by Amy Matthews | Sep 11, 2017 | Business |
I’ve had several clients going through a career transition and have asked me to help them prepare for job interviews. As a recruiter and coach, I’d like to share my Top 5 Tips. If you put time and energy into preparing upfront, you’ll have an amazing outcome. I promise.
#1 Do Your Research
This, of course, goes without saying. Research the company, its products, revenues, business model, overall market, its competitors, and the background of each person you’ll be meeting with. Find out if you know anyone in your LinkedIn network who is connected to the person with whom you’ll be interviewing and get the scoop. If you’re working with a recruiter, ask them to brief you on the personality of each person. Do your homework and spend at least 3 times the amount of time of the actual interview preparing for it. If your initial interview is an hour, prepare for at least three hours. You may even want to role play with a willing friend or partner.
#2 Be Ready
Get a good night’s sleep so you’re refreshed for your interview. The morning of the interview, do something that puts you in a positive mood and gets you focused. Get out of your head and into your body: whatever that means for you. It might be going for a run or walk, taking a spin or yoga class, or meditating. Your intention is to be ready for anything, grounded and present. It’s time to get into the interview zone.
#3 Be Authentic
Be YOU. Not who you think the person across the table wants you to be. Be confident with yourself and who you really are, what you can do for the company, and develop a connection with the interviewer. Nothing is more refreshing than meeting someone who is comfortable in their own skin! It helps build instant rapport and trust. This goes without saying too. Be engaging, intelligent, curious and genuinely excited about the opportunity. Authentic passion sells.
#4 Relax and Have Fun!
If you tend to get nervous in an interview, remind yourself to enjoy it. It’s a process of getting to know someone, so let go and take the pressure off yourself. If you’re asked a question and you don’t know the answer, don’t worry, keep your composure, don’t miss a beat and keep going. I have a client who always asks the same question to candidates he interviews. Without revealing his question, it’s a complicated problem solver with no right answer. He asks it because he wants to find out how a candidate handles himself/herself under pressure. One interviewee got very angry and blew up at him — clearly, he didn’t get the job!
#5 Don’t Think “I Gotta Have this Job!”.
Though the position may sound like a dream job; keep an open mind, especially during the first interview. Think of it as a first date. The interview process is as much an opportunity for you to decide if the job is right for you as it is for the person and company you’re interviewing with. Try not to be overeager – until you know more. We all remember a first date when the guy/girl was too into you, right? Your goal, ultimately, is for the position to be a great fit for your skills and experience. You want to love the company and its culture and most importantly, you want to like and respect the people with whom you’ll be working. If the job is meant for you, it will be. Remember, you are super talented and you certainly don’t want a job that’s not right and doesn’t want you.
If you are struggling with a specific career transition, I can help. Sign up for your free 20 minute coaching session HERE.
by Amy Matthews | Aug 29, 2017 | Business, In-Power |
As a career and life-freedom coach, I often have people ask me for help when they are negotiating job offers. No matter what age and how much experience, I have found a common theme. Woman, no matter how confident and accomplished they are, have a tough time asking for what they want in a salary negotiation.
Here are recent examples of women I have worked with:
- A 29 year old woman negotiating with a very cool, hip, fashion and lifestyle start-up
- A woman in her 40’s negotiating for her dream job with an up and coming consumer products company
- A highly experienced 50+ year old woman negotiating with a management consultant firm
Each of these three women is well educated, extremely smart, articulate, professional and accomplished in their own right. Before they got a formal offer, they did their homework on salary ranges and relative comps for the position they were seeking in their respective industries. Once they had a formal offer in hand, the salary offered was lower than what their research had shown.
I had a similar conversation with each woman even though their specific situation was unique to them. “Once you have an offer in hand, undoubtedly, this is your most powerful position during the interview process. Remember, They Want You – You are the Prize. Ask for What You Want. Ask for What You Are Worth. Ask for What You Deserve. If You Don’t Ask, You Won’t Know. Now, a caveat. I’m not suggesting you take out your Wonder Woman sword and go into battle. Think of your negotiation as a conversation. Be clear in your communication, connected and cordial.”
I’ve worked in executive search with hundreds of candidates. It’s been my experience, once a man enters into salary negotiations, he has no hesitation asking for the compensation he wants and thinks he deserves. So why is it difficult for a woman to ask for what she wants? I think most women, while growing up, aren’t taught to embrace their self worth, especially in a professional, career sense, like men are taught. Women feel apprehensive about negotiating because they don’t want to be seen as aggressive. As we all know, society and the media don’t know how to handle forceful women. Even with all the powerful, accomplished women in the world today, there’s still a long way to go.
Learning to negotiate and asking for what you want is a skill that any person, man, woman or child, can learn and perfect. You just need to try. It may be uncomfortable or even scary the first time you negotiate and ask for your value. If you get an answer that is less than optimal, pause. Perhaps, propose a creative solution that can work for you AND your soon to be employer. Once you understand the art of it and start getting the results you want, it will be smooth sailing ahead.
If you’d like to learn how to negotiation effectively in your career, I can help. Check out my coaching packages and sign up for your free 30 minute coaching session here.
by Amy Matthews | Jul 24, 2017 | Business, Mindset |
I traveled constantly in the first half of my career. I worked for technology companies in sales executive positions with responsibility for the entire U.S. Once I was in Anchorage, Alaska and Palm Beach, Florida – the very same week! I then took over Latin America and traveled to Mexico, Brazil or Argentina three weeks a month from San Francisco. To say the least, I accumulated many miles and a few wrinkles along the way. Now as a coach and executive recruiter, my life is different. I love to travel but I get to do it when I want and it makes a world of difference.
I recently went on a quick trip for pleasure. I left SFO at 11am and was back the next day by 4pm. I hadn’t slept well the night before I left and didn’t sleep well in my hotel room. I was going directly from the airport to my bocce match. Yep, I play on a bocce team – that’s what you do when you live in Sausalito. Because I was tired and a bit spacey, I walked off the plane without my bag. Halfway down the terminal, I remembered so I had to walk back and get it. Strike One. Once I was back to Sausalito, I stopped to get water at the local grocery store before the game. I left my wallet there so I had to go back and get it. Strike Two. Once the bocce match was over, I drove off in my car until I realized I had left my purse at the bocce court. Strike Three. No frickin’ joke. I was scattered and bouncing around like a nutcase. I felt like a spinning top. Chalk it up to being out of practice with traveling? One thing is for sure, my head wasn’t connected to my body. I wasn’t grounded.
It’s easy to get caught up in our hectic lives and forget to pay attention. Being grounded makes a huge difference. What does being grounded mean? It’s when you’re present in your body. You feel centered and balanced, no matter what’s going on around you. I am not one of those naturally grounded people, so I have to work at it. I use tools like meditation, yoga, and hiking to get into my body. I have found that if I am connected to the earth, I am able to listen to myself and hear what I need. If I don’t make it a daily practice, I can get out of balance. But I also can get it back as quickly as I lost it: the next day, no more crazy Amy.
If this sounds at all familiar, add a grounding practice to your morning routine. Go for a walk, take a yoga class or meditate for five minutes a day. Or just take some deep long breaths. You will feel more grounded and better equipped to handle your busy day with grace…I promise.
Speaking of your busy day, do you follow me on your favorite social media platform yet? If not, what are you waiting for? For more rule breaking inspiration, join the Woman UnRuled community.
by Amy Matthews | Apr 17, 2017 | Business |
How do you feel about your current job? Are you excited and fulfilled? Or are you only doing it for the paycheck or the lifestyle it provides?
As a coach and executive recruiter, you may think I’m about to say, “Dust off your resume, it’s time to start looking for a new job”. Right? Well wrong, hopefully I’ll surprise you.
Before coaching and executive recruiting, I worked for technology companies running sales organizations. As part of the WW Leadership team, I had the opportunity to work with Marsha Wieder, Founder of Dream University. This is what Marsha taught me:
If you are no longer excited, bored, or your job no longer has the UMPH factor, ask yourself this question:
What am I passionate about? How can I bring that feeling into my work?
Here’s an example.
Let’s say you love to sail. Ask yourself, what is it about sailing that rocks my boat? Your answer might be, “I love the focus it requires or the rush I get when we’re keeling.” If that’s your answer, excitement and being on the edge are important to you.
Now ask yourself this question:
If I could feel that same way in my job, would I want to stay in my current position?
If your answer is yes, perhaps you can talk to your boss. He or she may assign you to a compelling new project or think of other ways you can bring the feeling of excitement into your work.
Go ahead and try answering these questions. Before you toss away your current job, first, find out if it can work for you!
