Thursday, September 6, 2012

It has been a while since I've updated and the majority reason is that I've been concentrating on a job search.  They always say not to do this, but I've been doing what "they" say for a year and so far no dice and I'm pretty pissed off with the whole process by now.

"But what do you mean by 'this' J?  What are you going to do?"

I'm glad you asked dear reader.  I'm going to rant about the job search  process.  I follow the guidelines: I've cleaned up my online presence as much as I can and I always follow up each interview with a nice thank you note and a phone call.  I'm polite and professional in my appearance when I do get an interview.  But you want to know what pisses me off?

No call back.  Seriously, I've been on the other side of the table.  I know it can be hectic running a job search while trying to do your normally busy job.  I do.  I get it.  But if you've brought someone in for an interview, they deserve a response.  None of the interviews I've had in the past year have called me back.  Not a single one.  Only in two cases did I even 'officially' know I didn't get the job.  In once instance I knew at the second interview and in the other they actually picked up the phone when I called and to be honest I think it was because they were on the ride home and I called their cel-phone.

That's not right.  If someone comes in for an interview they deserve the courtesy of a phone call or email letting them know you passed them over at the very least.  Its rude.  These companies want us to play by the rules and be nice, they should too.

Which brings me to another rant.  Companies abuse their position.  They do.  We all know it.  We know why.  It makes sense, it really does but don't you dare let me hear you complaining about how an employee feels about the company when the company has proven they don't care about the employee.  This falls almost entirely on HR departments.

In addition to the no call back on an interview, I've also been offered a job reporting to the position I was applying for.  Someone needs to talk the the HR person and have them tell the interviewer that this is insulting and rude.  "I don't think you're right for the position, but how would you like to report to that position for much less money than what you were hoping to make?"  The response I want to make is "how would you like me to take a dump on your desk?"  I don't but that's because I'm professional enough to know not to.  What this tells me is that this company doesn't care about my perspective at all.  Likely they'll work me to the bone without any word of thanks.  This is the kind of boss that when you call in sick, they'll sigh and ask if you're sure you can't make it.  This is the kind of boss that will write down every little slight and you'll hear about it on your yearly review.  This the kind of boss I don't want.

When times are tough, companies try to get as much bang for their buck as they can.  That's understandable.  The laws of supply and demand are pretty clear and when you have three hundred applications to a position you can afford to be not only choosy but you know they'll be willing to take less money than what they might otherwise.  That's fine.  Do not complain about how no one has any corporate loyalty.  Don't dare.  We understand that you want the biggest bang for your buck but we also understand that the job market won't be in the toilet forever.  When it does turn around, we'll be looking for another job and when we find one, we'll take it and go.  Thank you for your time but here is an opportunity for me to make the money I should have been making.

Being thankful for a job is fine, but that doesn't mean I need to let my family starve or I need to live like a Spartan because the company took a chance on me.  Especially when the most I can hope for is a two to four percent raise.  A two percent raise when the yearly cost of living is three percent means I am losing one percent of my standard of living a year.  Do not act surprised if I go somewhere else that gets me a ten or twenty percent increase.  Do not be insulted.  Accept that I have needs and wants and that if I am not getting those needs and wants fulfilled I will go elsewhere. Its called "work life balance" and while for you fine folks in HR that's a buzzword you think means we want pizza parties and free soda (or pop) the reality is that if I'm not being taken care of at my current place of employment I will find another place that will take care of me.

Also understand that a four percent raise in my income can be eliminated by a five percent increase in my part of the benefits.  I once got a five percent raise at a company while they increased our cost of healthcare by ten percent.  You folks in the public sector can ignore this because the rest of us are picking up the cost that would normally get taken out of your paycheck.  You're welcome.  Given the differences between five percent of my income and ten percent of my heathcare cost, this amounted to a - you guessed it - two percent raise.  I did the math.  I hate math.  That's how mad I was.

We all know companies exist to make money.  Let me tell you my approach to both my job and my career:

My job is to make my boss look good.  If I'm not doing that, then my boss needs to talk to me about why I'm not doing it.  Typically, its happening because I do not have something I need.  Sometimes its due to circumstances beyond our control.  In both cases, I normally have already informed my boss of the situation if I know what it is.  Either way, a little discussion goes a long way to avoiding an adversarial atmosphere.

The company pays me to keep me away from my family.  The skills I bring to the table justify their paying me.  That's it.  I'm not saying I'm worth X dollar amount per year to feed my ego.  I'm saying that because that's how much I think my skills are worth.  I base that dollar amount on the going rates for people with my skill set based on location and industry.  From my perspective, that's not the value I place on my time away from my family.  That value drives me to earn the most I can.  So when someone offers me as much as 50% less for a job that reports to the job I applied for, its insulting.

We all have jobs.  We all place different values on those jobs.  We all know the economy sucks right now.  We all know the job search process sucks.  A little courtesy and looking at things from the other person's perspective makes a big difference.  That last interview has ruined any desire I might have to work for that company and definitely not for that person.  Companies would do well to remember that the interview process goes both ways: you're deciding if I'm the right fit for you and I'm deciding if you're the right fit for me.  90% of the time, we treat each other professionally.  Its that 10% that makes us insane.

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