NPA Recruiters Earn Their Fee

by The Imagination Factory

Some services are priceless. When you have a medical emergency that impacts you or a family member, the price of the service becomes secondary to the results. For less critical health issues you may shop around for the low cost provider, but when it deals with life and death issues, the focus is on results. Read the rest of this entry »


Some Ways to Prepare Yourself and Your Boss For Talks About a Raise

by The Imagination Factory

By Hal Lancaster
From: The Wall Street Journal

Wesley D. Millican knew, by the numerous calls he was receiving from peers and headhunters, that there were many jobs available at higher pay than he was currently earning. But he liked his job as vice president of physician services for Physician Reliance Network, which manages medical practices. So, instead of entertaining offers, he decided earlier this year to ask for a raise. Read the rest of this entry »


Greed Isn’t Good

by The Imagination Factory

Counteroffer Acceptance – Road to Career Ruin

by The Imagination Factory

A raise won’t permanently cushion thorns in the nest!
By Paul Hawkinson
Courtesy of: National Business Employment Weekly

Mathew Henry, the 17th century writer said, “Many a dangerous temptation comes to us in fine gray colors that are but skin deep.” The same can be said for counteroffers, those magnetic enticements designed to lure you back into the nest after you’ve decided it’s time to fly away.

The litany of horror stories I have come across in my years as an executive recruiter, consultant and publisher provides a litmus test that clearly indicates counteroffers should never be accepted. … EVER!

I define a counteroffer simply as an inducement from your current employer to get you to stay after you’ve announced your intention to take another job. We’re not talking about those instances when you receive an offer but don’t tell your boss. Nor are we discussing offers that you never intended to take, yet tell your employer about anyway are “they-want-me-but I’m staying-with-you” ploy. These are merely astute positioning tactics you may choose to use to reinforce your worth by letting your boss know you have other options. Mention of a true counteroffer, however, carries an actual threat to quit.

Interviews with employers who make counteroffers, and employees who accept them, have shown that as tempting as they may be, acceptance may (and usually does) cause career suicide. During the past 20 years, I have seen only isolated incidents in which an accepted counteroffer has benefited the employee. Consider the problem in its proper perspective.

What really goes through a boss’s mind when someone quits?

* This couldn’t be happening at a worse time.
* This is one of my best people, if I let him quit now, it’ll wreak havoc on the morale of the department.
* I’ve already got one opening in my department. I don’t need another right now.
* This will probably screw up the entire vacation schedule.
* I’m working as hard as I can, and I don’t need to do his work, too.
* If I lose another good employee, the company might decide to ‘lose’ me too.
* My review is coming up and this will make me look bad.
* Maybe I can keep him/her on until I find a suitable replacement.

What will the boss say to keep you in the nest?
* I’m really shocked I thought you were as happy with us as we are with you. Let’s discuss it before you make your final decision.”
* I’ve been meaning to tell you about the great plans we have for you, but it’s been confidential until now.”
* The VP has you in mind for some exciting and expanding responsibilities.
* Your raise was scheduled to go into effect next quarter, but we’ll make it effective immediately.”
* You’re going to work for whom? You can’t be serious.

Let’s face it. When someone quits it’s a direct reflection on the boss. Unless you’re really incompetent or a destructive thorn in his side, the boss might look bad by “allowing” you to go. His gut reaction is to do what has to be done to keep you from leaving until he’s ready. That’s human nature. Unfortunately, it’s also human nature to want to stay unless your work life is abject misery. Career change, like all ventures into the unknown, is tough. That’s why bosses know they can usually keep you around by pressing the right buttons.

Before you succumb to a tempting counteroffer, consider these universal truths:
* Any situation in which an employee is forced to get an outside offer before the present employer will suggest a raise, promotion or better working conditions, is suspect.
* No matter what the company says when making its counteroffer, you will always be considered a fidelity risk. Having once demonstrated your lack of loyalty (for whatever reason), you will lose your status as a “team player’ and your place in the inner circle.
* Counteroffers are usually nothing more than stall devices to give your employer time to replace you.
* Your reasons for wanting to leave still exist. Conditions are just made a bit more tolerable in the short term because of the raise; promotion nor promises made to keep you.
* Counteroffers are only made in response to a threat to quit. Will you have to solicit an offer and threaten to quit every time you deserve better working conditions? Decent and well-managed companies don’t make counteroffers…EVER! Their policies are fair and equitable. They will not be subjected to “counteroffer coercion” or what they perceive as blackmail. If the urge to accept a counteroffer his you, keep cleaning out your desk as you count your blessings.


Why counteroffers are lose-lose propositions

by The Imagination Factory

By R. Gaines Baty,
Courtesy of the NATIONAL BUSINESS EMPLOYMENT WEEKLY

Before accepting a counteroffer from your employer, consider whether you’ll be the winner or the loser in this employment maneuver. Although no statistics are available, many employees who give notice are receiving counteroffers from their current companies to encourage them to stay. These proposals can include one or more of the following:

* A pay increase.
* A promotion and/or added responsibility.
* A promise of a future raise, promotion or other incentive.
* The creation of a new, more appealing reporting structure or organization.

An employer may accompany its offer with an added motivator, such as a special call or visit from the vice president or CEO and other flattering gestures. Or it may try to manipulate a departing employee by heaping on a sense of false guilt.

The Prevailing View
Now suppose that after months of interviews and negotiations, you accept a position with a new employer. When your current company makes a counteroffer, you decide to renege and stay where you are. The popular notion is that you’re the winner. After all, you’ll be paid more money, keep your tenure and possibly receive a promotion.

Obviously, the jilted company loses. It must restart its search from scratch. Other good prospective candidates, who might have jumped at the job earlier, have long since accepted different positions or lost interest. The company has lost months of productivity and perhaps millions of dollars in unrecoverable revenue because the position has remained unfilled for so long.

Any executive recruiters involved in the search lose as well. Counteroffers are a headhunter’s nightmare. A recruiter can lose face with a client company, a substantial amount of time and allocated resources and possibly income when a candidate backs out after accepting.

What Really Happens
If you’re considering a counteroffer, why should you care about the jilted company or the headhunter? Aren’t you still so far ahead of the game that their misfortunes are just a small setback? Not really. In business, your reputation can be your most valuable asset. By backing out of a commitment to a prospective employer, a candidate loses all respect from the firm’s leadership.

Consider the experience of a Seattle-based pre-IPO software company, which had recruited an executive for a Midwest regional manager’s role after months of searching. After the candidate accepted the offer and committed to a start date, the firm stopped its search and announced the hiring to its staff, customers and alternate candidates, says Sterling Wilson, chief financial officer of the company. The finalist then reneged on his acceptance. “It was devastating to our organization and our progress,” says Mr. Wilson. By reneging, the candidate seriously jeopardized the company’s relationships and credibility, and the alternate candidates were no longer available.

“The search had to start over,” says Mr. Wilson. “It caused a serious momentum loss for us, and didn’t reflect well on the candidate personally.” Candidates who renege after committing to start dates are called “no-shows.” One spurned vice president was so angry with a candidate who reneged that he shredded the person’s resume, The Wall Street Journal reported recently. Another hiring manager complained of how draining it had been to lose a candidate at the final hour.

Why should a candidate care what a recruiter thinks, especially if they had never met previously? The value of a good search professional shouldn’t be underestimated. He or she can do more for you during a career lifetime than you might realize. But out of concern for client companies, reputable recruiters avoid candidates whose word can’t be trusted.

It’s Never the Same Again
The current employer who gains back its staffer may seem to be the big winner. Initially, it may appear to lose ground because of the pay increase or promotion it extends. However, these costs are minimal compared to the loss of momentum on a project or the expense of recruiting a replacement.Still, winning back an employee is only a short-term fix, and the move may ultimately cause worse personnel issues. First, the company’s relationship with the employee is never the same. Most employees who accept counteroffers leave within six to 12 months, merely deferring their inevitable replacement.

“We know the person is mentally ‘out-the-door’ and it’s probable that he or she will leave in the not-too-distant future anyway,” says a Dallas-based former partner of a Big-Five consulting firm. “We never quite trust them, and immediately begin contingency planning for a replacement-on our timeframe.”

Second, the line of previously loyal employees threatening to leave to gain a raise begins forming at the door. “If someone isn’t committed to being here, it compromises our team and causes broad, negative ramifications far greater than losing that person,” the former partner says. Ultimately, the integrity of the employer, manager and indecisive recruit can all be irreversibly damaged.

Perceived Blackmail
Does the “no-show” really win? He or she may earn a bit more money, but the increase is borrowed from future earnings. An employer may make or attempt a few improvements, but will rarely change its culture for one employee. The employee’s integrity, loyalty and commitment are forever in question after this perceived blackmail tactic.

He or she will never be trusted or considered a member of the inner circle. Grudges will most certainly be held, whether overtly or covertly. Future advancement becomes more difficult, and the company will begin to seek a replacement.

A former division president of a major software company relates the consequence of accepting an employment counteroffer. “After receiving and accepting a competitive offer, I announced my resignation,” he says. “The response from more-senior executives was, ‘you can’t leave, you have too much to offer the company.’ “

The firm offered him a sizable compensation increase, a promotion to corporate officer and multiple stock options to stay, which he accepted. Nine months later, after a major project was nearly finished and his replacement waited in the wings, he was fired without explanation.

“I’m sure they thought that I was no longer a ‘company man,’ ” he says.

Cathy Norris, president of the Norris Agency, a Dallas-based search firm, says a candidate who accepted a counteroffer called three months later to say he regretted the decision.

“Despite all the promises, none of the things that caused me to want to leave in the first place have changed,” he told her. “And the big raise they gave me has since been cut back, due to budget problems. Once I’d made the decision to leave, I should have followed through.”

What Should You Do?
It’s naive for executives to be surprised by counteroffers these days. In fields where talent is at a premium, the offers are a popular retention tactic. But why would a company wait until the eleventh hour to keep someone it claims to value so highly? Obviously, the move is purely defensive. You may feel flattered, but don’t be fooled. A counteroffer isn’t about what’s best for you; it’s about what’s best for the company.

If you expect to receive an offer to stay with your firm, how should you deal with it? First, don’t allow a counteroffer discussion to occur. Leaving the door open for discussion induces the company to invest time and resources into enticing you to stay. This can make you feel guilty, which makes it more difficult to stick to your decision to leave, even though you know you should honor it.

Take an active part in your own career management. If your company is interested in your progression, you’ll know it before you decide to resign. If you change your mind and stay, your motives and methods will always be suspect. Keep a steady course and don’t look back.

Submit a courteous, positive and final resignation letter that leaves no room for discussion. By behaving honorably, you may have the option of re-employment with the company or to join a former boss elsewhere later on. You’ll also have the chance to start a promising new role with additional challenges, an expanded network, an untarnished reputation and a clear conscience. Everybody wins.


So Why Don’t You Tell Me About Yourself?

by The Imagination Factory

by Linda Matias

“So, why don’t you tell me about yourself?” is the most frequently asked interview question. It’s a question that most interviewees expect and the one they have the most difficulty answering. Though one could answer this open- ended question in a myriad of ways, the key to answering this question or any other interview question is to offer a response that supports your career objective. This means that you shouldn’t respond with comments about your hobbies, spouse, or extra curricular activities. Trust me, interviewers aren’t interested.

Interviewers use the interview process as a vehicle to eliminate your candidacy. Every question they ask is used to differentiate your skills, experience, and personality with that of other candidates. They want to determine if what you have to offer will mesh with the organization’s mission and goals.

If answered with care, your response to the question, “So, why don’t you tell me about yourself?” could compliment the interviewers needs as well as support your agenda. This is a question you should be prepared to answer as opposed to attempting to “wing it”.

Follow the four easy steps outlined below to ensure your response will grab the interviewer’s attention.

1. Provide a brief introduction. Introduce attributes that are key to the open position.

Sample introduction: During my 10 years’ of experience as a sales manager, I have mastered the ability to coach, train, and motivate sales teams into reaching corporate goals.

2. Provide a career summary of your most recent work history. Your career summary is the “meat” of your response, so it must support your job objective and it must be compelling. Keep your response limited to your current experience. Don’t go back more than 10 years.

Sample career summary: Most recently, at The Widget Corporation, I was challenged with turning around a stagnant territory that ranked last in sales in the Northeastern region. Using strategies that have worked in the past, I developed an aggressive sales campaign that focused on cultivating new accounts and nurturing the existing client base. The results were tremendous. Within six months my sales team and I were able to revitalize the territory and boost sales by 65%.

3. Tie your response to the needs of the hiring organization. Don’t assume that the interviewer will be able to connect all the dots. It is your job as the interviewee to make sure the interviewer understands how your experiences are transferable to the position they are seeking to fill.

Sample tie-in: Because of my proven experience in leading sales teams, Craig Brown suggested I contact you regarding your need for a sales manager. Craig filled me in on the challenges your sales department is facing.

4. Ask an insightful question. By asking a question you gain control of the interview. Don’t ask a question for the sake of asking. Be sure that the question will engage the interviewer in a conversation. Doing so will alleviate the stress you may feel to perform.

Sample question: What strategies are currently underway to increase sales and morale within the sales department? There you have it – a response that meets the needs of the interviewer AND supports your agenda.

When broken down into manageable pieces, the question, “So, tell me about yourself?” isn’t overwhelming. In fact, answering the question effectively gives you the opportunity to talk about your strengths, achievements, and qualifications for the position. So take this golden opportunity and run with it!

***********************************************************
Recognized as a career expert, Linda Matias brings a wealth of experience to the career services field. She has been sought out for her knowledge of the employment market, outplacement, job search strategies, interview preparation, and resume writing, quoted a number of times in The Wall Street Journal, New York Newsday, Newsweek, and HR- esource.com. She is President of Career Strides and the National Resume Writers’ Association.


Reduce your interview anxiety

by The Imagination Factory

For most job seekers, the best antidote for this job-search stress is practice and preparation
By CB Bowman, Courtesy of the National Business Employment Weekly

Nervous about an upcoming interview? That’s normal. Fear of the unknown, rejection or failing is behind most job seekers’ interview anxieties. But by managing the interview process, you can control your fears. Read the rest of this entry »


Tricky Questions Reign in Behavioral Interviews

by The Imagination Factory

by ARLENE HIRSCH
Courtesy of the NATIONAL BUSINESS EMPLOYMENT WEEKLY

Behavior-based interviewing first gained favor when the labor market was an employer’s paradise. When there were always more than enough candidates to choose from, employers could afford to be choosy. Read the rest of this entry »


Interview impulse control

by The Imagination Factory

A career coach suggests putting your brain in gear before engaging your mouth.

Stop!Don’t answer that question!During practice interviews, actual interviews and networking meetings, many job seekers are tensed and primed, ready to jump all over the questions they get.They eye the pitcher, praying for a high fastball across the center of the plate.Here it comes!Inwardly, the interviewee exults: “I’ve seen this question!I’ve rehearsed a smooth, punchy response … even outlined my talking points. I’m going to nail this question, dazzle ’em with my footwork, win a 10.0 from the Russian judge.” Too many job seekers view the interview process as an athletic competition. They assume the challenge is to score the maximum number of points for style on each question, racking up an aggregate score that exceeds the competitions.Their performance will “win the interview,” secure a job offer and, presumably, allow them to live happily ever after.

This is a superficial understanding of how interviews work and interviewers think.Of course, you’re being evaluated and you have a justifiable reason for wanting to appear articulate, credible and attractive.However, your goal shouldn’t be to give a good performance.You actually have four goals: 1) to build rapport, 2) create a relationship that lasts beyond the interview, 3) understand and address the potential employer’s concerns and priorities and 4) treat the interviewer like a human being, not an adversary. Your emphasis should be on overall fit, not fancy footwork.

So before you unleash a canned one-size-fits-all answer to the question flying in over the plate, stop.Rein your impulse to provide an automatic response.Instead, view the interview strategically.Your meeting isn’t about you answering a string of unrelated questions.It’s your chance to paint a coherent picture that develops and reinforces fundamental themes.As trial lawyers often coach critical witnesses before testimony, there are many ways to answer a question.A few are better – more succinct, informative, and responsive – than the rest.And of those, one will be the most effective under the circumstances.But knowing which response to use means knowing the intent behind the question.

Before you answer, take a moment to figure out where the interviewer is coming from.What does he really want to know?What does the question mean?How does it relate to previously asked questions?What’s appropriate in this context?What pitfalls lurk beneath the surface of this question?Where will your answer lead?

It’s always wise to anticipate topics that will arise in an interview.Job seekers who wing it often blow it.The key to confidence is thorough preparation.But there’s a distinction between thinking about how to approach certain issues and prefabricating canned responses that you regurgitate on cue.Your preparation should focus on two concerns: 1) the employer’s needs, priorities and values and 2) what you should say about your skills, abilities, aptitudes, values, style and motivation to give the interviewer an accurate picture of you.

What Do They Want, Anyway?

The good news is that there are only two interview questions. That is, regardless of what you’re asked, the employer really only wants to know:

1) What value can you add to my enterprise as an employee (and can you prove it)?
2) Why do you want this job?

Every interview question probes some dimension of your capability or motivation.The problem is that interviewers sometimes ask questions without knowing why they’re asking them. Therefore, they can’t always distinguish a constructive answer from an evasive but adroit dodge.Moreover, some questions shouldn’t be taken at face value.The challenge for job seekers, then, is to build and buttress a coherent picture of their strengths and figure out what’s going on in the interviewer’s head.

Assume you’ve just arrived for an interview and you immediately spy a copy of your resume filled with notes, underlines and exclamation points in front of the interviewer.Next, he hits you with that mushiest of all questions: Tell me a little about yourself.This information is obvious from your resume, so, you think, what does this clown want to know?What’s the point of the question and why is he asking?

Your mind reviews the punchy openers you’ve rehearsed: I was born at an early age and from that point forth I had a dream … or I’m a highly motivated, bottom-line oriented shirt-sleeves go-getter, a people-person and problem-solver with a proven track record in blah, blah, blah. . . All along, you hope the interviewer’s demeanor will signal whether you’re on the right track.

But instead of offering a pat answer that tanks, consider the question in a different context.Employers have two concerns – needs and priorities.You’re selling three solutions: expertise (knowledge or technical skills), experience (transferable abilities) and motivation (the roles and activities that ignite a fire in your belly).Why not frame your answer in terms of the intersection between the employer’s needs and your attributes? You might say:

Sue, perhaps the most relevant way to address that question is in terms of how my skills and abilities match up with the most pressing needs and priorities you have right now.If I read your ad correctly, you need someone to streamline and re-motivate under performing field sales staff while orchestrating a shift from a product-driven to a market-driven sales strategy.When I saw that I was really enthusiastic (motivation) because a number of my most satisfying accomplishments (capability plus motivation) required the ability to diagnose and turn around sales-force problems.For example, last year with U.S. Widget…

In short, see people for what they need, nothing else.If you aren’t clear about how a potential employer perceives his needs and priorities, try asking:

“Joe, probably the most relevant way to respond to that question is in terms of how my skills and abilities match up with your needs.The problem is that I don’t know enough about your priorities to give you a focused answer.So if it’s okay with you, could I ask you to expand on what you need in this position so I can touch on my strengths that would be most important?”

While you won’t always receive a target to shoot at, this approach is interactive, collaborative and helpful.It promotes an exchange of information, not an adversarial contest.

What’s the Point?

Good interviewers will ask questions to gain specific information (“Do you know how to do research on the Internet?”) or examples of capability (“How have you approached new product development in the Pacific Rim?”).They’ll also explore your insight, self-awareness and ability to put yourself and your prior career in perspective.But when they ask such questions as “What do I need to know about you to get an accurate picture of what makes you tick?” or “What forces – positive and negative – do you think were most instrumental in shaping your style and your values?”, they’re probably less concerned with the content of your answer than with your willingness to take a big-picture view of your past, present and future.
At face value, questions such as “Where do you see yourself in five years?” or “What are your life goals?” seem pretty silly if they’re merely requests for information.But you can view them as opportunities to demonstrate the serious thought you’ve given to your values, priorities and driving motivational forces.Your responses should reflect optimism and the ability to reality-test forces that shape your career development. “I’d like to have your job” probably isn’t the most insightful answer.

One seasoned interviewer asks job seekers to define what four terms – success, achievement, challenge and growth – mean to them, then describe examples of when they’ve expressed those definitions at work.”People are always saying, ‘I want more challenges” or “I want a job that will allow me to grow,'” he says. “So I ask, in effect, what do you mean, grow? What do you mean, be successful?”

This interviewer doesn’t expect – or enjoy – glib responses to this question. “It’s meant to be thought-provoking, and I want to see their thought processes in action,” he says. “If they’re afraid to pause and reflect, even to stumble and bumble as they wrestle with the question, then how can I assume they’ll be open and reflective on the job? Confident candidates should be willing to reveal themselves a bit in an interview.”

When an interviewer asks “What are your greatest strengths?” she may, in fact, be asking several distinct questions:

In what ways could you add most value to us?

Can you organize your capabilities into distinct functional categories?

What evidence or proof can you provide to substantiate your claims?

Can you prioritize: If a lot of things are true of you, what things are most true of you?

Simply laundry-listing a mixed bag of self-laudatory adjectives – I’m kind, trustworthy, brave, clean, reverent, wholesome, goal oriented, innovative, collaborative and strategic” – hardly addresses or suggests you’re aware of the interviewer’s concerns.”What are your weaknesses?” is a classic example of a question that shouldn’t be taken at face value.The interviewer isn’t asking you to disqualify yourself; she’s really asking, “Should I worry about your ability to deliver the goods?”This is the first issue to address in your answer: “Sue, I’m sure we all have some developmental areas we should be aware of, but I must say, that as I understand them, your needs and priorities play to my strengths, not my soft spots.I don’t think there are any fundamental issues that would affect my ability to perform well in this position.”

If you can’t say this with a straight face, then you probably should take yourself out of the running for this position.For there to be a real fit, the answer should be true.By comparison, the common approach of turning a strength into a weakness (“When the stakes are high and the deadlines are tight, my folks might say I can be pretty demanding”) rings false.It’s an attempted con and few astute interviewers will be fooled.

The Last Resort

If you can’t determine what a question means, try asking the interviewer for help: “Leo, I’m not sure I understand the thrust of your question, and I certainly don’t want to appear evasive or unresponsive.Could I ask you to tell me a bit more about what issues or concerns you’d like me to address?”

Rarely will a polite request for clarification result in contempt or hostility, particularly if the interviewer is interested in helping you to put your best foot forward.While you may meet nasty or sarcastic interviewers, always assume a non-defensive posture.It’s the interviewer’s job to evaluate whether a candidate will be a good fit for a position and organization, not to give potential employees a tough time.Since it’s in his interest to elicit useful, reliable information, he has little incentive to trick you.

Help the interviewer give you a good interview.Think of each question as an opportunity to collaborate and elaborate and for give-and take.If you’re asked an inarticulate, imprecise or inappropriate question, use your answer to ennoble the query, provide useful information and validate the underlying concerns.Reality-test your responses: “Have I addressed your question fully? Am I being clear?”

Avoid patronizing, pontificating or professing. You gain little by trying to outthink or outmaneuver the interviewer; you gain much by communicating a desire to be responsive and sensitive to the interviewer’s needs, personalize the interaction and build a relationship.Leave stock answers at home.Arrive prepared to open your ears and mind before you open your mouth.

Written by Douglas Richardson
Courtesy of the: NATIONAL BUSINESS EMPLOYMENT WEEKLY


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