My clients often ask me how they can become better interviewers and wish they sounded more confidant when they answered the questions asked them. They often think that if they were better at “interviewing techniques” like how to sit up properly, how to have effective eye contact or which color of clothing will help them appear to be the most viable candidate.

This is of course a silly approach to effective interviewing. That is not to say that the “interviewing techniques” are not valuable and worth noting. They certainly are, but they are not what is most important. What is most important to effective interviewing is having a deep connection and very clear understanding to their resume.

Writing An Effective Resume

In order to write an effective resume you have to begin with some sort of reflective exercise that challenges you to think about, reflect upon and write down all of the various aspects of all your significant past jobs; even though all of the past job may not be listed on the final version. This reflective process reconnects us to all that we have done professionally and assists us in clearly understanding the various directions our career has taken. When this is done, we are able to communicate about our career objectives based not only on which direction we want our career to go, but also from where these directive decisions came from. The best way to show a prospective employer that you are a viable candidate for a job is to establish a clear sense of how you benefited your previous employers and how that experience will carry over into the new job.

It is just as valuable to express why you chose a career path and where you hope that career will go as it is to state what you did at your past jobs. In fact, having a deep connection or in other words, a passionate zeal about your career intentions is the most important element of the interviewing process. When this occurs, a natural confidence and motivation is expressed by the interviewee that always is appealing to the interviewer. It is impossible to teach someone how to be motivated or confident because these are conditions of the “inner-workings” of our total self. What I can teach someone is how to cause these byproducts to occur frequently. We can cause these outcomes by determining to never give up on a career path, to acknowledge the authenticity of our career needs and by establishing a vision of what our career will be long-term.

Resume Tips

Key Concepts for Powerful, Effective Resumes.

1. Your resume is YOUR marketing tool, not a personnel document.
2. It is about YOU the job hunter, not just about the jobs you’ve held.
3. It focuses on your future, not your past.
4. It emphasizes your accomplishments, not your past job duties or job descriptions.
5. It documents skills you enjoy using, not skills you used just because you had to.
10 Steps in Creating a Valuable Resume

1. Choose a target job (also called a “job objective”). An actual job title & company name works best.
2. Find out what skills, knowledge, and experience are needed to do that target job.
3. Make a list of your 2, 3, or 4 strongest skills or abilities or knowledge that make you a good candidate for the target job.
4. For each key skill, think of several accomplishments from your past work history that illustrate that skill.
5. Describe each accomplishment in a simple, powerful, action statement that emphasizes the results that benefited your employer.
6. Make a list of the primary jobs you’ve held, in chronological order. Include any unpaid work that fills a gap or that shows you have the skills for the job.
7. Make a list of your training and education that’s related to the new job you want.
8. Choose a resume format that fits your situation–either chronological or functional. Functional works best if you’re changing fields; chronological works well if you’re moving up in the same field.]
9. Arrange your action statements according to the format you choose.
10. Summarize your key points at the top of your resume.

To know what your ideal job involves, you need to review what you have enjoyed in your previous jobs and what you would like to avoid. Make a list of all the types of work you have done before, and categorize them (by job title, boss, location, time, etc). Make two lists of what you liked and what you did not like about each job. Prioritize these items to identify what you wish to have or to avoid in your next job.

The next step is to see if your current career matches your list and if it doesn’t, locate careers that do! Look out for overlaps in your Skills, Values, and Interests list. Are there any job titles that fit these overlaps? Pass copies of your list to friends and family and ask for their opinion on jobs from different areas where your skills are valuable. Find out what skills are required for specific careers. A professional Career Consultant can provide support like:

1. Helping to evaluate and prioritize your skills, values, and interests.
2. Matching your Skills, Values and Interests with job titles.
3. Helping you to focus on potential careers.
4. Finding job openings in your fields of interest.
5. Grooming you for interviews.
6. Helping you polish documents like cover letters, resumes, and applications.

Career counseling can be instrumental in this early stage of your job search. A counselor would evaluate your strengths and weaknesses, recognize overlaps in your SVI list, and suggest potential career areas. Counselors will also help you identify your goals and look out for potential offers that satisfy your needs.

The easiest ways to determine your skills, values, and interests is to make a list of them and describe how you have used each skill in your life, whether professionally or in other areas. Remember, this exercise is only valuable if you connect the skills, values, and interests from your lists to your life by describing when you have actually used or done them in the past or present. If you are having trouble determining your skills, the information below can help you get started.

1. Skills are things you can do well. Identify 20-40 skills that you have and be sure to note specific technical skills like Word skills, Excel skills, and the like.

Examples of Skills: Analytical, Budgeting, Communication, Computing, Counseling, Debating/Language, Excel, Writing, Word, Technical, Teamwork, Team Management, Project Management, Programming, Planning, Organizational, Negotiation, Leadership, Interpersonal, Internet, Staff Hiring.

2. Values are principles you find important or motivating. Note the values that are most important to you. These can help you narrow your search during job selection. High salary, recognition, prestige, travel opportunities, etc. are some examples of values. Write down around 10-15.

Examples of Values: Adventure, Aesthetics, Altruism, Belonging, Challenges, Commitment, Creativity, Ethics, Family, Fairness, Honesty, Independence, Love, Prestige, Recognition, Respect, Responsibility, Salary, Security, Self-esteem, Travel opportunity, Trust, Vacation, Variety.

3. Interests are things you like doing. Ask yourself what you enjoy. Examine both your personal and professional interests, such as writing, socializing, programming, etc. Some people are willing to pay you to do what you love doing. Write down at least 30-40 things you enjoy doing.

Examples of Interests: Arts, Organizing or Participating in Conferences, Dancing, Designing, Dressmaking, Entertainment, Exercising, Gardening, Internet, Jewelry making, Painting, Piloting, Racing, Sculpting, Singing, Socializing, Table games, Team games, Traveling, Water sports, Woodworking, Writing.

People sometimes get stuck in a job due to a lack of education or because of a bad economy, but that doesn’t mean that their work day needs to be a painful experience. With a little innovation and imagination, it is easy to make the best of a “bad” job. Here are some ideas that may help.

• Work on your job skills. Imagining yourself in your dream job, you might see yourself as an excellent leader – highly confident and supremely organized. Why not work on these skills in your present job?

• Develop your own project. Take on a project that can motivate you and give you a sense of control. Start small, such as organizing a work-related celebration, before moving on to larger goals. Working on something you care about can boost your confidence.

• Stay busy. Having too much free time may leave you with too much time to think about what’s wrong with your job.

Stay Positive

Change the way you view your job by challenging your thinking to be positive. Changing your attitude about work doesn’t happen overnight. But if you remain alert to ways your view of work brings you down, you may eventually replace negative thoughts with more positive ones. Here are a few techniques:

• Stop negative thoughts. Pay attention to the messages you give yourself. When you catch yourself thinking your job is terrible, stop the thought in its tracks. Awareness is the first step to this step and is achieved by learning how to “read” your thoughts like you would a book. Learning to view the content of your thinking is very valuable.

• Put things in perspective. Remember, everyone encounters good days and bad days on the job. That doesn’t mean that you should pretend to be excited that you are having a bad day. It just means that you choose to accept it as part of the professional experience. If everything was always good, then we wouldn’t know it because we wouldn’t have anything to compare it to. Experiencing a bad day will make a good one that much better.

• Look for the silver lining. “Reframing” can help you find the good in a bad situation. For example, you receive a less than perfect performance appraisal and your boss warns you to improve or move to another job. Instead of taking it personally or looking for another job right away, look for the silver lining. Depending on where you work, the silver lining may be attending continuing education classes, working closely with a performance coach and having the satisfaction of showing your boss you’re capable of change. Being proactive means that we are in control of our destiny, versus being a victim to it.

• Learn from your mistakes. Failure is one of the greatest learning tools, but many people let failure defeat them. When you make a mistake at work, learn from it and try again. The reality is, we fail as much, if not more, than we succeed.

• Be grateful. Gratitude can help you focus on what’s positive about your job. Ask yourself, “What am I grateful for at work today?” If it’s only that you’re having lunch with a trusted co-worker, that’s OK. But find at least one thing you’re grateful for and cherish it. When all is said and done, a positive experience begins with a heartfelt appreciation for what we have and what we are doing.

We all have to work, but some of us are able to play at work by finding and then committing to our dream job where we’re motivated, inspired, respected and well paid. Unfortunately, many individuals settle for something that falls a bit short of the ideal. Maybe they began with their dream job and loved it for awhile, but ended up viewing it as troublesome and boring.

Lack of job satisfaction is a huge source of stress. Reasons why you may not be completely satisfied with your job include:

• Conflict between co-workers
• Conflict with your supervisor
• Not having the necessary equipment or resources to be successful
• Not being paid well for what you do
• Lack of opportunities for promotion
• Not having a say in decisions that affect you
• Fear of losing your job because of downsizing

The bottom line is that every job has elements that are great and elements that are awful. It is worth taking some time to think about what motivates and inspires you and then sort through some strategies to get you through your workday.

Understanding Your Approach To Work
People tend to approach work from three perspectives. They view work as a job, a career or a calling. Usually all three perspectives are important, but one or the other is the priority. In recognizing your approach to work, it is important to understand that one approach isn’t better than the others. This reflection will help you get back your initial passion and excitement of why you initially took the job.

• Job. If you approach work as a job, you focus primarily on the financial rewards. In fact, the nature of the work may hold little interest for you. What’s important is the wage. If a job with more pay comes your way, you’ll likely move on.

• Career. If you approach work as a career, you’re interested in advancement. You want to climb the corporate ladder as far as possible or be the most highly regarded professional in your field. You’re motivated by the status, prestige and power that come with the job.

• Calling. If you approach work as a calling, you focus on the work itself. You work not for financial gain or career advancement, but instead for the fulfillment the work brings you.
Reference

Be ware of the “3 W’s”: Wanting, Waiting & Wondering.

• Wanting: Our job is to meet our needs without alteration or altercation. That being said, if we are in a state of wanting, then we are not engaged in the creative development of that desire. It is far more “actual” to choose something then want it. When we are “in want,” then we are separated from doing, while when we choose something we are doing it!

• Waiting: Don’t ever wait! When we wait, we are stagnant and so, again, separated from the doing. And it is only through doing that things become manifest. Doing occurs in three ways: how we think about something, what we say about it and how we behave in regards to it. Thus, if you feel you have exhausted all your behavioral choices like updating your resume, doing follow-up letters and the like, then challenge your thinking to stay hopeful and positive.

• Wondering: When I ask my clients about their career dreams, they inevitable embark on a long-winded query about whether they should or shouldn’t be doing their current job and career choice. I then have to remind them that whether they should or shouldn’t do something has nothing to do with a sort of deeper meaning unbeknownst to them. Their potential career choices are limitless and that choice is up to them; all they have to do is choose it.

The process of uncovering which career choices best suit us begins with understanding the skills we have and which ones we want to highlight.

When I begin a course at NYU, where I teach Interviewing Strategies, the first thing I do is have my students answer a question on a note-card. That question is, “Why are you on the planet?” My request is usually followed by a brief moment of silence as my students nervously and curiously glance around the room at each other, wondering if they had heard the question right. Inevitably, one brave soul slowly inches his or her hand into the air to confirm what I wanted from them. Once the question is confirmed, they begin to address the task at hand and write down why they are on the planet. Some write vigorously while complaining that their isn’t enough room on the card, others write a couple of bullet points down and look at me like I’m the nutty professor, while others just sit there staring into space without any clue as to how to answer it. In truth, discovering the why of our choices from careers, to romance or where to live is a difficult task if authentically addressed. The reality is that we are all conditioned to believe in certain things based on information that we are given from “outside” influences like parents, religions, advertising, older sisters and brothers and the like. During an NYU class discussion, one student said that he was on the planet to make as much money as possible. I chuckled at his straightforward answer, but was grateful for his honesty. When I asked him why this was his goal, he just said that it is what he should do. I again asked him why, and after a brief silence, he admitted that he didn’t really know.

And herein lies the ultimate challenge that I face as a Career Consultant. It is not to say that one choice is necessarily better than another, but to guide whoever is in front of me to know why they have chosen their career. In doing so, they are instantly propelled into a more meaningful job. By answering the why, a person finds substance and meaning, even if they have discovered that they are not in the careers that they want. This awareness is valuable because it serves as a catalyst to change; either to find value in their current career or by changing careers. By the end of the seven weeks, the student mentioned above still wanted to make as much money as possible. Yet, he had changed his perspective and decided that along with that goal, he needed to develop deeper relationships as well in order to have fulfillment in that quest. I look forward to begining the discovery process with you soon.

Spend some time thinking about why you are on the planet.

To find out more about career consultation or to set up an appointment, send an e-mail to shawn@bricolageconsulting.net