Excuse Me

by Rosanne J Thomas

  Job seekers who have been out of the market for any length of time are in for a big surprise. The scenario of “mail in your résumé and wait by the phone” has long since been replaced by technology. Indeed, Luddites, those opposed to technology, need not apply. Even though the majority of jobs are still found through networking and internal opportunities, not online, one still needs at least a baseline of tech ability to apply. Companies typically require an online application to even begin the process and candidates’ social media will likely be vetted.

  Social media is a double-edged sword for job candidates. They must have a social media presence, especially on LinkedIn, but anything discovered and deemed inappropriate can be held against them. This can be a big problem for digital natives, as online sharing is just what they do. John Challenger of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, offers some hope to those who have ever made a misstep online. “There is more understanding of these communications tools, as well as the realization that if you eliminate every candidate with problematic Facebook or Twitter posts, you would quickly run out of candidates,”4 he says. But counting on a stranger to generously overlook an online misstep is a risky strategy, especially if there is a lot of competition for the job.

  Employers go deep in their research. They begin with Google, going back several pages to see what is in a person’s background. Then they move on to Facebook to get a sense of the candidate’s personality and attitude. They look at pictures but also read posts to understand the tone with which the person interacts with friends. Does she come across as positive, encouraging, even funny, or is there a drumbeat of negativity? The person’s grammar and spelling are noted and judged. The employer begins to form an overall impression of a candidate—her intelligence, judgment, and character—all before they even meet.

  A check of Twitter comes next. Here, recruiters first want to see if candidates are on the platform, and if they are, exactly what they are doing. Are they tweeting and re-tweeting relevant information? Are they sharing interesting articles and helpful links? Are they following thought and industry leaders? Are they promoting professional affiliations and memberships? Or are they recounting the mundane details of their daily lives? Answers to these questions help recruiters gauge a candidate’s level of seriousness and provide additional character clues. From there, recruiters move on to LinkedIn to view candidates’ executive summaries, references, and industry memberships. Finally, they check YouTube.

  What else are companies doing to identify and vet candidates? More and more, they are relying upon big data, a term that refers to the vast amount of information now available from a multitude of seemingly disparate sources. Gill Press, a contributor to Fortune/Tech, says big data is “a new attitude by businesses, non-profits, government agencies, and individuals that combining data from multiple sources could lead to better decisions.”5 “Big data is fast becoming a vital component of the modern Human Resources toolkit and the advantages go far beyond the ability to identify the brightest and best talent,”6 reports Orlaith Finnegan of Digimind Insights, a social intelligence blog. Companies are now retaining firms like Entelo and Talent Bin to help them in the recruiting process. These, and other organizations, not only analyze prospective candidates’ activity on social media platforms, but also on other sites specific to their fields.

  Employers may also be factoring in Klout Scores, a ranking of 1–100 by which online social influence is measured using social media analytics. Klout scores are determined by the amount of engagement people generate from their use of social media based upon the amount of content they share. In his article entitled “Does Your Klout Score Matter?” James A. Martin quotes Ron Culp, instructor and professional director of the Public Relations and Advertising (MA) Program at DePaul University College of Communication. Mr. Culp says, “Klout matters big time to hiring managers, often serving as a tie breaker in hiring decisions involving two equally solid candidates.”7 Not everyone agrees about how important Klout scores are to hiring managers, but candidates must be prepared for the fact that their scores could matter.

  PREPARATION

  Conduct a social media audit. Review everything that you and others have posted, going back years. Take down posts that reflect poorly on you, and ask others to do the same. Remove photos of drinking, drug use, offensive activities or gestures, or inappropriate clothing. Remove posts that include profanity, intolerant views, or unethical behavior, and those of a political, religious, or very personal nature.

  Be judicious with future posts. Refrain from putting anything online that could hurt your job prospects in the future.

  Block or remove friends and connections, if necessary. Do not allow others’ posts to possibly reflect negatively upon you.

  LinkedIn is considered the primary platform for professional networking, but savvy job seekers do not overlook Facebook. With some 1.71 billion monthly users at this writing and at roughly four times the size of LinkedIn, Facebook has become a major job search tool. Using Facebook to your best advantage means first completing the section on work and education. Next, organize your connections to create lists of professionals with whom you want to share work-search updates. Use search bars to find out who among your connections work at certain companies, and stay active by posting relevant articles, liking connections’ posts, and liking target companies’ pages.

  On LinkedIn, make sure you have completed your profile and are a member of relevant industry groups. Post thoughtfully at appropriate intervals. To help recruiters find you, use keywords in your profile and branding statement. Avail yourself of the numerous online tools and sites available for job seekers.

  The Interview Experience

  When Ginger congratulated Scott, one of her LinkedIn connections, on his new job, she had no idea how important this relationship would become. A few months later, after a company downsizing, the 55-year-old HR executive became unemployed herself. She was now in the job market and needed the network she had nurtured to help her. Scott, the LinkedIn connection she had congratulated, now had a job lead for her! Three months and 13 in-person interviews later, Ginger got great news. She would once again be employed as an HR executive!

  Ginger accomplished this by paying careful attention to detail. She did in-depth company research, videotaped herself in practice interviews, and prepared an extensive list of thoughtful questions. She dressed for the conservative culture in which she hoped to work, wearing tailored suits and dresses, understated jewelry and makeup, hosiery, and appropriate shoes. She carried her résumé in a black leather portfolio and made sure she had two elegant working pens. When introducing herself and shaking hands, she made sure her name badge was placed on her right, in the direct line of vision of the person she was meeting. In the interview room, Ginger waited to be offered a seat, asked if she could take notes, maintained eye contact, asked salient questions, mirrored her interviewer’s tone of voice and facial expressions, and was respectful of any time constraints. She sent a personal thank-you email after every meeting or conversation.

  After the interview process was completed, Ginger followed up at weekly intervals. She did not ask about compensation, vacation time, or benefits until after the job was offered. It all paid off to ensure her final success.

  Debbie Monosson, president of Boston Financial and Equity, a capital equipment leasing company, describes her interview process. She starts by placing ads on LinkedIn and in college career centers. She then contacts interested candidates by email, asking them to respond with short paragraphs about why they want the position. The professionalism of their responses determines whether they are invited in for in-person interviews. The candidate who wrote back asking if she would remind him of what the position was did not get an invitation to interview. There are deal breakers during the interview, as well. The candidate who showed up wearing chinos and a T-shirt was not offered a job, nor was the one who put his cell phone on the table. “It vibrated. To his credit, he did not answer the phone,” Ms. Monosson said.
But just having it out, and the interruption it caused, cost him the job offer. When an interview goes really well, however, she says she often offers a job on the spot.

  Today’s interview process often starts with an online application. A telephone screening call may come next, followed by a Skype interview and anywhere from one to a dozen or more one-on-one and/or team interviews. Depending upon the position, interviews may include behavior-based questions to see how candidates handled specific challenges, and questions about their decision-making and problem-solving processes. They may also be asked about their communication and management styles and their goals for the future. They will certainly be asked what they know about the company and the position, why they want to work there, and what they will contribute. They will be asked about their employment and educational backgrounds, their salary expectations, and what questions they have for the interviewer. A request for a presentation or completion of an assignment may also be part of the process.

  Even after a job offer is made and accepted, a candidate cannot relax just yet. She may be subjected to a complete background check including credit reports, criminal records, bankruptcies, military service, worker’s compensation claims, and some medical records. Employers may check education, certifications, licenses, salary history, job history, and driving records. Drug testing may also be part of the process, and references from former employers may be requested.

  Résumés and Cover Letters

  Well-written résumés and cover letters are still necessary even when online applications are required. Regardless of the position, a résumé needs to be organized, concise, and easy to read, with perfect spelling and grammar. It also needs to be attention grabbing and compelling enough to get more than a cursory glance. A typical hiring manager sifts through dozens of résumés at a time and may spend just seconds looking at any one résumé.

  There are many serviceable boilerplate résumé and cover letter examples from which to choose, but it is important to avoid writing anything that looks formulaic or that could be used for a variety of positions. You will also want to research firms and fine-tune your résumé and cover letter so that your experience and skills align with what the employer seeks.

  It is useful to note that hiring managers are increasingly using technology to help them sift through their databases of résumés. Incorporate keywords from their job ads into your résumé to increase the odds of having yours read. You may decide that a career coach and a professionally written résumé are excellent investments of time and money.

  The Job Search

  Although the majority of jobs seekers today still find jobs through networking and internal opportunities, many are going online in their searches. To keep private information out of the wrong hands, avoid posting a résumé on a job board, and send it directly to the hiring manager. You can also use job-site privacy settings and a temporary phone number or address for the duration of your job search.

  Searching for a job is a full-time job, which can be problematic for someone already employed. But a well thought out approach will help you stay organized.

  Networks. Include every contact you have ever made personally, professionally, and through social media.

  Internet and social media. Create a blog through free blogging services, such as Google’s blogger.com. Use of a résumé distribution service may also be helpful.

  Job boards. Use advanced search options available on all major sites, including monster.com, careerbuilder.com, indeed.com, and simplyhired.com.

  Goals. Establish job search goals and keep detailed notes. Use a spreadsheet for keeping track of applications made, persons contacted, dates interviewed, correspondence sent, follow-up dates, and additional companies and individuals to contact.

  Telephone Interviews

  Being contacted for a telephone interview indicates that you have made it through the preliminary screening process. Usually conducted by an HR representative, it is used to determine whether or not an in-person interview with a hiring manager is in order. During a telephone interview, which usually lasts about 30 minutes, your demeanor, confidence, and verbal communication style are noted and evaluated. The interviewer’s task is to ascertain enough basic information to make a decision about whether to recommend you for an in-person interview. It is critically important that you consider this conversation the most important one in the process. All subsequent interviews depend on its success.

  When preparing for a telephone interview, select an environment that is conducive to a business conversation. This means controlling potential distractions, such as noisy electronic devices, and ensuring family members, roommates, and dogs are out of the room. Additionally, plan to hold the conversation in a private place and never while walking or driving. If possible, use a landline instead of a mobile phone. A dropped call or tenuous connection will impact the flow of the conversation and potentially affect your confidence and concentration.

  Do your homework and prepare good questions about the job and how you can help the organization. Allow the interviewer to lead the conversation. Be prepared to talk through your résumé in detail. Answer all questions truthfully, even if they are about potentially tricky topics such as gaps in employment or job change frequency. Do not ask about salary, vacation, or start date at this point.

  Your tone of voice will account for 70 percent of the message you convey on the telephone. Be energetic and humorous, if appropriate, and smile! The interviewer will not see your smile, but it will come through. Take time to answer questions thoughtfully, but do not worry if you do not have time to say everything you would like. If all goes well, you will soon have that opportunity at an in-person interview.

  At the conclusion of the call, thank the interviewer for her time. If you are interested in pursuing this opportunity, follow-up with an email relating your qualifications to the job requirements and expressing your continued interest in the position.

  Skype Interviews

  The Skype interview, or one conducted via Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), has many similarities to the telephone interview. But of course, on Skype, they can see you! This will require extra preparation to be sure you are appropriately groomed and attired and that the physical space in which you are sitting is appropriate as well. Sit in front of a neutral background with no distracting photos or decorations behind you. Maintain eye contact with the interviewer by looking at the camera, and not at yourself on the screen. Sit up straight, keep gestures to a minimum, and keep your hands away from your face and hair. Nods of understanding and smiling as appropriate are great, but try not to frown or show displeasure. Practice a Skype interview beforehand with a friend. You want no glitches on the big day!

  In-Person Interviews

  At an in-person interview, you are evaluated by a whole new set of criteria. Your interviewer is trying to get a sense of you as a whole person, not just a list of academic achievements and skill sets. He immediately notices your attire and grooming, whether you are late, even by a minute (or too early), how you introduce yourself and shake hands, the degree of respect in your tone, your eye contact and facial expressions, and your standing and seated posture.

  Once the conversation is underway, your attitude, enthusiasm, engagement, and level of preparedness are now all on display. You are judged on how well you listen, the questions you ask, and whether your focus is upon your needs rather than upon how you can add value within the organization. No two interviewers are alike in their styles or in the kinds of questions they ask, but all know a respectful, prepared, and confident candidate when they meet one. You can show your preparedness by researching beforehand on glassdoor.com to learn about a specific company’s interview process, or by visiting readyprepinterview.com for the interview questions most often asked for this job.

  Candidates should be prepared for unusual questions. Ostensibly used to determine how quickly and creatively candidates think on their feet and how well they deal with stress, the practice of purposely
asking difficult or unanswerable questions is questionable in my opinion. But if candidates are faced with such questions, the best they can do is deflect the questions with humor and keep calm! Some real-life examples from glassdoor.com:

  “Using a scale of 1–10, rate yourself on how weird you are.” —Capital One

  “How many bricks are there in Shanghai? Consider only residential buildings.” —Deloitte Consulting

  “You are in charge of 20 people. Organize them to find out how many bicycles were sold in your area last year.” —Schlumberger

  “What’s your fastball?” —Ernst & Young8

  If, after the interview, you would still like to be considered for the position, send an email that day to thank the interviewer and to reiterate your interest and the strength of your candidacy. Follow up no more than once weekly or as directed by the interviewer. Perhaps the most difficult, but most critical, aspect of the interview process is exhibiting patience. Enthusiasm and interest work in your favor; a sense that you are desperate does not.

  After all of your hard work, you’ve gotten the job. Congratulations! What are you going to do first? Share your great news with everyone who helped you. Whether they provided advice, introductions, encouragement, or assistance, let them know how grateful you are and that you would welcome the chance to be of help to them in some way in the future.

  At this point, it is also considered good form, and good strategy, to let other prospective employers know you have accepted a job offer. Thank them for their interest, and tell them how much you enjoyed meeting them and how impressed you were with their organizations. This will allow them to keep their lists of viable applicants current and distinguish you as a considerate job candidate.