Managing Your Brand While Looking For A Job

Posted on May 10, 2013 by Becky Pearce

Executives looking for a job should always be mindful of protecting their career brand.

From the minor errors in the resume or cover letter, to applying for jobs they do not qualify for, or stumbling badly in the interview process, there is ample opportunity for executives to damage their brand in the job search process.

Here are five guide points to help executives navigate these potentially troublesome waters.

1. Do Not Apply For A Job You Do Not Qualify For – If the job advertisement, internet posting or networking email specifically mentions in the first sentence “We are searching for a physician executive” and you are not a doctor, then why waste your time? The mentality that something might work out is not only wrongheaded but it will diminish you in the eyes of recruiters who are overwhelmed with resumes.

Here is an interesting factoid: “Job seekers self-report spending up to 10 minutes viewing a job,” according to a recent study conducted by internet recruiting site, The Ladders. On average they actually spend between 39.7 to 76.7 seconds. So look before you leap. Clicking the “submit resume” button on every ad that contains the words “leadership” or “executive” is a fool’s errand. Slow down and actually read the job requirements. Submitting a resume for a job that you do not qualify for is a red flag: Beware!! This candidate does not pay attention to details.

2. Resumes Are Preferred For Executive Searches – In an executive search, send a resume that chronicles your executive progression and value-based accomplishments, not a curriculum vitae that focuses on endless listings of appointments, committees, research and articles. The only time you use a CV is when you are applying to an academic or affiliated organization, or a research firm. A 46-page history of your research articles with no clear career path is a great way to be excluded in a competitive executive search. The only people who speed read faster than candidates are recruiting researchers who spend, on average, between 20 and 30 seconds reviewing a resume or CV.

3. Do Not Send The Same Resume For Every Job – No two jobs are alike. Pay attention to the client’s selection criteria and preferred characteristics. Use a career summary paragraph at the top of a resume to emphasize your strengths and accomplishments that match the needs of the client. The one-size-fits-all jobs resume is a thing of the past. Target your audience.

4. Proof Your Documents – We all have submitted documents in our career—resumes, letters, proposals, contracts…heck, even blogs, that contain errors. While regrettable, one or two errors will probably not change the rotation of the earth. However, if, over the course of a search, the number of minor errors increases, you are only reaffirming that you do not pay attention to details.

5. Be Prepared, Be Smart – If you have a career glitch – and I am not talking about the candidate with five felonies (that is another story), or if you fall short with one or two elements of the selection criteria, prepare in advance how you will address these issues. Only a foolish candidate will be cocky enough to devise an answer on the fly when asked. Think these issues through. Draft responses. Practice and revise. Then practice in front of a mirror. When asked, smile, and then hit the ball out of the park.

Regardless of the industry, competition for the best jobs will only intensify in this new economy. Faced with an avalanche of resumes, recruiters must eliminate candidates to get the number down to a manageable level.

Do not make it easy for them to eject you from the game.

Self Employment Offers Great Rewards

Posted on May 1, 2013 by John G. Self

In the 1980s, when my long-time job as a Senior Vice President with a health system ended, I faced a tough career management transition.

People did not want the skills I offered, nor did I have the all-important master’s degree – it was a double whammy in a tight job market. I went from being incredibly successful to the depths of despair, trying to figure out how to pay my bills. I never thought this would happen to me.

In the ensuing 25 years I have had just one “employed” tenure with a regional health system in the town where I grew up. It was a great experience. I ran a home infusion pharmacy, then the state’s largest EMS system and, finally, their international recruiting company. Little did I know at the time that this last “employed” gig would provide me with the experience – some of it painful – the skills, the courage, and the determination to launch my own corporate brand, JohnGSelf Associates, Inc.

It was a tough slog at first, and there have been more than a few bumps along the way, including a disastrous failed business partnership, but today, looking back, I know I made the right decision to trust my own instincts and abilities. In the end, it proved to be a home run.

I have had a great career – from working as a crime writer and investigative reporter for a major Texas newspaper, to being the first director of Hermann Hospital’s famed Life Flight program and then serving as national marketing manager for their aircraft company consulting with hospitals across the nation.

Now, working as an executive recruiter, advising candidates and clients in seven countries on four continents, the rewards of managing my own brand are enormous.

There are many in this land who cannot be an independent contractor because they have built a career comfort zone surrounded by reinforced steel bar concrete. Intellectually they may want to touch the third rail of career exploration, but they have no clue how to overcome their fears to take the leap of faith, so they don’t, and that is probably the right choice.

There are others who need to break free, should break free and join the free agent nation, but they cannot see a way forward because they cannot overcome their fears and reluctance to do those things that will ensure incredible success.

Somehow I overcame all of those barriers and found a pathway to success. It was painful at times. I had to battle my fears of rejection and my reluctance to put my name, my brand on the line. Being a salary-man is secure but you are always depending on someone or something else. But being a successful entrepreneur is one of the most satisfying accomplishments in the world because where danger lurks, you, and only you, have the power to do something about it.

Can We Talk?

Posted on April 19, 2013 by John G. Self

Let’s talk candidly about career management.

More than likely the professionals who should read this probably won’t read this.

I talk to a lot of people at conferences, airports and on the telephone. Executives, especially those in healthcare, are troubled by tough economic times with less than robust job creation, continued high rates of unemployment and, in the case of healthcare, a daunting transformation as the federal government is forced to reduce payments to hospitals, doctors and other providers in order to reduce the escalating deficit and debt. They are concerned with the instability.

Here is my candid advice for seasoned executives as well as early careerists and the people they supervise:

Be flexible
Get outside your comfort zone
Think outside of the box

Be flexible – Geographically. Candidates must be willing to go where the jobs are. If you want to be a senior leader, four to five job changes may be required. Executives who limit themselves geographically – regardless of the reason – must be willing to accept the career consequences.

Get outside your comfort zone – Every executive, every employee, every candidate has strengths and weaknesses. We all have things we like and things we don’t like to do. We try to avoid those “don’t likes” at all costs. However, in a tough, competitive market you have to deliver results, even when this means you have to do those things you would rather not do. You cannot ignore something that is integral to meeting performance deliverables. Get out of your comfort zone and do what has to be done before your boss asks you to leave and you fall into the unemployment pit.

Think outside the box – One of the challenges posed by the new economy is that fewer employees are asked to do more work. Productivity is required. Smart companies are looking for employees who are flexible, who are not afraid of change, and who welcome challenges with an eye for innovation. This is especially true in the healthcare industry. Executives and employees who can think outside the box and who relish change and innovation are becoming increasingly valuable for companies.

Here are some phrases and workplace behaviors to avoid:

It’s not my job
We have always done it this way
I don’t like change (non-union)
I am not going to change (union)
I need a job so I can be a good provider but my family refuses to relocate
My boss is totally unrealistic
My boss is an idiot
I am not going to sacrifice time with my friends and/or family for my job
I am a nurse and I have worked here a long time, they can’t fire me
Some of the people I work with work too hard. They are making the rest of us look bad
That patient doesn’t have insurance so it is OK to make them wait
I am tired. There are things I’d rather do so I am not going to see any more patients today

If you are someone who gets it, feel free to share this blog with someone who doesn’t.