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Recently in Job Search Category
Q: I have received two excellent job offers from two competing companies in the same industry. One is a company that has been in business for many years, and has offered a generous compensation package including a high base salary, and the other is a fairly new company that is offering a more incentive laden package that may give me an opportunity to earn about 30% more, but there are no guarantees and the base is much lower. My friends and family tell me to go with the new company because of the risk/reward, but my heart is set on working for the company that has been around longer? I don't want to be a fool and take the wrong job; what do you suggest?
A: The heart and the mind can certainly cause a conflict of interest in your mind. While you certainly want to take advice of those who support you, you really have to look beyond the compensation and decide on the job that will give you the most joy in going to work every day.
The stability a long-established company brings can certainly bring comfort. Depending on how much faith you have in the opinions of others, that certainly is something to consider in your choice.
Do a pluses and minuses inventory of both companies, and determine which of the factors you look at (stability, pay, incentives, long-term potential, etc) seem most important to you, and you will make the decision that is best for you.
Q: How do I find the most up-to-date internship listings? I'm looking for an internship this summer.
A: Sometimes the best way to find an internship is to ask for one. Many companies have opportunities to bring people in for low-wage or no wage projects, and often turn to interns or students to take these projects on.
I recently did a search on Google for Albany Area Internship Opportunities, and came up with a result showing tons of companies offering internships. Likewise, Golub corp is offering a variety of internships this summer in a variety of fields.
Last, but not least, check with your school's career counselor or career office for opportunities. They always seem to have the pulse on a number of great opportunities as they come up.
I had the pleasure of having Ted Potrikus from the Retail Council speak to my Retailing class yesterday. He enlightened my students on just how many opportunities there are in retail beyond the store manager/salesperson type roles. Sharing many stories from the Loss Prevention and Legal aspects of retail, Ted gave many of my students inspiration to pursue new opportunities in retail that they may not have considered before.
It always alarms me when people will thumb their nose up at careers in retail, hospitality or foods (or for any field for that matter) without considering options beyond the day-to-day operations or entry level roles. No matter the career field, there are so many varieties of opportunities to consider if you are willing to keep an open mind
Johnny Damon, former left fielder for the New York Yankees, asked for 2 years for $20 million to return to the Yankees when he became a free agent (or, according to some reports, he asked for 3 years and $30 million). The Yankees countered with 2 years and $14 million, and once rebuffed, lowered that offer even more significantly.
Once the Yankees' offers were rebuffed, the Yankees made trades to replace Damon with talent that was younger, but not necessarily less expensive. Whether the Yankees would have made the moves regardless of Damon's negotiations is unknown; what is known is that Damon may have misjudged the market for his services.
For those of us outside of baseball, the same approach may cause disastrous results. If you want to stay with your company, despite a pay cut, refusing to settle for a fair amount may result in the offer being pulled completely. Certainly, there are other ways to approach the situation.
Andy Pettitte took a more effective approach that rewarded him handsomely. He waited until before Spring Training 2009 before signing an incentive-laden deal for the 2009 season. This deal ended up paying almost exactly what he made the year before. After 2009, he was rewarded with a guaranteed contract for 2010 for nearly the same amount he made with the incentive-based contract.
A good approach for situations where you may be facing a pay cut like Damon is to take the approach Pettitte did - look at ways you can earn incentives if your base pay has been cut (through sales goals, additional contributions to the company, etc). Looking outside of your organization may result in seeing a market that is not there, or alienate your employer alltogether.
Last time, I talked about ways to earn extra income at work through new responsibilities and volunteering to work overtime. Today, I'd like to share with you some ideas on how to "moonlight" or add supplemental income without affecting your personal life or worklife and time.
If you are in retail, there are a number of legit mystery shopping companies that will hire you to do freelance mystery shopping. While not a lot of money, $10-25 per mystery shop is certainly the norm when it comes to doing this type of work.
Another retail option is short-term merchandising assignments. Many companies will hire temporary staff for a new floor set or holiday event.
In foods, opportunities exist working part-time at banquet events or trade shows. Likewise, many food companies will do mystery shops or demos at stores.
The possibilities are endless. Sites like elance.com provide you with lists of such short-term opportunities as I describe above.
Q: I'm graduating in May, and have applied for many companies I hope to work for over winter break. A few companies have told me to wait until April to apply, while others have asked me to apply now. What is the right approach to take?
A: When I was graduating, it was common practice to have interviews lined up with companies before spring break of the last semester. Nowadays, companies practice different philosophies. Some, with clear succession plans and clear start dates of roles, may follow the practice that I describe. Others, whose needs are unclear, may wait until you are close to graduating to consider you for employment.
For example, if you are available May 15, you may want to revisit some of the companies you have sent a resume to around the 1st of April. At that point, the company knows you are going to be available within 6 weeks, and may have a more accurate picture of what their needs are.
I encountered two more people recently who had very unprofessional or unclear voice mail messages. After bringing it to the attention of one of the people, I was told "well it took forever for me to get it right, so I'm not going to change it now."
Again, it's very important to set the tone with the right impression, especially for people who don't know you already.
A colleague mentioned to me that one of his peers deletes any resumes that come into his mailbox from email addresses he does not recognize. This peer says unless a person is willing to take the time to come out and meet him first, he is not someone who is going to read "cold-calling emails."
Something to keep in mind for your next job search - is email too impersonal? Maybe it's time to consider going on an onsite visit to a job you may be interested in, and take a more personal approach.
But first - make sure you have a professional voicemail and email set up!
Several news outlets reported this week that Wal-Mart was letting go of 12,000 workers in its Sam's Club division.
Reading deeper into this story, it became clear that most (if not all) of these workers were part-time and/or were in-store product demonstrators. These in-store demonstrations will now be outsourced to a firm specializing in this service.
Many companies fear bringing in outside workers for basic tasks, feeling it will take away from the level of service or consistency of that service.
While anyone losing their job faces an uncertain future, situations like this can happen and people holding the positions often are given the opportunity to pursue a position with the new company.
In my family alone, two of my relatives worked for companies whose services were then outsourced, and both received new jobs with the new company similar to the tasks they were performing.
If you are good at what you do and passionate about the products and services you offer, no layoff can stop you from trying to keep your job when it is sold off to another person or company to do.
I'll be presenting a workshop at Tech II in Saratoga Springs on Tuesday March 23rd. At this workshop, I'll be presenting some of the latest and greatest apps and programs for the Mac and iPhone to work with your business.
There are some amazing apps that help you stay in communication with your coworkers and employees, especially ones that work with programs such as LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook. There are labor scheduling apps, project management apps, and a variety of tools to help you on the go and in the office.
One of the fears always shared with me about the iPhone is that its "not the Blackberry" - not so! Real-time email, messaging, and linking with Microsoft Exchange are just a few clicks away. Calendar sharing and contact sharing as well.
Hope to see you there on March 23rd. For more information, or to sign up, visit
Q: I'm finishing college in May; when should I begin searching for a job?
A: When I was finishing college, the old adage was "for every 10,000 you hope to make, allow 1 month of job searching." I began the job search in the Fall of 1996, and by March of 1997 I had companies in mind that I'd consider working for, and interviews setup. Sure enough, the job I landed (which paid about $30k at the time), started in May, which match the 10,000/per month rule).
This same rule can be applied after college. If you are planning on leaving the job you are in, you may want to plan on researching jobs several months prior to your decision to leave, allowing for maximum opportunities for consideration.
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