Prologue: Make The Most of Your Hidden Advantage
Think in Terms of Context
Keys to Finding The Right Job: Preparation,
Initiative, Exposure
Questions and Answers
- Guest Speaker
- Henry Lesher, Executive Vice President Bernard
Haldane Associates, New York City
- Haldane Associates has more than 75 offices
throughout the United States, Canada and Great Britain
and since 1947 has helped over 600,000 people obtain
better jobs and careers.
Prologue: Make The Most of Your Hidden Advantage
Dr. Bernard Haldane formed Haldane Associates in 1947
to help WW II veterans obtain basic training in
reverse so they could use the skills they learned
during the war in a peacetime economy.
Then, as now, most people don't know how to get jobs
that offer the right fit, those which make the highest
and best use of their skills and talents.
Before you can find that type of job for yourself,
you need to uncover your hidden objective - how you
can uniquely contribute to an organization's continued
success. Ask:
- What am I equipped to do?
- How can I best communicate that capability to the
job market?
- Where are the jobs that will best use my skills
and talents?
People who see don't hear. That gives an
advantage to people who can't see because reading a
voice and its intonation provides an avenue for
sensing much more. That capability can have a real
impact in job interviews.
Will you help me? When asked with sincerity and the
right tone, that's the most powerful question in
English language. People usually say, "Sure." So, be
yourself, be candid, be positive, be truthful during a
job interview. We all want to work with people we
like, enjoy and are comfortable with. Employers hire
people they like. So, let your light shine.
One of the biggest problems is that companies don't
know how to find you. And you don't know how to find
them. That's why networking is essential. And, in
doing so, give yourself a context so you stand out.
Here's an example of context: You have learned how to
overcome obstacles. That's a key skill. You can make a
difference in an organization.
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Think in Terms of Context
The job seeker says, "I don't know what I can do."
(i.e. "I haven't done my home work.") The prospective
employer says, "You don't have experience." etc. (i.e.
"I don't like you," "You're wasting my time," "You
haven't shown me how you can help me solve a problem I
need to solve.") Both parties in this situation have
not identified a common ground.
Work on presenting yourself effectively. Articulate
what you can do for an employer (based on an analysis
of your skills).
In a job interview, there's just one significant
question you need to answer: "What can you do for me?"
The interviewer has a problem. It's either a job not
being done or not being done well. The interviewer is
also taking time away from his own job. His one dread:
taking time to deal with people who are ill-prepared.
Employers want to know that, when they've made a
hiring decision, they've solved their problem. So,
turn your disability into an advantage. Show
dedication, show loyalty, show caring, show quality
work. They're all in short supply in today's world of
work.
Don't accept preconceptions. Show you are not a
whiner but that you've overcome obstacles. That
generates respect.
Be prepared to tell a prospective employer what you
can do for him. You can do that by:
- Identifying your skills. That will show you
what jobs you can consider.
- Being prepared to answer this question: Have you
done it before?
- Showing why you're unique among those with similar
skill sets.
Make believe the person interviewing you can't
see. Paint mental pictures for him about how you can
help him and his organization continue to be
successful.
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Keys to Finding The Right Job: Preparation,
Initiative, Exposure
The unpublished (or hidden) job market consists of
those opportunities not identified by media, agencies,
headhunters, recruiters or the Internet.
Become a commissioned, door-to-door salesman. That's
networking. You have that job until you do it well.
When you have mastered it, you will get to do what you
love.
It'll take significant amounts of rejection until
someone says yes to you. Successful people network,
are proactive, by habit.
Who can help you find the right job for you? People
who are currently working in those jobs. Ask them:
Will you help me?
Networking is like a family tree. Every one of us
knows someone who can help. People love to help other
people, but they're reluctant because they don't know
what you want and how to help. Don't ask for a job
directly in networking. Ask to spend 10-15 minutes
talking about what their job (and your dream job) is
like. And then ask: Do you know others who would
describe their jobs and their organizations? Tell them
you're going through a process of discovery. Ask them
to help you in that journey. Remember: People like to
talk about themselves.
Most job seekers suffer from under exposure. Be
prepared. Take the initiative by:
- Identifying your skills.
- Matching your skills to functional roles.
- Communicating what you can offer.
About 90 percent of job seekers spent 95 percent
of their time on the easy things in a job search:
replying to job openings through the media, job
placement firms and the Internet. But each of those
sources only represent 10 percent of the available
jobs.
Reaching the unpublished market by doing your own
research through conversations with decision makers
about jobs and companies is not easy. But do your
homework, and you'll get a target group of potential
employers and a personal picture of the trends in your
particular field. The keys to networking successfully
are preparation, initiative, exposure.
To find the right job for you, you need to take the
risk of being rejected. It usually takes 200 to 500
overtures before a person without a disability gets
two to four job offers. The road to the right job is
paved with rejection. But, if you do everything you
can to find the right job, you'll find it.
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Questions and Answers
- Question: As a first time job seeker,
what is most important thing I can do.
Lesher: Establish a goal. What do others tell
you about your strengths? What are you passionate
about? What do you enjoy? There are many ways to be
involved in what you love to do. Identify what you
enjoy, pinpoint the job skills you have for doing what
you enjoy and then develop your resume around those
skills.
Question: What happens when you lack training
for a job you'd like?
Lesher: Tell your prospective employer: I'm in
the process of learning these essential skills, and
I will continue to learn them on the job. Stretch
yourself, but don't leap. What you don't know today
you'll soon learn. Go for it. Give yourself the
benefit of the doubt.
Question: Finding a job is like being the
pitcher in a baseball game. Who's more important than
the pitcher?
Lesher: I like your analogy. It works. Remember
that confidence short of arrogance is the right
attitude.
Question: Shouldn't I ask the interviewer about
the requirements of the job?
Lesher: Your pre-interview work is to discover
what you can do, communicate what you can do in a
compelling way and then get interviews within the job
sector you're targeting. And, yes, go into an
interview in that same mode of discovery, get clarity
on what the requirements are and then show how you
meet those requirements.
Question: As soon as I tell about my minor
visual impairment, it seems like it's a turnoff for
the interviewer.
Lesher: You're raising an objection (a reason
for not hiring you) that, to me, doesn't matter.
There's no reason to bring up. Don't stop until you
are successful. Right person, right time, right job.
To get that combination, you need to network.
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