How to Neutralize a Bad Reference
January 23rd, 2011 @ 01:01pm
Your interviews are going well at Your #1 Targeted Company, and the prospective employer has told you that they'll be talking to your references AND will be calling your former company. A routine practice.
You gulp: Former company...that means former boss, who was, well, a jerk. You and he never got along. He's certainly not one of your official references, but you just know they will be able to find him and talk with him. And he won't say good things about you.
How do you head this off? How do you neutralize the situation so that his words don't kill your candidacy there?
Here are some ways:
1. Get other managers at the company who worked with you to say good things. They don't need to step up to be an official reference for you, but if you talk with them, whether they're still at the company with Former Boss or have moved on, you can coach them in what you'd like them to say about how well you did. Better to be prepared with this than have to scramble to prep these folks, so be proactive and do it now.
2. Coach your "official" three or four references - and if they are aware that Former Boss is not a good guy, they can mention that in passing to the potential employer as they're talking about you and your successes at your former company/companies.
3. On linked in, DON'T do "recommendation swapping". This is where you write a good recommendation for a colleague if they write one for you. This immediately reduces the credibility of your recommendation. Hiring managers, HR, and recruiters notice this.
4. Have a reference contact the employer on your behalf before they themselves are contacted by the employer! Now this means this person has to be a very strong fan of yours. But a phone call from the Very Strong Fan/Reference to the Hiring Manager, peer-to-peer, is always an undeniably impressive way to boost you in that Hiring Manager's eyes. At the same time, it dilutes any negative words from others.
5. Work with the Inside Employee at your #1 Targeted Company, with whom you've networked. They may not have worked with you at your former company, but they now know you and can give their positive impressions to the Hiring Manager. (One client of mine is doing this anyway and is constantly landing interviews.)
6. Best of all, have clients/customers be your references. These can be external OR internal. Their comments tell the Hiring Manager and HR how you really are in your job. Their perspective is the one a prospective employer will respect the most. Since they are not usually bound by any corporate reference-giving policy, they can speak freely about how great you are.
Some thinking ahead, and related action on your part, will help you make this worry one that will go away.
___________________
Have tough questions about unusual situations like this in your search? Contact Joanne.
Posted by Joanne Meehl | in Career coaching, interviews, Job Search, LinkedIn, Networking, References, Social media, | No Comments »
THE Biggest Mistake You Can Make on LinkedIn
September 6th, 2011 @ 09:09am
So often people ask me to "Take a look at my LinkedIn profile", and then request feedback.
I've done this so much now I can almost predict what I'll see, because so many people do the same thing:
- Their headline -- that line right after their name -- will have either their exact current title and company name, or it will say something like "in transition". (It should be your title. You may have been laid off, but they didn't take away your profession.)
- Their Summary will be a paltry 4-5 lines. (You have up to 2,000 characters, so use 'em. Just keep each section very short.)
- The Specialties section will have some keywords but will need more. (It's all about keywords. Content, not "pretty".)
- They will not use any of the apps LinkedIn offers, like your reading list courtesy of Amazon, or WordPress, or Twitter. (LinkedIn loves it when you use an app or two or more, and rewards you by finding you more readily in searches.)
- And jobs back to the 1980s will be listed, with lots of detail but too few accomplishments or keywords. (Just focus on the last 10 years. Too much has changed with your older jobs. Recruiters want to know what you've done lately.)
- The Interests section will be all personal. (Minimize the personal, accent work interests, so that you repeat keywords.)
- There will be a handful of groups, most of them "job search"-related. (Choose a majority of professional groups, with only a few job-search groups. This shows career orientation, not "I'm in job search.")
- And they'll have no recommendations and maybe 50 connections. (Shoot for at least 5 recommendations: That's what people want to read about you. Add connections: your network grows geometrically instead of "just" by, say, 10 or 25.)
In other words, too many are making the biggest mistake you can make on LinkedIn: not using it to its capacity.
And therefore, they are not being "seen" online.
Every day now, clients are landing interviews because they've been "found" on LinkedIn.
Make the changes suggested above, and you'll be on your way to getting noticed -- and interviewed -- as well.
LinkedIn is a great tool. Now use it to its maximum potential!
________________________________________
Having trouble doing your LinkedIn profile, especially the Summary? Not getting any hits on LinkedIn? Contact Joanne for help.
Posted by Joanne Meehl | in Job Search, LinkedIn, LinkedIn for job search, Networking, Social media in job search, | 1 Comment »