Are You a Commodity in the Employment Marketplace? – Part 2 of 2
If you are a commodity, it will be difficult to differentiate yourself in interviews. However, most of us are not commodities – we just haven’t defined our value-adds, or learned how to articulate them. Here are some tips to determine your value-adds:
Know Yourself
Take an inventory of your skills. Do not limit the inventory to skills applicable to the job for which you are interviewing; do a full inventory. This inventory should include skills connected to your job, interests, hobbies, and leisure activities. When you have a full inventory, you can choose which skills serve as value-adds for the type of jobs you are seeking.
Know Your Profession
Every profession has areas of concentration and a large skill base. For example, within human resources, you might be applying to be a Compensation Manager. But the human resources field has a number of other specialty areas and required skills, such as diversity management, employee retention, benefits, training, and international employment. So, even though you’re applying to be a Compensation Manager, having international employment experience could be a differentiating value-add for a multinational company, or a company that is expanding internationally.
Once you have determined your value-adds, be sure to clearly communicate them in your interviews. This could make all the difference, and ultimately lead to more job offers! To learn more about value-ads in interviews go tohttp://www.activeinterviewing.com.
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Are You a Commodity in the Employment Marketplace? – Part 1 of 2
Competition is Fierce, So It’s Essential to Distinguish Yourself
By Eric P. Kramer
Senior Consultant, Career Potential, LLC
In a competitive and crowded marketplace, every product and service must differentiate itself. It is not enough to be simply “as good” as all the rest. In addition, with easy access to cheap (or even free) Internet marketing, there is a great deal of advertising that makes it difficult to differentiate services and make buying decisions. As an example, just think of all the “pop-up ads” you see online. In the employment marketplace, this is exemplified by the thousands of job web sites and hundreds of resumes submitted over the Internet in response to advertised jobs.
To rise above the flood of advertising, successful companies establish powerful branding and distinct “value-adds.” You can adopt the same strategy to rise above the flood of your competition in the employment marketplace.
“Value-add” refers to an extra feature or benefit that goes beyond the standard expectations and provides a more compelling reason to purchase. A value-add makes the service or product more desirable and positively influences the buying decision. However, a value-add has no impact if it is not provided in addition to good service. Always having on-time delivery, for instance, does not make a difference if the pizza tastes lousy.
The worst characterization of a service is to be “a commodity.” A service is a commodity when it is equivalent to what all the competitors offer. A provider of a commodity service can easily be exchanged for another provider of the same service who offers a lower price. For example, many dry cleaners provide a commodity service. Customers will change to another dry cleaner if they can find one that costs even slightly less. In the employment marketplace, many employees (even mid- and senior-level employees) are commodities in that they provide a service that can be replaced easily. In bad economies, companies replace more expensive “commodity” employees with cheaper employees. So, the big question is: are YOU a commodity in the employment marketplace?
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13 Good Reasons Why You Need a Printed Interview Presentation – Part 2 of 2
In addition, according to David Peoples, author of “Presentations Plus” (Wiley, 1992), using visual aids results in:
- The audience being 43 percent more likely to be persuaded.
- The presenter covering the same material in 25 to 40 percent less time.
- The listener’s learning improving up to 200 percent.
- Retention improving by at least 38 percent.
- The presenter being perceived as more professional, persuasive, credible, and interesting – and better prepared.
You may be asking, “Why should the presentation be in printed form and not in digital form?” The main reason is because using a laptop or projecting a presentation interferes with eye contact and rapport during an interview. Each bullet point in your presentation should be very brief – no more than 170 characters – and quickly read. The goal is to introduce a topic, speak to it, initiate a conversation, and not have the interviewer distracted by reading the information. Also, even in today’s “electronic age,” there is still something about having a printed and bound document that communicates credibility and professionalism.
Here is an actual success story:
Jane was applying for a senior management position at a healthcare company, and she spent a great deal of time developing an Interview Presentation. She had practiced giving her presentation in three mock interviews and had “blown away” all three of her “practice interviewers.” However, during her actual interviews, Jane didn’t see an opening to use her presentation – until the last interview of the last round with the CEO of the company.
Halfway through her interview, the CEO asked Jane, “So, what is your 90-day plan?” Jane smiled and responded, “I don’t have a 90-day plan, but I do have a 30-day and a 60-day plan. May I share them with you?” She took her Interview Presentation out of her portfolio, gave the CEO a copy, and initiated a conversation about her 30- and 60-day strategic action plans. The CEO was impressed and asked Jane to take him through the rest of her Interview Presentation, which Jane was happy to do. After the full presentation, the CEO gave Jane a job offer!
In summary, we have seen many of our clients get more – and much better – job offers as a direct result of using the Interview Presentation. It is very likely that you could improve your interview outcomes as well by using this powerful career tool.
For more information about the Interview Presentation, contact Career Potential today.
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13 Good Reasons Why You Need a Printed Interview Presentation – Part 1 of 2
By Eric P. Kramer
Senior Consultant, Career Potential, LLC
“Men trust their ears less than their eyes.”
- Herodotus, Greek Historian
In our executive career coaching practice, we teach clients how to develop and use a tool called an “Interview Presentation.” It serves many important purposes, most of which are outlined below. Perhaps the real power of the Interview Presentation is that it clearly ties the candidate’s experience, strengths and results directly to the company’s needs, problems and challenges. This, of course, leads to many more job offers!
The Interview Presentation enables you to prepare for your interview and gives you a structure to powerfully guide (not control) the interview. There is no other interview tool or strategy you can use that has the same interview-winning impact. A printed presentation works extremely well in the interview in many ways, including the following:
- It communicates that you are well-prepared and highly-motivated for the interview.
- It clearly differentiates you from other candidates.
- It shows your ability to compile and communicate pertinent information in focused, succinct manner.
- It demonstrates the important job-related behaviors of presenting information and responding to questions.
- It contains the information the employer needs to know to make an informed hiring decision.
- It visually increases the hiring manger’s retention.
- It reduces the hiring manager’s FUD level (fear, uncertainty and doubt), and makes it easier for her to hire you.
- It serves as a powerful leave-behind that the interviewer can refer to as she begins to compare candidates.
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13 Good Reasons Why You Need a Printed Interview Presentation – Part 2 of 2
- Know your strategy before attending the negotiation meeting
- Always negotiate the offer, no matter how good it seems initially
- Finalize the salary first, before negotiating other items such as benefits
- Never misrepresent your former salary
- Don’t confuse salary with the full compensation package
- Avoid tying your potential salary to your old salary
- Use silence as one of your most powerful negotiating tools
- “Fit” is more important than financial compensation
- Leverage one offer against other offers if possible
- Be patient and disciplined throughout the process
- You don’t get what you deserve; you get what you negotiate
- Never accept or reject an offer on the spot – do a thorough analysis
- You can only win at negotiation if you’re willing to “walk away”
- Be sure the compensation package you finally accept is a “win-win”
- Maintain a positive, upbeat attitude and enjoy the “game!”
Remember, compensation negotiation IS a game. Games have rules. Games are supposed to be fun. And as is true in all games, the more you practice, the better you’ll do. By mastering the twenty-one rules of this game, you’ll be on a more “level playing field” with a good shot at winning your next negotiation!
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13 Good Reasons Why You Need a Printed Interview Presentation – Part 1 of 2
Your negotiating ability is a strength and an asset to your prospective employer. By doing it effectively right from the start, you are proving that when you’re on the other side of the desk, you will negotiate on behalf of the company to make the best deals, get the best prices, and generate the most profit. Some hiring managers even go so far as to say that when candidates do no negotiating at all, or stop negotiating too early in the process, they’re disappointed!
Everyone knows that negotiating for your livelihood is “serious business.” But in another sense, negotiating is a game! I’ll be honest and tell you that employers win this game the majority of the time. Want to know why? Because most job seekers don’t know the rules! It’s pretty tough to win a game when you don’t know how the game is played, right?
Here are the rules that you’ll need to study and master, to achieve your salary potential:
- Do extensive salary research, preparation and practice beforehand
- Defer salary discussions until an offer seems imminent
- Discuss salary only with the ultimate decision-maker
- Get the employer to state a salary figure or range first
- Wait until an actual offer is extended before negotiating anything
- Discuss salary only after you have fully described your relevant accomplishments
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The Seven Truths of Career Success – Part Two
2. The best time to work on your career is when your job is secure
Even if you’re very happily employed today, you never know what may happen tomorrow! To avoid a career disaster, you should incorporate the concept of “Perpetual Career Management” into your professional life.
Vital tasks like keeping your success stories up to date, or networking regularly with professionals in your industry, should be incorporated into your routine whether the economy is good or bad – and whether you feel you need to or not.
Here’s a real-life example. A few years ago, I had a client who was in a senior-level sales and marketing position at a large manufacturing company. He had everything going for him with the employer – he was a member of the senior management team, he had been with the firm for 13 years, and he was consistently praised for his hard work and professionalism. Needless to say, he felt very comfortable and secure in his position. He never saw what was about to happen.
Due to an economic downturn and an eventual acquisition of the company, my client was suddenly let go on a crisp November morning. An hour later, he found himself sitting in his car in the parking lot – asking himself over and over, “How could this have happened? I did such a good job for them!” And worst of all, my client was totally unprepared! He had none of the tools necessary to find another appropriate position within a reasonable period of time. Naturally, he felt concerned and scared. He later told me that toughest part was feeling completely helpless.
What does this mean for you? It means that you should consider adopting a different approach, the “Perpetual Career Management” approach – not only to avoid feeling helpless, but to truly take charge of your career once and for all.
As we said earlier, instead of focusing completely on your job, you should focus on managing your career – at all times, regardless of where the economy or job market happens to be!
That’s the key that will help you to chop months off your next job search, significantly boost your salary, get promoted faster, and never worry again about job security or layoffs.
3. Graduating from school is the beginning of your education, not the end
In good economic times or bad, you should always look for ways to advance your industry knowledge and professional qualifications. Attending seminars, reading trade journals, pursuing certifications, etc. – these activities should be a part of your ongoing professional development process. It’s imperative that every professional remain current in his or her field. No company wants to hire a candidate whose base of knowledge is out of date. Moreover, why would your current organization and current boss want to work with someone like that? NOT upgrading your knowledge and skills on a continual basis is a risk you can’t afford to take.
As a professional, you should continually build your credentials, which will make you more attractive and marketable as a candidate – both inside your company and in “the outside world.”
Plus, in a down economy, the greatest asset you have to sell is your knowledge and intellectual resources. When business gets tough, the demand for people who can think strategically and deliver results goes UP, not down!
4. An employer’s first offer is NEVER their best offer
Employers expect that you’ve done salary research, and they anticipate having dynamic negotiations with you. In fact, they’ll often be disappointed and question your candidacy if you DON’T negotiate – even when no one’s hiring. You might be tempted to think ANY job offer is great in a tough economy or that this is the WORST time to negotiate – but you’d be dead wrong.
Employers usually start with a low salary offer merely as a “trial balloon,” to see how you’ll react – and there’s almost always room to improve on the initial compensation offer, even in a tight job market. In a way, compensation negotiation is a game, with its own set of rules and guidelines. Be aware that the first offer is merely a starting point. If you don’t negotiate further, I guarantee that you’ll be leaving money – and possibly a whole lot more – on the table.
Remember to watch for Part Two of “The Seven Truths of Career Success,” which will appear in the next edition of “Your Career Advocate.”
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HOW TO WORK WITH RECRUITERS TO LAND A JOB
Recruiters Can Be One of Your Greatest Job-Search Assets
One of the most exciting calls a job seekers gets is from a recruiter who says “I would like to speak with you about a position I am looking to fill.” But first you need to make it through the recruiter’s screening techniques. How do they screen resumes and what do they look for? Let’s assume then that the recruiter has identified you as a person of interest for the position and all of a sudden you have a possible new job opportunity. Unfortunately, this is a rare occurrence for most job seekers – rare because they don’t know how to develop and manage relationships with recruiters! In addition, even when being identified as a possible candidate, many job seekers make tactical errors which result in the recruiter moving on to the next candidate.
Sign-up for this event to to hear “insider perspectives” to these questions and many others. Learn from an expert panel of external and internal (company) recruiters about how to maximize your relationship with search professionals and increase your chances of landing a job.
During this presentation, you will learn:
- The role recruiters play in job search and career management
- How to manage recruiters and the recruiting relationship
- The distinction between internal and external recruiters
- The 3 best things you can do to attract recruiters
- The 3 things that you may be doing that turn recruiters off
- How to write a resume that recruiters actually want to read
- Why recruiters may not be returning your calls
- And a lot more!
Recruiters can be one of your most valuable job-search assets – but only if you know how to work with them effectively. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn the “inside information” you need to maximize your recruiter results.
Here are the details:
DATE: Wednesday, November 28, 2012
TIME: 6:30pm to 9:00pm
SPONSOR: Philadelphia Area Great Careers Group
PRESENTER: Multiple Recruiters (Panel Discussion)
FACILITATORS: Ford R. Myers and Eric P. Kramer
INVESTMENT: $20.00 (pay with your online registration)
WHO: Everyone is welcome!
LOCATION: Bartley Hall, Room 1001, Villanova University,
Villanova, PA (Corner of Lancaster and Ithan Avenues)
REGISTRATION: Advanced registration is required, click here
DIRECTIONS: Click here for directions
QUESTIONS: Call Eric at (610) 420-4158 or e-mailepkramer@gmail.com
NOTE: You will need to register as a member of www.MeetUp.com(free) in order to sign-up for this event. Do this at http://www.meetup.com/Philadelphia-Area-Great-Careers-Group by clicking the “Join Us” button at the top-right section of the web page.
Space is limited and will fill-up quickly for this important presentation. If you are a serious job seeker, be sure to reserve your place now!
These events are also opportunities to get some of your career questions answered, and make new networking contacts!
If you’d like to improve your career situation, you’ll find these presentations to be particularly relevant and helpful.
Please pass this invitation along to any other executives who might benefit from these seminars.
