Should You Coach Your Job Search References Absolutely!

Should You Coach Your Job Search References Absolutely! I got the following question from a JibberJobber user: I just talked to one of my references who has now talked to two different recruiters for me. I asked him if he was asked any stumper questions and he said that both recruiters asked the same question that he didnt have a good answer for: Name a time that XXXX saved money for a client. This would appear to be a standard question when asking about someone whos been a consultant and it never occurred to me to make sure my references had an answer to it. I asked my partners about this (since I didnt make it that far in my job search ;)), and Wendy Terwelp, of Knocks.com, responded: The recruiters may have been trained by Jeff Skretney or another superstar in the staffing industry who trains NATIONWIDE â€" and this is one of his typical questions he trains recruiters to ask during a reference check. To answer question, YES. Do coach your references. Provide each of your references with a copy of your resume, so they have a fresh reminder of your background. Give them three options to answer when asked the “money saving” question â€" be sure they know about the savings personally. For example, “Yes, I remember when Jason saved the client (or company) around $150,000 in shipping costs by using ground instead of air â€" per year! Our client was ecstatic and increased their orders with us by 10 percent.” or whatever is relevant to the job. By the way, achievements like these should be on the resume. I also think its a great idea to coach your references.   Youll likely call them anyway, to ask them if they will be a reference for you, right?   In that call you might consider two talking points: Coach them on your brand. They may have known you as Mary in Accounting, but you want to go into another related field.   Let them know this, and emphasize the aspects of your brand that will help with a reference check.   Isnt this also referred to as transferable skills? Coach them on specific questions that may be asked. The question above is one example I did a google search and came up with some other ideas: Susan Heathfield, Human Resources expert at About.com, wrote Job Search Tip: Prep Your References for a Reference Check, which as some excellent ideas.   Among some obvious questions that I would think of, here are some she suggests (you can get this from her Reference Checking Format worksheet for those who check references): How many reporting staff did the candidate manage? Their roles? Tell me about the candidate’s most important contributions to the achievement of your organization’s mission and goals. Describe the candidates productivity, commitment to quality and customer orientation. Best Job Interview.com has a great article on references in general, and then a list of questions here are more to consider: What was (candidates) reason for leaving your company? Can you tell me (candidates) salary at the time of leaving? How would you describe (candidates) punctuality? Could you rate (candidates) reliability? How would you describe (candidates) honesty and integrity? eHow has a brief article titled How to Ask a Job Reference Questions, Best Job Today has a few more questions to consider in their article Interviewee Reference Questions, and Ellen Heffernan of SJG-The Spelman and Johnson Group has an awesome article, Your References: An Important Part of the Job Search Process. My biggest question is, with all of these potential questions, how in the world do you coach your reference?   Do you prepare a cheatsheet for them, with questions and answers (not a bad idea), so they can refer back to talking points? Should You Coach Your Job Search References Absolutely! I got the following question from a JibberJobber user: I just talked to one of my references who has now talked to two different recruiters for me. I asked him if he was asked any stumper questions and he said that both recruiters asked the same question that he didnt have a good answer for: Name a time that XXXX saved money for a client. This would appear to be a standard question when asking about someone whos been a consultant and it never occurred to me to make sure my references had an answer to it. I asked my partners about this (since I didnt make it that far in my job search ;)), and Wendy Terwelp, of Knocks.com, responded: The recruiters may have been trained by Jeff Skretney or another superstar in the staffing industry who trains NATIONWIDE â€" and this is one of his typical questions he trains recruiters to ask during a reference check. To answer question, YES. Do coach your references. Provide each of your references with a copy of your resume, so they have a fresh reminder of your background. Give them three options to answer when asked the “money saving” question â€" be sure they know about the savings personally. For example, “Yes, I remember when Jason saved the client (or company) around $150,000 in shipping costs by using ground instead of air â€" per year! Our client was ecstatic and increased their orders with us by 10 percent.” or whatever is relevant to the job. By the way, achievements like these should be on the resume. I also think its a great idea to coach your references.   Youll likely call them anyway, to ask them if they will be a reference for you, right?   In that call you might consider two talking points: Coach them on your brand. They may have known you as Mary in Accounting, but you want to go into another related field.   Let them know this, and emphasize the aspects of your brand that will help with a reference check.   Isnt this also referred to as transferable skills? Coach them on specific questions that may be asked. The question above is one example I did a google search and came up with some other ideas: Susan Heathfield, Human Resources expert at About.com, wrote Job Search Tip: Prep Your References for a Reference Check, which as some excellent ideas.   Among some obvious questions that I would think of, here are some she suggests (you can get this from her Reference Checking Format worksheet for those who check references): How many reporting staff did the candidate manage? Their roles? Tell me about the candidate’s most important contributions to the achievement of your organization’s mission and goals. Describe the candidates productivity, commitment to quality and customer orientation. Best Job Interview.com has a great article on references in general, and then a list of questions here are more to consider: What was (candidates) reason for leaving your company? Can you tell me (candidates) salary at the time of leaving? How would you describe (candidates) punctuality? Could you rate (candidates) reliability? How would you describe (candidates) honesty and integrity? eHow has a brief article titled How to Ask a Job Reference Questions, Best Job Today has a few more questions to consider in their article Interviewee Reference Questions, and Ellen Heffernan of SJG-The Spelman and Johnson Group has an awesome article, Your References: An Important Part of the Job Search Process. My biggest question is, with all of these potential questions, how in the world do you coach your reference?   Do you prepare a cheatsheet for them, with questions and answers (not a bad idea), so they can refer back to talking points?

Personal Branding Weekly - Sunday, March 31st - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Personal Branding Weekly - Sunday, March 31st - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Joyful greetings to you! No matter what holiday you are celebrating, we are grateful and thankful for your readership and hope that youre enjoying a day focused on family and fun. This week here are the great posts that might have slipped by you with the shortened work week, school week or even spring break. 5 Things You Control In How Google Brands You by Deborah Shane Face to Face Personal Branding by Phil Rosenberg Would They Like to Work With You? by Henrieta Riesco Raises: When is the Right Time to Ask? by Nance Rosen Your Leadership Stinks: 10 Tips for Leadership Branding by Heather Huhman To Sell or Not to Sell Why? by Elinor Stutz How to Tone Down Your Resume for Better Results by Glassdoor.com Entrepreneurs that Utilize Their Online Reputation to Get Customers by Jun Loayza OK, You Can Talk, But Can You Also LISTEN?! by Skip Freeman The Key to Your Organizations Successful Future by Aaron McDaniel Improving Your Speaking Skills the TM Way by Jeff Shuey Future of Work: 4 Steps to Take Right Now by Manoush Zomorodi Debunking Personal Brand Cultural Myths: Part 2 by Peter Sterlacci Improve Your Reputation at Work: Meet Your Deadlines! by Beth Kuhel How to Ruin Your Reputation in Human Resources by Michael Spinale Using Myers-Briggs Temperaments to Help with Hiring and Selling by Erik Deckers How to be Incredibly Productive Every Day (Part 3) by Pete Leibman This next week, we look forward to Peter delving further into debunking cultural myths; Heather giving us great tips to turn up the volume of our brand; Henrieta posing a though provoking question to us about our past and our future; Elinor sharing with us valuable insights in turning road blocks into sales and Roger giving us a practical how to in auditing our personal brand building. And, heres your Bootstrapping Buzz 2-Minute Audio Tip for this week Becoming Faster and Better at Developing Your Network Plus, theres so much more this week. We look forward to your feedback and comments. Author: Maria Elena Duron, is managing editor of the Personal Branding Blog, CEO (chief engagement officer) of  buzz2bucksâ€"  a word of mouth marketing firm, and a professional speaker and trainer on developing social networks that work. She provides workshops, webinars, seminars and direct services that help create conversation, connection, credibility, community and commerce around your brand.   Maria Duron is founder  and moderator of  #brandchat   a weekly Twitter chat focused on every aspect of  branding  that is recognized by Mashable as one the 15 Essential Twitter Chats for Social Media Marketers.

7 Things to Consider Before Accepting a Job Offer

7 Things to Consider Before Accepting a Job Offer You will have done really well to have received a job offer in this day and age, pat yourself on the back and enjoy the fact that the ball is now in your court. As great as you feel right now, dont rush in to any emotional decision. My advice is to stay level headed and allow for careful deliberation, especially if you’re sitting pretty at the moment. Give yourself a few nights of good sleep for the old noodle to mull over the pros and cons: 1) Does the offer add up? Ensure everything in the documents adds up to what you were offered verbally already. Details to look out for are title, department, location, reporting line, work hours, vacation entitlement, salary, benefits, start date and more. Clarify any discrepancies with the HR representative sooner rather than later. I have seen candidates rejecting job offers solely due to the written offer containing wrong information; this is obviously not a great first impression for any candidate. 2) Is the remuneration fair? How does it benchmark against your peers and your industry? Make sure you are happy with the pay now and find out when the next pay review will be for you, and how realistic it will be to get an increase at that point. The package you start with has to keep you happy until the next pay hike. 3) Is the location going to work for you? By this I mean both the office layout as well as the physical location of the office. Some people can’t stand an open office landscape, others thrive. Some of us love an hour’s commute in the morning as it gives them some quality alone time. Others think a minute commuting is a minute wasted. You need to visualize what it will be like to travel there and back, day out and day in. RELATED:  Is Your  Office  Good for Your Health? 4) Will you like the people? Does your new team and boss seem like a happy bunch that will welcome you or will they leave you to your own devices? Is the corporate culture in line with your own values and ideas? If you connect with people, they are likely to have the same feeling for you and they will naturally support you. 5) Do you understand exactly what you will be doing in your new job? Your work load must be realistic and worth the compensation you get for it. Make sure you understand exactly what the company thinks they will get from you. If you don’t fully know, request a document outlining your tasks and their expectations on you. This will serve as a yardstick against which you can measure your progress in the role (you know your boss will be doing the same). Furthermore, a detailed job specification will help you with future salary reviews as well as prevent your new employer from giving you random tasks that have nothing to do with the job you accepted. 6) What are the career prospects? Will you be performing this role for the next five years or are you expected to move up a rung on the ladder every year? You may or may not want to move up beyond this position, whatever your plan is you will want to make sure the company has the same plan and that they know of your intentions. If your desire is to be promoted, ask for examples (call it case studies to impress) of other employees that started out in your role and got bumped up. 7) How does it all compare to your current job? Assuming you do have a job at the moment, what are the odds of you being  promoted if you stay? Could you get more money or a home office if you asked  your boss? Conclusion: Review your offer against the points provided in this text and write down the pros and cons. Always think on paper when making a big decision like this. Take your time to picture yourself doing this job every day for the next years. What gut feeling does that leave you with? Whatever it may be this is your answer to that job offer. Please tell me now Did you take the job or not? RELATED:  Top 10 Things To Do Before You Change Jobs or Career

Candidate Testing Cultural Fit is the Key, But How Do You Get it Right

Candidate Testing Cultural Fit is the Key, But How Do You Get it Right Personality profiling and psychometric tests are becoming an increasingly popular part of the recruitment process, with over 70% of large UK organisations regularly using assessment tools to interview for new recruits. At Pure, we utilise psychometric profiling where appropriate on behalf of our clients to ensure highest level of candidate fit on each placement. Such tools are extremely valuable and are an additional source of information for today’s recruitment market. The profiling techniques help employers to establish the behavioural preferences, leadership styles and motivation of each candidate. Although often dreaded by candidates, they are beneficial to those applying for the role as well. However much relevant experience and skills a candidate has, if their working styles and values do not ‘fit’ with the organisation it could be incredibly hard for them to settle in and to feel fulfilled and engaged in the role. However personality and behavioural assessment tools should only ever be considered as just one aspect of the recruitment process and not in isolation. They work as an extension to competency based interview practices and should never be used as the final decision making tool. But they do bring the following benefits when creating a robust selection process.  So how do Pure get the best from Psychometric testing? 1. Additional selection criteria Compared to factors such as education and experience, the behavioural traits and the personality of a candidate can be much more difficult to assess during an interview. So including personality profiling as part of your recruitment process will provide you with additional, objective information, to help you identify the most suitable candidates. However, it’s important to understand from the outset exactly why you are assessing the candidates, and that the traits you are looking for are aligned with the job description, requirements of the role and the organisation’s culture, values and the other member of the team. 2. Interview planning Profiling tools can also be useful when you are preparing your questions ahead of candidate interviews. Have a look through the results to see if there are any additional questions you’d like to ask or areas you’d like to cover. For example, if you are looking for an assertive character, and the candidate’s results suggest they are more inclined to adopt a passive stance, you may want to ask for examples of how they have previously handled difficult situations or worked to resolve conflict. It’s important to remember that people’s preferred behavioural traits in their personal life don’t always match the traits they show in their working life. To some degree people are able to adapt their stance to fit with the role they are in. Psychometric profiling shows a preference to a certain behaviour only. 3.  Aligning culture and values However thoroughly an interview process is conducted, it can still be difficult to assess how someone will really fit within an organisation’s culture. Personality profiling can help to assess someone’s own values and identify how these will fit with the culture you’ve created, or are working to implement. It’s important to consider the impact on culture when you are recruiting, especially if you are appointing at a senior level. An organisation’s culture and values should flow from the top level down, so the overall values need to be shared and supported by those working at an executive level. It is therefore useful for other members of the team to complete a profile beforehand. 4.  Fitting in with the team There are many different types of assessment tests available, but generally they’ll be used to measure how candidates differ in their motivation, values, priorities and opinions. This will help you to understand how they are likely to respond to different tasks and situations. In terms of personality, the tests can give an indication of the working style favoured by a candidate. This can really help you to understand how they will interact with their fellow workers. It can be especially useful if you’ve already used some form of profiling tool with your existing employees to understand what motivates them and their working styles. If you already have this information, you can see how potential candidates could fit and strengthen your existing team. 5. Planning ahead The additional knowledge provided through these assessments can also help you to plan ahead. In the short term they can help you to plan an effective induction process, based on the candidate’s behavioural preferences, and to decide on their initial objectives and identify any training which may be required. The results of these profile tests also identify people’s potential, as well as the experience and skills they have already developed to date. This information can help you to identify potential progression opportunities from the outset, helping you to build and develop top talent within your organisation.

8 Fatal Resume Mistakes to Avoid

8 Fatal Resume Mistakes to Avoid When you create your resume, it is important to set aside enough time to do it properly. Many people tend to make the same mistakes over and over again. It is time for us all to learn from the resume mistakes of the past and get it right.Your resume should be a summary of all the great things you did and hope to achieve. The message you communicate through your resume should set you apart from the rest. Focus on your knowledge and experience linked to the position you are applying for.evalLet us have a look at some common yet repeated mistakes made by applicants.1. Spelling errors and grammar mistakesWe all do it. Spelling errors might be a little easier to correct but you would be surprised how many grammar mistakes one picks up. It is astonishing to me that even people in high powered positions still make these mistakes.2. Having a generic resumeThis is a big challenge for employers. You cannot just create one resume and send it to anyone and everyone advertising a post.Make sure e very resume you send out had been specifically adjusted to the specific application.3. Failing to include a Cover LetterYour resume is basically a point by point document confirming your achievements and capabilities. Your cover letter is part of the format of the resume. Do not send your application in without a cover letter.4. No structureDoes your resume have a flow or is it just a bunch of random facts thrown together? Structure to your resume is very important. If it does not have structure, it could tell the employee that you are a poor planner.5. Irrelevant job informationWe’ve all seen it; the resume that goes back till 1981 when you were a caretaker of your neighbor’s mom. The position you are applying for is that of an accountant. The two could not be any less related.evalMake sure you focus on the posts and positions which allows you to showcase your talent and experience.6. Artsy affairDo not print your resume on bright pink paper. Please, trust me on this one. You w ill not impress a serious employer with stickers, heart and glitter.Make sure your resume screams professional, put together and capable person. This is a presentation of who you are so be careful of the message you send out.7. The big L â€" Lying on your ResumeThis is a big one and it happens more than we know. Lying on your resume about some experience and knowledge you don’t have is just going to haunt you. Remember, if you say you can do something, you will probably be put to the test. It is going to be brutal when you fail at something you said you are a pro at. Now is that embarrassing moment really worth the lie?8. Difficult to readevalYour resume is not a love letter or an essay. If you are going to write long paragraphs that bores the employer, it will probably be a fail. Instead, create /edit your resumes in point form.Have proper headings for each section and make sure they flow into each other. Do not leave too many open gaps where you leave the employer wondering abou t why you did not include 2009. If done point form, it is very easy to do a two page resume with about 10 years of information on there. Learn to summarize.Avoid these resume mistakes and get it right the first time. We all make small errors that can cause us a really big opportunity.Pay attention to what you are doing and make sure you get it right every time.

Assessing the Risks of Your Next Job

Assessing the Risks of Your Next Job 0 Flares 0 Flares Did you know that working can be risky business? In 2012, there were 3 million non-fatal workplace injuries in the private sector requiring at least one day off of work. The following year, there were over 4,400 workplace fatalities. It is enough to cause one to think twice about the risks involved in taking a job. At least, it should be. Some lines of work are inherently more hazardous than others. If you work at a nuclear plant, and are the one assigned to investigate a mysterious leak, your job is more dangerous than an office worker in a cubical. Likewise, a construction worker takes on more risk than an accountant. Here is how to make risk assessment a part of your future job searches: Ask About the Safety Quotient Safety Quotient is a term representing the risk assessment process used to make the workplace safer. A company using this type of system to pre-hire, develop current employees, and track data obviously knows they are higher risk than most. While their interest is making sure you have the proper tools and training to be safe on the job, there is no reason that during the interview, you cannot ask them about their own safety quotient. It can be instructive to know precisely how injury-prone a company is before you sign on. The assessment works both ways. They need to know if you have the right mix of skills and personality to be safe in a hazardous environment. You need to know if they have the commitment and best practices in place to ensure the health and safety of their workforce. If accidents are routine at a company into which your are inquiring, you need to make that a part of your judgement about taking that particular job. Do Your Own Safety Inspection Before signing on the dotted line, do your own informal safety inspection. When you are getting a tour of the plant, take note of any safety violations you happen to see. Get a feel for how lax the company might be about day to day practices. All companies preach safety in the handbook. But that does not always translate to activity in the field. Even if you are the most careful person in the world, it will make little difference if your supervisors and coworkers do not take safety as seriously as you do. It is a little like driving on the freeway. Doing everything perfectly offers little protection against a drunk driver plowing an uncertain path at 90 miles per hour. In a hazardous work environment, safety is as much about the people who have your back. Insist on Compliance Once you have accepted the job, do not allow your diligence to lapse. No one wants to be considered the troublemaker, especially the new guy. But matters of safety rise above office compliance in every industry. A new-hire at the Walmart deli has just as much right to a proper slip-free mat to stand on as a construction worker has to a hardhat. Allowing the little things to slip establishes a pattern of your compliance to the company’s non-compliance. Fearing reprisal from the boss is a poor reason to let safety infractions go unreported. The second worst thing that could happen is that you lose your job unfairly. The worst thing is that you keep the job and wind up as an injury statistic, or worse. There is always another job. There is only one you.

Babysitting Resume - The Important Information That You Should Include

Babysitting Resume - The Important Information That You Should IncludeWhen writing a babysitting resume, one of the most important parts of your resume is the family names. What's a name to the parents and kids? They're very important for identifying them in the future. The other important aspect of a resume is the contact information.This can vary depending on where you're applying, however the most common way to contact the employer is through a phone call or email. If you're applying in person, you can be sure to ask about that when applying for jobs. Other things to include in your call include: previous work experience, proof of insurance, driver's license, and if you have any special skills you can provide that will add to the babysitting experience.One thing you may not consider when writing a babysitting resume is to include the parents names. If you include it in the cover letter, you're likely to find out some of their first names or middle names. This can also be considere d as a positive in the job search because it can provide some needed character references. There's nothing worse than getting negative reviews or bad words about the job, especially if they're from people you trust.Another thing you can include in your letter of introduction is some form of contact information like an accurate phone numbers, Facebook or Twitter, or any type of websites they might use to give the public what they want to see. With the new 'parental watch' that many parents are starting to enjoy, they can provide a certain level of security to their children.This gives the prospective employer that extra degree of security that is required in today's society. With how much the economy is going down, there is no need for employers to be messing around with the security aspect of the job.When writing babysitting resumes, you need to keep in mind the fact that your application will be out there and the prospective employer will see it at some point. Keep your resume as s hort as possible, but be sure to include all the essential information and include a 'cover letter'.Proof of insurance is a great idea. Cover letters don't have to be lengthy, but they should be a simple statement that includes a quick letter of introduction. This can be an essential part of your job application.