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8/12/03
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This page contains Career Tips suggested by IEEE members. If you have a suggested tip, please submit to lhbaxley@ieee.org
Suggested by
Charles Cherry chuck@iwmail.com
Source: Deborah Walker, CCMC
Deb@AlphaAdvantage.com
Resume Writer ~ Career Coach
888-828-0814
Visit
the job-search article archive at
www.AlphaAdvantage.com
Title |
If you’ve been in a job search for more than a few months, you already know that one of the greatest challenges is maintaining a positive attitude. Without it, going through the motions can feel as de-motivating as running a race in lead boots. You begin to think “What’s the use? I’ve already sent out 50 resumes this week with nothing to show for it.”
If you find yourself in an emotional slump, here are three things you can do to regain a positive, optimistic outlook:
1. Write out a job-search action plan including these four areas:
* Search and respond intelligently to online and print job openings. To optimize your results take the time to customize your cover letters to each opportunity.
* Research potential employers to contact proactively in search of not-yet-posted job leads. Make sure your research includes contact names of key executive within the organizations. Again, customize your cover letters to illustrate your interest in their company and/or industry.
* Contact members of your personal network of friends, former colleagues and professional association members to let them know of your search. Continually build your network through new professional associations, job fairs, trade shows and business networking events. Involve yourself with others who will tell you of job leads in the “hidden” job market.
* Invest in an online resume distribution service that allows you to target your resume to employers and recruiters most likely interested in your qualifications. You’ll see quick results, allowing you to jumpstart your interview activity level.
Once you have your action plan, schedule these activities just as you would if employed on the job. Plan your work and work your plan.
2. Choose an accountability partner and support group. These are essential to keep you motivated and on track with your action plan and schedule. An accountability partner helps you reach your activity goals. A live support group (vs. online chat group) keeps you actively involved with others who understand your situation and can lend emotional support. Caution: avoid negative groups of job seekers who will drag you down by their pessimistic outlook.
3. Allow yourself to enjoy simple pleasures. Spend an evening with a great book. Take a walk on a sunny afternoon. Play football with your son. Meet a friend at a coffee shop for a long chat. Often job seekers think they don’t deserve any fun until they’ve found a job. The truth is there is more time for simple pleasures while unemployed than any other time in life. Once you’ve put your job-search action plan into practice and you’ve spent your time wisely in productive activities, reward yourself a little. You deserve it!
Posted 12/5/03
If you have experienced writer’s block while trying to construct your resume, you might find it helpful to think of your resume as a three-layered pyramid. All the elements of an effective resume will fit within those three layers.
Layer #1: The Pyramid Pinnacle: Your Job Focus
The top layer of the pyramid is your career focus—the starting point of a great resume. Think of a focused resume as the opposite of a one-size-fits-all resume. An early lesson I learned as a headhunter was that employers are suspicious of candidates whose resumes don’t focus on one career objective. They assume the candidate doesn’t know what he/she wants to do, or that the candidate isn’t really very skilled in either objective.
If your career background allows you options for two or more career objectives, that’s great; just make sure that you create a separate resume for each objective.
Layer #2: The Pyramid Midsection: Your Selling Points.
The midsection of the pyramid is made up of the selling points that support your career focus. Selling points are all the qualifications that make you a strong candidate for your particular career focus or objective. For example: the selling points of a sales professional might consist of “New Account Generation”, “Major Account Penetration” or “High Volume Closer.” Whatever your career focus, determine the best selling points to prove that you match the qualifications for the job.
If you are attempting to cross industry or occupational lines in your next career move, think of your transferable skills as your selling points. Communicating transferable skills allows prospective employers to see your expertise and accomplishments outside the context of your former industry or occupation.
Layer #3: The Pyramid Base: Your Accomplishments.
The largest part of a pyramid is its base; likewise, your accomplishments should comprise the largest part of your resume. Like a pyramid’s base, your accomplishments support your selling points, which in turn support your focus.
Your accomplishments illustrate the strength of your qualifications. Quantifiable accomplishments that relate to bottom-line corporate objectives are more significant. If you express your accomplishments as benefits rather than as features, they will appeal more to your readers.
Example
Feature: “Developed and implemented 24-hour pricing turnaround.”
Benefit: “Increased sales closure rate 35% by implementing 24-hour pricing turnaround.”
Thinking of your resume as a three-layered pyramid will help you to break down the complexity of your work history and simplify your resume content into a concise, comprehensive marketing message that will capture the attention of your next employer.
Posted 12/5/03
We’ve all heard stories of job candidates who looked great on paper but who were absolute disasters in person. With fewer and fewer interview opportunities available in this competitive market, it’s essential to make the best possible first impression. You can learn from the mistakes of others and avoid the top 10 worst interview blunders.
Poor handshake.
The three-second handshake that starts the interview is your first opportunity to create a great impression. But all too often an interview is blown right from the start by an ineffective handshake. Once you’ve delivered a poor handshake, it’s nearly impossible to recover your efforts to build rapport. Here are some examples:
* The Limp Hand: Gives the impression of disinterest or weakness
* The Tips of the Fingers : Shows lack of ability to engage.
* The Arm Pump: Sincerity is questionable, much like an over-aggressive salesman.
Even if you’re a seasoned professional, don’t assume you have avoided these pitfalls. Your handshake may be telling more about you than you know. Ask for honest critiques from several friends who aren’t afraid to tell you the truth.
Talking too much.
In my recruiting days, I abhorred over-talkative candidates. So did most of my client employers. Over-talking takes several forms
:* Taking too long to answer direct questions. The impression: This candidate just can’t get to the point.
* Nervous talkers. The impression: This candidate is covering up something or is outright lying.
To avoid either of these forms of over-talking, practice answering questions in a direct manner. Avoid nervous talking by preparing for your interview with role-play
.Saying negative things about your current or past employers/managers.
The fastest way to talk yourself out of a new job is to say negative things. Even if your last boss was Attila the Hun, never, never state your ill feelings about him/her. No matter how reasonable your complaints, YOU will come out the loser if you show that you disrespect your boss. When faced with the challenge of talking about former employers, make sure you are prepared with a positive spin on your experiences.
Showing up late or too early.
The first lesson in job-search etiquette is to show up on time for interviews. A lot of job seekers don’t realize, however, that showing up too early often creates a poor first impression as well. Arriving more than ten minutes early for an interview is a dead giveaway that the job seeker has too much time on their hands, much like the last one picked for the softball team. Don’t diminish your candidate desirability by appearing desperate. Act as if your time were as valuable as theirs. Always arrive on time, but never more than ten minutes early.
Treating the receptionist rudely.
Since the first person you meet on an interview is usually a receptionist, this is also the first impression you’ll make. Don’t mistake low rank for low input. Often, that receptionist’s job is to usher you into your interview. The receptionist has the power to pave your way positively or negatively before you even set eyes on the interviewer.
Asking about benefits, vacation time or salary.
What if a car salesman asked to see your credit report before allowing you to test drive the cars? That would be ridiculous and you’d walk away in disgust. The effect is about the same when a job seeker asks about benefits or other employee perks during the first interview. Wait until you’ve won the employer over before beginning that discussion.
Not preparing for the interview.
Nothing communicates disinterest like a candidate who hasn’t bothered to do pre-interview research. On the flip side, the quickest way to a good impression is to demonstrate your interest with a few well thought out questions that reflect your knowledge of their organization.
Verbal ticks.
An ill-at-ease candidate seldom makes a good impression. The first signs of nervousness are verbal ticks. We all have them from time to time—umm, like, you know. Ignore the butterflies in your stomach and put up a front of calm confidence by avoiding verbal ticks.
One of the best ways to reduce or eliminate them is through role play. Practice sharing your best success stories ahead of time, and you’ll feel more relaxed during the real interview.
Not enough/too much eye contact
Either situation can create a negative effect: Avoid eye contact and you’ll seem shifty or untruthful; offer too much eye contact, and you’ll wear the interviewer out. If you sometimes have trouble with eye-contact balance, work this out ahead of time in an interview practice session with a friend.
Failure to match communication styles.
It’s almost impossible to make a good first impression if you can’t communicate effectively with an interviewer. But you can easily change that situation by mirroring the way the interviewer treats you. For instance
:* If the interviewer seems all business, don’t attempt to loosen him/her up with a joke or story. Be succinct and businesslike
.* If the interviewer is personable, try discussing his/her interests. Often the items on display in the office can be a clue.
* If asked a direct question, answer directly. Then follow up by asking if more information is needed.
When you allow the interviewer to set the tone of conversation, this can vastly improve your chances of making a favorable impression. You can put the interviewer at ease—and make yourself seem more like them—by mirroring their communication style.
Just as a strong resume wins you an opportunity to interview, strong interview skills will win you consideration for the job. You already know that you won’t earn an interview unless your resume sets you apart as a candidate of choice. Likewise, you should know that polishing your interview skills can mean the difference between getting the job offer—and being a runner-up.
Start your job search with a resume that creates a stellar first impression, then back those facts up with your extraordinary interview skills. You will have made yourself a better candidate by avoiding these ten interview pitfalls. And no one will have to talk about you as the candidate who “almost” got the job.
Posted 12/5/03
If you’re experiencing an extended job search, chances are you’ve been through several hills and valleys: days of optimism followed by days of discouragement.
One symptom of this job search discouragement is the tendency to avoid other people. This is what I call the “hermit” phase, where proactive search efforts are set aside in favor of hunkering down in front of the computer, spending fruitless hours going through online job sites. As dull as this activity is, it at least it prevents the job seeker from hearing rejection.
The problem is that avoiding people only prolongs the period of discouragement. The longer one remains in “hermit” mode, the longer the job search drags on—and the downward cycle continues.
The fact is, the more people you interact with, the more you’ll hear about positions in the “hidden” job market. Everyone, whether employed or unemployed, is connected to some form of information grapevine. The more people you meet with during the week, the better your chances of learning about positions that haven’t even hit the job boards or classified ads yet. The shortest route to any hiring manager’s door is through the recommendation of others.
Think back over the last couple weeks. If you’ve had less than six opportunities to mix with people outside of your home, it’s probably time to force yourself into networking situations.
If you’re stuck on where to start getting out again, your local newspaper is a good place to start looking. Most likely, your paper’s business section publishes business events or professional workshops on a daily or weekly basis. Scour these listings to identify which events could most likely put you eye-to-eye with good networking sources.
If you’re not yet connected with a professional association, this is a great time to search out active, local groups where you’ll meet people who can introduce you to influential hiring managers. Look for associations whose leaders are well connected with your target industry.
For casual, low-stress networking, health clubs or fitness centers are a great way to meet potential networking contacts. Chances are you could use the exercise anyway! Choose early morning or late evening times for your workout, when you’re most likely to meet employed members. A game of handball could lead to a discussion on upcoming job opportunities.
If you attend a church, synagogue or house of worship, this would be a great time to get involved with your organization’s activities. Working alongside your fellow members will not only lift your spirits as you participate in worthwhile activities, but you’ll also build trusting friendships with those eager to pass along helpful job leads.
Another great network-building source is volunteer work. Whatever your personal or professional passions are, there are nonprofit organizations that would value your knowledge, expertise and ambition. If you approach volunteer opportunities with a “serve first” attitude, you will naturally attract individuals willing to help further your career ambitions as well.
If you make it part of your job-search priorities to stay connected with people on a regular basis, you’ll find the days of discouragement are fewer while the potential career opportunities multiply.
Posted 11/23/03
