Tory Johnson, CEO of Women For Hire

This is a partial transcript from Your World with Neil Cavuto, October 17, 2003, that was edited for clarity.

Watch Your World w/Cavuto weekdays at 4 p.m. and 1 a.m. ET.

NEIL CAVUTO, HOST: Well, we’ve all heard it. When looking for a job, it is kind of important to make a great impression with a perfect resume, a firm handshake, great attitude, all that. But my next guest says that’s not all it takes. Attending job fairs is vital to finding a job, and she has tips to make it happen.

With us now is Tory Johnson, the CEO of Women for Hire and co-author of The Ultimate Guide to Getting a Job.

Tory, good to have you.

TORY JOHNSON, CEO, WOMEN FOR HIRE: Thanks for having me.

CAVUTO: So a lot of common-sense stuff that a lot of people don’t know about.

JOHNSON: That’s right. It is. We think that it’s common sense, but a lot of it’s not.

I mean starting even with preparing for an interview, you would assume that, when somebody comes in to meet with you, they’ve done some research not only on you but also your employer, they know what your position is in a specific industry, where your strengths and weaknesses are, and they better be prepared to tell you their unique assets and their unique skill sets that are going to help you even improve your performance and continue to gain strides.

CAVUTO: Yes. You and I were chatting during the break here. The most offensive thing you get is someone who doesn’t know about you or what your show, let’s say in this case, is about or the network’s about, or the company’s about. It happens all the time.

JOHNSON: That’s right. When I interview people and they come in and I say have you had the chance to look at my Web site and they say no, the interview’s over right there.

CAVUTO: I can’t blame you.

JOHNSON: If you haven’t done that just teeny weeny bit of research, it’s really not worth my time...

CAVUTO: I have one of those seat injector things in my office just like the Jetsons.

JOHNSON: That’s right, and they just fly out of here.

CAVUTO: You’re out of there.

JOHNSON: Perfect.

CAVUTO: Let’s talk about things. You say that you want to identify a specific goal up front.

JOHNSON: That’s right.

CAVUTO: What does that mean?

JOHNSON: Unfortunately, a lot of people right now are out of work longer than they would have looked to be, and those people tend to say I’ll take anything, I’ve depleted my savings, I just need a job, and it’s very difficult when you use the definition of anything. It’s way too broad. It doesn’t serve your purpose. You won’t find a job faster. Flexibility is good, but you still need to know where you’re going.

CAVUTO: All right. You also say articulate your strengths, that sort of thing.

JOHNSON: Yes.

CAVUTO: Why?

JOHNSON: Articulating your strengths is very important. In the arena of sports, a team owner will shell out big bucks for the guy who consistently delivers.

Unfortunately, for the rest of us in the job search world, we don’t have the ability or the luxury to have an employer have seen us play, and so it’s up to us to approach that employer with what kind of results have we delivered, not only where did we go to school, or...

CAVUTO: Do they have to be provable? I mean can you lie?

JOHNSON: Don’t lie. Don’t lie, especially if you’re in the same industry.

CAVUTO: So I couldn’t say that my show’s more popular than Bill O’Reilly. I would...

JOHNSON: I mean it’s a matter of opinion in that case. You certainly could say that. With me it is.

CAVUTO: OK. Oh, there you go. In other words, you’ve got to be careful. You just promote yourself, but don’t go over the edge.

JOHNSON: That’s right. And focus on results. You know, if you’re going to get another job somewhere, someone wants to know what ratings do you deliver, you know, not just that you do a good show every day, but they want to know about results. Certainly, an employer wants to know about results, too.

CAVUTO: What about when you say expand your network -- I always hear that – but who are you talking to?

JOHNSON: Who are we talking about?

The New York Times did a piece a couple of weeks ago that really annoyed me because it said that networking is dead, it doesn’t work anymore, and all the people that they interviewed defined networking as their inner circle.

You’ve got to go beyond those 10 closest friends and family. It means use your alumni associations. It means join industry associations and attend their events.

CAVUTO: A lot of people, Tory, are so shy or reticent, and they know it’s looking so probably obvious. I mean how do you get past that?

JOHNSON: Some of the shyness you can overcome by doing mock interviews with somebody. Bring somebody along who’s in the same boat who’s also looking for a job. Find a buddy. Don’t go it alone if it helps you -- there’s, you know, safety in numbers.

But the fact is you can’t just sit home looking for a job on the Internet. The people who are finding the jobs the fastest right now are the people who are out and about.

CAVUTO: Yes. And write thank you letters, right?

JOHNSON: Absolutely! You always want to follow up. Just because you’ve gotten a resume or have had an interview and it’s in the right hands, you still have to be very active in the process. You want to follow up. You want to be persistent. You want to know how long the hiring process is, and you want to thank someone for their time.

CAVUTO: See, I would be very nervous interviewing with you, Tory, because I would screw up all that stuff.

JOHNSON: No, you wouldn’t. You’d be great.

CAVUTO: All right. Tory Johnson, Women for Hire, the CEO and founder. Some very good tips for men and women.

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