RELAX! by Abby Soley

I’m going to be honest with you: waiting in line to talk to a recruiter at a job fair can be boring and, for me personally, the most nervous part of the whole experience. Countless questions race through my mind. “What do I say?” “What are they going to say?” “Did I prepare enough?” “What if I don’t know how to answer the questions they ask me?”

RELAX!

While you are standing in line, don’t text your best friend about the new shoes you bought for spring break. Instead open your ears and listen to the questions the recruiters are asking the students who are in line in front of you. Chances are they will ask you similar, if not the same, questions! Now that you know the questions, spend the time waiting in line to formulate answers to them. Once you get to the front of the line, your answer will be perfect, and your confidence in yourself will sky rocket!

What if he line isn’t long enough to listen to the questions and come up with answers, casually walk by the table and listen to the questions, then go to a quiet corner to prepare your answers. Once you have them down pat, GO GET ‘EM!

MARK LYDEN’S BIO

Mark Lyden is an expert at getting people jobs…in THIS difficult job market. He has already helped thousands with his advice because it is different and it is PROVEN to work! The advice he gives is not the traditional advice that can be found on the Internet or being given by most career professionals. Now and for the last 15-years, Mr. Lyden has been a Professional Lead Recruiter for a Fortune 50 company. Mark is the author of: College Students: Do This! Get Hired!; Veterans: Do This! Get Hired!; and, Professionals: Do This! Get Hired! Visit DoThisGetHired.com for additional information. A substantial portion of the proceeds from book sales are donated back to charity to help veterans and to help the stray and abandoned animals at Logan’s Run Rescue.

Tell Your Story by Abby Soley

Do you dread seeking employment for the sole reason that you are scare to death of being interviewed? Fear no more.

I’m sure you know the basics when it comes to being interviewed: research the company, prepare, and if you wouldn’t wear it to your grandmother’s, don’t wear it on an interview. Beyond that, there are some very good tips outlined in the book, “Do This! Get Hired!”

The first one that helped settle my nerves about interviewing is to remember, “interviewing is nothing more than telling stories.” Yes, the company needs to know about the special skills you have, but that should be clear on your resume. The interviewer is trying to dig deeper to get to know how you can handle certain situations. Each story you tell should follow the SBO method. SBO stand for situation, behavior and outcome. You should describe the situation you were in, the steps you took and how you reacted to the situation, and the result to your action. If you spend about 30 seconds on each section (and completely answer the question in about a minute and a half), PERFECT! Remember, the interviewer wants to know how YOU reacted to a situation, not how the team worked together. Team work is important, but the team isn’t being interviewed, YOU ARE!

MARK LYDEN’S BIO

Mark Lyden is an expert at getting people jobs…in THIS difficult job market. He has already helped thousands with his advice because it is different and it is PROVEN to work! The advice he gives is not the traditional advice that can be found on the Internet or being given by most career professionals. Now and for the last 15-years, Mr. Lyden has been a Professional Lead Recruiter for a Fortune 50 company. Mark is the author of: College Students: Do This! Get Hired!; Veterans: Do This! Get Hired!; and, Professionals: Do This! Get Hired! Visit DoThisGetHired.com for additional information. A substantial portion of the proceeds from book sales are donated back to charity to help veterans and to help the stray and abandoned animals at Logan’s Run Rescue.

Ace the Interview by Abby Soley

Do you dread seeking employment for the sole reason that you are scare to death of being interviewed? Fear no more.

I’m sure you know the basics when it comes to being interviewed: research the company, prepare, and if you wouldn’t wear it to your grandmother’s, don’t wear it on an interview. Beyond that, there are some very good tips outlined in the book, “Do This! Get Hired!”

The first one that helped settle my nerves about interviewing is to remember, “interviewing is nothing more than telling stories.” Yes, the company needs to know about the special skills you have, but that should be clear on your resume. The interviewer is trying to dig deeper to get to know how you can handle certain situations. Each story you tell should follow the SBO method. SBO stand for situation, behavior and outcome.  You should describe the situation you were in, the steps you took and how you reacted to the situation, and the result to your action. If you spend about 30 seconds on each section (and completely answer the question in about a minute and a half), PERFECT! Remember, the interviewer wants to know how YOU reacted to a situation, not how the team worked together. Team work is important, but the team isn’t being interviewed, YOU ARE!

MARK LYDEN’S BIO

Mark Lyden is an expert at getting people jobs…in THIS difficult job market. He has already helped thousands with his advice because it is different and it is PROVEN to work! The advice he gives is not the traditional advice that can be found on the Internet or being given by most career professionals. Now and for the last 15-years, Mr. Lyden has been a Professional Lead Recruiter for a Fortune 50 company. Mark is the author of: College Students: Do This! Get Hired!; Veterans: Do This! Get Hired!; and, Professionals: Do This! Get Hired! Visit DoThisGetHired.com for additional information. A substantial portion of the proceeds from book sales are donated back to charity to help veterans and to help the stray and abandoned animals at Logan’s Run Rescue.

College Students: Do This! Get Hired! Initial Review by Liz Smith

Upon reading the Introduction of Do This Get Hired, I found it very useful that Mark Lyden states all his previous experience with interview processes, resume knowledge and recruitment methods, etc. It really helps the reader to understand his credibility and knowledge of what the reader is interested in. He also makes it easier for us to understand the material, because it’s clear and to the point. I also like how laidback the book is; it makes it a lot easier and more enjoyable to read. It’s also nice how he values the reader’s opinion and asks for feedback. That is a great idea considering he’ll get real information and experience from other people as well to show that his advice really is the best out there.

Veteran 24-hour Web-A-Thon

The Howard Keating Show is hosting a 24-Hour Veteran Web-A-Thon on April 6 – 7th, 2011.  The program is anticipating over 1MM viewers during the 24-hour period. 

According to Susan Wellman, Executive Vice President, “The web-a-thon is designed to help our veterans get jobs, start businesses or expand their existing businesses through opportunities and resources offered on the program….the purpose is to increase awareness throughout the media community of the significant needs and challenges our veterans face (90 percent divorce rate, 107,000 living on our streets, loss of homes and jobs, etc.).  These heroes are so completely demoralized upon their return from service, and we need them to know that the corporations of the U.S. are behind them.”       

The show’s goal is to honor our veterans by helping at least 2,000 get jobs, contracts, start a business, or create joint ventures. 

When:  April 6^th, 5:00 PM ET – April 7^th at 5:00 PM ET

Offering:

®     Businesses looking to partner with businesses

®     franchises at a discounted price

®     Jobs from major businesses

®     Loans to either start a business or to help increase sales of an existing business

®     Distributorship opportunities

®     Product and service companies that want to go global.

Media platform

®     The Howard Keating Show (keatingnetwork.com) 

Veterans

®     5.5 million veterans with disabilities

®     92 percent have high school diplomas or higher compared to 85 percent of the nation as a whole

®     90 percent of today’s returning veterans get divorced within 2 years.

®     For every military personnel that that die in war, a veteran commits suicide

®     7.6 million Vietnam era veterans are living

®     9 million veterans are 65 and older

®     1.5 million veterans are  female

®     20,000 veterans lost their homes in 2010

®     1.5 million veterans are in poverty or homeless

®   107,000 veterans are homeless on any given night

Interviewing is Nothing More than Telling Stories

Interviewing is nothing more than telling stories. It really is that simple.  You are essentially scored on how well you tell stories about you and your experiences.  So, why is it so hard and stressful for some?  Some say because it is like a test.  You really never know what they are going to ask.  Plus, you are talking to a complete stranger and in a small time, trying to stand out, impress, and convince them that you are “all that and a bag of chips.”  This is nerve-racking for some.  I know it was for me when I was in your spot, but there is a solution.   

The key to all of these methods is to prepare and to have examples in the form of a story.  Any question they ask should be answered detailing: Situation –(S), Behavior –(B), Outcome –(O) and should be completed in about 90 seconds.  That leaves you approximately 30 seconds for Situation, 30 seconds for Behavior, and 30 seconds for Outcome.  I would say allow yourself 10 seconds total either way but no more and no less.  In other words, your entire answer should lie between 80 – 100 seconds with the sweet spot at 90 seconds.   If it is much shorter than this, usually there is not enough detail to warrant a really high score.  If it is much longer than this, there is usually too much detail or it is not organized enough for the interviewer to quickly see what they need to.  Although each section is very important and a must have to score high, if I had to choose which one was most important, I would have to pick Behavior.  This is because all recruiters or interviewers should know what I have told you already and that is past behavior is often a good indicator of future behavior.  

Here is how you get started:  You should have 6 or more stories ready to go.  Focus your stories on areas or topics that companies most likely will ask.  Here are some:

• Leadership
• Dealing with a difficult person
• Adaptability
• Helping others (without being told to do so)
• What did you do when something went wrong?
• Solving a Problem
• Your Greatest Strength
• Your Greatest Weakness
• Your Greatest Accomplishment
• Your Greatest Disappointment

Now I know what you are saying:  “I thought we weren’t supposed to memorize answers and regurgitate them back.”  This is different.  These are stories about your life -- your experiences.  You already know them because you lived them.  So really all you have to do is to tell your stories back to the interviewer in the S, B, O format.  That’s it!  You don’t have to memorize them because they are your experiences; you already know them.

What I suggest is to take a piece of paper and write down each of the topic areas above.  Then put S, B, O below them and start filling in your story.  Concentrate on the Situation first.  Then move to Behavior, YOUR behavior.  Finally, work on the Outcome.  Once you have that down, all you really need to do is make sure the timing and details are in each section and you got it!  Yes, you will have to practice them so they flow.  Yes, it will take you an hour or two to develop and practice your stories, but that is all.  Plus, you spent at least that much time on your resume, so if you just spend the same amount of time rehearsing your stories, you will do great.  This is a critical step if you want success.  Remember, companies hire the person, not the resume.  

Mark Lyden

DoThisGetHired.com

Mark Lyden is the author of: College Students: Do This! Get Hired!; Veterans: Do This! Get Hired!; and Professionals: Do This! Get Hired! (Coming Summer 2011).  A substantial portion of the proceeds from book sales are donated back to charity to help veterans and to help the stray and abandoned animals at Logan’s Run Rescue.