subject: How to Approach a Job Search [print this page] Be 100% Focused on Your Goal Be 100% Focused on Your Goal
One of the main reasons job searches are either unsuccessful or frustratingly slow is that either you aren't sure what you want or you aren't treating it as a "do or die goal". What this means is simply that you need to have the perseverance and the will to refuse to accept not achieving your goal. In other words you have to be single-minded and goal focused. After all it is "your" job you are chasing after but you have to outlast the pack.
You are Your Product
Don't lose sight of the fact that you aren't begging for a job. You are marketing yourself. Dress appropriately, smile, answer and deflect questions, think on your feet, and handle yourself properly in your public appearances (interviews) right down to the handshake. This is critical. When applying for high paying, critical, and client-facing positions how you look is critical to moving along the decision process. Whether it is fair or not our first impressions are formed by how others see us. As a hiring manager for sales and marketing I start with the handshake. Dull, limp, lifeless and lacking in conviction is noticeable immediately.
Stand and Sit Correctly
Don't slump over. When you do this it can give the appearance of being tired, uncaring or disinterested, or even defeated.
Look at the Interviewer
It is particularly annoying to have someone look everywhere but at you when there are only two of you sitting in a room for an interview. Pay attention to the person interviewing you by making good eye contact.
Proper Body Language
Here is something that is reinforced in Toastmasters or any other quality communication course. It fine to use your hands but don't gesticulate so much that you distract the person you are speaking with. In interviews, the words you use are often viewed as related to your level of education and general aptitude. Whether you're applying for your first job or trying to break into the executive ranks, it may be your vocabulary and grammar that carries the day.
Why Vocabulary Matters
After initial interviews I begin qualifying potential candidates on their ability to communicate verbally. Forget the $50 dollar words and instead focus on proper grammar and vocabulary appropriate to the industry in which you are seeking employment.
As a Toastmaster I like the way grammar and vocabulary strengthening is handled in the regular Toastmaster meetings. We appoint a grammarian to count the filler words such as,"umm" and comment on grammar use. It seems to me that some of our current allegedly best political speakers need to address this problem!
Ted Corcoran, former president ofToastmasters International, says a person's vocabulary serves as an informal measure of that person's intelligence. "Certainly, the more educated (formal or informal) you are, the better constructed your sentence, the more descriptive the words you use, the less verbal crutches you use, like like', you know' and um,'" he says.
"People with a wide range of words can find the right word at the right time," Corcoran says. "And they can more succinctly make their arguments. There's nothing worse than people trying to explain something and not finding the words or the grammar to do it." Which is one reason most speeches at a Toastmaster meeting are 5-7 minutes in length.
This doesn't mean you should try to grandstand by using fancy words for the mere sake of demonstrating your intelligence. "Some people use highbrow, academic vocabulary words, where you have to almost build a sentence around the word," says Greg Ragland, cofounder ofExecutive Vocabulary. "Then a lot of people give you a blank stare when you use it, and you have to explain what it means. That's not going to get you anywhere. You can be called out really easily if you use a word you're not comfortable using. People will frankly ask what it is that you are attempting to say and you will have to be able to articulate an easily understandable answer. You need to be really comfortable using a word and feel comfortable other people will understand it."
Looking at our 2008 Presidential candidates, it is easy to see that every aspect of their personas, from Clinton's handshake to Obama's lapel pin to McCain's Straight Talk Express, is marketing. This includes how they dress, stand, shake hands, smile, answer and deflect questions, think on their feet, run campaign ads and handle public appearances. Likewise, envision yourself as a product you're marketing to the hiring manager. Ask family or friends to give you honestfeedback on your appearance, posture, verbal andnonverbal communication,resume, cover letters and any other aspect presented to a hiring manager. Make the appropriate changes, including verifying that your resume is effective in spinning your story as a results-oriented problem solver.
