Prologue: Make The Most of Your Hidden Advantage
Think in Terms of Context
Keys to Finding The Right Job: Preparation,
Initiative, Exposure
Questions and Answers
Related Links
- Guest Speaker
- Henry Lesher, Executive Vice President Bernard Haldane Associates, New York City
- Haldane Associates has more than 75 offices throughout the United States, Canada and Great Britain and since 1947 has helped over 600,000 people obtain better jobs and careers.
Prologue: Make The Most of Your Hidden AdvantageDr. Bernard Haldane formed Haldane Associates in 1947 to help WW II veterans obtain basic training in reverse so they could use the skills they learned during the war in a peacetime economy.
Then, as now, most people don't know how to get jobs that offer the right fit, those which make the highest and best use of their skills and talents.
Before you can find that type of job for yourself, you need to uncover your hidden objective - how you can uniquely contribute to an organization's continued success. Ask:
- What am I equipped to do?
- How can I best communicate that capability to the job market?
- Where are the jobs that will best use my skills and talents?
People who see don't hear. That gives an advantage to people who can't see because reading a voice and its intonation provides an avenue for sensing much more. That capability can have a real impact in job interviews.
Will you help me? When asked with sincerity and the right tone, that's the most powerful question in English language. People usually say, "Sure." So, be yourself, be candid, be positive, be truthful during a job interview. We all want to work with people we like, enjoy and are comfortable with. Employers hire people they like. So, let your light shine.
One of the biggest problems is that companies don't know how to find you. And you don't know how to find them. That's why networking is essential. And, in doing so, give yourself a context so you stand out. Here's an example of context: You have learned how to overcome obstacles. That's a key skill. You can make a difference in an organization.
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Think in Terms of Context
The job seeker says, "I don't know what I can do." (i.e. "I haven't done my home work.") The prospective employer says, "You don't have experience." etc. (i.e. "I don't like you," "You're wasting my time," "You haven't shown me how you can help me solve a problem I need to solve.") Both parties in this situation have not identified a common ground.
Work on presenting yourself effectively. Articulate what you can do for an employer (based on an analysis of your skills).
In a job interview, there's just one significant question you need to answer: "What can you do for me?" The interviewer has a problem. It's either a job not being done or not being done well. The interviewer is also taking time away from his own job. His one dread: taking time to deal with people who are ill-prepared.
Employers want to know that, when they've made a hiring decision, they've solved their problem. So, turn your disability into an advantage. Show dedication, show loyalty, show caring, show quality work. They're all in short supply in today's world of work.
Don't accept preconceptions. Show you are not a whiner but that you've overcome obstacles. That generates respect.
Be prepared to tell a prospective employer what you can do for him. You can do that by:
- Identifying your skills. That will show you what jobs you can consider.
- Being prepared to answer this question: Have you done it before?
- Showing why you're unique among those with similar skill sets.
Make believe the person interviewing you can't see. Paint mental pictures for him about how you can help him and his organization continue to be successful.
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Keys to Finding The Right Job: Preparation,
Initiative, Exposure
The unpublished (or hidden) job market consists of those opportunities not identified by media, agencies, headhunters, recruiters or the Internet.
Become a commissioned, door-to-door salesman. That's networking. You have that job until you do it well. When you have mastered it, you will get to do what you love.
It'll take significant amounts of rejection until someone says yes to you. Successful people network, are proactive, by habit.
Who can help you find the right job for you? People who are currently working in those jobs. Ask them: Will you help me?
Networking is like a family tree. Every one of us knows someone who can help. People love to help other people, but they're reluctant because they don't know what you want and how to help. Don't ask for a job directly in networking. Ask to spend 10-15 minutes talking about what their job (and your dream job) is like. And then ask: Do you know others who would describe their jobs and their organizations? Tell them you're going through a process of discovery. Ask them to help you in that journey. Remember: People like to talk about themselves.
Most job seekers suffer from under exposure. Be prepared. Take the initiative by:
- Identifying your skills.
- Matching your skills to functional roles.
- Communicating what you can offer.
About 90 percent of job seekers spend 95 percent of their time on the easy things in a job search: replying to job openings through the media, job placement firms and the Internet. But each of those sources only represent 10 percent of the available jobs.
Reaching the unpublished market by doing your own research through conversations with decision makers about jobs and companies is not easy. But do your homework, and you'll get a target group of potential employers and a personal picture of the trends in your particular field. The keys to networking successfully are preparation, initiative, exposure.
To find the right job for you, you need to take the risk of being rejected. It usually takes 200 to 500 overtures before a person without a disability gets two to four job offers. The road to the right job is paved with rejection. But, if you do everything you can to find the right job, you'll find it.
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Questions and Answers
- Question: As a first time job seeker, what is the most important thing I can do.
- Lesher: Establish a goal. What do others tell you about your strengths? What are you passionate about? What do you enjoy? There are many ways to be involved in what you love to do. Identify what you enjoy, pinpoint the job skills you have for doing what you enjoy and then develop your resume around those skills.
- Question: What happens when you lack training for a job you'd like?
- Lesher: Tell your prospective employer: I'm in the process of learning these essential skills, and I will continue to learn them on the job. Stretch yourself, but don't leap. What you don't know today you'll soon learn. Go for it. Give yourself the benefit of the doubt.
- Question: Finding a job is like being the pitcher in a baseball game. Who's more important than the pitcher?
- Lesher: I like your analogy. It works. Remember that confidence short of arrogance is the right attitude.
- Question: Shouldn't I ask the interviewer about the requirements of the job?
- Lesher: Your pre-interview work is to discover what you can do, communicate what you can do in a compelling way and then get interviews within the job sector you're targeting. And, yes, go into an interview in that same mode of discovery, get clarity on what the requirements are and then show how you meet those requirements.
- Question: As soon as I tell about my minor visual impairment, it seems like it's a turnoff for the interviewer.
- Lesher: You're raising an objection (a reason for not hiring you) that, to me, doesn't matter. There's no reason to bring up. Don't stop until you are successful. Right person, right time, right job. To get that combination, you need to network.
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