Recruiter's Couch

It’s winter and most of us are suffering from “winter fatigue”.  We are weary of taking a deep breath and bracing ourselves before we step out into the cold.  We are sick of wearing the same winter coat day after day. The only upside, as my Mom pointed out, is that we have not lost our gloves and mittens because you can’t even think of heading outdoors without making sure we have both of them on our damn hands.

These are the days when it is hard to get motivated to do anything but lie on the couch wrapped in blankets. How, then, do we keep up on a job search?  That takes a lot of energy. Energy that you could have used up walking the dog or getting a Starbucks.

The Grinbox.

Make a new folder in your inbox called  Grins.  Sort through your mail for messages that made you feel great when you got them.  If your inbox is too gargantuan for this, filter by things like “great job” or “thanks” or “congratulations”.  Put all these messages in your Grinbox.

I bet there are more than you think. I’ll also bet when you read through them, you will break your face grinning at least once.

Keep putting those positive messages in there and you will develop quite a collection. Double click on that folder any day that feels crappy, cold, wet, whatever.

If you need a message to get started, let me know. I’d be happy to get you started.

Your resume gets you in the door but your interview gets you the job.

Here are the top ten things you need to do to be interview ready:

1.  Find out where it will be.  Exactly where it will be.  Don’t leave this to chance.  Location mistakes make you sweaty.
2.  Get a haircut and deal with those dark roots. (you know what I mean)
3.  Who will you be meeting?  Look them up on LinkedIn, Wikipedia or Google.  Try to find things you might have in common with them.
4. Calculate how long it will take to get there.  Add 15 minutes.
5. Iron your shirt.  Lay out the right accessories (necklace, pen, tissue, tic tacs)
6. Leave your coffee in the car or failing that, in the lobby.  Do not bring coffee to an interview unless you are bringing one for the interviewer too.
7. Prepare five or six stories from your career.  They can be examples of challenge, success, teamwork, deadline, project management.  Anything really.  The point is to practice telling each story so that it will come across with confidence and grace, even when you are nervous.
8. Check your hands.  When you are getting settled in the interview room, take a look at your hands.  If they are clenched together, undo them and shake them under the table or at your sides.
9. Write the name and address of the interviewer on an envelope and put a stamp on it.  Take the card and envelope with you.  Jot down a few lines of thanks in the card and mail it at the nearest box when you leave the building.
10. Take your brain!  Breathe.  Listen.  Think.  They invited you to meet with them for a reason.  Remember that.

I had coffee last week with a candidate who was really frustrated because he had applied for lots of positions and not been contacted.

I asked him to tell me about one of them.  “Well, it was a mechanical engineering position in a manufacturing company.”

“What were they looking for?” I asked.

“An engineering degree and 5 years of design experience in a plastics manufacturing environment.  It was perfect for me.  It’s exactly the kind of company I want to work for.  I can’t understand why they have not called me yet for an interview.”

As we continued the conversation, I learned that while he did have experience in plastics, it was in equipment design not product design and that he did not have an engineering degree.

So at the risk of sounding harsh, I told him why he had not been called.  There were three criteria listed in the posting and he met only one.  In a resume sorting system, whether it’s human or digital, he won’t make the cut.

“But that’s not fair!” he wailed.  “I would be perfect for the role!”

That may be true but if you are replying to a posting where there are clear specifications, you better have most of them if you want to be considered.  Companies have reasons for their criteria and it really does not matter whether you think you are perfect or whether the criteria is justified.

If you are an “out of the box” candidate, then you need to apply in an “out of the box” method.  If your resume does not make the kind of impression you want to make, then you need to make your first impression in a different way.

Find someone who can introduce you to a hiring influencer.  Speak at a conference or workshop.    Post a comment on a Linkedin discussion or write an article. These avenues allow your expertise, handshake, eye contact, stature and general aura to make the first impression.

Bottom line: At the application stage, it does not matter if you think you are perfect for the role.  What matters is that there is a clear fit between your experience/credentials and their criteria.

Over the next few days, the pendulum will swing from spending more time at work to spending more time with family and friends.  This does not mean you should give up thinking about a new gig for 2014.  You just have to focus on different things.

Listen for the cues:  when you are sharing eggnog with friends, listen for words and phrases related to new projects, org changes, colleagues leaving and that sort of thing.  Make a note in your phone to follow up on January 4^th to see if there is something interesting you should know about.

Be positive:  When someone asks you how things are at work, say something good.  “Same old, same old” is the lazy response and basically gives a crappy impression of you and your work.  Think of a positive response like “I am working on some really cool projects” or “My new boss is working out well”.  These kind of answers work well because people can nod and go back to sipping chardonnay or they can ask a follow up question which could be the start of an interesting conversation.

Ditch your title:  When someone asks you what you do, don’t know just spit out your job title.  People outside your organization have no idea what titles mean.  Be descriptive and clear. Talk about the purpose of your work and the problems you solve every day.

Troll LinkedIn:  Use this time to connect with former colleagues, friends from school and the people you met at the hockey tournament yesterday.  You never know when that connection might come in handy.

All the best for a wonderful holiday.

Laura

I had not even put away my vampire teeth from Halloween when the holiday music started playing downstairs in the mall. Aaaack!

This means the deluge of holiday parties is here.  My colleagues keep arriving in party clothes wearing extra make up.  Ugh.  Usually, I dread these sorts of things.  People stand around sipping wine and nibbling at snacks even though they are starving.  They smile their very best fake smile and hope their boss is not counting the glasses of wine they have consumed.

This year is going to be different.

I have decided to change my approach.  I am going to look at each soiree as a chance to say hello to people I don’t often get to talk with and introduce myself to some new folks.

Why?  – Because maybe I can help them.  This may sound a bit cracked, but hear me out.  I talk about jobs, resumes and careers for a living.  Who does not want help with that?

The only thing I have to figure out is how to start the conversation.  For me, that’s the hardest part.  Gone are the days when “Come here often?” or “What’s your sign?” would open up friendly dialogue and I think it’s a bit crass to start with “What was your T4 last year?”.

If you met a headhunter at a party, what would you want to know?

I hosted a panel discussion last night for my chapter of Women in Nuclear. We had a great panel answering questions based on Sheryl Sandberg’s book Lean In.

We covered a lot of good material but I think the thing that stuck with me was a comment about risk, specifically taking risks.

The panelists agreed that we all need to take risks to get ahead in our careers. This does not apply only to women but to all of us.

I was reminded of the concept of jumping off a cliff (bear with me – this is good) with a parachute that is not quite ready. If you keep waiting for the chute to be perfect, you will never experience the thrill and success of the jump.

The idea is to make the leap and finish it on the way down. You’ll pull things together pretty quickly when the ground is rushing at you.

The message here is to not let fear hold you back.  If someone offers you a new project, go for it, even if you are scared.  Obviously, they feel that you can do it.   Sure you’ll sweat for a while and you’ll probably have a couple nights of sub-par sleep but you will never really know what your capacity is until you test it.

So strap on your sneakers and go for it.