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Career
Enhancement and Interview Tips |
Overcoming the Fear of Change |
| Executive Recruiters: Your
Job-Search Commandos |
| Seven Keys to Interview Preparation |
| How to Master the Art
of Interviewing |
| How to Evaluate a Job Offer |
| The Proper Way to Resign |
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Overcoming
the Fear of Change
By Bill Radin
©1998 Innovative Consulting, Inc.
Career Development Reports
You and I are lucky -- we live in a world rich in
possibilities. Besides being able to select from an unlimited variety of occupations, we
also have the right to find happiness in our daily work.
Naturally, everyone has a different definition of
job satisfaction. For example, the job that seems fine to you may not be of much interest
your best friend, and vice versa.
The fact that you live in a free society gives you
the privilege to decide your own fate. You have as much power in determining where you
work as you do in selecting a spouse, a home, a car, or a pet. Your choice of jobs really
depends on how much you want to shape your career, and how much effort you’re willing
to spend to make the necessary improvements in your life.
If you’re considering a job change, it’s
probably for one of three reasons:
[1] Personal -- You want to change your
relationships with others. For example, you may have discovered that you’re
incompatible with the people in your company. Perhaps they have different interests than
you; or they communicate differently or have different educational backgrounds.
[2] Professional -- You’ve determined the need
to advance your career. For example, you’ve found that you won’t reach your
professional or technical goals at your present company; or that your advancement is being
blocked by someone who’s more senior or more politically oriented; or that
you’re not getting the recognition you deserve; or that you and your company are
growing in different directions; or that you’re not being challenged technically; or
you’re not being given the skills you need to compete for employment in the future.
Or you’ve simply lost interest in your assigned tasks.
[3] Situational -- Your dissatisfaction has nothing
to do with personal relationships or career development; it’s tied to a certain set
of circumstances. Maybe you’re commuting too far from home each day, or you’re
working too many hours, or you’re under too much stress; or you want to relocate to
another city (or stay where you are rather than be transferred).
Whatever your personal, professional, or situational
reasons may be, you’re motivated by the desire to improve your level of job
satisfaction and make a change.
The Complete Job Description
In order to translate your needs into results,
let’s begin by evaluating your present position -- it’s the first step in any
job change.
You’d be surprised how many people are unclear
about what they actually do for a living, and the way their jobs make them feel.
For example, whenever I interview a candidate, the
first thing I ask for is a complete job description.
"So tell me, Bonnie, " I begin. "What
is it that you do at your present company?"
"Gee, Bill, I thought I told you already.
I’m a systems analyst."
"All right, fair enough," I reply.
"But would you please describe to me in detail the following two things:
[1] What are your daily activities? That is, how do
you spend your time during a typical day; and
[2] What are the measurable results your company
expects from these activities? In other words, how does your supervisor know when
you’re doing a good job?"
Often, I discover that people are hard pressed to
come up with solid answers about the specific nature of their work. They’re not
exactly sure about their job responsibilities, and their lack of focus results in stress
or counter-productivity.
While a little bit of stress may is natural in any
job, a steady diet of it can destroy your incentive to work. In fact, a recent study
indicates a direct correlation between a person’s lack of task clarity and their
level of job dissatisfaction.
Try this exercise: On a sheet of paper, write a
complete, current job description in which you list your daily activities and their
expected, measurable results. This exercise will not only help you clarify your own
perception of your work; it’ll be useful later on when you begin to construct a
resume and communicate to others exactly what you’ve done.
The Positive Power of Values
Once you’ve described all the facets of your
job, the next step is to understand the relationship between what you do and the way you
feel.
I use the term values as a descriptor of personal
priorities; as a yardstick to help you:
• Understand what types of work-related
activities you really enjoy;
• Determine which goals or accomplishments are
important to you and give you a feeling of satisfaction; and
• Evaluate whether your personal priorities are
in balance, or in harmony with your job situation.
Although it’s fairly simple to decipher which
daily tasks you really enjoy, the task of scrutinizing your personal priorities can be
tricky. That’s because there are often factors unrelated to your job that can come
into play.
To demonstrate the importance of values in our
decision-making process, consider the following:
• I witnessed a job-seeker turn down a position
because he was an amateur athlete and he didn’t like the air quality where my client
company was located.
• Not long ago, I placed a candidate who was a
long distance runner. He took the position largely because his new boss was also a runner,
and would understand his need to take off work twice a year to run the New York City and
Boston marathons.
• I arranged for an engineer to take a job with
a company that offered him a demotion, since being highly visible within his current
employer’s department made him feel uncomfortable.
• I helped a radar engineer change to a lower
paying job. The reason? The engineer was a member of the 1988 Olympic rowing team, and the
new company was near a river.
• I once found an excellent job for a chemist
who was also an avid taxidermist. At the last minute, the chemist turned down the job,
which would have required his relocation from Utah to northern California. The chemist
explained that the climate in California was unsuitable for stuffing ducks.
The point is, we all have highly personal
motivations which guide our career choices.
The Job Description Makeover
Now that you know how to clearly define your values,
the next step is to describe the changes you’d like to make in your new job.
To illustrate, listen to the way Pat, Craig, and
Neil talk about their respective situations, and how they take their values into
consideration:
Pat:
"I want to have more autonomy where I work.
That would mean having a flexible schedule, working different hours each day at my
discretion, without having to ask permission. I’d be able to leave early on Thursdays
to take my daughter to her acting class, and in return, I’d be willing to spend
several hours working at home during the evening and on weekends. With my personal
computer, I’d have access by modem to the database in my department, and I’d be
able to make a significant contribution to the workload, any time, day or night. Most
importantly, I’d be evaluated solely on my performance, not by the number of hours
I’ve punched on a clock."
Craig:
"I’d prefer to work closer to my home. I
didn’t think the amount of time I spent commuting was very important when I joined
the company two years ago, but now it really wears on me to sit for an hour a day in
traffic. It’s not only nerve-wracking to deal with all the crazy people on the
freeway; I could be using the commuting time to be with my family. The reduction of stress
would improve my attitude, and give me a higher quality of life. If I could find a job
similar to what I have now within a few minutes of home, that would make me happy."
Neil:
"I’m interested in my own career
advancement. If I stay at this company too much longer, I’ll work myself into a
corner technically and never achieve my potential. The people here are nice, but I
don’t share their ‘lifer’ mentality. Look at Ed, my boss. He’s been
here 17 years, and although he’s a really solid engineer, he’s not familiar with
any of the latest advancements in technology. He’d have a hard time finding another
job in this market, and it makes me worried, knowing I might someday be in his situation.
Besides, I won’t be promoted until Ed retires. So I’d better leave soon, while
I’m still attractive to other companies. That would give me the salary increase I
deserve and the opportunity to learn new skills with people who are upwardly mobile and
aggressive like myself."
Now it’s your turn. As any advocate of
goal-setting will tell you, the more specifically you’re able to communicate what
you’re looking for, the faster you’ll be able to get what you want.
Naturally, you’ll want to be realistic with
your expectations, and think like a grown-up when considering your gripes. I’ll never
forget Barry, an engineering candidate I interviewed a few years back, who came into my
office with a suicidal look in his eyes.
"Bill, you’ve really got to help me,"
he moaned. "My job is ruining my life."
"Your situation sounds pretty serious," I
replied in my most empathic tone. "How long have you felt this way?"
"Gosh, I don’t know, but I’ve got to
make a change. My personal life is awful."
"How do you mean, Barry?" I asked.
"I mean I’m never at home, and don’t
have any time to spend with my wife and kids. My company makes me travel constantly."
"Well, I can see how that might make you feel
torn between your work and your home life. What can I do to help you?"
"See if you can get me a job where I don’t
have to travel all the time. I just can’t stand the separation from my family,"
he pleaded.
My heart went out to him. "Sure, Barry,
anything to help. But first tell me something. Exactly how often is your company making
you travel?"
"Oh, it’s terrible," he cried.
"They make me stay overnight in a hotel at least one night every three months!"
Your Job Changing Strategy
Someone recently asked me whether I helped people
get "better" jobs or jobs that made them happier.
My answer was that the two were the same.
Of course, if you were to look at your career from a
purely strategic point of view, I could give you four good reasons why it makes sense to
change jobs within the same or similar industry three times during your first ten years of
employment:
[1] Changing jobs gives you a broader base of
experience: After about three years, you’ve learned most of what you’re going to
know about how to do your job. Therefore, over a ten year period, you gain more experience
from "three times 90 percent" than "one times 100 percent."
[2] A more varied background creates a greater
demand for your skills: Depth of experience means you’re more valuable to a larger
number of employers. You’re not only familiar with your current company’s
product, service, procedures, quality programs, inventory system, and so forth; you bring
with you the expertise you’ve gained from your prior employment with other companies.
[3] A job change results in an accelerated promotion
cycle: Each time you make a change, you bump up a notch on the promotion ladder. You jump,
for example, from project engineer to senior project engineer; or national sales manager
to vice president of sales and marketing.
[4] More responsibility leads to greater earning
power: A promotion is usually accompanied by a salary increase. And since you’re
being promoted faster, your salary grows at a quicker pace, sort of like compounding the
interest you’d earn on a certificate of deposit.
Many people view a job change as a way of promoting
themselves to a better position. In most cases, I would agree.
However, you should always be sure your new job
offers you the means to satisfy your values. While there’s no denying the strategic
virtues of selective job changing for the purpose of career leverage, you want to make
sure the path you take will lead you where you really want to go.
For instance, I see no reason to make a job change
for more money if it’ll make you unhappy to the point of distraction. Not long ago, I
placed a project engineer with a company that offered him a $47,000 a year job. Later, he
told me that the same day he agreed to go to work for my client, he’d turned down an
offer of $83,200 with another company. The reason? The higher offer was for a consulting
position with an aerospace company in Detroit -- a job that would have taken him down a
road he felt was a dead end.
To me, the "best" job is one in which your
values are being satisfied most effectively. If career growth and advancement are your
primary goals, and they’re represented by how much you earn, then the job that pays
the most money is the "better" job.
Your responsibility when contemplating a change is
to evaluate what’s most important to you. Whether you focus on a single aspect of
your job (like Pat, Craig, and Neil did), or on the overall nature of the job you’d
like to improve,
The more clearly you connect your values with your
work, the greater the potential for job satisfaction.
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Executive
Recruiters: Your Job-Search Commandos
By Bill Radin
©1998 Innovative Consulting, Inc.
Career Development Reports
Executive recruiters (also known as headhunters or
search consultants) have firmly established themselves as a visible and highly valued
fixture in today’s employment landscape. Through their aggressive matchmaking,
headhunters affect the careers of individuals, the lives of their families and friends,
and the profitability of entire corporations.
No one knows exactly what the business world would
be like without the influence of headhunters, but one thing’s for sure: sometime in
your career, you’ll either receive a call from a headhunter, or initiate contact
yourself. In either case, you should learn how to work with them effectively, and take
full advantage of the many benefits their service provides. Here’s what you get from
establishing a relationship with an executive recruiter:
• Greater exposure. Headhunters not only
maintain a myriad of existing contacts within your field, they can also scout out new
companies you never heard of.
• Increased efficiency. Headhunters are
obsessive networkers; they spend their time researching and penetrating the job market.
Their knowledge can save you time in identifying and pursuing prospective employers.
• Personalized public relations. Employers
generally look more favorably towards a candidate who’s professionally recommended.
Headhunters stake their reputations on the quality of their candidates, and will always
present you in the best possible light.
• Confidential representation. Some job search
situations require a great deal of discretion. For example, you may want to explore an
opportunity with your present company’s direct competitor. In such an instance, a
headhunter can present your background confidentially, thereby protecting your identity,
and eliminating (or at least minimizing) your risk of exposure.
• Authoritative career consulting. Headhunters
can help you determine the job or career track that’s right for you, based on current
market conditions and your own values and abilities. They’re also in a unique
position to walk you through (and monitor) each step in your job changing process.
• Private training. Headhunters can give you
practical, time-tested suggestions on how to strengthen your resume and improve your
interviewing technique. In many ways, a headhunter acts as a personal coach.
• Third-party representation. As experienced
brokers, headhunters find ways to put favorable deals together, and iron out differences
you and the hiring company may have regarding your salary, benefits, and relocation
package.
In addition, working through a headhunter can
actually improve your chances for success once you’ve been placed. That’s
because the search fee the hiring company paid the recruiter represents a sizable
financial investment in your future success -- an investment worth protecting.
Headhunters: The Missing Link
Headhunting is a multi-billion dollar international
industry that acts as the missing link between a half million job seekers and employers
each year. At last count, there were over 125,000 executive search practitioners in the
United States, according to The Fordyce Letter, the industry’s leading trade journal.
There’s hardly an industry or profession that
hasn’t spawned its own coterie of recruiters. They cover every conceivable pocket of
the job market, from food sales to machine design to motion picture financing to mortgage
banking to freight hauling to data communications to haute cuisine to college
administration to city management.
Generally speaking, headhunters work within
well-defined niches. To make sense of a complicated employment market, headhunters
classify their candidates according to:
• Title or function, which refers to their
descriptive title or rank within the company, such as president, plant manager, staff
accountant, director of nursing, and so on;
• Skill or application, which refers to their
specialized abilities, such as tax accounting, IBM AS/400 programming, secured lending,
and the like; and
• Product or service, which refers to the
industry in which the candidates do their work, such as plastics, minicomputers,
industrial tools, public administration, hospitality, and so forth.
To give you an example, a recruiter might place
project engineers (title) with computer-aided design experience (skill) into positions
with companies that built submarine hydraulic systems (product).
Other headhunters might place CEOs (title) with
plant management experience (skill) who work for companies that process frozen broccoli
(product); or district sales managers (title) with marketing degrees (skill) who work for
companies that make high-top leather sneakers (product).
Think of your own experience. How would you classify
yourself? Your answer will not only help you put your career into perspective; it’ll
help the headhunter determine whether you "fit" into his or her market niche.
Of course, recruiters can use other means to define
their markets. Some take an industry-specific approach. Let’s say you work in the
retail industry, or in construction. You’ll probably find a recruiter who
doesn’t care what your title or function is, as long as you have experience in that
target market. I knew a recruiter named Jim, who specialized in the printing industry. No
matter what you did in the past, if it had anything to do with printing, Jim would gladly
take you under his wing.
The opposite approach is taken by the skill-specific
recruiters. To them, the product or service of the host company is secondary to the skills
of their candidates. This is the preferred method of recruiters who specialize in
placement of data processing, accounting, or clerical personnel.
Don’t Get Lost in the Shuffle
Even though headhunters can’t guarantee you a
new job, you have much to gain from working with them. And vice-versa, since you represent
an addition to their continuously perishable inventory. While it’s true that
headhunters owe their allegiance to their client companies (who pay the fees), without
candidates to fuel the fire, headhunters simply wouldn’t exist.
For each search assignment, headhunters may
prescreen hundreds of prospects. Therefore, the majority of their time is spent with the
finalists for each open position, relegating to their file drawers the "reject"
or the "maybe next time" candidates they encounter. These candidates are often
highly skilled professionals who simply don’t fit the specific qualifications
required by the headhunter’s client company -- they’re simply in the wrong place
at the wrong time.
For that reason, you should always press for a
realistic appraisal of your chances of being placed. If one isn’t forthcoming, you
can assume the recruiter is giving your candidacy a low priority. In that case, you can
opt to let your resume languish in a headhunter’s file, or seek the help of a
recruiter who’ll take an active role in finding you a new position.
I try my best to be up front with every candidate I
talk to. If your skills fall outside my area of expertise, I’ll steer you to another
headhunter who can be of assistance, or provide you with some general coaching which I
hope will be of value.
Always look for a headhunter who takes an interest
in your background, or who specializes in your industry. The last thing you need is to pin
your hopes on someone who’s not in a position to help you. Be prepared for mixed
reviews when you talk to recruiters. You might very well receive a brush-off like,
"I’ll call you in a week to 10 days"; or bad advice, such as
"You’ll never find the job you want with the background you have"; or
discouragement like, "Nobody’s hiring now." Just keep plugging away at your
job search -- and never take "No" from a headhunter.
Of course, even the most qualified candidacy is
subject to the whims of a supply and demand job market. In many cases, a headhunter simply
won’t know what your chances of getting another job might be until he or she puts out
feelers or sends you out on an interview. To work most efficiently, invest your time with
a recruiter who really wants to help you.
Sigmund, Sherlock, and Donald
Headhunters come from a wide variety of backgrounds,
and exhibit the same range of personal merits and character strengths as the rest of the
human race. The majority are honest, hardworking entrepreneurs, who work diligently to
help candidates find meaningful, rewarding jobs.
I’ve found that headhunters can be divided into
three different personality types:
[1] The Sigmund Freud headhunter is a kindly, wise,
and empathic counselor. He or she listens carefully when you describe your values, your
job preferences, your personal goals, and your family commitments. The Sigmund Freud
headhunter wants to place you with a company you’ll feel comfortable working for, and
will spend lots of time getting to know you.
[2] The Sherlock Holmes headhunter is a clever,
relentless, goal-oriented detective, who’ll track down and contact every company
which might provide a match for your skills. This type can be quite creative in
discovering aspects of your background which can be successfully marketed to companies off
the beaten track, or only peripherally related to your present industry.
A perfect example of the Sherlock Holmes headhunter
is Norman Roberts, who works out of an office in Los Angeles. It was his ingenuity that
led to an unlikely (but highly successful) match in 1984. He took an unknown travel
industry executive -- Peter Ueberroth -- and placed him as the head of the U.S. Olympic
committee.
[3] The Donald Trump headhunter is the consummate
deal maker. This type is less concerned with whether you’re a round or square peg, as
long as you can be crunched into whatever hole may be available, or convenient.
Headhunters like this tend to give the search industry a bad name because of their
insensitivity to the true needs of their clients and candidates; and although they can
often produce positive results, many times their high- pressure tactics lead to short-term
employment.
While personality and style are important aspects to
consider when selecting a headhunter, you should also evaluate the headhunter’s past
results. Assuming you feel a modicum of comfort with the person you’re dealing with,
it’s a good idea to check into their track record and experience level. If you
discover a consistent pattern of success, you’re probably off to a good start.
Otherwise, you might find yourself stuck with the
fourth type of headhunter: the Inspector Clouseau. This type embodies none of the above
personality traits, only the endearing, bumbling incompetence of the movie character
portrayed by the late Peter Sellers. In his Pink Panther movies, Inspector Clouseau was
able to crack the trickiest cases; but only through sheer serendipity or plain dumb luck.
The Two-Party System
You’ve probably heard of the so-called schism
in the world of executive search between "retained" and "contingency"
headhunters. True, differences exist, especially in regard to billing methods, candidate
salary levels, and operational procedures.
However, I prefer to think of the entire search
industry as a microcosm of the American political system, in which both Republicans and
Democrats live in peaceful co-existence.
"Gee, that’s a far-fetched analogy,
isn’t it?" you ask.
No, not really. Republicans and Democrats are both
loyal Americans; they just have different views concerning society and the way the country
should be run.
The same could be said of the retained recruiters
(who get their fees paid in advance and work to fill higher level positions) and the
contingency folks (who only get paid once their candidates are hired). Each serves a
different slice of the employment population, and each has a different concept of how the
search business should work.
Interestingly, the lines of demarcation have begun
to blur in recent years. Just as Republicans and Democrats have cross-bred portions of
their constituencies, so have the retained and contingency headhunters. Although the
traditional break point in salary is around $75,000 (with retained above and contingency
below) it’s no longer unheard of for a contingency recruiter to place a CEO at
$200,000 a year; or a retained headhunter to place a manufacturing manager at $55,000.
What’s more, each camp will, if the situation warrants, borrow from the other’s
method of billing the client. Lately, I’ve heard stories of contingency recruiters
charging partially retained fees, and retainer headhunters accepting assignments "on
spec."
As the search industry continues to evolve,
it’ll matter less and less how the client is billed. Currently, there are about a
dozen different billing schemes, from flat fees to hourly fees to itemized service
charges. One clever recipe combines contingency with retained to produce -- voila! --
"contained" search.
Understanding these broad divisions will help avoid
confusion and save you time if your salary level is fairly polarized. That is, if
you’re currently earning, say, $35,000, there’s virtually no chance you’ll
be working any time soon with a retained headhunter. Similarly, if you’re earning
over $100,000, the odds are, the headhunter you work with will be retained by the client
company.
Both contingency and retained recruiters play for
big stakes. Fees generally run from twenty to as high as thirty-five percent of a placed
candidate’s first year compensation. With that type of arithmetic, it’s easy to
see why headhunters develop ulcers, not to mention a healthy skepticism towards their
clients and candidates. All it takes is for an employer or candidate to change his mind at
the last minute, and the headhunter has lost, say, $10,000 or $20,000 in personal income
for months of work.
Some Common Sense Ground Rules
Let’s talk turkey for a minute about what to
expect from headhunters, and how to establish some common sense ground rules. Here are
seven issues you’ll want to discuss before you set any relationship in stone:
[1] Compatibility -- Make sure you feel comfortable
with the style, personality, intensity level, and integrity of the headhunter. As in any
other business relationship, you want the other person to understand your needs and act
accordingly.
[2] Confidentiality -- Make sure your resume
isn’t going to get plastered all over town without your knowledge. An inept (or
anxious) recruiter can overexpose your candidacy; or worse, reveal your intention to
change jobs to your own company.
[3] Good Judgment -- Make sure you’re being
sent to interviews that match your background and interests with the needs of the
recruiter’s client company. The most common complaint from both candidates and
employers is that recruiters "throw candidates against the wall to see what
sticks."
[4] Honesty -- Make sure there’s either a bona
fide job opening or an upgrade possibility where you’re being sent to interview.
Otherwise, you’ll be spending your valuable time on one wild goose chase after
another.
[5] Tempo -- Make sure to let the recruiter know at
what pace you want to proceed in your search for a new position. If you’re not ready
to make a change until a later date, or simply want to explore the market, don’t let
the recruiter waste your time by sending you on an interview.
[6] Arm-twisting -- Don’t be pressured into
accepting a position or a compensation package simply to please the recruiter.
[7] Exclusivity -- It’s fine to work with a
recruiter on an exclusive basis, as long as you feel comfortable with the arrangement, and
the recruiter has earned the right of sole representation. On the other hand, you might
not want to limit your options. Despite what you may be told, no recruiter has the
exclusive "ownership" of your candidacy.
By the same token, you must be fair with
headhunters. For example, if you’re pursuing a job search on your own or through
another party, keep the headhunter aware of your activity, so you don’t cross paths.
A recruiter’s time and reputation are his most valuable commodities; he or she
deserves better than to be manipulated or left in the lurch.
Recruiters can’t work miracles by waving a
magic wand over your resume; all they can do is match your background with a suitable
opening, and help guide you through the job changing process efficiently and
competitively. While it’s true that headhunters have their limitations and can’t
be all things to all people,
It makes good sense to build a solid relationship
with a competent headhunter.
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Seven Keys to Interview Preparation
By Bill Radin
©1998 Innovative Consulting, Inc.
Career Development Reports
It’s been said that Napoleon won his battles in
his tent; that is, he did all the planning the night before the battle was joined, so that
every contingency could be adequately covered. Interview preparation is similar. You never
know exactly what will happen on the battlefield, but by being ready, you can eliminate a
lot of the uncertainty, and know how to react to different scenarios.
Later, we’ll look at ways to effectively
conduct the interview itself; but for now, let’s focus on the list, each item at a
time.
One: The Resume
Of course, bring a couple of copies, and be sure to
read your resume before the interview, so you’re completely familiar with everything
you’ve written. Nothing is more embarrassing (or potentially fatal to your candidacy)
than being quizzed on some aspect of your background that appears on the bottom of page
two -- and not being able to remember the details.
You might also bring materials which would be
particularly good at illustrating an important aspect of your work, such as creative
designs, writing samples, and so forth. Just remember to use your better judgment.
I once interviewed an engineer who brought with him
a lawn and garden string trimmer made by his current company, so he could show me the
design improvements he’d made on the product. It turns out his engineering efforts
had lowered the trimmer’s cost to manufacture, which resulted in increased profits
for his company. His version of "show and tell" was a bit extreme (my whole
office was buzzing for weeks about my Weed Eater candidate), but at least his real-life
picture told me a thousand words.
Be careful, though, not to overdo it with the props.
College diplomas, letters of commendation, and company bowling trophies should be left at
home. When in doubt, just bring your resume and your business card -- they’re the
most important props you’ll ever need.
It’s a good idea to carry a leather folder or
day runner with you so you can take notes or store written materials the company might
hand you during the course of your interview. A briefcase is also fine, although I prefer
a folder, which is lighter to carry, and less cumbersome. Always remember to bring a pen
or pencil.
Two: Appropriate Dress and Appearance
Much as I find some aspects of the New Dress for
Success (Warner Books, 1988) formula as espoused by author and wardrobe consultant John T.
Molloy a bit disheartening, there’s simply no practical excuse for dressing any way
other than the book suggests. Sure, we’d all like to think that we’re being
judged on our qualifications, skills, and depth of character. But the truth is, when it
comes to interviewing, in most cases, clothes make the man. To think any other way is to
ignore reality.
Three: Directions To the Interview Location
Try to get directions at least a day before your
interview, so you don’t get lost and arrive late. And here’s a tip: Always bring
some cash to pay for parking. Never ask an employer to validate your parking stub, or
reimburse you for parking. Not only is it impolite, you’ll create a negative
impression, since it’s considered common courtesy to pay your own expenses for a
local interview.
If you’re coming from out of town, then
it’s especially important to get directions. Naturally, if the expenses for your
interviewing trip are going to be covered by the employer, wait until the interview has
concluded (or better yet, the next day) to settle up. Usually, the company will prepay the
air fare, or other major expenses, and will reimburse you for the rest, such as your car
rental, cab fare, hotel room, and meals. It’s customary that you pick up certain
non-essential expenses, such as long distance phone calls from your hotel room, or the bar
tab from the lounge in the hotel lobby.
A few years ago, a client company of mine flew a
candidate to Los Angeles for an interview. The candidate, unfortunately, was unemployed at
the time, and was in pretty dire financial straits. He charged the phone calls he made to
his wife back in Wyoming and all his dry cleaning expenses (he only brought one shirt with
him for two days of interviewing) to the company. When they got his expense voucher a few
days later, they got pretty upset -- they never expected to pay for all these add-ons. It
was too bad, too, because he was generally well received when he interviewed. I’d
hate to think it was these little charges that were responsible for his not getting a job
he really wanted.
The best time to arrive for an interview is
precisely when you’re scheduled, not early or late. It can irk an employer to be told
that the candidate for a 2 o’clock appointment is waiting in the lobby at one
thirty-five. The employer will either become distracted knowing there’s someone
hanging around waiting to see him, or he’ll scramble to rearrange his schedule to
accommodate the candidate, which disrupts the rest of his day. If your appointment is at
two, then arrive at two.
If for some reason you’re running late, call
ahead to ask if you can reschedule for later the same day, or if not, later in the week.
If something unexpected happens that you have no control over, simply explain the
situation to the employer when you arrive.
I placed a candidate named Alan recently, who was
over an hour late to his first interview. He’d been caught in a monstrous traffic jam
and was unable to call ahead; but fortunately, he handled the situation like a real pro.
When he arrived, he apologized for being late, and got right down to the business of
interviewing. He simply put all the anxiety and frustration behind him, so that he could
concentrate on the reason he was there, not the reason he was late.
If you’re ever caught in a situation like Alan
was, stay cool, take a deep breath, and remove whatever misfortune befell you from your
mind.
Four: Name and Title of the Interviewer(s)
When you arrange the interview, find out who
you’ll be talking to, and what their function is within the company. Will you be
speaking with the hiring manager? The manager from another department? The personnel
director? The internal recruiter? A peer level employee or subordinate? A staff industrial
psychologist?
You might already know the person. If that’s
the case, you’re ahead of the game. If not, send out feelers among your own contacts
within your industry, or look in your industry’s trade publications to see if the
person you’re going to be meeting is distinguished in any way.
It’s also helpful to find out whether you and
the person you’ll be meeting have any commonalties or interconnecting points of
interest, in the way of origins ("Hey, you’re also from Wisconsin?"),
schools ("My brother went to Duke, too. How did you like it?"), professional
achievements ("My article appeared in Ad Week a month after yours did."), or
personal interests ("I heard you were the Nebraska state ping pong champion.
We’ll have to get together sometime for a match."). These tidbits can break the
ice when an interview begins, and create a bond with the interviewer.
Five: Understanding the Company’s Hiring
Procedure
To correctly gauge the sequence of events
surrounding or following your first interview, ask these questions:
• Can you describe to me, step by step, the
hiring procedure for this position?
This is important to ask, because you want to find
out if (and when) the company needs to schedule a second or third level interview. Some
companies will make hiring decisions on the spot; others will take months of meetings and
endless signatures to process a simple request for a second interview.
• Will I be asked to take any tests?
And if so, what are they, and how long will they
take to administer? Proctor & Gamble, for many of its professional positions, requires
candidates to take a one-hour math and abstract reasoning test. Some companies require a
full day of psychological, aptitude, technical skill, and intelligence testing. With most
companies, failure to pass the tests means automatic elimination from consideration.
Most drug tests are simply referred to as
"physicals," and may take several days to schedule and process. Often,
you’ll have to use your own doctor or clinic.
• How long will it take before you reach a
decision?
This will help you measure your progress through the
hiring process, and could spare you from getting the jitters if you don’t hear
something immediately.
I once got bent out of shape because a new client
company was taking a long time to make a decision whether to bring back one of my
candidates for a second interview. Later, I found in my original notes that the company
was right on schedule; they’d told me up front that it would take them several weeks
to reach a decision. As it turns out, I had no reason to complain.
• Do you currently have any finalists?
This question lets you know if you’ve entered
the race late, and your interview with the company is only a formality. In a situation
like this, isn’t it best to know where you stand?
• Who will be making the hiring decision?
Find out if the decision will be made by a
committee. If it is, must the committee come to a unanimous agreement? Or, will the
decision be based on the recommendation of a single person?
The more information you can dig up about the hiring
procedure, the better you’ll be able to give a more confident, thoughtful interview.
What’s more, arriving at an interview armed with a bastion of facts will help you
shield yourself from the fear that occurs as a result of feeling out of control.
Six: Background Information On the Company
While the amount of background information you can
gather about a company is practically endless, it would be ludicrous to try to become a
walking encyclopedia of corporate trivia. However, knowing something in each of these
categories should significantly improve your odds of getting hired:
• The company’s personnel -- who the major
players are, who was recently hired or let go. It’s also a good idea to know
something of the history of the company, and who the founders were. For example, if you
were interviewing for IBM, it might be considered a faux pas to look puzzled and ask,
"Who?" at mention of the name Thomas Watson, Sr.
• The company’s basic structure -- what
products or services they provide to which customers, what the various divisions are, and
whether they’re privately or publicly held.
• The company’s vital signs -- how the
company is doing financially. Are they solvent or struggling? Are they involved in a
hostile takeover, or merging with another company? How’s their stock faring? You get
the idea. Many of my candidates like to look through Value Line before they interview, so
they can talk intelligently about the company’s financial picture.
• The company’s divisional or departmental
details -- the changes that are taking place that could potentially affect the position
you’re interviewing for. Is there a new product introduction or marketing strategy in
the works? Or how about an overhaul in the company’s accounting methods, capital
equipment, or computer system?
By arriving for your interview adequately briefed,
you’ll make a strong impression on the interviewer. Best of all, you can spend your
interviewing time discussing your background and the company’s needs, not the
corporate biography, or company financial report.
Seven: A Complete List of Questions You Want
to Ask.
During the course of an interview, your dialogue
with the other person will spawn a number of questions spontaneously. However, there may
be important issues to discuss which will never come up unless you take the initiative.
For that reason, you should bring a list of questions with you that will address these
issues, so that you don’t leave the interview uninformed.
Premeditated questions can be grouped into four
different categories:
[1] Company questions deal with the organization,
direction, policies, stability, growth, market share, and new products or services of the
prospective company or department;
[2] Industry questions deal with the health, growth,
change, technological advancement, and personnel of the industry as a whole;
[3] Position questions deal with the scope,
responsibilities, travel, compensation policies, and reporting structure of the position
you’re interviewing for; and
[4] Opportunity questions deal with your own
potential for growth or advancement within the company or its divisions, and the likely
timetable for promotion.
You may have specific interests or concerns
surrounding topics in each category. For example, if you’re interviewing with a
computer manufacturer, you may want to ask about the future growth of the industry. Or,
let’s say you’re interviewing for a position with a company that’s known
for its high rate of personnel turnover. You might want to prepare a carefully worded
question that deals with that issue.
Leave Your Laundry List at Home
Naturally, you need to be careful not to come on too
strong by asking too many questions -- it may turn the interviewer off. Presumably, if
there’s mutual interest, you’ll get all your questions answered at a subsequent
interview. The general rule of thumb is to limit the number of premeditated questions to
about a dozen or less. While it’s true that you’ll be interviewing the company
as much as they’ll be interviewing you, the last thing you want to do is turn a
dialogue into an inquisition, or come across as a walking encyclopedia of corporate
trivia.
You should also be aware that there’s one
specific taboo to first-level interviewing, in terms of the questions you should ask.
Never, ever bring up the issue of salary or benefits. If the employer initiates a dialogue
surrounding these issues, and asks if you have any questions, fine.
But if it appears to the employer that your primary
motivation for changing jobs is the new company’s compensation or benefit package,
you’ll be out the door quicker than a bolt of lightning. Employers get chills of fear
and loathing when they think you’re only on the job market to feather your nest at
their expense. They visualize your employment with them as a short term, non-committal,
career leveraging maneuver, and understandably, want to avoid being victimized.
Early in my career as a recruiter, I arranged an
interview for a qualified candidate with a client company. After the interview, I called
Shelly, the employer, to debrief her.
"Well, your candidate didn’t do so
well," Shelly said.
"Really? I thought he had the perfect
background."
"That wasn’t the problem. I just
didn’t like the way he handled the interview."
"What happened?"
"I spent over an hour with him, telling him
everything about the company, and introducing him to all the key people," Shelly
said. "I even gave him an extensive tour of the manufacturing area."
"And then?"
"And then, I brought him back to my office, and
we sat down to talk about what he’d seen. I asked him if he had any questions."
"And did he?"
"Yes. That’s when the interview ended. He
looked me straight in the eye and asked, ‘What are your benefits?’"
"And?"
"And I got up," Shelly said, "and
walked him right out the door."
Don’t misunderstand me. The candidate’s
actions in no way reflected on his abilities or his character; his intentions were
perfectly honorable. But after that incident (which cost the candidate a job and me a
placement fee), I learned to caution interviewees not to initiate the subject of salary or
benefits.
My suggestion is to take the John F. Kennedy
approach to interviewing: "Ask not what your company can do for you, ask what you can
do for your company."
This way, you can present yourself as a loyal,
hard-working, virtuous, and dedicated candidate, rather than as an opportunistic
job-hopper who’d prefer to live off the fat of the land.
While it’s unthinkable to accept or even
consider a job without first knowing the financial rewards (or the details of the benefit
package), there are better and more timely ways to broach the subject, without endangering
your candidacy.
Interview preparation is perhaps the single most
overlooked aspect of the job changing process. A candidate who’s fired up and ready
to go at the time of the interview has a tremendous advantage over a candidate who’s
not.
The more carefully you prepare for your interview,
the better your chances of getting hired.
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How to
Master the Art of Interviewing
By Bill Radin
©1998 Innovative Consulting, Inc.
Career Development Reports
To a large degree, the success of your interview
will depend on your ability to discover needs and empathize with the interviewer. You can
do this by asking questions that verify your understanding of what the interviewer has
just said, without editorializing or expressing an opinion. By establishing empathy in
this manner, you’ll be in a better position to freely exchange ideas, and demonstrate
your suitability for the job.
In addition to empathy, there are four other
intangible fundamentals to a successful interview. These intangibles will influence the
way your personality is perceived, and will affect the degree of rapport, or personal
chemistry you’ll share with the employer.
[1] Enthusiasm -- Leave no doubt as to your level of
interest in the job. You may think it’s unnecessary to do this, but employers often
choose the more enthusiastic candidate in the case of a two-way tie. Besides, it’s
best to keep your options open -- wouldn’t you rather be in a position to turn down
an offer, than have a prospective job evaporate from your grasp by giving a lethargic
interview?
[2] Technical interest -- Employers look for people
who love what they do, and get excited by the prospect of tearing into the nitty-gritty of
the job.
[3] Confidence -- No one likes a braggart, but the
candidate who’s sure of his or her abilities will almost certainly be more favorably
received.
[4] Intensity -- The last thing you want to do is
come across as "flat" in your interview. There’s nothing inherently wrong
with being a laid back person; but sleepwalkers rarely get hired.
By the way, most employers are aware of how
stressful it can be to interview for a new position, and will do everything they can to
put you at ease.
The Other Fundamentals
Since interviewing also involves the exchange of
tangible information, make sure to:
• Present your background in a thorough and
accurate manner;
• Gather data concerning the company, the
industry, the position, and the specific opportunity;
• Link your abilities with the company needs in
the mind of the employer; and
• Build a strong case for why the company
should hire you, based on the discoveries you make from building rapport and asking the
right questions.
Both for your sake and the employer’s, never
leave an interview without exchanging fundamental information. The more you know about
each other, the more potential you’ll have for establishing rapport, and making an
informed decision.
Basic Interviewing Strategy
There are two ways to answer interview questions:
the short version and the long version. When a question is open-ended, I always suggest to
candidates that they say, "Let me give you the short version. If we need to explore
some aspect of the answer more fully, I’d be happy to go into greater depth, and give
you the long version."
The reason you should respond this way is because
it’s often difficult to know what type of answer each question will need. A question
like, "What was your most difficult assignment?" might take anywhere from thirty
seconds to thirty minutes to answer, depending on the detail you choose to give.
Therefore, you must always remember that the
interviewer’s the one who asked the question. So you should tailor your answer to
what he or she needs to know, without a lot of extraneous rambling or superfluous
explanation. Why waste time and create a negative impression by giving a sermon when a
short prayer would do just fine?
Let’s suppose you were interviewing for a sales
management position, and the interviewer asked you, "What sort of sales experience
have you had in the past?"
Well, that’s exactly the sort of question that
can get you into trouble if you don’t use the short version/long version method. Most
people would just start rattling off everything in their memory that relates to their
sales experience. Though the information might be useful to the interviewer, your answer
could get pretty complicated and long-winded unless it’s neatly packaged.
One way to answer the question might be,
"I’ve held sales positions with three different consumer product companies over
a nine-year period. Where would you like me to start?"
Or, you might simply say, "Let me give you the
short version first, and you can tell me where you want to go into more depth. I’ve
had nine years experience in consumer product sales with three different companies, and
held the titles of district, regional, and national sales manager. What aspect of my
background would you like to concentrate on?"
By using this method, you telegraph to the
interviewer that your thoughts are well organized, and that you want to understand the
intent of the question before you travel too far in a direction neither of you wants to
go. After you get the green light, you can spend your interviewing time discussing in
detail the things that are important, not whatever happens to pop into your mind.
Don’t Talk Yourself Out of a Job
I’ve got a friend who’s the hiring manager
of an electronics company. He told me once that he brought a candidate into his office to
make him a job offer. An hour later, the candidate left. I asked my friend if he had hired
the candidate.
"No," he said. "I tried. But the
candidate wouldn’t stop talking long enough for me to make him an offer."
Don’t misinterpret me. I’m not suggesting
that an interview should consist of a series of monosyllabic grunts. It’s just that
nothing turns off an employer faster than a windbag candidate.
By using the short version/long version method to
answer questions, you’ll never talk yourself out of a job.
The Prudent Use of Questions
Beware: An interview will quickly disintegrate into
an interrogation or monologue unless you ask some high quality questions of your own.
Candidate questions are the lifeblood of any successful interview, because they:
• Create dialogue, which will not only enable
the two of you to learn more about each other, but will help you visualize what it’ll
be like working together once you’ve been hired;
• Clarify your understanding of the company and
the position responsibilities;
• Indicate your grasp of the fundamental issues
discussed so far;
• Reveal your ability to probe beyond the
superficial; and
• Challenge the employer to reveal his or her
own depth of knowledge, or commitment to the job.
Your questions should always be slanted in such a
way as to show empathy, interest, or understanding of the employer’s needs. After
all, the reason you’re interviewing is because the employer’s company has some
piece of work which needs to be completed, or a problem that needs correcting. Here are
some questions that have proven to be very effective:
• What’s the most important issue facing
your department?
• How can I help you accomplish this objective?
• How long has it been since you first
identified this need?
• How long have you been trying to correct it?
• Have you tried using your present staff to
get the job done? What was the result?
• What other means have you used? For example,
have you brought in independent contractors, or temporary help, or employees borrowed from
other departments? Or have you recently hired people who haven’t worked out?
• Is there any particular skill or attitude you
feel is critical to getting the job done?
• Is there a unique aspect of my background
that you’d like to exploit in order to help accomplish your objectives?
Questions like these will not only give you a sense
of the company’s goals and priorities, they’ll indicate to the interviewer your
concern for satisfying the company’s objectives.
Give It Some Thought
Here are seven of the most commonly asked
interviewing questions. Do yourself and the prospective employer a favor, and give them
some thought before the interview occurs.
[1] Why do you want this job?
[2] Why do you want to leave your present company?
[3] Where do you see yourself in five years?
[4] What are your personal goals?
[5] What are your strengths? Weaknesses?
[6] What do you like most about your current
company?
[7] What do you like least about your current
company?
The last question is probably the hardest to answer:
What do you like least about your present company?
I’ve found that rather than pointing out the
faults of other people ("I can’t stand the office politics," or, "I
don’t get along with my boss"), it’s best to place the burden on yourself
("I feel I’m ready to exercise a new set of professional muscles," or,
"The type of technology I’m interested in isn’t available to me
now.").
By answering in this manner, you’ll avoid
pointing the finger at someone else, or coming across as a whiner or complainer. It does
no good to speak negatively about others.
I suggest you think through the answers to the above
questions for two reasons.
First, it won’t help your chances any to hem
and haw over fundamental issues such as these. (The answers you give to these types of
questions should be no-brainers.)
And secondly, the questions will help you evaluate
your career choices before spending time and energy on an interview. If you don’t
feel comfortable with the answers you come up with, maybe the new job isn’t right for
you.
Money, Money, Money
There’s a good chance you’ll be asked
about your current and expected level of compensation. Here’s the way to handle the
following questions:
[1] What are you currently earning?
Answer: "My compensation, including bonus, is
in the high-forties. I’m expecting my annual review next month, and that should put
me in the low-fifties."
[2] What sort of money would you need in order to
come to work for our company?
Answer: "I feel that the opportunity is the
most important issue, not salary. If we decide to work together, I’m sure you’ll
make me a fair offer."
Notice the way a range was given as the answer to
question [1], not a specific dollar figure. However, if the interviewer presses for a
exact answer, then by all means, be precise, in terms of salary, bonus, benefits, expected
increase, and so forth.
In answer to question [2], if the interviewer tries
to zero in on your expected compensation, you should also suggest a range, as in, "I
would need something in the low- to mid- fifties." Getting locked in to an exact
figure may work against you later, in one of two ways: either the number you give is lower
than you really want to accept; or the number appears too high or too low to the employer,
and an offer never comes. By using a range, you can keep your options open.
Some Questions You Can Count On
There are four types of questions that interviewers
like to ask.
First, there are the resume questions. These relate
to your past experience, skills, job responsibilities, education, upbringing, personal
interests, and so forth.
Resume questions require accurate, objective
answers, since your resume consists of facts which tend to be quantifiable (and
verifiable). Try to avoid answers which exaggerate your achievements, or appear to be
opinionated, vague, or egocentric.
Second, interviewers will usually want you to
comment on your abilities, or assess your past performance. They’ll ask
self-appraisal questions like, "What do you think is your greatest asset?" or,
"Can you tell me something you’ve done that was very creative?"
Third, interviewers like to know how you respond to
different stimuli. Situation questions ask you to explain certain actions you took in the
past, or require that you explore hypothetical scenarios that may occur in the future.
"How would you stay profitable during a recession?" or, "How would you go
about laying off 1300 employees?" or, "How would you handle customer complaints
if the company drastically raised its prices?" are typical situation questions.
And lastly, some employers like to test your mettle
with stress questions such as, "After you die, what would you like your epitaph to
read?" or, "If you were to compare yourself to any U.S. president, who would it
be?" or, "It’s obvious your background makes you totally unqualified for
this position. Why should we even waste our time talking?"
Stress questions are designed to evaluate your
emotional reflexes, creativity, or attitudes while you’re under pressure. Since
off-the-wall or confrontational questions tend to jolt your equilibrium, or put you in a
defensive posture, the best way to handle them is to stay calm and give carefully
considered answers.
Whenever I hear a stress question, I immediately
think of the Miss Universe beauty pageant. The finalists (usually sheltered teenagers from
places like Zambia or Uruguay) are asked before a live television audience of three and a
half billion people to give heartfelt and earnest responses to incongruous questions like,
"What would you tell the leaders of all the countries on earth to do to promote world
peace?"
Of course, your sense of humor will come in handy
during the entire interviewing process, just so long as you don’t go over the edge. I
heard of a candidate once who, when asked to describe his ideal job, replied, "To
have beautiful women rub my back with hot oil." Needless to say, he wasn’t
hired.
Even if it were possible to anticipate every
interview question, memorizing dozens of stock answers would be impractical, to say the
least. The best policy is to review your background, your priorities, and your reasons for
considering a new position; and to handle the interview as honestly as you can. If you
don’t know the answer to a question, just say so, or ask for a moment to think about
your response.
Wrapping It Up
At the conclusion of your interview, you can wrap up
any unfinished business you failed to cover so far, and begin to explore the future of
your candidacy.
During your interview wrap-up, it’s a good
practice to make the interviewer aware of other opportunities you’re exploring, as
long as they’re genuine, and their timing has some bearing on your own decision
making.
The fact that you’re actively exploring other
opportunities may affect the speed with which the company makes its hiring decision. It
may even positively influence the eventual outcome, since the company may want to act
quickly so as not to lose you.
However, your other activity should be presented in
the spirit of assistance to the interviewer, not as a thinly veiled threat or negotiating
tactic. I’d advise you to play it straight with the interviewer.
And remember to maintain a positive attitude. In
today’s job market, you’d be surprised how often victory is snatched from the
jaws of defeat.
The better your interviewing skills, the greater
your chances of getting the job.
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Position
Comparison: How to Evaluate a Job Offer
By Bill Radin
©1998 Innovative Consulting, Inc.
Career Development Reports
Let’s assume your employment interview went
well, and there’s sincere and mutual interest on both sides.
Now you need to decide two things: first, whether
the new position is right for you; and if so, what sort of offer you’d be willing to
accept.
To evaluate the pros and cons, ask yourself the
following: Does the new job meet the criteria you spelled out when you first began your
search? Will the new job improve your level of personal and professional satisfaction? Or
will it simply offer you a rehash of what you already have? Hopefully, the unique
qualities you’re seeking will be within your grasp.
Keeping Score
If you’re not sure about the new job, or need
help in being more objective, take the following test as a way to compare the two
positions. You should be able to get a feel for how the job you interviewed for stacks up
against your current position by selecting which considerations best suit your needs.
The position comparison test can be
"scored" two different ways. You can either tally the totals (the best job has
the highest score); or you can use the test as a way to examine your priorities.
Let’s suppose your score was 15 to seven, in
favor of the new company. Does that mean you should change jobs?
Well, not necessarily. It depends on which
considerations are most important to you. If an increase in travel will ruin your
marriage, then it won’t matter how many positive considerations point to the new job.
(This is assuming you want to stay married.)
However, a simple tallying of the score can be very
helpful when the decision is a tough one, and no single consideration acts as a
"knockout" factor. Besides, mathematical "logic" can always be used to
justify what you already feel to be the right decision.
The Economic Factor
Compensation, of course, will be a key factor in
your decision whether to accept a new position.
Oddly, few people take the time to really understand
their economic choices, mostly because there are so many hidden factors, such as cost of
living, benefits, relocation expenses, and so forth.
Regardless of where compensation ranks on your list
of priorities, it’s a good idea to know what you may be getting into when faced with
a career decision.
To help you put your economic choices into
perspective, use this compensation comparison to evaluate both your prospective
compensation package and what you’re currently earning.
The best time to make your calculations is before an
offer is made. That way, you can form a clear idea of what you’ll need, without
having to dicker (or experience shock) later on.
If you’re looking at an opportunity that’s
in a different geographic location, you might want to do some investigating before you
even interview. For example, if you live in a nice suburban community in Lawrence, Kansas,
what would it cost you to maintain your current lifestyle in an area like San Francisco?
Your answer (and your willingness to make the necessary trade-offs) will help determine
your level of interest when considering the new position.
Figuring the Bottom Line
The best approach to putting the deal together is to
decide whether you want the job before an offer is extended. This allows you to clarify
whether the job suits your needs. Unless you’re motivated solely by money, it’s
doubtful a few extra dollars will turn a bad job into a good one.
If the job interests you, then determine the
conditions under which you’ll accept. These fall into two categories: Bottom Lines
and Porcupines.
The term "bottom line" refers to the
amount of compensation you feel is absolutely necessary to accept the job offer. If, for
example, you really want $46,000 but would think about $45,000 or settle for $44,000, then
you haven’t established your bottom line. The bottom line is one dollar more than the
figure you would positively walk away from. Setting a bottom line clarifies your sense of
worth, and helps avoid an unpredictable bargaining session.
I recommend against "negotiating" an offer
in the classic sense, where the company makes a proposal, you counter it, they counter
your counter, and so on. While this type of tit for tat format may be customary for
negotiating a residential real estate deal, job offers should be handled in a more
straightforward manner.
Here’s how: Determine your bottom line in
advance, and wait for the offer. If the company offers you more than your bottom line,
great. If they offer you less, then you have the option of turning the offer down or
revealing to them your bottom line as a condition of acceptance. At that point, they can
raise the ante or walk away.
Lay Your Cards on the Table
Once the bottom line is known, you can avoid the
haggling that so often causes aggravation, disappointment, or hurt feelings.
My experience has shown that it’s much better
to lay your cards on the table in the beginning than to barter to get what you want. An
employer can get very irritable when a candidate says, "I’ll think it
over," or keeps coming back with new demands again and again. Even if you get what
you want, you’ve created a negative impression with the company which will carry over
after you’ve been hired. In effect, you may win the battle, but lose the war.
By determining your own acceptance conditions in
advance, you’ll never be accused of negotiating in bad faith or of being indecisive.
Whether you’re representing yourself or working with a recruiter, learning to
differentiate between financial fact and fantasy will facilitate the job changing process.
You may want to itemize your bottom line, and, if
it’s appropriate, show it to the company (or your recruiter) as a means to justify
your salary request. Carefully figure your total package, and document any loss of income
that may result from a differential in benefits, geographic location, car expenses, and
the like.
If a recruiter asks for your bottom line, he or she
isn’t trying to manipulate you or conspire with an employer that plans to
"lowball " its candidates. The recruiter is simply making a good faith effort to
discover what makes you happy, and put together two interested parties.
The Porcupine Category
Of course, there are considerations aside from money
that usually need to be satisfied before an offer can be accepted. Factors such as your
new position title, review periods, work schedule, vacation allotment, and promotion
opportunities are important, and should be looked at carefully.
To understand the candidate’s needs, I use the
porcupine approach to quantify each consideration or "point" made by the
candidate as a condition for acceptance. Once I understand each point, I can work with the
company to put the deal together, without having to go back later to get "one more
thing."
Once you know your bottom line and each condition,
or point on the porcupine, you’re in a better position to get what you want, since
you’ve established quantifiable goals to shoot for.
How an Offer Is Staged
Every company makes hiring decisions differently.
Some will encourage shoot-from-the-hip managers to make job offers on the spot. Other
companies will limit the decision maker’s ability to act quickly and unilaterally,
and require a drawn-out series of staff meetings, subsequent interviews, corporate
signatures, and so on.
These days, it’s not uncommon for the hiring
cycle to last weeks or even months, regardless of how "critical" the position
might be. The best approach is to maintain contact with the company, allowing for the fact
that there’ll probably be some delay. Presumably, you asked what the hiring procedure
was when you first interviewed. Their answer should give you some indication as to when a
decision will be made.
Offers can be extended by either a letter, or
verbally from a hiring manager. They can also be made through a third party, such as a
recruiter. In either case, be careful. An offer needs to include these three components
before it can be considered official:
[1] Your position title;
[2] Your starting salary; and
[3] Your start date.
Before you resign from your present job, make sure
you nail down each of these components from a company official, either verbally or in
writing (in the form of an offer letter). Even if the offer comes through a recruiter, you
should always contact the employer directly, and if possible, get a letter of offer or
acceptance to verify the deal (although a verbal offer and acceptance will act as a legal
contract).
Not long ago, I was working with a candidate who
interviewed for a position with one of my client companies. The interview went extremely
well; so well that the VP of the company called the candidate at his home that evening to
discuss the offer.
"Well, Paul, we really like you," the
employer told the candidate. "The job is yours if you want it."
"I want it," said Paul. "When do I
start?"
"Well, I’ll call Bill tomorrow and work
out the details," replied the employer.
Understandably, Paul got excited. Filled with pride,
he drove his ailing grandmother by the new company the next day, so he could show off his
new place of work.
But guess what? The employer never called me, and
never called Paul, either. For some reason he changed his mind, and didn’t have the
decency to let anyone know.
The reason I tell this story is to warn you that
even when the cat seems to be in the bag, it ain’t over ’til the fat lady sings.
An offer has to include a position title, a starting salary, and a date of start to be
official; just telling you the job is yours isn’t enough.
Here’s another word of caution: Offers
sometimes have strings, or contingencies attached. Don’t be surprised if the fine
print requires you to:
• Pass a physical examination;
• Document your citizenship or immigration
status;
• Obtain a security clearance;
• Undergo a thorough background investigation,
in which your credit history, police records, and travel history might be examined;
• Verify your academic credentials; or
• Provide proof of your past employment,
salary, or military service.
Very often, these contingencies must be satisfied
before you can to report to work or receive a paycheck.
Accepting the Offer
If everything about the new position is
satisfactory, go ahead and accept the offer. If you’re expecting an offer from a
second company, you should let the second company know about your offer right away, so
they can speed up their decision. That way, you’ll avoid jeopardizing one deal for
the sake of another.
Once an offer’s on the table, it makes common
sense to accept or reject it within a day or so. Otherwise, your inability to commit will
reflect poorly on the way you make decisions; or it will telegraph your lack of enthusiasm
to the new employer. In either case, you’re likely to be bruised by waiting too long.
If you have legitimate concerns, or you still have
questions that need to be answered, now is the time to bring them up. Rather than tell the
employer, "I’ll have to think it over," use the following script:
"Mr. Employer, this job looks very good to me,
and I’m enthusiastic about coming to work for your company. I’ll be in a
position to accept your offer and start in two weeks if I can just clarify a couple of
things..."
The answers you get will make your decision for you,
and you’ll either accept or reject the company’s offer.
If you decide to reject an offer, remember that
it’s almost impossible to resurrect the deal at a later date, since the position will
be offered to someone else, or the employer will feel insulted, and close the door on your
candidacy. Whatever you do, make certain your decision is final.
New Angles and Unusual Deals
Most deals come together quite cleanly, with little
need for haggling or creative financing. Sometimes, though, it takes a little imagination
to satisfy both parties.
Money can present a problem for employers when your
salary requirements exceed the published range for the position, or create an inequity
within the department. In fact, internal equity issues (in which your expected salary
might be greater than someone on the staff who has more professional or company seniority)
are the cause of most deals that fail to close for financial reasons.
To satisfy money matters, look for ways to increase
your overall yearly compensation, rather than your annual salary. Here are a few added
goodies you can shoot for to boost your earnings without ruffling too many feathers:
• A sign-on bonus to be paid in cash on your
date of start;
• A performance bonus to be paid after thirty,
sixty, or ninety days, assuming your clearly defined goals are met;
• A discretionary bonus to be paid in a lump
sum, or over a specified period;
• A generous relocation bonus to be paid on
your date of start to cover expenses (but which can be spent at your discretion);
• An accelerated review which would occur after
three or six months, rather than on your first anniversary of employment, in which your
salary would be increased; or
• An early participation in the company’s
bonus, stock purchase, or pension plan; or other employee benefit program.
When required, companies will sometimes serve up
these tasty morsels to hungry candidates who recognize that overall compensation consists
of more than salary alone.
The craziest deal I ever put together involved a
candidate who’d just purchased a home and was beyond commuting distance to the
interested company. Since the candidate wouldn’t sell his home and relocate, the
company president agreed to buy the candidate (who had a pilot’s license) a single
engine airplane so he could fly to work each day. It just goes to show, where there’s
a will, there’s a way.
Careful evaluation mixed with a little bit of
creativity will help you get the deal you want.
Position Comparison Guide
Candidate _________________________________ Current position
______________________________________
Current employer
_______________________________ Prospective employer _______________________________
Old position
_____________________________________ New position __________________________________
Today’s date
________________________________ Prospective start date __________________________________
• Directions: Compare the position you
have now with the one you are considering, according to the following elements:
Current job New job Element under
consideration
[ ] [ ] Position title
[ ] [ ] Supervisory responsibility
[ ] [ ] Project authority
[ ] [ ] Decision-making autonomy
[ ] [ ] Freedom to implement ideas
[ ] [ ] Freedom to affect change
[ ] [ ] Promotion potential
[ ] [ ] Challenge of tasks
[ ] [ ] Ability to meet expectations
[ ] [ ] Access to skill training
[ ] [ ] Professional growth potential
[ ] [ ] Company/industry growth
[ ] [ ] Company/industry stability
[ ] [ ] Starting salary
[ ] [ ] Future compensation
[ ] [ ] Company benefits, perks
[ ] [ ] Commuting distance
[ ] [ ] Travel requirements
[ ] [ ] Working environment
[ ] [ ] Rapport with co-workers
[ ] [ ] Rapport with management
[ ] [ ] Comfort with corporate culture
[ ] [ ] Other considerations (specify)
• Score: ____________ Current job
____________ New job New job differential (+/-) ___________
Position Compensation Guide
Candidate
__________________________________ Current position _____________________________________
Current employer
______________________________ Prospective employer _______________________________
Old position
___________________________________ New position _____________________________________
Today’s date
________________________________ Prospective start date _________________________________
• Directions: Compare the position you
have now with the one you are considering, according to the following elements:
Current job New job Element under
consideration
$________________ $________________ Base
salary
$________________ $________________ Bonus,
perks
$________________ $________________ Profit
sharing potential
$________________ $________________ Value
of stock or equity
$________________ $________________ Pension
$________________ $________________ 401(k)
contribution, tax savings
$________________ $________________
Reimbursed expenses
$________________ $________________ Cost of
living differential (+/-)
$________________ $________________
Non-reimbursed moving expenses
$________________ $________________
Job-related travel expenses
$________________ $________________
Insurance premiums
$________________ $________________
Property taxes
$________________ $________________ State
taxes
$________________ $________________ Sales
taxes
$________________ $________________ Other
expenses (specify)
Current job $________________ New
job $________________ New job differential (+/-) $___________
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The
Proper Way to Resign
By Bill Radin
©1998 Innovative Consulting, Inc.
Career Development Reports
Congratulations. You’ve accepted a new job.
Now take a deep breath and prepare yourself for the
challenge ahead. Even though you may be floating on cloud nine now, there are a lot of
emotional and logistical hurdles yet to clear.
As you’ve already learned, the job-changing
process arouses all sorts of feelings. During the transitional phase that begins with your
acceptance of an offer and ends a month or two after you’ve started your new
position, the emotional limbo you’ll experience will be especially acute.
Why? Because suddenly, the reality kicks in. After
all this time, the changes you’ve been contemplating are actually going to happen.
This jolting realization will be followed by a sense
of guilt. Oh, my God, you tell yourself. I’ve been cheating on my present employer.
Having an affair is one thing -- but divorce? I never knew it would come to this!
Then the fear of reprisal begins. My boss is gonna
kill me, I just know it. He’s really gonna make me suffer.
And if the fear of guilt and reprisal don’t
give you enough to worry about, consider the buyer’s remorse you’ll probably
feel. What if I made a mistake? you ask yourself. I’m gonna ruin my life.
Aaauuuggghhh!
Don’t Let the Demons Get You Down
Relax. Everyone who changes jobs is plagued by these
demons, to a greater or lesser degree. It’s only natural.
But rather than dwell on the past, imagine for a
moment that you’re in your new job.
Isn’t this great? Think of all the changes
you’re making, and how your new life is a huge improvement compared to what you had
before. Think of the new people you’re meeting, the new skills you’re acquiring,
and the new opportunities you have to advance your career.
Now, are you going to let your fears unravel
everything you’ve accomplished in the way of self-evaluation, planning, resume
writing, interviewing, and putting a deal together? No way. You’re not the type of
person who’s going to allow cold feet to put the chill on changing jobs. You’re
a person of action, and you seize the moment. You know that those who back away from
golden opportunities may never get another chance.
Self-affirmations like these can do wonders for
maintaining your positive energy and high self-esteem. And by projecting all the
beneficial aspects of your new job into the present tense, you’ll ward off the demons
that can distort your judgment, and make you vulnerable to a counteroffer attempt.
Considering the Counteroffer
Of course, if your motivation for getting a job
offer was to position yourself for a counteroffer, then you’re in the catbird’s
seat -- you can’t lose either way.
Or can you? Some employment experts point out that
accepting a counteroffer is the equivalent of career suicide.
According to Paul Hawkinson, publisher of The
Fordyce Letter, your acceptance of a counteroffer could very well blow up in your face.
Here’s how. Let’s say you announce your
plans to leave your current job. This, in effect, blackmails your boss, who makes you a
counteroffer only to keep you until he can find your replacement, at which point
you’re dropped like a hot potato. In the meantime, the trusting relationship
you’ve enjoyed with your current supervisors and peers abruptly ends, and your
loyalty becomes forever suspect.
Is this sort of scenario accurate? I guess it
depends. My experience has been mixed. That is, some of the candidates I’ve known
who’ve accepted counteroffers have remained at their old jobs for years, and have
smoothed over whatever difficulties caused their split in the first place.
It’s precisely for this reason that I’m so
cautious when I work with currently employed job seekers. I want to feel confident that
their motives are pure before we both invest a lot of time and energy in testing the
market.
However, there’s a lot of evidence to support
the theory that candidates who accept counteroffers become damaged goods once they’ve
been herded back into the fold.
Here Come the Three Stages
If your intention to make a change is sincere, and a
counteroffer by your current company won’t change your decision to leave, you should
still keep up your guard. A counteroffer attempt can be potentially devastating, both on a
personal and professional level. Unless you know how to diffuse your current
employer’s retaliation against your resignation, you may end up psychologically
wounded, or right back at the job you wanted to leave.
The best way to shield yourself from the inevitable
mixture of emotions surrounding the act of submitting your resignation is to remember that
employers follow a predictable, three-stage pattern when faced with a resignation:
[1] They’ll be in shock. "You sure picked
a fine time to leave! Who’s going to finish the project we started?"
The implication is that you’re irreplaceable.
They might as well ask, "How will we ever get the work done without you?"
To answer this assertion, you can reply, "If I
were run over by a truck on my way to work tomorrow, I feel that somehow, this company
would survive."
[2] They’ll start to probe. "Who’s
the new company? What sort of position did you accept? What are they paying you?"
Here you must be careful not to disclose too much
information, or appear too enthusiastic. Otherwise, you run the risk of feeding your
current employer with ammunition he can use against you later, such as, "I’ve
heard some pretty terrible things about your new company" or, "They’ll make
everything look great until you actually get there. Then you’ll see what a sweat shop
that place really is."
[3] They’ll make you an offer to try and keep
you from leaving. "You know that raise you and I were talking about a few months
back? I forgot to tell you: We were just getting it processed yesterday."
To this you can respond, "Gee, today you seem
pretty concerned about my happiness and well-being. Where were you yesterday, before I
announced my intention to resign?"
It may take several days for the three stages to run
their course, but believe me, sooner or later, you’ll find yourself engaged in
conversations similar to these.
More than once, candidates have called me after
they’ve resigned, to tell me that their old company followed the three-stage pattern
exactly as I described it. Not only were they prepared to diffuse the counteroffer
attempt, they found the whole sequence to be almost comical in its predictability.
How to Tactfully Resign
The first thing you need to consider is the timing
of your resignation. Since two weeks’ notice is considered the norm, make sure your
resignation properly coincides with your start date at the new company.
You should always try to avoid an extended start
date. Even if your new job begins in 10 weeks, don’t give 10 weeks’ notice; wait
eight weeks and then give two weeks’ notice. This way, you’ll protect yourself
from disaster, in the unlikely event your new company announces a hiring freeze a month
before you come on board.
And by staying at your old job for only two weeks
after you’ve announced your resignation, you won’t be subjected to the envy,
scorn, or feelings of professional impotence that may result from your new role as a
lame-duck employee.
Some companies will make your exit plans for you. I
placed a candidate once whose employer had the security guard escort him out of the
building the moment he announced his intention to go to work for a direct competitor.
Fortunately, he was still given two weeks’ pay.
Your resignation should be handled in person,
preferably on a Friday afternoon. Ask your direct supervisor if you can speak with him
privately in his office. When you announce your intention to resign, you should also hand
your supervisor a letter which states your last date of employment with the company. Let
him know that you’ve enjoyed working with him, but that an opportunity came along
that you couldn’t pass up, and that your decision to leave was made carefully, and
doesn’t reflect any negative feelings you have toward the company or the staff.
You should also add that your decision is final, and
that you would prefer not to be made a counteroffer, since you wouldn’t want your
refusal to accept more money to appear as a personal affront.
Let your supervisor know that you appreciate all the
company’s done for you; and that you’ll do everything in your power to make your
departure as smooth and painless as possible.
Finally, ask if there’s anything you can do
during the transition period over the next two weeks, such as help train your successor,
tie up loose ends, or delegate tasks.
Keep your resignation letter short, simple, and to
the point. There’s no need to go into detail about your new job, or what led to your
decision to leave. If these issues are important to your old employer, he’ll schedule
an exit interview for you, at which time you can hash out your differences ad infinitum.
Make sure to provide a carbon copy or photocopy of
your resignation letter for your company’s personnel file. This way, the
circumstances surrounding your resignation will be well documented for future reference.
In all likelihood, the human resource staff will
want to meet with you to process your departure papers, or cover any questions you may
have concerning the transfer of your medical insurance or retirement benefits.
Relocation Specialists
Now that you’ve gotten your resignation out of
the way, you need to shift your attention to the new company.
If a relocation is required, and you haven’t
done your house hunting, let me make a suggestion. Work with a relocation specialist, to
give you a hand in finding a place to live in your new city or town.
Relocation specialists are brokers who make their
living by matching candidates and locations, similar to the way recruiters match
candidates and employers.
Relocation specialists will interview you and your
spouse (or significant other). Once they discover your housing and lifestyle needs,
they’ll refer you to Realtors who are familiar with the local communities that
satisfy your needs. Relocation specialists receive a commission or finder’s fee from
the Realtor, once a property is sold. There’s no charge to you or your new employer.
Often, relocation specialists will be able to
prequalify you for a mortgage loan, or refer you to an amenable mortgage broker or lending
institution.
Relocation specialists can also be good at handling
unusual situations. For example, a relocation specialist I was working with a few years
ago was able to help a candidate’s wife transfer her teaching credential from
California to Michigan. Without the transfer, the candidate wouldn’t have been able
to accept my client company’s offer.
In another instance, a relocation specialist was
able to pinpoint the exact housing needs of a candidate and his wife, show them the
perfect property, qualify them, and arrange a 5-percent down mortgage loan with a bank --
all in one morning. That afternoon, the candidate went to his final interview with my
client company and accepted their offer, secure in the knowledge that his relocation
wouldn’t be a problem.
If your new company has a relocation specialist on
staff, fine. If not, ask for a recommendation. Your relocation is too important to leave
to chance, or entrust to a randomly selected real estate agent. In the event you’re
unable to find an independent relocation specialist, you can probably hook up with a
realtor who works mainly with executive corporate transfers. Century 21, for example, does
an outstanding job of matching out-of-town buyers with desirable, local properties.
Culture Shock and Task Clarity
At last, you’ve arrived! Welcome aboard.
In the beginning, your new job may seem
overwhelming. After all, there are new people to meet, new systems to learn, new schedules
to keep, and new personalities to adjust to. In many ways, culture shock might be the best
way to describe your first week.
The real key to early success with your new company
boils down to the issue of task clarity. Task clarity refers not to your ability to do a
certain job, but to your understanding of how the job’s defined.
Task clarity is dependent upon the quality of
communication between you and the person assigning the task. Any breakdown of task clarity
will result in frustration or poor performance, or worse.
To illustrate, let me tell you the story of John, a
technical writer I placed with a high tech client company in California. Three weeks after
John started in his new position, I called to ask him how everything was going.
"Fine," he answered. "They love me
here. I’ve completed the documentation on everything they’ve assigned me."
Later that day, I placed a call to John’s boss,
expecting him to heap praise on me for my recruiting genius. Boy, was I in for a surprise!
"Bill, I’m afraid I have some bad news for
you," said the manager. "I’m going to fire John this afternoon. It looks
like we’ll have to start the search all over again."
"Really?" I was stunned. "What seems
to be the problem?"
"John hasn’t produced any of the
documentation we need for our customers, and we have to get the work done to meet our
deadline. If John can’t do the work, I’ll have to find someone who can."
"That’s odd," I said. "I talked
to John this morning and he’s under the impression that the documentation he’s
producing is exactly what you asked for. When was the last time the two of you sat down to
discuss his assignment?"
"Oh gosh," replied the manager, "it
must have been about three weeks ago, right after he started to work here."
"Well then, let me make a suggestion. The two
of you should talk this through, because there’s obviously been a communication
breakdown. As far as John’s concerned, he’s doing a terrific job based on his
perception of the assignment."
Changing Jobs: A New Beginning
A simple failure to communicate the task clearly in
the beginning had almost resulted in John’s termination three weeks after he started
his new job.
Fortunately, we were all able to dodge a bullet.
After my call to the employer, John and his boss sat down to discuss the project. The
assignment was quickly clarified, and John went on to complete the documentation needed to
meet the deadline.
John was lucky that my intervention helped save his
job.
If you’re working with a recruiter, make sure
he or she keeps in touch with the company, to monitor your progress.
You owe it to your career to sharpen your task
clarity. Ask for a weekly review for the first month or so of your employment, and try not
to let things get set on automatic pilot, especially in the beginning.
With a little bit of planning, it’s possible to
make a smooth transition from one job to the next.
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