The Big Lesson from Television for Executive Job Hunters
By Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter
I take a lesson from tv and apply it to job search tailored to executives. (from the archives)
Hi, I’m Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter. I’m called The Big Game Hunter because I coach people to play their game big. And this is a lesson that I want to offer you that I think comes right out of television.
And the lesson really is about . . . well, let me just go through the story. How many crime shows have you seen where weeks are compressed into one hour and, at the end, the good guy wins? That’s pretty much the plot of every show I’ve ever seen. Probably is the same for you, too.
And here’s what unfortunately happens. Job hunters have an unrealistic expectation of what’s going to occur. Now, first of all, this one lesson is valid.
And that lesson is people have missed something along the way. And, as a job hunter, one of the things you have to do is figure out where your misses are. And that’s not necessarily about deficiencies in your background, but it can be about your execution.
So, for you as an executive, for you as a senior professional, I want to remind you that, although you can do the job, you may not be able to have the skills yet. You may not have learned what’s necessary to find the job. Even though you’ve hired hundreds of people in your past, it’s different being on the other side of the desk.
I can’t tell you the number of executives I’ve worked with who’ve hired so many people, you put them in the interview seat, and suddenly, they’re stammering idiots. And you don’t want to necessarily be that. And most of you wouldn’t be, but you could be amateurs from there, making mistakes and confessing things about your background that are completely unnecessary.
Now, I want to be clear. I hate people who are sanitized on the other side when I interview them. I love people with personality.
But they’re focused. They’re targeted. They have a clear idea of what they’re trying to accomplish.
Networking to the Right Senior Partner with a Search Firm Matters
And I want to make sure that, from the standpoint of you interviewing, you don’t make the mistake of thinking that this is a sprint that you’re going through. You’re not going to make the mistake of believing that you can just walk into an interview without any preparation whatsoever. And like a meeting which you walked into unprepared, be able to ace it.
It doesn’t work that way. It doesn’t work that way on TV. Eventually, they find what the miss was, and they solve the crime in the course of the investigation.
Life isn’t a TV show. And people make mistakes. They make tons of them in job hunting.
And for you, as an executive, I’m simply going to say, you have to do your homework. You can’t behave like an amateur. You have to go out there and sell yourself and be prepared to talk about your experiences in ways that are useful for the audience to understand . . . the audience being the people that you’re interviewing with . . . to understand how you can deliver the goods for them.
And that’s going to involve some preparation on your part and understanding of the role. So, I’ve got some great videos. Watch the one called the single best question you should ask on any interview.
There are a series of them in the interview playlist that I think you’ll find helpful. But, at the end of the day, I can’t make you prepare. But you know how important preparation is.
After all, you haven’t been winging it throughout your entire career. You’ve been well prepared. That’s how you’ve gotten to the seat that you’re in.
Don’t take the shortcuts here. Don’t make the rookie mistakes that cost you. I’m Jeff Altman.
I hope you found this helpful. My website is TheBigGameHunter.us. There’s a lot there that you can watch, listen to or read that’s going to help you find work more quickly. And, if we are connected on LinkedIn, send a connection request at LinkedIn.com forward slash I am forward slash TheBigGameHunter.
And, lastly, get a coach. I do coaching. I’d love to help you, but you can find out about that on my website.
But, at the end of the day, get someone to coach you and help you deliver so that you don’t spend unnecessary months thrashing around, making mistakes that are completely unnecessary if you had someone to guide you. Hope you have a great day. Take care.
ABOUT JEFF ALTMAN, THE BIG GAME HUNTER
People hire Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter to provide No BS job search coaching and career advice globally because he makes job search and succeeding in your career easier.
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