5 "Creative" Ways to Land an Interview

Struggling with the job search? Answering a lot of ads and can't seem to land any interviews? Already had your resume and cover letters reviewed and given the "seal of approval" by a career coach or somebody else knowledgable about your target job and/or industry?

Here are a few tactics you may not have considered:

• Network. Build relationships with people in your target industry and/or companies. Leverage your university and/or grad school alumni networks. Build your virtual network on Linked-In. Ask everybody you know if they know somebody you can talk to in your target companies.

• Join at least one trade organization in your target field or industry. Take on an active and visible role. Join your alma mater's local alumni organization and participate actively and regularly.
  

• Research your target companies. Identify the name of the person who heads up the part of organization where you want to work. Send him or her an attention-grabbing cover letter and resume.

• Try cold calling the manager in a target company in which you want to work, explaining who you are and asking for a 15-minute informational interview. Best time to call is early in the morning before the day really gets started. Use this as an opportunity to gather information about the company and department's needs - not to ask for a job.
  

• Put together a example of your work that does not contain confidential or proprietary information from a past employer and send it to a potential hiring manager. Even better, put that example on your own web site and send a brief summary to the hiring manager with a URL where he can follow up. If you don't have any examples from past work or school you can share, try creating something new. For example, people interested in asset management can create an analysis of a stock, bond or other relevant instrument. Those interested in marketing could do a market analysis for one of the prospective employer's products.
  

Phone Interviews

Phone interviews are becoming an increasingly common way for companies to screen a large number of candidates before deciding who to bring in for a face-to-face. A recent article at Vault.com gives four pieces of excellent advice to ace phone interviews:

1. Minimize distractions - kids, pets, flushing toilets, ringing cell phones, other ambient noise

2. Sharpen your verbal skills (clear speech, cogent explanations, vocal variety, expressing enthusiasm)

3. Prepare in advance - learn about the company, have your resume and a pad of paper handy, don't use a cell phone

4. Follow up - send a thank you note that includes a reminder of your most relevant skills.

To this I would add "smile." People can hear you smiling on the phone! Really! Try it out with a friend sometime. Also, if you're feeling nervous, try having the interview standing up or walking around the room. This can help you "show up" in a more powerful and confident way.

To view the article, click here.

Pursuing a passion in your spare time

Check out the amazing photos taken by my friend Giulia - a businesswoman who has taken up photography in her spare time. Visit http://flickr.com/photos/giulia_/.

Most Unusual Job I've Ever Had

I started thinking today about the most unusual job I've ever had. I'd say it would have to be my first summer job, where I worked as a floor stockman at Kmart (my loudspeaker page code was 110). On my first day on the job, one of the floor manager’s (the “K’s”) looked at me and said, “Good, you’re here; Simeon’s on vacation – go clean the heads.” After getting a translation of what a Simeon was (the janitor) and what “heads” were (military term for toilets), I proceeded to spend the next 5 hours cleaning 16 toilets, 30 sinks, and 6 bathroom floors. After 7 days of that, stocking shelves and cleaning up messes (210 on the loudspeaker meant a "dry mess" and 220 meant a "wet mess" - use your imagination) for the rest of the summer was a breeze.

I would have to say I was an accidental floor stockman. I sought a summer job to earn some pocket money after high school and ended up at KMart. That summer could have been memorable in a different way had I given the matter more thought.

Have you ever "accidentally" ended up in a job and then asked yourself: "What in the heck am I doing here?" The best way to avoid that is to think carefully and do some planning and preparation before you leap.

Age Bias When Changing Careers

According to an article in today's Career Journal, a study published last year by Boston College's Center for Retirement Research suggests that "younger workers" (read under 40) who apply for a position are 50% more likely to be called for an interview than applicants over 50 years old. This rings true with the individual stories I've been hearing and witnessing around how tough it is to find a job these days when you're over 50 - and even moreso beyond 55 and 60.

The careers page of AARP's (American Association of Retired Persons) web site (see under Money & Work Tab) provides a number of targeted resources for workers over 50, including resources for choosing a career, job loss help, help with finding a job, as well as information on self-employment, and workplace flexibility. AARP even publishes an annual list of Best Companies for Workers Over 50.

Today's print version of the Wall Street Journal goes on to talk about employer concerns (or sterotypes) that older workers need to keep in mind when seeking a job, including

• an older candidate will come on board and try to take over
• an older candidate will not be comfortable reporting to a younger boss
• older candidates are over-qualified and will get bored
• older candidates will lack the necessary energy and dynamism
  
• older candidates will be unhappy with remuneration if the job commands less than what they were earning before.

Ways to overcome these and other obstacles include:

• Network extensively - preferably before you need to look for a job - but it's never too late to start. This is absolutely vital!
  
• In the job search process, keep your energy up and embrace change. Don't get discouraged - it will slow you down!
  
• Leave college graduation dates and jobs from longer than 15 years ago off the resume to avoid getting screened before you've had the chance to interview
• In the interview, convey a long-term commitment to the job, enthusiasm for the work, a lot of energy, and your desire to do the job in question.
• Stress your maturity, work ethic, interpersonal skills, and delight in working with people of all ages. If you will be dealing with an older customer demographic, stress that you relate to their outlook and concerns.
  
• Never talk down to a younger interviewer or talk "about the old days."
• Update your "look," including wardrobe and hair.

If you have any further ideas about how to best deal with the challenge of finding work past 50, please post a comment. In the meantime, here are a few more resources to consider:

• There is a long list of resources available on the Quint Careers web site. An article on Quint Careers that I highly recommend is Approaches and Tactics for Older Workers Who Can't Find a Job.
  

• The Aging Horizons group on MSN.com provides a variety of tips and resources for older applicants, including a page on interviewing tips.
  

• Forty Plus - 40 Plus is the nation’s oldest non-profit organization dedicated to helping currently available managers, executives and other professionals over 40 years of age find jobs. Both 40 Plus of Northern California and 40 Plus of Philadelphia maintain links to other North American chapters.

• In California: Experience Unlimited provides individuals with training and backgrounds in a wide range of fields a venue to come together to sharpen and update their job search skills by sharing their expertise and experience. The EDD provides office space, personal computers, access to the Internet, use of fax machines, publications, and more.
  

• ExecuNet - fee-based career services group that targets executives earning at least $100,000 annually. It runs 70 meetings a month across the U.S. and allows members access to its online member directory.

Is Your Boss Someone You Can Work With?

In a recent posting to the blog Boss and Workplace Issues titled "When a Bad Boss Won't Let You Do Your Job -- Run!," the author comments on an article on the Harvard Working Knowledge web site titled "Undertand What Motivates Your Boss." She takes issue (justifiably in my opinion) with a number of the propositions in the article. To her objections, which you can read about by clicking through to her Blog, I add the following comments:

Having been exposed to my share of organizations with varying levels of toxicity, I am a big advocate of taking a healthy look at what does and doesn't constitute a healthy work environment when considering employment or managing an organization. In my experience, all bosses (and human beings in general) are motivated by a variety of needs, which ideally include doing what is best for the organzation, as well as affiliation, power, control, personal advancement, influence, sense of accomplishment, challenge, etc.

Things become dysfunctional when the boss' needs come into direct conflict with the interests of the organization and its stakeholders, including both shareholders, customers, suppliers, partners, and/or employees.

In my experience, the key from the employee perspective is threefold:

• to seek out organizations or departments within organizations where there is a balance between managers' individual needs, the best interests of the company, and the needs of employees both as contributors and individuals.

• to look for bosses whose style best complements their own. If you are somebody who absolutely needs a measure of autonomy, don't go to work for a micromanager!

• Assuming that the first two items are in place, find a balance between adding value to the company, dealing effecively and constructively with one's boss on his/her playing field, and looking out for one's own personal interests, be they in the domain of professional development, project or job opportunities, compensation, benefits, work-life balance, etc.

A boss who is motivated by "power," for example, may not necessarily be a "bad boss." The question is whether that motivation supports or impedes his/her ability to add value to the organization while treating others with the dignity and respect they deserve and fulfilling management responsibilities. These include communicating a clear sense of mission and concrete goals, removing obstacles that prevent subordinates from succeeding, working constructively across the organization, providing resources and encouragement for employee development, and advocating for his/her employees in the organization.

Good organizations reward managers who meet these conditions and weed out the ones who repeatedly and/or egregiously fail to do so. Lousy ones do the opposite. When job hunting, I advocate taking a close look at any potential employer to see where along the spectrum that employer falls. And I recommend that people in a "lousy" organization (or department) that shows no signs of improving devise an exit strategy asap.

Another key to the puzzle is to understand the boss' decision-making style (data-driven, consensus-driven, influence-driven, etc.) and to adapt the structure of one's arguments to fit that style. But that is a whole other discussion for another time.

Need some comic relief?

Need some comic relief while preparing for a job interview in high tech? Check here:

On eBay Watch it now on StupidVideos!

Want to Climb the Corporate Ladder? Learn More about Sales!

About a year ago, I attended a panel of corporate recruiters who were all in agreement on one major point: sales skills are the most under-rated ability amongst non-sales professionals looking to take on senior management responsibilities. In most MBA programs, sales has often been given short shrift - treated as a mere footnote in marketing classes.

Truth is that many CEO's come up through the sales ranks. People in sales positions have tremendous opportunity to both get close to the customer and to directly effect buiness results. According to one VP of HR on the panel, people who were highly successful in sales at his high-tech company were well-positioned to write their own ticket down the line - whether their long-term goals involved staying in sales, moving into a marketing role, or taking on business development responsibilities.

Many MBA's have traditionally looked down on sales as either a short- or long-term career option. However, as increasing numbers of business schools, such as Stanford, M.I.T., Harvard, and the University of North Carolina, add sales process and management courses to their curriculum, sales may merit a closer look as a career option.

Careers in Renewable Energy

A number of my clients have expressed interest recently in pursuing their careers in one of the renewable energy sectors (solar, wind energy, etc.). Below are a number of resources I've been able to dig up to help them kick off their own research into this fascinating area:

Renewable Energy / Energy: working with new ventures or established companies to develop alternative energy sources (wind, water, solar, thermal etc), increase the efficiency of existing energy technologies (e.g. more efficient turbine engines), or more efficiently use energy in existing operations within major corporations. The development of social ventures that combine environmental with financial benefits is an area of increasing interest for venture capitalists, social entrepreneurs, and energy utilities. (from Columbia University Social Enterprise Program Web Page - http://www2.gsb.columbia.edu/socialenterprise/careers/resources/areas.html

http://www1.eere.energy.gov/education/careers_renewable_energy.html - DOE Fact Sheet on Careers in Renewable Energy – Good resource list at bottom of page; rest of material seems to be aimed at a younger audience.

http://www.greenenergyjobs.com/ - International Search & Selection for the Renewables Industry

http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/jobs/index.cfm - Green Dream Jobs

http://www.usregroup.com/index.html - US Renewables Group - mission is to develop, acquire and manage the largest and most profitable renewable power and fuels fleet. Owns and operates Landfill Methane, Biomass, Geothermal, Hydroelectric, ethanol and biodiesel projects. US Renewables Group's primary focus is on the acquisition of operating assets, however, on a selective basis, US Renewables Group invests in the development of projects or expansion opportunities at renewable energy facilities. – NOTE: VC's can be good sources of information about which young renewable energy companies are hiring)

http://www.renewableenergyaccess.com/rea/home - Renewable Energy Access – general info. & “community” website

http://www.martinot.info/organizations.htm#webdir – Renewable Energy information

http://www.energy.ca.gov/ - California Energy Commission

http://www.acore.org/ - American Council on Renewable Energy - focused on accelerating the adoption of renewable energy technologies into the mainstream of American society through work in convening, information publishing and communications.

http://www.awea.org/ - American Wind Energy Association - Wind energy equipment manufacturers; project developers and dealers; individuals from industry, government, and academia; interested others. Works to: advance the art and science of using energy from the wind for human purposes; encourage the use of wind turbines and wind power plants as alternatives to current energy systems that depend on depletable fuels; facilitate the widespread use of wind as a renewable, non-polluting energy source by fostering communication within the field of wind energy and between the technical community and the public.

http://www.environmentalmarkets.org/ - Environmental Markets Association - The mission of the Environmental Markets Association is to promote market-based trading solutions for environmental management. The EMA facilitates professional networking among traders, brokers, utilities, government officials and academics.

http://www.bcse.org/ - Business Council for Sustainable Energy

http://www.ceert.org/ - Center for Energy Efficiency & Renewable Technologies - Mission is to promote public awareness and attainment of the air quality improvement and other public benefits available through increased utilization of energy conservation and nonpolluting electricity generation and transportation technologies.

http://www.ethanolrfa.org/ - Renewable Fuels Association - the national trade association for the U.S. ethanol industry

http://www.seia.org/ - Solar Energy Industries Association – the national trade association of solar energy manufacturers, dealers, distributors, contractors, installers, architects, consultants, and marketers. Member list at http://www.seia.org/members.php

http://cleantech.com/ - Cleantech Venture Network - a membership organization bringing insight, opportunities and relationships to investors, entrepreneurs and service providers interested in clean technology. Cleantech organizes Venture Forums, provides deal flow, publishes its Venture Monitors and offers related services to investors and entrepreneurs.

http://www.electronicsee.com/Finance/Environment_and_venture_capital.htm - List of venture capital and private equity funds focused on energy

http://energyhedgefunds.com - Energy Hedge Fund Center - mixture of pricey and free services regarding information, news, analysis, and insights into energy, environmental, and hedge funds.

April 2006 Ezine - "The Bottom Line"

Published the April issue of my E-zine during a marathon late-night work session yesterday. Articles this month focus on the ins and outs of employment-related background checks, things to think about when seeking and signing on to work as an independent contractor, and how exercise and body disposition feed into what is and isn't possible on the job and in your career.

Check it out - archived copies of my last six E-Zines are always available at http://www.gccoach.com/articles.html. If you want to subscribe, there is an opportunity to do so on the articles page or simply by clicking here.

Looking for a great photographer?

The guy who took my portrait for my web site has launched an updated web site of his own at www.stuartlocklearphotography.com. I highly recomnmend checking it out. Stuart specializes in headshots, lifestyle (weddings, life events) photos, fashion pics, and commercial photography. The pictures on his web site speak for themselves.

If you need architectural photographs, check out the web site of Bruk Studios at www.brukstudios.com, where you can also find a beautiful collection of glass art and lamps on offer.

Can Staying Fit Help You to Be A Leader

According to a March 16, 2006, article in BusinessWeek online, a rigorous workout routine can help your professional communication skills - the rationale being that successful leadership requires high energy, creativity and good posture.

According to the article, "when you're speaking to a customer, employee, investor, or prospect, how you look, feel, act and sound all help you connect with the people listening to you. Leaders who are physically fit excude far more energy than their peers."

Examples given included Condoleeza Rice, who exercises 45 minutes each morning; Arnold Schwarzenegger, who exercises 75 minutes total each day; Tom Monaghan, founder of Domino's Pizza; Larry Ellison, CEO of Oracle; Klaus Kleinfeld, CEO of Siemens; and Richard Branson, founder of Virgin.

In my experience, the range of possibilities in all domains of life - be it with respect to your presence, the actions you can take, and the impact that you can have on others - are a function of the interplay of the language you employ in speech and thought, your mood & emotions, and your body disposition or physical state. Each element exists in a coherence with the others.

For example, an invigorated body exists in coherence with an upbeat mood and the language of "can do" and "will do." A tense, tired body is more compatible with a mood of dispair or resignation and the language of what isn't possible or isn't feasible.

With that in mind, what might making changes with respect to your own body (exercise, diet, stretching, relaxation, etc.) make possible for you in terms of new moods, language, and action?

New Website/Publication - What's Next Media

I came across an interesting new website (and future publication) during my evening reading/research time called What's Next, whose mission is "inform and inspire men who are seeking to build a bigger, more fulfilling life. What's Next will address a wide range of topics central to the challenges and opportunities facing men during their middle years."

This is yet another manifestation of the growing market for information and resources aimed at the late boomers (like myself) and - shortly - the Generation X'ers.

The site is divided into 5 themed areas: Career, Health, Money, Travel, Life. There are already a number of interesting articles posted - definitely worth a look at http://www.whatsnextmag.com.