No experience? Are you screwed?

Let's cover that in this video today. So I had one of my VIP students write in and ask as follows:

“Hey, Stuart I have an interview coming up with the CFO of the company. And they're asking me for 2-4 years of experience in the job description. What should I do? Because I don't have full-time experience.”

This is that classic “how do I get experience if I don’t have it” situation. And in this video, I am going to solve that for you. 

Invited to interview - and feeling you lack experience

So this individual in our program got invited to interview. First of all, what does that mean? It means this: 

“If granted a chance to interview, you already have what it takes to get the job.”

You already have what it takes. So if you're sitting there with that interview coming up and you're concerned about your experience, recognize that that is not a factor here. They already granted you an interview - They...

Should I Tell Them I Sent A Thank You Letter or Not?

This is an interesting question about etiquette I just got from a student in my 12-week job offer intensive and thought to share it as well as my response. As you take this in, you can also assess what feels right for you. If you like this approach, I welcome you to use this. 

The question is, “do I need to tell the interviewer that I'm sending them a thank you letter?” Do you need to “tell” the interviewer you’ll send such a note?

First, you have step one: you have the interview. Step two is to thank the interviewer. So, how do you want to thank them? Send the thank you letter, right? Or some sort of thank you. So the question is, “how should I execute my thank you? And do I need to tell them to expect the thank you?”

Let's just talk about “thank yous” for a minute, and then I'll answer the specific question. 

When you leave the interview room, the interview is not...

“Stuart, When an interviewer asks me, Do I need sponsorship? How should I respond? 

Great question! 

How You Answer vs Who Is Asking The Question

How many times are you gonna get that question?

With one group: always. With a second group, rarely. 

Never:  With executives looking to solve a problem, they care if you can help solve a problem. HR policy changes if they need you. 

Always: With HR and recruiters. They get paid to enforce HR policy.

Knowing how most job hunters hunt, you get asked this probably every single time you speak to somebody about your job hunt. 

I was an international student working on work visas for almost 10 years of my life. So I know a little bit about how we can handle this in addition to helping so many others achieve their dream jobs. 

How To Answer This Question

 So how should you answer? Well, first of all, recognize this one thing: It depends on who is asking the question.

There are two kinds of people in...

Every Conversation Is An Interview

 Welcome to 2022!

We're going to open up the blog in 2022 by teaching how never to miss an opportunity again. There are two things you need to absorb here and it's going to be short and sweet and when you adopt these two concepts, you are never going to miss an interview again. 

The two things that you need to know/do in order to get those interviews are:

1) Make interviewing your priority in 2022

2) Realize that every conversation is an interview

Make Interviews Your Priority

If trying to get a job, it's most likely the case that you are trying to send applications out and you are hoping that some sort of conversation ensues.

In 2022, instead, look beyond the application step and get into conversation and develop relationships with the people to whom you are sending the applications.

There are ways to do that and that's the details and implementation is going to be beyond the scope of this short post.

So, change your mind about what...

Networking: Tool to get interviews easily

Today, I wanted to peel out a small section of my four-day live training for you here because I thought this particular part on “interview explosion” is powerful, and I want you to make the progress that you wanna make in your life and in your career. 

Let’s start with, how do people systematically or at all get interviews with their dream firms? How do they do it? Are they just applying online? Are they doing some sort of social media trick? 

“Hiring comes down to this: decision-makers, meeting with you one-on-one.”

With that in mind, Interview explosion is possible: it's possible to generate interviews on-demand and in great numbers. 

Why? Let’s start with the basics: 

If you look at an interview, what is an interview? An interview is a process of getting someone to know you, like you, and then support you, simple, right? 

The support step is meant to be the “nod”...

5 Points of “Job Fair Philosophy” & What To Do Before/During/After a Job Fair

[Author’s photograph of a job fair in Shanghai.]

Let’s talk about job fair strategy and converting job fairs to interviews. *A lot* of this content is what any job seeker should try to shoot for domestic and international students alike. 

So let’s jump into what to do and you may find that if you do these things you’ll be getting interviews through the job fair right away. 

The Five Points of Job Fair Philosophy

So in terms of job fair philosophy, there are five items.
The first thing is to treat the recruiter as a person. Make the recruiter feel like you're talking to THEM - not treating them just as a “stepping stone” to a job.

Second, recruiters hire to solve their problem, not your problem. Companies want to grow and be more profitable. 

Their problem or challenge is the thing “in the middle” between here and there, and...

Networking is awful and doesn’t work!

This is how it feels, and that is the conclusion - for most people.

Online applications don’t seem to work either, so the only option is to go to grad school.

Is that how you’re feeling?

When done well, networking is no different than generating interviews on demand. That’s how we treat it among members of my Career Accelerator program. The result is that we are generating interviews on-demand.

Have questions about networking?

Shoot me a message and let’s chat!

Researching companies is a critical part of winning a job offer.

There are many ways to do it, but this is my approach to it:

#1 Talk to current and old employees

#2 Get familiar with their values and mission statement

#3 Research the projects they are working on

Number #3 is critical.

Companies want people that can solve their problems. By researching their projects you can familiarize yourself with what they need and you can position yourself to be the SOLUTION -- and get hired!

Companies love to see that you've done your homework!

I LOST ALL MY NETWORKING CONTACTS!

What if you had to start the job hunt completely over?

Identify the companies you want to work for.

First, ignore if they have open positions.

Create a target company list. Identify the decision-makers.

Create networking opportunities within those companies.

In my new NETWORKING COURSE, we look at the action steps to create great networking opportunities.

No one can hire you unless they know you.

Check it out here https://bit.ly/networking203

Remember, you are just one meeting away!

What if you only had “30 days” to get a job? Then your career center said this:

We don’t see your experience as relevant.
We don’t see your resume as “good enough”

Crushing, right?

What do we say about this kind of counseling?

Surprisingly, it comes from good intentions - wants the focus to be on doing well in school.

And it’s trying to be honest and “reasonable”: at this frozen moment, OK, the student doesn’t have experience.

At this frozen moment, the student doesn’t have a good enough resume. Fine.

But can this change?
Is the student doomed?

What if she took a step forward?

How might this career counselor handle a situation in THEIR life where things are new, untested, where she wasn’t “ready”?

Maybe it’s a new S.O. or a dream.

Would they offer that same self-talk? Can’t do?

What if from “I can’t” we shift to “I think I can”?

A rush of feelings, many...