Martin Buckland Speaks

866-773-7863 | 905-825-0490 | UK +44 02030049990

Nix the Negativity

by Leave a Comment

Too many people have negativity about themselves in their job search. They have negativity about their spectacles, job changes, age, the colour of their hair, and more. Most of the negativity I hear is regarding signs of a client’s age…not age discrimination from recruiters or hiring influencers, but self-doubt and negativity from my clients!

Nix the NegativityI have a client who, when he first came to me, left the dates off his 3 degrees and omitted other information from his resume because he was so worried that his age was a barrier to the job he wanted. He is technically savvy, an accomplished man, and a great candidate; he just could not get past his own fears about his age to market himself effectively, and wasn’t generating the interest. Negativity really does come through over the phone, in a resume, and during an interview. No one is eager to hire a candidate who shows signs of insecurity, depression, or a negative mindset. My advice? If he could cast that negativity aside and rebrand himself positively, he would be far more successful! He agreed to try it.

This same client, despite being 55+, has put in the work and turned his insecurities about age into a focus on the value he adds to any organization with skills, maturity, and leadership experience. He emphasizes this positive spin on his age on both his resume and in interviews. He now has multiple offers!

Are you having trouble with your own negativity in your job search? Glasses aren’t aging or a hiring turn-off, as long as they aren’t Elton John glasses. Age isn’t a barrier to a great job: Look, a little “snow on the roof” or white hair isn’t a business barrier, no one thinks Richard Branson is losing his business savvy as he ages! Baldness isn’t a barrier either, some of the most powerful men in business are balding, such as Amazon.com founder and CEO Jeff Bezos.

In today’s solid economy, you don’t have to hide your true self to get a job. In any economy, a positive, enthusiastic candidate is far more attractive than an insecure, “Negative Nellie”. Age is just another number, and experience, maturity, and leadership expertise add value to any organization. Emphasize your value, not your age. Wear your glasses, polish your bald spot, and turn your age into a reason why hiring influencers should make you a great offer!

Gone in 10 Seconds! Make a great first impression

by Leave a Comment

make a great first impressionMovie star car thieves may steal fabulous cars in 60 seconds, but your chance to make a great first impression is gone in 10 seconds! So, it’s important to plan ahead to deliver all the elements of a great first impression in job interviews and at networking events; visual, auditory, tactile, and professional elements are key.

Visual elements

Dress up. You don’t need to wear a tux to most networking events or interviews, but you should dress for the position you’re seeking. A good suit is always appropriate, as even in casual workplace environments, a suit says you’re fully engaged and serious about your presentation. A clean-shaven face, neatly groomed hair, and simple jewelry choices are best.

Smile. A sincere smile is always a great accessory, making people feel welcome to the conversation.

Maintain eye contact. If you’re speaking to a group or interviewing with multiple hiring influencers, take a few beats to make eye contact with everyone while you’re speaking. Long enough to identify eye color is enough time to establish a connection.

Auditory elements

Speak up. Speak clearly and confidently, without yelling. Practice giving answers without uptalking, vocal fry, or other common mannerisms that make you seem uninterested or unsure of yourself. Don’t rush your answers.

Think. Take a moment to think of an answer before you begin. This prevents awkward pauses once you have begun your answer.

Listen. Communication is two-way, so listening attentively is as important as being well-spoken.

Tactile elements

Shake hands. Use the proper handshake for your region. There are different styles preferred globally, so practice the handshake preferred in the part of the world where you find yourself.

Maintain an appropriate distance. Along with the handshake, there are regional preferences in the amount of personal space. Americans and Canadians prefer more personal space than the Japanese, for instance.

Professional elements

Prepare. Have your elevator pitch or group introduction ready, and make sure you arrive with an extra copy of your resume and cover letter just in case it’s needed. Know your own resume, so you don’t stumble over facts that are about you!

Millennials Seeking Purpose

by Leave a Comment

Millennials have begun having an effect on the business world, and one of the most interesting is with a dedicated focus on finding a social purpose in their work. While many executives are concentrating on P&L statements, their younger employees are evaluating their jobs and their employers based on meaning as well as financial health and stability.Millennials Seeking Purpose

This idea that companies could serve a social purpose, or influence meaningful change while they make a profit is newer, and sometimes overlooked by those who also answer to shareholders. But the business world is learning that if you want to hire and retain Millennials, a focus on social purpose is a distinction that can add longevity, loyalty, and satisfaction for your employees, all of which does save your organization money.

Millennial or not, if it’s important to you as a job-seeker, how can you identify a company that meets this need? A little research or a few questions at the end of your interview can show you if the employer is a good fit with your values. Remember, not all organizations approach this idea the same way:

Some organizations are treating social purpose as a benefit. Do you love to volunteer with animal rescue organizations, or are you working to elect a candidate to political office? There are a growing number of companies offering time to volunteer in the charity of your choice, just as they offer sick days. You choose your own purpose, and your employer supports that choice by giving you paid time, or permission to take unpaid leave, to do that work. Smaller corporations may offer access to CSAs or match annual donations up to a certain amount.

Employers are choosing a signature charity or set of charities. They then include fundraising, volunteer days, or other “good works” to benefit that charity to be a part of their corporate culture and work life. Other employers allow a committee of employees and management to guide company donations of funds, time, or in-kind donations…or guide the efforts to fold social purpose into business (see below).

A surprising number of companies are folding social purpose into everyday business. These organizations are including thoughtful, social purpose into the way they run. Using Fair Trade or sustainably harvested raw product, committing to choose third-world suppliers who pay a certain wage or who have safety protocols in place, or manage logistics in an eco-friendly manner.

Prepare Your Social Media for Your Job Search

by Leave a Comment

Chances are, during a job search, you will be searched. Hiring influencers look online to get a feel for who you are and to see your personal branding to learn more about you. Yes, you DO have a personal brand, even if you don’t put energy into managing it.

Prepare Your Social Media for Your Job SearchSo how should you prepare your social media for a job search? Immediately, focus on the short-term urgent tasks: Make sure your information matches, use keywords across platforms, develop your profile fully, go public so you’re easily searchable, and link your accounts. In the long term: Update regularly, interact with your contacts, and join groups that feed into your brand.

Immediate tasks

Make sure they match. Your resume and social media profiles should match perfectly. Discrepancies may be accidental, but they cause hiring influencers to question your accuracy (if not your honesty).

Professional branding. Use the same astute business acumen in your own career management that you use for your company’s benefit. Sell yourself consistently across platforms. Use the same keywords and language from resume to social media and even in your applications. Make it easy to understand the message you are sending about your skills, experience, and value.

Fill out your profile. I see so many clients who have only partially filled out their LinkedIn profiles. This and other social media are places where hiring influencers are actively searching for candidates! Why would you make it harder for them to find you and learn about you?

Go public. Make sure your information is available to be searched. As with your profile, you WANT to be noticed and found by hiring influencers holding the key to your dream job. While your search is active, make your contact information available, too.

Link up. Link your social media accounts so that executive recruiters and other hiring influencers can find you easily.

Maintenance tasks

Update schedule. Set an update schedule so that you can work on the social media side of your personal brand regularly. This way, all of your professional achievements are available to hiring influencers and potential employers.

Interact. Share links and ideas that are relevant to your industry to establish a pattern of expertise and in-depth knowledge. Like and share posts from other industry experts and from your network contacts to strengthen your connections.

Join. Join groups relating to your career, your industry, and your interests so that you are even more visible online.

Top 4 Myths About Unemployment

by Leave a Comment

It feels terrible to lose your job, no matter how it happens. It used to be that unemployment was shameful; it was a black mark on your record. In today’s job market, you’re likely to experience that “pink slip” moment multiple times over your career. Often, it says nothing about you as a professional. Your company may choose to downsize your department, shift focus, or move their facilities to take advantage of a city offering a more favourable tax rate. So, it’s wise to start changing your mindset about what unemployment says about you. This helps you adapt more easily and more confidently to those sudden changes that will come to all of us.

Here are the top 4 myths about unemployment:

  1. It’s all about performance. Many of my clients who find themselves in the job market again feel ashamed, as though they failed. In this age of corporate fluidity, there are dozens of factors that affect lay-offs. Date of hire, pay band, specialty, location, and even company politics can influence the way in which an organization downsizes. Shake off the shame, and recognize that pink slips can come to even the most effective and efficient among us.
  2. Top 4 Myths About UnemploymentSearch time equals value. You’ll hear this one again and again, but long job searches don’t mean a candidate has less value. Different industries and different markets mean that the same communications executive might be snapped up in days in Toronto, weeks in Seattle, and placement might take a few months in Vancouver. Do your best to update and improve your skills and experience throughout your career, but don’t equate the length of the search with your value as a professional. It’s a wise candidate who takes the time to find the right fit!
  3. Finding a job is finding a job. From resumes to networking, the job market changes quickly and moves with updates to technology and best practices all the time. If you haven’t been unemployed in a few years, it’s a good idea to consult a Professional Resume Writer and a Career Coach to get current on resume formats, job search tips, and even the latest interview expectations. A pro can help you make sure your resume is able to be scanned, help you get your social media in order, and prepare you for those behavioural questions that hiring influencers love.

It’s too late to network. It may feel like the beginning of your job search is way too late to build a network from scratch, but since networking is so vital, it’s never too late to start. Reach out to your former colleagues, bosses, instructors, and use your alumni directory and social media to help you connect with people you already know. Attend industry networking events, too, as the contacts you make there have current local connections.  Let them know you’re searching, and ask for referrals or a heads-up about open positions.

Shhh! Whisper Your Unemployment on LinkedIn

by Leave a Comment

Whisper Your Unemployment on LinkedInIf you’ve left your most recent position or been downsized, it might seem like announcing your unemployed status on LinkedIn would be an obvious first step. Perhaps it shouldn’t be. What you do and don’t do on LinkedIn can hurt your job search. Here are a couple of sound reasons to whisper rather than shout your lack of employment on LinkedIn.

LinkedIn’s search algorithms penalize the unemployed. In simple English, this means that when hiring influencers search for candidates on LinkedIn, your name will rank lower in the search results if you leave your current position blank or choose to put “unemployed” as their current position or their current organization. I cannot recommend leaving a past employer in the current space, as hiring influencers view false information very unfavorably.

Highlighting unemployment places a reader’s focus on your status, not you. When you are trying to attract the attention of recruiters and HR professionals, you want to sell them on your skills and experience. You don’t want the focus to be on your availability, or cause too much interest in why you’re unemployed. You want to be seen first and foremost as a desirable candidate.

So, with two great reasons to whisper rather than shout about your unemployment, how do you handle your LinkedIn profile around the issue? Give a descriptive of your ideal role in the headline field, making sure it’s a title you are qualified to hold and select the appropriate industry. For example, here are two headline options for a real estate development executive:

Senior Level Real Estate Development Leader – All Real Estate Classes

or

Creative Deal Maker – All Real Estate Classes

You can indicate your availability on LinkedIn without highlighting your unemployment. Make sure your profile is up to date showing the end of your last position, and customized to boost your google ranking and filled with quantifiable achievements, not a laundry list of duties and responsibilities. The key is to shine the spotlight on your skills  experience and value-add first, then whisper or suggest your job search in your Summary section, instead of shouting it out and drawing attention to your unemployment as the most important fact about you at the top of your profile.

Does Your Body Speak with Confidence?

by Leave a Comment

does our body say confident?I recently read a BusinessInsider.com article that made me think of my clients when they’re preparing for interviews. They need to project confidence in themselves and their skills. Part of that confidence is about posture and body language.

If you want your body to speak confidently about you as a job candidate, or in any work environment, here’s some tips we’ve touched on before, and a few new ones!

  1. Walk tall. When you walk into a place of business, walk at a measured pace with your head up and shoulders back. Even if you need to approach an information desk or directory to find the office you’re going to, approach with confidence. You belong in this space; you are going to be a great fit here!
  2. Give a great shake. Your handshake says so much about you. A brief, firm handshake is appropriate in North America. Job seeking internationally? Brush up on the right handshake in other cultures.
  3. Perfect posture. Your mother was right, sitting up straight does indicate that you are interested and engaged. Slouching, slumping, or leaning doesn’t say good things. Try not to fidget. Occasional movement is fine, but try not to tap your feet or fingers, jam your hands in and out of your pockets, or wave wildly as you speak.
  4. It’s in the eyes. Maintain good eye contact with the person who is speaking to you. If you’re in a group interview setting, it becomes a little easier as your focus will change as different interviewers speak.
  5. Hands out. Keep your hands visible so it doesn’t look like you’re hiding something. Folded on the desk in front of you is fine. Practice in front of a mirror if you like, so you can see what looks best and feels the most comfortable. In doubt as to where to put your hands? Try subtly mirroring your interviewer.

Personal Branding for Introverts

by Leave a Comment

A recent Entrepreneur.com article on personal branding for introverts caught my eye. I do have a substantial number of introverted clients, and I know they struggle with networking and personal branding. Not only is the effort and exposure exhausting, but these clients often feel they are being boastful or obnoxious when they try to promote themselves and their expertise.

Here are a few of the ways you can promote your personal brand as an introvert, and for variations on the theme, do check out the original article:

  1. Share a few successes. Choose the three accomplishments you feel say the most about your value to an employer, team, or your colleagues. Mention them as part of your elevator pitch, your introduction of yourself, and during interviews or conversations with hiring influencers. Often, it’s easier for introverts to focus on a few strong successes rather than a long list.
  2. Share your ideas and solutions. Whether it’s on the job or at a networking event, it’s good to give first. People appreciate those who contribute, and it says something very positive about your teamwork skills…without having to mention them!
  3. Give your elevator pitch to the mirror, introduce yourself to your spouse, rehearse interview questions and answers aloud. The more comfortable you feel about what you’re saying, the less awkward you’ll feel. Practice gives you confidence.
  4. Find mentors. At your job and in network events, keep an eye out for someone with more experience who you feel you can like and respect. Make the effort to make a connection with them, and then continue to reach out in a way that’s comfortable. Email them once in a while, let them know of a job opening up that might fit their skills, take them out for lunch or coffee every few months. Even if you move on to another job or city, keep in touch. Someone who has a longstanding connection with you and can speak to your skills and experience is valuable. They can brag about you, so you don’t have to!
  5. Promote your brand online. Online interactions are often easier for introverts. Make your bigger effort online if that’s easier for you. You’ll still need to do some in-person networking, but your online reputation can lay the groundwork for you if you have established yourself as an expert in your field online.

5 Fast Tips on How to Become Visible to Executive Recruiters

by Leave a Comment

Here are 5 fast tips on how to become visible to Executive Recruiters  when you are searching for that next step on your career ladder!

  1. Keep your profiles current. Ensure that every social media platform has your current contact information and career information. If Executive Recruiters can’t find you to talk to you, you’ll never know they’re searching!
  2. EXECUTIVE RECRUITERSBecome active and professional on social media. Begin to offer fresh and professional content on LinkedIn, Twitter, and other social media platforms to become more visible. Offer something of value such as a solution to a common industry issue or a link to industry news.
  3. Attend and present at events. Local networking events are often sponsored by recruiters and local companies in your industry. Offer to present or speak at these events and Executive Recruiters will begin seeing your name as an industry expert.
  4. Never let an Executive Recruiter go away empty-handed. If you’re approached by an Executive Recruiter about a job that doesn’t suit your skills, or at a time when you aren’t seeking a new job, offer something of value. Make a referral, let them know about a rumour of layoffs, or introduce them to a possible candidate in person. Becoming known as someone who is always worth contacting ensures that Executive Recruiters don’t lose interest in you while you’re unavailable.
  5. Activate your network. Make sure your industry contacts know you’re looking for a new position. Ask them to actively refer you to Executive Recruiters. As in number 4, your network contacts are also looking for ways to be useful to hiring influencers…give them the chance to make a great referral and boost their own visibility to Executive Recruiters at the same time!

What Have You Done for Me Lately?

by Leave a Comment

Executive Recruiters are some of the busiest people I know, so if you’re interested in finding a new job or advancing your career, it’s wise to make it easy to notice you and wise to offer some help in return.

what have you done for me lately executive recruitersIt’s important to realize that recruiters earn their living from meeting the needs of their clients, the organizations with positions to fill. They don’t earn anything from a relationship with you unless you’re giving them information that makes their work easier and more profitable. So keep updating your public profiles and your resume, and keep reaching out to offer your valuable help to recruiters you know and those you wish to know!

Make yourself visible. Give an executive recruiter every opportunity to find you when they’re looking for a perfect candidate. Hiring influencers of all types are too busy to spend hours searching for you. How? Make sure your resume format works with the current scanning technology. Ensure that all your “buzzwords” such as skills, education, universities, etc. are clearly listed on your resume and on your LinkedIn profile. Polish and promote your personal brand on social media, and start networking both in person and online regularly.

Offer your help. If you have been placed in previous positions by Executive Recruiters, ensure their continuing interest in you by offering information that makes their jobs easier. Industry news, potential positions opening up in your organizations (or anywhere), and passing along potential candidates’ contact information is invaluable to these busy professionals. Offering this kind of information keeps you in the “valuable to know” category of their immense contact lists, which can keep you top-of-mind when a position opens up that’s just right for you.