Making a career change can be scary, since the real issue is that you have to compete with other candidates that may have the ‘perfect background’.

How will you win? Well, you must have some relevant experience, though it does not need to be the ‘cookie-cutter’ fit, but how you will win is by building chemistry during your interview process. Chemistry will beat out the more qualified candidate almost every time.

Of course, that means you must get into the interview process before you can ‘build that chemistry’, and that’s where someone helping you understand what experience may be relevant and of interest to the hiring individuals comes in. You need to refocus your resume and your background. It’s never to misrepresent, but to properly present your abilities, achievements and your desires for the new role.

Are these tough challenges? Yes! But they are not insurmountable with the right Career Coach and mentor helping you increase your odds of success.

But, be CAREFUL to evaluate anyone that you consider as a career coach and mentor.

Here’s a few things that you should consider when selecting a Career Coach: 

– How well do they REALLY understand the hiring process?

– How is their experience RELEVANT, and will their experience help me leverage my own experience right now, during my Job Search?

– How are their Advice and INSIGHTS different from others that I might consider?

– Are they an EXPERT on Resumes? And what makes them an Expert?

– Are they an EXPERT on Interviewing? And what makes them an Expert?

– Are they an EXPERT on Negotiating Salary? And what makes them an Expert?

– Are they an EXPERT on Offer Letters? And what makes them an Expert?

– Will they have the INSIGHTS and understand how to help you?

Anyone these days seems to be able to claim to be an expert, but you need to be asking the follow up questions and be sure that they have Valuable Advice, and not simply that they are ‘nice to talk to’…

About me: 

As an industry manager, executive recruiter, recruiting and sales trainer, event speaker, and as VP of a nationwide system of recruitment offices, I have seen most every aspect of the hiring process from both the internal and external view as the decision-maker, the decision-influencer, and as the objective observer. This varied insight is what provides the clarity you will find in my book, my blog, in my (free) self-help Job Hunting videos on my YouTube channel and podcast page, and in my Career Coaching & Mentoring services that I offer.

Just be sure to select a coaching partner that will be truly valuable to you. 

All the best-

John Crant

Author, Career Coach & Speaker

on Job Search and Career Management

Copyright © John Crant

How to Write An Effective COVER LETTER that Opens Doors

Cover Letters are one of the most perplexing challenges for the Job Seeker. The Job Ads ask for one. The guides all suggest we send one. Why is it that so many resumes go out without a proper cover letter? (most of them may never be read, but they will be… for the right candidates)

Careful taking license with what I just said: Yes, most cover letters will never be read.

In a world where there are often 3–5,000 resumes sent in for every good open job, it’s pretty easy to realize the truth in what I’m saying by looking at the mechanics of the situation: who will read all of that material sent in when applying for a job (thousands of resume, notes and cover letters)?

The reality is such that if our Resume ‘never grabs their attention’, it’s very unlikely they will every go back to read our email, notes or cover letters that we also send to help ‘make our case’. That thought can be quite disconcerting, but it’s a realistic conclusion if you start questioning who may have the bandwidth to handle all that extra work. No one will have time to read your persuasive thoughts –unless your Resume makes the final cut… so be sure to start your focus there!

Now that you (believe) you have a great Resume that positions and sells your best attributes, your cover letter can make the difference between you getting the interview, and someone else taking that prize. You do have to be ‘in it’ to win it.

WHAT IS A COVER LETTER AND WHAT’S ITS PURPOSE?

Glad you asked:

A cover Letter is your opportunity to separate yourself from all the rest that claim to have the background that will make them successful, if selected.

Your Cover Letter’s mission in life is to connect all the dots in your background that make you uniquely qualified above all others for the role. That does not mean that you are claiming to have ‘everything’ on their list, but it means that you have all the ‘right’ pieces that will make you more successful than the other candidates. That’s a tall order and tall claim, with your Cover Letter giving you the platform to make your case.

Be bold, confident and make your case. Avoid the most common mistake: subservience. Businesses that real problems, and they need real solutions. They need workers ready to ‘step up’ to the challenge. Confidence. Not someone asking for a hand-out, “Please, Sir, Can I have some more?” –That subservience may appeal to a very small percentage of readers, by not by Leaders, and not by people that want to see their organization be even greater than it may be.

On Style, this item of concern to watch out for, letting the language choices become submissive, is a pointed challenge to us. We want the job so much (sometimes) that we are willing to become Play Dough: just tell me what you want, and I’ll be that. Perfect, for managers without any confidence of their own, as you’ll be less likely to challenge them if they hire you. But most would not think that’s a very good place for your career.

Back to the language choices: 

The statistics for the many placements I have been involved in over the years (most every discipline / area, as a recruiter and recruiting trainer) always showed the pattern heavily favoring this type of language choice, even though it can be quite direct. It’s Chemistry and Confidence that win the day, when capable of the role, and this goes a long way on the confidence side.

SIMPLE SECRET:

Most hiring managers are like everyone else: they’re looking for ‘clear’ help in the process of selecting you… because they (many times) don’t really understand how to hire effectively. In other words, we have to ‘educate’ them in both our outreach, and during interview process on:

“why it’s the best choice that they’ll make, when they choose to hire us.”

STRUCTURE:

– An opening paragraph that expresses our interest in their company and the role, and makes our ‘big picture’ case for why we are the best candidate for the position.

– 2 or 3 subsequent paragraphs that ‘make the case in detail’ for the points claimed in our opening paragraph.

– A closing summary paragraph that ‘wraps up’ our persuasive argument and asks for the interview. (no one gets hired without an interview, so go for it –it’s the whole point of the outreach)

A note on content itself: When selecting what to include or highlight, be sure not to get too distracted by only the literal items in the job posting. Include them if we can, so we create a ‘perfect match’ to the job posting. But… Add in what you think are the important things to have –if you were hiring for this role. Most Job Postings do not accurately represent the background / skills of the actual person eventually hired, so use your expertise to ‘imagine’ what other items not listed in the Job Posting would the ‘best candidate’ need to succeed? Sell what makes you valuable, especially if overqualified (just never use the term overqualified, seasoned, etc.).

Remember: We are teaching them to select us, and to hire us, to solve their issues.

As I mentioned, most hiring folks (and HR folks) have little clear idea of how to locate, identify and recognize the very ‘best-of-the-best’ individuals for the position, even though that’s part of their job. So, we need to help them by making it easy to see us as the ‘problem-solver for their issues’, not simply to assemble our background (reasons to hire us) and ‘hope’ they see it the way we do. Those extra steps to naturally lead them down the path to seeing us as ‘the one’ are effective time and time again, though not with every individual. We still must work the larger odds and this approach does work with most that are trying to evaluate potential hires.

LENGTH OF COVER LETTERS:

This requires us to be as ‘long as necessary’ to get the reader to their natural conclusion: “I have to interview this person!” (but, as ‘short as possible’ to accomplish the result of: “I have to interview this person!”). Not longer than a single page, in most cases.

TONE, TENOR & APPROACH:

While I like snappy over not being snappy, I also want to avoid anything flashy or any gimmickry that will distract from the true message of the letter (“You have to interview this person!”).

Remember they may be looking at dozens of cover letters, and yours needs to compete, but only once they narrow the resumes down to the potentially most interesting choices. Once your cover letter does get read, it’s your chance to catch their attention, which could happen through something snappy if you get just the right reader, or most often, it’s from the letter hitting ‘their bullseye’, rather than ours (focus on a style that they are likely to respond to… not on how we might respond to that style).

We also need to avoid what can be potential missteps, be careful not to introduce doubt about whether or not you may be the right one (“Perhaps I may be the person who..”). You, of course, either are or are not the person that can solve their problems, and they really are looking for us to help them see that connection, rather than introducing uncertainty. This strikes at the core reason they will (or will not) choose us: confidence. When capable for the roles that we go after, it all comes down to that chemistry and confidence, and anything that chips away at their confidence in choosing us works to motive in the other direction.

BE ENGAGING:

Don’t be stiff, or too formal. Think about one valuable individual reaching out to another valuable individual (you and the manager). Never (in writing or in person) speak up to anyone, and never, of course, speak down to anyone. Think about the tone used when writing to a dear friend. Engage them.

IT’S ABOUT THEM (before it’s about you):

Everyone needs a job –it can’t be about that or it’s not interesting at all. Why are you interested in them? What excites you about them, the Job, the Manager? Tell them! And then connect in a few of your best points that are valuable to them (not the things you like to talk about, but what you think they’d like to hear about).

WHERE IT GOES OFF TRACK:

In my view, over many many successful placements, and coaching others to many successful hires, by the time the reader finally gets to reading the cover letter (typically only very late in the process), they are already very worn down by the avalanche of emails, resumes and cover letters of all varieties that just fail to ‘close the deal’ (“

Here’s exactly why I’m going to be the best hire.”).

Almost all letters rely on the reader ‘somehow connecting all of those the dots by themselves’, and then (hopefully) coming to the conclusion in the same way that we see it. Better to leave as little as possible to chance and connect those dots in the form of the persuasive argument, or case for hire. But stay specific, and please don’t include the kitchen sink, as minutia just clouds your value to them.

Over the course of a number of outreach activities / applications for positions, cover letters of the style that I recommend tend to produce the interview more often than less direct styles that simply plead, “Please pick me!” (you are not a flower)

BUT… “that doesn’t sound like me”

A cover letter isn’t ‘us’… it’s a formalized letter introducing ourselves as the best choice for the role. Our chance to win them over on the chemistry side with ‘who we really are,’ comes once the interview and screening process begins, and our discussion is underway.

Now Let’s Work on those Cover Letters

and Open More Doors!

John Crant

Author, Career Coach & Speaker

on Job Search and Career Management

© John Crant

5 Steps to Personal Branding Nirvana in Your Job Search

(as Featured in Chris Perry’s book series, “LaunchPad”)

Personal Branding is the hot catch phrase at the moment, and for good reason.

Ever see that 80′s movie with Jeff Bridges called ‘Tucker: The Man and His Dreams’?

He wanted to build a new car to compete with Detroit. Tucker’s dilemma is every new business’ challenge: “Chicken or the egg. Which came first?” He needed to sell dealership rights to get the money that he needed to build his car. No one was interested in buying dealership rights for a car that didn’t exist yet. But Tucker made an interesting observation one day in searching for the solution. He knew that people believed what they could see, but his moment of clarity happened when he first realized that people believed whatever they read in the newspaper. “If it’s in the newspaper, it must be true.” You guessed it. A gorgeous color drawing of the family around their new car, splashed across a two-page spread in the papers, and dealership sales took off.

It’s human nature, it belongs to us all, so by all means use it, just don’t abuse it. People will essentially believe what they see. So, at last you spot that job for which you’ve been waiting. Personal Branding for Your Job Search will help you get in there, and help you to more effectively compete for that dream job.

1. Decide Who You Are

Are you the very best person for this position? Great. Just convince the hiring manager that, “It’s the best business decision that he/she will make that day, should they choose to hire you for the role.” If you can effectively answer that simple question, you understand who you are. If you are not quite there yet, then go back and review all of your reasons why you are better than the very best candidate that you can imagine for the role.

2. You Are a Product Too.

When a company chooses to hire you, they’re really buying a product, and that product is you! Think about something that you desire. It could be that 52 inch TV, and iphone, a great pair of shoes or your favorite cafe’s homemade slice of pie. Think about that desire for that hot product and how it feels.  You need to create that desire surrounding your presentation of all of the reasons that answer that all important ‘best business’ question. Now, you are ready to go and convince that hiring manager.

3. Wrap Yourself in Your Sunday Best.

If you want to be the sharpest candidate for the position, your visual has to match that sharpness. It really is true: you get just that one chance to make a first impression. Do you want this dream job? Then look like a million bucks. Perfectly groomed, hair, nails and those wild nose hairs too. Shoes polished, sharp business suit (mens/womens business suit) -regardless of what you would normally be wearing day to day if you were to be hired for the position. This is your chance, so, look like the success you are.

4. Have Your Marketing Materials Ready.

I have marketing materials? Part of good personal branding, is to control every possible aspect of your public presentation of yourself. That’s the best way, in addition to being a great contributor for your current employer, to control and guide others’ perception of your value. Your marketing materials for your Job Search include having a proper business card, even when unemployed. Your business card can be as simple as your name, email address and phone number(s), but you should also consider including a short positioning statement about yourself, rather than a specific title that you may have held in the past. Now, take that idea of the brand that you have just developed, and carry it over to the look of your resume, your letterhead on which your cover letter will be printed, onto the envelope that you will use for any physical correspondence, and into your ‘signature block’ within your email program. Each of these areas should extend and support your desired perception of your personal brand. Have presentation materials to share in your interview meetings? Great, make sure that you carry your brand look across everything that you present which represents you.

5. Showcase Yourself to the World.

Now, get up on your soap box. In our business lives, everyone has at least one soapbox, and that’s your LinkedIn profile. Your LinkedIn profile should be your own fully developed and branded ‘sales brochure’ that helps build your credibility and your reputation. Will your profile add to, or take away from others’ perceptions about you? And will it show your true value and get you noticed? That may be the difference in being considered for your next business or career opportunity and getting that next meeting or interview -or going unnoticed.

There are many aspects which we can focus on when looking to develop or further our personal branding, but these five simple points are the most critical areas, that in the shortest amount of time, can have the greatest effect on our Job Search success.

John Crant

Author, Career Coach & Speaker

on Job Search and Career Management

© John Crant