Interviewing and Applying for Non-Academic Jobs

Presented by Karen M. Landolt December 4, 2013

Karen  M.  Landolt    •  Lecturer,  Business,  Government  and  Society,  McCombs  

•  18  years’  experience  in  organiza9onal  programming,  teaching,  and  advising  in  non-­‐profit,  legal,  and  academic  se@ngs.  

•  Previous  roles  at  UT  since  2004:  Director,  College  of  Natural  Sciences  Career  Design  Center,  Senior  Associate  Director  and  Adjunct  Lecturer  at  the  McCombs  School  of  Business  –  MBA,  BBA  

•  Prac?ced  IP  law  at  a  large  venture  capital/intellectual  property  firm.    Founding  partner  of  a  bou9que  business  &  IP  firm.    

           Cer9fied  Mediator  and  is  admiSed  to  the  MA  bar.      

•  Before  the  Bar:    Worked  in  the  non-­‐profit  arena  as  an  Emergency  Housing  Counselor  with  the  YWCA,  a  Development  Officer  with  St.  Vincent  de  Paul  Society,  and  as  a  Community  Organizer  with  the  Hunger  Ac9on  Network  of  New  York  State.  

•  Degrees:  Juris  Doctor  at  Northeastern  University  School  of  Law;    Bachelor  of  Arts  in  Government  from  The  University  of  Texas  at  Aus9n.  

Agenda •  Job Search Roadmap

–  Strategy – Materials –  Action

•  Behavioral Interviewing

•  Case Interviewing (if there is time/interest)

Non-Academic Job Search

Follow the Steps

1.  Identify Your Values (aka Career Exploration) 2.  Define Your Personal Brand 3.  Develop Your Pitch 4.  Create a Target List 5.  Connect to Your Network 6.  Polish Your Resume and Cover Letter 7.  Hone Your Interviewing Skills 8.  Rinse and Repeat!

Define  Your  Values  Appeal of city or town   Job status   Positive relationship with co-workers  

Benefit package   Learning potential   Positive relationship with supervisor  

Climate   Level of pressure on the job   Proximity to family  

Commuting time   Local arts, entertainment, cultural activities   Religion  

Company ethics   Location   Salary (current or future)  

Company image   Maintaining close friendships   Significant other's career  

Cost of living   Making new friends   Significant responsibility  

Creativity   Opportunity for advancement/mobility   Size of organization  

Flexible work hours   Opportunity to supervise others   Skill transferability  

Health/Fitness   Opportunity to work in teams   Travel  

Health/Life insurance   Opportunity to work with new people   Tuition assistance  

Independence   Overtime vs. no overtime   Vacation  

Industry growth   Participation in organized sports   Variety in work  

Job security   Pleasant surroundings/office space   Work that helps others/society  

Personal Brand

•  Brand provides the big picture – – Who you are and what you stand for

•  Conveys what makes you different •  How you are perceived by others

•  Results in: Your Pitch or Tagline

The Pitch

What you say when you talk about yourself

– Conveys who you are and what you’re looking for

– Gives a sense of your value and focus

Concise – 15 to 30 seconds is ideal

A good book on job search strategies.

Create a Target List of Employers •  Choose an industry

•  Identify a group of organizations (in the industry)

•  Specify geographic location

•  Size

•  Other factors you value

Connect to your Network

•  Networking is: –  Building relationships –  Maintaining relationships –  Accessing relationships

•  75% - 80% of people find their jobs through networking (internally and externally)

•  Essential job search information is transmitted (in both directions)

through personal networks

•  You can’t do it all on your own!

Polish Your Resume/Cover Letter

Resume  Tips  •  ALWAYS  tailor  to  the  job  

descrip9on  

•  Rank  bullets  in  order  of  importance  –  most  important  bullet  first    

•  Begin  with  powerful,    past  tense  verbs  –  Avoid  “par9cipated  in,”  “worked  with,”  “responsible  for,”  etc.    

•  Don’t  reuse  the  same  verbs  

Cover Letter: Purpose

•  Sell why you are the best fit for the job •  Preview of resume •  Tell your story •  Highlight broad, transferable skills/

experience •  Fill in obvious experience gaps •  Ask for the interview

Resources  for  Conver9ng  a  CV  to  a  Resume  •  UT  Liberal  Arts  Career  Services  (hSp://www.utexas.edu/cola/orgs/lacs/Students/Graduate-­‐Students/CV-­‐Cover-­‐LeSers.php)    

•  OWL  Purdue  Wri9ng  Lab  (hSp://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/719/01/)  

•  Chronicle  of  Higher  Educa9on  –  The  CV  Doctor  is  Back                    (hSp://chronicle.com/ar9cle/The-­‐CV-­‐Doctor-­‐Is-­‐Back-­‐/49086/)  

Resource for a Non-Academic Job Search

Behavioral Interviewing

Why it’s important

•  Almost always a part of the process

•  Past behavior predicts future behavior

•  Very few interviewers are trained; manage your stories and you control the interview

Walk Me Through Your Resume

Research/Professional Experience

Undergraduate Experience

PhD

YOU

Always be able to answer the 4 Whys?

§ Why  this  industry  /  func?on?  

§ Why  this  company?  

§ Why  this  posi?on?  

§ Why  YOU?  

Have you demonstrated your unique qualifications for the job?

The STAR Method

• What  was  the  context  or  situa9on  in  which  you  worked?  Situa9on  

• What  were  the  specific  challenges  for  the  project  or  situa9on?    Tasks  you  needed  to  accomplish?    Task  

• What  was  your  role?  • What  ac9ons  did  you  take  to  address  the  challenge  or  problem?  

Ac9on  

• What  happened  as  a  result  of  your  ac9ons?    Be  specific.  

• What  did  you  learn  from  the  results?  Result  

The STAR Method • What  was  the  project  or  situa9on  in  which  you  worked?  Situa9on  

• What  were  the  specific  challenges  for  the  project  or  situa9on?    Tasks  you  needed  to  accomplish?  

Task  

• What  was  your  role?  • What  ac?ons  did  you  take  to  address  the  challenge/problem?  

Ac9on  

• What  happened  as  a  result  of  your  ac?ons?  Be  specific.  

• What  did  you  learn  from  the  results?    Result  

Proven Practices •  Prepare your stories in advance to:

– Stay on topic and be succinct –  Include relevant details in your answer – Focus on what the employer values – Aim for 2 sentences max for the “situation”

•  Highlight your accomplishments to: –  Illustrate your fit with the job and employer – Demonstrate a proven track record – Show your skills, abilities, leadership, and

potential

Behavioral Interviewing: Grid Situa?on   Task     Ac?on   Result    

Ini9a9ve  

Leadership  

Cri9cal  Thinking  

Crea9vity/  Imagina9on  

Teamwork  

Communica9on  

Overcoming  Obstacles  

Dealing  with  Authority  

STAR Tactics •  Transition •  Consider using the following so the interviewer

can easily follow you: –  “The problem was…” –  “The action I took was…” –  “This resulted in…”

•  Balance of “We” and “I” •  Tailor to the position •  Limited technical lingo, details, other players’

involvement, and context

Applying S-T-A-R •  What are your top 5 – 10 stories?

– Do your stories align with your resume bullets?

– What question types does each story answer?

– S-T-A-R versions – Have you written/talked them out?

The most useful stories apply to a variety of behavioral questions

Activity Script or bullet out your response to one of the following interview questions. Be prepared to share.

“Tell me about a time when you worked with an underperforming team member.”

“Tell me about a time when you had to persuade someone to your point of view.”

Negatively-Framed Questions

•  “Tell me about your greatest weakness.”

•  “Describe a time when you failed.”

•  “Tell me about a time when you had a challenging team situation.”

•  “What are you best known for? And what are you not good at?”

Weaknesses are current issues you are working on, whereas failures are past issues from which you have learned

Advanced Prep: Addressing Failure

Trough

Set up and Your specific role

What went wrong & why

Accept responsibility

Corrective actions

Learning, What is different NOW

Going forward The first time I managed a team it

was on a time-sensitive project

with a tight deadline.

I thought we needed 7 days to

complete, but I failed to consider that our work was

dependant on another team

delivering information on time.

My failure to communicate our

schedule with them was going to set the

work back days.

Our whole team had to work until 2AM and weekends to

finish the project on schedule..

Now I understand how important time management and

communication are for managing a team or project

Now I am conservative in my

time projections and if relying on another group, I

make sure to coordinate my

schedule with theirs and to keep track of

their workflow.

Tips for Addressing Weakness/Failure

•  Use context- or skill-based weakness rather than a personality-based one

•  Avoid failures that had a big negative impact on employer

•  Avoid any issues you can’t talk about without emotion

After the Interview •  Write a thank you letter immediately (24 hours)! •  Follow up with any information requested during

the interview. •  Then wait. Give time to the interviewer to come

back to you. Follow up after indicated time frame (one full business week).

•  If you receive a rejection letter, write back thanking employer for the opportunity.

Summary

•  Answer the question asked

•  Write out or bullet your stories, edit and practice

•  Rehearse, but don’t recite

•  Be flexible in the interview

•  Rephrase or restate the question if needed

•  Close by reaffirming your interest in the job

The Top 10 Reasons Why it Takes People Too Long to Find a Job

1.  They don’t put much time or effort into job hunting 2.  They waste time on unproductive activities 3.  They have no way of measuring their progress 4.  They’re not sure what kind of work they are looking for 5.  They don’t make a list of prospective employers – or it’s not long

enough 6.  They don’t define and analyze their own personal job market 7.  They have no systematic approach to the job search project 8.  They only pursue announced job openings and use no proactive

approaches 9.  They don’t realize that search is a numbers game – or they

seriously underestimate the numbers needed 10.  They go it alone, without any objective advice or support