Unit 1. Interview Myths and Reality
In this course, you'll learn how to get the interviews you want. You'll learn to develop a productive interview attitude, acquire the inside knowledge you'll need, and secure the interview.
This unit focuses on separating interview myths from reality. You'll learn how to make the best of some seemingly bad situations and how to concentrate on fulfilling an employer's needs.
After completing this unit, you should be able to:
- Explain common interview myths and why they are untrue
- Turn a meeting with an unskilled, unprepared interviewer to your best advantage
- Overcome your natural fears by realizing that most interviewers are not hostile or antagonistic
- Present yourself as a problem solver by shifting focus from your needs to the employer's needs
Topic 1.1: Interview Myths
*A Stacked Deck?Even veterans of employment interviews tend to think of interviews the wrong way. They go into each interview assuming that the interviewer holds all the cards, a deck that he craftily stacked against them — in order to probe them, wear them down, and expose their every flaw.
That is one of several interview myths. Let's look at some other myths.
Topic 1.1.1: Myth: Interviewers Know What They Want
*Being DefensiveIt's natural to be scared when you interview.
Because you're scared, you go into a defensive mode, an inherently negative stance that prevents you from showing the world your best.
*Is Your Best Good Enough?
But even if you could manage to show your best, how do you know it would be good enough?
How do you know that your best is what this particular employer is looking for?
*Being Prepared
You can't know for certain whether your best will be seen as good enough. But through proper research and preparation, you can go into an interview knowing quite a bit about how this employer defines "best."
This brings us to the crux of our first interview myth. You can research and prepare thoroughly, then brilliantly analyze the problems of an industry and the needs of a particular firm. And you should, as this will shift the odds very much in your favor.
*Interviewers Aren't Sure What They Want
Unfortunately, research and preparation are no guarantee that interviewers know what the problems of their industries are or even what their companies need. Interviewers do not always know what they want. In fact, interviewers who have a clearly formulated idea of what they want are probably in the minority.
*A Vague Notion...
To be sure, most interviewers have vague, general notions of what they're looking for.
They may also have a job description that lays out the "duties and responsibilities" of a particular position: "The widget analyst is responsible for A, B, C, and D."
*...Or a Clear Idea
But distressingly few interviewers take the time to think through the specific qualities, qualifications, personality traits, and broader background that would make up the perfect widget analyst for their particular situation.
*Using Uncertainty to Your Advantage
The notion that the interviewer really isn't sure of her needs can be daunting. But this situation can be used to your advantage. Many interviewers are precisely in the position of, say, a technically unsophisticated customer in the market for her first personal computer.
*Educating and Guiding Your Customer
The unsophisticated computer customer has a vague idea of what she wants and how much she wants to spend, but the salesperson must educate and guide her. The salesperson doesn't go so far as to tell the customer what to buy, but does walk her through the process, in order to determine what product and combination of features will most satisfy her particular needs.
*Preparing and Selling Yourself
Your job as the interviewee is to prepare sufficiently for the interview so that you can meet the interviewer at whatever level of preparedness you may find her. Then you have to be ready to educate and guide her.
This puts you in a tremendously powerful position. You, the job candidate, will help the interviewer decide what she needs. In the fullest sense, you sell yourself.
Topic 1.1.2: Myth: Interviewers Are Experts at Interviewing
*Part-Time InterviewersMost interviewers are full-time something else: engineers, managers, financiers, accountants — anything but professional interviewers. More often than not, interviewers feel awkward and uncomfortable in the role.
They might actually consider the interview a necessary evil, at best, and, at worst, an unwelcome interruption of their "real" work.
*Getting a Once-Over
To top it all off, the interviewers don't typically spend hours reviewing your resume and other documentation.
More than likely, your paperwork is given a quick once-over a few minutes before the meeting — probably while you're waiting in the reception room.
*Gaining Advantage
Now you have another choice. You can bemoan the interviewer's lack of skill and her absence of preparation, or you can see these deficiencies as opportunities.
You'd really be sweating if you walked into the interview unwilling and/or unprepared. Well, it's likely that the interviewer is unwilling and unprepared. She could really use some help, and would be grateful for it. Go ahead, help her out.
*Giving Direction
This means walking into the interview prepared to give it direction.
The beauty of providing direction in an interview is that it does much more than transform a doomed meeting into a productive one. It instantly casts you in the role of problem solver.
*Offering Solutions
Sit down with the interviewer, assess the situation, offer answers to questions she hasn't even though of yet, and you become part of the solution instead of adding to the interviewer's problems of the day.
Question 3
Question 4
Question 5
* Exercise 1
Try anticipating an employer's needs for a specific job and selling yourself as a solution to those needs.
| Step | Action |
|---|---|
| 1 | Consider a job opening you want to fill. |
| 2 | Make a list of the general and specific responsibilities you anticipate facing in this job. |
| 3 | Now consider the job from a management viewpoint. Make a list of problems the person filling this position will solve. List also some key personal qualities you feel the ideal candidate for this job possesses. |
| 4 | Go back through both lists and think of how your work experience, education, personal qualities and traits help you solve the problems and fulfill the responsibilities of this position. |
| 5 | Have a friend play the role of the interviewer and practice selling yourself for this particular position. |
Topic 1.1.3: Myth: Interviewers Like to See You Squirm
*Interviewers Aren't SadisticYou could conceivably come up against a genuine sadist, but the prospect isn't very likely. Few interviewers are warped enough to enjoy watching the discomfiture of the candidate, let alone to set out deliberately to humiliate or embarrass the interviewee.
That said, some interviewers will use so-called "stress interview" techniques. These techniques are meant to put you on the spot, to see how you react and operate under pressure.
*Interviewers: Savage Beasts...
Relatively few jobs call for a stress interview, although you may be subjected to one if you are up for a particularly high-pressure sales position involving lots of difficult customer and client contact.
But even in these cases, it's rare to find an interviewer skilled enough to sustain his side of a stress interview.
*...or Pussycats?
No, you're far more likely to find a reasonably polite interviewer, fairly eager to make the meeting a pleasant one.
There are several reasons why. First of all, few people enjoy being party to an uncomfortable, unpleasant conversation. They do whatever they can to avoid starting such a conversation.
Second, most people want to be liked and to create a favorable impression.
*No Hard Feelings
Third, even if the two of you never see one another again, no businessperson wants bad word of mouth. If this interviewer treats you poorly, what will you tell the world about his company?
And finally, what if the interviewer does end up hiring you? Why would she create a situation that will produce bad feelings from day one?
Topic 1.2: Interview Reality: Employers Don't Really Care about You
*The Unpleasant TruthWe've examined and dispelled some prevalent and pervasive interview myths.
Now let's examine an interview reality: The employer doesn't really care about you.
*But How Much Do You Care?
Before you sputter in righteous outrage, ask yourself this: Do you really care about the employer?
No, not really. It's not that you or the employer is cold-hearted by nature — it's just that you each have your own interests at heart. The fact is, you care about yourself first: providing a good living for yourself (or for yourself and your family) right now, while carving out a productive and lucrative career for the long haul.
*Cuts Both Ways
Just as you care about yourself first, then, the employer cares about herself and about her business first.
Insofar as you can help her and contribute positively to her business, you do count.
*Your Natural Focus
This revelation isn't meant to cast a cloud over your day, but, rather, to change your focus. Naturally, gearing up for an interview, you're thinking to yourself:
- Will I screw up?
- Will I answer the questions correctly?
- Will they like me?
- Do I have enough experience?
- Will I get the job?
*Focus on the Employer
It's only natural, but that doesn't make it all good. You need to shift your focus — unnaturally — to the employer, and think to yourself:
- What does she need?
- What does she want?
- What are the problems she's facing?
- What concerns her?
*Don't Be Too Honest
Look at it this way: One of the questions an interviewer might ask, point-blank, is "Why do you want this job?" It's possible that the answer uppermost in your thoughts is "Because I need the money."
Giving voice to that answer, however, while admirably honest, will almost certainly result in a hasty end to the interview and absolutely no job offer. Obviously, that's not what the interviewer wants to hear.
*Solve Her Problems
What does the interviewer want to hear? Answers to all her employer's problems.
She wants to hear how you're going to contribute to the employer's bottom line. She wants to hear how you're going to make her organization look good. She wants to hear about how you will make a positive difference for her.
*Reducing Your Fears
Forcing yourself to focus on what the employer cares about will greatly improve your chances of landing the job. In addition, the effort will also yield an added dividend: You'll be less nervous and less afraid.
*Beating Stage Fright
Veteran actors learn that stage fright comes from focusing on yourself — on how you'll perform, on how you'll feel, on how you'll look — rather than on your audience.
Think more about the audience and less about yourself, and stage fright becomes largely a thing of the past.
Topic 1.3: Unit 1 Summary
In this unit, you learned about separating interview myths from reality. You learned how to perform at your best when faced with an unskilled or unprepared interviewer. You learned why many interviewing fears are unjustified. Finally, you learned how to stand out from other candidates by focusing on the employer's needs and presenting yourself as a problem solver.Unit 2. Solving the Employer's Every Problem
In this unit, you'll learn about some key qualities that every employer seeks, no matter what position is being filled. You'll learn how to portray yourself in an interview as someone who will solve problems, not create them. You'll also learn how to come across as someone who's likable, stable, and able do the job at hand.
After completing this unit, you should be able to:
- List some key qualities that every employer seeks
- Demonstrate these qualities in a job interview
- Portray yourself as someone who's a solution, not a problem
*Doing Your Homework
You need to prepare for an interview knowing three important things about the employer's needs, wants, and desires.
First, you can discover a lot about what an employer needs, wants, and desires by taking the time to do research.
*Knowing Your Interviewer
Research the industry in general and the company in particular before you walk through the interviewer's door. If at all possible, also research the interviewer himself. This may not be so difficult if he has any degree of prominence in the industry or company.
You'll learn more about researching later in this course and in future courses.
*Becoming an Expert
Second, what you discover from your research may very well be more than the interviewer knows.
Be prepared to educate him about his needs, wants, and desires.
*Some Common Traits
Third, each employer needs different things, but there are some major things that all employers want from their employees. These are the traits every employer looks for:
- A solution, not a problem
- Someone who can do the job
- Someone who will stick around
- Someone who will fit in
- Someone who's likable
- Someone who will return the investment
Topic 2.2: A Solution, Not a Problem
*Making the Employer's Life EasierThe employer wants to hire a solution, not a problem. Present yourself accordingly. This means coming into the interview prepared, having fully scoped out the issues that concern the industry and the company.
It also means working with the interviewer to make the interview itself pleasant and productive. Know when to listen and when to take the lead.
*Avoiding a Self-Centered Perspective
Do not come into the interview bristling with demands, objections, and complaints. Some candidates who have a healthy regard for their own qualifications and value misuse their sense of self-worth by playing "hard to get" and "driving a hard bargain," as if they were temperamental movie stars.
This attitude makes you look like a problem, not a valuable asset.
*Being Willing to Compromise
By all means, think highly of yourself, but don't let self-esteem transform you into a prima donna. Instead, emphasize cooperation and a willingness to strike a bargain. You can always negotiate or, if necessary, turn down an offer.
But remember, you must first get an offer before you can turn it down.
*No Whiners Allowed
You will also probably be perceived as a problem rather than a solution if you complain about your present job or present employer, or if you complain about anything: the weather, the traffic, the subway — whatever.
Adopt a cheerful, positive, upbeat tone.
Being prepared for an interview and being willing to take the lead not only benefits you directly — by ensuring that you deliver the information you need to deliver — but also benefits you indirectly by helping the interviewer.
To the degree that you make his job easier, you will be perceived as a problem solver, which is something every organization wants and needs.
Topic 2.3: Someone Who Can Do the Job
*Finding Someone Who Can ProduceWhile many — perhaps most — interviewers have only a vague idea of their company's requirements, most do understand that they need someone who can do the job.
The interviewer may not think about this beyond the dimensions of raw ability and experience as defined in some official job description — or as defined more crudely by the interviewer's generalized concept of the job: "The job is selling. This person's gotta be able to sell."
*That Someone Is You
Address this "can do" aspect of the interview by ensuring that your qualifications are clearly and convincingly spelled out in your resume and other pre-interview paperwork. Be prepared to back up your claims with specific examples, anecdotes, and, wherever possible, facts and figures.
*Don't Sell Yourself Short
Emphasize the positive, even when you're not entirely sure of your qualifications. Don't shoot yourself in the foot by expressing self-doubts or other reservations that may intrude into your consciousness during the interview, as in this example.
Interviewer: You'll also have to analyze widget sales on a quarterly basis.
You: Gee, I have to admit I've never done that before...I'm not absolutely sure...
*Being Positive
Such a response, while honest, will probably get you a one-way ticket out the door. Don't deceive the interviewer with false claims of unmerited expertise, but, at this point, it's best to cloak any doubts and self-doubts with a mantle of positive attitude.
Interviewer: You'll also have to analyze widget sales on a quarterly basis.
You: I look forward to that opportunity.
*Citing Experience and Eagerness to Learn
If the interviewer asks you point-blank if you have widget sales analysis experience, answer honestly but positively, citing related experience, as well as a willingness and capacity to learn.
Interviewer: Do you have experience in widget sales analysis?
You: I have experience in sales, and I've certainly made extensive use of analytical reports. I look forward to developing expertise in widget sales analysis.
Topic 2.4: Someone Who Will Stick Around
*Being StableSearching for, interviewing, relocating, training, and breaking in a new employee are expensive propositions. Each day that a new employee is on the job represents an investment for the firm — an investment in education and development. No employer wants to see his investment evaporate after only a few months.
Be certain to convey to the interviewer an image of stability and commitment.
*One Possible Scenario
What happens if your resume reveals a history of using multiple jobs as stepping stones? Put this in the best light possible.
You: "One of the things that most excites me about this position, Ms. Burns, is that it is truly worth my long-term commitment. I have been searching for a job in which I can grow while developing a great program for the organization."
Topic 2.5: Someone Who Will Fit In
*Fitting In with the TeamLearn everything you can about the environment and culture of the prospective employer. This includes making an effort to learn how casual or formal the attire is and what haircuts are acceptable. It also involves demonstrating social ease, which is most loudly proclaimed nonverbally, through body language.
*Keeping Your Options Open
If it becomes apparent to you, as the interview conversation develops, that you do not fit in — that you just don't like these people — try not to let your doubts show. It's always better to secure an offer, which you can evaluate in calm and tranquillity before rejecting. For now, do everything you can to keep your options open.
Beware of volunteering too much about your political and social beliefs at an interview. You don't know whose toes you might step on.
Also note that it is inappropriate for the employer to ask you questions relating to your religious beliefs, ethnic background, sexual orientation, age, disabilities, marital status, or plans for raising a family. In a later course, you'll learn ways to properly field questions like these.
Topic 2.6: Someone Who's Likable
*Being a Good Egg...Related to the question of whether the prospective employee will fit in is whether she is likable. In certain positions, such as sales and customer service, likability is a job prerequisite, but even in positions that require little or no customer contact, it's important to be pleasant and enjoyable to be around — likable.
*...Not a Bad Apple
No one wants to work with an obnoxious or disagreeable person. Sure, you're nervous, but do your best to project a forthcoming, friendly, open image. Avoid single-sentence or one-word responses to questions. Don't chit-chat aimlessly, but do open up. Be approachable. Smile and make eye contact. Speak with enthusiasm.
Topic 2.7: Someone Who Will Return the Investment
*Employers Want Good ValueWhatever else an interviewer may or may not say he wants, you can be certain that he is looking for an employee who will work hard, is motivated, and who takes interest in the work.
In short, every employer wants good value for his investment.
*Going the Distance
In the interview, be prepared to speak with enthusiasm about the mission of the company, department, or division and how you intend to dedicate yourself to it.
Be prepared to discuss how you will go "the extra mile" to ensure that the mission is always accomplished.
*Being an Asset
What all of this adds up to is not a vague and nerve-wracking game of guessing precisely what formula or combination of qualities an employer is looking for.
It is, instead, a matter of presenting yourself as an answer rather than a question, an asset rather than a liability, a solution rather than a problem.
*Easing the Pressure
If you make the transmission of this message the goal of each of your interviews, they will become less murky, less confusing, and far less intimidating.
Instead, your interviews will come to seem what they were always meant to be: an experience in positive communication and a fair exchange of value between a prospective employer and employee.
Unit 3. Creating Your Skill List
In this unit, you'll learn about transferable skills and how these skills make you unique. You'll also learn how to identify your transferable skills. Finally, you'll learn how to hone your skill statements into sentences identifying marketable skills that identify you as something special.
After completing this unit, you should be able to:
- Identify a list of traits and skills you possess
- Convert the list into a series of skill statements
- Organize this list from least to most complex
Topic 3.1: Transferable Skills
*Preparing for Every InterviewMany job seekers make the mistake of cramming at the last minute for each individual interview. You are better served by simultaneously preparing yourself for the upcoming interview and for any number of interviews to come.
Prepare to present yourself as what every employer desperately wants and needs: a remarkable person with skills not only suited to the job at hand, but also with the capability and character to manage anything thrown your way.
*Universally Applicable Skills
In taking this longer view, don't focus on skills specific to a certain job; rather, put the focus where it should be: on you. The skills you carry with you matter more — to you as well as to any of your employers — than the skills that a certain job happens to require.
Because such skills are yours, rather than specific to some job, they are transferable.
*From Bottom to Top
To show the true value of your skills, take them from the specific to the general, and from the basic to the creative.
Transferable skills are ones that can be applied in a variety of jobs.
*Starting from Traits
Now, you probably already think you know what you're good at and what your skills are. For example, you might say of yourself, "I am persuasive," but that is a description of a trait, not a transferable skill.
On the other hand, declaring, "I am a salesperson" is just a job description, but it likewise says nothing about transferable skills.
*Adding a Verb
Take a step toward redefining the trait and the job description as a transferable skill by transforming the adjective describing the trait into a verb: "I am persuasive" becomes "I persuade."
*Working with People, Data and Things
Next, expand the narrow job description. This is rather easy once you learn that transferable skills fall into three categories: skills in relation to people, to data, and to things.
Decide whether "salesperson" chiefly involves working with people, data, or things. The answer is people, and your description of a transferable skill becomes "I persuade people."
*From Skills to Function Statements
Notice that "I persuade people" describes a function — that is, doing something with people, data, or things. And notice, too, that, expressed as a function, it is a very powerful skill that is of tremendous value in a great many jobs.
*Climbing the Skills Ladder
You can, however, make the statement even more powerful and the skill yet more compelling to an interviewer. Transferable skills are rungs on a ladder that ascends to levels of increasing complexity.
Persuading is on a middle rung. It is a more complex "people" skill than merely communicating, which, in turn, is more complex than a bottom-rung skill such as following directions.
*Reaching the Top Rung
But persuading is less complex — on a lower rung — than negotiating, while mentoring is even higher than negotiating on the people-skills ladder.
If you can convince an interviewer that you persuade people, you may well get a job in sales. If you can convince her that you negotiate with people, you may score a position as an account executive. Demonstrate to the interviewer that you excel at mentoring, and maybe she'll see in you the makings of a Director of Sales.
Topic 3.2: Identifying Your Marketable Skills
*Reducing Competition and Maximizing EarningsYou want to identify your highest-level transferable skills for four key reasons.
First, the higher your transferable skill level, the more unique you are as a candidate for employment and the less competition you will face.
Second, jobs that require higher levels of transferable skills usually pay more and are more interesting than jobs calling for lower levels of these skills.
*Building a Future and Taking Control
Third, jobs requiring higher levels of transferable skills tend to be careers (that is, jobs with a future).
Last, the higher your transferable skills, the more control you are likely to have on the job. Positions requiring only the lower levels of transferable skills are usually cut and dried, whereas higher-level positions invite and require creativity.
*Organizing Transferable Skills
So, get started. Think about transferable skills you have in the areas of people, data, and things. Some examples are listed here, in order from the simple to the complex.
*People Skills (Individuals)
- Following instructions
- Listening
- Communicating verbally
- Communicating in writing
- Instructing and training
*People Skills (Groups)
- Communicating
- Persuading and motivating
- Formal public speaking
- Managing and supervising
- Negotiating and resolving conflict
*Data Skills
- Record keeping and filing
- Searching and researching
- Organizing, systemizing, prioritizing
- Problem solving
- Designing
- Inventing
*Things Skills (Machinery/Construction)
- Operating
- Repairing
- Assembling
- Rough carpentry
- Remodeling
*Things Skills (Living Things)
- Gardening
- Training and handling animals
*Building Skill Statements
Put together a list of six to eight of your strongest and highest-level transferable skills. Then put each of these in a complete sentence, beginning with "I am good at..."
If, for example, you decide that negotiating is one of your top skills, you write, "I am good at negotiating."
*Adding Objects, Adjectives and Adverbs
But don't stop now. You're on a roll. Include an object in your sentence: "I am good at negotiating prices."
Try going another step by tacking on an adjective or adverb or a clause that includes either of these parts of speech: "I am good at negotiating prices that are satisfying to both buyer and seller."
*Your Skills Set You Apart
Step by step, you should be able to identify your top transferable skills. Then define them in a way that not only describes you accurately and vividly, but sets you apart from the teeming masses yearning for the very job you want.
* Exercise 1
Try identifying and organizing your transferable skills.
| Step | Action |
|---|---|
| 1 | Make a list of some key traits you possess; for example, "I am persuasive." |
| 2 | Transform these trait statements by changing the adjectives into verbs. For example, "I am persuasive" becomes "I persuade." |
| 3 | Change these action statements into function statements by determining whether each action pertains to people, to data, or to things. For example, "I persuade" becomes "I persuade people." |
| 4 | If possible, restate your function statements so that the skill reflected is of greater complexity. For example, negotiating is a more complex skill than persuading. |
| 5 | Put each of these function statements into a complete sentence, beginning with "I am good at..." For example: I am good at negotiating." |
| 6 | Add objects, adjectives and adverbs to each sentence to identify a transferable skill. For example: "I am good at negotiating prices that are satisfying to both buyer and seller." |
Topic 3.3: Unit 3 Summary
In this unit, you learned how to identify transferable skills you possess — skills that will serve you well in any job, not just in one specific job. You also learned how to group these skills from least to most complex and how to assert these skills in an interview.Unit 4. Researching Companies and Positions
In this unit, you'll learn how to research a company or position before going to an interview. You'll learn how to build a network of people who can provide useful information regarding jobs and opportunities. You'll also learn about some resources at the library and on the Internet that can help you gather facts about companies. Finally, you'll learn how to tie all your information together before the interview.
After completing this unit, you should be able to:
- Build a network of professional and personal contacts
- Locate relevant publications and trade associations using library resources
- Search the Internet for information about a company
- Synthesize your research results into a clear picture of a company's business, scope, and competition
*The Benefits of Research
Now that you know something about yourself, you'd better find out something about the rest of the world. Research can:
- Help you identify a job, career, or field suited to what you know about your transferable skills
- Help you locate specific job opportunities
- Provide information about an industry, field, or even a particular company that will make you sound highly impressive and well informed in an interview
Topic 4.1: Make Friends Everywhere
*Starting Your NetworkStart with whatever is closest to you. If you are currently employed, open your file drawer and look over past projects. Identify firms and individuals who interest you as potential sources of information and potential employers.
*Growing Your Network
Do your best to get around and meet people in your field and in other fields that may interest you. Collect business cards, and keep a file. Also keep these contacts alive with an occasional friendly phone call or, if appropriate, a breakfast or lunch.
Pretty soon, you'll find that you have something a lot more meaningful than a file of names. You have a network.
*Meeting Other Professionals
Joining a professional group or organization in your field is another great way to network. Not only are you likely to meet potential employers, you will usually get access to newsletters and magazines that publish industry-specific want ads.
If you can't find an appropriate organization in your field, consider Toastmasters International. It's a most supportive organization for the would-be networker who not only wants to make contacts, but work on self-expression and self-esteem as well.
*Using Network Contacts
Your growing network serves two purposes:
First, it generates information. Each of your contacts is a potential source of news about a job, an industry, or a field.
Second, each of your contacts is a potential employer or referral to an employer.
*Making the Most of Personal Contacts
You don't need to be currently employed to build a network. Potentially, everyone you know — friends, neighbors, old school chums — can be useful nodes on your network. Talk to the people around you. Ask them what they do. Ask them how they like doing what they do. Ask them how they got started doing what they do.
Former coworkers don't just vanish from the planet. They can become live-wire nodes in your employment-opportunity network.
Never forget the personal and professional friends you made at a company you left. Give them a call — the time is now.
Topic 4.2: Use the Library
*Reading Trade Journals and NewslettersWhile you are looking around your office (if you have one) for the names of folks to induct into your network, check out those stacks of trade journals and newsletters that you were meaning to read "when you have the time."
They contain valuable industry talk that not only will expand your knowledge of the issues and trends current in your field, but may also alert you to job opportunities and the needs and desires of specific firms.
*Finding Professional Associations
If you don't have an office, or your desk isn't cluttered with periodicals and newsletters, or you want to look beyond your current job, career, or field, there are some resources you can consult at your public library.
Check out National Trade and Professional Associations of the United States (Washington, D.C.: Columbia Books). This reference lists not only the associations that are relevant to your industry, but any publications those associations may produce.
*Finding Relevant Periodicals
Another useful reference is the Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature (available in most library reference departments, or perhaps as an electronic version of a magazine and journal reference list of articles). Use this reference to look up a subject and find magazine and journal articles relevant to it.
*Looking for Tips, Trends and Contacts
Don't scan trade and business periodicals just to find want ads. Also look for:
- Articles that tip you off to hot firms and solid opportunities
- Articles that inform you about industry trends and developments, and that identify growth and opportunity areas
- Names of article authors (if they are industry professionals) and the names mentioned in the articles; these are potential job contacts and sources of inside information
*Looking for Openings, Products and Services
While scanning trade and business periodicals, also look for:
- News about promotions, executive moves, and retirements; such information will help you identify possible openings at specific companies
- Product and service ads; these may tip you off to companies that are producing hot new merchandise and trend-setting services
Be careful not to rely on outdated reference material.
When you use reference works in the library, make sure you consult the latest edition of the work available. The reference librarian can help.
Topic 4.3: Use a Computer
*Using the Web (Surf's Up!)Access to the Internet and the World Wide Web can make your job search easier, faster, and more comprehensive. Using the vast Internet, particularly the World Wide Web (WWW), became easier in recent years by a variety of search engines.
You can begin research on almost any subject, including careers, industries, and specific companies, just by typing a few well-chosen keywords. You should be able to locate the home pages of larger companies or organizations that interest you.
*Revving Up a Search Engine
Search engines such as www.yahoo.com are handy for finding information about your job hunt, your industry, or a particular company you're interested in. Search for your company's name to find its Web site, any sites related to it, and even articles and news information about it.
*Searching Other Sites
Do the same kind of searches for your industry or career to get more information about the latest trends and background on the field. You can also search news sites (such as www.cnn.com) or magazine sites for stories and articles.
*Using Online Subscription Services
While seemingly inexhaustible, the Internet can be quite exhausting — or, at least, overwhelming. If you're willing to pay to avoid doing research yourself, subscription online services such as Dialog, Nexis, Dow Jones News/Retrieval, and Newsnet provide targeted business information.
*Using ISP Services
The most popular mainstream Internet service providers (ISPs), such as America Online, CompuServe, and Prodigy, provide some company profiles. America Online features "Employer Contacts Databases," a collection of brief profiles of some 60,000 companies, and an "Occupational Profiles Database," which contains job and career descriptions.
Topic 4.4: Leveraging What You Learn
*Filtering Your KnowledgeYou get a phone call. XYZ, Inc. wants to interview you. Great!
What's even greater is that you did the research and you can now walk into the interview with an insider's knowledge of the needs, goals, and problems specific to XYZ, Inc. All you have to do is filter the information you already obtained.
*Using Company Publications
Obtain XYZ's annual report, brochures, and other published material, and cross-reference it with whatever industry research you turned up; then, you can specifically identify:
- Company issues. Do your sources emphasize certain themes or issues as critical to the firm?
- Industry issues. Do your sources emphasize certain themes or issues as critical to the industry as a whole?
- Current events. What's going on in the world, nation, community, or neighborhood that affects the company or the industry?
*Touching Upon the Right Topics
You want to walk into the interview armed with plenty to say about:
- The business of the company. What does it do or make?
- The scope of the company. How large is it? Where does it do business?
- The competition. Who are they, and what is the target company's standing among them?
Try researching a company or field of business using library resources, the Internet, and company resources.
| Step | Action |
|---|---|
| 1 | Visit your local library and use the Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature to locate periodicals pertaining to your chosen company or field. |
| 2 | Consult National Trade and Professional Associations of the United States to find associations pertaining to your chosen company or field, and to locate publications from those associations. |
| 3 | Log on to the Internet and visit a search engine site. Type in keywords pertaining to your chosen company or field. |
| 4 | Phone or visit your chosen company (or companies in your chosen field) to obtain company publications such as annual reports or newsletters. |
| 5 | Peruse your collection of documents. As you read, focus on identifying company-specific and industry-wide issues as well as current events that affect this company or field. |
Topic 4.5: Unit 4 Summary
In this unit, you learned how to prepare for an interview by researching a company and position. You learned how to build a network of personal and professional contacts to stay informed about jobs and opportunities. You also learned how to use the library and the Internet in your research efforts. Finally, you learned how to leverage your research results into a strong interview performance.Unit 5. Making Interviews Happen
In this unit, you'll learn some methods for persuading employers to bring you in for an interview. You'll learn how to get the best results from your resume, whether you're responding to a want ad or sending an unsolicited resume. You'll also learn how to make cold calls to employers to schedule interviews, and how sending cold letters can improve your chances. Finally, you'll learn how best to use employment agencies to help with your job search.
After completing this unit, you should be able to:
- Focus your resume on the employer's needs to maximize your chances of getting an interview
- Optimize your chances of success when responding to want ads
- List the key elements of a cold call or letter
- Call and/or write employers with whom you've had no prior contact to inquire about employment
- Make good use of employment agencies
Topic 5.1: How to Make Interviews Happen
*A Job Seeker's FantasyCapitalism! The free job market! Ain't it grand? It works like this: You need a job. You have certain skills, education, and experience. An employer out there — somewhere — needs an employee with your skills, education, and experience. You find one another. She interviews you. You're hired!
In your dreams.
*The Chaotic Reality
It's true that most employers don't actually hide the jobs they have. But that's about all the reassurance to be offered concerning the American employment system. System? It's hardly that organized.
You'd think that because companies desperately need talent, they would employ full-time talent scouts. Well, a very few do; most, however, do not.
*Success Is Up to You
It's up to you not only to make your presence and availability known, but to appear before an employer as the perfect fit, the key to his lock, the answer to his prayers.
Topic 5.1.1: Those Old Resume Blues
*Doing Your Research, Then Drafting a ResumeIt's important, first, to know who you are, what you have to offer, and who may be looking for it, as discussed in previous units. Once you do your homework, tradition dictates that you present yourself in the form of a resume.
*Some Daunting Odds
Now, everyone knows what a resume is: a document that summarizes your experience.
But here's something else everyone should know: For every 1,470 unsolicited resumes sent hopefully to the nation's employers, 1,469 end up in the wastebasket without landing the sender a job — more than 99 percent (as cited in What Color Is Your Parachute? by Richard Bolles).
Job hunting can be discouraging. You will suffer rejection.
But it is a mistake to be discouraged by rejection. Use each rejection as an opportunity to learn about yourself and about your approach to the employment process.
Rejection is a valuable opportunity to learn. Exploit it.
*Focusing on Qualifications
The problem is not that employers are uninterested in resumes; rather, it's that they are far less interested in your experience than in your qualifications.
Here's the difference: Experience is what you've done in the past, whereas qualifications are experience PLUS the qualities, skills, and abilities that make you suitable for a particular position or task.
*Meeting the Employer's Needs
Obviously, the qualifications you want to present in your resume are the qualifications for the job at hand. But this is precisely where most resumes fail — which is why so many resumes never produce an interview.
Most resumes concentrate on the needs of the applicant rather than on the requirements of the job — that is, the needs of the employer.
*Some Ways to Focus
Avoid the resume blues by focusing on what the employer — not you — wants:
- Describe abilities instead of job duties.
- Include indications of performance that tell just how well you do your job.
- List accomplishments instead of responsibilities.
- Begin by asserting your "objective" — a statement about how you will address the needs of the employer.
Topic 5.1.2: The Awful Truth about Want Ads
*Finding LeadsEven a strong, employer-focused resume is a long shot if it's unsolicited.
For this reason, most job hunters scour want ads in newspapers and trade journals rather than just rolling the dice.
*Want Ads: The Odds Aren't Great...
But a Department of Labor survey from the early 1990s reported that only five out of every 100 American job holders got their positions through newspaper want ads. Other surveys placed this figure even lower, at two out of every 100.
Worse still, if these surveys had been restricted to upper-level employees, the numbers would have practically evaporated. The overwhelming majority of want ads are for entry-level or lower intermediate-level positions.
*...But Answer Ads Anyway
Don't get too depressed. After all, responding to want ads does increase your chances of getting the job you want by 2 to 5 percent (over sending unsolicited resumes).
Better yet, in responding to want ads placed in special-interest, professional, and trade publications, your "hit rate" should be higher — and the jobs more attractive. Just don't base your job search entirely on the classifieds section.
*Getting Through the Screen
Do, however, maximize your chances of transforming a response into a call for an interview. You'll sharpen your edge once you understand the dual purpose of a want ad: It is both a net cast to snare likely candidates, and a screen used to sift out and discard 95 (or more) resumes out of every 100 received.
Let's look at the steps you can take to get by the screen.
*Respond Quickly
Employers expect to receive most resumes within 96 hours of the ad's hitting the streets. Day three is the peak, and by day four or day five, the employer starts going through the pile in earnest.
*Respond Briefly
Your cover letter should be short and to the point. Mention the source and date of the ad in the first sentence of the cover letter and state that you are interested in the position because it is such a great fit with your qualifications, as in this example.
"Your advertisement for a widget analyst in the May 18 Widget World intrigues me because my qualifications so closely match what you are looking for."
*Address the Employer's Needs
In the next part of your cover letter, paraphrase the qualifications asked for in the ad, then address only those.
Present your qualifications in a bulleted list rather than in sentences within paragraphs. Your cover letter must "sell" you at a glance. Don't make the reader work to find out who you are.
*Meet Every Criterion
Don't ignore criteria you don't meet. Invent some way to address them.
For example, if an ad asks for "experience with database programs" — experience that you lack — respond that you are "interested in database programs."
*Don't State Salary Requirements
If you're not asked to state your salary requirements, don't. Pick the wrong target figure, and you may get screened out. Even if you are asked to state salary requirements, don't. Difficult as it may be, just ignore this request.
*Surfing for Work
Electronic want ads posted on the Internet have been talked about as big news for a few years now, but the truth is that they are neither more nor less effective than want ads posted anywhere else.
But as a tool, the Internet offers a much larger bank of posted job openings than your local paper or even trade journals may ever supply. Use those want ads like you would any other, but expect the same result rate from them.
Topic 5.2: The Hardest Sales Pitch You'll Ever Make
*Cold Calls = Hot OpportunitiesYou shouldn't rely exclusively on sending unsolicited resumes or responding to want ads. After researching the job market and the suitable firms in your field, try some cold calls.
A cold call is an unsolicited employment query/application over the phone. The target employer doesn't know you and hasn't asked you to call. You could make cold calls based on a Yellow Pages search, but you'll more likely make a meaningful connection if you do some research on your target employer and industry first.
*Avoiding the Screen-Out
If the prospect of calling a stranger to ask for a job seems daunting, don't be too intimidated. The object of a cold call is nothing so momentous or terrifying as actually getting a job.
The goal of a cold call is to keep you from getting screened out. It should generate sufficient interest to get you an interview — or, second best, a receptive reader of the resume you will send.
*Skip HR (If You Can)
So who do you talk to? When you contact larger companies, the Personnel or Human Resources (HR) department is the obvious target.
Obvious, but not the best. In many — perhaps most — organizations, the function of HR, so far as recruitment is concerned, is to eliminate unsuitable candidates from the pool of applicants.
*Following the Clout
Why talk to a screen? The more effective strategy is to speak directly to a person with the authority and power to hire you.
Your research may tell you who that person is, or you could call HR now and tell them that you are researching careers and would like to know the name of the manager of the appropriate department.
*Cold Calling Objectives
When making a cold call, keep one primary and three fallback objectives firmly in mind:
- Primary objective: To arrange to meet for an interview.
- Fallback #1: To arrange a time to talk further on the phone.
- Fallback #2: To secure a receptive reader for your resume. This may be combined with Fallback #1, to discuss your resume.
- Fallback #3: To secure a lead on a job possibility elsewhere or to seek information on future prospects for employment at the target company.
*Scripting Your Calls
No law dictates that a telephone conversation has to be spontaneous. You wouldn't "wing" any major presentation, would you? So why not script the cold call?
Let's look at the elements of your script.
*The Greeting and Introduction
Greet the callee and identify yourself. If you're calling on someone's recommendation, say so.
"Good morning, Mr. Smith. My name is Joseph Billing. Your client Pat Mitchell strongly recommended that I give you a call."
*The Hook
Reel out your "hook," a statement designed to appeal to the callee's self-interest.
"As you know, the new government regulations have created a climate of crisis. But, Mr. Smith, I see them as a challenge and an opportunity."
*The Interest Developer
Now that you have him hooked, develop the callee's interest.
"I'm assistant to the Director of Regulation Compliance at Acme Widget, Inc. and I've been part of a team that's been achieving cost-effective compliance."
*Creating Desire
Then transform interest into desire.
"I'd welcome an opportunity to sit down with you and share some of the cost-saving strategies I've been a part of. I'd like to explore how my work might benefit your firm."
*A Call to Action
Prompt the callee to take action — or take action for him.
"I'll call you next week to learn when we can get together."
*Cold Letters: A Little Less Stressful
While the cold call is generally more effective than an unsolicited letter — a "cold letter" — you may feel more comfortable sending one of these.
As you do with the cold call, research your target employer before writing a cold letter; don't just take a shot in the dark.
*Writing the Cold Letter
Begin your letter with the standard elements: return address/date, recipient address, and a greeting. Start the body of the letter with a hook (in this context, an appeal to the employer's self-interest), then write a few sentences to create interest, and continue the discussion to generate desire. End the body of the letter with a call to action. Close the letter with a standard complimentary close and signature.
The cold letter is a sales letter, and the merchandise is you.
*Presenting Yourself as a Valuable Commodity
The savvy consumer buys value. To be sure, your ultimate goal is to sell yourself as high-value "merchandise," but remember that your more immediate objective is to secure an interview. Therefore, offer value in return for the chance to interview: "I would welcome the opportunity to talk to you about how my approach to widget analysis can increase your sales."
*Giving Something Valuable
This tells the target employer that you will give him something. It is far more effective to give than to ask for an interview so that you may be given a job.
*Combining Cold Calls and Letters
Why think in terms of a cold call versus a cold letter? Combine the two, beginning with a cold letter and following up with a cold call designed to underscore the points made in the letter.
*Following Through with Letters
If the cold call yields an interview and there will be more than a two-week lag between the call and the meeting, follow the call with a letter thanking the callee for agreeing to the interview, underscoring how much you are looking forward to it, and briefly recapitulating the benefits — to the employer — you outlined in your phone conversation.
Topic 5.3: Working with an Agency
*Using AgenciesYou might consider using an employment agency as part of your job search strategy. Many agencies can provide you with career counseling, help you write a better resume, and help you improve your interviewing skills, as well as help you find a job.
*The Interview
In many ways, presenting yourself at an employment agency interview is no different from presenting yourself at an employment interview, but there is one key difference: you can focus on your own needs. Be clear about what you want.
*Define Yourself
Don't define yourself and your needs so broadly that you waste everyone's time getting called for jobs you'd never even think of taking, but do define yourself and your needs broadly enough so that you are not eliminated from consideration for jobs that might actually be a good fit.
*Continue Your Search
Remember that agencies have other job-seekers they are working with and they are trying to meet the needs of employers as well as yours. You should continue with your own job search while working with an agency. Your agency may even recommend that you do so.
