Real-world advice for today's job market
Real-world advice for today's job market
There are few meetings with more inherent pressure than a job interview, and worse, most of that pressure is weighing on only one of the people (how unfair!). When you’re interviewing for a job, two or three short seconds can feel like a lifetime. They’re not, though, and allowing them to pass in silence can make a big difference to the quality of an answer – possibly one that could make or break your interview.
More than ever before, candidates are meeting recruiters virtually rather than in person. Video interviews have created a raft of changes – some good for the candidate, others not so good. Read More
I’ve heard hundreds of stories about people who’ve gone to multiple interviews, met hiring managers and team members, gotten their hopes up about what seemed like a slam dunk … only to be ‘ghosted’. No word back, not a phone call or even an email, despite polite messages requesting an update. What are you supposed to do when you’re ghosted? Read More
As a candidate interviewing for jobs, you can harness the power of storytelling. It can be powerful, too; some of the best interview moments I remember are ones where I was drawn in by a compelling story that illustrated the point a candidate was making. Read More
As a candidate working with a recruiter, it’s to your benefit to help them be as efficient as possible. There are aspects of this that you can’t control. The suitability of your experience and qualifications for the job I’m hiring for, for example. It’s either a good fit, or it’s not. There’s one thing you can control, though. That factor is: friction. Read More
How can you make a great first impression? The first few moments of any meeting can be anxiety-inducing for many people. Unless you’re a natural extravert who’s energized by social interaction, and small talk comes easily to you, greetings can feel strained and awkward. A job interview amps any tension up even further, because of the context. There’s a power imbalance at play, of course, and if a lot is riding on the meeting (the job is one you really want or need, or both), the pressure in that moment can be pretty high.
I’d like to share with you three areas where otherwise good candidates have made a poor first impression, so that you can avoid making the same mistakes.
As a candidate being interviewed, it’s in your best interest to be listening as closely as you can. But in an interview, in the context of being assessed and evaluated, there’s a lot going on. It’s very difficult to remain truly ‘in the moment’. It will be helpful for you to train yourself for active listening.
Gratitude is never unwelcome. Saying a sincere ‘thank you’ to someone who’s done something for you just feels good. And being thanked for
something you’ve done feels equally nice.
When you’re a candidate involved in a hiring process, showing appreciation is critical. It’s not just meaningless lip-service, either. Whether an external recruiter or a hiring manager with a company you want to work for, it’s an investment of time (and therefore money) when someone meets with you. It’s good professional etiquette to acknowledge that.
There’s no sugar-coating this: looking for a job when you’re unemployed can be one of the most frustrating, discouraging, and disheartening experiences you’ll ever go through in your life. At the precise moment that you need to project confidence and competence, those things are possibly quite far from what you’re feeling. If you’re reading this while in this situation, I’m truly sorry. I know it’s difficult beyond words. You’re not alone in feeling how you feel. What I want to share with you here isn’t a cure, but my hope is that it may be a treatment. Read More
Can job hopping hurt your chances of landing jobs in the future? Sometimes in our working lives, things just don’t work out. Maybe the job turned out to be something other than what it seemed. Sometimes there’s a personality conflict with someone that just can’t be overcome. Other times, the company switches gears at a bad time for you – making a change that means your job no longer exists. Read More