Essay Guideline

Interviewing? Carry a portfolio of goodies to win the job.

No, I don’t mean candy or sweets. When you go on an interview you should have some idea of what the prospective employer is looking for and what the job duties are going to be. This is what they are planning on buying from you. The skills necessary to perform the job are what you are selling. Take some examples of your skills and achievements with you on the interview. As a recruiter with 30 years experience I can tell you that this one suggestion will turn at least half your interviews into job offers.

You can talk all you want about your skills and abilities, but the clincher will be to pull out some examples of your work. Copies of reports, memos, presentations, and a nice list of references will make your interview stand out and will get you remembered as the one candidate with show and tell materials that prove he or she can do the job. This article is about how to set up your Portfolio of Achievements.

Start with a three ring binder with a white cover with your name inside the plastic sleeve. Inside put in a dozen clear sheet protectors. Insert your materials into the sheet protectors. For a person with a few years of experience you could have a binder with a

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We’ve all heard it before: “Just get out there and network!” If it was that easy, we would already be doing it. So why is it so hard? Well, you’re an introvert, aren’t you? Enough said.

However, unless the prospect of a really long job search excites you, you have to get out there and connect with people who don’t know you but who could benefit from your expertise.

Below are a baker’s dozen tips to help you crack the connection code.

1. Attend with a purpose in mind. Be choosy about the events you attend. Pick the ones that interest you most. It could be a ribbon cutting for a new business, a chamber of commerce mixer, SPCA benefit, or pink slip party.

2. Take a friend. Make a game of it. Challenge each other to beat your stated goals with the winner treating for ice cream.

3. Plan ahead. Set a networking goal to talk with at least five people and collect business cards from three individuals in your industry, profession, or career of interest.

4. Split up. Rule #1 is you can’t talk to your networking partner until you’ve met the goals you’ve set for yourself. That means you can’t sit with each other, hang around the food table together, or accompany each other to the rest room. However, you may smile encouragingly across the room.

5. Surprise, it’s not about you! Walk up to someone you don’t know. Ask the other person an opening question. It can be something as simple as, “What made you decide to attend tonight?”, “What brings you to this meeting?”, “Do you attend often?”, or “What kind of work do you do?”

6. Focus on them! Ask compelling questions: “Tell me more about your work or business.” “What is a good referral for you?” “What are you hoping to achieve tonight?” Get them talking about themselves and then offer a little information about yourself.

7. Create a compelling commercial. When it’s your turn to tell them about yourself, take fifteen seconds or less to capture their attention and make them want to know more. Help them understand what you hope to achieve at this event and how they can help.

8. Take little steps. Don’t force yourself to join a large boisterous crowd. Instead seek out a friendly looking individual who isn’t part of a group. Smile and extend your hand in greeting. He’s probably as relieved as you are to connect with a friendly stranger.

9. What’s in it for you? Everything! Seventy to eighty-five percent of jobs are found through networking. It’s not who you know; it’s who your friends know that makes the difference! So use this networking opportunity to make friends.

10. Visibility is key. As an introvert, I’ve learned three important things about networking: You’ve got to get out there and be seen; the more you do it, the easier it gets; and the more people who know you, the greater your chances for making meaningful connections.

11. Get on the fast track. Join a networking group. Your comfort level and connection quotient will grow astronomically when networking is part of your regular routine.

12. Smile! Be approachable. Make others want to meet you and get to know you better.

13. Make a date to follow up. Make it your goal to connect with at least one person that you would like to get to know better. Invite him or her to meet by telephone or for coffee. Look for ways to make the meeting mutually beneficial.

You have a whole world of valuable contacts to share and new ones to make, so apply these networking tips. Before you know it, you will crack the connection code!

Mary Jeanne Vincent is the author of Acing the Interview tip cards featuring answers to the 20 top “Killer” interview questions. Included are tips for interviewing in the new economy, techniques for taking the sting out of illegal questions, and tips for avoiding 10 deadly interview mistakes. Go to http://www.2bworkwise.com for free job search articles, to sign up for the free WorkWise ezine, and to find out about other valuable, easy-to-use career tools and personal career coaching. You may also reach Mary Jeanne at 831.657.9151.

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Why do you think you need a direct hire in order to make a living? It seems that 99% of ‘direct hire’ job seekers are looking for security above everything else. But the truth of the matter is that over the past 2-3 years the bulk of companies in America experienced a slowdown and were forced to layoff both contract employees as well as direct employees; but when things started coming back around in 2004, guess who those same companies hired back first.the contractors!

Contract hire work is often times a different line item on a company’s budget than a direct hire employee. Companies can hire contractors without having to pay their benefits, unemployment insurance, holiday & vacation pay, (usually the recruiting firm pays for these items) or match their 401k plan. This makes hiring contractors a relatively easy and painless task for a company going through a slowdown. The projects/work might not be as plentiful, but they still need employees in order to do it!

Have you ever been with a company as a direct hire and fantasize about NOT working for that company? The road ahead looks grim and job hunting is tough to do while you are trapped in a cube 8 hours a day. But you have security there, right? You get a raise once a year, as long as the economy is strong. As a contractor you only have to stay for your project/assignment and then you are free to go (or if another project comes up internally, they might ask you to stay), then on to the next gig for a more attractive price!

Or, on the other hand, I can think of countless times where a company has hired on a contractor through me, and they were such a good match, at the end of the contract they hired the contractor on direct with a raise and all! You can’t win if you don’t play. In fact, there are some companies that ONLY hire certain disciplines on a contract basis before making any sort of long-term commitment. Am I talking about a ‘contract to direct’ or ‘temp to permanent’ placement? No, they are open-ended contract positions with no long-term commitment.

“I don’t want my resume to look like I am a job hopper!” That’s exactly what it will look like if you try to play ‘Contractor’ with direct hire positions. A contractor’s resume may or may not even have dates on it. Companies usually don’t care how long a contractor was at his/her last position. But if you show a Hiring Manager your Direct Hire resume and it has 10 different companies on it in a 3 year period, what would make the Manager think you were going to stay put at their company?

Experience

Personally, I would rather take a 1-year contract position with a certain Minneapolis-based medical giant than a direct hire position with Bob’s Medical Device Company. This particular medical giant is a highly acclaimed company recognized throughout the world and the experience I would gain there is more than likely hand-over-fist more valuable than any direct position elsewhere.

Contracting is especially good for Junior level candidates who don’t really know what their niche is yet. If you are a Jr. level Mechanical Engineer but you don’t know if you want to do design work, project management, engineering sales, or whatever else, contracting is a great way to figure out your calling. If you start out on contract doing design work and you hate it, then once the assignment is over, you can eliminate ‘design’ from your checklist and move on to the next discipline.

The Joys of Contract Work

There are so many perks to working contract it’s almost hard to address them all! Here is a small sample:

New companies/industries year after year

You set your pay raises (but you still have to be realistic!)

Seeing different parts of the world (if you choose to be a National Contractor)

Building a network of dozens of hiring managers and recruiters

Reference letters! Everyone loves people saying nice things about them, why not have a big collection of them!

If you travel to get to a company’s location: Per Diem! Ask virtually any direct employee what kind of living expense he/she gets for working at the same company!

Meeting new people and working in new teams!

Try before you buy! If your ideal situation is to become a direct hire at the company, now you can date the company before marrying it!

Overtime! Most contractors are hired on an hourly basis. You work 45 hours in a week; you get paid for 40 hours regular and 5 overtime. Ask most direct hires what they get paid when they work 45 hours a week!

How Do I start?

Some folks think that you have to be a big risk taker in order to be a contractor. What I actually see is people who aren’t necessarily risk takers at all, rather people who stay on top of a small database of recruiters and consistently contact them with updates. I have worked with plenty of contractors who aren’t even looking for a new gig, but stay in touch with me on a weekly or biweekly basis. They update me on the status of their current project, whether the company they are with is hiring or laying-off and any new updates they want to add to their resume (or my database). The whole call lasts 3 minutes, but one thing about contracting it is a contact sport-the more people you contact, the better you do.

I would recommend working with 3-5 different recruiters; provide them with your resume, cover letter, and 2-3 professional references. Call or email them on a weekly or biweekly basis and let them know that you are in fact excited about short or long-term assignments.

Summary

I couldn’t even tell you the number of Contractors I know that wouldn’t trade their career for anything. Some of these people have traveled literally all across the globe on different assignments, while others choose to stay local. Contract work is a great way to expand your comfort zone, work in a variety of industries, and meet lots of new people. Not to mention it’s a great way to control your own career, set your own pay rates, and plan your own vacations! Who wouldn’t want this?

Dale Robert is a MicroBusiness Coach, Career Coach, and Speaker/Seminar Leader. Dale has worked in the Staffing Industry, primarily in the medical device field in Minneapolis, for 6 years. He is also a Competent Toastmaster, and the Vice President of a Toastmasters club in the Minneapolis, MN area. He is currently rolling out a ‘Consultant Business Start-up Coaching Package’, which helps Would-Be Consultants get started in business!
Contact Dale by visiting www.Career-Mechanic.com

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