I often work with candidates who want to move to a specific city, but they don’t want to relocate until they have landed a job.

And therein lies the rub.

In any market, and especially in a down market, securing a position in another location is very challenging.

Why? Several reasons spring to mind.

1. It’s all about the Benjamins. Organizations don’t necessarily have money lying around to pay for a flight/hotel for out-of-town candidates. If they do have the budget to fly candidates in, they usually reserve these funds for senior positions.
2. It’s a pain in the you-know-what. It’s easy for a DC-based nonprofit to arrange for an interview with someone who lives across the moat in Arlington. But try arranging it for someone who lives across two time zones in Spokane.
3. It’s a matter of time. If organizations need to make a quick hire, they are going to start by looking in their backyards. Sometimes they just don’t have the luxury of expanding geographic options.

Ok, Claire. I smell what you’re steppin’ in. So what’s your point?

My point is that landing a job in a city is worlds easier when you are actually there.

A friend of mine learned this first-hand. After long-distance job searching for quite a while, he decided to take the plunge and move to the city where he wanted a job. He enjoyed many glorious nights in discount hotels and hauled around his entire life in two Fiat-sized suitcases, but he landed a gig.

He later summed it up to me this way (and threw in the Woody Allen quote for good measure):

If my candidates are any indication, talking about salary is one of the most dreaded conversations one can have — second only to perhaps “the birds and the bees” discussion with your child.

The question I get most frequently is, “How do I respond when an organization asks for my salary requirements?”

Fear not, my friends, I’ve put together some advice to make the process painless.

1. Be Prepared – If you’re applying for a job, you’re going to get asked about salary somewhere along the way. Don’t be surprised when the question gets tossed your way; and for the love of money, be ready to answer!
2. Don’t Give the Heisman – Sometimes candidates try to hedge when asked direct questions about salary. Bad idea. Hiring managers are going to keep asking until they get the information they need, and the hedging immediately raises suspicions.
3. Tell the Truth – You may be asked specifically what your most recent salary was, and sometimes you may even be asked about your salary history. Be honest. Some organizations will call to confirm prior employment and ask about salary. If a candidate is caught in a lie, it’s all over but the shouting.
4. Have Your Numbers Ready – The most critical piece of information you’ll need is your desired salary. I usually suggest candidates have a range instead of just one number so that you have built-in flexibility. A range should probably span 5-10k for mid-level employees and 10-20k+ for senior staff with higher salaries.
5. Do Your Homework – Some of you probably read #4 above and thought, “But how do I know what my range should be?” It’s not as complicated as some think; but you will need to take into account a menagerie of factors, including your most recent salary/salary history, your experience, the role at hand, geography, education, and market conditions. Speaking of….
6. Know Thy Market – Consider current economic trends, cost of living, demand for your skill set, etc.
7. Stop Talking – The best bit of salary advice I’ve gotten came from a fellow who told me, “After you answer the salary question, stop talking.” He said too many people can’t stand the deafening silence that occurs after the number has been uttered; therefore, they keep talking…and talk themselves right down to a lower salary. Let’s all learn something from Joe Biden here and know when to stop talking.

My mother was an English teacher. Growing up in our house involved lots of mini-grammar lessons, Oxford commas, and endless streams of red ink on papers. It might sound torturous for a kid, but even then I realized how valuable the guidance was.

This is probably why I cringe when I receive a cover letter or résumé with an error. Or two. Or three.

The errors that could have been avoided by using Spell-Check are the ones that drive me to drink. Is it possible there are computers on earth not equipped with this handy-dandy feature? Surely not. So if a person has Spell-Check but isn’t using it, what’s the major malfunction?

Other mistakes result from being careless and failing to proofread. And those, my friends, will make you cry….and laugh. Some of my recent favorites:

• “I would like to help advance free-market principals.”
• “I have written on many other topics including defense, taxes, energy, and many other topics.”
• “I am confident I will be a great asses to the organization.”

You get the idea. Laughter and tears aside, a sloppy cover letter or résumé can cost you a job. If I had a dime for every time a client told me he liked a candidate’s background but wouldn’t be pursuing him because the résumé/cover letter had mistakes in it, I’d have enough money to buy everyone in the free-market movement Strunk & White’s The Elements of Style.

Remember that Mom knows best: make sure to proofread the next thing you send into the public sphere.

Footnote: To this day, when my mother hears me tell my dog to “lay down,” she corrects me. “It’s lie down, honey.” Right, yes, I know that. Too bad my dog doesn’t.

I had the distinct pleasure of spending much of last week with 80 amazingly bright and talented Koch Summer Fellows. We bonded over the art of interviewing.

For most, interviewing conjures the same excitement as a root canal or watching a movie marathon on Lifetime. But the Koch Summer Fellows made interviewing an absolute delight. We went through dozens of mock interviews and lots of discussion about what makes for a good interview.

I wanted to share with you several recurring themes from our time together. I’ve boiled them down to eight tips for giving a great interview:

• Bring Your A-Game Handshake: Come with a solid handshake – strong, no knuckle grinding or sweaty palms, and remember eye contact.
• No Sailor Talk: No matter how comfortable you feel with the person interviewing you, do not let curse words fly. No #$%*.
• Wear the Suit: Unless you’ve been told otherwise by the organization, it’s probably best to wear a suit. Worst-case scenario: you’re overdressed. Best-case scenario: you get the job.
• Less Is More: Be careful that your answers to the interviewer’s questions don’t turn into soliloquies. If you (or the interviewer!) have forgotten what the question was midway through your answer, you’ve gone on too long.
• Make It a Disney Story: If your interviewer asks behavior-based interviewing questions (Tell me about a time when …..Give me an example of…Describe a time when…), make sure to share positive stories from your past. Avoid sharing situations that may reflect poorly on you or be misconstrued by the interviewer.
• Show Me the Money: Be ready to discuss salary. Have a range in mind and be confident when you say it.
• Take Out the Trash: Don’t trash your former employer. Even if your former boss engages in felonious behavior, be careful about how you frame the situation.
• Riddle Me This: Come with questions. If the interviewer asks if you have any questions and all you have is crickets, you’re in trouble. If you draw a blank, a question about organizational culture is usually a winner.

Thanks to all the 2012 Koch Summer Fellows for a wonderful week. I feel much better about our future knowing you guys are the next generation of freedom fighters.

My beloved alma mater, Notre Dame, is rich with traditions. One of the better known is the tradition of football players slapping the “Play Like a Champion Today” sign in the locker room as they head out to the field. Yeah, yeah…maybe the sign has been broken the last few years.

One of my favorite displays of Notre Dame tradition comes at the end of football games when students put their arms around each other and sway as they sing the alma mater, “Notre Dame, Our Mother.” Oh, I’m getting all choked up just thinking about it!

Then there’s the ND tradition called the Bun Run, which entails a confident crew of young men streaking through the Hesburgh Library during finals week. You wouldn’t believe how many young ladies don’t set foot in the library until that week!

As you can tell, I’m a big fan of tradition. And that’s true not only when it comes to Notre Dame, but also with résumés.

In the recent past, several nontraditional résumé formats have surfaced. The most common involves leading with “Accomplishments,” “Qualifications,” or “Profile” sections, while burying actual work history at the bottom of the resume. Other novel résumé formats involve tables, charts, text boxes, fancy fonts, color, and — you guessed it — pictures.

While updating your résumé to a new-fangled format might be tempting, I’m here to implore you to stick with tradition.

A résumé really only needs three basic sections:

1. Name/Contact information
2. Education
3. Experience

If you desire, you can add other basic sections such as Special Skills, Civic Participation, or Publications.

Add in a simple, traditional typeface (you can never go wrong with Times New Roman) and a logical, clean format with plenty of white space; and you have yourself a classic résumé!

Drop me a line if you want me to email you a traditional résumé template. And drop by South Bend, IN, during finals week if you want some entertainment!