Always be at your best when you show up. As the old saying goes: Look Sharp, Be Sharp, Feel Sharp. No matter if you are actively looking for a new job or you are a passive talent who is being considered for a promotion, a new job, potential opportunity that sounds interesting or being asked to meet someone for the first time, be SHARP.
In today’s world, this includes the tools that tell the story of you and your career. We have provided a series of activities for you to review and provide to your recruiter or hiring team through the process. This tool kit that we want to make sure you are prepared to deploy includes:
1) Materials sent prior to the meeting:
a) Your resume done with the right information and details
b) Your LinkedIn profile best practices that align to your resume and personal story
c) Your Values – the basis for who you are and how you make decisions
d) Your Purpose – the reason you are committed to being your best
e) Your vision of success – This exercise help you to consider multiple windows of time for success. 1 year: If this job goes well, what does success look like in a year. 5 year: If taking this step goes well, what would it lead to next? 20+ years or towards the end of my career: In living and working in my purpose with success, at the end of my career what is the verbal rendering of success in my life and the life of others.
2) To prepare for the interviews:
a) Mastered Technical Skills – Focus on the core strengths that can be illustrated by STAR experiences for story telling in response to behavioral interviewing questions.
b) Mastered Leadership Skills – Focus on the core strengths that can be illustrated by STAR experiences for story telling in response to behavioral interviewing questions.
d) STAR Experiences: Write out three STAR experiences in detail to prepare for the stories you will need to tell about your career wins that indicate your mastered Leadership and/or Technical Skills. Write out at least one STAR experience in detail to prepare for the stories you will need to tell about your Learning from Losses.
e) Professional Goals – what are the professional goals you are working on to develop professionally?
f) Action Plans to meet Goals – what are your action plans to become better professionally?
g) Leadership Tree – Who has influenced you in your career – and how has this impacted you (Roots)? Who are you positively influencing today and how are you intentionally impacting them (Fruits)?
3) To be prepared for final steps:
a) Location: What locations are you willing to live and/or travel?
b) Financial Rewards: What are you making today and where do you want to be in THREE years? Three years indicates future career growth.
c) Leveraging References: Not your old school references. This helps you build references ongoing to validate your awesomeness in practice. Think of live Amazon reviews in a market built on positive reviews.
The best proxy of interactions to consider for thoroughness in preparing is the job interview process. The above activities are to be rolled out over the duration of your job interview process that ensures you are a best in class talent and prepared for any and all questions. Talk to your recruiter or CareerTruth Talent Experience team for assistance on any of the activities.
While this may be new, you will complete this set of exercises with a greater depth of knowledge about yourself and be much better prepared to be clear and confident in all formats of communication about who you are, how you add value, where your are developing, where you want to be in the future, and why you are committed to the future success in your career and life. Everyone wants to hire this person.
Our goal is to make sure you have all the tools you need to be your best throughout all market discussions. Not only will you be ready for any tactical or strategic discussion about who you are, how you succeed, why you work, and what success looks like, but you will have taken ownership of your career. You will have created a strategic career plan that gives you career security in a world that may not have any job security.
In the end, you will be the decision maker. “Yes, I want to move forward.” – because it is a clear fit for you and the company. Or “No, this doesn’t align with where I want to go.” – because you know your values and you don’t need to settle for something that doesn’t align with your purpose, goals, and vision of success. If you do this well, there will be no questions as to whether you were sharp enough or properly communicated your values, purpose, strengths, goals, vision, and plans to grow.