Advanced Career Transitions

01/30/2022

http://jnicodemus-blog.tumblr.com/post/13092020452/run-your-job-search-like-you-would-run-a-company

So Mr. or Ms. CEO, in my last blog I talked about the first two parts of your company's base - the product (you) and marketing. Now I want to address selling yourself. This is the point of the...

01/23/2022

https://jnicodemus-blog.tumblr.com/post/19200291423/resumemyth #:~:text=The%20Myth%20of,you%20know%20why.

I have read numerous posts to blogs, Linkedin groups, and other publications about the killer resume. Resume writers (of which I am one) tell you they will create a "killer" resume for you, and job...

01/15/2022

The Job Search Campaign Design
Like any successful marketing or military campaign, you need to plan and organize your job search. The goal is to have a steady, productive level of positive activity that always drives your search forward. Here is what I recommend.

First you must understand two things - 1) finding a job is a full time job, 2) if you do not strike a balance with the other aspects of your life, you will burn out quickly.

You are targeting numerous potential sources of employment and must divide your time between those sources based of their potential. Only 20% of jobs are found through responding to ads; 10% are found through recruiters and headhunters; 70% are found through networking in various forms. Thus you should be spending no more than 20% of your time responding to ads, 10% applying to recruiters and headhunters, and 70% networking in all it various forms.

We are all creatures of habit. Just as you had a daily routine (more or less) that you followed at work, you need to set up a daily routine for your job search. Pick a daily start time, say 8 AM. You need to be at your new job of finding a job daily at 8 AM. Schedule your time as suggested above and stick to it. Get into a daily routine that includes calling family, friends and professional contacts to network; researching companies; writing and sending targeted letters to specific companies and/or industries; building your on-line networking resources such as Linkedin; attending networking events and one-on-one meetings; contacting recruiters and headhunters; searching on-line listings and completing applications. Activity is the key. Measure your results (see my “Activity is the Key to Success” blog http://bit.ly/p5uUmT). This will help you to maintain a sustained level of positive activity.

In order to maintain your positive outlook and not burn out, try to maintain a balance. Plan time for physical exercise, even if it is nothing more than a daily 30 minute walk in your neighborhood. If you do not now exercise, start one (endorphins make you feel better and can help clear your mind) Make sure you have time to see family and friends (they can be great networking resources for you). If you belong to a religious group, become more active it (another great networking source). If you do not belong to one, consider joining one. Finally, consider volunteering. It is another good networking opportunity, as well as a wonderful way to focus on others while generating a positive self-image that you need to sell yourself in an interview.

Finally, consider joining a support group or job club. They are great ways to cross-fertilize ideas that you or others may find helpful. They will also help you to maintain a positive attitude. If you cannot find such a group, Maybe you can start one.

Each person’s schedule will be different, all the good ones will contain these elements.

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11/21/2021

Roughly 80% of all jobs are found through referrals from people you know or have met. Most people are uncomfortable networking; they don't know what to talk about and are uncomfortable around strangers.

Here are some tips on networking:

1. List everyone you know - family, friends, co-workers, ex co-workers, church members, classmates, etc.
2. Sort the list into three categories: A - those you think will be helpful, B - those you think MIGHT be helpful, and C - those you think probably will not be helpful. Call 5 A's, 3 B's, and 2 C's every day, 5 days a week.
3. Everyone on the list MUST know that you are actively looking for a job, and the type of position for which you are looking.
4. Start the conversation with your elevator speech (a 30 second introduction). Ask them about their job and industry. Get their opinion on your resume, the future of their industry, and where you should be looking in your job search.
5. You NEVER, NEVER ask for a job, as this tends to make for short conversations. The contact you are speaking with probably does not have a position for you. You ask for help and advice. You want to share your background and get their input as to what they might think you should do. Other people might see strengths in you that you have not recognized in yourself.
6. The ultimate goal of the networking is to get your contacts to refer you to two other people who might further your search. This will both advance your search and grow your network.
7. Follow up with all your contacts on some regular frequency so that you will be in a "top of the mind" position with them should they become aware of a position that might be a fit for you. Update them on your search status on some routine frequency.
8. Let everyone in your network know when you land a position and thank them personally for all their help.
9. Activity is the key to success. It is a numbers game. Shown below is a metric system that I developed to ensure that you are maintaining the appropriate level of positive activity on a routine basis.
10. Continue to stay in touch with your new network. When you find a job, let everyone know and give regular progress reports. Your network will help you throughout your career.

POINTS ACTIVITY
1/4 Sending out a resume
1 Talking with a live human being on the phone - or - going to a group networking event
2 Setting up a networking 1 x 1
3 Attending a networking 1 x 1
4 Attending an interview

The goal is to score 4 points every day – 5 days per week
If you score more than four points in a day, the extra points do NOT roll over to the next day.

If you are routinely scoring 4 points per day, you should be generating lots of interviews. If not, adjust your daily points requirement upward.

11/16/2021

Interviewing - A Two-way Street
A company interviews you, in part, to insure that you will be a good “fit” for their company culture. You must do the same to see if the company is a good fit for you.
The questions you need to ask are similar to those you might be asked in a behavioral interview. They might include:
 Why are you hiring for this position?
 How many people have held this position in the last two years?
 How does the organization manage communications?
 Are new approaches to the job encouraged?
 Can you describe the decision making process the company typically follows?
You are trying to find out if this is a culture in which you will thrive. You might ask position specific type questions such as do you have a strategic plan for the business? What is the degree of autonomy that you might expect? As with all behavioral interviews, there are no right or wrong answers. There will only be answers with which you are more or less comfortable.
I recently began working with a client and friend (I will call him George) that had left a job a year ago due to an extremely toxic boss. George was so desperate to get out of his old situation that he jumped at the first opportunity that came along, even though the pay was less and his commute grew from 15 to 90+ minutes.
George networked his way into the opportunity. During the interviewing process, he successfully focused on selling his product (himself) to a willing buyer. However, George missed one vital point - WAS THE COMPANY A GOOD FIT FOR HIM? As it turned out, the new boss, and company founder, was a continuously negative micro-manager who knew a lot about the product and almost nothing about how to run a business. Worse yet, he assumed that he knew everything about running a business and would not tolerate or listen to his employees ideas and suggestions. If you have never met such a person, count yourself lucky!
Needless to say, George is extremely frustrated and anxious. In addition, the continuous negativity has made him doubt his own skill sets and seriously damaged his confidence. His personal circumstances are such that he cannot quit until he has a new job in hand. Not ideal circumstances for a job search, but with the proper guidance and support, George will survive this debacle. In the interim, George must cope as best he can.
Learn from George’s mistake - a job interview must be a two-way street!

11/11/2021

How The Movies Sharpened My Resume Skills
The goal of a movie trailer is to put movie goers in theater seats. The goal of a resume is to put the job seeker in the interviewee seat. The trailer does this by piquing the viewer’s interest enough to want to see the movie. The resume does this by piquing the reviewer’s interest enough to want to talk with the candidate further. The trailer does not go into the details of the plot, rather it suggests what the plot might be and shows a few dramatic or funny highlights in 30 to 90 seconds. The resume needs to do the same in the 10 to 15 seconds the typical reviewer will devote to scanning the resume. The trailer is focused on a mass audience with similar interests. The resume is focused on a number of individuals with widely divergent interests. What is one to do?
Your resume needs to be a highlight reel that focuses on what is important to the employer. You are not trying to tell your career history; you are trying to attract the reader’s professional attention. Job duties may be inferred from your job titles. You want your resume to focus on your skill sets and accomplishments. These are what the reviewer is looking for. Your resume needs to be easily tailored to the specific company or job listing, which means the information must be centralized, so it can be easily changed for a specific submission, and easily read in a very limited time frame. Here is a format that captures all these criteria:
1. The resume starts with a section titled “Executive Summary”. This section is 3 to 5 sentences, written in the third person that describes what “you bring to the table” (i.e. – your skill sets). The last sentence should be a broad description of the type(s) of position(s) you are seeking with an emphasis on how you can positively impact the company. If you are sending in a resume in response to a job listing, you should modify the wording to reflect the key words in the job description.
2. The next section is titled “Selected Accomplishments”. Select 5 to 7 that you believe are the strongest or most closely match the job for which you are applying. (This is where you can quickly customize your resume for a particular position). You do not need a lot of context, just the results (i.e. – the benefit to the company). Use specific numbers wherever possible.
3. These first two sections, along with your contact information should take up no more than the top half of the first page.
4. The third section is titled “Professional Experience”. Here you list your work experience in reverse chronological order, as follows: The Company name and location (city and state), the years you worked there, and your job title. (NOTE: if you are over 45, you may want to eliminate the date of employment and graduation to avoid age discrimination). Unless a reader cannot figure out from your job title what you did, do not include a job description. The exception to this would be if you were doing duties well beyond those reflected by your title. Similarly, do not include a description of the company unless you want to particularly highlight that experience.
5. The fourth section is “Education and Training”. Do not list your high school or community college unless that is the highest level you have attained. Do not list every training course or certification that you have received. Only list those that are truly pertinent. List the name of the school, its location (city and state) and the degree(s) you attained. If you went to a very prestigious school (i.e. – a service academy, MIT, Harvard, etc.) you might want to put this section ahead of “Professional Experience”. If you have extensive pertinent training you might want to split out “Training” into its own section.
This format is easily modified with the inclusion of key words and appropriate accomplishments. It is short, clean and very readable. With this resume, you might have a career in the movie PR business.

11/10/2021

Accomplishments are the key to all aspects of the job search.

Before you can write an effective resume, network with confidence, respond well in an interview, or even be really effective in your job search, you MUST understand the value that you bring to the table in an employment situation AND be able to clearly articulate that value to the hiring manager.
Most of us intrinsically understand the value we offer to an employer, but we find it difficult to easily and clearly communicate that to others. We tend to talk in generalities, which are not convincing. Since we are hired based on the value we offer the employer, the ability to simply and easily convey that value is crucial to getting a job offer.
The best way to convey our value is to tell specific stories about our accomplishments. In this context, accomplishments are things that we have done about which we are proud that demonstrate the skills and attributes that employers want. These do not have to be work related. They can be from volunteer efforts, sports, scholastic efforts, but they do need to reflect something of value to an employer. A colleague, Mike Peduto, has very generously given me permission to use his accomplishment questionnaire, which I use to help jog people's memory about specific accomplishments.
Most people that I talk with have a very hard time recognizing their own accomplishments. They tend to think that the accomplishment was "just part of their job" or "was just a lucky break". Even worse, if their boss took credit for a solution that the individual devised, they think that they cannot take credit themselves. You can and must take credit for legitimate accomplishments. As a general rule, you should have at least 5 accomplishments plus one more for every year that you have been in the work force. Each accomplishment should be written as a story using the STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) or other similar story format. Using hard numbers or metrics ($ saved, % increased, etc) will make each accomplishment even stronger. You will only use the action, result, and metrics on the resume. The entire story will be used in the interview(s).
I was challenged to develop a list of 20 accomplishments a number of years ago. I immediately started the list, and in less than 10 minutes, had 4 down on paper...then I hit a wall. I could not come up with any more. I talked with family, friends, and colleagues. I even pulled out my old Army evaluations and reread them. It took me a week and a half to finish the list. What I found was that others will recognize your accomplishments much more easily that you will. This is one of the most difficult parts of the entire job search process; it is also the most important part of the process.
Once the list is done, you are ready to build your resume and start networking. When you get that all important interview, reread all your accomplishments right before the interview starts, so that they will be fresh in your mind, and you will not struggle trying to recall specific accomplishments that the employer will find compelling. You are not bragging. You are only relating stories about your accomplishments and letting the hiring manager make the value judgment that leads to the job offer!

10/18/2021

Just had a client call me with wonderful news. He sent his new resume to a large company. In his research he identified the skills and experience required for the position. He and I wrote his resume those skills in mind and included accomplishments that supported those accomplishments. He received a call two weeks later and was hired on the spot.

It was an amazing result, certainly not typical by any means, but an example of how careful research and a targeted resume can be extremely effective.

04/04/2020

Good tips on virtual interviewing.

Are you ready for your virtual interview? Before you start preparing for one, don't forget: just because it's virtual, doesn't mean it's casual or "easier."

02/20/2019

Do not underestimate this aspect of the search!

Ironically, looking for work in times of low unemployment is lonely and demoralizing. Here's why ...

02/04/2019

I understand the purpose of a stress interview, but I do not agree that it will accomplish its purpose unless skillfully applied. For the most part, all it will do is alienate candidates!

A ‘brutal’ interview with a CEO left a young job applicant in tears. It’s a technique meant to get candidates out of their comfort zone – but where do we draw the line?