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Job Searching in a Recession

OMAHA, NE - Well, it's here: Warren Buffett's annual letter to shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway. While you can read for yourselves Mr. Buffett's sober predictions of the economy being "in shambles throughout 2009 - and, for that matter, probably well beyond," job seekers can learn something about how to create real value for their current and potential employers -- now and forever.

It's no secret that stocks took a severe beating last year, and Mr. Buffett's Berkshire holdings were not immune. Yet according to Mr. Buffett, "In good years and bad, Charlie Munger [his long-time business partner] and I simply focus on four goals:

1. maintaining our company's Gibraltar-like financial position, which features huge amounts of excess liquidity, near-term obligations that are modest, and dozens of sources of earnings and cash;
2. widening the “moats” around our operating businesses that give them durable competitive advantages;
3. acquiring and developing new and varied streams of earnings;
4. expanding and nurturing the cadre of outstanding operating managers who, over the years, have delivered Berkshire exceptional results.

The proof of this approach is in the pudding: Over the last 44 years, Berkshire Hathaway's book value per share has grown from $19 to $70,530, a rate of 20.3% compounded annually.

Question for you job seekers: Specifically, HOW have you done these four things in your previous jobs? Can you quantify your contribution in each of these four areas?

You are making a terrible mistake if you think these things are "too high level and abstract" for you to impact! Over the last five years, I have made a small fortune pulling executives out of Dell Computer.

Why Dell? Because a long time ago, Michael Dell was smart enough to tie every Dell employee's bonus to Return on Invested Capital (ROIC) -- the single metric that mattered most to Dell's customers, and therefore, to its stock holders. By aligning his employee's behavior to the expectations of his customers and stock holders, Mr. Dell created a perpetual motion machine fueled by the self-interests of every single stakeholder. That's not a bad thing. That's a great thing!

According to Mr. Dell's book Direct from Dell [which I strongly endorse] ...

ROIC became a focusing device. We introduced it in 1995 with a company-wide push to educate everyone about the benefits of a positive ROIC, with articles in the company newsletter, posters, talks by managers, and "Messages from Michael" devoted to the topic.

We explained specifically how everyone could contribute: by reducing cycle times, eliminating scrap and waste, selling more, forecasting accurately, scaling operating expenses, increasing inventory turns, collecting accounts receivables efficiently, and doing things right the first time.

And we make it the core of our incentive program for all employees. We decided to to reward employees around a matrix of ROIC and growth and higher performance directly attributed to higher ROIC -- which came back in the form of higher compensation.

BOTTOM LINE: Dell executives know how to create value for ALL company stakeholders -- both internally and externally, up and down the value chain -- and that's what today's employment market will pay for. That's what it needs now more than ever! You can stick a Dell executive in just about any company and they will find a way to organize their teams and activities around those things which create value. Clients LOVE this trait, and I have the check stubs to prove it.

So candidates, here is one job search rule that you must obey:

DO NOT TRY TO SELL ABSTRACTIONS IN A DOWN ECONOMY!!

Your value to employers has to be obvious. It has to be easy to explain, understand, and verify. Trust me, business owners are scared to death. They are afraid of President Obama's approach to taxation, and they have NO idea whether the business environment will recover this year ... or the next ... or ever. Fear, uncertainty, and doubt dominate the current climate. Business owners have a bunker mentality.

Accordingly, you MUST make business owners understand why they are better off investing their hard earned cash in YOU rather than keeping it under a mattress.

You are at great risk if you fight me on this one. This is the new reality. It's a cold as hell world out there, and whether you work for a company or not, you are in business for yourself. It's time you started thinking of yourself as someone else's investment.

Why you need a good resume.

ATLANTA - Last week, I wrote a post on MarketingHeadhunter.com called "Do you need a resume? Google thinks so" in which I took marketing author Seth Godin to task for stating that "great people shouldn't have a resume."  You can read my post to see what I wrote, but the reader comments were especially thoughtful.

Of particular interest were the comments of search engine expert Alan Rimm-Kaufman and Richard Millington of "I want to work with Seth Godin" -- a great blog, as it turns out.  Richard wrote ...

"Anyone who clicks through to my URL will spot my obvious bias here, but I think Seth's comments are meant as aspirational.  It's the difference between looking for a job and being the first guy that comes to mind when looking to fill a position.  It probably works better at the higher levels, but it certainly doesn't hurt.  For the record, I don't have a CV anymore - but I have had offers through my blogs."

That's a lucid argument.

Seriously.  I don't fence with Seth Godin much -- mostly because I'm too busy agreeing with him.  And you will notice that I spend hundreds of hours blogging and NO time at all tweaking my resume.

But if I were going to apply for a job anywhere (no matter how I generated the job lead), I'd submit a great resume that highlights what I have done with my blogs, my "brands," my recruiting business, etc.  The resume would be a compendium of my accomplishments, which is why you need a resume -- despite what the experts might have you believe.

Rule #1 in a tough job search:  "Don't buck the system."

My point in writing "Do you need a resume?" was that there is a recruiting process and a hiring protocol, and HR executives are NEVER going to migrate to a less standardized system.  There are simply too many candidates out there.

A move away from a standardized system would be like a move back to the days of barter without paper money: There is no way to objectively compare the "value" of one candidate to another unless there is a common currency, and a resume is a proxy for that currency.  Which is why Seth says not to use them.  But that's a dangerous idea, at least if you want to land a job.

Think about it:  A company needs a star executive who can deliver X, Y, and Z.  It gets the names of ten candidates who have no resumes.  Now what?  Most hiring committees have a tough time agreeing on what goes into a job description to begin with.

Why make their hiring decision harder by not having a resume that is mapped to their job posting?  That's poor marketing on the candidate's part.  The best marketers know to sell how the customer buys.  I know Seth knows that because I learned it from him.

All due respect.

In the event that we do move away from a resume based system, my bet is that dozen of software companies will emerge with products to quantify the "worth" of candidates whose accomplishments and online bios are scattered all over the web.

In fact, Broadlook Technologies already offers "candidate information aggregating" software, and let me tell you -- it's extraordinarily powerful.  Check out this quick demo featuring Broadlook's founder, Donato Diorio.

And ZoomInfo offers a similar service, though the major difference is that Broadlook sells software, while Zoom sells a database.  But either way, it's all about compiling and "templatizing" candidate information.

Just like Facebook and MySpace.

97 Job Search Tips

SEATTLE, WA - Following is an email exchange between me and a new fan of my weblog 97 Job Search Tips.  I thought you job-seekers might enjoy it ...

Dear Harry:

I came across your blog "97 Job Search Tips" while surfing the net this afternoon.  In 2006, I came to work for a small aerospace company and loved it.  Unfortunately, I fear that I have until September before they decide to close the doors.  Our VP of Marketing was let go last December -- and the writing is on the wall for the rest of us.

I know I have to market myself and I wanted to tell you that your article was really good.  I'm sending it home to study and try to work through all of the steps.  I'm in the Seattle area and am having a hard time identifying other jobs in my current field.

I have a very strong background in marketing that goes back 10 years.  Your article made it very clear to me that my resume is a big glob of information that isn't specific enough.  I'd like to consider taking a new direction with my career, leaving the aerospace industry -- but I'm not comfortable pursuing something in which I don't have specific experience.

I have great analytical skills for example, and I'd like to get a position as a web analytics manager, but I'm lost on how to link my experience to the job requirements.

Can you give me any advice?

Signed,
Nervous in Seattle

Dear Nervous,

The best thing to do is follow 97 Job Search Tips step-by-step. I'd also do a little work and try to target companies in a particularly hot industry.   A rising tide raises all ships -- even the bad ones.

Look at the tools at http://online.onetcenter.org/find/ and see how much of what you're good at is transferable to other industries.  Then go to http://biz.yahoo.com/ic/ind_index.html and get the report for this industries that are relevant to you.  Start your search there.

It's a ton of work -- but you're worth it.

Kind regards,
Harry Joiner

Job Search Tip: "How to Format Your Resume"

As the CEO of a fast-growing paid search agency that’s hiring regularly, many resumes land in my in-box each week.  These are resumes at all levels: entry, mid, and senior folks.

One of my current hiring pet peeves is getting resumes in Office 2007 format.   That is, we’re seeing an increasing number of inbound resumes coming in “.docx” format.

I can’t open these resumes with one click, so I am tossing them straight into the trash.   Not even considered.   Sorry, but true.

Now, I happen to have Vista and Office ’07 at home (ugh), but I do not have these at work.   Our IT folks are holding our firm on XP and Office 2003 as long as we can hold out.   On the OS side, Vista isn’t baked enough, our IT gurus believe.  On the apps side, I fear the productivity hit of switching to Office 2007, when our amazing crew of power Excel users on our analyst staff suddenly won’t be able to find anything anymore.   (Want to pull out your hair?  Find pivot tables in Excel ’07.  Or try to format several graphs in parallel.   All the menus changed!   Argh!)

Candidates:  You know hiring managers are moving fast.   Hiring managers are looking for reasons to cull your resume.   If you want to be considered, make things easy for the hiring manager.

Sending your resume just in “.docx” comes off as rude to me.   Seeing just a “.docx” resume makes me wonder if the candidate is clueless (because she/he doesn’t realize Office 2007 isn’t broadly adopted yet), not technically savvy (because she/he doesn’t understand file types), or self-absorbed (because she/he assumes that everyone should be using the latest-and-greatest out of Redmond, just like them).   Actually, I don’t spend much time wondering, as I’ve already hit “delete” on the email and moved on.

My suggestion:   Send your resume in multiple formats.

Plain text, in-line in the email below your sig, is always good.   (I also like to see a resume well-presented in plain ascii – that suggests the candidate will be able to compose good-looking text emails.)   A PDF attachment is also good -- it shows the candidate cares enough to control the page layout and typography.   (Hint: if you use PDF, don’t PDF an ugly resume – ugh.)   Use Word if you want, but be smart and use Word 2003 (“.doc”, not “.docx”).   2007 Word can read 2003 Word seamlessly, but not the reverse, so use 2003.

Just please avoid ".docx" as your sole resume format.

Landing your dream job requires executing lots of small details right.   Choosing the wrong resume file format can derail the train before it even leaves the station.

Alan Rimm-Kaufman leads the Rimm-Kaufman Group, a paid search and web effectiveness agency located in Charlottesville Virginia.   Find Alan online at http://www.rkgblog.com

Self-improvement the Old Fashioned Way

Lots of times when I deal with online marketing executives, I feel a little like a sports agent.  I mean, if you are reading this blog, then you are either a hiring manager or you are "the talent."  Being the talent is fun -- especially these days, when great internet marketers have so many options.

So as your agent, allow me to get preachy for minute.

Do you eat fast food french fries?  C'mon.  Who doesn't?  I'm a father of four kids and my wife is due with our fifth in June.  I steal my kids' fries like they are going outta style!  In fact, today, I swiped two chicken nuggets and ~20 fries from the massive grocery bag of Wendy's I bought the kids after church.

For some reason, when the food is for my kids, it's easy to lull myself into thinking that it doesn't effect me -- as if sneaking junk food from four small orders makes it better for me than if I had simply ordered my own.  So I grab a my "fry tax" as I pass the food into the back of the van where my progeny maul it like lions.  But I digress ...

Watch this video.  If you never eat another fast food french fry again, it will allow you to lose weight and think more clearly.  I could link to a bunch of research to prove my point, but we both know it's true.  But watch this anyway.  And eat like an athlete.  That way, when I send you out on an interview you'll look and feel better about yourself -- and you'll probably get an offer.  Ka-ching!

Job Search Tip for Sales Managers

Are you a Sales Manager?  Do you know a Sales Manager?  Good!  Send them this post.  They'll be glad you did.

Now then:  If you are a regular reader of my blog, then you might know that I was a frozen food trader throughout the 1990s.  A "trader" is basically a sales rep who does much of his own buying.

I learned more about the nature of negotiation, price competition, manufacturing, intermodal logistics, and international trade while working at AJC International than at any other time in my life.  It was awesome.

In 1997, I bought more than $14 million worth of frozen beef and pork for my own account -- and I sold almost $32 million in frozen food to more than 17 countries throughout the pacific rim.  Have you ever haggled with a beef packer in a falling shortrib market?  Me too!

None of this makes me a hotshot.  It simply means that AJC forced each trader to think like a small business owner, and it paid its traders based on two metrics:  Booked revenue and invoiced revenue -- which was "booked revenue adjusted for actual storage, handling, inspection, shipping, insurance, interest accrued on inventoried product, bank surcharges, customer credit, and quality claims."  Whew!

One of the great things AJC required its traders to do was "cost out" every trade on a spreadsheet.  For example, a trader couldn't simply buy a truckload of frozen chicken legquarters for USD 0.135/lb FOB from a packer in Fort Smith, AR and sell them to a Chinese distributor for USD 0.2425/lb CIF Qingdao without accruing (and sometimes negotiating) the costs listed above.

Once the costs were known, the trader would write up the sale on a 3-ply form resembling the spreadsheet -- with one ply going to Accounting (who would tie back to the trade any ensuing bills), one ply going to Logistics (who would manage the movement of the load), and one ply being kept by the trader (who would constantly review his portfolio of deals with Logistics to make sure that they shipped in accordance with the terms of the contract).

As each load moved through the international supply chain (the transit time was usually 40-50 days), each trader had to actually approve the vendor invoices that got tied back to their individual trades.

Just like in real life.

It was not uncommon to get hit with a "lumping" or "box stamping" bill on an odd pallet of product taken from inventory to make weight in a container.  If mis-accrued, those charges came out of my paycheck as they were tied back to my trades.  Ouch.  Loads that arrived late were deemed "out of contract" by customers and short-paid (or "marked to market").  Those costs were also deducted from my trading P&L.

There was even a political and currency "risk premium" that each trader had to accrue, depending on the product's destination.  Products sold to Iraq carried a higher premium than the same ones to Singapore.

From 1993-1999, I wrote up more than a thousand trades, and I knew my costs cold.  It just wasn't kosher to wing it.

A Temple of Self-Interest

There was very little random motion in AJC's organization.  Everyone from the traders to the shipping clerks showed up to make money.  To this day, AJC remains a temple of self-interest.  So effective was the AJC costing system that one of my first engagements as a self-employed marketing consultant was to introduce the system to a local importer of vitamin raw materials.

AJC's training is so good that its competitors call it "Atlanta Junior College" because so many of its traders have left to start their own niche trading companies.  Very successfully, I might add.

Reality Check for the Sales Staff

So it was with great interest that I read Jaclyne Badal's article "A Reality Check for the Sales Staff" in today's WSJ.  The article states that "squeezed by global price pressure and customer demands, companies often strike deals that generate revenue but not profit."

But companies are getting a clue:  Dow Chemical just implemented software to analyze the profitability of deals.  One tactic Dow uses to cut transportation costs is to consolidate shipments (AJC did that eons ago).

From Revenue to Profit

Many companies are trying to boost the bottom line by weeding out products and customers that generate revenue but little profit.  According to Ms. Badal's article, sales managers and sales consultants suggest:

1. Calculate the true cost of each sale -- including actual storage, handling, inspection, shipping, insurance, interest accrued on inventoried product, bank surcharges, customer credit, and quality claims.  If you can tie back your marketing expenses, so much the better.
2. Examine individual customers -- especially if they are high maintenance.  At AJC, we used to call bitchy, low-profit customers Ankle-biters.
3. Share information with customers to justify price increases -- or to jointly control trading costs.
4. Consider using software that will block (or require approval of) unprofitable deals.
5. Keep the sales team in the loop and consider adjusting commission formulas.

Sales Manager Job Search Tip:

If you are a sales manager who is looking for new career opportunities, please take a look at your accomplishments in light of these suggestions.

• To what extent have you improved your employer's profitability by helping it get its arms around its costs?
• Have you developed and implemented any systems to track revenues, costs per sale, and net profits?
• Have you partnered with your customers to lean-up the value chain?

What are you waiting for?  Do these things NOW -- and by all means make sure they are accurately reflected on your resume.  You'll make more money and enjoy a shorter, more effective job search for your efforts.

Tips on Personal Branding

This is Zoë Goldring here, one of the JobGals over at JobSyntax with the honor of posting on Harry Joiner’s Marketing Headhunter for this week's Recruiting Blog Swap.

The big kerfluffle made by Apple and Google recently to protect their brand names (thanks for the lead Heather), got me thinking again about personal brand and protecting your name – and reputation – in the digital age.  We’ve blogged before about combatting your digital dirt and the idea of personal brand, but have you ever thought about what (or frankly who) might be out their tarnishing your personal brand and how you can protect it?

Here are a few quick thoughts on how you can keep your impeccable reputation untarnished:

1. Go ahead, Google yourself.  Or Yahoo! or MSN Search; whichever search engine satisfies your itch. As most potential employers will probably be doing the same thing, it’s important to find out what information is out there about you, positive or negative.  You’ll have an opportunity to then address these with the recruiter or hiring manager should they ever come up.  Harry has a great example of this in finding Caleb Founds on Jobster.


2. Check your references, recruiters will.  Who’s on your list of references that you hand to future employers?  Will these people provide an honest and critical evaluation of your skills?  Have you spoken with them in advance to determine how they might answer questions about your work history, interpersonal and team skills?  Now, I am not suggesting that you stack your references in a 100% positive light, people will figure that out, but make sure to know who on your list is giving an honest and accurate assement of your skills.


3. Do you have a doppleganger?  Folks with uncommon names, say like a Zoë Goldring or a Gretchen Ledgard, may not have this problem.  However, if you have a terribly common name, think John Smith, try to detemine if there are other individuals out there practicing in your same field with the same name.  You may even try to differentiate yourself by using your middle initial.  I have a friend who has the same name as his father, they live in the same city and practice in the same field.  Long ago he found it imperative to distinguish himself from his father.  Now he goes by J. Norman Wilson.  A slight change in name gave birth to a new identity and helped set him apart.


4. Stick to your brand.  A strong brand will continue to evolve with you over time.  At the same time, and of course career changes aside, you want to have a lazer-like focus on the key attributes you have to offer to an employer.  If you want to be know as the internet brand marketing expert, what activities and goals must you accomplish to reach that status?  Consider writing yourself a brief elevator pitch, as suggested by Libby Sartain over at Yahoo!, and reviewing it on a quarterly basis.  Does this still describe you and your goals?  Should it be changed to reflect any recent accomplishments?  Oh, and if you do change your name you may want to consider sticking to it in the long run :)

Understanding what information is out there about you as well as what others might be saying can go a long way in protecting your personal brand.  Just like G.I. Joe said in those great cartoon PSA’s of yesteryear, knowing is half the battle!

Career Advice on Dead-End Job

The August 21 issue of Fortune magazine asks an important question: "Have You Outgrown Your Job?"

According to Fortune publicist, Erin Clinton, "A generation of younger workers can’t get ahead—because the boomers above them won’t budge. Twenty-, thirty-, and even forty-something managers are in trouble.  Fifteen-hour days have become the norm.  Untethering oneself from one’s BlackBerry is, in many fields, considered high treason.  All this might not be so terrible if that big promotion—the one that catapults an up-and-comer out of middle-management hell and into the senior ranks-were around the corner."

"But increasingly," says Ms. Clinton, "younger workers are finding that no matter how many hours they put in or how much their bosses rave about their work, they’re just plain stuck.  An entire generation is bumping against something no amount of youthful vigor can match. Call it the Gray Ceiling."

One 36-year-old finance manger states: "I'm under so much pressure here, but the rewards just aren’t coming. I have to get out."  Click here to read the article.

Great Reference Letters

Few marketing mediums are as powerful as a well-crafted reference letter, which can shorten sales cycles by “proving” your value proposition to your prospects while simultaneously reinforcing the loyalty of your current clients who write them.  Moreover, they’re free for the asking.  Yet according to marketing guru Dan Kennedy, references and testimonials are among the least leveraged marketing mediums out there.  That’s insane!  This resource by reference expert Paul Johnson explains the six elements of a perfect reference letter – which I guarantee will help you win new business.

Action item:  Mail order pioneer Joe Cossman (remember Ant Farms?) used to say “If you can’t change it – promote it.”  As you read Paul’s excellent article, ask yourself “How can I use reference letters to address my prospects’ objections right up front?"

For example, if your architectural design firm has famously long project turnaround times, have your testimonial letters mention that because of the long turnaround times, your work has fewer mistakes, greater attention to detail, and so on.  Again, if you can’t change it – promote it.

Candidates:  How can you apply these concepts to your job search?