Hope & Practicality from Elisabeth – Elisabeth (Harney) Sanders-Park is co-author of No One Is Unemployable, The WorkNet Model and the WorkNet curriculum, and President of WorkNet Solutions

It’s still a buyer’s market. Recent Bureau of Labor Statistics show more than 5 times more job seekers than openings. The May Job Openings & Labor Turnover Report showed an increase of nearly 50,000 to 2.7 million available positions in March. That’s good news. Employers are starting to hire again. The report also indicated that the number of people pursuing those jobs grew as well. That’s good news too! Sure it continues to make the competition very stiff, but it indicates that many unemployed Americans who were until-recently so discouraged that they had simply stopped seeking work are searching again. So, yes, the ratio of unemployed workers to job openings remains high, but we’re going in the right direction. You may be seeing evidence of this in your practice or community. Let’s be encouraged and re-muster our resolve to help the people who cross our path in these tough times. Let’s ask WHICH not whether employers are hiring, and WHERE not if there is a place in the workforce for each person. This market allows employers to be exceedingly picky about who they consider and who they hire. Here are some tips to help difficult clients impress employers, based on my upcoming book ‘The 6 Reasons you’ll Get the Job’ (with Debra Angel MacDougall, Penguin October 2010).

There are six reasons a candidate gets the job… conversely, they are also the six reasons a person is screened out. Understanding these six reasons means understanding the employer’s perspective, because every reason employers hire or fire, promote or demote comes down to them. Every interview question asked, whether legal or not, is an employer’s attempt to discover if a candidate meets their needs or causes concern in these six important areas. No matter the job title, all of the employer’s needs and concerns fall into the six reasons. Here they are, along with important tips about how candidates can impress employers in each area.

Presentation – You must prove you will represent the company well to internal and external customers, and it’s not just about the way you dress. You must embody the company image in your appearance, but also in how you speak and how you behave – your voice tone, vocabulary, body language, energy. Discover the company image by visiting the site if possible, and viewing the website and marketing materials. Then, present yourself as you would if you already worked there – dress the part, use their vocabulary, match their level of energy. Prove that you already embody their image.

Ability – They need to know you can do the job or learn it quickly enough (which varies from jobs to job). Whether you have done the job before, done something similar and transferable, or are mobilizing raw talent and non-employment activities to prove it, the employer must know that they will get a return on their investment in a reasonable timeframe. Review the job description or lead for the hard skills needed, but also research what makes someone ‘ideal’ which often comes down to soft skills and subtle dynamics. Consider how this position can increase company profit, and prove you can do it.

Dependability – This isn’t just about being on time and ready when you’re supposed to, but whether you can be trusted to work in the company’s best interest, even when no one is looking. Are you emotionally stable, mature, trustworthy and reliable? Will you choose the company over your personal life when it really counts – staying to finish an important project, doing the extra to fix a mistake or satisfy a customer – because you understand that you aren’t there to simply fulfill your job description but to make the company successful? Prove this with your track-record from past employment, and/or by choosing work that truly interest you.

Motivation – This is a biggie! Of course, employers want employees who do the extra, bring passion, and take initiative, but your ‘extra’ is only helpful when it is directed toward the company mission and goals. Otherwise, it’s not just unhelpful, it’s damaging. You are a loose cannon that must be contained. Discover the company’s missions and goals, and consider how the job function can help achieve that mission and fulfill those goals. Un less they are vying for positions in leadership, management or sales, most job seekers don’t think to discover and articulate how they can further the company mission, meet company goals, and increase profit. Imagine a potential cook, electrician, nurse driver, or trainer using this powerful language!

Attitude – Each company has its own culture; some personalities fit and some don’t. Forty hours a week is a long time to behave in a way that is not a natural to who you are. Discover the company culture, and the personalities that fit by going in as a customer, talking with current employees, and looking at how the company markets itself. Culture and image are closely related. Are they high-end, corporate, conservative, reliable, trendy, edgy, green, family friendly? Every chance you get to market whether on paper, online over the phone or in person, portray the attitude, energy, and personality that shows you are a great fit, and that the team and customers will enjoy working with you.

Network – Work is a group activity, even in jobs that deal only with small groups of ‘internal customers’. Employers need to know that you will attract the right people. This may include where you live or went to school, where you’ve worked and who your references are, the car you drive, how you dress and talk, and more. Use the ideas above to discover the job’s ‘customers’, and find ways to show that those customers — whether co-workers, venders, leadership, or consumers — will believe that you fit into the group, and can attract valued people to the company.

Silly but memorable, PADMAN is our super hero who helps us quickly and accurately think like the employer. His name reminds us of the six reasons people are hired or screened out, the six areas in which lie all an employer’s concerns that must be eliminated and all their needs that must be met. If you a candidate is searching without getting interviews, there is an unmet need or unaddressed concern in at least one of these areas. Scour their initial communications (app, resume, phone spiel, online identity, etc.) to find and remedy it. If they are interviewing and not getting the offer, scrutinize their in person presentation, interview answers, follow-up practices, references and anything negative employers may encounter between the offer of an interview and the offer of a job. There are lots of suggestions in ‘No One Is Unemployable’, available at WorkNet Solutions, and ‘The 6 Reasons’ will be available in October.

None of this is rocket science, but landing the job never has been. In this tough market, when employers can pick from among talented, experienced, ambitious people, candidates who get hired are those who reduce the employer’s concerns, speak their language, and actively prove they meet their needs.

Every month in America, millions of people are hired into jobs. Keep your attitude positive, your eyes open and your mind nimble. You don’t need a thousand jobs today, just a handful of good opportunities for the individual sitting across from you right now. Thanks for the good work you do. Keep in touch at WorkNet Solutions.

This article appeared originally in the Career Planning & Adult Development Network Newsletter www.careernetwork.org

Photo by Phil Campbell

Elisabeth (Harney) Sanders-Park is co-author of No One Is Unemployable, The WorkNet Model and the WorkNet curriculum, and President of WorkNet Solutions

In the beginning, the hiring process is about who not to hire! So, a job seeker’s first goal is to AVOID BEING SCREENED-OUT (especially if they have distracting barriers). Then they should focus on marketing what they offer so employers can decide to hire them. Keeping it simple, there are 3 ways to market to an employer… paper, phone and person. Credible references are 4th category, but even these come to employers on paper, over the phone or in person. Understanding this, and asking a few key questions allows anyone to job search in a way that lets them shine and saves them time.

PAPER: Any opportunity an employer has to experience the candidate on paper or on-line, including applications, cover letters, resumes, thank you notes, letters of reference or introduction, email correspondence, point by point letters, business proposals, portfolios, personal websites, what comes up when they “Google,” samples of work, etc. On paper, grammar, spelling and punctuation, handwriting, and even the quality of the paper and pen can help or harm.

PHONE: Any opportunity for an employer to experience the candidate over the phone, including cold or warm calls, calls of introduction, Backward Career Path™ or investigative calls, phone interviews, follow-up calls, etc. Over the phone, voice tone, diction and grammar, accents or speech impediments, as well as the answering message, background noise, and anyone who answers the phone when an employer calls (fair or not, they represent the candidate!) can help or harm.

PERSON: Any opportunity for employers to experience the candidate in-person including the interview, but also cold walk-ins, going in as a customer, introduction by a mutual acquaintance with a great reputation, job fairs, community, business and charity events, investigative interviews, internships, job shadowing, volunteering, and anywhere else a potential employer could see them in action… Starbucks, the grocery line, kids’ soccer game, etc. In person, dress, grooming, body language, the handshake, and observations made when we’re unintentional such as smoking, outbursts or doing the extra can help or harm because the employer assumes what it will mean over 40 paid hours a week.

Choosing the Best Strategy & Tools

So, how does a person choose? Consider yourself… your education, experience, personal style, barriers, strengths. In general, how do you make your best first impression to employers? Paper, phone or person? Having asked thousands of professionals this question, I guess that less than 10% say paper, fewer say phone, and most say person. Consider the difficult clients you serve… how do they make their best first impression? The numbers are the same. The problem is that we spend much of our time teaching them to job search with paper. But no gets a job with paper!… because no employer reads an application or resume and declares, “Call her and tell her she’s hired!” The very best result from paper is a phone or in-person interaction. Job search strategies that work allow candidates to make their first impression in a way that lets them shine. This is easier than you may think. Ask the following questions to identify the best general approach (paper, phone, person) and specific tools in each category:

Minimize Distractions: Considering my barriers, which approach & tools should I avoid?

To avoid being screened-out, someone with a difficult accent or speech impediment should avoid the phone, those with a visible disability might avoid first impressions in person, and someone with poor work history should avoid applications and perhaps resumes (though a point by point letter or letter of reference could work).

Let Them Shine: Considering my strengths, which approach & tools should I focus on?

To impress the employer, an attractive person may choose to lead with in-person interactions, while someone with great education and experience may choose paper, and someone with a pleasant voice and good communication skills might initiate contact over the phone. In each case, they choose specific tools within the category.

Demonstrate Ability: Considering the job qualifications, which approach & tools should I use?

To let the employer see them using the skills for the job, someone pursuing an outside sales job could go in person, a hopeful Dispatcher could lead with the phone, and a proofreader could start with paper.

Last & least… Employer Preference: Considering the employer’s preference, which approach & tools should I consider?

Job seekers who can play within the employer’s rules and win, should. When they have the talent, but the rules ensure they’ll be screened-out early, bend the rules! If the employer wants resumes and no calls, but their talent for the job isn’t easily seen on a resume, they may call first, hand-deliver the resume, or do something else to let the employer see what they offer (so they’re already sold or at least hooked when they see the resume).

You see, no ones hires the disabled, felons, welfare recipients, etc. They hire people, people they believe can do or learn the job, who they trust, who fit into the team, who happen to have a disability, have a felony, be making that transition, etc. Effective job search strategies present the candidate as a person, with talent, experience, passion that benefits the employer… who also happens to have barriers (as we all do).

In the end, the job search is like the old joke… Two men are hunting in the woods and suddenly come upon a bear. The bear looks angry and hungry, and the men realize they look like lunch. One man whispers, “I’m gonna run for it.” The other replies, “You can’t outrun that bear.” The first man says, “I don’t have to outrun the bear… I only have to outrun you,” and he takes off running! Your client doesn’t have to be the slickest job seeker or greatest salesperson ever, but they do need to outrun their competition. These ideas will help them avoid getting screened-out and outshine their competition so employers can see what they offer and hire them. I wish you joy and success! Keep in touch.

This article appeared originally in the Career Planning & Adult Development Network Newsletter www.careernetwork.org

Photo by Spring Dew

The world seems to hold up the successes, the superstars. In my own little way I see the attractiveness of that and try to make the candidates I work with as appealing to employers as possible.

But what is appealing? It’s not about being the brightest and best, it’s about being the best fit. Seasoned employers, and those who have to manage the ‘personalities’ have learnt this, sometimes the hard way. In at least one case loosing a superstar made my team more successful in the following 3 months after they left than the 6 months before. Others who may not have been as brilliant but could see the vision, were there because they liked the work or had a passion for the area, those who could work in the team, etc. were indespensible.

So what makes a good fit? Well PADMAN of course (see here for more), but for today lets ask a few questions to consider our practice in working with job seekers:

• Do I not only create a brilliant resume/CV but did I also teach the candidate how to tailor it?
• Do I ensure my candidates research the company before an interview?
• Can my candidates name their 3 favorite things about the industry they are entering?
• If my candidate was asked by their friends what sort of job they wanted am I sure they wouldn’t say “Whatever I can get!”
• Do I equip my candidates with a job search or equip them for job searching?

It never hurts to check.

Links of Interest

Onto the weekly wrap up of the sites I liked best this week:

How You Can Increase YourJob Search Odds – Great article by Louise Fletcher who shares so freely from her experience as an HR Manager.

The Dirty Dozen Online Job Search Mistakes -OK, so I don’t agree with all of them, especially #5 in certain cases, but worth a look.

What is your recruiting strategy? – If you know the employer’s strategy, you can design a good response for your candidates.

Email and Job Search – Article about the importance of email in a modern job search

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Photo by Cliff

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

FedEx Office have announced that on March 10, 2009 FedEx Office locations will print up to 25 copies of an individual’s resume for free.

Is it just a promotional tool as most people either have access to employment center resources or can already afford this themselves? Perhaps, but it does offer a free service that you might as well take advantage of and even if it’s motivation is simply promotional, it reinforces that a theme in marketing and service provision at the moment is job searching in a recession.

Full Details at: http://news.van.fedex.com/freeresumeprinting

Photo by Gudmundur D. Haraldsson