Darshali Soni’s Post

Notes from A Career Search - Part 1: Recently a friend asked if I had any pointers given I’ve been on the market for eight months now. Here are my top suggestions: 1. Hire a Career Coach - You need someone who is actively engaged with the market ongoing. Jargon and market shifts change, so I suggest keeping a pulse based upon what you’re seeing as you’re actively applying. Be sure your resume is current and really highlights the things you can talk about in detail. Be honest with yourself about what you want because that will help inform the Career Coach on what perspective to take in revamping your experience. 2. Trust your gut. If you are on an interview and at any point it doesn’t feel right - end it. Don’t be rude, but also don’t waste anyone's time. You likely have a good sense for things you expect, if those bare minimum values aren’t reading in the interview, they aren’t likely supported in the culture. Example: coming on camera during a Zoom interview. This is a big deal for myself. It shows that the person interviewing me understands connection and that I am interviewing them as much as they are interviewing me - this is not a one-sided interview. It also indicates to me a lack of trust as it puts the full vulnerability on my shoulders and blocks me from any visual clues about how what Im saying is being read/understood. 3. Be honest. Laid off? Then state as much. There is nothing in 2023 more relatable than being laid off. Any attempts at dressing it up come across as false. 4. Learning skills for the sake of learning them is a value add as it shows you are someone looking for continual growth/improvement, but not every environment is one of continual growth. Be aware of the culture you are joining. Do your research using GlassDoor or other such job info resource. Know what to expect for benefits and similar pay for the position you’re applying for. 5. Use AI. Think you know all there is to know about a position because you’ve done it? Ask AI a series of questions regarding the position. Be creative in your prompts. Ask for comparisons, structured responses, and give it a tone/perspective to write from. More tips on Part 2!

Specific examples > generic examples When interviewing for a role, prospective employers are looking to evaluate candidate's skills, knowledge, experience, and personality. Specific examples are one of the best ways to convince them that you're the right person for the role. So, what are these specific examples, where do they come from, and how should they be presented? I'm so happy you asked! Here's an approach you can use to develop these examples: 1️⃣ Develop a repertoire of stories, anecdotes, achievements, and highlights from your past roles. It's often easiest to do a "brain dump" first and get everything down on paper and then refine from there. 2️⃣ Identify examples where you overcame an obstacle and/or achieved something you're proud of. 3️⃣ Take each example and break it down into these five "START" components: - Situation: Contextual information on the role, employer, and circumstances - Task: What you were asked to do or needed to achieve and why - Action: What action(s) you took - Result: The result of your actions - Takeaways: What you learned or gleaned from the experience 4️⃣ Write out the talking points for each of the START components for each example. 5️⃣ Practice using these examples in mock interviews (with friends, family members, or even by recording yourself). If you're into AI, there are also AI services that will evaluate your responses. Shadowing AI is one example: https://shadowing.ai/ 6️⃣ If you're struggling to come up with much information for the first step, that's a signal that you will probably need to gain more real-world experience or experience in your target field. This could take the form of a volunteer project, contract work, internship, or apprenticeship. Here's a list of places to find real-world projects: https://lnkd.in/d8ygnX5z As you're going through this process, make sure to choose examples that paint you in a positive light (i.e. your actions and the result are impressive or suggest that you'd be a good hire). In the interview process, you get to tell your own story. This is helpful only if you do the necessary preparation and craft a compelling narrative. Hopefully this approach helps you with the process!

OCT 11 | Coach to Transform: Empower Clients & Improve Career, Job Search & Interview Outcomes In our fast-paced world, the temptation to offer solutions and give advice is strong. Clients want answers, certainty, and relief. This is even more true for career, job search, and interview coaches, as clients come to us looking for expertise. The challenge? If expertise would solve their problem, it would be solved. From articles and videos to ChatGPT or any of the new AI "coaches" on the market, advice is everywhere. How do we differentiate our work from a rising sea of free advice and AI? Resist the urge to give advice and rely on the transformational, uniquely human skill of coaching. First, we must believe the role of a career coach goes beyond simply offering advice; it's about unlocking a client's potential and guiding them toward their own solutions. That true empowerment lies in guiding clients to discover their own answers. Then, we can promote those outcomes, attract more clients or students into our programs, and carve out a space in the market. But first we have to build our skills, our confidence, and our language to position ourselves as the guide instead of the expert. In this specialized workshop, we delve into the intricacies of coaching within the realm of career development, from exploration and decision-making to job searching, interviewing, and salary negotiation. Get access to the live session and the video recording and handout so you can view it whenever you wish as often as you wish! https://vist.ly/bhck #coaching #careercoaching #careerpros

Should you BELIEVE the system is broken? Don't risk the wrong job search mindset. Over 50% of job seekers complain about a broken system. Here’s why they're wrong. It's not the system that's broken. It's their expectation that things will change. Many job seekers handle their search like this: - Companies should [insert entitlement] - How dare you ignore my emails? - If only you gave me a chance - But I'm perfect for this job - I have a right to know - I sent 200 resumes - You rejected me - How dare you! Ridiculous "Dear hiring manager" posts don’t help, either. It’s classic rage bait designed to boost author engagement. It offers no value to job seekers. It's to push buttons and virtue signal. The system has been this way for decades. Job seekers are treated like sh*t every single day. But here's an unpopular truth: - Unsuccessful job seekers complain that the system is broken. - Successful ones learn to navigate their search in spite of it. While half of you are rushing to grab your pitchfork. The other half are nodding their head in agreement. Sure we have opportunities for some, and do all we can. But we can't help everyone. BELIEVE in a better way of managing your job search? Take a look at our Career Growth Accelerator Program to learn how to build an offer-winning strategy. https://buff.ly/42cwPgk ____________ Looking for more tips, tricks and resources to help with your job search? → Follow #CGATips → Visit my profile page and hit [Follow] → Subscribe to the Huxley Morton YouTube Channel for Weekly Video Tips #JobSearchTips #Careers #CareerGrowth #GrowthMindset

Should you BELIEVE the system is broken? Don't risk the wrong job search mindset. Over 50% of job seekers complain about a broken system. Here’s why they're wrong. It's not the system that's broken. It's their expectation that things will change. Many job seekers handle their search like this: - Companies should [insert entitlement] - How dare you ignore my emails? - If only you gave me a chance - But I'm perfect for this job - I have a right to know - I sent 200 resumes - You rejected me - How dare you! Ridiculous "Dear hiring manager" posts don’t help, either. It’s classic rage bait designed to boost author engagement. It offers no value to job seekers. It's to push buttons and virtue signal. The system has been this way for decades. Job seekers are treated like sh*t every single day. But here's an unpopular truth: - Unsuccessful job seekers complain that the system is broken. - Successful ones learn to navigate their search in spite of it. While half of you are rushing to grab your pitchfork. The other half are nodding their head in agreement. Sure we have opportunities for some, and do all we can. But we can't help everyone. BELIEVE in a better way of managing your job search? Take a look at our Career Growth Accelerator Program to learn how to build an offer-winning strategy. https://buff.ly/42cwPgk ____________ Looking for more tips, tricks and resources to help with your job search? → Follow #CGATips → Visit my profile page and hit [Follow] → Subscribe to the Huxley Morton YouTube Channel for Weekly Video Tips #JobSearchTips #Careers #CareerGrowth #GrowthMindset