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March 26 Job Search Depression-HOT TODAY/cold tomorrowJob Search Depression-HOT TODAY/cold tomorrow Working with job seekers all day long for the past 16 years one theme has started to become apparent and that is the peaks and valleys of job searching. It takes a toll on people lives both professional and personally. I am not a psychologist or a therapist but I coach people all day long. Everyone says you need to keep a positive mental attitude during your job search process, easy to say but hard to do! If the rule of thumb is that for every $10K you would like to make add 1 month to your job search. If you have been in the industry for 10years plus and you are making $85k it could take you 8 months to find a job. Certainly it is much easier for you to find a job when you have 0-5 years of experience and you are only making less than $50K a year. The tough part is for people who have lots of years of experience and great results to find those jobs that will fit your market value and 8 months is a long, long time to be searching for work. With today’s knowledge based economy they are saying that the average tenure today for technical and/or professional work force is 4-5 years and then people are moving on to other companies. One of my mentors told me that if I have been in a position for more than 5 years what is my problem. I should have contributed and solved the problems necessary to move up or out to my next career challenge. What is tough for me is that there are a lot of people who have been with the same company for 10 years that are starting to get let go or positions have been eliminated. Why? Because they did such a good job that either they are not needed anymore or it is cheaper to bring in someone with less experience. These people are in utter shock and have not job searched or completed a resume in over ten years. So this blog is for both the job seeker and the job victim: What am I going to experience if I have to search for a job longer than 4 months?
Hot Today and Cold Tomorrow: One of the biggest job searching challenges that you are going to face, is keeping your emotions in balance. You are going to be dealing with Hiring Managers, HR, Recruiters and even sourcers who are going to qualify you for their position. All of a sudden you will get a lot of activity with companies you would be excited to work for and you are sure that they need your skill and want to hire you because you are high impact talent. Furthermore, all of the job or jobs that you have accomplished made a difference to the ROI of your past employer/s. All of a sudden you have 3-4 opportunities in your hopper, things are great, you tell you significant other, friends or even pass associates that you made it past the first screen or you may make it all the way to 2-3 interviews and all signs are positive.
Then next day you do not hear a thing! No one gets back to you! No one has the stones to tell why you did not get that opportunity you were a fit for. Or why you did not get even a shot at any opportunity within that company. All you remember is that you were told that I like your style or your accomplishments would fit right into what we need here at ABC Company.
All you are left with, are questions like what is wrong with me? Could I have done anything different? What am I going to say to my family or friends that keep asking me how my search is going? Why does this happen to me, I am a great employee? How am I going to take care of my responsibilities (family, bills etc…)? STOP!!!!!!!!
You are not alone this happens to all of us. Why is because most companies are recruiting for what their needs are NOW not what their needs are in the FUTURE. That is why as soon as that company or agency gets their needs met everything drops. You are not a priority any more, right or wrong that’s how things work. As a manager think back on how relieve you were when you had a critical open or need that was filled. When was the last time you thought of the 2nd or 3rd place candidate? What was communicated to them? Companies I feel are not trying to be mean spirited, hurtful or even malicious they maybe short sited. Some recruiters or hiring managers do not have the stones to be honest. But not all! So you do not have anything wrong with you!
1st Rule of Job Search Sanity: Keep your emotions in check and if people ask how the job searches are going, just smile and say “in progress”.
2nd Rule of Job Search Sanity: You are looking for the right opportunity as well as the company is looking for the right employee. The interview or screen needs to go two ways. I am a firm believer what separates us from other talent is our ability to ask intelligent questions. So know your story: Where you came from, what is going on now and where do you want to go for your future. The key to success is that for you to know your story so you can listen to what is being asked answer concisely and quickly so you can ask an intelligent question to see if this is the right company for you.
3rd Rule of Job Search Sanity: for every $10K you want to make add 1 month to your search. Prepare yourself mentally that this could take a long time for you to find the right opportunity. That is ok and you are mentally prepared for this why? Remember the flow charts of companies. If you were a Director or VP there are not a lot of those positions floating around and most likely you were making more than $40k a year. So be patient! If you do not have the cash talk to a contract or temp agency to do some work to bring home the bacon.
4th Rule of Job Search Sanity: Run your job search like your own business. You will need to manage your contacts, interviews, thank you letters and resume submittals like you are in sales. You will have to identify which contacts and companies you want to keep in touch with or websites to look at for opps. I would not rely on the company or recruiter to remember you for all of their opportunities. The people who stay top of mind get the jobs. You do not want to be a stalker though. So you will need to find out how they want to be contacted.
This is all the time I have now so please ask questions if you need any help or information.
Thanks Joel January 21 Do you have a Family Emergency Plan? How about one for your career?Wake up... It is time to make a proactive networking plan incase you or your networks need help finding a job or employee. What is YOUR plan?
During the last employment crisis in 2001 I wrote the below blog on how to build your personal and professional network to get your next job. We saw a ton of people that were not prepared to deal with a down turning economy. We saw people shell shocked, depressed, despair and then hopeful because people realized that it were their ability to network with people that will help them find the right opportunity!
We also saw the affects when people would network for short periods of time and when they would stop after finding a job. And their jobs would be eliminated again. So they would have to start all over.
Why am I brining this up? We are not sure what we have in store for the US economy and I am not trying to scare you, but rather help you realize a proactive plan to protect you and your family. Creating a communication plan is not different than that of an emergency plan you have for your family during tornados or after 911. If you do not have a plan this is the time for you to create one (http://www.ready.gov/america/makeaplan/).
During this uncertain economic uncertainty you need to have a plan. I would compare it to a survival plan for tornados. In Wisconsin, I have 2 weeks worth of food, water, medical supplies etc… No I am not crazy or a survivalist. I just want to survive and take care of my family.
I am now looking at my networks and contacts the same way. First, I organize my contacts in order of importance and strategic to who is the most influential contact that can leverage their network to help me. Secondly, I made a communication plan to help strategically get the word out to what direction I need (Lost My Job, Close Contact that I recommend needs a job, and/or general kindness to help).
Third, is to prioritize who or what communication gets sent to your contacts: · Primary: Top Tier Business, Family & Social Networks · Secondary: Family & Friends, Other Business Contacts · Tertiary: Religious Institutions, Charities etc… · Undefined: Transactional Networking…
Finally, you need to define the protocols of, who, what, when, where, why and how for each of these groups. There will be contact that you covet or incase of an emergency break open and e-mail. Others you can call them to tell them who and how to help other will just lend their name to you and introduce you to their contacts.
Think of it this way. The contacts closest you are the most influential so establishing a pattern of communication with them is critical. The farther out you go from your network the less you will want to contact. But keep this in mind the further out you go it is critical that you evaluate each contact and try to set up some communication with them. You just never know… : ) Now you are starting to feel good about creating a communication plan that will allow me to use my top critical contacts to get the word out for me if I need it. Now what I need to do is check the healthy of my network or expiration date on my food. It is important to reach out to your network to see how everyone is doing. You need to make a plan and decide who and what frequency of your contacts. You do not want to be a pest but at the same time you do not want your networks to think that you only call when you need something.
I hope this makes sense and if you have any questions please ask. Social Networks to try: www.linkedin.com, www.facebook.com, www.plaxo.com and many, many, more…
Building your Personal & Professional Network: Remember when I talked about how to control the future of your career when you cannot control the business market? Controlling your future begins and ends with building your personal and professional network. In 2001, I started throwing Pinkslip Parties in Wisconsin to help proactive employers network with potential candidates. Throughout that year, I saw approximately 55 people get jobs. Many of those individuals still attended the next event in order to network, even though they had jobs, because they found it to be fun. Yet others did not. Through the year, I saw many people who were laid off 3 to 4 time because of the business climate. The Pinkslip partygoers who kept networking found jobs right away, and the others who stopped networking had to start all over again. The moral of this story is that the partygoers that kept networking got to know employers and employers got to know them. They felt comfortable with each other and it was easier for the recruiters to recommend those people with whom they felt comfortable. An analogy of the hiring process is that you have one or two dates, and then you are asked to get married. It is a scary process, so the better you get to know the company and the recruiter, the more able you are to make an educated decision. Lets face it, the hiring process in the U.S. considers if they like you first, then whether you can do the job. The strategy is to develop business networks; associations that fit with your background and the industry you are trying to get into. Do not forget charitable groups, as there are a lot of companies that want their employees, managers and executives to give back to the community. Many people give me the excuses, “I do not have time” or “I have too many family commitments”. My response is, “you have to make time!” This is a commitment for your future, both personally and professionally.
Check out our resource section for candidates, recruiters and business, and you will find where some of these networks are. New ones will be added as I here of them!
CEO Confidence SurveyLatest Press Release THESE DATA ARE FOR ANALYSIS PURPOSES ONLY. NOT FOR REDISTRIBUTION, PUBLISHING, DATABASING, OR PUBLIC POSTING WITHOUT EXPRESS WRITTEN PERMISSION. CEO Confidence Declines Again, The Conference Board Reports
January 15, 2008 The Conference Board Measure of CEO Confidence, which had declined to 44 in the third quarter of 2007, fell to 39 in the final quarter of 2007 (a reading of more than 50 points reflects more positive than negative responses). The last time the Measure fell below 40 was in the final quarter of 2000 when it fell to 31. "CEOs' confidence in the state of the U.S. economy continues to wither and is now at a seven-year low," says Lynn Franco, Director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center. "Given continued trouble in the housing and credit markets, persistent volatility in financial markets and increases in energy prices, it's not surprising that confidence has eroded. Looking ahead, the majority of business leaders expect these lackluster economic conditions to prevail throughout the first half of 2008." CEOs' assessment of current economic conditions was considerably less positive, with just 7 percent of CEOs — down from 14 percent last quarter — stating economic conditions had improved. In assessing their own industries, business leaders were also less optimistic. Approximately 15 percent claim conditions are better, down from approximately 17 percent in the third quarter. Looking ahead six months, the outlook has turned more negative. Currently, 16 percent of business leaders expect economic conditions to improve in the next six months, down from 20 percent last quarter. Expectations for their own industries are also less upbeat, with only 17 percent anticipating an improvement, down from 27 percent last quarter. Inflation Outlook: Modest Price Increases Expected The majority of chief executives expect changes in their firms' selling prices in 2008, with just 9 percent anticipating price increases in excess of 10 percent. On average, firms plan to hike prices by 3.2 percent, slightly lower than last year's expectation of 3.3 percent. Some 13 percent plan decreases and 4 percent foresee no change. Related Tables are attached. (You will need Adobe Acrobat to view) Source: CEO Confidence 4th Quarter 2007
For further information contact: The after match of Chimes Distruction and the wake of job losses are staggering.1/21/2008The bankruptcy filing of Ensemble Chimes Global in Los Angeles on Jan. 9 leaves the users of staffing services through the company's vendor management system with some unresolved issues. However, the greatest learning opportunities for staffing clients may come in the long term, as all of the issues surrounding the bankruptcy come to the surface, and clients gain a heightened awareness of the potential risks associated with running staffing transactions through an intermediary company. Currently some staffing suppliers are opposing the sale of the system to Ensemble Chimes Global's former president, and alleged improprieties have come to the surface about the financial dealings of executives of Axium International Inc. the parent company of Ensemble Chimes Global, as reported by the Los Angeles Times. As these events transpire, clients are realizing how they can become vulnerable, should their vendor management system supplier be acquired, file for bankruptcy protection, or handle funds inappropriately. While the bankruptcy trustee has made interim arrangements for the operation of the system, at the very least, clients face the potential for business interruption should vendor management system firms go belly up and all of the financial ramifications have yet to be identified or decided in this case. As of Friday afternoon, Ed Lenz, senior vice president for public affairs and general counsel for the American Staffing Association said he had heard from staffing suppliers that outstanding receivables owed staffing firms by Ensemble Chimes Global totaled anywhere from $100 million to as much as $300 million. Lenz said it was his understanding that the majority of the outstanding balances represent billed but unpaid client invoices. Also still at issue is $22 million in funds swept away by Axium's owners Golden Tree Asset Management as reported by the Los Angeles Times last week and contractors who were paid directly by Ensemble Chimes Global are blogging about being laid off and having little recourse for unpaid wages. How staffing suppliers that provided temps under the Ensemble Chimes Global system might weather large write-offs is another potential concern for clients. At the very least, many Ensemble Chimes Global clients originally contracted with a company that operated under different ownership and a different set of financial circumstances, during the pre-acquisition period. While clients may have felt protected under the terms of their original ECG agreements, it's hard to say if those agreements will provide complete financial protection for clients, until everything shakes out. "Now everybody's trying to put Humpty Dumpty back together again," says Lenz. "I think there will be lessons learned from this insolvency. For example, clients will want to make sure that VMS suppliers have escrow accounts, so they don't co-mingle funds, and clients may place a premium on sound management in the future and require more assurances that the VMS company will continue to operate. All of the issues haven't surfaced yet, and right now, clients have a right to be skeptical." — Leslie Stevenstrackbacks
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Listed below are links to blogs that reference Chimes Fallout Leaves VMS Clients with New Concerns : There are currently no trackbacks for this news item December 23 Happy HolidayHi all sorry it has been so long for me to update my blogg. I have a lot to share on new trends, leadership, motivation and I am going to make this blogg fun for my self to by posting my completed art projects.
As usual please let me know if there is anything I can do to help you with your careers.
Happy Holidays to all and may 2008 exceed all of your dreams
Thanks
Joel March 02 Recruitment Market Issues“…many of today’s staffing practitioners will underestimate the magnitude of the coming changes to our industry and be caught untrained and unprepared to deal with the future industry demands.” Dan Hilbert Employment Manager, Valero Energy Fortune Magazine ranked Valero #3 “Best Companies to work for in America.”
How do we create operational excellence in a global labor supply chain management? Metrics based staffing structures are needed to move the recruitment functions from administrative into the direction of becoming a profit center. We can achieve this by aligning the Talent Acquisition process with traditional management and financial goals. Boolean Queries Tips & TechniquesSearch Engine Functionality Boolean Queries Tips & Techniques
Boolean Queries: are like a math problem from left to right and the most important information is located in the front of the search.
5 Major Commands That All Search Engines Support: 1. site: (looks for item in whole website) Examples:
2. intitle: (finds pages with item in the title) 3. inurl: (looks for the keyword in a url address) Examples:
4. link: (looks for item link in a web page. MSN search handles this command the best.) 5. intext: (or in body) searches for a particular item in the body or text of the website or document. Example:
Commands Specific to Major Search Engine
GOOGLE.COM related: (will find similar pages. This command is helpful when building a target list of companies from where you would like to find candidates.) define: (will define the word i.e. Webster Dictionary) numrange: #..# Example: numrange:60540..60567 date: 3 (3 months , 6 months , 12 months can only search as far back as) daterange: 2453777 2453787 (is based off of the Julian calendar) ~ tells google it is a fuzzy search will look for similar words i.e. resume or CV etc… word =*= word is the Wild Card i.e. Software =*= Engineer will look for first and last word with any other word in-between the title. rphonebook: (is the search term for residential phone book) bphonebook: (is the search term for business phone book) local.google.com (finds local locations while you are searching great for phone numbers and business & title look ups) Examples:
FYI: Place your most important keywords closest to the beginning of your search string for optimal search result ranking.
YAHOO.COM Area code 435 = what location search Zip code 30071 = what city search Example:
Hostname: Similar to linkdomain, but not as effective as linkdomain using MSN Search. Example:
MSN.COM Link (search for pages or reference some other page) link:www.cisco.com resume 262 Linkdomain: Finds all pages that link to pages within this website’s domain, not simply just the domain. Example:
Contains: pdf, doc, xls, txt, ppt, etc... can use this multiple time i.e. (contains:pdf OR contains:txt) Examples:
Inbody:resume (this search technique is used to search for skill in plain text somewhere on the page) Examples:
Language: en, es, etc…. Examples:
Prefer: resume (using this will resort or rearrange the key words in your search and rank pages with the keyword after “prefer:” higher in your search results) Example:
Loc:US or location:us(will only pick up searches in the US location) Example:
Use MSN Search local (Access it by clicking the Local (BETA) link from the MSN Search page to find candidates in certain geographic areas. http://local.live.com – Great new Microsoft site for finding a business or address in a particular US location. http://spaces.msn.com/ - You can sign up for a free online Spaces account and add an RSS feed which will display your MSN Search from your MSN Spaces account to reference when you need to run the search again later.
TEOMA.COM Last: week or month or year i.e. last:week J2EE resume 312 (will specify date in time. This command will return pages indexed within the last week or month.) Beforedate: Afterdate: Betweendate: 200508, 200512 Returns indexed pages within a date range. Geoloc:northamerica (Geography Search) Lang:English Example:
December 14 “Slow is smooth, smooth is fast”Today I was reading a friends Blog, he happens to be active in Iraq (I have a link to his Blog on my Blog but here it is again. http://amobilizedyear.blogspot.com/) He was discussing his experience with IED and a most recent attack that he faced.
“…I did not see the aftermath of the explosion behind us, but the one in front of us disabled a "white truck" (a TCN-driven vehicle) traveling south. I (along with the rest of my crew) was remarkably calm throughout the entire event. Our reaction was well-rehearsed and automatic, which I’m sure was the primary reason we took the event in stride. While I didn’t expect us to react in an out of control manner, I was just somewhat surprised at how relaxed everyone was—like it was "just another day at the office.” As I said in an earlier post, ‘slow is smooth, smooth is fast’ and that’s how we performed.“ Amobilized Year Blog Nov. 21 2005
Thank god everyone is ok!! And I hope he and all soldiers comes home safe soon! I do not want to confuse anyone about what I am writing about so I will not be discuss any more about his experience in Iraq. You should check out his Blog he is a great writer and an aspiration to us all!!!
What I do want to discuss is how his statement or strategy of “slow is smooth, smooth is fast” has helped me articulate my recruitment management philosophy!
I am not sure why this statement impacted me so much that I have to write about it. But is seems so simple & true and it represents my recruitment methodology that I have been using for the last 13 years. Now I am starting to feel old : ) For the last 7 years I have shared, trained and showed recruiters how to grow their own business to become the best in their field. No, I am not an ego maniac! No, I do not have a trophy stating that I am the best recruiter in the world and No I am not the sharpest tool in the shed. Maybe the second sharpest tool in the shed : )
I built my personal recruitment best practices into three attributes. 1# you can not coach speed 2# Discipline 3# No fear of the phone
The first thing is easy to address you can not teach a person to have a sense of urgency or being ethical you either have it or you do not. The nice thing is that you do not need look at Harvard to hire some one with both of these assets! These professionals are out there and affordable.
Now the second major piece to this puzzle becomes much trickier to explain, because it can encompass a lot of business aspects. So I am going to make the assumption that your recruiters are doing a little bit of business in each core area a day to keep all of their funnels full. If they are not that is a different story at a latter date. The third is self explanatory.
Lets focus on for now the “slow is smooth, smooth is fast” principle, if I can call it that. I have recruited, networked and watched some of the best recruiters, researchers and sales people in the talent acquisition industry it is evident to me why some people sink and some swim. I believe it has to do with the 3 attributes and how we manager’s grow our talent. It is about our styles, politics, training and especially the on boarding process for our new hires. All of these things impact our new hires ability to be successful. Now let’s make another assumption that you have hired or one of the people with the 3 attributes I am talking about.
Then the ultimate goal for your department or staffing company is profitability. In our industry to increase profitability or reduce cost of service we need to focus on reducing the amount of uncertainty and/or surprises we face during our sales and recruitment cycle. In reality we do not control the candidate and/or customers. We are only influencers for example: We can create a sense of urgency with our customers or candidates by giving them 24 hour exclusivity on a job or candidate). I guess I would relate it to standing in line waiting to get into a bar only to find out there is no one in side. Why the hell was I standing in line? A few hours later the place is packed. The perception was it is hopping place by making people stand out side.
So how do we reduce the amount of uncertainty, surprises and manage our activity. Discipline! Most of our companies are breeding recruiters who let the activity run them instead of running the activity hence “slow is smooth, smooth is fast”! Why don’t companies put a structured process in place to help recruiter manage their interview processes in order reduce the amount of uncertainties and increase productivity. Answer our process are inbred from years of sharing what people have been taking from their old jobs. We need to take a step back and look at how we can improve our business habits or process we can commit to memory. Similar to the military they practice it until they do not have to think about it. It allows them to add more skills and capabilities.
Here is the cliff note version of my memorized interview process to reduce surprise and implement rules of engagements.
Take Control- Interview will take approximately 45 min after that we will know if we are fit your career needs visa versa.
Assess Expectations: first we are going to assess your expectations to make sure you are realistic in what you are looking for, position, title, reason for leaving, $$ etc…
Wish List: Secondly we would like to know what exactly you are looking for, goals, accomplishments etc…
Rules of Engagements: Finally we are going to discuss how to do business with us. What our expectations and what you can expect from us. To me this is the most critical part of the interview if they are an A or B candidate.
1. After the client interview: Bring .50 cents stop at a pay phone bring your cell do what ever you have to do to beat our customers call back. 2. Debriefing- Once you call we are going to separate $$ from opportunity. We will discuss if this is the right opportunity if it is we will then discuss $$$. 3. No Surprises: during the process I am going to work very hard for you and it is important to let me know if anything changes during our job ID process for you i.e. sense of urgency, $, training, education, relocation, radius or commute…. 4. Pride Myself: Joe candidate I pride myself on giving you all of the information for you and family to make an educated decision on any opportunity. At any time you are unclear or need more info will you please ask me? Is that fair? Ok I want to be clear; what is unacceptable to me is at the time of the offer you let me know that at the time of the offer you need more information than what you are telling me is that I have not done my job. And that is not fair. Do you agree?
There is a ton more I hope you are getting the point I am trying to make. I do this process with every single most placeable candidate I meet with. My process does not deviate at all this allows me to not have to think about what I have to say next. It allows me to listen and direct my questions to truly interview and assess this candidate. Also these habits give me peace of mind because I addressed most of the common issues that can arise during the hiring process. Furthermore, I become an expert at this pitch and it allows me to keep adding any new issues that come up because of trends, economy or major events.
I am a firm believer of plant seeds with my candidates and customers so it is a mutual relationship. This process works for all aspects of our business (sales, reference checks, managing your staff etc…). The key point that I want you to take away from this is that this habit or routine allows me to have more time to think about business strategies, address business needs and/or challenges. It becomes a thought out form and function not what come out inconsistently from top of your head. Moreover I can measure and track my success because I am consistent in my approach. I can see if I change my process a little or a lot if it has a positive or negative impact quickly! It makes me more profitable and greater ROI.
In summary committing these habits or patterns to memory has allowed us to work smoother and more efficiently. My staff is more productive, better at multitasking, proactive no reactive and the look for measurable ways to improve their performance. That is how I am defining “Slow is smooth, smooth is fast” for our industry! Putting in place process that reduce uncertainties and surprise not panic when drama hit because they have
If you would like to discuss this more in greater detail give me a shout. Sorry about any grammar or run on sentences. I am free form writing : ) I am hoping one day to make this a habit that I can successfully improve.
Have a great holiday!!
Joel
November 04 Hope you all had a great HalloweenHi all I have been traveling 97% of the time for the last few months! Sorry I have not updated my blog in awhile. I hope you all had a relaxing Halloween we had a costume party for friends, customers and candidates at our house. It was a great time!!
Yes we had Karaoke!!
It was great to see everyone’s inner child come out! Enjoy some of the pictures!!
Marley was Darth Vader!! Sweet!!
More Recruiting and Job Searching info coming soon.
Thanks
Joel
September 30 Know who authored the program before you assassinate it!Loaded Interview Questions:
Make sure when a interviewer preferences a question by describing a program or process challenge you ask who created the program or process? Why was it created? Describe for me the problem you trying to resolve with this program or process?
Because you never know who created this program or process it could be the person who interviewing you or even the presidents sister. September 09 Job Search Depression-HOT TODAY/cold tomorrowJob Search Depression-HOT TODAY/cold tomorrow
Working with job seekers all day long for the past 14 years one theme has started to become apparent and that is the peaks and valleys of job searching. It takes a toll on people lives both professional and personally. I am not a psychologist or a therapist but I coach people all day long. Everyone says you need to keep a positive mental attitude during your job search process, easy to say but hard to do!
If the rule of thumb is that for every $10K you would like to make add 1 month to your job search. If you have been in the industry for 10years plus and you are making $85k it could take you 8 months to find a job. Certainly it is much easier for you to find a job when you have 0-5 years of experience and you are only making less than $50K a year. The tough part is for people who have lots of years of experience and great results to find those jobs that will fit your market value and 8 months is a long, long time to be searching for work.
With today’s knowledge based economy they are saying that the average tenure today for technical and/or professional work force is 4-5 years and then people are moving on to other companies. One of my mentors told me that if I have been in a position for more than 5 years what is my problem. I should have contributed and solved the problems necessary to move up or out to my next career challenge. What is tough for me is that there are a lot of people who have been with the same company for 10 years that are starting to get let go or positions have been eliminated. Why? Because they did such a good job that either they are not needed anymore or it is cheaper to bring in someone with less experience. These people are in utter shock and have not job searched or completed a resume in over ten years.
So this blog is for both the job seeker and the job victim: What am I going to experience if I have to search for a job longer than 4 months?
Hot Today and Cold Tomorrow: One of the biggest job searching challenges that you are going to face, is keeping your emotions in balance. You are going to be dealing with Hiring Managers, HR, Recruiters and even sourcers who are going to qualify you for their position. All of a sudden you will get a lot of activity with companies you would be excited to work for and you are sure that they need your skill and want to hire you because you are high impact talent. Furthermore, all of the job or jobs that you have accomplished made a difference to the ROI of your past employer/s. All of a sudden you have 3-4 opportunities in your hopper, things are great, you tell you significant other, friends or even pass associates that you made it past the first screen or you may make it all the way to 2-3 interviews and all signs are positive.
Then next day you do not hear a thing! No one gets back to you! No one has the stones to tell why you did not get that opportunity you were a fit for. Or why you did not get even a shot at any opportunity within that company. All you remember is that you were told that I like your style or your accomplishments would fit right into what we need here at ABC Company.
All you are left with, are questions like what is wrong with me? Could I have done anything different? What am I going to say to my family or friends that keep asking me how my search is going? Why does this happen to me, I am a great employee? How am I going to take care of my responsibilities (family, bills etc…)? STOP!!!!!!!!
You are not alone this happens to all of us. Why is because most companies are recruiting for what their needs are NOW not what their needs are in the FUTURE. That is why as soon as that company or agency gets their needs met everything drops. You are not a priority any more, right or wrong that’s how things work. As a manager think back on how relieve you were when you had a critical open or need that was filled. When was the last time you thought of the 2nd or 3rd place candidate? What was communicated to them? Companies I feel are not trying to be mean spirited, hurtful or even malicious they maybe short sited. Some recruiters or hiring managers do not have the stones to be honest. But not all! So you do not have anything wrong with you!
1st Rule of Job Search Sanity: Keep your emotions in check and if people ask how the job searches are going, just smile and say “in progress”.
2nd Rule of Job Search Sanity: You are looking for the right opportunity as well as the company is looking for the right employee. The interview or screen needs to go two ways. I am a firm believer what separates us from other talent is our ability to ask intelligent questions. So know your story: Where you came from, what is going on now and where do you want to go for your future. The key to success is that for you to know your story so you can listen to what is being asked answer concisely and quickly so you can ask an intelligent question to see if this is the right company for you.
3rd Rule of Job Search Sanity: for every $10K you want to make add 1 month to your search. Prepare yourself mentally that this could take a long time for you to find the right opportunity. That is ok and you are mentally prepared for this why? Remember the flow charts of companies. If you were a Director or VP there are not a lot of those positions floating around and most likely you were making more than $40k a year. So be patient! If you do not have the cash talk to a contract or temp agency to do some work to bring home the bacon.
4th Rule of Job Search Sanity: Run your job search like your own business. You will need to manage your contacts, interviews, thank you letters and resume submittals like you are in sales. You will have to identify which contacts and companies you want to keep in touch with or websites to look at for opps. I would not rely on the company or recruiter to remember you for all of their opportunities. The people who stay top of mind get the jobs. You do not want to be a stalker though. So you will need to find out how they want to be contacted.
This is all the time I have now so please ask questions if you need any help or information.
Thanks Joel August 23 PART I – Understanding the “Balanced Scorecard” in a Talent Acquisition environmentFor the last 5 years I have been struggling with how to proactively create high impact talent acquisition (TA) solutions for my employer and customers. I know that all companies measure success off of financial indicators like tangible (see & smell, product, equipment and property) and in-tangible assets (invisible assets like intellectual property, knowledge, people and brands). Don’t worry I will try not be talking like this throughout this whole article.
The challenges that I have been facing, like all of us in the recruitment field, is how do I build business cases for future talent acquisition (TA) programs? How can I communicate the severity of this talent shortage to upper management in terms that they can identify with? How do I get management to act with a sense of urgency, And more importantly what are the deliverables that will get financial buy-in or make fiscal sense to a CEO, CFO, COO?
We all know of the labor shortage for the next 10+ years. We are already starting to see the talent crunch and know that for our companies to compete amongst the top 20%, we will have to successfully improve recruitment processes, accountability and identify talent pipelines.
Companies left with no strategy or solutions for this talent shortage will have their long term profitability impacted. This is a huge problem for businesses and it is in plain sight for all to see. Due to the retirement of the baby boomers the Bureau of Labor Statistics has anticipated for every one person that enters the work force two will be leaving in the next few years. I have vowed to myself that I will not be in a reactive situation or become an average TA expert with the “I told you so” mentality. I am not trying to be a hero or an ego maniac, this is my job! I want to win and be #1 in the market place for any company I work for.
The key for me was learning how to communicate the severity of this talent problem to upper management in terms they can identify with? The first thing that I needed to do is understand the differences between tangible and in-tangible assets and how it translates from traditional business to our TA strategies. This is a struggle because there is a ton of information on how to create these strategies for traditional businesses but little to none on our industry.
Secondly, I needed to understand and compare the different ways both tangible/intangible assets are measured (Who, What, When, Why and How). Once I did that, then I had to look at this process both systemically and at a 10,000 foot level to truly understand what their influencers are (i.e. what we can control and can’t control).
Finally, the biggest concern I had was once I knew the differentiators for my business case, how was I going to develop my strategy, effectively communicate the deliverables to management and execute those measurements to my team. I knew to achieve high impact results in the shortest period of time I needed to have those questions answered first. I was frustrated!
That next day I went out to lunch with a mentor of mine by the name of Greg. Greg is a business attorney and friend who has had a major impact in my life and aided in building my business acumen. Greg has been mentoring me for the last 5 years. He is an expert in business law, mergers/acquisitions, organizational development, VCs’, start-up’s and intellectual law. I was discussing with him about my dilemma and how I have not been able to find any quality information that could help me resolve my strategy problems. During our discussion Greg concurred with me about, the pending talent shortage and if companies do not have a plan they will have problems with sustaining growth. He told me that he had the answers to all of my questions. I said Yeah right!
He asked me if I have ever heard of the Balanced Score Card (BSC)? I told him no. He started sharing with me his success stories on how the BSC methodology had helped his customers improve profitability. He told me that BSC was created by the Harvard Business School as a way to help companies integrate measurements into their business processes and to mobilize their workforce. He stated to me that the BSC works especially well in the intangible service markets where it is difficult to measure by traditional means. He informed me that this methodology would help me strategize, map-out and be able to articulately sell a compelling business case in the languages that upper management would understand.
I am not going to get in depths about the BSC however; I believe you need to explore this on your own. I highly recommend this because more and more companies are starting to implement these methodologies to improve their services and profitability. I am sure you are happy about that : ) There is a lot of good free information but I purchased the strategy execution tool kit for $295 and it is worth every penny. (Below is a quick summary about BSC and link to their site)
About Balanced Scorecard The Balanced Scorecard (BSC) concept was created by Drs. Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton in 1992, and has been implemented in thousands of corporations, organizations, and government agencies worldwide. The Balanced Scorecard allows organizations to implement strategy rapidly and effectively by integrating the measurement system with the management system. Based on the simple premise that "measurement motivates," the Balanced Scorecard has been integral to the success of organizations throughout the world. https://www.bscol.com
I am going to discuss how the BSC changed my life and my overall perceptions for the TA world. BSC taught me to look at the TA industry and understand it from all different perspectives: employee, candidates, customer, management and financial. For example, since the death of the industrial age and the birth of the knowledge base industry one glaring observation is that most financial measures that we all live and die by can be a lagging indicator of success. What I mean, is that the indicators could have happened last week, last month, or even years ago with no immediate control in the present. This is not an “always” statement for you finance and accounting geeks out there : ) But when I thought about this I was floored! I just created my first business case that would make sense to management. My goal is to improve profitability by enhancing the recruitment process, metrics and build a sustainable growing pipeline of talent. All of these are FUTURE indicators for success! I know that human capital in most companies accounts for about 35-45% of operating expense and as a result, high impact talent plays a major force in success or failure for a company. Further more, HC is one of the few investments that can actually drive the top and bottom line dollars.
I am starting to understand the BSC methodology as it relates to the TA strategies. By focusing on creating current indicators and/or leading indicators metrics, I can create a strategy that will be compelling to upper management. NOW I have a starting point!
PART II My Talent Acquisition Strategy Mapping utilizing the Balanced Scorecard Coming Soon!
August 19 Marley’s Answer To The Dreaded Salary QuestionsWhen is comes down to the important question of how to negotiate salary with a company I have to defer to my human capital expert that gets all of the bling. My partner in crime Marley! The pitch he uses is simple and smooth! It sounds like this; there are two reasons why I am here today. First money is important, but what is more important is opportunity! Since I see a lot of opportunity here at ABC Company I do not want to price my self out of this position. So I would entertain your strongest offer! Keep mindful that you will have to answer the question of what you have been making in the past! Both Marley and I hope this helps : ) For what it’s worth: a Recruiters Perspective! Part IV Interviewing TechInterviewing Strategies: Now you’ve got an interview. Regardless of whether it is a recession or a booming market, how do you separate yourself from the pack? What is your plan of attack for the interview process?
What is your story or elevator pitch? The first step is to understand where you came from and where you want to go. Recruiters and managers want to see career progression. They also want to see how concisely you can answer their questions. Prior to the interview, write a page about each of your jobs; what were your responsibilities, are and what were your major accomplishments? This will help you commit it to memory. The key is to practice giving your presentation to your friends, spouse or any one who will listen. This will help you be more confident during your interview, so that you can focus on listening to the questions instead of trying to figure out what your response is going to be. This will also give you an edge to ask a good business question (we will discuss business questions later) and begin to make yourself stand out from the other people they have interviewed.
Know & Define who you buyer is? This is no different than sales or dealing with you’re internal/external customer. Who are you meeting with, and what business challenges are keeping them up at night? This is critical information, and this is the basis of your approach to each interview. For example, a CEO is worried about profitability and reducing costs. An IT director is worried about employee burn-out, and getting projects done on time. An internal/external customer service and HR professional is worried about finding qualified talent in a quick period of time. Most importantly, they are worried about whether or not you are going to go postal! I see a lot of people who blindly go into interviews. If you do not know who you are meeting with, you will be starting out the interview at a disadvantage. This will cause you to be less confident and not interview at the top of your game.
Mirroring & Appearance: This is a key area that people over look. Remember: when you interview ,you must be well groomed. If you are a smoker, do not smoke before you go into the interview or you will smell like an ash-tray. Make sure that your cologne or perfume is not to strong, and men- put the cologne on with your left hand so when you shake hands you do not make the interviewer smell like you. Breath mints are also important. Finally, when you go in for your interview, mirror your interviewer; how fast they walk, talk and shake hands. People like to do business with people who are like them. The Morgan Consulting Group has a great video you can buy for this part. www.morgancg.com. This is a great site that trains recruiters how to recruit and candidates how to interview.
Interview Questions to make an impact! You feel comfortable with your elevator pitch, you have defined who your buyer is and have researched the company, and now you are ready to make an impact. Interviewers will determine your level of intelligence by the questions you ask. Here are 10 good questions that you can ask that will separate you from the masses. 1. If a headhunter were to call you to recruit you to a competitor, what would be the reasons why you would stay here at ABC Co? 2. Describe for me how ABD Co separates itself from its competitors to attract the top 20% of talent? 3. Is there a variance between where you are and where you would like to be for this (position, business, etc..)? 4. Describe for me what make a successful POSITION TITLE OR EMPLOYEE for ABC Co? 5. What are you looking for in a valued team member at ABC Co? 6. What are ABC’s strategic goals for the next 12 months? How does that affect you? How does that affect the department? Who else does this affect? 7. What were the successful attributes of the person who had this job before? Where did they fall short? 8. Describe for me your (CEO’s) management style? 9. What makes ABC Co stand out amongst its competitors? 10. What do you see as the peaks and valleys for ABC Co market place and what strategies do you have in place to smooth those valleys out?
The Dreaded Question: What are you looking for as compensation? This is the question that everybody hates to answer. Here is what I recommend, and I call it the two reasons approach.
There are two reasons why I am here. The first is that money is important! But what is more important to me is opportunity, and I see a lot of opportunity here at ABC Co. Because of this opportunity, I do not want to price myself out of this position, and I would entertain your strongest offer. (Be quiet after that).
You may still have to give a range. I would then tell them where you are at and where you would like to be.
How to use agencies and consulting companies? Most people do not know how to use agencies or consulting companies to their advantage. There are some key things here that you need to be aware of. Be sure that if you send them your resume, they do not send it out until after you have met with them. You want to make sure that you share the same vibe. It is also important to know how they do business. What is there process of submitting your resume and what type of benefits or services can they offer you? NOTE: a recruiter who has a bad reputation as a slammer can hurt your chances of getting a job opportunity. You want to select a few agencies to work with. You do not want to work with them all because it makes you look desperate and it is hard to keep track of who is submitting your info where.
Organize Yourself? It is very important to keep track of the places you are sending your resume or info, who you are networking with and what agencies you are working with and where they are sending your resume. You should create a tickler file of when you should contact people: past interviews, people you have networked with (to keep in touch), and agencies and consulting companies (to let them know you are still available). This file will keep you in front of people and companies who may hire you or network you into a job in the future. It is also a good idea to send thank you notes as well as industry related articles with “thought you might like this…” or “just incase you did not see this”. Another good tactic is to read the newspaper or local business paper and send them any articles about their company to congratulate them on making the paper. Just make sure its not for an Enron scandal or layoffs : )
Interested in starting your own business? 1099, Payroll or Entrepreneur You have several opportunities here. You can become an independent consultant by incorporating yourself into a 1099. If you do not want the hassle of sending out invoices or doing accounting, you can go to your favorite agency or consulting company and ask them to payroll you. They will do all the back office work for a small fee. There are event associations or website out there that will do that work for you. Check out the 1099 links that we have in the job seeker resource area. Finally, you can start your own business and be your own boss. There is a lot of risk but a lot of rewards. Our business resource center is the best on the Internet to help you find Venture Capital, Government Grants, Angel Investors and business help.
For what it’s worth: a Recruiters Perspective! Part III- NetworkingBuilding your Personal & Professional Network: Remember when I talked about how to control the future of your career when you cannot control the business market? Controlling your future begins and ends with building your personal and professional network. In 2001, I started throwing Pinkslip Parties in Wisconsin to help proactive employers network with potential candidates. Throughout that year, I saw approximately 55 people get jobs. Many of those individuals still attended the next event in order to network, even though they had jobs, because they found it to be fun. Yet others did not. Through the year, I saw many people who were laid off 3 to 4 time because of the business climate. The Pinkslip partygoers who kept networking found jobs right away, and the others who stopped networking had to start all over again. The moral of this story is that the partygoers that kept networking got to know employers and employers got to know them. They felt comfortable with each other and it was easier for the recruiters to recommend those people with whom they felt comfortable. An analogy of the hiring process is that you have one or two dates, and then you are asked to get married. It is a scary process, so the better you get to know the company and the recruiter, the more able you are to make an educated decision. Lets face it, the hiring process in the U.S. considers if they like you first, then whether you can do the job.
The strategy is to develop business networks; associations that fit with your background and the industry you are trying to get into. Do not forget charitable groups, as there are a lot of companies that want their employees, managers and executives to give back to the community. Many people give me the excuses, “I do not have time” or “I have too many family commitments”. My response is, “you have to make time!” This is a commitment for your future, both personally and professionally.
Check out our resource section for candidates, recruiters and business, and you will find where some of these networks are. New ones will be added as I here of them!
For what it’s worth: a Recruiters Perspective! Part IIResume strategy:
Remember, this is the first step in running yourself like a business. You can compare it to writing an executive summary for a business plan. The first step is to realize that businesses do not care about what you do between 9:00-5:00. I am not saying not to put your responsibilities on your resume. What I am saying is the key to standing out among the masses is your accomplishments, no matter how big or small. I usually get asked “what are accomplishments?” Think about how you saved the company money, reduced time, increased workflow and improved the quality of life for your internal/external customers. This might something as simple as creating an excel spreadsheet that saved everybody at work time or something as extraordinary as closing a $10 million deal.
Now you ask “what should my resume look like?” This is where it gets tricky because resumes are a personal thing. You get different advice from recruiters, HR professionals and Out Placement companies. You will have to see what makes you comfortable for the interview process (we will discuss this more in the interview section). I will give you what I think it the logical order of importance.
Contact Info: Name Address etc… Objective: What do you want from a company. If you get what you want how are you going to contribute? What is the result of your contribution? Technology: This is a key factor. It is very important for you to show what technologies you are comfortable with using. I have seen situations in which Biotech companies are requiring the CEO’s to sit down and demonstrate their ability to use power point. Experience: My advice for you here is to be detailed with your company, title and dates. If you do not add dates, they will toss your resume. The important aspect for this section is to separate you responsibilities and accomplishments. You can label or bullet-point them, however you feel comfortable. To make the accomplishment section easier, use this approach: take a look at the accomplishments you are proud of and think back to that time and figure out what the business challenge was. Explicitly write out the business challenge, what your recommendations were and what the outcome was or the impact it had on your company. Education: if you are a college or associate graduate and do not have any practical experience in your field you may want to put education before experience. Affiliations: Associations, charities etc… References Available Upon Request: Be careful here because recruiters may use these as leads for new customers or candidates. **Things to remember: the font should not be smaller than 11, and the margins should be ½-inch (this will give you more room) and finally, if you have a lot of work experience, do not go longer than 3 pages.**
For what it’s worth: a Recruiters Perspective! Part IRun yourself like your own business?
For 14 years I have been recruiting Executives, High Tech Professionals, Sales, Recruiters & Hr Professionals, Scientist & Lab Techs, Office Clerical and Mid Technical professionals in the IT, Engineering, Manufacturing and Life Science Industries. In Milwaukee, I have competed with over 250 agencies and consulting companies, and I have interviewed thousands of candidates. I started out my career in 1993, during a recession, and I made it through the Internet Boom and Bust. Now I find myself back in a recession in 2002.
In order to play the employment game, one thing remains constant: the market changes and you have no control over that. But you do have control over your own career. Usually, when I say that to people the say, “yah right! I cannot control whether or not I receive a Pinkslip or if my company goes out of business!” My response to that statement is “you are wrong!!!!” It is interesting to see the look on people’s faces when I tell them that they do have control. The next question always is, “how do I control my future?” My answer is, “run yourself like your own business!”
How do I run myself like my own business? Simple – you need to have a plan. You have to set personal and professional short term and long term goals. How else are you going to judge if there is a variance between where you are and where you would like to be, both personally and professionally? Most people are very reactive instead of proactive. For example, take a look at the current business climate and most people who have been laid off or are afraid of the current business climate are like a deer caught in headlights. They were not prepared for this. I have meet hundreds of people who have not had to look for a job for years. They have had no problems finding a job and have even been recruited aggressively to new jobs. Now, they do not know where to begin their search or how to find a job. What’s worse, when they do get an interview they are one of many people fighting for that spot. My question for you is, how do you separate yourself out as the top 20% of candidates to get the job you want?
Before you go on, let’s take a little test. Write down a few sentences about what makes you different from everybody else!
What does a plan look like? This is a big topic, so I am going to equate it to how do you eat an elephant? The answer is in chunks. I am going to break down my 9 years experience of advice into sections. The first section will be your resume.
Part II coming soon! August 15 Accomplishments 4 Your Resume & Interview
Business Challenge + Your Solution = Accomplishments
In today’s knowledge economy the competition for the top jobs is starting to get fierce. Most people ask me what they can do to their resumes to stand out amongst the masses. My answer is inevitably the same. What are your accomplishments? Most people get very frustrated when I ask them to sell me on themselves or tell me what some of their accomplishments have been. They tell me I can’t think of any now or I have not done anything that has saved the company millions of dollars. Which only tells me that they are too close to their jobs and do not know how to identify what an accomplishment is and more importantly how to share an accomplishment to show their business acumen. I guess being dyslexic I looked at this backwards for my self. I noticed that most companies have the same goals or similar problems whether it is service or manufacturing. i.e. make $, reduce cost, improve customer service etc…. When I would look at peoples resumes I would see bullet points or simple sentences like I save the company $500 or increased sale by 38%. Thinking that this is a great accomplishment it is. But from an outsiders perspective we do not know if that $500 is a lot or little, minor or major impact to that company’s bottom line. Lots of questions and assumptions are left up to whoever is reading your resume and more importantly the whole story was not told. Now here is a simple formula for you to figure out what your accomplishments are. Business Challenge + Your Solution = Accomplishments (never change) Make money Save money Reduce cost Improve customer service Improve moral etc… They key to this formula is that accomplishments (results) never change! What changes are the business challenges you faced what your recommended solutions were to that challenge and the result of that solution! (Warning an accomplishment should be no longer than 3-4 sentences. You are not writing a dissertation!!) This accomplishment will demonstrate you business intelligence; the person reading the resume can relate those challenges to their industry or company; and the recruiters/HR professional you have given them marketing information to sell your bacground to their internal/external customers. EXAMPLE: ABC’s recruitment process was incomplete, I proactively designed a phone screen and in person interview process which led to a reduction of turnover by 50%. As a result, of our new hires we help our internal customer increase productivity and overall profitability by 5%. |
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