Who’s Getting Hired and Why
It’s easy to get caught up in the never ending negativity or the doom and gloom conversations surrounding the economy and job market.  Every TV or radio channel you tune to is preaching bad news and more bad news… every web page you click on statistically projects the day’s latest layoffs, and the next Fortune 500 looking for money from Uncle Sam.

Well take it from this executive recruiter, people are getting hired, candidates are being offered jobs, and companies are hoping to improve performance by “shuffling the deck”, and giving someone new a crack at stemming the negative tide.  Below you will find three profiles of job seekers I’ve worked with in the past 90 days.  Two of the three gentlemen were laid off from their most recent position, and the third was transitioned from a junior position in his current company to a position of greater seniority.  All three men share some similar professional and personal characteristics, yet none of their circumstances are totally the same.  Do any of their circumstances and job search challenges seem familiar? 

“Tim O’Reilly” is 47 years old and has worked in the automotive industry, (my search firm’s specialty is the automobile business) for the past 25 years.  Tim has worked his way up the ranks from Sales Consultant, to Finance Manager, Sales Manager, and eventually General Manager.  Tim lost his job in January when his most recent employer was acquired by another firm.  Here’s the how and why Tim is currently working in a new senior management position within the automotive industry:

• Tim had a long tenure with his most recent employer, having worked for the company for over 15 years.
• He dealt professionally with the HR department, and negotiated a very favorable severance package.
• The severance package enabled him to search for a new position with a clear head.
• Tim contacted me to discuss potential opportunities, and get a gauge of what he should expect in terms of reasonable positions available, and the time it might take him to secure a new job.
• Tim immediately gained a consensus support of his wife, and college age children, to determine their willingness to relocate should an excellent opportunity arise.
• Tim took the mindset that he’d interview with virtually any company, at any time, regarding any reasonable position.
• He made certain to have a professional resume and cover letter introduce him on all relevant job boards, and social networking sites.
• Tim began personally networking through his industry connections immediately.  He left no stone unturned, and made certain all his professional contacts were aware that he was looking for an immediate opportunity.
• Tim took it upon himself to initiate all follow up contacts with potential hiring authorities, principals, and recruiters.
• Over the course of six weeks, Tim secured seven interviews, and met with all seven companies within a two week time frame.
• Tim received five firm job offers, one offer to join a company as a consultant, and the final company was going to try and “create an opportunity” for Tim.

What made Tim O’Reilly such a hot commodity?  Why was Tim so successful in securing multiple interviews?  How it is someone earning 150 k+ was able to find a new job, at the same income level, in just over six weeks?

Why Tim Got Hired –
First, let me by really fair… Tim is excellent at his job.  How excellent? Ninety-nine percentile excellent.  However, there are a whole lot of very talented managers that are unemployed in the auto industry right now.  Tim’s working because he had a plan and the absolute perfect mindset.  Tim wanted to get back to work ASAP.  He wanted to add to the value of his substantial severance package by immediately getting a full time pay check coming in.  Tim properly evaluated his greatest strengths in the industry, and decided he’d interview for positions as Sales Manager, General Sales Manager, or General Manager, even though his last job as General Manager was really where he wanted to direct his career.  Tim’s thought was that the auto industry was where he was going to be, and he wanted to be working on the inside through the difficult times, so he could demonstrate his skill at navigating tough waters.  Tim relentlessly communicated with as many industry people as he could.  He constantly asked for referrals to other industry contacts, and his goal was to source any and all potential opportunities.

Tim’s long tenure with his last employer was a plus, and a detriment in his job search.  The plus factor was obvious; his 15+ year tenure showed potential new employers he possessed the stamina to stick with a company through good times and bad.  On the other hand, Tim hadn’t interviewed for a job in over 15 years.  As all job seekers will agree, it’s a lot different being on the interviewee side of the desk, as opposed to being the interviewer. 

What did Tim do to prepare for his interviews?  He researched as much background information as possible on the people he’d be meeting.  Tim probed his industry contacts for info on the company’s, and the management team that was currently in place.  He used every resource, and made certain that he went into each interview with as clear a picture of the hiring manager, and company as possible.

Communication is the key in any job search success.  Whether it’s the phone, email, or text, Tim made sure to stay connected and in communication with the companies he’d interviewed with.  He let his recruiter know what he was thinking in terms of each company, and each job.  Tim made sure he was straight forward with the hiring managers, and kept them apprised of any offers or new opportunities he was exploring.  He never tried to “play one offer, against another”.  He plainly told the hiring manager and the recruiter what he was thinking, and which opportunity he was most interested in.  Tim’s honesty and sincerity was evident to everyone. Tim’s happy ending… the company he was most interested in happened to be the company that said they’d try to create a position for him.  Well, as luck would have it, Tim called that company one last time, he was set to accept another offer, and start a new job the next Monday.  The company’s President told Tim that they had decided to reassign one of their existing managers, and they were going to offer Tim the job that would be open as a result of that transfer.

Tim’s Job Seeker Characteristics
Self awareness - Persistence – Open minded – Honest – Sincere – Informed – Talented

“Rob Brown” is 45 years old and recently was separated from a small aftermarket company that markets European auto parts through the auto aftermarket jobbing sector.  Rob had only been with the company for a short time, (14 months) and he was brought in to boost sales through new business development.  The company saw Rob as partnership material, and treated him as such for his entire tenure.  Unfortunately, in the down market the two senior partners of the business decided they could not afford Rob’s salary anymore, so the regrettably let him go.  I should add here that Rob is married and the primary wage earner in his family.  He has two children under the age of 14.  Rob has not been out of work since graduating from college.

Similarly to Tim, but with only a small severance package in hand, Rob set out on interviews immediately.  At first, my client’s and Rob’s contacts were interested in meeting him to just see what inside industry info they could gather.  Rob went on interviews as a straight commissioned sales person, Operations Manager running a warehouse and distribution business, and district manager representing associated aftermarket products to dealerships and repair facilities.  Rob was really hoping to land a General Managers job running a “Rep Agency” or at least a Sales Manager’s position with a well known aftermarket firm.

Rob was borderline maniacal in his pursuit of interviews.  The strangest interview he went on was with an auto salvage yard in the Bronx, NY.  The job was easily 45 miles each way from his home, and light years removed from his core background of marketing Mercedes Benz, BMW, and Porsche parts to the global aftermarket.  Two Internationally known companies who were in the first group of interviews that Rob received made it clear to Rob that they were “months” away from making a hiring decision on the senior positions Rob had interviewed for.  Rob kept getting calls from the salvage yard company, and wouldn’t you know it, the owners really wanted to hire him.

Well, Rob and the owners agreed to a compensation plan which was mostly “off the books”.  Rob was able to collect unemployment from his prior position, (I hope I’m not shocking anyone’s sensibilities here).  Rob continued to interview, and did an incredible job of keeping his name out in the marketplace through his social networking circle.

After six weeks working for the salvage yard, I was contacted by my client that markets highline European auto parts, and they indicated that they wanted to meet with Rob again to discuss a position as National Sales Manager.  Rob also received a call from one of the highline European Automobile Manufacturers looking to speak to Rob for a second time concerning an opportunity in their Aftermarket Sales division.  “When it rains it pours”.  Rob went on both interviews, and don’t you now it he received two offers.  Although the opportunity with the parts company was for a greater cash package, Rob accepted the offer from the European Auto Manufacturer, because he sees a brighter long term future with that company.  Here’s why and how Rob is working in a job he truly enjoys, only 3 months after being laid off:

• Rob marketed himself every day.  He made phone calls, emailed, and dropped off resumes by hand to local companies, (the salvage yard included).
• Rob kept his mind open to any and all opportunities in the industry he’d committed himself to.
• Rob accepted the first job he was offered, even though it was far from his ultimate choice. His mindset was that he’d feel better about himself looking for an ideal job if he was at least working and bring home some income.
• While working at the Auto Salvage yard, Rob made an immediate positive impact by implementing inventory controls, changing policy and procedures that insured greater productivity, and less waste/loss.
• Rob’s ability to have a positive effect on the salvage yard business built up his confidence.  He saw his skills were transferable to number of different work environments.
• This candidate had a game plan, and stuck to it. He knew he could not financially afford to be out of work for more than 6-8 weeks.  Rob committed himself to generating income in as short a timeframe as possible; and he didn’t let his ego get in the way of his wallet.

Rob’s Job Seeker Characteristic’s
Tenacious – Well organized - Realistic – Industry focused -   Social Networking Savvy

Don’t stop here – wait until you hear about “Bruce Fine”.  Bruce is 53 years old, married with two grown sons, one of whom he’s helping to make a wedding for this Fall. Bruce is an auto industry professional having worked in the business for the past 25+ years.  His experience overlaps positions with some of the top training companies in the industry, and some of the best known nationally recognized automotive retailers.

Well, Bruce had been working for this major retailer for approximately three years.  He was a Training Manager handling one quarter of the country, and traveling overnight at the rate known as “Road Warrior”.  Around the second quarter of 2008 Bruce’s employer began to see sales and profits tumble.  Senior management began putting plans into affect to cut head count, (a bad euphemism, which means - fire people).

Bruce is a wonderful networker, and communicator.  He actually reads all the intercompany emails and notices.  When Bruce is on location training, he often offers to assist with in-store sales and promotions.  In short, Bruce not only talks and teaches about how to sell auto parts, he would often times personally demonstrate how it’s done with a live customer.

When Bruce first began to hear rumblings about head count reduction, he reached out to a couple of his company mentors.  Without asking these senior employees to compromise confidential information, he asks them for advice on how to protect his career with the company.  Bruce indicated that he wanted to stay with the company in any reasonable capacity related to sales or marketing.

One of the people Bruce reached out to was “Becky Rodriquez”, Eastern Regional HR Director. Becky mentioned to Bruce that even though the company was going through a staff reduction, they were looking for someone to oversee three of their most challenging retail locations in Newark, NJ.  Bruce did not have a very strong relationship with the Area Vice-President in charge of hiring someone for this position.

What steps did Bruce take to insure himself of being considered for the Multi-store General Manager position in Newark, NJ?  Why was he given the opportunity ahead of more experienced Store Managers?   How did a 53 year old employee beat out candidates 10-15 years his junior?

As soon as Bruce learned that there might be an opening he set a detailed game plan into motion to secure the position.  Here were Bruce’s steps to a promotion, success, and avoiding unemployment:

• Bruce immediately went home and reworked his resume.  He highlighted all the accomplishments he’d achieved over his three years as a Regional Training Manager.
• He wrote a cover letter specifically asking to be considered for the Multi-Store Management position, and detailing why he was an ideal candidate.
• Bruce asked for and received internal letters of recommendation from other Store Managers that he’d run training classes for.
• Bruce reached out the Area VP and asked to meet with him to discuss, any store opportunities in his region.  He explained that he was aware that personnel cuts were likely, and that he saw an in-store position as an exciting way to stay with the company.
• Bruce formally submitted his resume and cover letter to the Human Resources department.  In the cover letter he specifically identified his desire to remain with the company, and his willingness to consider all opportunities available.
• As an insider who had seen first-hand the challenges faced by Store Managers, Bruce created a detailed business plan on how he would approach the Multi-store Manager position in Newark, NJ.
• He gathered as much information about the three stores as possible.  He learned the profitability matrix used to create store budgets.
• Finally, he put into writing an aggressive and creative strategy on how to implement his plan.

Bruce wowed the Area Vice President, the Eastern Regional HR Manager, and ultimately the Divisional President for his employer.  The other three Training Managers (Bruce’s peers around the country) were let go during the “head count reduction”.  Bruce was the only one of the four given an opportunity to remain with the company.  He was also the only one of the four to take a proactive approach to staying employed.

When you are searching for a new position, and are either employed or between jobs, one important fact to keep in mind is; your job search, your interview, and the results of the interview are the most important communications of your day.  That priority isn’t always on the same priority level for the hiring company.  Do not interpret a lag in response to mean a lack of interest.  In this most challenging business climate, priorities change by the hour.  The hiring company afforded you an hour or more of their time to initiate a relationship.  Keep your relationships revolving in a positive mode.  Do not allow personal frustration and insecurity to create negativity through your phone message, emails, and follow up processes.

Bruce’s Job Seeker Characteristics
Pragmatic – Focused – Aware – Resourceful – Creative – Knowledgeable - Inquisitive