In the Business of You

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 returned from a trip to Florida and had the opportunity to meet a number of people who used to live elsewhere, but now call the Sunshine State their home. The vast majority of those folks moved to be with or take care of parents or just became tired of six months of snow and cold weather every year. One thing that each had in common was that they had found a job that was a great fit for their personality and skill set. Not coincidentally, each of these people seemed very happy with their job and demonstrated an above average level of customer service. Funny how that works! Whether you are passively or actively seeking a new place of employment, one of the most critical factors that cannot be ignored is being a great fit for an organization’s culture. Culture is not just a bunch of words in a mission statement or some slick poster on a bulletin board in the break room; it is the day-to-day energy that truly drives a company toward greatness. If you don’t fit well into a ...

Everyone who has experienced a forced job transition knows that there are a host of emotions to deal with during that period, many of which are not very pleasant. For the majority of the people with whom I do job search coaching, the most powerful of the “not too pleasant” variety are a lack of self-confidence and growing sense of self-doubt . Both of these emotions can stop a job search in its tracks. A good interviewer/hiring manager can quickly detect self-doubt or a lack of self-confidence in a candidate through tone of voice, body language, lack of eye contact, lack of passion in the delivery of answers/exchange of dialog and weak resume or LinkedIn profile. That said, the real question for candidates then becomes, “OK, then how can I overcome these negative feelings?” Start by embracing what we've all heard so many times over the years that we control our own destiny. Try thinking of that concept in this manner, “ E+R=O ”. What this short equation really means i...

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 ...

Recently, I attended the NFL game between my Cleveland Browns and the Buffalo Bills.  There were 71,000+ people in attendance and the majority of those fans were wearing something (hat, jacket, jersey) with the team’s colors (brown and orange).  Let’s say that someone that knew me was also at the game and decided to text to advise, “Hey, Mike…heard you were at the game…I’m here too”.  I would text them back to ask, “Great, where are you?”  If they responded with something like, “I’m wearing a brown hat”, that does not really help me find/see them…since probably 70% of the fans might also be wearing brown hats.  If they add, “Oh, also…I’m standing up”, that bit of additional information does help, but I still have little chance of finding my friend among  the 40,000 or so people who are standing up and wearing brown hats.  If my friend adds, “I’m eight rows up, on the 50-yard line, north side of the field, and next to the Browns’ mascot, who is walki...