Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Is the economy getting better?

Is the economy getting better?
A question I am asked whenever I tell people what I do for a living.  Is the economy getting better?  I spent last winter in a master’s level Economic Development class.  The answer is simple and I did not have to spend a couple grand to learn this one

I have seen some incredible things happening in the region.  Some of the businesses that are coming out of the incubators are outstanding.  The potential is unlimited.  When I hear about companies hiring 200 engineers and 500 people in manufacturing, I am ecstatic.  Now the other side, Oakland County lost 68,000 jobs is the first quarter of 2009.

I started my position in the summer of 2008 after 13 months of unemployment.  In fall of 2008, the market crashed and value of homes plummeted but I was working again.  In my family’s world the economy was getting better. I am thankful everyday for a regained stability in my life, however, the economy is not getting better if you are currently unemployed or extremely underemployed.

We all need to stay strong and support those who have not yet recovered.

Thursday, September 22, 2011

The Best Way to Hunt for a Job

So, I know that you just can't wait to read my next entry (mom).  I have to be honest the committment to be brilliant three times a week is tough, even for me. 

Fortunately, I learned a very important lesson many years ago:  Plagiarism is the highest form of flattery.  I plan to steal from others on my team as often as possible.  That being said, here is part of posting from Walt Tarrow's blog:

According to the 2012 edition of Richard Bolles' What Color Is Your Parachute?, the best way to hunt for a job is Doing An Inventory of Yourself.

That way is successful about 86% of the time!

Another way to put it is if 100 job seekers used this approach, 86 of them would find their next job.

This inventory of yourself is thinking about WHAT you enjoy doing most, WHERE you would enjoy doing what you enjoy doing most and HOW to get there.

to read more: http://waltsjoblog.blogspot.com/2011/08/best-way-to-hunt-for-job.html

Monday, September 19, 2011

Strike while the iron is hot!

In my previous blog a job seeker was trying to figure out how to get back to a company that he was close to getting an offer.  Please read how I suggested to follow up but this presents a much different challenge to job seekers. 

Really this is a challenge to every sales person out there.  What to do when you are waiting for the big deal to close.  Great sales people call on the next business.  My mom always tells me that she hates walking into a store and getting greeted by a hungry salesman.  They are so desperate to make a sale that they make everyone feel uncomfortable. 

To the contrary, a salesperson who just made the sale of the century or feel good about his sales that month is great to work with because he is relaxed almost like he does not need your sale.
When you are in the thick of the interviewing process the best thing that you can do for yourself is continue to look elsewhere. 

It is a great time find new leads, research new companies and set up other interviews.  Too many of us finally get the interview, then we wait to hear back, then we get depressed, then we sulk, then we start over.

Do yourself a favor strike while the iron’s hot.

Friday, September 16, 2011

Now you have it; now you don't

Well, you never really had it.

I was reading a thread on LinkedIn earlier in one of the groups that I belong to.  A job seeker was asking for advise:
I recently interviewed with a company, and by all accounts thought I had the job. After the interview, the HR rep for the company encouraged me to send my references, which I immediately did.
Then she asked me to approve a background check request with their background check company. I did this too.

When she told me that a job offer was forthcoming, she said it would take 5-7 business days. I waited and waited for two weeks. I called her and left a voice mail. I emailed her. No response.
Finally, I emailed the manager who I had interviewed with, letting him know how enthusiastic I was to work for the company. The position was “on hold”.

Does anyone have any suggestions for how to approach re-contacting them?
This person needs to continue to be "available" to them.  Keep yourself on their radar with an extra email, a follow call, something.  The follow up should not be “hey, did my job open, yet.”

 It should be more like, “Just touching base” or to the manager “I read a great blog in the Oakland Press that you might be interested in.”  You want to be valuable to them but not a pain.  This is a fine line so walk it carefully.

They will not get back to you because they are uncomfortable that they can't tell you anything.  Stay on their radar but don't expect anything from them.

The other reality is that you can never count on a job until your first day. 

If you are ever in need of job search assistance, click on the JVS logo above or call 248.559.5000

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Tell your story

As I started cocooning in my bedroom hiding from the world, my wife gave me space.  Then the next morning she said, “I don’t want to hurt your feelings but is it okay for me to tell people that you are looking for work and if it is okay what are you looking for .”  What a powerful thought!  If you read the first entry, much of my career was spent in the recruiting world.  I know how to do this job search thing.  At that time, my wife had one employer in her professional career.  She may or may not have had a resume at the time.  Where does she get off asking me if she can tell people that I am looking for work?  It was brilliant.  Three powerful lessons learned on that day.

  1. You have to tell your story.  There are many ways to network: go to meetings, social network and tell people you are available.  The other part is you should know what you are looking for.
  2. Many times when a spouse losses their job the other spouse becomes negative and critical.  Be nice.  Believe me, the unemployed spouse would much rather be at work than be home being told they suck.  Please be nice.
  3. My coworkers would hate to hear me say this but as skillful and calculated the job search strategies are everything you hear and read may be dead on or the exact opposite may work better.

So, if you read something I write and you disagree please share your thoughts.  Your insight may help someone else.

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Welcome to Get to Work!

Where to start:
The best place to start this journey could be the beginning of my career and how I got to the place I am now.  Better than that let me start with a place that too many of our friends and family found themselves in the last few years, unemployment. In 2007, I was on contract at Ford running an incredible program that was non-essential to the core of the business.  It was an incredible program but quite frankly it was a bit gluttonous (that’s another story for another time).  Needless to say, our project was eliminated.  Me and 450 others were now unemployed.  Now was my time to take a journey that nobody ever wants to take.  At one time in my career I was a headhunter.  The late ‘90s were a great time for staffing.  I also have experience working in the recruiting department for a large advertising agency.  I should be a pro at this job search process.  I have reviewed thousands of resumes.  I read thousands of resumes for just one job posting.  I have prepared people for interviews and conducted hundreds of interviews.  I knew exactly how to do this.  I was frozen in my tracks.  I reviewed my resume hundreds of times but it was not a good resume.  It was not a good resume because I did not want to share it with anyone because they would be critical.  I would not pick up the phone to call my friends let alone an employer.

The journey is different for everyone.  Each of us has our own story.  Some are open to talking about it because it is part of our history because we have gotten back to work, some are reading this from their basement conducting their job search in isolation, some are not reading this at all because they are in their bed with the covers over their head hoping that this will all go away.

I welcome you to join me a few times a week to read about the job search, job market and economic development in metro Detroit.