Yes, talent wars are starting again. See this article about Silicon Valley.
Are you prepared to be stolen away? Programmers and accountants are being snatched everywhere.
Can you protect your teammates from being pilfered at a critical point in your project?
Posted in Finding jobs, Networking, Quitting or Fired, Recruiters, talent, Uncategorized
Tagged accountants, programmers, resume, talent war
A 5000 email resume spam campaign may get you a job. That’s why there are people who will legitimately mail, email or fax your resume to a boatload of recruiters. If you want to spend the money on it, go ahead.
Putting your resume on a hundred job boards may get you a job. On my blog sites I have a link to Resume Rabbit, who will do it. If you want to spend the money, go ahead.
How to REALLY get a great job is personal contact. Here’s why: if I put an ad in the paper or on a job board, 50 to 1000 job seekers will reply. Most of those will be unqualified for the job. Basically, I have to wade through spam to get a few gems. Similarly, last week the same resume was sent to me 5 times. It was from a guy in Texas who tries to hide where he is from so I will call him with a job “anywhere in the US”. It is spam. I delete a lot of spammed resumes. I call 1 out of 50 of them.
The people who get my attention every time are:
1. Recommended to me by their friends, or
2. Call me personally and introduce themselves, or
3. Are recruited by me when I call them directly at their jobs.
All three are guts and glory ways of contacting someone. Getting a friend to recommend you or calling yourself is a very high risk and high reward way of looking for a job. Sending an email or applying online is a no risk and very low reward way of looking for a job.
Cowardice is too strong of a word, but an effective one. Email is not cowardly, it is just the least effective avenue of attack you have.
Personal calls and recommendations from friends are the most effective way to get that job you really want. Hiring managers insulate themselves from job hunters so they aren’t bothered by unqualified and ill prepared job seekers. If you are absolutely qualified and prepared why not use the absolutely most effective job hunting techniques you can?
Do a search for “networking” on my blog site archives. I have written a lot of articles on how you can find the people you need to contact. Look for a title that includes “networking”.
The easiest way, however, is just to call the company. Ask, “Who is in charge of US sales?” or, “Who is the head of computer programming?”, or “Which VP runs commercial lending?” Then call that person and ask them what you can do for them. Say, “I’m Jim Tarrington. At my company I report to the guy who does your job. I’m looking for a job. Is there a place I would fit into your group?” Then listen.
Try a high contact, high risk, and high reward way to job search. Give it a shot.
Something To Do Today
Which 3 companies would you most like to work for? Or, which 3 advertised jobs do you want the most? Get a friend to recommend you, or call in yourself.
Posted in Networking, Resumes
Tagged email resume, fax your resume, Networking, resume spam
I was told, “I want to work in a Fortune 100 company. That’s where the action is at. Then I will really be going places.” It could be true. Just remember, Enron was in the Fortune 100 club too.
For you, the job seeker, company reputation is important. It will make a difference in how other people view your career. The reputation of the local division is even more important. Your success will be tied directly to the local division’s performance. The reputation of your new manager is critical. He’s the one that will make your job paradise or purgatory.
If you go to the newspaper and internet you can find the official company news releases. That’s what they want their reputation to be. For the people outside of their industry, it will really be their reputation.
Their reputation in the industry and in the community will not be too hard to find. Try calling some independent recruiters that work with the company. If they submitted you there then they ought to already know the company reputation. If they didn’t submit you, ask them about the company as you talk to them about your job search. Independent recruiters talk to everyone going into a company and everyone leaving that company. They know where all the skeletons are buried and which managers or departments are the best to work with.
Quiz anyone who has close contact with the company. Look up their competitors. It can be particularly interesting to talk to people who worked at competitors. How do you find these people? Go to LinkedIn.com and search for company names in the “Person” search.
Suppliers and accountants are great sources. Expand your online search if it is a company you are very interested in.
Your search for their reputation can help you find other job openings too. As you expand your circle of inquiry, more people find out that you are available. Don’t forget to ask everyone who else you ought to talk to. You may be surprised how important the comment of the friend of a friend can be.
Also call people doing the job you want in nearby unrelated companies. In many cases there are associations for your job. Talk to the people running the association and those at the meetings. Ask them about reputation. You want people from the same level you will be at because reputation can vary at different levels. If you want to be a salesman, programmer or COO, the reputation of the company will have spread outside of their industry.
Make it a habit to do your “due diligence” as you start interviewing for a job. Find out their reputation. Contact people about the company. It will help you select the right company with the right boss. Your inquiries may also lead you to a different, better job.
Something To Do Today
Find out if there are any associations for your job or the job you are working towards. Online search engines work well. Reference librarians are especially good at finding them. Go to your local library and ask for help.
Posted in Finding jobs, Networking
Tagged company reputation, Finding jobs, reputation
Trust enthusiasm. Fear okay.
If something always goes wrong in your job interviews after the point where references are checked, you probably want to rethink your references.
Some of your references may be knifing you in the back. They are your phantom friends. You thought they would give good references. They were always friendly. Still, they may have thought you were a poor worker. They might just be unable to compliment anyone.
Trust enthusiasm, fear “okay”
You can’t trust a reference to tell you directly, “I’m going to say bad things.” If you ask someone to be your reference and they say, “I’d love to. You were a great worker. I will brag about how well you did. You were wonderful”, they are probably a good reference. If they only say, “Okay”, be careful.
Interrogate okay
Ask Mr. Okay, “Will you say that if it was up to you, you would rehire me?” If you get any hedging, don’t use this reference. For instance, “I’ll tell them I would rehire you under the right circumstances,” is hedging. “Jim, you know I don’t have the authority to rehire you,” is also hedging. “Of course! I’d rehire you and give you a raise. I really wish you were still here,” is the positive reference you are looking for.
If you are concerned that someone might be a phantom friend, drop them from the reference list. Find someone else. That’s the safest bet.
Have someone else check your references
You can always have someone check out your references for you. They will call up and say, “I’m checking Jane Doe’s references. Would you recommend her for the same job she had?” They also have to ask, “Would you rehire her?”
Your references are one of your strongest job search weapons. Make sure they really are good references. It will make a huge difference.
When your friend puts your resume on the desk of her boss and says, “Jill is the best salesperson I’ve ever met,” that’s not a reference. She never worked with you. It is only a fantastic introduction. So get your friend to do that, and also find real references.
The people you choose as references need to know how well you work. If you provide your pastor, a bowling buddy and your son’s Scoutmaster as references, it will work against you. People who check references want to know how well you work, not how well you sit in church, drink beer or drop off hikers.
When you give people you have not worked with as all of your references, you wave a big red flag in front of your candidacy. The hiring manager will wonder why you have no coworkers you can trust. Isn’t there someone you worked with in the past who can say something nice about you?
Don’t limit yourself to coworkers and bosses. Try these references:
Your current job and previous jobs are your biggest assets in a job search. Use your jobs to prove how well you will work for your new company. The bad news is if you screwed up on two jobs in a row, you are going to have a hard time getting hired. The good news is if you impressed three people at your old jobs, those are the only three you have to give as references.
Something To Do Today
In your job journal list the people you impressed in the last 5 years. Use the suggestions above to add people beyond your coworkers, bosses and subordinates.
Posted in Accomplishments, Networking, References
Tagged Accomplishments, references
The modern steam locomotive can cross the plains at the lightning speed of 15 mile per hour. The only thing faster is a telegraph. (circa 1870)
How fast can you find a new job? Let’s talk about the Beatles. They were an overnight sensation…except for the years they spent playing clubs in Germany and England. Years lost to the world.
I bet you know a guy who quit and had a new job a week later. He wasn’t even looking when he quit. He told you so. So how long will it take you to get a new job? No one knows.
The best thing to do is keep your current job and start looking. Use your network. The first thing to ask them is not, “Find me a job,” but, “How’s the job market?” Get the people you know to tell you how long it took for their acquaintances to find a job. This will tell your network to keep their eyes open.
Be careful how widely you let it be known you are looking for a job. If you are employed, use your network, recruiters and respond to ads. If you are unemployed, you might use ResumeRabbit to send your resume to 50 internet sites. You have to understand that you will be getting calls for a year or two if you put your resume on the internet.
Executives often look a month for every $10,000 in income they want. If they are earning $120,000 then they may search for a year. Technical experts are often either hired within days of their search beginning, or they take 12 months to find a job. Why? They may have critical skills, but there is no job until someone else quits or a project starts.
Your job search will be over much more quickly if you will commute a long distance or relocate.
Let’s get serious about money. Are you overpaid? Do you have golden handcuffs that will keep you from leaving? Then you may never find another job without taking a pay cut. If you are underpaid, you’ll get a new job quickly. That’s just a fact.
How fast will you get a new job? No one knows. So it is probably best to start looking while you are still employed.
Again, here is the first step to finding out how fast you can find a job.
Don’t just ask your network to help you find a job. Ask people how long it took for folks they know to find a job. Search for stories of quick searches and also ask for horror stories.
Posted in Economy, Finding jobs, Networking, Quitting or Fired
Tagged find a new job, job search
The only thing that makes life possible is permanent, intolerable uncertainty, not knowing what comes next. (LeGuin)
Success isn’t permanent, and failure isn’t fatal. (Ditka)
I would rather be ashes than dust! I would rather that my spark should burn out in a brilliant blaze than it should be stifled by dry-rot. I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet. The proper function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall use my time. (London)
Here is what happened to me:
Our company made a record profit. The industry was booming. The company was sold for an unbelievable amount because its future was so bright.
95% of the employees were laid off by the end of the next month . We were in a boom no one thought was a bubble. The bubble burst. The company had to lay off almost everyone. I lasted until the end of the next month.
10 years later I was employed by a huge computer company. The world was good. This was a permanent job. I had been there 9 years. I was safe.
Then I got a letter from a friend at corporate headquarters. There were going to be layoffs in 3 months. I asked my bosses. They denied it. My contact said, “I read the memo.” I quit for a new job one week before the layoffs were announced.
What has happened to permanent employment?
Permanent employment does exist. It exists in your skills, networks and planning.
Union negotiations, trade laws and employment contracts are all useless against the tides of change. Your guarantee of permanent employment comes only through your own efforts and flexibility. Permanent is what YOU bring to the table.
Even people who have been in the same company for 20 years have switched careers 3, 5 or 10 times. During my 9 years at EDS I had 4 very different job paths in 9 years.
Look at where you are. Prepare for the changes that absolutely will come. Learn new skills. Pay for your own training if you have to. Get certifications. Pay for the tests yourself if your company won’t. Get trade magazines for your specialty and industry. Bring ideas to the table where you work.
The world is changing. You can either benefit from the changes or lose everything you have.
Permanent success means constant change. Make your job permanent, though your career changes.
Something To Do Today
List what you can do to become a “Permanent” employee. Meaning you always have a job.
Posted in Accomplishments, Attitude, Economy, Networking, Perseverance, Promotions, Quitting or Fired
Tagged fired, job security, laid off, permanent employment, quitting
Do not say a little in many words, but a great deal in a few. (Pythagoras)
When is your resume being thrown away? Yesterday I gave the 4 major trashing points in your resume’s life.
You have two ways to break through the cycle:
Networking will get your resume directly to the boss with a recommendation. Outstanding networking will get you an interview without a resume.
For the rest:
Do you pass the idiot test and the expert test? Assume an idiot and an expert will each try to find a reason to throw away your resume. Assume they have too many resumes and want to throw away as many as possible. They are proactive trashers.
The secretary has to see an obvious, undeniable fit with the job description. She won’t understand all the acronyms, but she knows they have to be there. She knows how much experience is required. She knows it has to be a manager or a worker. She trashes resumes that don’t shout that they fit the job.
The boss has a lot to do. He wants a great person to work for him, but doesn’t have enough time to talk to everyone. Like the secretary he throws out the obvious problems. The difference is that he understands the resume. He throws out the resumes that just don’t feel right. Time is critical to him. The first person he calls has the accomplishments he needs in his company.
Run a test. Take your resume and the job ad you are responding to. Hand both to someone who doesn’t know the field. Do they think you pass? Do the same with an expert. Do you pass?
Stop wishing and hoping. Either network your way in or find your own screeners. You need other people to help you get your resume out of the trash can.
Something To Do Today
Who do you know that is up front and brutally blunt? Take your resume and the job ad you are responding to. Ask them read the job ad thoroughly. Then give them your resume. Ask them to decide in 10 seconds if it looks like the resume passes. Then ask them to take 45 seconds and look closer.
Do you pass the test?
Posted in Accomplishments, Networking, Resumes
Tagged Accomplishments, hiring manager, Networking, resume, resume screener, resume test
Tips for job seekers and Halloween trick or treaters are just about the same. Think about how each of these directly applies to looking for a job.
Wow! I could write 21 articles based on those points. Let me make a few quick points instead.
Have a great Halloween, and an even better job search. Good luck finding that one pound candy bar!
Posted in Accomplishments, Attitude, Finding jobs, Focus, Networking, Perseverance, Resumes, Time management
Tagged accomplishment, Attitude, Finding jobs, get past screeners, good attitude, hard work, job search tricks, luck, Networking, Perseverance, resume format, resume makeover, take charge, Time management
Our greatest pretenses are built up not to hide the evil and ugly in us, but our emptiness. The hardest thing to hide is something that is not there. (Hoffer)
Many people say Saddam Hussein was the foremost expert in hiding what is not there. Rather than argue the facts, let’s exploit his methods. It works when you are trying to get a job or promotion to do something you have never done before.
Saddam showed great enthusiasm for the weapons he was not supposed to have. He built expertise in their design, construction and use. He got hold of parts of the technologies required to build the weapons and made sure the world knew it. Tests were done openly with related weapons and delivery systems. His experts visited seminars, arms factories and suppliers of illegal goods. There were even articles published by “insiders” who “blew the cover” of the program. Last of all, he refused to prove he didn’t have the expertise.
Here is how to apply Saddam’s tricks towards getting a job or promotion you have no experience for:
In order to get the first shot at your future, you have to prepare. Eventually your enthusiasm and persistence will get you an opportunity.
Posted in Attitude, Finding jobs, Networking, Resumes