Tag Archives: decisions

One way the economy is really affecting hiring that is critical, but few notice

10 years ago the average car buyer visited 4.1 dealers before buying. Today he visits 1.7 dealers. The buyers are better informed. They can even find the dealer invoice amount, dealer only incentives and other bargaining information before they buy. The speed of decision making has dramatically increased.

3 years ago companies we deal with sometimes took months to consider who exactly they should hire. There was no hurry. Candidates were plentiful and not moving into new jobs quickly. Slow hiring was not a problem.

Now the need to fill particular jobs is more acute. I’m talking about the highest demand jobs.  Even in this economy there are critical jobs that desperately need to be filled. Companies need to hire quickly.

Even after an offer is accepted, more candidates are being courted by the company they are trying to leave and the companies they turn down. That courting often continues for months after they start their new job. For these critical jobs, 20% or more of the people that accept a job, get stolen by someone else before they start.  The speed of decision making is increasing as well as the need for good decisions.

Companies are less and less likely to seriously consider you unless you are serious about a move. They won\’t allow you two weeks to decide if you want a job. If the company waits that long then they may lose their two backup candidates. The companies just can’t wait.

Since companies and candidates are moving faster now, I\’ll give you some guidelines about how you can make decisions quickly over the next few days.

Something to do today

You are at least considering leaving your job. Write down why. It will help organize your thoughts.

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Coming up

How to make a quick decision

Support net preparation

Personal brainwork

Job research

Company research

Why your spouse can save your career

For 9 years my wife told me, “You can get into that business, but don’t quit your day job.”  I was working at EDS.  I wanted to start my own company.

I matured over those years.  I learned a little about business and life.  I started and failed at a few small part-time businesses.  Then one day I said, “I want to leave EDS and start a company.”  My wife said, “I think that is the right thing to do.”

I was surprised, but she was right.  It was finally time to make a change.  I was finally ready.  My wife helped keep me in touch with reality.

Spouses motivated by love and in a spirit of honesty can be great counselors.  As a recruiter I have repeatedly seen spouses give counsel that I personally disagreed with.  Then later it turned out they were right.  I misread employment situations that they saw clearly.  The person closest to the candidate knew what my candidate wanted much better than I did.  Often a spouse “just knows” when something isn’t a fit.  On the other hand they also are pretty sharp about pressing people to leave a bad situation too.

Value the counsel, hunches and assertions of the person closest to you.  A lot of times it is the best advice you can get.

Something to do today

Have you talked with your spouse and family about your job situation lately?  Ask them about quitting, relocation, companies and career paths.  You may be surprised at what they really think.

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Later:               Job hunting on the job

Salt in the wound

Eagles don’t flock?