Jayne Mattson is Senior Vice President at Keystone Associates, a leading career management and transition services consulting firm in Boston, Massachusetts. Mattson specializes in helping mid-to-senior level individuals in new career exploration, networking strategies and career decisions based on corporate culture fit.

You applied for a new job, and you’ve been called in for an interview. During the interview process, there are three main questions that need to be answered to help the HR person determine if you’re the right fit for the job:

Can this person do the job?

Will he do the job?

Will he fit in with the company culture?

No one can make it alone. The most successful leaders are where they are today because they took advice from people they trusted.

We’ve compiled some of the best tips that executives have shared throughout the years, including lessons from tech icons like Bill Gates, empire-builders like Richard Branson and legendary investment gurus like Warren Buffett.

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The post Executives Share The Best Advice They Ever Received5 Reasons to Meet in Person appeared first on Defined Search International.

Thinking about using a potential employer’s job offer to get your current company to counter and pay you more money?

Stop right there.

Using another job offer as a bargaining chip may be tempting, but too often, it ends badly. If you want a raise, then negotiate it on your own merits–or prepare to move on.

Here’s why:

1. Employers often make counteroffers in a moment of panic. (“We can’t have Joe leave right now! We have that big conference next month.”) But after the initial relief passes, you may find your relationship with your employer–and your standing with the company–has fundamentally changed. You’re now the one who was looking to leave. You’re no longer part of the inner circle, and you might be at the top of the list if your company needs to make cutbacks in the future.

Although we may never know why we didn’t get chosen for a job interview, a recent study is shedding some light on recruiters’ decision-making behavior. According to TheLadders research, recruiters spend an average of “six seconds before they make the initial ‘fit or no fit’ decision” on candidates.

The study used a scientific technique called “eye tracking” on 30 professional recruiters and examined their eye movements during a 10-week period to “record and analyze where and how long someone focuses when digesting a piece of information or completing a task.”

Be honest. Raise your hand if you feel the part of the job interview where you ask the candidate, “Do you have any questions for me?” is almost always a waste of time.

Thought so.

The problem is, most candidates don’t actually care about your answers; they just hope to make themselves look good by asking “smart” questions. To them, what they ask is more important than how you answer.

Great candidates ask questions they want answered because they’re evaluating you, your company–and whether they really want to work for you.

Here are five questions great candidates ask:

1. What do you expect me to accomplish in the first 60 to 90 days?
Great candidates want to hit the ground running. They don’t want to spend weeks or months “getting to know the organization.”

They want to make a difference–right away.

When you’re hiring, you’re growing. That means business is good. It’s easy to let that euphoria go to your head and, in a rush of enthusiasm, hire great people who, nevertheless, could be wrong for the job, or your business.

During my career, I’ve hired hundreds of people and fired a few too. Here are some of the most important insights I’ve gleaned the hard way:

1. Write up a job description that matters.

The best job descriptions don’t just outline duties, responsibilities, and necessary skills. They also articulate how you want the work to be done, and the moral climate in which the company operates. If you’re a fiercely competitive company that likes to pit teams against each other, say so. If customer or patient care is critical, don’t assume that a candidate’s empathy is a given. I’d say the how often matters more than the what but it’s so hard to measure that most people prefer to ignore it. Do so at your peril.

Dear (Name of your boss):
This is to inform you that I have accepted a position with (Name of your new employer).
I want to assure you of my gratitude for a rewarding professional association during my employment with (name of your current employer).
This decision was not an easy one, and involved many days and hours of thoughtful consideration, particularly with respect to my own plans for the future. Nevertheless, my decision is final.
Please do not make this process more difficult than it need be by discussions of the reasons for my decision, or whether or not it can be changed.
My main thoughts are now to work as hard as possible to wrap up my affairs here, and turn over my responsibilities as you direct. However, I would like to join (name of new employer) as soon as possible. Therefore, I request that you waive my termination notice, if convenient.
With sincere thanks and best wishes for the future,
(your name)

1. What type of company do you work for if you have to threaten to resign before they give you what you are worth?
2. Where is the money for the counter offer coming from? Are they merely paying you your next raise early? All companies have strict salary guidelines which must be followed.
3. Your employer will immediately start looking for someone to fill your job at a cheaper price.
4. You have now made your employer aware that you are unhappy. From that day on, your loyalty will be in question.
5. When promotion time comes around, your boss will remember who has been loyal and who hasn’t.
6. When times get tough, the first cutback could be you.
7. The same circumstances that caused you to consider a new job will always repeat themselves in the future.
8. Statistics show that if you accept a counter offer, the probability of voluntarily leaving in six months or being let go within one year are extremely high.
9. The idea that you’ve been “bought” to stay on is insult to your intelligence and a blow to your personal pride.
10. 80% of all employees who accept a counter offer are no longer with their employer after one year.