Arleen’s Blog | Arleen Bradley Career Coaching - Putting the care in your career

Tips For A Successful Job Search During The Summer

July 22, 2013 | Author: Arleen Bradley

Combine enjoying the outdoors with job searching.

While others are enjoying the lazy, hazy days of summer thinking that no one gets hired in the summer, nothing could be further from the truth. Hiring does take place. The process may take longer. But people get hired all year around. And you could be one of them. Fortunately, you can take your job search with you to many outdoor locations.

Here are a few reminders for what you should be doing during your summer job search:

*Because work still needs get done even when the staff is on vacation; companies hire temporary help to get the job done. If you show what a terrific employee you are, you could be offered a permanent position when everyone returns.

* Since summer is a very social time of the year, be ready to network. Keep your elevator speech current and polished. Leave copies of your résumé in the car so it is available when you need it. Be sure to have plenty of business cards with you wherever you go.

*Be patient and flexible. Even though hiring takes place in the summer, it may take a while to get all the necessary people in place to conduct an interview. Days off and shortened work days have employees keeping irregular hours.

*Understand that you are doing everything in your power to find a job. The reason you aren’t getting the job isn’t a personal attack on you. It is simply that someone else is a better fit.

*Take a close look at your résumé, cover letter and other marketing materials. Tweak and update them to include keywords, achievements, and numbers. While you are at it, practice your interviewing skills.

*Update your skills or keep them fresh by volunteering, taking classes or teaching them to others. Something is always changing whether it is new or updated technology and methods. By keeping in step with the changes, you will have an advantage over people taking it easy over the summer.

*Remain positive. The pace maybe slower, but hiring does happen. Stay positive and keep your mental house in order. Eat healthy; enjoy the fresh fruits and vegetables that will be picked soon. Exercise in any way you want in the fresh air. Continue getting plenty of sleep. You need to stay healthy and in good spirits to have a mindset that says hire me.

*Plant flowers or vegetables in whatever space you have. Watching things grow in your surroundings will combat the feelings of hopelessness. It will give you a sense of accomplishment and will add beauty. And who doesn’t like fresh vegetables.

It may seem like it’s going slow but hang in there. It may require more patience, so take some time to work on your job search and enjoy the short summer season. Because next year, you will be working.

Image: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/ Adamr

Background Checks: Job Searchers Beware, Your Job Offer Might Be Might Depending On It

July 19, 2013 | Author: Arleen Bradley

Beware of background checks your job offer is depending on it.

You know that employers will check your social network profiles to learn about the real you. They will perform a Google search to see what is on the web about you. And that your former employer will be contacted for your work history. It’s pretty common place, and most job searchers are aware of it. But do you know that employers have other reasons and ways of checking on you?

Yes, they are. Hiring today is a complicated task for many reasons. One reason is an overwhelming amount of applications for each opening. Some are qualified; others are either over or under qualified. Many are desperate for a job and are willing to do anything to get a foot in the door. And the human resource people are well aware of this. They know the lengths people will go to land the job. You may think you are clever, but they have seem all the tricks. They, also, have access to information that can either support your claims or prove you wrong.

Their task of hiring the best candidate for the job includes doing background checks on people who are on the very short list. The organization wants to be extremely careful about the final choice. The cost of hiring new people is high, and they want to get it right the first time. So they do background checks on applicants.

Not all organizations do background checks, and if they do, some checks need your written permission. These are only a few types of checks they can do and the reasons why:

Credit—anyone working in a financial industry, has access to cash, and even senior level executive are checked for poor credit and bankruptcy. In addition to the opportunity for embezzlement, the organization is worried about extra work for staff for wage garnishing and other issues that can arise from having poor credit. Poor credit can show drug use or gambling.
Criminal—most states require anyone working with children, the elderly or the disabled have criminal checks including sex offender registries. Other crimes, misdemeanors and felonies, are searched. The company is liable for providing a safe work environment and tries to prevent crime related activity from taking place.
Driving—to ensure employees driving company vehicles or transporting people are safe drivers and qualified to drive specific vehicles. Insurance is high, questionable drivers with histories of accidents are likely to increase the insurance and repairs to vehicles.
Education—lying about or embellishing education credentials is increasingly becoming more common. As people struggle to find jobs, they are falsifying their grade point averages, courses taken, and even the intuition they attended to make their qualifications better than they are. However, privacy laws allow only certain information to be given out to people other than the person in question.

This list is only a small sample of the types of checks that an organization can run on you. The checks are done to protect their reputation, property and constituents. They are providing a safe environment for employees, vendors and customers free from violence, theft and other crimes. Checking the background of potential employees, organizations are protecting themselves from legal issues involving

negligence in hiring.

Personally, I appreciate the efforts of organizations to provide due diligence in not only finding the candidate best qualified for the position, but also providing a positive working environment.

10 super easy tips to creating the SMART story that will get you hired.

July 17, 2013 | Author: Arleen Bradley

In my last blog I told you what a SMART story was and why you should use it in your job search. This blog will give you some suggestions on how to write them in addition to the situation/more, the action you took, the results and the tie in.

Here are 10 of suggestions for writing your smart stories.

A great SMART story will get you the job.

Don’t lie, invent or use other’s story. It has to be your own and have actually happened.
Include numbers as dollars or percentages in as many parts of the story you can. People love to hear the numbers in increased sales or decreased costs. Numbers add more punch to the story.
It should be no longer than 2 or 3 minutes to tell the story. Anything longer and you will lose the interviewer.
Remember they want to know what’s in it for them. Try to tell the story in a way they can see the benefit of hiring you.
Create stories for different competencies the job requires, such as problem solving, teamwork, working solo, taking the lead, etc. You can use non-work related experiences, as well.
Don’t bad mouth anyone in your story. Everyone has someone who won’t pull their own weight, is negative, and/or doesn’t want to do anything anyone else tells them to do. Leave out those parts of the story.
Tell the story in a way that shows how others related to it. For example, you, your boss, the company, customers, vendors, and/or colleagues.
When you tell the story, do so in a way that makes the story interesting and not boring. Tell it in the logical sequence without jumping around. Don’t use company words or acronyms, use to many details.
Keep the story going and deliver it in a professional manner. Eliminate any filler words such as, like, uhm, you know.
Practice it so that you remember all the details,but don’t sound over-rehearsed.

Stories with numbers are a big hit with interviewers especially if you hit one of their pain points. Don’t under estimate any of your achievements. Show them that you are the most qualified candidate and can do the job better than anyone.

Image: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net Stuart Miles

Car, soar and star are related and can ace your interview.

July 15, 2013 | Author: Arleen Bradley

A well crafted story is a great way to answer behavioral questions.

The words listed here all have one thing in common. Although most of them rhyme, that isn’t what they have in common. These words all mean the same thing to a job searcher. They are all a way to answer behavioral questions in an interview. The list of words:

CAR, PAR, STAR, SOAR, and SMART.

The AR in all the words represents the same thing. A=Action and R=Result. The C stands for context or challenge; P is for problem; ST represents situation and task;

SM can either be situation and more or situation and metrics, and SO stands for situation and obstacle or scenario and ownership.

C, P, ST, SM, and SO–Whatever letters you choose to start the word they all signify the state of affairs in your job. There is something that needed attention, and you are involved in the finding the solution.

A—Action is what you did to solve the problem. If you worked in a team, it isn’t what the team did, it’s what you did.

R—Result is the outcome of your efforts.

T—Tie in is how this story relates to the question the interviewer asked you.

Here is one example of a Smart story:

Situation and More: The sales for the month were down about 10% from projected and no one could figure out why.

Action: I had read in a business journal about the problems our delivery carrier was having. I told my manager about the delivery carrier and that I had researched

other delivery carriers and found one that would be less expensive and deliver faster. He thought the plan would solve the problem told me to implement the change immediately.

Results: The sales increased 18% in the next 3 months. My manager was happy to see the sales figures steadily increasing. The new delivery carrier’s less expensive price increased the profits and the quicker delivery made customers happy.

Tie-in: Reading business journals about other companies gave me the solution to a problem my company was having. If I hadn’t realized it was the delivery carrier that was the problem, my manager would have tried several things without the necessary results.

People remember stories more than they remember facts. Who doesn’t remember that in 1492 Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue? But who remembers when

Lewis & Clark explored the country? Your interviewer will remember you if you have a story to tell that is interesting and full of good information. This type of answer will set you apart from your competition, and you will get the job.

My next blog will give you some tips to remember when creating your SMART story.

Image: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net Ambro

Don’t Fall For These Interview Tricks To Make You Say More Than You Should

July 12, 2013 | Author: Arleen Bradley

Beware of the tactics companies use to get information from you that you might not want to share.

In June, I posted a blog called 5 Interview tips that change your A game to and A+ game. I received a comment that requested examples of questions that can seem harmlessbut may cause you to reveal too much information. This post will give those examples.

My particular post: BE WATCHFUL—remember the interviewer is trying to get as much information from you as they can. S/he is aware of the questions that cannot be asked. However, the interviewer has ways to get information without your knowing it. Questions can be asked that may seem harmless enough, but your answer can reveal more about you than you want to share.

It isn’t just answering the questions that can reveal information about you. What you do also reveals information about you. Here are some things that can happen:

In the waiting room, there is a variety of reading material. What you choose to read shows your interests. Parenting magazines you have children. Asking that would be illegal. Stick to company or industry literature.
Small talk before the interview. Asking someone how their Christmas was answers the religion and probably marital questions. Keep your answers general without giving specifics.
Asking about other positions you are interviewing for. This is powerful. If you say you are looking at a variety of different types of positions says you are looking for a job not a career. If you give the name of their competitors, they know their competitors are also hiring. Sticks to the skills you bring to the companies and why you are the best fit for this position. Avoid divulging anything about other companies.
The question why did you leave your last job and how many other people were let go indicates your competency. If you were the only one let go, red flags will go up. But if you were part of a larger group, it’s typical of today. Don’t take the opportunity to bad mouth your former employer as it is another indication of your character. Stick to the facts and just the facts.
You may be left to wait around with an employee making small talk. This comfortable chat with a particularly likable person is designed shed more light about you. While chatting about familiar topics can show your interests, prejudices, what happened at your last job, family information and so much more. Stick to the topics like the weather and facts only of anything else, no opinions.
The interviewer is silent. You will start to ramble and say more than you planned and should say. Answer the question and when you are finished. Wait for them to ask another question or ask one of your own.

It isn’t my intention to make you paranoid of the interview. But I do want to alert to you the situations you could find yourself in. You don’t want to give out information that would jeopardize your candidacy. If you are aware of this type of interview, you will recognize it quickly and respond appropriately. Don’t let them know you know. Be aware and be prepared.

Arleen Bradley Career Coaching

Tips For A Successful Job Search During The Summer

Background Checks: Job Searchers Beware, Your Job Offer Might Be Might Depending On It

10 super easy tips to creating the SMART story that will get you hired.

Car, soar and star are related and can ace your interview.

Don’t Fall For These Interview Tricks To Make You Say More Than You Should

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