Resource Page

Unlock the $20,000 secrets that executive search consultants have been using for years, with Preptel’s unique FREE Resource Guides and other Membership services. Check out the information and resources below for your FREE Guides to Mastering and Accelerating your Job Search. When you work with Preptel’s FREE Guides and Member Services, get ready to interview like you’ve never interviewed before!

Sometimes, the more things change, the more they stay the same. A hundred years ago, when you needed a job you needed a letter of introduction and recommendation to get you in the door. For many years, newspapers, resumes and references were the job tools everyone needed and used. Over the last ten years, technology introduced us to looking for work the new search engine way. Unfortunately, millions of job seekers also discovered the less than 10% chance they have of actually finding a job through a job search engine alone. Today, social networking is taking the place of those introduction and recommendation letters of yore. Is your job search strategy keeping up with the times? Do you have the right knowledge and the tools to get you noticed?

In hundreds of formal and informal interviews, hiring managers agree:

“It’s easy to tell when a candidate knows the company. They’re informed and engaging in their interviews, and essentially, they have a clear advantage in the selection process over their fellow applicants.“

“As an interviewer, when someone’s done their research, it really shows. It makes me feel like this person truly wants to work with us – clearly they’re self-motivated and have initiative that’s already directed our way.”

Are you prepared for your next interview? Were you prepared for your last one? Do you know what you need to know about the job and the company? Do you have enough time to prepare?

In today’s job market, first, you have to break through the search engine gates, and make it to the Top 10 list of interview candidates. You have roughly a 1% chance or less of making it to that list on the strength of your resume alone. Next, you have to rise above your fellow competitor candidates and graduate to the top three if you’re expecting a second interview. Many people think that by talking about their skills and accomplishments, they’ll turn their first employer contact into an invitation to the next step. Not so. Less than 3/10ths of 1st interview candidates make it to the next interview step. Successful 1st interview candidates map their skills and accomplishments to current activities and needs at the company. The game changes in the second interview.

If you’re successful in the first interview and get invited back, your task the second time around is to map what you’ve done for others into what you can do for your new company. That kind of interview knowhow only comes with research and preparation. Do you know what to look for? Do you know where to look for it? More importantly, will you have enough time between your interview call and the scheduled date to find it and prepare?

Research lets you know what the company is up to, but how can you map your background and show your interviewer right where you fit in? When companies face the competition they rely on an analysis of Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats to formulate their competitive strategy. When you’re heading into your second interview, you need to approach your job competition in the same way. With the Preptel FREE SWOT Analysis Tool, you’ll compare your own strengths and potentials against specific company initiatives and see how you stack up.

Finally, you’ll need to practice! If you think you’re ready to gain top candidate status without it, think again. The key to a successful 1st and 2nd interview is to control the flow of the discussion with well thought out questions and statements that allow the interviewer to see you in that hoped-for role. Knowing how to do it takes firmly based confidence and a bit of practice. The control and the interview comfort you seek is gained or lost within the first 10 minutes of your interview. Do you know the answers to the first 5 most common interview questions, and how you can use them to keep the rest of your interview on track and your hiring date on the immediate horizon?

No matter when, or what kind of job you’re looking for, employers are always seeking the same thing; trustworthy employees who want to, can and will do the job they’re hired for. Search engines often don’t screen for the things employers want the most, so they spend millions of dollars every year on devising and using technology, interviews, tools and techniques that help disqualify applicants from the interviewing process. What do they most often rely on to recommend applicants to them? Turns out, it’s personal recommendations and trusted introductions. In today’s impersonal and busy (not to mention recovering) employment world, how can you build and hold onto the Top Candidate position before, during, and after the interview process?

One way is to tune up your references. Do you know what they’ll say about you? Does your list include people who are currently in your life and can give relevant feedback about your professional performance? Beyond calling your current references to let them know they may be getting a call, what else should you do to get your reference list back in top running condition? Think again about what those references are trying to replace in the overall hiring process – they’re replacing trusted introductions and recommendations. Make sure you know how and why your employer wants to trust you, and in what situations, to start putting your reference list back together.

You’re in the job offer chair. You’re wading your way through benefits and compensation. What’s the real value of those stock options that sound so great? Is the medical insurance and vacation policy adding value to the overall package? Knowing ahead of time what to expect at the salary negotiation table increases your bargaining position and your decision time. Yet, few people actually know what to expect when they’re first led to this important discussion.

If you don’t know whether or not you got a good deal when you were hired, one thing’s for sure; you’ll know how you feel about your compensation package once you’ve experienced a couple of bad days. Although people consistently list compensation in the bottom half of the top 10 reasons people stay on the job, it is consistently in the top half of the list of reasons why people leave. In fact, a preponderance of exit review surveys in companies across the world indicate “they didn’t pay me enough” as a reason for leaving, even though industry surveys show the company to be in the “normal” and sometimes even “high” paying range. Many people feel very little authority over the compensation package they’re offered, but companies expect some negotiation from a well-informed applicant. You need to understand your compensation plan, and know where adjustments can be made as you take control of your new company role. Keeping your compensation package tuned up and tuned into your changing role at this company, or others in the future, will be important as you progress through your career.

See What Preptel Membership can do for your job-search today!