We all want our time in the spotlight. Here’s your chance!

As a little girl, I wanted to be famous! I was always the centre of attention and would demand the spotlight from anyone who seemed uninterested in my freshly created painting or newly learned acrobatics. It is curious to me that as I matured, and found myself in (what felt like) dungeon-like interview torture chambers, I no longer wanted to be the centre of attention. Stop asking me all these questions about myself! It was painful! Truth be told: The more you do, the easier interviewing becomes. Thankfully for you, I have been through many a “torture chamber” and survived to transfer my successes to you.

Here is what I learned:

Wait to be seated. It is extremely awkward to sit when the employer is still up walking around. By waiting you are exhibiting courtesy and politeness.

Bring extra copies of your resume and cover letter; you never know who will be in the room interviewing you. Respectfully offer additional copies to ensure everyone has your documents.

Use your resume as a cheat sheet throughout your interview. Remember, your resume lists your work experience; your skills, evidence, and what they can do for the employer; your education; your achievements; and potentially a whole lot more. If you are puzzled by a question, briefly scan your resume to prompt your memory.

Propose returning to a question later if you are feeling stymied. Please only use this tactic once or twice at most as you could imagine the perception of the employer when your response to every other question is “may we return to this question at the end?”

Take time in the awkward silences to create a genuine answer. Employers know when you are talking for the sake of talking because you felt uncomfortable in the space between the question and your answer. The last time I conducted interviews, multiple interviewees provided me with intricate elaborate stories that never answered my question because they felt pressured by the silence. Someone who takes the time to search their memory for the best possible answer shows me that they are genuine and will be thoughtful and careful in their role, not jump the gun.

Try not to fill the void with um, ah, you know, or like in those silences that you feel are awkward. These words could be distracting the employer from the real content you want them to remember. Using these words may also demonstrate poorer oral communication skills then you actually possess. Simply speaking: be cognizant.

Bring your portfolio to evidence or support anything you state. By referring to your portfolio, you may be also demonstrating your presentation skills.

Ask questions at the end of your interview. Inquire about the company’s goals. Ask when you should expect to know the outcome. Query about what the interviewer likes about working for the company. And my fave: What does an ideal candidate look like for this position, in your opinion? Google questions to ask at an interview to discover many more. Asking questions at the end of the interview demonstrates your interest in working with the company and your interest in ensuring this is the right “fit” for the both of you. Have a minimum of three questions prepared.

Remember these tips and certainly you will be the centre of attention, and, maybe even land yourself your dream job. Happy job shopping!

Secrets

Hey Gossip Girl! I bet you love secrets just as much as I do; therefore, I am going to let you in on one of my fave’s. Don’t tell ok? On second thought.....let’s tell everybody!

When in an interview and the hiring manager asks you, “tell me about yourself,” what do you say? Does the hiring manager want you to talk about your hobbies? Your work history? Your education? Your family? Where do you start? Ugh. I was stumped by this enquiry myself, until I learned a little trick. Lean in a little closer so I can whisper to you my secret: Utilize the acronym W.E.P.! W.E.P. stands for:

Work history

Education and training

Personal

Remember this acronym and you will never fret the dreaded enquire tell me about yourself again. For example, my friend Blair has an interview for a retail position. The hiring manager asks, “tell me about yourself Blair.” Blair may answer something like this:

I have worked in the customer service industry for 5 years including 2.5 years in retail. My education and training consists of 1+ years post secondary in Fashion Marketing and I am World Host certified which validates my skills in customer service. Something personal about myself is that I am extremely customer focused, great with conflict resolution, and I love to stay on the cutting edge of fashion.

What do you think? Blair has given a very strong and well-rounded answer in my opinion. Remember, when speaking of your work history, to quantify your years of experience if possible and leave out anything that is not relevant. For example, if Blair also worked in landscaping for 1 year, she is likely going to leave that information out. When speaking of education and training, you can always use high school, post secondary, or any certifications you may have received that are relevant to the position. Again, if Blair also has her Serving it Right, she is not going to mention it in her retail interview. Furthermore, something personal about yourself could be soft skills, hard skills, or even relevant hobbies.

Essentially, when the hiring manager asks you to tell him/her something about yourself, they are asking you to sell yourself in 30 seconds or less; so, provide only the highlights. We could call this your 30 second commercial; you will find that having a 30 second commercial will benefit you in other areas of your life also—not just in the interview.

Happy job shopping!

Miss DJ play my song!

You’ve handed out hundreds of resumes and cover letters and have not answered your bejewelled cell once to hear an invitation to an interview. What is going on??? Are you targeting your promotional documents (resume, cover letter, etc.) to the jobs for which you are applying? Targeting your documents is time consuming, I know; however, isn’t it better to take a day or two to target your documents and find quicker results than create lacklustre general documents that the employer will likely yawn at?

Here is an analogy to help you learn how to target your documents: A DJ has hundreds, maybe thousands of songs, but is she going to play all of her songs at each gig she receives? Put her playlist on random and hope the crowd dances? Likely not. The DJ is going to put together playlists based on the type of gig obtained: wedding, night club, graduation, etc. You, ladies, are the DJ; the event, is the job; and the playlist, is your skills.

Say you are applying for a position as a Food and Beverage Server. Are you, Miss DJ, going to talk about that time you worked in a warehouse folding boxes all day? Or that job landscaping one summer? Do you think the employer will be interested to know what is not relevant to the position? Probably not. Employers are getting dozens of resumes each day and they do not have time to read what is not relevant to the job; therefore, like the DJ who chooses her music based on the type of gig, you choose your skills to showcase based on the type of job. So, maybe instead of promoting your physical aptitudes, ability to work outside in all weather conditions, or capacity to do repetitive tasks for eight hours, you can advertise your approachability, salesmanship, professionalism, great memory, proven ability to work with a sense of urgency, and cash handling skills—to name a few. So, if I am the employer and you are applying for a job within my company, please Miss DJ, play my song!

Preparing for Vancouver’s......daylife?

I went to a classy Vancouver Night Club last Saturday. You know what time I had scheduled in my agenda to start preparing for the evening? 4 o’clock PM. My friends were not coming to pick me up until 7PM!!! Even then, I was still applying my fancy Elizabeth Arden lip gloss as I hurried out the door. Three hours it took me to get ready because I showered, I primped, I curled, I brushed my teeth, I flossed, and finally, I had to decide what clothes to wear so I could match my make-up! My question is, why do ladies spend so much time preparing for parties and night clubs, and yet, lack the preparation time required for interviews?

Preparing for your nightlife should be no different really than preparing for your interview—hygienically and aesthetically speaking; however, there are a few more preparation tips you should know:

First, make certain you know yourself. Know your work and volunteer history; your education including post secondary, certifications, and professional development; personal attributes that would be a great asset to the company; and any awards you may have received. In addition, make sure you know your strengths and weaknesses. Remember to always back up your strengths with evidence and remember to talk about your weaknesses genuinely and how you working to improve them.

Second, know the company. Research, research, research the company. Know what kinds of products or services they offer. Know the company’s mission and vision statements. Knowing the company will help you to answer the questions Why do you want to work for this company? and What makes you the best fit for this position? Have you ever been asked what you know about a company to answer that you have no idea? Did you get the job?

Third, practice! Practice answering typical and behavioural interview questions such as Tell me about yourself or What are three skills you would like to improve? For a great list of questions to practice answering, check out the following link from the City of Vancouver website, http://vancouver.ca/humanresources/interviewprep.htm.

Fourth, generate a list of questions to ask the employer. Again, you can refer to the City of Vancouver’s link above for great questions to ask the employer. Asking the employer questions demonstrates your interest in the company and where they are headed in the future; in addition, you are making sure the company will be a good fit for you. Remember, interviewing is a two way street; the company is trying to find a good candidate to fill a position and you are trying to find a company for whom you will be proud to work. My fave question is In your opinion, what does an ideal candidate look like for this position? If the employer answers with attributes or qualifications that you possess, that were not discussed in the interview, here is your opportunity to speak to them.

Fifth, print extra copies of your resume and cover letter in case there are additional people in the interview room. Always offer additional copies of your resume and cover letter in case the interviewers do not all have copies. Additionally, make sure you have copies for yourself that you can use as a cheat sheet in your interview. It is always nice to have something to refer to rather than relying solely on your memory.

Finally, do a dry-run of the travel to the interview. You will know exactly the route you will take and how much travel time to allot yourself in the morning. Hopefully, you will be relaxed and not applying your lip gloss hurriedly out the door. Happy job shopping!

Keys Please!

Just like you need keys to unlock the world to a luxurious Lexus driving experience, so might you need keys to unlock the world to your idyllic place of employment. By keys, I am referring to “key words.” Ponder this: When you submit your resume electronically, it is scanned by an electronic scanner for key words. Key words are those words in the job posting (attributes, skills, certifications, etc.), that the employer is seeking in an ideal applicant. When your resume is scanned electronically, the scanner is looking for key words; the more key words you have included, the more “hits” you will get on your resume; the more “hits” you get on your resume, the better your chances are of having it seen by the employer! And all ladies want to be seen, don’t we?

Here is an example: You are seeking office employment. You have a job posting that states, “experience with Microsoft Office, minimum wpm 50, great telephone manner, presentable, and approachable individual required;” if you possess all these key requirements, you ought to think about incorporating these key words in your documents.

The same holds true when you apply in person with tangible copies of your documents. How do you think employers scan through the multitudes of resumes and cover letters they receive efficiently and effectively? They scan for key words! You would be surprised to know that, from my experience, about less than 10% of applicants do not include key words in their resume and cover letters. So, ladies, now that you have the keys to unlock this useful information, open the door; you never know what wonderful things are awaiting you on the other side. Happy job shopping!

Remember Me

What in Armani's name are job search business cards? I am so glad you asked! Job search business cards are for helping people remember you after conferences, business open houses, events, or job fairs; basically, any great networking place. Your job search business cards will include your heading (same as on your resume, right?) and a few highlights you can offer your targeted job. For example, if you are seeking employment as an Administration Assistant, you may want to think about adding your business administration education, wpm, familiarity with computer programs, customer service skills, or organizational abilities. If you are having trouble thinking about what to put on your job search business cards, think about what you have in your Highlights of Qualifications section on your resume and grab a few from there. So, now that you have your job search business cards printed up, head on out to the first networking event you hear of and hand em out!

Social Butterflies

Have you ever had anyone tell you you are a social butterfly? Life of every party? Super popular? Ladies you need to transfer that extroversion into your job search. For whatever reason, we can go to parties and socials and talk about ourselves until we are blue in the face, and we love it of course, but when we know our socializing talents could be put to good use to advance our careers or job searches, we freeze up! Why is this? Remember, People Do Business With People They Know, Like, And Trust (Rachelle Disbennett-Lee, PhD). I attended an extreme networking event this past week, put on by Canadian Career Moves at the Compass Point Inn, and I learned some rules of networking that I will share with you today:

1) Know what you want - people can't help you if don't know what you want
2) Be prepared - have a resume on you at all times
3) Ask easy and common questions such as "what do you do?"
4) Speak to everyone!
5) Ask open ended questions
6) Listen listen listen - we have two ears and one mouth for a reason
7) Ask for referrals - always get names, phone numbers, email addresses, etc.
8) Offer help yourself
9) Keep a journal
10) Follow Through - Call or write a card and hand deliver it, if practical, and say "thanks for your time." A little courtesy can go a long way.

And some final words to leave with you today, if you don't ask you'll never know--what have you got to lose?

I AM the Trendy Brand

It is no wonder that the advertising industry in BC has operating revenues of over $5 billion and that the future job prospects for advertisers and marketing managers is above average (http://74.125.155.132/search?q=cache:CInprFemvX8J:skilledimmigrants.vpl.ca/index.php/guides/industry/advertising+22advertising+industry22+statistics+sales&cd=3&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=ca&client=firefox-a)--advertising works! Lets use Coca-Cola for an example. When I head into the supermarket to find my can of Coca-Cola, I know I am looking for a red can with whitish-silverish calligraphic font spelling Coca-Cola in a vertical fashion from the bottom of the can to the top underlined by a wavy line in the same colour. In addition, I know that when I pour the drink into my glass that it will be a dark brown colour, fizzing, and will taste exactly the same as it has for over a century. The key to brand positioning is consistency; and that is precisely what you are going to do in your personal marketing documents which include your resume, cover letter, job search business cards, and list of references.

So, you ask, how do I do this? Very simply really. First, figure out what your heading will look like. What size font did you use for your name and contact information? What style font did you use? Did you bold anything? Use small caps? What style underlining did you use? Where was your information placed? Was all of your information right-aligned, left aligned, centered, or broken up? I love this part because I can be creative and younique! Never outrageous though; we don't want to use a font that is hard to read. You may even want to use an image (not of yourself) that represents you in your heading. For example, if you are applying to be a make-up artist, you may want to use an image of a tube of lipstick just before your name in the heading. The image of lipstick creates a sense that you encompass beauty and aesthetics. The lipstick image is like subconsciously priming the reader of what to expect. Beautiful, I love it! Once you are happy with your heading, take a mental photograph because you will use this heading in ALL of your job search documents. Additionally, take note of your margins, border design (if you used one), underline design, or any other formatting that makes your documents youniquely you and use them consistently as well. How do you think CoCo Chanel succeeded? Louis Vuitton? Coach? All have a very specific logos that you could spot from a mile away. Ah, now you're getting it! Advertise yourself! Remember, you are your own younique trendy brand!

I got the job!!!

I got the job!!! Yea me! The whole process was so much work but it totally paid off in the end. I look at job searching like forcing myself to go to the gym so that I can fit into that new Victoria Secret bathing suit this summer. Do I want to go to a place where everyone can see how embarrassingly weak I am? No. Do I want to lift something that is really heavy? No. Do I want to sweat the make-up off my face? No. Let's face it, people LIKE going to the gym as much as people LIKE job searching...which isn't much! But in the end, you've landed yourself a killer job, you'll have stability, a constant paycheck, benefits maybe, and now you can buy yourself that Coach purse you've had your eye on.

Now let me tell you how I conducted my job search that resulted in landing this wicked job. Upon reading the job posting, I realized I had many transferable skills; so, I continued onward to research the company. When researching the company, I took notes on what I liked about them such as being one of Canada's top 20 employers or one of BC's best diversity employers for example. Basically, I was looking to answer the employer's question, "Why do you want to work for our company?" I continued my research by finding individuals on Facebook who did this particular job at this particular company and asked them if they would be interested in helping me learn more about their job and company. Luckily for me, a few people responded and answered all of my questions and then some. As the application process was all on line, I was super happy when one of the individuals offered to give my resume and cover letter directly to HR. I took all of the information I learned about the job and company and started targeting my resume and cover letter to the position, making sure I was staying consistent with my value proposition throughout. Since we are on the topic of consistency, from my resume to cover letter to my list of references, I kept my heading and margins exactly the same to create a sense of personal branding. These are, after all, my personal advertising documents; I am the trendy brand. I sent the employee my documents to hand over to the HR department and I applied online to ensure they were to get my documents one way or the other. Two weeks later I was contacted to come in for an interview. With a dab of Aquolina Pink Sugar behind my ears, not too much make-up, and dressed in my favorite business attair, I went to the interview. I took with me extra copies of my resume, my list of references, my portfolio, and a note pad just in case. The interview went great and when I got off the phone with this particular company a week later, I just had to scream out loud, "I got the job!!!"

Stop dragging your Manolos! It's time to find a job.

Hi ladies! Is it that time again? Time to search for a job? You've had your eye on that Coach purse for some time now, but you know that purse will never be introduced to your gorgeous Coach wallet unless there is cash inside. I understand finding a job can be difficult; it is like dieting, challenging, uninteresting, and requires a lot of determination--but think of the payoff! You'll be able to fit into that pair of Rock and Republic jeans you bought one size to small for inspiration. Ladies, dieting is a lot like job searching. And the payoff? Being able to afford your new Coach purse!!! If that is not inspiration, I don't know what is.