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It's hard to predict every career move and match everyone perfectly but in times of unprecedented pressure, sometimes you don't always have the gift of time. I'm here to offer you some subjective advice as a follow up to my first installment, of a three-part series. If you have missed the first installment, click here to read that first.
Unemployment, when flipped on its head, can be present to you with a few opportunities to discover what is important to you professionally & personally (when done the right way). Now, I hear you saying that without wage, life becomes infinitely harder and more stressful and I agree BUT:
A lot of candidates, employers, and even recruitment agencies will seldom talk about the cost of a hire that doesn't work out. Yep, It happens, and it's extremely damaging to all of us...
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the average cost for each bad hire can equal 30 percent of that individual's annual earnings. Thus, when you hire the wrong mid-level accounting manager or application developer earning $60,000, the real cost to your organization will be $78,000. Study here
The cost to a business is huge, and the personal cost to your career, happiness, and also financially is massive; so how do our best to avoid this? By both parties ensure they ask all the right questions (even if the answers aren't pretty).
Great Candidates, Clients, and Recruiters all explore the taboo subjects of "What about the role or company is NOT suitable?" It's not just about having $100mil in funding, beer fridges, and "Summer Fridays" but the honesty of discovering what gaps both parties have to be comfortable in making a decision to employ someone.
In my previous article I spoke about you deciding what you need out of a role, manager, and company. This conversation will dictate a list of two separate things, what is negotiable and what is non-negotiable. This list doesn't have to be perfect but more often than not, if you negotiate on too many non-negotiables, it will lead to being unhappy down the line. If you also negotiate on the negotiables too much, you will also be unhappy because actually, they aren't that important, are they?
How can you hold your end of the bargain?
To have peace of mind you and your future employer are both getting meetings the criteria for each other, Here is a set of questions that you can ask yourself, a recruiter, a mentor, or in interviews:
1. What is the market rate for someone with my skills, experience, and job role? How does that compare to my salary expectations?Asking this question repeatedly over the search should give you great intel to understand where you sit in he market and how to answer the dreaded "so what do you expect to earn" question.
2. Do they offer benefits such as healthcare, gym memberships, extra annual leave, etc? For some people, the value of such benefits can really outweigh the monetary value of a little salary increase. For example, you may not know they offer family healthcare but your other offer is slightly higher on the base. Asking these questions can ensure you aren't comparing apples with oranges.
3. Am I in the right sector, if not, do I have the transferable skills at present to transfer into another desirable role? If you are going to attempt an industry change, it requires a lot more thought and explanation. Work out what you need to change roles, if you already believe you have the skills, take the time to justify this in a tailored resume or application. Don't apply to the jobs assuming they know your reason for wanting a change of pace, this can often be misinterpreted.
4. How far am I willing to commute or even relocate? Location is a big one, people will often be optimistic about wanting to commute or relocate, especially if they have a family to consider. Remember an extra half hour on your commute, will add 130 hours per year and that's just the personal time, not just the cost of factoring in the convenience of not being at home for certain times.
5. What is the next step up in career, if I were to be successful in this role? This is particularly powerful questions because it will confirm two things:
That the company has clear ambitions, for not only the role you're applying for, but the future beyond this.
You are taking the right steps to get where you want to be. Looking further ahead can ensure you are on track with professional and personal goals.
6. How much internal and external facetime will be apart of my role? Where will your time be spent?
As a Manager, Teacher, Leader type: You want to be building culture, running a training session and upskilling your direct/indirect reports.
As a high performing individual contributor, you want to be doing your job 100% of the time whether it is selling to clients, optimizing tech, writing code, etc.
These are two small examples in a wide variety of work personalities, but with so many companies out there varying what the same job title does, you don't want to be caught in a scenario of frustration. Think Michael Jordan moving into baseball, the career move had potential but environment and timing weren't there.
Turning down a role that's wrong for you is Professionally, Spiritually and Financially better for you long term than having to work a job you don't like or worse, starting the process again because you made too many concessions over the hiring process.
By keeping a journal each day of these interactions, even throughout the interview process, you can really navigate your shopping list of needs and you'll be surprised as to how it evolves. The reason I say this advice was subjective, is the questions may differ but the principles stay the same.
Pick up a pen and get exploring today.
Over the Corona Diaries Series so far, we have covered:
- How mentally tough this Pandemic has been and it's OK to not be OK.
- How to respond to redundancy in a recession
Using pre-agreed negotiables to ensure you're applying and accepting the right roles
How to structure your job search and tie in what we have leaned. COMING SOON...
Stay positive, and if I can help with the above in any way, please DM me for a chat!