Leveraging The Power of the First Impression Helps You Win The Interview

First impressions are so important in the initial meeting that one would not be too far off base if they argued the most important part of the interview. First impressions set the tone for the interview and often determine the types of questions, length of the interview, and ultimately the outcome. Making a strong first impression is often the deciding factor in who makes it to the next round. If the candidate makes a strong first impression they are immediately liked by the interviewer. This candidate just moved up the point scale towards the next round and they haven’t even been asked one question. On the other hand, if the candidate makes a weak first impression, the candidate starts out in the hole. This hole if often so deep  that no matter how well they answer the questions, the interviewer cannot overcome their first impression. In fact, they may have decided right in the lobby that this person isn’t getting the job.

Tips to making a strong first impression:

· Good eye contact.

· Remain a comfortable distance from the person.

· Firm handshake – even if you think you have one ask someone who will be open and honest. Many don’t, so don’t assume you do.

· Strong introduction coupled with a smile, a strong handshake and eye contact. Practice this introduction.

· Have a couple of conversational questions prepared in advance to engage the interviewer.

· The most important of all are the four “A’s.” A VP of HR at Rockwell Corporation gave us these. They are so important more than 25 years later we still remember them.

1. Appearance

   
   

2. Articulate

   
   

3. Affable

   
   

4. Assertive

Bring these four to the first impression and you will move up the scale – not down.

Study after study reveals that likability is the single most important factor used when determining who ultimately gets the job. Underestimating this is a failure of many candidates. Those that make a strong first impression will often do better in an interview than candidates with better experience.

Join our Job Search Networking Linkedin Group. There are over 2700 members and an extensive supply of resources for you to tap into. CLICK HERE to join. Membership is FREE.

We have numerous free downloads on our Web site to help you in your search. Sample cover letters, audio downloads from past radio shows,a transferable skills list, Linkedin Profile Assessment Matrix, and our Job Search Self-Assessment Scorecard. All can be downloaded from our homepage at www.impacthiringsolutions.com.

Every Monday at 11 AM Pacific time listen to our radio show anywhere in the world on www.latalkradio.com channel 2.

I welcome your comments and thoughts

Brad Remillard

I’m Perfect For The Position, So Why Did I Get Screened Out?

Great question. Probably an obvious answer.

The easy answer is, you probably aren’t perfect for the job, at least from the recruiter’s or hiring manager’s perspective. Now that doesn’t mean you aren’t perfect. It may mean you didn’t communicate effectively as to demonstrate just how perfect you are. So you get screened out.

It has been my experience in close to 30 years as a recruiter that candidates too often ignore the competition that also claim to be perfect for the job. As a recruiter in today’s economy, we can get 500+ responses to an executive level position, all claiming to be, “perfect.” With this volume of resumes, emails, phone calls and referrals, you have to demonstrate you are more perfect than all of the rest.

The real question is, “Have you demonstrated you are more perfect than all the others?” I realize candidates generally have limited information about the position, so demonstrating this can be difficult. It isn’t possible to give every screening detail. Anyone who has hired people knows this. Most hiring managers experience the same thing. When you are looking to hire some one you too get resume overload. So how do you prioritize all these resumes, calls, emails, and referrals? Most have set up some sort of checklist to reduce the number to a manageable figure. Some things on the checklist include, industry, company size, compatibility with products, systems, organization, title, turnover, etc. This is important information that is missing from many resumes. The result is you may get screen out or put in the infamous “B” pile.

The next step might be to further read the resumes that passed the checklist to reduce the number even further. It is at this stage that you must really demonstrate that you are perfect for the position. From a recruiter’s perspective this is the point where I want to see how your accomplishments align with what the client is looking for in the person they hire to deliver the results. This is the, “So why did I get screened out?” point.

Here are some suggestions that might help you to not get screened out if you really are perfect:

1. Customize your resume as much as possible to directly align with the job. Don’t send the one-size fits all resume.
2. Your bullet points must include quantifiable results, time frame to accomplish, and be believable.
3. If you don’t know the exact expectations, some research on the company might give you some tips. If your research highlights issues, try to extrapolate how your functional area will participate in these issues and then how your accomplishments align.
4. Don’t limit your research to the company’s Web site. Look for press releases, announcements, industry trends, local newspapers, business journals, industry periodicals, and Google the company and its competitors. It will take some work, however, the pay off is not getting screened out.
5. Use a two column cover letter that compares your experience and accomplishments with what their needs are. (You can download a free sample cover letter on our Web site. (CLICK HERE to get yours)
6. Keep your resume to two pages. Don’t have so much detail that the important points get lost.
7. Make sure you have the basic screening information on your resume. Step back and be objective as to exactly how you screen resumes when you were a hiring manager with a stack of 300 resumes on your desk.

There are a lot of reasons you can get screened out, even if you are perfect. I’m convinced doing these few things will at least increase the odds in your favor. I’m sure they will increase the odds if you really are perfect for the position.

Join our Linkedin Job Search Networking Group for many more tips on helping you in your job search. CLICK HERE to join – it is free.

Our job search workbook deals with all of the issues one encounters in a job search. To review the book and have it sent to you for just $5 CLICK HERE. Readers rate this book 4.5 stars out of 5.

How To Become Employed With 9.8% Unemployment

9.8% unemployment is the national average. For many states, it is even higher than 9.8%. I live in California and the number has hit double digits. This is true for many other states as well. Regardless of the rate, anyone actively in a job search knows these are difficult times. There is hope, and I believe opportunity, for many of those looking.

We have a very active job search coaching practice. The problem with many candidates we work with is, they come to us too late. They are usually out of work for an average of 4-6 months. They then expect us to be able to help them find work quickly. Sorry, we are good, but can’t work miracles, and nobody (not even us) can get you employed.

ONLY YOU CAN DO THAT.

But we can help you learn from your mistakes. The biggest problem we find with candidates is that they really don’t have a targeted, very focused approach to their search. Their fear of possibly missing an opportunity is so powerful that they often don’t see the forest for the trees. Our biggest challenge is to help get the candidates focused like a laser beam on a target and then drive to that target. In many cases this is a monumental task.

As the employment numbers get worse, successful candidates must become more and more focused. Companies today aren’t looking for a jack of all trades. They want the king or queen. If you aren’t targeted and highly focused, then it is difficult to land a position.

You have to have a bull’s-eye on the target so you have something to aim at. What is your bull’s-eye?

Here are some suggestions to help you get focused.

1. Take a step back and think if you were a specialist at something what would it be?
2. Write out a complete and very thorough job description. Most of the candidates we talk with can’t do this.
3. Make sure your Linkedin and other public profiles are focused on you as a specialist. Most profiles are generic, vague and cover every possible job function within the person’s discipline.
4. Identify a specific target list of companies, people, recruiters and service providers that can lead you to your target.
5. Identify those connectors that can put you in touch with those in number 4.
6. Identify three or four networking groups that align with your industry, functional expertise, career level, and become very active in those groups. Serve on or chair a committee, get on the board, take a leadership position and become well know in those groups.
7. Consider serving on non-profit boards. These boards will not only make you feel good, but they often have great contacts and you can demonstrate your leadership skills.
8. Build a network of 100 people that know you and your background so well that they can refer you with confidence. I use the 5 call rule. If a recruiter from 2,000 miles away is conducting a search in your geographical area  you will be referred within 5 calls.
9. Don’t ignore your unemployed peers. They are out looking for positions 8 hours a day. The employed aren’t spending any time doing this. Who do you think is more likely to come across a position that is right for you first?
10. Have the right networking tools to do the job. This includes a bio and networking business cards. Not a resume and business type business cards.
11. Finally, network with a purpose. Don’t try to meet everyone on the planet. You will only get burned out networking with little to show for it. Meet only those that can advance you toward your target. Be polite and  help others when necessary but pre-screen people before spending time with them.
12. Use Linkedin to find people and the connectors you need. This is why it is so critical to build your contacts beyond 500.

I don’t mean to imply that doing these things will guarantee you find a position right away. I do believe if you don’t do them you will be in-transition a lot longer than if you do. Having a general, shot gun approach will definitely extend your job search.

Be sure and join our Linkedin Job Search Networking group. This is important. CLICK HERE to join.

Evaluate your job search effectiveness with our Job Search Self-Assessment Scorecard. Find out what you are doing right and what you need to tweak in your job search. As always it is FREE. CLICK HERE.

Please let us know your comments and feedback.

Brad Remillard

Three Most Important Words In a Job Search Radio Show

These three simple words have the biggest impact on your job search. They can make the difference between getting a job or not. That is the power they have. If you don’t know what these are then this is a MUST listen to. We not only give you the words but discuss how to ensure you implement them. Make sure you are the one that wins the interview and then the job. We are serious about the power of these on your job search.

Download the audio at http://www.impacthiringsolutions.com/index.php/candidates/free-resources/free-audio-programs

Download a sample cover letter the gets results at http://www.impacthiringsolutions.com/index.php/cover-letters

Join our LinkedIN Job Search Networking Group http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=1781587&trk=hb_side_g

Not Another Networking Article – WHY?

Why Is Networking Valuable?

Statistics show that 60 to 70% of all executive positions are found through networking with others. The American Association of Senior Executives (AASE), reports that 54% of their members attributed getting their new position to networking at AASE meetings. That is a large percent considering each meeting on average has about 40 executives in attendance.

Why is it so high? Mainly because the AASE preaches the right way to network. Every executive is shown why networking, when done correctly, is not a business card exchange. Networking that pays off is about relationships, and most importantly, networking must be done with a specific purpose and goal. Otherwise, why do it?

You should never ever attend a networking group or meet anyone just for the purpose of networking. It is a complete waste of time. Not every networking group is the right group for everyone. Likewise, not every person is worth spending time with.

Just because a group has a large turn out doesn’t mean it is a good thing or a good place for you to make a connection. In fact, I would argue this could be a bad thing. For example, if 200 people attend a networking meeting and the one person that could really help you in your search is at this meeting, you have a 5% chance of meeting this person. They will be lost somewhere in the crowd. It is random luck if you meet them.

Instead target your networking groups or meetings. Attend only those networking meetings that add value to your search. For example, the functional area (marketing, accounting, sales) gets exposure in your geographical area, the people attending are your peers i.e. VPs with VPs. C level with C level, the number of people attending is manageable so you meet the right people, etc. There are a lot of groups out there that just don’t add value to your search, so don’t attend them. This is networking with a purpose.

Pre-qualify people prior to meeting them. You don’t need to meet everyone. All you will accomplish is building a big stack of business cards. As a recruiter, when someone refers a person to me for a search, I always pre-qualify the person. I will ask the person doing the referral about the person’s background, industries, experiences and if they don’t match what my client is looking for, I thank the person for the name but let them know the referral isn’t right for this position. This has saved me hundreds of hours phone interviewing unqualified people. You can do the same. Put together a few screening questions that will clarify if this person will help you move closer to your goal of either a job lead, meeting a person that you need to meet, has the introduction you need, or not.

Too often the person referring someone to you, although sincere, isn’t referring someone to help you. Why waste your time? Thank them and move on. This is networking with a purpose.

A few other things to remember when networking:

· Networking is NOT drinking coffee and exchanging business cards.

· Networking is connecting with others by getting to know them on a personal basis and helping each other.

· Your personal participation in a networking group will show others the you can organize, lead and manage.

· When others learn more about you, they will forward opportunities, make introductions and may even recommend you for positions.

· GIVE BACK! Don’t forget those that helped you.

Most importantly, let people know where you are. Future career opportunities often come from someone who remembered you in the past.

Our comprehensive job search workbook has extensive chapters on networking, including a networking exercise to help you maximize your time. You can review this book for only the $5 cost of shipping. CLICK HERE to review the contents.

Join our Linkedin Job Search Networking Group. We post new articles and discussions almost daily to this group. CLICK HERE to join the group.

Please give us your comments and feedback.

Brad Remillard

Don’t Be the One! How is your job search like playing a high school sport?

You’re probably wondering what your job search effectiveness has to do with high school basketball. It’s the start of the basketball season in California – be ready for lots of my corny basketball metaphors.

We have a saying on our Girls HS Basketball Team that goes like this “DON’T BE THE ONE!” This mantra we use in coaching basketball can be extended into an effective job search.

In our basketball program it means: don’t be the one that makes everyone else run more lines, do more push-ups, stay for an hour longer, or any other consequence for not living up to the expectations of the coaches.

Each of our 30 girls hold each other accountable to a higher level of standards (they hate to run). No one slacks off, cheats on drills, or pretends they are working hard. The peer pressure is intense – no one wants to prolong practice or do unnecessary work.

Many readers of our blog have probably played a high school sport. You know how the peer pressure and accountability works. However, you’re not in high school anymore. You can’t rely on your teammates. Who is holding you accountable right now to a higher set of expectations in your job search and forcing you to accept some form of a consequence for not meeting them?

I’ve been at this game (job search) for a quarter of century – I know it’s tough to conduct a job search. It’s painful, humiliating, and it requires you to do things most people just plain don’t enjoy – like networking, attending events, and asking for help.

If you are at a senior manager to executive level and not using a job search coach to hold you accountable, you could be taking 2X-3X longer to complete your job search. A good job search coaching program will keep you focused, hold you accountable, and open your eyes to job search opportunities that you may never have considered.

Are you the one who is procrastinating, not sending out regular emails/letters to your contacts, building your network with the right people, and preparing properly for interviews? You don’t belong to a team – it’s just you – so there is no peer pressure to hold you accountable. Should you be using a job search coach to help you reduce your job search by 20% – 30% – 50% compared to the length of time it’s taking your peer group?

Who’s coaching you and holding you accountable? One of the services we provide is a job search coaching program intended to leverage every available resource to help you reduce the time it takes to find a new job. Whether you use our service, or you pick another – the key is to improve the effectiveness of your job search through a job search expert.

Although I am a little biased toward our own job search coaching program, there are a number of outstanding coaches out there – many of whom I’ve referenced in our blog. Don’t procrastinate another day – find a job search coach and start reducing the time it takes to find a great job.

I wouldn’t begin to install new plumbing, code my own website, fix my own car – you get the idea.

Why would you consider “going it alone” in your job search?

This “I can do it myself approach” is what leads most candidates into a depressing cycle of not being able to conduct an effective quick job search that lands a great opportunity. Instead, for most their job search is a prolonged, cathartic, painful, protracted battle of walking a thin line between procrastination and seeing their savings rapidly evaporate.

Imagine for a moment if you could reduce the time it takes to find a new job by 1 month, 2 months, or 6 months. How much of your savings could you avoid spending if you could reduce the time it takes to complete a successful job search?

We have developed a structured process for conducting a job search. The process is called the Career Success Methodology. Thousands of candidates have applied this process to dramatically reduce the time it takes to find a new job. We have a wide range of products to reduce the time it takes to complete a job search, services to reduce your job search, and best of all – a wealth of free audio programs, templates, and other tools.

Start down the path of taking time out of your job search by downloading our FREE Job Search Plan Self-Assessment to determine if you are conducting an effective job search.

Barry

P.S.: Don’t forget to join our LinkedIn Job Search Discussion Group

Your Job Search Effectiveness is Predetermined

Liz Lynch, one of the foremost experts on networking, is a guest blogger on The Personal Branding Blog. A few days ago, Liz posted a blog titled “Prep for the Future with Lessons From the Present”

Liz wrote about why some job seekers might be falling short in their job search — and by extension – their career. Many candidates fall into what we call the “Circle of Transition” which is a difficult cycle to break where one jumps from one job to the next without an active management of their career. Frequently, they find themselves at the mercy of arbitrary management, poor job choices, and the economy.

Her recommendations, especially around building your contacts throughout your career is advice all job seekers should take to heart. It’s the focus of one of my favorite authors, Harvey MacKay, who wrote a book called “Dig Your Well Before You’re Thirsty” – a profound recommendation for job seekers – most of whom violate this basic idea.

The Job Search you are conducting right now is predetermined NOT by what you are doing right now, but what you’ve done over the last 2, 5, 10 years to prepare for this moment.

Imagine looking into the crystal ball and easily predicting how your job search and career will fare in the coming years. Liz suggests what you do now in your job, skill development, network creation, building industry relationships, is the primary element of success in your future job search. The economy will once again sour in 5, 10, or 15 years. Will you be ready or will you be a victim of the Circle of Transition.

Why do so few job seekers consider that job search and career management are efforts, tasks, and processes successful people engage in continuously (even when they have a good job) compared to those caught up in the circle of transition who only consider tasks related to job search and career management when they need a job.

Will you be the one out of work for 18 months again, or will you quickly land on your feet within months of being laid off with a great new opportunity?

Learn more about the dangers of falling victim to the dreaded “Circle of Transition”. Download our FREE Graphic Representation of the “Circle of Transition” or listen to our FREE Radio Show Broadcast.

Barry

P.S.: Don’t forget to join our LinkedIn Job Search Discussion Group and join in the conversation on how to avoid falling victim to the “Circle of Transition”

photo credit ben hayes

Job Search: On-line vs. In-Person 1st Impressions

Chad Levitt, a guest blogger at Dan Schwabel’s Personal Branding Blog posted a blog a few days ago titled “What is Your Digital First Impression?” Chad claimed that making a digital first impression was very similar to making a personal first impression. He inferred in the blog posting that when people are searching for you on google, those first few links that come back are your first impression.

By the way, Chad is an extraordinary authority figure on personal branding, particularly in networking and sales. His own blog at The New Sales Economy Blog is one of my favorite.

No disrespect intended, but I think Chad may have defined digital first impressions a little too narrow.

In a personal meeting, you typically have one chance to make a good first impression. Blow it – and it’s over. Rarely will you have another opportunity.

On-line, first impressions are radically different. Not only are your first impressions scattered across a wide array of sites, such as LinkedIn, Google, Facebook, forums, discussion groups, Twitter, and many other indexed sites/comments.

Not only is your first impression scattered across a wide variety of sites as compared to a one-time event in person, you also have the ability to constantly improve, manage, build, develop, and evolve your first impression on-line. What appears today in a Google Search is NOT what has to appear next week.

The major question is: are you continuously working on your digital first impression so that you can be “found” by buyers, hiring managers, senior executives, recruiters, and human resources?

Let’s tackle one small area of starting to more effectively manage your digital first impressions: A few months ago, we posted on our website an 8-point Success Matrix to evaluate the effectiveness of your LinkedIn Profile. The scorecard was intended to determine if your LinkedIn profile was strong enough to let you be found by hiring managers, recruiters, and human resources.

Our research around the use of LinkedIn as a Personal Branding Tool and for Job Search 1st Impressions was depressing. Less than 10% of those who took the challenge to assess their LinkedIn Profile using our Scorecard met the minimum standard for effectiveness.

If you would like to gain a deeper understanding if your LinkedIn Profile can be more effective in helping you to be “found”, download the LinkedIn Profile Self-Assessment.

Barry

Join our LinkedIn Discussion Group where we release first all our new tools, templates, and advanced self-assessments.

Is Your Fear of Networking Leading to Job Search Mistakes?

Job Search Mistakes and Errors – Classic Example

The Wall Street Journal Laid-Off and Looking Blog just posted a great story profiling F. Ellen Whaley, an out-of-work introverted executive fearful of rebuilding her network.

The example could be a poster child for the classic job search mistakes and errors facing most executives and senior managers when they begin their job search. Read the full article here.

Here was my response to the example posted on this blog regarding ineffective networking as one of the key job search mistakes and errors made by those starting or stalled in a job hunt:

Great example of not considering the value of networking while working. The vast majority of candidates we work with in our Executive Search Practice come to us with a woefully inadequate network to begin their job search. Most have no idea where to start in using social media as a tool in leveraging networking.

Like the commercials about loans, the time to do it is when you don’t need it. Networking should be something you do through-out your entire career so when you need it – it’s there for you. When senior managers and executives start networking for their job search, it can take a minimum of 6 months to establish an effective network that will begin to generate an abundance of job referrals and leads.

My partner and I host a weekly internet radio talk show on job search on LATalkRadio.com at 11-noon PST. This show and the FREE archived broadcasts on our website dealing with job search networking and LinkedIn are some of our most popular downloads. A month ago we posted a FREE scorecard (available to members of our LinkedIn Job Search Discussion Group – join the group and get the FREE Scorecard) to assess the effectiveness of your LinkedIn Profile for Job Search – the response has been overwhelming.

Interesting side note: of over 2000 job search candidates that have shared their Linkedin Profile Assessments with us, less than 10% meet a minimum standard for using the tools LinkedIn provides for effective job search networking and personal branding.

If you’re an executive and trying to figure out why your job search is a failure, stalled, or ineffective, you might not need to look any further than your network itself and the activities surrounding it. A weak network and lack of classic “old-school” networking disciplined methods will cause your job search to go from 6 months to 12-18 months.

Barry

P.S.: On Monday Brad and I will be discussing on our radio show at LATalkRadio.com 11-noon The Top Ten Job Search Mistakes and Errors and the use of a brand new FREE Assessment Tool covering your entire job search – within minutes you’ll be able to discover do you have a job search headed for a downward death spiral or will you quickly being to generate an abundance of job search leads, referrals, and offers.

P.P.S.: We’ll post the link to download the new Job Search Plan Assessment Tool exclusively into our LinkedIn Job Search Discussion Group on Sunday prior to the Radio Show Discussion.

Interviewing Faux Pas To Avoid.

An Innocent Comment Kills The Deal

A few years ago, a client in Arizona was searching to fill a VP US Sales position. The search was narrowed to two finalists. One lived in New York and the other in Southern California. The final round of interviews included the CEO and two board members. The candidate from NY made a comment she felt was in jest or just off the cuff, however, it was fatal. She rather flippantly said, “It is really hot here. People must be crazy to live here.” The CEO was offended by this comment and felt that someone at this level should be careful with such comments. He was very concerned this kind of comment could turn off a customer.

Moral of this story, be on guard at all times. Even an off the cuff comment can kill a deal.

Words say a lot but the body speaks louder

While doing a search for a VP of Sales, one of the requirements was up to 50% travel. Although the candidate knew this going in, when the subject came up in the interviews he apparently squirmed in his chair and lost eye contact. The client wasn’t convinced that he was really comfortable with this amount of travel. We discussed this with him in detail and in fact he was comfortable with it and had been doing that much travel for some time. He couldn’t explain the reason for their concern. We were able to overcome this with the client, but only after many conversations with the candidate and client; he did in fact get the offer. However, if he had represented himself and not had us to clarify the situation he would never have gotten the offer. Worse yet, he would never have had the chance to address this point.

Just remember, your body may speak louder than your words do, which is another good reason to hire a coach as they can help you with your interviewing style. Before you do this CLICK HERE to listen to our radio show interview on Career Coaches.

Little things that candidates rarely find out about can dramatically impact the interview. We recommend in our job search workbook some things you can do to make sure these examples don’t happen to you. For example, have you video recorded yourself in a mock interview? This is one of the most revealing things you can do to improve the interview. We make this job search workbook available to you for only the cost of $5 shipping. CLICK HERE to at least review the book to see if it will help you.