One thing that has become evident to me is that as Americans we value hard work more than results. Don’t believe me? Let’s look at a couple of examples…
A locksmith shared his story: When he was an apprentice it would take him a long time to open locks. People were nice, they offered him something to drink and never complained about the fee he charged. But once he became skilled at his craft things changed… He charged the same amount but now he could open locks in a fraction of the time. Customers would complain and were not nice to him. Same outcome and same cost. I would argue that he was providing MORE of a service when he did it quickly.
A doctor shares their story: An emergency room physician told me that they generally know within a few minutes if they are going to need to admit someone or not. Not all the time, but most of the time they don’t need tests to tell them that things are bad. But if they tell the patient they are going to admit them in the first few minutes the patient and their family gets mad and argumentative. So what do they do? They run a few tests, wait on the results, talk to the patient some more, run a few more tests and THEN they tell them. Very few complaints. Keep in mind these are not useless tests. They are needed to diagnose the problem but they usually are not used in determining whether or not to admit the patient.
You may be asking… how does this affect my job search? Think about it… this is the PROBLEM that controls many of the issues in the job search.
Resume: If you have misspelled words or poor grammar on your resume it signals to the company that you did not spend a lot of time on it. Or they may think that it shows a lack of communication skills. What it may REALLY show is that you did not spend the $200 – $500 to have a Jobcerch professional help you with your resume. Resumes RARELY predict performance.
Questions you ask: If you do not have any questions the company thinks you are not interested or that you did not take the time to prepare for the interview. The truth may be that you are SO interested that you want to start, no questions asked. Or that you did not enlist the help of a Jobcerch professional to help you prep for the interview.
Follow up: If you do not follow-up with a thank you email or note the company thinks you are not interested. The truth may be that you thanked them at the end of the interview and that was enough. Or maybe you did not work with a Jobcerch professional to help you plan your job search, including what to do after each interview.
Much of what makes a difference in the interview process is how much time, effort and treasure, we (the company) think that you put into seeking employment at our company. Remember, it is a lot like dating. If someone pursues you (not stalks you) then you are more likely to be interested in them.
You may wonder why I spelled “job search” Jobcerch. I am finishing putting the information on my new website Jobcerch.com – We spell it wrong because you’re not doing it right.
Al
I never dreamed about success, I worked for it.
Estee Lauder