America’s jobless rate in June is the highest rate since 1983. Some of my Punk Rock HR readers weren’t born in 1983, so this may be the first time many have experienced such a sad & depressing state of affairs in the job market.
It gets better. I promise.
I would like to spend the month of July offering honest, practical, and smart tips on my site. Most job seekers need a fistful of antidepressants, better resumes & interviewing techniques, and up-to-date accounts on LinkedIn. Those are basic competencies in this job market, right now.
- What else?
- What are people missing?
- What’s the single best piece of career advice you can give to someone, right now, who really needs a job?
I have three boxes of swag from the most recent HR conference I attended. There’s everything from books to t-shirts to candy. If you submit an item of advice, you’ll be entered to win one of the boxes. I’ll do a video blog and announce the winners on Tuesday. l will provide the best piece of advice I have for anyone who needs a job, too.
Let’s hear your best Punk Rock HR advice for job seekers. Do your patriotic duty and share a piece of advice that is absolutely required in this job market.
{ 7 trackbacks }
{ 77 comments… read them below or add one }
It may seem basic, but PROOF your resume! When my colleague and I screen resumes, we have so many that we throw out any that have more than two [grammar, spelling, punctuation] mistakes. Your resume is typically the first thing that a potential employer sees from you, so my advice would be to make sure that it is in pristine condition!
#1 piece of advice is to get off your ass, out of the house, and meet people. Only 7.5% of jobs are found through job boards. Four times as many are found through networking and finding jobs on the company’s website.
http://theworkinggeek.com/2009/06/two-key-numbers-for-job-seekers-75-and-111.html
And when you can’t find a job, take all the free time you have because you’re not employed for a paycheck and work on all those self-improvement projects you’ve ignored because “I just can’t find the time.” You have the time now, so work on it.
http://theworkinggeek.com/2009/06/what-do-i-do-when-there-are-no-jobs-to-be-found.html
No swag for me please, I am trying to get rid of my own #SHRM junk…oops, vendor takeaways.
My advice comes from someone who was in the job market the last time unemployment was this bad. You have to be resilient. You have to stay in the game, and if worse come to worse, you have to do what you have to do.
I wasn’t unemployed, but I was broke w/ a kid on the way, and I delivered pizzza, and did a Sunday morning paper route for the New York Times in Michigan, and attended paid focus groups to get cash to buy groceries. I wound up back in school at night while working during the day as a letter carrier.
Be resilient, not entitled.
Don’t be afraid to take temp work while you’re looking for a “real” job. You can make some money, make some contacts, and you might just end up with a full time job.
@Kate: Job seekers shouldn’t proof their resumes. They should get OTHER people to proof their resumes. When you’ve worked on the resume for hours, your chances of finally noticing the teeny stupid error after reading it the thousandth time are slim. Your mom, spouse or next-door neighbor will likely see it in a few seconds.
Focus. Do your research. Determine the companies that you’d like to work for and target your time and energy there. Get connected to folks within those companies via Linkedin, Facebook and/or Twitter. If nothing’s available now, stay connected. Keep the lines of communication open.
And while you’re networking and interviewing, maybe do some volunteer work to stay active. In finance? Volunteer for the finance committee for a local non-profit. Keep your skills up.
Bottom line, you can’t sit around and wait for something to come to you. You need to work to make it happen.
Networking, either social on-line, or face-to-face, is the key. There’s a less than 50% chance your next job will be advertised in the newspaper or on a job board. It’s who you know and who is best able to get your information and\or a recommendation in front of a hiring manager. So get out there and network with job-search groups, former bosses (assuming you’re still speaking to each other), and relatives who might know someone who knows someone. And yes, this approach will likely take you outside of your comfort zone; a good thing.
In the words of Alec Baldwin (Blake) in “Glengarry Glen Ross, “Always be Closing.” Continue to sell yourself. “Coffee is for closers.”
Ask for help. Get others to proof your resume, actually use the 2nd and 3rd degrees of linkedin links to get to someone in the hiring company beyond the HR manager, ask anyone and everyone you know if they know someone who knows someone.
People get jobs through people, not computers.
1. Be patient – Someone is going to take you. It might be 1 week or a year, but there are interests out there if you try.
2. Open up your network to everyone. This also means make your profile public (except social security and all he government private stuff).
3. Anyone you meet could lead to something – Don’t just rely on networking with your professional peers…Rely on other groups like your local kitty club or meetup with other fans of your favorite sports team. I had greater success not meeting with HR people, but with people who are workers by day and fans by night because they share the same interest as me and are willing to help out.
You really have to get out on front of people. Sending your resume online only gets you so far…. Make phone calls, Register with Temp agencies, Get out to the job centers, and tell everyone you know, you are looking for a job. Also be open to a position not in your specific field. The more flexible you are, the better opportunities will be.
Find a way to stand out from the crowd! I recently received 30+ resumes for a position that I only sent through two Linkedin groups. If you are one of 30, 300 or 3000, how will you stand out? Could be a qualified resume, great cover letter (though I personally just skim them), a mutual friend, or linking with me through social media. Stand out!
(BTW PRHR, I love chocolate!!)
Tell.The.Truth! Always!
I’m with Michael, no swag for me….. unless it’s a good book
The best advice I can offer is to be real. When you go for an interview, don’t try to be someone or something you aren’t. This goes for embellishing your resume and out right lying to recruiters/hiring managers. Be a person, you, and not a bunch of words on a resume.
My advice: Finding a job IS a job. Treat it as such. Set your alarm, take a shower, get ready for “work”.
Taylor your resume for each company your applying too.
Post resume’s on Monster.com and the rest of them.
Optimism and Energy! It is hard to keep both of those traits up when you are looking for a job in this tough market, but it is the interviewees who are eternally positive in the interview that stick in my mind. Especially lately.
Now, more than ever job seekers are plagued by stress and anxiety over their work situations and often and quite unintentionally allow interviewers to pick up on to this during the interview.
Use your time off wisely and find genuine positives about being off of work: more time with family, continuing education, community service, etc. that way, when you are asked about it in an interview or even when writing your resume, it will be second nature to focus on the positive things you have achieved with the time off.
Looking for a job? Work with agencies that place people in your profession. I recently was laid off, and was applying to any position within 50 miles that was in my skill set or range and was receiving few responses. I also met with several HR recruiters and enlisted their assistance. From them I was able to find out more information about positions that had been posted, or employers that were looking for HR people. Wonder why Company A kept re-posting that HR Manager position? I got the answer from my contact at an agency. It helped me do more to respond to employers to get my cover letter and resume noticed. It also gave me the inside line on why I would never hear from that company…or why I might hear from them!
This isn’t my web-site – so for those in search mode, I highly recommend Jason Alba’s JibberJobber.com. It’s a free CRM for the job seeker. (Who needs to pay when they are out of work? Doh!) Create a plan to pro-actively market yourself. This will help you do it.
http://www.jibberjobber.com/login.php
The other advice is always network no matter what your employment status – so when you need it, it’s already there.
Warning, this may sound negative and a bit angry, but someone has to say it. If you don’t like hearing harsh truth, don’t read it!
Go on Twitter, LinkedIn, or on millions of websites and all you see is regurgitation of same numb “advice” by career “experts” and “coaches”. How many people actually landed a job directly due to their efforts? I want to see proof! Social media probably is the only place more filled with all those “gurus”, career advice field is in close second.
Advice is dime a dozen, hence it is worthless. It is too easy to advise, it is much harder to delve deep into the person you want to help and go the extra step of connecting them with actual folks who can land them a job.
It would be interesting to see what would happen if those “coaches” and “experts” were paid ONLY if that person landed a job within reasonable time. 99% would be out of business.
Here is how we can help 10%+ of people unemployed in this country: unless we can introduce the unemployed person to a new connection to him/her – keep our advice to ourself.
1. Start (or revive, or continue) a blog and write as though you were already a valued member of the profession where you want to work. Make it part of your daily job search routine.
2. Make sure you have a professional email address, like firstname.lastname@gmail.com. I’ve been put off in the past by jobseekers with immature-sounding email addresses.
3. Set up a Twitter account (again, FirstNameLastName) and follow everyone you can in the field where you want to work, or better yet, at the companies where you want to work. Use it to learn from them and communicate with them where appropriate, but not to stalk them.
4. Take phone interviews from a landline phone in a quiet place, not a mobile phone. Don’t make the interviewer work to understand you. And when the interviewer calls you, answer the phone professionally, the way you would if you had the job: “Hello, this is Dave Thomas.” I’ve conducted dozens of phone interviews, and it’s very annoying when you have to go through this every time:
“Hello?”
“Hi, this is Dave Thomas, may I speak to Jenny Jobseeker please?”
“This is Jenny.”
A quote I read once: “Never Confuse Creative with Unprofessional.”
Here is a link to my best posts for job seekers. Some of my advice is counter-intuitive, but I know from my clients that it works. The first post is “10 ways to job-proof your recession.” (#5: Adopt a bad attitude. Because I bet the people you’re interviewing with just love it when candidates coming in dripping with resentment. Seriously, which is more bitter, you or your coffee? I hope it’s you.)
It gets better from there: http://bit.ly/43fSc
Shameless plug: For those of you looking for something more industrial-strength, stop by http://www.foundyourcareer.com and sign up for the five free lessons on resume writing, networking, cover letters, interviewing, and attitude.
Dude, no swap for me either, I’m tchotchke-phobic.
Being unemployed sucks, trying to find a job while you are unemployed sucks worse, I get that. Here’s my advice:
1. Soul Search – if you aren’t pretty sure you’re in the top 20% of your field, then maybe it’s time to find a new field. There aren’t as many jobs out there today as there where a while back, but the best keep on working. If you need to find a new field, now is as good a time as any.
2. Be ready to move – whats more important, having a job, or having a job in the ‘burg you currently live in? If the jobs ain’t there, get your @ss to where they are, or at least be prepared to move for a job. Simple.
That’s my 2 cents, I feel others have covered other points well.
Apolonaris: I’ll grant your message is “harsh” but how can you say it is “truth”? Frankly, it took me a couple of readings to uncover your message and I’ll agree with you, a successful job search begins from within and unless the person giving advice knows the unemployed’s career goals, etc. the advice is, indeed, worthless. Understand, the person seeking advice first would need to know their career desires, etc. But the search for truth, any truth, requires options, frequent dead ends, and different opinions, or advice, in order to make an informed next move. To Sum: The “truth” about a job search strategy is an individual journey and, if not a contradiction, is indeed a different “truth” for each person. Lighten the fuck up.
Just happened to write a post with some ass-off-the-sofa ideas last night.
#4 from The Cult of Done ( bit.ly/eU5tP )
“Pretending you know what you’re doing is almost the same as knowing what you are doing, so just accept that you know what you’re doing even if you don’t and do it.”
My favorite piece of advice is to keep your resume (and experience) current when you are out of work. Go to community ed classes to brush up on computer/software skills, check out your local workforce center for free workshops and networking for job seekers, and volunteer in an area that is related to your work.
Volunteering is a great way to fill in a gap on your resume. Just because you didn’t get paid for work, doesn’t mean it wasn’t a valuable experience!
Network, Network, Network. Volunteer for an organization, using your skill set. Shows that you are keeping current and sharp.
Be yourself online and offline. Too many people create split personalities online and the interviewer will be expecting the real you, the person they know online. Personal branding is becoming a “throw away” word very quickly but it is very true in business and especially in your job search.
Also, job seekers need to separate themselves from every other job seeker. If you are applying to posted jobs, you are battling what maybe hundreds of other candidates just to even get a phone call. What might a job seeker do? Maybe joining a local professional group in your area of interest, go to local tweetups for networking, find an employee in a target company and connect with them to pick their brain on how they got to their current position and always make sure that everyone in your network (family, friends, classmates, neighbors, etc) all are keenly aware you are looking and for what type of roles so that they can keep you aware of any openings as well.
Sorry, but could you all PLEASE stop using URL shorteners on blog postings and replies.
I know that they’re useful when using twitter or other IMs, but please, URLs have actually a function and with “http://bit.ly/XYZ” I have no clue what to expect behind it. After all there’s a reason why Google ranks “speaking” URLs higher than cryptic ones.
Sorry for off-topic.
Bust Through the Clutter!
Stand out from the crowd (in a professional, career-appropriate way, of course). I am an IT manager, and I can’t tell you how BORING it is to slog through a bunch of resumes and cover letters.
Remember: a hiring decision is made by one human about another human. Don’t be afraid to let your personality come through in your cover letter.
Apolinaras, you sound like you have an ax to grind or just haven’t looked around very deeply on this issue. Just because you don’t feel like you want any advice doesn’t mean others don’t.
Judging from the mail I get at my blog, there’s a real hunger out there for answers and advice on job-hunting and career issues. Sometimes I receive questions that make me first think “really, you don’t know the answer to this yet?” but then I realize that person wouldn’t be taking the time to ask if they genuinely didn’t know. Judging from the traffic and mail those offering advice get, there is indeed a strong and ongoing demand for input on these issues.
Obviously, people should get to know a bit about the person they’re taking advice from before deciding how much credence to give it. You can get a good idea about where someone’s coming from and what their advice might be worth by reading through past posts and then make a decision accordingly.
But I have to agree with Ken when he suggests lightening up.
Utilize your alumni association or job placement services at your alma mater. College, University, Technical School, Job Corp. Most schools post jobs for free. I know they are often my first stop when I do need to advertise.
Realize that companies hire people to help them build their businesses. They don’t exist to make you feel good about yourself. Understand and explain how you can help them meet their goals. Ask substantive questions! Focus on what you bring to the table from their point of view. After you gain this critical know, be honest with yourself. If this is not this place for you, keep looking. And to borrow a dictum from Laurie’s handbook, “don’t be an asshole.”
Step 1: Stop talking about it and writing about it (the resume) and be about it. What I mean is…just do the work you say you can do and do it on behalf of the employer your trying to land a job with. Prototype, case study, competitive analysis or whatever you want to call it, but show them something real they don’t know about or are missing in their business. Oh…it’s too much work you say…well, if that’s the attitude then there are other questions you may need to ask yourself and more jobs for the rest of us.
Step 2: Quit searching for jobs and start searching for the people behind the jobs. I dont necessarily mean recruiters, but the hiring managers…so get your linkedin and zoominfo game on. I know, I know…hiring managers are overwhelmed and will view this as spam….blah, blah, blah. If it’s a resume…let’s keep it real, they might, but if it’s a case study or competitive analysis or prototype of how they can kick their compeitors *ace* or serve as a *pain reliever* they might be much more inclined to read it and take action.
The best case scenario is that they will say, I want to learn more about this person. The worse case scenario is that you get no response and they use your work anyway. LOL…I don’t know why I just chuckled at that, but so what if they use it, at least you know it was good and in the end that’s probably not someplace you want to work anyway.
If they do contact you, you’re either ready to deliver or you’re not and either they’ll choose you or they don’t. It hurts, I’ve been there, done that and doing it. In the end, don’t hate the player, hate the game and we all know the game is a beast right now, so keep raising yours.
I am one of those “unfortunates” Laurie had in mind. Looking for new employment is not fun, but at least I can tap into the collective wisdom of some pretty interesting HR folks. Thanks a bunch for the tips.
About the only thing I am not currently doing is following people on twitter. I have been resisting it for a while now, but I guess I will not be doing “everything I can” until I give it a shot.
Here goes nothing!
Instead of regurgitating the sage advice already provided, I thought I’d offer another piece that doesn’t look like it’s been mentioned.
Take the opportunity of being jobless to quit smoking (if applicable). Let’s face it – you can’t afford it anymore and you don’t need the added hurdle of trying to hide the habit from an interviewer. They can smell it.
Quick note — there’s also some advice here:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/note.php?note_id=125912795861&ref=mf
Job seekers should check it out, too.
1. Network, network, network – This is not only while you’re seeking a job but also when you have a job. Keep in touch with people on weekly, monthly, quarterly basis. Email them an article you read that reminded you about them. Circulate at the family picnic and see how Uncle Jim’s company is doing. Call to see how someone’s sick dog is doing, send people birthday wishes – I.E. form a genuine relationship. Then on that day when you call looking for work it doesn’t seem opportunistic on your part.
2. Go ahead and set up Twitter, blogs, LinkedIn, FaceBook accounts but also understand that this is the first place I am going to look for information about you. Resumes can be gold-plated (and are often fraudulent). References will always say nice things about you. But that Facebook post you made about indulging in the local herbs in Jamaica speak volumes about your character, and I will find it. Manage your online presence with care!
3. After an an interview, send a handwritten thank-you note that evening (I’ll get it in a day or two). No one ever does this anymore and in the case of a tie you are going to win the job! (bonus point if the stamp is a commemorative).
@Dean: Even more than NOT telling about getting stoned in Jamaica (and I don’t see that that has anything to do with character), job seekers should look to put content on the web associated with them that is a positive.
Tech workers, specifically, should have a technical blog that they post to at least twice weekly telling stories about what they’ve done. Even out of work, your tech blog should describe what you’re learning in your downtime. This isn’t limited to tech people, of course.
Work. It really is pretty simple. The unemployment numbers are so inflated, like there really are that many people who were let go directly because of the economy. Nope. Most any numbnut qualifies for unemployment unless they are terminated involuntarily for gross misconduct. So slacker can come in late, hide in closets all day, fall asleep, etc. and still collect unemployment. My guidance would be…if you are fortunate enough to be offered a job, show up every day on time or earlier, do not leave a second before you are supposed to, and do your job. Oh, and be thankful.
Great advice on how to find the right job… a couple of other points from a recruiter point of view…
– Don’t say “I just really need a job”… this is not what I want to hear. I want to know that this is the CAREER for you and that you aren’t walking in 3 months.
In the event you are one of the lucky ones that gets an interview…
– SHOW up! Not just physically (and not 5 minutes late OR 35 minutes early –respect your interviewers time) BE THERE… if possible don’t schedule anything else that day. Be prepared for what ever may come. Don’t keep watching the clock like you have somewhere more important to be!
– Be prepared…. know everything you can about the company, and see if you can find out about interviewing style from someone that may have applied previously. If you are asked for an example, it’s ok to take a moment and think… you want THE BEST example, not just the first one that comes to mind.
Finally…. DO NOT ask “How’d I do?” at the end of your interview. Even if it went great, chances are you aren’t going to get immediate feed back and you probably just knocked a few points off your score to boot!
Interview skills, interview skills, interview skills… From start to finish – I see so many candidates who have not bothered to think about prepping in any way for the interview – From poor eye contact to poorly thought out answers… they need somewhere to start and I don’t believe the college experience does a good job of preparing students for what a good interview should look like for them – I’m sure some do but not enough. It’s frightening to me to see how unprepared the straight out of college students are for most interviews.
I would contact my local workforce development board at least to participate in some of the allocated incentive programs for displaced workers. A friend of mine had his Six Sigma Blackbelt training paid for in full. It may not pay all the bills but could upgrade your skills. I can’t emphasis enough this is the era of free agent. You are your own company. Present yourself as such…
Dear human resources professionals, recruiters and trainers in transition, Listen up; it doesn’t matter who you are, what you’ve been, what certifications you’ve earned or how much experience you have, please seek advice from a respected job coach. Decision makers question why these professionals traditionally submit the worst resumes or have the worst interview skills. Run, don’t walk to the nearest, trusted job coach for assistance. Differentiate yourself, stand out from the crowd; give yourself the edge.
I can’t quite believe the number of paper cover letters that I receive that aren’t SIGNED! Argh! It’s a business letter folks, pull out a pen and put your John Hancock on it.
And to CoolAid – thanks for the plug regarding alumni services – I work at a university Career Services Office, and I soak up every opportunity to work with our students and alums, even our community.
1. Don’t assume that HR is dumb (I’ve found this especially true when hiring for highly technical positions). Assume that everyone you’re interviewing with (or even chatting with at a career fair) understands your mad skills.
2. If you are currently in college or a recent graduate, get a job, any job! Get some menial, annoying minimum wage thing to prove to us that you can get out of bed and show up for something. If you’re in a town with no fast food or Target jobs, then volunteer for something. I’m getting bombarded with resumes from college graduates who’ve never held down a job. A few years ago, we didn’t care because we couldn’t hire fast enough. But now? We’re first going to talk to the graduate who’s proven that he/she can show up for a crappy job every day over the graduate who hasn’t. At this point, your degrees are equal, so the graduate with the proven work ethic will likely get first shot at an interview.
3. Ask if you can do an (brief) informational interview or tour of our office. Find out what professional associations we’re involved with and show up for the meetings and seek us out. Understand that we’re thinking about economic recovery and staffing, even with a hiring freeze in place. We know we’re going to need you eventually, and we’re keeping a list of candidates we’d like to hire down the road. We want to keep in touch with you as much as you want an “in” with us because we remember a few years back when the labor market was really tight, and we were forced to woo candidates like a bad romance novel.
Yes, network! Just remember that EVERY encounter is a potential job interview. Make sure you present yourself well. When you leave the house, make sure you are dressed to sell yourself. Just remember the general grooming items and carry your card, resume, etc with you.
Do your research and follow up on all leads.
Above all…..develop a strong handshake. Who wants to hire someone with a weak handshake?
Lots of great advice already! Terrific question. (no swag, please.)
Here are a couple of specifics:
- Be able to state what you do best or want to do in 2 sentences. If you don’t know what you want and what you’re good at, no one else will. Be clear about what they get when they get you. For example, “If you want the best live sound, I’m your sound engineer.” “I’m a business writer who gets CEOs to share their secrets.” Humor and little self-promo are OK. Practice this to every person who asks “What do you do?” and to yourself in the shower.
- Practice at career fairs. No, you will not get a job. But you will get people to give you feedback on your resume and tell you how you might best fit into their company.
I’m a career coach, and love my job, http://www.amazoncoaching.com/blog
Act as if your efforts alone determine the outcome of your job search. Accept full responsibility for success or failure–other people may help or hinder, employers may or may not have a clue, the economy may or may not suck, you may or may not be lucky. Act anyway.
Henry Ford: “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t–you’re right.”
Robert
One of the most important areas to focus on (aside from having a solid resume and refining your interview techniques) is proper networking. Most people continue to tout “reaching out” to get connected. This is great advice, but it’s also important to follow proper protocols. Remember – many are doing the same things you are to garner attention.
1) Review your connections and see who might have associations with people of interest. Just b/c someone might have a loose network contact to the CEO of a company doesn’t mean you’ll be hired for the introduction. You still need to illustrate your value proposition. I’ve always believed that it’s a 50/50 balance of who and what you know – with some exceptions. Find the right people to be introduced to … sometimes HR people are best, but often it’s the hiring manager for the department or specific area.
2) Keep your skills and involvement in the industry going! You might be devoting yourself to the job search, but it’s always great to show how you’ve continued to become an industry leader or involved participant, following best practices or redefining the norms.
At the end of the day, competitive times call for more effort in standing out. Don’t merely rely on an introduction alone being your ticket to the new job opportunity, since many others are doing the same thing. Why are you better than the others? What would make you more valuable than the rest?
The late Madison Avenue advertising legend David Ogilvy said: “If each of us hires people who are smaller than we are, we shall become a company of dwarfs. But if each of us hires people who are bigger than we are, we shall become a company of giants.”
Talent. Knowledge. Dedication. Experience. Success. Whatever your differentiating characteristic(s), show people how bringing you onto the team will empower them to create an organization of giants!
My (twenty) two cents …
* LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/iangertler
* Twitter: http://twitter.com/iangertler
My advice comes from college-to-career expert Lindsey Pollak who advocates the “one a day approach”: Do one small (or medium-size or large) task to advance your career everyday. It could be reaching out to old friends or colleagues and sharing a lead, or sending an article of potential interest to a colleague or setting up a Google News Alert on a company. Be clear about what your areas of interest are, and be specific about what you have to offer. Keep track of your “to do” items and then monitor your progress.
Don’t spend all day everyday on just your job search. Do that, and you’ll end up a drone. And who wants to hire a drone?
1. Be courteous and polite. To everyone – I don’t care who you think they are in the company, if the receptionist tells me you were a jackass, then you will be a jackass when she’s your co-worker. And I don’t hire jackasses – even jackasses with mad skills.
2. Bring your A game every time. I totally understand that you have been on a lot of interviews and that the questions are the same and that this is becoming tiresome. I get it. But you show me nothing when you fail to bring it and I have no idea that you nailed the interview over at that other company yesterday. I only care about what you brought me today.
3. Ditto Chandlee – even if you are an unemployed veteran to the workforce, please tell me you’re doing something. Volunteering, freelancing, coaching little league, something. I worry about people who aren’t doing something to fill their days with something other than the job search.
4. Know that you have someone who is empathetic in this whole crappy situation. To a point. You don’t need to tell me how hard it is – I know, I’ve been there, and the odds are that someone else in the room has too. We know, we’re here to give you an opportunity – you don’t need to tell me how tough you have it; you come across as desperate and unfocused if you walk in with your matching set of baggage to the interview and you aren’t telling me what you can bring to the job.
Jackbuilt
Wow – so much advice, and all worth reading. Really Laurie, there are so many elements to the process that the advice covers everything from networking to closing the deal.
My advice: Get interview coaching, and learn to sell yourself according to the interview types. Companies hire people to do what can’t be done by machines and computers – they want them to think and make decisions. So in the interview, take a strategy that fits the interviewer’s approach and demonstrate that you can think, make decisions, and take action.
Examples of Interviewer Approaches:
1. The resume reader: did not prepare, just reads the resume while you are sitting there and says “tell me about this job or that job”. Tell about your best performance in those jobs.
2. The situational interviewer: Provide clear examples of what you have done to improve the results in your previous positions,
3. The casual interviewer: wants to get to know you personally. This one is challenging because if you keep focusing on your contributions, it may seem like you are too self-centered to fit in, yet if you get too chummy you don’t learn enough about the work place to make a good decision yourself!
Most importantly: The interview is a two way process, learn what you can to determine if you will want to work there.
Above all else be professional. I lost my job today and have plenty of reason to be bitter. With savings depleted already and only two weeks severance I am absolutely terrified. I have a wife and four kids depending on me! I was totally caught off guard by this but remained professional. As a matter of fact I even sent our Pres/CEO a email from home reminding him that a potential partner was arriving tomorrow and would be asking for me since I brought them in. I suggested that he have the receptionist alert him upon their arrival so it would not give a bad first impression. I am probably a loser for doing it but I do take pride in doing the right thing.
Gregg
You absolutely did the right thing. You are certainly not a loser.
Take a deep breath, read the advice in the comments and before you go to sleep tonight, write down a few steps you’re going to take tomorrow to get moving towards your next role. The more you move forward, the better.
@Kate Don’t laugh, but after I was married, I misspelled my name on my resume. D’oh!
@Andy Great advice. When Ken was unemployed, he was so productive. He cooked every single night. The house was clean. Projects? Done. I’m like, “Do you really have to go back to work?” Sadly, one of us needs to earn real money.
@MikeV Resiliency is one of my favorite words. You are more than just your job. Money is not moral.
@Ann I love temp work recommendations. Temp agencies LOVE people who are responsible, dependable, and willing to work.
@Crystal Volunteering is so important. If anything, it keeps up your social skills and gives you some perspective.
@Ken Anything that takes you out of your comfort zone is always good.
@akaBruno It always comes back to that play/movie. “Always be closing.” OMG, that play is genius.
@Amy That’s such good advice. That could be a subtitle to a career book!
@Tracy Wow that’s really good, too. I like the openness and the patience. You can’t squeeze blood from a turnip. Can’t pay your mastercard bill? Be patient. You will.
@Shennee I love your point on flexibility! That’s so true.
@Bonita MMmmmmm…chocolate. You stand out with that comment!
@Johnny So true, my friend. Always tell the truth.
@adowling I love how it all comes back to authenticity.
@TheD Finding a job is a job. That’s absolutely right.
@Melissa It’s so smart to recommend filling your down time with positive, optimistic ventures. I think that kind of positivity will definitely carry forward in an interview.
@Beth You just made the case for working with third-party recruiters. Perfect.
@Sue I love Jason Alba. Everyone should go to his site right now: http://www.jibberjobber.com/login.php
@Apollo OMG, you are killing me softly with your song. I love how you recommend that we introduce our unemployed friends/colleagues to someone who is hiring. That’s smart. The rest? Well, uh, we’ll have to agree to disagree.
@Dave Your blog rocks. Everyone, you know how I met Dave? At a freakin’ tweet up in Raleigh. You know how many people I knew at that tweet up? Four. I introduced myself to Dave and the rest is history. Check out his blog: http://blogs.sas.com/socialmedia/
@Jorge Awesome. Succinct. Perfect.
@Jason Everyone go read Jason’s site for some great advice about finding a job: http://jasonseiden.com He’s awesome.
@HRPuf Wait, soul searching? I’m not the most awesome HR practitioner ever? I shouldn’t earn $200K and get a sweet 45% bonus that swings from 0-200%? No way!
@Nancy Good site to get your ass off the sofa, people: http://nancykingsearch.typepad.com/nancy_king_search/ GO THERE NOW.
@Liz You are so correct. I can’t tell you how many times people come to me looking for help on their resume because it’s not current. Keep it up to date, people. Use LinkedIn or Visual CV. http://visualcv.com
@Penina Networking! Yes! FTW!
@HRFarmer Dude, you have such a good blog. Lots of good career advice here: http://kwmblogspot.wordpress.com/
@Paul I think people are trying to conserve space and not look so aggressive, but I agree with you: no need to shorten your URL. In fact, it causes you to go in my spam folder, sometimes, and I have to manually approve your comment.
@Al Bust through the clutter! OMG, that’s good advice for every platform in life.
@AskAManager I just like the idea of people sharing information that’s both timely and relevant. I think it’s fun to get a community of people together in a large ‘brainstorming’ act. I also like it when people lighten up.
@CoolAid I know what you mean about the alumni associations. Many are underutilized and glad to help. Also, they are free!
*More Shortly*
putting finances aside — which may be impossible, but for the few — don’t act out of fear and immediately job hunt. make sure the job you’re going for is the one you want. having been through a RIF and having been the one to break the bad news to others, i know the time between jobs can be an opportune time to consider what it is you *really* want to do.
f
p.s. i’ll say no to the swag, too.
@Doug I like the business-focused way you talk about the job search process. Companies are there to make money. You’re there to earn money. How do you fit into the equation? How does the company fit into your plan? Very strategic answer.
@Craig That is really thoughtful advice. You know, it could be its own blog post. Seriously great & thoughtful advice. Everyone, go read Craig’s blog. http://craigjcampbell.com/
@George Get thee to Twitter! http://www.twitter.com/Lruettimann My advice? Pick a name easier than Ruettimann.
@HRPuter This advice is so good. I want to forward it to everyone I know who smokes. Smokers are more expensive to insure and I wonder if there is an unconscious bias towards smokers during the interview process? Hmmmm!
@Dean Really? Really a hand-written thank you note? Will that resolve a tie? Because I advise people that it’s no longer necessary with email. I am so thoughtless that I would read hand-written thank you notes and just stick them in a file. Shoot, I need manners.
@Rebecca Work and be thankful? Brilliant.
@Mary I love this advice. Do you blog? You should!
@MTHRGirl There’s nothing worse than someone who can’t hold a conversation in an interview. Need practice? Join Toastmasters, volunteer, or do ANYTHING to follow MTHRGirl’s advice. The ability to converse is critical.
@Phillip That’s so smart. Every job is temporary. Focus on improving those skills. (Again, where’s YOUR blog? Great advice.)
@Angela A job coach is just another certification, isn’t it? What makes someone a good job coach? In this era of weird employment rules, local therapists are calling themselves job coaches. I’m like, really, you’re a job coach? Everyone thinks they know something about how to get hired.
@Lisa Awesome re: alumni association + you’re so right: SIGN YOUR COVER LETTERS.
@HAria Again, brilliant and I love #3. That’s really smart.
@D Marie OMG, the fish handshake just kills me. You want a job? Learn to shake my hand, yo. No nuclear explosion fist bump handshakes, either.
@Robert “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t–you’re right.” – Awesome advice.
@Ian That’s how you do it. Good advice PLUS links to your sites. I fully endorse your thoughtful recommendations!
@Chandlee I love Lindsey Pollak and she’s right. Furthermore, you’re right. Who wants to hire drones, let alone BE a drone? http://www.lindseypollak.com/
*More soon*
keep doing the things you enjoy to D-Stress…walk, read, go to the gym…you need to be at the top of your game on the interview circuit. Physical and Mental health are priorities…look good, feel good might just be the edge when you and ten others are all qualified…it will also help you deal with journey…don’t hibernate between interviews…
M
@Jackbuilt You touch upon something so important: confidence. Don’t sell me on your insecurities or your dire financial straights. Sell me on your skills.
@TimG Those are AWESOME examples of interview personalities. I know that advice will definitely help some people out there. THANK YOU.
@Gregg OMG, you absolutely did the right thing. Listen, don’t be terrified. Be honest with yourself that you’ll be going through a grieving process. There are people out there to help you: churches, agencies, the United Way, etc. Here is that makes me feel better — you won’t be on the road so often with that crazy commute. I’m grateful that you’ll have more time for your family. I hope we can help you during this time period. Ask us for whatever advice you need.
@Fran I love the advice — don’t act out of fear. So smart.
@Mark F I LOVE the advice of staying physically active. I’m in better shape now that I’m self-employed than I was during my time in Human Resources. Hmmmm…. wonder what that means??
Such great advice from everyone.
Here are two practical tips:
1. State what you want or do best in 1-2 sentences. If you don’t know what you offer, no one else will. For example, “Want the best live sound for your gig? I’m the guy.” or “I’m a business writer and editor who can get CEOs to share their secrets.” A little self-promo and humor is OK.
2. Practice at a career fair. No, you won’t find a job. But you can ask folks who actually work at the company you like to give you resume feedback and tell you how you might fit in. And you’re meeting people.
I’m a career coach and love my job! http://www.amazoncoaching.com/blog
Terrific question, thanks.
WOW – lots of great advice. My 2 cents: As a job seeker, be sure to ask relevant and probing questions to determine if the company/role is right for you – even when your interviewers are not. It not only shows your interest in learning about the company/team, but more importantly helps ensure this is the right opportunity for YOU. A bad decision or a decision made for the wrong reasons is costly — whether you are the Employee or the Employer.
Good stuff. I might also suggest that job seekers audit the public information they are sharing on their social sites such as facebook. In addition to all of your intentional job-seeking web activities, you are also leaving footprints elsewhere. If your facebook info is shared with ‘everyone’ or your geographic network, and each status update is from a local bar with unflattering pictures of yourself, it might be time to update your privacy settings, no?
May have to start hitting these Raleigh tweet-ups.
Pick 10 companies for whom you wish to work and call their sales weasels. Sales weasels will talk your ear off and tell you anything you want to know about their company. They’re also usually the easiest people for an outsider to befriend. Befriend them. Ask your new friend to hand deliver a hard copy of your resume to the President/VP/Guru in charge of hiring HR pros wherever it is you want to work. New media is great and all, but hand delivery trumps all other channels. Doesn’t work with the first 10? Try ten more companies. Not everyone needs an HR person (or persons) right now, but there ARE companies hiring. If you make friends, they may know people at employers outside of “your ten” who are in need of an HR person. Don’t post your resume and hope someone calls you. YOU have to make the calls. That first call can be H A R D — especially if you’re a bit of an introvert. The more you make, the easier they get. Most importantly, remember that YOU WILL EVENTUALLY GET A JOB. You may actually like some of your new friends too, which is kinda cool in its own right.
Apollo—do you only charge your startup clients when they make more money as a result of your efforts?
I would think that your views on advisers would apply to people who give advice in general, not just those who advise job seekers.
I don’t get paid for giving job hunting advice, so it’s no skin off my nose. I just do it so I can use adult language while my kids watch Sesame Street. I love saying, “Don’t be an asshole” while Elmo is singing.
I gotta say, though, I’d have a lot more free time if I took YOUR advice. I could just go through all these emails and say, “Sorry, this advice is worthless, so just go ahead and keep that lickU69@aol.com email address and stop bugging me.” Then I’d have time to go out for ice cream. Tragically, though, there really ARE people out there who need to be told that that’s maybe not the email address to use. I know, because they applied for jobs at my companies for years.
My best advise for job-seekers is this: do the work BEFORE you need a job. The networking, the resume…it all needs to be done while you’re still employed. You’ll be much less effective if you try to do it after someone just canned you. Make hay while the sun shines, y’know?
@Kerry I don’t touch a startup if I am not 100% sure I can help them and that they have solid growth potential. If I can help, but I know they will just coast, I stay away from those. I have been on two “sinking ships”, they are not fun to be on.
One point to ponder: not everyone is cut out to move up the “food-chain”. Some people just are C and D players (As and Bs are not part of this issue). Business is heavy on Darwinism. We have enough of Peter Principle benefitiaries and corporate cockroaches in our companies. Those got lucky, they did play the system, but that can of Raid is not too far from getting them.
For the rest of C and D players, if they don’t get that you should not have goofy e-mail address or do other stupid stuff, maybe they do belong in that McDonalds drive-through for the rest of their life. Smart ones will move up from McDs to anything they aspire to be, because they get it and they can add two and two together.
Am I saying there is no need for good QUALIFIED jobsearch coaches or that real experts are not out there? Heck no! What I am saying is that there is too much signal to noise ratio caused by advice from people who are not qualified to give it. My aversion to those “coaches, gurus, experts” is based on personal experience and not exclusive to jobsearch, but also HR, leadership, operations, social media, etc.
We all have some friends with impressive backgrounds, but luck is not on their side and evolution of business requires them to retool themselves after decades of success in their fields. Those folks do need someone to give them a helping hand with new ideas and etc.
How would I qualify those real experts in that 1% group worth every penny you pay them? Considering this article is about jobsearch advice, here are the questions I would ask to determine if one is part of the 1% group worth the money:
1. Were you a hiring manager (or their HR partners) in the last 1-2 years?
2. What departments, positions you hired people for?
3. How many people you personally have hired? How many people were hired when you were part of the team that made final decision on hiring?
4. What was the size of the organization you did this in last and for how long?
As you see, I am looking for measurable “dirt under the nails”.
I can say from my personal experience, having hired handful people for startups I was in, so many things I have seen advised out there were the things that actually disqualified individuals.
Okay so I am the first to admit my advise is similar to those bits and pieces already out there but it bears repeating!
1. Change your ringtone immediatley, next person I call and have to hear “drop it likes it hot” or better ” the thong song”, I really am going to hang up before you answer. All you rockers out there aren’t exempt, Nickelback is not a better option. Its to the point where I hear a song and just hang up. I’m not referring to the actual ring tone you the reciever the call. I’m referring to the crazyness I have to hear when I call you Mr. Bad Song guy. Why oh why would anyone wanting a job want there future boss to hear the “thong song” when they go to call you?
2. Change your email address from Lickme69@gmail.com to something simle like your name@gmail.com, it is not an appropriate place to ask me the recruiter to email you!
3. Spellcheck/Grammer check your cover letter & resumes. From is spelled correctly, but if you meant to say “Form” you now look lazy and uneducated: CONGRATS, I didn’t make it past the cover letter.
4. This goes for recent college graduates to babyboomers: You dont have to include every job on your resume…and get this: You can rewrite your resume for each position you apply for. Not all your experience is applicable to every single job!
4B Cont.: When reading the job description, add some key words. The economy stinks right now, there are lot of overqualified people on the market, there are also a lot of underqualified folks as well…point is that there is a lot of resumes for any one recruiter to read for each job. Get yourself to the top of the stack, add key words to your resume that make you pop out at the top (i.e. PeopleSoft Administrator, obviously throw in the words Peoplesoft and administrator as many places as possible & appropriate to your resume)
5. So now you have an interview: Be nice to the receptionist, she/he does matter! Smokers: DONT SMOKE W/ IN 30 MINUTES OF INTERVIEW. If your potential boss doesn’t smoke and gets greeted by the Marlboro Women of the year, your likely not gonna get the job. Research the company and the position. Everyone needs to have at least 2-3 questions to ask. Its not a good sign if before you work at the company your not curious about anything..the position, the culture, the structure, future growth plans..I mean doesn’t have to be complex, just has to show that you did your research and you really want to work there!
I hope this helps, even if just a little!
I actually created this email after recruiting for an executive assistant a while back and getting nearly 1,000 resumes (only 10 of which were qualified).
My #1 advice: Tailor your resume/cover letter to each job you are applying for.
Here is the Email I sent:
I know a lot of people are out of work these days, and a lot of people are applying for jobs. Here are a few tips I would suggest to those looking.
1. Use a professional e-mail address, create one using hotmail or yahoo. (catlady08@yahoo.com or sexygirl69@yahoo.com aren’t impressing anyone)
2. Hundreds of resumes are received for just about every job posted these days, make yours stand out!!
a. It should only be one page, recruiters do not have time to read length resumes; use bullet points, not paragraphs
b. Tailor your resume to the job you are applying, if they are looking for someone who has 5 years Accounting Experience, make that one of the first things they see, don’t lie most employers check references.
c. Change your cover letter and objective on your resume to the exact job title you are applying for, and adding the company would help as well. When recruiters are skimming hundreds of resumes, those that say “I’m looking for a job in Marketing”, and yet they are applying for an HR or Accounting job get pushed to the “no” pile rather quickly.
3. When filling out applications don’t write “see resume” take the time to write it on their legal document.
4. Have a professional message on your answering machine or voicemail, while some recruiters might be entertained to call and here a vulgar rap song on your message, it will come off as unprofessional
5. Keep track of which jobs you apply for, recruiters don’t like when job seeks say what job was this again… They expect you to remember which job you applied for. I suggest printing the job ad for each one you apply for, and file them alpha by company name. When a recruiter calls you and says which company s/he is from you can quickly pull it out to remind yourself.
6. Pay attention to the language in the ad, if they say no phone calls, don’t call. Recruiters are very busy and cannot field calls from all thousand applicants. If you meet the requirements they are looking for they will call you.
7. Interviewing –
a. Go online and search most common interview questions, and prepare answers for them.
b. Visit the company’s website, and research them, so you can have a well thought out answer to the question “what do you know about our company”
c. Dress appropriately, it’s always better to over dress than under dress.
8. Overall be enthusiastic! recruiters want to give the job to the person who not only is the best qualified on paper, but the one who will enjoy the job.
9. A lot of recruiters overlook resumes of people that are overqualified, because they think they won’t stay at the job long. For jobs you know you are overqualified for, try and “dumb down” your resume, and write a cover letter explaining how this is the job for you and only you.
Good luck to all those on the job market!
@ Amy: really? One page resume? I hear so many different takes on this, I have given up on this detail entirely. I apply for positions asking for 10 years of experience, and they want to know my accomplishments for at least some of them. How are qualified applicants to do this on a single page? I am willing to try encoding the information with pheromones, or something.
Anyone have a suggestion about resume length? (Laurie, sorry if you have already covered this in some other post. My search button is broken, haha).
A resume can be more than one page. If you have 20 years of relevant experience, it’s not going to fit on one page. Also, the concept of “page” is goofy anyway, since it’s 2009 and we’re reading them on a screen, not a page.
I get frustrated by recruiters that say they don’t have time to read multiple page resumes. That’s your job. You’re a recruiter. You read resumes for a living. If you lack the skills to quickly discern from a two-page resume whether this person is qualified, recruiting maybe isn’t your bag.
Make sure there’s no fluff…but if you’ve got more than one page of *relevant* experience, it’s totally fine if it’s more than one page.
@Melissa Thank you! Great tips!
@Havrilla I like the use of caution in your advice. It’s applicable to both employees and employers. Good one!
@Mark I dunno, I go back & forth about the social media stuff. In a way, we are the sum total of our experiences. So whether or not you post a picture of yourself at the keg party, the effects of the keg party (both good & bad) will probably be evident in your personality. I think recruiters need to make sure they’re not illegally screening out candidates based on social media images that may or may not represent facts or truths. But you’re right — common sense tells everyone to take down those topless pictures.
@Scott HEY HOW ARE YOU? Haven’t heard from you in awhile. I love the idea of using the sales weasels. That’s gold.
@Kerry/Apollo Hey maybe you need to take this discussion on to your own blogs to maximize traffic. It’s an interesting exchange! You could work on a point/counterpoint approach. I would promote it!
@Meagan All good. I love the social aspects to your advice. Don’t smoke, change your ringtones, etc. It’s all about behavior and perception, isn’t it?
@George I’m with @kerry on this one because she is always right. Your resume needs to tell a story. Don’t be encumbered by the fear of having more than one page. Just tell a concise story.
Kate…I agree whole-heartedly. Here is the opening like from the Job Summary of a resume I just received: “I hope My work experience below gives u an idea what am looking for. ” Probably a good idea to have someone with a greater-than-eighth-grade education take a look at your resume before you put it out there.
And don’t depend on spell-check. Just because you spell “there” correctly, does not mean that you used it correctly.
@Kristine Oh snap, now I’m paranoid about there/their/they’re. I type so quickly and sometimes I mess that one up. Also our/are. Isn’t that weird?
OK, I’m late to the dance on this one, but that’s OK, I wasn’t looking for swag.
I’m in the process of reviewing a load of resumes today, and there are 2 cover letter no-no’s that are driving me a little crazy.
So my advice is – don’t do these things:
1. We are hiring for an entry level position, and you live out of state… and in most cases, not a 3 hour drive, but literally across the country. Why in your cover letter do you make NO mention of the fact that you’re looking into/excited about/eager to/exploring a move to our city/state? Please, tell me your plans, or you go straight to the bottom of the very large pile.
2. Your cover letter is very you-centric. Nowhere in fact do you even mention my company’s name. It doesn’t look like you’ve seen our website, and you’ve expressed no specific interest in working for us. It’s super competitive out there, people. Set yourself apart from the crowd and customize your cover letter to let me know not only that you are great, but that you’re great for US!
Phew, what a great list of comments! I don’t have just one essential tip, there are a number of things people should do, but as tough as it is I’ll try to add something that wasn’t mentioned by at least 5 other people.
It’s true that job search should be treated like a job, but that doesn’t mean you should spend 9-5 doing it every day. Recognize that getting job offers means keeping your skills current.
Spend half your day job searching, and the other half learning & improving your skills.
You’ll enjoy job search life a lot more and it will make a better impression when you network.
Stay off the Job Boards…number one factor accounting for double-digit increases in the average length of unemployment is the reliance on job boards.
Prepare questions in your head mentally about the job so you can show an engagement. I had a recruiter call once and asked if we could do a phone interview right then and there!