Job Interview Myths Debunked

 

One of the most challenging aspects to a job search is the interview.

 

In my next two blogs I will cover some of the most commonly held beliefs people have in interviewing and address them head on with the reality of the situation.

 

The following is a great article in Forbes (www.forbes.com) by Susan Adams. In the article she does an excellent job in tackling the most common misconceptions people have regarding interviewing. The insights can help everyone better understand the unseen dynamics that are part of interviewing.

 

I connected with this article because we offer the same insights to our career coaching clients.

 

Here is the article:

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You probably get a little nervous before you go into a job interview. Even if you’ve copiously prepped, you figure the interviewer...

One key to differentiating yourself from others is to create your own unique value story.

Employees Grow More Self-Reliant About Career

There was an interesting press release from Right Management (www.right.com) about the importance of taking control over managing your own career. The release presented the results of a survey that Right Management completed showing that 90% of those questioned feel more self-reliant on managing their careers and that they count on themselves – not their organizations – for training and development.

 

The key insight from this survey – which may seem obvious to many – is that employees must take care of themselves in the new world of work that we live in. The old days – where development and succession planning outlined what our future will be – are gone. Employees now count on themselves to choose the appropriate career path.

 

Here is the press release

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There are a select and fortunate group of senior level professionals who have moved away from the corporate world of endless meetings, long hours and office politics to a new world where they can focus on producing quality work in an environment where they have flexibility and choice. They are what the Harvard Business Review calls the Supertemp.

Done is better than perfect - this an ethos that drives the Facebook culture and can also help you drive your career

I had the opportunity to provide some input on an article in CareerBliss released yesterday regarding resume tips for vets making the transition from military to civilian. The link and article is below http://www.careerbliss.com/advice/5-resume-tips-for-vets-transitioning-to-the-workforce/

5 Resume Tips for Vets Transitioning to the Civilian Workforce By Luke Roney, CareerBliss Editor on April 4, 2012

Moving from a military career to a civilian one can be a big change for veterans. Having a strong resume that emphasizes your skills – both hard and soft – and how they can benefit a civilian employer will put you in a better position to get called for an interview and, ultimately, get a job offer.

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Horizontal or lateral moves can be great career builders that allow you to grow your experience and influence within the organization. The key is to move away from the "up the ladder" paradigm as the only measure of success.

My latest blog entry is to share some great career coaching and transition advice from a leader in the field - Peter Bourke of C3G Ministry. Peter provides some practical advice but also makes the most important point of all - that we can use a time of transition to better connect with our families, friends and God.

Do everything you can to sell your value when you interview and do not completely give up hope if you do not receive the immediate offer. A great interview can leave a lasting impression that can lead to other new opportunities not immediately known when you started

"So Tell Me About Yourself?" A simple question that when answered correctly can distinguish you from the crowd in your interviews. Learn what to do and not do when you are asked this simple question.

 

Interesting article that shows how today's emerging entrepreneur are mostly middle aged and looking for a new start in their career. In our career coaching business we have had a number of clients who have taken this career path. While it may not be for everyone it can be very rewarding. I know this because I did this myself when I purchased The Frontier Group almost two years ago.

I volunteered at an Opportunity Knocks candidate forum last week as a career coach and was reminded about the importance of tailoring your resume to your target audience. Always keep your target in mind and be certain to write your resume in the language that they will understand.

The development of a strong personal brand is a key element in successful career management. There was a great Forbes article on how Kathy Ireland - supermodel - built an incredibly strong person brand by following several key tenets - know your customer, focus and keep your eye on the future.

This is sound advice that we pass on to all of our career coaching clients. Please pass it along.

A 2011 ExecuNet study asked a wide range of hiring managers what they consider to be the top ten characteristics that they look for in hiring senior management talent.

At the top of the list was leadership.

The study explained that leadership – whether it is personal or as a leader – is so important because this is the characteristic that is most exemplified in successful employees.

I get asked quite often if career networking groups are useful to people in job transition. The line of inquiry usually goes “why do I want to surround myself with unemployed people – they can’t help me”.

This concludes our blog series on developing a personal marketing plan based on the great insights from John O’Brien, CEO of The Sales Talent Group.

Here is the blueprint that John has developed based on the best practices he has gathered:

Before continuing our best practice discussion on developing a personal marketing plan, let’s review the first three steps outlined in previous blogs:

1.  Create a purpose and mission for yourself
2.  Set clearly written and defined goals
3.  Complete a product and marketing analysis

Next we will move onto to step 4 - identifying your target markets, and step 5 - creating career marketing materials.

In my January 3rd blog, I began a series on how to develop an effective personal marketing plan based on the insights shared with me by John O’Brien, CEO of The Sales Talent Group.

In that post, we covered step 1 - the need to develop a purpose, and step 2 – the need to develop a defined set of goals. Now let’s move on to step 3.

3. Develop A Personal Sales and Marketing Analysis

The Frontier Group was mentioned in a recent Atlanta Journal Constitution article, 12 job search tips for 2012. The article summarizes 12 great job tips for 2012. To read the article, go to: http://www.ajc.com/business/12-job-search-tips-1291030.html.

I recently had an excellent executive recruiter – John O’Brien, CEO of The Sales Talent Group – speak at my career networking (C3G Sales sub group) on how recruiters operate and how candidates can best work with them.

John was also gracious enough to share with us his “Developing Your Personal Marketing Plan”. The document is a summary of his insights gathered over fifteen years of recruiting and over 17,000 reviewed resumes.

As the year winds down I wanted to send out one last blog on random thoughts on job search and career management.

The remaining weeks of the year can be used to take time off to recharge and re-focus but they also represent a great opportunity to have a productive search period.

Focus Your Job Search – Identify Target Companies

In my previous blog I wrote how focus is the key in your job search. Focus creates opportunity because you draw the straightest line for a potential decision maker in terms of connecting you with a position within their organization.

We may at first consider this focused approach will limit our opportunities because it will place us out of consideration for a number of potential positions. The opposite is actually true.

Focus Your Job Search - Define What You Want

One of the key premises in marketing is that successful brands need to focus.

Al and Laura Reis – two of the leading branding experts in the field – wrote a book on this very subject titled - Focus: The Future Of Your Company Depends On It.

In the book they talk about how to build a brand by clearly defining its purpose.  They say:

Part 4 – NetWeaving Action Plan Tips

The key to building an effective NetWeaving strategy is to develop a plan.

Just like with any successful business endeavor, a plan will assist you to maximize the effectiveness of your efforts. In the case of a Networking / NetWeaving plan, I suggest to our clients that they start with the end in mind.

Part 3 – Developing a NetWeaving Action Plan

In my last blog I discussed how to rethink networking by changing from a perspective of “what’s in it for me?” to “how can I help you?” Changing the way that we think about meeting others helps remove the personal barriers that hold us back.

In the end it comes down to building relationships that can lead to the mutual benefit and growth for both parties.

Now comes the time to begin developing a connection strategy. Begin by developing an outline of your objectives with actionable metrics

Part 1 - Understand the Importance of Career Networking

How many times do we hear that the best ways to find new jobs is to network?

It sounds pretty easy and straight forward. Then why is it so hard?

First, let’s start at why networking is so important.

A number of studies over the years have sought to understand how professionals secure new jobs. While the exact numbers are always being debated, the general consensus shows:

This is an interesting insight that reflects the new reality on how to develop and manage a career plan.

Thomas Friedman had an editorial in the recent July 17, 2011 NY Times on career management. In the editorial he quotes Reid Garrett Hoffman, the founder of LinkedIn. Hoffman has an upcoming book titled "The Start-Up of You".

Hello My name is Patrick Lynch and I am the President of The Frontier Group, a career coaching and consulting practice that develops career marketing strategies for mid and senior professionals across every industry sector and profession.   We have been practicing in Atlanta, GA for 25 years and have assisted thousands of professionals advance their careers by providing coaching and consulting that gets results.   Our practice gives us unique and valuable insights on career management which I would like to share in future blogs.   I realize that the world is flooded with career advice … nevertheless … I think that many will find my future blogs useful because the insights are based direct observations on how successful career marketing plans are developed and executed.   Some of the subject areas my team and I will cover in my future blogs will include:   •    Manage your career like an entrepreneur  •    Networking - a change in perspective can help you move forward  •    Key factors for successful...