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...

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...

Communication…it can be your greatest ally or most formidable enemy. As a job seeker, you are the CEO of your own job search, along with being the director of marketing and communications. This means that you are responsible for developing your search’s strategic plan along with being in charge of its implementation. You are managing this project. It’s a multi-step, time-intensive task and, unfortunately, many candidates struggle to do it well. Communication of your “story” (i.e., why a hiring manager should give you serious consideration as a candidate) is inclusive of all things written, verbalized and put into the digital world by you along with everything written, spoken and put into the digital world by others about you. All of this must be consistent with the message that you wish to deliver/be received by others. For example, it is not uncommon for someone’s resume and LinkedIn profile to look like they are describing two different people! This same thing also happens frequentl...

Just finished opening week for the major league baseball season. My hometown team, the Cleveland Indians, has thus far won three games and lost three. They've done some things very well and others…let’s just hope the poor play in the losses was the result of “jitters” and can be corrected quickly. As a fan, I was encouraged by how much better the team played last season than the previous year, but there is always room for improvement. Every player, no matter how well they perform, can always improve on part of their game. And thus it is the same with employees – we can always be working to sharpen up/improve some part of our skill set, no matter how wonderful we think we are. With still so many people submitting resumes for job openings (several hiring managers in my network have recently advised that they continue to receive “hundreds” of resumes for any one job posting), interviewers need some questions that will help them screen out candidates from consideration. ...

Recently I was interviewed for an Internet radio program on LocalJobNetwork.com and asked how hiring managers want candidates to answer questions related to why they should be selected over other applicants.  I believe that this remains one of those questions that candidates really dislike tackling and struggle with because there seems to be no real right or wrong answer. What I suggested to the interviewer and program host, Tim Muma, were some paths to take, which might have a much higher chance of impressing the person asking the question: Do not focus on the negative – Hiring managers don’t want you to bash other candidates – about whom you most likely have little to no knowledge. What interviewers really want to hear is the “WHY” - those specific reasons why you are such a great fit for the position, their team/group and the organization. The quality of your answer in this regard will be the result of how well you can “connect the dots” from your skill set to the...

There is a popular exercise program that has been out on DVD for a while called P90X, that displays the words, “Bring it” at the beginning of the first disk of the set.  This is done to establish the tone for what the instructor, Tony Horton, is going to put you through as you perform each of the suggested exercises.  And, the key is not so much the exercise itself, but the energy that Horton tells the listener they need to bring to really make the program produce the desired results. Understanding human nature the trainers promoting such programs quickly disclose that, “individual results may vary”, with the knowledge that only a small percentage of those who start the process will have the commitment and energy necessary to accomplish something meaningful. How true…not only for exercise or diet programs, but also for the many challenges that come out of searching for and landing a new job. In just the last few months, I've run across an increasing number of ...

Over the past several weeks, I've had one-on-one meetings with dozens of job seekers in regard to their resumes. I often ask, “Why are you here today to meet with me? What do you wish to take away from our meeting?” Most often the response is something such as, “I am not getting many interviews or being eliminated early in the interview process and want to figure out where is, for me, the weak link in that chain.” What I continue to find is one of the most common issues/problems with candidates…They are providing me/the hiring manager (in the resume or during an interview) with a lot more information than is relevant for the position, or spending all of their resume space or interview time relating what they DID vs. what they ACCOMPLISHED, and that is not how to communicate the “wow” factor and why they may be my ideal candidate. What you DID relates to tasks, your ACCOMPLISHMENTS tell me about what outcomes were produced as a result of your actions. And, hiring ma...

If a company tells you that they brew the best beer in the world, but have minimal sales and no awards to show for their efforts, how believable is their claim of having an outstanding product? We can all say whatever we wish about our abilities and achievements, but, as the saying goes, “the proof is in the pudding”. And thus is the challenge for today’s job seekers…making believers out of skeptical hiring managers. This is actually not that difficult to accomplish, but it does take a significant investment of a candidate’s time, which is something that the vast majority of job seekers are still NOT willing to do. This means that those candidates who do elect to put in the time and effort necessary to develop a truly “killer” resume and memorable interview discussions, can very quickly distance themselves from a large percentage of those competing for the same job opening. Here are some tips that should help your actions (accomplishments) speak for themselves: • Telling me wh...