How To Handle Curveball Interview Questions

How To Handle Curveball Interview Questions

What’s the one piece of advice given over and over to interviewees? Prepare. Research the company, research the role, take time to analyze what’s going to be required of you, and take time to assess your own abilities.

That’s the advice that Direct Line Group Careers gives to its applicants on their insurance jobs site. So, what do you do when you take this sound advice, but mid-way through a promising interview situation you’re thrown a question that you couldn’t possibly have prepared for?

Tough interview questions are becoming more popular for interviewers to gauge how adept a candidate is at thinking on their feet. Without their prepared answers to fall back on, how an interviewee reacts to a question that seems utterly random can be revealing.

The good news? If you’re applying for a role that you have a lot of passion for, in an area where you’re naturally talented or well-practiced (without necessarily having direct working experience), these questions are a great way to show off your abilities. The bad news? There’s not much you can do to practice for a question that’s deliberately obscure. But that’s not to say it’s completely impossible—after all, the purpose of any interview is to see how good a fit you are for the role and the company.

So, however wacky the question is, the recruiter will probably be hoping for you to consider the context in which it’s being asked when it comes to your answer. That means if you’ve researched the role you’re applying for and know what is going to be expected of you, chances are you’ll have a good idea of the type of logic and thought process they’re looking for when you make your reply.

Below are a few genuine curveball questions that have been asked in interview situations; while none of them have a necessarily right or wrong response, they’ll often fit into fields of purpose. One way to prepare for curveball interview questions is to get used to looking for what the intention is behind the weirdness!

Curveball Interview Questions

  • “Name five uses of a stapler without staples.”
  • “What do you think of garden gnomes?”

What they’re really asking: Are you creative? Can you see the bigger picture, or are you focused on the detail? Are you happy to improvise, and are you a good communicator?

  • “Given 20 light bulbs (which break at a certain height), and a building with 100 floors, how do you determine the height at which the bulb breaks?”
  • “Out of 25 horses, pick the fastest three horses. In each race, only five horses can run at the same time. What is the minimum number of races required?”

What they’re really asking: Are you logical? Do you have a good knowledge of probability and equations? Can you figure out an effective method for solving problems and assess its viability?

  • “How would you weigh an elephant?”
  • “If you were shrunk to the size of a pencil and put in a blender, how would you get out?”

What they’re really asking: How creative are you when it comes to problem-solving? Do you have an eye for important details? How do you improvise under pressure?

What Are All The Questions Really Asking?

Job candidate interviews for an open position

They’re all challenges: challenges to normal interview structure, challenges to your ability to think on your feet, and logical challenges that reveal your thought process. Most importantly, don’t see a curveball question as an attempt to trip you up: see it as an opportunity to show that you relish a challenge.

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This article was originally published at an earlier date.

5 Steps To A Powerful Personal Brand On Your Executive Resume

5 Steps To A Powerful Personal Brand On Your Executive Resume

You’ve certainly heard that using a powerful personal brand message will make your executive resume a compelling read—and help you gain traction in your job search. But how do you go about defining and capturing your brand?

Intensive processes, such as the 360 Reach Personal Branding exercise, can often help pinpoint your brand elements and strengths. However, you can conduct your own research and analysis to create a compelling message suitable for your executive resume.

While pinpointing your own personal brand (and writing a compelling executive resume from it) may seem daunting, you can break the process into these manageable steps:

1. Reflect On Your Leadership Value-Add

One of the easiest ways to encapsulate your message of ROI is by taking stock of how you solve problems and deal with obstacles at an executive level. If you’re having difficulty expressing your value proposition, try creating a list of your top 10 career achievements—the ones that have become your signature accomplishments over the years. (Think of it as your top 10 hits—the ones you’ve always thought of as defining your career and its trajectory.)

Any of the following can make your top 10 hits:

  • Turnarounds (at a team, division, or company level)
  • New sources of revenue
  • Cost-cutting methods
  • Additional sales and distribution channels
  • New products or markets
  • Speed and agility in delivering results

Next, write STAR (Situation or Task, Action, Result) stories for each top achievement, remembering to set the stage for each story by looking at the situation first, then your actions, and lastly, the outcome. J.T. O’Donnell, founder and CEO of Work It DAILY, also recommends the “Experience + Learn + Grow” model to formulate stories for employers. While tedious work, you’ll benefit from having this collection of powerful anecdotes in your job search.

2. Analyze And Leverage Feedback From Throughout Your Executive Career

Executive leveraging feedback from coworkers for resume and personal brand

Consider your reputation at work, influence on others, and leadership style (all critical components of an effective executive resume). Are you known as the go-to leader who builds consensus when negotiations are at a standstill? Have you become a turnaround leader capable of righting the ship? Chances are that you’ve carved out a unique niche—and prospective employers need to know this about you!

Take the time to gather information from those affected by your work:

  • Analyze your impact on subordinates. Do you often mentor your teams into company or industry leaders?
  • Look at those you’ve influenced, such as vendors or colleagues. Have they adopted your methods or commended you on your effectiveness?
  • Assess your impact on the executive team and board. Do you build the business case and buy-in that lead your CEO to issue changes in strategy?

Now, assemble testimonials and feedback from credible sources, such as performance reviews, LinkedIn recommendations, letters of reference, or other kudos (even informal email messages). Create STAR stories from this data, and consider including a snippet or quote in your executive resume for additional reinforcement.

3. Include Tactical Details And Scope

Job seeker on laptop creating a detailed executive resume

Executive resumes aren’t just high-level lists of achievements. To be truly compelling, the scope and reference points from your work need to be included as supporting details.

Consider pulling in specifics from among the following components of each job:

  • Size of budgets managed—both department and project-level
  • Cost-saving figures that show the result of new processes or negotiations
  • Numbers of employees managed, both directly and in matrixed organizations
  • Comparisons that show progression (such as year-over-year increases in market share)

What these details will do for your executive resume is help round out your story, showing how your authority and impact have increased at each progressive step of your career. It’s all about the numbers!

4. Look To Others For Comparison

Woman talks to her coworker for help with building her personal brand on her resume

You may have started to look at the data for your executive resume with a critical eye. What if it isn’t good enough to vault you to the next level in your career? How will employers know you’ve led significant change if there are minimal cost or profit results to report?

One of the best ways to distinguish yourself from the competition is to look precisely at them and gauge the difference based on context.

Here’s how to weigh your competitive differentiators:

  • Analyze what would have happened at previous employers if you hadn’t worked there. Would the company or division have floundered? Is it possible employees stayed only because of your influence?
  • Look at what took place against the backdrop of the economy or industry challenges. For example, did your efforts keep the company afloat—even if they didn’t realize the same level of profits—because of actions that counteracted the downturn?
  • Take note of what occurred at competing companies. Were you maintaining operations while your competitors went out of business?

These sure signs of effectiveness will help add a twist to your STAR stories—emphasizing your ability to take on and overcome challenges that others failed to achieve.

5. Build Brand And Achievement Statements To Use Throughout Your Resume

Hiring manager on laptop reads an executive resume

Now that you’ve collected all this data, what’s the next step? Pulling it together into a cohesive story, of course.

Here’s where the stories you’ve built will serve as key components of your brand message and can be used in various places within your executive resume:

  • Ensure your STAR stories are in manageable form, using bullet points that take up two lines or less for use on your executive resume.
  • Distill your most prominent STAR stories into a simple message. As an example, an EVP of marketing who launched new products could note “carving a profitable new industry niche” as a statement of brand value.
  • Look at executive resume examples for inspiration.
Undertaking these steps is, of course, a time-consuming exercise in exploring your achievements and examining your brand. However, it will pay off in a cohesive message of value to employers—and help them see the value in bringing you in for a choice executive role.

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This article was originally published at an earlier date.

3 Things To “Listen” For During Job Interviews

3 Things To “Listen” For During Job Interviews

Like any other conversation, a job interview is a two-way street. It’s as much about how well you listen as it is about what you say. And there’s more to listening than simply hearing another person’s words.

How interviewers sit, how they ask their questions, and what they do while listening to your answers can tell you an awful lot about the direction the interview is taking.

Of course, during a job interview, the hiring manager is in the driver’s seat, so it’s critical that you’re able to read their cues. There are some general ways to figure out whether someone’s paying attention to you or not. Are they making eye contact? Leaning forward as you speak? Nodding their head? All good things. But often the message someone conveys is contained in ways that are more subtle.

Here are three things to “listen” for during the job interview…

Listen For The Hidden Question

Interesting woman smiles and listens during a job interview

No job interview question is simple. In every case, the employer is looking not only for insights into your skills and experience, but also for hints about how your thought process works, how committed you’ll be to your job, and how well you’ll fit into the company’s culture. Keep that in mind as you listen to each question.

If a hiring manager asks you to describe a time you met an aggressive deadline, for instance, they’re also trying to get a feel for how well you work under pressure and how you work with others under less-than-ideal circumstances. It’s not simply a question about nuts and bolts.

So, don’t limit your answer to the obvious. Remember that during job interviews, explaining how you got to a particular point can be as important as showing that you got there in the first place.

Listen To Get Their Attention

Young woman listens attentively during a job interview

Obviously, you want to keep the manager’s attention during the job interview. Even if they’re one of those people who constantly check their cell phone while they talk, you can pick up hints about whether they’re engaged in the conversation.

The most obvious clue is whether they’re doing more than simply asking questions. A true dialogue is more than a Q&A. It involves stories, comments, and answers—from both sides.

If the hiring manager seems to be following a script, break up his or her routine by asking questions yourself. For example, after answering that query about meeting deadlines, ask if the hiring manager’s ever been in a similar situation, or whether you can expect to face tight deadlines as a part of the job at his company. If they ask for your opinion on a recent industry news event, inquire about their views after you’ve given them your own.

You want the interview to be a true conversation. A hiring manager is more apt to remember the candidate they engaged with than those who simply allowed themselves to be led through their checklist of questions.

Listen To Keep Them Focused

Pay attention to signs that you’re losing your audience whenever you need more than a few sentences to answer a question. Some clues are obvious. The hiring manager’s eyes may wander, for example. Others are more subtle. Someone who’s been sitting forward may shift and begin rubbing the arm of their chair with their fingers.

Picking up on someone’s wandering attention will depend a lot on how well you read them. People differ, after all. A hiring manager who’s comfortable multitasking may be carrying on an engaged conversation even if they’re checking their email while they talk.

The trick is to look for signs that the rhythm has been broken. For example, if the multitasker allows pauses to creep into the conversation while they absorb an email message, chances are you need to refocus their attention.

Though the hiring manager asks the questions during an interview, the job seeker has plenty of opportunities to direct the conversation. Always be on the lookout for hints about the interviewer’s interests and engagement. You’ll find them in what they do, as well as in what they say.

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This article was originally published at an earlier date.

4 Healing Tips For The Broken-Hearted Job Seeker

4 Healing Tips For The Broken-Hearted Job Seeker

Someone once told me a corporation was a nasty thing to fall in love with—because it will NEVER love you back. This is something every job seeker should realize.

The rules of loyalty in the workforce are changing. No one can deny that. However, knowing this doesn’t change the pain of getting laid off or let go. It hurts. It can wound. Each of us reacts in one of two ways: either by getting mad and hating the company we used to love, or by blaming ourselves in what can be called a state of numbness.

These wounds deserve every bit of healing we have. However, because our financial situation may depend on sweeping the pain aside and getting another job as quickly as possible, we might need a strategy for getting past this stage.

For those of you who can’t afford to wait three months to regroup, lick the wounds, and find your emotional footing again, I offer these simple speed coping tips for the unemployed job seeker…

1. Stop The Story

Stop replaying the day you got the pink slip. Stop repeating the story that is upsetting you. Instead, replace it with what you need to do right now.

2. Stop And Breathe

Calm down. You can never get anywhere if your mind is still in fighting mode or if you are numb. Wake up in the morning and count 10 breaths. Allow your mind to come back down.

3. Allow The Parts

Allow the part of you that is angry to be angry—on the weekend when you can afford it. Allow that part of you that is sad or afraid to feel that way, after 5:00 pm when you’ve completed your job search tasks for the day.

4. Let It Out

Find new ways to channel the emotion. If you punch, then punch a punching bag. If you shout, then shout in the car on the highway. If you cry, then give yourself space to do that. And when you are done, leave the emotion there.

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This article was originally published at an earlier date.

Interview Tips: Why You Shouldn’t Say You Were “Terminated” From A Job

Interview Tips: Why You Shouldn’t Say You Were “Terminated” From A Job

If your position gets terminated, should you mention that in your next interview? Many job seekers face this dilemma in their job search when they’re newly unemployed. First, you need to determine what type of termination occurred.

There are two types of termination: voluntary and involuntary. If you quit, that’s called voluntary termination. If it’s involuntary termination, there are two types of that: you got fired or you got laid off. And those are also very different. Fired means you did something wrong and they couldn’t keep you. Laid off means you did nothing wrong. They were in financial trouble and they couldn’t keep you. So as you go down that decision tree, you’ll have to clarify what type of termination happened—what “terminated” means in your case.

Don’t Say You Were “Terminated.” Say This Instead…

My personal advice as a 20-year career coaching veteran is if you quit a job, make sure you tell the employer that information and explain why you quit. If you got fired from a job, you want to try to explain that as objectively as you can without making any excuses—owning your mistakes. And if you got laid off, tell them you got laid off. It was beyond your control.

I wouldn’t use the word “terminated” at all. Instead, I’d get very clear on what happened and I would use the “Experience + Learn = Grow” model to answer the “Why did you leave your job?” question in a way that’s very factual and succinct, that has a beginning, a middle, and an end, and is structured.

That kind of structured response is the most important thing to do in this situation because it shows that you’ve really thought about what happened and want to make sure they properly understand.

This is how you score points in a job interview. I see people every single day who have been fired or laid off from jobs using the “Experience + Learn = Grow” model to answer difficult interview questions. And then the recruiter and hiring manager say, “Great answer,” and move on because these things happen. They’re out of our control sometimes, or they’re in our control and we learn from them.

You need a better response. So don’t use the word “terminated.” Get really clear and remember the “Experience + Learn = Grow” model. You can do this.

Good luck, and go get ’em!

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Introducing The Happy Grad Project

Introducing The Happy Grad Project

You’ve always been told college is the best time of your life, and everything changes once you’ve graduated and set foot into the “real world.” The “real world” has always had this scary, negative connotation to it. But why?

The Happy Grad Project will unite recent grads, encourage them to get excited about their next step, and prepare them for their life and career.

Live Webinars

Each week, we’re featuring a LIVE webinar that’s specifically for recent grads. We also have weekly LinkedIn classes for you, too!

Click here to meet our contributors.

Inspiration

Stop listening to the “You Can’ts” and start saying “Yes, I CAN!” Check out our Inspiration Wall (we created it just for you!).

3 Things To “Listen” For During Job Interviews

3 Things To Convey In Your Job Interview

The job interview—this is where it all really begins! While your resume may have impressed the hiring manager and helped you get your foot in the door, now you really have to bring home those points on the resume in person. Failing to convey the right message in the job interview means it is game over!

Don’t expect a callback from the employer if you fall short of conveying key messages. There’s a lot that can be done to prepare for the job interview so that you go into it confidently. However, it’s one thing to be prepared and it’s another thing to perform well in the job interview.

Along with proper preparation, here are three things you must convey in the job interview…

You’re A Go-Getter!

Job seeker conveying three things during a job interview

Employers desire employees who have a real passion for the work. During the job interview, demonstrate that desire, passion, and excitement for the challenges that lie ahead with the position.

Make the interviewer believe you’ll be able to hit the ground running on the job by demonstrating you have the experiences and skills to succeed on the job. Ask what the biggest challenge is and present examples of previous relevant work where you’ve been in a similar situation and what you accomplished and achieved.

The research you’ve done ahead of time should also allow you to demonstrate that you are knowledgeable about the company, its business, and more.

You Fit Right In!

Job seeker conveys they are a good fit for the position in a job interview

Fitting right in is not so much about being agreeable but being likable. Come off as friendly and share your understanding of working in a workplace like the employer’s. Ask questions during the interview to further understand the type of work environment that exists and then make an effort to demonstrate you have similar experience working in such an environment.

Another way to create the feel that you’ll fit right in is by building rapport with those you speak with. The interview should not take on a model of a Q&A session; you want to turn it into a dynamic conversation. Find ways to build rapport that will help show how well you understand the ins and outs of the business and working in a workplace like theirs.

You’re A Character With Great Personality!

Hiring managers understand that job candidates may come into a job interview nervous, but those who are able to overcome their nerves and show some personality are more memorable and attractive as a candidate for the job opening.

When you present your personality, it’s easier for employers to see how you stand out from other job candidates. Presented the right way, you can also come off even more likable.

When there’s the opportunity for it, don’t be afraid to add to the conversation by talking about your personal quirks or likes. It’s what makes you you! When there is a lack of personality in a character, the individual can come off as boring and dry. It also doesn’t hurt to show how you differentiate from the next candidate with similar experience and skills.

Find opportunities throughout your job interview to weave into the conversation these three things above. In the end, you’ll come off as a more memorable and desirable candidate for the job!

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This article was originally published at an earlier date.

How “Unproductive Discomfort” Is Slowing Down Your Job Search

How “Unproductive Discomfort” Is Slowing Down Your Job Search

Do you have “unproductive discomfort”? As a career coach, I work with a lot of people who sit in unproductive discomfort, meaning they have a lot of anxiety, stress, anger, and frustration around their situation, but they’re spending more time worrying about it and thinking about it than doing something about it.

Now, that’s not to say that you’re not trying. I know that you are. I know that you’re trying different things, but nothing is working. And every time you try something and you don’t get results, it eats away at your confidence and gets you into this really uncomfortable space—unproductive discomfort.

How To Overcome “Unproductive Discomfort”

The only way to fix this is to not assume that a fairy godmother is going to come along or you’re going to get a magic pill that’s going to solve your problems. Yet human nature is always searching for that quick fix, that thing that will take us out of our discomfort. And it doesn’t work.

In 20 years of being a career coach, the fastest way I know how to get you out of unproductive discomfort is to have you basically trade up pain, trade up discomfort, and take it from a lower level to a slightly higher level temporarily. We call it highly productive discomfort.

Imagine if, in just 15 minutes a day, I could teach you something new. I could take you through exercises that help you improve your skills and your attitude, make you feel more positive, and dispel some beliefs or assumptions you have that are holding you back. Because those three things are what are keeping you in this unproductive state. But if I can, for 15 minutes a day, put you in this temporary but productive discomfort of learning and growing, you’re going to make big leaps in your progress.

These are the breakthrough moments that the people we work with at Work It DAILY have every single day because inside our program we have courses, coaching, and community all designed to address your discomfort and get you out of it as quickly as possible by giving you the things that you need.

So, if you’re willing to go back to school a little bit and throw out any outdated beliefs and negative mindsets to get the results you’re looking for, then I hope you become a Work It DAILY member and sign up for a free trial today.

Good luck, and go get ’em!

4 Tips For Writing A Powerful Resume

4 Tips For Writing A Powerful Resume

The first challenge with your resume is getting it into the hands of an actual person. Over the past decade, getting through applicant tracking systems (ATS) by including the right keywords has become the holy grail of job seekers. The palace guards were put in place so that overloaded hiring managers could keep out the riffraff.

And it was necessary.

Surveys report that more than half of the resumes submitted for any job posting are from completely unqualified candidates.

The ATS is meant to boil down the deluge to an actual candidate pool. As a job seeker, you should be concerned with and aware of how your resume will make it past the guards. As a serious professional, you need to take your resume further. Make sure that when it makes it to the hands of an actual person, it will impress and get you to the next step.

Here are four resume tips for accomplishing this goal:

1. Lead With The Results

Look at your resume as if YOU are the hiring manager. Does this resume help solve the problem that needs solving with this position? Not just the “because Henry quit” problem. The thing that makes this position valuable to the company.

Your resume must show how you are the solution because you’ve done it before. Structure your experience so that each sentence is front-loaded with results. Instead of, “Evaluated current processes and led efforts that restructured operations, leading to a reduction in costs and an increase in revenue,” try “Slashed overhead costs by 20% while simultaneously increasing revenue by 45% by completely overhauling sales processes and operations for optimal efficiency.”

If you think like management, you can pick out what management most cares about, and make sure you highlight that in your resume.

2. Quantify Your Accomplishments

Man updates his resume

In other words, use numbers. By adding figures to your accomplishments, you provide measurable, credible proof of your performance.

For example, “Added $4 million to the bottom line…”

Beyond showing revenue, numbers can help provide context for your results through comparisons.

  • “Ranked #1 out of 45 sales reps for top sales performance.”
  • “Achieved 95% customer referral rate, a figure 2 times higher than the company average.”
  • “Conducted company-wide training for 500 employees.”

This is one of the things a lot of people struggle with, but it is vital. Quantifying your accomplishments solidifies them in the mind of the reader. It turns an abstract statement into a hard fact.

3. Use Active Words

Businesswoman works to customize her resume

Fill your resume with verbs that convey energy and action. Carefully selected verbs also help you create concrete statements that create a visual for the reader. Instead of, “Put in processes that led to a significant reduction in costs,” try “Decreased costs by devising efficient sales process.”

But be careful. Don’t use the same verbs over and over. Do the work and find powerful synonyms.

4. Trim The Fat From Your Resume

Man reads a resume

This may be the most important tip for creating a powerful resume that will get read and noticed. The hiring manager or recruiter may have dozens of resumes to review, so make sure yours is easy to get through. Write succinctly, be specific, edit out filler words, and trim the unnecessary detail that doesn’t add to your qualifications for the position.

Review and edit. Then review and edit again.

The digital age has brought challenges to the job seeker, but they can be overcome. Spend the time to create a powerful resume. Make sure it gets the attention that it deserves.

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This article was originally published at an earlier date.

3 Things To “Listen” For During Job Interviews

LinkedIn For Beginners: The #1 Thing Job Seekers Need To Do

A common question I get from job seekers on LinkedIn is, “What is the best way for employers to notice your LinkedIn profile and how should it be set up?”

Well, the answer is pretty simple.

Optimize Your LinkedIn Profile So It Matches Recruiters Search Criteria

Optimizing your LinkedIn profile so it matches the search criteria of recruiters is the most important first step for beginners. Here’s why…

Recruiters search for candidates on LinkedIn by conducting keyword searches based on skill sets. They choose and use the skill set definitions you find in the “Skills” section of your LinkedIn profile.

Their initial searches are pretty basic. They put in a couple of the key skill sets the hiring manager said are must-haves for the job, add a location, and then LinkedIn’s search technology goes through and finds all people who have the most amount of keywords in their profiles with those skill sets in that location and ranks them.

Now, LinkedIn’s search algorithm takes in a few other things like how much traffic your profile gets (aka how many people are already visiting your profile) and how many followers or connections you have. There are other factors, but the overriding one is your skill set because it’s your relevance to the job.

If you don’t know how to optimize your LinkedIn profile to make sure the right skill sets are in the right place, and if you haven’t figured out what the five or 10 key skill sets are that recruiters are constantly using to search for the type of position you want, then you are getting bypassed by recruiters because they aren’t seeing your profile. It’s not being included in their search results!

How Can You Tell If Your LinkedIn Profile Is Working?

Young man on laptop properly optimizing his LinkedIn profile so it gets more views from employers

You’ll know when you’ve properly optimized your LinkedIn profile for keywords because you will see a lot more views on your profile. And the more views you get on your profile, the higher up you land in a recruiter’s search results.

It’s just like internet searching and SEO. That’s how you get employers to find your LinkedIn profile.

The takeaway? Optimizing your profile with the right keywords is the secret to getting noticed by recruiters. If you want to be found, you’ve got to give them the right data in your profile!

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This article was originally published at an earlier date.


2 Ways People Fail In Job Interviews

2 Ways People Fail In Job Interviews

Most people don’t properly prepare for job interviews. As a result, they usually make one of these two common mistakes in their job interviews, and it costs them the job.

You might think you can get away with doing minimal interview prep in your job search, but hiring managers can tell if you haven’t done your research and are struggling to answer questions.

If you’re not doing enough interview prep in your job search, you’ve probably run into one of these two problems during your job interviews…

Lack Of Interview Prep = Saying Too Much Or Too Little

In job interviews, people often make two major mistakes related to the Goldilocks principle: either they provide too little information and clam up or they talk excessively, sounding self-absorbed. To succeed, it’s crucial to strike the right balance by following the “Experience + Learn = Grow” approach, which ensures well-structured answers.

It’s very important that you structure your interview answers in a logical format so that you give hiring managers the right amount of information. Behavioral interview questions require more than a simple “yes” or “no” answer. By following the “Experience + Learn = Grow” model for answering behavioral interview questions, you’ll effectively answer any question the hiring manager throws your way.

This takes practice, though. And practice is a huge part of proper interview prep. So, do your research on the company, review your resume, and practice your interview answers in a mock interview with a trusted friend or colleague. You’ll never fail a job interview by talking too much or too little again.

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3 Ways You’re Slowing Down Your Job Search (And How To Fix Them!)

3 Ways You’re Slowing Down Your Job Search (And How To Fix Them!)

If you’re wondering why your job search isn’t working, or why it’s suddenly slowed down after a few good leads, then you’ve come to the right place.

One of the biggest concerns we hear from our members is how long the job search seems to take nowadays. When all other aspects of our lives seem to have sped up, the instant gratification we crave from our careers just isn’t there. How can we successfully change jobs or move up in our careers without spending six, seven, eight, sometimes even nine months on a job search?

As it turns out, most job seekers are actually making some critical job search mistakes. Here are three ways you’re slowing down your job search, and some tips for how to fix them:

1. You’re Applying For As Many Jobs As You Can

Young woman / recent college grad on laptop applies for jobs

Here at Work It DAILY, we call this job search strategy the “spray and pray” method. When it comes to a successful job search, your mindset shouldn’t be “the more the merrier.” Rather, it should always, always be “quality over quantity.”

A lack of strategy in your job search will only cost you time and money, and it won’t yield many viable employment opportunities—if any at all.

2. You’ve Never Written A Disruptive Cover Letter

Man looks at his cover letter while on his laptop

Many job seekers also underestimate the importance of a cover letter, and how great of an opportunity it is to demonstrate how you connect with the company and why you would be a good cultural fit.

A cover letter shouldn’t be a summary of your resume. It’s not the place to brag about your accomplishments. It’s the perfect place to tell a story, one that will instantly make you stand out from other job applicants.

3. Your Resume Isn’t Streamlined

The reality is that outdated resume templates aren’t read by recruiters or hiring managers. You only have six seconds to show a potential employer you’re qualified for a position and have what they need in a job candidate.

Employers are looking for keywords and numbers on a resume. There’s a good chance that if your resume isn’t streamlined, it isn’t even getting past the ATS. That means if your resume isn’t a 90-100% match, it most likely will never be seen by a hiring manager.

At the end of the day, if you avoid doing the three things above, you’ll see a significant difference in your job search. It’s all about finding where you can improve and taking charge of your career—once and for all.

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This article was originally published at an earlier date.