Finding Work in Tough Times: Communications

Earlier in this series on finding work in tough times, we examined strategy, infrastructure and marketing. In this part we examine communications — written, telephone, digital and face-to-face.

Even in tough times, the goal is to find a job that is the best fit you can find within the time you can afford to keep looking. To do that, you must let prospective employers know what they need to know, and you must learn from them what you need to know. Here are some tips for doing just that.

Polish your phone interview skills

Phone interviews are more common now because employers have so many candidates to choose from. Practice answering questions, record yourself, and listen to the recording. If the interviewer isn't a prospective supervisor or co-worker, fret not about the interviewer's manner or style. Reflect on the interview afterwards. What did you learn? Get tips from the Web.

Polish your in-person interview skills

Convince the interviewer that you're able and likable. Practicing and reviewing video are very helpful, but preparing responses for anticipated topics is essential. Get tips for enhancing performance in face-to-face interviews.

Have a dynamite resume

Customize your resume to every opportunity. Promote your assets, but don't try to defend liabilities. Get tips for resume writing.

Prepare for interviews

Most people peruse a company's Web site before interviewing, and some even read relevant news stories, but that's just a start. When preparing, use Web search or business and social networking sites to find whatever you can about the people who will be interviewing you. They'll be doing the same about you.

Clean up your social or business networking act

Get a professional-sounding email address: Abraham.Lincoln[at]gmail.com, not HonestAbe271[at]gmail.com. If you already have social or business networking accounts in your name, clean them up to make them professional. Move any unprofessional content behind the "curtain" if there is one, or move it to another, more personal account.

Clean up your email act

If you've Customize your resume to
every opportunity. Promote
your assets, but don't
try to defend liabilities.been using a personal email address to contribute personal material to publicly visible Internet discussions, get a new address for job search purposes — something of the form <FirstName>.<LastName>[at]DomainName.com. This might be difficult if you have a common name, but try to avoid cuteness and numbers.

Use email signatures to state your value proposition

Use your email signature to broadcast your value proposition. Beyond your contact information, add a line or two about your assets. Have a signature on all devices from which you send mail. Consider having different email signatures for different situations.

During the mutual explorations that lead to the offer decision, instead of communicating your needs, communicate what you have to offer, and try to determine what they have to offer. The time for negotiating arrives when the offer arrives. Trying to negotiate before that — about duties or compensation or almost anything else — makes any offer less likely. First in this series   Top    Next Issue

Love the work but not the job? Bad boss, long commute, troubling ethical questions, hateful colleague? This ebook looks at what we can do to get more out of life at work. It helps you get moving again! Read Go For It! Sometimes It's Easier If You Run, filled with tips and techniques for putting zing into your work life. Order Now!

For more on finding work in tough times, see "Finding Work in Tough Times: Strategy," Point Lookout for July 8, 2009; "Finding Work in Tough Times: Infrastructure," Point Lookout for July 15, 2009; and "Finding Work in Tough Times: Marketing," Point Lookout for July 22, 2009.

Your comments are welcome

About Point Lookout

Thank you for reading this article. I hope you enjoyed it and found it useful, and that you'll consider recommending it to a friend.

Point Lookout is a free weekly email newsletter. Browse the archive of past issues. Subscribe for free.

Support Point Lookout by joining the Friends of Point Lookout, as an individual or as an organization.

Do you face a complex interpersonal situation? Send it in, anonymously if you like, and I'll give you my two cents.

Related articles

More articles on Personal, Team, and Organizational Effectiveness:

Coaching and Haircuts

Lifelong learners use a variety of approaches, usually relying heavily on reading. Reading works well for some ideas and techniques, especially for those with limited emotional content. For adding other skills and perceptions, consider a personal coach.

Workplace Myths: Motivating People

Up and down the org chart, you can find bits of business wisdom about motivating people. We generally believe these theories without question. How many of them are true? How many are myths? What are some of these myths and why do they persist?

How to Reject Expert Opinion: II

When groups of decision-makers confront complex problems, and they receive opinions from recognized experts, those opinions sometimes conflict with the group's own preferences. What tactics do groups use to reject the opinions of people with relevant expertise?

Hill Climbing and Its Limitations

Finding a better solution by making small adjustments to your current solution is usually a good idea. The key word is "usually."

Risk Creep: II

When risk events occur, and they're of a kind we never considered before, it's possible that we've somehow invited those risks without realizing we have. This is one way for risk to creep into our efforts. Here's Part II of an exploration of risk creep.

See also Personal, Team, and Organizational Effectiveness for more related articles.

Forthcoming issues of Point Lookout

Coming April 21: Choice-Supportive Bias

Choice-supportive bias is a cognitive bias that causes us to evaluate our past choices as more fitting than they actually were. The erroneous judgments it produces can be especially costly to organizations interested in improving decision processes. Available here and by RSS on April 21.

And on April 28: The Self-Explanation Effect

In the learning context, self-explanation is the act of explaining to oneself what one is learning. Self-explanation has been shown to increase the rate of acquiring mastery. The mystery is why we don't structure knowledge work to exploit this phenomenon. Available here and by RSS on April 28.

Coaching services

I offer email and telephone coaching at both corporate and individual rates. Contact Rick for details at rbrenGBFYqdeDxZESDSsjner@ChacmtFQZGrwOdySPdSsoCanyon.com or (650) 787-6475, or toll-free in the continental US at (866) 378-5470.

Get the ebook!

Past issues of Point Lookout are available in six ebooks:

• Get 2001-2 in Geese Don't Land on Twigs (PDF, )
• Get 2003-4 in Why Dogs Wag (PDF, )
• Get 2005-6 in Loopy Things We Do (PDF, )
• Get 2007-8 in Things We Believe That Maybe Aren't So True (PDF, )
• Get 2009-10 in The Questions Not Asked (PDF, )
• Get all of the first twelve years (2001-2012) in The Collected Issues of Point Lookout (PDF, )

Are you a writer, editor or publisher on deadline? Are you looking for an article that will get people talking and get compliments flying your way? You can have 500-1000 words in your inbox in one hour. License any article from this Web site. More info

Public seminars

The Power Affect: How We Express Our Personal Power

Many people who possess real organizational power have a characteristic demeanor. It's the way they project their presence. I call this the power affect. Some people — call them power pretenders — adopt the power affect well before they attain significant organizational power. Unfortunately for their colleagues, and for their organizations, power pretenders can attain organizational power out of proportion to their merit or abilities. Understanding the power affect is therefore important for anyone who aims to attain power, or anyone who works with power pretenders. Read more about this program.

• A recording of a program presented June 29, 2017, Monthly Webinar, sponsored by Technobility Webinar Series. PMI members can earn 1.0 Category 'A' PDU by viewing this program. View this program now.
   
• A recording of a program presented June 29, 2017, Monthly Webinar, sponsored by Technobility Webinar Series. PMI members can earn 1.0 Category 'A' PDU by viewing this program. View this program now.
   

Bullet Points: Mastery or Madness?

Decision-makers in modern organizations commonly demand briefings in the form of bullet points or a series of series of bullet points. But this form of presentation has limited value for complex decisions. We need something more. We actually need to think. Briefers who combine the bullet-point format with a variety of persuasion techniques can mislead decision-makers, guiding them into making poor decisions. Read more about this program.

• A recording of a program presented June 24, 2020, Monthly Webinar, sponsored by Technobility Webinar Series. PMI members can earn 1.0 Category 'A' PDU by viewing this program. View this program now.
   
• A recording of a program presented June 24, 2020, Monthly Webinar, sponsored by Technobility Webinar Series. PMI members can earn 1.0 Category 'A' PDU by viewing this program. View this program now.