Rita Ashley, Career Coach. Field tested advice for executives.

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By rashley, February 26, 2010 7:10 pm

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Or do they cinch the deal?

Your prospective employer wants to talk to your references. You know they will say good things about your work and integrity, but will they talk about those things which will land the job?

An excellent job search requires that your references are primed and ready to relate what the new employer most wants to know in a compelling way. Teach them what to say.

Ok, so you are reluctant to tell the CEO how to talk. There are ways to suggest proper patter than aren’t strictly telling.

Ask your references to comment on any area where the employer has doubts. If they are unsure how your skill set or management style will scale to a larger organization, ask your reference what they think. Once they say what you feel the employer needs to hear, just say it. “Employer x will probably be relieved to hear you say that.”

Ask your references, “If you hired me today, what are the three reasons you would do so?” This helps focus the answers and gives you opportunity to discuss with, “That was a satisfying project because xxx.”

If they don’t cover what you feel the prospective employer wants to hear, ask, “When I negotiated the technology transfer with xxx, there were serious objections which I worked on and created buy-in so we could go forward. Is that something you think a prospective employer would like to know?”

Still not sure they will say what a specific employer will ask? Try, “Was there one thing in particular that caused you to promote me?” or give me x project, or award or anything relevant to the next job.

If you feel comfortable with a bit more proactive stance, “XYZ company’s highest priority for this job is collaboration. What examples would you offer to prove to them I am a great collaborator?”

Notice you asked for an example. The gold standard in references is real world examples to which the new employer can relate. When your references mention a characteristic, always ask them to elaborate with an example.

Intangibles like integrity, work ethic and leadership are only relevant if they can be backed up with examples; examples that have results. Lower turnover, faster new client acquisition or other high priority success.

If you prime your references, you increase your chance of being hired. High probability your competition is not doing it and most people simply don’t know how to give a good reference. Further, most people don’t know how to ask the right questions to get references. So, take matters in your own hands. Land that job because your references truly were excellent.

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Rita Ashley, Career and Job Search Coach–In the last two years, 98% of my clients achieved their goals within six months. Is it your turn? Contact me to discuss your career challenges: Contact me directly

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By rashley, February 3, 2010 6:00 pm

Commonly accepted wisdom on career advice is to find your passion and the jobs/money will come.

Hogwash. My dear friend Michael is a brilliant oboist and remarkable baritone; his passions. He is a top-of-his class graduate of a leading music school and performs often in Seattle with the Men’s Choir and various other organizations which create opportunities to feature his talents.

Michael was just unexpectedly promoted again. He works for a leading Seattle company and has been recognized and given awards and prizes throughout his career as a business analyst. He is proud of his work history and contributions to his employer’s success.

He is very good at what he does and is scrupulous in building his career with companies with the resources and commitment to his success. He maintains his network and mentors others. But his real passion, his music, is completely separate from his career.

Daily, he finds reasons to appreciate his employer and looks for ways to enhance his contributions. His six figure income is a result of his ability to create collaborative relationships and keep the customer’s needs in sight at all times. Most days, as soon as work is done, he zips off to practice and his non-business community.

There is very little overlap between his personal life and his work life yet he is extremely successful with both. Why? Because Michael knows he creates his own happiness. He has both passion and success. And they are only related in so much as happy people seem to perform better.

Finding your passion at work? Not a requirement for success. Finding work where you can be successful? Now that’s how to build a career. Just ask Michael.

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By rashley, February 2, 2010 6:14 pm

Stalled out on your job search?  Here are a few links that discuss issues and advice you can use to get the ball rolling.

Do you smoke? Do you know how it affects your career?

Why do companies post executive jobs on job boards?

Are you really overqualified or do you just not know how to work the system?

Can you learn to interview better?

Do you know a proper metric for a good Job Search Engine (NOT job board).

Here’s where you can find links to research tools.

Fed up with recruiters who misbehave?

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By rashley, February 1, 2010 6:25 pm

A friend of mine expressed disbelief than any executive would even consider using a job board. He knows job boards don’t work. He maintained that no executive is so naive to believe an anonymous resource like a job board could be considered as a tool by any executive who has ever hired anyone. I couldn’t agree more.

Yet many six figure plus executives do believe they will land a job through job boards. Some job boards are so aggressive they advertise they only source jobs and candidates over $100,000. Research proves these executive level job boards vet neither candidates nor job submissions for income level. They do charge candidates for what is promoted as a premier job board, but there is nothing other than cost to differentiate them from other monsterous job boards.

I contend that people do what is easy. When they are stressed and their confidence is on the wane, they grasp at anything that requires only a little effort. They are willing to believe the magic of random submissions. They are convinced their resume is spot on to the job description and all they need to do is submit and wait for the phone to ring.

More often, the executive finds using the computer for outreach and research far less daunting than talking to people. The prospect of rejection and the feelings of inadequacy that accompany joblessness destroy the urge to reach out.

Would that it be true. Less than 1% of executive level jobs are filled through job boards…spread out among all of them, that leaves any one job board with a dismal record indeed.

So why to companies post on job boards? If the stats are true (and they are) why are executives finding so many job openings listed? Human resources professionals are typically chartered with hiring new executives less than 5% of their employment time. They are not experts and they are not, for the most part, skilled in locating candidates. They post but they do not read.

Many companies have specific rules that say any job must be publicly posted before it is filled from any source. Thus, instead of a newspaper ad, which was the former outlet, jobs are posted on boards.

Some less than scrupulous recruiters thrive on job boards and the candidates they find there. Great, you say, that’s fine with me. Well, maybe not. Frequently, the jobs are not real, the ad is simply used to lure resumes of high income individuals for other reasons. That contact information if quite valuable. Or worse, they use the resume to penetrate companies for jobs they don’t have an assignment to fill.

Frequently internal recruiters post their job openings on job boards out of habit or desparation. While they have little reason to expect to find the right person, they post because they have a budget to do so. Why do they have a budget when using the boards is so futile for executive level jobs? Because boards are a very good resource for finding individual contributors.

And let’s not forget the multi-level marketers who lure candidates with glorious job descriptions that turn out to be bogus with a bait and switch result. Many job boards are simply scams.

How many times have you submitted a resume which caused no response? You felt it was not even read. You are mostly right. Companies of all sizes rely first on referred candidates. Many have financial incentives for employees to refer their friends. In today’s market, the referral from current employees works well because everyone seems to know folks out of work.

What’s the antidote to job boards? Networking. Well over 75% of all executive level jobs are landed by networking. You even have to network to find the most professional of recruiters. Networking has always been the most productive way to land a new job. That has not changed. People are still willing and eager to help. They just need to know what help looks like.

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Networking Debugged is available as a PDF download for only ten dollars. A step by step guide to networking that appreciates how hard networking can be for some people.

Rita Ashley is a career and job search coach for executives.  In the last two years 98% of my clients achieved their goals within six months. Is it your turn? Contact me directly to discuss a customized solution.

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