Alexandra Levit's Water Cooler Wisdom

How to Crack the Recruiter Code

On Chris Russell’s Secrets of the Job Hunt blog, Phil Rosenberg offers some smart info on getting what you need from recruiters. Phil suggests that in order to develop successful relationships with recruiters you must adopt the attitude that you work for them, not the other way around. His tips include:

• Give recruiters information about available jobs and candidates.
• Provide fast turnaround and customize your resume within hours to be an exact match for the job in question.
• Every time you speak to a recruiter, have something to give him that he finds valuable (a lead, online resource, networking event, etc.)
• Recruiters often specialize by industry. Ask her what you should keep your eyes open for.
• Call the recruiter back quickly. If you do, the recruiter has a better chance of getting you an interview.
• Make the recruiter feel like a friend. People naturally work harder for people they like.
• Respect the recruiter's time and use e-mail as an efficient means of communication.
• Information is your best currency. Tell the recruiter all about your past employer, about current interviews, about jobs you've seen.
• Provide introductions where you can. Set up in person meetings with hiring managers and candidates.
• Be positive and friendly.  A recruiter doesn’t want to put a bitter candidate in front of clients.

Thanks to Phil and Chris for providing an inside scoop on the candidate/recruiter relationship, which is often misunderstood and fraught with peril.

Self-Righteousness Should Be a Sin

The other night, I was watching a re-run of an episode of Wife Swap.  I’ve seen this show before, and more often than not one of the characters is a stay-at-home-mom who acts very self-righteous about the fact that it is her job to take care of her children, and that it’s not appropriate to allow anyone else to be involved.

I’ve noticed this attitude among stay-at-home-moms on the message boards at Baby Center too.  Someone will come on and ask for some innocent advice about hiring a nanny, or the idea that her husband might stay at home so that she can work, and many SAHMs will attack her as if they take personal offense that another woman would make a different choice in caring for her children.

We all love our children, and no matter how you go about raising them, there are sacrifices involved.  Women and men who work full-time see their kids less often.  Those who don’t have to get by on much less money and must sometimes appeal to the government for assistance.  There is no perfect solution, and it seems to me that the real sin is in believing that your way is the only right way, and in vocally judging those who select a divergent path. 

While my husband and I have flexible schedules, we both have careers that we care deeply about.  We cherish the time spent with our son, but we don’t feel that good parenting requires 24/hour a day surveillance.  Other parents may not agree, and that’s their prerogative.  We won’t criticize them, and we ask for the same courtesy in return. 

Book Review: A Million Bucks by 30

I’m trying to catch up on my reading, and I was finally able to get to my fellow Ballantine Books author Alan Corey’s very smart book on how to make a million bucks by the age of 30.  Specifically, as the cover proclaims, the book teachers twenty-somethings how to overcome a crap job, stingy parents, and a useless degree to accumulate enough assets to set you up for life.

Alan’s personal journey is facinating.  After graduation he moved to one of the most expensive cities in the world, save and invest 61% of his $40K salary, get a popular reality TV show to decorate his apartment for free, and buy his first commercial building in a transitional neighborhood at age 23. According to Alan, he made his dream happen one day at a time, penny by penny, via what he calls “extreme cheapskate strategies.”  So what are some of these corner cutters?  Among his thoughtful suggestions:

·         Target a neighborhood or area you’d like to invest in, and go to every single open house.  After 30-50 events, you’ll have a solid and accurate grasp of the current market value of real estate in the area. Then, when you find that great, undervalued bargain, you smile a big, toothy grin. 

·         Never buy an umbrella:  When it’s raining, just walk into any restaurant and ask to see their lost and found. Don’t feel guilty.  When you’re done with it, leave the umbrella at another restaurant.  It’s a bit like recycling, and it’s good karma too.

·         Call your credit card company every six months to get a lower interest rate and to increase your credit limit.  Threaten to sign up with a new card if they can’t.  They will scramble to keep your business.

·         Fill out comment cards at every possible fast food restaurant.  Many will follow up with complimentary food and/or gifts.

·         Never buy bottled water.  Go to any fast food joint to get a free cup of water.  If you need some flavor, load your cup up with free lemons and artificial sweetener for some bargain ice-cold lemonade.

The best thing about this book is that you don’t have to duplicate Alan’s strategies exactly to have just a few of them make a measurable difference in how much money you’re putting away.

Why It Pays to Be a Math Geek

As a college student in the late 90s, I used to curse my lack of proficiency at math.  Back then, the perception was that if you could master integral calculus or organic chemistry, you could be the one landing the big paycheck right out of college.

Over at Career Builder, Kate Lorenz shares that when it comes to math, perception equals reality.  Apparently, college students graduating today with a math- or science-related degree are likely to earn significantly higher starting pay than their peers in liberal arts disciplines, according to the 2007 salary survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers.

Mechanical engineering students graduating in 2007 reported snagging average offers of nearly $54,600. Computer science grads' job offers averaged about $51,070. Accounting grads got offers of about $46,500, while economics majors' offers averaged roughly $47,900. By contrast, liberal arts graduates reported average offers hovering mostly ranging between $30,000 and $35,000. It gets even better for numerically savvy graduates – they might also have an easier time finding that coveted first job.

Alan Weiss, president of Summit Consulting Group, says a primary reason math and science graduates earn more out of college is a simple case of supply and demand: "They're much more immediately applicable in a much smaller supply." Students earning associate’s and bachelor's degrees in liberal arts disciplines outnumber those in mathematic or scientific fields, according to data from the U.S. National Center for Education Statistics.

Weiss also attributes the demand for quantitative majors to the specialized training they receive. "You can immediately put somebody to work in a lab," he says. "It's much more problematic (determining) what to do with people who majored in European history."

Math and science majors' familiarity with numbers can help them transition into many bottom-line driven businesses, according to David Teten, CEO of Nitron Advisers. "Numbers are the language of business," he says.

Start Managing on the Right Foot

One of my friends has been complaining that her team is running wild. 

Much as I love her, I know that this is happening because when my friend took over the group a few months ago, she really wanted her new reports to like her, so she put up with a lot from them.  They would tell her they weren’t going to do an assignment because they didn’t want to, and instead of adhering to a regular 9-5 work schedule, they came and went as they pleased.  And except for venting to me, my friend didn’t say a word. 

No one ever said management was easy, and if you want to be successful at it, you have to get started on the right foot.  When you are assigned a new report, sit down with him for an informal conversation.  Taking the employee to lunch is a nice touch and will give you the chance to get to know him.  Use the opportunity to let your employee know right off the bat how you prefer to work and what you expect from him. 

Communicate your boundaries for acceptable conduct and performance as soon as possible.  For example, clue your new report in right away if your company is super-strict about arriving to work on time.  The first time he slips, subtly let him know that there will be consequences if the behavior continues. 

My friend was worried about being perceived as the bad guy.  She thought she’d just wait until their performance evaluations to tell her team exactly what was bugging her.  Remember, folks, that employees prefer straightforward, timely feedback to mixed messages, passive-aggressive slighting, or a bad review that comes out of nowhere.  Your report may not always love what you have to say, but he can’t fault you for delivering constructive messages as his manager.

30/20 Vision Radio Show: New Episode Tonight

Just a reminder that a new episode of the 30/20 Vision Radio show and podcast, featuring me and my colleagues Lindsey Pollak and Christine Hassler, will air tonight at 9PM EST.  We'll be discussing the always-important topic of women who want to have it all.  Hope you'll join us live or listen in afterwards!

7 Tips for Busting the Office Bully

I like to advise people on the topic of coping with difficult people at work because we’ve all been there and inevitably will be there again. In most cases, I recommend that you confront the problem head on and talk about it with the person who is giving you agida. In the event that you are experiencing true abuse, though, it might make sense to tell someone in a position of authority.  You shouldn’t do this lightly – for it could cause you more harm than good politically.  But if you believe this to be the right course of action, employment researchers at Arizona State University suggest tactics for reporting office bullying, which is defined as exclusion and isolation, nitpicking, criticism, humiliation and even hitting.  They include:

1)       Be rational: Tell your story in a linear fashion and explain why you think the events occurred as they did.

2)       Express emotions appropriately: Use similes and metaphors to describe how the bullying made you feel (e.g. I felt like I had a Kick Me sign on my forehead) while speaking in a calm and reasonable tone.

3)       Provide consistent details:  The more specifics you offer, the more credible you’ll be.  And be careful not to exaggerate or change your story over time.

4)       Offer a plausible story:  Reference or provide published literature about workplace bullying, and focus on the aspects of your experience that will be most believable to the listener.

5)       Be relevant: From a legal viewpoint, the only thing the listener cares about is the bully’s bad behavior and, to a lesser extent, your behavior.  The fact that you feel an injustice has been committed is less relevant.

6)       Emphasize your own competence:  Doing so helps establish the fact that the bullying is not a result of poor performance on the job and reinforces that you are not a “problem employee.”

7)       Show consideration for other perspectives:  Show that you’ve tried to understand where the bully is coming from, and that you’re not looking to be perceived as a whiner by the listener or others. 

This is merely a snapshot of the great tips available in the Arizona white paper. Check it out when you have a chance.  It’s the kind of thing that can’t hurt to have in your back pocket.

Are You Sloppy and Incoherent?

And no, I’m not talking about your mental state early last Sunday morning when you stumbled into your apartment after a late-night jaunt downtown.  I’m talking about your writing.

I’m amazed by how many typos I see everywhere, on everything, lately.  Typos on resumes.  Typos on street signs.  Even typos on birth announcements!  Sometimes I’ll get introductory e-mails from people that are barely coherent, and I simply can’t believe that the person lives like this!

On the job, sloppiness is the enemy.  You may think that no one is paying attention, but that’s not the case.  The clarity and quality of your written communications say a lot about you as a professional, and you must take care to ensure that they’re enhancing rather than detracting from your reputation. 

How do you do it?  Well, first realize that there is no such thing as a perfect first draft, so get into the habit of proofreading your writing.  Every document that leaves your computer or desk should be carefully checked for clean formatting, proper grammar and correct spelling.  Think of your work product as little pieces of yourself sent out into the world.  Even if you’re the fifteenth person to review a document, be the one who takes responsibility for sending it on error-free. 

What if your business requires you to communicate with clients in a different language or you need some help bringing your writing up to par?  The first step is to acknowledging the issue.  Contact local colleges or continuing education programs about a variety of foreign language and business writing courses.  Classes are typically inexpensive and can often be tailored to your specific needs.  Don’t let an inflexible schedule discourage you.  You can take many business writing courses online.  Fortunately, writing is one of those skills that can be practiced and learned!

If You’re Leaving, Should You Still Get Your Bonus?

A reader e-mailed the following question:

I recently gave my company a month’s notice as I planned to move to a new city and pursue a new career.  A few weeks later, the company gave out the second installment of our bi-annual bonuses, and I did not receive mine.  The company did well this year and my accounts posted increased sales.  I can understand that the company may not want to give me any additional remuneration at this point, but I am leaving on good terms and feel that I deserve that money from the past year of great performance.  Is this something I should discuss with my boss or am I being unreasonable?

Here’s my response, which I think might be useful to those of you in similar situations.

No, you are not being unreasonable.  The truth is, you didn’t even have to give a month’s notice, but presumably did so in order to better transition your workload.  If you gave the standard two weeks, you would have collected the bonus automatically before you broke the news.

If you can, check with HR to see if the company has an official policy against issuing commission-based bonuses if they have knowledge that the employee is leaving.  If they do, there might not be anything you or your boss can do about it.  If there is no such policy or you can’t determine whether there is one or not, you should absolutely talk to your boss.  Bring it up to your boss in a friendly, "just checking to see what's up with this" tone that does not allow him to become defensive.  Emphasize how much you’ve enjoyed working for the company and that you hope for a strong relationship in the future.  Approaching it in this way will make it more likely that he will do right by you.

Recruitment Spotlight: Open Houses

I frequently get asked about whether or not I recommend companies participate in job fairs to find qualified candidates.  But open houses are often a more effective means of initiating face-to-face contact with a large number of potential recruits.  In an open house, you invite candidates to an event at your organization’s offices or a neutral offsite location, provide them with background on your company, and conduct initial conversations to determine interest and fit.  As open house events are expensive, you’ll want to look at them in terms of their bottom-line results and how many qualified leads you can realistically expect.  Here are a few open house tips.

• Determine the purpose of the event.  For example, will informal cocktails that will serve as a sophisticated introduction to your organization suffice, or do you want to leave the event with a group of pre-screened candidates in hand?

• Assess if it’s appropriate to line up a guest speaker, such as an industry name or one of the organization’s top executives.  Such remarks can make an event more attractive to candidates. 

• Advertise your event internally and externally, online and offline, and ask for RSVPs so you have some idea of the number of attendees.

• Resolve security issues for your visitors ahead of time, so you don’t have problems admitting people to your building. 

• Serve refreshments that suit the mood and time of day of the event, and print plenty of copies of your strongest collateral material.

• Recruit enough employees to staff the event, handling traffic flow and responding to questions.

• Execute a plan for following up promptly with all promising attendees.