Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Job Seekers Have to Practice Their Pitch

There are a many things that job seekers can do to find a new job. The most important part of that job seeking process is the actual job interview. Recently, I wrote about showing enthusiasm on the interview and how that can help you stand out amongst other job applicants. I am also one who believes in the old cliché, “practice makes perfect”. Common sense as well as my years of recruiting experience have repeatedly shown that if a job seeker is going to land a new job , they better prepare for the interview process.

Think of it this way. A sales executive may only really have 30 seconds to make a pitch to a customer. It is in the first 30 seconds, in many cases, that a this customer will make a decision. Likewise for hiring managers. They too will often “size up” a job candidate in the first 30 seconds of the job interview.

The sales person who has repeatedly practiced their pitch, and focuses on the positive delivery of their message (pitch) will in most cases do better. A good sales person realizes that they have to play a numbers game and deal with a tremendous amount of rejection. Sound like job searching? What gets me is that this “pitch” is the most important part of this process (and likewise the job seeking process) and yet it is being practiced DURING the game.

Now I know most of my readers aren’t in sales and can’t picture themselves selling anything let alone making a phone call to sell themselves, but you need to strongly consider this somewhat simple advice. Especially with the condition of our economy right now.

Job seekers need to understand how to sell themselves. Job seekers - did you grit your teeth on that one or roll your eyes? I know how you feel, but the fact is I still continue to hear strong feedback from our clients (hiring managers) about how job applicants can stand out . The job applicant’s balanced confidence, enthusiasm and fluidness of their pitch delivery during an interview seems to continue to be a strong motivating and decision making factor for hiring managers.

According to the latest statistics, only about 2-5% of all resumes posted via the Internet even get a click let alone an interview. How many people today spend too much time on career sites posting their resume and searching for jobs? How many job candidates spend far too little time practicing and rehearsing their interview? Read through my previous blog postings to better understand why this may not be the best time being spent for job seekers.

For over 18 years now I have trained sales people to be sales people. I have seen more people terrified of role playing than you can imagine. Grown adults terrified to role play. The trouble is that they don’t believe they need to practice and prepare, or they are too embarrassed to practice OUT LOUD. Again, it is this practicing, and doing so out loud in fact, that can be a deciding factor for you in your job interview!

Like they say, you only get one chance to make a good first impression. I have said for years that a resume may get you in the door but what matters more will be the connection or lack of connection a job applicant makes with the individual conducting the interview. I cannot stress that reality enough.

Plain and simple, hiring managers, in many cases, hire people they like and people who appear to be a good fit within an organization. Though qualifications are essential, they typically don’t come first on the list during the interview process. I’m not stating that qualifications aren’t important. Remember these qualifications and/or a recruiter with a relationship with a hiring manger can be what gets you in the door. Once you get in the door though, you have to sell yourself.

To sell yourself the best you can, you need to practice and prepare. When it comes to your big game (interview) understand one thing, your resume will NOT be the problem if you do not get the job. Again, it helped get you in the door! If you were fortunate enough to get the interview and not the job, then there is a good probability it was due to your pitch. Practice!

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Get Your Resume Noticed

Now almost more than ever, with the Internet as it's backbone, resumes are flowing in tsunami fashion across hiring manager's and recruiter's desks. What can you do to get yours noticed? That is the $64,000 question. Be smart is my short answer.

If you look at some of the results out there in terms of resume uploads from places like theladders.com, dice.com, monster.com and careerbuilder.com, there are collectively well over one million resumes uploaded in the last month alone. Talk about being a needle in a haystack.

I am currently reviewing several what I consider to be new trends in getting your resume noticed in 2009 and should have results posted by the end of Q1, but in the meantime, I am curious as to what the public may have to say on this topic.

In the meantime, let me try to elaborate a bit on my short answer of - be smart. First make sure your resume is up to date and in a professional format. Make sure your education and experience is easy to spot and review. Make sure that you are are applying for something that you are qualified for, educated in and even experienced with.

I would also strongly recommend getting references beforehand. Anything you can do to better prepare is a benefit. Having references on hand that show you as a quality candidate could help nudge you higher to the top of the mountain of resumes on that hiring manager's or recruiter's desk.

I am a big fan of using a recruiter and using one that specializes in your industry and your geographical area. The reality is that good, established recruiters have inroads to hiring managers through relationships that have been created for years.

On the digital front, I am also a big fan of LinkedIn.com and FaceBook.com. Though there are many other high profile social networks out there, these are the two that I consider to be the best.

Should you just blast your resume out to Monster.com or CareerBuilder.com and the like. My answer to this as well, is still no. In fact, it is no way! What is new about that process? Sure, Monster and CareerBuilder continue to tout how they can help you stand out but the reality is that your resume ends up being too public in my opinion. Your resume should be kept private and confidential. Read through previous postings on my blog to better understand why.

Best of luck and of course, I encourage your comments on this topic.

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Be Enthusiastic On Your Interview

Of course it helps. Who wants to hire someone that shows up to an interview with a monotone, melancholy aura to themselves? Of course, too much enthusiasm may not be beneficial either, but I am just generalizing about enthusiasm.

Promoting yourself is essentially selling yourself to a company. It's all about the sales and marketing. Sometimes, you can have a great candidate with perfect experience and abilities that sends off a resume with spelling errors, misaligned areas, important information missing, and it gets tossed or overlooked. Again the marketing and promotional variables are important. Unfortunately you have to sell yourself.

Here are two examples that I use in good fun to illustrate how you can bore someone to sleep or command listening and excitement on selling.

Example 1




Example 2



Believe me enthusiasm helps. Certainly keep it at a controlled level but be excited about the opportunity at hand.

Thursday, January 8, 2009

Wrong Perception

Here we are, the beginning of 2009. After spending the past month moving into a new house I then went into Holiday mode. We traveled up north to see friends and relatives, and with every stop there was a common question that was asked of me. “How is your business doing in this economy?” My answer was that 2008 was great in fact we were up significantly over the year prior. Then the follow up question was always “Well are companies still going to pay a fee for job candidates in 2009 with unemployment going up?” My answer was more now than ever! Why do I say that?

Companies pay a recruiter a fee for one reason, and that reason is to find the best talent available! With unemployment on the rise that means there will be more work to sift through all of those candidates to find top talent. Companies want a job candidate that has all the extra accolades. For example, a company seeking an accountant may now want you to have your CPA and MBA. They can be more choosy with who they select in this market. However those candidates need to be found in the overgrown and saturated online pool of talent.

That continues to be why a search firm like JTL Services will continue to be paid for services. For over 10 years we have a proven track record in finding top talent in any market condition. We employ the best recruiters and utilize the best technology in our efforts of connecting talent with hiring managers.

In a market with higher unemployment, a job candidate needs to have an edge. Once, again, that is why job seekers should work with a professional recruiter who specializes in their vertical and their market area.



Jeff LeFevre
Managing Partner
JTL Services, Inc.