Have you wondered why employers choose to interview one candidate over another?  Or make a job offer to one candidate over another?  Have you ever wondered what will set you apart from other candidates?

I believe the distinction is made between candidates who have best identified and communicated to employers, their “competitive advantage” and those who have not.

WIIFM (What’s In It For Me), as a hiring motivator, has never been more true than today.  Employers are bottom line driven.  Candidates, who best drive home the message that they can make measurable differences and affect the bottom line, clearly set themselves apart from their competition.

If employers have a WIIFM attitude, don’t fight it – address it!  What follows are six ways to appeal to an employer’s WIIFM mentality and give yourself a competitive advantage.

1.    Making Money
Have your accomplishments improved sales volume?  Have you introduced products to increase sales?  Have you earned your company incentive bonuses through on-time delivery of products?  Improved gross margins?

2.    Saving Money
Have you reduced purchasing costs?  Reduced operating expenses?  Trimmed budgets?  Identified or eliminated obsolete inventory?  Outsourced processes at lower costs while retaining quality?  Reduced on the job injuries?  Re-negotiated vendor contracts?  Lowered shipping, freight, delivery costs?

3.    Saving Time, Gaining Efficiencies
Have you reduced lead-time?  Production time?  Reporting time?  Have you reduced or eliminated overtime?  Have you performed the work of two?  Introduced systems to reduce look-up time?  Boosted capacity?  Re-engineered existing processes?  Consolidated redundant operations?  Reduced or eliminated paperwork?  Streamlined reporting?  Devised new processes?  Reduced administrative/clerical errors?

4.    Solving Problems
Have you trouble shot recurring product failures?  Eliminated downtime?  Scrap?  Have you made customer access easier?  Replaced outdated technology?  Made information more accessible for team members?  Have you reduced service calls?  Improved product reliability?  Improved product packaging?

5.    Being More Competitive, Gaining New Customers
Have you initiated programs to gain market share?  Devised strategies to gain first-time clients?  Tapped into overlooked markets?  Restructured pricing policies?  Renegotiated contracts?  Revamped marketing philosophy?  Improved company/product awareness?

6.    Retaining Customers
Have you initiated customer feedback initiatives?  Set up systems to track customer purchases?  Improved customer communication channels?  Set up site visits?  Improved customer access to your company Website.  Streamlined customer reorder process?

As you take stock of your accomplishments, ask yourself one more question?  What am I known for?

If it is solving problems, for example, that must become your mantra!  It must become your trademark!  Being a “problem solver” should be highlighted in every form of your job search communication — networking meetings, your resume, cover letters, personal introduction, voice mail messages.  Coupled with researching an employer’s needs, your “competitive advantage” should be woven into the fabric of every interview response.

Your Five Step Action Plan:
1.    Revisit your accomplishments and group them into the six competitive advantage factors
2.    Rethink the questions in the six factors; you will probably have new accomplishments to add.
3.    Rework your resume, adding your new accomplishments
4.    Revise your Personal Branding Message stressing your competitive advantage(s)
5.    Review your personal introduction.  Does it highlight your newly recognized competitive advantage?  Consider adding these phrases:  “During my career I’ve been known for (competitive advantage)”, or “I have a reputation for (competitive advantage)”  “Two or three accomplishments that demonstrate that (or these) are:”  “Contributions I’ve made that would best benefit your company are:”

Leave no doubt about what sets you apart from other candidates.  Leave no doubt about what the employer will gain by hiring you.

By Mike Brown, Director, MBA Career Services Smeal College of Business

Now that you managed to land an interview, you want to make sure you make the best impression and you present yourself as the ideal candidate in the eyes of the employer. And you can do so by ending the interview successfully.

Whenever we’re facing an employer or recruiter, we always try to portray ourselves as the ideal candidate they are looking for…but what are they actually looking for?

For many, writing a cover letter, also referred to as a direct marketing letter, can create as much anxiety as developing a resume.  For that reason, many job search candidates avoid sending a cover letter and jeopardize their chances of obtaining an interview.  A cover letter is not as daunting a task as you may think.

The purpose of a cover letter is to interest the reader in reading your resume and inviting you to an interview.  It should deliver a customized, personalized message to a prospective employer.  That message is: I am interested in position XYZ, and here’s why I am a qualified candidate.

A cover letter consists of three main paragraphs and should not be longer than one printed page.  It’s sounding easier already!

The first paragraph tells the reader how you heard of the open position or, why you are interested in that company, if there is no known opening.  Refer to the position by title and reference number, if you know it.  If you have been referred by someone who the employer knows, mention his/her name.  This first paragraph is not a lengthy one, but should convey purpose, interest and enthusiasm.

The next paragraph tells the reader why you are qualified for the job.  This is the “meat and potatoes” of a good cover letter.  Stress your accomplishments and achievements that are relevant to the job you want.  This paragraph must appeal to the WIIFM (what’s in it for me) of the potential employer.  If the job posting is looking for someone with excellent problem solving skills, this paragraph must include a statement that demonstrates that point.  From a format point of view, I recommend using bullet points to accentuate those relevant accomplishments.  If you are short on related experience, focus instead on key skills that will transfer from previous work experience to the position you want.

The final paragraph tells the prospective employer how and when you will follow up.  You will improve your success rate 50%, by following up within five days of the employer’s receipt of your cover letter and resume.  You must request action, an interview or meeting.  Express your confidence that you are the right fit for the position or company.

Avoid the four most costly errors in writing cover letters:
“To Whom It May Concern” — sounds like a complaint letter.
“Dear sir/madam” or worse “Dear sir” — avoid any reference to gender.
“Dear Human Resources Manager” — unless you want to work in Human Resources, they can only reject you, not hire you.
“I look forward to hearing from you” – you must be the one to take proactive follow-up action.

The key to a good cover letter is research.  Identify the person within the company with the ability to hire you and send your cover letter directly to that person.  Make certain the spelling of their name is correct.  Do not write a “one size fits all” cover letter to every company.

Now that you have the basics for writing a professional, attention-getting cover letter, think of the competitive advantage you give yourself over all those other candidates who “opt out” of including a cover letter with their resume.

by Mike Brown, MBA Career Services Director

Greetings to all,

Depending on which survey results you prescribe to, the success rate for finding a job online is between 8-20%. Those are not impressive numbers compared to networking, gaining inside referrals, and contacting hiring managers directly. However, job candidates do find jobs on the Internet, and if you are going to employ the technology, you must know how to maximize your success rate.

In the movie, The Graduate” the keyword was “plastics.” In online job search, the keyword is….well, “keywords.” Keywords are nouns and noun phrases that describe you professionally. They are nouns generally associated with an industry, profession or job function. If you are going to post your resume to job boards, company websites, keywords are critical to gaining visibility.

Today, many employers are employing Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software or Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) to screen, sort and rank candidate resumes.  In order to screen thousands of qualified candidates, an internal recruiter or hiring manager, using OCR or ATS software, will create search criteria, keywords to select resumes from hundreds to thousands of candidates in a company’s database.

Keywords are words we use in our day-to-day work and academic life but often take for granted. They are:

• Transferable skills: communication, leadership, planning, team building, mentoring, critical thinking, consulting, editing
• Job specific skills: financial analysis, internal audits, script writing, union relations, Sarbanes-Oxley, account management, risk assessment, GAAP
• Technical skills: SAP, systems architecture, programming, CAD/CAM
• Software: Excel, PowerPoint, Project Manager, Access, PhotoShop
• Job titles: VP Marketing, CFO, Director of Operations, Software Engineer
• Personal qualities: high-energy, visionary, results-oriented
• Education/degree: MBA, PhD, MS
• Certifications/licenses: CPA, MCSE, Series 7, RN, Series 65
• Quality programs: ISO 9000, TQM, Six Sigma, LEAN
• Industry jargon: Marcom, B2B, B2C, cradle-to-grave
• Languages: Spanish, German, Japanese, Mandarin

You already know many keywords through assessment tools and personality surveys. The best place, however, to find keywords is in job postings and position descriptions under the Qualifications or Requirements section. Look for descriptors in the job requisition that employers use to describe their ideal candidate. As long as they are truthful about you, create your own list. Open a new file in Word and call it Keywords. The list may contain 20 to 50 noun and noun phrases from the categories above.

You may say, “but my resume already contains many of these words.” Does it, however, contain enough to rank your resume high enough on an employer’s “hit list?” Of 20 keywords that a recruiter uses, he or she may only look at the candidate resumes that match 18 and more of the 20. We create a Skills Summary to ensure our resume exceeds a minimum threshold.

Every resume that you submit electronically, either to a major job board or an employer’s corporate website should, no MUST, contain a Skills Summary. Your Skills Summary is a customized collection of those noun and noun phrases that match the requirements for the position for which you are applying, from your saved keyword list mentioned earlier. You merely create a string of words separated by commas. Your Skills Summary may contain as many as 10 to 15 word and word phrases.

If you have previously submitted resumes without a Skills Summary, fear not! You now have a golden opportunity to revise, refresh or resubmit existing resumes by adding the Skills Summary. I wouldn’t be surprised if you begin to see interest almost immediately based on the new visibility that keywords have generated.

Give your resume a fresh start,

Mike

by Mike Brown, Director of MBA Career Services

The MBA summer internship is morphing into something new. Increasingly, students are taking on internships before classes even begin.  It’s a great way for career switchers to gain experience and get their foot on the door. Read more about the pre-MBA summer internship here.

Starting Your Job Search

Reminder: Don’t get sucked into a place of complacency and think that a job will magically happen. People don’t generate nearly enough activity; don’t pin your expectations on one phone call response or one potential offer.

New Advice: Treat your job search as a project with deadlines and metrics and create a plan. At the deadlines, determine if you’ve met your goals/metrics and, if not, figure out why. You cannot stop until you have an offer in your hand.

Resumes

Reminder: Recast your resume with keywords for what you want to be. Make sure it is understandable, granular, and accomplishment-oriented.

New Advice: When you are e-mailing contacts, attach your resume every time so they can easily remember you and your background.

Cover Letters

Reminder: Don’t restate your resume. Cover letters can derail your application as much as they can help so keep them simple and grammatically correct.

New Advice: Cover letters may not be as important as you think. Create your opening, mention the most important part of your background and state that your resume is attached. Keep it short and spend your time on more productive activities.

Networking

Reminder: Reach out to the people you know and ask, “Can you give me some advice on how to meet additional people in my job search?” Put yourself in a position of being discovered.

New Advice: The alumni database is one of the best places to network. Once you apply for a job, connect with a Penn Stater within that company (preferably in the same department or in a similar position) and ask for advice on the position/application.

Thank You Notes (non-interview situations)

Reminder: Whenever you take up someone’s time, make sure to send the thank you note before you go to sleep that night. Keep it short – they’re busy too!

New Advice: When writing a thank you note, say something about a personal interaction you’ve had. It will help them remember who you are.

A final reminder: It’s a game of numbers. Don’t take the rejections personally and don’t get discouraged. Make sure to explore different avenues and thank the people who have taken the time to speak with you or help you on your search.

BACKGROUND – BARBARA BRIDENDOLPH:

Barbara Bridendolph is President and CEO of Crenshaw Associates, a New York-based boutique that provides career-long advisory services to senior executives, primarily C-levels and their direct reports.  She became a Partner in the firm in 2001, was named President in 2004, and President and CEO in 2005.

Barb oversees the firm’s career consulting work and personally acts as an Executive Advisor.  Since joining Crenshaw, she has worked with more than 150 Directors, CEOs, COOs, CFOs, GCs, Division Presidents and functional heads of Sales, Marketing, Corporate Development, Supply Chain and Finance.  The industry sectors from which her clients have come include CPG, financial services, pharma, advertising, technology, and consulting/public accounting/law.

Prior to participating in the acquisition of Crenshaw Associates, Barb had her own consulting firm which advised senior executives on strategic marketing programs and alliances.  This followed her tenure as President of Precision Marketing Associates, an advertising agency specializing in direct marketing.  Earlier, Barb was SVP of Marketing at Carroll Reed, a specialty clothing retail/catalog company where she had P&L responsibility for catalog operations.  She started her career in brand management at Procter & Gamble.

Barb received an MBA from Penn State and a BS in Psychology from the University of Pittsburgh.

Special thank you to Susan Slopek, Class of 2011

From the feedback we received during Career Immersion, it appears that you really enjoyed the Etiquette lunch.   Many decisions are made over a meal, and depending on the culture, the majority of business occurs during meal and social time.   To help you be your best, should you ever encounter a lunch interview, we have provided you with this information.    This should provide you with a nice supplement to the etiquette lunch.  Read more here.

During Career Immersion Week we heard many different people talking about the same thing – importance of networking. Most of us already went through a more formal or informal process of networking, so at least we know what it is all about. However, we need to constantly improve our networking abilities. A very important skill we should all master is the ability to promote ourselves without being obnoxious. There is a fine line between bolstering your professional image and coming across as a self-absorbed and narcissistic. Read more here

Interesting job searching business model with immediate feedback – $0.99 per post to get feedback.  Check out localbacon.com.

(don’t forget to read about the company before signing up!)