Didn't get the Job? Now what?

        Feelings of gloom, low assurance and a nose-dive in confidence are expected when you get rejected after giving an interview at your dream IT company. You may have followed the job interview tips to the T, felt sound in your knowledge and ability to perform the duties, and still may have failed to land the job. What good may come out of this situation, you may ask? All is not lost when you don’t get the job because you can still take away valuable feedback that will help you in the long run. 

          

      1.       Send a “Thank You” Letter

Thank the people that interviewed you for their time, information shared, and let them know that despite not being selected for the current job opportunity, you would really like to work for them one day. Imagine that for whatever reason their chosen candidate doesn't work out. Your letter to them will give you an advantage and will not be forgotten. It is a way to be memorable above other candidates if similar positions become available.

      2.       Ask for Feedback

If you are using the interview as your need for professional validation, the results may bring you down in your job search. Don’t use the job interview as a measure of your professional worth. With that being said, don’t be afraid to ask for a hiring manager’s opinions. The worst that can happen is you’ll get no feedback at all. The best that will happen is you will improve for your next opportunity.

     3.       Focus on your Strengths

The job hunt is a mental battlefield and you have to stay positive. Focus on refining yourself and don’t let past rejections hold you back. Maybe your resume needs spicing up, your soft skills need a touch-up? Make the effort and approach the job market with vigor and determination. 

"Tell Me About Yourself"

 

      One of the most common questions by a Hiring Manger is the one where you are asked to start of the interview by giving some background about yourself. This is a chance to take control of the conversation. The "tell me about yourself" interview question is not just a warm up, but a way for you to sell yourself as the perfect candidate for the job. Always keep the job position in mind and answer the question accordingly. An interview can quickly go downhill if you don't keep the goal at hand. The good news is that you can prepare and stop dreading the pressure this question typically incites. The secret is to nailing the question is to Focus, Script, and Practice. 

      1.     Focus

What do you want the interviewer to know about you? List five or so strengths that are pertinent to the position you are applying to. These could be experiences, traits, or skills. 

      2.     Scripting

Prepare a script that includes the information that you want to convey. Start by talking about your proven success, next mention your abilities, and conclude with a statement of your current situation and goals.


3.     Practice 

You shouldn't memorize your script, you should simply be confident in what you want to emphasize in your statement. The more you can talk about your personal brand - you - the better chance you have of selling it. 

Here are some tips on how you can set an easy-going tone to your interview.

  ·  “Can I show you instead of tell you?” and continue to pull out your brag book that best represents your strengths. Who could forget that answer?
  ·  “My passion is…” Frankly, people don’t care what you do. They care about who you are. Your passions are who you are and it unearths enthusiasm.
 ·  “My personal philosophy is…” This indicates that you are a thinker and can develop an idea. You are not simply an employee that does what he is told.
 ·  “If Hollywood made a movie about my life, it would be called…” Engaging, interesting, and entertaining.

A wrong answer is to respond with a question, “What exactly do you want to know?”  You’re hirable because of your answers. When people ask you to tell them about yourself, make them glad they asked.

The Smart way to use your Smartphone

       Just about everything has gone mobile in today's society. You deposit your checks, chat face-to-face with your distant friends, read your CompTIA and Microsoft courseware, keep track of your steps, and even use your phone to pay your bill at the local drive-through restaurants. Out of the Fortune 500 companies, 167 have portals optimized to fit a smartphone screen. This is more than double the amount from last year. What does that mean for the IT Job Seeker? It is important to embrace the mobile job search or get lost among the competition.

Here is how to make the most out of your Smartphone:

1. Save your Resume to your Smartphone or cloud storage

Before you apply to a a job using your mobile device, some preparation is needed. First, your resume needs to be easily accessible. If you have a cover letter, a work portfolio, or a reference document, it is a good idea to have easy access to it as well. Your documents should be able to be accessed on the unit itself in a  Word or PDF format or on a cloud storage such as Dropbox, Google Docs, or iCloud.

2. Ensure your E-mail and Voice Message Greeting is professional 

ITGeek@gmail.com or SingingSue@yahoo.com are fine when you are e-mailing with your friends but not appropriate when you e-mail a hiring manger or a recruiter. You can use an abbreviated version of your name or an alpha-numeric version of your e-mail address to all application related communication.

3. Make, Upkeep, and Use your professional LinkedIn and Twitter accounts

More than half of Americans assess social media sites through their mobile devices. With job opportunities shared widely  across these sites, more and more candidates are hearing about openings on their smartphones. Many organizations are recognizing the ease of "Apply using your LinkedIn profile" and have added this to their applications process. It is a great way to stay current regarding news in the IT industry, network with the individuals that may be hiring you, and can explore new job opening and updates at your favorite company.

4. Download Relevant job search apps

If you are using job listings to search for jobs, download the accompanying app. This allows you to get on-the-go alerts on job postings and quickly apply as you have already stored all documents needed to do so and have up-to-date social media profiles to refer the Hiring Manger to. Many companies have employment apps that you can download to your smartphone. 

5. Always use Good Judgment 

For the job seeker, there is a lot of information out there that can either hurt you or help you depending on how on top of it you are. Keep all social media postings clean, professional, and keep on the middle of the road. You never know if the hiring manger is a "donkey" while you may be an "elephant".  Also, if you are already employed, maintain your professionalism and conduct your job search off company hours using your own technology. 

Using your smartphone in a smart way will show hiring managers that you are a competitive candidate because you use some of the most up-to-date platforms even before being employed.

I wonder if you can apply using Apple's new iWatch? 

 

Gainesville Mock Interview Workshop

The Unconventional Candidate

      You have just landed the interview for the job that will begin and develop your career in Information Technology. Congratulations! Although it may seem that you are only a dialogue away from being employed, remember that you may be against some tough competition in one of the fastest growing career fields. Many people make the mistake to fall in the traditional stereotype of the "IT Geek" and forget what they have learned from the most pronoun doctor known all over the world, Dr. Seuss:

     You are skilled, certified, confident and ready to impress a hiring manager in an interview. But how exactly do you do that? Most hiring mangers make the mistake to fall prey of unconscious predispositions such as that of the "IT Geek" and focus too heavily on experience instead of competence. It is your obligation this doesn't happen. By leading the interview, you can ensure that your conversation is different than the other three the hiring manger is having the same week. Here are five things that you can bring to make you stand out in an interview and help you take control of the interview.

1. Resume: Tweak it one last time. Even if you have customized your resume to every position you have applied to, chances are, in your extensive research of the company and the interviewer, you discovered new information that can be used to better align you with the position at hand. Take another look and see if modifying an achievement or adding a hobby that you and the hiring manager have in common may make for a better cultural fit. Then, print out five to ten high quality resumes. With a fresh stack at hand, you are ready to distribute your marketing brand to any, unexpectedly encountered, empty-handed,  additional hiring decision-makers.
2. Brag-Book: Less is not always more. This is a visual of your accomplishments that both demonstrates your qualifications and serves as an effective strategy to focus on your ability to perform a new task. What you should include your brag book is only limited to your imagination. Be creative! "Punch" out the competition! You can include your certifications, an e-mail from a happy customer, a performance
evaluation, or evidence of your multimedia skills. This gives a chance for a hiring manager to find out more about you, focus on the positive, and can also serve as an explanatory tool during a story telling scenarios.
3. Testimonials: Check me out, this is who I have wowed. Or in other words, your references. Show off your abilities to make a table graph and list your references, the company they are associated with, your relationship to them, and what they have said in the past/would say about you today. Diversify your references to show that you bring value to every aspect that the company may be involved in.
4. Future Action Plan: ROI Leave the company with no reason not to hire you by showing that you can provide a Return On (their) Investment. In your research of the company, their processes, and the general information technology industry, you will find potential challenges. Nobody is perfect. It takes a lot of guts to tell that to a hiring manger, but once you do and show an action plan of how to resolve their challenges, you will have a developed an impressive initiative. Speak on specific steps of you action plan that you will take within the 30-60-90 days of your hire.
5. Marketing (business) Card: The mini resume. Leave the conversation to be more flexible and fluid. Offer more opportunities for information sharing. Include valuable contact information such as your name, number, e-mail, and LinkedIn account. Include a tagline to further underscore your value. Use the opposite side to offer some metric-based achievements to add solidity to your "bragging".

What is an Informational Interview anyway?

     You are a qualified and certified Information Technology professional that will be an asset to any company, right? After your multiple efforts in filling out tedious applications, referrals from New Horizons of North Florida, and postings of your resume to different job sites, you are still unemployed. You may feel that you will impress a Hiring Manager for your dream place to work if only given a chance to an interview. Have you ever thought about an Informational Interview? Here is why the Informational Interview should be your favorite job-hunting tactic!

     What is an Informational Interview anyway? It is a one-on-one conversation with someone who is employed in the specific company that you're interested in learning more about. It is a way for you, the job seeker, to get first hand advice on a career in IT, the industry itself, and the culture of a future workplace. On the other hand, it gives a Hiring Manager the opportunity to judge your professional potential and how you, as a potential future hire, will fit into the culture and aid company goals.

    Why should I do an Informational Interview? In short, because it is crucial to your job search.

1. Become more than a piece of paper 
• It is a chance to get in the door, and get in the door faster! This tactic allows you to move beyond the one page resume submission and engage with the people who can hire you.
• You remove all competition from job-seeking playing field when the person you wish to speak with is not in the midst of screening candidates for a job.
2. Gain "Information"
• Prepare a list of questions on the company and the field. Your interviewer will be pleased you did your research. 
• Many professionals will grant Informational Interviews and are happy to share his or her knowledge with you. Take advantage of their time to gather helpful tips from an insider.
3. Practice

• You are a professional and knowledgeable in your field, however, it is normal during a time of pressure to fumble your works a bit. 
• Going on informational interviews gives you a boost of confidence in explaining your career goals and how your skills obtained now and your work ethic will get you to the goal. 
4. Find a potential Mentor
• You may find that you and the interviewer click. It gives you a professional connection in the Information Technology industry who likes you.
• They could serve as a reference to the company you interviewed with or others in their network. 
• Make sure you ask if you could reach out to them again in the future. This broadens the scope of the initial 20 minutes you were initially granted.
5. Network Yourself
• Treat the interview as if there is a potential job offer because there may be. 80% of Information Technology jobs are not posted anywhere and are in the Hidden Market.
• It is a chance to shine, show off your skills, and how you will be a great asset to the company. 

So, how to land an Informational Interview? Simply ask! You can do this through a letter, through LinkedIn, an E-mail, or have a friend set it up for you. Ask them out to coffee or offer to come in on a day when the load is light. Chances are they will say yes. Do you know why? People love talking about themselves ;)

This is a tactic that has been proven effective with students from New Horizons of North Florida with a job offer at the end of the Informational Interview. A position was never advertised.

Software and Soft Skills

                 In the workplace, soft skills are serve to complement to the hard skills that you learn in your courses at New Horizons. Learning through CompTIA A+  how to install, configure, and troubleshoot Windows 8 computers may be the requirement for the position, but a hiring manager won't hire solely based on those skills. Not only may your interpersonal skills be the reason you land the job at your dream company, but they may be the reason for promotion and advancement once you do have your foot in the door.

               Soft skills revolve around personality, character, and attitude. Being strong in those categories, will allow you to become a better contender in your job search, build good work relationships once you do land the job, and in turn, increase your work performance. Soft skills are always high in demand by Hiring Managers. So what are soft skills and do you possess these hidden talents?

1. Communication skills: its more than just a language. It is how you listen, your ability to explain content, and how well you articulate yourself in writing. IT projects that do get passed within a company are not always better than the next, but are communicated properly. 
• Make eye contact; monitor your body language
• Practice speaking
• Proofread e-mails, letters, and notes
2. Be User-Friendly: An IT professional who can empathize with the end user and the environment they deal with is impressive. Showing a Hiring Manger that you can use your technical expertise and bridge the communication gap is key. 
• Always attempt to create an easy to use and understand working setting
• Think of your favorite instructor. How did he/she help you understand the material the first time around
• Be willing to share and explain what you know. 
3. Motivation and Enthusiasm: In the fast-paced industry of Information Technology it is essential to have motivation and enthusiasm to keep up. Showing that you have the determination to achieve the end result and do it optimistically will make people want to work more closely with you and strike home with a Hiring Manger 

• Give an example of when you kept your spirits up during a set back
• Know what makes you tick and what you enjoy the most
• Surround yourself with individuals you aspire to be like in that aspect  "You are the average of the five people that you spend the most time with.” – Jim Rohn