How To Get Hired

Headhunter, Rob Barnett, distills everything he’s learned about getting hired into his new book, Next Job, Best Job.

His timely 11 strategies will take you from any current state of confusion about what’s next to a new destination that will become clear and achievable as you seek your next best job.

Candidly and step-by-step, with a book chapter devoted to each of the 11 strategies, Barnett teaches you how to:

Regain confidence and optimism after a job loss.
Create a focused job search game plan.
Clearly communicate your career goals (your true North Star).
Brand and market yourself with a unique resume and strategic LinkedIn profile.
Navigate and effectively incorporate social media during your job search.
Master networking.
Score a perfect 10 interview in-person and online.
Get immediate replies and callbacks.
…and then Pay it forward.

Rob Barnett

Earlier this year, Barnett answered these questions for us:

Question: Why did you write your book, Next Job, Best Job?

Barnett: We’ve all just completed a master class in survival. Life is too short to be wasted doing the wrong work or stuck between jobs on a search with no end in sight. I knew I could give people new strategies to win the work they deserve and eliminate all the ancient job search rules that no longer make sense.

Question: How has the pandemic changed the landscape for job seekers?

Barnett: There’s actually more opportunity and more flexibility in a new reality where everything that came before is being reimagined for what’s next. Remote interviews and remote employment are not temporary solutions. For many companies, all this new technology has increased productivity and become part of the new norm.

Question: How has the pandemic changed the landscape for companies that are hiring?

Barnett: At first, mass unemployment and constant cutbacks put any hiring manager in total control to drive the process. Now, with a renewed economy and countless workers deciding to resign, companies need to make the most compelling cases and competitive offers to close the best candidates.

Question: What is the best next step for the job seeker after interviewing for a job?

Barnett: The world’s best follow-up note, of course. Write back the exact same day of the interview - or first thing in the morning if your job interview was at the end of the workday. Hit the highlights in this note and restate your top selling point for why you want the job and a second interview as soon as they’re ready. Ask a thoughtful question about the business as well.

Question: What are your tips for the job seeker interviewing via Zoom or a similar platform?

Barnett: At this point, we should have all followed the essential rules of how to nail the perfect virtual video interview. Next Job, Best Job has dozens of tips. No matter how experienced you are, you’re still in the best position to get hired if you get a friend to rehearse with you for every important interview the day before the real one. Tough love through constructive feedback is invaluable.

Question: Do you believe compensation should be different for employees working remotely versus in the office and if so, why?

Barnett: It’s reasonable to reduce the highest possible compensation if a company offers you a position that’s totally remote. You save all the commuting expense. You may be living in a much more affordable location. And if you’re anything like me, you’ll save tons on all the food you buy every day.

Question: What is causing ghosting by both job seekers and hiring companies?

Barnett: This new normal is a plague I want Dr. Fauci to cure next. Ghosting is rude and unacceptable. Too many people do it because it’s become expected - but it’s still wrong. Every company and every candidate owe each other a specific, timely response about where the process stands.

Question: How does a job seeker pay it forward?

Barnett: Chapter 11 in my book is not about bankruptcy. I dedicate the chapter about paying it forward to David Bowie. “We can be heroes” when we take a minute, an hour, or more to help other job seekers get the counsel, contacts and support they need to find their next, best job. Job seekers will also get renewed energy, positivity, and a return to productivity when they devote time to any nonprofit organization hungry for their wisdom, work, and time. My constant contributions of time and work for WhyHunger.org help me put my own worries and troubles aside to end hunger for people starving right now.

Question: What tips do you have for a new employee joining a company and working remotely?

Barnett: Make time to schedule as many one-on-ones with management and co-workers as you can. And find the first available opportunity to make a safe visit to headquarters.

Question: What are a few best ways for a company to retain employees?

Barnett: You saved your easiest but most important question for the last question!

The best way to retain employees is to create a culture that’s honest, open, supportive, inclusive, inspiring, creative, rewarding, fair, transparent, communicative, positive, and clear about the mission and the expectations.

Finally, Barnett shares that the top three takeaways from his new book for the job seeker are:

1. Learn how to find your true North Star.

2. Define your professional brand to make it crystal clear who you are and why you’re a perfect fit.

3. Market, Market, Market Yourself by cresting constant value every day on social media.

Rob Barnett is a headhunter, management executive, author, podcaster, and entrepreneur. As founder of Rob Barnett Media, he has discovered, hired, and led hundreds of talented creators and executives in senior management roles at MTV, VH1, and Audible/Amazon. He was President of Programming at CBS Radio. A digital pioneer, he founded My Damn Channel, one of the first original online studios and networks. Representing diverse careers, companies, and opportunities, Rob's multi-platform content and no-nonsense approach inspires people to define and sell their best professional brand.

Thank you to the book's publisher for sending me an advance copy of the book.

Comments

Don't Delay Tough Conversations With Your Employees

If you have an employee who needs to improve his/her performance don't delay the tough conversation with them. If you don't address the issue right now, the employee has little chance to improve, and you'll only get more frustrated. Most employees want to do a good job. Sometimes they just don't know they aren't performing up to the required standards. Waiting until the employee's annual performance appraisal to have the tough conversation is unhealthy for you and the employee. So, address the issue now. Sit down with your employee in a private setting. Look them in the eye. First, tell them what they do well. Thank them for that good work. Then, tell them where they need to improve. Be clear. Be precise. Ask them if they understand and ask them if they need any help from you on how to do a better job. Explain to them that your taking the time to have the tough conversation means you care about them. You want them to do better. You believe they can do better. ...

The 12 Ways Marriott Practices Good Leadership And Customer Service

The next time you stay at a Marriott hotel look in the nightstand drawer for Marriott's booklet that highlights its milestones and tells the Marriott story. In the booklet, you'll find the following 12 ways that Marriott practices good leadership AND customer service : Continually challenge your team to do better. Take good care of your employees, and they'll take good care of your customers, and the customers will come back. Celebrate your people's success, not your own. Know what you're good at and mine those competencies for all you're worth. Do it and do it now. Err on the side of taking action. Communicate. Listen to your customers, associates and competitors. See and be seen. Get out of your office, walk around, make yourself visible and accessible. Success is in the details. It's more important to hire people with the right qualities than with specific experience. Customer needs may vary, but their bias for quality never does. Elimin...

Important Questions To Ask Your New Hires

In Paul Falcone ’s book, 75 Ways For Managers To Hire, Develop And Keep Great Employees , he recommends asking new employees the following questions 30, 60 and 90 days after they were hired: 30-Day One-on-One Follow-Up Questions Why do you think we selected you as an employee? What do you like about the job and the organization so far? What’s been going well? What are the highlights of your experiences so far? Why? Tell me what you don’t understand about your job and about our organization now that you’ve had a month to roll up your sleeves and get your hands dirty. Have you faced any unforeseen surprises since joining us that you weren’t expecting? 60-Day One-on-One Follow-Up Questions Do you have enough, too much or too little time to do your work? Do you have access to the appropriate tools and resources? Do you feel you have been sufficiently trained in all aspects of your job to perform at a high level? How do you see your job relating to the organi...

Seven Ways To Stay Motivated

To learn how to stay motivated, read High-Profit Prospecting , by Mark Hunter . It's a powerful read that includes counterintuitive advice and cutting-edge best practices for sales prospecting in today's business world. Today, I share one of my favorite sections of the book where Hunter describes his seven things motivated people do to stay motivated : Motivated people ignore voices in their lives . These might be people in the office and friends who have bad attitudes. They're out there, and if you're not careful, they'll control you, too. Motivated people associate with highly motivated people . Just as there are negative people in the world, there are also positive people. Your job is to make sure you spend as much time with the positive people as possible. Motivated people simply look for the positive in things . Positive people count it an honor to live each day, learn from others, and impact positively those they meet. Positive people take...

Why Your Middle Managers Are So Important

The book, Power To The Middle , shows how managers are the crucial link between a company’s ground floor and top brass. “Too often company leaders view middle managers in a negative light as expendable employees who can slow down productivity and overall strategy,” explain the book’s authors and McKinsey partners Bill Schaninger , Bryan Hancock , and Emily Field . “However, new KcKinsey research reveals that this outdated perspective needs to change and that well-developed managers are the strategy that companies must prioritize to succeed today,” they add. Most importantly, by the end of their book, the authors sum up their insights and provide a playbook that will help senior leaders let go of the command-and-control mindset that has hobbled their managers for so long. The authors define middle managers as the people who are at least once removed from the front line and at least a layer below the senior lead...

10 Quotes From The 5 Levels Of Leadership -- John C. Maxwell

Soon I'll post my full review of John C. Maxwell's latest book, The 5 Levels of Leadership . In the meantime, here are some of my favorites quotes from the book that I believe should become a must-read book by any workplace/organizational leader: Good leadership isn't about advancing yourself. It's about advancing your team. Leaders become great, not because of their power, but because of their ability to empower others. Leadership is action, not position. When people feel liked, cared for, included, valued, and trusted, they begin to work together with their leader and each other. If you have integrity with people, you develop trust. The more trust you develop, the stronger the relationship becomes. In times of difficulty, relationships are a shelter. In times of opportunity, they are a launching pad. Good leaders must embrace both care and candor. People buy into the leader, then the vision. Bringing out the best in a person is often a catal...

Why A Team Needs More Than Strong Leaders

The book, Team Players , by leadership expert and New York Times bestselling author, Mark Murphy , explains why a team needs more than strong leaders—it needs the right mix of five roles and talents to succeed. In addition, Murphy reveals that the secret to extraordinary teams isn’t making everyone the same—it’s embracing and leveraging fundamental differences through those five distinct team roles. No amount of teambuilding, trust, or cohesion can overcome having the wrong mix of people in the room. The five essential roles and talents are: The Director assumes a leadership role within the team, guiding its direction and making important, difficult, and even unpopular decisions. The Achiever immerses themselves in the details of accomplishing tasks and getting things done, with a keen eye for delivering error-free work. The Stabilizer keeps the team on track with meticulous...

6 Ways To Seek Feedback To Improve Your Performance In The Workplace

Getting feedback is an important way to improve performance at work. But sometimes, it can be hard to seek out, and even harder to hear. “Feedback is all around you. Your job is to find it, both through asking directly and observing it,” says David L. Van Rooy, author of the new book, Trajectory: 7 Career Strategies to Take You From Where You Are to Where You Want to Be . As today's guest post, Van Rooy offers these six tips for how to get the feedback you need to improve performance at work . Guest Post By David L. Van Rooy 1. Don’t forget to as k : One of the biggest mistakes people make is assuming things are going perfectly (until they make a catastrophic mistake). By not asking, you’re missing out on opportunities for deep feedback: the difficult, critical feedback that gives you constructive ways to improve. 2. Make sure you listen : Remember, getting fee...

My Favorite "Moral Of The Story" Tips From Harvey Mackay

I'm a big fan of best-selling author Harvey Mackay . He writes about business, sales and leadership and typically ends his articles with a moral of the story. Culled from his writings of the past few years, here are some of my favorites of his moral of the story endings: Change your thinking, change your life. It's not enough to know how to do things - you must know why you do them. If you live in the past, you won't have much of a future. If you want to outsmart the competition, you have to outthink the competition. Don't be afraid to make a decision. Be afraid not make a decision. What you learn on your first job will last through your last job. Minds are like parachutes - not much good unless they are open. If you can't be an expert, hire one. People have a way of becoming what you encourage them to be. It only takes a little spark to ignite a great fire. Doing the right thing is never the wrong thing to do. Mackay's best-...

What Will Your Leadership Legacy Be?

As a leader, you likely have asked yourself, " How do I want to be remembered as a leader ?" But, perhaps the more important question is, " How will I be remembered as a leader ?" The answer to that question is likely going to be based on the valuable lessons you shared with those you led, among other things. The Kansas City Star newspaper last year wrote a story about Marion Laboratories and its 60th anniversary. In its heyday, Marion had 3,400 employees with sales of nearly $1 billion and in 1989 merged with Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals. Mr. Ewing Kauffman, fondly known as Mr. K, led Marion during its peak, and is remembered as one of the most effective, influential leaders ever in the Kansas City area. Former employees quoted in the newspaper article remember Mr. Kauffman as a leader who shared these lessons with them: "You can do anything you want if you set your mind to it and if you study your competition." "You can...

Eric Jacobson On Management And Leadership

Search This Blog