Career Attraction » 5 secrets to the perfect job search

When Getting to “No” is Better Than “Yes”

Kevin Kermes — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 19:05:37 +0000

The foundation to the success of every step of the job search – from identifying the right job, to securing the interview, to getting an above market offer – is in first identifying your “Solution.” Without this firmly defined, everything else you build upon in the process is going to have a weak foundation. The end result: a prolonged job search, fewer interviews, jobs that don’t pan out and offers that come in below where you want them.

Your Solution is your go-to-market message telling companies why they need to not only talk to you, but hire you. It is a well crafted, comprehensive list of quantifiables that show your addition to a company’s team is an investment they cannot pass up. Your ROI is clear cut. It is much more than bullets for a resume or an “elevator speech.” It is a mindset that you take with you through every stage of the interview process to set you apart for your competition.

It does a number of critical things as well:

Clearly defining Your Solution makes you more valuable to prospective companies – making you stand out in a sea of competition.
With the Your Solution mindset in interviews, you no longer need to worry about what questions you are going to be asked – you will have greater control over what is discussed.
Your Solution keeps you on message from the first interview to the offer – reinforcing why the company must hire you.
Staying “on message” with Your Solution continues to set you apart from the competition – securing you a spot as the front runner.
Your Solution paints a picture for your future employer of the exact role you will be playing inside the company – getting them to visualize you as an employee.
When it comes time for the offer, Your Solution has made your case for you – helping you get top dollar in your job offer.
Your Solution makes it clearer, quicker which opportunities aren’t a good fit for you – so you can focus on the job you really want and deserve.
While all these pieces are crucial to a successful job search campaign, today I am focusing on the last point: the importance to finding an opportunity that is a good fit.

Too often, the interview process results in putting emotion over intelligence. As the interviewee, you are striving to establish rapport, build a relationship and often can unwittingly do so glossing over what might be long-term fit issues. This is true for the person interviewing you too. And, with the lack of formal training given to hiring manager on how to properly interview and select team members they often fall back to “going with their gut” and hire who they like. But, just like a first date, the excitement of something new can result in losing sight of critical issues that will keep you from ever walking down the aisle.

Don’t get me wrong. Loving where you work – the people, the culture and the product – is extremely important. But, when that overshadows your actual role, you can get yourself into a pot of hot water and end up somewhere that you like the people but don’t provide true value to the company. Keeping on target with Your Solution will help you avoid this. As you define where you are best suited, the problems/pains that your background has positioned you to solve best and where you excel, you keep your decision making equally balanced between emotion and intelligence.

Another thing to remember is that accepting a position that isn’t the right fit, but rather the “fit for right now,” has a potentially disastrous downside. Just like we didn’t arrive at this economic crisis over night, we aren’t going to get out of it in the blink of an eye either. As companies continue to downsize and trim the fat, being a bad fit can easily manifest itself in poor job performance, subpar results, and alienating co-workers. The company that extends an offer today may very well find themselves making cuts a quarter or two from now. And, the outcome of your mismatch could result in you being back on the street looking for a job again.

Everyone’s situation is different, but all can agree that the job search is tiresome, draining and something you would like to put behind you as soon as possible. And, no doubt, a new job offer is always welcomed news when it arrives. But, you still want to make sure it is going to be the right match. Defining Your Solution and staying focused on it is one of the best ways to make certain you don’t find yourself repeating a job search in a year (or less).

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Want to learn more about Your Solution and uncovering the “hidden Job market?” Join me on October 28th for my – “5 Secrets to the Perfect Job Search” webinar. Not sure you can make it? Go ahead and register and a recording of the call will be sent to you

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WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE, BLOG OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this complete blurb with it: Kevin Kermes publishes the ‘Build the Career Your Deserve’ e-zine with over 21,000+ subscribers. If you are ready to empower yourself with the vital tools and information necessary to find the job you want and build the successful career you deserve, visit him now www.careerattraction.com

Efficiency and Stress Management in the Job Search – from the Build the Career You Deserve e-zine

Kevin Kermes — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 19:32:06 +0000

Many of the same tools that are supposed to create efficiency (email, cell phones, Twitter, texting, IMs) are often the culprits accused of creating our inefficiency. Or, is it that they are a symptom versus the disease? Managing technology plus the myriad of tasks – finding new job leads, marketing yourself, networking, responding to emails/phone calls, etc. – often paralyzes job seekers and results in even higher stress levels (as if the job search isn’t stressful enough). So, the real question here is: what can you do to alleviate these issues in a technology-laden environment?

Doing More Often Nets You Less – A study done at Microsoft last year looked at how long it takes people to return to a task when they are interrupted by an e-mail or instant message. The average was 15 minutes. More than a quarter of the people did not return to the task at hand for two hours! Moreover, when people did finally start working again, they did not reach their earlier level of concentration for an additional 10 minutes. When you take all of this into account, you realize multi-tasking can be a colossal time waste.

There is Focus and There is Focus – Being focused on the task at hand isn’t enough. To be more efficient in what you need to get accomplished daily, break out your to-do-list into blocks. Segment your day by activities: returning email, following up on leads, finding new target companies (preferably through the “hidden job market”), network, reinforce your SME (subject matter expert) status. By getting in the zone on each of these tasks, your increased focus will net you better results.

Turn it Off – Email and IM are the biggest culprits here and are not the exception to working in blocks. Shut your email down and set up 2-3 times a day when you open it and respond. There are very, very few things that cannot wait an hour or two for a response. And, if they are that critical, someone will typically pick up the phone and call you.

Always the Exception to the Rule – We always need one of these, right? Waiting for a call back from a prospective employer? Expecting to hear from someone you have been trying to network with for weeks? Make a list of critical events that allow you to break out of working in blocks. But, remember the stats we talked about earlier and weigh out if the event is really so important that you want to lose 15-25 minutes of prime productivity out of your day. Some events are worth it, others not so much. You be the judge.

The job search is a full time job and an extremely draining one at that. So, don’t add to that anxiety by being inefficient in your daily tasks. Try implementing a few of these techniques and see your productivity increase and your stress level decrease.

Want to learn more about uncovering the “hidden job market?” Listen to a recording of my – “5 Secrets to the Perfect Job Search” webinar.

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Kevin is the Founder of Build the Career You Deserve, a company devoted to empowering professionals with the vital tools and information necessary to find the job they want and build the successful career they deserve. Sign up for his free e-zine – Build the Career You Deserve – for insider tips on how to do just that!
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Thursday, July 23 – 5 Secrets to the Perfect Job Search (Free Webinar)

Kevin Kermes — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 13:14:05 +0000

Free Webinar – 5 Secrets to the Perfect Job Search

Thursday, July 23rd – 3:00pmEST

Reserve Your Spot by Going to https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/397959075

**not sure you can make it? Go ahead and sign-up and a recording of the session will be sent to you**

My call last month had 1497 registered and the lines maxed out at 1000, so I am holding one more on Thursday. On this call I will share about the “hidden job market” and also cover:

· the biggest block that’s likely keeping you and your search in low-gear right now and wasting precious time (and how to bust out of your rut)

· 5 things recruiters have begged me not to share with you that can keep you from having your job search sabotaged without you even knowing it.

· why your resume is not as critical a factor in getting the interviews (or the job) as you think

· 3 immediate ways you can make your job search lean-and-mean right now! (These are so simple and yet so effective.)

· how you can start working a new plan immediately to find the job you want and cut your job search time in as much as half.

Reserve Your Spot by Going to https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/397959075

**not sure you can make it? Go ahead and sign-up and a recording of the session will be sent to you**

We have some great information focused on getting your job search on track. But, don’t take my word for it. Here is what some previous listeners had to say about the webinar:

https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/397959075

“Kevin Kermes offers a straightforward and comprehensive approach to develop new networks and expand career or business horizons. I was impressed with his expertise and believe you will be too.”– Katherine Eago

“I recently listened to Kevin’s “Avoiding the 10 Biggest Job Search Mistakes” webinar and was most impressed. The content of the presentation and the insight he provided was very helpful. Because of Kevin’s professional background, he was able to provide me with a better understanding of how the recruitment business works from an insider’s perspective. In addition, I found the topic of job boards to be very informative. Overall, I think it is great information for the current job seeker or anyone who wants to be better prepared for their next job search.”– Brian Heckler

“I recently had the pleasure to attend Kevin’s webinar “Avoiding the 10 Biggest Job Search Mistakes.” I am usually a little suspicious of free webinars, but Kevin’s discussion provided a lot of valuable information for the job seeker and prompted me to purchase his additional materials which also look worthwhile. I am going to recommend to everyone in our WIND group (Boston networking group) that they should also attend Kevin’s webinars.”– Ted Powell

“I listened in on Kevin’s Webinar today on the “5 Secrets to the Perfect Job Search” and found it a very worthwhile use of my time. His insight into what to focus on to be most productive was very helpful. Some points were new and others a timely reinforcement. If you get the opportunity to tune in for one of Kevin’s webinars, I highly recommend you do so.” – Becky Vogt

https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/397959075

**not sure you can make it? Go ahead and sign-up and a recording of the session will be sent to you**

“Last Thursday, I participated in Kevin Kermes webinar on how to avoid the 10 biggest job search mistakes. I am a busy communications consultant who enjoys my work, but given this economy and its impact on freelancers, would (not surprisingly) like to find full-time steady employment. I signed up for his webinar, even though I wasn’t sure it could offer much in the way of good information. After all, I’d never heard of Kevin–and how many different ways can you scour the job boards? Boy oh boy, was I busted! I learned, among other things, that not all job boards are created equal–or even worth the time it takes to sign up–and why I needed to shift the way I was searching for engaging and sustaining work. I was riveted to his presentation–just short enough to keep my attention and just long enough to be interesting. Like so many other smart, savvy, and well-intentioned people in today’s workforce, I’ve been looking in the wrong places and, as a result, missing out on some right opportunities. With Kevin’s insights, I have changed my approach. Thanks for the hour, Kevin. Really appreciate it! Good stuff!”– Jill Murray

“Kevin’s webinar on “Avoiding the 10 biggest Job Search Mistakes” was completely on the mark. He clearly communicated the most important job search tasks and mistakes to avoid in order for one to stand out from the crowd to potential employers. Get an “Exceptional Performance Review” even before you’re hired. Follow Kevin’s rules.” – Carl Sutter

“I had the opportunity to listen to Kevin’s webinar the last week in January. The information he provided was insightful and timely. I was able to identify several areas where my search was lacking and feel more focused towards my goal.”– Susan Kneeshaw

https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/397959075

**not sure you can make it? Go ahead and sign-up and a recording of the session will be sent to you**

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Kevin is the Founder of Build the Career You Deserve, a company devoted to empowering professionals with the vital tools and information necessary to find the job they want and build the successful career they deserve. Sign up for his free e-zine (read by over 21,000 professionals worldwide) – Build the Career You Deserve – for insider tips on how to do just that

The Job Search is a Marathon, not a Sprint…Treat it as Such – from the Build the Career You Deserve ezine

Kevin Kermes — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 13:38:49 +0000

The average job search is taking 2.5 weeks per 10K of income (i.e. 100K salary = 25 week search). These numbers are anywhere from 2 – 3 times longer than just a few years ago. All too often, a day feels like a week and a week can feel like a month – particularly for those who haven’t had to really look for a job in years. Approaching your job search differently these days not only includes how you find jobs, but how you manage what can be a long search. Here are some tips to help pace yourself and get better results in the process:

· Work in Blocks: There are a lot of moving parts to the job search: developing leads, contacting prospective employers, following up, networking…and, of course, interviewing! They all require a different focus and mindset. Instead of constantly reacting to events, plan to work your day in blocks. Create a short list of critical events that are cause for interruption (call from potential employer, networking call, etc.). Otherwise, focus on the tasks at hand. Lump responding to emails into a block too…this is the biggest culprit of distractions out there!

· Change of Scenery: No need to be chained to your desk for all these activities. Can you do your research in a coffee shop? Do you find you are more creative in writing cover letters sitting outside (enjoy this summer weather while you can)? A change of scenery can be great for your outlook and will help keep you out of a rut in your job search! Give it a try.

· Take Time to Recharge: As you shift between your blocks of work, use a physical event to do so. A short walk around the block, the act of changing locations (like we just talked about), or even something as simple as getting a glass of water. This event (small or large) signals your brain to shift activities and focus. Something that seems insignificant and takes only a few minutes can end up saving you time and making you more productive.

It’s common to be feeling guilt during your job search – did I do enough today? Should I spend a few more hours digging deeper? But, just like training for a marathon (or any athletic event for that matter), you can over-train. This leaves you tired, unprepared and ineffective for your race: the interview. By using these tips and figuring out what works best for you individually, you can be better prepared to shine and excel when you get the call for your big event!

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Interested in learning how to uncover the “hidden job market?” You can listen to my 5 Secrets to the Perfect Job Search.

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Job Boards: The Broken System – from the Build the Career You Deserve ezine

Kevin Kermes — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 19:30:18 +0000

Wake up, scour the job boards, reply to ads, repeat. This is the grind for many job seekers these days. It’s a system that is promoted heavily, but it is a massively broken system. The statistics say it all: studies report 3% of jobs are found through job boards. Yet, this is where some 95% of the 13.7 million jobless in the U.S. focus and spend the bulk of their time searching for a new opportunity. And, I understand why at first glance: they offer a plan. They have a “system (a term I use very loosely).” But, before you invest too much more time on these boards, here are some things to consider:

· Job Boards are Big Business, but not Your Business – A billion dollars industry with the big backed by the bigger (Careerbuilder is tied with CNN, Monster with CNN and HotJobs is owned by Yahoo). And, they are after you because they really need you. Without high unique visitor counts daily and fresh resumes being dumped into their databases, they cannot charge the prices they want for ads and resume access. They need an overcrowded system because it benefits them – not you.

· But, it’s So Easy – No doubt, the ease with which you can apply to a job is one of the attractive qualities of the boards. But, that is only because there is a lack of any barrier to entry – or application. That lack of a barrier floods the market with a deluge of resume. This high resume count means applicant tracking systems (ATS – the name and acronym sound so clinical) are necessary to search and sort through information. This gets the interview process started on the wrong foot – a process that is all about a highly personal touch. Quality is sacrificed for quantity. Sounds like the healthcare system – you become a number, not a name.

· You are More Important than Your Resume – some of the best job search techniques out there rely very little on resumes. Job boards focus on your resume because it is key to them building their database. They are even offering resume writing services which guarantee “satisfaction,” but not interviews. I have had several clients that used these services before working with me. Not only did their resume re-writes not result in interviews, the job boards often came back and re-pitched their services to my clients…just adding insult to injury.

· The Statistic They Don’t Want You to Know – You won’t ever hear the job boards talk about how many people are hired using their “system (again, I cringe calling it that).” Another number they never promote is the “hidden job market.” 80-85% of hires every year are made here. The kicker is that only about 5% of job seekers aggressively targets this market…and uncovering it is easier than you think. You just need a real “system.” One that works for you – and you alone.

This past week, I spent a little over 30 minutes talking about these points plus a few more. Most important, I shared some free tips and remedies on how you can get a system that works for you. If you weren’t one of the 1000 participants on the webinar, you can listen here to the “5 Secrets to the Perfect Job Search.”

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kevinkermes — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 19:57:45 +0000

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