Month: September 2016

Can I Apply for Another Job Now If I’m on a Contract?

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[svp]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trw434XeE6k[/svp]
The assignment will end in a few months. I don’t want to be unemployed when it is over.

[spp-transcript]

Can apply to another job right now, If I’m on a contract assignment? The assignment I know will end in a few months. I was wondering how early can I apply for another job so I will not be unemployed when the contract ends?

This is the dilemma of being a contractor. You know you’re making decent money but all good things come to an end. The same is true with full-time jobs; I’m not here to debate that. I I will answer this question.

So, number one, do the terms of the contract specify what happens if you leave now? Almost all contracts for IT professionals and other professionals allow you to break the contract with two weeks notice, three weeks notice, four weeks notice, some version of notice. So read the terms of your agreement to find out clearly.

Now what I read there was that the assignment is due to end in a few months. There is a difference between two months and four months in the answer.

So if it’s four months, I suggest waiting for a little while, maybe three or four weeks, and then starting. If it’s two months, act now.

If it’s three months, probably now because job hunting takes time and the statistical probability is that you are not going to find the job instantaneously. Let me define that for you.

You send out a resume in the seas part, the earth opens up. I hand reaches up to you and says, “ Here my child. We have a job for you.” It doesn’t work that way.

Usually, you go on multiple interviews over the course of some period of time (usually two months but it can be longer) and the result winds up being that you need to start now if you need something in two months or three months. Four months, you wait a little bit because you know it takes time.

Employers usually want to interview multiple people before choosing someone and you want to get the lay of the land too so that you have a sense of what’s out there that fits your needs and will pay you the money that you want and deserve.

So, again, the answers I always are, “It depends,” because there’s always missing information two answer more explicitly. So again, 2 to 3 months. Start now. Over three months, wait just a little bit so that you benchmark it to 2 to 3 months

[/spp-transcript]

Do you really think employers are trying to help you? You already know you can’t trust recruiters—they tell as they think you need to know to take the job they after representing so they collect their payday.

The skills needed to find a job are different yet complement the skills needed to do a job.

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter has been a career coach and recruiter for what seems like one hundred years.

JobSearchCoachingHQ.com is there to change that with great advice for job hunters—videos, my books and guides to job hunting, podcasts, articles, PLUS a community for you to ask questions of PLUS the ability to ask me questions where I function as your ally with no conflict of interest answering your questions.

Connect with me on LinkedIn http://bit.ly/thebiggamehunter

Who’s Managing Your Job Search?

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“He (A lawyer) who represents himself has a fool for a client.”

~Abraham Lincoln

In my many years of doing recruiting, there have been a ridiculously few number of people who have ably represented themselves in their job search. Even the ones who claim victory and found positions have made mistakes that have proven costly.

 

Continued

 

© The Big Game Hunter, Inc. Asheville, NC 2016

 

Do you think employers are trying to help you? You already know you can’t trust recruiters—they tell as they think you need to know to take the job they after representing so they collect their payday.

The skills needed to find a job are different yet complement the skills needed to do a job.

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter has been a career coach and recruiter for what seems like one hundred years.

JobSearchCoachingHQ.com changes that with great advice for job hunters—videos, my books and guides to job hunting, podcasts, articles, PLUS a community for you to ask questions of PLUS the ability to ask me questions where I function as your ally with no conflict of interest answering your questions.

Connect with me on LinkedIn

Dealing With the Emotional Side of Job Search- No BS JobSearch Advice Radio

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Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter speaks about the emotional toll job hunting can take and what you can do about it.

[spp-transcript]

I thought I would do a show about the emotional side of job hunting because most of what I deal with in the shows involves tactics… Strategies… Things along those lines. There’s an emotional side, and emotional toll that comes with job hunting.

A lot of people come home from work and develop procrastination skills.

“This is hard.”
“I’m too tired.”

Or maybe you’re not working because you’ve lost your job and you start spending a lot of time staring at the refrigerator and what’s in it.

Or suddenly you start drinking or getting high in different ways.

I just want to point out that these are common and maladaptive responses (bad responses) to your circumstances. You are far better off doing two things:

Getting coaching advice to help you with your job search or working on the emotional issue that’s causing the anxiety or depression that’s causing you to take out your fears in these kind of ways.

You’re not good to any employer if you walk in with a hangover. It’s not that they’re going to know that you have a hangover but you’re just not going to perform well on your interviews. United to get job so easily if your pantsuit doesn’t fit you properly.… If your blouse or shirt opens in inappropriate places.… It just doesn’t work.

Better to spend time on a treadmill if you are out of work or if you are working. Better to spend time on a crosstrainer. Better to spend time doing meditation, rather than acting out from your frustrations/fears/depression rather than in ways that are going to hurt you. And they will hurt you unfortunately.

No one really talks about this stuff but I see it all the time in my work as a headhunter and as a coach. I talk to people who are panicked (and understandably so). They are down to their last dollars. They are becoming frightened. They are talking to be because they are hoping that I can find something for them quickly and I can’t.

Companies have their own timeline and it’s not like you can pressure them into acting differently because they don’t care about your circumstances; they are trying to hire the best person for themselves.

Work on the emotional side of you looking for work. If you are working and you’re procrastinating about looking for work, if you’re not doing the kind of things to develop your skills or network properly, to post your resume on job boards, to respond to ads, to contact recruiters, what’s that really about? What are you frightened about that’s keeping you from doing that? What’s at risk for you to take the appropriate steps to act in the right way?

Lord knows, you don’t want to be in your current job and there is a fear of going to the next one. You need to solve that in order to break free. Unfortunately, it takes some time and take some effort.

I happen to do coaching but if you want to contact someone else, that’s certainly fine. I have a lot of videos that deal with tactics and strategies… That can help you break through some things but fundamentally this is an emotional issue. I trained as a therapist for a lot of years, practiced for a lot of years, I can help you.

[/spp-transcript]

Do you think employers are trying to help you? You already know you can’t trust recruiters—they tell as they think you need to know to take the job they after representing so they collect their payday.

The skills needed to find a job are different yet complement the skills needed to do a job.

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter has been a career coach and recruiter for what seems like one hundred years.

JobSearchCoachingHQ.com is there to change that with great advice for job hunters—videos, my books and guides to job hunting, podcasts, articles, PLUS a community for you to ask questions of PLUS the ability to ask me questions where I function as your ally with no conflict of interest answering your questions.

Connect with me on LinkedIn

Should I Respond to an InMail About a Job I Am Not Interested In? – Job Search Radio

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If you are a LinkedIn member (you are a LinkedIn member), you probably get regular inMails from recruiters asking whether you might be interested in a job that they are trying to fill. Should you take the time to respond?

That’s the question for today; I hope this solves the dilemma for you.

[spp-transcript]

Should I respond to an InMail from a recruiter? The short answer is yes but let me explain why.

The recruiter reached out to propose a situation to you. You are not interested. That’s okay. But your goal is to create a relationship with people who might be able to help you. A polite response that says, “Thanks, but no thanks,” or, “Thanks but I’m not looking right now,” or, “Thanks but I don’t know anyone will be qualified right now. Stay in touch,” or, “thanks. I’m not interested”… Whatever it is, a quick note of response starts the opportunity for building a relationship.

Why do you want to build a relationship? So that this person feels like they want to reach out to you again. Before you start groaning, “Why would I want to talk to a recruiter,” because they have job opportunities that may help you in a certain time of your life and career. If you are arriving “cold,” they may not really know you well enough to recommend you to one of the better clients. That’s reason number one.

Reason number two is kindness. LinkedIn charges them if you do not respond to an inMail in 90 days. They deduct inMail’s from the recruiter’s account if you respond to it within 90 days of it being sent to you.

You should be on daily and, if not daily, every second day at a minimum. Check your inbox for messages, as well as doing a number of things on LinkedIn to market and promote yourself.

After all, if you just lurch from job search to job search when you are in desperate need of finding a new position, you are not doing the work of career planning or career management. You will just be getting out there and looking for a job each time you need one and it takes a long time to build things up in order to get results.

So, I am encouraging you, respond, answer, quick things. It doesn’t have to be a big long production. You will benefit by the relationship building and they have the second benefit of having the inMail credited back to them.

[/spp-transcript]

Do you think employers are trying to help you? You already know you can’t trust recruiters—they tell as they think you need to know to take the job they after representing so they collect their payday.

The skills needed to find a job are different yet complement the skills needed to do a job.

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter has been a career coach and recruiter for what seems like one hundred years.

JobSearchCoachingHQ.com is there to change that with great advice for job hunters—videos, my books and guides to job hunting, podcasts, articles, PLUS a community for you to ask questions of PLUS the ability to ask me questions where I function as your ally with no conflict of interest answering your questions.

Connect with me on LinkedIn

A Creative Way to Use Facebook for Job Hunting

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Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter discusses a creative way to use Facebook for job hunting.

[spp-transcript]

This is a creative tip and I say it’s a creative tip because it is an underutilized one. I know with Google, you are used to seeing advertising around the page and I’m sure you’ve noticed that Facebook does the same thing.

Facebook is remarkably inexpensive and terrific way to promote yourself. For you people in a creative field, why not do a campaign on Facebook. It’s very inexpensive; you can choose the demographics of who the ad is displayed to. You can run campaigns for a few dollars per day and put your impressions in front of people, perhaps link it back to a website or page on Facebook where you can promote yourself and your capabilities.

Creative ideas like this for creative professionals go a long way toward helping you stand out from your competition. Don’t just go for the conventional route. Look for ways that you can reach out to individuals who might be a position to go, “how. That’s a great idea!” Click through to you and then be interested in meeting with you.

[/spp-transcript]

Do you think employers are trying to help you? You already know you can’t trust recruiters—they tell as they think you need to know to take the job they after representing so they collect their payday.

The skills needed to find a job are different yet complement the skills needed to do a job.

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter has been a career coach and recruiter for what seems like one hundred years.

JobSearchCoachingHQ.com is there to change that with great advice for job hunters—videos, my books and guides to job hunting, podcasts, articles, PLUS a community for you to ask questions of PLUS the ability to ask me questions where I function as your ally with no conflict of interest answering your questions.

Connect with me on LinkedIn

Breaking Out

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[svp]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePjqFWy4nvg[/svp]
There is a price we pay to have the life and career we want.

[spp-transcript]

I want to speak with you today about this notion I have of playing big in the world. There is a price that you pay where you try to break out of the box that organizations try placing you in. For example, if you think back to when you were young, you are brought to school, told to sit at the desk, do what you were told, regurgitate a bunch of facts or else… Or else you might not get into a good college.

You did your best and then went to that good college, told to do the same thing or else you wouldn’t get a good job. These threats go on and on and on and never stop.

In breaking the mold at this stage in your life, and living a little differently, in ways that satisfy you and not necessarily “the machine,” you are changing the dynamics. As a result, there is a price that you pay for doing that. The price usually is criticism.

People start telling you that you are doing the wrong thing. In their own way, they’re trying to show you that they care about you and don’t want you to be hurt. But their dream is not your dream and you need to live yours.

A lifetime doesn’t last as long as we would like it to. Trust me. I remember talking to my dad before he passed, he missed things they want to have happen in his life. But there were more things they want to do and feel and experience… But time didn’t permit him to do them. The same is true of all of us.

Criticism is that tax or price we pay for breaking out on the confines of that box that institutions you try to socialize us into. If you are willing to pay that practice and face rejection and criticism, there is a potential for hope,

for change for living the life we want to have. There are no guarantees, just possibility of learning the lessons that you need to so that you can live the life that you’ve always wanted.

Your choice. Whatever is good for you is good for me. I would like to support you with it. If you are interested, reach out to me.. My web address is www.NoBSCoachingAdvice.com; schedule some time with me.

I would love to help you play big in the world.

 

[/spp-transcript]

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter has been coaching people to play their professional and personal games BIG for what seems like 100 years.

For more No BS Coaching Advice and encouragement, visit my website, www.NoBSCoachingAdvice.com

Ready to schedule your first coaching call?

The Format of a Perfect Cover Letter

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Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter discusses how to create a perfect cover letter.

[spp-transcript]

I want to talk with you about effective cover letters, getting to the point very quickly and demonstrated (if you are submitting your resume for a role) that you fit the job that you are applying for. Here’s the basic format of a cover letter:

Paragraph/Sentence one: I’m forwarding my resume to you because I understand you are trying to hire for a (fill in the blank). That can be the job title with some of the details of the position. For example, a software engineer with C++ in a pharmaceutical environment. I noticed a few major points of in the description; let me show you how a matchup.

Then you go through the requirements of the job, as well as the functionality of the position and how you match up. Next, you set up columns. Toward the left, you have a requirement; for example, C++. To the right, you have how long and how recently he worked with it. Again, let’s say it C++, you might write, “four years. Current.” The line might have the next point of the requirements. The next line would say, “three years. Current.”

Eventually, you get to the functionality that they are asked to perform. Again, you do the same thing.

Thus, in your cover letter, you’re making the case for how you fit the requirements and functionality that the company is asking for and that you will be performing. From there, you have to make sure that some of these points, if not all these points, or mentioned in your resume because if it is inconsistent, it will cause the employer to hesitate. This is where resume tailoring comes in handy.

Again, the format is very simple: I’m forwarding my resume to you because I understand you’re trying to hire for such and such. This is how my background matches up with what you’re looking for and what you be asking someone to do. Flush left. Flush right.

If you conclude by saying something to the effect of, “I look forward to hearing from you and meeting with you to discuss the opportunity with you,” or “I’ll follow up with you in the next few days if I don’t hear from you.” Something along these lines that ties the bow. Then you sign it.

Now, to be real clear, you don’t send this as a separate attachment. Put in the body of your email because no one wants to open up a second file with a know your resume is there. Laid out right in front of them so that when they open up the message and, trust me, will read it

[/spp-transcript]

Do you think employers are trying to help you? You already know you can’t trust recruiters—they tell as they think you need to know to take the job they after representing so they collect their payday.

The skills needed to find a job are different yet complement the skills needed to do a job.

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter has been a career coach and recruiter for what seems like one hundred years.

JobSearchCoachingHQ.com is there to change that with great advice for job hunters—videos, my books and guides to job hunting, podcasts, articles, PLUS a community for you to ask questions of PLUS the ability to ask me questions where I function as your ally with no conflict of interest answering your questions.

Connect with me on LinkedIn

Do More People Get Jobs From Networking or Job Ads (VIDEO)

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[svp]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MvZVSpv8tQ[/svp]

[spp-transcript]

The question I received was, “to most people get jobs from networking or from job ads?” Let me give you the statistics.

Recruiters fill about 6% of all positions; job is filled about 15 to 20%. I combined the two numbers because recruiters sometimes use job ads to find people so it is just easier to combine them both. 26% are filled by job he has and recruiters.

How do the rest get filled? They get filled by networking. Here is an interesting addendum.

Most of you think of networking as the people you already know. However, there are folks your network knows that you don’t know. Statistics show that 70% of the positions the filled through networking , as a result of introductions to people that you did not know at the beginning of your job search.

Catch that one! Of the privately 70% of positions are filled by networking, 70% of them are filled by introductions the people that the job hunter did not know at the beginning of the search! Almost 50%!

Your goal is to network because that is really where most of the jobs are filled – – by creating relationships with people that you don’t currently know and by expanding the relationship with people that you do know.

Job ads are fine. I encourage people to work with recruiters and answer job ads. However, recruiters are not out there to help you. They are not going to be the source of the lead where they are not compensated. After all, who is a recruiter work for? There working for a company that is going to pay them.

My job is to create a venue for people to want to help you. That comes through networking.

[/spp-transcript]

Do you really think employers are trying to help you? You already know you can’t trust recruiters—they tell as they think you need to know to take the job they after representing so they collect their payday.

The skills needed to find a job are different yet complement the skills needed to do a job.

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter has been a career coach and recruiter for what seems like one hundred years.

JobSearchCoachingHQ.com is there to change that with great advice for job hunters—videos, my books and guides to job hunting, podcasts, articles, PLUS a community for you to ask questions of PLUS the ability to ask me questions where I function as your ally with no conflict of interest answering your questions.

Connect with me on LinkedIn http://bit.ly/thebiggamehunter

Did the Firm You Interned With Offer a Job to You?

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Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter answers one of those tough interview questions, “I see you interned with a firm. Did they offer you a full-time position at graduation? If not, why not?”

[spp-transcript]

I have another one of those tough interview questions, this one geared toward fairly recent grads.

“I see he interned for (fill in the blank). Did they offer you a full-time position after graduation and, if not, why not?”

The correct way to answer this is to say, “Yes, I interned for them and did a great job for them. On graduation, I’m sure you realize that the economy has cratered and decide to cut back very dramatically on their internship hires. So, no, I wasn’t offered a position but no one else was offered a full-time position with them. I’m sure have great references from them and if you like I can put you in touch with firm you to verify that.”

That’s really is complicated as you need to be. Acknowledge that you did intern there, that you weren’t there for a position, as a matter of fact no one was offered a position there, that you great references and that you be happy put them together with them at the right time.

[/spp-transcript]

Do you think employers are trying to help you? You already know you can’t trust recruiters—they tell as they think you need to know to take the job they after representing so they collect their payday.

The skills needed to find a job are different yet complement the skills needed to do a job.

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter has been a career coach and recruiter for what seems like one hundred years.

JobSearchCoachingHQ.com is there to change that with great advice for job hunters—videos, my books and guides to job hunting, podcasts, articles, PLUS a community for you to ask questions of PLUS the ability to ask me questions where I function as your ally with no conflict of interest answering your questions.

Connect with me on LinkedIn

Cover Letter or No Cover Letter?

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[svp]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eiT61TFdscI[/svp]
Should you use a cover letter?

[spp-transcript]

Cover letter or no letter? Should you use a cover letter?

The fact is they cover letters are anachronistic if you think of it, what a cover letter was was something that was placed on top of the resume to explain to the reader what they were going to be reading. It explained what you did and how you did it and it preceded the resume.

We’re not dealing with that these days. We’re not receiving resumes delivered to us through the mail these days. We’re sending emails so the notion of putting something on top doesn’t work anymore. Some people even make the mistake of sending them as a second attachment. No one opens it up. They look for the document file name and lets them know that that one is your resume.

What do you do instead? I do believe that there is a place for you to explain to a reader what it is they will be reading.

What I want you to do is use the message area of your email like the old cover letter. In effect, that covers your resume.

Instead of saying the Monday of, “I’m forwarding my resume to you for the position of such and such (That’s paragraph one). Paragraph two says, “I believe my experience with such and such demonstrates my… You know are going with this.” These things don’t say anything and no one cares about them.

Here is what you do instead.

Start off with the same introduction and then continue on by saying, “let me show you how my background fits with the role.”

If saw an ad or been told by someone about the position, you put those qualifications in the left-hand column. In the right column, you tell them how long and how recently you’ve done that which they are looking for. In other words, you’re making it obvious to them in your “cover email” how your background fits the role. Follow that?

You can go into a little bit of detail. This is the one time I believe you should use tables in presenting credentials; not in the resume but in the cover email because you can make the fit obvious to the reader.

The final paragraph says, “if I haven’t heard from you in a few days, I will give you a quick call to see if you have any questions or whether you would like to arrange for an interview.”

It’s very simple! It also gives you permission to follow up because you giving yourself permission to follow up.

It forces you to do a little bit of work by forcing you to demonstrate how the background actually fits the requirements of the position but it will go a long way toward helping you actually get in the door.

[/spp-transcript]

Do you think employers are trying to help you? You already know you can’t trust recruiters—they tell as they think you need to know to take the job they after representing so they collect their payday.

The skills needed to find a job are different yet complement the skills needed to do a job.

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter has been a career coach and recruiter for what seems like one hundred years.

JobSearchCoachingHQ.com is there to change that with great advice for job hunters—videos, my books and guides to job hunting, podcasts, articles, PLUS a community for you to ask questions of PLUS the ability to ask me questions where I function as your ally with no conflict of interest answering your questions.

Connect with me on LinkedIn