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1ST STEPS IN THE HUNT
- An online column for the online candidate
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Net Research
November 19, 1999
The Net is a tool.
For Jobhunters, what is the best use for this particular tool right now?
Researching your target companies.
While I'd love to say that you can quickly and efficiently look up whatever information you need on the Net, it doesn't always work that way. Sometimes the information you want is not available either on or off the Net. Other times it is not indexed in a way that search engines can easily locate it. And sometimes the information you want has not yet been transformed from its present incarnation as a wood byproduct into electronic impulses.
And you should be very familiar with Internet searches that look more like a wild goose chase than a Sherlock Holmes investigation. You can get lost (or sidetracked) easily, and some of the links you pull up sure don't seem to have anything to do with your search terms. There are a few sites that can be a big help in researching these companies - like Big Yellow, 411, and InfoUSA.
Big Yellowuses phone directories as it's primary database, which covers almost all companies and a wide range of people throughout most industrialized countries. You can search for email addresses and by topic as well. This is one of the first places that many people start their search for company information. The list of Top 300 business categories helps pinpoint where you might begin.
411 is part of Yahoo!, and searches for names and email addresses that you input. As one of the largest search engines Yahoo! gives you access to hundreds of millions of people and businesses. It also uses telephone directories as one of its main sources of data.
InfoUSA has bundled lots of useful links into topics on starting and managing a business, conducting marketing, sales, etc. Its nationwide directory assistance includes searches for company name, individual name, and the very useful reverse lookup. The only problem here is that you might forget that you are looking for info on a target company and start researching a few things for your own business (someday!).
As usual, these are only the tip of the information iceberg. On the Net there is always more than one way to skin a cat.
Holiday Help
November 18, 1999
If you really need to earn some fast money, now is a great time to look into working retail over the Holiday season.
Several months of low Unemployment rates and a dearth of Job candidates have forced large retailing businesses to up their typical ante to new Employees. Retailers are tripping over themselves to make customer service, sales, and clerical positions as attractive as possible to potential Job applicants. Wages that have hovered historically just above minimum wage are now almost double that amount, especially in the larger Job markets.
Stories from malls across the country indicate the desperation that Retailers are feeling. Store managers are stealing Employees from one another, often from stores only a few feet away. Sometimes the lure is a better position, in management, perhaps. Other times the offer is steeper than usual Employee discounts on Company products. But the carrot of choice is substantially higher wages.
Necessity is the Mother of Invention, so clever Retailers are offering combinations of goodies to their Holiday help. They need more temporary workers than they have scheduled for the next four to six weeks. This is their peak season, where they typically turn over huge volumes of goods and services to guarantee Corporate profits for the year. Many managers rise or fall based on their Seasonal sales numbers, so the eagerness on their face while they watch you fill out an application is not just a false front.
They really need you, and a few others just like you.
As a prospective Employee you can hardly be in a better position. While you won't get Holidays off, you can negotiate a better wage, flexible hours, management opportunities, and faster promotions. You don't have to settle for slogans like, "It's a fun place to work!" "All the Coffee you can Drink!" or "Employee Discounts Available".
You're in a bull labor market - if they want you, they'll pay what the market will bear.
Ask Nick
November 17, 1999
For Jobhunting advice, few people buck the popular trend the way Nick Corcodilos does. His Ask The Headhuntercolumn, online since early 1995 (at Motley Fool's Career Site) should be required reading after you have spent several days poring over the standard help texts for Jobhunters.
Nick was a headhunter, not a career counselor or HR rep, and he thinks that this makes all the difference in the world in terms of their respective perspectives, both short and long term. Because the success and failure of a headhunter is dependent on their ability to closely match an Employer's needs with a Jobhunter's skills, Nick thinks headhunters have a clearer, reality tested vision of what Employers are seeking during an Interview.
Nick thinks that career counselors (and associated field workers) don't fully understand what Employers are really looking for in Job candidates. Employers don't want more workers, they want more work done. They are willing to hire more workers, or different ones, if the new Job candidates can demonstrate how they will reduce costs and increase profits. Employers are looking for solutions (Not Job applicants) - do you have any for them? And not at some later date, but right now, from the first time you make your presence felt to them.
Not all of Nick's advice runs counter to the general theme of Jobhunting strategy. For example, he recommends being blunt by simply asking for the Job at the end of the Interview. He also parallels other colleagues by suggesting that you know your skills, the industries and companies that need those skills, and contact the managers that need your specific skills to solve problems you've identified at their companies. His advice to immerse yourself in the company of your target site's customers, vendors, employees, managers, professional associates, and competitors is sound.
What sets Nick apart are his recommendations for Resumes and the Interview. The
Interview should be hands on whenever possible, allowing the Jobhunter to demonstrate problem-solving skills in a work-like environment. Tell the Interviewer in advance that you'd like to actually perform a portion of the Job during the Interview, and then ask them to review your work in the same way they would if you were working there.Go Nick's website for a more thorough review of these topics - I bet you'll appreciate his fresh approach to seizing a Job as much as I did.
TidBits
November 16, 1999
How does your current Job, last Job, or prospective Job compare to a survey of over 6000 large companies? A little research into what someone with your qualifications (education/experience) earns is only part of the entire benefits package. Healthcare, paid vacation time, and items on the list below are all factors to be considered.
9 National/State holidays/year
9 Sick days/year
87% of Companies pay for Job related tuition
75% offer short-term disability plans
Portfolios Update
Last week I wrote about supplementing resumes with more detailed examples of your work product, specifically in the form of portfolios. Recruiters and HR personnel are beginning to use available software tools to move beyond the inherent limitations of resumes. One program combines software for attracting Job candidates to the Corporate website, screens them based on their ability to navigate through the site (with games, tests, etc.), and assists them in constructing a personal portfolio.
One of the software producers,World.hire, has sold a number of companies (IBM, for one) on the concept. Their goal is to reduce the lag time in recruiting between seeking and getting resumes, inputting the data into appropriate fields, selecting the Interviewees, and finally choosing the Job Candidate. Another company on the forefront of candidate screening is Teckchek. They developed and administer more than 100 PC based exams that are given online. As you successfully complete stages of a test, you advance until your precise level of proficiency is determined. Results are posted to a password protected website.
Top Five Explanations for why you DIDN'T come in to Work.
I just found out that I was switched at birth. Legally, I shouldn't come in to work knowing my employee records may now contain false information.
I prefer to remain an enigma.
I can't come to work today because the EPA has determined that my house is completely surrounded by wetlands and I have to arrange for helicopter transportation.
I am extremely sensitive to a rise in the interest rates.
I'm feeling a little disgruntled this morning. You sure I should come in?
Cookie Jar
November 15, 1999
You know the old saying, "Don't get caught with your hand in the Cookie Jar?" Well, this adage has special relevance when it comes to time to jump ship from one company to the next greener pasture. If you are like the average Joe (or Jolene), you use your Employer's computer for what has to be classified as non-work related tasks, at least for part of the time you are 'on the clock'.
You send personal email, surf the net for amusing and entertaining sites, and your computer is kind enough to document these activities in ways that are difficult to permanently erase. Windows has several redundancy features built into it that makes it difficult to eradicate every bit of data you've managed to stuff into your computer over the last year or so. Before you finish cleaning out your desk, and before you inform your boss that you'll soon be moving on, there are some other things you need to do.
Clear out all your bookmarks. Look for all the Cookies that you've accumulated to date, and delete them. Are there any cache files that are 'temporarily' storing some of this information? They need to be deleted as well. Spend some time looking through your word processor directories for personal, embarrassing, even incriminating files. Delete them. Generally wipe everything off your computer's hard drive, including the Windows Directory. Reinstall whatever programs are necessary.
If these files are simply personal ones that you'd rather not have exposed to current colleagues, supervisors, or the next body at your desktop, then deleting them is probably sufficient. If they are potentially more serious (like you're taking some of your Company's clients with you), then deleting the files may be only a first step. You may have to shred the files, using a mainstream File Shredder. Simply deleting files and reformatting the hard drive is no guarantee that the data you thought was gone for good won't appear again at an inappropriate time.
Another useful tool for getting rid of the body of evidence is on zdnet's daily double download. And if you were using AOL you can transfer your address book over by accessing their Surf Guru's help site. Several other programs (BCWipe and Eraser come to mind) are available. Perhaps the best advice for Job hoppers comes from another old adage, "Look before you leap".
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November 14, 1999
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Materials written by John Sumser © TwoColorHat. All Rights Reserved.