Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1078362
72 SMT007 MAGAZINE I FEBRUARY 2019 I find is they have a haphazard "apply to ran- dom jobs that are out there" mentality, and if they're lucky, they get a job—the key point be- ing "if they're lucky." Most struggle to get a job because they don't have a plan. They don't know the process to get a job. It's very differ- ent today compared to the mid-'80s. If you don't understand the game with how managers hire, you're going to have a hard time being the one who gets selected. I feel there's a lot that they can learn from coaching. There are many resources on the internet that they can be told to go out and research, but most importantly for me is that they must have a plan. One of the main services that I provide is building a strategic plan—both short-term and long-term—for their career. That will be some- thing they evolve every year because things change, and if you don't have a business or life plan, you're not necessarily going to achieve your goals, so that's the key deliverable. Another service I provide includes inter- viewing technique and skills. There are a lot of people who will coach behavioral inter- viewing, and I was trained at HP to interview based on behavioral patterns in the past, but it's more than that. I also provide an assess- ment—which I heard one of the other coaches talk about yesterday—about knowing what be- havioral style you are, and whether the person you're interviewing with has a different style. That's huge knowledge because if you don't recognize that, a lot of people fail the interview based on just having a disconnect between be- havioral styles; they don't understand why the hiring manager appears to be acting indifferent or inconsiderate. We help them identify the four different types of people and how to spot which they are and which others are, so that's a key deliverable. We train them on that so they can recognize the manager or the person they're interviewing with and turn their answers into A+ responses. A lot of it is how to interview properly, and the whole game of getting a job. Most young aspir- ing entrepreneurs don't know that most jobs are filled via the network and then recruiters. Very few jobs today are filled with the tradi- tional method of sending a résumé and cover letter, hoping you get the job. They must un- derstand that, and leverage not only their net- work but also their network's network, and I can help them with that. Johnson: Excellent. So, you have extensive ex- perience including time at HP. What else is dif- ferent now? Lavoie: There are a lot of differences. Just from the standpoint of getting a job and career, it is so much more competitive now. When I came out of college in '85, I was fortunate; jobs were exploding for the computer science field. I was getting offers without even trying. I didn't have to perfect my résumé. There was no such thing as LinkedIn at the time, but now—with the number of students who have straight As at top universities—a big change is the com- petitiveness of getting that job. Johnson: That statement does seem a little bit at odds with the very low unemployment num- bers that we see at this time. Can you compare and contrast that? Lavoie: That's a good point. This is another ex- ercise I work with the customers on is that, yes, there are a lot of jobs out there, but what a lot of people don't understand is the distinc- tion in job differences. Take tech, for example; I know of three college hires who all had com- puter science degrees with similar grades from top-notch universities and all got jobs in the last 12 months. One ended up at Google for There are many resources on the internet that they can be told to go out and research, but most importantly for me is that they must have a plan.