Author: Michael Mayher

I have now been writing my blog for almost three years, which coincided with the publishing of my handbook meant for the individual job seeker. For the person without a champion, as someone in their corner, advising and coaching them along in competition with scores of others while trying to be the one selected to receive a job offer. When you are competing for a job along with other people with a similar intent, there is no prize for second place – only one person gets the job offer. Shouldn’t that person be you? My aim has been to assist individuals, people who are navigating the obstacle course that is the jobs market and interview process. There are many people I’ve helped who have benefitted and a few have expressed as much on my LinkedIn profile (if there are any

When we think in terms of references we invariably think of what others can do for us. It’s something that only crosses our minds, for the most part, when we need them to speak well of us and on our behalf. Good references can and should be regarded as a powerful tool, an extra weapon in your arsenal to have at the ready when the time is appropriate. I recommend one should always be on the lookout to keep a file of references because they are so important.   No man is an island, entire of itself; we live in a society and whether we realize it or not, each of us has the power to influence the lives of others for the better with small gestures. I’ve recently written that asking for and providing a reference is not to be taken

It is my opinion that we live in an era of generic, bland-vanilla sameness -- especially in the business world. Most people talk a good game but when it becomes their moment they are deathly afraid of raising their head above the herd, much less to be a black sheep. This is ironic at a moment when innovators and new ideas are most needed. Yet, at both administrative and management levels, virtually every process that revolves around interview and hiring is standardized, generalized and homogenized in such a way that they will rarely meet those they need the most. Let’s consider the interview process. Most everyone’s goal is to get through it without making a mistake; so worried about it that many people who are more dynamic in other situations are lackluster when it is their turn. Many people strive in fact

Anyone who’s looked for a job, especially within the last 5 years, has encountered significantly more obstacles and limitations than in the past, erected by the very people and organizations that claim to be looking for the best available talent. This is frustrating, especially if you are a self-reliant person, who prefers to do more than register and submit to on-line processes. It can seem as if the more you attempt to help yourself the more you find yourself hitting a virtual wall. Regardless of your qualifications and experience, if you don’t get noticed or seen it doesn’t much matter, you’ll find your resume piled with those who aren’t even remotely qualified until someone might get around to you. No doubt to be successful in this very competitive job market requires more “sticktoitiveness” (yeah, that’s a real term, look it up) and

A truly dedicated and serious job seeker, applicant or candidate, is one who can juggle and multi-task. Too many people sleepwalk through the job search and subsequent interview process, only to lament their lack of positive results. There are many aspects and things anyone can augment in order to up their odds for better success. It isn’t difficult but takes commitment that most people simply will not have – this becomes an advantage for those who will and do more. Take the simple exercise of collecting and providing references. I don’t care what type of reference you use, consider what you are really doing here; you are asking someone to speak on your behalf, requesting someone to vouch for you and this should never be taken lightly. More important, they are, by agreeing to refer you, putting their reputation and good

When you are seeking to be hired, promoted or chosen for anything ahead of others, all similarly vying for the same thing, it is essential the hiring manager is happy and excited about the hiring decision they’ve made. Being just good enough to be the last resort or the final option isn’t a winning strategy. Having a well-thought-out reply to the question of, “why should anyone hire you?” is a key component of your efforts. Lacking a clear and decisive answer to that question, and others you should anticipate as likely, is negligence on your part. However, before as well as when they meet you, you must attract their attention. When meeting them, there is that thing about first impressions, but you can’t stop there; so what kind of person, what impression will they have -- of you? In sales and marketing

There are many reasons why people fail to progress during the interview process, but a significant mistake is their failure to ask questions during the interview and every subsequent step of the hiring process. Many fail to take full advantage of the event, learning as much as they can with the limited time they have with a hiring manager. A lot of people do only the bare minimum and engage only when it’s expected of them and then seem surprised when they receive no call-back or an invitation to the next step. Still others do all right but they always finish second or third and hiring officials will say, “We liked you, but…” if they tell you anything, at all. We all know that unless a company is conducting multiple hires, there is no prize for second or third-place finishers

When I look at the changing trends that have taken place since I became a headhunter in 1992, the most notable is the advent and increased reliance on technology that is supplanting traditional human interaction. One of the areas where it is most evident, for me, is the job application and interview process. The downside is the obvious degradation of soft skills and interpersonal communication abilities of all involved in the hiring process. For all of the technology at our fingers tips, which is indeed useful and necessary, our abilities to communicate are suffering. When it comes to interacting directly with other people; when we can’t hide behind our devices, we’re more uncomfortable and awkward than ever. And when I do speak with some people what comes out of their mouths has little relevance. Increasingly they speak in generic terms and

Any accomplished and successful salesperson reads the title and knows immediately to what I am referring. The best way to sell any product or service is to present the benefits, thus demonstrating to potential customers why they should choose what you have to offer to them rather than someone else. When you interview, it is, or I suggest it should be, the very same concept you use when you interview for a job. Simply replace the word buy with the word hire and the advantage of this approach should be obvious. Applying this logic and making the appropriate adjustments to your efforts can make a notable difference anytime you are presenting yourself in pursuit of a new job, for a promotion or even a pay raise. This concept goes to the heart of the interview process and exemplifies your task when you

We live in a period of great change, which in-turn, has a lot of people glancing over their shoulders wondering what’s next to change. The biggest concern for many is their job status and security; most everyone knows someone that’s been negatively affected the last few years. Among those who’ve been impacted, some spring to action, do what is necessary, make adjustments and with effort they regain their footing as best they can and move forward. Yet increasingly, others really have a tough time recovering. In light of all the changes, it astounds me there are still a majority of people doing nothing to be better prepared, just-in-case. Human nature is such that unless there is a need to be on alert, most people get comfortable and settle into a routine resulting in atrophy, their senses dull and so if/when