misc.jobs.* Wisdom FAQ -- Part 4

The misc.jobs.* Conventional Wisdom FAQ -- Part 4
Contents
Q-4.1 Whom should I ask to serve as my references?
Q-4.2 What questions will be posed to my references?
Q-4.3 I'm concerned that my present employer will give me bad references.
Q-4.4 I want to relocate to X, and currently live in Y. Does it hurt my chances?
Q-4.5 How do I write a resignation letter? What is an exit interview?
Q-4.6 Should I accept a counter-offer?
Q-4.7 How do I identify potential employers?
Q-4.8 How do I network?
Q-4.9 What do I do between jobs? How do I deal with financial problems?
Q-4.10 How do I look for another job while still working?
Q-4.11 How do I handle requests for the salary history?
Q-4.12 I've interviewed at several places. I haven't heard back from my first choice, so I accepted the offer from my second choice. A few weeks after I started, I got an offer from my first choice. Do I take it?
Q-4.13 What do I do when I receive a job offer?
Q-4.14 Any other common job-search tips?

Q-4.1 Whom should I ask to serve as my references?

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Sometimes it's more important who the reference is than what she says about you. Famous researchers, celebrities, and stars in their field sound impressive. Anyone known to and trusted by the employer makes a better reference than a total stranger. Strangers ranked by credibility:

Former supervisor
Former co-workers
College administrators and advisors
College professors
Personal professional acquaintances

The phrase References available upon request has no meaning on a resume.

Q-4.2 What questions will be posed to my references?

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You can expect a background checker to contact all of your recent places of work (usually the h.r.) and ask these question to verify your employment history:

your title and dates of employment
your manager's name and title

The people you give as references may be asked about some of the following:

your technical knowledge
your speed and thoroughness
your attendance and punctuality
your ability to get along with people/work in a team
your ability to work independently
your communication skills
any deficiencies/suggestions for improvement
whether they would rehire you

If a recruiter is calling, he may ask:

if he can use this evaluation for other clients he submits you to
if they're looking to hire anyone.

You should contact your references in advance and explain carefully who will be calling, why, and what should be left unsaid. Provide them with a copy of your resume. If your job search is proving to be lengthy, check periodically to make sure they are still willing to be called. You may also ask a friend to call and pretend to check your references. The rehire question is important. A reference may give glowing descriptions of your technical abilities, then say you wouldn't be rehired because you quit without notice.

Some organizations have a policy of confirming the job title and dates of employment, but refusing to answer any other questions.

Q-4.3 I'm concerned that my present employer will give me bad references.

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While you're still working and looking for another job, tell prospective employers not to contact your present employer for references, because they'll fire you if they find out you're looking. Many hiring decisions have to be made without talking to the candidate's current employer for this very reason.

Q-4.4 I want to relocate to X, and currently live in Y. Does it hurt my chances?

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Yes. Some employers will be reluctant to pay for your coming to interview and for your relocation if you're hired, even if you state in your cover letter that you'll pick up these expenses. A solution is to rent a mail drop/telephone answering service in X.

Q-4.5 How do I write a resignation letter? What is an exit interview?

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It's always a poor judgment to quit without notice, even though the company may discharge you without notice. Leave in a friendliest possible way because you may wish to return to this company later, or you may have to use it as a reference, or you may encounter your former co-workers elsewhere later in your career. The last weeks in a position play an important role in shaping your employers' and co-workers' parting opinions of you.

Request an appointment with your direct supervisor (not your supervisor's supervisor, even if you hate your direct supervisor). State at once that you've decided to leave, and negotiate exit terms if necessary (for example, agreeing to stay for 3 more weeks, instead of the customary 2 weeks, to finish up a particular project). Express appreciation for the job you are leaving and submit a brief formal (but cordial) letter of resignation for their files. Hand-delivering a paper letter is traditional, although e-mailing it is fine too. The letter should state that you resign and give your last day on the job. Adding a statement such as I appreciate the opportunities I have had while employed here is a common courtesy. There's no need to put down what your future plans are. Don't ever put the reasons for leaving in the resignation letter.

Some companies have the policy of having security guards escort the worker from its grounds immediately upon resignation. If this is the company policy, try not to take it personally.

It is common to question the workers about their reasons for leaving (a process known as the exit interview). There are two purposes for an exit interview: to debrief you if you have any proprietary information that shouldn't be shared outside, and to ascertain if there is a problem which was not known previously. Unless there's been a complete communications breakdown, you've probably spoken in the past about your reasons to be dissatisfied with the former job and to seek another one. You should not repeat them. Anything negative and general that you say at this point may be noted in your file and come back to harm you later. If you have any specific suggestions for improvement, make them. Be very positive and enthusiastic about your new job. (E.g., if you say you doubt that you'll last there long, this just might be made known to your new employers.) Describe it as an opportunity you couldn't refuse, but be careful about putting down your old job in comparison.

Leave your work area in the condition in which you would like to find it if you were new to the job.

Don't make promises you can't keep. E.g., don't promise to continue to assist with your old projects unless you know for certain that you will be able to follow through with these promises.

Q-4.6 Should I accept a counter-offer?

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When you tell a current employer that you're leaving, you can normally expect a counter-offer, or a buy-back -- an appeal to stay with the company. Counter-offers typically involve:

Offers of pay increase (What did they offer, why were you leaving, and what do you need to stay?)
Offers of promotion/more responsibility/changes in reporting structure (We were just about to promote/raise you, and it was confidential until now.)
Scare tactics/disparaging remarks about the new company or job (You won't last a month in that burnout shop.)
Manipulation/flattery (You're too valuable, and we need you.)
Guilt trips (You can't desert the team/your friends and leave them hanging. We've got that important project to finish.)
Delaying tactics (My boss wants to meet with you before you make your final decision.)

The purpose of a counter-offer is to save your boss from being embarrassed by your resignation at an inconvenient time and to avoid the inconvenience of an unfilled position while the company is searching for your replacement. Since you've already burned your bridges, you will be replaced as soon as it is convenient for the company.

Often, an offer is made to satisfy your request for pay raise that was previously denied. The company has judged that you were not worth this pay for a long-term position, but is willing to pay it to keep you around for a few more months. Although you may extract some concessions from the current employer in exchange for staying, most of the reasons why you chose to seek another opportunity will remain.

The conventional wisdom says not to accept the counter-offer and to stick to your decision to move on. Wall Street Journal's statistics indicate that more than 80% of those accepting counter-offers leave, or are terminated, within 6-12 months. Not all of them get a second chance at the opportunities they had given up on.

If your new employer is willing to delay your starting date, you can offer your old employer to stay on longer (e.g., 6 weeks instead of the customary 2 weeks) for a substantially higher pay rate.

Q-4.7 How do I identify potential employers, or research the ones I know?

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You can obtain a list of companies involved in a particular industry by searching a database such as Standard and Poor's CompuStat database for a given SIC codes.

Some useful Web sites follow. Keep in mind that some may be passworded, or sell information, generally for about $20 a dossier:

http://www.hoover.com/, the corporate directory. Some searches are free; subscription ($9.95/month) is required for full access.
the Thomas Register
Dun and Bradstreet has a search engine at http://www.dbisna.com/. Some searches are free. A detailed report costs $20.

If you're considering applying for a job at a publicly traded corporation, be sure to call it and request its report to stockholders (or the investor package).

That depends on what kind of information on companies you want. If you're coming for an interview at a company and you want to know as much as you can about its product line, plans for the future, etc, and it happens to be a publicly traded company, then a good start is to

call 800-555-1212 and get the company's 800 number;
call the company's 800 number and ask for the stock department (sometimes called investor relations department)
request the information package for potential investors.

(If a company doesn't have an 800 number call it directly :-)

Within a few days you should get a package that includes the company's latest annual report / 10K, quarterly reports / 10Q's, press releases, and usually lots of glossy brochures describing its products. You may not be able to make sense of the accounting numbers, but you'll have plenty of valuable information in the Management Discussion and Analysis section and other texts.

You may get some of the above at http://edgar.stern.nyu.edu.

In addition, if it's a publicly traded company, there are two good references for investors which you may be able to find at your local library.

Other resources, for which no other information is presently available, include:

Valueline
Standard and Poor's stock guide (not the little thing with 1 line per company that you get for free from your broker, but the collection of binders with several loose-leaf pages on each company).

Again, both of these have charts and numbers which may not make sense to you, because they're intended for a potential investor considering the company's stock, not a potential employee, but they'll also describe the company's history, and their presentation will be more balanced (i.e. they might mention that the company was nearly bankrupt a couple of years ago, and the company's own package might not).

Also you can go to a search engine such as http://www.altavista.com and http://www.dejanews.com and search Usenet and the Web for any mentions of the company's name. This is not very useful, but it is free.

The book: Researching Your Way to a Good Job: How to Find and Use Information on Industries, Companies, Jobs, Careers by Karmen Crowther, Wiley, 1993, might also be helpful.

Q-4.8 How do I network?

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Networking is the process of making oneself known to people who can provide information about job reqs, leads, personal contacts and start-up companies, and who have the power to hire. It's accomplished through the Internet and through in-person meetings in business and social settings. A networking job-seeker cultivates the people already successful in the field and asks for mentorship and advice. Some useful networking questions include:

How did you break into the field?
Where do you see a person like me fitting in this (field, company, industry)?
How should I prepare for a job interview in this field?
Who are the recognized leaders in this field?
What professional societies or associations should I join?
What's a typical career path for someone coming in at my level?
What are the largest obstacles I would face in this job?
What professional publications on this field should I read?
Which other professionals should I contact?
What kind of compensation could I expect in the first year?
What are the most necessary skills for this job?
Is there formal or on-the-job training?
How can I best utilize my academic degree?
How many people like me have made a successful career change? What kinds of backgrounds did they have?
How is the hiring done? Through the grapevine? Through direct application? Through recruiters?
Can I keep in touch with you regularly?

Don't ask questions just for the purpose of making conversation. Don't send unsolicited resumes (see Q-1.11). Don't waste busy people's time.

Trade shows, users group meetings, conferences, symposia, etc are a very effective way of meeting people in the field. Come, bring some resumes, make acquaintance, but don't give out the resume at this time unless requested. Just swap business cards and say that you would like to call them later about something.

Some job seekers prepare business-like cards that say Looking for an entry-level position where an ordinary business card has a job title, and pass these around.

Some possible sources of insider information about upcoming reqs and possible leads:

Commercial real estate agents are aware of new companies moving into the area, companies moving into larger facilities and new leases that have been signed.
Bankers are also aware of new companies in the area, new contracts that have been awarded, and new products that are ready to hit the market.
Restaurant managers know all about their regular customers - their jobs, their successes at work, their travel to develop new clients, new sales they have won, and the rumors about company acquisitions and mergers.
Other professionals (accountants, insurance brokers, doctors, clergy, etc.) know a lot of people and may know someone who may help you find a job.

Q-4.9 What do I do between jobs? How do I deal with financial problems?

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If you are suddenly fired, control your anger, anxiety, and guilt until you've left the office.
Find out whether you're still covered by medical insurance (COBRA) and whether the company will provide any outplacement services.
Some companies will let the departing worker take her personal computer, since a new one is usually bought for the replacement.
Contact your state department of labor and find out if you're eligible for unemployment payments.
Tell your family they're going to have to cut back. Discuss the specific expenditures that can be cancelled or delayed.
Work out an austere family budget, taking into consideration which creditors might allow you to skip or reduce payments. For example, many banks are willing to reschedule mortgage payments because of unemployment.
Plan for the worst. It's smarter to allow for an extended period of unemployment and be pleasantly surprised than to be disappointed when nothing develops immediately.
Remember that the higher your salary requirements, the longer lead time to secure an offer and the more funds you have to stretch until the right position is found.
Taking a interim position to alleviate the cash flow may interfere with your job search, which is a full-time job in itself.

Q-4.10 How do I look for another job while still working?

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You may be rightly concerned that you'll be dismissed as soon as your employers learn about your job search effort, especially if they learn from someone other than you. Therefore you want to take steps to protect your privacy and to keep your career plans secret.

When conducting a confidential job search, consider putting CONFIDENTIAL RESUME at the top of your resume.

Don't prepare your resume on your office computer and save the copy to the hard drive, especially if the computer is networked. Don't print it out on a shared printer. Instead, set aside a place in your home where you can work on your job search with a computer, printer, telephone, and supplies. Find a place that you can go each day to work on your job search during your lunch hour and/or break time.

Don't use company's e-mail to discuss your career plans with anyone. Many companies monitor e-mail. Get an account on a commercial ISP.

Don't ask your employer for a reference, or give your employer as a reference. Sometimes a recruiter or prospective employer will contact your current employer for a reference without meaning to jeopardize your position. If you give someone as a reference who knows your present employer, ask them to keep it a secret (see also Q-4 .1).

Avoid making personal calls on company time when soliciting information about a possible job. Avoid using a company phone. Someone may listen in. Find a pay phone, or a work area away from the office.

Don't tell (or hint) co-workers about your job search plans. Confidentiality is very difficult to maintain in the normal course of a work environment. Tell only family members who can keep a secret.

Don't interview on company time. If a potential employer can't accommodate a working candidate during lunch/break hours or before or after work, it's probably not a good place to work.

Use only reputable recruiters (i.e., recommended by someone you know). Don't answer any blind ads, where no company name or address is listed, only a post office box.

Don't post your open (non-confidential) resume on misc.jobs.resumes or another online resume talent bank. You can use an anonymous contact service, such as anon.penet.fi.

Consider getting a post office box and a new telephone number with voice mail for replies. (This prevents your current employer from discovering who you are accidentally).

Do attend business and professional association meetings regularly, and carefully select those associates who can provide a confidential contact.

Q-4.11 How do I handle requests for the salary history?

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At least half of blind ads that request the salary history are not real job ads, but salary surveys.

Some h.r. screeners state that they automatically discard any resume that is sent without the salary history in response to a request for one. Third-party recruiters seldom do that.

If your current salary is too low or too high, telling it to a potential employer hurts you. If it's too low, they'll probably be unwilling to give you a large increase over your current salary. If it's too high, they'll assume that you're unwilling to take a pay cut and eliminate you.

Never put a salary (current or desired) on a resume. The management may be unwilling to show such a resume to the technical people for this reason. It's wise for a contractor to put the desired rate in the cover letter.

Q-4.12 I've interviewed at several places. I haven't heard back from my first choice, so I accepted the offer from my second choice. A few weeks after I started, I got an offer from my first choice. Do I take it?

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This situation is surprisingly common, but there is no universal answer. Your second choice (the current employer) won't be surprised if you choose to take a better offer. (If they give you hard time over this, then this was not a pleasant place to work for anyway.) On the other hand, since your first choice waited so long before making you an offer, you probably weren't their first choice.

Q-4.13 What do I do when I receive a job offer?

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A job offer can be verbal or written. It never hurts to request a written job offer. If you've already considered the offer, you can accept it immediately. An offer is unrevokable unless you accept it immediately. However this is an important decision and no one would be surprised if you need more time to think. In thus case, acknowledge the receipt of the offer, thanking the employer for his/her interest and showing an understanding of the terms stated. The communication does not mean that you are going to accept the offer. It simply means that you have received the offer and are considering it. Remember that an employer has a right to withdraw an offer any time prior to acceptance if it's not accepted immediately.

You can accept an offer and rescind it later. Most employers are used to this and won't hold a grudge against you.

Q-4.14 Any other common job-search tips?

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Get an answering machine or a voice-mail system from your phone company. The latter is better because it takes messages even when your line is busy. Someone may be calling to invite you for an interview, not be able to get hold of you, and eventually give up. Better yet, use e-mail.

(U.S.) Request and keep receipts. Make sure amounts and dates are clearly printed. All expenses of searching for a new job in the same line of work, whether or not a new job is found, may be tax deductible, subject to the 2% AGI floor. Keep the rejection letter as evidence of your job search.

Always keep a stack of resumes in your car or briefcase, in case you're asked to produce one by a friend, relative, or someone you've met at a business or social function. (By the way, I'm looking for work. may lead to Let me see your resume, maybe I know of something.) However, avoid offering your resume unless you're asked first. (I'm looking for work, here's my resume is not a good thing to say at social functions.)