For many people, interviewing is not a natural act any more than going on a blind date is. You are asked a bunch of questions about your work. You answer them. They ask a bunch more; you answer them. You’re graded on your performance (you receive a job offer or not). Yet interviews are predictable processes and as such can be planned for
What does an employer want to know about you?
Do you have the skills to do the job that needs to be filled?
How will you fit in with my company?
If I hire you, are you someone I will need to worry about?
How does this get determined in an interview?
By asking questions about what you have done and how you did it or decided it should be done.
By asking behavioral questions that will give an employer a sense of the scope of your experiences
By asking concrete questions to ascertain your knowledge
By observing your body language or physical response to questioning to observe whether it is consistent with a successful person.
The fourth way (observing body language or physical response to questions) is particularly interesting because it is not skill or experience based and is completely subjective and emotional. AND it is part of the decision process.
And want are firm’s trying to find out about you? Leadership. Honesty. Trustworthiness.
You can practice with a friend or family member but they may not be much better than you. So how do you practice you presentation and get immediate feedback in order to improve your presentation and demonstrate these attributes?
Toastmasters (www.toastmasters.org) offers people an opportunity to practice how to speak throughout their program. Whether you answer extemporaneous questions off the cuff for 1-2 minutes in Table Topics (“It’s warm! It’s summer! People start to go to the beach and spending time outdoors. Tell us about a time you had fun at the beach, Jeff.” Notice that you only find out when you will speak at the end when you hear your name) or by doing actual 4-6 minute speeches, Toastmasters offers concrete opportunities to get used to being “on the spot” as happens in an interview. It also gives you an opportunity to observe others and learn from them and from the evaluations that are given.
There are Toastmasters clubs throughout the world. To find one, you can go to http://www.toastmasters.org/find/.
Jeff Altman
Concepts in Staffing
jeffaltman@cisny.com
Jeff Altman has successfully assisted many corporations identify management leaders and staff in technology, accounting, finance, sales, marketing and other disciplines since 1971. He is also co-founder of Your Next Job, a networking group focused on assisting technology professionals with their job search, a certified leader of the ManKind Project, a not for profit organization that assists men with life issues, and a practicing psychotherapist. For additional job hunting or hiring tips, go to http://www.newyorkmetrotechnologyjobs.com
If you would like Jeff and his firm to assist you with hiring staff, or if you would like help with a strategic job change, send an email to him at jeffaltman@cisny.com (If you’re looking for a new position, include your resume).
Saturday, February 26, 2005
Tuesday, February 15, 2005
Counteroffers: Should I Stay of Should I Go?
Counteroffers: Should I Stay of Should I Go?
If “resignation” is the word that strikes fear into all employers, then “counteroffer” is the one that strikes fear into an employee’s heart. “What should I do? They’ve matched my offer?”
It’s Friday afternoon. You walk into your boss’ office and ask the question that has sent scared many a managers —“Do you have a minute,” you ask. At that moment, he knows you’re resigning and if he/she wants you, they will have to fight to keep you.
“Why? We love you. Please stay! Don’t go! What do we have to do to keep you?”
Recently, two people who accepted an offer from a client of mine called me to tell me that they accepted a counteroffer to remain with their current firm. The one who had been with his current firm for twelve years seemed to make a decision that made sense; the other, however, had pleaded to get a fulltime job and leave consulting. His assignment was ending and he said he wanted the stability of a fulltime job. Earning $45 per hour without benefits, he accepted a small increase in his hourly rate, rather than a fulltime salary of $93000 plus bonus and great benefits from an employer that he kept begging me to get him to see for a job that he said he loved. Why? He told me, “They need me. (as though my client didn’t.; as though the loss of revenue for his consulting firm and the difficulty they would have replacing him quickly at the client didn’t bother them a wee bit). ”
Between the moment you quit and your departure date, your employer may try to persuade you to stay. Your mentor in the firm calls to talk with you. Your colleagues ask you to lunch and want to know why you’re going, where and for how much. Your boss’ boss asks to meet you. You are now the most important person at your company. You’re asked, “What will it take to keep you?” And this goes on for two weeks.
The pressure to accept a counteroffer can be enormous. The monetary offer can be tempting to stay. The promises to rectify everything that ticks you can be enormous. Yet, let’s look at what is going on from an employer’s perspective.
Your resignation is coming at an untimely moment; they are not prepared to replace you with someone who can step up and do your job. The cost of replacing you in dollars and effort (how many resumes will need to be read and people interviewed before they hire someone who they will need to train—AND they may have to pay a higher salary than what you were earning plus a fee to the search firm for a person who doesn’t know what you know. Can you see it’s not about you, personally) is large.
At the time you decide to change jobs, write down the reasons why you want to leave—I’m bored. I want to make more money. My boss is a micromanager. I want to learn something new. I want to work closer to home—write down the reasons and put them in a place where you can find them at the time you give notice.
Then, before giving notice, find the list and review it. Do not be seduced by the emotional response you may receive. Remember, the money they offer may only be your next raise pushed up a few months. Listen carefully to the promises that are made and remember that nothing is being put into writing; it is just the desperate effort to keep someone who was taken for granted for so long who they are now forced to remember they have underpaid, treated poorly and need to accomplish their objectives.
Few counteroffers should be considered, let alone accepted. I fully expect to see the consultant’s resume online again in a few months because the core issues that caused him to look for a job were not resolved.
Jeff Altman
Concepts in Staffing
jeffaltman@cisny.com
© 2005 all rights reserved.
For other articles by Jeff Altman, go to www.newyorkmetrotechnologyjobs.com; for help with hiring staff, email Jeff and let him know how to best reach you.
If “resignation” is the word that strikes fear into all employers, then “counteroffer” is the one that strikes fear into an employee’s heart. “What should I do? They’ve matched my offer?”
It’s Friday afternoon. You walk into your boss’ office and ask the question that has sent scared many a managers —“Do you have a minute,” you ask. At that moment, he knows you’re resigning and if he/she wants you, they will have to fight to keep you.
“Why? We love you. Please stay! Don’t go! What do we have to do to keep you?”
Recently, two people who accepted an offer from a client of mine called me to tell me that they accepted a counteroffer to remain with their current firm. The one who had been with his current firm for twelve years seemed to make a decision that made sense; the other, however, had pleaded to get a fulltime job and leave consulting. His assignment was ending and he said he wanted the stability of a fulltime job. Earning $45 per hour without benefits, he accepted a small increase in his hourly rate, rather than a fulltime salary of $93000 plus bonus and great benefits from an employer that he kept begging me to get him to see for a job that he said he loved. Why? He told me, “They need me. (as though my client didn’t.; as though the loss of revenue for his consulting firm and the difficulty they would have replacing him quickly at the client didn’t bother them a wee bit). ”
Between the moment you quit and your departure date, your employer may try to persuade you to stay. Your mentor in the firm calls to talk with you. Your colleagues ask you to lunch and want to know why you’re going, where and for how much. Your boss’ boss asks to meet you. You are now the most important person at your company. You’re asked, “What will it take to keep you?” And this goes on for two weeks.
The pressure to accept a counteroffer can be enormous. The monetary offer can be tempting to stay. The promises to rectify everything that ticks you can be enormous. Yet, let’s look at what is going on from an employer’s perspective.
Your resignation is coming at an untimely moment; they are not prepared to replace you with someone who can step up and do your job. The cost of replacing you in dollars and effort (how many resumes will need to be read and people interviewed before they hire someone who they will need to train—AND they may have to pay a higher salary than what you were earning plus a fee to the search firm for a person who doesn’t know what you know. Can you see it’s not about you, personally) is large.
At the time you decide to change jobs, write down the reasons why you want to leave—I’m bored. I want to make more money. My boss is a micromanager. I want to learn something new. I want to work closer to home—write down the reasons and put them in a place where you can find them at the time you give notice.
Then, before giving notice, find the list and review it. Do not be seduced by the emotional response you may receive. Remember, the money they offer may only be your next raise pushed up a few months. Listen carefully to the promises that are made and remember that nothing is being put into writing; it is just the desperate effort to keep someone who was taken for granted for so long who they are now forced to remember they have underpaid, treated poorly and need to accomplish their objectives.
Few counteroffers should be considered, let alone accepted. I fully expect to see the consultant’s resume online again in a few months because the core issues that caused him to look for a job were not resolved.
Jeff Altman
Concepts in Staffing
jeffaltman@cisny.com
© 2005 all rights reserved.
For other articles by Jeff Altman, go to www.newyorkmetrotechnologyjobs.com; for help with hiring staff, email Jeff and let him know how to best reach you.
Monday, February 07, 2005
Job Search Lessons from The Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is a game but, like sports in general, it offers useful life lessons that we can take with us . . . if we only look below the surface. As I watched the game, I saw a number of things. How many did you see?
1. Winning is a team effort. The teams that make it to the game don’t get there by accident. There are teams of planners and leaders who are constantly evaluating player performance and performing competitive analysis of the team and its capabilities with others. Scouts are looking to improve it. A GM looks at the draft and player cost to see where he can improve. Trainers and doctors are reviewing medicals. And then the coaches start getting involved.
You need to look at your own career in the same way in advance of when you need to make a job change. What is the market like for what you do? Do you excel, are you ordinary or below average? What can I do to upgrade my skills before management starts looking for lower cost alternatives? What is my real value (and understand that is a changing figure both up AND down)?
2. It is important to network to develop close and effective relationships with other professionals in your field. When management starts looking to hire new players, they are working with player agents who they often know from other negotiations. Doesn’t that make the process smoother for everyone?
3. Attack your search like your life depends on it. Teams often come out attacking their opponent on both offense and defense. You need to attack your search with ferocity and not casually.
4. If your plan isn’t working, make adjustments. Both teams enter the locker room with concrete feedback about their plan and how it’s working or not working. If your plan isn’t working as well as you like, change it using the feedback you’re getting, just like the pros do. Analyze what is working and what isn’t and adapt.
5. Keep a level head about you. It’s one thing to play with a lot of emotion on the field, but it’s hard to sustain for 60 minutes. Both the Eagles and Patriots came out with aggressive blitzes early in the game and attacking offenses before settling into a rhythm. In job searching, you may start off the search with a lot of fervor, but you need to remember that a search can take a long while. You need to manage your emotions for a 60 minute game and not just the first quarter.
6. Try not to be predictable. A football team that runs the same plays in the same sequence or under the same circumstances becomes predictable and other teams learn what they will do and will out perform them
7. Big mistakes can be critical. It’s one thing to be defeated on a play or a series. It’s another to make a bad call and be left exposed to a big play at a critical time like the Patriots did letting the Eagles back in the game with a 30 yard touchdown late in the game. When you get to the end of the search, it is best to have an agent negotiate for you, rather than leave you exposed to your own emotional whipsawing; if you aren't being represented by one, try to get input from trusted advisors with real knowledge (not your uncle who knows nothing about your industry but has good intentions).
8. Planning starts as soon as the game is over. As soon as the teams walked off the field, I can assure you that both will be planning for change for the next season and will take steps to rectify perceived weaknesses. What that means for you is that you continue your career development, training and networking even when you’ve just started a job. After all, the time when you have the most leverage in a negotiation is when you don’t need a new job.
If you have other suggestions, email them to me at mailto:jeffaltman@cisny.com
Jeff Altman
Concepts in Staffing
jeffaltman@cisny.com
© 2005 all rights reserved.
For other articles by Jeff Altman, go to www.sayhi.to/JeffAltman; for help with hiring staff, email Jeff and let him know how to best reach you.
1. Winning is a team effort. The teams that make it to the game don’t get there by accident. There are teams of planners and leaders who are constantly evaluating player performance and performing competitive analysis of the team and its capabilities with others. Scouts are looking to improve it. A GM looks at the draft and player cost to see where he can improve. Trainers and doctors are reviewing medicals. And then the coaches start getting involved.
You need to look at your own career in the same way in advance of when you need to make a job change. What is the market like for what you do? Do you excel, are you ordinary or below average? What can I do to upgrade my skills before management starts looking for lower cost alternatives? What is my real value (and understand that is a changing figure both up AND down)?
2. It is important to network to develop close and effective relationships with other professionals in your field. When management starts looking to hire new players, they are working with player agents who they often know from other negotiations. Doesn’t that make the process smoother for everyone?
3. Attack your search like your life depends on it. Teams often come out attacking their opponent on both offense and defense. You need to attack your search with ferocity and not casually.
4. If your plan isn’t working, make adjustments. Both teams enter the locker room with concrete feedback about their plan and how it’s working or not working. If your plan isn’t working as well as you like, change it using the feedback you’re getting, just like the pros do. Analyze what is working and what isn’t and adapt.
5. Keep a level head about you. It’s one thing to play with a lot of emotion on the field, but it’s hard to sustain for 60 minutes. Both the Eagles and Patriots came out with aggressive blitzes early in the game and attacking offenses before settling into a rhythm. In job searching, you may start off the search with a lot of fervor, but you need to remember that a search can take a long while. You need to manage your emotions for a 60 minute game and not just the first quarter.
6. Try not to be predictable. A football team that runs the same plays in the same sequence or under the same circumstances becomes predictable and other teams learn what they will do and will out perform them
7. Big mistakes can be critical. It’s one thing to be defeated on a play or a series. It’s another to make a bad call and be left exposed to a big play at a critical time like the Patriots did letting the Eagles back in the game with a 30 yard touchdown late in the game. When you get to the end of the search, it is best to have an agent negotiate for you, rather than leave you exposed to your own emotional whipsawing; if you aren't being represented by one, try to get input from trusted advisors with real knowledge (not your uncle who knows nothing about your industry but has good intentions).
8. Planning starts as soon as the game is over. As soon as the teams walked off the field, I can assure you that both will be planning for change for the next season and will take steps to rectify perceived weaknesses. What that means for you is that you continue your career development, training and networking even when you’ve just started a job. After all, the time when you have the most leverage in a negotiation is when you don’t need a new job.
If you have other suggestions, email them to me at mailto:jeffaltman@cisny.com
Jeff Altman
Concepts in Staffing
jeffaltman@cisny.com
© 2005 all rights reserved.
For other articles by Jeff Altman, go to www.sayhi.to/JeffAltman; for help with hiring staff, email Jeff and let him know how to best reach you.
Tuesday, February 01, 2005
Seven Steps to Better Networking
If published statistics are accurate, employment agencies and search firms fill about 20% of all jobs in the US. Job boards fill anywhere between 2% and 8%. So how do the others get filled?
Networking consistently fills more jobs than any other method. Yet people often don’t know how to network well, only act in crisis (I need a job now!) Networking when you don’t need a job will help you cultivate relationships that will help you find work.
Here’s what to do.
Develop an elevator speech. If you’re not familiar with the term, an elevator speech is a 30 second synopsis of you experience that you want people to remember about you. It needs to be delivered with enthusiasm, as an actor or actress might. Every single time.
Cultivate your network of relationships. Tap into your existing relationships—friends, family, former colleagues, people you know. Just let them know you’re looking for work and ask them if they might know someone in your field who might be able to give you advice. Ask each person you are referred to for at least 3 referrals. Create a snowball effect.
Participate in trade groups. The “mega-functions” are harder to be successful in than smaller ones. The more targeted the group, often the better. Get involved. Join committees. Let people get to know you through your contributions. Ask for support.
Help others. I’m sure you’ve the phrase, “give more, get more.” Help others and things will come back to you. Contribute to others and their successful search. This can also occur when you genuinely listen to others and their professional needs and offer assistance. There is advice that you will receive by supporting others, ideas that will emerge from helping others work through their problems and opportunities that will be afforded to you through listening.
Focus on creating a great impression and asking for support. If all you do is ask for a job, a lot of doors will be slammed in your face. If you focus on creating a great impression, rest assured that when you are in front of someone who needs you, they will be smart enough to see the fit.
Cultivate your relationships. Like dating and good marriages, relationships take time to develop and blossom. Don’t expect instant results. Send thank you notes (www.hallmark.com and other online greeting card sites will help you keep the cost low or free), a quick email or a periodic phone call to stay in contact.
Follow through. Act on all the leads you receive. If you promise to do something, do it when you say you will do it. Imagine what it is like for the other person who is trying to help you, who may have even alerted the other person to a phone call and then not have it acted upon.
Take the time to network, ideally when you are working and don’t necessarily need a job. The investment will be worth your time.
Jeff Altman
Concepts in Staffing
jeffaltman@cisny.com
© 2005 all rights reserved.
For more articles by Jeff Altman, go to www.newyorkmetrotechnologyjobs.com
Networking consistently fills more jobs than any other method. Yet people often don’t know how to network well, only act in crisis (I need a job now!) Networking when you don’t need a job will help you cultivate relationships that will help you find work.
Here’s what to do.
Develop an elevator speech. If you’re not familiar with the term, an elevator speech is a 30 second synopsis of you experience that you want people to remember about you. It needs to be delivered with enthusiasm, as an actor or actress might. Every single time.
Cultivate your network of relationships. Tap into your existing relationships—friends, family, former colleagues, people you know. Just let them know you’re looking for work and ask them if they might know someone in your field who might be able to give you advice. Ask each person you are referred to for at least 3 referrals. Create a snowball effect.
Participate in trade groups. The “mega-functions” are harder to be successful in than smaller ones. The more targeted the group, often the better. Get involved. Join committees. Let people get to know you through your contributions. Ask for support.
Help others. I’m sure you’ve the phrase, “give more, get more.” Help others and things will come back to you. Contribute to others and their successful search. This can also occur when you genuinely listen to others and their professional needs and offer assistance. There is advice that you will receive by supporting others, ideas that will emerge from helping others work through their problems and opportunities that will be afforded to you through listening.
Focus on creating a great impression and asking for support. If all you do is ask for a job, a lot of doors will be slammed in your face. If you focus on creating a great impression, rest assured that when you are in front of someone who needs you, they will be smart enough to see the fit.
Cultivate your relationships. Like dating and good marriages, relationships take time to develop and blossom. Don’t expect instant results. Send thank you notes (www.hallmark.com and other online greeting card sites will help you keep the cost low or free), a quick email or a periodic phone call to stay in contact.
Follow through. Act on all the leads you receive. If you promise to do something, do it when you say you will do it. Imagine what it is like for the other person who is trying to help you, who may have even alerted the other person to a phone call and then not have it acted upon.
Take the time to network, ideally when you are working and don’t necessarily need a job. The investment will be worth your time.
Jeff Altman
Concepts in Staffing
jeffaltman@cisny.com
© 2005 all rights reserved.
For more articles by Jeff Altman, go to www.newyorkmetrotechnologyjobs.com
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