 "Photo: DJ Lisondra")
Finding a job in this economy is tough. According to interview coach Landon Long, finding good advice to land you a job is even tougher. This inspired him to write the book, The Unspoken Rules of Getting Hired: Recession-Proof Secrets That Employers DO NOT Want You To Know. Long, 25, said he didn’t learn anything in school that prepared him for interviewing for jobs.
“The first interview, I ended up winging it and it was almost like throwing darts at a board blindfolded,” Long said.
His frustrations led him to write the book.
“I felt it was a big need for our generation,” Long said.
After writing the book, Long moved to Thailand to pursue his dreams of living in an exotic location and starting a business outside of the U.S. The Phoenix caught up with Long before he moved, and he shared the following techniques students can use to land a job.
Phoenix: What techniques can students use to increase their chances of getting hired?
Landon Long: There’s a lot of inner resistance to call an employer for advice, because if you mess up it could mess up an interview as well.
Use a suicide caller. Get a friend to call the company [you’re interested in] first and say they are applying for a job. He will go through the process of getting information [while] you take notes. Now your friend has license to commit suicide and push the employer to get [the most] information, while you maintain your interview virginity.
P: How can students make their résumés stand out?
LL: On a résumé there are different levels of making content pop out at an employer at a first glance. The average time an employer looks at a résumé is 12 seconds.
If [you] present a résumé in big blocks of text, [employer’s] eyes glaze over. Bullet points in a résumé are the number one [things that] stand out. Instead of bullet points, use check marks for achievements and accomplishments. By using check marks, you’re doing work for the employer by subliminally saying “I got what you need.” Since first grade, you are socially conditioned to associate positive emotions with checks marks [and] negative emotions with minuses. People who use minus signs are shooting themselves in the foot because [minus signs] elicit negative emotions.
P: You mentioned that employers’ decisions to hire someone are subconscious. What do you mean by that?
LL: Human beings in general make decisions based off emotions. When you’re shopping for shoes and you see the perfect pair of shoes you will make rationalizations and reasons why you should buy them until you do. Employers hire based off emotion as well. All you have to do is figure out how to create positive emotions. You do this through perception. First impressions; you want to start off on a good note. If you show up chewing gum or on the phone, you already formed an opinion in the mind of the employer.
P: What is your advice to career centers to make them more geared toward students?
LL: Spend time listening to the needs of students [and] their frustrations and challenges. Get feedback.
It’s the most important thing anyone can do during a job search. A problem with career centers are they aren’t run like businesses. They don’t get punished if they fail and there is no incentive for them to try harder.
P: What is the most important thing a student should remember when pursuing a job?
LL: Figure out what the employer’s needs are. In order to do that it takes calling [the company], lots of research, probing and networking. Once you know what they want, deliver.
What most students end up doing is seeing the interview process from their perspective. Students need to understand employer’s perspective. Once you can do that, you can literally get any job you want because it is so rare for people to deliver exactly what an employer wants.
For more tips and insights from Landon Longs, check out his book which is now available for less than $20 on Amazon.com. Or visit his website.
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