Career Coach Office Hours: December 27 2022 | JobSearchTV.com
By Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter
This was a fun show: I answered questions AND asked ChatGPT to as well. Let’s see how AI responds!
Join me Tuesdays at 1 PM Eastern on LinkedIn or YouTube (www.youtube.com/@JobSearchTV)channel) I answered your questions about job search, hiring staff, management, career transition, as well as workplace issues. You can also message me on Linkedin before the show and I will answer it, too.
Recession-Proofing Your Career: Become More Visible
03:13
Is it appropriate for candidates to follow up with recruiters who asked about their availability, but never contacted them? Yes. So my answer is pretty direct. Yes. Follow up with them. Now, if a month has gone by, you can just simply message them and say to them, ‘you know, we spoke or we exchanged messages a few weeks ago. I hadn’t heard from you since. I got the idea that you asked about my availability. Could you bring me up to date? And that makes it very simple that they become clear about what has transpired. And the probability of course is they weren’t able to deliver for their client. And thus, you will hear some version of an excuse with regard to what the status is of the situation.
04:14
Now, ChatGPT has an answer that’s reads ‘It is generally appropriate for candidates to follow up with recruiters if they have not heard back after a reasonable amount of time. However, it is important to be respectful and professional in the follow-up message. Here are some tips for following up with your recruiter. Number one, wait a reasonable amount of time before following up. This will depend on the specific circumstances, but it’s generally a good idea to wait at least a week before following up. Number two, keep the message brief and to the point. Recruiters are often busy so it’s important to be concise and respectful in the follow-up message. Mention the original conversation and any relevant details. In the follow-up message, remind the recruiter of the original conversation and a specific role or opportunity that was discussed. Offer to provide (this is number four) offer to provide any additional information or materials. If the recruiter has not yet made a decision, offering to provide additional information and materials that might be helpful in the decision-making process can be a good way to show your interest and enthusiasm for the opportunity. Number five, thank the recruiter for their time and consideration, showing gratitude for the recruiters’ time and consideration is always a good idea and can help them maintain the positive relationship, even if you are not ultimately selected for the role. Overall, it’s important to be respectful and professional in any follow-up message and to be mindful of the recruiter’s time and priorities. Pretty good answer, I think too wordy, too detailed, completely unnecessary, and kind of repetitive to be honest with you. But no matter it was accurate. Again, too much. So too much detail that I don’t think you really care about or need to have. And not awful. I’ll say that.
06:32
If the interviewer says this interview process has been going really well. We’ll make a decision by the end of the week. Are there hinting that I’m getting the job? No. They are not hinting about that at all. What they’re saying to you is, we like what we’ve heard so far. You’ll have a decision by the end of the week. That’s it. Don’t overthink this. It’s actually pretty simple. They’ve told you in no uncertain terms that they like the interview and you’ll have a decision from them. I didn’t read anything there that might say anything more than that, right? So don’t overdo it. Just keep it very simple for them.
Becoming the CEO of Your Career
07:29
And let’s see what chat GPT says. It is possible that the interviewer’s comment about the interview process going well, is a positive indication, but it’s not necessarily a guarantee that you’ll be offered the job. The interviewer may be expressing a general impression of the interview process. There may still be other candidates being considered for the role. (Good point) It’s also possible that the interviewer is simply being polite, or trying to provide encouragement, even if they did not have any definite plans to make an offer. It’s always a good idea to follow up with the interviewer after the interview to express your appreciation for the opportunity and to reiterate your interest in the role. However, it’s important to be mindful that the hiring process can be unpredictable. And it’s possible that you may not ultimately be offered the job, even if the interview process seemed to go well. Good answer. I can’t say there’s there is some fluff
in there and not a lot. But the answer is accurate.
08:42
Is it common for companies to contact candidates before rejecting them for interviews? So this question seems to suggest that you might be contacted and interviewed by phone or Zoom and then rejected. Now, I’ll also say when I did recruiting, I think this is pretty common that if I was not interested, I might do one of two things. Not respond at all because I got spammed with a lot of useless resumes or have an Outlook signature file setup to reject someone. So I wouldn’t interview them at all because their resume in no way shape or form fit the role. Why should I waste time interviewing someone who really wasn’t qualified to do the job? Sometimes people want that. And it’s not my job. My job is to fill positions, not smooth things over for job hunters.
10:14
So, ChatGPT says, it is not common for companies to contact candidates before rejecting them for interviews. However, some companies may choose to do so as a courtesy to the candidate to inform them that they have not been selected for an interview. This is typically done through an email or phone call. It’s important to note that not all companies will follow this practice. And some may not provide any notification to candidates who have not been selected for an interview. I think our answers are pretty similar. Mine was a little less wordy than chat GPT.
11:02
And I’ll just simply say, if you’ve got a question for me, you can put your question in the chat. And your questions can be involved with job search, hiring more effectively managing and leading better dealing with different workplace issues. Career Transitions? If you’ve got a question, put it into chat. I’ll answer it. And so we’ll chat GPT. And let’s see what you think of our respective answers. Here’s one, let me just copy and put it in the chat.
Should I Confirm an Interview?
11:50
What is your favorite thing that job hunters should do between Christmas and New Year’s? The answer is to contact people from your past and network. I believe this is the easiest time of the year to network. Reconnect with people from your past who you had a professional relationship with or personal relationship that will serve you because networking is really the primary way that jobs are filled. So just a friendly email that says ‘hi, how are you? It’s been a long time since we last spoke, or sometimes it feels like 100 years since you were last in contact. So I thought I would just see how you were and maybe we get caught up. You got some time? Let’s figure out a time to speak. The thing I like most to do between Christmas and New Year’s from a job search perspective is to reconnect with people from the past. Also bring your resume and LinkedIn profile up to date. But networking and getting your paperwork up to date makes a lot of sense.
13:54
ChatGPT thinks the best thing to do for a job search between Christmas and New Year’s is to continue actively searching and applying for jobs, as many companies may still be hiring during this time. And that’s it’s also a good idea to network with connections and reach out to recruiters to inquire about potential job openings. Additionally, take the time to update and improve your resume and LinkedIn profile as well as tailor your applications to specific job openings. Finally, consider reaching out to professionals in your industry or for informational interviews, or to seek advice on your job search. We have some agreement I think much of the other stuff. You can wait till next week and let people just have some time. But reconnecting with people from your past, by all means, do.
14:54
When searching for a job, what do you think is the most overlooked aspect of the job search. Let’s get that into the chat. One second.
15:14
What do you think is the most important aspect which is often overlooked? I think I’ve said this before, but everyone’s posturing for advantage during a job search. You may be embellishing your credentials. Recruiters are presenting the job in the best possible light. Hiring managers. Well, I think they embellish the truth about the opportunities too and in doing so, what they often do is withhold information. So they don’t tell you why people left. And if they do, they trivialize
the reasons why they did. ‘Oh they took a better opportunity.’ And no one asked the follow-up question, ‘And what made it a better opportunity?’ With the result being that you wind up in a situation where you haven’t really learned anything from their answer. So when all is said and done, what do I think is the most important aspect that’s overlooked is that hiring managers are posturing for advantage, too. And as such, they will exaggerate the opportunity to position the team a lot of data in order to get someone on board. That’s my opinion.
Can Negotiating Salary Backfire?
16:45
For a one hour interview, the recruiter answered my thank you email and said, ‘the team really enjoyed chatting with you. And the impression was very positive. Is this a good sign or just common courtesy?’ It’s like that earlier question. I think it’s common courtesy, which I have to invoke candor say, is uncommon courtesy these days. So many organizations are not well-mannered. And the result winds up being that people go on interviews, and they’re ghosted. People go on interviews, and they’re not treated with respect. They’re treated like cattle, or chattel. And the fact that this firm responded is nice. And the fact that you wrote to them is a nice touch, too. So the team enjoyed the chat with you. That doesn’t say anything in particular. You got the feeling that it was positive, maybe it was. So is this a good sign? Doesn’t guarantee anything which is what I think you think is a good sign. And thus, is it a good sign or common courtesy? Treat it as common courtesy or uncommon courtesy until such time as they’re ready to move forward?
18:18
Would you get offended when you get an invite interview invited for an interview for a senior developer position and you’re asked to do a whiteboard textbook algorithms? Man, I hate when companies do this, but they do. So would I feel insulted? I wouldn’t feel insulted. I’d think of them as being pretty stupid. I might ask them as a follow up. (I forgot to put the other one in the chat GPT and I’ll do that in a second). So would I feel offended? No, whiteboarding textbook algorithms? No, but after finishing doing that, I might ask them ‘so, what did you hope to learn about me through this exercise?’ And make them talk about it?
Because the fact is, I don’t think they learned a heck of a lot except you could regurgitate wrote material from your past and not the way you’re going to be working. So what did they really learn about you? What are they hoping to learn about you through this exercise? Not enough to make it worthwhile is my opinion. Let’s see what ChatGPT thinks.
20:00
It depends on the context and my personal feelings about whiteboarding algorithms. If I feel comfortable and confident in my ability to solve algorithmic problems, and feel that it’s a relevant they useful assessment for the position, I would not be offended. However, if I feel that the focus on whiteboarding algorithms is excessive or unnecessary for the role, where if I’m not comfortable with this type of assessment, I may feel offended or frustrated. Pretty impressive. Chat GPT can be offended.
20:37
And now on the previous question, let’s see what it says to that question was after a one hour interview, the recruiter answered my thank you email and said, the team really enjoyed chatting with me and the impression was very positive. Is this a good sign or common courtesy? It’s generally a good sign when a recruiter says that the team enjoyed chatting with you and has a positive impression of him. This suggests that you made a good impression during the interview, and that the team is interested in potentially hiring you. However, it is always important to remember that the hiring process can be unpredictable. And there are many factors that can influence a company’s decision to hire a candidate. So while this is a positive sign, it’s not a guarantee of an offer.
Can I Walk Out on an Interview?
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. He is hired to provide No BS Career Advice globally. That can involve job search, hiring staff, management, leadership, career transition and advice about resolving workplace issues. Schedule a discovery call at my website, www.TheBigGameHunter.us
He is the host of “No BS Job Search Advice Radio,” the #1 podcast in iTunes for job search with over 2500 episodes.
I do a livestream on LinkedIn, and YouTube (on the JobSearchTV.com account) Tuesdays at 1 PM Eastern. You can send your questions about job search, hiring better, management, leadership or to get advice about a workplace issue to me via messaging on LinkedIn or in chat during the approximately 30-minute show.
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