response can be somewhat light-hearted, simplyh saying something like:
“Unfortunately, there’s a lot of people losing jobs these days.”
The interviewer might just leave it at that and move on. If they do ask for more specifics, however, it’s important he gives a brief, well worded answer that ends on a positive note, then ask a question that moves the conversation in a different direction. Too often people dwell on too many details that only serve to raise more questions and make the situation worse. When you’re in a hole… stop digging! He might say something like:
“I had been at “ABC Company” for 20 years with consistently positive performance reviews. Last year though, through some transitions in the organization, I ended up with a new manager. It’s not uncommon for a new leader to come in to a group and want to make changes. Unfortunately, I was one of those changes and ended up being separated from the company. In many ways, I’m looking forward to the opportunity this gives me to continue developing my career in a new environment! Can you give me a more detailed idea of what the expectations would be of me in this role in the first 3 to 6 months?”
He’s got to use words that are true, and comfortable for him to say. However, since this is something he knows is likely to come up in most of his interviews, it’s very important that he hone his words, and memorize them. If he “wings” his answer, he’s likely to ramble and dig a deeper hole.
Effectively discussing a termination is always difficult in a job interview. However, if you have a plan and are well prepared you can move past it and make the case why you are the best candidate for the job!
A fellow coach once told me that she had a client who spent so much time trying to craft perfect answers to each question that her body language was completely off. She was so nervous that she wasn’t connecting with any of the people she was interviewing with.
The key to being a great interviewee is you’ve got to give yourself time to relax. This means you must plan on arriving for your interview 10-20 minutes early. When you get to an interview late or in the nick of time you’re going to look and feel rushed. That is the last impression you want to leave a potential employer with.
Preparing for an interview is not as hard as some of you may think.
You may not know the exact questions you will be asked, but you can count on the questions focusing on two things; whether you have the experience, skills and knowledge to do the job, and whether you fit the perceived profile of the person this company is going to hire.
Taking this into account, here are some ways to develop a winning interview strategy.
Bonus Tips
1. Dress to blend in, not to impress. Do your homework to find out how others in the company dress and then dress accordingly. The two factors to know are how casual or conservative will be a turn on or a turn off. Research the culture and mirror it. It is not what’s in your closet that will impress people; it’s how well you fit in.
2. When in doubt smile. A smile brightens up a room and is infectious. If the interviewer is having a bad day a smile will turn it around. If he or she is having a great day, it will continue that feeling. Nobody wants to be around a sourpuss and even fewer people want to hire or work with one. Interviewers are looking for a connection, and you make that connection by smiling.
3. Remember, the interviewer is a human being as well. You’re not the only person in a room with someone they haven’t met. The interviewer is there to find out more about you so be polite, friendly and considerate.
4. Mirror your interviewer’s tone. Having the ability to empathize with others will serve you well in the interview and in life at the office. Pay attention to your interviewer’s body language and tone and do your best to match it. If they’re upbeat, you’re upbeat. If they’re not, rein your excitement in a little bit so that you don’t unnerve them.
Perry Newman, CPC CSMS is a nationally recognized executive resume writer, career coach, AIPC certified recruiter and SMMU certified social media strategist known for his ability to help his clients get results. You can view his sample resumes at http://www.perrynewman.com/, and email him your resume at perry@perrynewman.com for FREE resume critique.
Many times when I speak with business owners about analytics, the first statement that comes to mind is that analytics is for Search Engine Optimization: SEO, as we know it.
At that notion, my first reaction is is to shake my head. Because that’s not entirely right.
