Sex and Your Job Search 2013: A Guide to Scoring Your Dream Job (15 page)

Given my family history and diverse educational and cultural background, I am very sympathetic to people who have accents and who have come to this country to live the American dream. I am also pretty good at understanding a wide variety of thick accents. However, sometimes I receive voicemails I don’t understand and where people don’t spell out their names.

If your name can be easily misspelled, please spell it out. This goes for common names too: Bryan and Brian. Jenifer and Jennifer. Michelle and Michele. Jennsen, Johnson, and Johnnson. Gonzalez and Gonsales. Do this for your own sake.

Here are three good examples of voicemails you can leave. The first one provides you with several options that you can modify, the second one is how I would do it, and the third is me critiquing my own voicemail in third person, with my thoughts inserted as parenthesis:

“Ms. Jane Public? Hi, my name is Dominic Bokich and we have an acquaintance/ school/ pastime/ friend/ association in common. I am following up on the __________ position at your company where I believe I would be a fit. I emailed/sent you my portfolio earlier this week and was wondering if I could ask you two questions (the first is checking status and the second is making a five-minute appointment). I know you are extremely busy. If you have a minute to talk, my number is 310-555-1212 and my name is Dominic Bokich. Last name is spelled B-O-K-I-C-H. First name is spelled D-O-M-I-N-I-C. My number again, Ms. Public, is 310-555-1212. Thank you. I look forward to speaking with you in person. Have a great day.”

“Hi Ms. Public, my name is Dominic Bokich and we have a mutual acquaintance on LinkedIn. I also emailed you my portfolio two days ago. I wanted to follow up with you on the manager of human resources position that I applied for on your website. I have eleven years experience in all aspects of HR at one of the largest university medical centers in the country. I know you are busy and I only want to ask you two questions about working at your hospital. If you could return my call at your convenience, my number is 310-555-1212. Again this is Dominic Bokich, last name is spelled B-O-K-I-C-H, first name is spelled D-O-M-I-N-I-C. My number again is 310-555-1212. I look forward to speaking with you soon. Thank you.”

“Hi Ms. Public, my name is Dominic Bokich and we have a mutual acquaintance on LinkedIn. I also emailed you my portfolio two days ago. (I’m intrigued because this may be a good referral from a colleague on LinkedIn, but I’m drawing a blank because I’ve interviewed for two days straight and have a stack of resumes to look through. Still, this message has caught my attention because it is off to a great start, so I continue to listen.) I wanted to follow up with you on the manager of human resources position I applied to on your website. (Ok, good. But is he qualified?) I have eleven years experience in all aspects of HR at one of the largest university medical centers in the country. (This shows responsibility, because medical centers comply with a ton of regulations.) I know you are busy and I only want to ask you only two questions about working at your hospital. (This shows me he is not going to waste my time and drone on for fifteen minutes.) If you could return my call at your convenience, my number is 310-555-1212. Again this is Dominic Bokich, last name is spelled B-O-K-I-C-H, first name is spelled D-O-M-I-N-I-C, and my number again is 310-555-1212. (Spelling the name and number at a moderate pace increases the likelihood of getting it right. Rarely will a hiring manager repeat a message because you talked too fast or unclearly.) I look forward to speaking with you soon. (Good way to wrap up, no high pressure sell or questionable tone.) Thank you. (Great message. Polite. Informative. He repeated his contact info. Has experience. Oh snap, let me check his application and portfolio. I wonder where he works? It’s hard to get into reputable companies and even harder to last eleven years. I might have a good one here.)”

Brilliant. That’s all a hiring manager needs to hear. You sound confident and competent. Nice work.

FUNNY VOICEMAILS

“Yeah, cuz. Umm. Ah, I applied for a position at your institution. And ahh. Yeah…”. I transcribed this word for word. Then I hit delete halfway through.

“Hi I applied for a position and I’m a hard worker and I have a multitude of skills and I’m multitaskful.” I was getting a run-on sentence with no name and a made-up word. I hit delete.

“Maybe you’re busy—this is Joe Dumdum—I called and left you a message yesterday—maybe you didn’t get it—I understand you are busy. Call me back to let me know the status of my application.” He sounded so pissed off that he couldn’t even manage a “please call me back.” I wanted to call him and say, “Son, I want to keep my job and hiring an angry worker will not help me do that. Do you understand?!”

GOOD VOICEMAIL GREETINGS

Having a good voicemail greeting on your phone is important for when you get a call back.

Here is a great example of a voicemail greeting from a sophomore in college who was looking for a part-time job while going to school:

“Hi, you have reached Jessica’s cell phone. I am currently unavailable. However, if you leave me a message, I will return your call at my earliest convenience. You may also text me at this number if you would like. Thanks and have a great day.”

Brilliant. If your friends think you are lame for sounding professional at such a young age, promise not to take them on your next vacation when you can afford to do so.

If I call you and your voicemail greeting has “suggestive” lyrics to a song, I will not leave a message or ever speak to you again professionally. For example, lyrics with the words “booty,” “pimpin,” or “drankin.” You message shouldn’t have profanity or racial slurs. If you must use music, please keep it classical. My recommendation is to have a professional-sounding message. Again, if one of your friends gives you crap for it, smile at them when you can afford to put on your designer suit and get into your brand-new Mercedes.

STOPPING BY:
THE BEST KEPT SECRET OF GETTING HIRED

As I mentioned previously, I am a recruiter for a large employer and receive on average ten phone calls a day from job applicants. How many people stop by in a month to put a face with a name and tell me that they
really
want to work for
my
company?
Maybe
one or two. Sometimes zero! How many times this week while I’m writing this did I wish I could remember a very serious applicant with good work history for an administrative assistant job. Three times!

You have to remember, I see approximately 500 to 1,000 names a month and have seen that many for the past decade. Unless I have met you and had a conversation with you, I I’ve probably forgotten your name. I don’t like that about myself, but it is a reality now.

Some job-search books preach about making contact with employers through a barrage of emails and phone calls. I agree with a toned-down, modern-day version of that, but what these other books leave out is the most important step: stopping by. It is the best way to get an interview. I have way more success stories of people who asked to meet with me than I do for those who only used email and phone calls.

Trust me, my colleagues in HR are going to hate me for revealing this secret. It means more work for all of us. But it also means that we will most likely develop an even better pipeline of the best and most motivated job applicants.

When you get to the point of stopping by the employer of your dreams, you will already have the name of the HR rep or hiring manager you want to talk with. You will have sent them your portfolio by email and will have tried to reach them by phone. You will have Googled their names and now have their complete bios. You will be dressed to the nines like you would be for an interview. And because you are a superstar applicant, you have with you a hard-copy portfolio that includes a personalized cover letter that is addressed to your contact, a resume, letters of recommendation, and a sample project that you have done. So, when you arrive, know that it’s going to be OK.

You cannot set yourself up better than this! You should be proud of yourself for having gotten to this point. You have what
someone
needs.

“SURE, I HAVE A FEW MINUTES": 
WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU ARRIVE

At the front desk, confidently state your name and ask for your contact at the company. For example:

“Hi my name is Dominic Bokich. I am a human resource professional with over ten years of experience in recruiting and interviewing. I would like to speak with Mr. John Public for no more than five minutes and ask him only two questions about finding employment at Acme Corporation.”

Indicate that you need less than five minutes of their time. If that person is not available, they will most likely direct you to the human resources department. Go to HR and again state your name and intention. Ask to speak to the recruiter who hires for your desired position. Mention that you have a portfolio that includes a cover letter, resume, and sample projects and that you would just like to hand it to the recruiter.

Remember to treat the
receptionist like they are a judge on American Idol.
Be friendly and expect them to be professional in return, but know that the receptionist is all business. I’m telling you in all seriousness, they will screen you out if you act like a jerk or cop an attitude. That’s what they are paid to do.

I
always
talk to the receptionist before I come out to talk with someone. I ask: “Who is this person and what do they want? How did they present themselves? Were they nice? What are they wearing? Were they rude to you?” If you are a pushy or arrogant, I don’t want to talk to you.

If all the answers are positive and I realize that you really want to work for my company, I will take five minutes to come talk with you.

When your contact or HR rep appears, again state your name and intention, and immediately ask for five minutes of their time for advice. State that you will stick to that timeframe strictly.

Next, hand the person the hard-copy portfolio for their review and say: “I want to give you my portfolio to be considered for the ________ (insert your desired job) position. Do you have any positions available in my desired area?” Or if you have already applied online for the position: “What is the status of my application?”

Then ask them to quickly review your portfolio: “Would you mind looking through my portfolio? I have included a letter of recommendation from my previous CEO.” At this point, it is a good idea to subtly name-drop the titles of the people who wrote your letters of recommendation. Don’t brag, just simply state their titles. Quickly go over the sample project. Their immediate reaction will be, “This person is serious! Hold on, let me digest this.”

Rachel wanted a job in public relations, and since there were no advertised openings at the faith-based company she was interested in, she emailed her resume to the director of public relations. A few days later Rachel followed up with a phone call and let the director know she was planning a vacation to the area in the near future. He agreed to meet with her when she was in town.

Rachel brought a portfolio to the meeting and impressed the director with her questions. As they were saying their good-byes, he recommended that she speak with a lady named Kimberly in another department, who was looking to hire a communication manager.

Instead of calling, Rachel decided to stop by and ask for a few minutes of Kimberly’s time.

Rachel found Kimberly’s office, poked her head in, and said, “Hi, the director of PR recommended I speak with you, and I just wanted to quickly introduce myself.” Kimberly paused and said, “I literally had been praying that God would let an applicant stick out.” They talked for over an hour.

The next day the HR recruiter received a call from Kimberly saying that she wanted to hire Rachel. HR had sent Kimberly eight qualified applicants, and Rachel was the only one who had stopped by. Whether it was divine intervention or just good luck, Rachel got the job.

If all things are equal, making an effort to stop by and present yourself humbly yet confidently can set you apart.

Listen to what they have to say and check your watch. The last question you should ask, even if you have stood up to walk out, is this: “How did you get hired at this company?”

People
love
to talk about themselves. After that last question, you will most likely see them visibly relax. You will get some great information here. Make great eye contact and
listen
. Get the person’s contact information and ask if you can connect with them on LinkedIn. Jot down notes from your conversation as soon as you leave the building and write a handwritten thank you note
that day
.

Try to slip in a fourth question if you can: “Do you have any advice for getting a job at the company?”