Recruiter's Couch

I overheard two women talking on the train this morning.  They had bumped into each other and were catching up.  One of the women said that she had been with her firm for 24 years.  The other asked if she still liked it.  “Well, not really but I don’t really like change.” was the response.

Don’t let this happen to you.

Just as you watch out for opportunities for your friends and partner, keep an eye out for things you should do or try.  24 years in a single company is okay if you have changed roles and responsibilities but 24 years in one role will be a problem if that ever role ends.

I talk with lots of candidates who are terribly intimidated by the job search process.  If you have not looked for a job for a long time, it can be pretty hard to get your head around where to start, let alone networking or interviewing.

Career management is like going to the gym.  Let’s face it:  no one wants to go to the gym, but you feel a lot better after you do.  Twenty minutes three times a week will pay big dividends.  You can spend 20 minutes updating your resume, trolling LinkedIn for new connection or looking at postings.

Don’t get complacent about your career.  You spend more time at work than you do anywhere else.  You should feel like it is the best place for you and your skills and if it’s not, than get started on your “career workout” plan.

This morning was a bit of a slow start for me.  I needed some warm up tasks to get into the real work of the day so I spent a few minutes touring around Facebook while I sipped my coffee.

I came across this video (http://youtu.be/tDlRHUdn7wQ and was blown away.  Clark Little is a professional photographer.  His speciality is shooting the inside of waves.  When the enormous breakers come crashing down on a tropical beach, he is likely to be under the thing taking pictures.

The images are breathtaking and it was a neat find this morning but as I thought about it further, I thought about it as a career choice.  He did not wake up as a four year old dreaming of this.  He kind of stumbled in to it as a teenager and grew along with it.

I bet wave photographer was not on his parents’ minds either.  Imagine that dinner table conversation.  “Sorry, dear.  You want to do what when you grow up?”

But clearly, his family and friends provided support to him along the journey even thought they could not predict with certainty that he would be successful enough to earn a living.

I think we owe this to our kids, nephews, nieces and friends.  There are lots of career choices that we cannot imagine – either because they have not been invented or because our experience is just too narrow.

We need to stop being discouraging and get on the cheerleading bandwagon.  Clark Little is proof that careers can be created and develop into a successful and satisfying living in a very short period of time.

I was trying to coordinate an interview with a candidate and it was getting difficult because she was travelling and I was up to my eyeballs in meetings.  We gave up on finding time to meet in person and decided to get together on Skype instead.

It was terrific – really a very good substitute.  True, I could not tell if she had sweaty palms or had bad breath.  I could, however, see that she was prepared and professional.  I could hear the enthusiasm in her voice and got a good idea of her presentation style.

I have to admit that I am pretty comfortable with the whole video thing.  Since my sister moved away, we use Google Video Hangouts to “visit” pretty regularly.

I don’t think Skype interviews are a trend.  I think they are here to stay.  Sure, there might be techno glitches and hardware malfunctions but they are, on the whole, easier to schedule and way cheaper to get to.

Helpful Tips

• Do exactly the same preparation as you would for a face to face conversation.  Research, iron your shirt and get a haircut.  Don’t skimp on this.
• Take a selfie the day before.  Sit where you will be sitting, stare at the camera and then take a picture.  Look at the background.  Make sure there is no distracting stuff.  You don’t want to find out that you did not get the job because your fine delicates were hanging in the corner of your image.
• Slow down your talking and your listening.  Unless there are blazingly fast connections at both ends, there can be delays.  Wait for the other person to finish speaking, pause for a moment, and then launch into your witty response.
• Don’t just stare at the image on the screen.  Sometimes look into the actual camera.  It feels a bit like you are making eye contact on the other end.
• Find some friends to practice with.  Start with casual conversations to get used to the medium and then move into asking each other questions.  This will help it to become more familiar and less intimidating.
• One final tip:  you can tuck some notes down by your keyboard.  It’s easy to glace down to remind yourself about a bit of your experience or a question that you wanted to ask.

When you start to feel pretty comfortable with Skype, you can work it into your cover letters/emails.  Include your Skype address and let people know you are available to talk on Skype at their convenience.

You will look pretty contemporary, maybe even hip. Skype on, my friend, Skype on.

A good resume has many elements.  Content is important but layout and fonts are really important too.

Keep in mind that most resumes are read on a screen.  It might be a superwide tiny pixel monitor but it might also be a smartphone.

This means you need to keep it crisp and clear and easy to read.  Try sending your resume to yourself as an attachment.  Open it on your phone and see how it looks.

1.  Use a sans serif font.  Serifs are the little tails on letters in certain fonts.  Try to avoid those typefaces.  They add clutter and can be hard to read, especially in the smaller sizes.
2. Be reasonable with your font size.  10 point or 11 point are good.  Anything smaller and you are taxing the reader.
3. Keep a standard margin.  The temptation is always to use the narrowest margin possible to squeeze in more material.  If you have that much to say, use another page.  The reader will keep scrolling if the content is engaging and scrolling down is way better than scrolling across.
4. If the printer asks if it’s okay to print even though it’s outside the margins, don’t say yes.  Fix it instead.
5. Use plain bullets or a dash.  Fancy characters turn into long bits of code when they get sucked into recruiting software packages.  It can be pretty distracting.
6. Use crisp language and be concise.  Your resume is the thing that teases the reader and makes them want to get to know you better.  It’s not the place for your life story.  Focus on highlights and successes.

Once you have made modifications, send it to someone you trust.  Ask them to check for grammar and spelling along with readability.

Review it often and don’t be shy about adding accomplishments.  It’s the best brag sheet we have!

Imagine you are nearing the end of a great interview and the manager asks if you have any questions.  You feel like everything has been covered so you say thanks and leave.

You have missed a really important chance to cement the fact that you are a thoughtful and smart candidate and to learn more about the role.  Do not let this chance go to waste.

Here are some questions to have in your back pocket.

• How will you know if I am being successful in six months?
• What challenges lie ahead for this department?
• What are the characteristics of your top people in this role?
• Why did you join this organization?
• Is there a sense of community here?
• How would you describe the style of the senior leadership team?

I am sure there are lots more but this should be enough to get you started.   Feel free to customize these for your interests and situation.

Here’s the icing on the cake:  work at least one of the things you learned into your thank you note.  Bazinga!

I am working on an assignment that’s pretty cool.  A lot of candidates are interested in learning more about it after they read my posting on LinkedIn.

For some of them, it would be a clear departure from the work or the environment they have been in for the last number of years.

As I listen to them get more enthusiastic about the role, I have to caution them.  Sure it sounds fun now.  But in 3 years or 5 years, will it still be fun?  And if not, how will you explain it as part of your career journey?

Will future interviewers look at you with their head tilted to the side and a quizzical look on their face?  “And you took that role because…?”

Don’t get carried away just because a job sounds fun.  In the end, it is still work.  Really picture yourself down the road.  Will you be proud to explain to your neighbours what you do?  Will your kids actually want you to come to career day?

Those measurements are just as worthy of consideration as the tasks, salary, manager and compensation.

In light of this, you may want to rethink applying to that landscaping, lifeguarding or barbeque pit master job.  Just a suggestion.

You have gotten through the phone interview and now you have been confirmed for a face to face meeting with HR and the hiring manager.  You are short of breath and sweaty.  A bit of panic is fine, but here’s a list to help you get focused and constructive.

The day before:

• Check out the company’s website
• Look up the people you are going to meet on LinkedIn (don’t invite them just yet)
• Search Google for the latest news about the company
• Address the hairiness of your eyebrows and/or neck
• Iron two shirts ( in case you spill some coffee)
• Print and review your resume
• Call a friend and tell them about a difficult situation at work and how you dealt with it
• Check out the address and decide how you will get there and when you need to leave

The day of:

• Shower and dress (easy on the cologne)
• Brush and floss
• Pack your resume, something to read (Forbes, The Economist), a comb, gum in to your briefcase
• Make sure to eat something.  Passing out in an interview is not cool

When you arrive:

• Stop by the washroom to check your teeth and your zipper
• Turn off your phone
• Go to reception no more than 10 minutes early
• Check in with a smile that goes up to your eyes
• Sit down and pretend to read while you take deep breaths through your nose

Now you re ready to knock it out of the park!

If you are starting to get itchy but not sure what your next move might be, here’s a research strategy using LinkedIn that might help.

Go to the Advanced search page (Click on Advanced – it’s in little letters to the right of the search box at the top of the page).  Look for the title field and fill it in with your title. As you start to type, a box will appear to select whether you want to see people who have your title or people who have had your title in the past. Click “past only”. You can put in some geographical criteria or select your industry specifically if you would like to narrow things down a little.

This will give you a list of folks who have done what you do and give you an idea of what they are doing now. You can also see what paths they have taken and maybe even gain some insight into their education and credentials.

If no one with your title comes up in your search, then you need to figure out what your job is called in the rest of the world. Try searching for specific technical terms or activities unique to your job. This knowledge will be very helpful when you are ready to look for real.

When you find the profile of someone with a way cool career path, don’t hesitate to connect with them. Maybe they will be able to share some of what they have learned on the way.

I have to do it – I am sorry but I have to write about Rob Ford today.  He is in the news once again  and I just have to comment.

First of all, I do feel sorry for him.  He is clearly having a pretty tough time handling the stress of his job.  He is not the first, nor will he be the last politician to have substance abuse problems.

But here is the lesson for us all :  social media makes everything stick to everything.  And this can affect you and your career.

The same video camera technology that captured Ford’s escapades can capture your antics at the company picnic or your drunken rant at the Muskoka retreat.  We all have smart phones that can record anything.  And posting to the internet is easy and fast.

Don’t think it can’t happen to you.  That’s what got Ford into this mess.

I know a guy who sent an off colour joke to his buddies at work.  The trouble was that one of his buddy’s names came just before the Presidents name in the email directory.  Yep, you guessed it.  The joke went to the President.  Now, if the President had opened it, he might have found it funny but his assistant opened it and she was not amused.  He was walked off the premises later that day.

In the end, this is not about political correctness; it’s about conducting yourself with consideration and respect.  Because you never know who is watching, listening or recording.