Greater Milwaukee Jobs

Treat such meetings like you would a job inter- view, asking questions about the industry and what you can do to get your foot in the door. Once such meetings have concluded, send a hand-written thank-you note to the person who took time out of their day to give you the informational meeting. ■ Learn from each job interview. Many people, especially young people just starting out, go through many job inter- views before finally landing a job. Each interview is not just an opportunity to land a job or hone your interview- ing skills, but also a chance to learn what employers are looking for. Many interviews for entry-level jobs are simi- lar regardless of the industry, so make note of your responses that went over well and those that might need a little more work. ■ Be prepared to explain why you should be hired. Job seekers should be able to explain both their enthusiasm for the job and why they are right for that job. Keep your description of your capabilities concise, but don't be afraid to confi- dently state why you are the best possible candidate. ■ Look for volunteer- ing opportunities. After you have targeted a field you want to work in, you may find that there are few paying opportunities within that field. But you might be able to volun- teer or even pursue an internship if you only recently graduated from college. Volunteering or accepting an unpaid internship is a great way to start making some contacts and gain- ing some legitimate experience, and work- ing for free might just indicate to prospective employers that you are serious about pursuing a particular career and not just landing a job. Young women may be met with a difficult job market upon graduating from college. But there are ways to make job hunts easier and land the job of your dreams. 2 GREATERmilwaukeeJOBS • April 16, 2015 How to connect with a recruiter A publication of Conley Media Distributed by: Conley Distribution 262-513-2646 ©2004 by Conley Media, LLC Waukesha County Independent and Locally Owned GREATERmilwaukeeJOBS is published weekly by Conley Media – Waukesha County, 801 N. Barstow St., Waukesha, WI 53186. Contents of this publication may not be reproduced in any form without the written consent of the publisher. GREATERmilwaukeeJOBS assumes no liability for any error in copy or content. It is the advertiser's responsibility to be aware of the laws pertaining to employment advertising. Subscriptions are available for $34 (non-refundable) for a 6-month subscription. Call 262-306-5008 for information. Call Center Director: Cindy Shaske 262-306-5016 cshaske@conleynet.com Account Executive: Julie Sears 262-306-5008 jsears@conleynet.com Production: Patricia Scheel 262-513-2690 GREATERmilwaukeeJOBS Volume 17 • Number 31 April 16, 2015 To place an ad: Call us at 262-306-5008 or fax us at 262-542-6082 deadline: Noon on Wednesdays Liz Reyer is a credentialed coach with more than 20 years of business experience. Her company, Reyer Coaching & Consulting, offers services for organiza- tions of all sizes. Submit questions or comments about this column at www.deliverchange.com/coachscorner or email her at lizdeliverchange.com. Your new team does sloppy work. Now what? By Liz Reyer Tribune News Service (TNS) & A Q Q. I joined a team where the work is surprisingly sloppy and there is little sense of the right processes to follow to get things done. While I'm fairly senior, I'm not in charge. What can I do to help make things better? A. Be careful not to alienate your co-workers – or your boss – before you even have a chance to help. The inner game Think about your role and responsibilities, being sure you're clear about exactly what you con- trol.That's where you will be able to start. Then take a step back and try to understand the situation more broadly.When you joined the team, what did you know about the situa- tion? Your current perspective will be different if you were hired to help get things in order vs. if you were led to believe that all is run- ning smoothly. What's the view of the rest of the team? If people realize that per- formance is not optimal, they may be relieved to have some solutions brought forward. However, they may be defensive about the current state of affairs, or may be dismissive of your concerns or solutions. Finally, where do you stand with your boss? If he or she is in denial, you'll have limited support unless you can enlist your co-workers to help move things forward. However, if team performance has been an issue with those above your boss, solutions that you bring could help improve your boss' reputation, too. Outer game The bottom line is, in order to make a difference, you'll need allies. So before you decide what the problems are, who is responsible for them, etc., start building rela- tionships with your teammates. Form your own opinions on the strengths and weaknesses of the team, and use them to think through root causes of any prob- lems that may exist. Ask lots of questions, getting people to clarify the work your team does and exploring the rea- sons for the way the work is com- pleted. Stay neutral – be a learner so that people will open up to you. Notice what works well and what does not, and in your own work, start exhibiting some best practices. Document the effects in terms of efficiency and reduction of errors, and share those results informally with the team, and formally with your boss. Be sure to give as much credit to others as you can so that they will be brought in under the "change umbrella." This will help build buy-in among the team and build energy for broader adoption of more solid processes. As the benefits of some limited changes are noted, see if you can find organizational support for process improvement work. Some training in this area and participa- tion on work teams would be a good résumé builder for less expe- rienced employees. It would also take the onus off you as the sole driver of change. Of course, if there is no support for change above or below, you'll need to come to your own conclu- sions on whether you're in the right role. But that's a topic for a different column. The last word Bring new ideas in gently to help bring about lasting change on your team. job hunting . . . from page 1 Finding a job when the economy is struggling is not easy. An overcrowd- ed pool of applicants coupled with fewer jobs can make a job seeker feel like a proverbial needle in a haystack. When men and women apply for a position, the first person to see their resumes is typically a h u m a n r e s o u r c e s employee, a company's in-house recruiter or even a recruiting service hired by a company to help it fill the position. This person is responsi- ble for sifting through the many applicants and narrowing those down to a manageable number of people whom the recruiter will then interview, or recommend for an inter- view. (Be it over the phone or in the com- pany's office.) That said, grabbing the attention of a recruiter could make or break a person's chance of landing a job. The fol- lowing are a few ways individuals can help themselves gain the attention of a recruiter and increase their chances of being called for an interview. ■ Recognize the importance of an effec- tive C.V. A curriculum vitae, or C.V., is incredi- bly important. The C.V. is an overview of your experience and any addi- tional qualifications. Longer and more exten- sive than a resume, the C.V. is the first thing m a n y p r o s p e c t i v e employers will examine. It should include a see RECRUITER . . . page 6

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