Crystal T wrote a post on Recruiting Blogs called Top Ten Interview Blunders.  You must read it.

As I look at these ten points, I think “I am pretty sure I’ve violated all of them.”  Part of this is because I like to “wing-it,” which is a lame excuse for not preparing for the interview.  Another part might be because I think so much advice doesn’t apply to me… so I disregard it.

I’ve come to realize it does apply, to all of us.  Whether we are interviewing for the $400k executive job, or the $10/hour step job, the mistakes show we don’t care enough to do it right.

One of my favorites is #7, because this concept is applicable in so many places (networking, interviews, branding statements, LinkedIn profile, email signature, etc.):

Don’t riddle your answers with vague terms like ”hard worker” and “successful” without explanations of why and how.

What do you think? Are you making any of the mistakes on the list?

Here are some questions he’s asked recently – check them out… the answers are awesome:

• Is your answering machine message driving people away? (11 answers so far)
• LinkedIn connections: Quantity vs. Quality? This old debate has been had many times. I want to gauge my network on where they are at. (21 answers)
• Are you using Facebook as a job search tool? (22 answers)
• Two questions: What should a job seeker never read/watch during a job search? What one thing should a job seeker read/watch regularly during a job search? (14 answers)
• Do you have advice for 99ers? (15 answers)
• What’s a great gift for a college graduate (getting ready for a job search)? ( 35 answers)
• Does a person’s email service provider say anything about them? (34 answers)

There’s more where that came from – go to his Profile, then click on that See all Q&A link from the box above.

Are you using LinkedIn Answers? You should!

FYI, a recruiter talks about a client and a candidate.  Which are you?

A CLIENT is the company that has an opening, and hires the recruiter to find someone to fill it, and PAYS the recruiter.

A CANDIDATE is the job seeker (you).  You are a candidate to fill the position.

It’s critical to understand that the candidate (you) is not the main focus of a recruiter’s day. Of course, they look for you, and hope you are the one, but at the end of the day, they are paid by their client.

I didn’t understand that very well when I started my job search, which led to unrealistic expectations of the recruiters I contacted.

Anyway, back to the list of warning signals.  You need to read each of these and determine if you are violating any of them.  Also, read the comments, where other recruiters emphasize the most important to understand.

When I read through the list of 10 warning signals I thought they were talking more about the employed candidate – that is, the candidate they are trying to steal away from their company to work for the Client – but I realized this list should provide guidelines for you, even if you are unemployed, so you can work well with the recruiter.

I love getting a recruiter’s perspective of the broken parts of this hiring system.  Understand them and you’ll understand why you have successes and failures in your job search.

Here are some of their snippets (read post for the entire story):

“It’s amazing when people come in for an interview and say, ‘Can you tell me about your business?’ Seriously, people.” (#1)

“A lot of managers don’t want to hire people with young kids, and they use all sorts of tricks to find that out, illegally.” (#2)

“Is it harder to get the job if you’re fat? Absolutely. Hiring managers make quick judgments based on stereotypes.” (#3)

“Another candidate didn’t get hired because the manager was worried that the car he drove wasn’t nice enough.” (#4)

“If you’ve got a weak handshake, I make a note of it.” (#5)

This is dark and ugly… but look folks, PEOPLE STEREOTYPE!

I bet <gasp> even YOU stereotype!

I’d love to see an entire BOOK on this type of stuff.  This is a market – they are buying, you are selling.  The question is, what are the buyer’s behaviors?  And what does that mean for you, as the merchant?

You NEED TO know about this stuff – illegal or not, it’s how it works.

The original post is titled Ten Questions for your Recruiting Career (read it no matter what career you are in).

1. Have you worked for five years at the same employer without a change in title?
2. Have you ever held a position in management or training?
3. Has your income or potential for income increased over the past five years?
4. Have you performed work in different capacities (employee, consultant, management, independent)?
5. Have you crossed industries or focus for which you recruit?
6. Do you have equity or compensation which is compounding independent of your performance?
7. Are you constantly developing new relationships?
8. Is your industry progressing?
9. Is your understanding of business increasing?
10. Are you happy?

Again, don’t let the simplicity of each of these questions mislead you – if you were my client I’d ask you to take a few hours and respond to each of these, and the subquestions from the original post, and really assess where your career is at.

1. Start with the job description. She says you can “glean information on your department or function area” from the job description.
2. Use the Internet. Go to the company website, browse other websites to see what people are saying about the company, look for their execs on social websites, etc.
3. Read the small print. On the company website you might find investor info and the site map, both of which can have good info to help you prepare.
4. Connect through LinkedIn. Connecting with company employees on LinkedIn might lead to an informational interview.
5. Watch the news. I wouldn’t recommend this (time sink), but I would recommend you go to news sites (or just Google) to read up on the news.
6. Get on the phone. Simply call the company and ask to talk to someone. She suggests talking with HR – I would not recommend that.  But yes, talk to someone at the company
7. What does your agency know? Referring to a recruiting shop – if a recruiter helped you get their, ask them lots of questions (she has a list of questions here).

Are you doing enough company research before the interview?  I remember when I was interviewing candidates it was amazing to see who was prepared for the interview and who came to just wing it.

Dave has a number of cautions, including:

Beware of firms that “guarantee placement…”

Be careful if asked for big bucks up front.

Watch out for the bait and switch,

and more… go read his post here.

It should be very clear what you are getting when you pay for services. I can’t imagine paying a company to totally do my job search for me – everything except the interview.  Perhaps there are legit companies out there but I have never heard of one.

Many may be inclined to throw money at the job search problem, assuming if you throw enough money at it, it will go away, but the reality is there are certain things you have to, or should do, on your own.

One reason is because you might be in transition every 18 – 60 months… get good at this stuff, build your own network, have a strong, recognizable brand, and build your own kind of job security (which is much more about YOU and much less about any particular company).

For as long as I can remember Nick has had a question and answer feature in his newsletter that is awesome.  The last one I got (this morning) is a follow-up to a previous question, which was a suggestion on how to “get in the door” (which was to bypass HR and go through the sales department).

This follow-up was more of a nuts-and-bolts response where Nick gave more information on how to do that, and another department you can easily go through.

Nick’s job search newsletter is an easy read – it’s not long but it always has meaty, tactical advice that will help not just in a job search but for the rest of your career (I’m big on Career Management ).

Aside from that, Nick’s newsletter has other stuff, such as a link to a blog post about career centers wanting HIM to bring jobs to their eMBA students… and his very raw thoughts about that.  He titled his blog post Executive MBA’s: Do these lion cubs hunt?

I’ve known Nick for a few years – I met him at a resume writers conference in Savannah and have followed him since.  I encourage you to get on his free newsletter and learn from him each week – I do!

• brand yourself,
• give a percieved call to action,
• increase the chance your email is read.

Why am I blogging about his corporate communication suggest here?

Because most likely YOU, as a job seeker, are sending emails to corporate people…!  Read the post, change your email subject lines and increase the chances that email becomes a more effective communication tool!

• Be Patient. Based on today’s economy he argues that it takes considerably longer to land a job – not our fault but we have to figure out how to deal with this extra delay in moving on.
• Brush up on your job hunting skills. This idea bugged me the most – I didn’t want to read books and books and become an expert on it, I just wanted a job!
• Modify your phone plan. Specifically talking about the cost of your current cell plan, but I’d suggest you modify your phone strategy, also (which means: GET ON THE PHONE!).
• Network, network, network. Yes, absolutely.  How do you manage a network? JibberJobber, of course :p
• Shake the tree. Go back to old network contacts (use LinkedIn to find them, JibberJobber to manage the relationship)
• Create your own job. Time to freelance? Or at least get ONE customer?
• Use your free time well. Great points here.
• Don’t be afraid to ask for help.  Especially referring to emotional issues you might face, such as job search depression.

I like posts like this from people who aren’t job search experts… they are simply sharing what they have come to realize during their own transition.