It has often been said that, "You only get one chance to make a first impression." Whether you are networking, interviewing for a job or meeting new colleagues for the first time, here are some guidelines to keep in mind which will make a good first impression.

• Be mindful of the other person's time. Ask if this is a good time for them before proceeding into the discussion (or identify another time that would be better). When attending a scheduled meeting or interview, ask how much time the other person has, and hold to that timeframe.
• If you were referred by a mutual friend or acquaintance to the person with whom you're meeting, be sure to reference that person in positive terms. This helps to build a "personal bridge" and establish rapport.
• Take notes throughout the discussion. A person who doesn't take notes is simply not interested or engaged enough to be taken seriously.
• Arrive to the meeting or interview on time and fully prepared. This shows that you respect the other person, and that you are a real professional. Learn everything you can in advance about the company, the opportunity, and the interviewer.
• Be focused on the other person's interests and needs, more than your own. Present yourself as a solutions provider, rather than a job seeker. Offer to be of service and show genuine interest in helping the interviewer with his or her business challenges.

What I really like is …

• Working with very bright people who have good values
• Working with companies that are respected or where respect can be created
• Building a culture that will succeed and be a place where people can grow and enjoy work M

My greatest contribution is …

• Being able to do many different things well
• Accomplishing the mission, exceeding expectations
• Building an organization from scratch
• Saving the day – taking dire situations, fixing them and turning them into winners

I am particularly good at …

• Taking things that look like failures and making them into exceptional successes
• Developing people – getting them to be creative, committed and accountable
• Getting the job done quickly with practical, interesting solutions

I am known for …

• Creative leadership
• Overcoming challenging obstacles
• Rising to the occasion
• Seeing the core issues, problems, solutions
• Get to the heart of the matter quickly, intuitively analyzing the situation

I have an exceptional ability to …

• Be innovative
• Devise straightforward solutions that are efficient and practical
• Take complex problems and quickly developing elegant solutions
• Create solutions that get the job done

OK, now it's YOUR turn! Get out a pad and pen, or create a new Word document. Please complete the following sentences as candidly as you can. Feel free to provide multiple answers to each question. Keep your responses focused on the career and work aspects of your life (as opposed to your personal or social life, etc.) You can also come back to your answers after a day or so, and refine or expand them:

• At work, I love to …
• I feel passionate about …
• I am excited about …
• What I really like is …
• My greatest contribution is …
• I am particularly good at …
• I am known for …
• I have an exceptional ability to …
• Colleagues often ask for my help with …
• What motivates me most is …
• I would feel disappointed, frustrated or sad if I couldn't do …

After you've completed this exercise, ask yourself these important questions and write-down your answers in detail:

1. Do your personal gifts, goals and passions correspond/align with your current career direction?
2. What implications do these answers have on your current and future career choices?
3. What is one thing you can do right now to enhance or change your current career situation, so that it will be more in-tune with your true passions and gifts?

Remember: it's never too late to take charge of your career and find the work you love – as long as you have the right resources and support!

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Over the past several months, I have noticed that an increasing percentage of my clients have been expressing concerns about a lack of passion and meaning in their work. They will often say something like, "I know I'm lucky just to have a job, but I feel like I'm just going through the motions. I don't feel particularly engaged or excited about my work any more. Is this all there is?"

I believe that every working person has the right and responsibility to discover (or re-discover) his or her professional passion. With this in mind, I thought we would do something a little bit different this month. I invite you to do an exercise that has proven to be very powerful with my clients. It won't take you very long, and I can almost guarantee that the results will give you a whole new perspective on your own job or career path.

"Passions and Gifts" is a wonderful exercise to keep you focused on the larger purpose of all your work. It connects you to your "WHY" and is also a great tool to help sharpen your delivery during business meetings and job interviews.

Here is an example of this exercise, completed a few years ago by one of my clients:

Passions and Gifts (Sample)

At work, I love to …

• Build organizations
• Move things forward, solve problems
• Turnaround problem situations, get big results (generate, produce, achieve, create)

I am passionate about …

• Doing the impossible, taking on big challenges
• Creating new structures to achieve big results
• Solving problems, removing obstacles
• Getting the best out of people

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Approval: A series of sequential interviews, sometimes formal and sometimes informal (such as over lunch), conducted by team members, peers, or colleagues in departments with whom you would interact. Getting to this stage assumes that the hiring manager liked you and passed you along for the team’s approval. If everyone on the team gives you the thumbs up, you’ll have a good chance of getting a job offer.

Group: A more formal and structured interview, conducted by a panel of three to five peers and the hiring manager (at the same time) to narrow the field of applicants. Sometimes, this involves behavioral interview methods, hands-on tasks, or an assignment to work on a real-time problem that the group is facing. A conference call or video-phone format may be used in long-distance situations.

Offer: Hiring manager or human resources representative formally offers the job to the top choice. Their focus is now to provide you, their top candidate, with information you need to make a decision and enter into a win-win negotiation process. This will result in the best possible deal for both you and the company that wants to hire you.

Interviewing can be best described as two-way storytelling. You need to provide the interviewer with accurate, relevant stories about your career achievements and job performance. The interviewer needs to tell you the story of the company, describe the position in question, and explain specifically how they want you to fit into their picture. This will allow both parties to assess their level of interest in the other.

Think about the basic structure of a good story. It always includes these elements:

A beginning – in the case of an interview, this can be small talk, setting the tone, establishing rapport, and providing a personal connection between you and the interviewer. The key here is to be your best self – don’t force anything.

A body or middle – this is the substance of the one-on-one information exchange. All your preparation, accomplishment stories, personal strengths, abilities, and value statements can be used here to make a compelling case for yourself.

A strong ending or finish – the close makes sure the interviewer has a firm grasp on where you fit into the company’s landscape, exactly how you can add value to the position in question, and how you’re superior to the other candidates. This part of the story ensures that the interviewer is left with a good impression of you, your track record, and your ability to help the company meet its objectives.

In some cases, you’ll actually be taken through all of these interview steps before a hiring decision will be made – so be ready, and be patient. Throughout the process, be sure to tell compelling accomplishment stories, leveraging the three basic elements described above. These steps will ensure that you’ll stand-out as the “candidate of choice!”

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Once you've done your strategic networking, gotten some names and numbers, made some introductions, leveraged recruiters, and gotten referred to the right people in the right places, it's time to sit down and master the art of the interview. Let's start by looking at the phases of the interview process.

What follows is an outline of the different types of interviews, how they work, and what you can expect during each of these interview situations. Then, we'll review the specific questions that you should be prepared to answer — and those you should be prepared to ask — to maximize your success at every step in the interviewing process.

Types of Interviews

Informational: No specific job under discussion. Purpose is learning about industry, company, people, skills required, cultural fit, and perhaps generating additional avenues of research or more people for you to contact.

Screening: This is the first serious step in the interviewing process. Consider this a “live ammo exercise.” Used as the first step to narrow the field of candidates who are being considered for employment. Screening may be done by an outside recruiter or in-house human resources representative. Usually done over the phone.

Hiring Manager: An in-depth look at an applicant to confirm desired requirements and/or technical abilities, motivation, and overall personal and cultural fit with the organization. Typically 60 to 90 minutes in length, conducted by the individual for whom you would be working.

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Those who are currently employed full-time are adding second jobs or "assignments" as additional streams of income to safeguard against potential layoffs.

In addition to her full-time job, your co-worker is a beauty consultant in the evenings. Your husband, a CPA Monday through Friday, works at a gourmet food market on weekends. Your uncle, an engineer, coaches the high school soccer team every Fall and works at a Summer camp for one month each year. Welcome to the new American career path: adults who hold full-time jobs during the day as well as part-time or freelance positions. According to recent U.S. Labor Department statistics, more than 6.9% Americans are considered multiple job holders. Unlike the past, when people were taking-on second jobs strictly for the money, there is a more current reason why Americans are adding new "assignments" to their work-lives. In today’s unpredictable economy, workers can’t rely on their full-time jobs for their livelihood. They need to be SELF-reliant, not JOB reliant. This means if they were to lose their main position, they would still have a stream of income and the confidence that will put them ahead of others in a similar situation. Here are six options where workers can add breadth to their careers and earn additional income while continuing in their full-time positions:

1. Part-time employment. Whether it’s in the retail, restaurant, sales, business services or administrative sector, here’s your chance to find a position in a field you genuinely like.
2. Teaching or substitute teaching. Experienced professionals are sought-after to teach classes and bring a real-world perspective to their students.
3. Consulting or contract assignments. If you have a background in business, finance, operations, computer/technology, or creative/advertising, these fields naturally lend themselves to consulting or contract work.
4. Work for family or friends.  Contact every friend, relative or acquaintance who runs a business, and ask about their needs and challenges. Offer to help them out. People who know you are more likely you “give you a break.”
5. Home-based work. With the advent of the Internet and computer technology, it’s easier than ever to do real work from home, specifically in the fields of administrative, sales, computer services, creative assignments, bookkeeping, and personal services.
6. Odd jobs. There is always a need for reliable help in the areas of construction, painting, sewing, moving and hauling, cooking, cleaning, yard work, and plowing. If you’re not afraid to get your hands dirty, you can earn good money providing these greatly-needed services to organizations and individuals.

The world of work has changed. Rather than relying on one source of income (such as from a full-time job), many people are developing second or even third streams of income to provide a greater sense of security. By pursuing an outside interest, hobby or passion, it's very likely that you could do the same. Given the current state of the US economy and job market, that would be a smart move!  

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No. 3: What’s wrong with you?

Of course, the interviewer will not actually use these words. She might couch the question in more polite terms, but what she is actually trying to find out is why you’re unemployed, or underemployed, or why you’ve had so many jobs, etc. As the candidate, you need to acknowledge these sorts of career challenges in advance; then prepare and practice your responses. Your answers must be worded in such a way that they are fully positive, and elicit the responses you desire.

No. 4: What are your salary expectations?

When it comes to “the salary question,” you want the other guy to make the first move. Do thorough research in advance to determine what the likely salary range is. Make it clear that the job is not all about pay. Say that you’d be happy to discuss compensation once a mutual interest has been established, and get back to discussing your relevant accomplishments. Tell the interviewer that you want the opportunity, and that you expect the company will make a fair salary offer. This doesn’t mean you will necessarily accept that offer, but it means they will have to “draw” first. Once you receive the initial offer, always negotiate up from there.

No. 5: Don’t call us, we’ll call you.

Take an active stance, not a passive one. Be sure to discuss “next steps” before you leave the interview. Ask the interviewer directly how your qualifications compare to those of the other candidates. Display your excitement about the job and the challenges it poses. Let the interviewer know how and when you’ll be back in touch. Don’t leave all the power in the hands of the interviewer; this should be a mutual decision-making process.

Since almost every interview question is a variation of the themes listed above, there’s no need to worry about the hundreds of questions you MIGHT be asked. If you go into the interview focused on addressing just these five basic areas, you’ll feel more confident and less overwhelmed.

The more practiced and articulate you are in responding to these five items, the better chance you’ll have of landing the job. But even if you don’t get the offer, you’ll still be well-prepared for the NEXT interview!

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Of all the subjects we cover in career management and job search, the one that seems to cause clients the most anxiety is INTERVIEWING. To ease my clients’ concerns, I often simplify the topic by reducing it to a handful of basic elements.

When you boil it all down, job interviews are made-up of only five statements from the interviewer, which include four questions and one sentence. Sure, you’ll be asked more than five questions, but they ALL seem to be variations on the items listed below. Each of these questions has to be “nailed” in a job interview, and each has a different strategy to answer it. “Winging it” just won’t do!

Here is some simple, sound advice for responding to the five basic interview questions:

No. 1: Tell me about yourself.

This is the open-ended question that on the surface seems harmless, yet how you answer it may spell the difference between landing a job, or being pushed out the door to seek another position. You have to know yourself first – your strengths, your weaknesses, your likes, your talents and your goals. The best way to answer this question is to give your “Positioning Statement,” which is a one-paragraph summary of your career background, strengths, expertise and objective.

No. 2: Why do you want to work here?

This question seeks to determine if you know anything about the job and company. The goal here is to connect your talents, contributions and attributes to the employer’s needs, problems and challenges. You can only do this if you’ve done your homework, and have gathered all the necessary research. The best way to respond is to tell several relevant Accomplishment Stories that prove you have the right kind of experience for the job.

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3. Don’t tell your children that, “If they finish college, they’ll be assured of a successful career.” This may have been true several generations ago, but it certainly isn’t true any longer. Today’s college degree is yesterday’s high school diploma – and it doesn’t guarantee ANYTHING. To succeed in today’s work-world, your children will need much more than a college degree. They’ll need your guidance, along with talent, determination, persistence, a strong work ethic and maybe a bit of good luck. They’ll also need a real-world perspective on what it REALLY takes to succeed.

4. Provide your children with resources, support and encouragement – but don’t coddle them. Many new college graduates have never had to work or assume responsibility for earning any level of income. Naturally, this leads to problems when the child graduates from college and is suddenly thrust into the job market. Even worse, many parents have indulged or “spoiled” their children, leading to a sense of entitlement. Your children will have to work for a long time, and it’s important that they get used to this idea from a young age. Once your children have finished school, make it clear that they must take responsibility for their own career and income, through good times and bad.

5. Explain to your children how important it is to create and control their image on the Internet. Every new worker has (or will soon have) an online presence. In this age of cell phone cameras, You Tube, and Face Book, the trail your children leave on the Internet will follow them for a long time to come. Employers know this, and they research job candidates on the Internet before making hiring decisions. It is vitally important that every young person take control of their online identity, and carefully monitor the “personal brand” they’re building on the Internet. Encourage your kids to use online career management tools such as Linked-In and VisualCV, to optimize and leverage their online presence.

6. Help your children get their first “break” by leveraging family relationships and business contacts.The work world is more competitive than ever, and new graduates face serious challenges in getting their careers started-out on the right foot. Even the most qualified young candidate can benefit from a bit of help in the form of “connections.” Rather than being overly proud and rejecting such assistance, encourage your children to welcome the idea of “getting a break” through friends or family as they launch their careers. It will still be up to your children to prove themselves on the job, or they won’t be employed there for long – even if they’re related to the boss.

7. Allow your children to pursue the career path they truly love; not the career path you think they should love. If your child is fortunate enough to discover a professional path that he or she truly loves, you must encourage and facilitate their pursuit of that career. Put the necessary time and resources into this mission, and the results will be powerful. If your children struggle with identifying their best career directions, engage a professional Career Coach to help them find their right work. Avoid the temptation to push your children into the career paths YOU think they should follow. Instead, let them find their own gifts and passions. This is one of the most generous and healthy things a parent can do for a child.

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Over the past year, we’ve received a number of phone calls from parents of recent college graduates. This is unusual for two reasons: (1) we don’t usually work with clients in their twenties; and (2) these parents are seriously concerned about their children’s ability to start careers. Indeed, many parents are now paying our career coaching fees, to ensure that their kids will have every advantage in the transition from school to work.

I’ve been saying for years that colleges do virtually nothing to prepare new graduates for the “real work-world.” Most college placement offices are woefully inadequate – and knowing this, most students avoid using these services altogether. Graduating from a fine university does NOT guarantee that a student will have a clear career direction, or that a student will know how to mount a successful job search campaign.

You may have heard the term “Boomerang Kids.” This describes the growing number of recent graduates who return home to live with their parents – often well into their thirties! Needless to say, this is not the outcome most parents had in mind when they sent their kids off to college.

So, what’s a parent to do?! Here are seven suggestions for parents, based on actual career coaching work we’ve done with recent college graduates. Following these recommendations will help produce far better results than those described above:

1. Invest in career development coaching. After spending tens of thousands (if not hundreds of thousands) of dollars on college, it’s a pretty sure bet that your children never received ANY training or guidance in how to choose a career, get a job, or participate productively in the workforce. Don’t let all that money go to waste. Invest another 1%-5% to ensure that your children’s education will pay-off – with smarter career choices, better jobs, and higher long-term compensation.

2. Teach your children responsible work habits. Patience, discipline, respect, industriousness and punctuality are habits that were “assumed” in previous generations of new workers – but these qualities are all too rare among recent college graduates. Employers complain about this, and they are worried about how to find, develop and retain a workforce to replace the huge numbers of retiring baby boomers. The new employees who will get ahead are the ones who embrace and embody these traits. Therefore, parents should strive to model these behaviors and instill these qualities early in the lives of their children.

 

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