Tag: jobseeker

Nine Ways to Ruin A Job Interview

February 23rd, 2010

He threatens to keep singing until we hire him.Ask A Manager posts nine ways you can easily ruin a job interview.  I should just tweet a random number every once in a while and link to this post whenever someone uses one of these on me.  …but, then again it may be happening so frequently, I’d be going all Robert Scoble on everyone.

Here’s the nine for those of you who can’t click the link (my content is too engaging, I know):

  1. Pretend you have no weaknesses.
  2. Share too much personal info.
  3. Answer your cell phone
    (is tweeting ok? “In middle of bizoring job interview. Not sure I liek this biz, but teh marble bathroom are l33t!”).
  4. Ask questions about the company that could have easily been answered with a modicum of research.
  5. Badmouth an old boss.
  6. Be as quiet as possible.
  7. Don’t ask any questions.
  8. Interrupt.
  9. Don’t think beyond your desire to get a job offer.

The point is, you aren’t prepared for a job interview until you’re actually prepared for a job interview.  Get someone to ask you the hard questions. You know, the ones you don’t want people bringing up.  Your first two answers are wrong. Your third one might begin to be honest. The one you should say is one you can feel good about saying and not have to remember too hard. Here’s a few starter questions. (Please add your own in the comments!) :

  • So, you’ve been out of work for 17 months now… how’s that going?
  • What do you really want out of your career?
  • It seems this job is pretty different than what you’ve done in the past… why do you want to do this?
  • If you were a candy bar, what would you be? (just kidding!  Please don’t practice answering this. It means the interviewer’s only training was the “1 minute (hiring) manager for dummies”
  • What would your last boss tell me about you if she was being completely honest?
  • Why should I hire you?

In the comments, what questions have you ever been asked that totally caught you off-guard

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Use Your LinkedIn Profile as a Resume

December 2nd, 2009

Alison Doyle at About has a good article on how to use your LinkedIn Profile as a resume, along with great tips on using LinkedIn in your job search.

“One of the most important parts of LinkedIn is your profile. That’s what you use to connect with people in your network and your profile is how you get found on LinkedIn by potential employers. In addition, your LinkedIn profile can increase your visibility online and help you build your professional brand.”

Some ways Doyle outlines you should use your LinkedIn Profile as a resume include:

  • Adding a professional summary
  • Adding keywords and skills
  • Ensure your contact settings are current
  • Add links to other sources of information about you
  • Make your profile (or portions of it) public so you will show up in search engines
  • Grow your network
  • Get recommendations

There are a few other great suggestions along with details about each of these on Alison’s blog at About.com.

Personally, I don’t think you need a photo on your profile for it to be effective (in fact you should NEVER put a photo on your actual resume in my opinion) although I have one.

Also, it has long been a hand-tipping gesture to recruiters that someone may be just beginning to tip-toe toward searching for a new gig if their dusty LinkedIn profile suddenly gets a huge makeover. I say, keep it always updated, and keep ‘em guessing.

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Enjoy the Interview!

November 25th, 2009

Keith Ferrazzi jotted down four things you can do to enjoy your job interviews. (pssst: If you’re not having fun, nobody else is!)

  1. Make them like you.
  2. Find a reason to care about the person.
  3. Show them your passion.
  4. Tell stories

Head on over to the Ferrazzi-plex for the scoop on actually how to do each of those four things!

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Job Hunting? Sleep Through Thursdays

November 24th, 2009

I found a great post talking about the weekly drama that is job-hunting from Naomi Marr (web, twitter). In the post, Marr gives the run-down of a weekly jobseeker’s biorhythm and stops cold on Thursday–too far from Monday to be optimistic, and too far from Saturday to give up until the next week comes around:

    THURSDAY – it just bites. You realize – Holy crabgrass, Batman! – another week has escaped you. You’re still unemployed and while you’ve learned a whole bunch – that doesn’t pay the mortgage. The conversations you’ve been having all week haven’t materialized in any booked meetings for next week and you’re not sure how this is going to play out. Thursday is the day it becomes all too real. You’re frustrated, scared and sad.

So… how do you manage the “Thursdays” in your job search? Please comment, below!

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4 Things To Never EVER Put On Your Resume

October 27th, 2009

cover_letter_resumeI know things are becoming more and more open these days, and there is a lot of information about you that is simply searchable online, but there are still certain things a resume is good for, and other things that are just not crucial, especially when you’re just being introduced to a company.

Still, I occasionally receive resumes with some of these items on them or included in the cover letter.  They are not necessary, and can hurt your chances of getting hired.  Still, not having them included on your resume shouldn’t affect you one bit.

  1. Your Picture
    Your resume is not facebook (though some may say facebook is becoming your resume). Leave out your photograph for at least two reasons:
    • First, it is illegal for companies (in the US) to hire you based on your race or sex, age, etc. Having your photograph on your resume puts the company you’re applying to in an awkward spot. If they hire you, was it because of your race? If they did not hire you, was it because of your sex? Are you too old? Some companies will refuse to consider resumes with images because of the liability, which means you just got deleted from the possibility of landing the job.
    • Second: Humans make very quick judgements about things they may not be consciously thinking of. Do you want to have your appearance considered for the job (for better or worse) before you’re even interviewed? Isn’t dressing right for your interview stressful enough? Let your qualifications and intelligence speak for you, not your “buddy pic”. NOTE: If you are in a field where your physical image is part of the job, then, obviously, this is moot, but you knew that going in, I hope.
  2. Your birthdate or age.
    I am surprised how much I am seeing this lately, and usually from younger applicants (I know they are “young” because they tell me how old they are). I am guessing this is from a lack of experience, but this is both a very private piece of information (in this age of identity theft) and companies can not hire you (or not hire you) based on your age, and you throwing it out there just makes recruiters (and their attorneys) squeamish. Leave it off there.

    If we see you graduated this year and your last job was an internship, we’ll get the picture–you’re entry-level. We don’t send out birthday cards until after you’re on the payroll.

  3. Your social security number or other ID number (such as a resident alien ID).
    I see this frequently from individuals wishing to prove their citizenship or ability to work in the US. Maybe this is appropriate in other countries, but in the United States, simply stating “Authorized to work in the US for any employer” is sufficient.

    Please don’t give thieves a chance to steal your identity, either. If you included your birthdate as well, you should call your credit card companies RIGHT NOW.

  4. Your references.
    This one is a matter of respect as well as privacy of those people you list. It is fully appropriate to disclose that you have professional references (the other kind of references don’t really do anything anyway) and you will provide them when it makes sense. However, revealing your references should be done somewhere in the interview process, usually when the company is about to make a hiring decision. Read: After the 2nd round.

    I should note here that it is appropriate for you to call your references and let them know you have released their phone number to a certain company who may be calling. It’s only polite and, remember, your relationship with your reference is much more important in the long-run than your relationship with the ACME Bean Counter company who may be calling them.

In a word, this example from Not Hired is a pretty good description of what not to do:

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How to Annoy A Recruiter

March 17th, 2009

frustratedIts not fair, but recruiters pwn you when it comes to getting an interview. Until you’ve moved beyond the screening stage and your recruiter is actively working with you, TREAD CAREFULLY or some of these behaviors might lead to an eternal busy signal when calling your recruiter.

If you want to hurry up and wait, here’s some great ways to skip the line and jump headfirst into the “resume blackhole”:

  1. Blah, blah, blah and don’t respect their time.
    Once you get a meeting with a recruiter, its good to find out if they have time for you, and how much. Then keep to it. That shows respect, and smarts on your part… to juggle a conversation, and exit gracefully when the time is right. If the conversation is going well, but it’s time to leave, simply state something like, “I’d like to continue this, but I know we’re out of time. Should we reschedule?”
  2. Ask for an interview without knowing if there’s even a job open.
    Candidates know the recruiter is their gateway into the company. Coaches and job-hunters tell you to get an interview at all costs, but asking for one before you know there’s even a job can end up killing your chances to get one at all.Remember: The recruiter’s job is not to interview. The recruiter’s job is to find the right person to fill open positions. The interview is a tool in that process to be used with the right people at the right time. Not anytime.
  3. Call back. A lot. A few times everyday works best.
    It’s appropriate to call an office line and then maybe a mobile phone if they didn’t pick up. Leave a courteous message briefly reminding them of who you are and what specific position you’re interested in. Chances are high they know you called, but just can’t get back to you at the moment.  Recruiters have caller ID , too, and a hyper-sensitive awareness of phone-numbers and people (which are some basic DNA characteristics of a recruiter). If you consistently call multiple times a day (especially if you’re as reliable as Old Faithful), your recruiter may begin to find things to be busy with when you call. Or worse, out of nowhere, you’ll get a voicemail they left late at night (on purpose so you wouldn’t be there to answer) saying “Thanks, but no thanks.”Call. Leave a brief, specific message (referring to the exact role you’re interested in ). Possibly email the next day or two days later mentioning that you called a few days before, and asking for an update on the status of your application and/or the specific job you are interested in.  Let them know that, if there is no progress, or if you are no-longer a candidate, it’s OK for them to tell you.
  4. Promise to follow-up if they don’t get back to you.
    Don’t say, “I’ll check back in a few days if I don’t hear from you.”  A busy recruiter will simply say to themself, “OK, great. I don’t have to call you back, let’s see if you follow-through on your promise.” Its not polite to give someone a deadline for no reason at all. Putting them on the hook may just guarantee the phone stays on the hook whenever you call.
  5. Don’t take “no” for an answer.
    When you’re being told a position isn’t right for you, It’s completely fair to ask what was missing from your background or experience to keep you out of the running.  Ask for candid feedback, and request if there’s a seperate set of positions they feel you’d be more qualified for, or  if the things which limited your candidacy this time around can be improved upon for the next time.  Phrasing your questions like, “Is there something in the job requirements I do not meet?” will encourage your recruiter to be open and honest with you, and you’ll likely avoid platitudes like, “well, you’re just not a match” (the recruiter version of “we’re just not that into you”).

    Finally, when the call is complete, you may ask permission to email or call the recruiter if future opportunities arise, if you can connect with them on LinkedIn or another network you both use (LinkedIn recommendations are an excellent “parting gift” to your recruiter, btw), and then graciously thank them for their time and let them off the phone.

You should note that all of these suggestions change when you’ve moved beyond the passive/tense/delicate “screening” process and into the active “interviewing” process . In the latter, all of the above change, except the respect thing. That one seems to stick around for, well, ever.

The summary is to remember that your recruiter is just as interested in finding the right person to fill their jobs as you are in making the right move. Help them help you. Openness and respect mutually in the beginning will pay dividends. Respect them, be low-maintenance, don’t make them work hard for you and, when the timing is right, they will work very hard for you.

Good luck!

P.S. Enjoy a good laugh at other jobseeker’s sakes at NotHired.com. Some links may be NSFW. Others may make you roll with laughter.

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Standing Out From the Crowd

October 15th, 2008


If you’re vying for a position at a company, there is a fine line you must walk between looking like everyone else and being so different you don’t fit in at all.

Here’s a few simple ideas I can suggest for getting around the gatekeepers, receiving straight feedback, and (if you’re right for it) the job.

  • Research: Candidates who do their research on their target company immediately jump ahead of the rest when all skills are equal. And, don’t just regurgitate what the website says, dig deeper. Find out competitors, read analyst reports, blogs, insider opinions or comments left around the web by employees. Really look into the organization!A key research item people don’t consider is the people who you may know that work (or have worked) for that company. Respect their time (a.k.a. buy them lunch) and see how they would recommend you move forward with approaching the company.
  • Focus your Message: No joke, I received a resume today that said, “Objective: Any management position anywhere in your company.”  I have no idea what the rest of the resume said because I moved on instantly.Your goal is to coordinate all of the various skills and items on your resume into a cohesive, easilly-digested, sugar-coated tablet of skilled resume goodness. It needs to be an authentic representation of who you are (and what you’ve done), but it also needs to easilly/bluntly/obviously answer the question: “What will do you do for me that nobody else can do?”The most-crucial step of focusing your message is to also focus on your target audiences*! Will you speak to a recruiter first? A hiring manager? A gatekeeper of some other sort? If you’ve done enough research, this should be clear.* I made “audiences” plural on purpose. Don’t think for a second that your messaging to the recruiter and the VP should be the same!
  • Consistently Deliver the Message: Red flags get drawn all over your application when your story seems to change without rhyme or reason.Know your availability, know your schedule, know your salary expectations, and above all, know your elevator pitch – cold.Your presentation to whoever you speak with, on the phone, by email, or in-person, should reflect both the intensity and passion you want to bring to the job, plus your humanity and personality that would make working with you a breeze.Candidates who shift their message, or push too hard with their message, are equally as likely to be turned down as candidates who don’t have a rational message at all.

What other things have YOU done to find success with standing out from the crowd? Please share!


Checkout medical jobs at Health Jobs USA.

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How to Handle a Pay-Cut

August 12th, 2008

Hopefully, it won’t happen, but when times are tough, a company might come up with a need for executing a pay-cut. There are a few ways to look at this:

  • At least you’re not being fired.
  • Maybe this is negotiable.
  • What an opportunity to find something new!

Yahoo Hot Jobs posted a great set of questions you should investigate before agreeing to any kind of pay-cut, but before getting to that, the most immediate and important thing for you to do when presented with a reduction in salary is to NOT ACCEPT ANYTHING:

When your supervisor breaks the news to you about your pay cut, do not accept anything immediately. In other words, refrain from conveying any type of agreement, either verbally or in writing. If pushed, you may say something to the effect of “This is a lot to process right now. I need to think about this and discuss it with my family this evening.”

Once you’ve had a chance to catch your breath, here’s the things Yahoo suggests you should ask your superiors, followed by some things you should ask yourself:

Questions to ask your boss(es) include:

  • Is this a mandatory or voluntary pay cut?
  • How much will your pay be lowered by?
  • Who else is affected by the pay cut?
  • How long will the pay cut last?
  • Could there be retroactive reimbursement?
  • How will this affect raises, bonuses and benefits?
  • Are you going to have to work longer hours or take on additional tasks?
  • What are the company’s plans to turn things around?

Questions to ask yourself include:

  • How much do you need this job?
  • Do you have faith that the company will recover from this setback?
  • Can you trust what your superiors are telling you?
  • Is it time to move on?

At the end of the day, if you feel you’re being strong-armed by the company into accepting less wages, the red flags should start waving. I recommend seeking legal counsel and weighing your options very carefully. To protect yourself, do what you can to collect and document information that you might need to use later on, if necessary, to protect yourself if a court-case develops. As yourself: “If I am suddenly forced to leave the company, will I need this?”

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Don’t Be A Know-It-All

June 9th, 2008

A provocative post about Helicopter Parenting on Modite this morning reminded me of some advice I frequently give to job-seekers, but I don’t know that I’ve ever really mentioned it clearly here.

    Don’t lie. Admit when you don’t know something… but immediately prove to me that you can assemble the resources to get it figured out.

    This is the age of Google, not Brittanica.

    You don’t have to be a ‘Know It All’, but you should be a ‘Know How to Find-out It All’.

Funny thing is, like most “advice”, it sounds pretty plain and, well my millenial little sister would simply reply with “duh…”

But maybe someone will take value from it. What do YOU think? Have you ever LIED in an interview?

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Posted in Getting Hired, Interviewing, Know The Ropes, Millenials, My Side of the Desk

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Developing a Network of Passive Seekers

May 6th, 2008

I saw this plate the other day…

A few days ago, I wrote about how hard it is for good, employed job seekers to search for new work while retaining anonymity.

But what if a candidate is not really “looking”, but also wouldn’t pass up the right opportunity if it, well, fell in their lap…?

Sometimes the difference between someone “happily employed” and “happily employed… but listening” isn’t very much.  As an employer, how can you be attuned to those subtle shifts in perception of both your company as an employer, and their outlook as a candidate?

As far as I can tell, there is no way for someone to easily, passively and privately tell a company, “yeah, if you had something great for me, I would be interested.”

Is there?

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