Many of us have been taught from The Tortoise and The Hare “slow and steady wins the race.” Baloney! Slow and steady isn’t the formula for winning a race. One may finish, but others, sans competitors who choose to nap, will undoubtedly win. The tortoise didn’t beat the hare by going slow. It’s an insult to the tortoise to suggest such a thing. His speed may have been slow comparatively, but he beat the hare by going as fast as he reasonably could and concentrating on his goal until he crossed the finish line. The hare failed to do the same. The lesson to walk away with from the tortoise should be about staying focused while functioning at your true potential until a goal is realized. It’s a shame the tortoise’s example has been used by some to justify poking around at a steady clip.
Job seekers with the potential to match the pace of a hare, who choose the pace of a tortoise, rarely win the race to employment. Not only do they trail their competitors, they fail to exhibit the energy and momentum employers like to see seated across the interview desk from them. Few hiring managers are willing to extend offers to workers without a clear sense of urgency and who fall short of their potential.
As slow as the tortoise may have been, he performed to the best of his ability and kept his eye on the prize. If you wish to follow the tortoise’s example, do the same.
I’ve blogged before on candidates contradicting their abilities. Mostly I’ve talked about how applicants’ actions fail to live up to their words.
- Atention to detail
- Exceptional communicator with the ability to communicate with people of various backgrounds exceptionally.
- Excellent ability to manage deadlines. (yet the application was submitted 2 days after the position closed)
Today I’d like to take a moment to talk about how your actions may contradict your supposed professional calling. How many times have you experienced someone working and left thinking they have no business doing that job? Perhaps you’ve encountered a nurse who is irritated by people in pain, a salesperson who doesn’t return calls, a police officer speeding while talking on a cell phone, a financial planner navigating a bankruptcy, etc. The list goes on. Even if you aren’t a career counselor, you have some preconceived notions of how various professionals should act. This isn’t complicated stuff.
It’s bad enough for those who are working to have customers questioning their choice in careers. It’s even worse to have an interviewer wondering over an applicant’s. It happens a lot. I know I’ve had my share of “huh?” moments. Whether it is the techie who can’t figure out the electronic application, the sales person who seems to cower in the chair, the writer who sends a 4 line cover letter or the human resource professional who blabbers on about legally protected subjects, the impression that’s left is the same. This person has no business doing this job.
The natural question for me to ask at this point is if it’s possible you may be leaving prospective employers with that impression? Make your own generic list of what would be reasonable for an employer to expect of someone with your professional aspirations. How do you stack up? Honesty is important here. If the answer is “not well” then you need to do some hard thinking. Are there things you can change? Do. If not, then it’s time to change course. It’s not logical to keep chasing something you aren’t truly designed to do and it’s not fair to be angry with employers for recognizing the contradictions and choosing someone else.
Those of you looking for work can surely identify with waking up on days and not feeling like making the effort. You all likely have moments, hopefully short lived, where you want to turn your minds off from the process of looking for work. What’s a missed day, right? That’s how I felt today about blogging. From the moment my eyes creaked open I had no interest in putting fingers to keyboard. No big deal. In fact, what’s the harm in taking the rest of the week off? A four day weekend sounds good to me.
Clearly I didn’t take today off. It’s all Patty’s fault. She complimented my blog today in a meeting. The sly fox that she is, she spoke of how my posts help her to see her job search efforts in a different way. Some kudos on my writing style were thrown in as well. Crafty, that Patty is. So now I can’t take the day off. What I do suddenly has meaning again. Now I have that nagging concern if I don’t write someone just might miss me. Darn it all, I want to write!
I’m having fun at Patty’s expense, but there is a point to be made. So often the reason job seekers find it tempting to sit on the bench at times is because they really don’t see the point in joining the game. What’s a missed day? There is no way to know, unfortunately. If you aren’t surrounding yourself with people or exposing yourself to situations where your efforts on a given day would be missed, you’re vulnerable to opting out when you shouldn’t. We all need reinforcement that what we are doing matters. That our efforts are leading us to something bigger and better. We can’t get that from the walls of our home and the bowels of our computer. Patty gave me that reinforcement today. The best part is, I didn’t have to ask her for it. By putting myself out there, her reinforcement found its way to me. Job seekers should make every effort to involve themselves in situations and with people who can do for them what Patty did for me today. Thanks, Patty. You blew my four day weekend fantasy, but I won’t hold it against you. Unless it comes in handy to do so, that is.
I’ve read many cover letters and resumes and wondered, “who talks like this?” Some job seekers believe channeling their inner Shakespeare is the best way to impress a hiring manager. Though that may win points on occasion, most times it blurs your message and puts you at risk of appearing insincere or fake. The goal should always be to deliver a professional, clear, succinct and meaningful message that offers a glimpse of your true nature without being overly casual. All of those requirements can be met without burning up the pages of a thesaurus or getting your 16th Century groove on.
When trying to gauge what language and degree of formality you should use with a cover letter and resume, consider how the company you are applying to communicates with its customers. Whether conscious or subconscious, employers are likely looking for those who can communicate in a similar fashion. Review the company’s website and what you can find of its marketing materials. Take note of style and vocabulary choices. If they don’t present themselves as a “where for art thou” company to the public, it’s a big hint you presenting your information to them in that manner will flop.
For the companies you find that do lean to the formal side of the fence, it’s still important not to get carried away with fancy language. Use enough to showcase your vocabulary without muddying the message. No matter how formal an environment, the primary goal is still to be understood. People are willing to read Shakespeare’s words a few times over to capture his true meaning. It’s rare for your cover letter or resume to be afforded the same courtesy.
Those who exercise know to get the best results every session should start with a warm up phase. Warming up helps prepare the body for what’s to come so optimal results are achieved. The warm up is only supposed to take a few minutes. If you have an hour to exercise and spend 45 minutes warming up, you get a lot less out of the process.
Job interviews have a similar format. Employers often start interviews with simple questions designed to calm the candidate’s nerves and get him ready for more challenging topics. As with workouts, the warm up in the interview is only supposed to last a few minutes. The interviewer has much more indepth questions to pose in order to assess an applicant’s fit for a job. Eating up valuable face time with a hiring manager giving a 20 minute answer to a 2 minute warm up question is a big no-no. It substantially reduces the amount of beneficial information the interviewer is left with to consider at the end of the interview. When I’m on the receiving end of long answers to simple questions, the frustration is overwhelming. We may be getting on well, but I have objectives to accomplish and a dissertation on how the person heard about my company doesn’t help me in the least.
I’ll close by saying most times when a candidate finds himself talking for 20 minutes straight he is off the mark. I imagine there are exceptions, but a majority of questions can be answered without requiring a few sips of water midway through. My experience has been those who are able to keep responses to warm up questions succinct are less likely to go overboard on the meatier topics.
My biggest beef with social media is how fast misinformation can spread. You’d think people would have the good sense to question what they read/hear and do some quick internet searches to gauge its validity before spreading it to the masses as truth. The fact so much of what has gone “viral” in recent years has been pure baloney should give us all pause.
Last week several of my friends used various forms of social media to spread what was essentially dramatic fiction. It wasn’t their intention to promote lies, they simply did not question the source. The nugget of information was sensational and quickly raised hackles. They expressed their outrage and demanded others follow their lead and do the same. In less than a minute’s time I was able to find clear evidence what they were passing around was bunk. To make matters worse, when I pointed it out to them and encouraged them to check the facts, there was no acknowledgment of their mistake or effort to retract their words.
This is troubling and by no means rare. Social media is viewed by many as entertainment. I’m sure some think it’s no big deal. With people fired up over political and social issues, the atmosphere is ripe for good judgment to take a back seat to passion. Passion is a wonderful thing, but loses its credibility when frosted with fiction.
Why am I writing about this on a blog focused on job search strategy? That’s easy. Job seekers have a lot to lose by spreading misinformation. Imagine how it plays out in the mind of a potential employer. This individual could do the same thing in our environment. He could jump to conclusions and spread rumors/gossip without hesitation. This person allows emotion to compromise his decision making ability. Would he express outrage over things at our company, true or false, through his Twitter and Facebook accounts?
These are all reasonable questions to ask. Cover your bases. Your social media outlets are indeed yours for your own expression. By now you’ve likely heard the warnings when it comes to debating political, social and religious issues with the masses in such a public way. If you wish to go that route it is certainly your choice. Do yourself the good favor of some quick fact checking. Even employers on the same side of the issues as you could hold your willingness to spread inaccurate information against you. Quite frankly, they should.
Many people are influenced by the attitudes and communication styles of others. I’m not immune. During a conversation I find myself emulating the other person. Within minutes I’m talking at the same speed, with the same level of enthusiasm, the same jargon and sometimes even the same accent. The accent bit is embarrassing. There have been times I’ve heard myself talking and wondered where all of the extra vowels were coming from. You do it too, right? When in Rome… Accents aside, my natural inclination to mirror the other person serves me well in sales. A big part of the reason clients like me so much is because they are essentially experiencing themselves. What’s not to like?
One thing not to like is if the person I end up subconsciously mirroring is having a bad day. Perhaps they are distracted, lacking energy, pessimistic or stressed. If I serve that back to them, they aren’t going to see what they like about themselves. They are going to see the things they’d prefer to deny or ignore. And they won’t associate my demeanor as having been inspired by their own. So I have to make a conscious effort not to mirror that person in those types of situations if I want to make a good impression. Sounds simple, but it really takes work.
How does this relate to job seekers? Think about the interviews you’ve had with companies that didn’t go well. Is it possible you contributed to the mood? Did the interviewer mirror your own lack of enthusiasm or energy? Did you mirror the interviewer’s stress inspired disposition? Whether you set the negative mood of the interview in motion or contributed to it by mirroring the interviewer, the outcome is the same. No job for you.
What’s a person to do? For one, be aware of mirroring. Understand the interviewer is just as capable of following your lead as you are his. Walk into that room engaged, enthusiastic and positive. You will find the interviewer more likely to follow suit when you do so. Secondly, realize that people do like it when others adjust to their style. If they talk slower or are soft spoken, talking loudly at a mile a minute isn’t a good plan. Third, be aware of what is a bad day versus an interviewer’s particular style. If he is short with responses, slouched or distracted, turn your systems on alert so you don’t do the same. I can hear some of you say, “duh, Lisa…I’d never do that.” You’d be surprised. Ever yawn when someone else does? How about fidgeting? Averting eye contact? Checking your watch? When other people do these types of things around you, it’s more natural than you think to do the same. So don’t rule out the possibility you are also mirroring frowns, clipped words and disinterest.
Ask anyone looking for work what they hate about the process and they are sure to give you a healthy list. Most are quick to grumble about hiring assessments, extensive & redundant online applications, essay components, transcript requests for degrees obtained decades ago, etc. Employers are definitely having applicants jump through hoops these days.
There can be a lot of hassles involved in landing a job. Wouldn’t it be nice to take a pass on all of that? You know you can, right? Despite what it might feel like at times, there are still plenty of companies with less involved hiring processes. They are typically smaller organizations without the infrastructure and resources to support the more labor intensive and costly practices. They are also companies more likely to be circulating their positions in less visible ways so they don’t have to sort through hundreds of applicants. If the only jobs you are applying for are the ones you find on expensive job boards where thousands of candidates could feasibly be submitting applications, your going to be in the land of hoops and hurdles.
There may be times when you have to jump through these hoops in order to be considered for a position you really want. The key is to diversify your search to the point you have enough balls in the air to pick and choose which positions are worth going through all of the extra effort for. I suspect much of the frustration job seekers experience stems from going to these extreme lengths for positions they don’t really want and are reasonably sure they won’t qualify for anyway. They know they are wasting precious time.
Just say no to wasting time. Don’t get mad at employers for doing what they feel they need to do to weed through the masses. How they want to go about the business of finding employees is their decision. Be more strategic in your efforts to find companies with opportunities in your area of interest with less extensive hiring practices. Subject yourself to more involved application processes for the positions you know interest you. Get mad at yourself for filling out your umpteenth online application of the week for a job you don’t really want.
No matter how much you believe the actions of another contributed to you losing a job, leave it out of your interview and networking discussions. Quite frankly, suggesting others are to blame for your current situation rarely rings true in the ears of those you hope to impress.
For one, if the individual has been in management for any length of time he has probably let go of individuals for poor performance and then been blamed for their demise. “He didn’t like me. He was playing favorites. I didn’t kiss his #@$ enough.” Sigh. I know I have a few former employees out there telling others how I wronged them. I’m biased, of course, but I’m confident I’ve always been fair. The candidate could be 100% correct that a co-worker/manager did him in. Since there is no way for me to know for sure, I take any “he was out to get me” explanations with a grain of salt. Actually, it’s probably a block of salt. I consider it professional courtesy since I hope those on the receiving end of candidates throwing me under the bus are doing the same.
The second reason finger pointing fails to impress is you are essentially admitting another person outmaneuvered you. A petty and unethical person, at that. How is that helpful to your search? People who play these kinds of games are hardly the real movers and shakers amongst us, they are the insecure who need to get rid of you to protect their own position. Announcing you allowed them to win isn’t wise. Take into consideration most people have had to work with others who did not like them and would have enjoyed seeing them fail. If they managed to persevere and neutralize that person, they aren’t going to understand why you couldn’t do the same. In most situations if you concentrate on making yourself invaluable to your employer it doesn’t matter who does and doesn’t like you along the way. That may not be true all of the time, but it’s true enough that grain of salt creeps back in the mix on the part of the listener.
I know I’ve blogged about this before, but it’s worth another go. A week rarely passes without me hearing a job seeker lament about being over qualified. Employers aren’t giving them a chance, you see. They are being passed over for that $30K job because they made $75K in their last position. Well, duh. Of course they are. Can you say “flight risk?” Put yourself in an employer’s shoes. If you can pick between someone whose skills and income expectations line up perfectly with the job and someone whose ability and experience goes well beyond what’s needed, who would you choose? Don’t paint an employer a villain for being logical.
There are ways for job seekers to make a convincing case to be hired when they are overqualified. I’m saving that bit of advice for another day, however. Today’s focus is on the tendency for those looking for work to immediately aim low in their efforts. The economy is bad. There aren’t any jobs. They are going to have to settle for something and find a way to be happy. Blah, blah, blah. I appreciate things are difficult and a certain degree of settling may be necessary. To jump to that conclusion without even trying to secure employment at your true professional level is unfortunate. And I mean really trying, not just sending out a few resumes to internet postings and giving up when you don’t hear back.
So this is what happens. Individuals find themselves unemployed and immediately start applying to whatever they can find. Often times the positions are not a fit for their backgrounds and much more entry level than their previous dealings. They get rejected. They get frustrated. That rejection and frustration starts to plant the seed their situation is hopeless. Their shattered egos convince them if they are getting rejected for jobs they are overqualified for, they’d do no better if they were applying higher up the ladder. That, my friends, is bunk. Pure and simple. The opposite is true. The more in line a position is with your background, the higher your odds of landing the job. I don’t know about you, but I like higher odds.
What to do? It’s important to refrain from letting Chicken Little Syndrome hijack your job search. The sky is not falling. It may be cloudy and stormy at times, but that is the extent of it. Challenge yourself to keep a majority of your focus on securing employment at your most recent level or above. That’s right, I said above. If you are prepared with the skills and experience necessary for a promotion there is no harm in making it happen with your next position. Notice I said “majority” above. If you need to give consideration to more entry level work, do so. Just don’t let that become the primary focus of your search.
Believe it or not, professional level job seekers may have better odds landing a job now than they did in a more robust economy. Shocking, I know. Consider the fact when economies are more stable employers can count on those who are currently employed throwing their names in the hat. Not so right now. Those with jobs consider themselves fortunate and are less likely to make a move. For that reason alone, employers have fewer qualified applicants to consider. Add to the mix all of the unemployed professionals aiming low, and the problem worsens. I regularly hear employers complain about not being able to find people qualified to do their jobs. I live in Michigan, the state with the highest level of unemployment in the nation. Ironic, isn’t it.
