Career Coach Office Hours March 18 2022 | JobSearchTV.com
I answered questions about #jobsearch #hiringstaff #management #leadership #workplace issues or anything work. Join me at 1 PM Eastern on Tuesdays and Fridays on YouTube, LinkedIn and on the Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter page on Facebook and put your question into chat. You can also email questions to TheBigGameHunter(at) gmail.com and put the phrase “Office Hours” into the subject line and I will answer it on my next show. #careercoachofficehours #careercoaching #careercoach #jobsearchtips #jobsearchadvice #interviews #hiring #managingpeople #leadershipskills #linkedinlive #linkedinlivestreams
00.00 Intro and Coffee Toast
03:54 How do you inform an employer at a job you just got hired at that you found a better opportunity?
05:38 Why don’t employers provide ANY training anymore? All of my elders in every job I’ve had were trained by the company. Now, they expect all new hires to have knowledge and experience with unusual and even obscure equipment and processes. A similar question asked was: Do job offers give you adequate training on the job?
08:38 What does it mean when a Google recruiter wants to talk to you over the phone after an onsite interview?
09:20 What are good ways to hire people smarter than you? AND Should you hire people who are better/smarter than you?
12:27 Can I ask for a raise 6 months after being written up? They promised me this raise before I was written up.
15:02 Does it raise suspicion during a job interview if you ask “How many sick days am I entitled to every year?”
16:28 Can your potential employer contact your previous employer even if you check ‘no’ on the job history section of your application?
18:21 I don’t like my current job but I can’t leave because I’ve changed jobs 7 times in recent years. It will put a bad impression on my resume if I change jobs again. What should I do? 20:08 What do you do when a recruiter reached you, asked your CV, then disappeared?
21:23 Why do you think people are frequently afraid to negotiate a better salary during a job offer negotiation?
22:21 How do certifications help you get hired?
23:20 Outro
How to Get Better at Interviewing, Networking . . . or Anything
How do you tell an employer that just hired you that you found a better opportunity and are turning down their job? Well, number one, are you sure? I always start off with that premise because people are unsure about what to do. If you aren’t sure don’t make the call. Talk with trusted advisors quickly. Because the impact that you’re going to have on that firm that did nothing wrong, is you’re going to hurt them. And it’s going to cause a problem for them. And you want to give them enough time to recover from that problem to hire someone else. And thus, the sooner you can be formal with the decision, the better. And you know, just be gracious. You can call them; leave a voicemail. You can send an email or send a text. ‘I’m sorry to do this. I’ve received another offer. I’m going to be joining another firm. I appreciate your consideration.’ You don’t have to tell them that it’s a better offer. It’s implied in your decision. But when you say that to them, you’re rubbing dirt in their face and being that much more critical than you need to be. So just acknowledge that “I’ve accepted another offer. I’m going to be joining another firm, I apologize. And maybe there’s still time for you to go to your number two candidate.’ And that’s why I was suggested to do this as soon as you can, because the number two may still be available. So reach out to them as soon as you’re sure about your decision, and let them know.
Why do employers Why don’t employers provide any training anymore? All my elders at every job I’ve ever had were trained by the company. Now they expect all new hires to have knowledge and experience with unusual and even obscure equipment and processes. And I also got a question that says do job offers give you adequate training on the job. So I consider those linked questions, I’ll answer both.
So why don’t they do it anymore? Well, there are a lot of people out there and someone’s got the experience. So why train people if they have the experience, right? If you had a choice between someone who had the experience and someone who doesn’t, you’d take the one who has the experience, right? Why don’t they train because it’s expensive. It’s really that simple. It costs them money that they prefer not spending, they may not have budget for it.
And thus, they need to find someone who has the actual experience. Now, your elders all having training in this stuff being paid for by a firm. So I’m not sure how old these folks are. But I worked in search for a hell of a long time and training, stop being part of the opportunities or paid training stopped being part of opportunities 20, 25 years ago, with more and more firms expecting people to pay for it themselves, in order to get relevant training.
Should I Confirm an Interview?
Now on interviews, that doesn’t matter. If you don’t have the experience, and they’re going to find someone who has it and you who doesn’t, you’re out of luck, because they’re going to pick the person who has the experience rather than you. But you know, what you need to learn in order to be effective. And the example of people with obscure equipment or technology experience, that’s a red herring. What it is, is that most of the time, what they want is the closest possible fit with a personality who will fit into their organization.
Now, do they give you adequate training on the job? Some do? , some don’t, most of the time they don’t for the very reasons I answered in the other question. It costs the money they’d rather hire someone who has the experience and someone who doesn’t. Wouldn’t you?
Let’s go to the next question. What does it mean when a Google recruiter wants to talk to you over the phone after an on site interview? Well, they’re not going to be asking you out on a date, let’s get clear about that. What they are trying to do is to give you an update. That’s it. They’re trying to get you to give you an update, that’s going to allow them to bring you up to date about what the process, where the process is, what they think of you. The update could be a rejection. Yes, they could send it as an email or a text, but they’re trying to be communicative. Now, one thing I would suggest to you is with Google, don’t expect a Zoom call with them, right? Why don’t you have Google Meets downloaded on your phone or device? Or Hangouts, if that’s if that’s your preferred way. But, you know, when all said and done, make it easy for them to communicate with you. And what you’ll find is they’re just trying to update you on on status. Okay. Let’s move on.
What are good ways to, again, linked questions! What are good ways to hire people smarter than you? Another question I received was, should you hire people who are better or smarter than you? So let’s work with the assumption that a manager and their staff are different. I don’t think that’s an unreasonable assumption. But what you’re finding . . . sorry, I, I clicked on the wrong thing. So that’s good. Well, why is that so my apologies tries to get rid of that.
So if you’re hiring, your staff has a different job than you. You are not competing. You’re competing with other managers in your organizations. But now with people that you’re hiring, should you hire people smarter than you? I’m going to ask a slightly different question? Should you hire people who know more than you about a particular subject? Yes. Yes. Because that’s what you’re trying to hire them, you want them to do something for which they have an expertise.
Smarter than you? That’s not relevant. Capable in a particular area is relevant. So let’s get practical. What you want to do is fill a job because you’ve identified a need, that they have, and that you have, and that they’re capable of fulfilling. So let’s focus on getting them what, what you need them to do. Getting people with those skills, which are by definition better than you at this. And let’s move ahead. So should you do it ? By all means? And smarter isn’t the right thing to be looking for. Oh! Good ways to hire . . . let me restate the question. What are some good ways to hire people smarter than you?
Well, more knowledgeable than you are. You can find them on LinkedIn; you can find them on job boards. You can find them through referrals from people you know, who might know of people who know more than you in these areas. Ask for recommendations. Do what recruiters do. Ask for recommendations. And follow that train. Have your corporate HR do that. So as they’re talking with people, they might just simply say “we have multiple positions available. Is there anyone else you know, who might be qualified that we could also speak because we’re trying to hire two people?
Can I Walk Out on an Interview?
If that’s true. You don’t want to be lying to people all the time. So ask, because testimonials from others help you find people who are knowledgeable, especially from knowledgeable people, because they know what good is.
Next question. Can I ask for a raise six months after being written up? I was promised this raise before I was written up. You can do whatever you want. Just to be clear about this, you can do what ever you want, doesn’t mean that they’re going to give it to you. So let’s acknowledge that fact. It It doesn’t mean they’re going to give it to you. So in meeting with them, I’d start off by having them review your performance. “I know you’ve written me up. I know you weren’t happy. I want to make sure that you are happy; how am I doing? What do you see that I’m doing better? Where can I still improve?” Keep it to that. Or when you were written up, you were told particular things you need to improve upon. So let’s start off with “you know, I’ve been working very hard to please you, because you cited these four or five different things” or whatever the number is. “I want to make sure you’re seeing progress because I want you to be happy.” Start off with that.
Then you conclude the conversation with clarifying questions if they’re talking about, you know, continued improvement in some areas, or, thanking them for the acknowledgement that you made progress. And then from there, you can segue the conversation. If they’re happy with your work or not if you still need to improve some more.
But let’s assume that they are now happy because they scared the bejesus out of you. And now you can say to them, “before I joined, I was promised a raise. I understand why I haven’t gotten it yet. But I have improved. I’d like to see if you could stick by your word and give me that raise and then move on.”
Being a Real Leader on Job Interviews
“So they may say, “not quite yet. We need to see some consistency out of you,” or whatever excuse that they have. Don’t expect anything. But that’s the way to play it. Start with reviewing how they’re seeing your progress, if they are seeing your progress. If not, ask for clarification on what you can do better. But get their input first before asking for the raise
“Does it raise suspicion during an interview if you ask, how many sick days am I entitled to every year?” Suspicion’s the wrong word? I would say your first job should be to focus on making them fall in love. No love, no money, no hire, nothing. So focus on making them want to hire you. Once they make the offer, then you could say, could you give me a sense of the vacation policy, paid time off, and whatever other benefits are relevant? So about three or four different benefits?
Could you outline the benefits to me so I know them. You know, just the basics. “Are there specific extraordinary benefits” you might ask a little bit later on. I know I’ll talk with HR about this at the beginning of my employment, but it’s important. I need to make sure that benefits take care of my family adequately. So let’s just review those.” And they’ll focus on insurance.
And then from there, you’ll say, “and vacation policy?” And what about sick days and personal days and stuff. Just kind of be casual about the whole thing? And you’ll get that information. Just wait until they want to hire you because other than that, it’s a waste of your time and theirs. Can your potential employer contact your previous employer even if you checked “no” on the job history section of your application? In other words, can they check a reference without your permission?
The answer is legally, no, but try and prove it. After all, if they happen to know your boss, or someone else in the organization, they have the ability to call them up or send them a message and says, “I’m just curious. What do you think about Jeff?” That’s me, by the way. “What do you think about Jeff and his work?” And they can do this very casually?
“Why do you want to know?” “It’s not appropriate for me to talk about,” which lets you know that your manager now knows that you’re looking for a job and you’ve been interviewing.”
So should they do it? No. Legally in the United States, it’s not a legal thing to ask a former employer about you, or check a reference about you, legally, if you are going to be turned down. The rejection, or the reasons for the rejection should be communicated to you. I mean, back up for a second. If it’s on the basis of references, it should be communicated to you. And you’re entitled to get a summary of the information that adversely affected you so you can contest it. Try and prove it. Okay, let’s get real. I was gonna tell you they did a backdoor reference check because, frankly, they shouldn’t have done that. So they’re never gonna disclose it for you to know. So should it be done? No. Will it be done? Maybe, maybe, there’s no guarantee.
I don’t like my current job. But I can’t leave because I changed jobs seven times in recent years. It’ll create a bad impression on my resume. If I change again, what should I do?” Well, you can change jobs without changing jobs. Can you find something internal to your organization that’s going to be more pleasing to you? In other words, can you apply internally? Are there job postings, because your firm is large enough that they post jobs on the website, or they post them in appropriate places in their organization? And from that, you could apply for things. The new manager or the one that you’re trying to get in with may call your old one, or your current one and say, “I got a resume from so and so in your department. What do you think of them? That will happen. But expect your boss to come to you and say, “I don’t understand here. What is it? Why are you looking to leave and go to work for so and so?”
“Well, I didn’t know exactly who it was I’d be going to work for. So thank you for telling me. And the reason I’m doing it is I like working here. I just don’t like the work. So I’d like to try a different department.” You can try that and be very sincere and humble about it because you’re putting them in a bind. They need someone to do the job that you’re doing now. They hoped it was you. You don’t want it to be you and thus being clear cut with them and respectful just goes a long way toward keeping your reputation internally intact. Let’s move on.
“What do you do when a recruiter reaches you asks for your resume or CV and then disappears?” Well, you send them a message. You call them, you text them, you communicate with them, and say, “hey, you know, we spoke, you seemed interested, I sent a resume. Nothing? What’s going on?”
Now, they may still ghost you. But you’re trying to be gracious about the whole thing because if you’re not, it’s easy for them to hide from you and just never contact you. So be polite. Message them, ask the question as I did, and move ahead.
I’ve got two more questions to go. And I’ll just remind you, if you have a question about job search, hiring, better management leadership or need advice about a particular workplace issue, put that in the chat. This way I can answer your questions. Okay. Two more questions.
“Why do you think people are frequently afraid to negotiate a better job offer during an interview process?” So I need to translate that. And my translation says, “why are people afraid to negotiate a better salary while they’re negotiating their job offer?” Easy because they’re afraid. They’re afraid to do it because, what are they afraid of? They’re afraid of losing the offer. It’s that simple. They’re afraid of losing the offer, they’re afraid that they’ll be turned down with their request is another example of the craziness. But the long and the short of it is, they’re afraid because they don’t want to blow the offer, tell their friends and family that they overplayed their hand and they just want to move on.
“Career Lessons from Backup Players”
For now, the last question is, how do certifications get you hired? And the answer is pretty simple. What they do is a test certain knowledge in it from your experiences that’s quantifiable. And thus, what they show is that you have baseline knowledge of a particular area, a particular feel, a particular subject capability. And then from there, they, it’s a signal to the hiring manager that you’re capable. “Excellent” is a different thing. And they’re not talking about that. What they’re looking for is someone who has certain baseline skills you can perform are in our work environment. So that’s why it has value. It’s a testament to your perseverance. It’s a testament to baseline capabilities that you have.
[svp]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9AKZkojLdI[/svp]
ABOUT JEFF ALTMAN, THE BIG GAME HUNTER
Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter is a coach who worked as a recruiter for what seems like one hundred years. His work involves career coaching, as well as executive job search coaching, job coaching, and interview coaching. He is the host of “No BS Job Search Advice Radio,” the #1 podcast in iTunes for job search with over 2300 episodes.
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