by sean@higheredcareercoach.com | Jun 6, 2011 | Higher Education, Interview Tips, Job Search, job search tools, Student Affairs
Today’s institutions spend a lot of time assessing environments and making sure they understand them, so that people will feel comfortable and welcome. We also spend a lot of time struggling with ways to promote sustainability and integrate new technology into our approaches. So let’s crash these concepts together to examine the ecology of the job search, and apply the resulting framework to different aspects of the job search.
(This is one of those moments when I’m going to get a little de-constructionist, so if you are not interested in the theory behind this strategy, come back later this week, as we explore some particular issues and strategies you might take when working through them and making intelligent career choices. I’ll try to come full circle by ending with some more practical to-dos for those who don’t care about theory.)
Interview Ecology: Definition
One of the great things about mashing up concepts into something new is that you can make up a term to describe the new concept. So I’m going to call this interview ecology: the study of the co-created environment that exists when persons interact with each other during a search process, and the impacts on the shared environment, when new variables are introduced.
Key questions for consideration
- If the job search process is an ecosystem, how could we describe the “natural environment” which exists before we introduce humans, interactions, and other variables?
- How will the introduction of a new variable affect the environment and the people in it?
- How could each human player in a given job-search ecosystem control the introduction of new or unexpected variables into the process, and limit any adverse impacts on the environment?
- What new variables might be considered “invasive” (i.e., not present in the “natural environment” of the job search, and creating an imbalance that disrupts or destroys that environment)?
- How should one evaluate the risks and benefits of introducing a new variable into a search process?
Did You Enjoy This Post?
- Please take my reader survey and tell me what you think about Higher Ed Career Coach. It’s 11 questions and shouldn’t take long. Also, SurveyMonkey will be selecting one recipient at the end of June to receive a $25 Amazon gift card. So give your feedback and get a chance to win!
- Please like the Cook Coaching Facebook page and join the career discussion boards there!
- Follow Higher Ed Career Coach on Twitter
- Connect with me on LinkedIn
- Sign Up for our mailing list and get early announcements about upcoming site features, workshops and coaching specials.
- If you are interested in one of the upcoming summer groups or workshops, follow the links below.
by sean@higheredcareercoach.com | Jun 2, 2011 | Interview Tips, Job Search, job search tools, Podcast
Supervision is hard. Developing a coherent supervisory style is even harder. And explaining your supervisory style in an interview? Really, really hard.
On tomorrow’s episode of The Grill, at 11 a.m. ET, John Mayo and I will be discussing how to approach questions about supervision and your supervisory style in a job interview.
As usual, we’ll throw a few typical interview questions on “The Grill,” and discuss:
- What an interviewer is really asking (the question within the question–i.e., what they really mean)
- How to approach answering the real question
- Good ways to answer
- Bad ways to answer
And then, hopefully, we’ll take your calls. Call us at 1 (347) 989-0055 to take a stab at answering the questions, and we’ll offer you a live critique and our honest feedback. If you’d prefer, you can also Skype in from the episode page on BlogTalkRadio, by using the Blue “S” click-to-talk button on the page. And whether you listen live or not, we’ll continue the discussions on the Cook Coaching Facebook page, where you can also check out past questions and try your luck at answering those, too. And a few times each day, I add some interesting posts there, and you can discuss any past articles from the website.
Since we did not have a live segment last week, anyone who listened to the previous episode, What Comes Easy and What Comes Hard, will be welcome to call in and give a shot at those questions. I had a few people express interest, and had hope to schedule a follow-up teleconference, but some other business details got in the way this week. So please feel free to call in and answer those questions, too.
Please join us as we throw this week’s questions on The Grill. We’re looking forward to talking to you!
Did You Enjoy This Post?
- Please take my reader survey and tell me what you think about Higher Ed Career Coach. It’s 11 questions and shouldn’t take long. Also, SurveyMonkey will be selecting one recipient at the end of June to receive a $25 Amazon gift card. So give your feedback and get a chance to win!
- Please like the Cook Coaching Facebook page and join the career discussion boards there!
- Follow Higher Ed Career Coach on Twitter
- Connect with me on LinkedIn
- Sign Up for our mailing list and get early announcements about upcoming site features, workshops and coaching specials.
- If you are interested in one of the upcoming summer groups or workshops, follow the links below.
by sean@higheredcareercoach.com | May 30, 2011 | Site News
As we come up on the 2 year anniversary of Higher Ed Career Coach, I’ve been working on some changes to increase readership and engagement with existing readers. You’ve probably noticed the Facebook page and discussion boards, and changes in the direction of content, toward practical how-to articles and interview tips, and away from of the more philosophical pieces about higher education and first-person perspectives and reflections. Those won’t go away entirely, but this recent focus has been the result of a couple of things… diving into analytics and seeing what content is getting the most reader response, and asking readers directly what they want to see more of on the site.
The changes are also the result of some ongoing efforts on my part to show my coaching skills and get more business. I’ve been a member for a while now of the Third Tribe Marketing membership site run by CopyBlogger, and I recently joined the Authority Rules conference, to learn how to get more comfortable with marketing by developing ways to market myself authentically.
A big part of this is developing an awareness of how people perceive me and the Higher Ed Career Coach brand. And it’s hard sometimes to separate what you think you’re putting out to the world from how it’s being perceived. So I’m doing a survey during June to find out more about why people visit the site, whether they get what they came for, and what they think about the site and brand.
One person will be selected to receive a $25 Amazon Gift Card once the survey closes on June 30. SurveyMonkey takes care of the selection of the prizewinner and fulfillment. See sweepstakes rules for more details.
To take the survey, follow the link below:
Click here to take the reader survey!
by sean@higheredcareercoach.com | May 27, 2011 | Career Skills, Job Search, Podcast
In any job, some things come easy, and some come hard. This is definitely true for positions in higher education, even at the entry level, but even moreso as you move up the ladder. This week on the Grill, John Mayo and I will be discussing the right ways and the wrong ways to answer questions in your interview about what you think will come easily in a new position, and what will require a steep learning curve.
This weeks we tackle two thought-provoking and tightly connected questions that ask you to share your thoughts about how your strengths and weaknesses match up to the position you are applying for.
“Given your current level of education, skills and experience:
- What part of the position will be easiest for you, and why?
- What part of the position will require the steepest learning curve and how will you approach closing the gap?”
The show today is pre-recorded and due to a minor disaster here in Athens (see photo), we will not have the live call-in portion of the show, as a storm blew down a branch onto my house and cars and I am working on cleanup and insurance-claim-related stuff.
To listen, use the player in the sidebar.
by sean@higheredcareercoach.com | May 23, 2011 | Job Search, Uncategorized
The nature of business is changing, as we grow more connected through social media and social networking, and much attention is being paid to how the evolution of communication is changing the everyday realities of work, the power of our relationships, and how we value our time.
While many will readily acknowledge the changing methods of communication, I think that there is also a fundamental shift in the nature of communication, and its role in the broader evolutions of thought and practice in modern society and modern business.
The modern era is marked by the possibility that individuals can do business in highly individualized ways, if they know their networks, the individuals and companies in them, and develop intelligent strategies for leveraging common points of interest. The socially intelligent business leader understands his or her place in the network and can identify points of commonality where ideas and action converge, and where valuable, sustainable and long-lasting relationships can develop.
This requires an evolution of thought, not only in particulars but in process. Linear thinking and 1-to-1 interaction are still relevant skills, but understanding the interdependence of individuals within networks is becoming more critical to success in careers and business.
That’s why I am offering a short course called “Becoming a Socially Intelligent Job Seeker.” In this course, we’ll explore the roles of social intelligence and social network awareness in the job search process, and discuss strategies for expanding your network, your awareness of the people, organizations and companies represented in your network, and your ability to leverage personal and professional connections to move forward in your career.
For more information about this short course, sign up below. I will send you more information as soon as more details become available.
Today’s institutions spend a lot of time assessing environments and making sure they understand them, so that people will feel comfortable and welcome. We also spend a lot of time struggling with ways to promote sustainability and integrate new technology into our approaches. So let’s crash these concepts together to examine the ecology of the job search, and apply the resulting framework to different aspects of the job search.
