Every week, NETSHARE hosts Ask the Coach, a phone-in coaching session with leading career management experts. Here is an excerpt from a recent session with career coach Don Orlando .
This week, career coach Don Orlando was fielding questions from callers and online. He had some interesting insights into job search strategy and tactics, and we wanted to share his advice.
Question: Can you be too aggressive in an interview? Does it come across as being too desperate?
Answer: The better question is can you be inadvertently too aggressive? It’s easy to use the style that’s working for you in your current job—and that may not match the job you’re seeking. Remember to bear with the usually untrained interviewer who might be intimidated. Be sensitive to different cultures (especially overseas jobs where there are cultural differences).
Question: I am seeking a role from consulting back to the industry, but my current experience is varied across many industries. How can I improve my personal brand so that I may be considered for M&A roles in niche industries?
Answer: This is a multistep process. First, decide which industries best match your experience and needs. This chart shows the fastest growing industries and is a good place to start.
Next, use various constraints to help you focus your efforts. Assess recent, well-documented, successful experience with solid references. Determine what is unique to a specific industry and what is applicable to any industry. Consider how current your knowledge is for a specific industry and if you can get the references you need to get a job. Also take into account geographic considerations, and if you are looking abroad, political considerations.
Question: Do you have a recommended tactical plan that I can execute over the next 12 months to find my ideal job?
Answer: First, match your campaign to a specific executive role - CEO, COO, CFO, etc. Remember that every campaign is looking to match a specific capability, so multiple functions require multiple campaigns. Next, benchmark your digital footprint, and then make an effort to increase your visibility by function and industry. Look at the results in the last month, and that you have a clean, uncluttered online brand (so you are not mistaken for someone else) that represents your brand.
Next, develop your concentrated brand. Create a powerful and (if possible) unique brand promise that offers value. Be sure to avoid adjectives and responsibilities and credentials. Instead, focus on results. Remember that developing your personal brand takes time.
Then you can capture your brand in job search documents that meet your next boss’s needs as well as your own. Create roles for your resume. Offer clear and compelling proof that you can make the company money by delivering on your brand promise. Also create a template for successful interviews. And create a strategy for negotiation for compensation. Create roles for your cover letter that transmit your industry knowledge in the first line. And use your brand to build your online presence with a LinkedIn profile, by joining professional organizations, participating in special LinkedIn Groups, writing articles, and sharing your expertise.
You should be dividing your time, using about 20 percent of your efforts to respond to job postings and 80 percent of your time networking.
