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Make your next interview a success with these three things

by | Jun 21, 2017 | Advice, Career Corner Column, Job Interview, Job Search, Negotiating, Rejection, Research

Interviewing is hard work. If you’re currently looking for something new, you know that finding a job is a job. From preparing your favorite suit to revising your resume to networking and rounds of interviews – there are times it feels like it will never end. It can be tough to keep your head above water with your existing role while you’re balancing your life and your job search. To ensure you’re making the most out of every interview, do these three things.

Research. The best part about job searching in the age of the internet is transparency. This is something that has never existed in the same way in the past. Take advantage of it. Use websites like Glassdoor, Salary.com, and Indeed to find out how much companies are paying. Look up company reviews to find out what employees think of their workplace. Read through the common interview questions for the company you’re interested in. Search on Google and the company website to learn what new changes the company has recently undergone. And, use LinkedIn to learn more about the hiring manager– or better yet, use it to find the hiring manager’s name. The internet is an invaluable tool to job seekers.

Customize your application materials. If you’ve been working to crank out a high volume of applications every day, it’s something you may not have thought of. The more you target your application materials to the company (and the particular job), the more you increase the likelihood a company will be interested in you. And, it’s not hard to do. Start with your resume. Read the job description closely and ensure you’re highlighting the skills the employer is looking for. Customize your objective statement to include both the job title and the company name. Use a similar approach with your cover letter. Specifically mention the job title and company name — and ensure you explain why you’re a perfect fit for this particular role.

Don’t take it personally. Unfortunately, you’re not going to get every job you interview for. The higher you climb the ladder and the more specialized your skills are, the truer this becomes. Just because you weren’t hired doesn’t mean the hiring manager doesn’t like you. There are a number of reasons you might have been overlooked that have nothing to do with your skills. For example, an internal candidate may have been preselected. The job may have been put on hold. The hiring manager may have left the company. None of these reasons are about you.

When you’re rejected, you can either choose to walk away unhappy. Or you can choose to build a relationship with the company. Very often, when you first interview with a company, they’re just getting to know you. If you stay in touch, you will increase your odds of being hired the next time they’re looking for someone with your skillset.

Doing your research, customizing your application, and moving through rejection are three keys to making your job search a success.

Angela Copeland is a Career Coach and Founder of Copeland Coaching and can be reached at CopelandCoaching.com or on Twitter at @CopelandCoach.

136 | Indeed Interactive – Paul Wolfe, Austin, TX

by | Jun 13, 2017 | Advice, Benefits, Job Interview, Job Search, Podcast, Remote Work From Home, Vacation

Episode 136 is live! This week, we talk with Paul Wolfe in Austin, TX.

Paul is the Senior Vice President of Human Resources at Indeed.com. He oversees all global human resource functions, including talent acquisition, employee retention, compensation, benefits, and employee development. Paul has over 15 years of experience as a human resources executive having served as a VP and SVP at number of well-known companies, including Match.com, Orbitz, Conde Nast and Ticketmaster.

On today’s episode, Paul shares what benefits employees want, including unlimited paid time off, loan assistance, and increased parental leave.

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

To learn more about Paul or Indeed, visit the Indeed website at www.indeed.com.

Thanks to everyone for listening! And, thank you to those who sent me questions. You can send 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!

The scoop about my trip to Indeed.com

by | Jun 12, 2017 | Indeed.com, Job Application, Job Interview, Job Posting, Job Search, Newsletter

You may have noticed on my social media. I took a trip to Austin, Texas in May. But, it wasn’t any ordinary trip. Indeed.com invited me to come as a member of the press to their annual Indeed Interactive conference.

As far as conferences go, this one was awesome for me. It was like a job nerd’s dream. I had the opportunity to interview Paul Wolfe, the SVP of HR at Indeed for my podcast and for my Career Corner newspaper column. Indeed employees presented on all sorts of job search related topics, including the economics of hiring and what job seekers are looking for in a new job. They brought in outside speakers too, including my very favorite author, Malcom Gladwell. If you wondered what was going on with my crazy Twitter feed, this was it!

I will be releasing my entire interview with Paul Wolfe soon, and you should check out my Career Corner Column about him this Wednesday. We talked about everything from employee benefits to why employers “ghost” employees during the job search to the supply and demand of job seekers (and how it can impact your search).

Here’s me with Paul.

I can’t possibly include all the excitement in one newsletter, but I do want to share a few facts and photos from my trip.

First, did you know that career decisions are one of the most stressful life decisions? Of course you did! But, here’s a slide with the data to back up that feeling. Dismissal from work is rated as more stressful than foreclosure on your home!

And, here are some of the top (stressful) issues reported by job seekers.
#1 – Waiting to hear back from the prospective employer.
#2 – Finding the right jobs I want to apply to.
#3 – Circumstances that triggered the initial decision to begin my job search
Can you relate? Of course you can! The job search process can be very, very frustrating.

Speaking of #3 above (“Circumstances that triggered the initial decision to begin my job search”), Indeed found that people often start looking for a new job after a trigger event. For example, you were thinking of maybe, possibly one day getting a new job. Then, your boss acted like a real jerk and yelled at you for no reason. Suddenly, one day just became today. Your job search has started – now.

The conference was geared toward the Human Resources departments at companies across the U.S. It makes me excited to think that HR teams were exposed to so much great information about the factors impacting the job seeker, and the job seeker’s perspective. Here’s one last photo. This is Malcom Gladwell explaining what it is that we (as hiring managers) are getting all wrong about the job search process — and what we can do to make it a little more fair for everyone. Exciting, right?

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.

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

 

Please, let your child grow up.

by | May 24, 2017 | Advice, Career Corner Column, First Job, Job Search

Today’s young people are more thoughtful and kinder than many of the older job seekers they’re competing against. They care about making a difference more than their own personal finances or another self-serving endeavor. From the outside, it seems that parents are pouring more of themselves into these young hearts and minds than ever before. This effort is incredibly admirable.

But, can I please make a plea to you, Mom and Dad? Once your kids are on their way out of college, please let them grow up.

Very often, parents want to perform a job search on behalf of their child. The parents mean well. They don’t want the child (or should I say adult) to struggle on their way into the real world. The problem is, brokering the child’s job search doesn’t do the child any favors.

Many young people today seem to be so used to parental involvement that they don’t recognize their parent’s behavior as unusual. This means that they don’t push back when the parent has crossed a line.

But, you know who does think it’s unusual? The hiring manager and the other people in the child’s life who might otherwise help them to find a job. Whether they share their thoughts or not, they’re thinking it.

Struggling to find a job is part of life. That may sound strange, but the process of finding a job doesn’t just land us a place to work – it teaches us how to look for a job. It teaches us how to network. It teaches us how to solve problems. And, sometimes the process of looking can also teach us what we do and don’t want to do for a living. Those are very important lessons. Lessons that we will miss if mom and dad serve us a job on a platter.

Don’t get me wrong. Advice from a parent is incredibly valuable. Talk to your kids. Answer their questions. Give them guidance. You’ve been down the road and you have so much helpful information to share.

Then, take a step back. Let your child do the work. You wouldn’t take a math test for them in high school. You’d help them study and then you’d let them prove themselves in the classroom.

Last year, I interviewed a Chief Marketing Officer for my podcast. He described a situation to me where a young employee received a performance review they didn’t like. You won’t believe what happened. Mom called him to talk over her child’s concerns. Can you imagine how much that hurt the child’s future? The child missed the lesson, and in the process, they lost the precious respect of their boss.

I get it. Parents are just trying to help. But, at this stage of life, parents will be the most helpful from the sidelines. Trust that you’ve been in enough work to this point. Your young person has their head on straight. They know what’s important to them. Now, let them go out and get it.

Angela Copeland is a Career Coach and Founder of Copeland Coaching and can be reached at CopelandCoaching.com or on Twitter at @CopelandCoach.

133 | Surviving Unplanned Career Change – Michelle Hynes, Portland, Oregon

by | May 16, 2017 | Advice, Depression, Happiness, Job Search, Media, Podcast, Unemployment

Episode 133 is live! This week, we talk with Michelle Hynes in Portland, Oregon.

Michelle is a coach and consultant with deep roots in mission-focused organizations. She has a passionate interest in how people navigate planned and unplanned change.  Michelle helps to ease transitions, nurture growth, and create supportive structures for teams.

On today’s episode, Michelle shares her tips on surviving unplanned career change, from reaching out to friends for help to job seeking to talking about what happened.

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

To learn more about Michelle, visit her website at http://www.michellehynes.com/. Here are links to the additional resources Michelle mentions in the episode.

Thanks to everyone for listening! And, thank you to those who sent me questions. You can send 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!