Job hunting secrets/Interview tips

So I have been reading a lot lately about things that either are or could be come trend in hiring/employment. Several of my recent posts have been about these trends, especially the raise of the freelance economy. In some industries/sectors this is nothing new. For example academia has called this class of employee adjuncts and the practice has been around for decades.

Because of this focus I haven't had as much time to pass on general job hunting and interviewing advice columns. These two did register on my radar and I set them aside to pass along. The first is by Lou Adler, who wrote The Ten Best Job-hunting Secrets of all time. The second is by Jeff Haden, who wrote What Interviewers Wish They Could Tell Every Job Candidate.  Neither of these seemed groundbreaking to me, but admittedly I read a lot of these columns/articles, so they may be new to you.

In Mr. Adler's piece he provides 10 tips, mostly about networking and answering interviewer questions. They are all sound, but as I said nothing that seems radically different. Also as is typically the case there is very little description or explanation of how to apply the tips. One thing I will give him credit for is linking job seekers to a column he wrote on advice for the interviewer to use in judging our answers, so obviously it might be helpful to review that advice as well.

In Mr. Harden's piece he talks about nine traits/attributes that the interviewer wants to see/pick up on in the interview. Used along side the two articles by Mr. Adler these could help develop a picture of what you might expect the interviewer to think/feel about you as a candidate.

So as a example the #3 tip from Mr. Harden's column was that interviewers what candidates to stand out. If you paired that with the #'s 7 & 8 tips from Mr. Adler's piece (and some Google searching for what exactly SAFW is and how to do it...)you should be able to construct some strong answers to questions you expect the interviewer might ask.

How do you determine what questions they might ask (you might be saying to your self...) well you have a few choices:

• First examine your resume and cover letter and be prepared to talk about any and all statements, experiences, accomplishments you have provided  to them.
• Try a sight like Glassdoor.com (I wrote this review) and look up sample interview questions.

Another interviewing technique similar to the SAFW that Mr. Adler describes is STAR. It is another way to help you organize your thoughts and prepare a strong answer.

Hopefully these and other things I have written about over the past year and a half are helping people out. As always I would love to hear from readers and get a conversation going.

The value of personal websites.

Just in case you hadn't heard... a personal web site is valuable to the job seeker.

Author Jacquelyn Smith writes this article in Forbes, Why every job seeker should have a personal website and what it should include. At the beginning she shares some national statistics about the job market: the average job opening receives 118 applicants, only about 20% (or 36 get interviews.) Also she quotes a Workfolio study that reports that "56% of hiring managers are more  impressed by a personal website than any other branding tool - however, only 7% of job seekers actually have a personal website."

These statistics seem to match my personal experiences over the past few years. They also seem to match a gut feeling I have had in the past about the reasons to have a personal website, and I have one... but is it doing all it could for me? I would love to see examples of sites that other job seekers are using. By sharing we should all be able to get stronger as candidates.

What can be learned during a long job search.

Long job searches can be tough on the job seeker, I am sure if you are in that situation you don't need me to tell you that. Also each industry brings its own set of unique circumstances, even before we begin to analyze each persons unique situation. All that being said, I think that the advice of this librarian can be helpful for most job seekers in a long search (think 12 months or longer.)

If your job search has been too long (which is a totally personal decision) you may need to start thinking about a career change. This recent article on creating resumes for a career change may be helpful.  Also you may want to investigate my posts on employment trends, especially the recent post about thinking like a free agent.

• Tap your network and learn about different career paths you might explore.
• Once you have some ideas research these paths (try this post for a good starting point.)
• Generate questions you have about these options.
• Try to arrange informational interviews with people in your network (or from outside) to learn the answers to these questions.
• Think about volunteering to gain some experience in the new career path.
• Look to expand your network towards this new path.
• Look at LinkedIn groups that you might join to hear the perspective of experts in the area.
• Follow people on Twitter, Google+ or other social networks that allow to learn from/observe these experts.
• Once you feel comfortable join in on these conversations. This becomes part of your social resume.
• Remember to critically examine your skills and experience to identify areas that will apply to jobs in your new/desired field.
•  When performing this examination try a separate sheet (file) for each job (and possibly each major area of each job...) and begin to list in detail everything involved: skills, accomplishments, challenges.
• These lists will help you identify areas to highlight in a resume/cover letter for a job for which you have less experience, but feel that you have the right skills to succeed.

Above all keep the chin up and good luck.

Think like a free agent?

This blog post comes from the Richland Library in South Carolina and discusses the 'new search strategy' of thinking like a free agent. The author Lori Cook is a job readiness trainer, and her many posts show her knowledge and describe ways of helping the general public with the complicated nature of the job search. I like this analogy, and while the general advice is very much in line with things I have read in the past the analogy is new and very effective.

In sports of any kind, players are under contract. Depending on the sport and the union rules they can often earn the right to become a free agent, meaning that they can receive offers and choose to work for a new team. This almost always comes with a large pay increase and much press coverage.

In Ms. Cook's piece she outlines how using some of the philosophy of athletes and working for yourself can be beneficial in searching for or being offered employment. I like the tone of the article, and believe that many job seekers can benefit from this attitude shift to the job search.

Embrace Insecurity?

This article by Allison Vaillancourt featured in the Chronicle of Higher Education discusses how being a bit insecure might make you a better employee. Before you discount the advice as only applying for academics, the article is discussing a study conducted by the Harvard Business Review Blog. The original HBR Blog piece offers three tips:

• Lower self-confidence makes you pay attention to negative feedback and be self-critical
• Lower self-confidence can motivate you to work harder and prepare more
• Lower self-confidence reduces the chances of coming across as arrogant or being deluded.

My thought is that these are all a fine line, but when you are in the good place between having a level of self-confidence that is too high and too low can produce great employees. I would encourage everyone to read both articles, and then reflect on where you may fall of the sliding scale.

If you are too high on your skills you may act without considering all the ramifications... but if you are too low on your skills you might become paralyzed with self-doubt. As with many things in life finding the right balance along this scale can lead to a better more well rounded employee/job candidate.

For the job hunter/candidate I see this applying most to the interview and/or networking opportunities.

Questions, Questions, Questions!

I have written several posts that highlight the importance of asking questions during the interview process. This piece from Fortune Magazine's Ask Annie column highlights key questions of a potential boss to judge fit with the organization.

I have always found that asking a variation on the "key attributes that the next candidate will bring to this job" is highly effective. First as the column notes you can hear what they are looking for in a slightly more informal way and judge if what they want matches with what you could bring. Second, not mentioned is that if you ask this near the end of the interview you can then recap some of the information you have presented to them during the interview of how you feel you would match those characteristics (assuming you still want to be considered for the job.) If you think that it would not be a good fit you can then work on crafting a respectful communication to send to the hiring manager after the interview detailing why you are removing your self from consideration.

Never underestimate the power this can bring to your networking! Most professions/industries are small. By this I mean that the people you know and who know you may easily know a person that will be interviewing you for your next job. By declining a spot earlier (if you truly feel you don't think you would enjoy the job or the company) you can create a positive image of yourself as a professional (i.e. you know when a job would not have worked and you are respecting their time and resources.) Therefore in the future if you are interviewing for or being considered for a position that you know you are qualified for and want... that person/company may ask some of their colleagues whom you possible interviewed with. They will be able to not only comment on how you presented yourself but be able to comment on your commitment to finding the right job fit for you.

What other questions do you find useful to ask a potential boss?

Turning part time work into full time.

As I mentioned in a recent post, I have finally found work. Currently it is part time work, but hopefully someday soon I will find full time work. This blog post from AOL Jobs gives 5 Surefire Ways to Turn A Part-Time Gig Into a Full-Tie Job. Their five tips are:

1. Dress like you're on a job interview.
2. Get to know everyone.
3. Be gracious.
4. Go out of your way to be helpful.
5. Focus on excellence, not speed.

The explanations are good, and the list makes sense. My perspective after a week is that these tips may not make the jump to full time possible, but this is due more to the nature of my position. I have been informed that all the previous holders of the position I am in have gone on to full time work in my field, so that is great. For anyone out there currently in a part time position I recommend following these principles to help you make the jump to full time if that is your desire.

Good luck!
-George

Tips for better networking

This piece from the Wall Street Journal covers tips for being a smart protege, which of course is all about networking. A protege needs a mentor to help them learn and grow, and traditional this has been a one-to-one relationship. This piece gets into a detailed explanation of why having many mentors can be better than one.

I have had several mentors during my career, but rarely not more than one at a time. This piece has given my a lot to think about, and I may have more to share about it in the future. Does anyone else have any thoughts? 

Taking Charge of Your Career

A few weeks back an article appeared in The Atlantic that has stirred up some controversy. It talked about the near impossibility of women 'having it all'... I debated discussing it here on my blog, but it didn't quite seem to fit perfectly with my general theme of advice for those looking for work. Then I saw this response to that article, 5 Tips to Take Charge of Your Career (Startup Success for Women). The author, Mariette Johnson Wharton, is an entrepreneur in the field of marketing and has some good advice (that is of course valuable for men and women.)

#1 Negotiate for promotions and salary increases...
          don't for get my many posts about salary, especially this one on finding salary and employment data.

#2 Start doing the job you want.
          Most of us know what we want to do, but opportunities can come at unexpected times and in unexpected ways...

#3 Work on developing a strong leadership style.
          Try reading my friends Jerry Steuerwald's leadership blog.

#4 Become a subject matter expert.
          Knowing your subject better than anyone else will equal success as an entrepreneur.

#5 Build strong relationships in industry.
          Networking, networking, networking.

It doesn't matter if you are considering starting your own business or remaining in a traditional company or if you are a man or a woman... these tips can be valuable for shaping your future employment prospects.

Good luck.

Networking with LinkedIn

While I and many other career related blogs have extolled the importance of using LinkedIn to network, here is an article with tips on things to avoid when reaching out to for connections. "Who are you and why should we connect?" offers insight to all the options with in LinkedIn's connection wizard and how you should use them to the best effect. It also discusses the four common types of LinkedIn user, and why they might not what to accept your offer to connect.

I personally only connect to people I have worked with in the past, or those who are in my field (librarianship) and in my region (Indiana/Midwest). How do you use LinkedIn?

Networking mistakes to avoid.

This article by Ruth Mantell of the Wall Street Journal covers common networking mistakes. Now several of my posts on Social Media have covered the importance of these tools in developing your network... but I feel that I may have neglected to discuss networking and it's importance fully.

Here is the entry from the Riley Guide on Networking, which I reviewed in an early blog entry. As they point out it is consistently cited as the #1 way to get a new job. I can't say that it has directly led to a job opportunity for me personally, but I can say that it has helped keep me connected to my profession during my search for a new job.

If you have stories, good or bad, I would love to hear them.