In light of the “new economy” as I like to refer to things, I think that it’s time we came to a new understanding about interviewing.  In the past, interviewing has been looked at as a “sales call” with the employer taking the “Why should I hire you approach” and the prospective employee taking the “Why you should hire me” approach. 

Today, I think interviews should really be viewed in the light of making connections.  Webster’s defines connection a few different ways, but I think the ones I will focus on today are “bond, link” and “relationship in social affairs or in business.”  So if you’re trying to establish a connection with an employer you need to create a bond, link, or relationship.  This could still be looked at in the light of a sales perspective but in this case it’s a softer sales approach.

This is going to be the most valuable thing job seekers can remember as the competition for available jobs increases in the upcoming months…relationships matter and good ones are valued.  My point here is that companies are now going to be scrutinizing candidates a little differently. They’re going to be wondering more along the lines of “how will this person fit in AND what can he contribute?” When companies are only looking at one side of the picture they may not be as choosy. Now they can be choosy and can ask the question, we know he can contribute, but can he work with ______________? (named employee around the corner) 

I think at this point, it’s going to be important for me to say, “be yourself.” Is it ok to be nervous? Sure, it’s natural, and homework still needs to done on how to answer certain kinds of questions and how to master the various kinds of interviews out there, but I think it will be more important now to say the kinds of things that will help people connect with you. Let’s take this approach.

Rather than rattling off about the successful things you have done in your career, ask some business related questions. “Has there ever been  a situation where it seemed like no matter what this company did, it wasn’t going to be able to please the customer?”  Hopefully the person would say yes, and go into detail.  Then when he is done with his story you say, “Yes, I had a similar situation when I worked at ______________ (previous employer) and here’s what I did to make it work.  Even though you’re sharing different stories, you’re telling stories; typically when stories are told, connections are made; when connections are made, people bond; when people bond, they form relationships. 

We’ve all been there…You pull up to the office, walk in the door, wait a few minutes to get to the person you’re interviewing with, go into the room, sit down, and then after you sit down and unbutton your jacket, they drop the bomb…”So tell me about yourself.” Ugh, that’s not even a question, it’s a statement, and if you do interviews; quit stating it. 

Ok, here’s a little creative amunition for handling it; the only place you will read it is here. You respond with “Wow, you know, there are so many ways I could respond to that…I have 16 years of sales experience and I’ve received numerous sales performance awards, but I’m really here today to find out what the employees at “Corporate Central” value most about this company.  I’ve been doing my research and I like what I see so far, but I want to know more because I could be making a decision that could impact several people. Have you ever felt that way before? ” Whoa! 

Ok, I can’t even begin to think of how an interviewer would respond to that question because it’s most likely never been asked.  They certainly wouldn’t be looking for it. The hope would be that all the person’s guards would go down and he/she would probably go into some explanation of how they felt when they were making a similar decision about their career. That might get them talking about all of the positive things about the company which made them want to work there in the first place.  Then you can ask, “So what has made you stay?”  Whoa! You want to know about them!

Do you see what’s going on with this tactic? You’re now interviewing them, but because they are talking about themselves, they feel that you want to know stuff about them.  To keep things on track, you can certainly interject with various accomplishments and say, “you know when I worked at Company XYZ, I had to overcome this huge problem with a project…and in the end here’s what happened.  But the … that I left out of the above sentence would refer to areas where you’re making connections that have universal themes to the person who is interviewing you. We’ve all dealt with difficult projects, people, had to make last minute changes…what you’re selling isn’t terribly unique, but the fact that you’re making connections is.

Thanks for reading,

Beth Colley, Chesapeake Resume Writing Service 

I can understand that with the increase of uncertainty in the economy and job security that people are cutting spending in all directions.  Cutting back on discretionary spending makes sense right now.  However, one place where you certainly can not afford to be bargain hunting right now is on career development and career service expenses.  Expenses made to improve your career options are a very wise expense right now. 

When you can invest money in your career, that is one place where you can be assured that the long-term rewards will pay for themselves.  Let’s say you’re in sales and there’s the opportunity to attend an all-day training event, but it’s around $700.  If you go to that sales training seminar and it’s one that you know will be good, that $700 you spend today will pay for itself many times over because you will learn new sales strategies and deal closing techniques. If you improve your skills in this area, then you will be closing more deals and earn higher pay outs.  That $700 you spend today could help you earn $17,000 over the next 4 months.

Investing in your career for professional services and career training can come back to you by at least ten-fold.  If you spend money on professional development, that is one way to keep your skills current.  Investing in your career is not like buying a new car. Any car will get you from point A to point B whether it’s a BMW or a Toyota. Both cars will depreciate in value and parts will wear out. It’s a constant expense. 

However, if you invest in your career wisely, your expertise will improve.  If you get better, then your value as an employee goes up. If your value as an employee goes up, you can get paid more. If you get paid more, then let’s face it, you could afford the BMW rather than having to settle for a Honda. 

Go ahead, make the decision to invest in yourself right now, it’s the only thing (other than fine wine) that can improve with age.

Thanks for reading,

Beth Colley — Chesapeake Resume Writing Service

When conducting a job search, I think a crucial strategic point that is often overlooked is goal setting.  We get caught up in this rut of work for pay and rarely consider our true career goals until something forces us to to do that, such as a major life changing event or a lay off.  Even in those cases, I find that most seasoned career professionals tend to go into panic mode and they forget about pulling out the typical road map that is required for a successful job search.  Here are a few strategies that I’d like to share with you.

First of all, set your goal.  If you could work for any one company what would that company be? Name the company? Why would you want to work there? Next, are there other companies that you know of that are similar to that company where you would be a good fit?

Next, build your network. There are so many job search tools out there that didn’t exist five years ago that will make building your network a little easier. As effective as online social networking tools can be, nothing replaces good old fashioned networking.  It doesn’t hurt to get out and pound the pavement, so attend the face to face networking events and join appropriate professional associations that offer networking opportunities and online job postings.

Third, promote your subject area expertise. You are now in sales and you are marketing YOU. By utilizing the various social media outlets available today, one can become recognized as an industry expert simply by answering questions and blogging. Perhaps I’m oversimplyfying this concept just a bit, but my main point is leverage your knowledge and earn recognition by using the internet technology available today.  Also, share your contacts with others. A referral given is a referral earned. People will help you when you help them.

Fourth, as you build your network, your reputation as an expert will grow, so as your network grows you will have more opportunities to share your expertise with others. 

I wouldn’t be able to end this post without saying something regarding the resume, after all I am a professional resume writer.  Since I’m talking about goal setting, you must target your resume to meet your employment goal. You’d be amazed at the number of people who just want a generic resume. There’s no such thing so don’t ask for one. Your resume must be targeted to meet your employment goals. If you have no specific employment goals then start over and find one.  A good place to start is by asking four and five year olds. Even most pre-school children usually have some inkling of an idea of what they want to be when they grow up, and they’re usually pretty noble careers. 

Seriously though, if you’re conducting a job search, evaluate your life, determine what your values are, set your goals, build your network, sell yourself as an expert, and get a great resume together. Then, market yourself in as many creative ways as you possibly can.

Thanks for reading,

Chesapeake Resume Writing Service