Rob Hellmann

When They Say You are “Overqualified”…

by Rob Hellmann • Career Change, Getting Interviews, Interviewing, Job-Search Strategy, Resume, LinkedIn, self-promo •

What do you do if a hiring manager says you are “overqualified” for a position? First, you need to know that what they really mean is a) you’re going to want too much money, b) you’re going to be bored and will leave in six months, or c) you won’t fit into the culture. All three of these underlying issues can be addressed with these two approaches: More

Giving a Presentation? 7 Ways to Address their #1 Question

by Rob Hellmann • On-the-job Success, Org. Effectiveness, Presentations •

I once went to a seminar where the presenter was sharing some leadership development ideas with the audience. At the end of the presentation, we were all left with the same question— What do we do with this information? In fact, someone asked this very question (“what is our next step…”), and the presenter’s response was “That’s a good question, I’m not sure.” BIG mistake, and it was the key reason his presentation was a fail.

The number one question any audience member has is “how does this help me?” For your presentation to have any chance of achieving greatness (or even goodness), you must answer this question. More

Land Your Next Job with LinkedIn’s Volunteer Marketplace

by Rob Hellmann • Career Change, Getting Interviews, Job-Search Strategy, Resume, LinkedIn, self-promo, Social Media •

LinkedIn now makes it easier to find volunteer opportunities. Gain access by going to http://volunteer.linkedin.com or by clicking on the “Jobs” menu option, selecting “Advanced Search,” “More Options,” and then entering “volunteer” in the job title. LinkedIn has partnered with some major volunteer matching sites to make this happen. Here’s why this feature is so great. More

3 Tips for Delivering a Powerful Presentation

by Rob Hellmann • Building a Business, On-the-job Success, Org. Effectiveness, Presentations, Resume, LinkedIn, self-promo •

How you present yourself or your work can determine a potential promotion, sale, or job offer. These three simple ideas, from my new book, Peak Presentations, can go a long way towards helping you achieve the outcomes you want.

PowerPoint Slides: Don’t Compete!
When using PowerPoint slides to support a presentation, make sure the slide content doesn’t compete with what you are saying. More

How to Find & Use Keywords for Your Job Search

by Rob Hellmann • Career Change, Getting Interviews, Interviewing, Job-Search Strategy, Resume, LinkedIn, self-promo, Social Media •

Keywords in your resume, LinkedIn profile, emails and ‘pitch’ help to communicate your value. To job prospects, your use of the right keywords tells them you are an “insider” (everyone wants to hire insiders) and that you understand the problems they face. Organizations use keyword filters for candidate searches, so your use of strategically placed keywords will improve your likelihood of being spotted.

When someone is searching on LinkedIn for a candidate with your skills (increasingly LinkedIn is the first stop for candidate searches), keywords in certain parts of your profile matter more than others. More

Presentations: 6 Ways to Hook Your Audience

by Rob Hellmann • Building a Business, On-the-job Success, Presentations •

When you are giving a presentation, look to actively engage your audience right from the start. Don’t assume they are paying attention; they may be thinking about their last meeting or the next one! So go beyond the dry and conventional; Capture their imagination, make them part of the show. Use any of these six approaches to hook your audience, so you can then reel them in with a memorable, powerful presentation. More

Acing the Interview: What’s Your Greatest Weakness?

by Rob Hellmann • Interviewing, Job-Search Strategy •

Every so often you will get an interview question like this from HR or a senior level executive. “Greatest weakness” types of interview questions also include “tell me about a criticism your boss once gave you,” or “give me an example of a situation where you didn’t get the outcome you wanted.” They use these questions to a) find people who are genuinely self-reflective and open to improvement, and b) screen out people who say something problematic. When forming your answer, keep these three guidelines in mind: More

Cold Calling Giving You Cold Feet? Try These 9 Tips

by Rob Hellmann • Building a Business, Getting Interviews, Presentations •

Many clients tell me that they really dislike the process of calling people they don’t know to get meetings, interviews, or new business opportunities. By following these tips on how to present yourself on the call and adopt the right mindset, you’ll get better results, and feel better too!

Presenting Yourself – Rehearse your “20-second pitch.”
How do you get them to stay on the phone, or want to speak with you? The key is your 20-second pitch. When someone takes your call, they More

LinkedIn “Recommendations” vs. “Endorsements”

by Rob Hellmann • Building a Business, Getting Interviews, Job-Search Strategy, Resume, LinkedIn, self-promo •

Getting a recommendation on LinkedIn can help your career. LinkedIn recommendations are valued by hiring managers. Why? 1. The first-degree connection giving the recommendation is visible, hence “researchable” on LinkedIn, 2. significant effort is involved in writing a recommendation, adding to the authenticity, and 3. the content’s often descriptive nature helps the hiring manager to understand your value. I would suggest getting at least three LinkedIn recommendations. LinkedIn considers three-plus recommendations to be a factor in “profile completeness,” which figures in it’s search rankings. More

Want to Fast-forward Your Job Search? Target More Positions

by Rob Hellmann • Getting Interviews, Job-Search Strategy •

Even if your resume, pitch, skill set, and emails are all stellar, at the end of the day your job search is still a numbers game. To improve your odds of landing a position quickly, you’ve got to actively go for a large number of potential positions. That is, don’t just passively wait for the search firm to call or the ad to show up (and then compete with potentially thousands of other applicants). Instead, take the active approach: 1) create a plan that casts a wide enough net to include enough suitable positions (open or currently filled), and More

About Rob Hellmann

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