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Cathy was upset after she blew the second interview for a job she really needed. The interviewer frowned after she’d flippantly criticized her last boss. Then, to make things worse, she’d spoken carelessly about a mistake she’d made on an important project.

Job interviews often turn into disasters when candidates forget to treat them as marketing opportunities. Remember, they are not therapy sessions in which to bare intimate secrets nor a courtroom where you swear to tell the whole truth.

This doesn’t mean you should lie in interviews. Besides being unethical, lying changes the nature of the conversation. The interviewer will almost certainly feel subtly different about you, and you’ll be uncomfortable, fearing being found out.

Instead, tell the truth intelligently. Since you have only a short time to make an impression, plan carefully what you’d like to communicate. What information puts you in the best light?

What is better withheld? Be prepared, so that under the stress of the interview, you won’t leave your common sense in the interviewer’s lobby.

DON’T CRITICIZE OR BLAME
Cathy’s boss might well be a snarling, sniveling, contemptible miscreant, but she must never criticize him in an interview. Employers will think, “If she’s criticizing her current boss, how long will it be before she starts criticizing me?”

KEEP PERSONAL DETAILS PERSONAL
Sharing parts of your private life can make you a more human and attractive candidate. It can also be a liability. Jan, for example, is moving across the country to rekindle a romance with an old high school flame she saw at her high school reunion. She fears employers will think she’s flighty. We told Jan not to create problems for herself. Employers don’t have to know the whole reason. She might simply say, “I
used to live here, I like the city, and I decided to move back.” It’s all true. Employers won’t know the rest unless you tell. Don’t.

PUT THE BEST SPIN ON THE FACTS
Ron quit his job and spent a relaxing summer at the beach, doing volunteer work, and deciding about his next move. He feared employers would think he wasn’t a dedicated worker.

We coached Ron to tell employers he had been working really hard, decided to take time off to plan his next career move, and had some great experiences with his volunteer work. Again, no lies, and no need to mention the beach.

SOMETIMES THERE’S NO GOOD WAY OUT
Bob couldn’t hide his past–and couldn’t even hope it wouldn’t come up. We recommended beginning interviews by telling the truth powerfully. “There’s something I want to bring up. I was convicted of dealing drugs 5 years ago, and served 3 years in prison. During the entire ordeal, I worked to keep my family together, and succeeded. I used the sentence to study, pray, and focus myself on what’s most important in life, and am clearer now about what really matters.

I know the consequences of being out of integrity, and believe in being 100% honest in all transactions and communications. I have a question, “Is there anything in this job that might demand an association with anything illegal? If so, we don’t have a match. If not, you’ll need to judge whether you’re willing to hire me despite my past. I regret it, but cannot change it.”

There’s always a spin consistent with the truth. Even the most negative blotch on your resume can be transformed into a “lesson you learned.”

REHEARSE AND THEN REHEARSE SOME MORE
Many people spend untold hours drafting and redrafting their resumes to give just the right impression, but just wing it in job interviews. Anticipate any issues you might have, and prepare exactly how you will respond. If a question catches you off guard in an interview, make sure you’re ready for that question the next time.

After we worked with Cathy on her interviewing, she practiced what she’d learned, and the next time, there was no bitterness toward her ex-boss.  She landed the job.

Online networking is opening vast new opportunities for savvy users to find jobs, business opportunities and partners, clients, friends, people with common interests, and even romance. But it pays to learn how to attract interest.

This article will focus on creating a profile for LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com), a popular, business-oriented social networking site,* but the principles apply elsewhere. LinkedIn is a powerful networking tool, especially if you make full use of it. Here are just a few tips to help you create a powerful profile.

When you join LinkedIn, you are asked to create a profile about yourself. A great profile that expresses the way you’d like to be known is your key to online networking success. Many people spend hours and hours perfecting their resumes, but only a few minutes creating their online profile. They squander many networking possibilities. Your profile should do two things well:

>Include information that will help people find you using the search engine, and,
>once found, ensure that you make a favorable impression.

Here are a few tips about what to include.

*Job History*
Start, but don’t stop, with the obvious: list your employers, job titles, and schools, being sure to include both abbreviations and their full names, as people may search for either the “University of Southern California” or “USC” or for “Kentucky Fried Chicken” or “KFC.”

*Certifications,* such as (Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Project Management Professional (PMP), Certified Personal Trainer (CPT), Six Sigma Green Belt

*Special skills:* Software knowledge, supply chain management, fluency in foreign languages, managing payroll, massage therapy, grant writing

*Accomplishments:* Include results you have produced, awards won, much as you would (hopefully) include in your resume. Remember, you are not as constricted by space and style considerations as on a resume. Feel free to use complete sentences and a conversational tone. Still, we Internet readers are notoriously impatient, get-to-the-point types, so be concise. Be sure to carefully proofread your content.

Note: if you have trouble coming up with accomplishment and results, send a note to us at Careersinc@aol.com, and we’ll email you a guide to help with identifying accomplishments.

*Keywords/jargon from your field:* This overlaps somewhat with things we’ve already discussed, but this can include: technological terms and descriptions of technical expertise, hardware and software proficiency, job titles, certifications, names of products and services, industry buzzwords, degrees, company names, impressive names like “Fortune 500,” area code for narrowing down searches geographically, and names of professional organizations.

*Interests and hobbies:* Depending on your purpose for creating the profile, you might also include things like skydiving, bicycling, chess, and acting in community theater.

*Religion and Politics:* Including this information is, of course, a two-edged sword. Saying you are an Evangelical Christian or the Chair of the local Republican Party can help or hurt you, depending on who views your profile. Carefully consider before including.

*Link to your website*
If you have a website, provide a link to it, especially if it has samples of your work.

*Recommendations*
Solict recommendations from past bosses, co-workers, clients and others who know you and your work. Hearing others sing your praises adds credibility to what you say about yourself. A warm recommendation from a customer can create a very positive and reassuring impression on someone considering using your services.

An added bonus is that on your home page, you may have noticed that occasionally, a message will appear saying, for example: John Smith (from your network) has recommended Jane Doe, graphic designer. When someone recommends you, this recommendation will pop up on other people’s screens. Just as Jane Doe may benefit from this exposure, you too can create new opportunities for yourself by getting recommended.

There’s lots more to say about LinkedIn and other similar social networking sites, but a great profile is an important step in successful online networking.

*Social networking sites allow you to create a presence for yourself on a website, allowing people to find us. We create and network by linking ourselves to other people, and others can see who we have in our network, thereby enhancing the networking experience. Besides linkedin, social networking sites include OpenBC (www.openbc.com), Soflow (www.soflow.com), ecademy (www.ecademy.com), Ryze (www.ryze.com), and Facebook (www.facebook.com).

Nothing knocks you out of an interview faster than mishandling the salary question.

The key to success is coming from a place of confidence: it won’t be an issue if you’re right for the job.

Prepare by creating and memorizing a “put off the question” phrase customized to you and your style. One phrase answers “What are you looking for?” The other answers: “What are [were] you making in your current [previous] position?”

Usually, the employer wants to know if you’re affordable and you’re the right caliber of candidate for the job. Your research can give you a general idea of what’s affordable for the employer, but you can’t know for sure—especially these days. Rather than guessing, use one of the phrases below.

Here are some answers to the dreaded salary question:

“I’m really uncomfortable talking about salary now. I don’t want to get screened out because I was making too much or too little. Can we discuss the job—and if it’s a good fit, I’m sure we can come up with a number that will work for both of us.”

“I believe in being paid for the value I produce for a company. Can we talk about how I can produce value for you before we discuss salary?”

“I’m sure you pay fair wages. If you decide I’m the right candidate, I’m sure we can work something out.”

Career changer going into a new industry and facing a pay cut:

“I was making a lot. Frankly, I don’t expect to make what I was being paid before. I’d like to fit into your salary structure.”

If you’re in sales, you might say, “I’m sorry, but I can’t give you that information. Certainly, if I was working for you, I would never reveal that sort of information to a customer.”

If the employer is insistent, you can move to the second rule, and let the employer go first:

“You probably couldn’t afford what I was making. What is the range that you’re looking to pay?” or

“Give me an idea of the range you have in mind, and I’ll let you know if we’re in the right ballpark.”

Artful handling of these salary questions can mean the difference between being seriously considered—and getting a quick rejection.