Get Bigger Raises & Better Promotions: Few Promotions

This continues our series sharing how to get bigger raises and better promotions at work

Dan entered a management training program with a national car rental company. He worked hard to understand what management expected him to do. He cultivated a mentor in the branch where he trained. He built a network of contacts both in and out of the company. The mentor and network helped him understand the unwritten rules they did not teach in the management training program. They also helped him not only do the job, but do it better. Following our coaching, he also verified that he met and exceeded their expectations. He advanced to management faster than the other 130 other people in the management training program.

Reasons for Fewer Promotion Opportunities

The opportunities for promotions and advancements decreased as big companies reduced the level of management in the early 1980s. They compressed levels of management from an average 17 to 6-9. The compression eliminated the traditional “career path”. Fewer levels of management left fewer advancement opportunities.

In addition, the proliferation of smaller companies as a percentage of the workplace (up to 95% of Americans work for small companies). Family or personally owned companies with less than 250 employees also provide fewer options for upward movement. Family owned companies tend to place family members in the most responsible positions. As a result, fewer advancement possibilities exist for non-family members.

So, fewer levels of management combined with most people working for smaller or family-owned companies reduce the opportunities for promotion.

Assignments Replace Promotions

The growth of project teams or temporary work teams provide you with more opportunities for recognition and variety. Of course, some projects carry more prestige than others. Your reputation improves when they assign you to the more prestigious projects. Assignment to plumb projects enhances your ability to learn more skills, provide a greater return on investment to the company, and impress management more.

Sometimes companies give higher salary raises or award bonuses based on your performance on crucial project teams.

Friday we explore how discovering what management wants and delivering it helps

Bigger Raises & Better Promotions: Why Raises

This begins a series sharing how to get bigger raises and better promotions at work

Sue learned how her organization determined salary raises. She knew that she could not influence the amount of money they would give as raises. She recognized that she could influence how big the raise she received based on her work performance. So, she discovered exactly what management wanted and delivered it. Then, to get the highest raise she selected 1-3 areas in her work to significantly exceed. She communicated how she met and exceeded their expectations to her supervisors.

Sue received the biggest raises offered by her company for 12 years in a row.

Philosophy for Raises

Companies raise you pay for a variety of reasons:

• Reward good work
• Recognize contribution to the company’s mission and goals
• Keep good workers
• Maintain your buying power by keeping you close to the cost of living

Several factors affect your employer’s ability to give raises:

• Amount of money available to share with employees: less money = smaller raises
• Management’s priorities for rewarding and sharing with employees
• Reallocation of funds to other priorities or overhead demands
• Greed within the highest levels of the company or stockholders
• Greater perceived ROI of CEOs over rank and file employees

Two options for Determining Raises

Small companies typically do not structure programs for giving raises. They may offer an annual raise based on profits that year, the largesse of the owner, or perceived value you provide

Large companies may establish a system to determine raises. They

• Allocate how much they will give that year as a total dollar amount
• Establish salary ranges with a minimum and maximum salary
• Divide the salary range into four quartiles
• Assign a percentage increase for each quartile based on performance
  • Significantly exceeds expectations (highest percentage)
  • Exceeds expectations (higher percentage)
  • Meets expectations (base percentage)
  • Does not meet expectations (no percentage)
• Assign raises based on the perception of how well you meet expectations and which quartile your current salary lies within

You get bigger raises the more you return on investment.

Wednesday we explore discovering what job management wants done

10X2=Hired! Give Them Reasons to Hire You

This continues our series introducing the plans and concepts of 10X2=Hired!

Ramon tried to implement the 10X2=Hired! process. For 3 months, he telephoned 10 people a day. He had 10 meetings a week. He reported to his coach at least once a week. Yet, he received not one job offer. Finally, his job coach asked him to role play what he said to the people he met. He said “I saw your help wanted sign on the front of your place. I want a job. Could I talk to you?” He failed to realize that his statement did not give the manager a reason to hire him. He received a job offer within one week of learning to say “I increased sales at my last job by 13%. Would you like the same increases in your store?”.

Hiring Authorities Worry

Hiring authorities worry about three things:

• Can you do the job they want done
• Will you fit into their team or organization
• Will you deliver a good return on investment

Hiring authorities recognize that if you cannot do all three of these things, they risk losing their:

• Clients and customers
• Productivity
• Other team members
• Reputation within the company or community
• Revenues and income
• Job

Give Them Reasons to Hire You

The responsibility to resolve their concerns rests with you. You must give them reasons to hire you. Your dessert tray and home run statements offer proof that you can do the job they want done, will fit into their team, and will deliver a good return on their investment. Remember these keys. You will:

• Make a better impression if you know what job they want done.
• Prove you will fit into their team if you know the members, culture, and personalities of that team.
• Communicate past returns on investment more effectively if you recognize what return they expect.

One purpose of your phone calls and meetings is to gather that information. The other is to share your home run statements so they want to hire you.

Monday we begin a new series outlining tips how to earn the biggest raises

10X2=Hired! Schedule 10 Meetings a Week

This continues our series introducing how 10X2=Hired! helps you find a good job faster
Dianne prepared her answers to interview questions. She practiced them until she could give them naturally without sounding memorized. She answered questions very well. However, she tended to walk into interviews unprepared. She failed to learn what the real job was they wanted done. Instead, she relied on advertised job descriptions to accurately describe the expectations. As good as her answers were, she didn’t give them exactly the answers they wanted. We taught her 10X2=Hired!. She started meeting with 10 people a week. Her due diligence clued her into what companies wanted. She adjusted her answers appropriately and received a job offer in 4 weeks.
Schedule Appointments with a Variety of People
You schedule meetings with various types of people who can:

• Provide information about the trends, cultures, & projects in companies
• Refer you to other people who work in companies that could hire you
• Decision makers, managers, or owners with the authority to hire you

People who fall into these categories may be

• Family
• Friends (in your address book, on Facebook, or LinkedIn)
• Friends of friends
• Acquaintances who do the job you want to do
• People who work on teams that you would like to work on
• Referrals from any of the above

Purposes of the 10 Meetings
You schedule meetings to fulfill several purposes:

• Learn about the company’s goals, projects, challenges, and needs
• Discover ways to serve them so they achieve their goals or resolve their challenges
• Grow relationships with people
• See the company’s dress codes, environment, culture, and layout
• Reconnect with people to strengthen the relationship, report on what happened with their information or referrals, and express gratitude for their help

Follow these simple tips:

• Prepare your questions and answers to their questions before the meeting
• Respect their time: meet 20-30 minutes in their office, or 45-90 minutes tops over a meal
• Keep it conversational as though you are two professionals talking shop
• Listen to them

Friday we will outline how to say the things that will make them want to hire you

10X2=Hired! Skills & Tools to Land the Job You Love Faster

This series introduces a new service to help you land the job you love faster

Jordan attended our job search workshop 3 weeks ago.  He attended 3 weekly network groups.  He also attended a 10X2=Hired! group for three weeks. He implemented a 10X2=Hired! job search. Within 3 weeks he had an interview with a major global financial institution. He practiced an interview with a job coach the day before the interview. While he was driving home after his interview the company called him, extending a job offer.

Job Search Tips From the Greatest

We’ve been teaching people how find a job for more than 34 years. We’ve learned from the best job search coaches in the world: Richard Nelson Bolles, Dick Gaither, J Michael Farr, Dick Knowdell, Dean Curtis, Bernard Haldane, and others. They taught us how people find jobs.

Based on their advice and guidance, we have helped 100,000s of people find jobs in more than 32 countries. We summarized their teachings into three simple tasks. We tested these techniques with thousands of job seekers. We now distill them into 10X2=Hired! Follow these steps, you will find a job in five weeks.

Accelerate Your Job Search with 10X2

You will find a job faster by multiplying 10 times 2 (hence 10X2=Hired!). The two tens refer to:

• 10 phone calls a day
• 10 meetings a week

10 phone calls to family, friends, colleagues, former co-workers, people they refer you to contact, and direct calls to people who work in companies:

• Responsibility research to clarify and verify the responsibilities of job positions
• Company research calls about trends, cultures, and environments within businesses
• Skills building calls allow you explore and discover what skills you need for jobs
• Communication skills building helps you practice and improve your verbal, non-verbal, and written communications
• Accountability calls provide opportunities for you to report what you have done to your job coach and others
• Reconnecting with referrals, sources of information, and after meetings or interviews helps you express gratitude, report back, and give additional reasons to hire you.

Wednesday we explain how you can achieve 10X2=Hired!

Land the Job You Love: Win-Win Job Offer Negotiations

This continues our series on what you can do to get a great job with a great salary

Armando loved a certain company and the job they offered him spending more time using the skills he loved. The salary, however, disappointed him. He hesitated to ask for more money because he worried it would affect his relationships on the job. He met with a coach to practice win-win negotiating skills. He successfully negotiated the salary he wanted without offending the company.

Win-Win Negotiating

Win-win negotiating begins with the assumption that both parties win and nobody loses. Stephen R. Covey advocated it in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Roger Fisher and William Ury teach it in Getting to Yes Negotiating Agreement without Giving In.

Tips to Win-Win Salary Negotiations

• Establish your value with home run statements during the interview process
• Create a 2x2 table or spreadsheet. List what
  • The company wants from the person they hire in cell A1
  • You provide, using home run statements, in cell B1
  • You want from the job in cell A2
  • The company offered (salary, medical, training, perks, etc.) in cell B2
• Compare the offered salary with comparable salaries (see Departments of Workforce Service)
• Highlight areas you don’t satisfy their desires and they don’t satisfy yours
• Determine your BATNA (Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement), or at what point do you walk away from the offer
• Practice negotiating with your job search coach
• In the negotiation talks
  • Thank them for the offer
  • Stay positive, honest, and open
  • Share your intent to negotiate a win for both them and you
  • Focus on the issues not on positions or people
    • Verify what they want (read your list)
    • Summarize the home runs that made them want you
    • Share how their offer meets your desires
    • Outline parts of the offer that may not satisfy them or you
  • Ask questions to find solutions that satisfy both parties
• Get the final offer in writing

Download a special report Salary Negotiation 101 from Business Management Daily.

Monday we will introduce how the 10X2=Hired! concepts will get a great job faster

Land the Job You Love: Tips to Interview Reconnect After

This continues our series on what you can do to get a great job with a great salary

Daniel had plenty of interviews. He felt he did well in the interviews. Daniel followed-up after each interview asking “Have you made a decision, yet?” Unfortunately, the interviews failed to result in job offers. We taught him to reconnect to provide more reasons to hire him. He had a good paying job within one month.

Reconnect Rather Than Follow-up

Hiring authorities receive very few thank you cards after interviews. You stand out when you send a thank you card. Some job seekers call or email asking if the hiring authority has made a decision. This approach poses problems.

• Reminding people of unfinished tasks irritates them
• You have little else to say or ask after that question
• You fail to provide additional reasons to hire you

We suggest instead of following-up, you reconnect with hiring authorities:

• Follow-up keeps you in their mind and discerns if they hired someone
• Reconnecting offers more reasons to hire you and schedule more interviews

Five Steps to Reconnecting

• Evaluate the interview immediately afterward, before you get distracted.
  • Who conducted the interview? Their job titles? How to spell their name?
  • What went well in the interview? What connected with them?
  • What did you say that you wish you had not said?
  • What did you not say that you wish you had said?
  • Any requirements you do not satisfy?
• Send a thank you card while still in the building (take blank ones to the interview). Restate one thing that went well in the interview
• Call 3-4 working days later: fix the answer you did not say well
• Call 3 working days later: give the answer you wish had given
• Call 4 working days later: suggest how you compensate for the requirement you lack

End each phone call with two sentences

• “Thank you. I really want to work with you.”
• “Is now a good time to schedule a second interview?”

Reconnect to remind and influence them to hire you.

Friday we explore how to negotiate win-win job and salary offers

Land the Job You Love: Tips to Interview Questions to Ask

This continues our series on what you can do to get a great job with a great salary

Carolyn felt she interviewed well, except when asked “Do you have any questions for me?”. Unfortunately, most interviewers asked her that question. She frequently asked questions about the salary, benefits offered, or vacation leave. She sensed that interviewers chilled to her after asking those questions. She found a job shortly after learning better questions to ask.

Ask Questions to Gather More Information

Frequently, interviewers ask questions that you cannot answer without getting more information.  They design some questions to startle you. Other questions gather information from you, but require you to obtain additional information to answer.

Answering questions without sufficient information raises red flags with interviewers. They may worry that you will proceed with work without adequate information. They expect you to gather sufficient information to do your job, therefore, you should feel comfortable gathering more information before answering interview questions.

Questions that Require Questions for Answers

Here are typical questions that will require additional information to answer with possible questions you may ask the interviewer. You may find additional weird questions at About.com:

• What do you expect as a starting salary?
  • What do you normally pay someone with my experience (or for this position)?
  • How much budget (sales, profits, or assets) will I be responsible for managing?
• How could you contribute to our team or organization?
  • Before I answer, could I verify what you want me to accomplish?
  • What are the goals and results you want me achieve?
  • What problems and challenges do you want me to resolve for you?
• How many quarters would you need to reach the height of the Empire State Building?
  • American or Canadian quarters?
  • Can you lend me six inches of quarters and tell me the height of the Empire State Building?
• If selected, what would be your strategy during your first 90 days?
  • What priorities do you have for the first 90 days?
  • What do you want me to accomplish?

Wednesday we share tips for reconnecting after interviews to convince them to hire you

Land the Job You Love: Tips to Interview Dessert Trays

This continues our series about what you can do to get a great job with a great salary

“Tell me something about yourself?” remains one of the toughest questions people get asked by interviewers. Ted agreed. He never knew what to say. In fact, he had asked several hiring authorities “What do you want to know?” when they asked him the question. Sometimes, he tried to anticipate—and answer—every question of the interview in that one answer. His long answers would take 10-15 minutes of uninterrupted talking. He failed to recognize what his answer to that one question should be.

Dessert Trays Entice People to Buy

Fine restaurants recognize the power of a well-prepared dessert tray to entice diners to purchase dessert. Dessert trays contain samples of all the sweets and desserts offered by the restaurant. A dessert tray illustrates what the restaurant offers much more effectively than a menu with pictures.

Dessert trays allow people to select exactly the kinds of desserts they desire. They may choose to buy one dessert for the table, or one for each diner, or whatever they choose to share. People seldom select the entire tray, only parts.

Prepare Your Own Dessert Tray

Your dessert tray helps you describe who you are to yourself and to others.

You prepare your dessert tray to highlight what you have to offer prospective employers. You include some of these items:

• Family or hobbies
• 5 best jobs you ever had
• 5 words or phrases that describe you
• 5 professional accomplishments that mean the most to you
• Associations, clubs, or teams you chose to occupy your time
• Your training or education

You present your dessert tray when hiring authorities ask you “Tell me about yourself?” or “Why would you work well in our company?”

You don’t present everything from your tray. Choose the items from your tray that will entice people to want to know more. For example, you may present one job , two phrases or words that describe you, and one accomplishment.

Monday we will spotlight questions to ask in interviews and meetings to get more information

Land the Job You Love: Tips to Interview Reframe Thinking

This continues our series about what you can do to get a great job with a great salary

Carl lost his job two years earlier. He convinced himself companies rejected him because he was 62 years old. When interviewed by younger people, he reacted obnoxiously, told them they would not hire him, and exited interviews early. He needed to reframe his own thinking about his age, before he could reframe others. A company hired him within two weeks of reframing his thinking.

Questions That Invite Reframing

Everyone possesses obvious or hidden weaknesses. Meetings provide opportunities to reframe what decision makers think about those weaknesses. They draw their own conclusions if you don’t reframe their thinking. They may ask:

• “What are your biggest weaknesses?”
• “Tell me why you left…?”
• “Describe a mistake you made that cost the company money?”

Reframe Their Thinking About Your Weaknesses

Prepare to reframe other people’s thinking in four steps:

• List each of your weaknesses, both obvious and hidden
• Outline reasons why others may consider them weaknesses
• Prepare home run statements for each reason for each weakness
• Anticipate when you will weave home run statements into the interview

Let me illustrate:

• Obvious: age and obesity; Hidden: demotion in 2001
• Perceived reasons: poor performer, health costs, lazy, undisciplined
• Home run statements countering obesity
  • Performance: “I increased productivity on my last job by 87% in four months and 230% in 2 years.”
  • Health: “I have excellent health. I had three times the unused sick leave as everyone else  on our team combined.”
  • Lazy: exhibit great energy in the interview
  • Undisciplined: “I work through lunch and then grab unhealthy snacks during the afternoon. As a result, I weigh more than I want. However, working through lunch helped me increase productivity by 87%.”
• I will use the home run statements when asked
  • Describe productivity with “Tell me about your experience at ACME?” 
  • Outline unused sick leave with “Tell me about yourself?”
  • Exhibit your energy throughout the interview
  • Working through lunch with “What is your biggest weakness?”

Friday we will share how your dessert tray entices people to want to hire you

Land the Job You Love: Tips to Interview Hit Home Runs

This continues our series about what you can do to get a great job with a great salary

Max made great phone calls. He averaged 7-8 meetings a week. Unfortunately, he frequently stumbled in interviews communicating how his skills and experience satisfied their needs and goals. He attended our workshop and learned how he could answer all interview questions with four types of answers. He prepared answers for his interviews and wowed the decision makers. He had three job offers and accepted one within two weeks. I want to share.

Answer questions with 4 Types of Answers

You may answer any interview question with four types of answers:

• Demonstrate your skills and experience with home run statements
• Reframe their thinking about your weaknesses
• Present your dessert tray to entice them to want to hire you
• Ask questions to gather more information

Questions that Invite Home Run Statements

You may use home run statements to answer questions about your

• Past experience “Tell me about your experience at (a past employer, school, etc.)?”
• Skills and strengths “What are you biggest strengths?”
• Problem solving “How would you handle the following situations?”
• Reasons and benefits of hiring you: “Why should we hire you?”

Answer with Home Run Statements

Some questions invite you to highlight your results. Follow our home run format to answer the questions:

• First Base: Describe what organization you worked for at the time
• Second Base: Describe the problem you addressed and briefly what you did
• Third Base: Describe the results of your efforts
• Home Plate: Apply what you did to their needs and goals with a question similar to “Are those the kind of results you want?”

Here is an example:

• “When I worked for ACME Groceries,…
• …we had a shoplifting problem. I increased my sensitivity to suspicious situations…
• …As a result, I stopped two customers. They stole something from our store. The police found $900 of merchandise stolen from 3 other of our stores when they inspected their car.
• Would you like that diligence at your store?

Wednesday we explore how to reconnect with people after meetings and interviews

Land the Job You Love: What to Do in 10 Meetings a Week

This continues our series about what you can do to get a great job with a great salary

Brianne understood the need and benefits of scheduling meetings. She did not know what to say in the meetings. She worked with a coach every day for a week. She drafted questions and answers to questions. She practiced asking the questions and giving the answers with her coach. Then, she met with friends and practiced with them. Within two weeks, she regularly scheduled 10 meetings a week. She found a new job within four weeks after that.

Types of Meetings You May Hold

You schedule the meetings for a variety reasons:

• Phone calls will take too long and  not gather all the information you need
• Visits to a company visually shows you dress codes, office environment, and corporate culture
• Face-to-face communications builds relationships with network contacts
• You meet with family and close friends
• More informal settings like lunch, golf, or skiing will establish better rapport
• You are ready to impress a hiring authority that you are the person that will help them achieve their goals and resolve their challenges

Details About Meetings

Remember these tips about meetings/interviews.

• Recognize their time demands, keep meetings in their office to 20-30 minutes
  • Sharing a meal, golfing, or other activity may go a little longer
  • They appreciate your courtesy & schedule additional meetings if needed
  • Take too much time and they worry you will do the same if they hire you
• Ask pertinent questions that gather information not available on their web site
  • Do your research before the meeting so that you don’t waste their time
  • Demonstrate how you will prepare for meetings if they hire you
  • Avoid fiduciary or proprietary questions that make them uncomfortable
  • Share applicable home run statements to
    • Verify your understanding
    • Establish a conversational tone rather than an interrogation
• Thank them for the information and express how much you value it
  • Ask if you may contact them again for more information
  • Ask who else you should talk to

Monday we will outline the four types of great answers to all interview questions