Do’s
Have a complete profile for all of the social media sites that you participate in. It is a good idea to have a blog or other URL that you can refer people to. If you don’t have a blog, you might create a web resume and use that URL on Twitter and LinkedIn where hiring managers and recruiters can learn more about your background.
Learn about the etiquette that is expected on each different social media site. LinkedIn is a professional site, so you should conduct yourself accordingly. Facebook is often a mixture of personal and professional, and because of the brevity of your posts (or tweets) on Twitter, you can use a lot of abbreviations.
Give as well as get. Be willing to share your expertise so that social networking is a two-way street. For example, if someone posts a question that you know the answer to, respond to the question so that you can be generous with your knowledge.
Be open to connecting with a lot of different people to extend your reach on social networking sites. The more people who know about you and what you have to offer is the more that you open yourself up to potential opportunities.
Don’ts
Don’t expect to find a job immediately just because you are using social media. You have to build relationships with people, and that takes time.
Don’t simply fill out your profile and expect to be found by a hiring manager. Get involved with each site that you are a member of so that you can get the most out of it.
Don’t wait for people to connect with you. Connect with them. Actively seek out people in your field that you can connect with. Most people will connect with you because they are on social media sites to network.
Find groups of likeminded people that you can join. Groups are a good way to find out what people are talking about and join the discussion. Participating in groups can raise your visibility.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
WHAT TO DO WHEN YOUR CAREER DOESN’T GO AS PLANNED
Many people who have put an incredible amount of time and energy into their careers find themselves frustrated when they are confronted with career setbacks. It could be that your career is stalled. You find yourself unable to move any further up the corporate ladder. Or your career may temporarily be in neutral. You may have been laid off or downsized, and you are now involuntarily unemployed.
What’s the best way to handle these career setbacks? Here are some tips to get you back in gear:
Stalled Careers
People who do not get promoted in the time that they thought they would usually either react with anger or with self blame. Those who react with anger often refuse to give their best to the organization after being met with this type of disappointment. They look at those who have been promoted, and if they sense that the process has been unfair and that their hard work has gone unrewarded while others who, in their opinion, have not worked as hard have moved on to higher positions, they usually either start looking for other positions or stay and refuse to do any more than they have to.
Those who blame themselves may work even harder and try to assess what other people did right that they did wrong. They are not as likely to look outside of their current situation for another job.
You should look both internally and externally for reasons to explain why you did not get the promotions that you were seeking. Particularly in a bad economy, it is often the case that employees were not promoted because there was nowhere for them to go. Many people are delaying retirement, and that leaves fewer positions up the ladder to aspire to. But at the same time you should be objective about your own job performance to make sure that you are not sabotaging your own career and derailing your own promotions.
Objectively weigh your options at your current place of employment. It could be that simply moving to another department may provide you with more career mobility. Maybe a mentor could help you navigate the landscape and help you continue to move up. If you realize after your objective assessment that there simply aren’t any more opportunities for you at your current company, decide whether or not you want to find an opportunity elsewhere or if you prefer to make the best of it. If you decide to make the best of it, you might think of ways that you can increase your job satisfaction where you are, such as mentoring someone junior to you in the firm, participating on organization-wide committees, or volunteering in a company-sponsored community service program.
Being Laid Off, Downsized, or Reassigned
People who find themselves laid off, downsized, or reassigned run the gamut of emotions--fear, anger, shame, revenge, disappointment, relief, and even joy. The people who bounce back from such situations are successful because they have a network of supportive people that they can vent to and rely on for practical assistance in their job searches.
If you have lost your job, you should make the best use of any resources available to help you find new employment. If your employer offers outplacement, as a newly laid off worker, you should definitely take advantage of it. If this is not available, you should take advantage of state resources through the Office of Employment Services. In the case of employer-sponsored or state-sponsored resources, you can obtain assistance with your resumes as well as access to online resources to find jobs.
It is also critical that you keep a positive attitude even when the job search drags on. Many people give up and stop looking for a job. And some who do continue looking having a defeatist attitude which comes across during the interview process. Those who eventually land good jobs are realistic about the job market, but they also are able to convey an upbeat attitude to employers.
The bottom line is that you do not have to let a career setback stop your career. Use it as a steppingstone instead of a stumblingblock.
What’s the best way to handle these career setbacks? Here are some tips to get you back in gear:
Stalled Careers
People who do not get promoted in the time that they thought they would usually either react with anger or with self blame. Those who react with anger often refuse to give their best to the organization after being met with this type of disappointment. They look at those who have been promoted, and if they sense that the process has been unfair and that their hard work has gone unrewarded while others who, in their opinion, have not worked as hard have moved on to higher positions, they usually either start looking for other positions or stay and refuse to do any more than they have to.
Those who blame themselves may work even harder and try to assess what other people did right that they did wrong. They are not as likely to look outside of their current situation for another job.
You should look both internally and externally for reasons to explain why you did not get the promotions that you were seeking. Particularly in a bad economy, it is often the case that employees were not promoted because there was nowhere for them to go. Many people are delaying retirement, and that leaves fewer positions up the ladder to aspire to. But at the same time you should be objective about your own job performance to make sure that you are not sabotaging your own career and derailing your own promotions.
Objectively weigh your options at your current place of employment. It could be that simply moving to another department may provide you with more career mobility. Maybe a mentor could help you navigate the landscape and help you continue to move up. If you realize after your objective assessment that there simply aren’t any more opportunities for you at your current company, decide whether or not you want to find an opportunity elsewhere or if you prefer to make the best of it. If you decide to make the best of it, you might think of ways that you can increase your job satisfaction where you are, such as mentoring someone junior to you in the firm, participating on organization-wide committees, or volunteering in a company-sponsored community service program.
Being Laid Off, Downsized, or Reassigned
People who find themselves laid off, downsized, or reassigned run the gamut of emotions--fear, anger, shame, revenge, disappointment, relief, and even joy. The people who bounce back from such situations are successful because they have a network of supportive people that they can vent to and rely on for practical assistance in their job searches.
If you have lost your job, you should make the best use of any resources available to help you find new employment. If your employer offers outplacement, as a newly laid off worker, you should definitely take advantage of it. If this is not available, you should take advantage of state resources through the Office of Employment Services. In the case of employer-sponsored or state-sponsored resources, you can obtain assistance with your resumes as well as access to online resources to find jobs.
It is also critical that you keep a positive attitude even when the job search drags on. Many people give up and stop looking for a job. And some who do continue looking having a defeatist attitude which comes across during the interview process. Those who eventually land good jobs are realistic about the job market, but they also are able to convey an upbeat attitude to employers.
The bottom line is that you do not have to let a career setback stop your career. Use it as a steppingstone instead of a stumblingblock.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
On Being Jobless
With unemployment at a record high, many are finding themselves jobless, and they are wondering what to do with this unexpected gift of time.
Here are some suggestions for using this time wisely:
Assess your marketability. Have your skills fallen behind? Are you on the cutting edge as far as your chosen profession is concerned? If you find that you are not as marketable as you would like to be, this period of joblessness can be put to good use to sharpen your skills so that you are attractive to a potential employer. Attending professional association meetings can bring you up to speed with what's new and what's hot in your field. If you don't know the latest software packages, now is a good time to take a short course.
Use the time that you are unemployed to explore a new field or industry. Having worked in outplacement for a number of years, I know that often people who would have never considered doing anything different feel a certain sense of freedom to pursue other options once they lose their jobs. In many cases people find something that is much more fulfilling than they were doing before. For those job seekers who are fortunate enough to have severance packages that will tide them over for several months, this is an opportune time to do some exploration.
Expand your network. Most people find themselves too busy with work and family to devote much time to networking. But unemployed job seekers have time on their hands, and it is up to them to use it wisely. As a career coach I suggest to my clients that they join professional associations and get involved on LinkedIn to expand their network beyond the people they knew on the job.
Enjoy your family. Use this gift of time to participate in activities with your family that you didn't have time to do when you were working. It's a worthwhile investment.
Here are some suggestions for using this time wisely:
Assess your marketability. Have your skills fallen behind? Are you on the cutting edge as far as your chosen profession is concerned? If you find that you are not as marketable as you would like to be, this period of joblessness can be put to good use to sharpen your skills so that you are attractive to a potential employer. Attending professional association meetings can bring you up to speed with what's new and what's hot in your field. If you don't know the latest software packages, now is a good time to take a short course.
Use the time that you are unemployed to explore a new field or industry. Having worked in outplacement for a number of years, I know that often people who would have never considered doing anything different feel a certain sense of freedom to pursue other options once they lose their jobs. In many cases people find something that is much more fulfilling than they were doing before. For those job seekers who are fortunate enough to have severance packages that will tide them over for several months, this is an opportune time to do some exploration.
Expand your network. Most people find themselves too busy with work and family to devote much time to networking. But unemployed job seekers have time on their hands, and it is up to them to use it wisely. As a career coach I suggest to my clients that they join professional associations and get involved on LinkedIn to expand their network beyond the people they knew on the job.
Enjoy your family. Use this gift of time to participate in activities with your family that you didn't have time to do when you were working. It's a worthwhile investment.
Monday, April 6, 2009
WHY EXECUTIVE JOB SEEKERS NEED TO JOIN THE SOCIAL NETWORKING CRAZE
It seems everyone is talking about social networking. Articles abound on how to use LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook for your job search.
Is this just a phase, or is social networking here to stay? Can executives actually find these tools useful or are they just for new college grads?
Here are some compelling reasons for executives to incorporate these tools into their job searches:
The number of job postings has declined. According to Scripps News, “Despite the boom in traffic, many recruitment sites are taking a financial hit. Many charge employers to post openings, a far less frequent activity in these days of hiring freezes and layoffs.
Indeed.com, a major job board, found that there were 119,171 postings for the accounting industry in January, down 53 percent from a year earlier. Postings in technology were down 43 percent to 395,629. The sectors that held up the best were health care, which was down 8 percent to 581,625 postings, and education, in which postings fell 9 percent to 62,933.” (“Traffic on Job Websites Jumps,” Scripps News, March 13, 2009)
The amount of traffic to job boards has jumped. “With the unemployment rate rising to 8.1 percent nationwide, career sites are booming in popularity as users desperately look for work. Traffic to job search sites, for instance, grew 51 percent in January from the same month a year earlier, according to comScore Media Metrix.” (“Traffic on Job Websites Jumps,” Scripps News, March 13, 2009)
A large number of recruiters maintain a presence on social networking sites like LinkedIn. “LinkedIn has recently been adding a million new members every two weeks, and officials say more than 829,000 HR professionals and 521,000 corporate recruiters now use the network.” (“LinkedIn Beefing Up Recruiting Tools,” Workforce Management, January 9, 2009) With hundreds of thousands of recruiters on LinkedIn alone, executive candidates cannot afford not to use this tool to connect to people who are seeking to fill positions.
Increasingly recruiters are searching online for candidates instead of simply advertising jobs on job boards. According to MSNBC, “These days, small and midsize companies aren't even posting jobs, instead going to sites like LinkedIn in search of their ideal candidate. (“Using LinkedIn to Maximize Your Job Search,” MSNBC.com, March 12, 2009)
And an organization called Organic explains it this way in Advertising Age: “Why are we weaning ourselves from traditional job boards? Simple: We get results from social-networking tools -- with no expense. Every day we discover new and innovative ways to use social media for our recruiting efforts. While Twitter and other social-media sites may seem like the flavor of the month, the real proof is in the numbers. In terms of return on investment, there is no investment besides time. From a branding perspective, it's always a win. Retweeting is easy and more far-reaching than a static posting a job on a traditional job board. With a solid social-networking strategy, most companies can reduce job-board spending quickly, while pinpointing discipline- or industry-specific candidates. (“Why Tweeting Has Become Organic's Main Job-Posting Strategy,” Advertising Age, March 31, 2009)
Executive recruiters regularly search the Internet for additional information on executive candidates. “In a(n) . . . ExecuNet survey about reputation management and Internet presence, 86 percent of executive recruiters say they routinely scour online sources for information that goes beyond a candidate’s résumé. Nearly 7-in-10 search firm consultants say that executive job candidates’ prospects improve when positive information is found online.” (2008 Executive Job Market Intelligence Report from ExecuNet)
Networking is a lifelong career strategy. The New York Times calls social networking your career safety net (The Social Network as a Career Safety Net, The New York Times, August 13, 2008). The Financial Post states it this way: “Maintain your presence online. Some people believe Facebook is destroying America. But if you lose your job, you'll probably lose e-mail addresses for all of your colleagues, and you'll need some way to stay in touch. As Kay Luo, a spokeswoman for LinkedIn advises, "Build your network before you need it." (“How to find a job online,” Financial Post, March 20, 2009)
Is this just a phase, or is social networking here to stay? Can executives actually find these tools useful or are they just for new college grads?
Here are some compelling reasons for executives to incorporate these tools into their job searches:
The number of job postings has declined. According to Scripps News, “Despite the boom in traffic, many recruitment sites are taking a financial hit. Many charge employers to post openings, a far less frequent activity in these days of hiring freezes and layoffs.
Indeed.com, a major job board, found that there were 119,171 postings for the accounting industry in January, down 53 percent from a year earlier. Postings in technology were down 43 percent to 395,629. The sectors that held up the best were health care, which was down 8 percent to 581,625 postings, and education, in which postings fell 9 percent to 62,933.” (“Traffic on Job Websites Jumps,” Scripps News, March 13, 2009)
The amount of traffic to job boards has jumped. “With the unemployment rate rising to 8.1 percent nationwide, career sites are booming in popularity as users desperately look for work. Traffic to job search sites, for instance, grew 51 percent in January from the same month a year earlier, according to comScore Media Metrix.” (“Traffic on Job Websites Jumps,” Scripps News, March 13, 2009)
A large number of recruiters maintain a presence on social networking sites like LinkedIn. “LinkedIn has recently been adding a million new members every two weeks, and officials say more than 829,000 HR professionals and 521,000 corporate recruiters now use the network.” (“LinkedIn Beefing Up Recruiting Tools,” Workforce Management, January 9, 2009) With hundreds of thousands of recruiters on LinkedIn alone, executive candidates cannot afford not to use this tool to connect to people who are seeking to fill positions.
Increasingly recruiters are searching online for candidates instead of simply advertising jobs on job boards. According to MSNBC, “These days, small and midsize companies aren't even posting jobs, instead going to sites like LinkedIn in search of their ideal candidate. (“Using LinkedIn to Maximize Your Job Search,” MSNBC.com, March 12, 2009)
And an organization called Organic explains it this way in Advertising Age: “Why are we weaning ourselves from traditional job boards? Simple: We get results from social-networking tools -- with no expense. Every day we discover new and innovative ways to use social media for our recruiting efforts. While Twitter and other social-media sites may seem like the flavor of the month, the real proof is in the numbers. In terms of return on investment, there is no investment besides time. From a branding perspective, it's always a win. Retweeting is easy and more far-reaching than a static posting a job on a traditional job board. With a solid social-networking strategy, most companies can reduce job-board spending quickly, while pinpointing discipline- or industry-specific candidates. (“Why Tweeting Has Become Organic's Main Job-Posting Strategy,” Advertising Age, March 31, 2009)
Executive recruiters regularly search the Internet for additional information on executive candidates. “In a(n) . . . ExecuNet survey about reputation management and Internet presence, 86 percent of executive recruiters say they routinely scour online sources for information that goes beyond a candidate’s résumé. Nearly 7-in-10 search firm consultants say that executive job candidates’ prospects improve when positive information is found online.” (2008 Executive Job Market Intelligence Report from ExecuNet)
Networking is a lifelong career strategy. The New York Times calls social networking your career safety net (The Social Network as a Career Safety Net, The New York Times, August 13, 2008). The Financial Post states it this way: “Maintain your presence online. Some people believe Facebook is destroying America. But if you lose your job, you'll probably lose e-mail addresses for all of your colleagues, and you'll need some way to stay in touch. As Kay Luo, a spokeswoman for LinkedIn advises, "Build your network before you need it." (“How to find a job online,” Financial Post, March 20, 2009)
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Using LinkedIn for Your Job Search
If you are new to LinkedIn, and you know that you should use this tool to search for a job, but you don’t know where to start, take advantage of these tips to make the most of this online professional networking site.
Fill out your profile completely and view it as your online resume. Recruiters will be searching for keywords to identify top candidates, so make sure that your profile, just like your resume, has keywords specific to your field on it. If you don’t use keywords, your profile may not show up when a recruiter does a search.
Get recommendations from bosses and colleagues. The fact that people are willing to publicly endorse you carries weight. Make sure that you have strong recommendations on your profile. One way to get recommendations is to give them. Offer to write recommendations for colleagues; they are likely to reciprocate.
Raise your profile on LinkedIn by asking and answering questions in your field of expertise on the Answers section of the website. Good, thoughtful questions as well as answers will get you noticed. You can also earn expertise on Answers by having your answer rated as the best answer out of everyone who responded to a question. When you earn expertise, that shows up on your profile and makes a good impression on a recruiter.
Join groups on LinkedIn and make sure that you participate. Again, this raises your profile.
Use LinkedIn to expand your network. You can search for alumni of the college or university you attended and send these people invitations to connect with you. Also, you can invite people to connect with you that you have met on LinkedIn through Answers or through a profession-specific group.
The people you know are connected to people that you don't know. Continue to build your network online beyond your immediate circle. You can connect to people who are second and third level contacts through introductions on LinkedIn, and you can join groups that are related to your area of expertise.
Ask for introductions to people who are in companies that you are targeting. You can easily do a search to find out who works at the companies you are interested in who might be a second or third level contact. Ask your first level contacts for introductions to others who can help you with your job search.
Search for jobs on LinkedIn's site. You will get job listings that are not only posted on LinkedIn, but also on simplyhired.com. This feature allows you to see who in your network works for that particular company. This is a really useful tool to network your way into a company that has an opening in your field.
Avoid misspellings on your profile and any answers/questions that you post. Misspellings make you look unprofessional.
Don't use a picture on your profile that sends an unflattering message. Your picture does not necessarily have to be a studio portrait, but it does need to portray you in a professional light since this is a professional social networking site.
Fill out your profile completely and view it as your online resume. Recruiters will be searching for keywords to identify top candidates, so make sure that your profile, just like your resume, has keywords specific to your field on it. If you don’t use keywords, your profile may not show up when a recruiter does a search.
Get recommendations from bosses and colleagues. The fact that people are willing to publicly endorse you carries weight. Make sure that you have strong recommendations on your profile. One way to get recommendations is to give them. Offer to write recommendations for colleagues; they are likely to reciprocate.
Raise your profile on LinkedIn by asking and answering questions in your field of expertise on the Answers section of the website. Good, thoughtful questions as well as answers will get you noticed. You can also earn expertise on Answers by having your answer rated as the best answer out of everyone who responded to a question. When you earn expertise, that shows up on your profile and makes a good impression on a recruiter.
Join groups on LinkedIn and make sure that you participate. Again, this raises your profile.
Use LinkedIn to expand your network. You can search for alumni of the college or university you attended and send these people invitations to connect with you. Also, you can invite people to connect with you that you have met on LinkedIn through Answers or through a profession-specific group.
The people you know are connected to people that you don't know. Continue to build your network online beyond your immediate circle. You can connect to people who are second and third level contacts through introductions on LinkedIn, and you can join groups that are related to your area of expertise.
Ask for introductions to people who are in companies that you are targeting. You can easily do a search to find out who works at the companies you are interested in who might be a second or third level contact. Ask your first level contacts for introductions to others who can help you with your job search.
Search for jobs on LinkedIn's site. You will get job listings that are not only posted on LinkedIn, but also on simplyhired.com. This feature allows you to see who in your network works for that particular company. This is a really useful tool to network your way into a company that has an opening in your field.
Avoid misspellings on your profile and any answers/questions that you post. Misspellings make you look unprofessional.
Don't use a picture on your profile that sends an unflattering message. Your picture does not necessarily have to be a studio portrait, but it does need to portray you in a professional light since this is a professional social networking site.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
EXECUTIVE INTERVIEWING
What do candidates really need to know about interviewing for positions at the executive level? What are some tips that executives should keep in mind as far as the interview process is concerned? In today’s tight job market, how should an executive prepare for an interview given the fact that there is so much competition?
Here is professional advice for the executive candidate:
How executive interviews differ from those for lower-level candidates
Executive interviews are more intense because there is more at stake. It costs more money to replace an executive, so the stakes are higher. Hiring managers are very cautious when it comes to making a decision to hire an executive. Consequently, there are typically more interviews for an executive than for a lower level candidate. It is common for executive candidates to have a full day of interviewing where they meet with various interviewers, and the day-long process includes lunch (during which time the interviewee is still being interviewed).
Depending on the position, executive candidates may be expected to articulate their vision for the department where they will be working. And it almost goes without saying that executive candidates are expected to be able to demonstrate tangible results for their efforts in different positions.
How to prepare for executive interviews in the face of the current economic crisis
Candidates have to go the extra mile in terms of their due diligence. With a glut of candidates in many fields, executives have to go above and beyond to distinguish themselves from the competition. That means researching the company thoroughly and finding out what their pain points are and then coming up with solutions to meet their needs. Since companies hire people to solve problems, executives need to demonstrate that they are the solution to the companies’ problems.
Start with the employer’s website. I suggest that you pay attention to the vision statement of the organization so that you can be prepared to talk about how your personal values coincide with the vision statement. Also, look for press releases that might describe new initiatives that the company is working on. This type of information can help you come across as a truly motivated candidate as you integrate this information into your questions that you ask of the interviewer at the end of the interview.
Executives also need to perform due diligence with respect to the interviewers. Use Standard & Poors, Dun & Bradstreet, and Hoovers to find out more about the company’s financial health and then use Zoominfo.com and LinkedIn to find the principals of the company. LinkedIn can be particularly helpful in finding profiles of the people that you will be interviewing with as well as some personal information about them (i.e., schools they attended, other places where they worked).
Best advice for building rapport in the interview.
Find out who you will be interviewing with and research that person’s background on Zoominfo.com and LinkedIn.com. Identify points of interest that you have in common with the interviewer(s). Make sure that you weave in the information that you researched early in the interview to build rapport with the interviewer.
For example, if the interviewer says to you, “Tell me about yourself,” you could respond by saying, “Well, I have an MBA from Stanford, and I was interested to see that you graduated from Stanford also.” By showing that you have done your homework on the interviewer, you can establish that point of connection because the two of you have something in common.
Also, be attentive to what is in the interviewer’s office. There may be other points of interest that you can bring up (i.e., sports awards, fraternal organizations).
Advice for handling a poor interviewer.
Come prepared with your talking points, and make sure that you get those talking points in regardless of the skill of the interviewer. If you know what you want to say before you get to the interview, you can guide the discussion to the points that you want to make.
You should have already reviewed the vacancy announcement for the job and made a match in your own mind between the job’s requirements and your qualifications. Make sure that you make that connection for the interviewer to show that you are well qualified for the position.
Tips for explaining employment gaps.
Always fill in the gaps. Don’t leave any gaps between employment unexplained. That is a major red flag for employers. If you weren’t working for pay during a certain period of time, talk about what you did during that time frame. You may have been a member of a board for a corporation or you may have volunteered in your community. Whatever the case, make sure that employers know that you were doing something productive during the period of unemployment.
How to elaborate in the face of probing questions (Tell me more)
Always be prepared to give examples to back up your claim. For example, an interviewer may say, “What strengths do you bring to this position?” In response, you might say, “I’m results driven, highly organized, and efficient.” If the interviewer says, “Tell me more,” you need to be ready to give examples that demonstrate effectively that you have the strengths that you claim to have. In other words, your example needs to show clearly how you utilized the strengths of being results-driven, highly organized, and efficient on the job.
Making the case for an industry transition
The key to making the move successfully is to not only inventory your own skills, but to package them so they’re appropriate for the industry you’re targeting. Understanding an industry isn’t difficult but does require research, whether that means reading reports on the industry from the Bureau of Labor Statistics or taking a contact from that industry out to lunch to pick his or her brain about the job market.
Employers don’t want a long learning curve. They want someone who can speak the lingo and hit the ground running. The trick is to convince them that you can contribute right away. So read trade journals, talk to insiders, and get a really good handle on what’s going on in that industry and in that company in particular.
How to distinguish yourself from other candidates
Demonstrate your value throughout the whole process. If you do this, the salary negotiation process will be easier because you have been making your case all along.
Be sure to address the employer's needs consistently throughout the interview. Research the company and the position thoroughly so that you can show how well-suited you are for this company and this job.
Here is professional advice for the executive candidate:
How executive interviews differ from those for lower-level candidates
Executive interviews are more intense because there is more at stake. It costs more money to replace an executive, so the stakes are higher. Hiring managers are very cautious when it comes to making a decision to hire an executive. Consequently, there are typically more interviews for an executive than for a lower level candidate. It is common for executive candidates to have a full day of interviewing where they meet with various interviewers, and the day-long process includes lunch (during which time the interviewee is still being interviewed).
Depending on the position, executive candidates may be expected to articulate their vision for the department where they will be working. And it almost goes without saying that executive candidates are expected to be able to demonstrate tangible results for their efforts in different positions.
How to prepare for executive interviews in the face of the current economic crisis
Candidates have to go the extra mile in terms of their due diligence. With a glut of candidates in many fields, executives have to go above and beyond to distinguish themselves from the competition. That means researching the company thoroughly and finding out what their pain points are and then coming up with solutions to meet their needs. Since companies hire people to solve problems, executives need to demonstrate that they are the solution to the companies’ problems.
Start with the employer’s website. I suggest that you pay attention to the vision statement of the organization so that you can be prepared to talk about how your personal values coincide with the vision statement. Also, look for press releases that might describe new initiatives that the company is working on. This type of information can help you come across as a truly motivated candidate as you integrate this information into your questions that you ask of the interviewer at the end of the interview.
Executives also need to perform due diligence with respect to the interviewers. Use Standard & Poors, Dun & Bradstreet, and Hoovers to find out more about the company’s financial health and then use Zoominfo.com and LinkedIn to find the principals of the company. LinkedIn can be particularly helpful in finding profiles of the people that you will be interviewing with as well as some personal information about them (i.e., schools they attended, other places where they worked).
Best advice for building rapport in the interview.
Find out who you will be interviewing with and research that person’s background on Zoominfo.com and LinkedIn.com. Identify points of interest that you have in common with the interviewer(s). Make sure that you weave in the information that you researched early in the interview to build rapport with the interviewer.
For example, if the interviewer says to you, “Tell me about yourself,” you could respond by saying, “Well, I have an MBA from Stanford, and I was interested to see that you graduated from Stanford also.” By showing that you have done your homework on the interviewer, you can establish that point of connection because the two of you have something in common.
Also, be attentive to what is in the interviewer’s office. There may be other points of interest that you can bring up (i.e., sports awards, fraternal organizations).
Advice for handling a poor interviewer.
Come prepared with your talking points, and make sure that you get those talking points in regardless of the skill of the interviewer. If you know what you want to say before you get to the interview, you can guide the discussion to the points that you want to make.
You should have already reviewed the vacancy announcement for the job and made a match in your own mind between the job’s requirements and your qualifications. Make sure that you make that connection for the interviewer to show that you are well qualified for the position.
Tips for explaining employment gaps.
Always fill in the gaps. Don’t leave any gaps between employment unexplained. That is a major red flag for employers. If you weren’t working for pay during a certain period of time, talk about what you did during that time frame. You may have been a member of a board for a corporation or you may have volunteered in your community. Whatever the case, make sure that employers know that you were doing something productive during the period of unemployment.
How to elaborate in the face of probing questions (Tell me more)
Always be prepared to give examples to back up your claim. For example, an interviewer may say, “What strengths do you bring to this position?” In response, you might say, “I’m results driven, highly organized, and efficient.” If the interviewer says, “Tell me more,” you need to be ready to give examples that demonstrate effectively that you have the strengths that you claim to have. In other words, your example needs to show clearly how you utilized the strengths of being results-driven, highly organized, and efficient on the job.
Making the case for an industry transition
The key to making the move successfully is to not only inventory your own skills, but to package them so they’re appropriate for the industry you’re targeting. Understanding an industry isn’t difficult but does require research, whether that means reading reports on the industry from the Bureau of Labor Statistics or taking a contact from that industry out to lunch to pick his or her brain about the job market.
Employers don’t want a long learning curve. They want someone who can speak the lingo and hit the ground running. The trick is to convince them that you can contribute right away. So read trade journals, talk to insiders, and get a really good handle on what’s going on in that industry and in that company in particular.
How to distinguish yourself from other candidates
Demonstrate your value throughout the whole process. If you do this, the salary negotiation process will be easier because you have been making your case all along.
Be sure to address the employer's needs consistently throughout the interview. Research the company and the position thoroughly so that you can show how well-suited you are for this company and this job.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
RESUME WRITING—WHAT’S IN AND WHAT’S OUT
RESUME WRITING—WHAT’S IN AND WHAT’S OUT
What’s in
Professional summaries are in and have been for several years now. A professional summary highlights a job seeker's best assets and positions that person for the type of job that he or she is seeking. It has also become common to list core competencies (or keywords) underneath the summary so that the resume is more likely to be found by a recruiter or hiring manager after it has been scanned into a database.
Accomplishments are definitely in. A resume without crisply worded, powerful accomplishment statements is not likely to be noticed. Many job seekers make the mistake of simply listing their duties. But a laundry list of duties makes a job seeker sound like everyone else who has done similar work. Accomplishments distinguish you from your competition. And they show that you have actually made a contribution to the organization’s bottom line.
ASCII versions of your resume are in. Since job seekers often have to submit their information through an online form, it is best to have an ASCII version of your resume in addition to a Word version. The formatting in a Word document gets distorted when copied and pasted onto an online form, which is why the ASCII version is useful. The ASCII version is just plain text without the formatting. With ASCII you don’t have to worry about a bullet showing up on the other end as some other type of symbol.
What’s out
A job objective is out for people who have experience in the field that they are applying for jobs in. If your work history supports your job objective, it’s not necessary to state that job objective explicitly on the resume.
References available upon request is out. It used to be standard as the last line on the resume, but now it is obsolete. It is simply expected that you will supply your references at the time of the interview.
Hobbies are out if they are unrelated to your job objective. You may really be a skydiving enthusiast, but if you are applying for a job as an accountant, it’s probably not worth mentioning in this setting.
Personal information is out. I still see resumes where people put their marital status and number of children. This is information that employers cannot ask about, and it is not information that should be included in a resume.
Leaving large gaps of time unexplained on the resume is unacceptable. If the gap is longer than three months, you need to account for the time somehow. If you did volunteer work during this time or stayed home with children, you can write this up so that you show job related skills.
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