Author Archives: bryandilts

4 things to make the hiring manager believe so you get more

Posted on July 1, 2013 | Leave a comment

Talk about bad hiring interviews.  Here is what happened to the founder of Apple.

So we went to Atari and said, ‘Hey, we’ve got this amazing thing, even built with some of your parts, and what do you think about funding us?  Or we’ll give it to you.  We just want to do it.  Pay our salary, we’ll come work for you.’  And they said, ‘No.’ So then we went to Hewlett-Packard, and they said, ‘Hey, we don’t need you.  You haven’t got through college yet.’  (Steve Jobs on founding Apple Computers)

Your pay reflects your interview

Two identical openings are being filled.  You are going to be paid just below the listed salary range.  The other candidate, someone with identical experience and the same pay in his previous job, will be paid at the top of the listed salary range and 10% more than you. Why? The interviews.

No recruiter can tell you what you will be paid, not even for working the counter at McDonalds.  The difference in pay reflects how you interview.

Every hiring manager wants you to help with an immediate problem.  They also hope you will help propel them personally to a bigger job and higher income. The trouble is that hiring managers have no crystal ball.  All they have is interviews. So they offer higher pay to the person who impresses them the most in the interview.  If you knock their socks off, they’ll even pay you more than they had budgeted for the position.

Hiring managers want 4 things:

  1. Help with a critical problem right now.
  2. To save money.
  3. To make more money.
  4. To make processes work faster.

If you can convince a manager that you will do all 4 of these things better than anyone on his staff, he’ll pay you very well.

Next we start on how to convince managers you are better than anyone else.

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Coming up

You, the movie – stay focused

You, as Ed McMahon

The most powerful questions

Beating the tests

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Posted in Accomplishments, Interviews, Negotiating, Raises

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Resume spreading services and warnings

Posted on June 28, 2013 | Leave a comment

There are two types of resume spreading services. One sends your resume to many job search websites like Monster and CareerBuilder.com. The other sends your resume to hundreds of recruiters and companies like ResumeRabbit,  indeed.com, and simplyhired.com.

The dangers

If you are employed, your resume may be sent to your current boss, or to a website he will access while searching for employees.  He may be upset to see you are looking for a job.

Your resume may also start a life on the internet that you can never stop.  As companies and sites sell and exchange masses of resumes, yours may be preserved for years and repeatedly displayed as “newly submitted.”

The reality

Getting your resume out to 1000 potential employers and recruiters is called a resume blast. It could get you hired. However, in most cases the people receiving your resume do not read it.  They are bombarded with resumes from similar services.  If you use the services that send your resume to recruiters and companies, your resume must have an impact at first glance.  If it requires a thorough reading, you are doomed. The only one of these services I check daily is ResumeSpider . I am sure there are some other useful ones somewhere.

The pay services like ResumeRabbit that send your resume out to 75 job boards get you a lot of quick exposure and save you time.  You also completely lose control of your resume. Once you send it, there is no way to indicate you have been hired.  It will be out on the internet forever.

Indeed.com and SimplyHired.com also will get your resume to a lot of employers, but function more like Monster or CareerBuilder.

Resume spreading services may be just what you need as long as you are not trying to keep your job search a secret.

Something to do today

Many job boards like Monster have resume spreading services that advertise on their sites.  You can also Google the phrase “resume blast”.

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Coming up

Your pay reflects your interview

You, the movie

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Posted in Finding jobs, Job Boards, Recruiters, Resumes

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The best resume writing tool ever invented

Posted on June 27, 2013 | Leave a comment

www.agicc.com/resplangeneral.pdf

 

This is a resume interrogation sheet, a planner. It has seriously turned around job searches when the new resume started getting phone calls.

Adventure is just bad planning. (Roald Amundsen)

Use this to plan what to put on your resume.

Something to do today

Take a look and use it to add a little zest to your resume.

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Coming up

Resume spreading services

Your pay reflects your interview

You, the movie

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Posted in Resumes

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How to choose a resume writing service

Posted on June 26, 2013 | Leave a comment

Whether you even get an interview often depends on your resume. Today is about resumes and people who want to write them for you.

Getting an outstanding resume written is easily worth 1% of your expected salary, but you should pay less. If you can write a great resume on your own, even better. If you pay over $100, and some people do pay $1000 for help with their resume, you deserve a great resume in return every time.

The trouble is that you won’t always get a great resume.  You will get a great looking document, but it can range from spectacular to downright bad. It is the resume words that are acted on that count, not just the formatting.

Resumes are advertising. Good resume writers are like advertising copy writers, they get your attention and force you to act on their words.  The only sure way to tell a great resume from an average one is to submit it for jobs and see if you get interviews. Of course, that may cost you some great job opportunities if your resume is poor.

A resume writing service may help you if you don’t like your resume or don’t want to write one. If you have great accomplishments already listed and all the information you want in the resume is there, an inexpensive service will do fine.  Usually for well under $100 a service will reformat what you put together.  You may get a few suggestions, and even some help getting the right information included.

For anything over $100 you are paying for the resume interview.  That is when the writer talks to you and finds out what to put on your resume.  The interviewer should be delving into what you accomplished.  He should be asking questions that require you to go back and do research. A good resume writer challenges you to figure out how to quantify how much money you made or saved your company. Then the writer should use exciting words and phrases that are carefully placed to make you irresistible.

Some places will even write 3 or more resumes for you.  One is for the executive evaluation committee.  It is gorgeous.  One is for the HR folks and internet job boards  who look at resumes differently The third will be a “quick action resume”. It is designed to be faxed or emailed and demand that the person call you to find out more.  It is always one page.

If you are looking for several different types of jobs, you may end up with several sets of resumes.  One for each job you are looking for.

How do you tell if the resume writing service is worth the money?

If they say, send us your current resume and we will reformat it, don’t pay over $100.  They are just making it pretty and maybe doing some rewording.

If they are planning to probe your past and write a new resume, they may be worth whatever they ask. Maybe. If they schedule an hour or two for an interview, that’s good.

Ask for a few example resumes from the specific person who will be writing your resume.  Ask for a list of the last 10 people they did a resume for, even though it is unlikely you will get it because of privacy concerns. Get them to go over some of the questions they need answered before they will write your resume. Remember, the one person who interviews you, and the one person who actually writes your resume are the people you are hiring.  You have to feel great about them.

Having said all that, I don’t have anyone to recommend to you.  I can write a great resume.  I charge $150/hr for the service. If you are one of my candidates, you get advice for free. You can go to my archives and enter the word “resume” or “sexy verbs” and read my articles at: www.howtoreallygetagreatjob.com/blog/archives.aspx

The greatest resume writing tool ever invented will come tomorrow. I still haven’t decided whether to give it away or charge for it.  I have had it for sale at $4.95 already. Hmmm.  Stay tuned.

Something to do today

Go out on the internet and search for resume services.  See what they promise and charge. Even if you don’t use them, it is a great educational experience.

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Coming up

The greatest resume writing tool ever invented

Resume spreading services

Your pay reflects your interview

You, the movie

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Posted in Resumes

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Do you have the smell of cabbage soup in your resume?

Posted on June 25, 2013 | Leave a comment

If you want to write about a building where people are living on the edge of starvation, you always write about the smell of cabbage soup.  It tells you they are lower class people who have given up on the good life.  At least that is what it means in the books I read.

Your resume can smell like cabbage soup.  It can give the impression that you are a lower class person who has given up on life.  It can say, “I’m desperate,” or “I’m in shock.”  Here are some of the signs:

Any misspelling, grammar or capitalization mistakes.

……….. use a spell checker and get a friend to check your grammar.

Using a lot of different fonts and different colors.

……….. focus attention using words, bullet points and placement of phrases.

Bolded words everywhere.

……….. too much is a distraction.  Use bolding like pepper, just a little where needed.

Lack of focus.

……….. show how you fit this particular job, not how you can do any job in the company.

Very basic job skills.

……….. a secretary’s resume should NOT say, “I make coffee and remove staples.”  A programmer should not say, “I file reports.”  A CEO should not say, “I can type.”

Make sure your resume smells and sounds like a sizzling steak.  Have the smell of success. Get rid of the cabbage.

Something to do today

Take this list and your resume and see if you need to make a few changes.

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Coming up

Resume writing services

Resume spreading services

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Posted in Resumes

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Fixing problems with jobs on my resume

Posted on June 24, 2013 | Leave a comment

Too many jobs.

Only one job in 20 years.

Too old.

Worked for the government – no ambition.

Won’t go from management to worker bee.

Owned his own company.

You can make your resume irresistible, but you gotta know the territory. What will be a turn-off prejudice for the hiring manager? What experience is coveted or shunned in the job, company and career you are applying for?

The most common problems are too old, too many jobs and worked for the government.  For some jobs these things are a big plus.  Many companies want to avoid them.  Here is how you get away from them on your resume:

Too old

Get rid of dates and jobs that are more than 10 or 15 years in the past.  Since my first job as an usher in a movie theater, I have had more than 30 employers.  It would be ridiculous for me to put them on a resume.  Most don’t matter anymore.  You get to decide which jobs are relevant and should be put on your resume.  Your last 2 or 3 jobs may be all you want to include.  Also take your graduation dates out of the resume.  Remove the date you were discharged from the military.  Get rid of dates if your resume makes you look older than you think is helpful.

Too many jobs

If you have had 5 career jobs in the last 5 years, you have a problem. Do not lie about it. If some of the jobs are unrelated to the job you are applying for, lump them together as a one line note such as: Teaching 2001-2005, or Sales 2000-2003. If you have great accomplishments, list them under that heading.  If you didn’t do so well, then just leave that one line entry in the jobs on your resume. No explanation at all is required.

Some careers require frequent job changes like being a computer contractor.  In that case, take credit for your broad experience and be sure to emphasize companies that had you come back a second or third time.

Government jobs

Emphasize accomplishments and not bureaucracy.  A job description that only lists duties proves you have a CYA government mindset. If you tell what you got done and how the world is better because of you, you show an entrepreneurial bent.  If you prove you were competitive and better than your coworkers by awards you received, you sound like a top employee.  Only emphasize who you know if it helps for the very specific job you are applying for.  Your ability with politics can help in some jobs, and scare hiring managers away in others.

It is important for your resume to get you included in the interview pool.  During the interview they can find out how wrong their prejudices are.  But you have to have a resume that gets you the interview.  Make a conscious decision about what you want to emphasize and what you need to make disappear.  Get the interview.

Something to do today

What do you think is hurting your job search.  Hide it without lying and send out a few test resumes to see if it made a difference.

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Coming up

The smell of cabbage soup

Resume services

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Posted in Resumes

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How to find out if you really want to join a company

Posted on June 21, 2013 | Leave a comment

Much of the history of the Western world over the past three decades has involved replacing what worked with what sounded good. (Thomas Sowell)

We have a local Fortune 1000 company that has a reputation that makes top local people avoid the company.  That company spends a lot of money on relocating people from out of town.  However, some people love working there.  So how do you decide? Is it a good company for YOU to go to work for?

How to research a company

First off, Google the company and find out all you can about it.  Check out the company website too.  Find the easily accessible information first.

Now start asking people you know.  You can occasionally ask coworkers, but don’t interrogate them weekly about a new company.  Find other people who work there as well as those who used to work there.  If you only ask people who left, you may get a very skewed picture of the company.  The people who left the company, left for a reason.  The people who stayed there, stayed for a reason.  Find out the reasons for both.

If you start hearing a lot of people say they stay for the job security then believe them.  Don’t assume the place reeks for job advancement unless the people you respect who left say the same thing. In other words, believe why people say the stay.  Believe what people say about why they left if you really respect their work and teamwork.

Whether you are using a recruiter for this particular job or not, ask a few recruiters what they think.  You would be surprised what recruiters find out about companies.  We talk to a lot of people who want to quit from, or move to, any given company.  We naturally sift through gossip and sour grapes to find the truth.

Find out what you need to know about a company before the second interview starts.  Be prepared to give a quick “yes”.  If you have your doubts about the company, be prepared with tough questions.  Find out whether you really want to go there or not.  Be ready to “just say no.”

Something to do today

Start talking with people about companies long before you even start to look for a job.  Asking questions is called business intelligence.  Be intelligent.

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Coming up

The jobs on my resume

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Posted in Interviews, Networking, Recruiters

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Research you must do before changing jobs to avoid a disaster

Posted on June 20, 2013 | Leave a comment

Much of the history of the Western world over the past three decades has involved replacing what worked with what sounded good. (Thomas Sowell)

You really don’t want to come back to your old boss and beg to get your job back. Do good job research before you take a new job.  You need to research two areas: Your old job and your new job.

Your old job

List the things that could be changed in your current job to get you to stay. I don’t care how bad it is, enough changes could get you to stay.  Being taken over by another company, a new boss, more money, sales suddenly taking off, a new product, 3 particular people fired, more vacation and any other changes you really want should be on the list.

Be thorough.  Be realistic.

Now go ask for the raise and new title that are on that list. Go to your boss with suggestions that he change the other most important things. If he changes things before you quit, you will want to stay.  If he doesn’t even offer to change things until after he receives your resignation, you’ll know he is insincere.

Your new job

Are you sure what job you really want?  Are you sure?

Start checking the newspaper ads months before you are ready to move.  Put a few “job agents” out in the internet job boards.  Look for the jobs you may be interested in well before you start moving.  Find out what job skills, responsibilities and opportunities are advertised all across the country.

When you see skills or functions you are not doing, see if you can start doing them in your current job.  Volunteer.  Find out if you like the new things you will be doing.  For computer programmers who want to become managers the dropout rate seems to be about 80% going from programmer to team leader to manager.  Programmers usually find that they hate managing.  It is a fact, and it is true for many other jobs.  Do all you can in your current job to explore what the job you want will be like.  You may get lucky and be given the job you want in your current company when they see you volunteering to do parts of it.

Do research on your current job and the job you want. Then if the perfect job is the first one you interview for, you’ll be able to take it immediately with no regrets.

Something to do today

Make that list of things that really could make you happy where you are.  See if you can get your boss to start moving on them.

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Coming up

How to make a quick decision

Company research

The jobs on my resume

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Posted in Finding jobs, Focus

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How to make a quick job acceptance decision slowly

Posted on June 19, 2013 | Leave a comment

The Chinese use two brush strokes to write the word ‘crisis.’  One brush stroke stands for danger, the other for opportunity.  In a crisis, be aware of the danger – but recognize the opportunity. (John F. Kennedy) 

Why make a quick decision about a job offer?

You have gone in for 3 sets of interviews.  The HR person told you an offer is coming. The offer arrives 2 days later.  It is at the top of the pay range you expected. You ask for a week to consider the offer.  Instead of agreeing, the hiring manager extending the offer gives you until 9 a.m. the next morning.  There just isn’t time to make a decision.  With a firm resolve you tell them if you can’t have a week to decide, you won’t even consider the offer.  To your shocked surprise, the offer is withdrawn. That afternoon an offer is made to someone else and it is accepted immediately.

Why was the offer withdrawn?

  1. You proved you cannot make important decisions quickly given weeks of preparation time.
  2. There was another good candidate.
  3. They figured you were interviewing somewhere else you liked more.

When an offer is made, your acceptance becomes part of your new job history.

If you cannot make a decision quickly, it shows you fail to prepare, consider, and evaluate options in advance.

From the first day you find out you will have an interview, you should be preparing to accept or reject an offer. If a second round of interviews is coming up, you need to have a list of things you want to find out before accepting an offer.  Get the answers you need.

A list of questions is fine, just don’t ask questions you should already have found out about yourself.  Also, don’t ask about benefits, vacation or salary unless you are talking with an HR person. You don’t want the hiring manager to decide that you are only interested in how much vacation you get, instead of the job.

Come up with three salary numbers:

  1. What do you reasonably expect them to offer?
  2. At what minimum pay level will you accept even if there are absolutely no benefits?
  3. What pay level will you accept with benefits just like the ones you have now?

Be prepared. When you receive a job offer and immediately say, “The money is too low, I expect more,” then you have a chance to negotiate.  If you wait a week and ask for more money it feels like you waited just to get an offer from another company so the two places could get in a bidding war. Managers hate that.  It makes them feel they are getting a mercenary who will leave for $5 more instead of an employee who really wants the job.

Know if you want the job.  Know what is an acceptable offer. Have buy-in from your family.  Then say yes, no, or I need a better offer.  Know your answer as soon as you get the offer.  How you prepare for and accept an offer really will be the first part of your job history.

Something to do today

Decide on the three money numbers you want today.  Don’t be afraid to change them later, but have them today.

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Coming up

How to make a quick decision

Job research

Company research

The jobs on my resume

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Posted in Focus, Negotiating

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Quick job change decision: personal support network preparation

Posted on June 18, 2013 | Leave a comment

After an exhaustive search you announce, “We are moving to Aspen, Colorado! We’ll be 10 minutes from the ski slopes.  I found a great job.” You and your spouse have talked for 10 years about moving to Colorado for the great skiing.  You vacation there every January for 3 weeks.

“You’ll have to move without me. I am not going anywhere,” is the chilly response from your spouse.  The kids are even more negative.  What happened?  You forgot to prepare your support network.

I am amazed at how often people search for new jobs based on blue sky conversations.  When a job is found it takes weeks to get agreement to move, or the job has to be turned down.

If you are going to even dabble with the idea of changing jobs or relocating, talk to your family.  Also talk with a few close friends and anyone in your direct support network.  You may be surprised to find that when you set people down for a serious discussion, that all kinds of problems crop up.  You may also get the reply, “It’s about time.  Why did you wait so long?”

If you are afraid to mention your job search until you have an offer in hand, you are going to create confusion and possibly despair.  Talk it out.  Set criteria that work for you and everyone who depends on you and who you depend upon.  Prepare the people in your support network for your potential move.  Then you will be able to make an instant decision on whether or not to take a job offer.

Something to do today

Time to talk with your spouse, kids, pastor, next door neighbor and softball buddies.  Get their input.

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Coming up

How to make a quick decision

Personal brainwork

Job research

Company research

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Posted in Networking, Quitting or Fired

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