Interview Prepration – The Who

AUTHOR: David M. Young

As a recruiter, it is my responsibility to assist a candidate in preparing for an interview such that they put their best foot forward and do their very best in an interview. All too often I’ll talk with candidates who have had other interviews and I will ask them who they met with and they don’t remember. At this point, I know two things….one, they are not going to get that job, and two, this candidate did not do very much research before their interview.

I know this because a candidate who can’t recall who interviewed them, at least with title or position, was not engaged enough on the interview to be interested in the people they were talking with. The candidates who get job offers know the names and possibly the titles of the people they talked with. They know this because they are interested in the job and realize they may be seeing these people on a more regular basis. If they don’t know who they met with, I know they won’t get the job because this tells me they were not very engaged on the interview, or were so worried about how they answered a question or two, that they probably allowed that concern to come across and in turn, most likely reflected poorly on them as a candidate.

But getting the names of who will be interviewing should not wait until you walk into the door or pick up the phone. ASK. Yes, just ask. If you are going to have an interview, ask who you are meeting with and what their titles as well as responsibilities are. This is not too forward (I’ve had candidates tell me they were not comfortable asking on their own).

So once you ask, don’t just file that away, do some research. Look that person up on LinkedIn. Look for commonalities between you the candidate as well as the person. Have you worked at similar companies? Do you have any shared connections? If so, find out more about that person. Do a google search on that person’s name. You may find out what volunteer or community organizations they are involved in, you may learn if they are published or what other expertise they have.

All of this information will assist you as you prepare to meet for them. If there is a commonality, bring that up as appropriate when you interview. It will demonstrate that you have done your homework and begin to separate you from the other applicants.

Before the interview, do everything you can to find out the “Who” for the interview, it will only serve to assist you as you determine if this job is one that fits you.

 

The interview…a journey, not a formal meeting

AUTHOR: David M. Young

The true definition of the word interview is: a formal meeting in which one or more persons question, consult, or evaluate another person.

But as a job seeker, you have to have the mindset that an interview is the journey and process you will go through in order to obtain the career position you are seeking. In this sense, the journey (a.k.a. interview) begins when you first discover a potential job opening that you find interesting. The interview is not the meeting. The interview is the effort you make to: prepare, present your experience, gather information on the company, planning for the actual meeting itself, how you follow up, how you treat everyone you make contact with, and how you interact in every communication you make.

A company makes a decision of hire based on the interview. But this decision is not just based on skill fit. It is based on cultural fit, as well as belief in you being able to not just “do the job” but to excel in the position as the best candidate.

As a job seeker, the interview assessment is made based on your skills and ability as determined in the interview meeting, but also how you interact with the front desk receptionist, how you communicate in your email or respond on your application, as well as your inflection and tone on a phone call.

The candidate who will get the job offer is always going to be the candidate that does more than just shows up and talks about themselves. It will go to the candidate who has prepared themselves through company research, anticipating questions and how to best answer them, as well as the candidate who shows the most desire to “get the job”. The job will be given to the candidate who is not rude to the front desk receptionist. It goes to the candidate who does not ask questions that are already answered on the website or in the posted job description. It goes to the candidate who is truthful about their background and about what they know and don’t know. The job goes to the candidate who has prepared thoughtful and detailed questions.

Don’t be the candidate who thinks they can talk their way through an interview. And don’t be the candidate who is afraid they won’t get the job so they don’t ask questions.

The interview is more than a formal meeting. The interview is the process that one goes through when seeking a specific position, and that process begins with learning about the position all the way through the company hiring someone.

We will discuss so much more around the interview, but your mindset is one of a journey, you will not get the job offer if you think it is limited to a single meeting.

Resume is written, what comes next in the “recruiting process”?

AUTHOR: David M. Young
Over the last several weeks, we have discussed networking, email, and have touched on many facets of preparing your resume. So what comes next in the job search?
At this point, you should be actively engaged in building your network as well as learning and exploring the job market and potential job opportunities. Over the next several weeks we will continue to expand out on the job search process. Let me encourage you to do a little research and begin to mentally prepare yourself for what comes next. As you do this, focus around the following components of the search as these are the items that I will dive deeper with you on as you step through this journey (could be short, could be long, but regardless…be prepared).
These next steps include:
– Interviewing
– Follow up
– The rejection
– The offer
– The counter offer
– Acceptance
– Resigning
– Starting the new position
– It’s not over…what next
Stay Tuned!!!!!

Unrelated Experience and Other interests….on the resume…or not?

AUTHOR: David M. Young

You worked through college, you started a business but after 3 years decided you no longer wanted to carry the burden of not knowing what tomorrow would hold as a business owner, you had a small hobby that turned into a money maker while you worked your “day “ job….or, your 50 years old, and there are gaps in your resume because you were “in between jobs” and you substitute taught, or you semi-retired and travelled, or you were a “stay at home mom” or had to care for an ailing relative…WHAT TO DO?

Often times in working with folks who are in the job search, I find they leave out anything that is not directly related to the type of position they are pursuing. And then the question comes up…why is that not in your resume? Well, I did not want them to think I would be distracted, or I was concerned since it did not relate it would dilute my actual experience.

So do you include the “unrelated” experience? Do you leave out your hobbies, passions and personal interests. At the end of the day, this is your resume, so you have to discern what you are comfortable with including. If you are asked about it and you pause, stumble, or unintentionally look like you are not being forthcoming, then don’t include it. But if you when asked you can speak comfortably and confidently about it, then absolutely include.

The question is “Why should I include it”? In my many years of recruiting, there have been numerous times that I have received feedback from a hiring manager that something not related to the direct work experience peaked their interest and they found some common ground with the candidate that then shed light on their ability to communicate, display strong “soft skills”, or just promote some common item that led them to really “like” the candidate.

So, should you include these unrelated items. My guidance is that you should…BUT….it should only be done as a small/brief/short note. If it is unrelated professional experience, include it with a single brief description in the natural flow of the chronological resume. If it is of a personal nature, include it at the end with a brief bullet point. This could be under the title of “personal interests”…but make sure it is relevant. Don’t include the old “long walks on the beach”…but rather include “Southwest City Little League coach”. It could be where your heart is for volunteer work, it could be a significant life accomplishment, or even a specific hobby or interest. But let me restate…this should only be a brief bullet point or item in the resume. Your focus is your professional experience and how it relates to the prospective position.

 

Should there be a difference between my LinkedIn profile and my “Hard Copy” resume

AUTHOR: David M. Young

Should there be a difference between your LinkedIn profile and your resume? I get this question from candidates on a regular basis. More commonly this is asked by more experienced candidates who have not grown up professionally in the digital/social media age, but rather social media is catching up to them.

To determine this, you need to decide what the purpose of LinkedIn is for you and your career? For many it is a necessary evil in today’s day and age. If this is you, you must change your mentality. For others, LinkedIn is an online page that they feel is their electronic resume. But for others, it is a professional networking and social media forum.

So yes, I believe there should be a difference between your profile and your resume.

On LinkedIn, at a minimum, you should post a summary of your professional background in the “Experience” section. You can post as little as the company, dates of employment and title. If you choose to post more, be careful. I’ll explain shortly. When you are in the job search, you want your LinkedIn profile to gain exposure to others who might be searching for someone like you. If that is the case, you should also write a short and precise summary. In the summary, you want to include power words to increase the chance of your profile matching what someone is searching for based on the simple word match. To make LinkedIn “like” you (or to rank you higher), you should also include a professional picture, education, and professional organizations. Google LinkedIn tips and tricks for more details on how to raise your “value” on LinkedIn.  For this discussion, and for the job search, this could be where you stop.

BE CAREFUL: why be careful on what you put in your LinkedIn profile.   I have seen people develop their LinkedIn Profile on the fly. When they do this, they may leave out employers, possibly “guess” at dates of employment, or even “Elevate”, “Sterilize” or just plain ole LIE on titles. I have also seen people put more details on their LinkedIn profile than they do on their resume. DON’T do any of these things. Make sure your dates match up. Make sure the titles match up.

If your LinkedIn profile is longer than your hard copy resume, an employer may wonder why you are “hiding” some details from the formal resume. If what you do have in both the resume and LinkedIn do not match up, you might be eliminated from a job selection process because they perceive you are not being truthful in one place or the other. My guidance is to make LinkedIn your billboard that is shorter and more precise than your resume. On your resume, include the detailed job responsibilities and your organizational impact, but don’t do this in LinkedIn. On your resume, you can include a link to your LinkedIn profile so you can expand your network through the connections.  If you read back through the resume tips, you will find that often times you might include job specifics that are appropriate on a resume, but not as appropriate on a social media sit.

Once you have made sure all things line up between your profile and your resume, then you can ensure you are not creating questions for an employer but rather answering their questions. LinkedIn is a professional social media site. If worked appropriately, you will be able to follow discussion groups, professional contacts, as well as search for open positions. If you present yourself clearly and concisely, you will increase the possibility a recruiter or company may see you and reach out to you for their job search. If this occurs, then you can feel confident you are setup on LinkedIn appropriately. If this happens, they will ask for your resume, and you want to be able to provide something that gives them further details beyond what they see on LinkedIn.

My encouragement to you…spend time on your LinkedIn profile, but be intentional. Don’t just throw it out there for the world to see.

So should there be a difference between your LinkedIn profile and your resume…..ABSOLUTELY.