Some Early Mistakes to Avoid in a Job Search!

Prospects and clients often contact me during the various stages of their job search. Most do not realize that their early actions and strategies in their search process increasingly set the tone and seal their fate in how they are being calibrated for their title, salary, and other endowments in their new job. By making this statement I am not suggesting that a job seeker should misrepresent themselves early in their search process to extract the best deal from it; quite the opposite: proper early actions and strategies can protect your prospects to get what you want from your new job offer in much more productive ways than just landing a job and then struggling to get what you really wanted after you started working at your new employer.

So, what are some of the mistakes to avoid from the first steps you take to launch your job search? Here is a list I have compiled from observing many clients as they navigate through the process and succeed or failed in achieving their objectives:
1.Job Title: Do not assume that the title spelled out in the job description is the only one available for you to pursue that job: If you are now a director and are ready for your senior-director title, but do not have the headroom or a clear path at your current employer, do not assume that a director-level opening at your next employer is the only option you have. By messaging yourself correctly (rsum, LinkedIn Profile, and other marketing materials) you can position yourself for the next higher title, despite what the job description states.
2.Salary YOU Want: Do not hold back on disclosing your current compensation during the early screening interviews. There are those who advise that your current compensation is none of anyones business and that the value you bring to the next job must determine your new compensation. The only problem with this misguided notion is that most recruiters who do the early screening are hesitant to present a blind candidate to their hiring manager. They are required to present only those that meet the salary guidelines set for that job opening in most cases. This, however, does not mean that you cannot negotiate what you want once you sell yourself to the hiring manager and their team (see # 1 above). Not disclosing your salary early in the process can become a disqualifier and a showstopper for this reason. Always learn how to protect your options and know how to move forward in the process.
3.Value Focus: To negotiate and win the compensation you desire do not wait until an offer is presented at the end of the interview process. Once you clear the early screening you must focus on presenting your value to the hiring teamespecially the hiring manager and their bossesso that the title you desire and the commensurate compensation for the value you bring to the position are obvious to the decision makers. Even if they bring your current compensation as a point of contention and insist on packaging your offer based on those numbers remind them of the differences in your role you currently have and the value you plan to bring to the new role. In many cases using this strategy my clients were able to get not only a next higher title than what was in the job description, but also a compensation bump that was 30-40% above their current salary. To achieve this outcome, however, you must start your value positioning from the get-go.
4.Intrigue with Vision: Throughout the interview process learn what their needs are and where you can bring your expertise to provide them the breakthrough that they are looking for. Paint a vivid picture of how you see their problem and how you plan to solve it for them. Also, learn how to paint and intrigue them with an exciting vision for your ongoing contributions in your new role beyond just the obvious pain points. In presenting this vision make sure that you stay credible and support your claims with stories and examples from the past.
5.Keep it Mysterious: Do not be too anxious to disclose everything you know about helping them achieve the breakthrough that they are looking for. Making it sound simpleeven easycan only jeopardize your prospects of being offered that job. Keep some mystery around what it takes to achieve that breakthrough and let them respect your achievements. If you suspect that they are only after what you know and are using you to get what they want in the interview process, do not hesitate to say, Oh, that part is confidential and I cannot disclose all the details at this stage of our conversation. Hire me and Ill show you how it works!
6.Thank-you Notes: After the interview(s) do not skimp on sending individual Thank-you notes or emails. In these emails, in addition to just thanking them for their time, bring some key items that were the highlights of each discussion (or where you could have done better) and give some additional insights on that topic. Mention why you would like to join their team and summarize the next steps you discussed in the interview(s). Do not send the same notes to everyone, as they often will share those notes with other players. Personalize them so that it shows you took the time and effort to care. If you are not interviewing for a high-tech company sending a Mailed and hand-written Thank-you note can also be a differentiator in addition to the email notes you sent.
7.Follow-ups: Do not forget to follow-up after the stated time has elapsed to show your continued interest. Do not see this as being viewed as an act of desperation. With many people involved in the selection process things can often fall through the cracks. So, observing the timeline discussed in the interviews (see #6) and then following up shows diligencenot desperationon your part.
8.No Sour Grapes: If you do not get the job send a note to your contact thanking them for their time and showing your continued interest in their company. Then call and explore why you came up short. Although this does not always work, it is worth a try.
9.When You Are #2: If they call and tell you that you were their second choice and someone else got that job, do not give up. In senior positionsmanager and upabout 25-30% of the selected candidates do not work out. This takes about 3-6 months. So, stay in touch and ping the hiring manager or the recruiter to check on the status of how the candidate is working out, if youre still interested in that job or the company.
10.Work Your Pipeline: Even when a company looks like it is a sure thing, continue to build your pipeline, network, and follow other opportunities. It is always a good idea to line up for multiple offers and then pick the one that suits you the best.

Job search requires strategic planning, skillful execution, and patience to get what you are after. Following these tips you may be able to get what you want sooner than you think! Keeping all the balls in the air can also help you leverage an offer with the one that you really are after.

Good luck!

About Author

Dilip has distinguished himself as LinkedIn’s #1 career coach from among a global pool of over 1,000 peers ever since LinkedIn started ranking them professionally (LinkedIn selected 23 categories of professionals for this ranking and published this ranking from 2006 until 2012). Having worked with over 6,000 clients from all walks of professions and having worked with nearly the entire spectrum of age groups—from high-school graduates about to enter college to those in their 70s, not knowing what to do with their retirement—Dilip has developed a unique approach to bringing meaning to their professional and personal lives. Dilip’s professional success lies in his ability to codify what he has learned in his own varied life (he has changed careers four times and is currently in his fifth) and from those of his clients, and to apply the essence of that learning to each coaching situation. After getting his B.Tech. (Honors) from IIT-Bombay and Master’s in electrical engineering(MSEE) from Stanford University, Dilip worked at various organizations, starting as an individual contributor and then progressing to head an engineering organization of a division of a high-tech company, with $2B in sales, in California’s Silicon Valley. His current interest in coaching resulted from his career experiences spanning nearly four decades, at four very diverse organizations–and industries, including a major conglomerate in India, and from what it takes to re-invent oneself time and again, especially after a lay-off and with constraints that are beyond your control. During the 45-plus years since his graduation, Dilip has reinvented himself time and again to explore new career horizons. When he left the corporate world, as head of engineering of a technology company, he started his own technology consulting business, helping high-tech and biotech companies streamline their product development processes. Dilip’s third career was working as a marketing consultant helping Fortune-500 companies dramatically improve their sales, based on a novel concept. It is during this work that Dilip realized that the greatest challenge most corporations face is available leadership resources and effectiveness; too many followers looking up to rudderless leadership. Dilip then decided to work with corporations helping them understand the leadership process and how to increase leadership effectiveness at every level. Soon afterwards, when the job-market tanked in Silicon Valley in 2001, Dilip changed his career track yet again and decided to work initially with many high-tech refugees, who wanted expert guidance in their reinvention and reemployment. Quickly, Dilip expanded his practice to help professionals from all walks of life. Now in his fifth career, Dilip works with professionals in the Silicon Valley and around the world helping with reinvention to get their dream jobs or vocations. As a career counselor and life coach, Dilip’s focus has been career transitions for professionals at all levels and engaging them in a purposeful pursuit. Working with them, he has developed many groundbreaking approaches to career transition that are now published in five books, his weekly blogs, and hundreds of articles. He has worked with those looking for a change in their careers–re-invention–and jobs at levels ranging from CEOs to hospital orderlies. He has developed numerous seminars and workshops to complement his individual coaching for helping others with making career and life transitions. Dilip’s central theme in his practice is to help clients discover their latent genius and then build a value proposition around it to articulate a strong verbal brand. Throughout this journey, Dilip has come up with many groundbreaking practices such as an Inductive Résumé and the Genius Extraction Tool. Dilip owns two patents, has two publications in the Harvard Business Review and has led a CEO roundtable for Chief Executive on Customer Loyalty. Both Amazon and B&N list numerous reviews on his five books. Dilip is also listed in Who’s Who, has appeared several times on CNN Headline News/Comcast Local Edition, as well as in the San Francisco Chronicle in its career columns. Dilip is a contributing writer to several publications. Dilip is a sought-after speaker at public and private forums on jobs, careers, leadership challenges, and how to be an effective leader.

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