Someone recently asked me, “What do you think most job seekers lack?
My immediate answer: “Curiosity.”
Lack of curiosity and a sense of entitlement are why most job seekers struggle with their job search. The majority of job seekers apply to companies without knowing anything about the company’s:
History and milestones
Senior leadership team
Financial health
Market share occupancy and direct competitors
Mission statement
Challenges they’re facing
Most job seekers look for nothing more than a steady paycheck, benefits, and some paid time off. Employers don’t find this mindset appealing. On the other hand, employers find a consultative mindset very appealing.
Developing a consultative mindset begins with curiosity about an employer’s goals and needs. Instead of approaching an employer’s hiring process as a transaction, approach it as a collaborative opportunity to demonstrate your value and position yourself as a potential strategic partner who can assist the employer in overcoming their pain points and achieving their goals.
Shifting your focus from wanting a paycheque to becoming an employer’s trusted problem-solver will differentiate you from your competition. Also, you’ll change your perception of the employer/job seeker power dynamic from needing a job (being on the defensive) to having the knowledge, skills and, therefore, solution the company needs (being on the offensive).
Most job seekers follow this pattern:
Apply, apply, apply, apply… hoping to get an interview.
Finally, get an interview thinking, “Now, I can show who I am!”
Job seekers with a consultative mindset provide value upfront. They don’t wait to be scheduled for an interview process. How? By sending the employer a brief report outlining their analysis of the employer’s current marketing strategy and suggesting potential improvements. By offering to create a sample social media content calendar that aligns with their brand and target audience. I once had a candidate who had applied but wasn’t scheduled for an interview send me a call flow script they thought my agents should be using that would increase customer satisfaction. They were the first person I scheduled for an interview.
Proactively providing helpful insights or work samples shows the employer that you’re genuinely invested in their success. Think: Your business is helping the employer’s business.
Additionally, a consultative mindset encourages you to view each interaction as an opportunity to learn, not just to sell yourself. Ask clarifying questions, take notes, and use the information you gather to refine your value proposition.
A consultative mindset:
Research the company and role in depth.
Do more than skim the job description and apply. Instead, do a deep dive into researching the company, its industry, its leadership team, its competitors, and the challenges they’re facing. Then, use the intel you gather to tailor your application and interview responses to convincingly demonstrate how your skills and experience can directly address the employer’s needs.
For instance, let’s say you’re applying for a business analyst role at a fintech startup. Research the company’s product offerings, funding history, competitive landscape, and recent press about industry trends or regulatory changes. With these insights, write a cover letter highlighting your experience solving similar problems for other financial technology firms.
Asks thoughtful, open-ended questions.
Job seekers tend to obsessively focus on trying to provide the “right” answers during the interview. A consultative mindset flips this script by asking insightful questions which convey genuine interest in the position and the company.
“What are the top priorities for this team over the next 6-12 months?”
“How does this position fit into the overall business strategy?”
“What are the biggest challenges the company faces in [area the position oversees], and how do you envision this role helping to address them?”
Asking these types of probing questions displays your strategic thinking and positions you as a collaborative partner, not just another candidate to be assessed.
Offers ideas and solutions.
Job seekers with a consultative mindset proactively offer ideas and solutions, thus showing they’ve taken the time to understand the employer’s needs and can provide thoughtful suggestions.
Maybe you identified an untapped market segment the company could target or noticed an area of their website that needed improvement. In your cover letter, you might write, “From my analysis of your target customer demographics, I believe you have an opportunity to reach millennials. I have several suggestions for improving your marketing messaging and social media strategy to reach millennials, which I hope to present to you in an interview.”
Follows up and stays engaged.
A consultative mindset continues to engage with the employer after the interview. Send a thoughtful thank-you note reiterating your interest, fit and, most importantly, value-add. Even if you don’t get the job, keep in touch! Regularly send industry articles, observations/suggestions that may benefit the company, and comment on LinkedIn posts. The person hired might not work out. Staying in touch will keep you top of your mind as a backfill, or for other opportunities.
A consultative mindset is grounded in Zig Ziglar’s words for success, “You can have everything in life you want if you will just help other people get what they want.” Your job search success will significantly improve once you show employers you’re genuinely interested in helping them.
Nick Kossovan, a well-seasoned veteran of the corporate landscape, offers “unsweetened” job search advice. You can send Nick your questions to artoffindingwork@gmail.com.
HALIFAX – Ottawa is negotiating a $500-million bailout for Nova Scotia’s privately owned electric utility, saying the money will be used to prevent a big spike in electricity rates.
Federal Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson made the announcement today in Halifax, saying Nova Scotia Power Inc. needs the money to cover higher costs resulting from the delayed delivery of electricity from the Muskrat Falls hydroelectric plant in Labrador.
Wilkinson says that without the money, the subsidiary of Emera Inc. would have had to increase rates by 19 per cent over “the short term.”
Nova Scotia Power CEO Peter Gregg says the deal, once approved by the province’s energy regulator, will keep rate increases limited “to be around the rate of inflation,” as costs are spread over a number of years.
The utility helped pay for construction of an underwater transmission link between Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, but the Muskrat Falls project has not been consistent in delivering electricity over the past five years.
Those delays forced Nova Scotia Power to spend more on generating its own electricity.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
TORONTO – Roots Corp. may have built its brand on all things comfy and cosy, but its CEO says activewear is now “really becoming a core part” of the brand.
The category, which at Roots spans leggings, tracksuits, sports bras and bike shorts, has seen such sustained double-digit growth that Meghan Roach plans to make it a key part of the business’ future.
“It’s an area … you will see us continue to expand upon,” she told analysts on a Friday call.
The Toronto-based retailer’s push into activewear has taken shape over many years and included several turns as the official designer and supplier of Team Canada’s Olympic uniform.
But consumers have had plenty of choice when it comes to workout gear and other apparel suited to their sporting needs. On top of the slew of athletic brands like Nike and Adidas, shoppers have also gravitated toward Lululemon Athletica Inc., Alo and Vuori, ramping up competition in the activewear category.
Roach feels Roots’ toehold in the category stems from the fit, feel and following its merchandise has cultivated.
“Our product really resonates with (shoppers) because you can wear it through multiple different use cases and occasions,” she said.
“We’ve been seeing customers come back again and again for some of these core products in our activewear collection.”
Her remarks came the same day as Roots revealed it lost $5.2 million in its latest quarter compared with a loss of $5.3 million in the same quarter last year.
The company said the second-quarter loss amounted to 13 cents per diluted share for the quarter ended Aug. 3, the same as a year earlier.
In presenting the results, Roach reminded analysts that the first half of the year is usually “seasonally small,” representing just 30 per cent of the company’s annual sales.
Sales for the second quarter totalled $47.7 million, down from $49.4 million in the same quarter last year.
The move lower came as direct-to-consumer sales amounted to $36.4 million, down from $37.1 million a year earlier, as comparable sales edged down 0.2 per cent.
The numbers reflect the fact that Roots continued to grapple with inventory challenges in the company’s Cooper fleece line that first cropped up in its previous quarter.
Roots recently began to use artificial intelligence to assist with daily inventory replenishments and said more tools helping with allocation will go live in the next quarter.
Beyond that time period, the company intends to keep exploring AI and renovate more of its stores.
It will also re-evaluate its design ranks.
Roots announced Friday that chief product officer Karuna Scheinfeld has stepped down.
Rather than fill the role, the company plans to hire senior level design talent with international experience in the outdoor and activewear sectors who will take on tasks previously done by the chief product officer.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
VANCOUVER – Mediated talks between the union representing HandyDART workers in Metro Vancouver and its employer, Transdev, are set to resume today as a strike that has stopped most services drags into a second week.
No timeline has been set for the length of the negotiations, but Joe McCann, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724, says they are willing to stay there as long as it takes, even if talks drag on all night.
About 600 employees of the door-to-door transit service for people unable to navigate the conventional transit system have been on strike since last Tuesday, pausing service for all but essential medical trips.
Hundreds of drivers rallied outside TransLink’s head office earlier this week, calling for the transportation provider to intervene in the dispute with Transdev, which was contracted to oversee HandyDART service.
Transdev said earlier this week that it will provide a reply to the union’s latest proposal on Thursday.
A statement from the company said it “strongly believes” that their employees deserve fair wages, and that a fair contract “must balance the needs of their employees, clients and taxpayers.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
