Thanks for all your work on these. They look great, and I have just a few changes to suggest.
Right now I am based in Zurich, which is 5 hours ahead of the East Coast USA. Ill send you these changes shortly so you will have them first thing in the morning. It would be great if you could turn them around and send them back to me before 2 pm EST (7 pm Zurich time) so I can then forward the CV to the company, which happens to be in Ireland. Im flying in there tomorrow first thing in the morning to meet with them.
Robyn Greenspan wrote a great post called When Bad Interviews Happen to Good Candidates. She has some horror stories of interviewing (the first one makes me sick), as well as advice from coaches on what it means (or how to move on).
Interviewing is a tricky thing. I remember the first major disappointment I had in an interview was when I realized I had put in a ton more prep time than the interviewer, who was reading from a lame list of questions that really didn’t make sense. The interviewer didn’t know what to do with my responses… she just nodded her head and moved to the next one. It was as if she was hardly paying attention – just going through the motions.
Shortly after that experience I was at a job search club and I asked others who also said they were discouraged at the lack of training for people who interview. Here are some miscellanous thought I have on bad interviews:
If the interviewer is aloof or unprofessional or otherwise represents their company or the role you are applying to poorly, consider that data to use on evaluating whether you could stand to work at that company, or in that environment.
In an interview you can take the driver’s seat. Be careful to not overstep any boundaries but you don’t have to submit to a poor interview by just answering questions – shake it up, give rich responses that are not cliche (which is what they expect), or respond in such a way that really makes them think (or wake up)… I only recommend you go crazy with this is you determine you really don’t want the job or like the company/environment :p
Consider it a learning opportunity to improve. Sometimes the purpose of the interview is not to move forward in the process, rather it is to prepare for that one big interview that is coming up (from another company). Practice strategies and tactics so when you are in the big interview you can feel more confident about your interview skills (and perhaps deliver a more natural interview).
No interview is too small to consider. Even if it seems to be going bad you don’t really know what the interviewer is thinking. Maybe they simply have horrible people skills and you’ve misread that as “disinterested.” Or, they have already decided they like you, compared with the other candidates, and they really don’t need to ask you the questions to make a decision but feel like they should get through them. Whatever the reason, realize you might not be reading their body language or feedback accurately.
Interviewing is beyond stressful because you have so much riding on it, but you aren’t the only one who is performing in an unnatural environment. Calm down, put the interview into perspective, have fun, be yourself and give the interviewer a break.
But always, always, maintain dignity and don’t let an interviewer, or the experience, crush you.
Barbara pulls some mistake examples from various sites and include things from typos to “subtle” humor.
Go read the list of things. I wanted to share this with you for two reasons:
First, you MUST proof your resume, and have others proof it as well. It’s easy to make a simple mistake (and for you, if you write the resume, to continue to keep missing it).
Some people have very little tolerance for such mistakes… their first look at an interview might be to look for weaknesses on the document, not any strengths you are presenting.
No matter who prepares the resume, whether it is you or Career Resumes, you must review (and, in a sense, approve) the final document.
Second, humor might not be an appropriate technique in your job search. On Barbara’s list you’ll see someone put “gossiping” as an interest. Or an achievement is that someone was nominated as a prom queen (not chosen, just nominated :p).
Perhaps these weren’t meant to be humorous but they were lifetime accomplishments or interests… but think about it: your resume isn’t your opportunity to brag about yourself – it is a marketing document that will either help sell you (get you the interview) or not. That’s the bottom line.
You might get one chance… don’t risk it with a poorly designed, poorly executed document.
Connectors: “These people who link us up with the world, who bridge Omaha and Sharon, who introduce us to our social circles – these people on whom we rely on more heavily than we realize – are Connectors, people with a very special gift of bringing people together.”
Mavens: “A Maven is a person who has information on a lot of different products or prices or places. This person likes to initiate discussions with consumers and respond to requests … they like to be helpers in the marketplace. They distribute coupons. They take you shopping. They go shopping for you … This is the person who connects people to the marketplace and has the inside scoop on the marketplace.”
Salespeople: “Mavens are data banks. They provide the message. Connectors are social glue: they spread it. But there is also a select group of people – Salesmen – with the skills to persuade us when we are unconvinced of what we are hearing, and they are as critical to the tipping of word-of-mouth epidemics as the other two groups.”
On my JibberJobber blog I’ve been talking about networking and whether or not it works. You can see some passionate discussion here, at Networking Doesn’t Work (part II) – agree?
In thinking about these two posts, perhaps networking isn’t working because you aren’t networking with the right type of person… ?
Can you list 10 or 20 people you’ve networked with and categorize them as a connector, a maven or a salesperson?
If no one you are networking with falls into those categories, what categories do they fall into?
A taker? A leach? A downer?
I wonder… are we (you and I) networking with THE WRONG PEOPLE?
It can come up in a number of different scenerios, and your response can be great or it can be the end of the relationship.
I don’t want a novel, I don’t want something irrelevant, I want something that draws me in. I want something that is thoughtful and makes me think “I’m talking to the right person!” as I’m listening.
#4 “People who know me best say that I’m…” This response offers insight into your own level of self-awareness.
#6 “My passion is…” People don’t care what you do – people care who you are. And what you’re passionate about is who you are. Plus, passion unearths enthusiasm..
Scott goes on to say:
The secret is thinking how you will follow up each answer with relevant, interesting and concise explanations that make the already bored interviewer look up from his stale coffee and think, “Wow! That’s the best answer I’ve heard all day!”
I agree… I also think the other secret is to get them to think “tell me more! This sounds really interesting!”
They might not want you to tell them more right then, but the impression you want to leave is “I’m the person you are looking for,” instead of “I’m boring,” or “I’m conceited,” or something like that.
How do YOU answer “tell me about yourself?” If your answer is “I don’t know” then you have a lot of work to do!
Whether you are in a job search or not, I invite you to call a job seeker.
That’s right… out of the blue, pick up the phone and have a real conversation.
You could say something like:
I was just thinking of you and wanted to see how your job search was going. Is there anything I can do?
You might not get far, so here are some other questions:
Is there anyone you are trying to network into?
Are there any companies you are trying to network into?
What industries are you targeting?
Can you have lunch next week with me?
What networking events are you going to?
I have a friend who just got laid off, do you think you can share some ideas and tips with him?
Job seekers need help but many times they are at a point where they don’t want to call you and ask you for help (they might not know how to ask for help). So why don’t you extend a helping hand to them?
Even if you don’t help them land a job, the mere effort and interest you show can change their day 1000%.
My friend John has a thing he calls his “chicken list.” This is the list of people he’s afraid to call… he’s a chicken when it comes to those names.
He makes himself call someone from his chicken list regularly. He psyches himself up, telling himself that they can’t hurt him… and he makes the call.
Sometimes it ends with great results, sometimes it ends in a way that he crosses their name off the “maybe this person can help me” list forever (because they are jerks).
It is critical to do this… otherwise you walk around with the “I should call this person” for days, which turns into weeks, which turns into months.
All this does is add undue stress to your otherwise stressful job search.
So I challenge you:
TODAY: DO SOMETHING HARD
It might be to sign up for a job search club, or to go to a networking event, or to call someone, or to email someone.
You know what it is … that hard thing you’ve been putting off for so long…
Playing soduko online would have been more productive.
Still cracks me up to read that :p
I don’t want to steer you away from doing stuff online, though. I just want you to think about what you are doing and is it effective.
Something that you seriously need to consider is how talent (that is, job seekers) is being found. If I’m a recruiter (or hiring manager), where do I go to look for you?
I’m hearing of two main places to look:
LinkedIn
Google
Google (or any search engine) owns this vast database we call “the internet.” So the question is, if I’m a hiring manager and I’m looking for a project manager in Seattle, will I find you?
You can come up on the front page of the searches, if you know how to do it. It’s not rocket science or black magic, it is pretty straight forward. It will take work, but wouldn’t it be worth it?
Here are five things to do to show up:
Blog. This is my #1 suggestion for showing up on the front page of Google.
LinkedIn account. The cool thing about this is you are hitting two birds with one stone. Your LinkedIn profile is actually searchable by search engines (unless you turn that off by default).
Twitter account. Have the key phrase (project_manager) in the handle/name.
Write articles. Submit them to free ezine sites, which means you’ll be a “published author” (not to diminish other work from real published authors). This could be impressive to some people, but more than that, could help with the search engine results.
Comment on other peoples blogs. This is pretty easy – go find blogs that have to do with project manager or Seattle and leave comments. Many blogs allow their comments to be spidered by the search engines.
This stuff doesn’t just happen – you have to intentionally work at it!
“Hours of his days the past nine months have been spent in front of his laptop screen.”
I remember those days. Totally fruitless. Playing soduko online would have been more productive.
“I’ve spent about two hours a day, 10 to 15 hours a week searching for jobs,” the business management degree holder said. “Posted my resume on monster.com, Careerbuilder, tried Linked In, Facebook networking, had probably the most success off of BYU’s recruiting website… Craigslist, whatever.”
Tried LinkedIn? What does “tried” mean? Gone on, created a lame profile (like so many are), and waited?
What is the value of posting a resume on monster or careerbuilder, if that’s all you do there?
There is a lot more to a successful job search strategy than what you do on the computer… don’t just “try” LinkedIn – understand it and do meaningful stuff there.
Don’t just post resumes online, or apply to jobs you find online… if you spend 5 minutes online looking for a job without having gotten any training on how to look for a job online, you are waisting your time.
Take it from me – I excelled at waisting time, even though I thought I was doing really good job search stuff.
Any introduction will do. Oh wait, how about an introduction to that really, really big company.
Please?
No? WHY NOT????
I see this ALL THE TIME. Here’s an example, from a LinkedIn Group:
I can’t help this person.
Even though I immediately thought about my contacts at Costco… there is no way I can help. Is he looking for someone to get a food in, or a book, or a job, or a … ???
Beyond that, I don’t even know this person.
IF you ask for help (and you should), here are some things to consider:
I might help you if I know what I’m helping for (and can feel comfortable with that)… I want to feel comfortable with the introduction I’m doing and not just throw mud on the wall.
I might help you if I am comfortable recommending you. I have to know something about you, and your character. I don’t want to risk my relationships for someone I don’t know.
Communicate those two points and I bet you’ll have more success when you ask for leads and introductions.
I remember a few years ago I had a very sour experience with someone who thought I owed them a great deal of gratitude and credit. The story is really twisted but I remember being on the phone listening to this person spew negative on me for about 15 minutes.
The spew was unfounded and I wondered if this person should have been on medication for some personality disorder.
There was no reason to continue a relationship and so I haven’t tried to reach out to make amends and try and move forward.
The truth is, I’ve had enough of my own issues since I started my own company. I deal with a lot of things and think about a circus performer who has a lot of plates spinning in the air – I’m responsible for making sure those plates stay spinning, which is a lot of work!
I really can’t take the time it requires to work on bad relationships, especially if the other person has no intention of helping make it better.
As a job seeker you have a lot of plates spinning, too. I know you’ll run into a lot of negative stuff. You have to determine if it is constructive criticism that you should learn from, and shape your future actions, or if it just negative spew that you should ignore. Not easy to differentiate, sometimes, especially when emotions are hot, but figure this out and then you have two options:
Change. If the criticism has hints of truth, or truck-loads of truth, figure out how it can make you a better person. I know it’s not fun to get criticism but separate the emotions and denial from the opportunity to become better. It doesn’t mean you have to like the person, or be BFFs again, but you shouldn’t run away from the opportunity to improve.
Ignore. If it was just plain hurtful and not constructive or without reason, move on. Move away. Don’t email, call or communicate with the person anymore. There are other people out there and you shouldn’t surround yourself with all the junk, especially in a time that is so trying and emotional for you (aka, the job search).
I remember another time I was in a situation with someone working on a project that was just not going well. In the end, things had soured considerably. I remember being criticized for a number of things I thought were not justified and I sat there thinking how rotten it was to be on that end of the table. It reminded me of being in a hostile work environment… there was a huge difference, though:
In the hostile work environment I was somewhat trapped. I know you are never really trapped, but they had control over a lot of things I liked (salary, benefits, etc.).
In the other project I was not beholden to the other person at all.
I was pushed out of my job environment, but I voluntarily walked away from the other project (at the right time).
Both situations were liberating. The lesson I learned was this: when you are on your own you do not have to sit and take it like you may have it you were dealing with an employer.
Move on, don’t look back, and make forward progress! You deserve it!
