Jobhop Jobhop's blog : An Interview With Leading Author Richard Maun

Leading Careers Author Richard Maun tells Jobhop a little bit about what he does.

Jobhop is very excited to have an interview with Best Selling Careers Author Richard Maun.

Richard is The Career Turnaround specialist, an international speaker and the creator of the Modern Careers concept.

Hi Richard Welcome to Jobhop ; You’re a career turn around specialist, please explain to our community what that means.

It means that I work with people to build their confidence. I also increase their specific job hunting skills and enable them to be proud of their successes and talk about them fluently when under pressure. People often use me as a sounding board when deciding which way to go and I’ve worked with people to help them change career, get promoted and survive and thrive as a senior manager. I take the view that there’s a job for everyone and I’m here to support people to find it and be great at it.

You’re also an author of 5 books, what came first?

My first book was called ‘My Boss is a Bastard’. It sold around the world and is being reprinted this Summer. It’s the kind of book to read when you’re really fed up and want to laugh and learn! Of course on no account should you buy 200 copies and leave them in your boss’s office!!

One of your books, Job Hunting 3.0 says : Secrets and skills to sell yourself effectively in the Modern age. Do you think that today jobseekers have to learn the art of selling themselves?

Yes. We also need to remember that selling is a fine and noble skill that can be learned. We sell ideas to people all the time. We ‘sell’ ourselves to our friends and families without realising it. Selling is easier to do than people think – and anyone can be good at it.

How did you get started?

I started off by coaching managers in the business I last worked in and really enjoyed it. I’d also had a great coach before that and thought it would be fun to work as a coach. Then I was asked to work with mature students at Cranfield University and I developed a practical course that enabled them to get jobs. The coaching and job hunting fitted together really well and made a huge difference to people!

What type of people do you generally work with?

I tend to work with middle and senior managers who need support. Maybe they’re new into their role and need a confidence boost, or are looking for a new role entirely and need to be able to perform to a £100k standard at interview.

What role does Social Media play in your Business?

It links me with potential clients and enables me to make friends and talk to people from across the world. It’s also a great tool for sharing information and we give people free job hunting tips on the Twitter timeline @jobhunting3

Since your 1st book what changes have you seen due to social media?

It’s become more acceptable to use it to schedule meetings. In the ‘old days’ we always used email or sms to contact people and now it’s perfectly ok to tweet people with meeting details and arrange things on the public timeline.

What platform has really worked for you and why?

Twitter! It’s so fast, so accessible and so focussed! You can achieve real results in 140 characters – be helpful, link to resources, offer support or just be a friend. It’s quick, powerful and personable.

Up until today what has been your proudest moment in Business?

I was going to say having book 1 published, but in truth it’s using my own skills and resources to survive the economic crash of 2009. I had to use all the things that I coach and teach other people. It was humbling, it was hard work and it was exhilarating to survive!

If any of our community wanted to be an author what advice can you give them?

Write! A writer writes! So many people give up too soon. I’d say write your book and write for the love of it, never for money. Also a piece of advice I was given is – it’s ok to be a bit selfish and take time to write your book. If you have talent you have to give yourself permission to use it.

What would be your top Job Hunting Tip?

Get help. Rehearsing interview questions with someone who will give you a hard time always pays dividends because if you train hard you can fight easy.

Lastly what would be a definite No No at an interview?

Answering your telephone and booking another interview, during an interview! Incredibly it happened to me when talking to a candidate! I was stunned! (And I put the story in Job Hunting 3.0 too).

Richard Maun is The Career Turnaround Specialist – he changes lives for people struggling in their career. Need a job and stuck? Need to increase your performance to keep your job? Just been promoted and scared at the challenges?

Feeling lonely in a senior role and need to make an impact? Then you need Richard as a keynote speaker, workshop facilitator or executive coach.

Contact

Email: richard@primarypeople.co.uk Twitter: @RichardMaun

Blogsite: www.richardmaun.com Skype: richardmaun

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