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Quintessential Answers:
Q&A's with Career & College Experts

 

Questions and Answers with Career Expert Michael Kaplan

 

Please note: On a somewhat infrequent basis, Quintessential Careers asks noted career experts five questions related to their expertise and publishes the interview in the current issue of QuintZine, our career e-newsletter. Those interviews are archived here for your convenience.

 

Michael Kaplan is a marketing and management veteran who operates MichaelTrains.

 

Q: When you have been in the role of hiring manager, what has been your No. 1 pet peeve when you've interviewed candidates? What's the interview behavior or mistake that most turns you off?
A: This will sound like a minor little thing, but I have a huge pet peeve when someone responds to a job posting with a cover letter that begins "To whom it may concern" or some such thing when my name is clearly stated as the person to whom resumes should be sent. Related to this issue is when I receive a letter addressed to "Mr. Trains" (the name of my company is MichaelTrains) instead of "Mr. Kaplan" (my name, which is made clear on all job postings).

 

The usual other things make a big difference to me:
  1. I expect you as the interviewee to have researched the company before meeting with me. Before the Internet, that was not always so easy. These days, there is no excuse.
  2. I expect you to bring a copy of the resume with you to the interview.
  3. I expect you to take notes during the interview.
  4. I expect that you will look the part and dress professionally (recent college grads have a habit of dressing for a night out with friends and not for an interview).
  5. I expect cell phones to be turned off.
  6. I am turned off by people who answer my questions during the interview or who send a cover letter with the same choice of words they use to text message to friends.
  7. I expect a well-thought-out answer to my first question, which is "why should I hire you?" The answer must relate to my company and the position.

 

Q: Your background is in sales and marketing management. How can job candidates bring sales and marketing techniques into their interview preparation?
A:
  1. Make your cover letter interesting. Show me that you actually read the job posting and that this is not the same letter you send everywhere.
  2. Be early for the interview.
  3. Know my name (see comments to the previous question).
  4. Make eye contact. Remember that I am trying to imagine you communicating with clients; the interview has to show me you have the maturity to do so.
  5. The interview goes both ways. As the prospective employee, you should be prepared enough to ask me questions about the company, the position, and my management style.
  6. If you are interested in the position after the interview, ask for the job.
  7. Send a thank-you letter (e-mail is fine) that covers your best attributes, addresses any concerns that might have arisen during the interview, and ask for the job.
  8. Spell-check and grammar-check before sending anything in writing.

 

Q: What's the biggest mistake job-seekers make that your advice could correct or prevent?
A: I do not see enough passion during the interview. I know job searching tends to be an emotionally draining experience, but the job-seeker needs to convince me of his or her sincere interest in the job I am offering (not just the need for a job). For the positions in which I hire (sales and marketing related), showing passion and excitement is just as important and specific experience. The job-seeker needs to remember that I am using the interview to judge how he or she will do in front of my clients. When candidates mumble, appear bored, and send communication with spelling errors, they are showing me they do not have the passion and desire I want to see. I can train on specific skills and provide product knowledge; but I cannot train someone to be passionate.

 

Q: What's the best way to uncover job leads -- or do you advise multiple methods? What's the best combination of methods and what percentage of a job-seeker's time should be spent on each?
A: There is not one guaranteed method. I advise a combination of the following:

 

  1. Web searching. Using a site like indeed.com to search multiple job sites is a good use of time.
  2. Post your resume everywhere (Monster, Careerbuilder, local job boards, local unemployment office, etc.). Sometimes that is a waste of time, but it has to work only one time for it to succeed. Once you post your resume, come back often to update it so it stays near the job of the search results.
  3. Send your resume to local and national executive recruiters who specialize in your discipline.
  4. Have your resume professionally written. You are not objective about yourself; let an expert write it for you.
  5. Network (join LinkedIn.com, attend local Chamber of Commerce events, etc.).
  6. Make your friends aware of what you are seeking.
  7. Remove all electronic postings (such as on a Facebook page) that might have been cute in college, but which will reflect poorly on you now.
  8. Searching for a job is a job. The job seeker needs to treat it as such.

 

Q: From your observations and experience, just how tough is the job market today? How can job-seekers achieve success and stand out from the crowd in such a competitive market?
A: The market is as bad as it has ever been. Jobs are out there, but the number of people applying for each one can be staggering. There is not a guaranteed method of standing out, but I suggest two things:

 

  1. Have your resume professionally written. Not only is it very hard for you to be objective about your own achievements, but the resume has to stand out. As a hiring manager, if I get 200 applicants for a single opening, I will spend 30 seconds on each resume, so it had better be well written, and it had better be a dynamic document.
  2. Network in your community. Many job openings are not listed. When I have an opening, I will consider the people in my network before looking at applicants I do not know.

 

Marketing and management veteran Michael Kaplan has more than 18 years of career experience, most as a hiring manager. He has served in various sales-management and executive positions in everything from start-ups to Fortune 500 corporations. Using his experience and outstanding relationship building talents, Kaplan organized MichaelTrains to bring a unique perspective to the resume-writing and business-communication process. Based in Eastern Iowa, near Cedar Rapids, MichaelTrains enjoys an outstanding professional reputation in the community and beyond. Kaplan can be contacted at this e-mail.

 


 

Check out all our interview with career experts in Quintessential Answers: Q&A's with Career & College Experts.

 


 

Maximize your career and job-search knowledge and skills! Take advantage of The Quintessential Careers Content Index, which enables site visitors to locate articles, tutorials, quizzes, and worksheets in 35 career, college, job-search topic areas.

 


 

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