Top 7 Ways to Increase Your Chances of Getting Hired

This is a great article from the "The Top 7 Business Website"
(http://www.top7business.com/)

Top 7 Ways to Increase Your Chances of Getting Hired By Joel Sussman



It would be a lot easier if hiring decisions were totally based on one's resume (unless, of course, you're right out of college). The reality of it, though, is that the successful candidate is often the one who interviews the best. Here are some tips to help you make it to the final cut.

1. Visit the web site of the company you're going to interview with. Almost invariably, one of the first questions out of an interviewer's mouth is: "So tell me what you know about us." If you stumble through your answer, consider yourself eliminated from the running.

2. Be ready to rattle off your strengths and accomplishments. This is one of the main things an interviewer wants to know, so make sure this information is fresh in your mind.


3. Do you have any weaknesses? Everybody does; but only applicants who want to be eliminated in the first round of interviews will reveal a weakness that could, in any way, affect their performance in the job they're applying for.

4. Don't even hint at any personality conflicts or disagreements you might have had with your present or past bosses. Interviewers often are predisposed to side with former managers. If the question comes up about whether you've been involved in conflicts at work and how you handled it, it's highly recommended that you portray yourself as the peacemaker, the conciliator, and the diplomat.

5. Put a positive spin on your answer to the question "Why do you want to leave your current job." One of the many impressions you don't want to convey is that you're a job hopper.

6. Be ready for variations of the following questions "Why should we hire you?" "Convince me that you're right for the job!" "How do I know you can handle these new responsibilities?" "I have 25 more people to interview. What skills or qualifications do you have that make you stand out?"



7. Leave for the interview early, so you can have plenty of time to get lost, get back on track, creep your way through road construction, crawl through traffic jams, fix a flat tire, and arrive at the interview early. You'll want to have a few moments to fill out any necessary forms, compose yourself, and make a quick, last-minute grooming trip to the bathroom.

Joel Sussman is a business writer and Internet publisher who has created a online resource called "Career and Job Interview Strategy Center". Visit http://www.geocities.com/optimalbiz for helpful articles, downloadable manuals, and other job hunting tools.

Cheers,
The Singapore Head Hunter

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Tweeter: @stantan

Skype: stanleytan1000

Resume Writing Tips

Your resume is your marketing tool and should be visually pleasing. It should make the reader want to read on. It should have a simple and clean structure and is easy to read. As far as possible, try to make your resume symmetrical, balanced and uncluttered.

There should be uniformity and consistency in the use of capital letters, bullets, boldface and underlining. For example, if a period is at the end of one job's dates, a period should be at the end of all jobs' dates; if one degree is in boldface, all degrees should be in boldface.




A resume's first impression is most important. It should therefore be visually pleasing and appealing, to be inviting to the reader.

Ensure that there are absolutely no errors: typographical errors, spelling errors, grammatical errors, syntax or punctuation errors as well as factual errors.

All basic information is included. A resume must have the following key basic information such as your name, address, contact numbers and your email address at the top of the first page, a listing of jobs held, in reverse chronological order, educational degrees including the highest degree received, in reverse chronological order. Additional, targeted information will of course accompany this.

Listed jobs should include a title, the name of the firm and the duration of your stay with the firm.

Preferably, a resume is targeted. A resume should be targeted to your career objective, to the next step in your career. You should be clear what your career goal is, what the ideal position or positions would be. Then you should figure out what key skills, areas of expertise or body of experience the employer will be looking for in the candidate. Format the resume structure and content around your career objective target, proving these key qualifications.




Make sure that your strengths are highlighted. Focus on your strongest and most impressive traits. Make careful and strategic choices as to how to organize, order, and convey your skills and background.

Make sure that your resume has focus. A resume needs a focus to help the reader understand immediately. Think of the resume as an essay with a title and a summative opening sentence. A focus may be as simple as the name of your profession ("Financial Controller," "Marketing Director") centred under the name and address; it may be in the form of an objective or it may be in the form of a summary statement.

Try to use power words. Use the most active impressive verb you can think of for each skill, accomplishment or job described.

Cheers,
The Singapore Headhunter

Facebook: www.facebook.com/stanleytan1000

Skype: stanleytan1000

An Experience with an Unscrupulous Recruitment Firm

As in many other countries, the recruitment market in Singapore is highly competitive. Facing such fierce competition, some recruitment companies would resort to unscrupulous tactics for self interests, with total disregard for the employers and the candidates.

My experience with an unscrupulous recruitment company last week was really an eye opener. I was searching for an Accountant and called up a candidate for an interview with me. In the current economical downturn, the candidate was absolutely delighted to hear from me. He was enthusiastic and agreed to come to my office for an interview.

During our dialogue, he told me frankly that another recruitment firm had contacted him for a similar role. Since he was coming to see me, he would inform them to hang on.

The candidate turned up punctually for his interview. After the lengthy and thorough interview, I immediately drafted the recommendation report and submitted it to the client on the same day.

The next day, imagine my shock and frustration when I received an email from the client informing me that the same candidate had been referred to them by another firm.

The candidate was equally frustrated and upset when I told him about the situation. It was apparent that the other firm had emailed the candidate’s CV to the client to “lock” him in though instructed by the candidate to “hang on”; when they learned that he was coming to my office to interview for a similar role.

Initially, the other firm denied that the candidate had given them instruction to hang on. After much insistence from the candidate, they then finally relented and agreed to “withdraw” his CV.

In the Singapore recruitment market, due to the highly competitive nature, many unscrupulous recruitment firms resort to resume-dumping to their clients, in order to be the first company to lodge the candidates’ CVs with the clients. Such firms will cut corners, work for their self-interests and totally disregard the interests of the clients and candidates. The clients will typically pay the recruitment firm that sends in the CVs first. This penalized those recruitment firms that go through the tedious task of interviewing, assessing the candidates and drafting proper recommendation reports. In many cases, the unscrupulous firms would have sent in the CVs by the time the recommendation reports reached the client.

Ironically, the clients typically consider the recruitment firms that send in the CV first as the representatives for the candidates. Such practice has indirectly encouraged some unscrupulous recruitment firms to cut corners and resort to resume-dumping to lock in the candidates. That is very frustrating to the recruitment firms that have put in the quality efforts to meet, interview, assess the candidate and draft detailed and proper recommendation reports.

Hunting for a job in a recession

“You are retrenched!” That is a much dreaded verdict few would want to hear, especially during the current economical turmoil.

As the economy grinds to a halt, job seekers are hit with double whammy. First, the number of available jobs is shrinking at a frightening rate. Second, the number of job seekers is ballooning as more and more workers are being retrenched. The job market gets significantly more competitive as a result.

What can you do to secure a job in such a situation? It is going to be real tough though it is not impossible if you approach the unenviable task in a logical and rational manner.

Rather than panicking and worrying, it is more prudent to sit back and look at the situation from a totally different angle. That way, you can position yourself more favorably and create for yourself certain competitive advantages.

Understand what employers want
Start by understanding what employers want and ask if you are the best candidate to fulfill them. If you are the best candidate, obviously the employers would like to have you. If you are not, then you should work hard to become THE best candidate. Look at the big picture and understand how you can help your future employers succeed.

Stay focused
You have to stay focused on the type of role that you are applying for. As a headhunter, I see the common mistake that many job seekers make. They apply for any positions that are available. That would not work as their skill set is never going to be suitable for all positions and actually works against them. It shows that they are desperate and are not sure of what they want.

Look at different industries
Where your skills are transferable, you may want to look at different industries. If you are doing sales in the finance or IT sector, you may consider sales positions in the telco or health-care sector.

Research your target companies
The golden rule in job-hunting is to research your target companies thoroughly. You should never attend an interview without knowing about the company. It reflects your sloppy attitude towards your career and impairs your sincerity in trying to join an unknown organization.

Demonstrating a strong knowledge of your future employer will give the hiring managers an impressive opinion of yourself, your seriousness, attitude and your interests in the organization. They will have a higher confidence in you to succeed.

Customize your resume
You should never send a generic resume for the positions that you want. Customize your resume by highlighting the most relevant skills and achievements for the jobs. That will help you put greater emphasis on your potential value to the future employers.

Make full use of your network
Your network is key to your success. What you know may be important but who you know may be more important, especially during bad times. With so many candidates applying for the same job, a good recommendation from your network can do wonders to sway the selection decision in your favour.

Sell results, not skills
Employers want results, not skills. You may possess a whole plane-load of skills through your years of hard work. These will be of no use to the employers if they cannot produce results. Your skills are the necessary means to the ends (results). You should clearly explain how you can help your employers achieve the desired results using your skills, instead of just conveniently listing your skills.

List your achievements in your resume
Employers want contributors and problem-solvers. They don’t really want employees. Your resume must be a great sales tool to clinch the interview. It must include a list of achievements to demonstrate your capability and your ability to contribute or to solve problems. That will give you the competitive advantages over your competitors.

Think outside the box
Many people picture the recruitment section and the job-boards when they think of job-hunting. Nothing can be further from the truth. You should identify ideal potential employers and craft customized resumes to send to them. Explain clearly why they should consider employing you.
Contact everyone in your network. Make it clearly known that you are available and are looking for career opportunity in the job market.

Know your worth
Do you know your worth? Not many people do. A rough estimate of your worth can be a proportion of the value of your contributions to the employers. For a sales-related job, the contribution can be related to amount of sales generated. For other positions, it can be related to the amount of cost savings achieved, etc.

Knowing your worth is important as it enhances your bargaining power. You should highlight your worth to your interviewers diplomatically. If possible, let them feel that it is their loss in not employing you.

In the current economical turmoil, job seekers face an uphill task in securing a job. Though tough, it is not totally impossible to secure a job as long as you can approach the task in a logical and rational manner. You can look at the situation from a different perspective and create for yourself competitive advantages to enhance your chances of securing that elusive job.

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,

Interviewer’s Role In An The Interview (Part I)

The quality of an interview is the interviewer's responsibility

Typically, the interviewer will set the tone of the interview. Though an interviewee may want to influence the tone of the interview, that is quite unlikely as the interviewee would not want to come across as disrespectful or disdainful.

The interviewer’s role is to ensure that there is an air of mutual respect in an interview, or the interview would not be successful or effective. The interviewer should set the tone of the interview and the objective of the interview should be to recruit top talent.

The objective of an interview is to recruit top talent.

The company is trying to attract top talent. Ideally, the first interview should be with the hiring manager. Do not forget that the first impression counts a lot. The interviewee is at the interview to know your company, the department he is going to work in, and the superior that he is going to work for. He is at the interview to discuss his experience and the job scope of this new potential job offer. The first interview should not be for the HR to do the screening, but rather for the hiring manager to have a detail and meaningful discussion about the job scope, career advancement opportunities, the candidate’s experience and aspirations, the fit between the candidate and the department.

The interview should be a meeting of mutual respect: a challenging and useful discussion of professionals.

As the interviewer, your objective should be making the interview a meeting of mutual respect: a challenging and useful discussion of professionals. As you are trying to recruit top talent, the top talent would be assessing the organization and the superior that he is going to work for. He is not going to join if he is uncomfortable with his interview experience.

The interviewee is at the interview with his own objective as well. He is there to assess if your organization is ‘attractive’ to him and what he would be able to ‘gain’ by working for you. It would be wise to treat him like you would treat a prospective customer. Show him why you are different from your competitors, why he should join you instead of your competitors. Show him that you are serious about him. If possible, work out a simple agenda. Tell the interviewee that he is not at the interview for an interrogation session. That will allow you to demonstrate to the interviewee the positive difference between you and your competitors and give the interviewee a certain good feel about your organization.

Do not be presumptuous.


In most interviews, the interviewers hold the upper hand. The usual mistake they make is to start ‘interrogating’ the interviewees too soon. The interviewer should be sincere in wanting to know the interviewee more; like what is he looking for in his next job, why he applies for your position, how he thinks he is going to add value to the position and what makes him choose your organization.
The interviewer should also share with the interviewees his (interviewer’s) goals and objectives, the profile of the person he is looking for, his background, his management style and what he is looking for in a candidate. In this way, the interviewee would be able to decide if he would be likely to fit into the working environment, for a long time to come.

State your business clearly.

The interviewer is the host and should take the lead. Lay your cards on the table. What is your company’s mission? What is its long-term goal? What role does your department play in the organization? What are some of the immediate challenges of the department? Why are you recruiting? Why are you interested in the interviewee?
After that, let the interviewee has his say. An interview has to be a 2-way communication to be effective. You want to ‘market’ your vacancy that is available as well as to learn more about the interviewee. Respect the interviewee. Pay full attention to what he got to say. Learn as much about him during the interview. If you have questions, wait for him to finish and ask him politely. Questions should be pertaining to his experience and how he feels he would be able to fit in successfully. Ask about his concerns, if any, about the vacancy. Everyone likes to work for an understanding, reasonable, caring and polite superior.


In the next part to this topic, we talk about why the interviewer needs to be prepared and be knowledgeable. Do come back soon.

Do you have any comments about this article? We appreciate your comments and feedback, which are crucial for us to improve.

Thanks in advance.

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

How A Potential Deal Was Lost - Not Because Of Me!

The other day, I sent a candidate for interview with the client. She was a 'prize catch', a great candidate and the hiring manager liked her very much. She possessed a good track record, excellent qualifications and experience, great interpersonal skills and communications skills.


I was quietly confident that this assignment was going to be a darn deal. I called up the prize catch after her interview. She sounded mildly interested, not with the 'wow' feeling. That put me on my guard at that moment.

I called the hiring manager to get his feedback. He was so excited and asked me for the candidate's reaction. He told me to make her an offer. I thought that this was great and quickly called the prize catch and discuss with her.

My prize catch sounded cool and said that she would like to consider about it. I was supposed to call her the next day.


The next day, I called my prize catch and she said no. The prize catch rejected the client's offer!!! What a drag!!! But why? I asked. She explained to me that the distance was too far from her home. To go such a distance on a daily basis was a serious matter, unless the client was going to pay her extra. (Not for this position, my client was adamant.) As I probed further, she hinted that some comments made by the HR interviewers made her feel uncomfortable. For example, they told her that working overtime was a norm and she should not be expecting more increase for the following year as they were offering a great salary. Oh my God! How I hope interviewers can be more tactful and handle interviews more tactfully.

Anyway, there was no use in crying over spilt milk. Life moved on. I told the hiring manager who sounded as disappointed as I was.


Do come back next time. I will talk about the interviewers' role in a recruitment interview. What should interviewers do? What role do they play? How can interviewers help to attract good talent? So, see you around next time.

By the way, do you have any comments on this article? Please let me have your comments.

Cheers,
The Singapore Headhunter

The Joy Of A Headhunter

The work of a Headhunter is challenging, exciting and satisfying. It is challenging to headhunt a top-notch professional, and be able to convince that professional to move into a new role (usually besieged with uncertainties, risks and surprises) from his existing comfortable and happy environment.



It is exciting to work with such professionals and the Headhunter gets to make new friends and learn from such experts in their fields. The Headhunter's network continues to grow and develop.

The satisfaction and joy come when an assignment is successfully concluded. All parties involved are happy. The Client is happy as they get the man or woman they coveted, the Candidate is happy to get a new and great career, coupled with greater
challenges and responsibilities.

The Headhunter is happy and feels a great sense of achievement: mission accomplished! Another happy Client and Candidate; not to mention the associated professional fees for successful closing the deal.

Cheers,

The Singapore Headhunter

How to Evaluate a Job Offer

You have a job offer to consider. When you were working hard on, and worrying about getting the job, you do not think making a decision would be this difficult. This is serious matter as it affects your long-term career. The job that you accept may be yours for a long time to come.



What are some of the more significant factors to consider? Compensation, benefits, convenience, organisation, size of organization, your boss / co-workers, staff turnover or career opportunities? Or could it be the corporate culture or the length of your commute? What about your future superior and team-members - will working with them be pleasant? There are a number of factors to consider and only some are negotiable.

Compensation

The importance of compensation cannot be under-estimated as it gives you a sense of satisfaction. You want to make sure that you are being paid what we are worth. At the same time, you need the money to pay the bills.

Many companies will not talk about pay until they have decided to hire you. It is important to find out what other people are making for the same work in the same industry. You need to have an estimate of what the job should pay, to decide if the offered compensation is reasonable. Ask around: your friends, your headhunters, check out the recruitment advertisements for a ball-park estimate or some salary surveys, if you can get hold of them. You can look at other occupational information as well. If other aspects of the job appeal to you, you can try to negotiate the offer. Consider the benefits as well as these will add to your basic salary.

The organization


The information on an organization can help you to decide whether it is a good place for you to work. This includes the organization’s business or activity, financial condition, age, size, and location. You can generally get an organisation’s background information, especially a large organization, on its website or by reading its annual report (call its investor relations department for a copy or download a copy for the Singapore Stock Exchange website.)
If possible, speak to current or former employees of the company. If you know anyone who has any dealing with the company, such as a consultant, a supplier, a vendor or a customer of the company, ask them for inputs about the company.
Stories about an organization in magazines and newspapers can tell a great deal about its successes, failures, and plans for the future. You can identify articles on a company by looking under its name in periodical or computerized indexes in libraries. However, it probably will not be useful to look back more than 3 years or more.

How will the size of the organization affect you?
The larger organizations offer a greater variety of training programs and career paths, more advancement prospects and better benefits than do small firms. Large employers also may have more advanced technologies. However, many jobs in large firms tend to be highly specialized and focused.
Jobs in small firms may offer broader authority and responsibility, a closer working relationship with top management, and a chance to clearly see your contribution to the success of the organization.

Culture
Webster defined ‘culture’ as "the set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes a company or corporation, "culture should be an important factor in your decision whether to accept a job offer. If you value your personal time, a company with a culture that promotes late hours may not be suitable for you. Does this company believe in "winning at all costs?" Does this fit into your personal belief? Is the company in the gambling, tobacco or wine industry? Are you personally for such activities? If not, you may not want to join companies involved in such activities.

Commute Time



You have to take into account the length of your commute. What may have seemed like a decent distance to travel for a job interview will begin to wear you out when you have to make that trip twice a day, five days a week, especially during the peak hour traffic. Do you fancy spending between 2 and 3 hours commuting to and from your work? Definitely not, though there are some people who would not mind. Are you one of them?

Your Boss/Co-Workers


All the employees in a company will undeniably affect the quality of the time you spend at work. A conducive and friendly team will generally make it easier for you to work. You would not want to work with team-members who enjoy shouting at each other, would you? Or team-members who are unco-operative, gossip behind your back or make life difficult for you.

If you have a chance to tour the office, observe if the employees seem friendly and happy. Check with people who may have some insider information about the company.

Staff Turnover
A high turnover can mean dissatisfaction with the nature of the work or something else about the job. Do find out more, if possible. Discuss with the HR Manager. Have a frank talk with the manager. If you detect something is not right, do be cautious.

Career Opportunities



A good job offers you many opportunities to learn new skills, increase your salary, and rise to positions of greater authority and responsibility. Many people quote their reason for leaving a job as: “Lack of career advancement opportunities.” So, you would like to be careful to ensure that your future employers can offer a decent career advancement opportunity.
Do check with the HR Manager or the Hiring Manager about the career advancement opportunities offered.
The employer should give you some idea of promotion possibilities within the organization. What is the next step on the career ladder? If you have to wait for a job to become vacant before you can be promoted, how long does this usually take? When opportunities for advancement do arise, will you compete with applicants from outside the company? Can you apply for jobs for which you qualify elsewhere within the organization, or is mobility within the firm limited?

Accepting or Declining the Offer
Whether you choose to accept or reject a job offer, you must inform the employer who has made that offer. This should be done formally, in writing, and if you wish by telephone as well. If your answer is "yes" it's obvious why you'll want to make a good impression with your future employer. But, why is it important to be polite to someone you do not plan to work for? Well, you do not know where your future will take you. You may at some point wind up with that employer as a superior, a colleague, a client, or even your next door neighbour. You certainly do not want to leave a bad impression, or to burn the bridge, so to speak.

Comments

Do you have any comments or inputs? We welcome your comments and inputs on this article.

Cheers,

The Singapore Headhunter

First 2007 IT Salary Guide Arrives!!!

This is a report from eWeek.com.

eWeek Report



Starting salaries for IT pros are expected to increase an average of 2.8 percent in 2007 over 2006, and more than 4 percent in high-demand areas, according to the 2007 IT Salary Guide from Robert Half Technology, to be released Oct. 24.

Larger increases in base compensation are expected in roles in higher demand such as software and Web development and data warehouse management.

"We see this as part of the Web-ification of the world. There's a whole lot of development work going on there to making the world of computing even more seamless, and to do this, companies need developers," said Katherine Spencer Lee, executive director of Robert Half Technology, a provider of IT professional services in Menlo Park, Calif. ...Read more...

Cheers,
The Singapore Headhunter

Do You Want A Job Or A Career?

What is the difference between a job and a career? We took a look into the Webster Dictionary for the definitions of both words.

Job - a piece of work; especially: a small miscellaneous piece of work undertaken on order at a stated rate.

Career - a field for or pursuit of consecutive progressive achievement especially in public, professional, or business life (Washington's career as a soldier)

Career - a profession for which one trains and which is undertaken as a permanent calling (a career in medicine) (a career diplomat)

The difference is obvious. A job is a piece of work while a career is a profession for which one trains in, in pursuit of consecutive progressive achievements.




If you keep pursuing different jobs without any consideration to your career, you are likely to end up being good at a few things but excellent in none. That will also place you in the lower echelons of management where being “good” is acceptable; but not the top echelons of management, where only excellence is accepted.

One needs to plan carefully when it comes to one’s career but when it comes to a job, planning would not be that important, by virtue of what a job is.

Some people ignore their career and take any job that comes along. Such people will take the jobs, work and save some money. They basically work to live.



Others prefer to choose a single profession, such as accounting, marketing, lecturing, engineering, medicine, and sales and make a career out of it. They start in their chosen profession at the lower levels and painfully make advancement up the higher levels. For example, they may start as an Audit Assistant, then to Senior, to Assistant Manager, Manager and hopefully to become a Partner in the firm. Throughout their career, they stick to one profession, that is, External Accounting. It is highly likely that such people will choose a career that is compatible with their personal interests and beliefs and they basically live to work.

So, what is for you? Ultimately, it is your choice, right? There is no perfect answer here. Many people experience a little of both. Sometimes, there may be no choice at all. This is what life is all about.

What do you think of this article? Do you have any comments.

Cheers,
The Singapore Headhunter

MORE THAN ONE JOB OFFER; WHAT TO DO?

You have just received a written offer from a prospective employer, ABC Systems, Inc. It is a decent job and better than your current one, but it is not as exciting as two other jobs you are interviewing for, with 123 Machines Inc. (you are in the final stages) and Wonderman Inc. (you are about to have your second interview). Offers may be imminent from one or both.

The ABC job would be fine with you, but you would like to hold out to see what happens with the two other companies. The trouble is, ABC wants an answer by the end of the week, and neither of the other companies will be ready to make you an offer by then.

Many job hunters get confused and rattled easily in such a situation. Should you take the sure thing and cancel your other interviews? Should you let it go in favour of the uncertain but more attractive "two in the bush"? What would you do?

In such a situation, some people begin to question the job hunter’s ethics. Would it be advisable to take the ABC job, then quickly leave if one of the other companies delivers an offer? How can you manage such staggered job offers?

The job hunter's usual ploy is to ask ABC Systems to extend the offer deadline. But, if ABC gave him a reasonable deadline (a week or more), he risks creating the perception that he is unenthusiastic about the job.

Another way is to try to get the other companies to accelerate their decision process. Good luck. Unless you know you are the front-running candidate, you risk alienating the employer you would really like to work for.




In many instances, companies decide slowly, but want the job hunter to make a decision quickly. What would be the best action in this situation? Be realistic, deal with the facts and ignore "what could be".

The reality is that you have one offer only. You thus have only one decision to make: Would you accept the offer from ABC as it stands, if there were no alternatives? Since 123 Machines Inc. and Wonderman Inc. do not exist as opportunities until their offers are on the table, leave them out of your decision process. But if you feel that the ABC offer is not that fantastic, then just let it go and wait.

If 123 Machines Inc. or Wonderman Inc. then makes an offer, then you do not have to rescind an acceptance. If there is no offer, well, the ABC offer is not that fantastic.

Is rescinding an acceptance ethical? Personally, I do not believe it is, as it boils down to going back on one’s words. Unless you feel that not keeping to your words is ethical. It is a not a nice thing to do. It is a bad thing to do to a company that just hired you. It could affect your reputation.



Deal with staggered job offers by focusing on what you have in hand. Do not let a future possibility affect how your evaluation of a current reality.

Do you have any comments? Do you agree?

Cheers,
The Singapore Headhunter

Ever Thought Of Becoming A Headhunter?

Everyone, except a headhunter (maybe), seems to think headhunting is an easy way to get rich quickly. It may not be as simple as it appears to be. It is analogous to seeing a sport star earning big bucks, without realising the sacrifice and effort that are required to achieve the 'star' status.



So, how does one learn to become a good headhunter. One can learn how to do it by working with the seasoned headhunters, make the necessary sacrifice and put in a lot of effort.

Some so-called headhunting firms are like multi-level marketing schemes and they give the business a bad name. The owners are likely to be without any experience and think they can succeed by employing many recruiters, many of them inexperienced, to set the business rolling.

They find clients through reading the recruitment advertisements and then submit unsolicited resumes to companies that are hiring. They run advertisements to solicit resumes from anyone who is desperate to want their services. Their recruiters call hundreds of "potential candidates" in an essentially random effort to build their resume database, so that they can ship these wholesale to their "clients".

Some headhunting firms won't hire you. They retain you and pay you when you close a deal. These firms won't give benefits. You are technically on your own, working as an associate with the firm, just like an insurance agent or a property agent.



Another class of search firms are the relatively young, marginally successful, and will actually put you on their payroll. Benefits will be minimal or nil and your pay will be a draw against commission, but the commission plan will be aggressive. The owner views you more as a partner than an employee, and the expectation is that if you perform well enough to keep your job, you will earn more than enough to pay for your own benefits.

A young headhunting firm is typically the result of a pretty good headhunter leaving a bigger firm and striking out on his own. By starting his own business he expects he'll keep more of the profit, and maybe bring on a few people to handle more clients. He quickly learns it's very difficult to hire good headhunters or to train green ones. If he's a good manager, he'll do okay, but the business will likely face cash flow problems most of the time.

If you join such a firm, the owner's risks become yours. However, if you can get enough of the owner's time, you can learn the business and maybe spin off your own business in a couple of years. If the owner is smart, he'll make you a partner and you'll stick around.

The better headhunting firms, which have been around longer and have gone through difficult times, will offer more complete benefits, better training, a good commission plan and job security. This is a sign that they know what they're doing, and that they'll probably be around for a while. These firms may be small or they may be big but they are run by seasoned headhunters who are also good business people. The best ones can offer more than one kind of job. You may be hired as a headhunter, as a researcher, or in any of several support roles from which you can rise to become a headhunter. What all these firms have in common is that they select new hires carefully and they diligently train the people they hire by assigning them to partner with successful members of the team.

You can find out which firms are worth working for by talking to the owners, the employees, the clients and the people the firm has placed. A complete reference check is essential before you jump in. If anything seems unusual or "not so right", there is probably a problem. The most common problem is usually poor cash flow.

Some firms claim that they have been in business for many years. Often, the business has been acquired several times, and the owner may be new or inexperienced.

The best and most successful headhunters have a good business acumen. You'll learn pretty quickly whether this is the business for you. Headhunting can pay well, but it is a lot of hard work.

Like any legitimate job, you can make a lot of money in headhunting but there is no easy path. It takes time, perseverance, study, practice, enthusiasm, the guidance of other good headhunters (this really is an apprenticeship business), and a very hard head. Many new headhunter never earn much, and quickly get out of the business.



The best compensation plans in the headhunting industry are heavily commission-based. While this may seem questionable as you are starting out, the best incentive to learning this business is a getting a big pay-check right after you close a deal. If you have got to pay back a "draw" (a small, refundable "salary" to keep you afloat while you get started), you will never enjoy the incredible high of that incredible reward. It is that high that keeps you going and turns you into a good headhunter. A draw can be a kind of indentured servitude: you owe so much that you can't get out of the hole. That kills your motivation and the likelihood that you'll learn the business.

Remember that headhunting is a specialized and personalised kind of sales: you will hear "no" much more often than "yes". Most people who fail at headhunting cannot stand hearing "no", and they cannot understand or believe what hard work this business really is.

Cheers,
The Singapore Headhunter