Job Search Solution Blog by Tony Beshara

It’s not uncommon for candidates who are out of work to take “bridge” jobs… these are jobs that people take out of necessity, to earn quick money but they don’t plan to stay at them for very long.

I understand the need to eat, pay the mortgage or rent, car payment etc. but be aware that often times… very often these “bridge” jobs get in the way of finding a more professional, permanent job.

The problem I have with these kinds of jobs is that they actually get in the way of the candidate’s ability to interview… they get an interview, but can’t go because of their own bridge job… their attitude is “Tony, I have to be able to keep this job in order to pay the rent and an interview for me with having to take off work, would interfere with that”… okay, I get it but if you can’t make interviews you can’t get hired and most employers have so many candidates to choose from these days, rearranging an interview specifically for you isn’t likely to happen.

So, if you have to take a “bridge” job get one either for the first half of the day, the last half of the day or maybe waiting tables, bartending etc. in the evening so you have the daytime to be able to interview… getting a retail job during the day isn’t going to help you to get normal interview cycles… selling cars with its long hours, is going to get in the way of your interviewing.

I can’t tell you the number of candidates that I have seen over the years whose “bridge” jobs, that they took, thinking it was going to be for a very short period of time found themselves in these jobs for six or seven months and then they have the additional problem of trying to explain to a prospective employer why they take a job for six or seven months and are now looking for a more professional one… no matter what anyone says, a hiring authority is going to wonder about this.

When a candidate tries to explain that they took their present job as a “bridge” job and it has lasted for six or seven months, that they didn’t have any idea it was going to wind up having to last that long and they are  still serious about finding a more “professional” job, it just becomes another hurdle that they have to overcome with a prospective employer… and then to make matters worse, candidates will get frustrated and downright mad saying things like, “can’t they understand that a person has to have a source of income,” etc… bluntly it’s a no win argument.

So, take a “bridge” job if you must, but do it wisely realize the consequences.

In the past two weeks our organization has interviewed at least 200 candidates face-to-face… admittedly, that’s quite a number of candidates and, obviously, many of them are very unenlightened… and some stuff is understandable when it comes to looking for a job… I personally, interviewed 30 people in those two weeks…I place professional sales people everywhere from 2 years of sales experience to the VP level… salary ranges from $30,000 a year to more than $1 million a year.

Over just the last two weeks these are some of the reasons that I heard as to why my candidates need to change jobs:

-I just need to make money

-my husband told me that I am worth more money

-it’s just time for me and my company to part ways

-my unemployment has run out so I need to find a job

-I haven’t had a raise in two years

-my neighbor got a new job and he’s a real doofus… so if he can get a new job and a raise so  should I

-now that I have an MBA, my school says I should be making $50,000 more

-I got a kid going off to college and need to make more money

-I’ve been underpaid for three years

-I need an exciting job

-my mother-in-law moved in with us so I need to make more money

-I’ve been out of work for a year, I guess it’s time to get back in the swing of things

-my company cheated me

Well, I’m sure you get the message… saying stupid stuff like this as to why you are looking for a job doesn’t come across very well at all.. every candidate who is looking for a job has to think about, “How does what I’m saying come across?…Does my reason for changing jobs make business sense for a hiring authority?”

Answering any question in the interviewing situation has to make good business sense… who would want to hire some whose spouse thinks they should be making more money… what kind of business person would hire someone just because they say they need more money?… Think, think, think!

Never count your money
When you’re sittin’ at the table
They’ll be time enough for countin’
When the dealing done

—Kenny Rogers, 1978

Okay, so I am reliving Kenny Rogers for a couple weeks… countin’ money when you’re sitting at the table reminds me of all the candidates I’ve known over the years who thought they were going to get a job offer and then didn’t… in fact, I can’t even count the number of times my candidates have been told they were going to get an offer… promised they were going to get an offer… and then never got one.

I have candidates that assume they are going to be hired when they’re invited back for just a second interview…oh, brother

You can never, ever, ever, ever assume you are going to get a job offer until you do… and even then, until you actually show up for work and earn your first paycheck, don’t plan on spending it… even this week, one of our candidates who accepted a job offer, quit her present job wednesday was called today by the VP who hired her to be told that her job she was supposed to start Monday had been eliminated… so you say, “how can that happen when she had an offer and the start date?”… And I say, “it can happen really easily… they simply eliminated the job”… the VP even called us and told us that he was worried about his job being eliminated…

The lesson is, that while you’re interviewing, never count on getting an offer or being hired… if you think about countin’ money or spending your first paycheck you won’t be focused on interviewing well and even when you interview well you can’t assume you’re going to get an offer until you actually do… if you start countin’ your money before you play your cards, you’re not likely to win… don’t count on an offer while you’re interviewing.

You’ve got to know when to hold ’em
Know when to fold ’em
Know when to walk away
Know when to run

—Kenny Rogers, 1978

The subject comes up daily on the part of candidates about how long they should keep pursuing an opportunity when they don’t hear from the hiring authority… and I have to admit that even as a professional recruiter since 1973, I’m never quite sure of when to keep pushing or when to “fold ’em” and move on to another deal…

I often think that candidates give up too easily and stop calling or e-mailing a prospective employer too soon.

I know it gets frustrating to think that you are being considered for a job or told that you are being considered and then never hear from anyone..It is an emotional strain more than anything else…

So here is what I recommend… never take it personally …it is simply a business deal… most of the time they don’t  back to you when they say they are  going  to isn’t because of a personal issue with you, there’s a lot more going on than hiring… now I would call and leave a message as many as 10 or 12 times… e-mail 10 or 12 times… being proactive…

Make the  phone calls very nice and the e-mails very nice… never get mad or angry ..after that if  you don’t hear from hiring authority then I would tell you to “fold ’em”…

In case you haven’t caught on already, the hiring process never goes as fast as people tell you it will… by gently and nicely reminding them of your candidacy by email and phone… encourage them to call you back, but don’t take it personally when they don’t… just remember to be nice…when they call you back you will be pleasantly surprised

Recruiters and job placement people… some professional and some not so professional…talk and write about the “instant look” which refers to the kind of candidate that has an immediately attractive, personal appearance… a handsome guy, good height weight ratio, well-dressed… the female with an attractive face and figure, well-dressed and an expensive business suit… most of us know exactly what I’m talking about…

Studies show that these people and their immediate “instant look” impact have an advantage, at least an initial advantage , in the interviewing situation… I know it’s unfair and I know it may not be right, but that is the way it is…

But what if you’re like the vast majority of us that don’t have that “instant look” …we are boomers, slightly if not mostly overweight that even the most stylish clothes can’t hide, thinning hair… if we have it all… wrinkles that even make us look even older… How do we overcome the fact that we don’t have that “instant look?”

First thing to do is to recognize that you can’t be what you’re not… don’t try to dress or look 35  when you are 55 years old…try to lose weight if you need to…get on an exercise plan…dress the  best you can, realizing that overweight people have a decided disadvantage in the interviewing process… wear cloths that fit you, not that barely fit or accentuate your weight gain… dress professionally and understated… dark , solid color suit, white shirt or blouse…loud suits… even “colorful” business suits… are not good at interviewing situation…short hair for the men and hair pulled back for women…conservative all over the place… very understated jewelry for women… practically no jewelry for men…keep everything very simple…I’ve written in this blog specific instructions about dress, but suffice it to say you can look professional even if you don’t have that “instant look”

The most important thing you can do to overcome the lack of the “instant look” is to be able to interview very, very, very well … that means really knowing what your features, advantages and benefits are, knowing exactly why you are an outstanding employee and be able to communicate extremely well… even a great image… that “instant look”… may give a candidate an initial advantage but it dissipates real quickly if the candidate doesn’t sell themselves in a perfect manner…

I’m continually amazed at how poorly candidates… even accomplished sales candidates… interview… interviewing well takes lots and lots of practice… you can’t wait for a job interview and think you’re going to perform well without practicing interviewing… what you say and how you sell yourself in an interview can overcome any image issue…

Chad and Marc are two excellent sales engineer candidates… both had good engineering backgrounds and ability… our client company is one of the best in the country at what they do and they are expanding… they called us needing two sales engineers and were grateful to us for referring both Chad and Marc…

Chad and Marc both went into the initial interviews realizing that these were excellent opportunities and they both sold themselves really well, at least Chad did… from the beginning of our effort with Marc, he copped an attitude that “these guys need to come to me… I’m really good… I’m gonna play it cool… I’m gonna play hard to get…I’ll get a better offer that way”

We explained to both candidates that they needed to sell themselves at every step of the way… ask for the job and reminded them that they had nothing until they had an offer… Chad did exactly the right things…but Marc didn’t… Mark didn’t close the initial interview by asking “how do I stack up with the others that you were looking at” and “what’ll I need to do to get the job”… he didn’t send follow-up interview e-mails to the initial interview and authority for two days after the interview and, instead of doing what Chad did, which was call up the initial interview and authority two days after the interview and ask about next steps, Marc “played it cool” and waited for us to be told by the initial interviewing authority to arrange follow-up interviews with him…

Marc did the same thing after the follow-up interviews… he never “closed” the people doing the interviewing… and followed up two or three days later… he also kept reminding them that he had “other opportunities he was looking at”…

Interestingly enough, Marc was probably a better candidate than Chad, but he just wasn’t selling himself the right way… last Friday the company made offers to both Chad and Marc… Chad negotiated a great offer and accepted the job immediately…Marc told the hiring authority that he wanted to think about it two or three days and then he would let them know…in spite of  his arrogance, the company still wanted to hire Marc… sometimes talent can take you a long ways

Marc told us that he had no other offers, no other prospects for offers, that he really wanted the opportunity but he still wanted to “play it cool”… we advised against this, but Marc insisted that he was doing it the right way… on Monday afternoon following the Friday the hiring authority made the offers, the hiring authority called us and said that they decided to resend the offer they made to Marc… it just plain bugged them that Marc handled the interview he process the way he did… we tried to explain that some candidates just do that kind of thing, etc. and we tried to salvage the deal… the truth is that the way Marc handled the situation really has nothing to do with his ability to do the job or effectiveness…

the hiring authority just couldn’t be convinced… and we understand…Marc was absolutely furious… he couldn’t believe that the company would rescind the offer the way they did… he then mumbled something about suing them… absurd!

The lesson is, don’t “play it cool”…this is a real painful lesson and it’s really sad…Marc called us two days after this came down and asked if he should call the hiring authority and ask if he can be reconsidered… the hiring authority wouldn’t return the three calls Marc made to him… Marc claims he’s learned his lesson and he will do better the next time…

A wise person learned by experience… a wiser person learns by others experience…