I Landed an MBA Level Role and I Live Happily Ever After

Written by Amy VanderVoort

Hollywood always supplies a happy ending and I am glad to supply my readership the same! Amy Vander Voort, MBA has landed. I start my new job in medical sales on October 26, 2009.

For those of you who are keeping track, it’s been 11 months total. Some people will be shocked by the length of my search, others will not. It’s all relative, right? I’m glad it’s less than a year, though. I wasn’t looking forward to facing another holiday season without work and I was worried that things would slow considerably in November and December, leaving my best chances at employment until 2010. It was my time!

When I received the offer, I temporarily went into shock! I had so many things brewing, was in multiple candidate pools and I definitely felt an offer coming. It was anyone’s guess as to which company it would be! I prayed for a position where I could be successful, for myself and my new employer. I also prayed for an environment where I can grow and be nurtured—something that has been missing lately in my career.

Medical sales is an area that has interested me for a long time. I like that all is based on performance. I like being out and meeting new people. Mostly, there are exponentially more jobs in healthcare sales than in hospital administration, in any geographic market or during any economy. I feel this is a great career move, a chance to learn new skills and a way to successfully earn a living for the remainder of my career. Bring it on!

My search has been an amazing journey and a real period of personal growth for me. I have met so many wonderful people who have dispensed advice, encouragement and career ideas and I am so thankful to all of them.

The IAMBA blog has been a particular blessing and boost to my search. I have really enjoyed connecting with everyone online and sharing experiences. The blog also helped me stay in better touch with my contacts which ultimately led to my employment.

On a larger scale, it gave us a voice: the professional, educated job seekers who are having a collective experience and facing the same challenges across the U.S. and the globe. Thank you to everyone who wrote to me on LinkedIn, posted to the IAMBA site and made this into something that was greater than myself. You gave me a gift that I will always treasure.

For those of you who are still in the trenches—hang in there! I did it, and so can you. I was facing the same bad economy, an industry gripped by fear (healthcare) and an unusual resume that confused my interviewers many times! There were days I felt the odds were stacked against me. Have faith in yourself and know that you have value. Stay determined and things will come together for you!

Wishing you all every success!

-Amy

Social Media and the MBA Job Search – Does It Really Matter?

Written by Amy Vander Voort

Well, it must, or I wouldn’t be here on IAMBA! Social media marketing is a new concept for me and certainly new to me as a job search tactic. Both LinkedIn and Plaxo allow users to post updates and news feeds, and although I see the postings from my colleagues and groups, I have never tried it myself.

When IAMBA contacted me in July 2009, I thought, great idea! I have become more aware of how important it is to stay in front of your contacts, particularly during a job search. When I sent my appeal email in June, many people responded to say they didn’t know I was still looking.

I realized, at that time, I needed to do better job of keeping everyone updated on my status. With approximately 400 personal and professional contacts, that can be a big job! The idea is to be visible, so that someone thinks of you when they hear of an opening. This can be via sending out articles, starting a discussion, etc.

I always wondered what I could possibly have to say that others would want to know about on a regular basis. Well, the job search topic seems to strike a chord in many people. Most professionals are being affected by economy, through company lay-offs, lowered demand for products and services or increased workloads for existing employees. My IAMBA postings are a reminder that I am still looking and I’m offering something to the business community in the interim.

Bloggers beware! Not all the comments you will receive will be helpful to you. You are putting yourself out there and that invites criticisms, too. Keep the big picture in mind—you are getting increased exposure and that is critical to your job search.

It’s free and you have time on your hands, so why not give it a try? I have already received a deluge of LinkedIn connection requests, emails from colleagues and yes, job referrals. Could this be the “tipping point” for my search?

-Amy

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Buying New Suits, And Other Fun Interview Prep Adventures

Written by Amy Vander Voort

Advice on interviewing is about as varied as advice on resumes. I listen to all advice, distill it, and come up with what I think works for me. After all, I have been interviewing at a professional level for years now and some things don’t change, right?

A well-meaning friend calls me in July 2009 and says she wants to help. She has been on TV numerous times and has been through “media training”. She wants to conduct some mock interviews with me and try to identify any problems with my interviewing style. She is convinced that my experience isn’t coming across somehow and it’s just a matter of tweaking this or that.

Over to her house I go. We start with a wardrobe consult. I always wear a black skirt suit with a silk blouse. She informs me that I am to wear separates to the interviews, such as slacks and a sweater. She also tells me suits are out and my jacket and pants should not match (where have I been?). Oh, and silk is an evening fabric so my nine silk blouses at $90 each are a no-no. Also, I am to wear my long, flowing hair in a bun.

Next we begin the “media training”. Apparently, I raise my eyebrows too much and I start every sentence with “Well…” Also, she says to emphasize that being out of work is a problem, that I am a homeowner, etc. By the way, it’s really, really hard to change your mannerisms. At one point, I burst into tears!

Armed with instructions on what to purchase, clothing-wise, for my coveted networking appointments, I rush over to Banana Republic at 5:30pm on a Sunday. After a frenzied shopping spree and multiple phone calls to my friend from the fitting room, I have two outfits that meet her specifications.

I embrace my new look and practice in a mirror, keeping my eyebrows down and looking more serious in general. If this is what it takes, then OK. I would wear scuba gear to an interview if it would help me land the job!

While I am happy for my friend’s help, it hasn’t changed my luck any. So, what’s the one thing I haven’t tried so far? That’s right, social media marketing!

-Amy

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Frustration Is High. Why Don’t I Have A Job Yet?

Written by Amy Vander Voort

It’s June 2009 and I’m seven months into my search. It’s officially my longest job search to date and also my most frustrating. I’m doing all the recommended tactics, yet my efforts are yielding very few leads. I have had no offers to date, either.

I’m not afraid to cold call companies or borderline stalk hiring managers. I have been able to identify one area that is significantly different for me this time around—the key to success, as I call it—good networking appointments. This consists of knowing high-level folks and conducting informational interviews with them, and then being referred on to other colleagues of theirs who are also operating at the same level. The idea is to get in front of people who can hire you or refer you to other folks who can.

I’ve had precious few of these appointments and no referrals. I can only blame the economy as I can’t see anything I am doing differently. When people aren’t hiring, they aren’t willing to talk to prospective candidates. I feel, over and over, like my networking is running out of gas.

At this point in any search, I usually have turned down 2-3 offers and have multiple, high-level networking appointments on the calendar. I usually conclude a job search by selecting one of two offers. Did I mention I haven’t had any offers? It’s so uncharacteristic and it’s hard for me to know what to do next.

I send out an appeal email to everyone I know, asking for job referrals and networking contacts. It generates a lot of activity and for about 2-3 weeks I am busy with follow up. However, the result is the same.

I look at my calendar and realize my last actual job interview was April 27, 2009. It’s now July 2009. My situation does not look good. Something has to change, and soon!

-Amy

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Bad Interview Turns Into “Should I Take The Job Anyway” Question

Written by Amy Vander Voort

Call me paranoid, but an interview isn’t always an interview. I wish things were this straightforward. Sometimes, it’s just an exercise. I really wish employers and HR folks wouldn’t waste my time this way, but as a job seeker, I have to follow up on all leads and take all interviews seriously, right? And in a buyer’s market, employers can do what they want, can’t they?

Here are just some of my experiences to date:

Interview #1
I arrive at the HR Dept, where they tell me I am up against a good internal candidate. The interviewer calls me in and doesn’t interview me. Instead, he talks on his cell phone and shares with me whatever family news is happening that he is receiving via his phone. I was referred into this interview by the hospital CEO, by the way. What for, I wonder? I obviously was not going to get the job.

Interview #2
I am told by a recruiter that I am interviewing for a job that reports to the CEO of a medium-sized healthcare company. I arrive and HR puts me through some testing that involves reading comprehension and basic math at an elementary school level. Then I am told they are just screening candidates and they will get back to me.

The HR person has a huge stack of resumes on her desk. I’m never called for an official interview, but the job is still unfilled months later. Clearly, they are not serious about hiring anyone but the HR person is keeping busy collecting resumes and administering tests!

Interview #3
This one takes the cake. I make a cold application and get a call to interview with a consulting firm in Dallas. The  recruiter is very excited about me and tells me they are flying me to Dallas for the interview. I start getting sick, then I realize I am really sick, but decide I must attend this interview because it is a critical-needs position. I’m worried if I delay the interview they will select someone else.

I start taking antibiotics, load up on cough suppressants, and fly to Dallas. I interview like the devil. I know I nailed it beyond belief and I wait for the offer.

I call to follow up and am told the job went to an internal candidate. Why interview me, then? Because they need to show in the HR files that they thoroughly interviewed qualified internal and external candidates. Meanwhile, 12 hours of travel left me sick as a dog for two weeks after the interview. I was never a serious candidate to them.

I prepare properly for each interview—after all, any interview could result in an offer and you never know who you will meet and or what might transpire later through your new contacts. And yes, I would have taken any offers received. My search continues, but now I am wiser. I have the ability to sniff out the fakes and not get upset when I don’t land an offer.

One more word on interviews—I have received five to six “offers” to work on 100% commission for various types of companies who are looking for a cheap way to bring in business. While I have become desensitized to it, at first it was shocking to hear about “the job that pays nothing”, as I put it.

These people are not serious about growing their businesses, otherwise they would hire and train qualified marketing & sales staff, instead of approaching me (a total stranger) at networking events and saying “Hey, I have a job for you” which is them trying to get me to work for free. This is simply in poor taste and my time and talents, just like everyone else’s, have value!

Can you tell I’m getting frustrated? I’ll explore that more in my next installment!

-Amy

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