Taking Charge of Your Job Search: Don't Wait for Offers, Make Them Happen

iStock | StarLineArts

You are the force that must move your job search along. You can’t just wait for the offers to come rolling in.

Let’s agree that it is much easier to be a body at rest than a body in motion. It’s easy to push, defer, procrastinate, and pencil things in like updating your resume or writing a cover letter until after you binge-watch just one little show – all five seasons of it. Getting a new job isn’t just competitive, labor-intensive, rote, and stressful. It’s also the fear of rejection and being forced to start all over again. There are a lot of reasons to think about it tomorrow.

However, the reasons to be a body in motion are far greater. It’s obvious the primary reason is economic. There are people everywhere in the world who have such deep resources that work is an option. If you’re not one of those people, and regardless of how financially successful you may be, chances are you can’t weather unemployment for too long before the “stressful” part of a job search starts to kick ass and take names.

A lucrative job doing exactly what you are qualified to do at a company that overcompensates its employees and provides free lunch for all employees prepared by a Michelin Star chef and operates out of a luxury building less than a block from where you live was posted on every job board for a week but you never saw it because you were doing something other than finding work. Your job search cannot stop by itself. Only you can stop it. Stop stopping it.

Instead, consider the following:

1.     Do Not Paint by the Numbers: The numbers look great! As of April 2023, the national unemployment rate is at a fifty-year low of 3.4%  - down from 14.7% in April 2020 (Bureau of Labor Statistics). That is a remarkable drop. However, the Federal Reserve interest rate increases have unemployment in its crosshairs and are designed to inflict pain on the job market. Coupled with other inflation pressures the immediate future of the job market is uncertain. Don’t rely on the historical low of the unemployment rate to indefinitely work in your favor.

2.     Focus on What You Can Control. Inflation. Recession. Bank meltdowns. Cryptocurrency fraud. We’re inundated with negative economic news that can make it difficult to keep your balance. Do not get discouraged by the noise. Tune out the doomsayers and focus on what you can control – submitting resumes, writing cover letters, hitting the job boards, etc. Shrink your world to your best prospects and the best ways to break into them.

3.     Keep Up Momentum. Finding a job works on the honor system. You are the only person to whom you are accountable. If you put forth less effort than you are capable you increase the chances you will end up in the wrong position. There are many ways to keep you on track and you have to find the best ones for you. It may be committing to a certain number of hours per day or creating task lists that you must complete. If you have the financial resources, there are many professionals standing by to guide you through the process including, but not limited to, professional resume writers, career counselors, and for students or recent graduates (it’s May!) career centers and alumni groups.

4.     Attack your network. Yes, attack. Searching for a job is the one-time people expect you to be aggressive. If it’s against your nature, then get over it. Adapt and overcome. Nobody is going to blame you for taking the steps you need to take to find employment. Reach out to whomever you can. Get on the phone and speak with mentors. Notify professional contacts you’re looking for work. Activate your “Open to Work” frame on your LinkedIn account. Wear a neon sign around your neck that says, “Will Work For  Tons of Money.” Keep in mind there is a fine line between being aggressive in your job search and being downright annoying. Respect traditional boundaries.

5.     Be realistic. Don’t let up, but don’t beat yourself up either. While circumstances vary and predictions cannot apply to everyone, on average it takes five months to find a new job from the time you submit a resume to the time you are hired (Bureau of Labor Statistics). Sometimes less, sometimes more, depending on the overall economy and a variety of other external factors. Experienced professionals in managerial and executive roles should keep in mind their job searches may be on the higher end of the average as there are fewer jobs available.

The best job you’ve ever had is waiting for you to claim it. Find it.

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Philip Roufail contributed to this article.

Scott Singer is the President and Founder of Insider Career Strategies Resume Writing & Career Coaching, a firm dedicated to guiding job seekers and companies through the job search and hiring process. Insider Career Strategies provides resume writing, LinkedIn profile development, career coaching services, and outplacement services. You can email Scott Singer at scott.singer@insidercs.com, or via the website, www.insidercs.com.

Is Joining A Startup Company Worth The Risk?

iStock | thodonal

The word “startup” is a whirlwind. It means so many things to so many different people that to go through all its possible iterations would max out a data warehouse. To the founder(s), it’s the challenge of building their own company. To investors, it’s a business opportunity. To the economy, startups are a key driver of job creation and economic growth. To startup employees, it’s the road less traveled – a risky perilous, but seductive, road with greater opportunities, accelerated professional development, and financial rewards that rhyme with “jackpot.”

Now the fine print. Startups are risky ventures and risky places to work. According to fortunly.com (The 21 Most Important Startup Statistics for 2023):

• 50% of startups with employees survive past the first five years.

• 38% of startups fail because they cannot secure the necessary funds.

• 77% of startups rely on personal savings for their initial funds.

• 0.05% of startups seek out venture capital.

• 81% of American small business owners work overtime.

• 305 million startups start operating worldwide annually.

• The United States is the world’s leading country [in startups], featuring 63.3% of startups worth at least a billion USD.

• A 50-year-old startup founder is three times more likely to succeed than a 30-or-20-year-old founder.

That last one is sobering. Building a start-up into a successful business is hard. Really hard. Most startups are small businesses whose owners work all the time for little more than the pleasure of being their own boss. Startups that go global and create mass fortunes (e.g., Facebook, Amazon, etc.) are rare and require outside investment in the form of venture capital, which means your vision is beholden to investors (and, sometimes, further down the road, shareholders).

So, here’s the set-up. You work at a great company, are well compensated, have meaningful relationships with your co-workers, and generally have no complaints. A professional acquaintance you admire pops out of nowhere and tries to convince you to jump ship and join “a great new startup!” The pitch probably won’t include the following, but you should expect they are part of the deal:

• A pay cut. But not just a reduction to your base pay – it’s a full compensation package cut. Startups tend to be starved for money, and that trickles down until they’re on firm footing.

• Company instability.

• Long-term anxiety and uncertainty.

• Terrible work/life balance. You shouldn’t expect any.

• The knowledge that the upsides are epic but elusive and certainly not guaranteed.

But yes, there are absolutely potential pros to joining a startup venture:

• You have the opportunity and challenge to build a business from the ground up. If you are a creative person who wants to have an impact, then you may be startup material. Prepare to change the world.

• Opportunities to play advanced roles that are readily transferable. If you’re part of a small team, expect to perform various roles, gain experience and skills in multiple areas, and learn how to lead a company. In a traditional corporate environment, there is a much longer ladder to climb.

•  In startup organizations, the payout is in the long term. You put in “sweat equity” (i.e., working hard and being rewarded with an ownership stake) and, down the road, you could earn a piece of the pie without being an original investor.

• In a high-risk startup environment, if you successfully help the business through its early stages and help set it up for future growth, you can position yourself for executive-level positions, within the startup or somewhere else. It’s possible to reach those upper echelons more rapidly if you’re part of a successful startup.

• Show me the money! There are various financial instruments startups use to attract top talent.

  • a.     An ownership stake.

  • b.     Stocks. Long-term incentive because they must “vest” before you can cash out.

  • c.     Stock options. Stock options are an opportunity to purchase stock at a reduced price.

  • d.     Opportunities to invest in the company, or buy into an ownership position, aren’t available to most people.

• Maybe you’re the one with the great idea! Starting and working at a startup you will be thrust into the world of venture capitalists who, down the road, may finance your $1 billion idea. And you could possibly someday cash out.

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 Philip Roufail contributed to this article.

Scott Singer is the President and Founder of Insider Career Strategies Resume Writing & Career Coaching, a firm dedicated to guiding job seekers and companies through the job search and hiring process. Insider Career Strategies provides resume writing, LinkedIn profile development, career coaching services, and outplacement services. You can email Scott Singer at scott.singer@insidercs.com, or via the website, www.insidercs.com.

Maximizing Your Leverage – Negotiating Remote Work (And Other Perks) In The Post-Pandemic Era

iStockphoto | z_wei

In the latest edition of CEOs Gone Wild, one CEO told her employees, “You can visit Pity City but you can’t live there,” because they weren’t getting bonuses (CEO’s compensation - $5 million), and another CEO commended an employee for selling their dog because they could not both own a pet and devote themselves to the company. Did we mention there are banking and cryptocurrency meltdowns happening? Those CEOs went wild too.

Professionals are at an inflection point with their fundamental relationship with their employers, many of whom turn out to be poor stewards of their businesses, hucksters, Cruellas, and people who are happy when other people are forced to sell their dogs. If only Dante was alive to add another circle of Hell.

While every sector has its own divides, one issue that unites skilled professionals is remote work vs. back to the office. Remote work’s demise is the prediction that never seems to materialize in a substantive way. Let’s be clear. It does not matter how many major companies push for a return to the office and how many employees ultimately do. Deep inside the professional’s consciousness, a paradigm shift has already happened. The tug-of-war has just begun.

For example, large and influential companies like Google and Apple are bringing their employees back to the office at the same time there is a new drive for asynchronous work, where remote work can be completed on any schedule the worker decides. The poles are moving further apart. Nobody wants to give. This test of wills is untenable. What happens when you want to work remotely and your employer wants you back in the office? What do you do?

As a job seeker, what kind of actual leverage do you have? Are you in an advantageous bargaining position?  The first step is to understand your parameters.

1.     Understand what’s important to you. Why do you want to work remotely? Is it because it’s a nice perk, or do you have a real need? Is it a matter of principle? You need to have an in-depth understanding of your motivating factors before you take an adversarial position than your employer or torpedo a job interview.

2.     Are you prepared for the trade-offs? You sacrifice visibility when you work remotely and it may impact your career mobility. If you are working in your remote silo, you aren’t actively developing meaningful professional relationships with your co-workers or/and clients. You may also be paid less. If you are in high demand and you want to be a digital nomad, you may be able to make it work over the long term. Otherwise, you may be a perpetual temporary worker who has walled themselves off from opportunities that may have been available to you have you returned to the office.

3.     Are you prepared to disconnect from communal and historic knowledge? Work used to be structured in a simple way - master and apprentice. In an office, there are many masters and many apprentices, and the interaction between all of these various people creates institutionalized knowledge critical for the functioning of the company and for learning new skills. If you’re not there, you’re missing out on all of that and you’re not building your professional network.

4.     Decide what you’re willing to accept. If you choose not to die on Remote-Work Hill and are willing to compromise, what model will make you happy? For example, let’s say you’re offered a mostly remote position but you have to come into the office twice a week, which means you have to live in the geographic location of where the office is located. Are those acceptable terms? If not, what would be? Think in through or what little leverage you do have may dissipate quickly during a negotiation.

5.     Companies have rights too. Hence the Golden Rule – he who has the gold makes the rules. If a company name is on your paycheck, it’s delivered on time, and it clears the bank, the company has every right to dictate the terms of what they are buying, in this case, labor. Your employer can set whatever requirements they want and if you don’t want to abide by them then you are free to seek employment elsewhere.

Now let’s take a quick look at what leverage you may have when negotiating the terms of your employment.

1.     Do an honest assessment of your skill set and the business landscape. If your employer mandates a return to the office and you’re committed to 100% remote finding common ground may not be in the cards. However, if you see movement on one or both ends you may have more negotiating power. Read the tea leaves.

2.     Understand that compromise comes from both sides. If a company is ready to compromise on how it schedules and manages its labor force, you should be ready to compromise on what you will do for the company. Unless you’re the Elon Musk of remote workers (you’re not), there will be give and take and you should be prepared to give (but don’t sell your dog).

3.     Be aware. Even if your employer is open to negotiating remote or hybrid work, you may not have as much leverage as you think you do. Don’t rush your actions. Do your due diligence. Your employer may be responsive, but if you overplay your position you may end up alienating yourself, or if you’re interviewing you may be removed from the process if they believe you’re not a right match due to differing opinions on remote work vs. return to the office.

4.     Make your opening gambit, but make it respectfully. Whether you approach a current employer or are in the interview room, be direct. Ask for what you want. You may receive a unilateral “no” and that’s that. But maybe you’ll get a maybe and then the game is on. Remember your professional etiquette. Don’t make an issue if you don’t get the answer you want. See where your e, employer or potential employer stands. If (when) asked questions about your position, be honest.

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Philip Roufail contributed to this article.

Scott Singer is the President and Founder of Insider Career Strategies Resume Writing & Career Coaching, a firm dedicated to guiding job seekers and companies through the job search and hiring process. Insider Career Strategies provides resume writing, LinkedIn profile development, career coaching services, and outplacement services. You can email Scott Singer at scott.singer@insidercs.com, or via the website, www.insidercs.com.