It’s play-off time for your job search – what do you have to lose?

Here comes another basketball metaphor about your job search.

A few nights ago, my Varsity HS Girls Basketball Team played in the first round of the State Playoffs. In our section we were ranked 6th out of 32 teams. We played a team ranked 24 and almost lost.

Why? It should have been an easy win – a no-brainer.

At playoff time, teams change – they go from being conservative, playing careful, doing the same old thing, and usually playing within their capability. At playoff time, lower ranked teams hike it up to whole other level. They play with complete abandon – and give it a 110%.

What do the lower ranked teams have to lose? If they don’t win, their season ends right now. And if they can pull off one more win – they get to come back and play another game. Many upsets occur, because lower ranked teams fight as hard as they ever fought, they do everything they can to influence the outcome, and they leave nothing on the table.

If you asked the team last night that lost to us in the last 5 minutes of the game if they had any regrets – if any of the players felt they had not played as hard as they could – and the answer would be an overwhelming “I gave it everything I could”.

When asked that question, our higher ranked girls would have said there was a lot they could have done and they were disappointed in their performance since they didn’t “work hard enough”. They were coasting on their high ranking, thinking their past track record could speak for itself.

Are you guilty of this dysfunctional thinking in your job search?

If you ask most candidates that question about their job search, I would predict that most candidates would have significant regrets about their commitment, energy, and intensity regarding their job search.

Most candidates are not willing to “go beyond the call of duty” in their job search.

Most candidates could not claim that they have “outworked their peers” in their job search.

Most candidates are just doing the same thing over and over (Benjamin Franklin’s Definition of Insanity).

No wonder the typical executive/senior management job search is now significantly over 6 months. Here are some questions to ponder about your job search:

• What are you doing in your job search that your peers are unwilling to do?
• What are doing this week that represents a high level of energy, commitment, and intensity in your job search than last week?
• How would you quantify the effort and intensity of your job search?
• Shouldn’t you be treating your job search like it’s play-off time and it’s the last 5 minutes of what could be the last game of the season or your entire career?
• Are you going beyond the call of duty in your job search?

What could you be doing differently that would represent a higher level of commitment, energy, and intensity?

• Have you assessed your LinkedIn Profile and are making the necessary changes and investment of time to get noticed by recruiters and hiring managers?
• Are you writing custom cover letters for every appropriate job you apply for?
• Are you publishing a blog on your functional expertise?
• Have you joined two local networking groups and possibly a trade/functional group? Are you taking on a leadership role in these groups?
• How hard are you working your network using classic networking principles of being a connector, giving back, staying in touch through nurturing? Have your taught yourself how to be a master of networking?
• Have you continually refined your resume and turned it into a marketing document instead of a factual presentation of your history?
• How many blogs do you read, how many job search E-books have you downloaded, how many comments have you posted in Job Search LinkedIn Q&A sections.

This is just a small list of the hundreds of things you could be doing in your job search to reduce the time it takes to find a great opportunity. Most of your peers are unwilling to invest the time to do these job search best practices. Are you willing be to do what it takes to win – to go beyond what most of your peers do in their job search – or would you rather coast in the middle of the pack?

Have you downloaded our FREE Job Search Preparation Scorecard to see if you’re doing everything you can to conduct an effective job search?

What’s holding you back from pouring everything you’ve got into your job search?

Barry Deutsch

Jump into the Questions and Answers in our popular LinkedIn Discussion Group to discover what some candidates are doing that truly represents an effort to go “beyond the call of duty”.

Don’t Be the Candidate Screened Out by a Recruiter’s First Question

In my last blog post, I described how the best recruiters screen out the vast majority of candidates for their search assignments through one simple question.

Don’t be the one who gets screened out in 30 seconds.

Many times these are great opportunities the recruiters are working on – you’re the perfect candidate for that appropriate position – you definitely do not want to miss out.

What can you do?

I’m going to suggest that there is a simple approach you can use to prepare for interviews, and it mirrors the cover letter strategy.

If the advertisement does not point out precisely what is required in the position, you can make the fair assumption that there are 3-4 primary elements to every senior professional, managerial, and executive position. Putting your comparable accomplishments to each of these core elements of a position in the cover letter, and being ready to address them in the interview is an insurance policy against being screened out prematurely by recruiters.

Let’s run through a few examples:

If you are applying for a CFO/Controller/Director of Finance position in an entrepreneurial to mid-sized non-public company, the primary expectations over the first year will probably include:

1. Process Improvement – reducing the closing process, improving financial reporting, inventory control process changes, order entry processing speed/efficiency.

2. Financial Planning/Analysis/Forecasting – improvements to budgeting, annual planning, cash flow management, strategic planning, monthly analysis, monthly and quarterly projections.

3. Operational Projects – conducting special one-time analysis on leasing equipment, facility optimization, capital investments in equipment, customer profitability analysis, viability of new products, services, markets, analysis of warranty reserves, and cost reduction opportunities.

4. Policies/Procedures/Asset Protection – improving/changing the handling of cash, tracking of fixed assets, credit policies, collection management, purchasing and material management.

If you are applying for a Marketing Manager position at a sub-component manufacturing company, the primary expectations over the first year might include:

1. Marketing/Sales Materials – review and improvement of all collateral material used by the sales team.

2. Business Growth – assessment and recommendation of new markets, products, and services. Launching and managing existing and new services and products.

3. External marketing – branding, positioning, messaging, advertising, and trade shows to increase awareness and recognition in marketing to OEM manufacturers.

4. Lead generation for the sales function – database marketing, trade offers, channel management, website, lead management tools.

Tell us what the 3-4 primary success factors are in your functional role for the type of industry/type of company that you are focusing your job search on.

We’d like to see how many job seekers understand the critical components of being successful for the type of position they are seeking.

Now let’s jump back to the first interview question a recruiter poses to you in the initial phone call:

My client’s closing process takes too long. They need this individual to reduce by 50% the time it takes to close their books on a monthly basis.

Amazing. Astounding. The recruiter is blown away. You’ve got 2-3 great examples of where you solved similar/comparable process problems/obstacles.

Let’s try another one:

My client is looking at expanding their regional electro-optical sub-component business nationally. Do you have 2-3 comparable examples you could share about moving a company into different markets against entrenched competition?

Amazing. Astounding. Once again the recruiter is blown away by the 2-3 examples you’ve shared about successful marketing efforts to move your prior companies into new markets.

The recruiter is doing their job asking the tough questions based on client expectations of success. A little preparation and understanding of what the most common obstacles/problems/opportunities someone in a specific role is going to face will allow you to ace the vast majority of “appropriate” interviews.

Keep in mind that if your background is primarily in marketing management and you’ve done very little in sales management, I’m probably going to quickly screen you as inappropriate for this executive search for a sales management job. If you’re essentially a channel marketing director, I’m probably going to quickly exclude you from consideration for the marketing role in my client’s direct sales model.

The key word is “appropriate”.

One of the greatest frustrations we hear from employers/recruiters is that the vast majority of candidates from whom the receive resumes/calls ARE NOT APPROPRIATE” for their openings on a very basic level – this brings us back to a previous blog posting where I made the outrageous suggestion to stop shot-gunning your resume to jobs that are totally inappropriate and focus your search efforts on “appropriate jobs”.

The shot-gun approach to responding to job advertisements/recruiter job announcements is a complete waste of time. Okay – a miniscule number of candidates will occasionally get lucky – after all – even a blind squirrel will get a nut sometimes. However, do you want to base your job search on “luck” or on a systematic – methodical – structured approach validated as generating consistent results?

You make the choice! If you’re not obtaining decent results from your current shot-gun approach of scattering resumes every time you come across a key word – perhaps it’s time to try a test and see if a more focused effort would generate better results.

Now that I’ve repeated myself for the 100th time on the worthless approach of conducting a shot-gun job search, let’s return to the primary focus of this blog post.

Let’s assume you get screened out for an “appropriate” role.

Shame on you for letting that happen.

If you’ve taken all our recommendations in our FREE Archive of job search best practices including such items as preparing a great job search plan, developing an outstanding LinkedIn Profile, consistently and effectively leveraging cover letters, and investing extensive time in the preparation for an interview – then there is NOT a recruiter, HR staff person, or Hiring Manager who CAN deny you the opportunity to be considered.

NOW we come to the real issue behind why you get screened out for “appropriate” openings on the first recruiter interview question (forget all the  “inappropriate job responses” – you should be immediately screened out for these) – you didn’t do your homework – you didn’t apply the best practices in conducting you job search –  you basically “winged-it”.

STOP being screened out prematurely for openings for which you are perfect. STOP letting this happen. Make a resolution right now that you will never allow yourself again to be screened out prematurely for an “appropriate” position.

START today in changing the way you conduct your job search. Take our entire FREE Archive of Audio Programs, Templates, Examples, and other tools – and start transforming your job search. After you swallow that overwhelming amount of FREE content from us – start extracting the FREE content from all other great career coaches and recruiters on the internet.

STOP complaining about your ineffective job search and the obstacles you are facing. There is an extraordinary amount of great content available to you that is either FREE or can be acquired for a minimal investment. Every candidate I have met in this horrific job market that invested time in discovering and using job search best practices has dramatically reduced the time it took to land a great job.

WHAT IS HOLDING YOU BACK?

DO YOU FEEL YOU KNOW EVERYTHING THERE IS TO KNOW ABOUT CONDUCTING AN EFFECTIVE JOB SEARCH?

ON A SCALE OF 1-10 (10 BEING THE HIGHEST) ARE YOU DOING EVERYTHING YOU COULD BE DOING TO CONDUCT A MORE EFFECTIVE JOB SEARCH.

In this blog post, we just took one tiny element of conducting a more effective job search: How to NOT get screened out by recruiters for appropriate positions in their first interview question.

There are hundreds of activities, tactics, strategies you could use to conduct an effective job search.

Barry Deutsch

Jump into the vibrant dialogue in our LinkedIn Job Search Discussion Group on the most common basic best practices of conducting an effective job search.

5 Tips How To Keep Your Resume Out Of The Black Hole

Candidates constantly complain about how when they email resumes they all seem to end up in the proverbial “black hole.”

As a recruiter, who receives on average 6 to 7 hundred resumes a week, I can understand your frustration. I’m also sure I may not be able to eliminate it, however, I hope I can help you reduce it with these few tips.

1) When you move from candidate to hiring manager remember your frustrations and treat the people sending you resumes as you want to be treated now. You know, the thing our parents always taught us about treating others the  way we want to be treated. Sounds so obvious but I just wrote another article about how rarely this happens.

2) The best way to avoid the black hole in the first place is not enter it. If you include a cover letter; a) don’t send it as a separate attachment to your resume. It should be the first page when the resume attachment is opened. b) use either Word or PDF to send your resume. I receive many resumes I can’t open. c) your cover letter should be designed to grab the reader’s attention. That means the cover letter must clearly and with a simple glance align your background with the needs of the job. CLICK HERE and download a free copy of a sample cover letter that does just that.

3) You don’t have to be the first resume received. Most ads run for at least 30 days. Many candidates have experienced most companies take their time. So wait a few days or even up to a week or more before replying. Avoid being one of the first 400 resumes. After the first blast of resumes come, as more trickle in one or two at a time, I will often just open the resume take a look at it and make a decision how to handle it. These people avoided the rush and got their resume reviewed.

4) First try the personal approach. With number 3 above in mind, use this time to try and find a personal connection within the company or recruiting firm. There are many ways to do this. 1) Linkedin should be first on your list. This is  exactly why you need to build your connections to the maximum number possible. 2) Google the person’s name, position, or company name, anything that will help you target the right person within the company. Then look for a personal introduction. Most recruiters value a referral.

5) Don’t use services that blast your resume to 10,000 recruiters and/or companies. This is a major waste of money. What do you expect will happen when someone receives a bunch of unsolicited resumes? What would you do with them? How do you handle unsolicited emails? Most call it SPAM. It doesn’t work.

Hope these tips are helpful and now your resume will at least pop to the top.

Designing a resume is the starting point of every job search. If your resume gets screened out it is worthless.

If you didn’t know these little tips our Complete Resume System is designed to make sure your resume gets noticed. We guarantee it. The hundreds of people who have used this system to build an effective resume are getting their resumes read. You can too. There are many more tips you should include in your resume. For more information about getting your resume noticed check out our Complete Resume System. CLICK HERE to view it.

You should join our LinkedIn IMPACT Hiring Solutions Job Search Networking Group. It is free on LinkedIn and there is an enormous amount of articles and discussions to help in your job search. That is why over 4000 people have joined so far. CLICK HERE to join if you are a LinkedIn member.

You can also download for FREE a sample cover letter to use that will align your background with those of the company. CLICK HERE to download your sample.

I welcome your thoughts and feedback.

Brad Remillard

3 Simple Absolute Musts In A Job Interview

Interviewing is an art more than a science. Like most art, there are the Van Gogh’s and then there are those that work hard but never reach a professional level. They may still be good, just not good enough.

I think that is the way most candidates approach the interviewing process. They think they are good, when in fact, most are not good enough. This is especially evident when a candidates tells me, “I’m getting interviews but just not getting the job.”  To me, that rings out loud and clear, you need to take a look at your interviewing skills.

Here are three things I find missing with candidates in an interview.

1) Confidence I find this lacking, especially with candidates that have been in a job search for a long time. As they become more and more desperate they tend to exude less and less confidence. This comes across in a number of ways that I believe most candidates don’t even realize. For example, body language,  how you sit in the chair, eye contact, tone of voice, confidence in answering questions, staying so general in the answer for fear that getting too specific or detailed may rule you out, or giving long rambling answers so as to encompass everything in the hope that you have covered what they are looking for.

Nobody wants to hire a person that isn’t confident. This is especially true at the manager level and up. Few want someone that comes across so weak they will not voice an opinion.

With candidates I coach, I always recommend  interviewing the same way you would if you had a great job and didn’t need the one you are interviewing for. I believe this helps in bringing out the real you. Most candidates act differently on the job than in an interview, so it is very important that the interviewer sees you as you would be on the job.

2) Questions In many ways this is a symptom of confidence. Why is it when an interviewer asks, “Do you have any questions for me?” candidates often say, “No not right now.” I don’t understand that.  This clearly demonstrates weakness, lack of interest, or lack of understanding of the position, any of which gets one knocked out of the running.

This is your opportunity to shine, to demonstrate your depth of understanding, to probe, to engage, get clarification, and basically stand out. I think one of two things stops candidates from asking questions; 1) fear that they may appear to be too confrontational or challenging or 2) lack of preparation. Either one is generally not going to help the candidate win the interview.

All candidates should be well prepared with questions. There are so many areas that  you can ask good questions about that will help separate you from all of those that don’t. This is so important that in our candidate job search workbook  “This Is NOT The Position I Accepted” we have over 135 questions to ask in over seven different categories. That demonstrates the importance of asking questions in the interview.

3) Preparation This is probably the solution to the first two.  Taking the time to properly prepare is the biggest problem I have discovered over and over again that candidates fail to do or do properly. Poor preparation is just as bad as no preparation. Here are some stats I have been keeping as I have asked candidates about their preparation.

A) Less than 5% of candidates have actually written out answers to the most basic questions that they know will be asked in an interview.

B) Less than 1% have actually video recorded themselves interviewing.

C) Less than 1% have conducted mock interviews.

D) Less than 10% prepared questions they wanted to ask during an interview.

E) Less than 20% have asked others for feedback after an interview that they didn’t get.

F) Less than 10% have identified any weaknesses in their interviewing style.

G) Less than 2% know all of the three things that can be measured during a phone interview.

H) Less than 10% can give very detailed answers about the bullet points on their resume.

I) Less than 1% have even considered body language in preparing for an interview.

J) Less than 5% prepare for an interview the right way.

K) Less than 50% know they have a weak handshake or poor eye contact.

Not everyone makes all of these, but to my surprise most make many of them. This is why candidates are often not good enough at interviewing.

You can get our Candidate Job Search Workbook for FREE (just pay $5 shipping). You can review the questions, read the multiple chapters on interviewing, and even learn the ten must ask questions in an interview. CLICK HERE to learn how to get your workbook sent to you for just the cost of shipping.

Download our sample cover letter. This will help make sure your resume aligns with the position, and recruiters appreciate this style. It is free.  CLICK HERE to get yours.

Finally our LinkedIn Job Search Networking Group is free to join and all are welcome. This group has over 3,800 members and a wealth of articles, job postings and discussions to help you. CLICK HERE to join the group.

I welcome your thoughts and comments.

Brad Remillard

Does Your Resume STINK? Is that the problem?

Did you know that the number one reason most candidates don’t get called for an interview after submitting a resume is that their resume and cover letter STINKS?

Reminder – LAST CHANCE to take Advantage of our Special One-Time Resume and Cover Letter Webinar tomorrow — Friday – January 29th – Special Appreciation Rate and Bonus Materials

If you’re not getting a high number of “bites” on your resume when you forward it to networking contacts and submit it to employers for their job postings, perhaps the problem is not so much with the economy – but rather in the document you’ve created to market yourself.

Can you afford to have a resume and cover letter that STINKS?

No wonder the average time for a manager or executive to find a job is creeping beyond 6 months into the 12-18 month plus time period.

How many months will you continue to deplete your savings account and base your job search on hope and luck by using a resume and cover that STINKS?

We’ve put together a very special webinar for the members of our job search community. One hour is all it takes to learn how to create a powerful marketing document that grabs employer’s attention and makes them want to pick up the phone and call you.

The best news is that we’ve cut the price in half for our loyal readers and followers and we’ve thrown in a few HOT items that will help your job search. You’ll NOT find a less expensive webinar packed with as many ideas – tactics – and helpful advice anywhere on the Internet.

Learn the inside secrets of creating and leveraging a power marketing document to get interviews and finish your job search quickly.

Join us for this webinar (probably will only be offered ONCE this year) which is special appreciation webinar for our job search community of loyal readers and followers.

Click the link below to take advantage of this unique private offer to our job search community reducing the normal fee for the webinar from $89.95 to $39.95 and the inclusion of two of our HOT audio programs – a total value of over $150.00.
Last chance to sign up TODAY. Click this link to register now:

SIGN UP-GET MORE INTERVIEWS WITH YOUR RESUME

Join me on Friday January 29th at 9 AM to start conducting an effective job search NOW!

Barry Deutsch

Photo courtesy of megngarnett

HELP, Resumes Keep Coming In. What Should We Do?

I received 347 resumes just this week. On a weekly basis this is about average. Some weeks I get more, some weeks less, but over time 300 or so is not unusual.

Many of these resumes were received for a search directly via email, about 10% via snail mail, another 15% from referrals and another 15% completely unsolicited with candidates just introducing themselves.

Of these, maybe half to two-thirds had cover letters. Of those with cover letters, about 80% were worthless and I didn’t even take the time to read them. Why, because they all were almost exactly the same. As they say in the movies, “Only the names had been changed.” The other 20% I did take the time to at least scan them looking for points that might align with a current search or that at least piqued my interest.  These 20% were different in that they were not long paragraphs that simply regurgitated the resume,  but instead most were either bullet points or the two column type we recommend using and have a free sample available for all to download. (CLICK HERE to download). They were easy to scan to pick up the highlights and decide how to properly handle the resume.

Although I really don’t care one way or the other if a resume has a cover letter or not, but if a candidate is going to include one it should add value by intriguing the reader enough to look at the resume. If not, why include it?

I believe this is why most cover letters are ignored. They all look alike and do nothing to make the reader want to take a look at your resume, so the recruiter, HR, or hiring manager completely skips over them.

Of the 347 resumes, most were a complete waste of time to even review. Sorry, I know candidates don’t want to hear this, but sometimes the truth hurts.  Sending me a resume when I don’t have an active search is not going to help you. As a retained recruiter, I work the searches I have and that is my focus.  If your resume doesn’t match my clients needs then I rarely save it. Not because you aren’t a qualified person, not because you don’t have great experience, but because after 30 years of this I know the profile of candidates that I place.  If you don’t meet that profile, I don’t need your resume regardless of your experiences and abilities.

This is true of most recruiters.

I recently heard from a candidate complaining that he had sent out over 200 resumes and had heard back from only 5. Actually that isn’t bad. Mass mailing resumes is a waste of time and money. It is a complete crap shoot that anything will stick. I advise all candidates to never do this.

The best way to get your cover letter and resume noticed is to be very targeted and focused, especially with recruiters. We want to fill the position as badly as you want the position.  From my perspective, if your background is consistent with my client’s needs and you meet the basic criteria I outlined in the article, How Recruiters Read Resumes In 10 Seconds (CLICK HERE to read), you will get a call from me usually within an hour.

Those 10% that were referred to me I responded to. I always respond when a person is referred to me, even if I can’t help them. I appreciate referrals and want to respect the person that made the referral. In my opinion this is the best way to get a recruiter that you don’t know to engage you.

The unsolicited resumes were put into a file that when time permits I will review. If they meet the profile of the type of candidate that I have a high probability of placing in the future, I will add them to our database.

My partner Barry and I have written extensively on what we believe is the best way to get your resume noticed by recruiters, HR, and hiring managers.  These recommendations come from over 30 years of experience as recruiters, from asking hundreds in HR what they use as screening criteria, and from thousands of hiring managers, CEOs and key executives telling us how they review resumes. Barry and I try to pass this information along to all so it will be helpful and reduce your level of frustration by knowing what to expect when you send out a resume.

One more way we can help you is to speak directly with you utilizing our webinars.  Our time and knowledge is valuable so YES, we do charge a nominal fee for the webinar. To balance that, we also offer a lot more tools and resources for FREE than what we charge for.

We’ve DEEPLY DISCOUNTED THE WEBINAR FOR THOSE JOB SEEKERS WITHIN OUR JOB SEARCH COMMUNITY – loyal followers on Twitter, readers of our blog, and members of our LinkedIn Job Search Discussion Group.

In a lively one-hour presentation, I’ll show you the inside secrets (from a retained executive recruiter’s perspective) of how to get your resume reviewed every single time and boost your resume acceptance rate (the number of times you get called for an interview from submitting your resume) from a dismal level of less than 10% to well into the 50% PLUS RANGE. If you’re reading this blog, when you sign up for the Webinar use the coupon code of IMPROVEMYRESUME.

If the small, inconsequential, almost non-existent fee for the webinar is too much to bear to boost your resume acceptance rate and cut your job search time dramatically, please feel free to download our many FREE resources for job seekers, including our radio show broadcasts, cover letter sample, and other tools.

I welcome your thought and comments.

Brad Remillard

An Absolute Must For A Job Interview

One of only three things that can be measured during a phone interview is communication.  The interviewer is determining how well you communicate and how well you will work with the management team. Communication style is critical to cultural fit. If you are thinking verbal communication, in this instance you are half right. Most candidates think we are talking about one’s use of the English language and proper use of verbs, avoiding the word “like,” being succinct, and all the other verbal components of communication. Generally you are correct, but not this time.

This time I’m referring to listening skills. This is also a component of communication. Before you click away, recognize that study after study revealed that most people are not good listeners. In the case of candidates not being good listeners, this happens not necessarily because you are not generally a good listener, but rather because of the interviewing process itself.

Too often candidates don’t hear the complete question because mid-question they start thinking of an answer to the question that hasn’t even been asked yet. The candidate anticipates what they think the interviewer is going to ask and then starts formulating an answer in their mind. Too often to the wrong question.

I have interviewed over 10,000 people in my 30 years as a recruiter, and this is a constant battle. This is even more profound on a phone interview. I believe it’s due to the fact that the candidate can’t see the interviewer, and can’t tell by body language or eye contact when the end of the question is coming is one reason why it is such a problem on a phone interview.

Failure to listen to the complete question and then targeting the answer to actual question is one reason why so many qualified people never get the job. I hear this from hiring managers all the time.

Most candidates will be better off taking a slower approach and listening carefully prior to jumping in with an answer that isn’t relevant to the question.

Work on your listening skills. Don’t just assume you have good listening skills in an interviewing situation. This is a unique environment. You may be a great listener day to day, but when the pressure of an interview and your desire to do a great job collide during the interview, listening is usually the first thing to go.

If this was helpful to you please help others by passing it on. Everyone needs to help everyone until the economy turns. Consider emailing it to your network, posting on a blog, adding to your status on Linkedin or Facebook or Tweet it. Let’s help others. It will come back to you.

Join our Linkedin Job Search Networking Group for a lot more discussions and articles to help you with your job search. CLICK HERE to join in.

Download our FREE 8 Point Job Search Self-Assessment Scorecard. Identify the strengths and weaknesses of your job search so you jump start your search in 2010. CLICK HERE to get your free copy.

You can also download a free sample cover letter that  has proven to align your background with what the company needs. Thousands already have and it really works. CLICK HERE to get yours.

I welcome your comments and thoughts.
Brad Remillard

Job Search 2010 Get Started On The Right Foot Part 2

In Part 1 I discussed the need for getting an accountability partner and what an accountability partner is. This article will be about what an accountability partner should do to help you.

A good accountability partner can make a major difference in one’s job search. I have seen people spend months looking, but once they engage an accountability partner their search takes off. You can call this coincidence if you want, I did for a while until I saw it happening over and over, and the people using the accountability partner were giving them the credit for their success.

So what should an accountability partner do? Here are some of my thoughts, and please add your thoughts and experiences in the comment section so others will benefit.

1) Accountability. Sounds obvious doesn’t it, but this is the main goal. A good accountability partner will hold your feet to the fire.  First and foremost, they will hold you accountable to do what you say you are going to do.

2) No Excuses. They will listen intently to your excuses and then hold you accountable to what you say. A good accountability partner knows the difference between excuses and real road blocks.

3) Empathy Not Sympathy. Accountability partners  understand the emotional  ups and downs. They understand  your feelings but don’t become emotionally involved or attached.  They can separate their feelings from yours, which allows them to stay objective.

4) Listen Well. They know when to let you blow off frustration and vent. They recognize this is part of the process. However, they don’t let that get you off your plan or off track. They will still bring you back and hold you accountable to what you say you need to do.

5) Help and Guidance. Most job searches get stalled at some point. An accountability partner has the experience and knowledge to help you redirect your search. They have the experience to recognize opportunities you, the candidate, may never have thought of or when you are just not doing something effectively.

6) Tough Love. A good accountability partner is not there to be your friend. Get a dog if that is what you want. They are there to give you tough love when needed. Sometimes even make you angry or embarrassed if you aren’t delivering what you said you promised to do. They call it as they see it. Would you really want anything less?

7) Willing to Meet Regularly. They will meet you at least weekly to discuss progress and lay out a plan for the following week and month. If your plan is weak, they will push you to improve it. They keep you on schedule and on track. They will take your calls and reply to your emails. Yes,  it is a lot of work and time.

These are some of the key functions of an accountability partner. It is not by any means a complete list. If you get these in an accountability partner  you will be off to a great start in 2010.

Please add other key functions that you think are important or have benefited from in the comment section. We welcome and encourage your thoughts, comments and input.

Join our Linkedin Job Search Networking Group. 3400 other people are benefiting from the discussions and articles. CLICK HERE to join, it is free.

Turbo charge your search in 2010 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 on your Facebook page, Tweet with the link, post to your Linkedin groups or status update.  Let’s all do everything we can to help those looking for employment.

Brad Remillard

Job Hunters Searching For Help In Too Many Places

There are so many places to go today for help with your job search it is hard to know what is right, who is the best, what advice you should follow, and if you are doing things effectively. Everybody has a different opinion. Should you use Twitter, how much time to spend networking, do you need to change your resume, is your cover letter the best, what do to in an interview, etc.

What’s a candidate to do?

It really isn’t all that difficult to figure out. The answer is simple. It isn’t any different than other decisions you make, whether buying a home, buying a car, selecting a plumber or contractor, or what finance company to use.  You first decided what you needed (that was what YOU need), you then do your homework, seek out an expert in what you need, ask for referrals, if none are available you want to test drive the product or review their work, then  you decide.

Do the same in your job search. Filter out all the distractions. There are a lot of very good experts out there to help you. You just need to get the one that will work best with you and what you need in your search.

Some filtering ideas:

1) Identify exactly what you want or need help with. Don’t let some one else try to sell you on what they have to offer you. If your resume isn’t working, get an expert to help you with it, if you are getting interviews but not offers focus on that, if you are not familiar with using the Internet in your job search get help there, and if this is your first time looking in a long time you might need help with all aspects of your search.

2) Do your homework. Look around at what others are doing. Pick a book that has a reputable author. By reputable I don’t mean just because they wrote a book they are experts.  Review that authors background. Are they an expert in what you need? What makes them an expert? What accomplishments do they have similar to what you need? Ask for referrals. Read their book. Does it align with what you are seeing in the market and from other candidates?

3) Ask others for referrals. Who do they use to help them? If you don’t have a person to ask go on-line. In today’s world you can check out people and their credibility very easily. For example, if my partner Barry Deutsch or myself were referred to you or you simply wanted to check us out, all you have to do is Google our names. Look us up on Linkedin. There is adequate information out there on us and our firm for you to decide if we are credible and provide the services you need. It is the same for any expert in the job search business today. If that information isn’t available – run.

4) Can you test drive their services? Once you identify one or two people, due your due diligence. Can you test drive their products, can they provide examples of their services, can they produce a prototype for you, ask them for suggestions and decide if these make sense. Is the person responsive, have references, will they work with you as opposed to you working with them?

5) Then select the one or two experts you feel will best benefit you and work with them. Use them and abuse them. Forget about all the distractions out there. This is the best person for you and that is what works. If for some reason it doesn’t, then start the process again, just like you would with any other product or service. If you don’t like your banker, doctor, financial advisor, CPA, or the person doing your taxes, you move on and find someone else. Why should it be any different in a job search?

You should join our Linkedin Job Search Networking Group. It is free, has over 3300 members and an extensive amount of resources for you. CLICK HERE to join.

You can also get a FREE sample cover letter to help you. Over 2000 people have downloaded this. CLICK HERE to download yours.

Finally you can test drive our job search workbook to see if it is right for you. We will ship it to you for only $5. It is FREE for you to read and check out to see if it is right for you. We practice what we preach CLICK HERE to get yours. Readers have rated this book 4.5 stars out of 5.

Resume Do’s and Don’ts – Radio Show

Knowing how your resume is screened will help you understand why you do or don’t hear back from recruiters, HR or hiring managers. These are not the basic do’s and don’ts such as spelling, grammar, or formatting.  You already know those things. We are discussing the practical application of the most common mistakes candidates make that result in their resume getting screened out. Most of these mistakes are so easy to fix, so common sense and so obvious one wouldn’t think it would take a whole show to discuss. We give you insight into what our clients tell us, their actual screening methodology and what you can do to get past the 10 seconds resume screening 90% of the time.

Join our LinkedIn Job Search Networking Group along with 3100 other LinkedIn members. To join CLICK HERE.

You can download for FREE a Job Search Self-Assessment Scorecard. This will help evaluate the strengths and weaknesses in your job search so you can identify what  you need to tweak. This will help you conduct the most effective job search possible. CLICK HERE to get your free assessment.

To download this and past radio shows in our audio library –  CLICK HERE