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Debra Rosenfeld, Career Coach

The Secret Formula for Answering “What Are Your Strengths?”

11/9/2017

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Highlight your strengths. (Image by Sira Anamwong)
When you’re asked “What are your strengths?” in an interview, it’s your opportunity to shine a light on your skills. Here is the Secret Formula for responding to this question:

“Two of my strengths are ___________ (hard skill relevant to the job you’re applying for) + ___________ (soft skill relevant to the job you’re applying for). An example of my hard skill is___________. An example of my soft skill is___________.”

What are hard and soft skills?
A hard skill is a concrete, teachable skill, such as programming, teaching, counseling, and supervising. A soft skill is an interpersonal skill or personal quality that helps you do your job well, such as being diplomatic, flexible, organized, or detail oriented.

Example of how to use the Secret Formula
Let’s take a look at a job description, followed by an example of how to use the formula. Here’s the job description:

Position Title: Senior Editor
* Copyedit market research reports on the laptop computer industry.
* Research and write engaging articles on laptops for our monthly newsletter.
* Edit website content and marketing materials.
* Develop and maintain a corporate style guide, and ensure consistent branding across all publications.

Desired qualifications:
* Bachelor’s degree.
* Four+ years of copyediting experience.
* Highly detail oriented, excellent oral communications skills, and strong time-management abilities.

Now, here’s a response to “What are your strengths?” using the Secret Formula:

“Two of my strengths are style guide development and time management.

When I worked at XTREME Software, for example, I developed a 50-page corporate style guide that I used to ensure consistency across all our marketing materials and website. Not only did this result in consistent branding but it also enabled us to reinforce the use of our trademarks. In fact, the legal department commended me for contributing to the company’s trademark protection.

My time-management skills have come in handy throughout my career. When I was working as an editor at XTREME, the webmaster took a leave of absence for six months. While she was gone, I managed both the website and my own job. As you can imagine, this was quite a juggling act, but because I’ve developed a scalable time-management system, I was able to successfully perform both jobs. And when it came time for my annual review, my manager recognized my efforts by giving me a five-percent raise.”

The power of the Secret Formula
The Secret Formula is powerful because it gives you the opportunity to highlight your accomplishments and achievements. Your examples prove your claims, and demonstrating your strengths is much more interesting than describing them.

Before your next interview, make a list of your relevant strengths (use the job description as a guide) and examples of each one. Plug them into the Secret Formula, and practice answering “What are your strengths?” a few times. You’ll have a compelling answer that gives you confidence!


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Nine Tips for Expanding Your LinkedIn Network

9/4/2017

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It's easy to grow your LinkedIn network. (Image by Stuart Miles)
LinkedIn is a powerful tool for growing and maintaining your network. Having both a deep network (people you’ve met) and a broad network (people you don’t know) increases your visibility to employers and recruiters and your ability to talk directly with folks in target companies.

Here are nine tips for expanding your LinkedIn network.

1. Post a photo.
I’ll accept connection requests from many people I don’t know as long as they have a photo. A good LinkedIn picture makes you seem more trustworthy and competent, so people are more likely to accept your connection requests, and recruiters are more apt to contact you.

2. Craft a complete profile.
Recruiters look for a complete profile, because it makes it easier for them to assess whether you may be a good fit for a position. A complete LinkedIn profile is the online equivalent of a complete resume, and it allows readers to understand who you are professionally.

3. Ask your LinkedIn connections to introduce you.
One of the best ways to make a LinkedIn connection is to ask a connection to introduce you, because most people feel comfortable connecting with a friend of a friend. To give back, offer to introduce your LinkedIn connections to others.

4. Accept all reasonable invitations.
There are two philosophies about connecting on LinkedIn. One philosophy is that you should only connect with people you’ve met in person, online, or through friends. The other is that you should accept connection requests from just about everyone who asks.

I’m in the second camp—if you have a photo, a complete profile, and something in common with me (same industry, type of work, geographical location, or friends), I’ll accept your request. The larger your network, the easier it is to find a connection at a company of interest.


5. If there’s no obvious connection, send a quick, clear introductory note about why you want to connect.
For example, “Hi Mr. Johnson. I’m a senior majoring in psychology at Zen College. I’m trying to learn if psychotherapy would be a good career for me. I see that you’ve had a private practice for 15 years. Would you be open to talking briefly about your experience in your practice? If you don’t have time, I understand. Thank you for your consideration, Maya.”
 
6. Join alumni and interest groups.
People in your LinkedIn alumni and interest groups are “warm connections.” Warm connections are people you have something in common with, and they’re more likely to connect with you than cold connections. So, be sure to join your alumni groups and professional groups.

7. Don’t look like a stalker.
Checking out a person’s profile multiple times over consecutive days or weeks will make you seem like a stalker. If you need to refer back to information on a person’s profile (let’s say you’re interviewing with that person next week), copy key information from her profile and paste it into a Word document.
 
8. Don’t send unsolicited information about your business.
I’m amazed at how often people ask to connect with me, then immediately send me spam on their business. Just because someone accepts your connection request, it doesn’t mean that they want to become your customer. If you don’t want to annoy your connections, only send them information about your business if they request it.

9. Blog.
LinkedIn offers a blog platform that can bring you tremendous visibility. After I write a blog on my website, I post it on LinkedIn and share it with my groups. You can write a unique blog on your area of expertise, click “Write an article” on your LinkedIn homepage, add an image, and post! Then, share your blog with select LinkedIn connections and your groups.

Building a LinkedIn Network for Your Career
Now that you know how to expand your LinkedIn network, start making a few new connections each day. Soon you’ll have a deep and broad network that will increase your visibility to employers and recruiters and make it easy for you to find connections with people at a wide range of organizations. 
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How to Create an Elevator Pitch for Any Situation

5/1/2017

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Be ready with a captivating elevator pitch. (Image by Ambro)
John is preparing to attend a pharmaceutical sales career fair. He wants to advance from a position calling on primary care physicians to a specialty position in which he’ll sell to cardiologists.

John sees that Zybergene, a hot biotech company, will have a booth at the fair. He reviews the company’s website and learns that it has just received FDA approval for an antihypertensive, Lowrenin, that lowers blood pressure in people with diabetes. Assuming that Zybergene will need to hire a salesforce to promote this product, John crafts an elevator pitch that will capture the interest of the recruiter.


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Three Easy Ways to Answer “What is One of Your Weaknesses?”

2/12/2017

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Feel confident when talking about a weakness. (Image by Sira Anamwong)
“What is one of your weaknesses?” is a traditional interview question that makes jobseekers feel uncomfortable and defensive. It also provides little useful information to the employer, because most people answer with a strength spun as a weakness: “I’m a perfectionist, so I stay up late making my work perfect and don’t get enough sleep.”

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How to Respond to “Tell Me About Yourself”

11/27/2016

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You can ace your answer. (Image by Becris)
“Tell me about yourself” is the most important interview question and the one that strikes the greatest fear into the hearts of jobseekers. When I coach my clients on interviewing, I start each session by asking which interview questions they need help with. Almost everyone answers, “Tell me about yourself.”

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Stuff to Keep Throughout Your Career

6/5/2016

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Hang on to these career items. (Image by Stuart Miles)
Half of one of my closets is filled with stuff I’ve collected throughout my career—such as heartfelt thank-you notes from clients and sales awards that I won. Yet, I wish I had kept track of many other things, like the exact dates that I worked at a job 15 years ago and my manager's contact information.

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Two Secrets to a Killer Job Interview

3/25/2016

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Spice up your interview with examples and accomplishments (Image by jesadaphorn)
There are two simple, powerful techniques that you can use to interview successfully. One is to give detailed and specific examples, and the other is to promote your accomplishments and achievements. Both techniques illuminate and provide proof of your skills and abilities, and they also capture the attention of the interviewer.

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It's OK

1/21/2016

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It's OK to make career mistakes. (Image by kibsri)
Jobseekers—do you feel guilty or ashamed about something that happened in your career?

We all know that everyone is imperfect and that everyone makes mistakes regularly (in fact, I’ve made the mistake of eating a donut every day for the last two weeks). So why do we all feel ashamed or guilty about things that haven’t gone quite right in our professional lives?

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Let Your Resume RIP

12/22/2015

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Let your resume RIP. (Image by vectorolie)
Most people struggle with the question, “What should I include in my resume?” Luckily, there’s an easy acronym you can use to guide your writing. Your resume should be:

Relevant
Interesting
Purposeful
(RIP)


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The Most Important Part of Your Resume--and How to Write It

9/4/2015

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Your summary will help you hook an interview. (Image by Stuart Miles)
The summary of qualifications is the most important part of a resume, yet 90% of the resumes I see don’t have one. The reason you need to have a summary is that it makes it easy for recruiters and managers to see that you are qualified for the job and are a good candidate.

Rather than force employers to hunt through your resume to determine whether you are qualified for the position, the summary tells them immediately what they want to know.


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How to Use the STAR Format to Respond to Behavioral Interview Questions

5/11/2015

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The STAR format for behavioral interview questions (Image by Stuart Miles)
The STAR format is a simple, effective way to respond to behavioral interview questions. It helps you structure your answers so that you demonstrate clearly how you approach and solve problems.

STAR stands for:

Situation (What challenging work situation did you encounter?)
Task (What was your goal for handling this situation?)
Action (What did you do to resolve the problem?)
Results (What was the outcome of your actions?)

Here’s an example of how to use the STAR format:


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Don’t Fret if You Haven’t Found an Internship Yet

4/27/2015

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There are many ways to find a great internship. (Image by David Castillo Dominici)
Competition for good internships can be stiff, but there are many ways that college grads and students can find opportunities to gain professional experience. Try some of these:

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Why the Bait-and-Switch Job Offer Is a Blessing in Disguise

4/1/2015

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The bait-and-switch job offer is trouble. (Image by Stuart Miles)
You’ve just finished going through a series of interviews for an exciting job. You’ve invested hours of your time filling out job applications, researching the company, preparing for interviews, and writing followup notes. You’re praying that you’ll get an offer.

But, when you receive the offer, you discover that the salary is lower than you were told it would be. Or, the job you're offered is different from the one you had been interviewing for (for example, the company offers you a contract position, but you were originally told it would be direct hire).


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A Little Resume Tough Love

3/25/2015

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Be honest about your resume. (Image by Stuart Miles)
I don’t believe in going all Dr. Phil on people, but the one area in which I feel compelled to use some tough love is resume dishonesty. This is because job seekers often tell themselves lies about their resumes.

Here are some common fibs that people tell me:

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A Win-Win Way to Handle Customer and Client Objections

1/26/2015

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A win-win way to hit your sales targets
Self-employed people take on many business roles, and selling is often the one they least enjoy. One reason for this distaste is that sales can seem like a nebulous process when really it involves a common series of steps.

Many people find that responding to client and customer objections is particularly tricky and awkward. To help you out, I’ve broken down the process into six easy steps.


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Networking is More Effective and Fun When You Focus on Others

1/20/2015

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Focusing on others is part of making beautiful music
Networking is a key part of a job search, but it can quickly begin to feel like a chore, even for extroverts. That’s because networking is a process and the only way to benefit from a process is to be fully present and let go of your expectations of an outcome.

Now, you’re probably thinking, “What is she talking about? I need a job ASAP. It’s the only reason I’m networking!”


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A Simple Tool to Help You Identify Your Career Accomplishments and Achievements

1/12/2015

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Celebrate your achievements. (Image by Stuart Miles)
It’s common knowledge that your resume should be packed with accomplishments and achievements, yet most of the resumes I review have few or none. Why is this so? My clients tell me that they struggle to identify their successes.

Why is it so hard to recognize my accomplishments?

There are six common reasons why people have trouble identifying their accomplishments and achievements:


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I’ll Have a Margarita with That? The Strangest Job Interviews

1/7/2015

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The interview in a sports bar during happy hour
This New Year’s Day, I was reminiscing about the strangest job interviews I’ve had…

Starbucks-Based Interviewing

While most people interview in a prospective employer’s office or meeting room, people who work in sales or home-based businesses are just as likely to interview at Starbucks.

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Maintaining High Self-Esteem While in Career Transition

12/24/2014

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Feel good about yourself. (Image by ratch0013)
Getting laid off is hard on your self-esteem, and low self-esteem can impair how you perform in an interview by making you seem defensive or pessimistic. Here are some tips for keeping your spirits up and your interview skills sharp while you’re in career transition.

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Low-Talking and the Job Seeker

12/15/2014

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You deserve to be heard. (Image by Stockimages)
Remember the Seinfeld episode in which Jerry and Elaine were having dinner with Kramer and his fashion-designer girlfriend, a “low-talker”? The low-talker spoke so quietly that Jerry unwittingly agreed to wear her pirate-like puffy shirt on The Today Show.  

Recently, at a networking event, I met a woman who was a low-talker. I leaned close to her and repeated, “Can you say that again?” and “I’m sorry, I can’t hear you,” but I still couldn’t understand what she was saying. I assumed, sadly, that she would leave the networking event without having made any connections.


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    Debra Rosenfeld, MA, LMFT
    Career Coach
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