Mark Anthony Dyson, Author at The Voice of Job Seekers

Good Grief! Listen Employers and Learn What They Value!

Editor’s note: I wrote this article JobMob published two weeks ago and thought I’d share it here. As a lifelong Charlie Brown fan (at one-time owned 10 volumes of Peanuts books), there was a lesson here that was more of a revelation.

Good Grief, Charlie Brown! Listen to the Employer and Learn What They Value! by Mark Anthony Dyson

If you don’t pay attention to employers’ needs, they won’t pay attention to yours.

When Charlie Brown said that Joe Shilabotnik was his all-time baseball hero in the Major Leagues, with a horrible batting average way below .200, we can understand why. As grown-ups, we do.

There is a valuable lesson here anyone could be your hero, and it doesn’t matter why it excites us. We know throughout the decades, Charlie Brown would have given up every single baseball card he owned for Joe Shilabotnik’s card.

Value works for us when we’ve hacked into the interests of the other person, or in this case, the employer.

If Charlie Brown is the job seeker and Lucy is the employer, then the benefit of creating value must be communicated. Job seekers go wrong in never demonstrating value when the moment comes. Employers want to win in value more often than in volume. Employers tell you what they need some time by what they don’t need.

Listen closely, and you can discern accurately.

I will dissect Charlie Brown’s approach from end to beginning to show how job seekers miss opportunities to connect with employers in demonstrating their value.

Good grief Charlie Brown, she threw what YOU valued away!

Lucy: “He’s not as cute as I thought!”

Lucy ends this segment by throwing the beloved Joe Shilabotnik baseball card in the garbage. Similar to an employer tossing a resume or at least filing it away with no other intentions to look at it again. Charlie Brown didn’t get that she liked Joe because at the moment, he was cute.

Lesson Learned: If you can’t persuade an employer what you have is valuable, then they will keep looking, sometimes forever (so it seems).

Good grief Charlie Brown, it’s not about volume.

Charlie Brown: (tosses his whole baseball card collection in the air) “For five years, I’ve been trying to get a Joe Shilabotnik! My favorite baseball player, and I can’t get him on a bubble gum card… five years! My favorite player…”

We identify with losers at times. Charlie Brown loved this guy despite his .157 minor-league batting average. My sons like badly-acted late ’80s and early ’90s sitcoms, but we like whom we like. Value is an individual decision we cherish for one reason or another from childhood.

Lucy, at least now, does not care about collecting baseball cards. She cares about one cute baseball player, although it is temporary.

Lesson learned: Charlie Brown didn’t earn attention because he never listened to what Lucy said. Had he mentioned “cute” once or twice throughout his face time with her and the card he desired, chances are he would have obtained her interest.

Job seekers who succeed find ways to understand the employer’s needs. What does the employer’s team or company care about? The job seeker who serves it up on a delectable platter to the employer has their attention, causing salivation and perhaps, career salvation.

Good Grief, Charlie Brown! Don’t you listen?

Employers test you from the beginning. They want to know you’re listening. Charlie Brown, who is representing the anxious job seeker, wants one thing. He thinks the way to get it is to trade.

Charlie Brown: “How about Nellie Fox, Dick Donovan, Willie Kirkland, Frank Lary, Al Kaline Orlando Pena, Jerry Lulupe, Camilo Pascual, Harmon Killebrew, Bob Turley, and Albie Pearson?”

Lucy: “No, I don’t want to trade…I think Joe Shilabotnik is kind of cute…”

Charlie Brown: “I’ll give you Tome Cheney, Chuck Cottier, Willie Mays, Orlando Cepeda, Maury Willis, Sandy Koufax, Frank Robinson, Bob Purkey, Bill Mazeroski, Harvey Hadoix, Warren Spahn, Hank Aaron, Tony Gonzales, Art Mahaffey, Roger Craig, Duke Snider, Don Nottebart, Al Spangler, Curt Simmons, Stan Musial, Ernie Banks, and Larry Jackson!”

Lucy: “No, I don’t think so…”

Lesson Learned: What are the chances that Charlie Brown could have offered Lucy to pick out several other “cute” players from his collection? Is it possible Charlie Brown owned other cards she desired?

The reality that job seekers must increase their value by offering substantially more to get one package is imminent.

Remember, employers hold the one card you want. They won’t give it away (or throw it away) unless a perceived value equals or exceeds what they hold. They don’t want to hire, but they could be persuaded possibly by something cute (or perceived by others as cute) as what they hold.

Creating opportunities is what you’ll need to do, but won’t happen by offering what is valuable only to you or what the employer’s competition cherishes. Lucy, the employer, is the one you need to convince.

Good Grief, Charlie Brown! Are you desperate?

Charlie Brown: “Joe Shilabotnik? Really? You have a Joe Shilabotnik? You have a Joe Shilabotnik Bubble Gum Card? He’s my favorite player! I’ve been trying to get him on a bubble gum card for five years! You wanna trade? Here…I’ll give you Whitey Ford, Mickey Mantle, Robin Roberts, Luis Aparicio, Bill Monbouquette, Dick Stuart, and Juan Pizarro!”

Lucy: “No, I don’t think so…”

Lesson learned: Um… strategy? Yes, Charlie Brown, the job seeker, lacks the correct strategy. He may not need to bargain if Lucy, the employer, was a real baseball fan that trades baseball cards. But she wasn’t. Just inundating her with what he has, without understanding what she wants, is a great way to be ignored.

Employers will respond if there is something they want. Lucy was only interested in “cute” Joe. If Lucy cared about his .157 batting average, she would have given the card to Charlie Brown without trading it.

Thank goodness! What did we learn, Charlie Brown?

Charlie Brown, the job seeker, was only a loser because he didn’t listen close enough to Lucy, the employer, ‘s message. Proactive listening is effective when you listen to what an employer says and doesn’t say. Employers will tell you “nice resume” even when it’s not all that nice. In most cases, the statement follows: “… but we will continue looking.”

If Charlie Brown figured out what Lucy valued, Charlie Brown would have kept all of his cards.

Job seekers will find the right employer only by listening closely to employer needs.
Read the original article at: http://jobmob.co.il/blog/learn-what-employers-value/

About Mark Anthony Dyson

I am the "The Voice of Job Seekers!" I offer compassionate career and job search advice as I hack and re-imagine the job search process. You need to be "the prescription to an employer's job description." You must be solution-oriented and work in positions in companies where you are the remedy. Your job search must be a lifestyle, and your career must be in front of you constantly. You can no longer shed your aspirations at the change seasons. There are strengths you have that need constant use and development. Be sure you sign up to download my E-Book, "421 Modern Job Search Tips 2021!" You can find my career advice and work in media outlets such as Forbes, Inc., Fast Company, Harvard Business Review, Glassdoor, and many other outlets.

by Mark Anthony Dyson

The Worst Thing That Can Happen to Your Job Search?

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The Worst Thing That Can Happen to Your Job Search? by Mark Anthony Dyson

I watched the Buccaneers go 0-14 in a season when I lived in Tampa. It was brutal, but by no means was it as brutal as being rejected for a position after several rounds of interviews.

Sure, some of us can disengage our personal feelings from the process. Some of us handle rejection pretty well.

But many of us don’t. After a job search — especially a long one, especially when you’ve made it far in the interview process — any bit of rejection can feel personal and, possibly, devastating.

Applying and not hearing back. Taking an assessment and never getting the results. Interview and never receiving a call. It all feels terrible.

You can’t control every aspect of the job search. Pain is part of the process. But that doesn’t mean you have to be hard on yourself. You can learn how to handle rejection more gracefully.

There is nothing romantic about today’s interview process, but we are encouraged to act like there is. “Finding a job is like dating,” people say. Hiring managers expect to see a certain amount of passion from candidates about the job, the company, and the company’s values. But it’s unfair: The more invested you get, the more crushing rejection becomes.

There is a song, “The Worst That Could Happen” by Johnny Maestro & the Brooklyn Bridge, about a heartbroken man who fell in love with a girl who married another man. The marriage was good for her, but for him, it was devastating. I’m being honest when I say I’ve experienced similar emotional lacerations when I’ve been passed up by peers for a promotion or a job. At the time, these things truly felt like the worst things that could happen.

But eventually, I came to terms with it. Eventually, I did get the promotion I wanted, the job I wanted. Not the same ones, but still.

Each of us is resilient. Each of us crafts our own life story. Employers only care about the chapter of that story in which we overcome the obstacles and achieve. That’s okay: When you talk to Tampa Bay Buccaneers fans, they remember winning the Super Bowl, not the winless season.

You may sometimes have during your job search that feel like winless seasons — but you’ll have your Super Bowl wins, too. As a Bucs fan watching them go 0-14, I often felt like the team would never win again. That was the wrong lesson to draw from the experience. You may feel the same about your own career when you are rejected, but trust me: You have won and will win more than you think.

About Mark Anthony Dyson

by Mark Anthony Dyson

How To Stop Applying To 25-30 Jobs A Week Unsuccessfully

How To Stop Applying To 25-30 Jobs A Week Unsuccessfully by Mark Anthony Dyson

I wanted to share this question I answered a few years back. While this person asked about breaking into an Human Resources career, I thought some of this will apply universally (for the most part):

I apply to about 25-30 jobs a week and haven’t been able to get noticed. What can I do to help improve my chances?

I’m a media studies major and just got my masters in communications, so I can basically go into any field, though I’m probably best suited for Human Resources (HR). Are there any general tips one can offer about getting into the field?

Most people get the jobs they want (including HR) by doing several things. Many of these strategies are disruptive but create success for several career changes. Since you just graduated and the only information about you here is your interest, these are shots in the dark:

Network, network, and network

You may have a gold mine already with the people you know who can help you by telling them a position you want and the company you want to work for. Assuming you are trying to get your foot in the door, see if you can find within your network an employee who works for the company for you to talk to the HR manager.

Job competition is fierce.

There are two sides to this discussion, and both are extreme. First is the employer’s application process, where they will receive hundreds of applications for one position, and many times one percent of applicants are considered qualified. Second, most people start their job search with a spray (apply to dozens of jobs) and pray (hope they get one or two interviews) approach.

Most companies expect you to apply online before recognizing your interest. But history shows it doesn’t guarantee a callback from an employer. In my 15 years in the career industry, people who consistently win the job search are strategic in applying online, or a referral by someone they knew, became well-known in their industry, approached by a recruiter, or were introduced by a 2nd or 3rd ties connection in their network.

Apply to small start-ups to widen your opportunity net.

I recommend applying to small companies but use your network to help find the ones hiring for your skill set. Small companies are more open to conversation starters on LinkedIn. You can attract potential recruiters and employers if you’re an active LinkedIn user with a completed profile. If it’s incomplete, many recruiters will move on.

Join professional groups, organizations, or associations.

You can get to know HR professionals on LinkedIn and Facebook groups, as well as the paid national and local groups. If there are some in your hometown, it’s a plus. Getting to know them and for them to know, like, and trust you give you access your competition won’t have.

Try following the hashtags #humanresources, #HR, and #humanresourcesjobs on LinkedIn. Participate in conversations relevant to the problems you want to solve. While this is a long-game strategy, being a contributor to at-large groupthink could help other people and for you to be seen as a resource.

Use your school’s career services.

They can often put you in touch with active alums who are still connected with the school for the sole purpose of helping graduates with opportunities. If you need more resources and strategies to help you with your job search, they have resources and strategies to help you with your job search.

Internships are for more than just new graduates and are still viable. A few universities and colleges offered past and present graduates applications for internship opportunities a few years ago. While much has changed, the only thing to gain by calling after graduation is the connection to alum networking events.

Informational interviews (or a business conversations)

Since it’s summer, things will slow down for various reasons. You can ask an office for 10 minutes of a hiring manager’s time to ask for information about the position (don’t ask for the job, only offer your resume if they ask you). I know people who contacted HR managers through LinkedIn. You want to use the information as intel to shape your narrative in selling yourself to other companies. Most of all, use it to build a business relationship.

Overall, whatever field you choose, your presence off and online must show an interest in the area. It’s a challenging field, even if you’re passionate about it. It just takes a little time and work. But again, your networking will determine your chances better than any other way.