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Hey, Job Seeker-- Don't Be a Fool!

Part of the Career Collective series. Please see end of this post.

Are you the type of job seeker that cannot decipher effective advice from myths? Are you old school and reluctant to change with times and implement new job search tactics?

Don't fool yourself into thinking everything remains the same! As far as myths, let's clarify a few. Shall we?

You Can Write Your Own Resume -- No. You shouldn't! Unless you have a network of career professionals to advise you, access to unlimited resources in the career and resume writing industry, or you write resumes daily, tackling the different challenges in positioning a job seeker and overcoming weakness -- you cannot! You have invested in your education and career, why wouldn't you invest in the presentation of those earlier investments? Don't do yourself a disservice.

Cover Letters Get Tossed-- If you write a cover letter like an ordinary memorandum, then it surely might wind up in the shredder. However, a cover letter that makes a personal connection, ignites interest in order to guide the reader to the main event (the resume) will never be overlooked. When an employer is "on the fence" about you -- a persuasive cover letter will nudge that decision-maker into your backyard!

Thank You Letters Are Pointless-- Everyone likes to be thanked. What they don't like is reading long-winded letters drowned in empty gestures. Strategize and leverage the opportunity of the thank you letter to persuade and reinforce.

You Don't Need Your Brand Online --Eh! Wrong! Not only do you need an online presence but it has to be coordinated with all your other job search tools. If you are not online -- you are not up to speed or a "hot" candidate. Why would someone hire you over another person than can execute the job but who is also curious, proactive, technology, and social media savvy? Besides, they WILL Google You--control what your future employers will learn about you. Mold and control your brand.

More tips to help enlighten you, empower you, and protect you from becoming a "fool" during your Job search by the Career Collective members. Follow our hash tag on Twitter #careercollective 

The April, 2010, Career Collective Links

www.careersteering.com

10 Ways to Tell if Your Job Search is a Joke, @careerealism

April Fool’s Day – Who’s Fooling Who?, @MartinBuckland @EliteResumes

If It’s Not You and It’s Not True, You’re Fooling Yourself, @GayleHoward

Don’t Kid Yourself! (The Person You See in the Mirror is a Good Hire), @chandlee

Avoiding the Most Common Blunder, @jobhuntorg

Are you fooling yourself? Bored at work? Is it your own fault?, @keppie_careers

Hey, Job Seeker — Don’t Be a Fool!, @resumeservice

Job Search Is No Joking Matter,  @careersherpa

Is Your #Career in Recovery or Retreat? (All Joking Aside), @KCCareerCoach

9 Ways You Might Be Fooling Yourself About Your Job Search, @heatherhuhman

Don’t get tricked by these 3 job search blunders, @LaurieBerenson

Trying to hard to be nobody’s fool?,  @WorkWithIllness

It’s not all about you, @DawnBugni

Mirror ‘their’ needs, not ‘your’ wants in #jobsearch, @ValueIntoWords

Stop Fooling Yourself about your Job Hunt: Things you may be doing to sabotage yourself – @erinkennedycprw

Same as it ever was – @walterakana

Don’t be fooled. Avoid these – @kat_hansen

Job Seekers: You Are Fooling Yourself ..@barbarasafani

 

 

Win the Job by Servicing Your New Employer from the Moment You Interview

In a job market where it seems as if everyone needs a job and competition is insurmountable, you must differentiate yourself by adopting an outwardly tracked mind set. Instead of concerning yourself with how well you will perform during the job interview, ask yourself, “How can I service this person I am about to meet and the company they represent?”

As you nervously meet your interviewer, redirect your energy and focus. Transform that entire interview into an order-taking session by making it about the person across from you. Assess your interviewer's body language, listen attentively, identify their needs, and, yes… service them! Help them solve the problem of finding the ideal candidate.

When you redirect your focus onto the interviewer, you’ll learn they are concerned about finding the right candidate and making the right decision for their company—help them! Don’t look at this as an interview—this is a consultation in which you will ascertain the wants of your customer (interviewer/company) and excel at communicating how you meet those needs in order to solve their most pressing problems. Analyze their questions and then answer by accentuating the value and forecasting the solutions your employment offers them. In fact, ask them a few questions. Asking the interviewer questions demonstrates your desire to understand, connect with them, and to begin servicing your new employer!

Suggestions on questions you can pose:

What is (name company) looking for in the ideal candidate?

How it is that (name company) is in need of fulfilling this position?

How does (name company) see this position affecting the entire department?

What would employees say they most like about (name company)?

 

A simple redirect of your focus can turn your nervousness into attentiveness and win over your interviewer. Notice the questions suggested above do not address the interviewer by using the word “you.” By avoiding the use of “you,” the interviewer feels less interrogated or interviewed and will not misinterpret your intentions.

You will find that if you are more concerned and involved in helping the interviewer than on scrutinizing the answers you provide, great answers will quickly come and the value your answers convey will immediately position you as an employer-oriented candidate. In the process, you’ll worry less about your performance, which will allow you to make a genuine connection, outdistancing other candidates. You would have been servicing your new employer even before you are on payroll!

Best,

Rosa E. Vargas
Certified Resume Writer

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