interbiznet.com                           S P O N S O R S       LIST OF TECHNICAL RECRUITERS LIST OF EXECUTIVE SEARCH FIRMS   RECRUITERS EXECUTIVE      SEARCH FIRMS	1ST STEPS IN THE HUNT   - An online column for the online candidate | Resources | Bugler | The Blogs | Advertise with Us | Trends | Procrastination October 1, 1999 All of us have lengthy to do lists, though some of us are fortunate enough to have the ability to keep track of them without the use of little scraps of paper that have the tendency to hide themselves at inappropriate moments. One of the Joys for me and my colleagues during the work day occurs after finishing a project when we get to cross off one of those tasks that has been lingering overlong on our to do lists. And some weeks it seems like the list grows ever longer, with some tasks getting pushed into the 'next week's list' that never really gets done. Why do we put things off? Are we all just overworked to the point that it is impractical to expect us to finish the volume of work that is assigned to us? While true in some cases, it is much more likely that we procrastinate doing some tasks for reasons that may not be entirely clear to us. Overcoming procrastination, our default programming, involves analyzing why it happens to us in the first place. The most common reasons involve the following issues: Control - Economic conditions often cause Employees to lose control of their work product. As colleagues are laid off, their workload is shifted to the remaining workforce. If you are put into a position where you are assigned additional tasks that you give a low priority to, then a likely outcome is that you will subconsciously shift them into the 'disappearing list file'. Feeling yourself cut out from the end result of a project after investing considerable time on the front end often leads to the desire to stall your team's delivery of completed tasks. Fear - Whether it is an obvious panic-driven, sweat producing fear, or a well hidden, deep seated anxiety, all of us have some work related tasks that we take great pains to avoid. One common one is the fear of public speaking. This fear leads to poor presentations to both colleagues and supervisors, and encourages pain avoidance, whereby we postpone tasks that cause us discomfort rather than tackling them head on. The fear that we won't be able to secure another position often traps us into a position that has evolved into something we don't really like - and the resentment that builds justifies 'letting things slide'. Habit - Humans are creatures of habit. We follow the path of least resistance and tend to do things today the same way we did them yesterday. Thinking requires energy, and most of us don't want to use any excess energy at work. While creative problem solving can be a fun and necessary diversion at work, few Employees care to do something so intensive all the time. The 'rut' we're in at work may give us cause to complain, but it does have the comfortable fit of an old pair of shoes. Some of our procrastinating ways are ingrained from years of completing school projects at the last minute after all-nighters. -Mark Poppen News Flashes September 30, 1999 The Electronic Recruiting Daily is a great source for news briefs from the other side of the Jobhunting fence. Getting a fix on how people in the staffing industry look at the world can be instrumental in learning the Jobhunting ropes. Some of the news stories are even funny, though probably not by design. A recent bulletin notes that Unemployment claims have fallen to a twenty-five year low. Economists were caught by surprise and quickly attributed the drop to Hurricane Floyd. Which raises the sample test question on some future SAT, "Tornados are to people living in trailer parks as Hurricanes are to the ?" (Unemployed). Or perhaps Employment Security offices throughout the Eastern seaboard were closed down by the storm so fewer claims were filed, despite the huge losses experienced by both businesses and residents of the area. Then again maybe all those businesses shut down or destroyed by the storm profited so heavily from Federal Assistance that they went on hiring binges, thereby forcing Unemployment claims to fall. These are probably the same numbskull Economists that think an 'official' Unemployment rate of 4% really means Full Employment. If they can't even understand simple equations like 4 is not equal to 0, then I suppose they shouldn't be expected to figure out that devastating natural events have the immediate effect of destroying work conditions and putting people out of work. Another mind-bender comes from the Drugstore chain Rite-Aid. They laid off 330 people and expect to have savings of over $31.5 million. I never would have guessed that a low wage Employer like Rite-Aid could save $100,000 per Employee just by firing them. It begs the question of whether US Companies might be better off firing ALL their Employees - thereby reaping billions of dollars in savings. Why pay people to work and produce products and service when you can make more by making less, and make the most by firing everybody and making nothing at all? These stories can range from amusing to frustrating, all the way up to dangerously rose-colored. But knowing how your evaluators think and where they go for the news that shapes their opinions helps you keep the edge, and allows you to anticipate what Hiring Managers concerns might be. And that is one of the First Steps toward alleviating those fears. -Mark Poppen Acquisition Costs September 29, 1999 "The best way to get a Job is through your connections at the Job you already have." You've heard this dozens of times before, but it's worth thinking about why it's true. It has to do with the nature of work, which is grounded in the relationship between Employer and Employee. And this working relationship is based on Trust. Employees are entrusting you with the very survival of their company. As an Employee you are all that stands between customers (acquired at considerable cost) and their first (and lasting) impression of the company. Employees that don't treat customers with respect and in a competent manner are less than an asset - they are a liability. Employers will be counting on you to show up on time, open their stores, total the receipts, protect company assets (both physical and proprietary), and lock everything up at night. More importantly, Employees are the human face of the company. Their attitude towards customers can make or break profits and the company, as well. For every $10 spent on getting new customers it only costs $1 to get a current customer to buy again. Despite the billions of dollars spent on branding and name recognition (and marginal differences in quality), customers return to buy again because they felt welcomed on their original visit. We prefer to deal with someone we already know. The first time you meet someone you have to 'break the ice.' Afterwards you have the right to impose because you've been properly introduced. In effect, you have an accepted social 'relationship'. And this is a very valuable commodity. Through our network of contacts at work we habitually impose ourselves on people we've never met, establishing relationships. These acquaintances all have their own network of relationships that you can tap into when you're looking for a Job. The same 10-1 ratio applies - it will take only one-tenth the effort to get referenced in to the person with the authority to hire you if you use the relationships you've already created rather than continually starting from scratch, expecting people who don't know you to help. Sometimes you need to take less than your 'Dream Job' to build the relationships and experiences necessary to work your connections to their fullest extent. -Mark Poppen Don'ts Part 2 September 28, 1999 More practices to recognize and avoid to become a successful Jobhunter. Don't sell a bogus set of goods. Your new Employer is buying your skill set as a product. If you can't do the Job you said you could, no one it going to be happy about it. Unless you're desperate for a paycheck, avoid creating a situation destined for misery. It could damage your career, affect your references, and stunt your network of contacts. Trust is a commodity that is difficult to acquire and easy to lose. Don't fail to bargain in good faith. If you are at the negotiation stage with a prospective Employer, don't continually nitpick for bigger and better perks. You need a solid working relationship built on trust, and if either one of you leaves the conclusion of the bargaining process with a bad taste in their mouth there'll be a black day in someone's future. Paybacks are a bitch. Corollary to this rule: Trust but verify agreements with Employers. Ask politely, professionally, and firmly that agreements be written up somehow, even if only as a memorandum. Talk to current Employees to see what kind of track record your Supervisor has in keeping their promises. Don't be a Jobbegger. Too often we approach Employers with the unspoken words on our lips, "Please give me this Job!" Employers hire those people that appear able to solve their current (and projected) problems. Your company research should have given you some insight into what the company's problems are, and you should be posturing yourself as the answer to some of these problems. The maxim is "Ask not what Job your Employer can give to you, but what problem you will be allowed to solve." Don't whine or complain about previous Employers. Any Employer that hears you complaining will immediately think, "Is this how they're going to talk about me at their next Job?" It puts them on the defensive, which is not where you want them. The classic management model describes the 'problem Employee' and how to deal with them. One of the primary duties of the Hiring Manager is to be on the lookout for Jobhunters who might turn into the dreaded 'problem Employee' and show them the door, asap. -Mark Poppen Jobhunting Don'ts September 27, 1999 To succeed as a Jobhunter means getting the Job you want. Here are some things to avoid. Don't use clichés. Avoid telltale Jobhunting phrases like "I'm a dynamic self starter, eager to grow with the company", or "I love new challenges - the more work I'm handed, the better I feel!" Hiring Managers struggle to stay awake while reading this crap in resumes; don't strain their credulity further by forcing them to endure similar BS during the Interview. Don't put all your energy into the Resume. Most people earn their Jobs by working their network of contacts, through referrals, or by some combination thereof. Concentrating on your resume while avoiding the tougher tasks of talking to and building your network, or calling the peoples who can hire you directly is a grave error committed all too often. This is the Jobhunter's slippery slope, and the path that requires the most resistance. Don't build a generalized resume that targets lots of Job titles. Best Practice: Each Job should have a resume tailored to it, increasing your odds of surviving the initial screening, leading to an Interview. Acceptable Practice: Each core group of similar Job titles has its own resume. Don't put all your energies into one method of Jobhunting, or target just one Job. Even under the best of circumstances the odds are against you getting this job. Pursue several possibilities simultaneously - your goal should be getting a number of offers that you can choose from. Jobhunters that pursue only their 'dream' Job are unduly devastated when they don't get it. More than likely there is a whole category of Jobs that you would not only be thrilled to get, but you would thrive in. Don't lose you focus. This is the flip side of the advice above, and clearly appears to be contradictory. Welcome to the wonderful world of career advice! Determine what skills you have, and how they relate to what you want to do. While Jobhunting we tend to get caught up in the process of just getting something, anything, completed. This is not always the same thing as moving toward a somewhat fixed goal that accurately reflects who we are and who we want to be. -Mark Poppen	Navigating interbiznet.com                 LISTS: Technical Recruiters Search Firms Company Job Sites Associations RESOURCES: The Bugler      - Industry News Recruiter's Toolkit Top 100 E-Recruiters      - 1999 Top 100      - 1997 Top 100      - 1996 Top 25 E Recruiting News 1st Steps in the Hunt Job Hunter's Archives Last Week On 1st Steps September 26, 1999      - Behavioral Interviews      - Taking The Plunge      - Angry At Work      - Relationships      - Self Confidence Stocks We Watch: Public Companies in Electronic Recruiting       Search Millions of Jobs Category Accounting / Finance Admin / Clerical Advertising / Media Aerospace Auto Tech / Mechanic Banking Biotech / Pharma Business Opptys Call Center / Cust Svc Career Fairs Construction: Skilled Construction: Mgmt Consulting Diversity Driver Education / Teaching Employee Benefits Engineering Enviro / Health / Safety Event Personnel Executive Exercise / Fitness Fashion / Modeling Healthcare: All Healthcare: Allied Healthcare: Nurse Healthcare: Physician Healthcare: Other Hospitality Hourly Jobs Human Resources Insurance IT / Software / Systems Law Enforcement Legal Logistics / Transportation Manufacturing Merchandising Military Military Transitioning Mortgage / Real Estate Part Time Jobs Pharmacist Retail: All Retail: Hourly Retail: Management Sales / Marketing Seasonal Jobs Securities / Investment Security Social Services Sports / Recreation Systems / IT / Software Tax Specialists Telecom Transportation / Logistics Truck Driver Wireless / Mobile Work From Home City State -------Select One------- Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Job Title Keywords
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