Experiential Learning for New Emergency Managers

Valerie Lucus has a blog posting on my recent article in Emergency Management Magazine about Cultivating Emergency Managers.

In it she shares her experience with one intern who worked for her for a summer. A great example of what we can accomplish when we work together, student and practitioner, to make for learning experiences that can last a lifetime.

Way to go Valerie!

Quote of the Week

Typically I only do a quote of the week at my other blog, www.disaster-zone.com but then I came across the following that fit well with the topic of jobs.

"The closest a person ever comes to perfection is when they fill out a job application form." Stanley J. Randall The resume and the job application are the places to put forward the best you have to offer. These are also the places to be honest with yourself and with others.

I'm a big believer in citing your accomplishments. If you are a recent graduate, then it is your education. Later in your career what you have done in your work life will become much more important than your education.

Unfortunately there are still unscrupulous people who will lie on their resume. At my current job the HR department has an outside firm check all the references and the educational history.

So be "perfect" but perfect in what you have accomplished, not what you wished you had accomplished.

Twitter for Jobs

Back 20 years ago when I was transitioning out of the Army and into the civilian workforce the research aspect of job hunting was something I emphasized. Today that aspect of the job search is so much easier with the Internet.

Another job search arrow in the search quiver of today is Twitter. Check out Eleven Twitter Tips--Job Search in 140 Characters

Great tools if you use them!

Who You Are Matters

"85% of your workplace success is due to your personal skills." Arden Clise

I ran across this quote this morning in the Puget Sound Business Journal. Since I did over 60 interviews with people earlier this week--this message rang loud and clear for me.

Yes, you need to meet minimum qualifications, but people hire people they like. You need to let your personality shine through in a job interview. Hiding behind a mask of seriousness and no emotion will typically doom your interview (unless of course you are an engineer being interviewed by other engineers).

Maybe who you are does not match the needs or the personality of the organization. So be it!

Southwest Airlines hires for personality as the major component of their interview process. Everything else can be trained. Which is not a bad way to think about the team you are trying to build.

If you have been looking, looking, and looking for work--do not despair. My guess is that things will pick up again later in 2010. Remember that you can't catch any fish if you don't have lines in the water, so keep searching, applying, and fine tuning the resume for each position.

And, smile during your interviews!

Job Interviewing Tips

Today I participated in seven job interviews, and in the next five days I'll do 65 more. Here are a few interview tips:

• Arrive in plenty of time to be prepared and on time for the interview. There is nothing wrong with being 30 minutes early. Park somewhere near the interview location if you want to be sure not to be late.
• Smile during the interview and let your personality show. No one wants to hire a grump.
• Don't cross your arms during the interview--it is bad body language.
• Watch what you do with your hands. Being expressive with them is fine, but don't fidget with your ID card, play with your hair, etc.
• Short concise answers are best. Plan on a one to two minute response per question.
• Practice, practice, practice before the interview. There are common questions you should be prepared to respond to.
• Have a few good questions about the job or the organization to ask at the end of the session.

There are of course hundreds more tips that could be added--but these came off the top of my head for what I experienced today.

Dancing with the Stars -- and Getting Hired

Looking for a job is a full time job in itself. Reading books on job hunting, fine tuning your resume for different jobs can keep you busy along with networking. Remember that you can learn a lot from the most unusual places--watching Dancing with the Stars being one of them.

Here are some lessons to be learned:

• It is not always the most talented person that gets hired. Donnie Osmond while good was not the acknowledged leader on the show. Mya had strutted her stuff all season with higher scores. If you are the "expert" it doesn't guarantee you that you will be hired. There are other factors at work. Donnie won!
  
• Like-ability is a huge factor in being selected. Mya had the raw talent and the expertise, but Donnie showed he wanted to win, was excited about the possibility of winning and never gave up. He was persistent. Like-ability also won over talent when Kelly was selected over the more talented swimsuit model. Smile during your interview and show that you have a personality. Only engineers and scientists get hired "just for their expertise."
  
• At one point in the show series Donnie admitted that he was not having fun anymore on the show. Instead of quitting and just getting by, he dug down deep within himself and willed what I call "false enthusiasm" to get through the tough spots before rebounding later in the series. Some days you just have to pick yourself up and be self-motivated.
  
• Mya and her partner had a discussion before the finale on the show about what routine to do. She wanted to "go for it" going all out and doing something that had never been done before. Her partner convinced her to play it safe and do a Broadway Tune. Her dancing was good, but the judges and the public where disappointed in the fact that her dancing was good, but nothing special. They expected more. Donnie on the other had a great routine--going all out. Even Kelly who came in at 3rd place did not hold back and did a routine that was more difficult than her talent level. But she went for it! Lesson: Don't hold back, go for it, don't leave anything on the floor.
  

Volunteer for Committees and Conferences

If you are looking for experiences and the ability to meet people and expand your network of people you know--volunteer to help with a professional organization's committees.

That is the easy part. The hard part will be participating and making a positive contribution to the group's efforts. Do the dirty jobs no one wants to do to start out. Be dependable and do what you say you are going to do. The worst thing that could happen is to get a bad reputation out of your volunteer efforts.

Hopefully your work will be noticed and it will provide a positive reference for when it comes time to have people refer you to jobs in the profession.

College or Technical College?

Just in the past few weeks it has been reinforced for me how important a college degree is to finding employment. Many classes of jobs that only required a high school degree in years past require an AA now, and if your goal is a supervisory position--in many cases you will need a four year degree.

Governing Magazine had a column on What Kind of Training Leads to 21st-Century Jobs?

One of the messages given there is the importance of technical training that normally only comes from community colleges and technical schools. While we are transitioning from a manufacturing economy to a service industry based society we still need technicians who understand the systems being designed for the 21st century.

Tweet Your Way to a Job

Besides blogging I'm also on Twitter. My blog postings are automatically carried there--but, they are delayed in being posted.

I came across two different Twitter sites for you to check out.

• Tweetajob
• TwitterJobSearch

Check them out to help broaden your job search efforts.

Follow-up

This past weekend I asked an owner of an accounting firm what job tip he would recommend. He said, "Follow-up." People are busy and they have a lot to do with their regular work. Sometimes the hiring process gets stalled for no good reason.

Bill suggested the job candidate follow-up with the firm that is doing the hiring.

Personally I favor handwritten notes following an interview or perhaps a more formal letter is appropriate. It is an easy way to set yourself apart from the other candidates.

Who Gets Hired?

It would be great if life were fair. Then the most deserving, most talented, best fit person for the job would be the successful candidate. Life is not fair!

This is both bad and good news. It means that you can beat out the best candidate by:

• Being more engaging
• Networking more
• Being persistent in your job search
• Working at getting a job vs. just sending out resumes
• Being enthusiastic about the job
• Knowing more about the company/organization then the other guy
• The list can go on!
  

Life is not fair--use it to your advantage. Out hustle the other candidates!

August 16-Job Hunting Tip of the Week

Build Your Network with Informational Interviews: It may be that you don’t know anyone in the discipline or profession that you are seeking to enter. One way to build that network and make connections with people in the business is to conduct informational interviews with key people working in the field.

In doing this the telephone is your friend. Ring them up and in a short (under 30 seconds) make your pitch for wanting to meet with them.

SAMPLE: Hello, this is Eric Holdeman, I’m completing my military service and I am in the process of investigating the field of emergency management as a future career path. Would you be available for a 20-30 minute informational interview next ________ at _______ o’clock?

Even better is to say the name of someone who referred you to the person. But, that is a subject for another future “Tip of the Week.”

Job Hunting is a Person to Person Business

In this Internet age of Monster.com and web resumes the people part of getting hired can get lost in the hubbub of sending out resumes. Your end goal is to be able to meet people face to face. Sometimes the best way to do that is to hand deliver your resume to the potential employer so that they can check you out as a person, and just not a piece of paper.

References

References are part of any normal hiring process. It is good to line yours up in advance of a potential employers request for references.

Be sure to ask your references if they will "be your reference." I have had a number of calls from employers doing a reference check and the person providing my name did not ask if I would be one for them.

When you do ask someone to be a reference for you be sure to ask, "Is there anything about my abilities, character, or personality that you think is a negative?" You might find it hard to ask that question, but it is better to know the answer up front, than not know what the reference is telling potential employers.

Job Hunting Tip

There are plenty of books on writing resumes. Now with on-line applications being so popular you have to be careful about gimmicks.

For me I like a functional resume. One that combines what you have done in the past by topics such as:

• Planning
• Organizing
• Collaboration
• Teamwork

All jobs have these types of elements. If you are a someone looking to change careers it is also the best way to show your transferable skills. Having a list of jobs that you performed and some scope description rounds out the resume, so people have a sense of how you gained the experience you are claiming.

Job Hunting Tip

The phone is your friend. Let your fingers do the walking. While it might feel scary calling someone who doesn't know you, how scary is being unemployed?

Most people like to help other people. Let them help you by calling them and making that connection. Networking and relationships is what it is all about.

Watch for more tips coming in the future.