Getting An Accountability Partner May Change Your Search – Part One

As the  new year starts, many will be either restarting or launching a job search. One thing missing from so many in the job hunting mode is accountability.

We see this all the time in our job search coaching practice. Most candidates go it alone.  If 2011 was a go it alone year for you, I might suggest that 2012 be get a partner year. Not just any partner but an accountability partner.

Let’s look at what an accountability partner is and is not:

1. It is not your spouse or close friend. I know they hold you accountable in many ways, but this is not the right person. They are too close to the situation and not objective.

2. They will support you. Not financially. Rather emotionally, spiritually and intellectually. You trust them and they will listen to you.

3. They don’t feel your pain. They understand your pain. There is a big difference. Understanding, rather than feeling, keeps them objective and they don’t become emotionally attached.

4. They understand  your history. They must understand your background, strengths, accomplishments, what you’ve done to date  in your search, and also what not so obvious talents and strengths you have that might be transferable. They also understand the flip side – where you don’t excel and even your weaknesses.

5. They are not your therapist. If you need a therapist, get one, but that is not the purpose of an accountability partner.

6. They are open,  honest and tough. An accountability partner must be capable of telling you exactly what you are and are not doing. Many people can’t be this direct.  Sometimes it is necessary to tell someone that they aren’t doing enough or that they need to step it up. This can be even more difficult  for candidates that have been looking for some time.

7. They need to be knowledgeable. They should be someone that understands a job search process or methodology. If they aren’t very knowledgeable in helping those in a job search, then helping you might be difficult. This is particularly true if your job search is stalled. You don’t hire a law clerk when you need a lawyer and amateur golf instructors make amateur golfers.

8. Experience. A little different than knowledgeable, in that this is hands-on experience in helping people in a job search. We all thought we knew everything when we graduated from college, but once we had some experience most discovered something different. This is the knowledge versus experience that I’m referring to.

There are others, but when you find these in an accountability partner, you are starting 2012 on the right foot.

Some other things you can do to start on the right foot are:

To download the free chapter on Conducting an Effective Phone Interview from our book “This Is NOT The Position I Accepted” CLICK HERE and then click on the Free Search Resources link.

If you would like to know if your job search is fully utilized and you are doing the right things, download our free 8 Matrix Job Search Self- Assessment Scorecard. CLICK HERE and then click on the Free Search Resource link.

Part 2 will be about what to expect from an accountability partner.

If this was helpful, then please help others by forwarding it on to your network, posting on your Facebook page, Tweeting with the link, posting to your Linkedin groups or status update.  Let’s all do everything we can to help those looking for employment.

I welcome your comments.

Brad Remillard

Do recruiters post ads for non-existent jobs to solicit resumes?

Question: Should I reply to job ads that don’t identify the employer?  Do recruiters post ads for non-existent jobs to solicit resumes?

If you are unemployed you should respond to all job ads for which you are qualified. It shouldn’t matter if the employer is identified. If you are working caution is required. Many employers don’t want to be identified when posting ads for a variety of reasons. The company may not want people just showing up in the lobby to apply and others may not want their competitors to know they are looking to hire someone. The position could also be confidential and the company doesn’t want their employees to know. I wouldn’t let this discourage you from responding if you are unemployed.

It is very likely that recruiters do place ads for non-existent jobs. On the surface this sounds like a bad thing, but it is actually a good thing for people actively looking for a position. When a company contacts a recruiter with an opening, the recruiter may have only a few minutes or hours to submit your resume before the company selects the ones they want to interview. If your resume is already in the recruiter’s system they can do this. It could take days to write an ad, post the ad, you read and reply to the ad, and then the recruiter screens your resume. By this time the company may already have a short list of candidates and you missed out. Recruiters that recruit in a specific functional area know they need to have an inventory of talent at the ready. Being able to present your resume within minutes of a client’s request is a good thing for candidates.

One of the best resources we can offer you is our  sample cover letter. We get more positive feedback on how this tool has impacted a person’s job search than any other resource. I encourage you to download it and use it. We make this available for FREE because we want to help you. CLICK HERE to download.

Join our LinkedIn Job Search Networking Group. It has 5,400 members and is one of the most active job search resources on LinkedIn. CLICK HERE to join.

I welcome your thoughts and feedback.

Brad Remillard

Distinguishing Yourself From All The Others

Question: What is the best way for an executive to distinguish themselves from all the other executives chasing the same positions?

This is one of the most important issues all candidates must tackle during a job search. In today’s job market companies are very specific when hiring. You cannot be a jack of all trades. You must be the king or queen of your trade so it is imperative that you determine what distinguishes you from others.

Most candidates have a hard time doing this for fear of being excluded from a possible position. I disagree. Candidates should find their sweet spot and build a search around that, instead of around some long shot opportunity that might come their way.

I have coached many executives and they all have something that makes them unique. It may be international experience, M&A, turnarounds, startups, changing a company’s culture from dysfunctional to one that thrives on success, a specific technology, and so on. I recommend you survey your peers, bosses, customers, vendors, subordinates and trusted advisors for what they believe distinguishes you from other executives. With that information you can build your brand and job search around those distinguishing characteristics.

Join our LinkedIn Job Search Networking Group. 6,000 other people are benefiting from the discussions and articles. CLICK HERE to join, it is free.

Turbo-charge your search  by evaluating its strengths and weaknesses with our FREE Job Search Plan Self-Assessment Scorecard. This will help you and your accountability partner get your search started out right. CLICK HERE to download your scorecard.

Need a great cover letter? A free sample cover letter that has proven to get you noticed is on our Web site for you to use with your resume. CLICK HERE to download yours.

If this was helpful, then please help others by forwarding it on to your network, posting it on your Facebook page, Tweeting with the link, posting to your LinkedIn groups or status update.  Let’s all do everything we can to help those looking for employment.

I welcome your comments.

Brad Remillard

How To Find The Hidden Jobs Before Recruiters and Others Do

What does the term “hidden job market” mean to you? Where do you think this hidden job market exists? How do you tap into this hidden job market?

To many candidates, I believe the “hidden job market”  means those jobs not listed with recruiters or posted on the Internet, either on a job board or a company’s website. Candidates tend to think that this means that HR or a hiring manager may be networking to fill the open jobs. HR or the hiring manager may be contacting trusted advisors, past employees, friends and family, or trying to fill the job by word of mouth. It really isn’t blasted out for everyone to find. It takes some digging, networking, and even some luck to locate.

If this is what you think  of as the “hidden job market,” I believe that you are completely missing the real hidden job market.

Good recruiters know that once a job opening hits the streets, in any form, it is no longer hidden. It may be harder to find than jobs  posted on the Internet, but they aren’t hidden. In many cases the jobs are hidden in plain sight. Just having a good network of people will help you find these.

The real hidden job market takes time and, as Julie LaCroix of Power Connections preaches with her clients, “research” to find the true hidden job market.

Hidden jobs are the jobs that haven’t been posted, haven’t been circulated, and in fact may not even exist. Hidden jobs are the jobs companies are anticipating hiring or thinking they may need in the next couple of months. These are the jobs that a growing company knows it will need to hire, the positions that a company expanding into new markets needs, the jobs that a company just moving to the area will be hiring, or the jobs that if the right person came along they would create a position. The hidden jobs also include those positions that become available because some quits, retires, or is fired. This is the true hidden job market.

I started recruiting 30 years ago and this was part of Recruiting 101 training. For years I read the section “People On Move” in our local business journal. I would call the company that the person left to see if I could present them with a candidate. I wanted to engage them before they put it out on the street, or in those days, the newspaper.

Candidates waste too much time conducting worthless networking, going to meetings, coffees, lunches, and so on. Sooner or later they get burned out on networking. Most will let this often meaningless activity occupy 75% of their time.  For most, this is a lot of time with little or no results to show for it.  Julie makes a great point that instead of spending 75% of your time networking,  change the mix to 50% of your time spent doing research to find the hidden job market and 25% networking.  This is such a great concept that I wish I could take credit for it.

Julie was a Wall Street recruiter for almost a decade and she knows this from personal experience. One more reason I believe that the best coaches you can work with in your job search are current or past recruiters. Recruiters live job searching. That is what we do. After 10 years we are as good at what we do, as you are at what you do.  If  you are ever going to pay someone to help you with any aspect of your job search, my recommendation is always find a person that was a SUCCESSFUL recruiter. They know the tricks of the trade just like Julie.

Here are some suggestions to help:

1 .Subscribe to your local business journal. This is a must. Read it weekly for tips on what companies are doing in your area.  This is research. You will discover companies that discuss how they are rapidly growing, sales are increasing, or you might read about a company looking to outsource in China. A company may announce that they are opening a new facility in your area, or many will reveal in their articles new systems they are implementing, expansion plans in Europe, the need for new distribution facility, and so on.

These are all great tips that you should take advantage of. These companies are going to have a need for a person with your skills and experience. This is your chance to engage them before they go to market and hundreds of other candidates start contacting them.

2. Don’t forget the People On The Move section. Most companies don’t hire from within. Often because they are too small to have people in place ready to go if someone leaves. Also, few companies can fill a position within the two or three week notice period given by the departing employee.

3. The business journals will discuss the hottest industries in your community. Then you can do some simple research in your community to find businesses in these industries.

Now you can send these companies a targeted letter introducing yourself and how your experience will benefit them as they tackle these issues. You are ahead of the hiring curve,  not behind it as most candidates are.

The other great benefit to the method is that you are not competing against 500 other resumes received, 300 candidates sending emails, 100 candidates searching for connections on LinkedIn or 50 candidates calling the hiring manager or stopping by the company.

You have the exclusive on these hidden jobs.

Consider changing your strategy to 50% of your time researching the hidden job market and 25% networking.

Would you like to know if your job search is effective? If you would, then download our free Job Search Self Assessment Scorecard and rate your job search. This will also help you find any weaknesses in your job search so you can fix them. CLICK HERE to download.

If you need to make sure that your Linkedin profile is outstanding and compelling, our LinkedIn Assessment will definitely help you. It is free to download. CLICK HERE.

Finally, cover letters can be tricky. We have a sample cover letter that is proven to align your background with the job. Recruiters and HR like this style as it makes their job easier. CLICK HERE for your free sample.

I welcome your thoughts and comments.

Brad Remillard

Are You Effectively Using LinkedIn in Your Job Search?

LinkedIn is the most effective online tool for professional networking. However, most executive and managerial job search candidates under utilize the power of LinkedIn for the their job search. In this radio program, Brad and Barry discuss the various elements of creating a powerful and effective strategy that incorporates LinkedIn as a key component of your job search. Can you be easily found by recruiters, HR professionals and hiring managers?

To download this radio show CLICK HERE.

New Poll Shows Over 50% Unemployed For Over A Year

I recently conducted a  non-scientific poll using LinkedIn. 912 people responded to the poll and the results follow with some commentary on the results.

The only question asked was, “How long have you been unemployed and looking for a job?” Since most of the people on LinkedIn tend to be professionals, one can draw the conclusion that the majority of the people responding have a college degree, include all functional departments within a company, and that the respondents range from entry level professionals to the CEO suite.

Overall results are:

9% under 60 days

18%  3-6 months

12%  7-9 months

9%  9-12 months

51%  over one year

Many of the comments from the respondents would indicate that some have been unemployed for more than 2 years.

Breaking these numbers down further, 39% of the respondents were female and 61% were male according to LinkedIn. There was almost no difference between females and males out of work for more than a year with 52% for females and 51% for males. The other lengths of time were also very similar between females and males.

The most controversial part of the poll was how LinkedIn broke the number down by age. Of all of the comments received, this was the topic that received the most discussion. For the most part, people commenting clearly thought age discrimination was alive and well. As a recruiter for the last 30 years I’m not sure this is accurate.

Of those 18-24 years old, 50% have been unemployed for more than a year, 22% for 3-6 months, 17% for less than 60 days and the balance of 11%  between 7-12 months.

Of those 25-34 years old,  41% were more than one year, 19% for 3 -6 months, 18% for less than 60 days, and the remainder of 22% between 7 – 12 months.

Of those 35-54 years old,  49% were more than one year, 19% for 3-6 months, 11% for less than 60 days and 21% between 7 -12 months.

Of those 55 and older, 55% were more than one year, 16% 3 -6 months, 6% less than 60 days and 23% between 7-12 months.

It doesn’t surprise me that the largest number of people unemployed for more than a year are in the over 55 age group. I would expect this to be the case. Granted, there may be some age discrimination going on, but for the most part this age group is the highest paid group and the most senior on the corporate ladder. It is for these reasons I believe this is the largest group. Our recruiting business is primarily mid-sized company executives. Generally these executives take the longest amount of time to come back from a recession. I started recruiting in 1980, so this is my 4th or 5th recession as a recruiter, and in all previous recessions this is the last group companies hire. Not the oldest, but the most experienced and most highly compensated. In today’s world, a new phenomenon is taking over with companies bringing on interim or temporary executives instead of out right hiring them.

I don’t see age discrimination when the age group of 18-24 has only 5% less looking for more than one year than the 55+ group and a 1% difference for 34-54 group. In most cases this would be within the margin of error.  I think it has more to do with experience. The 18-24 age group typically has the least amount of experience and those 55+ typically have the most. Companies tend first to hire in the middle of the bell curve before moving to the outer extremes.

Regardless of how one wants to view the results, the fact is that the largest group in every age group is more than one year. To me this is the most important information coming from this poll. I wonder how much longer than a year have possibly many been looking and how many have just given up?

Unemployment is alive and thriving at all age levels. Unemployment doesn’t appear to care about your age all that much.

If you would like to see the results of this poll for yourself CLICK HERE.

If you would like some free tools to help you get out of  your job search regardless of how long you have been looking CLICK HERE to download our LinkedIn Profile Assessment and CLICK HERE to download our Job Search Self- Assessment Scorecard. Both of these tools will help you to identify key areas to improve your job search.

I welcome your comments and thoughts.

Brad Remillard

Job Seekers and Warren Buffet

I am currently reading the book, “The Snowball: Warren Buffet and the Business of Life” by Alice Schroeder. It is an interesting biography on Warren Buffet’s life starting as a small child.  Some of the more interesting parts highlight what influenced his thought processes about everything from money to how he treats people.

I haven’t finished the book yet, but as I was reading it two sentences stood out. To me, these two sentences explained exactly why so many candidates stay in a job search so much longer than need be. I have known this for a long time. The candidates I work with one-on-one in our job search coaching programs often start out the same way.  I interview and speak with hundreds of candidates a month. It use to surprise me the number of people who acted this way. Not any more, I just accept it. I don’t understand it, but I do accept it.

When Warren was a teenager he read the book, “How to Make Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie. Just about everyone has heard of this book.  His biography addresses the impact this book had on him. How it “honed his natural wit, above all it enhanced his persuasiveness, his flair for salesmanship.” Obviously, this one book influenced him so much that decades later he still remembered it and gave it credit.

It was  the two sentences before this which stood out and relates to the vast majority of candidates I encounter. Alice Schroeder writes, “Unlike most people who read Carnegie’s book and thought gee, that makes sense, then set the book aside and forgot about it, Warren worked at this project with unusual concentration; he kept coming back to these ideas and using them. Even when he failed and forgot and went for long stretches without applying himself to the system, he returned and resumed practicing in the end.”

This is what grabbed my attention. As soon as I read it, I thought this is exactly what most candidates do. This is exactly why so many candidates spend so many extra months searching for a new positions. They read a book, attend a webinar,  read a blog article or listen to an audio file and think, “Gee, that makes sense, then set it aside and forget about it.”

Few, my guess less than 10% do as Warren did. Read the sentences again. Does anything stand out to you as it did me? What did Warren Buffet do different than all the others?

I see this constantly.  People will return our job search workbook with a note, “Already know all this stuff.” At first I was stunned. When we wrote the book we spent an extensive amount of time identifying the mistakes candidates continually make. We  then worked extremely hard to provide solutions  to those mistakes. So it struck me as strange, that so many people knew all these mistakes, but just kept making them. How could this be?

I’m sure the many other excellent authors of books on this subject have experienced the same thing.

So I decided to test if it was true these people really did know all this stuff. I started doing some follow-up. I would call the person and ask for feedback. As I got bolder, I became more direct. I started asking very specific questions of those that “already know all this stuff?” For example, I would ask:

• Since you already know the only three things which can be measured during a phone interview, what do you do to properly prepare?
• As you know, there are only three types of questions asked in an interview. How do you identify which type of question is being asked and how do you prepare for each type of question?
• Of the ten most important questions to ask in an interview, which ones in your opinion were most helpful and of those which ones do you use most often?
• How long have you been using the cover letter we recommend and what has been your experience with this style?
• How often have you found yourself in anyone of the 5  positions in the Circle of Transition and how do you handle it? This could be really helpful to other candidates?
• How is your networking business card different from your interviewing business card?

It didn’t take long to discover these people may have read the book, but unlike Warren Buffet, they didn’t embrace the ideas with “unusual concentration.” Instead it was, “Gee I already know this stuff.”  When in fact, from their answers, they had no idea what mistakes they were making and how the book provides solutions.

Warren Buffet read Dale Carnegie’s book over and over again. He referred back to it time and time again. He practiced regularly. When he failed it was back to the book. That is what made him unique. He didn’t just know it all, he implemented the concepts. He didn’t blame the book when things went wrong, he adjusted and tried again.

I know from the one-on-one job search coaching we do, when we get candidates to stop knowing everything and start doing things the right way, they find job leads that eventually lead to offers and employment.

Although it might appear as an attempt to sell our book it really isn’t. There are many great resources available to candidates. Many are 100% free. It is positively an attempt to get candidates to stop saying, “Gee, that makes sense, but I already know it.” It is positively an attempt to get candidates to learn from Warren Buffet. To get candidates to refer back time and time again to excellent resources. To re-read the books, re-listen to the audio recordings and to take this advice to heart with “unusual concentration” as Warren Buffet did.

I have discovered the reason there is so much written for job seekers is because job seekers need so much help. If candidates did everything so perfectly there wouldn’t be a need for all the books, blogs, articles and webinars.

The next time you read anything designed to help you in your job search don’t let your first thought be, “Gee, I already know that.” Rather force yourself instead to ask, “Good advice. How am I implementing that in my job search?” Attack it the same vigor and “unusual concentration” as Warren Buffet.

Try this approach first and you will find yourself gainfully employed a whole lot sooner.

OK, now this is a blatant attempt to sell you a book. You can get our job search workbook to review for free. Just pay the $5 shipping. For details on this offer CLICK HERE.

Test your job search effectiveness by downloading our free Job Search Plan Assessment Scorecard. Find the strengths and weaknesses in your job search. Then attack the weaknesses with “unusual concentration.”  CLICK HERE to download.

For a FREE example of a cover letter that recruiters, HR and hiring authorities  like and will get your resume read, CLICK HERE.

I welcome your comments, thoughts and feedback.

Brad Remillard

Is This Age Discrimination Or Not, You Tell Me?

I was recently co-interviewing candidates with my client for one of his open positions. Together we interviewed 3 candidates all in the same day.

Obviously, two of the candidates didn’t get the job. One of the candidates that didn’t get the position was the catalyst for writing this article.

We began in the morning with the first person. The first impression of this candidate was weak. Although professionally dressed in a suit, it didn’t fit him well, it was clear it had been worn a few times without being pressed, he was overweight, hair was combed, but groomed would not be used to describe him. His overall presence was OK, it  just didn’t overwhelm us when we first met him.

As the interview progressed, he didn’t come across with great energy or enthusiasm. His body language was low in the chair and even when he was asking questions he never seemed to change how he sat in the chair.  His voice was monotone. Eye contact during the interview was good and he did his best to engage us.  Not that he did poorly, but the spark of a person who really enjoys what he does day to day wasn’t there. He came across as bored and would work because he needed a job until he retired.

He asked a few insightful questions during the interview, but nothing all that impressive. He closed the interview politely.

Again, no real knock out blow, and with the weak appearance and the interview we just weren’t all that impressed.

The next candidate was different. Candidate #2 was well dressed and groomed. Polished comes to mind. He came across in the first impression as confident, with drive and energy, and as someone very comfortable meeting people. He was all business but didn’t over do it.

As the interview progressed he wasn’t overly friendly, he stayed focused on the business at hand without a lot of small talk or joking. We could see from his answers that he listened well to our questions.  His body language was clearly designed to engage us. We assumed that he had been trained this way. He leaned forward when stressing a point, he mirrored a lot of our movements, which is a technique used to make us feel comfortable, and he used voice inflection very well to stress points and add emphasis.

He asked a number of very good questions during the interview that demonstrated he really understood the position and many of the issues that he would encounter if he was to come on board.  He left the interview on a positive note.

We were impressed with him, his professionalism, his approach, and his ability to engage us.

Candidate #3 was completely different, as this time the candidate was a she not a he. She was very professional. She was dressed in a very professional business suit and groomed perfectly. It was apparent that she had dealt with senior level executives and knew how to present herself. She was outgoing, friendly, and engaging from the moment we met her. She was just one of those people that has that extra spark. She knew how to conduct small talk, demonstrated the appropriate level of humor for the circumstances, and was just comfortable in a business environment. This was all from the first impression.

As the interview progressed, so did she as a candidate. Her body language was much like the second candidate. She sat up straight when needed, her eye contact was continual and even when she wasn’t speaking directly to me I felt like she was, she was well prepared to not only answer our questions but asked some excellent questions as well. Unlike candidate #2, even though we did spend the vast majority of time discussing the position, it just didn’t seem that way. She was very business focused just as the second candidate was, but somehow it didn’t come across that way.

She left the interview on a positive note, but made a little extra effort to make sure that we were satisfied with her and her answers.

We decided to proceed with the last two candidates. I had to call the first one and let him know the bad news. This is positively the worst part of being a recruiter. The comment that he made to me is what sparked this article. He said, “I’m not surprised,  I could tell you were looking for someone younger than me.” How he surmised this is beyond me. He was clearly implying age discrimination.

We never once discussed age or anything even close to it. He just assumed that because he didn’t get the job it was due to his age. I think many candidates do this. I agree age discrimination exists. I just don’t think it is as widespread as most candidates do. I have written other articles on this topic. Too often, just like candidate #1, when candidates don’t get the job the first thought that surfaces is age discrimination when in fact, it is all of the other things they are doing wrong that are really the cause.

The big problem with thinking that age discrimination was the reason is that the candidate will never step back and consider that maybe it is something else. Why would they consider anything else when they have already decided that age discrimination is the reason they didn’t get the job and there is nothing they can do about that?  Then they don’t do anything to improve themselves.

As the late Paul Harvey would say, “Now the rest of the story.” It goes without saying that we never discussed age during the hiring process. However, as the hiring process continued, so did the need to perform our due diligence.  This meant that I needed to verify each of the candidate’s degrees. In order to do that, I needed the year they graduated from college. This isn’t always an indicator of age, but in many cases it is a benchmark.

Candidate #1 indicated on his resume that he received his degree in 1979. He is probably near 50. Just a guess.

Candidate #2, one of the candidates we continued to be very interested in, graduated in 1975.  Probably the oldest of the three.

Candidate #3, the person ultimately hired by the company, received her degree in 1978.  Most likely, but no guarantee, she was close to the same age as candidate #1.

When I called candidate #2 to tell him the news that he wasn’t going to get the position, he never even mentioned age as a reason for not receiving the offer.  He knew better. In his case, it really just came down to fit within the organization.

So is this age discrimination or not?  I would really like your opinion.

I do believe, as I said before, that age discrimination exists. However, here is the important take away from this article, don’t take the easy way out and go first to age discrimination as the reason. Use age discrimination only as the final reason. Explore other options first. Then, only after all of the other options have been addressed, consider age discrimination.

To help you evaluate other reasons your search may be stalled, download our free 8-Point Job Search Plan Assessment Scorecard. This is a good start for highlighting other areas in your job search that might be causing problems. CLICK HERE to download yours.

Also consider joining our LinkedIn Job Search Networking Group. This is one of the best resources to provide you with the job search tools you need. There are over 4,800 members in this group to assist you. It will really help you with your job search. CLICK HERE to join. LinkedIn is free for everyone.

I welcome your thoughts and comments on this topic.

Brad Remillard