Author Archives: bryandilts

Illegal questions and what to worry about

Posted on March 5, 2013 | Leave a comment

Understand that legal and illegal are political, and often arbitrary, categorizations; use and abuse are medical, or clinical distinctions. (Abbie Hoffman in Steal This Urine Test)

Shirley Temple was asked about the “casting couch” mentality in Hollywood. She said it only came up once. She was talking with a mogul about a part she wanted to play in his movie. He stood up, dropped his pants and told her what she had to do to get the part. She laughed at him. At the time it happened, what he did was probably not illegal. Now it is definitely illegal. It was never right or moral. (I remember her talking about it, but can’t come up with a source now.)

The point is that you need to decide whether you care about a particular question. For instance: It is only illegal to discriminate based on age if you are over 40. That’s the law. Do you care? I can discriminate against you based on age, race, sex, religion, country of origin, accent and the fact that you are a Vietnam vet if my company is small enough or slips through other cracks in the laws. Questions you think are illegal may be perfectly okay by law for a specific situation. BOQ means Bonafide Occupational Qualification, and it is the biggest hole in the law.

What is more important than what is legal?

What is more important is that you know the questions you find slimy and objectionable. What questions do you want to avoid answering? What questions will make you so upset you stand up and leave in the middle of the interview?

Remember, you can always do a Shirley Temple and laugh at the question. You may be surprised at how it takes a burden off of both you and your interviewer. If the interviewer is offended that you laughed instead of slapping him, walk out. You are not going to starve because you fail a job interview.

Next time I will go a little deeper into handling bad questions.

Something to do today

Try the other side of this issue. List 3 questions you WOULD answer that some people find offensive. If you think about it you can probably find them.

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Later: No BS interviews work

How to quit

The old boy network

Exploit the old boys

The money question

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Posted in Interviews

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How to make your skills official

Posted on March 4, 2013 | Leave a comment

You need to make your skills official.  You need to get someone to put their stamp of approval on them.

A school is a hopper into which children are heaved while they are still young and tender, therein they are pressed into certain standard shapes and covered from head to heels with official rubber stamps.  (H. L. Mencken)

Today I could apply for a job as a writer and have a real chance of getting it. Four years ago it would have been much tougher. I can now prove I am an author, a writer and a man of letters.  My published articles prove it.  One particular article proves that I am an expert at finding IT security folks and possibly an expert at computer security.

In reality I was a writer and a recruiter before the articles were published.  Yet, today I am much more marketable as both.

School did not make it official.  Someone putting their reputation on the line to use my work is what made it official.  Someone with a bit to gain and a lot to lose said, “We’re proud to have him write for us.”

I have seen programmers with 3 months of experience beat out programmers with years of experience.  The reason is that the rookie looked more official.  Someone trusted the rookie with a big role in a major project and he pulled through. He was excited, passionate and had the obvious imprimatur of his boss. The senior programmers who lost were always background support doing 40 hour weeks with no enthusiasm and no risk.

It’s official when you’ve proved it in commercial competition.  Not just when the team gets the job done, but when YOU personally made it happen.

How can you make your accomplishments and knowledge undeniably official?

Something to do today

Send an idea for an article to a publication or website about your field.  Submit it and see what happens.  They may ask you to write it.

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Later:             Illegal questions

No BS interviews work

How to quit

The old boy network

Exploit the old boys

The money question

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Posted in Accomplishments, References, Training

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Do you eat the leaves of your job search before the fruit appears?

Posted on March 1, 2013 | Leave a comment

Woodchucks are evil.  They get in my garden.  They eat the leaves on my strawberry plants and leave the flowers and small green fruit.  Then the flowers and fruit die.  I hate woodchucks.

I sometimes do the same thing figuratively.  I get started in a successful niche in my business, then I turn my hand to something else without thinking, without following my plan.  I waste my built up career capital switching direction because of lack of discipline.  I fail to direct my efforts and let the shifting winds of the moment direct my efforts.  I eat the strawberry leaves.  Then the flowers and fruit wither and die.

Are shifting winds and tides driving your job search and career?  Changing direction is one thing.  Never deciding is another.  You only have 40 or 60 hours a week for your career.  You have to build the roots and leaves of your career so that you get the full fruits of your labors.

Don’t let the woodchucks of indecision and lack of discipline keep you from the ripe fruits of hard work and patience.

Something to do today

Write out what you want your career to look like.  You can change it later, but if you write it out you will be less likely to change it 3 times a day.

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Later:             It’s official

Illegal questions

How to quit

The old boy network

Exploit the old boys

The money question

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Posted in Focus, Perseverance

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How hiring managers are like dancing dogs

Posted on February 27, 2013 | Leave a comment

Dogs will dance when there is no music.  Better said: they dance when there is no music that we can hear.  They are able to hear different levels of sound than we can.  One man teaches dogs to dance to music that is beyond the range of human hearing.  Since the dogs turn, jump and “dance” at the same time, it looks like magic.

Managers and CEO’s also dance to music other people cannot always hear. When hiring they have a good idea what they want, but sometimes don’t know how to express it.  Sometimes they are embarrassed to admit what they want. Occasionally they can’t admit it because of laws against discrimination.

I find any discrimination offensive.  The point is not that people discriminate.  People have hidden agendas.  They sometimes discriminate based on sex, age and race. More commonly they discriminate based on education, certifications, accent, tattoos, jewelry, cut of clothes, and haircut.  I’ve seen handwriting and typing skills torpedo several executive jobs. Changing jobs every two years is too much in some industries, and switching every six months can be as bad as felony theft.  Weight can be a killer at some companies.

What you consider unfair judgment is important, but it is not what keeps you from getting a job.  It is what the hiring manager considers excellent judgment that keeps you unemployed.  Whining won’t help.  If there is something about you that doesn’t fit with an environment, you won’t get hired.

If a man is offered a fact that goes against his instincts, he will scrutinize it closely, and unless the evidence is overwhelming, he will refuse to believe it. (Bertrand Russell)

If you are having a particularly tough time getting a job, it is time for some tough love.  You need to find someone who will really tell you the way you appear to hiring managers.  What is there about you that turns off employers?  We try to be very clear at AGI if someone is not a fit for a job.  We may not give all the reasons for failure, but we will tell the biggest reasons if the person is listening to us.  Unfortunately our honesty has occasionally meant that a candidate left in tears.  More often we helped people change what they needed to change to get a great job.

I’m in trouble when I say, “Managers are like dancing dogs.” But it is true.  They sometimes dance to music we cannot hear.

Something to do today

Having real trouble finding a job? Is it you or is it just luck?  It could be either.  Find a few people who can be brutally honest to help you find out.  And also remember, it may just be bad luck.

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Posted in Finding jobs, Interviews

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A list to get you great references

Posted on February 26, 2013 | Leave a comment

This list will help you get great audio and visual references on your resume. It is also a great thing to send to your references right before they are called.

Few people prepare their references to talk about them.  Fewer still have their references recorded and included with their resume.  Does it make sense in your job search?

You forget what your kid did yesterday. People forget what you did.  Friends forget how you helped them.  And I guarantee your boss can’t remember everything you did.

Mark Twain said, “It usually takes more than three weeks to prepare a good impromptu speech”

You can get better “impromptu” references by jogging memories.  There are two ways to do it.  One is to give your references a list of questions they may want to answer.  The second is to send them a list of wonderful things you did that they may want to mention. Anything you send them will probably be read and thrown away, but they may remember one or two points when the call comes from your potential employer.

Here’s a list of questions you may want to send them:

  • What were my biggest accomplishments?
  • How did I make a difference?
  • How did I save money?
  • Was I willing to work extra hours?
  • What projects could not have been finished without me?
  • How well did I handle a particular crisis?
  • What did I suggest that saved time or money?
  • How did I keep customers happy?
  • Why did customers like dealing with me?
  • Which customers only worked with me? Why?
  • How did my teammates feel when I left?
  • Was I loyal?
  • Would you rehire me?  Why?
  • On a scale of 1 to 10, where would you rank me? Why?

Don’t forget, it may be a good idea to send a few reminders about the answers to the questions.

This list will also be useful if you are using audio references on your resume.

Few people prepare their references to talk about them.  Fewer still have their references recorded and included with their resume.  Does it make sense in your job search?

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You can get a free 21 day trial to put the voice of your references on your resume:  http://members.audiogenerator.com/specialinfo.asp?x=584262

Or create your own using your cell phone and YouTube.

Something to do today

Put together a list of questions your references can answer, or accomplishments you hope they mention.  When you know they are about to get called, send them the lists.  It could make a big difference.

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Later:             Making dogs dance

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How to put great audio references on your resume

Posted on February 25, 2013 | Leave a comment

Include your boss in your resume.  They can hear him say how well you did.  Your coworker will tell how you helped train him. They can hear the sincerity.  You can control what the references say. It could get you hired.  It will make you unique.  I don’t know if it will work for you, but it makes sense to me.

There is a toll free number your references can call to make a recording for you. You go online and listen to the reference and decide if you want to use it.  Then you press a button.  All that is left is to cut and paste a link into your resume.  You now have an audio reference..

You can try the full audio reference package free for 21 days.  This is a marketing tool that costs $29.95 per month plus some minor fees for the recordings. If you are going to send out 100 resumes, why not send out your references with them? References you are 100% sure of.

You can get a free 21 day trial here:  http://members.audiogenerator.com/specialinfo.asp?x=584262

This is not the only way to get references on your resume.  It is the easiest I know of for your references.  That can be important.  But if you want to use YouTube or just a recorder and a file on your website, you can do that too.  How about an interview format with someone asking questions about you??

Something to do today

Having trouble with your references?  Give this a shot.  You will know exactly what they are going to say.

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Later:             Getting better audio references

Audio on your resume

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Make an incredible standout resume adding a new reference format

Posted on February 22, 2013 | Leave a comment

We got a resume that was 30 pages long.  It included a CD with all the documents and even more information.  Karen and I laughed about the ego of the guy who did it.  We looked through it to see why he thought he needed so much information.  We called and talked to him and told him it was too much. In short, it was the perfect resume.

The perfect resume gets read, discussed, carefully checked and finally gets a call to the person who sent it.  It wasn’t until a year later that I realized just how effective that huge resume had been. I had called and discussed a lot of details with the owner. Perfect.

Enterprising job searchers have come up with a lot of ways to set their resumes apart.  Different kinds of paper, a CD, a business card sized CD, audio, video, youtube, a 5 word cover letter, photos, a sculpture included in a box, candy, and a singing delivery person have all been used. The idea is to do something that sets you apart in a positive manner.  It also has to be something that does not diminish your printed out email resume.

Adding audio or video is relatively simple.  My next two letters will detail different ways to add references you can see or hear.  One is using a telephone.  It is extremely easy.  The other requires a recorder, software and a website.  If you want to make a real audio or video production, it is the way to go.

Is audio for you?  Do you want your references to be instantly available to anyone who gets your resume.  Will your own voice get you calls for interviews?  You’ll have to decide.  I’ll show you how to do it.

Something to do today

Are your references willing to be recorded?  Find out.

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Later:             The easy way to add audio to your resume

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Posted in References, Resumes

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The most common disastrous reference mistake

Posted on February 21, 2013 | Leave a comment

Jim is an executive candidate who has 6 wonderful references.  He also has 2 terrible references and one that is mediocre.  I know because we checked them.  We learned that Jim does terribly in the wrong environment.  In the right company he saves literally millions of dollars for the bottom line.  That means we also send him out only to the right kind of companies.

You need to find out what kind of references you have.  Then you have to adjust your job search accordingly.  The temptation is to get mad at the bad or mediocre references.  You don’t learn by getting mad.  Your bad references have a reason for saying what they do.  Find out what it is and adjust your job search.  Of course, you should also adjust your reference list.

Great references can absolutely put you at the top of the candidate list.  Bad ones can sink you.  Are your sure what your references are saying?

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I was going to give specific hints on how to be absolutely sure your references are solid, but I can’t.  Any recruiter or company that calls your references will want to protect them.  At most your references will only give YOU vague hints that you won’t get an enthusiastic endorsement.  Having someone else call has problems all its own.  And there are legal problems all along the way for you, the reference, and a recruiter like me.

Something to do today

Call all of your references.  Listen for very subtle hints. Which were the best?  Use them in the order of their enthusiasm and lack of subtlety.

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Later:             Audio on your resume

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Posted in References

A fake jury can get you a job and 5% more salary

Posted on February 20, 2013 | Leave a comment

One morning I got to spend 4 hours deliberating on a fake jury.  A law firm had 3 lawyers expound a fascinating case to us.  Millions of dollars were at risk.  It was great fun.  They even paid us $9 per hour to do it.  We obviously came to conclusions they weren’t expecting as they tried to sway us with more information during our deliberations.  All of this was caught on film so that later they could parse our every word.  In the afternoon they had a different fake jury hear the case.  My mole tells me that they heard slightly different evidence, but came to the same conclusion based on the facts.

Some schools do fake job interviews with their students.  They film the whole thing. After it is over they go over your interview with you. You can also pay some recruiting agencies to do those interviews with you. It can be a valuable experience.  By valuable I mean it can get you an extra 5% in salary.

Why not do your own fake interviews?  Surely you know someone who is a supervisor or team leader who will help you do a practice job interview.  While you are at it, have them help you do practice phone calls and phone interviews.  You can practice any part of the job hunting process that you find yourself failing at.

The two biggest roadblocks to practice are fear of proving your incompetence and not wanting to take the time to do it.  If you are incompetent, it is better to fix that with a friend instead of messing up a great job opportunity in front of strangers.  If finding time is a problem, then don’t even start your job search. If you don’t have time to prepare, you don’t have time to look.

Something to do today

Find a video camera and 2 friends.  Have a fake job interview.  Just for fun do a fake phone interview too.  Then go over it and see how well you did with your friends.

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Later:             Get references on yourself

Audio on your resume

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Posted in Interviews

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How to get references on the company you may join

Posted on February 19, 2013 | Leave a comment

It’s a funny thing about life, if you refuse to accept anything but the best, you very often get it. (W. Somerset Maugham)

He came for the amazing opportunity at XYZ (the name is changed to protect the guilty). A year later he was gone. He quit. That happens a lot at XYZ. It seems like half the people who join the company are transplants.  It has been the case for at least 15 years.  They are hired from across the country and move to Harrisburg, PA.  It is one of the biggest companies in its market, a national powerhouse. But an unnatural percentage of its executives, computer experts, accounting gurus and even retail purchasers have been relocated here. Of course many love the place.  It is just that their first year turnover is huge and local people avoid the company.

I always warn people I place at XYZ of the reputation.  I help them find out if they are a fit before they join.  So, how can you avoid getting one of those short term, bad fit jobs?

Check the company references

Talk to 3 of their references.  They want to talk to your references, you can ask for theirs. You also need to find a few references on your own.  Finding references on a company will get you a clearer perspective on them and it is also a good networking tool that may get you a different job.

The best company references you can get are:

  •                         A talkative recruiter who knows the place
  •                         A happy ex-employee at another company
  •                         Someone doing your future job at a competitor
  •                         An HR person from another company
  •                         Someone you know who works in that department

I did not include a disgruntled ex-employee in the list.  They know why they quit, but usually not what the trends for the company are.  It’s okay to talk to disgruntled ex-employees, just filter their responses.  They may have an ax to grind.

How to find them

Connect through LinkedIn to the HR person and anyone you talk to at the company.  That way you will get networked into other people at the company now, and former employees.

Make a few phone calls.  You need to find out who the competitors are anyway. Make it a habit to search them out. Look for former employees at competitors.  They may have a better opening than the one you are looking at.  At the very least, you’ll be able to ask questions about the job you are considering.

Something to do today

Check references on the last 3 companies you interviewed with.  It is good practice.

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Later: Fake jury

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Posted in Interviews, Networking, References

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