Career Acceleration Notes (CAN)

Successful interviewing at all levels: secret weapon is P-A-R

If you're reading this article, you probably understand that job successful job seekers talk about what they have accomplished in previous positions, and present a "mini-business plan" to relate to the needs of a prospective employer. Review the following list to be sure you are prepared to interview successfully:

• You have clearly and concisely described one - two "success stories" for each of your previous employers, using the Problem (Challenge) - Action - Result model.
• You have analyzed your accomplishment stories to identify the personal qualities, skills, and areas of knowledge that made it possible for you to achieve your successes.

Going forward, you need to re-frame this data in terms of what is needed for the specific position you are applying for.

Step #1 - Study the job description and organization to identify the criteria for the job (not "requirements"). The criteria are likely to be "soft skills," e.g., flexibility, team orientation, interpersonal skills, etc. Create a grid, with the criteria on the left and your previous employers across the top.

Step #2 - Fill-in the cells with a note about each employer/accomplishment that addresses the new job criteria. (Without the ability to post a table online, I can't provide a good-looking sample - contact this author for a complimentary copy of this worksheet..)

Step #3 - Once you've completed this "homework," use your notes to prepare for questions and conversation with the interviewers. Be careful to limit your responses to three - four crisp sentences, using the Problem (Challenge) - Action - Result model.

Ironically, you'll need to rehearse these responses so you can deliver them in a style that appears to be totally spontaneous!  Rehearse wherever you are alone and won't feel silly talking out loud to yourself, e.g., while driving, drying your hair, etc.  Want to hear a supportive refrain while practicing?  Try Frank Zappa's 2005 The Classic Interviews ! 

5 clues to your "next big thing" (Hint: look next to your morning coffee)

I'm using this post to demonstrate how you can use your morning newspaper as a guide toward your "next big thing."  Your newspaper doesn't have to be delivered to your door or purchased from a street-corner;  online news will also help you accomplish the goal. 

It is fair to say that we accept the need to demonstrate that we are current in our field, that we understand how events in the world affect our industry, and that we offer a unique value to a prospective employer.  While the thought process that I'm going to suggest isn't new, it seems that job seekers have abandoned the news and therefore, removed themselves from current information that can inform their unique value proposition and brand...  An example:

Many of my current clients are looking for B2B,  marketing, or communications opportunities in industries with staying power in the Greater Philadelphia area, including Allentown, Princeton, and Wilmington.  So, to become familiar with the major industries in the area and keep abreast with what's happening with innovative ideas, products, services, and key people, these clients check-out:

• The Philadelphia Inquirer Business section, published daily, (best for job seekers is Monday)
• The Philadelphia Business Journal - published weekly

Monday's Inquirer featured an article about competition between regional health insurers, principally Capital and Highmark Blue Cross/Blue Sheild, as well as their non-Blue competitors, Aetna and Valley Preferred.  Public regulators are holding hearings to evaluate the wisdom of a Blue merger, and the writer offers a very informative history of the business of health insurance in the corporate arena.  This is a very large and profitable industry; opportunities exist in a multitude of roles, including executive management, sales, IT, finance, marketing communications, etc.  To paraphrase JFK's 1960 inaugural address:  think not about what Blue can do for you; think of what you can do for Blue, or any other company of interest...

1. Take a few moments to look at the About Us page of the company web site; this page will lead you to think of the possibilities you might create or fulfill based on what you offer. The Jobs or Careers page reveals what is available now; while it is possible that you might find the perfect job, it is unlikely.
2. Once you determine your genuine interest, dare I say, "passion," then start looking for connections - people who can help you gain access and information about the company to better determine what you can do for them. These connections can be found in the weekly "People In the News," in the body of news articles, through company web sites, through online networking sites, and in the office next-door to yours...
3. Perform a SWOT analysis on the company; learn about the company's competition; develop a few proposals.
4. Practice listening to understand how you can meet their needs, both those that are stated and those you'll intuit based on your research.
5. Prepare targeted marketing materials - resume or profile, letters, e-mails, 30-60-second commercial, exit summary, etc.  The operative word is "targeted;" the operative perspective is WIIFTHM - What's in it for them...

A client meeting last evening led me to the March 21-27 issue of the Business Journal that featured Gamesa, a Spanish wind turbine maker whose US manufacturing facility has filled a large part of the space once occupied by the US Steel Fairless Works. This firm will employ 115 at its Center City headquarters office, and has leased 3x more office space than it previously held. So why should job seekers care?  The alternative energy industry offers an excellent opportunity for those who are good communicators and also comfortable with science and technology. Moreover, it may be an excellent alternative to industries that are more likely to be adversely affected by the economy, e.g. housing, construction, pharmaceutical.

While sipping your coffee, try these 5 clues to discover what you'll be when you grow up, or where you'll find your next big gig...

For 2000 years, we've known that hiring is not a science...

What follows is a guest post written by Ed Zenzola, a colleague and President of The Zenzola Group, a boutique executive search consulting firm specializing in the development of hiring strategies and performance profiles.  The principals of this group offer senior-level HR experience with global organizations; their executive recruiting expertise allows Zenzola Group to match opportunities with exceptional individuals who will quickly become high-performing talent.

This post was originally written for client companies who are frustrated by the challenge of identifying and retaining top talent.  The readers of Career Acceleration Notes will gain valuable insight by considering the perspective of those on the other side of the desk.

About two thousand years ago, the officials of the Han dynasty tried to make a science of the hiring process by creating a long and detailed job description and rigorous tests for civil servants. Archaeological records show that those same officials were frustrated by the results of their efforts; few new hires worked out as well as expected. Experience and studies have shown what the Han officials discovered in 200 BC: it is impossible to turn hiring into a science.

Hiring and retaining talent is improved by how we approach interviews. Here are five steps that should be part of every interview.

1. The key is structure. A structured interview is the most reliable technique for predicting performance and for communicating expected performance. This requires having well prepared questions developed from the Performance Profile we discussed in a previous email.
2. The interviewer must be extremely familiar with the performances and measurements that are required in the position. From these required performances and measurements, questions can then be posed to the candidate regarding relevant prior experiences. The questions should be posed to truly understand the candidate’s actual role and the significance of the performance. A rule of thumb for preparation is 2 to 1; if you expect a structured interview to last 2 hours you will need to spend 4 hours preparing for the interview.
3. Determine competencies. Listen closely to the candidate’s descriptions of prior performances. You should be listening to the candidate 80% of the time and only interjecting to pose additional questions. Your questions should be structured around a SOAR format; the Situation or Opportunity, the Action taken, and the Results. To determine problem solving competency, ask questions such as, “what were the 2 or 3 biggest challenges you faced on the project, tell me step-by-step how you handled the biggest one.” Questioning like this will reveal if the candidate has exhibited all the critical competencies.
4. Determining a cultural fit. Beyond the tangible performances and competencies are the intangible issues of cultural fit and emotional intelligence. Cultural fit is even more critical to an employee’s success within an organization than education, experience, skills or intellect. There is an old saying: You hire for experience and skill and fire for personality and attitude.
5. During the candidate’s SOAR (a.k.a., P-A-R or C-A-R) description of prior performances, interject with questions; “how did your boss manage you on this project?” “Is this how you like to be managed?” Or, “describe the recognition you received.” Avoid asking direct questions; “describe the environment and culture of your previous employer” and “what did you like best and least?”  More often than not the response will be a rehearsed answer.
6. Consistency. The entire interview team must be on the same page. Whether a group interview or single interviews, everyone, regardless of position, must know and agree to the relevant factors in ranking candidates. Of course everyone should have the Performance Profile and an understanding of the position’s required competencies. Assign interviewers a sub-set of the competency model and require them to provide detailed evidence to support their assessment. Review the interview results in a group setting with the hiring manager and senior people, making their comments last. Also start off with the positives rather than the negatives to increase group objectivity.
7. Don’t sell; at this point, be a buyer. You can’t convince a top quality candidate that your position is the best among competing offers if the interviewers oversell and under-listen. The key to recruiting top quality talent is to over-buy and under-talk. This means you need to get candidates to talk more by asking in-depth, tough, and challenging questions. Describe the challenges in the position and get the candidate to describe relevant performances. The more you put the candidate in the selling position the more the candidate will describe prior performances in detail.

To Get to Yes, each party must move away from positions toward an understanding of the needs of the other party.  This post offers a valuable glimpse into the needs of organizations who are recruiting talent.  Sharing this post illustrates the synergy that can exist between career professionals who support organizations and individuals.

Where are the growth opportunities in the Executive Suite?

Talented executives are needed more than ever during difficult economic times. It is the business development and sales executives who bear the burden of generating the revenue. The "recession" represents an opportunity for those who can demonstrate their ability to understand the needs of the company and its customers - those who CAN create a clear and compelling executive brand.

Interesting predictions by employers from ExecuNet:

NEW: The Executive Job Functions Most in Demand for 2008

Executive Job Functions That Corporate Employers Expect Will Create The Most Growth In 2008 Executive Hiring
Business Development	14.8%
Sales	12.9%
Operations Management (including Quality, Supply Chain and Logistics)	12.9%
General Management	10.3%
Finance	9.1%
Engineering	9.1%
Marketing	8.7%
MIS / Information Technology	6.2%
Consulting	6.1%
Research and Development	5.7%
Human Resources	3.5%
Source: ExecuNet 2008

Can Facebook grow-up without going to jail?

All things Considered, NPR's afternoon news show, featured this story today, April 7, 2008:

"Police in East Lansing, Mich., used tear gas to disperse thousands of out-of-hand partygoers near the Michigan State University campus at an event promoted as Cedar Fest on Facebook. Police are trying to determine whether the Facebook party organizers can be held accountable."

How does this news jive with the advice of business bloggers like Bob Gourley, who recently suggested that Executives should use LinkedIn and Facebook?

What will this mean for the cohort of professionals who are streaming over to the interactive Facebook from more static networking forums, like LinkedIn.com? 

Are the Facebook "natives" happy about the migration of more professional "immigrants" to the site that has been a place to plan parties, "poke" friends, and check-out fun connections? 

Should Facebook friends feel compelled to clean-up their profiles so recruiters and other professionals can use this tool as yet another way to vet candidates?   Should professionals be like rain, and go away....?

Will law enforcement authorities be able to hold Facebook members liable for the collateral damage and consequences of postings initiated through the social networking site?  Will Facebook's digital fingerprint and YouTube's video record of the event put the kibosh on the partying?  Will Facebook be able to "grow-up" without going to jail?   

Online Identity & Social Networking Tools: Nonprofit Group Hug

The Collaborative of the Suburban Chamber of Commerce has scheduled an additional session to concentrate on the power of LinkedIn.com. The initial session was well-attended and well-received. Thanks to feedback of participants and the effort of Management Consultant, Sandi Philips, the nonprofit "group's hug" will result in a follow-up session to be held on Wednesday, April 2 from 8-10am.

The agenda for the initial session included Online Identity and Social Networking for Nonprofits.  The most effective social networking tool for businesses and nonprofits, LinkedIn.com, was too large a topic to start last week; LinkedIn will dominate the discussion when we meet again at the Upper Moreland Library, Willow Grove, PA.

The first session allowed participants to share their existing knowledge and request more information re:

• Risks of Social Networking - personal and professional
• Choosing the proper tool
• Sharing information
• Preserving authenticity

These issues, and additional resources targeted to meet the strategic planning needs of nonprofits, will be covered in the next session.  Those who participated in and/or registered for the first meeting will receive new handouts via e-mail. Those who cannot attend are encourage to refer to the LinkedIn Blog  or blog with author Jason Alba (see my sidebar). Visitors may click on this link to purchase useful books on Relationship Marketing, including Jason's Facebook and LinkedIn books, directly from the publisher.

Participants who wish to share comments or ask specific questions are encouraged to do so on this blog. Those interested in attending Wednesday's program should pre-register by phoning: 215.947.4427 or via e-mail to: Karen@CareerAcceleration.net or KevinWinters@comcast.net (mention The Collaborative.) There are six seats left; please reserve early for this FREE program.

FREE: LinkedIn.com & Social Networking Seminar

Join us for a FREE interactive program to learn about the benefits of social networking for nonprofit organizations and staff.  This program is sponsored by The Collaborative, an affiliate of the Suburban Chamber of Commerce, located in Eastern Montgomery County, PA.    

The mission of The Collaborative is to develop and nurture partnerships between businesses and non-profit organizations. The program will be held at the Upper Moreland Free Library so that participants may bring their laptop computers and participate in the session via wireless Internet access. Everyone who attends and wants to join a social network will receive an invitation from the speakers. 

Our presenters are:
Karen Katz, M.Ed., CCM, of Career Acceleration Network, (CAN) LLC; and
Kevin Winters, MBA, Founder/Principal Consultant, All Seasons Web Solutions

The agenda will include: · What is "Social Networking?"
· Who engages in this type of networking?
· What are the principal forums for "Social Networking?"
· Who benefits from this type of networking?
· Why has this form of networking become popular?
· For whom is this networking effective?

After the presentation, a demonstration will follow to take participants through the LinkedIn.com site, and
· Show sample profiles
· Explain settings, preferences
· Discuss online and offline behavior, etiquette, and consequences

This event will be held Wednesday, March 26, 2008 from 8 to 10 AM at the The Upper Moreland Free Library,109 Park Avenue, Willow Grove, PA

Collaborative Roundtables are free and open to interested parties. To RSVP (requested, not required) call the Suburban Chamber at 215-657-2227. 

Network locally; Think globally, installment 2

Again I'm posting FREE or inexpensive networking opportunities in the Greater Philadelphia-area; you'll find similar calendar options throughout the country.  This calendar was extrapolated from the Philadelphia Business Journal, one of the Biz Journal regional online or print resources that belongs in the tool bag of professionals and executives.  Building personal reciprocal relationships and establishing an online identity takes precedence over attending events like these; the idea is to find authentic ways to network locally and think globally.

Business Calendar - Philadelphia Business Journal

Monday, March 10

The Consultants Guide to LinkedIn Success. 7:30-9am, Merrill Lynch, 724 W. Lancaster Ave., Wane, PA. FREE. For information & registration, call 610-993-0894

Tuesday, March 11

How to Use Success Stories to Win More Business. 7:30am, Plymouth Country Club, 846 Sandy St., Plymouth Meeting.  Sales & Marketing Executives of Philadelphia.  Cost = $25. For registration & information, call 215-396-3310

Wednesday, March 12

Your Customers have Changed...Have you? 11:30am-1pm,  PineCrest Country Club, 101 Country  Club Drive, Lansdale. North Penn Chamber of Commerce.  Cost = $20 for members; $30 for nonmembers. For information & registration, e-mail to:  info@northpenn.org

Thursday, March 13

Bouncing Back in 2008. 8-9:15am.  Lower Bucks Family YWCA, 601 S. Oxford Valley Rd., Fairless Hills. Lower Bucks County Chamber of Commerce.  FREE with advance registration.  For information & registration, send e-mail to:  chamber@lbccc.org

Career Fair. 2-7pm, Holiday Inn in West Chester, 943 S. High St., West Chester. Exton Region Chamber of Commerce. FREE.  For information & registration, call 610-363-7746

Pricing it Perfect. 11:30am-1:30pm, AstraZeneca, 690 Lee Road, Suite 100, Wayne, PA.  NAWBO (National Assoc. of Women Business Owners), Philadelphia Chapter.  Cost = $15 members; $25 nonmembers.  For information, visit www.gonawbophilly.org

Friday, March 14

Market Research 101: Focus Groups, Taste Tests and More. Noon - 1:30pm, North Penn Chamber of Commerce Board Room, 229 S. Broad St., Lansdale, PA.  FREE.  For information & registration, e-mail to: info@northpenn.org

To review the Business Calendar posted by the Philadelphia Inquirer every Monday, visit my web site:  , or go directly to the Inquirer Business section. 

Is it necessary to run a campaign to achieve career change?

My two favorite indoor "sports" are careers and politics; a recent book written by Chris Matthews makes some interesting observations about the intersection of these endeavors.

Life's A Campaign: What Politics Has Taught Me About Friendship, Rivalry, Reputation, and Success is the latest book written by this journalist and TV pundit;  it is already 2 days overdue at the library, so I need to share some thoughts with you now...

Matthews, (who later pledges to work on his listening skills!), suggests that:

    "The whole trick of life is therefore to (a) find people who like you on first meeting, (b) put effort into winning over those people you can, and (c) recognize those whom, to use Donald Trump's phrase, you need to 'work around.'  This is what politicians call campaigning.  It's something you'll find you have to do in life even if you never run in a single election."

What about it - do successful candidates employ similar strategies when seeking career change or transition?  Are we correct to refer to the job search process as a campaign? 

• Clearly, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are candidates for the same job?  Have you ever competed with a "friendly foe" for the same job?  What happened to the relationship after the position was filled?  While it is not likely that the outcome of such a contest will result in a "win-win," must the outcome produce a winner and a loser?
  
• How are the voters and/or the press doing in fulfilling the role of "hiring managers?"
  
• What role will the Super Delegates play?  Are they the Senior Management team or CEO?

What can career changers and job seekers learn from the experience of these political candidates?

Network locally; Think globally...

I have so many ideas and articles saved ...so little time to organize them into a post.  So today will be the first Monday that I will look through the weekly Business Calendar published by the Philadelphia Inquirer and share upcoming events that may be of interest to local readers.  Those in other cities should be able to find comparable listings in print and online editions of their local newspapers:

Business Calendar - Philadelphia Inquirer

Philadelphia Direct Marketing Association will hold its next monthly lunch at Maggiano's Little Italy Restaurant, 205 Mall Blvd., King of Prussia; 610-642-2616 or www.the-pdma.org. Cost is $45 for PDMA members, $60 for nonmembers. 11:30 a.m-2 p.m. Wednesday, Feb 27

How to Start and Operate a Small Business presented by the Small Business Assistance Center and Kutztown University's Small Business Development Center co-sponsored by the Chester County Chapter of SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives). Chester County Library, next to Exton Mall, Rt. 100 and Business Rt. 30, at 450 Exton Square Pkwy., Exton; reservations call the SBAC 610-444-1721, www.kutztownsbdc.org or www.sbacnetwork.org. $15 fee. Seating is limited. 6 p.m.-8:30 p.m. Tuesday, Mar. 4

FREE*  Orientation and Business Assessment Workshop presented by The Women's Business Development Center, 1315 Walnut St., Suite 1124; 215-790-9232 or www.womensbdc.org. Preregistration is required. 6-7:30 p.m.  Monday, March 10

How to Use Success Stories to Win More Business by Gerry Lantz, Stories That Work Inc., presented by Sales and Marketing Executives of Philadelphia. Plymouth Country Club, 846 Sandy St., Plymouth Meeting; 215-396-3310 or www.smeiphiladelphia.org. $25 first-time attendees. 7:30 a.m. Tuesday, Mar. 11

This public networking doesn't take the place of "warm" networking, but it can help to give a stalled career path new energy and connections.  Click here to assess your "Networking Quotient," a quiz developed by one of the emerging personal marketing/social networking guru's, Thom Singer. 

How can professionals and executives network authentically, without giving in to the "brand bandwagon" that it sometimes promoted in a manner that is "over the top."  Your comments and links to articles, books, etc. will be appreciated by this author and community of readers!

Go forth and network... Karen@CAN, LLC