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What’s Preventing You From Getting Job Interviews

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Those who know me know that I don’t think that it’s really helpful if we are silent about the raw side of job hunting in Australia & New Zealand – particularly for Mature Age and Millennial job seekers. I believe that more can be done to help talented job hunters through their negative job search experiences and teach them how to be better and smarter job seekers.

I started pro bono activities in 2013 and expanded them in 2014, contributing free seminar events, free online webinars and chat sessions to educate and help job hunters. 2014 was a great year, and our most successful pro bono activity has been with job search support groups in Sydney and Melbourne. Our pro bono group support has paid off: 30% of people who took part in these group events found full-time or long-term contract work.

Here is some more of the things that work in getting a job interview:

Mature Age Job Seekers

If you are battling bias because you are perceived as less tech savvy, then demonstrate your skills in social media. Use tools like Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook and prove that you are up to date in your field. I personally believe that there is no excuse for a job hunter to not understand social media.

Volunteer and take any opportunity to participate and contribute

If you have gaps in your resume, you are likely to get weeded out by software parsing systems. Fill the gaps with volunteer work. There is nothing dishonest about volunteer work. In fact, Australians and New Zealanders value community contributions more than most other nationalities. This might sound old fashioned, but it is one of the values I like the most about living in Australia. I found some of my best friends through my volunteer work and I know that volunteering often leads to job opportunities (directly or indirectly). You can choose to have a gap or contribute and give back to the community and whilst you do it, eliminate a common job gap bias.

Look for local support groups

I know, they are often not very organised, they don’t meet in cool locations and they have other flaws, but joining up with others in the same boat can help and you are likely to feel less alone in your job hunt. There are tonnes of support groups. Use Dr. Google to research or simply go to Eventbrite.

Millennials

Yes, we all know and appreciate that you grew up with the internet and you use it all the time and, in fact, probably so much that most of your connections are largely ‘virtual’.

Use your online and social media skills and convert them into real and actual connections.

I am glad I don’t need to tell you how to use Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and possibly LinkedIn (I’m sure many of you could show me a thing or two) – what you really need to do is use your skills to initiate real meetings. Just like the Mature Age Job Seekers, use support groups, networking events and volunteer work to connect via genuine contributions to create real opportunities.

5 Effective Job Hunting Steps to get an Interview

Step #1 Figure Out What you Want

It might sound silly but before you start searching for jobs, you need to sit down and have a good think about what it is that’s currently making you unhappy and what it is that you actually want. No one can help you if you don’t know what you really want.

Step #2 Update Your Resume and your Profile on Job Sites

Once you’ve figured out what it is you want, you need to update your resume so it reflects the type of role you’re looking to secure – and you need to ensure you’ve created accounts on any relevant job sites. Also note that there are more than just Seek, My Career and LinkedIn job sites. Use Niche Job boards and alternative job sites or sign up direct with employers you may want to work for.

Step #3 Sign Up For Job Alerts N O W

Trust me when I tell you that between December and March job opportunities increase everywhere and it can get a little crazy as old budgets get used up and new budgets come into play so jobs are going to be posted in a lot of places – which means it can be difficult to keep up with new opportunities. Use your skills and sign up for job alerts on job sites and social media and Google Alert so you can be alerted every time a vacancy comes up which matches your criteria … and if you sign up now you’ll be ahead of the game for when it all kicks off in early/mid January.

Step #4 Follow Companies and Job Opportunities on Social Media

You can do what everyone does and just focus all your search on Seek, My Career and maybe even LinkedIn or you can utilise your social media skills and sign up to alerts on services like Twitter. If you’re looking for a new job, you need to be on social media platforms. Why? Because they are amongst the most effective solutions for advertising and finding new jobs – and if you’re not on them, there’s a chance you could miss out.

Step #5 Clean up your Social Profiles

The first thing most employers do before they call you for an interview is check you out and the chances that they skim over your social media footprint is very likely.  So, you need to look at yours and make sure your privacy settings are as tight as they need to be and your Twitter, Facebook and other profiles don’t showcase anything which could cost you the job e.g. dodgy pictures or abusive language/material. Make sure your LinkedIn profile is up to date and that you upload a professional image.

So, guys, get with it and jump onto these opportunities, so you are prepared for 2015. Don’t allow anyone to get you down, seek support, use all your social media and networking skills and always remember to hunt wisely!

Uli

 

Secure a New Job in 2015

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The holiday season has been hard for most job hunters as they reflected on the last 12 months while they were seeking a new solution to an old problem. I received a number of emails and even a few calls from clients who worried about 2015. I went away for a few days to re-charge my batteries but I couldn’t help but reflect on some of these messages and decided to make some blog notes.

Early in my career, when I worked at Optus, my favourite mentor was my Managing Director, Allen Lew. He once told me a great story to help me through a personal problem.

The Story of Blind Men and an Elephant

Three blind men meet and are asked to describe an elephant. One says that an elephant is long and skinny like a snake. The other says that the first doesn’t know what he is talking about, and says an elephant is like the trunk of a tree, round and thick. The third says they are both wrong, that an elephant is wide and circular like a giant disc. In some versions, they stop talking, start listening, and collaborate to “see” the full elephant. When a sighted man walks by and sees the elephant, they also realize they are all blind.

It doesn’t take you very long to figure out that each of the men is talking about a different part of the elephant .The men are blind, so they fail to take in the whole elephant. Because their experience was limited to a certain part of the elephant, they assumed that the elephant was the part they could see. Why – am I telling you the Elephant Story? Because I want you to get creative in 2015.

Being Creative

Being creative is often like being a blind person. You are dealing with a problem that you cannot see. You talk about it, you look at it, and then you try to solve it by understanding only the parts that you can see. The problem is that you can easily get in a rut, and start seeing the same problem and offering the same solution. What happens, though, when, either by choice or by circumstance, you need to come up with new solutions to find a job?

Opening New Doors

To come up with a new approach to an old problem, and to open new doors, you often need to look at the problem differently. If you do the same things, you will get the same results. In my experience, when a new solution was required, the best thing I could do (whether I was stuck or not) was to change my perspective on the problem. The only way to achieve that was by talking to other people and seeking expert insight, help, and advice. Most of the advice I received would use the “Start with Stop Doing this…” method.

So here is what you should do to improve your job hunting results in 2015?

It All Start’s Starts with STOP

If you are like most job hunters out there, then you are probably your own greatest enemy. You have searched and applied for a while, you start to doubt yourself, you start to complicate your life with more application ideas, you cloud your mind with unimportant thoughts and negativity, you eventually even punish yourself with procrastination, hate yourself, and then feel sorry for yourself, because “outside forces” are making your job search experience a living hell.

Surely your situation sucks because those are the cards that you’re dealt, but most job hunters — especially those who are better off financially and don’t live on the streets — tend to make their very own lives more difficult. But there are things you can do to stop the miserable cycle that you have found yourself in — a cycle that I know all too well, because I deal with job hunters’ stories every day. Here are 10 things that I suggest you stop in 2015.

1.  Stop Procrastinating.

Problems don’t go away on their own. You can either make them go away or live with them. If you know you can’t live with them, then don’t procrastinate because the weight of them on your mind only increases over time. Get help!

2.  Stop Lying to Yourself.

People will lie to you left and right throughout your life; don’t add to the pile of lies. It is one thing for others to be lying to you, and an entirely different issue if you’re lying to yourself. You have to be able to rely on yourself and on what you believe. If you lost faith or belief in yourself, get help!

3.  Stop Relying on Others.

People have their own lives filled with their own headaches, problems, mishaps and successes. Friendship is great, but often doesn’t weather the storm. Be self-reliant. Be independent. We all find ourselves alone at several points throughout our lives, and most friends don’t like to deal with us when we are unemployed. If you find yourself on your lonesome, and don’t know how to deal with it because you are used to having constant support, then you will drown. Get help!

4.  Stop Doing the Same Thing Over and Over Expecting Different Results.

At the same time, don’t keep making the same mistakes and expecting different results. If you tried something one way and it didn’t work, then guess what will happen when you try again exactly in the same manner? Failure is only good if you learn from it. Otherwise it really is just failure.

5. Stop Feeling Sorry for Yourself.

Life is tough for everyone. The richest of the rich have problems. The poorest of the poor have problems. We make problems for ourselves — they don’t exist outside of us. Stop feeling sorry for yourself, and start interacting with the world around you. Go out – get away from your online gadgets, meet real people, start to network, join Meetup Groups – do something new.

6.  Stop Making Excuses.

I understand that the time isn’t right, the place isn’t right, and the stars have yet to align perfectly. The setting will never be perfect for anything. Perfect is not the alignment of outside forces; it’s making havoc the perfect opportunity. Stop making excuses, and start making opportunities for yourself, even if you struggle with it – join a group – volunteer – leave your house. Get help!

7.  Stop Worrying.

Sh*t happens. Then it happens again. Then sh*t won’t happen for a day or two…and then it returns with a vengeance. The more responsibilities that you have (children, mortgage, and finances), the more you have to potentially worry about. The key is not to procrastinate, and approach all problems logically. The only thing worth worrying about is your own laziness; everything else is out of your control. If you worry about things out of your control, then you are setting yourself up for a mental breakdown.

8.  Stop Overloading Your Schedule.

Doing more does not necessarily mean getting more done. It’s all about efficiency. Divvy up your time for all the things that you MUST do, and if you run out of time, spend some of your money to find someone who can help you to solve some of the MUST DO’s, and then divvy up the rest of your time for the things that you WANT to do. Just make sure to be clear on what you need before you start going after what you want.

9.  Stop Trying to Impress Others.

It’s not worth it. The only reason you should ever try to get on someone’s good side is if you need them for something — and only in business. When it comes to personal relationships, you can’t do anything more than be yourself. If they don’t like you for who you are, then they will never truly like you. Move on – see point 1.

10.  Stop Wishing You Were Someone Else.

Make sure that you know who you are, and do all you can to develop — not just change. People don’t change overnight, they develop and grow. You are an individual because you are a human being. You have the potential to do anything you want, including finding a new job. Figure out what it is that you are really able to offer to an employer and go after it. Stop applying for unrealistic jobs, and stop the copy, paste, send shotgun approach. You are only making things worse for yourself, and all those other job hunters out there, as you are adding to the ever increasing job application spam.

I know, this is eventually not what you wanted to read today. You can choose to continue to go about your job search the same way you did in 2014 but remember, they won’t open any new doors.

Try something new in 2015, get creative, or get help, just don’t go back to doing the same thing over and over again

and certainly remember to hunt wisely!

TheJobSearchCoach

Uli

Stop Dreaming! If you want a new Job in 2015

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Welcome and Happy New Year! Are you dreaming of getting a new job in 2015? Someone once said to me in my career that people who have dreams have goals. I agree, but if you dream too much and have your head in the clouds, then you will never get anywhere. I suggest you get real and let go of some or all of these typical job hunter dreams. Get them out of your head if you want to get a job in 2015.

If you want to get a job in 2015, I suggest you get real and let go of some or all of these typical job hunter dreams: get them out of your head now!

Dream # 1 The most qualified candidate gets the job. 

Seriously, when did you last apply that practice in your own world? Get real. For realistic people this is simply not how it works. I know, because I hear this at least 20 times each week and it is pretty clear to me that it’s hard for so many job hunters to let go of this dream. If you can manage to think differently about finding work and accept that it really means that you have to get a job and do a job, and that they are two different things, then you will get interviews and jobs.

Dream # 2 They will read all of the data in my resume. 

There’s only one definition of a good resume—it’s the one that gets you the interview. The vast majority of submitted resumes have evolved into ‘data dumps’ and in doing so, what’s been lost to the is the time tested value of telling your story. It’s the story, not the data, that engages the reader and communicates your value. Get it wrong and the reader will not consider you. Facts, figures and numbers, only matter when they form part of a larger story.

Dream # 3 Just work harder. 

This is probably the most evil and most common of all the job hunter dreams, because it can lead to blaming the victim. Not a single week goes by when I don’t read or discover yet another encouragement from self-professed recruiting experts, who tell job hunters to “just work harder.”  This unspoken judgment that hard work is all that separates the employed from the jobless is absolute nonsense. Never mind the irrational system we have in place for connecting people and jobs. Never mind luck, chance, connections, age, sex, race, disability, experience or sometimes even talent. Just work harder. Simplistic solutions like ‘work harder’ can feel good because they create the perception that the problem is solved. But it’s not. The dream remains. What you really need to do is search and apply smarter, not harder. That’s how you get job interviews. Call me if you want to know more; simply follow my blog or contact me during our Pro Bono Friday sessions or attend our seminars.

Dream # 4  Network, Network, Network till it comes out of your ears. 

Ask any job hunter or hiring manager what networking means and you’ll get a different answer each time. The word ‘networking’ has become so overused, that it has started to lose its real meaning for so many job hunters. To them, it actually means NOTHING because no one has an outright answer. Networking isn’t everything and it certainly is not wrong; it’s just not enough. And when it’s put forth as ‘the answer’ it becomes a dream. What’s worse is that it becomes a focus on the wrong thing. Networking is not the magic key to a new job.

Oh, and while we are on that subject, just knowing someone, or knowing someone who knows someone, will not get you a job either. You need to do much more than just ‘know someone’. This is probably the weirdest and hardest job hunter dream to challenge or even to dispute because sometimes it’s true! But more often than not it’s really just a start, especially if the connection is only online or simply weak. What’s weak? For starters, so many LinkedIn users believe that networking via their mouse clicks is a connection or a lead to a new job. Need I say more?

What’s even more important than knowing someone via a few mouse clicks or Facebook connection tabs, is actually being a part of something.

Being an active, visible and regular contributor to a community—any community— is real networking. Because it’s from these communities that the genuine connections required to find work are found. You have to put something in to get something out. A mere endorsement or a commentary post in a LinkedIn group does not make you a valuable networker.

Dream # 5  Be honest. 

We are all for honesty. The problem is the job hunters who confuse including EVERYTHING in their application versus simply including what matters. No small task. And it means something different to every individual. Most job ads are short and simple. So many jobs today are very narrowly focused. That means that the focus in your application has got to be on what matters, NOT on telling your life story. I just looked at another 8 page resume. I am not kidding. 8 pages?!

Telling what matters is what counts. Bottom line? Instead of a focus on being honest and including everything, change the focus to reading and LISTENING and speaking to what’s needed and what matters the most. Less is More!

Dream # 6  Go to LinkedIn and you will get a job. Yeah—dream on!

It is like saying, “Google Translate will solve your language problem.” Get real—LinkedIn is a database. As one of many tools, it might help you find work. But it’s a database, not a magic online kingdom. There are at least 10 alternative sites who do more for you depending on your industry and job search segment.

Dream # 7 Job Boards will do the work for you.  

There are lots of published speculations on the percentage of time job board’s lead to jobs and they range from 5-15%. Is that really true? Maybe. Maybe not. What’s consistent is that the numbers are never more than 20%. What is larger than 20%? The dream that online job boards will do the work for you. Approximately 70% of all job hunters focus their job search energy on online job boards hunting for less than 30% of the actual job opportunities.

Dream No. 8 You just need to get past the Gatekeeper. 

Yep—the gatekeeper used to be the receptionist or the protective ‘HR guy’; nowadays the first gatekeeper can be resume parsing systems and software. The idea is the same. The dream that if you could just get  past something, or someone, is a silly idea. Wake up. Job hunting is about doing things smarter—not harder—and with consistency.

If you want to get a job in 2015, get your head out of the clouds, focus on what really matters and remember to hunt wisely!

TheJobSearchCoach

Uli

How to Avoid Fake Job Ads

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Job searching is tough work. No one wants the added hassle of having to weed out the fake online job ads from legitimate and genuine job opportunities. I have three simple steps that help you to spot the ‘snoopers’ and ‘scammers’. Read more

The 9 keys to get your foot in the door for any job

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Do you really want that job or is it going to be another one of your copy-paste-send applications (job application)?

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How to Spot Fake Job Offers

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Job searching is tough work. No one wants the added hassle of having to weed out the fake online job ads from legitimate and genuine job opportunities.

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Get Noticed & Remembered Secure Your Next Job

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Some job candidates just know how to be remembered for the right reasons. Read more

Twitter is not a Social Networking Job Portal – It’s a Media Platform

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Here are three insights and a number of useful tips to help you to utilise Twitter effectively if you want to tweet for jobs or use Twitter for your career networking.

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5 Common Resume Myths Uncovered

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No one gets hired because they have a great resume alone. Your resume has to be compelling and ATS-proof to get noticed. I unmask 5 common resume myths so you can score your next interview faster. Read more