Closing the sale

When you are in job search mode, you are in effect "selling" your skills and talents.  Your resume and cover letter are your brochure and sales material and your interview is your sales call.

Now, all of the salespeople reading this know that the next step is to find out where the process is going.  Some people will tell you that they have to think about your presentation or discuss it with a partner or supervisor.  If that is happening, you know that the next question is "When would be a good time to follow-up?" and then you put that on your calendar.

If you aren't fortunate enough to have someone who is that forthright with you, then you need to take the bull by the horns and figure out how to close the sale or ask for the sale.

You must be careful in an interview not to appear needy or pushy.  Stating that you would love to work for the company is great but must be conveyed in a sincere unassuming manor or the interviewer could interpret the statement incorrectly.

Closing the sale is typically about overcoming objections, but in an interview you must be careful about how you ask the question - go for the open-ended question that allows the interviewer to share concerns about whether you are a good corporate fit, or how you might be able to handle the job.

Asking for feedback about how you did on the interview could potentially backfire, but by asking how you compare to the other candidates you may find out that you rank well among the competition.  If it isn't among the highest, you may ask how you might improve to become the best fit or to improve your skills (interviewing or actual) for a future interview at this company or another. 

When you leave an interview, knowing if you are in the running for a position allows you to plan for your job search next steps.  If you are confident that you did well and the feedback is positive, you may not have to be looking for long.

We are on the Road

If you are in the Elgin, IL to Aurora, IL corridor you might see our new bus signs.  Do you need more information?

Career Search Action Plan

Tweetchat today in #careerchat was on your Career Search Action Plan

Here are some of the highlights -
What are the main components of a career action plan?

• Where you are, where you want to be and the plan is how you are going to get there
• Plan should be broken up into time frames - 3 months, 6 months, 1 year 5 year etc.
• A start point and an end point. Know how you will start and have a reachable goal in mind, with room to adjust.
• As with any plan - C.A.P. must be SMART - specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely
• An interim step... figure out what you want, then make SURE that is REALLY what you want. Volunteer, Intern, job shadow.
• I like looking at LI profiles of people who do what I want to do. Great info on how to get there.

How do you get started on putting together an action plan?

• assess skills, find ones needed, how to obtain the new skills, how to market yourself once you have the new skills
• You might want to use sites like the @Vault or @glassdoordotcom to help you research
• Make 3 column list of jobs that interest u, traits/skills nec., & how u will acquire those skills.
• Prepare Short term and Long term GOALS 5. Prepare action plan to sort the achievable
• Conduct info meetings with colleagues and referrals of people who have the job you are after. Learn how they got there! 
• Your HR Department may be a resource for career plan help, especially if you would  like to stay with your existing company
• Studies show if you articulate it (tell someone) your goals, you're MUCH more likely to do it.

When do you need to adjust/revisit your action plan?

• You should look over it often, even it's just quarterly. If you have gone astray, it's time to kick it back into motion.
• whenever you attain an original goal, you need to reevaluate, you need an if/then philosophy
• If something isn't working or you found a new direction
• Know your PERFORMANCE EVALUATION system-very important thing to do to keep track of career action plan as an employee
• If you find yourself dreading work more than loving it, time to re-evaluate
• Don't wait until you've been laid off or are in a tough spot to start thinking about your plan, it'll be too late
• Career action plans must be PROACTIVE not REACTIVE
• Do you stick to the same profession or change completely? yes, if there is growth potential, if not change!
• Have you written your career plan or is it all in your head?

If you are working on your career plan, you can use http://www.illinoisworknet.com/vos_portal/residents/en/Prepare/ as a resource to help you in the planning and assessment process.