ARTICLE: HOW TO NOT GET THE JOB

How To....Find Your Perfect Job!

All the information you'll ever need to take control of your career!

Published every other Thursday by The How-To Job Coach of Find the Perfect Job

April 23,2009 2009
Volume v, issue 9


HOW TO NOT GET THE JOB




Needleman opens by recounting what some recruiters from Consolidated Container Co. told her: some candidates have arrived up to an hour early for interviews. Others have alluded to their financial hardships. To quote Needleman, "These sorts of tactics aren't exactly winners." Know why? Both of those scream DESPERATE!!! !!

Anyone who was participating in either of my webinars last week knows I went into detail on why desperation does not breed objectivity, and why, although it sounds like the opposite of what you should do, the more focused and discriminating you are, the better your chances are, not worse.

Employers want someone who wants them, just like you do. Employers want to hire someone who knows what they (the job seeker) want, knows what their ideal company and position look like, has done their homework, and is targeted in on finding that opportunity. They want someone who has researched the company, asks astute and knowledgeable questions, and wants this job and this company, not any job and any company. And by the way, you can want five jobs with five companies, just make sure that when you speak with each of those companies, you make each one feel like they're the only company of interest to you, okay?

Needleman quotes David Gaspin, Director of HR at 5W Public Relations in New York. "I've had times where people come in and it's clear that if they really had their preference, they'd be doing something different," he says. "You don't want to put that out on the table. Nobody wants to hire someone who's going to run for the door when times get better."

Exactly. Do you know anyone who likes being runner up? Or even further down the list when they're chosen? The company has put work into hiring someone. They've put together a job description, studied resumes, conducted phone interviews, brought people in to ascertain skills and personality and fit. They're looking for the person who is looking for them.

But people who play it like they just need a job make it easy for HR directors like Gaspin, because as soon as the job seeker leaves, Gaspin throws the resume in the trash can. And the person can follow up all they want, but they're dead in the water. And probably without a clue as to why.

Because of the competitiveness of the market, you need to go that extra mile. Just as I went through in length in the "How to Ace A First Interview" webinar last Thursday, you need to know what your accomplishments are (hint: they're not the job description that's probably on your resume), and how those impacted your previous employers. You need to have studied the company's ad and virtually memorized it, not just skimmed it and whipped off a resume and cover letter to it. And you need to know how your skills go with what they want. And you need to be able to say all that to them.

According to Needleman's article, Kathy Marsico, SVP of HR at PDI in Saddle River, NJ, says candidates must be able to show how they're a strong fit for the position that they're seeking. "You must differentiate yourself like never before," she says. "You need to customize yourself and make yourself memorable."

And when no one else is doing this, being able to makes you stand out. As a recruiter, the one thing I did was prep my candidates. They went into the interview knowing up oneside and down the other how they fit with what the company wanted and how to say why they wanted to work there. They knew about the company culture, the company goals, the ups and downs of the position. They knew everything I did about my client. And my client knew everything about the candidate that I did. About the only thing I couldn't gauge was the personality mix.

Invariably, that's why my clients hired the first or second person I sent them. Everyone was prepped and thoroughly pre-qualified. So do yourself a favor. Do your homework. Have some pride and discretion, and if you don't, then act like it. Employers don't hire based on sympathy and desperation.