Tips to Best Prepare for an Interview
You have a job interview coming up. Don’t panic. Here are some tips and strategies to prepare yourself for a stellar performance. 1. Do your research – Learn as much as you can about the company through their website, LinkedIn, their annual report and any recent news articles about the company mission, goals, challenges. Learn about your interviewer through LinkedIn and Google. Know something about the person or people sitting opposite you in the interview. 2. Be prepared – Know your pitch (your 2 minute commercial). Be prepared with 2 or 3 stories about your greatest accomplishments and how you solved problems for other companies and how that relates to what you can do for this organization. Don’t spend too much time on each answer – two minutes is the maximum. Just make sure you illustrate your skills with a real life example that shows how you can get results. 3. Practice in front of a mirror – Write out your stories. Read them over and over until they feel very familiar. Be able to talk in a conversational tone so it doesn’t sound like you memorized them. Practice in front of a mirror or with a trusted friend. 4. Dress the part – Dress appropriately for the industry and company. Set out your clothes the night before. If you are in finance or insurance, dress in neutrals, such as gray or navy. Shirt and tie are de rigueur for men. If you are in IT you can be more casual with khakis and a shirt with no tie. If you are in fashion, be stylish and up to date. 5. Follow Up – After the interview make sure to follow up with an email in which you can reiterate your fine points, your skills and mention one or two accomplishments. You can make up for any poorly answered questions or incomplete answers from the interview. Remember to say that you want the job and would love to work for the company. Interviews don’t have to be that stressful if you are prepared and a have a few stories to tell. (c) 2019 Amy Geffen All rights reserved.
Helpful tips to negotiate your salary
So you have been interviewing for jobs and you finally got an offer. Congratulations! Don’t just accept the first number they throw at you. They have probably been asking you to tell them what you would want in terms of salary. And if you have mentioned a number before they make the offer you have already broken one of the key rules of negotiation. Don’t talk about salary until they make you an offer. 1) Build your case for your candidacy by making sure you tell them how you can help solve their problems Talk about previous accomplishments that are directly relevant to the job. Find out if they have any objections and try to overcome them. 2) Do your research. Find out what is the range of salary for the exact position in your city by looking on Glassdoor, Vault and Salary.com Know what is realistic for your city and state. Salaries vary a great deal from state to state and city to city. 3) Never throw out the first number. The first person to say a number in any negotiation loses. If they ask you early on in the process say you know they will be fair. If they ask you again, say let’s wait until I understand the roles and responsibilities. 4) When they offer you the job, THEN you can start to negotiate. Give a range making sure the low end of your range is the lowest you are willing to accept. Everything is negotiable…not just salary. Negotiate every aspect including training, continuing education, attendance at conferences, sign on bonus, vacation, travel relocation expenses, how and when you will be evaluated, and how often you will get a raise. Start with the easy yeses, NOT with vacation time. 5) Never respond immediately. When they make the offer, say you are thrilled and would love to work for them and you need 24 hours to think about it, or if it is on a Friday, say you need the weekend to think about it. Then when you talk to them on Monday morning say, I am relly excited about working for xyz company. Is that the best you can do? Usually the first number they give you is not the last. (c) 2019 Amy Geffen All rights reserved
Best time to search for a Job
Spring is here and summer is approaching, and if you are out of work you may be thinking, maybe I should take the summer off because there are no job openings this time of year. Well, you would be wrong There is no best time to look for a job. Spring – Lots of job movement when families buy and sell homes in anticipation of a move to a different location so their kids can start in a new school in the fall. Summer is a great time because not many other people are looking. People are moving to other cities, other jobs during the summer, and it is a perfect time to look. Fall – People are going back to school, returning to their jobs after summer vacation. So it is not a good time to look. You would be wrong again. Openings occur all year long. Winter holiday season is not a good time to look. People are busy with holidays. Wrong agin. This is the time of year when employees are receiving bonuses – or not; getting raises – or not. So it is a time that staff get laid off – right before or right after the holidays are over. So there is no best time of year to look for a job. The bottom line is the best time is when you are STILL WORKING! Recruiters and hiring managers search by key words on LinkedIn to find people who are currently working to offer them an opporutntiy to interview for open positions. Employers and hiring managers are biased against those who are unemployed. If you are happy and challenged in your current position – congratulations! You should still keep an eye out for possible opportunities and stay in the game through networking. But if you are becoming uncomfortable or getting bored, or not getting recognized the time to start is now! (c) 2019 Amy Geffen All rights reserved
How to fill the Job Gap
So you just lost your job and are feeling sorry for yourself. You start on your job search in earnest. But what if it takes 6 months or a year or more to find your next job, what do you so in the meantime? And how will you fill the gap on your resume? Here are some ways to fill the gap. PAID 1 Consulting Get a gig from your most recent employer, a precious employer or a referral to consult using your best skills. 2 Interim position Fill a full time position in the short term 3 or 6 months while you keep looking. Agencies that specialize in interim assignments can help match you to an appropriate position. The.downside is there are no benefits or 401k. 3. Part time work doing same thing you have been doing one or two days a week. Again, there are temp agencies to fill those positions. UNPAID 4. Volunteering for a cause you are passionate about. No pay but lots of satisfaction. Volunteering fills the job gap gives you an opportunity to network with other people and obtain another reference for your skills, responsibility and dedication. 5.Pro bono consulting Lots of non-profits need expertise in marketing, fundraising, strategic planning, website management, and board development. You can offer your services by going directly to non-profits or going through a recognized provider such as Taproot Foundation. It is important to show a prospective employer that you have been using your skills and filling your time wisely while pursuing your job search. If your part-time, interim. or volunteer work is relevant, do put it on your resume. (c) 2019 Amy Geffen All rights reserved www.geffencareers.com
Key points to address when revising your Resume
Everyone needs a resume, whether you are staying put, making a lateral move, or a moving up the career ladder. It is especially true if you are changing job titles, industries or locations. If you are changing careers, job titles, or industries how do you write a resume that transitions your skills? 1 Accomplishments – You must connect the dots for the prospective employer. Your accomplishments must use metrics to show results and be relevant to the next position you seek. You did X for a past employer and therefore you can do Y for this employer. 2 Key words reflect the job title and the industry. You must use key words and language from that industry. Seek out examples from posted job ads or jobs described on company websites. 3 Relevant skills – Don’t expect an employer to make the leap between what you have done on your last job and what you can do for them. You have to show that your skills are transferable. useful, and relevant. 4 What are you lacking? You must overcome objections to your lack of specific experience in the new industry. Show that what you have done is relevant. Show that you can solve problems as you have done for others. Figure out which skills and accomplishments are relevant. 5 Show your interest and passion…When transferring to a new industry. you need to become thoroughly immersed in the new field. How? By participating in conferences, reading trade journals, joining an association for your new industry. Get involved with a committee so you can learn as much as you can and build relationships with people in the new field. Remember – your job is to convince the prospective employer that you can solve their problems. Your skills are relevant and transferable to the new job, the new industry or the new location. (c) 2019 Amy Geffen All rights reserved— GEFFEN C A R E E R S www.geffencareers.com
Where are you in your career and what is in your future?
Most of us are so busy with day-to-day concerns about job and family that we never take the time to reflect on where we are in our careers and where we are going. How can we reach our goals if we don’t know where we are now and what steps to take to get there? Why bother taking stock of your current situation at every stage of your career? Here are the reasons to assess your current career situation and plan for the future: 1) It clarifies your values at each stage of your career – What are your best skills? What can you improve? What are your values in the workplace, for family and friends, for volunteering,and interests? 2) It helps you focus on your goals – Are you learning and growing? Do you want to make more money for retirement? To pay for your children’s college education? Do you want to give back to your neighborhood, your profession or to a cause you believe in? 3) It gives you a path to move forward – if you don’t set goals, how will you ever reach them? Each path takes a number of steps so you can plan for every stage. If your goal is to get to the C-suite it won’t happen overnight or in the next year if you are in your early or mid-career. What intermediary steps will you need to take to get there? 4) It informs your decision to take the next steps – In the immediate future – 3-6 months. For your mid term goals – 1-3 years or Long Term goals – 5 years, 10 years, 15 years, 20 years or more…Ask yourself where do you want to be? in your career? your family life? your friendships? your spiritual life? your hobbies? If you are not sure what your next steps are in your career, or how to assess your current situation, working with an outplacement company or an experienced career coach can help. (c) 2019 Amy Geffen All rights reserved GEFFEN C A R E E R S www.geffencareers.com
What to do next when you feel stuck in your job search and not getting results
Here are some ways to get unstuck at each stage of your job search. Take a look at what you are doing and find ways to refresh your approach. (and, oh, by the way, you can register for my 10 week workshop to help you in your job search. Register here: https://geffencareers.wufoo.com/forms/w1w9wc8a1i6w5nc/ ) 1) Assessment – Go back to your original accomplishments and list of skills. Did you leave something out? Are you expecting to use skills that are no longer current? Do you need to take a course? 2) Branding – Is your pitch falling flat? Rewrite it and have a friend listen to you. Resume not getting results? Focus on one job target at a time and tailor your resume to that job. Be sure to include key words. Make sure someone else looks at your resume. 3) Connecting. Are you meeting new people in your chosen field? Maybe it is time to join a new group, expand your network. Have coffe/tea or lunch with someone at least once a week. Get to know them. Ask them to introduce you to other people.. Re-connect with former acquaintances and former colleagues. 4) Differentiating – If telling your personal stories is not working then it is time to re-write your stories. Choose another accomplishment that proves you can achieve results. Saying you are successful is not as impactful as giving an example of a specific accomplishment. Practice the story. Say it aloud until it becomes second nature. 5) Enhancing – After each meeting or coffee/tea or lunch or interview, follow up with each person. Show you were listening. Craft an email that is directly related to your conversation. Stay in touch every month to let them know you are intereted in them, their company and their industry. (c) 2019 Amy Geffen All rights reserved GEFFEN C A R E E R S www.geffencareers.com
What questions do you ask the interviewer?
You applied for a job. You got an interview. Congratulations! You spend hours preparing your answers to typical and difficult questions so you feel confident, ready and raring to go. But what about the questions you are supposed to ask the interviewer? You know they will ask you, “Do you have any questions?” So, what do you ask? And, what do you avoid asking? 1) Do not ask about salary. That should have been brought up by the interviewer. If not, do not bring it up. That is a discussion for after you get the job offer. 2) Do not ask about benefits. See the answer to question #1. 3) Do ask, “What is the biggest challenge your company is facing in the next 3-6 months?”. This gives you an idea of a problem that you can help solve. Then think of how you have solved that problem in the past and how you can do the same for this company. 4) Do ask “What keeps you up at night? The answer will tell you a little more about the work that your interviewer is doing and how you might be able to help . 5) Finally, do ask “How do I compare to the other candidates”? The interviewer may not wish to answer this question.. Probe to see how you compare, The interviewer will say that s/he cannot say anything about the other candidates. What you want to know is this, do you lack any particular skill that the other candidate(s) might have? Then you can try to overcome that with another example of how you used that particular skill for another company. Remember, the interview is all about how you can help solve the problems of the company and the interviewer, not about you. (c) 2019 Amy Geffen All rights reserved — GEFFEN C A R E E R S www.geffencareers.com
5 Steps to Building Your Network
If you are job hunting you need to re-connect with everyone you know and expand your network – get yourself in front of the right people in the right industries to get into the companies on your job target list. If you have not looked for a job in a while, or are changing industries, or are new to the job market, here are some ways to build your network: 1) Join the professional association for your job title -Every profession has at least one association and some have more than one. Doctors have the AMA, attorneys can join the ABA, neonatal nurses the NAPNAP, CPAs have NYSCPA, and association execs can join ASAE. Become active on a committee to get to build relationships. 2) Join your alumni association – if you have more than one degree, join each alumni association from each of your schools, including high school. Go to events or become active on a committee. Alumni are more willing to engage in conversation or give advice or make introductions for your job search.. 3) Become active as a volunteer for one organization that speaks to your passion – Housing Works, Meals on Wheels, Girl or Boy Scouts, local religious institution, tutoring, mentoring, etc. You will meet people from all different fields who know all kinds of people. 4) Join a civic or religious organization – a local Chamber of Commerce, Elks, Masons, synagogue, temple, church, mosque, etc. This is one more opportunity to meet new people and build relationships. 5) Follow your passion – Do you like to hike? Join AMC or SIerra Club and go frequently. Do you like to sing? Join a local chorus and go every week… get to know your choir companions. When you follow your passion you meet other people who love what you love and oh, by the way, they work in different fields in different companies. Remember: 40% of people get their next job through networking. Expand your network and improve your chances of getting your next position. (c) 2019 Amy Geffen All rights reserved. — GEFFEN C A R E E R S www.geffencareers.com GetFive Certified Coach5 Steps to Build Your Network5 Steps to Build Your Network5 Steps to Build Your Network
5 Ways to use LinkedIn For Your Job Search
You know you need a LInkedIn Profile, but did you know there are at least 5 ways to use LinkedIn to help you with your job search? 1) Get noticed – Hiring managers, search firms and agencies are searching on key words to find people just like you. That is the reason to use key words in your LinkedIn profile summary. 2) Connect to your bigger network. – Ask your first degree connections to connect you to their first degree connections. 3) Look up alumni from your college or university – search by school and you can find lots of people who attended your school. Alumni are much more likely to talk to you, set up a coffee and are willing to give you career advice. 4) Research a company – Most companies now have a LInkedIn page in addition to their company website. Find out what makes them tick and who works for them. 5) Research your interviewer. – Make sure you know who you are talking to BEFORE you show up for the interview. Look them up on LinkedIn and find out where they worked previously, where they went to school, and any other salient information. You may even find you have something in common! www.geffencareers.com GetFive Certified Coach Amy Geffen, PhD geffena108@gmail.com