Tag: Motivation

Quality vs. Quantity, How Many Applications before an Interview?

bstuetze

I am continually disheartened by the number of my students/graduates who give up after their first ‘no’. When did we stop teaching determination or good ole fashioned stick to it? According to research 80% of sales are made on or after the 5th contact; however most folks give up after the 2nd attempt. How does this relate to finding a job? How many applications on average do you need to send out before you get the call? You can find research that states anywhere from 3 applications to 50 applications are what it takes to get the elusive interview. The point I want to make is you don’t stop! You can’t! In today’s economy there are literally hundreds of thousands of folks looking for work.

I don’t believe the key to success is the quantity of applications but the quality of what you are submitting.

  1. Have you filled out the application completely? Accuracy and attention to detail are so important. Never put ‘see resume’ on your application. Most systems for filtering applications are automated. The systems are looking for specific key words on your application. If you don’t use those keywords your resume will never make it to human eyes.
    1. How do I know what key words to use: Hint – look under the section of the job posting that states ‘required skills’. If they are required you can be pretty sure they will be looking for those exact words and phrases on your application.
    2. List at least 10 years of job history. Make sure you list all your skills (including the corresponding key words). Double check to make sure your start and end dates match those on your resume.
    3. Make sure you have your references lined up and prepped! If you list someone on your resume, make sure they know you’ve listed them and what jobs you are applying for.
    4. Don’t undersell or oversell yourself in the salary section. There are great tools on Careerbuilder.com and Monster.com to calculate the salary range for positions in your geographic area. Do your research!
    5. Be prepared for the phone call!
      1. Make sure you have a professional voice mail message. Stay clear of music, your children’s voice mail message or the “hello, hello, just kidding I’m not really here” type of messages. Recruiters WILL hang up and reach out to the next candidate.
      2. Answer the phone with an enthusiastic upbeat voice. Hiring managers are looking for cultural fit; they want to know how you will be answering their phones so answer each call like it’s a phone interview.
      3. Make sure you do your research on the company and keep track. Some of the most horrifying feedback I get from employers is when the student/graduate doesn’t even know the position they applied for. If you can’t answer the question, “so tell me what you know about this position or our company”, you just lost that job.
      4. Spending a little extra time filling out applications and preparing for the phone interview goes a long way. It doesn’t mean you will get the first job you apply for but it will greatly increase your chances of getting the phone to ring and winning the jackpot with an in-person interview.

If most sales are completed after the 5th attempt, figure it’s going to take at least that many applications and follow-up calls to get your foot in the door. Don’t get discouraged and don’t give up. The only difference between you and someone who has landed their dream career is that they have already been told ‘no’ more times than you.

Scare Floor or Laugh Floor?

bstuetze

I recently read an article online published by FastCompany titled “Why Humor Makes You More Creative” by Drake Baer. Great article! Here I am arming my entire campus with Nerf guns and water balloons because it’s fun and a great tension breaker. Now come to find out my instinct for making my work environment fun makes me an innovative manager who fosters free and creative thinking. Who knew?

Well actually I kind of did, but not in the formal sense. Many years ago when I was tapped on the shoulder to take over a large sales and customer service department I made an analogy to my then Vice President. I told him I would take on the project, however it wasn’t going to look like the department we had prior. I didn’t want an ocean of cubicles full of downtrodden folks who didn’t feel their value, engage our customers and enjoy their work.

I asked if he’d seen the movie Monsters Inc.? He smiled and laughed, “No I haven’t, but I’ve heard of it”. I told him the short history of a large company, one that had been keeping society functioning and moving in a ‘forward’ direction, only to find out that this direction was no longer sustaining them…their society, very way of life was in jeopardy (did I mention I was working for a newspaper at the time). The crux of the movie was to find new ways of achieving the same ends with different means. However the means weren’t really different, they were just more extreme measures of what they were currently doing. Yes they were beating a dead horse, squeezing blood from a stone, etc. It wasn’t working.

Through a long, and in my opinion very funny progression of events, the discovery was made that laughter is more beneficial to all then fear. Go figure! Now I can take this analogy in all kinds of directions but I want to keep it in the context of the Drake Baer article, “Why Humor Makes You More Creative”. Baer states “while self-monitoring is often useful–you don’t want to say everything that passes through your mind–it can get in the way of new ideas.” Laughter enables you to turn off that internal filter that can keep you from letting the ideas flow. I noticed that in my customer service department, those folks who were more concerned with following a script were less able to genuinely listen, empathize and assist the customer. They couldn’t solve customer challenged unless the answer was written in front of them. Conversely, those who laughed more, enjoyed their job and engaged with the customer were able to think creatively to solve customer issues. They thought out of the proverbial box and did what was right…all on their own.

Now I admit Nerf guns and water balloons may not work in all work environments; however humor, laughter and light hearted communication can be just the drug your team needs to find an otherwise incomprehensible answer. Sometimes the best ideas are those that seem outrageous, silly or just plain ridiculous.