Although our goal remains the same, our business changes in a recession. We are inundated with new customers who have recently been made redundant. Many are the long-term employed who have not looked for work in years. They are unsure where to look or how to use their transferable skills to prove they are an asset in a new field. They are often angry, frightened and overwhelmed by their situation. Yet to be hired, they must project a positive confident attitude.

Although our goal remains the same, our business changes in a recession. We are inundated with new customers who have recently been made redundant. Many are the long-term employed who have not looked for work in years. They are unsure where to look or how to use their transferable skills to prove they are an asset in a new field. They are often angry, frightened and overwhelmed by their situation. Yet to be hired, they must project a positive confident attitude.

In a recession employers hire differently. With a high unemployment rate, employers can afford to screen people out for minor issues, so it’s no wonder that even those who would normally get jobs quickly are struggling. The generic pitches that have worked in the past don’t work now – to be hired job seekers must use new techniques which allow them to stand out from the crowd. Also, in tough times, employers hesitate to advertise in the open market for fear of being inundated with resumes that are costly to sort through. The good news is that even in this tough economy there are still thousands of jobs available, but they remain unseen in the hidden market. In this hidden market, traditional tools like resumes and applications are largely ineffective. In fact, even in the open market over 90% of resumes and applications are screened-out before the interview. Job seekers must be taught to use “side doors” in order to get direct access to the people with the power to hire.

Providing our new customers with these insights early in their job search, plus giving them new tools and practical techniques will help them find employment faster. It will also give them hope, and return their confidence so that they can project themselves as a positive resource the employer needs. From the employer’s perspective, it will allow them easier-accesses to perspective employees who can articulate how they can help make their company successful.

Photo by Ed Yourdon

If you missed part 3, you can find it here.

Rule 7: Look for concerns. Once you have created your Prove Its, review them for anything that might cause the employer concern.

Andre is relying on his Masters in Marketing to land a high-level job in advertising, but he has no work experience in the field. Instead of helping, his degrees could create concern that he loves to learn but may not be able to apply his knowledge. He is asking for Masters-level salary, but offers no proof he can produce results. My recommendation would be, if he is not hired within 3-4 months, to remove the Masters degree from his resume and get some practical experience. If he applies for a lower-level job with his Masters degree on his resume, he is likely to be screened-out because he appears overqualified. After a year, he can add his degree back to his resume, and go for higher-level jobs. (The exception to this advice is with Masters or Doctoral degrees in areas of study that integrate practicum, such as teaching or the sciences.)

Rule 8: Always have a Good Answer for the Interview. Be ready to explain to the employer why your skill is relevant to their business, even if it was gained in a non-traditional way. As you develop your answer, listen to it as if you were the employer, or ask a friend who is an employer to help you.

So we’ve given you the rules for using less-traditional Prove Its, now let’s put it all together to see how Jason’s used his softball coaching experience to prove he’d be a great Assistant Restaurant Manager?

QSPs to prove as a team leader he could get results — “The team won only 1 out of 5 games the first half of the season, but won 4 out of 5 in the second half when I was coach” became “As the leader of a team of 14 people, I increased success by more than 80% within 8 weeks.”

Story to prove his skills in problem-solving and staff support — “One of my team members was ready to quit, so I took him aside for a chat. Turns out he had been forced out of another position and he wasn’t happy about it. Within a week, I had created a plan that allowed him and 2 others to switch positions. I retained his talent, and he even recruited 2 more strong team members.”

Demonstration – Jason wanted the employer to see that he could take complicated or uncommon ideas and make them simple for staff to understand. The clear and easy-to-see connection he drew between being a successful coach and a great Manager for the restaurant demonstrated these skills.

Credible Reference – One former employer vouched that he relied on Jason to run the kitchen when the Lead Cook didn’t show. Another verified that within 7 months, she began pairing new Waiters with Jason so he could train them.

Using his Prove Its from coaching on his resume got him interviews. Sharing his Prove Its in the interview impressed the employer, but it also raised a question … “Where did you get all this management experience?” When you use unpaid experience or non-traditional learning in your Prove Its, you MUST also have a Good Answer to explain it. Jason’s sounded something like this:

“I have been successfully managing projects and teams for years… it’s one of my natural skills and interests. To date, all my management experience has been unpaid. The examples I have given you here come from my work with a losing softball team that I took to second-in-the-league in the first year. I’ve been the Manager for 3 years now. Sometimes, I think unpaid Managers have an extra challenge, because the team they manage doesn’t have the incentive of a paycheck to work hard or give their best. I’m really looking forward to getting a job where I can use my natural skills and experience to make us both money.”

Jason’s Prove Its and Good Answer resulted in two management-level job offers!

This is an excerpt from a new book by MacDougall/Harney copyright 2008. It is printed by permission of the authors and can not be duplicated.

Photo by San Jose Library

Technorati Tags:
hobbies, employment, careers, unpaid work, volunteer
Add to: | Technorati | Digg | del.icio.us | Yahoo |

Rule 4: Don’t assume employers know. When pulling skills from your personal life, don’t assume employers know all that is entailed in doing a task, as they would if you mentioned a skill from their workplace. Your Prove It should describe the skills used to successfully do the task.

Stating that you were the Chairperson for your Class Reunion Planning Committee does not prove you have organizational skills. You must describe specifically what you did… “I personally coordinated the hotel bookings, flights, and ground transportation for over 300 out-of-town guests, and planned and organized all the arrangements for three unique Day-After Activities that were attended by over 200 people. This included selecting sites, negotiating contracts, collecting payments, arranging transportation, and doing all the crisis management that comes with coordinating a multi-site function. As Chair, I oversaw the activities of three committees, comprised of 12 people who were responsible for marketing, decorations & nostalgia, and food & entertainment. The reunion received rave reviews from alumni and their families.”

Rule 5: Make it Verifiable. Since there is no official person to vouch that you did what you say you did, create a way for the employer to verify your Prove It. If they can’t verify it, many employers will give it less value. And, just because they can verify it doesn’t mean they won’t ask for additional evidence, like a work trial.

An article in the local paper that hails the reunion a success and gives you credit can vouch for your skills in organizing the event… Your grandma’s Doctor or visiting Nurse could vouch for your skills with the elderly… Samples of your work could vouch for your skill as a Cook or Cabinet Maker… A detailed but brief (90 seconds or less) description of the rainy-day activities you designed can vouch for your creativity… Notes of thanks and praise from friends whose cars you fixed can vouch for your mechanical skills.

Rule 6: Use the Employer’s Language. Paint a picture the employer can relate to before they discover where you gained the skill.

Jason, the softball coach, did a great job of this. Instead of saying, “The team won only 1 out of 5 games the first half of the season, but won 4 out of 5 in the second half when I was coach,” he said, “As the leader of a team of 14 people, I increased success by more than 80% within 8 weeks.”

Final part is published here

This is an excerpt from a new book by MacDougall/Harney copyright 2008. It is printed by permission of the authors and can not be duplicated.

Photo by runJMrun

Technorati Tags:
hobbies, employment, careers, unpaid work, volunteer
Add to: | Technorati | Digg | del.icio.us | Yahoo |

Rule 1: Choose a job that matches your skills. Do not assume one accomplishment can be turned into something more than it is.

Growing award-winning tomatoes in your backyard proves you have the knowledge, skills and patience to grow award-winning tomatoes (and perhaps other plants). It does not prove that you understand the issues involved with growing them on a mass scale or managing a farm. If you want to use this experience to get a job managing a tomato farm, you need additional Prove Its for every other skill required to run a large farm. Also, being good at a skill doesn’t prove you can teach it to others, so if you are going to train others you will need a Prove It for teaching as well. If the primary skill you want to use is growing award-winning plants, pursue Gardener jobs at specialty nurseries, or perhaps a quality control job at s tomato farm.

Rule 2: You must have done it, and done it well. Just because you have done something as a hobby or hold a title in your personal life (Mom, Sunday School Teacher, football coach), doesn’t prove you are skilled at it. Your Prove Its must demonstrate that you can do it well.

Being a Mom doesn’t mean that you are good with kids. If you want to use your experience as a Mom to prove you are good with children, you must give specific examples of your talent in doing things the employer needs. To prove you are creative and familiar with the age-specific needs of the children, you might share about the crafts and indoor activities you designed to entertain your kids when it rains. To prove that parents find you trustworthy, you might share how your home is the one house on the block where all the parents allow their kids to spend the night because you are so responsible (and the kids have a great time!).

Rule 3: Don’t make big leaps. Employers won’t take the leap from our personal life to your work life if it doesn’t make sense, so be sure the skill you are trying to prove is actually proven by the activity you describe.

Would you hire a teenage girl to watch your children simply because she has been responsibly taking care of the family pets (cats and dogs) for the last 3 years? I’m guessing “no”. But, could she use the fact that she has gotten up at 6am, seven days a week for the last 3 years to walk her dogs, and only missed 4 days when the doctor said she had to stay in bed, to prove that she is dependable and can show up on time in the morning?… Definitely!

Part 3 can be found here

This is an excerpt from a new book by MacDougall/Harney copyright 2008. It is printed by permission of the authors and can not be duplicated.

Photo by Tim Parkinson

Technorati Tags:
hobbies, employment, careers, unpaid work, volunteer
Add to: | Technorati | Digg | del.icio.us | Yahoo |

If you can prove you meet all the employer’s needs by relying solely on paid work history and formal education, great! Do it! Employers believe that if someone else has paid you to do the job, you are more likely to be good at it. But, what if your formal employment and education doesn’t match the job you want now? …Until you offer proof from other sources, you will appear “UNqualified”. It’s important to remember that even if you haven’t taken a course or been paid to do the job you want, the employer hires all of your knowledge and experience, regardless of where you gained it. Your unpaid experience could translate into skills the employer needs, so don’t limit yourself.

At 16 Gordon was more experienced in car repair than most adults. He had helped his uncle overhaul more than a dozen engines and had done two all by himself, just never as an “employee”.

Nancy could prove she was great at caring for the elderly because she had been caring for her grandmother for the last 3 years. Gran, all her friends at the Senior Center and her Gran’s Doctor will vouch for her skills even though she wasn’t a certified caregiver.

If you only look for proof among your paid work history and formal education, the employer may never see the talents you could bring. When you are pursuing a job, you must let the employer know that you have what they need, even if your Prove Its come from unpaid work or informal education.

As an employer, I have received thousands of resumes that made me wonder why the job seeker sent them to me. Their selling points may have proven they’d be great … but not for the job I advertised. Perhaps they had skills I needed, but I will never know because they were screened-out in the first round.

I have coached people who got their best Prove Its from “unpaid experience”… volunteering at their child’s school or a local community center, work assignments in prison or an addiction recovery program, or personal experience, such as managing of a community softball team.

Jason is a great example. He wanted to be an Assistant Manager in a Restaurant. He’d been a Cook and a Waiter, but never a Manager. He believed his life experience and natural talent was enough, so we took the most important Employer Needs for the job, and set-out to Prove It. Need by need, I asked him, “Why do you think you can do this?… When have you done it before?” Many of his answers came from a single experience…taking-over as Coach of a community softball team that had been last in the league for 2 years. As coach, the plan he created helped him re-vamp how they practiced, correct mistakes, teach new skills, bring in new talent and motivate the defeated players. He took the team to second in the league within a year. He was a great Manager! We just had to present it so the employer could connect the skills he used with the team to the skills needed as an Assistant Restaurant Manager.

When you read the skills Jason used as a softball coach, did you think “that’s nice, but an employer is never going to buy that as proof”? It depends on how you present it. Most employers would express surprise that someone who grows award-winning tomatoes in their back garden thinks it proves they can run a farm, or that because someone is a Mom they think it automatically qualifies them to be a Nursery School Teacher. These job seekers do not understand the rules of using unpaid experience to Prove It.

Part 2 – Can be found here.

This is an excerpt from a new book by MacDougall/Harney copyright 2008. It is printed by permission of the authors and can not be duplicated.

Photo by dheuer

Technorati Tags:
hobbies, employment, careers, unpaid work, volunteer
Add to: | Technorati | Digg | del.icio.us | Yahoo |

3 – Share the Moment of Clarity (7 to 10 seconds)

• Give a specific example, a moment you realized you had to make another choice.
• The more serious the situation, the more dramatic your moment of clarity must be.
• Share your motivation for doing it differently in the future.
• Explain what you have learned & how you have changed since it occurred.
• Consider what is important to them! Be sure the lesson or change will be valued by them. Prove it!

Ensure your candidate demonstrates these changes wherever possible by being on time, displaying a positive attitude, being polite, listening, etc.

4 – Paint A New Picture of Today (15-20 seconds)Explain how your life is different today.

• Don’t just tell them the barrier will not recur, let them realize it.
• Prove it … demonstrate it … make them see!
• Be specific! … Share concrete examples of the things in your life today that will keep the barrier from recurring … a new group of friends, a new skill you have learned, a strong addition recovery programme, etc.
• Be consistent! …Make sure the changes are evident in every part of the way you present yourself.

By this stage if unsuccessful the employer should start thinking things like:
“… I wouldn’t have guessed that”
“…I believe in this person”
“…it’s worth the risk.”

5 – Tell Them What They Gain (10-30 seconds)

• Market yourself by changing the focus to the benefits of hiring you and your specific selling points for all 6 areas of PADMAN!
• Prove you have what they want…consider hard to find qualities like loyalty, doing the extra, great attitude, etc
• Each selling point must meet a perceived employer need!

Putting it all together
When utilising this process rather than answering the question of what have you been doing the last 9 months with “I’m a grateful recovering alcoholic” or “I was in a recovery center”, a better answer would be:

“I’m glad you asked. I want to explain. Several years ago I began drinking. It got out of hand, and even led to some drug use. 9 months ago, when my boss fired me and my wife said she was going to leave, it shocked me into realising I didn’t want to live like that, so I checked myself into a recovery programme. It was the best thing I’ve ever done.
Today I’m focused on achieving my new goals, being a great husband and role model, and another is working with animals. As we discussed, my …”

IMPORTANT:
If the employer will never discover the barrier issues, then teach your client to “NOT tell on themselves”. Instead, help them develop a Good Answer that explains the situation without introducing the concern. Have a pre-plan answer will calm their fears and reduce the likelihood of telling on themselves.

Photo by Ethan Lofton

Technorati Tags:
recovery, good answers, interviews, difficult questions
Add to: | Technorati | Digg | del.icio.us | Yahoo |

So the next few weeks we’ll look at a method for creating good answers to these barriers. In our work with the difficult to place these issues can be quite daunting if not answered well but the same method can be used for barriers with less social stigma.

5 Steps for Developing Good Answers

1 – Welcome the Question (3 seconds)

• Expect, even welcome the difficult question because most employers will ask it!
• Maintain a welcoming, relaxed facial expression and body posture. Don’t be defensive.
• Remember your clients can be screened out for issues that are illegal to ask about or politically incorrect! So if they don’t ask, but will find out … offer your good answer before leaving the interview.

This may look something like:

• “I’m glad you asked. I wanted to explain an important lesson I’ve learned…”
• “It’s personal, but you have the right to know and I want to be honest with you…”

No one is saying this is always easy, but if the employer is likely to find out the barrier anyhow, it’s important to take control and help shape the employer’s opinion of your candidate.

2 – Take Responsibility (10 – 15 seconds)

• Briefly explain what happened & why
• Take responsibility for your actions & choices
• Do not blame or deny …  if appropriate, attribute it to youth… a “wrong crowd” you’re no longer a part of…. a bad decision you wouldn’t make today.
• Don’t brag or share gory details!
• Always be honest

Watch your language!…  use words that are less intimidating and more positive so the employer doesn’t get “stuck” and stop listening. For example, use phrases such as “drank to much” instead of “alcoholic” or “took some things” instead of “burglarized”. We aren’t trying to hide the issue but give an accurate image rather than rely on the employer’s pre-determined view of what that word actually means.

To this point we have addressed what the issue was/is and how the candidate found themselves in that position. This is probably as far as most get but while it may explain the past it still doesn’t give the employer ease and a reason to hire your candidate. The final 3  steps which I’ll list next week make all the difference.

Photo by Karl Baron

Technorati Tags:
good answers, interview, barriers
Add to: | Technorati | Digg | del.icio.us | Yahoo |

This week I want to add two more that may be useful.

3. Talk to the Person Who Has the Power to Hire
Only the person who has the power to hire can request that you skip the Screen-out Process and be given an interview. The decision-maker is usually the business owner or department manager. For lower-level positions HR may make the final decision, but usually their job is to screen-out.

Research the decision-makers name by calling the company, looking on the company website, asking someone who works for the company, asking business associates in the industry or reviewing membership lists for business associations. Always address all letters, emails or phone calls to them personally.

If you can’t get access to the decision-maker, then impress someone they trust and can act as a credible referee.

4.  Be Politely Persistent
If 100 people ask you for a job, and most have the skills to do the job – how do you decide who you will hire? Often it’s the one that shows the most interest in working for you … not just for a pay check.  Polite Persistent is nicely reminding the employer you really want to work for them. It might look like:

• Calling or stopping by every fortnight or months to see if anything has become available
• In your letter to the employer telling them you will call or by stopping by … then doing it
• Demonstrating the skill or quality they need several times before asking if they can use your skills.

Technorati Tags:
employment, job search, resume, CV, interviews, stand out, power, polite
Add to: | Technorati | Digg | del.icio.us | Yahoo |

Photo by Hyperfinch

]]> http://www.worknet-international.com/WorkNET/4-keys-that-unlock-side-doors-part-2-of-2/feed/ 0 http://www.worknet-international.com/WorkNET/4-keys-that-unlock-side-doors-part-1-of-2/ http://www.worknet-international.com/WorkNET/4-keys-that-unlock-side-doors-part-1-of-2/#comments Tue, 21 Apr 2009 17:41:56 +0000 Debra Angel http://www.worknet-international.com/WorkNET/?p=582 Most job seekers send their resume/CV through the front door and then wait to be contacted. Unfortunately, only about 3-6 will ever be seen by the person who has the power to hire. The rest will only be seen by people who only have the power to screen out. So we suggest your skip the front door and go through “side doors” to get interviews, while your competition is still waiting in the lobby.

1.  Be Willing to Standout From the Crowd
Side Doors are a deliberate effort to get noticed by the decision-maker — so you must be willing to do things differently from everyone else. For this reason I can’t give you a list of things to do – as soon as everyone is doing them they would be ineffective. However. I can tell you what they look like, and encourage you to think creatively and try something new.

2. Show them a Skill/ Quality that is Hard-to-Find
What can you offer the employer which most of the other 200 or 300 applicants either can’t offer or wouldn’t think to offer? It must be something the employer wants — the rarer it is the better. It may be a specific vocational skills (Ability), but the other five areas of PADMAN (see here for more information) are just as important and often more difficult for the employer to find or teach.

• Customer Service person who displays genuine pleasure in serving others
• Waiter with an excellent memory for names & faces so returning customers feel like VIPs
• Young person who is the first ones on the worksite and the last to leave
• Labourer who automatically clean-up after themselves and others
• Manager who inspire their staff to give their best and creates a positive atmosphere even during difficult times.

Caution: The unique attitude, skills and abilities you demonstrate must be something the employer needs. What impresses one employer won’t necessarily impress another. A creative CV would work for a Marketing Executive – but not an Accountant. Most companies don’t want their Accountants to get too creative.

Next Wednesday I’ll share 2 more keys to unlock those side doors and stand out from the crowd.

Technorati Tags:
employment, job search, resume, CV, interviews, stand out
Add to: | Technorati | Digg | del.icio.us | Yahoo |

Photo by _Zeta_

In a recession employers hire differently. With a high unemployment rate, employers can afford to screen people out for minor issues, so it’s no wonder that even those who would normally get jobs quickly are struggling. The generic pitches that have worked in the past don’t work now – to be hired job seekers must use new techniques which allow them to stand out from the crowd. Also, in tough times, employers hesitate to advertise in the open market for fear of being inundated with resumes that are costly to sort through. The good news is that even in this tough economy there are still thousands of jobs available, but they remain unseen in the hidden market. In this hidden market, traditional tools like resumes and applications are largely ineffective. In fact, even in the open market over 90% of resumes and applications are screened-out before the interview. Job seekers must be taught to use “side doors” in order to get direct access to the people with the power to hire.

While WorkNet International provides seminars that provide practical and proven methods of assisting job seekers in this current job market, over the next 2 posts I will outline 4 keys that unlock side doors so your candidates can stand out from the crowd.

Photo by Metro Centric