14 MORE GOOD RULES FOR GETTING A BETTER JOB
Jeffrey Fox tells the following story in his book “Don’t Send a Resume”:
Douglas MacArthur, the legendary World War II Army general, was looking to hire a new aide. After a staff review of candidates, MacArthur interviewed the “short list.” One of the potential aides was a young lieutenant. At the beginning of the interview, the general asked the lieutenant, “Did you have any trouble finding the place?”
“No, sir,” answered the lieutenant, who then asked, “Sir, what is your view of the role of the Army in winning the war here in the Pacific?”
For one hour, interrupted only by the lieutenant’s occasional “uh-huh” and “Could you elaborate?”, the great general talked. At the end of the “interview,” the lieutenant was offered the job. Later, MacArthur told one of his colonels that the young lieutenant was one of the most intelligent officers he had ever met.
I had the same experience in graduate school. I spent a quarter of an hour telling a visiting scholar how much I liked his books and what an important critic he was and asking him fan-club type questions. He later said to the department chairman, “That young man is extremely bright. He’s one of your best students, in my view.” He formed that opinion without hearing a single thing about me or what I could do and without hearing a single opinion of mine except how much I like him.
This is important to remember when you are seeking a job. It’s useful in any interview but especially so if you get to talk to the person you’ll be working for.
14 More Things You Can Do to Get a Better Job
That said, let’s round out this week’s discussion with 14 more ways to get a better job — from your current employer or a new one.
1. Your cover letter should be very personal. It should indicate that you (a) know the company in some detail, (b) like the company, and (c) believe you have something specific and valuable to contribute to it.
2. If you include a resume, make sure it is tailored to the individual company.
3. When talking about yourself, don’t use self-serving cliches (such as “a passion for customer service”) that virtually any job candidate can make. Instead, use facts, incidents, and numbers to reveal your qualities and capabilities.
4. When you are talking or writing about your accomplishments, focus on what you have done recently (say, in the last few years).
5. If you have no relevant experience, don’t try to pretend you do by making a job at Burger King sound like rocket science. Here is where you make up for your lack of experience by showing specific knowledge of the company and industry you aim to work for. If you’ve done your homework well, you will be seen as a blank sheet with great potential (always desirable).
6. Don’t summarize your career, experience, or skills. State the facts briefly and clearly once.
7. Don’t say what your career objective is. No one cares but you. Your job, as the salesman and the sales product, is to talk about the needs and desires of your prospect, not yourself.
8. When you go for an interview, have a specific objective in mind and work hard to achieve it. If you haven’t been promised it by the end of the interview, ask for it (nicely).
9. A hiring interview is a sales call. Don’t talk or tell. Answer, ask, and listen.
10. Consider “showing” something — a customer survey, industry data, etc. — that illustrates the work you’ve already done and helps make the case that you can contribute to the company’s success. The tactic of showing is a time-honored staple of strong sales people.
11. If you interview at a restaurant, don’t drink alcohol and/or order something and eat very little of it.
12. In your research, discover dress preferences, if any, of the company you’re interviewing for. Don’t be a rebel. Conform.
13. Don’t try to befriend your prospective employer. Be friendly instead.
14. If you feel you might not get the job you are seeking, suggest that you can do a project for the company on a free-lance basis. Perhaps even for free. “That way, you can find out if I can do what I’ve promised,” you can say, “without any risk on your part.” This works in selling vacuum cleaners. It should work for you.
One final word from Jeffery Fox: “If you don’t know why the company should hire you, it’s a good bet the company won’t know either.”
This article appears courtesy of Early To Rise, a free newsletter dedicated to making money, improving health and secrets to success. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com.
A Surefire Way Not to Get Hired
By Suzanne Richardson
Jobs are hard to come by these days. So when my friend “Carly” was offered an interview a few weeks ago, I was really pulling for her. She’s smart and seemed perfect for the position – but ended up not getting the job. I believe it was mainly due to a common interviewing mistake she made. But you can boost your chances of getting any position just by learning from Carly’s failure.
When Carly called me after the interview, she sounded bummed. “I didn’t get it,” she told me.
When I asked what went wrong, she said, “When the hiring manager asked me to go into details about what I liked about the company, I couldn’t answer him. I hadn’t really looked into it that much.”
The fact is, the more you know about the job you’re applying for, the better. A Robert Half International poll of executives, reported in MSN Careers, found that most job applicants “display at least some knowledge of the company or industry.”
Doing background research before your interview will not only show the folks who are doing the hiring that you’re interested in the job… it will also help you determine, specifically, how you can contribute to the company’s success. (And, trust me, knowing that will come in very handy during the interview.)
If you can’t find any info about the business online, do what Carly should have done: Call up the company and set up an “informational interview” with the head of the department you want to join. You can ask questions – and show interest – without the pressure of a traditional job interview. And then, when you’re ready to apply, you’ll be a much stronger candidate.
This article appears courtesy of Early To Rise, a free newsletter dedicated to making money, improving health and secrets to success. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com.
2 Way to Impress IT Recruiters After the Interview
What to do after the interview? The follow-up is crucial to landing your next IT gig. Many believe that as soon as they finish up an IT job interview, the rest is in the hands of the management staff. While this may be true, there are still steps that you can take to improve your chances of getting the IT job, even after the interview has ended?
Here’s a great tip to use on the way out. When you leave the interview room, chances are, you will walk through the rest of the establishment and come into contact with other employees. Be sure to acknowledge them with a quick hello as you pass, especially if the interviewer introduces you to people.
You will be surprised how many IT professionals do not say hello or greet people, I’ve introduce them to. By doing this, it let’s me know if you will be a good fit for the department and a great team player.
One of the many steps that you can take, after your job interview has ended, is by going out of your way to thank the IT recruiter or hiring manger. In all my years of being an IT hiring manager, few IT professionals sent me a thank you letter. Most of the time, if they were a half decent candidate, they got the job because they were considerate enough to say thank-you. But that’s was just me.
If you follow these steps, I assure you will be heads above the competition because many IT job seekers do not do this.
To your IT career success,
Ivan Hurt
Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW) and Former IT Hiring Manager
Safe Questions to Ask during an IT Job Interview
Okay, you put your IT resume online. You are getting calls for interviews. You are about to go to the interview with a IT recruiter or IT hiring manager and you don’t know what questions to ask.You’ve been told that asking questions during the interview is crucial to getting the job, but you don’t know what questions to ask.
Not asking any questions during an IT job interview gives the impression that you are not a leader, just a follower.
You don’t want to leave this type of impression.
Here are some safe questions to ask:
- What would your workdays or workweeks be like?
- What type of tasks would you be required to complete?
- Are there any plans for expansion?
Here are some questions to ask only ask this question if the interviewer works directly for the company:
- Does the company in question tend to promote from the inside up or do they hire new employees?
- How you like working for their company?
Again use these questions on your next IT interview.
To your IT career success,
Ivan Hurt
Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW) and Former IT Hiring Manager
