Some Things Are Easier Than You Think
Having worked with employment issues through some of the worst economic times and some of the best, it is difficult to ignore some of the seemingly obvious reasons people stay unemployed. In tough times, the following behaviors can make the difference between saving your home and car, and in better economies, they can make the difference between securing an ok job and the job of your dreams.
As I listen to people complain about the economy, I am struck by the fact that I receive new job announcements daily, and, that many of the people that are in such desperate need for paying work may take hours or days to respond when I forward information to them. It also continues to baffle me when people that have been unemployed for more than a year (maybe even 2 or 3 years) compare their past salary with an opportunity, and won’t pursue it because it is less money than they consider themselves to be worth. (Mind you, it may 20-30% less, but that is still 100% more than making nothing.) In the mean time, what they are worth continues to decline, the longer they are out of the market.
Now, none of this is new behavior. It just seems to be more obvious when we are in severe economic times, and more people are losing their homes or filing for bankruptcy. I am not suggesting that the behaviors listed below will guarantee a change in employment status. But I can easily say, they provide a stronger likelihood something can or will change.
1. Get up and get started. This means starting a work day when others start the work day, not when you feel like getting started. Many hiring managers are rolling by 7:00 AM or earlier. If you are not getting started until 10:00 AM, (or in some cases I see, 11:00, 12:00 or 1:00!) you are missing several hours of productive time that others may capitalize on simply by being accessible if something comes up.
2. Pursue any opportunity that is in line with your skill set. If you have been unemployed for over a year, then your market value has already dropped. You are no longer considered “current” or necessarily “competitive” compared to someone that was doing the same thing yesterday or last week. You have a stronger chance of negotiating for more money if you show up and are able to illustrate your value. It isn’t always possible, but not responding pretty much ensures nothing will happen. You can’t turn down an offer that hasn’t been made.
3. Follow up! Many of my clients complain that hiring managers or networking contacts don’t follow through with promises to return calls or provide information. Ok, that might be true. Since when is your priority supposed to be theirs? If it is important to you to know something, then set yourself up to get what you want by defining touch back times when the promise is made, to ensure you get what you need when you expect/need it. Own the process. Don’t rely on others to keep track. Waiting days to follow up after something was a hot topic will most likely kill any possibility of something coming through.
4. Ask for clarity. If someone says something that is left to interpretation, then ask then to clarify or specify their intent. So many times I watch people drop the ball because they “thought” someone meant something other than what they intended. The result was that nothing was done because the party that was expecting to follow through believed the person requesting the information or action was no longer interested, since they didn’t follow up or answer a question that had been posed.
5. Be available. You don’t need the most advanced electronics to do that; you just need to be responsible. Check email frequently. (Can be done at the library or WorkSource). Get a voicemail box you can access from anywhere. Oddly, the people that seem to be most delinquent in responding are people with the latest technologies – palm pilots, iPhones, etc, yet their responses might come hours after the opportunity was already lost. And, I also find many entries on Facebook or Twitter during a time I have tried to reach someone, yet emails and phone calls about immediate opportunities may have gone unheeded.
6. Improve your communication skills. Communication is vital to moving opportunities forward. Answer requests from others in a timely way. If a question has been posed, then answer it. Reading an email and thinking through a possible answer is only half way there. A reply is still required. If you need more time to think about something, then say so! Ignoring a request or question is simply rude. Is that how you wish to be treated when you need something?
7. Stop pretending. Get real about your situation and what you are really doing about it. Be honest with yourself before you tell someone you have “done everything you can”. Is that really true?
Harsh you think? Perhaps not. Minutes before posting this blog I received this email from a client:
“Wow, you sure are keeping me busy! I am looking forward to you going on vacation.”
Perhaps this will spur some people into changing behaviors that have been creating self defeating circumstances. Please share where you can make (or have already made) some simple changes in behavior that could lead (or have led) to different results.
Networking: Career Fitness vs. Physical Fitness
When networking is recommended as a way of maintaining career fitness, I hear many excuses for why it is not possible, or at the very least, very difficult. January is a good time to take a long hard look at what is really in the way for most people when it comes to making a change in their personal and professional lives. Perhaps examining common responses will make it easier for many people to identify the excuses they are using, kick away the barriers and make a new plan for the New Year.
One observation I have made over the past ten years is that the words “commitment” and “planning” seem to be foreign words to many people. In an age of instant gratification, it seems evident that some things just don’t happen immediately, yet there are scores of people who want things to be different, right now, without exerting any effort to make a change.
You think not? Let’s take a look at a couple of pretty comparable situations. Let’s compare physical fitness to career fitness. We’ll start with the obvious of the two: physical fitness.
People want to lose weight, so they take pills, buy pre-measured food, go to spas, and try diets that clearly jeopardize their health. They take the pills, drink the liquid diets, and may work out for a while, but slowly lose interest. After a while, they resort back to their old eating patterns and gain more weight than they had lost. What are their excuses for not creating a change in their eating habits that can be sustained, or for continuing with a work out regimen or before they resort to the next fad?
“ I don’t have time because I work full time.”
“ I have children with after school activities that take precedence.”
“ I am working full time and I am tired at night.”
“ I can’t this month. ”I have to plan a 50th Wedding Anniversary Party.”
“ I don’t have time to cook. I am studying for my Masters degree”.
“ It’s a holiday. I can’t work out on a holiday.”
“ I can’t afford a gym membership” (as they sit in their leather recliner and watch their 72” plasma television screen, before they get in their Land Rover to drive to their $75 manicure appointment or their 4-hour golf game where they will ride around in a $5,000 cart.)
Now, let’s swap objectives and identify the reasons people give for not committing to networking activities that may increase the effectiveness of their job search or career development:
“I don’t have time because I am working a temp job (or working full time).”
“I have children with after school activities that take precedence.”
“ I am working full time and I am tired at night.”
“I can’t this month. ”I have to plan a 50th Wedding Anniversary Party.”
“I don’t have time. I am studying for my Masters degree”.
“It’s a holiday. I can’t work out on a holiday.”
And let’s not omit:
“ I can’t afford the costs of meetings or memberships” (as they sit in their leather recliner and watch their 72” plasma television screen, before they get in their Land Rover to drive to their $75 manicure appointment…)
The reality is, any new outcome requires a change in thinking, a change in behavior, commitment to the end result, planning, and consistency. Networking requires a change in how you are looking at your current circumstances and the roadblocks in front of you. It requires a commitment to your goal of broadening your contacts and maintaining relationships, planning so that you are able to fit networking activities in with all of life’s other events, and consistency. There is no magic pill. Building and sustaining a network doesn’t happen over night, any more than physical fitness can.
What will you be doing differently in regard to networking this year?
Attitude: Do You Have a Service-Driven Mind Set?
This week I had an ah-hah moment, although it had actually been incubating for a long time.
Although we are in a recession, there are business owners, contractors, and consultants I know that are crazy busy. Most of my clients are working, and they are crazy busy. If generally speaking, it is believed that there are few jobs and business is down, how can that be?
After considering the commonalities between the people I know that are busy, and those that are not, I was able to identify connections between apparent mind sets and observable results. The people I know that are truly service-driven, customer focused, attentive, responsive, willing to try something new and ready to solve problems, all seem to be busy. In contrast, the people I know (from personal experience) that are slow to respond, unwilling to think out of the box, unwilling to get uncomfortable and have a ‘what’s in it for me’ attitude, all seem to be idle.
Now, this is just my observation of the people I know or come in contact with, but perhaps something to consider if you are not getting the results you desire. Are you willing to change your mind set enough to see if you are able to produce different results?
Finding Work in a Slow Economy
Every week I get inquires from people regarding their job search. And, no matter how much I emphasize the need to invest in building relationships and targeting companies that are a fit, many resort to reviewing job boards as their only means for conducting a search. The end result is that they stay unemployed and continue to bemoan the “lack of jobs””.
Being unemployed is really not a fun condition when you have bills or overhead not being met, or rapidly depleting savings. It makes me wonder why then, people will continue a fruitless pursuit of employment, doing the same things over and over with no result, and refuse to change methods. I have heard “I make ten contacts a week, and I am not getting any response.” Ok, then, maybe you need to make 20, or maybe the method of contact you choose or what you say needs to change. (You think?). Or, “There aren’t any jobs posted.” (No kidding?).
Contrary to what some people would want you to believe, there ARE jobs out there. Promises for deliverables have been made and work is carrying on. Perhaps at a lower rate of production and perhaps each role is being scrutinized more carefully for ROI, but work is still getting done. Food is being delivered to grocery stores; people are still wearing clothes and driving cars that require tires, and using computers or phones to communicate. They are still getting sick and being treated. In every instance, there are support systems behind every deliverable. So, perhaps the needs are not heavily ADVERTISED, but work is getting done and somebody is doing it. If there aren’t any jobs posted, but people are still accepting offers for employment, then there is probably another way of learning about the opportunities that you haven’t tried.
In the past month, six of my clients have accepted offers for roles that were on target with their goals. (Oh, yes, I forgot to mention that in order to know what to look for, goals need to be established. ) Each had done due diligence to know where they would like to work, what they wanted to do, where they are likely to find work and what they could do. Knowing what you can do, how competitive you are, and what is available are all critical to getting started. When a connection isn’t built between where a person is, what is available and where they want to be, it is impossible to move forward. The result is that a person can stay stuck on the thing that isn’t likely to happen in this market, and they get nowhere.
Each of the clients I referenced has a strong awareness of the steps they will take in these new roles to move toward their long term goals. Nobody ‘settled’ for something untenable. They developed their networks, asked questions, researched, made choices and have plans for moving forward. We’re ecstatic. To be on track with what you want to do and what is important to you is a huge accomplishment in any market. In our current economy, this is simply thrilling. Kudos goes out to those of you that rolled up your sleeves, did the research, started the conversations, and carried through on clues and leads. Well done!!
If you want to claim your fame, please add a comment and let people know it really can be done.
Having or Setting Realistic Expectations
Networking is typically the best way to learn about new opportunities, whether it is work related or otherwise. Being open and available to meet new contacts is a large part of what it takes to ensure those opportunities occur, although they may be unplanned or unexpected. In order to capitalize on every encounter, it is important to map out a plan, be clear about your expectations in advance, and prepare questions that will actually produce helpful and appropriate information. If you are not getting the results you had hoped for by attending events or “hanging out” with friends, then perhaps your preparation for those meetings needs a little attention. The following are some basic elements that are likely to result in more fruitful encounters.
Have a clear goal. If you are going into conversation or meetings with people with the idea that they will hit on a solution for you or read your mind, you are probably not coming away with much. Setting clear goals, then indentifying the objectives needed to achieve those goals, will provide you with much clearer information to help you determine what you actually need to know or learn from someone. Along those same lines, using Linked in or other social networking sites with intent beyond connecting to as many people as possible, is much more likely to produce favorable results. The connection alone won’t make things happen for you. Know what you need to learn and be clear about why you request an introduction to a new contact.
Know what you don’t know. While that sounds like a contradiction, it isn’t really. If you set out to identify a solution without thinking through what it might require, then you will be all over the map. You can pot shot potential options or perhaps miss the mark entirely. By developing target companies (or customers or projects, for that matter) and identifying what you would need to know to be able to have a successful exchange with them, (i.e, receive an offer of employment, or to sell a product or service), then it is easier to craft questions that will actually help you develop a strategy for approaching them.
Strategize. Developing a strategy and working a carefully thought out plan typically produces a better outcome than wishing and hoping. Sure, miracles can happen. Great timing can look like a miracle. But if you haven’t had your miracle happen yet, then maybe it is time to develop a plan to get where you want to be, before too much more time goes by. Information is power, and the more you know about your target, the more you will know about how to position yourself to get where you want to be. Just ‘knowing’ someone or ‘being acquainted with’ someone isn’t likely to turn into something. What do they need to know about you? What do you need to know about them or the target to ensure that what they know about you is appropriate and relevant to further your efforts?
Set the stage. Introduce yourself with a prepared statement that gives them enough information to act on without putting them to sleep. Memorize it. Know what you need to say, in words that exactly relate what you would want someone to remember. Too much info will result in them forgetting most of what you said. Funny, cute and clever may get someone’s attention, but unless they have more time to learn the rest, they won’t know what they need to remember about you that can help you.
Prepare thoughtful questions. Take the time to prepare thoughtful questions of the people you encounter. Practice them enough to ensure they are on the tip of your tongue, so that you are not blurting out “do you know of any openings” or “can you refer a customer to me” before the person even knows anything about you.
Follow up. Meeting new people, but dropping the ball by failing to follow up can end up wasting everyone’s time and energy. Make sure you take the time to follow up after every meeting or conversation in a professional and timely way, even if it was a casual or social event. Leaving a lasting impression through genuine interest and responsiveness is a good way to develop productive relationships.
What successes have you had with new contacts?
Getting A Head Start: Planning Your First Year in a New Job
There is a tendency for people to get very complacent once they have landed their new job. After months (sometimes, years) of searching, many people think their work is over once they land their new job. Or, that once they have nailed the offer, it is time to let down their guard and relax. After all, the pressure is over, isn’t it? And, strong performance will ensure positive recognition, and surely, promotion opportunities, right? The short answer: No. That isn’t the full picture and sitting back at this juncture might lead to outcomes that are far less than a person hoped for in a new employment situation. Although the road to where you are today might have felt like the biggest challenge you will face, it isn’t over yet.
Now that you are where you want to be (or perhaps, you only think this is where you want to be), whether it is in a “foot in the door “ role, or your “A” job, it is necessary to ensure you start your new job on the right foot. Showing up on time, being enthusiastic, and showing willingness to learn are basic, good beginnings, but there is much, much more involved. Securing the job is only the beginning. Keeping it and growing within it, or positioning oneself to grow to places beyond the initial role, requires thoughtful planning and the establishment of time lines.
Key elements to an auspicious beginning involve a thorough understanding of your role in the organization and your value to the company. It involves the development of allies and planning ahead, using specific time lines to ensure you make the most out of this opportunity. Keep in mind, in the company’s eyes, this “new beginning” is about what you can do for the company, not what they can do for you. You will be scrutinized closely, and someone will record even the smallest behavioral aberration. What happens next is based on the company’s needs, not necessarily yours.
Keep in mind, the company doesn’t need to know all aspects of your plans for your future. They only need to know/see what is relevant to them. Whatever your agenda is for your time with them, or for after your employment with them, it needs to be managed by you. It is important to take responsibility for your growth and development from the beginning. Take charge – do not assume they have your best interests in mind, or frankly, that you are even on their minds at all.
Assuming your professional growth and recognition for your accomplishments are your supervisor’s or the company’s responsibility is an old school notion that went by the wayside decades ago. It is important that YOU have a sound plan and time lines for growing professionally, and for maintaining or increasing your value. It is important to know what your value is not only to the company, but also in the industry as a whole, just in case the company faces lay offs, or becomes involved with a merger or acquisition. Careful planning in the beginning is far more likely to set you up for success in the long run. Don’t wait until you are midstream.
If you have recently accepted a new position, please share how you will be approaching your first year.
Interviewing: What Employers Really Want
Trying to second-guess the answers to potential interview questions can be frustrating and time wasting. There are some basic concepts, when understood completely by the job seeker that can contribute to the success or failure of an interview.
There are three basic concerns employers look for when making a hiring decision:
Can you? … Do you have the required skills to do the work?
Will you? … Do you indicate you want (attitude) to do your work the way we want you to do it?
Do you fit? … Does your personality and style fit with our company?
If the job seeker is very clear about what the position encompasses, i.e. what skills are needed and how they will be required to perform the work, and they are happy to do it, then there is a strong case for pursuing the position. Surprisingly, many job seekers apply for positions because they sound good, not because they have a thorough understanding of what is expected. Doing research on the company will shed some light on the third condition. Is this a good fit in regard to the culture of the organization?
Do you completely understand what the employer needs?
An organization is interested in what can you do for them. A thorough understanding of the organization’s needs will allow you to sell the benefits of hiring you, rather than simply presenting features about your experience that you believe are interesting. Quantify your accomplishments. Make them real and tangible. Sell solutions.
Employers don’t care what you think, they care about what you will do.
An interview is only a 30-60 minute snap shot of you. Many questions are too obvious or may even be inappropriate. It is important to understand that many of your answers will be left to interpretation. If you understand the point of each question (can you? will you? do you fit?), and you understand the employer’s intention, it is far more effective to respond with an action statement indicating what you have done, than what you think. They will view past performance as an indicator of what you are likely to do for them.
The economy and the job market are changing every minute. Can you ?
Traits employers look for to determine if you will continue to be valuable to them in the future are a positive attitude, self-motivation, flexibility and the ability to perform as a team player. Will you be able to roll with the punches when change is needed?
You need to ask for the position!!
People are often not offered a position because they may appear to be unprepared, seem disinterested, sloppy, vague, and discourteous. One of the most common reasons for not getting the offer is pretty simple. They fail to ask for the position!!
What have you changed that contributed to a more successful interview?
Networking Etiquette 2
Many times I hear from people who have responded to a request for information from someone in their network never acknowledged the info or did not follow up with the information once it was provided.
If you are not receiving the results/responses you had hoped for through your networking efforts, there may be a good reason for it. Here are some simple reminders regarding “networking courtesy” when provided with a lead or when someone shares information with you. (This goes for candidates seeking job leads and employers seeking candidates!)
Copy the referring party. Remember to copy the person that directed you to the lead on your correspondence with the new contact. It is courteous to include them to show that you followed up, but may also help prod the referral into action when they recognize the referring party’s name.
Use background information when crafting your response. Make sure you have considered the resource carefully and prepared your questions well. If the original contact has provided you with inside information, take the time to note it and reference it. Using this information shows the new contact you have paid attention and are interested in them, and is also a sign of respect.
Ask questions that can be easily understood. Use open-ended sentences, i.e: “Please describe”, “please tell me about”, “how would you….” and be specific in what you are asking. “Please tell me about your industry” is too vague. “Please tell me what you like most about your industry” is more specific.
A thank you go a long way. Thank anyone that has taken time to help you by providing information of any kind. A personal note on a thank you card is appropriate when someone actually meets with you in person.
Stay in touch with your new contacts and let them know you are thinking of them. Send an article of interest, or even simply update them on your progress.
If you are serious about developing relationships, you will incorporate these actions with your networking. Otherwise, you may run the risk of presenting yourself as a self-absorbed opportunist that is only out for what you need at the time.
How have you shown sincerity and appreciation to a new networking contact?
Is Your B.S. Meter Working?
Recently, one of my clients shared his frustration with the game that is played between candidates, H.R., recruiters, and hiring managers when sharing information (or not) about the status of a role or actual qualifications needed. The conversation then expanded to include his interactions with fellow job seekers that may embellish their skills or exaggerate their experiences. In fact, he asked me to offer a workshop to teach people how to better determine when people are not being forthcoming or simply not telling the truth, as in, “How to Train Your B.S. Meter”.
Since I am not a licensed psychotherapist, nor do I have qualifications that remotely speak to why human behavior is the way it is, I thought a workshop would be overstepping my area of expertise. Most of my work however, does involve counseling people on how to deal with the ambiguities and inconsistencies found in the work place each and every day. Personally, having served for years as a hiring manager for businesses, a manager of two staffing services, and now as a career coach for over 12 years, one might say that I have developed heightened radar when it comes to believing (or not) the stories candidates tell, or accepting (or not) the reasons given by hiring managers for making decisions.
The bottom line here is that we all have to deal with these communication issues, whether we understand them or not. There are some specific behaviors I have observed that more or less serve as barometers that can indicate when things are different than they seem on the surface.
The following examples are not all inclusive, nor are they intended to be absolute facts; they simply are the indicators that show me something is a little off. In essence, the things that set off my B.S. Meter.
Candidates
Dedication: When a candidate tells me they rise at 7:00 AM every day, but their first email response arrives at 11:00 each day. Or, they are really, really tan and have said they have been working at the library for 8 hours each day.
Motivation: When they come up with more reasons for not applying for positions, than they seek out opportunities they can apply for. Or, when they are taking 3-day ski-weekends, but say they are broke and desperate for a job. Or, when they can’t go to an interview because they have to get their nails done or their dog groomed. (See dedication.)
Experience: When a candidate refers to themselves as having a specific level of expertise, or implies they have had a specific level of authority, and it is discovered that they either just completed a degree so their intention is to have that role, or their past experience reveals that they actually held a higher role for no more than a few months. Or, the V.P. role they held was for a start up that immediately went under. (Some people may remember this common occurrence from post dot com days.) Or, when asked about details from work done within the last 5 years, are unable to remember any level of detail at all.
Project Management: When a candidate says they have strong project management skills, but consistently misses deadlines or waits until the last possible minute to accomplish tasks. Or, when they have no idea what the status is on any of the irons they have (had?) in the fire. Or, when they make many, many promises, and fulfill none. Or, when candidates are unable to commit to activities that are beyond two days away or arrive on time for the ones they have committed to.
Competence: When people state they have held highly responsible, complex or detail filled positions, but cannot follow simple directions related to applications, submissions, and appropriate follow up, and may also have extremely poor writing skills.
Excuses: When I am told the same exact excuse in detail that I was told the preceding week when something else didn’t happen when it should have. I.E., the refrigerator repairman was here all day (but wasn’t that last Thursday?), or perhaps they are going to their grandmother’s funeral for the 3rd time. Truly- when the list of excuses out numbers the solutions they may produce.
Hiring Managers or Recruiters
Dedication: When they are on vacation more frequently than they are at work during a time when they have stated that everyone in the company is working overtime, with less staff to accomplish more.
Motivation: When every candidate they speak with has something ‘not quite right’, but they can’t put their finger on it. Or when it appears they are stroking a candidate’s ego, because there are no concrete actions to back up the words, or no follow through in regard to promises made.
Experience: When they are unable to understand/identify very obvious points about a person’s background, i.e: asking why someone in IT may have been unemployed in 2002, or why someone left Washington Mutual in 2008. (O.k., I know they just want to hear the story, but believe me, some actually ask the question and act surprised at the answers!) Or when they interview candidates that someone familiar with the industry would clearly see is not qualified for a specific role. They not only end up wasting everyone’s time, but have built up false confidence for the candidate, which often fuels their continued interest in roles they will continue to be uncompetitive for. (See “Competence”)
Project Management: When they are unable to reply to an email or return a call, or they continue to set time lines that are overlooked or unmet. I.e., a candidate’s calls/emails are not returned when both are in the middle of the interview process. Or,when candidates are actually stood up when scheduled for an interview. Or, when they put out a request for candidates, but never acknowledge referrals that are sent to them. (See “Excuses”)
Competence: When they continue to hide behind rules because they can’t articulate any reason for their actions. Or, when they clearly do not understand the mission of the role they are trying to fill, or show no evidence of understanding the company’s mission, for that matter.
Excuses: They are “too busy”. “I need to let the process follow its course for consistency and equitability”. “Processes are followed to ensure fairness.” “We are having system problems.” (See “Dedication”)
You might be asking yourself, “What does this have to do with my job search?” In pretty simple terms, unless your B.S. Meter is on, you are going to find yourself wasting time going down roads that don’t pan out or trying to help people that are only wasting their own time. Or, you might find yourself taking it personally when a hiring manager strings you along. In any of these cases, it takes your eyes off the ball, takes a little more wind out of your sails. It is important to stay on course, and not let the inconsistencies and ambiguities you encounter keep you from ending up where you need to be.
The second half of that is, other people’s B.S. meters may be on high, while yours is on low. If you are exhibiting behaviors anything like those described above, then they could be visible enough to others to make them think twice about recommending you. In which case, perhaps your meter needs a tune up or you need to stop BS-ing.
The key here is to ask questions, get firm commitments, and respond to what you see, not what has been said. Actions speak louder than words.
Add your experiences or examples of inconsistencies you have encountered of your own, with fellow job seekers or with recruiters/hiring managers that took you off course. What did you do about it?
Social Media: Tools or Life Style?
Randy Woods at NWjobs.com recently interviewed me on this subject. Read the article.
