In the Business of You

Source: Fotolia The job of an interviewer is to find that “needle in a haystack” candidate that clearly differentiates him/herself from what can be a large pool of applicants. It’s the job of the candidate to use the tools available to present a strong case as to why he/she is that special hire, the game-changer. Unfortunately, even with the overabundance of information that is easily accessible to today’s job seekers, the majority do not put in the time and effort necessary to create a “wow” experience for the interviewers and hiring manager. It takes a lot of work to find and ultimately be offered a great job! Out of what continues to be dozens or hundreds of applicants vying for each open position, often only a half-dozen or so will actually get the opportunity for a face-to-face interview. And, only a few of those will be asked back to continue the interview process. So, how does a candidate become one of those few and then “knock it out of the park” during the int

I’ve been a hiring manager now for nearly 40 years. During that time I’ve seen the majority of employees make the same mistake – they don’t invest in themselves from a career perspective. And, not doing so can significantly extend the amount of time it takes to find a new job, whether you are currently employed and looking, or in a job transition. The best time, of course, to make this critical investment in your career is while you are employed. Seems like common sense, doesn’t it? Yet, the VAST majority of employees fail to do so. The result of NOT investing in yourself while you are employed is that your resume may contain lots of bullet points about what you did, but little to nothing about what you actually accomplished and substantiation regarding why these accomplishments were considered to be outstanding in the eyes of the employer. There are two main premises regarding how employers/hiring managers look at existing/potential new employees: Why do I look/am I

Over the last three months, there has been an uptick in the number of people attending my presentations at various job seekers groups. That may be good news for professional resume writers and outplacement firms, but not so much for the general workforce.  Where there were 6 to 8 people in attendance during the majority of programs I presented in 2014 and 2015, my audiences this year thus far have numbered between 10 and 15 to close to 50. Another disturbing trend I’ve seen is that many of these people seem stunned that they were laid off/lost their jobs.  Really?  Having an “it can’t/won’t happen to me” attitude is unrealistic and has been so for the last three decades. What is stunning to most job seekers, who have not had to look for employment for the last 15 – 20+ years, is just how dramatically the job search landscape has changed. New job seekers are discovering a significant amount of tools, which they can use – most of which are related to technology, that w

Photo Source: Fotolia We just had over 70 people attend one of our job seekers' networking events during which I observed candidates “working the room”, but doing so with no real objective or purpose. Unfortunately, I see this happen more often than not and feel that it is representative of one of the biggest mistakes people make in regard to their networking activities; feeling compelled to meet everyone in the room/at the event. This is not a good strategy for a number of reasons, but mainly because a candidate may meet “everyone”, but he/she comes away having a lot of conversations of little value. The main purpose of any networking event is to get to know a few other people well enough to have them consider referring the individual to a decision maker within a targeted employer. Or, at a minimum, to feel comfortable enough to agree to a one-on-one follow up meeting. Thus, if you attend a networking event with 20 people or 70, set your sights on having quality conv

It is still a “buyer’s market” in the employment arena. Employers continue to receive sometimes hundreds of resumes per job opening (with many hundreds more being sent for no specific job, but with the hope that someone will notice how terrific is the sender). Thus, hiring managers and HR departments can and continue to be very selective regarding with whom they spend time speaking. Whether a candidate is a passive job seeker (currently working, but looking to make a move/switch employer) or in transition, he/she needs to significantly distance themselves from the competition. Jack Welch, legendary Chairman and CEO of General Electric, wrote in a June 4, 2013 post on LinkedIn: Avoiding These 3 Hiring Mistakes “Every smart idea matters. Every ounce of passion makes a difference. You cannot have a black hole in your organization where a star should be.” Most of us have, unfortunately, had the opportunity to work with/near some of those “black holes” (co-workers wh

(Photo source: Fotolia) I learned a very long time ago that the vast majority of people do business with people, not companies. In most organizations, the degree of success obtained can often be directly linked back to the strength of the relationships developed between provider and client. Remember that old saying, “Price is only an issue in the perceived absence of value”? I’ll often go to my local hardware store vs. a big box home improvement retailer because ALL of the employees of the neighborhood establishment seem to know “everything about everything” and are very willing to take all of the time necessary to explain how to use a specific tool or walk a customer, step-by-step, through the process of making a repair (using the part or tool being purchased). The large DIY stores advertise they have this same expertise, but often the actual delivery falls short of that claim. Job seekers frequently make this same mistake. For example, I've reviewed thousands of resu