What to do when your second choice makes an offer

Sometime candidates interview so well that they end of recieving multiple offers. Good problem to have right? Could be...but what do you do when you have hiring managers making you offers and they are not your first choice? You might like that job but you want another job at a company who hasn't finished their hiring process with you yet. How do you strategically "wait it out".

Some people say no and hope their number one choice will end up making an offer. This is risky. It's kind of like being asked to the prom by your second choice but you're still hoping to be asked by your dream date. What do you say? How long can you put them off without losing the offer? Handle this poorly and you could end up without any offers (no date to the prom!).

Relax, below are some tips you can use to help maximize your chances of getting what you want without blowing your chances with what you have.

Buy time to make a good decision.

Starting a new job is a major decision that shouldn't be taken lightly. Candidates should take some time to make the right decision and if laid up the right way the company will completely understand. Similarly, companies want to make sure they have an employee who is not only qualified for the job but is interested and committed to the job in the long turn. When you receive an offer from a second or third choice company make sure you do the following to buy some time:

Thank them for the offer! Be excited and tell them how happy you are to receive such a great offer. Remember, this could be your best offer so act like it. Let them know you want to make sure you make the right decision so you can commit to the job and then ask them for a week to make your final decision. For example: "Wow, thank you so much. This is a great offer. I am really excited and interested in coming to work for ACME Software. Before I accept I want to sit down and think thru my decision so that I am making the best decision for your company and myself. Is it ok if I take the week to make my final decision?" Traditioanlly a week isn't out of the question for someone to make a decision so you shouldn't jeopardize your offer by asking for a week to decide.

Ask for an offer letter. If you're not comfortable with the first option you can delay your decision by asking for an offer letter first. When the hiring manager or their human resources person calls you with the offer, express your interest in the opportunity and ask them for an offer letter so you can look it over and make a decision. This should also buy you about a week before you need to respond. Important note: Read the offer letter! Some companies put it a timeframe for when you need to respond.

Follow up with some questions. If the company has given you some time to make your decision it is wise to keep in touch with them by asking some informational questions. This show your interest in the company and can buy you an extra day or two. One example is to send a follow up email to the hiring manager or HR letting them know how interested you are while asking them to send you some specific information about the benefits package.

Inform your first choice company.

It is completely acceptable for you to reach out to your number one choice and inform them of your situation. Actually having other irons in the fire can help speed up their decision making process. It can also give you the best indication of how they view you. They may flat out tell you they are no longer considering you for the position. While that might not be the news you wanted at least you have it and won't jeopardize your other offers. Hopefully what happens is they either schedule that final interview or speed up their decision process and make you an offer.

Simply send the hiring manager an email informing them of your situation. Keep the email short and to the point. Let them know your interest level and inform them of your situation. Finally ask them if they can kindly respond with what the next steps would be. Here is an example:

Hi Bob,

Hope all is well. Just thought I'd shoot you a quick email to check in on the status of the Business Analyst job we spoke about as well as inform you of my situation. I just received an offer for a business analyst position from another company . Although it is a good offer I'm more interested in working at your company and would very much look forward to continuing in the process.

Please let me know if you'd be interested in proceeding to the next step with me.

All the best,
Matt

In the end having multiple suitors is not a bad problem to have if you have a good game plan to keep your second and thrid choices warm. In fact, sometimes thru this whole process your second or third choice increases their offer with perks or a higher salary and trumps your original first choice.

The Personal Hell of Waiting For A Call Back

We can all remember a date we had that we thought went well. We sat by the phone praying that we'd hear back from our dream date. But alas...we never did. What was worse? Knowing that you got dumped or having to wait three weeks to come to this conclusion? As for me, I'm with Tom Petty. The waiting IS the hardest part.

Candidates unfortunately find themselves waiting by the phone for a call back from the Hiring Manager all too often. Not only does this mess with your head as you try to come up with all the different possible explanations for why they haven't gotten back to you yet (he's on vacation...no, there's a company off-site meeting...no, the manager has laryngitis and can't talk...), it almost always ends up with a nervous, fumbled check-in call to the Hiring Manager to see what's going on.

Here's good news! There are ways to avoid this situation.

Be rationale and realistic

Don't let your emotions skew your judgment. Know when things are probably OK and when it's time to panic. Here's a good guide to use in interpreting the situation when the Hiring Manager has not made it clear when they would get back to you.

1 week from the interview date: Chill out. This is perfectly normal.

1-2 weeks: Could still be a logical explanation. Internal events at the company or vacation plans  could easily be the culprit on why the Hiring Manager has put off responding to you.

2-3 weeks: I'd start to worry. This probably means this hire is not a priority for them or they are not interested in you.

3-4 weeks: Call it a day. Even if they are still interested, there's a high likelihood they have forgotten the details of your interview and why they liked you in the first place.

Ask thoughtful closure questions

Let's use some common sense here. At the end of the interview, wouldn't it make sense to just come right out and ask the Hiring Manager about their decision process? This would eliminate a lot of the painful "not-knowing" feeling. Ask some simple questions about the process and where things stand with you specifically. And always preface these questions by saying "I really enjoyed meeting you. Can you tell me a little more about your hiring process?"

• "What is the next step in the interview process?"
• "When are you looking to make a decision to hire and get someone started?"
• "When do you think I will hear back from you regarding your decision to proceed with me or not?"

By asking these "closure" type questions, you'll get the honest response as to whether or not they are really interested in you. If they are, they will go out of their way to reassure you that you'll be hearing from them and if they are not, they are likely going to be vague and non-committal in their answer.

Investigate the situation

Before you take any action to reach out to the Hiring Manager directly for an answer, do some research to find out what might be happening.

• Ask your recruiter (if you were represented to this job) for the straight poop on where things stand. Sometimes you are a "no" and they don't have the heart to tell you.
• Call any contacts that you have at that company. They may be able to tell you that there is a company-wide meeting going on or if that Hiring Manager may be traveling, etc.
• Contact any of the secondary people you met with during the interview that you hit it off with. Don't contact just anyone. Only use this strategy if you felt you made a strong connection with a member of the interview team and would feel completely comfortable reaching out to them. If you have any question as to how this person would react to your call, don't do it. If you do feel comfortable, then simply call them up and tell them you were checking in and wondering if the team and Hiring manager have made any decisions yet.

Send an email after one week

Just like with dating, no self-respecting single person would follow up on a date too soon. Contact them one week from the interview OR one week from when they told you they would have a decision (if they told you this). It makes you look desperate and too eager if you follow up too quickly. Play it cool if you don't hear from the Hiring Manager and always use email (vs. a direct call) to follow up for a couple of reasons:

• It will take your nervous tone out of the picture. God forbid you call and the Hiring Manager picks up....awkward. You'll be nervous and insecure about why they haven't contacted you yet and this will be completely obvious to the Hiring Manager.
• You give the Hiring manager a chance to think about their response. Whereas a phone call catches them off guard and puts them in a bad position.
• You give the Hiring Manager an easy "out" if they want to cut cord. They can just email you back as opposed to having to return a phone call and actually speak with you directly about the fact that they are not interested. Suggested language:

Hi Tom,

Hope all is well. Just thought I'd shoot you a quick email to check in on the status of the Project Manager job we spoke about. I'm still really interested in this position and would very much look forward to continuing in the process.

Please let me know if you'd be interested in proceeding to the next step with me.

All the best,
Beth

Bottom line: Don't stress. Get in control of the situation. Research what you can on your own and be smart about how and when you follow up for an answer.

Practice Your Interview Responses!

Great advice from Matt on preparing for an interview. Doing some research on the company beforehand  and finding out from the Recruiter directly what to expect is smart. But just like with any sport, you need to practice so that when "game time" comes...you're ready! Sit down with a good friend, family member or your partner and practice answering certain key questions out loud. Doing this in front of another person will make it seem more real and they will also hopefully have some constructive criticism for you!!

Here are the standard questions you should practice your responses to:

Why do you think you are qualified?

• Keep your response simple, organized and clear. Do not ramble on! If possible, try to state your reasons for feeling qualified in order of the job's actual stated qualifications. In other words use the job posting as the framework for your response. Always have a copy of the job description printed out and handy. There is nothing wrong with picking this up and referencing it when asked this type of question.
• Reference REAL tasks and accomplishments from your work history vs. the more generalized "I am well qualified because I know X or have X skills." They don't care what you KNOW, they care about what you DID. So be specific and cite actual examples.
• Refer to implicit qualifications as well. It's also a smart idea to go outside the explicitly stated qualifications and talk about your experience with things that are likely to be a part of this job but weren't listed in the description. Ex: "And I'm sure you'll also need someone who can perform under pressure. I have a lot of experience managing projects with tough deadlines and demanding stakeholders..."

Why did you leave your last job?

• Don't be so honest!!! So for example...do not tell them you hated your boss, you thought your commute was too long, or that the vending machine didn't stock your favorite candy bar. This is an instance where a safe, somewhat diluted explanation is best. Never give an answer that sounds too much like a complaint about your boss/team/company.
• Take the safe answer if you were laid off, the company relocated/closed down or this was a contract position. This is the easy way out and there is no other need to comment on what you liked/disliked about the job. 
• If you quit, then give an honest (but brief and positive) explanation for why you left. I typically recommend the old standby "I left for a better opportunity." If pressed for details, choose an explanation that has some truth to it, but that will also reflect well on you such as...you weren't feeling as challenged as you would like (makes you look ambitious), were questioning the job security of your role (makes you look like you value stability) or didn't feel that there would be a growth path for you there (makes you look like you want to make a long term commitment to your next company).
• Never make it all about cash. Even if this is the reason, try to find another viable explanation. Companies don't want to think that money is your #1 hot button. You can state that you feel your compensation is below market standards. Just don't make this your sole reason for leaving or the employer will feel that you'll leave them too for the highest bidder down the line.
• If you were fired, find a simple/honest explanation for why this happened and try to make this event come off as a mutual decision. Ex: "I was involved in conversations with my boss about whether or not this role was a true fit for me and we came to the conclusion that it wasn't. I agreed that it would make more sense for us to part ways than to stay at the company."

 What are you looking to do with your career?

• Ask yourself one simple question...WILL THIS RESPONSE HELP GET ME THIS JOB? There you have it... simple enough. Will telling them that you don't want to stay in this industry forever hurt your chances? Probably! Will telling them that your goal is to be the youngest VP ever in the company hurt your chances? Probably! Will telling them that you don't believe in career goals and take things a year at a time hurt your chances? Probably!
• Provide an answer that makes you seem AMBITIOUS (driven to succeed in this industry), REASONABLE (your career goals are realistic and not too cocky/presumptuous) and RELEVANT (the job you are interviewing for can provide you with a path to this stated career goal).
• Keep your entrepreneurial dreams to yourself. Although admirable, this response is likely going to backfire on you.  I once had someone interview with me for a recruiting position and proceed to tell me that their career goal is to start up their own agency by the time they were 30. Ummmm...then why I am going to hire and train you and enable you to build up an entire book of business that you fully intend on taking away from us in a few years????

I realize it sounds a bit condescending to suggest that candidates practice answering these three questions out loud. But even these simple questions require your thought and attention.

Interview Prep Questions to ask your recruiter

The majority of candidates I speak to tell me that even the more effective recruiters they work with tend to be very quick when it comes to preparing them for interviews.  Most of the time candidates recieve a phone call or email with a job description and an interview time.  Assuming the job is of interest you schedule the interview thru your recruiter.  Besides knowing required job skills there is other information your recruiter could potentially have access to that could help you prepare for your interviews.  Ideally your recruiter should volunteer as much prep information as possible but the reality is some don't.  Some think their job is finished when they schedule the interview.  So before you accept an interview invitation and jump off the phone ask the following questions:

• How should I dress?  In most cases the answer is professional attire, but there are some instances where dressing up could be a turn off to the client. 
• Why is the job open?  If it is a replacement, what happened?  Knowing this information could give you an edge in the interview.  It minimally can prepare you for certain screeing questions.  For example; if you would have a long commute to this company and the last person quit because of commute, being able to defend this point before they even bring it up will help put the manager at ease.
• What have they liked and/or disliked about the people they have interviewed so far?  Now that you know the managers "hot buttons" you can stress those points in your background during the interview.
• What is their interview process and who will I be meeting?  Some companies do panel interviews which can be very stressful espeically if you are not prepared to sit in front of a "firing squad".  Other companies have you meet with every person on the team in the first interview.  Knowing that the interview may last multiple hours will help you plan to take extra time out of your day.  The last thing you want is to be caught looking at your watch and having the company think your no interested.

Ideally your recruiter will provide you with as much information as possible to help you prepare for your interviews.  If your recruiter doesn't give you this information make sure you ask.  If they don't know they can reach out to the company and find out on your behalf.

Final interviews: NEVER a rubber stamp!

It happens all the time.  A person goes thru the interview process and a recruiter tells them, “the company wants to hire you, however you need to go back one more time, but don't worry it’s just a formality”.  Guess what happens next?  That person bombs the “it’s just formality interview” and doesn’t get the job.  Whether it’s the hiring manager telling your or it’s your recruiter, don’t fall into the trap of thinking you already have the job.  The reality is you don’t have the job until you have received a formal offer.  Pay attention to these tips and you will put yourself in a better position to land your next job.

• Always remain humble and slightly nervous about your ability to get the job. You never want to come off as presumptuous or cocky (which is exactly what happens if you think a final interview is a rubber stamp).
• Dress to impress.  If thru the whole process you were wearing professional attire then stick to it.  The last thing you want is to bump into the president of the company in ripped jeans and a tee shirt. 
• Act like a professional in the lobby.  The receptionist isn’t your friend nor is she your co-worker yet.  Don’t get too chummy.  One wrong move in the lobby will most likely ruin your chances of getting this job.  Arrive just a few minutes early, smile, let them know you have arrived, and then only speak when spoken to.
• Know who you are meeting with and act accordingly.  Do some research online the night before and familiarize yourself with everyone you are going to be meeting with.  You don’t want to be perceived as too cocky with the VP because you think you have the job.  Likewise if you act too differential to potential subordinates they may question your leadership capabilities.
• Prepare to be questioned.  This is an interview not a party invitation.  Professionals are always prepared to be interviewed.  Even if everyone you have met so far likes you, there is always that person who is looking for reasons why they shouldn’t hire you.  Don’t be caught off guard because you thought this meeting was a lay-up. 

Hearing the phrase “It’s only a formality” at any stage of the interview process shouldn’t be taken lightly.  The risk is not worth the reward of being prepared.  In the end you may find that the interview was in fact “just a formality”, and you had the job all along.  If that ends up being true, then going into that interview prepared should only impress the company even more.

Be Even MORE Proactive: Call Employers Directly

Just like getting into the hot night club, you have to know someone or be on the list, right? Well, getting in for an interview is the same concept. In certain circumstances, you will want to make this happen yourself as opposed to passively standing in the long line. Making a direct phone call on your own behalf is a great way to push yourself straight to the front of the line and past the red velvet rope.

Here are some simple do's & don'ts:

Target the right person

Go find a "VIP" to walk you in and always try to avoid the "bouncer". The best VIP will be the Hiring Manager themselves.  This person has the ultimate authority over who gets invited in. They are also probably not as concerned with policy or process and will likely be more willing to chat with you if you are qualified. Another great VIP could be the Hiring Manager's peer or a senior member of their team. Research on LinkedIn who these people are and see if you have any connections in common. However, I wouldn't recommend cold-calling the "bouncer"....HR. HR or the internal recruiter is much more concerned with policy (how many people they can let in the club, who's on the list, etc..) and because of this, they are not likely to break their process and patiently take your call. Expect them to tell you to "get in line please".If you have exhausted your other paths, you can take your chances here. Just lower your expectations of the outcome from a cold call to HR.

Make sure you're a match

If you are going to be confident enough to directly contact someone about inviting you in for an interview, than at least make sure you are a strong match for the job. Do your homework to understand if you are or not. Don't ever call a Hiring Manager to ask them more about their job. That's a waste of their time. Only directly solicit managers when you have a bona fide case to make.

Have your pitch ready to go

You are a telemarketer to them...plain & simple. So you need to get have a strong entry point and pray that they will give you more than the first 15 seconds to politely hear you out on why you are calling them. Here's a good structure to follow:

• Clarity (ex: who you are and why you are calling)
• Credibility (ex: you read the posting, why you are qualified, you know someone who works there, you work(ed) for a competitor)
• Motive (you want an opportunity to come in and meet them)

It might sound something like this.....

"Hi Bob, my name's Beth Gilfeather and I'm calling about your Senior Software Engineer position. I fully read through the job description and think I'd be a great match. I currently work at XXX doing .... I have X years experience with XXX and am also very familiar with your specific industry since I used to work for one of your competitors, XXX, three years ago. I also know Tom Smith pretty well, we use to work together and I'm aware that he works on your team. Anyway, is the job still open? If so, I'd love to come by your office to give you more information on my background if you'd be interested."

Quit while you are ahead

If your entry point (first 15 seconds) was intriguing enough, the Hiring Manager will likely want to ask a few more questions about your background. Accommodate them on any of the information they ask for. and, hopefully, this cold call will turn into a first round phone screen. However, you shouldn't unnecessarily prolong this call. As soon as it seems like you have piqued the Hiring Manager's interest, shoot for a time to meet. For some of you, the more you talk, the more chance there is that you could say the wrong thing. And for others, just realize that the Hiring Manager may get put off if you end up taking up too much of their time. Dive through the window if there is an obvious mutual interest and simply ask them... "I'd like to come in and meet you Bob. Sounds like we'd have a lot to discuss. Would you be interested in getting together for interview?"

Pick the right situation, do your homework and have a productive conversation that results in an in-person interview. Recruiters do this for a living and it isn't hard to do if you follow some simple golden rules.

Set up interviews proactively using LinkedIn

In today’s competitive job market people seeking new employment shouldn’t just rely on posting their resume to job boards or completing online profiles in order to found.   If you want to interview for the best jobs you need to stick out from the stacks of resumes your competition is sending to job postings.  You need to be proactive by reaching out; and one great tool you can use is LinkedIn.   Here are a few quick tips on being proactive using LinkedIn that can separate you from your competition and ultimately lead you to more interviews. 

Search jobs on LinkedIn:

Jobs posted on LinkedIn are a great source because they are typically posted by the direct hiring manager or by a staff recruiter who is directly responsible for filling that particular job.  Before applying to the position look and see if you are connected in any way to the person who posted the job.  If you are a 1^st connection, reach out to them directly and let them know you viewed their posting.  Next, ask if they have some time to speak informally about the position.  This may seem a bit direct but if you know them enough to be a first connection it won’t come off as pushy or unprofessional.  You are communicating thru LinkedIn and this is exactly what the site was intended for.  The worst that may happen is they ask you to send them your resume.  Either way most will at least look at your profile and if it matches what they are looking for you’ve just increased your chances of setting up an interview.

Use all your LinkedIn connections:

Everyone you are connected with on LinkedIn has looked for a job in the past.   Most are eager to help their connections.  If you see that a certain company is hiring, try and find a connection you have that works at that company.  Tell them you noticed a job posting at their company and ask them if they would be willing to speak with you informally about the company.  Take advantage of that meeting with your connection and act like it is an interview.  You need to impress this person so they will feel compelled to forward your resume to the hiring manager.  Also during this meeting, ask them questions about corporate culture, team environment, even the hiring manager’s hot buttons.  Having this information should increase your chances of doing well in a formal interview.  After speaking with your connection, politely ask them if they would be willing to pass your resume to the hiring manager.

Use LinkedIn like a recruiter:

Recruiters like LinkedIn because it provides them access to hiring managers at almost every company out there.  Most people who are on LinkedIn provide detailed information on their profiles that can help recruiters strike up conversations with hiring managers by mentioning people, companies or groups both parties are associated with.  Once a recruiter has found a hiring manager on LinkedIn and figured out a commonality with that person, they will either “cold call” or email that person offering their services.  I can tell you first hand that recruiters who try this and act professionally increase their chances of working with hiring managers.  So if a recruiter can do this for you, why can’t you do it for yourself?  Yes, this is a bold approach and recruiters who are successful at this have more experience than you probably do, but if you take the time to prepare the right message you will see successful results as well.  So what’s the right approach?  Check back on Thursday for more details. 

5 Tips For Resume SEO

It's good to know the online "watering holes" and how to leverage them during your job search so you can be found directly by a potential employer. Thanks for that most recent post Matt.

But you also want to be optimizing your resume for machines to find you too. Gone are the days when recruiters solely use job board ad response to fill their positions. Today, every recruiter will do some level of data mining to find qualified resumes. This can be via Google or could be the actual search engine within any type of candidate database. The goal is to make sure your "calling card" (resume) ranks you as strong of a match as possible to place you high up in the search results. Have you set your resume up to be found easily?

When it comes to creating a search engine optimized resume, word choice is everything. It is the single source code used to determine your resume's online searchability.

Here are a few steps to go through in optimizing your resume to be found:

#1. Think about your keyword selection

Begin by intuitively creating a keyword list. Think like a recruiter and ask yourself..."If I were searching online for my type of professional profile, what terms would I use?" You will quickly generate a list of at least 4 or 5 job-specific terms that you will want to make sure are present on your resume.

Use a web site like Google ADWords for real-world keyword use. Go to Google AdWords and enter the primary keywords associated with your background in the upper left "Find keywords" box and then hit "Search". Google AdWords will then supply optimal keyword and phrasal suggestions for this type of profile. Ideally, what you are looking for are terms with high search rates (keywords that lots of potential recruiters might use to find candidates like you). 

View resumes of similar candidates to yourself. Grab a peer or friend's resume or even go to LinkedIn and make sure it is the same background as you and see what words and phrases they use on their resume for suggestions.

#2. Pay attention to keyword density (frequency)

Use a web site like www.textalyser.com to measure the keyword strength of your resume. Go to the site and enter in your resume file. Then review the lexical and phrasal analysis provided (ex: # of words and most frequent words used or the most frequent two and three word phrases used)

Follow SEO best practices for density %. This looks at the frequency of these keywords and will measure the # of times a keyword repeats divided by the # of total words used. You should use 3-7% for major keywords and 1-2% for minor keywords.

Also, load a similar resume to yours into this site to analyze (and potentially copy!) some of their keyword selections as well as their density strategy.

#3. Be explicit with your resume

Because recruiters can end up using anything as a search term, you must be explicit.  Don’t ever over generalize or summarize to be more efficient with your wording. Always list out ALL the specific details of your background (ex:  "Software developer with JAVA, J2EE, EJB, Swing, Hibernate, and XML" vs. "Software developer with JAVA, J2EE and all other front-end development  tools")

Don't let the length scare you. One page is fine for entry-level, two for more mid-level and don't be afraid of three pages if you have 15-20 years of experience. Experienced candidates have become so paranoid about resume length that they are summarizing their content to a fault. Go to that second or third page if you have the content. This extra information will provide even more keywords for the recruiter.

#4. Get your resume published

There's no point to having a great resume if it only resides on your desktop at home. Your resume needs to be "online" (literally) so other people can access it. This means it must be a file attached to a publish web page. Here are some examples of where you can post your profile:

• A job board database
• Your LinkedIn account
• Your personal website
• Your blog
• Your company profile
• Professional groups or networks
• There are also companies that allow you to create an online resume and they publish it for you from their domain.

#5. Keep your resume fresh and recent

Almost every search will have some sort of filter for timeframe. Makes sense, right? Recruiters don't want to look at a profile that is a year old because this person is probably not even looking any longer. You'll need to make sure you refresh/update your resume every 90 days if you posted your profile on any type of candidate database associated with a job board or other job search website. 

Remember, they can't hire you if they can't find you. Following these simple tips will put you in front of your audience.