[jsfg_cinti] FW: Quite the Contrary - December 2006

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Greetings!

Welcome to the December issue of Quite the 
Contrary, a very different kind of job hunting advice 
column.

Each issue contains one or two questions about 
various aspects of job hunting. The questions are 
from real job seekers, and the first answers are from 
Tradition System career advice columnists published 
in major newspapers or on the web.

This is followed by a response from the Contrarian 
System, which is usually opposite that of the 
Traditional System, and is designed to get you 
realizing you have infinite possibilities, and your only 
limitations are your own expectations.

You see, the ?secret? of the hidden job market is 
when you change your thinking, you change your life.

Beginning in January 2007, Quite the Contrary will 
be 
issued every Tuesday, with Traditional and Contrarian 
answers to one job seeker's question. Watch for it in 
your in-box!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Holiday Season Job Hunting?

I've been job hunting since mid-September, and 
with the holidays coming up, I wonder if there are 
any special things I need to be doing now. In 
particular, is it okay to send holiday greeting cards to 
people in my network, to remind them I'm still looking 
for a job?

What about sending cards to people I've 
contacted at companies where I'd like to work? 
Should I order those fancy cards with my signature 
printed in them, or sign them by hand?

Traditional System Response: You're smart 
to realize that this is a good moment to step up your 
job hunt. Tempting as it may be to kick back and 
relax during the holidays, that could be a costly 
mistake.

As companies finish up their financial planning for 
2006, they're under pressure to fill certain openings 
or risk losing the budget for those jobs. Your 
potential rivals may be shopping, cooking, wrapping, 
or dreaming of sugarplums, so you may have little or 
no competition in your job search.

As for holiday cards send them to everyone -- 
including search firms, human resources people, and 
hiring managers -- whom you've met who might be 
helpful to you. Don't let these people forget you. 
Choose a design that is seasonal and 
nondenominational, such as a snowy winter scene.

Whether or not to have your signature stamped 
inside your cards is largely a matter of taste. 
Personally, I much prefer cards signed by the sender.

Contrarian System Response: The holidays 
are the time of year when people are supposed to 
take it easy, clean off their desks and get ready for 
the New Year. Job hunting should still go on, but with 
this understanding:



* Retail, minimum wage and commission-based sales 
jobs are always available during the holidays, so if 
you want one of those, go and apply, and you?ll be 
working before you know it.

* Blue-collar, skill-based and part-time or temporary 
workers are also always in demand, so contact the 
companies you?d like to work for, or go through an 
employment agency, and you?ll have your holidays 
days filled with work.

* Executive, managerial, technical and professional 
workers who are not seeking consulting, interim or 
temporary assignments need to chill.

Yes, that?s right. Take it easy. Chances are that 
you?ve been making phone calls and sending emails to 
your contacts and heard, ?Call me after the 
holidays? over and over and over. Okay, you?ll call 
them after the holidays, but what do you do in the 
meantime? Here are some suggestions:



* Start preparing your game plan to begin the 
second week in January after everyone?s back, 
settled in and dug out. Make a list of the kinds of 
companies you?d like to work for, do your homework 
on them, and build a contact list, if you haven't done 
so already. 


* Forget the phone calls, the letters or anything 
kind of busywork until early January, as few people 
now will either be available, be willing to talk to you 
or have much to talk to you about. It?s a safe bet to 
assume nothing of any significance will happen until 
the holidays are over.


* If you are so inclined, you may send holiday cards 
or e-cards to everyone you know, including people 
you?ve been talking to, but keep them simple and 
cheap. I prefer e-cards because they?re free, I don?t 
have to sign them, and they do the job of saying 
?Have a great holiday? as well as printed 
cards, which can get costly. It really doesn?t matter 
what you do: no one gets hired or not because of 
the holiday card they sent or didn?t send.


* The most important thing you should do is 
not "do" anything at all, but simply "be." See yourself 
in that dream job -- think, speak and act as if you 
already had it. What would you do? Read? Wear? Go 
do those things or imagine yourself doing them. Go 
shopping for the clothes you'd wear or cut out 
pictures of them from a magazine, design your new 
business card, and start decorating your new office. 



The best way to attract your dream job is to know 
that it?s already yours, and then allow it to come to 
you. So stop trying to get that job, and instead 
focus on already having it, and you will.

The Telephone Interview Grill

I have had three calls in the past two weeks 
where I have been interviewed on the phone. So far I 
have not gotten past the telephone phase. What can 
I do to improve on my telephone interviewing skills?


Traditional System Response: Telephone 
interviews are the first screening process used to 
filter through the qualified and the less-qualified 
candidates. With the current job market, telephone 
screenings are becoming more common as the first 
step in the interview process.

Being prepared for the phone to ring is the secret to 
success. The phone interview can happen at any 
time of the day or night. Some interviewers find 
evenings the best time to catch people at home, 
where they will be able to talk more candidly. 
Therefore, you should be on-call and prepared to 
receive a telephone interview at any time.

Getting through this screening is critical for 
advancing to the next step: The face-to-face 
interview. This puts added pressure on you to 
present yourself in a positive, focused manner. If you 
attempt to wing this call, you may reach a dead end 
in the process.

If you have several versions of your resume, attach 
the one relevant to the particular job posting. Keep 
this folder in a specific place so you can get to it in 
less than a minute. Some of the questions to be 
prepared for:



* Why did you leave (are you leaving) your last job? 


* Tell me more about your last position, what did 
you like/ dislike about it? 

* Why did you apply for this job? 

* What are your salary expectations? 

* Are you interviewing with other companies? 


By anticipating the call before it comes, you will avoid 
being caught off guard. You will be in a stronger 
position to convince the caller that you are a 
candidate for the position and are worth the time and 
money to move to the next step in the hiring process

Contrarian System Response: The initial 
phone is nothing to worry about if it?s handled right. 
The problem comes when you buy into the Traditional 
System belief that this phone call is an interrogation, 
and is designed to eliminate you from consideration.

So let?s have a different belief. Here's the fact: 
someone at this company is calling you because they 
have your resume and from what you've written, 
they've decided you can do the job. Think about it -- 
have they nothing better to do than interview 
unqualified applicants? So, relax; the hard part is 
over!

Contrary to what the Traditional Systems tells you, 
you do not have to defend, explain or justify yourself 
to a total stranger, allow yourself to be interrogated 
about issues that are none of their business, or 
accept calls outside of normal business hours, unless 
you have requested it.

You are not on trial, and neither is your work history, 
your reasons for wanting a new job, your money 
history or expectations, or how you are conducting 
your job search.

All the information they need to know at this stage is 
in your resume, which they should have read before 
they called you. The secret to handling a telephone 
interview is the same as with a face to face 
interview -- it's remembering that this phone call or 
meeting is NOT about you; it's about them!

Instead of indulging in a useless question and answer 
exchange that is all about you, engage the caller in a 
conversation about a problem, situation or 
opportunity the company has or might be facing. This 
is the homework you should have done before you 
contacted them. People get hired to solve problems, 
not to "fill openings."

Typically, someone in Human Resources makes such 
calls, and unless the issue has to do with HR matters, 
chances are excellent they can't have a discussion 
with you about the company's problem, and will 
attempt to turn the phone call back on you.

Should this happen, say you appreciate the call, but 
you need to discuss this matter with your future 
boss, you'll set the appointment yourself and they 
should have a nice day. Then hang up and call your 
future boss.

Once you have him on the phone, talk with him about 
the problem, situation or opportunity the company 
has or might be facing about an issue, situation or 
opportunity he or she is likely facing. Do not talk 
about yourself, suggest you are the answer to his 
problem or offer solutions. Don't "sell yourself; let 
him "buy" you.

When you turn the interrogation into a conversation, 
you?ll be astonished at the results.

Want to learn more about the Contrarian System? Visit Our Website: 
www.jobmarketsecrets.com - 
http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=cxugf9bab.0.clcolzbab.bgdlvybab.0&ts=S0216&p=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.jobmarketsecrets.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Janet White
You're Hired! Enterprises
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
email: jobmarketsecrets@xxxxxxx
phone: 972-517-7503 or 866-563-8148
web: http://www.jobmarketsecrets.com





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