Recently, April Miller shared her story on a networking group that I belong to in Rochester NY and gave me permission to share it with the Elephants at Work readers.

April’s monologue on preparing for interviews…

I’ve had a couple of interviewers comment on the work I have done to prepare for their interview. I thought the comments were interesting, but to me the preparation is just a given. It wasn’t until last week that it occurred to me that maybe the interviewers weren’t just making small talk and not everybody prepares the way I do.

With more animation than previously exhibited, a search committee member asked an ad hock question in the middle of the planned list, “April, I can tell you’ve done some preparation for the interview. Can you tell us what you did?”

Well, I read through the job description and there were a few acronyms in there I didn’t know so I looked them up and read a little about the government programs they referred to. And I went to the department website and saw that some of the reports this position is responsible for are available on the web so I browsed through them, and looked at the formulas for calculating FTEs. Enrollment numbers are also listed for the last 8 years or so, and I jotted them down and plotted them and noticed that numbers were up a few years ago, but have dropped a little. I looked at the committee members’ departments and home pages, and checked out your LinkedIn profiles. I did notice that many of the administrators and staff have been here a long time, and certainly one of my questions today will be what is it about your experiences that has motivated you to stay here. I looked up the average amount of snowfall per year and saw it wasn’t much different than Rochester. I looked at the airport and another question I have is if you find travel to be difficult when you want to fly someplace. I also downloaded a trial version of the statistical software you use and started the tutorial and tried some things in there since I haven’t used that specific program before.

My take home story is, even if you don’t typically get the chance to talk about how you prepared, there’s a good chance your interviewer will either consciously or subconsciously pick up on it. There are so many things you can’t control in the process, so it makes sense to take advantage of those things you can control.

Here is what April did right. In preparing for an interview, she:

1. Thoroughly researched the company that she was interviewing with and investigated terminology she did not know. In other words, she did not glance at their information.
2. Put herself in the place of their customer and tested some of their product/services.
3. Visualized working and living there and ran through different accessibility scenarios.
4. Prepared questions that let the organization know that she did her homework and helped them visualize that she was already working there.

Is preparing for an interview important to you? How do you know you are successful? The interview becomes a conversation and not a ping-pong match of questions and answers.

The post Preparing for an Interview: An example appeared first on Elephants at Work.

It’s happened two times in the last few years where clients want to record coaching sessions. The first time, the client asked upfront and plopped a recording device on the table. His rationale was it was easier for him to record than to take notes. He liked to review the recordings afterward in private.

Personally, I did not have a problem with him recording the sessions. The coaching advice I gave him would be the same no matter what.

Fast forward several years – it’s my second session with a different coaching client. At the end of our session, he asks if I mind him recording the sessions and waves his pen in the air. As it turns out, the pen is a recording device. No doubt he has recorded both sessions without informing me about it.

Record Coaching Sessions: Ethical Considerations

Let’s be honest, no one likes to be recorded without their knowledge. The coaching relationship is built on trust and if you are being sneaky about something, you risk poisoning your progress. When trust is broken, recovery is difficult.

The coach may ask, “What you are going to do with the recordings?” or “How are you going to use the information” or “Will the conversations remain private?”

You may think these are not relevant questions – but they are. For example, the coach may not approve of the session being made public.

Recording Conversations: Legal Implications

New York State is one of thirty-eight states that have a one-party consent law and applies to conversations where all parties are within the state. The gist of this law is that as long as one party consents to the recording (that includes the party recording) the recording is legal.

Twelve states require the consent of all parties prior to recording conversations which is referred to as a two-party consent law.

Where things get complicated is when conversations over the phone involve multi-state parties because every state views recordings differently.

Let’s add another layer of complication – the federal law follows the one-party consent law too – 18 USC § 2511 – Interception and disclosure of wire, oral, or electronic communications prohibited. It is not always clear if the federal or state laws have precedence.

Recording Coaching Sessions: Best Practices

Some coaches outline in their agreements if clients can record coaching sessions and under what terms. Absent that information, I recommend discussing your request to record coaching sessions before you sign the coaching agreement.

The post Can Clients Record Coaching Sessions? appeared first on Elephants at Work.

The types of development experiences you engage in influence your personal and professional growth.

Intensity of Career Development

For our purposes, think of personal and professional development being assessed at three intensity anchor points:

• Passive
• Active
• Transformative

Passive experiences require little action on your part and the rate of development acceleration is low.

Development through action requires demonstration of experience, skill and knowledge through specific assignments.

Transformative development promotes or tests skill and knowledge application in unfamiliar assignments or situations.

As you may surmise, the higher the level of intensity, your development is more impactful.

It can be difficult to pinpoint where specific experiences fall on the continuum. Factors such as timing, personal tolerances and receptivity impact individual development.

Take a moment and think about the experiences that made an impact in your career. Write them down. Where would you place those experiences along the continuum? Think about these questions if you are getting stuck:

• What experiences were pivotal – where you had the Ah-Ha moment?
• List the experiences did that represented smaller directional steps in your career.
• What assignments stretched your capabilities? Why did they stretch you?
• Have you volunteered for new assignments or jobs?
• Have you changed careers or employers by choice?
• Did you have significant increase in responsibilities within your current role?
• Do you invest in educational development through local colleges, certification or training programs?
• How do you view life learning experiences? Are you traveling to new places to experience new cultures and customs?
• Have you relocated within your company or to another new company where you knew no one?
• What was the toughest project or assignment you were given – why was it so difficult?
• Have you ever failed?

Now that you have your list of experiences, are you happy with how your career is progressing? If not, think about what you can do to change it. Having a good career takes work.

The post Getting Ahead in your Career appeared first on Elephants at Work.

How does sharing their favorite blogs help you?

• It takes time to find new blogs worth reading.
• Their recommendations may spark new ideas.
• Knowing what people read is a window into what makes them tick.
• You can discover new resources.

Below you will at least 90 blog recommendations that you may adopt for your reading enjoyment. If you have a favorite blog to share – comment below.

Blogs I Enjoy

Dan Ryan at Search for Authentic Leadership

This post covers the blogs Dan enjoys reading the most – leadership tops the list!

10 Blogs for Job Search, Personal Branding and Career Help

Meg Guiseppi at Executive Career Brand

Sites with advice on job search, careers, personal branding, marketing, social media, leadership, technology and personal development.

10 Websites every baby boomer should know but probably doesn’t

Marc Miller at Career Pivot

There is a set of websites every baby boomer should know to manage your career, and I am writing this post to expose you to them. Some of these might surprise you.

10 Blogs I Love; Learning and Laughing

Deborah Mourey at Hell in the Hallway

I read blogs that inspire me. Art, news, people with attitude – these are fuel for my personal fire. Go!

Top 10 Blogs That Help My Career

Arthur Catalanello Consulting

My top 10 list of blogs that help me in my career, complete with descriptions and links.

Top 10 Blogs to Stay Up-to-Date

Hannah Morgan at CareerSherpa.net

This list is focuses on inspiration, motivation, deep thinking, bigger thinking, opening up to new ideas, and learning new things! Just the stuff needed to continually develop yourself.

Resources for a Well-Balanced Job Search

Lisa Rangel at Chameleon Resumes Blog

A successful job search gives well-balanced advice to address the mind, body, spirit and financial well-being of a person. A balanced job search prepares the job seeker to be in the right frame of mind…Check out these 10 blogs for tips…

Me? I do not have time to read blogs…

Eric Derby at Staffing Insights

I do not have much time to actually read blogs, and I would guess many readers are the same. But here are a few that I read on occasion.

Ten Favorite Blogs for Career, Personal Development and Geekiness

Lynn Dessert at Elephants at Work

It was hard to narrow the list down to my top 10 blogs because I read a variety of topics.

Next Month

On June 20^th find the latest career expert advice at CareerSherpa.net hosted by Hannah Morgan.

If you have a career related post to share, everything you need to know is here:

• The Career Development Carnival 2013 Carnival
• Career Development Carnival Post Submissions

The post Career Development Carnival: May 2013 appeared first on Elephants at Work.

One of the reasons why is that when I write, I want to convey a unique point of view. I often wonder how much other bloggers are influenced by what their contemporaries write or say.

Here is a list of my ten favorite blogs, in no particular order:

Great  Leadership by Dan McCarthy

Dan stays ahead of the leadership curve with Great Leadership. A former Rochesterian, a few years ago he made a career move to the University of New Hampshire where he is the Director of Executive Development Programs. We had the pleasure of meeting before his departure and when Great Leadership’s readership and clout was climbing. Since then he has expanded content to include other leadership guest bloggers and continues to produce cutting edge information.

Sugarrae  Aka Rae Hoffman

What some of you may not know is that I do all my website development. Sugarrae is a “white collar redneck” (her words, not mine) who is one of my go-to web and affiliate marketing gurus. Why? I love her style, advice and transparency. Besides that, she also moved from Thesis to Genesis like I did!

JobMob by Jacob Share

Don’t discount career advice outside the United States – JobMob is based in Israel and is your ticket to everything you need to know about job hunting. Jacob is known for creating lists – a favorite for readers who like to see lots of information in a single post.

Penelope Trunk

Here’s what I learned from Penelope. Share your life experiences in your blog. When I started Elephants at Work, I was mesmerized by how much she shared about her deepest fears and flaws. Lesson: You develop stronger connections with your readers when they see your vulnerabilities.

Evil HR Lady by Suzanne Lucas

If you have a burning question about what Human Resources says or why they act the way they do, ask Suzanne. Her advice is no-nonsense – whether it is on the side of the employee or company. Who cares if she is based in Switzerland, treating employees fairly is a global goal.

Seth Godin

Meaningful and to the point – that’s what Seth’s blog is about it. It is an art to express your message with fewer words.

Mildred Talabi

Hailing from the U.K., Mildred knows how to create a winning CV, but that’s not all she writes about. To manage your career successfully in today’s fast paced environment, effectively develop social media and networking skills and Mildred gives you examples of how to do it.

Traffic Generation Café by Ana Hoffman

Ana’s weekly tips satisfy my geeky interests and keep me up-to-date on SEO and social media changes on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Google.

Viper Chill by Glen

A 22 year man of the world, Glen is a successful blogger and affiliate marketer who is quite remarkable. I learn something from every post he writes about blogging, SEO and marketing. What sets him apart? His posts are long with examples and detailed information. I only wish I had the time to do half of what I have read.

CareerSherpa by Hannah Morgan

People who are on their career journey want to be led by Hannah. She tells it like it is and has a natural quirkiness that connects with people.  Perhaps I am biased, but she’s my career partner here at the Career Development Carnival.

What is your favorite blog? 

The post Ten Favorite Blogs for Career, Personal Development and Geekiness appeared first on Elephants at Work.

The New Job is Inside your Company

If the new position you want is within your current company, then talking to your boss may be a good decision. However, there are organizational cultures where initiating career movement is not welcome. Here’s an example:

A few years ago, a career coaching client came to me because he wanted to make move from the Engineering organization into a business role. When he approached his manager about supporting his career change, the manager could not believe he wanted to leave the Engineering organization! The engineer languished in the department for a few years until he was finally able to make the career move. If his manager was supportive, the career move would have been much quicker.

There are managers who support upward mobility within an organization or company. The conversation you have is just as important and should be carefully thought through before you approach them.

Many companies have formal Human Resources policies about inter-company moves. Review what the proper procedure is in your organization. Let’s say your company has a job posting system where employees are free to apply to internal jobs. In this case, you will want to discuss your career goals with your manager and ask for their support in the process. The reason I suggest this approach is that your manager may be informed by Human Resources about your application activity and it is better that they hear it from you first.

Applying to a Position outside your Company

Perhaps your boss is blocking your promotion or you believe there are no other career opportunities in your current organization. When you want to leave a company for a new position, carefully consider if you should discuss it with your manager. As soon as you tip your manager off that you may leave, expect your manager will treat you differently.

Managers reward company loyalty and when you are actively looking for a new job, they will question your loyalty. Your manager will tell their boss that you are actively searching for a new job and that’s when your credibility and power in the organization deteriorates.

If you think your boss is one of those rare managers who will not treat you differently, it’s time to reflect on why you believe their loyalty is with you and not the company.  There are managers – albeit very few – that have your interests at heart more than the company’s.

“I Need my Manager’s Reference” is Not a Good Reason

Are you thinking you need to talk to your manager because you think you need a reference? Most companies who try to recruit you from another company realize that asking for a reference within your current organization is not practical. Think of other people who can serve as a reference that have left the company and do not put your current employment situation at risk.

In general, I don’t recommend you talk to your manager about leaving until you have a job offer when you are leaving your organization.

The post Applying for a new job? What do you tell your manager? appeared first on Elephants at Work.

Have you ever wondered what strengths you have and how to tap into them in different situations? You will uncover new strengths and think about how to use them most effectively in everyday life situations.

Leading with Your Strengths is being sponsored by the Pen-Web Rotary on May 16, 2013 from 7:30-8:30am at the Baywinde Senior Living Community Center in Webster NY.

This program is open to the public, the admission is $5.

 How to Use your Blog to Build Your Business

If you just started a blog or have a blog that doesn’t seem to be getting the ROI you want, this session is for you!  

You might be asking – can blogging be an effective marketing tool to build your business? Yes! 

I have been writing Elephants at Work for over three years and it’s time to share what I have learned with others who want to use their blog to build their business. Yes, it can be done. It takes a strategy, trial and error and perseverance. 

• Growing your audience
• How to market your services
• One website or two?
• How often do I need to post articles?
• What kind of traffic can I expect?
• How to I measure success?

How to Use your Blog to Build Your Business is being sponsored by the Rochester Professional Consultant’s Network (RPCN) at the Brighton Town Hall from 8-9:30am on May 24, 2013.

Members – free

Guests – $10

Register here.

The post Personal and Business Development Seminars in Rochester, NY appeared first on Elephants at Work.

What are the options for finding out the extent of the dysfunction and how to fix it? There’s the obvious method of assessing organizational culture with employee surveys. However, to conduct an effective survey, the process can take two to three months. A well designed employee survey will tell you what your employees are thinking if you ask the right questions. Consider using an outside vendor to conduct the employee survey to build trust and maintain employee confidentiality.

There are other methods for assessing the organizational culture. Use an independent consultant that specializes in leadership or organizational development to conduct a series of interviews, discussionS and observations within your organization.

Why should you use an independent consultant for your cultural assessment? There are several reasons this approach is desirable:

1. Human resources and management already have a point of view about the situation. An independent party can help to confirm or shed new light on the cultural dysfunction.
2. Lack of trust is a reason organizations experience cultural dysfunction. It is important to bring someone in who is fair and can build rapport with the management and employees.

How do you select the right leadership or organizational consultant to conduct the assessment? Let’s face it, all consultants are not equal.

Select a consultant with:

• Excellent listening and probing/questioning skills.
• Hands on experience in working with individuals, team and organizations.
• A method that assesses employees and management.
• Grounding in personality, communication and/or behavioral training.
• Experienced in conducting assessments and making recommendations.

With either option – using an employee survey or independent leadership/organizational consultant – expect to hear results that surprise you or you do not agree with. Many employee survey processes provide generic steps you can take to improve your results. A competent consultant is an ongoing resource to help management and employees develop feasible plans.

The post Organizational Culture: How to Assess it Objectively appeared first on Elephants at Work.

As organizations look for ways to cut costs, they turn to online or large traditional classroom training which can be effective in specific situations. Typically, traditional training methodologies are effective when imparting hard skill development.

Why does traditional training not work well? Professionals and executives develop personal skills, abilities and competencies through active development vs. passive training methodologies. Active professional and executive development is a core ingredient in executive coaching.

By design, executive coaching provides action learning through discussion, interactive exercises and role-playing. Targeted homework encourages discovery, new approaches and reinforces learning objectives. Through regular meetings, the professional or executive is able to formulate their unique approach and modify their decision-making, problem-solving and interpersonal communication styles.

Many of the challenges that professionals or executives face are personally embarrassing to reveal to their organization, peers or boss. They may fear reprisal so working with an external executive coach is a smart alternative. By working together, the professional or executive is able examine their behaviors, skills and competencies without judgment. Through expert questioning the executive coaching process encourages deeper introspection, self-evaluation and commitment to change.

Think about traditional training methodologies, how effective would this approach be? Would professionals or executives be forthcoming about their shortcomings to a large group? Does the group process encourage action plans? What would be the incentive to follow through? Generally, once the course is over employees revert back to their comfort zone and operate the way they were doing it before the training session.

Here’s my experience – organizations see positive ROI when executives change their behavior. An executive’s success is not dependent on acquiring skills or knowledge that helped them get to their position but on their ability to manage people, people, systems, communities, and customers. When executives make changes on how they execute, ROI permeates throughout the organization.

The post Why Executive Coaching has Better ROI than Traditional Training appeared first on Elephants at Work.

Applicant Tracking Systems

There is a lot of confusion about what is the acceptable way to send your resume. As each recruiter began to describe the system that they use, it became clear that there is no standard.

Recruiters on the panel used simple systems such as an excel spreadsheet to complex systems that housed over a quarter million people.

To search their databases, recruiters use algorithms and rarely look at resumes with human eyes. They admit there are too many resumes. However, one recruiter on the panel admits to settling in and reading each resume with a steaming cup of coffee.

So what’s the magic in being found by an algorithm? The secret is key words. If your resume has key words that match the criteria the recruiter searches on…viola your resume pops up.

Applicant tracking systems get a bad rap with job hunters because when you send your resume you believe it was deposited into the dark abyss. One recruiter was quick to point out that applicant systems are beneficial because your resume is always searchable and companies are more apt to keep your resume past the standard six months.

Include Cover Letters

The recruiters’ consensus was the majority of job applicants do not include a cover letter with their resume and that’s a missed opportunity to make a positive impression. While it takes time to customize cover letters for each position, it’s a great opportunity to show your personality and explain why you should be hired even if your qualifications are not an exact match. Demonstrate what you to offer without overusing the word “I”.

Do not expect a recruiter to figure out why you should be hired, make it easy and point it out. One recruiter likes the “T” format – use two columns. In the first column highlight their “Requirements” and in the second column identify your “Qualifications”.

What happens to your cover letter when you submit it online to an applicant tracking system? Is it lost or is it attached to your resume? Does the hiring manager see it? Well, it depends on the system and how it is set up.

Some positions specifically ask for a cover letter. Don’t skip this step or any other step in the process that a recruiter or company outlines. You may not be included in the short list because you failed to follow instructions. Think that is harsh?  Think again, companies want employees who pay attention to the details and follow instructions.

Resume Formatting

Some applicant tracking systems accept Word documents only, some accept PDFs, and some accept both. The general consensus is that Word documents are preferred. The type of applicant system that a recruiter uses depends on how many people they have to track.

Using graphics in your resume sometimes causes problems with applicant tracking systems. Pictures in the middle of your resume screws up the formatting, however, lines seem to be OK.

Typically, you’ll find more forgiveness when recruiting for technical positions.

Recommendation – have several versions of your resume available so that if a recruiter calls to say your resume was not accepted, you can quickly send it a second time. Seize the opportunity to discuss your interest in the position while you have the recruiter on the phone.

Use LinkedIn

Every recruiter on the panel uses LinkedIn to find qualified candidates. A LinkedIn Recruiter’s package gives them advanced search capabilities on the entire database – not just people they are linked with. Recruiters find qualified candidates for every position by searching on key words.

A well-written LinkedIn profile is the secret to being found by a recruiter for your dream job. The key words you use in your profile represent the skills and capabilities you have to offer a future employer. When your key words match the recruiter’s search criteria (their key words), you get their attention! That’s the first step to being asked in for an interview.

One of the best ways to see if your LinkedIn profile is working for you is to do a search on the types of jobs you would love to have. Look at the key words that are sprinkled throughout the job description and compare that with your LinkedIn profile. Do they match up? If not, you have some homework to do.

If you are not sure what a good LinkedIn profile looks like, search for people who have the same job title as you do. There will be some good profile out there and others that don’t make a very good impression. Once you look at several dozen LinkedIn profiles, you may find that hidden gem – the profile where you say “WOW”. Study it, figure out what they did, how they said it and emulate it. Don’t copy it – make your LinkedIn profile your own.

Don’t forget to show your experience in different verticals – that might mean industries, professional disciplines or geographical preferences. Recruiters search on those fields to narrow down their results.

What should you do if you want to link in with someone who met you briefly at an event? Contact them and refer to the event or meeting and ask to connect or suggest meeting them to have a personal conversation.

LinkedIn Endorsements or Recommendations

Do recruiters pay attention to one of LinkedIn’s newer features – Endorsements? Overwhelming, the panel said “NO”. However, your recommendations play an important factor in consideration. When evaluating how relevant your recommendation is, they pay attention to who the recommender was and the context of the recommendation.

Contacting Recruiters on LinkedIn

Is it OK to reach out to a recruiter you don’t know on LinkedIn? Absolutely! Don’t be bashful, especially if that recruiter specializes in your field or area of expertise.

Social Networks

Do recruiters use the social networks during background checks? What you post on LinkedIn and Twitter – yes. Expect the recruiter to check Google. One candidate who was about to receive an offer from a company was googled by the company and they found out that the person was involved in child pornography. That job offer was dead. Know what the internet says about you. If you don’t like it, clean it up.

Everyone on the panel said they do not check your Facebook account. There are potential legal entanglements. However, one recruiter said an employee shared information about a prospective candidate because they were friends on Facebook and the company reconsidered making an offer. Remember cyberspace counts and it stays out there a long time.

How to Connect with Companies

Every recruiter agreed that cultivating personal connections inside a company is the best way to conduct a job search. Use informational meetings to learn whether your targeted companies are a good fit. Many of the people who are hired are from employee recommendations. Cultivate your network to gain access into companies.

Interview Preparation and Follow Through

It’s time for your interview – remember that first impressions count! Respond with a firm handshake and direct eye contact as you introduce yourself.

Express your interests clearly – the type of organization, culture, management style and job that is important to you. Let the recruiter or manager know how your skills and abilities will help the company meet specific challenges. Think about some killer questions to ask them that proves you did your homework.

What happens to letters of recommendations you bring to an interview? If the recruiter or hiring manager is interested, they will contact the recommender to authenticate the information and ask follow-up questions.

Finally, remember to send a Thank You Note to each person you interview with. The recruiter and hiring manager wants to know that the time you spent together was meaningful. It’s your opportunity to make a lasting impression. Every recruiter smiled when they talked about the thank you notes they had received.

The post Recruiters’ Secrets Revealed: Part 2 appeared first on Elephants at Work.