Rule 7: Take control of your career. Take control of your interview.
You have the interview, finally your chance to shine. You know the sector, the competition, the company and the role, you've done your homework and you're prepared. In fact even if you were sitting in the black chair and Magnus Magnusson was asking the questions you would feel comfortable. Facts and figures are floating around just waiting to be delivered as soon as the right question is asked; you could recite it all in your sleep and given half a chance you would and there lies the problem!
In the health and fitness industry, when we were looking at membership retention we had a saying that we tried to get across to all employees, “People don't care how much you know, until they know how much you care." There is no point in having all the information, if you're not prepared to actively engage with people.
The same applies in an interview situation. You are there because they believe you could be the solution to their problem. So help them resolve it – they want to feel that they can work with you – and that means you need to engage with them, not simply give answers. An interview is a two way dialogue, so you need to ask questions throughout. Don't leave it until the end when you might not get the chance. Each question should deliver on at least one of three points.
1. To demonstrate that you have either the skill, knowledge or expertise in relation to what they are looking for.
2. To lead the conversation into an area where you believe you can provide added value.
3. To get a better understanding of where the hiring manager’s priorities lie, so that you can focus on those areas.
So give yourself a chance to establish if you are a good fit for them and if they are a good fit for you. Treat it as a business meeting rather than an interview and you will generally be more effective. Remember, you are there to secure the role, not to eulogise about your specialist subject.
Posted On: 16th October 2014
Communication – Penalty for Improper Use
You have just applied to the job of your dreams. What happens next could depend entirely on you!
Every month I’m contacted by people looking for opportunities; some are looking for a role within our organisation, some are looking to sell a service and some are looking for a donation. The vast majority take a passive approach finishing off their letter with “I look forward to hearing from you”. Why, if they have taken the time and effort to find out who I am and contact me, do they then sit back and wait for me to respond? Why don’t they take the initiative by following up?
This got me thinking about cultural differences and if professionals are remembering to adapt their approach to the culture of the organisation.
The British style of ‘I don’t want to bother you’ might work with some of the more traditional businesses, but won’t be as effective for a US organisation where you are expected to follow-up, be persistent and not give up. In Wall Street Gordon Gecko is talking about Bud Fox as “The kid who calls 59 days in a row, wants to be a player. There should be a picture of him in the dictionary under ‘persistence’”. In the UK some would call that stalking, but you can’t expect to work for a multinational and not adapt your style. Now imagine taking a US application approach in a traditional Japanese environment, where persistence is easily taken as aggression. If they say we will contact you that means DO NOT CALL, DO NOT EMAIL; going against this could lead to an automatic no.
So if you want to be taken seriously, take your style seriously. Know the organisation you want to work for, understand and be sensitive to their culture, adapt your approach and be prepared to step outside your comfort zone. To some that means turning the volume up, to others it means turning it way down.
Posted On: 30th August 2014
Are you using LinkedIn as your sticker album?
When you ask someone to connect with you on LinkedIn, what impression are you giving? Are you using it as a tool to raise your profile in a way that reflects your personal brand, or simply as a sticker album? Do you research individuals and customise your request or is it more important to you to reach the magic ‘500’ connections?
Over the last few months I’ve received a number of requests using the standard template invite. The requests are all professional but there is no explanation of why they are looking to connect so I decline the request. I always follow up by saying I am happy to have a conversation to see if I can help them or if there is a mutual benefit for us to link.
My reason for declining is that I have a personal rule only to connect to past or present clients and people I have worked with or know on a professional or personal level. After all, if you were out with a group of friends and someone you had never met approached and asked you to introduce them to your friends, you would say no. By accepting a connection from someone you don’t know you are endorsing that person to your network and therefore you run the risk of damaging your credibility. Whilst it’s important to grow your network, you should always aim for quality over quantity.
Generally speaking, I recommend only linking to people that you know. However, if you are going to reach out to someone you’ve never met, make sure to add a message so when your request comes through, it’s clear you’ve put some thought and effort into it, which immediately makes you stand out from the crowd!
Posted On: 28th July 2014
The Total Package
I read an article recently about how a third of workers would consider leaving their job due to poor workplace wellbeing and it got me thinking that often when I meet a client for the first time and ask them “If I were a recruiter or head-hunter, and asked you what are you looking for, what would you say?"
95% say what they want. A role that is going to engage me, challenge me, allow me to develop. Not what they can offer.
If you are one of the third of people who are deciding to look elsewhere because you don’t feel cared for by your organisation, make sure that before you start sending out applications and talking to recruiters you have translated your personal needs into a product that clearly articulates the benefits that you can offer to an organisation.
Whilst it may sound callous, organisations do not hire people because they want to, they do it to address a specific business need. Only when that aspect has been met, will they consider the individual in terms of personal development, remuneration etc.
The successful movers are those that are able to make that translation, both written and verbally. They become effective at communicating the value they bring and why they should be hired, whilst being true to their own values and motivations – in short the total package.
Posted On: 17th June 2014
Managing your career like you manage your business
Business leaders take time out to put strategies in place to ensure the continuous growth and success of their business. However, many don’t apply the same rigor to their career goals. The main reason for this is the difficulty in setting personal objectives that can be aligned to business goals and are easy enough to measure.
I was catching up with a past client over coffee who was telling me his approach to managing programmes. He is an engineering consultant overseeing large transport infrastructure programmes and specialises in benefit mapping. He was explaining that each programme consists of a number of interrelated deliverables or projects - no surprises there. However what was interesting was the benefit mapping piece.
He explained that the successful realisation of the overall client benefit was directly linked to the interdependencies between each deliverable and therefore a key element within each project was “How do the deliverables of this project relate to the other projects to help deliver the overall client benefit?” By taking this approach, there is always a direct and clear line of sight to the final outcome. This approach keeps the project and overall programme on track by making small adjustments.
When I asked if he looked at his career in a similar way he recognised there was room for improvement. Whilst he is very happy in his role, he was not seeing the link, and not putting into place strategies to allow him to be effective in his role and at the same time develop his career.
So the moral is, to be more effective, take a bit of time to plot out your own career goals and map them against the business goals. Identify where the synergies are, see if the KPI’s that the business uses can be applied to you and review your progress regularly. Don’t wait for an annual review, because guess what, when it comes to performance management, businesses cannot afford to wait a year to see what happened – can you?
Posted On: 19th May 2014