Fantastic Ways To Screw Up A Job Interview

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Back in my recruiting days, I once had a hiring manager say to me about people he interviewed for jobs: "If it's not 'yes,' it's 'no.'"

In other words, unless the candidate made a truly great impression during the interview, they probably weren't getting the job. And trust me, it's really, really easy to introduce doubt about a candidate into the process. Managers are always looking for reasons to say 'no' - because it's a lot easier than taking a risk on somebody who's less than perfect. It's not fair, but it's reality. Here are some fantastic ways I've personally seen interviewees sabotage their chances.

• Showing up late.
   

• Leaving your cell phone on – and it rings during the interview. Extra points for stopping the interview to answer it.
   

• Checking your phone's messages during the interview.
   

• Being visibly sick during the interview. Seriously, reschedule the interview; you won't impress anyone with your dedication, and you may gross them out by coughing on them.
   

• Sending "thank you" notes afterward to some interviewers and not others.
   

• Asking no questions during the interview. You'll appear bored.
   

• Asking stupid questions. Yes, there is such a thing as a stupid question. Especially dull, obviously improvised questions which clearly illustrate you didn't prepare.
   

• Bringing up salary before they do.
   

• Swearing. This isn't limited to the 7 words you can't say on television. If you wouldn't say it in front of your sweet, old grandmother, don't say it in the interview.
   

• Not dressing up for the interview. Business casual usually applies after you've gotten the job.
   

• Taking bathroom breaks during the interview. Repeatedly.
   

• Calling the interviewer "dude."
   

• Behaving nicely to the hiring manager, and rude to Human Resources.
   

• Giving varying answers to different interviewers asking the same interview question. Trust me, they'll compare notes.
   

• Having bad breath. It's a bad idea to eat a tuna fish sandwich with onions just before your meeting. Oh, and remember to use deodorant, too.
   

• Hitting on an interviewer.
   

• Lying. Probing questions can flesh out dishonest information pretty quickly.
   

• Badmouthing your current or former employer.

I'm sure I'm missing a few beauties. Feel free to send me your favorite examples – if I get enough, I'll include them in a future article!

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Scott Singer is the President and Founder of Insider Career Strategies Resume Writing & Career Coaching, a firm dedicated to guiding job seekers and companies through the job search and hiring process. Insider Career Strategies provides resume writing, LinkedIn profile development, and career coaching services, including a free resume review. You can email Scott Singer at scott.singer@insidercs.com, or via the website, www.insidercs.com.

7 Job Search Strategies for Military Veterans Transitioning to the Civilian Sector

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The transition for members of the armed forces ending their service can be challenging, and the job search has its own unique challenges. Here are seven job search strategies for military veterans making a move to the civilian sector after their enlistment.

1. Minimize the military speak. Members of the armed services have their own lingo when describing their work. In the United States, approximately 7.3% of all living Americans served in the military; conversely, 92.7% of all living Americans spent zero time in the service. So when writing your resume or in an interview, try to remember that unless you're applying for a job at an organization whose primary customer is the military, it's unlikely the recruiter or hiring manager is going to understand the military terminology.
    

2. Translate your work into readily understandable tasks and responsibilities. When building your resume, think about the elements of your work which can be readily understood by an employer. When describing the work you did on preparing a unit for deployment overseas, for example, it can be beneficial to break down your leadership on specific tasks you performed in the areas of logistics, project management, human resources, and so forth. Or maybe you worked on preparing the technology for that same deployment – detail the types of networks you built, listing specific technologies. These will enhance the readability of the resume and better highlight your skills, and the additional keywords will improve your chances of making it through the employer's applicant tracking system.
    

3. Focus on your leadership skills. There's a significant difference between giving orders and leading. Companies are getting flatter, meaning fewer levels of management and less clear lines of reporting. Employers generally want to hire individuals who have a demonstrated ability to inspire and influence, as well as manage day-to-day tasks. What you've managed is less important than how you've managed, and examples of how you built consensus and worked across organizational lines to achieve results will showcase your ability to thrive in complex environments.
    

4. Readjust your mindset. I'm going to let my friend A.J. Yolofsky, an attorney who made the adjustment from life in the Marine Corps, explain his transition experience. "The transition from military to civilian can be challenging because we military members are used to a different organizational structure and culture than necessarily exists in the civilian world. The military’s hierarchical structure provides a fallback method of getting things done – someone more senior can always “order” a junior to do X. On the civilian side, rank or seniority are sometimes held by people with no formal title or who are technically “junior” in the organization (e.g. executive assistants or other support personnel.) Learning civilian organizational behavior theory can be a way to differentiate yourself from other former military candidates. Some books that are helpful for this are "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People," by Stephen Covey; "How to Win Friends and Influence People," by Dale Carnegie; and "The Trusted Advisor," by David Maister. All are on my shelf and have helped me make the transition from Marine to civilian."
    

5. Get to know the job boards. In addition to mainstream job boards such as Monster, CareerBuilder, Indeed, LinkedIn, Glassdoor, and others, there are boards directed  at military veterans such as VetJobs and RecruitMilitary. Many employers specifically want vets due to their connection to the defense industry, or for their work ethic – you'll find them here.
    

6. Remind employers that it can be cost effective to hire you. First, there's a final move benefit which the U.S. military retirees can use to relocate for free anywhere within the United States upon retirement, which can mitigate an employer's concerns about incurring substantial cost to move you (corporate moves can be very expensive). Likewise, employers may be eligible for tax credits for hiring veterans under certain circumstances.
    

7. Know your rights. In the United States, U.S. military veterans enjoy several protections against employment discrimination, including under the the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA). A good employment attorney can help you understand your rights under these laws and others.

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Scott Singer is the President and Founder of Insider Career Strategies Resume Writing & Career Coaching, a firm dedicated to guiding job seekers and companies through the job search and hiring process. Insider Career Strategies provides resume writing, LinkedIn profile development, and career coaching services, including a free resume review. You can email Scott Singer at scott.singer@insidercs.com, or via the website, www.insidercs.com.

Want To Get Promoted At Work? 7 Factors Impacting Your Chances

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When managers choose who to promote into an open position, it isn't always cut and dry – in fact, the decision can get quite complex and involves a great deal more than how hard you worked over the past year. Here are seven considerations leaders tangle with when deciding who'd be the best candidate to take over the bigger office.

1. History of job performance and leadership. Promoting an employee can be a risky for the organization, and for the hiring manager who stakes his or her reputation on your success. A strong track record of previous promotions, solid-to-excellent end of year appraisals, and consistently outstanding performance metrics will eliminate doubts that you intend to work hard to learn and succeed in your the newly elevated responsibilities.
    
2. Mastery of the essential skills. This can include extensive knowledge of the technical aspects of the people you'd be managing. But not always. This can also refer to the intangibles - leadership skills, business acumen, financial knowledge, personal accountability, likeability, and the such. Keep in mind, it would be impossible at large organizations for CEOs to haven't performed each function under their purview before getting the top job – what matters is their ability to set strategy and to motivate, lead, and derive performance from the organization. Remember to work on developing your soft skills in additional to your technical skills.
    
3. Perception of readiness. It's important to convey a compelling vision of your success in the new role. If the organization doesn't think you're ready to take on more responsibility, they will most certainly not promote you. Scheduling conversations with your manager to determine what skills you need to get to the next level can help, as can building a development plan and having regular career "check-ins" to discuss your progress.
    
4. Ambition. This goes beyond working harder and longer, which is generally a good idea for aspiring leaders. Make abundantly clear to your manager that you want to be promoted, and that you wish to be considered for more challenging roles. Many individuals get a promotion because they explicitly ask for the job. Managers may overlook the employee who doesn't explicitly ask for a promotion out of concern that they wouldn't want the extra responsibility and related baggage.
    
5. Timing and Urgency. If a position is open, it's a critical function, and the organization will experience a great deal of pain if nobody is in the role, the executive team is going to work quickly to plug the hole. If you have the right skills at the moment they need them, you could be the solution to their problem.
    
6. Internal politics. Your boss may love you and think you'd be ideal for the job, but there are often other factors at play. Perhaps there are other, more senior members of the team who would bristle at having you as their manager. Maybe his boss doesn't like you, or would rather hire the son of his golfing buddy.
    
7. How similar promotions have been handled in the past. Past trends can be strong predictors. What if the last four people to be promoted had six years of experience, but you only have three years of tenure? Or, everyone else who has held the role was a finance major ( you studied music)? While it's not impossible to change perceptions such as these, it can be a challenge.

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Scott Singer is the President and Founder of Insider Career Strategies Resume Writing & Career Coaching, a firm dedicated to guiding job seekers and companies through the job search and hiring process. Insider Career Strategies provides resume writing, LinkedIn profile development, and career coaching services, including a free resume review. You can email Scott Singer at scott.singer@insidercs.com, or via the website, www.insidercs.com.