Job Search | Career Musings

How to Read an Interviewer’s Mind and Ace the Interview

May 17, 2013 by daisy Leave a Comment

The main reason job seekers fear and fail at interviews is that they are attempting to read the interviewer’s mind then give answers they think the interviewer wants to hear. This mind-guessing game will not work and is destined to fail.

Most interviewers will use Behaviour-based interview questions to find candidates who will fit the job, fit the team, and fit the company. These are open-ended questions designed to drill down and uncover evidence of the competencies needed for the position. While no one interview strategy is fool-proof, the premise behind behavioural interviews is that past behaviour predicts future success.

This is where a good understanding of the PAR/CAR/SAR interview concept will be helpful to the job seeker. If he or she knows how to develop success stories demonstrating problems faced, actions taken and results obtained, it puts them in a better position to ace the interview.

Below are five randomly selected questions followed by a sneak peek into the mind of the interviewer and ending with strategies on how to answer the questions:

QUESTION #1: Why should I consider you a strong applicant for this position? What have been your most significant achievements in your previous job?

WHAT THE INTERVIEWER WANTS TO KNOW: Does this candidate understand the duties and responsibilities associated with this position? Does he have the specific skills, abilities and the right experience that demonstrate a high level of proficiency?

STRATEGY: Review the job posting very closely and identify the skills and knowledge that are critical to the position. Then offer your specific achievements that directly or closely relate to the job.

QUESTION #2: What were three of your most significant accomplishments in your previous role that directly relate to the position we are discussing today?

WHAT THE INTERVIEWER WANTS TO KNOW: Is the candidate aware of the contributions she has made to the employer? Has she left a legacy that has had significant impact on the company? Did she make or save the company money?

STRATEGY: Recall and tell stories of instances where your efforts made significant impact on the company’s bottom line and where you saved the company time or money. Also mention any awards or recognitions you received for your efforts.

QUESTION #3: If I were to contact your supervisor, what would she say about your ability to complete a difficult task? What criticism would she have about your technical competence?

WHAT THE INTERVIEWER WANTS TO KNOW: Is the candidate someone who accepts or resists management directives? Does he have a good work ethic? Does he willingly pitch in to help coworkers with challenges?

STRATEGY: Focus on the teamwork / collaborative competencies that directly relate to the job for which you are interviewing. Give specific examples of how you get along with your coworkers and how willing you were to go the extra mile to get the job done.

QUESTION #4: Describe a situation when you worked with someone whose work style was different from yours. What problems did you encounter? How did you resolve the problems?

WHAT THE INTERVIEWER WANTS TO KNOW: Can this candidate work with different personalities? Is she accepting of others? Is she flexible? Is she aware that there’s more than way to accomplish a task?

STRATEGY: Offer stories that demonstrate flexibility and tact when dealing with people and problems. Relate your cross-cultural experience and your respect for diversity.

QUESTION #5: Tell me about a challenge our company is facing and offer a solution. Why do you feel this solution is the answer?

WHAT THE INTERVIEWER WANTS TO KNOW: Does the candidate understand our industry and can he offer some insights into potential challenges the industry is facing?

STRATEGY: Tell stories that demonstrate a thorough understanding of the industry and offer ideas for solutions. Give examples of ideas you offered that were accepted in your previous role. If you can do this you will be an extremely desirable candidate.

It’s your turn. Review the questions and leave your answers and or comments below.

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Filed Under: Interviews Tagged With: interview, interviewer, Interviews, Job Search

Does Your Job Search Need a Kick in the Butt?

March 28, 2013 by daisy Leave a Comment

What did you spend the last week doing with your job search? Were you hiding behind a computer uploading resume after resume to any company that advertised a vacancy? Were you applying to every job, whether or not you were qualified for it? Were you using the same resume for all the positions? If you were doing all or some of the above, you were taking the path of least resistance. This path gives you the feeling you are doing something, but unfortunately you are not getting the results you hope for.

Job searching is difficult, and employers are not making it any easier when they stipulate that applications must be submitted online and that no phone calls will be accepted. When a job seeker reads these ‘rules’ they become despondent, throw their hands in the air and give up. But, it is what it is…employers have to find ways to deal with the thousands of resumes they receive on a weekly basis. As such, they use some version of an applicant tracking system to weed out candidates, and in the process great candidates are eliminated. Be that as it may, what if someone gives you a kick in the butt, or something jolts you to do something different? Would you do it?

The excerpt below is from a client who had been trying some of the same strategies mentioned above, but after reading this blog post (Put a Little Love in Your Career), she took matters in her own hands. She wrote:

“I was moping around today disgusted with myself around my job search but started to pull up my socks and your newsletter arrived! Thank you for the extra kick in the butt.” What was this kick in the butt? She had applied online for a position with this major employer and was waiting… After reading the tips in the blog post she decided to ‘do something she had never done’. Her note continued:

“I didn’t know a soul at [Company] and I knew if I didn’t find someone to be an advocate for me, my resume wouldn’t be seen. So I asked the Universe to provide me with a contact. Literally, not 20 minutes later I was inclined to go to LinkedIn and look at new job postings. My attention was drawn to the names of people who could connect me to the person who posted the job and thought – who could connect me to someone at [Company]?

I did a search on the company and there were three people who knew people at [Company]. Of the three people, I know one really well so I called her. Wouldn’t you know that the person she knows is her sister-in-law and she is in HR at [Company]! My friend told her about me, got the scoop on how the system works and her sister-in-law is going to see if she can get my resume into the pile for interviews!!”

She didn’t stop there. She was introduced to this new contact and followed up with her.

“I just got off the phone with my new contact at [Company]. She was lovely and extremely helpful. She said there was nothing going on with the position at the moment and that there were no internal candidates attached to the posting which was a good sign. She said it could take a few more months to hear anything but now that she knows the status and has spoken to me, she will bring up my resume and qualifications to the individual who posted the job.

She very kindly said she will keep an eye open for other opportunities and if one comes up that suits me – I’m to apply on line and give her an email and she’ll make sure my resume gets to the top of the pile.”

My client got tired of doing the same thing over and again and decided to do something different. In doing so, she not only got someone to look at her resume, but learned that the position was put on hold.

It’s difficult yes, but you cannot give up on your job search just because you haven’t found an opportunity. The more difficult it gets, the more you should be stretching yourself to try something different. In the next few days, instead of sitting in front of your computer and applying for jobs, why not use the time to research some top employers. This research should include company websites, libraries, annual report, and other places on the Internet where they are mentioned. Your research should also include current and former employees or anyone who might have connections to the company(ies). This exercise gives you an opportunity to learn about these companies, builds the confidence you need to reach out to them.

The Globe and Mail published the Greater Toronto Area’s Top 95 Employers a few months ago. It would be a great place to start your research. Discover why they were voted top employers, and see if just by chance any of them might have a need for your skills.

Are you getting weak-kneed yet? “Dare to begin. No endeavor is worse than that which is not attempted. You don’t know what you can do until you have tried. People, like trees, must grow or wither. There’s no standing still. Do what you can.” ~John Mason, Author

Share some of the strategies you have been using in your search and let us know how they are working out for you.

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Put a Little Love in Your Career

February 14, 2013 by daisy Leave a Comment

Today is Valentine’s Day…as if you didn’t know, and it’s time to “Put a Little Love in You and Your Career”. It’s also the birthday of one of my cats, Valentino, and he has certainly lived the past 17 years as if he’s ‘the cat’s pyjamas’ or ‘the best thing since sliced bread’. Look at him all curled up, with nothing else to do. In earlier years,we would tie a red ribbon around his neck and give him a special birthday treat, but today I have just enclosed him in a heart!

This brings me around to you. Have you shown yourself some love lately? What if today you decide to proclaim to yourself that you are, indeed, the cat’s pyjamas or that you are the best thing since sliced bread? What if you decide to stop being sorry for yourself, stop listening to your inner critic telling you that you don’t measure up; that you will never get the job or promotion you have always dreamed of? What if, just for today, you take a chance and put a little love in yourself?

I was speaking with a friend yesterday who delightfully told me she wanted to do some thing for herself. She said she needed to put herself first for once, having put others before her for years, so she joined Toastmasters. She said, “That one hour is mine, and am going to revel in it!” Having said that, what about you? Are you ready to put yourself and your career first? Here are six tips to help you put a little love in yourself or your career today:

Do what you have never done or go where you have never gone. Think of something you have always wanted to do, or somewhere you have always wanted to go. Is it something you could do today? If not, can you begin right now to develop a plan for it? Have you ever wanted to reach out to someone who could offer you some career advice, but you were afraid to ask? Today is a great day to reach out to that person. Forget all those butterflies in your stomach and take up the phone, send an email, meet them face-to-face and ask them to join you for a coffee.
Commit to growing yourself. The fact you may have failed at something does not mean the end of the world. Reflect on that failure and ask yourself what were the lessons you learned from that event. Many years ago when I first applied to work with the United Nations, I failed Shorthand. In those days note taking was a requirement that came with the prestige of added pay. I was disappointed, but told myself that regardless of how long it took, it was going to happen one day. By the time I ended up at the UN, the skill wasn’t a requirement any longer, but I was well prepared. Sir Edmund Hillary was one of the first persons to climb Mount Everest. When he failed at his first attempt, he said to himself, “Mount Everest, you beat me the first time, but I’ll beat you the next time because you’ve grown all you are going to grow, but I am still growing.” Have you, like Mount Everest, grown all you are going to grow?
Invest in yourself. Some people invest a lot of time and money planning for exotic vacations, but little or no time investing in their own career development. A couple of Fridays ago, a man called to ask if he could come in to see me on Monday morning for a resume and cover letter as he wanted to apply for job that had a cut-off time of 5 pm the following day (Tuesday). I told him that resume development is a time-consuming exercise, and my turnaround time on a project like his would be 10 business days. He then told me that he couldn’t afford me anyway. That wasn’t even the point. I wanted him to realize that such a slap-dash approach to one’s job search, or waiting until a job appears on Workopolis before realizing you need to brush up on your resume is not a great plan and will most likely reap frustration.
Be relentless in your pursuits. Whatever it is you are after, be relentless. You have heard the saying, “A winner never quits, and a quitter never wins”. Never give up on your dreams even if it appears insurmountable. Create a success plan and harness all the support you can get to see that dream through.
Be generous and give of your time. Volunteer your expertise to someone. Wondering if you have the skills to be a mentor? Stop wondering, and start mentoring. You have skills that others would benefit from. Think of the world of good you would be doing by mentoring another person. Probably you’re facing the question, “What’s in it for me?” The Christian Bible says, “It’s in giving that you receive.” You’re actually getting something in return. Isn’t that awesome?
Love yourself. Look in the mirror right now and say to yourself, ” I love you!” Sounds crazy, but when last have you told your unique self how much you love her or him? Compare that against the hundreds of times you have said to your unique self, “I don’t like what I see…I am too fat…too skinny…too short…too tall…I cannot become…”, and all those self-degrading negative conversations you have ingrained in your head. Stare at yourself in the mirror and ask yourself, like Marianne Williamson said, “Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?” Actually, who are you not to be?”

There are many other tips you could come up with yourself, so use these as starters. See what you can do to put a little love in you and your career today.

Enjoy what’s left of Valentine’s Day, and even if you think you don’t have anyone to love, look within and love yourself!

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Are You Among LinkedIn’s 1%?

February 13, 2013 by daisy Leave a Comment

Last week I received a personalized congratulatory email from LinkedIn’s Senior Vice President of User Experience that said “You have one of the top 1% most viewed LinkedIn Profiles for 2012”. LinkedIn now has 200 million users, so by the time I worked out the math (1 in 2,000,000), the message didn’t have as much meaning, unless I was going to assess and quantify how many connections or clients I received as a result of these views.

Anyway, for it was worth, I googled the sender’s name to make sure it was legitimate, then tweeted the news. What algorithm LinkedIn used to arrive at this percentage is anyone’s guess, but it has certainly garnered a lot of discussion among some of my career practitioner colleagues – from humour to an attitude of ‘What will they come with next?’

While we ponder this, however, I am reminded of the many job seekers who are not aware of, or are still not taking advantage of LinkedIn as a job search and networking tool. One woman called me aside at church the other day and said, “Someone sent me an invitation to join LinkedIn. I don’t understand what it is, but I know you would, so I joined, and now am asking you to explain.” I gave her a brief description of LinkedIn and told her it is often referred to as ‘having one’s resume on steroids’ so she is to make sure she completes her profile.

It might be presumptuous to say that LinkedIn is fast becoming somewhat of a ‘recruiter of choice’ for some employers, but many of them are using LinkedIn to conduct ‘stealth hiring’. This is where they quietly target, recruit, interview and hire employees without advertising job vacancies. They are able to view profiles, see who is connected to whom, what skills and expertise they have, and reach out to them even when these individuals are not looking for job opportunities. On the flip side, they can view profiles and if they are incomplete or do not have the right keywords to appeal to them, they can disqualify them right there.

So, whether or not you are among LinkedIn’s 1%, 5% or 10% most viewed profiles, here are six quick tips that could bring your profile up to speed and have you on the radar of potential employers:

Complete your profile. This means writing an attention-getting summary and adding skills that will show up in searches and help to attract recruiters and hiring managers.
Upload a professional head-shot. First impressions count, even for your profile, so replace that ‘egg head’ blank square with a professional photo if you want to impress a recruiter or hiring manager, or connect with someone.
Customize your LinkedIn invitation. People are more apt to connect with you if you put a bit of effort into crafting a customized invitation. Let them feel special! Remind them where you met or how you are connected.
Join industry and professional groups. LinkedIn allows you to join up to 50 groups, so search for groups by industry, alumni, former companies and career or job search groups, and join them. Once you have joined, PARTICIPATE!
Follow your target companies. During your research you would’ve identified companies with which you would like to work. Monitor their company pages to learn more about them, their products and services, as well as who has recently been hired.
Ask and Answer Questions. LinkedIn is made up of a community of learners, so don’t be afraid to showcase your expertise by answering questions posed by other users or to pose questions of your own.

While this article primarily pertains to job seekers, entrepreneurs and solopreneurs should harness the power of LinkedIn to build relationships and visibility, and increase business opportunities.

Let us know how you are using LinkedIn and if you have been counted among their most viewed profile.

Filed Under: Job Search, Social Media Tagged With: Career, Job Search, LinkedIn, LinkedIn Profile, network, resume

13 Questions to Ask Yourself Before 2013

December 18, 2012 by daisy Leave a Comment

Can you imagine that the New Year is almost 13 days away! Where did 2012 go? What were you able to achieve? Honestly, what progress have you made in your job search or your career since January 2012? If you haven’t made any progress since then, there’s nothing much you can do at this stage except to learn from the past and move on.

Having said that, what are your plans for 2013? More resolutions? More “If only I had had more, time, money, guidance?” What about setting aside some quality time for yourself to answer the following 13 questions, and then let’s have a chat in the New Year? I might just be able to help you move your career forward.

Describe yourself in 100 words
What are you passionate about?
What are the achievements you are most proud of?
What gives you strength?
What is your favorite activity?
What brings you peace?
What’s your greatest fear?
What are your values?
What are your biggest goals and dreams?
What’s stopping you from pursuing them? How can you overcome them?
How important are these goals to you?
What is your ideal career?
How can you start creating your ideal career starting today?

Are you ready to move your career forward? Don’t delay. Any decisions and actions you make today will set you up for success in 2013. I am ready and willing to help, but only if you are ready and willing to help yourself. Let’s start the process now!

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Filed Under: Career Coaching, Job Search Tagged With: 2013, achievements, Career, dreams, goals, Job Search, New Year, values

101 Surprising Tips for Your Holiday Job Search

November 22, 2012 by daisy Leave a Comment

Many job seekers believe that they should give their job search a break during the holiday season, and on the surface it looks like a great idea. After all, most businesses slow down their operations during the holidays, and some people get caught up into festivities that hiring new staff might be the farthest thing from their minds. But, even if these have merits, there are many reasons why job seekers should not ease up on the job search pedal during the holidays.

To demystify this holiday myth, 25 career coaches and recruiters from career site Job-Hunt.org contributed to an e-book titled New Year, New Job! 101 Top Tips from the Job-Hunt Experts for Your Holiday Job Search. As the Canadian Job Search Expert for Job-Hunt, I was asked to be one of the contributors. This book is full of tips that will revolutionize the way one looks at holidays and job search. The book will be FREE on Amazon from Thanksgiving Day until midnight on Monday, Nov. 26. Otherwise, it will cost ninety-nine cents per copy making it an ideal stocking stuffer for the job seeker on anyone’s list. Find it at Amazon.com. Here are some tips from a few of the experts:

Ask for holiday gifts to help you job hunt

What do you want for the holidays? Consider making this a practical (and inspirational) holiday and ask for gifts that will take you closer to your new job. Your friends and family are wondering how to help you. Help them, and yourself, by asking for what you need. Here are ideas to jumpstart your thinking:

Help from a career professional for some career direction, job search strategy, refreshing your resume or LinkedIn profile, or interview practice.
A session with a photographer for a professional headshot for your LinkedIn and other profiles.
To be their guest at a networking event. – Phyllis Mufson, Job-Hunt’s Boomer Job Search Expert

Use holiday vacation time to learn about job search

Before you dive into planning and executing your job search strategy, the holidays may afford you the free time to do some research about how to job search. If it’s been more than a few years since you last looked for a job, you may not know how much things have changed. Go through the Online Job Search Tutorial on Job-Hunt.org, and Google various phrases pertaining to each aspect of job search to find information and learn the latest and best ways to land a good-fit job in today’s competitive job search landscape. – Meg Guiseppi, Job-Hunt’s Personal Branding Expert

Volunteering creates access to employers

Most job seekers tend to take the holidays off but hiring managers don’t. The hiring managers you want to meet go to holiday charity events, Chamber of Commerce meetings and other public holiday events. The best way for you to meet them without large financial investment is to volunteer. Volunteering provides access. If you believe volunteering at a holiday charity event is not worth your time, look at the list of the corporate sponsors of the previous year’s event. You may reconsider your stance. – Stephen Hinton, Job-Hunt’s Green Industry Jobs Expert

Turn up your posting frequency over the holidays

As far as I can tell, hiring volume doesn’t go down during the holiday (overall). But I know many job seekers stop trying, for whatever misinformed reason. Therefore, you can increase your exposure by amping up your social media postings. By filling the vacuum of activity on Twitter and LinkedIn, recruiters scouring those media looking for candidates will be more likely to bump into your messages. – Joshua Waldman, Job-Hunt’s Social Media & Job Search Expert

Connect with new recruiters during the holidays

If you don’t have relationships with any recruiters, you need to network to one through your contacts. This is a good time of year to ask your friends to introduce you to their favorite recruiter (who works in your industry). If they have a good relationship, they can use the same ideas above and mention they have a colleague who’d be someone good for them to know. – Jeff Lipschultz, Job-Hunt’s Working With Recruiters Expert

Volunteer to provide holiday coverage

Contact one of your target companies and offer to cover for staff absences during the holiday period. This must be in an area in which you have expertise, or an assignment that’s not difficult to learn. Be aware that for confidentiality reasons, you might not be allowed to work in certain departments. This would be like a temp assignment, only you are doing it on a volunteer basis. It gets your foot in the door and a couple of people to add to your network. – Daisy Wright, Job-Hunt’s Canadian Job Search Expert

After going through all the tips it will be easy to see why taking a break during the holiday season could limit one’s job search success. Make sure to grab your free copy prior to November 26, 2012 at Amazon.com. After that, it will cost a mere ninety-nine cents.

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Filed Under: Job Search Tagged With: career coaches, hiring managers, holiday job search, holidays, Job Search, recruiters

Why I Love My Job

November 14, 2012 by daisy Leave a Comment

There were times when I didn’t love my job, mostly because I felt stifled as promotions were few and far between, and I knew I had so much more to offer. One day I took a leap of faith and landed into teaching and resume writing, then career coaching.

Most of my clients these days come from referrals. This not only makes it easy on my marketing, but it’s third-party validation of the work that I do.

A couple of months ago, I received an enquiry email from an HR Manager who was looking for a resume suitable for a Board appointment; a LinkedIn Profile and another resume in readiness for another opportunity, notwithstanding she had just been promoted a month earlier. In the email, she mentioned she was referred by a one of my clients. While I always aim to autograph my work with excellence, when it’s a referral, I double down, literally.

We met in my office and she explained what her needs were. I reviewed the documents she brought then asked for additional information including past performance appraisals. Within four weeks she had received her career marketing documents and was on her way.

After several weeks I followed up with her, as is customary. While listening to her feedback I asked if she could put some of what she was saying (about working with me) in writing. This is what she wrote. Am blushing even though you wouldn’t notice:

“I too am thankful to Gladys for connecting us. She told me you were amazing and extremely helpful but I don’t think I realized at the time just how much of a return on investment would come my way when I first reached out to you.

In working with you, I found that the process of resume development should be pursued with thoughtfulness and consideration. Taking the time to focus in on the accomplishments of my past and quantifying my value in each role has been one of the greatest practical skills I have learned from you. One of the first things I did at work was to quantify the mediation work I performed into legal/arbitrations savings for my Director. She was wowed by that information and immediately wanted to show it to her boss.

I was extremely impressed with the extra efforts you took to assist me with my moderator assignment – helping me craft a biography and even building on my speaker’s notes. The rave reviews I received for that initiative was definitely attributable to your encouragement, support and assistance. You’re coaching skills are outstanding. Ever since you recommended ways to build upon my personal brand, I have been journaling my work accomplishments and projects every week so that I have something to look back upon for ease of application and retrieval.

Daisy, you’re a consummate professional. You’re passionate about your work and ensuring that your client puts their best foot forward. You helped me identify and promote myself through an eye catching marketable resume and cover letter. I even marveled at my accomplishments after reading your work.

I hope that we can continue to work with each other in the future. You will be the first person I call for coaching and interviewing tips when the time comes. It’s been an absolute pleasure working with you. Thank you very much for all that you’ve done to help me in this next phase of my career.”

The other client was a star employee for a couple of well-known technology brands. She was not a referral but found me through Google. As an entrepreneur for more than 10 years, she has reached the stage where she wants to do work that she enjoys rather than “chasing the money”. We spent many hours strategizing on what skills to highlight, and what to say if she’s asked why she’s targeting lower-level jobs – yes, lower-level, but interesting positions. I get hot behind my ears when I have to ask for a testimonial, but when I listen to what some people say about my services, I sometimes sheepishly ask them if they mind putting it in writing. Here’s what this client wrote:

“Daisy is a powerhouse of knowledge and compassion. She has helped me to reposition myself and my resume so that it reflects more of who I truly am. Through working with her I can now approach prospective employers with greater confidence and ease. It is such a pleasure to not only work with Daisy but to experience her knowledge, care and support that goes well above and beyond!”

While writing this post, I received an email from another client. He hasn’t announced his new position publicly as yet, but his note reads:

“Before I publicly announce it via LinkedIn I wanted to let you know I’ve accepted a role at (Big Name Company) as a Director in Technical Sales. I am making a huge leap forward financially and in terms of responsibility. Thank you for helping me to understand my unique value proposition. I’d love to write you up an official recommendation if you like.”

It’s a given that not everyone who contacts me will be a good fit. I have had to turn away clients and some have had to turn me away, but in all cases it has worked out well for me, and I hope for them. I have learned in the process to narrow my niche to individuals in mid to senior-level management, and those on the cusp of management – who recognize that it takes time to understand who they are, what their goals are, and develop career marketing documents that focus on those goals. They understand that price plays a role, but value is more important than price. They are also willing to accept my advice, believe in themselves, and stretch beyond what they thought possible.

Having said that, am I giving up on other potential clients because they don’t fit the above profile? No, because many of my clients are not in that niche but we have built such a relationship that we’re stuck with each other. Others I have volunteered to work with on a pro bono basis after assessing their needs, and am equally happy to continue helping them.

These are the reasons I love my job, and I am grateful to work with the calibre of clients that I have.

Filed Under: Career Coaching Tagged With: accomplishments, career coach, Daisy Wright, director, entrepreneur, interview coaching, Job Search, resume development, technology

LinkedIn Endorsements: Fad, Foe or Friend?

October 22, 2012 by daisy 8 Comments

If you are active on LinkedIn you may have started receiving endorsements from some of your connections. I have, and must say that when they started arriving in my Inbox I thought spam hackers had infiltrated the accounts of some of the people in my network and were sporadically sending out these messages. I became a bit more curious when I noticed endorsements were coming from some individuals with whom I had very little, if any, interactions. Don’t get me wrong; I appreciate all I have received so far, but because I wasn’t aware that such a feature exists, I was sceptical. It wasn’t until I saw several posts on a discussion board and visited the LinkedIn blog that I realized the emails were legitimate.

LinkedIn Endorsement is a feature that allows your contacts to click a button and recognize and validate skills and expertise that you have on your profile. They can also add skills and expertise that they know you have but ones you may not have listed. In fact, in a word or phrase, a LinkedIn endorsement could help to answer the age old question, “What are you good at?” The feature also allows you to pay-it-forward by endorsing the expertise of people in your network who you know quite well or by reciprocating the favour of those who have endorsed you. Having said that, is this LinkedIn Endorsement feature a fad, a foe or a friend?

Fad. From much of what I have read, some people have characterized it as a fad – a trend that will pass. One individual curtly said, “This too shall pass”, referring to Twitter‘s #FollowFriday and Facebook‘s ‘Likes’. A comment on Inquirer.net states, “As the feature stands, it’s really just eye-candy for Linkedin, perhaps catching the attention of an employer but quickly fading away under detailed scrutiny.” One colleague commented that, “This whole endorsements thing is kinda brainless…silly and devoid of meaning.” Digital marketer, Eric Whittlake, portends that the value of LinkedIn as a business network will decrease while traffic to the site and potential advertising will increase. And, blogger Garrett Heath, said, “The Endorsement feature cheapens some of these accomplishments and turns a candidate’s profile/resume effectively into a “Like” contest.”

Foe. Although this could be more perception than reality, somewhere down the road, recruiters and hiring managers could be tempted to look at the number of endorsements one has and eliminate some otherwise talented people from the competition because they do not have many endorsements. This is not too far-fetched as there were discussions in the blogosphere and on job boards several months ago about some employers using one’s Klout score (or number of Twitter followers, for that matter), to determine how much clout (influence) one has and which applicants should be short-listed for interviews. Endorsements could also impact the LinkedIn’s Recommendations feature since it is easier to click on a skills button than to write a recommendation. And, in some circles, endorsements could be viewed as a “You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours” strategy, which could be frowned on and diminish its effectiveness.

Friend. The upside to the act of endorsements is that it could be perceived as a 360° validation of your expertise. Not only are you saying you are ‘the best thing since sliced bread’ but people who are familiar with you and your work also agrees with you. These endorsements add value and credibility and back up your claim of having those skills and expertise. An endorsement could also be mutually beneficial as you can return the favour of the endorser and thereby capitalize on each other’s network. If done correctly, endorsements could enhance the value of the recommendations you already have.

It’s obvious that the feature has friends and foes. From my perspective, however, the jury is still out. First, the feature is only a month old (up to the time of this post); second, I am still not sure how to use it effectively. For example, when I thought I was accepting endorsements, I ended up clicking on the “Endorse All 4″ button that popped up without clearly looking at who I was endorsing. There will be many more discussions about the value of endorsements, and when that happens we can all determine if a LinkedIn Endorsement is a fad, a foe or a friend. Leave your comments or your discoveries in the “Speak Your Mind” section below.

Additional reading:

The Pros and Cons of Endorsements

How LinkedIn Skills Endorsement Impact Your Job Search

Endorsement Feature Degrades LinkedIn as a Professional Network

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Filed Under: Social Media Tagged With: #FollowFriday, competitive, contacts, Daisy Wright, endorsement, Facebook, job market, Job Search, job seekers, LinkedIn, LinkedIn Endorsements, network, twitter

24 Career Professionals to Follow on Pinterest (at Career Coaches Corner)

August 20, 2012 by daisy Leave a Comment

There are currently 24 career professionals to follow on Pinterest if you are a job seeker or career changer!

Pinterest, when it blasted on the scene a couple of years ago, was considered one of the fastest growing social networks around, though not for the job search. At its heights in February 2012, I wrote a blog post asking the question What’s All the Hype About Pinterest?

Well, the dust has settled, and Pinterest still remains a very popular site. Its visually-pleasing structure allows users to create their own “virtual pinboards” or follow people with common interests. Not many people, however, thought it could be a useful job search tool, except probably for people in creative fields such as communication, marketing and advertising, where its relevance is easily seen.

Pinterest can be a useful resource for job seekers, and one little known pinboard that job seekers might be overlooking is Career Coaches Corner. Created by my colleague Maureen McCann, it now has 24 career professionals who consistently curate career, job search, recruiting and HR information for job seekers, career coaches, professional resume writers and others to use as a resource. Curated information appears mostly as “Infographics” giving a quick synopsis of a topic instead of having to read through a lot of text. Sometimes, below each pin the contributor may add his or her own personal take on the pin. It’s not all about the job search. There are motivational pins to inspire you when the going gets rough or others that show the personal side of each contributor. And the list is:

Adrienne Tom: Certified Professional Resume Writer and Employment Interview Professional driving the discovery of what sets job seekers apart. Mom, wine lover, book enthusiast.

Alison Doyle: Job search and employment expert for About.com. Twitter: @AlisonDoyle

Best Fit Forward: Curiouser and curiouser about many things. Writer. Career Coach. Storyteller. Making a job out of helping other people find work. How can I help you find your career voice and get heard?

Bridget Weide Brooks: Editor of Resume Writers Digest, a trade publication supporting professional resume writers & career industry pros. Founder of BeAResumeWriter.com. Twitter: @RWDigest

Daisy Wright (Yours truly): Certified Career Coach & Resume Strategist || Writer || Author || Connector || Sports Junkie || Cat Lover || Passionate about helping professionals and newcomers to Canada tell their stories and get hired! Twitter: @CareerTips2Go

Dawn Bugni: Master Resume Writer, Certified Professional Resume Writer; BS-Business Management, former recruiter, more than 25 years in corporate positions. Animal lover. Twitter: @Dawn Bugni

Dawn Rasmussen: As the chief resume designer at Portland, Ore.-based Pathfinder Writing and Career Services, I work with clients from across the United States and Canada and from all career levels.

Dorlee M: Social Work Career Development Blogger (MBA) (MSW) interested in a wide variety of topics including career advice, psychology, business & more. Twitter: @DorleeM

D J. Hornsby: Certified Zentangle Teacher. Social Media Disciple. Sunshine. Twitter: @djhornsby

Gayle Howard: I am a professional resume writer, author and blogger. I love words, respect their power and I’m passionate about using language that evokes an immediate and positive reaction from employers. Twitter: @GayleHoward

Hannah Morgan: Career Sherpa: Guide for lifetime career navigation. Sharing information, holding accountable, better world. Social job search | Reputation Management | Strategiest. Twitter: @HannahMorgan

Inside Jobs: Inside Jobs gives you the power to shape a confident future. Discover what you want to become and find the education path to make it happen at InsideJobs.com. Twitter: @InsideJobs

Jacqui Barrett-Poindexter: As chief career writer and partner (owner) with CareerTrend.net, I write resumes that influence; compelling dossiers that are both content- and story-driven and elegantly designed. Twitter: @Valueintowords

Jan Melnik: I am among those fortunate enough to say I absolutely love my work! And as a job-search strategist and coach/resume writer for 20+ years now, I have been helping clients at all levels. Twitter: @JanMelnik

Lisa Taylor: Passionate about careers and life stories. Loves solving hard problems, learning new perspectives and starting new projects. Founder of challengefactory.ca

Mike Brown: Strategy, innovation, creativity, & social media ideas at Brainzooming.com. Twitter: @brainzooming

Miriam Salpeter: Job search and social media coach, resume writer & author of Social Networking for Career Success. Empowering successful job seekers & entrepreneurs. Twitter: @Keppie_Careers

Ms Resume Help: I’m Holly Bunn- Ms Resume Help. I look forward to providing you the best resume tips, job resources, and events to help you GET HIRED! Follow me today! Twitter: @MsResumeHelp

Paul Copcutt: Personal Brand Architect, love inspiring people to bring more of who they are to work. Have a little fun, add to knowledge base and stop once in a while. Twitter: @PaulCopcutt

Rosa Vargas: Rosa Elizabeth Vargas credentialed resume writer with four of the career industry’s Top Resume Writing Certifications. Nominated for Best Executive Resume and Best Creative Resume TORI awards. Twitter: @resumeservice

Sarah Nelson: Innovative, optimistic and energetic people enthusiast; passion for creativity, lifelong learning, adventure and global thinking. Twitter: @SarahNelson71

The Strategic Recruiter: AIRS Alumni, Recruiter, Researcher committed to improving the Candidate Experience ~ Identifying top talent for Fortune 500 companies is a skill and a thrill ~ Tweets as @talentgenie [Jobs ~ Career]

Walter Akana: I am a career / life strategist, who brings a unique blend of training and experience in coaching, personal branding, and online identity to guide mid-career clients who are hungry for change. Twitter: @WalterAkana

Bookmark Career Coaches Corner on Pinterest as pins are added to the board fairly often. Or connect with any or all of the contributors. You just never know who might be able to help you move your career forward.

To your success,

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Filed Under: Job Search, Social Media Tagged With: board, career changers, career coaches, career coaches corner, Daisy Wright, infographics, Job Search, job seekers, pinboard, pins, Pinterest, professional resume writers, Social Media, social networks

How to Differentiate Between Canadian & American Spelling

August 7, 2012 by daisy Leave a Comment

Although it might not be well known, there are subtle differences between Canadian and American spelling of many words, and when it comes to the job search, it could be the deciding factor in landing a job.

Misspellings or Different Spellings?

Nowhere was it more evident than at a job fair in Toronto several months ago hosted by two healthcare entities from the USA. A client, who is a nurse, heard of the job fair on short notice, and presented her resume formatted for the Canadian market.

After reviewing her resume and cover letter, the recruiter told her that her resume had “several spelling errors.” Of course, she was taken aback.

Some of the “errors” were Centre, Cheque, Honour, Judgement and Practised.

After she composed herself, she told the recruiter that the documents were created for the Canadian market, hence the spelling; that her Spellchecker would not have picked up the “errors,” and that she didn’t realize it made such a difference.

The recruiter also told her she was not aware there was a difference. In the end, these “spelling errors” did not cost her the job opportunity as she was offered a position and moved to Florida.

The situation could have easily been reversed with an American job seeker being tripped up by American spellings used in a resume submitted to a Canadian employer.

The Commonwealth of Spelling

As a member of the Commonwealth of Nations (formerly known as the British Commonwealth), Canada owes its “spelling allegiance” to the British. It’s the same in Australia and the English-speaking Caribbean islands.

In reality, though, Canadians tend to straddle the fence and use what’s convenient. If they are conducting a job search in the USA, then they use the American spelling, but that same resume could be used in Canada and not many people would notice the difference.

As a matter of fact, in the back of our minds, we sometimes wonder if the differences really matter. How else would one explain the fact that Canadian words such as analyze, categorize, customize and legalize are consistent with the American spelling where the “s” is substituted for a “z”?

For example, here is a partial list of all the words that are spelled differently in Canada and the US.

American Spelling

Acknowledgment
Behavior
Center
Check
Favor
Honor
Judgment
Practice
Licence

Canadian Spelling

Acknowledgement
Behaviour
Centre
Cheque
Favour
Honour
Judgement
Practise (verb)
Practice (noun)
License (verb)
Licence (noun)

The aim of this article is to shed some light on some of the nuances that exist and help us adapt when job hunting – or reviewing resumes – on both sides of the border and internationally. The next time you are preparing your resume for the “other side” of the border (regardless of which side you are on), check to see if your spelling is consistent with usage in the target country.

Bottom Line

When in doubt about Canadian spelling and grammar, refer to The Globe and Mail Style Guide, and Gregg’s Reference Manual (Canadian Edition). American job seekers using Canadian spelling will look more knowledgeable about Canada as well as more interested in fitting in.

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Article originally posted on Job-Hunt.Org