to read the article.

Sunday, July 31, 2016
E1
Jobs, Autos & Classifieds
The 7 secrets of a successful job hunter – Part 2 of 2
Ever wonder why someone else got the job you wanted? Last week, our local go-to HR guru Steve Peglar
shed some light on the first three secrets of a successful job hunter. We finish up with the final four.
whether someone is a good fit
for the job. Peglar suggests
that social media profiles, like
LinkedIn, are essential for a
majority of occupations and it
is crucial to keep them current.
By Mark Fadden
THE FINAL FOUR
Special to the Star-Telegram
A Be a big softie. According
to a recent Careerbuilder.com
Last week, we discussed the study, 63 percent of employfirst three of seven “secrets” of ers said that soft skills are one
a successful job hunter with
of the top things they are
our long-time contributor
trying to rate during the hirSteve Peglar, Senior Vice
ing process. So, if demonstraPresident of WhitneySmith
ting superior soft skills during
Company, a full-service huthe hiring process and/or
man resources consulting
interview is so important,
firm based in Fort Worth.
what’s the best way to do
Before we get into the final
that?
four, let’s recap the first three:
Peglar first suggests that we
A Make the most of your
understand the difference
time…and network, netbetween “hard” and “soft”
work, network! The average skills. A good demonstration
time it takes to find a job is
of one’s soft skills starts way
typically two months. During before the interview. “There
that time, job seekers should
are two main elements that
focus as much energy as
will determine success on just
possible on networking.
about any job. The first of
A Just when you think
these relates to what a candiyou’re done…they pull you date “brings to the table” in
back in. Stay in touch! Acterms of hard skills, educacording to a recent Careertion, certifications, licenses,
builder.com survey, 54 perwork history, and so forth.
cent of employers re-engage
These types of things are
with past candidates.
usually fairly easy for a potenA Resume, schmesume?
tial employer to verify up
According to the same Cafront, even before a candidate
reerbuilder.com survey above, is interviewed,” said Peglar.
more than half (53 percent) of “What is much harder to
employers say a resume
determine – and what is also
doesn't provide enough inmuch more critical – is the
formation for them to assess
second element…specifically,
what the candidate does or is
capable of doing with those
things that they bring to the
table, and how they will behave on the job once employed. What I’m referring to here
are the “soft skills” - things
like basic personality traits,
interpersonal and communication skill and ability, personal values system, attitude,
etc. All of these complex
human dynamics are very
difficult to determine prior to
hiring an individual, but they
will ultimately determine how
the candidate will likely behave on the job. They cannot
be effectively communicated
in any resume, however, and
must instead be accurately
assessed by the potential
employer through effective
and thorough interviewing,
reference checking, and administering pre-employment
workplace behavior and
personality profiles.”
A Beat the average. The
average job seeker puts in 11
hours per week looking for a
new job. For Peglar, that
amount of time simply won’t
cut it. “You must take the
process seriously and treat the
entire activity as a full-time
job in order to achieve maximum success. An individual
spending only 11 hours per
week on the process is not
likely to be pleased with their
job search results,” said Peglar.
Think of it this way, if looking
WE WILL TRAIN!
FULL TIME
PERMANENT
POSITIONS
for a job should be a full-time
job (which Peglar suggests),
then 11 hours is way short of
the 40-plus hours a week that
most full-time employees are
working.
A Think outside your box or
make it better on the inside. According to Careerbuilder.com, one in three
people (36 percent) work in a
career that is not related to
their degree. Most employers
are looking to see if you have
relevant “hard skills” and if
your “soft skills” are a good fit
for the organization. However,
if we’re in a situation where
we feel that our current job
no longer matches our desires, Peglar reminds us to keep
an open mind. “I’m somewhat of an idealist, and I love
to see people ultimately finding their “dream job” or career that perfectly matches
their personality and values
system. I don’t think that any
of us should stop pursuing
that goal. However, research
seems to indicate that very
often, our ideal job can be
realized and achieved in
whatever job we are currently
doing right now. It’s often
what we decide to make of it.
Granted, there are plenty of
individuals out there in clearly
less than ideal jobs, but if we
can somehow manage to find
our own purpose and meaning in whatever it is that we
are doing, we may all be
happier as a result,” Peglar
said.
A A job hunters market?
Careerbuilder.com suggests
that competition for quality
employees is heating up and
that 66 percent of employers
plan to offer higher starting
salaries this year. So, what’s
the best way to negotiate for
better pay, and other benefits,
during the hiring process? “As
with so many other aspects of
the job search, when and how
we negotiate pay will depend
on the specifics of each situation,” said Peglar. “Sometimes, the recruiter or interviewer will indicate up
front to the candidate plenty
of details about what the pay
will be for the position, while
at other times the subject is
never addressed at all. If the
issue of salary does come up,
job seekers should be prepared to have an honest
discussion with the interviewer about their particular ex-
pectations and requirements.
My advice to job seekers is to
first know what is the least
you would accept to perform
whatever role it is for which
you are interviewing. A job
seeker should have a realistic
knowledge and understanding of what the “market rate”
is for the particular position.
Nearly every job out there is
worth a specific level of pay,
based on whatever the market
for the job happens to be.
“Remember also that
money is not the only form of
compensation that can be
sought after and negotiated by
a job seeker, nor is money
even the greatest motivational
tool for employees (according
to research). Other workplace
benefits such as flexible work
schedules and extra vacation
time, for example, may be just
as valuable – or more – to
many job seekers, and most
certainly may be seen as their
own forms of compensation.
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