Join me for a "Women and the Work Place" workshop on Friday, January 21st at 6:30 p.m. at the Whitman Wellness Center in Whitman, MA Click on the link below for address and more information!
I am offering a series of three workshops to Women and the Workplace starting Friday, January 21st at 6:30 p.m. The topics include how to find joy in your job, practical job search strategies for those in transition, and a short discussion on managing the now more common breadwinner/home-maker role (and role-reversal!). Attendees are encouraged to bring pen and paper, and their best/worst job search stories. Anyone can participate in the discussion or, if you prefer, just sit back and listen. Hope to see you there!
http://www.whitmanwellnesscenter.com/
Monday, January 10, 2011
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Hold the Phone! Is this really an Interview?
Phone screens have become a more common first step in the interview process. Understanding the advantages and disadvantages, and using proper "phonetique" can help you secure an in-person interview. While screening a candidate over the phone certainly can save the hiring manager time, it also puts you (the interviewee) in a vulnerable position. For HR screens, a phone interview offers a cursory glance over you as a person, communicator and professional. It can also provide both parties a rapport building opportunity in advance of a first meeting. But there are a few pitfalls that unwitting candidates can avoid to ensure an in-person interview will follow the phone call. Here are a few insights on what hiring manager's and phone screener's (HR) are looking for during that brief call:
1) How do you sound? Not just the quality of your communication skills, but do you sound approachable? Connected and engaged? Do you sound like a smart person? Are you comfortable with yourself? Do you have confidence and charisma? Do you sound like you know what you're talking about? This is the hard part. Everyone has a filter, and what someone chooses to hear is completely out of your control.
The primary problem with phone interviews is they rob you of critical sensory information, data that can actually help you self-correct in an interview. When you don't have the benefit of eye contact and body language, you have no clue as to what the interviewer is perceiving and responding to in that moment. Knowing whether they may be bored, distracted, or disinterested can sometimes be detected by eye contact, posture, physical movements or even by the way they are breathing. Can you tell if someone is smiling over the phone? Sure you can! Can you tell if they are listening with rapt attention or reading their emails? No, you can't. If the interviewer is simply going through the motions of the screen and has already determined you're not a good fit, you're going to waste a lot of time and energy trying to re-engage them. So, it's a good idea to employ active listening skills and "check in" after you've finished a sentence to ask whether they want you to expand or move onto the next question. During a phone interview, or any interview for that matter, go for balanced talking/listening time. Make sure you and the other person have equal portions of time for information exchange. You don't want them to hang up with more questions than answers, and vice-versa.
2) Do you fit the position? While you may not have a deep technical conversation during a phone interview, the hiring manager or HR person you are speaking with will run through the requirements of the position to ascertain whether your background fits the basics of the role. Education, career progression, industry, title, comparative company sizes, functional experience, where you "sit" in the organization, and compensation will be a few of the primary indicators of fit. But they may also ask you details about your prior positions and companies you have worked for. This is a distinct advantage of the phone interview and one that interviewees sometimes overlook. Having your resume in front of you takes an enormous amount of pressure off of you to blindly recall details and dates, specifics about your projects and accomplishments. It is normal to draw a blank in the middle of an interview when an interviewer asks you what month you left a company or the name of the software system you worked on ten years ago. The beauty of the phone interview is that you have that information at hand and no one will judge you for glancing down at your resume for key reminders.
3) Interest level. You don't know enough about the job yet, so how do you communicate the appropriate amount of interest and enthusiasm? Overstating your interest might make you sound naive or too eager, while understating it may give the impression that it's not your top choice or there's something about the opportunity that turns you off. Don't gush, instead simply state that you're highly interested in the opportunity, eager to learn more about the company and looking forward to meeting them in person. Also be sure to ask them for feedback if they felt, for whatever reason, you were not the right fit for the role based on what they learned during the call. This information can help you prepare for the next time a phone interviewer comes calling.
The difference between a phone screen and a phone interview is determined by who is conducting the interview, the amount of time they have allocated for the call, and the information they are gathering from you. As corporate "gate-keepers", the HR screen is often a way to determine in advance whether you are well spoken, appropriately aligned to the role and the corporate culture, and whether you have done your due diligence on the company and the position, and fall within the budget relative to compensation package.
A phone interview with the hiring manager should never be mistaken as a phone screen. Often this will be your one shot at convincing the decision maker they need to meet you in-person. It is your opportunity to demonstrate your fit relative to overall experience, soft skill set, caliber and personal chemistry with them. If you are not asked to come in for an in-person round during the phone interview, it's not necessarily a bad sign. They may need to run the process through the proper channels to ensure both HR and additional team members are scheduled accordingly. Or, they may be in the process of phone interviewing others and will hold off on making decisions about in-person invitations until after they have spoken with all viable candidates. It is perfectly acceptable to ask a hiring manager or HR where they are in the process and what to expect for timing on next steps. It is also in your best interest to ask how long the position has been open for and what their timing is on making the hire. Knowing this allows you to better manage your own process and timing relative to other potential interviews.
The best advice I can offer candidates who are not natural interviewers and struggle with connecting to another human being through a hand-held device is this; pretend that you are talking to a friend or colleague. Be yourself, be calm, be energetic but be aware of your speaking speed and volume. If you tend to be a "fast" talker, try to speak slowly and through a slight grin. When the corners of your mouth are turned up, you also tend to lift your voice. The perception is that you are a happy person. If you want to experiment with this idea, try it on the phone with a family member or friend. Don't tell them what you're doing, but ask them if you sound cheerful or phony. You will find most will feedback that you sound good natured and friendly.
If you really want to come across as a polished and professional executive, dress for the phone interview. Most home-based employees will tell you that they are far more productive, focused and feel more professional when they dress for their home-based desk. Though it's more common to dress for comfort, or stay in pj's and fuzzy slippers as most people do for morning phone interviews, putting on professional garb can boost your mindset and energy to a perceptible level of readiness that comes across on any medium. It is also a good practice to dress before a phone interview because you never know when a hiring manager may make a last minute suggestion to speak over Skype!!
As the US continues to evolve into a mobile workforce, our reliance upon technology to keep us connected will only increase over time. Getting comfortable with virtual connection to others is not only critical to your search process, it may someday soon become a requirement of employment. Now is the time to develop good virtual practices and stellar "phonetique"...my own word for phone etiquette and technique.
If you are looking for more tips on how to ace a phone interview, feel free to contact me for a consultation!
1) How do you sound? Not just the quality of your communication skills, but do you sound approachable? Connected and engaged? Do you sound like a smart person? Are you comfortable with yourself? Do you have confidence and charisma? Do you sound like you know what you're talking about? This is the hard part. Everyone has a filter, and what someone chooses to hear is completely out of your control.
The primary problem with phone interviews is they rob you of critical sensory information, data that can actually help you self-correct in an interview. When you don't have the benefit of eye contact and body language, you have no clue as to what the interviewer is perceiving and responding to in that moment. Knowing whether they may be bored, distracted, or disinterested can sometimes be detected by eye contact, posture, physical movements or even by the way they are breathing. Can you tell if someone is smiling over the phone? Sure you can! Can you tell if they are listening with rapt attention or reading their emails? No, you can't. If the interviewer is simply going through the motions of the screen and has already determined you're not a good fit, you're going to waste a lot of time and energy trying to re-engage them. So, it's a good idea to employ active listening skills and "check in" after you've finished a sentence to ask whether they want you to expand or move onto the next question. During a phone interview, or any interview for that matter, go for balanced talking/listening time. Make sure you and the other person have equal portions of time for information exchange. You don't want them to hang up with more questions than answers, and vice-versa.
2) Do you fit the position? While you may not have a deep technical conversation during a phone interview, the hiring manager or HR person you are speaking with will run through the requirements of the position to ascertain whether your background fits the basics of the role. Education, career progression, industry, title, comparative company sizes, functional experience, where you "sit" in the organization, and compensation will be a few of the primary indicators of fit. But they may also ask you details about your prior positions and companies you have worked for. This is a distinct advantage of the phone interview and one that interviewees sometimes overlook. Having your resume in front of you takes an enormous amount of pressure off of you to blindly recall details and dates, specifics about your projects and accomplishments. It is normal to draw a blank in the middle of an interview when an interviewer asks you what month you left a company or the name of the software system you worked on ten years ago. The beauty of the phone interview is that you have that information at hand and no one will judge you for glancing down at your resume for key reminders.
3) Interest level. You don't know enough about the job yet, so how do you communicate the appropriate amount of interest and enthusiasm? Overstating your interest might make you sound naive or too eager, while understating it may give the impression that it's not your top choice or there's something about the opportunity that turns you off. Don't gush, instead simply state that you're highly interested in the opportunity, eager to learn more about the company and looking forward to meeting them in person. Also be sure to ask them for feedback if they felt, for whatever reason, you were not the right fit for the role based on what they learned during the call. This information can help you prepare for the next time a phone interviewer comes calling.
The difference between a phone screen and a phone interview is determined by who is conducting the interview, the amount of time they have allocated for the call, and the information they are gathering from you. As corporate "gate-keepers", the HR screen is often a way to determine in advance whether you are well spoken, appropriately aligned to the role and the corporate culture, and whether you have done your due diligence on the company and the position, and fall within the budget relative to compensation package.
A phone interview with the hiring manager should never be mistaken as a phone screen. Often this will be your one shot at convincing the decision maker they need to meet you in-person. It is your opportunity to demonstrate your fit relative to overall experience, soft skill set, caliber and personal chemistry with them. If you are not asked to come in for an in-person round during the phone interview, it's not necessarily a bad sign. They may need to run the process through the proper channels to ensure both HR and additional team members are scheduled accordingly. Or, they may be in the process of phone interviewing others and will hold off on making decisions about in-person invitations until after they have spoken with all viable candidates. It is perfectly acceptable to ask a hiring manager or HR where they are in the process and what to expect for timing on next steps. It is also in your best interest to ask how long the position has been open for and what their timing is on making the hire. Knowing this allows you to better manage your own process and timing relative to other potential interviews.
The best advice I can offer candidates who are not natural interviewers and struggle with connecting to another human being through a hand-held device is this; pretend that you are talking to a friend or colleague. Be yourself, be calm, be energetic but be aware of your speaking speed and volume. If you tend to be a "fast" talker, try to speak slowly and through a slight grin. When the corners of your mouth are turned up, you also tend to lift your voice. The perception is that you are a happy person. If you want to experiment with this idea, try it on the phone with a family member or friend. Don't tell them what you're doing, but ask them if you sound cheerful or phony. You will find most will feedback that you sound good natured and friendly.
If you really want to come across as a polished and professional executive, dress for the phone interview. Most home-based employees will tell you that they are far more productive, focused and feel more professional when they dress for their home-based desk. Though it's more common to dress for comfort, or stay in pj's and fuzzy slippers as most people do for morning phone interviews, putting on professional garb can boost your mindset and energy to a perceptible level of readiness that comes across on any medium. It is also a good practice to dress before a phone interview because you never know when a hiring manager may make a last minute suggestion to speak over Skype!!
As the US continues to evolve into a mobile workforce, our reliance upon technology to keep us connected will only increase over time. Getting comfortable with virtual connection to others is not only critical to your search process, it may someday soon become a requirement of employment. Now is the time to develop good virtual practices and stellar "phonetique"...my own word for phone etiquette and technique.
If you are looking for more tips on how to ace a phone interview, feel free to contact me for a consultation!
Sunday, January 2, 2011
The Name of the Game
Three of the most stressful events almost every person eventually faces besides death and divorce are getting married, moving and changing jobs. In almost all of these situations, the position of power, choice, control and decision-making is in the hands of those completely invested in the process. All, except one. When you are in a job search, the process of decision-making and power of choice rests almost completely in the hands of the company and their hiring manager(s). Your destiny can very much rest with the person sitting across from you who has spent less than half a day getting to know you. What did they learn about you?
Interviewing is stressful, unpredictable, and anxiety provoking. There are under-qualified people who are born interviewers that know exactly what to say, how to say it, and can overcome almost any obstacle in the process. Interviewing is, for lack of a better term, a game...of sorts. When you consider that your image is going to count for more than 15% of the overall impression a hiring manager has of you, and another 15% or more is directly related to how well you communicate both verbally and physically, the only two things left to tip the scales in your favor are hard skills (50%) and gut instinct...though, not your gut instincts.
The fact that each of the meetings set up in the interview process is called a "round", immediately conjuring up the image of a golf club or a gun, it's no wonder you're anxious. The word "game" pretty much describes how the interview process can feel to some people. In a best-case scenario, you may experience an interview process like a wonderful day out on the course with three of your newest friends. In the worst-case, it feels like target practice. Except you are on the bad end of the gun. To have been called for the interview in the first place is a lot like winning the lottery, so the comparison to a game is not far-fetched.
Lets start by considering that your job search begins with a resume patiently and perfectly crafted to reflect years of professional experience and personal investment. It is then transported through the miracle of technology into a massive database of other perfectly crafted resumes to rest patiently for the fateful moment when a company's HR person happens to key in the exact sequence of search terms that then return a result including your resume...along with 300 others. The fact that the phone rings at all seems like a scratch-ticket moment.
Resume screening and selection is an almost completely data-driven, fact-finding process. Using complex key search terms, functional titles, industry jargon, and geographic indications, the human resources department is able to weed through hundreds or thousands of applicants to find the most data-relevant resumes in their database. Even in companies where resume gathering and selection is done less with technology and more traditionally, the same methodology applies. Find the best matches based on the hiring manager's specific criteria...and it's almost always data-driven/fact-based indicators. Overall years of experience, career progression over a specific time period, title, industry, zip code and salary.
This is wonderfully effective most of the time because it helps the hiring manager to stay focused on precisely the background and skills demonstrated by the candidate in order for them to be successful in the role. It offers the hiring manager supporting evidence and essential proof points to demonstrate the due diligence applied and utilized to make a final candidate selection. And sometimes they have a first, second and third candidate choice. Well done!
But did you know that often the final decision is made solely on one completely immeasurable, proof-less, and sometimes unjustifiable notion? It's gut instinct. That little bit of nagging doubt on the part of the interviewer that, for whatever reason, prevents him/her from finalizing the offer letter. There is the irony that always seems to strike from a distance. A highly data-driven, fact-based methodology can be completely undone by one inexplicable feeling.
And that's the beauty of the interview process. And, that's why you should take every interview, every meeting, every opportunity to meet a potential hiring manager. Because you just never know who you and your resume will resonate with, and where the best fit for you might be found.
In addition to learning about a company's mission, its culture, the position itself and the overall opportunity, you can also make an indelible impression on a hiring manager who may have more than one position to fill. Or, will remember you the next time an opening develops in his/her group. The personal take-away is the opportunity to develop, practice or enhance your interviewing skills. This can be invaluable for those who have not interviewed in many years, or are natural introverts and have difficulty connecting with complete strangers. Becoming a strong interviewer requires a strong sense of your own personal strengths, an awareness of your presence and interpersonal skills, and the ability to handle rejection with dignity and grace. Practicing gratitude and mindfulness when receiving feedback will also demonstrate maturity and ability to handle a challenging situation.
In terms of interviewing, practice makes perfect. As with any game, the more you play the better you become. Though you may spend more time on the bench at first, use that time to prepare for the field. Read and research interview techniques, target lists of interesting companies, and work on developing a confident presence. Ask a trusted friend or former colleague to run you through a mock interview...and ask them to give you fair and complete feedback. The right opportunity will not require you to be someone else, but learning how to bring your best self to the table takes practice. This not only means overcoming the anxiety and stress of the interview process, but developing the confidence to connect with a virtual stranger on both the professional and personal level. Have patience with yourself and keep playing the game.
Interviewing is stressful, unpredictable, and anxiety provoking. There are under-qualified people who are born interviewers that know exactly what to say, how to say it, and can overcome almost any obstacle in the process. Interviewing is, for lack of a better term, a game...of sorts. When you consider that your image is going to count for more than 15% of the overall impression a hiring manager has of you, and another 15% or more is directly related to how well you communicate both verbally and physically, the only two things left to tip the scales in your favor are hard skills (50%) and gut instinct...though, not your gut instincts.
The fact that each of the meetings set up in the interview process is called a "round", immediately conjuring up the image of a golf club or a gun, it's no wonder you're anxious. The word "game" pretty much describes how the interview process can feel to some people. In a best-case scenario, you may experience an interview process like a wonderful day out on the course with three of your newest friends. In the worst-case, it feels like target practice. Except you are on the bad end of the gun. To have been called for the interview in the first place is a lot like winning the lottery, so the comparison to a game is not far-fetched.
Lets start by considering that your job search begins with a resume patiently and perfectly crafted to reflect years of professional experience and personal investment. It is then transported through the miracle of technology into a massive database of other perfectly crafted resumes to rest patiently for the fateful moment when a company's HR person happens to key in the exact sequence of search terms that then return a result including your resume...along with 300 others. The fact that the phone rings at all seems like a scratch-ticket moment.
Resume screening and selection is an almost completely data-driven, fact-finding process. Using complex key search terms, functional titles, industry jargon, and geographic indications, the human resources department is able to weed through hundreds or thousands of applicants to find the most data-relevant resumes in their database. Even in companies where resume gathering and selection is done less with technology and more traditionally, the same methodology applies. Find the best matches based on the hiring manager's specific criteria...and it's almost always data-driven/fact-based indicators. Overall years of experience, career progression over a specific time period, title, industry, zip code and salary.
This is wonderfully effective most of the time because it helps the hiring manager to stay focused on precisely the background and skills demonstrated by the candidate in order for them to be successful in the role. It offers the hiring manager supporting evidence and essential proof points to demonstrate the due diligence applied and utilized to make a final candidate selection. And sometimes they have a first, second and third candidate choice. Well done!
But did you know that often the final decision is made solely on one completely immeasurable, proof-less, and sometimes unjustifiable notion? It's gut instinct. That little bit of nagging doubt on the part of the interviewer that, for whatever reason, prevents him/her from finalizing the offer letter. There is the irony that always seems to strike from a distance. A highly data-driven, fact-based methodology can be completely undone by one inexplicable feeling.
And that's the beauty of the interview process. And, that's why you should take every interview, every meeting, every opportunity to meet a potential hiring manager. Because you just never know who you and your resume will resonate with, and where the best fit for you might be found.
In addition to learning about a company's mission, its culture, the position itself and the overall opportunity, you can also make an indelible impression on a hiring manager who may have more than one position to fill. Or, will remember you the next time an opening develops in his/her group. The personal take-away is the opportunity to develop, practice or enhance your interviewing skills. This can be invaluable for those who have not interviewed in many years, or are natural introverts and have difficulty connecting with complete strangers. Becoming a strong interviewer requires a strong sense of your own personal strengths, an awareness of your presence and interpersonal skills, and the ability to handle rejection with dignity and grace. Practicing gratitude and mindfulness when receiving feedback will also demonstrate maturity and ability to handle a challenging situation.
In terms of interviewing, practice makes perfect. As with any game, the more you play the better you become. Though you may spend more time on the bench at first, use that time to prepare for the field. Read and research interview techniques, target lists of interesting companies, and work on developing a confident presence. Ask a trusted friend or former colleague to run you through a mock interview...and ask them to give you fair and complete feedback. The right opportunity will not require you to be someone else, but learning how to bring your best self to the table takes practice. This not only means overcoming the anxiety and stress of the interview process, but developing the confidence to connect with a virtual stranger on both the professional and personal level. Have patience with yourself and keep playing the game.
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Following your leaders; when your former boss or colleague calls to recruit you.
For many employees there is nothing more flattering than a call from a former boss or colleague with an offer to join them at their current company. These calls often come at a time when you least expect it. Perhaps you were not actively looking but opportunistically keeping an ear to the ground? Or, maybe the call comes at the perfect moment, right after revamping your resume and just starting to surf the job boards. In these moments, it seems like timing and fate just met up with curiosity and ego, shook hands and went into the bar for a drink.
It's true, the best leads will always come through your professional network, and it is not unusual for those leads to be a former manager or colleague who thinks the world of you. But ask yourself, and your boss, a few questions before you jump ship from a current job that may seem a bit lackluster, but is still a very good fit for you.
You need to know a lot more than whether "Susan" or "Bill" are well-respected, happy, productive and fairly compensated in their new role. Regardless of your respect, loyalty and genuine admiration for this person, you need to treat this like any other interview process. You want to know why your old/new boss selected this company over another, and why they think you are the perfect fit for this opportunity. Ask the tougher questions. They won't be easy to ask, but the answers are critical to your career.
First, what does your old/new boss's career pattern say about their decision-making? Do they demonstrate consistency in always moving forward in their career? Or, do you see repeated cycles of industry, title and level? Does he/she have a habit of job hopping, or have they shown longevity throughout their professional life? Does their position at the new company offer them visibility to the strategic and operational decisions made by the board or executive management team? How close are they to the decision-makers? What goals have they been tasked with over the next two to five years? Are you an integral or peripheral aspect of those plans? Are they on a similar functional path as you? Or are they a CFO and you are an HR or IT professional? Will your job be stationed in another location or area of the company and report to a different supervisor? What is the new company's financial position? Is this a successful, growing public company or closely held and privately funded? Have they struggled financially or have PR issues, or do they pass the sniff test on stability and reputation? Are you comfortable knowing that you may not have a job there if your boss leaves or is let go? And, if you decide not to join them, how do you turn him/her down without compromising the relationship?
It is easy to believe that the former boss hiring you to the new company has the best intentions for you, and they may even want to groom you for a major career jump! But hiring a former employee is as much about being a proven entity as it is about saving time and money. Recruiting a former employee is often the safest way to hire an immediate "plug n' play" solution. While your former boss likely has the greatest respect for you, AND your best interests in mind, you also owe it to yourself to question the longer term impact of the decision to follow your leader.
Additionally, when you are brought into a new company by a former leader to work directly for them, there is an implication that success is almost guaranteed. The expectation is that you will solve his/her problem(s), be the ideal culture fit and build a thriving career all while under the very close, personal supervision of your manager and mentor. Failure is not an option.
If the job is not well aligned to your skill set, or the cultural chemistry is poor, you will face additional challenges that are outside your control. The potential for failure not only causes you professional pain, but your boss as well. After all, s/he vouched for you. Credibility and confidence in you and your old/new leader will be hard won in the future.
It is very tempting to take an opportunity presented by a trusted colleague at face value, but cautious optimism should be exercised throughout the vetting process. Realize that your name will be closely associated with that person throughout the first several years in the new company, and if they leave on their own or by termination, it is likely to have an impact on your relationship to the company or the former boss. Don't follow the leader blindly, make sure you have a good reason for leaving your current job in the first place. Resigning from a company that has treated you well, where you have been happy and successful, simply because someone has offered you their coattails to ride can come back to bite you in the end...literally.
It's true, the best leads will always come through your professional network, and it is not unusual for those leads to be a former manager or colleague who thinks the world of you. But ask yourself, and your boss, a few questions before you jump ship from a current job that may seem a bit lackluster, but is still a very good fit for you.
You need to know a lot more than whether "Susan" or "Bill" are well-respected, happy, productive and fairly compensated in their new role. Regardless of your respect, loyalty and genuine admiration for this person, you need to treat this like any other interview process. You want to know why your old/new boss selected this company over another, and why they think you are the perfect fit for this opportunity. Ask the tougher questions. They won't be easy to ask, but the answers are critical to your career.
First, what does your old/new boss's career pattern say about their decision-making? Do they demonstrate consistency in always moving forward in their career? Or, do you see repeated cycles of industry, title and level? Does he/she have a habit of job hopping, or have they shown longevity throughout their professional life? Does their position at the new company offer them visibility to the strategic and operational decisions made by the board or executive management team? How close are they to the decision-makers? What goals have they been tasked with over the next two to five years? Are you an integral or peripheral aspect of those plans? Are they on a similar functional path as you? Or are they a CFO and you are an HR or IT professional? Will your job be stationed in another location or area of the company and report to a different supervisor? What is the new company's financial position? Is this a successful, growing public company or closely held and privately funded? Have they struggled financially or have PR issues, or do they pass the sniff test on stability and reputation? Are you comfortable knowing that you may not have a job there if your boss leaves or is let go? And, if you decide not to join them, how do you turn him/her down without compromising the relationship?
It is easy to believe that the former boss hiring you to the new company has the best intentions for you, and they may even want to groom you for a major career jump! But hiring a former employee is as much about being a proven entity as it is about saving time and money. Recruiting a former employee is often the safest way to hire an immediate "plug n' play" solution. While your former boss likely has the greatest respect for you, AND your best interests in mind, you also owe it to yourself to question the longer term impact of the decision to follow your leader.
Additionally, when you are brought into a new company by a former leader to work directly for them, there is an implication that success is almost guaranteed. The expectation is that you will solve his/her problem(s), be the ideal culture fit and build a thriving career all while under the very close, personal supervision of your manager and mentor. Failure is not an option.
If the job is not well aligned to your skill set, or the cultural chemistry is poor, you will face additional challenges that are outside your control. The potential for failure not only causes you professional pain, but your boss as well. After all, s/he vouched for you. Credibility and confidence in you and your old/new leader will be hard won in the future.
It is very tempting to take an opportunity presented by a trusted colleague at face value, but cautious optimism should be exercised throughout the vetting process. Realize that your name will be closely associated with that person throughout the first several years in the new company, and if they leave on their own or by termination, it is likely to have an impact on your relationship to the company or the former boss. Don't follow the leader blindly, make sure you have a good reason for leaving your current job in the first place. Resigning from a company that has treated you well, where you have been happy and successful, simply because someone has offered you their coattails to ride can come back to bite you in the end...literally.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Hiring the Remote Employee
If you hire and manage salespeople, consultants or on-the-road technical people, then you already know how to manage remote employees. Many global companies regularly take advantage of a larger talent pool by hiring mobile employees. In order to compete globally, those companies who have not yet embraced the virtual employee may be missing out on hiring top talent because they haven't set up a virtual work-from-anywhere infrastructure.
Offering a work-from-home option to employees certainly makes your company a much more attractive place to work, but how will you know whether they'll be happy and successful as a remote employee? And, how do you measure productivity if you aren't able to manage, monitor and mentor them in-person? One of the first considerations is how to set and manage everyone's expectations.
One way to know whether there are realistic expectations on both ends depends on the experience of the employer and their employee(s). Have they worked from home before? Are you the kind of manager who needs a lot of face-time or do you feel confident that your employee is 100% invested? Do they have a set up at home that is conducive to the kind focus and production you require of them? Will you need to spend a lot of money on technology or other resources to support connectivity? In the case of a new employee, or one who has never worked from home before, do you offer a trial period to see if it's working? How do you coach them back into the office if it's not working out?
One of the first things to consider is how much travel is required in the role. If your employee is a Senior Sales Executive or Sales Manager, and air travel is less than 50%, then hiring someone locally who can split their time between the physical and virtual office might make sense. If they have a reporting team working primarily in-house, this might become a bit more difficult to justify. If the person would be spending more than 50% of their time on the road, then you might find it easier to budget company money by hiring someone who lives close to your primary client base, or an airport in a major city so that travel expenses are more easily controlled. For the most part, any experienced bag-carrying executive is already accustomed to working from home 100%. The best ones are usually quite adept at not only having consistent virtual connection, but can often plan and schedule their client visits in a way that maximizes their effectiveness and minimizes financial impact to their company, and clients as well.
There are many roles within organizations that are operational or administrative in nature and can be effectively managed by a virtual executive. Though this might require purchasing technology (laptop, Blackberry or iPhone, etc) and software to support their at-home work activities, you may find overall employee productivity increases...as does their loyalty. Often times, a dedicated and appreciative employee will actually put in 12-20% more time virtually than their in-office counterparts. One of the reasons is they may feel compelled to be at their desk earlier, they are not dealing with commuting or social distractions that occur during the work day, and they tend to check their emails/voice-mails more often throughout the day and evening. Many will even responding to requests/inquiries and demands of deliverables/requirements late into the evening. Another benefit is they may be a bit harder to recruit by competitors because they know they've got a trusting employer who has given them the flexibility and freedom to make their work-life work for them. This can be even more attractive to the working moms and dads.
Though working from home can be the ideal situation for a busy mom or dad of school-aged kids, giving them the option to spend time in the office can be a nice break from the home and all it's distractions. Knowing whether your employee can balance both may take time to prove out. So monitoring progress and having regular interaction over the phone will help to reinforce your connection to them. It's all too easy to get disconnected from a virtual employee who feels as though their contributions are going unnoticed. Another concern to keep in mind is the sense of isolation that often accompanies working remotely. A highly socialized person may not benefit from a work-from-home situation on a full-time or long-term basis. If you have a long-term employee, you'll be able to figure this out in advance, and discuss the pros/cons of their working from home. It might make sense to work with your new employees full-time in the office for three months or so before offering a work from home scenario. If you feel they may suffer from a lack of regular social interaction, or perhaps their interpersonal skills are weak, they may benefit from being in-house more often to develop these professional skills. Finding a balance between virtual and in-office presence may make more sense for that person down the road.
Your company may consider working-at-home as not so much a right but a privilege offered to longer-term, proven employees whose work can be performed virtually. A company policy on virtual employees may need to be established so as to provide interested parties with guidelines on how this is earned, which positions in the company are qualifying positions, and whether this option is offered after a specific employment period, and code of conduct required to work virtually. If you know you may have a trust issue with an employee, there are a number of tracking/reporting software options designed specifically for measuring productivity of virtual employees. Of course, if you have a trust issue at all, you might want to look at the reasons why first, and then decide whether a virtual situation is even feasible.
Lastly, the virtues of virtual for the global company can also benefit the employer when negotiating an offer to a potential employee. Once you have determined that a virtual employee is best suited for a role, consider the amount of money that person will save in commuting costs, meals, childcare, and tax write-offs (though be careful here as the tax implications for declaring an in-home office varies from state-to-state relative to capital gains, etc), and what they will gain in personal/professional flexibility, lowered stress, and increased family time. These factors can be attractive to a potential employee relative to how they value the overall compensation and benefits package your company offers. Cost of living also varies from state to state, country to country, and can also drive down operational costs and impact compensation without throwing your internal equity off balance.
There's a lot to think about here, but it seems that the pro's outweigh the con's in the virtual vs. physically present employee. Would love to hear comments/feedback on this piece!
Offering a work-from-home option to employees certainly makes your company a much more attractive place to work, but how will you know whether they'll be happy and successful as a remote employee? And, how do you measure productivity if you aren't able to manage, monitor and mentor them in-person? One of the first considerations is how to set and manage everyone's expectations.
One way to know whether there are realistic expectations on both ends depends on the experience of the employer and their employee(s). Have they worked from home before? Are you the kind of manager who needs a lot of face-time or do you feel confident that your employee is 100% invested? Do they have a set up at home that is conducive to the kind focus and production you require of them? Will you need to spend a lot of money on technology or other resources to support connectivity? In the case of a new employee, or one who has never worked from home before, do you offer a trial period to see if it's working? How do you coach them back into the office if it's not working out?
One of the first things to consider is how much travel is required in the role. If your employee is a Senior Sales Executive or Sales Manager, and air travel is less than 50%, then hiring someone locally who can split their time between the physical and virtual office might make sense. If they have a reporting team working primarily in-house, this might become a bit more difficult to justify. If the person would be spending more than 50% of their time on the road, then you might find it easier to budget company money by hiring someone who lives close to your primary client base, or an airport in a major city so that travel expenses are more easily controlled. For the most part, any experienced bag-carrying executive is already accustomed to working from home 100%. The best ones are usually quite adept at not only having consistent virtual connection, but can often plan and schedule their client visits in a way that maximizes their effectiveness and minimizes financial impact to their company, and clients as well.
There are many roles within organizations that are operational or administrative in nature and can be effectively managed by a virtual executive. Though this might require purchasing technology (laptop, Blackberry or iPhone, etc) and software to support their at-home work activities, you may find overall employee productivity increases...as does their loyalty. Often times, a dedicated and appreciative employee will actually put in 12-20% more time virtually than their in-office counterparts. One of the reasons is they may feel compelled to be at their desk earlier, they are not dealing with commuting or social distractions that occur during the work day, and they tend to check their emails/voice-mails more often throughout the day and evening. Many will even responding to requests/inquiries and demands of deliverables/requirements late into the evening. Another benefit is they may be a bit harder to recruit by competitors because they know they've got a trusting employer who has given them the flexibility and freedom to make their work-life work for them. This can be even more attractive to the working moms and dads.
Though working from home can be the ideal situation for a busy mom or dad of school-aged kids, giving them the option to spend time in the office can be a nice break from the home and all it's distractions. Knowing whether your employee can balance both may take time to prove out. So monitoring progress and having regular interaction over the phone will help to reinforce your connection to them. It's all too easy to get disconnected from a virtual employee who feels as though their contributions are going unnoticed. Another concern to keep in mind is the sense of isolation that often accompanies working remotely. A highly socialized person may not benefit from a work-from-home situation on a full-time or long-term basis. If you have a long-term employee, you'll be able to figure this out in advance, and discuss the pros/cons of their working from home. It might make sense to work with your new employees full-time in the office for three months or so before offering a work from home scenario. If you feel they may suffer from a lack of regular social interaction, or perhaps their interpersonal skills are weak, they may benefit from being in-house more often to develop these professional skills. Finding a balance between virtual and in-office presence may make more sense for that person down the road.
Your company may consider working-at-home as not so much a right but a privilege offered to longer-term, proven employees whose work can be performed virtually. A company policy on virtual employees may need to be established so as to provide interested parties with guidelines on how this is earned, which positions in the company are qualifying positions, and whether this option is offered after a specific employment period, and code of conduct required to work virtually. If you know you may have a trust issue with an employee, there are a number of tracking/reporting software options designed specifically for measuring productivity of virtual employees. Of course, if you have a trust issue at all, you might want to look at the reasons why first, and then decide whether a virtual situation is even feasible.
Lastly, the virtues of virtual for the global company can also benefit the employer when negotiating an offer to a potential employee. Once you have determined that a virtual employee is best suited for a role, consider the amount of money that person will save in commuting costs, meals, childcare, and tax write-offs (though be careful here as the tax implications for declaring an in-home office varies from state-to-state relative to capital gains, etc), and what they will gain in personal/professional flexibility, lowered stress, and increased family time. These factors can be attractive to a potential employee relative to how they value the overall compensation and benefits package your company offers. Cost of living also varies from state to state, country to country, and can also drive down operational costs and impact compensation without throwing your internal equity off balance.
There's a lot to think about here, but it seems that the pro's outweigh the con's in the virtual vs. physically present employee. Would love to hear comments/feedback on this piece!
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Job Search Write-Offs
For my devoted Whole Person Hire followers, I thought you might find this article very helpful.
How To Write Off Job Hunting Expenses
by Ned Berke on Sep 21st, 2010
Believe it or not, the IRS wants you to know that you may be able to deduct some of your job search expenses on your tax return!
Many taxpayers spent time over the summer months updating their résumé and attending career fairs. If you are one of them, you may be able to deduct some of your expenses on your tax return.
First, the no-nos. You cannot deduct job search expenses if:
1. You are looking for a job in a new occupation, or
2. If there was a substantial break between the end of your last job and the time you begin looking for a new one, or
3. If you are looking for a job for the first time. However, if you held a college internship or valid job while in college and your search is for a job in the same trade or business, you will be able to deduct job search expenses.
If you pass the no-nos, then you can deduct:
1. You can deduct employment agency and recruiters’ fees you pay while looking for a job in your present occupation. (If your employer pays you back in a later year for employment agency fees, you must include the amount you receive in your gross income up to the amount of your tax benefit in the earlier year.)
2. You can deduct amounts you spend for résumé preparation as long as you are looking for a new job in your present occupation. These expenses include the cost of drafting, typing, printing, mailing, and faxing.
3. If you travel to an area to look for a new job in your present occupation, you may be able to deduct travel expenses to and from the area. You can only deduct the travel expenses if the trip is primarily to look for a new job. For example, an unemployed electrician was permitted to deduct the cost of traveling to a union hall to seek job opportunities within the trade union. The amount of time you spend on personal activity compared to the amount of time you spend looking for work is important in determining whether the trip is primarily personal or is primarily to look for a new job.
4. Looking to start a business as a self-employed individual is also deductible. These must be in the same field as your current employment.
5. If you land a job, the cost for child and dependent care in order to go on job interviews is allowed as a credit on the ‘Child and Dependent Care Expenses’ form.
6. Other deductions include:
* Portfolio preparation costs.
* Career counseling.
* Legal and accounting fees for employment negotiations and contracts.
* Advertising.
* Local transportation to job interviews.
* Phone calls to prospective employers.
* Newspapers, etc for employment ads.
* Half the cost of meals which are directly related to job searching.
* Books to help you prepare a better resume, etc.
I cannot stress strongly enough, that you must save all your substantiation, including receipts, interview letters, transportation costs, etc.
These expenses are not an automatic deduction from your income. You have to be able to itemize. To do this, for 2010 returns, you have to exceed the standard amounts of $5,700 for single filers; $8,400 for heads of households; and $11,400 for married couples filing jointly. Included in these amounts is the two percent miscellaneous expense hurdle. If you don’t itemize, these tax breaks won’t work for you.
Please note that going to the Bahamas to read employment ads in the Times while on the beach will not pass an audit.
How To Write Off Job Hunting Expenses
by Ned Berke on Sep 21st, 2010
Believe it or not, the IRS wants you to know that you may be able to deduct some of your job search expenses on your tax return!
Many taxpayers spent time over the summer months updating their résumé and attending career fairs. If you are one of them, you may be able to deduct some of your expenses on your tax return.
First, the no-nos. You cannot deduct job search expenses if:
1. You are looking for a job in a new occupation, or
2. If there was a substantial break between the end of your last job and the time you begin looking for a new one, or
3. If you are looking for a job for the first time. However, if you held a college internship or valid job while in college and your search is for a job in the same trade or business, you will be able to deduct job search expenses.
If you pass the no-nos, then you can deduct:
1. You can deduct employment agency and recruiters’ fees you pay while looking for a job in your present occupation. (If your employer pays you back in a later year for employment agency fees, you must include the amount you receive in your gross income up to the amount of your tax benefit in the earlier year.)
2. You can deduct amounts you spend for résumé preparation as long as you are looking for a new job in your present occupation. These expenses include the cost of drafting, typing, printing, mailing, and faxing.
3. If you travel to an area to look for a new job in your present occupation, you may be able to deduct travel expenses to and from the area. You can only deduct the travel expenses if the trip is primarily to look for a new job. For example, an unemployed electrician was permitted to deduct the cost of traveling to a union hall to seek job opportunities within the trade union. The amount of time you spend on personal activity compared to the amount of time you spend looking for work is important in determining whether the trip is primarily personal or is primarily to look for a new job.
4. Looking to start a business as a self-employed individual is also deductible. These must be in the same field as your current employment.
5. If you land a job, the cost for child and dependent care in order to go on job interviews is allowed as a credit on the ‘Child and Dependent Care Expenses’ form.
6. Other deductions include:
* Portfolio preparation costs.
* Career counseling.
* Legal and accounting fees for employment negotiations and contracts.
* Advertising.
* Local transportation to job interviews.
* Phone calls to prospective employers.
* Newspapers, etc for employment ads.
* Half the cost of meals which are directly related to job searching.
* Books to help you prepare a better resume, etc.
I cannot stress strongly enough, that you must save all your substantiation, including receipts, interview letters, transportation costs, etc.
These expenses are not an automatic deduction from your income. You have to be able to itemize. To do this, for 2010 returns, you have to exceed the standard amounts of $5,700 for single filers; $8,400 for heads of households; and $11,400 for married couples filing jointly. Included in these amounts is the two percent miscellaneous expense hurdle. If you don’t itemize, these tax breaks won’t work for you.
Please note that going to the Bahamas to read employment ads in the Times while on the beach will not pass an audit.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Best Pre-Offer Practices
In the job search process, getting an offer is probably the most anxiety provoking time in the candidate/client relationship. It's positively unnerving to think about all the change that comes with a simple "yes", so I try to offer my candidates an opportunity to internalize what that moment will bring well in advance of the formal offer. It's what you do BEFORE the offer that can help set you apart from other candidates, provides crucial insight and prevents acceptance mistakes. For the hiring manager, getting buy-in from your colleagues and clients can take a lot of the burden off you, and validate your decision-making capabilities.
If you are a candidate in the final stage of the interview process, put yourself in your own shoes when the big moment comes; how will you feel? Will you experience elation? Sorrow? Anxiety? Relief? Ambiguity? Despite the dollars, will it feel like you might be settling for a role that will under-utilize your total skill set? Or can you honestly say it's the best, most natural fit for you? If the new job requires it, can you make the case to your spouse for relocation? How about your kids, will they be on-board with a move? Did you ask all the right questions? Did you get answers to your toughest questions? How comfortable are you working with your new boss? Any concerns there? Truth is, most people will have one or two lingering questions about their new job that can not be addressed until they are sitting in the seat. But, if these one or two concerns could impact your future very negatively, better to exercise a healthy dose of cautious optimism. Get to the bottom of it...before the offer letter hits your in-box.
My advice? Try to internalize the reality of an offer as much as you can before the company makes one and figure out what you need to know before you say yes or no. Chances are, if you have underlying concerns or big blank spaces in your data, then you haven't got enough information to make a sound decision. Suggest a lunch meeting with your would-be boss, or a final round with the President or CEO. This might give you an opportunity to ask the big picture questions about growth, stability and overall direction of the company. Talk to someone who has been with the company for more than a year, but not more than five. Ask them why they came on board. The information they have to share will be recent and relevant enough to the company's current status in the marketplace. And, their decision-making process may be more recent and relevant to yours, too.
The three to four hours you have invested in "getting to know you" interviews may all have happened in the confines of a board room. This is often where hiring managers can portray a sense of confidence and control, where distractions are minimized. A setting, such as a restaurant, outside the formal office environment may also give each person a chance to observe basic social, focus and communication skills in a situation where distraction is unavoidable. If you're going for the deep dive on the company but there is little data available on overall employee or client satisfaction, consider doing references on the company. That might sound a little overly analytical, even paranoid, but why not? Your potential employer will be exercising every opportunity to uncover information about you before asking you to join the company, why shouldn't you?
Hiring mistakes happen every day, but the ones that can be easily prevented by a little due-diligence are the hardest to justify. Same thing holds true for you, the employee. Finding out in advance that you are about to be the fifth person hired in four years for the same role ought to be a sign that something is amiss here. While it's nice to be considered the potential magic bullet...the problem is likely outside your sphere of control. And why would you want to be in the set-up-for-failure seat anyway?
At the C-Level (CEO, CFO, CTO, CMO) it's completely normal to ask for a professional reference from the hiring manager. Assure them you are not looking to validate a concern, but that you want to be sure you know from someone with experience exactly what you need to be successful in the role. Addressing areas such as communication skills, strategic alignment, specific knowledge gaps and conflict resolution can go a long way to preventing major road bumps in the near term and into the future.
For the hiring manager, it's just as anxiety provoking to put your stamp of approval on a candidate. It's not only you and your team that will triumph or suffer with the next hire, it's your competence as a decision maker that will be in question if you hire the wrong person. A lot of questions about your process, the primary criteria and how you prioritized it, your interview skills, your due diligence process, your instincts and ability gauge a person's capabilities and character will all be under review. And, guess what happens if you really screw up? That's right, your team will also have a hard time trusting your judgment in the future. So don't count on them to back up your assessments if you have a track record of misfire hires.
What to do if you're not sure whether your top candidate is the best person for the company? Ask for additional interviews with the top 2 to 3 candidates and begin a pro and con list. Request that others on your team take part in the interview process and have each interviewer meet and rank the candidates based on top criteria including education, experience, current and future expectations of the role, image and presentation, communication skills, cultural fit, rapport with the team, and any other areas that will help determine that candidate's potential success in the role. A skills or personality assessment may also be employed as a way to validate or rule-out concerns about the candidate(s) in question. Ask the members of your team who worked closely with the last person in the role about what capabilities that person lacked, and whether they have targeted the right level professional to replace them.
If you are adding to your sales team, ask your top client's opinion(s) about what they look for in a salesperson. This demonstrates not only that you value their opinion, but that you're open and willing to listen to their needs. They may offer valuable insights you and your team hadn't thought about....they may also offer referrals to other candidates who could make a more compelling fit.
When it comes to making an offer, much like with a sales deal, time is the killer. It is critical to set expectations between receipt and acceptance of an offer. Adding an expiration date to the offer letter is a great way to reinforce your expectations. Neither party wants to be kept waiting for a number of reasons. As a candidate, if you need more time than two weeks to make a decision, it's time to go back to square one and ask whether this is really the right job for you. As a company, if you have identified a great candidate but can't get closure within two weeks, that's usually a sign that the feeling isn't mutual. Best to keep the interview process going until you close a candidate who both wow's and woo's you, too.
If you are a candidate in the final stage of the interview process, put yourself in your own shoes when the big moment comes; how will you feel? Will you experience elation? Sorrow? Anxiety? Relief? Ambiguity? Despite the dollars, will it feel like you might be settling for a role that will under-utilize your total skill set? Or can you honestly say it's the best, most natural fit for you? If the new job requires it, can you make the case to your spouse for relocation? How about your kids, will they be on-board with a move? Did you ask all the right questions? Did you get answers to your toughest questions? How comfortable are you working with your new boss? Any concerns there? Truth is, most people will have one or two lingering questions about their new job that can not be addressed until they are sitting in the seat. But, if these one or two concerns could impact your future very negatively, better to exercise a healthy dose of cautious optimism. Get to the bottom of it...before the offer letter hits your in-box.
My advice? Try to internalize the reality of an offer as much as you can before the company makes one and figure out what you need to know before you say yes or no. Chances are, if you have underlying concerns or big blank spaces in your data, then you haven't got enough information to make a sound decision. Suggest a lunch meeting with your would-be boss, or a final round with the President or CEO. This might give you an opportunity to ask the big picture questions about growth, stability and overall direction of the company. Talk to someone who has been with the company for more than a year, but not more than five. Ask them why they came on board. The information they have to share will be recent and relevant enough to the company's current status in the marketplace. And, their decision-making process may be more recent and relevant to yours, too.
The three to four hours you have invested in "getting to know you" interviews may all have happened in the confines of a board room. This is often where hiring managers can portray a sense of confidence and control, where distractions are minimized. A setting, such as a restaurant, outside the formal office environment may also give each person a chance to observe basic social, focus and communication skills in a situation where distraction is unavoidable. If you're going for the deep dive on the company but there is little data available on overall employee or client satisfaction, consider doing references on the company. That might sound a little overly analytical, even paranoid, but why not? Your potential employer will be exercising every opportunity to uncover information about you before asking you to join the company, why shouldn't you?
Hiring mistakes happen every day, but the ones that can be easily prevented by a little due-diligence are the hardest to justify. Same thing holds true for you, the employee. Finding out in advance that you are about to be the fifth person hired in four years for the same role ought to be a sign that something is amiss here. While it's nice to be considered the potential magic bullet...the problem is likely outside your sphere of control. And why would you want to be in the set-up-for-failure seat anyway?
At the C-Level (CEO, CFO, CTO, CMO) it's completely normal to ask for a professional reference from the hiring manager. Assure them you are not looking to validate a concern, but that you want to be sure you know from someone with experience exactly what you need to be successful in the role. Addressing areas such as communication skills, strategic alignment, specific knowledge gaps and conflict resolution can go a long way to preventing major road bumps in the near term and into the future.
For the hiring manager, it's just as anxiety provoking to put your stamp of approval on a candidate. It's not only you and your team that will triumph or suffer with the next hire, it's your competence as a decision maker that will be in question if you hire the wrong person. A lot of questions about your process, the primary criteria and how you prioritized it, your interview skills, your due diligence process, your instincts and ability gauge a person's capabilities and character will all be under review. And, guess what happens if you really screw up? That's right, your team will also have a hard time trusting your judgment in the future. So don't count on them to back up your assessments if you have a track record of misfire hires.
What to do if you're not sure whether your top candidate is the best person for the company? Ask for additional interviews with the top 2 to 3 candidates and begin a pro and con list. Request that others on your team take part in the interview process and have each interviewer meet and rank the candidates based on top criteria including education, experience, current and future expectations of the role, image and presentation, communication skills, cultural fit, rapport with the team, and any other areas that will help determine that candidate's potential success in the role. A skills or personality assessment may also be employed as a way to validate or rule-out concerns about the candidate(s) in question. Ask the members of your team who worked closely with the last person in the role about what capabilities that person lacked, and whether they have targeted the right level professional to replace them.
If you are adding to your sales team, ask your top client's opinion(s) about what they look for in a salesperson. This demonstrates not only that you value their opinion, but that you're open and willing to listen to their needs. They may offer valuable insights you and your team hadn't thought about....they may also offer referrals to other candidates who could make a more compelling fit.
When it comes to making an offer, much like with a sales deal, time is the killer. It is critical to set expectations between receipt and acceptance of an offer. Adding an expiration date to the offer letter is a great way to reinforce your expectations. Neither party wants to be kept waiting for a number of reasons. As a candidate, if you need more time than two weeks to make a decision, it's time to go back to square one and ask whether this is really the right job for you. As a company, if you have identified a great candidate but can't get closure within two weeks, that's usually a sign that the feeling isn't mutual. Best to keep the interview process going until you close a candidate who both wow's and woo's you, too.
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