The Job Search Strategies That Will Help You Stand Out in 2025 and Beyond | Mark Anthony Dyson

Summary

Beyond Blind Blaming: Episode Summary

Episode Title: The Job Search Strategies That Will Help You Stand Out in 2025 and Beyond
Host: Kevin D. St.Clergy
Guest: Mark Anthony Dyson
Release Date: August 5, 2025

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Introduction

In this enlightening episode of Beyond Blind Blaming, host Kevin D. St.Clergy welcomes Mark Anthony Dyson, a seasoned career writer, speaker, and podcaster. Mark is renowned for founding the Voice of Job Seekers, a platform dedicated to transforming job searching into a sustainable lifestyle rather than a fleeting endeavor. With over 15 years of experience, Mark has mentored hundreds of job seekers, authored nearly 900 articles, and maintains a Substack newsletter, the Job Scam Report, reaching over 3,000 subscribers.

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Mark Anthony Dyson’s Journey and Founding of Voice of Job Seekers

Mark shares the inception story of his career-focused ventures:

"It started with my brother-in-law having seen some samples of resumes I wrote for other families. Say hey, you should start a resume company." (05:28)

From creating Competitive Resumes Inc. to conducting federal job training for returning military personnel, Mark's early efforts laid a robust foundation for his future endeavors. His dedication to helping others navigate the job market organically evolved into the creation of the Voice of Job Seekers platform, driven by positive feedback and the realization of his unique voice in the career coaching space.

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Podcasting Journey and Technological Adaptations

Mark delves into his extensive podcasting experience, highlighting challenges and triumphs:

"I was able to show them [evidence of projects], set me apart automatically, as opposed to everybody was talking about working hard and that they know so and so." (30:57)

He discusses the evolution of podcasting technology over 13 years, the importance of high-quality audio, and the role of podcasting in building a professional network. Mark emphasizes how podcasting has not only expanded his reach but also facilitated meaningful connections with industry experts.

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Integrating Job Search into Daily Lifestyle

Mark advocates for making job searching an integral part of one’s daily routine:

"Your job search is the same way you can job search as your lifestyle can maintain it." (11:17)

He outlines practical steps for maintaining a consistent job search:

• Networking: Engaging with industry professionals through platforms like LinkedIn and participating in industry-specific associations.
• Utilizing Modern Tools: Leveraging mobile phones and online resources to conduct job searches seamlessly alongside daily activities.
• Continuous Learning: Staying updated with industry trends and continuously honing relevant skills.

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The Importance of Networking

Highlighting the age-old adage, Mark compares networking to yeast in bread:

"Networking is like yeast to bread. It takes some manipulation, it takes involvement, it takes hands on." (15:45)

He stresses the significance of building and maintaining a robust professional network:

• Podcasting as a Networking Tool: Using podcasts to connect with a broader audience and industry leaders.
• Active Engagement: Regularly participating in online groups and industry events to stay connected and informed.

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Adopting a Consultant Mindset

Mark introduces the concept of approaching job searching with a consultant’s perspective:

"We're heading into a world where you're going to have to have a consultant mindset in order to compete in a job." (19:39)

Key elements of the consultant mindset include:

• Problem-Solving Orientation: Viewing oneself as a solution provider who can address specific organizational challenges.
• Ownership of Results: Taking full responsibility for outcomes, learning from both successes and failures.
• Continuous Improvement: Being open to new methods and continually refining one’s skills to enhance efficiency and effectiveness.

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Avoiding Job Scams in the Modern Job Market

With the rise of online job scams, Mark provides essential advice on identifying and avoiding fraudulent job offers:

"If you've never approached an employer and you get something out of the blue, it's likely a scam these days." (22:37)

Red Flags to Watch For:

• Unsolicited offers with unrealistic pay scales.
• Lack of specificity regarding the role or the company’s details.
• Requests for personal information or upfront payments.
• Overly flexible work conditions that seem too good to be true.

Mark encourages job seekers to trust their instincts and avoid engaging with suspicious offers, emphasizing that legitimate employers will provide clear and verifiable information.

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The Role of AI and Automation in Job Searching

Discussing the transformative impact of AI, Mark offers insights into leveraging technology for job searches:

"The more specific you are with AI the better that you can get a lot of results." (24:53)

Strategies Include:

• Customized Searches: Using AI tools to perform targeted job searches based on specific criteria.
• Interview Preparation: Utilizing AI to anticipate and practice potential interview questions tailored to the job and company.
• Efficiency: Automating routine aspects of the job search to focus on personalized strategies and networking.

Mark emphasizes that mastering AI tools can significantly enhance a job seeker's ability to stand out in a competitive market.

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Effective Interview Preparation and Showcasing Skills

Mark outlines comprehensive strategies for preparing for interviews and effectively presenting one’s qualifications:

"If you're keeping track of your results for every company that you've been with, then that's going to be really easy to showcase." (28:21)

Key Preparation Steps:

1. Mindset Management: Ensuring emotional readiness by leaving past job frustrations behind.
2. In-depth Research: Understanding the company’s culture, values, and industry standing.
3. Presentation Skills: Adapting to different interview formats, whether in-person, virtual, or AI-driven.
4. Highlighting Results: Demonstrating past achievements with concrete data to illustrate impact and effectiveness.

Standard Questions to Ask Interviewers:

• How does the company recognize and reward high performers?
• What are the company’s processes for handling layoffs and employee transitions?
• How does the organization foster ethical practices and employee loyalty?

These questions not only provide valuable insights into the company but also demonstrate the candidate’s proactive and results-oriented approach.

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Investing in Personal Development

Mark emphasizes the importance of continuous self-investment to stay competitive:

"Podcasting has definitely been very useful for me. YouTube is very useful." (42:01)

Recommended Activities:

• Podcasts and Webinars: Engaging with content relevant to one’s industry to stay informed and inspired.
• Industry Associations: Participating in professional groups for networking and learning opportunities.
• Mastermind Groups: Collaborating with like-minded individuals to gain diverse perspectives and support.
• Ongoing Education: Pursuing certifications and courses to enhance skills and qualifications.

Mark advocates for a holistic approach to personal and professional development, leveraging various resources to build a resilient and adaptable career path.

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Conclusion and Contact Information

As the episode wraps up, Mark shares how listeners can connect and benefit from his expertise:

"They can start with LinkedIn. Find me on LinkedIn under Marc Anthony Dyson." (43:32)

Listeners are encouraged to join his email list, subscribe to his podcast, and engage with his content on LinkedIn to receive ongoing insights and support in their job search endeavors.

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Timestamps:

• 05:28 - Founding Voice of Job Seekers
• 11:17 - Integrating Job Search into Lifestyle
• 15:45 - Importance of Networking
• 19:39 - Consultant Mindset
• 22:37 - Avoiding Job Scams
• 24:53 - Role of AI in Job Searching
• 28:21 - Interview Preparation and Showcasing Skills
• 42:01 - Investing in Personal Development
• 43:32 - Contact Information

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This episode offers a wealth of actionable strategies and insights for job seekers aiming to navigate the complexities of the modern job market. Mark Anthony Dyson’s expertise provides listeners with the tools needed to transform their job search into a continuous, manageable, and effective process.

Transcript

[Mark Anthony Dyson]

Employers don't want you to feel desperate, anxious. They need to see you at the top of your game.

[Kevin St. Clergy]

Today I'm joined by Mark Anthony Dyson. His mission is to help job seekers win by staying abreast of job search strategies and making job search a lifestyle rather than treating their careers like a seasonal sport.

[Mark Anthony Dyson]

It is actually easier still in 2025 to find a job while you have a job and make that part of your lifestyle while you're still working. Jobs and layoffs are pretty news dominant these days, but your approach should be we're heading into a world where you're going to have to have a in order to compete in a job. The more specific you are with AI, the better that you can get a lot of results. The ones who are able to use it are going to be the ones that win in the long term.

[Kevin St. Clergy]

Are there things that you think people should do to prepare for an interview with any company?

[Mark Anthony Dyson]

One is.

[Kevin St. Clergy]

Welcome to Beyond Blind Blaming. This is the place where we explore how easily hidden truths can hold us back, trapping us in cycles of frustration and blame, often without even realizing what's truly stopping us. So if you're ready to break free from blind blaming and discover what's possible, you'll definitely want to listen to my next guest. I'm your host, Kevin St. Clergy and today I'm joined by Mark Anthony Dyson, who's a renowned career writer, speaker and podcaster. Best known as the founder of the Voice of Job Seekers, he offers compassionate career and job advice, aiming to hack and reimagine the modern job search process. His mission is to help job seekers win by staying abreast of job search strategies and making job search a lifestyle rather than treating their careers like a seasonal sport. Mark has been on both sides of the hiring spectrum, having experience as a job seeker and a hiring manager in the call center and retail management sectors. Over the last 15 years, he has counseled, coached, consulted, and mentored hundreds of job seekers. He's also written around 900 articles or more offering solutions to help job seekers find jobs. In addition to his blog and podcast, Mark writes the Job Scam Report on Substack sent to over 3000 email subscribers. Subscribers receive weekly articles, videos, and dedicated job scam information. Mark, welcome to the show.

[Mark Anthony Dyson]

Thanks. It's great to be here with you guys. Kevin, you and your staff are right on top of things and I like the little particulars that you guys do, especially with the camera and the sound. So that's really awesome.

[Kevin St. Clergy]

Yeah, thanks. You should have seen what it was like, for me, my first two weeks, it took me two weeks for me to find a microphone they were happy with. So it was quite the adventure.

[Mark Anthony Dyson]

I dig it. And, you know, the microphone that I'm using is my original microphone I started podcasting with 13 years ago.

[Kevin St. Clergy]

No kidding.

[Mark Anthony Dyson]

It's been. Well, I guess it's been 12, not quite 13, but this is the original. It was only, like, $25 at the time, and it still gives great love to the audio.

[Kevin St. Clergy]

Well, if Christina likes it, you're awesome. Because it did take me two weeks. I went through, like, four different microphones before I finally got one they liked.

[Mark Anthony Dyson]

Well, just so you could find a little comfort, it took me a couple of months to get the microphone to record correctly on the handheld audio recorder I was using. I invested, like, $300 in a very professional audio recorder that did just about everything but finding the right attachments and doing the right sound. It took me a couple of months, probably really six months. And then there was the transition from using the audio recorder to use a computer. And then I think I had challenges for the next few years. So it evolves and it changes. And there's a few episodes that I have had that actually. The audio is actually terrible. In fact, I have a couple of Apple reviews that even say so.

[Kevin St. Clergy]

Oh, no.

[Mark Anthony Dyson]

Yeah. Oh, well, that's the way it goes.

[Kevin St. Clergy]

Well, it makes it look more real. I got lucky because these folks were recommended from the very beginning, so they've been good. And I was actually told by my coach and mentor five years ago to start a podcast, and I did it this last year, and it's been huge for me personally and a lot of fun. I wish I'd have started it 13 years ago because we're just now getting some traction, so. But it's still been pretty fun. But 13 years ago, I can't even imagine what the technology was like.

[Mark Anthony Dyson]

Oh, I got stories. I bet I didn't start in 2007 when everybody was doing something a whole lot different, but I guess when people arrive on scene now and say, oh, you started back in the olden days, I was like, not really, but okay. It is a lot different, though.

[Kevin St. Clergy]

I had somebody I was mentioning Bunny in the pot crazy at a bad date, and one of the younger people were like, well, is that from a movie? And I was like, yeah, it's from that movie, you know, Michael Douglas and Glenn Close. And she goes, you mean that really old movie?

[Mark Anthony Dyson]

Yeah, I might be older than you, so I can reference movies older than that. That's Great, that's late 80s. We can go back a ways.

[Kevin St. Clergy]

Well, can you share the story behind founding the Voice of Job Seekers and what you do now and maybe what inspired you to start this platform or this journey?

[Mark Anthony Dyson]

It started with my brother in law having seen some samples of resumes I wrote for other families. Say hey, you should resume company. In fact you should. I got the name for you. So as it turned out I started out with competitive resumes, eventually became Competitive Resumes Inc. And got to a few places and got to see some things. Got some fortunate traction almost immediately when start the company I even got an opportunity to do some training as a third party consultant on behalf of the government, doing some federal training where there was a lot of federal bases that were closing that they needed job training. A lot of those people hadn't had job training in about 25, 30 years, some less and some more. But nevertheless they needed updated resume training and resume writing and career coaching. So I got a chance to do that on top of working with someone who had a contract with the city. So it kept me pretty busy. I was also substitute teaching at that particular time. So that made it fun. Schedule that one week I could be in town training in McPherson Base, Air Force Base and Atlanta to going to a school where is 99% poverty stricken and spending a couple of weeks there, then end up having some other career coaching and resume writing assignments. That took me away from there. So it was kind of a lot of juggling, a lot of fun. But ultimately it led me having written a bunch of blog posts back then on that particular site. For some reason my voice and my experience and what I was saying was changing. And one day I got a tweet from someone and I wish I would have saved it. I don't know if we had saved capabilities back then. I think we did, but I just missed it. But the person had said thank you for being the voice of job seekers. I said that kind of rung a bell. So not too far after that I created my own website, my own blog and my own platform to this day is called the Voice of Job Seekers.

[Kevin St. Clergy]

I love it.

[Mark Anthony Dyson]

We are almost 14 years for the blog.

[Kevin St. Clergy]

That's awesome.

[Mark Anthony Dyson]

Thanks. There's almost 900 articles that are on that particular blog. But it led me to write for a whole lot of other people and I got a chance to write for some career sites that were solely focused on job search and career. So I got around and that's where I met today. I was career coaching. I know you mentioned that in my Intro. But I don't do the career coaching anymore and I don't do resume writing anymore. But what I do do is do a lot of talking, I guess in forms of either speaking on podcasts like yours or I do definitely a lot of writing. And later on Cape, the substack where I write the job scam report.

[Kevin St. Clergy]

I bet if they get on your email list and listen to your podcast and read some of your articles, they'll get a lot of information about getting the job they want.

[Mark Anthony Dyson]

Yeah, I've had a lot of guests. I've had hundreds of guests. I also had a couple of podcasts during extra podcasts during the pandemic like everybody else. Everybody else had their shows and I had mine. One was with my friend Jack Kelly. We did that for almost two years. And my mentor Damian Burkle, who also. We did that for about a year and a half and each of those were a hundred shows plus, I believe so.

[Kevin St. Clergy]

Wow.

[Mark Anthony Dyson]

Lots of podcasts and being on a whole bunch of other podcasts as well. But it was kind of cool being able to get to be an early adopter of the LinkedIn Live when it first added. So I was able to make that happen and to get on kind of early. If you got on the September, October of 2020, that's pretty. That was pretty early. So we were fortunate to get on there and that led to a bunch of stuff. So yeah, pretty busy journey, I'd say.

[Kevin St. Clergy]

Yeah, it is. I bet. Christina's pushing me to go to two a week. We are going to start that in, I believe, next couple of months. We were doing once a week for.

[Mark Anthony Dyson]

The whole year and what, LinkedIn Live?

[Kevin St. Clergy]

No, just two podcasts a week.

[Mark Anthony Dyson]

Oh yeah.

[Kevin St. Clergy]

I wrote down LinkedIn Live because I want to learn more about it. I haven't. We've been so focused on the podcast and I've got a new book coming out called Beyond Blind Blaming. I'll get you a copy.

[Mark Anthony Dyson]

I saw that. Congratulations.

[Kevin St. Clergy]

Yeah, thanks.

[Mark Anthony Dyson]

It's exciting. I've had a lot of authors on my show. In fact, back in the early days, I kind of linked up with the American Management association and they probably provided me with about 40, 50 different books and about 40 something guests. Wow.

[Kevin St. Clergy]

Awesome.

[Mark Anthony Dyson]

So that was a real big thing. Not too much these days on authors, a few far between. I have friends who've written, but it's pretty exciting to go on that venture. I've seen a lot of my friends do it.

[Kevin St. Clergy]

Yeah, I've had a lot of authors on here. In fact, we had A really good conversation recently with a man who wrote Men Are from Mars and Women Are From Venus and he talked about how to manage men and women differently because at that particular show we were kind of focused on the business side of things and it was great. It was one of my most downloaded shows. Of course, a lot of folks know him. Let's get back to the career seeking you've emphasized from what I read, making job search a lifestyle. What practical steps can job seekers take to integrate this mindset into their daily routines?

[Mark Anthony Dyson]

Well, I think now for the most part, I would even say people coming into the job search haven't been job searching five to 10 years. And it's a different type of job search that they used to. They're used to having to go. You got to go through this site and you have to go through this class in a physical class. You have to do all of these things where there's. You don't have access to the tools we have now. Like we have our phone, the mobile phones changed our lives completely to where we can shop online, we can talk online, we can video and it be on demand or even asynchronous, or it could be synchronous, it could be live, it could be however you want it. So you have all the tools you have in your hand so you don't have to sit in the classroom at 9 o' clock in the morning or at 6 o' clock in the evening. You can do it in pieces and as your lifestyle permits. So your job search is the same way you can job search as your lifestyle can maintain it. And it's something that's going to be ongoing as far as it being a lifestyle. In other words, if you're one of the ones that wait till you quit or you leave a job any kind of way and then you start a job search, job searching now is just, and it should be the ones that I've seen be more successful, they've made it as a part of their lives, even if they just do two or three components. Like networking is definitely something big for our careers, right? And we can't build a business or we can't build a career that's sustainable without having people we're connected to that we're finding out the latest industry insights that were not able to have those introductions or to learn from those things could be done on the go. Now it doesn't have. You don't have the time set apart for it. So you could do that. Networking is one component, another work another way is to just to look for a job. And I know a lot of people still like to depend on the big career sites, which really, they're becoming very watered down as far as substantive leads. Many times you have to do a lot of looking to get to the real leads that you want, especially if you don't have an industry. If you do have an industry, then your next, next bet would be to be more in tune and to be involved with your industry organizations, associations where they're specifically focused on those careers and those jobs and those projects and things that will actually build your career. And you could do those things on the go. And you can even keep up with daily interactions on places like LinkedIn and Facebook where they may have groups with those particular focuses are. So there's a lot of ways that people can really maintain a lifestyle, but they don't have to set apart a different time. Because if you're just, let's say, your job in it today and you have no idea what you want to do now, you're light years behind, kind of sort of in a way, it's going to take you a while to get momentum, to find the resources instead. Now, even if you've been out of the job or if you've been out of the workforce because of your current job for three or four years, you have a job now. And it is actually easier still in 2025 to find a job while you have a job. But at least you can go and start to learn the process while you're doing that and make that part of your lifestyle while you're still working.

[Kevin St. Clergy]

You mentioned a couple things. Network. Now, I used to say, you're only as rich as your Rolodex. But again, back to the age thing with stuff happening to me, I was like, gosh, now I know how my dad feels because he complained about it years ago because I did it. And it was a bunch of doctoral students that were graduating. I was doing their white coat ceremony. And when I said, you're only as rich as your Rolodex, there was just blank looks all over the audience. And I said, okay, wait, how many of you know what a Rolodex is? And one person in the back of the room raised her hand and she was a second career. And she's like, I know what it is. And once I described it, I was like, you probably see these in your clinics. They have the little spinny thing and it's got the manufacturers and phone numbers and they're like, oh, right. Then I had to explain, let Me put it a different way. Your network is your net worth and that seemed to make more sense to them. So I'm glad you mentioned it because I think it's important.

[Mark Anthony Dyson]

Well, I think of networking is like yeast to bread. It takes some manipulation, it takes involvement, it takes hands on. You have to mold it and shape it in a way that you would like it. And that's the best way to network. And I think as we talked about podcasting earlier, podcasting has been probably one of the most instrumental tools in building my network. Not just because, you know, you get to talk to a lot of people, but a lot of people are interested in what you do. And even though they may not participate with you directly, they hear what you're doing indirectly by listening, engaging your podcast. So you have built, you keep building audiences and new audience members just because you're having conversations that they like, that they've heard you engage with other people. So it really does help you build your own Rolodex in that particular sense.

[Kevin St. Clergy]

Can you discuss the concept of adopting a consultant mindset during a job search and how it can benefit candidates?

[Mark Anthony Dyson]

One of my favorite subjects, and I heard this mentioned many years ago and for some people it's kind of a new approach. But I think now we're headed into the area where people are considering consulting a whole lot more than they're considering being involved with the jobs. Because jobs and layoffs are pretty news dominant these days. It's really, everybody cringes and shudders to hear about thousands of people being laid off and that being a continual news headline for the last probably couple of years where jobs are not guaranteed. But your approach should be like a consultant, whether you're going to be an employee or a real consultant. Because I would say if you were to, out of all the things I could possibly say, that as a consultant, you or you're a problem solver, you're solving specific problems. You're not just going in to help, you're not just going in to see and then adapt and that that's a part of it. But there's a mindset that you can solve X, Y and Z problems. You know exactly what they are. You know, that's your expertise. You've proven and gotten results. Time after time you've gotten achievements and you've made, you scaled your career in that kind of way. That's going to make a big difference in you presenting yourself to an employer, whether you're a consultant or whether you're an employee, because you can show them those Results. And if you're a good consultant, you know how to get from point A to point B. You know what works and you know what hasn't worked. But you're also open to new ways to solve problems and to become even more efficient and to be, become more skilled and to hone your skills even better. The other big thing about being consultant, out of all the things I can possibly say about it, is that you own the results, good or bad, that it's your name that's on it if you treat treat it that way. Nobody wants to be on the side of bad results, but you can learn from those bad results to make better results. And even just the good results, you can make even greater results. But you own the result and you own the project and your name is on it. And you would want that as part of having consultant mindset. So you've got to know all the pieces that are kind of surrounding the problem and be able to tackle those things. And that that gets a little deep into it. But I think those are the two biggest things in having consultant mindset.

[Kevin St. Clergy]

I love the fact you talk about results because years ago I had paid somebody. It was a career group that I don't think they're around anymore, but it's like five grand back then. And they helped me come up with this resume and I only used it once and I got an $85 an hour consulting gig for two years. It was really big, but it was very different because it was made to be a brochure when you open it up. It was very short and sweet on the experience that I had and how many direct reports and, and where I got my education. But on the right side it was just one page and it simply said demonstrations of success at the top. And there was about seven examples that they had me write. And I'm happy to give it to any listener. Well, you can have this for free just for being a listener. But it really worked well. I've helped about 15 other folks this year alone just get better jobs and higher paying jobs. But I think you're onto something. When you mentioned focusing on results. I've always found it hard to have somebody that's amazing and put it on paper. But having those results on that right hand side where you're describing what you did and then you put results, I think does two things. It shows that you've been tracking your success and it's important to you and that results matter. Any comments on that or is that similar to what you've done in the Past.

[Mark Anthony Dyson]

Absolutely. And as I thought about this very carefully throughout the years, it's a different mindset than going in as an employee as opposed to going in with a consultant mindset. As an employee, you can easily find a fault guy, you can easily point to other places where the problem might be other than yours. You might be even be willing to share in the problems, but you won't take the whole problem as a consultant, you're taking the lion's share of it. And of course you're going to. It would be critical for you to have the conversations that are needed to be able to get the achieved result, because everybody's looking to you as a consultant because they're paying you the $85 an hour to make things happen for them, whatever that is, whether it's making new widgets or you're re engineering a whole company's process, those are the things that are going to matter the most. So the mindset is a whole lot different. And I think we're heading into a world where, and this is not original thought for me, by the way. We're heading into a world where you're going to have to have a consultant mindset in order to compete in a job.

[Kevin St. Clergy]

I agree. And by the way, I always say the secret to originality is just not revealing your sources as a joke.

[Mark Anthony Dyson]

I think there's an argument for that, but that's okay.

[Kevin St. Clergy]

Well, when I was preparing for, I just spent a lot of time preparing for these. And I did go through quite a bit of your website and you've written extensively about job scams. And I haven't been victim to them, but I've been approached by them. And I get text messages every week from my assistant saying, who is this? I'm like, just a scam. What are some common red flags that job seekers should watch out for to avoid falling victim to these scams?

[Mark Anthony Dyson]

If you've never approached an employer and you get something out of the blue, it's likely a scam these days. Now, it's possible that recruiters are kind of cold calling you as possible, but they're going to do everything they can to make themselves very clear that they are actually the recruiter for the company. One of the things that often happens is that people get it by text, they'll get it by email. People have gotten phone calls too. People have gotten LinkedIn messages too. But very often it's not very specific to that person's skill set. They don't say, we see here that you had this. And they're Asking more questions rather than telling you they had this great unbelievable offer. They're usually unbelievable. They usually remote, they're usually flexible and usually a very generous pay scale that doesn't exist and show you how ridiculous they are. Some of them have been even to process paper.

[Kevin St. Clergy]

Interesting.

[Mark Anthony Dyson]

They were you're willing to pay you $35 an hour. You only have to work four hours a week and people have made up to $10,000 a month. And I'm like the math doesn't even make any sense. And most it doesn't. So job seekers should not feel guilty and being rude in cutting those people off. And if there is a legitimate job, which is unlikely to happen in that kind of way, they're going to make themselves really clear. They're going to be willing to prove themselves and make sure they clear that you that they are the recruiter for the company. And unless they're being that transparent, they're not going to lead you to a WhatsApp site or a zoom site to text back and forth with you. They're not going to do that. That's what scammers do. So those are the little signs that you could begin with and start weeding out. And this, if it doesn't sound right, is probably not right.

[Kevin St. Clergy]

And with the rise of AI, which I know you're hearing a lot more about now as I'm I and I finally adopted this year and automation. How do you see the future of job searching and recruitment evolving?

[Mark Anthony Dyson]

I think one of the things that job seekers are going to have to learn is learn how to use it and learn how to use it on a daily basis and make that a part of understanding to get the most value out of it. I think the people who are more industry I can't even say it industry centric will have an easier time than those who are generalists are kind of just looking for a job. That's then probably a lot of your audience are in have specialties and they're in specific industries and they're probably hearing a lot of the talk and you can file the leads of those people. Especially if you're in those industry organizations where they're all trying to find different types of ways to use it. But to get started is to do like you do Google. Tell me where's the best place to get X, Y and Z and you start to build from there. The more specific you are with AI the better that you can get a lot of results. So it can help you with interviewing. It is what kind of questions should I Expect from this interviewer who has from this kind of company for this type of job description and has a background of these kind of results. And you can get a lot more information, the more specific you are and the more built out you are and then start to try to have a conversation like more than you do just to answer one question, a one off question. So I think that people, as they begin to build their own set of questions and to build their own expertise and to hone their skills, the more they'll be able to get out of it. If you don't have a direction, you're going to get lost in the fray. And it is quite competitive between companies and between the job seekers that are competing with the job because the ones who are able to use it well and have found uses and hacks for it are going to be the ones that win in the long term.

[Kevin St. Clergy]

I love the advice you just gave about asking AI about how you can prepare for an interview. And also one of the things I used to be very impressed with during interviews is when I found out the applicant actually did their homework and research on the company. Yeah, I think you can do it a lot faster with AI than you could before. So I love that advice. Great advice. Thank you for sharing that.

[Mark Anthony Dyson]

Sure.

[Kevin St. Clergy]

Are you tired of feeling stuck in your business, career, relationships or your health? Are you frustrated by problems that just won't go away no matter what you try? After coaching and teaching thousands of people for over 25 years, I've discovered something powerful. Every unresolved problem has a hidden solution you just can't see yet. That's why I created the From Stuck to Breakthrough challenge. A free 5 day live experience where I'll show you exactly how to uncover what's really holding you back and finally break free to the results that you want. Whether it's in your business, your health, your wealth, your relationships. I'll help you discover the real root cause of your challenges and give you the blueprint for permanent change. Join me and a community of like minded people ready to break through. Go to blind blaming.com again, that's blind blaming.com to sign up and we'll see you soon. Well, when they're in there in that consulting mindset, how can they effectively showcase their skills and experiences to stand out in the job market itself when you're first applying and also during the interview. Any advice there?

[Mark Anthony Dyson]

If you're keeping track of your results for every company that you've been with, then that's going to be really easy to showcase because you can show improvement. You can show where you had learning curves, how you got around them, and how you solved the toughest problems and how. How you were able to gather other people around to teach them what they need to learn as far as training and helping them to get the results that they want. If you're keeping track of those kind of numbers, and numbers are very important no matter what area you are in, numbers say everything that an interviewer needs to know that I've been able to scale Our results 20% because of these things that I implemented here. And I did the same for this, this company. And I had a challenge with this company, but this is how we built some things to work around it and that we were able to go on and create even better results for them. So you're not able to just show results, but you're able to show improvement over time and space and the way that. And be able to show how you did it. And the more you talk about, the more you're able to demonstrate your results. That's where people will start listening. They don't want to hear that you're great in all the superlatives of the world. They want to hear something that you've done that resonates with them. So your best bet is to know before you get to an interview, when you research a company, what kind of problems they need to solve and what experiences I had that will resonate with them.

[Kevin St. Clergy]

I always love it when it happens during an interview and somebody has the results. Nobody's been really been taught that stuff.

[Mark Anthony Dyson]

Though I'm noticing I learned that by accident. I remember going into an interview, it was. There was a management interview with a large association. And I happen to do. Been doing this project for my boss and I was able to say I had. This was back when on those 3.5 computer disks, I said, hey, I can show you. This is. These are the projects that I've done. And for that I was willing to show them and had the evidence right there in their hands set me apart automatically, as opposed to everybody was talking about working hard and that they know so and so. So it was easy. It made it easier for them to make a decision that, hey, this person has something that has been shown already, as opposed to everybody's talking about theory.

[Kevin St. Clergy]

I'm always impressed with interviewees when they start asking good questions. Especially I get to the end and I say, do you have any questions for me? Do you have any standard questions you think everyone should ask of the interviewer?

[Mark Anthony Dyson]

I have some standard questions, but they could vary. I think there's some things that people should want to know. They should want to know how well they treat their employees.

[Kevin St. Clergy]

That's good.

[Mark Anthony Dyson]

Do they give recognition for their work? A great question a friend of mine came up with was, hey, what did you do for the last person that exceeded their results, exceeded expectations? That tells so much about a company culture that you don't get a straight answer. That says a lot about the company does right away. I have a friend of mine that wrote a book on 500 questions you can. The way you can answer a question from an interviewer and way that in questions you can ask an interviewer, There's 500 at least that are out there. The most important thing is that how well do you know your industry and you hear what's going on in the news. Are they addressing how do you lay off? What's your process of being of laying off people? Should I expect. Is that how the last person in this position was. Has changed? Have they gone on to something better or do you know those kind of things? Is just understanding your industry and understanding what the mo industries, especially in tech and in medicine. And you know this because you're a former audiologist, right? So you kind of know the medical field and know that they are copycat field. What one hospital is doing, other hospitals going to do because they may have had the audacity to do it. And yeah, we can argue private sector, public sector, whatever the case may be, but we know one company gets away with something and like with laying off, for instance, layoffs with. And not giving noise at doing it over Zoom. And I don't know if you remember the back a few years ago, company called better.com laid off people through Zoom. I remember the story and there was outrage. Now it's become almost a normalized thing. But all that to say is that if you know your industry and you know that that is the norm, then you could. You'll have to make a decision on if they do lay off that way, am I okay with it or do I want to interview with another company or work for another company that's more people centric.

[Kevin St. Clergy]

There's actually a whole movie made of it up in the Air with George Clooney. I don't know if you've seen that.

[Mark Anthony Dyson]

But I didn't see that movie. No.

[Kevin St. Clergy]

It's so good. If you've ever traveled a lot. I travel a lot. And when he's giving advice on how to travel with a new person, it's hilarious. He's like look, you don't need this. You don't need this. You gotta check it on. He's talking to her how to go through all this stuff. But the whole point of the story was that he lets people go for a living. And they were thinking about doing it automated online. And he's like, no, we do this in person. You have to help coach this person out of the job. And it was really good. Not that it's the negative or opposite of what we're trying to get accomplished today, but it's actually a comical, pretty fun movie.

[Mark Anthony Dyson]

For most of the American public, it's the hardest thing to be on either side of either letting go or being let go. And I think more and more people are kind of even asking as an interview question, okay, I understand that you're giving me the range of salary. What do you give me when I exit, if I should be laid off, or. I mean, those are valid questions now. So if the company is not straightforward with you, consider that data. Or if they tell you exactly what will happen, consider that data. But it's up to the individual to make sure that they understand what their objectives are, know what you want before going in to interviews and. And negotiating and all that kind of thing. A lot of people don't. They don't have any expectations. And that's what interview preparation is for. And that's something else that job seekers could do better. Going into today's work environment.

[Kevin St. Clergy]

I think one of the best comments or questions I got from a person I was interviewing, I ended up teaching it to people when I do coach them, if that's one of their goals, is he said to me, well, how do you plan to measure my success, Kevin? I was like, wow, that's really good. I mean, here's how we're gonna measure your success. And I love the question. I. I couldn't wait to hire the person because it taught me that he was very much about results, and he felt that he understood the accountability that comes along with any job. And I loved it.

[Mark Anthony Dyson]

Yeah. And I think that's what people want. They want to know what. Not just what's in it for me, but how we're going to get from point A, point B, as far as expectations and what you expect as a return.

[Kevin St. Clergy]

Well, I loved your question about, okay, well, when you do have people that meet or exceed expectations, how do you reward them? I thought that was brilliant.

[Mark Anthony Dyson]

And like I said, the answer is telling. And those are the type of questions you would want, just like the one you presented. People want Something that is grounded and concrete, they don't want ideas. And if all these iffy SCENARIO are.

[Kevin St. Clergy]

There two to five things that you think people should do to prepare for an interview with any company, I feel.

[Mark Anthony Dyson]

It'S critical to prepare. And these days, with the tools that we have, there's no excuse not to prepare. And there's a lot of ways that we can talk about it. But I would say some of the ones that are most critical at the top of my head and based on some of the conversation that we've already had, one is that your mindset has to be that you've dealt with everything that happened with your old job. If it was a bad experience, that maybe you've gotten counseling, therapy, direction, and that you've grown hopeful and that you're able to leave that baggage at your bedroom floor. That's the best place to leave it. Deal with it before you go to interview, because it ends up showing up in the way that you approach an employer. Employers don't want you to feel desperate, anxious. They don't want to see you in depression mode. They need to see you at top of your game, even if you've been out of work for a while. That's kind of hard to do, but that's something to understand. Secondly is that you're going to do research and your research is going to have several tiers you're going to research, not just company and history. That might be the least of it. But you do want to know what the personality and how the company goes about tending business. Are they ethical, are they loyal, are they consistent, and are they profitable? That's important because if they're not profitable, that's going to tell you a story. And then you get to each person that you may deal with during the interview process. Even if it's the hiring manager, you want to always want to know who you're going to interview with. Who should I expect? Sometimes it's a panel, sometimes it's not anything. They may have you do a screening interview with an AI avatar, as we talked about. AI. Sometimes that's the case. You better find that out.

[Kevin St. Clergy]

Didn't know they were doing that these days.

[Mark Anthony Dyson]

Yeah, they're still doing that. They've been doing the past four or five years now, probably longer.

[Kevin St. Clergy]

I've not heard about that.

[Mark Anthony Dyson]

Wow.

[Kevin St. Clergy]

Okay.

[Mark Anthony Dyson]

Yeah. The first interview you'll have is with a talk, just like how I'm talking to you and there'll be an avatar and they'll ask the questions. They'll. It may be something really Basic, but they're wanting to see how you present yourself at first and sometimes it may even end there. Now, there might be times when you're approached by a recruiter. You said, let's set up a call. You want to research that recruiter, what that recruiter is like as much as you can. Sometimes people will mistaken a screening call with the interview. That's not always the case. And you probably want to get the recruiter to be clear about that kind of communication. And then if you go through the process while you're interviewing, you want it, you want to research each person. Something I think is really important to know, to know at the beginning is to know what the industry standards are as far as salary range and expectations. Again, if you're in a single industry and you kind of know the mo, that's really helpful because a lot of times the first question you're going to be asked, even before you even interview, what your salary range are and you have to know what it is or have a good educated guess, it's best to research it. And the research even takes different tiers of being able to know what it is and maybe the city, state, region and nationwide and coming up with a number. It's better to even if you can find that information on the Internet or through LinkedIn, a lot of times people will tell what their salary is and that will give you a great idea of what to say. But a lot of times that is a knockout question. What they call a knockout question is the question that they ask that would disqualify you or qualify you. So there's a lot of different tiers to it. But I would say the more you know and in prepping with knowledge, the better your response can be. I think it's also important for interview preparation as far as your presentation and know what kind of presentation you're going to need to have if it's going to be one on one, if it's going to be through a camera, if it's going to be zoom. Those are three different modes and you'll have to be prepared to do either one as, as they ask.

[Kevin St. Clergy]

I have to laugh smiling because on the avatar thing, just recently I had a Mastermind group event that I had. I was taught how to upload every book I've written, every article that I've ever written into ChatGPT and you create your own avatar and I, I just had this vision of, look, if you're going to do an avatar interview, I'll just have you speak to my avatar.

[Mark Anthony Dyson]

And People are doing it.

[Kevin St. Clergy]

I'm sure they are. Shocking. Not the best way to build a relationship and get to know people, in my opinion, but I guess I'm old school.

[Mark Anthony Dyson]

Yeah, but you know what? Old school is great since that that's going to be way one that you really begin to feel how authentic a company is when you meet with people. You can't feel that as much as you would for if it was a zoom interview and if it was all zoom, if everybody's working remote, then that's great because that's all you need. But then should you do part of that interview through remote and then do other part in the office, your office is going to tell you probably a whole lot more than all the things you went through remote.

[Kevin St. Clergy]

Yeah. You've clearly learned to invest in yourself over the years. How do you recommend job seekers invest in themselves and learn more? Do you recommend reading? Mastermind, Groups, coaching? What do you recommend? How can they develop themselves?

[Mark Anthony Dyson]

I recommend all of it. Podcasting has definitely been very useful for me. YouTube is very useful. I think a lot of people, if they're in specific industries, and again, I point to this as opposed to being generalist and probably a lot of your audiences are in specific industries that if they're part of industry associations, organizations, they have those continual learning where you get, you know, continue education credits where you can build on that and continue to build. And a lot of it is required. So they're already doing it if you're not in a specific industry, but if you're targeting a specific industry, you want to get in on those industries that have those events on a regular basis, because that's where you really learn from the real practitioners and the people who are on the ground and who have worked their way from bottom up and they can tell you exactly how to do that. And building relationships is probably the best place to start so that you can hear firsthand from people how they've been able to apply the knowledge and how that's worked for them and find out how they scaled their careers as well.

[Kevin St. Clergy]

Mark, we're at the end of our hour. You and I could talk for a long time. We see a lot of things the same way. So thank you for being here. Incredible information for our listeners. Is there anything else that they need to be aware of to get a hold of you? What's the best way for them to join your email list or listen to your podcast? Where should they go?

[Mark Anthony Dyson]

They can. They could start with LinkedIn. Find me on LinkedIn under Marc Anthony Dyson. And they'll send me a note, say you heard Kevin's show, you heard the interview, and that you would like to connect and find out more information about what I do or just watch the updates. I do about three a week now. I used to do every day. I cut back because I got a lot going on. But the LinkedIn's a great place for me. Yeah, LinkedIn is probably the number one place to be.

[Kevin St. Clergy]

Great. What we'll do is we'll put a link to it in the resources below. Whether it's on our YouTube podcast or any podcast that people choose to listen to, we have a resource section where they'll just click the link and they can find you. That's what the production company will set up for you.

[Mark Anthony Dyson]

Fantastic. Thanks.