This Is How to Get Your Next Job: An Anside Look at What Employers Really Want

“Andrea has constructed a thoughtful, effective series of strategies that will benefit every job hunter who reads this book. I think this kind of depth was always needed on the subject of the job interview, but now more so than ever, in today’s tough economy. This book is a gift. So, buy it. Read it. Use it. Please.” — From the book’s foreword by Richard N. Bolles, author of What Color Is Your Parachute? There’s no question that looking for work can be daunting. But what’s most likely hold-ing you back from getting that much-desired job offer isn’t a matter of your skills or experience, but how potential employers see you. When asked by leading career expert Andrea Kay why they didn’t hire the last ten people they interviewed, employers revealed that it was the behaviors people exhibited before, during, and after interviews–from lack of preparation, to pushiness, to a subtly defensive attitude–that led them to say “No.” Simply put, they concluded: If you act like this now, you’ll act like this on the job. Based on candid insights from real-life employers, This Is How to Get Your Next Job helps you influence the people in charge of hiring. You’ll learn how to make a positive and genuine impression, demonstrate what type of employee you’ll be, and remove all doubt that you’ll be that elusive “good fit” for the company. Featuring a list of “15 Things You Should Never Do” and a “Would You Hire You?” test, this book reveals what you may be doing or saying that could be getting in the way of your being hired . . . and gives you the strategies you need to show employers who you really are. ANDREA KAY is a career consultant and syndicated columnist who has helped tens of thousands of people find new jobs and take charge of their careers. She is the author of six books including Life’s a Bitch and Then You Change Careers, and her syndicated column, “At Work,” appears weekly in more than 80 newspapers and countless websites, including the online edition of USA Today. She’s been interviewed in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Chicago Tribune, Forbes, Money, Kiplinger Personal Finance, and Redbook, and on radio and TV across the United States.

ANDREA KAY is a career consultant and syndicated columnist who has helped tens of thousands of people find new jobs and take charge of their careers. She is the author of six books including Life’s a Bitch and then You Change Careers, and her syndicated column, “At Work” appears weekly in over 80 newspapers and countless websites, including the online edition of USA Today. She’s been interviewed in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Chicago Tribune, Forbes, Money, Kiplinger Personal Finance, Redbook, and on radio and TV across the U.S.

Introduction: Why I Had to Write This Book

There were two reasons.

Reason #1: I couldn’t stand listening to myself yell at the radio

any longer.

I don’t know about you, but I hate listening to myself yell—no

matter what. But particularly when I’m alone and the point I’m yelling

about will not make a lick of difference since no one but my dog

and two cats can hear it.

In this case, I was getting ready for the day. Across the room I could

hear the radio with a news report about jobs and unemployment.

An unemployed woman in Kansas was talking about how she sent

out her resume with the same cover letter to 150 employers. “And I

didn’t get a single response,” she exclaimed.

“Don’t do that!” I yelled.

The interviewer asked a man in Florida what kind of work he’d

like to do. He replied, “I’m looking for something where I can use

my skills with people and maybe with computers.”

“Don’t say that!” I shouted.

When asked what she wanted, a young woman who had been

trying to get work for a year said, “Well, ya know, I’m like a, well, I

wanna be like a English and communications major. But I can’t find

a job in it.”

Yes, I yelled again: “Don’t do that!”

Reason #2: I wanted to know if my husband was crazy.

For more than six months I had watched him try to find an

employee for his small business. He’d come home complaining

about what potential employees were saying and doing in e-mails

and during interviews he’d held at Starbucks, over lunch, in his

office, and by phone.

Then one night he said, “That’s it. End of story. No more. I give

up.” He was genuinely sad and discouraged about the whole thing.

Was it him? Was he right? I started talking to employers at small,

medium, and large companies to find out. All over the country, they

were experiencing the same thing. They had job openings, but said

they couldn’t find good people to fill them. They also told me what

candidates were doing that led them to that conclusion. Turns out

there was a complete mismatch of priorities and expectations.

If only workers could hear this. With the job market thick with

fear and so much desperation among workers and misunderstanding

between them and employers, I thought, perhaps I could bridge

the gap a bit.

Most job hunters tell me their goal is to “stand out” to get noticed

and hired—and how hard that is. Employers agree it’s important to

stand out. But, they say, it’s not that hard. It’s a matter of not doing

what everybody else is doing.

Before you delve into those specifics, which are in my “don’t do

that/do this” advice (Chapters 3 through 6), it’s key that you read

Chapters 1 and 2. Because to apply the Don’ts and Do’s effectively,

you’ll need to understand:

– How employers think today

– How to stand out among the millions you’re competing with

– Why employers may not be hiring you

– What employers are looking for and why they’d hire you

– How you want to come across to employers

– How to show employers who you really are

– How to show employers you’ve got the skills the job calls for and are the type of person they want

– How to reinforce the impression you want to make before, during, and after an interview

That and more is what I cover in the first two chapters and will refer

back to again and again in later chapters.