Time2MarketU

Practice Persistence

Pursuing new and promotional roles is rarely a quick trip.  These activities require focused attention over a period of time typically.  They require persistence.  Remember, intention + awareness + action = results, and you need to continue taking action as you pursue new and promotional roles. 

Today we conclude our 14-week Promotional Readiness program this term, with Touro Graduate School of Business students.  I ask Touro students to think of 5 ways to practice persistence.  Then, put those strategies in action.  This exercise may be valuable for you too!

Reflecting on earlier tips outlined below is one way to formulate your list of 5 practices and get started working persistently toward your new or promotional role.

- Consider the rule of 7

- 10 ways to keep in touch

Focus on where you are going vs. where you’ve been

A few weeks back, in our Effective Interviewing webinar, we discussed the importance of a forward focus during interviewing conversations. “Most people will trip up when they focus on where they've been, the name, and they don't focus on what they've done. Or if they can't explain to us the process of how they delivered results.” comments Ms. Boden, Director of Global University Programs for Amazon, in the article What It’s Like to Interview at Amazon.  To help you avoid tripping up in your interviews, the tip this week is to center conversations on where you are going by using probing techniques (e.g., having your list of questions ready to explore during an interview), communicating your accomplishments emphasizing results, and sharing project results.  As you prepare to pursue new and promotional roles, be sure to use these techniques to move forward faster with effective interviewing.

Develop Your Correspondence Kit

How do you follow up with people after an initial business meeting, networking event, or job interview? Are there other times when you need to be reaching out to business associates, e.g., work anniversaries, following major company announcements, or on other occasions?

The tip this week is to consider these questions and develop your correspondence tool kit. Then, put it  to work and stay connected as you pursue new and promotional roles.  You’ll move forward faster corresponding with:

• Thank you notes (e-mail and traditional mail)
• Timely and relevant follow up e-mails (e.g., meeting notes)
• Relevant news articles
• Pertinent social media update posts

and more…

Show them what you’ve got

Today we’ll cover networking and effective interviewing in our webinar with students at Touro Graduate School of Business, and we’ll be talking about this week’s tip – show them what you’ve got.  Here I’m talking about showcasing your accomplishments, skills and competencies to help others understand what you are capable of and to help you get results in today’s competitive job market.  Showcasing is one key way to reinforce your qualifications and separate yourself from the competition, whether you are seeking a new or promotional role.

There are multiple ways to showcase. Following are a few to help you:

• Share your project portfolio in networking meetings and interviews
• Provide samples of recognized work products (e.g., reports, publications, products developed, patents, etc.)
• Deliver an experience (e.g., offer a workshop, training session, or meeting facilitation)
• Document awards on your resume (and on LinkedIn) and be prepared to talk about the story behind them in your meetings

What other ways can you show them what you've got?  

Touro GSB students, think on that question and come to the session prepared to share your ideas. See you later today on the webinar!

Stay Positively On Point

For those of you preparing to interview for new or promotional roles, take time to develop and explore your list of questions throughout the entire interviewing process – before, during and after interview meetings. It will demonstrate your enthusiasm and interest, and it will keep you positively on point with hiring managers and their teams, especially if the process is prolonged.  Securing a new or promotional role is not always a speedy process, and it’s easy to become discouraged when timing is prolonged. But, you can stay positively on point with this tip and evolve your conversations to generate offers. 

For the past several weeks, this tip and others have focused on a number of points covered in the article 6 Sure Ways to Sabotage Your Job Search, by Nancy Collamer.  In this article, Nancy mentions two ways to sabotage your search: i) failing to prepare your list of interview questions, and ii) playing the pity game.  My tip this week will help you avoid these pitfalls and keep your search on track.

Touro Graduate School of Business students, it's time for you to stay on track!  Prepare your question list now.  Use it in your upcoming meetings, and please share it in our webinar next week.  Join us for "Effective Interviewing", April 28!

No wobbling - clearly state your objective

Consistently communicate relevant and concise messaging while networking and interviewing for new and promotional roles. Let people know:
•    Who you are
•    What type of role/job you are looking for
•    Your strengths and interests 

And, don't wobble. Clearly state your objectives, so your network and hiring managers understand how they can help and/or hire you.

One way to clearly state your objective is to develop a positioning statement that can be tailored to networking and interviewing conversations.  Here’s a framework that I use with LHH clients and others, to get you started:

I am ______________________(insert your profession, and role level)
specializing in the area(s) of_________________________________ (insert capabilities or key job functions)
my strengths include_______________________ (or, my work accomplishments have included ___________________________) (insert a few relevant points)
in __________________ (types of) roles with________________________(names or types of organizations).

Now, what if you are pursuing two different goals?  Nancy Collamer says, “It’s fine to say you have two goals, if you can concisely explain both of them.”  In her article, 6 Sure Ways to Sabotage Your Job Search, she goes on to give an example of how to do this well:

   “I’d like a VP-level position with a Fortune 500 consumer products firm in either the beverage or packaged foods sector.”  

It’s a great example, and it's an important point for those exploring multiple opportunities to consider.

In two weeks, I’ll meet again with Touro Graduate School of Business students, and in advance, I'd like them to consider creating their positioning statements. They’ll have a chance to practice their positioning statement during our webinar, and we’ll work on fine tuning messaging to clearly state objective(s). 

My tip this week to all is to formulate your positioning statement and practice it as often as you can.  The development framework and example above will get you started. 

Participating Touro students, get ready for April 28!

Take a Proactive Approach to Managing Your Online Presence

Career tips are back. This week's tip is to review your digital footprint and take steps to ensure a strong professional online presence. A few ways you can do that:

• Google your name, and explore what shows up.  Are you listed on the first page? Consider establishing yourself on Google+, so your name comes up more readily in searches. 
• Check all your online profiles. Review security and feature settings for LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter, and make sure they are calibrated to help position you for effective networking and interviewing.
• Post thoughtful comments on relevant business-related sites and Twitter. 
• Double check any blog posts that you’ve got out there for spelling and grammar, and make sure they are appropriate for the presence you want to create. 

Whether you are looking for a new or promotional role, recruiters and hiring managers will look for you online. Be proactive in creating a professional presence that enables your career advancement.

6 Tips to Help You Get Hired

During our 14-week Promotional Readiness program, I provide weekly career tips for the students at Touro Graduate School of Business.  In the coming weeks, I'll address six points covered in a great article, 6 Sure Ways to Sabotage Your Job Search, by Nancy Collamer.  Whether you are looking for a new or promotional role, this article, and my tips, are a must read for the students and for you.  My tip this week follows on the first point mentioned in the article, “failing to proofread job hunting materials”.  To avoid this, step back from your materials for a day or two and review them with fresh eyes.  I also recommend engaging a peer, or a professional career coach, with excellent grammar and writing skills to help. You can read more about this in my blog postings on peer review and getting started with your resume review checklist. If you’d like to work with a career coach at Time2MarketU (yes, I mean it's time to market you when you write your resume), schedule here.

Communicate Your Accomplishments

Whether you are pursuing new or promotional roles, your ability to clearly and effectively communicate how your capabilities meet other parties’ needs and preferences will help set you ahead of the competition. One way to communicate this effectively is to highlight your accomplishments, in both written and verbal communications.  In last week's webinar with Touro Graduate School of Business students, we discussed how to communicate accomplishments in writing on your resume, and verbally, in career conversations with networking contacts and hiring managers.  If you struggle with communicating your accomplishments, this week’s tip will help. It provides two communication frameworks, and you can read more about both here.

Create a Winning Resume

You don't have to be a professional athlete to take away some great points from this article discussing how one ex-NFLer preps for a finance play, starting with his resume.  It’s a short read meant principally for the early career professionals who I’ll meet with today from Touro Graduate School of Business.  It highlights many points we'll cover in our webinar session, Resumes that Work! It may also help you too. Key points for creating a winning resume to help you pursue new or promotional roles - include a summary incorporating your objective, keep your document simple, visually appealing, one that highlights accomplishments and differentiates you from the competition.