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Some jobseekers have not been “on the market” lately and need to be brought up to speed with the way hiring manager’s find talent. Back in the earlier days, I recalled that just about every job in LA was posted on LA Times. Then the times became too pricy, charging some $1,000+ dollars to run a print ad. Even the often free college campus postings became costly once they partnered with Monster Trakk. Recruiters and Headhunters charge a hefty fee at 20-25% commission off placements costs. This high price of sourcing talent made business rethink how they source and place needed talent in open positions. Business always finds a way to streamline processes and make them more effective and efficient. This brings us to today. In today’s job market, which is a buyer’s market where the company is the buyer, the applicant needs to be prepared and savvy as to how to quickly and clearly present their marketing collateral, their resume, in the form and format the buyer will notice it. Many times the résumé’s are filtered in the selection process and the people “who know” how to read your resume are not in the first filter. It is for that reason, a savvy job seeker needs to ensure their marketing collateral, speaks to the persons involved in the hiring process.

Although it is possible that a resume, following old formats is noticed. (Résumé’s with photos, one page, fancy fonts, 9 pica, and generalized statements) Wouldn’t it be smarter to save time and effort and present an effective representation of which you are, what you are looking for and what you have to offer?

A résumé’s purpose is to pre-qualify the job candidate and provide his/her professional background and expressed interest in the particular position. A resume should be updated periodically even when the candidate remains employed. Creating a resume is a process whereby the candidate makes an assessment of their development and their experiences. It can be used to seek other employment, validate worth in your current position, or request promotions and raises.

In today’s market, the creation of a resume can be tedious and detailed. I can help walk candidates through the creation of their marketing collateral and development of their personal brand. In other words, creation of their resume and cover letter and presentation of their product (them) to an employer both online and in person.

Some quick fixes candidates can readily do on their own are: change “Objectives” to profile and list 5-6 key capabilities and/or accomplishments. Format the resume so that it is soft on the eyes. I recommend aligning the writings to the left, versus using center, then left, then right all together. Make the fonts easy to read, using no more that three different fonts. Do not use italics or fancy fonts in cursive. Be kind to us hiring managers, by the end of the day our eyes are tired from the stack of resumes we need to sift through. Look for key words in the job positing and add them to your resume. This makes it easy for the resume miners to find your resume amidst the thousands they search daily. If this sounds too complicated, you may want to connect with me so that I can help you with this process and get you the resume that not only speaks for itself, but that jumps up and down to get notices so that the teacher can call on it for an answer, asking it to speak.

My friend was sharing with me the other day how her boss was providing the team with constructive feedback and guideance as to how to handle customers, delivering customer service. She shared how some members of the team cried and were hurt by the comments since they felt it was attack at their behaviors, personally. Receiving feedback that we perceive as negative, is difficult and it shouldnt be if we are in the mindset of improving ourselves, our performance and serving our organization. We serve and improve by doing what our leaders ask of us. When they tell us to do something, we need to listen and follow through. The feedback and direction they provide needs to be seen as helpful and directive.

Leaders and bosses have gotten to their positions because of the training and expertise they have in thier field. As employees and new up and comers we need to listen to their direction so that we can learn from there experience. With any luck, if we listen and learn quickly we may be able to trim out alot of development time. Time that our leaders have already painstakenly taken learning what they know.

So take this feedback for your improvement.

I had an experience, in one of my transitions, where I shared my transition of exiting an organization with a fellow manager. This particular manager had been my confidant throughout my tenure with the company we both worked for. She is a great listener and a great motivator as she is allways positive, nonjudgmental and optimistic. However as we came close to the time where she would leave the organization, her positivity became hurt, despare, fear of uncertainty and confusion.

Transitioning away from an organization, whether voluntary or involuntary is a stressul process. It is during these difficult times that one needs to surround themselves with positive, uplifting messages from encouraging friends. Initially, whether we are laid off, have our position eliminated, or find that our employer is not meeting our needs, we cannot help feeling rejected. We feel as if we did something wrong, or rather didnt do enough to convince them of our value. We begin to wonder of all the what if’s.

I have worked in human resources, in executive leadership for over 13 years. Trust me when I tell you this, decisions to lay off and restructure are not personal, so dont take them personal. The decision to restructure, combine positions, reduce headcount, etc. is a business decision. These decisions are made because we, in management need to preserve the organization and ensure the business continues. It is never, or should I say rarely, because we want to rid ourselves of someone who did something wrong or is underperforming. For those actions, we use communication and performance management.

Part of the problem is that in today’s society we usuall introduce each other by saying “Hi, my name is John and I am a (name of your job title)”. To us, what we do for a living is a big part of who we are, or rather who we think we are. To set your mind straight in this thought, read my article portable employee and know that you are who you are regardless of whom you work for. It helps to have good friends who remind you of this thought and remind you of your value. To have friends that provide you with avenues of opportunity, who help you grow your business, who look out for you and send you job ads, or who listen to you speak of self defeating thoughts in your transition process and turn them around to positive solutions.

Whether you are transitioning or not, surround yourself with positivity and people who are going to uplift you. In turn, be that friend to others, helping them develop as a person, provide them a lift in life. Recently someone shared with me a video that moved me. The video was of the 1992 men’s meter race in Barcelona, Spain. I am sharing the link here for you to view. As you can see from the video, no matter how much you prepare and plan, things may not work out for you as you would like it to. It is at those critical times that you need to decide, do I keep going or check out? Sometimes to keep going, we need a lift. We need a lift from those who love us. In the video, the runner was aided by his father. Seeing this, know that you need friends like his father. If you dont have friends and encouragers as this, then get some. Better yet, be one.

In my relationship with my manager friend I mentioned earlier, at times she encourages me and at times, I her. I remind her of her value, I encourage her of a better tommorrow and I help her at every opportunity to find oportunity. She does the same for me. Surround yourself with positive influences and people who are going to encourage you in sticking to your plan to improve and be better.

Many talented middle managers find themselves cultivating an offer only to result in the feeling of being “on sale”. The downturn of the economy and the scarcity of middle management jobs resulted in businesses capitalizing on the increased supply of talent by reducing their pay (compensation) offerings, simply because they can. Back in 2002 ish , a Plant Controller, who is now a VP of Finance for a large profitable organization debated with me, the concept of compensation and market ranges. He stated that though the market range is wide in ‘industry’, the true market range is the amount of money it takes to hire the next person for the one who leaves.
Interestingly enough, in his case, though we debated whether the workers should be paid market or minimum wage, when it came to his compensation, he agreed with market theory. Fortunate for him, when he requested an increase in pay the company opted to allow him to leave. His replacement had significantly less talent than he and was compensated close to what he requested to earn. Though I am sure it was disappointing for him that his current employer would not provide him with the level of compensation he wanted, reshe is in a better position now as a result.
The question boils down to determining what is it you want. Are you willing to hold out for the next opportunity in order to earn what you want? What you think you are worth? Are you willing to take that risk, relocate, work in a higher level of expectations? and make a move?
Today, it is a bgger risk since many employers are getting the benefit of this doubledip ecomony. They are benefitting from desperation, from those who are overburdened with a certain level of lifestyle that requires a certain level of resources (compensation).
In order to pass the hurdle of feeling as if you have settled, merely understand what is it you truly need and what are you willing to give or take to get it. Once you know that, better decisions could be made while negotiating salary.

Think about a time when you sold something and negotiated a price. Depending on what you sold, you may have received top dollar or sold it as salvage right? When we look at a job search or career development, we examine this concept of selling yourself. If the results desired are optimal compensation or positive upward mobility then the goal is to sell yourself and your value without putting yourself “on sale”.

Many a times, as a hiring manager, I have seen candidates put themself on sale. This self inflicted positioning diminishes their value and sometimes reduces their desireability. This is done by showing desparations or seeming too eager for the opportunity to work at the company. The candidate might comment ” Please hire me, I’ll do anything” or on their application under position desired they state “Open/Anything”. This price mark down is also done after an interview when the candidate might “Call too much” to the point where they are a bother, hence reducing desireability. Female applicants tend to be some of the worse in this area, because they are known to accept less pay. This leaves some female job seekers resentlful to them for driving down our wages and feeding into the stereotype that women will accept less.

In cases where the individual is employed and merely looking for a promotion, they might perform excessive work without reminding their manager of their value and goals. This leads the manager to beleive that the employee will do anything for them and may not realize the employee has a purpose for behaving this way. Those employees who dont voice their value, but rather quietly do their work are good for business but are not good at self promoting (marketing themselves). An effective career minded individual will balance their actions with communications upward ensuring the company and their supervisor notice their value. These self promoters and astute marketers will not seem desparate at an interview as they understand their value.

To further explain my point, I’d like to use an example such as a dating relationship. When interviewing for a job, it helps to look at it as a date. While on a first date or during an initial meeting, one usually looks at appearance, poise, demeanor, words, etc. Think back to a first date and how offensive it may be to be asked to go to home without getting to first base. What would happen if after the initial introduction and pick up line, your date askes “Will you marry me?”. On rare occasion, some people may jump to that offer immediately, but most would say ” Wait?, I dont know you yet? Let me get to know you?…Lets first have dinner and a movie, or I need to meet your family first?” Relationship counselors will tell you, take your time and get to know the person. Make sure you are compatible and that you have shared values, that is, if you are seeking a long term relationship with growth opportunity.

The same example is played out in an interview. During the interview process you demonstrate proper attire, grooming and putting your best image forward, selling your abilities and experience (your pick up line). Then the question comes, and sometimes it comes too soon. The interviewer asks ” What salary expectations do you have” or they might ask ” What is your walk away point?” or ” How much do you want to be paid”. I know this is a silly question since we all want to be paid as much as possible. But, the inexperienced job seeker and those that are desparate are no match for the experienced recruiter and the pushy hiring manager who might continue to pick at this question in an effort to bargain and get the candidate to put themselves on sale.

Dont fall into this trap. If you do you not only diminish your value, but also the value of similar persons in your industry. A year or so after this is done, provided you remain with the company, you will find yourself far below the range you want to be in and your performance and longevity in the position may be at risk as you are demotivated to perform at a higher level (for free) or you realize you are undervalued and seek to earn a more competitive rate of pay so you look externally and leave your job.

The question is, how do I do this? How do I not put myself on sale? Know your value. Look at your skill base, your accomplishments, your abilities and your goals. Understand the pay range for your job and guestimate where your skillbase fits along that range. Then, market yourself accordingly and put your pricepoint at the salary you want. When an potential employer asks, what do you want to make? Avoid the answer when the question comes too soon. Get the employer to change from being the buyer of your services to being the seller of their company, to you. When determining compensation (pay), think about total compensation; i.e. bonuses, rewards, incentives, benefits and pay. When pressed for an amount, provide a pay range. When providing a pay range never use the minimum amount less than what you want to make. Dont put yourself on sale, if you dont have to. Dont be too easy since most things that are too easy do not last and are seen as ‘cheap’.

A very wise Operations Manager once told me a saying. The saying goes ” If you never ask, you’ll always sleep alone”. In the context that he told me this, we were discussing how I would push my agenda on another department manager and gain his buy in. But as I am thinking of how a transitioner can cultivate a job offer, I remember this comment.

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The economy is not rebounding quickly enough and it’s leaving the job search process an uphill battle. Job seekers are placed in a seller’s market where companies are able to select to tier talent at basement prices. It’s a tough pill to swallow when veterans realize they may have risked their life in providing service to their countries only to be left climbing uphill, in yet another foreign terrain, the civilian job market. There they find the business language different from their usual military jargon and the new social media and job search tools a challenge. Rest assured, veteran job seekers, this new era of tweeting and preparing your brand in social electronic media is new to us all and with any luck, the following tips will help you better prepare for your next opportunity.

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I am excited to introduce my new blogsite.  I had begun developing this concept at the early part of 2010 and just now unleashing the site to pour out to you, the reader, transitioner, thoughtful considerations and advice to aid you in your self development, career aspirations, and  your next job search.   Welcome…

A common saying is that “Everyone is replaceable.” Despite the truth to that statement, that everyone is replaceable, in both business and relationships, it does not always make economical or common sense to dispose or swap out talent. This is because each individual is just that, an individual, endowed with his own personality, attributes, and talents. When an organization loses an individual, it loses the imprint of that person’s impact on the business due to the loss of experience that person carries with them. Look around, although most of us look similar, we are definitely not the same.

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