Thursday, November 5, 2009

Interviewing is like dating . . .

Win,
I had a question for you. If you have a good interview, and there is even mention of a next meeting. . .and then you don’t hear from them. How long do you wait to reach out? Would you say its hurts the balance of negotiation in any way? Its feels like dating. . .if you call and don’t get a return call.
Curious of your thoughts. Hope all is well.
Paul


Paul,
Generally, unless you have a specific understanding, recontact them between 1-2 weeks of your last conversation. You are calling not because you are a desperate pathetic loser who is totally dependent on the employer's answer, but as an interested professional who sees an opportunity for a great partnership and productive business relationship with a firm you are very interested in. It's all in the attitude and confidence. And as you know from relationships, confidence is the cologne that brings in the mosquitoes!
Win

Thanks, Win. Good point. The tone is - hey I'd love to get to the meetings we discussed. . .your vision is great. . .my skills could be complementary to your plan. . .got it. Paul

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Developing a good contact

Hi Win,
How are you? I have been in contact with the hiring manager we spoke about. Below were communications between him and me. If you have any thoughts/suggestions what to do with it going forward, please let me know.
Thank you!
Joanne


On Fri, Jun 12, 2009 at 9:30 PM
Hi Bob,
I really appreciate your sincerity. Hopefully, the market will further stabilize and the economy will start to grow again in the second half of the year. I will be patient for the career opportunity that can potentially use all my strengths. It will be a dream come true.
Best Regards,
Joanne


On Thu, Jun 11, 2009 at 8:50 PM
> Joanne
> It was such a pleasure to meet you. I certainly enjoyed our
> brief and warm conversation. Thank you for taking the time.
> Rarely are we graced by someone with such a broad mix of
> highly desirable talents. It is my sincere hope that we stay
> in touch and that at some time we may work together. Perhaps
> as the current environment repairs itself, we may get that
> chance. In the meantime, please feel free to contact me at
> any time. If there is ever anything I can do for you, do not
> hesitate to ask.
>
> Kindest regards.
>
> Bob


Hi Joanne,
That is a great note! I guess you guys really got along. My first recommendation is to find more people to have conversations with. Bob is not the only one who will "get" what you have to offer. You might want to set a goal of how many new contacts a week to make.

Specifically with Bob, circle back to him as time goes on, maybe a month hence and let him know what's going on with your search. Are there any companies you would like to know more about? Are there industry developments you are interested in discussing with him? With people he knows? Think about reasons for him to want to talk to you and to refer you to others.
Hope that helps,
Win

Monday, April 20, 2009

Accomplishment Stories

Win,
You mentioned that I need to let people know what I can do for them in the form of “accomplishment stories.” Can you go over for me what I should be considering when coming up with these?
Thank you,
Subir


Hi Subir,
Here are some thoughts on what to include in your accomplishment stories. There is no one way to do this. The overall idea is to get the listener's interest. The things you talk about do not all have to be your most impressive accomplishments and as we discussed, a major accomplishment can have many smaller accomplishment stories in it. When selecting accomplishments, keep your focus on things you enjoyed and which have a recognized, perhaps measurable, result.

To catch their attention, be clear where you began: problem situation that you recognized or that was brought to your attention. Then fill in some detail about what was difficult or what went wrong. The mark of a professional is how you deal with problems that arise (calls not returned, unexpected client development, changed requirement or resources, etc.) Don't leave out the problems. The actions you take to overcome problems are the most compelling evidence that you can give of how you work. The Princess does not meet the Prince and get married the next day. Take the audience along on the experience, which ends with a fabulous accomplishment.

Develop any number of stories. As you begin to look at them, you will begin to recognize what skills of yours they represent. As you hone your direction and find out which of your abilities are most in demand for the positions that interest you, you can develop stories that illustrate those particular skills or that experience.

If any of this is not clear or any questions occur to you, please don't hesitate to ask.
Win

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Press coverage

If you are interested in press coverage of some of Win's career tips, please click on some of the links below.

March 2009 See Win with a successful client on the CBS Early Show
:

Hear Win's ideas on networking by Joe Connolly on WCBS for the Wall Street Journal.
January 2009 Tips for People Who Shy Away from Neworking
January 2009 You Don't Need a Personality Transplant . . .

October 2008 Learn how Win helps clients in the New York Post

Win's advice on negotiating in eFinancialCareers
June 2007 Shape an Unborn Offer Through Shadow Negotiating
July 2007 Got an Offer? There's Negotiating to Do

March 2007 Coverage of a talk by Win at the New York Public Library on New York One

Monday, March 2, 2009

Win,
I am done with *****, have completed and published the book we were negotiating when I last saw you, and I'm recovering from my grandmother's death . . . and just left wondering!

I'm in a bit of a "mood," if I can freely confess, and am loathe to take on job I don't want, but know it's time to get another one. Trying to get into a more positive mindset!

Can you wave a magic wand?
Terry


Hi Terry,
Sorry to hear about your grandmother. Your thoughts around that sound like figuring out the relative place of work within your wider life might be something to discuss.

As for a magic wand, yes: for any and all jobs or projects, try to list your accomplishments (even if you never need to do whatever it was again.) I do this in an old resume, using the reverse chronological format. List all accomplishments, big and small ones within a bigger project. I call this document an Experience Bank; it is a resource for the future. The idea here is to be exhaustive, not exclusionary and see if that doesn't help remind you of what you can do, have done and like!
Win