by Taryn Lambert | Feb 28, 2019 | Uncategorised
Although unemployment currently sits at a whopping 27.1% in South Africa you will find that there are markets where good people are incredibly hard to find especially in industries such as digital and technology. So, the term “counter offer” will absolutely come up if you are looking to change jobs.
Job searching takes a lot of time and energy, so you really do need to think long and hard about taking that leap. If you have started the process of interviewing for a new role then it’s very likely that an offer of employment is going to come your way. Now is the time for you to think strongly about what you want. If you do accept this offer, then you are going to have to go through the resignation process with your current company.
If you have decided to resign, then you need to be prepared for powerful persuasive tactics by your employer as they will likely do everything in their power to get you to stay.
You must understand that it generally comes down to the cost of replacing you – money, time and inconvenience. So, employers will do whatever it takes to keep you as invariably it will likely be cheaper than replacing you. They may offer to increase your salary, change your working hours, offer flexi time or even offer to change your job title or move you into another team. They may come up with all sorts of wonderful promises. You should also be prepared for strong emotional and psychological pressure. Sometimes it’s incredibly hard to resist all of this and often tempting to stay as it’s what you know, and you are being given all this love and attention and made to feel so special.
Doesn’t this remind you of breakup? I often tell candidates that resignations are like breaking up with someone.
8 Reasons Why Candidate Shouldn’t Accept a Counter Offer:
- The reasons why you were considering a change in role in the first place do not disappear and they will repeat themselves even if you accept the counter offer. More money very rarely fixes the bigger issue.
- Did you know that there is an industry statistic that 90% of people that stay for a counter offer end up leaving that role within a 6-month period?
- What type of company do you work for if you have to threaten to resign before they give you a promotion or pay rise?
- Where is the money for the counter offer coming from? Is it your next pay rise but you are getting it early?
- Your employer is now aware that you are unhappy. From this day on your loyalty will always be in question.
- When promotion time comes around your employer will remember who was loyal and who wasn’t.
- When times get tough your employer will begin cutbacks with you.
- It’s sometimes even harder to resign 2nd time round after staying for a counter offer
When you resign from your role your manager / company is going to have to find your replacement. As I mentioned earlier, good people are hard to find so it’s unlikely that they will fill your job immediately. So as soon as you resign the clock starts ticking down on your notice period. Your manager has to advertise, go through cvs, interview people, offer someone, likely pay them more than what you are on, wait for them to start and then train them up. A lot of time and money is going to go into replacing you so they would rather just offer you more money to get you to stay.
Having been on the other side I know exactly what is going through your managers mind when you resign.
- “This is happening at the worst possible time.”
- “She is one of my best people. If I let her go, then it will affect the morale of the team”
- “I really don’t need this right now, I’m already trying to fill that other role”
- “I’m meant to be going on holiday next week.”
- “I really don’t need the extra work load, I’m already busy as it is”
- “This is going to reflect so badly on me”
- “Maybe I can keep him on until I find a suitable replacement.”
Things you might hear from your manager when you resign –
- “I’m really shocked. I thought you were as happy with us as we are with you. Let’s discuss it before you make your final decision.”
- “What! I’ve been meaning to tell you about some changes going on in the business, but it’s been confidential.”
- “We are about to sign 2 new clients and there are going to be some great opportunities for you”
- “Your pay rise was scheduled to go into effect next quarter, but we’ll make it effective immediately.”
- “You can’t go work for them, they are terrible. They have the worst reputation”
- “How can you do this in the middle of a major project? We were really counting on you.”
- “After everything we have done for you, you can’t go now, we’ve invested so much into you”
- When someone resigns, it’s basically a reflection on your manager.
So, you really do need to think long and hard about starting your job search and interviewing for new roles. Don’t go through this process unless you have 100% made up your mind about leaving.
DON’T ACCEPT COUNTER OFFERS!!!
by Taryn Lambert | Feb 28, 2019 | Uncategorised
Having been a recruiter for 10 years working within the digital and media sector, viewing around 30 – 50 CV’s a day which roughly works out to about 100,000 CV’s in my career, I’ve really seen it all when it comes to CV’s. From your ten-page CV’s for a recent graduate through to your experienced professionals with over 10 years’ experience cramming everything into one page. I thought it would be useful to put together my tips on what makes a great looking professional CV.
Your CV is a document which represents you to the employment market. Whether you are sending your CV to a hiring manager, a HR professional or a recruiter, it’s imperative that this document represents you, your education and your professional experience in the best possible way. It’s a competitive market and your CV is a representation of you as a professional.
First impressions count, as an experienced recruiter it takes me less than 5 seconds to form an opinion about someone’s experience and to spot a good CV from a bad one.
General Format
- A4 Word Document
- Make use of the entire A4 page
- 1-3 pages max (1-2 pages for 1st / 2nd jobber, 2-3 pages for everyone else)
- Don’t use columns or paragraphs or worse, tables! This is not very easy on the eye when reading through someone’s CV. Remember your CV needs to be easy to read.
- I generally suggest no photos as 80% of the time they are inappropriate
- No borders, they just aren’t needed and take up space
- Remember you need to think about how your cv comes across not only as an attachment but also when it’s viewed on a mobile. Therefore, you should keep formatting to a minimum.
- Pictures, images, swirly things … Not cool. Don’t use them. They take up valuable space.
- Bullet points are your friend! Use them for education and work history.
- Paragraphs are too wordy and hard to read and can be boring …
- For those of you who like to write and have a loooooong CV, remember to be short and to the point. For those of you who have a few words describing what you do in a company where you have been for the last 3 years then you really need to expand. Remember, one person’s job title in one company means something very different in another. You must sell yourself and explain what you do.
- Make sure you keep your cover letter separate from your CV + treat it as a separate document, remember cover letters should be personalised for every job you apply for and therefor shouldn’t be part of your CV
Font:
- Do use a simple + easy to read font like Arial or Calibre
- Don’t use anything fancy or too creative which might make it harder to read
- Size of font should be 10-12, not too big + not too small.
Structure
- Page 1 is the first page that the client sees. So, you put the most recent, relevant + important information on this page
- Your name goes at the top of the CV, email address and mobile number underneath (use font 12 – 14)
- Profile: creating a mini profile, 3-4 lines giving an overview of you + what you are looking for (don’t talk about yourself in the third person)
Education: If you have good academics or recently finished school, university or college then education goes at the top of your cv. If not, then put it as one of the last sections of your CV
- Remember to put everything in chronological order starting with the most recent studies then working back.
- Don’t list every module you’ve competed unless it’s hugely relevant to your job search. Remember, short + snappy
- Work Experience: now comes your career history. Just like education start with the most recent experience first, then work your way backwards
- As mentioned, use bullet points, make it detailed but don’t repeat skills used in previous jobs
- Work experience from 10 years ago is not as relevant as what you are doing now so think about that when you are writing out your responsibilities
- Visually the more recent experience should have more writing
Contact information
- Make sure your mobile number is correct
- Your address in on there
- LinkedIn profile / twitter / Instagram links etc.
- You can personalise your CV by adding in hobbies / awards that you have won etc.
Hopefully you have found this article useful. Most of the clients that I work with are extremely busy people who are always on the move so remember this when you are putting a CV together. The more straight forward, easy to read and succinct it is, the better.
If you would like to receive a sample CV template, just email me on Taryn@amplifiedtalent.co.za.
Amplified Talent is a global recruitment consultancy which specialises within the digital marketing industry. If you require advice about your career, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me on Taryn@amplifiedtalent.co.za.
by Taryn Lambert | Feb 19, 2019 | Interviewing, Jobs
Let’s be honest, interviewing can be incredibly nerve wracking! It’s hardly the most natural thing to sit in front of people and not only talk about yourself but also SELL yourself. You need to present yourself in the best possible way in order to stand apart from the competition and to secure the role.
Amplified Talent has worked with graduates all the way through to executives and not matter how experienced you are, it’s never too late to brush up on your interview techniques.
By following these tips you’ll feel more confident, be more prepared and one step closer to securing that dream job.
BEFORE
- Research the company
- Look at their social media platforms (Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook)
- Look out for articles about the company / trade press
- Research who you are meeting with by going on LinkedIn (seeing who you will be meeting can really help calm the nerves)
- Thoroughly understand the job spec
- Be able to talk through your cv (practice with someone before the interview, remember you only have about 20 – 30 minutes at most to convey your experience which isn’t really that long)
- Prepare for those challenging questions (strengths, weaknesses, why this company etc)
- Know the exact breakdown of your current salary package and understand the difference between gross and net.
- Check your notice period
- Google exactly where you have to go and plan your trip (how will you get there, how long will it take, what if there’s traffic, where will you park).
- Think about what you will wear (ask if it’s corporate or smart casual).
- Being presentable is so important so do think about what image you want to portray as well as feeling comfortable and relaxed
DURING
- Arrive at reception no earlier and no later than 5-10 minutes. Getting there late is an absolute NO unless something happened of course but do make sure you speak to your recruiter or call reception to give them warning. Don’t get there too early. This can be just as frustrating for the interviewer as they know you are sat in reception and waiting which isn’t a great way to start a meeting.
- You may have had a long day, feeling tired but you need to put your game face on. Take a moment and freshen up in the bathroom, throw some water on your face and psych yourself up!
- Make sure you make an excellent first impression, starting with the receptionist. (Receptionist see and hear everything so be friendly, act professional and even ask some questions if it feels appropriate)
- Think about where you sit down in the reception room. This may sound silly but try sit so that you are facing the direction that the interviewer is likely to come from. You don’t want them walking up behind you and awkwardly trying to greet you.
- If the receptionist offers you a drink, I generally suggest you say no. The reason being is that you will then have to greet your interviewer and then walk through or climb stairs whilst holding a glass / cup of coffee. I don’t know about you but that just makes it a little messy and awkward.
- If your interviewer is walking towards you make sure you stand up to shake their hand along with a nice wide smile. I cannot tell you how many people have bad handshakes. So make sure your practice at home. Nothing worse than a limp / sweaty handshake.
- When you arrive at the interview room and if you are feeling a little nervous and need a moment to compose yourself then ask the interviewer if they wouldn’t mind grabbing you a glass of water. This gives you a few moments to get yourself sorted and focused.
- BE YOURSELF! Don’t focus on trying to say the right things and being something you aren’t. You’ve got this far and they’ve chosen to meet you based on your cv and experience. Just be yourself and have fun with the meeting. All you are doing is seeing if there is a match there. It’s like dating and you both need to get to know each other.
- Make sure you interview them just as much as they are interviewing you. Candidates often focus too much on trying to say the right thing and how they come across but don’t forget that it’s just as important for you to get to know them. So come with a list of questions that you genuinely want to discuss – culture, training, requirements of the role etc.
- If you think all is going well towards the end make sure to tell them. “Thank you for your time, I’ve loved everything I’ve heard so far”, “this sounds like a fantastic opportunity and I’d love to be considered for it” etc.
AFTER
- Call your recruiter IMMEDIATELY with feedback or if you’ve gone direct then send an email with feedback to the company. Thank them for their time and reiterate why you are keen on the role.
Some of these tips are really basic but so important. Being prepared is so important so do take the time to do your research. Contact Amplified Talent if you require more in-depth advice and lets see how we can help you secure that next role!
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