Pay special attention to the questions you are being asked. They often emphasize the priorities of the interviewer. You will also gain insight into the specifications of the opportunity by the questions you ask the employer.

Effective questions you may consider asking during your next interview:

• What are the primary responsibilities of this position?
• What are the greatest challenges of this position?
• What is most important to you in the person you hire?
• I’m interested in working for you and this company and I am confident that I have the appropriate skills and experience. Do you feel that I am a good fit for this position? <x{(}>(Listen for the word “but” in their response, and overcome any objections that follow.)

When answering questions, provide examples of the facts you’re sharing. Rather than say I’m a strong leader, provide examples of your leadership. When you do not have a job description it is more important than ever than you ask the best questions. There are times when a company is trying to create a job around your talents.

Many employers prefer to hire an individual who has been recommended by someone else or has uniquely positioned themselves on social media sites. Corporate and third party recruiters do utilize their networks and research Linkedin profiles of prospective candidates. When you read your Linkedin profile, would a potential employer want to contact you? Are your recommendations impressive and sending the right message to these employers? Are the individuals in your professional network actively helping you connect with their network? Do you comment on blogs related to your profession which positions you as an expert?

It is estimated that over 3 million job seekers who have been in long term job searches, have actually stopped looking for a job. If you are re-engineering your career or contemplating a new occupation, it’s wise to review the ten hardest jobs to fill according to a recent Talent Shortage Survey. These include: Skilled Trades, Engineers, IT Staff, Sales Representatives, Accounting & Finance Staff, Drivers, Mechanics, Nurses, Machinists and Machine Operators. If you are contemplating additional education, over 75% of the new jobs created in the next five years will utilize Math, Science, Technology and Engineering Degrees.

It is the job seeker who is the most proactive and has expertise in areas where there is a talent shortage that will have the greatest chance of succeeding in landing a great job.

If you’ve been “pending” for an extended period of time it could mean one of the following scenarios:

• The employer is keying in on someone else
• The employer has hired someone else and you have not been told
• The employer is still interviewing looking for the perfect candidate for this job
• The hire has been put on a back burner because another priority is more important than this hire
• The employer is waiting on salary approval or the approval to hire
• They are waiting on reference or background checks to be completed

They did not misrepresent the truth during your interview. At the time you were interviewed, there may have been a high level of interest in you, but since your interview they have interviewed stronger candidates. Hiring authorities are no different than anyone else. They do not like to deliver bad news and have probably had job seekers in the past get very defensive when they were told they were selected. As a result, many companies do not communicate and assume you will realize you’re out of contention when you don’t hear back from them.

In this instance, the best thing you could do is thank them for their time and ask to be considered for future opportunities. Most job seekers will not do this because they are upset – so this will set you apart from your competition. If you are still being considered they will reach out to you. If you are not being considered, they will be impressed by the way you handled yourself.
Never burn any bridges in your job search because you never know who could open the door that represents your next logical career move. Always be gracious, ask for advice how to improve and continue your job search activities.

Some examples of soft skills include: written and verbal communication skills, organizational abilities, problem solving skills and leadership. Most jobs require strong communication skills which are revealed in your resume, cover letter and during verbal conversations. The first impression you make on a prospective hiring authority is often before you ever meet this person. You are
being judged on your written and verbal communication skills.

Refrain from using inappropriate language or words that are trendy or slang and not necessarily professional. Something as simple as answering a question with yeah rather than yes can cause you to be screened out. You have one chance to make a good impression on a prospective hiring authority.  Role-play with family and friends and ask them to provide constructive criticism
about your communication skills.

Also take time to review your social media sites. Do you have any errors on your LinkedIn Profile? If I was judging your writing ability, what grade would you receive? Reviewing your online presence has become your unofficial first interview with most employers. Employers can learn things about you that they could never question during an interview. If you find errors, correct them as soon as possible.

If you improve your ability to stress your marketable soft skills, you will increase your chances of scheduling more interviews and obtaining job offers.

• Anyone who has been or is in the profession you have targeted   (also targets for informational interviews)
• Past employers and co-workers
• Past clients
• Alumni Associations of schools you’ve attended
• ANYONE who is currently working (you don’t have to be employed in a profession, to know people in a profession)
• Family, Neighbors and Friends
• Contacts you establish on Social Media sites
• Other Job Seekers (often they surface opportunities that don’t interest them – but could interest YOU)
• Everyone you use as a reference
• Anyone who provides you with services i.e. insurance man, realtor, cleaners, pharmacist – they all know people
• Members of trade associations who represent your targeted profession or industry
• Published experts in your field of interest
• Attendees and speakers at Job Clubs or Job Fairs

This list could go on and on, but at least this will provide you with a starting place.  Over the next ninety days, focus on increasing your network and reach out to your current network with an article of interest.  You too could be a job seeker who found your job as a result of your networking efforts!

In this instance, you must do what is best for you and your family. If you turn an offer down, there is no guarantee you will receive an additional offer. However, in most instances you can delay your start date. This allows you time to reach out to the other employers who are interviewing you and inform them that you have received another job offer. Their reaction will reveal to you quite quickly if they have any interest in pursuing you. If you get another offer, you then call the first employer and let them know you will not be starting because you have accepted a different offer. If you don’t get an offer, you have your original offer in hand.

Sometimes it may not be the best decision to hold out for the offer you know you deserve. So often, you can advance to the position you deserve by getting your foot in the door of one of your targeted companies. Once you are hired, most employers advance you based on your performance, attitude and the impact of your accomplishments.

I think it is gratifying to know that many of you are beginning to obtain not only one job offer, but multiple offers. Many of you have been participating on our weekly job seeker webinars and are implementing the ideas we’ve shared! If you are not currently signing up for our Job Seeker Training webinars, you might want to add this weekly call to your job search activities. There is also time allowed each week during these calls to answer the questions that are most important to each person who participates. We’d love for you to have the problem of which offer to accept too!

Prior to asking questions, you want to express your high level of interest and confidence in performing the responsibilities of the job.  You then ask questions which could include:

• What is the greatest challenge your new hire will face?
• What is most important to you, in the person you hire?
• How can your new hire have the greatest impact on your department/team?
• I am confident in my ability to do this job.  Do you feel I have the skills and experience this job requires?  (Note:  Anything following the word “but” in their answer to this question represents the reason you could be screened out.   If you are able to overcome any concerns they express, it brings you closer to possible a job offer.)

Your goal in each step of the interview process is to be passed on to the next person.  If I feel you are confident, interested and I like you, more than likely you will get to the next step.  Remember, if you let the interviewer talk about themselves they will like you more.

Questions that are self-serving like benefits, salary, hours, days off etc. are the kiss of death in an interview.  The more you learn about the priorities of each person, the better you can position yourself as their perfect hire!

Often, references may not return a call because they think it is a sales call vs. a reference check.  Call your references once you have shared their names with a prospective employer so that they will be expecting the call or email.  You want to be sure to inform your references of the job you are targeting so that they will know what to focus on and highlight during the conversation.  It is best if they
focus on what is most important to this prospective new employer.

Checking your references is one of the last actions taken by a hiring authority and often they will review the information on their top two or three finalists.  If they are unsuccessful in reaching your references, they could make a job offer to someone else.  This is why the reference check process is something that does require your attention.

Follow this process and you will schedule more interviews:

1. Identify the appropriate person to target (hopefully this person is one or two levels above the person who would be your boss).
2. Verify the correct spelling of this person’s name and their title to eliminate unnecessary errors.
3. Mail a hard copy of your resume and cover letter even though you have applied online.
4. Research appropriate opportunities and customize your cover letter to show the hiring authority WHY you want to work for their company.
5. Customize your career summary to stress the skills and experience you feel would be most important to each employer.
6. Update your LinkedIn profile to match whatever updates you include on your resume – consistency is important.
7. Develop a follow-up process that you follow to keep your name in front of your targeted hiring authorities.
8. Stress your accomplishments and the positive impact they have had on your past employers.

Remember it is important to always stress how a hiring authority will benefit if they decide to hire you.
It is very important that you track which version of your resume and cover letter you are sending to each hiring authority, so that you take the correct version to your interview.  You do not want to change dates or facts.  You just want to list your credentials in the order that would be most desired by each hiring authority.

Customizing your information will take you time, but the reward is worth your investment of time.  You will schedule more interviews which should be the main focus of your job search.  The more interviews you schedule, the greater your chances become of receiving a job offer!

Also focus on soft skills that are in high demand including:  strong written and verbal communication skills, time management abilities, leadership, organizational abilities and bottom line orientation.  These skills are transferrable to most opportunities.