How to Land your Dream Job

After working in several senior management positions, I have dealt with many job applications, on both sides of the table. In this short article, I will give some tips on landing the job of your dreams.

Polish your CV and Cover Letter

Many people use one CV for multiple applications. Some even use only one cover letter multiple times! It’s important to realise, with some positions receiving hundreds of responses, the person or team reviewing the applications get a lot of letters and CVs to read. Therefore, it is essential to catch their attention straight away and convince them you are the person for the job. This means writing a new cover letter for every application, and tailoring your CV to the position.

Read the job description carefully and look for any qualities or qualifications specified. Then tailor your CV to meet those qualifications. For a position in sales for instance, experience in an earlier position deserves much more attention and detail on the CV, whereas a customer service position would benefit from customer contact experience. Of course this doesn’t mean you should lie or make up experience, but it’s important to highlight relevant experience rather than minor, less important skills.

Networking

In this day and age of the internet and 24-hour communication, networking is easier than ever. LinkedIn, for instance, is an invaluable tool when networking. Look for employees in the company you’re applying with. If there is anyone on your network somehow connected with the business of your choice, get in touch with them. Don’t just send them an e-mail saying ‘please help me get this job or my kids will starve’. Professionals aren’t begging job seekers, even if they are looking for a job. Instead, look for openings and try to ask them about the vacancy and present yourself as a professional merely researching the position. Ask questions about the team, the business, any issues they might have and so forth. Even if they aren’t in a hiring position, they might know someone and be able to put in a good word for you, or even introduce you. In addition, you might find out about unlisted positions, giving you less competition and a better chance. In any case, you’ll gain valuable information about the company, which brings us to our next point:

Research first, apply later

Although this isn’t to say you should hold off your application for too long, research should be a priority. Gather as much information as you can. Read up on the company’s website, research their history, there might be a Wikipedia page about the business and press releases are great as well.

In addition, you should try to find as much information as possible about the job interview itself. Will it be a panel interview? Or is it going to be one-to-on? Who will you interview with? If you can get a name from HR, it’s worth looking them up on Google beforehand. You can bet your interviewer will do the same. Any extra information will help you, and make you feel more prepared.

Ask a Friend

My final tip for this article is: Ask a friend. There is nothing wrong with getting some feedback on your CV and cover letter. Are there any mistakes or inconsistencies? Is your lay-out clear and easy to read? It’s best to ask a friend who might know the kind of position, although any feedback can be helpful. If you know someone who works, or has worked at or with the company, they might be able to help with networking as well, in addition to supplying valuable information about the business and the position.

Hopefully these tips will help you in landing the position of your dreams. Of course there are many other important factors to a job application, and when you’ve been headhunted there are again other hints and tips, but I might cover those in a future blog. Happy holidays to all!

       

   

3 Ways to Improve How You Think

Nothing sets you apart as a leader like having a reputation for always coming through with new ideas and solutions to problems. That distinction requires brainpower. But standing before a crowd and trying to think on your feet under pressure or offering answers off the cuff in a meeting doesn’t always represent your best thinking.

So what does improve your chances for analytical thinking?

1) Write

Writing proves to be a tough task master. You can’t mumble through it. You can’t fake it. You can’t fill up the screen by just staring at it. I’ve just finished my 46thbook, and I can say from experience that writing is the single best thing to develop or deepen thinking skills.

By the time I slog through the process from beginning to end, I always realize how little I knew at the start. Writing demands research, analysis, creativity, discipline, and organization. Writing forces you to think—that is, unless you plan to write drivel.And most of us recognize drivel when we see it, especially our own.

2) Imagine yourself seeking capital from a roomful of venture capitalists

With an idea or recommendation that you’d like to propose, it’s rarely a slam-dunk. If you feel passionate about the idea, it may be difficult to see downsides or dangers that could derail your success.

But eventually, you’ll need to roll out enough details so that you or others can implement the product, service, goal, or whatever.

Imagine yourself in a conference room surrounded by VCs. What questions will they ask you before investing in your idea?

Now back to the drawing board for analysis: Look at what you wrote in Step 1. What did those VCs want to know that you didn’t tell them. Fill in the missing gaps to give a clear, complete, accurate picture.

3) Sit for a final exam with your virtual “board”

If you’ve completed a master’s degree or PhD program, then you’ve had the experience of facing a group of professors while they question you about everything you’ve read and studied during the previous 2-4 years of your study program. If you haven’t gone through that grueling experience, then you’ve probably heard from others who have.

To improve your thinking on the new idea, simulate that experience for yourself. Ask 3 colleagues to get on a conference call with you. Give them a 3-minute briefing on your idea (as applicable, include the what, why, when, how, who, how much).

Then toss the floor open for 3 to 5 minutes for their questions. What else do they need to know before “approving,” “sponsoring,” “implementing,” or “recommending” the idea to others? Don’t answer their questions; just voice record or make note of their questions.

This board exercise will demonstrate what you may have missed in your own first analysis of the idea: Did you leave out important information? Did they connect the proverbial dots in the overview you communicated to them? Did they get sidetracked by nonessential information?

Granted, analytical thinking is hard work, but facing a blank screen or a virtual “board of buddies” can be far less brutal than implementing a half-baked idea.

Career Advice from Three Leaders

We recently hosted an event at Morningstar’s Chicago office with several women’s groups in our industry. It was an inspiring afternoon and provided valuable advice about building your career. The event featured a panel of accomplished women—Ellen Costello (Corporate Director and former U.S. Country Head for BMO Financial Group), Cheryl Francis (Co-Chairman of the Corporate Leadership Center and AON, Morningstar, and HNI Corporation Board Member) and Catherine A. Rein (Independent Director and Chair of the Audit Committee for BNY Mellon). They shared their career stories and answered questions from the audience in a refreshingly candid, personal, and open style. It was one of the most memorable events I’ve attended this year.

A few highlights:

You don’t need a career master plan. All three women said they didn’t plan out their careers. I thought this was a liberating view that takes pressure off people who are early in their careers and think they need a fully mapped out plan. Cheryl Francis likened it to crossing a stream. You know you want to get to the other side, but you cross the stream one rock at a time, only seeing the next few rocks. Careers are the same way. Find a place you can contribute, maximize those contributions, and then try to create more options for yourself when you make your next career move.

Develop leadership skills in a safe environment. You don’t have to wait for a promotion to develop your leadership skills. Look for opportunities outside work—a non-profit board, your church, recreational groups, and so on. These groups are hungry for people to step up and take on leadership roles. Take advantage of these opportunities to develop leadership skills where there is no downside.

Know yourself. All three women emphasized how important it is to know your strengths and weaknesses, because once you do, you can build a team around you to complement your skill set.

Take a risk. Don’t be afraid to try something outside your comfort zone. Ellen Costello told the story of taking an assignment on the bond desk of her bank. It was a different environment than she was used to, but she was glad she stuck with it. Don’t be afraid to take a lateral move or even a step down in the organization for the right developmental opportunity, especially running a profit and loss center.

Mentorships should be reciprocal relationships. Catherine Rein said whenever she mentored someone, she asked for something in return. She told the story of mentoring a woman in Albany who held a lower position in the organization. Catherine told the woman she was happy to mentor her, but in return, she wanted the woman to tell her what was going on in the field, how the average employee perceived actions by the corporate group. Mentorships where both parties receive something are more likely to be enduring and substantive.

The panel of women also discussed balancing their careers with having families, who inspires them, and their habits. It was refreshing to be at a meeting without an agenda other than to learn from each other. The women shared personal, candid stories and set a tone of openness. The audience connected. Even though this was a women’s group event, the advice shared benefited both men and women in attendance.

A quick aside about our women’s group, which we call the Morningstar Women’s Initiative, or WIN for short (men are welcome to join, too). We started WIN less than a year ago and already have 220 members out of a population of 1,600 employees in the United States. That’s the fastest-growing group I can recall at Morningstar. This was the first event that we held in coordination with the women’s groups at other companies (BMO Harris Bank, Deutsche Bank, UBS, and BNY Mellon). The event was very well received, and we look forward to expanding WIN and connecting with other firms.