May 2012
1 post
12 tags
Interviewing - A Two-way Street
A company interviews you, in part, to insure that you will be a good “fit” for their company culture. You must do the same to see if the company is a good fit for you.[[MORE]]
The questions you need to ask are similar to those you might be asked in a behavioral interview. They might include:
Why are you hiring for this position?
How many people have held this position in the last...
March 2012
2 posts
8 tags
The Myth of the "Killer" Resume
I have read numerous posts to blogs, Linkedin groups, and other publications about the killer resume. Resume writers (of which I am one) tell you they will create a “killer” resume for you, and job seekers agonizing over their resumes jump at the offer. The truth is there is no such animal as a “Killer” resume.
The “Killer” resume implies that there is a format...
9 tags
Goal Setting - The Implementation (Part II)
In my last blog, I described the WHYSMART goal. Writing down a goal is not enough, you have to develop an action plan to achieve the goal. The key to reaching a goal is the dedicated activity that drives you towards it.
The job seekers overarching goal is to get a job. Since this is enough of a large and complex task that innumerable books (including mine) have been written about the topic. You...
February 2012
1 post
6 tags
Goal Setting in the Job Search - Part I
I have said in previous blogs that positive activity will move your search forward and yield the results for which you are looking. For most job seekers, working at home find it difficult to stay focused and motivated during the low point in our careers. I have a way to keep myself focused…
Writing goals and establishing metrics motivates me to tackle tasks which may take me out of my...
December 2011
1 post
5 tags
The Job Search Campaign Design
Like any successful marketing or military campaign, you need to plan and organize your job search. The goal is to have a steady, productive level of positive activity that always drives your search forward. Here is what I recommend.
First you must understand two things - 1) finding a job is a full time job, 2) if you do not strike a balance with the other aspects of your life, you will burn out...
November 2011
1 post
8 tags
Run Your Job Search Like You Would Run a Company -...
So Mr. or Ms. CEO, in my last blog I talked about the first two parts of your company’s base - the product (you) and marketing. Now I want to address selling yourself. This is the point of the interview. Selling is a six step process. You cannot skip any of the steps - ever - under any circumstances. The interviewer, however, can skip some or most of these steps if he/she so desires.
Step 1...
October 2011
3 posts
6 tags
Run Your Job Search Like You Would Run a Company
There is a very lively discussion, started by Tyson Winfrey, in the “Hiring for Hope” group on Linkedin about treating your job search as a full time job. I agree with Tyson’s point of view, but I suggest you need to take it one step further. In reality, you are the CEO of your own company, and you are the product.
Granted, the salary sucks, but the responsibilities and focus...
5 tags
Activity - The Key to Success in a Job Search
The more activity you generate the faster you will move your job search forward and the sooner you will find that job. So how do you know if you are generating the right kind and amount of activity? I have a simple metric that you can use to gauge your activity level.
You know that 70 to 80% of all jobs are found through networking. That means that 70 to 80% of your time needs to be focused on...
4 tags
How The Movies Sharpened My Resume Skills
The goal of a movie trailer is to put movie goers in theater seats. The goal of the resume is to put the job seeker in the interviewee seat. The trailer does this by piquing the viewer’s interest enough to want to pay to see the movie. The resume does this by
piquing the reviewer’s interest enough to want to talk with the candidate further. The trailer does not go into the details of...
September 2011
2 posts
4 tags
The Greatest Obstacle Job Seekers Face
The greatest single challenge job seekers face today is not the economy, their age or technical background, or any of the other typical challenges about which you hear. The greatest challenge job seekers face is themselves! I do not mean to minimize the myriad of challenges that are encountered in the search. There are many difficult obstacles. However, all of these can be overcome by a...