All about the job search!

 

That’s right, according to reports from ERE.net to Forbes to Inc., on average, approximately 50% of U.S. workers conducted a job search in 2018. The primary reasons listed were compensation, work culture, and lack of growth opportunities.

If you’re in job search mode, below is some information that just might help you.

 

 

The latest in interviewing

 

Many of you have heard of (and experienced) behavioral-based interviewing, where the interviewer asks you to give an example of a past experience that demonstrates your behavior in a specific type of scenario. The goal of these types of interviews is to see if your past behavior in various work scenarios demonstrates a consistent pattern of a desired behavior.

 

Over time, some employers have become frustrated with this approach, believing that it hasn’t been effective in helping them identify good, qualified talent.

 

Well, move over behavioral-based interviewing because there’s an emerging star — motivation-based interviewing. These interviews are designed to determine if a job seeker is a high achiever or simply an average worker by asking a series of questions that are designed to see how a person handles obstacles.

 

An example of a motivation-based interview question is, “Describe a specific example of when you had to redo work that a colleague originally developed.” On the surface, this may sound like a standard behavioral-based interview question, but be careful! Your interviewer may be looking to find out how you remained motivated to do a good job in spite of the fact that you were brought in to do clean up.

 

As this trend continues to grow, you, the job seeker, must prepare yourself for interview questions that test your skills, attitude, and passion for the job. Skills, you can talk through. Attitude, you can temporarily alter. However, it’s much more difficult to fake passion. This is why I preach, as best you can, find a career path you want and not just one you think you can do.

 

When you focus on what you want, your passion naturally shines through which makes you highly desirable to an employer.

 

Perfect for the Job, but No Call

 

For years, I’ve encountered and worked with people who say, “I had every qualification the employer listed in the job posting, but still didn’t get a call. I just don’t understand why not!” Can you relate?

What often follows after this occurs one too many times is frustration, loss of motivation, and a decrease in confidence. “Why am I not good enough?” becomes the prevailing thinking.

 

For those of you who may be in this place right now, let me offer three alternative thoughts which may help:

 

1. Remember, you’re in a competition. This means while your background may be wonderful and indeed demonstrates everything in the job posting, there may be other candidates whose backgrounds may be just a little bit better. Maybe they have more years in the same work? Maybe they have all of the listed qualifications and more?

 

2. Sadly, many job postings are poorly written and don’t accurately reflect what the hiring leader really wants. Whether it’s because the hiring leader really doesn’t know what they want (believe me, it happens!) and, therefore, can’t convey it accurately enough for the recruiter’s job posting, or there could be company constraints on what can be listed, many times what you see listed as the qualifications isn’t quite what’s desired.

 

3. No one saw your resume or application. Why not? Because when you applied for the position, you were applicant #126, but the recruiter found their candidate slate in the first 97 applicants. You were perfect, but never seen. This underscores the importance of ensuring you have a healthy dose of networking in your job search–to get you in front of the right people.

 

So, the next time you apply for a job, don’t beat yourself if you aren’t called. The reason could be very different from what you think.

 

To your success,

 

Bernie Frazier