Mentors

The importance of a mentor in starting and growing your business cannot be underestimated.

Tonight, I said good-bye to one of mine. My Uncle Arch (Don Begley) died tonight at the age of 75. He was a friend, a client, and a mentor. When my now-husband and I decided to start our business in 1996 (when I was just 22), Uncle Arch was a great source of encouragement and ideas. He also invited me to join his Friday-morning tips group, introducing me to a network of business contacts. Although I eventually had to give the group up (Friday mornings at 7 a.m. were too much for this night owl), will never forget him taking me under his wing.

My thoughts are with his wife of fifty years (my Aunt Rosalie) and his five children (David, Steve, Chris, Barb, and Becky) and their families.

What is a Structured Interview?

Do you offer interview coaching? Are you aware of a new technique in interviewing, the structured interview?

Using a structured interview presentation, candidates clearly communicate their understanding of the job, demonstrate both their match with position requirements and their fit with the corporate culture. Hiring managers get consistent in-depth information about candidates that improves the interview process and helps hiring managers make a “best fit” hiring decision. With structured interviews, candidates perform better. The hiring manager’s selection decisions are greatly enhanced resulting in improved retention with lower turnover costs and a more competitive workforce.

Kennedy Information is hosting a 60-minute training program on Thursday, Feb. 21, "Increase 'Best Fit' Hiring Decisions with Structured Interview Techniques" presented by Eric Kramer, CIO of Innovative Career Services.

The workshop will cover:

1. The three most important interview questions that must be answered to make a “best fit” hiring decision.
2. The eight critical elements of a well structured interview presentation.
3. An interview presentation process that candidates and hiring managers can learn quickly and use easily.
4. Candidates’ and hiring managers’ real life experiences using an interview presentation tool, and more.

Eric Kramer’s experience includes working as a Career Consultant and Career Center Manager with one of the country’s largest outplacement firms. As a Senior Consultant, Eric worked with hundreds of job searchers individually and in groups teaching them job search skills and coaching them through their interviews. Eric has authored two books, What to Think What to Do- 100+ Hints for Successful Interviewing and What to Think What to Do- 100+ Hints for Successful Networking. Eric also serves on the Editorial Advisory Board for Recruiting Trends, a Kennedy Information publication.

The cost is $149, and you can pre-register and receive a recording of the teleseminar, even if you're unable to attend.

Resume Writers Resource

The careers industry has professional associations. We have conferences. You even have a trade magazine (that's me!). And now resume writers have an independent company that will help facilitate success, Resume Writers Resource …

Kathy Sweeney, NCRW, CPRW, CEIC, CCM has built her company, The Write Resume into a well-recognized brand -- and now she wants to share her expertise with other resume writers. Of course, Kathy has been sharing her secrets for attracting media attention and cultivating lasting client relationships for years. Her presentation on "Enhance Your Business Visibility and Increase Your Revenue" in Scottsdale in September 2006 at the NRWA Career Conference yielded tons of ideas for me. During her time as NRWA President, she mentored countless new and "emerging" resume writers. Now she's offering her services to the industry.

"The more you put yourself out there, the more your name will become known."
-- Kathy Sweeney, 9/15/06

One of the most exciting services offered by Resume Writers Resource (from my perspective) is the Press Release Writing Service. Even if you don't want to become a household name or have your company featured on the AOL home page, you will be amazed at the amount of business a single article written about your resume writing services can offer. For about the price of 1-2 resume projects, you can attract a dozen new clients ... ones who aren't just looking for the lowest-priced provider, either.

(The next Special Report from Resume Writers' Digest will give you actionable ideas on how to generate publicity for your business. But if you want to save some time, or don't want to wait for the report, contact Kathy.)

Kathy is also bringing affordable teleseminars and webinars to the industry. Her first offering, "The Nuts and Bolts of Implementing Interview Coaching Into a Resume Writing Business" will be offered tomorrow, Thursday 2/14/08 at 3 p.m. Eastern. The cost is just $25.

Kathy's experience will be a valuable "resource" for the careers industry, so be sure to sign up for her e-mail list to be notified of upcoming events.

Finally, Success!

Well, it finally happened. One of my more "needier" clients landed his dream job today. It was a long time coming. I first started working with him last summer, developing the resume in anticipation of a December graduation. The resume itself was stellar. (I can say this with some confidence because it was reviewed favorably by the volunteers working the NRWA Certification session at the National Resume Writer's Association conference in Savannah in September.)

But the client was picky ... and somewhat resistant to my suggestions. The resume would land interviews, but the interviews were ... shall we say, weird. You know how it is -- the client is giving you feedback, and you're not sure if it matched the reality of the situation or not. For example, he'd have a first and second interview ... things would be moving along ... and all of a sudden, they decided he didn't have enough experience. That seemed strange to me, but what could I do? I couldn't send in a hidden camera to see what really happened. (The brief interview coaching I did with him didn't identify any red flags -- other than the typical "new graduate" attitude that expects to be making $50K with a bachelor's degree and a couple summers worth of job experience.)

I used ALL of my skills with this client. Creative ways to follow-up for the 45th time (without looking like a stalker). My best Nick Corcodilas "do the job before you get the job advice" (for one job in marketing for a mall-based retail store chain, I suggested he conduct an analysis of customer demographics by sitting outside the store at the food court and collecting data. Despite calling me every other day to tell me how "bored" he was by not working, I STILL could not convince him that this was a worthwhile use of his time.)

But it all paid off when I got the e-mail from him telling me he'd accepted an offer for his new job. That's what makes it all so worthwhile, right? (Well, that and the couple hundred dollars paid by his mom for my services as a graduation present...)

Now let's hope he KEEPS that job for a very long time...like until he's ready to retire. I can dream, right?