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Speech
Bounce: The
Truth About The Job Search
Job search hell
Charles Dickens wrote, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times….”
So it is with the job search. It’s hell while it lasts, and near heaven when it
ends.
In a job search you will be abused, ignored, lied to, and insulted. Your time
will not be valued. Calls will not be returned. Commitments made will not be
kept. Sometimes you’ll just be forgotten.
And you’ll have to take in on the chin and keep smiling.
You will decide there are no “rules” in a job-search and will feel that getting
the perfect job is basically a crap-shoot. And you will be right. To a point.
That’s the bad news and the truth.
So what do you do? Everything you can. Where do you start? You already have
because you’re reading this. And that’s the good news!
Survey says
I surveyed a few HR friends (Yes, some of my best friends are HR people!) I
asked them what they liked to see job applicants do—the positives. As well as
what they never want to see a job applicant do—the negatives. What’s amazing is
that most of their responses dealt with violations of the most obvious, common
sense job-search guidelines. Things I’m sure all of you never do!
Some of the negatives, however, were over the edge.
These HR pros cited instances where applicants brought their children to
interviews, fell asleep while waiting to be interviewed, chewed tobacco and spat
during an interview, and cried during an interview.
One cited an applicant who called and canceled the interview at the last minute
because, they claimed, the baby-sitter they had hired was too fat to get up the
steps to their house. And another told of an applicant who wanted to emphasize
he was family oriented and without any prompting, pulled out pictures of his
two-year-old twins and launched into a detailed explanation of how he and his
wife had used various fertility practices to conceive.
Don't be a faux pas!
Here’s something I doubt that anyone has ever pointed out to you: As a
job-seeker, you don’t just represent yourself in your job-search and in
interviews. You represent every other professional person out there who is
hustling for a career position.
When any single job-seeker does something mindlessly stupid—like ordering a
pizza for lunch and having it delivered to the interview, which did happen by
the way—it reflects poorly on every job seeker. Now and forever. We all need to
help each other be careful out there.
These faux pas are the fodder of newspaper and magazine articles with headlines
such as, “Hey, Have You Heard the One About the Inept Job Seeker?” which
appeared in an issue of the Indianapolis Star some time ago, and told of the
pizza incident I just mentioned. And then there’s the applicant who was asked,
“Why did you go to college?” and responded, “To party.” Or the one who stated on
their resume, “I attended two years of college, but dropped out because it was a
waste of money.” These are not good answers.
The good, the bad, the ugly
These are the extremes that stand out. Now, raise your right hand. You are
hereby duly authorized and deputized as professional job-seekers to correct any
other job-seekers you encounter behaving in an irresponsible and unbecoming
manner! Smack ‘em with a rolled up newspaper and say “No! No!” You can put your
hands down.
Besides these extreme examples, the more commonplace pratfalls in the areas of
appearance, professionalism, and attitude, can be just as damning. So let’s take
a look at how to put our best foot, face, and facts forward, and to turn these
negatives into golden positives.
Let’s take a look at the handout I’ve provided.
I’ve arbitrarily grouped these responses into five general categories, and there
is some overlap among them. Remember, these are peeves mentioned by Indy HR
professionals based on their actual experiences with job applicants.
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JOB
SEARCH NO-NOs |
JOB
SEARCH TO-DOs |
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GROOMING
/ APPEARANCE |
This
includes poor hygiene meaning body odor, bad breath, and such. As well
as poor grooming, which would include things like dirty fingernails. And
finally, sloppy or rumpled clothes, not being dressed appropriately for
an interview. |
Dress
professionally in business attire when going to an interview. Take a
shower, trim and clean your nails, put on deodorant, and use scents
sparingly if at all. Stop in the bathroom just before going into the
interview and check yourself--front and back, up and down--in the
mirror. Be clean. Smell clean. Look clean. |
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COMMON
COURTESY / POLITENESS |
No-no’s
here include being late for the interview, chewing gum during the
interview, poor eye contact, wimpy handshake, and the like. A lack of
manners and professionalism was also cited which includes behaviors such
as adamantly insisting on immediate call backs, becoming irritated over
phone tag, generally being impatient. |
Be about
15 minutes early for the interview. Treat the receptionist, lobby
security people, and everyone else you encounter with respect. As you
leave the interview, thank the interviewer for his or her time.
Immediately after the interview, write a thank you note and mail it the
same day. |
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PROFESSIONALISM / HONESTY |
This
area includes not being prepared to answer interview questions or being
evasive, not even knowing what job one is being interviewed for. Also,
applying for positions for which they are unqualified, or, after an
offer has been made, asking for a position or terms entirely different
than what has been discussed. |
Be
knowledgeable about the company; research it a bit before you arrive.
Look over an annual report or any other literature you find in the lobby
while you’re waiting. Ask the receptionist a few questions. Be
interested in the company and show that interest!
Ask the
interviewer some questions about the position and the company. Be
prepared to talk about yourself and your qualifications. Answer
questions succinctly, but completely and honestly. Take a moment to
think before you respond or ask for clarification if you need it.
Maintain respectable eye contact and smile. |
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ATTITUDE
/ DEMEANOR |
Frequently applicants have a cocky attitude, are arrogant and defensive.
Or, on the other extreme are too low key, mumble, providing very brief
answers or even refusing to answer questions. |
Be
pleasant, courteous, and very polite. Shake hands firmly and
confidently. Be enthusiastic and upbeat. Be confident, but not cocky.
Listen carefully, follow instructions when asked to do something, ask
when a decision might be made, but don't be pushy. |
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RESUMES |
Providing poor copies of resumes with spelling and grammar errors (not
just typos). Said one, “It's amazing the people applying for creative
positions that have dull, boring resumes.” |
Two to
four pages max. Use a nice white, light tan, or light gray paper. Tell
the truth intelligently with a lot of good measurable results listed.
List positions chronologically showing promotions and advancement. When
you mail your resume, include a cover letter and an addressed, stamped
postcard they can use to acknowledge receiving your resume. Bring copies
of your resume to interviews.
Generally, when writing about yourself on a resume, or telling about
yourself in an interview, you don’t have to tell or want to tell
everything about your past jobs. But, you always want to tell the truth.
Put a positive spin on those unflattering truths, but don’t lie.
Brag
humbly. Don’t be ashamed of your accomplishments, but don’t shout about
them. According to Bob Campbell a consultant at Hewitt Associates in
Connecticut, what employers want to see in a candidate’s past
performance are adaptability, flexibility, and a knack for getting the
work done and moving quickly on to the next project. “Go back through
your previous experience,” he states, “and find examples of times when
you showed a particular skill at analyzing a problem, solving it,
producing a tangible improvement, and then using what you learned to
achieve something else. Emphasize the parts of your resume that show
that you understand teamwork, innovation, and speed.” (Fortune 3/30/98) |
Okay, those are the basics. You should already know these things, but it never
hurts to review them, and to have them validated by those who are doing the
hiring as valuable positives. But now let’s get into some more nitty-gritty
stuff.
Getting to the interview
Okay, so we all pretty much understand how to behave in an interview. The
challenge is often actually getting an interview. Here are four tips that will
help get you there:
1.
Networking: Stay visible!
Get out of the house and network, schmooze, and party (responsibly) with other
professionals in your areas of expertise. Networking has been called the fun
part of unemployment.
It is fun, but if you’re a bit shy as I am, it can also be intimidating. An
excellent way to network that I find easier than one-on-one informational
interviews is to join professional trade associations with active local
chapters, or at least attend their meetings and luncheons.
The wider you build your network, the higher the likelihood of netting a job
interview. Networking is where you learn about all the unadvertised job
openings.
2.
Education: Stay smart!
Stay current, keep up with the news, don’t get stale in your specialty, never
stop learning new things. “Those who are always learning,” says Charles Handy,
“are those who can ride the waves of change and who see a changing world as full
of opportunities rather than of damages.”
The easy way to do this is read business magazines and books. Read Fortune, the
Wall Street Journal, Harvard Business Review, trade magazines, and association
newsletters and visit their websites. Read books by Tom Peters, Charles Handy,
and other business bestsellers. Go to lunch with people in your line of work and
keep up on trends and the changing lingo of your profession. Feed your brain!
3.
Persistence: Keep the faith!
Persistence pays off. Some years ago I accepted a voluntary buyout from a
company in New Jersey and decided to relocate to Indiana. I started looking for
a job in Indy four months before I moved. I followed up every lead and prepared
to establish a freelance writing business until a "real" job came along. After
moving, I pursued clients for my business and kept up my job search. It was
frustrating on both sides, but there were always little successes here and
there. It was nearly two-an-a-half years from the time I decided to leave New
Jersey until I landed the kind of job I really wanted.
Keep submitting on openings. If you think the job is a fit and it keeps coming
open, keep submitting. Keep in touch with whomever you need to be in touch with.
And be nice. You never know what will happen. They may know someone who knows
someone somewhere else who could use a person just like you. Or, a different
opening could come up. Keep on keeping on.
4.
Technology: Get wired!
Embrace technology or die. In a manner of speaking.
Learn how to use common PC office applications well. Learn how to edit and
format your own resume, cover letters, and to print envelopes from the PC. Learn
how to post your resume online with job / career sites. Keep track of where it's
posted, keep track of all the logins and passwords, and update each frequently.
Have and use an e-mail account. Get a free web page and post your resume there.
If you are afraid of or ignorant of technology you will not survive in today's
marketplace. Get over your fear and get smart. Take a course. Read a book. Hang
out with your tech savvy friends. But learn all that you can, and then use what
you learn to help you gain an advantage in your job searching efforts.
Like Tigger, learn to bounce
Yet, I know very well that there may be times during a job-search that doing
anything seems impossible. We can get so caught up in the frustration and the
immediate needs pressing in on us that we become desperate and panicky. This is
normal. With every call that doesn’t come, another chunk of our confidence falls
away. With every interview that fails, our ego is a bit more battered and
bruised. Instead of pushing forward, we want to retreat more and more frequently
to our warm and fuzzy comfort zones -- and zone out. The irrationality of
emotion takes over and the negative self-talk kicks in full force.
We begin to feel very unwanted. Unimportant. Insignificant. Incompetent.
Foolish. Embarrassed. And most horrible of all--helpless. Instead of being a
“professional in career transition” we just feel unemployed. Hope seems a dim
memory flickering near extinction in the face of this black hole called
joblessness.
If this is how you’re beginning to feel, let me say this: WARNING! DANGER WILL
ROBINSON! DANGER!
Don’t go there! Wake up. Shake yourself. Run for your life in the other
direction. The darkness of hopelessness is not a good place to visit, let alone
live. I know. I’ve been there.
Why? Because hopelessness is a lie. There is always hope. The feelings of
unimportance, insignificance, and incompetence are also all complete lies. You
are infinitely important--just ask your friends and family. You are very
significant--God doesn’t make insignificant people and He made you. You are not
incompetent--just read your own resume!
In her book,
Simply Speaking, Peggy Noonan recounts this story: Before her
death, Malcolm Muggeridge journeyed to Calcutta to interview Mother Teresa for
the BBC. The interview had been difficult to arrange and would take place in
Calcutta’s Home for the Dying, a dimly lit cavern in which filming would be,
according to the experienced cameraman, quite impossible. But it was their only
chance to capture the reluctant nun in her habitat, and so they gave it a go and
hoped. Later in London the film was developed to reveal--amazingly--that the
room was lit, beautifully and fully, by a radiant light. Where did it come from?
No one knew. The cameraman insisted it could not happen as it happened.
Muggeridge, a renowned intellectual and yet also an intelligent man, immediately
thought: “God did this.”
Don’t lose hope. Keep the faith. Bounce back. Your time to shine will come. When
it does, you will shine.
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