4 Actions To Take While Looking For Your Job

Okay. You have graduated but you don’t have a job yet. Welcome to the 55% of graduates who are in the still hunt for their first job post tassel turning. Does this mean that the remaining 45% have found a job? Heck no! They are working part time, have gone to grad school, enlisted in the military or have holed up in their parents basement playing  Grand Theft Auto V. Feel alone? Don’t. Feel unprepared? Well, you don’t need to. While you are looking for a job, there are many things you can do with your time to prepare yourself for the first job you want to land.  This is critical as many future interviewers will ask you “so, what would have you been doing with your time since you graduated?”  Going to Burning Man, competing in Beer Pong tournaments and building yurts in New Mexico probably won’t impress many would be hiring managers…unless they have lived in a yurt.

You can take several approaches but this is what I would recommend that you focus on:

Skill Development

If your interest is in sales….take a course in sales skills. Marketing…learn as much as you can about social media marketing. Biology? Who knows but there are business classes specific to bio-med. Take an extension course. WHAT? You mean…go back to school? YES. Get a professional certificate in the field you want to pursue. Gaining knowledge through course work taught by working professionals verses professors will be extremely enlightening. There is a professional society or certification program for darn near every profession. Search on the internet for a professional certification program in the field you are interested in. Odds are with a little bit of money and additional time invested, you will be more qualified than the other candidates who are applying for the same job.

Volunteer

There is no shortage of a need for enthusiastic volunteers. Find a non-profit in your area, contact the Director and ask to meet with them about where you can contribute. In exchange, ask them to be a reference for you. Business organizations like Junior Achievement are always looking for people. If teaching is your goal, find out if you can volunteer 20 hours a week at a local school. Find an organization that supports a cause you believe in and volunteer.

Communication Skills

Demonstrating superior verbal and written communication skills in business is essential. Sadly, college does not adequately prepare students to be effective communicators in a business environment. The ability to speak confidently, concisely and with relevance will distinguish you from other candidates. So, do you tremble at the thought of speaking in front of a group? Contact a Toastmasters group in your area. They provide a supportive professional environment where you can stand up and learn how to speak publicly. Dale Carnegie has been training business professionals for over 50 years in the craft of gaining confidence through communication. You think this is too old school? Get over it. Odds are your bosses's, bosses's, boss took the same course and will be impressed that you did too. The point is you won’t learn how to speak confidently in a business environment Skype-ing with your cousin in Cleveland who graduated 2 years ago and is working in shipping and receiving. There are many professional organizations who can assist you in improving your communications skills. Find one. Join. Improve.

Build your network

You have a LinkedIn profile, right? If not, click on a browser, go to www.linkedin.com and develop a profile. If you are not on LinkedIn, you are already invisible to the business world. If you are on LinkedIn start to expand your network by doing the following:

1)      Join your college alumni LinkedIn Group.

2)      Find groups that are associated with the fields you are interested in pursuing for a career and join them.

3)      Invite others to connect on LinkedIn. Classmates, professors, former employers, friends. Work as fast as you can to build up a network of 200 1^st level contacts, then 300, 400 and more.

The value of your professional network is more than invaluable. It will be your lifeline at some point in your career. Lay the foundation now.

Where you a member of a club, sorority or fraternity? Did you play a sport, participate on the debate team or sing in the choir? Search for former members of the club, team or singing group who have graduated and are working in a field you are interested in. Your common association will get you in the door. Ask them for input. Ask them what was the path they took that resulted in their current position. I will bet you a latte that more that 60% of the people you reach out to will respond and be willing to help. Give it a try.

Finding a job IS a full time job. It requires tenacity, patience and a strategy. It also demands that you spend your time wisely so you have meaningful evidence to show how you spent your time while you were spending your time looking for a job.

Keep at it. Don’t lose hope. Move forward. Great things will happen.

5 Steps To Interview Success

You have done everything right so far. Great resume, strong phone interview, made it past the internal recruiter and now you are scheduled for your first in-person interview with the hiring manager. It is at this point that the well prepared candidate can differentiate themselves from the rest of the pack. That's what you want to do, right? Blow away the competition for this job! You are going to sit down in front of your soon to be new boss and wow them with your wit, personality and expertise. You are going to get this job! Confident? Ready? Not completely? Well, follow these five steps and you will be:

1) Research the industry and company: Everything you need to learn about your next employer is on the world wide web. Amazing! Look into the industry the company serves, how they are positioned, what market share they hold. Become familiar with the company's  services and products so you can refer to them in the flow of the interview. Be ready to present their product or service if asked. Smart candidates walk in to the interview knowing how to sell or market what they will be selling or marketing for the company they want to join. Type up several pithy and insightful questions that are relevant to the industry, company or role to ask during the interview. 

2) Image is everything: Present yourself in the most professional manner possible. When you aren't sure what to wear to the interview, think conservative dress. Leave the jeans, sandals, short skirt and lounge wear for the weekends. (Believe me... at TVG Executive Search...just when we thought we had seen it all...). Be well groomed and rested. Don't go out on a bender the night before. When you greet the hiring manager for the first time, step forward confidently, look them square in the eye and shake their hand firmly without fracturing their index finger. Positive first impressions create lasting impressions. Make the introduction count!

3) Don't get too personal: Establishing a solid rapport is essential. Elaborating on you recent vacation or bragging about your kids (or parrot) isn't a way to accomplish this. Certainly, you would have researched the hiring manager's background on LinkedIn and identified a few commonalities. If so, reference them discretely and indirectly in the conversation. Don't try to lay on the secret hand shake if you just happen fraternity brothers. You goal isn't to become BFFs in the interview. Your job is to get the job. Eight five percent or more of the conversation should be devoted to the opportunity. Fifteen percent or less should be about your personal life. If they ask you about your interests and hobbies, provide an answer without great detail. You will have plenty of time to get acquainted AFTER they hire you.

4) Ask for the job: These days, there is no such thing as an "informational interview".  If you are there interviewing, the assumption is that you want this job! If not, what the heck are you there for and why are you wasting their time! Therefore, as the interview is coming to a close, take the lead and say "based on everything we have discussed, I feel I am extremely qualified for this role and know I will be an outstanding contributor to the company's success. I very interested in joining your team. What are the next steps in the process?" They can answer any number of ways. The point is to ACT as though you are the "IT" and assume they will want you. Confidence is attractive. Ambivalence is not.

5) Follow up: Within 24 hours but not within the first hour, send the hiring manager an email thanking them for the opportunity to meet and recapping 3-5 reasons why you are the right person for the job. Call them within 48 hours to inquire about the next steps. If you don't hear back within a day after your call, call them again. I see nothing wrong with demonstrating a keen desire and consistent follow up until you get the answer that, a) you are moving forward in the process or, b) for some reason they went in a different direction. Either way, invite the hiring manager to connect on LinkedIn. You never know how that introduction could be of benefit in the future.

Act on these 5 points and you will stand out from the other candidates who didn't have the good fortune of reading my blog!

Mike Vanneman

Founder - TVG Executive Search

Putting It All Together-Part 4-Mike's Four P's of MARKETING YOURSELF

It's game time! Here we go! You have developed and tweaked your PLAN. You can recite your PITCH in your sleep, standing on your head...in multiple languages. As for PRESENTATION, boy...don't you clean up well! You have the right look, outfit, haircut, resume paper and nifty portfolio to carry containing insightful and pithy questions. You have got it! YOU are the total PACKAGE! Yes, you!

You are what your future employer wants. They just haven't discovered it yet. The PACKAGE you present to the market place is the result of all your planning, preparation and practice. It is complete and ready to be received. Now, it is all about delivering the PACKAGE. What do you mean?

1) Consistently WORK YOUR PLAN: You don't have the luxury of missing a half day to play golf or navel gaze at the beach. There will be plenty of time on the weekends to go that AFTER you have your next great job. Be tenacious in the execution of your plan and you dramatically increase the odds of getting hired...sooner and not later.

2) Keep PRACTICING your PITCH: Frequently rehearsing your personal elevator pitch is as important as practicing your short game in golf. (You'd think I play golf given the references--I don't!) Not practicing your pitch and interview skills is a guaranteed way to stammer through the first set of questions during an upcoming interview. Practice begets confidence. Confidence begets success.

3) PRESENT with confidence! I am not just talking about physical presentation (though that is very important). It is how you present your true self. There is nothing better for a hiring manager than when their new employee's performance, demeanor and professionalism confirm what their instincts told them all along...great selection. Only way that can happen for you (being the "great selection") is when you are representing who you truly are.

So, there you have it...Mike's 4 "P's" of Marketing Yourself. If any of this has struck a cord or better yet worked for you in your search...let me know! Good luck and good hunting!