Category Archives: Finding jobs

Why the best people have the hardest time finding jobs when laid off

Posted on August 1, 2013 | Leave a comment

The best people have the hardest time finding jobs when they are laid off. It is a fact. It is not for the reason you are thinking.

This is my experience.

I was the only person out of 300 that knew for sure that layoffs were coming.  I had a mole in the headquarters in Dallas.  I asked my boss, Mike, when the layoffs were going to start.  He said, “There won’t be any layoffs.” Nevertheless, he checked with Dallas and was told there would not be any layoffs.

He was wrong, and I knew it.  My source sat 50 feet from the division president who was laying plans.

So I told Mike, “If there are layoffs, I want to be in the first group you let go.”

Mike assured me that it wouldn’t be necessary.  There would be no layoffs.

I started looking for a job and started a small recruiting company.  A week before the layoffs were announced I gave my 2 weeks notice.  My company, AGI, had its first contract.  Mike acknowledged that my timing was perfect.  The only thing that could have gone better was waiting a week so I got severance pay.  The new job security was a lot better than any severance pay.

Everyone who was laid off in the first group got a job immediately.  Everyone.

There were more layoffs.  The people laid off 6  months later didn’t find as many open jobs as the first group.  Those laid off a few months after that were unemployed for a lot longer.

The funny thing is that the best employees were laid off last.  But they couldn’t find jobs.  Why?

By the time they were laid off, there was a serious business malaise.  All the local companies had staffed their urgent projects.  Now everyone was afraid to hire more people.  So the best people had the hardest time finding jobs.

Isn’t it strange that the best workers, the most loyal staff, the absolutely essential people all had a hard time finding jobs? The reason is that they were let go at the absolute worst possible time.  Every job was filled months before. They were hurt the most by their own loyalty.

Are you concerned about layoffs?  Even if you are planning to stay, start setting yourself up for a job. Start setting yourself up for a promotion. Work harder than ever.  Take over new tasks.  Figure out how to make the company more money. Write a resume and hand it to your boss.  Ask for a promotion or an award for doing so well.  Don’t worry about a raise. Worry about getting recognized for exceptional performance where you are.  Then figure out if you really should look for a new job.

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Posted in Economy, Finding jobs, Perseverance, Quitting or Fired

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Give up and go elsewhere when things are bad

Posted on July 31, 2013 | Leave a comment

I found a great job for someone and was told”

“If I leave, deliveries will stop, sales will stop, and a lot of people will be out of work. I’m going to have to turn down this job.  I owe it to my boss and coworkers to see them through these hard times.”

Is this you? What’s next?  Layoffs 3 weeks later.  Suddenly it really is self sacrifice because you are laid off.  And you may lose the house too.

First secure an independent income, then practice virtue. (Greek proverb)

I am not saying to abandon ship when you are needed.  I am saying that you must be aware of what really is happening.  You finding a new job may free up enough money to save another person’s job.  The shock of your resignation may be what finally gets through to the big boys that things are going badly.  Sometimes a company is going bankrupt no matter how heroic everyone is. Reality is not always what you think it is.

When business is bad it taints your whole outlook.  You see problems everywhere.  In your distorted world, no business can be thriving.  You are wrong.  Some are growing.  Don’t be afraid to join them. I guarantee that you are replaceable. If not, the problems are so severe you should leave anyway.

There is an alternative. A while ago I was talking to an accountant at a company that was in bankruptcy.  He said, “I am earning more money than ever before.”  They REALLY couldn’t afford to lose him, so they gave him bonuses and guarantees. If you are the hero, make sure you are compensated and protected.

When business looks bad, it may be time to leave.  Don’t let the lens of self sacrifice or fear fool you.  Many times what is best for you, leaving, is also best for the company. If you really are indispensable, get paid and protected for it.  If they might fire you for asking to get paid for your risk, you are not indispensable.

Something to do today

Is business bad?  Find someone you trust who has business experience.  Talk with them about whether you should stay where you are or find a new job.  You may just need an outsider’s perspective.

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Coming up

How to ruin a phone interview

Start a new job excellently

New and better or cheaper

How everyone else sees you

The difference between fertilizer and ****

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Posted in Attitude, Counteroffers, Economy, Finding jobs, Negotiating, Promotions, Quitting or Fired

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Give up and go elsewhere when things are good

Posted on July 30, 2013 | Leave a comment

(Before you lynch me, read tomorrow’s column about giving up when times are bad.)

Most revolutions happen as things are getting better.  That happened in the Marxist revolutions and the revolts against the Communists.  It happened in the American revolution.  Things were getting better and people rebelled.

People seriously think of quitting their jobs as things get better.  As life gets worse they are afraid to change.  They want more stability, not more change. When life is bad, they tend to stay where they are. It’s easier. When life is getting better is when they think of change.

In reality, it really is time to change when life is easy and the economy or your company is soaring.  That is when people start slacking.  You are most likely to get noticed when you are the new guy on the block with something to prove.

In your current job push hard. If you aren’t getting raises and promotions, ask for them.  If not now, when? But start looking.  If you are pulling ahead as a superstar, others outside your company may be even more interested than those who know you well.

It is probably time to get a new job even if you are getting raises and promotions.  Career advancement, pay raises and opportunities usually come more quickly to those willing to change jobs in good times.  There is an immediate raise upon taking the new job.  There are also faster raises for the first 3 years.

Yes, it is a fact.  People who change jobs get raises and promotions faster for a few years.  It may be that there is no history to judge against, only current need and performance. It is likely that you are “irreplaceable” at the position you have had for 5 years so they don’t want to promote you or give you a new opportunity.  Whatever the reason, raises and promotions come faster for the first 3 years with a company.  Someone already there and doing the same job will NOT get the same pay raises, promotions and opportunities you get by coming in fresh.

Another reason to leave when life is good is that when life is good, people are hiring.  It is much easier to get into that company or job you always wanted. There is money to pay for your eager attitude.  It is easier to find a job when you are employed than when you are laid off.

Life is good now for 90% of Americans.  Think about changing.  Position yourself for change even if you don’t make a jump to another company.  When the economy eventually turns ugly for your company, those who have been making minimal progress will be laid off

Something to do today

Really assess where you are.  Are you coasting?  Have you relaxed?

Then start pushing hard in your current job.  Set a personal goal and meet it. Get ahead now while others coast.

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Coming up

Give up and go elsewhere when things are bad

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Posted in Economy, Finding jobs, Quitting or Fired, Uncategorized

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Dangers and rewards in the Fortune 50

Posted on July 26, 2013 | Leave a comment

A Fortune 50 Executive said it was one of the more difficult times of his life.  He was in charge of identifying 2000 MBA’s in their organization who would receive layoff notices in December.  These were dedicated workers from top schools who were earning fat salaries.  They were putting in long hours on important projects, sure their futures were secure.  Just before Christmas they would get their pink slips.  Their lives would shatter.

Of course he had been on that same track and made it past middle management.  He was actually going to be well rewarded that year.  He was dramatically cutting costs.  His bonus was tied to how heavily he slashed employees.  It was tough, but every person fired was a little more gravy for him. He was earning more than he could have at any mid-sized company.

The rewards are great, but so are the risks in the Fortune 50.

Most of those huge companies are divided up into groups and divisions so that they run a lot like a mid-sized company with strong financial backing.  That does provide stability and a chance to be part of a high risk/high reward project.  However, all that strong financial backing can disappear when 3/4ths of the company has a bad year.  Then out come the knives.  The most profitable divisions also have job cuts at those times.

Just last month I was talking with my son about the Fortune 50 company he is working for that is cutting folks at a division with a 50% profit margin and high growth rate.  Sometimes it seems odd.  There is always a good reason somewhere when they do something like that.

Is it better to work for a mid-sized or small company?  No one knows.  That’s because no one knows the future.  I’m sure that at least half of those 2000 MBA’s went to mid-sized and small companies after they were cut loose.  Their experience and education got them all new jobs within 6 months or a year.

When you get a chance to work for a huge company, remember the risks as well as the rewards.  There is no free ride.  Reward and risk always go together. Don’t forget the rewards of experience as well as the money, or the risks that come with being part of an organization where you are an expendable replaceable cog.

Something to do today

Look at your own job stability.  How subject are you to layoffs not related to your area’s performance?

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Coming up

Scrabble and muck and get ahead

When to give up and go elsewhere

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And a final thought about the same question and the government

You will find that the State is the kind of organization which, though it does big things badly, does small things badly too.  (John Kenneth Galbraith)

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Posted in Attitude, Finding jobs, Focus, management, Raises

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Every great leader needs an Ed McMahon. Interview as one.

Posted on July 9, 2013 | Leave a comment

“Here’s Johnny!” Ed McMahon made millions saying that.

Before Jay Leno and David Letterman started doing late night TV there was the great Johnny Carson. Ed McMahon was his assistant.

Ed McMahon spent decades introducing, listening to Johnny Carson, and laughing at his jokes.  His job was to make Carson look good.  He made Carson look smart, witty, and fun. That was also Ed McMahon’s job before and after the show. He made sure a lot of things were taken care of so Carson could focus on more important things like being smart, witty and fun. Ed never forgot his role.  Carson made Ed a multi-millionaire for playing that role.

Whether you are applying for the job of boss or grunt, you need to remember that someone wants you to be their Ed McMahon. They want you to make them look good. They want you to handle a lot of pressing diversions so they can focus on more important matters. You may be called CEO, VP, Manager, Team Leader, or Secretary.  All those jobs are there so you can make someone else look good. The CEO is supposed to make the investors look brilliant.  The secretary is supposed to make her boss look organized and smart.

Can you show how you were an Ed McMahon in your last two jobs? How did you make your last boss look brilliant?

Can you show how you will make your new boss look good and take over a bunch of problems he doesn’t want to deal with?

If you can prove how helpful you are in your interview, you will be a lot closer to being hired than if you merely show you can do everything in the job description.

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Coming up

The most powerful questions

The Arizona sapphire and your interview

Beating the tests

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Posted in Accomplishments, Finding jobs, Focus, Interviews, talent

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How 2100 hirers say you should use social media

Posted on July 5, 2013 | Leave a comment

More and more companies are using social media to find and vet job candidates, and more and more often, social media is giving these companies reasons to not hire a candidate.

A survey conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of CareerBuilder found that two in five companies…Click here to read more about the survey of 2100 hirers.

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Posted in Finding jobs, Job Boards, Networking, References, Resumes

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Resume spreading services and warnings

Posted on June 28, 2013 | Leave a comment

There are two types of resume spreading services. One sends your resume to many job search websites like Monster and CareerBuilder.com. The other sends your resume to hundreds of recruiters and companies like ResumeRabbit,  indeed.com, and simplyhired.com.

The dangers

If you are employed, your resume may be sent to your current boss, or to a website he will access while searching for employees.  He may be upset to see you are looking for a job.

Your resume may also start a life on the internet that you can never stop.  As companies and sites sell and exchange masses of resumes, yours may be preserved for years and repeatedly displayed as “newly submitted.”

The reality

Getting your resume out to 1000 potential employers and recruiters is called a resume blast. It could get you hired. However, in most cases the people receiving your resume do not read it.  They are bombarded with resumes from similar services.  If you use the services that send your resume to recruiters and companies, your resume must have an impact at first glance.  If it requires a thorough reading, you are doomed. The only one of these services I check daily is ResumeSpider . I am sure there are some other useful ones somewhere.

The pay services like ResumeRabbit that send your resume out to 75 job boards get you a lot of quick exposure and save you time.  You also completely lose control of your resume. Once you send it, there is no way to indicate you have been hired.  It will be out on the internet forever.

Indeed.com and SimplyHired.com also will get your resume to a lot of employers, but function more like Monster or CareerBuilder.

Resume spreading services may be just what you need as long as you are not trying to keep your job search a secret.

Something to do today

Many job boards like Monster have resume spreading services that advertise on their sites.  You can also Google the phrase “resume blast”.

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Coming up

Your pay reflects your interview

You, the movie

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Posted in Finding jobs, Job Boards, Recruiters, Resumes

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Research you must do before changing jobs to avoid a disaster

Posted on June 20, 2013 | Leave a comment

Much of the history of the Western world over the past three decades has involved replacing what worked with what sounded good. (Thomas Sowell)

You really don’t want to come back to your old boss and beg to get your job back. Do good job research before you take a new job.  You need to research two areas: Your old job and your new job.

Your old job

List the things that could be changed in your current job to get you to stay. I don’t care how bad it is, enough changes could get you to stay.  Being taken over by another company, a new boss, more money, sales suddenly taking off, a new product, 3 particular people fired, more vacation and any other changes you really want should be on the list.

Be thorough.  Be realistic.

Now go ask for the raise and new title that are on that list. Go to your boss with suggestions that he change the other most important things. If he changes things before you quit, you will want to stay.  If he doesn’t even offer to change things until after he receives your resignation, you’ll know he is insincere.

Your new job

Are you sure what job you really want?  Are you sure?

Start checking the newspaper ads months before you are ready to move.  Put a few “job agents” out in the internet job boards.  Look for the jobs you may be interested in well before you start moving.  Find out what job skills, responsibilities and opportunities are advertised all across the country.

When you see skills or functions you are not doing, see if you can start doing them in your current job.  Volunteer.  Find out if you like the new things you will be doing.  For computer programmers who want to become managers the dropout rate seems to be about 80% going from programmer to team leader to manager.  Programmers usually find that they hate managing.  It is a fact, and it is true for many other jobs.  Do all you can in your current job to explore what the job you want will be like.  You may get lucky and be given the job you want in your current company when they see you volunteering to do parts of it.

Do research on your current job and the job you want. Then if the perfect job is the first one you interview for, you’ll be able to take it immediately with no regrets.

Something to do today

Make that list of things that really could make you happy where you are.  See if you can get your boss to start moving on them.

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Coming up

How to make a quick decision

Company research

The jobs on my resume

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Posted in Finding jobs, Focus

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Religion, politics, sexuality, and job hunting

Posted on June 11, 2013 | Leave a comment

Muslim Sharia Law was the final standard for a company I knew well.  Not Iran or Taliban style Sharia Law, but their own internal version.  Most people who worked there didn’t care at all. However, bringing a gal other than your wife to the company picnic could get you fired.  All doors to offices had a glass window so you could be seen if you were in there with a member of the opposite sex.  No alcohol was allowed on the property and ham sandwiches were discouraged.  Christians, Jews and atheists were happy to work there and hardly noticed a thing.  You just had to know the pressure points, what the rules really meant.

That one US company combined religion, politics and sexual repression all on the job.  Some people loved it.  For that company, it was a sweet spot.  It was where they wanted to be.  They associated with people that made them feel comfortable.

Bring those “Sharia Law” ideas into most interviews and you will not be hired. Companies are into frictionless relations.  Don’t bother each other, work together as a team, and win while getting along.

In Carlisle, PA there was a freshly minted CPA who was upset because she felt she couldn’t put up her “Gay Pride” banner on the wall of her office.  What she didn’t think about was that there weren’t any swimsuit calendars on the walls either.  That office was a rigidly traditional suit and tie business.  They were accountants tracking people’s money, not activists.

20 miles to the east there is an office where you had better consider gay activism as a benign activity.  It seems everyone in the office is into it.

I know one company where the owners and workers all switch political parties depending on who the governor of the state is.  If you can’t change, don’t apply for a job.

How do you find these kinds of things out?  First of all be in touch with your feelings.  If something is not right and you don’t know what, say, “What do I need to know about the unwritten office rules?  Are there any rules or expectations that some people would consider unusual here?” Expect your interviewer not to understand.  Gently probe.

Religion, politics and sexuality may be very important in your job hunting.  If they are, make sure people know it.  But you also need to understand that it may extend your job hunt to a very long period of time.

Something to do today

Make sure you know who you are and what you will put up with.  It may make a huge difference in where you go to work.

If you have a pet peeve or interest, write down two or three questions that will help you evaluate the office atmosphere of the places you are applying to for work.

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next time:

“People shopping less” affects your job search

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Posted in Attitude, Finding jobs

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7 tools inside the box. What’s wrong with thinking inside the box?

Posted on May 31, 2013 | Leave a comment

I’ll be more enthusiastic about encouraging thinking outside the box when there’s evidence of any thinking going on inside it. (Terry Pratchett)

7 tools inside the box 

I got an email that said, “I finally got a job networking.”

The job came from handing out lots of business cards.  Often you get lucky working inside the box.  The box is where the proven tools are stored.  It is where most jobs are found.  Sure, think outside the box.  It might work.  First, use all the tools in the box.

This is the box

  1. Look for a job while still employed, if you can.
  2. Concentrate most on the jobs and companies you want most.
  3. Use an accomplishment filled resume – it proves you can do the job.
  4. Get the credentials of an expert.
  5. Constantly network – let people know you are looking, follow up.
  6. Watch the job ads – internet and newspaper.
  7. Use recruiters and constantly follow up with them.

Are you using all the tools inside the box?

Something to do today

Concentrate on a different tool every day or every week of your job search.  It helps keep the hunt from getting boring.

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How to wait for the next interview

Be a squeaky wheel

Get the credentials of an expert

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Posted in Finding jobs, Focus, Networking, Perseverance, Recruiters, Resumes

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