FRACAT - Free Resume And Career Toolbox Blog

The New, Improved, FRACAT 2.0!

dsweet — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 12:48:22 +0000

It’s here! Finally!

The new, improved FRACAT 2.0 is up and running. Click here to see it now!

This blog will remain here as an archive of all of the wonderful things we’ve done together to this point, but it will not be updated after today.

Here’s to another couple years of wonderful job-seeking, career-improvement stuff!

Dan
—–
Daniel R. Sweet
Chief Cook-And-Bottle-Washer / Technical Recruiter
FRACAT.com - Free Resume and Career Toolbox
LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielrsweet
Call me on Jaxtr: http://www.jaxtr.com/fracat

Photo by: kathyp

It’ll Be A Little Quiet This Week - Renovations Are Underway

dsweet — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 10:27:43 +0000

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I wanted to let you know that I’ll be taking a vacation of sorts this week from the blogging here on FRACAT.

Like most of your vacations, this one will be a working vacation. I’m taking the time off so that I can get the New, Improved FRACAT on-line and ready to go.

Everything here will remain up and running, but you won’t see new content until next Monday, October 29th.

Thanks for your understanding and I look forward to seeing you next Monday!

The Lies That Bosses and Potential Bosses Tell

dsweet — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 11:15:29 +0000

Yesterday, I talked a little bit about not basing your career around the information you hear around the hallways.

Today, we’re going to talk about those teeny factual inaccuracies coming from the people you work for.

In my career so far, I’ve been lied to, lied about, and then lied to some more. I’ve had companies being sold with the upper management saying, “Not much will change. No layoffs are planned. Everything will be like it was, but better!” Before they laid off a third of the company.

I’ve had coworkers lie about my work (taking credit for it and getting paid for it) to my boss since they were both at headquarters and I was out in the field.

Like most everyone here, I’ve been lied to about a job I was interviewing for. You know the spiel: “It’s a great work environment (if you don’t mind people trying to get you fired so they can take your cube) with lots of challenges (like how to do your work without any tools, funding, or authority) and excellent career growth potential (mostly when you leave here).”

And I know I’m not alone in being a Designated Lie Recipient.

So, why do employers tell these lies that will obviously be found out? How can you trust anything coming out of the mouth of these people? And how do you make good career decisions with bad information?

THE LIES FLOW OVER US LIKE A WATERFALL

So, why is it that so many bosses feel free to lie to us about anything? There are a number of reasons:

They Are Lying To Themselves - As the Wall Street Journal points out, many of the employers are first lying to themselves and then telling you what your job would be like in their own little fantasy world.
You Don’t Really Want To Know The Truth - In business, things are frequently messy, unpredictable, and “fluid”. That means the bosses really have no idea what is going to happen tomorrow or where the money is all going to come from. Bosses frequently lie to cover that up and give a much more feel-good message.
They Know They Won’t Have To Live With The Consequences - If lying had no negative consequences at all, more people would do it. Well, a lot of bosses know that they won’t be around when you find out about the lies. They’re moving on to another job / company / life and someone else can clean up the mess.
They’re Women. Or Men. - Apparently, most people lie reflexively and without thinking about it. Men lie mostly to make themselves look good. Women lie mostly to make other people feel better. Neither is doing you any good, however…

In short, there are plenty of reasons that you’re lied to. But, while we’re swimming in this sea of lies, how do you figure out who to listen to?

HOW TO KNOW WHETHER YOUR BOSS IS A LIAR

Once you got to the point in your career where you were no longer shocked that your boss would say anything to get what he wanted, what could you do?

Some folks start their own businesses only to find out that the lies that clients tell make boss lies seem tame.

So, other than joining the Communist Party, what can you do about all of this lying? (NOTE: Joining the Communist Party is not recommended as they seem to have their own difficult relationship with the truth and, frankly, you’ve got bigger problems with Communism than just the lies…)

Here are a few things you can do to figure out if your boss is a liar and how to defend yourself:

Test Him - If there is some piece of company information (layoffs, mergers, etc.) that you happen to know (for sure), ask your boss a question about it. See how he reacts. See if he lies to you about it.
Be a Guinea Pig - Give your boss enough rope to hang…you. Make a very specific “if I do this, then you will do this” arrangement. Do your part and see whether your boss follows through or makes excuses.
CYA - Whenever your boss makes a commitment to you (or vice versa), follow it up with an e-mail outlining what your impression of what you talked about was and the agreements that were made. This is a huge pain-in-the-butt, but not so big as putting the work in and the boss saying, “I never said that!”
Shake the Trees - The beauty of social networking in 2007 is that you’re probably connected to someone who knows your boss or potential boss. Go to LinkedIn, Plaxo, MySpace, or wherever you have an account and see who know at the company. Preferably someone who recently left the company. Then get the straight skinny.

Using these techniques, you’ll be able to tell whether you should trust the word of your boss or look elsewhere for honest, trustworthy information.

Enjoy the Search!

Thanks To Our Sponsor: Resume Search Optimization can provide jobs for the rest of your career. Find out how.

Are You Basing Your Career On Lies?

dsweet — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 11:02:11 +0000

Recently, I read an article in the Wall Street Journal about how people not only believe myths they’ve heard, but attribute them to credible sources.

In one example, the Center for Disease Control issues a flyer to specifically contradict certain myths about the flu vaccine (i.e. “the side effects are worse than the flu” and “only old people need it”), but people just remembered many of the myths and now attributed them to the CDC.

This reminded me of the workplace.

A lot of people are passing around and believing myths about their own workplace. And it causes them to base their career on lies and misinformation.

Are you doing this in your career?

TRUST, BUT VERIFY

How many times have you accepted what your co-workers have said about “what I heard”? Whether it is about the company direction, the boss’ cross-dressing, or coming layoffs, a lot of employees will accept this information as 100% accurate and genuine.

What’s more, some will begin to act like it’s true without even attempting to verify the information.

So, just because Janie said that she heard there is a layoff coming, Julie starts to look for another job and act like the company has wronged her already.

Which, of course, leads to her performance declining and permanent damage to her career.

In these situations, I try to be like Ronald Reagan: “Trust But Verify.

Figure that the information came from somewhere, but has at least been altered (if not intentionally skewed for political purposes) by the time it got to you. Go to the source and ask. Find out the answer “from the horse’s mouth”.

Does that mean people won’t lie? No, but you’ve given the person who has the correct information the opportunity to tell the truth. That is the information to base your actions on.

At least, until they prove to be lying liars that lie a lot. We’ll talk about them tomorrow.

Enjoy the Search!

Are You An Asset or An Investment?

dsweet — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 11:34:16 +0000

So, I was over at some boring recruiter-oriented site when I came across a great article titled Employees Are Not Assets.

While it’s written from an employer’s standpoint, I thought it had a great message for employees as well:

One of our problems is that we think of employees as assets, or things we control and dispose of as we see fit. Unfortunately, this characterization leads to behaviors that are incompatible with reality. Employees cannot be owned, taxed, depreciated, or disposed of as machines or other tangible assets.

They are investors in our organizations and they freely choose to share their expertise and skills with us or not. Each employee has a built-in return on investment meter that is constantly sampling the atmosphere and deciding if she is gaining or losing from a continuing association with the firm. As long as employees feel they are gaining, they don’t look for different jobs.

But in this job market, whenever the balance shifts even slightly, employees become vulnerable to any offer that may present itself. That is why having managers who have a history of good employee loyalty and low turnover are so valuable.

This leads to questions that we should all ask ourselves:

What Does My Company Think I Am? - If you’re something to be owned and controlled, you may want to start looking elsewhere. Frankly, this is why I’m still and independent recruiter and not working for an agency.
Do I Provide a Good Return On Investment To My Company? - Obviously this is the other side of the coin. Are you providing more value than it costs the company to pay you, manage you, and give you benefits? Think carefully before answering.
As a Manager, What is My Turnover Rate? - If you’re managing people anywhere, what does your turnover look like? Don’t tell me, “the same as the rest of the industry” because that means that you’re no better than anyone else in the industry (and completely replaceable). The “manager experience” is a huge reason why employees stay or leave. What experience are you providing?

Enjoy the Search!

Thanks To Our Sponsor: Resume Search Optimization can provide jobs for the rest of your career. Find out how.

Is Your Company’s Character Changing Yours?

dsweet — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 11:24:46 +0000

Back in the Enron heyday, I worked with them in a couple of different capacities. I had contractors out there for a few projects and I worked with a lot of the Enron folks who were looking for a new job.

Enron had a character problem. That might not be surprising to hear, but it isn’t the character problem that most people associate with Enron.

The upper management absolutely had a problem with lying, greed, and an unhealthy level of competition.

But upper management doesn’t really set the character of any company after it gets to be a certain size. The employees set the character.

That was the case at Enron and it is the case at your company, too.

WHOSE CHARACTER IS INFLUENCING WHOM?

From what I experienced in my association with Enron, I can tell you that the character problems at Enron permeated the entire company. Almost every person I dealt with at Enron who had been there for more than a year was willing to do anything to get ahead.

My question was always whether the culture of Enron changed the people who worked there or just attracted those sorts of people.

As usual, God’s Word has an answer:

“Do not be misled: ‘Bad company corrupts good character.’ ” -1 Corinthians 15:33

So, what is your company’s character like? Is your character influencing the company or is the company’s character influencing you?

I’ve talked to plenty of candidates who did things they “would never normally do” just to survive in a company with bad character.

Has your company asked you to lie, cheat, steal, or otherwise shame the name of God? I know some of mine have.

What does God say about what you did at work today?

Enjoy the Search!

-Dan

Photo by: RossinaBossioB

Thanks To Our Sponsor: Resume Search Optimization can provide jobs for the rest of your career. Find out how.

“The Career Game”: 7 Strategies on How Not to Lose The Interviewing Game

dsweet — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 10:59:24 +0000

You can’t imagine the number of times that I’ve heard stories of candidates getting so taken in by the Interviewing Game that they’d do anything to get the job. That’s how you know you’ve lost the game (and probably the job, too).

The stories that candidates tell me would break your heart. The only reason they don’t break my heart is that I’m a recruiter and apparently don’t have one.

The people that you’re interviewing with are playing a game. I call it The Interviewing Game. Original, no?

I know that you’re trying to get a job and it is a very serious matter, but unless you know how to play this game, you’re going to do damage to your career that will last a lifetime. So, in order to be serious about your career, you’ve got to play the game.

In any case, today I’m going to talk a little bit about The Interviewing Game, what it looks like, and some tips on how not to lose.

WHAT THE INTERVIEWING GAME LOOKS LIKE

In the Interviewing Game, there are two teams: everyone at the interviewing company is on one team and you are on the other, all by your lonesome.

Don’t worry. I’m on your side, too. And that’s more than enough.

The Interviewing Team has a goal: they need to hire a good employee to do a certain job. However, in the process, they are also looking for someone who will stick with the company, conform to their culture, be as cheap as possible, as for as few raises as possible, cause as few problems as possible, and, ideally, be able to be manipulated into doing as much work as possible.

In order to find this interesting list of traits, they start to play the Interviewing Game.

They will see how you respond to pressure. They will tell you that they believe that they’re the best company in the world. They will make sure that you’re willing to put in long hours. They will probe you to find out if you’re just a little ambitious (not ambitious at all means you’re just a drone and too much ambition means you’ll leave their crappy, stagnant company before too long).

In short, they will do whatever it takes to make you want the job so much that you’d do anything to get it.

They will do this by setting your expectations from the first minute you talk with them. Everyone on the interviewing team is setting expectation. Longer hours. Little pay. Some weekends. Whatever.

And you, if you’re typical, walk into the Interview Game with no gameplan at all.

HOW NOT TO LOSE THE INTERVIEWING GAME

I say “How Not To Lose” because my goal is to keep you in the game and even start to use the game to benefit yourself. In the end, however, I can’t guarantee a win because there’s the possibility that you might not be qualified or are too expensive.l

However, these strategies will keep you in the game as long as possible:

Know Your Acceptable Win - If you don’t know what a “win” is, how are you going to know if you’ve gotten it? Take the time to figure out what the minimum situation you’ll accept will be. That’s not just money. That includes vacation, culture, hours, commute, etc.
Do Your Own Expectation Setting - Include the things that you’re looking for in your answers to your questions. If you don’t want to put in 80+ hours a week, include something like this in one of your answers: “…and then my boss came up to me on Friday and said we’d have to work all weekend. Can you imagine!?! As if I didn’t have a life outside of work!”
Be Relaxed… - If you’re nervous or overanxious, you’re going to appear too desperate. They want you to want the job, but if you give the impression that you’re entire life is hanging in the balance (whether or not it actually is), they’re going to get skittish about you. So before you walk into the interview, pop a Xanax, down a couple shots, do some yoga, or do whatever it is that relaxes you.
…But Not Too Relaxed! - If, in your attempt to play it cool, you seem too detached from the interview, you will appear uninterested in the position. You need to seem attentive and interested in order to move on in the game.
Be Prepared To Walk Out - Since you know what your minimum conditions are for a win, you should also be prepared to stop the interview as soon as the Interviewing Team steps over the line. So, as soon as the words, “…most of the people in this position make in the lower $20’s…” come out of the interviewer’s mouth, you have to be prepared to walk out. Start to pack your things and thank them for their time while stating the minimum requirement that they’ve violated. If it’s just a manipulation (which it often is), they’ll stop you.
Don’t Put All of Your Eggs In One Basket - While you may believe that one job is the perfect thing for you, you still need to have alternatives. Keep pursuing new opportunities even when you’re on 3rd interviews. This will help you to not be so tense about getting this one job while give you some negotiating power (”Wow! That’s a great offer, but Company Y just offered me $10,000 more a year. I really want to work for you, but…”)
Don’t Take The First Offer - While more and more companies are standardizing what they’ll give whom, the truth of the matter is that they can do whatever they want. Since they’re trying to get you to work as cheaply as possible, never take their first offer. Schedule a time to sit face-to-face and negotiate out each of the pieces of the package. Press for this even if they act either offended or like it can’t be done. Usually, it’s an act.

There you have it! If you follow these strategies when playing the Interviewing Game, you’ll be playing to win. Or, at least, playing not to lose!

Enjoy the Search!

Dan
—–
Daniel R. Sweet
Chief Cook-And-Bottle-Washer / Technical Recruiter
FRACAT.com - Free Resume and Career Toolbox

Photo by: Waponi

Are You Playing “The Career Game”? You’d Better Be.

dsweet — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 10:51:19 +0000

Today, I’m going to start telling you about something that your parents or your first boss should have told you, but probably didn’t.

It’s something that will help you have (a little) less stress about your job and start to understand what is going on around you.

That being said, you’re still not going to like it.

Did you know that just about every company that you work for or interview with is playing “The Career Game”?

It’s a game that everyone involved play for fun and profit. Unless you don’t play the game. Then it is most definitely not fun and very unprofitable.

And, while you can have a good time with “The Career Game”, the downside is that everyone is betting with your career.

Not only are you playing right now (whether you know it or not), but you’d better play the game right or you’ll lose.

“I’M NOT PLAYING A GAME WITH MY CAREER”

Unless you’re running your own business, you’re playing “The Career Game”. And even then you’re just playing a different game.

To put it bluntly, if you think you’re not playing, then you’re losing. You’re like a bug just determined to “ride it out” on the windshield of a car. Entering the freeway. You may hang on for awhile (and longer than others), but the end is still the same.

If you think that you’re going to advance your career by being really good at what you do, you’re wrong. You can move up a couple notches that way, but that’s it. You’ll remain at the same level for the rest of your career.

If you think you can get by without being political, you’re wrong. In order to rise above a certain (usually low-level management) level, you have to play a political game. You don’t have to play dirty, but you have to play.

I know this sounds negative, but it’s not. It’s just reality.

START PAYING ATTENTION TO “THE CAREER GAME”

Tomorrow, I’ll show you what some of the different “Career Game”s look like. But for now, start paying attention to what is going on around you.

Start to watch your bosses and coworkers and see what they do. Watch the successful people in your office and try to identify what they do differently than everyone else.

Heck, go to some of the “rising stars” and ask them what they’re doing differently. Many of them will be glad to tell you.

The same goes for interviewing. While you can’t watch other people interview, you can ask your interviewer what they liked or didn’t like about your interview / interviewing style.

For today, let this be your wakeup call to pay attention to the ebb and flow of a different current around your office. The current of “The Career Game” in progress.

Enjoy the Search!

Your Best Clue To How A Company Works: The Interview

dsweet — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 11:03:16 +0000

Did you know that I’m just a big moron?

Throughout a large percentage of my career, I learned the fine skills necessary to ignore all of those red flags and bells going off in my head during the interview.

“Just do well in the interview and get the cash,” I told myself. “After all, this company can’t be much worse than the last one…” I was not always correct about that.

It turns out that a lot of candidates do the same thing. They just want a job and will ignore all of the nonsense that happens before that.

Ignoring what happens in the interview is a bad idea.

Allow me to explain…

OF COMPANY CULTURE AND SAND

I went to the beach this weekend and came to the conclusion that company culture is a lot like sand. Without anyone even trying, it gets in, on, and between everything.

Now, companies cover up their culture quite a bit with advertising and PR, but they apparently haven’t figured out how to cover it up in the interview process.

The reason for that is because interviewing is done by people who have been affected by the corporate culture. So, while there are policies in place, you get to see the real deal when you’re interviewing.

Have to wait 30 minutes for the interview to start? That’s a sign of things to come.

Do the interviewers seem like they don’t know what’s going on? Chances are that isn’t limited to the interview.

Does it take 3 weeks for someone to get back with you about the next interview? Think about how long you’ll wait to get a paycheck issue resolved.

Was there a last minute change and the person you were supposed to meet with isn’t available? Better get used to flying by the seat of your pants.

After the company decides to hire you, does it take 2 months to generate an offer letter? I’m guessing your coworkers’ nicknames aren’t going to include, “Speedy”.

Does the interviewer not seem to care a whole lot about what you have to say? It ain’t gonna get better later.

Does the company insist on too many interviews or too few? Get ready for either an overly cautious or knee-jerk management style to go with it.

Every single one of these situations has happened to me until I finally figured out that I need to pay attention to what was going on in the interview.

THE HIGH PRICE OF PAYING ATTENTION

Keep in mind that if you start paying attention, too, it’s going to be a long, painful job search. You’ll start to see all of the warts that you’ve been trying to avoid.

You’re going to notice that the vast majority of companies are just as screwed up as your current employer.

You’re also going to notice that “the one” is going to stand out like a sore thumb once you finally do find it. You’ll feel respected. You’ll feel wanted. You might even feel important.

Like the say with finding your “soul mate”, when you find that right company, “you’ll just know”.

SOME ENCOURAGEMENT FOR THE JOURNEY

Until you do find the right one, however, you’re going to lose hope and figure that every company sucks and it doesn’t matter.

Also very much like the dating process, you’ve got to interview a lot of companies before you find the right one. And you’re going to have to let a bunch of them know that they’re just not right for you.

I have had calls for permanent recruiting positions since I started doing contract work a few years ago. I’ve been on a lot of interviews. And I still haven’t found a fit.

Keep looking. Keep searching. Keep interviewing. The right company is out there.

Accept that this process is going to take a long time and work your “long search” into your schedule so that it’s something you work on every week.

You’re worth it. Your career is worth it.

So stick with it. You’ll get there.

Enjoy the Search!

Thanks To Our Sponsor: Resume Search Optimization can provide jobs for the rest of your career. Find out how.

I’m Not Dead Yet + Best of 2007

dsweet — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 10:39:10 +0000

I know it seems like I’m dead, but it isn’t true!

Due to the incredible load of work that has landed in my lap, I’m afraid I’ve been neglecting posting my daily posts here.

I apologize.

We’ll be back on the regular schedule next week, but until then, I couldn’t leave you without something to read.

There’s a ton of information here on FRACAT, but in the Blog format, it gets buried pretty quickly. So, to resurrect all of your favorites, here are the 10 Most Popular Posts of 2007 for you to check back into:

Coming in at #10: Tired of Work-From-Home Scams?

#9: One of my personal favorites - “The Role of Alcohol In Career Advancement” OR “How To Drink Your Way To The Top”

#8: Employers Are Searching. Can You Be Found?

#7: How To Tank An Interview In 17 Easy Steps

#6: The One (And Only One) Purpose of a Resume

#5: The Top 18 Thing Job-Seekers Must Know About Headunters / Recruiters

#4: Friday Fun: My Demotivator For You

#3: “What Is Your Biggest Weakness” OR “Why Shouldn’t We Hire You?”

#2: How To Build Rapport In An Interview (Without Sounding Stupid)

And, finally, the #1 Most Popular Post of 2007: Acknowledging The Ugly Baby

Enjoy the Search!