Bone up on giving great interview

Yeah, people still sing and dance to get a job. Even more so now.

Remember, says someone in Chad Graham’s article in the AZ Republic,
June 28, 2009, everyone seen in person is qualified—so they are picking the person they like the best.

Come armed with specifics—they can tell a rambler immediately.

TELL ME ABOUT YOURSELF. Ask, “I don’t mind telling you about myself, but could you tell me the types of things you want to know…” Avoid religion, politics, groups you belong to, etc.

WHERE DO YOU SEE YOURSELF IN FIVE YEARS? Ask what paths are available. Show how your skills and interests match up.

WHAT IS YOUR GREATEST WEAKNESS? Be honest. If you don’t like detail, for instance, show how you’ve worked to overcome that.

DO YOU WORK WELL WITH A TEAM? Try to find out the company philosophy on teams. Some companies like self-starters and self-maintainers.

Try to be yourself. Smile. Meet the interviewer’s eyes. Would you want to work with you? Think about it.

Do you laugh 17 times a day?

The average person laughs that many times. Are you pulling down the curve?

Yes, I know—times are grim, a million people in the US have gotten the pig flu so far, Michael Jackson is dead, Farah, the Oxiclean Guy, Iran, etc.

But still, people, we need to laugh in order to stay alive. Scientists have shown (to my satisfaction) that laughter triggers a better immune system, prevents cardiovascular disease, some cancers, and is like internal jogging. Plus—it’s way more fun that external jogging.

Laughter as a therapy came to America several decades ago when an Indian doctor and yogi named Medan Kataria come to train some laughter leaders. Saturday Review editor Normal Cousins also credited funny movies with curing a degenerative disease he had.

Now, there are Laughter Clubs (seriously) in nursing homes, retirement villages, therapists’ offices, and even the Cancer Treatment Centers of America, where the director was informed that there weren’t enough laughs.

Most clubs are out of the video business, and use the fact that laughter is contagious to set things off.

They may start out with a laughter chant—ho ho ho hee hee hee…etc. This sounds so funny people start laughing for real.

There is also the laughter greeting—go up to someone, shake hands, then burst out laughing in each other’s faces.

There are other exercises…Ice Cube Down the Back—you simulate the screeches. The Roller coaster—hands up, screaming.

To see if there is a certified laughter leader or club near you, go to www.laughterworldtour.com.

Don’t laugh—I am thinking of trying this.

Telephone interviews can be a minefield

Sarah Needleman writes about these “screening” calls in the WSJ, June 2, 2009. Time was, these were used as a chemistry check—a call to see if an in-person interview might be the next step.

Now, they can be the interview.

The bar has been raised.

One woman was grilled for 90 minutes on what she knew about the company and her marketing philosophies—a far cry from “tell us a little about yourself.”

Now they can ask for exact dates of employment, or to describe 10 marketing initiatives or other projects, including results.

The interviewer may try to determine where you stood when you were laid off. Were they glad to see you go?

This saves the money on flying people out.

Be careful how your call comes across, too. Don’t put the interviewer on hold to tend to a kid or order from the drive-through.

Keep your answers short. If you don’t know or need to look it up, say so.

It wouldn’t hurt to keep a resume and cribsheet by the phone, either.

Sick--but must keep your job

Lesley Alderman, NYT, June 20, 2009, says hard times can be bad times for people with chronic illnesses, Yet these are the people least able to weather a job and insurance loss.

So now what?

Most of the policies on the chronically ill in the workplace are company rules and practice. Companies may provide short- and long-term disability payments, for example.

Of the 22 richest nations, only the US does not guarantee paid time off for illness or treatments, such as cancer therapies.

The Family and Medical Leave Act allows 12 weeks off—no pay.

Advice? Inform your employer of your situation. Be honest. Don’t be ashamed.

Ask for adjustments—if your illness meets the terms of a disability, the company has to make reasonable accommodations. Even if you take meds for it, it may still be a legal disability.

You have to be reasonable—asking for a car and driver probably does not meet this.

Read the office procedures manual. You can take family leave all at once or a little at a time.

See if you can work part-time if the job is too much for you.

If you are worried about losing your insurance or not being able to get by, check with the organization governing your disability.

As for govt disability, it’s hard to get, often requiring a lawyer to beat back the bureaucrats. They get paid when the payments start. After you have been in this for two years, you automatically get Medicare. Two years can be a long time., though.

My advice: take it one day at a time. But remember Auntie Star’s motto: You can ask anybody anything.

Don't fret--still a man's world in one sense

Our newpaper had about 100 stories about Father’s Day. Man, did they like Father’s Day.

However, Rick Montgomery, McClatchy Newspapers, is worried that working women will soon outnumber men.

It’s this darn recession.

More than 4.2 million men have lost jobs nationwide since 2007. Keep this up and women will outpace men in the workplace—but not, of course, in salary, which is another reason we are all altered economically forever.

They even have a name for it—man-cession.

Yes, some are glad to have more time with the kiddies, but it’s hard to have quality time when you are glugging underwater.

Only 30% of men said they would leave their jobs if their wives could pay the freight. This used to be almost half.

More men may want to transition into teaching and health care—meaning more education. Who is paying for that? Mom.

Some dads are becoming coaches to meet more dads and network.

Am I too snarky? Maybe I am. I always see dads getting bouquets for doing what moms do everyday. And a lot of Dads don’t do windows.

Around here, they don’t even do yardwork anymore.

We are supposed to feel bad because women will outnumber men in the workplace—hello, doing work as always, people!

Dos and don'ts of business plans

No job? How about a business?

Writing in the WSJ, John W. Mullins has some excellent advice on writing a business plan. Of course, you already know it’s not on the back of a napkin, right?

Check it out:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204830304574133501980701202.html#printMode

A downturn is a good time to start a business. Hey, there are people available, clients may need a new supplier, and so on. I once heard a guy say he wanted to start a trucking company because so many had gone out of business there should be work. Uh…gone out of business…is that a clue?

You need to be clear..convincing. Those with money are picky these days.

Most business plans, Mullins says, don’t make much of an impression. Here are five types of plans destined to sink without a ripple.

Those that don’t identify a customer problem and instead focus on the wonderful technology being proposed.

Those who show a large market and say they only need a part of it. It’s easier to win a large share of a targeted market and investors know this. A new large market also needs distribution systems and lots of marketing.

A plan where the profits are paper profits. Take pets.com—it looked good, deliver the food to the home—but the logistics killed it.

The team that can walk on water raises flags. You need to show you can handle critical success factors, such as location in retail. Even a weakness in the team could be a strength—if you ask the investor to find the right person for it.

If everything in your plan is wonderful and sunny and you don’t identify any challenges, this is an uh-oh. ID your rough spots.

Some words to avoid: "Huge"--our market is huge—how huge, do research. "Conservative"—as in “we conservatively forecast." "Revolutionary"—as in our product is. How does it really differ from what’s out there? “We believe” is also a substitute for research. “We have no competition.” Yup—you do. Actually, competition can mean the need is so real others are going after it.

Meanwhile, back at the job hunt

My daughter lost her beloved job and we are both pretty devastated. It hurts to lose a job you loved. You have to grieve. For one day.

Then it’s back to the drawing boards.

As a freelance writer for almost 30 years, I look for a job everyday. Of course, now it’s harder because some of my fellow writers have decided to sell out for $8 an hour or even $1 (no zeros) a story.

I have learned, though, that blanketing local employers with “To Whom It May Concern” letters is useless.

Call—get a name. Even call the person first and say you would like to send something, such as a letter of introduction or a resume.

Don’t blab in cliches—enclosed please find, etc. Lose the texting abbrevs, etc.

If you want to leave out a lot and not look overqualified or just fill in gaps where nothing was happening for you, some people use a “functional” resume format—with skills emphasized. This is raising flags these days. What are you hiding?

I recommend formatting by your greatest strength. If you worked for big-name companies, emphasize that. If your titles were Director or Manager, highlight the title first.

Try to cut out a lot of blather, like your height and weight or even references unless they are asked for. And don’t put “References provided on request.” They know you will do that.

If your old field is withering, try to adapt your skills to a newer one--emphasize the people you supervised, classes you took, money you saved or earned the employer.

If you do provide references, customize the list for each requester.

Don’t get too creative. If job requirements are listed, parrot back the same words in your answer. Some resumes are checked by computer for matches. Or by a lower level employee who isn’t going to puzzle out your rewording.

Ask the interviewer what the next step is. When can you expect to hear. If everything seems good, offer to work on a trial basis. What do you have to lose? That doesn’t mean free. It just means you’re ready to roll.

If you are er, older…by all means don’t say: “I have forgotten more than you’ll ever know, sonny.”

Not good. Trust me.