Being in the right place
at the right time
Pat
O'Donnell here to teach you the nuances and skills to be in the right place
at the right time to
acquire the job of your dreams.
Here are just a few of the strategies I will share with you in my blog articles:
- How to present your assets in a compelling manner that makes you a must-meet candidate, rather than someone lost in a pile of commodity resumes.
- How to uncover the "Hidden Job Market." That is the 70-80% of jobs that are given away before the job becomes visible to the general public in places like monster.com and newspaper ads.
- How to develop work-arounds for career problems like age bias, having been out of work for a while, or wanting to change careers.
- When and how to use networking, job boards, recruiting firms, and more.
(The complete set of topics for the blog are listed at the left.)
In addition to the great resources you'll find on this site, I offer:
- complete packages in career counseling services
- recruiting advice
- workshops and speaking for professional groups
The three most recent articles:
Counteroffers benefit the employer not you
By Pat O'Donnell | May 15, 2008
Fact: 70% of executives who accept a counteroffer are gone from that employer within 6 months.
Fact: 85% of executives who accept are gone within 18 months.
A counteroffer is an offer made by an employer in order to keep you on after you have given notice.
The most frequent counteroffers strategies include:
- a promise of a promotion and/or a raise (most frequent response)
- telling you are a traitor to the team or to your boss
- confiding to you that the company you are considering is not that well thought of Read the rest of this entry »
Topics: Career Strategies, Interviews, Salary | No Comments »
Job Hunting in a Distant City
By Pat O'Donnell | May 5, 2008
In the current housing market, most clients will avoid trying to move someone. I have worked with job-seekers who had an offer in a new city but then were told by realtors it would be 8-12 months before they could expect to sell their house in the previous location. Unless you are very senior, a new employer is unlikely to want to take on your transition housing costs. Add to that the possibility of having wife, kids, and husband in separate locations for the 8 months and you have a recipe for divorce. Read the rest of this entry »Topics: Hidden Job Market, Interviews, Networking | No Comments »
Job Security in Recession and Getting Ahead In Any Market - Part II
By Pat O'Donnell | April 30, 2008
Selling Yourself to Management
As I said in my last post, as a recruiter, I am not actually seeing any evidence of a Recession outside of the financial industry. However, many of the strategies that protect you in a bad market also improve your status with in a good market.
- Network to keep your value, your brand, visible at all times with your present management and clients. Networking builds bridges to get things accomplished on an every day basis. You should be networking at 2 or 3 title levels above you as insurance if your boss leaves the company. Network with other departments. Network with people junior to you as they may have very different philosophies towards work. Read the rest of this entry »
Topics: Branding + Positioning, Career Strategies, Networking, Salary | No Comments »
Job Security in Recession and Getting Ahead In Any Market - Part I
By Pat O'Donnell | April 28, 2008
Jobs to Target
As a recruiter, I am not actually seeing any evidence of a Recession although that may change. I am seeing a mixed market, but that has been true since 9/11/01. The most obvious exception is the Financial companies which have been disproportionately affected by the mortgage market defaults. Whether or not we evolve in to a Recession, many of the strategies that protect you in a bad market also will help you get ahead and be more promotable than your co-workers in any market.
These are the more secure roles and companies to target if possible:
- The companies and product groups which cannot afford NOT to innovate continuously or they risk falling behind their competitors. Examples are medical device companies in highly Read the rest of this entry »
Topics: Career Strategies | No Comments »
Empowering Your Family and Friends to Network for You
By Pat O'Donnell | April 24, 2008
This is one if my favorite networking stories and it shows the power of enlisting family and friends to help.
A man I was counseling, we will call him Max, was on his way to a Hanukkah celebration where there would be 50 family members. He had been out of work for several months, working only part-time as a consultant, and his uncles were asking him whom they could call on his behalf. He was dreading the event because he was imagining aunts pinching him on the cheek and uncles having people call him with leads that would not be a close fit. Read the rest of this entry »
Topics: Networking, Resume | No Comments »
« Previous Entries Next Entries »
- The companies and product groups which cannot afford NOT to innovate continuously or they risk falling behind their competitors. Examples are medical device companies in highly Read the rest of this entry »
- Network to keep your value, your brand, visible at all times with your present management and clients. Networking builds bridges to get things accomplished on an every day basis. You should be networking at 2 or 3 title levels above you as insurance if your boss leaves the company. Network with other departments. Network with people junior to you as they may have very different philosophies towards work. Read the rest of this entry »
