Author Archives: Laura Machan

People seem to have pretty visceral feelings about behavioural interviews.  I am not sure why.  When you think about it, it is a pretty efficient way for a hiring manager to learn about how your approach your work and your relationships

This kind of interview is based on the theory that what you did in the past is an indicator of what you will do in the future.  Most people will identify 4-6 things that they feel are needed to be successful in a role and then build questions around those activities or qualities.

Just about every job has relationships, obstacles and deadlines so you can pretty much bet there will questions about these.

Sometimes the interviewer will just throw it out there.  “Tell me about a difficult relationship and how you dealt with it.”

But other times there will be a bit of a lead in.  “In our group, we can only meet our deadlines if we get information from other departments and some of them run late.  Can you tell me how you have been able to influence people who don’t report to you?”

The key to preparing for these conversations is to think of situations from your work life and then “package” them.

You need to set the stage, describe your actions and decisions and then wrap up with how the thing resolved.

It should be neat and compact.  You want to avoid having your sentence trail off because you can’t remember your original point.

This takes practice.  It’s a bit like telling your favourite joke.  It makes people laugh because you can tell it well.  You always remember the punch line and your timing is great.  Your work stories need to be the same.

Write some questions on cards and then either shuffle them or add them to your Cards Against Humanity deck.  Get some friends and get to work!

One of the cool things I get to do in my job is to meet with groups of people are “in transition” which is to say, looking for their next role.

We talk about how to work with recruiters and job search strategies in general.   I usually talk a little bit about my background and approach and invite the participants to talk about what they are looking for.  Then I open the floor for questions.

Last week, I worked with a great group of human resource experts.  It was so interesting to hear about their journeys and challenges.  Of course, they had lots of questions about key words, resume formats and job requirements but best one came near the end of the session.

“I am just going to put this out there” she said. “How do you all stay positive in your job search? I am finding it pretty hard”.

Lots of bobbing heads and knowing looks in the room meant that her question really struck a chord.

So we went around the room.  Everyone was asked to suggest a technique that they either had used or were planning to put into practice.

Here is the list:

• Have faith
• Try new things
• Focus on family and friends
• Offer to help/Volunteer
• Go to the gym
• Take breaks
• Chocolate
• Keep focused on the long goal
• Let people help
• Ignore self-doubt
• Go with the flow and keep an open mind

There are some real gems here. I have a lot of respect for anyone who is willing to share their ideas and this group did not hesitate.  They were an inspiring bunch – I wish them all well.

There were snacks in the kitchen at work yesterday.  Aside from a nice, little afternoon pick-me-up, they provided great conversation too.  I found myself talking with two colleagues from other parts of the company.  As we nibbled bits of cheese and cut up fruit, we discovered that we were all dog owners.

One said she was working with a trainer to get her dog to be more social.  She talked about how she is enjoying walking her dog way more than before.

I causally asked if she was seeing the positive benefits spinning off into her work. She paused and thought about it.  Then she got a bit excited.  It seems that the dog trainer had commented on how much more confident she seemed and that she was definitely carrying herself differently.

Her manager and colleagues had noticed the changes as well.  We are going through a lot of change in our organization and it’s been a tough go for a lot of people. She has become the go-to person for helping to sort out problems and find solutions.

All from learning to be a better dog owner…..

There are two lessons to be learned here.

Keep developing yourself.  It could be an academic course, a sport, a craft. It does not really matter what it is as long as you are learning and pushing out from your “usual”.

Let the things you learn come out in all parts of your life.  Don’t hold back.  If you have mastered the art of squaring your shoulders when you snap the leash on your dog, you can do it when you get on the elevator at work too.

Cover letters are an important part of a job application.  Although, to be fair, they won’t actually get you the job.  At their best, they will get you that first phone call.

Tip Number 1

Read the posting carefully.  If it gives you specific instructions, like asking you to explain why you want the job or where you volunteer, then make sure this is included.  If they want specific salary information, I would be a little vague.  It’s pretty tough to provide a salary without considering the back story but you could satisfy it by giving a salary range.

Tip Number 2

Keep it short. This is not the place to tell your life story.  You want just enough information to entice the reader to take a look at your resume.  Reference the job title and where you saw it or, even better, who referred you.

Tip Number 3

Make it relevant.  Make some neat points about how your experience matches what they are looking for.  (hint: if you can’t draw a nice parallel, perhaps this is not the role for you)  Again, keep it concise. The reader should be able to read it on their mobile device in two thumb scrolls or less.  You will lose them after that.

Tip Number 4

Make sure to include your contact information and a link to your profile on LinkedIn so that the reader can get a bigger view of your place in the sphere.

Tip Number 5

Send your letter to three people for editing and proof reading.  You don’t have to use their editing suggestions but you definitely have to make sure that the spelling and grammar are perfect.  A spelling mistake is the fastest way to send your resume to the trash can.  And you can’t depend on Microsoft to save your ass on this one.  You need human eyes to do this.

The cover letter is how you make your first impression – make it count!

It can be pretty overwhelming to wade through the maze of different jobs posted on LinkedIn.  It is easy to start clicking away only to realize that an hour has passed and you have nothing to show for it but an opportunity for your brother-in-law.

There are two main issues:  multiple postings for the same job and a huge variety of job titles

Multiple postings are a fact of life.  Companies feel that they get wider coverage if they give a search assignment to several agencies.   This a highly debatable but nevertheless.  Here is a hint:  if you see a role and it seems like you have seen it before, pick out a unique key phrase and put it into the search bar.  The results will show you which firms are working on the search.

You can apply to all of them if you wish, but I would pick the one you feel will best represent you.  Check out the other postings they have.  Are they related?  Do they do a lot of work in your industry?  If you do decide to apply to multiple firms for what appears to be the same role and they call you, come clean.  Share that information in the early stage of your conversation.  Keeping it to yourself to increase your odds of getting an interview is bad poker and a recipe for embarrassment down the road.

Job titles are tricky.  While they make perfect sense in the context of an organization, they may sound like gibberish out of context.  The key is to search for what you want to do, not what that role might be called.  You will get a wider variety of jobs and levels, and maybe roles in companies or sectors that you had not considered.

Human Resources is a great example of this.  Postings might have titles such Generalist, Specialist, Business Partner, Lead Business Partner (what?), or Manager.  It is not until you get to the body of the posting that you can identify the nature and scope of the role.  Title is no indication of whether there are direct reports, seniority level or really anything meaningful.  So read the posting and requirements carefully and then decide if it is worth your time to apply.

The bottom line is that you need to actually read job postings.  Mindless applications will get you nowhere.  Don’t waste your time and reputation.  Save your efforts for the good stuff.

There is a lot of buzz circulating about 3D printing these days.  We can print sandwiches, guns, jeans.  So it was not surprised to hear one of my colleagues mutter about when she was going to be able to print some perfect candidates.

It’s never going to happen.  We are all unique.  Even if we are in the same role in the same company, we stamp our own imprint on everything we do.  Some of us are more analytical or adapt faster or are more serious….you get the picture.

Our job as recruiters is to sort out what characteristics our client or hiring manager is looking for and your job is to make it easy for us to see them.

First, you need to be able to name your unique blend of attitude, skills and experience. Ask your colleagues, managers and former managers.  You are not looking for a performance review or  report card.  Just some words about how you approach your work.  Use the phrases as the foundation and combine them with your actual hard skills and responsibilities.

• Solves my group’s invoicing problems with a real sense of optimism.
• Perseveres to get my message to the right person, even in a complex organization.
• Consistently rated highly on our customer experience scorecards.

These statements should be sprinkled throughout your cover letter and resume.  It’s also good to develop some good stories demonstrating your unique blend.  These will be great for networking and the all-important interview.

So figure it out and write it down.  This is your value proposition and what ultimately sets you apart from the others.  If you don’t know what makes your different, how will we?

I learned a big lesson on the candidate experience this week.  I was surfing around LinkedIn when I saw an interesting job posted.  It looked like something I might want to do.  I hemmed and hawed for a while on the decision-making teeter totter.  Should I?  Shouldn’t I?  I like what I do but what if there is something better?

I took a deep breath and then sent an email.  Whew.

Then I went about my day and forgot all about it.  Until two days later when it dawned on me that no one had called me.  All of the sudden, I was back in sixth grade.  Do they like me? Was I too forward?  Am I barking up the wrong tree?  When should I call to follow up?  Now?  Maybe I should wait.  For about ten minutes, I was like a dog chasing my tail.

Then the phone rang.  It was not the employer.  It was a client.  I got my head back in the game and forgot about the whole thing.

Later, I actually did get a call from the headhunter.  We had a nice chat.  Ultimately, we decided that my experience did not quite fit the employer’s wish list.   This was not heartbreaking news.  I love what I do and I am doing it in one of the best places to do it.  It was an interesting exercise that confirmed exactly what I thought: I am in the right place for right now.

It was also an interesting exercise because it reminded me what it’s like to be a candidate: putting it out there, waiting for some feedback, trying to continue focusing on other things while you wait to see if you are wanted.  An excellent lesson indeed.

Last week, I showed a resume to one of my colleagues. The first thing he did after reading it was to type the person’s name into google.

As a candidate, you should know that this is very common. If you are sending out resumes and job applications, you should do your own due diligence and make sure that your online profile is supporting your career aspirations, not clobbering them.

Here is what you do: type your first and last name with quotation marks at the beginning and end. That’s how google knows to look for the whole name and not just the parts.

See what comes back. 

Your LinkedIn profile should be on the first page. If not, check out this article on tweaking it so that it’s higher on the list – https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20140708162049-7239647-16-tips-to-optimize-your-linkedin-profile-and-enhance-your-personal-brand

Watch for opportunities to get quoted or photographed at work or industry functions. Industry and corporate bloggers are always looking for content. Ask if you can submit an article or help out at a trade show. These can really work to improve your online profile in a way that’s positive and professional.

If you sit on boards or do volunteer work, that should show too. If it does not, talk to the communications folks about putting information more online. If the reason your name is not showing up is because you are not showing up, then that’s a different story. Get off the couch and contribute.

The goal is to have someone’s first online impression of you be professional and Facebook generally will not do that for you. My Facebook page is pretty clean but I know that my LinkedIn headshot and headline will make a way better impression than my golden retriever who is splashed all over my Facebook page.

If you have spent any time at all on LinkedIn, you have noticed the huge potential for career development.  Like any new platform, it can be a bit overwhelming.

The LinkedIn Jobs App

This is a great app for apples and androids.  You can easily add filter for skills and geography. You can save jobs for later or apply directly through the app using your LinkedIn profile.

The Jobs Tab on LinkedIn.com

The Jobs tab is kind of neat.  It shows you who you know at the posting company.  You can also click through to find out more about the organization.

Groups

Many of the Groups encourage their members to circulate job postings.  This is nice because the posting is seem by a smaller audience.

Your Connections

Use the Advanced Search function (just to the right of the search box) to find people who either do what you do or better yet, manage people like you.  Reach to say hi.  Say something nice about their profile.  Remind them of your connected-ness.

People you would like to know

If you read a great article about your community or industry and someone interesting is quoted, reach out for a connection.  Mention the article.  People love to be noticed.  This is a great way to grow your network of influential people.

Here is the sweet spot:  you see a job on the app, you look for an Influencer in your network and send them a message.  They make the introduction and Boom!  You are in.

Spend an hour this weekend brushing up your profile. Someone interesting could be looking at it right now.