5 Ways to Find the Hidden Job Market
Of course I suggest point #4 as being a strong one as a good recruiter can get past most HR red tape and right into the hiring managers hands AND then provide you feedback as you go through the process! Of course you have to be a fit for the client – but if you are, the recruiter will guide you through the “Mine Field”. What is the hidden job market? Everyone knows you can find jobs posted on the internet on all the job sites, but how many people are trolling those sites? Millions! 427,000 resumes are posted on Monster every week. Here are the numbers: 1,000 individuals will see a job post, 200 will begin the application process, 100 will complete the application, 75 of those 100 resumes will be screened out by either the ATS or a recruiter, 25 resumes will be seen by the hiring manager, 4 to 6 will be invited for an interview, 1 to 3 of them will be invited back for final interview, 1 will be offered that job and 80 percent of those receiving an offer will accept it (Talent Function Group LLC). Your chances of even getting an interview are infinitesimal. So what can you do to move your job search? Network with everyone you know – ask them for names of two more people they can introduce you to. Keep track of all your contacts in an Excel spreadsheet. First, list all your current connections: family, friends, past colleagues, current colleagues, past supervisors, personal accountant, personal lawyer, hairdresser, masseuse, trainer, etc. Then keep updating the list as you follow the rest of the tips below. Expand your network – If you feel you are constrained by the few number of people you know, expand your network by joining a professional association, an alumni association, or a club. Follow your interests. Join a group of like-minded people who enjoy doing the same things as you, whether that may be playing tennis, poker, hiking, biking, museum going, concert going, etc. Write directly to employers – Do your research and find out the names and titles of people two levels above your job position at the companies where you would like to work. Write directly to them expressing interest in their career advice and learning more about their company and their industry. You are not looking for a job. You are requesting 15-20 minutes of their time, either by phone or live, to share information. Work with a search firm – If you are in a technical field, or at the executive or C-suite level, develop a relationship with one or more search firms that specialize in your field. While search firms work for the company and not for you, it does help to get known by the search firms in your industry so they know who you are and what you have to offer. Search online ads for interesting or relevant companies (even though they don’t have a job for you) and write to the person two levels above you to get the information meeting. GEFFEN C A R E E R S www.geffencareers.com
5 TIPS TO RECOVER FROM A BAD INTERVIEW
As much as you prepare for an interview, things can go terribly wrong. A question that you never thought of comes up and you can’t answer it. The interviewer digs deeper into why you really left your last job or how did you get along with your boss. Or asks for an example of a skill set but you just can’t seem to come up with anything relevant. Here are some ways to recover: WRITE AN INFLUENCING LETTER – Fight back by following up with a thorough influencing letter (email). It is not enough to write a simple “thank you” note or email. The follow-up email or “influencing letter’ is part of the interview process that reiterates your qualifications and emphasizes your passion for the job. RESPOND TO A POORLY ANSWERED QUESTION – You wish you coulda, woulda, shoulda said it in a different way. Re-think your answer to the question and write it in your follow-up letter. As I mentioned, I worked on this project…. ADD INFORMATION YOU LEFT OUT – Is there something you wish you had said? Darn it! There is always the follow-up email to explain another accomplishment or how you worked on a team. Be specific about your accomplishment showing the problem, the action you took, and the result quantified in numbers, percentages or time. OVERCOME OBJECTIONS, PROVIDE A PROPOSAL – Even if the interviewer does not ask for a proposal, write one that shows you know exactly how to implement the service, program or project. For example, write a plan that outlines the steps to develop a master teacher program including focus groups, qualifications, responsibilities, program content and marketing plan. FOLLOW UP – After you send the influencing letter, follow up with a phone call to express your continued interest and to add some more information. Unless they have already made a decision, continue to follow up every few weeks with a relevant article or new information you found online. GEFFEN C A R E E R S www.geffencareers.com
NETWORKING TO FIND A JOB
Did you know that 40% of job seekers find their next position through networking? Oh, you didn’t know that? Are you still spending most of your time answering ads on the internet? Then you are wasting 40% your time. Who is in your network? How do you expand it? And how to you actually network to meet people you never met before? And, how does it lead to a job? Who is in your network? First, start with everyone you know: family, friends, colleagues, former colleagues, former supervisors (if you left on good terms), even if you haven’t spoken in years, your personal accountant, lawyer, hairdresser, masseuse. Make a list of all these people. These are your first level contacts. Then you are going to go to each of them and find out whom they know … Ask them to introduce you via email to their contacts in other companies. Expand your network. You can expand your network by joining an organization and becoming active – alumni association, professional association, chamber of commerce, club. Go regularly to meetings to get to know people and they get to know you. (See my blob post of July 5, 2016 on how to grow your network.) Research companies where you would like to work and find out the name of a person two levels above you and add them to your network. Then write to get the meeting. How to Network – Go to events, committee meetings, religious services, parties…anything where there are new people whom you have never met. Introduce yourself with your pitch. Gather cards. Follow up with each person you meet to set up an information meeting. If you are shy go with a friend, a “wing man” or a colleague. Getting Meetings – The whole idea of networking is to meet more people who can introduce to more people who can tell you about opportunities before they are even advertised. This is sometimes called the “hidden job market”. You want to get information meetings with these people to learn about what they do, what challenges they face and how someone with your qualifications might be a fit for their organization. It does not mean they have a job, or that you are applying for a job. You are expanding your reach, your visibility, so that when the time comes you are the person they think of to fill that open position. GEFFEN C A R E E R S Amy Geffen, PhD geffena108@gmail.com cell 347-853-4616
4 WAYS TO ANSWER DIFFICULT INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
When you prepare for an interview it is important to sound natural and not rehearsed. Canned answers to the easy questions are not okay. Hiring managers have heard it all. You have to talk about your accomplishments and learning experiences – whether in response to an easy question or a difficult one. Here are some typical difficult questions and how to answer them: WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU DISAGREE? Tell me about a time when you disagreed with your boss. How did you handle it? This is not really about your personality or your boss’. This is about how to handle conflict on the job. Did you present the facts and research that supported your point of view? If the supervisor went in a different direction, how did you respond? Did you work towards a satisfactory compromise and conclusion? TELL ME ABOUT A FAILURE Tell me about a time when you had a failure at work – this is not to find out whether you were successful or not. This is to ascertain whether you learned from your mistake, what you learned, and how you used that learning to improve later for the next project. Be prepared to tell the story of a project that did not meet its goals, what you learned, and how you improved the process, resources, staffing or timing for the next project. WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST WEAKNESS? What is your shortcoming? Describe a characteristic or skill that you lack that is not relevant to the job at hand. For example, if the job is about financial analysis and you are not good at sales or promotion, say that. It will not diminish your relevance to the job. If you are in marketing and lack writing skills, that might be a problem. If you lack budgeting skills and the job does not include budget forecasting, then you are okay. Or, you may state a skill that you lacked and now you are taking a course (if that is so) to learn more or deepen your understanding. WHY DID YOU LEAVE YOUR LAST JOB? (Or any of the other jobs) The best answer you can give is for a better opportunity to use my skills and meet new challenges. Never say negative things about your previous supervisor, the company, or your colleagues because that reflects badly on you. It is either seen as sour grapes, or, worse, a good reason not to hire you because you badmouth people. Keep your answers brief, and then turn the conversation back to what you can do for the organization. Move on to how your skills and accomplishments can improve the company’s programs, services, and the bottom line. Remember, it is all about THEM not about YOU. Amy Geffen, PhD geffena108@gmail.com cell 347-853-4616
5 THINGS TO DO TO PREPARE FOR AN INTERVIEW
Interviewing today is not like it used to be If you have been in your position for quite a few years and have not been on any interviews lately, here are some tips that will ensure your success. Spend some time the day before your interview on these five strategies. Do Your Homework – Never walk into an interview without researching the company, its competitors, the industry and the people who will interview you. Learn about the company’s mission, vision, strategy, and challenges from their website and their press room. What is happening in their marketplace? Are there any new projects? Mergers contemplated? Learn about the people who will be interviewing you. Read their bios on the company website and look them up on Linked In. Find out about their backgrounds – Where were they before working at this company? Where did they do to school? See if you have anything in common with them. Prepare Your Accomplishments – You can expect the typical questions such as, Tell me about yourself? What is your management style? Why did you leave or want to leave your last job? You can expect some tougher questions such as, “Why did you leave your last (previous) job? How did you get along with your boss? Tell me about a failure and what did you learn from it? Did you ever have to fire someone? Interviewers want to see how you handle pressure. Hone your pitch – that is the 30-120 second advertisement for you. Not your whole life story, just enough information to tell the interviewer your years of experience, key skills, one or two accomplishments and why you want this job. Practice your pitch so it sounds natural, not rehearsed. Rehearse your answers the day before so that you can give a prepared and thoughtful, but not robotic, response. Remember: This Is Not about You It’s about THEM – Candidates for positions at all levels often make the mistake of walking into an interview with the mentality of, “What can this company do for me?” In reality you want to go in as a consultant asking such questions as, “What are the problems your company (department) is facing?” and give examples of how you solved those types of problems for other employers. By taking a consultative approach to the interview process, you can uncover some issues and challenges facing the company and be prepared with accomplishments to substantiate your ability to solve those problems. Ask the interviewer, What challenges will the person in this position face in the first 3 to 6 months? What are the longer term challenges? Prepare to talk about some problems you solved, how you solved them and the results in quantifiable terms – money saved, money earned, number of people impacted, etc. Build A Strategy to Get the Next Interview – Your goal for the interview is to impress them enough to go back for a second interview. Your goal for the second interview is to get back for the third interview. The object is to meet with as many people in the company as possible. After each interview send a follow-up influencing letter, NOT a simple thank you. Use that email to build the case for your candidacy and to get asked back for the next interview. You want to reiterate the important points that relate to their issues, re-state the obvious, and remind them of something you forgot or could not answer during the interview. Create Your Personal Story – The interview is the time to share a little bit more about you than simply your work history. You want to be able to share the human side of your personality that cannot come across in a cover letter or resume. Hiring managers are people too and you want to leave them with a warm impression of you as a person. Where did you come from? Where are you headed? What distinguishes you from your competition? Do you inspire loyalty and confidence? Do you motivate your employees to be highly productive? You want to make them interested in you and remember you. If you follow these five steps before the interview you will be prepared, confident, and ready to face the competition. GEFFEN CAREERS www.geffencareers.com Amy Geffen, PhD geffena108@gmail.com cell 347-853-4616
YOUR FIRST DAY ON A NEW JOB
Here is some great advice from a fellow Career Coach I work with: Time and attendance – Give yourself plenty of time in the morning to take into account trains running late, inclement weather, or other unforeseen interruptions to your daily commute. Show up 15 minutes early. Put in a full day at work. First Impressions count – smile, firm handshake, make eye contact. Clothing: dress appropriately from what you have seen during the interview process, body language, smile, look interested. Pick your outfit and lay out your clothes the night before. Pack your things and make your lunch, so you are ready to get up, shower, eat breakfast and go. Listen and Ask Questions – Take notes. Be open to listening to HR, to co-workers, to your supervisor. You will not be able to remember everything they tell you about attendance, Xeroxing, passwords, shared documents, health care plans etc. Positive attitude, take initiative, volunteer – Attitude is more important than knowledge your first day. No one expects you to know where everything is or how to find the key documents. You will probably spend some time with HR filling out paperwork. You will probably be taken on a tour of the office. Accept a lunch invitation – If you are asked out to lunch by your boss, or anyone else, don’t turn them down. Keep your lunch in the fridge and save it for another day. For most, but not all jobs, you are not expected to hit the ground running. That is, it is expected that you will take the first few days to get to know your co-workers, learn the ropes, explore the neighborhood. Make it your priority to walk around the neighborhood and find a place for lunch, for coffee, the bank, the local pharmacy. www.geffencareers.com
HOW TO WORK WITH SEARCH FIRMS
There are benefits and issues working with search firms. First of all, they are not here for your convenience. Their job is to find candidates for their clients. Their job is to get you an interview. Your job is to get the job! There are two kinds of search firms – contingency and retained. Contingency means the client is using more than one search firm and they only get paid if their candidate is chosen. Retained means the company is using only one search firm and they are paying them a fee until they find the right candidate. ADVANTAGES– Search firms can provide you with an additional way to get out your resume. They can help you in certain industries that primarily use recruiters: legal, banking, IT, non-profits, and academe. They are a source of confidential opportunities that are never advertised online. Search firms can provide you with information about a company’s corporate culture that you cannot find out otherwise. They can be helpful in giving you insight into salary ranges. The search firm knows exactly the range for a particular job title in a particular company. DISADVANTAGES – Some search firms are not very ethical. They might pump you for information about the other companies you are applying to so they can find out what is happening in the industry. The purpose of the search firm is to fill a position for their client, not to obtain contacts for you. It can be easy to lose control of your job search if you only depend upon the mercy of the search firm. Search firms are not useful if you are changing industries or careers. They want candidates who have done exactly what their client is looking for. How to Contact – Write a cover letter that is specific to their job title and includes the key words, skills and accomplishments they are looking for. State the job title, industry, geographic location and function you are looking for. Include a summary statement with your most remarkable attributes. Include your key accomplishments. End the letter with “If my background and qualifications meet the needs of one of your clients, I would be happy to meet with you to further discuss how I might contribute.” Follow up with a phone call to the contact person. Express an interest in the job. Get the most of a search firm – Research which firms are in your field. Use the Directory of Executive and Professional Recruiters. Look on the search firm’s web site for the types of jobs they are filling and apply only to the ones that are a good match for your skills, qualities and accomplishments. Find out if they are reputable. They get you the interview, you get yourself the job. These suggested were provided by Amy Geffen from Geffen Careers at www.geffencareers.com
3 Interview Questions You Should Ask Every Candidate
Posted by Stephen Clarke 26th July 2016 Ahhh the interview! So much content around this topic it almost hurts our eyes. And we get it – the interview is a critical stage in the recruitment process so it makes sense for writers to generate floods of content on this topic. Recruiters are under severe pressure to generate a list of high-quality candidates for interview and with the costs of a bad hire becoming increasingly transparent, recruiters and hiring managers are at a high risk of being in the firing line when blame is being apportioned if a recent hire doesn’t work out. So we’re going to give you our take and cut through the bullsh*t. It’s time to take a look at the interview questions you ask and determine if these are actually telling you something about your candidate. Seasoned interviewers develop a short list of best questions they always ask but we believe these 3 questions will immediately tell you more about the person behind the resume – their personality, their skills, and their weaknesses. It’s your decision whether to ask these questions during the screening process or the face-to-face interview. (Handpicked Related Content: Interview Questions That Top CEOs LOVE to Ask (Infographic)) Must-Ask Interview Question #1: What attracts you to this role? It’s a fairly obvious question to ask but are you actually listening to what the candidate has to say here? There’s no point just listening to the candidate stroking the company’s ego and stating how ‘cool’ it would be to work there and test out the ping pong table. You are looking for an answer that goes way beyond this. Ideally, you want an answer that not only tells you why the candidate wants to work for the company, but also why this candidate wants this specific job. Hiring managers will immediately drop candidates who don’t display clear motivation so it’s important you make sure this candidate is passionate about the role before passing them along. When listening to your candidate’s answer to this question, you should evaluate it according to the following areas: Do they have a fair idea what the company does and how their products/services help people? Do they have a clear idea of what this role entails? Do they think they will be able to showcase their skills in this role? Are they passionate about this type of role? What specifically motivates/drives them to get out of bed in the morning and perform this role? What attracts you to this role? Must-Ask Interview Question #2: What is your greatest achievement? A great question to ask that allows you as an interviewer to get an insight into what your candidate values and what they consider to be important. It also demonstrates what the candidate considers to be an achievement. The question helps you gauge whether this candidate will be have the requisite skills and knowledge to achieve the goals you have in store for them. Ideally you want an answer that shows their understanding of what a difficult goal/achievement is, and that also displays their work ethic while maintaining high standards of work quality. Typically, candidates give a 1-2 minute overview of their achievement but you want a complete answer and a deeper sense of the accomplishment. One way of doing this is applying STAR criteria to your questioning. This means asking the following questions: Situation: Can you please describe the task, challenge, project, or problem? Task: What goal were you working toward? What did you have to achieve? Action: What did you do? What specific steps did you take and what was your particular contribution? Result: Describe the outcome of your actions. What did you achieve through your actions and did you meet your objectives? What did you learn from this experience and have you used this learning since? What is your greatest achievement? Must-Ask Interview Question #3: How would you solve this problem? Whereas the previous question focuses on past performance, this question involves you presenting a fictional problem (it can be real also!) around something specifically related to their job function alone. We find this question can really separate the top candidates from the average ones as candidates must act on the spot and walk you through his/her approach of solving this problem, as well as their thinking process throughout. Candidate answers to this question reflect their job-related problem-solving skills, creativity, strategic thinking, and planning ability. A tip from us would be to keep the problem as realistic and relevant as possible. Otherwise, you won’t learn much about the candidate’s problem-solving skills. Try presenting a current problem the job function is experiencing as the ability to solve this is a good predictive factor for job performance. Ask the candidate to walk you through the steps they would take to solve the issue. Before the interview, we would recommend making a list of the essential steps and deduct points if the candidate omits these in their answer e.g. consulting other business units, identifying key performance indicators etc. How would you solve this problem? So these are the 3 questions that we believe are the best predictors of job performance. The reason we chose these questions is because they not only help determine if the candidate is driven and motivated about the role but also determine if they actually have the skills to perform the role. By asking these questions, you are at less risk of making a bad hire because of a flawed interview process.
3 Interview Questions all interviewers should ask
Posted by Stephen Clarke 26th July 2016 Ahhh the interview! So much content around this topic it almost hurts our eyes. And we get it – the interview is a critical stage in the recruitment process so it makes sense for writers to generate floods of content on this topic. Recruiters are under severe pressure to generate a list of high-quality candidates for interview and with the costs of a bad hire becoming increasingly transparent, recruiters and hiring managers are at a high risk of being in the firing line when blame is being apportioned if a recent hire doesn’t work out. So we’re going to give you our take and cut through the bullsh*t. It’s time to take a look at the interview questions you ask and determine if these are actually telling you something about your candidate. Seasoned interviewers develop a short list of best questions they always ask but we believe these 3 questions will immediately tell you more about the person behind the resume – their personality, their skills, and their weaknesses. It’s your decision whether to ask these questions during the screening process or the face-to-face interview. (Handpicked Related Content: Interview Questions That Top CEOs LOVE to Ask (Infographic)) Must-Ask Interview Question #1: What attracts you to this role? It’s a fairly obvious question to ask but are you actually listening to what the candidate has to say here? There’s no point just listening to the candidate stroking the company’s ego and stating how ‘cool’ it would be to work there and test out the ping pong table. You are looking for an answer that goes way beyond this. Ideally, you want an answer that not only tells you why the candidate wants to work for the company, but also why this candidate wants this specific job. Hiring managers will immediately drop candidates who don’t display clear motivation so it’s important you make sure this candidate is passionate about the role before passing them along. When listening to your candidate’s answer to this question, you should evaluate it according to the following areas: Do they have a fair idea what the company does and how their products/services help people? Do they have a clear idea of what this role entails? Do they think they will be able to showcase their skills in this role? Are they passionate about this type of role? What specifically motivates/drives them to get out of bed in the morning and perform this role? What attracts you to this role? Must-Ask Interview Question #2: What is your greatest achievement? A great question to ask that allows you as an interviewer to get an insight into what your candidate values and what they consider to be important. It also demonstrates what the candidate considers to be an achievement. The question helps you gauge whether this candidate will be have the requisite skills and knowledge to achieve the goals you have in store for them. Ideally you want an answer that shows their understanding of what a difficult goal/achievement is, and that also displays their work ethic while maintaining high standards of work quality. Typically, candidates give a 1-2 minute overview of their achievement but you want a complete answer and a deeper sense of the accomplishment. One way of doing this is applying STAR criteria to your questioning. This means asking the following questions: Situation: Can you please describe the task, challenge, project, or problem? Task: What goal were you working toward? What did you have to achieve? Action: What did you do? What specific steps did you take and what was your particular contribution? Result: Describe the outcome of your actions. What did you achieve through your actions and did you meet your objectives? What did you learn from this experience and have you used this learning since? What is your greatest achievement? Must-Ask Interview Question #3: How would you solve this problem? Whereas the previous question focuses on past performance, this question involves you presenting a fictional problem (it can be real also!) around something specifically related to their job function alone. We find this question can really separate the top candidates from the average ones as candidates must act on the spot and walk you through his/her approach of solving this problem, as well as their thinking process throughout. Candidate answers to this question reflect their job-related problem-solving skills, creativity, strategic thinking, and planning ability. A tip from us would be to keep the problem as realistic and relevant as possible. Otherwise, you won’t learn much about the candidate’s problem-solving skills. Try presenting a current problem the job function is experiencing as the ability to solve this is a good predictive factor for job performance. Ask the candidate to walk you through the steps they would take to solve the issue. Before the interview, we would recommend making a list of the essential steps and deduct points if the candidate omits these in their answer e.g. consulting other business units, identifying key performance indicators etc. How would you solve this problem? So these are the 3 questions that we believe are the best predictors of job performance. The reason we chose these questions is because they not only help determine if the candidate is driven and motivated about the role but also determine if they actually have the skills to perform the role. By asking these questions, you are at less risk of making a bad hire because of a flawed interview process.
Why Educational Publishing and Educational Technology Companies should use a Niche Recruiter!
1. Recruiters spend every day, day in and day out, finding the specialized candidates you need. They don’t just talk to ad responses. They attend professional conferences and seminars talking to passive candidates and turning them into active candidates. They have in-house databases of thousands of candidates that do what you are looking for whom they can reach out to instantaneously to address your need. 2. Recruiters are terrific at defining your need and your ideal candidate. If there is an unusual aspect to the position, they can tell you the impact that will have on the search and the salary you will need to pay. The best recruiters have such a long tenure in their niche they can give you the pros and cons of your job description and set your expectations realistically. 3. Recruiters know how to package your position and your company to attract the best candidates. You know how to define your company, but recruiters know what aspects of that definition will appeal or repel candidates. They can match the candidate to your company culture. 4. Recruiters will fill your position more efficiently and quickly than your staff can. Specialized searches require learning curve time for talent acquisition staff. Niche recruiters don’t have that ramp up time, which saves you money. Do you want line managers and leaders in your firm, who know what the needs of the position are, spending time searching LinkedIn and Monster? 5. Recruiters are able to get inside information not typically available to you. Because they are a third party, not the employer or the potential employee, candidates will share concerns and issues with them more easily. This allows the recruiter to address those issues before they become a rejection or your opening. 6. Recruiters have credibility with hiring managers and candidates. Using a recruiter who is known in a niche space makes your internal staff more comfortable you are doing everything possible to fill their need, and that the candidates that will be sourced will be on target. 7. Recruiters keep you focused on filling the position. Because all they do is recruit in this niche, they aren’t distracted by a variety of different openings and different job responsibilities, as you are. 8. You won’t need to see as many candidates to get a top person hired. Specialized recruiters will have already screened the B and C candidates out. You will get fewer resumes in your in box but they will be right on-target. 9. Recruiter’s work is guaranteed. If you hire without a recruiter, all of the time spent on that hire is lost money. Recruiters will refund their fee if their candidate doesn’t work out. 10. Recruiters work on a contingent basis. What other professional service company will accept only getting paid once the job is filled? They receive nothing for their work in defining the job, selling the company, sourcing candidates, interviewing and prepping and negotiating the offer, unless they fill the position. This makes them very motivated to fill your position! If you are a hiring manager or HR Pro that would like the assistance of our HIGHLY NETWORKED team in the Educational and STM and Educational Technology spaces. let me know! You can reach to me at sganz@uspublishingjobs.com