Tag Archives: interview

When Job Interviewing Becomes a Strength

I will be conducting a free, 2-hour seminar at the CTC this Thursday afternoon, May 22, from 1-3 PM on mastering the job interviewing process. I believe we can turn this sometimes painful, frustrating process into a strength and that should be welcome news, because strengths are those things we do exceptionally well AND enjoy doing, over and over.

Please raise your hand if you enjoy interviewing for a job? Most people dislike interviewing until they master the process, so I’m guessing not a lot of hands were raised. However, once mastery is achieved the following can take place. This is a true story.

A CTC client of mine was heading out of town to conduct an informational interview at a company where he had once worked. The day before his flight he was told that tomorrow he would have 9 job interviews, would be flown to another office that evening and have 9 more the following day. Three jet trips and 18 interviews in two days. You’ll hear the complete story at the seminar, but let me simply state that he enjoyed the interviews, was relaxed throughout and was rewarded for his efforts.

The seminar will cover the psychological processes in play during a job interview. Once we understand them it should radically change or modify our current interviewing style. You will even get a chance to experience these psychological processes first hand in unforgettable ways. We will develop our value statement and how to use it to answer the “tell me about yourself” question. We will learn why stories are so psychologically powerful and how to construct them. We’ll close with suicide questions, you know, the ones where the interviewer invites you to commit suicide (think: “What are your weaknesses?”).

Copies of my book No Medal for Second Place: How to Finish First in Job Interviews  will be available for $5 a piece, just above my cost to buy copies and have them shipped to me. Since it is clearly not the money, what’s in it for me? My hope is that several of you will master the interviewing process and share with me your success stories, because they are a source of great joy. I still smile when I think of the 18-interview ambush. I’ll see some of you there.

Job Search Assets

Chicago is fortunate. Its Career Transitions Center (CTC) is a low-cost, high-impact asset for jobseekers. I’m unaware of a similar program in a major U.S. city. But that doesn’t mean that programs designed to assist jobseekers do not exist where you live. Here are three potential sources of assistance.

  1. The Chamber of Commerce. Sometimes your local Chamber of Commerce will organize job fairs or have other programs designed to assist people who are out of work and looking for re-employment.
  2. Houses of worship. Mega-churches are the ones that typically offer a fairly extensive array of job search services. An example of this in the greater Chicago area is Willow Creek. It is one of the largest and most influential mega-churches in the country and it offers an array of ministries that include career services. But smaller churches might also offer impressive programs. The CTC was founded by five faith communities: Chicago Temple (United Methodist), Fourth Presbyterian Church, Holy Name Cathedral (Roman Catholic), Old St. Patrick’s Church (Roman Catholic), and St. Chrysostom Church (Episcopalian). Though its roots are Christian, the CTC is a 501(c)3, not-for-profit, secular organization serving all faiths.
  3. University career services: If you are a college graduate, then you should take advantage of the career services provided by your university. Some programs provide free coaching from volunteers and if there is one thing I would encourage all jobseekers to seek out it is coaching.
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As you explore the career search services of your area look at joining a group, or starting one. Groups offer support during a time of stress and an informal venue for the giving and receiving of coaching insights.

 

The Elevator Speech Redefined

Yesterday, on my radio program, “You’re Hired!” I spoke with Laura Sterkel, the Director of Programs and Coaching at the CTC, about the Elevator Speech. Laura calls it the Value Statement and this slight modification is more important than it appears. When we label this concise self-description an elevator speech we turn it into a sales pitch. But when we call it a value statement it becomes an expression of the solutions we bring to a company’s problems, the value that we bring to them.

Since no one likes to be sold, but everyone likes to buy, this modification is important. For example, when I am selling someone there is a tension between us. I am on the other side of the table while the potential buyer is guardedly listening to me while I make my pitch. But when I present solutions to a customer the table disappears. I become a part of the potential buyer’s problem-solving team. They listen to me in a different way. My value appeals to them because they can clearly see how it helps them.

This radio program with Laura will appear as a free podcast on October 7th. I’ll post a link to it on my website (www.tompayne.com) and on a future blog post.

Until then, have a great day.

The Unwanted Gift

It is difficult to think of job loss in these terms, but being unemployed CAN be an unwanted gift. Too often we are like sleepwalkers wandering through our routine existence, barely conscious of our surroundings, but losing a job changes this. It rattles our world and shakes us awake, and can lead to a  journey of self-discovery.

IMG_0205A successful job search campaign forces self-discovery upon us, because it requires us to understand what it is we bring to the hiring table that is valuable to a potential employer. Take, for example, the process involved in developing a value statement, aka the elevator speech (the first subject of the “You’re Hired!” radio show, hosted by me, that will begin on October 7, 2013).

Most people have an awful value statement, and there are several reasons why they are universally bad. One of them is they take a great deal of time and effort to get right. Like any good piece of writing, they need to be edited and re-edited many times. But it is one of life’s many ironies that getting back to work takes a great deal of work, and few people put in the required effort.

Another reason why producing a good value statement is so difficult is because it is your brand. Developing a branding statement is hard. It requires you to capture your core, but who knows what there core is? What are your strengths, weaknesses, interests and values? What defines you as a person? Some people will take a variety of assessment courses to help them find this out, and I recommend going down this path. Myers-Briggs, DISC, StrengthFinders, and so on, are helpful ways to gain insights into what it is that makes you unique. Then once you find this out, your brand becomes easier to define.

Had you not lost your job you might not have learned so much about yourself, and what you have to offer the world. It is a gift that unemployment can give you. We don’t ask for it, or want it, but like every test and trial it can enrich us in ways we never anticipated.