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For over 20 years I have been committed to delivering the best career planning, résumé writing and job search training strategies and techniques to individuals, groups and organizations.  [I am a student of career development analyzing, reflecting on and refining processes, procedures, techniques and technologies.]  While I do not have a canned or boilerplate presentation when speaking I do have a vision and mission.  My presentation highlights strategies which will result in a higher level of thinking.   My goal is to engage individuals to make more informed choices and better decisions.

Understand the impact of your career and job search decisions.  Take control of your employment, career and life.  The strategies listed below (delivered to both individuals and audiences) are highlights of my talks.  They give actions that can be immediately integrated to help you build a strategic career plan.

1. A Job Search is not a Sequential Event
2. There is no such thing as an isolated Job Search Experience
3. Better Understand Yourself, Better Understand Your Target Audience
4. Search by the functionality of your Occupation rather than the Title
5. Apply Strategic planning to your Job Search
6. Use SWOT to remove your Governor
7. Create a targeted Resume
8. Visualize the Experience: Practice with Scenarios to Discover Your Issues
9. Research Your Clients to identify their Needs
10. We live in an Experience Economy.  Learn to Stage the Event
11. You have several Opportunities to make a First Impression
12. Applying Socratic Questioning will lead to more positive networking (Elevator Speech) results
13. Networking works better when you have a tag line
14. Objections are king!  Long Live Objections
15. It does not count if it is not measured

[This article was published in the National Association of Workforce Development Professionals’ Advantage June (Volume 24) Newsletter.  The Newsletter is distributed to approximately 4,500 workforce professionals across the United States.  (Congratulations Larry)]

Scenarios are one of the best ways to teach and help job seekers to get to the next level. I tend to open my presentations and training instructions with scenarios. Presenting a situation to the group helps me to determine their level of thought and how they approach decision-making and problem solving.

Consider this case problem: As an analyst, Susan finds that many of her responsibilities envelop a broad cross-section of the organization that can be linked to the bulk of the company’s revenue producing activities. While finishing her last project she proved her worth to the organization and gained significant respect of several senior members of the management team. When the senior analyst announced a retirement date, Susan decided she would seek the position.

Question: What should Susan do first?

Most times the responses begin with tactical tasks. This method of solving problems is referred to as a symptoms approach. In other words, the responses generally are:

• Update a résumé
• Make it clear management knows you want the position
• Return to school to pick up new skills
• Step up your performance in key areas
• Find a mentor
• Network

I’m not saying the ideas are not good ones. In most instances they probably are short-term solutions even if your client gets the interview and the job offer.  A symptoms approach does not address the real issues that may prevent career success for your clients. This is because the tasks identified do not get to the root causes. Not bringing the root cause to the surface delays the process of making an informed decision. Done wisely, this process of root cause analysis eliminates the same problems from recurring.

Raising your clients’ focus through a process of defining the most important issues in order to make informed decisions are steps leading to long-term success. In a job search, you want to get your clients to their root causes in order to improve their search steps. If their resumes are not working, they need to find out why out and fix the real issue.  Or, if they are not being invited back for second interviews, they need to determine why not.  This can be achieved by training your attention on getting your clients to drill down into their root issues. Or you will continue to find yourself in these recurring situations, and continuing to address your clients’ job search barriers or constraints again and again. [Ground Hog Day]

Critical thinking is spending 95% of your time defining the problem and 5% finding the Solution.  (Larry Goldsmith)

Apply directly to organizations of  interest to you, Take temp positions, Contact professional organizations and affiliations in your field, Create a job search office, Create a list of target companies, create a personalized marketing plan, Create a social media presence, Create a LinkedIn account, Tweet, Open a professional Facebook site, Create a system for tracking your search, Define yourself, Determine a job target, Develop a Stick-to-it Attitude, Eliminate objections, Exploit a proactive self-assured style, Carry a networking business card, Find a mentor, Follow-up regularly, Go for all opportunities, Fix your barriers, Join clubs and organizations, Volunteer, Intern, Learn the hiring cycle, Get a devil’s advocate to challenge you, Maintain a positive, upbeat attitude, Follow a business schedule,  Network and more network, Participate in job fairs, Attend Tweet up events, Meet with a professional résumé writer, Practice mock interviews, Set goals, Connect goals with objectives, Start your job search now, Develop cold calling and canvassing skills, Learn how to close a sale, Study company web sites, Take advantage of local search resources, Use a placement Agency, Find a recruiter, Search out headhunters, Connect with your alumni, Visit college search Sites, Visit company web sites, Turn off your computer – talk to people, Follow economic development leads, Take a break, Do informational interviews, Study annual reports, follow promotions, moves and changes, Learn how to interpret labor market information, Visit one stop centers, Place ad in newspaper, Learn how to interpret classified ads, Ask for a promotion, Visit your Chamber of Commerce, Hire an executive job coach, Search your job through the phone directory, Research manufacturing directories, Learn from a professional salesperson, move on when something  does not work, Read the blogs of targeted companies – make insightful comments, Do a good deed today.  Walk fast – display a sense of urgency.

Networking the Hidden Jobs Poster

Larry’s Favorite: Don’t just look for job openings.  Target companies that hire your skill sets.

By Larry Goldsmith, CWDP, P.E.T.

Job seekers should consider enrolling in Theater 101.  Exploring the mechanics of how to create a scene for a stage play offers unexpected rewards in upgrading your job search skills. What is a stage play but a series of activities design to engage an audience.  The audience is not told the outcome of a scene.  They are subject to storytelling through the use of staged activities. A successful playwright leaves the audience to think about the outcome and its implications and consequences.  An effective playwright uses actors to illustrate a storyline in the anticipation that the audience will leave the theater with an affirmative experience. 

Just like the audience leaving a theater, it is hoped too by the job seeker that the employer will have a positive experience from the job search encounter as well.  What if you approached your job search from the perspective of a playwright?   Every activity (telephone call, a networking event or an interview) is approached as a scene in a stage play.  Think of each of these scenes with their own beginning and ending. 

Job search is not “improv”.    Start by preparing a script on making a cold call to a potential employer.  Most importantly, your central point, is remaining true to yourself, your capabilities and future potential.  Your purpose is to prepare and present your case.   Think what are you trying to accomplish?    

1. Write a general scenario. [Illustrate your purpose through a picture created with words.]
2. Prepare a script [Define the call in your own words.  Compare and contrast available alternatives.]
3. Visualize the essential elements of your scene set [desk, mirror, résumé, script]
4. Create a storyboard like in a cartoon script [sketch your movements]
5. Work your script [Define call in your own words / Compare and contrast available alternatives.]
6. Walk through your script for wording [Verbalize the scene to develop your rhythm, intonation  and choice of words.]
7. Block your scene [Blocking is your play by play.] 
8. Rehearse your scene until you feel comfortable.

Perhaps the most exciting component of writing your scene will be that the actual telephone call or networking experience is not a surprise. You will find by working on staging your search interactions with employers that you are more in control over your job search.  You’ve already had the rehearsal dinner.  You worked out your kinks.  You have a script.  You know want is coming.  You analyzed assumptions and have alternative solutions to their responses.  You are prepared.

By Larry Goldsmith, CWDP, P.E.T.

Sit down at you computer.  Pull up a blank screen and start typing a list of all those items you want from a potential employer.  What is on your list?  Better pay, job security, health insurance, vacation time.  Are you done?  Did you complete your  list of what you want from the employer?  Good!  Now take your list.  Walk over to the closest waste basket.  Crumple up your list.  Tear it into hundreds of little pieces of paper.  Throw away your list in that basket.  Because until you receive an offer, what you want is nonsense.   Focus your attention on meeting the employer’s needs.  What you want at this stage really does not matter.  What you hope to receive in a job search is only important if you receive an offer.  Once you receive that offer, then and only then, is what you want important.  This is when you can return to your waste basket, pull out your list and actually negotiate what you want.

Think of the employer as someone with a huge hurt. The employer posts an ad to find a fix for this hurt.  A successful solution to a positive successful job search is to identify that an employer’s hurt in order to target your search to their needs.  The key to job search success is to demonstrate to the employer you can heal their hurt better and quicker than anyone else. You cannot do this if your focus is on your problems, wants and needs. (At this stage, who cares what you want, except you and maybe your mother.)

Here is a one example of how listening carefully and focusing your attention on the employer’s needs can benefit your job search.  Consider me an employer.  I am interviewing individuals for an administrative assistant position.  I ask the simple question (or it should be), “Tell me about yourself.”

There are several good responses but most come back this way:  I been out of work for several months now; I have a degree from such and such college; I just returned to the region; I was recently downsized.  Some might even say, “I am a hard worker” or “I have previous experience working at a corporation” or they actually might say that they have two years experience performing similar tasks.

Sadly this is what employers hear most of the time.  Everything that was stated is something the employer recognized from reviewing the candidates’ résumés.  An interview is your 15 minutes of fame.  It may be your one opportunity on stage to sell yourself.  Don’t mess it up.   What if you responded in this manner?  “I see from your ad that you seek someone with these experiences.  Well, for the past three years I have been performing similar tasks.  Let me give you an example.”  Or, at my position I was recognized as the employee with the highest customer satisfaction rating.  Let me share why I was successful. ”

Another example could be you pointing to a new brochure on the interviewer’s desk and stating that you recently teamed with other administrative personnel to produce a similar product.  I was responsible for…   …even withdraw a copy of that brochure from your folder to show the employer.    And you can even add, “What’s more, you can always count on me to look for things to do.  I will never be an employer not carrying my weight.  I will work hard to smile and bring in a positive attitude with me each day.” 

Wouldn’t those responses catch the attention of the interviewer; maybe even earn your a job offer?  Your job search can turn into a positive experience if the employer senses you understand their needs, and can fix their hurt better and faster than the other candidates. Teach yourself to focus on the employer’s needs early on in your job search and never lose sight of what the employer seeks.  It does not matter whether you are applying at the local fast food establishment or seeking a senior management position at the state university. It is all about the employer until you received the job offer.

By Larry Goldsmith, CWDP, P.E.T.

1. Do you discuss company products and services with confidence and insight?
2. Do you give examples that support you have the knowledge, skills & abilities the company seeks?
3. Do you tell anecdotes that demonstrate you can hit the ground running?
4. Do you reinforce with examples that you have a shorter learning curve?
5. Do you expand your potential by establishing added value on topics not discussed in the interview?
6. Do you have a personality that fits the existing business culture?
7. Do you express passion and enthusiasm for the company and the opportunity?
8. Do you ask for the position?

The most difficult interview question is the one that you do not practice before you sit down in the interview chair. The key to successful interviewing is to know what you are going to say before you go to the interview.  Identify your most challenging questions.  Work out a good response.  Practice.  Test your response with someone.  Your success in interviewing will go up if you identify interview barriers and issues prior to the interview.

By Larry Goldsmith, CWDP, P.E.T.

Job seekers should consider enrolling in Theater 101.  Exploring the mechanics of how to create a scene for a stage play offers unexpected rewards in upgrading your job search skills. What is a stage play but a series of activities design to engage an audience.  The audience is not told the outcome of a scene.  They are subject to storytelling through the use of staged activities. A successful playwright leaves the audience to think about the outcome and its implications and consequences.  An effective playwright uses actors to illustrate a storyline in the anticipation that the audience will leave the theater with an affirmative experience. 

Just like the audience leaving a theater, it is hoped too by the job seeker that the employer will have a positive experience from the job search encounter as well.  What if you approached your job search from the perspective of a playwright?   Every activity (telephone call, a networking event or an interview) is approached as a scene in a stage play.  Think of each of these scenes with their own beginning and ending. 

Job search is not “improv”.    Start by preparing a script on making a cold call to a potential employer.  Most importantly, your central point, is remaining true to yourself, your capabilities and future potential.  Your purpose is to prepare and present your case.   Think what are you trying to accomplish?    

1. Write a general scenario. [Illustrate your purpose through a picture created with words.]
2. Prepare a script [Define the call in your own words.  Compare and contrast available alternatives.]
3. Visualize the essential elements of your scene set [desk, mirror, résumé, script]
4. Create a storyboard like in a cartoon script [sketch your movements]
5. Work your script [Define call in your own words / Compare and contrast available alternatives.]
6. Walk through your script for wording [Verbalize the scene to develop your rhythm, intonation  and choice of words.]
7. Block your scene [Blocking is your play by play.] 
8. Rehearse your scene until you feel comfortable.

Perhaps the most exciting component of writing your scene will be that the actual telephone call or networking experience is not a surprise. You will find by working on staging your search interactions with employers that you are more in control over your job search.  You’ve already had the rehearsal dinner.  You worked out your kinks.  You have a script.  You know want is coming.  You analyzed assumptions and have alternative solutions to their responses.  You are prepared.

By Larry Goldsmith, CWDP, P.E.T.

In the context of job search, networking is the process of communication that consists of using contacts and relationships (oftentimes a third party) to gain access to decision makers in the hiring process.

Historically, in the job search preparation stage, job seekers have been instructed to create and rehearse a brief networking (elevator) speech.  The original label of elevator speech comes from the situation when a salesperson is in an elevator, and low and behold who walks in but the purchasing agent they have been trying to make contact with for the past couple of weeks.  The salesperson has no more than 30 seconds to speak up before the door reopens and the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity steps off the elevator.

While, a prepared elevator speech is essential to clear and effective networking; you are not always in an elevator, so think backwards.  It is not about you.  Give attention to the broader issue of networking.  The first obstacle you must overcome is to actually gain the other party’s attention.  Sales professionals will tell you that you cannot make a sale until you know the barriers you face.   The elevator speech that you have worked so diligently on is actually your number two speech.

An elevator speech is show and tell.  Your number one goal is not to show and tell.  If you don’t know what to show and tell, your elevator speech will not be effective.  This initial contact is the time for asking questions and active listening.  Your goal is to get the employer to commit to something or give you an angle about themselves or their organization.  Start with targeted questions.  In the course of this conversation your questions should be directed to identifying the type of employee the company is interested in, the skills and personality or behavior traits they seek and even the barriers or challenges the company faces that may be their Achilles heel.  Only when you have this information can you offer an effective elevator speech.   You have turned the table and given them something to talk about that is of interest to them and you have earned their attention.

Start thinking backwards today.  Create two networking (elevator) speeches.  The first is to open the door.  The second is to sell your talents.

NETWORKING ELEVATOR SPEECH WORKSHEET

By Larry Goldsmith, CWDP, P.E.T.

[This week's lecture was Interviewing.  Students were instructed to respond to their most difficult interview question.  I share this encounter because it reflects the plight of many a job seeker.]

I think my most difficult interview question will be….

How will an employer recognize your value if you cannot?  Your key to achieving interviewing success is to identify what you offer an employer and be able to match or connect those values conclusively to the position you seek.  In short, it is not always the candidate with the best talent that is selected but rather the individual that communicates their skills the most effectively.