How To Get Hired

How To Get Hired â€" Five Traits Of Winning Job Seekers (With Real-Life Examples) Why do some job seekers get hired for a task they love (and even get a number of presents along the way) whereas others do not? In my 10 years of teaching people on landing and thriving in their dream job, lots of of profession stories have handed by way of my radar, and there are lessons to be discovered from others’ successes and mistakes. Here are 5 traits that separate these job seekers who get employed from those that do not: Decisiveness A career changer with decades in a primary profession can get hired doing one thing new. Theresa was an extended-time finance govt who didn’t know exactly what her subsequent step was besides that it would not be finance. It could be nice if we could all be Tiger Woods, committed to golf nearly at delivery. For many job seekers, nevertheless, the definitive path just isn't so clear â€" you have multiple interests or you are unclear about where to focus. Theresa was additionally unclear however she was willing to experiment, determine on a s hortlist and then decide to her shortlist to the exclusion of every little thing else. One potential function on her shortlist (HR) really fell out of interest, but in committing to that first, she realized sufficient about herself and her pursuits that she was able to establish her precise target, training. Her career change into a Director role for a K-12 training organization took three months. On the flip facet, I’ve seen job seekers refuse to shut out any options and flit from result in lead, never figuring out enough about any of them to really determine if it’s for them or to place themselves ahead as a convincing candidate. You may change your mind, like Theresa did, but you should commit time, consideration, and assets to 1, two or at most three areas so as to get any traction in your search and finally get hired. Beginner’s thoughts To get hired, you usually need to tell a different, new story to the market. Amit had worked in Big Pharma but wished to move into biote ch begin-ups. His background, contacts and branding all screamed Big Pharma, so he wanted to do something different. He penned a visitor blog for a niche biotech publication. He appeared on a healthcare panel at his alma mater. He proactively reached out to investors, entrepreneurs and others within the start-up group even though he had a prepared community with corporate executives and retained search recruiters. These actions put this established skilled in new, arguably beginner’s territory, however he embraced the need to do issues in a different way so he can be seen differently, get observed by different people, and finally get employed in a special function. His transition additionally took about three months. On the flip aspect, I’ve seen job seekers inflexibly resist the “grunt work” of re-establishing themselves in another business or with another group of individuals. They stay uncomfortable with beginning again and subsequently stay in the same place with the ide ntical individuals. That’s fine when you’re not seeking to get hired for something different and should you’re keen to danger getting too insular in what and who you realize. For everyone else, stay versatile and embrace the beginner’s thoughts. Be keen to alter, even rebrand, where wanted. Willingness to course-appropriate Winning job seekers don’t all the time get employed with their initial job search strategy. Ed had an attractive background â€" prime faculties, brand name employers, sturdy references â€" and an energetic network. He had no issues getting conferences the place he had partaking conversations about new improvements, advanced enterprise problems, and different sexy subjects from his subject. However, the conferences didn’t result in interviews or presents, so after months of very interesting meetings however no luck to get employed, Ed stopped what he was doing, retargeted his networking to extra senior individuals than he had initially called on (cold- calling the place necessary), reframed the discussions to focus on issues he could possibly be employed for, and landed in a bidding struggle between two top media companies. Five years later, he’s in an even more senior function at the firm he joined. On the flip aspect, I’ve seen job seekers who believe their expertise and previous successes on the job imply they may easily get hired for their new job target, and they resist or outright refuse to vary their advertising, networking or interviewing method even when issues are clearly not working. Their nice background and existing contacts get them some leads, possibly even some interviews, however they still don’t get hired. If what you’re doing isn’t working, you’re still proficient, however clearly you have to change course in your job search. Be prepared to confess something’s not working and alter it. Discipline To get employed you may need to course-correct your habits, not just your strategy. Rashmi was altering industries (healthcare to PR) and altering roles (marketing consultant to in-house), and like Ed, she was getting conferences but no luck to get employed. In her case, she was getting to the right folks, so her networking technique was fantastic, but her interviewing wanted enchancment. Her broad-based background usually meant she got sidetracked into discussing too many sides of her profession or buried in too many details. Instead, she wanted to construction a brand new “Tell me about your self” story and a finite list of key examples that showcased the specific worth points she needed to share, after which persist with the script. To Rashmi’s credit score, she was open to considering a unique way and had the self-discipline to practice the new interviewing type and construct this into her subsequent meetings. She landed an in-home position at a top PR/ communications agency. On the flip facet, I’ve seen job seekers who get suggestions, nod in agreement, but don’t have the discipline and comply with-by way of to vary their technique or method. Eventually their leads dry up, and they now have to fret about drumming up new leads, plus correcting no matter points triggered them to not get employed on these early alternatives. If your leads are going nowhere, get suggestions and alter your tactics accordingly. This takes self-discipline because no matter you have been doing earlier than could be an ingrained habit, but if you don’t change what’s not working, you gained’t change your outcomes for the better â€" i.e., you gained’t get employed. Persistence To get employed, you have to persist past the frustration and rejection. Caroline was a recent MBA in advertising and had strong marketing experience pre-MBA however had graduated throughout a gradual market. She received lots of meetings and interviews and shut calls, even strong suggestions (we’d actually prefer to have you on board!) however no presents. Caroline was already exhibiting th e other 4 traits â€" she was committed to advertising and recognized a shortlist of industries so she could construct a convincing case. She was versatile, open to refining her plan of action and disciplined in her comply with via â€" we met virtually weekly during her job search. We decided her method was good, and she just wanted to do more of it, so she diligently stayed the course, and her persistence landed her in a advertising role for a high monetary establishment after virtually a 12 months. On the flip aspect, I’ve seen job seekers who give up too easily on an trade or practical space, switching gears in an effort to get hired. But this entails having to study a complete new set of rivals and business problems and contacts. You wish to make certain your goal area is big enough that there might be opportunities (e.g., if you want to work with an oil properly however you additionally only wish to work in NYC, that’s not a large enough target!). However, if your market is numerous sufficient, you must be willing to spend the time to cover it and persist via the inevitable ups and downs a search. Are you persistent? Are you disciplined sufficient to include new methods? Are you open to even hearing you have to do one thing new? Are you open to feeling like a newbie again? Are you decisive sufficient to commit? If 2017 is the year you’re on the lookout for a new job, adopt the traits that may get you from job seeker to new hire. A model of this post initially appeared in my Leadership column on Forbes.com. Our FREE job search mini-course is out there now! Register HERE to get the course delivered proper to your inbox.