Month: March 2017

Interview Tips: How Do You Get from a Handshake to a Job Offer?

Interview tips: Do you have a job interview coming up and are not sure how to prepare? Even worse, are you getting interviews but no job offers?  These tips will help you get a job offer.

Interview Tips: How Do You Get from a Handshake to a Job Offer?

Use these 5 interview tips to cross the maze to getting a job offer.  Hiring managers want to hire you when they invite you to an interview.  Make their job easy.

Say That You Want the Job.

This tip for getting a job offer sounds obvious.  However, I have had countless applicants fail to get a job offer, because they left the interview with the hiring manager uncertain about whether the applicants had an interest in the job.

You are not the only applicant in the interview process. If three equally qualified applicants compete for a job and only one is expressing an interest in getting the job, the hiring managers have an easy decision. They will offer the job to the person who wants the job.

Simply say that they you want the job and why you want it.

Use Facts of Your Accomplishments.

Don’t use a list of adjective about yourself.  Avoid describing yourself as outstanding, motivated, organized, etc.  These words have no value.

Use the facts of your success.

For example, you doubled the business.  At the same time, you reduced costs twenty-five percent.  You hired six people who got promoted.

These facts show the hiring managers you can do a great job at their company.

Show How Your Skills Match the Job Description.

Before you go to the interview, study the job description.  List your skills with each qualification the hiring company requires.

Prepare a presentation either on paper or on your laptop to show hiring managers how your skills match what their company is looking for in the person they are hiring.

Ask Questions.

Don’t make the interview about you.  Have the good manners to ask hiring managers about themselves and their career.

Certainly, ask questions about the company.

Say some good things about the hiring manager’s comments and about the company.  Humility is a valuable trait for getting a job offer.  Hiring managers want to hire people who fit in with other people as well as people they like.  Show the humility to show an interest in the hiring manager and the company.

Avoid Jargon.

Every company has its jargon.  The people in the company fall into using these words as part of the workday.

If you are transitioning from the military or interviewing for a job that is in a different industry, be especially careful about avoiding jargon that will confuse the interviewer.

Did You Pass or Fail that Interview?

Resume Cover Letters: Do You Have the Perfect Resume and No Job Interviews?

Resume Cover Letters: How important is your resume cover letter?  It is as important as your resume for getting an interview.

Resume Cover Letters: Do You Have the Perfect Resume and No Job Interviews?

Do you have the perfect resume and not getting interviews?  The reason could be your cover letter.

If your cover letter does not compel the reader to read your resume, either you are applying for the wrong job or, quite simply, your cover letter failed.

There are some simple steps to writing an effective resume cover letter.

The first sentence must state the purpose of the cover letter.  For example, your opening sentence might read like this: “The purpose of the cover letter is to submit my resume for [name of position].”

Second, the letter should be short.  Recruiters do little more than glance at a resume.  They are sorting out the resumes of people who are not a fit for the job.  Therefore, recruiters should be able to glance at your cover letter and feel compelled to read your resume.

Third, you need to show enthusiasm for the job.  Your enthusiasm sends positives signals to recruiters that your application is worth their time.

Lastly, your cover letter should have a call to action.  Ask when you can speak or meet with the recruiter.

Sample Email Cover Letter

Name of Recipient:

The purpose of this email is to submit my resume for [name of position].

I am excited about your opportunity.

Are you available in the next week for a phone call?

Your Name
Your Phone Number
Your email address

Postal Cover Letter

Your Name
Address, City, ST ZIP Code [Optional: Add if your address shows you are local]
Telephone
Email

Date

Recipient Name
Title [if you know it]
Company
Address
City, State ZIP Code

Dear Recipient Name:

The purpose of this email is to submit my resume for [name of position].

I am excited about your opportunity.

Are you available in the next week for a phone call?

[Signature]
Your Name

Fun: In What Way Can Fun Increase Productivity?

un: What are the things that you can do to reduce stress in the workplace? In what ways can we enjoy our work and can increase our productivity?

Fun: In What Way Can Fun Increase Productivity?

I enjoy my work.  The requirements of the job are simple yet fast paced.  The tools are a lot of fun:  email, Internet, desk phone, and a smartphone.  The clients and applicants are bright and creative, often very successful.  The information in my industry evolves in refreshing ways.

Saying “No” to Distractions

For me, to enjoy my work, I must say “No” to distractions.

Calling friends, surfing the web, playing video games are all distractions.

These things distract from my work. Furthermore, they from the things I enjoy in my work.

Distractions, of course, make me less productive.  They also create tension with the things I enjoy about my work.

By saying no to distractions when I am working, I can focus on the joy of work itself

The Present Moment

When we live in the present moment, we are not ruminating about the past. Nor are we worrying about the future.

In the present moment, we are using a part of our brain where thinking becomes a flow.  Our mind stops analyzing the details of our work.  We can enjoy doing our work.

How to Be Serious

People associate work with toil, stress, and pressure.  And, work can be filled with toil, stress, and pressure.

However, people who think this way are the people who choke when facing a challenge.  They are the place kicker who misses the extra point.  In basketball, they are the player who misses the winning layout.  They are the closer in baseball who walks in the winning run.

People who see challenges as fun still take their work seriously.  However, these people focus on their work and trust that the results will take care of themselves.

Enjoy Life: How Do You Step Back and Take It Easy?

Enjoy life: Do you find yourself overwhelmed with work or with personal and family challenges? How do you find a way to step back and take it easy?

“Lighten up while you still can.
…and take it easy.”

“Take it Easy” lyrics by The Eagles

Enjoy Life.

Not only should you enjoy life.  Moreover, you should live life so that you can have the energy and imagination that comes from rewarding yourself.

First, take breaks during the day.

Additionally, go someplace new when you can.  You don’t have to go around the world.  On some days, just walk around a different block.

Those shoes that you want to buy can go a long way in making you feel rewarded.  If you have the money, buy those shoes.  Then get out and let people see you wear them.

With the pressures on body image, we lose sight of the importance of being healthy.  If cake and ice cream take you away from your weight goals, find other things you can eat and enjoy.  When you don’t feel deprived, it is easier to eat the good things.

Burnout

Burnout is a real thing. Furthermore, burnout is an ugly thing.  It makes you where you literally can’t work.

Life is a marathon not a sprint.  Taking time to “Take it Easy” restores your mental and creative power.

Do you look at your work and say, “I can no longer do this?” That condition is burnout.”Lighten up while you still can” in the song “Take it Easy” has multiple meanings.  To me, it is a warning against burnout.

Embrace Your Culture

What are the things that define your culture?  Every day, workplace culture surrounds you.

Changing American culture surrounds you as well.

Sometimes, it is healthy to return to the things that feel natural to you.  Instead of focusing on the chaos and change in the world, focus on the things that have always made you feel authentic.  Embrace your culture.

Stepping Back

How do you find a way to step back and take it easy?  Sometimes, stepping back is as simple as taking a few minutes to listen to an old song.

For me, “Take It Easy” is one of those songs.

In Winslow Arizona, there is a park dedicated to the Eagles song “Take it Easy.”  The park takes its name from the line in the song: “I was standing on a corner in Winslow Arizona.”

Perhaps this picture will help you imagine what taking a trip, buying the shoes, or eating the cake can do for you.

Enjoy Life: Standin' on the Corner Park

Image: “Standin’ on the Corner Park,” Old Highway 66, Winslow, AZ.  Population 9,479 via Google Streets.

The park in the picture is a memorial to the Eagles song “Take it Easy.”  Find a park near you.  “Lighten up while you still can and take it easy.”

Cold Calls: How Do You Take the Chill Out of Cold Calls?

Cold calls: do you fear calling people you don’t know?  How do successful people open doors to opportunity through a simple phone call?

Cold Calls: How Do You Take the Chill Out of Cold Calls?

Cold calls: do you fear calling people you don’t know?  How do successful people open doors to opportunity through a simple phone call?

Here are some tips that will help you with cold calls.

Be Okay with Rejection

One of the things that make cold calling scary for many people is their fear of rejection.

Allow yourself to be okay with people telling you “No.”  Be okay with people being rude.  Even be okay with people hanging up on you.

None of this rejection is personal.  That is, the rejection is not about you.  The person who is being rude doesn’t even know you.

Have a Script.

Know what you want to say.  Rehearse your script.

Furthermore, develop a level comfort in giving your presentation that you can deviate from your script and return to it with ease.

Be Friendly and Flexible.

When you are making a cold call, you are asking people to give you their time and attention.  Be friendly.  Thank the buyers for their time.  Be flexible to deviate from your script when it stops working for you.

Listen and Allow Questions

Your buyer may be very interested in your offer.  However, they may need to ask questions to understand the purpose of your call.

If you can listen and allow questions, you can develop a skill for knowing when you are wasting your time.  When buyers have questions, they are giving you their attention.  Furthermore, they are giving you two pieces of information.  On one hand, your buyer needs more information.  However, on the other hand, your buyer may be showing you that your product will never fit the buyer’s needs.

Your Call is a Service to the Buyer.

When you understand that you are giving your buyer information your buyer needs to decide how your product fits their need, your attitude changes.  You release the pressure to sell.  You assume the of a person there to help the buyer.

Learning more about negotiation as a service will help you become more confident in making cold calls.

It’s Okay for Your Buyer to Raise Objections.

Your product might not fit your buyer needs.  Therefore, it is okay for your buyer to object or even say no.  You can say “thank you” and move on to the next call.

Allowing your buyer an opportunity to object to your presentation relieves the buyer from the pressure of feeling stuffed.

Furthermore, it takes the pressure for you to insist having to close the sale.  You will think more clearly.

Moreover, you will take the chill out of making cold calls.

Business Meetings: Bringing the Right Tools

Business Meetings: job interviews, sales calls, client service meetings, meetings within your own company.  What tools can add power to your presence?

Business Meetings: Bringing the Right Tools

What you bring to a business meeting is as important as the things you say or do in a business meeting.  Getting to a business meeting to discover that you do not have the things you need is not only embarrassing, it is often a business-meeting killer.  I recommend that you buy a portfolio case or a briefcase that you use just for meetings.  Keep the case stocked with the materials that you will take to every meeting.

When organizing your meeting case, make sure you bring the following items.

Bring several copies of presentations.

You should have a copy for your own use and a copy for each person on the meeting schedule.  Take extra copies for people who are not on the schedule but who might come into the meeting unannounced.  Sometimes having unexpected people join the meeting is a sign that the people are interested in what you must say or show.

Bring a list of the attendees.

Having this list will help you organize your notes about questions people have.  The list can also help you remember people’s names and the role of the people in the meeting.

Bring a list of recommendations.

For sales presentations and interviews, having a list of recommendations adds power to your professional credibility and creates excitement about the quality of your work.

Bring a brag book or portfolio.

A brag book contains samples of your work so that people can see the range of your success.  Furthermore, a brag book can help people visualize what you have accomplished.

Bring your laptop.

If you have powerhouse presentations that you can show more examples of your work, you can use your laptop as a dynamic tool.

Bring business cards.

Some people see business cards to verify your employment and verify your job title.  They show people that you are who you say you are.

Bring a notepad.

You need to keep track of contact and company information that you learn during your meetings.  A notepad is an effective way to make notes without distracting people the way using a smartphone or laptop might distract people when you are taking notes.

Bring three or four pens.

The extra pens help you relax that you have a pen that works.  In addition, it is wise to make sure you can help an attendee who does not have a pen for taking notes.

Leadership Traits: What are Four Traits Leaders Must Have?

Leadership Traits: Some teams have a manager but still suffer from a lack of leadership.  What traits help leaders raise the team standards and increase team success?

Leadership Traits: What are Four Traits Leaders Must Have?

Leaders have many traits.  Some of these traits are good traits that not all leaders have.  For example, a leader with charisma easily draws people to them.  Leaders who are more intelligent help the team make better decisions.  But what are some traits that you can develop and every leader must have?

Here are my ideas.

Self-honesty

Yes, not just honesty, but self-honesty.

Self-honesty is about you recognizing and correcting your mistakes.  It’s the honesty to recognize your weaknesses.

It is burying your ego so that you can accept the truths that stand between you and success.

To be successful takes more than overcoming lying, cheating, and stealing.  For that matter, there are successful liars, cheaters, and thieves.

But even successful thieves must be honest about their mistakes and their weaknesses.  Otherwise, they will never become more effective, successful thieves.

Furthermore, self-honesty might be the most overlooked of all leadership traits

Open-mindedness

A closed mind is the wall between ignorance and learning.  It is also a wall between the shared intelligence of the team and the mind of a boss.

Of all the leadership traits, open-mindedness might be the most important trait for creative, responsive teams.

Emotional Intelligence

Emotional Intelligence (sometimes abbreviated “EI” or referred to as Emotional Quotient “EQ”) is the ability to identify your emotions and the emotions of other people. When leaders can manage their emotions to increase their performance, emotional intelligence becomes a skill.

Furthermore, the skill become the greatest when leaders can manage their emotions and the skills of their team to become more productive and successful teams.

People who have emotional intelligence know how to read people.  They have an intuitive sense of why people do things and how to motivate people to do things.

Ability to Grow

Leaders who continue to grow become a source of continuous growth of the team.  A team that continues to grow become more effective the longer the team stays together.

Teams that grow make the leap from short-term survival to long-term success.

Bragging: The Wrong Way to Impress People

ragging: The Wrong Way to Impress People.  What are the things people don’t want to hear?  How can you attract people without annoying them with bragging?

Most of your friends want you to have nice things.  Furthermore, they want to have nice things happen to you.

However, when you make the focus about you and you begin to boast, you distance yourself from people who might otherwise have an interest in your experiences.

Being able to present your accomplishments is important.

However, bragging is a career killer, especially on some subjects.

Great Vacation

People who care for you are happy when you take a break.  Furthermore, people who care about you are happy that you are going to exciting places.

However, endless discussion of your Caribbean cruise or your two-weeks in Paris can quickly become boring if not annoying.

Your Expensive Car

Cars are exciting.  When your friends see that you have a cool ride, they want to hear about it.  However, when discussing your expensive car goes from an interesting discussion about the car to bragging about you as the owner, you have lost focus on the things that make the car exciting.

Your Intimate Exploits

On the other hand, bragging about the number of people with whom you have been intimate says more about your lack of character than your assets as an individual.

In the workplace, discussion of your intimate relationships rarely increases the way people see you as a professional.

Your Accomplishments

Professional and personal accomplishments can advance your career and increase your self-esteem.  Effective presentation of your accomplishments is critical to your career.

However, bragging about your accomplishments gets old.  Furthermore, you lose credibility.  Your accomplishments become more valuable when other people discuss them than when you discuss them.

When Bragging Betrays Your Insecurity.

People who are constantly bragging need attention.  They are saying look at me, think about me.  Before you brag, take a deep breath.  Focus on the things that are in front of you and how you can make your life and the life of the people around you better. Think about how you can help your family and serve your customers or your employees.

Enjoy your authenticity.  Find peace in thinking about the ways other people bring value to your life.

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