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“I’ve been finding people jobs since 1973, and have helped thousands of candidates find great career opportunities. Let me help you too!”... Tony Beshara

"I've been finding people jobs since 1973, and have helped thousands of candidates find great career opportunities. Let me help you too!"... Tony Beshara

… owning your own business

At least three or four times a week, I personally, have a discussion with a potential candidate who has been self-employed or been the president of or managed their own business. Most everyone of them is astounded and, in many cases, downright mad when I explaine to them that they’re going to have a very hard time finding someone to hire them.

Their reasoning is illogical. They figure that if they’ve been successful in running a company or running their own business, they are going to make a stellar employee and just about any company would love to have them. They are blown away when I explained the facts… that most companies don’t to hire someone who has been in their on business because:1. they don’t want someone working for them who is even going to think saying, “wow, when I ran my own business we did it this way…” 2. They don’t want to always been the boss and it is not “reported” to anyone…3. They don’t want to hire someone who’ll might wake up one morning and decide they don’t like the job and go back into business for themselves.

Every candidate has a number of “risk factors.” These are factors or experiences in their background that pose “risks” to an employer. Things like short stints on the resume… being out of work for a long period of time, being fired etc. are all risk factors. Most hiring authorities are trying to eliminate as many of the risk factors in each candidate as they can. Put another way, they want to hire the candidate with the fewest risk factors. What candidates have to understand is that having owned or run your own business is a risk factor in them that the hiring authority may not have with other candidates. In other words the candidate who is owned or run their own business in competing with other candidates with one more risk factor than most of the other candidates. Since the hiring authority wants to minimize “risk factors” he or she simply passes over the person who is owned or run their own business. It’s that simple!

I’m not going to say that people who have run their own business never get hired by other people, because it does happen. But this factor will is very difficult to deal with and overcome. Next week, I’ll share with you the best way to deal with this concern that the hiring authority will have.

By |2014-02-28T22:57:04-05:00February 28, 2014|Job Search Blog|

… owning your own business

At least three or four times a week, I personally, have a discussion with a potential candidate who has been self-employed or been the president of or managed their own business. Most everyone of them is astounded and, in many cases, downright mad when I explaine to them that they’re going to have a very hard time finding someone to hire them.

Their reasoning is illogical. They figure that if they’ve been successful in running a company or running their own business, they are going to make a stellar employee and just about any company would love to have them. They are blown away when I explained the facts… that most companies don’t to hire someone who has been in their on business because:1. they don’t want someone working for them who is even going to think saying, “wow, when I ran my own business we did it this way…” 2. They don’t want to always been the boss and it is not “reported” to anyone…3. They don’t want to hire someone who’ll might wake up one morning and decide they don’t like the job and go back into business for themselves.

Every candidate has a number of “risk factors.” These are factors or experiences in their background that pose “risks” to an employer. Things like short stints on the resume… being out of work for a long period of time, being fired etc. are all risk factors. Most hiring authorities are trying to eliminate as many of the risk factors in each candidate as they can. Put another way, they want to hire the candidate with the fewest risk factors. What candidates have to understand is that having owned or run your own business is a risk factor in them that the hiring authority may not have with other candidates. In other words the candidate who is owned or run their own business in competing with other candidates with one more risk factor than most of the other candidates. Since the hiring authority wants to minimize “risk factors” he or she simply passes over the person who is owned or run their own business. It’s that simple!

I’m not going to say that people who have run their own business never get hired by other people, because it does happen. But this factor will is very difficult to deal with and overcome. Next week, I’ll share with you the best way to deal with this concern that the hiring authority will have.

By |2014-02-28T22:56:59-05:00February 28, 2014|Job Search Blog|

…your odds of getting a job by posting your resume to an online ad

• On average, 1000 in 1500 individuals view a job posting.
• Between 200 and 275 of these people will begin the application process or send a resume.
• Between 150 and 180 people will complete an application…
• 90 to 110 of those resumes or applications will be scanned by an ATS or some type of human screener …who may or may not know what they are looking for.
• 20 to 25 resumes will be sent to a hiring authority.
• 4 to 6 candidates will be invited to interview.
• 1 to 2 of them will be invited back for subsequent and final interviews.
• 25% of the time the “search” will start all over because the hiring authority doesn’t feel he or she has seen enough quality candidates…or doesn’t like what he or she has seen and the process starts all over again.
• Of the remaining 75% of the time, one of the finalists will be offered the job and 80% of those finalists will accept. 40% of the time, the first candidate offered the job turns it down, then the second candidate is offered the position. If that candidate does not accept the job…which happens about 20% of the time…the search starts all over again.

So, based on this reality, what are a candidate’s odds of getting hired by submitting a resume to an online job posting? Very, very, very slim…about 1 in 375 to 400.

By |2014-02-21T22:49:41-05:00February 21, 2014|Job Search Blog|

… the last of the stupid stuff

Remember, when it comes time for them to make an offer, they really, really want you and so you’re in the driver’s seat. The minute you start thinking this, you’re just “thought” yourself out of a job. When organizations go to make you an offer, it is true that they do want you, but you better be sure that they’ve got two or three other people right behind you that they could easily want just as much in a heartbeat. The difference between you, the person they want to make an offer to and the number two candidate is so very slim, you can’t even afford to think this way. So, negotiate in good faith but don’t think you’re any kind of big shot, driver seat.

Target the top 10 companies you would like to go to work for and focus everything you can to get an interview with them. This myth has been around for a number of years and I’m still amazed that people given any kind of credibility. What if those 10 organizations you have “targeted” don’t need to hire anybody… or they have no use for any kind of experience you’ve got. This is the height of solipsism…that you are the center of the universe… the only thing that matters. I already have a problem if you are only targeting  those top 10 companies… but try targeting may be 500 or 600, because that’s how many it’s going to take in order to get a job…

Regarding any advice you get about finding a job… consider the source…

By |2014-02-14T22:12:40-05:00February 14, 2014|Job Search Blog|

…and still more dumb-ass advice on the net

Tell the interviewing authority that you need more money because… and then state the reason why you need more money..And then pack up your briefcase and leave because you’re not going to get hired. I can’t even imagine that anybody would ever, ever, ever instruct anyone to do something like this. Never tell an interviewing or hiring authority what you need They don’t care what you need. Now they might care what you want based on their desire to hire you, but even then it’s in the light of what they want. I can only imagine that the reasoning behind this is used to communicate to the hiring authority what  is necessary for you, economically, to take the job… so! Just don’t do this. Negotiate from what is fair and reasonable to do the job… but never from what you need.

When negotiating a salary always wince at the first offer… You aren’t buying a car here… this is not a piece of real estate… you’re not buying a rug from a Persian rug dealer. 99.99% of the hiring authorities I know would literally laugh at a candidate who winces when he or she was made an offer. If the first offer is a reasonable offer, accept the offer. If it’s not, ask the hiring authority if there is any room to negotiate. Be serious and calm but for goodness sake don’t wince  or make a stupid face.

In an interview, don’t tell people you are looking for a job…but simply exchanging information to see if there is mutual interest either now or in the future. Oh brother! This dumb advice comes from “career counselors” who think it’s advisable to act coy, cool and ‘superior’ to the idea “applying for a job.” I had a candidate one time that read this stupid stuff and didn’t tell me he was going to do it in the interview. He told our client that he “really wasn’t looking for a job, but…” the clients stood up and said, “then why are you here wasting my time?” End of  interview! This kind of approach is supposed to set you apart from those that are desperate to find a job and be one of the few people above the fray who might choose to bless the halls of the organization you are interviewing with and work there. Stupid! While a candidate like this is acting erudite, another candidate who is really looking for a job is getting it.

By |2014-02-07T23:01:30-05:00February 7, 2014|Job Search Blog|

…and a few more dumb ideas

Always ask for more money than you want … Why would you do that? Speak about the money you want in relation to what the job is worth… if what you want is more than you can get or more than what the job is worth… and you really need to go to work as soon as possible, and possibly accept any reasonable offer… the idea that an employer is always going to offer you less than what you’re asking is stupid…

Do yourself a favor and get rid of that word “always” to any of these topics

When interviewing, mirror the interviewing authority… Mirroring is reflecting the same body language the person you are speaking with has… for instance, if the person leans back in their chair, crosses their leg or crosses their arms, you would do the same thing… if they sit with their feet planted firmly on the floor, their hands on the arms of the chair, slightly leaning forward, you do the same…now this has some merit… but you only want to “mirror” the interviewing authority to the point that you get them to empathize and understand you .. the major purpose of mirroring however is to, after a few moments of mirroring, you “lead” with them into mirroring you so that they can better identify and empathize with your feelings… and literally, “see the world” through your eyes…If done correctly you will “lead” them to cross their arms, cross their legs, sit back in their chair, etc. following you doing the same thing…

When you go into the interview… keep breathing (… seriously, that is exactly what an interview counselor recommended)… What’s so nuts about this advice was that it wasn’t given in any kind of context… the authority who recommend it, simply said, “when you go into the interviewing authority’s office…breath..” and then the speaker moved on to another topic… it just kind of sat there all by itself… Who could disagree with this advice? … But to give it as though it was some kind of revelation was hilarious…

By |2014-01-31T22:21:12-05:00January 31, 2014|Job Search Blog|

..more internet misguiding’s

Employers always have room to negotiate. That’s just not true! Sometimes they do. Sometimes they don’t. Hiring authorities don’t “always” have anything. So the question to ask in the middle of an offer opportunity, is “is there any room to negotiate.. salary, benefits, etc.?”

Employers always start to offer you a job at the lowest money they can get away with. Again, absolutes like this are totally unfounded. These kind of ideas communicate an adversarial relationship between the candidate and the employer. Maybe, some organizations do this, but it is very rare. Most companies and hiring authorities are interested in being as fair as they can be in compensation. Most of them are well aware that you get what you pay for.

Never take responsibility for your reason for saying “no.” Blame someone else you have consulted. OMG! Where did this come from? Well, I kind of know. It comes from the negotiation technique of, “I would like to take your offer myself, but my boss, higher up’s, etc. just won’t let me do it.” You know, the “good cop… bad cop” routine. Whoever came up with this idea and applied it to the job search… and I listened to two videos that recommended this as well as reading it in an “advice” article… it’s NUTS! What are you going to say in a job offer negotiation, “well, I’d like to do it, but my spouse just doesn’t think I should” or “I would like to take the job at that money, but my spouse (… mother, father, brother, adviser, guru) thinks that I should hold out for more money..”

It goes without saying that this is one of the dumbest pieces of advice I’ve ever heard regarding any job offer negotiation. Don’t do it!

By |2014-01-26T13:06:13-05:00January 26, 2014|Job Search Blog|

…more goofy internet advice

Never accept the first offer…what’s with this?…who ever said the first offer wasn’t a good offer?…some of the firms that I work with  are only going to make one offer and the candidate can either take it or leave it… Now if you want to ask something like “is that the very best you can do?” I can live with that, but in most instances, if you operate with the principal that you’re not going to take the first offer, you are playing games… on top of that, it’s stupid

He who brings up money first loses… I don’t know the idiot who  dreamed this up, But if you follow this advice you’re a fool… (obviously, I feel fairly strongly about this… and all the other stuff too) … the discussion of money is like any other issue in the interviewing process… If you are asked, for instance, “what are you earning?” What are you going to say, “I really don’t want to discuss money?”… Right!… Stupid advice !… don’t buy it.

Everything is negotiable… We had a brand-new MBA graduate get to the offer stage from the company… they  asked him what kind of compensation he had in mind. The candidate responded that he would like a salary of $150,000, a generous 401(k) plan, a car and four weeks vacation in its first year as well as a salary review in six months.” The hiring authority responded by saying, “how about $250,000 salary and an expense account,  a brand-new Mercedes and a salary view in three months?”  The excited candidate, with wide eyes, looked at the hiring authority and said, “are you kidding?” To which the hiring authorities said, “yeah, but you started it.”..

Okay, it’s a joke…but everything is NOT negotiablein fact there are a very few things in the job offer that are negotiable… maybe money, once in a very long while, title, some benefits and, again, once in a while a few other things… but for goodness sake don’t believe this adage… it’s foolish… you can simply ask the hiring authority what might be negotiable… but please, don’t go in to a job offer situation thinking “everything is negotiable” you will be sorely disappointed and won’t get to first base… As well as stupid

We had a candidate sometime back who, upon getting an offer, even said to the hiring authority “well everything is negotiable, can we begin with the salary”… the hiring authority stood up and said, “it doesn’t appear that you have any common sense, I don’t think are going to proceed beyond here. Thanks for coming by.”

By |2014-01-19T11:33:50-05:00January 19, 2014|Job Search Blog|

…more internet junk

Candidates are trying to get the most money they can…Well, to a certain extent candidates are trying to do the best they can for themselves… but the way this is stated by most of the people that talk about it, communicates that candidates are creating an adversarial relationship with the employer, communicating the idea that the employer is trying to pay the least he can get away with to begin with,  isn’t  good and really isn’t going to get you the best offer.

Candidates should do the best they can to get a good compensation package, but it shouldn’t be the most important thing that the candidate should think about… money is simply part of the whole opportunity… as I have stated many times before,  if you give a company good enough reason to why they ought to hire you,  they will give you good enough reasons why your good work there is money… but I guarantee you if you approach the money negotiations with the idea that the company is trying to be as cheap as they can,  it won’t go well…

When given an offer, tell the employer that you would like to think about it a couple of days…WRONG!… while you are “thinking about it” any employer with any sense is hiring the candidate right behind you… “thinking about it a couple of days” communicates a very indecisive, not committed, wishy-washy attitude… you have to be more decisive than this

My recommendation is that you decide and let the hiring authorities know within 24 hours… that is decisive…

Now, if you’re trying to get an offer and you’re waiting for another one to compare it to… very fortunate position to be in… you run the risk of losing the offer to someone else so, decide what you’re going to do it quickly and decisively

By |2014-01-11T19:26:02-05:00January 11, 2014|Job Search Blog|

…internet advice

As promised, over the next few weeks I’m going to take each one of these idiocies that I wrote about last and explain why they are absolutely foolish…

When you are asked how much money you are making, counter that question with a question by asking “well, how much does this position pay?”… This is crazy… any employer with any brains at all is going to look at you like you’re crazy if you answer their question this way… the idea of answering a question with a question is poor judgement.. no employer in their right mind is going to respond to this positively… if you say something stupid like this and you are fortunate enough to not be thrown out of the interview, the interviewing or hiring authority is going to say “I asked you what you are presently making”… in other words, he or she wants to know what you’re making..TELL THEM… it’s really that simple… trying to be coy or cute will lead to disaster… so when asked this simple question give a simple answer… tell them what you are presently making and/or what you made in your last job… end of discussion!

When asked about how much money you are making, give a range of the money you’ve made over the last few years…The same fool who wrote the first bit of advice, probably came up with this dumb answer too… again, if you’re fortunate enough to still be in the interview without being thrown out, the interviewing or hiring authority is going to say, “aaah, I didn’t ask you the range of what you’ve been earning, I asked you to tell me exactly what you’ve been earning”

Any kind of answer to the above two questions that is not an exact, specific number is going to communicate that you don’t want to tell the interviewing her hiring authority what you are. making…that you are trying to hide your previous either poor or low pay.. I assure you that any gamesmanship like this will NOT get you hired…

Have three numbers in mind regarding the salary you will be willing to accept… a high salary, a median salary and the lowest salary you would consider…. What’s the reason for this idea? It has absolutely nothing to do with the kind of offer that you may or may not get… as if your coming up with these figures means anything to the interviewing or hiring authority… I can’t even figure out the reason anybody would give this advice… here’s the deal, the better you sell yourself the better the offer you are going to get..Don’t even consider anything like this until you actually get an offer, then you’ve got something to think about… this advice is a waste of time

Employers want to pay as little as they can get away with… that’s just not true… I’ve spoken to more than 23,000 hiring authorities in my career… finding out what they want to hire the candidate… sending them candidates… negotiating… and getting people hired… every once in a while I do run into a hiring authority that seems to be more concerned about paying as little as they can… they are more interested in the money then they are the people… but there are really very few of these kinds of folks… most people who do the hiring realize that they are going to get about what they pay for… they know that money is relative to the quality of candidate they may get… I don’t think that I’ve ever heard an employer tell me, “we’re cheap, we want to pay as little as we can to get as much as we can”…If you enter a job offer negotiation or even an interview with this adversarial attitude, you’re not gonna go very far

By |2014-01-03T22:48:04-05:00January 3, 2014|Job Search Blog|
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