Is now a good time for a change?

Hey Maren,

My name is Andrea. I’m 26 years old and I work for a small regional staffing office that does mostly Administrative Support placements.

I’ve been following you on Twitter and reading up on the links you post to your blog and to Recruitingblogs. I think the information you share is really good stuff!

I have some questions for you but it seems to me you are probably pretty busy. Please, do not think me too presumptuous, I am just having some trouble with my “career path” right now and think you may have some good ideas if you’ve got time to share them. If not, I totally understand but perhaps you know someone who does?

(First of all, I think this might be the very first step right here. A polite intro that asks for what she wants and further. . .respects my time. If I was a hiring manager, it would impress me. Since I am blogger, it compels me to answer her questions in a way that a quick Twitter plea or an impromptu hour pity party at a networking session never will.)

In short, I LOVE what I do at work right now. My position is a unique blend of administrative/marketing/sales/strategic planning. I understand this is pretty common with smaller firms, to wear many hats. My official “title” is Marketing/Staffing Coordinator.

There are drawbacks to working for a smaller firm. I have no desire to do the Staffing Manager’s job and also have no interest in owning the business in the distant future. I’ve worked for the company 2 years now, and feel there is a really low ceiling. Also, we currently do not have an admin but have been “sharing the duties” … on paper I am doing the majority of the work because that stuff is really my strength and it’s more efficient for me to do it.

My question to you is this-

How do you know when you are ready to move to another position? I see myself working in a larger firm or doing something that offered me the opportunity to continue to grow in areas I feel are my strengths, such as Client Services, Administrative Operations, and Business Development?

Keeping in mind that this economy is an uncertain one and you are able to work within your strengths and are HAPPY, I would keep your job. This doesn’t mean you can’t pursue other opportunities. Look for special projects you can start within your areas of core competency and spearhead them in your spare time. This way you test yourself and you benefit the business.

I also highly reccomend volunteering in a non-profit. Biz Dev is a huge hole for so many non-profits and if you think you’d be good at it, offer to help one of them! Perhaps you can do a monthly email campaign or get their donor list updated? Keep good records, watch your hours and when you have done a stellar job, ask for a reccommendation from from a high-level person (who should know you are doing this from the start) when you pitch your next awesome idea.

I am currently going to school to finish my Bachelor’s in an unrelated field and that is one of the perks to my current position. The fimr would really like for me to have a degree so she is flexible and allows me to take time early from work or longer during lunch to accommodate my school schedule. That’s a pretty sweet deal, from what I understand.

I guess I am confused about a next logical step that would build on my experience in my current position? Do I even have enough experience to move on yet?

The problem is not experience but that the market is relatively stagnant. In a different economic climate, you are  very employable  but right now you are up against employees with more experience, more tenure and educational degrees. Since your schedule is so flexible, use your time to meet with people in the community who are willing to mentor you. Make sure you give back as well. Are you using linkedin etc. to build a solid network of connections? Is your resume finished, detailed, updated? Have you made a short list of companies and position descriptions you are interested in?

Another way to grow your skill portfolio is to turn a hobby into a social media networking plan. Once you have created content, distributed it, gained revenue from it, promoted it, researched your target market and capitalized on the cross-markets, it will be a simple process to do it for your next employer. And you can show them a case study of how you did it, including timelines etc. The big benefit to doing something like this when you have a job is that there is not a desperate need to make it profitable, so you can take your time and do it right.

In the past two years, I have participated in a lot of local chamber events, career fairs, trade shows, etc. I have also met with several of the firm’s clients and participated in networking functions. I feel I do have a small network of people I could think of contacting about jobs in their organizations but I’m reluctant to put myself out there because I don’t know if the timing is right!

It sounds like you are on the right track. I made a promise to myself (and some guy sitting next to me in an airport) that I would never look for another job again. And so far, I haven’t. (NEVER turn down a cup of coffee) I let people know what I do, how I do it and what my strengths and weaknesses are. And if they like it, they call me. That simple. I think if you start talking about “your dream job” or simply express parts of your current job that really thrill or excite you, people will start to say, . . .”you know” and think of you when that comes up in their mind. You’ll be the go-to girl for that skillset.

Like I said, if you don’t have time I totally understand. You get a lot of helpful information out as it is! And I am so appreciative of just that!

(Again, she has spent the time to write a fairly long email, it doesn’t look like a copy-paste thing and has reiterated her respect for my time. Good job.)

** Names of people and firms have been changed

The ShadowHand and How it will make me a Super-Genius

So, sorry but I am going to come at you with a little somethin touchy-feely today. As some of you know, I broke my arm ice skating awhile back and have been attempting to DO whatever it is that I DO for my clients and myself, ever since, with varying degrees of success. For example, on this blog, I posted a couple of videos, tried a talk to text post and used an old blog post as fodder in an attempt to keep traffic up (stupid I know). In my job, I tried to “learn” other skills that had lain dormant too long, like the ability to make a phone call and how to design left handed.

I recently found out that I can type again and will need intense (but surgery free) physical therapy. What a relief! Now I can get back to doing things EXACTLY the way I was before right?

Wrong. There is still a lot of pain and if I overuse the arm or wrench it in any way, I could rebreak the fragile bone.

I have two options:

1) Let my work slide, watch All My Children, make less money and disappoint my clients

2) Learn new methods, expand my toolkit and surprise and impress every client in my roster

I choose 2. Now I’ve had a little down time, so forgive me for my “rah-rah” attitude but I really am viewing this as an opportunity. Here are some things that I’ve learned (or re-learned) in just the past two weeks:

- Pick up the phone. When it’s just as easy to write an email, the phone can get lost in the shuffle, but if I were to track the times of greatest professional growth: in clients, in knowledge, in skills, in contacts, it would be at a time when the PHONE was a necessary part of my daily life. I am still learning how this applies depending on client needs but it’s enough to know that the tool produces results.

- Meet up face to face. I’ll be honest, when you can’t put on your own clothing, it’s hard to get excited about two meetings a day. When you can’t drive, or yank out your own laptop, answer the phone while eating or any of the other things I am used to doing in the process of meeting with people. The bonus of meeting with people with no BlackBerry buzzing, no laptop to show what I am trying to convey and a firm timeline (so I don’t miss my ride) is that my attention is focused on only them, I must choose my words well enough that they need no visual aids, and I know when to wrap up so that business can be transacted (forever been a failing of mine).

- Speak the way you write. This is perhaps the least generic. Having a broken arm makes typing difficult. One of the ways I am trying to get around this is by using Mac Speech Dictate and Dragon Naturally Speaking. Learning how to dictate my proposals, blog posts, white papers and emails has been invaluable in ways I never suspected. First, it made my general speech slower, more precise and I used less “ums” and “likes”. Second, after doing a few emails and proposals, I realized that my thoughts were coming together in a far more organized way, not to mention much faster than usual. Finally, saying words and watching concepts take shape on the screen has cemented strategies with the right clients, something that I was forever confusing during busy times.

- Interdependence can turn into best of breed partners. I’ve always suffered from “know it all” disease. Once I was (for lack of better work) neutralized, I realized that I had better get help if was going to hit deadlines and goals in the manner to which my clients had become accustomed. Finding select partners to help in the areas where I was already weak, made my job easier, more fun and watching them assist in my campaigns helped me learn new methods. I can’t imagine going back to trying to do it all on my own.

-Using the opposite side of your brain and learning to use your non-dominant hand to do routine tasks can actually inspire greater creativity. Instead of whining about not being able to use my right hand, I am decided that it will make me a super-genius. How’s that for optimism?

An oldie from the archives

This one’s going out to all the candidates out there. The ones who just don’t know why they can’t get that job, who felt good but never got a call back. Here, this one’s for you.

1) Don’t interrupt. This one is SO natural. I do it all the time! But just because everyone does it, doesn’t make it okay! I HATE being interrupted and it does spoil any credibility the person has built up when they presume to read my thoughts before I say them. Practice NOT interrupting the days before your interview. Listen, nod and learn to repeat back what you’re hearing before proceeding. Don’t worry about not getting your point across unless you’re in the final negotiations of the interview. People like good listeners. Another plus? When you don’t interrupt, people listen to every word you say.

2) Not respecting HR. The idea that it’s “Just a phone screen” is a really bad one folks. Human Resources have a job to do and it goes way beyond you. When they speak with you, yes they are verifying experience and checking dates, so it may seem ho-hum. But few people realize that “recruiting” is only a small subset of an HR pro’s job. They have other things to do. Therefore, they are not only thinking about your resume but whether or not they’ll want to hire someone to work under you in a few months, years, whatever. They are wondering really what you’ll bring to the company, whether they would want to share an office with you. If you’ve been waiting for the “real interview” to dazzle, you’re messing up big time. Many internal recruiters/HR pros will not forward the resume of someone who does not respect them, interrupts or “phones it in” no pun intended.

3) Assuming technical skills are all that count. No longer can IT pros hide behind their resumes. With IT becoming a more visible role in nearly every department or every company, personality, marketability and even sales experience are a huge plus. Communication is key. Make sure that you dress, groom, act like an IT professional not a an isolated programmer (even if that’s the job description).

4)Being ungrateful. In a world with increasing IT needs and fewer resources as technologies emerge, there is a temptation to choose what jobs you will. And you should. An unhappy employee is not usually productive. However, to make it abundantly clear that your interview is one of many or to treat internal or external recruiters as dispensable is a big No-NO. This is sort of a basic social rule as well. It’s like a first date, just put the best you out there.

Like this marketing blog. Smart lady. Slams Starbucks coffee for a buck campaign, first one I’ve heard do so. Here’s her take on small B2B marketing. . .

(Laura Retzer) –In the world of recruiting, there’s no substitute for a strong attraction. And, while current employees can court candidates during interviews, an inspiring job announcement makes great candidates say “yes” to the first date.

To get a passive candidate to apply, you need an inspiring job announcement: one that stirs emotion, piques curiosity, prompts wonder, and triggers surprise.

There are five principles for creating inspiring job announcements: arouse emotion, stress strengths, emphasize opportunity, be optimistic, and keep it short. More. . .

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