Get hired Now!

Sharing my learnings from the book, Get Hired Now! by Ian Siegel

Get Hired Now! by Ian Siegel

In Get Hired Now!, ZipRecruiter founder and CEO Ian Siegel tells you exactly how to find a new job fast. With an insider’s view of how over a million employers really make hires, Ian pulls insights from the data to give you step-by-step instructions for writing a resume that works, finding the right jobs to apply to, acing a job interview, and negotiating a job offer.

• The author suggests 95 percent of us don’t really know how to look for jobs, let alone know how to get hired. He aims to provide in this book information we need to find and apply to the right jobs, write a good résumé, ace our interview, and negotiate our job offer – and do it all with confidence.
• These days, more than 75 percent of résumés are read first by robots, so your main aim is to get past them.
  • forget fancy and go for something simple – boring, even. Don’t use boxes, columns, tables, headers and footers, logos, or nonstandard fonts.
  • change any weird job titles to something generic that robots recognize. Better still, if the employer is using specific job titles, you should use them, too.
  • keep your language clear and simple. This makes it easier for bots to summarize your résumé.
• how do you get the content right?
  • get the basics in there: your full name, address, phone number, and email address. Include a summary paragraph if you have extensive experience, or a résumé longer than a page.
  • detail your work experience. State where you worked – including generic job title, company name and location; what you did; and the impact you had – use numbers if you can. Your most recent job should be first. If you’re a creative, remember to include links to your portfolio.
  • Your education section should only include high-school results if you haven’t completed any higher education. And when it comes to listing your skills, be precise about them, and include how long you’ve used them.
  • Be honest about gaps in your work experience, and own them. If you were fired, on the other hand, don’t mention it – get yourself past the bots first, and explain what happened in the interview. If you stayed home to raise children, you can even make this humorous: “Changed 6,729 diapers” for example, or “Reduced crying time by over 63 percent.”
  • double-check your spelling and grammar. Errors here scream, This person has poor attention to detail.
• there’s something else you need to do before you’re ready to search for jobs: check out your online reputation.
  • clean up your posts and leave only what you might want a potential employer to see, or simply set your privacy levels to private.
  • you need to line up your references. don’t forget to reconnect with them when you give their names to a potential employer.
  • network – invite everyone you know to join your social networks. The more you give on social media, the more widely you’ll be known. And tell everyone about your passions. don’t share passions about things that could be divisive, like guns, politics, or conspiracy theories! Remember, you’re networking for relationships – not jobs. Your real purpose is to get to know people better. A lot of jobs are never advertised because they’re created internally, or especially for a known candidate.
• Use feature-rich job-search engines and professional networking sites to find the right vacancies.
  • The first thing to look for in a job-search site is aggregation. Sites that do this scour the internet and bring together millions of jobs from every site. Check whether the job-search site you’re using allows you to make one-click applications, which allow you to apply from within the interface – saving you both time and frustration.
  • Make sure that your chosen site also uses AI to recommend jobs and alert you to new jobs the moment they’re posted. It should also allow you to provide feedback so the algorithm can make better future recommendations.
  • A useful feature is to be able to review what the site’s bots have extracted from your résumé and correct that information. You should also be able to see how good a match you are for every job.
  • you also need to be able to keep track of your applications within the site. And it helps to know the status of your application
  • what if a job comes to you? AI can now alert employers to your résumé, and if they like you, they’ll more than likely invite you to apply.
  • unsurprisingly, the author recommends you use ZipRecruiter, as he’s cofounder and CEO of the site!
  • LinkedIn is also a must. Keep your page updated with your skills, experience, and a photo. Make sure your headline provides an overview and lets recruiters know you’re open to opportunities.
• Apply to the right jobs – and do it quickly.
  • apply quickly – preferably within two days of the job being posted
  • Important not to disqualify yourself from jobs based on the listed job requirements. You should consider these the employer’s wish list, or nice-to-haves.
  • when searching for jobs, look for those that match your current job title exactly
  • Getting a job will be easier if you’re passionate about the product, company, or service.
  • Look out for jobs in which you’ll earn more money than you’re making now, too.
  • consider vacancies at your current employer’s direct competitors. From their perspective, you’ll have knowledge and expertise that few others can match
• Job interviews generally last from 30 to 60 minutes. It only takes 20 seconds to make an impression. Your clothes and behavior in those first 20 seconds play a huge role in whether you’ll get hired.
  • Don’t wear perfume or cologne. What smells good to you might not to your interviewer.
  • Sweat can be a nightmare at interviews – it makes you look less confident, less competent, and even less trustworthy.
  • don’t drink alcohol the night before your interview, and coffee is off-limits on the day of the interview – both can trigger sweating
  • nice clothing simply makes you appear more competent. iron those new clothes before the interview.
  • The more you smile, the more your interviewer will expect things to go well.
  • be sure to make strong eye contact. This shows that you’re confident and increases the interviewer’s belief in you
  • give a firm handshake – this also shows your confidence.
  • use the interviewer’s name; this demonstrates respect, and shows you consider the interviewer to be important.
• Interviewing is like a game of tennis.
  • The most commonly asked opening interview request is Tell me about yourself. This isn’t an opportunity for you to talk through your résumé, though. Your interviewer has read it. So counter this with a “magical first sentence.” Use the interviewer’s name, express interest, and pivot the conversation by talking about the company or the interviewer.
  • You can imagine this kind of interview tactic as being like a game of tennis. Each time you’re asked a question, make sure you hit the ball back to the interviewer. This way, you make the interview into a two-way conversation: First, answer the interviewer’s question, but then finish with a question of your own.
  • create a “memorable moment” during your interview – a moment when the interviewer feels she’s taught you something, changed your mind, or improved on an idea that you offered.
  • Make the interviewer feel great about herself by leaving a two-second gap before you respond to a question or a point she’s made. This breaks the conversation and shows you’re thinking about what she said or asked. You’ll come across as a great listener, too!
  • common interview questions you should prepare for:
    • Why are you leaving your current job? There are no perfect answers to this, but whatever you do, don’t answer this with negatives about your current boss or company.
    • What are your salary expectations? Don’t just add x amount to your current rate; do some research before the interview so you know the market rate for the position. You don’t actually have to give a number at all, but could instead simply say that you want a fair rate.
  • At the end of most interviews, you’ll also be asked whether you have any questions. Of course you do! This will give the interviewer more opportunities to talk about herself. You could ask, for example, “What excites you about working here?” “What challenges have you faced here?” Or “Do you have any hesitation about me fitting in?”
  • you should always follow up. Write a simple thank-you note.
• You have to negotiate to get what you want.
  • Don’t be afraid of losing that job offer – negotiating isn’t going to lose it for you. Your potential employer is just as afraid of losing you as you are of losing the offer. So, negotiate – you may be able to increase the offer by at least 10 percent.
  • employers routinely reduce their first offers to any candidate by between 5 and 15 percent. Research what range of salary employers in the area are paying for the role you’ve been offered. That way you can be sure what you ask for isn’t unreasonable.
  • you should be the first one to mention money. make sure you give a number higher than you really expect. If the employer makes the first offer, don’t be dragged down by that – counter with a higher number immediately.
  • money is important, but don’t forget to think about flexible work arrangements, vacation time, moving expenses, or even whether you can bring your dog to work! You may not get everything you want, so be willing to give up things that aren’t a priority for those things at the top of your list.
  • After negotiating the offer you want, get it in writing. When it arrives, accept it, and make sure your new employer knows you’re excited about starting. Shift to using we as soon as you can – that way your language is inclusive, and you’re no longer the newbie – you’re already part of the team.