Friday, April 27, 2007
Job Search Blunders That Sabotage Offers
A well-planned, strategic job history is not taught in school. I have yet to see a candidate with a Bachelor of Science in Job Search or a Master of Arts in Career Management. Ironically one can get an education in so many vocations that choosing a major is much like facing a menu with too many selections. Selecting a generic or even a job-specific major, many graduates leave campus without a clue about what job to pursue or where to even begin, and throughout their lifetimes, since the rules keep changing, no one but seasoned experts seem to possess the answers to state of the art job search.
What follows are some of today's most common blunders:
Limiting Options or Unrealistic Career Expectations- On all levels, workers are defined by the functions they perform, i.e., sales, accounting, profit center management, chief executive officer and the environments in which they are performed, i.e. advertising, manufacturing, public accounting, retail. Too often candidates are either arbitrary about what they are willing to envision as their next job or they believe they can take their experience into totally uncharted waters and expect the same six-figure income to which they had truly been entitled in familiar work assignments. The enlightened candidate falls somewhere in the middle. The best net results occur to he who "rides the wave" on past success, recognizing and demonstrating those transitional skills that will be of value in different environments or when performing new functions.
Dealing With Negative Baggage - As we finally reach an improved economy with an encouraging job market the likes of which we haven't seen for years, we would be well served to pay tribute to the casualties of hard times. Much like war veterans with battle scars, many are returning from extended unemployment and others, through demotions, loss of retirement and the constant threat of layoffs have been emotionally affected. Have no doubt that the best candidate will kill all hopes of a job offer if any bitterness or negativity about his rough road comes to the surface. We all traveled that same road and employers are starved for survivors sustained with spirit and turned off by perceived negativity.
Poor Display of Market Value and Lack of Direction - Successfully performing this exercise is at the heart of securing the job offer. Anything less than a stellar demonstration of direct net worth and specific motives for wanting to join a company results in no sale. But unsuccessful candidates continue to believe that mere qualifications and savvy responses to interviewer questions will surely seal the deal. Candidates need to remember that they are packaged products for purchase who, unlike traditionally merchandised inventory, have the opportunity to verbally sell themselves by the way they connect their achievements to their prospective employer's needs.
Overkill in Follow-Up - I tend to determine the best approach based on the temperament of hiring authorities and then I look back at each success and analyze what actually happened that resulted in a job offer. From case studies I find that chasing an employer too hard can make a candidate look desperate. Nothing succeeds better than a stellar, unforgettable first/second/final interview. My clients are taught to leave their fingerprints of potential value indelibly tattooed on the minds of their interviewers, to follow-up gently once and then to back-off. There is something almost provocative about "seducing" an employer initially only to leave him to continue the chase. The savvy candidate surpasses and then moves on to impress again.... initiating as many potential opportunities as possible.
What follows are some of today's most common blunders:
Limiting Options or Unrealistic Career Expectations- On all levels, workers are defined by the functions they perform, i.e., sales, accounting, profit center management, chief executive officer and the environments in which they are performed, i.e. advertising, manufacturing, public accounting, retail. Too often candidates are either arbitrary about what they are willing to envision as their next job or they believe they can take their experience into totally uncharted waters and expect the same six-figure income to which they had truly been entitled in familiar work assignments. The enlightened candidate falls somewhere in the middle. The best net results occur to he who "rides the wave" on past success, recognizing and demonstrating those transitional skills that will be of value in different environments or when performing new functions.
Dealing With Negative Baggage - As we finally reach an improved economy with an encouraging job market the likes of which we haven't seen for years, we would be well served to pay tribute to the casualties of hard times. Much like war veterans with battle scars, many are returning from extended unemployment and others, through demotions, loss of retirement and the constant threat of layoffs have been emotionally affected. Have no doubt that the best candidate will kill all hopes of a job offer if any bitterness or negativity about his rough road comes to the surface. We all traveled that same road and employers are starved for survivors sustained with spirit and turned off by perceived negativity.
Poor Display of Market Value and Lack of Direction - Successfully performing this exercise is at the heart of securing the job offer. Anything less than a stellar demonstration of direct net worth and specific motives for wanting to join a company results in no sale. But unsuccessful candidates continue to believe that mere qualifications and savvy responses to interviewer questions will surely seal the deal. Candidates need to remember that they are packaged products for purchase who, unlike traditionally merchandised inventory, have the opportunity to verbally sell themselves by the way they connect their achievements to their prospective employer's needs.
Overkill in Follow-Up - I tend to determine the best approach based on the temperament of hiring authorities and then I look back at each success and analyze what actually happened that resulted in a job offer. From case studies I find that chasing an employer too hard can make a candidate look desperate. Nothing succeeds better than a stellar, unforgettable first/second/final interview. My clients are taught to leave their fingerprints of potential value indelibly tattooed on the minds of their interviewers, to follow-up gently once and then to back-off. There is something almost provocative about "seducing" an employer initially only to leave him to continue the chase. The savvy candidate surpasses and then moves on to impress again.... initiating as many potential opportunities as possible.
