November 30, 2016October 2, 2016

Social Media for Job Seekers Part 3: Lessons Learned

Every day people are finding new ways to use social media to get a job. As a job seeker, creativity will get you noticed. This is the last post in our Social Media series, and we wanted to share some of the successes and failures we’ve come across. I Take a moment to check out Part 1 and Part 2 of our series if you haven’t already.

Socially Awesome

Facebook Ads & a Trending Hashtag

About ten years ago, my close friend Scott decided he wanted to work at ThoughtWorks Australia. He had a tendency to be a bit impatient back then, so instead of waiting for them to get back to his application he decided that he wanted to help expedite the process. He launched a campaign to get hired that included two Facebook ads that led to microsite complete with a slide show and the ability to prank call people.

The slideshow he created demonstrated how his values aligned with those of the organization and included his accomplishments. Scott’s campaign became so popular that the ThoughtWorks Australia employees started #DearScott, which trended on Twitter briefly in Australia. He made it through their interview process and signed on as an employee not long after.

Scott did a lot of things right. He was intentional about his word choices for the advertisement, focusing on being a part of the team instead of being an employee (with/for). When people clicked, the site didn’t just lead to a resume; it was interactive and engaging. He connected to the company values and focused on his accomplishments instead of his previous duties. The prank call aspect let his personality show through in a fun, harmless way.

Lego Girl Gets a Job!

About two years ago a recent college graduate used Legos to apply for internships at creative agencies. She created a mini-scale Lego model, complete with packaging that she used to apply for jobs at her top two companies. She customized the colors on the packages to match the agency branding and included an “instruction book” highlighting her skills. In addition to sending the kits, she posted the photos to Reddit, which got a lot of attention from the industry. Her initiatives worked, and a few weeks later she posted this follow-up.

Socially Awkward

It’s important to be careful because mistakes on social media can cost you a job, or worse, your professional reputation. The next story is about another job seeker using Facebook advertising to get noticed by an employer. This time, it didn’t work out quite so well. The second example is a good reminder to be cautious of everything you post online, not only on your professional social media accounts.

You, Your, You’re…OUT!

One of my marketing friends told me about a failed ad campaign that an applicant tried. The company name and job seekers name are hidden for privacy purposes. From what she tells me several employees spotted the ad, first appearing on their personal Facebook feeds. Then it also popped up in at least one article or blog post an employee was reading.

The ad might have worked if it weren’t for one mistake. The position was in marketing, and this candidate used the wrong version of you’re, not once, but twice in the same advertisement. In a job where attention to detail is so important, the candidate pretty much guaranteed they won’t be getting a callback.

OKCupid to Facebook to LinkedIn to NOPE

An interesting article came across my news feed from SHRM, a professional organization for HR people. The article headline was “Vulgar Comments on Dating App Cause Recruiter to Dismiss Candidate.” The short story is that a recruiter was cruising Facebook when she saw her friend shared a Not Safe For Work Screenshot of some vulgar and threatening messages she received from a man on her Facebook news feed.

The recruiter thought the guy looked familiar, so she did a reverse google image search of his OKCupid photos. It turned out that the picture search led her to the guy’s LinkedIn profile, with the same photo. She rejected him from the candidate pool and sent a note telling him to be nicer to women. Her actions in dismissing the applicant were completely legal. If she had decided to move forward with the candidate given what she had seen and some issue happened at work, the company could be held liable for negligent hiring.

What’s the key takeaway here? Don’t use your professional profile photos in places you don’t want your employer to see. Be careful what you post online in general. There is an increasing blend of people’s personal and professional lives. Anything you put out into the world can be captured and shared. Think about what you’re putting out in the world and who you’re sending these things to. And honestly, just be a nice person.

Attention to Details

The other day this came across my Facebook feed just in time for this article. A friend of mine works at Zulily, and he recently received a mysterious hand delivered letter. Before he opened it, he posted a photo on Facebook. His name and photo are blurred for privacy. The person sending the message put in a lot of work and thought into his efforts. He researched the company, and he included an original signed recommendation, and he followed up on LinkedIn after it was delivered.

Unfortunately, there were critical errors. Remember when we talked about proofreading? Here is another example of a spelling error. It comes across as a lack of attention to detail. The second error was that he had the wrong hiring manager. My friend did end up passing the information along to the right person in the end, but those two mistakes might be a deal breaker for the hiring manager.

Oh, and as far as my friend’s informal survey? Two people said creepy/unprofessional because of the spelling along with sending it to the wrong person, and one person voted for being a go-getter.

Thanks for sticking with us through the series. Have you ever tried any of these tricks? We’d love to hear if they worked out for you. Tell us about them in the comments.

Parents at the Job Interview

November 30, 2016August 22, 2016

Would you bring you parents to a job interview?

Over the past few years, parental involvement in the hiring and interview process has increased significantly. I’ve seen parents accompany their kids to the job interview and had calls from parents trying to negotiate salaries behalf of their children. At best, it’s something that gets talked about. It becomes a “can you believe what happened today at the office” kind of story. At worst, it could cost the applicant the job. It gives hiring managers the impression that the candidate family-515530 isn’t prepared for the job, not able to advocate for themselves or problem solve.

There’s no doubt that parents want to help their children. They want to stay involved in their lives, especially in that first ‘real’ job. However, parents can do more harm than help in some cases. I’m going to talk about ways that parents can be involved and helpful without getting in the way of the hiring process. If you (as an applicant) are working with a manager directly, keep in mind that filling this position is one small slice of the work they have to get done. Recruiters might be working to fill dozens of positions at a time. Expecting a recruiter or hiring manager to negotiate with an applicant and a parent can leave them frustrated and move on to another candidate.

Applicants need to take the lead

You need be the one talking to the hiring manager and recruiters directly. Parents, please don’t check in on behalf of your child. It’s not a good idea for parents to accompany you to the interview, if they’re helping you with transportation, ask them to visit a local park or coffee shop during the interview.

“My mom is the one who got me the interview at X company so that she can check on the status of the interview, right?”

It’s not a good idea for parents to check on the status of the hiring process, even if they work at the company. Keep the relationship professional and develop your identity apart from theirs. When I was working in hospitality HR, parents would try hard to help their kids get positions there. Some parents would check on the application every day, and get upset when I couldn’t provide updates. The best thing to do is let the process work. Parents, you aren’t going to help move the process along by pestering HR or the hiring manager, I promise!

Parents shouldn’t:

Check on the status of an application/interview
Sit in on an interview or wait in the lobby
Attempt to negotiate salaries or benefits
Act as a reference for a child (even if you have a different last name)
fill out an application on behalf of their child

Where parents can help

Parents and family members can be a fantastic resource to help applicants without overstepping boundaries. I encourage you to use your parents to work behind the scenes with you. If they’re working, ask them to keep an eye out for open positions at their company. Companies sometimes will post jobs internally before they start looking outside for applicants. Another thing that can be helpful is using your parent’s network to connect to other organizations. Set up informational interviews with their colleagues to learn more about different organizations and begin making your connections.

Applicants, ask your parents to:

Proofread your resume and cover letter
Help practice interview questions (samples)
Refer you to open positions within their organization
Keep an eye out for job postings
Use their network to connect you

The hiring process can be intimidating, and it’s understandable to want help navigating it, especially the first time. Show the company the skills and abilities that you bring to the table. Organizations have designed the job interview process to get to know you as a candidate, and that can get muddy when someone else is representing you as well.

November 30, 2016August 19, 2016

Three Common Types of Interview Questions

There are three basic styles of interview questions used by HR and hiring managers. Today, we’re going to explain them so you can prepare for your upcoming interview. We’ll start with behavioral interview questions since they are the most common and then discuss traditional and structured questions as well. When scheduling your interview with a recruiter, HR or the hiring manager, there’s no harm in asking what category of interview questions that you should prepare for.

Behavioral Interview Questions

Behavioral interview questions are by far the most common types of questions asked during a non-technical job interview. These questions are asking for candidates to tell a story about something that has happened in the past. The reason these are so popular among HR is because studies have shown that the way people behave in previous situations is a really good indicator of how they are going to act in the future. Because these behavioral interview questions are so widely used, it is where we focus most of our interview coaching practice.

A few examples of behavioral interview questions:

Tell me about a time you had a disagreement with a co-worker.
Describe a complex problem that you fixed with a single solution.
Talk about a time when you had to work in close collaboration with someone whose personality was very different from yours.
Tell me about a time you had to juggle multiple competing deadlines? How did you prioritize them? What was the result?

Behavioral questions can be simple or contain multiple questions that you need to answer. Take notes on the question to make sure you hit all of the questions the interviewers are looking for and answer the questions completely. The STAR format is an excellent way to organize your response.

Structured Interview Questions

Structured questions are very similar to behavioral interview questions except they aren’t asking about past performance. These questions are more forward-looking and ask ‘what you would do’ instead of ‘what have you done.’ These are beneficial for entry-level positions and internships where people might not have as much background to draw from.

A few examples of structured interview questions:

How would you handle a situation where your supervisor asked you to do something unethical?
Imagine you are very busy with a large company project, and your manager asks you to take on additional, unrelated work. What would you do?
A furious client walks up to your desk. He believes that his being over-billed for services your company provided. After reviewing his information, you learn that the bill was, in fact, valid. How would you handle this situation?

Traditional Interview Questions

We call these the ‘mirror’ questions because they are the answers that candidates can rehearse in a mirror and fine tune their answers. These are pretty straight forward and easy to draft an answer. There isn’t any particular formula for responding to these questions. Traditional interview questions also don’t add a lot of value to the hiring managers, so we are seeing a lot less of them in the interview process.

A few examples of traditional interview questions:

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
What is your greatest strength/weakness?
Why do you want to work for this company?
Why do you want to be [insert job title]?
Tell me about yourself?

The one exception, is the ‘tell me about yourself’ question. In most interviews this question, in some variation is used to break the ice and move the discussion forward. Another variation of this question is ‘tell me about your work experience and education that has prepared you for this position.’ With few exceptions, we recommend that applicants focus on work history, education and any relevant training or experiences that relate to the job. This is not the time to talk about your love for the tuba, favorite cooking shows or your son in cub scouts, unless of course you’re interviewing for an orchestra, the food network or the forest service respectively.