Tag: Job Search

Fraudulently Padding a Resume

How to land a job you are completely unqualified to perform (do no try this at home… unless you want go to jail). This system is proven effective (especially step 8) and was used by a woman in Connecticut.

How to land a job you are completely unqualified to perform (do no try this at home… unless you want go to jail):

  • Step One: Make up a bunch of stuff that isn’t true and put it on your resume
  • Step Two: Create a fake industry association and give it an official sounding name
  • Step Three: Announce you won a major award from your fake organization
  • Step Four: Start sending out resumes
  • Step Five: Tell employers you lost the supporting information such as licenses, diplomas, etc.
  • Step Six: Plan an awards banquet for your fake organization and invite 30+ people, including your perspective boss
  • Step Seven: Give the people attending the banquet scripts telling them what to say and how to compliment you in front of your perspective boss
  • Step Eight: Leverage your dishonesty to get free room and board for three to five years from the state prison system

This system is proven effective (especially step 8) and was used by a woman in Connecticut.

Unfortunately, there are people who think this eight step plan is a good idea.  If you’re looking for a job and are missing a key credential, it can be very frustrating.  There are reasons why certain credentials are required – for example, an RN in a doctor’s office should have a nursing license.  For one “Nurse of the Year,” the lack of credentials didn’t stop her, at least initially.

Betty Lichtenstein was recently arrested for illegally using the title “Registered Nurse” and reckless endangerment and criminal impersonation.  Various news outlets are reporting how Betty claimed she lost her RN license.  To get around this, she created a fictitious “Connecticut Nursing Association” and gave herself the Nurse of the Year award.  She staged a dinner with about 30 people where her perspective boss could see the award presented to her (the dinner cost her over $2,000).

I see a fair bit of lying and deception on resumes by job seekers.  The big stuff, like fake degrees is easy to spot.  For other lies, it takes a little more work to uncover.  This is why most employers, particularly larger companies, will not shortcut their background checks.

Lying to obtain a position as a medical practitioner carries with it significantly greater criminal implications than many other fields.  In Lichtenstein’s case, she’s looking at the possibility of 5 years in jail.  There are a wide range of laws that prohibit lying employment applications or defrauding companies or government entities to get a job.

Additionally, the news articles published on Betty’s story will stay on the internet forever.  A simple google search of her name will uncover these stories and will make her ability to get a job much more difficult. Who want’s to hire someone who would lie to this degree.

The most common lie I find on resumes (mainly because it’s the easiest and fastest to check) is the use of a fake degree to boost a person’s education.  There are tons of diploma mills that will sell a Bachelor’s, Master’s or PhD.  Some offer overnight shipping and next day service.  All you have to do is write a check.  These are easy to spot.  Just go to the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) and search for the school (http://www.chea.org/search/search.asp).

If you want to learn more about Betty Lichtenstein, “Nurse of the Year from the Connecticut Nursing Association”, check out http://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/local-beat/Nurse-Betty-Plays-Pretend-52626832.html

Sales Tips for a Job Seeker

A job search is a sales activity. You are selling yourself and trying to persuade a company to spend tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars for your time and effort. You need to present an advertising, marketing and sales material to get land an interview and need to make a better sales presentation than your competition. If you don’t, someone else will land the sale and get hired.

A job search is a sales activity.  You are selling yourself and trying to persuade a company to spend tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars for your time and effort.  You need to present an advertising, marketing and sales material to get land an interview and need to make a better sales presentation than your competition.  If you don’t, someone else will land the sale and get hired.

There are a lot of people who detest sales.  They think it’s dishonest and unethical.  This view is completely wrong, but it exists in our society.  If you hold this view and refuse to try to sell yourself in your job search, you will be placing a huge obstacle in your path.  Selling is an activity that helps the buyer.  Buyers are not experts on the products they are buying – the sales people are.  A good sales person will help a person find the right product or service to buy.  You need to do the same in your job search.

A hiring manager is a buyer.  The hiring process is designed to assess candidates, learning as much as possible, so the hiring manager can make the best decision.  You need to make sure you are providing the information the hiring manager needs and show them the value you offer.  If you don’t do this, you won’t get hired.  There are a few key steps in the sales process you need to execute effectively:

Give a Reason To Buy:  The number one task in your job search is to give a hiring manager a reason to hire you.  This may seem obvious, but it is amazing how few people actually do this.  You need to show very clearly why you will provide more value to the hiring manager and employer than your competition.  Imagine going into a car dealer and the sales person shows you a car.  You ask why you should buy it, and the only answer is the car drives and will get you places.  This is what many job seekers do.  Their sales pitch is that they can do the job.  Meeting the absolute minimum requirements is not a sales pitch.  This is essentially saying “I offer the least value possible while still being able to do the job.”  Not very impressive.

Know Your Limitations:  You are not an ideal fit for every job.  There are plenty of positions where other candidates have a better combination of skills and abilities.  This isn’t a bad thing.  You can’t bet the best at everything.  You need to be the best at something.  Too many people try to cover every base possible.  Focus on what you are truly good at doing.  If a hiring manager wants someone with a different skill set, be honest.  You won’t land that job, but your honesty can make an impression and lead you to other positions with an organization.  The hiring manager may have the perfect job for you.  If you aren’t honest about your strengths and weaknesses, you may never discover this position.

Focus on Benefits:  One of the most basic lessons taught in sales courses is to focus on benefits not features.  In a job search, this is showing the contributions you will make.  To do this, you need to show the hiring manager similar contributions you have made in the past.  For example, in some cereal ads, the actors talk about how after eating one type of cereal, their cholesterol was lower, and their family was happier as a result.  Can you show how you exceed the expectations of a former boss and delivered specific results to the company?  This is what a hiring manager wants – the results that will allow them beat their budget and goals.  If you show how you will do this, you will be much more likely to get hired.

Listen:  Great sales people listen much more than they talk.  They learn as much about the needs of the customer as they can.  Because interviews are typically a series of questions by the interviewer and answers by the job seeker, it may seem difficult to listen to the needs of the hiring manager.  It’s much easier to learn what a hiring manager wants if you put forth a little effort.  The first step is to network with people who understand the company and job and learn as much as you can.  This will give you insight into the hiring manager’s perspective.  During the interview, pay attention to the type of questions being asked and ask questions to learn about the position.  For example:

  • What are your goals for this position?
  • What is the biggest challenge for this position?
  • What do you want to see a person in this role accomplish in the first 3 months? 6 months? Year?
  • How will I be assessed and evaluated in this role?

Answers to these questions will show you what a hiring manager wants.  Listen closely to the answers and show how you will meet these needs.

Follow Up:  Good sales people follow up, even after being rejected.  Make sure you send thank you notes after interviews, and stay in touch with hiring managers.  It may take months or years, but each relationship you develop and maintain has the potential to lead to offer. 

If you focus on selling your potential, you will maximize your chance of success.  If you don’t want to do this, you will help your competition gain the edge over you.

Replacing a High Paying Job

In the early 90’s, I worked for an engineering firm who built steel mills. This company had a new technology that was in great demand. At the same time, the industry was down and most engineering firms in the steel industry were laying off people. The department I worked in designed the piping systems for the steel mill. It was led by an engineering manager, had a team of engineers, a drafting supervisor and team of draftsmen.

In the early 90’s, I worked for an engineering firm who built steel mills.  This company had a new technology that was in great demand.  At the same time, the industry was down and most engineering firms in the steel industry were laying off people.  The department I worked in designed the piping systems for the steel mill.  It was led by an engineering manager, had a team of engineers, a drafting supervisor and team of draftsmen. 

One of the draftsmen had been the engineering manager for a different firm, but had been laid off.  In taking the drafting job, his income was probably cut by sixty or seventy percent.  When I first met him, I felt sorry for him.  He had a couple of kids in college and was having trouble supporting his family.  My sympathy didn’t last long.  The guy was extremely bitter and spent most of his time criticizing everything around him, especially the company.  He blamed everyone he could for his misfortune.  He ended up being a miserable person to work with and most people avoided him.  He didn't last long at the company, despite being extremely qualified, capable and skilled.

It wasn’t the company’s fault that he had lost his job, or that they were paying him so much less than he had been making.  When they hired a draftsman, they hired him despite his being vastly overqualified.  He had a chance to prove his capability and earn promotions quickly.  The company was growing and there was a lot of potential to move up.  His attitude ensured he would not see a promotion, and he didn’t last long with the company.

Although this story is almost 20 years old, it has a lot of similarities today.  I have been running into job seekers who are struggling to find a job that pays as well as their last position.  During their career, they progressed up and received good raises. Recently, they were laid off.  They are now finding it difficult, if not impossible, to find a job that pays as well as the one they lost.

This is a very difficult situation.  Some people are looking at more than a 50% cut to their pay.  Add to this a high mortgage, falling real estate prices and a stock market down significantly from its highs.  Prospects may look bleak.

Despite the tough economy, many of these job seekers feel that they are owed a job at least as good as the one they had.  Employers don't want to hear about a person's hardships or their expectations.  They don't care what you think you deserve.  They want to hire someone that will do a job efficiently and effectively.  They will also minimize costs and will not pay someone more than they have to. 

I would like to give the secret to replacing a great salary, but there is no “do this one thing and you’ll be rich” tip.  The truth is replacing an income at the top end of the range for a job type may not be possible today.  This isn’t what anyone wants to hear, but it is the truth.  So what do you do?

The first thing you need to do is accept that just because a company paid you a lot in the past doesn’t mean you are owed that today.  This is tough to accept – no one wants to take a step backwards. 

Second, look at the long term potential of a position.  If you could take a 50% pay cut, knowing that within two years you would get promotions and replace the lost pay, would situation be more attractive?  Too many people expect to replace their lost income immediately.  This leads to long periods of unemployment and no potential for promotion.

It can be difficult to accept a major cut in pay, but being bitter about it will only hurt your job search and your performance on the job once hired. 

A Retiree Seeking Employment

I’m helping a retiree find a part time or full time position to supplement his retirement income. He decided he wants to work, and with the drop in the stock market, could use some supplemental income. His search is different from most job seekers. He isn’t looking for a position similar to the job he retired from. That was a VP level position. He’s looking for a much lower level position.

I’m helping a retiree find a part time or full time position to supplement his retirement income.  He’s decided he wants to work and with the drop in the stock market, could use some supplemental income.  His search is different from most job seekers.  He isn’t looking for a position similar to the job he retired from.  That was a VP level position.  He’s looking for a much lower level position.

The challenge for this candidate is three fold.  First, he hasn’t worked in more than five years.  Extended gaps in employment can cause a hiring manager to pass on a candidate.  It raises a question about the candidate’s commitment and motivation to work.  If the candidate does not offer clear value, it can be the deciding factor.

Second, the candidate’s last position was in a senior management role.  He is not looking for a similar role.  He’s seeking an entry level customer service or administration position.  This is a vast departure from his experience.  Although he has the skills to do these positions very well, a hiring manager may prefer a candidate coming from a role similar to the job being filled.  The concern is that the candidate will not like the job and will quit soon after being hired.

Third, the job seeker’s age will be a factor.  Age discrimination is illegal and most companies will not discriminate based on age.  Despite this, the candidate is at a stage in his life where he has been retired for five years.  He’s looking for supplemental income to make up for stock market declines. A hiring manager may conclude that the candidate would quit as soon as the market rebounds.  It really isn’t the age of the job seeker that is the issue – it’s the stage in his life that he’s reached.  It can be difficult to tell if the candidate is really serious about returning to work.

These three challenges can sink a job search.  They are not insurmountable, though.  If the candidate is really serious about finding and staying in a job, he can sell through the challenges.  The key is framing the candidate’s skills and abilities in a way that is impressive. 

Past Skills

The candidate is proud of a number of high level management skills and accomplishments from his career.  These are great, but have nothing to do with the jobs he is pursuing.  If he emphasizes the scope of responsibility and size of his accomplishments too much, he may hurt his chances.  Even if they aren’t a negative, the accomplishments probably won’t help.  A hiring manager is going to assess and hire based on the specific skills required to do a job.  For example, Tiger Woods may be the highest skilled golfer in history, but those skills wouldn’t mean a thing if he wanted a Network Administrator, Manufacturing Engineer, or Emergency Room Nurse job.  Each of these positions has a completely different skill set. 

Relevant Skills

The skills and abilities that are most relevant for a retiree looking for an entry level position to supplement their income relate to the concerns of the hiring manager.  Reliability and honesty are significant factors.  A commitment to learn and accept feedback are also important.  How will this candidate adjust to working for a manager that might be half or even a third of his age?  Does he “know it all” or will he strive to learn?  The other factor the hiring manager will want to assess is the energy level and motivation of the job seeker.  A candidate who really doesn’t want to work is unlikely to be successful over the long term, and will be passed over by hiring managers.

Writing a resume and preparing to interview require addressing the concerns of the hiring manager.  That means focusing on reliability, maturity, honesty, quality and a strong work ethic.  If you do this, you will give yourself a chance, and a lot of hiring managers will value the experience you bring to the table.  If you focus on other skills unrelated to the job, it is unlikely these skills will be valued.

Job Search Webinar

“Job Search Basics” will provide specific advice for how to manager a job search. I’m going to review some of the websites and tools that are extremely helpful. I’ll also share tips for how to use these tools to get results.

I finished setting up the third webinar I am planning next week.

“Job Search Basics” will provide specific advice for how to manager a job search.  I’m going to review some of the websites and tools that are extremely helpful.  I’ll also share tips for how to use these tools to get results.

The webinar will review:

  • Tools to find job opportunities
  • Tools to help you manage the search process
  • Tools to research jobs, companies and opportunities
  • Tools to improve your networking

This webinar is best suited for job seekers with some familiarity of online resources but questions about what other resources exists.  If you have used the big job boards and want to know what else is out there, I’ll point you in the right direction.

Join me on Friday July 10th at 11AM EDT for this event!  Register for Job Search Basics

Update:  I now do webinars for APICS.  Check out the career resources APICS offers members.

How Do Hiring Managers Decide Who to Hire?

You applied for a job, landed an interview and got invited back for a final interview. At every step, you felt great about the job, company and people. The interviewers were extremely complimentary of you throughout the process. Everything looked great. Then, you get the call that the company selected another candidate. The only feedback they provide is that the other candidate is “a better fit.”

You applied for a job, landed an interview and got invited back for a final interview.  At every step, you felt great about the job, company and people.  The interviewers were extremely complimentary of you throughout the process.  Everything looked great.

Then, you get the call that the company selected another candidate.  The only feedback they provide is that the other candidate is “a better fit.”

I’ve been a recruiter a long time and have watched this happen more times than I can count.  It is extremely frustrating for the candidate.  Without any specific feedback, the candidate doesn’t know why they weren’t hired.

There are a few reasons why a candidate might not get hired.  Understanding how hiring managers make a decision can help you maximize your chances.  No matter what you do, you will not get an offer every time.  At the end of the hiring process, it is likely there will be two or three candidates being considered.  This means half to two thirds of the candidates that complete a final interview will be turned down.

The candidate that gets hired will have several attributes.  They will have experience and skills that will allow them to either do the job or learn the job quickly.  They will have an attitude and work ethic that meets the hiring manager’s expectations.  They will be able to communicate their skills, abilities and background in a positive way.

Of these attributes, you can improve all of them.  Your skills and experience take time to improve, but over your career, you should continue to develop.  Your attitude and work ethic are determined by your choices.  If you continually choose to do more and maintain a positive attitude, these will become habits.  You can also influence your communications skills and your interview skills in particular (check out our interview prep book).

You’ve done everything you can to improve your marketability and still get turned down for the job you want.  Why does this happen?

When a hiring manager decides to fill a position, they will develop criteria for selecting the candidate.  Some of the criteria will be objective but most will be subjective.  There are few objective measures for most skills.  How do you quantify a person’s leadership skills or their multi-tasking ability?  You can’t.

Hiring managers will often use a successful employee as a model for the person they want to hire.  For example, many manufacturing and distribution firms like to hire former military officers for supervisory positions.  A military background teaches great leadership skills.  It doesn’t guarantee a person is a great leader, but it does show a common set of training and experiences.

Using a common set of experiences to assess candidates is used frequently.  If you don’t have the common background, it will not eliminate you from the process.  It can be the cause of a rejection at the end of the process.  Picture two candidates – we’ll use the supervisor position in a manufacturing plant.  One candidate is a former military officer and has four years of experience in supervisory positions in manufacturing.  The other candidate started out as an engineer in manufacturing and has four years of supervisory experience.

Both candidates have the same experience in the role – four years supervising manufacturing teams.  In this case, both candidates have similar educational backgrounds and present a good track record of accomplishment.  There is little to differentiate them except for the experience prior to their supervisory experience.

One hiring manager may favor the technical skills brought gained from an engineering background, while another may favor the leadership background of a former military officer.  Both candidates could be successful in the role.  Rejecting an unqualified candidate is easy.  Rejecting a qualified candidate is more difficult.  This is the source of the feedback “the other candidate was a better fit” comes in.

What do you do?  If you’re up against a candidate that has the preferred background, you can still give yourself a chance.

  • Prepare for your interviews thoroughly by developing good examples of your accomplishments, and how they benefited your employers.
  • Ask questions to learn as much as you can about the goals of the hiring manager.
  • Show specific situations from your background where you met similar goals to the goals of the hiring manager.

The key is showing your ability to succeed.  You need to demonstrate clearly how you will perform better than your competition.  It isn’t enough to show you can succeed.  Your competition can succeed too.  If you’re competing against someone with a background exactly matching the profile the hiring manager wants, you have to show how you are better.  The way you do this is by showing what you have done.  If you do not do this, then you leave the question of who has the strongest potential up to the hiring manager.

Getting Experience

If you are just entering the job market or are trying to change careers, getting experience is essential. I ran into an article with a great list of resources to help job seekers get experience

If you are just entering the job market or are trying to change careers, getting experience is essential.  I ran into an article with a great list of resources to help job seekers get experience.

It can be a challenge to find a company to give a chance to get started.  There are a lot of experienced job seekers on the market.  Most companies will choose to hire someone with experience over someone without.  This doesn't mean your job search is hopeless.

If you are working and want to change careers, getting experience in the new career can be difficult.  There are options.  Find a volunteer position where you can work on the skills required in the new field.  You can also try doing some freelance work.  In either case, you would offer free work in exchange for the chance to get experience.

If you are out of work or are just entering the workforce, you have more options.  You can volunteer to work for a company without pay to get experience.  If you do this, make sure you approach the unpaid work as if you were getting paid.  In addition to experience, you want the company to give a good reference.

There are wide range of ways you can get experience. The article 10 Ways for New College Graduates to Gain Job Experience lists a wide range of website you can use to find opportunities for gaining experience. 

Why Would You Change Jobs Now?

I read an article on the Ladders today about interviewers asking why a job seekers would make a job change during a recession. As the article points out, this is a tough interview question – one of the toughest you might encounter. It’s also a question you can expect to hear a lot.

I read an article on the Ladders today about interviewers asking why a job seekers would make a job change during a recession.  As the article points out, this is a tough interview question – one of the toughest you might encounter.  It's also a question you can expect to hear a lot.

I've been getting a lot of resumes lately from people who have been in their current position for only a year or two.  They show significant accomplishments on their resume in their current job.  Despite the short tenure, they're actively looking for a change.  It's impossible to avoid wondering why.

There are a number of reasons a job seeker might want a change soon after taking a job:

  • The job seeker is failing and worried about being fired

  • The company is in trouble and they expect to be laid off

  • The job seeker misjudged the opportunity and is looking for something that better suits their goals

  • The job seeker has personal issues that require a move

  • The job seeker has a professional goals that are being satisfied in their current position

There are numerous other reason why a job seeker would want to make a change.  The article on the Ladders discusses how to answer questions about why you want to make a change in an interview.  This is important, but you need to address it before the interview.

What do you think the hiring manager will assume when they read a resume?  If you don't explain why you are looking for a job, the hiring manager will usually assume the worst.  This makes it important to answer why you are looking, either in your cover letter or resume.  Provide a short statement as to why you are on the market despite the short tenure in your position.  If you are out of work, addressing this is even more important.

You can check out the article on the Ladders at Tough Interview Questions: Why Are You Making a Move in a Recession?

Email Isn’t as Easy as it Looks

Email is an essential communication tool and this is especially true in a job search. The first communication between a candidate and company is often by email. Many hiring managers use email to schedule times for calls with candidates to avoid playing phone tag. This makes it essential to have a reliable email service.

Email is an essential communication tool and this is especially true in a job search.  The first communication between a candidate and company is often by email.  Many hiring managers use email to schedule times for calls with candidates to avoid playing phone tag.  This makes it essential to have a reliable email service.

John Snyder, Vice President of CareersPro, Inc wrote a good article about the frustrations of recruiters trying to get in touch with candidates.  In “Are Spam Filters Keeping Your From Getting a Job,” John talks about the emails that don’t get to candidates due to spam filters. 

As annoying as spam is, there is no perfect solution.  Either you let a lot of spam in and get all your important messages, or you discard most of your spam but throw out important emails.  In a job search, few can afford to throw away an invitation to interview. 

One caution… if you have had a spam filter with very restrictive settings and turn it off, you will get lots of emails from people asking if they can give you money if you provide them with all of your financial account information.  They usually request a small handling fee.  These are scams.  You have not won the multi-million dollar “World Lottery” (I can’t count how many times I’ve supposedly won) and no one is going to give you a few million dollars if you help them open a checking account.

Is Online Networking a Waste of Time?

There is a lot written about how networking online can propel your job search. Claims are made that social media can deliver a better job much faster than other job search techniques. Despite this, many job seekers are not using social media and online networking sites.

There is a lot written about how networking online can propel your job search.  Claims are made that social media can deliver a better job much faster than other job search techniques.  Despite this, many job seekers are not using social media and online networking sites. 

In a survey of job seekers conducted in Australia, less of than 20% of the job seekers thought social networking sites help a job search.  Although this study was conducted in Australia, I expect the results would be very similar around the world.

There are a number of reasons job seekers don’t see value in social networking.  The two biggest are related to not understanding how to use this tool.  First, even though the growth of social media sites has been tremendous, everyone isn’t on Facebook or Twitter.  If you haven’t used a tool, it would be difficult to see the value.  Second, many job seekers adopt the wrong approach to social media, leading to poor results. 

The solution is simple, give social media a try and adopt a strategy that will work.  Ok, that’s easy to say, but how do you do it?

Imagine social media sites as being a huge sidewalk in the business district of your city.  There are an overwhelming number of people walking by.  Some can help you with your job search, most can’t.  There are two approaches people new to social media try.  They either hold a sign and hope people will read it, even though there are millions of other people standing there with signs too, or they randomly walk up to people and ask for a job.  How effective would your job search be if you went to busy street corner and tried this?

The key to social media is building relationships.  The 80% of job seekers who think social media will not help are right if you expect to be able to go to a networking site, ask people you don't know for a job online and get results.  Use social media to identify people you know that can help you.  Connect with friends, family, former coworkers and others you know online.  As you identify opportunities that interest you, ask your network what they know about the company.  It is likely someone you know will know someone that works for the company.  That individual can give valuable insight into the hiring process and priorities of the company. 

Gathering this research is the biggest benefit of social media.  You can tailor your approach to the company to their goals and values, and improve your odds of getting hired.