HOW TO LAND JOB OFFERS OPPORTUNITIES

HOW TO LAND JOB OFFERS
THE ART & SCIENCE OF GENERATING JOB
OPPORTUNITIES
BY
BETSY FRIEDLANDER, M.S.
PRESIDENT
Friedlander Partners, LLC
Dear Reader:
You are in a position to shape the course of your future. Maybe you chose change; maybe
change was thrust upon you. Maybe you’re just entering the job market. Whatever the
reason, this time in your life can be a window of opportunity for you.
For more than twenty-five years, we have had the opportunity to work with hundreds of
individuals in career transition. We have learned so much about how and why people make
changes, create options, and generate opportunities. We have been privileged to watch and
help people make wonderful things happen for themselves. We have worked with many
who were certain they would never recover from the loss of a job, and with others who felt
stuck in an unhappy position and decided to move in a different direction. Regardless of
the motivation, they have found themselves creating new, more satisfying, more lucrative
situations than they ever were in before or ever could have imagined.
We believe that each of us, no matter our personality, background, educational level,
physical appearance, skill level, or experience can create meaningful options for ourselves.
Options are created through a process that involves both an art and a science. The science
of career transition is essentially an external, organized process made up of activities and
tasks that put a person in a situation that can lead to job offers. Like most career transition
manuals, this manual provides information about the science of career transition. What
makes this manual different from other manuals, however, is its focus on the art of career
transition.
The art of career transition is an internal process that starts with an understanding of how
people initially perceive you. Knowing this can help you be more successful in the
interview process. Our coaching provides you with the tools to stay true to who you are,
and be successful.
This approach is unique because we help you to feel comfortable with your own style and
not try to be anything but yourself. In doing so, you increase your chance to create rapport,
trust, and authenticity. Candidates who are able to establish these things are more likely to
get the offer.
Yours truly,
Betsy A. Friedlander
CONTENTS
Introduction
Section I:
Understanding your situation .........................p. 1
Section II:
Focusing on you ............................................p. 7
Section III:
Exploring the job market ................................p. 25
Section IV:
Generating options ........................................p. 30
SECTION 1
SO, IT HAPPENED. YOU’RE IN THE JOB MARKET.
Maybe it was a surprise. Maybe you knew it was coming.
Maybe you needed a total change of direction.
Maybe you’re just getting started on a career path.
Maybe you want to start a business
Maybe you feel you job is a dead end.
Maybe you got a letter from the CEO.
Maybe you were the CEO.
Maybe you’re looking for a new opportunity.
Maybe it happened yesterday; maybe a week ago.
Maybe you just want to make a new start.
Maybe you are fifty years old.
Maybe you are a single parent.
Maybe you’ve just gotten your degree.
No matter how, when, or why … At this moment, you find yourself
1) “in transition” with respect to employment, and
2) working with Friedlander Partners, LLC to generate options that will lead to a
new job and perhaps a whole new career.
LET’S GET TO WORK!
WHAT BROUGHT YOU TO THIS POINT IN YOUR LIFE?
1. You’ve lost your job.
2. You’re unhappy in your job, or feel that it’s a dead-end position.
3. You feel the need or desire to switch career paths entirely.
4. You’ve finished your education and are ready to hit the job market.
LET’S TACKLE EACH SCENARIO SEPARATELY. THEN WE’LL DEAL WITH
WHAT YOU SHOULD DO IN EACH CASE.
1. YOU’VE LOST YOUR JOB
RECOGNIZE YOUR EMOTIONS
What brought you to this point in your life? How a person reacts to sudden loss of
employment varies greatly and depends upon the person’s past experiences and tolerance
for change. In our experience, people generally (but not always) move through a spectrum
of emotions related to the loss of a job. Perhaps you can see yourself somewhere in the
next few paragraphs:
When you were told, you probably experienced SHOCK. In the space of a carefully
crafted sentence written or uttered by your boss, or his/her representative, your life
changed. Floating through time and space, you most likely felt or said: “I can’t believe this
is happening to me” or “This is impossible. It can’t be true”.
Your shock may give way (quickly, or over a period of time) to ANGER as you reflect on
your loyalty to the organization, your dedication to your job, the extra hours you worked to
help the company stay afloat, the recognition you may have received at various times for a
job well done.
At some point, your anger probably will subside as you begin to experience the
overwhelming sense of DESPONDENCY that typically overtakes a person dealing with
loss. As you grapple with the self-doubts, the temporary loss of self esteem, and the mental
replaying of scenarios associated with your former job, you probably will find yourself
mourning many personal, private losses associated with your current situation Stooped
shoulders, tears, confusion, inability to sleep and exhaustion are among the physical
manifestations of this period in your recovery from the trauma of loss of job. This is a
critical time because you finally will have finally sadness to enter the very core of your
being. It is on this phase that you will spend the very last and very personal energies of
your old work life so that you can gather new energy for the next phase of your career.
Once you emerge from this grief-filled period with a sense of RESIGNATION or
ACCEPTANCE, you are ready to regroup and focus on the future.
We have developed a worksheet to help you address your situation. Go to Appendix A, on
Page –
2. YOU’RE UNHAPPY IN YOUR JOB OR FEEL IT’S A DEAD-END
POSITION
You do the same thing day in and day out – and you just can’t see yourself doing this
all your life.
The pay is okay; the hours are alright; even the benefits are pretty good. Yet, you have
no sense of fulfillment, no feeling that you’re doing something useful.
You’re BORED.
So, what to do? You have the security of a steady job that probably will be there
forever. You have and some money in the bank, but your family clearly needs your
income. Your spouse has a decent job but the kids are growing up – and college isn’t
that far away. You’re not a great risk-taker, but then again, you’d like to TEST THE
MARKET to see what might be out there.
THE GOOD NEWS is that you have a job and, even though it might not be as
satisfying as you, you’re not in the situation of those who suddenly find themselves
unemployed.
3. YOU FEEL THE NEED OR DESIRE TO SWITCH CAREERS ENTIRELY.
As it the situation above, you have a job – a good job. You might even enjoy what you
do and it produces a good income, has good benefits, and you work with njce people.
BUT YOU’VE ALWAYS WANTED TO DO SOMETHING ELSE.
I have seen people retiring from government jobs turn into entrepreneurs,
attorneys become history teachers, human resource workers launch and grow
career coaching practices, and college graduates who thought they had to go to
work for an employer become consultants
So, IT CAN BE DONE. It just requires dedication, perseverance, and a strong support
system – and guidance in how to go about it.
4. YOU’VE FINISHED YOUR EDUCATION AND YOU’RE READY TO HIT
THE JOB MARKET.
That day finally has arrived. After all those years of schooling – how many was it?
Twelve through high school, four more, maybe five, for an undergraduate degree, a
few more for that MBA or JD or MD, or another professional degree – you’re finally
ready for the REAL WORLD.
It’s a scary thought. You’ve been insulated for so long. You’ve had parental support,
guidance counselors, job fairs, internships … now, it’s sink or swim on your own.
The good news is that you’re really QUALIFIED for what lies ahead. Your higher
education wasn’t just football games and partying. It was learning and PREPARING
YOURSELF for this moment. Sure, it’s frightening because it’s new, but you’ll get
over the initial fright. You just need to be ready for that interview; you need to know
how to draft that resume. The rest will fall into place.
SO, LET’S GET STARTED.
Whatever the reason you’re in the job market, the approach is very similar.
THE SCRIPT
As soon as you have determined that you are seeking new job opportunities –
regardless of the reason you have reached this point – I recommend that you focus time
and energy on developing a script explaining why you are looking for a job. This script
will be modified later in the job search process but, at the beginning, it is important to
organize your thoughts.
Here is an example of what I mean by a script:
I am exploring new opportunities. My employer has gone through
reorganization due to budget cuts and my position was eliminated.
And continuing …
I am excited about the possibility of uncovering some challenging
employment opportunities. I have been working in the technical
sales field for over fifteen years and have a great track record. I’d
appreciate any suggestions you might have.
As you write your script, keep in mind that it should be framed in a positive manner.
It will be a reflection of you. Keep it simple, concise, positive, and honest.
Draft your personal script:
Read your script out loud a few times and begin to commit it to memory. Once in
memory, you will be able to call it up as needed to respond to questions.
LOOK AT THE BROADER CONTEXT
It is appropriate at this point to consider the world beyond you – the world beyond your
emotions, your day-to-day issues.
Free yourself of the constructs you have built in your mind about jobs and
employment. Let us introduce some ideas that will be expanded upon in a later section
of this manual. We introduce them here so that you can begin to understand the
opportunities that may be available to you to GENERATE CHOICE!

Job Security is found within the individual who remains constantly
open to opportunities and, more importantly, is capable of generating
those opportunities.

Long-term employment opportunities are only one kind of option. Keep
your mind open to other employment options like interim assignments
or contract work or starting a business or consulting practice.

More jobs (and in many cases, better jobs) are outside the traditional
“corporate” setting.

Managing your career no longer means identifying a career path within
a particular company. It means identifying or creating opportunities
for interesting, meaningful work in a particular industry or in linked
industries. You begin the process of identifying and creating
opportunities as you read this sentence.

Global competition for products means global competition for people
by virtue of your recent separation, you have been thrust into the
competition.

You will need your particular set of skills, competencies, and personal
history – so generate your particular set of opportunities.
-
SECTION 2
In the previous section, we suggested that you are the only person bringing your particular
set of skills, competencies, experience, education and personal characteristics to the
employment market place at this time. This presents a unique opportunity not only for
yourself but for the organizations that are in the market for people with new ideas and new
skills.
This section II is designed to assist you in thinking about the skills, knowledge, abilities,
characteristics, interests, values – and even negative aspects – you bring to the
marketplace. While working through this section, you will be asked to hold a mirror in
front of your inner self and then describe what you see. You also will have the opportunity
to identify those elements about jobs in general that may or may not appeal to you. Once
all this information is identified and organized, you ten will be in a position to move on to
activities like writing resumes and participating in interviews.
FOCUS ON YOUR UNIQUE SKILLS
COMPUTER SKILLS
Think: Software, programming languages, Internet, testing, debugging,
end-user support, PC, word processing.
LANGUAGE SKILLS
Think: Languages other than English, translating, teaching, editing,
writing, presenting.
PEOPLE SKILLS
Think: Negotiating, managing, selling, training, delegating, advising,
leading, persuading, interpersonal, problem solving.
COMPUTATIONAL SKILLS
Think: Forecasting, auditing, monitoring, probability, statistics, etc.
FOCUS ON YOUR ABILITIES
Think about the projects, jobs, or experiences that you really have enjoyed and that you
feel demonstrated your best efforts. Use the table below to assist you in identifying those
projects/jobs/activities.
PROJECT/JOB
Now, use the table below to identify those jobs or projects that brought you little or no
satisfaction or enjoyment.
PROJECT/JOB
When you identify the kinds of work activities you enjoy, you probably also identify
your greatest abilities. Consider the responses you put in the two tables and record
your abilities below:
FOCUS ON KNOWLEDGE GAINED FROM FORMAL EDUCATION
What skills have you gained in various phases of your education that are transferable
to your work? For example, if you were in the military, you might have done many
types of work and learned skills that help you do a civilian job. In college, or even
high school, you might have had a leadership position in an extracurricular activity,
or student government, or a team that taught you skills like organizing, keeping
records, teamwork, interpersonal relationships … that a potential employer is
looking for. Think about them and list them here:
High School
College
Postgraduate
Military
Work-related courses/programs
FOCUS ON KNOWLEDGE GAINED THROUGH EXPERIENCE
On-the-job training
Other work-related experiences
Non-work-related experiences
FOCUS ON YOUR PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS
Personal characteristics are those attributes of a personality that are reflected in actions and
outcomes. Some examples of personal characteristics are:
Tenacious
Reckless
Creative
Supportive
Analytic
Caring
Open-minded
Manipulative
Closed-minded
Honest
Cautious
Untrustworthy
Careful
Detail-oriented
Adventuresome
Focused
Thoughtful
Controlling
Obviously, the list above is limited and is offered only as a guide to show what is meant by
the words “personal characteristics.” Take a moment now to reflect on what you think are
your personal characteristics. Record them here:
Ask three individuals who know you well to identify the five words that best describe
you. Record their feedback here:
Response I
Response 2
Response 3
How does your personal assessment of your characteristics match up with the ideas of
those you asked?
FOCUS ON YOUR VALUES
Think about what really is important to you as a person. Identify those basic principles by
which you live and work, and record them below:
Think back to previous jobs and recall if you found yourself

Uncomfortable because you were in a situation that violated your basic values.
If you identified a situation, reference it below:

Very comfortable because you were in a situation that supported your basic
values. If you identified a situation, reference it below:
Identify any job for which you are qualified but which you would not consider even
pursuing because it is in conflict with your values.
Identify any company for which you would not work because you feel the company
has a product, outlook, or “style” that is in conflict with your values.
FOCUS ON YOUR LIABILITIES
As you use this section to look at yourself, acknowledge the fact that you have a few weak
points. No one is perfect. Facing up to your weak points early in a job search is an
important step in the process that leads to a new job.
Take a moment to think about your “warts” and list them below:
Skill liability:
Are there critical skills you are lacking?
Knowledge liability: Is there a body of information that you would be expected to know
at this point in your career, but don’t?
Ability liability:
Do you lack an important ability (ability to focus, to write, to make
your point during a telephone conversation) that might affect your
job search?
Job History liability: Is there something in your job history (like changing jobs frequently,
abandoning jobs, being fired for gross misconduct) that could
impact your job search? Better face up to it NOW!
Experience liability: Are you so overqualified that a prospective employer (and you!)
might worry that you would be bored with the job for which you are
applying? Are you so under-qualified that a prospective employer
(and you!) might worry that you “can’t hit the ground running”?
Style liability:
Is there something about your appearance or the way you present
yourself that might block opportunities?
Ask three people whose judgment you trust to identify a perception they have about
you that could lead to an erroneous assumption. Record those perceptions and
possible assumptions below and identify a strategy to prevent or mitigate the
perception:
Perception
Assumption
Strategy
FOCUS ON YOUR ACHIEVEMENTS
Before you begin to codify your achievements, give some thought to the forms that
“achievement” might take:

Solving complex financial, managerial, creative, or scientific problems

Improving product or process quality or efficiency

Increasing output / decreasing cost

Creating new systems, new products, new work teams

Initiating an acquisition or merger

Receiving recognition for a special project or a job well done

Hiring stars, coaching employees

Cleaning up a dysfunctional situation

Starting up a new department, office, or service

Closing down an operation
LIST YOUR FIVE MOST NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
We’d like you to describe these achievements in more detail, using the suggested
approach. Please turn to Appendix B for worksheets on which you can do so.
ACCESSING THE JOB MARKET
No matter what strategies you use in your job search, you can access the job market
through a variety of sources:
THE ADVERTISED JOB MARKET
The advertised job market is the market in which vacant jobs are formally identified and
announced. Sources of information about these jobs are:

The hiring company itself – job postings, employment “hotlines”

Classified employment section of newspapers and their web sites

Special “Employment” guides found in newspapers

Ads in trade magazines, alumni magazines, professional periodicals and newsletters

Professional associations

Employment agencies/ Search firms

Job Fairs

Internet web sites
INTERNET WEB SITES
The Internet is quickly becoming the “go-to” place for job opportunities, with sites
geared to all kinds of special categories (health, technology, environment, government,
etc.) as well as broad listings.
Among the most popular web sites are:
Careerbuilder.com
Ecojobs.com (environment)
USAjob.gov
Monster.com
Craigslist.com
Jobs.faa.gov
Mycareerguide.com
Indeed.com
Simplyhired.com
Jobsearch.com
Hotjobs.yahoo.com
Flipdog.com
Jobsearchusa.org
Jobofmine.com
Dice.com (technology)
Americajob.com
Jobbankusa.com
Jobcentral.com
Theladdrers.com/job-search
Careeronestop.org/jobsearch
The list is endless, and changes from day to day. For instance, one of the more popular
sites, careerconcepts.com, was for sale the last time we looked.
A simple Google search for job opportunities or employment opportunities will give
you more choices of web sites than you ever could want.
THE UNADVERTISED (HIDDEN) JOB MARKET
The “hidden” job market actually has many more job possibilities than the advertised job
market. In fact, based on my experience with a wide variety of clients, I would estimate
that about 75 percent of the jobs that are available are quietly hidden in the unadvertised
job market.
To access the hidden job market, you will need to talk to people, ask them for suggestions,
and then follow up on those suggestions. This activity is called “networking” and is
described in greater detail in Section IV of this manual.
In either the advertised market or the unadvertised market, you will generate options for
yourself by marketing yourself, on paper or in person.
THE NEW INDUSTRIES JOB MARKET
Twenty years ago, few people knew much about information technology (IT) or the world
of computers, smart phones, global positioning satellites, etc. But they all burgeoned into
the new industries of the early 21st century, and offered well-paying jobs to millions.
Without question, other new industries are in their infancy or not even started yet – and
they have the potential to offer employment to those who are ready to jump in. We’re
talking about things like new energy sources, “green” living ideas, and something still in
some creative person’s mind.
These all offer the potential for those looking for a totally new opportunity.
GENERATING OPTIONS
You generate employment options on paper (your resume, application form, letters, etc.)
and in person (interviews, meetings, etc.) In either case, you are in control of the generation
process. What information you choose to convey and how, when, and to whom you choose
to convey it are totally under your control.
YOUR RESUME
Most of my clients come to realize that the development of a good resume is one of the
most satisfying outcomes of the separation process. Think of your resume as a tool with
many uses. It will:

Tell the reader what you are looking for and how to contact you

Pique the reader’s interest in the product you are bringing to the marketplace: YOU

Give an interviewer enough information to start a conversation with you.

Provide a reminder of who you are and what you can offer after the interview is
over.
Your resume should be a well-focused snapshot of the person you explored in Section II.
In that section, you looked in a mirror at your abilities, interests, skills, knowledge, and
experience. You also noted your weaknesses (your warts, as it were). Now, knowing
everything about yourself, it is time to consign to paper those items that reflect – most
honestly and favorably – what you can (and want!) to bring to an employment relationship.
As you go about the resume development process, keep in mind that thousands of other
people also are writing resumes, and that many of them will arrive on the desk of the
person whose role it is to fill the job you want. That person is only human. Faced with a
pile of two hundred resumes for one vacant position, he or she will attack the pile in a
rational manner:
A quick skim …
A weed out …
A boil down to …
A SELECT FEW WHO WILL BE INTERVIEWED.
For your resume to survive this heartless but practical process, it must demonstrate quickly
to the reader that you can bring what is needed to the job and the organization.
I recommend that my clients consider the following basic ideas when developing their
resumes:

Keep the resume short – one page is best, two pages in a pinch

Use action verbs

Use an appropriate combination of fonts

Don’t rely on spell check – PROOFREAD YOUR RESUME

Craft your resume so you can use it to respond to a wide variety of job options
-
You will need to determine which of the two basic types of resumes best suits your
particular circumstances.

The Chronological resume describes your career in chronological order, starting
with the most recent and working back. It is the most popular form of resume and it
may be well suited to your needs if you career has been reasonably stable and you
have experienced progression in responsibility from one job to the next. The same
reverse order format should be used for your education.

The Functional resume describes your skills, starting with the strongest. This
resume seeks to show how the skills you have can be transferred from one area of
employment to another. The functional resume format is best suited for those who
have gaps in their employment, have changed jobs frequently, or have not
experienced much in the way of career progression.
More information about each type of resume, samples, and other tools that you can use to
write your resume can be found on the following pages.
If you feel that a CHRONOLOGICAL RESUME is best suited to your situation, I suggest
that you build the some or all of the following segments into the document, depending
upon their appropriateness to your particular case:
OBJECTIVE:
A succinct statement telling the reader the kind of job and level of
responsibility that you seek. Depending upon your circumstance,
this statement may be very specific, fairly general, or not included
in your resume at all. It is useful to reference an objective if you,
indeed, have a specific job for which you want to be considered. If
not, an objective might “pigeonhole” you in the reader’s mind and
that might limit your employment possibilities.
SUMMARY:
A tightly written statement that tells the reader the very basic but
most important benefits you bring to a job.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS: Quantifiable measures of accomplishments
EXPERIENCE: Starting with the most recent job, a detailed presentation that
covers when, where, and what you accomplished thus far in your
career.
EDUCATION:
A presentation of the basic information regarding your educational
achievements.
The order of the presentation depends upon individual circumstances. A recent college
graduate most likely would place the education segment at the beginning of the resume,
since the college or professional degree is one of his or her primary selling points. A
seasoned professional with more than twenty years of experience probably would choose
to emphasize his or her work experience and place the education segment below that.
Depending upon the industry in which you are searching for a job and on how much space
is available in your resume, you may or may not want to include specific segments on
military experience, licenses or certifications, and professional affiliations.
Draft your Chronological Resume
Name
Street Address
City, State, Zip Code
Telephone Number
OBJECTIVE:
ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
EXPERIENCE:
Company Name
Location
Dates
Title
Brief description of scope of responsibilities and accomplishments
Company Name
Location
Dates
Title
Brief description of scope of responsibilities and accomplishments
Company Name
Location
Dates
Title
Brief description of scope of responsibilities and accomplishments
EDUCATION: Degree (graduate degrees first) Institution, location, year
If you feel that a FUNCTIONAL RESUME is best suited to your situation, I suggest that
you build the following segments into the document:
SUMMARY:
A tightly written statement that describes the very basic but most
important benefits you bring to a job.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS: The most important functional accomplishments you bring to the
marketplace.
EXPERIENCE:
A listing of the places you have worked and the dates of your
employment. (Some job seekers do not disclose the chronology
of their career and therefore leave this segment off their resume.
Depending upon your circumstance, include it or do not include
it, whichever is to your advantage).
EDUCATION:
A presentation of basic information regarding your educational
achievements.
As with the chronological resume, the order of the presentation may change depending
upon individual circumstances. A recent college graduate most likely would place the
education segment at the beginning of the resume since the college or professional degree
is one of his or her primary selling points. A seasoned professional with more than twenty
years of experience probably would choose to emphasize his or her experience by placing
the education segment below that.
Depending upon the industry in which you seek a job and how much space is available in
your resume, you may or may not want to include specific segments on military
experience, licenses or certifications, and professional affiliations.
DRAFT YOUR FUNCTIONAL RESUME
Name
Street Address
City, State, Zip Code
Telephone Number
OBJECTIVE:
SUMMARY:
ACCOMPLISHMENTS: Start here with your strongest functional accomplishment:
Describe your second strongest functional accomplishments:
Describe your third strongest functional accomplishments:
EXPERIENCE: (List company name, your title, and dates of employment here. Start with most recent and
work back):
EDUCATION: Degree (graduate degrees first), Institution, Location, Year of Graduation
LETTERS
As mentioned earlier in this section, any letter you write is a reflection of you. It gives the
reader information about your style, your abilities, and your attention to detail. Remember,
you control the information that goes into your letter and you control how that letter
looks when it arrives on someone’s desk.
A letter is a very personal form of communication. As such, it can be an effective way to
detail some important elements about yourself that cannot be conveyed on an application
form or in a resume.
Let’s take a minute to think about various aspects of the letters you will be crafting over
the next few weeks and months:
THE COVER LETTER
I recommend that you develop a generic cover letter that you will use to introduce
your resume to individuals on the recruitment lists that I provide you. Craft that
letter in such a manner that, with minor changes, you can use it to respond to
specific job advertisements or to follow up on specific job leads. The letter can be
an effective vehicle to convey information about yourself that you would not be
able to convey in an application form or resume. Use the same kind of paper (and
envelopes) for the cover letter that you use for your resume. Sample cover letters
can be found on the pages that follow.
THANK YOU LETTER
It is common courtesy to follow up an interview with a thank you letter to the
interviewer. Use this method of communication to remind the interviewer of some
salient aspect of the interview and to acknowledge your appreciation for the time
he or she spent talking with you. A thank you letter may also provide you with the
opportunity to “make lemonade out of lemons” if something unforeseen happened
in an interview. As you read the sample thank you letters provided on the next few
pages, you will see what I mean. Again, use the same kind of paper for this letter as
you did for the resume and cover letter.
APPLICATION FORM
The application form is another opportunity for you to convey information about your
product on paper. While you have no control over the quality of the paper on which the
application form is printed, you are in control of the quality of your responses to the
questions asked. If you have the opportunity to complete the application form while at
home, return it with a cover letter and your resume. If you complete the application form
while at the hiring company’s office, provide your resume with the completed form.
In either case, print the requested information neatly using a pen with black or dark blue
ink. Print slowly so as to avoid mistakes and minimize cross-outs. Read the application
form carefully, paying attention to exactly what is asked and responding accordingly.
Make sure you understand what you are signing when you sign any release on the
application form. If possible, retain a copy of the completed application form. By doing so
you will be able to use it as a reference when you fill out other application forms and you
will also have a record of what you signed.
If you are asked to indicate your expected salary on an application form, I suggest that you
do not commit to a particular amount. Rather, indicate “negotiable,” thus keeping your
options open.
MARKETING YOURSELF IN PERSON
All the effort you put into writing a resume and writing cover letters leads to one objective:
An Interview. The interview is the most personal form of marketing. It brings you (the
product) and the interviewer (the buyer) together in one room for a meaningful discussion
about a potential job.
While I feel strongly that you must assess your strengths and weaknesses, and I am
convinced that you must market yourself well on paper, I am passionate about how you
market yourself in person. It is on this issue that I feel I set myself apart from many
career counselors, and it is in this area that my clients really benefit from my insights.
Many career counselors convince their clients to mold themselves to what the counselors
perceive are the requirements of the job. Clients are sent off to interviews stripped of their
personality, armed only with their resume and lots of information about the company.
Clients are warned not to let their personality leak through during the interview. They are
encouraged to stay focused on the job opportunity, the company, and the benefits they can
bring to the vacant job.
I have built a successful practice on a very different approach. My approach centers on the
idea that you market yourself best when you allow your personality to shine forth, whether
at interviews, while networking, or while employed in a job. It is when you allow this to
happen that rapport gets established between you and the person with whom you are
talking. As I mentioned earlier, you must allow yourself to come across to others in likable
manner. You must learn the art of developing a rapport with people.
Time and time again, I have observed that clients are hired – not because they had
phenomenal experience or because they had degrees from prestigious universities, but
because they established a rapport with the interviewer and were likable!
The remainder of this section will be devoted to helping you understand how to market
yourself while networking and interviewing.
NETWORKING
One important method for marketing yourself is through the activity of networking.
Networking occurs in all kinds of places and in all kinds of situations. It works best when
you don’t even know it is happening – when you sit with friends at a party and tell them
about the fact that you are looking for a new job and why you are looking (remember the
script you developed in Section I). Most likely, you would consider this a “conversation”
rather than a “networking opportunity.” In reality, it is both.
When you network, you simply tap into the “knowledge wealth” of others – friends,
colleagues, or business associates. In the ideal network exchange, you seek information
and ideas from others and you provide information and ideas to them.
Do not underestimate the size of your potential network. Consider your network from the
following perspectives and, using the spaces provided, begin to build your contact list:
Informal relationships: (Includes relatives, friends, neighbors, people you have met
socially, or members of clubs to which you belong, fellow
alumnae, members of your church or synagogue)
Formal relationships:
(Coworkers, community leaders, lawyers, doctors, hairdressers,
mechanics, bank managers, community leaders, political leaders)
Now that you have identified your network list, it is important to use it. During the normal
course of discussion with these people, use your script and tell your story. As people on
you contact list share ideas or contacts that may help you in your job search, follow up on
their ideas or with their suggested contacts.
Another approach to networking is to place yourself in situations in which you do not
know anyone – and then take advantage of the opportunity to meet people and tell your
story. An example of this type of approach would be to attend a conference or a training
session that is related to your field. Some clients are uncomfortable doing this while
involved in a job search; others have successfully used attendance at conference as a
method to expand their contact list.
Clients are encouraged to expand their horizons with respect to marketing themselves
using the networking approach. Some clients find it difficult to network beyond their
informal relationships. For others, it may be easy to network not only with people with
whom they have informal and formal relationships but also with people who are complete
strangers. Your particular level of comfort with respect to these possibilities is an
important factor. Again, bring your own personal style and personality to your networking
opportunities. Use these opportunities to project the self you like to others in a likable
manner.
PREPARING YOURSELF TO DEAL WITH LIABILITIES
Read over the section on liabilities that you completed in Section II and begin now to
decide how you will deal with those liabilities when you come face to face with an
interviewer. By knowing what your liabilities are, you are in a position to control how you
will deal with them. Remember the old adage: To be forewarned is to be forearmed!
To understand what I mean about how you can control your liabilities, let’s look at a few
examples of typical liabilities and how a person could handle questions about them during
an interview.
LIABILITY
INTERVIEWER’S
QUESTION
HOW YOU MIGHT RESPOND
No college degree
I see you did not
indicate that you have
a college degree. Do
you have one?
I went to college for three years but had to drop out of the
University of Maryland for financial reasons. Luckily, I
completed most of the basic liberal arts courses while there
and went on to work at jobs from which I was able to
learn.a great deal. While I would like to finish my degree,
.1 have never felt that by not having it I was unable to learn
or to challenge myself to produce high quality work on my
job.
Frequent job change
I notice that you have
had nine jobs over the
last three years.
I am honest but I also admit to being an eternal optimist. I
felt I needed to account for all my time on my application
form. Unfortunately, doing research about the economic
strength of companies is not one of my strong suits and
some of the jobs I took sounded wonderful during the
interview process. I like creative writing and the jobs
would have been perfect if five of three companies didn’t
go out of business within months after my arrival. I have
learned that I need to be more careful about my enthusiasm
for a job and to check on a company’s financial status
before committing my heart to a job.
Difficulty meeting
new people
Do you have anything
more to say before we
conclude this
interview?
I just want you to know how much I appreciated your
taking the time to talk with me. I find interview situations
to be very difficult because they involve my meeting
someone for the first time. It takes time for me to get to
feel at ease with people and then, once I do, I become a
real team player. I hope I didn’t make this interview too
awkward for you.
As you can see from these examples, the candidate faced up to his or her liability and then
turned the liability into a selling point. Once you have learned how to do this with your
liabilities, you will have learned an important lesson in the art of generating options for
yourself.
Now, take the liabilities that you identified in Section II and begin to develop your
personal plan to turn those liabilities into something positive about yourself:
LIABILITY
SKILL
KNOWLEDGE
ABILITY
JOB HISTORY
EXPERIENCE
STYLE
-
POSSIBLE QUESTION
POSSIBLE RESPONSES
Once you have developed a plan about how to deal with your liabilities, rethink your
script. The script you wrote back in Section I can be a useful starting point for the
development of a more detailed script that will form the basis of your responses during
interviews.
Develop your new, more detailed script here:
In using your script during an interview session, do not be afraid to ask questions of the
person with whom you are interviewing. When asked why you do not have a particular
skill, do not be afraid to ask why that skill is necessary. Once you know why it is
necessary to have the skill, you may be able to formulate a response that can put another
skill that you have in a good light.
Only by asking questions of the interviewers can you really learn about their particular
concerns or problems related to the job you’re seeking. Once you gain this information,
you can formulate your response in a way that reveals positive information about yourself.
INTERVIEWING
If you are not comfortable with yourself, there is little prospect that you’ll feel comfortable
in an interview. For this very reason, I work with clients to help them understand what
special characteristics they can bring to the workplace, and to value their own style and
personality.
Generally, an applicant invited in to an interview is a person who meets the minimum
qualifications for the job in terms of experience and education – all information provided
on the resume or application form. It is the interview, however, that allows the interviewer
to see beyond the information and assess the person. If the person has been stripped of his
or her personality, the interviewer is left with what he or she started: Just information. No
one makes a decision to hire based on information alone.
Use the interview process to convey those critical elements about you that cannot be
conveyed in a resume or application form. Convey those hard to quantify characteristics
about yourself that make you human – like your warmth, your passion, your interest, your
empathy, or your sense of humor. When you convey these characteristics, you are going a
long way toward developing rapport. Engage yourself in the interview process!
PREPARATION FOR THE INTERVIEW
LEARN ABOUT THE COMPANY
As part of your preparation for an interview, learn about the company. Information can be
obtained at a library, from the newspaper, from company literature, or from the Internet.
Get an understanding of the issues facing the company and think about how your skills
and abilities might fit into the company’s culture.
SELECT APPROPRIATE ATTIRE
Ensure that the clothing you plan to wear to the interview is clean, in good repair, and
presents you in a manner that is appropriate to the occasion and comfortable for you to
wear. Your choice of clothing is a function of your style and personality.
Again, do not sacrifice your personality to the interview process. Rather, consider the
interview process as an opportunity to convey who you are. One way to convey that
information is through your attire. From among your clothing choices, choose the more
conservative and take care to avoid clothing that may distract the interviewer.
DEVELOP YOUR AGENDA
Your primary agenda should be to develop rapport. You need to “connect” with the
interviewer and to do this, you need to develop rapport. Listen carefully to what the
interviewer is saying and asking, and use good judgment in the questions you ask. In fact,
the questions you ask should be outgrowths of the questions and comments made by the
interviewer. Your focus should be on the information conveyed during the interview.
Focus on how that information is conveyed and why it is conveyed.
Some job counselors suggest that you develop a list of questions to ask during a job
interview. They suggest questions like:
What are the primary responsibilities of the job?
Where will the job be performed?
Why are you looking to fill this job at this time?
What are the characteristics of the employees who have been successful in this job?
Do you see a merger or an acquisition on the horizon for this company?
What is the work environment like here?
Depending upon how well you establish rapport with the interviewer, questions like those
listed above might be totally inappropriate. You need to use your judgment about if, when,
arid how you ask the questions you need to get answered. Once you have received the job
offer, you will be in a great position to get any unanswered questions resolved.
UNDERSTAND INTERVIEW TYPES
Usually, candidates are told in advance what type of interview to expect. It is important,
however, to know the possibilities in order to avoid surprises.
INTERVIEW
TYPE
SCREENING
DESCRIPTION
IN THIS TYPE OF INTERVIEW, THE INTERVIEWER TRIES
TO DETERMINE IF YOU ARE A VIABLE ENOUGH
CANDIDATE TO WARRANT ADDITIONAL INTERVIEWS
WITH DECISION-MAKERS. THIS TYPE OF INTERVIEW
MAY BE CONDUCTED IN PERSON OR OVER THE
TELEPHONE.
ONE-ON-ONE
IN THIS TYPE OF INTERVIEW, YOU ARE INTERVIEWED
BY THE PERSON DOING THE HIRING FOR THE JOB.
GROUP
IN THIS TYPE OF INTERVIEW, YOU MAY MEET WITH A
COLLECTION OF PEOPLE ALL AT ONCE OR YOU MAY
MEET WITH A COLLECTION OF PEOPLE SEQUENTIALLY.
ALL MEMBERS OF THE GROUP TYPICALLY HAVE INPUT
IN VARYING DEGREES TO THE DECISION TO HIRE OR
NOT HIRE
SITUATION
IN THIS TYPE OF INTERVIEW, YOU ARE PLACED IN A
MANUFACTURED WORK ENVIRONMENT WHERE YOU
WILL BE ASKED TO PERFORM TASKS OR MAKE
DECISIONS THAT WILL GIVE THE EMPLOYER CLUES AS
TO YOUR ABILITY TO FUNCTION UNDER SIMILAR
SITUATIONS.
ASSESSMENT
CENTER
IN THIS TYPE OF INTERVIEW PROCESS, YOU ARE SENT
OFF TO A CENTER WHERE YOU ACCOMPLISH A SERIES
OF EXERCISES THAT ARE OBSERVED BY A TRAINED
LEADER, WHO THEN MAKES A REPORT REGARDING
YOUR SUITABILITY FOR A PARTICULAR JOB.
Some large organizations use all five types of interviews described. In addition, once you
get to the interview (no matter which type), you will note yet one more variation: the
interview may be highly structured – the interviewer(s) will have a prepared list of
questions; notes regarding your responses may or may not be taken – or the interview may
be quite unstructured with an approach that seems almost like a casual conversation.
THE INTERVIEW
As I have mentioned frequently in this section, bring the self you like to the interview and
present that self to the interviewer in a likable manner! Some of the more universally
accepted indicators of “a likable manner” include the following:
*
Be pleasant to everyone you meet at the company, including the
receptionists, the parking lot attendant – EVERYONE!
*
Speak clearly.
*
Listen carefully.
*
Establish rapport.
*
Offer appropriate information about yourself that is not found on your
resume or in the application form.
*
Ask questions that are appropriate to the conversation of the interview.
*
Respond to the questions directly, including in your response examples that
illustrate your skills and experience.
*
BE YOURSELF. DO NOT TRY TO BE SOMEONE ELSE!
AFTER THE INTERVIEW
I encourage my clients to take time after each interview to reflect on the process, to think
about their responses, and to consider what they may have learned about themselves that
might be of use during the next interview.
In addition, as noted in the “Marketing Yourself on Paper,” a thank-you note to the
interviewer not only is expected but also gives you one more opportunity to tell the
interviewer something about yourself.
APPENDIX A
FOCUSING ON THE FUTURE ONCE YOU’VE LOST YOUR JOB.
Take a moment to identify the emotions you have experienced since being notified of your
separation:
Take a moment to identify the emotions you have experienced since being notified of your
separation:
LOOK AT THE CONTEXT OF YOUR PARTICULAR SITUATION
While experiencing the personal emotional trauma associated with job loss, you’re
probably also dealing with a wide range of day-to-day issues related to your spouse,
children, elderly parents, civic responsibilities and financial burdens. Life does not
stop just because a job has stopped. Life does change, however, just because a job has
stopped.
Now, acknowledge the day-to-day issues around which you must work while you are
seeking new employment. (For example, your spouse might be ill, you might have major
credit card debt, etc.)
By acknowledging your feelings and identifying the day-to-day issues and changes that job
separation will cause in your life, you are taking a big step toward the development of a
plan to move forward in your job search.
Although I can offer ideas about how individuals in general cope with the emotional and
practical issues associated with job loss, the way you personally deal with this situation is
up to you. Only you can determine how to respond to this situation.
While you may have had no control over the decision to end your employment, YOU ARE
IN CONTROL OVER HOW YOU RESPOND TO THIS SITUATION. As you
develop you game plan, I encourage you to consider the following ideas which many of
my clients have found to be helpful:

Pay attention to your emotions and monitor how they may be preventing you
from moving on in your transition process.

Don’t isolate yourself. Talk to people with whom you are close and share your
feelings about the situation with them.

Design a job search schedule that is realistic for you to maintain.

Nourish you body. Eat healthful foods, exercise, and get enough rest.

Keep a perspective on your situation. Remember that many people currently
are going through what you are.

Read at least one biography.

Read a newspaper daily.

Read the most current book in your field.

Take time to do some of the activities that you like to do but have not had the
time to do because you were employed.

Consider keeping a diary of this experience, recording your thoughts and
concerns as well as the events associated with your job search.

RECOGNIZE THAT CHANGE BRINGS OPPORTUNITY.
APPENDIX B
Earlier, you listed five notable achievements in your working life, or if you’re new to the
job market, in your educational or volunteer life. On the next few pages, describe these
achievements in more detail, using the suggested approach.
ACHIEVEMENT 1.
Describe the context within which the achievement occurred. (For example: The organization
was opening a new office in Peoria, Illinois. None of our seasoned managers wanted to move from Denver to
Peoria but we needed seasoned people there to do the start-up.)
Describe what had to be done or what problem had to be solved. (For example: We had to
develop an attractive relocation, compensation, and benefit package that would entice seasoned managers to
even consider applying for the job in Peoria.)
Describe the specific tasks you personally accomplished to solve the problem. (For example:
I acquired lots of information about various managerial perks and benefit programs. I researched benefit and
salary surveys for both the Denver and Peoria areas. I also called the Chamber of Commerce and had them
send information about the Peoria area including information about schools, housing costs, and other quality
of life issues. Then, I created a relocation package that I felt would be attractive to seasoned managers,
presented the package to top management and got them to approve it.)
Describe the outcome or result of your effort. To the extent possible, try to express
outcomes in measurable or quantifiable terms. (For example: ten managers at the Denver office
applied for the six managerial jobs in Peoria. All six jobs were filled by seasoned managers from the Denver
office.)
Now, read over what you have written and abstract from it the key skills, abilities, special
knowledge, or personal characteristics that you brought to the situation. List them below:
ACHIEVEMENT 2:
The Context:
The Problem:
The Tasks:
The Outcome:
Now, read over what you have written and abstract from it the key skills, abilities, special
knowledge, or personal characteristics that you brought to the situation. List them below:
ACHIEVEMENT 3
The Problem:
The Tasks:
The Outcome:
Now, read over what you have written and abstract from it the key skills, abilities, special
knowledge, or personal characteristics that you brought to the situation. List them below:
ACHIEVEMENT 4:
The Problem:
The Tasks:
The Outcome:
Now, read over what you have written and abstract from it the key skills, abilities, special
knowledge, or personal characteristics that you brought to the situation. List them below:
ACHIEVEMENT 5:
The Problem:
The Tasks:
The Outcome:
Now, read over what you have written and abstract from it the key skills, abilities, special
knowledge, or personal characteristics that you brought to the situation. List them below:
ACHIEVEMENT SUMMARY
Now that you have identified your five most notable achievements and extracted from
them the skills, knowledge, abilities, and personal characteristics that contributed to them,
collect all of that information here on one page. You will use this page when you prepare
your resume and prepare yourself for interviews.
Skills
Achievement #1
Achievement #2
Achievement #3
Achievement #4
Achievement #5
Knowledge
Abilities
Characteristics