Episode #103 – Marc Miller welcomes Mark Anthony Dyson of The Voice of Job Seekers podcast to help answer job search questions from listeners in the 2nd half of life.
Description
In this episode, Marc and Mark address questions about video interviewing, starting a job search, and spreading the news about your new certification or degree. Listen in for great tips.
Key Takeaways:
[1:38] Marc welcomes you to Episode 103 of the Repurpose Your Career podcast. This podcast is brought to you by CareerPivot.com, one of the very few websites dedicated to those of us in the second half of life and our careers. Take a moment to check out the blog and the other resources delivered to you, free of charge.
[2:07] If you’re enjoying this podcast, Marc invites you to share this podcast with like-minded souls. Please subscribe on CareerPivot.com, iTunes, Google Play and the Google Podcasts app, Podbean, Overcast app, TuneIn, Spotify app, or Stitcher. Share it on social media, or tell your neighbors and colleagues so Marc can help more people.
[2:28] Marc is launching The 2018 Repurpose Your Career Podcast Survey. To improve the show, Marc needs to know more about you — how you listen to the show; if you read the show notes; what kinds of episodes are your favorite.
[2:44] Marc asks if you would kindly go to CareerPivot.com/podcast-survey (where you will be redirected to SurveyMonkey) to take the survey. Marc will publish the results in a couple of months. Marc thanks you in advance for doing this survey for the podcast.
Now on to the podcast…
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[3:07] Next week, Marc will be announcing the next edition of Repurpose Your Career, with a planned release date of the first half of 2019. Marc has been working on the next edition with Susan Lahey, and he will be looking for your help. Marc is forming a release team of readers to read pre-release chapters of the book to provide feedback.
[3:32] Look for signup instructions to be on the release team in next week’s episode. Marc will also be reading the opening chapter of the next edition in next week’s episode.
[3:43] This week, Marc is answering listener questions, along with his trusty sidekick, Mark Anthony Dyson.
[3:53] Marc welcomes you to the regular Q&A episode and introduces the ‘world-famous Mark Anthony Dyson. Marc is back in Austin and Mark is in Chicago.
[4:32] Marc and Mark note that they’ve both received copies of books from publishers recently. Mark received Taking the Work Out of Networking: An Introvert’s Guide to Making Connections That Count, by Karen Wickre and Humanity Works: Merging Technologies and People for the Workplace of the Future, by Alexandra Levit.
[5:52] Simon & Schuster just told Marc they were sending him Fifty-Five, Unemployed, and Faking Normal, by Elizabeth White, due out in January. Marc would like her on the show in January. She is a Harvard graduate who couldn’t get a job.
[7:00] Q1: I’ve been asked to be interviewed over video. I’ve never done this. Can you give me any hints or tips so I can do my best?
[7:11] A1: First pick the right room, with carpeting and drapes; hard surfaces are bad for audio. Put fabric up, at least.
[8:10] Second, make sure you have good light on your face. Get some inexpensive desk lamps and install full-spectrum light bulbs. Third, make sure you are using a microphone and headphones. The audio is more important than anything else. Fourth, dress for video. Stay away from patterns. Fifth, interview standing up, without squeaky shoes.
[9:43] The top of the camera should be about the top of your forehead. Look at the camera (not at the screen). A little picture just above the camera can help you. You need to practice it. Get some friends to interview you on Skype or Zoom. Mark agrees, that standing gives you energy, which is really crucial to impress in an interview.
[10:40] You don’t want to be boring. The person interviewing you won’t be as enthusiastic. They might muddle through, but you’re the one being judged. Mark suggests Skype with someone you don’t know well.
[11:54] Marc always recommends standing for phone interviews, because it opens the diaphragm. Mark says find a place without surrounding noise. Mark adds, have some personality when you interview. It is not an interrogation, but a time to impress. In many cases, the video interview is one of the first times you will be vetted.
[14:21] Q2: I received an unacceptable feedback from HR and my contract will be terminated by the end of October, rather than April or May. Although the workplace is toxic, I want to leave and not sign a new contract. Your feedback is appreciated.
[14:47] A2: This question came to Mark through LinkedIn messaging from an older gentleman. There was a fair amount of back and forth that Mark summarizes. Mark helped the man figure out what he wants to do and what company he wants to do it with. If you can answer those questions completely, they accelerate your goals.
[15:32] Then, work to get a referral from someone that works in the company that you want to work with who can possibly lead you to the interview with the right person. Mark also asked the man, who was not a coaching client, to report back how it goes. After an exchange, it took Mark only about two minutes to give that advice.
[16:13] The man got interviews. One was for his passion as a software engineer.
[17:04] On a tangent, Mark says you know you’re with the right coach if you can get back a direct answer, without haggling over dollars and minutes.
[18:18] A woman with cancer she is being treated for called Marc and she wondered if she should tell her next employer if she has cancer. He advised not to mention it until she has a job offer and then bringing it up with the assurance that she can perform the job. They will probably not withdraw the offer. Marc will not charge for the 10-minute call.
[19:41] If people are stuck and they require a deeper dive, then a coach can start the process with them. Sometimes all people want is just one answer for something simple. For the people listening: don’t be afraid to ask questions of the right people, Mark says. The people will give you straight answers and maybe even some how-tos.
[20:33] Q3: I recently passed the PMP exam and I’m a Certified Project Manager. How can I leverage this new certification?
[20:44] A3: This question came from Marc’s CareerPivot.com online community. Marc has been promoting is for people to turn on the broadcast setting in LinkedIn when they update their credentials. People will get the message and you will get a lot of congratulations.
[21:31] Always respond with a customized response: Thank you for the congratulations. Here’s what you can do for me. I’m looking for a job, I just got my PMP. Do you have 15 minutes for a short phone call so I can get some advice from you?
[22:02] When Marc does this, he puts a link from ScheduleOnce for appointments. (Marc has no relationship with them but loves their service. Other scheduling systems are available.) Marc put in a link to iTunes when he reached his one-year podcast mark.
[22:27] Marc also asked people to listen to and review a podcast. He got a spike of downloads that week because people listened to an episode from his request.
[22:39] When you update your LinkedIn profile you want people to notice. When people notice, a few may be able to help you. Marc learned a long time ago, “If you don’t ask, you usually don’t get.”
[23:18] Mark suggests when you get a new certification or degree, you become part of their association, industry, or trade membership group. You want to get the newsletter and participate so you can start to be familiar to the group. You can’t sit on the sidelines and try to scoop up the benefits. Contribute a lot to get to know a lot of people fast.
[24:08] Networking and the job search are more about people than the process. People have made it about the process, but the process is not always the best approach. Industry organizations make a huge difference in becoming familiar. It is the long-tailed benefit that will serve your career for a long time.
[24:54] Connect with people first, care about the person, and then, eventually, that will help you. You’ll learn a lot more than you think by just watching for a while before saying something.
[25:06] Marc agrees, that when we reach our age, over 60, getting a job is about a relationship. Focus on the relationships. You have no control over the timing of job openings. All you can do is keep building the relationships.
[26:31] That’s why everybody needs to read How to Win Friends & Influence People, by Dale Carnegie, Mark believes. The essence of the book is how to win over people, not how to look for shortcuts. Relationships over time lead to different points that will benefit your career as a whole and bring other people with you.
[27:15] In the ’30s and ’40s, Dale Carnegie had a radio show and he interviewed people. You can find some episodes from Dale Carnegie on Spotify. They are all about relationships.
[28:07] Marc thanks Mark for being on this Repurpose Your Career podcast episode.
[28:26] Marc invites you to pick up a copy of Repurpose Your Career: A Practical Guide for the 2nd half of Life, and write an honest review of the book on iTunes.com.
[28:51] Please take the 2018 Repurpose Your Career Podcast Survey. Marc needs to know something about you so he can make this podcast to meet your needs. Go to CareerPivot.com/podcast-survey and take the SurveyMonkey.com survey.
[29:25] Marc is soliciting members for the next cohort of the CareerPivot.com Online Community. For information, please go to CareerPivot.com/Community.
[30:16] Check back next week when Marc will announce the next edition of Repurpose Your Career and read the opening chapter as a preview to the book.
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