Find the Employer You Want to Hire

By Jim Beqaj

I couldn’t help but smile when I read a cover story inThe Economiston the state of business today. Do you know what it identified as the No. 1 challenge of organizations big and small?

Finding the right people.

I smiled because I work as a trusted advisor to numerous clients, helping them with recruiting people, consulting for them on business matters, and coaching. I coach many individuals who are looking for a job or considering a career change, or who wish to develop greater clarity and success in their present position.

Do you know what most of them say is theirNo. 1 challenge?

Findingthe right employer.

I often find myself asking: Why can’t companies find the right people? And why can’t people find the right companies?

It would take a much thicker book than this to go uncover the causes of this colossal mismatch. However, I have developed an approach that is successfully bringing these two sides together. I call it the Fit Factor™, and in this book I want to use this approach to show youa whole new take on finding and developing a job and career. My approach will move you from hoping to be picked by an employer from among hundreds of applicants to being in the driver’s seat. From being just another person queuing up for another pro forma interview to actually interviewing employers to see if they are the right fit for you. As a result of reading this book, you will:

• Stop waiting beside your mailbox for that unlikely acceptance letter in response to sending out a passive résumé
• Find the employer youwant to “hire” because it both needs you and wants you and is a place where you know you can add value

I want to help you determine:

• What you enjoy doing most (this will reveal what you’re good at)
• Who you work best with, and why (this will reveal your wiring, or your personality type)
• Your preferred method of resolving conflicts
• Your Target Rich Environment™ — the types of employers who fit you and your goals: companies where you, therefore, should concentrate your search

Armed with this personal information, you then can script and present a powerful Personal Infomercial™, the key to finding and building on your fit.

You’re going to pitch your Personal Infomercial to employers who needwhat you have to offer. More than that, you will learn how to use your infomercial to find out whether the companies that needyou also wantyou—you with your personality, your preferred style of working, and your goals. You will tell them in a few choice sentences what you’re good at, who you work best with, and how you can add value.

You may feel a bit squeamish about the word “infomercial,” but like it or not, you have one now. We all do. If you ask people how they see you, their response will reflect your current infomercial. In fact, there are probably many different, muddled versions out there. What you need is one clear, consistent version. One that arms the interviewer with the words they need for describing you to the one who makes the hiring decision.

The point of having a powerful Personal Infomercial is simply this: Either you design how the world sees you or you let the world see you how it wishes.

Once you’re in your new position, you will continue to use your infomercial. It will become second nature to you. It will be part of every conversation you have when the topic is you. Your infomercial is the key not only to getting a job but also to enhancing that job. You will use it to empower you as you move along to greater and greater fit in your career.

If developing and using a Personal Infomercial is the main point and value of this book, the book’s core belief is thateach of us is responsible for our own life. We must take ownership of everything that has led us to where we are right now, today.

The truth is, if you are going to find your best fit, you must take responsibility, going forward, for knowing yourself, defining yourself, and creating a clear and accurate perception of you.

I learned the importance of taking responsibility for myself and finding the right fit the hard way. The dramatic rise and fall I experienced in the first 25 years of my career forced me to take my life apart and put it back together again. This book is the result of what I learned. I believe the process I forged from that experience is going to be of great value to you.

What Do You Enjoy Doing Most?

People are going to be most creative and productive when they’re doing something they’re really interested in. So fun isn’t an outrageous idea at all.  It’s a very sensible one.

—John Sculley

Jack came to my office recently. He couldn’t understand why he hadn’t been given a job he had applied for.

“You say your interview went well, but didn’t you realize the interviewer had to go to her boss for the final decision?” I asked.

“Yes,” he said.

“What ammunition did you give her for that conversation with her boss?”

“I gave her my résumé—plus she knows I’m the right guy.”

“So you were counting on her to communicate why you’re the right guy, yet you didn’t give her any clear and succinct reasons whyyou’re the right guy.”

I went on to explain that his chances were slim to none unless he could articulate two or three things that he was good at and make sure the interviewer was able to repeat them.

That’s true of you, too. When you’re asked, “What are you good at?” the answer should be on the tip of your tongue. You can’t rely on someone else to figure it out. You have to hand it to them, arming them with the right message to deliver to others.

Jim Beqaj began his career in investment banking in 1977 with the investment banking firm Wood Gundy, and at age 37 ended up president of CIBC Wood Gundy after WG was purchased by CIBC. He subsequently worked as vice- chairman of the Bank of Montreal and co-founded an Internet-based IPO company, Baystreetdirect.com. In 2002, he founded Beqaj International, Inc, providing recruiting, coaching, and business consulting services. “How to Hire the Perfect Employer” is available for purchase at all major online bookselling outlets, including Amazon at http://www.amazon.co.... For more information, visit www.beqajinternational.com or Beqaj’s blog at http://jimbeqaj.blogspot.com/.