Job Advice: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly!

ONE – ugly
I’m working on a national publicity campaign, and I was talking with a guy who runs multiple national trade shows.  We were talking about some of the books he receives that people want him to promote.  He said (more or less), “Most aren’t worth the paper they’re written on.  What makes some speaker think they know about how to get a job, I don’t know.  They’re only capitalizing on the market needs.”  Caveat emptor, you know?

 Here’s a good example.  This guy has authored over 55 books.  He’s a national motivational speaker. He’s an exec on a major pro sports team.  All good stuff – and definitely credible.  He’s written a book called “Nail It! Top Ten Secrets for Winning the Job Interview.”  A few of his secrets:

Being prepared.  Exuding self confidence. Display professionalism.  Radiate energy and enthusiasm. Reveal your creativity.  Did anyone not know these types of things were important?  No  word on what types of questions you’ll be asked, what they mean, or what they’re looking for or any insight into the psychological or sales aspects of addressing them.  Caveat emptor!

 TWO – bad

A job seeker in one of the LinkedIn groups responded to the this question: what do I put in the online applications that ask me for my desired salary?

“Just put $1 if ‘Negotiable’ isn’t available. It will be an item on their ‘To Ask’ list and hopefully you can get a better understanding of what they are looking for from your conversation if they don’t offer a salary range.”

Don’t do that.  They’re not going to ask you because they’re not going to bring you in.  You’re going to be jettisoned for being flip.   Assuming you’re interviewing in the same line as what you’ve been doing, then the salary range is roughly in the same area as what you’ve been making.  Put what you’re making now.

THREE – good
 Ten Commandments for Better Networking – an article written by Dr. Ivan Misner, who is the founder and chairman of BNI, the world’s largest business networking organization.  His latest book, Networking Like A Pro, is probably very good because….it’s something he knows and it’s what he does.  The article offers very good advice in brief, digestible paragraphs.