How to Get a Job: A Step-by-Step Guide | Learn with Glassdoor

1. Introduction: Hi everyone, my name is Scott, and I am the Community Expert here at Glassdoor. Basically, that means that I look at job trends all day long. Who's getting jobs? How they're getting jobs? Who's applying to jobs? What the most popular jobs are? Really the ins and outs of how to get hired today. I'm not just an employee here at Glassdoor, I've been a job seeker before and I've been a desperate job seeker. So, when I was going through this career crisis, one thing that I really realized that stood out that was crystal clear is that there was a clear method to get noticed, to do research, to become informed. If you did that, wow, you really stood a higher chance to get your dream job. So, the tricky part is there's no college course on this. No one teaches you in college how to get a job or negotiate your salary, it just doesn't exist. So, that's one reason why we're doing what we're doing here today. It's to help you and empower you to find the right job, to negotiate your salary, and for you to take control of your career. This course is going to give you seven steps to finding and securing the right job for you. It all starts with the research phase, researching the right job and company, writing your resume, writing your cover letter. Then, it moves to preparing, preparing for the interview, negotiating your salary, and then the do's and don'ts of starting that first job within the first 30 days. As part of this, we're also going to have a downloadable toolkit which will have checklist, tips and tricks, and everything that you're going to learn throughout this course. After this course, we want to hear from you in the discussion board, leave your questions, talk to one another, let us know about your job search success stories. As a community, you guys can help each other through the process too, and I'm so, so glad that you've chosen to take this course. So, let's find you the right job. Let's get started. 2. Research Opportunities: So in numbers, it's a very healthy job market today. We're seeing about five million open jobs in the United States. We're seeing a very low unemployment rate, hovering around four percent. On Glassdoor alone and we see more than 700,000 companies being rated and reviewed by employees. We're seeing most people actually satisfied in their jobs this day and age. Another nuance in today's job market is that people are hopping and bouncing jobs more than ever. The data that we've looked at here at Glassdoor shows that most people are staying in a job about two to three years. Think about your parents or grandparents. Many of them often stayed with a company or a job for 10 years, 20 years, 30 years, their entire careers. So people are looking at new opportunities, looking at more money more regularly. So one of the most important things you have to understand first in today's job market is that job titles are changing, and they're changing big time. As companies evolve, as they get smarter and as they consolidate roles, the traditional job title that you might think off the bat right now as you're sitting there, that could still be there but there's a lot of other related job titles. So the whole game is changing. Here's a great example, a copywriter. You could search for that job title and you'll find a bunch of skills and the job description. However, did you know that a related job title content marketer is likely someone who could do that same job? So why limit yourself? So here's what you have to do. Instead of searching by job title this day and age, instead reverse it. Look at your skill set first, your technical skills and your soft skills. Make a list of them and then that will lead you to finding job titles and related job titles that actually fit who you are in your skill set. So one of the most important areas when it comes to your skill sets is your job functionality. What that is what you do for the large part. So for instance, if you're a software engineer, you know how to build websites or if you're a nurse, you know how to take care of patients and the right way to do that. Then for your technical skill set that really refers to the tools you use to actually do your job. So if you are that software engineer, it is the language that you use to code. It could be C++ or Python. Then if you are that nurse, it is the machines that you use to monitor a patient to determine the level of care that you give them. Finally, you have your soft skills. These are really personal attributes that allow you to work well with others and support you doing your job well. So for instance, if you're that software engineer and you're coding and you run up against a bunch of problems, well, maybe one of your soft skills is you have a great ability to think critically. So you're looking at the problem and you can come up with a solution, you're really good at that. If you're that nurse, maybe it is the soft skill of being able to clearly communicate in difficult situations. So by now you've identified all your skills, what you truly have to offer to an employer. So the next step is how to research and find the right job and company for you and one that really fits your life. So first let's go pie in the sky. Search for your dream job title, nothing wrong with that. So go ahead put that dream job title in and search for job results, see what's out there. But then keep in mind you can filter and you should filter. Some things you can filter by include location, when the job came online, or on a site like Glassdoor, you can even filter by base salary. So do that and see what you return first. So then you have a bunch of open jobs that you can look at and it might seem overwhelming. Well, don't be overwhelmed. Start clicking through and reading the job description and what the job entails. Guess what, if you see one that looks like a good fit for you go ahead and save that job. You can do that and then revisit it later to actually apply. But right now keep in mind you still want to narrow down the jobs that could be a good fit. So stay focused on that in this step first. One thing to keep in mind while you're doing this process is to stay true to your skill set and this can be hard, you're going to see a lot of jobs, a lot of opportunities, all of them are not right for you and not for your skill set. So, if you see one and it has a lot of the skill sets that you wrote down, cool. Good. Mark it, note it, save it, revisit it. If you look at another job and it only has like one tenth of what you wrote down, let it go. It's probably not the right job for you and that's okay. So you're reading through the job descriptions, you're saving some jobs, guess what you can look to the side, to the top, to the bottom there's probably related jobs that are being served up for you that may be a good fit as well. Do not ignore these. In fact, click on them. What you're really doing here is using what you do know, that dream job title to find jobs that you may otherwise not even know about. So you're going to read through the description, save jobs you like and then see related suggested job titles that you actually could be a fit for and then do it all over again. You're going to search by that related job title and read through jobs that could be a good fit, save and then rinse and repeat. Look at other related job titles that are actually being served up to you and search again. Before you know it you're probably going to have several, if not many jobs that could be a good fit. One thing we see time and time again, is many job seekers applying to lots and lots of jobs. They just send in their resume, they applied to 10, 20, 30 in a day. Do not do that. We want to find you a great job. A job that gives you longevity, career opportunities, a nice healthy paycheck. Just applying to a lot of jobs not the way to go and it waste your time. You want to look at the jobs that are the best right fit for you and in turn what you're doing is making yourself informed. That's what we call an informed candidate. Guess what, this is what employers want today. We have tons of data points that prove this. So when you're informed about the role, the ins and outs of the job and all that goes into it, guess what, those are the people, those are the candidates that today's smart employers want. So now that you have these jobs that you want to apply for, ideally about 10 or so, the next step is researching the company to see what it's actually like at these different employers. So you have a lot of jobs that can appear to be the same but where you go to work can differ vastly. So, here are the top five things that I recommend you look at when considering which employers are involved in this process. So number one, look at the location of your actual employer. The values of the company, number two. Number three, the financial picture. Check out the employee reviews, the pros and the cons about working at this employer and then finally, the benefits there. That's one part of the total compensation package. By doing this now instead of waiting till the interview process or perhaps after you interview and actually get a job offer, is it's going to save you time in the long run. You want to apply to jobs and interview at companies that you already believe in and that you feel would be a good fit. If you wait until after, you're going to waste your time and you're actually going to waste the time of the employer. Now an insiders tip, a lot of employers, don't always know why, they will actually take down the job listing even before a job is filled. So, when you go into a negotiation phase or an interview, if you download that job listing or even paste and copy all the text and just save it for later, you are going to have an edge. You can refer to it later to speak to and hit on exactly what they want most. So at this point you should be pretty excited. You've got maybe five to eight good jobs that you actually want to apply to. You've downloaded the job reps, you've saved them, you're ready to go. So let's move on to the next step. 3. Craft Your Resume: So, now you've got these great jobs that you want to apply to. So the next step is drafting the perfect resume. Really you should think about this as a marketing tool that really showcases your impact, your performance, and your work history. So, you may have noticed we did not do the resume first. You look at the jobs, find the descriptions, and identify your skills first. You do not want to just create a resume, there you go, and send it along. No, no, no, that is the old way of doing it. The new way is identifying those jobs and then you want to tailor and custom make every single resume, even slightly for that job and for that employer. Even tweaking it, improving it, customizing it ever so slightly, can give you that competitive edge. So, now one of my favorite parts, the anatomy of the perfect resume. In fact, there are nine elements that you should consider, and we're going through all of them right now. So, number one in all of this, know that design does matter. So, don't go too trick or flashy with designer graphics. You don't want too much word clutter or too much white space either. But some good rules to keep in mind is margins of point seven and then also your font size. Keep it about 11, nothing smaller. Twelve, that could be okay. So, number two, when drafting your resume, be reachable, and put this near the top. So, on your resume, you may have your name at the top, and then you want certain points too so that you can be contacted by the employer. I definitely recommend including a valid and professional email address. This could include your first name dot last name, add an email address. I also do suggest including your phone number. Today's recruiters are calling you still or even texting you. In addition to your email and your phone number, I also recommend including your address, the street and the city. This lets the employer know where you are. By including this, you're just being more transparent about yourself. You're letting them know if you are in their city or if perhaps you are someone who might require relocation. A great tip too is ditch the personal objective statement. I feel very strongly about this one. No employer cares that you want the job. In fact, by applying to it, it's actually a bit redundant. They know that what they want is what you can deliver for them. These next two things are really the meat and potatoes of your resume. Number one, show off your skills. I definitely recommend an area or even a box that highlight your technical skills, your job functionality skills, and your soft skills. So this refer to that document that you've already compiled earlier in this course. Don't list everything. Look at the skills that are most relevant for the job you're applying to. Use keywords, you want to incorporate that resume with the keywords, at least some of them that you see in the job description. It is true that many employers do use technology to screen resumes that seem to be a good fit before they go on to an actual human person. So, incorporate some keywords in there. So, gets past that automated point. Then the next thing that's really core to your resume here is list your experience. Here, you do want to highlight your experience at where you're working, where you've previously worked, and then include some bullet points under each of them highlighting what you actually did. Next, you also want to highlight your accomplishments rather than your responsibilities. When you do so, you really want to use proactive action verbs. So, for instance, I launched this, I lead this, I exceeded, I was responsible for x and y. This really allows you to quantify what you've done and how you've made an impact, and that's what today's employer wants to know. However, note, you want to put more bullet points, provide more insight into your most recent work. In fact, you may even need no bullet points on a job 10 years ago, maybe a couple bullet points on a job from a few years ago, and then more, maybe five bullet points on your current job. Number five, also really important, you want to quantify your success, quantify your experience. So, this means actually using numbers in that proactive language to show what the result was, what you actually did, what led to something that was so amazing. So, let's say you are a store manager in retail. How many sweaters did you sell at a very busy time? You can quantify that in numbers. If you are a writer, how many clicks or articles are you pumping out per month? There are numbers behind almost every job. Just look for it and use it. Number six here is include other roles. In fact, do not be afraid to include roles outside of what you currently do. In fact, what you did there or how you did it, how you can quantify your success is probably somewhat related to the you're going for. So, look for those nuggets of information. People out, they're looking for a career or job transition. Ding ding ding. This one is for you. You've got to look at related roles or even very different roles, but then look at what you did in that role that relates back to the job description and include that. Number seven here, get the grade. So, what this means is there are so many jobs out there that require or highly desire a certain certification or something that makes you eligible to actually get that job. List them, put them there, and make the employer know what you've done. That great education that you got, where you went to college, well, put it at the bottom, unless you're a current college student or a recent graduate. In those two cases, you can put it at the top. Number eight, add the extra stuff. I like to call it the extra sauce. Not near the top, but likely near the bottom of your resume. What volunteer organizations, clubs, charities, sports activities have you done and accomplished that actually have skill sets that relate to the job? I wouldn't count on this information to actually get you the job. But when there are several good resumes out there, these are some of the facets that can actually make you stand out, and you suddenly go from good to great. Finally, number nine here, keep it concise. So, as we said, try and keep that resume to one page. When in doubt, leave it out. The truth is in about 90 percent of the cases, you should be able to fit all of your career highlights, what you've done, and what's made an impact in one page. That is the truth. Don't make an employer work harder. So, if you wrote something, or someone says I'm not sure if you need this, and you're wobbling, you're not really convinced you need it, get rid of it. Now, there will be times when you can start to go beyond one page. How do you know when to do that? Well, typically, when you have about 15 years experience across most industries or you start reaching that middle level point in your career, such as a director level job title or above, then, yes, you're going to have more things to potentially highlight, more work history, more related content and features to serve up to that employer to explain. One of the final steps is ask for advice. Do not be cocky. I know you have great skills, and you think what you're putting together is amazing, and it probably is, but why not make it even more amazing than that? So, if you have to stand out from the pack, ask your friends, ask colleagues, ask mentors to look at your resume and give some really good constructive feedback, what they like about it, but also maybe where you could improve, and then edit, edit, edit. So, now that we've walked through the anatomy of the perfect resume, I really want to go through some questions that I get asked all the time. One very popular question that I get is this one. If I have a really bad job experience or I get fired from a job, what do you do? Do you leave it on your resume or do you leave it off? The truth is, with this one, you want to let transparency guide you to determine if you leave it on or leave it off. What I mean by that is be honest, be transparent, but also be relevant. So, if it has a relevance to your current job, leave it on. If it was a really long time ago or let's say it was a side gig in between jobs, but maybe it just doesn't have that skill set related to this job, then that's okay to leave off. But if someone says maybe there is a gap in your history or they ask, "Hey, I heard you had this job," but it's not on your resume, nothing wrong with that. Just be prepared to answer. Here's another popular question. Will I get caught lying on your resume? Well, the truth is we may never know. But again, you should assume that you will. You don't want to start off a potential job or potentially start off with a company on a foot of lying or embellishing something. Be honest. Be transparent. That is how you will get the right job for you. So the next popular question that I get is, how do I explain a gap in my work experience? So, if you take off five months or five years, but it's not on your resume, what do I do? Okay. In that case again, let honesty and transparency guides you in how you deal with the situation. So, even if you're out of the job market at any stage for a few months, no need to mention that, no need to put it on your resume. If they get asked why, we'll then let them know. Maybe you just wanted a break, maybe you spend more time with your family, maybe you went traveling, all of that is okay. Just let them know. However, if you have a chunk of, let's call it, five years, something significant, and then you're looking to re-enter the workforce, there's nothing wrong with including about one sentence, maybe midway down or near the end, that explains I was out of the workforce for five years due to X, Y, and Z. One to two sentences tops. Wrapping up here, you also have access to your resume checklist. So, we've gone through all these steps. But don't worry, all you have to do is just download the resume checklist, and they should act as your guide when drafting your perfect resume that I know we'll get you that good job. 4. Write Your Cover Letter: In this next lesson, we tackle the cover letter. There's two major questions that surrounds every cover letter. I see this all the time. Number one, what is a cover letter? Number two, do I even need it? So, the cover letter is a brief story about who you are, what you have to offer, why you're a great fit for the employer, and remember, it is not a summary but a supplement to your resume. So, let's explore this next question a little bit more because I hear it time and time again, all the time. This really revolves around, do I even need to do a cover letter or not? So, if you believe it's going to be additive to your application experience, then yes, you should do it. If you see the word such as cover letter preferred, cover letter optional, cover letter required, that one's no-brainer, then yes, you should do it. You should go the extra step to show the employer that you are interested, and again, provide that story about you as added texture and layer for them to understand. But here's the tricky part about the cover letter, it can make you or it can break you. So, if you just regurgitate your resume, that is the biggest, don't. That is the biggest no-no. It needs to really be that additive supplement that is a story about who you are, what you can add, why you have passion for them, and again, show some of your personality here. We work with our co-workers 40 hours if not more a week. So it's okay to allude to certain activities, clubs, awards you've won, again, if it relates back to that role. So, this should entice them, tease them more to pick up the phone. If you read it and it does't, well then, when in doubt, leave it out. There's a few things that every good cover letter should include. Number one, include an anecdote about what you love about this company. This will really make your research and information come through. It will show that you are informed about the employer. Remember, every employer wants their candidates to be informed. Number two, explain what you can do for the company. Remember, it's not about what you want in the company, to be honest, it's about what you can do for them. The problems that you can solve for them. The solutions that you have and how you're additive to their program or their department. Go back to that job description. Look at the problems that they want to solve for. What they want done in this role and then figure out, based on your experience and your skills, what you can do, how you can prove that you can solve those challenges. The next thing to know about a cover letter, is it's actually okay and this is the time to show off who you are. It's okay to put some fun into it where appropriate. So for instance, I got once here at Glass Store, a very nice cover letter, professional from a job candidate and then at the very end, she said, "I really love the glass store Halloween photo." Halloween is a big thing here at Glass Store. So, the fact that she saw it and put a smiley face next to it, that was A-okay and I said, "Wow, this person has paid special extra attention," and we brought her in for an interview. Also on your cover letter, do not be bashful about including a very clear call to action. So for instance, near the end of your cover letter, you want that job interview, you can allude to it subtly, while still being assertive. So something like, I look forward to hearing from you. I look forward to an interview to talk about next steps. I look forward to connecting at a later date. This is very different than I want to hear from you. I will follow up with you in two days. Call me in three days. No-no, those are not appropriate, the other ones are the best route to go. Don't forget to keep your cover letter concise. Probably about three paragraphs max is fine. With the cover letter, there's also some things that you should definitely not do, steer clear of. So number one on this list, do not embellish. It's almost lying. In fact, it could be. So, a great example of this is do not say you lead a team of five to 12 people if in fact, you were just a member of the team and maybe you took on, yes, some leadership roles at certain points in a project, you didn't lead or manage the team, you are a team member. So, say it as you were. Another tip, do not overuse industry jargon. So for instance, do not say that you are a innovative, game-changing disruptor. What does that even mean? Yes, those are buzzwords and combined together, it sounds terrible and it lets the employer know well, pretty much nothing. So, use words that actually describe and show your skill set instead of just buzzwords that won't get you noticed. Another tip on your cover letter, do not include, to whom it may concern at the top of your cover letter. So, it's too easy this day and age to at least have an idea of who actually could be reading your cover letter. So, let's go through some options. If you literally have no idea, and based on your research, you can't find it but you know it's the marketing team, you can assume it's leaders. So you could write to, X company, marketing leaders. Now if you go one step further and you happen to know who the hiring manager is, then you would want to put, dear Mr, Miss, or Mrs and address them by their last name, not their first name, you're not best friends with them yet. So you need to use their last name. So, it's okay to address them to leaders, or their specific name, or there's nothing wrong with just, good afternoon. That's okay too. One thing that's really important to remember here is that you do not want to regurgitate your resume. So, when drafting your cover letter, keep in mind, it is a story about you. It should include anything that stands out, gives color, texture into why you're amazing in your current role and/or why you're just a really good fit for this role and the company. Those are your guiding principles. So now we've kind of talked about what the cover letter is and why that has value. But now, let's go into the specifics of what to include in the cover letter to make you stand out. The number one thing, put your name and contact information at the top. Remember, you want them to contact you. Number two, slightly below that, you then want to address them. Remember, it's not to whom it may concern. The third part here and perhaps the most important in drafting a cover letter, is your opening paragraph. Here you want to catch their attention. So put in something interesting, fascinating about yourself or the role and how you can solve their challenges in that initial paragraph. A brief description, remind them of the job you're applying to and that's it. The next part and your second paragraph, you really want to touch on your story. In here, describe a great anecdote, a great example of what makes you, you in the workplace and/or how you can really head on what they want in this role. This is the place to make you and your skills come alive. The next step is what we call your closing paragraph. So, here you really want to close with why you're, again, interested in the company, interested in this role and remind them of how you can be the perfect person for this job. Don't forget, in this area, this is where you want to place your call-to-action. That's where you look forward to hearing from them or hope to hear from them to meet in person about that interview. Lastly, wrap it up. Sincerely or thank you, comma and then your name on the line underneath it. You want to make sure that everyone can open it and that all this great formatting that you've spent so much time on actually holds true. So, include it as a PDF, that is a great way to ensure almost everyone can read it, see it in the way that you want them to. Just like with other lessons in this course, we also have the checklist for the cover letter. So, just download it. Let it be your guide in drafting the perfect cover letter and this also includes templates, where other great cover letters look up. So just download it and use it. 5. Submit Your Application: So, now that you're finally ready to actually submit your application and apply to jobs, there are a few things that everyone should keep in mind and know that are different today than they were several years ago. So, number one, we've done research here at Glassdoor and the majority of employees today believe they have a better chance of getting a job if they apply within the first 48 hours that the job comes online. So, what this means for you, what it signals to you is that yes, if you do apply within the first 48 hours you may stand a better chance of getting noticed, that's because the competition is applying faster too. So, the takeaway here is, look for the job, save them, set up job alerts, so that you get them in your inbox asap, review them, and if it's the right job for you yes, you should apply quickly. However, if you do see a job listing that you really, really like and it's been five days, 10 days even 30 days since it was posted, but you really want that job, well, do not fear, you should still apply to the job, but know there may be others who got in front of you. Every employer looks at job applications differently, some look at them as they come in, others may wait till a certain date at the very end to look at them, but because you don't know this, if you really want the job, apply. One thing to keep in mind and yes, you may have to take a deep breath before this, be prepared to re-enter in the information on your resume into a piece of technology. It is not uncommon for employers to have a screen, and an application process that might say, upload your resume and then some of it could auto populate into fields, but some of it may not auto populate as well. So, don't abandon the job. Know that the people who really want this job will be the ones who take what's about two to three minutes extra and fill in the boxes, it's just a part of the process right now. Next here, be thorough, if they ask for certain levels of information that are say, starred and required, then yes, you're going to enter that. But, then as you get into certain fields that are optional, be thorough, I definitely suggest including all fields where applicable. The more information they have about you, can again really be a signal to them to want to pick up that phone, call you, and learn more. Finally, amongst the things that I definitely recommend, follow instructions. So, for instance, if they asked you to upload your resume, cover letter, and fill out fields, do that, then hit submit, wait for the next steps. One of the biggest questions I get around this is, that dreaded box that says, enter in your current salary. What do you do? So, the first course of action is, putting in the range for your current market value. So, that should encompass what you want, but also being realistic about your skill set what it's valued at in today's marketplace. So, if you can put in that range great, but if you cannot, if you have to put in one number and let's say you're transitioning careers, or there's a really interesting role and you just do not know, if you really can't find that data, then I do suggest putting in NA which could mean, not applicable or not available, but and this is the but, be prepared to get to talk about it when you get to that point because you will get to that point. So, now that your resume is out in the wild, you've hit apply, you've hit all the buttons, and you're hoping, you're hoping you hear back. Well, what do you do in the meantime? Can you follow up? The answer is yes. But, there are some do's and don'ts around this. So, number one, wait seven days before you follow up. So, after you hit apply on the job, track when you did and wait seven days before following up. The next step is when or if you're thinking about following up is who to contact. So, there's many ways using social media and online ways to research people who work at the companies, and figure out who could be tied to the hiring manager. So, look for a related prominent job title in the team that you are applying to. It could be someone who is a entry level or junior staff who tend to be very helpful, contact them appropriately, and probably no more than three to four people in this first round. So, tied with this, you've identified potential people to reach out to and follow up with, but how do you contact them? So, it's really easy to research the e-mail pattern for a company. Google the company's name, e-mail address, those are actually great starter search words to do in a Google search, and you'll probably find something there. Oftentimes, its first name dot last name at a company, or first letter of someone's name, followed by their last name at the company. So, once you reach out to them, here's what to include then. You want to do a quick intro, you can cite them by first name here, you want to attach your resume and your cover letter if you've drafted one. Also, you want to let them know you've formally applied this part's really important because you want to indicate to them that you've actually applied by the rules. Then, you want to reemphasize why you're passionate about the team and the job, and kindly ask for them to bump up this note and your resume in the hands of the hiring manager. That's all. So, I really think those are some of the helpful do's in this situation, but there's actually some don'ts, and these are pretty severe don'ts in my opinion. In this day and age, you do not need to follow up with a phone call, you don't need to catch anyone unexpectedly, or at an inopportune time. There's plenty ways to reach them via social media, and/or good old email, so that they can read your follow up note when it's right for them. Another don't here is simply do not panic. Do not panic if you do not hear back from them within 48 hours, or even something like five days. We've done studies here at Glassdoor that show the average time to get hired in the U.S. is right now about 24 days. So, the fact that you haven't heard back in just a few days is not a cause for concern. Another thing to keep in mind here is, if you are a very eager job candidate, nothing wrong with that, but tame the beast. What I mean by that is, a lot of job candidates today are actually sending physical things to employers. We've seen cupcakes, trophies, awards, murals. Don't do that, across all employers don't do that. It can be distracting and it can sometimes cause more people to laugh at what you're sending, and that's not the response you want. You want them to want you, so if you want to add something, nothing wrong with that, but do it in an appropriate way. What I suggest is, send them a link of your work, of your portfolio, of any writings, drawings, graphic work that you have, anything that they can look at online, anywhere in the world at their time, that is going to be much more appreciated. Because this process can be so long and even overwhelming, you do want to take a few extra minutes and track all of it, at a minimum that includes keeping a document, or a sheet, or an Excel file on when you apply to a job, what the job was, the employer, and the date around that. Why? This will let you know how many resumes you have out in the wild, where you are in your job search process. Are you making progress? Are you not making progress? Then, you can revisit this at least once a week to look at, is it time for me to find brand new jobs and apply to them or not. Here too, you can just download that job application checklist, so this will help you stay on track, help you manage the jobs you apply to, what you can mark, what you cannot mark, and let you gauge and see where you actually are in your job search process. With this, we'll also have a tracker template. So, that too you can just download, has all the information in there to help you start tracking all of these jobs that you're applying to. 6. Phone Screening: So, the next step in this is the interview process. Sounds simple, but my goodness, it is not. So, the interview process today, if you think it's a routine, well, it's anything but routine. So, what I mean by that is, let's look at the retail industry, for example. You have to still go in largely, interview in person on site, and you may or may not get that job offer. Then you look at another industry. Let's look at technology. You may have to go in once, twice, three times, four times, I've seen it plenty, and you will not only do one on one in-person interviews, you can also do panel interviews. There can be personality tests, there can be skills tests, analytics testing, a lot of different things that they want to test you on, so long as it's within legal parameters is fair in game on the table. So, you should be ready for all of it. Knowing that companies can contact you and conduct these interviews in such a wide variety, well, guess what, you can know exactly how they're likely going to do it. On Glassdoor for instance, we have a whole interview section, so you could go there, research the interview reviews for the company, and actually see what past job candidates have to say about, how they got the interview, how the employer is reaching out, and all these steps in there. It's too easy this day and age to not know this information and it's free. So, take advantage of it, and then you can better prepare yourself for how they're likely going to contact you and likely conduct the interviews. So, when an employer contacts you, it will likely be a recruiter or it could be a hiring manager responsible for that role. The good news here is anyone in this situation from the company will likely have some very common questions for you. They will likely cover questions that are getting to know you, your interests, and that really back to your resume. So, some very common questions you should expect from the get go include: Why did you apply to this job? Why are you interested in this company? Tell me a little bit about yourself. Where do you see yourself in 5 years, 10 years? What are your strengths? And what are your weaknesses? Everyone should be ready to answer these questions right off the bat. There's a few of these questions that can be deceptively simple. So, one of them in particular this one: Why do you want to work for this company? Keep in mind, this is your chance to show the research you've done, showing the employer why you are an informed candidate, why you know about the company and the role. Actually, that should be the reason why you're applying to them. So, this should come right off your tongue because you've done your research, and you've done your homework. You really want to relate it to back to the company why you want to be there. So, something you might say is for instance, "Well, I know that you are one of the top companies in the home remodeling industry. Your leadership here is so great because of x y and z reasons, and I really want to be a part of that." Let's also go through some practical advice here. You can assume in most cases, yes, you're going to get an initial phone screen. So, in these cases, here's some do's to keep in mind. You want to do it somewhere quiet. So, if that's at home, hopefully a room with no pets or children. However, it can also be in your car. I know that a lot of you take initial phone screens during your actual business day. You're going to go drive away about 10 minutes away from your current employer, and then take the phone screen. You want to be concise here. Answer their question and then pause for a moment. What that's going to do is it's going to allow the employer to ask a subsequent question or they may want to move on to something else. The biggest don't here is to just speak for about three to five minutes. I've seen it. Time and time again and then you go off on a tangent. Remember, be concise answer the question. Also here, we've talked about researching the employer even before your initial phone screen. Using a site like Glassdoor, that's great, you should still do that. But also, about 30 minutes before your phone screen, let's say it's at three O'clock, at 2:30, you should be looking at their social media channels. Look at them in the news, are they in the news for any reason. Look at their press center or about us, almost every single employer has one of these, and see what their latest news has been. Have they been growing? Is there anything interesting that just happened about the company? This will give you an edge when it comes to being that really amazing informed candidate. During this process, there's probably going to be a lot running through your head, but remember, breathe and stay focused. The biggest thing here to remember is don't multitask. So, even during a phone screen where you believe they can't see you, and that's probably true, remember, they can hear how you speak and if you're on it or not. So, don't multitask, don't be texting people, don't be checking e-mail, don't be looking at notes or doing something else. Stay focused on the conversation only. This next part, I know, can be sensitive, but I also note on a lot of people's minds, talking about money, even during a first phone interview. At the end of the conversation you want to find out about as much as you can about the employer, the same way they're looking to do the same for you. Neither side wants to waste the other's time. So, at the end if you feel it's appropriate, it's okay to ask the recruiter or hiring manager what their range is for this role to ensure expectations meet reality. Nothing wrong with that. But you should also be prepared that the hiring manager or recruiter could ask you almost the same thing about your current pay or the pay that you're hoping to receive in the role. So, hopefully you've done your research and we'll get to that coming up. But if you do get caught off guard, even for a moment, and you don't have that information yet, don't worry. Everyone, you should expect to receive fair pay for the role and current market value. So, you might say something like, I don't have an exact amount, but I would hope that I would get competitive pay and current market value for where we live for this role, that's really what I'm looking for. Another interview question that you're likely to receive almost always is this one, "What questions do you have for me?" So, you don't want to look at them as as a blank slate. So, here are some great questions that almost everyone should ask, ask about career opportunities, ask about team structure, what's it look like, in terms of how much you're working with team members or independently. It's okay to ask the recruiter or a hiring manager, they've worked out the company, ask them, "What are your favorite parts about working for this employer? And what are some areas that stand room for improvement?" Then finally, if nothing else, you really don't know anything else, you definitely want to ask, "What are the next steps in the interview process?" So that you have clarity and transparency into what's going to come or not come next, and hopefully where you stand. So, now you've had your initial phone screen, and you're really excited, and you want to hear about the next steps. So, biggest thing, respect the next steps. So, hopefully, you have that information on what that can look like. Is it three days, seven days? So, honor that. However, if it gets to that mark, let's call it seven days, the employer said and on the eighth or the ninth day, you haven't heard from them, then yes, it is appropriate to follow up via e-mail respectfully, just checking in on status. Nothing wrong with that, and hopefully this will guide you into that next step, which is the in-person interview. 7. Interviewing In-Person: At this point, hopefully, you get great news. They say, "Come on in, we want to meet you and interview you in person." Great, get excited, throw a party in your apartment, nothing wrong with that. However, you've got to prepare. The first step is, what do I wear? So, rule of thumb, you want to dress professionally for that working environment. You can do research, this is all available online, it's on Glassdoor. You can see photos of how people dress at companies and it varies greatly from company to company. You can look at their social media feeds and see real employees. You can look at their career centers, see the same thing. So, you want to dress professional but you also want to respect the company culture there and show that you want to be a part of that. Now, because we're talking about you're in-person job interview, there are some things that you need to prepare for that are different than a phone screen. So, number one, you want to make sure that you arrive there with plenty of time. So, either do a dry run the day before or use a piece of technology such as Google maps that can map out how long it will take you at the given time, at the given day, to get to your destination. Then, I strongly suggest arriving at your destination about 15 to 30 minutes beforehand. Now, that doesn't mean go upstairs and sit on their couch. You don't need to do that until about five to 10 minutes before the interview starts. So, if you have a car, sit in your car, listen to music, look at some of your notes about the employer beforehand. As part of the prepare, you also want to practice out loud the interview questions with a family or loved one. So, again, do your research, on sites like Glassdoor, should actually now be looking at the specific questions that will be asked on in-person interviews. So, these are specific to your job title and the team that you're applying to, all of this is available. So, use it. I promise you, when you do it in person and you say it out loud, it's completely different. So, this is a must. So, now you're ready for the job interview to actually begin. Someone comes out and usually greets you, well guess what? Greet them with a nice smile, put out your hand, a nice firm handshake is always appreciated. Nothing wrong with asking them engaging questions about what they do at the employer, what it's like to work here, if you notice anything that's really cool, ask him about that. So, show an interest in actually being there and that's already going to give you an edge. So, now the interview process is really getting going and you're probably receiving lots of questions. So, good rule of thumb here is answer questions with evidence and anecdotes. So, tell them a high level answer and then provide a story, a quick example. So, as part of this, you really want to highlight your successes. Why you're an amazing employee? Why they could be the right fit for you? Remember, let this be your guiding light. When asked about a difficult situation or about how you've handled conflict in the past and this question almost always comes up, you want to be transparent and honest. So, two things. Number one, you want to acknowledge the problem. Why it was a problem? Give the background there. But then number two, give the outcome and what you learned from it. Because what that's letting the employer know is, yeah it was a problem, maybe you didn't even handle it perfectly. That's okay. But what the outcome is and what you learn from it is really what they're looking for. During this, an employer will also likely ask you about your strengths but also your weaknesses. So, with this don't hide from it, you want to be transparent. So, tip number one with all of this, do not play the perfectionist card. No need to let them know that you're such a hard worker that you will go above and beyond and this can impact your personal life sometimes and it's something you're working on, like no need to do that you guys, they don't buy it. Okay? So, don't do that. Be transparent about your weakness, acknowledge the weakness, and it's actually okay that a weakness is maybe one of the skills that they even want. However, the saving grace here is, and what can really help is, how you are addressing that weakness, improving it and maybe how you've already done so in the past six months and how you plan to continue to do so. No one expects perfection. You should also be prepared to talk about your strengths. What I really suggest is having about three to four examples at the ready to talk about, and that includes what you did from start to finish and how it made an impact. Some other common questions that everyone should expect during an interview are why are you leaving your current role and what do you expect next? So, if you're purposely leaving a current role, don't always focus on the negative. But more so explore what you're looking for in a next opportunity. That's what they're interested in. You don't need to do that by highlighting the negative in your current or past role. In fact, that won't serve you at all. So, don't talk about a manager who made bad decisions or why you could have done something better than a manager. In fact, that would be quite telling about you not in a positive light. So, you want to be truthful, transparent, and honest about your highlights, how you've worked with a team, and really focus on that. Throughout this process, the employer is asking you a lot of questions. Then, almost all the time by the end, they are likely going to come to you with this question. What questions do you have for me? So, hopefully, you have some custom questions that you're learning and gleaning. But let's say, if you're just really, really tired, or you still nervous at the end, you do want to ask questions above anything else. If you don't ask questions, you risk showing them that you're not engaged, present, or as interested in some other candidates. So, while the interview process is all about you being free, transparent, and asking all the questions on your mind, there are some cases and some questions that you should avoid. So, number one. If you ask about how can I transition teams. Why would you do that? That is actually letting the employer know that your mind is not on the job or the team at hand that they really want to hire for. That's actually not kind or respectful to the employer. So, if you have that question with an employer, well, take a step back in your process and look at why are you applying to this role, it's likely not the role for you. So, it's okay to admit and acknowledge that to yourself. But, if you're thinking about changing teams immediately, you might want to look at another opportunity at another employer. Another question that you should not ask an employer is, how do I get your job? This one may seem obvious, and while you may be very interested in being a manager or a boss some day, that's not appropriate because it signals to the hiring manager or someone who is very high up at a company that you're interested in taking their job perhaps, or that you're interested in only getting to a certain level. Today, we're also seeing a lot more video interviews. In fact, I'm seeing this rise pretty significantly. It's an easy way for employers to make face to face interaction without the cost or time associated with an in person interview. So, a few things to keep in mind around the video interview is, you want to dress for that interview the same way that you would as an in-person interview. Also with the video interview, make sure you're in a nice quiet place where there's no distractions. Also with a video interview, be mindful of what's behind you. Because the main thing is you want them to focus on you, so there's nothing wrong with a plain wall or a work room or even a quiet living room. Now, they've asked you questions and you've asked them questions, you give them a firm handshake, you say, "Thank you very much," and you're on your way. As you're driving away or you're leaving this interview, if you cannot answer what were the question, what would my life be like in this role. That is suggesting that you still want more information. If you don't have enough information, you may want more. So, here's what you do. If you have a few outstanding questions, there's nothing wrong with an email within 48 hours that says something like, "Thank you so much for the interview. I really enjoyed meeting you and everyone else. Yes, I did have a few more questions, I'd love to learn more about." Nothing wrong with that. In fact, again, it's going to help create a better match and that's what both you and the employer really want at the end of the day. Another question I get a lot is what about the thank you note. What do you do here? So, one, I'm a big advocate of a thank you note always. Why wouldn't you do that? If it's a role and job you really, really want, go one extra step and say thank you. Because they did take the time out to get to know you and interview about this role. However, how you do it is really up to you and who you are as an individual. Nothing wrong with a very nice email. In fact, email gets to someone faster as the truth. However, if you want to go snail mail and have a nice thank you card, nothing extreme, no flashy objects, no bows, no ribbons, but a nice thank you with a nice personal note, that can be quite endearing as well. Both of them are great ways to say thank you and acknowledge that you really appreciate their time. So, you've had the interview now, you've even sent the thank you note. What's the next step? Well, hopefully, you hear from the employer on where you stand. But again, just like that initial phone screen, hopefully, you know the next step. So, if they say they'll get back to you within the next seven days,14 days, honor and respect that. Let the employer guide the process. Hopefully, you have that knowledge on when you should expect to hear more, and then there's nothing wrong with an email follow up the day or two after that allotted time that they indicate to you. Let's also now get to the emotional part in this. Let's say you've interviewed, maybe you've done five or six interviews. In some cases, I'd say the minority of companies though, you still haven't heard anything. Well, you may have to acknowledge the truth. They haven't gone back to you for a reason. They may have gone with someone else. So, if that's the case, there's no reason to call, keep knocking on their door. If it's a no response, well, that's a no. So, you move on. There's other employers and jobs out there for you. Just like the other lessons in this course, we'll also have an interview kit that you can download. It has the interview questions you should ask, the interview questions that you should be ready for, and also other tips to make sure you actually ace that interview. 8. Negotiating the Offer: So now, you're almost there. You've applied the jobs, you've gone through the interview process and now, a job offer actually comes your way. Great job. Now, you want to consider, do you take it or not. So, this is the offer negotiation phase. So, you might be really excited to say, yes, but we're going to go through many things here that will help you make the most informed decision as possible and while you probably don't want to say yes, within the first five seconds. Phone calls are still the predominant way that employers are letting candidates know, "Congratulations, you've got the job. We want to offer it to you." So, what you're going to do next, is hear about the job offer and the pay. Then you're going to thank them for it and ask them, when they need an answer by. You have a lot to think about. So, take the time that they've given you but also know, it could be as short as, "I want an answer later today or tomorrow morning. So, you do have to act fast. So, during this process, there is really three buckets that you might fall under. Number one, everything is rosy amazing and great. That can happen. You're really happy with the pay, you're really happy with the job, you're really happy with everything presented to you. If it's fair and in line with current market value, you might want to say yes, move forward and start and that can be a really nice feeling. Number two, and I'd say this is where most people fall. They like a lot; 70, 80 even 90 percent about the offer. But perhaps, if they believe based on their research their current market value is more, then you want to note that and bring it up in the subsequent phone call, or if you feel like a role or responsibility is a little off line from what you heard about in the job interview. Again, bring that up in a subsequent phone call and learn a bit more. That's bucket two. The final bucket is, everything is just way off. That can happen too. So, you can choose to address everything but if everything is way off, that might be a red flag and you may just want to say, no thank you and move to another opportunity. So, let's say you fall into that middle bucket where most people do in terms of negotiation. Remember, if you don't ask, you don't receive. I highly encourage everyone to negotiate their salary or their total compensation package. Understand that today's employer may offer a monetary compensation rewards package that can touch on a lot of different things. It can include; base pay, tips, commission, bonuses, potential stock options, benefits which carry monetary value. So, just keep in mind that your total package will likely look more than just a simple dollar figure. So, the phone call should be very honest, transparent. Thank them for the job offer, let them know you've thought about it and then let them know you have a few questions that you'd like additional information on. Ask those questions. Now, if it's about the job, role, and responsibilities those are pretty straightforward. You could say, I understood X but it appeared to be Y when I read more or according to someone else. That's okay to learn more about that. When it comes to pay, first and foremost, you have the responsibility to understand your worth in the market and what your skill set is valued at today. So, when you get the job offer, if it is that number, great. If it's not that number and in most cases it likely may not be, it's not that employers are trying to undercut anyone but they have a range and they're making their best estimate. But if you've done your homework, you can then let them know that you would like a little more money and ask for what their thoughts are or if there's any wiggle room in their offer. So specifically, you might say something like, "Thank you so much employer for this great offer. I'm really excited to potentially join your company. However, I really appreciate your base pay of 70,000. However, based on my research and looking at current market values for where we live, it really appears to me that the worth and my skill set is estimated at about $75,000 instead of 70. Is there any wiggle room here? Can you do anything with that?" Put the question to them, allow a moment to breathe and in most cases, the employer will say, "Let me see what I can do." So, there's actually also some very common mistakes that you should avoid during the negotiation process and in particular, the salary negotiation process. So number one, don't come up with what I call, a pie in the sky number. This is giving your employer a number that you just think about or you don't really have reasons for siding and let's say, it's really much higher than what they're willing to pay and really, what fair market value dictates the skill set is worth at the given time. On this note, if you do provide a number in the salary negotiation process that you truly believe you are worth, that you deserve, that you are valued at, then well, guess what? You should have reasons to back this up. So, don't just go in a number and that's it. Go with a number and I would say have at least three concrete reasons to let the employer know why you are valued at this level. That's it. Then finally, remember you are valuable. So, don't lowball yourself. You may want out of your current job so incredibly bad or maybe you're unemployed for a while and you want a new opportunity. But if you lowball yourself at 20k, 40k even 5K, it can be very difficult over time to get out of that situation. Now, if you don't get the pay that you asked for, you want to be prepared for plan B. This can happen too. So, know that benefits and perks again, are part of that total compensation package. So, knowing that benefits and perks carry a dollar, a monetary value, you can have some negotiation power here. So, for instance, if you can work from home one day a week but you really want two days, that has monetary value because you're not commuting to the office or paying for gas for instance. If you want more vacation time, that carries monetary value. Think of other ways that can really make it appealing for you to say, yes to this employer. If they meet you halfway and you feel good about the entire offer situation, well then you're golden. So, a few different scenarios can play out here. If they give you a job offer, you've done your research, you're done talking to them and you like it, then here's what you might do. You let them know. "Thank you so much for thinking about me. I'm really very much looking forward to working here and I can't wait to get started." What will likely happen then is they will then follow up with an email, and there will likely be an offer letter that you will have to read over and sign. In most cases, there shouldn't be anything scary or unexpected in these offer letters. But you do want to read it over. You want to look at the pay information and you just want to look at some procedures and notes on policy with the company. Again, most of the time, 90 percent plus of the time, I see people all of this is fine kosher. They want you in there, they want you doing a good job and you want to be there. So, read it over. If there are any red flags, ask for a question, give them a quick call. They want to seal the deal very quickly just as you do. So, the flipside of all this is, you get the job offer but you realize it just isn't a good fit. What do you do? Well, again, you lead with transparency and honesty. So, you might let them know something like during a phone call is what I suggest. "Hey employer, thank you so much for considering me for this role. Thank you so much for offering it to me. Based on everything I've learned, this just doesn't feel like the right fit at this time in my career. If I can think of anyone else for the role, I will surely pass them along." Unfortunately, there's also a third option here and you may not get that job that you owe so wanted. When that happens and they tell that to you over the phone, take a deep breath, listen to their words and it's perfectly fine to say, "Thank you so much for your time. Thank you so much for actually letting me know this information from you over the phone call. But I would also love to improve. Is there any feedback you have for me during the interview process that I could work on." In almost all cases, the employer will give you something. That will only empower you and help you in the next situation. Now, no matter how this turns out, you want to remember that you have done everything you can do. You've become the informed candidate. You have put your best foot forward. You have done the research and so you should feel good about the outcome even if it isn't exactly what you want. In this case, the employer does have the ultimate power of the job offer or giving it to someone else. Remember, just because you didn't get the job offer, doesn't mean you're not amazing. Oftentimes, especially this day and age, there are great candidates for a job. There can be hundreds of applicants. There can be a pool of 10 and three amazing outstanding candidates, you can be one of them. However, they can only give it to one. So when you get that, you dust yourself off, you move on and that right opportunity is out there for you. 9. Final Thoughts: So, congratulations. Here you are. You've made it through the whole long process and you have a brand new job. You should be excited. So, now, what do you do? There's actually a few things that everyone should keep in mind when you're going through your first few weeks and certainly your first month. Well, number one, listen and learn. Be a sponge. Number two, meet with stakeholders related to your job and the team you're working on. Number three, make sure to ask as many questions as you can. Learn as much as possible. Number four, meet with your manager and have a really clear plan for your success on the first 30, 60, and 90 days on the job, and finally, be friendly, personable, and positive. You're a new employee after all. I also want to let you know that I am obviously a Glassdoor employee, but I wouldn't just speak about this if I didn't truly believe it. I've used Glassdoor when I felt the odds were against me and my job search. I researched it. I found the right job. I researched the company, the salary, and I found a really good fit. This can happen to you too. All this information is free and it's all out there to help you make the most informed job decision possible. Check out the online toolkit. It is there to help you to use it as a guide into everything we talked about to help you find the job and company that really fits for you. It doesn't mean everything is going to be perfect every single day, but it means you're going to get to a place that really empowers you. That makes you feel that you have value. That makes you feel that you are doing important things and that is a very cool, fun, great feeling to go into five days a week. This is a place where you can share your experiences. Ask questions, talk with one another, and perhaps most importantly, let us know when you land that dream job. I personally would love to read about it. 10. What's Next?: