“Great hiring isn’t an instant process, and many companies would benefit from developing more-structured internship programs, in which success and proof of a good fit are measured over time,” says Mary Ellen Slayter in her recent article entitled Bring Strategic Rigor to Your Internship Program.

In the current economy, companies can afford to take more time with, and put more effort into, the hiring process. In fact, smart companies should be doing exactly that. When the labor market is slow, more talent is available and companies should tighten up hiring procedures, improve job descriptions, and focus on hiring quality people instead of hiring a resume. Internships are a great way to take a look at job candidates and determine – in real time – if they have the skills and attitude to flourish in the company.

Over the last several posts, I have tried to make it clear that finding a good job is about much more than polishing up your resume and checking out a few websites. Candidates have to work diligently at improving their value to employers. They have to find ways to increase the ways in which they can contribute to the success of an organization. In a nutshell, you simply cannot rest on your laurels; you have to be improving, growing, and constantly learning.

Need more proof? Read this excerpt from Slayter’s article:

Scare B-list candidates away upfront. General, fluffy job listings create more work for your HR team in the long run than a sharply focused one would. First, too many random candidates respond. Second, HR must then sift through a mountain of lackluster or insincere applicants. Third, these are short-term applicants that need any job they can get, as opposed to A-list candidates interested in a long-term career path with you. There’s a much better way: Sit down with key managers to carefully draft the most challenging, rigorous, mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive job description write-ups as possible –– with zero fluff. Include a roster of advanced role requirements and high cover letter expectations that invite only the keenest and most accomplished to apply. In short, scare the heck out of flaky applicants. Shotgun-blast resume slingers and well-dressed slackers won’t bother applying.

At first glance, this might be pretty intimidating. As you look at your situation and your resume, you might worry that you have little chance to secure that “perfect job.” My suggestion is to change your perspective: to move out of the realm of “resume slinger” or “well-dressed slacker,” you have to make every single job interview a learning experience. Failure to get an offer is not FAILURE – it’s an opportunity to learn where you need to improve. If you don’t get the job, you need to get as much information as you can that will help you in the next opportunity.

Always thank your interviewer and ask if you might ask a couple of questions regarding your interview. Most HR professionals will give you the opportunity, so make the best of it:

“I want to learn from this experience, so…”

“If you were in my shoes, what one thing would you work on to improve my ability to get hired?”

“What is the weakest part of my resume?”

“As an HR professional, what advice would you give me regarding my interview with you?”

At the same time, if you are serious about working for a particular company, you should consider an internship. They may or may not pay, but you could gain valuable experience inside an organization and potentially work yourself into a nice opportunity. If you don’t get an offer, and you’re fairly certain you were a final candidate, don’t be afraid to ask your interviewer if an internship is an option.

Is it just me, or do most people have little sense of what is going on in the world beyond American Idol or Survivor or The Real Housewives of (Fill in Your Favorite)? The average “man (or woman) on the street” doesn’t seem to know much of anything beyond sports and reality television.

Yes, I know, that is a sweeping generalization and completely unfair. Actually, most people are well-educated (read this), well-read, and quite knowledgeable about current affairs.

Not.

The “average” adult in the United States reads at a 9th grade level, and, as referenced in this MSNBC article, adult math skills have gone into hiding:

According to the Department of Education’s National Assessment of Adult Literacy, U.S. adults are terrible at solving real-world math problems, like calculating tips or comparing prices in grocery stores. Some dismal results:

Only 42 percent were able to pick out two items on a menu, add them, and calculate a tip.

Only 1 in 5 could reliably calculate mortgage interest.

1 in 5 could not calculate weekly salary when told an hourly pay rate.

Only 13 percent were deemed “proficient.” Worse yet, only 1 in 10 women, 1 in 25 Hispanics and 1 in 50 African Americans made the grade.

More good news: according to the President’s National Mathematics Advisory Panel, “half of 17 year olds couldn’t do enough math to work in an auto plant.”

Hey, I’m not some kind of intellectual snob, nor do I value a person more or less because they don’t know who the Vice President is or can’t find Montpelier, VT on a map (for those of you keeping score at home, that would be the capital of Vermont). No, the problem is that employers are typically looking for employees who can think, solve problems, and develop ideas. If job seekers don’t do anything to develop those skills, they risk being permanently relegated to second-tier status as a job candidate.

The idea in job search is to give yourself the very best opportunity to land a good job. Every single advantage, no matter how small, helps. One certain way to elevate yourself above many competitive job seekers is to demonstrate your ability to think and solve problems. Sadly, many job seekers don’t read well, can’t write business correspondence, and can’t do basic math calculations.

The solution? Extend your interests. Read a newspaper regularly. Pick up Math for Dummies. Complete a Sudoku puzzle once in a while (a little practice at solving problems).

Sound silly?

So does this: “We have filled that position.”

As if looking for employment didn’t pose enough of a challenge, here is an entirely new problem for those seeking employment – the effective use of social media. No, no, no…not how to use it for networking or job search, but how not to use it. It seems many job candidates torpedo their chances with some employers because of the inappropriate things they post on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media sites.

Is that fair to job candidates? Apparently so, according to this article:

Four years ago, Stacy Snyder, then a 25-year-old teacher in training at Conestoga Valley High School in Lancaster, Pa., posted a photo on her MySpace page that showed her at a party wearing a pirate hat and drinking from a plastic cup, with the caption “Drunken Pirate.” After discovering the page, her supervisor at the high school told her the photo was “unprofessional,” and the dean of Millersville University School of Education, where Snyder was enrolled, said she was promoting drinking in virtual view of her under-age students. As a result, days before Snyder’s scheduled graduation, the university denied her a teaching degree. Snyder sued, arguing that the university had violated her First Amendment rights by penalizing her for her (perfectly legal) after-hours behavior. But in 2008, a federal district judge rejected the claim, saying that because Snyder was a public employee whose photo didn’t relate to matters of public concern, her “Drunken Pirate” post was not protected speech.

Since Facebook and other sites are public domain sites, it looks like they are fair game for assessing your common sense and discretion. So, next time you get in one of those “drunken pirate” moods, you might want to hold off on posting the pics. I’m just sayin’…

This article further points out that 75 percent of recruiters and HR professionals scrutinize online sites for information about job candidates, and 70 percent of those individuals have actually rejected a candidate based on information obtained from these sites. As companies seek to acquire the best talent they can find, they have been given the golden opportunity to not only assess that talent, but to assess the character of that talent as well.

Formerly, employers were limited to a credit check, a background check, and all those stellar references you put on your resume. Now, however, you have willingly opened up your entire world for them to examine – which, by the way, can be a good thing just as much as a potential risk. After all, your Facebook page could just as easily reveal a solid citizen as much as it could reveal a scalawag.

With recruiters and HR professionals on the prowl, consider this “Word to the Wise:” You might want to check out your Facebook page and analyze it from an employer’s point-of-view. Does your online persona reveal someone that might be considered a huge hiring risk?

In the 21st century, finding gainful employment means mastering the fine art of networking. Clearly, social networking tools are a part of that landscape, but the most important networking skills are still those face-to-face interpersonal skills that many people are completely uncomfortable with.

Starting a conversation with a complete stranger – at a so-call “networking” event or at other chance meeting times – can be an intimidating exercise. Even people who are outgoing and comfortable with meeting new people can drive right into the ditch if they are too aggressive or lack social awareness.

There is, in fact, a precarious balance between “I am looking for the right opportunity” and “I desperately need a job.” For whatever reason, desperation just doesn’t play well with others. Strategic career planning, on the other hand, is eminently professional (“No, I haven’t found the position that fits my career plan”). The difference – in networking – is how you approach the task of meeting people and discussing your situation.

First, in any networking opportunity, you must be come prepared. You should have carefully rehearsed your answers to the following questions:

What do you do? (“I’m unemployed” or,”I’m between jobs” probably doesn’t leave the impression your looking for.)

What happened? (“My boss was an idiot” or “They just didn’t understand me” rarely results in a referral to a job opportunity.)

What are you looking for? (“Anything I can find” or “Something to pay the bills” sounds more like commodity than valuable resource.

Second, you should present yourself in a way that communicates success. Look the part. Dress appropriately. Shine your shoes. Have a nice pen in your notebook or jacket. Professional dress and conduct leads people to believe that you would be professional in the workplace.

Third, you need to be way more interested in finding out about other people than you are in telling others about you. Networking is a lot easier when you are focused on listening rather than talking. Eventually, the other person will ask about you (see the questions above) and you will get the opportunity to see if there is a connection for you. The interesting thing is that the better the listener you are, the more apt the other person is to listen and consider what you have to say.

Don’t know how? Don’t know what to ask? Use POGO – a technique from world famous motivational speaker, Zig Ziglar:

P – First, ask about the person. What does he do? Where does he work? Where did he go to school? Does he have any kids? Those kinds of questions.

O – Second, ask about the organization. How long has he worked there? What does he like about the company? Who does the company do business with? These are questions about the company he works for.

G – Third, ask about the company’s goals. How is his company, or department, doing? Are they reaching their goals? How is the economy affecting their progress?

O – Finally, ask about the obstacles the company has encountered. What has been your company’s biggest challenge? How have you worked around it? What do you see coming in the future that might be a challenge to reaching your goals?

You certainly don’t have to ask these exact questions, nor do you have to hit all four areas in any conversation. However, using this simple acronym – POGO – will prompt you to ask useful questions that lead to a productive dialogue. By the way, you will find out a lot about that company, as well as the industry they work in, and that is always valuable knowledge to have for future conversations!

“Unemployment: Who’s been hit the hardest?”

Actually this is an easy question with a very easy answer. The unemployed. Yup, that’s who’s been hit the hardest by unemployment. Loss of income. Healthcare benefits at risk. Lifestyle changes. Sleepless nights. You get the idea; you’ve probably been there.

Yeah, I know, that’s not what the article is investigating – what the writer means is which group of people is more unemployed than the rest of us. Question: Do you think those that are unemployed care which “group” has the highest unemployment rate? Is this the state of our country that we have to compare misery? Or make sure it’s spread around equally? (Actually….ummm…yes, I guess it is.)

So let me give you the real answer to our question. Again, it’s very easy…it’s teenagers. Yessir, teenagers are suffering through an unemployment epidemic – 26.9 percent of Americans age 16-19 are unemployed (as of March 2010). How can that be fair?? OK, on the serious side, why in the world are unemployment figures for teens reported? Are they heads of households? Are they primary breadwinners? Seriously?

No, the REAL, real answer to who has been hit the hardest by the rise in unemployment is:

By Race – African Americans (15.8% unemployment)
By Gender – Men (10% unemployment)

The only “winners” at this point appear to be Caucasian women over 20 years old – only 7.4 percent are unemployed. Those who are the worst off appear to be African-American males over 20 years old – 16.2 percent are unemployed. And on and on the list goes – identifying group after group with their “standing” in the unemployment line. Feeling any better now that you know? Probably not – unless, of course, you’re a white woman over twenty.

On the other hand, there is one group you really SHOULD know about. As it turns out, workers with a Bachelor’s degree have an unemployment rate of only 5 percent. Those with only a high school diploma, on the other hand, have an unemployment rate of 11.5 percent – over twice as high. If you haven’t graduated high school, close to one-in-five of you are looking for a job (17.9 percent unemployed).

The real lesson here is simple. If you are lucky enough to have a job, get off the couch. Ditch the Wii or the XBox. Cancel your Blockbuster account. Find a way – any way – to get that college degree. Finding employment is more and more competitive every day, but if you can double your chances of finding a quality job by getting a college education, you should strongly consider making that happen.

Yeah, I hear you screaming at your computer. “A college education? I don’t have that kind of money!!!” Hey, I get it. So, if you need something or someone to blame, that’s probably a good place to start. On the other hand, there are loads of examples of people who got their degrees when others said it couldn’t be done. Try this story. Or this one.

Maybe – just maybe – you could do the same.

Hey, want to see how marketable you are? Here’s an exercise for you: create a PowerPoint presentation that is designed to market…YOU! Yes, that’s right – create a marketing presentation for yourself. No, I’m not suggesting that you use it in a job interview, but consider this exercise as a way to think carefully about what you bring to the table for an employer.

A couple of words of caution before we discuss some ideas for your presentation: First, if you don’t know how to use PowerPoint, here is a good time to figure it out. Get a PowerPoint for Morons book, or some such thing, and start learning. However, do your homework on the Internet and learn some basics about good presentations (check out this blog post, for example). Second, many job positions require some aptitude with PowerPoint, so this may actually be good practice because most people don’t have a clue about how to create an effective slide presentation (haven’t you seen some really awful presentations in the workplace?). Do some research and learn how to avoid disastrous presentations (here is another great blog post to read). Google “bad PowerPoint presentations” and you will get a bazillion hits; go ahead and read one or two.

OK, let’s get started.

1). Write down your personal workplace strengths. Get out of “interview” mode and be real for a second. What skills and talents do you have? Are you dependable? A good listener? Are you Rain Man on Microsoft Word or Excel? Can you write coherent business correspondence? (If so, there are about 40 of you left in the universe.)

Think it through…why should an employer hire you? What makes you special? Now, put together a half dozen slides – one for each strength. Find a graphic for each slide. Prioritize the slides and build a case for yourself.

2). Next, write down your personal weaknesses. Same process as before – get real and be specific. Are you horrible with details? Do your follow-up skills leave something to be desired? Do you have the people skills of a pit bull?

The more you know about yourself, the smaller your blind spot in an interview. Interviews are not about clever answers to tricky questions; they are about positioning yourself effectively to minimize your weaknesses and maximize your strengths. If you can be honest with yourself and identify a key weakness that is keeping you out of the best jobs, you can create a plan to improve that weakness or manage it effectively. Do that now – create two or three slides that identify your weaknesses, one per slide. Find a graphic that fits. Then, create a solution for each weakness and use a slide to communicate it.

3) Finally, answer these questions: What do you want to do most? What is your vision for your career? What is it that you do in the workplace that gives you great energy and satisfaction? Now, create two to four slides that communicate your passion.

The point here is that, until you know what you want to do, you won’t look for the ideal job for you – and you won’t remove every possible barrier in order to get that position.

When you are all finished, show it to two or three people who care about you and are willing to offer some constructive feedback – about the presentation itself, your thoughts about your personal strengths and weaknesses, and how you are positioning  yourself in the workplace.

Take notes, make changes. Get serious about your personal marketing.

Advice I picked up through my job searching journey in two opposite ends of the globe…

Make your resume stand out from the growing pile of monotonous ones; have a professional revise your resume. Employers do not have time to interview every applicant. To ensure you receive an interview, you need a very convincing resume. For example, aside from listing your abilities, be sure to point out your accomplishments. How did your specific skills help you achieve the goals of the organization you previously worked for? An adviser can help you realize your past accomplishments. As well, there are many components that make up a resume; skills that you may think are not important may actually be a plus for certain jobs. Finally, a professional will make sure your resume has polish. Trust me, it is worth the investment!

For every resume you send, be sure to write your objective. An example: To obtain a role where I can use my strong organizational skills and attention to detail to fulfill tasks both thoroughly and efficiently. Each job you apply for will be different, it is therefore very important to adjust your resume accordingly. It may even be a good idea to have several resumes ready to fit the various job types or levels that you will be applying to.

Confidence and willingness to learn new skills: I once applied for a job, my interview was very successful, but I had no experience using one of the programs. They did not hire me. I later found out that the next person they interviewed told them if you give me a week I will go home and learn the program. They hired her. There are people out there willing to give you a chance, it is your job to promote yourself so you can optimize your chances. Sometimes it’s just best to be yourself! It may be your unique personality that makes you stand out from the rest. An organization likes to make sure their employees get along and work well together. If they see particular traits they like, that may be your ticket in!

Network: Many organizations only feel comfortable hiring someone on a personal recommendation. Ask your friends, family, and acquaintances if they know of any job opportunities. Some organizations do not even bother advertising and find their employees via word of mouth. If there is a particular organization you wish to work for, it may be a good idea to approach them yourself to see if they have any available jobs. With a great resume in your hands, you never know where you may land your next job!

Yes, unemployment is at a high of 10.2%, and this can be very discouraging. I say look at the bright side — there are still 89.8% in the work force! Unemployment rates are just about to peak. Employees have been over-cautious this past year, but now there’s no choice. There is work to be done and businesses are rehiring!

We’re big advocates of utilizing the power of networking to help develop your career. Whether your goal is to find an starting position or move up a few, socializing and connecting with the right people is essential. It can even make or break you.

Let’s go over some key places available to you online that can really boost your network.

LinkedIn is the one site that you must add your resume to. Oh, and all of your past and present professional connections, as this is more than just a website, it is a social network.

By fully optimizing your LinkedIn profile, you will have a full, strong resume available online for viewing. There are even settings to change your public profile, the one that will come up in search results for those who are not in your network. It will build your image online, the one that you want there, as it usually becomes one of the top search engine results when searching for an individual’s name.

Hey job seekers, where were you last night? If you didn’t say, “out at a business networking event,” you may be missing out on opportunity. Meetup is a great online place to both host reoccurring networking events and find good ones to join.

Some of the greatest career advancements were made possible by a good word from the right person. To find those right people, it’s time to begin actively socializing. Meetup is the place to go if you’re looking to join a social or professional group of folks that share your interests, experience, and goals.

To use Twitter as a ‘micro-blogging’ site or a place to provide a general status update is a mistake if you’re hunting for a job. Twitter is quickly turning into a tool that is used to project a professional, yet personable, image. And, let’s face it, image counts for a lot when looking for the right job.

Twitter gives you real time information that could be useful to you for your intended career change. Find some suggested Tweeps to follow that can help with your job search here.

It is this former job seeker’s recommendation to avoid using websites like Myspace and Facebook to network for your career. While they’re great for interaction at the personal social level, leave it for your family and non-professional friends only. The details you will likely find yourself putting on there are not the first things you’d want a potential employer to see when reviewing you as a candidate. Get some more advice from the 360 pros with live career action planning. Good luck and happy networking!

I’m sure by now that many of you heard about the concept of branding. You are told that you have to do it and where to do it. No one really tells you what it is and how to create your brand both on-line and off-line. I will introduce you to some concepts of personal branding that you can use on social networks such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter, as well as by having your own blog.

What is Branding?

Let us start off by examining what branding is. Branding is simply how you are perceived by others. Companies spend millions of dollars each year in advertising to try to create a certain image for their product. We know the constant barrage of commercials trying to create a favorable image emphasizing the quality of the product and associating the product with popular causes and famous people. On the personal level famous people have public relations professionals who find ways to get them publicity through personal appearances and being mentioned in the media to build their brand.

Branding and the Job Hunt

When looking for a job, branding comes into play in several areas. First, you have to create a favorable image on your resume. The resume should highlight your key competencies and examples that demonstrate that you have those skills. Second, you have to develop a pitch which creates an image to others that you have these skills and abilities. Finally you have to convey these competencies in compelling way on a personal interview. How do you begin to become aware of your personal brand? I have some exercises that will help you get started.

1. Write down three personal attributes that you want to others to be aware of about you.
2. Ask people who know you best to write down what they perceive as your top three attributes or key skills. How close do people perceive you to the way you want to be perceived?
3. If there is a mismatch, what do you need to do to change their perception of you?

Branding and Perception

Changing how people perceive you is a tricky proposition. You may be perceived with one group in a very positive way, but not with another. For example, your peers may perceive you as a great friend, fun loving and easy to get along with. But, these same dominant attributed may not be seen as positive by others who are evaluating you for a leadership position. So, if you are presenting yourself, for a higher management position, presenting yourself as strong and decisive may be important, thus the brand you try to project needs to developed to be in sync with your goals and aspirations. The help of a skilled image coach could help you. This is where 360 comes in, with a pool of experts in almost every professional field, ready to help you with its one on one Career Action Planning.

What Makes a Brand?

Let’s look at what makes up a brand. I will borrow heavily from a book “Be Your Own Brand” by David McNally and Karl Speak. A personal brand is what we are committed and what we stand for. It has to do with how we present that to the outside world and how we communicate our beliefs and abilities to people through what we say and our actions. When we are looking for a job we try to build our brand through our resume and our self presentation. Self presentation on a job search is what we say to people we meet during an event, friends and a one on one informational and contact development interview. It is also involved in what we write in cover letters and what we write about ourselves on on-line social media.

There are three characteristics of a strong brand:

1. Distinction

   First they are distinctive. That is there is something unique about that brand that differentiates it from other brands. Too many resumes read like job descriptions. They are boilerplate. When I read these resumes that people bring into me I apply the “so what” litmus test. When I say”wow!” then i know that it meets the distinctiveness criteria.

2. Relevancy

   The second criteria is that it is relevant. Other people have to consider it important. What you say about yourself must be in line with what is needed in the job market right now. So if you waited on tables or were on the events committee of your sorority, does that make a case that you will be a great financial analyst? Get rid of things that are irrelevant on your resume. Fill the resume with items that demonstrate your competencies as it relates to the job you seek. You can find out what is relevant through talking to people in your field, either through one on one or events networking. Find out what are the hot buttons in your profession or industry an address them in your self-presentation.

3. Consistency

   The third characteristic of a strong brand is consistency. The same message should be on all your resume, on line social media and in person. Successful politicians were able to deliver a consistent message throughout their campaigns so that voters got feeling as to what to expect from the candidate. You need to build a consistent message of competency in your field. When you put together your profiles on Linked In, Facebook and Twitter be sure you are delivering the same message. The personal pitch you develop for your networking and job interviews should be the same that is on your resume and social media portals.

Please consider buying this book: “Career Distinction” by William Arruda and Kristen Dixson. The book has a number of guided exercises which help you get in touch with who you are, what you have to offer the world and how to get that across to other people. And don’t forget, when it comes to truly distinguishing yourself from the crowd, 360 is there to get you noticed, and get you hired.