Lying in your Career Search

I just read a good article from Monster via Yahoo called - What Really Happens When you Lie on Your Resume.  It’s a good read and is something that I feel pretty passionate about.  As you can see below it’s something that I've written about extensively:

The Five White Lies People Tell in the Interview Process

Lying on Your Resume - A Perfect Example

Lying by Omission - Another Interview Killer

So… I think that we have established that lying is a cardinal sin in a career search.  So instead of asking what will happen if I lie in my career search?  Instead, the better question is, how do I bring up difficult and embarrassing subjects in the interview process?  Below are three common situations and how to handle them.

You have a record

There is no easy way around this. If you have a criminal record you are better suited to bring it up earlier rather than later.  What kind of criminal offenses can hurt you?  Here are the big ones – theft, assault, drunk driving (if the job requires driving) and other felonies. (Bonus tip – Google your name and see what pops up – if it is one the first page you should bring it up…)  A lot of people  take the approach of waiting until the last minute to bring up a deal breaker like this – their thinking is that if you make the employer fall in love with you then they might overlook it.  This is like proposing to someone and then telling them that you are still married…  Instead, you should look to discuss it in the first interview.  You might end things prematurely but at least you aren't going to waste your time with further interviews. 

You got fired

I've written about this extensively as well.  If your boss comes in and says things aren’t working out and you say I agree, I quit.  You were still fired.  People say that it was a mutual decision all of the time and it sounds stupid.  Instead of skirting the truth you should dive in and say that he position didn't work out.  Share why it didn't work out and what you have learned from it.  Tell them how it made you a better person and future employee.

You can read more about this here:

So You Got Fired - What  to say in an Interview

You have gaps in employment

  People have gaps in employment for a variety of reasons.  Some people feel the need to fudge dates on a resume to hide them.  Bad idea!  Instead you need to craft a narrative about what you have been doing or were doing during your time off.    It’s pretty easy but sometimes people are worried about how it looks.  If you took your time because you wanted the summer off – then say it.  The right company for you will like this.

Over the years I've found one truism about lying in the interview process.  People  do it to try and preserve a chance at jobs that won’t happen anyway.  Telling the truth might stop some interviews dead in their tracks, but I honestly believe that they probably wouldn't have worked out anyway.  So tell the truth and focus your efforts  on the opportunities that will work for you!

That’s all I've got for today.  Have a great week and as always please feel free to leave comments below or email me at sthompson@insurance-csg.com.

Check out some of my recent articles on the blog here:

Forward Emails:  The Silent Killer

The Six Biggest Challenges Faced by Insurance Producers

How Insurance Producers Can Use Social Networking to Increase Sales

Four Skills that Every Account Manager Needs to Succeed

Job Hunting Myths Exposed

How Account Managers can Improve their Resumes

Three Things that Account Managers Should Do

Six Interview Tips Part I

Five Things Employers Do In the Interview Process

Things you Should be Doing Right Now For the New Job you Don't Need

When should you pull the plug on an interview?

One of the biggest challenges I see out there for candidates is deciding when to cancel an interview.  The interview process is long and arduous. It can drag on months on end and often times I encounter candidates get frustrated and pull out of the process.  Sometimes they are making the right move, other times it is an emotional reaction that limits their opportunity.  With that in mind I thought I would share reasons why you should or shouldn’t cancel an interview.

Don’t you dare cancel it!

Before I jump into specific reasons I want to share the overall reason why you shouldn’t cancel  This is all about positioning.  Sometimes job interviews don’t lead to immediate jobs.  Instead they lead to another job down the road or a business relationship.  How you handle yourself when you decide to not work for a company can have long term ramifications. 

You assume they can’t pay you enough money

This is one that I encounter all the time.  However, please understand that there is a difference between assuming and knowing.  If a company flat out tells you that they can’t pay you what you need. Then you should end it.  But if you are just making an assumption, then you should either speak directly with the company about it or wait for the offer and negotiate. 

Before the 1^st interview

If you have accepted a first interview it is in your best interests to follow through with it, unless you have a compelling reason like unreasonable commute, money or your have accepted another job.  The reason here is because the company will feel like you didn’t give them a chance.   This could potentially burn a bridge and you never want to do that. 

You are cancelling at the last minute

This one is about courtesy.  Unless you have accepted another job, you shouldn’t cancel at the last minute.  It looks really poor and you start running into the bridge burning thing again. 

You are making broad assumptions

First of all, you know what they say about assumptions…  I will have people cancel interviews all the time and then later find out it was because they thought that their wasn’t enough growth, or the company couldn’t meet their scheduling needs.  The common thread is that the candidate never asked me or the company.  A good first interview that goes nowhere can mean a fast track in the future when you need it.

You have heard bad things about a company

This is one of my biggest pet peeves.  When I worked in the restaurant industry, a wise man once told me that bad experiences are shared something like 10 – 30 times more than good ones.  The same applies here.  You are much more likely to hear feedback from a disgruntled ex-employee than you will from a happy former employee.  Please understand I’m not saying that the disgruntled ex-employee can’t be right.  Instead, I’m saying that you should take the info with a grain of salt and make your own determination in an interview. 

You are really far along in the process

If you have invested a ton of time and energy and you are frustrated because it hasn’t paid off yet I think you owe it to yourself to see it through.  You might not get what you want but there will be finality to the situation and you won’t be thinking what if.

Cancel it!

You’ve Accepted your #1 Job

In this case you should totally cancel it.  The only caveat I would add is that you still shouldn’t cancel at the last minute for positioning purposes.  In this case, take the meeting and then notify the company later in the day or the next that you

You have a significant life occurrence that changes the equation

If something changes in your life (pregnancy, illness, death, divorce, moving) and you can’t make a change then you should feel free to cancel the interview.  Here positioning is key again as how you handle it will preserve future opportunities.  Depending on the severity of the event you can choose to call or email.  However, in this event just give specific information (you don’t need to share a ton here – just enough to not be cryptic) and thank them for their time. 

A dealbreaker presents itself

If you have concrete evidence (not an assumption) that something won’t work then cut your losses and move on.  These could be things like salary, schedule or commute.  However, if you knew about these things before scheduling an interview, you are better suited to have the interview and then end the process afterwards as there is an emotional difference between declining to move forward and cancelling. 

So there you have it!  What do you think?  Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section.  As always I can be reached at sthompson@insurance-csg.com.

Can Changing One Letter on Your Resume Really Make That Big of a Difference?

A lot has been made recently about a story where a man named Jose changed his name to Joe on his resume and suddenly the interview requests started pouring in.  This article, which you can find here:

  He changed just one letter...

This got me to thinking about other little changes people could make to improve their chances in a job search.  Below are my thoughts:

1.  Omitting things on your resume

The road to unemployment is paved with well-intentioned bad advice.  One of the most egregious is the suggestion that you omit things from your resume.  Now, you can play semantics and say that omission isn’t really lying and you would be correct.  However, it doesn't change the fact that a hiring manager feels that they are being lied to.  It’s about perception not whether something is technically a lie.  Now, I do think that your resume should only go back about 15 years unless the previous experience is relevant and necessary.  However, not sharing your first job out of college 18 years ago is not the problem. Instead, the problem is when people do silly things like combine two jobs into one or just decide not to put any dates into a resume.  Omitting dates makes a hiring manager assume that there is something really big being hidden.

What should you do instead?

Emphasize your recent successes by only having bullet points highlighting your most recent jobs.  Put your education at the bottom of the resume.  Your resume should be an advertisement for you as an employee.  Customers get mad when they are bait and switched and employers are the same way.  Instead, make things like previous irrelevant jobs and your graduation date the equivalent of the fine print. 

2. I can do anything

This is a major problem.  There are a lot of people who interview for jobs and say – “I was really successful doing X, therefore I can do any job that you might be offering.”  First of all, let me say that I believe people can and should make moves outside of their industry and grow.  It is absolutely possible and probable.  However, you can’t use the above logic as you value proposition  Why?  Because it makes you sound condescending.  Because you are essentially saying “Because what I was doing was so important/difficult/prestigious ,you pick  the adjective, that I can easily step in and do whatever job you are offering in your lowly company.” You also sound uninformed because you are essentially saying that even though you have done no research, you are pretty sure you can do the job. 

What should you do instead?

Look for common denominators between the two jobs.  Focus on them and why this would make it a smooth transition.  Then acknowledge what you need to learn and share how you would overcome it.  Essentially, you need to come up with a value proposition that is stronger than “I’m so awesome, I can do anything, you should hire me.”

3.  I did that 15 years ago, therefore I can do it today

This one is pretty cut and dry.  If the best value proposition you can come up with is “It’s just like riding a bike,” then you are screwed.  The fact is that jobs change over time and the skills needed for said jobs change.  To assume that you can seamlessly step back in makes you seem arrogant. 

What should you do instead?

Does this mean that if your most recent relevant experience is fifteen years ago you can never do the job?  Again, you need to support your argument with data.   Something like this:

“ I know I haven’t  worked as a burger flipper for years, however, I think that I can do this.  You see, because it was my favorite job ever I have kept up with the industry by reading Burger Flipping Quarterly – do you subscribe to this?  I've also done some research and I understand that you guys are working with the most state of the art spatula.  It looks like a pretty nice piece of steel.  I haven’t used one but I think with a little work I can get the hang of it.  “

4.  Not giving a good reason for relocation

So… your kids are all grown, you don’t own a home, you hate the snow.  Bottom line.  You can move anywhere for a job.  That’s great!  Here’s the problem, being a nomad isn't a major selling point.   When a potential employer asks -  Why do you want to move to my hometown? – the answer can’t be because that’s where the job is.   It may be the god’s honest truth, but you have to give more.   Here’s why.  Employers are irrational, just like the rest of the world.  If the only reason you are moving to their hometown, a community that they know and love, even  cherish, is because there is a job then they will make the leap that you will probably leave for someone else’s hometown at some point in the near future. 

What should you do instead?

Come up with a reason to be somewhere.  First of all look for the obvious.  If your sister, brother, cousin, uncle lives there it’s a slam dunk.  If you've visited there before and love it its easy enough.  But what if you are being asked to move to Ames, IA for the job of your dreams and you’ve never been there, let alone heard of it.  You research the city and find a good reason to be there besides the job.  For instance, you could do some research and find out that Ames has the highest quality water in the United States (true fact you should Google the song – City of Ames) and say:

Besides the fact that there is a great job here?  Water quality is  really important to me and my research shows that Ames has the best.  Additionally, I’m a big fan of below average college football.  This just seems like the right place for me!

What do you guys thing?  What are some other little things you could change in your search to make a big difference?

Commercial Lines Manager - Fayetteville or Fort Smith, AR

The Commercial Lines Manager is a critical role that's responsible for a number of operational and Human Resources related duties within this insurance agency.  You'll oversee three service units within three separate offices which requires excellent organizational and collaboration skills.   Your goal is to provide leadership to the client management teams, serve as a liaison with the sales and executive leaders and create synergy with the agency's other groups to ensure a high level of client retention, profitability and efficiency.

Commercial Lines Manager Responsibilities
Under the header of client service, you'll oversee the performance of your staff on account management processes and get involved in escalated client service issues. Work with the producers on expectations for certain accounts, reinforce department procedures, schedule client meetings, assign points of contact and follow up on requested items from clients and review marketing summaries and checklists.
Within the scope of marketing, you'll participate in building wholesale and carrier relationships, review vendor agreements, market specific new and renewal cases as needed, train client managers on online rating software and work with the producers on expiration lists to get the renewal process started.  Organize company contracts and licensing.
As a manager, you're responsible Human Resources related functions such as hiring, performance management, training and employee development of client service staff.  You'll establish policies and procedures for maximizing efficiencies within the agency's management system. You'll make sure close communication is established between the commercial lines, small business and marketing departments so there is consistency in the workflows.  Assist with the budgeting process including running reports, organizing departmental data, compliance, audits, quality control and peer reviews.
Commercial Lines Manager Requirements
At least 7-10 years of property and casualty career experience within an agency with a strong background in account management and client deliverables. Prior management and/or supervisory experience is required.
Must also have experience with addressing policy and procedures including oversight of efficiencies, allocating workloads and managing customer service staff.

Prior training experience along with organizational experience- aligning teams, building strong alliances and handling performance management issues.  Also comfortable with working through transitions into the agency such as integrating new acquisitions and office build outs.

Email: sthompson@insurance-csg.com

Phone: 515-216-5455

See our website at www.csgrecruiting.com/jobs for a complete listing of nationwide opportunities.

Check out some of my recent articles on the blog here:

Get Lucky!  Four Things you can Learn from Daft Punk's Success and Apply to your Career

Peyton Manning's Amazing Comeback and How You Can Apply it to your Career

Learning from Microsoft's Mistakes and Applying it to your Career as a Producer/Salesperson

The Six Biggest Challenges Faced by Insurance Producers

How Insurance Producers Can Use Social Networking to Increase Sales

Four Skills that Every Account Manager Needs to Succeed

Bad Customer Service Experiences

Four Keys to a Great Reference

Commercial Lines Account Manager - Fayetteville, AR

This Commercial Lines Account Manager position is a terrific opportunity to step into a successful, robust insurance agency and continue growing your career with more responsibilities and interaction with clients that have larger, complex insurance programs.  Based on growth, you'll be assigned clients to help manage and coordinate the delivery of client service, renewals and internal policy administration. 

Commercial Lines Account Manager Responsibilities
Establish solid client relationships and manage the timely and efficient responses to clients regarding questions about coverage, billing, and endorsements
Identify important client needs as well as cross selling opportunities and effectively communicate those needs to the sales team
Coordinate the administrative activity of client accounts like certificates, id cards, and applications as they relate to renewals and claims

Commercial Lines Account Manager Requirements
At least three (3) years as a customer service rep, underwriter, underwriting assistant or account manager handling commercial property and casualty policies.
Broad proficiency with P&C policies like general liability, property, auto and workers compensation is required. 

Experience with billing, customer service calls, policy review, and renewal marketing.
Active state insurance license.

Email: sthompson@insurance-csg.com

Phone: 515-216-5455

See our website at www.csgrecruiting.com/jobs for a complete listing of nationwide opportunities.

Check out some of my recent articles on the blog here:

Get Lucky!  Four Things you can Learn from Daft Punk's Success and Apply to your Career

Peyton Manning's Amazing Comeback and How You Can Apply it to your Career

Learning from Microsoft's Mistakes and Applying it to your Career as a Producer/Salesperson

The Six Biggest Challenges Faced by Insurance Producers

How Insurance Producers Can Use Social Networking to Increase Sales

Four Skills that Every Account Manager Needs to Succeed

Bad Customer Service Experiences

Four Keys to a Great Reference

Personal Lines Business Development Specialist - Denver, CO

This Personal Lines Business Development role is a tremendous opportunity for an experienced private client insurance professional to take control of and transform an existing practice for a strong regional agency in Denver.  High net worth personal lines has long been a part of the agency's business model however its been more on the sidelines as a complimentary service offering for internal referrals versus a strong external revenue driver.  That will change with this someone taking the reigns in this business development position.  The ideal candidate has deep experience in client management, preferably at the Account Executive level, but desire more influence in strategic design, higher earnings through commission and external sales responsibilities.  You'll be supported in your service efforts with a dedicated, tenured account manager at your side.  You'll be supported in your business development efforts with several existing referral relationships through private bankers and wealth advisors. 

Personal Lines Business Development, Account Executive Responsibilities
Able to cultivate, qualify and onboard new clients with a hand in the complete sales cycle.  This includes your ability to create and execute a marketing strategy to get in front of new clients through your marketing efforts with personal and private bankers, wealth advisors and other producers within the agency.
Be the face of the Private Client Division to the Big Four insurance companies- Ace, Chubb, Fireman's Fund and AIG- working with them on program design, rating and policy changes and customer management strategies.
Serve as the primary technical resource on products and programs unique to affluent personal lines.
Personal Lines Business Development, Account Executive Requirements:
At least five (5) years of dedicated experience in sales, marketing and client management within high net worth personal lines.  Established relationships with underwriters and a solid understanding of pricing and coverage nuances for high net worth personal lines programs.  
State insurance license.

Consultative approach to sales; able to seek out and develop third party referral streams with underwriters, financial advisors, bankers, attorneys and accountants. 

Comfortable working under new business sales goals. Must be able to balance client consulting after the point fo sale with continuing to seek out new account opportunities.

Please contact Scott Thompson for immediate confidential consideration and additional details. 

Email: sthompson@insurance-csg.com

Phone: 515-216-5455

See our website at www.csgrecruiting.com/jobs for a complete listing of nationwide opportunities.

Check out some of my recent articles on the blog here:

Get Lucky!  Four Things you can Learn from Daft Punk's Success and Apply to your Career

Peyton Manning's Amazing Comeback and How You Can Apply it to your Career

Learning from Microsoft's Mistakes and Applying it to your Career as a Producer/Salesperson

The Six Biggest Challenges Faced by Insurance Producers

How Insurance Producers Can Use Social Networking to Increase Sales

Four Skills that Every Account Manager Needs to Succeed

Bad Customer Service Experiences

Four Keys to a Great Reference

Commercial Lines Account Manager - Dallas, TX

The role of Commercial Insurance Account Manager for this large, regional agency is to support the client administration, marketing and retention as the Dallas office gets up and running.  A newly formed team, the group is dynamic with a strong middle market platform, so you'll be asked to play a big part in how the agency can support onboarding new accounts, handling complex risks and implementing key workflow procedures that are in line with the rest of the agency's offices. 

Commercial Insurance Account Manager Responsibilities
Establish solid client relationships and manage the delivery of services along with answering questions from clients about coverage, billing and endorsements.
Identify important client needs as well as cross selling opportunities and effectively communicate those needs to the sales team.
Coordinate the renewal activity of client accounts like information gathering, rate, pricing negotiations, proposal writing and communications.
Commercial Insurance Account Manager Requirements
At least 4-5 years of commercial property and casualty insurance experience in an account management capacity. 
Broad proficiency with P&C policies like general liability, property, auto and workers compensation is required. 
Experienced with handling all the tactical, client interfacing work on supporting a book of business (renewal meetings, coverage reviews, marketing and claims assistance) with service administration (billing, certificates, binders and so on).
Active state insurance license.

Email: sthompson@insurance-csg.com

Phone: 515-216-5455

See our website at www.csgrecruiting.com/jobs for a complete listing of nationwide opportunities.

Check out some of my recent articles on the blog here:

Get Lucky!  Four Things you can Learn from Daft Punk's Success and Apply to your Career

Peyton Manning's Amazing Comeback and How You Can Apply it to your Career

Learning from Microsoft's Mistakes and Applying it to your Career as a Producer/Salesperson

The Six Biggest Challenges Faced by Insurance Producers

How Insurance Producers Can Use Social Networking to Increase Sales

Four Skills that Every Account Manager Needs to Succeed

Bad Customer Service Experiences

Four Keys to a Great Reference

Employee Benefits Producer - Washington, DC

This is a unique opportunity for a dynamic producer candidate that has a strong technical background working with mid-sized to larger employee benefits accounts. The agency is well positioned to provide opportunities for success in two ways - through leads provided internally with a lead generation team and also through referrals to cross sell from the P&C team. The ideal candidate will be a strong closer and possess a thorough understanding of group insurance industry trends and information.

Employee Benefits Producer Responsibilities

Ability to create an aggressive business marketing plan to drive revenue in a 3-5 year period.
Ability to network at the C-level to determine the customer's business needs and subsequent insurance requirements.
Will meet often with producers in the Employee Benefits division to gain introductions to existing clients.
Cross-selling additional lines of coverage to round out accounts.
Up-sell and renew existing clients with additional products and services.


Employee Benefits Producer Requirements

3-5 years of experience working in an independent agency or applicable direct marketing.
Must have experience calling on larger accounts with 100+ employees.

Must possess applicable state insurance license, with additional professional designations preferred.

Please contact Scott Thompson for immediate confidential consideration and additional details. 

Email: sthompson@insurance-csg.com

Phone: 515-216-5455

See our website at www.csgrecruiting.com/jobs for a complete listing of nationwide opportunities.

Check out some of my recent articles on the blog here:

Get Lucky!  Four Things you can Learn from Daft Punk's Success and Apply to your Career

Peyton Manning's Amazing Comeback and How You Can Apply it to your Career

Learning from Microsoft's Mistakes and Applying it to your Career as a Producer/Salesperson

The Six Biggest Challenges Faced by Insurance Producers

How Insurance Producers Can Use Social Networking to Increase Sales

Four Skills that Every Account Manager Needs to Succeed

Bad Customer Service Experiences

Four Keys to a Great Reference

Commercial Lines Wholesale Marketing Representative - Atlanta, GA, Nashville, TN, Birmingham, AL, Chicago, IL

As a Commercial Lines Marketing Representative for this wholesale insurance broker you will concentrate on increasing business development opportunities for the company within a network of established independent agencies appointed throughout the country. More specifically, however, your focus will be carving out untapped sources of revenue within larger regional agency clients in area like Chicago, Nashville, Dallas and Atlanta. This role borrows elements from a true wholesale broker position with those an account representative and marketing specialist has within a Managing General Agency.

Commercial Lines Marketing Representative Responsibilities
Develop an action plan that targets retail agencies writing excess and surplus lines business. These might be dormant relationships you need to reactivate or accounts currently placing some business with the company but you know there is much more to be captured.
Identify with agency partners who are more niche focused; carve out those niches and work within your team to develop specializations and programs that meet the unique needs of the market.
Work closely with underwriters on critical cases. These can be new ones that are deals important to getting premium on the books or cases you know must be retained but need creative ways to keeping the business with your company.
Commercial Lines Marketing Representative
At least four (4) years of commercial marketing, production underwriting or wholesale brokerage experience where you've worked directly with retail agencies to drive business opportunities to you. Prior work with excess and surplus lines products is helpful.

Able to create and execute a business development plan that focuses on a combination of cold calling and referral management; travel to meet with retail agencies and discuss ways to improve or enhance service and program offerings. 

Please contact Scott Thompson for immediate confidential consideration and additional details. 

Email: sthompson@insurance-csg.com

Phone: 515-216-5455

See our website at www.csgrecruiting.com/jobs for a complete listing of nationwide opportunities.

Check out some of my recent articles on the blog here:

Get Lucky!  Four Things you can Learn from Daft Punk's Success and Apply to your Career

Peyton Manning's Amazing Comeback and How You Can Apply it to your Career

Learning from Microsoft's Mistakes and Applying it to your Career as a Producer/Salesperson

The Six Biggest Challenges Faced by Insurance Producers

How Insurance Producers Can Use Social Networking to Increase Sales

Four Skills that Every Account Manager Needs to Succeed

Bad Customer Service Experiences

Four Keys to a Great Reference