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156 | Working with Recruiters – Christine Laird, Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce

Episode 156 is live! This week, we talk with Christine Laird in Oklahoma City, OK. Christine is the Manager of Talent and Business Growth at the Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce. Previously, she was a Senior Recruiter for Kelly Services where she was consistently recognized as a top performer both regionally and nationally.

On today’s episode, Christine shares:

  • The pros and cons of working with an external placement agency
  • How to effectively work with an external recruiter
  • How to handle salary challenges during the negotiation process
  • How to follow up with the recruiter, even if we don’t get a job

Listen and learn more! You can play the podcast here, or download it on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher.

To learn more about Christine, find her on LinkedIn. To learn more about the Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce, visit their website here.

Thanks to everyone for listening! And, thank you to those who sent me questions. You can send me your questions to Angela@CopelandCoaching.com. You can also send me questions via Twitter. I’m @CopelandCoach. And, on Facebook, I am Copeland Coaching.

Don’t forget to help me out. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts and leave me a review!

 

January Recap: Start your 2018 job search off right!

Happy February! Can you believe it – we are really into 2018. If you haven’t started on your 2018 job search, now is the time.

In celebration of starting off strong, I want to share my January recap with you. I had a number of wonderful opportunities to share tips on job searching throughout the month. Below you will find links to an article I wrote for Forbes about 2018 job search trends, a TV interview from Live @ 9 on WREG News Channel 3, four new episodes of the Copeland Coaching Podcast, and more!

If you haven’t already, please be sure to subscribe to the Copeland Coaching Podcast on Apple Podcasts. It makes the show easier for other job seekers to find.

And with that, I hope you enjoy these tips from January! Have a wonderful week!



Hunting for that perfect job

I had the opportunity to speak about 2018 employment trends on Live @ 9. Huge thank you to Marybeth Conley and Alex Coleman for bringing me back again to talk about what you can do to prepare for your 2018 job search.

If you missed the segment, you can click here to watch the entire thing, and get all the tips.

 



What to Expect If You’re Hiring or Looking for Work in 2018

I had the opportunity to write another piece for Forbes this month about what job searchers can expect this year.

Last year was an exciting time to find a new job. Despite natural disasters and political changes, the U.S. added over 1.9 million new jobs. This year stands to be another year of change.

Wouldn’t it be great to know just what we can expect in 2018? Glassdoor.com has released a study to help predict the days ahead. Spearheaded by Glassdoor Chief Economist Dr. Andrew Chamberlain, the study points out the next big disrupters in jobs and hiring.

To learn about all of the 2018 job search trends, and what you should do, check out the entire Forbes piece here.


Copeland Coaching Podcast

I had the honor of interviewing four great guests this month for the Copeland Coaching Podcast. You can check out all of the episodes on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. If you haven’t already, please also be sure to subscribe to the Copeland Coaching Podcast in Apple Podcasts. It makes the show easier for others to find it.

Joe Navaro, Author & Body Language Expert – Joe is an international bestselling author and body language expert. He spent 25 years at the FBI, working as both an agent and supervisor in the areas of counterintelligence and counter terrorism. We talk about non-verbal communication and how to improve your body language during job interviews.

Mark Sanborn, Author of Potential Principle – Mark is an international inspirational keynote speaker and author of seven best-selling books that have topped the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today. We talk about escalating your performance at work, and how to be identified for internal promotions.

Amy Wrzesniewski, Professor at Yale University – Amy is a professor of organizational behavior at the School of Management at Yale University. Her research interests focus on how people make meaning of their work in difficult contexts, including stigmatized occupations, virtual work, and the absence of work. We talk about the tie between purpose and meaning of work, and how closely our career is tied to our identity.

Isaac Lake, Career Rebranding – Isaac is a Manager of Brand Performance Support at Hilton. Previously, Isaac worked at the University of Memphis where he was the Manager of Facilities and Programs at the University Center. We talk about the biggest difference in working in corporate and in education – and tips on how you can make a major career shift.


To Market

I joined Dr. Scott Davis on his podcast, To Market. Scott is a professor at the University of Houston. We talked about how to manage your job search, and how to keep the entire process a secret. We also talked about how to negotiate and when to look for your next gig after business school.

Check out the entire episode on Apple Podcasts here.



15 Best Ways To Build A Company Culture That Thrives

I’m thrilled to be included in this piece on Forbes. It may come as no surprise to you that my tip for creating a culture that thrives is to create a respectful workplace.

In 2018, one of the most important parts of building company culture is related to creating a workplace that is respectful. In light of so many corporate problems in 2017, we need to work together to treat others with the same level of respect that we want to be treated with — even when that person is different than us or may have different personal values than we do.

Check out all 15 of the tips for building a great company culture on the Forbes website.


The Emotionally Intelligent Recruiter

I spoke to Caroline Stokes on her podcast, The Emotionally Intelligent Recruiter. Caroline is the Founder of her firm at FORWARD Executive Search & Executive Coaching. We break down the many ways that candidates face emotional challenges when job hunting. We also talk about ways that recruiters and HR representatives can mitigate some of the emotional tolls.

Check out the entire episode on the Emotionally Intelligent Recruiter website.


The Ultimate Layoff Survival Guide

If you’ve been recently laid off, check out this piece by Magnify Money. It gives great tips for the first things you should do if you’ve been let go. Here’s my tip:

Exit your current job with grace. Anything you can do to leave on a good note is a good idea. Thank you notes and goodbye lunches all help to give positive closure.

To check out all the tips, visit the Magnify Money website here.


Dear Hiring Managers: These 10 behaviors are scaring off your interviewees

Notice a theme this month? It’s all about creating a culture of respect. Ivy Exec included me in their piece on how to be better hiring managers. Here’s my tip:

When the hiring manager shows signs of being unreliable or inconsistent, the job seeker notices — and it does factor into their decision whether or not to accept a job offer. The hiring manager should treat the candidate the way they would also want to be treated. Be on time. Be prepared. Provide feedback to the candidate in the timeline promised. Treat the candidate with respect.

Check out all the tips on the Ivy Exec website.


I hope these tips have helped you. Visit CopelandCoaching.com to find more tips to improve your job search. If I can be of assistance to you, don’t hesitate to reach out to me here.

Visit CopelandCoaching.com to find more tips to improve your job search. If I can be of assistance to you, don’t hesitate to reach out to me here.

Also, be sure to subscribe to my Copeland Coaching Podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher where I discuss career advice every Tuesday! If you’ve already heard the podcast and enjoy it, please consider leaving a review in Apple Podcasts or Stitcher.

Happy hunting!

Angela Copeland
@CopelandCoach

 

People Hire People

If you’re looking for a job, there’s a good chance you’re applying online. And, chances are good that applying online is your go to option. It makes sense. The last time you reached out to a HR person at a job fair or on LinkedIn (or anywhere else), they said, “Apply online. If you’re a good fit, we’ll call you!” They may even have said, “Don’t reach out to us. We review every application carefully.”

Don’t be fooled. In most cases, they’re giving you the company line. They’re telling you the official rules of the game. But, this is the thing: people hire people. Yes, you heard me right. People hire people.

Most hiring managers do not post a new job and then think, “I sure hope our company website lands me a great hire this time!”

Most hiring managers post their jobs to the company website because they have to. It may even be automated. When they got the approval to hire someone, the powers that be took a copy of the job description and uploaded it into a system somewhere – and bam, it showed up on the company website.

When a hiring manager gets approval to hire someone, this is what they typically think. “Hmm… do I know anyone who might be able to do this job? Or… I wonder if I know anyone who knows anyone.”

This process makes sense if you think about it. When’s the last time you found a new doctor solely from the internet? You probably asked friends for a recommendation. Iif you couldn’t find a recommendation, you may have looked at reviews online. But, chances are good you asked around first. It works the same way with hiring.

Does this mean you shouldn’t apply online? No. Apply online. But, then think of how you can meet the real life people who will be making this important hiring decision.

If you go the route of applying online only, it may take you hundreds of applications to land an interview. I hear from people every day who have applied to 100 or more jobs online, only to receive very few callbacks.

If you’re the exception to this rule, awesome. There are exceptions. For example, you may have a skillset that’s rare where you live. Or, maybe you do something that’s incredibly specialized. I have a friend who is an Abinitio developer. Ever heard of it? Me either. And because this friend has such a specific (and rare) skillset, he could probably apply online and get a call back. But, most jobs aren’t like that.

Go old school with your job search to find success. Find the hiring manager and get your resume to them – via a friend, email, or US Mail. The internet is amazing for research. Never have we had so much data about companies at our fingers. But at the end of the day, people hire people.

Angela Copeland, a career coach and founder of Copeland Coaching, can be reached at copelandcoaching.com.

Apply Test & Learn to Your Job Search

As you already know, I started my career in the technology world. My undergraduate degree is computer and systems engineering, with a concentration in manufacturing. It’s like a combination of computer programming and electrical engineering, with a little mechanical engineering for good measure.

A decent part of my career has been spent creating new things. Whether it’s a technology, a website, or a marketing strategy – I was working on some kind of new idea.

But, this is the thing. New ideas fail. They fail a lot. They’re risky.

So, how do you get technologists to take the risks that are needed in order to come up with new ideas?

There’s more than one answer to this question, but one practice is what’s known as “test and learn.” According to Wikipedia, the test and learn process is designed to answer three questions.

  1. What impact will the program have on key performance indicators if executed across the network or customer base?
  2. Will the program have a larger impact on some stores/customers than others?
  3. Which components of the idea are actually working?

In other words, try something. See if it works. If it doesn’t work, adjust it and try something else. A CEO of Capital One, Richard Fairbank, described the test and learn process as, “a marketing revolution that can be applied to many businesses.”

So, what if that ‘business’ were actually your ‘job search’? What if you could start a job search without knowing all the answers? Or, you could go for an interview at a company without knowing for sure if you would take a job offer, if it was given?

When it comes to job searching, there’s not just one way to do it. There’s not one perfect elevator pitch or one right resume format. Thinking there’s one right answer will leave you frustrated to say the least.

Take a little pressure off of yourself. You don’t have to get it right the first time, or every time. But, if you don’t try at all, you’ll definitely fail.

If you give something a shot and it doesn’t work the way you want it to, adjust your approach. Then, try again. And, adjust your approach again, and try again. This is a never ending process.

I truly believe a test and learn approach might free us a bit from the idea of failure. And, it would give us more time to focus on landing that next job.

I hope these tips have helped you. Visit CopelandCoaching.com to find more tips to improve your job search. If I can be of assistance to you, don’t hesitate to reach out to me here.

Visit CopelandCoaching.com to find more tips to improve your job search. If I can be of assistance to you, don’t hesitate to reach out to me here.

Also, be sure to subscribe to my Copeland Coaching Podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher where I discuss career advice every Tuesday! If you’ve already heard the podcast and enjoy it, please consider leaving a review in Apple Podcasts or Stitcher.

Happy hunting!

Angela Copeland
@CopelandCoach

 

The Myth of the Perfect Resume

I love resumes. They’re a very important part of your job search. They allow you to brand yourself. You can feature your past work experience. A resume allows you to highlight accomplishments, such as awards and education. It allows you to share who are you, and who you want to be in a future career.

But, if you had one hundred hours to use on your job search, how exactly would you divide up your time?

Many job seekers would devote ninety-five percent of their time to their resume. It makes sense, right? If your resume is perfect, then you ought to get a job faster. Because, job fit is determined by experience. And, experience is outlined in your resume, right?

Well, sort of. But, not exactly. In reality, many job offers are determined by other factors – like who you know. Look back at your own resume and think about how you got each job. If you landed every job by applying online with the perfect resume, you’re an exception to the rule. Most people find jobs through other people.

Does that mean resumes don’t matter? No, they’re important. But, it does mean that you should update your resume and then move on to other job search activities. For example, spend more time researching the companies you want to work for. Devote time to meeting new people and networking with people you already know.

One of my most successful friends has a six page resume. For years, I’ve had a burning desire to update it and shave it down to two pages. But, before I have ever been able to get my hands on that resume, the friend has already landed a new job. He has both unique skills and a strong network of contacts. Most likely, his resume is a complete afterthought. It’s a formality. After a company has decided to hire him, he submits the resume to complete the hiring process. It’s simply a checkbox.

What’s the lesson in this? Is it that you should forget your resume completely? No. The resume remains an important part of your job search materials, along with your cover letter, your elevator pitch, and your LinkedIn.

But, your resume is not the ultimate destination. If you feel that your resume is high quality and you’re still not landing interviews, step back and look at the bigger picture. Take a look at your entire job search process. Aside from updating your resume, what else could you do?

Consider spending more time at networking events. Ask more friends to have coffee meetings with you. Connect to new people you want to know (but don’t yet know) on LinkedIn. Volunteer for nonprofit boards.

If you spend your time looking for ways to connect and to grow your professional network and your business skills, you will go much farther in your job search than if you stay behind your computer screen.

Angela Copeland, a career coach and founder of Copeland Coaching, can be reached at copelandcoaching.com.