by Angela Copeland | Jun 25, 2019 | Indeed.com, Job Search, Podcast
Episode 191 is live! This week, we talk with Paul Wolfe in Austin, Texas.
Paul is the Senior Vice President of Human Resources at Indeed.com. He oversees all global human resource functions, including talent acquisition, employee retention, compensation, benefits, and employee development.
On today’s episode, Paul shares:
- What makes a “best job”? What are job seekers really looking for?
- What is Indeed doing to help employees of all abilities thrive?
- Are there any new trends in HR that we should be on the lookout for?
Listen and learn more! You can play the podcast here, or download it on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher.
To learn more about the latest tips and research from Indeed, check out their blog at Indeed, including their recent article on the Best Jobs in the U.S.: 2019.
Thank YOU for listening! If you’ve enjoyed the show today, don’t forget to help me out. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts! When you subscribe, it helps to make the show easier for other job seekers to find the show!
by Angela Copeland | Jun 24, 2019 | Career Corner Column, Job Interview, Job Search, Newsletter
When it comes to being interviewed, there are a few rules that must not be broken. You must show up on time, every time. You must be prepared. You must look nice. You should have studied the job description. You should have learned about the company – inside and out. You should have extra copies of your resume. You need business cards. After the interview, you must send thank you notes.
As a job seeker, if you break any of these rules, you’re out. Showing up ten minutes late for an interview is a likely death sentence in the world of interviewing. It’s game over. You just cannot break these rules.
However, on the flip side, we don’t ask for the same level of preparation or commitment from the interviewer. It may be because the interviewer is essentially the buyer. The job seeker is simply what’s up for purchase. Job seekers are like a sweater, and almost disposable. As a hiring manager, we want to try a few sweaters on and see which one seems to fit. We don’t have to think about how the sweater’s feelings.
I have seen countless interviews where the interviewer is fifteen, twenty, thirty, and over sixty minutes late. There is an expectation that if the job seeker wants the job, they will be waiting patiently when the interviewer arrives. The interviewer holds the cards. The question becomes, “Do you want the job or not?”
Not only does the interviewer often arrive late – they are also often unprepared. They come without a copy of the job seeker’s resume. In fact, they haven’t read it. They may not even be sure which job the candidate is interviewing for.
So, let me ask you – if the tables were reversed, would you hire someone who was late and unprepared? Would you hire someone who didn’t know what they were interviewing for? Me either.
One of the biggest topics in the hiring world this year is ghosting. Candidates are skipping interviews. They aren’t showing up on their first day. They’re disappearing without a word.
I’m sure there are many reasons ghosting is happening. But, I have to wonder if the unequal relationship presented during the hiring process has anything to do with it.
It goes back to treating others the way you want to be treated. When you’re interviewing a candidate, take the time to think – if the candidate treated me the way I’m treating them, would I hire them?
This rule also applies to questions asked during the interview. So often, I have observed the interviewer ask the candidate rude and demeaning questions. They sometimes take on an adversarial tone. How would you feel if the candidate spoke to you in this way? Would they be your first choice?
Although it is sometimes less clear, a candidate is (and should be) evaluating the company just as much as the company is evaluating them.
I hope these tips have helped you. Visit CopelandCoaching.com to find more tips to improve your job search. If I can be of assistance to you, don’t hesitate to reach out to me here.
Also, be sure to subscribe to my Copeland Coaching Podcast on
Apple Podcasts or
Stitcher where I discuss career advice every Tuesday! If you’ve already heard the podcast and enjoy it, please consider leaving a review in
iTunes or
Stitcher.
Happy hunting!
Angela Copeland
@CopelandCoach
by Angela Copeland | Jun 17, 2019 | Career Corner Column, Job Search, Salary
There’s a riddle hidden at the end of job interviews. As a candidate, you show up to an interviewing believing you’ll be talking about fit. And, you do – at first.
You go through your work background. You give your elevator pitch. You explain why you want the job, why you’re looking for a job, and what would make you a great candidate. You cover the basics.
If things go well during the interview, you assume you’ll go to the next round. But, before you do, there’s usually a riddle standing between you and interview number two.
You must correctly guess the answer to the question, “How much money do you want?”
To the company, this is a simple question. They have a budget and they need to know if you fit in it. The problem is, different companies pay different amounts for the same job. I am beginning to think that many companies aren’t aware of this fact. Or, they assume the job seeker is tied to a specific dollar figure.
There are layers of problems to giving a salary number. You don’t know what the annual bonus is going to be yet. The target bonus could be zero percent or 45 percent of the base salary. You don’t know yet what the 401K match might be. You don’t know if there are other perks, like stock. You also may not know yet how big the job is. These things should all factor into your estimation of how much a job may pay.
The other issue is this. Many job seekers aren’t tied to a specific salary – especially not twenty minutes into learning about the job. Many job seekers are looking for overall fit. And, they might accept less at an organization they really love, or for a job that has a different set of responsibilities.
Guessing a salary is like throwing a dart with a blindfold on. If you work in a field with a narrow salary range, you might hit the bullseye. But, in many industries, a pay band can be as much as $100K wide. If you happen to guess too low or too high, the company will very often eliminate you. They will assume that you are not a match if you don’t guess within a few thousand dollars of their target.
If you’re a candidate, be prepared. Do as much research as you can ahead of time, so you’ll be prepared to make your best guess. You can also ask the company if they’re willing to share the pay range with you (after they ask your requirements). They will sometimes do this.
If you’re a company, consider adding your pay range to the job description. Consider being up front about it. Ask the candidate if they’re comfortable with the pay range. It’s a much better hiring tactic than asking the candidate to guess a riddle they are unlikely to solve.
I hope these tips have helped you. Visit CopelandCoaching.com to find more tips to improve your job search. If I can be of assistance to you, don’t hesitate to reach out to me here.
Also, be sure to subscribe to my Copeland Coaching Podcast on
Apple Podcasts or
Stitcher where I discuss career advice every Tuesday! If you’ve already heard the podcast and enjoy it, please consider leaving a review in
iTunes or
Stitcher.
Happy hunting!
Angela Copeland
@CopelandCoach
by Angela Copeland | Jun 10, 2019 | Career Corner Column, Job Search, Newsletter
If you’ve ever switched jobs, you know it can be hard – really hard. I’m not talking about getting the same job at a new company. Switching from one type of job to another can feel impossible.
Have you ever been on a job interview and started to wonder if the hiring manager was simply checking off boxes? This can be tough when you don’t perfectly fit into a box, but you know you’d do a great job.
If you’ve ever thought this was happening, you’d likely be right. I’ve often wondered why it is that hiring managers use such a basic way to measure a candidate’s abilities. They simply look to see if a candidate has done a particular task before – not how skilled they are at it.
The problem is, if we’re being honest, there aren’t many great ways to measure candidates. Measuring potential candidate success is tricky and time consuming.
So, many hiring mangers do the only thing that makes sense. They look for someone who (on paper) looks like someone else. They look for someone with the same background as those who have worked well in the past. They look for what typically works.
This is a similar method that car insurance companies use when they sell you car insurance. They look at how likely “you” are to get into an accident. But, they don’t know you. So, they look at how likely someone like you is to get into an accident. Insurance companies look at factors including age, gender, marital status, and car make and model (among other things).
Insurance companies are trying to reduce their risk overall. They want to insure people who have the lowest average risk of failure.
That’s the same thing many corporations are trying to do when they hire. They’re trying to minimize their likelihood of failure. On average, they want new hires to do well.
So, what can you do if you don’t fit into the box? What can you do when you know you’d be good at a job, but you don’t meet the typical profile of someone in the job? There are multiple routes to consider. Some people opt to go back to school for an additional degree, or to get a certification of some kind.
But, if you know the education is not necessary, you may want to consider another route. Look for opportunities to get involved in a small way in the new field you’re interested in. You might take on an extra project at work, or volunteer for this type of work at a non-profit in your community. Network with those in the field you’re interested in.
And, look for an open minded hiring manager. They’re out there. It takes a bit longer to find them. The more jobs you interview for, the more likely you are to find someone who will give you a chance, despite your non-traditional background.
I hope these tips have helped you. Visit CopelandCoaching.com to find more tips to improve your job search. If I can be of assistance to you, don’t hesitate to reach out to me here.
Also, be sure to subscribe to my Copeland Coaching Podcast on
Apple Podcasts or
Stitcher where I discuss career advice every Tuesday! If you’ve already heard the podcast and enjoy it, please consider leaving a review in
iTunes or
Stitcher.
Happy hunting!
Angela Copeland
@CopelandCoach
by Angela Copeland | Jun 4, 2019 | Indeed.com, Job Search, Podcast
Episode 188 is live! This week, we talk with Paul D’Arcy in Austin, Texas.
Paul is the Senior Vice President of Marketingat Indeed.com. He oversees worldwide marketing, alliances, and business development for Indeed.
On today’s episode, Paul shares:
- How is the job search process still flawed?
- What can we do to be considered for a job given the biases that exist in the hiring process?
- What advice do you have for us if we are trying to switch to marketing for the very first time?
Listen and learn more! You can play the podcast here, or download it on Apple Podcastsor Stitcher.
To learn more about the latest tips and research from Indeed, check out their blog at Indeed or the economist’s website at the Indeed Hiring Lab.
Thank YOU for listening! If you’ve enjoyed the show today, don’t forget to help me out. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts! When you subscribe, it helps to make the show easier for other job seekers to find the show!
by Angela Copeland | Jun 3, 2019 | Career Corner Column, Job Interview, Job Search, Newsletter
When it comes to job interviews, there are certain questions that are off limits. Not only are they a faux pas, they are against the law.
One illegal question is around a person’s family status. Employers are not allowed to ask a candidate if they are married. They are also not allowed to ask whether or not the person has children.
The reasons behind these rules are simple. There’s room for unequal treatment between those with children and spouses and those without. Honestly, the judgement can go both ways. One employer may prefer someone with no children who is (in theory) able to work long hours. Another employer may prefer someone with children because it (in theory) indicates that the person is stable and unlikely to switch jobs quickly. Someone with a house and kids has to put food on the table, even when they’re unhappy.
Most people know these questions aren’t allowed. But, many employers ask anyway. So, how can an employer manage to ask such an obviously illegal question? Well, it’s easier than you might think.
Very often, they work it into a question about relocation. The question should be, “Are you willing to relocate to our city for this opportunity?” The answer should be, “Yes, I am willing to relocate to your city.” The creative version of this question is, “When it comes to relocation, what do you need to relocate? Will you be relocating with a spouse and children?”
Sneaky, right?
Phrased in this way, the question almost sounds necessary. But, why? Why does it matter if someone has to relocate their children? It doesn’t. Perhaps this may impact when the person is available to relocate. But, if this is a concern, the new question might be, “Are you available to relocate by July 15th?” This answers the employer’s question without stepping over the line.
Sometimes, an employer will justify this question by saying they’re trying to get to know the candidate better. Maybe they are. But, there’s also a possibility that the answer to the question (whatever it is) may create some level of bias against the candidate.
This is why this question is not allowed – to prevent bias and to keep the playing field level. Whether or not a person has children or a spouse, the most important thing is that they show up on time and that they do a great job. People can succeed or fail at this, regardless of their family status.
If you’re a hiring manager, take note. Your candidates do notice when you ask illegal questions. Just because they answer them doesn’t mean they aren’t paying attention.
If you’re a job seeker, you’re not alone. These questions are asked more than anyone would like to admit. There isn’t a perfect answer to uncomfortable questions. But, pay attention to the way you felt when you were asked. It may be an indication of what’s ahead.
I hope these tips have helped you. Visit CopelandCoaching.com to find more tips to improve your job search. If I can be of assistance to you, don’t hesitate to reach out to me here.
Also, be sure to subscribe to my Copeland Coaching Podcast on
Apple Podcasts or
Stitcher where I discuss career advice every Tuesday! If you’ve already heard the podcast and enjoy it, please consider leaving a review in
iTunes or
Stitcher.
Happy hunting!
Angela Copeland
@CopelandCoach
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