Job Tango helps job-seekers polish interview skills

Job Tango is a new startup in Sonoma County that provides novice and rookie job-hunters with resume writing, interview skills, and the confidence to land the job they want.

It’s filling a niche for students, recent graduates, professionals, and outplacement support for downsizing companies.

Much of what it takes to land a job is confidence, said Susan Halstead, who co-owns the business with Lindsey Brown. Other polishing comes with coaching students and recent graduates on presenting a professional image.

“A lot of students don’t know you need a professional sounding message on your cell phone, for example,” Halstead said.

A lot of them also don’t know about LinkedIn, the online professional network.

“Career centers do their best, but how do you meet the needs of 8,000 students?” Halstead said.

Halstead has more than 20 years of direct recruiting experience in Silicon Valley and Northern California, and Brown has an extensive background in human resources, recruitment, and career counseling.

Both women have the experience of being an insider, with the hiring employer perspective, and the outside employee perspective.

The two met while working at medical-device maker TriVascular in Santa Rosa. Halstead was the head recruiter and Brown was an HR generalist.

Over the years, because of their experience, they were repeatedly approached by family and friends for resume and interviewing advice, and decided there was a need for these kinds of services.

“We’ve seen people shine during an interview and have also seen them crash and burn, mostly due to a lack of preparation,” Halstead said.

In business since January, Job Tango has secured a contract with San Jose State University to provide boot camp style courses on-campus in May for students and recent graduates. They are also negotiation with Sonoma State to conduct free interview training.

Using role playing, Halstead and Brown will demonstrate how an interview can go bad, versus what works, and students will have an opportunity to participate in mock interviews.

The name of the company is derived from the Latin dance of the same name, referring to specific steps to take for a successful dance. In this case, the dance to land a job.

In addition to training small to large groups of students, Job Tango also provides one-on-one specialized training and coaching for an hourly rate and will collaborate with organizations and local businesses who are forced to downsize or reduce part of their current staff.

The same rules apply for recent graduates, and to someone entering the job market after 20 years on the job, Halstead said, which now even includes social media.

“It used to be you just faxed in a resume. Things have changed a lot in five years. Now there are very specific steps, and if you don’t know the process you are not going to have a successful dance,” she said.