Interviews

Ending Your Interview | No BS Job Search Advice Radio

by

Jeff Altman,The Big Game Hunter explains how to act and speak during the last few minutes of your interview.

ending-an-interview

[spp-transcript]

Do you think employers are trying to help you?

You already know you can’t trust recruiters—they tell you as much 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

You can order a copy of “Diagnosing Your Job Search Problems” for Kindle for $.99 and receive free Kindle versions of “No BS Resume Advice” and “Interview Preparation.”

Don’t forget to give the show 5 stars and a good review in iTunes

Robert Herjavec

The First 30 Seconds of an Interview | Job Search Radio

by

Robert Herjavec has discussed how to standout on Shark Tank, I take that and convert it to job hunting.

interview

[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

Please give “Job Search Radio” a great review in iTunes. It helps other people discover the show and makes me happy!

How Can You Avoid Appearing Difficult? (VIDEO)

by

[svp]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gu-qepqFVDQ[/svp]
How can you not appear difficult when an agency recruiter asks you for your salary and you won’t tell them.

 

[spp-transcript]

How can you avoid appearing difficult when you won’t tell a recruiter your last salary?

I was asked by a recruiter for my last salary and said I don’t disclose that information. She said, “I was trying to be difficult and that she can’t move forward . If I am not going to be a ‘team player.'” Eventually, this person caved in   And when the telling the recruiter the salary.  This is 3rd party recruiter, not a corporate recruiter.

How can you avoid appearing difficult?  How can you stand your ground without you appearing, to put it bluntly, being seen as a “pain in the pot.”

The 1st thing to understand is that recruiters, whether corporate or third-party work for employers. The employer sets down terms of engagement.  They want to know salary.

Why Do They Want to Know?

Why do they want to know this?  Because many companies will only offer a percentage increase over what you are currently earning.  They are not in the, “We value this person to ask level” business and, as a result, pay them what they are really worth.  They work on formulas that allow them to only extend an offer by a certain percentage  above a current salary.

No matter what, you are going to appear difficult. Accept it.

If you are extremely placeable to that agency, they are going to cave in. I want you to understand that you hold cards in your hand that represent a fee. If your background is so terrific that the market is clamoring for your skills, they will cave in and figure out a way to present your client without the exact salary.

You can offer them a range. “

I’m currently earning between $120,000 and $140,000. I want to be clear that I’m not looking for the lowest salary. I have picked up a lot of knowledge and experience that will be valuable to the next organization. If you think I’m going to be going for minimal 3% increase, you are mistaken. I want you to understand that I know my value and I want to be paid it.”

By responding in that way, you are setting down terms of engagement that, by definition, make you appear very difficult to them because you are not compliant and you are not docile.  

You are not willing to play with in “the system.”

So what! Who cares!

Firms that want to hire you for the least amount of money (which is what the agency will try to persuade you to take), well, you may not want to work for them.

However, that premier employer, that one you really want to work for demands that information, you have a choice to make – – to comply or not. Whether to risk losing an opportunity or not.

That’s your choice to make, but to let the agency set down the conditions? You can do it differently IF you have the skills and experience that are in demand.

If you are Mr. or Ms. Ordinary , if you have a commodity skill

If you have a commodity skill, it is a lot harder for you. However, don’t interpret that statement is telling you to always cave in.

Stand your ground. If you believe your skills are more valuable than what you’ve been paid and insist that they cave-in by demonstrating your value is higher than what they are going to try to con you in to.

just like a million other people out there, you have less of a chance, less leverage, than a salesperson has who is delivering a book of business worth several hundred million dollars and is a leader in selling this particular type of product or service.

 

[/spp-transcript]

Do you really think employers are trying to help you?

You already know you can’t trust recruiters—they tell you as much 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

You can order a copy of “Diagnosing Your Job Search Problems” for Kindle for $.99 and receive free Kindle versions of “No BS Resume Advice” and “Interview Preparation.”

The Two Magic Words to Use in an Interview & The Story Behind The Story | No BS Job Search Advice Radio

by

I discuss how to prepare for your interviews, how to improve your resume, and the two magic words to use during your interviews.

 

[spp-transcript]

Let’s talk today about preparing for an interview.  This tactic can also be used for improving your resume dramatically. But, at a minimum. If you haven’t done this before and had just been sending out resumes, it is the gold that will help you excel on your interviews.

Here’s what you did.  You go back to your resume and go bullet point by bullet point and ask yourself the question, “What’s the story behind this statement?”  I made the statement that I did such and such.  What’s the story, what events occurred?  Put in you, talking to a friend or family member about what it is that she did and how you went about doing it as well as what you stepped into at the time.  Prepare yourself with the story behind those facts.

This is an approach that works extremely well and resumes and will help differentiate you from the competition in your resume.  After all, if you just lay out a resume as if it were job description (I do this. I do that.  I am part of a team that does this or that.),  Your resume becomes boring.  But if you put some life into it by giving some texture to it, by contextualizing what you did and giving a bigger impact at your organization, it has enormous results and you will get many more interviews.  When you tell the stories behind the story on your interview, you will stand out from the competition.

I also want to teach you the 2 magic words to use on your interviews to really differentiate yourself.

I’m sure you’ll be asked about what you did and how you went about doing it on your interviews.  You’re the 2 magic words to use on your interviews:

“For example.”

Then you talk about what you stepped into.  Those 2 words, for example, go a long way to allowing people to see you for what you did and what you accomplish at your previous organization.  It allows you to speak freely about what you’ve accomplished and doing it in the way that audiences love– stories. People love stories.

[/spp-transcript]

 

Do you think employers are trying to help you? You already know you can’t trust recruiters—they tell you as much 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

You can order a copy of “Diagnosing Your Job Search Problems” for Kindle for $.99 and receive free Kindle versions of “No BS Resume Advice” and “Interview Preparation.”

Don’t forget to give the show 5 stars and a good review in iTunes

Squeeze Bottles

by

[svp]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dXd1LRORKA[/svp]
What does a brownie with ice cream and a job interview having common? By the way, I like chocolate ice cream.Put your preferred flavor in the comments area.

brownie

[spp-transcript]

 

Do you think employers are trying to help you? You already know you can’t trust recruiters—they tell you as much 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

You can order a copy of “Diagnosing Your Job Search Problems” for Kindle for $.99 and receive free Kindle versions of “No BS Resume Advice” and “Interview Preparation.”

The Music of Answering Questions – No BS Job Search Advice Radio

by

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter explains the music of answering interview questions and why it’s important to end on a down note.

 

[spp-transcript]

Let me talk with you today about one of those things that people do in interviews goes past the point of being annoying to being harmful to your candidacy.  Let me illustrate why.

I’m speaking with someone yesterday and asking them a question. Every time they answered the question for me, Instead of ending a sentence in a downtown,they would answer it with an up tone (Listen to the audio to understand what I mean). So I would ask them a question (up tone) and he would always answer in an up. If you listen to the audio.  You’ll hear me illustrated a few times.

The impact of this is that employers when they interview someone and they ended and up find it harder to be convinced by the person they are interviewing because you just sound more uncertain and unsure. This air of uncertainty that you create by ending your phrases and sentences with an up tone makes you sound like you are unsure.

So, always end with a down tone on the last word.  If you have the habit of ending with an up tone, it is something to work on.  After all, the impact of this can be very expensive for you in lost salary and in lost opportunities.  After all, you just don’t sound convincing as to what you believe when they ask you something.

Again, go for a down tone instead of an up.

[/spp-transcript]

 

Do you think employers are trying to help you? You already know you can’t trust recruiters—they tell you as much 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

You can order a copy of “Diagnosing Your Job Search Problems” for Kindle for $.99 and receive free Kindle versions of “No BS Resume Advice” and “Interview Preparation.”

Don’t forget to give the show 5 stars and a good review in iTunes

Finding a Job Without A College Degree (VIDEO)

by

[svp]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhB5uiSVmio[/svp]
Someone asked me a question about finding a job without a college degree. He has been on interviews and been rejected solely because of the lack of a degree. He asked what he should do. There is also information here for those of you who do have a degree but have been rejected because you don’t have an advanced degree.

no-degree

[spp-transcript]

Someone send me a question the translates into, “I have been looking for a job and don’t have a college degree. I keep getting shot down from one place or anothe because of that. What do I do? How do I find a job without a degree?“

I love this question because I’m going to invite you to look at this from 2 different perspectives. One is external, the other is internal.

I want to start with the internal one. That’s the one that says, “because you don’t have a college degree, you are less valuable than people who do have a college degree.” If you have 10 or 15 years of experience, don’t have a degree and they aren’t willing to consider you, they are morons!

By the way, that’s the external answer. I will give you a tactic for responding to them, but the internal side, when the drumbeat is so regular there is an internal side that needs to be addressed – – the belief that you have that you are someone who’s less valuable than someone with a college degree.

Firms that act like that are morons. And for you people who do have a college degree, I want you to get so smug because there was always the master’s degree. There are always the people with the PhD’s who have more education than you. Maybe someone has taken a class in this or a certification in that – – there was always something, some hoop to jump through that you, as someone who has a college degree have to jump through, just like this individual who doesn’t have a college degree because you are the barrier to his entry.

For all of you, I want to remind you that belief and attitude is an enormous variable. Some firms are going to say no. After all, if you have a bachelors in social work and they want someone with the masters of the quantitative discipline, they aren’t going to interview you, are they? 

That’s the reality to it. There is no amount of magical words or hypnosis that is going to change their mind. Their loss. If you want to change that, get the academic that they are looking for.

In the case of someone without a degree, find the easiest degree program that you can find that fits with your schedule, doing online and get it done with.

I don’t think that’s is important as this: “I’m just curious. What do you think that degree (I’m speaking for the person who doesn’t have a college degree, right now) has done for that individual 5 years after they have gotten out of school? 10 years after they got out of school? What do you think it’s done for them that my experience attacking this in my work life hasn’t done already?“

You want to make them think and don’t want to fall into the convention.  Understand, though, people are not going to want to think.  So that begs the question, “Do you really want to work for stupid people who can’t see out of the box that they are conditioned to operate in?“

Wouldn’t you rather work with smart insightful capable people who have great training and have gotten it online and it never set foot on the university campus?

and it feels so forceful, you tend to believe it. I’m wondering if there is something that happened earlier in your life that gave you the message that you were less valuable than others that needs to be addressed.

That’s a coaching question that needs to be addressed that I can’t do in a video because I need you in front of me or on the phone with me. That’s one thing that

They are taking courses at MIT. They are taking courses at Harvard. They don’t have a degree! They live in various places around the world. Are you saying that they are “less than” you? I don’t think so.

So, step number 1 is dealing with your own “stuff” around the belief that you are less than people with a degree, or the person with the more advanced degree who has taken the specialized program.

The 2nd thing is when submitting a resume where degree is a requirement… “I saw that there was a degree requirement for the position, but let me ask you a question: I have been doing this for 5 years (10 years, 15 years, 20 years, whatever it is), I left school at this stage earlier in life, for economic reasons… Stuff happens… I worked very hard in a very dedicated way for employers who will provide great references and attest to my significance in their organization… What do you think that that degree, I could’ve gotten 15 years ago would deliver for me today?”  You put that in the email that you send to them.

They may reply with a bureaucratic answer, particularly HR because they operate with pretty bureaucratic ways of doing things.

Find out who the hiring manager is and apply to them directly and avoid “the front door.” That’s why I always say, “Never ever apply for job doing applicant tracking system.” 

Take leadership. Take ownership. Take command.

Again, before someone misinterprets this, I see resumes all the time where I am looking for someone to fill a position as a financial analyst and you are a store manager at a retail chain, and you are just not qualified. I’m talking about the specific of the degree scenario.

 

[/spp-transcript]

 

Do you really think employers are trying to help you?

You already know you can’t trust recruiters—they tell you as much 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

You can order a copy of “Diagnosing Your Job Search Problems” for Kindle for $.99 and receive free Kindle versions of “No BS Resume Advice” and “Interview Preparation.”

Stupid Interview Mistakes: Monologuing – No BS Job Search Advice Radio

by

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter discusses the top job interview mistake that too many people make and how to avoid it.

[spp-transcript]

Today I want to talk with you about one of those tragic and completely avoidable job interview mistakes that too many people engage in. I was reminded of it when I asked the question of the job hunter and they went off on this three minute monologue that, maybe, for 10 or 15 seconds had something to do with my question and then they went way off into left field.

I listened for a while, letting them talk on, when he finally came up for air, you know, that pause in the conversation when they finally let someone else speak, I said, “By the way, do you remember my original question?” He thought for a while and eventually answered, “No. I don’t.” We can laugh about it now but how many of you have done that?

What ultimately happens is that you start to think you know the question before the interviewer has asked it because you have been on so many interviews. The problem with you getting a job be be that you don’t interview anywhere near as well as you think you do. This can be one of the big reasons.

You start anticipating the questions and start answering what you think is being asked, go often these long-winded explanations, instead of keeping your answers to 45 seconds, maybe one minute (By the way, if you think that is a short amount of time, try time yourself talking for 45 seconds and see how long that is). You will develop an appreciation for the fact that 45 seconds is a long time.

Your goal is to answer the question. If it is a phone interview, I want you to have your resume out in front of you and write the question down in front of you so that is a reminder that will help you stay on point. When you hear the question, you can even circle a few things on your resume term I do have some talking points you want to make sure to cover.

Answer the question, no more and no less. Don’t go off on long-winded tangents. 45 seconds. Maybe a minute tops. Keep your answer to the point. Otherwise what starts to happen is something that is happened to me – – the interviewer starts to mentally channel surf (thinking about what they would rather be doing; what else they can be doing other than sitting and listening to you; what the next appointment is; who the next call is with). They are no longer listening to you. This could be the very reason why you are failing on your interviews.

You stop listening because you thought you knew what the question was and go off on tangents.

[/spp-transcript]

Do you think employers are trying to help you? You already know you can’t trust recruiters—they tell you as much 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

You can order a copy of “Diagnosing Your Job Search Problems” for Kindle for $.99 and receive free Kindle versions of “No BS Resume Advice” and “Interview Preparation.”

Stupid Interview Mistakes: Crossing The Line – No BS Job Search Advice Radio

by

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter warned you about crossing the line on your next interview and how that can become so costly.

[spp-transcript]

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter is a coach who worked as a recruiter for what seems like one hundred years. His work involves life coaching, as well as executive job search coaching and business life coaching.

JobSearchCoachingHQ.com offers 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.

START YOUR 7 DAY FREE TRIAL

Connect with me on LinkedIn

You can order a copy of “Diagnosing Your Job Search Problems” for Kindle for $.99 and receive free Kindle versions of “No BS Resume Advice” and “Interview Preparation.”

 

 

Are you interested in executive job search coaching, leadership coaching or life coaching from me?  Email me at JeffAltman@TheBigGameHunter.us and put the word, “Coaching” in the subject line.

3 Questions to Ask at the End of a Job Interview

by

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter offers three questions you should ask at the end of every single job interview.

[spp-transcript]

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter is a coach who worked as a recruiter for what seems like one hundred years. His work involves life coaching, as well as executive job search coaching and business life coaching. He is the host of “Job Search Radio,” “No BS Job Search Advice Radio,” and his newest show, “No BS Coaching Advice.”

Are you interested in 1:1 coaching from me?  Email me at JeffAltman@TheBigGameHunter.us and put the word, “Coaching” in the subject line.

Do you have a quick question you would like me to answer? Pay $50 via PayPal to TheBigGameHunter@gmail.com  

JobSearchCoachingHQ.com offers 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. Like me on Facebook.

You can order a copy of “Diagnosing Your Job Search Problems” for Kindle for $.99 and receive free Kindle versions of “No BS Resume Advice” and “Interview Preparation.”

Don’t forget to give the show 5 stars and a good review in iTunes

If you want to know how to win more interviews, order “Winning Interviews.” You’ll learn how to win phone interviews, in-person interviews, the best question to ask on any interview and more.