Featured Guest Blogger: William Merunka

Throughout life, we encounter situations that are challenging and unavoidable.  When in this situation we have two options, fight or flight.  While our ego may tell us to fight and work through it, we usually take the path of least resistance and run away from the situation.  One of the most common times for this to occur is when looking to find a new job or changing the direction of your career.  With the economic recession playing a major role on the employment field over the past year, it has been easy to choose flight and make excuses for why we have not achieved the career goals that we set for ourselves or found that new job after being laid off.

Oftentimes I hear people saying that it’s not about what you know, but who you know.  Personally, I don’t believe in this mindset.  In my opinion it’s about what you do that will help make, break, or stall your career.  Yes, it helps to know people in positions of authority amongst the company or field that you are trying to get into.  However, just having a neighbor or 3^rd degree friend who’s the lead engineer for the civil engineering department is not going to get you the job.

You need to impress in that person’s mind that you are worthy of their time and that you could be a valuable asset to their team and their company in general.  While you have the advantage of knowing the person, you still need to go in and seal the deal.  Your career is not going to come to you, you need to find that passion within yourself and pursue your career.  What makes you special and better than Mr. Smith who submitted their resume through the company’s website last week?

Like any important task that you face, preparation is the main ingredient.  Here are a few simple steps that you can take to help ignite that passion and prepare yourself to accomplish all of your dreams and goals.

• Stop making excuses for why you have not accomplished your goals or are stuck in a dead-end job.  What are you doing to help your career?  Are you reading magazine and forums to stay up to date on the industry?  Are you networking with others in your field or are you sitting at home on the couch hoping your resume will be found on CareerBuilder.com

• Spend time each day and evaluate your actions and what occurred as a result of your actions.  Learn from each experience (good and bad) and alter your actions to reduce the amount of bad experiences that you occur.  Think about what happened and how you responded.  Was this the only way to react? Was there a better way?  While you can’t change the past, you will be prepared to handle the situation differently in the future.

• Take action.  You cannot read 100 self-help books and expect to become a better person.  Utilize your knowledge and implement changes that you feel you will benefit from.  It’s good to be knowledgeable, but it’s useless if you don’t do anything with that knowledge that you obtain.

• Be accountable for your actions.  If you tell somebody you will help them out, keep your word.  If you make a decision that turns out to be bad, stand up for your decision and admit that you were wrong, or that it didn’t work as planned but you will go back to drawing board to correct the problems.

You may think these are a waste of time because you already know the guy and there’s no way our neighbor or 3^rd degree friend can turn you down, but you are wrong.  Smart leaders look at the whole picture and not just 1 task.  You can be the most efficient drafter in the state, but if you act arrogant and disrespectable around your neighbor during leisure time, he’s more than likely not going to bring you on board.  Your passion or lack of passion is displayed in everything you do.  It’s in the way you walk, the way you talk to other people, the quality of work you produce, and even your knowledge of current events that are directly related to your field.  You may not realize it, but you are constantly being evaluated by people.

In the olympics you don’t win a gold medal just for knowing or training with an olympian who has previously won a gold medal.  You need to go out there and stick it.  You need to perform above other individuals who are competing for the same position as you.  If you are just an average Joe you will not win, you need to do something to set yourself apart from the competition.

Do you have what it takes?  Are you ready to go out there and take what is rightfully yours?    Go out there and stick it.

The most important aspect of selling is asking meaningful questions.  If you understand the needs of the individual or organization you are selling to, then you can clearly explain to them how you can fulfill those needs.  So if you find yourself doing most of the talking on an interview, you may want to re-think your strategy so as to have the prospect start to do the talking, giving you the information you need to close the deal.

What type of questions should you ask? You want to ask open-ended questions that require a response other than “yes” or “no.”  Open ended questions usually start with “Why,” “How,” “What,” “When,” or “Where.”  Think about it, these questions cannot be answered with a “yes” or “no.”  They will be forced to give you important information that you will use to make the sale.

For example, on a job interview you might ask, “What exactly are some of the day to day tasks that will be required in this position?”  Once you know the answer you can respond very specifically.  For example, “That’s great because I managed budgets and personnel for years at my last employer with much success.”  If you are trying to procure a new client, you may ask a question like, “What characteristics are you looking for in the engineering firm that you retain?” They might answer, “Well we are really looking for a company that can do the soils design, site design and structural design to limit the number of consultants we have to retain.”  You can then answer, “That’s great because not only do we provide all of those services, we have other departments as well so we can handle all facets of your projects.”  You can then go on to give specific examples of projects that you recently provided multiple services for.

Remember most people that are hiring or looking to purchase something have specific needs.  By presenting to them the specific ways that you can fulfill those needs, you will find it much easier to close the deal!  Going into an interview or sales call and telling the prospect all of the great things about yourself, your company or your product will more times than not prevent you from making the sale!

What open-ended questions have you used successfully in an interview or sales situation?

Anthony Fasano, P.E., LEED AP, CPESC, CPSWQ, CPC

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