Notes From An Expert
My friend (and headhunter) Anna and I were chatting via email about this job opportunity that has piqued my interest. She has a pretty good knowledge of my experience at my last two companies, the vast majority of it positive. If you’ll indulge me, I’d like to share our last two emails (with Anna’s permission). My comments are in bold, her are in italics. And yes, I did a tiny bit of editing.
(MARC)
“I am being asked to consider “killing my company”, and go back to the world of corporate life. Also recognize that my experience in the corporate world of market research ended rather negatively. As an executive in the company, I witnessed years of decreasing revenue, layoffs, and a general sense of apathy about the work I was personally responsible for. I am 45 (I will be in a week), with one son about to graduate college and another one less than three years away, so ensuring that I don’t do anything to put my family (and my dad I am caring for) in financial jeopardy is critical.
When I work with “applicants” (and now with my soon-to-graduate son), I strongly advise them to investigate the company they are thinking of working for. Search the “best company to work for” lists, get a hold of their quarterly and annual financials (if they are public), get on the employment blogs, and talk to current and past employees. The fact is (and this is the business I am in), there is a new Golden Rule for today’s employers… “He who has the gold makes the rules“… I counsel employers that today’s employees have the gold, there are more jobs than people to fill them. Unemployment rate for college grads is 2.2%. Experience, talent, and previous history of success allow people to ask the kinds of questions I asked about the financials of the organization that wants to talk with me.
Anna, let me ask you a question. You have a history of success, you meet the financial requirements of your organization (or you wouldn’t still be there). Let’s say someone offers you a great sounding job, but you know nothing about the company other than what THEY tell you. You can go to their website and read what they want you to read. However, you don’t know about the financial health of the organization, in fact some trends might indicate a cause of concern. What do you do?
I know my questions about the organization are unusual. You often work with people that are looking for a job, where the strength of the relationship is with the employer, not the applicant. That is not the situation (you and) I are in. I like my current gig, and it’s important for me to know as much about the company as I can. Is that unreasonable?”
(ANNA)
” Marc, what if it could ALL be different?
What if you could partner with management types who valued your experience, your intellect and what you had to offer?
What if there was more stability and growth than in the past?
What if people liked their jobs and were excited about new offerings within their organization?
Sound like a Utopia? (Maybe. Maybe not.)
I’m sorry that things went the way it did for you at your other research job. But you came away from the place with a boatload of solid experience and an excellent foundation, despite the negatives. It made you (in part) who you are today. It gave you tremendous value back. I guess that’s argue-able, but the hard difficult stuff has the ability to help shape us.
I have one daughter in college who is considering graduate studies (I’m visiting schools with her tomorrow and out of the office) and the other who swears that college is not in the cards for her. (Sidebar, but, I think at 16 you don’t really understand how the world works or how important getting an education really is!) So, when it comes to those types of school expenses - I understand.
And for the record, I’m (AGE WITHHELD BY BLOG AUTHOR) with a Masters Degree. Telling your applicants to research a company and check out their financials is “sound business.” I would do the same. And it can be pretty easily done if the company is publicly held. The information is available or can be secured through the Internet, Annual Reports, Hoovers, or other sources as you know. And yes, getting information from privately held companies is much more difficult. They can be very selective about how and what is released.
Once the “need to know” is better established, many of those barriers drop down. The relationship has to be further developed first, and trust comes into play. This meeting with the company exec’s is exploratory - as you know. If you meet them and don’t like them - then all bets are off. If they meet you and don’t see you as an organizational fit or too difficult - all bets are off. Establishing the common interests and goals is something that would make sense first.
I don’t want to waste your time or energy, but if there are good relationships out there and good partnerships to be had,look first to see if you like the people before anything else. It would not matter how stellar their financial outlook was if you didn’t like the people. Right?
I get where you’re coming from, but relationship development is a delicate thing. What if they would pay you to fly around and present on their behalf? What if they would fund your meetings and help you to be seen as a “thought leader” internationally, when it came to employee engagement and retention? What if…. It could be financially a positive thing - and you didn’t have to sell your soul to the devil to do it?
It’s worth exploring - - isn’t it??”
I’m leaving Tuesday for the meeting, I’ll let you know how it goes.
