The Careerpilot's HOMEPORTAL

RESEARCHING A Targeted Company

2006-01-27T16:39:00.000-08:00

One of the most important skills a job-seeker can learn during a job-search is research skills. The quality of your research skills will dramatically impact both short term job search and longer range career continuity. Information is a critical commodity in job-hunting; the more you know and the easier it is for you to find information, the better your chances of success.

So, make the commitment to improve your research skills. In fact, hold yourself accountable to research time each and every week. Employers value job-seekers who know key information about the company because that knowledge demonstrates your interest and enthusiasm for the company and for the job.

Finding information on a company's competitors, company financial stresses and major lawsuits can counterbalance the positive information portrayed by the company's own website, the most positive view of available information...

WHEN to Do Research
If attaining and maintaining career continuity is your realistic goal, you’ll find four specific times during which researched information will be important to you… First and foremost should be your commitment to knowing your marketplace for the rest of your career. This implies setting aside a reasonable amount of time on an on-going basis, whether you’re employed or not. Often research leads to "spot media opportunities" that may lead you to your next right work.

Second, and perhaps most common, is when you are just starting a specific job-search and looking to identify key companies in your profession or industry, or even in a specific geographic location. I have always found this single factor to be the most under-utilized way to prepare for an effective job search.

The third possibility is when you are applying to a specific employer; it’s always best to relate yourself to the company and tailor your cover letter and resume to each employer.

The fourth -- and when most job-seekers finally do some research -- is when you have been invited to a job interview; you’ll want to showcase your knowledge of the company.
The sooner you get started, the better off you’ll be.

Utilizing The Search Engines
The Careerpilot is not a big fan of maintaining giant lists of bookmarks, pathways to commonly used information. Rather, developing the skill of Internet SEARCH will serve you well in the long term. As an example, let's use legal issues...

By entering targeted keywords into various search engines you can discover whether any lawsuits have been filed against a company. The keyword search string below will source web pages that mention a particular company along with the word "lawsuit."

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Your COMMUNICATION STRATEGY

2006-01-16T14:50:00.000-08:00

How do you create and communicate your message? A well conceived Personal Market Plan will help you to manage your time to get the best results for your efforts. This is the first of a series that will explore how to efficiently employ all five methods of seeking your next right work. In the marketing metaphor, these five methods would be your "distribution channels." The alternative of using a "shotgun approach," or papering the world with your resume will simply scatter your time and energy. Rather, learn to focus your networking efforts to increase your productivity... take the randomness out of the equation.

Companies spend millions of dollars creating and communicating just the right message to ensure that customers will recall, respond favorably to, and buy their products. Your message, continuously delivered to contacts and hiring managers, can be broken down into two parts:
First, a statement of your functional identity (I am a corporate trainer...), followed by several marketable core competencies that you are "selling" (...with substantial experience in leadership development, performance management and team building.) This is referred to as POSITIONING.. It comes directly from:

1. Assessment and Research… A Candidate who is truly managing their own career is constantly aware of their own best "next steps." They research the marketplace, target appropriate opportunity, network effectively to both create personal "visibility" and create avenues to those opportunities that are right for them. Take the time necessary to determine your next right work.
2. Setting Your Career Objectives… Knowledge of the process and self-awareness allow you to effectively set your career transition objectives. In order to implement an effective Personal Market Plan, your objectives must be defined by positioning (functional and personal strengths) and targeting (informed industry and geographic goals) your candidacy. Of course the best "FIT" occurs when your objectives are aligned with the needs of the marketplace.

Pre-determination of offer criteria and career objectives are essential cornerstones to the development of a high quality resume, part of the written collaterals of your Personal Market Plan. As your highly personalized, marketing collateral, your resume positions you in the marketplace, qualifies you with your experience, knowledge, skills and credentials, and can target your efforts with appropriate word selection relative to your industries of choice. Take the time necessary to determine your career objectives, and how they best FIT what the market has offer you.

FIT AND COMMUNICATION STRATEGY
How will you assess FIT when opportunities come to your attention? At the core of your personal marketing strategies is the effective use of the actual words and phrases you use to define the FIT between your motivated competencies and the market's need for services and solutions. They are so much more than the "the right buzz words," or "keywords" as used in technology driven job banks (or the mirrored resume bank queries)... they are the building blocks of your message. Most of us learned these lessons back in grade school.

(Key)Word selection... Your choice of words can convey very different meanings. For example, as a manager, do you direct the activity of your subordinates... coordinate the efforts of multi-level, interactive teams or peer groups... or actually do certain functions to achieve results?

Effective phraseology... Often, the soft measure words used to describe what sort of a worker you are or how you perform your work, are discarded as self-serving "fluff." However, when built in to powerful, high impact phrases, they serve to differentiate you from others capable of doing the same work. For example, being a "problem solver" doesn't make you better than your professional competitors... but describing yourself as a tenacious (an adjective) problem solver, or one who solves problems professionally (an adverb), begins to personalize your strengths.

Whole sentence structure... Build accomplishment statements that demonstrate and prove your abilities and experience. While resumes utilize a truncated syntax that eliminates the repetitive use of the noun "I", correspondence and conversation dictate the more narrative use of nouns. In all cases, however, use an action verb to convey actual behavior, words and phrases to describe the object being acted upon, and, when possible, state actual results of the activity. Constructed effectively, a good accomplishment can trigger all the right questions about your strengths...

Focused, behavior-laden paragraphs... to provide examples and offer proof of your strengths and experience. A typical resume format doesn't allow for much of this proof, but a well constructed message should trigger the questions that allow you to expand a conversation from your actual experiences. Thus your resume and correspondence can create the dialog of your phone calls, personal conversations and, ultimately, actual employment interviews.

Yes, its worth your practice time to focus on words. They can create high impact and convey powerful "word pictures."

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ANSWERING QUESTIONS EFFECTIVELY

2006-01-03T13:16:00.000-08:00

A famous coach, of Green Bay Packer fame, spoke frankly when he said, "Perfect practice makes perfect." Mr. Lombardi's intent was CLEAR. He wanted his players to concentrate on PRACTICE, drilling on the "little things", the basics, so that they became instinct during the heat of real life. Such is productive mindset during any career transition, specifically related to your ability to answer questions effectively.

Practice your two minute drill every chance you get.... its the fundamental building material of your communication strategy--your verbal collaterals!
Practice your exit and qualification statements... most all potential employers and networking contacts will want to know your current situation and why you are available.
Practice answering both common and tough questions... including pre-offer negotiation tactics.

Let's apply that perfectly practiced approach with the following guidelines to answering question effectively during career transition....

ANSWER THE QUESTION... The implication, here, is that you have heard and fully understand the nature of the question. If this is true, simply answer the question in a straight forward, brief manner... and then stop talking! Often the challenges come in knowing when to stop talking. If the question is not clear, CLARIFY before answering.

LISTEN FOR OPPORTUNITIES TO INTEGRATE AND CONFIRM YOUR STRENGTHS... Your purpose is to drive home your communication strategy--that set of key words and strengths that define your "message." So, when a question is asked that relative to a job related strength, answer the question and confirm the strength by stating a behavioral example. Whenever possible, state actions and results as a value add to your purpose.

AT LEAST ADDRESS THE ISSUE OF A QUESTION Before blocking, turning around, or in any other way changing the subject... Salary negotiation, illegal questions and other non-standard questions often call for extraordinary responses. Stay focused, get results... but never manipulate or deceive with your answer.

Often you can build in credibility by talking about yourself as others see you, in the third person. "My customers have always valued my responsive problem-solving nature. Why, just last week...." -or- "I have been consistently reviewed for my expertise in..."

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Getting Started on the TRANSITION Voyage

2005-12-20T07:38:00.000-08:00

If it's more than just "a very normal" holiday-time career assessment... you know, you want or "need" more out of your career-to-date... If you are prepared to get serious about doing something about it, then read on.

If your goal is to find a new position (either with your current employer, or externally), then you should prepare your search as a "business model", manage it accordingly, be flexible, and be ready for the unexpected. Here are some tips to get you started:

1. Have a "business-as-usual" attitude... Manage your search as you would your business or job and you will earn success faster. Remember, rejection is part of the process.

2. Have reasonable expectations... List your abilities, marketability, compensation, work environment and relocation, then validate these expectations with peers, other job hunters, and/or recruiters.

3. Determine your career objective… This will help focus your actual search. Have a Personal Market Plan, including identification of key Professional Resources Online. Look for specific titles, target industries and companies. This focus will expand your possibilities, not limit them.

4. "WORDCRAFT" your resume... Create a forward looking "story" of what YOU CAN DO. Target your accomplishments, such as increased sales and profits, reductions in costs, etc. Focus on achievements that support your qualifications for your job goal.

5. Develop confidence in your ability to answer anticipated questions throughout the process… Prepare as you would for a business presentation; don't try to wing it. If there are any "issues" in your career history, develop a positive spin before you are asked about it. Prepare for basic questions and tough issues in advance and study them.

6. Modify and improve your Personal Market Plan’s implementation model as needed... As you move through your search, make adjustments as you would a business model. Ask for input from people you respect.

Contact The Careerpilot

Don't Let Your Mouse Bite You

2005-12-19T08:25:00.000-08:00

Technology is a seductive, siren’s song to those seeking to process high volumes of data. Technology represents an escape from the rigors of personal contact and target firm networking. Technology can be fun.

Put high TECH to work for you.

In the high tech/ high touch philosophy, leverage your time and efforts in finding your next right work … but never let it replace the High TOUCH necessary to assure your career continuity goals. You see...

Networking is a contact sport!

Unfortunately, along with the great growth in Internet Job Banks, came a curse. All ten million JOB seekers applied for every job, regardless of job description, location or minimum qualifications. This naturally caused a concern for the conscientious recruiters, who felt the need to answer every individual candidate personally. Their techno-driven mission was never to create greater resume traffic -- Rather, better resume traffic.

Limited by the 2000 year old paradigm of keyword matching, the recruiters of the world nearly had a fit... and it wasn't the sort of FIT that the job seekers were after. Finally, tech support introduced recruiters to auto responders and then to the deadly DELETE key.

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CAREER FITness

2005-12-13T07:32:00.000-08:00

Being fit now is like investing in a retirement fund for a healthy future. Anyone can hit "low points" within their career or during a career transition. Have you hit a "doldrums" in your career transition? Over the course of our careers, we tend to focus on JOB and lose focus on our personal fitness. If we integrate our life long personal fitness with our career FITness we can contribute to lifestyle balance and increase productivity at the same time.

Low fitness levels as a young adult appeared to increase the risk of several health conditions later in life, from diabetes to high blood pressure. The study lends more support to the theory that health conditions do not have to be a normal part of aging and that what you do now can help prevent illness later.
Career FITness functions in much the same manner. Focus on positive outcomes can benefit both your career and your health. Don't waste this opportunity by falling into the dark ages...
A little extra exercise may boost your spirits and your career.

Many people feel an emotional letdown after the passing of a holiday season. Further, there is usually a family component of the holidays that goes away and things get back to "business as usual." These doldrums can also occur at most anytime throughout your career. These factors tend to play together and influence the productive attitude of many individuals engaged in career transition or actual job search.

However, studies have revealed that exercise is a great way to boost mood or keep negative feelings a bay. In a study, regular physical activity appeared to reduce the risk of both depression and anxiety.

Executing your Personal Market Plan during a soft job economy requires special attention to positioning, targeting… and YOU.

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Languaging Your Positioning

2005-11-28T19:28:00.000-08:00

How will you assess FIT when opportunities come to your attention? At the core of your personal marketing strategies is the effective use of the actual words and phrases you use to define the FIT between your motivated competencies and the market's need for services and solutions. They are so much more than the "the right buzz words," or "keywords" as used in technology driven job banks (or the mirrored resume bank queries)... they are the building blocks of your message.

Most of us learned these lessons back in grade school.

Word selection... Your choice of words can convey very different meanings. For example, as a manager, do you direct the activity of your subordinates... coordinate the efforts of multi-level, interactive teams or peer groups... or actually do certain functions to achieve results?

Effective phraseology... Often, the soft measure words used to describe what sort of a worker you are or how you perform your work, are discarded as self-serving "fluff." However, when built in to powerful, high impact phrases, they serve to differentiate you from others capable of doing the same work. For example, being a "problem solver" doesn't make you better than your professional competitors... but describing yourself as a tenacious (an adjective) problem solver, or one who solves problems professionally (an adverb), begins to personalize your strengths.

Whole sentence structure... Build accomplishment statements that demonstrate and prove your abilities and experience. While resumes utilize a truncated syntax that eliminates the repetitive use of the noun "I", correspondence and conversation dictate the more narrative use of nouns. In all cases, however, use an action verb to convey actual behavior, words and phrases to describe the object being acted upon, and, when possible, state actual results of the activity. Constructed effectively, a good accomplishment can trigger all the right questions about your strengths...

Focused, behavior-laden paragraphs... to provide examples and offer proof of your strengths and experience. A typical resume format doesn't allow for much of this behavior-based proof, but a well constructed message should trigger the questions that allow you to expand a conversation from your actual experiences. Thus your resume and correspondence can create the dialog of your phone calls, personal conversations and, ultimately, actual employment interviews.

Yes, its worth your practice time to focus on words. They can create high impact and convey powerful "word pictures." >>MORE<<

Your Personal Market Plan

2005-11-28T15:36:00.000-08:00

By meeting and beating both professional and personal goals during career transition you will be propelling future successes and the resultant rewards. Having a productive and efficient action plan, your Personal Market Plan during career transition, will reap the rewards of patience and persistence in your implementation.

Assessment of your career-to-date, coupled with a realistic look at next steps, provides a manageable path in seeking your career objectives. A well conceived Personal Market Plan will help you to manage your time to get the best results for your efforts.

THE PRINCIPLE OF REACH

This first principle, Reach, directs a company or sales/marketing department to reach, through numerous means, as many buyers (or those who influence buying) as possible. One of your important marketing goals is to reach as many potential buyers (employers) of your product as you can. So, the first challenge we present to you is to make 8 to 14 brand new contacts every single day. Sound like a lot? Many successful job seekers, upon looking back on their campaigns, have pointed to a direct relationship between the number of contacts they made and the number of interviews that were extended to them.

THE PRINCIPLE OF MESSAGE

Companies spend millions of dollars creating and communicating just the right message to ensure that customers will recall, respond favorably to, and buy their products. Your message, continuously delivered to contacts and hiring managers, can be broken down into two parts:
First, a statement of your functional identity (I am a corporate trainer…), followed by several marketable core competencies that you are "selling" (…with substantial experience in leadership development, performance management and team building.) This is referred to as POSITIONING.

Pre-determination of offer criteria and career objectives are essential cornerstones to the development of a high quality resume, part of the written collaterals of your Personal Market Plan. Your messages will be delivered in three different ways:

Verbal communication (by telephone or in person)
Written communication (networking request letters, cover letters, resumes, broadcast letters, e-mail)
Image (Both perceived and in person, interactively)

TOP OF MIND AWARENESS

Your goal is to have people remember you and your message. You want to establish top of mind awareness. This marketing phrase is used to describe the goal of having potential employers actually remember YOU. The bottom line is that you want and need to be remembered both now and in the future and you need to establish top of mind awareness that relates your name to your career focus. If you are effective in creating top of mind awareness, then your contacts will remember you and will refer opportunities to you during your job search and possibly for years after.

REACH + MESSAGE + FREQUENCY = TOP OF MIND AWARENESS

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