• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

As I said, I was no prize. But I had a gift (Do 1). Now I’ve given it to you. May it keep on giving for as long as you care to work.

That’s my wish for you, genie!

Interview Insight

I’ve always made it my business to stay in close contact with former bosses. I learned from all of them, even though I didn’t always like the lesson.

Many years later, I asked Skip why he had so much confidence in me. He answered, “You had integrity.” He then told me something I’d never known.

I had a bad reference from my first career job boss. Skip ignored it and hired me anyway. I’d been interviewing under a cloud for years, but it never rained.

I called my old boss immediately and confronted him. He had a Ph.D., but that was the day he learned the other meaning of “professional reference.” He became really professional.

I had every interviewer call him first. He was s-o-o-o helpful! That experience led to me writing the only book of its kind, The Perfect Job Reference.

Could integrity really be such a powerful component in getting hired? I found nothing about interview integrity anywhere. So I started studying it and using it as a basis for jobseekers to get interviews.

I started using advancing adverbs in instant interview training that would register indelibly with an offeror. I also mentioned integrity in resumes, cover letters, pitch letters, cold and warm calls, background summaries for references or referrers, and anywhere else for jobseekers.

Here are the dozen advancing adverbs you should look at, meditate on (Do 42), and live by every day.

competently

consistently

credibly

dependably

faithfully

fully

honestly

honorably

immediately

reliably

responsibly

totally

These say, “Trust me”—not in the vernacular, but in the viscera. They say, “This is who I am. This is how I do things. So what I’ve done and where I’ve done it doesn’t matter.” When you speak, let him hear, “He delivers!”

Do 44: Indemnifying an Offeror for Your Instant Dream Job

How about just going for the job you want? Banzai!

There’s a secret way to do it (until now). It’s called indemnification. Sounds so legal, huh? That’s what we want. Something that shows sophistication. Seriousness. Supersense.

But you have to do your homework first.

Before you begin, google the business and print out any historical, philosophical, product, financial, and future plan information to study. Then google its product or service to find out its two fiercest competitors. Print out their information too. Study it and write down practical ways you can boom the biz.

Call the palace and ask the guard if the king of umbrellas is holding court. If not, when? Anonymously. Get a yes or a later time and you’re almost there.

Then dress up. Your best. No perfume or cologne. (You showered, right?) Take a briefcase if you have one or can borrow one. Black with gold trim preferred. Pack it with your business cards (Do 1), a gold pen, your resume (Do 5), and a one-page indemnification agreement. I’ll give you the template shortly.

You’re off to see Mr. Mucho Macho Medicine Man. Bearing gifts. You and your business card.

If your junglejeep is a little wrecked, park its chassis out in the thicket. No need to blow your cover.

March your fine frame right up to that gate. Look the guard right in the bloodshot eye, smile, hand him your business card, and say, “I’m here to see Oscar the Offeror.” (But use his real name.)

The guard thinks: “Hmmmm. Do I really want to hassle this important-looking person? But I’ve got to ask.” Then he says his best professional phrase: “Do you have an appointment?”

Your response here is critical. You don’t break eye contact. Continue smiling and say, “I’m here from out of town and will be leaving tonight. Just tell Oscar I’m here and wanted to stop by and tell him about what’s happening at Competitor A and Competitor B.”

The rest varies, but the result doesn’t.

So there you are—nose-to-nose with Oscar. Much shorter than you pictured him.

You drop a Magic