Job Search Blog

The holidays are coming up. Don’t be fooled. Lots of hiring goes on then.

Candidates often tell us that there is little hiring done around the holidays…simply not true. December is traditionally one of our best months for placements. Companies are getting ready for a new year and have a need to hire.

If you really need to find job…I mean, r-e-a-l-l-y need to go to work, don’t go out of town for any of the holidays. The quickest way to turn off an employer or a recruiter is to get someone an interview the week of Thanksgiving or Christmas and to hear the candidate say, “Well, I’m going out of town for the holidays and can’t interview!”

We think, “Well, this candidates isn’t that motivated…not that serious about finding a job”. We have to work with candidates that are motivated…so tell your family that you will come visit after you find a job.

We have even experienced candidates getting higher starting salaries because the employers are in better “Christmas” moods during the holidays.

I had a candidate meet an employer at the airport one Christmas Eve to interview him while the employer was stopped over at the airport on his way home to another city. He got the job.

There are many types of different recruiters. Their relationship with the hiring authority or hiring company varies.  The types are:

• Retained/search consultants
• Contingency/search consultants
• Employment Agents
• Placers
• Contract Recruiters, Internal and External
• Internal Recruiters
• R. Staff Recruiters and Screeners
• Research Consultants
• Consulting Firms for Long Term Projects
• Management Consulting Firms that recruit as part of their offering
• Staffing Firms

RETAINED SEARCH CONSULTANT

If you are “tapped” by a retained search consultant, you need to know a few things.  The firm has an agreement with their client to be paid a portion of their fee when they “take on the assignment.”  The firm usually charges 33% to 35% of the salary or earnings projected for the candidate that is hired.  Usually one-third of the fee is paid as a “retainer” before the search begins, with another portion of it being paid at certain “milestones” during a search and the balance being paid when the search is completed.  These arrangements can vary, but the point is that the consulting firm has the commitment of the client because of the retainer that the client pays.

Our advantage to you: Since we have been retained in some way, we don’t have to worry about “if” we’re going to get our fee.  Our main concern is making sure that we fulfill our agreement and find the absolute best quality of candidates available for our clients.  In order to do this, we’re really going to know every aspect of the opportunity that we present to you.  We will have “interviewed” all professionals that have anything to do with the particular opportunity.  We will know just about every aspect of the job we have been commissioned to fill.  We will know the “history” of the job and most likely have had a working relationship with the organizations that we’re working for previously.

Usually we are specialists and experts in the particular type of person we are recruiting and the kind of firms we represent, we have an intimate knowledge of just about every aspect of the position we are going to fill.  We have done our homework and our clients have given us a very clear-cut idea about what they need.  We note the “ins and outs” of the job we’re filling, the company, people, both above and below the position as well as the strengths and weaknesses of the whole endeavor.

If we “tap” you, it is most likely that we “networked” to find you and we must feel that you are qualified to do the job we have been retained to fill.  We have reached out to a number of people like you and you may be one of many that we are approaching, because of our relationship with our Client; we have to find the absolute best group of candidates for the job.

We’re going to be able to provide you every bit of excellent information that you’re going to need in order to be a successful candidate for the job.  The strengths and weaknesses of the company, the opportunity, as well as your strengths and weaknesses relative to the “fit” are all part of our knowledge and expertise.

We may want to build somewhat of a relationship with you, especially if your expertise falls within our specialty and we might need you for one of our clients in the future.

Our disadvantage to you: We represent the company that retains us.  Our “loyalty” and interest in you personally and professionally is only valuable to us if it benefits our client.  We’re only going to “promote” you to the extent that it is good for our client. We will give you every bit of information that you need to perform well in the interviewing process, but again, only to the extent that is good for our client.  We’re not likely to present more than one opportunity at a time to you and will be as candid with you as we need to be to help our client. Our relationship with you may be fleeting.  Our interest in helping you is only in light of the value you would bring to our client now. Our first priority is our client, not your professional future.

How to deal with me: Don’t…I will share with you what you need to know and manage the process for you. Just pay attention.

CONTINGENCY SEARCH CONSULTANTS

This is probably the broadest range of recruiters there can be.  We’re paid on a contingent basis, i.e. we’re only paid when we’re successful in “causing” a candidate to be hired.  Some of us that have been doing it for a long period of time establish the same kind of relationship with our hiring authorities that many retained search firms do.  But, since we are paid on a contingent basis, there isn’t as much implied or practical loyalty to us as there is with a retained relationship.

The essence of what the contingency search consultant can do for you centers around the amount of experience they may have in the profession.  If we have been at it for a long period of time, we can know our clients and hiring authorities on a very detailed and long-term level.  In spite of this, however, our relationship is still “contingent” upon someone that we cause to get hired.  Even if we have successfully placed people with our hiring authorities before, their loyalty to us can change rather quickly depending on the “pain” of their need.

Our advantage to you: You may have to really qualify us by asking us lot of questions relative to the amount of experience that we have in the profession, the amount of experience we have in working with candidates like you and the experience that we might have with the hiring authorities that we are representing.  We may really know our hiring authority, his or her company and the position they’re trying to fill extremely well, especially if we have to either place the hiring authority there or worked with the organization before. Or, we may not know them very well at all, especially if we just started working with them.

Since we’re paid only upon our success, we’re dependent upon helping you or anyone else we represent to get the job.  Our sense of urgency is very high.  The perception that our hiring authorities and hiring companies have of us is only as good as the last candidate that we either cause to be hired or that we sent them.  We need to make you look as good as you possibly can and help you be the” best” candidate that the company can interview.

Our loyalty, and especially if we have been doing this for a long period of time, is equally balanced between the hiring organization and the candidates we represent.  Since the quality of candidates is the best representation we have to the companies that we work with, we have no greater allegiance to the hiring organization than we do to the candidate.

Since everything we do is contingent, we will try to get you as many opportunities to interview as we possibly can.  We want you to look good so that we look good.  We will share with you everything we know about the opportunity in order to make you the best candidate that they could interview.

Our disadvantage to you: Since we are contingency, the hiring authority may be working with other recruiters or other sources of candidates, internal recruiters, etc.  Although many of us that have been at it for a long period of time and are working exclusively with our hiring organizations, we’re never sure of that.

We will present as many qualified candidates as we possibly can to the hiring authority, so that the hiring authority has a choice.  Depending upon our relationship and the amount of experience that we have, our hiring authority may be influenced a great deal or very little by our “advice.”

In spite of what we may communicate about our relationship with our hiring organizations, we’re still a “hit and run” service.  When our hiring organizations need us, there is a great sense of urgency, they will respond to us quickly, see the best candidates that we can produce and, as long as we are providing good candidates for them, they will continue working with us.  However, their loyalty is only as good as the last candidate they either interviewed or hired. If you were being represented by the recruiter that was most or least successful, you may have a bit of an advantage.  

If we are inexperienced, we may be able to get you many interviews, but we may not be able to coach you and help you land the opportunity.

How to deal with me: Since I am a contingency type of recruiter, you may very well approach me about some of the opportunities that I may have for a candidate such as you.  If I’m really experienced and have been working in the contingency recruiting business for a long period of time, I may have the same kind of relationship with my clients as the retained search firms do but may also take you as a candidate and “market” you and your experience to a lot of the organizations that I might know.  Many times, if I’m experienced, past hiring organizations will interview you simply because I recommend that they do so.  You can get a lot of interviews that way.

If I’m experienced, together, we will be able to give you just about every advantage you need in order to sell yourself.  I’m going to share with you every bit of information that I have and help you deal with every strength and weakness you might have in the interviewing process.  You need to be honest and forthright with me about everything so that both of us can sell you to the hiring authority and have you be the “best” candidate.

You need to know that I am presenting as many candidates as I possibly can, as fast as I can, to the hiring authority because I am not paid unless I am successful at causing someone to be hired.  You need to help me help you and I will tell you as much as I can to help you get the job.  But, realize that my fee is earned by providing a number of qualified candidates to the employer so that he may choose the one that he thinks best fits his job.  My fee is assessed by a successful hire; but it is earned by providing as many qualified candidates as I possibly can to the hiring authority.

If I am relatively inexperienced, I still might be able to get you interviews, but I may not be able to help you as much as you might be able to help yourself.  The way to assess how much help on “getting you the interview” is that you might need to ask me a number of questions:

If I get you an interview, you need to know and ask me:

• How long have you been working as a recruiter?
• How long have you worked with this company?
• How many times have you worked with this hiring authority?
• Have you worked with this company before?
• How do you think I should best sell myself to this organization?
• Tell me everything I need to know about the job…. the person doing the interviewing…

everything (If I can’t give you a lot of information,  you may not be able to interview successfully. You may wind up having to do your own research and your own

due diligence. If you follow the prescriptions of this program you should have no problem.)

Depending upon the amount of experience that I have and any information that I’m able to provide, you are going to know how much I can help you.  You may end up getting a lot of help in the interviewing process from me and you may not. Don’t be upset if my limited experience doesn’t help you as much as you would like.  If all I can do is get you interviews, it is likely better than you can do for yourself.  Any interviews you get over and above your own efforts are to your advantage.

NEXT WEEK: …other types of recruiters

I hear this every single day. It’s usually followed by, “Look Tony, a ‘professional’ (salesperson, accountant, engineer, professional, ‘whatever they need’) is a professional (salesperson, accountant, engineer, professional, ‘whatever they need’) and I can do it. Just get me the interview!” Every candidate just absolutely knows they can do just about any job opportunity I have if they just get the chance to get the interview. This is especially true the longer the person goes without a job.

I suspect that 50% of the candidates we see can probably do 50% of the jobs we see. That might be a bit of an exaggeration, but probably isn’t too far off. I’m convinced that lots of people could probably do lots of the jobs that we have…if they got the chance. And I tell people, “If it’s your father-in-law, cousin, brother, relative, close friend, etc., you may get the chance to do the job.” But, when it comes to comparing an individual’s experience to other individuals’ experience, getting a job is a totally different issue.

Most people see their ability to perform a job in the light of their own experience and ability. Now unless it’s a ridiculous comparison like a salesperson becoming an accountant, most people think that no matter what they’ve sold, they could sell just about anything… No matter what kind of accounting they’ve done, they can account for just about anything… No matter what kind of ‘whatever’ they’ve been, they can probably do just about ‘whatever.’

I know that, often, these people are desperate to find a job and really need to go to work and they can’t understand why they don’t even get a shot at some of the opportunities. This is especially true when they want to blame me, or any recruiter, for not getting them the interview that they know they can “nail” even without the exact experience that a hiring authority likes to find. They compare themselves to themselves, regardless of the other candidates that might be available.

The problem is that a hiring authority is trying to find the best qualified candidate who is the least risk. He or she is going to try to find the best experience they can that most closely aligns with the job they want done. They are not interested in “potential.” They are interested in a proven track record in what they do so they can be sure that whatever they want done, gets done as quickly and efficiently as possible.

On top of this, the hiring authority is being evaluated based on who they hire. Think of the risk a hiring authority runs in the image of themselves they portray if they hire, say, a salesperson to do an accounting job. Even if the salesperson was a great accountant, when they haven’t recently been doing accounting and they make an even minor, let alone gross accounting mistake, someone is going to ask the hiring authority why they hired that person to do the job. Imagine what an accounting manager is going to feel like when somebody asked him why, after his new hire fails, he hired a salesperson to do an accounting job. He’s going to look like a fool.

It would be like hiring Clayton Kershaw to play football. He’s a tremendous athlete but his track record is in baseball, not football. Now Clayton could sit there all he wants and say, “But I’m a good athlete, and I just know I can play football,” but when he doesn’t perform very well, somebody’s going to ask, “Why did you hire a baseball player to play football?” And the hiring authority is going to have a very hard time answering that question. There’s really no excuse he can give other than saying, “Well, I thought since he was a good athlete he could do the job.”

When companies go to hire, they try to hire the candidate with the most qualified experience that will indicate that the candidate is going to be successful. If an accounting manager has plenty of accountants to choose from (with documentable track records in what they do) there is no reason for him or her to hire a salesperson even if the salesperson can convince them that they are the best accountant that ever came along. This salesperson has absolutely no documentable experience as an accountant even if he or she could do the work. The hiring authority would look foolish hiring a salesperson when accountants are available.

The challenge that candidates have, for the most part, is that they don’t comprehend the vast numbers of candidates in just about every discipline and category that are available to most any hiring authority. If these companies want a candidate with one blue eye and one green eye, if they wait long enough, they can find him or her.

Remember, hiring is a comparative issue. Companies, and the people in them, want to hire the most qualified, experienced candidate they can with as little “risk” as possible.

In all the years of doing this, I’m absolutely certain that luck plays a role in the difference between finding a job, a really good job and finding just a job. Problem is that I can’t tell you what percentage of each job search is luck and how much of it is skill. It is certainly not luck, for instance, when you work real hard to get an interview with a particular company, but when the person doing the interviewing went to the same college you did and you have some people in common, that’s lucky. It certainly isn’t just luck when you get laid off and then decide to take a trip to visit your family and on the airplane sit next to an executive with the company who agrees to interview you for an opening that just came up for someone with exactly your skills.

Going to work for a company right before it hits its stride and moves up into the big time is just plain lucky. Working with people who move on in their career and call you three or four years later to join them is a bit of luck. I mentioned in the Ted talk that I gave about how people who really love their jobs reframe stories of the things that happened to them during their lives with stories of good luck. And most often those things that don’t begin to look like good fortune turned out to be just that.

I’m really not sure if I’ll ever quite understand. It may not be understandable. I’m well aware of the clichés that are written about luck… “The harder you work the luckier you get”…”When it comes to luck, you make your own”…”Shallow men believe in luck. Strong men believe in cause-and-effect.” Well, these can go on and on. But the truth is there are happenings in all of our lives, especially our job searches, that are just plain lucky.

The overall important thing is to be prepared for “luck.” We need to be ready to execute at our best when we get “lucky.” Luck, more often than not, becomes a disaster if we aren’t prepared when the lucky time comes. So, being prepared, being ready to perform, is absolute.

The second thing I noticed about luck is that the opportunity for it has to be repeated more and more and more and more often. An individual simply has to show up more often than other people do in order to get lucky. If they are prepared, they’ll know what to do when they get there. Lucky people show up a lot, work their butts off and totally ignore “striking out.” They just keep trying again.

Lucky people act and expect to be lucky and they are.

I have known Joseph for more than 20 years. He is a software sales guy and, looking back, I placed him twice in the 20 year period. Being in the software business and being 63 years old, he’s had a really hard time finding a job in software. Unfortunately (nobody admits this) the hiring authorities mostly choose younger kids. But I got to give Joseph credit for the years of determination. There is no doubt that he has been a great sales guy for some really great companies. But the past few years have been tough.

So, Joseph calls me up a week or two ago and says, “Tony, a number of years ago, I very successfully sold staff augmentation services. I was really good at it. Call a number of those people and tell them all go to work for a $45,000 or $50,000 base salary plus commission. I know it’ll probably be a far cry from the $220,000 earnings that I’ve had before in software, but I need a job and over time I can take that kind of money selling IT staffing.”

So, I went to work. I called 10 IT staffing firms that I’ve done business with before. I was pretty blunt with them about the deal Joseph was willing to make with them. It’s really interesting, that profession is predominantly represented by millennial’s with a few gen Y’s. After nine rather polite “no’s” one outfit thought it might be a great idea.

Joseph’s energy, determination, passion and commitment came through. The company hired him at $70,000 salary plus commission. They are thrilled and I guarantee you Joseph is going to be a tremendous addition to their sales organization.

I was blessed to have made four placements this week. One of them, I had been working on for two months which had died and come back life at least three different times. But none of them were as gratifying as Joseph’s getting that job. In fact I don’t think any of the placements I’ve made in the last number of months have been as gratifying as Joseph’s success.

There are literally hundreds of software and high tech sales guys who I have literally “grown up” with over the years. The majority of them are between Joseph’s age and older. The vast majority of them are complaining all the time about how their age is “against” them. It doesn’t do one damn bit a good and it gets them absolutely nowhere. There’s a great deal of them that have been unemployed for more than a year, some more than two years.

Joseph should make us all proud. He’s a really good guy. He makes a great presentation of himself, is personable and people like buying from him. I have to admit that it was his idea for me to call the staffing firms. It did take 10 of them before I found one that would listen. They got a great employee who will make them a lot of money.

If everyone Joseph’s age who can’t find a job thinking it’s because of their age, took Joseph’s attitude and approach, I wouldn’t get the complaints I do.

Good job Joseph!

There are 325 million people in the United States. 95 million of them are not in the labor force. 88 million of these people don’t want a job…38 million of these say they are retired, 16 million are ill or disabled, 16 million say they are students, 18 million have simply dropped out of the work force. The number of officially unemployed people who say they’re actually looking for a job is 7.1 million. Consider:

• There are more welfare recipients and full-time workers in the United States
• One in seven people in the United States receive food stamps
• One in 20 Americans receive disability
• 12% of all prime aged men (25 years old to 54 years old) are not looking for a job
• Between 2000 and late 2007 per capita GDP growth averaged less than 1.5% per year
• The adult work rate in America is barely above at its lowest level in 30 years
• For every 1 male between the ages of 25 and 54 working there are 3 that are not

And some of the most prominent reasons for this malaise:

Entitlements pay more than the job. Between unemployment insurance, disability insurance and food stamps, it’s more economical to collect entitlements than it is to find a job. One study reported that a family of four, collecting all the benefits for which they are entitled could earn his much is $65,000 per annum. There are more people participating in at least one of the 15 food programs offered by the Department of Agriculture and there are fully employed in the United States.

The affordable care act has a perverse twist affecting the labor market. Means tested subsidies phase out as incomes rise. Some people will choose to stay poor or accept a lesser job and they might be capable of or get out of the workforce completely to keep insurance. Changes to the affordable care act that President Trump has recently made may, thankfully, change this.

There’s also an “attitude” of entitlement that there “ought to be a job for anyone who wants one and they are to be easy to get.” This attitude causes people to think that the job should come to them. Most people think that “looking for a job” is simply emailing resumes. Most people don’t really work very hard at getting a job.

People don’t want to take a pay cut. Salaries have still never reached levels that they were in 2007 and 2008. Most people have an idea that their earnings should increase every year. Even after long stints of unemployment these people will claim, “I really don’t want to take a step back moneywise.” Once they pass up one or two opportunities, they rarely come to their senses. Instead of taking any good salary they can get a think, “well I passed up to opportunities with less money than I was making so I should stick to my guns and wait for something better.” And something better doesn’t come along for even years.

People don’t like a company’s reputation. Many surveys find that Americans would not take a job with a company that had a bad reputation even if they were unemployed. This is crazy! These same people state that they would change their mind if they receive a 50% plus increase in their previous pay. (It appears that a bad reputation is relative to the money that people are getting paid…go figure!)

I’m not sure I really know what a “bad reputation” means. Unless a firm operates in illegal or immoral business job with the company who has less than a stellar “reputation” is better than no job. And some of these reputations are interpreted from comments made on Glassdoor. It’s despicable that people would believe what might be written anonymously. I don’t have a problem with anything anybody might say about any company as long as they put their name on it. But for people to make decisions about anonymous comments is absurd.

Those in motion tend to stay in motion. Those at rest tend to stay at rest. The longer people go out of work the easier it is to stay out of work. It’s just that simple. This is one of the reasons that taking “massive action” to get a job is so important.

Most people submit resumes online and when they don’t get an answer they give up. These people don’t really know what to do to get a job. The odds of getting a job by sending a resume are 1 in 375 to 400. When you ask people what they’re doing to get a job beyond sending a resume their description is very sketchy. The key is to develop a systematic approach to finding a job. It takes a lot of work! A whole lot of work!

Even when their resume might be perfect for the job, the people who receive it, most of the time, the human resources department is understaffed and overwhelmed. There are 200 resumes submitted for every job and I venture to guess that less than half of them even get scanned let alone read.

The cost of childcare is staggering. In some states cost of childcare is the greatest expense that a family experiences, outweighing food and housing. The largest demographic hit is single mothers. The national Institute of health says that for low income single mothers with young children, child care challenges can be is significant barrier to employment.

The commute is too long. In a recent poll 75% of 584 people said they turned down a job because it was “too long of a commute.”

Maintaining their place in the benefits system is a full-time job. Government benefit programs have strict rules about those receiving benefits. Many people spend the majority of their time staying within those parameters. They know that if the rules are broken they could lose their aid. Government offices are packed every day all day long in this country. The Department of Labor, the Social Security Administration, admission offices for public hospitals in most programs like this have hours upon hours of wait time. The required appointments and the filling out of paperwork, qualifying and requalifying for unemployment, Social Security insurance, disability, food assistance programs are absolutely daunting. It’s very hard to look for a job when a person is faced with these issues. There’s really not enough time in the day.

People out of work for a long period of time feel stigmatized. If a candidate has been out of work for six months or more, they feel marginalized. The truth is, they are. Employers will often pass any candidate up who has been out of work for a long period of time. There are just too many other candidates to choose from. A candidate out of work that long appears to be a risk. And that is just one less risk they might have to deal with in considering another candidate who appears to be either employed or recently unemployed.

There are very few simple answers to all of the reasons that so many people are out of work. Repealing or even streamlining entitlements would be a great start. Teaching people all of the activities that it takes to find a job would be another step in the right direction. Holding people accountable for taking massive action with those activities would be another valuable tool. Many of these solutions will be difficult and take a long time to institute.

i got an interview for one of my candidates that i have known for a number of years…he is very picky and the kind of job he needs is very hard to find..

when i told him about the interiew, he started giving me this stuff about..”well, i know them…i wouldn’t work there…they know me…i don’t want to go…i don’t think they can afford me..it doesn’t sound right” blah..blah..blah…

i threatened him that if he didn’t go, i wouldn’t get him any more interviews…i shared with him that he is a pain in the butt and that he needs to go on any interview he can, because he is hard to place and kind of people that would hire him are very hard to find…

he went…

he starts work for these guys monday…$155,000 salary plus commission that will put him at $300,000 the first year… a $20,000 HIGHER base than he was making..

LESSON: ..go on every interview you can get…you really don’t know “them” like you think you do…what a job “sounds” like has nothing to do with reality… don’t make a $155,000 mistake

This is the psychological term and condition that causes a person to believe that they are at less of a risk of experiencing a bad outcome than most, and more likely to believe that they are luckier than most to have a positive outcome. This bias shows up in all kinds of issues. For instance, most smokers believe they are a lot less likely to get cancer from smoking than other smokers. The vast majority of drivers think that they are in the top 20% of quality drivers. Most people think they’re less likely to be crime victims than they really are.

This is relevant to job seekers because 90%  of the job seekers I have interviewed since 1973…over 26,000 of them…and 60% of them were employed…all thought it was gonna be a lot easier to find a job than it was and is… and all began their job search thinking and saying, “This is gonna be easy…never had a problem before…everyone needs a great employee like me…look at all of the promotions I have had…look how great my track record has been…my neighbor (cousin, brother, etc.) got a job real easily, and he is a jerk, so this will be easy…” then they often follow it up with, “…so I took a few weeks…months…off  ’cause I hadn’t had a real vacation in a while…”

Then they start looking for a job or doing some minor efforts toward that and find out that the market is very difficult, more difficult than they even imagined. Reality sets in and they realized that they should have started a full-court press in looking for a job two or three months earlier.

Another form of this optimism bias has to do with people’s attitude towards interviewing. I hear   this a number of times every week, “Tony, just get me in front of them, I’ll nail the interview… I’m really good at it.” Anytime a candidate tells me that, I’m worried. Interviewing is a difficult thing to do. Very few people do it well naturally without a lot of practice. After a few big time rejections, humility and reality normally set in.

Optimism bias in the job search can manifest itself in many other ways and all of them are treacherous to the job seeker. The best way to avoid optimism bias is to approach looking for a job with absolutely no expectations, a slight bit of paranoia and the realization that it is going to be hard and the job seeker has to start working at their job search immediately. I’ve seen six recessions come and go and I assure you the job market is never quite the same every time. A job seeker can’t confuse the last time he or she changed jobs with today’s market.

Rather than being “optimistic,” I suggest a job seeker should be “hopeful” and then work like hell by working a systematic process like I teach.