It’s An Inside Job: What Works in Today’s Market

Our Program

Many of you want to know just what does it take to get a job in today’s marketplace. Who are the people that are finding success and how are they doing it? This week’s SFPCN presenter, Dr Beth Milwid, has helped more than 60 individuals find new positions over the past two years. On Tuesday she will share with the SFPCN community just how they did it.

Dr. Beth’s goal is to avoid repeating what you’ve already heard about the mechanics of a job search and spell out instead the lesser known dynamics she believes make the difference in landing a job today. As a psychologist, Dr. Beth will focus on mastering the subtle person-to-person interactions (face-to-face, on the phone, and online) that make or break a job search.

Dr. Beth Milwid

Presenter’s Biography

Dr. Beth Milwid is a psychologist and management consultant with over 20 years of experience. She specializes in career development, strategic communications, employee training, and executive coaching. She served as a training manager at Apple Computer and senior manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers and Ernst & Young. Her clients have ranged from companies including US Airways, Charles Schwab, and the Tom Peters Group to nonprofits such as the Stanford Medical School and Marin Interfaith Council.  Dr. Beth has also worked as a career consultant at two outplacement firms, Valerie Frederickson & Company in Silicon Valley and Drake Beam Morin in San Francisco. During the past two years, she helped 60 individuals who lost their jobs find new opportunities. These clients included engineers, attorneys, college counselors, administrative assistants, sales managers, and loan officers living throughout the United States. Dr. Beth conducted a national research project on women’s careers and published a book, Working With Men, the first oral history account of American women in business. Her research was featured on the cover of Savvy magazine and book syndicated in 13 newspapers. Dr. Beth appeared on Larry King, Good Morning, America, NRP, and CNN, and spoke at conferences and universities across the country.  Dr. Beth Milwid graduated Summa Cum Laude from Stanford University. She was awarded a Coro Foundation Fellowship in Public Affairs and received a PhD in Social/Clinical Psychology from the Wright Institute in Berkeley

My Program Summary and Comments

What works for you in today’s market

• Precision – focus on the details without obsession.
• Timing – be prompt beginning with acknowledging through wrapping up.
•  Subtlety – be adept at understanding and using subtle communications and body language
• Perseverance –  keep at it.

Beth emphasized showing your humane side. For example, her favorite way to start a formal speech in front of a new audience is,

“Let me tell you how I prepared for this talk.“

Beth spoke about the psychology and social interaction of the job search.

1. Observe people in new ways.
2. Get the inside scoop on an employer (interviewer, founder, current CEO), learn their values, and answer the question, “What problems can I solve?”
3. Strategize each step using Outcome Thinking.
4. Learn updated job skills.
5. Manage stress daily.

Outcome thinking is figuring where you want to be and then drawing up in reverse order the steps to that goal.

What the person that hires you really wants from you:

• Connection
• Competence
• Humor
• Easy to work with

It’s all about their needs, not your, because self interest is at the employer’s core. Can you answer their question,

“Will my life be better if you are in it?“

People will remember how you made them feel after they forget what you said.

Resumes

Resumes are about the future using facts from your past. Adding to the last element to William Zinsser’s Keys to Better Writing, Beth says the better resume has:

• Brevity
• Clarity
• Simplicity
• Humane
• Integrity – is it true?

Building a good resume

• Lead with a summary
• Create work pictures
• Get interviewed and create the draft from that interview
• Edit until you are proud

Basics of good messaging

• Write clearly
• Use the right media
• Get your message received
• Is your message understood as intended?

Keeping human nature in mind in an electronic world

• Electronic media has many recipients: are you writing to them all?
• People are diverse and different from you: are you taking that into consideration?
• One negative person can derail your project: are you rounding your edges?
• Your job is to make work easier: does your communication do that?
• Every interaction counts: does this one?

Think about how Apple’s Clement Mok makes communication count,

“We punctuate with white space.“

Dressing for the interview

• Solid color clothing – no patterns
• Carry a thin portfolio – no bulging
• Get a haircut
• Display a regal posture – no rounding
• Show lots of white space – avoid too much type

Your voice

• Keep the pace slow
• Enunciate clearly
• Keep a friendly tone, avoid abrupt speech
• Keep the reception clear, don’t fade out

Your language

• Use word pictures – if they can see it, they will remember it, avoid noun stacks
• Use specific nouns – no pronouns, use the name of people and things
• Straight talk – no jargon
• Be inclusive, not exclusive

Start a presentation with an image – “Imagine this …..”

Brief introductions

Sequence your important points by answering these questions in your mind:

• So what?
• What?
•  Why?

Get to the point. Modern communications begins with the point, while the storyteller ends with the point.

Creating a great elevator pitch

To create your personal pitch, use this tool from the Harvard Business School.

Interview tips

For tips on how to interview, go to this link from Beth’s blog.

Conclusion

Dr. Beth Milwid share with us her lifetime of valuable knowledge and experience. I’ve written down some of that knowledge. You can go to her website and learn more.