Maximizing your job search effort.

When I became unemployed in December, I was very aware of what I had to do:
1. Update my resume on the job boards.
2. Contact staffing/recruiting firms.
3. Contact my "contacts" and people I networked with. Both friends and people who knew my from my local work experience in recruiting and career services.
4. Directly contact ANY company I had interest in.
5. Check boards like "Indeed.Com" several times per day, as well as Monster/Careerbuilder/Hotjobs and Dice and Craigslist.
6. Spend time on items 1-5 every day of the week, and use weekday "business time" to make calls, go to interviews and make contact with employers.

In other words, I had a focused approach that I know has worked for me before. In effect, I was using as many of the available "tools" I had to make certain I could get to speak with decision making folks as quickly as possible.

I was maximizing my job search effort.

And that "combination" effort helped me to land a job in less than 3 weeks with the Christmas Holiday right in the "middle of things." Several years earlier, between jobs, I used a very similar approach and found an opportunity in just over a month.
That says less about me, and more about the importance of using ANY reasonable tool to find work - and to make effort EVERY day. Because I was spending time looking for work actively, I had less time to focus on my unemployment. My JOB was finding a job; that's an important focus!

Let's go over each of the tools and how they can help.
1. Update resume on major job boards.
Yes, I have gotten plenty of spam and calls of no value from resumes on Careerbuilder and Monster and Hotjobs. However, I have also gotten REAL inquiries from VIABLE employers. Quick Tip: Update your resume EVERY day if you can on these sites; that makes them come up FIRST in employer searches, as the newest ones "pop up" first!
2. Contact staffing/recruiting firms.
See if they have anything, particularly on the temporary side. In the early 90s, Today's Staffing got me a temporary position at a major company that lasted 10 months - long enough for me to find a job w/benefits elsewhere!
3. Contact "your" contacts/network.
Let EVERYONE, from the parents of your kids' friends to former co-workers know you are looking. This is particularly true if you are unemployed. ANYONE can provide help in unexpected ways. The more people you know who are aware of your search, the more likely someone may be able to help! I've gotten several jobs in the past from "friendly" referrals!

Think of it this way: if a very close friend told you he/she was looking for a job, wouldn't you keep your eyes open for job opportunities for that person? Of course!

4. DIRECTLY contact ANY company/employer you have interest in.
Find where you want to be and MAKE PHONE CALLS! Email messages get lost; mail gets misplaced. Nothing is more personal in a job search than a live person, or a live phone voice.
a. Don't be concerned if there are no jobs on the company website - the company can still MAKE ROOM for the right person.
b. Don't ask "Wonder if you are hiring?" or "Do you have any opportunities?" - because if the person you speak to says "no" the conversation can stall very quickly.
c. Instead, call and ask something like this "I'm hoping you can help me. I'm an experienced inside salesperson looking for a job. I was wondering if you had any leads or suggestions for me." On the phone, if you say "I'm hoping you can help me," the listener tends to shift into "I want to help" mode!

Chances are, the person who answers the phone DOES NOT know the answer - so he or she will very likely transfer your call to someone who could help. With that person, just ask the SAME question! He/she may have a job, know someone, or can even forward your resume to people who can be of help!

5. Check boards SEVERAL times per day.
New postings come up ALL the time; you can set up job alerts to capture much of this - but it NEVER hurts to see what's most recently been posted! You may see that the XYZ company has a job that's too entry level for you; however, the job is in your field - and you hadn't KNOWN about the XYZ company before! Thus, you have a new place to call!

6. Spend time on items 1-5 every day of the week, and use weekday "business time" to make calls, go to interviews and make contact with employers.
Think about this: loss of a job means a 9-10 hour HOLE in your day that just showed up. If all you do is "take time off," the loss of your job will hit you harder and harder.

Instead, use AS MUCH of this "free time" as you can working on your job search!
For most of you, you'll be getting available DAY TIME, which means plenty of opportunities to CALL employers, go to staffing firms and interview for any job you may find to be worthwhile. If there are job fairs, you have time to go!

To be honest, I was down being unemployed; the job I took didn't last 2 weeks and wasn't a good fit. And I'll admit that my self esteem and confidence took a hit, too. However, by spending as much time as I could on the job search itself, I felt better! My time was spent trying to make things happen: talking to people, sending out resumes and interviewing. Such helped me stay focused, and stay much sharper for the phone and in-person interviews I had. My JOB was to find a job - and that's what I put my efforts in to.

Simply, I maximized my job search effort.

Keep in mind that activity can increase your chances of success, and shorten the length of your job search as well.

And the "basics" are things you can spend time on nearly every day!

Interview Tip# 4365.8 - Avoid the Excuse Zone!

In an interview, your questions can help clarify some very important issues regarding the opportunity:
-How the employer trains new staff
-What his/her expectations are
-Opportunity for growth
-Why the job is open

All good topics you may wish to bring up.

However, be certain to avoid "The Excuse Zone."
Let's discuss what's there:
-Vacation Time
-Sick Time
-Break Times
-Lunch Hour
-# of days you can be late
-# of personal calls you could make

EVERY issue you raise there is about you NOT working. What you are doing is putting a thought into an employer's head that you are looking for ways to get out of work. That's why I called this "The Excuse Zone" in Career Services training I used to do. Any interview questions you ask about time off give the employer the impression that you may not want to work, and can give the employer the EXCUSE not to hire you!

So, during the interview stay away from the "Excuse Zone." Ask NONE of those type of questions. Clearly, those type of questions aren't going to help you get the opportunity.

Are issues like "time off" or "lunch hour" important? Absolutely. However, they don't matter until you actually WORK there, right?

Therefore, here's what you can do to get that info! When an employer offers you a job, that's the time to say something like "Wonder if you could clarify how time off is accrued" or "How do you configure sick and vacation time?" Since they are offering you the job, they aren't going to mind telling you what HR will likely tell you when you fill out paperwork.

As they are calling you to make you an offer, they are usually quite happy to answer questions about time off, benefits, etc. They want you to be there, so it's a good time for you to ask those questions! That way, you can decide whether or not to accept the offer with most of the possible information you need available to you.

Most importantly, you GET to an offer stage.

During an interview, all that EXCUSE ZONE questions can offer is a chance for employers to pass on you as a candidate.

Tales from the Resume Reef....Error of Margin!

MS Word has default margins of 1.25" all around. While that creates plenty of blank space on the page, it can take away from how much you can fit on the resume page. If you are finding that your resume is winding up to be longer than you wish, certainly examine the CONTENT. However, you also have another option if you adjust the margins to create more space.

There will always be debate on how long a resume SHOULD be; I won't discuss such in this offering. Frankly, I think there will always be some debate on that topic - and that's a good thing. In that arena, the one "nugget o' wisdom" I will pass along is not my own. Author Robert C.S. Downs taught me that if I wasn't certain if something belonged in my writing, it didn't belong. (And this ALWAYS applies to the useless phrase "References available upon request." It just doesn't belong!)

However, there's more room for important information if you choose different margins from MS Word's default. So, try these margins, instead:
.5, top and bottom
.7 left margin
.6 right margin

Immediately, you create more space for text on the page; however, the text you put in will not look "jammed together."

Plus, there is no "standard" margin for resumes. Just as there is no standard font size - (though we suggest you don't use larger that 12 point font for your text.) What matters is that you can have a bit more space available for information and still print out the document without trouble.


Here's where there may be trouble.
Anything less than .5 on the top or bottom and the text may not fully print. From my own trial and error, I've discovered that a margin of less than .7 on the left may be a printing problem as well.

However, what's left is the good old right margin: anything .6 or higher is likely to be fine.

Don't make an "Error of Margin" by letting MS Word's default dictate how much space you have available for your resume. By changing MS Word margins, you can put more on a page and still have your document looking professional!

Sometimes, an "Independent Contractor" job may not be the best choice!

I have found that Craigslist can be a very helpful source for jobs, whether full time, part time or project.

But some "Independent Contractor" positions may not be the best choice!

Check out this story from KCRA!
KCRA

Now, I haven't seen the word "eradicate" in any job postings, but I'm guessing that's a pretty clear warning sign if the topic isn't insects!

And my guess is that the poster of the ad noted may have to fill some forms out, or have her attorney do so - but it's highly unlikely that one of them is a 1099!

Beware the Unprofessional Interviewer!

There are NO standard qualifications for an employer to be an interviewer.

None!

Yes, larger companies have HR and many smaller ones at least have someone who knows what isn’t legal to ask. Likely in such places, you'll be treated more professionally, and the interview will focus more on the skills, education and experience you offer - the things that REALLY matter re: how well you are qualified.

However, many who interview have NO idea about what they can ask. Or even what they should! While the person may be qualified to SUPERVISE, he or she may have had NO training or guidance on interviewing. So, that person may "wing it" or worked from a prepared list of questions.

While such doesn’t always mean that you’ll have a tough or difficult interview, you could run into questions or approaches that are not even close to being professional or appropriate.

For example, you may be asked illegal questions or ones that make no sense. Here's a weird one a student of mine was asked a few years back - "How many gas stations are there in Los Angeles?" Keep in mind that the student had never been to LA, had no preparation time, nor was allowed to use any resources like the internet. So, the student had to take a wild guess! However, the interviewer said that the purpose was to test how people reason! Now, I'm not certain how one can reason or figure something out with no information, nor the ability to research!

Sometimes, the interviewer may show “attitude” towards you, or negativity about the company, co-workers or the person who had the job before. How much "fun" would it be to work for someone like this?

Recently, while working in Career Services, I found that the Medical Assistants I got interviews for often were grilled by Physicians who asked illegal questions about children, marriage, etc. In addition, I had other employers asking me about ages of my students, if they had kids or if they had ever been in an accident: all are ILLEGAL questions. And I let the employers know that they couldn’t ask those types of questions.

In most cases, they were surprised.

Several years back, I interviewed at a staffing firm locally for an internal position. The owner, who was also the manager, asked me if I was married. Then, we went to a conference room, where I told him flatly that he couldn’t ask me that. His response was that since it was HIS company, he could ask whatever he wanted to!

(You’d think someone who owned a staffing firm would know something about employment law, or at least pay some attention to it!)

I left very soon after.

If you are being interviewed by someone who is causing you difficulty, whether by asking illegal personal questions or simply behaving in unprofessional ways, do you really want to work in such an environment? After all, the interview is a FIRST IMPRESSION for the employer – and FOR YOU!

My suggestion, bluntly, is to say something like “I really don’t think this is a fit for me. Thanks for you time.” And leave. However, that's just one opinion.

Here is a link to info on illegal questions and other ways to deal with them:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A8963-2003Apr11.html

In addition, I’ve been asked “What if you need the job?” Well, I can’t answer that for anyone.

However, I might ask how much you needed a job where it was clear from the start that you weren’t going to be respected or treated properly.

You deserve better!

Interview Tip# 4365.5

Have your questions ready!

A typical final interview question is this - “Do you have any questions?”

I’ve run into folks who didn’t ask me any questions during the interview, and didn’t respond to this opportunity. To me, in hiring mode, that tells me the person has no interest in the job I have. Therefore, that's usually not a person I seriously consider.

You can do better!

And it’s easy to fix - just have the questions ready BEFORE the interview.

Good questions you can ask include the following:

• What expectations do you have of your staff?
• What growth opportunities are there?
• How do you train new employees?
• What would your expectations be of me?
• Tell me more about how your department is structured.
• Tell me about your experience with the company.

Each of these can get you more information, and they are “open-ended” questions, too. They give the interviewer a chance to provide you with MORE information, which COULD lead to more questions on your part!

(Go the company’s website, too! You may find more questions based on company, structure, or growth that could be of interest!)

A Cheat Sheet? Why not!

There’s no need to MEMORIZE your questions!

Get a copy of your resume and WRITE your questions in a blank area. Just be certain that you not only take that to your interview, but that it’s NOT the copy you hand out to the interviewer! Anywhere from 3-6 questions is a solid start! If you have more than that, you may wish to prioritize - so that the ones you feel you NEED to know are the ones you ask first.

When the question “Do you have any questions?” comes up, if nothing springs to mind, look at the ones you’ve written. Ask away!

Note: No one will think it’s odd that you are prepared! Employers appreciate someone who plans ahead and takes the interview seriously!

You can get information, make a good impression, and not feel you have to memorize anything in the process!

And sell yourself as a candidate more effective in the process.

Tales from The Resume Reef...Of Spam and Privacy!

When I put my resume on the job boards last year, I wanted to cut back on “spamportunity.” Thus, I created a Yahoo email account just for the job search.

Yahoo has a fairly good spam filtering system, and I also knew that my email would only be related to job search items. Easy to keep personal things separate.

Yahoo, AIM, Hotmail and Gmail all offer free email accounts: any would be good for your job search.

My suggestion is that you create an account JUST for your job search. Put that as your email contact on your resume and use it for any email sign ins or job applications you fill out on line. Your new and separate email account will be the place you can correspond online regarding your job search and do so with more privacy.

As someone who has posted a resume using my “normal” account, I can tell you that the spam jockeys grab those email addresses with alacrity. Why give them ANYTHING that will help them bombard you with a plethora of “make millions of dollars by doing nothing at home” ads?

Plus, by keeping your “job search” email separate, you protect email confidentiality. Believe it or not, I’ve gotten resumes from people who use their work emails for job searches. Not only do more and more companies monitor email and internet use, but also ANYONE can walk by your desk and see what’s open in your MS Outlook at work.

After all, we don’t always close Outlook every time we leave our work areas!

Tales From the Resume Reef... No Objectives!

Employers choose candidates based on their own reasons, no matter what they may be.

Typical “resume” review the first time around is 15-30 seconds. So, you need to sell yourself on paper quickly and efficiently. During this time, the employer is thinking about “what can this person do for me?”

This means a resume should showcase skills, accomplishments and experience in a very clear and easy to read way. However, the process to do so is SIMPLE, and we’ll go over those steps in future tales from the reef.

The employer is NOT interested in “what can I do for this person?”

So, the “objective” is to have no objective.

To be honest, most of the ones I’ve read over the years were so poorly written, they actually took value from the resume:

• “A chance to grow and be happy”
• “A position where I can learn and grow”
• “A growth-related opportunity in a position where I can use my skills”
• “An opportunity to help your company grow.”

Take a serious look at the 4 objectives. Do they add ANYTHING?

Nope.

They are generic “what I want statements.” However, employers want to see what you can OFFER as a candidate.

And it’s why objectives have NO value!

What you want DOES matter. And that’s what you can discuss as part of the interview. That’s the place where personality and energy and attitude can come forth. It’s where you and the employer get the chance to see what kind of “match” can exist based on personalities and situations and discussion.

Such has no place on a piece of paper whose sole purpose is to let the employer know the quantifiable skills, abilities, accomplishments and experience you bring to the table. That’s what a resume is for!

An objective won’t get you into an interview.

EVERY part of your resume needs to matter TO THE EMPLOYER.

Your objective doesn’t.

If you have one, delete it and use that space to increase a font size or add skills or accomplishments. If you haven’t put one in, please stop and resist the temptation to do so.

Per Adrian Monk, "You'll thank me later."

The Dolphin

The 50% Rule

Seen a lot of VERY long job postings?

Sometimes, the requirements are incredibly lengthy. Even more, if you have good experience in the field for that posting, you'll probably see that there are conflicting or "extra" requirements.

• A combination of skills and experience NO ONE has, like the webmaster/graphic designer/network engineer who also is a software developer!
  
• Request for more software, platforms or abilities than reasonable. (Call this a "wish list" as that is what we're talking about!)
• Mix of very old and very new technologies or skills that simply don't go together.
• Phrases like "As needed or When needed" as part of a requirement.

The longer the job posting, the more of a "wish list" it becomes. Chances are, this position has spent time bouncing around HR and some management types. And they've added every possible skill, ability or experience that could be helpful, whether or not it's really necessary. Sort of like that holiday "wish list" we put together as kids - EVERYTHING we could ask for!

Important Note: Most people who post jobs have no clue how to do so effectively! Plus, many who write job descriptions don't know enough about what's REALLY needed. What results is this: Positions posted on Dice or Monster or Hotjobs, etc. that look impossible for anyone to be considered a candidate.

However, it's simply a case of "TMI" (Too much information.) Frequently, it can be a challenge to see where the "too much" comes in versus what really does make sense. That's the error of those who wrote this job posting, and not the REAL job requirements!

Some folks see these jobs and figure that by not matching most or all of the skills, etc. , "required" that they aren't qualified. Simply put, that's NOT true!

When you look at a long job posting that's in your field, see if you have 50% or more of what is being asked for. If you do, the next question to ask yourself is "could I learn the rest?" Chances are that for at least the "reasonable" things, you can because such ties into advancing your skills.
If you have interest, apply for the position!

(On the other hand, if the job asks you to fly aircraft, fix computer networks, train skydivers, write 3 new symphonies, restore Pompeii, climb every mountain over 20,000 feet, perform appendectomies and lead treasure hunting expeditions, well, that's a bit different!)

Simply put, if you have 50% or more of the skills, education and experience someone is looking for, you have a fair "shot" at the position. There's NO REASON to NOT apply. Based on the requirements posted, NO ONE is going to be fully qualified.

As a recruiter, I've often had clients who give me a "wish list." My question back to them is "what skills/experience must someone ABSOLUTELY HAVE for this position?" In responding, the employer normally gives me a list that is 1/3 to 1/2 the length of the original job description.
From this response, I have the right specifics to "aim for" in finding candidates.

What that means is that decision making types are looking for specific skills, etc. that are just PART of that long posting. If you can speak to the employer, ask that question I did above. If you can't, consider applying for the position, anyway!

1. It never hurts to try! (How much are they paying you for working in that job right now?)
2. You might be what they are looking for.
3. Chances are, you are at least a "close fit" to what they need.
4. Employers DO NOT get rid of good candidate resumes. If you are a "close fit" but "not quite," you are possibly someone they'd consider for a similar opportunity.

To paraphrase Elvis, "It's Now or Later."

You are a potentially viable candidate with 50% or more of what's being asked for in a LONG and overwritten job description. The question is, do they want to bring you in now or possibly later?

And the only way to make yourself known is to apply for that job.

The people who actually hire know what kind of person is REALLY needed.
Guess what? There's a reasonably decent chance it could be you!

The Dolphin

Phone Tuning!

If you are looking for employment, be certain ALL of your personal voicemails are professional, or at least informative and simple. The phone call you receive is often the FIRST time an employer is reaching out to you as a candidate. So, this is your chance to leave a very positive first impression with a short, clear recorded greeting.

As a former disc jockey, a lifetime ago, I would use the "special effects" library in the production studio to create backgrounds that featured everything from explosions to a chorus of singing "chipmunks." However, when I was looking for work, I took the creative message off the answering machine (it was the 80s and cell phones were still called "car phones!") and changed my message to something simple and to the point.

It's easy!

1. Get rid of jokes, long introductory music or any "creative" features such as comedy bits or sound effects. Employers ARE NOT impressed. In fact, they tend to get annoyed and sometimes just hang up before it is time to to leave a message.

2. Include key information:

• Whose phone it is.
• Suggest leaving a message.
  
• And that you will return it as soon as possible.

3. Record your greeting in a fairly quiet place. Background music or sounds from passing traffic tend to drown you out.

4. Speak NATURALLY at a steady rate. Remember that while you can SPEAK fast, no one can HEAR fast. If someone else in your family records the voicemail greetings, please make certain he/she is aware of that!

5.Show some energy! Years ago, I was taught that if I smiled when I spoke on the air, people could hear the difference! If your message is flat and sounds like you'd rather be at the dentist, how positively do you come across?

6. Play back your message. Ask someone to call you to listen. Can he/she CLEARLY understand what was said? If not, you need to record again.

7. Sample message: "This is Tonya. Please leave your message and I'll return the call as soon as possible. Thanks."
Have a family phone? Try "You've reached Tonya, Jeff and Leah. Please leave your message and we'll get back to you as soon as possible." OR "You have reached the Richardsons. Please leave your message at the tone and we'll return your call."

Simple, right?

8. Note that "Tonya" or a LAST NAME is in EVERY message. If you don't have YOUR name on the message, how do people know they've reached you? Cell phones don't always come in clearly, either. With no name to go by, an employer MAY NOT leave a message!

Once you get the job you want, feel free to change your message back to whatever works for you! However, while you are looking for that opportunity, focus on a message that will work for both you AND the employers who call.

Don't forget the "phone tuning!"

Why we're here!

No matter your professional background or job search status, I am here to help!

I've been in the recruiting/placement and career services fields for over a decade. Plus, I've done resume writing for almost 20 years, primarily on a volunteer basis.

What I've discovered over that time is that most people have SOME of the skills needed to help in the job search process, but usually not enough.

Further, having worked in recruiting/placement, I've been through THOUSANDS of resumes and interviewed several thousand people. In the process of working with employers, I've found out more and more about what THEY look for.

And it's often NOT what job candidates present!

• Resumes lack information that will entice an employer.
• Interview skills are lacking.
• Job search techniques are often too passive.

That doesn't even mention the inaccurate information people get from "so called" experts.
I'm not claiming that questionable title of "expert."

Let's say I've learned from working IN the employment-related market and found techniques and approaches that are MORE likely to help job searchers find success.
I've written for Internet newspapers, created materials and templates and done training that has provided people with better tools. Such doesn't make me an "expert." Frankly, I've always had an issue with people who give themselves that title. What are the qualifications?

Instead, I can claim to be someone who has learned about things that can help.

Job searches aren't fun, generally. (Having just gone through one, I can state that without reservation!) However, with the proper tools and approach, we can maximize our effectiveness in the way we reach out to employers and the way we present ourselves.

Here's where you can find tools and approaches that can be of help.

No matter your education, experience or career goals, you have good things to offer an employer! I hope the Job Search Dolphin blog will be a helpful site for you to help you go and grow forward.

Great news! Most of what I hope to provide here is simple, simply written and fairly easy to use. Frankly, it wouldn't be much use, otherwise!

Your comments and feedback are ALWAYS welcome.

The Job Search Dolphin