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Interview Basics

So you got the interview.  Great, but that is only half the battle.  Next up…….going to the interview.  This might come as a surprise to some of you, but you can’t just show up in the clothes you wear to the mall.  A suit is usually preferred, no matter who or where you are interviewing.  If you don’t have a full suit, for sure a shirt and tie.  This shows the interviewer that you are serious about the job and you are taking the interview seriously as well.

The Company

So you have a suit, now it’s time to research who you are interviewing with.  2 reasons why researching the company is beneficial to you as an interviewer.  Reason #1 is pretty obvious.  You need to know what the company’s primary functions are so you know what you are getting in to.  Reason #2 is to impress the hiring manager.  Let’s put ourselves in a manager’s shoes.  You are choosing between 2 candidates, one that didn’t know much about your company during the interview and the other that did.  If these 2 are the same candidate in the manager’s eyes would you hire someone who took the time to educate him/herself on the company or one that didn’t?  The answer is pretty obvious I think.

The Interview

The moment of truth, you walk in with your suit, the notes you took about the company burned in your brain, and now you meet the man/woman of the hour.  The manager that will be saying “yes” or “no” to you getting a paycheck from this company.  This is a big deal, no one else matters at this moment(unless there are multiple people in the interview).  You sit down and he/she starts the interview right?  Wrong!  Either you have a bit of a walk to the interview or it is not a far walk at all, there will be small talk.  Have 1 or 2 questions ready for this time.  If the manager is asking you questions, great! If it is silent, break that silence with a couple of questions that you have prepared for this.  You want everyone involved to feel like you are already part of the family when you start the interview.  This will make it easier for them to picture you as part of the team.

While interviewing, be sure you make eye contact with everyone in the room as evenly as possible.  This seems like a minor detail, but is a big deal to some. Don’t leave your fate to one person who wants you to make eye contact with them. Just do it.  Be humble.  Confidence is ok, cockiness is not.   The final thought I have for you to succeed in an interview is always(or as much as you can) answer a question with an example of your work.  Manager – “Have you ever had to deal with adversity in the workplace?”   You – “Yes.”   NO!  Manager – “Have you ever had to deal with adversity in the workplace?”  You – “Yes I have, at my last position………”  YES!  The rest is up to you.

And there you have it, my guide to getting the job after you get the interview.  Pretty easy right?  When nerves are high and the opportunity is right in front of you, it gets a little more difficult.  Take a deep breath and just think of it as just another networking conversation.  You have networked before right?  Wait, you haven’t?  Ok, so we have a lot more work to do than I thought….. I’m outta here for now!

Please leave your comments below! I welcome any and all feedback!

What party do you support?

high-rise-nyc

Democrat vs Republican, Republican vs Democrat.  Who wins doesn’t necessarily mean they are the perfect fit for America, it just means they have the majority vote that year.  The staffing world has its own Democrat and Republican party.  Those that prefer contract work and those that prefer permanent placement. Contract work has an exact start date and end date. Contract workers are also paid hourly most the time. Typically candidates are hired for certain projects that need to be done in a certain amount of time.  Permanent roles are just that, permanent.  There are pros and cons to both, and you’re about to find out what those are!

Contract Work

Pros – 1. You get to change jobs often. Let’s say you’re hired for a project and you don’t particularly like the work, the manager, or anything for that matter.  You don’t have to work there forever, just a few more months(most likely).  2. On a contract you typically get paid more.  I’ll save the info for the cons, but benefits are not included on contract most times. You’ll have to get your own personal benefits, which usually cost a little more.  To compensate for that, most staffing firms will up your hourly rate and pay you a little more because of the lack of benefits. 3. Flexible hours are common on contracts. More so than in a permanent role, as long as you get your 40 hours of work in for the week you are good to go!

Cons –  1. As mentioned above, no subsidized benefits.  While permanent employees enjoy “cheaper” benefits, contractors do not.  2. There is not a lot of job security.  If the manager wants to end your contract, they have every right to do that.  Realistically managers can do this with permanent employees as well, but they seem to have to think about it a little more for whatever reason.

Permanent Work

Pros – 1. Supposed job security.  While any manager has the right to fire you at any time, candidates do feel like permanent roles have more job security. 2. Benefits.  401k’s, health insurance, vision, dental, the whole boat. These are typically cheaper when you are a permanent employee.  3. Permanent roles have a better opportunity to be promoted within.  Most times contractors aren’t considered employees of the company, so promotion within is not very common. (Contract workers are hired through a staffing firm and they are paid by that staffing firm)

Cons – 1. Most times permanent roles are salaried positions so if overtime is logged you do not get paid more.  Contractors get paid for every minute they are in the office, whether it’s 70 hours or 40 hours.  2. As I said, permanent jobs are permanent. So there is more thought needed behind leaving a permanent role.  What if the benefits aren’t as beneficial at the next job you take? What if you’re manager isn’t as “cool” as your last?  These are all things that contractors don’t think about.  They expect to move jobs and have new bosses often. They already know, more than likely, they aren’t going to have subsidized benefits in their next opportunity.  They have the mind-set to handle this quite often. Permanent employees typically don’t.

Conclusion – The purpose of this blog post was to teach some of you the difference between a permanent and a contract role. I talk to a lot of people every day and some know the difference, some act like they do, and some have no idea.  When you’re in the job market you NEED to know your options and what is beneficial about both.

What are some other pros and cons of these type of jobs?  Comment below and let’s discuss!  Until next time job seekers, happy hunting!

First Impressions

Everyone knows first impressions are very important.  These days face to face meetings happen less and less.  I have recruited on roles that offer a Skype interview and the employee never even meets his/her manager F2F(Face to Face).  Things have definitely changed over the years.  Since the F2F meeting is almost becoming extinct, what would happen if you got really, really good at meeting people?  I’m not talking about being really good at shaking hands, although that is an art too(maybe to discuss another time), I’m talking about being really good at striking up a conversation with a complete stranger and honestly connecting with them. Here are some helpful tips to start you off…

Do your homework.  – What if you’re headed to a networking event and you know the president of a prestigious local company is going to be there.  You would really like to chat with him because you plan on applying to his company the next time there is an opening that matches your skill set.  Do you walk up to him and say, “Hello Mr. President, how’s it going?”  If you said “Yes,” please email me(thedsmrecruiter@gmail.com) immediately and we will meet to chat about it.  Anyway, with so many avenues to research, said President, you NEED to do your homework on him/her.  Head to the Google Machine(I stole this phrase from a buddy) and see what he/she has been up to the past couple months/years.  Being the president of a company the social media networks are probably set to private or show very little, but it’s worth a try.  Give the name a search on Facebook or Twitter to see what you can find.  Maybe he/she likes shows at the Civic Center and you just saw the Oz last week.  Talk about it!  Heck, read a newspaper.  Maybe you’ll find something in there that will be of some help to find a topic to discuss.  The possibilities are endless with this one, especially because so much information is right at your finger tips.

No idea who’s going to be at the “party?” – This happens more times than not.  So what are you supposed to do if you don’t know who is going to be at the networking event?  Come up with a list of general questions to ask people about themselves and their companies.  I don’t want to do all the work for you, but if you want to talk about more about these please email me at thedsmrecruiter@gmail.com, but here are a few examples.  After you get the general information about someone, ask questions that are more in-depth.  “What is the last book you read and what is the most influential book?”  This is one of my “go-to” questions because I love to read.  Most of the books I’ve read have been referrals from people I’ve asked. It doesn’t matter their position or job title.  People who read have probably read a great book that I haven’t.

Asking someone about their company is a little different.  Sometimes they don’t want to give away too much info, so you have to walk that line.  One of my favorites is “What do you see your biggest problem being in the next 12 months?”  I love this one, because when the individual gives the answer, you can immediately follow-up with, “Why?”  Plus, if it’s a problem, and you know someone who fixes those types of problems, you connect those two and immediately have a business relationship with that individual. BOOM!

Conclusion – The advice above is strictly from my experience. In the staffing industry, networking groups are a must. So I’ve had a little experience with what works and what doesn’t.  Everything I’ve mentioned above is so much easier if you keep a pulse on what’s going on around you.  Whether it be you picking up the Juice Magazine or the Des Moines Register, following local journalists on Twitter and Facebook or connecting on LinkedIn.  Be knowledgeable about what is happening in your area.  Know if there has been some layoffs, know if there was a recent merger of two companies in the area, know if a company in Des Moines has just hired a new president.  All of these tasks are relatively easy and inexpensive, so I don’t think you have an excuse.

If there are any books you’ve read that you think would be of some benefit to me, please either comment below or send me an email(I don’t have to type my email address again do it?)!  I’ll respond with a couple that I enjoy to return the favor.  Also, networking events.  Know any?  Let me know!

Happy Hunting!

Make money with this Bracket!

Do you fill out a bracket for the NCAA Tournament every year, just to possibly with a couple bucks?  Well what if I told you there was a bracket, that you could fill out, and make money with 100% certainty?  Would you fill that one out?  I know I would…..I have and I have made money!  What bracket am I talking about?  Your career bracket!

What drives you?  What is your passion?  What is your “Why?”  This is what you need to be “advancing to the next round,” not a basketball team.  I talk to way too many people who are working a job that is “good enough.” Why would you ever settle for that?  This can not only affect you, but affect your personal life as well.  If you’re in a bad mood at work all day, the potential for keeping that bad mood is quite good.  And what do the kids say these days?  Ain’t nobody got time for that….  By no means am I advising you to quit your job today.  I’m advising to always leave the door open to opportunities.  Even if you are working your passion, don’t shut the door completely.

There is no bracket online for this, and to tell you the truth, I don’t expect you to actually fill out a bracket.  I’ve been in the staffing industry for 3.5 years now and I can tell you without hesitation, people who have jobs that are close to their passion are happier and more joyous to be around. So decide what’s important to you and find something that helps you work towards that.

With all of that being said, maybe you are working your passion.  I highly commend you!  Please comment below if you are.  I love to hear from my readers and would enjoy talking to you about your passion!  Or email me a theDSMrecruiter@gmail.com

Until next time seekers, happy hunting!

Searching during the Holidays? Why not!

Typically the end of the year is the worst time to be searching for a new job. Sorry to say it, but it’s true. This also makes the process 10 times more stressful if you NEED a new job. Usually there are 2 reasons for this. Reason #1 is the companies are running out or low on the budget they were allotted at the beginning of the year(managers get a set number that they can use towards new or contract employees). Reason #2 is the managers or decision makers don’t have time to interview. They are either out of the office or too busy with end of the year duties.

So what do you do if you are looking for a job at this time? First thing’s first, keep applying for jobs and talking to people that can help you apply for jobs. The paragraph above does not go for all companies. It is usually the trend that takes place at the end of the year. But one of the more important things you can do is network. This definitely gets over looked by many people during this time. You’ve never networked before? Ok, here are some tips.

-Use LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com). Since you are looking for a new job, hopefully you have an account set up by now. I have read some articles that say LinkedIn is used by employers more than the job boards out there. It is a MUST if you are looking for a new job.
-Checkout http://www.meetup.com (@meetup) in your area. Meetup sends you weekly emails that list networking events in your area.
-Talk to your friends about it. Tell them that you are looking for people to network with and you would appreciate them introducing you to some of their co-workers, friends, or people that might be able to help you. If they are truly your friend they will have no problem with this.
-If you’re lucky enough to live in Iowa Tech Brew is a great option one Thursday night a month. Head over to http://www.technologyiowa.org (@technologyiowa) and sign up for their distribution list. They send an email reminder a couple days in advance.

So there you have it, your high level guide to networking. When times are slow, this will be one of the most effective uses of your time. Just keep in mind that it’s not what you know, it’s who you know………sometimes.

Happy Hunting!