Author Archives: bryandilts

Ask him to lunch? Easy for you to say!

Posted on December 16, 2009 | Leave a comment

Okay girl, you see that babe magnet over there?  Go introduce yourself and ask him to marry you.  Okay? 

Let’s talk about networking, not speed dating.  Don’t ask anyone to be your mentor before you have met.  Don’t ask for a job.  Don’t offer to wash their car.  Just ask them to lunch to discuss some things you think they can help you with.

How can you get a leader of industry to have lunch with you? Ask for their help. Leaders are usually compulsive helpers, organizers and/or control freaks.  When you first call them up have a list of at least 5 things you can ask them or talk to them about.  Have it beforehand because they may start talking to you on the phone or invite you right to their office. 

First, what not to ask:                                   

–    Please be my mentor? — That’s like asking to be married.  A real mentor has to feel comfortable with you.  They’ll take over the role as you go to them for advice.

–    Make me a vice president, please? — This is networking, not a final job interview. 

–    I will do anything, can I be your personal assistant? — This question isn’t networking.  It is only appropriate if you are willing to make a 100% commitment, push and push for a yes, and are willing to work for free.  It is not a way to start a network.  You will probably be turned down even after pushing hard for 20 minutes, but it may be worth a try.  Be willing to accept a total win or becoming a leper.

Good questions to ask:

–    I want to earn a job like yours, what did you do to break out from my level?

–    You’ve seen a hundred guys like me, what do they really do to stand out and succeed?

–    You have a panoramic perspective compared to me, what would you focus on in your career if you were me?

–    You’ve seen people get education and succeed and others get education and fail.  What kind of education will best serve me?

–    You are the best technician I’ve heard of, what can I do differently from the average guy to get the reputation you have?

–    I don’t want to manage, I just want to have my work respected like yours.  How did you break out from the pack and what can I do out of the ordinary to start moving to your level?

–    You know this business.  I want to succeed at it, but I sometimes worry that I’m attacking it wrong.  What would you do if you were me?

Do you get the idea?  Compliment them by telling them what they have done better than you, then, ask them to tell you how to do the same starting at your level.

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Something To Do Today

Call 3 people you want to network with and say, “I’d like to take you to lunch.  Are you free one day next week?”  If they ask, “Why?” then tell them, “I need some advice from someone I respect.”  And be prepared to go talk with them immediately.

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Networking with bigshots

Posted on December 15, 2009 | Leave a comment

90% of opportunity is seized, and 10% is granted, but I could get fired!!!  And a meteorite could hit you and kill you too.  Carpe diem!

Networking with bigshots

So why did I talk about lunch and leadership yesterday?  Because they are closely related.

I was talking with a sales candidate.  He said, “I have had lunch with every important banking executive in Manhattan.  Not the presidents, but the guys who can get me in to see the president, CIO, CFO, Chairman or whoever I need to see.  They all remember me and will help me.”  That is the ultimate example of power networking.

Why lunch?  At the upper levels it is not a time to eat, it is a time to meet people.  Many big law firms and accounting companies all but require senior partners to have power lunches.  Stop having networking lunches and you will stop progressing in their world.

Here is what you do.  Starting small or big doesn’t matter.  Invite someone to lunch.  You pay.  Take them someplace you can afford.  Tell them where you are going, don’t ask them.  Taco Bell will do. 

What if they say, “No?”  They probably will.  But they will see that you want to get to know them.  Ask 3 people and one will say yes.  The other two will make vague promises about lunching together some other time.  All 3 will notice you and mark you as a person they need to get to know.

Beware! One or two may invite you to come and meet with them in their office for a few minutes.  This is their way of telling you, “Let’s network, I don’t have time for a full lunch right now.”  That’s good.  Just remember what to talk about and what to avoid.

Tomorrow I will tell you what to do and not do at a lunch or one of these office meetings.

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Something To Do Today

 Make a list of 10 people you should network with.  Tomorrow you’ll invite 3 to lunch.

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4 keys to take charge of a group

Posted on December 14, 2009 | Leave a comment

Networking?  It is leadership.  Some of the best connected network creators I know have never been managers, but they all have been leaders.

Seize Opportunity

90% of opportunity is seized, 10% is granted.

So who decides where you go for lunch?  In a group of 10, 8 people will meekly suggest a restaurant, one person will call for a vote, and one will decide where to go without a vote. How does that one person get the whole group to follow her? 

  1. She makes decisions that are desired by other natural leaders of the group.
  2. She finds out who has a strong bias against her decision and deals with it.
  3. Occasionally she goes somewhere she doesn’t like, to please others.
  4. She pulls or pushes people out the door to get them moving.

It is not just a matter of having a strong personality.  It isn’t just being decisive or insistent. Seizing opportunity requires a decision you really care about, dealing with all opposition, and getting people moving.

To seize opportunity you have to care, move yourself and move others.

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Something To Do Today

Take the lead or watch a leader take charge of a group.

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Posted in Networking

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The first step towards networking – leadership

Posted on December 10, 2009 | Leave a comment

Networking?  It is leadership.  Some of the best connected network creators I know have never been managers, but they all have been leaders.

The first step towards networking – leadership

 I was 19 years old and clueless.  I was sitting in a chair and told my roommate,  “We’ve got to get going.” 

He just sat in his chair and looked at me.

“Come on, get up.  We’ve got to get that done now,” I said from my chair.

He stared at me a little more wide eyed and offended.

“Look.  You have to get up.  We agreed I’d lead this project.”

“Bryan,” he finally said, “there is no way I am getting up out of my seat before you do.  If you are going to be the leader, you’ve got to get up first and start acting like you really mean what you say.”

That was one of the best lessons in leadership I ever had.

Leaders show by what they do that they mean what they say.  They invest themselves in a decision before they expect others to follow. 

 

 Take the lead, or watch a leader take charge of a group.

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I Really Saw A Crab Do This

Posted on December 9, 2009 | Leave a comment

Our family had stopped for lunch on a pretty little beach in Hawaii.  A family was there fishing.  The father was throwing a net and had some crab pots out.  The kids were fishing with a stick and a hook.  They invited us to join them.

Eventually the crab pots were brought in.  There were 3 crabs in the pots.  The dad grabbed the crabs with his bare hands and plopped them in a bucket.  I was 9 years old at the time and I remember telling all the adults that those crabs were going to get out.  I was scared.  They showed me how a crab can grab a stick with those claws.

One crab did get part way out once.  An adult came over and knocked it back in.  Other than that once, it was never a problem. You see crabs won’t let another crab get above them.  They pull them back down into the bucket. 

As a recruiter I have interviewed a lot of people who are like those crabs.  They complain about how unfair things are.  I can get lists of offenses they have suffered at work.  I can also get ingenious methods of retaliation they used.  They concentrate more on what they want than how to help the business make a bigger profit.  They expect someone to appoint them to lead and for everyone to meekly do as they say. 

Frank Fox told me,  “Leadership is 90% seized and 10% granted.”    I’d say opportunity is also 90% seized and 10% granted.  Networks?  90% seized and 10% granted.

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Something To Do Today

Look at your work group, church, friends, etc.  Who always decides where the group is going for lunch?  Who picks what you are going to do? Who decides where you will meet?  How do they seize that control?  Write down some thoughts in your job journal.

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Posted in Attitude

The Rudest People I Met As A Missionary

Posted on December 7, 2009 | Leave a comment

I apologize for the slander I am about to employ. Yes, I did learn something.  I had a great time too. 

Newly arrived in Murcia, Spain I got to start teaching some of the richest people in the region.  It was not due to me.  My partner had been there for months and had started teaching one company president.  He introduced us to other hard charging business leaders.  Every single one of them was very nice to us.  They listened politely and either sent us off with a referral or heartfelt thanks for talking with them.

That was my first experience dealing with truly rich and powerful people.  I found out that the people who can do the most for you are generally the nicest too.  They help you even when they get nothing out of it.  In this case they thought we were wrong but appreciated our enthusiasm, so they gave us what assistance they could.  I liked it so much I looked for ways to call on business leaders in other cities.

In Seville, Spain there is a small group of condominiums that are pretty nice.  Many of them have a maid or a butler in a uniform straight out of the movies.  They have money, but are not rich.  They don’t lead or own companies.  They are the ones who think appearances and posturing will get them promotions.  Help someone lower than them?  What a laughable thought!  What’s in it for them?

The people living there are the rudest people I met in Spain. And you know what?  They aren’t going anywhere.  The only place you get to the top by being cut-throat, mean, rude and despicable is in the movies.  They got to where they were because many people helped them, but they had forgotten to help others.  They were stuck, living lives of ostentatious desperation.

That small enclave was the only place I met people like that in Spain.  My conclusion may well have been off base about those particular people.  However, I have noticed that the most helpful people rise to the top.  So guess where I start my networking? At the top.  That’s where the nicest people are.

 

Are you afraid to network with the people who can and will help you the most?

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Posted in Networking

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Three types of recruiters

Posted on December 4, 2009 | Leave a comment

If you allow others to control your career, you will only get the reward they allow.

Three types of recruiters

There are three basic recruiting types. Knowing which one will help you the most is extremely important.  Go to the wrong one and you’ll get that nagging feeling that he is not on your side.

Mass marketers work with companies that need a lot of people.  They process candidates in a systematic way and send out resumes by the dozen.  They are great if you want a job where there are 10 or 100 people doing the same thing you are, like at a help desk or clerical job.

Professional pickers find individuals for spots where 1 to 3 people are needed.  The pace is slower.  Personality and skills become a huge factor.  Programmers, accountants, managers and other jobs are often in this group.

Boutique elite recruiters are looking for top jobs.  They hunt their quarry one person at a time.  The find presidents, CFO’s, CIO’s, plant managers and very high level engineers.

Think about the type of job you want.  You need to make sure your recruiter is at the right level.  Ask your recruiter how many people they have placed in the job you want in the past year.  Ask them why you should let them represent you.

Control your job search.  Evaluate the people who offer to help you. More on that soon.

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Something To Do Today

Take control of your job search.  Let any recruiter who offers to help be a helper.  You keep searching yourself and control your search by requiring feedback.

Tuesday December 8th I will be doing free seminars on

1. Make strategic change Stick
2. Get salespeople to kick their own…
3. MasterStream – Sell boatloads more in half the time

These are the full keynote classes that clients fly me in to teach. You can click on the class name above for more details.

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Posted in Recruiters

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Recruiters And The Hair On The Back Of Your Neck

Posted on December 3, 2009 | Leave a comment

Have you ever talked to a recruiter and had the hair on the back of your neck stand up?  …the feeling that you are being lied to?  …the nagging doubt about his sincerity?  …the dread that you are making a big mistake?

You were right!  Listen to your feelings.

Why recruiters lie

Not because their lips are moving.

Recruiters want to be liked.  They wish they could help everyone.  They can’t.  They lie.

What you should do

Whenever you talk to a recruiter you should ask tough questions about what he will do for you.  If he won’t commit to submitting you for a specific job, he won’t.  He may get lucky and a job will come in the next day, but you should not bet on it.  Find another recruiter, and another.

If a recruiter asks you to allow her to market your resume without your looking for a job, ask for weekly progress reports. Don’t let a recruiter stop your job search unless she is getting you interviews.  If she is not making progress, tell her you are going to take back the job search and do it yourself, but she is welcome to continue co-marketing you.. 

You are in charge of your job search. You have to know your resume is being submitted or do it yourself.  A recruiter asking for time to exclusively market you should report back and get results.  Take charge.

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Something To Do Today

List all the recruiters you are working with.  Rate them.  Who do you trust?  Who is getting you interviews.

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Tuesday December 8th I will be doing free seminars on

1. Make strategic change Stick

2. Get salespeople to kick their own…

3. MasterStream – Sell boatloads more in half the time

These are the full keynote classes that clients fly me in to teach. 

You can click on the class name above for more details.

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Posted in Finding jobs, Recruiters

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Six Ads For One Job – part two

Posted on December 2, 2009 | Leave a comment

You see 6 ads for one job you really want.  It is so good you would quit you’re your current job just to apply.  What do you do?

High Priority Jobs

Getting your resume into the hiring manager’s hands is your quest.

First gather information. 

Is there anything that makes you think the writer of one of the ads knows the hiring manager personally?

Check the date on all those ads.  When were they posted?  What day did they appear?  List when the company and each agency first advertised.  Did an agency advertise before the company itself?  They may have a close tie to the hiring manager.  Have the ads been going on for months?  The company is either getting a little desperate, has decided not to fill the job, or the job is full but recruiters haven’t bothered to pull the ads yet because they are still getting lots of calls. 

How are the ads different?   Does one include a lot more in-depth information?  Is another extremely short?  Look closely.  Do any of them make you feel like the writer talked to the manager?  You want to talk to someone who has the hiring manager’s ear.

Second work your network.

Call the people you know at the company, or invite them out to lunch.  Call up recent employees.  What can you find out about the job?  Is there someone who can personally take your resume to the hiring manager?  How about to the hiring manager’s boss?  This is still the research phase.  Don’t give anyone your resume yet.  You only get to submit it once.

Is there a recruiter you trust?  Find out what information they have.  If they can bypass HR (Human Resources) or have other great connections then work with them.  For instance, there is one company I work with that requires all recruiters to submit resumes through their online system.  But I call the HR manager and tell her when my candidates go in so she can immediately extract them.  She is afraid of missing a truly hot candidate.  Other people who submit themselves are first sorted through by the receptionist. 

You really do have to quiz recruiters about their connections.  If you answer a particular ad when there are 6 ads out there, you have a right to ask why you should send a resume in through them.

Third decide how to apply.

If the job is not exciting, it doesn’t matter how you submit your resume.  Just do some quick cosmetic changes and submit it through an agency or the HR department.

For the job that really turns you on, figure out who should submit your resume.  For any company it could be you, a friend, recruiter or acquaintance.  Choose in this order:

  1. Someone who can hand your resume to the hiring manager and personally recommend you.  It doesn’t get any better.
  2. Whoever can get your resume past HR and talk to the manager.
  3. The person that can talk to the HR manager or screener and get you past the first cut.
  4. At this point all submissions really are equal. Do it yourself, have an employee there submit you to HR or let a recruiter you trust and who gets back with you do it. 

Fourth get your resume perfect

Put the bullets on your resume in order of importance.  Put a few key words in bold to make sure the screener and manager sees them.  Get rid of bullets, lines and sentences that do not apply to the job!!  A two page resume is fine for most jobs, but the second page may never get read.

Do the 10 second test with several people.  Hand your resume to a few friends and ask them to read it for 10 seconds.  Time them.  Take it away in 10 seconds.  Ask what they remember.  Do they mention your most important qualifications and accomplishments? If they do, it’s a winner.  If not, change it.

The 10 second test is critical because most screeners and managers give all the resumes a 10 second review to try to find the best ones first.  They will probably throw out your resume without further reading if they can’t see what they want in that first 10 seconds.

Fifth submit and follow up

Submit your resume.  Call up and find out what happened two days later.  Did your resume arrive there?  Did the manager see it yet?  When will he decide? 

You really want that job? After your two day follow up call send a thank you note. Give them a nudge, short and friendly.  It is amazing how a thank you note can get someone to personally try one more time for you.

Keep calling back at least weekly.  Sometimes it does take a couple of months to fill a job.  Keep your candidacy alive until it is pronounced dead by someone who knows.

Take Your Best Shot

If you really want a job.  Go all out.  There may be 100 applicants.  In some cases there may be 1000.  Use personal contacts to set yourself apart from the herd.  Make sure your resume instantly says, “I’m qualified.”  And follow up in case you somehow get missed.

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Something To Do Today

Start prioritizing all the jobs you can apply for.  On your written list make sure the jobs you crave stand out.  Treat them differently.  It is worth the extra effort.

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Posted in Job Boards, Networking, Perseverance, Resumes

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Six Ads For One Job – part one

Posted on December 1, 2009 | Leave a comment

You see 3 job board ads with almost identical wording for a job in the same suburb.  You go online and find 3 social network ads that are almost identical from 3 more different companies.  It has to be one job, not 6 different ones. What do you do?

First decide how much you want the job, then give it the time it deserves.

You have to set your priorities first.   Would you quit your job just to apply for it?   Then it will be worth a few phone calls and some research.   Is it so marginal you would NOT quit your job if it paid 5% more than you are earning today?  Treat it differently.

Low Priority Jobs

Look at all the ads.  Are any by a recruiter you know and want to work with?  Give them a quick call.  Often you can get more information from a recruiter than from the company itself.  Ask them if you have a chance at the job.  Do you want the job?  Commit the recruiter to submitting you for the job.  Then call up in two days and ask what they have heard back. 

If you can figure out who the primary employer is and don’t want to work with any recruiting agencies, just apply directly.  For low priority jobs it isn’t worth stressing out about whether an agency or a direct submission will work best.  Call the company in two days to see what happened.

High Priority Jobs

This is more involved.  We’ll talk about it tomorrow.

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Something To Do Today

Look online and find a job with more than one ad. Figure out which ones are from agencies and which is from the actual hiring company.  Make this a habit.

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Posted in Finding jobs, Job Boards

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