The Solano Workforce Investment Board held a Job Fair October 6. The event was very well organized and very well attended.  There were over 30 employers present. We took over 170 resumes and we were impressed with the caliber of people attending.  If you left us your resume we are working hard to match you with your next employer!

The event was a great opportunity for us to see what works for job seekers, since we saw lots of people.  The people who stood out in our minds were prepared: not only did they bring their resumes with them, they also were dressed as if they were ready to talk to a potential employer. Their questions were on point and their manner reflected their readiness to get down to business.

In addition to people who dress and act as though they are ready to go to work, the successful applicants know the difference between two other “P” words: persistence and pushy. A persistent job seeker knows how to ask questions clearly and assertively without going overboard.

Remember, employers are looking for people to help their businesses grow.  They want to see someone who is able to achieve a goal without raising the hackles of customers or co-workers.  Pleasant, friendly follow up is welcome and reflects well on you. Annoying pestering doesn’t.

Please see the article below about follow up.  The short version is if you have something useful for your prospective employer or staffing agency, by all means make sure they know it. On the other hand if your call or follow up is focused on you and your wants, it’s much better not to bother. It’s natural to feel pressure to find a job, but never put the pressure you’re feeling on a potential employer. If they find you troublesome as a prospect, they’d be crazy to hire you.

Being on task is never more important than when you are looking for a job. Remember employers are looking for what you can do for them.  Show them the courtesy they deserve by respecting their time and their interest in you.  Beware of abusing it.

Following up with people you meet, whether at interviews, networking or other social events is the single most important thing you can do to assure your success in job hunting.   There are some simple rules to follow that will “lock down” the impression you make with the people you meet, and maximize your chances for success.

Interviews

You’re one of the lucky ones invited to an interview.  Regardless of how you thought things went, the most important thing you can do is cement your impression with the interviewer.  Maybe things were a little bumpy; perhaps you weren’t satisfied with the way you handled some items in the interview. On the other hand, maybe you thought you were fantastic.

Regardless, good manners demand that you show respect for your interviewer’s time.  Email thank-yous are a quick and painless way to show your professionalism.  They also offer the added benefit of giving you the opportunity to fill in any gaps you might have left behind in the interview.  Do this the same day as the interview; don’t give your interviewer a chance to let your impression drift into the background.

By sundown the next day be sure to have a handwritten thank you note in the mail.  Thank the interviewer for the opportunity to discuss the position.

If things go well, you’ll often find yourself invited back for a second interview.  Again, don’t let that day go by without sending an email thank you.  You can include any additional information that may have come up in the interview.  These may be things like references, your availability, or salary requirements.

Following up after a networking event, mixer or other social setting

As soon as you can discreetly do it, write notes on the person’s business card to help you recall the person and the conversation.  By sundown the next day be sure you have a handwritten note in the mail.  Your message can be simple and brief, something like:  “I enjoyed talking with you about…and I’m looking forward to working with you in the future.

If you talked about something that made you think of useful information, send an email with a link.  Be sure to include your contact information.  If you have something specific to talk about and you think it would be helpful to the person, you can also call them and talk with them or leave a brief voicemail.  Be careful to do this only if you think it will have a direct benefit to the person.  Brevity is critical, if you are tempted to say more than a short sentence or two, just say you have an answer to their question and ask them to call you back.  Be sure to leave the number where they are most likely to reach you.  Always be respectful of the person’s time.

Social networking can be very useful.  Ask to join the person’s LinkedIn network.

Long Term Relationships Take a Long Time to Build

Use email to maintain an ongoing dialogue.  When you see something that might be useful to the person, send them links to articles or events.  Each year send a New Year’s card with a handwritten note updating them on your career and professional status.

Job Seeking is Sales

You are selling the most important commodity you have: your skills and the finite amount of time that you have in your life to apply them.  Respect the task you have before you and respect those who show interest in you.

When you are seeking a job you need to show your potential employer what you can do for them and their company.  Be sure you always strike the balance between your desire to work for them and their desire for success.  If you are careful and thoughtful about how and why you are contacting them you are showing them how you can help them succeed.  That optimizes your chance for success.

The catering events we serve generally very high end affairs.  If you’re working an event, it’s often good to ask yourself, “If I was paying $50,000 for this party would I be happy?”  Your job is to facilitate a great experience for our client’s client.

Unless you are directed otherwise, please follow these guidelines:

1. Report time is the time you are ready to work, it is not your arrival time. Ready to work means you’ve stowed your belongings away, safely parked your car or bike, gone to the restroom, and you are dressed in the uniform or set-up clothes ready to take your first assignment or begin setting up.

ON TIME arrival is crucial.  Allow plenty of time for travel and settling yourself well before the Report Time.

2. Bistro Attire:

Shirt:  white, oxford style button down clean and pressed, 65 poly/35 cotton blend; long sleeve, with button down collar and cuffs, 1 pocket.  (see photo, below).  No brushed cotton and no embroidery, patterns or designs.

Cintas.com has a one pocket Kenton shirt, product number 65106 that is reasonably priced and meets these requirements.

Undershirt:  white.

Slacks:  dress black, creased down the front.  Never wear jeans or Dickies.

Shoes & socks:  black.  Shoes must be conservative,  polished and comfortable.  Never wear tennis shoes.

Ties:  are often provided, but bring a flat, black tie to all events unless told otherwise.

3. Grooming:

Long hair:  must be tied back, men and women.

Facial hair:  must be well groomed.

Never wear:  perfume, after shave or strongly scented hair products.

Tattoos & Piercings:  must not be visible.

Jewelry:  must be conservative and professional.

Fingernails:  Only clear nail polish, or no polish.

Bathing:  Please bathe before arriving and wear deodorant.  Breath mints or a toothbrush are good to have with you.

Smokers:  After you bathe do not smoke.  The odor of smoke on your person and in your clothes is evident to any non-smoker and many people find it offensive.  Our clients cannot afford offended guests and we certainly don’t want upset clients.  All events are non-smoking for the duration of the shift; there are never smoke breaks.   It’s best to leave your tobacco home.

Plan on being inspected:  before the service begins.

4.  What to bring:

Wine opener (waiter’s corkscrews are best).

Notebook and pen:  take notes about the menu, who your co-workers are, etc.

Watch or other timepiece.

Snack:  a light lunch or power bar.

Work gloves and apron for set up.

Water and sunscreen:  wine county is hot and sunny, be prepared.

5.  Frame of mind

Enthusiastic:  about clients and guests, you want to provide the best possible experience for them.

Respectful:  towards everyone at the event including other staff members.  You’re expected to be courteous, alert, warm, gracious and friendly.  However you are there to serve not socialize, so beware of being too familiar or talkative with the guests.

Providing the finest experience demands you are precise and maintain your concentration throughout the entire shift.  Always eat before coming to work. Sometimes food is available at the event, but never count on it.  This is physical labor, be sure your are adequately rested and ready for it!

You are part of the cast, not the star.  Look and act the part.

Bearing and posture:  carry yourself well, beware of slouching.

Never take photographs unless you are asked by a guest.  Always be respectful of the privacy of the clients and guests.

Well yes and no.  Let’s imagine you find yourself considering two job offers.  Let’s assume you live in American Canyon, you’re married and have two kids who are school age.  Fortunately, your spouse has been employed throughout this trying period of your unemployment.

That’s all about to change.

You come home today and find two letters in your mailbox.  Both those interviews you did last week came through with offers!  You’re tempted to buy a bottle of champagne, but you wisely decide to crack a beer a little later.  Right now you have some deciding to do.

Note:  We constructed a small spreadsheet to go along with this, you can get it by clicking here.  You’ll need to have MS Excel on your computer.

At first blush it’s a pretty easy call.  One pays $2500 a month and the other $3200.  Then you start thinking about other differences.  The lower paying one is in Fairfield, a 14 mile drive for you door to door.  The other is in Walnut Creek, a 30 mile drive.

You’re still thinking more is better so why not follow the money and go to Walnut Creek?  You know there is a toll, but you’re trying not to think about that when you finally decide to sit down and compare the opportunities side by side.

First the dollars.  Salary is easy, $30,000 a year versus $38,400.  However, the lower paying job, Job A, has 2 weeks a year vacation, Job B only one.  So that means it’s really $31154 vs. $39138.  No big deal, Job B is still looking good.

Both jobs have equivalent benefits.  However, Job A offers a flexible schedule, and Job B is rigid, 8-5.  Also Job A has a business casual dress code and Job B is formal business attire.

You decide to set that aside and think about commute costs.  Both jobs require that you drive your own car, so carpooling is not an option.  We’ll use $0.51 per mile to compare them.  Now it’s time to face the toll, $5 a day.  We’ll use 21.5 work days per month for the calculatons..

Not surprisingly, doubling the commute distance doubles the cost.  When the commute travel costs and bridge tolls are rolled in, suddenly the job in the “big city” starts to loose a lot of appeal.

We also factored in a modest $100 for monthly dry cleaning.  We’ve left out the cost of buying new suits and replacing them.  Even still with just the cleaning expenses considered, the well paying job is starting to wash out.  After all you’ll be paying $538.38 every month just for the privilege of showing up for work.  That’s over $6700 a year!

Then there’s the advantage of a 20 minute commute against a 45 minute one way trip to Walnut Creek on a good day.  There’s a lot of difference between a 40 minute round trip and an hour and a half.  Also the chances of something going wrong in traffic are at least twice as great going 60 miles versus 28.

What happens if one of your kids gets sick?  A job nearby that offers flexible hours will be much more forgiving of such problems than a rigid 8 to 5 one.  What about that extra week’s vacation?  If it happens to coincide with when your kids are out of school, you’ll save a week’s worth of childcare expenses.

If you can pick your kids up from daycare 25 minutes earlier each day that’s over 2 hours a week of daycare expenses saved.

As you can see, there are more dollars and cents involved in the decision than just the paycheck.  If you’ve been out of work for a while, we certainly hope you have this kind of a problem to solve.

If you do, keep this  comparison in mind before you accept any offers.  You might be surprised with what you find!

HERE’S WHAT NOT TO SAY ON BUSINESS PHONE CALLS!
Whether you are a secretary, receptionist, sales person or executive, the way in which you handle the telephone can go a long way toward determining your success or failure. The following phrases should never be used by themselves during business calls with a customer, colleagues, clients or potential buyers. These phrases are not friendly or helpful and, in many cases, can be considered rude or tactless:
“I don’t know.” If you don’t, who does? Find out, look it up, ask someone – but get the information somehow. Take a number and return their call. You must offer them something. “ I don’t know,” indicates lack of knowledge and caring.

“ He already has your message.” What you’re really saying is “Hey, dummy, why do you keep calling?” Simply take messages from repeat callers and assure them that you’ll deliver the message. Don’t use an aggressive tone.

“ She is busy.”  Too busy for you, you lowly customer is what this sounds like. “ She’s unavailable; may I take a message?” is much more helpful and friendly.

“ We’re short of help today.” Don’t tell a caller your problems. They really don’t care. They’ll simply find a competitor that isn’t short of help. Don’t make excuse and don’t expect the public to understand or sympathize with internal problems.

“ You’ll have to…” This is an ultimatum and is guaranteed to turn most customers off. They really don’t have to do anything; you need to offer them alternatives.

“ Hold on.” Very abrupt and tactless. It’s much more effective to say, “ I’m sorry, that line is still busy. Would you like to continue to wait or should I take a message?”

“ He is out.” This doesn’t provide enough information. When will he be back? Can you take a message? Can someone else help?

“ Who’s calling?”  Used often, but incorrectly when calls are screened. “ May I tell her who’s calling, please?” is more polite, pleasant and the accepted way of screening a call.

“ She can’t see you ‘till….” This sets a “ too good for you ‘ attitude. Makes it sound like the caller is a peasant and the company representative is royalty.

“ If you can’t wait…” Tough luck! That’s what this sounds like. Offer to take a message, rather than putting the caller on hold for longer than 30 seconds.

Woody Allen’s famous comment about showing up being 95% of success is no longer true.  In today’s job market, with hundreds of resumes pouring into companies for a single job posting, even if you’re in the top 5%, you could still find yourself competing with five or ten others for the initial job interview.  You may never hear from your prospective employer even though their ad had your name on it, simply because they are buried in responses.

While that speaks to the importance of a good resume, what happens if you are lucky enough to land an interview?  We are in the business of placing people.  We scour the world looking for the best matches of people for jobs.  One of the most frustrating experiences we have is sending a well-qualified candidate out for an interview only to have both of us come away empty.

What Happened?

Sometimes we are lucky enough to find out from the employer what sabotaged the candidate’s opportunity, sometimes we find out from the candidates themselves.  The overwhelming cause of rejection at the interview is appearance.  All the clichés apply to an interview situation:  first impressions are the key.  Think of it like a meal.  If you went to a restaurant and everything looked good until the meal came, and you noticed something about it that made you uneasy, would you continue to eat or would you be inclined to leave?  Maybe it was something obvious:  like the meal was served on a filthy plate.  Maybe the you saw a bug crawling on the server’s arm.  Maybe it was something less clear, but nonetheless you lost your enthusiasm for the restaurant and its food.

Whatever it is, if you suspect you’re going to have a bad experience now or later, you’ll probably want to get up and go someplace else.  Employers are no different.  The cost of a poor hiring decision can haunt an employer for years.  The slightest hint of something amiss about a candidate in an interview is all it takes for the employer to think, “next”.

California is Different

Duh!  That is another cliché as obvious as sunrise.  However, like sunrise, once you notice it you’re inclined to forget about it and get on with your day.  There are many things about California that make it unique.  People from all around the world and the nation are attracted here.  Again, like sunrise we all know that, and accept it unconsciously.

However, forgetting that fact in an interview can kill your chances as soon as you walk in the door.  Those tattoos or piercings that all your friends envy can tell an older person or someone from out of the area things about you that you never meant to say.  Whether what they think about you is right or not doesn’t matter, if you give them a reason to move on to the next candidate, they will.  Wear clothing that covers the tattoos.  Don’t show up with bones in your nose or bells on your toes.  It’s much better to find out about their attitude towards such things after you’re on the payroll.  If you color your hair, remember one natural color is best.

What’s Business Causal?

For all the shortcomings of the “Mad Men” era when the white shirt, tie and gray flannel suit for men and dresses and heels for women were the standard business uniform, it did make life simple at the closet.  Today is different.  What is business casual?

That is an excellent question.  Like many other things, it’s often easier to say what it isn’t.  For an interview, it doesn’t mean jeans and tennis shoes, for example.  Tee shirts are out too.  Make sure your shirt has a collar.

Slacks or Docker style pants are ok.  Be sure to wear dark socks.  Ladies don’t wear sandals or flip flops, even if they have heels.

Hair is another important area.  Men, it’s a good idea to get a hair cut before the interview.  If you have facial hair be sure to trim it before you go.  Ladies, if you have big hair, contain it.  Again, be sensitive to the diversity of California, not everyone sees things the same way we do.  Conservative dress and appearance reassure the employer.  You can always loosen up when you’re part of the team.  Come in for the interview too loose and you’ll never make the team

Remember it’s almost impossible to over dress for an interview, but under dressing will kill your chances every time.  Keep in mind we’re talking about interviews where we know the atmosphere is business causal.  For many office or light industrial positions you can expect business casual, but if you don’t know for sure, dress up from what we suggest here:  coat and tie for men, dress or suit for women.

Similarly, it’s safe to assume the higher standard for professional positions.  Remember if the competition looks better than you everything else being equal, the employer is going to look at you and move on.

If you are applying at a staffing office like Bolt Staffing, come in dressed as you would for an interview.  Take advantage of our experience.  Ask if what you’re wearing is acceptable.  We’re sending people out every day and we’re happy to advise you.  Just ask!

Finally, social media like Facebook and Twitter are amazingly powerful tools.  Like all tools they can work for you or against you.  This is a topic for an entire article, but for now let’s just say it’s worth your time to look at your page and ask yourself:  “is there anything here that says to an employer, “Next””?  Photos that may be innocent to you and your friends might say something entirely different to an employer.  Don’t forget to take a close look at the background and what it could say.

When in doubt, change your privacy settings or delete questionable material as soon as you realize you need to look for a job.  We’ve had people get all the way through the interviews, have an offer in hand and a start date only to get a call from the employer, “no thanks, I saw her Facebook page”.  Don’t be that person!

Remember, getting an interview these days is great news.  Don’t waste the opportunity by being thoughtless.  Every detail counts.  You want everything about you to say, “hire me”!

Eliminate anything that doesn’t.

References are the living record of who you were, how you were regarded, and most importantly, would you be welcome to return.  Keep in mind, no matter what you are doing now, you are building tomorrow’s references.