Career Coach Office Hours: June 3 2022 | JobSearchTV.com
By Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter
I answered questions about #jobsearch #hiringstaff #management #leadership #workplace issues. Join me at 1 PM Eastern on Tuesdays and Fridays. You can also message me on Linkedin before the show and I will answer it, too. #careercoachofficehours #careercoaching #careercoach #jobsearchtips #jobsearchadvice #interviews #hiring #managingpeople #leadershipskills #linkedinlive #linkedinlivestreams
03:18
A recruiter said that the best interview question to ask to spot underrated talent is what are the open tabs in your browser right now? Do you agree? I don’t agree. It’s a stupid question. Anyone with a modicum of sense, would think that perhaps just perhaps what you should be doing is making up the answer. It’s not like you’re ever going to tell someone, “Well, I have a YouTube tab open & I’m watching Rodney Dangerfield, or watching Saturday Night Live or something else. Yes, you’re gonna talk about work related stuff. You can make that up on the fly. So given the fact that someone asking this question is encouraging you to lie, I don’t think it’s a good question to ask. And, you know, that’s been one of my principles for a long time, whether it’s you asking them a question or them asking you a question. Any question that’s designed to create a situation where one side or the other is compelled to lie is a bad question. So skip that one. Really skip that one.
04:47
Is there a book on taking good interviews? Yeah, I happen to have a terrific book called The Ultimate Job Interview Framework available on Amazon. It’s inexpensive. I have it also has a video course, which I think is even better, because there’s just more to it in the video course plus, you can pick up on some of the theatrics for how to answer the questions that I think make interviewing so important. After all, when you think about it, interviewing is a form of acting. And I don’t mean lying, but it’s your selling your lines to the audience. So it’s not just simply what you say that matters. It’s how you say it, along with your answer that makes a difference. So to put it succinctly, what you need to do is, whether it’s the book or the course, it will teach you a framework for interviewing . . . I can’t help you be better at what you do, but I can teach you how to package that information better. So again, whether it’s the course or the book, it’s The Ultimate Job Interview Framwork. Okay.
06:06
Do employers or recruiters care about candidates having passed LinkedIn assessments on their LinkedIn profiles under their listed skills? I’m not sure that most really know to look for that yet. But anything that you’re able to do that demonstrates expertise, a formal certification, that you pass, this LinkedIn assessment, any form of assessment that relates to that which you want to be hired for, is beneficial to you, and you’re representing your knowledge. So my opinion is, they don’t know about it yet. But LinkedIn will make a push at some point to emphasize it. And if nothing else, it’s something that you can reference in interviews, right. So again, do as many assessments, do as many certs as is relevant for you and your career. It will serve you.
07:19
Can you talk to HR in confidence? Some of you are going to disagree with this opinion but there are certain things you can talk with them about, and certain things you shouldn’t talk to them about. If you don’t want stuff, getting back to your manager, and you’re going to be critical of your manager, you probably shouldn’t have that conversation, because it will get back to them in some way, shape, or form and it’s going to have an adverse impact on your relationship with your manager. Now, I want to be clear, if you’ve been harassed, bullied, ignored, passed over, had a variety of things that in no way shape or form sit on you and your manager is non-communicative, by all means you should out them. And in some cases, like harassment in the office, you should leave with no notice because there’s no reason in my mind that you should tolerate harassment of any form whatsoever, whether it’s by the manager, or other people on staff who this person is not prepared to step up to the plate and put ian end to. And to be clear, I’ll just give you an example. I think this shows up in a later question where someone talks about being mobbed or bullied by co-workers. And this is why she wants to leave. This is why he wants to leave their current position. Don’t put up with that and make a point of saying to HR, ‘I’m in a situation where my manager is not looking out for my interest. You may think it’s it’s my fault that this is happening. It’s not my fault. Let me go through the facts of this. And you list factually what has happened and that basically, you’re now on the outside looking in and being bullied by coworkers. They are doing things to you that are inappropriate. Now, I’m going to resign. I’m debating now whether to sue, because there’s no reason why this person should have allowed this to go on. But then I’ve documented this fully. And I’m going to walk into a lawyer’s office next and protect myself because of this behavior.’ So that I would do because there’s a financial settlement you can get from this. But most of the time, if you think you can have a confidential conversation with HR, you’re mistaken. Now, let me give you an example of one thing that you can. And that is, if you want to, to be involved with an employee assistance program that exists in your firm, by all means, talk with them about how to get into the EAP at your firm. So, I would say to you, be limited, never go out in the blaze of glory if you can avoid it. But there are certain circumstances where they need to be told clearly. Now, understand this former manager is never going to be a reference, many of the co workers are going to sell you down the toilet because they don’t like you to begin with. And that’s why they’re driving you out the door. But ideally, you want to have that next job before you just walk out. So again, the question is, can you talk to HR in confidence? Only under limited circumstances?
What Recruiters Look For and Don’t Look For When They Scan Resumes
11:00
Which of two options do technical leaders think is given more weight when interviewing someone? Whether you like them, or whether they have knowledge? Ooooh! I think the answer is, it starts off with having the right knowledge to do the job and then from there, the tiebreakers tend to be whether they like you. After all,, multiple people are going to have the knowledge necessary to do this job, right? And I’m an ex-New Yorker. In a city like New York with millions of people, plus the people who commute into New York, firms have choices. But it always starts off with is this person qualified? And if you’re not qualified, it’s rare that you will be hired because ultimately your manager has an accountability for a result. And if you’re not able to deliver that result, they are screwed. Not you, they are screwed. They hire you, you fail. And you know, the result is they can’t deliver and they will be held accountable. So to me, the answer is it starts off with whether you have the knowledge, and then the tiebreakers are being liked. And there are always exceptions to that.
12:41
What do we have to do if we have multiple managers, and each one asks you to do something different in the same task? Wow! I’ll just simply say, what you have to do is get the three of you, let’s say two managers and you, or four of you, three managers and you, to sit down together, or message, all of them in the same chain, same slack, and simply say, I’m in a bind. The two of you, the three of you are telling me different things that I must do. I can’t satisfy all of you at the same time. Each of you are telling me to do this one thing first. And it’s different. ‘You guys got to get onto the same page, tell me what you decide, and then I’m happy to go do it.’ But beyond that, there’s nothing else that you can really do to solve this issue. That has to be pointed out to the other participants. You have to get them to decide if they can’t sort it out. You basically have to go a level up since they’re being immature or not resolving the issue, and it’s going to have an effect on the outcome. And you know what? They’re gonna blame you. So, get solved, get them to solve it, and move on.
What You Should Do Before Accepting a Job Offer?
15:06
What is the difference between LinkedIn and LinkedIn Recruiter? Good question. LinkedIn Recruiter is a product that allows a recruiter to search the entire database on LinkedIn, and message up to 100 people through inMail per month. If you respond to it in mail, that message will be credited back to their account. Thus, it’s geared toward recruiters. That differs from the standard LinkedIn account, where you can message people with whom you have a first or second level connection. And thus, you’re limited by your connections and connections can also include groups. So with LinkedIn, if you don’t have many connections, you don’t have the penetration to really see all that you need to. But if you join groups, you can message people who are a part of that group, and be able to get advice from them, be introduced to people, etc. So that’s the basic difference between the two. That there are many more filters that LinkedIn Recruiter offers people than the standard LinkedIn account does.
17:07
Why didn’t I get an interview for a job I was qualified for? Well, the answer is pretty simple. Your resume didn’t make a case that you were qualified for it. That’s it. You may think you’re qualified, but you flipped the same resume to them, like you have for every other job and the result wound up being that you’re someone who came across like a spammer. You didn’t connect the dots for them. And they’re not just going to call you because you think you’re qualified and submitted a resume. And they looked at it and went, ‘I don’t see a fit.’ So that’s the reason most of the time, I used to have a second podcast called Job Search Radio. And I discontinued it a few years ago after 800 episodes. And the first show I did was an interview with a recruiter. I started off the show by saying, ‘on a typical Monday morning, I walk into at least 200. resumes, and how many do you think are vaguely qualified for the position– Any position I’m recruiting for? And the answer was, if I’m lucky two. And I say if I’m lucky, because most of the time, it was zero. People keep flipping the same resume over and over again, like the broken watch that’s right twice a day. You know, it doesn’t demonstrate how you fit the role that you’re trying to get. Always tailor your resume prior to submitting it. Otherwise, it’s junk mail. That’s it. It’s junk now, and you’re going to waste a lot of people’s time.
19:02
I came across your podcast and loved it. Thank you. And I’m taking you up on your offer to connect, which we did. I’m trying to transition from Australia to the US even though everyone says it’s an employee market. So I’ll just simply say the problem for this person is that as someone from outside the US, firms are reluctant to hire people from outside the country, because often they perceive that there are going to be visa issues, and in having visa issues, the result winds up being that unless they can get you the legal right to work in the US, as qualified as you may be, they’re not going to be able to hire you. So remember, as the the best way to do this, is to try and get some firm in Australia, with US offices to hire you and that can get you on board for your next job.
20:46
What should a person do when she has had her offer rescinded? Okay, the answer is, what you need to do is go to your employer, the firm that hired you. Since it’s a situation where it’s an offer, you’re not an employee. And you want to go to them and say, ‘I resigned my position based upon the offer letter that I received from you and now I’m adversely impacted by this decision. As a result, I need compensation and you need to make me whole, give me a couple of months of severance, even though I did not come to work for your firm. And this should allow me time to be able to come on board with another firm. So, I would say to you, that’s what you should do is go to the firm and get them to provide a financial settlement to you that’s going to allow you to remain whole and not be hurt. And if they say, ‘No, you’re not an employee.’ ‘Okay, I’ll get to my lawyer.’
Deciding Between Multiple Job Offers
[svp]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8HFZjeEd34[/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
My courses are available on my website, www.TheBigGameHunter.us/courses The courses include ones about Informational Interviews, Interviewing, final interview preparation, salary negotiation mistakes to avoid, the top 10 questions to prepare for on any job interview, and starting a new job.
I do a livestream on LinkedIn, YouTube (on the JobSearchTV.com account) and on Facebook (on the Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter page) Tuesdays and Fridays 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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