Another Satisfied Candidate

Guest Lecturer Marie Hills reflects on 13 months on the unemployment rolls.

I was laid off in May 2009 so I took advantage of having a summer off. In retrospect, if I knew how long it was going to take to find a job I would have started right away. After 3 months, I got started – nearly a year since the last time I had looked for work.

I looked for organizations that were financially viable/healthy. Before I applied for a position, I researched the organization’s financials. I also sent out emails to friends and former colleagues to see if anyone had contacts at certain organizations. By using a contact name, I was able to personalize my cover letters. I felt like this search was more about who I knew vs. what I knew. Having an “in” was a key at having your resume looked at even if it didn’t lead to an interview.

Some people recommended that I “dumb down” my resume. I’m extremely proud of the positions I’ve held and the things I’ve accomplished professionally. Dumbing down my resume felt like I was selling myself short – it was an injustice to my accomplishments.

During my numerous phone interviews I heard two things:
1) you’re a fundraiser; and
2) I don’t think we can afford you.

I did not want to go back into fundraising. I did it for years and it took me awhile to get out of that area. There were numerous positions that I saw and liked, but the minute it mentioned fundraising it was added to the NO pile. The only way I would have gone back into fundraising is if my unemployment benefits ran out and I had no choice.

I was willing to take a pay cut from my last job, but I refused to go below a certain level. Believe it or not, over the last 15+ years, I have taken 3 pay cuts to work at organizations that I wanted to work at. The last two pay cuts were worth it. We’ll see about this one. For me it’s all about where I am, not about how much I make.
This job market requires “Reflexiablity.” There has to be a give and take relationship between job responsibilities and salary requirements.

Of course, I had to make some concessions at home as well.

a) During the winter, I kept my heat down so the bill wouldn’t be too high. I wore a lot of layers to keep warm.
b) I took advantage of my gym’s “hardship” membership. (Was able to get a reduced rate when I showed unemployment paperwork.)
c) Purchased as many sale items at the grocery store as possible.
d) Told my family not to get me holiday/birthday presents because I couldn’t afford to give a present in return.
e) Only purchased clothing when needed.
f) Limited the number of times I went out with friends and where we went.

As summer came back around again, I was prepared to cut deeper – to cancel my gym membership when my “hardship” membership has expired. Using the AC only at night during the summer or only when necessary.

Two things surprised me the most :
1) the number of people applying for one position and
2) that it took me as long as it did to find a job.

 I had a phone interview with one organization that told me I was 1 of 300+ applicants. The organization was speaking with 24 applicants via phone and then planned on bringing 5 or 6 people in for in-person interviews. Being 1 of 24 made me feel like I accomplished something even if I didn’t get an in-person interview.

I even looked out-of-state, focusing my search on 4 geographic locations. I got a call for a phone interview from an organization in New York City. Oddly enough, the interviewer was a friend of a friend. The interviewer wanted me to meet with staff in the area office vs. a visit to NYC. The following week I received an email from HR saying," thank you for applying, but we decided to go in a different direction." I emailed the interviewer with this news and never heard back.

 Even if employers are overwhelmed with applicants, I think they should still get back to applicants that they have spoken with on the phone. (I did hear back via email from 2 phone interviews that they hired someone else. These are organizations that I will look at the next time I interview.)

After 10 months of searching I made it to one (One!) on-site interview. This was after several phone interviews – some of which said I would be contacted to schedule an in-person interview, but nothing ever happened. These places also ignored follow-up emails.

Truthfully, I had no other choice but to keep going. I found a job because I feared I would become homeless. I know that sounds dramatic. I was able to survive on unemployment by watching how I spent my money, but I knew my benefits would eventually run out. I was smart enough to have several months of savings. I don’t own a home so I didn’t have to worry about foreclosure. If I had no benefits and ran through my savings, my options of where to go were very slim. My family lives out of state and doesn’t have the space for another full-time adult. I’m too proud to ask friends for help. (Trust me when I say, at this point, I would have gotten several part-time jobs to survive.)

But in the end, I was able to re-connect with old friends through the found time and the drive to network. I also had the time to evaluate what I wanted in life. I wasn't even planning on applying for this job until a friend mentioned it. I think people need to listen to friends and take advantage of their intuition. It paid off for me.

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Working the Network Works

Instructor, Caroline Bender

The trade publications refer to “the hidden job market.” These are the jobs that are not advertised, and in spite of their invisibility, someone estimates that 80% of available jobs are not advertised. It is not entirely clear how that is calculated. What matters to you, the job seeker, is that these jobs are as abundant now as they have ever been. And they are available to you if you understand where to look.

Why is there a hidden job market?

Advertising is still expensive, online or off, and in a 10% (or higher in some regions and industries) unemployment situation, posting an ad opens a floodgate of applications an employer can’t manage because he laid off his recruiting staff in the last go-round. Better to put the word out quietly, in a controlled settling, than to post in so public a forum as a website, newspaper, or trade journal.

Referrals are more reliable – for everyone involved. Even the Navy knows that a buddy system improves retention . The referring employee is endorsing both the company and the candidate, the candidate can get the real skinny on life at the Company, and the Hiring Manager gets a name he can put right to the top of the stack.
 Jobs are often created for a specific need, or to suit a specific internal candidate, where insider knowledge is so crucial you wouldn’t want anyone but the person you already have in mind. How often have you said in your own work situation, “I wish we had an Anne to put on this problem,” or “Martin would be at his best if we could find a way to let him analyze data all day long”?
 So how does one find this job market if it is invisible?

You’ve got to work your network. Because working your network works.


This is not a paragraph about “social networking,” Tweeting, status updates or YouTube job posting. This is not a strategy for amassing the largest number of names you can in order to hit them up for jobs. This is simply about staying connected with the people you know, and letting them help you achieve your goals.

The people you know are your “lower-case f” friends, your family, your former colleagues and classmates. Social networking sites and tools may make it easy to connect, but not if you are doing it shallowly. If you are doing it well, a beer or a phone call will do. And guess what, Workforce America, it’s not just when the chips are down, either. You’ve got to actually think about other people, and tell them when you do. Help them when they ask, and ask for help when you need it. Roll a few logs and actually build that relationship and you will be surprised at what you can accomplish together.

I have a friend/mentor/former co-worker that I chat with online on occasion, and yes we are networked 4 ways. But we also write notes to each other (stamps, envelopes, and all!) and about once a month we find a way to meet for coffee on a Sunday morning and share ideas. When she broke her ankle, I came by to keep her company; when I lost power during an ice storm, she put me up. And when she heard about a shift in her company that implied an opportunity I might take advantage of, she let me know.

That opportunity stalled in its growth stage. She spread the word about me, and sparked some interest, but the change wasn’t getting off the ground. I soldiered on where I was until 4 months later, when I was laid off from my job.


Enter now a different friend, one I had not heard from in nearly 15 years. For a time, we had been quite close, but her career pursuits took her across country and Life happened to the both of us. I will admit that we reconnected through the new-fangled social networking you are so tired of hearing about, but it was our original old-fashioned friendship that made the reconnection such an ease and a pleasure. When she heard I had been laid off, she asked, “What are you looking for? My company has some new openings…”

And it turned out it was the same company.

These two colleagues, who knew each other so well, who both thought of me as a match for their company, had no idea that they both knew me. Our relationships were so far apart in years and makeup that we were all dumb-founded to learn of this connection. I brushed up the resume again, and I was reintroduced as a candidate. In February, I started working at that company.

Your network will not get you jobs, you know that. Even the friend who directly hires you is not hiring you out of friendship. The stakes are too high for that. They are hiring you for your skills, your style, and the history of success (both personal and professional) you are bringing to that job. You are literally seeing return on your investment.

You don’t have to be friends with everyone you work with; you don’t have to center your personal life around your work. What you do have to do is invest a little of the personal in the professional, and the other way around to be “top of mind” when the subject of great fit and match is on the table.

Give of yourself to the people you know. Notes, emails, phone calls, (a text or a “poke” if that is your vibe), keep the connection alive.


Care about what happens to people you no longer work with, live near, room with, or play with, and find a way to visit with them. Not because it may someday lead to a job, but because you like them. And they are nice to be with.


Promise to check in, and keep that promise. This is where so many of us lose our network. Friendships take time and effort, but in both cases, small quantities suffice. Sitting sidelines at the soccer game, shopping for new shoes, shooting hoops, taking the baby around the block, telling someone you thought of them today.


Strive to be the amazing person your friends think you are. They do, you know. You don’t get it, because frankly they are so amazing with all they manage, that why would they think twice about you? You’re both wrong. You’re both right. Live up to the hype.


Offer to help, to keep company, to watch the kids, to send a care package, to write a letter of reference, to put in a good word.

Accept the same in return.  Reciprocity happens when you need it most.

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A Job Hunt Story

Lecturer Ian Parsons files this report after approximately 7 months out of work

About a year and a half ago, I felt burned out on my long commute and the corporate climate at [integration systems company] Oracle so I was hoping to find a start-up or other company closer to home where I could have a bigger impact on the company's success.  I had been doing a passive job search while I was still at Oracle which began about a year before I was laid off.

Earlier last year I had thought I had another job lined up (2 months before I was laid off) where the company wanted to hire someone new by around late September. Unfortunately, the VP of Sales who was set to hire me was laid off himself and this put me back at the end of the line when a consulting team came in to hire new reps. In spite of that passive search in the works, I didn't really get searching full tilt until about October (2+ months after I was laid off). 

Initially, I made sure I was signed up with updated resumes on every job website that I could find, but also linked up with as many recruiters (in my field) as I could. What I found was that the job boards like Careerbuilder, Monster, DICE, etc. were useless. Most posted jobs were not really available, but were placeholders for companies who wanted to collect resumes. It was my 3-4 recruiters who came up with actual IT sales prospects. I came to rely almost exclusively on recruiters and I would recommend the same for ANYONE looking for a new position.

I was surprised by just how competitive it really is with these job opportunities. Where I was sure that I aced all stages of an interview process and the employer even checked my references, I would lose out to someone with a tiny bit more specific experience than I had (even though I knew they REALLY liked me culturally, etc.). Coming from a huge company like Oracle (one of the toughest companies to succeed at and to stay at) actually hurt me with some of the smaller companies who were more looking for small company experience in spite of Oracle's reputation for lots of training, etc.

The base salaries with some of these companies was lower than what the recruiters and I  expected. Companies are taking the chances that candidates will accept less because the economy has been so bad. And this turned out to be true,  People with more experience were willing to take a job they were overqualified for at a huge pay cut. I quickly learned that I would probably have to take a large pay cut too --  of between $5K-$10K less per year if I hoped to get past the phone interview stage (OR to even have my recruiter introduce me to the employer).

During my last job search (2006) I was actively working and doing really well. I loved the company I worked for but wanted to make more money and to get more experience in the software space (I was selling IT hardware). At that time, Oracle (among others) was eager to find new talent to hire. I had no problem getting in for interviews and the process moved along pretty well for a huge corporation. Basically, I didn't need to find a job, but I wanted to and I was able to do so even though I was already working.

As this new job search began, I made a lot of the same must-have rules. I was initially NOT going to give into a lower base salary (simply because my family couldn't live on less than I was earning at Oracle), we could NOT relocate because of the value of our house given the bad housing market, and I was NOT going to commute more than 75 miles to any job.

I made it to the on site interview stage with 7 companies in 7 months, and made it past the first on-site interview with 4 of those companies. One of the prospective employers put me through FOUR interview stages including THREE on-site meetings with every executive in the company. The whole process went really well...the CEO even listened to my music online and liked it a lot...  Although all of my interviews were completed by before the New Year, they kept telling me that I would need to be patient because it was the first time they were hiring for this position from the outside. I followed up regularly and yet they were still interviewing other candidates. They told me they hoped to have someone hired by the 2nd week of January; however, as of TODAY (February 26th) they still haven't made anyone an offer. I was even approached about the same job by two different recruiters after I'd already completed 4 stages of interviews. This job was at the top of my list from a salary and commute perspective and the waiting was awful. I even had a mutual friend of the CEO talk to him about me one day and he confirmed that I was in strong consideration for the position when they spoke in mid-late January.

The fact that my family needed me to get a job ASAP, and the dedication of my recruiters to find me new opportunities is sometimes all that kept me going. But there were other bright spots too.  One of the VP of Sales who didn't hire me even referred me to his good friend with a company that was too far away for me to commute to.   I was touched that someone who narrowed his search down to just me and another candidate still took the time to try helping me find a job elsewhere. It was dedication like that which helped me to keep pushing. One recruiter even shared an opportunity that they wouldn't be paid on while others still coached me on opportunities that I had been sent by other recruiters.

We exhausted our 401K plans just to scrape by and pay our mortgage. It was tough to do, but we had no choice.

We were close to cutting out many of our 'creature' comforts, but also to file for bankruptcy due to our huge debt (the result of a bad economy plus not enough commissions from my job at Oracle). We met with a Credit Counseling professional and our budget was way off. Our expenses were more than twice what my unemployment income was.  Our session with CCC was a huge help, so we will be trying to budget our money more carefully and hopefully to enjoy the new benefits of this new job where I can coach my kids in T-ball, etc. and we will have more vacation time to work with as well. I learned from this experience the value of quality time with my family.

You have to enjoy your time off as much as possible; it's better to be relaxed when searching for jobs. One of my recruiters cheered me on withevery opportunity including those she didn't place me with.

The position I was finally offered turned out to be BETTER than anything I was aiming for. It was very far off from what I expected to find. There is no commute and the base salary is  $11K better than my previous job!  We expect to have more flexibility than we had previously.

Some things about the Job Search game have certainly changed.  But most of what you know is still true.  You have to be yourself and be confident. You have to ask LOTS of questions to show that you're thinking a lot about the company (and they need to be creative questions like "What makes you lose sleep at night in your role?"). Companies are looking for a cultural fit as much as they are experience because they can afford to be that picky. You have to learn about the company and their competition to show that you have more than surface knowledge of the company you're trying to get into.

A  VP of Sales at one company (where I was one of two finalists) took the time to debrief with me for 40 minutes and volunteered to stay in touch with me for counsel on other possible jobs since he knows the IT start up marketplace very well. Even though he didn't choose me for his one position, he cared enough to keep helping me because he would have liked to hire me if there were two positions available.

I was asked what I would say to someone I am close to if they were to lose their job. I would want them to immediately post their resumes online (because sometimes that will lead to finding recruiters), to research recruiters and to find as many as possible to help their search.  I would encourage them to place realistic expectations on the job options they're willing to take. The important thing is to just get back to work...7 months is far too long to go without a job and even if you have to take a stopgap job until you find the best opportunity, it's better than the anxiety of having nothing because you set your expectations too high. But, the main thing I would say is find RECRUITERS, RECRUITERS, RECRUITERS!!!

Our own Wicked Recruiter also comments frequently on the current job market.

To share your unemployment stories, contact the editorial staff through our comments space.  The Finishing School is an advertising partner of Monster.com. 

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The Wicked Recruiter: Are they just not into you anymore?

Tina Duccini, The Wicked Recruiter

In a follow-up to last week's post, we asked the Wicked Recruiter to reveal more behind-the-scenes insight into Recruiter behavior.
Dear Wicked Recruiter, 
What does it mean if a recruiter has started talking about making an offer and seems enthusiastic, but then stops contacting you or returning your calls altogether? Are they "just not into you" anymore?

Answer: It means you have an underperforming recruiter. They likely ran into an awkward corporate situation and simply don't know how to talk about it.

The general awkward situations are:

1. req frozen due to public company quarterly shenanigans
2. req frozen due to department budget issues
3. req frozen due to company not doing so hot and not freezing reqs before candidates got to the offer process
4. Department/Hiring manager believing they had the right to hire but bypassed administrative steps and got stuck in the mud.
5. compensation inequity issues

A great recruiter knows how to talk about each of these types of issues. Companies with recruiters who can't address these issues have taken the first step in showing you how important hiring is to them. Companies may still get lucky and find some great people, even when they have an alarmingly bad hiring process; however, bad bait will only get you a good catch once in a while. Eventually, not taking your own hiring process seriously and failing to realize it is one of the 2 most important parts of your business will catch up to you.

You are only doing two things in business...

1. recruiting customers
2. recruiting employees to serve those customers

A business needs everyone in the company to know how the company makes money and use that knowledge to make good business decisions, the most important of those being hiring.

Hiring Human Resources/Recruitment staff who can't have hard, yet real, business conversations during the hiring process means a business is not taking #2 seriously. Which should make you ask how seriously they are taking #1.

However, there is still a chance they may turn out to be a good company to work for despite some awkward potholes in their hiring process. Take your experience seriously and look in to what happened. 

If you decide to take a job with a company that has an underwhelming or even downright insulting hiring process, then please do everyone a favor and insist on a better process and if necessary, a better HR/Staffing team.

Sometimes you have to play the game
Play to win
When you are in power
Change the rules!

Because putting people who don't get #1 and #2 in charge of hiring is costly and like arming your gates with your worst enemy. Bad HR and Recruitment staff is a Trojan Horse. Remember how that turned out for Troy?

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Unpaid Furlough is Not a Good Management Tool

Guest Lecturer, Eloise, Fundraising Director

Nothing creates an us-versus-them dynamic and blows employee morale quite like implementing unpaid furlough, especially when it’s done twice in six months.  What begins in a meeting room as a compromise to save money and jobs can worsen your employees' situation if not planned with real-life outcomes in mind.  Read more in Eloise's story below.

For the past two years I have worked as a fundraising director for a nonprofit arts organization in fiscal crisis.  In mid-April of 2009, senior management announced that due to impending financial disaster, they were forced to cut 10% of the staff and were implementing mandatory unpaid furlough for the remaining staff. This was presented as a necessary last resort that would get the budget back into balance.

The number of unpaid days to be taken was on a sliding scale, based on each employee’s salary level that ranged from two to 10 unpaid days.  Unpaid time had to be taken between April 15 and the end of our fiscal year on June 30 -- in other words...now.  Human Resources presented it as "not a big deal" because everyone qualifies for unemployment for their furlough time.

That just sounded wrong to me in so many ways.  I did not ask the government to pay me because my organization could not control its finances, but the majority of my co-workers—including the senior management team who created the fiscal problem—filed for unemployment for their furlough.

Since the last quarter of the fiscal year is the busiest time in the fundraising world, taking time off was not an option for me.  I worked two weeks without pay because foundations and the federal government have specific deadlines, and the work had to get done before those deadlines, or we would have no possibility of incoming grant money.  My manager, however, not only took two weeks of unpaid furlough, he took an additional four weeks of vacation time throughout the summer months.  I was astounded when all of the senior staff followed suit, taking their two weeks of unpaid furlough as well as their full complement of vacation days last summer.

We were in worsening fiscal crisis, they had said.  The organization needed increased management attention, and most of the management team was absent for six weeks to start our new fiscal year. My experience in similar situations in the for-profit work world had been that senior management is more present, not less, in times of financial difficulty.  They had role modeled team work, worked longer hours, and rallied the troops with specific goals, communicating constantly to get the organization back on track. 

We heard nothing more about the fiscal situation until six months later in October 2009 when Human Resources sent an email at 4:55 pm on a Friday announcing a second mandatory furlough…only this time, everyone was taking the hit of 10 days without pay on mandated single days selected by senior management staff.  So, from April 2009 to April 2010, I will lose four weeks of pay—that’s one month without a paycheck or an 8.3% pay cut.  It is significant, it is painful, and it feels like punishment for all staff because of poor fiscal management by senior management and the Board.


Webster’s Dictionary defines “furlough” as a noun meaning “a leave of absence from duty granted especially to a soldier” and as a verb “to lay off from work.”  We have been treated like solders, handed orders from on high.  And we are expected to accept those without question or rational discussion.  My position generates about $2.5 million of revenue a year—one quarter of the organization’s total annual revenue.  Cutting my paid work time by 8.3% did not result in a similar reduction in my fundraising goal.  In this time of crisis, my goal was actually raised 10%.  How was that supposed to happen?

I should also mention that my organization gives its employees 22 paid vacation days, 21 paid sick days, and five paid days off between Christmas and New Year’s Day each year.  Add 20 days of unpaid furlough, and (if I actually took all that time off), I would be taking off 68 days or over 3 months of potential work time each year.

In the midst of this fiscal crisis, Board members do not seem to comprehend the impact to staff members of the financial hit of two to four weeks without pay.  Perhaps it’s because Board members are selected for their wealth and have never had to worry about paying the rent or buying groceries. When the second furlough was announced at the Board meeting, the Board president said “employees have to take a couple of unpaid days.”  Board members shook their heads and gave sympathetic looks to the staff members in the room, but they had no idea that staff had to go two to four weeks—not "a couple of days"—without pay. 

In that same Board meeting, the Managing Director reported that “employee morale is good given the circumstances.”   Senior management has become so out of touch with employees that they do not recognize that morale has been flushed down the toilet.  Yes, we enjoy our co-workers, but we do not enjoy continual denigration.  We have a lot of gallows humor because if we weren’t laughing we would cry every day that we have to slog to our dank basement workplace and pray for 5:00 pm to come more quickly.

Some advice to senior management considering implementing unpaid furloughs:
1.      For God’s sake, analyze your financial plans and create organizational budgets based on reality before you mandate unpaid furlough time for your staff.   

2.      Don’t downplay the severity of each employee’s economic hit in an unpaid furlough—it’s painful to go without a paycheck for a week or a month.

3.      Don’t tell employees that you are in such financial crisis that you are unable to budget for “extras” like training and professional development and then send six senior management staff to the same expensive conference on the other side of the country.

4.      Don’t ignore employee morale and pretend everything’s okay because it’s not.

5.     Understand that most of your staff are currently looking for employment elsewhere because they cannot take incessant abuse, inept management, and repeated pay cuts any more. 

Finishing School adds:  Know the law.  There are laws regarding furloughs in your state, additional guidelines for federally funded organizations.  Managers and Staff both are strongly encouraged to know responsibilities and rights before planning mandated furloughs.

related reading
Companies turn to furloughs
Employee Furloughs and Related Wage and Employment Laws
Avoiding Legal Pitfalls in RIFs and When Reducing Hours
MSNBC on "Furlough Frenzy"

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The Wicked Recruiter: Waiting for the offer... and waiting, and waiting

Tina Duccini, the Wicked Recruiter

Dear Wicked Recruiter:
What does it mean when you have completed all interviews with a company, the recruiter has told you that an offer is in the works, but it's been three weeks and still no offer? Do you keep following up or just wait? Or do you just move on?


Generally, there is no good excuse for a recruiter not contacting you or letting you know what is going on with an offer if one is in the works.

Sometimes this is a difficult situation- such as:
a. the req just got frozen due to budget shenanigans, hiring freeze, impending termination/resignation of the hiring manager, or upcoming layoff that most people don't know about yet.

b. The hiring manager/team believes they can proceed with a hire and have interviewed candidates and selected one for offer and did not follow the company's required administrative steps in order to complete the hire or get a req approved.

c. Issues with compensation as in paying a market rate for a position when current team members may be underpaid and it gets held up with HR/Finance/Hiring Manager.

It is actually appalling how many hiring managers are unaware of what talent really costs, and sometimes when people have been in a company for quite some time their comp has not kept pace with the market and the first time they need to hire someone making more than themselves it takes them by surprise and they needlessly hold up offers lobbying their own bosses to raise their pay if they have to hire someone making more than themselves.

d. They have another candidate they are interested in and are waiting for them to complete the interview process.

No matter what the scenario- you have a recruiter who lacks competence. Basic competence for their job requires them to prepare you for all steps, timeframes, and set expectations in the hiring and offer process. The thing is... especially if you have a clusterph@%k of a process, a recruiter NEEDS to let a candidate know what it is like and WHY, because at the end of the day, a company needs their employees to understand what it will take to be successful working there.

Take this as a sign of what you can expect when working for this company. For some reason, the most important step for any company- recruiting talent - is something these guys think they can drop the ball on and no harm, no foul.  Do you really want to be on this team? If you choose to join them anyway, be aware that this is just an indication of their value for communication, and execution that is the "norm" in this company. Always look closely at the recruitment process and be aware that everything you see then, you will see in other ways elsewhere in the company. No company or recruitment process is perfect... but even in the clusterph@%s, it is worthwhile if you feel you are on the right team with partners that know a thing or two about how to navigate it succcessfully.

So do you follow up or move on? It depends. It really depends on your specific circumstances and reasons for considering the position. Regardless of the reasons for the delay, you have a bad recruiter, so don't expect that the recruiter will suddenly turn into a professional worthy of their title from any healthy way you might confront the situation.

However, even though none of us are perfect and I have underwhelmed myself more than a time or two..., the candidate is the most important person in the hiring process and it is perfectly acceptable for you to remind my kind of that fact, even if (and especially if) it is me underperforming.

Regardless of whether you want the job still or not, perhaps for the sake of being able to call a spade a spade when you are undoubtably being treated rudely, perhaps reach out to the recruiter something like:

Dear Recruiter,

Last time we spoke on xxxx date you indicated my interviews were complete and you were putting together a formal offer on behalf of xxxx company. It has been three weeks without contact and I am feeling confused as this rose by any other name smells like you hope I will go away. Am I reading this situation correctly, or is there another snag in the process you would like to share with me?

Sincerely,

A disenchanted former candidate

It might not change the outcome of the situation, but it might make you feel better.

I think it is fair enough to send such a message whether you want the job or not. If you can be funny while delivering up a warm plate of shame that would be ideal. I have always appreciated it when a good natured candidate pointed out my lack of grace in a way that didn't leave me humming a duet with a dial tone when I called to beg forgiveness for my insufferable rudeness.

Granted, I never went three weeks after informing a candidate of an offer without contact.

After three weeks it is all about self respect, and even though sometimes even a great recruiter can drop the ball, this sort of thing deserves to be called out.

I would refrain from berating any recruiter in writing as the Internet never forgets and you don't want that sort of thing following you around. There is always a way to tell the truth without it making you look all afool. You don't want even a stupid company to congratulate themselves on NOT hiring you.

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Finding the Cold Contact

Instructor, Caroline Bender

We have been learning these past few months about informational contacts -- call them interviews if you like. Call them mixers. Call them Blind Dates, as I do. They are similar to all of these. Their primary goal is to expand your library of contacts, and to get you some exposure.  In a 10% Unemployment market, you are not trawling for jobs; you are simply charming your way into rooms in order to be thought of when there are jobs.  If you are currently seeking informational contacts and your library has dried up, let us suggest a few new places for you to look without spending any cash and very little extra energy than you already are in the course of a normal day.

One of the sticky aspects of approaching contacts who are strangers to you is finding that opening: "So-and-So recommended that I contact you...." "I understand you have been working with Former Co-Worker..." "We exchanged cards in the airport bar..." So how does one make the long leap of a truly cold call?

"Found your name on Hoovers...nestled in my extended LinkedIn network...place card at cousin Sissy's wedding..."

Here is where Miss Bender refers to her preferred source for What to Do: The Movies.

In Working Girl, villain Katharine Parker  is exposed as an idea stealer when she is unable to explain how she came up with the idea in question. More to the point, heroine Tess McGill can.  It is revealed to be the natural form of network-thinking her hard-driving Boss wouldn't have come up with.

Tess: Look? [showing newspaper]
Katherine: The People Page? Now this is ridiculous....[reading]"Former Miss America Dawn Bixby has been house-hunting here. Seems Dawn and hot, hot, hot D.J. hubby Slim Slicker are getting ready to take a bite out of the Big Apple." ...So?
Jack: Slim Slicker's one of Metro's major assets. Syndicated to all their stations. Number one in his slot. The cornerstone of their programming.
Tess: You lose him, and Metro's just some okay real estate with falling ratings. And you're not exactly buying it for a write-off.... [shows another magazine to Trask] Okay. See, this is Forbes. It's just your basic article about how you were looking to expand into broadcasting, right? Okay now, the same day, I'll never forget this. I'm reading page six of the Post, and there's this item on Bobby Stein, the radio talk show guy who does all those gross jokes about Ethiopia and the Betty Ford Center. Well, anyway, he's hosting this charity auction that night...real blue bloods, and won't that be funny? Now turn the page to Suzy, who does the society stuff, and there's this picture of your daughter.,,,See, nice picture. And she's helping to organize the charity ball. So I started to think, "Trask, radio...Trask, radio." And then I hooked up with Jack, and he came on board with Metro, and...and so now here we are.

What did Tess do that was so clever?
1) She read between the lines
2) She made a personal appeal

The newspaper (online or in print), trade journals, mass market magazines are full of sources. Journalists work hard to get them, and the average reader skims over them with little retention. Get your pencil out and start circling, Tess McGill style.  The tools you need are the tools you already have: up-to-date news sources, social networking, and the Internet.

Step One: Find the story
Instead of reading for where the jobs are, read for where the jobs will be.  Watch for mergers, real estate transfers, grants and bequests, promotions, even a new ad campaign can signal that something is afoot and funds are moving.  Your local business journal is a good source for this.  Local coverage tends to be more in-depth, believe it or not, and company press releases will include a lot of names.

Step two: Find the name(s)
Read with a highlighter in hand if you need to.  You need named and quoted sources you can track back to you, even if they are staff members, board members, or customers.  Take a look at a story's author as well.  Email addresses are often listed at the bottom of the column.

Step three: Find the connection
How do you know this contact?  You probably don't.  But you may know someone who does.  This is why there is so much talk about social networking these days.

LinkedIn users sometimes say that they aren't sure how to take advantage of the tool.  Here is an opportunity.  Searching for this contact by name (People) or by Companies, you will discover your connections, even if they are some distance from you.  Use LinkedIn Introductions to reach them, or simply contact the people you do know personally, until you get to the direct contact.  As much as possible, try to have your mutual contact introduce you.  This is not at all old-fashioned.

Step four: Make the connection
The choice of email over phone is a personal one.  Email gives your contact time to review your information and respond at their convenience; it can also be sent to spam, or buried under business mail.  By phone, it may be difficult for you to get past the Gatekeeper, and if you are not prepared to leave a compelling voicemail, a hesitant phone connect could undo your effort.

In either case, what you want to achieve is an immediate connection, a personal interest, and a statement of need.
"Hello, my name is XXXXX.  [refer to the connection] I have been reading about...thanks for your recent column on.... I have been speaking with (mutual contact) about....].  [brief information about you and what you are looking for]

Step five: Ask for help
Do not ask about employment.  Everyone knows you are looking for work; everyone knows there isn't any.  What you are looking for is an opportunity to talk with this contact about the things that are important to them, and to make enough of an impression that they want to help you.

Using your common ground, appeal to something that is important to them.  This might be the article they wrote, or in which they were mentioned: "I read about your fund-raising efforts in Mary Morgan's Sun article.  I am a grantwriter myself, and know these are difficult times for finding support.  I wonder if you know Richard Perry who is a fellow Tufts alum...."

Try posing a question, looking for their expertise. "I would like to hear more of your ideas about mixed-media installations in small museum settings.  As a contract designer, I am often faced with this challenge."

People do like to help others, even those they don't know.  When you get the cold shoulder, it is likely because you have posed a problem they can not fix, like providing a job.  Appeal closer to their center and you will have better success.

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What Color is Your Bucket?

Guest Blogger, Jay Hargis, Career Doctor and Blogger (HR Cleanup)

I do a lot of work with people who are out of work -- most of them involuntarily. I am always fascinated by the different ways people handle unemployment and I find that often, it has to do with severance. But sometimes, it has to do with attitude. Let me explain.

I think that job seekers fall into three different buckets. For the sake of this post, we'll call the three buckets Red, Yellow, and Green.

Red Bucket job seekers are panicked. They are convinced that they won't be able to find a job as good as their old job. They lament "the old days and the old gang." They have lots of Facebook friends and they update them regularly on each and every job possibility that comes along. They take their friends up...and then down...up and then down....up...well, you get it. Red Buckets also do a lousy job of informational interviewing. They expect other people to find jobs for them. They throw their resume at anyone who will look at it...and they say yes to everything.

"Have you ever designed a nuclear submarine?"
"Oh, yes, in college we built one as a project. I was the group leader."

They will eventually land. And, as they predicted, it won't be as good as their old job.

Yellow Bucket job seekers are caught in the middle and have a hard time understanding that they are unemployed and they need to get moving if they are going to find a new job. They fill their day by organizing closets, going to lunch with other unemployed friends, catching up on Target and Wal-Mart sales, and spending an hour a week on a Job Board so they can say that they are "looking but there is nothing out there."

"Informational Interviewing? Why would I do that? HR said they are not hiring."

Yellow Bucket job seekers are usually married to someone who is bringing in plenty of money or they got an amazing severance package because they were at their last employer for 20+ years. They will luck into something. But it won't be by design.

Green Bucket job seekers are the really fun ones. They see the experience as Opportunity. Green Bucket job seekers are the ones who are not quite sure what is coming next....they know that they are good at lots of different things and are excited to see where the trail leads them. When they have Informational Interviews, they are just that -- an exchange of information. They will meet with lots of interesting people who have interesting work at interesting companies. They won't appear panicked; they will appear confident. Sure they are nervous (as they should be) but deep down, they know that they will land a great job doing something that they find interesting and perhaps even compelling. It will come right when it is supposed to.

I like working with all three--they all need different kinds of service. However, I have to admit, that the Green Bucket folks always land the best jobs.

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Female Power - Highlights from The Economist

Last week's Economist cover story, "Female Power," contained some statistics we thought you might find interesting.  We encouarge you to review the complete article in its online version, or in the North America print version, Jan 2-8, 2010.

49.9% of American workers are female
In 2009, the US workforce included 80% of college educated women; 46% of women with a high school diploma.
In 1963, 62% of college educated women were counted in the US workforce, and 47% of female high school graduates.

11% of senior management positions are held by women
>13% of corporate board seats are held by women
2% of Fortune 500 companies are headed by women

93% of women say they want to return to work after having children, but only 74% do.  40% of those return part-time.

Current Unemployment has hit men harder: 11.2% for men; 8.6% for women
The number of privately-held companies headed by women has increased twice as quickly as those headed by men.
Women-owned companies employ more people than the 500 largest companies.

Our student body and faculty represent several generations of working women, and includes those who fought to get in, fought to move up, fought to have it all, achieve balance, follow their bliss.  How do these stats represent you and your experience? 

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Weekly roundup 12-4-2009

Some 2nd and 3rd opinions on topics we covered this week:

Waggleforce is a network of career clubs that provide a 10-week course of action for managing your job search.  If you are feeling lost and un-energized, if you have tried the local job center and found it wanting, find a local Waggleforce to connect with.  You will need to register before you can explore the tools, and most clubs will charge a fee for pay for materials.  You may also find success forming a club of your own with former colleagues, alumni, sorority sisters, even your book club has some percentage of members "in transition." 

We have not talked about the Jobs Summit in the space, but we can connect you to a couple of sites that are.  One CEO's open letter to the President was published on the Huffington Post and responds to most of the major points raised at the Summit.  Sphere takes an angle on the CEOs in attendance who represent some of this year's significant losses.

Recently one of our readers brought to our attention the role that childcare service can play in choosing a gym membership, which led us to this resource on licensure of in-gym childcare.  The article is from last year, and tips you off to what questions you should ask and assumptions you should not make.

Dayton Business Journal quotes BWFS member/reader Jay Hargis of HRCleanup.

We'll recommend another read -- good for both New Professionals and the Seasoned among you starting a new job, perhaps after several years as an expert on your last one: Michael Watkins' The First 90 Days.  Check out this article ("What to Do in the First 100 Days of Your New Job")  as well, from CIO.com.

Have a great weekend!

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Pell Grants for Unemployed Americans

Unemployment can feel like a maze with no exit as you try to choose which direction you should follow in your job search -- commiting to one path at the expense of others.

Stay in your current field?  But isn't this the chance you have been waiting for - to start again?
Get new skills and training?  With what money?  And if you sit out the job hunt in a classroom, aren't you spending more than you are earning?  And missing out on benefits?

There are trade-offs, to be sure, but not the Catch-22 you are imagining -- especially now that the Federal Pell Grant program has opened up to unemployed workers.  Grant awards will not buy you an advanced degree, but they may make the difference in whether you up your game with new skills or pursue a new course of employment where jobs may actually be in demand.

You are eligible if...
...you are unemployed.  Not "on unemployment," just unemployed.  Obama does indeed want Moms to go back to school, just like the ads say.
...you are not currently in default on a federal student loan
...you have a GED or high school diploma but do not already have a Bachelor's degree
...you are enrolling in a program that leads to an undergraduate degree or certificate
...you are a citizen or eligible non-citizen

Grant funds can be used for
Tuition and fees
Books, supplies, transportation, and miscellaneous personal expenses
Living expenses such as room and board
An allowance for costs expected to be incurred for dependent care for a student with dependents
 
Up to $5300 may be granted per year, for up to 16 semesters.
Pell Grants are grants, not loans.  They do not have to be repaid.  Even if you were wrong about wanting to be an occupational therapist.
 
The FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) site is dense, but easy to navigate.  We recommend paging through the screens in the order they are offered in the navigation bar, and don't click off-page until you have read all of the main page information.  If you need to, make a note of pages you want to come back to, but clicking around in sites like these is how one gets lost.  Federal paperwork is always best approached in a linear fashion.

You can also begin at http://www.opportunity.gov/, which streamlines Pell info for unemployed students.

Yoour state may have additional training programs funded to feed understaffed jobs in demand.  Ask at your local career center.

Related posts:
Your Career Center Orientation

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The On-site Interview: Insider Tricks

Instructor, Caroline Bender

Congratulations on achieving the on-site interview!   There are many resources that will outline the basics of interviewing for you: extra copies of your resume, thank you notes, etc.  The Finishing School digs a little deeper. 

This is the Poise section of your war on talent.  Little things can help make you memorable (or prevent you from it), and give you some extra information about the organization that the interview itself may not reveal.

Put these in your databank:

1.    Practice the drive if you don't know exactly where you are going
Do not rely on GPS, which will not know that the parking lot is closed, or that left turns are not allowed between 7am and 4pm.  Ideally, practice this on a weekend, when you can take your time and get a good lay of the land.  This will remove a lot of the stress of your arrival.

2.   Arrive early
Planning for an early arrival gives you a cushion, of course, but it can also give you more information.  With enough time, you can explore the block a little, see what else is in the vicinity and whether this is a neighborhood you are glad to travel in after-hours.  (You know you are not leaving at 5.) 

Are there amenities like banking, restaurants, dry cleaning?  Seating areas outside?  Places to walk?  While not deal-breakers, these are quality of life features that can help you choose between competing companies if you are so fortunate to be in that situation.

3.   Be nice to the front desk
S/he is the director if first impressions, right?  Give her or him one to remember.  Call them by name -- it is probably in front of you -- which drops a hint they may have spoken to you before and/or you might be someone important. 

Apologize for being early, and be very glad to wait.  You will be able to observe a lot about the natural order of business from this seat.  You'll hear the incoming calls, spot some executives, and observe how many people express concern that you are "being helped."  You will see how co-workers relate to each other and feel the aura of the place.

4.   Accept water only
Coffee is high maintenance, it's hot, spills, and stains.  Soda will make you belch.  But by all means stay hydrated.

5.  Understand the org chart as best you can
If your day opens with your recuriter or an HR rep, use this time to understand who will be meeting you, and their relationship to the position in question.  Classier organizations provide you with a schedule (preferably in advance, so you can do some Googling of your own.  more on this later). 

But this step is often missed, or incomplete, so ask if you are not sure.  It is important to understand which of your interviewers will be junior or senior to your role, which receive the output of your work, and which provide inputs.  Not only does this guide your questions, it informs their answers as well.

6.  What can you tell me about...
You are familiar with the "Tell me a about a time..." interview style.  You may use it as well.
"How did that campaign come about," "what can you tell me about the successes of the previous Account Manager?" "How is the pipeline right now?"  Narrative does make for better conversation, and that street runs both ways.

Miss Bender's tip of the week is that it is fine to ask staff to describe their superiors ("How would you describe Tim's management style?") but it seems unfair to ask superiors to assess their subordinates ("What is Barbara like to work with?")  You are bound to hear some awkward performance review stuff you will always regret having heard if you become workmates.

7.  Try for corroboration
Don't fence yourself in with one set of questions you feed everyone, but a few key questions should be asked of people in different roles.  "What's the top priority," and "Who drives that effort," are the kinds of questions that may produce different answers from different groups -- something worth investigating.

8.  Name drop, but subtly
If you have been able to do some digging on your interview team, you have probably discovered some people and places you have in common.  Keep these in your brain, and watch for cool places to use them.  That is, not "Nice to meet you; I worked with Lauren too."    But, when the interviewer says, "Back at BloatCo, when I was there..."  you can play "Oh, we may know people in common.  Lauren Macovoy was at BloatCo, wasn't she?"  This shows your recall and networking skills.

If your interviewer says "Did you work with Jack Jackson at Previous Inc?" and you didn't, pretend to consider it, then say no.  If you did, the answer is, "Yes, I knew Jack very well."  This works for any relationship you had with Jack.

9.  Fish for rivalries and alliances
This is some underhanded play, but we are on point 9, so Miss Bender assumes a certain student advancement at this point.  Quoting something your previous interviewer said will elicit body language, and often some "free exchange of ideas" that no one expected.  It works like this.

Candidate: (picking up on thread of conversation): Eric talked about that as well.  I was interested in the way he described the procurement process.
Interviewer: (leans back, hands behind head):  Eric really understands that process.  He trained me when I first came here.

Candidate:  Jeni was saying that the spring layoffs have been difficult to recover from.
Interviewer: (long pause, nostril sigh) There was a lot of excess on the Sales team.  They are learning to work leaner.

10.   Watch your lasting impression
If you are more enthusiastic than ever about this match, say so.  Professionally and confidently, please.  No begging.

If you are not at all interested, keep it to yourself.  Write your thank you notes and wait for the follow-up.  You might change your mind.  A wierd exit is a great story for everyone to remember...for years.

If you are on the fence, keep it together.  There are probably more interviews to come, and the offer conversation is still a negotiating opportunity.  On your way home, and later with your personal board of advisors, you can sort out what you still need to ask, so you can prepare for the next time.

Keep striving,
~~CB

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Weekly roundup 11-20-2009

Additional reading for extra credit:

Professor/Grad Relationships: Maximizing the Mentoring Potential
Grad Resources is a non-profit organization based in Dallas, Texas that serves the practical and emotional needs of graduate students on several university campuses across the United States.  Call National Grad Crisis-Line (800-GRAD-HLP)

Sloan Work and Family Research Network
The Alfred P. Sloan Work and Family Research Network is the premier online destination for information about work and family. The Network serves a global community interested in work and family research by providing resources and building knowledge.   Excellent primary source for individuals, employers, researchers, and policy-makers.

Extra(hour)dinary Parenting
Blogger Amanda Morrow Jensen (”ACMJ”) is a former U.S. diplomat turned stay-at-home mom and work-from-home professor.  Check out this week's post on toddler independence.

The Personal Branding Blog
Personal Branding pioneer William Aruda presents the current thinking in personal branding strategy.

Your LinkedIn profile When You're Unemployed
Alison Doyle is the author of Internet Your Way to a New Job: How to Really Find a Job Online (2009) and the About.com Guide to Job Searching (2006).

Read more »

Your Career Center Orientation

Instructor, Caroline Bender

One step in your employment transition will be registering at your local job center, and like much of our exploration of the contemporary Unemployment Experience, yours will vary by location.  We will be giving you a tour of a typical center in the 2nd largest city in New England.  To find out more about the centers in your state or region, consult your state unemployment office or enter "career center unemploment (name of your state)" in your favorite search engine.  Your weekly insurance check or extension application may be dependent on your registration.  End of disclaimers.

Our sample career center is set up with one major idea in mind:  Job Searching takes time and can cost money.  Unemployed people should not have to spend money looking for work, says the DoL, so the career center is the best place to go for

• computers and internet access
• fax
• jobs listings on and offline, including newspapers, trade magazines, and state postings
• Company research sources
• Union information
• basic-level training on office skills like computers, typing, MS Office suite, etc
• Apprenticeship and financial aid applications
• bond paper, envelopes, and postage
• assistance information on food stamps/WIC, fuel assistance, VA,etc

You do not have to be "on unemployment" to use the resources, but you do have to be a registered user. 

The office doubles as an info center for benefits questions, though the staff were clear to point out they are not the unemployment office.  The center is set up like many municipal offices: a line, a counter, a waiting area, and some private cubicles.  Most of the walk-up questions I overheard had to do with reviving a claims record after forgetting to file once.  (This is easy to forget - try setting a recurring reminder for yourself.) 

Opposite this room is the resource center limited to registered users only.

The orientation covered the services of the center, and some of the basic "what to do now" information.  The presentation was meant to be general purpose for any audience ( trades, professionals, clerks, and artists) and therefore spoke directly to no one.  It tried to explain the importance of networking, with a fairly schlocky video demonstrating how it is done, and the very basics of online job boards without demonstrating any.

After the group presentation, and the completion of self-assessment forms, job counselors were to circulate and meet individually with each participant.  There were not enough to go around, so they quickly dismissed anyone who understood how to complete the form, and did not have any "special case" needs.  If you do, assert them.  Remember that whatever you think your unusual circumstance is, they are prepared to address it, right down to that risky background check you are worried about.

What we want you to understand throughout this journey through the Unemployment Experience is that you can expect people to be helpful, and resources to be available.  It is in everyone's best interests to get you back to work.  We also want to remind you that we are nationally at 10% unemployment, and these staffs are overwhelmed.  Treat this office as you would City Hall and the Registry:

• Don't go if you are in a hurry.   Expect a line.
• Come prepared.  Your clerks explain state services through a help desk lens - describe your situation with facts and documentation, and be sure you know what your question is.  When you start with "a guy said they didn't have it," they will become frustrated.  They are not frustrated with your inability to ask the question, but with their inability to answer it.  But that is not what it will feel like to you.
• Sjellë një përkthyes nëse keni nevojë për një të tillë (Bring an interpretor if you need one)  Your center may not speak Albanian.
• Leave the children at home. 
• Be a partner in your situation.  The state does not own you, but they don't work for you either.  Please do not resent the DoL staff because they have work.

When you sign up for a class or a networking session, attend it.  These opportunities are free to you, but they do cost the system, and you are taking a seat someone else might have liked.  If you need to cancel, cancel.

Observe the center rules.  If you just want free Internet, the library is a few blocks away.

Help other people if you can.  We are all waiting together.

Related posts
Downsized but not Defeated (book review)
Preparing for the Worst
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