August 2010

My How to Get a Job ebook is here!

August 31, 2010

I threatened to do it, and now it’s done: an e-book crammed full of all my thoughts on how to get a job.

If you’ve ever wished that you could look into the brain of a hiring manager to find out what you need to do to get hired, this guide is for you.

Inside, I give you step-by-step help through every stage of your job search, explaining at each step what a hiring manager is thinking and what they want to see from you.
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You’ll learn things like:

  • what hiring managers are looking for when they ask common interview questions
  • how to talk about sensitive issues when you interview — firings, bad bosses, “overqualification,” and more
  • how to avoid companies that aren’t a good fit
  • 6 ways you might be sabotaging your job search
  • 2 ways you can turn rejection to your advantage

If you put the advice in this guide into action, I think you’ll find your job search goes differently.

In fact, read what people have said about the interviewing video and companion guide I released a few weeks ago:

"This morning my husband had an interview. I bugged him for over a week about watching your video and he ignored me. Yesterday, I twisted his arm and finally got him to watch it. He liked the advice so much he watched it a second time. He really took it seriously and followed all of the advice you gave ... He just called me to tell me the interview was done and that it had been the best interview he had ever had." -- Kim J. 
"When I first got to the interview and saw the interview questions (they had them written out for me), I thought they had taken their questions right from your guide! ... The fact that I had spent time thinking about my current job and how it relates to the job I had applied for, and about my work and areas that are strong vs areas that need improvement, really helped me in the interview. I didn't ramble as much as I normally do, I was able to present my strengths clearly and my weaknesses in as good of a light as possible, and I was happy to have a couple good questions for the interviewers at the end. No matter what happens, I am really glad I had your guide to help me through the process. Thank you again!" -- Becky N.

Still not sure? I'm offering a no-questions-asked 30-day money-back guarantee, because I don't want you to feel any risk.

For a very short time, my new e-book is available for 40% off!  You can buy it today for $14.95 -- but it'll go up to full price in just two days.

Get your copy of How to Get a Job: Secrets of a Hiring Manager now!

                     Add to Cart

Update: For those of you who have asked: It's a straight PDF (no Kindle or ebook reader is required).

{ 14 comments }

Posted in Uncategorized

the e-book is coming …. tomorrow!

August 30, 2010

Remember when I asked how you’d feel about a massive guide crammed so full of my advice on how to get a job that you’d never want or need to hear another word from me?

It’s coming tomorrow!

Basically, if you want me to be your tour guide all through your job search, this is the book for you. You’ll have me on your shoulder throughout your whole search, whether you want me there or not.

It’ll launch here at 10 a.m. EST tomorrow, at a specially discounted price for the first two days.

Also, thank you to everyone who entered the contest to win a free copy! The winners — who I’ve contacted individually as well — are:

Chris F.             Joe K.
Johanna K.      Kirk B.
Mike K.            Pink P.

E-book! Hooray!

{ 3 comments }

Posted in Uncategorized

when customers speak to each other in a foreign language

August 30, 2010

A reader writes:

I would like your feedback on a common occurrence in our store. Sometimes a couple of customers will walk in whose native language is other than English. However, these customers do speak English quite well but choose to speak in the other language while they are being directly waited on by our employees. If they are trying on merchandise while we are right beside them to check fit, etc., more often than not they will “consult” their friend/family first (in the other language) before they tell us what they think, even though they are perfectly capable of expressing themselves to me, and anyone else, in English.

I find this behavior quite rude and at times like this I am ready to walk away until they are ready to converse in English. Of course, I instead stand there, gently prodding the customer in English in an attempt to understand what else I need to do to serve them. Although I feel irritated regarding the seeming rudeness, I find myself mostly frustrated that I cannot help our customer to the best of my ability because I don’t understand their language.

What is the best course of action to do in these situations? If you can address this in your blog I would be much obliged.

Um, they’re your customers, not people who are there to socialize with you, right?  They’re considering patronizing your business? I suggest letting them speak to each other in whatever language they’re most comfortable in, and assuming that if they need something from you, they’ll let you know in English.

{ 44 comments }

Posted in Uncategorized

calling a coworker at 10:30 p.m. while they’re on vacation

August 27, 2010

A reader writes:

My husband called a co-worker Tuesday night after 10:30 pm and talked until almost midnight about business. This person was also on vacation. This was not an emergency call and I feel, regardless of whether the co-worker kept the communication going, that my husband was out of bounds in making this call. Please advise.

It totally depends on the culture of your husband’s workplace.

At some offices, this would be beyond the pale. At others, this wouldn’t be particularly strange (especially, for example, at a lot of start-ups).

At my last job, many people would do some work from home at odd hours of the night (including me). I had one coworker who I knew often worked late at night, and sometimes he and I would find ourselves exchanging work-related emails at 11 p.m. and finally he’d suggest we jump on the phone to get something resolved faster. (I never suggested it, because as a manager, I didn’t want to make anyone feel pressured to give up their nights that way. But if an employee initiated it, it was fine with me.) But that was just our culture, and it was the two of us in particular — there were other employees who I never heard from after 6 p.m., and that was just fine too.

As for the vacation element, again it depends on culture. Sometimes I go on vacation and make it clear that this is a “don’t bother me unless someone dies” type of vacation. Other times, I want to get away but know that my workload at that point means that the only way I can do it is if I remain available by phone — and in those cases, I’m willing to make the trade-off of getting to fly off somewhere fun in exchange for remaining available for phone calls.

And there are certainly people who enjoy their work so much that they want to stay in touch while they’re away. I’ve been that person myself, and I’ve worked at places like that; they do exist!

So it really depends on the workplace culture, and the preferences of specific people involved.

Now, despite all that, if your husband had no basis for knowing that this coworker would be fine with a 10:30 p.m. work call, then yes, it was inappropriate. And even if that’s not the case, if your husband has any authority over this coworker, he should be sensitive to the fact that the guy might not feel comfortable saying, “Hey, it’s getting late and I’m on vacation. We need to wrap this up.”  Or even, “Hey, this is my vacation. Stop calling me! We’ll talk when I’m back.”

In general, people in positions of authority should bend over backwards to be respectful of people’s off time, to encourage people to take “real” vacations, and to make it clear that working odd hours is truly 100% optional. So your husband’s role in relation to the coworker is relevant.

But some people really do like working at odd hours. Some people do not. The question is where this guy stands.

{ 22 comments }

Posted in advice about your coworkers

why long-distance job searching sucks and what you can do about it

August 26, 2010

A reader writes:

I am looking for a position in another city. I am applying for positions that I am well qualified for and would easily be asked for an interview if I was local. However it seems I keep getting turned away because I am out of state. I have stated in my cover letter that of course I will pay for all relocation costs but this does not seem like it is enough. Why I am not given a chance at these positions? It is quite frustrating. Any advice?

You’ve got to keep in mind that even local job-searching is really hard right now. In fact, I’m not so sure that you can assume that these are positions you “would easily be asked” to interview for if you were local — not because I know anything about your qualifications, but because no one is having an easy time getting interviews right now, local or not.

But yes, the bar can be higher if you’re not local — although it really depends on the position. For entry-level jobs, a lot of employers will focus only on local candidates because there’s no shortage of good ones, but for higher-level positions, most companies will consider non-locals. (And the higher level you go, the more that’s assumed.) Are there some that won’t? Of course, just like you can find some companies using other bad hiring practices too, but that doesn’t mean they’re the majority.

(That said, if I were choosing between two great candidates who were equally qualified in every way and I needed a deal-breaker, I’d go with the local person over the long-distance person — because (a) they can generally start sooner and (b) if it ended up not working out, I’d feel a lot less guilty firing someone who didn’t move for the job. But it’s rare that two people are really so equally qualified.)

In any case, there are a few things non-local job-seekers can do that will help:

* State in your cover letter that you are planning to move to to the area soon (and possibly explain why, if your reasons are ones you’re willing to share, as that can make employers more comfortable moving forward with an out-of-state applicant). For instance, you might say, “I am in the process of planning a relocation to California to join my partner” or whatever your reason is. State explicitly that you don’t need relocation assistance.

* On your resume, list your contact info like this:

Joe Smith
Relocating in October to Seattle
jsmith@email.com

But overall, keep in mind that the job market really sucks right now. Being long-distance does make it harder, but you’ve also got to factor in that a lot of good people aren’t getting interviews right at home either.

{ 30 comments }

Posted in job searching

should this job-seeker take out a newspaper ad to promote himself?

August 26, 2010

A reader writes:

I am thinking about trying to find a way to get myself advertised in a local newspaper. It would be either taking out an ad or finding another way within an opinion section or something of that sort. In this ad I would try to sell myself to local businesses with the hope that someone would read it and be impressed with my very broad background and maybe give me a chance. 

I know it sounds a little crazy but I was fired 10 months ago for refusing to lie to my customer to speed up the process of implementing changes in their software. I have been asked why I left my last job enough now that I am comfortable discussing it in an interview but I am noticing now that companies seem to be a little concerned with the 10-month and growing gap that is on my resume. I know this was my fault for not finding some type of volunteer work to do to fill the gap on my resume, but I also did not intend on being unemployed for such a long time.

I have created an anonymous email address that would be my only point of contact in the ad, just in case the entire thing backfires on me. Would this make me look too desperate? Is this a crazy idea? Would you send an email to a “hire me” ad that you saw in a local newspaper? 

Personally, it’s very unlikely that I’d respond to a “hire me” newspaper ad, but then I don’t like anything that feels salesy or gimmicky. I suppose that if (a) the person had the skill set and track record of achievement that I was looking for and (b) the ad really came across as professional, not like a stunt, I might — but my skepticism is very high because I’ve never seen this done in a way that both (a) and (b) were true.

That said, not every employer would have that reaction. There are certainly stories of people who have made inroads with less-traditional tactics like this, like this billboard guy or this guy. I think to pull it off, though, you’d need to have really impressive skills and experience — otherwise you’re just grabbing attention without the needed substance to take it anywhere.

But I think a bigger point here is that since you’re getting interviews, the problem that you’re having isn’t that you’re not grabbing employers’ attention initially — it’s closing the deal once you’re in the interview. And I suspect the problem isn’t the 10-month gap at all, since that’s not stopping them from wanting to interview you. (Plus, that sort of gap is very common these days.)  It might be far more fruitful to figure out if the real problem is something that’s going on in your interviews.

What do others think?

{ 21 comments }

Posted in gimmicks won't get you a job, job searching

stupid hiring practices: being a condescending jerk

August 25, 2010

A lovely anonymous commenter pointed out an outrageous article in the Wall St. Journal, headlined “Resume Overload? A Shortcut to Spot Best Hires.”

In the article, the author — a small business owner — writes that when managers are inundated with resumes, they’re left with “no clue as to how to cull through them all to select the best people.” (Problem #1, but we’ll get to that in a minute.) He writes:

For years I’ve used a special filtering technique to avoid this problem. My secret? In the ad (about three-quarters of the way down) I tell the applicants, “To prove that you’re a meticulous reader, you have to include the following sentence when you send your resume: ‘It is with my utmost respect I hereto surrender my curriculum vitae for your consideration.’”

His theory is that “including the sentence shows the applicant has read the entire ad and knows what the job entails and if they’re qualified to fill it,” screens out people who are just applying to everything they see, shows they pay attention to detail, and shows they follow directions.

Of course, it’s also insulting and will drive away most good applicants, who don’t want to work for an employer that treats them with condescension. (“My utmost respect”?  ”Hereto surrender”?  Really?) And it betrays a complete lack of knowledge about how to hire good people — which I suspect affects the rest of his hiring process too, once people jump through this condescending little hoop.

If you want to ensure that job applicants read your ad, aren’t just resume-bombing, and pay attention to directions, there’s a much less insulting method that achieves this: Ask them to include a cover letter that specifically addresses some relevant point, such as why they’re interested in working for your company in particular, or why they’d excel at some specific aspect of the job. That will give you information you can actually use in evaluating their application, rather than forcing them to write a sentence that is just plain embarrassing.

And then, learn to hire.

If you’re feeling clueless about how to screen candidates and select the right people, that is a sign that you need to expend some effort learning how to hire well. There are books, classes, mentors — tons of resources that can teach you strategies to cull through applicants and identify the people best suited to the role you’re hiring for. Effective hiring has nothing to do with gimmicks like this.

(Also, as a petty little side note now that I’m on a roll, I doubt he really wants a curriculum vitae; he wants a resume. He’s just being pompous.)

The only bright side to this guy’s strategy is that job-seekers can be grateful that he’s so proactively outing himself as an ass, before they spend any time applying to work with him.

{ 26 comments }

Posted in jerks

can you be a good manager if you’re shy?

August 24, 2010

A reader writes:

I’m shy. Sometimes people misinterpret this as aloofness or snobbery. Being outgoing and making friends with everyone I meet has never been a part of my personality. I just have a hard time making casual conversation (which is necessary for good relationships with coworkers), and I have a hard time in difficult/important professional conversations (which are necessary for good relationships with supervisors, AVPs, and troublesome clients). When it comes to work issues, I have plenty to talk about. When it comes to interacting with our clients it’s also not a big deal–it is strange, but it feels like when I’m at work I put on my work hat. With my “work hat” on, I don’t even stress about the interactions it just happens. But once I’m put into a more relaxed, social situation, I quickly run out of things to say….(at work anyways, with personal friends, this is not an issue).

At the same time, being shy has given me great strengths–I’m a fantastic listener, great attention to detail, I’m very focused, and great at observing other professional/political relationships and seeing where tensions and compromises exist.

What I’m wondering is, do you think that “shy” managers can succeed? To succeed do they need to totally overcome their shyness? Or do you think there is a way that I can work on the weaknesses pointed out above, and emphasize the strengths shyness has given me? I was asked ‘where I want to go within the organization’ after just 6 months of constant praise, and zipping through training that was supposed to take a whole year. I’ve already come a long way here, in my first professional job out of college–although I should add that I’m a late-twenties grad and I had 3 years of part-time experience as a student worker. My supervisor told me that she and her bosses recognize my potential and success, and they want to start molding and mentoring me for either mangement, or a higher technical/professional position, depending on my interests. I’m excited, surprised, and scared!! I’d love to try for management, I’d love to take on the challenege, but I’m concerned that my shyness would interfere with my ability to be successful.

This is a great question.

I don’t think that shyness and being a good manager are mutually exclusive, as long as the shyness isn’t cripplingly strong.

You say that you’re generally comfortable with interaction as long as it’s “work,” but once it’s a social situation, you get more shy. I think that’s workable — although you should be very sensitive to the fact that your employees might interpret your shyness in social situation as aloofness, and you should think about whether you can say/do things to counteract it. But in general, I think most employees care a lot more about whether their manager is fair, effective, and transparent than whether she comes to happy hour.

That’s not to say that forming personal bonds doesn’t help. But I think you’ll find you form personal bonds through the act of working closely with people regardless, even if you never talk about life outside work. And frankly, most people respect their boss more when she keeps a clear boundary up between work and non-work anyway.

The one thing you wrote that potentially worries me is that you have trouble in difficult or important professional conversations. There are a ton of these sorts of conversations as a manager — talking to someone about performance concerns, firing someone, responding to someone’s request for a raise, giving feedback in general, delivering the news that a project hasn’t been approved, and just generally being assertive about various needs. It’s crucial to be able to do these conversations well, and they’re ones that you don’t want to hide behind email for.

However, everyone feels weird when they’re first on the manager side of these conversations. Almost no one feels comfortable with them right off the bat; I think it takes most new managers close to a year to stop feeling weird about them, so you shouldn’t assume that your discomfort at this prospect signals that you’d never be good at it.

But you do want to think really realistically about whether this is something you can see yourself getting comfortable with over time. You might surprise yourself that you’re able to handle these just fine when your “work hat” is on. (Also, it’s worth noting that these types of conversations are all about being effective and getting results, which I suspect is a motivator for you — so maybe seeing them through that lens would help.) However, if you would dread these conversations, put them off, and suck at them when you finally had them — even after practice — management might not be the right direction. Because you do need to have those conversations, and if you put them off, you’ll do your staff a disservice.

I don’t know how successfully you can predict how you’d handle these sorts of conversations until you’re actually in the role, so one possibility would be to ease yourself in slowly, by starting out managing an intern or leading a team on a project, and see how that goes.

It would also be ideal if you were able to find a mentor to talk over these sorts of conversations with — how do you do them, what do they sound like — and even practice them out loud with. And since your managers sound so supportive, it might be worth talking over these issues with them too.

By the way, the strengths you described are very important ones — being perceptive about other people is a huge advantage as a manager. And so is self-awareness, which you clearly have.

P.S. I wouldn’t say that I’m shy per se, but I’m definitely introverted and I’ve found that managing has made me more comfortable talking to strangers and dealing with unfamiliar social situations. Being forced to interview countless strangers and have countless awkward managerial conversations has left me feeling comfortable talking to pretty much anyone about anything at this point, which was not the case a decade ago. So there’s something to be said for just jumping in and forcing yourself to swim, if you don’t think doing so will cause you or your future managees significant pain.

{ 17 comments }

Posted in good management

yet one more random thing

August 24, 2010

I just phone-interviewed someone who’s a regular blog reader! Apparently my voice sounds nothing like people to expect it to sound. I wonder what people think I will sound like — very gruff, I’m guessing. (The truth is that I sound like a 13-year-old girl, I’m sorry to say.)

I told her about how when I first shed my anonymity, after about a year of blogging anonymously, a bunch of people were shocked because they’d thought from my writing that I was a man.

I find this all fascinating.

{ 11 comments }

Posted in me

four random things

August 24, 2010

1. I guest-posted a few days ago over at You Should Only Know. Complaining about ingrates. Also, her whole blog is awesome; check it out.

2. If you’re job-searching, check your spam folder. This is my annual announcement.

3. It’s really not a good idea to use my sample cover letter as your own. Especially if you’re applying for a job that’s I’m doing the hiring for. I’m going to recognize it. This has happened twice now! That thing is there for illustration purposes only.

4. Did I mention something exciting is coming?

{ 2 comments }

Posted in Uncategorized

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