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Job Competencies & Overcoming Hiring Objections
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3 benefits of tracking contacts and calls
by Mitch Byers :: January 12th, 2008 :: Posted in Enhancing Your Career, Interviewing to Win, Selection & Hiring |
People in job transition often lament that looking for a job is a full-time job. Activities such as company research, network meetings, job fairs, connecting with recruiters, meeting company insiders for coffee, scrolling the job boards and preparing for the interview keeps you moving forward towards the end goal, landing a new position. During your job transition, you will have multiple conversations with dozens of people. Part of your “full-time job” should be to organize and track each of your contacts. Tracking your job transition contacts has several benefits:
1) Analysis of Your Current Job Search. Your job search can be an emotional roller coaster that can span over several months. Tracking your contacts and activities provides a realist assessment of your progress. Are you developing a large enough network to effectively penetrate the market? Your contacts and call activity will help you analyze if you are spending too much time on the job boards and not enough time connecting with people who can help you move forward in the job search.
Tracking your calls and contacts can be accomplished with a simple spreadsheet. To compliment your tracking system, you will also want to organize the business cards you will be receiving. Purchasing an organizer from the office supply store or scanning the cards and setting up electric files works well.
| Date | Contact | Title | Company | Contact | Activity | Next Steps |
|
| 3/5 | Barbara Sollas |
VP, Sales |
Western Properties |
o 214- 333-3131 c 214- 444-4141 |
bsollas@ wp.com |
Intro Call, possible interest after 4/1 |
Call week of 3/25 |
2) “Off the Market” Notification. At the end of your current job search, you will want to contact individuals on your list to notify them of your new position that you are “off the market.” This professional courtesy is one not often provided. However, this personal touch will help keep you in good standing for future contacts.
3) Continue to build your network in your new position. When you are ready to move towards your next career position you can revisit your previous contacts and mine the data. Reestablishing contact with your known sources can quickly expand your opportunities and reduce your time in job transition.
Expanding and tracking your network during your job transition is a good idea with plenty of tangible benefits. Your documentation will keep you grounded and moving in the right direction. Long-term, you can continue to build your database to support future career moves.
Success in your first 90 days
by Mitch Byers :: December 10th, 2007 :: Posted in Enhancing Your Career |
I recently requested a white paper from Cox Learning Group. The company specializes in helping organizations with their employment turnover and retention issues. The “Smart Steps for Creating an Employee Retention Strategy” article had a couple of statistics that I wanted to share with job seekers.
Deloitte conducted a survey of U.S. companies and concluded:
- It takes up to 6 months for a new employee to become assimilated into their new role
- It takes 18 months for a new employee to become fully integrated into the company’s culture
- It takes 24 months for the employee to understand the business and its strategy
The article later quotes a 2003 survey indicating 2/3 of the workforce do not sufficiently identify with or feel motivated to drive the objectives and goal of their employer. This corroborates with other articles stating around 70% of employees are less than fully engaged.
Wow, as someone in job transition, these are not good numbers. For most, your new position is going to be an uphill battle. Here are a couple of ideas to assure yourself you are in the 30% of the ENGAGED employees and that you are moving up the career ladder and not falling off of it.
1) Accept a position you can dedicate at least two to three years to. If you get the sense in the interview process you can’t make that commitment, then pass and hold out for something better. You don’t want your job to drag down your career. You want it to propel you forward. That takes a committed investment on your part.
2) 24 months is a long time to fully assimilate and develop to the point where you are providing maximum value to the company. I think a fully engaged employee can fast track and knock off 8 to 10 months. But besides a solid commitment, you also need a plan. Before starting, develop a 90-day initial ramp up plan. You may be thinking this is the responsibility of the hiring company. Sure they are going to give you direction, but you are ultimately responsible for your career success. Make sure you get it right the first time.
An associate recently recommended, The First 90 Days by Michael Watkins. Though it is geared towards company leaders, it is an excellent guide for anyone about to take a dive into a new phase of their career. I hope these ideas will push you into the 30% league of engaged employees. When you are on your way up, the career ladder isn’t so hard to climb.
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