“How much are you looking to make?” It’s the question most job seekers dread. Say too much and you might be ruled out. Say too little and you might get stuck earning less than the position had the potential to pay. What is a person to do?
One thing to do is to avoid being too specific with an answer before more is known about the actual job. Often times candidates are being asked up front what their salary requirements are. Considering compensation is supposed to correlate directly to the level of work performed, how on earth can a candidate intelligently answer what he would expect to be paid for a job when he doesn’t even have a full understanding of what it involves in the beginning? Quite simply, he can’t.
When potential employers ask this question they are essentially trying to gauge if you are even in the ballpark of what they are prepared to offer. Is it worth going through the motions with you or would any effort be for nothing since your expectations are too far off from theirs? There is a solution. You can satisfy their curiosity by letting them know what you’ve typically made and then suggesting you’d be able to give them a better idea if you would expect more, less or the same for the position once you have a greater understanding of what the job actually entails. Keep it short and sweet. Try not to elaborate too much from that. It tends to paint a picture of uncertainty when confidence is what we are going for. With an answer like that, you’ve given them a number to chew on, you’ve avoided committing to a number and you’ve sent the message you are flexible and fully understand how compensation should be tied to the level of work being done.
I’ve given a number of workshops over the years to job seekers. Topics have typically covered things like resume/interview techniques, networking your way to new opportunities and adding sales strategies to standard job seeking activities. Most of the content has been pretty straight forward. Finding a job isn’t rocket science. It’s mostly an exercise in creativity, consistency and organization.
It wasn’t uncommon to have at least one participant with a furrowed brow and scrunched up face. As ideas were shared you could tell the person wasn’t buying it. Some would simply sigh or tap their pen on the table. Others were more vocal. “I’ve done that before and it doesn’t work.”
One such participant was Theresa. I could tell at first glance she was carrying around a negative and defeatist attitude. She wore her frustrations with her job search on her sleeve and heaven help anyone who dared to breathe a positive sentence in her direction. Theresa had been out of work for 3 months and had few to no bites on her resume. She’d tried it all. Nothing was working. She was all to happy to point out how flawed my ideas and strategies were at several points in a presentation.
Now, I’m a humble person. If someone thinks I am wrong or an idea I have is bad, I’m okay with them saying so as long as they don’t mind backing up their point of view with some information. When I asked Theresa to tell the group about her experiences using these ideas a common theme developed. Theresa had indeed tried just about everything…once. If she tried something and it didn’t give her good results she dubbed it a dud and moved on. That strategy is almost always a bad one. When you think of all of the important things we’ve had to learn to do in our life, few of us experienced success with our maiden effort. If humanity made a habit of scrapping things after one try, we’d still be in caves drawing cute stick figures on walls.
Theresa wasn’t lazy. She wasn’t mean or hard-headed. She was simply one of many who had found herself adrift in unfamiliar seas. Her fear and uncertainty over her situation made it easy for her to cling to the negative and run away from things that scared her. The biggest fear job seekers often have is of rejection. Something not working on the first try equates to “I tried it and I got rejected and I’m not going to do it again.” Part of me understands. Really and truly, I do. I realize, however, the importance of picking yourself up and doing things over and over until it is perfected. The more you do something, the better the statistical probability of a positive outcome.
Job seekers need to make a conscious effort not to fall into the same mental trap Theresa fell into. The biggest obstacles in her job search were her negativity and her willingness to throw in the towel quickly. Not only did they take a lot of steam out of her job search, they carried through to her demeanor and sent a less than glowing message to networking contacts and potential employers.
I’ve met many a thief in my life. Most were clueless of their criminal ways. They floated through life robbing others of time and opportunity. It’s not that they intended to be thieves. Far from it. They were so wrapped up in themselves, they simply didn’t have the awareness of what they were taking from themselves and others. The thief didn’t overpower his victim with a gun, knife or blunt object. It was his mouth. Plain and simple, he overwhelmed others with his inability to keep conversations brief and on topic. He monopolized any and all conversation with details upon details of his unfortunate circumstances or vast efforts to find a job.
Harry is a good example of the unknowing thief. He’s a lovable guy who has found himself in the uncomfortable position of looking for a job after years of solid employment. Harry knows networking with others is the best way to find opportunities. Harry isn’t comfortable with networking though. It scares him to death and his pride is already suffering as a result of losing his job. He sets all that aside and forces himself to get out there when he’d rather be under a rock. Harry definitely deserves a pat on the back for that. Many would have gladly remained hidden, all the while hoping something amazing would drop in their lap.
Where Harry comes up short is in his willingness to take any show of interest or kindness by others as a green light to unload ‘the story of Harry’ from start to finish. It’s an easy thing to do. When you are nervous and find a safe person to interact with so you don’t have to feel alone or awkward at a networking event, it is hard to let go of that person. You see their smile and their nods of agreement and fail to notice the frequent watch checks, glances around the room and polite attempts to close the conversation and move on. It’s important to keep in mind in networking situations people are interested in making valuable connections with as many people as possible. Getting stuck with one person for 10 minutes, let alone an hour, can be devastating and dramatically reduce the number of leads a person walks away with. Depriving people of the chance to mingle and meet others is robbing them of opportunity. That is hardly the best way to make a good impression. If a person can’t wait to get away from you, you can bet they will try to avoid you in the future. In the world of networking, that’s a total bomb. Add to the mix for every person whose time Harry is monopolizing he is also robbing himself of the chance to meet and connect with others.
So, how can you avoid being a Harry?
- First of all, be aware of how much talking you are doing and how much of a person’s time you are occupying. If you find yourself monopolizing the conversation, start asking questions and shift the direction of the conversation. Pick questions where the answers will interest you so you are more inclined to listen. It’s easy to tell when people are just asking questions for the sake of talking and not paying attention to the answers. People like to talk about themselves and they like to know they are being heard. Everyone needs a chance to be the focus for networking relationships to work.
- Remember the goal of leaving people wanting more. If you tell them everything in one meeting, there is no reason to connect with you again. The most important things to exchange are how to get in touch with one another and what types of information/situations are beneficial to hear about.
- Leave any and every ‘woe is me’ story at home. People need to be able to figure out what they can do for you and you need to figure out what you can do for them. Sharing frustrations or unfortunate experiences accomplishes none of that. It just weighs conversations down and leaves people fantasizing about a stiff drink.
- If you are hanging on one person because you don’t know anyone else or are afraid to approach others, go work the corners of the room. That’s where all of the other scared people are hanging out wishing someone would strike up a conversation with them. You can cover a lot of ground and build up confidence doing your best to introduce yourself to corner dwellers at an event. Just be prepared to find a way to move on from the conversations. They are likely thieves as well. Once someone is paying attention to them, they may find it hard to give them up too. Introduce them to the person you met prior to them and move on to the next corner.
With over 10 years of my professional life spent in the recruiting industry, I’ve crossed paths with a lot of job seekers. The numbers are easily in the thousands. Over time many of the names and faces have become a blur. The mind can only hold so much. There are standouts though, good and bad. I’m creating this blog to talk about the good, the bad and the blurry.
I thought it might interest people to hear what made people memorable and what made people forgettable. There is a lot to be learned from other people’s successes and mistakes. The best way to make sure that happens is to offer my experiences in a candid and respectful way. Some of the stories I have to tell are funny and inspiring. Others are heartbreaking and maddening. Most are ordinary in nature. I personally find the ordinary more interesting and thought provoking than the extreme. It’s all good though.
As you read my musings, be prepared to feel offended at times. Though the people I’m writing about are likely not you, they may be you where it counts. Their actions and choices may be yours. Please don’t feel judged on these occasions. Lay your defenses down. None of what I share here is done with malice. It’s done with a sincere heart in the hopes people can grow and find an easier way to get out of the unemployment line.
