YOUR FORMER SALARY - A KNOCKOUT FACTOR


Recently one of my clients was contacted by a company for an interview. Surprisingly the recruiter retracted the offer to interview without giving the person a chance to interview. What happened here?


The hiring company asked for two pieces of information in an email: leaving salary and salary range looking for as a starting wage.


My client was honest and gave them his leaving base salary and told the company that he knew they wouldn't match it, but that he would love to discuss salary options with them. The company representative told him that he would likely have to take a $50,000 cut in salary and that they would prefer not to interview him based on a reluctance to hire anyone having to cut their salary to anything below $25-30,000.


What’s going on here? Why are companies trying to hire only the most affordable candidate rather than the best candidate? My client asked.


Well…here’s the deal….


This experience isn't unusual in today's market. Recruiters are insisting on knowing what you were making in your last job and your earnings expectations up front. This information, once provided, is used to screen candidates out of the hiring process.

From your perspective, why shouldn't you have the opportunity to make the decision to pursue this opportunity and "sell" yourself. From the company's point of view it's not about hiring the most affordable, but rather, hiring an employee who will be satisfied with the pay arrangements and not leave for "greener pastures" when the economy improves. The recruiter is weighing investment costs in training and development and the person's retention potential. Someone who is willing to take a substantial reduction in salary may be perceived as desperate and willing to take anything that comes along...not the kind of candidate the company wants to hire.


It's becoming a "Catch 22" out there. People are facing long term unemployment, need to work, and are willing to work for less money, but companies are being very selective and rejecting viable candidates in search of the optimal candidate. It's a buyer's market!

Keep your spirits up! It'll get better... eventually!


Comments welcomed....

Job Search Survey: how long is it really taking to return to work?

How long is it taking you to find a new job? The USDOL stats indicate it's taking on average 35 weeks to land a new positon. What's your experience?

About the same, shorter, longer??


How has the extension of unemployment benefits impacted your decision to look for a new job?  Delayed, Dropped out, Accelerated, No impact

Have you decided to change careers or industries? 
Why or why not?

Will share results next....


Comments welcomed....

You’ll Find a New Job in No Time!
The following is my recent contribution to a column titled, “Working”, appearing regularly in the Houston Chronicle business section.

”When someone you know has lost a job, it's important to be empathetic but not overly sympathetic. In other words, a pity party is not the best way to help the person through this time. Rather it's a time for a friend, neighbor, family member to listen closely for what the person needs at this time with understanding. Venting is a normal part of coping with the loss, so it's fine to listen, but listening needs to be constructive. The listener's role is to help the person process the events and to focus on the future. This is a great way to show support and concern.

Asking how one might help the person is important as well; however, if the individual is unfocused or just not in a listening mood, it would be better to wait until the person is receptive to suggestions. Offering to help with making networking connections, offering to circulate a resume or making introductions is a great way to show your concern and demonstrate your support. There's nothing worse than saying all the "right" things and then not following through. People in this situation need to trust their friends or former co-workers even more at the time of a job loss because the relationship of trust with the former employer has been broken, and people often feel deceived and someone to place their trust in.

Also, it's important to avoid using all the old bromides such as...I know how you're feeling, you'll find a new job in no time. If you've been through a job loss in the past, let the person know that you've been there before and share some constructive suggestions that worked for you. Acknowledge the person's distress, and offer paths of success.

To see Business Columnist, Wooty Sixel’s entire column published in the Houston Chronicle on 1-1-09, please click on this link:

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/sixel/6190205.html





Comments welcomed....

Where’s Your Brag Book?

When you were little, someone close to you-- a big sister/brother, grandmother, Mom—probably kept a book of exceptional pictures of you doing things that made you special. Parents would show friends and relatives this “Brag Book” to any unsuspecting victim without warning. Some of us were fortunate [or unfortunate, depending on your perspective] to have mothers who created incredible scrapbooks with our pictures, drawing, utterances, comments on the passing scene in general, all in full color with decorations and pains-taking love.

As we grew, we learned to keep our own brag book, only we called it a scrap book. Mementos, souvenirs, newspaper announcements, sports awards—all sorts of great stuff relating to our passage. Many of us now keep an electronic scrapbook using My Space or Facebook technology to chronicle our successes and fun moments in our lives. This is a great way to capture what’s important to us and to share it with friends.

When it comes to work, however, how may of us have our professional brag book to share with recruiters or prospective employers? Most of us, when asked to prepare or revise our resume to demonstrate our value to an employer, just can’t do it. How many times have we heard that “I’ve just been doing my job and not keeping track of how I contributed to the company”? Well, in our competitive society, we better be able to set ourselves apart and have concrete examples of the ways we’ve made contributions to our employers, or we won’t make the cut.

Jason Alba, CEO and Founder of Jibber Jobber.com [http://www.jibberjobber.com]
calls these “brag books”--Job Journals. His great website offers a way for us to list and manage our contributions over the course of our careers. Now there’s just no excuse for not remembering what you did on the job last year!

In our career transition practice, we insist that resumes be professional, targeted and performance driven. They must pass a fundamental test by answering the reader’s basic question—“What can you do for us? Your resume must be filled with accomplishments, achievements, strengths and not duties and responsibilities. Tell the reader how great you are and demonstrate it! Show them your professional Brag Book!



Comments welcomed....

You’re Overqualified…!

Because job search, and especially interviewing, are self-marketing and sales activities, you’ll have to think like a sales person when answering questions and overcoming objections during an interview.

When you’re invited to an interview, you’ve been selected based on your apparent qualifications, as described on the resume and, perhaps, a telephone or screening interview. Once in the interview, you’ll be asked probing questions, and objections will be raised about your experience and qualifications. It’s up to you, the interviewee, to work hard to overcome any objection to your candidacy.

If the overqualified issue comes up, you’ll need to work through it by stating that you don’t believe you’re overqualified, and you would like to continue the discussion to see how you might best fit in and contribute to their team. Often the word “overqualified” is simply a code word for possible high salary expectations and the person is probably looking for too much money.

Some companies have a practice of paying lower base salaries than the market. If you share your current base salary with an interviewer from that type of company, you’re immediately at a disadvantage because you’ll be categorized as “overqualified”. So it’s essential to answer during an interview that the position and opportunity are most important to you and try to overcome the objection the company representative raised.

Also, you may respond by asking if there’s a perceived salary issue behind the overqualified statement. If the answer is yes, ask if the person could share the salary range for the particular position you’re discussing. Then indicate that the range would be OK, depending upon the entire package of benefits and incentives. Don’t get yourself into a position of negotiating with the interviewer, just comment that although salary is important, what’s more important to you is contributing to the success of the team or company. In other words, get off the topic and back on to what you can do for the company.

Your objective during the interview process is to receive a job offer. After you have that offer in hand, you’ll be able to enter into a negotiation discussion from a position of strength.

I hope this discussion helps you overcome the “overqualified” comment in your next interview.

Comments welcomed....

Career Checkup

Beginning Of Year an Ideal Time To Perform A Thorough Career Check-Up


The beginning of a new year is a great time to perform a thorough Career Check-Up to assess how well your career is progressing, according to Right Management, the world’s largest outplacement company.

Career Delta’s expert resource says “It’s an ideal time to take a realistic look at where you are now, where you expect to be going forward, and how satisfied you are with both,” “With the start of a new year, people like to make new beginnings, if necessary.”

However, many people make decisions about their jobs and careers – whether to change employers, or go into a different line of work – based on only one or two factors, instead of performing a comprehensive career assessment. Or they allow perceived slights and inequalities to outweigh other, more important considerations.

“People sometimes make instinctive, snap decisions about their careers depending on how they are getting along with their bosses at the time, how well they are being paid, and whether they have been promoted recently. While each of these components is important, decisions about whether to change jobs and/or careers need to be based on a range of factors.”

Many employees make a hasty job change due to one isolated incident, and often later regret making a move.. Also, it may be at least slightly more difficult to find new employment in 2007 than in the previous year.

Even though employers added 132,000 jobs to their payrolls in November, the total of new payroll jobs created from January through November 2006 – approximately 1.64 million – is about 11 percent less than for the same period last year (1.84 million), according to the U.S. Labor Department. And the unemployment rate – which is still at a five-year low – remained steady in December at 4.5 percent.

“Don’t make a knee-jerk reaction based on one meeting or one lackluster performance review. The grass isn’t always greener”.

The four components of a thorough Career Check-Up include evaluations of your employer’s situation; the marketability of your career; your own professional development; and any personal preferences, needs, or desires, according to Matthews.

· Assess Your Employer’s Situation: How well your employer is performing financially is an important component. “Are sales and market share increasing or decreasing? Is your employer an innovator in its field, and keeping up to date with the latest technology? What is your company’s reputation in your industry and community, and how would this affect your own career goals?,” Matthews asked.

· Evaluate Your Career Marketability: The current demand for your skills, and whether you have kept them and your professional knowledge up to date, are critical factors. “Those with the most marketable careers are working in industries that are doing well, performing job functions that are in demand, have kept their knowledge and skills up to date, and have a network of professional contacts with whom they’ve regularly kept in touch,” Matthews said.

· Your Own Professional Development: How your skills are being used in your current job, and your potential for future career growth, should also be evaluated. “Are you in a job that capitalizes on your interests and strengths, and are you regularly learning something new? How often are your input and ideas sought, and is your advice taken? What is the potential to advance further with your current employer?,” Matthews asked.

· Your Personal Preferences: Factors such as how much you enjoy your job, and how you feel about getting up each day and going into work, should also be weighed. “Is your job still personally satisfying, or do you dread going into work? Has your workload been interfering with your personal life? Have you been thinking about making some kind of change – switching industries, job functions, working for a smaller company, or having fewer responsibilities?,” Matthews asked.

Those who decide that their current job situations are promising and rewarding will appreciate the validation they receive from conducting a thorough Career Check-Up, Matthews.said. “People who uncover areas that they need to work on may want to address these with their bosses. Those with mostly negative answers should realize that their career prospects with their current employers may be limited, and it may be in their best interests to examine other job possibilities.”

Comments welcomed....

Best Ways To Advance In Your Career: Updating Your Skills And Network

The best way for employees to advance in their careers is to acquire new skills, abilities, and knowledge, and update their current talents, according to a survey of 346 companies conducted by Right Management, the world's largest career tranistion service


Other top ways to advance one’s career include: building a career network and continually updating it; volunteering for visibile and challenging opportunities within your organization; and identifying and communicating your career goals with your boss.


According to the results of the survey, the best ways for employees to advance in their careers are:


Acquiring new and updating current skills, abilities, and knowledge 67%
Building and keeping in touch with a career network 64%
Volunteering for challenging and visible opportunities 41%
Identifying and communicating your career goals 34%
Identifying and learning from mentors and role models 32%
Performing your job in an exemplary manner 29%
Projecting a positive professional image 27%
Learning how to learn from experience 21%


“Education no longer ends with just the completion of formal schooling and acquiring degrees. Building a skills portfolio and career network is a continuous process. Career development today comprises primarily matching marketable talents to career opportunites, and not necessarily to upward progression on a career ladder, as it did in the past. More seasoned employees, especially, should be focused on acquiring new skills.”

Networking should be a constant part of one’s career. “New networking contacts should be made, and old ones should be nurtured, just as you should continually learn new skills and update your current ones.”

While volunteering for high-profile assignments does increase one’s visibility in the workplace, employees should also enlist to carry out less glamorous assignments, such as civic and charitable endeavors. Bosses appreciate and take notice of those willing to perform organizational tasks that may be more mundane, but nevertheless have to be done.


Although many employees are uncomfortable communicating their career goals with their supervisors, they shouldn’t wait until performance appraisal time to make their feelings known. “If career goals cannot be satisifed within an employee’s current department, he or she should be paying close attention to any openings in other parts of their organizations, especially if the new job would be a better fit. Leaving the company should be considered an option of last resort.”



Comments welcomed....