Do You REALLY Want to Know Why You Didn’t Get the Job?
Don’t you wish you knew why you didn’t get that job? You worked so hard on your resume, got through the phone interview and was called in for the in person interview. You think you’re on a roll, but you never hear back from the interviewer. What happened?
Here’s a peek behind the interviewer’s desk.
They saw something promising on your resume and decided to call you for a phone interview. That went well-you handled yourself well on the phone and answered the basic questions they asked.
Something happened when they met you in person.
Each interviewer is different, but here are some common reasons why you may not hear back from them.
You weren’t dressed appropriately for the position or company. Think about the way others at the company were dressed, and the status of the position you were interviewed for. Were you “dressed to impress”? One time I interviewed someone for an account manager position that might be a bit of a stretch from what he was currently doing. I was willing to give him a chance. However when he showed up for the interview he was dressed pretty casually and didn’t even bring a notebook to take notes during the interview, or a pen to write with. I needed him to show me that he was going to project a professional image without my having to follow him around to remind him to bring a notebook when he meets with a client. I expected him to look more pulled-together, and that he was hungry for this job. I didn’t see that in him, and was turned off.
Your body language was a turn-off. Did you maintain eye contact with the interviewer? Not in a creepy-staring contest kind of way, but in an honest, sincere, and interested way? Did you look comfortable? Were you jumpy and nervous? Did you talk very quickly? What was your interviewer’s facial and body language while you were speaking? Try to be objective about how you were presenting yourself. You want to learn from each interview, not perpetuate your problems because you refuse to admit what you do wrong.
You just weren’t a good fit for the organization or with the interviewer. Remember that they need to work with you day in and day out. If they think that you’ll be irritating-for whatever reason-unfortunately it’s their prerogative to not hire you. Period. End quote. It isn’t fair, but better that they eliminate you now, than you get on each other’s nerves after you are hired. There isn’t anything you can do to improve your chances if it was just a personality-thing, but just hope that you will have a better fit in your next interview.
So why don’t you hear from an interviewer after the in-person interview? Consider the possible reasons I’ve outlined above and then imagine yourself in the interviewer’s position. Would you rather have them cite one of the reasons above, or give you a polite but inaccurate reason, or not reply at all? There isn’t a best answer, but those are the choices most interviewers are faced with. So send your followup email, but if you don’t hear back from them, just move on with your search and try to improve your performance in your next interview as best you can.
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No comments3 Things Your Resume’s Gotta Have
You feel like you’re submitting your resume to every possible job under the sun, but you just can’t get any traction. In the back of your mind is this nagging suspicion that it’s not them, but your resume that could be the problem. But what should a good resume have? You’ve got your past jobs on there with dates, shouldn’t that be enough?
Uh. No.
A resume needs to be an attractive, readable, interesting document that makes the employer want to get to know you more. Think of it like an enticing description of a dish on a menu. When you go to a restaurant for the first time, you have no idea what you’re going to order. You have to rely on the descriptions to entice you and steer you in one way or another-ideally for the restaurant toward the highest priced item. They don’t just list the ingredients of the dish, but the description pulls the whole thing together and makes it sound appetizing.
Is your resume enticing to an employer? Here’s what turns them on.
RESULTS: Employers have GOT to see that you get results for the work you do. How effective are you? There’s a difference between not increasing sales at all, and seeing a 34% increase–so put that on the resume! How have you affected the company since you’ve been there?
CAREER SUMMARY: This takes the place of the Objective at the top of your resume. A career summary should give an employer a thumbnail view of who you are as an employee-think of it as a thesis statement on your old high school research papers. DO NOT simply provide a shopping list of qualities such as: hard working, dedicated, loyal, or the phrase attention to detail. They are on EVERYONE’s resume-trust me, I’ve seen my fair share. Instead paint yourself as if you’re an enticing dish on a menu and write something truly descriptive like this: “Syndicated/qualitative research professional with in-depth, customer service experience across a variety of industries. Successful track record of client retention, strong contract negotiation skills and increased sales through up-sell opportunities and new product development. Specialized experience in analytical category analysis, internal data management and written/verbal client presentations.” This describes the person behind the resume and paints a detailed picture of her experience in a short period of time.
BRIEF JOB DESCRIPTIONS: Under every company, job title and dates (and yes, in most cases, you should include months as well as the years), you should provide one or two sentences to describe what the company does (in case the name isn’t well known), and the basics of your job description. That’s it. Employers need to understand the industries you worked in, and the basic responsibilities of your past positions. They do not need to see your duties spelled out-your accomplishments will answer those questions in their mind.
So take a look at your resume. Does it pass the test? If not, email it to me for a FREE 10 minute critique and we can strategize where you should go from here.
Isn’t it worth it to have that nagging “is it my resume?” question answered?
Popularity: 91% [?]
No commentsNetworking Can Be FUN!
This week I had the pleasure of teaching a class on Networking Skills to students from Marywood University in Scranton PA. I very clearly remember my college days when a “networking event” was a bunch of us allowed into the Formal room on campus to try to make conversation with alumni who could potentially get us a job. We were like moths to a flame as we flitted awkwardly around the adults in the room and made some pathetic attempts at conversations that didn’t sound like we were begging for a job. We were unsuccessful and definitely pathetic.
I now try to teach people what I’ve learned from my years of having to “work a room.” I’m naturally an introvert–yes, believe it or not, I am-so I can definitely empathize with people who are terrified out of their minds at having to make conversation with people they barely know, let alone eventually ask them for a job. I still have to gear myself up for an event and get a game plan in my head. I don’t claim to be an expert, but there are definitely some never fail things I do that make the process easier.
1 Wear something you look and feel good in. It’s impossible to confidently talk to new people if you think that a pair of pants makes you look fat, that your tie has the remnants of lunch on it, or if your shoes hurt. You need to wear an outfit that makes you feel like you’re hosting the party. You score extra points if you wear what I call a converstation-starter piece of jewelery (ring, pin) or a distinctive tie or scarf. It gives people something to say to you when they walk up to you..which leads me to…
2 The best conversation-starter is a compliment. Hands down. Never fails. Who can’t resist liking someone who just paid them a genuine compliment? It’s not sucking up if it’s genuine and sincere, so find something about that person that helps them to stand out from the crowd. They’ll then feel like they owe you some conversation and will take the time to get to know you. It’s all good.
3 Listen to the other person. DO NOT scan the room looking for your friend, the punch bowl, or the closest restroom (unless it’s an emergency). People love eye contact and feeling like they’re being listened to. Everyone is an interesting person, you just need to show them that you want to figure out what is interesting about them.
4 Have your exit strategy at the ready. A few years ago I would go to some events like book signings, or business networking/chamber of commerce shindigs. Inevitably I’d get stuck in the corner talking to some person-who was very nice-but was never in a million years going to refer business to me, and was just leaching onto me because they were too nervous to meet other people. Ahhh the curse of being TOO nice. So I’d get stuck, and then ticked off at myself for being such a dope who couldn’t get out of a bad conversation. So now I have my exit lines ready, and I ain’t afraid to use ‘em. My favorite one is to say: “I don’t want to monopolize your time, so I’ll let you go and meet other people. I’ve enjoyed talking to you, we should keep in touch.” and then ZOOM, I’m outta there, and we’re both free to roam about the room. Deep down they know they should meet other people too-so they really can’t argue. You can also leave a conversation to get another drink, more food or some fresh air. Don’t feel bad, if you really did like that person, I’m sure they’d be happy to chat with you further when you don’t have a networking agenda.
The cool thing that the students realized the other night is that you can network ANYWHERE! All of us come into contact with strangers every day, we just need to be open to meeting them. The bookstore, mall, grocery store, train, any place where you make that quick eye contact with someone and start a connection. Perhaps you are in the grocery store picking some lettuce in the produce dept. and you and someone else suddenly get a cold shower when they wash down the vegetables. Laughing, making eye contact and sharing the moment with them can start a bond. You can share a few words and might even start a longer conversation. Sometimes it happens just that simply. You end up exchanging business cards and might even start a friendship.
Bottom line, be open to the possibility. Having a genuine curiosity about your fellow man can lead to some interesting opportunities.
Popularity: 92% [?]
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