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First Contact

A Good First Contact is Critical

When I first became an employment professional, it was commonly accepted that employers generally made their decision to hire or not hire within ten seconds of first contact. During the last year, the consensus is that it now takes an employer only six seconds to make up their mind about a prospective candidate.

If this is true, wouldn't it seem to be extremely important to make a very strong, positive first impression?

Although I never received a formal job offer within six seconds of first contact, I certainly have seen the facial expressions changed during that time frame indicating the hiring decisions have been made, both for myself and many of my clients. I know for a fact that my first of civil service job with State of California was given to me in about six seconds. Let me tell you that story. If you've read it before in another section, have patience with me, or skip down a couple of paragraphs.

How difficult would it be to obtain a job with the state, when the following conditions existed:

• There was a state hiring freeze in place. That means that they could not hire anybody who was not already a state employee (and I was not).
• There were no openings at the office in which I wished to be employed.
• There was no money to hiring anybody, even if there had been an opening.
• They had no work that was not already being done; all positions were filled with competent employees.

Yet, after less than a five-minute interview with the assistant manager, I was offered a job, and was working two weeks later. They didn't have a job for me to do. They did not have a desk for me to sit in. I had a small filing cabinet on wheels that I pulled around with me, wherever I found work to do. They had to get permission to hire me (lots of paperwork!), and come up with the money to pay my salary. I was just barely qualified (according to the standardized job announcement for that position) and they could probably have found people with more "qualifications" that I had, but they really wanted me! But, why?

The reason is that I did my homework. I had visited the office, and found out that only two people in the office spoke Spanish (and those were the manager and assistant manager), yet almost one-third of their clients were Spanish-speaking. That means the two managers spent a significant amount of their day simply translating. I correctly surmised that that was one of the last things that these two managers wanted to do with their day, as they were both nearing retirement and had heard everything there is to say many times over. They had other duties to perform; were busy, and I believed they would welcome the opportunity to bring someone onboard that could interpret well. I was correct.

I applied for the position statewide, and was placed on the statewide list so that I was hirable, IF the hiring freeze were ever lifted. I took the piece of paper I received in the mail that indicated my position in the hiring process to the office and placed it on the assistant manager's desk, saying in Spanish that we need to chat (Nesesitamos chalar.); >she looked at me, looked at the paper, looked at me again, and back at paper and then I saw her face relax. At that second she decided to see what she could do to hire me. That decision certainly took less than six seconds.

Of course, she then set up an interview with the manager, and there was some additional paperwork, but the bottom line is that I was working two weeks after first contact

.

Not all first contact decisions are that clear-cut or dramatic. In my own case, I have frequently used a telephone call to a prospective employer to obtain an interview. I practice a 10 to 15 second presentation, and historically obtain an interview about 75% of the time. Frequently, I have been interviewed prior to filling out a formal application, especially if I have a generic application already filled out accompanied by a good resume. The decision to give me an interview is an indication that the my first contact was effective; that the preliminary decision to hire was already made.

2) It Takes More Than a Mirror to Take a Good Look at Yourself

Last week I was conducting a workshop on how to write a resume. One of the attendees had a pretty good resume to start with, and he was looking for some pointers on how to improve his resume. It was a group workshop, with limited time constraints, so I didn't have much chance to talk with him on a one-to-one basis until later on in the afternoon. However at that time, he told me some interesting things.

It turns out that he has been unemployed for almost two years. He was from out-of-state and in town for only a couple of months. He had submitted many applications, he kept getting stuck with one big problem: his phlebotomy certification was from another state and was not honored in California. He would need to be recertified before he could find employment in his primary field, but he did not have enough money to pay for the recertification. He then went on to say that in the last two months he been looking for any kind of work, absolutely anything that he can earn enough money to be able to pay for his recertification.

This young man was obviously well trained, with some good general education. His use of the English language was good and his resume was well written, without misspellings or typographical errors. His thought process was cogent, and he seemed to be bright, actually probably smarter than average.

Why couldn't this young man find employment?

He came right out and asked me this question. I asked him if he wanted me to lie to him or tell him the truth, and he said he wanted to hear of the truth. I told him that I could smell alcohol on him ever since he came into the workshop. He said the odor was left over from what he had been drinking the night before. I told him that it would probably stop him from being hired, if any employer could smell it on him when he was applying for a job.

I invited him to participate in a weekly Job Club that I operate. I knew that I could probably help him erase some of the red flags that he was waiving to employers, almost shouting at them not to hire him. Since he agreed to attend, I did not have to get into more specifics right then.

There are other things that I could have said and had already noticed. Here's a brief list:
• Although his clothing was in good condition and fashionable, it was poorly laundered and left him looking slovenly
• His hair looked like it had not been combed since noon. It had been recently barbered, was not overly long or short, but just looked slightly unkempt
• Sprouting from the center of his chin was a thin, scraggly eight-inch beard
• His general manner of speaking and his body language both projected negativity, hopelessness, and defeatism

I sincerely hope that this young man attends my Job Club. Some of what he needs to improve could be visible in a mirror, but it is unlikely that he would see it. The odor of alcohol cannot be detected in a mirror. Odors in general will not be noticed by the person that carries them, as they are accustomed to the smell. Other things like nonverbal communication habits, eye contact, speech patterns and habits, are not detectable in a mirror.

Very few people care enough about you to tell you everything they see that is preventing you from getting a job.

This young man had been going into the local government-sponsored employment agency (commonly referred to as a "one-stop" employment center because they try to provide a full spectrum of services to both employers and employees) every day for months, not only in our town, but also in the other places he had been. If he had been fortunate enough to have someone who would be willing to tell him everything that he needed to change in order to find employment, he probably would have been working months earlier.

My mother frequently quoted an old Irish proverb that goes something like this: God grant us the grace to see ourselves as others see us.

Even if we should be so fortuitous as to have someone constructively look at us and tell us where we need to change, there is something about human nature that tends to first defend ourselves and our status quo instead of acknowledging the need to change. It takes a great deal of grace to tell people where they need to improve, in a way that they can receive.

Fortunately for all of us, there is a wonderful technological innovation which can take the place of that rare person that will tell us what we need to know about ourselves; It is the video camera.

The video camera allows us to see ourselves EXACTLY as others see us. ALL of my clients are required to have practice interviews. Once they become confident enough in standard practice interviews to do well in them, I also insisted that they all have videotaped practice interviews. A videotaped practice interview will review habits, postures, quirks of speech, and all kinds of things that need to be improved. Often, no one else needs to point out the red flags that should be removed; the interviewee is often the first one to point out every faux pas.

The one drawback to videotaped reviews of communication is that many people focus only on the physical attributes which cannot be changed easily. Aging man with thinning hair will tend to focus only on his shiny head. Overweight people tend to only see their weight. And employment professional that leads a client through a review of the videotaped interview, must be able to get the person to focus on what can be changed, affirm the positives that show on the video, and ignore the physical attributes which are not easily changed.

Remember to save videotaped interviews/employment presentations. As each of us improves through practice, which all of us will, it is good to be able to compare the earlier ones with the later ones. Focus on what we're doing well, polishing the good things that we bring to the employment world!

While I'm at it, I'll put in a plug for the local one-stop employment area near you. The one that we have is excellent, and has many good resources. Most of the resources are underused however. I would recommend making a trip to your local employment office to find out the different agencies that are providing services to employees and employers, and what services each agency has available. Almost all employment centers have a job club type of meeting where techniques to find employment and retain employment are taught and/or discussed. Every geographic area is a little different and has local flavor in the employment market, and it is important not to miss what the local employers are looking for. Attend at least several functions, and, if possible, check out several of the different presenters as not every presenter communicates in the same way, covers the same material, or reaches the same audience.

If there is a job club type meeting, where other employment seekers gathered to exchange ideas, share leads, and troubleshoot difficulties with their own job search, attend and participate by sharing with them any difficulties you're having and give honest feedback to others, if invited to comment. They may be able to give you the valuable feedback that other people are unwilling to give you. Be sure to give them permission to be absolutely frank and honest with you.

3) How to Get Past the Receptionists

Have you ever had the problem that you can't get to the people who could make the decisions to hire? This is a rather common problem and can be solved in several ways. Let me tell you about one of my clients, we will call him David.

David had a good work history as a service writer for new car dealerships. About nine months ago he had moved into our area, and had been visiting dealerships in our county and the surrounding counties, but had not been able to get past the receptionists. Every time he tried to talk to a manager, the receptionists, stating that there were no openings, stopped him. They would not take messages to the managers; they would not accept his resume or an application. They just kept telling him to come back when there was an opening; that it would be posted in the newspaper.

I reviewed his sales tools with David:
• he was appropriately attired, with good grooming and hygiene
• he had a workable resume
• he could actually interview very well
• he had thoroughly located all of the car dealers in the surrounding area; I was unable to provide him with any new leads.

I then began to asking questions about his industry. Of course, although I am an employment professional, there are hundreds of thousands of types of employment in the United States, and no one can know all of the details of every single one of them. Asking questions is the best way to start getting a better idea of what the labor market really looks like for any particular industry in a local area. I found out the following:

• as I suspected, no car dealer could afford to be without a service writer
• without a service writer, their service income would drop to almost zero very quickly
• a significant number of businesses with a service working writer would be looking for someone who was more competent, easier to get along with, or more productive
• if they were looking for a new service writer, the receptionist would be the last person to find out about it, because it would take no more than 15 minutes for the existing service writer to find out that his job was in jeopardy and the boss was looking to replace him/her
• in order to obtain employment as a service writer, especially when they had someone currently filling the position, it was imperative to talk to either the owner or the general manager. Moreover, no one else would probably know that they were looking for someone; and certainly no one else would have the authority to hire a new service manager.

By this time, you are probably agreeing with David, that he had already known all of this, but he wanted to know was how to solve the problem. I gave David only one suggestion; he went out and implemented it, and was offered a job within two days. Here is what I suggested:

I suggested that David take the trouble to find out what the owners' and the general managers' names are, especially the first name. Show up at his future employer's office, and office casual entire (probably a long sleeved shirt, jacket and slacks, but without a necktie). Now, let us say that the owner's name is Nathaniel Smith. I instructed David to approach the receptionists and simply say, "Tell Nate that David's here." If he gets flak from the receptionist, simply remind her that you will talk to Nate about her habit of screening personal callers. Make sure he gets her name.

Of course, David felt that it would be very audacious to implement this tactic. I asked him if he had anything to lose; if he would lose any opportunities to interview that he had not already lost. He agreed that he did not have anything to lose, and promised to give it a try.

That was on a Tuesday. Thursday he came by the office and said he had successfully talked to four decision makers, and the ruse had been well received by three; only one of them got slightly peeved. The other three gave him a few minutes, and he actually was hired on the spot by one! (Remember, you only need one new, good job!)

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