Author: Michael Mayher

The interview is an interactive event. You will need to demonstrate why you are worthy of consideration and to the extent that you will be selected over other applicants. But it is not only about you and your qualifications. The process will also help you to determine if it is a job you want and, ideally, both sides will conclude if there is mutual and shared interest that can result in a job offer. But to get your foot in the door you must first have a good resume, which will entice and attract them into considering you. But to be sure, it requires more than simply a good resume to get a job. Many people place far too much reliance upon their resume, as though it is the primary component of the process. They agonize over having it just right

When you resign form a job, sometimes long suppressed animosities may bubble to the surface because you’re about to leave your old job for a new one. As a result, some people like to get a little revenge, or at least want to thumb their noses on their way out the door. It may be tempting to tell the boss or a co-worker to drop dead, but think twice. Or, perhaps you are so happy that you don’t do much of the work necessary to properly hand over your responsibilities, because you are eagerly counting between now and the last day in your current job. Be careful, fate is a funny thing. Whether you are departing happy, angry or sad, until you leave the office at the end of your last day, perform your function as you would any other

After you attend an interview, what do you do; what would you do? I am relentlessly suggesting that when seeking a job, your activity during the interview process requires that, in order to increase your odds for success, you must effectively multi-task because it is a contest between you and, well, everyone else. You need more than a good resume, for the simple reason that at some point you’ll be asked, “Tell me about yourself?” at which point you’ll actually have to speak. I also suggest people conduct research, because they are most likely going to be asked, “What do you know about our company?”  Additionally, I tell people to prepare and hone their interview (soft) skills so that when they do speak, what comes out of their mouths actually helps, rather than to hurt or detract. I recommend applicants

In January I posted a blog entry suggesting people do more real activity than limit themselves only to online efforts, which in reality amounts to not much effort. As a matter of common sense, I always suggest you must do more if you want better results by augmenting your conventional online job search activities with other more proactive physical activities. If you are relying almost solely upon online resources, you are doing little more than the equivalent of purchasing a lottery ticket and crossing your fingers. Sadly this is what most people are doing and maybe, if we just send out one more resume, then maybe…this time ours will be the winning ticket. But rather, you must get your hands dirty if you want better results and commit to the hard work necessary to dig, in order to find those

If you think you are reference checked only near the end of the interview process, you are mistaken - that’s how it was, but no longer. Sure, reference checks as we’ve known them still exist, usually at the end of the hiring process, when an HR rep or hiring manager says to you, “we’d like to make you an offer contingent upon checking your references.” That’s a good sign and the words we want to hear, it means you’re almost there. But that’s not what I am talking about. Often reference checks take place before you are invited for an interview and it often is a substantial factor in whether or not they will choose to consider you and has little to do with your professional abilities. I am of course referring to your digital footprint, your virtual self, online and

Networking for professional purposes has been diluted in its meaning, having become so vague it’s worthy of clarifying the different types of networking as related to your job search efforts. It is wise to identify what kind of networking activity will be an investment with a higher rate of return for your efforts. Many people are using social networking in their job search efforts. As with any online resource, you cannot and should not rely upon virtual means as a singular effort, for the simple reason that you will be missing opportunities found by other methods. Many jobs are not posted online. Some people confuse recreational aimed social media / networking with actual human interactive business networking. How many online friends you can accumulate doesn’t mean much because, after all, there are friends and then there are acquaintances. I suggest most people

During the conduct of the interview, an applicant is supposed to elaborate upon the information on their resume in order to give the interviewer a good and thorough understanding of their abilities, and how that can relate to the role for which they have applied. Meanwhile, the interviewer should be able to explain to any and all applicants as to what the job entails, and also elaborate about the organization, including the reason as to why this firm is worthy of joining. However, it is becoming increasingly difficult to get real and substantive information that is necessary to any thoughtful decision; I am speaking with reference to both the interviewer as well as the interviewee. I speak and meet with a lot of people and the majority are spewing the same old tired clichés and lines. There is so little originality

I hear people complain and say, “…you don’t know how tough it is.” Or, “when was the last time you looked for a job”, blah, blah…  well, those folks couldn’t be more mistaken. For those who want to do more than to complain; if you are serious and you mean it, I can help with useful advice if you’re ready to do more than most people – who, by the way, aren’t doing much so it’s no wonder many see no real results. For more than two decades I have been conducting business that is closely connected to peoples’ job searches and interview efforts. So I have been directly involved with, witnessed, and heard more situations than I could ever list. Furthermore, I apply the same advice that I give to others, and translate it into my own business development efforts,

I am always preaching to people that they should exercise all their options and to not rely solely upon point-and-click online job search efforts, which have a limited chance for success, if that’s all you are doing. You should avail yourself of multiple methods and strategies. However, I’ve never said nor suggested you stop your online efforts when, in fact, you should be doing many different things simultaneously. Most people have a resume and many invest a lot of time to have a good one. But even those focused predominantly on digital means fail to use social media to its fullest potential. While I espouse the need for people to be proactive and hands-on in their efforts, you should not neglect the passive means by which others might come upon and find you. You must learn how to juggle your efforts;

I give advice to people about how to better enable themselves to find jobs, using means beyond the same methods used by everyone else. If the crowd goes in one direction I advise another route. I also provide much more advice and tips for interviewing more effectively – something that, in reality, most people are essentially clueless about – including most interviewers, believe it or not. But let me take this opportunity to inform and awaken those who are currently working and yet doing nothing constructive to either A) be better prepared, qualified or positioned in order to be more appealing to potential employers, or B) to galvanize and better protect your current job status and value to your present employer. This is how you make yourself as indispensable as you can. Continuing education is a career-long effort and it does