Blog entries January 2012
01/30/2012Conquering the Phone Interview
1. Develop a peaceful area to receive a phone call and have both current resumes and your collection of company dossiers at your fingertips. It is imperative that you don’t appear hearing-impaired. If the dog is barking or the baby is squealing you will send the wrong message. You wouldn’t believe the amount of executives who feature the Grateful Dead during a phone interview. There is nothing improper about putting a caller on hold to change location or take a deep breath. Just be sure not to leave anyone on hold longer than about 10 seconds.
2. Configure a Signature Statement. This is a one or two sentence summary of who you are and what you bring to the table. “I am an employment expert with nearly four decades in the career management industry, globally consulting to clients in all industry arenas. My specialties include executive resume preparation, resume distribution strategies, competitive interviewing methodologies and job offer negotiations.” You might also want to include the type of opportunity you are seeking as a tag line to the signature statement, tailored to the company that has called you, of course.
3. Allow the company representative to guide the conversation but make sure you come across as a formidable contributor. Whatever you do avoid one or two word answers, use specific examples from your experience to substantiate a point and have some questions of your own for the interviewer that demonstrates your knowledge of his company. Under no circumstances should you introduce the subject of money and if asked, simply state that the compensation you require totally depends on the nature of the position and growth potential.
4. Take Notes. Be sure to get the name and title of the company representative and any current projects or activity. If the company representative mentions a colleague’s name be sure to secure the correct spelling and title. Knowledge is power and this information may be used to your advantage in future conversations.
5. Lock It Up! Traditionally one can identify the end of an interview by when the candidate is asked if there are any questions. If the company representative has not extended an invitation this is the time to take the initiative to ask for an interview. Once this is accomplished it is recommended that the candidate take another step by getting permission to call with further questions prior to the interview. This allows an “open door” to continue communication throughout the hiring process.
Janice Worthington
01/09/2012
My Psychic Predictions for
2012…And Your Career!
Recently I conducted some research into the qualifications of becoming a psychic. Jeanne Dixon, Sylvia Browne, John Edward and someone called psychic Fred are all making predictions
for 2012. They base their guesswork on the positioning of the stars, messages
from deceased relatives, and weird looking tarot cards. This didn’t seem too
difficult so I thought I would give it a try. Here are my psychic predictions
for your career in 2012.
Your Résumé Will Open Doors –You will realize the necessity of logic in your resume. Your objective will be
stated in your vocational title, i.e. Staff Accountant, Physical Therapist,
Electrical Engineer, not that tedious “room for advancement” speech that
guarantees to put most readers into a sound state of sleep. You will no longer
think merely in terms of “I do this and I do that.” You will develop a keyword
list in a table to describe your skill sets and will feature compelling
performance highlights and achievements in addition to describing what you do.
You Will Distribute Many Résumés – You will realize the importance of unannounced and
unadvertised job opportunities, and you will send print and e-résumés to
companies because you feel a compatibility between what a company does, what
you can do and what you want to do. You will not be concerned that they may not
be expecting your arrival. You will target numerous product and service
segments with your résumé. You will post your résumés on numerous job boards
and you will answer ads both on-line and from print sources. You will keep a
consistent send-out momentum rather than waiting for response from the first
batch if résumés before sending the second.
You Will Attend All Interviews – You will realize
that every meeting is an opportunity and amazing things happen when you don’t
deny opportunity. You will not pre-judge, believe gossip or assume any
negatives about a company or an opening until you have total information. You
will truly understand the concept of all things being variable and negotiable.
You will not mention compensation until you receive a job offer and will not
be greedy even when you are in a
position to negotiate. Perceived value is rewarded not sparring.
You Will Persevere During Downtimes – When
the company doesn’t call immediately or the interview don’t always go your way
you will continue your momentum. You will not second-guess the impression you
made nor will begin to question your value. You will realize that no one scores
every time and they may have had no choice but to hire the boss’s son. You will
remember that if you hang on and continue your momentum long enough you will
see results. You will never give up only to have to begin again. Failure is not
an option. It isn’t even necessary. Everyone gets hired.
You Will Win the Interview Competition – You
will master the ability to deliver a strong message. Because you will research
each company’s needs and because you will then practice looking inside of
yourself for specific compatible qualifications, you will learn that specifics,
not generalities get hired. You will practice explaining your offerings and
examples of your glory days until you have a smooth presentation. You will
carry yourself with confidence but never arrogance, and you will cause the
employer to realize that in order to have best team you must be the newest
member.
And finally…you will benefit
because all the stars are aligned for a better 2012 economy and job market. We
are seeing a rise in consumer confidence and the stock market continues higher.
I like being a psychic! Go get hired and have a happy new year!
Janice Worthington