Adams Consulting Group, LLC is pleased to announce a new service designed to assist “passive candidates” in their desire to confidentially explore the job market.

This unique service, powered by Staffingbook, allows candidates to explore potential opportunities while maintaining strict confidentiality. Unlike the major job boards where your potential candidacy is exposed, this service enables a candidate to utilize the services of a professional recruiting firm to represent them to prospective employers in a COMPLETELY confidential manner, thus mitigating the risk of their current employer becoming aware. In addition, candidates benefit from having a professional recruiter with experience in their industry as a career mentor who will review opportunities with them as they come up.

To qualify for this FREE Service, your resume may not be currently posted on any of the career boards (Monster, Career Builder, etc)

For further details, please contact Len Adams at 212-566-7600 x1 , email lenadams@acgresources.com or log on to www.Staffingbook.com

Jobs are scarce these days and competition for every opening is fierce. Employers have reported that for every position advertised, hundreds of people send in applications for the job along with their resumes. The majority of these applicants are rejected, of course, because only one person is needed. Many applicants may be rejected for the job because of what they’ve put into their resumes. If you’ve been putting in any of the material cited below, stop! You may be hurting your chances of getting hired.

Workforce Share
As U.S. unemployment rate hovers at 9 percent, the contingent staffing market is booming: In the past 12 months, half a million jobs have been added. More

BusinessNewsDaily Share
While many employers may shy away from hiring overqualified candidates, new research shows they might be the best people for the job. More

http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/hiring-overqualified-candidates-1877/

This is especially true when it comes to the job search process.

There are several items to be cognizant of when it comes to negotiating, whether it be for a job or in our everyday lives.

Who, What, When, Where, Why

Yes, it is true that these are the same questions utilized by reporters when writing a story. However, these same questions must be examined when negotiating.

1. Who am I negotiating with? Does the person I am negotiating with have the power or authority to make the final decision regarding the issues I am confronting? All too often, particularly in a job search, the candidate spends far too much time negotiating points with someone who either may not be the decision maker, or may not be able to influence the decision maker.
2. What am I negotiating? Are the issues I am raising important enough to discuss? Are they really deal breakers? All too often, a deal may fall apart over an issue that, when examined, is really not that important to either side.
3. When do I negotiate? Again, one of the most common mistakes candidates make is beginning a negotiation far too early in the process. Most candidates mistakenly believe that the first interview is the time to begin negotiating. Nothing could be further from the truth. The first interview, and in most cases, the second interview, are times to sell oneself. The objective of these meetings is pure and simple: to learn as much about the position and company as possible, and to get the employer interested in you. Once sufficient interest is established, then and only then, should the negotiation process begin.
4. Why? Is the issue important enough to negotiate?

Negotiable Issues

Contrary to popular belief, most items are negotiable when it comes to a job offer. However, some are more negotiable than others. This is the variable that a skilled negotiator can determine. There are many factors to consider. One of the most important is to realize what type of job market one is negotiating in. If it is a candidate-driven market, or, if the candidate has skills that are in demand, than many other negotiable items increase. If the reverse is true, the pendulum swings back towards the employer.

Some of the more common negotiable items are:

Salary, Title, Benefits, Hours, Perks, Review Period, Bonus, Sign on Bonus, Location

Each of these items carries with it nuances as to how negotiable they are. It is important to remember to ask oneself the questions, “How important is this to me? Is it a deal breaker? What degree do I want to negotiate this to?”

For instance, salary may be a primary motivation factor in your acceptance or decline of an offer. It is important to look at the full picture—does the position carry other benefits with it that may outweigh the salary differential you are experiencing? In many cases, the salary differential is merely an arbitrary number that either side has focused on.

Consider negotiating a review period sooner than the normal one. Many employers will view this as an indication of your willingness to demonstrate your ability and be rewarded accordingly. I have a saying that I have used for years in my business: If money is the only issue standing in the way of an offer being accepted by either side, then the issue is not the money…there is something else that has not been communicated by one or both sides. The skilled negotiator needs to find out what that issue is.

By Len Adams, C.P.C

Keep in mind the don’ts. This means not making the common mistakes of currently employed job seekers, such as:

• Using company time to search job boards, contact prospective employers, recruiters, etc.
• Using your work e-mail address or system to respond to ads, send resumes, etc.
• Using your work phone number as a contact number.

All will tip your hand—and may well get you fired.

Get your contact information set up.
Set up a personal e-mail account that you can check during lunch or after hours. Be careful however, because many employers can check what has been done on your office PC. As an alternative, have someone at home check your personal email and let you know if anything important came in. Also set up your cell phone’s voicemail or your home voicemail to receive possible job calls—or both.

Identify potential employers.
One of the best ways to identify potential employers is through industry associations. Generally, through their membership lists and conferences, it is easy to identify who the “players” in the industry are.

Canvas your contacts.
Work your network. Anyone who has been in business for any period of time has no doubt developed a priceless resource of contacts right in their own Rolodex. DON’T BE SHY! The more people who know you are looking (unless you are currently employed and need to maintain strict confidentiality), the better off you are. We in the recruitment industry live by the philosophy that everyone knows ten people. If you get the word out to enough people, exponentially, your search will multiply itself. Continue to attend industry seminars, volunteer to speak, and keep up with industry colleagues.

Use a recruiter.
Professional recruiters, particularly those who specialize in your industry, can be an invaluable source of leads for a new position. Get to know who the recruiters in your industry are. Most recruiters thrive on referrals and “industry buzz”. Put yourself in the position of being a resource to them. You will see how quickly they seek you out with opportunities that may be of interest to you.

Time the interview.
For an initial interview, MOST employers are sensitive to the fact an employed person cannot be available throughout the day. Generally, it is acceptable to try and schedule initial interviews for before work, lunch time or after work. Most recruiters and employers are flexible to accommodate the needs of employed job seekers. In the case where there may be some distance between your current employer and the prospective employer, oftentimes an initial telephone screen may be an option. If none of these options are available, then my suggestion is to take either a vacation day or personal day. In a situation such as this, it is important to advise the prospective employer of this so that if meetings with more than one person are necessary, they can be accomplished in the same day. If the prospective employer is serious about filling the position, they will generally try to accommodate this, particularly if you are a strong candidate for the position. Oftentimes, candidates balk at the concept of using vacation time or personal days to interview. My response is, if you are really serious about your career and will probably be leaving your current employer anyway, what are you giving up? You will regain personal days and vacation days when you join your new company.

Coordinate your wardrobe.
If your current employer maintains a casual dress code, generally it is not unusual to advise the prospective employer of this and ask if they would be comfortable with your not raising suspicion by “dressing up.” In my years of recruiting, I have rarely had an employer balk at this. An alternative is to at least wear a sport jacket and keep a tie handy. If you absolutely must dress for the interview, it is not inappropriate to drop hints around the office about the “theater tickets” or dinner that you have, which is causing you to be dressed up. One point to remember with regard to casual dress, particularly for an interview, there is a distinction between casual dress and business casual. Be sure to “dress up” your casual attire for the interview, i.e. conservative dress slacks, shirt with collar, etc.

Save salary talks for later.
Some candidates want to ask about salary up front to screen out jobs with low salaries that would waste their time. To me, this is like asking someone prior to a first date how they feel about marriage and children! It is highly inappropriate to discuss salary prior to or even at a first interview. Here’s why: even with a stated range from an employer, you’re negotiating in the dark. The employer may well have a better benefits package, bonus or working conditions that you currently have, and that factors into the negotiations. You could discount an employer for “not being in range” and never know about the rest of the package that make it a great opportunity. In addition, you may well bring more to the table than the employer was looking for, which in turn can lead to more money. I have seen many cases where the initial stated range and the final negotiated salary were anywhere from 15-50% apart.

References.
This is always tricky, particularly if you are still employed. Certainly, a prospective employer cannot check your references of your current employer while you are still there. Don’t be concerned about confidentiality. I have never seen a case where a previous employer reference check got back to the current employer. One potential issue is if you are leaving your current employer because of a conflict or disagreement with your current employer. It is unknown what they may or may not say about you after you have left. In general, most employers won’t give more than name, rank and serial number; however, it is possible in a small niche market for people to speak. If you have any concerns about a negative reference, be up front with the prospective employer.

by Len Adams, C.P.C.