Bob McIntosh, Author at Job-Hunt

Tell Me About a Time When You Had to Persuade Someone

Bob McIntosh — Wed, 30 Jun 2021 21:52:03 +0000

Rarely will anyone say behavioral-based questions are easy to answer.

Behavioral questions require a job candidate to recall a time when they performed a skill successfully, or unsuccessfully, and then tell a story about performing that skill.

The story must be relevant, specific, and succinct.

Preparing for Behavioral Questions

Answering these questions well are challenges job candidates struggle with. Keep this thought in mind…

The employer’s goal with behavioral interview questions is to understand how you have responded to certain situations in the past to predict how you would act in a similar situation if you worked for them.

Too many people I’ve interviewed try to deliver a generic, long-winded answer that doesn’t hit the mark. This is not what interviewers are looking for.

The four thoughts candidates need to take into consideration are:

Interviewers want to see how you’re going to respond to difficult questions.
Interviewers want to see self-awareness/honesty.
Understand why the interviewers are asking the question.
Have your (short) example ready.

For details about how to successfully answer behavioral interview questions, read — Tell Me About a Time When You Failed and Smart Strategies to Answer Behavioral Interview Questions.

Interview Question: How to Answer Tell Me About a Time You Convinced Your Boss

Let’s look at a behavioral-based question that’s purpose is to determine a candidate’s ability to persuade her boss. The question may also be delivered as such: “Tell us about a time when you convinced your boss to adopt an idea that he disagreed with” or “Tell us about a time when you and your boss disagreed, but you were able to get your boss to change her mind.”

With your answer, demonstrate your knowledge and skills, your judgement, and your ability to negotiate successfully with someone senior to you.

Think back to your experiences and a boss — or someone senior to you, if a story with a boss doesn’t come to mind. Then, think of the elements necessary to effectively share the experience.

Sample Answer

In answering this question, give the interviewer a sense of the situation (S), the task (T), the actions you took (A), and the final result (R). [The acronym is STAR.] Then, for additional points, share what you learned as a result of the experience.

The Situation:

Our company was using Microsoft Excel to keep track of our customers’ orders and appointments, but the process proved to be inefficient. It was becoming laborious to enter customer information and keep the orders up-to-date, and the sales department complained that accessing it was too difficult.

The Task:

As the sales operations manager, it was my responsibility to maintain this antiquated process. I knew we needed a better process, so I approached my boss to explain that we needed a true CRM software. His reply was that we didn’t have the money, nor the need for CRM software.

The Actions:

I knew this was going to be a challenge to persuade my boss that we needed an up-to-date CRM software, and I knew he wouldn’t agree with my suggestion without solid proof.

First I called our main competitors to see what they were using to organize their customer transactions and appointments. At least nine out of ten were using CRM software. And most were willing to tell me the brand they were using.

Salesforce was being used by the five of our competitors. Hubspot was was second with two, and Zoho and Agile were the others.

I knew my boss wouldn’t go with Salesforce just because it was the leader of the pack. He would want to know why it would be the best fit for our sales and marketing department.

I conducted thorough research on the four products, including one called Kintone, which was in the top ten for security. The others didn’t list that information. I knew we needed a product that would store customer data, track customer interaction, track leads, and most importantly be user friendly for the sales team.

My last task before going to my boss with some hard data was to ask the sales team what they needed in a CRM software. They were helpful in confirming what I felt they needed. The one feature they wanted most was easy access and usability.

After two weeks of researching products and talking with salespeople, I narrowed the list to three software providers, based on reputation; overall customer interaction; ease of use; and, of course, price.

I asked my boss if I could have half an hour of his time to discuss my CRM proposal. He reluctantly agreed. When he entered the conference room, he was surprised to see a PowerPoint presentation I created shining on the screen.

At the conclusion of my presentation, he paused for what seem like hours and finally asked me which software I would suggest. I said Salesforce, but he liked Zoho better.

The Result:

We implemented Zoho CRM, which over two years improved efficiency by 50%. I know this because I tracked the hours the staff had used with Excel and later used with Zoho.

Bonus – The Learning:

I learned that the way to persuade my boss was to show him what I proposed, rather than get into a heated debate. This is how I have, and will continue. to persuade my bosses to agree with my suggestions.

Notice the Bonus – The Learning. Particularly if a situation is not a success, be sure to include your learning from the experience.

The Bottom Line on a Time You Persuaded Someone

Behavioral questions are becoming more common, so having a few STAR-L experiences to share in your job interview toolbox is a smart idea. Focus the story on answering the question, but don’t spend more than 90 seconds on an answer. A long monologue is a big mistake.

More About Succeeding at Job Interviews

Answering the Common Job Interview Questions:

Questions About You:

Handling Special Career Situations:

Questions About Them:

Questions for You to Ask Them:

Do You Have Any Questions? — choose from 50+ good questions to ask them
5 Absolute Must-Ask Questions for the End of Your Next Interview
The Second Interview: 5 Key Questions to Ask
45 Questions You Should NOT to Ask in Job Interviews

Interview Preparation:

More About Different Types of Job Interviews

About the author…

Bob McIntosh, CPRW, is a career and LinkedIn trainer who leads more than 17 job search workshops at an urban career center. He also critiques LinkedIn profiles and conducts mock interviews. His greatest pleasure is helping people find rewarding careers in a competitive job market. Selected by LinkedIn as one of 10 “Top Voices for Job Search and Careers,” follow Bob on LinkedIn. Visit his blog at ThingsCareerRelated.com. Follow Bob on Twitter: @bob_mcintosh_1, and connect with him on LinkedIn.
More about this author…

The post Tell Me About a Time When You Had to Persuade Someone appeared first on Job-Hunt.

How to Answer: Tell Me About a Time When You Failed (with Samples)

Bob McIntosh — Wed, 30 Jun 2021 21:43:39 +0000

Tough behavioral interview questions can raise the hair on the back of your neck, and behavioral-based job questions usually fall into that category.

One behavioral-based question my clients say catches them off guard is, “Tell me about a time when you failed in your job.”

This question is general, and a good interviewer will give the candidate some guidance by adding, “What did you learn from it? How did you make a change/changes to correct your mistake.”

Include what you learned and how you recovered, even if the interviewer does not give you that hint.

How to Answer “Tell Me About a Time When You Failed”

There are four thoughts you need to keep in mind when answering this question and questions like it:

1. Stay Calm

You must understand a good interviewer will not ask you questions that only call for a positive result. She will also want to hear answers where you talk about possible failures.

Don’t be offended.
Don’t show discomfort.
Don’t squirm in your seat.

Most importantly, don’t avoid answering the question.

2. Show Self-Awareness and Honesty

If you believe you’ve never failed, you lack self-awareness. Everyone has failed at least once — albeit some failures are less detrimental than others.

Don’t talk about a time your failure was so drastic that it cost the organization tens of thousands of dollars or was the cause of your dismissal (some of my clients admit to this). But do be honest.

3. Understand Their Reason for the Question

There may be a number of reasons why interviewers ask this particular question.

One reason they ask may be that they are looking for someone who can bounce back from failure.

Your predecessor may have failed and was unable to handle his failure. Failure is part of life and can be a learning experience. Smart interviewers realize this and look for candidates who can recognize and recover from failure.

4. Have Your Example Ready

Be prepared to describe a true situation when you failed and you handled it well. Include what you learned as a result of the failure so that you won’t repeat it.

Sample Answer to “Tell Me About a Time When You Failed”

During a job club I lead, one of my clients expanded on this question by making it specific to web development, when his employer’s customer rejected the plan and design he had developed for their new website.

Here is an example of how he could have answered the question.

The story told well is essential to answering the question. Often the interviewer hears other skills in your story than the one he inquired about.

The story is the most important part of answering this question. It should be shorter than 90 seconds, but more importantly it should give the interviewer a sense of the situation (S), the task (T), the actions you took (A), and the final result (R). This is known as the STAR method.

The Situation:

We had a new client, a start-up that wanted us to create, launch, and manage their website for them. I spent a solid week working on the plan for the content and the design of the web pages, presented it with confidence to the client, and was told by them it needed significant work.

The Task:

Although I was initially very disappointed, I knew I had to please the client by coming up with a new website.

The Actions:

When I shared the news with my manager, I could tell she was unhappy. I told her I would see the project through to the end and not disappoint her or the client.

So, I asked the client if I could meet with them a second time to get a better idea of what exactly what they were looking for. This meeting required me to drive 75 miles to the company and back.

In the meeting they told me that they wanted to emphasize the story of their company more than the services they were offering. In addition, they weren’t happy with the color scheme; they wanted more pastels. Finally, they wanted graphics that were more colorful.

I set to work on the website the following day. I wrote content that was more aligned with their mission and services offered. I adjusted the color scheme as they suggested. The only thing I was unsure of was how to create the graphics they wanted. But, I knew who could.

Once again I approached my boss. This time I had to persuade her to hire a graphic designer who could produce the graphics our client demanded. I told her that my friend’s son had graduated from a local college with a degree in graphic design. He was having a tough time finding work. She said she’d rather hire someone reputable.

I wasn’t going to argue the case with her. Instead, I asked my friend’s son to point me to his online portfolio, and I showed it to my boss. She was convinced, and agreed to hire him for this one project.

My friend’s son and I spent many hours together coming up with the graphics. He was phenomenal and took my instructions extremely well. With the graphics designed, I put the finishing touches on the website.

The Result:

Originally, the client gave me two weeks to develop a new plan for the website. But within a week I completed the plan with the new design and graphics. The client liked the plan which we implemented quickly, and the client was completely satisfied with the website. In fact, they remain a client of the company to this day. I’d also like to add that my son’s friend landed a permanent job shortly after the work he did with me.

Bonus – The Learning:

I learned that I should have gotten a full understanding of what my client needed before jumping into the project. Listening is extremely important, so I always make it a habit to listen carefully to what my clients need.

Note that after the STAR was shared, the candidate shared what he learned from the experience, a very positive way to end his answer.

The Bottom Line with Answering the Question “Tell Me About a Time When You Failed”

Anticipate that you will be asked behavioral questions in interviews. As usual, the best defense is a good offense — have examples of how you have handled difficult situations, structured as STARs so you clearly present both the situation and the positive result.

More About Succeeding at Job Interviews

Answering the Common Job Interview Questions:

Questions About You:

Handling Special Career Situations:

Questions About Them:

Questions for You to Ask Them:

Do You Have Any Questions? — choose from 50+ good questions to ask them
5 Absolute Must-Ask Questions for the End of Your Next Interview
The Second Interview: 5 Key Questions to Ask
45 Questions You Should NOT to Ask in Job Interviews

Interview Preparation:

About the author…

The post How to Answer: Tell Me About a Time When You Failed (with Samples) appeared first on Job-Hunt.

How to Answer: Tell Me About a Time When You Were Successful (with Samples)

Bob McIntosh — Wed, 30 Jun 2021 21:42:41 +0000

“Tell us about a time when you were successful at work” is a behavioral-based question you might face in an interview.

This is a common question which can be challenging if you’re not prepared for it.

Most people who I ask about their successes at work have difficulty coming up with one on the spot.

Some believe that we’ve been conditioned not to promote ourselves. We have been told talking about a success is bragging, and we should not brag.

Nothing can be further from the truth if we’re asked by an interested party — interviewers in this case — who are trying to determine our value.

We should be able to talk not only about one time we’ve been successful at work. We should be able to recall many times we’ve been successful.

Although this is a challenging question to answer, keep these three thoughts in mind to help you answer this question:

Interviewers want to see how you’re going to respond to difficult questions.
Understand why the interviewers are asking the question.
Have your (short, nonfiction) story ready.

For details about how to successfully answer behavioral interview questions, read Smart Strategies to Answer to Behavioral Interview Questions.

How to Answer the Behavioral Question of “Tell Me About a Time When You Were Successful”

A vague answer is not going to impress interviewers. In fact, it might eliminate you from consideration. Remember, how you have succeeded in the past is of great interest to interviewers, so interviewers want a specific answer.

The purpose of behavioral interview questions is for interviewers to understand how you have responded to certain situations in the past to gain insight into how you would act in similar situations in the new job.

Keep the following thoughts in mind:

1. Show Enthusiasm

When you describe this situation, be enthusiastic about your success, but stick to the facts.

Describe a specific time when you were presented with a challenge and overcame it. This scenario makes the best success stories.

There should be a time when you:

improved a process
increased revenue
saved time
reduced cost

Don’t embellish, and don’t take credit for anyone else’s work — in fact, share credit with co-workers, management, or others, as appropriate.

2. Understand Their Reason for the Question

Interviewers are looking for high achievers who show motivation and don’t shy away from hurdles in their way. They want to hear about your actions which led to a positive result.

They also want to understand what you consider to be a “success” for you:

Making or participating in a big win for your employer (e.g. new product launch or landing a big contract).
Solving a problem for your employer (e.g., identifying a problem, analyzing the cause of a problem, and/or fixing a problem) .
Being promoted (e.g. new job at a higher level).
Being recognized (e.g. Employee of the Year award or featured in an article about experts in the NY Times).
Personal, unrecognized success (e.g. conquering Excel pivot tables)
Leading a team (e.g. an informal group at work or a formal project team).
Being part of a successful team (e.g. creating winning proposals or solving customer problems).
Beating a competitor — an internal competitor (e.g. for a promotion or other “win”) or an external competitor (e.g. making a sale or winning an industry-wide award)

Tell me about a time you were successful on a team

Interviewers also want to know if you succeed by yourself or as part of a team, and how you succeed — demonstrating your intelligence, your leadership skills, your diplomatic skills, or some other skills you have.

Tell them about a relevant accomplishment demonstrating the skills required for this job. You can gain an understanding of what’s relevant by carefully reading the job description to determine their most pressing need.

3. Have Your Story Ready

Be prepared to describe a true situation when you were successful at work. It’s best to write your example, as well as others, down in order to better tell it.

We learn best by first writing what we must say. It becomes ingrained in our mind.

Choose the right success for the job.

Have at least two examples ready for the interview, and choose examples that will demonstrate you will succeed at the job you are interviewing for.

Think of an example of leadership or management success for a manager job, an example of creativity or problem-solving success for an individual contributor job, an example of closing a big sale for a sales job, whatever is appropriate and relevant to the job.

Have at least two examples ready for the interview.

Keep the examples focused on your work successes. Typically, your personal successes won’t be relevant unless they can illustrate that the career change you are attempting is something you have already done at least partially.

Protect your current/former employer’s confidential information.

If you do share an employer’s confidential information, you are demonstrating that either you don’t understand confidential information or you don’t respect the need to keep some information confidential. Neither will impress the interviewers, and may disqualify you as someone who cannot be trusted.

Particularly if you are interviewing with a competitor of your current (or a former) employer, don’t share sensitive information with the interviewers. Occasionally, they may be interviewing you only to learn what they can about that competitor and aren’t really interested in hiring you.

Sample Answer to “Tell Me About a Time When You Were Successful”

What is very important in answering this question is to go into the interview with a specific Situation in mind. This is the beginning of your story. The remaining parts of your story are: your Task in the situation, the Actions you took to solve the situation, and the Result.

Let’s look at a STAR story to answer: “Tell me about a time when you succeeded at work.”

The Situation:

I was managing one of the largest ABC stores in New England. Although we were leading in revenue; we also had been experiencing a two percent loss due to theft.

The Task:

I was tasked with reducing theft to one percent.

The Actions:

My first action was to have my assistant manager do a full analysis of the items which were stolen most frequently. Not surprisingly, smaller items like pencils, staplers, and calculators were stolen off the shelves.

However, large amounts of other items of all types were being stolen by my own staff and not making it to the shelves. This was of most concern to me, as the majority of money lost was happening here.

For the theft committed by customers, I instructed my staff to smother the customer with kindness. In other words, attend to any customer who seemed to need help or who was lurking around.

For the theft from the dock, my assistant and I brought our un-loaders into my office one-by-one and asked each of them if they were skimming merchandise from the trucks. One out of five admitted to doing this, so I released him without pressing charges.

I instituted a policy that prevented any vehicles to park or drive to within 100 feet of the un-loading dock. I also had cameras installed facing the point of delivery. Previously there were no cameras.

The Result:

Both the external and internal theft was reduced significantly. The policies, extra personnel, and cameras I implemented were successful in reducing theft to .75% and have been doing the trick ever since.

Bonus – The Learning:

I learned that while most employees can be trusted, unfortunately a small few can’t. I also learned that theft can be reduced at a minimum cost, e.g., I didn’t have to install more expensive cameras to cover every square inch of the store. After all, the store wasn’t a casino.

The Bottom Line with Answering the Question “Tell Me About a Time When You Were Successful”

Expect behavioral questions to be asked by most interviewers. Have examples of how you have handled difficult situations, structured as STARs so you clearly present both the situation and the positive result.

More About Succeeding at Job Interviews

Answering the Common Job Interview Questions:

Questions About You:

Handling Special Career Situations:

Questions About Them:

Questions for You to Ask Them:

Do You Have Any Questions? — choose from 50+ good questions to ask them
5 Absolute Must-Ask Questions for the End of Your Next Interview
The Second Interview: 5 Key Questions to Ask
45 Questions You Should NOT to Ask in Job Interviews

Interview Preparation:

About the author…

The post How to Answer: Tell Me About a Time When You Were Successful (with Samples) appeared first on Job-Hunt.

4 Ways to Avoid a Toxic Workplace for Your Next Job

Bob McIntosh — Tue, 11 May 2021 17:14:48 +0000

Think about the job you disliked the most.

There are many reasons why employees are dissatisfied with their jobs:

Perhaps the work environment was unfair — rigid rules were enforced with no exceptions, except for a favored few.

Maybe, the company lacked integrity — employees didn’t trust management and vice versa.

Maybe rigid management rules blocked your ability to see your children’s events. Or, you weren’t given the autonomy necessary to do your job well.

These are examples of how your values and those of the workplace do not match.

Workplace “Core Values” Impact Your Job Satisfaction

An employer’s “core values” for the workplace are the principles that are the foundation of how an organization works. They impact how the business runs — how decisions are made, who is promoted, how customers/clients are treated, and much more.

How important are workplace core values?

Statistics show that workplace values are more important for job satisfaction than salary, unless earning a high salary is your main core value.

Surprised? A Harvard Business Review article supports this statement:

“One of the most striking results we’ve found is that, across all income levels, the top predictor of workplace satisfaction is not pay: It is the culture and values of the organization, followed closely by the quality of senior leadership and the career opportunities at the company. Among the six workplace factors we examined, compensation and benefits were consistently rated among the least important factors of workplace happiness.”

This brings to question how you ensure that you take a job which meets your core values.

Learn an Employer’s Core Values Before Accepting a Job Offer

Here are four ways to discover the core values employers support, from worse to best.

4. Ask in the interview

This is the worst way to determine the company’s core values, as it may be too late.

(It’s always best going into an interview with your eyes wide open.) You can ask the recruiter during the telephone interview.

However, the recruiter might not know much about the company’s values, especially if they’re an agency recruiter (not on site). A corporate recruiter would have a better idea of the company’s values, although not as accurate as a hiring manager’s.

You may be able to ask the question, “Can you tell me a little bit about the company’s core values?” during the interview. But more likely you’d ask this question at the last phase of the interview when they ask if you have any questions for them.

If this is your only opportunity, ask a question such as: “What are (Company X’s) top three core values?” This is a question that will challenge the interviewers and indicate that you’re serious about working for the company.

3. Comb through company reviews on a site like Glassdoor.com

While many job seekers live and die by Glassdoor.com company reviews, I’m somewhat skeptical.

My thought is that disgruntled current or former employees won’t speak objectively about their present or past companies. And, reportedly, some employers have launched paid campaigns to encourage positive reviews.

However, there could be value in this site’s reviews if the they are consistent; if most of them are positive or negative.

I looked at two companies, one a nationally known monolith and the other a largish company local to Boston. Dell EMC had a whopping 4.3K reviews and a 76% “Recommend to a friend” rating. In terms of pros and cons, work-life balance was the top value mentioned: 507 applauded the work-life balance, whereas 107 trashed the work/life balance.

The other company, Kronos, also did consistently well. Of the 1.3K employees who posted a review, 81% would recommend this company to a friend. Not surprisingly work-life balance was the number one value: 239 favored it; 45 employees saw it as a con.

2. Find someone on LinkedIn who can speak about the company

LinkedIn can be a great tool for finding people who work for your target companies; or better yet, who worked for your target companies.

It’s important to know how to locate people at said companies. You’re going to get very familiar with LinkedIn’s All Filters feature for searching LinkedIn.

Using LinkedIn’s All Filters:

Click in the Search bar at the top of most pages.
Choose People.
Click on All Filters.
Type in the company name.
Select second degree connection.
Select Current or Past companies.
Choose location.
Scroll down to enter the title of the person you would like to approach.

Second degree connection who currently works for your target company

If you are a Premium account member, use one of your five free Inmails to message someone who shares a common connection with you.

You may mention in the first line:

“Hello Susan, you and I are connected with John Schmidt, who encouraged me to reach out to you….”

What if you don’t have a premium account? A couple of options:

Check the contact information on the member’s profile to see if you can send an email to them outside of LinkedIn. Or…
You’ll have to send an invitation to connect for quick action.

Proceed as you would if you had a premium account in terms of the message you send. Indicate you share a common connection who will vouch for you.

Second degree connection who USED to work for your target company

Job seekers often don’t think of reaching out to someone on LinkedIn who worked for their target companies in the past. I tell my workshop attendees that these people can be their best online source of information, as they will most likely provide the truth.

Former employees have nothing to lose.

Again, if you don’t have a premium account and have to send an email (if possible) or an invitation to connect, it’s best to mention a common connection. Be sure the common connection you mention is amenable to vouching for you. There are many connections who will vouch for me, but there are some who (I hate to admit) I hardly know.

1. Have a “mole” in the company who will tell you honestly about the company’s values

This is the best way to discover the values your potential employer supports.

The person/people you ask, via LinkedIn or in person, are on site and experience the company’s core values daily. They can provide intricate details, whereas Glassdoor.com and current and former employees on LinkedIn might not be as willing to go into details.

I recall applying for a job that was posted by an employer I was considering working for. I knew someone within the organization who was very open about the company’s culture. She described an environment where management was so abusive toward their employees that people were quitting. Needless to say, I didn’t apply for the job.

Another benefit of having a mole inside the company is the possibility of being referred for the job by that mole, increasing your probability of being hired.

The Bottom Line on Avoiding Toxic Work Environments

Your workplace core values are not to be ignored when applying for positions. They can make the difference between being happy or unhappy. An exercise I have my workshop attendees do is write down their top five values, not an easy task for many. Then. I have them narrow it down to three and finally one. Can you identify your top value? I bet it’s not salary.

More About Advanced Job Search

About the author…

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Hot Resume Trends: What the Experts Say

Bob McIntosh — Tue, 11 May 2021 17:14:48 +0000

A decade has ended and now a new one launched, and new technology is always developing, so what are the resume trends?

One thing is for sure; if you plan to submit the same tired resume for all positions, your chances of success will hover around zero percent.

Another well-known fact is that your resume must demonstrate your value.

Some resume trends will stay the same as they have in the past, whereas others will change, or at least be reinforced.

Advice From 5 Resume Experts

To discover which resume trends you should follow, I asked five renowned resume writers their thoughts on this topic. Each of them offer valuable advice from being aware of applicant tracking systems (ATSs) to ensuring your document expresses value to demonstrating emotional intelligence (EQ).

Virginia Franco: Leverage Alternate Channels

Virginia Franco, Executive Storyteller, Resume & LinkedIn Writer, believes getting your resume to decision makers (networking) will be key to your success, so the look of your resume must pack a punch,

Virginia writes:

Because applicant tracking systems (ATSs) are so inundated with resumes, increasingly more people are recognizing the wisdom of throwing their hat in the ring via alternative channels that include a focus on networking and getting in the door through referrals.

As a result, it will be more important than ever to write your resume first and foremost for human beings.

This means embracing design elements that can range from the use of color, shading, and/or bold to draw the reader’s eye where you’d like it go – to even a graph, chart, or box with some standout text to illustrate a point you are making elsewhere in the body of the resume (I’ve used them to convey a snapshot of powerful sales stats or even call out a compelling recommendation).

Because at some point in the hiring process you may have to submit online, your resume should also aim to be ATS compatible. This means ensuring that any point you make via a text box, chart or graph appears elsewhere in your document – as ATS can’t read it otherwise.

More about Virginia: Virginia’s LinkedIn Profile, Virginia’s website, and Virginia’s articles in Job-Hunt.

Donna Svei: Be Mobile Friendly

Donna Svei, Executive Resume Writer, says that hiring authorities will read your resume on devices like your mobile phone. She also emphasizes that your resume must be ready at the drop of a hat, not that you’re necessarily looking.

Here’s what Donna has to say:

When I think about resume best practices, I ask myself, “What will make my clients stand out to hiring managers and recruiters?”

A big trend impacting all content consumption, resumes included, is the practice of using mobile devices as people’s preferred reading platforms.

Thus, your resume needs to be easy to read on a phone. Send your resume to yourself, open the file, and make sure you can easily read it. Check for:

White space.
A font suited to being read on a mobile phone, such as Calibri.
Adequate font size. I like 11-point.

Technology has made the traditional job search with a beginning, middle, and an end outmoded. The opportunity now comes from people you know, recruiters who constantly scrape databases looking for viable candidates, and alerts that tell you about openings for your dream jobs the moment they become available.

Because of this, I see more careerists preparing their resumes just to be ready. They aren’t looking but they want to be able to take their best shot when the big one comes along. That’s your competition. Be at the head of the pack, not limping into the mix with your newly updated resume while the best-prepared candidates wrap up their interviews.

Resume trends change slowly, even generationally. Regardless of your age, be a person who knows the trends and uses them to make the best presentation of themselves.

More about Donna: Donna’s LinkedIn Profile and Donna’s website.

Laura Smith-Proulx: Be Brief But Powerful

Laura Smith-Proulx, Executive Resume and LinkedIn Writer, emphasizes value, readability, and branding as important components of your resume.

Read what Laura has to say:

To keep pace with ever-shorter attention spans, resumes must prove their value to employers. Rather than dense paragraphs describing your work style, your resume needs quantifiable results, a potent mix of keywords to satisfy ATSs, and powerful branding statements relevant to employers.

Brevity will be an important factor in capturing attention from your resume. Resume headlines, which are simply statements encapsulating your value, can help cut excess verbiage.

For example, a paragraph on your technical sales skills could be replaced with “165% Annual Growth and 45% Profit Increase From AI Sales Techniques” – packing keywords, metrics, and technologies into a single sentence.

ATSs continue to be an important factor for resumes, especially if you’re applying to job postings. For example, a Revenue Officer resume should mention contract negotiations and team direction, and if you’re seeking IT jobs, the resume must reference emerging technologies and business collaboration.

There’s a plethora of tools such as Wordle or TagCrowd to parse job descriptions for keywords. Think of your resume as a website that needs SEO strategies to be found, and you’ll get the idea.

A resume with no quantifiable metrics is likely to be ignored. By putting figures to the cost savings, budgets managed, speed of implementation, market share growth, revenue produced, products launched, or profit generated from your actions, you’ll increase the chances of landing an interview. Be sure to align these stories with what the employer is seeking.

More about Laura Smith-Proulx: Laura’s LinkedIn Profile, Laura’s website, and Laura’s articles in Job-Hunt.

Adrienne Tom: Share Your Career Narrative

Adrienne Tom, Executive Resume Writer, LinkedIn Profile Writer, and Job Search Coach, encourages job candidates to apply stories to their resumes. Use SMART statements, she advises.

Read further to find out what Adrienne has to say about SMART statements:

2019 taught us about the importance of building and sharing a powerful career narrative. As we transition into the future, I see career storytelling continuing to play a heavy hand in the creation of a modern resume.

The reason for storytelling is simple. A flat file of facts does not compel resume readers. Instead, employers wish to be engaged by meaningful content that summarizes relatable facts, applies authentic language, provides proof, and demonstrates a clear fit for the role.

To help craft your career story, share SMART statements in the resume. Just like a SMART goal, a SMART statement is Specific, Measurable, Action-Oriented, Results-Oriented, and Time-Bound.

When delivered correctly, SMART statements help share and reinforce a career story –allowing for personalized detail that both differentiates and elevates. Also, all good stories have happy endings (or at the very least, wrap things up with a result). A modern resume is no different.

Strengthen a career story with results-driven details. Align results with employer requirements for greater impact. Even better, lead with results as often as possible, reducing the risk of key facts becoming buried or overlooked.

An example of a SMART statement, that leads with rich results:

Generated over $600K in annual cost-savings and raised staff efficiency levels 65% after designing and implementing a global operational improvement plan across 3 countries with 6,000+ staff.

Ultimately, resume strategy continues to evolve in the delivery of details. Ensure the resume includes a variety of accomplishment statements, including SMART ones, to share your story better.

More about Adrienne Tom: Adrienne’s LinkedIn Profile and Adrienne’s website.

Erin Kennedy: Demonstrate Your Soft Skills and EQ

Erin Kennedy, Executive Resume and LinkedIn Profile Writer, says a resume can show emotional quotient or intelligence (EQ) better known as “soft skills.”

Erin offers:

During 2019, career professionals noticed a shift as corporations began seeking EQ from their executive candidates. In the past, these skills were considered fluff and a resume no-no.

However, the dependence on technology and targeted specialties has caused a slight breakdown in communication skills leading companies to seek more “well-rounded” leaders.

Emotional intelligence is not something you can earn with a degree; rather it is part of your personality cluster. Are you adept at figuring out complex problems? Are you able to manage conflict?

Possessing strong EQ means you have self-awareness and the ability to understand your effect on others.

Corporations are looking for leaders with high EQ — if you don’t understand your own behavior and motivations, it becomes difficult to understand those who work for you. Displaying empathy and thoughtfulness rather than judgment increases productivity and solidifies loyalty.

So, how do you capture soft skills and EQ in a resume while still showcasing numbers-focused accomplishments? The great thing is, they really go hand-in-hand. Easing soft skills or EQ into your resume can be as simple as:

Provide strategic and decisive leadership while collaborating effectively with fellow Board of Directors on a $23 million-dollar expansion.

Blending soft and hard skills together creates a much-sought-after candidate.

More about Erin Kennedy: Erin’s LinkedIn Profile, Erin’s website, and Erin’s articles on Job-Hunt.

The Bottom Line on Resume Trends

If you’re writing your resume for the first time or updating it, you will want to heed what these experts say about submitting the best document possible. This means:

Presenting a document that not only passes the ATS but also is appealing to the human eye.
Making sure your resume is adaptable to all devices, including a smartphone, and is ready at all times.
Highlights your value and brand while also being easy to read.
Uses Smart Statements to craft a cohesive resume.
Demonstrates your EQ.

If you accomplish all of this, your job search will be successful.

More About Resumes:

About the author…

The post Hot Resume Trends: What the Experts Say appeared first on Job-Hunt.

How to Answer: “How Do You Motivate Others?” (with Samples)

Bob McIntosh — Tue, 11 May 2021 17:14:45 +0000

This is a situation that most of us have experienced — needing to motivate someone to do their work, whether it was a coworker or subordinate.

They might have been the bottleneck that was holding up a major project.

This is frustrating, especially if you’re one who likes to finish a project before the deadline or, at a minimum, on time.

Employers are also sensitive to this conundrum because projects finished late cost money or customer satisfaction, while projects finished on time keep the processes running smoothly.

As well, someone who consistently fails to do their part of a project is a major problem who will most likely have to be let go; and this is a huge cost the employer must undertake. The U.S. Department of Labor estimates put the cost of a “bad hire” at 30 percent of the person’s first annual salary.

Being able to motivate others can be critical for many jobs and organizations, so you may be asked this question.

“Tell us about a time when you had to motivate someone.” This is a common behavioral-based question.

Three Thoughts to Keep in Mind When Answering “How Do You Motivate Others?”

Although this is a tough question to answer, there are three thoughts to keep in mind that will help you answer this question:

Interviewers want to see how you’re going to respond to difficult questions.
Understand why the interviewers are asking the question.
Have your (short, nonfiction) story ready.

For details about how to successfully answer behavioral interview questions, read Smart Strategies to Answer Behavioral Interview Questions.

How to Answer “How Do You Motivate Others?”

A vague answer is not going to impress interviewers. In fact, it might eliminate you from consideration. Remember, this is a problem employers struggle with, so interviewers want a specific answer.

Keep the following thoughts in mind:

1. Stay Positive

When you describe this situation, avoid trashing anyone. Stick to the facts.

Describe a time when you needed to create an incentive for someone to do their job appropriately and on time. Be honest, but don’t assign negative characteristics to anyone.

Most organizations and individuals have times when they need to have someone boost their motivation, but that need doesn’t mean they are bad people or poor workers.

2. Understand Their Reason for the Question

There may be a number of reasons why interviewers ask this particular question. Often, one reason could be that they are looking for someone who can keep things, like a project, moving forward.

When an interviewer asks this question, he wants to know: Can you keep a project moving, and successfully lead coworkers and colleagues?

Your predecessor may not have been able to motivate the necessary people and quit the job. Or, perhaps, an essential employee, or part of the business, is easily distracted and needs assistance in keeping focused on completing their tasks on time.

3. Have Your Example Ready

Be prepared to describe a true situation when you had to motivate someone to get a project completed on time or to meet a deadline.

Sample Answer for “How Do You Motivate Others?” with a STAR

What is very important in answering this question is to go into the interview with a specific Situation in mind. This is the beginning of your story. The remaining parts of your story are: your Task in the situation, the Actions you took to solve the situation, and the Result.

The acronym is STAR. Keep this in mind to guide you through your answer. Let’s look at a STAR story to answer: “Tell me about a time when you had to motivate someone.”

The Situation:

Our company was going to participate in an annual trade show at the Javits Center in New York City. The date was approaching in three months.

Task

As the manager of marketing, it was my responsibility to coordinate the trade show. There were several details I had to handle, including making hotel arrangements for sales and the VP, coordinating transportation for our booth, writing content for social media and the website, and additional duties.

It was up to the sales manager to notify our partners, OEMs, and VARs that we were attending.

Actions

Three months before the show, I sent an email to the manager of the sales department asking him to begin the process of sending out the emails. I received no reply at that time.

A week later I called to remind him that the emails had to be sent out in order to give our partners enough time to schedule the event into their calendars. He said he would get on it immediately.

Then a week after that I ran into him in the lunch room, where I asked him how the emails were going. Sheepishly he told me he hadn’t gotten to it. This was making me nervous, and I think he realized it.

Later that day, I went to his office and told him that other trade shows were happening around that time and we had to get confirmation from our partners they were going to attend ours. I hoped he would understand the gravity of the situation.

By Friday of that week, the emails still hadn’t been sent out, so I decided that he needed some motivation. It’s not like me to go over people’s heads when I can handle the situation myself.

On Monday I crafted an email to VP of sales and marketing telling her that all the tasks for the trade show were handled, save for the emails that our sales manager had to send out. Then I asked the sales manager to come to my office to review it. I told him that the email was going to be sent out by the end of the day.

Result

This was all the motivation he needed. By the end of the day, he sent out the emails to our OEMs, VARs, and partners. There were a handful who said they couldn’t make it because they weren’t given enough notice, but most of them were looking forward to it.

The sales manager came to me a week later to apologize for not sending out the emails in a timely manner and appreciated me not going to my VP about the matter. I told him I could help him with his time management skills, and he thanked me for the offer.

Bonus: What I Learned

I learned that I should have been more persuasive earlier in the process. I acted too slowly. I also learned that I can motivate my colleagues without having to get upper management involved.

The Bottom Line with Answering “How Do You Motivate Others?”

Anticipate that you will be asked behavioral questions in interviews. As usual, the best defense is a good offense — have examples of how you have handled this situation, structured as STARs (plus Learning) so you can clearly present both the situation and the positive result from your action, demonstrating your ability to successfully motivate others to support your employer’s goals.

More About Succeeding at Job Interviews:

Smart Answers to Interview Questions
Ace Your Job Interview: 5 Ways to Build Rapport with the Interviewers
Free eBook – Successful Job Interviews (new browser window)
Guide to Writing Thank You Notes After an Interview

Answering the Common Job Interview Questions:

Questions About You:

Handling Special Career Situations:

Questions About Them:

Questions for You to Ask Them:

Do You Have Any Questions? — choose from 50+ good questions to ask them
5 Absolute Must-Ask Questions for the End of Your Next Interview
The Second Interview: 5 Key Questions to Ask
45 Questions You Should NOT to Ask in Job Interviews

Interview Preparation:

About the author…

The post How to Answer: “How Do You Motivate Others?” (with Samples) appeared first on Job-Hunt.

Hot Job Interview Trends: What the Experts Say

Bob McIntosh — Tue, 11 May 2021 17:14:45 +0000

It is 2021, and you are in the job hunt, either because you are unemployed or looking for a better gig.

One thing for sure is employers are hiring but they are being more cautious, and the hiring process is taking longer.

This is why you need to need to understand the hot interviewing trends to be successful in landing your next position.

While the hiring process might be painfully slow, you still must shine in the interview, and this means every stage of the process.

Advice from 5 Job Interview Experts

Here’s some good news: I asked 5 interview authorities to weigh in on what to expect.

They tell you what to do before the interview, what to do during the interview, and what to do after the interview.

Do not rely on traditional methods to get the interview. Show your value.

Austin Belcak has a unique view on how to get to interviews with blue chip companies. He has helped hundreds of people, whether they have worked with him directly or gleaned vital information by following him on LinkedIn.

These are Austin’s thoughts:

Do not let unemployment numbers fool you. We are currently experiencing one of the most competitive job markets in history.

Relying on resumes, cover letters, and online applications is not going to be enough now.

If you want to land interviews at high caliber companies, you need to focus on two things:

Building relationships with the people who can influence the hiring decision

After you press submit on your application, fire up LinkedIn and use it to find your potential hiring manager or colleagues on the hiring team. Reach out to them, show them you understand their needs/goals, and find ways to illustrate your value in relation to those things.
Find ways to illustrate your value on your terms How many times have you said, “I know I can do this job, but nobody will give me a chance!”If people are not recognizing your value, you need to find ways to clarify it for them. One of my favorite strategies for this is putting together a Value Validation Project (VVP).

Value Validation Project (VVP)

Value Validation Projects are deliverables that illustrate your ability to do the job by providing suggestions, ideas, or feedback to the team’s biggest needs or goals.

For example:

If you are targeting a marketing role, you could do a quick competitive analysis, and then package that data with 3 suggestions to help the company get more visibility.
If you are aiming for a data analyst role, you could work to find a source of publicly available data that you can use to parse and tell a story. Check out this example of an analyst who used Twitter data to capture consumer sentiment about different airlines.

VVPs are highly effective because they give you the opportunity to say, “I have done my research, and I know what your goals are. Here is exactly what I bring to the table.”

You are also doing that in your own words, via a medium you are comfortable with, that offers a lot more flexibility in terms of visuals, data, and content.

That is going to set you apart!

More about Austin: Austin’s LinkedIn Profile, Austin’s website.

Research is becoming even more important now.

Sarah Johnston, a career coach and former recruiter, is a strong believer in doing research before going to the interview. All too often job seekers fail to research the position, company, and even the individuals conducting the interview.

According to Sarah, you must know the employer’s pain points. Here is what she has to say:

The average corporate role gets 250 online applications (Source). And that is rising at a staggering rate thanks to automation and the Internet. Of those candidates, only 5 to 6 will get called in to interview.

The best way to beat the competition is through preparation. You must have a good understanding of your target audience, what they care about, and their pain points before you interview.

When you are researching your target audience (the company and the individuals who interview you), it is smart to look at the corporate website for press releases, mission, and diversity statements.

As companies are becoming more mission centric, I am seeing an uptick in interview questions focused around values and the importance of inclusive cultures.

It is also important to interview the people who are going to interview you. Take the time to look at their LinkedIn pages to read more about their training, experience, and for common ground.

If you have time, do a search on your favorite search engine for podcasts they’ve been on or news articles that reference their work. I suggest identifying 3 to 5 connection points that you can use to make small talk during the informal part of the interview.

Finally, one of the best — and surprisingly most overlooked — ways to research and prepare for the interview is to look for pain points or “clues” in the job description.

Read between the lines to better understand the culture, reporting structure, and the actual job requirements. Consider that every bullet point in the job requirement section could be turned into an interview question.

For example, let’s say that the job description reads:

“Identify, initiate, and drive process improvement solutions that will ultimately provide operating efficiencies and synergies within the supply chain, resulting in cost reduction and increasing service level to customers.”

This could be turned into a behavioral question in the interview:

“Tell me about a time that you identified and drove a large process improvement solution in a previous role that led to an increased operating efficiency. Tell me about the solution and the results of the implementation.”

Be prepared with your answer to this question.

More about Sarah: Sarah’s LinkedIn Profile. Sarah’s website.

It is not only about job-related skills. It is also about personality.

Biron Clark is a former technical recruiter and is now a career coach and trainer. He foresees more emphasis being placed on hiring for motivation and fit. Expect more questions that will get to the heart of your drive and personality fit.

Biron says:

I expect that employers will be interested in learning about your personality and motivation just as much as your technical background.

The average person is spending less time in each role when compared to past decades, so employers are conscious of hiring people who are not only qualified but also excited about the day-to-day work and the general work that the company is doing.

This helps them reduce turnover and find long-term matches for their company.

To prepare for this, make sure you’re ready to answer questions like, “What about this role caught your interest?” or, “Why did you apply for this position?”

They may also ask, “What do you know about us?”

These questions are a chance to show you’ve done more research than other candidates. A bad answer here can derail your interview, but a great, detailed answer can set you apart and help you win the job… even if someone else was better-qualified.

Do I want to work here?

Susan P. Joyce, publisher of JobHunt.Org and career strategist, shares her concern about finding the right work environment. And how do you do this? By asking questions during the interview. Our 4th interview expert feels this is an important piece of the puzzle.

Here’s what Susan has to say:

A job interview is frequently viewed as your opportunity to “close the sale” – convince the employer to make you a job offer. And it is. But, the job interview is also your opportunity to learn if the job is a good fit for you.

I made a big mistake early in my career by not paying attention in the job interview. I was more interested in leaving my old job and not paying sufficient attention to where I was going next. So, until my first day of work, I did not notice that only male employees had window offices while the women all worked in cubicles. OOPS! I stayed less than a year.

When you interview at the employer’s location, observe the whole environment and the employees there.

Do people look happy or stressed?
Is the location noisy or quiet?
Do you see others of your gender and/or race there, and do they seem comfortable?
Does this place look and feel comfortable to you?

You will be asked if you have any questions for the interviewers. Leverage this golden opportunity to learn more about whether you would be happy working there. Ask questions like these:

How long have you worked here?
What is the best part of working there?
Why is this job open?
Did the previous employee leave or get promoted? If the job is new, what brought about the need to create the position?

Be cautious if everyone has worked there less than a year, this job is filled frequently, or they struggle to say something nice about the organization.

Note: If you feel the opportunity is right, ask if you can take a tour of the company. This is when you can observe the employees to get a picture of their mood. Any good employer will gladly give you a tour of their company.

More about Susan: Susan’s LinkedIn Profile. Susan’s website.

It isn’t over until it’s over.

Ashley Watkins is an executive resume writer. As a former recruiter, she has a unique view from the other side of the table.

Ashley offers sage advice on what to do after the interview, which can be as important as before and during the process.

She advises:

Follow instructions.

At the close of the interview, most recruiters and hiring managers will give detailed instructions about the next steps. But if the timeline isn’t offered, ask the interviewer when and how you should follow up (email, phone, or not at all).

If you are scheduled to hear back in a week but get crickets, wait until that time has come and passed before you reach out to check your status.

Do not stop at the timeline.

Take it a step further, and use this as an opportunity to refresh the interviewer’s memory about why you are such a great catch. Share a few short success bullets that align with the goals of your target role.

Also, do not be afraid to reattach your resume or LinkedIn URL. Make it easy for your interviewer to review your work history and accomplishments again versus sending them on a wild goose chase in the company’s database.

Always ask for feedback.

Although many companies have strict policies about what information interviewers can release, you may encounter a recruiter who is willing to share some tips — or you may discover an upcoming role that is a better fit. Then, you can quickly express your interest in the opportunity.

Build a relationship.

Another way to further your interaction with your target company and build a mutually beneficial relationship with a recruiter is to make a referral.

If you know a friend or colleague who would be a great fit for a different job, offer to make the introduction. Now, you have established yourself as a resource.

Breathe.

Not knowing where you stand after an interview can be frustrating. Understanding the hiring process for your desired position can relieve some pressure.

Take the time after an interview to reflect on things you learned, areas for improvement, and any red flags.

Sometimes rejection can be a blessing in disguise. Keep pushing until you land that right-fit role.

More about Ashley: Ashley’s LinkedIn profile. Ashley’s website.

The Bottom Line on Interview Trends

As you can see, the interview doesn’t only consist of the meeting between interviewers and you. There is a before, middle, and end. Make sure you have all the bases covered. If you accomplish this, you will be successful now.

Take it from the experts:

The interview process is longer these days, and involves more work to prove you are the one to earn an interview.
Research, research, and conduct more research.
Interviewers want to know more about you than just your job-related skills.
Try to learn about the company during the interview.
There’s still work to do after the interview ends and can be as important as the actual interview.

More Expert Advice and Hot Trends:

More About Job Interviews:

- Answering: What’s Your Greatest Strength?

About the author…

The post Hot Job Interview Trends: What the Experts Say appeared first on Job-Hunt.

Hot LinkedIn Trends: What the Experts Say

Bob McIntosh — Tue, 11 May 2021 17:14:39 +0000

To land a job now, you will need to have a strong LinkedIn profile.

And, that profile needs to clearly brand you.

But is a strong, well-branded LinkedIn profile enough?

According to four LinkedIn experts it is not.

I asked asked Hannah Morgan, Kevin Turner, Jessica Hernandez, and Andy Foote for their insights and received answers ranging from the importance of search engine optimization (SEO) to building a strong network and engaging with your network.

Branding with Your LinkedIn Profile

Before I share the experts’ advice, let’s start with the basics — branding yourself with your LinkedIn profile. This will always be important.

Job seekers will have to put more effort into writing content for not only SEO, but content that resonates with hiring authorities.

Yet great content won’t be enough:

Background image and headshot photo. You’ll need to brand yourself with images that speak to your occupation and industry. These will include most notably your background image and photo. More people are coming around to including a background image. After all, who wants that ugly, light blue image behind their photo? (LinkedIn Help: Adding Background Image)A headshot photo is a must. Increasingly more people are realizing that to be memorable, trusted, and liked, they must have a quality photo. LinkedIn members are owning their photos by making them more theme-based or presenting a casual pose.
LinkedIn Headline. Greater emphasis should also be placed on the Headline. There are a plethora of articles that talk about the importance of keywords and/or a branding statement to go with them. The following Headline includes keywords and a branding statement:Finance Manager at Company X | Financial Planning and Analysis | Auditing | Saving Organizations Millions.
The About section. Job seekers are giving this section more attention, and that is a very good idea. They are including more content that tells their story which include statements of their greatness. Think about the passion you have for what you do, and how well you do it. Share quantified accomplishments that prove your value.Write this section in first-person point of view.
Experience. You will be wise to provide more descriptions of your jobs in your Experience section. Your resume probably includes duty and accomplishment statements, but this is where you want to create the WOW factor with your profile. Stick with the accomplishment statements and personalize them.One of my greatest accomplishments was initiating and implementing – before the deadline – a customer relations management (CRM) system that increased productivity by 58%.
Better content that brands you should continue throughout your LinkedIn profile. In Education you can tell a story. Do not skip adding your volunteer experience. Companies appreciate those who volunteer. Think branding!

Ensure that all of these elements consistently support your brand.

Advice From 4 LinkedIn Experts

Gone are the days when your profile was seen simply as an online resume. Also gone are the days when your profile sat on the Internet waiting for hiring authorities to find you.

Now, with more than 722 million members in LinkedIn (December, 2020), you must be more proactive to be found.

This means that, as a job seeker, you also need to consider multiple components of your LinkedIn visibility, not simply your profile.

Many resist getting more involved in their LinkedIn presence, and this resistance to developing a focused network and engaging with their network is human nature, because it takes hard work. But doesn’t being successful take hard work?

To discover which LinkedIn trends you should follow in the future, I asked these four renowned LinkedIn experts their thoughts on this topic. Each of them offer valuable advice:

Hannah Morgan — Your Activity on LinkedIn Matters

Having an updated and robust profile is important, but posting, sharing, and commenting on LinkedIn will generate attention to your profile faster. In fact, posting updates on LinkedIn almost guarantees more people will view your profile.

LinkedIn users interact with content from peers and colleagues more than influencers or organizations. So what you share will get noticed.

Post information and topics most important to your network and potential fellow colleagues.

According to LinkedIn’s 2017 Sophisticated Marketer’s Guide, these are the topics users care about:

Industry Insights
Tips/Best Practices
Jobs/Skills
Leadership
Industry Events
Product or Service Information
Employee Perspectives

Here are some more tips to keep in mind when posting on LinkedIn:

When sharing an article, explain why you are sharing it.
Use three relevant hashtags when posting an update.
Respond to every comment on your posts.

There’s another reason to be active and positive on LinkedIn. Everything you like, comment, share or articles you’ve written are visible to anyone who looks at your profile.

Your activity shows the topics you are interested in, your communication style, and that you know how to use LinkedIn. You can see anyone’s Activity section, so go check it out. If they haven’t liked, commented or shared anything in 90 days, you won’t see any activity.

However, if they have been active, you can see all their likes, comments, and shares.

At the end of the day, being active on LinkedIn by commenting and sharing articles relevant to your field helps people understand your career interests and calls attention to your professional reputation and personal brand. When people see your photo and headline along with the career-related updates you share, it puts you top-of-mind.

More about Hannah: Hannah’s LinkedIn Profile, Hannah’s website, and Hannah’s articles in Job-Hunt.

Kevin Turner — Better SEO

Back in 2005, I remember joining LinkedIn as one of its first Million Members in the US. Then in 2011, the membership hit 100M globally, and now we are entering this new decade 675M+ members strong. It makes sense that being found on this platform is more challenging than ever.

Continued change. Change itself will continue to be a constant state. If you have been active on the platform long enough, you have seen experts gaming the system, LinkedIn losing control, resetting the algorithms, and gaining it back again, time after time.When you are in the business of monetizing data, as is LinkedIn, losing control, means losing money, so LinkedIn must continuously stay ahead of the experts. Nowhere was this more evident than in the early years, when getting your profile on the first page of a search was too easy.The search results suffered, with top rankings given to profiles that were unreadably swimming in a sea of keywords.
We should expect change, just when we think we have figured it out.
Keywords and personal SEO. Keywording an LI profile, to increase exposure, is now just a starting point of your personal SEO. Yes, you still need to implement in-demand keywords, but you can’t just stuff them in anywhere or leave them in lists.These keywords should address your target audience, represent your niche value add, support your goals, and we must ensure they are consistently, grammatically, repetitively, and contextually used throughout each component of your complete ALL-STAR level profile.
Engaging other members. Engagement is what turns the world’s largest database of professional resumes into a vibrant community.Social platforms exist for dialogue. So, those who regularly contribute, thoughtfully listen, respectfully nurture the conversation, and show they are always learning, will be rewarded.Authentically publish, post, comment, like, and share every day to maximize exposure and establish your knowledge leadership.
Analytics and AI. Predicted Analytics based in the current and future state of LinkedIn’s AI, On and Offsite Tracking, and Psychographic Profiling will be taking on a more significant role in defining members’ value, ranking, and suitability for hire.Beware that a misguided social campaign, off or on LI of flaming, cyberbullying, sexual harassment, hate, plagiarism, negativity, and even connectivity relationships (guilt by association) will negatively impact ranking, promotability to opportunities, and potentially lead to expulsion.On the positive side, AI will be deciphering your content and actions to predict your unlisted hard and soft skills. Audit your reputation across the internet, repair if needed, and refocus it to get you to your goals.

Remember the most valued Social Currency is based on the Gold Standards of Authentic Sharing, Caring, and Reciprocity.

More about Kevin: Kevin’s LinkedIn Profile and Kevin’s website.

Jessica Hernandez — Building Strong Networks

The power of LinkedIn resides in building relationships and engaging with your connections.

Liking, commenting, and starting conversations is the best way to engage not only with colleagues but also with hiring managers, decision-makers, and those on your “get to know” list.

I encourage everyone (not just job seekers) to focus time on building and expanding their network by:

Connecting with 3-5 people per week.
Engaging with your network by liking, commenting, and sharing their posts.
Posting at least once per week, sharing relevant industry news, or publishing articles in your area of expertise.

I’ve found that most people don’t actively network on LinkedIn until they’re in job-search mode, but that’s when you should already have a strong foundation in place. You don’t have to wait until you want to make a career move to start engaging on LinkedIn.
In fact, it’s better if you start now.

Admire a few companies? Dream of being on their team one day? Follow those companies on LinkedIn now, look for connections employed by those companies, and start engaging with their posts.

Research who the hiring managers and decision-makers are within the company and request to connect with them. You can start building relationships long before asking for help in a job search.

Not foreseeing a career move anytime soon? That’s OK. It’s still important to connect and engage on LinkedIn. Many of the relationships I have with others in my industry started by liking their posts, following their work, and adding to the conversation.

Make it a goal to invest 10-15 minutes on LinkedIn every day engaging with people instead of just scrolling through the feed.

More about Jessica: Jessica’s LinkedIn Profile and Jessica’s website.

Andy Foote — Video, Causality, Hashtags

I have three predictions for your LinkedIn campaign: Video. Causality. Hashtags.

When it comes to putting yourself out there and doing everything to be noticed, it is hard not to imagine a time when the About section will be a video. Whether that happens in 2021 or 2025, I don’t know.

I think LinkedIn users do not care about LinkedIn profile visits as much as they care about whether those visitors took action as a direct result of something they saw (or read) on their profile page or elsewhere on LinkedIn.

The missing link on LinkedIn is, and has been for a while, causality. What causes people to take action on LinkedIn? That’s the holy grail.

People “browsed” me. OK. So what? Most of the time LinkedIn does not even show the route they took (80% of my profile browsers don’t come via Homepage, via LinkedIn Search, via LinkedIn Profile, via People similar to you, via Messaging, via Groups, via Other).

Seriously, what the heck is “Other” and how does that help me? So, I predict that LinkedIn will figure out a way to provide meaningful browser route data, hopefully soon. We are more or less operating blind without knowing this.

LinkedIn is 100% invested in hashtags. I think they are incredibly powerful, and we are just scratching the surface in terms of potential.

Hashtags plus analytics equals a new, efficient, and intelligent way of branding and content distribution.

Imagine a “hashtag dashboard” where you can see clicks live, time on page, and re-shares. I am thinking bit.ly combined with Google analytics, in a LinkedIn wrapper. Exciting, yes?

More about Andy: Andy’s LinkedIn Profile and Andy’s website.

The Bottom Line:

Here you have it; all LinkedIn experts agree that content is not enough when it comes to your LinkedIn campaign. Yes, it is important, but so is being more proactive in developing a focused network and engaging with your network.

Let’s recap. To have a stronger LinkedIn campaign, you will need to:

Create a profile with strong content and images.
Engage, engage, engage. This is where the work really comes into play.
Pay attention to SEO; it’s important in being found.
Develop a strong network and engage with it.
Make sure you use hashtags to the fullest and video might play a larger role in your profile.

More About Expert Advice:

About the author…

The post Hot LinkedIn Trends: What the Experts Say appeared first on Job-Hunt.

Publishing on LinkedIn: Gain Both Visibility and Credibility

Bob McIntosh — Tue, 11 May 2021 17:14:39 +0000

I know some of you are good writers who have expertise to share with your connections.

Further, you’re wondering how you can enhance your brand. Blogging is a great way to do this. And LinkedIn gives you an easy way to share your knowledge by providing you with a clean, crisp platform.

Several years ago I started my blog, ThingsCareerRelated.com, at the encouragement of one of my connections. She told me to just do it. I didn’t follow her advice immediately, putting off creating my blog for a year.

Now I can’t stop writing. That was in 2010.

My LinkedIn Publishing Experience

On March 6, 2014, I wrote my first post on LinkedIn’s publishing feature.

I was one of the first to be given the opportunity to take advantage of this publishing feature. Having written many posts for my blog by then, publishing on LinkedIn made a lot of sense.

Publishing on LinkedIn might not get you immediate notoriety, but you have to start somewhere.

8 Tips for Starting with LinkedIn Publishing

These are some general suggestions if you’re going to take the plunge.

1. Just do it.

Perhaps one of the most popular phrases, as coined by Nike, and nothing says it better. As I mentioned above, I waited nearly a year before starting my own blog.

My first post was typical of most bloggers. It was titled, “This is my first blog.” I know, lame. I have since deleted it. The point is you have to take the plunge, and then you’ll be on your way to becoming a writing maniac like me.

2. Choose a topic, or two, and stick with it/them.

I decided to focus on three topics — The Job Search, LinkedIn, and Introverts. In retrospect it might have been wiser to write on just one in order to develop my brand.

Even though I love the variety, I suggest you select your strongest area of expertise and focus on that. If your topic is Marketing, write about that to become the thought leader in that discipline.

3. Develop your own voice.

I’ve been consistent with writing in my own voice, which I would call bordering on casual to professional.

Any good writer knows that they need to be comfortable in their own skin. This means knowing your topic/s and expressing them with the verbiage that flows easily, isn’t labored.

Remember, you aren’t writing a dissertation for your Ph.D. I like to make my writing light, while still delivering important messages.

4. Understand your audience.

This speaks to writing on topics of interest for your LinkedIn connections and followers.

Personally, I am not interested in reading about topics that are of no interest to me. For example, I am connected to many engineers. I will pass over their long posts, mainly because I don’t understand much of what they write, but also because I’m not interested in designing sonar systems.

On the other hand, anything concerning LinkedIn, I’m all over it.

5. Publish on a consistent basis.

Once or twice a week is generally the rule. Start slowly at first, and then build up to a comfortable number of entries. I started with one post a week and then increased them to two.

Your readers — you will gain “followers” in LinkedIn — need to know which days a week your posts will come out, as they will be watching for them. When I first startedin career development, I followed certain blogs and gained a great deal of information from regularly reading them.

6. Length is not usually an issue on LinkedIn.

The longer the better, according to most veteran bloggers who use LinkedIn’s long post. It’s not uncommon to see posts longer than 1,500 words. I had heard that 500-700 words is the ideal range, but not for LinkedIn.

A great writer can say what they have to say in as few words as possible. In other words, verbosity doesn’t necessarily brand you as a thought leader.

7. Be a curator, too.

Sharing other people’s posts via a LinkedIn Status Update signifies your desire to educate your connections and followers not only with your writing, but the writing of others.

In addition, it builds strong relationships with other bloggers. When I come across someone who has shared my posts, I read theirs and am sure to comment.

Sharing valuable information also brands you as an expert in your industry, as it shows you recognize pertinent information.

8. Don’t get frustrated if you don’t at first succeed.

You may find it difficult to find your muse at first, but eventually she will appear with the ideas and motivation you need. I’ve seen too many very good writers stop writing on LinkedIn completely.

Don’t pay attention to views; rather read the comments you receive from your readers. They mean more than thousands of views — although those are nice, too.

Bottom Line on Publishing on LinkedIn

Putting this all together. Writing for the public is a difficult thing for some people. They’re uneasy or even scared of putting their words out there. But without demonstrating your expertise through using LinkedIn’s publishing feature, your words will never be read. This is a great opportunity to be heard by millions of people. This is a great opportunity to brand yourself as one of the authorities in your industry.

Essential Tools for Today’s Advanced Job Search

Bob McIntosh — Tue, 11 May 2021 17:14:36 +0000

Many high-level job seekers I encounter at an urban career center for which I work haven’t had to look for a job in 10, 20, 30 years, or more.

For them, today’s advanced job search might feel like landing on Mars, as the job-search terrain has drastically changed.

If you are also in this boat, this post will help you understand what you’ll encounter as you go forward.

Even if it’s been only five years since you’ve had to look for work, you might not be aware of all the methods employers are using now to find the best candidates.

7 New Tools

Employers are being more creative with their hiring efforts. Let’s begin with the most well-known tool employers are using.

1. The Applicant Tracking System (ATS)

Although the earliest iteration of the ATS goes back to the early ’90s, this tool of an advanced job search has evolved to be one of job seeker’s major impediments. When I describe it to my clients, most of them haven’t heard about this software companies use to make life bearable for their HR staff and corporate recruiters.

The bottom line is that the ATS eliminates approximately 75% of resumes that are submitted for each job.

If you are applying online for jobs where an ATS is used by companies, your resume must have the required keywords, e.g., skills, job title, and even predicted skills, to have your resume read by human eyes.

Failure to include the required keywords on your resume will most likely result in your unread resume stored in the company’s database containing thousands of resumes that have been rejected or ignored.

Jon Shields of Jobscan.co makes it his business to know about the ATS. There are hundreds of ATSs out there. He claims 98% of large companies use an ATS. It’s also estimated that close to 65% of midsize companies employ one. Even smaller companies will outsource this technology.

[More: How Top ATS Systems Analyze Resumes and 3 Smart Tips to Beat the ATS Systems.]

2. LinkedIn’s Mobile App

LinkedIn is the go-to platform for job seekers. If you’re using LinkedIn to find employment, using only your desktop is not enough. You also need to install the LinkedIn app on your smart phone and access its features. Although the app’s features are not as robust as the desktop’s, they are good enough to help you with your job search.

You can develop and nurture your network, access recruiters through LinkedIn Messaging, and continue branding yourself with a video feature (not currently available on the desktop), and apply for jobs with LinkedIn’s separate Jobs app.

You can do all of this practically anywhere in the world, even while you’re on vacation. You wouldn’t be alone. One source, DMR, reports [in 2018] that the “percentage of LinkedIn users who use the app to look for work: 38%.”

[More: LinkedIn Job Search Guide, Guide to Being Found on LinkedIn (LinkedIn SEO), Guide to Personal Branding with LinkedIn, and 10 Elements of an Effective LinkedIn Profile.]

3. Live Video Interviews

Skype, Zoom, Google Hangout, even Facetime are becoming a larger part of the hiring process. They preclude the need for candidates to come to the company, thus saving time and money. However, these applications can cause some challenges for you if you’re not familiar with them.

Saving time and money are not the only reason employers conduct online interviews; they want to see you. Yes, they want to see your facial expressions and body language, and perhaps your age. On your end of an online interview you need to make sure you’ve covered all the technical requirements (proper lighting, clear sound, and tasteful background).

[More: How to Handle Video Conferencing / Skype Interviews and Smart Answers for Interview Questions.]

4. Pre-Recorded Video Interviews

These are like live video interviews, save for the fact that you don’t see anyone on your computer screen. Instead, you are looking at a screen that has questions written on it. Your answers to these questions will be timed and recorded. The final step is sending your recording to the employer.

For many people this seems unnatural and somewhat disconcerting. Like an online interview, make sure you have the technical requirements covered and that you’re looking directly at the webcam to make it appear you’re making eye contact with the people who are not there. That’s right; there is no engagement required from the employer. They will simply gather your recorded answers, and review them at their leisure.

[More: 12 Keys to One-Way Video Interview Success.]

5. Online Pre-Employment Software

Hire Vue describes pre-employment software as: “… any tool or method used to evaluate job candidates with consistency.” They range from hard skill tests (such as typing and math) to “softer” tests, like “personality batteries.” Many companies believe these tools are an accurate way to narrow the candidate pool.

Online evaluations get even more interesting. My valued connection, Mark Anthony Dyson from The Voice of Jobseekers, writes: “With the arrival of AI, some companies are even implementing facial recognition technology to read candidates’ body language. Don’t get caught off guard by any of those cutting-edge technologies.”

6. Video for Personal/Professional Marketing

If you’re comfortable with video, you’re in luck. Recruiters are looking at FaceTime Live and LinkedIn video features to assess candidates’ personality and technical abilities, both in the quality of your video and how you sell yourself.

For example, if you’re a digital marketer and you produce a video that has multiple camera angles, effective lighting with a little music thrown in, and you let your personality shine; your video will impress the most critical hiring authorities. However, if you produce a poor-quality video, it may hurt your chances, rather than help.

Not only are job seekers using video to show more dimension to their candidacy; recruiters are also using video platforms to attract applicants. Video is steadily gaining ground in the job search and company recruitment efforts.

7. Texting

It’s not only our kids who text. Recruiters are texting job candidates because of its convenience.

Forget formalities. If they want your resume “yesterday,” don’t be surprised to receive a text saying, “John from Company X wants to see your resume today. Can you get it to me in an hour?”

Imagine you’re on vacation in Maine and away from your computer, but luck would have it that you’ve stored your resume on your phone in Dropbox, Google Drive, or your iPhone Cloud. No problem. Just return it in a text. LinkedIn reports that employers and employees alike are using text, so get on board.

Sarah Johnson was a corporate recruiter. She explains: “When I was recruiting, my last hospital found that busy professionals were MORE likely to respond to a text vs. a phone call or email. I used TextRecruit to help me source for a few hard to fill physician specialties…”

If you consider how technology and automation have changed our everyday lives dramatically in the last few years (email on phones, self-driving cars), significant changes in recruiting and the job search are not surprising.

The Bottom Line

These seven tools of an advanced job search are not to difficult to learn. But you may have to take a few practice runs before you, for instance, send your video to recruiters. They may seem like a hindrance, but keep in mind that the job search has changed to make it easier and less costly for employers to hire. It’s time to get with the program. You can do it.

More About Advanced Job Search

About the author…

The post Essential Tools for Today’s Advanced Job Search appeared first on Job-Hunt.

Bob McIntosh, Author at Job-Hunt

Tell Me About a Time When You Had to Persuade Someone

Preparing for Behavioral Questions

Interview Question: How to Answer Tell Me About a Time You Convinced Your Boss

Sample Answer

The Situation:

The Task:

The Actions:

The Result:

Bonus – The Learning:

The Bottom Line on a Time You Persuaded Someone

More About Succeeding at Job Interviews

Answering the Common Job Interview Questions:

Questions About You:

Handling Special Career Situations:

Questions About Them:

Questions for You to Ask Them:

Interview Preparation:

More About Different Types of Job Interviews

How to Answer: Tell Me About a Time When You Failed (with Samples)

How to Answer “Tell Me About a Time When You Failed”

1. Stay Calm

2. Show Self-Awareness and Honesty

3. Understand Their Reason for the Question

4. Have Your Example Ready

Sample Answer to “Tell Me About a Time When You Failed”

The Situation:

The Task:

The Actions:

Bonus – The Learning:

The Bottom Line with Answering the Question “Tell Me About a Time When You Failed”

More About Succeeding at Job Interviews

Answering the Common Job Interview Questions:

Questions About You:

Handling Special Career Situations:

Questions About Them:

Questions for You to Ask Them:

Interview Preparation:

How to Answer: Tell Me About a Time When You Were Successful (with Samples)

How to Answer the Behavioral Question of “Tell Me About a Time When You Were Successful”

1. Show Enthusiasm

2. Understand Their Reason for the Question

Tell me about a time you were successful on a team

3. Have Your Story Ready

Choose the right success for the job.

Have at least two examples ready for the interview.

Protect your current/former employer’s confidential information.

Sample Answer to “Tell Me About a Time When You Were Successful”

The Situation:

The Task:

The Actions:

Bonus – The Learning:

The Bottom Line with Answering the Question “Tell Me About a Time When You Were Successful”

More About Succeeding at Job Interviews

Answering the Common Job Interview Questions:

Questions About You:

Handling Special Career Situations:

Questions About Them:

Questions for You to Ask Them:

Interview Preparation:

4 Ways to Avoid a Toxic Workplace for Your Next Job

Workplace “Core Values” Impact Your Job Satisfaction

Learn an Employer’s Core Values Before Accepting a Job Offer

4. Ask in the interview

3. Comb through company reviews on a site like Glassdoor.com

2. Find someone on LinkedIn who can speak about the company

Second degree connection who currently works for your target company

Second degree connection who USED to work for your target company

1. Have a “mole” in the company who will tell you honestly about the company’s values

The Bottom Line on Avoiding Toxic Work Environments

More About Advanced Job Search

Hot Resume Trends: What the Experts Say

Advice From 5 Resume Experts

Virginia Franco: Leverage Alternate Channels

Donna Svei: Be Mobile Friendly

Laura Smith-Proulx: Be Brief But Powerful

Adrienne Tom: Share Your Career Narrative

Erin Kennedy: Demonstrate Your Soft Skills and EQ

The Bottom Line on Resume Trends

More About Resumes: