Find Your Dream Job: Insider Tips for Finding Work, Advancing your Career, and Loving Your Job

At some point in your career you’ll need to negotiate. Maybe it’ll be for the salary you deserve. Or for better benefits. Or for some extra time off for a special vacation. Whatever your ask, you’ll probably need to negotiate with your boss to get what you want.

When people think about negotiation, they tend to imagine a haggling session, where each side makes demands—one high and one low—and they eventually meet somewhere in the middle. According to Jeff Weiss, author of Harvard Business Review’s Guide to Negotiating, this kind of linear, zero-sum thinking limits your opportunity to find creative, win-win solutions.

In this bonus episode of Find Your Dream Job, Jeff shares four strategies to improve your negotiation skills and get better outcomes. His tips include:

You can find more useful job search insight in Land Your Dream Job Anywhere, now available on Amazon. To preview the first chapter for free, visit www.macslist.org/anywhere.

Opening and closing music for Find Your Dream Job provided by Freddy Trujillo, www.freddytrujillo.com.

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A job search can be an emotional rollercoaster. The process of sending out resumes, getting excited about opportunities, prepping for interviews, and waiting for feedback can be stressful. And, if you don’t get the job you want, it can be a painful blow to your ego.

This week’s guest expert, Alison Cardy, argues that job search stress stems from a couple basic dynamics:

Alison urges job seekers to maintain perspective and stay in reality. Remember who you really are and what you are capable of doing. You should also make sure you’re not investing all of your time and energy into a job search. It’s important to take care of your whole self so that you remain resilient during this difficult period of your life.

This Week’s Guest: Alison Cardy

Alison Cardy is the Founder and CEO of Cardy Career Coaching. Her international team guides people through career changes. Alison’s firm focuses on that crucial step before your job search begins: Helping you figure out what it is you want to do with your life. She’s also the author of Career Grease: How to Get Unstuck and Pivot Your Career. If you are having trouble which direction you should focus your job search, Alison’s book is a great resource.

This Week’s resource

Ben shares a post from ThoughtCatalog: 27 People Reveal The Most Ridiculously Crazy Things They Have Said At Their Job Interviews. This is a list of funny and creative answers people have given before they have been offered a job.

This Week’s Listener Question

This week, Kristin Schuchman, career coach at A Portland Career, joined the Mac’s List team as a fill-in guest host. Kristin, Ben, and Mac answer Stephen’s question: “How do I explain to an employer I am interested in a job I am overqualified for?”

Stay up-to-date with the Find Your Dream Job podcast. Here’s how:

• Get an answer to your job-related question on the air! Email your question to [email protected], or call her at 716-JOB-TALK. If we use your question on the air, you will receive either a copy of our new book, Land Your Dream Job Anywhere, or a Mac’s List Coffee Mug, your choice.
• Share a job resource you think everyone should know about. Email [email protected], and tell him how it has helped you find your dream job.

If you like the show, please rate and review our podcast on iTunes. We appreciate your support!

Opening and closing music for Find Your Dream Job provided by Freddy Trujillo, www.freddytrujillo.com.

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The interview is your first, and sometimes only, opportunity to make a positive personal impression with an employer. You don’t want to wing it or walk into the meeting unprepared. You need to have a solid game plan and good talking points to make the most of this opportunity.

However, it’s important to note that all interviews are not created equal. Every organization has its own needs and internal culture; every hiring manager has a unique personality and history that you need to consider.

This is why it is so important that you research an organization and the people you’ll meet before you walk into an interview. Don’t use your one-hour meeting as discovery session. Instead, do your homework ahead of time and come in as an informed candidate with some ideas of how you can address the employer's challenges.

This week’s guest expert, Jessica Smith, lays out a plan for how you can best prepare for your next interview. Read the company’s website, find commonalities between the job description and your skills, and view the LinkedIn profiles of the internal recruiter or hiring manager you’ll be meeting with. Figuring out who the company likes to hire, and knowing the organization’s buzzwords gives you instant credibility,

When it’s time to answer the tough interview questions, Jessica recommends looking through your background to find a project with a clear objective or goal, and one with a discrete beginning and end. If you are unsure what project to choose, use the company’s job description as a guide. Then, describe the project using the STAR method

Situation — Describe the situation.Task — Describe the task you were given.Action — Describe what you did.Result — Describe the outcome.

Jessica also urges job seekers to always discuss past accomplishments in the first person singular--saying “I” instead of “we.” Job seekers often want to be modest and credit a team approach for their accomplishments. But speaking with an “I” perspective better conveys that you had an active role in these projects.

This Week’s Guest: Jessica Smith

Jessica Smith is a career and wellness coach for 20-somethings. Her coaching philosophy centers around the idea that everybody has an internal voice of wisdom that can help you live with more flow, confidence, and joy. Jessica is the author of the forthcoming book, Your Twenties, which is scheduled for publication later in 2017. She is also the host of the weekly podcast, Career Coaching with Jessness.

Jessica has free career success guide for listeners on her website, Jessness Required.

This Week’s Resource

LinkedIn has a new feature that allows users to quietly signal recruiters that they are looking for new professional opportunities. This is a great option if you currently have a job and don’t want your employer to know you’re looking. To turn on this feature, go to the “Jobs” tab of LinkedIn, and toggle the “Open Candidate” button.

This Week’s Listener Question:

Jessica, Ben, and Mac answer Chris Mitchell’s question: “How long should I wait after a job interview to follow up with a hiring manager?”

If you would like the team to answer a job-related question or if you’ve found a job resource you think everyone should know about email it to [email protected] or call at 716-JOB-TALK. If we use your question on the air, you will receive either a copy of our new book, Land Your Dream Job Anywhere or a Mac’s List Coffee Mug, your choice.

If you like this show, please help us by rating and reviewing our podcast on iTunes. We appreciate your support!

Opening and closing music for Find Your Dream Job provided by Freddy Trujillo, www.freddytrujillo.com.

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Your cover letter is one of the most important elements of your application--perhaps as important as your resume. This is where you outline your passion for the position and make the case for why you are the best candidate for the job.

Unfortunately, too many job seekers undervalue and underthink their cover letter. Sometimes they fail to include a cover letter in their application. More often--but equally detrimental--they use the same generic, cookie-cutter cover letter for all their applications.

This simply doesn’t cut it.

On this bonus episode of Find Your Dream Job, Jenny Foss, founder of JobJenny.com, shares how your generic cover letter reads to a hiring manager.  Her entertaining, “what-not-to-write” cover letter hits home with insights on how you can improve your own cover letter right away.

When you read your cover letter from a hiring manager’s point of view it starts to read differently than when you are reading it for yourself. Jenny reminds us not to regurgitate the content of our resumes into our cover letters and to not waste the hiring manager’s time with worn out cliches like “detail-oriented” and “proven track record.”

You can find more useful job search insight in Land Your Dream Job Anywhere, now available on Amazon. To preview the first chapter for free, visit www.macslist.org/anywhere.

Opening and closing music for Find Your Dream Job provided by Freddy Trujillo, www.freddytrujillo.com.

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Studies show that many women don’t negotiate for salary as often as men during the hiring process. Guest expert Ashley Milne-Tyte says women leave money on the table all the time. Salary gaps between men and women often start at the beginning of their careers, because young men are more inclined to negotiate their salary, while women tend to accept the company’s initial offer.

Cultural conditioning and stereotypes are at the center of this problem. Talking about money can be very uncomfortable for many women, whether it’s due to lack of education about finances or fear that they’ll come off as greedy or “bossy.” Hiring managers, both men or women, may consider women  pushy or rude while the same behavior from men is seen as normal.

However, there are various studies that show women negotiate very well when they are negotiating for someone else. So how can women take those skills and go to bat for their own benefit? Ashley recommends a book that has become her “negotiation bible: it’s called Ask For It, by Linda Babcock and Sara Laschever. It can change a woman’s view when it comes to negotiating.

Techniques to help women ask for and get more:

• Do your research. Find out what people in similar positions are making, pulling both national and local salary ranges.
• Be calm and understand expectations. Know going in that you may get different reactions. Be calm, firm, yet friendly in your ask.
• Don’t accept the first offer. It’s common practice to take a day to consider an offer. Use that time to come up with a reasonable counter-ask.
• Have options in your ask. Whether you offer flexibility in payment schedule or other compensation instead of cash, be open but don’t roll over.

Women leave money on the table all the time. By understanding bias, doing your homework, and presenting a well-informed ask, women can negotiate for better compensation.

This Week’s Guest: Ashley Milne-Tyte

Ashley Milne-Tyte is a podcast host and radio and print reporter based in New

York. She has reported extensively for Marketplace, the public radio business

show, as well as local stations and smaller shows. Ashley teaches at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. Her podcast on women and the workplace, The Broad Experience, has been featured on best podcast lists in

The Guardian, Fortune, and Entrepreneur.

Ashley will focus on conservative women in the workplace, and Executive Assistants, on her upcoming podcasts.

This Week’s Job Search Resource:

Ben’s resource this week is an article from Inc. entitled Why You Should Tell Your Coworkers How Much Money You Make. The article tackles the touchy subject of discussing salaries in the workplace, and considers salary transparency as a tool for  uncovering unfair wage gaps.

This Week’s Listener Question:

This week, Kristin Schuchman, career coach at A Portland Career, joined the Mac’s List team as a fill-in guest host. Kristin, Ben, and Mac answer Samantha Marshall’s question:

“I've been working at my job for several years, and they have told me several

times that they would pay for me to go to grad school, but when I bring it up,

they push back or say they have to consider it. I really want to go to grad school, but I can't afford to do it on my own so this would be a really great opportunity — but I'm worried it will strain my work relationship if I keep asking. How can I advocate for myself and for this opportunity, while maintaining a good relationship with my managers?"

Stay up-to-date with the Find Your Dream Job podcast. Here’s how:

• Get an answer to your job-related question on the air! Email your question to [email protected], or call her at 716-JOB-TALK. If we use your question on the air, you will receive either a copy of our new book, Land Your Dream Job Anywhere, or a Mac’s List Coffee Mug, your choice.
• Share a job resource you think everyone should know about. Email [email protected], and tell him how it has helped you find your dream job.

If you like this show, please rate and review our podcast on iTunes. We appreciate your support!

Opening and closing music for Find Your Dream Job provided by Freddy Trujillo, www.freddytrujillo.com.

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See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Losing your job—under any circumstances—is a painful, embarrassing experience, and it’s natural to be upset. You may feel like you’ve lost control of your life, or that you’ll never find another job.  Plus there’s the stress of managing your financial responsibilities on a diminished income.

While it’s natural to be anxious after a layoff, you shouldn’t let panic drive you to rash decisions. So say this week’s guest, Jane Jackson. Instead, give yourself time to heal and figure out the next step in your career.

Jane suggests that you reach out to trusted friends and professional contacts to help you avoid catastrophic thinking and maintain perspective. These people can help clarify where you are where you are in life and what options are available.

Only after you’ve properly dealt with the emotional aspect of a job loss, should you create a plan to find your next gig. If you jump too quickly into the job search process, you’re likely to come across as desperate or needy to potential employers—a dynamic that will only lead to more frustration on your part.

Jane Jackson is a career and life coach who has worked with thousands of clients across Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Europe. She is the author of the Amazon #1 bestseller, Navigating Career Crossroads: How to Thrive when Changing Direction. Jane also hosts the Your Career Podcast.

Jane is excited to be speaking about branding and networking, at an upcoming CFO conference in Cannes. And, she recently launched the online career transition program, The 7 Steps Careers Program.

Ben’s resource this week is the blog post, After Being Fired, Answer the Job Interview Question: Why Did You Leave Your Job? from Job-Hunt.org, The post recommends starting with a positive statement and then explain the circumstances around your being fired in an honest, flattering light and then pivot to a positive takeaway from the experience.

Joining the Mac’s List team as a guest-host is Andrea Gerson, Portland-based career coach and principal at Resume Scripter. Andrea, Ben, and Mac answer Jasmine Ward’s question: "Should I send a cover letter even when the employer doesn’t specifically request one in the job posting?"

If you would like the team to answer a job-related question or if you’ve found a job resource you think everyone should know about email it to [email protected] or call at 716-JOB-TALK. If we use your question on the air, you will receive either a copy of our new book, Land Your Dream Job Anywhere or a Mac’s List Coffee Mug, your choice.

If you like this show, please help us by rating and reviewing our podcast on iTunes. We appreciate your support!

Opening and closing music for Find Your Dream Job provided by Freddy Trujillo, www.freddytrujillo.com.

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Women are much more likely than men to leave the workforce to raise children or assist elderly family members. Unfortunately, after a prolonged time off, it’s not easy to on-ramp back into full employment. There simply is not much infrastructure to help women step back into the workforce. That’s why it’s so important to be prepared before you take your hiatus.

On this bonus episode of Find Your Dream Job, Farai Chideya, author of The Episodic Career: How to Thrive and Work in the Age of Disruption, explains what women should to before they take time off to lay the foundation for their eventual return to the workforce. 

Her suggestions include:

• Document all the work you have done. You're less likely to remember everything if you wait until you're ready to return to work.
• Sit down with your current supervisor and ask them to itemize your accomplishments and highlight your skill sets.
• Ask for the document to be added to your personal file and keep a copy for yourself.
• Call upon your current network to let them know you are taking time off and you plan on returning.

You can find more useful job search insight in Land Your Dream Job Anywhere, now available on Amazon. To preview the first chapter for free, visit www.macslist.org/anywhere.

Opening and closing music for Find Your Dream Job provided by Freddy Trujillo, www.freddytrujillo.com.

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See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We say it a lot here at Mac’s List: networking is the single best thing you can do for your job search—or your career, in general. But attending a single networking event probably isn’t going to land you a job right away. Networking is about building mutually-beneficial, long-term relationships, not making awkward demands for a job.

In fact, according to this week’s guest, Abby Kohl, the single biggest mistake you can make in a networking event is to ask for a job. Another fatal error is beginning a conversation by announcing your unemployment. Both actions are deadly mistakes for the same reason: they make networking all about you and your needs. Such an approach is more likely to scare people away than to lead to a constructive conversation.

Instead, Abby recommends that you always focus on how you can help the person you’re talking to. Listen to their ideas, try to identify their challenges, and ask how you can help. This positions you as a solution provider—the kind of employer every organization wants. It also builds goodwill with your contact, increasing the likelihood that they will assist you in your job search.

Abby’s other networking tips include:

• When you’ve made a good connection, ask for a follow-up meeting over lunch or coffee.
• Find a “job search buddy” who is looking for similar work.
• Always have business cards available.
• Never say you’re unemployed. Instead, say that you are “between successes.”

Abby Kohut, founder of Absolutely Abby, is a recruiter who has filled more than 10,000 jobs. Through her website, books, and talks Abby shares hiring secrets other recruiters won’t tell you. Abby is on a mission to help one million job seekers. She is now driving across the United States on a nationwide tour to accomplish the goal.

If you have a job search group, contact Abby on her website to create an event in your town. Meet Abby offers a free teleseminar, “Interviewing Ingenuity.”

Ben’s resource this week is from the PBS segment, "How to Make a Personal Connection with an Employer Even if the Job Listing Forbids It," by headhunter, Nick Corcodilos. Most job postings explicitly say ‘no calls please.’ Nick recommends finding an alternative way to contact the hiring manager and discussing their problems in a constructive manner.

Joining the Mac's List team as a guest-host is Andrea Gerson, Portland-based career coach and principal at Resume Scripter.  Andrea, Ben, and Mac offer advice to listener Megan Smith, who wants to know which format she should use for her resume.

If you would like the team to answer a job-related question or if you’ve found a job resource you think everyone should know about email it to [email protected] or call at 716-JOB-TALK. If we use your question on the air, you will receive either a copy of our new book, Land Your Dream Job Anywhere or a Mac’s List Coffee Mug, your choice.

If you like this show, please help us by rating and reviewing our podcast on iTunes. We appreciate your support!

Opening and closing music for Find Your Dream Job provided by Freddy Trujillo, www.freddytrujillo.com.

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See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The traditional hiring process is broken and everyone knows it--both job seekers and hiring managers. The over-automated, keyword-driven, impersonal way most organizations hire is a relic of software systems built 40+ years ago. As such, playing by the rules is more likely to land you a stress headache than a job offer.

This week's guest, Liz Ryan, offers a ray of hope, with strategies and techniques that will help you rise above the rest when reaching out to employers. She encourages job seekers to break the rules of the system. Instead, she urges people to proactively reach out to the organizations where they most want to work--and where they can create the most value.

In practice, this means:

• Ignore the formal hiring process.
• Decide where you want to work, and have an idea of how they can help the company.
• Use LinkedIn’s advanced search to find the person who would be your boss if they were to get the job they wanted.
• Send a pain letter to that person at their place of employment.

A pain letter is a letter that focuses on your contact's specific challenges and highlights how you can help with these problems. The first sentence should be the hook to pique the person’s interest. Include a story which highlights the pain or problem the manager may be experiencing, and end the letter with a soft and respectful, “I’d be happy to start a phone or email conversation with you.”

Liz Ryan is the founder and CEO of Human Workplace, a think tank and publishing firm whose mission is to reinvent work for people. Liz is the author of Reinvention Roadmap: Break the Rules to Get the Job You Want and the Career You Want. She writes for Forbes.com, LinkedIn, and other publications. Liz is a highly sought-after keynote speaker who has hired over 10,000 people.

Liz’s work in 2017 includes empowering workers and reinventing corporate work environments in an effort to move them away from a mechanical mode and back into a human mode.

Ben’s resource this week is a blog post from Allison Green titled, Gimmicks Won’t Get You a Job. Allison has an entire page of zany and outlandish things people have done to try and land a job. Favorites include a spouse who advertised her job-hunting spouse on a billboard and a person who sent a framed picture of themselves to a hiring manager.

Jessica, Ben, and Mac offer advice to Nicole Wilson, who wants to know guidelines for using unlimited paid-time-off (PTO) offered by some employers.

If you would like the team to answer a job-related question or if you’ve found a job resource you think everyone should know about email it to [email protected] or call at 716-JOB-TALK. If we use your question on the air, you will receive either a copy of our new book, Land Your Dream Job Anywhere or a Mac’s List Coffee Mug, your choice.

If you like this show, please help us by rating and reviewing our podcast on iTunes. We appreciate your support!

Opening and closing music for Find Your Dream Job provided by Freddy Trujillo, www.freddytrujillo.com.

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See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Often, when busy professionals receive a request for a networking meeting, time is the deciding factor as to whether or not they accept it. If you want to improve your chances of meeting an important contact, make it clear that you only want twenty minutes of his or her time.

In this bonus podcast episode, Nathan Perez, executive career and job search coach, as well as co-author of the 20-Minute Networking Meeting, shares his advice on how to organize and execute a short, focused informational interview. 

Here are his key tips:

• Have a focused agenda prepared in advance.
• Give your contact context about your professional background. 
• Ask a short set of targeted and strategic questions.
• Know the background of the person you're meeting with and understand how they can help you with your job search.
• Listen and stay actively engaged in the conversation.

Preparation and focus allow you to have an informative and powerful conversation. If you master the art of the 20-minute networking meeting you will quickly build a network that will advance your job search.

You can find more useful job search insight in Land Your Dream Job Anywhere, now available on Amazon. To preview the first chapter for free, visit www.macslist.org/anywhere.

Opening and closing music for Find Your Dream Job provided by Freddy Trujillo, www.freddytrujillo.com.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.