============================================== "Achieve Your Dreams" - Volume 11, May 2005 ============================================== Greetings! Welcome to "Achieve Your Dreams", a bi-monthly newsletter for people with a dream - - whether it's accelerating a career, changing careers, building a business, securing a new job, achieving that long-desired goal, or discovering a new life vision and direction. Each newsletter will offer 1-2 noteworthy articles, a section on "Office Happenings" and "Helpful Resources", and some favorite quotes and sayings to motivate and inspire you. In this issue: 1. "How to Work Effectively with Recruiters" 2. "Beware the Counter-Offer" 3. Office Happenings (Office Closed for Memorial Day Holiday) 4. Helpful Resources (Negotiating Flex-Time Arrangements) 5. Favorite Quotes Feel free to forward this to those you believe would find it useful. Feedback is encouraged and appreciated. If there is a specific topic you'd like covered, please send the suggestion to me via the e-mail address below. Enjoy ... ======================================= How to Work Effectively With Recruiters ======================================= "R-E-S-P-E-C-T... find out what it means to me" was a line made famous by Aretha Franklin, and one that many recruiters (aka "headhunters") have adopted as their mantra. This is probably because there's been such a love-hate relationship between candidates and recruiters - candidates love what recruiters can do for them, but at the same time, aren't thrilled that they need their services. One can hardly blame candidates for thinking this way. Over the years recruiters have been branded as uncaring, money-hungry vultures who have their eyes set only on the bottom line - their bottom line. Are all recruiters like this? No, not all of them. But like it or not, recruiters have been, and will continue to be, a viable resource for candidates and should be a serious component of any job search strategy. For this reason, recruiters shouldn't be dismissed, but instead appreciated for the role they can play in helping good candidates find jobs. And as a candidate, your job is to understand the role a good recruiter can play in your job search efforts and work to cultivate positive relationships with the many reputable recruiters out there. Below are some pointers to help you create respectful, win-win relationships with the recruiters in your industry: - Respect what recruiters do. Although recruiters don't work for you, the good ones will work with you. With a hiring company in mind, a recruiter will make recommendations on how you should change your resume, the way you interview and/or the way you dress. If this happens, heed his or her advice. Recruiters have insider information on the specifications the hiring organization is searching for, and the clues they provide can be invaluable - Respect what recruiters can't do for you. The recruiter's allegiance is to the hiring organization. Therefore, he or she is going to spend his/her time and resources on scouting a candidate that fits the hiring organization's specifications, not on finding you a job. That's why it is important to realize that recruiters are just one source of getting interviews. Your job search plan should include other methods of gaining employment such as networking, directly contacting employers, and responding to Internet postings. - Respect the interview with a recruiter. Save your war stories for nights out with friends. When you contact recruiters, be discriminating about the type of information you provide. A meeting with a recruiter is an interview. Don't allow the informality of the conversation to convince you otherwise. During a meeting with a recruiter you will be judged on your performance; therefore, be professional at all times. - Respect a recruiter's time. When a recruiter has recommended you for a position, that means he or she has invested time in your career; therefore, respect their time. Return their phone calls and provide them feedback on the company after any interview. Recruiters are especially interested in knowing your interest level, your thoughts about the interviewer, the run down of the interview process, and the next step agreed to by you and the company. - Respect a recruiter's reputation. Recruiters aren't just out to fill a job order. Their credibility is dependent on the caliber of candidates they send on interviews. As a result, recruiters look for candidates who know what they want, present themselves professionally, can add value to an organization's bottom-line, and are out to win job offers. When working with a recruiter, a partnership is formed; and in order for the relationship to be successful, there must be a mutual respect between the two of you. Recruiters want to work with candidates who want to work with them, not candidates who are having difficulty finding a job and want to be rescued. If you can effectively convey to a recruiter that you have a sincere interest in working with him or her and that you have the skills and background they're looking for, you'll find yourself in turn treated with respect. ======================== Beware The Counter-Offer ======================== "Breaking up is hard to do." Ah yes, we've all been there. To gear up for that fateful day, the "dumper" usually plays the scenario over and over in his or her mind until the perfect break up line is found - a line that has the right balance of honesty and diplomacy. The dumper usually envisions a smooth ending, without complications, and a firm "we'll part as friends" handshake. Unfortunately, breakups are rarely a mutual decision. The "dumpee" almost always throws a curve ball in the dumper's perfect plan, he or she asks - sometimes begs - for a second chance. Uncomfortable breakups are not restricted to one's personal life; they can also creep into one's professional life when an employer's response to a resignation is a counter offer. In a moment of weakness, the employee may feel tremendous pressure to cave in. Should he or she stay in a current job that has become stale? Or does he or she move on to take advantage of a more exciting opportunity? Though the decision to stay or go is a personal one, there are some common pitfalls you must be aware of and many factors to consider before accepting an employer's counter offer. First, know that the moment you resign, your loyalty to the company is questioned. Although your manager may say, "We'll give you anything you want" in an effort to persuade you to stay, be aware that this plea may be a diversion until the company finds a replacement. Your manager will do what he or she can to protect the interests of the company. Even if you are not replaced, you may be passed over for a promotion or not assigned juicy projects because you've gained the reputation of a disloyal employee, a non-team player. However, let's give your manager the benefit of the doubt. After all, he or she may be sincere in their quest to make things right and persuade you to stay... because he or she really wants you to. But, they may not have the authority to follow through. Therefore, don't take any promises at face value; get your counter offer in writing. How management perceives you should not be your only concern. Your colleagues may become resentful that you were given a raise or company perks because, as they see it, you blackmailed the company into making a counter offer. As far as your colleagues are concerned, they put in as much time and effort as you to promote the growth of the company, and they will resent not being recognized for their contributions the way you have been. Resentment can cause the dynamics of your relationships with colleagues to begin to shift. And because satisfaction with your work life can, in many ways, be defined by your connection with co- workers, it is important to consider your colleagues' reactions when making the final decision to stay or go. Resist the temptation to be roped in by the glamour of the benefits offered. Take into account the core reasons why you began searching for another position in the first place. Was it because you wanted a few extra days off? Or was it because your efforts weren't valued? Was it because you wanted extended lunches? Or was it because you want to get home at a reasonable hour? In the end, are the perks you're being offered sufficient to overcome the initial objections that motivated you to search for another job to begin with? Statistics show that employees who decide to accept a counter offer end up getting fired or quit within the year. Does that mean you shouldn't accept a counter offer? Not necessarily. What it does mean is that you should prepare for all the possible scenarios that may arise. Whether you decide to stay or make a clean break is up to you. Just be sure that your decision is an educated one. ================= Office Happenings ================= The office will be closed on Monday, May 30 in celebration of the long Memorial Day weekend. ================= Helpful Resources ================= Talking The Boss Into A Flex-Time Arrangement: For those of you who are interested in negotiating a flexible work arrangement at your current job -- telecommuting, job sharing, compressed workweek or a part-time arrangement -- WorkOptions.com (http://www.WorkOptions.com) offers helpful information plus several downloadable planning tools and templates at no and low-cost. WorkOptions.com has been cited by The Wall Street Journal as "the best all-around web site" for helping workers prepare their case and talk to their boss about flexible work hours. =============== Favorite Quotes =============== "In order to succeed, your desire for success must be greater than your fear of failure." -- Bill Cosby "Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great." -- Mark Twain "Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase." -- Martin Luther King, Jr. "Genius is only the power of making continuous efforts. The line between failure and success is so fine that we scarcely know when we pass it... There is no failure except in no longer trying." -- Author Unknown Happy spring everyone! In support of you, Jeanne ****************************** Jeanne Knight, JCTC Career and Job Search Coach jeanne@careerdesigns.biz www.careerdesigns.biz 617-968-7747 Office Hours: M-TH 8:30am - 5:00pm FRI 8:30am - 12:00noon ** If you would like someone added to this newsletter distribu- tion list, please forward their name and e-mail address to me. They will be added promptly. ** If you would like to be removed from this list, please reply to me via this e-mail address. I will remove your name promptly.