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Stop interviewing and get hired! Here’s how.

Monday, June 11th, 2012 by Judi

cross your fingers Teleseminar Tuesday, June 12

Successful interviews aren’t built on hope.  Nor are they built on researching the company online. 

Mock interviews help some, but what if you’re asked a question not in the mock interview?  Then what? 

A successful interview is built on 2 secrets you haven’t heard about.  And those 2 secrets are why my clients typically get an offer immediately, or very soon after, they’ve learned them.

Kelly, in WA, had been on……50+ interviews?  About 2 weeks ago I helped her prep, and last week she got 2 offers.  Sunday we dicussed which to accept and how to turn the other down.   Two interviews, two buyer positions, two offers. 

This is what I did for 22 years.  Set up 15,000 +/-  interviews.  Make sure both company and candidate met each other’s needs so an offer was extended and accepted.  I had repeat clients and sometimes the first person I sent was the person hired.  And they stayed.  That’s why I had repeat client companies who used me exclusively. 

imagesCAXZ4DS2Now you can be just like Kelly.  But you have to attend – or at least register and get the recording – to learn how.  Tuesday, June 10, one full  hour plus Q & A.

If you want to stop worrying if this time,  maybe this time, you’ll get lucky… and want to be one of the select few that interview 1 – 3 times and then are hired, go here for more information and the link to reserve your spot on the call.
http://bit.ly/O3KgVN

questions?  email me at judi@findtheperfectjob.com

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Are you sabotaging your job search? part 1

Friday, May 18th, 2012 by Judi

are you sabotaging your job search?Frank Lloyd Wright, world-famous architect, said, “The thing always happens that you really believe in; and the belief in a thing makes it.”

In other words, we create our own reality by what we think.   For a huge number of people, this is a tough concept to accept, because it means acknowledging responsibility for their circumstances.   Too many people would rather play the victim, preferring to believe they have no control over the events in their lives – like what’s happening in their job search.  And that’s a fallacy.           

We’re all familiar with the Golden Rule, Karma (which is both bad and good), and the saying, “You reap what you sow.” These are simpler and more familiar versions of The Law of Attraction and ones we quote so often we’ve lost the impact of their full meaning.           

Thoughts, intents and verbalizations are energy, and energies tend to group together.  They attract each other. It’s the same concept as social clubs, country clubs, school cliques, and friendships.  Like types attract like types.             

Everything is energy, but let’s focus just on humans and the thought process.  Your thoughts project energy, your words create it, and your moods are suffused with it.           

Do you recognize yourself in any of these automatic statements?  “Pretty good for a Monday.” “It’s going all right…so far.”  “Why do I always lose things!”  “Watch me mess this up.”  “I’ll never find a parking place!”  “I managed to do it – for a change!”  “I hate finding a new job!”  “Interviewing is so difficult!”           

Negative statements of intent float around and find other negative energies, and they attach.  Eventually they come back to you, resulting in parts of your life always seeming to be a mess.  You lose your wallet.  You botch a job interview.  You drive around the parking lot increasingly frustrated.  You receive no invitations to interview.  Lots of interviews, but no offers.  You find yourself saying (frequently) “Why does this always happen to me?”           

So when it comes to thoughts and intent, instead of GIGO (garbage in, garbage out), it’s the reverse: GOGI.            

But you don’t have to accept what you’re getting back.  You have the power of choice and you can choose to change what you’re putting out there.  As Maya Angelou said, “If you don’t like something, change it.  If you can’t change it, change your attitude.”            

Recently I received an email from a Project Manager with 20 years of experience who’s working full time and finishing his Bachelor’s.  He has to find a new job.  He wondered if not having a degree would be held against him and would he get any interviews?   He won’t if he continues to focus on a perceived defect.            

On the other hand, he’s been successful with several companies, is finishing his degree and holding down a job while going to school.  That’s three positives instead of one negative.            

And while he’s at it, he should look for a company that measures results by experience instead of a piece of paper.  Change your viewpoint, change your thinking, change your plan.  Your belief in yourself changes, thus your reality changes.  The domino effect.  Suddenly you’re interviewing with companies who believe success is determined by experience, not a degree, and they’re interested in learning more about you.           

The energy of intent gives you the ability to create your perfect job. Because then your subconscious looks for ways to create what you know is there.   You generate ideas with optimism that before wouldn’t have made it to the surface – or if they had, they’d have been dismissed. You think, “Why not?” instead of “That will never work.”           

And you look for ways to make your perfect job happen.  You do your homework so you know what it is and what it looks like.  You search is pro-active with a laser-like focus.  You know that you’ll find it, because you won’t accept anything less. 

Next time:  how you can learn to change the way you think.

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how do you define “employment?”

Wednesday, April 25th, 2012 by Judi

life force energyFrom Abraham & Hicks:
Is employment an opportunity or bondage?  Because what you really want is freedom, many of you equate working for other people as bondage.  But if you would realize that the corporation, as an entity, is not so different from the individual, it might be easier to understand the employer’s decisions.

Long before the building or the workers, the visionary of the corporation had an idea for something that began summoning Energy.  So years later may you are hired as part of that team and, without realizing it, you are now the beneficiary of that continuing flowing Energy.

When you step into one of those employment positions, Life Force is summoned through you because of the vision of the founder – unless you’re bucking the current.  Most get into that fast moving stream and paddle against the current – and then complain about it being a hard ride – where they could get into their canoe and easily paddle with the fast moving current. 

You can soar and thrive in any environment as long as you are not seeing things that you are using as your reason to paddle against the current.  And so it doesn’t really matter what others are deciding. 

The question is: “As I am choosing to stand here, it’s a way for dollars to f low through me in exchange for the effort I am offering.  Am I predominatley letting the energy flow through me or not?  Am I letting it in?”

What does this mean to you?

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Is it important to learn different interview styles? part 2

Thursday, March 15th, 2012 by Judi

imagesCAX56528In part 1 I shared why learning the different interviewing styles is a waste of time.  Better to make sure you’ve thoroughly done your interview preparation.   Recognizing a particular style won’t alter how you feel about the interaction between yourself and the interviewer.  In fact, because you’re focusing on the style, it may cause you to rationalize personality traits you should pay attention to.      

For instance, you run into an interviewer who uses a behavioral style and throws a little “stress technique” in there.  He wants to make you sweat. You feel as if you’re under a bright light – he’s grilling you, and you might as well have been fingerprinted. There’s no need to get all worked up (besides, he wants you to).  If that’s his interview style, what do you think it will be like reporting to him?

 The answer to that should calm you down. You won’t care what he thinks, because you probably won’t want to return. Good money? Eventually you’ll hate your boss, then you’ll hate your job, then your life will be hell, because the salary won’t be worth it.  Short drive? Eventually you’ll hate your boss, then you’ll hate your job then your life will be hell, because the drive will still be too long – you won’t want to go where you’re driving. Great advancement promised? After how long? How many people have quit because their boss was a jerk?

If you want to work for a control freak or someone who needs to appear tough and all-knowing, you’ve found the place. If he’s rapid firing questions at you, hoping to trip you up, let him feel important.  Finish the interview and cross the company off your list.

If your first interview is with human resources, sometimes they’re crisply detailed, lofty, and attempt to intimidate you.   Don’t let it throw you. If you know yourself, what you’re looking for, and have done your research on the company, you’re less likely to get flustered.

Others are adept at giving you enough rope to hang yourself, but don’t be lulled into a warm, cozy camaraderie. Watch their visual cues – which can be subtle. Follow your instinct, but follow their lead. They’re screeners, but in that sense, they’re also decision makers.

There are different interview styles, just as there are different types of people. The hiring authority’s interviewing style is usually reflective of his personality.  Stay aware of what’s happening at the moment, what you’re saying, what you’re learning, and how you’re feeling about what’s taking place.

The more you’ve done your homework in accordance with what I’ve suggested, the more relaxed you’ll feel.  The more relaxed you feel, the more confident and in control of your answers you’ll be, and the less likely you’ll be to get flustered by trying to conform to a specific style.

Put effort into making sure you know what your skills are, what gets you excited about going to work, and under what type of management style you flourish.  Know your accomplishments and how they relate to what the company is looking for. Be aware of what motivates you and what turns you off.  Spend time learning about the company with whom you’ll be interviewing instead of trying to prepare for an interview style you can’t possibly anticipate. 

Finding your perfect job is about you being real about who you are, not trying to respond in a favorable manner to some style in hopes that this will endear you to them and give you a better shot at the job.

Because when you’re real about who you are and know what you’re looking for, it doesn’t matter what style you encounter. You’ll be comfortable with any style you meet. And when they want you to come back for another interview, you can decide if you want to….or not.

Like this article?  Share it with your job search networks through the icons on top of my blog!

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is it important to learn different interview styles? part 1

Wednesday, March 7th, 2012 by Judi

imagesCAX56528There are those who emphatically advise job seekers to study and learn the interview styles:  The Directive Interview, The Behavioral Interview, The Stress Interview, The Qualifying Interview, The This Interview, The That Interview.   Their articles outline different styles, list typical questions for each and tell you how to prepare for them, as well as suggesting appropriate answers.

 That’s all well and good, but there’s an obvious question that begs to be asked: how do you know which style you’ll encounter? When you phone to schedule the interview, do you ask, “Oh, by the way Mr. Interviewer, what interview style do you use? I’d like to study that one and ignore all the others.”?

Do you study all of the styles? Memorize every question that applies to each style and all the recommended answers to prepare for each one? And when the interview begins, you say to yourself, “Aha! It’s The Abstract Theoretical Look Sideways Style!” and then you know exactly what to say and do. 

Unless of course you missed a style or happen to confuse them, which throws you off and causes you to bomb the interview.

Worrying about interviewing styles is ridiculous. Not only is it too much information to memorize, but it’s also a waste of time. An interview is nerve-wracking as it is without worrying about which style you’re going to encounter.

The interview is about the company and how your presence will benefit them.  The preparation (with the exception of your company research) is about knowing who you are and what you’re looking for.  It’s not about the company or anticipating the hiring authority’s interviewing style.

Interview preparation is an absolute, non-negotiable, unequivocal must, but preparing by learning different styles is not. That’s why your interview preparation needs to be focused on learning about yourself, listing questions to ask, and forming your answers to fundamental interview questions.

You prepare by focusing on yourself because you are seeking your perfect job. You want to have the power to decide if you want to return for another interview instead of giving that power away. You want to be in control of your future.

An interview is a sales process. The product is, essentially, you. And you need to be real about who you are, and be prepared enough to interview well.  Do that properly and the style you encounter is irrelevant.

Interviewing is 85% prep and 15% common sense. Sometimes it does involve a bit of mirroring, but again, some of that is common sense.   Do it without losing your individuality. For instance, if the interviewer is chatty, longer answers are okay. If the interviewer is crisp and serious, keep your answers focused and on the topic.

For instance, one interviewer might leave you thinking “What’s up with this guy?” He seems rather at a loss as to what to ask you. His questions are open ended and don’t seem to have any firm direction or point. Just use common sense. You’ve done your interview prep work – jump in and sell yourself. That doesn’t mean talk non-stop, but you don’t have to sit there and be uncomfortably silent for long periods of time either.

Ease the awkwardness. Help him out. Lots of holes? Gracefully and professionally answer some of the questions you were prepared to answer, even though he hasn’t asked them. He may not know how to interview very well.

No one – except maybe a human resources person – should have a lot of experience interviewing. If they do – they either can’t keep a job….or they can’t keep employees, so he may be an incompetent interviewer, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll be an incompetent boss.  On the other hand, other styles can be a definite warning sign.

Part 2 next week:  A few examples, as well as why styles are irrelevant and what’s much more important to prepare for.

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how honest should you be in an interview?

Thursday, February 16th, 2012 by Judi

honesty3How honest should you be when you’re interviewing?  Unequivocally one hundred percent honest.   But don’t confuse honesty with showing all your cards or not utilizing the power of presentation.  Nor does honesty mean volunteering your dark secrets – perceived or otherwise – from the moment you walk through the hiring company’s door.

For far too many jop search candidates, honestly is one extreme or the other.  Either the job seeker throws everything out there too early and unnecessarily or hides it because he’s defensive about whatever it is he doesn’t want to be honest about.  Either way, it only causes trouble.  Finding your perfect job does not mean giving all your power to the interviewing company. 

This isn’t a process where you everything you say and do screams “Hire me, hire me, hire me!”  When you confess to your interviewer, or conversely, hide as much as you can, that’s what you’re thinking and that’s the message you’re conveying.    Consequently, the interview never goes as smoothly as it otherwise might.

 If there’s something in your employment history that’s caused you problems in the past, there’s no reason to blurt it out.  You’ll get no recognition or appreciation for that.  In fact, the only thing you’ll get in return is…..dropped from consideration.  Instead, examine the circumstances under which those problems took place and ask questions to make sure those conditions aren’t present in the job for which you’re interviewing. If they are, gracefully decline to continue the process.

Being fired, returning to the corporate world after self employment, and being unemployed for several months are just three instances that put candidates unnecessarily on the defensive.   Flip it.  Find the positive.  What did you learn from being fired?  What are your positive characteristics aside from what happened to cause the termination?  And by the way, are you absolutely sure the termination was your fault?    If it wasn’t, don’t say that outright!  The phrasing of your presentation can convey the same meaning.

Recently a client asked me to critique his resume and cover letter.  They’d just been done by a professional resume-writing firm, and he wasn’t comfortable with the result.  He lives in one state and is planning on moving to another.  They advised him to omit the locations of his previous jobs saying “the job is about you, not the location.”

They also advised him to get both a P.O. box and a phone number in his targeted city, then to enlist forwarding services.  My question was, what happens when a prospective employer wants him to come in for an interview tomorrow…..because they think he lives only a few miles away?  There’s a very easy way not to have the distance work against you so that you can search within an honest framework, but that’s another column.

Then, as if those two instances of duplicity weren’t enough, they tucked his self-employment time under a previous job. 

Why walk into an interview crossing your fingers that they don’t find something out?  How relaxed can you possibly be under those circumstances?  And if they hire you and then discover the truth, you’re tainted, and everything else you do or say from that point on is suspect. 

There’s one hard and fast rule that overrides any instance where you haven’t had to – or felt a reason to – provide what could be considered extraneous information.  When you are asked a direct question, one usually designed to clarify, answer it directly, honestly and with a smile.  Don’t lose your composure or get defensive.  Handle it gracefully.  Most situations aren’t the big deal so many candidates perceive them to be.

Keep the power within yourself.  To find your perfect job, you need to know what you’re looking for.  Your questions are designed to elicit that information, while your answers are designed to sell yourself, even as you’re processing what you’re learning.  Remember, you have the power to make a choice too.

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yes, it’s possible to love your job

Thursday, February 2nd, 2012 by Judi

imagesCAWWYIVPKnow someone who loves their job?  What do they look like when they talk about it?  If you work with them, what are they like as they walk around doing their job?  What about someone who’s marking time and would rather be elsewhere?  Have you ever loved one job and hated another?  What was the difference in the way you felt?

Everyone of us has had a teacher that inspired us because that person was dedicated to their subject and devoted to passing on knowledge to students.  Then there are the teachers who make a great argument for why tenure should be revoked.  In college, I received an A for my most difficult class out of  all 4 years. 

I didn’t intend to publicize this, but last week I was in the hospital for surgery and stayed over night.  The care of the RNs, and everyone else I encountered blew me away so significantly, I wrote a letter to the SVP Patient Care Services, copied the Director of Marketing, liked their Facebook page, and posted a blurb on it.

Danbury Hospital, in Danbury, CT, is a 400-bed teaching hospital.  Don’t tell me that automatically makes it a good facility – I was a recruiter for mid- and upper-level management in hospitals for 5 years.  My second job out of college was the admin in the Business Office/Finance department of a 150-bed private hospital in Dallas, TX, that was right across from Baylor Hospital (huge hospital – huge).  It might not count quite as much, but I was both a candy striper and an adult volunteer, and have been a patient more than once. 

I have never seen such a group of people who loved and excelled at what they do.  And this reflects back on Danbury Hospital, their philosophy, and their attention to their employees.   I know.  I asked the RNs and had it confirmed.  They all loved working there.  I knew that too.  I could see it.  How many times did you think you were joining a great company and then….pffffft, big let down?  There’s a huge fundamental problem with how job seekers go about their search – (see part 2 next week for that)

While I was in the OR holding room, everyone connected with my case introduced themselves; checked my name, DOB, and procedure to their chart and my wristband; smiled; passed on info; and asked me a bit about me.  And still the place was jamming.  7 am in the morning and it was vibrating with positive energy, smiles, laughter, and activity.

I woke up in the recovery room – same thing.  Ally – she looks like Courtney Cox – never missed a beat in checking on my pain level.  Smile, a few questions, reassurance…and off to another patient.

From the time I arrived to the time I left, I never once was concerned that I’d have to call someone when my IV needed to be replaced or remind someone to handle all those other lovely things that come with being in the hospital.  Each departing RN gave me the name of her replacement.  The replacement always stuck her head in and introduced herself, since I was a new patient to her.

I was right by the nurses station, so (between naps) I liked to watch the activity.  Very impressive.  Easy camaraderie.  Efficiency.  Efficiency of movement.   Relaxed energy.  No heavy sighs, no exasperated looks when the call button went off, no quiet disparaging comments about some annoying patient.

Even when a doctor called up to the floor, the RN who answered the phone relayed the call to another RN across the station.  “No,” she said calmly and with a smile on her face.  “He calls up here all the time expecting us to drop everything.  I’ve got patients to take care of.  He needs to come up here and see his patients himself.”

These were people who say, “I love my job,” and know how to be happy at work.  Sure, sure, you say.  You have to love nursing or why be a nurse?  That’s why I shared my hospital experience because I’m telling you, that ain’t true no way, no how.  Passion, pride, gratefullness for their career and their employer – it was all there.  This, in turn, made me glad to be there, and allowed me to fully relax because I trusted them 100%. 

So what about you?  Do you feel like that?  Have you ever felt like that and then lost that lovin’  feeling?  If you’ve been unemployed a long time, passed over for job offers, getting desperate, you may not find it next job either.   There is such a thing as your perfect job, your dream job.  If you want to find it, come talk to me.

Part 2:  that huge fundamental problem job seekers have that equates to shooting yourself in the foot

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11 ways to sabotage your job search

Wednesday, January 4th, 2012 by Judi

sabotageIf your job search isn’t yielding the results you’d like, chances are you’re sabotaging your own efforts.  Over the course of 22 years as a recruiter and 3 years as a coach, I have repeatedly seen people get in their own way and not realize it.  Here are 11 ways in which you might be compromising yourself. 

  1. Not knowing what you want – Are you answering any and all ads that address your function, with little thought to title, the job description, your background, the size of the company, and how they interrelate?   Are you saying “I can learn it,” or “Piece of cake; I can do that in my sleep,” and applying little to no discernment?  Take an hour and plot, based on your entire career, what size company you prefer, how much creativity you need, if you get bored easily and need the stimulus of fixing or growing something, and what kind of environment you excel in.  Then focus on the job descriptions that meet that and ignore the rest of them.
  2. Being too picky – Some people time researching companies, trying to ascertain if they’d want to work there or not.  Often they’re looking for ways to screen it out so they don’t have deal with possible rejection.  Either way, you can’t possibly gauge the answer to that until you interview and find out about the job and the company, first hand, on a face-to-face basis.
  3. Carelessness – in your spelling and grammar.  Carelessness, coupled with poor English skills, seems to be increasing at an alarming rate.
  4. Failing to communicate your uniqueness through the results of your actions – 99.9% of all resumes list job descriptions for the bullets.  Job descriptions don’t differentiate your resume from everyone else’s.  If there are ten people with the same job title, and the same job description, there will be ten different results.  Make sure you communicate yours, because that’s what shows a hiring company what you can do.
  5. Using a generic cover letter – All companies are not created equally.  That’s because they’re run by people and people differ, which means each company, and each job, are going to be slightly different, even if the titles are the same.   Ads tell you what the company wants, and they want to know how your experience fits with their needs. Sending a generic cover letter is the same as telling a car dealer you want a sun roof, and he talks about how great the radio is.
  6. Having too much fun with Facebook – Every time you make a post or add a picture, ask yourself, “Is there anyone I wouldn’t want to see this?”  Don’t rely on your Facebook privacy settings.  Contrary to what some might think, this tip isn’t only for those in their 20s and 30s.
  7. Not following directions – “No calls please” means don’t call.  “Please provide salary requirements in your cover letter” means – to me – at least address the question rather than ignore it (there are ways around giving them numbers).  “Only online applications will be considered.” Yes, snail mail is better.  Unless they say don’t do it.
  8. Not writing a thank you letter – Incredible that so many don’t do this.  It’s extremely bad etiquette.  No excuses. 
  9. Not researching the company – Yes, people wing it.  What were you thinking when you assumed you could fake your way through it?  You can’t.  Next time don’t bother to show up, because you wasted everyone’s time, including yours.
  10. Lack of enthusiasm – if you aren’t excited to learn more about the job, why are you there?  Some job seekers think that smiling, showing interest, and exhibiting vitality is unprofessional.  No, it just looks like you don’t care if you get the job or not.
  11. Having a lousy resume – What’s a lousy resume? Any or a combination of the following:  teeny font, bad  layout, difficulty determining one job from another, too many sections for each job, having a section called “selected accomplishments,” having an objective, having no summary/profile at the top, and most of all – which almost every resume has even if the rest of the problems aren’t present: having boring bullets that don’t communicate your uniqueness.  

Finding a job is a skill.  If you’re not satisfied with how your search is going, you can change that.

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will protection help?……….or not?

Monday, October 10th, 2011 by Judi

446604344_UnemployedNeedNotApplyIllegal_xlargeIt was about two years ago when I began learning from  emailers and clients and job seekers in general that unemployed job seekers were being discriminated against.  It’s great to see an issue getting national exposure that we in the career niche have known about for awhile.

Obama’s proposed bill prevents companies with 15 people or more from not hiring someone who is unemployed.  Cheers, right?  Advocates of job seekers have applauded the proposed measure.  But others say it fosters discrimination in favor of the unemployed and may well result in unnecessary litigation. 

According to Wikipedia:  “Unemployment (or joblessness), as defined by the International Labour Organization, ocurrs when people are without jobs and they have actively looked for work within the past four weeks.”  Not hiring the unemployed goes back further than you might expect.

Wikipedia also says that in the 1576 Act each town was required to provide work for the unemployed. The Elizabethan Poor Law of 1601, one of the world’s first government-sponsored welfare programs, made a clear distinction between those who were unable to work and those able-bodied people who refused employment.

I googled various phrases to see what’s happened in the past, but didn’t find much.  In 2006, Gary Aguirre was hired by the SEC, but sued them for not hiring him when he earlier applied for the job.  In 2010, a job applicant asked on a Colorado website if he could sue a company for not hiring him when they required a degree, hired someone who didn’t have one, and he didn’t have one either.  In 2004 a male wanted to sue Hooters for not hiring him as a waiter.

In a 2007 blogpost, one executive advises HR people on how to “delicately” handle the subject of why someone wasn’t hired by issuing any number of vague phrases – none of which are new to so many of todays job seekers.   I can’t count the number of times job seekers have asked me what to do when they have the qualifications, are ignored, and see the job ad remain or even be reposted on a job board.

Personally, I can argue both sides of this.  In deference to the job seekers, I’ve written several articles about the stupidity of companies not hiring the unemployed (here’s the most recent: 
http://findtheperfectjob.com/archives/264.html   In deference to employers, I know from having been a recruiter and now from working with my clients there are an awful lot of job seekers who think they are qualified….and aren’t. 

Companies who don’t hire the unemployed are discounting a valuable resource.  After all, it’s not as if it’s a candidates’ market and thus those who are unemployed are, generally, not the cream of the crop.  These days, there are a lot of very good people who were  let go individually or as a group for reasons having nothing to do with their performance. 

On the flip side, there are going to be job seekers who have a history of not accepting responsibility for their actions and aren’t going to change that if this law goes into effect.  In a world where people sue for spilling hot coffee on their lap, for getting cancer from cigarettes and equally absurd reasons that spend taxpayer dollars and tie up the courts, this attempt at fairness will most definitely have its boundaries tested.

It may well be that a few cases have to be litigated in order to set some sort of a precedent, with or without EEOC guidelines.  This issue isn’t really anything new – it just has a different shape to it. So, whether it’s enacted or not is a moot point, really.  Only in an ideal world will companies consider candidates based solely on their capabilities and credentials, and will job seekers take responsiblity for their decisions and actions and not look for the easy way out.

I’m just wondering………so you sue a company for not being hired and then…..you get lots of money for not being hired which underlines your lack of interest in conducting  a  productive job search in the first place (and shows what type of person you really are) or you get to work there after all.  You lose either way , no?  

Or you can look at it this way – if they don’t want to hire you because you’re unemployed, it’s not likely to be a place you want to work anyway.  Then you’re at a meet up group and run into the hiring manager who put you in the “no” stack because you were unemployed, you can quietly hope he’s learned something from his earlier decision.

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courtesy isn’t optional

Monday, August 1st, 2011 by Judi

bill of rightsOld enough to remember Laugh-In?  “We don’t have to; we’re the phone company.”  Lily Tomlin’s line that reminds you of the pleasures of doing business with a monopoly.  This hasn’t changed much (I have a land line for telesminars) but other things have.  A lot.

I read somewhere today that thank you notes for gifts are old-fashioned and texting or simply saying, “thank you” is sufficient.  I don’t agree.  I may be old enough to remember Laugh In but good manners never go out of style. 

Especially when it comes to the job search.

Before I lambast the companies, a word to the job seekers.  See above paragraph about thank you notes.  They aren’t optional after an interview.  Unless of course you don’t want the job.

Companies – when did arrogance come into the picture?  Back in the days of typewriters companies actually typed responses to job seekers.  There was a lot more effort involved in those.  The 60s, 70s, 80s and on have been good years for job seekers and the companies were the underdog.  Maybe that’s why they did it then and not now. 

(Job seekers – see earlier paragraph on thank you notes)

But even though it’s an employers market, technology facilitates responses and the sheer volume of received resumes is no excuse for not responding, forcing people to figure it out or  putting some inane statement to the effect of “If you don’t hear from us you weren’t chosen” in the ad.

I’ve long said “small things telling” meaning not only do actions speak louder than words, but seemingly inconsequential things are often indicators of bigger positions.  A company that doesn’t bother to let candidates know the status of things is likely to be inconsiderate in larger matters as well.  Like you as an employee perhaps. 

One of the people in my network tweeted a link to an excellent article about the need for a candidate bill of rights.  If you’re a candidate, read it becuase you’ll appreciate the validation.  If you’re a company, read it because you should be mindful of this.  http://fb.me/UrRLSAiq

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Posted in behavior/psychology, heinous, interviewing | 1 Comment »

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