Stop Screwing Up Your Job Search In These Ten Ways

This was a fantastic article from Forbes that I read on Yahoo! Finance News today.Stop Screwing Up Your Job Search In These Ten Ways In all my years of recruiting I saw this over and over again. A job candidate ruining her own chances of getting a job that was perfect for her by inserting her own foot in her mouth!

A potential employer never wants to hear something negative about your previous employer! In the back of their mind is a niggling doubt that you would do the same thing to them if you left there. It's always about "them" - try to keep that in mind all the time!

Here are just a few of the ways you can screw up your job search:


1. Giving out references that don't sing your praises
You don’t want a reference to damn you with faint praise. Ask if the person is willing to say you walked on water. If not, find another reference.

2. Laying out your résumé in a microscopic font
Too many candidates think they need to fit all of their qualifications onto a single, illegible page. Either cut down the word count or let the copy flow onto a second page.

3. Failing to say glowing things about your former employer
Even if you were laid off from your last job, find a way to say positive things about your last employer. Hiring managers identify with your former boss, not with you.

4. Saying negative things about your own track record
Even if you are looking for work because your most recent venture has had problems, find a way to put a positive spin on your experience.

Master the Phone Interview

Most companies use a preliminary phone interview to screen the most likely applicants. The information gathered in the interview allows the company to narrow down the number of applicants to a few people that they can then interview in person. It is also a cost effective way to interview out of town applicants.

In order to prepare for the phone interview:

· . First make sure you confirm the date, and time the interview will take place, get the facts.

· Research both the company and the job-This will allow you cross reference your skills to what they are looking for in a position.

· You can practice interviewing to get comfortable with thinking on your feet

To get ready for the interview, make sure you are in a quiet, comfortable space so you are not interrupted. Some people believe to keep the energy up, walk around your space. At least set up straight and give them your full attention. Remember the old adage my mother used to say, when speaking on the phone remember to smile. It does translate good energy.

During the interview engage in the conversation, listen and respond appropriately. If your mind starts to wander they will notice a change in energy and voice so pay full attention. Also you have something to give to this company and though looking for work can be very stressful, you are an asset. I think sometimes we forget that fact.

Speak clearly, slowly so they can understand, and be professional. Don’t be too casual or personal. Answer what is asked. If you can show your personality in the context of the interview by all means do so. When you can ask questions, it can show interest in their company. Don’t interrupt the interviewer or address them by their first name, unless they have asked you too. Don’t smoke, drink, or chew gum.

After the interview write down any questions and answers while the information is fresh in your mind. Then send them a short thank note.

Companies are looking for someone they can hire to do the job. When asked give strong, clear answers that address their needs and concerns.

Companies want to hire someone they can work with every day. Show them your personality when able. It gives them a chance to see you can fit in.

They want someone that they can rely on in a crisis. Show them your solution oriented personality, that you can remain out of the drama.

Though interviews can be stressful, the phone interview allows you to be in a comfortable and confident location, your own environment. Give them your best. You cannot always tell how the interview went, but by following these guidelines you can feel as if you let yourself shine through and given them your best.

Communication That Wins the Job

Communication That Wins The Job Trish Mink

There is an invisible connection between the potential employer and potential employee. Communication is one of the most important tools you require to form the connection, that will result in you winning your new job. As a life coach my goal is to instill in you that what you need to create the success in your life, including work, is already inside of you. It may be hidden behind fears and issues, but it is there.

First it is your goal to obtain a new position. You have set your intentions, and sent out resumes. As a result you are called for the interview. You want that new position, you want to be the person they choose to work for them. You are already a winner. The truth is that today there is such competition that your resume has gained the attention and interest of the people hiring the job you want. That is the good news. You are in.

Communication is the exchange of information between parties. You want to present your self and conduct yourself so that you will be chosen. There are several types of communication. In this cases the ones used most are:

Physical-this includes facial expressions, smell and body motions. Most of these are non verbal, but say as much as what you speak. They also include posture, how you hold your body, gestures and how you dress. Interestingly enough across cultures gestures seem to be similar. A smile is always a smile.

Social-includes eye contact, and emotional signals that say when to speak and when to be quiet. They will tell whether you are interested or bored.

Interpersonal-speaking evenly, politely, listening.

Before the interview- dress appropriately, shoes always polished, be sure to be well groomed. Since smell is important, cleanliness can not be over stated. Keep strong deodorants, and perfumes to a minimum. Do not smoke before an interview, or at least do not smell of smoke. If your smell comes in before you, you have a strike against you. Make sure you know where you are going, and arrive a few minutes before your interview. If you need to relax to relieve stress, and there are several techniques, including meditation, affirmations you can use. You probably have your own at this point. I would also bring a copy of your resume, and any examples that will sell your achievements.

When you enter the waiting area, you are now in what I call the "Golden Moments". I can not stress how important this part is. It is important for the employer and for the potential employee. You are being watched from the time you greet the receptionist until you leave the building. So be polite, smile, greet the person who interviews you and the receptionist. Then while waiting for your opportunity, watch your posture, how you carry yourself.

If you are the interviewer or employer, watch your potential candidate. Do they have the characteristics to fit into your organization? Note all that you see both positive and negative.

Above all first impressions matter, when you are gone, that is how the employer will remember you. When meeting the interviewer, shake their hand. Use a firm confident shake, not a wimpy one. Also make sure your hands are not sticky. You can do this by using the restroom or carry a Kleenex.

During the interview-I suggest you keep a pen and paper in hand. It will keep your hands occupied. When speaking, smile when it is appropriate. As you speak use an even, polite tone. Use eye contact to show interest, and that you are listening. Sit upright, not too casual, pay attention, and listen. The way you respond is like a volleyball game, one serves, and there is this moment, like when the ball in the air, when you listen, formulate a response and then you answer back. This is where you build rapport.

This is also a time to pay attention to your nerves, for some it is a "fake it until you make it" moment. Some of the most accomplished people I know still get jitters while interviewing. So take your time, smile and state your answers.

Like I said, the fact that you are in the interview says you have made a great impression and that you are a winner. You are only confirming that to the people who will hire you. You carry yourself like this until you leave the building. All of this is communication that conveys interest, confidence, ability and desire to be successful. You will win your position!!

The Secrets of Hiring Great Sales People Finally Revealed

Lou Adler hits it on the head "again"! Many of the salespeople I have interviewed over the years have said they can sell anything. Their track record in a variety of industries would seem to back up their assertion. But oftentimes a client insists that a person has to have worked in THEIR industry or they won't even consider them. Makes me wonder if they are really looking for the industry experience - or the book of business???

Here's Lou's take on hiring great sales people: (seen on ERE.Net)
"Over the years, I’ve been involved in developing hiring tools for sales representatives in a variety of industries including high technology, financial services, industrial products, consumer products, auto sales, woman’s cosmetics, business services, medical products, pharmaceuticals, and healthcare.

Surprisingly, most sales managers make the same bad decisions, regardless of the product or industry.

Here’s the list of where most sales managers go wrong. Start eliminating these error-producing behaviors and just about all of your sales hiring mistakes will go away.

They think their job is unique. They’re not. There is a common sales process behind each one, that when understood can be used to benchmark any candidate’s past performance against.

They overvalue first impressions. First impressions don’t predict performance. People with great first impressions are frequently incompetent and people with marginal first impression often have a track record of great success. It’s best to measure first impression at the end of the interview and then determine how the candidate’s first impression affected their performance in consistently achieving quota. From what I’ve seen, the best sales managers don’t worry about first impressions, they worry about the candidate having a track record of achieving good sales results selling similar products, to similar buyers, in similar situations.

They overvalue their gut or instinct. This is only acceptable when the sales manager has a track record of hiring all top performers who all make quota in combination with very low department turnover. Emotions, intuition, or instinct are poor predictors of on-the-job success. A track record of past performance selling similar products or influencing similar buyers is a great predictor.

They don’t know the job. Sales is a process that starts with lead generation and ends at closing. Certain aspects of the process are more critical than others. If a sales manager doesn’t know what these are, it’s unlikely that he’ll be able to accurately assess them in the candidate. As a result, the sales manager shifts the decision criteria to first impressions and gut instinct.

They assume they’re great managers. Most great sales people aren’t great managers, yet this is the person most likely to get promoted. It takes a great deal of work to build, develop, and manage an effective sales team. As part of the assessment process, the sales manager has to assess the fit between her style of management and how each person on the team needs to be managed. This directly relates to Hershey and Blanchard’s situational leadership model.

keep reading…

10 Great Ways to Make Bad Hiring Decisions

With his tongue firmly in cheek, I'm sure, Lou Adler's article gives advice on how NOT to make hiring decisions! Here's a quick peek at the article:

"I wrote a rather controversial article last week comparing Obama vs. McCain using our 10-factor evidence-based assessment system. The stated purpose of the article was to propose that Presidential candidates should be vetted just as rigorously as any candidate for any job.

The underlying purpose was to demonstrate the point that many important decisions, especially hiring decisions, are based on invalid assumptions, false impressions, personal beliefs, and lack of objective data." Read Lou's article 10 Great Ways to Make Bad Hiring Decisions by clicking on the link.

Enjoy!

Are Your Sales People Farmers or Hunters?

I read Jeffrey Gitomer's articles, books, and newsletters every chance I get. I think Jeffrey is one of the top experts on sales - how to do it, how to manage those who do it; and his advice in his newsletter is always top notch. You can subscribe to his Sales Caffeine newsletter by clicking on the link. Do it now while you're thinking of it!

I read this article in Jeffrey's most recent issue of Sales Caffeine and it reminded me of how often employers hire the wrong type of sales person for their company. Many candidates have made hundreds of thousands of dollars a year and when they apply for a job, the potential employer is very excited thinking they will be able to do the same thing for their company. However, they should look into that person's previous sales track record more closely to see what KIND of sales they have done. Read David's article to see how that is possible.

Farmers or Hunters
by: David Steel

Are your salespeople a bunch of dummies or, probably more likely, are they just lazy? In response to this you have likely set up a lot of company rules and regulations designed to force them to work instead of goof off. Unfortunately, such rules and regulations are about keeping control instead of giving motivation or incentives to produce -- and it's those latter things that salespeople really need and thrive on.

The kind of salespeople you've probably unwittingly created are Farmers. These Farmers don't break new ground by getting new clients -- they just till the same old soil (already existing clients). And what's really bad about that is that once someone becomes a Farmer they get so comfortable that it's extremely difficult to change most of them back into the Hunters they were meant to be.

You see, Farmers know all their clients well and are old friends with them. Farmers don't have to do the difficult work of convincing total strangers to trust them enough to become clients and friends, but even though they would make much more money for themselves -- and you -- if they did, the money they get from Farming, which is like a salesperson's "busy work,” is just good enough in exchange for being allowed to stay in the comfort zone. Indeed, there's a place for Farmers in the sales force of most organizations: they keep the existing clients very happy and that brings in a certain dependable cash flow.

But that can't be permitted to be good ENOUGH for everyone or for your business.

In order to push the right salespeople to become Hunters (and you need some of these, for sure), every new salesperson you hire should be fully expected to: seek out new prospects; develop new relationships; and maintain the status quo with existing clients at the very same time that they are bringing in new business.

And -- that's just about ALL that these salespeople should be doing, all the time. And one of the best things to help free them from Farming tasks or make them flow faster and easier is the tried and true friend of business: technology. Your salespeople should be equipped with the latest and greatest technology that can contribute to their having more time on their hands so that they can use it to do more selling. It's "work smarter, not harder" put in motion.

And there's a side benefit to hiring and cultivating Hunters: they will either inspire or guilt-trip everyone else into working harder through their attitude. From out of the ashes of the Cain and Abel style friction that will arise will come a phoenix of productivity. Give the new Hunters old, underworked accounts; give them powerful titles when they earn the rights to them; and most of all, deliver on every incentive you promise and deliver it on time.

This is the beginning of how you let your sales force bring in more business than you can handle.

David Steel is one of the nation’s leading experts on the topic of Sales Motivation. He’s a popular and widely recognized author and motivational speaker who works with businesses and individuals as a sales management consultant, offering insights into hiring, compensation, goals and strategies, and teaching the use of sales management skills to build and maintain highly aggressive sales teams. To download a complimentary copy of his book "The Care and Feeding of Highly Aggressive Sales People" please visit www.feedyoursales.com

McCain vs. Obama Using Adler’s 10-Factor Scorecard

I am a long time fan of Lou Adler - I read his books and use his one-question interview technique a lot when I interview candidates for job openings. But I have to say, I'm glad the President isn't chosen using Lou's 10-Factor Scorecard! Here's a teaser from his newsletter on this issue (you'll have to click on the link to read the whole article! *smile*)

"In my book, Hire With Your Head (John Wiley & Sons, 3rd Edition, 2007), I introduced the idea of using an evidence-based assessment process when evaluating and comparing candidates. This is based on using ten factors that have been shown to accurately predict on-the-job success, and on having the hiring team rank each one in a group meeting on a 1-5 scale after the interviews are completed. Click here for a sample of the form we use for staffing and middle-management positions. I thought it would be interesting to use this 10-Factor Scorecard to evaluate who would make a better President, Obama or McCain." Read the full scorecard here