The Executive Update

Ask the Coach: Getting Recruiter Attention

Every week, NETSHARE hosts Ask the Coach, a phone-in coaching session with leading career management experts. Here is an excerpt from this week’s session with career transition coach and career management consultant Randy Block.

We had a number of queries in this week’s coach call from executives looking for a new position and in transition. The common theme seemed to be how best to deal with recruiters.

One employed executive asked about the most productive way to reach retained recruiters. Randy’s response was to address your correspondence only to those recruiters who conduct searches in your target market or discipline. Also be sure to narrow your search by geography and other factors. If you can, get a friend or associate to introduce you, but before you reach out, be sure to have a clear idea of where you want to go with your career. If you are looking in “stealth” mode, the next session of Experts Connection is focused on “The Undercover Job Search: Stealth Tactics for Employed Executives,” and will include tips and techniques on how to work with recruiters and stay under the radar.

Another caller in transition asked about the value of signing with an outplacement firm. Are they worth the money? Randy noted that these firms are used to soften the blow during a layoff, but they charge between $20,000 and $25,000 for their services. They have started marketing to individuals as a sign of hard economic times. You want to assess the value of working with an outplacement firm versus a personal career coach who will work with you one-on-one. Both have to bring personal accountability to the process and help keep you on track with your job search, but beyond that you have to assess their real value for yourself.

A third caller asked why he wasn’t getting any positive responses to his cover letters and resume. He notes that he spends considerable time research each target company and targeting his marketing materials. Randy replied there can be any number of factors, but in the current job climate you need to match what the recruiter or hiring company is looking for pretty closely. If you are not a 90-percent match to the job specification, then you may not get a response. If, however, you are a close match to the job criteria and you still aren’t getting a response, then go directly to the hiring manager who needs the position filled. He or she may have a more precise set of hiring criteria than the recruiter or HR department.

Remember that NETSHARE hosts an Ask the Coach call for NETSHARE members on Monday at 2:00 Pacific time. The next Ask the Coach call is scheduled for January 23.

Who’s Hiring Whom? How to Spot a Bad Boss During the Interview

Too many job candidates fail to grasp that they have power during the interview. Too often a candidate walks into an interview setting trying to determine the best way to grovel to get a solid job offer. Instead, they should be approaching the interview as an opportunity to assess their potential employer, and not only impress them with his or her credentials but to create an opportunity to be impressed in return. It’s a golden opportunity for you to interview the interviewer.

A job interview is a two-way interaction. The job candidate is interviewing the company to see if he or she is a good fit for the position, and that includes interviewing the boss. Checking out your prospective boss in advance is essential. According to a recent study by Baylor University, an abusive boss can have a huge effect on your health and your family life, so you want to make sure you know what you are getting into. There was an interesting story in Forbes this week on how to spot a bad prospective boss in an interview. Here are some tips to consider:

1. “You” versus “we.” Pronoun usage is a telltale. If during the interview the hiring manager talks about how “you” will be responsible for tough challenges or dealing with something negative, he probably won’t be a mentor. And if he talks about “I” in the context of department successes, then he is not a team player and may deflect blame. Observe how he talks about his employees and his department.
2. Fishing for personal information. It is natural to try to get to know a candidate and learn about some of their outside interests. It is something else to ask probing questions about life outside of work. Be wary if the hiring manager moves from a healthy interest in your hobbies or charity work to a nosy interest in your personal commitments. The interviewer can’t legally ask about your marital status or your family, but by probing about your personal life they may be trying to get you to surrender information to determine if you have too many commitments outside the office.
3. The distracted interviewer. You should command respect during an interview, including the undivided attention of the hiring manager. If your prospective boss is distracted by his iPhone, or email, or telephone calls, of if he is late for your interview, that’s an indication of their normal operating style, and you probably can’t expect them to make much time for their staff, including you.
4. You can’t get a straight answer. If you can’t get a direct answer to a direct question, that could be an indication that they are covering something. For example, if the last person who held the position for which you are interviewing may be characterized as a “bad fit,” which may be an indication that the company didn’t spend enough time on employee development. Listen for awkward pauses and evasive responses. Also look at things such as turnover rates and where others have a path for advancement.
5. What’s the hiring manager’s track record? How long as he or she been with the company? Where did they come from? Look for indicators about their performance and management style. For example, bosses from large companies may want more formality where managers with a history at start-ups may have a less formal approach. Which suits your work style?

Be sure to ask around about the company and your new potential boss. You can search sites such as eBossWatch or ask your network on LinkedIn. There’s nothing wrong with getting references about your prospective employer. You will want to think about the context of what you might uncover, but look for glaring inconsistencies or differences between what you were told and what you discover on your own. It’s better to have more information in advance and avoid a potentially disastrous job than to realize your mistake after you have been hired.

Ask the Coach: Practice Organic Networking

Every week, NETSHARE hosts Ask the Coach, a phone-in coaching session with leading career management experts. Here is an excerpt from our most recent session with Christine Dennison, The Job Search Coach.

This week, career coach Christine Dennison continued on the theme that was begun in last week’s coach call – networking to advance your career while you are still employed. Many executives feel that building their personal networks will raise concerns with their current employers. Some employers may raise an eyebrow, but networking in today’s online world is a natural thing. And that was Chris’s advice – keep it natural.

Make networking a natural or organic extension of your interests and activities. Base your networking on curiosity, education, mentoring, and learning more about the industry, whether it’s your industry or a new one. This works for you whether you are looking for a new opportunity or not.

You can also start making natural inroads into target companies through online commentary. Conduct online research to determine what’s happening at your target companies. Identify what sets them apart in their market. Identify the movers and shakers within the organization and start communicating with them in a natural way. Using this approach, you become familiar to others in a low-stress manner that forges strong connections for the future without shouting “Hire me!” As you build your network you can keep yourself open for opportunities that may arise, either for yourself or for another network connection.

As you start to build that organic network, opportunities will arise. You will start to look at openings that are worth pursuing. How many openings can you try to juggle at one time? That’s up to you. However, you want to make sure you give each opportunity proper consideration. You don’t want to shortchange yourself or your potential employer by not assessing the opportunity properly. Dig deep. Assess the cultural fit as well as the job fit. Is the position you are going after what you really want to do. If you can’t give yourself the time you need to get all the information required for a fair assessment, then you are stretched too thin.

Remember, each opportunity needs to be considered on its own merit. If it’s a fit, excellent! If it isn’t a fit, then don’t close the door. Keep your options open. That same company may have a new opening just down the road and you want to be remembered in a positive light. If the job isn’t right for you, then be polite but offer to help find another candidate from your network. Show you want to work with them. It’s good karma for you and for the corporate recruiter, which can only lead to good things.

And if you want to learn more about how to effectively network using LinkedIn, be sure to join us next week, November 15, when LinkedIn expert Jason Alba presents the webinar, LINKEDIN FOR EXECUTIVES: BEYOND THE BASICS, 2012 Edition.

The Face-to-Face Interview: Maximize the Opportunity

The Face-to-Face Interview: Maximize the Opportunity

Guest post by Randy Block

Randy Block is an executive coach specializing in career transition. He also serves as a staffing and onboarding consultant for high tech start up companies. He has over 30 years experience in executive search/recruiting. Randy’s executive consulting practice includes both tactical and strategic issues; i.e. Interview Preparation, Personal Branding, Onboarding, Consulting/Freelancing Opportunities, Boomer issues, etc. Randy will be the featured presenter on this month’s Experts Connection. His topic, “The Face-to-Face Interview: Making the Most of Every Minute” will be presented on Wednesday, October 26th.
experts-connection.com

From my perspective in working with executives, particularly over the past few years….two things have become apparent:

1. Everyone purports to know how to interview…but few execute well.
2.The most qualified candidate does not necessarily get the offer…the offer usually goes to the candidate who interviews the best.

So, if you have survived the emailing, the phone interview(s) and made it to the face to face interview, you’ve done well…and you really deserve to maximize this opportunity that you have earned.

In my workshops on interviewing, I ask the audience this question: “If you are going to paint a room, what is the most important step in that process?” The answers vary from picking the paint color to choosing the right brush. The answer I’m looking for is “the prep.” If your masking is sloppy or you have not filled in the picture hook holes, you could pay $50/gallon for the paint and it will still look unprofessional. Your prized antique furniture or meaningful art will not cover up the mistakes.

When it comes to interviewing, we all know the preparation is important. So what do most people do for prep…check out the company website, study industry/product trends and Google the interviewer. And of course, review the job description. After all, we want to be knowledgeable and “right” with our answers.

This is helpful, but there is much room for improvement. Let’s examine one of these more closely; the job description. The job description is typically broken into three general parts:

1.Description of the company products and its industry.
2.The title, job duties/responsibilities and reporting structure.
3.The candidate profile –the person with these skills and qualities.

Numbers one and two are quantitative and the basis of your research. In my view number three is the most important part of the interview preparation. Here is where the all important “fit” comes into play.

The candidate profile is divided into “hard skills and experience” and soft skills i.e. leadership, decision making, management, etc. And of course all of them are grouped into “required” (usually in descending order of importance) and “preferred.” The “fit” is determined by relevancy (your skills and experience against their definition of what skills the successful candidate should have) and that indefinable something called “will you like doing the job and will I like you doing the job”.

To determine relevancy, I recommend the following as a guide. (Excessive humility or braggadocio will not help you here.)

1. List their required skills (again, whether you agree or not)
2.Then evaluate your skills (both hard and soft) on a scale from 1 (never heard of that acronym let alone do I know what it means) to 10 (I have current and direct experience, achievements and knowledge.)

Companies today want 8’s, 9’s and 10’s.

• For any low scores (7 and below) prepare an “equivalent answer”. For example, if the position requires an MBA and you don’t have one, your response might be “I have 20+ years of successful business experience.”

• For all of the soft skill questions, prepare a story of about 3 minutes that is a solid achievement supporting each soft skill.
Let’s consider the elements of that softer side of “fit” by today’s definition.

(Your technical competence is assumed at the time of the in person interview. Yes, they will check your references. Initially, technical is the focus of the phone screen with soft skills to be screened in the face-to-face meeting. You don’t even get the face-to-face interview unless you have the right background.)

1. During the interview, they want to know how excited you are about the position and the company. Have you chosen them? Be prepared to discuss why (from your heart as well as your head)
2.Will they like you doing the job? (This will be influenced by how you express yourself in #1) It is my opinion that #2 is at least 50-60% of the hiring decision today.

There are definite measures and tactics that you, the interviewee, have control over: your preparation, the interview itself and the followup. When following up with clients and their interviews, the question comes up …"would you do anything different?" If yes, we learn from it and move forward. If the answer is no, then we know we maximized the face-to-face interview. In these cases, we get and go out on another interview stronger and wiser and increasing the probability of success.

Ask the Coach: Where are the Holes in Your Job Search Template?

Every week, NETSHARE hosts Ask the Coach, a phone-in coaching session with leading career management experts. Here is an excerpt from this week’s session with Barbara Safani, owner of Career Solvers based in New York City.

Do you have a job search template?

This is a very common question that was raised again this week. You are entering the marketing phase of your job search. What is the schedule you should follow now?

There are templates or procedures that can help you on the way; that can assist you in staying “on top” of things. However, there is no “one-size-fits-all” template. There are basics that everyone needs to follow, but depending on your executive level, how long it has been since you last looked for a job, and how strong your professional network is, your needs will vary. If you have been maintaining your professional network and maintaining your personal brand, then your list will be shorter.

Networking is your most important step. Barbara could not emphasize this enough. Every one you have worked with, worked for, or who has worked for you is potentially a valuable contact. You could get assistance from an old schoolmate, parents from your kid’s soccer team, your mailman – you never know what might lead to your next job. Take five minutes each day to connect with someone from your past. Never ask for a job, but ask how they are doing and make the connection personal. Start a dialogue.

Prepare your marketing documents. Before others can understand your value, you must understand it yourself and be able to articulate it. What is it that you do better than anyone else? That is the essence of your personal brand, and it should be the cohesive glue that holds together all your marketing materials. Step one is to identify the components that make up your personal brand.

Your marketing documents include a resume and cover letter, but you also need an executive bio. Create an online profile that summarizes your value for use on online networking organization such as NETSHARE, LinkedIn, ZoomInfo, Facebook, Google+, Plaxo, Ziggs, Spoke, and Naymz. If you have a common name, such as Barbara, you can use Vizibility.com to fine-tune search results that lead to you. But whatever you do, make sure your brand is consistent throughout.

Promote your personal brand online by writing articles, commenting on industry forums and blogs, and if you have the inclination, start your own blog. Remember that companies want to find you, so leave an online trail for them to follow back to your posted branding materials, like your LinkedIn profile.

And you should have replying to job listings posted in targeted web sites as part of your job search strategy, but only devote about 5 percent of your time. You will get more results from proactive outreach rather than competing with everyone else for jobs posted on the web.

Where you need to focus your energy depends on your situation, but the basic elements are the same for everyone.

If you want more insight into how to take charge of your job search, join our Experts Connection teleseminar next week with Randy Block on how to handle face-to-face interviews. As Randy notes, most jobs don’t go to the most qualified, but they do go to those who interview the best.

Ask the Coach: Don’t Get Caught Up In the Web

Every week, NETSHARE hosts Ask the Coach, a phone-in coaching session with leading career management experts. Here is an excerpt from our most recent session with Christine Dennison, The Job Search Coach.

The Internet is a wondrous thing. With the birth of the World Wide Web we now can access information and resources that were previously unheard of. In the early days, the Internet was a great tool for job seekers because it was clean and efficient. But then the Web became popular and prolific. Now we have bots and filters and spam and an incredible amount of online noise because everyone has figured out how easy it is to hit the “send” button to submit a resume. That means that yours is just another voice in the crowd, and it will be impossible to make your expertise stand out unless you understand how to properly use the Web as a resource.

This week, job search coach Christine Dennison shared some tips about how to think about and use the Web as part of your job search. She noted that as the din of the Web increased, hiring companies had to implement software filters to handle the data traffic from job applicants. Now all the big firms are using software to pick their job candidates, and this is where the entire online search process has gone hopelessly haywire.

There are a growing number of career information providers and opportunists trying to make money from job seekers. If you are posting to random job locations then you become a commodity, which means you won’t stand out. Your first step needs to be to control the noise. Align yourself with a reputable career service such as LinkedIn or NETSHARE to get the online traffic under control. And use the Web to conduct your own research. It’s a great tool to help you determine where the market opportunities lie, which companies are on the move, and where to apply your efforts both online and offline.

Should you apply to online job postings? Sure, but only dedicate 5 to 10 percent of your time to online postings. Remember that resumes are usually sorted by software and many are never actually seen by a human being. Even if you cram in all the keywords, chances are it will never surface. You can throw your resume in the mix, but it’s always better to network your way in using a resource such as LinkedIn.

Should you post your resume to job boards? You can “hang” your resume on online bulletin boards, but be discriminating so you can control access. Use services like NETSHARE where you know your information is protected. Otherwise you are just opening yourself up to spam and scam artists.

The bottom line is, don’t let the Web dominate your job search. Spend no more than an hour or two online each day. The Web is a great research tool and can help you find the right connections, but you need to make time for face-to-face activities. The Web is no substitute for personal contact, especially if you are looking for a new career opportunity.

Ask the Coach: Harnessing the Power of Mentoring and Networking

Every week, NETSHARE hosts Ask the Coach, a phone-in coaching session with leading career management experts. Here is an excerpt from our most recent session with Christine Dennison, The Job Search Coach.

As part of this week’s Ask the Coach discussion, our career coach, Christine Dennison, offered some pearls of wisdom about networking strategies based on her experience. She offered some insights into the do’s and don’ts of effective networking and mentoring.

To start, understand how your network of contacts can really assist you. Sometimes you need a specific contact with the right expertise to get you to the next level. Sometimes you need an objective critic or a cheerleader who can give you constructive criticism. And when networking, you want to be able to leverage your contact’s contacts. So don’t make the common mistake of asking, “know anyone who is hiring?” Instead, be specific and targeted and let your contacts help you with specific information.

If you feel you haven’t started building an effective network, don’t despair. Let mentoring others be your way of building contacts and aiding your job search. Trust is the key component of any mentoring or networking relationship, and building trust takes time. LinkedIn can be a great resource here, allowing you to connect with new people whom you can mentor, and to reconnect with old contacts.

The most important thing to remember when building your network is that it’s not all about you. It’s about providing resources to others, answering questions, introducing people, and helping others in any way you can. The best approach is to apply career karma and help others without expecting help in return. Talk to strangers as well as friends. Get involved in LinkedIn forums. Find out about other professionals, their work, their problems, their plans, and how you can help them. In the process you will collect ideas and contacts that can help you with your own job search.

Make time for networking in all your day-to-day endeavors. Make connections through your kids’ school, by volunteering, through industry groups, your dentist, your butcher. And be prepared with your elevator pitch, but spend most of your time listening to other people and learning about their problems. That will leave a more lasting memory and help solidify the connection. Remember to make your conversation natural and not a sales pitch. You never know who might be in a position to help you land your next job.

It's Making Connections that Really Matters

I have been helping executives with job search and career management for 20 years, and what strikes me about career management is that, even though the technology changes, people don’t. With the explosion of monster job boards and million-member social networks that connect like-minded professionals, the thing that still helps professionals land quality jobs and advance their careers is meeting other people.

We built NETSHARE by working with companies and recruiters to help them find the best available talent. I am sure some members will recall the days when we called every member of the NETSHARE network to gather job leads for publication. As time went on, we received less “leads” from members and more “postings” from recruiters and companies but our focus continued to be on connecting the network of people together, rather than posting jobs.

I still see so many executive job seekers stuck using 20^th century tactics. They are still following the job listings, writing cover letters, and reaching out to recruiters, begging for a chance. With the amount of qualified talent out there looking for a new opportunity, these old-style tactics just don’t work.

I received a note today from one of my NETSHARE contacts with a request from an in-house recruiter looking for a senior manager for a Fortune 1000 technology company. Apparently the recruiter had uncovered my contact’s profile using a keyword search and was reaching out to see if he knew anyone. Now this could turn into a direct job lead for my contact, or it could turn into a golden opportunity for someone else in his network.

This is the new trend. Recruiters and hiring managers don’t have to use job listings any longer, except when they need to conform to the rules of EEO compliance. They can search LinkedIn, eCademy, Spoke, Facebook, and dozens of other social networking sites looking for experts with the right credentials, and then asking those contacts for help with their current search. They don’t need to sift through a mountain of resumes. All they need to use is a few keywords that match their job criteria to narrow the field from an ever-growing universe of professionals who have a robust online brand. That’s why you need to be connected, so you can be found and get the referrals that will be of real value to you.

When it comes to job search in the 21^st century, it is better to be sought after than to look for new opportunities. You need to connect with other professionals who are in the right place with the right resources to lend a hand in your search, either with another referral or some new ideas. That’s how you get ahead, through your contacts.

And it’s the quality of the contacts that really matter. You need to have a handful of networking resources you can count on for advice or a referral, rather than trying to mine the hundreds of casual acquaintances you have on Facebook. You could be a LION on LinkedIn with more than 500 connections, but unless you can associate a specific qualification, expertise, or need with each connection, then they are of little value. It all becomes a numbers game unless you understand how to work with your network of connections to help one another get ahead.

Ask the Coach: Summertime is Time to Relax and Keep Networking

Every week, NETSHARE hosts Ask the Coach, a phone-in coaching session with leading career management experts. Here is an excerpt from this week’s session with Barbara Safani, owner of Career Solvers based in New York City.

The topic of this week’s Ask the Coach call was summer vacation and how to stay engaged with your job search while you also take some down time. Remember that your family is an important component of your job search; they are the core of your support network, so you need to treat them well and spending time with your family during the summer is one way to do it. But that doesn’t mean you have to squander your free time. Multitask!

Vacations are a great time to expand your network through conversations with others in a relaxing atmosphere. The pressure is off, which makes it easier to find things you have in common with others that could lead to career opportunities. Even if you are taking a “staycation,” keep networking. Once the ice is broken and a relationship has been started, it’s much easier to explain what you do and what you love to do; where your passions lie. Be sure to let the other party talk and learn as well. Remember that they are being complimented when you indicate that they are worth listening to as well.

You can build on these conversations so you are not only better known, but have a larger network to build on. Enlist more recruits to your fan club. When these new summer contacts go back to their routine, they will remember you and pass your name along. Also be sure to reach out to them when the summer is over and find out how life is going for them, and what future plans they may have that match your interests. Ask about mutual contacts and see if you can set up a time to talk. Remember you want to talk; you don’t want to ask for a job.

Be sure you plan how to stay on their radar when vacations are over and decisions are ready to be made. That’s when you want to have your name to be remembered.

You might consider partnering with someone who is in a similar situation, and who understands your problems and stresses. Consider them your accountability partner who can help you stay on track. And be sure you partner with someone who will be honest and supportive.

Ask the Coach: “Let’s Change Partners and Dance…” – Embracing the Portfolio Career

Every week, NETSHARE hosts Ask the Coach, a phone-in coaching session with leading career management experts. Here is an excerpt from this week’s session with career transition coach and career management consultant Randy Block.

This week, career transition coach Randy Block led the call and he had some interesting insight for those who joined us:

“Changing partners might be your best move in the job search dance.”

Traditionally, career nirvana was to land a job with a company and stay there. You would work your way up the ladder and retire with a nice pension and benefits. Thanks to the economic upheaval we have just experienced this idyllic picture will seem like something made up for a movie or the plot of a novel. What was once almost guaranteed is now harder and harder to find. In fact, hiring managers sometimes look on a stable career path with suspicion; What's wrong with this person they stayed in one place so long? Didn’t he or she have any job offers? Is there no desire to expand their horizons?

Older workers who have been "indoctrinated" in this expectation need to realize that the "dream" does not exist for many anymore. They must adapt, or die.

More and more boomers are finding it difficult to make the cut when it comes to hiring. As Randy points out, most Gen Xers don't want their father working for them. Most boomers are not used to taking orders from their kids. It can be a very uncomfortable working situation. Many of today’s Gen X hiring managers see boomers as lacking energy, lacking technical skills, lacking social media skills, and lacking an understanding of current consumers and their needs.

To overcome these obstacles, boomers must show that they are none of the above. They must prove they are on the cutting edge of change and technology. Yes, they know what SEO and SEM mean. They can tweet and blog with the best of them. They have a strong web presence and a dynamic digital footprint. A quick Google search of their name will prove their value, and show that they are willing to share this value in discussion groups, industry conferences, and with thought leaders.

Instead of working towards the full-time job with the large company as a career strategy for a long run, boomers need to change partners. They need to look to a Portfolio Career. This will provide them with many challenges - each a separate chapter, a separate project. By being project-based you make yourself appear to be more valuable and more ready to be hired by the companies you are interested in. Where they can't see hiring you for a full-time position, they can see hiring you to fix the problem at hand. Once that problem is fixed, you have proven your worth in spades. The company has seen how you "fit" into its culture. They have seen that you are up on the industry and that you can work with their employees. They might just decide to take the leap and offer you a full-time position.

Now it's your turn to decide if you like this partner enough to stay or look for another partner who fits your style and needs better. You can start a new chapter with a new challenge – it’s always a new dance.