Yellow Brick Road
Friday, July 9, 2010
Arriving Early to an Interview
I do share some of this kind of thing in one of my job finding tips packets, but it's worth a post here.
When asked to interview in person...
Scope out the location if you're unfamiliar with the area - saves getting lost the day of the interview and being late.
Get gas and prep your wardrobe the day before so you aren't rushed and so that you don't run the risk of getting gas on your suite, showing up smelling like “Petrol Fragrance #5”.
Take water or accept water, but you won't need coffee, you'll already be nervous enough and it's too hard to manage.
Yes, send a thank you note! Hand written or email...that's a style and context question, but always always send a thank you note.
There's more to say, but for today I'll end with this.
DON'T be too early.
Had someone show up 20 minutes early for an interview this week.
That's almost worse than being late.
If you arrive early, sit in your car and wait to enter.
Ten minutes early is maximum and that's pushing it in my book.
People want to help you, but you have to tell them how!
Like the Yellow Brick Road, job search is scary, uncertain and long, but there are people along the way who can help!
You can do this!
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Non-Profit Jobs
IMO,...
I was speaking to a job seeker last night and mentioned to him the website Jobs That Serve -
Milwaukee http://epic.cuir.uwm.edu/entech/jobs/ - He hadn't heard of it and while I think it's pretty well known,
I didn't want to miss an opportunity to share something that might help others.
Remember, Non-Profits don't have a lot of money to advertise, so looking on their website directly is advisable as well.
Another way to cultivate leads like these is to search on Linkedin -
not just their job board, but within your contacts...you can never tell if you will have a 2nd or 3rd degree contact at the Non-Profit you are dying to work for!
A little on the 101 side, but even if you find a posted position (on a company website, job board, etc)
use your Linkedin site to determine if you know anyone there that can recommend you, serve as a reference or give you some intel on the company/organization culture.
People want to help you, but you have to tell them how! Like the Yellow Brick Road, job search is scary, uncertain and long, but there are people along the way who can help!
You can do this!
You can do this!
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Monday, July 5, 2010
Have You Been Searching For a While?
I'm going to start a little in the middle.
We'll cover other stuff at some point, but I wanted to get a few things out for people to use right away.
First - why listen to me?
Well, maybe you shouldn't, but I've been a job seeker a couple times and I've been a Hiring Manager my entire career.
Read on or don't :)
A few ideas to share today:
- If you've been in search for a while - take a vacation. Just like when we have jobs, we need a breather now and then. A chance to recharge. Not a long one, but a day or so.
- If you've been in search for six (6) months or more, it's time to take a step back and get some perspective. Call your closest friends together and ask them to evaluate your job search work. Are you doing the same thing over and over again and it's not working? Stop. Do ONE (1) thing differently today.
- If you've been in search for six (6) months or longer and you haven't considered: a.) contract work b.) volunteer work c.) internships, do so now.
Like with anything in life and as Yogie Berra once said “If you don't know where you're going, you'll probably end up somewhere else.” - If you have a plan, evaluate it and make changes to it. If you don't have a plan, get one.
People want to help you, but you have to tell them how! Like the Yellow Brick Road, job search is scary, uncertain and long, but there are people along the way who can help!
You can do this!
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