Please Visit a Dermatologist

Today I had surgery for a Stage 0 Melanoma. It was discovered about a month ago when I went to my dermatologist for my annual skin screening. I was so lucky to have a Nurse Practitioner who was thorough and eagle eyed as she spotted a pinhead sized dot on my left buttock. She took a scraping, sent it out and sure enough, it came back as a Melanoma in Situ (along with all these other words that I'd never heard of and had to Google).

The Nurse Practitioner called me into the office to go over my results rather than sharing the news over the phone and then referred me to a Surgeon/Oncologist in Naples. That began a month of appointments, discussions, pictures (!) and then today, surgery. 

My surgeon was wonderful, the team at the surgery center were kind, caring and funny and what was a scary event turned into a kind of visit with friends. I won't get my results until I meet with the surgeon in two weeks so until then, I will research Melanoma and hope that it stayed in the margins and didn't stray. 

I'm also using my job search blog as a place to tell you my story and to ask you to get your skin checked. I had a bad experience with a dermatologist in NJ about ten years ago and it left me not trusting them. I'm glad I changed my mind and have been consistently getting checked over the last few years. So please, get checked. I grew up at the beach and love to be outside. This melanoma doesn't seem to be caused by the sun, the doctor says it is most likely from my family history.

If I can make one person visit a dermatologist from this post, I'll be happy. 

PS I learned to today that a melanoma, even a stage zero can quickly spread within six weeks. That's not very long.

Preparing for a STAR Behavioral Interview

Sometimes preparing for an interview can be as challenging as participating in an interview! 

Here's a tip about charting your responses to anticipated behavioral or STAR (Situation or Task, Actions Taken and Results) interviewing questions. 

Line up the new job requirements and skills in the left column. In the middle column, think of similar requirements you may have faced in former positions and list the actions or activities you took. In the third column record your tangible results.

Valentine's Day and Your Job Search

 

How is an interview like a first date? The way you look and behave will allow your interviewer (date) to immediately know if they want to learn more about you.  Thoughtful dress, a genuine smile and eye contact are essential elements to both a date and an interview. To continue the theme, it’s important be conscious of your body language.  Sitting up straight or slightly leaning forward demonstrate your interest in the speaker and topic along with your desire to continue the conversation.

 Like a first date, an interview is a conversation; a back and forth discussion where the interviewee actively listens and engages the interviewer with insightful questions and responses.  The interviewee should be prepared to fully explain his or her comments with thought-out examples of accomplishments and career highlights.

Finally, during a first date you may be asked about your strengths and weaknesses and likes and dislikes.  These come up on an interview too and in both cases you should be prepared with examples of each.  As far as weaknesses, don’t forget to mention what you’re doing to improve so that you don’t turn off the interviewer.

I haven’t been on a first date for a long time thankfully but I do remember being prepared to talk about myself, ask questions of my date and express an interest in what he said. If he called for a second date the routine would start all over and maybe by then we’d learn if we wanted to move further or go our separate ways.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Networking According to my Mother

When I was a little girl I was painfully shy. I don’t know how it happened but I wouldn’t surprised if some “thoughtful” adult in my life introduced me as, “This is Nancy. She is shy”. When I was about six years old, my mother decided to put an end to it and she gently eased me into meeting other children. I remember a day when we first moved to Eatontown, NJ after my Dad was transferred back from Germany to head the Army Central Intelligence Office out of Newark. We rented a farmhouse situated on 24 acres of fields and barns and fruit trees. It was a fun place for a kid with a love of the outdoors and an imagination.

One day the children from the neighborhood came over to see who the two new girls were. My sister ran outside and jumped right into the conversation and action. I looked out of my window at the fun and wished that I was as bold as she. My mother, noticing my hesitance took me by the hand and led me out to meet the neighbors. Oh it was hard and I can remember hiding behind her, clutching a stuffed lamb for dear life. Gradually, with her encouragement and casual conversation I stood in front of the new kids and smiled. They didn’t care that I was “shy” or quiet; they just wanted to play in our huge yard. We remained friends for years.

Looking back I can remember some of the lessons my mother taught me about meeting other people (networking) and I am so grateful. As the years went on and I had a family of my own, she continued her introductions and friendly matchmaking with my children. My mom is gone now but I think of her often and gratefully acknowledged the huge role she played in molding who I am today, I jotted down her networking tips. (She would have laughed at the word networking; she most likely would have called them common sense people skills.) They are great tips for the kid in all of us.

1. Be yourself. You are who you are and can’t ever make yourself someone else.
2. Be open to new people and new ideas. You might learn something.
3. Treat everyone the way that you want to be treated. Everyone has feelings just like you. Everyone should be respected.
4. Get out there even if you don’t feel like it. You’ll most likely enjoy yourself more than you expected.
5. Not everyone is as confident as they appear. Everyone has some sort of insecurity. Be open to people and make them feel comfortable.
6. If someone is not interested, so what? Move on and meet someone new.

I’ve carried these tips along with me through life. Her advice, recipes, voice, smile and mannerisms have made me who I am today and I am grateful.

Job Search During the Holidays

Just because the holiday season is underway doesn’t mean that it is a time to slack off on your job search; especially networking. The holidays bring in plenty of opportunities to meet with new and old friends and to let them know that you are actively searching for work. The key is to build relationships; keep your eyes open for opportunities but not let it consume you. Target family and friend gatherings, volunteer or professional group end of year celebrations, neighborhood parties... I think you get the idea.

Here are a couple of tips:
1. Be prepared with a short, casual elevator speech. Think of what you’ll say if people ask about you about yourself. Here is an example.

You: “Hi Joan, how have you been?”
Joan: “Great but so busy lately, how about you? How are things?”
You: “Good but like you trying to get everything done with the few weeks that we have left to the year. I’m also in the middle of a job search. My company outsourced my department a few weeks ago and on top of the holiday rush, I’m also trying to find a new job.”
Joan: “I'm sorry to hear that, What is it that you do again? I'm sure you told me but I forgot.”
You: “I’m technical writer and I really love it. I want to stay in the field and have started serious job hunting. If you happen to know anyone in your company or from your contacts, I sure would appreciate the help.”
Joan: “Let me think about who I might know. Let’s talk more after the holidays.”
You: “That would be great, thanks Joan. By the way, how is the college search going for Erin?”

2. Listen and be open to the person that you’re talking with. In other words, don’t make it all about you.

3. Be gracious with everyone.

4. Have fun, give yourself a break and enjoy yourself. Don’t be caught off guard but don’t feel as if you have to push yourself constantly.

Talking, listening, laughing and sharing are all parts of networking; all a part of life. It's important to be prepared for any networking situation but enjoy your friends and family first and savor the season.

Interview Question - How Would Your Friends Describe You?

In an interview, you will be asked any number of questions. Most of these will focus on your skills and previous responsibilities but there are other questions that an interviewer may use to discern your fit into the organization. One of those questions is, "How would your friends describe you?"

The question, “What would your friends say about you?” or "How would your friends describe you?" is usually used to find out how the interviewee would get along with his or her new team members, manager, and the organization as a whole. It’s used to see if there is a good fit between the organization and the new employee.  

From an interviewee’s standpoint, plan on this question being asked and prepare a response based on the job requirements and position. For example, if the job calls for good planning skills, respond with real life examples of how your friends were impressed with how you planned the events surrounding any reunions or weekend trips. Make sure to include a recap of the steps you took to make these memorable events.  

Asking friends for examples of how they see you is another step to take. Once you have these, think about ways that these attributes could be seen as pluses in an interview.

The key here is to prepare ahead of time by reviewing the job description and coming up with both work and non-work-related examples of where you excelled. Many times, we fail to see that the skills we use away from work can easily be aligned with what’s needed on the job.

This question is another example of preparing for the interview by reviewing the job posting or description and coming up with real life examples of how your skills, both technical and non-technical, align to these.

Interview Thank you Note

The other day I sent a thank you note to a friend who lives down the street thanking her for a nice dinner at her home. It was something I was taught to do at an early age and I still do it. I know that times have changed and thank you notes, if they are sent at all, are mainly done through text. Still, thanking a hiring manager after an interview is another step in the job search process. Many people leave it out but this small step not only shows that you care about the position, company and group that you may be working with but it also gives you a leg up on the competition who may not send a note.

So here is a free thank you note that you can email or send to a hiring manager after an interview. Try it, you may find that it improves your chances of being hired. It doesn't hurt, that's for sure.

Make sure that your thank you covers a few points; it contains the name of person with whom you interviewed (if you interviewed with a few people, they should each get a note and obviously you need to change the wording in each note). Also, make sure that your note includes something in it that will remind the interviewer of who you are. 
Are you ready? Here is a thank you note for you - obviously, you'll need to tailor it to fit your needs.

Salutation – Add Name, Company, Address, Date
Dear
Thank you for taking the time to talk with me today about the (name of) position. Our conversation reaffirmed my interest in working with you at (Company name) and I was eager to learn about the products, services and resources that you offer.
 
I hope that I was able to communicate to you that my past experience in (specific area) would be beneficial in solving your issues with (some situation or job need that was discussed). One of my passions is to improve business processes through (list several of your strengths as they match the open position). I would very much like to use these skills to help (Company name) fulfill its mission of helping clients, “build and sustain a successful business.”
If you have any further questions, I would be happy to talk with you again. Feel free to call me at (number). I am more than ready to move into this role; I am a quick learner and eager to get started. Thank you once again.
 

Sincerely,