Career Strategies

Yo! What's up?

As you can tell I feel kind of good today. I just got back from
a major interview. It was very interesting and I wanted to share
with you a couple of techniques I used.

Now, I consider myself very good in interview situations. In
fact, I used to teach people how to interview. So I am going to
give you some really 21st Century techniques or "technology"
that will land you the job. Keep in mind that what you are about
to read will work going for almost any position in any field.

Most people who go for a job interview somehow or another end up
talking their way out of the job. This is because they talk about
their background i.e., education and job history. This is a
really bad thing and I highly advise against it. It is kind of
like handing the employer a loaded gun so they can shoot you
with it. Face it, they are looking for anything to catch you on
or to disqualify you from the position. Since they have a lot of
candidates to interview their first priority is to trim the pool
down.

"But Ron, they always ask about your background. So what should
I say then?"

That's a really great question. Here's how you
combat that. Before the actual interview make sure you get a
complete breakdown of the job description. Then MEMORIZE IT! Got
it! Okay, now when they ask about your experience (This is
sneaky) read them back their job description using your own
words! Easy right? This way your skills and experience will seem
to match exactly what they are looking for. Let's take this a
step further and inject some Jedi mind trick stuff.

On every interview I use something called "Trance Words". Other
people call them keywords. These are VERY effective and can
really get you in good with the hiring manager. However, it
takes a bit of listening skills to perfect.

At a certain point in the interview the manager is going to talk
about the job responsibilities and challenges. Listen closely
for keywords and phrases that he or she uses often. These are
what I call the Trance Words. I'll explain why I call them that
later.

Once you pick up on those keywords repeat them back to the
manager in nicely constructed sentences. For example, if the
manager says:

"We do a lot of SCHEDULING and BUDGETING here of
movie projects to meet DEADLINES."

Your reply can be: "Sounds interesting and challenging. You know
in my previous position I made sure that projects were completed
within "BUDGETARY" limitations making sure they were on
"SCHEDULE" and met appropriate "DEADLINES."

Alright, what did I do here. Well, I didn't go on about what I
did based on my own unrelated experience. I merely listened
closely to the needs (Trance Words) of the manager and repeated
back to him his MOST IMPORTANT CONCERNS in a very creative
manner. Understand? Let's move on. The reason why I call them
Trance Words is because for the keywords to be really effective
you must repeat them throughout the interview process at least
two times no more than four! This creates a hypnotic trance like
state where the manager forms a subconscious picture of you as an
exact match for the position! This is because he or she hears
their own words feed back to them from you.

Listen, interviews can be very stressful and very competitive.
Techniques or technology like Trance Words can really give you
the edge you need. I even use them in pitch sessions with
studios. But there is no limit to their application. In fact, I
even used them on my girlfriend when we first met. She thought
we had sooooooo much in common. Little did she know. Later...

Here's a secret technique for finding a job in the industry
that has had amazing results! It will give you an advantage
over everyone else looking for work. Trust me on this one as
I have personally used it to find work, locate producers and
get deals. It's the bomb! Here's how it works.

First, go to Google and set up a "Google Alert". This feature
sends you an email every time something happens in the news.
Now, it will ask you to enter keywords for the search. Enter
something that relates to the type of work you are looking
for such as: "casting director", "new production company",
"in production" and so forth.

Save this alert. Now every time a new production company is
formed or a film goes into production you will get an alert
sent directly to you! From there do a little research and
gather the contact's name and address. If it is not included
in the alert you can go to www.imdb.com. It has an entire
database of industry information or you can just do a standard
search through your ISP.

Once you get the contact info send your resume or headshot
right away. Simple as one, two, three! Right? The great thing
about this is that you will be one of the first to receive this
information and ahead of the game. So your resume will be among
the first ones that they see.

But what I really like about Google Alerts is that you can set
up more than just one and enter as many keywords as you like.
I recommend that you keep them specific as possible.

I am sure that if done correctly this technique can help you
not just get a job but make serious contacts as well! Friend,
try it and see for yourself. And if you should need any help please
feel free to email me. Have fun!