Follow up is one of the most important parts of networking. It doesn’t matter if you are in a formal interview or talking with an acquaintance on your softball team, follow-up is crucial to engaging and building. In the last part of our series on informational interviews, we explore follow-up for this type of networking. Read More
Making Informational Interviews Work for You
Informational interviews are an invaluable tool for today’s job search. While you never actually ask for a job during an informational interview, many do lead directly or indirectly to employment opportunities down the road. In part one of our series on information interviews, we look at why you should do informational interviews. Read More
Working With External Recruiters
A reader recently asked us to address the topic of whether job seekers should proactively reach out to headhunters. The answer is yes! Headhunters, as some recruiters are called, can be a source of job leads and connections in your job search and should not be ignored. Read More
Picking the Right Size Target for Your Job Search
We talked about the problem of having a job search target that is too narrow. But equally problematic is having a target that is too broad, or a scattershot attempt to land any jobs. Instinct tells you that having a big target gives you a better chance of hitting something. Yet with job search, a huge target is not the best way to assure success. Here are some of the reasons why:
- Selling yourself as “I can do anything” makes you look like a dabbler who has done lots of things but is not deeply competent in any one
- Selling yourself as “I’m willing to do anything” makes you look desperate rather than appealing
- Lack of clarity around your strengths makes you less memorable
- People in your network find it hard to help if you are not clear what you’re looking for
- Lack of focus makes you less credible
- Pursuing jobs outside your area of expertise or well below your level is likely to leave you frustrated
- Applying for anything and everything, even jobs that are not a good fit, wastes your time and energy, taking away focus on finding jobs for which you are truly a match
How do you assure you’ve got the right size target? Read More
How To Answer “What Do You Know About Us?”
“What do you know about us?” It’s a common but puzzling question that gets asked at many interviews. Last week we talked about how to research companies. Today, how to present the information you gathered in a way that shows you did your research and highlights why your skills and background would be an asset to the company. Read More
The Job Search Sales Process and Why Connections Count
Do you ever get calls from telemarketers? How often do you end up making a purchase based on a cold call from a stranger? The statics say sales success based on cold calls is less than 1%. In job search, sending out resumes to strangers is like cold calling. It has a very low success rate. Here’s why: Read More
Questions to Ask When Networking
Job seekers are well aware that networking is critical, but it can be intimidating. Even people who enjoy being social can find themselves tongue-tied when they have a goal in mind other than just chatting. Read More
Pre-Interview Research
You got the interview, now what? Time to dig in and learn all you can so you can shine in the face-to-face meeting. Having good background on the company will make you look interested and prepared, but the research will give you valuable knowledge that will help confirm that this is in fact a place you want to work. Read More
The Art of Telling An Effective Story
Preparing for an interview can be an exhaustive process. Do you have the proper wardrobe? Do you know how to get to the office? Do you know every piece of your resume and why you put it on there? If you have all of this down, you probably feel pretty prepared, but you forgot something. Do you have effective stories to tell? Read More
Top Tips on Negotiating Job Offers – Part 3 of 3
Nancy Kasmar, MS, SPHR, CCP is the Practice Lead for Compensation and Benefits Consulting at Washington Employers, a member-based organization providing real-time business results through strategic workforce performance solutions. She is a subject matter expert on compensation and assists members in attracting, retaining, and motivating their employees.
The groundwork for negotiating a salary offer in your new job begins when you start the interview process. You need to do your homework before you get to the job offer stage, so you are ready to negotiate for that higher salary when the opportunity presents itself. Here are some tips for improving your next job offer, and a short illustration about why you need to negotiate. Read More