The Job Dog: Career Tips & Coaching

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A recent article advised, "During a job interview, you’re being evaluated by everyone from the receptionist to the executive who may be walking through. Your interview really begins when you step into the office." Here is The Job Dog’s viewpoint: "The show really begins as soon as you step out of your car. You never know who may be looking out a window as you walk in and what impressions they may be forming."

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During an interview, be likeable. Quickly. If you don’t, nothing else much matters. Hiring managers consider your likeability, or how well you may fit with the team, as much—and perhaps more—than any other singular hiring factor.

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A well-written resume is actually the first step in answering predictable interview questions. It is straightforward. If you know what an interviewer will ask, then weave those answers into your resume. This Tip ensures you are highly prepared—on paper, with your resume—and in person for interviews.

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Let’s begin with what you need to know about behavioral interview questions. Behavioral questions are the primary type of questions used by professionally trained recruiters. Actually, the more sophisticated the organization, the greater the likelihood you will encounter behavioral questions.

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They called. They invited you for an interview. This is the job you really, really want. What do you do to prepare? People often overlook the following three essential areas of preparation.

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As The Job Dog, I spend most of my day coaching clients. Let me tell you something important that I have observed: most people do not know how to listen. You may think you don't need to read this section. You do. Very, very few people are skilled listeners. This information is critical to your networking, interviewing, and workplace skill set. Dogs listen; people don’t.

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Highly successful sales professionals are willing to contact customers at least seven times before they expect to make anything happen. This is known as the Times 7 Strategy.

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There are two basic ways to find a job: 1) seated (behind a computer) and 2) feeted (put on your shoes and go meet people). While others wait for a job posting to appear online, the guerrilla networker gets out, speaks up, and introduces herself.

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A common question is, "How do I keep a networking conversation going? Inevitably, things go silent, and I do not know what to say." The Job Dog understands that networking can be stressful. A common reaction to such stress is to talk too much. When networking, your job is not so much to talk. Your job is to ask questions and then to listen.

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Are you lost in the maze of Internet job boards? Do you need help getting out? But, help from whom? To quote a Beatles song, "… gonna try with a little help from my friends." If a little help from your friends could get you out of the maze, then what friends should you ask? Admittedly, many friends, present or past, may not be of much value. However, one or two friends very well may have the information you need. The following story illustrates that point.

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If you are feeling desperate, remember: Action Produces Results. This is the Tip that The Job Dog uses 100% of the time to help those feeling lost in their job search. Read the research topics below and select two from each category to act upon.

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This is the age of online job boards. Nearly everyone begins a career transition by first turning to the Internet. It is as natural as coming home from work and turning on the TV. It is safe, comfortable, and undemanding. So fine, do it. Get it out of your system. It may take a while—for some, a long while—until you realize how much time this approach will take away from other productive search strategies.

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The question you may want to post on your computer screen as you undertake your job search is, “Who can I go see?”.

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The preceding Tip encouraged you to locate and research potential opportunities before they become a job posting. This Spider Web Diagram© Tip will help you sustain and advance that research.

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You can create and nurture job opportunities using a counterintuitive thought process. To do so, train your mind to first think how an opportunity can work instead of how it won’t. To create opportunities, practice responding “I am interested in learning more, let’s see how this develops” when presented with a potential job lead.

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In The Job Dog offices, it is common for us to have people contact us after fruitless months of applying for jobs online. The fact is people do find opportunities online. However, the greater truth is that the longer you are unemployed, the more difficult it is to sell yourself into your next opportunity. You cannot afford to wait and determine if or when the job boards will work for you.

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It is just this simple: your references have positive things to say about you. You should stay connected throughout your search to remain at the forefront of their minds. This tip includes specific steps for preparing your references before you need them.

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When a potential employer asks for references, you want to be organized and prepared.

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For high priority jobs, use The Job Dog's hardest hitting cover letter. Using this approach demonstrates you understand the job well to write a precise cover letter that connects to critical job requirements. It also establishes that you are interested enough to take the time to develop a tailored cover letter.

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For high priority jobs, use The Job Dog's hardest hitting cover letter. Using this approach demonstrates you understand the job well to write a precise cover letter that connects to critical job requirements. It also establishes that you are interested enough to take the time to develop a tailored cover letter.

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Cover letters are an advertising tool, and we follow only one advertising rule: if it prompts a recruiter to identify you as a "yes" candidate, then it is a good advertisement.

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Here’s how to construct a well-crafted resume that demonstrates your ability to manage details correctly. Details always matter, and using the information in Tip #12 will make your resume a standout, and make you look like the polished professional you are.

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Search Google for the word resume, and you will find 168 million online sources. So where do you go? To The Job Dog, of course! What makes our resumes unique? One thing: our approach provides content in a format that is easy to scan visually and quickly tells the recruiter what he or she needs to know, right up front. Recruiters tell our clients they love this resume style.

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Creating your resume and preparing for an interview are so interrelated as to be the same activity. Assembling the details of your employment history, skills, and accomplishments is the first step in the construction of your resume. This process also prepares you for questions you are likely to encounter in an interview.

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All too often, people only focus on attire for an interview. Yet, during a career transition, you are always networking. Who knows who you will meet and when you will meet them?

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An elevator statement or, more simply, "elevator," is one or two engaging sentences used to tell someone you just met about your career focus or goals. The word elevator reflects the idea that you could complete your introduction in the brief time span of an elevator ride. To be effective, The Job Dog recommends it should be concise and take fewer than 15 seconds to share.

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Many people focus energy and attention on strengthening weaknesses. They think making their weaknesses stronger will provide the missing key to success. This is one of life's biggest fallacies. The Job Dog's experience, from decades of coaching knowledge, is that a successful career transition relies primarily on your attention to your strengths.

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As you write your resume and prepare for interviews, you can opt to slug it out with many others who are equally qualified, or you can identify and market your uniqueness. To achieve the latter, two concepts – qualifiers and differentiators – become critically important to creating the career transition success you desire. Let’s look at how to define and use both to your advantage.

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The Job Dog often has clients who want to get beyond the cliche feedback from a recruiter that other candidates were more qualified. Here is what you need to know about the truth behind that statement.

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Continuous self-improvement – inside and outside – is an important factor during your job transition. The recommendations in this Tip are resume enhancements that can improve your interview performance.

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The Job Dog finds that a client's overall balance between action (explore) and thought (evaluate) is highly predictive of career transition success. Action is anything accomplished on your feet: going, seeing, or meeting. Thought is anything you accomplish in your seat: thinking or considering.

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What you will discover if you talk to anyone who has had a measurable amount of success is that the difference that got them beyond average, and for some, to the top of their field, was simply plain hard work.

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Begin your job search by taking control. Stop thinking about what may be impossible and start thinking about what is possible.