Are you playing it too safe in your job search?

One of the top priorities of any candidate's job search should be confidentiality.  It only makes sense that you would not want your current employer knowing that you are exploring other job opportunities.  But there is a huge difference between being an active vs. passive candidate.  I want to explore a few of those concepts today to help define "safe" parameters when talking with other companies or recruiters.

1) I should NOT link to a recruiter or another company's HR person on Linked In.  I understand that some companies view the public profiles of their employees more than others, but in theory this should be pretty innocent and explainable if you do accept the LinkedIn invitation.  Especially if you are handling your search discreetly.  Most candidates I work with know enough to have all communication with me via cell phone and a personal email address.  Linking in to a recruiter or HR professional does NOT mean you are considering leaving your current role.  It could serve to be an excellent source of information for a myriad of reasons.

2) I will never take a call from a recruiter if I am not actively seeking another position.  Yet another myth to dispel here.  You may know of someone else that could be perfect for the job the recruiter is calling you about.  Or perhaps your paths may cross again in the future.  Give yourself some credit that you will be able to see through the smoke a recruiter is blowing if they are just trying to waste your time.

3) I don't need a Plan B for my career.  While I applaud you if you are so happy with your job that you would never consider leaving, keep in mind that your employer could always "leave" you.  We live in a day and age where companies make decisions on budgets and finance over any other form of common sense.  While you shouldn't live your life in daily fear of losing your job, you are fooling yourself if you think it will never happen to you.  Just like you don't plan on dying soon if you purchase life insurance, you are instead making a plan for the "what ifs" in life.

Please don't hear what I am not saying - you should not approach your job search too loosely.  There are plenty of people out there trying to take advantage of candidates all the time.  But sometimes to truly get the rewards in your career you do have to take a few risks.  If you are calculated, yet intentional, you will likely move forward and take things to the next level.

What risks have you taken in the past that paid off?

How do you build your brand? (Part Three)

This message will conclude my three-part summer series regarding branding.  I have enjoyed conversations with clients regarding this topic to not only help with the content of my messages, but also to learn valuable perspective on what is happening in the broader market.  While it is critical to create your own identity and brand presence, knowing what your competition is doing is of equal or greater importance to creating sustainable practices.  As a refresher, here are the three questions I have explored for the past several months:

1)  What do your current employees say?

2)  What does the market say?

3)  What does your competition say?

Today we will be focusing on the last one – what does your competition say about your brand?  I was intentional in leaving this topic for last as it is probably the last thing you worry about when creating your unique company branding strategy.  But I will argue it is something you should be possibly paying the MOST attention to going forward.  I believe there are three main reasons for this:

1)  Your competition in the market exploits not only your weaknesses, but also your strengths when talking to your clients and prospects.  The weaknesses are obvious as they would be trying to gain a natural competitive advantage if they feel they do something better than you do.  Or that you have historically done badly.  But think about this for a second – they are also talking about what you do well.  If they know part of your sales and marketing process or a service you provide is solid, they are going to try and do something similar.  What is the old saying – imitation is the greatest form of flattery?  If you can get your competition talking about YOU and not their OWN products and services, I would argue that you have already won.

2)   In the interview process it is critical to have a good reputation in the market.  If your competition has a healthy respect for what you do, that will translate into a positive vibe in the general market.  I recently had a candidate interview with two agencies.  The first one asked during an initial interview who else she was speaking with in the coming days.  When she mentioned the name of the second client, nothing but good was said about the agency and its reputation.  Keep in mind this is someone talking about their direct competition!  It left a very powerful impression on my candidate.

3)  Your competition is not only speaking to your clients and prospects (and trying to take them away from you), but they are also speaking with vendors, networking contacts, spouses, charitable organizations, and basically anyone within their spheres of influence.  I recognize that you won’t always be able to get your competition to say fair and enviable comments about your organization, but at least don’t provide them an opportunity to say something bad.

I hope this series has been thought-provoking for you as you continue to consider a formal branding strategy.  We have seen many clients in the past 8-12 months focus more and more on marketing strategy, advertising, social media, and general branding.  Many are even hiring outside firms or internal employees to focus on the message.  When used correctly, it can be a very powerful marketing tool to attract new clients, retain existing clients, recruit talented new employees, and keep the ones that you have very happy.

The death of the five-year career goal

I read an interesting article last week that focused much more on what you should be doing on a daily basis as opposed to focusing only on long term planning.  At first I really struggled with the idea, but the more I thought about it the author may have been onto something.  Let me explain.

First of all, focus on the things that you can control.  If you put together a great list of things you want to accomplish in five years but fail to execute the little steps along the way, I can guarantee you will be disappointed when that five-year anniversary rolls around.  The graphic I picked out for today was very intentional.  Goal setting should also include immediate and achievable ideas.  Otherwise you are just floating along and hoping to survive.

Secondly, be aware of your surroundings.  If you are not on a team that can otherwise support your long term goals, then perhaps something needs to change.  Conventional wisdom will tell you that staying at one employer for five years is a great thing, but I would argue otherwise if you are being held back in your greater career aspirations.  Don't hear what I am not saying - do not take this chance to chase new opportunities every six months to prove me wrong.  But rather just pay special attention to what is happening around you to see if it aligns with both your short term objectives and long term goals.

Thirdly, take some risks.  Far too often candidates and companies alike choose the safer route when making big decisions.  It could be related to staffing, strategic planning, infrastructure, and much more.  For candidates it is usually a decision to "stay put and make do" instead of making a career move that could be more rewarding.  For companies it is usually doing nothing that is the safest move, but provide very little upside.  Risk does come with some downside as things can go wrong, but the greater success must be kept in mind.  A risk right now might pay off to enhance your five-year goals and make them a reality.

Lastly, don't entirely forsake the five-year goal for the five-week or five-month goal.  Although I have made several points alluding to the "death of the five-year career goal", it was mostly to spark dialogue and debate.  With the holidays and inevitable New Years' resolutions around the corner, we all know what is going to happen.  We will put on 5-10 pounds from holiday eating, vow to work out more on January 1, stick with it for a few weeks or even a month, and then drop back into our regular routine.  If you really want to keep your weight down, make a plan now, execute it DURING the holidays, and simply continue the routine after the New Year.  Same can be said for goal setting.  Sit down and really determine where you want to be in five years.  And then don't waste another minute wondering how to execute those goals.  Make it happen now.  Even if you encounter some bumps in the road or fail on a short term goal, keep pressing forward every single day with new ideas.  Then in five years we can celebrate together for being in a better place.

What are your five-year goals?  Have you ever written them down?

Should you rehearse for a job interview?

Although you may not need to prepare an entire script ahead of an interview, I have seen from firsthand experience how a prepared candidate has much greater impact than one who wings it during an interview.  Lack of preparation is common blunder for first interviews especially as candidates get lulled into a comfort zone.  They are focused on providing a good "first impression" or aim to "be themselves".  While there is nothing wrong with that idea inherently, I am convinced that some rehearsal time can pay big dividends before an interview.

Oftentimes I will ask questions of candidates ahead of an interview just to see how they would answer.  I am surprised at how easy it is to catch someone off guard.  Sure you could argue that they will have their "game face" ready before the actual interview, but why not be prepared before that day even comes.  There are some common questions that even if you are expecting them can be answered with more precision if you think about your answers ahead of time and literally say them out loud.  It does not have to necessarily be in front of a mirror like the picture above, but small tweaks/edits can make all the difference in making the "right" impression instead of simply a "first" impression.

I thought of how simple this can be when driving my son and his friend to a basketball tryout this past weekend.  I told them that I felt there were really two things they needed to focus on during the tryout.  Instead of telling them what they were, I asked what they thought the two ideas could be.  They came up with one right out of the gates (which was to listen to the coaches), and between the two of them provided four really solid additional answers - have fun, stay hydrated, hustle, and be a good teammate.  Once they came up with the final list, I had them repeat the five ideas.  After practice I asked them how they felt it went.  Without pause my son answered, "We had fun, and I drank lots of water!"  His friend piped up, "We also hustled and listened to the coaches!"

So will they make the travelling team simply because of these five ideas?  Likely not for those reasons alone.  But were they more prepared and able to leave the "right" impression with the coaches?  Absolutely.  Lesson here is that if it can work for eight-year old boys who can't focus on much of anything for more than five minutes that it can absolutely work for professionals looking to make a career move.

What have you done to rehearse for an interview in the past?  And was it effective?

How to think outside of the box with your job search

This picture summarizes how many candidates approach their job search, especially at the outset.  They have likely read about some prescribed methodologies online and will move forward conservatively so that they do not break any "rules" early on.  While there are some benefits to this, I want to challenge the idea of going along with the crowd and show the benefits of thinking creatively with your job search.

First of all, think of every day like it is the day you could meet your new boss.  While the chances of this may seem quite slim, I have personally experienced it and benefited greatly.  Exactly ten years ago I started my new job with Capstone.  My boss reminded me of one of our first meetings when I was the insurance broker for Capstone as it opened its doors eleven years ago.  I brought doughnuts to that meeting and he liked the personal touch.  Simple, yet effective.  

Secondly, connect with people that might be impactful for your search.  As the world gets smaller and smaller each day that you meet more people, it is valuable to know who knows who in that sense.  You may connect with someone today at a networking event, a LinkedIn group, an industry-related convention, or any other number of places that could become a co-worker, boss, or ally in a job search.  Be memorable in those meetings as it could be a tipping point later on in an interview process.

Lastly, think like a child.  All three of my own children are fairly shy, but there is no stranger in their world.  If you give them five minutes to warm up to anyone they meet, they will quickly chat up a storm and share details of their day or recent past memories.  Very seldom is it something negative.  It is usually related to something fun we did as a family, a recent summer vacation, a fun story about a friend, or a general happy thought.  Far too often candidates are guarded and don't want to make a personal connection during a job search.  While you don't want to go overboard listing forty hobbies on your resume, these small details can make a good impression that could lead to your next job.

Bottom line is that once you stop listening to others telling you what NOT to do during a job search, the sky is the limit on what you CAN do.

What experiences do you have from a previous or current job search that were "out of the box"??