Enjoy the Meaning of the Season

Lot’s of folks have taken temp jobs with retailers who have added staff for the Holiday shopping season. It’s much like the saying, “Strike while the fire is hot.” Or, “Make hay while the sun shines.”  A few of my clients tell me that they are really happy for the opportunity to work and get a paycheck. But... they expect that after Christmas their jobs will probably go away.

Yet, I have one client that knows the score and how these jobs come and go, however, she is working as though she is on a 6 to 8 week long interview. She’s “working her butt off” and doing everything she can to do to ingratiate herself on the managers. She looking for this to turn into a full-time gig. She knows that her chances are slim, but she also knows that stores often invite the best of the “Holiday Temps” to stay on.

She reminded me that it’s more than just working hard. I point out to job seekers that a hiring manager will often choose one candidate over the other folks because they like that person better and see them fitting better into their team. This is really true, so if you have a “temp job” this year, think of it as a very long interview where you can prove you value.

Still, just having a job, even a temp job, is like getting a Christmas present. Christmas presents under the tree will be a common site in most households. But the holidays aren’t only about the gifts. The holidays give us an opportunity to stop and think about our blessings.

It doesn’t matter if it is Christmas, Hanukkah or Kwanzaa that you’re celebrating, we need to step out of our everyday lives and experience the meaning of the Season. This is a gift that you can give yourself, regardless of the balance of your check book.

For this year, may you have a blessed holiday. May you wake up in the morning and find that you’ve received a special present under the tree. May you have a fire in your hearth that warms you and your heart. And may you know that you are special, loved and important to our community and the whole world.

Speak Slowly and Carry a Good Story

Sister played by Whoppi Goldberg 

In 5th grade, Sr. Mary Armond taught us about President Teddy Roosevelt and I remember learning about his foreign policy that was encapsulated in the quotation: "Speak softly and carry a big stick...” However, there was more to this quotation. He added, “...you will go far." 

This worked for Teddy and it can also work for someone who’s looking for a new job. For interviews, Teddy might have made a little tweak to his trademark phrase: “speak slowly and carry a good story, you will go far.” This is really an important consideration in communicating your value to an interviewer. If you have any kind of speech issue this is even more important. I have clients who were not born in this country and have an accent. When they talk to someone who isn’t used to their accent, they are hard to understand. Additionally, when we are nervous we have the tendency to speak faster than normal. Added to an accent, you could lose an opportunity that is a perfect fit because the interviewer doesn’t know what you’re saying. 

Slowing down is a technique I use when I deliver a presentation. I’ll slow down the pace of my speech when I come to a key point I want to impress on my audience. You can also do this in an interview. Having a well practiced and rehearsed set of stories will help you slow down your speech. I recommend using a S-A-R format. Delivering the key point of a story without a lot of extra talking is the best reason to tell stories this way. Situation (what was the problem you fixed), Action you took and Results that you obtained. This format also promotes conversation with the interviewer rather than you carrying on a monologue.  

A good story really needs a good ending more than it need a lot of detail. Think about how an interview works. Most people want to tell all the facts of what the problem or situation was and then move into lots of complicated actions they took. Often people will completely forget to state the end of the story and fail to relate the results.
 

Being too specific in telling a success story forces the listener to picture the exact situation you’re describing. But isn’t that want you want to do? Not really. You really want to tell a story in a way that gets the interviewer to see you doing the same thing for their company. If you leave out the detail, the interviewer will interject his or her own environment into your story. So leave out the name of the companies in your stories. Leave out names of proprietary tools, specific cities, total numbers of lines of code, color of people’s clothes or the name of the divisional VP. If you drop a name, they cannot picture themselves in the story.  

So speak slowly and carry a good story and you’ll be successful.

Be Prepared... Be Confident in the Interview

Check out this Blog from "The Wise Job Search" Blog.

Not being assertive in an interview or being a "milk-toast" in a meeting that could turn into a job lead is all too easy if you're not prepared and lack confidence in yourself. Face it you're selling a product, YOU! If you're not confident then, why should someone buy the product. 


People want to believe that they are getting the best deal and there is a lot of competition out there today. Be yourself and be prepared. That doesn't mean you need to get in someone's face during the interview, in fact, that would be even worse than having no confidence. Sell your product by sharing the benefits that you will bring with you after they hire you. Help them to see you doing the job by telling success stories that show your value. 


Harry Urschel's Blog is called, Being "Assertive" in Job Interviews. The word "Assertive" can be misleading however. Don't make the mistake of being aggressive in the interview or the mistake of attempting to take control from the interviewer. Both of these behaviors are 99% effective at killing your chances in the interview. Mr. Urschel offers a list of other things to avoid in an interview... I totally agree with his list.

Remember you are there and it's your time to connect and win the job offer. Like Goldilocks and the Three Bears... you cannot be too hot, too cold, but you need to be just right!


Review and practice telling your success stories every day. Then, review them right before the interview and you'll smile, endorphins will release in your body; calming and relaxing you, helping you to appear more confident.