Jeff

Tailoring Doesn’t Always Refer to Your Wardrobe

by

He has been a friend and client for many years, has heard me talk about it for at least a decade and still made the mistake that kills more resume submissions than anything else.

For my search firm readers, how often do you receive a resume that causes you to scratch your head and wonder what the person was thinking of who sent their resume? With me, it happens more than a hundred times a day.

Almost every resume I receive does not show the skills required to do the job even when I make it clear in my advertising to send their resume in Word ONLY IF YOU HAVE THE REQUIRED SKILLS.

And if you think I have time to call everyone and ask them about the experience they have that fits the position for which they forwarded their resume, you’re wrong. I don’t. If I called everyone who emailed, waited for them to get back and qualified them for the missing part of the fit, I would never have time to do the marketing that helps people land the jobs I get for them.

So here is the simple solution–stop flipping the same resume to job ads like they are burgers at a fast food restaurant. Tailor your resume to the position.

Pretend a six year old is going to read it. Would your son or daughter at that age be able to figure out that you are qualified to do the job?

Yes, that means you will have 50 or 100 versions of your resume and you will need to track which version you sent to whom.

So what.

A broken watch is right twice a day and a generic resume will get you some interviews.

You will get more and better interviews if you tailor your resume to the specific job description, rather than sending the same one over and over again.

© 2006 All rights reserved Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter

What Employers Look for When They Read Your Resume

by

I think it is extremely simple to figure out how to construct a resume– find out what a company is looking for and tell them that you have done the exact same thing before.

As I tell people, “Pretend a hyperactive 6 year old is going to read your resume– make the fit obvious to them.”

But doing that seems to be too hard for most job hunter to do because they keep flipping the same resume over and over again to every job ad they see as though that will get them lots of interviews . . . which it won’t.

Why do I say that? Because the broken watch is right twice a day and sending the same resume to every job ad is like the broken watch–it will get you some results but you can do better.

How?

Firms only care about relevant work that you have done within the past few years that fits what they are looking for. Copy and paste the requirements of the job into the body of the resume where you have performed the task specified. Then, detail what you have done in that chronological section of your resume that explains the experience you have that relates to the specification even if you use the same or similar language to what is in the job description.

Next remove extraneous information that has no relevance to the position you want to interview for.

Doing this will make the employer feel confident that interviewing you will not be a waste of time.

© 2010 all rights reserved.

Maximize Your Messaging on LinkedIn

by

A basic LinkedIn account provides you with the ability to send InMails to three people per month free. If you are looking for a job and trying to connect with new people, three messages does not go very far.

You can pay $49.95 per month to increase that to 2 InMails or $99.95 for $100. What can you do to connect with more people for $0 and still comply with all the rules on LinkedIn? You don’t want to do anything that would be considered “black hat” by LinkedIn either?

Obtaining the ability to connect with people for free is pretty easy on LinkedIn.

All you have to do is join groups.

You are allowed to join as many as 50 groups on LinkedIn and every group you join allows you to connect with all of its members without spending an InMail.

Pick the largest groups to maximize your ability to gain contacts and send connection requests to some of its members

© 2010 all rights reserved

If You Know So Much About Job Hunting, Why is Your Job Search Taking So Long?

by

There’s a lot to know about finding work–

How to create a resume that screams, “HIRE ME!” How to write the new cover letter What sites to search Where to post your resume How to network Where to network How to interview How to negotiate a salary How to give your notice and not be seduced by accepting a counteroffer

However, for now I want to remind you of something extremely important–

The survey said that the primary reason why people are rejected on interviews is NOT for lack of skills competency, the primary reason people are rejected is that they talk too much–almost 40%. Approximately 20% are rejected because they behave arrogantly on the interview.

So, what does this say to you in how you should behave on an interview?

Keep your answers to the point of the question Where possible, keep your answers to 30 – 45 seconds in length. For in-depth questions, you can speak for a minute.

One of things you need to do in answering questions is to keep an eye out for rapport with the interviewer. If you sense you are “losing them,” ask a question that draws them back in.

Always remember that your voice AND body language are sales tools when you interviewer.

You want to demonstrate confidence but not arrogance when answering questions.

Listen carefully to what is asked of you and what may be absent from what is asked of you. If the absent item might be critical to the answer, politely ask if they would like you to expand your answer to include it.

If you are in a technical discipline and asked a question for which a technical answer or overview (plain-English) answer could be given, ask which they would prefer . . . or whether they would like a blended answer (Would you like me to give you an overview, go into detail or blend my answer for you?)

Speak to the person who is interviewing you as though they are someone with a problem and that they are trying to figure out if you are capable of solving it. Never “talk down” to them.

© 2007, 2010 all rights reserved.

Everything Works in Job Hunting

by

I started in recruiting in 1972 (you know, the pre-Internet days) when looking for work involved answering newspaper ads, working with agents, “the old boy club,” networking groups and generic networking.

Prior to an interview, people would go to the library and look for information about the company they were interviewing with.

They mailed resumes to me (not even fax machines were available then) and we sent resumes to clients by messenger (all of our clients were local).

This was an era of file cabinets and index cards to track things, not data bases and I did pretty well helping people find work.

Today, people reply to ads on job boards, social network sites and Adwords and have forgotten that newspaper advertising exists, work with agents who recruit for companies nationally and internationally, not just locally (plus we offer full time, temp and contract to hire opportunities), use “the old boys club” AND “the women’s club” (I don’t have the nerve to say “old women’s club” or lady’s auxilliary”), networking groups, both in person and online, social networks, do generic networking, write articles, ebooks and blog as well as interview with publications in order to be found.

Oh! We now use Google to do our pre-interview research.

What works best?

EVERYTHING WORKS!

There is no reason for you to have idle time in your job search day given the alternatives available to you to promote yourself.

Tired of reading want ads?

Go to a local Toastmaster’s meeting and pactice extemporaneous speaking.

Have a nagging thought of changing field? Find someone in that field using Google or LinkedIn, contact them and take them to lunch or coffee for an informational interview.

Is there a trade group you aer a member of that is holding a conference?

Go! Talk with the speakers and see if you can network with them.

Don’t make excuses. Get out there and do “stuff.” All of it can lead you to your next opportunity . . . or the one after that.

© 2011 All rights reserved Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter

Cycles in the Job Market

by

There is a hilarious scene in the movie, “Being There” where Chauncey Gardner (who is actually Chance the Gardener” as played by Peter Sellers as a dunce with wisdom that impresses great men and the women who love them speaks about the cycles of the year and of economic cycles.

The dialogue is:

President “Bobby” : Mr. Gardner, do you agree with Ben, or do you think that we can stimulate growth through temporary incentives?
[ Long pause ]
Chance the Gardener : As long as the roots are not severed, all is well. And all will be well in the garden.
President “Bobby” : In the garden.
Chance the Gardener : Yes. In the garden, growth has it seasons. First comes spring and summer, but then we have fall and winter. And then we get spring and summer again.
President “Bobby” : Spring and summer.
Chance the Gardener : Yes.
President “Bobby” : Then fall and winter.
Chance the Gardener : Yes.
Benjamin Rand : I think what our insightful young friend is saying is that we welcome the inevitable seasons of nature, but we’re upset by the seasons of our economy.
Chance the Gardener : Yes! There will be growth in the spring!
Benjamin Rand : Hmm!
Chance the Gardener : Hmm!
President “Bobby” : Hm. Well, Mr. Gardner, I must admit that is one of the most refreshing and optimistic statements I’ve heard in a very, very long time.
[ Benjamin Rand applauds ]
President “Bobby” : I admire your good, solid sense. That’s precisely what we lack on Capitol Hill.

Well, their are cycles to a job search, too.

First comes the kickoff of the year. It does not start January second but, usually a week or two later once people have returned from Christmas vacations or breaks and become re-acclimated to their work situations again.

It builds up steam until Memorial Day when temporary and consulting hiring picks up steam (we’re running behind on some things and need to augment our staff; plus, we are dealing with vacations and need some people to help tie us over). Hiring employees is slower during the summer while hiring consultants picks up until after Labor Day.

After Labor Day, hiring picks up again with temporary blips for holidays until after Thanksgiving when the first cold weather or snow fall reminds people that Christmas is approaching and that is time to shop (I confess, I don’t know how it works in warm weather areas; I do know that in environments where it gets cold, snowstorms are the best barometer).

Once the snow falls in December, often the job market disappears until after the beginning of the year.

(©) The Big Game Hunter, Inc, Asheville, NC 2010

Late to the Job Interview

by

No matter how hard you try, sometimes being late to an interview is unavoidable. Sometimes being late to an interview is something that can be avoided. No matter how it occurs, being late is something that shouldn’t be ignored at the interview.

This week, someone I was representing was being flown from Chicago to Atlanta for a day of meetings. The interviewers give up a day working from home to do this and generally try to be on flights by 2:30 PM to head home and have dinner with their family after a week on the road.

Weather caused flight delays and my candidate’s flight was delayed and his gate changed unbeknownst to him. Thus he missed his flight to Atlanta.

He immediately re-booked himself for what was at that time the first flight out the next day and sent me an email with his new itinerary. It was a little before midnight my time and I did not receive it until the next morning.

I contacted the client as soon as I thought they would be in to receive messages. they told me that based upon this schedule, he would probably miss meeting anyone.

Meanwhile, he was able to get himself on to an earlier flight and arrived about an hour after the meetings began and was able to maintain his cool rthar than arrived flustered.

This was a key to the client because delays sometimes happen and they look for people who can maintain their composure when adverse conditions occur.

He made apologies to them and went to work on his interviews.

Sometimes, traffic or trains cause the delays. If you can, make a quick call from your mobile to let your interviewer know of your potential late arrival. This lets them time shift other tasks into their newly created free time that they would have done later.

Upon arrival, give yourself a minute to get yourself focused on your meetings and not your lateness, walk in composed, as you shake hands with your interviewer (and each person thereafter), acknowledge the lateness and apologize if it threw their schedule off, explain the lateness (there was an accident on I-84; you weer on a train that should have gotten you there 30 minutes early but trains were delayed by 45 minutes; don’t explain if it was caused by Junior waking up and not wanting Mommy or Daddy to leave), then, get to work creating a fabulous impression and winning the job interview!

© 2012 all rights reserved.

No B. S. Job Search Advice: Sharp Dressed Man or Woman

by

Clean shirt, new shoes
And I don’t know where I am goin’ to
Silk suit, black tie
I don’t need a reason why

They come runnin’ just as fast as they can
‘Cause every girl crazy ’bout a sharp dressed man

Songwriters: Gibbons, William; Hill, Joe Michael; Beard, Frank

When the band ZZ Top sang these lyrics, they weren’t speaking of job hunting but should have been.

The fact is once you get past a phone interview, subtle influences play a large role in your getting hired almost to an equal degree as hard skills.

After all, you must by now know that you are not the only one who a firm will interview who has the skills they need (in large cities hundreds or thousands of qualified candidates are available); thus nuances start to play a part in how a firm differentiates candidates.

And one of those nuances is your wardrobe.

Now understand, I won’t go into the exact outfit to wear. Some years ago, I would have written about a very differnt outfit for men and women than I would now.

But I will tell you that whether you are 25 or 60 and applying for a job, there is “a look,” a style a way to look that will help you feel great about yourself and help a firm like at you like “a winner,” “a leader,” or a “champion.”

You see, too often, job applicants where good outfits but they aren’t great outfits.

And it doesn’t need to cost a lot of money to dress well for an interview.

It just needs to not cost enough to help you look and feel great.

And you need to purchase the suit or outfit in time to have it altered before your interview.

© 2010 all rights reserved.

Dating and Job Interviews: They Have a Lot in Common

by

Do you remember your first blind date or fix up?

Your friend tells you wonderful things about the person. How wonderful they are? Handsome or gorgeous appearance. Extremely successful.

Maybe you were a teen and your friend set you up their their brother or sister.

Going to a job interview is like going on a blind date. Each of you has been told the other one is fabulous (by the recruiter) and then you meet them and . . . well, sometimes it’s love and sometimes it isn’t.

So, like a blind date, you want to be yourself AND you want to create a terrific first impression. After all, if you don’t create a terrific first impression, its hard to find love.

Professionally, I tell people that 60% of getting a job is accomplished before you set foot in the door of your employer in that each of you believes they have something the other one wants.

20% is convincing one another that what you’ve been told about each other is true. 20% is completely subjective.

Thus, it is important to create that strong first impression and desire just like someone does in a call before a first date.

On a job interview, like on a date, the first ten minutes are critical . . . if there is little attraction, it will be hard to create later and hard to get hired. So make the first 10 minutes count by thanking them for making time to speak with you and asking them to talk with you about the job and what you can do to help them.

Asking this first works with almost any level of job because it makes your potential employer describe what they are actually looking for in a new employee at the beginning of the interview so tghat you can tailor your answers to their question to what they are looking for (Most people make the mistake of talking about what they have done professionally and not talking about what they’ve done that the employer or date cares about). Without linking what you have done to what they care about, you risk having a boring date.

And like a date, there is a point where you are asked if you have some questions. Since you have started the interview by asking about the job, you can’t ask about the job now so be prepared with some great questions of your own (if you can’t come up with any, order a copy of “No B.S. Questions You Should Ask on Any Interview: They Want Honest Answers from You. Demand the Same From Them Too“).

And, then, like the well mannered date, remember to send a thank you note telling them you had a great time!

© 2011 all rights reserved.

Connect With Former Managers and Executives NOW!

by

There are certain times of the year when job hunters can move quickly and find work and certain times when it is extremely hard. This is one of the easy times before we enter a hard time.

Companies that construct their budgets on a calendar year basis are finalizing their budgets for next year RIGHT NOW (November).

That means that this is a time to contact former managers and executives who have moved to new firms to see if their is space in their budget for you as an employee, as a consultant, as a consultant they would hire once the new budget goes into effect next year or can create a slot for in the new budget.

“Jeff, this strategy worked! I called a former manager and he put me on contract and told me that job would open in February and it did! Thank you so much!”

As soon as their budgets are firmed up, they won’t be able to write a job tailored to you into the budget. Once the budget becomes “public,” you losed your advantage of being their early with the wave of responses.

So call or email but don’t waste time.

© 2010 all rights reserved.