Accelerate Your Search™ Now

First if you got the interview you can bet someone saw value in you, your skills and your experience.  Often being told “no” encourages people to try harder or push on doing the same things.  Most people believe coming in second means they just need to try harder to be first.

In job searching that may or may not be the case.  Far too often I see people who don’t really fit in a job or an industry, yet they fail into it, got hired again and again into a similar position so they just keep pushing in that direction.   For some it is time to stop, to assess, plan and execute something new.

Joe (not his real name) had eight jobs in eleven years in the same position and industry.  After his last termination, 120 weeks of unemployment and nine interviews he decided to explore help for interviewing skills.  He assumed his interviewing skills were his problem and the reason he was not getting hired.

When we discussed why and how his past jobs ended his answer was the work ended, then he collected unemployment until he was hired in the same position again.  I ask if I could call his references and check with this last two employers and he agreed. 

 The discovery from his references and his employers was different than his point of view for each of his last positions.  All of his professional references painted a different picture than Joe did of his work and his work style.  His references spoke well of his skills, yet painted a different picture of his work style. 

One reference shared that often when he was called as a reference he asked if he enjoyed working with Joe he said no.  One reference disclosed that after working with Joe at two different businesses he would answer the call with an example about Joe’s work style and how is affected him and let the new possible employer draw whatever conclusion they would from the example.

The reference valued Joe and his skills, yet Joe had a few blind spots about his work style and this caused issues, problems and a diconnect in cultural fit within the industry.  After gathering the information and sharing it with Joe, he said that his references had told him all of the information I shared before and one had offered to help him change to another unit were the work culture was a better fit.  However Joe had declined the transfer or the assistance to adapt his behavior. 

Joe had choices to make.  He could change is occupation, or change his style or change the positions he was seeking to find a work culture where his work style fit the culture and the needs of the business.  Joe decided to seek other positions using his skills and where the work style and culture of the organization was more suited to his work style. 

He was hired after 3 interviews and returned to work within 2 months of his decision to seek work that was a better fit for his style. Recently I got a message from Joe, he has been on the job a year, enjoys it, got his 2^nd pay increase, things are well.  Additionally, he noted thanks for helping him see the impact of his blind spots and assisting him to find the first job he ever liked and the only job where he had worked for a over a year.

What are your blind spots?  Do you have the confidence to take a hard look at your search and see what might be holding you back in your career?  

Are you pushing in a direction that will not help you accelerate your search or accelerate the success you want.  You may need to dust yourself off, stop pushing and head in a new or different direction. 

Do you have a question about your search?  Look to the right and sign up for next Q & A session, join the session and ask your question.

Leveraging LinkedIn Continued …

Some common questions on expanding your network are “How do I build my connections?”, “Who should I invite or connect with on LinkedIn?”, or “How many connections do I need?”   There is not a magic number of connections, or a wrong or a right way to add connections, nor is there just one way to do so.  

I always recommend starting with your friends, and current business connections.  These people are your first-degree network now; add them to your online with an invitation. Then you can move forward to expand your network to all those people who you don’t yet know but would like to know and count among your connections in your network.

By starting with people who know you well and those with whom you currently do business your online network will grow steadily over time.   Years ago, Ken DuBose, a successful Financial Services Representative shared how he grew a book of business, the advice was, to start with the people you know, then ask those you know to introduce you to people they know.  His advice has been helpful to me for many years, and I use it and share it. 

Think about it this way, if you have a question, a problem, or you need information you usually ask someone you know first.  If you want to grow your business connections and expand your network “start with the people you know”.   It works.  I suggest you build your LinkedIn connections and your online network just as you build your offline network. 

Always personalize the standard LinkedIn invitation template to give those you invite some context.  It also shows you are interested in investing in the relationship.  Share how they know you, when you met, that you live down the street or whatever the connection might be.   I know few people who feel they get too little email, in fact most people feel that their inbox “runs over” and that 60% to 70% of the email received is unneeded, unwanted or unwelcome.  Yet we all like to hear from friends and people who care about us.  A personalized message says you care about them rather than you are just gathering contacts to build your list.

A word of caution, don’t assume people will be in a place or space to be overjoyed by your LinkedIn invitation and don’t assume other people have the same sense of urgency that you do.  Most will be glad to connect, if they know you and/or can quickly make the connection as to where you met, and will select the accept button. 

Be thoughtful and aware, if you look different, have moved, changed jobs, have a new name or have not been in touch for some time, don’t assume everyone will instantly know who you are or want connect with you right away just because you sent them the standard “I’d like to add you to my professional network…” without context. 

Also remember not everyone logs in to his/her LinkedIn account daily or forwards LinkedIn ‘InMail’ messages to a personal or business email address or phone to stay connected. I always cringe when I meet someone at a two-day conference on the first day, we exchanged business cards, then the second morning when I see them, they remark “I sent you a LinkedIn invitation, but you didn’t connect” usually I smile and admit LinkedIn was not on my priority list for the morning.  I will I connect, almost always, but rarely within hours.  Remember, we all have different styles, pace and priorities, and will use LinkedIn and its power as a tool in our own way.  Find your way to leverage LinkedIn to accelerate your search.

Have a comment, tip or thought?  Post it below.

If you are new to LinkedIn you may have questions on where to start.  Here are tips for getting starting with LinkedIn.

LinkedIn and Personal Branding can be great tools to help you in your job search.  LinkedIn can help you be seen by those who need to know you, find you, and get to know you better.

Using Groups and LinkedIn Answers are both solid ways to reach a target audience.  Each feature provides interactive ways for you to be seen and heard by your target audience.  As you engage in a group dialogue or a business conversation with peers, group members you showcase your knowledge you can answer questions and become seen as an expert by answering the questions of others in your field, industry or area of interest.

Be sure you cover the basics and have a solid foundation before you move to advanced features and apps.  Think about your brand, communicate your unique value and be consistent.

Here are the pillars for your foundation:   Name, Headline, Photo, Your Personalized URL, Experience, Education, and Summary.  The first five (5) are critical to getting started.  You can set up your account and in a professional manner and begin connecting with others after you have these areas set up as your foundation.

Don’t forget about your account settings.  Many in the career field will also recommend you upload your text résumé to your account to save time.  That is not a recommendation I make, but do it if you are in a rush and speed to market is more important to you than quality.

Now get busy, offline and make a list of those key people and centers of influence that you wish to invite to join your LinkedIn network.  Once you have the list, take time to reach out to them, tell them you have joined LinkedIn and ask if they would accept an invitation from you to connect?  Then send a personalized LinkedIn invitation to you initial list of contacts and centers of influence.

Again, this method is not the easiest or fastest one for adding LinkedIn connections.  It is a method sure to enhance your relationships and strengthen your network as you build your list of connections on LinkedIn.  If speed or just amassing large numbers of connections is more important to you than the quality of the connection or the relationship, you can simply allow LinkedIn access to your email addresses, and send all of your email contacts who also have a LinkedIn account, a generic invitation to connect with you on LinkedIn.

You have your LinkedIn foundation set, this tool in place and initial invitations sent.  Next you can focus on other features to leverage LinkedIn to accelerate your search.

Do you have a question about your search or LinkedIn?  Look to the right and sign up for next Q & A session, join the session and ask your question.

Who decides if you are overqualifed and why?  The employer does.  That’s who. 

Why is there so much focus on overqualifed?  I don’t know.  I, of course, do have an opinion on the matter, but I doubt that will help you accelerate your search.  However, maybe I can help you by looking at the issue a bit differently.

Have you ever said to a door to door salesperson, “Not today, thank you” or the Boy Scout “No thank you, I bought caramel corn from another scout before you” or “we don’t eat caramel popcorn, thank you for stopping by”?   In many cases the dreaded statement “You are overqualified for this position” is just simply a no thank you.

Yes, I know the dreaded statement stings.  It does not feel like ‘no thank you’ or does it?

What happens if you reframe “You are overqualified” to “No, thank you”?

My bet is you think the later stings less, but does it really?  Think about it.  It is still rejection.  Rejection is, in my view the underlying issue with most of the conversations around the issue and statement “You are overqualified”. 

No one (at least no one I know) likes to be rejected.  And almost no one I know likes to reject others.

Especially, if you are in business and interviewing someone or talking to someone with good skills, and loads of experience.  Most people don’t like to be mean or reject another person, even when they don’t personally connect.  Sure there are some that do, you know them, and I do too.

What would happen if you heard “No, thank you” in lieu of “You are overqualified for this position”?  Think about  it!

I once knew a hiring manager who, said “thank you” and allowed someone else to say “No, thank you”.  Here is how he did it – during the each interview he was very good at finding something good about all the candidates he rejected.  He picked out something good about the candidate and made a mental note.  At the end of the interview, he confirmed the candidate’s home phone number, and he called each one after an interview.  Usually he placed the call before the person arrived home and left a message, he would share the one good point he noted and thank them for interviewing.  He would end the message with ‘good luck, your <whatever the good point was> will be of value to your next boss.   I learned that good quality he shared with the candidate was always a quality he appreciated, but he did not value at that point in the role that he was attempting to fill.  

Why, did he do this?  Well, I never ask him, yet here is why I think he did it.

He cared about people and the feelings of people. He saw value and appreciated what each person offered.  He appreciated the time the person set aside to interview.  He did not like rejection, and he might want to hire the person for another position some day.  He was building a team and running a business.  The call was “rejection protection” – so that in the future if he had a role for the person, the person would recalled him in a positive light in lieu of the hiring manager who had once rejected them.  It helped him build relationships and create goodwill.

The end result – still the rejection, but the rejection did not address a lack.  It appeared to sting less.

In my view it can be hard to build talented teams when you focus on lack.  Yet most hiring systems and hiring situations will reject several people.  The process in most organizations is look at many, interview some, hire one.

The truth is you were not selected and someone else was for whatever the reason.  That feeling is rejection.

Yet if you reframe your feelings, and focus on your value and not  the ‘over’ or ‘under’ or what you lack, you may be surprised at what you attract.  Why continue to focus on the lack? 

My suggestion – understand you will be rejected from time to time, learn to cope with it.  You don’t need to like it, crave it, nor attract rejection with continued focus, thought and conversation. 

I would also suggest you not dwell on the rejection, or try hard to figure out why you were rejected, nor rail against the company, your experience or your age.  The rejection may be a blessing you can not yet count.  Reframe it as “No thank you”.   

One day on the radio I heard, rejection in dating referred to as protection from a bad situation.  What a point of view!

What would happen in your job search is you reframed the rejection or the statement “You are overqualified” as “No, thank you - I value you as a person and want to protect you from this situation”?

Just a different point of view on “You are overqualified”.

Feel free to share your comments below.

If you are not turned in and aware of  SOPA maybe it is time to learn about it …

It can impact you, small companies, large companies, it might impact what you pay for any service or product you access online and it might well impact your job search.

Learn more:

http://thenextweb.com/lifehacks/2011/12/21/confused-by-the-stop-online-piracy-act-heres-sopa-for-dummies/

I hope you will learn, be informed, and share your views whatever they my be with those in Congress.  Congress will decide on this matter.

My view is mine alone, I don’t think SOPA will stop piracy.   I do think it will increase costs for small business and non-profits, slow job grow in those areas, limit some options and have a huge impact on the structure of the internet which currently allows the free exchange of information.  Including access to key people and hiring managers. 

If you enjoy and use the internet to exchange and share information today with a minimul cost, like your connection and access tools, get informed.  Share your view with Congress.

This can be a tough time of year. It is also is one of the best times of the year to be job searching. Businesses are looking forward to the new year and planning for the year ahead.

If you do have the holiday blues because you need or want a new job, yet you are not sure what to do to chase the blues away, ask yourself a few questions:

-          What am I willing to do to get the job what I want?

-          Can I clearly describe the job I want?

-          When will I start to take action to get the job I want?

-          Am I willing to help someone else get want they want?

The answers may surprise you or seem painfully obvious … but if you want to land the job you want now, you must stop doing what others are doing, what you have been doing and take a hard look at what you want to do and what your ideal employer wants and needs.

If an employer wants or needs something you don’t want to provide, that employer is not your ideal employer.  

If you are not willing to help an employer get want they want – more revenue, reduced costs, a better product, more customers, and/or more sales, then you are not their ideal employee and why would they hire you!

What is causing your holiday job search blues?  

Could it be because you are trying to cram your wants and needs on an employer with different wants and needs?  OR are you trying to cram yourself into a job where the wants and needs are different than what you really want to do to achieve your goals?

Take a look at what you are doing.  Are you willing to change what you are doing?

Stop and focus on your ideal employer.  What do their issues tend to be and what do they need most right now – how would you change your personal marketing message and your job search so that your ideal employer would see you as the solution to their needs right now and say WOW, let’s talk - you are just the person we need to join our team and get the results we want in the coming year.

Here is your assignment to chase away the holiday blues.  Discover what your ideal employer wants and needs.  If you can meet those needs formulate a clear message to communicate to your ideal employer how you can deliver what they want and need and how you will help them achieve their goals.

One of the fastest ways to chase away your blues is to help someone else get what they want.  Helping an employer get what they want and need is one of the fastest ways to get what you want, to help you achieve your goals and to get hired.

Do you need more action assignment to do to speed up your search? 

Look to the right and request my gift to you – “162 Ways to Accelerate Your Job Search and Land the Job You Want”.

During a job search there are days when focus is hard to achieve and your search slows down or stops, we all have those days.  Those days can impact your attitude, your focus, your workflow and the pace of your search. 

You know the days I am referring to – don’t you? 

YES, those days were you wander from your email, to LinkedIn, follow a link, read an article, listen to an interesting podcast, sign up for a free webinar, talk to friends on the phone, watch TV, or YouTube and then before you know it the day is gone and it is 6:15pm.  Your family is home and there are more distractions.

Here are a couple of ways to avoid the lack of focus.  Create practical plan and time within the plan for focus and to get you on track and moving forward. 

Plan your search.  Create a plan for your day and your week.  This really helps on those days when feel lost or frustrated and you don’t know what to do or where to start. 

When those days come, you look at your plan and do the tasks on your plan.  Just get the job done; doing what is on your plan helps you focus and continue to move forward.  If you don’t do what is on your plan, you may be consumed with distractions, lack of focus, and the result is you find yourself wasting the day.

Then there are also those days that when there is consistent string of interruptions to your work flow.  For each interruption it can take you 10 to 15 minutes to return to the task at hand in a productive manner.  The time you waste due to interruptions can be massive and the impact on your focus is dreadful.   

Here is how to create space for focus and avoid this consistent time waste of those days within your plan.  Choose specific hours of your workday as your uninterrupted time.  Block the time as an appointment with yourself on your calendar.  Don’t schedule other appointments or calls during that time.  Each day during this time turn off the communication tools and all distractions, email, phones, chat, text, etc.  Educate your family and friends that you may not be interrupted during this time. 

Each day during this time work on one thing and one thing only that will accelerate your search until that one thing is complete.  My bet is you will be amazed at your productivity increase and what you can achieve in a short time.  It works for me.  Try it.  Then let me know how it goes.

Have a comment, thought or tip to share?  Post it below.

Need more ways to speed up your search?  Look to the right and request my gift to you – “162 Ways to Accelerate Your Job Search and Land the Job You Want”.

It is the job you want, you landed the interview, it went great, you are leaving and planning your follow up and the first day at work – yippee!  Then it hits you – you didn’t ask for the job.

Don’t be afraid or forget to ask for the job.  Landing a job is about sales and in sales you don’t close deals if you don’t ask for the sale.  It can be scary, intimidating, or just plain uncomfortable but you must do it.

Do you believe in your skills?  Your value? Your ability to do the job? Can you help this company get results?   If you answered yes, then help them hire you and ask for the job.

Practice a few ways to ask for the job.  You don’t get what you deserve you get what you ask for, state you value and what you can do for the company and ask for the job! 

Have a question about how to ask for the job at the end of the interview? Sign up and join me on the next Q & A call, ask your question and get an answer.

Need specific ways to speed up your search?  Look to the right and request my gift to you – “162 Ways to Accelerate Your Job Search and Land the Job You Want”.

Have a comment or thought?  Post it below.

People are often afraid of something new.  You might be afraid because interviewing is out of you comfort zone, or had a bad experience, or have no experience interviewing. 

Fear does pop up for all of us from time to time – at least if you are like me and honest with yourself. I am afraid of different things, usually for me it is either something new or something I do really don’t have much experience or practice doing.  Fear does pop up in my life.  Does it in yours?  I have discovered most of people I know don’t share what they are afraid easily.  Do you?

On Friday, I was with a group of great and talented people, discussing interviewing and we did honestly talked a bit about interview fears.  Why, because the talent in the room understood that if the fear remained it would hold them back. 

You know what I mean – don’t you?  

It is like when you were a kid and you were afraid there was something under the bed, outside, or in the closet.  As soon as you shared the fear with someone you trusted like a parent, friend, brother or sister – what happened? 

Well for me, I only shared those fears with trusted people, who would not judge me for the fear, because to me that was as scary as the fear.  What I learned was if I picked people I trusted, they would then help me explore my fear. 

I usually I discovered with help and guidance that my fear was “False Evidence Appearing Real”.  Like the noise I heard was not evidence of something under the bed that would harm me, but the bedcovers brushing the floor when I moved in bed.

What I learned by sharing my fear, was to reduce the fear to a concern.  Once I did that then I could discover what the concern really was and how to address the concern. 

If you have interview fears, try this. What is your interview concern?  How can you address it?

A common concern I hear often is what if the interviewer doesn’t like me.  Reduce the fear to a concern and take action to address the concern.

Need a tip for this fear?  Here is mine – like the interviewer first! 

Here is how in simple steps:

1. As soon as you meet the interviewer, notice something about him/her you like.  It could be a tie, shoes, smile, anything. 
2. Hold the thought of what you like in your mind for 30 to 60 seconds.
3. Got it. Say to yourself (doing this aloud might work, but works better to yourself)   “I like John’s <use his/her name> smile <insert what you like> he is very friendly <insert why you like whatever you like>.”  
4. Now, repeat the message and make eye contact.  “I like John’s smile, he is very friendly.”  
5. Then let the thought go.

When you like the interviewer in some way first, think about it and then let the thought go, you have taken action, moved your fear to a concern, and addressed the concern.  From fear, to concern, to action. 

Have a question about interviewing? Sign up and join me on the next Q & A call, ask your question and get an answer.

Need specific ways to speed up your search?  Look to the right and request my gift to you – “162 Ways to Accelerate Your Job Search and Land the Job You Want”.

Have a comment or thought?  Post it below.

What is the best answer or best way to sell myself to land the job I want?

Not a week goes by that someone does not ask this question – there is not one best answer or one best way.   No two people are alike and no two candidates are alike.

The most successful approach it to focus on who you are, your strengths, what you offer and your unique talents.  That’s what sets you apart from the other candidates who will interview for the job you want. 

This approach is not hard but does require focus.  Begin with an assessment of your strengths, skills and talents.  Then plan how to communicate your value in each area.  Build your marketing message and tools showing how you can and will use your talents to provide consistent, performance to help an organization achieve its crucial business goals.  

The reason this is hard for most people to sell their talent and strengths during a job search is they get too focused on the past, or on what is missing or what’s wrong.  Focus first on you and your value. 

It is easy to get focused on what you don’t have, what you need to “fix” or what your weaknesses are, and move into comparison mode, but that is a dead end road to mediocrity.  Invest some time and focus on assessing your strengths, what you do well, your talents and how you can best apply these to the marketplace. 

When you know yourself, your value, your talents, your strengths, and how to communicate what you want, then you don’t dread an interview or talking to a potential employer.  Nor do you need to spend hours fixating on re-wording a résumé or writing a cover letter to fit a job posting, instead you can spend your time on targeted interactions within the organizations who can use and are looking for your skills and talent.

What are your natural talents? 

What pertinent knowledge and skills do you offer the marketplace? 

How can you use your talent to help the organization achieve a significant return on their investment in your salary?

Can you clearly share this information with a potential employer in a few minutes?