Recession-Proof Your Job

Copyright 2008 by ELTICI HR CONSULTANCY PTE LTD, all rights reserved. This material may be freely copied and distributed subject to inclusion of this copyright notice and the author's name.
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Recession-Proof Your Job
by Stan Tan, MBA (email: ess@ltc-cpa.com)

In the current economy downturn, we may want to refer to the famous quote from John Kennedy, 35th President of the United States:
“Ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country.”

It may be appropriate here to modify this famous saying as follows:
“Ask not what your company can do for you - ask what you can do for your company.”

Why? Because if your company does not make it, neither will you. You lose your job and if you are lucky, you find your next job quickly. But ask yourself: how likely will that be during the current market situation.

Another timely quote from Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the United States:
“Whenever you are asked if you can do a job, tell 'em, 'Certainly I can!' Then get busy and find out how to do it."

Companies are struggling! In the United States, former leading brand names like GM, Ford and Chrysler are fighting for survival. Companies in Singapore are foreseeing a difficult time ahead. So, what should you do? Whine and wait for the worst or stand up for your company and live to fight another day? Below are some suggestions how you can stand up and make a difference to recession-proof yourself.

Attitude counts a lot.
It is all about attitude. In the current difficult time, the importance of attitude cannot be over-emphasized. Positive attitude will help boost morale and enhance harmony and unity. This is made more important during difficult times where morale is typically low.

Take a macro view/look at the whole picture.
Look at the company as a whole and see yourself as part of the whole company. Do not wait to be told to do something. Now is the crucial time when you should look hard around and help the company to be stronger to be able to secure the diminished available business.
Be aware of and anticipate the needs of your co-workers and other departments. If you come across an article that might be useful to your co-workers, send it to them with a note.

Think of ways to generate revenues or cut costs.
During an economy downturn, the opportunity to generate revenues is diminished. Even then, we should always pro-actively think of ways to generate revenues. It is only when we ‘give up’ and stop thinking that we get into trouble.
We should keep the cost factor firmly in mind and cut costs wherever possible. Whatever costs that can be postponed should be postponed. Differentiate between needs and wants. All the wants should be firmly put on hold.
Cutting costs means that you can offer a more competitive price to your customers. Cutting costs is different from cutting corners. It means doing things in a more efficient way and doing away with non-essential stuff, without any adverse effect to quality.

Make positive contributions.
Make positive contributions whenever possible. Think of all possible ways to make positive contributions, even if it is not in your area of responsibility. Share your ideas willingly and be helpful to everyone.

Talk up your contributions.
There is no need to boast about your contributions. But keeping silent about contributions is not going help either. Subtly mention how your contributions have helped and offer more help whenever possible.

Doing your job well will not help.
In good times, doing your job well may suffice. In the current difficult situation, doing well just is not enough. Why? Because of the diminished available business opportunity, we must do our job exceptionally well to be able win the projects.

Build a strong rapport with other departments.
Unity is strength. Unity enhances morale. This is more crucial during the current downturn when morale can be low.

Make yourself stand out. Strive to be leader in your industry.
In such difficult times, it becomes more essential be best as we are competing for a limited number of available projects in the market. You can write articles, do a presentation at a seminar or even make use of the current trend and use a blog.

Get your skills up to date.
Ask yourself. If your skill is outdated, how can you contribute to the company? During the downturn, normal people start to worry. Progressive people think of how to contribute to the company by upgrading their skills, in line with the company’s requirements. Doing so will demonstrate to your company your positive attitude.

Continue networking.
It is more about who you know than what you know. What you know is important of course, but who you know can go a long way to help you succeed in difficult times. With your strong network and through the network of your network, you will be surprised how much can be achieved. This is particularly true in the current difficult time.

Be visible.
Be visible. In such difficult times, the company needs all contributions it can get. Now is not the best time to go on long vacation. The risk is that you may return to find out your job has become redundant. Make yourself useful and visible. Offer whatever help you can to whichever department that needs help.

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Copyright 2008 by ELTICI HR CONSULTANCY PTE LTD, all rights reserved. This material may be freely copied and distributed subject to inclusion of this copyright notice and the author's name.

Job Candidates: Enhance Your Chances Of Getting The Job!

How can you, a job candidate, enhance your chances of success at an interview. Remember that your objective in attending an interview is to get the job. You have to make sure that the interviewers are convinced that you are the ideal person for the job. You have to show them why you are better than the other candidates. In effect, you are actually going to ‘market’ yourself as the best person for the job.


Here are some points that you may want to consider.

Insist on meeting or talking with the hiring manager first, whenever possible

Whenever possible, try to insist on meeting the hiring manager first. The hiring manager is going to be your immediate superior in the new job. He would know the type of candidate that he is looking for, the experience and skills that he wants. The human resource department will not know as much as the hiring manager. If the hiring manager finds you suitable, you can talk to the human resource later.
Ask yourself this: would a HR person who is not in your area of work be able to understand fully what you are going to explain about your experience, skills and your work?

State your expectations

Try to ask for the agenda for the interview meeting. Even a verbal one over the telephone is better than none. You need to find out who the interviewers are, their designations, how they are related to the position that you are applying for? Is it just going to be the interview or more? If they are not at all related to the position that you are applying for, ask for the purpose of their presence in the interview. Use the reason that you would like to know so as to prepare yourself. It demonstrates your seriousness in the interview and the position.

Expect respect and set your standard

If the interviewers do not greet you, think cautiously before ever accepting another invitation from that company. That should let you have an idea of the employees in that company: lack of courtesy and respect for others. You have to set your standards high and be sure that the company that you are going to join has a high standard too. If not, do not waste your time.

Show respect to the interviewers

It is always a good practice to show respect to others, irrespective of who the other party is. You never know the influence the other party has over the recruitment decision. Or how closely you are going to work with the person (assuming that you get the job)? Finally, how you treat others reflects on you directly. So do set a high standard for yourself.

Do not ask about renumeration or benefits in the first interview.

Many great candidates make the serious mistake of asking about salary and benefits in the first interview. This is a serious mistake as it sends the wrong signal to the potential employer. The first interview is the opportunity for the interviewee to find out more about job, career prospects, the company, the expectation of the hiring manager and to ‘market’ the candidate.

Remember that no offer has been made yet. Asking about salary and benefits at that time is plain silly because you have not been offered the position! On the other hand, it signals to the potential employer that the interviewee is more interested in the money and personal gain, rather than how he can help the company. Asking such questions in the first interview is almost your guarantee not to get the job. Never, never, never do that.

Dress appropriately for the position

How you dress will depend somewhat on the position that you are applying for. At the same time, it makes sense to do some research on the organization. Or you may politely ask the person who calls you for the interview about the preferred dress code.

Some companies are more formal and they would expect at a long-sleeve shirt and a tie. For ladies, probably a skirt, blouse and a business jacket. If you the position is a sales position, where you are expected to meet clients, then it may be appropriate to dress up a little, such as putting on a business jacket. If the position is taking charge of the engineering department, even a long sleeve shirt without tie can be fine. It demonstrates to the interviewers that you are in tune with the position that you are applying for. That can be a good start.

Be prepared

Never attend an interview unprepared. That would be a sure recipe for failure. Put yourself in the interviewer’s shoes. Ask yourself: what is the interviewer looking for, what questions would he be likely to ask, what business is the company in, what are they famous for, why are you the best person for the position. Do your research. Check out the company’s website. Try to find out as much as you can about the company: from the web, newspapers, magazines, friends, employees, etc.

Listen

Many candidates make the mistake of ‘over-selling’ themselves such that it sounds rather ‘exaggerated’. True, an interview is where you would want to market yourself, to show why you are the best person for the job. But overdoing the process can be counter-productive. It makes the interviewer wonder if what you have said is true.

You should listen to what the interviewer has to say. Show respect to the interviewer. Understand what the interviewer is looking for and answer to the point. Be tactful and do not ‘hard-sell’ yourself.
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Do not talk bad about your current or previous employers

Whatever your reason for wishing to quit your present position, never talk bad about your current or previous employers. It is very discourteous to talk bad about anyone and reflects on yourself. Be objective. Do not be personal.


What are your opinions about this article? Do let us have your comments. Thanks.

Cheers,
The Singapore Headhunter,

Do Not Make The Same Mistake Or You Will Lose Out!

The other day, I sent a candidate to the client for a Manager position. Everything went on smoothly. The client liked her and the candidate was impressed with the organisation.

A reference check was requested. The reference check turned out great! Things were going great then. The client was keen to make an offer to her. The client was happy and the candidate was exhilarated. She called me to thank you profusely. We had a great conversation. I was delighted for her.

Then, the dreadful thing happened! The client needed some details from the candidate and one of her junior staff telephoned the candidate. Maybe, she was too happy or she was not in her usual frame of mind, she became agitated with that client's junior staff and spoke to her in an unfriendly manner. Instead of co-operating, she started to question that junior staff. Oh dear! Guess what happened?

That junior staff informed her superior (my client) and I received a call from the client to say that the offer was off. They were concerned about the attitude of the candidate. That was the worst thing to happen. Imagine that a potential job offer was lost over a small incident like this! What a dread!

Job seeker should also bear in mind to respect everybody irregardless of the position of the other party. A junior staff's comments could be worse than her bite. Her superior would be more likely to believe what she said. Be polite to all and respect everybody.

Do not make the same mistake or you may lose a job offer.

Cheers,
The Singapore Headhunter