10 Things To Do After The Job Interview

Wondering what to do after a job interview?  Appearing in Forbes, this piece will give you advice on how to be persistent in your follow up,without being a pain! Please read the full blog here.

Building Your Target List of Companies

Building Your List of Target Companies

To effectively conduct a targeted job search, it is critical that you define a list of target companies.  To take a trip, you need a destination to entire in GPS.  You also need a target for your job search so you don’t expend valuable time and energy in unproductive aspects of your search.

Consider the Universe

Think about the types of companies you would hope to work for and start making a list.  Consider the industry and the products and services.  Think about location.  Consider size.  Do some initial brainstorming to capture a broad range of possibilities.  As you start to identify trends such as industry, do additional online research to identify other options.  You may not be aware of small to mid-sized companies in your desired industries without doing some online research.  At this stage, do not limit your thinking, just capture a broad list of possibilities.

Narrow the Focus

Now review your list and based on your very limited current knowledge, rank them based on your interest level as A – top priority, B – medium priority, and C – low priority.  You are not taking anything off the list at this point just focusing a bit for next steps.  I’d recommend capturing your data in a spreadsheet so you can continue to refine it as we move through the process.  For now, list companies and interest priority.  Sort by priority so your “A” companies are at the top.

Preliminary Research

For your “A” companies, do some quick research.  This is where you need to be careful not to fall into the trap of over-researching or getting distracted by online applications.  This is a quick review to further prioritize your list.  You need to do two things for each “A” company.  Check LinkedIn or your alumni database to see if there are alumni at that company.  Just yes or no on your spreadsheet in a column for alums.  Do not start looking up individuals, seeing what jobs they hold, etc.  Just yes or no, are there alums at the company.  Second lookup is on indeed.com.  Check to see if the company has posted positions in the last 2-3 months and if any were in your field.  Do not look up the jobs or apply right now.  Yes is the posted and Yes if there are jobs in your field.

Prioritize Your List and Start Networking

Now, resort your “A” companies so that companies with alumni connections and recent, relevant postings are now at the top of your list.  This helps you focus your search on the companies most important to you with the greatest opportunity to have an impact.  You will now work your way through your target companies in priority order looking to identify relevant alumni connections.  Ask for networking meetings and conduct informational interviews.  Learn all you can about those companies and their hiring processes.  Work to build strong relationships so you can an internal advocate when an appropriate position does post.  Keep track of your networking activity and what you learn about each company.  Make progress on networking in your target companies by setting weekly goals and holding yourself accountable.

Update and Refresh

As you work the process, it is likely that some “A” companies will drop lower on your list and you can repeat the process to move “B” companies further up the list.  Continue to use the same process to prioritize your list.  To effectively manage a job search, you should have between 30 and 50 target companies that you are working.

By prioritizing and monitoring your list you are focusing your networking on your top companies instead of random activities and this has a significant impact on your success.  Build a strong target list to lead you to success in your search.

9 Ways Job Seekers Can Avoid Disaster on Social Media

Looking for a job? Nervous about your online activity when it comes to employers? Appearing in The Huffington Post, this piece will show you how to avoid social media disasters! Please read the full blog here.

Building Trust in the Workplace

Working with MBA students this is an issue we frequently encounter.  Students want to go in and immediately make a difference.  They want meaningful work, significant high visibility projects and access to senior management from day one.   In most organizations, they have to earn the trust of their managers first.  As trust builds, so do the opportunities available.  There are various ways to build trust in the workplace:

• Delivering Results – With each assignment, strive to what is asked and more.  Think about how you can add more value.  What are logical next steps, what additional questions does this raise, what other data would be helpful?  Meet or beat deadlines and if there is an issue let someone know in advance not at the last minute.  Managers typically don’t like surprises.  Provide accurate work in a timely manner and more projects will likely flow your way.

• Interactions with Others – How you treat other people goes a long way in building trust.  Show respect.  Treat everyone well – administrative staff, receptionists, custodians, etc.  Be a good listener.  Empathize.  Do not act entitled, that turns people off.

• Ask Questions – Ask questions when you don’t know, don’t assume that you know what is needed.  Ask once, take notes and don’t ask the same question again.  Knowing when to ask questions is strength not a weakness.  Demonstrate that you are constantly learning.  Be willing to show others how to do something in Excel that may be new to them or offer a tip on project tracking.  While you are still in learning mode, don’t forget that there are opportunities to share your skills and experience with others for the benefit of the team.

• Offer Your Services – If there is a major team deadline, ask how you can help.  Sometimes they may not have time to get involved but you may be able to pitch in to make a difference.  It is important to be seen as part of the team.  If you have unique skills, offer to put them to use in the project at hand.  Maybe you can do something unique in Excel or PowerPoint that will make a difference.

Earn bigger projects and more visibility by delivering results and being a team player people want to work with you on their projects.  As you earn their respect the demand for your services will increase.

Five Skills Needed for Every Employee

Students often ask about the skills most critical for success.  While there are certainly unique factors for specific jobs and companies, I hear very consistent themes from employers on this topic.  The following five skills are critical for success in today’s job market.

• Ability to Communicate – To succeed in most jobs the employee must be able to communicate effectively both orally and in writing.  You can be very smart, you can have great ideas but if you can’t communicate you risk being passed over for the next exciting project.  Professional, business communication skills are still the expectation.  Employers expect employees to write a clear, consise email or executive summary.  Grammar, punctuation and spelling do matter.

• Work Effectively on a Team – The ability to effectively work as part of a team is critical to success in most organizations.   That means sometimes being a leader, sometimes being a good follower, monitoring the progress, meeting deadlines and working with other across the organization to achieve a common goal.  Employers want employees who can effectively work as part of a team, not as a lone contributor.

• Ability and Willingness to Learn – The world is changing, business is changing and the pace of change continues to accelerate.  To succeed in most organizations you need to have a passion for learning and the ability to continue to grow and stretch your skills to adapt to the changing needs of the organization.  Little demand for dinosaurs these days.

• Ability to Influence, Persuade and Negotiate  – There are few jobs you can do in a vacuum.  In most roles you need other people to do things so you can do your job.  There are steps in the process before your area of responsibility and often steps after you do your part.  Usually you do not have authority over those people.  You need to have the skill to develop mutually beneficial relationships in the organization so you can influence and persuade people to do what you need them to do in turn ensuring you are delivering what they need.  You need to be able to negotiate win-win solutions to serve the best interests of the company and the individuals involved.  There is no room for the “blame game.”

• Ability to Analyze the Data – With increased computer skills, many employees can build spreadsheets and manipulate the data in various ways.  What elevates an employee above the crowd is the ability to analyze the data.  Don’t just total the columns, calculate an average and sort the data.  What story does the data tell?  What questions does it raise?  Are there different ways to interpret the data?  Instead of handing your boss a spreadsheet, give them a business summary and highlight the key areas for attention.  Suggest possible next steps.  Using the data to manage business decisions is a critical differentiator.  These days there are times when there is too much data and knowing what is important and relevant data is a key skill.

These skills alone may not put you on a direct track to the corner office but employees with these skills will definitely be more successful in their careers.

Unique Challenges of A Long Distance Job Search

If you are searching for your next position in another part of the country or the world, there are additional unique challenges to your search.  Anticipating these challenges in advance and being prepared to address them can increase your chances of success.

Networking Challenges – Conducting a long-distance job search does not eliminate the need for networking.  In fact, it makes networking more critical than ever.  You lose the luxury of meeting contacts in person over a cup of coffee to learn more about their careers and the companies they work for but that information is still critical for your success.  Leverage your alumni database and Linked In to identify alumni in your desired area and in companies on your target list.  Reach out to schedule telephone conversations to accomplish your networking objectives and to support your search.  You have to work at building a network to support your search in a new location.

Overcoming Objections – Hiring managers want to identify the best candidate for the job as soon as possible.  They are also often looking to minimize additional expenses in the process.  This leads many hiring managers to overlook qualified candidates who must relocate.  Hiring managers may assume that the candidates expect the company to pay their relocation.  Most companies only pay relocation for specific senior level or highly specialized positions where a national search is required to identify the appropriate talent.  If candidates are more generally available, it is highly unlikely they will pay your relocation.  You need to consider that expense in your planning process.  If you are planning to relocate anyway, be sure to make that clear in all your job search communications.  For example, “I will be moving to the San Francisco area on August 28.”  Consider in advance whether you would fly out for an interview at your own expense if necessary.

Do Your Research – Build a target list in your new area of companies you are interested in for future employment.  Prioritize your list and work to identify networking contacts within each target organization.  Proactively set up informational interviews with networking contacts, build your knowledge of your target organizations and strengthen relationships so you have resources to support you when the appropriate opportunity comes along.

Invest Your Time and Energy – As you define your job search plan, acknowledge that it will take longer to conduct a job search from a distance.  Schedule appropriate networking meetings.  Conduct as much online research as possible in advance.  Invest your time and energy in conducting a focused job search to maximize your opportunities for success.

With careful planning and focus you can succeed in your long distance job search.

Leveraging the Power of Executive Luncheons

All the data supports the fact that the best path to a successful job search is networking.  Meeting people at companies on your target list helps you learn more about the company, their products and services, their hiring process and career paths in the organization.  While most students will at least reluctantly agree that networking is important, taking the next step to make a connection and book and informational interview can be a daunting task for many.

At the D’Amore-McKim School of Business MBA Career Center, we make it easy for students to make these valuable connections.  Our full-time MBA students are currently participating in our summer series of executive luncheons.  After reviewing student target lists of companies they hope to work for after graduation, we reached out to contacts at those companies and invited them to campus for an Executive Luncheon.  Up to six students meet with our guests to learn more about the company, the industry and the guests’ personal career paths.  Students come to the session with questions prepared as well.  The result is an informal yet informative conversation over lunch.

Students leave these sessions with valuable insights into a company on their target lists and a contact within the organization.  While these sessions are conducted for networking purposes, we often see connections made that lead to full-time opportunities.  For students, the comfort of being in a small group makes it easier to talk about themselves and to ask questions of the guest.  They also do not have to do the outreach – we bring the sessions and the guests to them on campus.

Never underestimate the power of a good conversation over lunch.

Job Offer Independence: Do’s and Don’ts to Consider

After many informational interviews, job applications, additional rounds of interviews and background checks, you finally land an offer.  Congratulations!  While it is a huge relief to receive an offer, temper your enthusiasm long enough to carefully consider your decision.

You need to exert your independence and trust your gut, especially in this situation.  If you have nagging feeling that something isn’t right, it probably isn’t.  Fit is absolutely critical for success in your next position.  Here are some thoughts on fit and some questions to use in the interview process to help you determine if this opportunity is indeed an appropriate fit for you.

Why? Well, fit is the most critical determination in hiring for both the hiring manager and the candidate.  For the hiring manager, there are typically multiple candidates with the skills to do the job.  The challenge is finding the best person for the job based on how they fit with the team and the culture of the organization.  For the candidate it is tempting to accept whatever job is offered, but you set yourself up for issues down the road if the fit is not good.

Fit has two components: First, the team of people you will be working with; second, the overall company culture. Here’s what to keep in mind while you’re considering that next career move:

Team Fit – Hiring managers hire people they want to work with each day.  The team is more productive and work is more enjoyable for everyone if people can work together and get along. It is not necessary to be best friends (and often best if that isn’t the case), but a successful business relationship is critical for success on the job.  You want to determine your level of comfort with the hiring manager and the team you would be working with if you accept the position.  If the interview goes well, and you receive an offer, it is appropriate to ask for an opportunity to meet the team if that was not already part of the interview process.

Throughout the interview process, you should be asking questions to help you assess your fit with the team and the company.

Questions for the manager:

• What is your management style?
• How do you like your team to communicate with you?
• How do you define success for this position?  What measurements would be critical?
• How do you assign special projects or cross-function projects?
• Why is this position available?  Is it a new position or did some leave?  Where did they go?
• How long have you been in this position?  With this company?
• What is the tenure of your staff members?

For the team:

• What do you like most about being on this team?
• What do you like least?
• How would you describe the manager’s management style?
• Why did you choose to join this team?
• How long have you been in your current position?
• Are the measurements for success clear?

At some point you have to rely on your gut feeling as to whether or not you would be comfortable working with this team and this manager.  If it doesn’t feel right in the interview it likely won’t feel better once you are on the job.

Company Culture – One of the goals of the interview is for the candidate to gain insight into the company culture.  It is also extremely valuable to use your network to gather these insights, as well.  The more feedback you can collect on the culture of the company, the more informed a decision you can make.  There is not necessarily a right or wrong culture, but it is important to find one that fits you and your work style.  Aspects of company culture to consider:

• Where do decisions get made?  Are employees empowered to make decisions or at least recommend decisions to their managers or are decisions only made at the top of the organization?
• Is the organization centralized or decentralized?  Do business units work autonomously?  Do all product lines receive support from a central team or does each product line have its own support team?
• Does the organization have silos?  Do finance people only talk to other finance people and marketing people only talk to marketing people or is there a strong cross-functional effort?  Do people work together to solve problems or are they quick to assign blame?
• Is there an emphasis on learning and development?  Is it just in the handbook and on the website or is it real?  Have people had opportunities to grow and expand their experiences?
• Does the company truly promote from within or simply pay lip service to the concept?
• Does every employee clearly understand how their specific job contributes to the overall goals of the company?
• Do people even know what the overall goals of the company are?
• Does the CEO sit in his office or travel all the time or is he/she seen in the various departments talking to employees?
• Is the bias to action or to in depth analysis before a decision can be made?
• Does the management team expect every decision to be perfect or are they willing to risk some wrong decisions in the name of being responsive?
• Are they open to new ideas and different ways of doing things or does the “we’ve always done it that way” approach rule?

Being in an appropriate work culture can significantly enhance your personal engagement, satisfaction and happiness.  If the culture is a good fit with your personal style, you can thrive and succeed in that environment.  If you are constantly in conflict with the culture, you are more susceptible to becoming frustrated and discontent.

Culture varies by company and by management style; it is not necessarily a function of size.  There are large companies that are very inclusive and flexible and small companies that can be very rigid and top down.  This is why it is especially important to gain perspective from people who work there.

Good questions to ask during an interview or networking meeting to assess some of the culture issues include:

• What originally attracted you to this company?  Why have you chosen to stay?
• What do you like most about working for this company?
• What do you like most about your job?
• How would you describe the culture of this company?  What do you value most about the culture?
• What training would typically be offered for this position?
• Are there any cross-function projects currently underway involving this department?
• What improvements have you seen in the department in the last couple years?

When you do receive an offer, say ‘thank you,’ and be sure to request time to think about it.  This is a major life decision, so it is reasonable that you should take at least 24 hours to consider it carefully.  It may be very helpful to prepare and review a list of pros and cons, as well.

Think about what you like most about the company and the opportunity and what concerns you the most.  Do you have networking contacts to discuss the concerns and provide more insight?  Talk to your spouse or significant other, your parents or other mentors.

After careful consideration, exert your independence and trust your gut. After all, it’s not only the next step in your career, but where you’ll be spending a majority of your time and energy for the immediate future, so it makes sense to choose wisely!

Interviews with Start Ups and Small Companies

You’ve landed an interview with a start-up or small company.  What do you need to do differently to succeed?  Applicants need to pay close attention to the subliminal messages they are sending the interviewer/hiring manager.  Your standard large company approach could backfire in this situation.  Here are some tips for success.

Interview Structure

• Do not expect this to be a standard large company interview with a formal process.  You need to be open to a more flexible approach.
• You will likely meet with several different people and possibly the whole organization because fit is critical.  They need to identify someone they want to work with on a daily basis.
• In a smaller operation, fit is critical.  Many of their questions will focus on fit.  Demonstrate your adaptability, your ability to multi-task and willingness to do a wide variety of tasks.
• Do not present your prior employment as being overly structured, if you just know how to follow the process, step by step, in order, you are not likely to find success and satisfaction in a less structured environment
• Be prepared with examples of how you offered a creative solution to a problem, revised a process, etc.  Show that you can think creatively and respond to business needs.

Tools and Support

• Be careful in presenting your prior employment that you don’t focus too much on the tools and support staff who enabled you do get the job done.  Startups tend to run lean and you have to be willing and able to perform a wide variety of tasks and often will need to work independently

Unwillingness to get your hands dirty

• Avoid the “not my job” mentality.  There may not be a team in place to execute the entire plan.   You may have to do it yourself.  Show that you are willing to get your hands dirty and do whatever needs to be done.

Dealing with Ambiguity or Changing Priorities

• Don’t talk about how frustrated you were when a priority changed after you had invested significant effort.  This is the reality of the startup world.  Show that you can go with the flow and deal with ambiguity and changing priorities.

As part of your preparation consider the perspective of the interviewers for this position and consider how you will address these questions and concerns in your answers to their questions.

Fit

• Is this someone you are comfortable working with every day and often for long hours?
• Does this person bring valuable skills and perspective to enrich the team?
• Can this individual grow with the organization?

Ability to deal with changing priorities

• Can this individual cope with changing priorities?
• Can they deal with ambiguity?
• Can they make decisions with incomplete information and data?
• How do they make decisions without complete data?

Ability to work independently and as part of a team

• Can this person take a project and run with it?
• Is this person comfortable working heads down on his own to meet a deadline?
• Can this person collaborate with a team and define an implementation plan?
• Does this person have personal accountability?

Willingness to do whatever it takes

• Is this someone willing to roll up his sleeves and get his hands dirty to do what needs to be done?
• Can this person be successful without a support team in place?

Comfortable with the risk/reward approach

• Does this individual understand the risks and rewards of a start up?
• Is this person able to tolerate the risk?

Prepare yourself to succeed in the unique

When It’s Time to Leave

How you leave a job makes a lasting impression with those you worked for and with.  Since you will likely need a reference from that job at some point in the future,  you want to leave on as positive a note as possible.  It is also an amazingly small world these days and you could easily cross paths with those former colleagues in the future.   Sometimes you find former colleagues at the new company you hope to join.   Best policy is NEVER burn any bridges.

How do you tell your manager and colleagues you are leaving?

• Be sure to tell your manager before telling anyone else.  Give your manager the courtesy of letting him/her know first.
• Be honest without being overly negative or critical.  Tell them a bit about the exciting new opportunity and what you will be doing.  Give them highlights of what caused you to consider other alternatives.
• Once you have notified your manager, submit an official resignation letter for HR.  State that you are leaving and share the date, not the reasons.
• If required, schedule a formal exit interview with HR.
• Thank your manager for the opportunity you have had there and what you have learned.  Ask if he/she would be a reference in the future.
• Ask how you can best spend your last two weeks – suggest documenting processes and procedures, documenting outstanding projects, training others on the team.
• Always give at least two weeks notice.
• Ask your manager if it is ok to tell your colleagues.
• When telling your colleagues, stay as positive as possible.  There is little be gained by bashing the manager or the company and it could seriously hurt you in the future.

How should you maximize your last two weeks?

• If your current responsibilities are not already well documented, prepare as much documentation as possible.
• Compile a list of any outstanding projects or issues.
• Provide a list of where to find critical files on the computer.
• Organize and label for your files so others can find what they need easily.
• Work with your manager to identify any training you need to do with colleagues to provide coverage.
• Coordinate with your manager how you should notify customers or vendors you work with to ensure that they know who to contact once you leave.
• Don’t leave any personal items in your desk or your office.  Leave your work space clean and well organized.
• Participate in an HR exit interview if requested.
• Clarify how you want to be contacted if there are questions once you leave – home email?  Phone?

What do you do your last day?

• Ensure that everything above has been completed.
• Turn in any keys, ID tags, passwords, etc.
• Update your voicemail and email with appropriate contact information for the individual who will be covering.
• Address any outstanding questions with your manager and colleagues.
• Graciously say goodbye and thank you for the experience.

What else should you be doing as you wrap up your final days in your old position?

• Thank your references who helped you land this exciting new opportunity
• Update your LinkedIn profile with your new position and employer on you officially finish your former position.
• Update your networking contacts on your new position
• Review your research and interview notes to ensure that you hit the ground running in your new role.

Always maintain a professional demeanor and behavior so you leave the company with the best impression and your reputation intact.