Business Corner

You’ve got the interview. You’re ready, willing, and able and pretty excited about the company. They’re a good company with a respected brand. They have an interesting product line – right up your alley. From all indications, they sound like a good employer. The job they posted sounds almost like they pulled the description right out of your resume. It looks like this might be “the one.” You have impressive qualifications, some good success stories that fit their industry and their goals, and you have the experience they need. It looks like an offer is almost inevitable. What could possibly go wrong?

Problem #1 – You don’t dress to fit the company you’re interviewing with. You can tell what kind of “look” they like by driving by the company at the beginning or end of the day some time before your interview. You should dress in a way that’s comfortable for you and comfortable for the team you want to join. One young Veteran chose a young professional look from Gentleman’s Quarterly that was comfortable for a transition from a military uniform to civilian clothing. It wasn’t the look that most software developers choose but it was as casual as he could comfortably go. His qualifications and personality carried him through the interview and into the job

Problem #2 -You don’t pick up on “buying signals.” The questions the interviewer asks need your focus. If you veer off from what the interviewer showed interest in, you’ve lost an opportunity to make the sale. You’re just another product on the market. There are other products that will fit the position. Your resume is a marketing piece that gets you the interview. The interview is your opportunity to make the sale. You might not think of yourself as a sales person but we all are, especially in an interview. Listening well and being prepared with clear, concise answers to the most obvious questions are key to selling yourself.  Read more... (452 words, estimated 1:48 mins reading time)

Everyday, millions of people follow the job search rules. They send a standard cover letter, which doesn’t say much and send a generic resume to an unknown entity in the Human Resources Department via the internet. And then, they play the waiting game, because almost every ad asks that you do not call. A few of the places that you applied to have an automated response, as generic in nature as the cover letter and resume you sent.

It thanks you for your interest and sets a time frame that they “may contact you” if you have “the proper qualifications.” Most employers, however, do not even have the courtesy to say “don’t call us, we’ll call you.” And you wait, and apply for other opportunities, and the “game” continues.

But most successful people are risk takers. They look for new ways, innovative ways, to do what others do better. They look at opportunities in a different light. There are ways to stand out, that many job seekers overlook because they are too busy playing by the rules of Human Resources, who are, by virtue of their position are rule makers, not risk takers.

Here are calculated risks that today’s job seekers can take, which can lead to unexpected, positive results:

Risk #1: Send a letter to the President, not to Human Resources, via snail mail. See, when a letter goes by the internet to Human Resources, there are programs which search for key words. If you do not match the key words, your resume is placed into the “no” pile. You want your letter read. You want your resume read. So why send it in with the rest of the herd, looking for the same opportunity as you? Send a letter of introduction to the President of the company you’re applying to.  Read more... (693 words, estimated 2:46 mins reading time)

Everyone knows the job market is not what it once was, so to gain some leverage and stack the odds in their favor many people are turning to an age old industry of HEADHUNTING or Recruitment. Having a headhunter on your side is like hiring an assistant to put in as much if not more work as you do in the quest for employment. Working with a contingent headhunter is ideal because the candidate is not responsible for compensation.

The client who is requesting certain positions be filled is. So why doesn’t everyone work with a recruiter when looking for new career opportunities? Legitimate recruiters will not work with just anyone, so that means you have to be a standout candidate for the headhunter to want to invest their time, energy and reputation in presenting you to their client.

What is the best way to team up with a good headhunter? Do your research! Visit your favorite search engine like google.com or bing.com and search for your local and “recruiters” for example “Bay Area Recruiters” if you lived in the greater San Francisco Bay Area like I do.

Upon going through the results pick out a few recruiters that seem professional and connected then forward your resume to these agencies. Upon reviewing your resume, experience and qualifications you can be sure that if you match up with any open positions at their clients companies you will be notified right away. How can we be so sure? Well this is the headhunters job and when placements are made is the only time they get PAID.

Another thing that makes working with a recruiter a great thing is they can give you inside information you might not otherwise receive. Since the recruiter has a relationship with the employer they can ask direct questions to the employer and get specific answers as to what key characteristics are selling points for the company to make hires.  Read more... (374 words, estimated 1:30 mins reading time)

This article is targeted at helping graduates and school leavers get their first job (it does not look at writing a CV or motivation letter or at interview skills as these will be covered in a future issue). Across Europe as a whole the average unemployment rate among those with a college degree and aged between 25 and 34 is currently 6.2% and rising. In addition, only around 30% of jobs are filled via published vacancies.

These days, qualifications are not enough so what can students and graduates do to make themselves more marketable? And what can they do to make themselves stand out when up against so many other graduates? The following will set you in the right direction toward getting your first job (although they apply equally as much to anyone who is looking to change career):  Read more... (664 words, estimated 2:39 mins reading time)

1. Think about some of things that you have done and achieved. What are your hobbies and interests and what extracurricular activities have you been involved in? Even things which you do not think sound very interesting can give an indication of your capabilities. Have you ever been in charge of organising something or have you ever had to work in a team? Think about some of the challenges you have faced in any groups that you are, or have been, a member of. You will be surprised by the skills you will have used e.g. team work, organisational skills, problem solving, communication skills. All of which are skills that are transferable into a wide range of industries. Then update your CV to highlight these skills.

2. Look out for graduate training schemes – these are a great way to get your foot on to the career ladder and gain relevant experience.

The modern job search has changed dramatically from only a few years ago. With the explosion of the internet most job searches typically now start online. As such, there’s a ton of information available on the web for the prospective job seeker. So much so, that it can be difficult to navigate and use in an effective manner. Let’s go though the big areas that should be used and explored in any quality search.
1. Search Engines: Mention the words “internet job search” and 9 out of 10 of us will probably think of online job search engines. These sites are almost always free (though most encourage users to register) and have a searchable jobs database to find jobs by location, keywords, salary etc.
Because of their popularity, these websites are often kept current and are easy to use and navigate. Additionally, they’ll often have a bunch of other free resources like salary surveys, resume posting, and company research. For many people, they’re truly becoming a one-stop shop for their job search.
There are several different types of online job search sites. The most popular and well-known are the big national websites (these are the Monsters and Careerbuilders). With all their resources they usually present a user-friendly website that also draws in the most job postings.
There are also the national niche’ sites. These websites are focused on a certain industry (i.e. technical or sales jobs), or a particular group or job type. While these sites certainly will have fewer available jobs, for the particular job-seeker they cater to they are often an excellent resource and help to find potential “matching” jobs quickly.
1. Regional websites are important because they offer the “next level” of job postings. Typically, it’s less expensive for an employer to post jobs on these sites (occasionally it’s free) so they can post a wider variety of openings. The sites also have the advantage of being Area-focused and can offer regional specific services and content.
2. Employer Websites: The most accurate, complete, and timely job information for an employer is available on their own website. Almost all large to medium sized employers (and many small employers as well) have a “Careers” or “Employment” section on their internet site.
Typically, these websites have the most current and accurate job information as they are maintained directly by the employer. Since there is little or no cost to add jobs to their own website (as opposed to placing adds on job search engines) all the available jobs are usually posted instead of only the high-profile position. Employers want you to find their job postings on their website instead of some search engine because it doesn’t cost them anything. As a result, it’s often the best place to find all the jobs for a particular employer.
3. Newspapers: Newspapers are the traditional source for job postings. Prior to the internet, job hunters frequently scanned the “want ads” in the classified sections of their newspapers. For many of the largest regional or national newspapers the want ad scanning has evolved into online posting of jobs that are searchable by the website user. These postings may also be the same that appear in the print version of the paper.
Many local or smaller newspapers many not have the resources to build and maintain a searchable website. Often, local newspapers are owned by a single company and have pooled their job search resources into a single site for all their newspapers.
While small newspaper websites may not have all the jobs on some of the larger more popular sites, they are an excellent resource for strictly local or part time work that wouldn’t warrant the employer placing (and paying for) an ad in a regional paper or search engine. If you want to find part-time work in Apple Valley, for example, the local Apple Valley newspaper is a great resource.
The job resources in the larger newspapers often can rival and compete with the big national job search engines. They usually have advanced search capabilities, resume posting, and employer/company research. The smaller newspaper sites can be more difficult to navigate and use and will often be solely listings of job openings that may need to be scanned manually.
4. Social Networking: One of the most effective means of find jobs is by networking with family, friends, and former co-workers. In the past, this was accomplished by each person maintaining their own manual “network” of people to communicate with. This too has changed (dramatically!) with the advancement of web based social networking websites where people can collaborate and communicate with others anywhere in the world.
Along with some of the more well known sites such as Facebook, there are also sites that focus exclusively on business networking. On these sites, networking with people who work in the industry or even at the company you’d like to work for can be a valuable advantage over other applicants.
These websites can offer you experience and insights that would be difficult to gather on your own, especially if you are making a career switch and have little or no experience in your new industry.
As with other web sites, be cautious about where you go and who to interact with. There are plenty of news stories recently about the misuse and true dangers that can occur with social networking websites. Just because the other individual says who they are and where they work doesn’t mean it’s true. Always be cautious and protect your privacy!
There you have it – use all of these resources for an effective online job search!