“I’ve been finding people jobs since 1973, and have helped thousands of candidates find great career opportunities. Let me help you too!”... Tony Beshara
"I've been finding people jobs since 1973, and have helped thousands of candidates find great career opportunities. Let me help you too!"... Tony Beshara
so much has been written and spoken about these over the years…save your breath, time and trouble..
no employer in today’s market…who is worth talking to, has time to give you an “informational” interview…now if it is your uncle, or your dad’s best friend…maybe…
but don’t call someone and ask for an informational interview..you are either looking for a job or not…and if you are..talk to people that might have one…ask for a job…not information…how wimpy!
wonderful candidate…great job opportunity…makes it through four interviews and near the final one he talks about overcoming clinical depression…all of a sudden the conversation got real strained and silent…now they are thinking about it..
the employer believes the job is really stressful and some of the folks there are wondering if the candidate can take the pressure…
the sad thing is there was no good reason for him to talk about his depression…simply no good reason…he thought it would make him appear as someone who had overcome personal challenges…
Lesson:..anything, …i mean anything that may be a personal liability, that isn’t essential to the job..DON’ BRING IT UP…
don’t know yet what the company will decide, but candidate didn’t need to bring this up
if you have made a couple of screw ups in your career..(and who hasn’t) don’t try to make stupid excuses about why they happened…
just today, i interviewed a candidate who blamed everyone but himself for all of the mistakes he had made..it was always someone else’s fault that he or his situations failed…and this is over a 15 year history…give me a break!
hey, none of us haven’t made mistakes…accept the responsibility…don’t moan or groan about it…tell a perspective employer how much you learned from it..but admit to having made an error in judgment…make lemonade out of the lemons…
we know that sara palin kicked butt…but don’t you dare discuss it in an interview…
if there is even an hint of being drawn into a political conversation…don’t do it…YOU need a job…not get elected..
simply nod your head and say, “It’s all very interesting.” then s-h-u-t u-p!…bring the conversation back to the interview…what you can do for the company
our candidate made it to the finals…after four interviews, he made it to the last two interviews…
he is a dynamic guy…aggressive, assertive, bright, witty and really knew how to sell himself…he had a great track record..frankly, he was perfect for the job..
but as he got closer to the final interviews, he started thinking about how well he was doing in the process and then started thinking…”i’m doing so well…better not screw up!”
so, instead of interviewing the same way he did to get to the finals, he toned down, didn’t want to take any chances, quit being aggressive, assertive, bright, witty and, unfortunately quit selling himself….he was afraid to loose..
well, he didn’t get hired…
lesson…dance with what ‘brung ya…keep doing what you did to get where you are…don’t alter your interviewing style when you get to the finals…
candidate thinks that he wants to communicate he is an entrepenure, so he tells the hiring authority that he has a business on the side…that is very successful, he adds…
now, if you are trying to hire someone to work really hard for you, whose money do you think the candidate is going to protect first…your’s and your company’s or his???
if the business is so successful, why would one look for a job?
pleeeeez…if you have a business on the side you will kill your chances of getting hired by telling an employer about it
…on top of that …you’ll look stupid!
i know that many will say that i ain’t “with it” or an old fuddy-duddy…BUT…men (..women too, i guess) who grow or keep goatees and beards while job searching, should rethink the decision..
employers are prone to ..even subconsciously..question a candidate’s viability if the candidate is wearing a goatee or beard more than those that are clean shaven..
don’t ask me why…and you can claim all you want that it isn’t fair …but there is a tendency to think that people are covering up “something” when they grow at goatee or beard
and the truth is, they are…they are covering up…. their face..
studies have shown that there is a slightly subconscious, distrustful, negative feeling toward candidates with goatees or beards…it is very subtle, but nonetheless, there…and, as a candidate, you simply don’t need even a subtle negative feeling toward you
it doesn’t matter if your wife, girl friend, mother, etc. think you look great with a beard…unless they want to hire you, get rid of any facial hair during your interviewing process..
you can always grow it back after you find a job…
candidate goes into “negotiations” for the job offer…first thing she says is, “Just so you know, I have two other offers.”
hiring authority says, “Oh, great. With whom?”
she stammered and stuttered…she was obviously bluffing
she blew the “negotiation”…
lesson: don’t tell a hiring authority that you have another offer unless you really do…and if you do, tell them who it is with…don’t look stupid by bluffing..
my candidate’s wife’s grandmother died…rather suddenly..he and his wife have to explain to their small children ..4 and 5 years old about death, etc.
our client had scheduled a dinner with the candidate and the president of his company …a semi-final interview…and, wouldn’t you know, the evening right after the funeral…
so my candidate leaves his wife and kids at the family gathering after the funeral and goes to the dinner interview..
needless to say he was distracted and unfocused just enough to screw up the interview…
his mistake was that he should have explained that he had just come from a family funeral and he was a bit unfocused and emotionally depleted…
most people would have empathy for that kind of thing and take it into account …soooo, the lesson: if you are experiencing an emotionally stressful personal issue that is going to impact your being able to interview well…tell the interviewing authority at the beginning of the interview
he did not
you never know how candidates are perceived…
one of our candidates who is a very successful sales person goes to an interview…the hiring authority loves her, but is concerned about her motivation..
why?…well she had, according to him, a four carat diamond ring on (…really only two) and drove a brand new mercedes and wore at least a $500 outfit (…how does he know?)
…he wondered if she was motivated???…oh, brother
the truth is that she was able to afford these things because she is one hell of a sales lady…she also has two kids in college that she supports..
now, i might agree that when you combine the ring, the car and the suit, the hiring authority might have been put off a bit…
lesson:..tone it down a bit…dress professionally, but not over the top..
