WTC : 016 – Get your dream job, how to accelerate your career with an executive recruiter.

In this episode, we have invited Mike Selman, Jason’s dear friend and recruiter who’s been in the federal IT market for over 46 years and a culinary instructor for 13 years. Today, Mike will share his wealth of information from his experience as a recruiter and a chef. His journey in his life will bring us tips and tricks on how to be recruited and inspire us to achieve and experience different things.

About the guest

[1:50] Mike was raised in Harrison, New York, a town outside New York City. He moved to the Washington, DC, region to attend college and never left. After that, his career changed, but he remained married to his wife.

[4:17] Mike graduated from college in May 1974, majoring in Communication, and began working as the music director of a big market radio station in September. He had no business expertise; all he knew about the business was what he learned while working in radio. After more than two years, he lost his job and began working as a salesperson with his wife in a tiny country music station in Wheaton, Maryland. This was the beginning of his first sales position. From then on, he worked as a recruiter in August of 1976.

[7:15] Mike gets involved with other fields every once in a while, perhaps consumer items. Mike stated that things are moving in the technological government after thinking about and analyzing the market while speaking with his employer. That’s how he started the IT business, both commercially and federally.

Mike’s Father’s Business Advice

[16:51] Mike’s father said, “It’s yours; if you don’t do it, nobody else is going to.” He found that to be true as he realized it during the 80s and 90s.

[18:47] They are basically saying that nobody wants it more than you. If you’re not going to hustle and grind for yourself, nobody else will do it.

Tips and Tricks

[24:24] Your network is your best source for finding a job and information in your work community.

Whole Job Search Thing

[30:11] The whole deal is getting to somebody that could say yes. That’s like any sales opportunity. If your resume, phone call, or email doesn’t get to somebody who has the power to say yes, then you’re wasting time. The key is getting the resume or phone call to somebody who can say yes.

Salary Negotiating Advice

[31:29] The first one that commits loses; you’re going to either price yourself out of the opportunity or leave money on the table. At that point, you have to go with a range where your base income is. Depending on the economy, most firms would say you could look at a five to ten, maybe a fifteen percent, increase in compensation over and above where you are currently.

Cover Letter

[38:11] In paragraph form, a cover letter consists of the position you are applying for with maybe a couple of bullet points. You can consider saying, “Here’s how my background and experience relate to the position description,” and then a simple closure on it—a quick introduction.

Executive Recruiter to Culinary

[42:00] The roots of Mike’s passion for cooking were also from his father. When his father cooks sometimes, he helps with the preparation of food.

[43:59] When Mike’s kids were growing up, he got involved in working in the kitchen in their synagogue. He started working regularly. They catered Friday night dinners, Shabbat dinners, and their synagogue for 50 people. They were doing Saturday morning luncheons after services for the farm.

[47:25] He began taking a few classes at a professional college and discovered that they had an assistantship program where you could work alongside the cooks and the students as an unpaid assistant. He thus enrolled in the course. He began helping at the academy and fell in love with it, working with chefs with professional training and field experience.

Go to https://www.chefselman.com/ to know more about him or join his culinary class.

Key Quotes:

“The market has changed. There are a lot of recruiting firms out there. The key is understanding the marketplace and knowledge in the marketplace.”

“What is critical these days is whatever you’re putting on the resume has to dovetail with everything on LinkedIn. The dates, positions, and companies have to match up.”

“What was more than anything else is that if it’s yours, you’ve got to do it. You’ve got to hustle. Nobody is ever going to work as hard as you will.”