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Is Your Job Search the Best Drama Not On TV?

Potential employers do not want your drama you bring during your job search. They want nothing to do with the stories, the characters, nor the ending. They want to know, are you an asset to the team.

Bringing drama does not add value, nor does it make anyone an attractive candidate. Nor does it make for an effective job search.

Your adventure in job search is compelling drama for all of the wrong reasons:

1. It’s like Law and Order

There is a story for everything. Instead of calling my boss to meet you, I want to call the police. The “my-brush-with-the-cop” stories are funny to your friends, not to potential employers. You do not have to mention “cop” or “police” in your little ditty for anyone to know that you were arrested a few times.

2. CSI (Can’t Stand Idiots) New York, Miami, or Where You Are

Mark was making small talk about exquisite dining and the research he conducted online about all of the restaurants he has visited. The interviewer asked, “So what did you find out about our company as a result of your research?” The morrow: Talking too much could be the beginning of an implosion. Oh yeah, the interview lasted 10 minutes.

3. The Mentalist

Don’t act like you know everything. Networking works when you are in learning mode. Button your expertise, but wear your perpetual learning suit in a job pursuit conversation.

4. Burn Notice

Telling stories of being treated unfairly, or how unrewarded you have been is career suicide. Nothing worse than burning yourself during the job hunt process.

5. Brothers and Sisters

Leave family drama out of any part of the job search process. It is never positive to talk about family problems at a networking event, interview, or just meeting a potential contact for the first time. Even if the story is funny, it could be perceived as negative.

The most engaging conversations anyone could have when the focus is on skill, contributions, and solutions. Familiarity and small talk is great if its your strength. Otherwise, leave the drama to television, movies, and your friends.

by Mark Anthony Dyson

Kids, SHUT UP! During a Phone Interview?

Kids. Job interview. They don’t co-exist in the same space. Not job interviews. It never ends well. And it shouldn’t.

That is what happened to my client, Sharon, a year ago in middle of a shouting match between her 7 & 12 year old girls. It was obvious to her prospective employer that her response to her children was not the transferable skill the company desired.

Sharon (not her real name) was the most mild mannered person I’ve known. We wrote and edited her resume to a lean 1 1/2 pages. We produced a cover letter that was pretty unique and compelling. She received calls for meetings within two weeks. But…

The most temperate person will blow his or her top under the worst circumstances. The person on the other end thinks, “If she can not control her kids, how will she deal with a difficult customer or coworker.”

Tell your kids to stifle before an interview, without an audience, before disqualifying yourself as a serious candidate.

I suggest the following to remind parents to master the restraint button before you have life-changing conversations of any kind:

Don’t: Threaten them, and punish them for being kids. They run, they chase, and they throw things.

Do: Prepare them by giving them toys or a temporary hiatus during the duration of the call. Explain to them the significance of the call, and the rewards when you get the job.

Don’t: Yell at children during the call. No one wants to know, or hear you yell, scream, or screech!

Do: Train them to lower their voices when anyone is on the phone anytime.

Don’t: Be where you are visible or distracted.

Do: Be in an office with the door shut, locked, or bolted.

Don’t: Expect your small children to understand.

Do: Demonstrate patience and provide them with careful instruction.

Debatable: Don’t interview on a busy day.

Do: Have an quiet hour or two before the phone interview, and to quiet your children. If Dad is not around to help, then maybe they will sleep while you have an uninterrupted interview over the phone.

Remember that you cannot ask an employer to hold unless it is an emergency. Some interviewers tolerate it, but most have zero patience. You have to know your children, and prepare them accordingly. Good luck. May the force be with you.

by Mark Anthony Dyson

Social Media Breeds Career Competition

Social media works with patience and due diligence. It evolved with intelligence that each user possesses and curates.

The more training you receive, the larger the repertoire.

The more you read to perfect your skills, the better you can explain the results.

The more you perform and perfect your skills, the more you can teach them to others.

When you listen and act on sound advice, does that motivate you to listen more? An idea takes a second to birth, and a minute to decide to implement. Listening is great, isn’t it?

Grow your integrity. Increase your social media use.

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Grow your network. Grow your career by unleashing the potential of learning from everyone.

If this is the time when you are embracing social media, blogs, tweets, statuses, and pluses (What are we calling Google Plus updates?), then good for you. Today’s information is more relevant than yesterday…most of the time. Pay attention to this stream of real-time flow of info, because relevance is a surprising fulfillment your curiosity.

Spur growth in your skills. It’s so easy, that someone else will take your job. Because, that is what your competition, and winner of that job did. He wrote a blog. His or her blog morphed into a résumé.

So what should you do? Pay more attention.

The more you give for free, and at least one person will freely give. To you. Without the caution. Because, that is how they were noticed.

Now is the time, working or not, seeking, job seeking, or freaking to learn. Absorb, and implement. Add it to your résumé, talk about it with your crew, find ways to share your expertise, and add value for you and your listeners.

Your eyes should dilate when you hear the word “FREE!” Education that costs nothing is more priceless than paid education. Knowledge can happen staring at a Twitter stream. At least it’s a start.

Value for your career is not cash, it’s priceless. That’s what someone understood.