You’ve been applying and interviewing and finally you have a job offer.  But the job isn’t everything you had hoped.  Now you have to decide whether to take it or not.  Decisions are always difficult because we can never be certain what the future holds.  However, a good analysis of the situation can help us make good decisions.

Take a look at your situation and write out your answers to these four questions:

1. What will happen if I take the job?
2. What won’t happen if I take the job?
3. What will happen if I don’t take the job?
4. What won’t happen if I don’t take the job?

This is the Cartesian coordinate questioning technique and it will engage you in a deeper level of thinking than simple logic.  Use this technique for all your difficult decision-making and notice the difference it makes.

Note:  Have you ever considered working with a career coach to fast track your job search?  I currently have a few openings for one-on-one clients.  If you would like to learn more, click here to schedule a free consultation to discuss your needs and how coaching can help you achieve all your goals.

Research shows that our environment has impacts on our behavior that we are often unaware of it.  Psychologists refer to these influencers as primes.  One research study found that people who were shown sad movie clips spent 300 percent more money on a bottle of water than a group of people who were shown neutral movie clips.  Every person who watched the sad movie clips insisted that the movie clips had nothing to do with the price they paid for the water.

Stop for a moment and take a look at your surroundings.  What things in your environment are having a positive impact on your work and what things are having a negative influence on you?  Here are some suggestions for positive primes that people have used:  (1)  Change your cell phone ring tone to a song that motivates you or reminds you of a happy event.  (2)  Add an inspirational quote to your email signature.  (3)  Make sure the slogan on your coffee mug is a positive one.  (4)  Keep a list of your goals where you can review them daily.  (5)  Hang a picture of someone you admire where you see it often.  (6)  Choose an object that inspires you and keep it within your range of vision as you work.  Change your primes and you can change your behavior.

Note:  I currently have a few openings for one-on-one clients.  If you are interested in getting some help to discover your ideal career or in taking control of your job search, click here to schedule a free consultation and let’s discuss your needs and how coaching can help you achieve your goals.

YES! You just got the call and the interview is scheduled for tomorrow.  This is what you have been waiting for.  But, are you ready?  The most successful job seekers, the ones who find the best jobs the fastest, know three things.  (1)  They know exactly what they want in their next job.  (2)  They know what they have to offer the employer that differentiates them from the competition.  (3)  They know their value.  Preparation is the key to a successful interview.  When you are prepared, you will be confident and self-assured, which makes you very appealing to the interviewer.  Here is a list of questions to help you prepare.  If you have clear, strong answers to these questions, you are well on your way to acing the interview.

1. Do you know exactly what type of job is right for you? If they ask you, what will you say?

2. What do you have to offer the company that is uniquely you and that is different from your competitors?

3. What is your branding statement and how will you use it during the interview?

4. What is your value proposition and how will you incorporate it into the interview?

5. What are the three to five attributes you bring to the job that you will emphasize throughout the interview?

6. Do you have accomplishment stories for each of the attributes you identified in Question No. 5?

7. Have you prepared answers for the most commonly asked interview questions?

a. Are your prepared answers each 60 seconds or less?

b. Are your answers succinct and to the point?

c. Do they incorporate your three to five attributes?

d. Do you include stories?

8. Are you prepared to answer any questions that might be raised from your resume?

9. Have you thoroughly researched the company?

10. Have you researched the hiring manager and others in the company?

11. Do you have a list of questions you want to ask during the interview?

a. Do those questions show your curiosity and interest in ensuring the company, the job, and the manager are the right fit for you?

b. If asked, can you explain why you are asking each question and what answer you are looking for? For example, if you ask about the company culture, can you explain what type of culture you prefer?

12. Are you comfortable with silence?

13. Can you stay on message and not say more than necessary?

14. Do you have the proper clothes ready?

15. Will you remember to sit up straight, lean forward to show interest, maintain good eye contact, and smile?

16. Will you remember to listen carefully to what they tell you they are looking for and incorporate their description into your answers?

17. Can you keep the interview conversational, asking the interviewer(s) questions as you go along?

18. Do you have your research documentation, additional copies of your resume, your reference letters, your portfolio, and anything else you want to take with you to the interview neatly organized and ready to go?

19. Is there any reason they wouldn’t hire you? If so, resolve the issue and overcome any objections.

Now, you’re ready. Best of luck!

One of the most frequently asked interview questions, and often the first question asked, is “Tell me about yourself.” What a gift this question is!  This is your opportunity to set the tone for the entire interview and lead the interviewer to playing in your court.  Unfortunately, most applicants answer this question by simply reiterating what is contained in their résumé or they get into personal information that is totally irrelevant.  Before I tell you how to take full advantage of this question, let me explain from a scientific perspective how this can work for you.

Psychologists have identified a phenomenon they refer to as “priming.”  Priming is when exposure to a stimulus influences the subsequent response.  There are numerous studies that support the effects of priming, but I would like to share one of the more amusing studies with you.  Researchers brought college student participants into the lab.  One group received a list of words to review that were consistent with the stereotype of an elderly person.  The control group reviewed a list of random words.  As the participants left the laboratory, researchers measured how fast they walked to the elevator.  Participants who had reviewed the elderly stereotype words walked significantly more slowly to the elevator than the control group participants.  Thus, providing support for the effects of priming.

How can you take advantage of priming?  When the interviewer asks, “Tell me about yourself,” you respond with your carefully-prepared-but-natural-sounding marketing message that describes the benefits you have to offer.  Follow these tips when preparing your answer:

1.    Be brief (about 60 seconds).
2.    Use keywords from the job description or from your research on the company.
3.    Describe your top three strengths that are most pertinent to the needs of the company (needs discovered during your research).
4.    Include a description of an accomplishment or two as an illustration of your strengths and how they will benefit the company (your value proposition).
5.    Keep your message consistent with the branding message you have used in your résumé, cover letter, and social media profiles (consistency makes you memorable).
6.    Let your passion for the work show through.
7.    Use a story (stories are memorable).

When you bring together the employer’s keywords with your talents and value proposition and put it into a story, you will capture the interviewer’s attention and prime a framework for the interview around your personal brand.  Be sure to thoroughly prepare so you can stay on message throughout the questioning and maintain the priming and your advantage.

Here is an example of how an engineer might answer the question from the book 60 Seconds & You’re Hired! By Robin Ryan:

“For my last employer I implemented a new quality-assurance program for seven plants over a four-year period.  We received the Q 1 Award for our efforts.  Along the way, I’ve learned to effectively deal with employee resistance to quality improvements through training, selling teamwork concepts, and utilizing a personal empowerment approach.  I have evaluated 37 suppliers during on-site inspections to improve the quality of their product—parts that will ultimately become pieces of my company’s final product.  My five years in design engineering and my strong communication skills have aided me in my ability to work with a diverse population and solve technical problems.  These are the reasons I feel I would make a valuable contribution to your company.”

Imagine you walk into your local Walmart Supercenter tomorrow afternoon and the greeter is wearing a tuxedo and offers you a glass of wine.  As you gaze into the store, you see a large, carpeted shoe department with neatly displayed designer shoes on teak wood display cabinets, rows of chintz upholstered chairs, and salesmen dressed in suits and ties.  At this point, no doubt, you think you have entered the Twilight Zone.  Most likely, you are also disappointed because you came looking for low prices, not designer apparel.

That is the importance of brand.  We associate specific characteristics with a brand and that sets our expectations.  There is great comfort in knowing what to expect.  The unknown or uncertain is disconcerting and uncomfortable.  When a hiring manager is evaluating candidates for a new hire, she will choose the person she believes will meet her expectations for the job.  That is where your personal brand comes into play.

It is imperative that you choose your brand because if you don’t, others will choose it for you.  You want to ensure that your personal brand is authentically you.  For example, if public speaking is your greatest fear and you have no desire to overcome it, don’t try to sell yourself as someone with a strength for oral presentations.  However, if there is a job for a project manager and you love to bring in projects on time and under budget, identify the special talent you have for your success and promote that as your brand, which will quickly establish you as a good fit.

What is your current brand?  What you are known for?  How would your coworkers describe you?  For what type of projects, issues, or challenges are you the go-to person?  What talents led to your greatest accomplishments? Are you happy with your current brand or would you like to change it to something else?  Most important, are you effectively marketing yourself under your chosen brand?

To successfully land your dream job, you will have to convince the employer that you are the right person for the job.  You accomplish this by setting expectations with a consistent and recurring representation of your personal brand in your résumé, your cover letter, your interviews, your social media profiles, and with your references.  Have you established a consistent theme that makes you an easy match for a hiring manger?  If not, I encourage you to identify your personal brand, rewrite your promotional materials, and revise your answers to interview questions.  Then, get prepared for a much more successful job search.

Join me for a more in-depth discussion of personal branding on Thursday, March 4, when I will host a FREE Teleseminar, entitled “Get Hired Now!  The Power of Personal Branding.”  Sign-up at http://tinyurl.com/ygwyx3o

This may surprise you but the most powerful tool you have in your job search toolbox is knowledge about yourself.   Unfortunately, too often job seekers don’t take the time for self-exploration and the job hunt becomes an effort to convince an employer to hire them for any job instead of a search for a mutually beneficial relationship and the right job.  Do you have a clear picture of who you are?  Are you able to communicate your vision and unique value to others?  When you take the time to really know yourself, your values, your motivators, your strengths, and your passion, you can target your job search efforts and your clarity and enthusiasm will bring you and your dream job together.  Following are five questions to help you delve into your self-knowledge.

1. What are your top five strengths? Your strengths are those things that you love to do.  You probably have a natural talent in these areas.  To discover your strengths, (a) ask your friends and coworkers what you naturally do well, (b) list those activities that you choose to do in your spare time, and (c) identify your favorite job duties from your current or previous jobs.
2. What accomplishments demonstrate your top five strengths? This is where you draw on past experiences to provide proof that you actually possess the strengths you claim.  Too often job applicants make assertions of strengths and abilities but fail to provide any supporting evidence to back up their claims.  Your accomplishments can be from current or previous jobs, school, volunteer work, or your personal life.  What is important is that you are able to use examples to illustrate that you truly have the strengths you claim and show the contributions you have made by drawing on those strengths.
3. How will your strengths benefit the employer? This is where your research on the company and the hiring manager’s needs comes into play.  You want to match their needs to your strengths and formulate a proposal to show the employer the value you can provide.
4. What are your short-term and long-term goals? The more clarity you have about your short-term and long-term goals, the better able you will be to sell yourself to an employer.  Hiring a new employee is a big risk for an employer, so the ability to clearly state how your goals fit with theirs is crucial to getting the job offer.
5. What conditions are necessary for a job to be the perfect fit for your career? Interviews are a two-way street.  An interview is your opportunity to determine whether the job, the hiring manager, and the company are right for you.  Do not underestimate the importance of a good fit.  The wrong company culture or a bad manager can place a serious roadblock in your career path.  You want to know what type of environment you need to be able to thrive so you will know what to look for and what questions to ask.

Once you compile your answers to these five questions, you will be able to create your brand and your value proposition; you can prepare your personally branded resume and other marketing materials that allow you to stand out from the crowd; and you can target your job search efforts to those companies and jobs that are a good fit for you.  When you take the time to clearly understand who you are and are prepared with examples of your accomplishments, you will confidently breeze through the interview and land your ideal job.