One really great idea that one persone in my group at my previous company had when we all got laid off was to create a little "support group" for all of us as we dealt with the impact of losing our jobs and started our searches for our next opportunity. So, since September, a group of us met every Tuesday morning, not too early, for breakfast/brunch and conversation.
It ended up being a great thing. Not only did we have folks to commiserate with on a regular basis, but also, since we were all looking for jobs at similar companies, it was a great way to share job leads, resources and contacts. We were witnesses for each others' severance papers, shared ideas for small businesses, shared interviewing and negotiating tips and celebrated successes.
Membership obviously changed over time. Folks came and left as they got new jobs. Some only came once or twice, others came for months. There was another round of lay offs so we gained a few new members in December. We also opened up the group to other friends we knew who were looking too and even some of our "still employed" former co-workers started coming (more around lunchtime) for the camaraderie, and to be proactive.
It now seems like the group will be coming to an end. February and March have been good for our group as for getting results from our search efforts. There are only a couple folks left and they are the ones who just joined in January.
So, I strongly suggest, if you find yourself in a similar situation, don't be too proud and suffer in silence. Find others in your same boat and help each other. And if you don't know enough people to start your own group, then tap into local job search groups in your area. A lot of churches seem to have regular group meetings that anyone can attend. But don't go it alone. Your search can only be helped by tapping into and expanding your network.
Showing posts with label unemployment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label unemployment. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 04, 2008
Thursday, February 28, 2008
When it rains, it pours!
So, the same day that I started to get an inkling that I was going to get an offer from Company A (I got contacted by HR to complete an employment application) I also got a call from a recruiter at Company B. He and I chatted and he told me he wanted to set up a phone interview with the hiring manager for a position I applied for after I had interviewed at Company A.
The next day, I was called by the recruiter at Company A who asked me if I would consider an offer that was a little lower than my requested salary. I told her that I would consider it and she said that she would have to get special approval for the offer and would plan to send me an offer in two days.
Day 3, I had my phone interview with the hiring manager and I started to get excited about that position. Although it was not a consumer-facing business, it would be working on a product that had a lot of exposure and could include some international travel. The hiring manager told me that I would be contacted to schedule a round of in-person interviews in a week and a half. I also got contacted by a recruiter at Company C who had encouraged me to apply for a position at her company a week or so back. She wanted to talk to me more about the position and some of my past experience. Now, I knew when I applied for that position that it was a good fit from some of my prior experience but not really something I wanted to continue with in the future. I still applied though because any job is better than no job, okay! But, now that I knew that I was getting an offer, I declined to go any further with Company C.
Day 4, I was supposed to get the offer. Instead I got a call from the recruiter at Company A going over the offer. While I didn't quite get the money I wanted, I reasoned that given their historical propensity to payout well on the yearly bonus (something that didn't really live up to it's potential at my old company) I would end up at about the same as what I was making before, if not a little better. But, you should always negotiate. Women historically are afraid to negotiate, and black folks as well. It seems to be drilled into us that we are lucky to have a job. But, traditionally, white men aren't hindered by the same viewpoint and just about always negotiate. So remember, always negotiate --- they will not take the offer from you! In fact, they expect you to! If you don't, you will be leaving stuff on the table. And there are more things that you can negotiate on besides salary. I was able to get a few more vacation days out of the deal.
Day 5, I got the offer. It was like we discussed but I was confused that there was not anything to sign and send back. So I sent an email asking about that.
The weekend was pretty quiet, save a yummy dinner that I cooked and a Brazilian party with a few too many caipirinhas!
Day 8, the recruiter from Company A saying that email acceptance would be fine for the offer. When I was just about to send the email accepting the offer, I got an email from Consulting Company D. (are you confused yet??) A great friend of mine who lives in the city I used to live in works for Company D and when he heard about my situation at the beginning of the year, he offered to submit my resume as an interal referral. Now, I was not all that excited about the travel associated with consulting but like I said before, a job is better than no job, okay! To be honest, I had forgotten all about it until the recruiter contacted me. Now Company D has done some really exciting projects in my industry and it was very flattering that a senior director there was interesting in my resume. But what do I do?!
Well, I tried to find out as much about Company D from my friend as I could and I called back the recruiter there the next day. I also called a guy I knew in the group at Company A to ask some more specific questions about what it is like to work there on a daily basis and what it is like to work for my potential new boss. Then, about 45 minutes later, I got a call from the recruiter at Company A telling me that she was hearing rumors that I was going to reject the offer. First of all, rumors?? It was a little bit of a strange conversation. It was like she was trying to do the final sale, telling me that there were 300 applicants for the position and how great my manager would be, and also trying to put the screws to me. So, I don't know if someone actually talked to her or if this was just a final negotiating tactic but it sort of worked. After the conversation I knew that I would not be able to effectively stall Company A until I could get anything tangible from the other companies. I called Company B and declined to interview further.
I did still follow through with a call with a principal at Company D, just to find out more about the company. And I made a decision. It was rather flattering to have multiple companies competing for me, even if the timing wasn't right. And, while I got the position that I wanted, this situation underpins the need to continuously network, even when you have a job, so that you won't need to start from scratch when "things happen." I am the kind of person who really dedicates themselves to their job and the group that I work in but there are no guarantees, no matter how big the company is. So, while I will continue to be dedicated to my job, I will still keep my eye out for the next opportunity.
The next day, I was called by the recruiter at Company A who asked me if I would consider an offer that was a little lower than my requested salary. I told her that I would consider it and she said that she would have to get special approval for the offer and would plan to send me an offer in two days.
Day 3, I had my phone interview with the hiring manager and I started to get excited about that position. Although it was not a consumer-facing business, it would be working on a product that had a lot of exposure and could include some international travel. The hiring manager told me that I would be contacted to schedule a round of in-person interviews in a week and a half. I also got contacted by a recruiter at Company C who had encouraged me to apply for a position at her company a week or so back. She wanted to talk to me more about the position and some of my past experience. Now, I knew when I applied for that position that it was a good fit from some of my prior experience but not really something I wanted to continue with in the future. I still applied though because any job is better than no job, okay! But, now that I knew that I was getting an offer, I declined to go any further with Company C.
Day 4, I was supposed to get the offer. Instead I got a call from the recruiter at Company A going over the offer. While I didn't quite get the money I wanted, I reasoned that given their historical propensity to payout well on the yearly bonus (something that didn't really live up to it's potential at my old company) I would end up at about the same as what I was making before, if not a little better. But, you should always negotiate. Women historically are afraid to negotiate, and black folks as well. It seems to be drilled into us that we are lucky to have a job. But, traditionally, white men aren't hindered by the same viewpoint and just about always negotiate. So remember, always negotiate --- they will not take the offer from you! In fact, they expect you to! If you don't, you will be leaving stuff on the table. And there are more things that you can negotiate on besides salary. I was able to get a few more vacation days out of the deal.
Day 5, I got the offer. It was like we discussed but I was confused that there was not anything to sign and send back. So I sent an email asking about that.
The weekend was pretty quiet, save a yummy dinner that I cooked and a Brazilian party with a few too many caipirinhas!
Day 8, the recruiter from Company A saying that email acceptance would be fine for the offer. When I was just about to send the email accepting the offer, I got an email from Consulting Company D. (are you confused yet??) A great friend of mine who lives in the city I used to live in works for Company D and when he heard about my situation at the beginning of the year, he offered to submit my resume as an interal referral. Now, I was not all that excited about the travel associated with consulting but like I said before, a job is better than no job, okay! To be honest, I had forgotten all about it until the recruiter contacted me. Now Company D has done some really exciting projects in my industry and it was very flattering that a senior director there was interesting in my resume. But what do I do?!
Well, I tried to find out as much about Company D from my friend as I could and I called back the recruiter there the next day. I also called a guy I knew in the group at Company A to ask some more specific questions about what it is like to work there on a daily basis and what it is like to work for my potential new boss. Then, about 45 minutes later, I got a call from the recruiter at Company A telling me that she was hearing rumors that I was going to reject the offer. First of all, rumors?? It was a little bit of a strange conversation. It was like she was trying to do the final sale, telling me that there were 300 applicants for the position and how great my manager would be, and also trying to put the screws to me. So, I don't know if someone actually talked to her or if this was just a final negotiating tactic but it sort of worked. After the conversation I knew that I would not be able to effectively stall Company A until I could get anything tangible from the other companies. I called Company B and declined to interview further.
I did still follow through with a call with a principal at Company D, just to find out more about the company. And I made a decision. It was rather flattering to have multiple companies competing for me, even if the timing wasn't right. And, while I got the position that I wanted, this situation underpins the need to continuously network, even when you have a job, so that you won't need to start from scratch when "things happen." I am the kind of person who really dedicates themselves to their job and the group that I work in but there are no guarantees, no matter how big the company is. So, while I will continue to be dedicated to my job, I will still keep my eye out for the next opportunity.
Monday, February 25, 2008
It's over!
Well, it looks like, after 5 months, my sometimes paid vacation is coming to an end! A few weeks ago I was finally contacted by a company I was targeting to come in for an interview. In fact, that day I was contacted by two hiring managers at Company A to interview for two different positions that week. So I scheduled both.
Now one was in a group that I have been working on getting a position in since December. I had talked to a number of folks about the group and have a number of people forward my resume to the hiring manager. The other one, apparently some of the folks I know from job had recommended me to the hiring manager. I started doing a little research as I prepared for the interview and found out that both hiring managers sit on the same floor, around the corner from each other.
So I went to the first interview that week and it was organized for me to talk to 3 people, with the hiring manager being last. 45 minutes with each person separately. It was a rather long afternoon. 2 1/2 hours is a long time to talk about yourself. And to re-introduce yourself each time. I started to forget who I had said what to! I was also warned that the hiring manager was a tough interviewer and that she didn't really give much feedback at all during the interview. And it was the truth. Plainly put, I would not want to play poker with her! You cannot read any emotions on her face or in her voice during interviews. But I felt well prepared and thought I did pretty well.
The other interview was 2 days later, with only one person (Thank God!) The funniest thing was that I had to walk past the office of the other woman I interviewed with 3 times before the end and the third time she says "Hi RedDred (well not really but you get the point)!" with a big smile on her face and I had to say back "Hi Poker-faced Interviewer Lady!" right in front of the guy I was interviewing with. It happened to be a great segue to introduce to him that I had already interviewed with her earlier in the week. In fact, at the end of the interview he asked me when she said that she would get back to me and then he assured me that he would be making a decision a few days before when she said she would. So I left the interview feeling pretty positive.
Now, given my new dedication to positive thinking , I decided to alter my approach to how I thought about the interviews as I waited to hear word. I knew that I had done the best job I could in my interviews and I was not going to fret about what I could have said or done differently. I would only think positively about the experience and not let fear or worry get the best of me. So I took two post-it notes and wrote the titles of the positions on each one and stuck them to my mirror in my bathroom. Then, every time I saw them I would think, "I am going to get one of these jobs!" or " I am going to be working at Company A soon!" A few days I did something that I felt was a little corny but I figured it was not bad to send this type of energy out into the universe... I visualized, turn by turn, me driving to work at Company A on the first day with my box of stuff to put on my desk and then parking and walking up to the building and talking to the receptionist. I also decided to pro-actively buy a pass for the toll since I would have to pay a toll to get to and from Company A so I wouldn't have to carry quarters with me all the time.
Now, a pragmatist would say that these things really didn't make a difference and that the difference was made during the interview but I figured my attitude couldn't have hurt. And the punchline is, I got an offer last Friday for the second position I interviewed for, which was the one I had been tracking down since December! So I am returning to the realm of the employed and not a moment too soon and doing something that I think I will really enjoy!
Thanks so much to all of you for your words of encouragement during these times, especially Brunsli, BlackRussian, and Naturally, Sophia. You helped me keep my spirits and my resolve up. It is great to have a supportive online network of friends cheering you on when you need it the most. Thanks guys!!!
Now one was in a group that I have been working on getting a position in since December. I had talked to a number of folks about the group and have a number of people forward my resume to the hiring manager. The other one, apparently some of the folks I know from job had recommended me to the hiring manager. I started doing a little research as I prepared for the interview and found out that both hiring managers sit on the same floor, around the corner from each other.
So I went to the first interview that week and it was organized for me to talk to 3 people, with the hiring manager being last. 45 minutes with each person separately. It was a rather long afternoon. 2 1/2 hours is a long time to talk about yourself. And to re-introduce yourself each time. I started to forget who I had said what to! I was also warned that the hiring manager was a tough interviewer and that she didn't really give much feedback at all during the interview. And it was the truth. Plainly put, I would not want to play poker with her! You cannot read any emotions on her face or in her voice during interviews. But I felt well prepared and thought I did pretty well.
The other interview was 2 days later, with only one person (Thank God!) The funniest thing was that I had to walk past the office of the other woman I interviewed with 3 times before the end and the third time she says "Hi RedDred (well not really but you get the point)!" with a big smile on her face and I had to say back "Hi Poker-faced Interviewer Lady!" right in front of the guy I was interviewing with. It happened to be a great segue to introduce to him that I had already interviewed with her earlier in the week. In fact, at the end of the interview he asked me when she said that she would get back to me and then he assured me that he would be making a decision a few days before when she said she would. So I left the interview feeling pretty positive.
Now, given my new dedication to positive thinking , I decided to alter my approach to how I thought about the interviews as I waited to hear word. I knew that I had done the best job I could in my interviews and I was not going to fret about what I could have said or done differently. I would only think positively about the experience and not let fear or worry get the best of me. So I took two post-it notes and wrote the titles of the positions on each one and stuck them to my mirror in my bathroom. Then, every time I saw them I would think, "I am going to get one of these jobs!" or " I am going to be working at Company A soon!" A few days I did something that I felt was a little corny but I figured it was not bad to send this type of energy out into the universe... I visualized, turn by turn, me driving to work at Company A on the first day with my box of stuff to put on my desk and then parking and walking up to the building and talking to the receptionist. I also decided to pro-actively buy a pass for the toll since I would have to pay a toll to get to and from Company A so I wouldn't have to carry quarters with me all the time.
Now, a pragmatist would say that these things really didn't make a difference and that the difference was made during the interview but I figured my attitude couldn't have hurt. And the punchline is, I got an offer last Friday for the second position I interviewed for, which was the one I had been tracking down since December! So I am returning to the realm of the employed and not a moment too soon and doing something that I think I will really enjoy!
Thanks so much to all of you for your words of encouragement during these times, especially Brunsli, BlackRussian, and Naturally, Sophia. You helped me keep my spirits and my resolve up. It is great to have a supportive online network of friends cheering you on when you need it the most. Thanks guys!!!
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Bureaucracy - Your Tax Dollars At Work
Today, I did one thing that I have been dreading. No one really wants to go try to get something done at a place where you know you are going to get the run around. But that is what you have to expect when you deal with a government agency. Today, I went to try to dispute the property taxes charged on some properties I purchased last year. I noticed that the amounts are severely out of wack for the value of the properties and their location within the city. I expected that this wouldn't be a simple thing to fix, especially since the county has already gotten their money but I decided today was the day to start trying to unravel the process. After all, it means money back for me which, especially at this time, is sorely needed.
So first, I went to one office that could only help with with disputes for taxes for the current year. The woman was very helpful and told me that I needed to get copies of the deeds for the properties in the courthouse next door and then come back and go to the office next door to hers to speak to the assessor in charge of the area where the property is. Getting the deeds was a relatively simple and quick process. The woman at the records office was very helpful. And then I came back to talk to the assessor. My assessor was actually in court that day so another guy filled in for him. He and I spent 2 hours trying to sort through everything. The end result was that I was told that there were not individual parcel numbers for each property, they were still in larger lots and that the assessments for the properties were not up to date -- last done in February and did not reflect completed construction. So the plan I left with was to do or make sure everything got done to get individual parcel numbers for each property (that included surveys etc.) and also schedule a time for the assessor to come back out and re-assess the property. This would require him having access to the inside of the buildings which are all already occupied -- not very convenient. All this has to be done before I can even talk to the people who set and collect the taxes about getting money back!
After this, I decided, I might as well make a day of it and go to the unemployment office and file for unemployment. It couldn't be worse, right? After all, people file for unemployment every day..... The process was rather streamlined, simple, and non-particularly time consuming. I was out in about an hour and 20 minutes. I was glad to get that off my list.
However, it seems that there will be many more days at the tax assessors office ahead for me. The builder claims that they have already gotten parcel numbers for the individual properties and that they were issued by the City, although the COunty has no record of them. So, I am going to try to go back with the builder to the assessors office for another saga of "Bureaucracy - Your Tax Dollars At Work." Stay tuned!
So first, I went to one office that could only help with with disputes for taxes for the current year. The woman was very helpful and told me that I needed to get copies of the deeds for the properties in the courthouse next door and then come back and go to the office next door to hers to speak to the assessor in charge of the area where the property is. Getting the deeds was a relatively simple and quick process. The woman at the records office was very helpful. And then I came back to talk to the assessor. My assessor was actually in court that day so another guy filled in for him. He and I spent 2 hours trying to sort through everything. The end result was that I was told that there were not individual parcel numbers for each property, they were still in larger lots and that the assessments for the properties were not up to date -- last done in February and did not reflect completed construction. So the plan I left with was to do or make sure everything got done to get individual parcel numbers for each property (that included surveys etc.) and also schedule a time for the assessor to come back out and re-assess the property. This would require him having access to the inside of the buildings which are all already occupied -- not very convenient. All this has to be done before I can even talk to the people who set and collect the taxes about getting money back!
After this, I decided, I might as well make a day of it and go to the unemployment office and file for unemployment. It couldn't be worse, right? After all, people file for unemployment every day..... The process was rather streamlined, simple, and non-particularly time consuming. I was out in about an hour and 20 minutes. I was glad to get that off my list.
However, it seems that there will be many more days at the tax assessors office ahead for me. The builder claims that they have already gotten parcel numbers for the individual properties and that they were issued by the City, although the COunty has no record of them. So, I am going to try to go back with the builder to the assessors office for another saga of "Bureaucracy - Your Tax Dollars At Work." Stay tuned!
Friday, January 11, 2008
Starved for interaction!
So one of the things that is hard about being out of work is that everyone else is at work. After wearing the same clothes for 3 days and sitting in the house without going further than the sidewalk in front of my house, I can honestly say I am starved for human interaction!! There definitely is a social component to going to work and right now I miss it. I think I am doing all my annoying customer service errand calls in an attempt to have someone to talk to!
I am not sure that I would be good at working from home, unless it was just something that I have really passionate about. And I am going to have to arrange to have lunch with some friends or something so I won't become some crazy hermit who has conversations that are way too long and involved with her dog!
I am not sure that I would be good at working from home, unless it was just something that I have really passionate about. And I am going to have to arrange to have lunch with some friends or something so I won't become some crazy hermit who has conversations that are way too long and involved with her dog!
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