March 8, 2010

Dear Friends:

Welcome back to the weekly edition of Andrew Hudson's Jobs List.

In these days of job-seeking frustration, I want to give everyone some good news: job seekers are finding jobs!  I hear almost daily from job seekers and employers that jobs that are posted on AH Jobs List are being filled.  I've also seen a definite up-tick in the number of jobs that have been posted to AH Jobs List.  

Job seekers, don't give up hope and don't let your frustration dampen your fire.  You WILL find a job!


Happy Baby Monday!

To get everyone started on the right foot this Monday, I present to you my 3-month-old baby girl, Julia Nicole Hudson!   Every morning her radiant smile warms my heart and I guarantee will put you in a good mood!

With a smile like that, it certainly can help the world seem like a less stressful place, no?  Go get 'em!



Job Seekers! Be Seen by Colorado's Leading Employers!

Attention job seekers!  Much like on LinkedIn, corporate recruiters are also looking to Andrew Hudson's Jobs List to identify new talent.  Every day I'm hearing from recruiters and job seekers alike who are being matched through this simple service.  By posting a jobseeker profile, a simple 300-word summary of your background/skills/expertise, you are letting employers throughout Denver and beyond know that you are ready to work!  To post a 4-week jobseeker profile, click here

Get Your Irish Going at the Annual Runnin' of the Green!



Join me next Sunday, March 14 for the annual Runnin' of the Green (ROTG), a special 7k run/walk race that benefits the important work of Volunteers of America. This is the 22nd year of ROTG and hundreds of thousands of dollars have been raised to support the programs of Volunteers of America.

ROTG is begins at 17th and Wazee in LoDo in front of McCormick's Fish House and Bar.  Registration begins at 7:00 a.m. and the races start at 10:15 a.m.  A big party is waiting at the finish line. To register online, click here.  To find out more about the ROTG, click here.


TURBO BOOST YOUR JOB SEARCH! 
Come to an AH Jobs List Career Bootcamp and get reinvigorated to find the job of your dreams!

Are you at the end of your rope?  Are you frustrated that you send in a resume and never hear back? Do you need some new ideas to get an employer's attention so you can get hired?  Are you confused as to what companies are looking for when they are recruitng for employees?  If so, AHJL Career Bootcamp may be for you.

We just completed two sold-out bootcamps last week and have a few spots left for the Saturday, March 20th and the Wednesday, March 24th Session.  These will be the last Career Bootcamps until summer.

Career Bootcamp is an intensive 3-hour interactive group session that will help get you out of your job-seeking rut, make your mind swim with fresh job-seeking ideas and give you a new perspective on how to market and brand your unique skills and experiences to differentiate yourself and get noticed by employers. 

You will learn the techniques that successful job seekers use to get noticed and also the types of common things to avoid that could sabotage your chances. 

Space is limited and Career Bootcamp sells out quickly.

Click here for more information and to register!


Job Focus:
Acing the Final Interview and Getting the Job Offer!

As a job seeker, nothing can be more nerve-wracking than working your way through the hiring process and then finding yourself in the final interview stage.

At this point, you are now competing with probably 3-5 other finalists.  Each of the finalists has been properly vetted; references have checked out and skills and experiences have been screened.  For the most part, each of the finalists has been determined to be capable of performing the duties of the job for which they have applied. 

Assuming that the finalists are nearly equal in terms of skills, you will now be measured to see if your personality fits the position, the department and the culture of the organization.  If your future boss is interviewing you, he/she will be trying to figure out if you are a team player, easy to manage, if you have a strong work ethic, if you are someone who is easy to be around and one who can be counted on.

While you have to be prepared to talk about your skills, talents, experiences and background, you also have to prepare yourself in HOW you talk about these things in order to make a home-run first and lasting impression that will get you the job.

Preparing to talk about yourself
Confidence, self-assuredness, secure in your talents, expertise and background: these are key elements in your job search and are most important to display during your job interview.  Successful job seekers are able to define, focus and express the value they can bring to an organization.  As in any successful marketing campaign, the value proposition is confidently represented and is consistent.  In the job seeker’s case, it is apparent in every accessible communications channel available to them: in the resume, the cover letter and the interview.  Successful job seekers are not arrogant, yet they are not desperate or shy either.  They have rock solid confidence and are able to talk with assuredness and coolness about their accomplishments and results and are able to describe how their skills, expertise and experience can help a company progress.

Your resume has gotten you the interview; now this your opportunity to demonstrate, in person,  the flexible, cooperative and hard-working and personable employee you will be. When I was working for the Mayor of Denver and we were faced with a tough interview from a journalist, I would sit down with the Mayor and discuss the major points we wanted to get across during the interview.  In addition, we would role play with me asking him what I anticipated to be the most likely and the toughest questions.  I would listen and critique his responses as well as how he LOOKED when he responded.  For TV reporters, eliciting a non-verbal answer (facial expression, gestures, etc.) during an on-camera interview is just as important (if not more) then eliciting a verbal answer.  I would suggest bridging techniques that allowed him to seamlessly answer questions using the points HE wanted to make.  I could tell what questions made him uneasy and helped him work on responding in ways that didn’t make him look nervous.  Through this simple preparation, we developed strategies that allowed us to practice and have the confidence that  we were in control of the focus of the interview.

In very much the same way, this is how you should prepare for your interview and is something you can control in any conversation in which you are attempting to make a lasting impression in your favor.

What are the three points you want to memorize and get across throughout the interview? 

Here are a few sample questions and pointers:

i.)  Why do you believe you are the most qualified candidate for this position?

ii.)  What are your differentiators?  What specific skills and experiences do you bring that you believe are unique?

iii.)  The best guarantee of future success is past success.  Be prepared with a couple of stories of previous work experiences that demonstrate results which can also be related to the job you are interviewing for.  This is critical!  Think about an experience that really displays how you put your skills to work on a project that resulted in a positive outcome.  What did it take?  What challenges did you overcome?  How did you analyze the results?  What difference did your accomplishment make on the bottom line?

Body language
It’s true.  A person's perception of you comes in large part from the non-verbal cues of your body language.   You don’t have to be an expert psychologist to understand the emotions that non-verbal cues exude during a conversation.  A lot is told through the eyes - darting eyes, rolled eyes, furrowed eyebrows - these are signals of confusion, frustration, exasperation!   When you are looking around the room as you are answering a question, this is a common non-verbal cue that your answer is unbelievable.  If you are tapping your foot, your pen or constantly twisting your jewelry you may be seen as sending all sorts of messages about your discomfort and nervousness – with the interview setting, the questions or with your skills and abilities in general.

Here’s the best and most basic advice for controlling body language during an interview:

1.)  Dress for an interview.  Remember, you are meeting people for the first time and the first impression you make is critical. 

Make sure you have the proper business attire for a job interview.   A sloppy dresser – scuffed shoes, wrinkled shirts, unshaven face, messy hair, loud jewelry, obnoxious perfume – these are major first impression non-verbal (negative) cues. 

Think about what the interviewer is asking him/herself:  “Does my first impression give me the sense that I like them?  Do I want to work with them every day?  Will they represent the company well?” 

2.)  Shake hands and look people in the eyes when you are talking to them.  A firm handshake shows that you are serious about the interview.  Looking someone in the eye from the beginning lets them know you are prepared, ready and excited to be part of the interview.

3.) Sit up straight and answer clearly and with a strong voice!  I’ll never forget a time when I consulted a job seeker.  He came into my office and I asked him some simple questions to get to know him.  He sat on the edge of the chair with his shoulders slouched and he looked at the ground when he answered and he almost whispered when he responded.  I had to repeatedly ask him to repeat himself.   On the other hand, at a recent role playing at a seminar I held, a job seeker confidently walked to the chair, sat firm and straight, and answered all of my questions without hesitation.  This job seeker had clearly practiced this technique and it was powerful; everyone immediately liked her.

4.) Practice your answers to common interview questions such as “Please tell us about yourself,”; “Why do you want to work here?”; “Why do you think you’d be a good fit at our company?”; and “How would your skills, experience and background transfer the job you are applying for here?”

Being able to answer the most basic of interview questions with confidence will help you with the interview from the beginning.

5.)  A very wise person told me once,  “Listen with the intent of understanding, not with the intent of responding.”  When someone is talking to you, look them in the eyes, listen intently and engage them in ways that really tell them you understand their question.  Don’t interrupt a question; wait until the question is done being asked.  Repeat the question if you don’t understand it, but make it clear that you are listening to what they are saying.

More than anything, continue to keep the faith.  You are continuing to develop your job-seeking skills to find the job that is best for you.  There is a job out there for which you are the perfect fit.  Keep looking, and don’t let frustration damper your motivation.

The Colorado Cancer Research Program (CCRP)
www.co-cancerresearch.org

My mother died of cancer.  I've also witnessed other relatives and friends who have suffered and died from cancer.  I would bet everyone reading this has a connection to cancer, whether it be your own personal experience or through other family members, friends or colleagues.  Fortunately, the mortality rates for cancer continue to drop, but there is still so much work to be done.

The Colorado Cancer Research Program (CCRP) was established in 1983 and designated by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) as a Community Clinical Oncology Program (CCOP).  Its founding was the vision of local oncologists who wanted to ensure that Colorado residents could benefit from cancer clinical research and receive treatment from their local oncologist.  CCRP makes cancer clinical treatment, prevention and symptom control trials available to physicians and their patients in Colorado.

Currently CCRP has 17 partner hospitals located throughout the state of Colorado, and over 100 affiliated oncologists and related specialty physicians belong to CCRP and our partner hospitals.  In upcoming FY 2010, CCRP estimates the enrollment to equal that of 2009 with nearly 400 new patients to its over 60 clinical trials, while continuing to monitor the health status of over 2,400 former patients.

Over 70% of patients diagnosed with cancer are treated by private practice physicians outside the university and research cancer centers.  Since the NCI created the Community Clinical Oncology Program (CCOP), in 1983, programs like CCRP have enrolled a majority of the participants on NCI-sponsored Phase II and Phase III trials focused on testing new treatment against the best existing treatment and cancer prevention trials. 

There are a variety of ways to assist the important work of CCRP including volunteer opportunities, events and memorial and legacy donations.  To find out more about how you can help, click here.

Happy job hunting,


Andrew Hudson