Are you frustrated by employers who don’t follow up with you? On tenterhooks waiting for the next interview or the job offer? There’s some excellent advice in this week’s issue of the Ask The Headhunter newsletter. I recommend that you sign up to receive this free resource every week! It’s full of honest (sometimes painfully so) responses to very common questions related to recruiters, employers, job search, resumes, etc. - from the perspective of an experienced, ethical, trenchant, witty, and opinionated recruiter!

With regard to the “waiting game,” The Headhunter suggests that you not play along. At the close of every interview, set expectations for when the next steps will be taken and when you should (and will) follow up. Most important, don’t place all your eggs in one job “basket”; you have virtually no control over the situation until you’ve received an offer, when the shoe shifts to the other foot.

Career marketing is no different from product marketing! Just as Seth Godin says, “It might be easier to build a new sweet spot than it is to persuade an established middleman to change his rules for you.”

Too many job seekers persist in trying to convince recruiters that they are “perfect” for a job, when said recruiters clearly don’t agree. The rules are the rules… the job specs are the job specs. You have very little chance of being chosen for Oprah, the New York Times Book Review, the Harvard Business Review, Fast Company… or that particular opportunity… if you don’t fit the mold.

Why not, instead, determine your career “sweet spot” and go after it directly? Be prepared with persuasive evidence of how, specifically, you can help your target audience. How your experiences and expertise align with their goals. How you fit the culture, the challenge, and the opportunities on the horizon. Thrive in the mold that fits you!

I love “group blogs” such as CareerMastersTalk and CareerHub. They bring together smart people with good, very diverse ideas. These two blogs are all about career topics, so I read (and contribute) regularly.

And every now and then a post is so good, I have to steal it and share it. Check out Billie Sucher’s great advice to “Put on the Hiring Manager’s Hat.”

If you’ve lost your job, you’re probably thankful it wasn’t as high-profile as the Bob Nardelli firing from Home Depot back in January. But guess what - he’s back! Two recent CEO hirings - Nardelli at Chrysler and Lynn Nicholas at the Massachusetts Hospital Association - reinforce some really key points about career management and job search:

• Fit is all-important. Nardelli’s style was a mismatch at Home Depot. He rubbed people the wrong way, alienated the investment community, and lost the company’s culture amid his processes and efficiencies. In Nicholas’ case, she lost her previous job as CEO of the American Diabetes Foundation essentially because fundraising really isn’t her thing.
• To move forward, focus on your strengths. I’m sure both Nardelli and Nicholas had to explain “what happened” during the interview process for their current jobs. If you’re in a similar situation, prepare your explanation - along with what you’ve learned from it - and remain firmly focused on what you do well and what you can do for the new organization.
• Know thyself. Know the kind of environment in which you’ll thrive - the culture, the challenges, the people, the hierarchy, the rigidity or flexibility of the work environment, the larger mission of the organization, and so many other factors. Don’t let your eagerness for “a” job lead you to take a job that you know is not the right fit.

Finally, take a leaf from Nicholas’ book and prepare, prepare, prepare for every interview. Know the key players, key challenges, and key value you bring to the organization. Shine up your appearance and approach the interview with energy and confidence. There is definitely life (and jobs) after getting fired, even if your departure makes headline news in the business press!

Always on the leading edge, urban-entertainment and fashion impresario P. Diddy decided to forego the usual “call for resumes” to find his new assistant. He posted his request on YouTube and invited applicants to submit a video interview explaining “why you should be my personal assistant.” Details of the job were fuzzy except to mention long hours and high stress (getting yelled at).

A story on NPR today revealed that the search, launched in mid-July, is going slowly - even though he received 10,000 responses in just a few days!

But after an initial posting, Diddy has returned to warn hopefuls they need “some sort of skill set” to get hired. “You’ve got to know how to read, you’ve got to know how to write,” he says. “I hope you know you’ve got to have a college degree.”

I checked out a few videos and I was actually quite impressed! In addition to citing their credentials, the applicants I saw talked about how they could help Diddy organize and manage his busy life. With virtually no information to go on, they did a good job imagining precisely how they could help him and explaining how they would do it (making restaurant reservations… sending text-messages… organizing his schedule). One young man stressed that he’s not looking to get into the music industry but simply wants to work with people of imagination. That squares with Diddy’s comment, “I like working with the best.”

My advice to Diddy would be to get more specific about what he’s looking for. Like any employer, Diddy won’t be able to find and hire his ideal candidate until he defines the competencies, attributes, and performance standards this person must meet.

But I have to applaud his innovative use of YouTube… and the candidates’ imagination and enthusiasm.