08/27/2019 by Your Careerpilot

Beyond Your NOTION of FIT

Be prepared! Sounds simple, doesn’t it? After all, the Boy Scouts have been teaching this idea to kids for over 100 years.

So why in the world would most job seekers show up for an interview unprepared? You see it all the time—they dash in from the parking lot with no particular plan on how to engage their potential employer. Or they relentlessly work the phones only to discover that they’ve offered nothing more than hollow chitchat.

So why IS it that job seekers fail to prepare?

THIS WEEK’s Session, Thursday, August 29… Closing The Deal II: Discussion and PRACTICE of good interviewing tactics, including POST-Offer negotiation

Because it is easier to talk about you, your company and your products than it is to prepare to have a conversation about THEM!

Here’s the big question: what are you doing to prepare that if your next employer knew you were doing it, they would be more inclined to have an open and honest dialogue with you? The next time you meet with a prospect or client, open the conversation with this simple phrase:

“In preparing for this meeting I took some time to discover a few things that would allow me to succeed in this role…” Then simply highlight the two or three critical things that you did to prepare and watch what happens to the atmosphere of the call. You will blow away the last interviewee (your competition) who opened their meeting in silence, waiting to be interrogated!

The less you talk about yourself, the more you have to prepare to talk about them. In the nine-box matrix, it’s about meeting their expectations! And the more you talk about them, the more likely they will be interested in you. Back to our matrix, it’s about creating the allusive BUYING SIGNAL, and mitigating any risks about a good FIT.

Not exactly the secret formula you were hoping for. But it is an obvious formula—so obvious that most job seekers ignore it.

Here are ten keys that you can use to create your own successful interview habits:

Learn about their business—their products/services, customers, industry trends, key initiatives, financial status, and competition.
Discover something about the person you are meeting with. Google them, talk to their colleagues, or call others in the industry who have insights. Use a targeted organization networking approach.
Plan questions that establish your expertise and get them to think in new ways. The more thought provoking your questions are, the more your prospective employers will respect and remember you!
Identify the benefits of your value to this potential employer. Your value proposition needs to be clear, concise, credible and compelling!
Prepare ideas that hold value for your ‘next employer.’ Your language needs to reflect a focus on solutions…meeting their needs!
Communicate an outline of your meeting prior to the actual interview. Ask them to review and provide you with feedback. Getting their buy-in before you walk in the door is critical, and it demonstrates your commitment to delivering value.
Identify the resistance that you are most likely to encounter and prepare ideas, case studies, testimonials or expert opinions to help reduce their reluctance to move forward. OVER-qualified? No INDUSTRY experience…
Plan how you will close the interview appointment and decide what agreements you need to ask for.
Remind yourself to be friendly and courteous to everyone that you encounter. Your potential employer is constantly deciding how much they like you, how much they trust you and how much confidence they have in you.
BE CONFIDENT in your PRE-Offer and POST-Offer negotiation approaches. It takes time—often a long time—to build your personal brand. And it takes only a few seconds for it to be destroyed.

06/10/2019 by Your Careerpilot

On-Board YOURSELF Better Than ANY Potential Employer Can

Whether you are an operations manager, an internal HR professional, senior finance executive, or a key player on the IT team—ANY experienced and valued professional job seeker—ALL and EVERYONE wants to become a valued partner in the business of their next employer. Everyone wants a voice in strategic decisions and to be included in ‘the conversation.’

To truly be included, you need to be invited. And you will only be invited if you are seen as absolutely essential to the TEAM. Remember, team player and team leader CAN BE interchangeable terms.

THIS WEEK’s Session, Thursday, June 13th: Closing The Deal II: Interview TACTICS, including POST-Offer negotiation.

All too often, a job seeker finds themselves in the mode of seeking “tips and tricks” leading to greater job search success. It’s NOT that simple. Rather, it takes a commitment to “embracing the OTHER job market” and following the more systematic, methodical, predictable 12 Steps. Each step interacts with the others to propel your successful search for the right next opportunity!

When you’ve followed all 12 Steps, you are in position to on-board yourself with your next employer… BETTER than they can do for themselves….

ACCEPTING THE OFFER becomes a choice leading to satisfactory result
LESS RAMP-UP time as you’ve already given yourself access to internal resources and contacts… your are READY to be viewed as a “rock star” in your new position
You are prepared to truly partner with your employer’s future success
And, best-of-show? You are in a position to stay aware of next steps in your career for the rest of your working days of employment!

Here are some tips on becoming, and developing your position, as a valued partner…

Walk the talk. Nothing speaks louder than results…. From the recruitment perspective, the best indicator of one’s potential for success is one’s prior experience and results gained. A partner helps others within the organization achieve their goals. And results require actions, not just words. The better the results you get, the more likely you are to be invited on to ‘the team.’

Deep knowledge. You must have a true understanding of every aspect of the business, how all the moving parts work together, the obstacles ahead, and intimate knowledge of the competition in the marketplace. In other words, you’ve done your homework and understand your potential employer’s need. And you must be able to articulate your understanding to anyone involved in the decision-making process in a manner that demonstrates that you truly get it.

Two of the many ways of accomplishing this image are to…

Keep a file of relevant articles to share with key decision-makers, take advantage of the approaches that email and social media have to offer… create and maintain top-of-mind awareness.
Further, create a set of ‘white papers’ that express, from your knowledge and experience, your perspective on relevant issues to your Profession or industry of choice.

Listen well. Everyone loves to feel that they have been heard and understood. One attribute of leadership is being known as a good listener. And if you can reiterate and articulate what has been said, you will be valued as a partner in the decision-making process.

Remember, as a job seeker, NETWORKING is your way to share knowledge, ‘branding’ yourself as a valued resource. It is also your best source of confirming the subjective information you seek to supplement your research of factual information about a potential employer.

Big picture thinking. Having a strategic vision requires you to see all areas of the business, internal and external. This is a valuable trait well beyond the C-suite. If you only have a deep understanding of one area, you are more likely to be tactical in your decisions, rather than strategic. You must be able to foresee problems from the stakeholders’ perspective in order to offer the most highly valued and comprehensive solutions.

Tying all of this together, the best way to be treated like a valued partner is to act like one. The more you demonstrate your value, the more you will become recognized as the go-to person in the organization and you will be included and have a voice in the big strategic decisions.

11/28/2018 by Your Careerpilot

Closing The Deal: Determining ‘Next Steps’

A productive mindset, during any career transition, is your ability to relate your well positioned “story” to others, answer questions effectively, conduct productive negotiations, and, in general, fine tune your personal marketing (NOT sales) skills.

Tomorrow’s Session…Thursday, November 29th… Closing The Deal II: Interview Tactics, including POST-Offer negotiation.

So what are those basic tactics that will allow you to effectively “close the deal?”

Practice your two minute drill every chance you get…. it’s the fundamental building material of your communication strategy–your verbal collaterals!
Practice your exit and qualification statements… most all potential employers and networking contacts will want to know your current situation and why you are available.
Practice answering both common and tough questions… including pre-offer negotiation tactics.

The most asked question during career transition is, “Tell me about yourself.” Appropriate use of your two-minute drill and related verbal strategies, your “verbal collaterals,” is a key ingredient to personal salesmanship…

A verbal resume… A tightly focused, upbeat telling of “your story” told in a high impact two minute format. With practice, can be easily personalized to your listener.
An “elevator pitch”… A succinct summary of your qualifications for a specifically positioned function or opportunity. With practice, can become quite spontaneous.
Brag bytes… Wordcraft various collections of words, phrases and sentences to capture memorable moments or accomplishments–the best you have to offer. “…saved 80% cost-per-hire…” Used in MSWord Auto Text Format can be quite efficient when building high impact correspondence as well.
Personal Portfolio… Your collection of certificates, examples of work, reference letters, etc that can bring life and interest (not to mention PROOF) to your story.

Think of an interview as the natural extension, the successful result of your effective networking. Many networking conversations actually become screening interviews, where influential contacts are assessing your qualifications, skill sets and experience relative to an opportunity at hand.

“Perfect practice” of the basics builds the confidence necessary to perform well in formal job interviews. Let’s break down the basics into four areas…

pre-contact preparation/ research,
greeting and rapport,
questions/answers, and …
meeting closure.

All four stages are equally important and deserve your consideration and preparation.

Know the needs of the company

Once your basic research is complete, you must next identify how your abilities, experience and expertise can meet the needs of the interviewer, the company and the job. This point cannot be over-emphasized. It is the company’s needs that you must fill, not your own. Surprisingly, however, by meeting the company’s needs, your needs also will be met.

Your VALUE PROPOSITION

Prepare for your interviews (and networking meetings) by fully understanding the value you bring to a potential employer and hiring company. Incorporate portions of this information into your interview responses, or use some of the material in your interview closing remarks. Tell them why you are good at what you do!

The Interviewee’s Nine-Box Matrix of Interview Process…

Confirm FIT	YOU	JOB	FIT
ASK
ANSWER
MONEY

04/04/2018 by Your Careerpilot

Thoughts on Behavior-based Interviews

Like falling in love, interviews can be like a next step on the career path of the rest of your working days. However, interviews can also be mind-numbing disasters that cast you into the depths of self- doubt and depression. In EVERY interview, you can plan, prepare, and practice your way to a more confident, high performing YOU that can persevere and succeed through this critical stage of a job search. Even rejection can be turned in to a positive outcome.

For some time now, ‘behavioral interviewing’ has been a strong trend in the recruitment process. Being aware of this as a recruitment strategy, planning to take advantage of it, will help you to avoid an otherwise nerve wrecking experience. In fact, acing that particular sort of interview could be the stepping stone to the career path of your dreams.

Interview Preparation:

Do your background research on industry, company, interviewer(s), and, importantly, the value proposition you offer in the role, the opportunity at hand.

Understand the requirements of the position and how they create expectations of you. Get the Company jo description in advance and understand it!
Know who will be conducting the interview… use LinkedIn to be aware of their background.
Utilize target organization networking to gain insight into the organization’s needs.
Prepare 2 – 3 points in advance that clearly communicates why you are an excellent fit for the position—and don’t overlook company (department level) cultural issues.

Behavioral Interview Questions: What are they?

They are common questions based on the premise that past behavior is the best indicator of future behavior. They can

· Provide proof of your potential demonstrated through description of past situations

· Instead of being situational e.g. “If you are faced with a difficult customer issue, what will you do?” a behavioral question is more like, “Give an example of a situation here you were faced with a challenging customer issue… and what did you do?”

· This type of question is open ended and allows the interviewer to probe and zero in on specific behaviors and skills to find out more about the candidate

Interviewers use behavioral interview questions to assess leadership, problem-solving, analytical thinking, time management, communication and interpersonal skills.

Candidates need to prepare examples and stories that demonstrate the themes mentioned above. In addition, as a candidate, you should prepare examples and stories for additional key competencies that are outlined on the job description.

Practice, practice, practice! (Where have you heard THIS before?)

Your self-confidence in your presentation, and belief that you’re the best candidate for the role, is paramount. It’s important to practice responses out loud. Practice with your accountability partner. Practice with family. Practice with friends, fellow job-seekers and an experienced, skilled and knowledgeable Career Services Professional.

Practice so you’ll have a flow and can articulate your examples clearly and concisely. The flip side is, of course, don’t memorize examples verbatim… as you might sound too rehearsed an unnatural.

Be YOURSELF.

07/12/2017 by Your Careerpilot

Learning To Fish vs. Buying a Six Pack of Haddock

Practice your two minute drill every chance you get…. it’s the fundamental building material of your communication strategy–your verbal collaterals!
Practice your exit and qualification statements… most all potential employers and networking contacts will want to know your current situation and why you are available.
Practice answering both common and tough questions… utilize the three basic guidelines–including pre-offer negotiation tactics.
Have Questions to Ask that provide info on offer criteria

Next Session: Thursday, July 13th… Closing The Deal II: Interview TACTICS including POST-Offer negotiation.

The most asked question during career transition is, “Tell me about yourself.” Appropriate use of your two-minute drill and related verbal strategies, your “verbal collateral materials,” is a key ingredient to personal salesmanship…

A verbal resume… A tightly focused, upbeat telling of “your story” told in a high impact two minute format. With practice, can be easily personalized to your listener.
An “elevator pitch”… A succinct summary of your qualifications for a specifically positioned function or opportunity. With practice, can become quite spontaneous.
Brag bytes… Wordcraft various collections of words, phrases and sentences to capture memorable moments or accomplishments–the best you have to offer. “…saved 80% cost-per-hire…” Used in MSWord Auto Text Format can be quite efficient when building high impact correspondence as well.
Personal Portfolio… Your collection of certificates, examples of work, reference letters, etc that can bring life and interest (not to mention PROOF) to your story.

“If you practice the way you play, there shouldn’t be any difference. That’s why I practiced so hard. I wanted to be prepared for the game.”

Michael Jordan (1963- )
American basketball player & business person
regarded by many as the greatest basketball player who ever played the game

Interested, Qualified and Available…

At the end of the day both third-party and Corporate recruiters deliver Interested, Qualified and Available candidates to the desktop of hiring managers. They source a set of candidates, qualify them, get their interest, present and hopefully close.

An individual should suspect the Company of compiling a pool of talent when they receive a position of interest by email–especially unsolicited. If you choose to submit, you will typically be directed to a series of questions about the position. These are answered by the candidate and immediately scored by the software managing the talent pool. You might be amazed by the swiftness of the next step.

The candidates immediately receive a response telling them they are qualified or not for the position while simultaneously those who are Interested, Qualified and Available are sent to the desktop of the recruiter and hiring authority for the next step in the process.

We all must be challenged to understand and embrace new technology that can make us more productive and effective to the organizations we serve. What we have, here, is the failure to merge two ineffective processes in to one very mutually advantageous one: Shared productivity in the world of recruitment.

04/10/2017 by Your Careerpilot

MAKING A DIFFERENCE: Your IntervIEwing Preference

Does it matter whether you are Introverted or Extraverted when it comes to participating in a job interview? You can bet it does, because, based on your personality’s preference, you will have different challenges during your job search and transition. Introverts and Extraverts have different strengths and blind spots, and, therefore, may find different tips helpful for performing at their best.

Much of THIS WEEK’s Session, Thursday, April 13th, will be facilitated by Brian Allen of Whittier Creek Consulting, our ‘resident MBTI Guru.’

As part of our exploration of interviewing tactics, Brian will help you identify your natural preference for Extraversion or Introversion, then explore how to overcome some of the most common interviewing challenges faced by both types. You just might discover the key to solving one of your most frustrating interview roadblocks.

The most asked question during career transition is, “Tell me about yourself.” Your appropriate use of a two-minute drill and related verbal strategies, your “verbal collaterals,” is a key ingredient to personal salesmanship…

A verbal resume… A tightly focused, upbeat telling of “your story” told in a high impact two minute format. With practice, can be easily personalized to your listener.
An “elevator pitch”… A succinct summary of your qualifications for a specifically positioned function or opportunity. With practice, can become quite spontaneous.
Brag bytes… Wordcraft various collections of words, phrases and sentences to capture memorable moments or accomplishments–the best you have to offer. “…saved 80% cost-per-hire…” Used in MSWord Auto Text Format can be quite efficient when building high impact correspondence as well.
Personal Portfolio… Your collection of certificates, examples of work, reference letters, etc that can bring life and interest (not to mention PROOF) to your story.

“If you practice the way you play, there shouldn’t be any difference. That’s why I practiced so hard. I wanted to be prepared for the game.”

Michael Jordan (1963- )
American basketball player & business person
regarded by many as the greatest basketball player who ever played the game

A productive networking call sometimes can result in a screening interview, so BE PREPARED. Most interviews follow a predictable format, with steps that both the interviewer and applicant follow to decide if both will benefit from working together. The best interviews are ones in which both participants are equal and have a mutually beneficial, interactive conversation regarding the opportunity at hand.

Let’s break down the basics into four areas

pre-contact preparation/ research,
greeting and rapport,
questions/answers, and …
meeting closure.

All four stages are equally important and deserve your consideration and preparation.

04/08/2017 by Your Careerpilot

Interviewing TACTICS: The Art of Closing the Deal

NEXT WEEK’s Session: Closing The Deal II, Interviewing Tactics, including POST-Offer Negotiation

Practice your two minute drill every chance you get…. it’s the fundamental building material of your communication strategy–your verbal collaterals!
Practice your exit and qualification statements… most all potential employers and networking contacts will want to know your current situation and why you are available.
Practice answering both common and tough questions… including pre-offer negotiation tactics.

Interested, Qualified and Available…

MoneySpeak

Regardless of offer acceptability or detail, try never to accept on-the-spot. Rather, choose to get back to them with your acceptance in a reasonable time period. You never want to imply that you are getting back with them to negotiate.

This separate transaction will help you feel prepared and confident, and help to mitigate the emotion of the moment. Even the most passive communicator should focus on one item within the offer as a target for upgrading. When in the conversation of accepting the position, express interest and motivation regarding the opportunity… pause… then “I must ask, though… Is there anything we can do about ____ ?” An inquiry about an item often leads to getting it!

You could be a bit more assertive in your acceptance by asking for a few minutes to go over the entire offer, to make sure you understand it… pause… then, go through each of the seven items included in a position’s worth (above), inquiring about each item.

Only the more aggressive communicators should attempt a more aggressive approach where you ask to go through the entire offer, making a specific request to upgrade each item as you discuss it.

In fact, when you know you have a position of negotiating strength (other offers, new business or new contacts to bring, or a unique operational strength to bring, like a personal patent or a design resolution) you might even consider a counter-offer.

Your POSITION “WORTH”

While potential employers recruit within well-defined salary ranges, your position’s worth is so much more. This total value is what you seek to improve upon, and it has several variables…

Base Salary
STRUCTURED BONUS… paid in a regular and frequent paycheck
UNStructured Bonus… these are the elusive, discretionary money sources.
Benefits
Perks
First year vacation
Starting date, if currently employed!

03/09/2016 by Your Careerpilot

Helping Your Interviewer To ENGAGE YOU in Productive Communication

Thursday, March 10th… Closing The Deal II: Interview Tactics, including POST Offer negotiation

Practice your two minute drill every chance you get…. it’s the fundamental building material of your communication strategy–your verbal collaterals!
Practice your exit and qualification statements… most all potential employers and networking contacts will want to know your current situation and why you are available.
Practice answering both common and tough questions… including pre-offer negotiation tactics.

A verbal resume… A tightly focused, upbeat telling of “your story” told in a high impact two minute format. With practice, can be easily personalized to your listener.
An “elevator pitch”… A succinct summary of your qualifications for a specifically positioned function or opportunity. With practice, can become quite spontaneous.
Brag bytes… Wordcraft various collections of words, phrases and sentences to capture memorable moments or accomplishments–the best you have to offer. “…saved 80% cost-per-hire…” Used in MSWord Auto Text Format can be quite efficient when building high impact correspondence as well.
Personal Portfolio… Your collection of certificates, examples of work, reference letters, etc that can bring life and interest (not to mention PROOF) to your story.

“If you practice the way you play, there shouldn’t be any difference. That’s why I practiced so hard. I wanted to be prepared for the game.”

Michael Jordan (1963- )
American basketball player & business person
regarded by many as the greatest basketball player who ever played the game

Interested, Qualified and Available…

INTERVIEW PREP

07/21/2015 by Your Careerpilot

Successful Interviewing and your next OFFER

Answering questions effectively

The key to being successful in an interview is to answer each question well, with strong content and credible delivery. To do this, you must anticipate and practice what to say, display confidence and enthusiasm and show that you have a positive attitude. The way you deliver your responses can be just as important as what you say.

PRE-Offer negotiation requires practice and the ensuing confidence during networking and interviewing process. It is a good example of Guideline#3 in answering questions effectively…

At least address the issue of the question before…

Blocking
Turnaround
Answering in your terms
Confronting or changing the subject!

POST-Offer Negotiation

What is your position worth?

Base Salary
Any money structured enough to be paid in a regular/ frequent paycheck
Unstructured or discretionary bonuses paid to you
Benefits (budgeted as a ratio of base salary)
Perks (becoming extinct, but not completely yet)
First year vacation (what is your sanity worth?)
Starting date (especially when employed -or- coupled with significant salary movement)

Under ‘normal circumstances’ you should have a salary increase as one of your objectives in career transition… NEVER sell yourself short! Remember, you will be hired for your potential, not for what you’ve already accomplished.

Please SHARE THIS POST with your network.

07/19/2015 by Your Careerpilot

THIS Week’s Event: CLOSING THE DEAL II-Interview TACTICS…Thursday, July 23rd@ 8:45AM at The Egg and I Restaurant

We meet at The Egg and I Restaurant (NW Quadrant of Arapaho and Montfort) in Addison. Come prepared to work on YOUR most difficult or challenging interview issues.

Thursday, July 23rd, we will be focusing on actual interview TACTICS that work well within our interview strategies learned in Closing The Deal I. This will include a POST-Offer Negotiation Approach. This stuff is worth your practice time in anticipation of that terrific offer you’ll get!

Answering questions effectively

Look directly into the interviewer’s eyes; give short, crisp, smooth answers that don’t sound memorized. Put energy in your voice. Consider one of the following guidelines in answering questions relative to your communication strategy…

ANSWER the question….

Highlight strengths, giving examples as appropriate… plays to behavioral interviewer style and tactics. Minimize weaknesses.

At least address the issue of the question before
- Blocking
- Turnaround
- Answering in your terms
- Confronting or changing the subject!

PRE-Offer Negotiation

Become knowledgable of ‘MoneySpeak’ as it relates to your salary requirements. Be confident in ANY discussion of your salary, either past or future (NOTE: There is no present tense where money is concerned!). Remember…

“He who mentions money first, LOSES.”

PRE-offer negotiation is a very common use of guideline#3 in answering questions effectively. And, as alwats, answer the question and then STOP TALKING. You will feel pressured to defend or explain, compensating for your nervousness and emotion at this moment. This is definitely worth practice time with your accountability partner.

POST-Offer Negotiation

What is your position worth?

Base Salary
Any money structured enough to be paid in a regular/ frequent paycheck
Unstructured or discretionary bonuses paid to you
Benefits (budgeted)
Perks
First year vacation
Starting date

Please SHARE THIS POST with your network.

Who should attend?

Those who want to perform more effectively in actual interviews–get to the offer!
Those seeking a systematic, focused, more predictable way to conduct any interview and discussion of salary;
“Regulars” who need a ‘booster shot.’… and bring a guest;
New Comers and tire kickers… this is a great session with which to supplement your job search effectiveness!

MYCAREERpilot

Helping you to navigate the challenging waters of career transition…

POST-Offer Negotiation

Beyond Your NOTION of FIT

On-Board YOURSELF Better Than ANY Potential Employer Can