Author Archives: Kit Prendergast

Job Interviews: What to Do Before

Conducting a successful job search is like running a marathon . . .and my college age daughter, Barbara, is preparing for that next lap.  She aced a telephone interview last week and now moves on to several face-to-face interviews scheduled down in New York City.  Even though these interviews are for summer internships the process is almost exactly the same as applying for full-time employment.  Great practice!

So here we go . . . preparing for a personal interview starts way before you even walk in the door.  “It does?” says Barbara.  “Oh, yes” says Career Coach Mom.  As I’ve coached hundreds of job applicants over the years, I already know that you have a great resume; have reviewed questions you may be asked; prepared several success stories and taken the extra step of complying a career portfolio that you can leave with the interviewers.  But there is more . . .

5 “Must Dos” Before the Interview

Here are my five “must dos” to ensure that you are feeling fully prepared, rested and at the top of your game for those face-to-face interviews. Don’t take it lightly – this is part of a successful job search strategy.

  1. Confirm where the interview will be held (address, office number etc.).  And then make a trip over a couple of days ahead to make sure you know how to get there – subway stops, freeway exits, street numbers etc.  Nothing is worse than finding yourself lost and then running late to the interview!
  2. Plan your evening before your interview carefully.  Keep it low stress and make sure to get to bed a bit early.  Relax but stay focused on the next day.  Try not to get distracted or distressed by other issues or concerns – those can wait for now.
  3. Leave yourself at least double the amount of time you think you need to travel to the interview.  You never know what can happen – road construction, traffic jam, subway delays etc.  You will be much more relaxed knowing you have a wide cushion of time.
  4. Arrive at least 20 – 25 minutes early to give yourself time to check out the waiting area; zip into the restroom to freshen up; turn off your cell phone and then to be ready when they call you.
  5. Breathe! And smile . . . let your natural style and personality shine through.  The bottom line is that your ability to positively connect with the interviewers is going to make or break the interview at this point.  And at this point, you will be so glad that you feel good; you look good and you know that you are are right on target with your answers and follow-up questions.

Once it’s all done, celebrate.  Treat yourself and your support team to a nice dinner, glass of wine or maybe a day off from the job search.  Enjoy – you’ve worked hard for it!

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Three Steps to Start to Write a Cover Letter

It’s that first impression that can make or break a final job offer. Writing a powerful cover letter is an art especially in this rapidly changing job market. Your cover letter needs to open the door for you to get that all important interview. It introduces you and directly ties in your qualifications to what the potential employer is looking for – in other words – the awesome value you bring.

But slow down. Don’t start writing yet. These three steps come first – then the writing is easy. First, identify your key selling points and then condense each into a strong summary sentence. Second, do market research on your targeted potential employer – what are their needs and problems. Third, think about how you can be their solution to these issues – this is the value you bring to them.

Now you can do a draft cover letter. Keep it simple by remembering that your cover letter just needs to do these five things:

  • Introduce Yourself
  • Capture the Reader’s Interest in You
  • Highlight & Link Your Qualifications to the Needs of the Reader
  • Identify the Clear Value You Will Bring Upon Hire
  • Motivate the Reader to Call You!
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Cover Letter Magic

Cover Letter Magic, Third Edition, by Wendy Enelow & Louise Kursmark, 2007.

This is my “go-to” book for writing solid cover letters that get read. It is an excellent resource filled with powerful strategies, tips, and advice from two well-known resume masters to make writing your cover letters as easy as possible.

The examples of cover letters are particularly helpful as are the appendixes (keywords, action verbs, websites etc) at the end of the book. There is even an extensive list of professional resume writers with their contact information included. This book is part of a series of career books, Job Search Magic; Resume Magic and Cover Letter Magic edited by Susan Whitcomb, President, Career Coach Academy.

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Acing a Telephone Interview

In my blog postings over the last  two weeks, I’ve been sharing ideas and tips on how to best apply, interview and secure a competitive job offer.  My most recent inspiration is coming from daily phone calls from my college age daughter, Barbara, who is pursuing PR internships in New York City for this upcoming summer.

Barbara doesn’t allow any “grass to grow” under her feet.  She is beautifully organized; goal oriented and very persistent.  Thank goodness I’m an experienced career professional but even I have a hard time keeping up with her especially trying to help edit cover letters at 11:00pm!  But you can’t argue with success when she’s getting positive responses back within just days.

So here we go . . . now I’m helping her prep for a telephone interview scheduled for tomorrow morning.  My “go-to” reference on preparing for all kinds of interviews is Job Search Magic, Susan Whitcomb, 2006.  It’s simply the best resource on how to psychologically, physically and mentally prepare for a telephone or personal interview.

Here’s my favorite list taken in part from Whitcomb’s “Dozen Must-Do’s in Telephone Interviews”.  I’ll be passing them on to Barbara when she calls me late, late tonight.  These are great tips for all of us to remember.

  • Set up a very quiet place without interruptions (no dogs barking!)
  • Convey warmth, friendliness and professionalism in your opening.
  • Ensure you have a good phone connection (use a head set if possible).
  • Listen closely – try closing your eyes to really concentrate.
  • Use SMART stories to give concise answers.
  • Be aware of your voice especially if it is too soft.
  • Shorten up your responses – don’t go on & on.
  • Expect the unexpected (a role play, case example etc.).
  • Take notes but don’t let writing things down distract you.
  • Always ask for the job if you really want it!

The best part for me is being able to coach Barbara in my area of expertise to be the very best she can be.  My business tag line has always been “Powerful Partnerships for Powerful Results”!

 

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Creating a Portfolio for Job Interviews

My college age daughter, Barbara, was way ahead of me on this one.  Just last week she had sent out close to 20 cover letters requesting interviews for summer PR internships.  She had designed a one page resume that really sparkled and then wrote a personal cover letter for each place to capture the value she would bring to the organization.  She sent them out all within three days and even carefully timed them to drop in the hiring manager’s email box first thing in the morning.

Whatever she said seemed to work – she got four interview requests almost immediately as well as several other inquires for more information.  After the first flurry of responding back to each person, she is nowpreparing for the first phone interview and then will be off to New York City for several face-to-face interviews.

And here’s where she was ahead of me . . . by this afternoon she was already at the printer having several career portfolios copied and bound.  She had selected which documents were most valuable to include (writing samples; two letters of reference; resume etc.) and knew to keep it simple, clear and concise.  She had some business cards made up as well.  You could hear the confidence in her voice as she knew that these marketing tools would be the “icing on the cake”.

Why go to this much effort?  Not many people do but the really savvy job seekers know that it’s well worth the effort.  After all, interviewing for full-time employment; an internship or even a volunteer position is all about marketing yourself.  And walking into an interview prepared with a portfolio that has been customized for a particular position sends a strong message that you’re prepared, self-confident and ready to work.  And bottom line . . . your portfolio provides tangible proof that you are who you say you are – that speaks to your authenticity and credibility.

One of my more popular training courses is “Building a Powerful Career Portfolio” which takes people through the process of complying a career portfolio and then into practicing how to share a portfolio with a hiring manager for maximum impact.  Social media has embraced this message as well.  Your LinkedIn profile, personalized website and on-line presence are essentially the same thing.

But the real benefit to your career portfolio is the acknowledgement that you’ve done some wonderful things over the years (we tend to forget) and that psychological boost feels really good going into any kind of interview.  Plus, it’s great fun to show off to your older brother!

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