Understanding Yourself and Articulating Alignment

Greetings, Career-Minded Superstars! Welcome to The Exclusive Career Coach podcast. I’m Lesa Edwards, Certified Executive and Leadership Development Coach, Certified Job Search Strategist, and Master Resume Writer.

If you would like to learn more about my practice, check out my website at exclusivecareercoaching.com. While you’re there, be sure to look at the Free Resources page – I have lots of great stuff there for you to take advantage of.

So far this month, I’ve talked about what you need to know if you are going to be conducting a job search this year – and what the job market currently looks like.

I’ve discussed what is going on with remote work, the importance of personal branding, LinkedIn, tailoring your marketing materials for each position you apply for, and the role technology is playing in the interview process. I also dug deep into what is currently happening with the U.S. workforce – and what is expected to occur over the next few years around worker supply and demand, the aging workforce, and wage growth.

Today, I want to talk about the obstacles you may face if you are planning to job search this year. I’ve teased out six things you’ll want to take into consideration as you look for your next great role.

1.    A lack of personalization in the hiring process.

Over and over, I hear my clients’ frustration about how technology has removed the personal touch throughout the hiring process. From initial interviews conducted using AI tools to Applicant Tracking Systems to an inability to reach a human at the hiring company, candidates are FRUSTRATED.

My solution for this shouldn’t surprise you if you’ve listened to my podcast before: Networking. Specifically, my +1 approach, where you do one more thing in addition to just applying online like everyone else. I’ve talked about both of these in depth in multiple other episodes, so I won’t dwell here.

Here are a couple of other tools to help with this lack of personalization: Expect that it will likely be impersonal – in other words, manage your expectations. Also, exhibit as much patience as you can possibly muster in navigating the various platforms you’ll be interacting with.

2.    Companies that want you to jump through hoops like a circus animal.

From projects that take hours of your time to multiple interviews (I had one client who was subjected to 10 interviews before they went with their internal candidate) to cumbersome application requirements, some companies just don’t understand that their efforts to find the perfect candidate is often resulting in the perfect candidate running in the opposite direction.

My advice: Decide whether you’re in or you’re out. If you’re in, be willing to do whatever is asked of you, with a positive attitude (they will smell your resistance). To be fully in, it’s so important that you really want that job with that company – and you fully believe you have the qualifications, professional qualities, and culture fit to be a great hire.

Just don’t apply if you aren’t really excited about the job and at least 75% qualified. Save your energy for the ones you are truly in on.

3.    Being ghosted.

I was fascinated to sit at a round table discussion with HR folks recently, who to a person complained about how candidates were ghosting them. When I spoke up about my clients’ frustration about how employers were ghosting them, they were shocked.

I’m sure you aren’t surprised, though – you may well have faced this very thing. Whether from an in-house recruiter or third-party recruiter, it’s particularly difficult to understand this when the recruiter reaches out to you unsolicited.

There are myriad reasons this may be happening, but what I want to point out here is this: Don’t make it mean anything about you. You get to decide what to think about this sudden radio silence – please don’t think it’s because you aren’t qualified or they didn’t like you.

I like to think of it this way: I was spared from working with a company that doesn’t have its act together and/or doesn’t recognize my genius. Something better is on its way to me.

4.     Companies that take you all the way through the hiring process, only to tell you there’s been a hiring freeze, a change in priorities, or “we found a better candidate.”

It’s always more difficult when you’ve invested a considerable amount of time and emotional energy in a lengthy process. I spoke with a prospective client just yesterday who had been told an offer was on its way, only to meet with the HR representative and be told there was a hiring freeze.

My solution for this situation is to stay in touch – most likely through LinkedIn. That hiring freeze will lift, they will figure out what direction they want to go in, and they will have other hiring needs (or figure out their first choice wasn’t the right choice).

Calendar in a cadence of regular, infrequent communication with your contact, and look for ways to add value to them with things like acknowledgement of accolades the company has received or important industry information.

5.    Your competition may be miles away.

Especially with remote jobs, your competition has increased exponentially as candidates from around the globe can do the work from home.

This is where personal branding, an achievement-focused resume, and strong interviewing skills become even more important. Whether you are their back-door or across-the-globe candidate, you MUST show them that you are the best fit for the role and the company culture. And yes, culture DOES matter, even with remote jobs.

Know yourself, know the company, and be able to articulate how the two fit together perfectly.

6.    Employers that immediately want to know your salary requirements.

Some states have adopted wage disclosure laws so companies have to post salary ranges with their job descriptions. As of this podcast, 13 states have pay transparency laws, although the specifics of those laws vary greatly.

My philosophy on this used to be deflect, deflect, deflect…be vague – after all, how can you tell them what you want before you truly understand the job requirements and how you are the perfect fit? Now, however, I am encouraging candidates who are asked to give the salary range they are looking for, based on research into the industry, job function, geographic region – as well as the candidate’s qualifications and experience.

The reason employers are asking is because they don’t want to waste their time with someone whose salary expectations are not in alignment with what they are able to offer.

My final word to you today is this: You don’t have to do this alone. If you would like to schedule a complimentary consult to discuss how I can support you in landing your dream job despite the challenges of today’s job market and hiring practices, here’s the link to my calendar:

https://calendly.com/lesaedwards/zoom-meetings2

Take care, and I’ll see you next week!