My days in Human Resources are numbered! As of the end of September I will be leaving
my job at the bank where I have worked since graduating college to start a
career in real estate. In the last
couple of months I have moved from North Carolina to Louisville, Kentucky to be
close to my husband’s family and so he could work for his father in real
estate. I have decided to make the step
out as a real estate agent and he is focusing on investment and property
management with the family business.
This is a big pretty scary step which I get more and more excited for
each day. Since real estate is truly a
people driven business I am confident I will use a lot of my skills from my
five years in HR, but maybe feel a little wistful about leaving the wild and
wonderful world of Human Resources. In
these last weeks I plan on a least a couple of blogs from what I’ve learned in
this industry.
My first job after the training program at the bank was in
recruiting and one which I truly loved and challenged me. I recruited for very little entry level
positions so at 22 I started talking with seasoned professionals to determine
if they would be right for my organization and specifically the position, team,
and manger for the opening. Companies
all hire differently and in my particular company and job I would market the
position, directly source candidates, review and pare down resumes, conduct the
first interview by phone or in person, set up the interview with the direct
manager, consult with the managers after they interviewed the top candidates,
and finally facilitate the job offer process.
This process is most consistent with a large corporation, but my hope is
the tips I list will resonate and help those interviewing with companies of all
sizes across industries. However please
note these are just my thoughts and ramblings backed up by my own experience
and those of my peers, but at the end of the day just my opinions! The next several days I will be releasing my
top interview tips and below starts us off with preparation:
1. Do your research! I wish this did not need to be stated, but so
many either keep their research surface level or skip it all together. Put together a cheat sheet with the at least
the following (keep it tucked away in your notebook for the interview or right
in front of you for a phone interview).
·
Full Company Name – know more than the just the
acronym, if possible find out where the name originated
·
Brief Company History – you don’t need to write
a novel about this, but having a good idea of the history provides a solid
foundation for getting to know the company further
·
Industry – know what governance and regulations affect
the company (can you tell I worked for a bank?)
·
Competition – know the competitors and how the
company you are interviewing with stacks up
·
Culture – in addition to what you can find
online (which is usually a lot), ask around with family or friends to identify
someone in your network that has worked there
·
The Person that is Interviewing You – make sure
to have their name written down and use it.
Look them up on LinkedIn and gather enough information without falling
to deeply in the stalker range
For the love of God keep this
information straight on the different companies you may be interviewing with! Nothing shows the interviewer your passion
and enthusiasm for their company quite like you mistakenly rattling off facts
about a competitor (not!). Also if you
haven’t researched the details completely don’t go in to extreme detail and
don’t make assumptions! One of my
favorite stories was a college student I interviewed who went on and on about
how she thinks it is so great my company had a female CEO. From reading my blog you know I’m all about
female empowerment, but in this case I was not impressed because had she looked
at our CEO’s biography a bit more closely and she would have realized that he
is a HE and just has a unisex first
name.
2. Find a connection at the company or at least the industry and talk to them before your
interview. – Contrary to popular
belief you can get a job without connections even at the most competitive
companies. You could also probably run a
marathon in flip flops, but if you have access to running shoes why would
you? No one at the finish line is going
to cheer for you harder because you’re the idiot in sandals and you will
probably get beat by many runners with similar or inferior abilities. So make things easier for yourself and once
you can identify that person in your network try and get together for coffee or
even just a phone call to learn more about the company and their career. Think there is no way you’ll find someone in
the company or even industry? Try these
tips….
·
Start by asking people you know in that
industry. For example if you play on a
kickball league with a real estate agent.
I’d say something like “I have an interview with XYZ Realtors in a week and
I know you know everyone who’s anyone in real estate in Louisville (see how I
stroked their ego?), do you know anyone who works or has worked at XYZ, that
could give me advice based on their career there?” Best case scenario she can come back with – “Yes
I started with John Smith and he went over to XYZ a couple of years ago and
loves it. I’d be happy to arrange a meeting for you. Oh and by the way my company is always
looking for new agents and I’d be happy to talk with you about ABC Realtors,
didn’t know you were interested in a career in real estate.” Worst case scenario – she could answer that
she doesn’t know anyone there, but would be happy to give you information on
her experience in real estate. Also keep
in mind you may go through several levels of acquaintances to get to the right
person.
·
Use LinkedIn to identify the connections. Sometimes you can even bypass your connection
(important when you are crunched for time) especially if it’s very friendly and
is asking very little of them. People
join LinkedIn because they want to share expertise and “link” with people so
they are typically quite receptive. For
example messages like the following could easily get you a phone call.
·
I see that you are connected with my past
colleague Susie Jones, whom I think very highly of; would you have some time to
talk with me about your experience at XYZ Realtors?
·
We are both members of Young Professionals
Louisville and I see you work at XYZ Realtors.
I am very interested in a career path like yours. Could I buy you a cup of coffee and pick your
brain about your experience?
·
Use your college or university. Career centers love to keep track of where
their graduates work because it makes them look better! Use boards or groups on their website to find
people or better yet call your career services center or alumni center. Tell
them what you are looking for and see if they can make the connection for you
to fellow alumni in your desired company or industry.
·
Still feeling overwhelmed? Play a round of six degrees of Kevin Bacon to
boost your confidence and look again more creatively this time.
Do not lead with requests for a
reference (other than advice and expertise).
Make the conversation about them by asking about their job, experience,
and thoughts about the company. Use this
chance to learn about the dynamics. Most
people love to share and you can glean lots of helpful information without the
person even realizing the nuggets they are providing. For example they could mention casually that
the manager is a huge University of Louisville basketball fan and you can add
the Cardinals starting line up to your research list. The minimum you should get from these
conversations is information about the company and of course the maximum is
their good word with HR or the hiring manager.
Just think if it comes down to a tough decision between equally
qualified candidates that positive reference the manager heard at the water
cooler about you could tip the scales in your favor. Also managers want new employees to fit in
with the team and what better way to show your ability to do so than already
having bonds within the company.
This series for the most part is
making the assumption that you have landed an interview (even if it is just
with a lowly HR employee), but you may have already used a contact to get that
interview. Do not let the relationship
with that person be limited to just getting you the interview. Stay connected with your contact whether it
be your best friend or you friend’s second cousin twice removed throughout the
process and learn as much information as you can to use as you interview. Always remember your manners and thank,
thank, thank them for their help.
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