I just read an article on LinkedIn from an HR Director titled Meeting the Need for Talent. The article is pointed at hospitality, specifically hoteliers, but it resonates several strong points, and the “baker’s dozen questions” apply to every industry, every function. It got me thinking about how many opportunities are really out there. I know the common chant right now is “not enough jobs” and there is some truth to that. However, if you change your thinking and become an opportunity seeker instead of a job seeker, you will see a world of possibilities open up for you.
Here’s the deal. Because there are fewer jobs and more people to fill them, employers are now seeking superstars instead of candidates. These career rockstars start wowing the hiring managers from first contact (their resume and cover letter) right through the interview process. Never tiring, never showing wear, ALWAYS identifying or recognizing opportunities to bring or demonstrate value. These are the people that seem to sail through changing jobs, lay offs, downsizing, etc. The ones that make you sit up straighter and wish you’d ironed your shirt when they walk into the waiting room for an interview.
The afore mentioned article is all about how employers are changing the way they look, the way they come across to potential employees, and the way they interview. This is why you need career and interview coaching to go along with knockout personal marketing documents. The career coaching is necessary just to target you and or make you appear less specialized at the same time. So to keep up and not get left in the “pass” pile, you need to change the way they see you and the way you interview. That’s a lot for you to take on when you’re already worried about this transitional period in your life.
I hear clients all the time tell me out of one side of their mouth that they don’t have an “exciting job”. They don’t do anything special, ever. Then out of the other side of their mouth say “Oh, interview? No, I’m good. I can nail an interview.” My next question is, “Really, what will you talk about?” Silence. Sometime the answer is an embarrassed “Well, I wasn’t ready for that.” That, I offer, is the problem. You should know your experience and accomplishments well enough to know what needs they match and be ready, at any time, to deliver professional, poised, value laden answers to any questions, from anybody asking about your knowledge, skills, and abilities.
Flash forward three days and our client now has a document properly showcasing their former positions and achievements (and yes, everyone has achievements in every job). They have a document with a strong call to action for a personal meeting, and have learned not only how to answer any professional question, at any time, but also the ever important questions they should ask employers at the interview. They have become a superstar, through knowledge about who they are as a professional, which path they are traveling and how to successfully convey their match to employer’s needs for talent.
OMG! Resumes has built vital career and interview coaching into every package at no extra charge. We want you to get the job, not just the interview. OMG! Resumes turns weary job seekers into opportunity seeking superstars!
