Thinking critically in a job search is nothing more than the manner in which you approach your need.  Say for example your résumé is not working.  It does not get the responses you expect.  It is easy to arrive at a conclusion that competition is too keen.  Rather than focus your attention on what you have no control spend your time digging deeper into your situation to see if you can arrive at the real crux of the issue.

There are many reasons a résumé does not draw results.  Its focus may have the wrong emphasis.  You might have sent it to the wrong decision maker.  It reads more like a career obituary rather than bring out your talents.  Other reasons a résumé may not work effectively is that they reflect old training from another era or fail to bring out a  new technology background.

One of the most effective techniques to drive a job search is reflective reasoning.  Take time to dig deeper into that which you have control and fix your problems rather than deal with the top soil all the time.

“Critical Thinking in Everyday Life: 9 Strategies” authored by The Critical Thinking Community

Development in thinking requires a gradual process requiring plateaus of learning and just plain hard work. It is not possible to become an excellent thinker simply because one wills it. Changing one’s habits of thought is a long-range project, happening over years, not weeks or months. The essential traits of a critical thinker require an extended period of development. MORE

It is best to be more than just cautious when article after article tells us that over 75% of hiring managers and recruiters in the U.S. consider a job applicant’s online information as part of the hiring process.  Even more problematic is more than half of the HR gurus have rejected candidates because of what they found. The convenience and ease of access that allow employers to find the best fit for their organization through simple online research can be the best of worlds for you or your worst enemy.  Listen to what these professionals have to say about things you should do before an employer ‘Googles’ you online…

 ”How Employers Use Social Networks In The Hiring Process” by Mariel Loveland

 With an economy that’s seen better days, many individuals and companies are using social media to aid them in the job search and hiring process. Companies frequently search for an applicant’s social networks to help them decide if they’re a good fit for a position and job-seekers promote themselves through various social networks every day, but many don’t realize that what they post online really does have a strong effect on whether or not they get the job. MORE

How to Get a Job Using Social Media I 
View this video first before your sign up on Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter or Goggle +.  There is substance behind these 7 social media job search tips.  This video offers excellent insight on how to use social media as a job search tool.  Some of the points may be taxing to grasp without interpretation however your time will be well spent if you take the to time figure out their explanations. [I think I like service your network and tell a consistent story the most.]

[Video may be hard to hear for some plus the meat of this video does not begin until the 1 & 1/2 minute mark.]

The most difficult interview question is the one that you did not practice before you sat 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. Test your response with someone.  Practice.  You success in interviewing will go up if you identify interview issues before you go to the interview.

 7 Strategic Interview Preparation Tips

1. Be able to discuss company products and services with confidence and insight
2. Demonstrate with examples you have the knowledge, skills & abilities the company seeks
3. Show you can hit the ground running by giving examples
4. Give ‘related’ examples to emphasize that you have a shorter learning curve in taking on new software, projects and activities
5. Expand your potential by establishing added value with abilities and talents the employer did not cover in the interview
6. Fit your personality to their business culture
7. Express passion and enthusiasm for the position and the company if you want to be rewarded with a job offer.

Jaazle is dedicated to helping you achieve success.  We work closely with you to develop custom job search and career development plans in an ever changing marketplace.  Whether or not we have the opportunity to work directly with you, we hope you find our collection of resources, information, and free downloads valuable.

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

Using Socratic questions to get to the root issues with your clients will aid them in making more informed decisions and better choices.  Socratic question is an excellent teaching and instructional tool.  Asking your clients the right questions for clarification, questions that probe assumptions and reasons, and questions that probe repercussion and consequences will aid you in achieving client success.

“What is Socratic Questioning” by Starting Point (Carleton College)

Named for Socrates (ca. 470-399 B. C.), the early Greek philosopher/teacher, a Socratic approach to teaching is based on the practice of disciplined, rigorously thoughtful dialogue. The instructor professes ignorance of the topic under discussion in order to elicit engaged dialogue with students. Socrates was convinced that disciplined practice of thoughtful questioning enables the scholar/student to examine ideas logically and to be able to determine the validity of those ideas. Also known as the dialectical approach, this type of questioning can correct misconceptions and lead to reliable knowledge construction.

Although “Socratic questioning” appears simple, it is in fact intensely rigorous. As described in the writings of Plato, a student of Socrates, the teacher feigns ignorance about a given subject in order to acquire another person’s fullest possible knowledge of the topic. Individuals have the capacity to recognize contradictions, so Socrates assumed that incomplete or inaccurate ideas would be corrected during the process of disciplined questioning, and hence would lead to progressively greater truth and accuracy. More     

Socratic Questions

How do you grow from 300 stores to 1,000 units and still maintain your talent balance?  Listen to Terryl Bronson talk about Whole Foods’ unique challenges that allow their company to being regularly ranked in Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work.  Bronson talked about Whole Foods’ team-oriented approach to hiring, as well as what makes Whole Foods’ retention strategy.

“HR Frontliner Interview: Whole Foods’ Terryl Bronson” By Kyle Lagunas, Software Advice

Nicholas Kristoe is right on the target.  His blog article on unemployment puts jobs right where they should be: At the top of the list.  25 million unemployed plus another 50 million or so Americans working in fear of losing their jobs probably agree.

“Readers and Unemployment” by New York Times Op-Ed Columnist Nicholas Kristoe

As my Sunday column appears, I’ll be in transit to Libya, insha’allah. But this column grew out of my family vacation this summer back in Yamhill, Oregon, where I grew up. Like everyone in journalism, I had been focused on the debt ceiling debates, but what I saw in Yamhill was a different economic scourge: unemployment. It really puzzles me that 25 million Americans could be unemployed or under-employed, and yet the issue has never really gotten much traction. In the last month or two, it has gained more visibility and President Obama says he is pivoting to jobs — but none of the proposals on the agenda come close to matching the severity of the unemployment picture.  Read More…