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Personal Finance From a Biblical Perspective

How To Get The Most From Working With A Job Recruiter

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When you need or want a new job, the warm, friendly voice of a job recruiter – a.k.a., headhunter – can seem like an oasis in the desert. The recruiter is positive and upbeat about his or her chances of finding you the position you seek. In some cases this could turn out to be the answer to a prayer – but in most it somehow fall short.

There are a number of reasons why this is true. For one thing, the recruiter is not working for you, but for the employer who might hire you. They are the ones who will pay the recruiters fee. For another, the job market is very competitive in most fields. Though a recruiter may try to raise your hope and belief in him and his abilities, he is talking with many other candidates about the same positions. Finally, a recruiter is on commission, and that means that he’s also a salesman. He will know how to talk you into a good position – even if he’s ultimately unable to deliver it.

Still there is some value to be had in working with a job recruiter.

How To Get The Most From Working With A Job Recruiter

Job Recruiter NYC

Ask For A Realistic Assessment Of The Likelihood Of Them Finding You A Job

Ask the recruiter for a realistic assessment of the likelihood of him or her finding you a job. The point is, you don’t want to waste time. Ask the recruiter to be completely honest about your job prospects. If he or she does not realistically believe that they can place you in a job, you may need to move on.

Some recruiters will be honest about this – after all, they don’t want to waste their time either. But some like to build a portfolio of potential candidates, like you, so that they will be ready to move you into a position as soon as one opens. That can make them look very good to an employer, but it doesn’t help your chances of getting a job anytime soon.

Make sure you are claiming your job hunting expenses when you file your taxes!

Get The Recruiter’s Assessment Of Your Qualifications

We’ve all gotten those rejection letters that say something along the lines of while you have considerable skills, we unfortunately have no position available for you at this time. Superficially, those kinds of letters can seem comforting, but they’re really a nice way of rejecting you. Worse, they tell you nothing substantive about the reason why you didn’t get the job.

A recruiter can help with this. He or she is free to be completely honest about your qualifications as they relate to positions that are available in your field. If you have had an interview but didn‘t get an offer, get as much information as possible from the recruiter as to why you didn‘t. And if the recruiter doesn’t get you any interviews, ask him or her to be honest about what it is you may be lacking.

The recruiter assessment process can be brutal, but the information that you will gain can be priceless.

Ask The Job Recruiter To Send Your Resume Out “Blind”

The last thing that you ever want a recruiter to do is to take the “shotgun approach” to finding you a job. That’s where a recruiter blasts your resume out to nearly every potential employer in the area, hoping to maximize the chance of getting you out on some interviews, complete with a job offer or two.

Make sure that this is not the approach taken.

By introducing you to every potential employer in town, the recruiter has effectively eliminated any chance of you finding a job any other way. The fact that the recruiter introduced you to the employer may require that the employer pay the recruiter a commission to hire you. If the employer is not in the habit of paying commissions to recruiters, that will eliminate your candidacy with that employer, even if you approach the employer on your own.

Instead, insist that the recruiter send out your resume “blind”. This is a recruiting term in which the employer modifies your resume by removing any information that would conclusively identify you personally. At a minimum, it will involve removing your name and contact information, and even your current employer’s name. The purpose is to keep your search essentially anonymous.

If the recruiter complies, and sends out blind resumes, you will still be free to approaches employers on your own. And that’s an option you’ll need to keep open, even if you’re working with a recruiter.

Never Pay A Fee For Their Services

There’s not much to say on this topic. Recruiters typically are compensated with commissions paid by the employer upon successfully filling a position. If a recruiter asks for a fee from you upfront, he is essentially asking for double compensation. Worse, there will probably be no guarantee of your finding a job upon paying the fee.

Moral of the story: if a recruiter asks you to pay a finders fee upfront – run!

Never Rely Completely On A Recruiter To Find You A Position

Unless a recruiter is well known in your industry, and has a demonstrated track record of successful placements, you should see him or her simply as one resource in your job search. While he is out looking for a suitable position for you, you should continue your own efforts to find a job.

You are the only person who is responsible for finding you a job. A recruiter is simply someone whose assistance you seek along the way. But as a rule, a recruiter should never be considered the be your sole job source.

Keeping these tips in mind could make a recruiter into a valuable asset in your job search. But if you rely on him or her too heavily, you could end up with exactly the opposite result.

How much luck have you had using a recruiter to find you a job?

photo credit: freedigitalphotos.net

What To Do When You Don’t Get the Job You Wanted

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Have you ever applied for a job that you were absolutely sure was a perfect fit for you? You met all the qualifications, and the interview went beautifully, but…you didn’t get the job.

How does that happen? Why does that happen?

There may be several reasons:

  • There may be a flood of applicants for the job (which is very typical these days).
  • As qualified as you are for the job, there may be another applicant who has even better qualifications (or an inside reference).
  • You may lack an important skill, or be not as strong in a skill as the employer wants.
  • There may be a bad reference in your past.
  • The interview may not have gone quite as well as you believe it did, at least not from the employer’s perspective.
  • There may not be an actual job – the employer may just be on a fishing expedition for reasons you’ll never understand.
  • The job may have been eliminated before filling it.

As you can see, there are a lot of reasons why you won’t get a particular job. Your one consolation is that it happens to all of us, and usually more than once.

[How to take a tax deduction for your job hunting expenses!]

There’s no point being angry or bitter of the job that got away, but you can find ways to use the situation to your advantage.

Job Search

Find Out The Reason You Didn’t Get The Job

Even if the application and interview process went well, employers will often terminate your candidacy either through a form letter (that gives no concrete information), or they will ignore you completely in the hope you’ll “get the message”. But if you do get the word from a live person, you should get as much information as you can. This will be considerably easier if your application and interview was arranged by an employment search firm. Though the employer may not speak to you, they will usually give information to an employment agent.

Though it may hurt to find out why you didn’t get the job, this information can be critical in preparing you for the next prospective employer. If you are turned down because there was a stronger candidate, or because the position has been eliminated before filling it, it may be unfortunate, but it will not reflect on anything personal about you.

If on the other hand, the employer felt that there was a weakness in your skill set, or didn’t feel as well about the interview as you did, these are things you need to know so that you can make improvements in the future.

But most important – something you absolutely need to know – is if you received a bad reference. Out of fear of lawsuits, most employers will not give references whether positive or negative. But there are some who do, if only in an indirect way. Even more important, you may find that a reference that you gave has less than positive things to say about you. If you find that out, you want to drop that person from your reference list going forward.

Ask For Constructive Criticism

It may be that you came very close to actually landing the job, but failed to get it because you’re weak in a certain critical area. For this reason, you want to get constructive criticism that will help you to learn where you are weak so that you can make improvements in future job applications.

[When is it time to make a career change?]

Ask For Job Leads!

If the person who interviewed you does make contact with you, either by phone, by email, or by written mail, you should seize the opportunity to ask that interviewer for other job leads.

Just the fact that the interviewer took time to contact you to let you know that you are no longer in the running means that you are viewed as a credible candidate. Take advantage of that status – and also the opportunity to play on the interviewer’s sympathies – to ask the interviewer if they know of any competing companies who are looking to fill a similar position where you might be a good fit.

If the interview went particularly well and you built a rapport with the interviewer, you might even ask if they would give you a referral. You may not get it, but it never hurts to ask.

NEVER Let It Get You Down

If you have ever worked in a sales related job, you are well aware that you have to approach many prospects before you actually make a sale. The same is true when it comes to finding a job. You are being a salesman, and the product you are selling is you. It is the reality of sales that you will not be able make a deal with all prospects, or even most of them. For this reason, you should enter the job hunting process fully prepared for rejection.

You will have to be prepared to accept many rejections on the path toward landing a job, but no matter what, you can’t let it get you down. Upon learning of a rejection, you need to immediately spring into action to land more interviews. Getting down about the rejection, or worse – feeling sorry for yourself – will accomplish absolutely nothing productive.

[Tips on finding a job when unemployed.]

When looking for a job – as in sales – you should have “several coals in the fire” at all times. That means that you are working on more than one potential job at any given point. More important, you should never view any single job as a make-or-break situation for you. Sure, you may need a job, but you don’t need any particular job. The right one will come sooner or later.

What do you do when you learn that you didn’t get a job you hoped you would?

photo credit: freedigitalphotos.net

5 Ways to Get a Job After Long-term Unemployment

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The financial meltdown that began in 2007/2008 hasn’t just eliminated jobs, its destroyed careers entirely. Millions of people have been unemployed for six months, a year, two years or even longer. Extended unemployment benefits that initially allowed up to 99 weeks have been cut back to 73 weeks, and unless the program is restored, benefits will be cut back again by the end of this year.

If you’re one of the people who lost their career during or since the meltdown, or if you’re facing the prospect of disappearing unemployment benefits and you need to get back into the job market after a long layoff, you’re facing an uphill fight. There’s fierce competition for jobs, little chance of on-the-job training and no small number of employers who are reluctant to hire the unemployed.

But here are some strategies that could help you get back into the job market, if only gradually.

Get A Part-Time Job

If you’ve been unemployed for a long period of time, getting back into the job market will be like starting over. It’s very much like when you were a teenager looking for your first job. You have to start somewhere, and a part-time job is a way to ease in gradually.

No, a part-time job isn’t like a full-time job—you probably won’t have benefits and you’ll get nothing close to a living wage. But here are a few things a part-time job can do for you:

  • Working part-time will get you out, about and circulating, and meeting people who might help you find a full-time job
  • It will provide you with a current work reference when you apply for jobs
  • A part-time job could turn into a full-time job down the road
  • A part-time job can be an opportunity to earn-and-learn your way into a new field
  • Earning money in any kind of job improves self-esteem, and that’s something that probably needs to be rebuilt after a long period of unemployment
  • When you apply for full-time jobs elsewhere, you’ll have something to put in that ever present little box that asks “Present Occupation?”

Working part-time won’t be the answer to your career problem, but view it as a necessary and temporary step on the road to something better.

Do Volunteer Work

One of the biggest problems with being unemployed for a very long time is that you can get out of the work routine entirely. It’s not just a time management issue either—there’s a psychology to working that can get lost when you haven’t done it for a while. A good way to get around that is by doing volunteer work. You can do this at churches, charities and even hospitals and schools.

Even though you won’t be paid for the work you do, it can get you back “into the groove”, giving you a place to go everyday and something other than your unemployment status to think about. And much like a part-time job, it gets you out meeting people and making new contacts, and might even turn into a paying job at some point.

Look Into Temporary & Contract Assignments

This is an area that’s gotten tougher in recent years—it’s been degraded by the same factors that have weakened the overall employment picture. Even so, it’s still worth looking into.

Even if the assignments are sporadic, they will place you on the inside of potential employers where you can get valuable contacts who might help you get a job. Also, many companies are now hiring primarily by temp-to-perm, giving them an opportunity to see potential employees in action.

{Learn all you need to know about the contingent workforce.}

If nothing else is happening, give it a try—when you’re unemployed, doing something is always better than doing nothing.

Work For Small Businesses

Everyone wants to work for large employers; they pay more and offer more comprehensive benefits. As good as that sounds, it also creates a traffic problem—too many applicants for too few jobs. As a result, large employers can be very selective when it comes to hiring and they don’t look too kindly on the unemployed.

If you’ve been out of work for a long time, look for small businesses instead. I’m talking small as in no more than five to ten employees. You won’t get anything close to top dollar, and benefits will probably be out of the question, but small businesses do have their advantages, and they aren’t minor.

Small businesses can’t draw in the top talent—sometimes they can’t get any talent at all! And being closer to the ground, small business owners are likely to be more sympathetic in regard to your long period of unemployment. If you have a skill set that matches their needs, and there’s a good personality fit, you can get hired much more quickly than you could at a large employer.

While you’re working at the small business, you’re getting new experience and training that could translate into a better position somewhere else later on.

When All Else Fails, Try Working For Free

This is similar to volunteering, only you’re doing it with for-profit businesses instead of charities. Most organizations have plenty of work that needs to be done—they just can’t afford to pay anyone to do it. That’s an opportunity for you!

Find out what jobs a business needs done that they can’t afford to pay for, and offer your services to do it for them. This will work better with small employers than with large ones, and there are several ways you can play this:

  • You can use it as a chance to show your worth to the business—if they see how good and reliable you are working for free, they may decide they can’t live without you, and make you an offer for a paid position
  • While working for free at a business you’re also building contacts and an important referral who may be able to help you land a paid job elsewhere
  • After completing one unpaid assignment, they may call you back again—for pay!
  • By troubleshooting at one business, you can start doing the same at others on a paid basis; as you build “clients” you’re beginning to develop your own business—self-employment could be the ultimate solution to your career problem.

Working for free won’t be easy, but is a chance to start making things happen, and that’s what you need to do when you’ve been out of work for a long time.

Have you gone through a very long unemployment? What did you do to get back into a job?

photo credit: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

How The IRS Wants To Help You With Your Job Hunting Expenses

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Normally, when we talk about tax deductions, we immediately think of IRA contribution limits, the standard mileage rate, or self employment tax. However, with so many people being out of work or working part-time hours, the job market is being flooded with applicants. This is why it is important to look at the tax deductions related to job hunting expenses.

Summer used to be the season for job hunting. I received a ton of announcements and advertisements for career fairs, resume services, and headhunters during the summer. However, since the economy has tanked, I get them all year long!

Due to this fact, the IRS has released a list of tax benefits for job seekers. So, while our Senators debate another payroll tax holiday, see if you qualify for any job search deductions.

A Few Guidelines Regarding Job Hunting Expenses:

  • You can deduct employment and outplacement agency fees you pay while looking for a job in your present occupation. If your employer pays you back in a later year for employment agency fees, you must include the amount you receive in your gross income up to the amount of your tax benefit in the earlier year.
  • You can deduct amounts you spend for preparing and mailing copies of your résumé to prospective employers as long as you are looking for a new job in your present occupation.
  • If you travel to an area to look for a new job in your present occupation, you may be able to deduct travel expenses to and from the area. You can only deduct the travel expenses if the trip is primarily to look for a new job. The amount of time you spend on personal activity compared to the amount of time you spend looking for work is important in determining whether the trip is primarily personal or is primarily to look for a new job.
  • To qualify for a deduction, the expenses must be spent on a job search in your current occupation.

So, be sure to save all records of any of these job hunting expenses. Don’t forget things such as printing and copying your resumes, paying headhunters and agencies, and even travel costs.

Other Things To Note About Job Hunting Expenses:

  • You may not deduct expenses incurred while looking for a job in a new occupation.
  • You cannot deduct job search expenses if you are looking for a job for the first time.
  • You cannot deduct job search expenses if there was a substantial break between the end of your last job and the time you begin looking for a new one.

So, in order to deduct job search expenses, it can’t be your first job search and it can’t be in a new field. Of course, just to complicate things, the IRS does not go on to specify what a “substantial break” actually is. However, if you decide to start your own business and become a young entrepreneur, then there is another set of tax laws that govern your situation.

To find out more about deducting job search expenses, see IRS Publication 529. If you have any questions regarding any other issues, please visit our tax help page. Also, be sure to contact us for professional tax preparation once you are ready to file.

Be sure you are aware of the tax filing delay, as well as the fact that the tax filing deadline has been extended this year. To get the most out of your financial situation in 2011, you should know the IRA Contribution Limits, 401k Contribution Limits, and the Income Tax Rates for 2011!

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