The Sound of Silence

Let this letter from a frustrated job seeker make us all realize the discourtesy and frustration that occurs when they are offered the sound of silence. This article was written by a job seeker and posted on Recruiting Blog.

I was laid-off from my job as a telecommunications operations manager a year ago and have since had multiple interviews with seven companies in the city and on Long Island. Without exception, every interviewer closes with, "Thanks for coming in; we'll let you know either way," or, "You'll hear from us in two to three weeks."

It is a hopeful three weeks and I regularly check my emails and voice mails for an answer. Ultimately, I rarely hear back from them -- even after several steps of the interview process. At first I took it personally, but have realized that completely disregarding people you were very courteous to three weeks ago has become the norm. I follow all the rules, including writing compelling cover letters, customizing my resume and composing subsequent thank-you letters, yet I end up with "radio silence" that is both deafening and frustrating.

Job seekers don't expect a response to every resume they send out, but if you are lucky enough to be invited in for an interview, I think most would agree they deserve some sort of answer afterward rather than being left to wonder.

Oddly enough, I've found that invitations for initial and follow-up interviews are quite expeditious, so I can only assume that once a choice is made (that doesn't involve you), you're off their radar for good. There is no phone call, no quick email with any one of the canned responses -- "Sorry, we're heading in a different direction" or "We've chosen another candidate, but thank you for applying."

After the promised waiting period, I naturally assume they have not selected me, but I am compelled to follow up and respectfully ask where I stand. Still my phone calls are unreturned and my emails are overlooked. What we job seekers see as initially being persistent, eventually feels like harassment when each inquiry gets no response. It's as if the company packed up and moved out.

I'm embarrassed that I have been reduced to politely following up every few days, but I cannot afford not to ask. I understand that my priorities are just that -- mine. I suppose employers do not have the time or inclination to be sensitive in this tumultuous economy, but it should not mean courtesy is pushed aside. They say the second best answer you can get while job searching is "no," but the worst is no response at all.

It would be good for all parties to be forthcoming with a truthful and quick response so everyone can move on. For 20-plus years, I've taken management and leadership courses, and what is constantly taught is professionalism, timeliness and honesty. This should not only apply internally but externally as well. I am not looking for a three-page dissertation on why I didn't get the job, but in this age of technology and automated emails, everyone deserves some sort of communication.

I suppose the hiring managers just don't care. So this is the reality -- and it's sad. The law of averages argues for putting lost causes behind you, moving on and pushing forward with other companies and opportunities. But as far as getting a response, I guess I'll never really get used to the sound of silence.

What you don't know CAN hurt you in today's job market!

Having been in the staffing industry for 27 years I wish to lend some honest guidance on tips and suggestions for a seamless job search. Soe of you may not be recent graduates or new to the job market but let’s be honest; we can always use a refresher course on interviewing tips. Or, perhaps you have a friend or family member that requires some assistance. I wish to offer some candid suggestions to save you from common pitfalls in the interviewing and job search process. My goal is to be refreshing and provide you with some valuable tidbits that perhaps you haven’t read or heard 1,000 times before.

If you’ve just graduated, are new to the market or are re-entering the workforce, you’ve most likely been wearing flip flops and sweat pants for the past four years; so let’s discuss dress attire. Casual attire is still unacceptable in the “real” business world, especially when interviewing. If you want a shot at the top jobs then you had better be more prepared and better dressed than your competition. Sure, some firms do allow casual attire. But leave the flip flops at home until after you’ve been hired. Remember if you want to get ahead and be taken seriously by your colleagues and peers, corporate dress attire sends a very powerful statement and message about who you are and how you wish to be perceived = Serious – Smart – Sharp.

What exactly is corporate attire? Buy yourself a good suit plus some nice accessories to mix it up. Men should buy a few ties in case of multiple interviews at the same firm, and have at least two dress shirts in case you get called back quickly for a second interview and haven’t stopped at the cleaners. I recommend a few different shirts for the ladies for the same purpose plus accessories. There is no need to break the bank – you can find a nice suit for a reasonable price. Stay away from anything that is trendy or will go out of style quickly. A classic style suit should last you for many years to come.

Now for some straight talk. Items that could potentially lose you a corporate job offer: visible tattoos, nose rings, multiple pierced ears, earrings in men, pierced tongues, multiple colored hair, open toe sandals, tall platform shoes, long decorative nails, chipped nail polish, halter tops, and mini-skirts – Whew, I think that sums it up. All of these items are unacceptable for the serious, career-minded individual. Self expression is great, but projecting a professional image is essential in the job interviewing stage. Once you are hired at a company and have the opportunity to meet fellow colleagues you can adjust your style accordingly. But pause for a moment and ask this question: “how many CEO’s, Presidents or high level executives do you see with any of the above?”

Keep your resume short, professional and always include the following: your email address, cell and home phone number. If you have an unprofessional email address or an unprofessional voicemail message – now would be the time to get rid of it. Many an interview has been cancelled because of this! Write an objective on your resume that is short and concise, but doesn’t box you into just one area. If you want a marketing position, write an objective that shows you want to enter into business with a few of your strengths included pointing to marketing. List all pertinent job information including summer jobs, part-time jobs, internships, and all school achievements including your GPA if over 3.0. Include any sports achievements, leadership positions and other achievements that would distinguish you from your competitors. List a few key interests that reveal insights into your personality. For example, a passion for chess shows strategic thinking, sports participation demonstrates competitiveness, etc.

Now let’s talk about manners as they matter quite a bit when interviewing and they seem to be scarce these days. At all costs never be late to an interview as it will leave a very bad impression in the interviewer’s eyes. However, if an emergency occurs call and apprise the interviewer of your emergency immediately. You should only bring two things with you to an interview: a leather portfolio with a paper pad and 5 copies of your resume. Leave everything else in the car including your cell phone. Lately candidates have been coming in with Starbuck’s Lattes, big overstuffed carry bags, and cell phones. This is completely unacceptable! While you are waiting for your interview be aware and attentive - don’t read or get distracted. Observe the environment that you are in and see if you can find anything that may prove to be useful during the interview. When someone comes out to greet you, get up and offer a firm handshake and your name. Always get up when someone enters a room – man or woman. If offered anything during the interview, politely decline. Your focus is the interview not beverages or food – they can distract and cause embarrassing circumstances! Never smoke before an interview (including during the car ride to the interview) chew gum or enter an interview with candy, mints or food.

Make sure that your resume is error free and grammatically correct. If you use “spell check” only, you could find that errors are not always picked up. Show your resume to your parents or a few select acquaintances and ask them to look for spelling or grammatical mistakes. Do not ask them to critique or rewrite your resume. Everyone will have a suggestion or opinion that will lend confusion and become a time waster. The best people you can ask to review your resume are recruiters, as we see thousands of resumes in any given month and know what the clients look for!

Stay tuned for the second portion of this article which will include: preparing for the interview, interviewing questions and pitfalls, and after the interview.

Best of luck!

Outshine and Outwit Your Colleagues to Get Ahead!

Business has changed dramatically over the last twenty-five years, but a first impression never will. The chance to make one is still extremely important and can advance your visibility and perhaps lead to a promotion! Technology has advanced immeasurably and has brought us to levels few thought were possible. But not everything has changed. There are still eager new employees and graduates looking to make their mark and be seen. But as a new employee in an organization, how do you impress the boss and get noticed?

Business Rule Number One – You committed to your current job and the duties that go with it; therefore do every part of your job to the very best of your ability. Personally, I simply don’t understand why people complain about their jobs. No one is forcing you to keep your job and frankly – you picked it. Therefore, do your job in the most superior manner possible. If done with passion, you are sure to get noticed and eventually the boss will hear about it. Enthusiasm, attitude, and commitment really do work!

Business Rule Number Two - If an opportunity presents itself or someone needs assistance, volunteer your services. I don’t mean for tasks like getting lunch, but for projects, extra work, to stay late, to help the firm in any way. This will positively get you the recognition you seek. In addition, whenever possible, do more than asked. If you were asked to create a presentation, create the presentation and write a sample introduction to accompany it. This is of great value to your boss.

Business Rule Number Three – Find ways to save the company money. Review marketing collateral, internal programs, existing marketing projects, mailers, and figure out how to make them better. Decrease unnecessary spending or increase revenue for the company. I have seen administrative level personnel do this for their firm and generate thousands of dollars in savings, as well as promotions for themselves.

Business Rule Number Four - Dress the way you wish to project yourself. Even in a business casual environment, you must dress professionally to get serious recognition from top executives. In my opinion, very few people are taken seriously in anything other than corporate attire. Did you know that less than 10% of graduates entering into the workforce today dress professionally? That fact alone is worth bucking the system and standing out!

Business Rule Number Five - Use your computer and technology abilities. Take a plain looking presentation or document that is in use around the office and improve it. I hate to admit it, but new graduates really do seem to have an edge on the technology front. A few years ago I hired a twenty year old employee, who despite his youth continues to impress me daily with his computer savvy, technical knowledge and sophistication. Take these skills and put them to good use.

Business Rule Number Six - Be careful when using email and social medial platforms. Watch how you represent yourself as it reflects on you and your firm. Also watch your grammar and spelling when emailing and writing in the workplace. I have found that people who are used to IM and text messaging have carried abbreviations and slang words over to the corporate environment. Excellent grammar and proper punctuation will get you noticed as management is always impressed with good writing skills.

Business Rule Number Seven – Prior to leaving the office each day, ask your boss if there is anything else that you can do. As President of a busy firm, I can tell you that this comment is always greatly appreciated, and would only be accepted if a real pressing issue was at hand.

Business Rule Number Eight – Keep your priorities straight at work and keep your personal life private. By all means, interact with your work colleagues and don’t isolate yourself but keep it professional. Avoid office gossip, political games, and concern yourself with what is best for you in the long run. Be a listener, not a talker!

Business Rule Number Nine – If you are due for a promotion or there is an open opportunity that you are interested in, don’t be afraid to ask. Showing interest in advancement is appropriate. You will only fail if you make no attempt at all.

Business Rule Number Ten – People who complain and offer no solution are a drain on everyone around them. Don’t become the office whiner. If there is a problem that continues to crop up, think of a good solution and then bring the problem and solution together to the boss. If possible, once a solution is agreed upon, offer to implement it.

Here’s to outshining your colleagues and using your passion to get ahead!

Setting Expectations

I have owned and operated a staffing and recruitment firm for 25 years. We work diligently to please all of the people that come seeking job opportunities. However, we know that we can’t get everyone a job. But – can we make everyone happy? Do they leave feeling optimistic and prepared enough for the hard road they are about to encounter in these economic times? What are the expectations that someone should expect when going to a staffing firm? I took the time to think about this a great deal before preparing this article because it is a very important question that deserves some good answers. Here is a list of the expectations you should set when going to meet a staffing professional:
· Dress accordingly and bring a resume. Expect to finish up paperwork and have your personal documentation in order. Prepare to engage in a face to face meeting that should take an hour (often two) with one or more staffing professionals. Expect positive critiquing on your attire, presentation, and resume. We know the market better than most; therefore, we should guide and counsel you on important resume strategies and what hiring authorities want to see on your resume.
· You should feel good and have a positive dialog with your staffing professional. Any questions or items that are troubling you, or feel you need special counsel on, should be discussed at this time. Often, people have been laid off and feel awkward about disclosing this in a professional fashion. We are the experts and can easily assist you with these uncomfortable matters prior to a client meeting.
· We will review your on-line presence and make recommendations if anything should be changed or deleted. We will also discuss all of the relevant tools and protocols that will assist you in landing a job in these difficult economic times.
· Consulting work should always be discussed and recommended with a potential job seeker as it is a superior way to find a permanent job particularly in this economic climate. Showcasing your talents in person is the fastest way to land a permanent job offer!
· Expectations should now be formalized by both sides. A plan including follow-up should be outlined by your recruiter. You should also set criteria for continual follow-up based on your status each week. There should always be a level of communication that is expected from the staffing firm.
You may not leave your meeting with a job but you should leave feeling satisfied, that you established a rapport and cultivated a relationship worth continuing; having all of your questions answered. You should now have a critiqued resume, good solid pointers on housekeeping items that need attention, and a documented plan.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank Adam Gietz a candidate who came to The McIntyre Group recently who took the time and had the courage to write me a letter asking “What expectations should a candidate have?”

The War for Talent

Much to everyone’s surprise, the economy is improving and the job market is brightening. Last week’s report on jobs for April was very positive and shows unemployment is slowly declining. It would decline at much greater speed if the proper management, structure, and initiatives were put into place, but that is a different topic, for another article.

Once again, candidates have career options and job choices, and recruiters are under pressure to showcase multiple job opportunities quickly before the top notch candidates slip away. The greater challenge for recruiters is educating our clients, who still don’t believe that they need to move quickly with interviews and offers. Clients continue to request multiple interviews of candidates, often trying to schedule around busy executives who travel or are unavailable for long periods of time. Many offers are being lost and great candidates are going to the competition because of this. It is time to change gears!

In addition, we see that companies are opening up their wallets and offering signing bonuses and creative perks to entice and attract top candidates. We see that some firms are caught off guard by the rapid speed and assertiveness of their competitors going after this top talent. The hiring trends we saw in 2006/2007 are again returning. There are more competitive job offers, sign-on bonuses and perks that allow a candidate with multiple job offers the flexibility to have many options. This is a wake- up call for our clients to move much more quickly in streamlining their interview process and preparing offers.

This market change is affecting the consulting arena as well. Firms that are accustomed to interviewing their consultants are losing them. As we preach, consultants only make money when they are working and they are shrewd about selecting the opportunities where they can simply start and not waste time interviewing. We are using our “4-hour free work interview” to gain the trust of newer clients and to remove the insistence of wasteful interviews for our highly skilled consultants & temporary associates.
As recruiters, part of our process is to educate and offer awareness to our clients on the new realities of the hiring landscape. We want to make sure that everyone is ready to close deals when a hiring decision has been reached.

Here are some tips that we can offer to ensure you get the best and brightest talent:

1) Make sure all of your hiring managers and executives are ready to interview. Schedule multiple managers and executives per interview session so you can maintain the momentum of the candidate’s schedule and keep them interested. “Time kills deals.”
2) Don’t waste time after the offer has been made with paperwork. Have all paperwork prepared ahead of time and have HR informed and ready.
3) Make sure that you are putting your best offer first. Don’t wait to bring out your best offer until you are involved in a counter offer with a highly motivated firm competing against you.
4) Allow your recruiter to pre-close your first choice candidate by giving them the salary and benefits ahead of time. Doing this eliminates surprises and having the candidate pre-closed before an offer is made eliminates the need to spend time negotiating and then renegotiating an offer.

When our clients give us an initial job description, McIntyre will work hard to hammer out the compensation prior to initial interviews so we can pre-negotiate all of our offers, maintain candidate control, and hopefully prevent counter offers from coming in from your competition. We like to know at all times where our candidates stand and the candidates know up front that we are doing our best work to ensure a seamless staffing partnership is being achieved. We hope that your businesses are thriving once again and wish you successful hires.

First Impressions Make Lasting Ones…..

I am always left a little taken aback when I read articles about Interviewing Do’s and Don’ts. This morning a candidate came to our office for an interview with pants dragging on the ground and soaking wet hair. She was a lovely woman but her presentation put her at the end of the line for potential job interviews. After spending over twenty-five years in the staffing industry, I am amazed that people still don’t pay attention to the details that they can control and improve upon. My philosophy is to always control what you can! There are so many variables when job hunting that you can’t control why not at least control the few things that you can?
Although the economy is in a much better place than it was last year and the unemployment rate is on the decline instead of incline, the job competition is still fierce. It’s time to take stock of your entire image and take personal accountability. Here is a check list of essentials when preparing for an interview or when networking to find a job:
· Wear a classic style business suit – classics never die! Knee length skirt or plain pantsuit, and not trendy
· Always wear closed- toe shoes, nothing strappy or stiletto-like and always wear pantyhose
· Keep make-up light with no heavy eyeliner, colorful shadows, or bright a lipstick. Stick to neutrals
· Do NOT chew gum, bring a food or drink to the interview, or eat at any time during the entire interview process
· Leave your cell phone in the car! A text message or phone call can wait until you return
· Limit what you bring to your interview. You will need multiple copies of your resume, a portfolio (with questions from the research you did prior to your meeting) and a pen. The more you bring with you, the more likely something will either fall or spill, or you will leave an item or two behind
· If you are a smoker: DO NOT smoke before your interview. Everyone can smell it
· Do not wear heavy cologne or perfume, remove any multiple piercings and cover up any tattoos

These recommendations are for professional corporate job opportunities; all companies are not alike. I am speaking from experience and specific to making a good first impression only! Once you land your dream job you will have plenty of time to distinguish yourself and show your individuality and personality. Best of luck in 2011 with your career search!

Early New Year's Resolution

With a new year forthcoming Gym memberships will soar; diet books will sell-out, cigarette sales will decline, and resumes will get retooled with reignited enthusiasm for a dream job come true. For those who already go to the gym year round and have been looking for their ideal job opportunity already – optimism will be thwarted.

My point – Don’t stop your career search now to fire it up again in January. Start today or keep it ongoing throughout December. It’s true - decision making does slow down in December and traditionally new budgets bring increased hiring in January. However, if you are one of the lucky few to get your resume seen in December, you might be hired for January instead of blending in with the many new eager job seekers.

I have always been of the belief that those who persist in difficult times, will come out ahead and should get noticed. Every time we have a terrible snowstorm or pouring rain, I observe which candidates fulfill their appointments at McIntyre and which candidates reschedule. It certainly doesn’t tell the whole picture but those who make it – always impress me just a little bit more.

So while people are busy, writing their greeting cards, baking holiday goods, or shopping, you should invest every bit of extra time in pursuing either a temporary or permanent job opportunity. I do come bearing good news – I promise you personally that 2011 is going to be a very good year for job opportunities, newly created jobs and lower unemployment in Connecticut. The staffing business is an excellent predictor of current and future economic conditions and 2010 was a much healthier year for employment in all of our Practice Groups. We had an overall average increase of 25%. Because we speak directly to hiring authorities all day – every day, we are the first stop for hiring news and new trends.

So quickly, if you haven’t updated that resume - get on it now and get busy. You will get a jump on all of those over-zealous January folks that are going to storm the New Year. Quite honestly, when I was a local gym member, I took the month of January off. The enthusiasm always wanes by February and I got a well needed rest.
Wishing all of you a healthy holiday season and many job opportunities in 2011!