Job Search Radio – Page 43 – Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter's Blog

How Fatal Is This Cover Letter Mistake? – Job Search Radio

October 18, 2016 by Jeff

A person continues by writing, “Last week I sent out 8 cover letters, and today I realized instead of “I am writing to apply”, I wrote “I am applying to write”. Eek! How embarrassing. Would this be make or break for you? I haven’t heard back from them yet, but it’s only been a week so I wasn’t worried”

[spp-transcript]

This is a question I read from someone; I think it’s a useful question because it speaks to the heart of mistakes people make with cover letters.

How fatal is this mistake?

Last week, I sent out 8 cover letters; today, I realized that instead of writing, “I am writing to apply,” I wrote, “I am applying to write.” ~~How~~ embarassing!

Would this be “make or break for you? I haven’t heard back from them but it has only been a week.

So the question is “how fatal is this mistake? As always, the answer is, “It depends.”

Depends on the nature of the job involved. Depends on whether anyone actually read your cover letter. For example, if you set it as an attachment, no one read it. It depends on the nature of the role; if you are applying for a writing job and you wrote that, it can be fatal. If you wrote for most positions, no one really cares.

They might gloss over it because people read resumes and cover letters in 6 seconds or less. In cover letters, it’s often less. If this was your “typical innocuous cover letter” sent as an attachment, no one read it. If this was a “typical innocuous letter” put into the body of an email, someone might have skimmed it quickly to see if there was something relevant in it (if it is like most cover letters, there is nothing relevant in it).

Frankly, I wouldn’t worry about it. What seems more damning is that it has been a week since you applied and no one has contacted you.You said, “only a week;” if you’re an experienced professional, that is usually the “kiss of death.” It would seem that your resume was the bigger problem, not your cover letter. If resumes don’t make the case for your candidacy, you’re not hearing from an employer. Employers only care about whether a resume “vaguely fits” what they are looking for.

So, I’m less concerned with the cover letter; I am more concerned that you haven’t gotten a response. The likelihood is you’re not going hear from them. Not having read your resume or seen the position description, I have no basis to judge why. They may have seen stronger people with tighter matches . . . many different reasons. Don’t worry about the mistake; it’s unlikely anyone noticed.

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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

Applying for Two Different Types of Jobs at the Same Company – Job Search Radio

October 14, 2016 by Jeff

Does applying to two different kinds of jobs at one company lower your chances of getting either one?

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Does applying to two different jobs at one company significantly lower your chances of getting each one? I am interested in two different areas (and then they outline both of them). Would it be a bad idea to apply to both of them at the same company? How does the process usually work with processing applications?

Without outlining the specific jobs, I’m going to answer the specific questions.

As to whether reduces your chances by applying to more than one position, well, it depends. I interviewed someone for the show not long ago who was a corporate HR recruiter. He commented that his firm’s applicant tracking system was set up to recognize individuals who were, “frequent appliers.” In his firm which was a medical facility in the mid-Atlantic states, his firm would get applications from people for multiple positions that they weren’t qualified for. The system is set up to block them from applying because they are little more than a spammer to them.

“Yes,” you can think, “they may hit on one of them.” These people are not paying attention and don’t really care about the impact on the person reading the resume; they just want to work for the company. What firms look for our someone who can fill individual job. You can see the disconnect there.

Thus, multiple submissions can have an adverse impact unless you’re going to individual hiring managers. So, if you are applying through the applicant tracking system, you’re starting to lower your value to them. After all, even if there are two different recruiters handling the two different jobs, the system is going to recognize that you’ve applied through two different types of position. Even if they look at the resume, there recognize that it’s the same person applying for two different jobs, realize that you probably don’t fit either of these roles and reject your resumes.

Or they may look at them and think to themselves, “Spammer!” Or they may just simply say, “Huh,” and delete your resumes.

So, it can have an adverse impact, it can have a neutral impact, it can have a negative impact, at worst.

Let’s review the scenarios:

“Huh?” (rejected).

“Let’s consider him for this one, but delete the resumes for the other.”

“Spammer!”

There is no situation where they are going to say to themselves, “Fabulous! We received the resume for two different jobs!”

And the probability is that two different recruiters are coordinating two different jobs so there is going to be internal friction so they will have to figure out who is going to be the primary interviewer and who will be the secondary. Remember, corporate recruiters are now being evaluated based upon outcomes, too. Thus, it’s not simply you getting hired (which I know is all you really care about); for them, they have metrics they have to live up to and you will probably be wasting their time they could be better served elsewhere.

Continuing, how does the process work with applications? Would I be talking to the same recruiter? I’ve addressed that already.

The fact that you are submitting your resume to two different positions, involving two separate groups, demonstrates that you’re an amateur to them. As such, you are sending a signal to the employer that you don’t really have a career yet and are trying to sort things out. After all, in their thinking, you can be interested and qualified in one area, not the other. The fact that you’re leaving it to the winds, to the ether to sort it out for you, sends messages to employers.

Even if the two jobs reflect an old paradigm and a new one, they say are themselves, “Ah! She’s trying to make a career change. She’s not good be happy doing this old work if we hire her for that.” You see, it’s not just as simple as whether it is going to one recruiter or two. It is the impact and that message that the recruiter or recruiters is left to interpret. Left to their own devices, recruiters pause, leave the window open and go on to something else. In their subconscious, they try to process the conflicting messages that you are sending by applying for two very different jobs.

Usually, when they pause, they hesitate for lengthy periods of time. When that happens, they come back and re-review the resume and don’t act on it then. Eventually, they reject the resume.

Can it turn out differently? Absolutely! How will it probably turn out? Not so good for you. You are far better off zeroing in on one thing you want that you are qualified for and going for that.

[/spp-transcript]

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.

Connect with me on LinkedIn going to,

Is This a Generic Message or Is the Manager Interested? – Job Search Radio

October 13, 2016 by Jeff

When a recruiter says, “the hiring manager sent your resume to me and asked that I reach out,” is that a generic message or was the manager really interested?

That’s the question I answer on this show can the short answer is, “It depends.” That’s a subject for today’s show; I’ll explain.

[spp-transcript]

When a recruiter says, “The hiring manager sent me your profile and asked that I reach out,” is that a generic message or is the manager really interested?

As usual, it’s a “depends message.” It depends on whether this is an agency or a corporate recruiter.

If it’s a corporate recruiter, it is likely that that is true. The hiring manager was doing some reconnaissance because they’re not seeing resumes that that. Where they are not getting referrals that fit the position you’re trying to fill, so they did some digging, and on the resume themselves, forwarded to HR and said, “Call this person.”

If it is an agency recruiter, the likelihood is that it is a load of crap. What’s happening is that the agency recruiter is trying to flatter you, distract you and not say things to you like, “I heard some nice things about your work and want to have a chance to talk with you,” and instead, try this load of crap to try to persuade you to talk with them.

Agency recruiters are doing their own work; they are digging, they are finding people, they are doing what they can to find individuals to fill jobs. Using lines like this are designed to flatter you and cause you to think more of them and their relationship with the hiring manager and the probable reality is.

Corporate recruiter? Believe it. Agency recruiter? No.

/spp-transcript]

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.

Connect with me on LinkedIn

Don’t Fall For Employers Conning You – Job Search Radio

October 12, 2016 by Jeff

As much as third-party recruiters are criticized for lying to job hunters, employers run a “hustle,” too. As a former employer mine used to do when he gave me accolades regularly, but was the type of person who would steal a dime from you.

On this show, I point out the two extremes of how employers try to “con” you and encourage you not to fall for it.

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I want to talk with you today about some of the ways employers try to con you doing your job search.

I used to work for a guy who always used to talk about how much he loved everyone – – love, love, love, love, love, love – – “I love you Jeff. You’re wonderful. I love you so-and-so. You are terrific!” He would steal a dime from you if given an opportunity.

Employers do this and interviewing as well. They say things like, “Oh, man! Your background looks great!” Or “I don’t know. You’re missing some things we are really looking for.” In both extremes, what they are doing is playing games.

It’s the game of trying to “finessed you” into doing what they really want you to do. For example, in the positive spin, people let their guard down. They open themselves up even more and reveal things to the employer they probably shouldn’t reveal because, after all, “it’s looking good, right?” In the other example, they beat you up and try talking you about what you’re missing and what your deficiencies are so they can drive you down on money.

I had a friend who was involved with a negotiation recently. He was brought in by someone he knew professionally, known one another for a number of years, brought into a firm after interviewing on multiple occasions over the course of the six-month period of time, then they come in with a lowball offer. The lowball came in out of the blue; all along, they tell you how much they love him and his background and may offer him a lot less blood than what he told them he was earning and what his value is to them.

So we decided to circle back into another negotiation with them and I had warned him that there was going to be a possibility of this happening to and I kept encouraging them to try to generate different situations for himself because I wasn’t so sure about this one was going to come and successfully. I thought it might but you can’t let your guard down; you always have to be selling. Otherwise, unless you are, “the con” wins. There are lots of different ways these comments work.

So I always want you to out there and making sure of your real value – – value in the marketplace and value to the organization. If they try to sweet-talk you (“oh you’re wonderful”), keep being out there selling yourself; you keep marketing yourself. You keep trying to generate opportunities because you can’t be certain that they are being forthright/honest. Conversely, if the beating you up (“will you take a lot less?), You can respond by saying, “I have a drop-dead price just like you do. If you think I’m worth that much less, this may not be the right thing for me and I probably am not the right person for you. If you really think that’s my value, let’s just shake hands, parties friends and move on.” It’s better to do that rather than putting yourself through the agony of pleading with them. Just shut them up and bring this thing to a happy ending for each of you where you shake hands and go off on something else.

Now, if you have nothing going on and you been on five interviews with this firm, and this is your best hope, you play out this hand. However, most of the time, falling for the con in either way whether it’s the “I love you con” or “You’re a piece of dog-whatever,” isn’t worth anything to you.

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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.

Connect with me on LinkedIn

What Are Direct Ways to Get a Job? – Job Search Radio

October 10, 2016 by Jeff

What are some of the direct ways to actually get a job without the mambo jumbo stuff?

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The question for today is what are direct ways to get a job without the mumbo-jumbo stuff. That’s the way the question was phrased to me and I decided make the headline for this show an abbreviated version. So I will highlight two ways and invite you to add others to the list in the comments area.

The two ways I’m going to recommend are (number one) contact friends; maybe friend can hire you. Friends, obviously, who are in positions of authority, have the ability to hire people into jobs.

The second way, and this is the indirect why which isn’t necessarily going to instantly result in you getting a job, is by being referred by a friend or former colleague who is able to say positive things about you to hiring manager. This requires, of course, that you have friends (number one), that they are working, that there working at firms that are hiring, and that they have a relationship with the hiring manager. Even if they don’t have a relationship with the hiring manager, they can refer you and to the employee referral program. As a matter of fact, LinkedIn has a system in place where if a firm is advertising a job on their platform and the firm has engaged this service, the employee can recommend you if you’re connected to them.

So what you are able to do is contact your friend through LinkedIn, say “I saw your firm is hiring someone. If your firm has an employee referral program, why don’t you recommend me or submit me to the job on LinkedIn.” They are able to do that. Now the mechanics of that, I don’t know, but you can research that if you want to.

The idea becomes because you are referral, you are running with a certain amount of a halo around you as being someone qualified for the job. If you are qualified for the job! If you are a doorman at a building or lawnskeeper applying for software engineering job, obviousl you are not qualified and have no shot. But, assuming that you meet the basic qualifications of the role, your friend is able to recommend you, your former colleague is able to recommend you and the result winds up being, because you arrive with social proof of the fact that your qualified, your advantaged over the absolute stranger. So where possible, it is always better to be referred by someone who is known to the hiring manager, not HR, but the hiring manager so that they can recommend you versus coming in out of the cold. Coming in as just an ad response are filling in an application on applicant tracking system.

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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.

Connect with me on LinkedIn

How Do You Get Past The Young Recruiter to The Hiring Manager – Job Search Radio

October 6, 2016 by Jeff

This is a question the someone asked me recently. I, personally, would not have referred to the person as, “the young recruiter.” I would just call them, “the recruiter.” Using the question was term suggests that the person is inexperienced and young.

On today’s podcast, I offer a simple way to circumvent the recruiter. Try it!

[spp-transcript]

The question I received was an interesting one and I will answer in multiple layers. The full question reads, “how do you get past the young recruiter who disqualifies you from age before decision-maker has a chance to consider you?” Great question! Let me answer it in several ways.

Number one is ageism shows up in a lot of different forms and, here, the ageism starts off by being presumptive. The presumption is I’m going to be discriminated against on the basis of age and ruled out because I’m old. I have no idea how will this individual is; for all I know they are 40 and they are being interviewed by someone who was 22.

They could be my age (by the way, I’m 65) an interview by someone 30.

The assumption is that your age is going to knock you out of contention when in fact, all knock you out of contention more often than not is your attitude. In this case, you’re starting off with a chip on your shoulder and you are doing nothing to change attitudes.

You see, one of the things I know about older people is that they cop to this assumption of ageism very very quickly. And, unfortunately, they do nothing to defeat the bias. For example, when I’m talking to organizations and speaking with the 25-year-old recruiter, the 32-year-old manager, and they see this face of mine, it will be easy for me to say, “They weren’t interested in me because I’m old.”

But, in point of fact, if I haven’t done a good enough job selling, if I have been personally persuasive that I was a better choice is a search for then there are other alternatives, that isn’t about ageism; it’s about how I sold myself. This happens it interviews much too often.

As soon as the older workers sees the 24-year-old in the room, they say themselves, “Oh, shoot. I have no chance here.” Instead, they should be selling their energy, their drive and knowledge.

Often, an older worker is rejected because the resume says manager, director, VP all over it and it is a staff position they are applying for. It isn’t the age that is a factor; it is the fact that they haven’t been in the trenches doing the job day-to-day is being called for. Instead, they have been managing people, operating in a higher level than the job entails and then they come to the idea of ageism as being a factor. With that rant the side, let me go to the actual way of doing. If you have reason to believe proactively that this is going to occur.

First, demonstrating the background fits the role. Second, sit there with a smile on your face, instead of looking like a grump or grouch and answer all the questions.

When they ask, “So do you have any questions for us,” at the end of the interview, ask great questions. Then, when you conclude the interview, put them in a bind.

The bind is, “Look, I know it’s easy to reject me because you perceive me as an older worker and I won’t get along with the hiring manager. That would be an easy thing to say. But my history would countermand that. My history shows that at and lastly firms I have worked for younger people. I help them be successful and I did that when asked because I understand that they had their lessons to learn and I’m not here to force myself on anyone. I want to be an ally for the hiring manager and support them with what they are trying to do. So, if you are concerned that I am a ‘big gun’ going into a little job or that I am an older guy who is going to work for younger woman, I’ve done it before and I’m happy to do it again.”

That becomes part of the closing speech so that you are taking it straight on and putting them in a bind. Nothing works all the time, but what you’ve done is put them in a bind by calling them on it and addressing the “honest question” that is in the room. You answered it and put it on them to push you forward.

That’s really the best way to do it–you address it head on at the very end of the interview as your last thing, when they are about to stand up and finish up. You looked him square in the eye, speak with sincerity from your heart and talk a little about how at your last few firms you’ve worked for younger managers, help them be affected, and enforced your ideas on them, have been there is a resource for them, but you’re not there to push your ideas on them.

If they then turn around and say, “No. We want you for that,” then you have something golden. However, your concern his voice to the question is that young HR guy, not getting through to the decision-maker – – the statistical probability is that the first half of this podcast is that the fact that you believe it’s an issue is accurate and, if you want to get past the HR person I’ve given you a way to do it.

No matter, most people know that the goal is to connect with the hiring manager and avoid the applicant tracking system and the recruiter/screener. No one, however, explains how to do it.

[/spp-transcript]

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.

Connect with me on LinkedIn

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

My Contract is Ending and The CEO Doesn’t Know Me – Job Search Radio

October 4, 2016 by Jeff

Someone wrote to me and asked about this predicament they were in. They are a consultant who is been successfully working at a client for quite some time. However, their assignment is ending very soon and he is afraid that he will not be extended/renewed because the CEO doesn’t know him.

He asks, “Should I stop by their office, introduce myself and ask how I can help?”

[spp-transcript]

I have a fun question today!

“I work for a blue-chip company and my employment contract is expiring. The CEO has never heard of me. Should I stop by their office and ask if I can help them and how?”

I must in all candor say that as a consultant, you committed the cardinal sin, the most basic mistake a consultant can make. That is, once you’re on assignment, making sure the people in charge know who you are and want you to remain there because they see the value in your work. This applies to people in full-time jobs as well.

You see, at the end of the day, if a tree falls in the woods and no one hears it, why should they care? You’ve done nothing up until this point to make sure that the real decision-maker cares. It also could be that this person isn’t going to be involved in the decision for you to remain but, in the way that you presented, it gives me the idea that they will.

So, if you suddenly appear on the doorstep, like a week before your contract runs out and say, “Hey! I’m the guy who… What can I do to help you? I only have a week because my contract is running out…” Well, they’ve probably already made the decision to keep you are not.

But, remember, they shouldn’t happen at the time of renewal. They should be going on all law. You want to stick your face in front of people who are involved with you being retained. You want to be doing great work for these people. It’s kind of like in executive support, when they interview people for roles where they will be supporting people in the C suite and secondarily some staff, they ask how a person would prioritize.

The correct answer is: if they are in the C suite, they go first. It doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks. They always good for service. Why? If you have to ask the question you are an idiot.

The same thing has to apply to you and your career, whether you are a consultant or on staff. At the end of the day, the real decision-makers (not your immediate boss, but the ones a couple levels up from them) have to know your name, no which are capable of, know what your successes are. You have to market yourself both internally and externally.

You have to develop relationships where you as an individual are thought of highly and you are not thought of as being a pain in the rear.

It’s probably too late to do anything but learn your lesson. This applies to you as a job hunter, you looking at your career… Everything you do has to create an impression that you are someone that they want to keep.

Because there is going to be another recession (like for the questioner, there recession is going to begin when their contract runs out). For you who have full-time jobs and feeling superior, there is another recession is going to come up and do you want to be on,” or do you want to avoid the list .

Your boss may not be all to save you because they are too low down in the food chain to really advocate hard for you. You have to work your way up and make sure that those in positions of authority know your value. Otherwise, you’re just another name on the staff list and they can go, “Jeff is only been here for three months. We’ve done well without him before, we can do well without him again.”

“Who’s this Harry guy? He’s been here for five years? Never heard of him before. Loser!” Do you get my point?

I hope you never put yourself in that position again.

[/spp-transcript]

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

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.”

How Do You Attract the Attention of Recruiters From Top Tech Companies? – Job Search Radio

October 3, 2016 by Jeff

A person who wrote asking about how they can get someone’s attention to the top tech firm. They went to an average to a mediocre school and they really want to work for such a firm.

On this podcast,I answer this from the perspective of a recent grad as well as the vantage point of an experienced professional.

[spp-transcript]

You attract the attention of recruiters from top tech companies? I’m good answer this for new grads and experienced professionals alike. I’d but I want to read the sub question from the original question I read.

“I’m going to be graduating with a bachelor’s degree next year and I’m looking to get into software engineering. I did not go to a well ranked school for computer science. I’m looking for some ideas of how to attract the attention from recruiters.”

Let me answer this one, then go to the general computer science grad and then come to experienced people. So the first part is, I didn’t go to a great school. How do I attract the attention?

The answer is – – it’s probably too late. What you’ll need to do is invest some time and do some great work that you noticed in order to get into that top organization. Why? Because they are not there to satisfy you. They are trying to find exquisite talent for their organization. They’ve come up with criteria that works for them.

You are a stretch at best and probably a loser from their previous experience. That’s not a criticism of you; they just come up with formulas that dictate who is going to be successful in their organization. It is not the person who went to the “C” school (by that I mean, like A, B, C, D school; I’m giving you the benefit of the doubt; you went to a mediocre school at best).

They are not there to do social work and make you happy. They are there to solve a problem, right? You are going to have to up your game and instead of doing the mediocre work that caused you to be in the “C” school, you are going to have to step up your game. That’s going to be on you.

You can do that in your next job. You can do that by working on projects on the side. However you do it, you’re going to have to step up your game so that they want to talk to you.

That’s for that person. For the new grad, for this person who hasn’t really played big yet, you will have to step up. If you’ve gone to a top school, you have it easier, not easy because you come with that brand with you. So if you attended Stanford you have a certain amount of recognition that comes with that. They have a positive halo but you have got to deliver the goods (positive halo means that the people that they’ve hired from that school in the past have been successful in their organization). Think of it from that perspective.

Find the alum from your school who really going to work there and see if you can develop a relationship where they want to refer you. That’s the easiest way to get in. From there, it is having a profile that causes them to want to reach out to you. Talk to your career services office to see how they can set you up, IF they can set you up (I’m going pass Stanford at this point, obviously).

Again, previous grads who’ve gone to work at these firms. Career services. Creating a profile that’s attractive that calls attention to you in your work. Reaching out to HR and hiring managers (HR I only bring up from the standpoint of new grads because, most of the time, unless you are being referred by a previous grant or someone that you know there, that’s going to be your only way of getting it).

Lastly, for the experienced person, if you’ve done great work if you are marketing yourself beyond, “I’m in my job. I’m in my silo doing this task. If you are out promoting yourself because your career is part what you do and part market (after all, you know of these firms for a variety of reasons including how they’ve granted themselves from a career standpoint, right). You have to follow their model and brand yourself and market yourself and promote yourself outside of the cubicle that you work in for your current firm.

Your LinkedIn profile is a small piece. Your public persona. Where you put yourself out is going to be part of this. Where can you connect with people who work at these firms? Where are the speakers from these organizations appear in? Can you get introduced to them there or introduce yourself to you there?

There are lots of different ways to market and promote yourself but the big thing is making sure that the world knows about you. I want to make sure you hear that again – – making sure that the world knows about you… And doing it consistently..

[/spp-transcript]

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.

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.”

How Do I Stay in Contact With My References During a Long Job Search? – Job Search Radio

September 30, 2016 by Jeff

If you do with the right way, you will establish your references at the beginning of the job search so you know who they are and what they will say and can include them in an application when you fill one out. But, often, a lot of time goes by from the time that you first speak with them until the time that you need them. How do you stay in contact? How do you keep them on their toes so they are ready when you need them?

[spp-transcript]

How do you stay in contact with the references when you know you to be involved with a lengthy job search?

So much of this question reveals a lack of confidence on the part of the job hunter. First of all, I don’t know how long a “long job search” is. Let’s assume this person knows it will be a long job search because they realize that they are a beginner or they have antiquated skills or experience that will cause it to be a long job search.

First of all, you need to accept the fact that you will need to do work in order to make this not a long job search. By that, I mean that there are things you will need to learn or relearn that the job market demands of you that will improve your chances, instead of being like a feather in the wind blowing from place to place. You take charge of your own career and learn what you need to learn. That’s step number one

Step number two is how do you stay in contact with people? You stay in contact are limited basis but not an abusive basis. For example, you write what seems like a personal note. Instead of doing a bulk copy or blind copy to five people who might be references, and send it to one person at a time.

The subject line could be something like, “Status update.” The message could read, “I’m not at a point yet where my interviews will yield an offer, but I want to let you know that I’m still looking, keep this in your mind.” Then remind them of the few points you want them to make at the right time so it just doesn’t hit the like a ton of bricks.

Continue by saying, “Have no fear. When I need you I will contact you immediately and say,” ‘It’s time.'” That will give them the habit of knowing that that is the code phrase for, “I really need you.”

Doing it every 4 to 6 weeks is fine, just to send a quick report on your job search and where you are. You don’t have to mention companies by name. You just want them to know that she was still looking for a position and you’ll be in contact when you need them.

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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.

Connect with me on LinkedIn

Stupid Interviewing Mistakes: Seeming Desperate! – Job Search Radio

September 29, 2016 by Jeff

Being desperate is a turnoff in dating AND it’s a turnoff in job hunting.

On this show, I discuss “the stupid interviewing mistake” of seeming desperate and explain how to correct it.

[spp-transcript]

This one is about one of those stupid job hunting mistakes people make all the time. That mistake is appearing desperate.

Have you ever been on a date with some of you seem desperate? Now, women, you can’t tell me you haven’t been on a date with some of you seen that way to you somewhere in your life?

They just are too (fill in the blank). They are just too much. As a result, I would presume to know how you feel when you’re out with someone who seems desperate. I just know that in situations where I’ve been out with “desperate women,” it hasn’t been a pleasant experience.

Women who appeared desperate, in the male vernacular start appearing like “stalkers.”Act as though they are like stalkers.” I suspect the same is true on the women’s side… Or worse.

Such behavior doesn’t work in dating and it certainly doesn’t work and job search.

When you go to an interview and appears to eager, you start to act, “oh boy! This is great!! I’ll do that!” Eventually the hiring manager takes a deep breath and says to themselves, “what’s with this person?”

So you can appear too eager (it is okay to be accommodating, but not too eager).

So your job is to relax and to deal with your future bosses though they are a peer. In this way, they understand and do you understand what you are capable of doing for them. In this way, they can evaluate and assess you and see how you fit into their needs.

Acting like the obedience school trial, sitting in your chair, leaning forward (did you ever do that one when you were a kid), just doesn’t work. It doesn’t make you more attractive than other candidates; if anything, it makes you less appealing.

At the end of the day, what you seem like his desperate. No one really likes desperate. So, relax. Follow my advice about the single best question you should ask on any interview. Talk with them is an equal and explain how your background fits that which they are looking for. Do it with confidence and self-assurance because part of what your job is on an interview is to put their mind at ease and that you are the solution to a problem that they have.

They need someone to do such and such. You want to talk about how you did it for someone else before. In joining them, you don’t want to do this for the next 30 or 40 years of your life. You also want to understand the upside for you. After all, do you really want to do the same thing for the next three or four years? Of course not.

That’s why you always want to make sure that you ask questions about your potential future. And, if you don’t like the answer, don’t be a shmuck and take the job and then blame them for what is happening to you. It’s your fault then.

So, again, don’t bag and don’t appear desperate.

[/spp-transcript]

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.

Connect with me on LinkedIn