E-Mail This Article

View Archive Articles

Inventive strategy that shows ability
can clinch job offer

By Roni F. Noland, Globe Correspondent, 5/11/03

Need advice about managing your career or your workplace? The Job Doc can help. Our specialists can answer your questions on topics ranging from career transitions to management issues. E-mail queries to jobdoc@globe.com, or send letters to Job Doc, c/o the Boston Globe, P.O. Box 2378, MA 02107-2378. Letters may be edited for clarity and length.

	More from BostonWorks
		Featured Articles: There are other ways to save Balancing Acts Welcome home, dear Climb Have a plan to fight workplace harassment The Corporate Curmudgeon Is anyone really listening? Job Doc Prove that you've changed Transitions Focusing inward View from the Cube Making a case for naps Who's, What, Where This week's promotions The Job Blog Keep up to date with career news from around the web RSS XML Feed (What's this?)

I moved over to sales about six years ago after spending 15 years on the development side of the software industry.

I could not keep up to date technically any longer and had always wanted to move over to sales. I had to start over because I had no relevant sales experience. However, I was asked to leave the firm about nine months ago because our market collapsed (software for financial traders). I found my current employer by performing a search on the Internet for firms involved in software security. I sent the customary copy of my résumé and a cover letter explaining the relevance of my experience to their environment. I was invited in for an interview, which went well. I had to provide references. This meant that I had to go back two employers ago. My references were on vacation for three weeks and I was approaching the point of panic.

Out of the blue, I offered to work free of charge for the two weeks until my references returned. I said this would give the company the opportunity to see what I could do, and it would give me the opportunity to learn more about the company. Toward the end of that two-week period, I approached the owner and told him that I was going to have to begin increasing my job search activity because I could not afford to reach the end of that period and find that they were not going to offer the position to me. He made me an offer which I accepted and put my search on hold. About two weeks later, he paid me for the two-week period even as he was laying other people off.

I mention all of the above to indicate that because of the terrible job market, we have to be incredibly inventive about how we find positions now.

What creative strategies - either ones that I employed or others - are you encouraging readers to use in this down economy? And could you include the potential for payment?

I thank you for the opportunity to comment on some important, but often overlooked, creative job search strategies. You displayed creativity in several areas of your job search: You identified and targeted software security firms, I assume, because you found software security to be one area of software that was growing. You offered to work for two weeks unpaid, enabling the employer to evaluate you and for you to evaluate the potential employer. You quickly demonstrated your worth to your new employer, as he was able not only to retain you as he was laying off others, but was able to pay you retroactively for your two-week trial period.

The experience that you relate suggests another caution. It is hard to believe that all of your possible references were out-of-town at the same time and, in this day and age, not reachable by e-mail, fax, or telephone. The cautionary tale here to other readers is:

• Periodically check in with references.
• Be creative about finding alternative references if one on your ''A'' list of references is unavailable.
• Secure a generic written recommendation from each person you are using as a reference.

Most employers will still prefer/require a follow-up telephone conversation with a reference, but perhaps a set of written references would have forestalled the panic that you felt when you discovered your references were on vacation for three weeks.

Fortunately for you, your ''out of the blue'' offer to work unpaid for a two-week trial period worked out well, for you and for your employer; and, additionally, your employer was honorable enough to pay you for the two weeks you had offered to work for free. Not all employers would do the same. I would advise anyone else interested in trying this strategy to formalize the agreement in writing.

You mention that you embarked on a career change, partially because you were ''unable to keep up technically.'' The onus of keeping current in one's field is on the individual, whether you are employed or unemployed. Some employers help in this regard by providing on-site professional development or tuition reimbursement; others do not. Even while unemployed, it is essential to stay current in one's field by taking a course, reading professional journals, and keeping in touch with professional colleagues.

Your experiment into the world of software sales ended up being short-lived, due to the economic downturn. Have you looked at the very different skill sets that sales people and software developers have and determined which is the better fit for your personality? Does sales remain an interest of yours? Did you enjoy your nine-month sales experience? If so, did you enjoy selling software, specifically, and putting your software expertise to a new use? Or, did you enjoy the process of selling itself? If the latter is true, you may now be in a position - with some successful sales experience behind you - to look for a sales position in a different industry.

Appropriate garb for interviewing

This column has had extra meaning these past few months since my husband was laid off. Before my husband was laid off, he embarked on a self-guided regime to lose about 100 pounds through better eating and lifestyle habits. After five months, he is about halfway to his goal, and he shows no signs of quitting, only improving. (I'll be honest, I was a little nervous that he would go back to his bad eating habits after being laid off, which he took as a shock.)

Our problem is that his dress shirts and suit, which he only wore for weddings, funerals, and interviews, no longer fit, and I doubt the suit can be tailored effectively. Obviously, money is tight and we don't want to buy a suit that may be too big in a few months. We don't mind buying an interim dress shirt at a discount clothier.

Do you have any recommendations on what he should wear for interviews in the meantime?

The good news is that your husband has lost 50 pounds; the bad news is that his interview suit no longer fits. The good news is that he has a supportive spouse who is concerned about him ''dressing for success''; the bad news is that ''money is tight.''

As your husband will have only one opportunity to make a good first impression in an interview, it's essential that he do so. Dressing for success is a combination of what he wears, how he presents himself, and how comfortable he is with how he looks. The key to dressing for an interview is to be immaculate, pulled together, polished, pressed, presentable and professional - in short, grooming, confidence, and clothes.

Buying clothes that fit well now is an investment in both of your futures. Scrimp and save somewhere else, not here. You can help your husband find a nice-looking coordinating sport coat that fits well, pants, tie and long-sleeve button-down dress shirt at a discount store or outlet, or sometimes even in a consignment shop. Borrow a jacket in the correct size from a friend if you have to. Generally, suits are no longer mandatory, except perhaps for executive level positions in fields such as banking, insurance or finance.

The sartorial rule of thumb for interviews is to dress in a manner similar to the people who are interviewing but to ratchet it up a notch: be cleaner, more polished, and professional than they are. Casual business attire has meant that people dress in a wide range of styles for work. Your husband can do some research on the company and find out about its corporate culture, especially concerning dress. One outplacement counselor with whom I consulted suggested that your husband call someone in the human resources office prior to an interview to ask directly what he or she would recommend as appropriate interview garb.

Don't neglect important details: hair (and facial hair, if any) should be neatly trimmed; shoes polished; nose ring left at home, etc. Nothing should clash with the impression of a professional, polished, capable person. Think conservatively - more Brooks Brothers than Armani. However, do not wait to invest in an outfit suitable for interviewing until your husband reaches his weight-loss goal. He needs to feel confident and professional, in clothes that fit him well and fit the image he is trying to project.

Your husband should be proud of his weight loss efforts to date, his improved appearance and health, and his resistance to the stress of losing his job. I know he will carry this confidence with him as he interviews, along with good grooming and appropriate dress.

Quitting job and claiming benefits

I am getting married in June, and I will have to move to Chicago because that is where my future husband lives. Can I collect unemployment when I leave my job?

Also, if I am put into a new department at work that literally has little or nothing for me to do and that is more administrative than what I was previously doing (I am an HR generalist), can I collect unemployment if I resign because of lack of work?

According to the Division of Employment and Training, individuals who quit their jobs to relocate with their spouses are not entitled to receive unemployment insurance compensation.

Before 1992, when the law was amended, you would have been eligible for benefits. It is interesting that in the last 10 years keeping the family unit together is no longer considered an ''urgent, compelling and necessitous'' reason for leaving work.

Under current law, only when the applicant for unemployment insurance benefits leaves work to relocate with a spouse who was relocating for health reasons can benefits be paid.

An individual who resigns is eligible for unemployment benefits only by proving that he/she had ''good cause for leaving that was attributable to the employer'', according to the division. Some examples of good cause attributable to the employer include: relocation of the employer to an area beyond a reasonable commuting distance or a hazardous working environment.

You would be wise to keep careful documentation of any conversations with supervisors regarding changes in your job responsibilities. Whether these changes provide ''good cause'' for you to terminate your employment is a question that may be best addressed by an employment law specialist.

Roni F. Noland is a career counselor and coach in private practice with over 20 years of experience. She can be reached at RoniNoland@attbi.com.

E-Mail This Article

View Archive Articles