Career Coach Office Hours: November 29 2022
By Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter
We’re back! I answered questions about job search, hiring staff, management, career transition, as well as workplace issues. Join me at 1 PM Eastern on Tuesdays and Fridays on LinkedIn or YouTube (JobSearchTV.com channel). You can also message me on Linkedin before the show and I will answer it, too.
5 Tips For Career Branding That Will Take You Far
04:24
Is it bad to apply to many different jobs? Well, I have to dissect this with a couple of variables. Intrinsically, no. You’re applying, you’re looking for work. Now I’m not a big fan of applying to jobs, because it’s one of the least effective ways of finding work. The most effective way is by using your network of relationships to find work. And the result is for many folks. They spend a lot of time spamming their resume, uploading it to applicant tracking systems, and doing a whole bunch of stuff that feels pointless. And it is because for many of you. What you’re doing is spamming your resume to computer systems and you’re not getting results because you’re applying to things that you’d like to do but you may not be qualified to do or your resume doesn’t make a case for your candidacy. So is it bad to apply to many different jobs? If you’re not qualified, the answer is yes. You’re wasting your time. You’re wasting their time. If you’re qualified for positions, and it’s a different organizations, by all means, go ahead and do it. If you’re applying to different jobs or types of jobs, and it’s in one specific organization, you can get your resume blocked as a serial applier. There is that capability in a lot of systems, where they can block people who are applying much too often. And I remember interviewing someone for my other podcast, j Job Search Radio, which I discontinued several years ago after more than 800 episodes. And he spoke about working in a hospital. You have the person applying for a medically related position and the porter job and other positions that no way shape or form would seem to indicate that they had medical capabilities. So I’ll just simply say, don’t be ridiculous. If you’re qualified, and you’re interested and available to do that particular job with that key thing being qualified, not interested, then by all means apply for multiple similar positions at the same organization. If they’re completely different positions, don’t waste your time or their time. Focus on the ones for which you’re actually qualified.
07:17
Is it opportunistic to leverage the interest other companies have shown in recruiting you, when it’s time to negotiate for a raise, even when you plan to stick around anyway? The way you use the term opportunistic is, though, ‘it’s a bad thing’ . . . Actually, it’s a good thing. Let me give you another word for it–using leverage to negotiate for more of an increase where you are. Now here’s the bind some of you have if you do this–The bind is, well, frankly, you’re signaling you’re open to something else if they don’t give it to you and they push you out the door, because they’re not going to give you more. And you’ve already said this other firm or these other firms will, which implies that if you don’t, they will, and I’m going to go look at that. So I just want you to be aware that there is a potential of an impact. But what you can say is, ‘You know, it seems like the market for what I do is higher than what you’re prepared to pay. Can you just do better than what you’re proposing?; ‘What do you mean?’ ‘So I’m getting calls from recruiters consistently about higher salaries, but I like working here, and I like working for you. But you may have noticed, I’m not on the list that Forbes or Fortune put out of the wealthiest Americans so I need to be compensated fairly. And I’d appreciate if you got closer to, if not at this number that these recruiting firms have been talking with me about and that would make me happy, I would be very happy to stay.’ So that’s the way really to play it. And I’ll just simply say, don’t make threats. Seriously. Don’t threaten them. ‘I’m gonna quit’ or ‘I’m gonna leave unless you do such and such.’ You may do that, in fact, but you don’t have to use it as a weapon in your conversations with people.
Tough Interview Questions for Leaders: What Qualities Should a Leader Demonstrate?
10:26
If someone is interviewing for a job, what does an interviewer think of a candidate who’s currently employed, but has only had that job for less than a month? I think most firms will want to understand why you’re looking for something after less than a month. ‘What’s wrong?’ And thus, what they’ll come down to is the maturity of your answer. Let me give you an example. ‘I hate my boss! She or he is an idiot.’ And that’s not a mature answer. But what you can say is, ‘you know, I was promised or I was told such and such. And that doesn’t seem to be the case here. I’ve spoken with my manager. And they’ve said things changed since the time we interviewed you, and made the offer. So, Mike, the concerns you can express are that the position was misrepresented. You don’t want to sit there doing work that you don’t care for. And thus, don’t put yourself in a position where you can wind up getting hurt.
11:54
Is it rude not to answer the ‘Why should we hire you question” during an interview? I don’t think that’s the way to go. I also don’t believe that you should immediately answer, why should we hire you? Here’s the better way, I think, to do it. Normally, this is a screener, who asks the question. I’ll deal with a hiring manager in a second if they pose it of you. But if it’s a screener as used to happen to one of my clients, you know, Is it rude not to answer? No, you have to give some answer, but not the one that they’re hoping for. Because the theory behind the question is, you’re going to tell them the reasons why, how they should sell back to you at the time they extend an offer. Why should we hire you? Looks like a great opportunity with a terrific firm. I really liked the manager, and the team seems to be terrific. And thus, when they extend the offer, they’ll tell you about ‘This looks like I think this is a great opportunity for you, with a terrific manager, a great team of people . . .” you get the idea. So is it rude not to answer. Yes. Is it rude to deflect? No, it isn’t. It’s actually the way to go. And this is the way you play. So why should we hire you? ‘I don’t have enough information to answer that question.’ So this is for the screener. ‘What I’m here to do is have you get to know me, and of course, me get to know you. At this point, all I know is what’s written in a job description. I haven’t met my future manager. I haven’t met the team. I don’t have a clear idea of what the work is other than a job description that, you know, I’ve heard this guy talk about on this podcast, job descriptions may be 80% accurate if most firms are lucky. So (that’s me, by the way), I have interviewed guests who work in HR, and they laugh when I say job descriptions are 80% accurate. ‘If we’re lucky, they’re 80% accurate!’ One of them said. So the idea is I need to know more to be able to figure out whether I want you to hire me and whether I’m interested. So can we circle back to this question after I’ve met with the team, and then I’ll tell you exactly why you should hire me?’ Because the idea is to thread the needle between what’s needed and what you can do for them, and then flatter the heck out of them about this great opportunity with a terrific team of people. Have I mentioned we’re like family. Oh, I want to work for a family-oriented firm that treats people like family.’ So the long and the short of it is don’t fall for their game, because what you do is feeding back to them the reasons why when they make the offer, they’re going to sell you on why you should join. Instead, defer and deflect. That’s really the best way to approach it.
15:28
I’m currently in week four of the interview process for a job that I really want. I’ve had the following: one phone interview and one in-person interview with the President, a design challenge, and two additional in-person interviews with department heads. Everything has gone really well. I even received great responses on my follow-up thank you emails. I sent a follow-up email to the president of the firm on Friday after my Wednesday interviews. I have not heard back. Shall I follow up again today? So today is Tuesday. You sent the email on Friday. I’m wondering if this sat in my inbox for a week. So let me just work with you had Wednesday interviews, a Friday email and haven’t heard back and it’s now Tuesday. Should you follow up again today? The answer is yes. And I wouldn’t have done it on Monday. Tuesday is good. So the idea is to give them a little space. The president could be out of the office. They could be doing other things. You are not the A priority on their calendar. You are a high priority, but not the priority. Thus, what you want to do is give them a little space. And then from there, make it clear how you can fit in. Let me back up for a second. Then, I’d follow up by sending another message. Say I messaged you on Friday. I haven’t heard back, I just want to see if you’ve heard anything from my Wednesday interviews and what next steps in the process might be?’
“Stupid Salary Negotiation Mistakes: Being Too Grateful”
17:29
What is the best way to motivate your team at work? I believe the best way to motivate and/or inspire a team at work is to get the institutional friction out of the way so they can do great work. Often people join organizations and the issue isn’t about you as a manager, it isn’t about what’s going on in the way of the work. It’s that there’s friction that no one told someone about, that’s getting in the way of accomplishing what someone is trying to accomplish. So instead of doing that, clear the friction out of their way, so that in this way, they can do a great job. You’ll be happy. After all, their success is your success as a manager. And your ability to clear a path for your team gets issues out of their way that caused them to not perform as high levels as they could otherwise. So the best way to motivate your team at work is to clear out the friction that’s getting in their way of doing great work so that they can deliver great results for you.
18:56
How effective are software engineering interviews in determining how good the candidate will turn out? The answer is they have the knowledge to do the job. They may have the experience to do the job. Your organization may make it harder for them to do the job. I’m going back to my last question there about motivating your team. So the issue comes down to yes, they can do a good job of figuring out whether someone will be successful in the new role. No question about that. However, there are other factors that come into play that can’t be quantified and written test. And thus you want to make it easy for people to succeed.
20:04
Is it risky to accept a great software engineering job in a top tech organization if you think you’re a mediocre programmer? okay. I just want you to think about that for a second. No, it isn’t risky. You may be joining the average part of the firm. So that’s a variable, too. Is it risky to accept a great job, offered at a top tech firm? If you think poorly of your capabilities, well, they think differently. And thus, just be aware that your self-assessment may be wrong. And if you really want to join, go ahead and join. If you don’t want to join, understand, this is a roadblock that’s going to get in your way. That’s going to keep you from being world-class. Thus, you want to be in a place where you can get great results delivered to the firm and in doing so, what you’re able to do is serve your own interests as well.
21:38
Just had an interview for a job, but a couple of hours after the interview, the recruiter asked me if I get hired, when can I start? Does that mean something good? Maybe. Most of the time, yes, but maybe not. Now, they want to know when you could start because if they make an offer, they don’t want to wait a long period of time for you to join. Catch that. They don’t want to wait a long time for you to join. And something surfaced in your interview that gave them reason for concern. So understand, because it means something good, probably doesn’t mean something bad. It could. But the probability is, you know, this was a gimme for you. And by that I mean, a signal to you that they’re interested. Thus, what you’ll be able to do is impress the heck out of someone and deliver great results for them in a timely manner, so that everyone’s able to get results.
22:59
Is it a good idea to say that the current company is not doing well financially to an interviewer and that is why he wants to leave? So there’s a lot that shows up in the news. And you can say anything you want. Really, you can say anything, but the best answer basically says, the reason I’m looking is I’m disappointed with you offer. And thus I’m starting to explore other things. I’m looking for an organization where I can work hard and get ahead. And thus, I answered a similar question to this a few weeks ago, where the office party was about to go on. And this person didn’t want to attend for reasons we don’t need to go into. And I coached him to say I could stay here, but I decide I’m going to leave. And you want to leave in order to accomplish great things and deliver a high level. So managers love hearing crap like that, and feed it back to the so I’ll just simply say you can say my company is in storage laying people off. You may have seen a story about them. And thus Is It a Good Idea to tell them your firm isn’t doing well financially? Well, if they know about it already. That’s a good sign that they’re interested in you and want to see what your best.
[svp]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ud6Rb9x0PA[/svp]
5 Tips For Career Branding That Will Take You Far
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 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.
Website: www.TheBigGameHunter.us
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