Career Coach Office Hours: April 22 2022 | JobSearchTV.com
By Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter
I answered questions about #jobsearch #hiringstaff #management #leadership #workplace issues or anything work. Join me at 1 PM Eastern on Tuesdays and Fridays at 1 PM Eastern and put your question into chat. You can also message me on Linkedin at linkedin.com/in/TheBigGameHunter and I will answer it on my next show. #careercoachofficehours #careercoaching #careercoach #jobsearchtips #jobsearchadvice #interviews #hiring #managingpeople #leadershipskills #linkedinlive #linkedinlivestreams
Today’s questions are:
03:05 I’m in my first year of business administration (BBA). What should I start doing now or after to get into the HR field?
05:13 What challenges do you have to face when hiring as a diversity recruiter? 08:08 What should you do if you’re interviewing for a job and suddenly don’t feel well?
9:43 Do all companies expect software engineers to be leaders and include leadership and people skills as part of their performance reviews/promotion criteria?
12:21 Why is it called a cover letter?
14:36 What advice would you give someone going into a leadership position for the first time?
19:52 Why is LinkedIn important for job search and students?
21:37 Does the employee onboarding experience play a great role in employee retention?
23:17 Should you apply with the same resume for every job, or should you tailor it for each job?
24:14 What is one common denominator of all resumes that gets them rejected?
25:01 Should I decline to self-identify on job applications? 25:33 How can I get a job without any previous experience?
27:12 There is email by HR after the interview saying “we will continue our recruiting process with you.” What message should I take from this?
27:56 Why do some job application forms require you to fill in all the details in your resume even after you’ve uploaded your resume?
I’m in my first year in Business Administration’s person is going for a BBA. What should I start doing now or after to get into HR? I think the first thing to do is to spend a little time reaching out to people who are doing the kind of work you expect to be doing when you start in the field because you have an idea of what it’s like to work in HR and that’s probably not based in reality. So I want to encourage you before you go down this route, because I think you said you were a first year as an undergraduate student, going for a bachelor’s in Business Administration, I want you to actually talk to people who are doing the work so you have an idea of what it’s really like. What the good parts of it are; what the not so good parts are. What a typical day is like. What it takes to move up within an HR organization. What compensation is like. You don’t know. And I don’t care if you have a parent who’s working in the field. They don’t remember what it’s like to be a beginner, and to be sitting at a desk waiting for work to be assigned to you . So, talk to people is the first course of action. I encourage people to take and even go so far as to develop a relationship with folks so that way, maybe get an internship with their firm. Talk to a number of them, not just one, not just two. Go for 10. Go for 10 people who are doing this kind of work. Go to people who have attended your school who’ve moved into this line of work, so that in this way you’re able to hear the real scoop about what it’s like to do this work before you’ve invested in thousands of dollars and years of time to discover as kind of awful. So that’s what I would tell you to do first.
So, as a person who does diversity recruiting, what challenges do you face in the hiring process? And of course, the most obvious thing is, number one, finding candidates. But number two, having an environment where they’re going to want to go to work, because it’s one thing to say, “Hey, I’m a diversity recruiter, and I’ve got a great job, or they want to hire someone of a diverse group.” And then people get to that organization and, excuse my language, it sucks because the firm is not prepared to do anything more than just simply hire someone to check a box. And no one wants to be a token, do they? So your biggest job as a diversity recruiter, is to ensure that the environment that you’re recruiting for (and I’m first treating this like a third party recruiter’s asking the question) for you, as a third party recruiter, trying to identify, refer and get candidates hired by your clients, you want to make sure that they’re prepared for this and this is not just simply tokenism on their part. What’s it going to be like working there? Are they going to be the only person of this population in the group (in which case they can be ignored, and no one wants to be ignored, do they)? And that happens more often than not, I was reading something that someone wrote on a site called a fishbowl. This person was talking about being reprimanded by the director of HR, and was told that they were being defensive and aggressive, when they were actually being respectful, and expressing grievances and frustration. And from many people of color, they joined primarily white organizations. And it goes beyond not being understood. You know, she’s basically stood up for herself, and wound up being in a situation where we she was reprimanded for it. So, you want to be in a situation where you’re putting people into roles where they can win, and they’re not put into a situation where they’re doomed to failure, or institutional racism, or blind spots that have been institutionalized, or found as being acceptable. So that’s really where I would start doing your work on behalf of your clients.
The Top 10 Salary Negotiation Mistakes
What should you do if you’re interviewing for a job and suddenly don’t feel well? Yeah, in the age of COVID, this is not that hard. You can just very simply say, “Oh, I’m feeling a little off, I’d like to step away for a minute, could you point me toward the rest room, please,” and see how you feel upon completion of that visit. If you still don’t feel well, I would call the person on their phone and say, “I’m feeling off and I’m going to leave right now but I’m hoping that you’ll still consider me. In this day and age, it’s a time where I don’t want to risk passing something on to someone until I know what’s going on with me. So, excuse me for bringing our conversation to an abrupt halt but I’m not feeling well and I’m not going to represent myself in my best way to you. So, may I call you in two days, when I’m hopefully feeling better, and hustle my way back into meet with you?” And they’ll go “Sure, sure, no problem,” because they don’t want to get sick either. And then do so and keep them updated. The job may not be held open for you because they may have other people, but you’re not passing on a bug to someone, let alone COVID.
Do all companies expect software engineers to be the leaders and include leadership and people skills as part of their performance reviews and promotional criteria? So my first reaction is, my first response is to think “What do you think a leader is?” I bet you if I pressed you, it would really be a manager that you’re talking about. I think they want to find people who are capable of growing into management roles first, and demonstrate leadership qualities in the course of the work. Now, that doesn’t mean barking orders at people and pushing them around and treating them like crap, just to be clear about that. You wouldn’t want to be treated that way. And no one wants to be treated that way. So, do they want to see that now? If you’re a one year person, they have no expectations of you doing that, demonstrating leadership like a 10 year person might. But they want to see if you’re conducting yourself responsibly, whether you’re accountable for your performance, whether they’re having to reprimand you for some reason on a regular basis, or, God forbid, be put on a performance improvement plan that basically says “you’ve got 30 days to get up to speed or you’re out the door.” So is there an expectation that software engineers be leaders? No. Growing into leadership? Yes. Improving their performance, being responsible and accountable? Yes. Interested in leadership, probably not a requirement in all places. But they like to see these attributes, because it comes with personal maturity on your part. I remember being a beginner and into work avoidance. So I would do anything to pretend like I was working, rather than actually working. I outgrew that quite obviously. And you may go through your version of being immature in the workplace, and then kick into gear, where you suddenly are extremely responsible because you start to care about your work. And stop being a work avoider like I was.
Stupid Salary Negotiation Mistakes: Being Too Grateful”
Why is it called a cover letter? Easy. Back in the Stone Ages when I began in recruiting, and the internet didn’t exist (Can you believe that? The internet never existed at a certain point in history), the way resumes would be submitted to companies was by US Mail. People mailed resumes to companies. And they were responded to and given interviews . . . or not. What a cover letter was, was a document stapled to the top of the resume that outlined what your experience was. A typical thing was to say, “I’m forwarding my resume to you for the position of software engineer with your company that I saw advertised in ComputerWorld (a name that I think has disappeared), The New York Times or wherever it was in the country that a newspaper advertisement appeared). I believe I would make a very strong candidate for this position and hope you see it the same way. Please call me to discuss my background.” And that’s the way the the resume was presented. So the cover letter was a cover to the resume placed on top of the resume, often stapled to the resume, so it wouldn’t be separated, that basically said, “This is what the next document is going to tell you. And by the way, just as an aside, thank you so much. Have a great sense of humor. Thank you. My wife and son would disagree with you, but heck, where are they? You know? I think they’re wrong, too. But thank you for for the kind words. Okay. And by the way, Soli if you have a question, I hope I pronounced your first name correctly. . . if you’ve got a question for me, put it in the chat. I’d be happy to answer it. So let’s continue on with the next question.
What advice would you give someone going into a leadership position for the first time? Okay, so there’s two things I want to point out. There’s a difference between being promoted into leadership and joining a firm from another organization as a leader. Thus, if you’re being promoted, it’s almost harder, because now you’re different than the people you worked with. And suddenly, those jokes that all of you would share with one another, you’re different, you’re in a different place with different responsibilities. And now you feel the weight of the world on your shoulders. And it’s not the same anymore, is it? So I would talk with the folks I’m leading, and say, “You know, I’m in a different role now, and I want to go to lunch with you, folks and feel, feel as though you’re not going to treat me as being different. Like, I’m still the same person as when I sat over there. But at the same time, I have different responsibilities. Now, at times, I’m gonna have to push you, and I would appreciate your support. But you know, sometimes people are going to be kicking the can at me, and I’m going to push it back at you. Because we’ve got to get stuff done.” So I would have an honest conversation about how you now have different responsibilities. You want to remain their friend. And hope they see it that way. If you’re coming from the outside, it’s about making connection with people in the organization who report to you, not being their friend, but connecting with them, making sure they feel heard and understood that you’re not just being a tyrant, barking orders at them, that you care about them. And that’s really where I would start is listening to them about what your predecessor did well, and what they didn’t do quite so well. And compare it with what you were told on the way in when you were hired. So listen and learn, and don’t just make instant changes, when they come to you for advice on day three, or permission to do something on day three, I would say, “how would you do this? Because, frankly, you know better in this environment what will work than I.” And once they tell you what they want to do, “explain to me why you think that’s the best solution and what other alternatives might exist for you that you’d consider,” and help them make a decision about what to do and how to do it. So you’re not dictating to people, you’re helping them come to good decisions. And if they screw up, well, very simply, you have to own responsibility for it, because you weren’t ready to make a choice. But they’re going to want to prove their abilities to you because you’re new and you’re their boss. And thus, I don’t think you have to worry about them acting out of control or, do things out of incompetence, but they will want to prove to you that they’re capable and take their advice.
Data-Driven Assessments and Culture Fit
Why is LinkedIn important for job search and students? I’m going to treat that in two parts, when you get out of school, you’re probably going to want to find work. And as a student, one of the ways to find who the hiring managers are, or the HR people are, or even to find some of the open jobs that might fit you is on LinkedIn. You can network to hiring managers, and engage them in conversations. Yo,u can start marketing yourself and writing. And the writing can consist of, let’s say you’re doing an undergrad in marketing. It can be your thoughts about marketing, what I’ve learned about marketing this week, and how I could apply it going forward. Do this every other week, and suddenly have a library of material that’s searchable on LinkedIn, that will help you stand out from others. Why is it important for job search? Because employers think it’s important for job search. So you need to be there so that they can find you. Treat your LinkedIn profile as a resume that’s online permanently. And that you should use terms in the LinkedIn profile that will allow you to be discovered if someone were searching for you. And there’s a lot more, but LinkedIn is the primary tool that companies use to find talent that they schedule for interviews, and then subsequently hire. Let’s go to the next question, please.
Does the employee onboarding experience play a great role in employee retention? I saw Lynne Williams include something in a blog post she did earlier today, where she quoted a Jobvite survey that said 30% of new hires leave within six months of joining. That’s partially because of onboarding and bad onboarding. That’s partially because the job was misrepresented to them by a hiring manager who wants to make sure that this person who is sitting opposite them on camera, or in person would want the job. So they exaggerated certain attributes of it. But the onboarding process plays a part, too. How easy? It begins the process of integrating people into the organization. And to be clear, we’re not talking about the part on day one where you go to HR, and they do employee orientation. That’s only a small part of the onboarding process. What I’m thinking about is how a hiring manager integrates, onboards a person, once they join. So when all is said and done, it plays a significant part in why that failure rate, why 30% of new hires quit. Not think about quitting, but they quit within six months of joining.
Small Mistakes, Big Consequences
Should you apply with the same resume for every job or should you tailor it for each one? Of course, tailored for each one.The broken watch is right twice a day. So should you wear that watch, or should you get a fixed or buy a new one. After all, it’s right twice a day. Same thing with your resume. If your resume doesn’t make a case for the position you’re applying for, you won’t get an interview. You won’t get hired. So what you want to be doing is making sure that your resume represents how you can do that job, and how your experience fits, what that firm has identified that they’re looking forward to or they want someone to possess at the time that they hire. So it’s really very simple.
What is the one common denominator of all resumes that get this person says thrown out? I’ll say deleted? Answer. The resume doesn’t make a case for why you’re qualified to do the job. It becomes the equivalent of digital spam. And who the hell is going to invite someone whose resume doesn’t make a case for their qualifications for a job? Who’s going to invite them to be interviewed? Answer zero people, and that’s why your resume is deleted. So the one common denominator of all those resumes, is it doesn’t demonstrate how your background fits the experience that they want you.
10 Ways to Advance in Your Career
Should I decline to self-identify on job applications? Most job applications don’t ask for gender anymore. It’s too complicated for these large firms. Even small firms that deal with that is an issue. So should you decline to self identify? I’d be surprised if you’re asked.
How can I get a job without any previous experience? The same way other people do. They apply for jobs. They network. They use people who they know to introduce them, interview well, and help them get hired. So how do you do it without a previous experience? For thousands of years, people have looked for work, and they’ve had no experience. They’ve seen job ads that say, “We want someone with two to four years of experience.” “But I have no experience.” “Sorry, you’re not qualified. Get some experience.” Keep reaching out. The person who introduces you for a company that’s trying to hire is doing a great service for you and for their firm. Maybe they’ll even go so far as to receive an employee referral bonus, because of what they’ve done. So, how can you get a job. Get referred for it. I’ve got two more questions at this point. Let me just see if there are any others here. Bear with me, please. I’m just gonna remind you, if you’ve got a question, put your questions about job search, hiring, management leadership or your particular workplace issue, putting them into chat. I’d be happy to answer your question. Again, I’ve got two more questions to go. So I’m probably going to run about 32 to 35 minutes tonight. And the next question is,
I received an email from HR after an interview that said, “we will continue our recruiting process with you.” Okay. What can I take from that? The answer is either you’re going to be interviewed again, which is what I think they’re really saying, or we’re going to be making you an offer. I think they’re saying we want to interview you again and we’ll be in touch when we have the hiring manager’s schedule. And I will message them to confirm that with them.
Why do some job application forms require you to fill in all the details in your resume, even after you uploaded your resume? Easy, because what you uploaded is not a legal document. And thus, if you lied on the application, well, it’s not the same, or lied on your resume is not the same as if you manually entered it and complete an application online. As a result. This is a legal requirement. And thus, it is a legal document. Let me restate that. It’s not a legal requirement, but they’re doing it because it’s a legal document. That can be the grounds for termination if they find out you lied. The resume is not. So that’s why they do it. And be as accurate as you can possibly be. Do not put in, “See my resume.” Don’t take the lazy approach. Do it thoroughly and accurately. If you’re not sure about dates and wages, simple! Put in the phrase “approx.” Now, this normally occurs for more experienced people entering information about things they did a long time ago. So when all is said and done, what you want to be doing is being accurate, so that this way, there’s an opportunity for them to have a legal document. And again, don’t lie on it.
[svp]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iiKO1ubGBmA[/svp]
ABOUT JEFF ALTMAN, THE BIG GAME HUNTER
Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter is a coach who worked as a recruiter for what seems like one hundred years. His work involves career coaching, as well as executive job search coaching, job coaching, and interview coaching. He is the host of “No BS Job Search Advice Radio,” the #1 podcast in iTunes for job search with over 2300 episodes.
Are you interested in 1:1 coaching, interview coaching, advice about networking more effectively, how to negotiate your offer or leadership coaching? Schedule a discovery call at my website, www.TheBigGameHunter.us
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