Years ago, I had a large office in the Wall Street area with a personal secretary screening my phone calls, opening mail, taking dictation, and managing my calendar. Since then of course, the business world has changed. The next phase had executives sharing a pool of secretaries using floppy discs working on word processors. That was followed by an administrative assistant supporting at times an entire group.

Whereas years ago the hiring process and the hiring decision were the exclusive domain of the executive, nowadays—since so-called teamwork has become a major part of the work environment—hiring decisions are often shared and thus made by several team members. That process supports the concept that a group decision is better than an individual decision. As a result, the process has become convoluted, protracted, and not necessarily better—in my opinion.

Today’s job market is flooded with lots of very qualified candidates chasing very few openings. The way hiring happens has also changed. Technology has infiltrated the process, and today’s submission of one’s candidacy is purely mechanical. Nobody sees the candidate’s skills and qualifications unless the hiring manager’s keywords match those on the résumé, and only then is the original résumé reproduced for reading. Once that happens, several candidates get reviewed via a selection process.

To save time and money, a phone interview, or screen, is the next hurdle candidates face. It’s usually accomplished by someone junior in the human resources department who does not fully understand the hiring department’s particular needs. If an external recruiter is the intermediary between the candidate and the hiring company, then the recruiter’s financial motivation is playing a key role. That’s because recruiters work for the company paying their commissions.

Decision Making

Decision making is a complex process because several parties have a say and a stake in it. For example, sometimes the human resources department representative’s opinion carries significant weight, and other times the rep is merely a paper trail processor. Sometimes a candidate is interviewed by several people in addition to the final decision maker. Those others, too, have a say—because hiring managers want to show their support of their teams by demonstrating their collegiality—but to what extent those other opinions matter is probably variable. And what happens when a hiring manager favors a particular candidate but several others who’d be future peers of the candidate show resistance? In addition, in most cases hiring managers know the thinking and mentality of the person they report into, so what happens if their own opinion is opposed regarding the type of person who should be hired?

A recent large survey was conducted among human resources professionals and hiring managers. The survey clearly found that by far, the number one factor in the hiring decision is the fit factor—meaning, the determination about whether a candidate will fit into the culture of the company. Fully 100 percent of the respondents said so! But what is this culture that’s referred to? Who defines it? Who interprets it?

Some companies use exclusively behavior-based or situation-based interview questions. The tenet here is that past performance is a good indicator or predictor of similar such performance. I wonder if those companies can decisively demonstrate that by practicing this theory, they become able to hire and retain a higher-caliber labor force.

Ultimately, of course, it is people who make the final decision about which candidate to offer the job to. The interview process is certainly not a science but an art. Can that art be learned in order to improve one’s chances of being hired? Well, I’m sure you know the answer to the old riddle that asks, Do you know how to get to Carnegie Hall?

Think what the interview is all about. Sorry, but it’s not about you. It’s about the interviewer’s perception regarding your fit into the organization’s culture combined with your ability to perform the job very well. No interviewer is looking for Mr. Average. So, what does the word perception include here? Primarily two issues: the image you create in the interviewer’s mind and the facts you bring as evidence based on the organization’s specific circumstances or problems it needs solutions to.

Your image

This subject is complex. It incorporates the interviewer’s personal biases, cultural perceptions, and personal likes and dislikes as well as age and gender and all the rest of the items covered in antidiscrimination laws vis-à-vis the organization’s culture. The candidate will get evaluated on appearance, looks, attire, passion, excitement, body language, smile, tone of voice, accent, and many other factors combined.

The facts

The interviewer knows that the candidate came to the interview to impress and sell himself to the potential buyer. That’s why the interviewer is selective and suspicious. It’s because of having to evaluate whether the candidate’s answers represent opinions or facts.

The first impression

When meeting an interviewer for the first time, the job seeker is creating an image. If the impression is a good one, it carries throughout the interview. If the impression is unfavorable, the candidate has to fight a probably losing battle—often without knowing it.

The interview

An interview most often starts with chit-chat or a warm-up period consisting of a few easy-talk sentences. Then, once the interviewer feels comfortable, he signals the beginning of the interview.

There are several common interview questions, and candidates must be prepared for them with the right answers. How many of you have had interviews that didn’t have a starting lead-in such as, Tell me about yourself, or a starting question such as, What are your strengths or accomplishments?

Preparation for the interview must include great answers to such basic questions. The candidate’s objective here has to be to engage the interviewer to the point that the interviewer becomes willing to tell the candidate the specific problems he’s looking for the right candidate to resolve. In answering, the candidate must select the right words, give pertinent answers, use positive phraseology, and not be long-winded. Lack of preparation for that opener or showing nervousness and lack of enthusiasm is a sign of weakness. The interviewer is also expecting the candidate to look in his eyes.

Nowadays, some companies are using what’s called situational, behavioral, or, sometimes, case-study-type questions. The thinking behind this concept is that if in the past one behaved a certain way, then this personality trait will likely be continued. Most of these types of questions start with such wording as, Tell me about a time when, or, What was your strongest, toughest, etc. [fill in the blank], or, Can you cite an example that . . . ? Many candidates are not properly prepared to answer such questions or in fact do not have a rich repertoire of such experiences. With some preparation and guidance, though, anyone can excel—even in the face of such difficult questions.

A recent article of mine covered most people’s lack of efficacy in practicing their elevator pitches at job search networking meetings. I wanted to follow up on that and prove my tenets, so I brainstormed with a group of trusted associates—all of whom are in transition—and we came up with some “best practices.” Following are our findings. Based on this information, you’ll be able to rework your own pitch and then practice it when networking. I promise you’ll see results instantly.

ü  General Guidelines

It’s most important to realize that different circumstances require different pitches. Otherwise, your elevator pitch will be perceived as canned and out of context. Make sure it’s memorable, because if it isn’t, you’ll simply sound like everyone else. Try introducing an element of surprise or some humor. The pitch has to be brief and to the point, so that people don’t tune you out. And it has to have a positive tone. No one’s interested in why you’re in transition.

ü  Content

Announce your name at the beginning and again at the end. Make sure people hear you and get the name. If you say it fast the way we normally do, people won’t get it or be able to remember it. Following your name, identify your position—or the position you want to get. Create a point of reference for your role—for example, chief financial officer in a small company.

ü  Tone of Voice

Here’s where you have to sound enthusiastic. Here the word sound has the literal meaning. A voice too loud or too soft won’t work. Also, some people speak faster than normal when under pressure. A normal speed is best. And voice modulation where appropriate increases likability and interest in you.

ü  Facial Expression and Body Language

People judge others based on what they see, and most people have their own personal biases. However, it’s universally agreed that professional attire and an overall professional look are most helpful for promoting your own interest when networking. A genuine and broad smile means the same anywhere and in any language. Above all, make good eye contact with the audience, but don’t move your head like a panning security camera, either. Project positive body language by standing erect. Don’t shift your weight from leg to leg.

ü  In Summary

Creating an effective 30-second elevator pitch is not as easy as it seems to be. In those 30 seconds, you need to introduce lots of content and then act it out—a feat that for some is very difficult. But with some improvement and then several live repetitions, anyone can do it. Good luck. You’ll feel tremendously successful once people tell you how well you’ve done.

I frequent job search networking groups where people stand up and recite what’s called the elevator pitch. Ideally, people are supposed to be able to concisely sum up unique professional aspects about themselves in a way that intrigues and excites listeners so that the listeners will want to connect later—for mutual benefit—with the one giving the pitch. Yet most people fail to achieve that objective. It’s too bad, because the elevator pitch is the single most important part of group networking. If you’re unsuccessful and simply sound like each of the other fifty people in the room, you miss the opportunity to brand yourself.

Most people at such job search networking meetings disappoint for a number of reasons. First, they announce their first and last names way too quickly and way too softly—to the point that the name is not audible by those sitting at a bit of distance from them in the room. Second, the overall gist of most people’s pitches involves praising themselves by talking about how great they are at what they do and how much they saved their companies. Frankly, probably no one in the audience cares about those self-promoting sound bites.. Most of the people in the room look at you and pretend to be listening, but their minds are elsewhere. If they haven’t had their turn yet, then they’re most likely preoccupied with reciting in their own mind what they’re going to say when their turn comes. And if they’ve already given their pitch, everybody else is boring them.

A successful elevator pitch is much more than words and facts. It’s supposed to inspire the listener to action, but in order to achieve that, your delivery must express authenticity, and it has to involve your body, your voice, and the content of your pitch. You are onstage. People want you to be successful and not to disappoint. Your attire matters too, because attire is part of your overall image. If you look like you just finished mowing the lawn minutes before delivering your pitch, you’ll probably be memorable, but not in a way that’s positive. Project your voice so that everyone can hear you. Make sure there’s congruence between your body language and the words you say. Show passion and excitement that will radiate through the audience. And most important of all, offer your assistance to others. That’s what will attract the audience.

I’ve seen many people fail with their elevator pitch because it was evident that they were winging it. They had not prepared for it, which completely eroded their confidence. A first impression happens only once: at first! Listeners are picking up on this instantly. It takes only seconds to set the stage for a great elevator pitch or to ruin one.

Craft your elevator pitch very carefully. Run it by people who have a flair for marketing.

Adjust it till it seems comfortable for delivery in front of a large audience. Practice it several times till it feels natural. Then improve on it to make it even better. It needs to sound confident and natural. Make it short, because in this case, less is more. Don’t expect at the end that someone’s going to offer you a job; that would be highly unrealistic. The purpose of the elevator pitch is to establish relationships with new people. So it’s all about relationship building, because relationships are the sources for 60 to 80 percent of job offers.

As a career coach, I am at times asked for such advice as whether I believe a person is a good fit for the person’s current profession or some future one. Usually, I refer such a case to my business partner, who is a well-qualified and experienced career counselor who meets with clients several times before a mutually agreeable answer is reached.

I’ve seen people change careers even after a very long period in one profession. Such a change is very challenging, because typically, the person has already attained a certain salary level, and starting in a different profession does not afford such a job seeker the credibility and experience needed to compete with others who’ve been already on that track for several years. However, in a different context, parents of juniors and seniors in high school ask my opinion about their children’s future. And in that context, I came across a comprehensive study by Georgetown University. The study focused on the value of having a bachelor’s degree.

The study evaluated 171 majors and found some eye-popping results. For example, the study found that the median annual earnings of someone with a bachelor’s degree can vary from $29,000 for a counseling psychology major to $120,000 for a petroleum engineering major. From that example, one could rightfully question the value of a college degree to start with. About 8 percent of all college majors fall into the category of business management and administration; those graduates have a median annual income of $58,000. About 5 percent of all majors are in general business; those graduates have a median annual income of $60,000. Accounting majors make up 4 percent and have a median annual income of $63,000.

The Georgetown study also looked at the correlation between college major and pursuant profession. For example, 19 percent of physics majors went into computer and management occupations; 14 percent went into engineering. About 18 percent of liberal arts majors went into management; 15 percent went into sales. At the other end of the spectrum are majors that are extremely unpopular—to the point of representing less than 1/100 of 1 percent, or 0.01 percent, of majors—such as nuclear engineering, soil science, and pharmacology.

More interesting and unsurprising facts that the study found are that the nursing major is made up of 92 percent females and 8 percent males, that nuclear engineering attracts 91 percent males, and that elementary education comprises 91 percent females.

The study ranked respondents by race and ethnicity. For example, among African-American students, the most popular major is school student counseling, at 38 percent. For Hispanics, biology engineering is the top major, at 22 percent.

The most fascinating information in the study covered people’s earnings. Customarily, earnings are bracketed as falling in such categories as high, low, and then the 25th, 50th, and 75th percentiles. As mentioned earlier, the major with the highest earning capacity is petroleum engineering, whose 75th percentile is $189,000 annually, whereas the median is $120,000.

A subset of the study dealt with the disparity between male and female incomes. In most cases, males are paid more than females by various percentages, but in some cases—for example, the information science major—females’ median annual earnings are $75,000, whereas males’ earnings are only $65,000. The conclusion is that women earn the most with a degree in, say, pharmacy-pharmaceutical science and administration, and the least in, say, theology and religious vocations.

In summary, nowadays the options and opportunities for young people to pursue their careers’ desires are very complex. A good decision and a good fit can keep a person happy and well compensated, whereas a career based on a poor or haphazard decision can result in many years of misery and a path to poverty.

Starting around 2008, many organizations’ human resources departments needed to eliminate their own staffs, and thus many of the traditional human resources functions got bounced over to the respective hiring managers. Unfortunately, those discrete departments couldn’t always afford expensive job boards, so they needed to think out of the box in order to meet their staffing needs. That need accelerated the use of social media for staffing purposes. At the same time, recruiters, too, felt the same financial pressure, and the result was that 80 percent of them started using social media as well for the same purpose. That new reality was welcomed by practically all sides because it facilitated two-way communication. Plus, social media enabled seeing applicants not only in terms of their skills such as via résumés but also in terms of revealing their personalities for assessment of cultural fit. From a candidate’s point of view, it represented mostly an advantage, but at times, it backfired.

The advent of social media as a staffing medium from the recruiting vantage point as well as a networking tool for candidates necessitated learning to use new tools. And not only that, but the tools are continually evolving, with new ones frequently surfacing to make the old and familiar ones instantly obsolete.

Despite the steep learning curve, however, candidates welcomed the new medium—in many cases if for nothing else because they did not have to meet people in person. In the American culture, as opposed to certain other cultures people typically feel uncomfortable initiating communications with someone else, especially if the two have not been introduced by a third party. Online networking provided candidates with several advantages: it’s free; it allows researching the other party before even initiating a first communication; it’s learned quickly; it’s relatively easy to use; and, if applied right, it’s effective.

Networking is all about building mutually beneficial relationships, but it’s practically worthless unless the other party is willing to refer the first party further—to other people. Since networking is time-consuming, the introduction of efficiency tools into the process is reasonable. Several free tools are worth exploring. Gist.com and Batchblue.com are robust and can help those who want to put some time into learning how to use them. Both of those tools are modified customer relationship management tools, with heavy emphasis on social media such as LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook.

Logically speaking, extensive networking is virtually impossible to carry out while people are employed, even though it’s very important to keep doing and is time-consuming. However, when people are in transition, networking is an absolute must. People will not remember you unless you remind them of yourself periodically. An efficient way to do that is via a program called MailChimp.com. Once it’s been set up, this program is easy to use and can potentially prove very useful as a social networking tool.

I am a practicing career coach and have noticed that in most cases, I guide my clients through 10 certain deeply held beliefs of mine that have evolved over my years of practice. I decided to call the concepts the Landing Expert Principles—naming them after my Web site, www.landingexpert.com

• Job seekers should have their résumés written by a recommended, professional résumé writer known to produce excellent résumés. In today’s economy, just plain “very good” résumés don’t make the cut.
• Based on the theories of Albert Mehrabian, professor emeritus of psychology at UCLA, an interviewer judges a candidate 55% on visual appearance, 38% on voice, and 7% on words.
• The interview is a competition. The winner is the one who outshines other candidates, who knows the rules of the game, and who knows how to deploy all the tools.
• The hiring decision is made during the interview, based on the impression the candidate leaves behind, which in turn is based primarily on the interviewer’s gut feelings. Unfortunately, such decision making is certainly not pure science.
• The interviewer knows the candidate is there to sell himself, but the interviewer is not ready to buy everything the candidate wants to sell—except when two conditions occur:

• The candidate recites facts and gives evidence about career background and ability to do the job.
• The candidate uses adjectives or other kinds of self-descriptions in sentences that are in the third person—that is, the otherwise self-descriptions were said by others.

As a career coach, I talk mostly with two kinds of people: employed or in transition to another job. Sadly, people in both groups have one thing in common: most of them are unhappy. For those in transition, the unhappiness is self-explanatory, but why such a high level of unhappiness for those who are lucky to have an employer?

Several recent articles cover this subject. People who still work spend longer hours at it, and they face higher levels of stress. There’s no question that employee satisfaction is at an all-time low and that it has an impact on people’s health as well as relationships with family and friends.

A 2010 study found that in the United States, 55% of employees were not satisfied with their jobs! This is the highest level of dissatisfaction ever recorded, and the trend toward such dissatisfaction has strengthened steadily in the past 25 years. That means that unhappiness in the workplace is not directly related to the current economic downturn.

Unhappiness at work is not isolated. Unfortunately, it affects not only the unhappy people themselves but also those surrounding them. A recent Swedish study found a direct link between one’s relationship with one’s manager and the impact that that relationship has on one’s health: men who had toxic supervisors increased their risk of heart attack by 50%. A different study revealed that people of average height who felt unhappy at work added as much as five pounds to their weight.

A different, long-term study dealing with the impact of unhappiness at work confirmed that there is a strong correlation between one’s job satisfaction and one’s life satisfaction. Clearly, our thoughts, our emotions, and our performance on the job affect our behaviors away from the job and thus are affecting our loved ones.

What a job seeker can learn from all this is that it is of utmost importance to find out about a company’s culture, about the work conditions there, and as much as possible about the person one will report to before accepting the job. The sad—but practical—part is that even if one gets a great job at a great company with a great boss, in today’s economy things change so fast, and many of those changes are totally out of the control of the employee. So, what does one need so that work life harmonizes relationships and doesn’t destroy them? Luck—lots of it.

The following article was written by Kyle Lagunas

In an attempt to circumvent the keyword-laden resume game, job seekers are taking a more creative approach to captivating recruiters. Rather than dropping the resume altogether, the trend seems to be a breakaway from over-automation and a return to the heart of what makes a good hire. Laurie Barkman of The Resumator explains, "We've been told for a long time, "This is how you do recruiting, and here's what matters,' but organizations are now more interested in interactions that help to determine a good fit. And more nimble organizations are looking at people beyond the resume."

Sounds nice, but what's working and what's not? There are certain guidelines that you should always follow, regardless of mode of delivery, but are candidates guidelines that you should always following up mistakes with aesthetics? Resumes and the multimedia techniques being used are essentially marketing tools--and the function they serve isn't changing. As Barkman states, "The question you have to ask yourself is, "Can multimedia enhance that message?’ “If the answer is yes, there are four channels a candidate can tap into to accomplish this:

ñAdding a Face and Voice with Video. By replacing a cover letter with a quick video pitch, job seekers can showcase skills and abilities lost in translation in a traditional resume. As Bruce Hurwitz of Hurwitz Strategic Staffing says, "Video can increase my confidence in a candidate's ability to successfully interview--Is she professional? Is she articulate?--or eliminate a candidate from consideration. “Of course, time is money, and candidates need to give recruiters a reason to keep watching. My advice: personality is great, but don't get too cute. Balance is key.

ñBringing Flat Resumes to Life with Infographics. Breaking out of the traditional resume template isn't easy without a degree in design. But presenting a recruiter with a more visually stimulating overview of experience and qualifications can go a long way in setting a candidate apart. Thankfully, it doesn't take an Adobe Illustrator savant to turn a boring old resume into an interesting infographic. Not only are these easy to create, but they're easy to share across multiple channels.

ñProviding Insights into Culture Fit via Social Media Profiles. It's no secret that recruiters investigate candidates' social media profiles to obtain a more rounded picture of the individual. Job seekers are responding to this shift in recruiting practices by beefing up their networks, expanding their professional profiles and adding recommendations on LinkedIn, driving conversations and connecting with thought leaders on Twitter, and cleaning up their Facebook profiles.

ñShowing Off on Personal Blogs. Blogs are an excellent platform for candidates to showcase their hobbies, writing and communication skills, and general interests. Think they're just for marketing candidates? Think again. Even a meat cutter at Whole Foods can run a successful butcher blog to establish expertise and share experience with an avid audience. And candidates for and candidates for artistic positions can showcase their portfolio of work.

Multimedia: Here to Stay?

The basic function of a resume isn't going anywhere. What's changing is how that function is executed. "We're not leaving behind the resume, “says Steven Savage, a technical project manager at Mobclix and a writer and speaker on geeky jobs, "but we're using it as a trigger point for more. “To that end, many college campuses are taking it upon themselves to give the next wave of workers a competitive advantage in the job market of tomorrow.

What successes have you had in using media to find work or place a candidate? What challenges do you think employers are faced with when reviewing a new form of application? Will media continue to impact the job market, or will it simply be swallowed up as one more way to stand out from the crowd?

About the Author: Kyle Lagunas is the HR Analyst at Software Advice, an online resource for reviews of talent management systems and applicant tracking software. Kyle reports on trends and best practices in HR and recruiting software, offering fresh insights into the ho-hum of people processes. For further reading, you can find this article in full on his HR blog.

So, what is career coaching? Many people nowadays use the term career coaching, but they’re not sure they understand its meaning or whether they’re using it in the right context. Any kind of coaching consists of the practice of supporting an individual or a group that has the objective of reaching a predetermined goal or goals. Coaching is a very broad term encompassing a variety of types such as business, career, conflict, executive, personal life, religion, and sports coaching.

Career coaching revolves around job-related issues. Many people use the expressions career coaching, career counseling, and career consulting interchangeably but without really understanding the differences between those terms. In fact, among the three terms there is a fair amount of overlap.

A career coach asks lots of questions to diagnose issues that need attention, focuses primarily on the client’s agenda, and works with the client on the skills needed to achieve the objectives. The process is brief and commonly accomplished via short sessions and sometimes even via phone or Skype.

A career counselor provides answers and information. It is logic that drives this process, which uses standardized assessment tools. Counselors typically meet with clients face-to-face at regular, predetermined time intervals.

A career consultant resolves problems by meeting frequently with clients at the consultant’s workplace, and the engagement is project based.

Even within career coaching there are subspecialties. Some coaches specialize in helping clients learn how to apply job search tools; others cover aspects of clients’ marketing of themselves; and still others teach social media presence and the use of LinkedIn, Twitter, and the like. I myself am a career coach specializing in preparing clients for interviews. About 70% of my work consists of performing mock interviews with clients, but a goodly portion also helps clients with myriad other career-coaching issues.

For some job seekers, the cost of career coaching can be a significant barrier. Career coaching is of course a service—one that is purchased the way similar professional services are. For instance, most people see a doctor when they’re sick; or they hire a lawyer when they need legal counseling; or they have their tax filing prepared by an accounting professional if they don’t know how to do it.

Career coaching is a profession similar to the professions of plumbers, electricians, accountants, and so on. All of those professionals invest in their careers in order to support themselves, and so, they rightfully expect to be compensated financially by clients or customers.

In my opinion, the cost of career coaching should be made explicit at the outset; and the most expedient way to announce it is via the coach’s Web site. The cost should be made transparent because clients have the right to know up front what they’ll end up paying for such a service. I’d be very suspicious if the cost is not spelled out. What is there to hide? What other surprises can a client expect? Frankly, job seekers should not engage career coaches without checking out whether such coaches have been recommended by others. And I’d question the quality of a coach’s services if no testimonials or LinkedIn recommendations are available.

In researching career-coaching costs, I’ve found it interesting that sessions vary in length from 45 minutes to 50 minutes to 60 minutes and that charges vary, too—from, say, $75 to more than $200 per session. My advice is that a prospective client look not at cost per session but at total cost and then compare that with how the client would profit from the service.

Above all, what would the likely outcome be if such a service is not used? By working with a career coach, clients speed up the job search process, work with a pro, get unbiased feedback, stay on track, and, by the end, will have learned how to negotiate a better compensation package that would cover the cost of the career coaching—often severalfold!