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Layoff Advice

I want and need to apologize to McKell for my initial comment in this thread. I received a few reps and even a text in regards to the post saying that it was neither the time nor the place for my comment. I can definitely see how my post could have been taken and offer my sincerest apology to Archie. My intent was not to belittle him in any way or to make light of the situation.

By all accounts, Archie seems to be a decent dude and good father. He currently finds himself in a situation that calls for support and advice. So, yeah, my bad, Archie. I hope you're able to find work sooner than later and that your financial situation improves.
 
VINYLONE said:
I want and need to apologize to McKell for my initial comment in this thread. I received a few reps and even a text in regards to the post saying that it was neither the time nor the place for my comment. I can definitely see how my post could have been taken and offer my sincerest apology to Archie. My intent was not to belittle him in any way or to make light of the situation.

By all accounts, Archie seems to be a decent dude and good father. He currently finds himself in a situation that calls for support and advice. So, yeah, my bad, Archie. I hope you're able to find work sooner than later and that your financial situation improves.
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Honestly, I didn't think twice about what you said. In fact, I kinda agreed with you so no worries at all. I've giving you plenty of crap and still will. I expect the same in return. :D With all that being said thanks for apologizing (even though you didn't have to and I wasn't offended) it shows a lot about your character and you at least have a measly, little heart. Cute. :)
 
Update:

I had a job interview last week. Going into the interview, I knew more than likely (99%) I would not take the job, but I figured I should at least interview and brush up on the interview process and game. The job is for a staffing company.

I showed up 5 minutes early and the receptionist gave me some paperwork to fill out. Basically the same damn stuff I give every company twice when submitting my applications online. They wanted stuff they could find in my resume, the online application (basically filling your resume out again after you upload it) and now this paper to hand fill out. Sigh. The job-seeking process is so monotonous and redundant. I want to say I get why they need the same info filled out over and over, but honestly I don't. My brother told me that his company hires third parties to do their applications and says they don't forward the info over of qualified candidates they pass on. It's 2014 people, get with it!

The interviewer asked me maybe one or two typical interview questions. Glanced back and forth at my resume during the interview and asked a few personal, rapport building questions. He asked me what I made with my previous employer and I told him I'd prefer to keep that between me and them. (I don't wanna show my cards.) He did a double-take, almost as he was shocked I responded that way and laughed and asked why. I replied something to the extent of not wanting to show my cards. Anyway, I was surprised with his reaction, almost as if he took it personal.

After a few more minutes of brushing up on my experience, work history, and education he kept saying he knew I had questions for the company, but they all could be answered if I committed to a half-day of work and shadow some people. I felt this was a cope out (he did answer some questions I asked first but kept replying we could do this all day, just come in for a half day.) At this point I just agreed because I knew it was pointless to keep asking questions to someone who was gonna say the same thing over and over again so I asked if I could look around the offices before I left and he agreed. There's more things I could say about my tour, but I don't. I will say though, I've never seen a company so guy-heavy. Pretty much everyone I saw (other than the two receptionist upfront, were dudes and there were a lot of them.)

Reasons why this job isn't for me are many. It's pretty much a phone job talking to people all day about placing them in jobs. Most of my professional experience has been outside (a lot of windshield time), business to business, project development, public relations, marketing and things like that. Sitting in a cubicle and calling people all day long (he was set on telling me all their calls were warm calls with people looking for job placement) sounds just awful and like hell. The schedule was beyond ridiculous (at least to me. Advice?) The hours are 7:30 to 6 Monday through Friday and very limited weekend work. It's about a half hour drive from my house without traffic, so I'd be looking at almost 12 hour days five days a week. The salary is terrible. 30K and pays commission. It sounds like something you could make some pretty good money at with time and being the right person for the job though. But... Not for me. I'm glad I interviewed and I'm keeping my options open. I want to go into something I may not love, but definitely don't want to shoot myself every day. I have a few more interviews next week and I'm sure more and more companies are going to start getting back to me or at least I hope. This is very tiring and stressful.

On a bright note, I will be doing P.R. work for a huge athletic event here in Utah I'll tell you guys about soon. I'm not sure what this project will pay if anything, but it will be something I can add to my portfolio and it's been great networking.
 
Archie, I am a senior administrator that employs about 1400 people in 3 states. One thing that always sways me unfortunately is that people are currently employed. You could try planning two steps. Sometimes taking a job you do not want (because it's lame and sux) will give you the open door to another company. Knowing the competition helps you get employed with their competitors or open you up to different roles in the company to improve their process. You should be loyal to yourself. Sounds like he was trying to get you on the cheap by asking those questions, but being open with information shows you are honest and straight forward. Shadowing the employees and asking questions shows you are eager to learn and can work with other people well. He was gauging how his current staff would work for you and what their perception of you was. This is just some advice from a bi-polar, depressed, liberated, schizo, bad, fat, dwarf, hermaphrodite ;)
 
My old man used to say, "The best time to look for a job is when you have one." With that said, that job isn't for me.
 
Also, I don't think it would look good to take a job and still keep looking for a better one.
 
Archie Moses said:
Update:

I had a job interview last week. Going into the interview, I knew more than likely (99%) I would not take the job, but I figured I should at least interview and brush up on the interview process and game. The job is for a staffing company.

I showed up 5 minutes early and the receptionist gave me some paperwork to fill out. Basically the same damn stuff I give every company twice when submitting my applications online. They wanted stuff they could find in my resume, the online application (basically filling your resume out again after you upload it) and now this paper to hand fill out. Sigh. The job-seeking process is so monotonous and redundant. I want to say I get why they need the same info filled out over and over, but honestly I don't. My brother told me that his company hires third parties to do their applications and says they don't forward the info over of qualified candidates they pass on. It's 2014 people, get with it!

The interviewer asked me maybe one or two typical interview questions. Glanced back and forth at my resume during the interview and asked a few personal, rapport building questions. He asked me what I made with my previous employer and I told him I'd prefer to keep that between me and them. (I don't wanna show my cards.) He did a double-take, almost as he was shocked I responded that way and laughed and asked why. I replied something to the extent of not wanting to show my cards. Anyway, I was surprised with his reaction, almost as if he took it personal.

After a few more minutes of brushing up on my experience, work history, and education he kept saying he knew I had questions for the company, but they all could be answered if I committed to a half-day of work and shadow some people. I felt this was a cope out (he did answer some questions I asked first but kept replying we could do this all day, just come in for a half day.) At this point I just agreed because I knew it was pointless to keep asking questions to someone who was gonna say the same thing over and over again so I asked if I could look around the offices before I left and he agreed. There's more things I could say about my tour, but I don't. I will say though, I've never seen a company so guy-heavy. Pretty much everyone I saw (other than the two receptionist upfront, were dudes and there were a lot of them.)

Reasons why this job isn't for me are many. It's pretty much a phone job talking to people all day about placing them in jobs. Most of my professional experience has been outside (a lot of windshield time), business to business, project development, public relations, marketing and things like that. Sitting in a cubicle and calling people all day long (he was set on telling me all their calls were warm calls with people looking for job placement) sounds just awful and like hell. The schedule was beyond ridiculous (at least to me. Advice?) The hours are 7:30 to 6 Monday through Friday and very limited weekend work. It's about a half hour drive from my house without traffic, so I'd be looking at almost 12 hour days five days a week. The salary is terrible. 30K and pays commission. It sounds like something you could make some pretty good money at with time and being the right person for the job though. But... Not for me. I'm glad I interviewed and I'm keeping my options open. I want to go into something I may not love, but definitely don't want to shoot myself every day. I have a few more interviews next week and I'm sure more and more companies are going to start getting back to me or at least I hope. This is very tiring and stressful.

On a bright note, I will be doing P.R. work for a huge athletic event here in Utah I'll tell you guys about soon. I'm not sure what this project will pay if anything, but it will be something I can add to my portfolio and it's been great networking.
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Warm calls my ***. I was a headhunter for Robert Half and it's cold calls all day long. That and going out to clients to meet with them face-to-face to get their business. But tbh, it's mostly cold calls which suck and probably even moreso in your area where things are more spread out...
 
QuinSnydersHair said:
Jesus Arch, they had you fill out the paperwork and asked you how much money you made so he can present positions to you that are commensurate with your background and salary expectations. That's it. If the staffing guy is left in the dark, he may not feel he can present you with anything.
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I get that. My problem isn't with filling things out. It's with filling things out over and over again I've already given them. I'll do it, keep doing it, but it doesn't make it less annoying.

I didn't want to reveal how much I made until he told me what the job paid. Why shoot myself in the foot and possibly present a number lower than what they'd be willing to pay? I promise you, it's not uncommon to respond that way. In fact, I'd say it's encouraged by most.
 
Archie Moses said:
I get that. My problem isn't with filling things out. It's with filling things out over and over again I've already given them. I'll do it, keep doing it, but it doesn't make it less annoying.

I didn't want to reveal how much I made until he told me what the job paid. Why shoot myself in the foot and possibly present a number lower than what they'd be willing to pay? I promise you, it's not uncommon to respond that way. In fact, I'd say it's encouraged by most.
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It's a bit uncommon to say it the way you said it though. You could say, "I'm willing to entertain a salary commensurate with my background" or some bs like that. Don't get all self-defensive up front.

Also, there's a a lot of money to be made in the staffing industry. The top three billers for Robert Half in the entire world all worked out of the same NJ office and all made over 1M...not bad for an 8-5 job. But it sucks and isn't for a lot of people, myself included.
 
Archie Moses said:
Why? Companies look after themselves. Why not look after yourself?
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What he's saying (I think) is that if the company you interviewed with, hired you, they would know they hired someone who had taken his previous job only as a temporary solution. This may then lead them to believe that their job too was only temporary for you.

That said, you can spin that just fine imo.
 
QuinSnydersHair said:
It's a bit uncommon to say it the way you said it though. You could say, "I'm willing to entertain a salary commensurate with my background" or some bs like that. Don't get all self-defensive up front.

Also, there's a a lot of money to be made in the staffing industry. The top three billers for Robert Half in the entire world all worked out of the same NJ office and all made over 1M...not bad for an 8-5 job. But it sucks and isn't for a lot of people, myself included.
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Yeah, I wrote it more of how I was thinking than what I actually said.
 
QuinSnydersHair said:
What he's saying (I think) is that if the company you interviewed with, hired you, they would know they hired someone who had taken his previous job only as a temporary solution. This may then lead them to believe that their job too was only temporary for you.

That said, you can spin that just fine imo.
Click to expand...

Pardon my dumbness, but I'm confused.
 
Ah the salary dance. There is no good answer and in the end most companies nowadays will simply ask up front what your last company paid you. There was a time when being coy might get you somewhere. Now however most positions have been market researched to death and the hiring manager will have a given range or salary in the budget. Period. There might be some room for negotiation but anymore not much. Do what they are trying to do is see if you are even playing in the same ballpark before wasting anyone's time. If you play the game at least give them a range. For me as a hiring manager I want to know 2 things: what salary are you looking for and what salary will you be willing to accept. In my own interviews when I get asked that I first answer with the salary range I want to get, that way we both know we are in the same ballpark or not and we can save some time. If they ask me what i made at my last job I just tell them including bonuses and other perks like stock. In my experience there are no 6 figure Jobs out there where they hope to lowball you at 60k or something ridiculous like that. Bottom line by being up front about salary it is a myth that they are just dying to pay you 50k more than you would happily take and you just screwed yourself out of a giant payday by being up front about it. In fact to me it speaks to someone's integrity of I feel they are trying to play me instead of negotiating in good faith.
 
QuinSnydersHair said:
What he's saying (I think) is that if the company you interviewed with, hired you, they would know they hired someone who had taken his previous job only as a temporary solution. This may then lead them to believe that their job too was only temporary for you.

That said, you can spin that just fine imo.
Click to expand...

I wouldnt worry about it. We live in a period of mass layoffs. Prospective employers understand if you take a lesser postion while gou look for a proper fit. I did it and my new employer did not even care that I had been working in my replacement position for six months.
 
Archie Moses said:
Why? Companies look after themselves. Why not look after yourself?
Click to expand...

I agree companies look after themselves. If you are an employer, what would be your reaction to someone who took a job two weeks of a month ago, but is sitting in your office for an interview?
 
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