Do Your Homework Before Accepting a Job Offer

It may seem counterintuitive in today’s tight job market to think of turning down a job offer, but what if you took a job and then found out you’d entered a lion’s den or a totally dysfunctional organization? It’s happened to many of us—everything seemed good on the surface, but inside it was another story.

You can increase your odds for job satisfaction, longevity and general happiness at work by doing some advance work—if not before applying, at least before accepting an offer.

Before you get to an interview, research the company or organization by searching on LinkedIn or Facebook for recently departed employees you can contact for an inside perspective. Use your network. Also, look for news items, S&P data, stock values and annual reports to see if the company is on good financial and ethical ground.

When you arrive for an interview, get to know the receptionist (if there is one) a bit. Notice how you are greeted. Use this opportunity, only possible when inside the building, to gather intelligence on various aspects of the company. Notice, for instance, how people relate to each other. Ask how long people you meet have worked there and what they like about being there. Observe body language and listen for oral clues to staff morale.

Try to ascertain how the company operates. Do departments operate in silos or are there functional, cross-departmental teams? How are employees evaluated—once a year or regularly, one way or 360, formally or informally?

Assemble your findings to create your own employer profile—not the one they publicize. Rate what you found against your own priorities. Then you can make at least a relatively informed decision that could make the difference between taking a job that will last or one that will disappear in a short time—or one that will be fulfilling compared to one that will make you miserable.

What Should You Bring to a Job Interview?

When you arrive for an interview, you want to be prepared for all possibilities, especially probing questions. After all, the goal is to get the job you want. You should also bring a few items that will help you shine and leave a positive and indelible mark in the interviewer’s memory. This is your chance to beat out the competition—in person. What should you bring?

What you bring depends on your past or intended line of work and what’s relevant to the position being filled, and it also depends on who is interviewing you. Recruiters, unless they are specialized, probably won’t want to see a portfolio, but hiring managers will. Charts and graphs showing financial success could work in your favor in either situation. If writing samples are required, in most cases, you should plan to send them electronically.

If you bring a portfolio of work samples, such as design or project work, it is important to keep it simple. You don’t want to be encumbered by a pile of materials or shuffling papers around during the interview. The focus should be on you, not your stuff. You also don’t want to overwhelm the interviewer and take up too much time.

Here’s a brief list of the main items that you might need:

• Portfolio or other recent, relevant documents—enough to use as talking points or visual demonstrations of your capabilities 
• Copies of your resume printed on quality paper—enough for each person you will meet (check ahead to be sure)
• Pen and notepad or notebook—for taking notes for yourself and to show your interest (just don’t overdo it)
• Calendar, if you carry one (but keep your Blackberry or cell phone on mute and out of view)
• MOST IMPORTANT: A well rested and prepared YOU

 For more, see these earlier posts on portfolios:

Portfolios for Creative Non-Creative Job Hunters
Your Portfolio Can Put You in the Spotlight…or Out

There’s No Magic Bullet for the Job Hunt

Don’t you wish you could close your eyes, spin around, open them again and learn that you’ve been hired for your dream job? We all do, but it definitely doesn’t work that way. There is no magic bullet, no one answer to the “How do I get a job?” question. Unless you are very, very lucky and land a job quickly, or you give up hope and drop out (in which case you should seek counseling help right away), if you want to get a job you just have to keep going. Dropping out will get you nowhere.

Finding a new job after a layoff in a down economy takes hard work, ingenuity and persistence. You are competing with a vast sea of other laid-off professionals for a compressed bank of job openings. Seems depressing, doesn’t it? It could be, but with the right approach you can overcome the odds.

It is important to maintain a high level of energy and attention in order to achieve your goal in the shortest time possible. Eat healthy foods and exercise, take fresh air breaks, call a job search buddy, listen to music that inspires you and stay as positive as you can. Stay as organized as you can by establishing files and maintaining a calendar and expense records. Your attitude will pervade every meeting, letter, hand shake and phone call—so maintaining a realistically optimistic outlook should be part of your job search strategy.

Set aside up to six core hours a day for your job hunting activities. Overdo it and you could burn out. The secret lies not in the number of resumes you send out each day but rather in developing and following a strategy that fits today’s job market. That means using your connections, targeting companies, doing research, ferreting out the hidden jobs that never get listed, and staying current.

The job hunt process doesn’t have to cost you much. Email and electronic applications have reduced the expenses formerly associated with sending resumes. You can find low cost ways to network with local business leaders and peers in your field and conduct informational interviews. You can also network online and by phone. Friends and family may be able to help through people they know.

You could decide to go back to school and learn a new set of skills either to enhance your career chances in your previous line of work or to give you a shot at a new field where jobs are predicted to be more plentiful.

No, there’s no magic bullet, but to use a sports metaphor, you can’t win the game if you’re not in it.

It’s Tax Time—What Can You Deduct as a Laid-Off Jobseeker?

The last thing we all want to deal with is taxes unless we expect a refund. Chances are that as a laid off worker, you will be eligible for a refund this year, if you played your cards right.

Hopefully, you’ve kept records and receipts since your layoff, because if you have been looking for a job in the same profession, many of your job search costs are deductible on your federal tax return. Also, if you’ve been collecting unemployment, hopefully you’ve had taxes deducted.

The IRS allows a few job search-related itemized deductions, including:

• Employment agency or headhunter fees (if you pay them yourself and they are not later reimbursed).
• Resume preparation, printing and postage (and faxing).
• Long distance or cell phone charges related to your job search.
• Career coaching fees, and travel or phone costs related to their services.
• Local travel expenses. Mileage by car is reimbursed at 55 cents per mile, but you need to keep a log of your car travel, including local trips for job search purposes, including parking. If you travel by public transportation, be sure to keep track of your fares as well.
• Unreimbursed out of town travel expenses for interviews, including meals, transportation (air, train, taxi, bus), lodging, parking and tolls.

If you didn’t do it in 2009, I recommend keeping an inexpensive travel log with you all the time this year and setting up a spreadsheet to record your travel and other expenses. That way when tax time comes around again, you’ll be ready.

 

This CNNMoney article is from last year, but it has many excellent tips for unemployed taxpayers that remain relevant.

Encore! Encore! Take a Bow for Your Encore Career

Many people who lost their jobs in the current economic doldrums have decided to go back to school and learn new skills. Others have decided to shift their careers in new directions. These people will take the stage again in new roles, often in public service or with nonprofit organizations, and I applaud them. They obviously have faith in themselves and the determination to keep moving forward, two key ingredients for career success.

Earlier this month I participated as a judge in a marketing and publications awards competition among continuing education programs at private and public colleges and universities in the U.S. and Canada, conducted by the University Continuing Education Association. Marketing professionals, graphic designers and writers formed two teams to evaluate hundreds of entries in seven hours. It was exhilarating to see some of the great programs created to give people a second go at a career. And, the experience showed me today's vast array of opportunities that are available to explore and master new fields by going back to school.

This week I talked with an enterprising woman who has been “in transition” since last April when she was laid off. She has used the last year to retool her skills by taking multiple courses in certificate programs and is completing a Masters degree in order to reshape her career and re-enter the job market.

You might think that with no income other than unemployment benefits, going back to school would be impossible for you, but there are options to check out. For instance, there are foundations and other organizations that provide scholarships and grants for adult students pursuing a degree as well as specifically for women, veterans and minority groups. Colleges and universities sometimes facilitate such funding. Before you rule it out, it’s worth your while to do a little online research, talk to your local community college or university counselors, and peruse your options.

The jobs that are available today are not the same jobs vacated by layoffs last year. Requirements have changed because of business needs and technological advances. How you use your “out-of-work” time could determine whether you will be able to get a job and how soon … and how much you will make. How will you re-enter the stage?

“Uh, Hi. Um, I’m here for an interview”—Are You Communicating Well?

How well do you communicate in an interview? Do you hem and haw, add a few “ums” and leave “pregnant” pauses that leave you wondering afterward how you did? For people who are not public speakers or used to talking about themselves, an interview can be full of trepidation before, during and after they speak their first word.

There are various techniques for preparing for an interview that will help you overcome the heebie jeebies. First, you need to know yourself. Make notes and write up some of your recent best successes that show why you should be hired, ones that could easily translate into business success for your potential new employer. Be sure to include relevant, meaningful key words that suit your line of work. Keep in mind who’s going to be listening.

Then rehearse talking about these successes, either by yourself, with a friend, on video or in front of a mirror. There are plenty of lists of interview questions on the web that you can practice answering, including that proverbial one, "Tell me about yourself and why I should hire you."

You don’t want your answers to be over-rehearsed so they sound canned or inauthentic. You just want to be comfortable enough with talking about yourself, what you’ve done and what you offer an employer that you speak in smooth, clear and logical sentences. Think of it as telling your story in a conversational way.

Take notes, or have someone do it for you, of how many times you say “um” or “er” or the like, and of your eye contact. Try pausing briefly to breathe instead of inserting one of these non-words. If you are using a mirror, notice the expression on your face. Is it earnest, friendly, thoughtful, worried or intense? Try to adjust your facial expression to keep any anxiety from showing.

Then try it all over again, modifying what you did wrong before. And do it again, and again. In fact, you should practice until you can tell your story like it’s one you’ve been telling all your life and so it comes across as if you are telling it for the first time.

Here’s an interesting self-assessment tool from Mind Tools to evaluate your communication skills.

Text and word art: Copyright 2010, Cynthia C. Rosso

The Dreaded KSAs—Your Tickets to a Federal Job

According to Karol Taylor, a guru on getting a government job who has many years in government HR behind her, KSAs are going to be changed. Speaking to a Washington, DC job hunters support organization in February, she said it’s in the works to replace KSAs with another assessment tool, but she said they will really just reappear in a new form with a new name. In the meantime, in order to land a federal job, you have to master the dreaded KSAs.

What the heck are KSAs?

K=Knowledge • S=Skills • A=Abilities

In up to 4,000-character answers to a series of questions specific to a job opening, you are asked to describe your successes to demonstrate these three attributes. Your answers are read by real people, who then score your response. If your KSA score combined with your application score is higher than 90, you are more likely to be asked to meet for an interview.

There are many keys to being one of those who rises to the top of the heap. Here are some resources to help you get started:

Washington Post online article by Derrick Dortch, career counselor: Common Mistakes in Applying for Federal Jobs

AARP Webinar: The Ins and Outs of Applying for a Federal Job

Tips on writing a KSA from Making the Difference

Downloadable PDF guide to writing KSAs from Our Public Service

Ten tips for applications from USA Jobs

• See a full report in a February post on Karol Taylor's presentation, including her many helpful tips on applying for a federal job.

Finding Your Passion Again After a Job Loss

The other day I danced. It was around my livingroom, but I danced. I once dreamed of being a professional dancer on Broadway, but my reality and path in life led me into other creative directions for a career. I love dancing. It does something great for my soul. Whether it’s Ravel’s sultry Bolero, a lilting song by Judy Collins, Elton John’s rocking The One album or Pink Martini’s many styles, music makes me want to get up and move.

What makes you move, gives you a boost, charges your engines and makes you happy? Is there something you always wanted to do that you didn’t pursue? Is this your time, while you are between jobs, to try doing what makes your heart sing?

I met someone recently who is in his 50s and thinking of returning to dance, which he once pursued with passion. Now out of work and thinking of new options, he yearns to dance like he did when he was younger. I say, if the body is willing, why not?

Dance is only an example, and it may not be your passion, but don’t you have something you were pretty good at, something you always wanted to do besides what you ended up doing for a career? To get started, you could take a course or two, find a mentor, or do some informational interviews. Try whatever it is out for size. See if you can shift your career that’s been stalled by a layoff or other job loss in a new direction that makes you happier and pays the bills.

For me, writing filled the creative gap left after I stopped performing as a dancer. I’ve always loved to write anyway. Words have been the cornerstone of most of my career, and writing is a transferrable skill should I shift away from marketing and communications. The most important aspect of writing, however, is the passion I feel for it. If you can find that passion again, it can set your whole life on a path to greater happiness.