Town Hall Meeting @ Penn State Greater Allegheny

10 Career Tips from Kiss

For over 40 years, the rock band Kiss has been pumping out tips for job seekers…and they have managed a few hits along the way. The beauty of Kiss is twofold: They know how to promote themselves and their message is always simple. Here are 10 Kiss tunes that provide simple tips to help job seekers promote themselves and survive the job search process.

Shout It Out Loud

No band in the history of Rock ‘n’ Roll has shamelessly self-promoted itself to the degree that Kiss has done. The band’s logo and cartoon-like image has appeared on everything from lunch boxes to coffins. As a result, whether people like their music or not, everybody knows the band Kiss. Their hit single, “Shout It Out Loud,” summarizes a simple concept that job seekers should embrace. Shout out your message; let yourself be known to the world. Job seekers need to utilize mediums like LinkedIn, Facebook and even YouTube to demonstrate their skills and abilities to would be employers. There are so many free resources such as blogs and Twitter. Job seekers should use all of these to create a professional image that employers cannot ignore.

Got to Choose

Kiss’ second album (Hotter Than Hell) begins with a song called, “Got to Choose,” which is a song that is not well known to the general public but a favorite to Kiss fans. Like most Kiss songs, the message is simple. In the words of the band’s frontman Paul Stanley, “You got to choose who’s your baby.” Of course, Paul was singing about a lady choosing which guy she loves…because Paul always sang about the ladies. The simple message, however, is pertinent to job seekers. Far too often, job seekers will respond to every relevant ad that they see in the classifieds in the desperate hope that something will result in a job. The truth is that a concentrated, targeted job search will produce better results than a shotgun approach. Job seekers, “Got to Choose,” what they want to do and then target the positions that are related to specific career goals.

Shock Me

Ace Frehley, Kiss’ lead guitarist, wrote many of the band’s greatest hits but refused to sing any of his own songs until Kiss’ sixth album titled, “Love Gun.” Frehley’s lack of self-confidence kept him out of the spotlight until he finally took center stage on a song called, “Shock Me.” Naturally, the band worked the element of, “Shock,” into its live show with Paul Stanley every night introducing Frehley to the crowd with the words, “We got a little surprise for you tonight.” ‘Shock Me,” is the secret desire of every recruiter on the planet. Recruiters interview candidate after candidate who all say the same thing as the candidate before them. It’s as if every job seeker has learned their responses from a standardized textbook. Want to impress a recruiter or hiring manager? Come up with something memorable. Come up with something original. As a recruiter, the job seekers who were able to, “Shock Me,” always stood out against those who simply responded to my questions with well-rehearsed, canned answers.

Nothing to Lose

It should be no surprise that the band’s first ever single is a song titled, “Nothing to Lose.” Flat broke and married to an image that mainstream seemed certain to ignore, Kiss released its first album in 1974. “Nothing to Lose,” was the first song released off of the self-titled album. Even though the single did not reach great success, the album sold nearly 1 million copies. And, the song provides all of us another simple message that cannot be ignored. Sometimes, we simply have, “Nothing to Lose.” Even when you feel unqualified or uncertain about a position to which you are thinking about applying, do not hesitate to send in that resume. You never know. Something in your resume might just strike a chord with the recruiter or hiring manager. Worst case scenario is that the resume gets ignored or someone says, “No.” Job seekers need to not be timid and instead just throw their hat in the ring for any or all opportunities as long as those opportunities are related to career goals.

I Was Made for Loving You

Ok. So, Kiss dabbled in disco with a song titled, “I Was Made for Loving You.” As all true Kiss fans would agree, this song was terrible when first heard on the, “Dynasty,” album in 1979. Yet, over the years, it has become a concert classic! It’s a classic because…like every Kiss tune…it is fun and simple. “I Was Made for Loving You,” is the Number 1 sentiment that job seekers miss. The first question I often ask during interviews is, “Can you tell me what you know about our company?” Too many job seekers lack a response to this question, which suggests to the recruiter or hiring manager that the candidate has very little interest in what the company does or who the company is. Candidates who seem to know very little and those who take very little interest in doing some research prior to the interview (an interview which is often scheduled days in advance) are usually discarded regardless of skills, abilities and experience. Show the interviewer that you are interested in the company or organization to which you have applied. In fact, tell the interviewer, “I Was Made for Loving You,” by quoting company philosophy, demonstrating knowledge of products and discussing how your skills and abilities align with a company’s mission.

Lick It Up

Never in the history of the world has so much FREE information been available to job seekers. Do as Kiss suggests in its 15th album and, “Lick It Up.” Take time to research a company’s webpage. Follow the company on Facebook to learn about social projects and community events that are important to that company. Seek out reviews from former employees to learn about the company’s culture. This point cannot be stressed enough: The job candidate who knows nothing or very little about the company prior to the interview is doomed before the interview even begins. Take in as much information as possible prior to any interview.

God of Thunder

“You’ve got something about you; you’ve got something I need,” are the opening lines to Kiss’ 1976 hit, “God of Thunder.” Every recruiter and hiring manager is seeking out the ‘something’ you have because there is always ‘something’ they need. Make no mistake about it. Interviewers are conducting interviews in the hope of learning about a candidate’s potential to impact the bottom line. As such, job seekers should prepare to speak beyond experiences and skills. Talk about a time when you made a substantial impact on a situation, sales projection or related activity. Job seekers should focus on very tangible outcomes such as, “Helped the department increase sales by 20%,” or, “Served 50 more clients than the organization had in the previous year.” These ‘thunderous’ type impacts will leave an impression that will likely lead to a job offer.

I Love It Loud

In 1982, after a brief stint with disco-esque albums, Kiss returned to Rock ‘n’ Roll with an album called, “Creatures of the Night,” which featured a hit song titled, “I Love It Loud.” Thank goodness for the return to Rock ‘n’ Roll. First, it probably saved the band’s fan-base. Second, the album and the song, “I Love It Loud,” provided great lessons for job seekers (which I’m sure was Kiss’ intention.) The album itself should remind everyone to stay true to what they are good at; if you have a talent and passion for something don’t try to be something else. Kiss almost failed because they tried to do disco. The song, “I Love It Loud,” a rock anthem for rebellious teenagers, has a great line that says, “I wanna hear it loud; right between the eyes.” Let your voice be heard, job seekers. Do not hesitate to speak up and let a hiring manager know that you really want the job. And, do not be shy about following up after interviews, job fairs, etc. Some people may feel like they are being a nuisance but persistence pays off.

Strutter

The very first song on the very first Kiss album is called, “Strutter.” Appropriate for a band who has strutted its stuff for over 40 years without regard for what the critics have had to say. It’s almost as if, way back in 1974, Kiss was willing to strut its stuff. Let it also be true for job seekers. The truth is this: Every candidate for every position has similar experiences and skills that are applicable to that position. Job candidates who stand apart from others are those who are willing to establish their originality and those who demonstrate their specific skill sets. Think hard, job seekers, about your specific skill sets. And, do not be shy about showing off those skill sets during the interview process. Document your unique abilities via blogs, articles, YouTube videos and any other way you can. Make these demonstrations available to hiring managers and do not be shy about bragging. Show some confidence and let the employer know that you are better than the candidate before you and better than the candidate who is waiting in the lobby. Be a, “Strutter.”

Rock ‘n’ Roll All Nite Party Everyday

Let’s be honest. Looking for a job is a depressing, painstaking task. It’s more work finding work than it is to get up and go to work everyday. “Rock ‘n’ Roll All Nite,” the most famous of Kiss tunes, provides the simplest of all Kiss messages – Have a little fun. It might be easier said than done, but job seekers have to find a way to insert a little fun into the process. Get out to networking events and job clubs. Meet new people, and get new leads at these events. At a minimum, this gives job seekers the chance to talk with other job seekers. Be a support to one another, and develop mutually beneficial relationships that may help one another succeed. The human interaction makes the process less depressing. And, job seekers might be surprised, but the next best job lead is likely to come from a word-of-mouth referral.

So, get out there to Rock ‘n’ Roll, be a Strutter, Shock someone and Shout Out Loud what you have to sell to a potential employer. Just think about it. If what you’re doing now is not working, you really have got, “Nothing to Lose.”