Your Career Change Checklist

So here you are at a crossroads (potentially) your current career path just does not seem to be working out as you had first planned. You find it hard to get out of bed in the morning and do your best work. Your boss is a jerk! Your customers hate your guts! You’re just not “juiced” by your current position. Before you start to feel like there is something wrong with you personally, don’t! This happens to everybody at some point in their career. The key here is to find some time to do some serious reflection and take inventory. Perhaps a career change is in order; maybe you just need to take a different view of the situation. The following are some questions you might ask yourself when you are in the mood to answer them honestly.


Here are the questions:

1. Why did I accept this job in the first place? What got me excited about it? Was it the job itself or was it an entry point that could get me to the level / position I really want? Is that opportunity still there? Am I doing everything I can to perform at a high level in order to deserve success? 
2. Do I like the people I work with? Do they seem to treat me fairly? 
3. Are the career advancement opportunities still available? Do I feel like I am on a track to earn one of those positions? If I am not on a track, how can I get on it? 
4. Am I being compensated fairly and competitively with the marketplace?

Ok, let’s say you have reflected on these questions and were honest with yourself and your answer kept coming back…time to make a move! Now you have some more questions that you have to ask and reflect upon. And this time, you’ll have to get some serious input from others close to you. Here are some things to think about:

1.   Do you know and can you articulate what you really want to do career wise and what path you have a burning desire to go down? Can you clearly explain why and it can’t be just about the money? 
2. If your skills sets don’t match up perfectly, but you are talented and trainable, will you step back in rank and maybe pay in order to get where you want to end up? This is sometimes necessary. 
3. Will you be willing to move for this opportunity? If so where would you go and where would you not go? Relocating can be fun and invigorating, but it can also be temporarily stressful. Think about the good and the not so good! 
4. This a big one…Is your spouse / family / significant other on board with career change and a potential move to another area? Really on board?

If you have gone through this interesting exercise, one thing is for sure. You should be much more clear and hopefully have plans regarding your career. We help hundreds of people a year take the next step in their career and we may be able to help you too. But first, be sure to be clear on what you want and where you want to go, this helps everyone involved.

Mastering the Telephone Interview

Many times the first real step toward a new position is the phone interview or more likely the phone screen as we like to call it (more on that in a minute). Sometimes the phone interview / screen is done by the actual hiring manager…that is usually good. However, often times it is done by someone other than the hiring manager…not as good. The reason the former is “not as good’ is that the non-hiring manager, many times does not feel the pain as acutely as the one with the “open position”. Also, another key to remember is that many phone screens are meant to do just that; screen out people, not screen them in. The skills needed in getting beyond the phone screen are different from those used in a successful face to face interview. So, with that in mind, here are some Does and Don’ts to help keep you on track:


Do: Remind yourself that this is not a real interview, it is a screen. Their objective is to screen you out!


Do: Sell yourself hard. Given the tendency for the employer to eliminate during this phase, you must sell yourself a bit harder. The key objective here is to get to the Face to Face interview!


Do: Know exactly before the screen what the criteria for the job are. Rehearse addressing those needs. Your recruiting consultant will help you here.


Do: Keep your comments concise and to the point. The more rambling, the more likely you are to be screened out. Say what you have to, but stay focused on getting the personal interview


Do: Be fully prepared. Have your resume, any research on the company you have gathered and questions that you have put together that show you know something about the company as well as the industry.


Do: Set an appointment for the phone screen, this will show that you are busy and you will come off more professional.


Do: Try to initiate the call if you can. The one doing the calling tends to be in control of the process more so than the one being called.


Do: Announce yourself when you are calling or being called as professional as you can. This is not the time for lazy talk or cute answering styles. This is the big leagues; make sure you are acting like you deserve to be there.


Now, here are some definite Don’ts to watch out for:


Don’t: Have a cute message on your cell phone or home phone. You run too great a risk at turning off the potential employer. Keep it simple and professional


Don’t: Use a cell phone on the road if you can help it. The connections can be spotty and you run the risk of really frustrating the interviewer.


Don’t: Discuss money in depth…this is not the time for that…not even close.


Don’t: Ask what can you do for me questions…enough said!


Don’t: Avoid obvious sensitive issues like too may jobs, being out of work for a while. Take it head on and address it and move on. Trying to avoid it only makes it worse!


Don’t: Say you know what you do not! There is nothing wrong with being human and comfortable enough to say I don’t know to any question that you shouldn’t know.


Prepare for the phone interview / screen in the same manner you would prepare for a face to face interview. Take it seriously and sell yourself!

Don't Eat Spaghetti on Your First Date

An interview is a lot like a first date. This is a somewhat funny, somewhat serious comparison between dating and interviewing. Now this is not to say that you should interview your date. You may not get too far with that approach. But, let’s think of the interview a little like how you should handle yourself just as you would for your date. We have a short flyer that we often send to our candidates that are about to interview called First Impressions Count. You can ask about it if you are about to interview and we haven’t yet sent one yet. The title tends to say it all. First Impressions are what count. Let’s examine some of the key areas.



Dress for Success – These days, the attire could be about anything from casual to a business suit. The important thing is to know where you are going and what the expected attire is before you get there. Going to take your date to dinner? Well then, call ahead and see what the attire is expected to be.


How about your personal appearance? Now I’m not saying that you need to spend a bunch of time doing your hair fancy, particularly for you ladies, but how about making sure you have a recent trim or haircut? I can imagine all kinds of things that might just make the interviewer, or your date cringe. How about the guy with a “uni-brow”, partially shaven, or nose hairs! Okay, sorry for that image. If you are really trying to impress your date, you’ll likely get cleaned up and look quite presentable. So, why not for the interview? Just be careful not to go overboard on the cologne or perfume (his/hers).


If you eat before the interview, how about taking a quick look in the mirror? It’s a bit embarrassing to have sesame seeds, a broccoli floret, or something green in your teeth. And, what about that spaghetti? How many times have you eaten spaghetti and not gotten a sauce splatter on your shirt or blouse (his/hers). A breath mint would be good, in both cases. Avoid the garlic and you won’t have to use more than one. Avoid the carbonation. You don’t want to have the urge to belch in the middle of the date/interview.


Sell yourself but don’t dominate the conversation. This can go for both the interview and the date. Listen in intently. Nothing spoils the atmosphere more than a disengaged attention. Listen actively. Be ready to exchange answers to lots of questions. Being prepared can really help. These days, it’s not that hard to do a little research on your date/interviewer. Ask around a little bit. What are they like? What do they like? What don’t they like? What do they like to do in their spare time? Ask good questions on your own. See the comparisons? Another comparison, an attorney in a trial generally will never ask a question that they don’t already know the answer to.


Discussing compensation is a serious “no-no” on the first date. There’s no way to win this one. You’ll either come across as greedy, or someone without a lot of value. Stay away from it.


Don’t forget to close. Do you want another date? Ask now vs. later. You don’t have to be specific about time and place yet. It’s just a case of measuring the response.


Always follow up. If you had just gone on a great date, wouldn’t you send something expressing what you feel? You bet you would. Why? You really want to get the message across of what you thought and what you want the next steps to be. Now you may not send a thank you to your date, but you sure should after your interview. There’s nothing like something from you personally to express thanks for their time and attention to what you are really after, that great job. Now you may not be committing for richer or poorer, but you do want to express commitment that you can really deliver on the objectives of the job. Do you want it? Then go get it.