With unemployment reaching over 10% in some parts of the country, hiring managers are becoming very picky on choosing a candidate. What is happening is that jobs are going unfilled because of their perceptions. Management thinks the job market is terrible and that all open positions should be easily filled instantly with top notch candidates. More and more HR personnel are shaking their heads in disbelief that some of the candidates that they have met with are not getting job offers. Candidates who just over a year ago would have been hired after one interview are now being passed up for the hopes of finding an even better candidate.
HR personal are getting a truck load of resumes from ads but very few people fit the bill. They are frustrated when they see a home run of a candidate but hiring managers think that there are so many great candidates out there because of the news reports.
The reality of the job market is that the best of the best are still employed and not every industry or vertical has been affected. Companies that are still operating have not let their best talent go. That is why you never leave a job on your own until you have another offer. Perception can and sometimes is everything.
In any economy when you meet a job candidate that can do the job that is required and has the personality fit that you are looking for then you should move forward with that person. The same thing goes for job candidates when searching and that is the first interview you go on may be the only interview you go on. I have seen more candidates pass up an opportunity for the hopes of another. There is no magic number of companies that you need to meet with before accepting a job. Sometimes candidates feel they need to interview at 5 different companies in order to decide which company is best for them. In today’s market however it is unlikely you will get 5 separate interviews and like the hiring managers of today, you probably won’t see 5 great candidates for the same job.
Today you will find more companies that have changed their dress attire. The norm used to be a suit and tie with a white pressed shirt and black polished shoes. Then it went to the sweater or polo shirt with a collar and pressed slacks and brown comfortable shoes to today where it seems anything goes. Is it just me or have we all taken it down a notch? I had the television on the other day and saw the President of the United States dressed without a tie. The President of the United States???
It’s great that you don’t need to have your shirts pressed and starched each week and given that it’s comfortable to dress down you’re probably more productive. Let’s not forget the money you are saving. For a guy to look good in business attire you need to spend some major money and there’s never a sale. For the ladies that’s a different story. You girls have more sales than I have chins!
We ALWAYS prepare our candidates before every interview in great detail including how you should dress for an interview. It’s not everyday that you’re putting on a suit and tie but for an interview you really need to put your best foot forward. It doesn’t matter what the company’s dress attire is, you still have to understand that the first impression might be your last. Everyone feels like a million dollars when you know you’re looking good. Sometimes the problem is you don’t know what looks good. For that you need to get some help. Go to a store that has nice business cloths and ask for help. In phase two of MyjobCAST.com we will have videos to help in this area and to make it convenient for its members.
We just had a candidate show up for a job interview wearing flip flops. The interview was brief I might add and NO she didn’t get the job. Lucky for us it was with a great client who values our service and gave us the details on the attire. When we spoke to the candidate she was shocked and didn’t understand that what she was wearing was bad. I kind of blame it on how companies dress attire has changed and what she was wearing was probably the norm at her last job; however, for an interview you can’t be dressed like your going shopping at Wal-Mart.
I can tell you that I have seen some funky cloths in the work force these days and maybe that’s cool but when you go to an interview you have better be dressed for success!
What is a counteroffer?
Accepting an offer from one company and using that offer to get more money from you current employer to stay.
I never understood anyone who would take a counteroffer. What does that say about that person? Can’t be right in the head can they?
What you are basically doing is letting one company down who is excited about you coming on board and putting your current company on notice. If your a critical component to that business then it’s like putting a gun to someones head. If you are doing this to get more money to stay then how long will you be there?
Being an employer I know that it’s cheaper for me to offer someone more money to stay so that it doesn’t cost me more to replace that person; however, I will be immediately looking to replace that person. I find that candidates who do take a counteroffer are usually out of a job in 4 to 6 months. In this economy probably much quicker!
Some good advice: If your unhappy and you decided to start to look for a new opportunity then make that commitment to leave where you currently are and NEVER leave until you have another job! Another good reason not to take a counteroffer is that you end up hurting all the other applicants in the process.
Get our 11 reason why you should not take a counteroffer at our job seeking tips.
It seems like everyone has an opinion today about everything. Democrat, Republican, male, female, white, black, tall, short, skinny, fat, old, young, educated, non educated, white collar, blue collar, recruiter, career coach, Christian, Muslim, your house my house, white wine, red wine the list is long! I myself tend to be open to everyone’s opinion and then I try to think things through. If the advice that I am getting comes from an expert in a particular field, then that carries much more weight than someone who is not. You know the saying that “experience is the best teacher”. The second part of that is as long as it’s someone else’s experiences. You know just because you had a bad meal at a restaurant doesn’t mean that all restaurants have bad food. Things tend to “sound good” but to me is it “good and sound”.
Today the number one talk is about Jobs. How do you keep one and if you don’t have one how can you get one?
There are many tools that can help you with your job search. Resume Boards such as Monster.com, Careerbuilder.com and TheLadders.com can help but very few people will get clicked on. I personally only have one problem with these resume boards and that is that your information can be pirated. Executive Search Firms like mine can help but you have to understand that we can only help a select few. Not everyone that we meet with can we help due to the nature of our business. If you’re a nurse then you would want to connect with a search firm that specializes in that vertical. Career Coaches have helped people but with this option it requires the Job Candidate to pay a fee upfront for assistance. A new site that I am currently working on with some really bright people called MyjobCAST.com will help Job Seekers with their search. This site, when combined with other networking sites such as LinkedIn and Facebook should be an effective tool. All of these avenues can work for you and you should try them all.
The key is to be prepared, have your ducks in a row and never give up trying. So when someone suggest to you that one of these options are better than the other, perhaps for them they are right but it depends on which will work best for you.
