Con-Search Career Tips for June 2013

Preparing for Your New Job

Daniel C. Simmons, CPC      Continental Search

I’ve discussed your worthiness as a top candidate and the role that geography, relocation, and travel play in your quest for a better job.  But what exactly are you prepared for in that new job?  Have you thought about the details associated with such an opportunity . . . and of course, how are you preparing to tackle those details?

As before, I have some questions and relevant points of interest that will help guide you through the process:

1. What functions do you wish to perform during the week to receive the paycheck you desire?  This is a very important question.  What is it that you do extremely well and enjoy?  Remember, this must be a marketable skill that brings value to an employer.
2. How much responsibility/authority do you feel you’re ready to handle?  This could be a larger territory, managing (more) people, bigger budgets, P/L, or being a member of executive management.
3. In what size company and in what company culture do you feel you would be most successful?
4. What is your present compensation and what is it that you’re expecting?
5. Consider the following: base salary, incentive pay, company car, stock options, cost of benefits, years until you are vested in your retirement program, and other perks.
6. Does anyone else at your address know you would consider a job change, and do they feel that this is a good time?  Why is this a good time?

Once you’ve determined the job, compensation, location, travel you desire, and hurdles you need to overcome and have your family onboard, it’s time to prepare your resume, line up your references, and contact a recruiter in your field.

The next step after that is to get your interview clothes ironed and rehearse the answer to “Tell me about yourself,” so you can ace your interview.

Don’t just wish for a better job.  Prepare for it . . . and then go get it.
If you have any questions about this article or about the questions posed in the article, send an email to dan@consearch.com.

Con-Search Career Tips for May 2013

Do Geography, Relocation, and Travel Affect Your Job Search?

Daniel C. Simmons, CPC      Continental Search

Congratulations are in order.  I’m assuming that after reading my previous article you must have determined you were a top candidate since you’re partaking in Part 2 of a 3 part series.

Preparing for a new job and the subsequent advancement of your career involves many considerations.  In this article, I’m asking, “If a great job was far away, would you be able to take it?”

As usual, there are a number of helpful questions that will allow you to better assess your situation and how prepared you are to make a move for greener pastures.  These questions address the subjects of geography, relocation, and travel and the role they play in your quest for finding a better job.

Consider the following:

• Can you sell your home profitably, or are you willing to take a loss to get what you want in a job?
• How would those who live with you feel about moving away in the next six months?  Be realistic: 16-year old girls seldom like to move.
• Is there a target geography that would represent a great move?  Don’t say, “Anywhere will be just fine.”  I have never met anyone who would be similarly happy in rural Arkansas as they would suburban Minneapolis.  Consider both culture and climate.
• If your spouse earns more than you do, is moving wise?
• How much overnight travel fits into your (and your family’s) lifestyle?  How does this compare with the average travel in the job you want?  If there’s a difference, then you need to revise your expectations.

Although these are tough questions, they’re questions that need to be asked, and more importantly, need to be answered.  One of the big reasons people can’t take advantage of a great opportunity is because they’re not prepared to take advantage of it.

Geography, relocation, and travel are all serious considerations and should be addressed in a fashion that allows you to adequately prepare for that great opportunity when it presents itself.

If you have any questions about this article or about the questions posed in the article, send an email to dan@consearch.com.

Con-Search Career Tips for April 2013

So you want a better job…

Daniel C. Simmons, CPC      Continental Search

Just about everybody wants a better job.  Unfortunately, not everybody prepares for finding and getting that better job.  They just wish for it . . . and you know how far that will take you.

When it comes to preparing for a better job, you have to ask the correct questions, specifically the tough questions.  These are the questions people often do not like to ask themselves.  (Wishing is a more attractive alternative.)  However, you’re ready to ask yourself the tough questions, which is why you’re reading this.  So let’s start with perhaps the toughest:

Are you really a top candidate?

This means that you’re in the top 30% of your industry.  Be honest with yourself and with me.  Let me articulate what it means to be in the top 30%.  If you’re going to get top dollar, you’ll need to show the following:

1. Track record of success – You can show consistent top performance for your employers.  Having copies of employee evaluations, letters of recommendation, or copies of awards document this.

2. Wise career decisions – Your resume makes sense and your choices propelled you forward to more responsibility or better employers.

3. Stability – You’ve shown that you’re a low-risk hire because you normally stay five years with an employer.

4. Your income expectations are in line with the value you would bring to the employer.

5. You have continued to improve your skills since graduation and can list what you have done, whether it’s reading books on selling, earning a technical certification, or being asked to speak on a topic in which you’ve become an expert.

6. Others think you’re great – You have a list of references who will sing your praises and confirm your accomplishments.

7. You have a professional presence and can articulate your success with confidence, not conceit.

8. You are fun to have on the team.

If you aren’t in the top 30%, then now is the time to stop daydreaming about a better job and change your situation so that you are at the top of your profession.  Corporations today want and need great talent and is not looking to hire the bottom two-thirds, but the top performers.