Do you know your worth?

One of the most challenging questions when searching for a job is answering the dreaded, “What are your salary requirements?” question.  It’s like 3 card solitaire; it is so tricky!

You don’t want to over-shoot the mark, for fear of self elimination from a viable job candidate.  However, you also want to let your interviewer know that:

1. You think highly enough of yourself to warrant an appropriate compensation for your skills
2. You understand your worth VS the job’s ROI to the organization
3. There may be room to grow with that number, based on performance

There is a fine, fine line between overstepping your boundaries/expectations OR selling yourself short of your worth.  In a market where jobs are scarce and candidates are plentiful, do you lower your requirements for compensation?  If so, should you voice that to your potential employer?

When companies are throwing around terms like “leaning out” and “domestically realigning,” this can be quite a hurdle to overcome without shooting yourself in the foot…so to speak.

After being asked this question by multiple parties at various job interviews, I continue to believe that honesty is the best policy (as usual).  My answers usually oscillate between a blunt compensation number or parameters of specific compensation range.  I try not to patronize the question.  I tend to answer with a confident, but understanding tone.

I like to relate this delivery style to a personal trainer asking what you ate today.

You:  “Well, I ate pretty good…but I had a cookie after lunch today.”
Personal Trainer: (look of support, but empathy for your situation)  “Ok, we can deal with that. Let’s get started because we have a lot of work to do.”
You:  “Good…because I can’t take back eating that cookie and it was so delish that it was worth it!”

At least that’s how I like to picture it in my head.  Now, as to how the other party/interviewer sees this scenario playing out is still TBA.  I just continue to hope that after having multiple job offers, I am able to find a nice mix between compensation that reflects my worth, a passion for the organization and position, as well as a healthy verbal appreciation by my potential employer.

Question:

Shout outs to:

1.  The Jimmy Buffet Bus Driver: for making me believe once again in Karma and the goodness of people.  He returned my iPhone, hallelujah!

2. Mexico:  for making the USA look like we are having “good times.”

3.  Ryan Coffey: for continually going out of his way to help me.

How is the job search coming along?

As I am continually asked how my job search is coming along, I feel obligated to update those select few/awesome supporters.

Current update based on 20 days progress:

Number of total opportunities that have been referred-  15+
Number of  interviews- 8
Number of follow up interviews- 7
Number of verbal job offers- 4
Number of newspaper articles written- 1

More to come…

Orlando Sentinel and the aftermath

Thirteen days into the job search and I am still unemployed, by choice thus far.  I thought about charging for autographs on the newspaper, but then no one asked.  So that option was out pretty quick.

Even my Dad wasn’t even all that pumped.  I sent him the link and all I got back was a reply email saying,

“Brit good article I am impressed……….love you DAD”

Literally, that was it.  No phone call or questioning.  Nothing.  I hope I am still in the will.

Not pumped by my "fame"...

Now my Mom on the other hand, kept calling me throughout the day to see if Good Morning America had contacted me about an interview yet.  lol.  She doesn’t get it, but it’s sweet.  Then she asked if I could “twitter” them, to show them the article.  Hey, she understands better than a lot of Marketing Depts.  Redemption.

She hates this pic, but I just love it!

So I guess I should answer some questions that continue to arise:

1.  How did you get that article published?!?!?

Hm.. well I wish I had that much pull.  Fortunately for me, I had a couple people looking out (::cough cough:: @sterlingrafael @elizabethb) after hearing that Etan was writing an article on people losing their jobs and promoting it through social media.  Enter: stage right… Moi. After some questioning and a photographer who came out to my house to snap those awful pics, I made my debut.  Mind you, I had no idea that it would be a front page article…

2.  Why do you have that many Facebook/Twitter “friends”?

Great question.  At just under 1,300 facebook friends and 900ish twitter followers, one might wonder such a thing.  Well, let me preface this answer by saying that I have been using Facebook religiously since 2003.  This was back when it was only for college students and revolved mainly around posting your drunk pics from the weekend before (not that much has changed since…).  Not many people (if any)  fully understood the consequences of social media and being selective about who to accept as a “friend.”

Anyway, fast forward to 2009.  I don’t think I have ever deleted anyone from my friend list, unless for valid reasons (see: ex-boyfriends).  I would actually venture to say that I have met, in person, upwards of 85% of those who are on my friend list.  Not impossible to image over the period of 5 years.  You do the math.

It never struck me though, until having been through this little unemployment phase, that those friends would be so helpful/useful in finding a new dream job.  (I could go on a tangent here about how there are 2 kinds of Facebook users, literal VS networker.  I will save that for another post.)

Oh also, I used both Facebook and Twitter a lot for my previous job.  Sounds weird, I know.

3.  Do you have a job yet?!?!

No.  See the first line of this post.  However, I have had 2 offers and a total of 8 interviews so far, all with follow-ups.  There are others in the works.  Recession, what?  I feel really fortunate to have the ability to be selective about where my next job will be.  I think its a powerful thing when you can find a fit for both you and the company.  Everyone is happy.

Finally, I think that there have been many opportunities to come out of this write up about me and my lack of a day job.  I will say though, it has stirred up quite the hater groups.  I never took into consideration that any publicity comes with both good and bad consequences.  Silly me, I should know better.

Question:

Shout outs to:

1.  Shannon: for dragging my butt to the gym tonight.

2.  Parrot Heads: thanks for the awesome tailgate and concert this weekend, in advance.

3.  My Aunt Renee: for being my first Gen X family member on Facebook. w00t w00t!

Losing a job can make you “famous”?

Day 12: job search continues… on the front page of the OrlandoSentinel.

Wow.  (And by “famous”, I use that term loosely for these purposes.  Think Kathy Griffin or something…)

Today at 7:20ish I woke up to 4 text messages, 2 facebook emails, and about 3 DM’s from Twitter.  They all went a little something like this “HEY!  Call 106.7 XL because they want to talk to you about your article in the paper!”  Huh?

The radio station had apparently name dropped me and not so coincidentally set off a chain reaction of texts/calls/twitter/facebook messages to my  my new phone (which by the way, I lost my numbers so don’t yell at me for not knowing who you are right away).

Now, I knew something like this article would be making an appearance in the paper today thanks to @etanowitz.  What I didn’t know, is that it would be on the front page and not underneath the “$200 washer/dryer for sale” articles.  Hm, surprise surprise!

A few minutes after the first friend called, I got a message:

So, naturally I looked up their phone number.  My call was greeted by a friendly voice, “HEY! What’s up?!  How are you??”  I was confused by this response, as I had just dialed the main phone number to the radio station.  God bless caller ID.

A short radio interview later and a few dozen text messages of replies from friends, my head was in a spin.  Next step, call Mom.  She said that she too had already gotten a few phone calls about her daughter being in the Orlando newspaper.  Thanks in part to social media, I didn’t have to go about retelling my story to her again. haha.

Who would have thought this could draw so much attention?

As I continue the job search, the bottom line is I am really grateful to have such support and assistance from all my contacts.  I will continue to look for my next career move in hopes that I can better myself and any organization out there looking for a talented employee.  I have some very interesting prospects on the horizon and hope this will turn out to be a positive venture in lieu of my unemployment.

Good luck to anyone out there in my shoes!

Two steps forward, one step back.

In life, people are looking to move their professional career and personal selves forward, not backward.  Greater successes, deeper knowledge, and valuable experiences make up the steps of forward movement through life.  Yet when asked to accept a position below our qualifications to align oneself for future positioning, it’s hard to keep long term benefits top of mind.  I find it to be really challenging to lower your standards on the front end of a deal, in order to reap the benefits on the back end.

Someone once said that you have to take two steps forward and one step back to achieve your goals.  Or, something along those lines…pre-american idol.

I think this idea may be an important strategy to realize and act on your professional career accordingly.  Sometimes sacrifice will make your long term experience worth while in the big picture.  In contrast, another relatively intelligent old guy also said:

"I walk slowly, but I never walk backwards."

Because of these contrasting views, I am having a bit of an internal struggle.  Recently I was offered a position that was below my qualifications, but had opportunity for exponential growth within the organization (and great perks too!).  I want to justify accepting the position because of these future opportunities.  I also realize that some of the forward movement may be momentarily put on hold.

Question:

Shout outs to:

1.  AT&T: I hate you; I wasted half my day in your store and had nothing resolved…enough said.

2.  Zycam Cold Remedy: I am begging you, please work.  I don’t wanna be sick.

3.  Thursday: for allowing Friday to follow you around.  I love it when you do that.

Waiting to accept a job, still an option?

I have always been told that a company will wait for you to accept a position, if you are truly the right candidate for the job.  Is this still true?  After a few carrots have been dangled for the taking, I am trying my best not to make a snap decision for the pure  sake of employment.  However, it is a very competitive job market out there!  I know others are chomping at the bit for opportunities that I have been offered… So, can you still afford to wait on accepting a position?

I want to choose the right direction for my next professional step in life.  I want to have the ability to grow with the position and the company.  However, this decision requires a fair amount of thought, research, and interviewing (which all take time!).

What happens when one of those cycles ends before another and you are stuck saying, “Mr. Employer, can I wait to respond to your offer?  I really like this job and company, but want to make sure I am weighing all my options.”  My hope is they respect your thoughtful consideration and will see this as a strength to be applied to your potential job.

This is only day 5 of my unemployment streak and I’m already antsy to get back out in the work force.  I don’t want to lose a good thing, but also don’t want to pass up checking out other potential opportunities. Yikes!  What to do…

Shout outs to:

1.  @mjsearcher: for the career search tips!

2.  My mom: for her constant support and encouragement.  She’s great.

3.  CNN news: for their ridiculous coverage of the tea parties.  They act like these things should be against the law because it’s FOX news supported. haha

Are job boards a waste of time?

Scenario:  Tomorrow you find out that you no longer have a job. (Theoretically speaking…I don’t wanna jinx anybody from my unemployed voodoo blog.)

Where’s the first place you think to begin your job search?  Obviously the internet, but more specifically you go to the spot where the most jobs are located, CareerBuilder.com or Monster.com.  The problem is, you and about 45 million other people are competing for the same jobs blindly.  Sounds crazy, right?

Look at 2008 vs 2009.  CareerBuilder’s traffic nearly doubled in just 1 year’s time.

It’s no secret that there hasn’t exactly been a significant increase of job opportunities over the past year…  From the influx of visitors to these websites and lack of marketing dollars being spent to use them as a recruiting tool, one can draw a pretty clear conclusion.  (You wont need rocket science for this one.)  There is an extremely lopsided ratio of applicants to job postings. Why should that matter if you’re a qualified candidate, you ask?

Well, applying from a job board is like printing and folding a paper plane copy of your resume and throwing it into an infinite black hole.

• You have no direction as to where it’s going (unless you twist the tip and put a paperclip on the back wing).
• You have no control over who will receive it.
• You have no idea when it will be read.
• You are clueless as to the next step in their hiring process.
• Sometimes, you don’t even know what organization is recruiting for the position!

This just doesn’t seem very fair to any job applicant.  Having been a recruiter at one time, I understand the logic.  But I still find it quite irritating as a potential interviewee to be subject to so many variables.  It’s hard enough to update my damn resume!

I suppose the smart applicants find a way to hunt down this relevant information of the job posting for follow-ups.  Although, this is why I am starting to believe these job boards are not worthy of my time… Anyone who is savvy enough to do their do-diligence will most certainly skip the job board altogether and go right to the source.

If you even make it that far, how do you then distinguish yourself from the other 44,999,999 applicants.

I have done a few funny, borderline stalker-esk, things to get noticed and land an interview.  Which leads me to my next question:

Shout-outs to:

1.  My transmission: for humping it all the way down AND back to Ft. Lauderdale for 3 job interviews without even complaining once or asking for a pee break.

2.  Florida weather: for having mercy on me in my trek through your wild, wild west antics of tornados and rain.  You seriously need to be on medication for the whole bi-polar disorder thing…

3.  My new dentist: I don’t know you yet, but I love that you called to remind me about my teeth cleaning the day before.  *wink*

The Interview is a first date.

I never understood in movies how people made comments about dating lives after marriage (probably because I haven’t yet married, but thats besides the point)…  You hear things like “I haven’t done this in so long!” or “I never though I would be out on the market again.”  see (n): Elizabeth Taylor

Sadly, I am starting to understand how those phrases come into play when one re-enters the work force.  Those remarkable How to interview books for Dummies seem to fade far, far into the distance as the daily tasks of the job take over.  When put on the spot, are you prepared to answer such questions as “Why you are best for the job?”  …dang, I just figured out what the job is and now you want me to answer that!?    After 4 new first dates interviews with various verticals, personalities and positions, I am starting to believe that getting back in the saddle takes practice.

Question:

Like any new courting stage that involves myself, I am brutally honest.  Some may say this is a character fault when trying to impress a potential employer.  However the more I experience, the more I feel this “straight shooter” attitude eliminates problems after the honeymoon stage.

Things I really enjoy about a first interview:

1.  REALLY difficult questions:  I find myself often not knowing the answer right away, but instead, talking myself (out-loud) through the logical response.  Typically (and this of course is a percentage), I am pretty impressed with the end result of my logic.  I hope the other party is as well…

2.  Eye contact:  Not sure why this is such a hard one for people to comprehend.  Eye contact says, “I am serious about you and I believe in my organization.”

3.  Business challenges:  I think it’s great when you can talk opening about the challenges of your business and how the next potential employee will help solve those challenges.  This is really when my brain starts ticking and can get into the game!

All and all, I think the interview can often be overlooked as a one sided interrogation.  As the interviewee, you are just as entitled to asking the hard questions as the interviewer.  I think if you don’t come away with some questions, you probably haven’t been paying attention to the real job and it’s objectives.

Shout outs to:

1.  Romina: my college roomie for the last minute interview opportunity that made me drive 4 hours to Fort Lauderdale for a 23 hours stay.

2.  Email domains: for allowing me to super internet stalk a potential employer by finding out their website and in turn, phone number, extension, job title and location so I could call and setup an interview for myself.

3.  Cedar plank: how I love the flavor you add to my Salmon fillet dinner. mmmmmmmm

Back on the market

Well, after a solid 13 months at my previous job at an Interactive Marketing Agency, I have been released back into the job market to reinvent/remarket/regain my professional self once again.  In this particular time of recession and layoffs, it is a bit of a scary challenge.   However, within just hours of  announcing to the world that yours truly is seeking employment, there was a flood of those willing to come to my rescue! (This just confirms my dedication to social media…)

I was shocked to see the immediate response of my peers.  Here is a peak:

And then of course, you have your typical haters…coincidentally long time friend:

So having been unemployed just shy of 5 days (and during a holiday weekend) things are still looking up!  People say that when one door closes, a window opens.  I think I have hopped on this believer’s bandwaggon.  Question:

Shout-outs:

1.  Obama: for increasing Cobra Healthcare coverage to 65% percent, even though I didn’t vote for you.  Whoop whoop!

2.  Apple: for selling me this bomb-diggity computer that I have begun my job search on.  Also, and the sales guy, Matt: for telling me about the free open bar happy hour at Icon downtown.  So clutch!

3.  Twitter: for allowing me to scream from the roof-tops, “I NEED A JOB!” And all those who responded to help!!

Speaking of, follow me @brittanyward.