Category Archives: Finding jobs

Giving 30 seconds away can get you a job too

Posted on January 8, 2010 | Leave a comment

Seize the day in 30 seconds.

One college fundraising drive was also an experiment.  The fundraisers went into the dormitory common area where there were students.  Half the time they just asked for donations.  The other times they came and handed out soft drinks as they asked for donations.  The trips with the soft drinks raised several times more money.  The secret is giving something away before you ask for help.

Your time and attention are your most valuable possessions.  Give 30 seconds away.

The greatest secret of top salesmen is: establish a relationship before you sell yourself.  Break your target person out of their rut before you sell. Start by spending 30 seconds talking about them.  Few people can resist trying to help someone who has given them 30 seconds of rapt attention.

Ask a question and then listen.   “How is your day going so far?  How many of these interviews do you do in a day?  You must be worn out by now, how do you keep a fresh attitude?  Is that a picture of your dog?  My kids were crazy this morning, do you think it was just the weather?  How did you learn to do this job?”

It takes practice.  Get the book, How To Win Friends And Influence People, by Dale Carnegie.  Read and apply one chapter a day. It  will make people smile when you enter the room.  You’ll be memorable.  You will also enjoy meeting other people more than you ever have before.

Want a job?  You have to stand out from the crowd.  Give your most important possession away.  Give 30 seconds of your time and attention.  You will be fondly remembered by everyone you meet.  They will also really want to help you because you are a nice person.

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Something To Do Today

Practice giving away 30 seconds with everyone you meet.

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Posted in Finding jobs, Interviews

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Job advice I just gave my 2 kids

Posted on January 7, 2010 | Leave a comment

Here’s the advice I gave my kids.  The same email.  I must admit, I am a religious guy, so I also included that   Your choice.

Here are the most important instructions for finding a job.

Fast and Pray.

Get a Priesthood Blessing.

Put your name on the prayer rolls of the temple.

Think.  Get a few sheets of paper or your journal and a pen.  Sit down for 1 hour each day and do the following in a quiet spot and time.

            Write your goal at the top of the sheet of paper

            The goal may be “Find a job” or “Make $200/week in Provo” or whatever.

            Say a prayer

            Spend the hour writing down ideas of how you can reach that goal.  Make lists.  Get sidetracked on good ideas.  Concentrate.

            If you write down 30 ideas a day and only find one good one after a week, that’s more than enough, isn’t it?

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Two ways to Robo-Network

Posted on December 21, 2009 | Leave a comment

Do you want to be known as the person who can solve any problem?

Then go to where people with problems are: online.  I assume you are an expert at your profession.  Go online and find an online forum where you can contribute.  You can ask your co-workers and teachers what online forums they suggest.  I just did a Google search on “Sarbanes Oxley audit forums” and got a very specialized list of forums.  Spend a few hours getting to know your forum and its tone, then hop right in and offer some help. 

Did you know there are recruiters and researchers that specialize in finding smart people in online forums?  They do it for accountants, programmers, truckers, pilots and a lot more occupations.  More important, the people who rely on the forum often let others know where jobs are.  Generally they take the conversation offline, where others are not involved.  That’s why you don’t see it. 

So let’s say you let slip that you are from Harrisburg, PA.  Someone else says they are from York, PA.  You send an email outside the system to that person and place each other in your network.

Want to extend this?  Add people who give you their business card at a class.  For all the people you have in your network, keep two email address lists.  One for the occasional, “How are you doing,” contact.  Send an email every few months with a little personal update.  Have another email list for the folks you want in your close network.  Find a reason to email them more often.  It could be with a note about something you saw in an online forum you want to make sure they noticed.  Make sure both lists know when you are looking for a job.

Two ways to Robo-network:  Contribute to online forums and make email lists to keep people in your network.   

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Something To Do Today

Find an online forum about your expertise.  Help someone there with an answer they need.

Tomorrow:      Giving your way into a job.  It’s beginning to sound like Christmas.

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Posted in Finding jobs, Networking

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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 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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80% of jobs are hidden – How To Find Them

Posted on November 30, 2009 | 1 comment

The webinar on how to find the 80% of jobs that are NOT advertised can be seen here.

The cheatsheet can be downloaded free here.

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Posted in Finding jobs, Job Boards, Networking, Perseverance

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Job search cheatsheet

Posted on November 24, 2009 | Leave a comment

I’m going to try to get this seminar online today and make it available.

I’m giving a seminar on how to find hidden jobs today, 10:00 a.m.

The cheatsheet can be downloaded free here.

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Posted in Finding jobs, Job Boards, Networking, Training

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