The Candidate Advantage: Job Search Advice

Downsizing: Going from a big company to small one

*Props to my colleague Christina Woodward for suggesting this topic. She left a big company (Pepsi) a year ago to join our little start up Seven Step Recruiting and had thoughts to share about how this type of move affected her job search with us and other smaller companies she interviewed with.

Since it is much more common for candidates to go from a big company to a small company when changing jobs than the other way around, it's important that people understand how to navigate through the associated interview obstacles with making this kind of move.

Make sure your reference checks "check out"

There are way too many stories about candidates who blow off the importance of reference checks and end up losing the offer. It makes no sense. It's like stopping just before you reach the end zone to tie your shoe and getting tackled.

References are the critical last few yards of scoring a touchdown. If you assume it's a done deal and don't pay attention here, you'll lose out. Don't treat this as a rubber stamp and mere administrative detail. Take it seriously and pay attention to how this gets conducted on your behalf.

Admit to your shortcomings

How do you answer the toughest interview question in the world - "What is your biggest weakness?" Whatever you do, don't try and avoid the real answer. What the manager wants to know more than anything else is NOT what your actual weaknesses are, but if you are honest enough to admit you have one.

Little White Lies

Every company performs some level of due diligence on the people they hire. Whether the HR person does this themselves or hires a 3rd party to conduct a formal background check, count on everything you say to be double checked.

Know that any informational discrepancy could cost you the job, even if it involves something very minor or ends up being a completely innocent misunderstanding. So always apply the "background check" factor to every aspect of your job search (writing your resume, answering questions during the interview, filling out a job application, etc..) to avoid this problem.

How to handle "taking a step back"

What a kick in the pants it is to learn that you weren't hired because they think you have too much experience. This happens more often than you think since titles and job duties can vary drastically. What one company calls a "Manager of Software Development" could be synonymous with "Lead Developer" in another or even a "Director of Software" someplace else. This creates the illusion of being overqualified.

Learn how to avoid being turned down for the wrong reasons.