The Monster Blog

3 Steps to Prepare for 3 Job Interviews in 3 Days

Sometimes when it rains, it pours. Last week, I was fortunate enough to land 3 interviews in as many days. Other job-seeking friends are reporting an increase in activity too. In some cases, it is because firms want to spend their remaining Q4 budget by bringing someone on board. In other cases, the companies are gearing up for their Q1 hires now. Whatever the business rationale, I welcome the opportunity to interview, although it does require some pre-work. Here are the 3 fundamental steps that I use to prepare for interviews:

 

1. Read All Available Public Domain Information

 

Obviously, the Internet is a great tool for collecting general data about the prospective company. To dig deeper, consider a subscription business information service such as OneSource. Thanks to their high-level overview of one particular firm's financials, board members and recent performance results, I gleaned useful information about a large, family-owned business.

 

2. Reach Out to People Who Have Worked at the Firm

 

Of the past employees I spoke with, most were balanced and neutral in the assessments of their former employer. Of course, some contacts departed the company on unfavorable terms, so you may wish to take their perspectives with a grain of salt.

 

In these informational interviews, I try to understand their views about the company’s culture and team dynamics. I discovered that one firm has had very high turnover. What would spark these departures even in these economic times? I was told that some of the departing folks will actually be rehired as consultants, and that this is essentially the firm’s “growth” plan. Hmmm, my gut is telling me to be careful. I will dig around more before another round of interviews with this particular company.

 

3. Check Out the Firm’s Competition

 

To round out my intelligence gathering, I also look at the companies’ competitors. While competitors will not speak to me about strategy or other proprietary information, they are more than happy to expound on their products. In preparing for an interview with one of the companies, I stumbled across a major patent case that reached the Supreme Court. Given my limited legalese, I turned to a patent lawyer who happens to be in my job search networking club. He did a little pro bono patent law definition for me, and now I really feel that I've turned over every possible stone.

 

The pre-interview work isn’t complete until I polish my questions and make sure that my career portfolio is presentable. While time consuming as these preparations are, they all paid off. I've secured second-round interviews in all 3 cases. That’s a good feeling!

 

What techniques do you use to prepare for a first or second interview?

 

Pair the Job Search with Underemployment to Keep Your Head Above Water

Over the months, I have taken on some part-time jobs to earn what I can while trying to find permanent full-time employment. Like many other workers in this recession, I have resorted to something called “underemployment.” In this case, it means taking on additional hours or part-time jobs.

 

One of my underemployment positions has me teaching courses at a local business skill development center. Given my many years of teaching sales and technical folks in all manner of courses, I find this enjoyable, straightforward work. I’ve been leveraging this teaching relationship to find similar opportunities. But full-time work in that vein requires more certifications, which cost time and money. I’d rather use my time -- a precious commodity -- to focus on the job search and full employment.

 

While underemployment can meet a (hopefully) short-term financial need, there is a psychological component that accompanies this type of work. Being underutilized in the world of work can be crushing from an intellectual standpoint; particularly when you have spent years educating and improving yourself in a business discipline.

 

To balance this unfulfilling period, you can take steps to stay on top of your discipline. Do research online, read industry journals or join a professional society. For example, I joined the Project Management Institute society while being certified for PMP. Professional societies can offer relevant seminars and provide a forum for thoughtful discussions. Down the road I am confident that this professional self-improvement will pay off in the form of potential work connections.

 

When you’re underemployed it feels as if one foot is in a warm inviting bath, while your other foot remains on the cold hard tile floor. You don’t belong in one spot or the other. While using some of your skills can get the bills paid, this work doesn’t quite envelop and reward you, like a full bath. For some of my friends, their underemployment involves work that isn’t even related to their professional field. One public relations director is working part-time as a restaurant hostess. A creative director I know mans the customer service desk at a hobby store. Their big toes aren’t even in the warm bath water.

 

Naturally, you want to find interim underemployment that is in your field. Who knows? It may lead to a full-time position. A few members of my job search networking group have started various consulting assignments that leverage their areas of expertise. While these temporary work arrangements offer intellectual stimulation, my colleagues know they could be let go at a moment’s notice. Conversely, they have the flexibility to leave the consulting assignment should they land a full-time opportunity. It works both ways. For these experts doing the consulting work, it feels like they’re in the bath up to their waist.

 

Is underemployment playing a role in your job search?

 

4 Ways to Work with a Recruiter in Your Job Search

Could the job market be heating up? I’m hearing from more recruiters, and many of my unemployed friends are reporting the same news. While the number of contacts by recruiters is encouraging, it is more important to work with a few recruiters that have a reputation for quality placement practices. Once you are in contact with a recruiter, how do you decide which recruiters are worth your time and energy?

Recruiters work for a finder’s fee -- the hiring firm pays the recruiter for filling the open position. But by managing your relationship with the recruiter, you can get in front of more quality employers, making it more likely you’ll get a job and the recruiter will get paid. Here are 4 tips for making sure your relationship with a recruiter will work out for the best for both of you:

Missed the Recruiter’s Call? That Could Cost You

I know this seems basic, but always try to answer your primary job search phone. During my recent personal technology crisis, I was unable to connect with 2 recruiters about 2 different jobs. Neither recruiter called my home number, as they probably figured I was best reached via a mobile device. By the time I retrieved my messages and returned their calls, the recruiters had already found enough candidates to fill the available positions.

Does the Recruiter Know the Employer?

During initial conversations with a recruiter, try to learn about his relationship with the hiring manager and the firm itself. A few diligent recruiters will know a company’s key players and their hiring needs and will possess a solid understanding of the overall business. Other recruiters focus on a single relationship within the company, limiting their value, reach and flexibility. A recruiter with depth can tell you a good deal about the people you will meet with, what matters to them and what it will take to click with them during the interview.

Make Sure the Recruiter Is Your Advocate

Look for a recruiter who will collaborate with you to fine-tune your resume before presenting you to the target company. If the recruiter is willing to invest time in you, explain the position’s “back story” and why you need to modify or showcase certain parts of your resume, it’s a good sign. If a recruiter just forwards on your resume, there isn’t much advocacy happening.

Build a Proactive Relationship

Even if a recruiter doesn’t succeed in placing you the first time, a responsible and proactive recruiter will keep you up to date on opportunities. It is also a good idea to keep the pipeline full. So as long as you’re not competing for the same positions, introduce quality recruiters to other quality candidates -- people you know and would recommend.

How do you perceive the value of recruiters in the job search process?

 

5 Old-Fashioned Networking Tips for the Job Hunt

Even though I am now electronically enabled without blue screen of death experiences, I don’t have the bandwidth to constantly hammer out short messages on my various keyboard devices. Besides, if I am always looking down at a keyboard on a mobile gadget or stuck behind a computer, I am not out in the world engaging with those I would be interested in working with! I’d rather be out front-and-center with people in my job search than fiddling with short e-blasts in a heads-down fashion. Call me old-fashioned, but at least I won’t walk into a manhole!

 

Here are 5 strategies I employ when networking for my job search and how you could do them, too:

 

Get Out!

 

Whether it be getting out of your home office, the library or the local coffee shop, do it. You won’t meet anyone in person tucked behind your computer screen. Make it a weekly goal to go to at least one industry or networking meeting to meet with real, breathing humans. You will feel alive and refreshed, much more so than from that added jolt of java!

 

Make Meaningful Connections

 

When going to one of these weekly industry or networking meetings, strive to have just a few profound conversations with a few people. You don’t have to meet and greet everyone in the room to be successful at a networking event. Remember, it only takes one connection to earn one interview to land that one job. I don’t think I ever went home from an event and said, “Gee, I had 50 great 1-minute conversations tonight!” But I do recall saying, “Wow, I had a really cool chat with ABC person from XYZ company, and I can’t wait to talk with him again.”

 

Help People Help You

 

Being in the moment at such live events also means that you are interested in the other person. What’s in it for them to meet you and add you to their business circle? How can you be helpful to them in the present and perhaps the very near term? Listening is still a highly valued skill set, and if you can do it well in a networking setting, imagine how well you can do it in a job environment.

 

Be Present

 

While being technologically savvy with various electronic gizmos is part of the zeitgeist, being present and engaged actively in conversations with people never goes out of style. Cultivating your network is not just a one-time discussion, rather it is an evolving and expanding conversation that includes not just you, but extends to including many others also focused on the same business goals for that particular firm.

 

Let Your Network Help Connect the Dots

 

As they say, you never know who knows who. A computer won’t make the mental connections about people’s shared experiences and how they may be important in the business world for you. For example, I was researching a local food producer and trying to figure out how to meet the business leader who is known locally for sponsoring an innovative 5K road race as well as growing multiple businesses. While discussing this dilemma with a fellow job seeker, he clued me in that this particular business owner is also a dedicated farmer with a viable farming business that sells product to the local community. My job searching friend also shared with me that this person is almost always at his local farm every weekend when it is open to the public. So that’s the next outing for me and my two young sons. They will get to see a local farm in action, and I’ll meet this business leader who is creating new businesses -- and new jobs.

 

How is your face-to-face networking going in your job search? How does it compare to some of the electronic tools you use?

 

Hanging on by a Thread: Month 6 of My Job Search Approaches

I’ve just had one of the most unusual first interviews in my 20 years as a working (and, lately, job seeking) professional. Armed with excellent information and company market research about the firm’s products, I went in prepared with a PowerPoint marketing strategy. I also brought along photos of the company’s products captured in a variety of store format settings. None of these materials were asked for, but since I do not have this particular industry experience, I had to show my marketing skills proactively.

 

The first interviewer was with the actual hiring manager. She was interested in my capabilities in developing new products and delivering revenue. This was a great topic for me as I have developed many new products, in various firms, generating well over $300 million. She was also impressed with the work I had done in my PowerPoint presentation.

 

After a 12-minute wait, the next individual to interview me was the group’s senior manager. This is where the interview got strange. Her first reaction to my resume was “Eewww, you worked for ABC company,” which she said in a very denigrating tone of voice. I was rather taken aback given that ABC company is a good corporate citizen and has generated more than $50 billion in the local economy. I did not want to start this interview on a negative note, so I chose not to respond to this remark. After many more questions, interviewer number 2 then concluded the meeting with, “So when can you start?” What a turn of events!

 

The last person I met with held the position I was interviewing for -- he was moving on to another job in the firm. We had a long and lively conversation, which concluded with his asking me, “So when can you start?”

 

The very next day, I received a call from the recruiter who told me the firm decided not to proceed with my candidacy because I didn’t have the necessary marketing skills. What a rollercoaster ride that was, to say the least.

 

That night, after receiving the news, I diverged from my usual organic menu and ate a big pile of mac & cheese (Why is comfort food bad for you?) and did some soul-searching. Obviously, I need to up my game to get beyond the first interview stage. To put my new plan into action, I went to the library and loaned out several key career books. I also set up appointments with 2 professional job interviewing experts. But emotionally, I am not great, I am "just OK.” It takes a lot of bad things happening to me for me to end up “just OK.”

 

A friend in one of my job search support groups tells me of another member who’s on the verge of a nervous breakdown. He has had many second-round interviews in the past year, but none are progressing to the offer stage. Another buddy of mine is upset about the undercurrent of disrespect pervading the job seeking experience. I am very worried for them. Fortunately, this job club is very supportive of venting, and all involved are very understanding.

 

There are many of us hanging on by various diameters of threads, ropes, etc., in this job search climate. How do you feel about your situation?

 

Do Life and Laundry Get in the Way of Your Job Search?

This past weekend, my sister and I hosted our mother’s 70th birthday party. I had a full house: my sister’s 5 children all under the age 9, my cousin’s 2 teenagers and my 2 sons all energized by the events. Whew!

 

While such a life celebration is a very good thing, it put a lot of my job search efforts on hold. The preparations involved a fair number of interactions with vendors, so I wasn’t spending time in front of the computer on job-related activities. I was pleasantly surprised to see the vendors are enjoying a good, solid business despite the economic downturn. I was pleasantly surprised. So sometimes getting out from behind the computer screen does pay off and helps you see what is going on in the local business landscape. Nonetheless, I managed to squeeze in 2 networking events and a little research for an interview I had today. But almost every other facet of life seemed to fall to the wayside. Piles of clean laundry grew and grew. It is one thing to use the machines to wash and dry, but it’s totally another to have the time to fold and put away the laundry in all its correct spots.

 

I also put the bill pile on hold. While paying bills is not my favorite task, it has to be done. This past month, I did them just in time. I was rather embarrassed when I once missed paying my water bill, but fortunately that penalty was only $1. When I finally paid that bill, I enclosed a personal note explaining my preoccupied mind while being unemployed. For good measure, I enclosed my resume to give credibility to my excuse. Much to my surprise, I received a kind note back from the water authority’s personnel office.

 

I also tend to neglect the nice-to-dos for the house and yard in favor of my job search and other life events. For example, the greenhouse do-it-yourself construction project I had planned is on the backburner until I secure a full-time job. (You still have to buy the greenhouse kit even if set-up labor is free.) And staining the deck may need to wait another season. I will do as much of the yard cleanup as possible myself. I’ve just resigned myself to the fact that my yard upkeep may not be as lovely as in previous years, but I believe my neighbors will understand.

 

Luckily, my brother-in-law was able to complete several small fix-it projects around my home during his visit. He enjoyed having a few days off of time from work, and he also liked taking my 4 nephews on trips to the local hardware store buy parts. He showed them some basic fix-it tasks, which are great skills to have, no matter what your employment picture might be.

 

Do you struggle with balancing life’s demands with the demands of a full-time job search?

 

What’s the “New Normal” -- Especially When It Comes to Salaries and My Job Search?

These days, I regularly take 30-minute road trips to job search networking groups, seminars and other job-hunting activities. While employed full time, I used every single moment of my 15-minute commute to be on the phone (hands-free of course) with my sales folks or customers. I hadn’t listened to the radio in 9-plus years, much to the amusement of my stay-at-home girlfriends when comparing notes about favorite songs on the radio a few years ago. But now I routinely listen to business radio, and one term used over and over again is “new normal.” What exactly is that and how does it impact my job search?

If I distill down the term, it basically means the economy’s new center point as related to the stock market and the median salaries. In short, the stock market isn’t what it was before the economic meltdown, and most professions and jobs will not enjoy the same salary scales as previously earned.

The new normal in terms of job salaries is a big discussion topic in my job clubs. In some cases, I have heard of people taking positions at 40% to 60% of their previous pay, primarily given the need for family healthcare coverage. In other cases, I have heard of candidates securing positions equal or greater than their former salaries. Given all the information I’ve heard, it seems the new normal in pay scales can be anywhere between 40% to 120% of previously earned incomes. But everyone needs to remember that behind these figures are the rounds of negotiations and tactics employed within, both by the potential employer and the job seeker.

So what’s my new normal? Certainly, I’d value a bump up in pay, but that may not be realistic with my desire for a manageable commute. I’d also like to negotiate in some additional compensation, like company stock, as well as what used to be considered classic benefits, like a 401K plan with employer matching. So my acceptable new normal, given the competition in my field, would be an overall compensation package that might ring in at 80% to 90% of my previous pay. But don’t forget, another part of the new normal is that more responsibilities are assumed at lower-level job functions with no additional reward.

From what I hear from fellow job seekers, their new normals include longer commutes, fewer perks (if any) and less valuable benefits. I know a few folks who are going back to school for an additional degree instead of dealing with the new normal now. One is going back to school to complete her master’s in education to teach technology, and another has just taken the LSATs to pursue a law degree. Another 2 of my job club buddies are taking certification courses in fund raising to gain entry into nonprofit fund-raising roles. And yet another friend is pursuing his nursing degree.  All of them hope to move their compensation needle upwards by changing careers into other fields while still leveraging some of their experiential underpinnings from the careers to date.

While I had explored retraining or additional coursework earlier in my job search, I decided not to go down those paths given the lack of income for at least a year’s time. Now, given 5 months of job seeking and the new normal, I may see what it would take to earn my pharmacy degree. This strikes me as a rather flexible and always in-demand profession given a recent trip to the local corner pharmacy for some simple prescriptions for my sons.

How have you reconciled the new normal and your job search goals?

Technical Difficulties Take Their Toll on My Job Search

To date, my job search has cost me at least $960 and untold hours in computer and other connectivity costs. Old-fashioned typewriter and paper would probably have been a lot less, I guess. So how did I rack up such expenses in 5 months of job hunting?

 

Well, electronic things like computers and cell phones are not exactly perfect -- neither are the humans who operate them! Early on in the job search, my children’s caregiver decided to hook up her new computer to the wireless router. She wanted to use her computer remotely during the kids’ naps. Unbeknownst to me, she spoke to my Internet provider in her native language and was instructed how to change all the security and router connectivity settings. So now I am lost in translation without wireless access in my own home. After hours attempting do-it-yourself, I hired a computer troubleshooting firm out of desperation. And that was just the beginning of my computer problems.

 

A few weeks later, my main laptop started to exhibit the blue screen of death phenomenon. I had minor heart palpitations. If I let the laptop sit unplugged for 36 hours, it seems to come back to life. Now that’s not really practical for a full-on job hunt! Also, the display’s flickering lines didn’t make me feel secure about my resume and tracking records of job applies that I stored on the hard drive. So I bought a mass storage device to download all the files. Then I decided I really need connectivity more frequently than every 36 hours, so I bought a netbook, which is half the price of a laptop. Now here’s a small silver lining: at least it is also very, very light, portable and does everything I need so far.

 

So I had a few weeks of peace in the electronic part of my life, until one chilly evening when I decided hot chocolate would be just the beverage to drink while viewing the latest job postings online. I got really excited about one posting and, in the process, managed to dump half my very large mug of hot cocoa all over my new netbook keyboard. OMG! Having mixed liquids with electronics in several other instances over the years (here’s where all that training as a chemist comes in handy), I immediately jumped into action. Besides, the hot chocolate was burning my skin. I tilted the laptop sideways to let the liquid drain off and ran to the bathroom with the blow-dryer. After a good long blast of hot air, I put the netbook under a lamp to sun itself for a whole day. Now every day I am reminded of my hot chocolate silliness (and that job posting, which ended up in the black hole response pile) since the keys make funny, little sticky clacking sounds every time I type. But at least my netbook investment is still working.

 

But that wasn’t all -- now the cell phone part of my technical difficulties. My cell phone was working perfectly well until a visit to the doctor’s office for the kiddies. While I was busy discussing Evan’s minor health issues with the physician, Owen decided to dig around in my purse and pulled out my cell. Not sure if he wanted to order pizza or call his grandmother, but the phone ended up smashed down on the floor. Yikes! Now the phone only works if you press really hard around the edges, so all the display contact points hit each other. It’s really awkward to make or receive calls from prospective employers and recruiters while gripping the phone with all 10 fingers. I look like I’m strangling my cell phone!

 

Of course, there are less costly electronic ways to work during the job search, but I’ll save those funny stories for another post. Have you found any novel solutions to make your own job search more cost effective and less electronics-laden?

 

Experiencing computer problems in your job search? Check out this article with tips for being your own IT help.

 

The Job Search Black Hole Revisited -- Is There Any Sign of Life Out There?

The blog post I wrote several weeks ago about the job search black hole struck a real chord with the audience. As space scientists send out probes to far reaches of the galaxy to explore possible alternative forms of life, I too have been keeping an eye out for this topic as it comes up in my job search networking events and groups. So far, I’ve received mostly feedback from job seekers and only a little from employers.

Personally, I’ve found a real difference in how I hear back from employers now compared to my job search 10 years ago. I recently stumbled upon my job-hunting documents from that search while looking for something in my rarely used book cabinets. I marveled at the close to 100 typed/computerized and personally signed letters from firms. I never even had the thought about a black hole 10 years ago. The communications were either a thank-you-but-no-thank-you for my application or a response to my inquiry about their firm. To date, I have only received two of these types of letters in this job search.

Granted, electronic communications of all types have dramatically changed the landscape for the types of responses exchanged, but a real piece of paper is a rare thing these days! I shall really hold the 2 firms that did not disappear into the black hole in high esteem.

At a recent employment panel, one speaker offered the following perspective on the black hole: He stated that his company receives anywhere upwards of 1,000 resumes per position posted. As a result, this firm cannot review such a number of applicants and is screening to find the job seekers that match close to 99% of the requirements, which turns out to be about 10 people. The firm doesn’t have the computer programming people or personnel to respond “no thanks” to the 990 other individuals. This speaker stated that most firms cannot spend the time reviewing candidates that may be 85% of a match as the firm doesn’t have enough financial latitude to train a new hire in the remaining 15% of the job specifications. In short, they simply want to find a candidate with the closest matching skill set that can immediately hit the ground running and contribute to the firm’s well-being. So of the 1,000 applicants, 10 folks will not fall into this firm’s black hole.

And at a networking event, one person I met mentioned that this year his company deliberately did not hold its annual job fair given an inability to manage responses to job seekers. Their previous job fair yielded more than 500 applications, which they were hard-pressed to process, so with the current job climate, they had concerns about handling the masses and tarnishing their reputation. In essence, this firm does not believe in creating black holes. Instead, the company is doing very specific, targeted, community-based job events to much smaller audiences and is happily managing responses to applicants. In fact, I have received 2 very nice emails, following up my application to this very company. In both cases, neither individual really needed to circle back with me but took the time and trouble to do so. Now this is a firm I am even more than motivated to work for!

Is the black hole still expanding in scope in your job search, or has it begun to shrink in size?

 

Check out this advice for managing the black hole in your job search.