Recently I interviewed folks for a temp job. One lady stood out and got the assignment. How could she not? I was needing someone to help with MS Access database design and analysis.

She obviously knew her stuff, but so did others. I asked if she knew where to put a spreadsheet so the database could find it. She remembered from the job description that my company uses a certain brand of ERP system. So she suggested letting her create a software bridge between Access and the ERP system so my employees would not have to waste time downloading a spreadsheet.

Later in the interview, I asked if she knew how to use a particular feature of Access. She said, “do you mind if I put a flash drive onto your computer? I brought along a database I created for you. I can just show you the feature there.”

Who got the assignment?

Anything here apply to your situation? What can you do to help your next boss visualize the contributions you can make? You know what questions they will ask. Are you one step ahead with a creative way of answering them?

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Comments welcome.

At $12.95, the book is a bargain.

In preparing for an introductory sales call for my consulting business recently, I had occasion to gain the assistance of four of the best sales-oriented folks in my extensive network.   That client phone call could not have gone better, lasting 90 minutes, rather than the planned 15.  Not that quantity trumps quality by any means, of course.

Selling consulting services differs a bit from selling yourself for a permanent job assignment, but I had four key takeaways, that may have some relevance to a job search as well:

Give to get.  It no longer works to  just ask questions and tell him you want to hear his issues so you can put a  specific plan together.  I started conversation after niceties, with “Would  you be interested to hear about 3 common issues faced by businesses like  yours, and how we’ve solved them?”  He later reciprocated with what his problems  are.

Use “we”, not “I”, when referring to your company, even if  on your own.  To address certain of his issues, I told him that someone  other than me, from my network, might be provided by my company, under our  umbrella.  This one is a bit of a stretch for the analogy to the job search, but it can’t hurt to bring up your network as a resource in tackling hard to solve problems in your next job assignment.  Even more reason to spend much time and energy in building and nurturing an extensive network across functions and industries.

Offered to complete the work for Day 1 of a resultant  project by giving him the rest of the day that I would visit to discuss  the project (sales call), at no charge, other than travel expenses, since I’m  there anyway.  WIN-WIN since he would pay my travel expenses for a sales  trip, and if he did not give me the job, I’ve wasted a few hours, but he is  not out much at all.  Again, you’ll need some imagination to apply this principle to the job search, but what value can you provide for the interviewer, other than to be an outstanding employee?

Be prepared with a price range, don’t use  the common tactic of stalling til later.  It alleviates anxiety.  A  high price helps to create value in the prospects mind.  If it’s not  high enough to scare him away, when you come in slightly lower with your  formal quote, it looks even better.  I gave him a range.  Common advice is to stall the salary question during an interview as long as possible.  I find, however, that this tactic is more annoying than helpful.

So far, I’ve not gotten the assignment, but we are still talking.  Not bad for a prospect which started only with a “cold call” email.

Steve Dalton, creator of "The Two Hour Job Search"

Recently, I attended a discussion presented by Steve Dalton, Associate Director of Duke’s Fuqua School of Business, Career Management Center.  Steve is writing “The Two Hour Job Search”, a methodology to be followed exactly to eliminate much of the guesswork and uncertainty of how to find a job.  Most job search advice tells you to make a list of target companies, and to network, but it’s infrequent that good advice is provided on how to do either.  The “Dalton Method” does both.

The Dalton Method is comprised of 3 modules:  1.  Creating a Company List, 2. Crafting High-Efficiency Outreach, and 3. Conducting Effective Informational Interviews.  Module 1 covers how to target the companies you’d like to work for.  Modules 2 and 3 explain how to get the networking appointments that you need, and what to do during the informational meetings to further your job search.

If you are efficient, you can complete the work required in Module 1 in about 90 minutes, creating for yourself a blueprint that will guide you through the rest of your job search. You will no longer be tempted to waste your time applying  for jobs on electronic job boards.  You’ll not start another week thinking, “what else can I possibly do this week to find a job?”

Dalton claims that, in his experience, if a job seeker properly chooses 50-100 companies, according to his instructions, and works her way through the directions provided in Modules 2 and 3, that she is likely to find a job among the first 15 companies targeted, never having to approach the rest of the list.

Sound interesting?  Unfortunately, the book has not yet been published.  But, I’ll cover the highlights of the methodology, with Steve’s permission, over the course of my next few blog posts.

While you are waiting, make sure you have access to the on-line alumni directories provided at no charge by both the undergraduate and graduate schools that you attended, if you did attend.  If they are not available, or you did not go to college, LinkedIn becomes a good alternative.  Take a homework assignment to build your LinkedIn network to at least 75 first level connections, whom you know, and who care about you.  This will give you a reasonable chance at connecting with most of the companies that you identify.  Even if you did attend college, go ahead and build your LinkedIn network to at least 75 people, to serve as a supplement to the Alumni directory for your school.

We’ll start with the contents of Module 1 soon, on how to build your list of target companies.  If you can’t wait, post a reply here to urge me to get moving on the next post.

To keep expectations realistic, realize that Dalton’s Method assumes that you already know what type of job you want. It also does not address what to do once you actually land an interview at a company.  But there is much already published that very adequately covers both subjects.  Steve only addresses the 2 topics that until now have been left fuzzy, but they are 2 big ones.

Female job seekers: I won’t dare go there, but draw your own analogies.

There are so many things in the job search that you can’t control.  You can control all of these things.  Fix them, and don’t give someone an excuse to dismiss you as a serious candidate.

Likewise, some career coaches and others assisting job seekers to find work are not shy to give definitive opinions on these and many other aspects of the job search.  “Spend 8% of your time with recruiters, because they represent 8% of your job opportunities” “Don’t bother networking with unemployed people, they don’t have a job for you” “Your resume should say, ‘blah, blah, blah’”.

How do they know?  More importantly, why would one even ask about the right way to attack any of these issues?  If you are doing your preparation for each opportunity, current or potential, there likely is no one on Earth that is better able to answer the question than you.  In order to answer the questions, the adviser would need to know:

• who you will be interfacing with.  The answer may be different for different people on the other side of the desk (the hiring decision)
• what’s your career been like.  Are there problems in the past that might be better addressed by a functional resume?
• what type of job, and at what level.  It may well be appropriate for a bag-carrying IT sales rep to lead with a glossy personal marketing brochure.  Probably not a good solution for an aspiring CFO.
• a lot of other things that you are in the best position to know for yourself

There is nothing wrong with asking everyone you know for their opinions.  But realize that they are only opinions.  If there were right answers, then the person that knew them would be drowning in clients due to the success (s)he enjoyed in helping folks find jobs.  Get as much input as you need;  then make the decisions for yourself.

Prepare a generic note, meant for all your connections – LinkedIn, email, real world, whatever.  Here are some guidelines:

• make it short, so people will read it.  No more than 3 paragraphs
• keep it positive and upbeat, since no one wants to hear discouraging news
• note an accomplishment or two in the search so far, no matter how small
• give the recipient a simple way to help you:  ask for introductions to expand your network, OR ask for possible job leads, OR ask for ideas.  But only one request.
• succinctly state the objective of your search in a brief paragraph – ideal title, industry, geography, etc.  Permanent?  Consultant?
• offer to be of help to the reader
• space the updates out to about 2 months.  This is often enough to keep you on the radar, not often enough to be annoying
• include everyone you know or are connected with on Social Media, like Facebook and LinkedIn.  If they don’t care, what’s the downside?  They have a “delete” key on their computer
• keep the text within the body of the email,  not an attachment.  Many folks today access email on their Blackberry’s or iPhones.
• use the bcc feature so that your connections don’t see each others’ email addresses.  Many people don’t want distribution of their email addresses to unknown persons

Unless you’ve been a real jerk to everyone in your previous life, you will be positively surprised at the response this action will bring.  You will receive words of encouragement, prayer, offers of introduction,  job leads, etc.  Not from everyone, many people will not respond.  But enough to make it worth the cost of the email.

Don’t be offended by a lack of response from individuals.  Many people care and want to help, but don’t know how, or think they’re not up to the task.  That’s why you should be clear in giving them a simple assignment in the update.

Administratively, keep in mind that many email clients won’t let you send out more than 25-30 emails at a time.  So split it up into mailing lists of this size.  If you use MSOffice 2007 with Outlook and Word, and have your email addresses in a spreadsheet, it becomes easy.  Note also that you can export your LinkedIn connections to an Excel spreadsheet to facilitate this.  Other sites do the same.   If you have questions on the technicalities of this, put them in the comments section here, or send me an email.

Most recruiters on your list will likely not respond if they have no appropriate opening.  But most appreciate the updates, and will make notes in their database.  Your objective is to get back to the top of mind of as many folks as possible.

Recently, a good friend and I were discussing ways for execs to “stay in the game” while working through the extended interview and hiring processes to which many companies are subjecting candidates.   One idea that I really liked involved approaching the hiring managers for jobs that were not offered, and proposing short term consulting projects based on issues you learned of during the research and interview phases of the candidate selection process.

Here is a template for consideration that explains the concept, and the benefits to both parties in such an approach:

“Dear Bill,

Hope you had a great New Year.

Although I was disappointed not to be offered employment with your company, I am actively interviewing for executive leadership roles with other firms, and am hopeful of landing the right one soon.

In the mean time, I have been discussing well defined projects for a few companies.  These typically are short in duration, which leaves  me plenty of time to devote to my job search.  These have been fun, helped to keep my skills sharp, and proven valuable to the clients.  I have no desire to be a consultant full time.

In preparing for meeting with you, and during our conversations, I learned a lot about your company.  It would be a shame for that knowledge to go to waste.  I can envision a few projects that might be helpful to you, that might fill a temporary gap, or address concerns that might not be a top priority for your full time employees right now:

1. Customized Project 1
   
2. Customized Project 2
   
3. Customized Project 3

If this concept is interesting to you, can we schedule a brief call so we could discuss an approach? I can then quickly develop a proposal to meet those needs. If I’ve identified the wrong projects, we can use the time for you to explain areas that would be helpful to you.

I look forward to your favorable response.

Sincerely,

John Doe”

This approach is not meant as another attempt to secure the job you didn’t get.   It might, however, provide some level of needed income infusion, keep your skills sharp, give you a few accomplishments to relate during the gaps in employment, and provide an economical benefit to the consultee.

• there are a lot of qualified and accomplished execs in the marketplace today.  It’s not like in times of normal unemployment (5%), when it’s rare to find high caliber talent that are mired in an extended job search
• even today, many employed execs have never had to look for a job.  They either have very long tenure with one company, or have seamlessly landed new assignments when recruited away.  So even when a great opportunity is presented, they have not spent the time and energy to recognize it.  “What is their dream job?”  “How much of a raise would be required?”  “What can I compare this new opportunity with?”   Folks that have been unemployed for at least a few weeks, if not many months, have exhaustively thought through those and hundreds of other questions, and know exactly what they are looking for.
• a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.  How many times have you heard, “Being the newest employee, when the company made it’s latest round of cuts, it was last in, first out.”  The security of a known entity, even with an uncertain future, is preferable to a risky change, to many people.
• unwillingness to relocate.  Even with an openness to relo, a new job would have to offer a fantastic compensation advancement to be worthwhile to many employed folks.   Corporate relo policies have been scaled way back, for all but the highest level positions in many companies.  Ten years ago, companies would buy the house if it did not sell in a reasonable time period.  Today, it’s common to limit relo expenses to a moving company, meager closing costs on both ends, and a modest lump sum for temporary living expenses.  Compared to a salary of $0, this is not such a big problem for the unemployed.
• ease of attraction and transition.  With unemployed candidates, you don’t have to deal with counteroffers from the current employer.  There is less whining about “my kids are in school”, or “how many of my boats will you move”?  There tend to be few second thoughts from people that really need and want the job;  in other words, no buyers remorse.  Although employed people jumping to a new opportunity with a new employer can be very excited about the situation, it usually pales in comparison to unemployed folks, some of whom feel extreme enthusiasm and loyalty once “rescued” by the white knight employer.

If you are a recruiter, have factors like the above changed your recruiting philosophy?  How do you feel about including unemployed people on your slates?

If you are a job seeker, what has been your experience, either working with recruiters, or directly with hiring companies?  Is there more compassion and opportunity given to you than you’ve experienced in normal times?

Maybe we can turn this industry on its head, and get recruiters to favor unemployed people over those already in jobs, when trying to round out a slate of candidates.