“Well maybe I shouldn’t take this offer because after all, it is my first interview.”  If I had a nickel every time someone said that but then again a nickel’s not worth a dime anymore.   Keep in mind your first offer may be your only offer!  No joke, we have seen job candidates not take an offer because they felt a better offer would come along and spent the next year still looking for a job.  You hate to say “I told you so” but!

If you were to get an offer and you’re currently unemployed then you need to take it!  That would be my recommendation today in this market, even if the money is a lot less than your last job.   The new job is not preventing you from continuing your job search.  Plus it’s always better to have a job when you are interviewing.  Also keep in mind that now that you’re not working and making money your currently at zero!  Clients know that the job candidate with no job is at zero.  Candidates tend to forget that fact when they start to negotiate salary.

If a company offers you a job for less money than what you were previously making, they are aware of that fact.  If another offer comes your way then what you need to do is to consider which job is best for your career.  Don’t jump ship for more money unless the job is what is going to continue your career on the right path.    I am not one that believes in taking a counter offer so from my prospective I would not try to get more money to stay.  Talk about killing your career.

That is why a client should never give someone a crappy offer, because the new hire is always going to be looking for a better offer somewhere else.  Common sense, no?  Well you know what they say about common sense!  When we are negotiating we want to make sure that both  parties are happy with the offer.  No company wants to have a new employee who is not happy with their offer and a company never wants to feel that they overpaid for someone.   Just because the economy isn’t great doesn’t mean it’s time to make lousy offers to potential new hires.  I always ask a client “How long do you want to keep them?”

Happy companies have happy employees in any economy!

If you are experiencing rejection during the interview process, you are not alone.  In this economy many are experiencing something that is a new phenomenon.  The days of interviewing at 2 companies and receiving 3 offers are long gone, for now.  There is one thing that might help you which has always helped me and that’s reading.

If you are experiencing rejection, how are you coping with it?  Does your current job have you depressed and your options of leaving are slim to none?  Are you currently a big reader? I would suggest if you find that your attitude is up and down then reading certain books will help you.  Of course you know that I don’t mean romance novels:)!

When I first started out in sales I was not a big reader.  The problem for me was that I was experiencing something new in my career, failure.  We all have experienced failure but what was different to me was in sales when you failed you don’t get paid!  WOW!   This was unlike anything that I had ever experienced.  I’d failed in sports and that never seemed to bother me like this.  I was never a poor sport about losing and I am a fiercely competitive person.

Someone suggested Self Help Books to me.  Self help books?  What are they?  After reading a couple of them I noticed that I couldn’t get enough of them.  My attitude and confidence drastically changed for the better.  I was a new person.  Confidence in yourself is something you need to have in order to succeed.  I tell sales people all the time “Every time you fail places you closer to your next win.”  Reading helps you cope with the failure and let’s you understand it’s just a process that you must go through.

Reading will help you in all parts of your life, but when it comes to the job market perhaps investing in some books may make a difference in how you interview.  Remember, the first impression is the most important.  That eye contact and firm handshake with confidence goes a long way.

Some books you may want to try:

1) The Magic Of Thinking Big by David J. Schwartz, Ph.D.

2) Law Of Success by Napoleon Hill

3) How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie

4) Peak Performance Principles for High Achievers by John R. Noe

These books made a big difference for me.  You might also want to try other books of inspiration, but what really helps is that you understand that you are great just how you are!  I needed to read that to understand that.

More and more job candidates are telling me they want to leave their big company and go work for a small company.  I always ask “Why do you want to do that?”  The answers I usually get seem to be the same.  “Well I just can’t get anything done here  with all of the bureaucracy and politics.”   Another popular response is “Well I really just need a change.” and my all time favorite is, “I will rock the doors off of a small business because I have big business experience!”   HA!

Well before you make that change tiger, let me fill you in about what you may encounter with such a move.  The biggest change you will find is you can’t hide in a small company.  You know the 9:15 coffee break and the 2 hour lunch, it ain’t happening.  The little perks that perhaps you’re accustomed to don’t really fly in many small companies.  Half day Fridays after lunch may be hard to pull off unless it’s across the board.  Small businesses have to fight for every dollar they make and every dollar is accounted for.

If you really want to take that leap then be prepared for a change.  We have placed people from large corporations to mid size corporations and that transition has shocked many.  For some reason people that have made that transition thought that it was going to be a cake walk.  Well I have news for you, it isn’t.  It’s just like people that have moved from the North to the South.  They think that the southerns aren’t sharp and that their going to take over and own everything.  Going to a small company may be a great experience if you really like to get involved with many aspects that go on.  One day you may be doing a sales presentation and the next day you’re fixing the copier.  Being politically correct and dealing with all of the games that go on in a large company, don’t exist in a small company.  Sucking up to gain points with a “team leader” and crap like that is not happening in a small company.

I personally have worked at every sized company, from large to small, and today I am self employed.  What I have found is that owning your own business is the hardest way to earn a living, yet most rewarding.  The larger the company the easier it seems to be overall.  Now I know I’m going to get grief over saying that because many of you will probably disagree, but I must ask if you have experienced them all.

This is just my personal experience.  For the record, it has been a long time since I worked for someone, but I do hear from candidates and clients about their experiences.   It’s funny because it’s not easy going from a small company to a large company but that’s another blog!

If you are interviewing at a small company and you are coming from a large company here are some tips:

1) Don’t be cocky

2) Don’t be laid back

3) Don’t start giving tips about how you can make things much better (cocky)

If you are interviewing at a large company and are coming from a small company background here are some tips:

1) Do not be overwhelmed like your first time at Disney.

2) Have confidence

3) Don’t be cocky

I am really curious what you think and what your experience with this transition has been.

The easiest part of the interview process is the Thank You letter.  Yet it has once again been the kiss of death for one of our job candidates.  This is the second time in 3 months  that one of our job candidates has been burned because of spelling errors on a Thank You letter.  With the job market being as bad as it is, you would think that job candidates would go the extra mile and make sure that they are doing everything that they can to cover their bases.

It is important to have someone else look over your Thank You letter.  In fact we tell all of our candidates to send us a copy before sending it off to a client just to have another set of eyeballs on it.  I understand everyone is busy and the idea that someone else needs to proof read something as basic as a Thank You letter can be overlooked.

How frustrating is it to lose out on a deal because of spelling?  Well both deals were for job candidates that make over $100K in salary so figure it out.  Anyone who reads my blogs knows that I can’t spell nor can I write but what I would never do is to make a spelling error on a Thank You letter.  We even have a template that anyone can use on our website.  Basic and to the point is all that is needed.  A Thank You letter is not going to get you a job but it will make it so you won’t get a job.  After all the first impression is the most important part of the interview process and the Thank You letter is the least important.  Before the Thank You letter the decision was already made to pursue a candidate.

Don’t make this mistake!

I must say in the past few weeks I have spoken with some truly outstanding HR Personnel.  Some internal recruiters working to fill roles for their hiring managers understand the importance of the hiring process and how it works.  We are called to help them when they have an extremely hard role to fill and they have had no luck in doing so on their own.  On the other end of the spectrum, I have come across some HR Personnel that need to get a clue.  They are considered to be little gods by their peers, and feared by many due of the pink slip and talk and act like they own the place.  It amazes me when people give themselves this so called power.  Why do some companies today allow their HR department to act so unprofessional?

Another growing concern that is surfacing is a lack of job candidate feedback.  This is when the client does not afford you the time to explain how the interview went with your job candidate.   I understand why so many people are upset when they don’t get proper feedback.  Not giving a candidate feedback or their recruiter after an interview ranks up there with getting fired by fax!  It’s just something you don’t do.  It’s as dumb as a job candidate taking a counteroffer!   I think this behavior needs to be called out and people should tweet the hell out of a company that practices this.  ** (Don’t sue me if you get sued for this statement) **

After a job candidate has interviewed it is imperative that proper feedback is given to me, the recruiter, on the pros and cons of my candidate.  Feedback by both parties is critical for the process to work.  In order for me to help them, my clients, I need to better understand the things they liked and didn’t like about my candidate.  This information helps me to narrow my search.  Just like with my candidate, it is important to educate them on how they did.   I know some recruiters could care less about the candidate since the client pays their fees.  I personally feel it is extremely important to educate your candidate so that he/she will do better on their next interview.  After all you should care, since that candidate is someone you’re working with and you are recommending.  One of the best reasons why you should work with a recruiter is because when a client gives them feedback it is usually honest and to the point.  That will give the candidate insight on their interviewing techniques for future interviews.

I do understand why some companies don’t respond to every resume that gets submitted blindly.  There is not enough time in the day to respond to some of these resumes.  After all 95% of all resumes submitted to an ad is from someone who isn’t even in the same ballpark.  You all know what I mean if you placed an ad for someone.  It’s like placing an ad for a soccer player and the majority of resumes you receive are from people with no feet!