Hi Guys,
I recently acquired the Manager Tools interviewing series, and am really excited about all the information I’m learning, and was never aware of before. A thousand thanks for all this great content. It’s helping so much already. I’ve retooled my resume according to your recommendations and am currently laying out my 3X5 cards and going over my accomplishments. I also bought a copy of Rites of Passage which I have started to dig in to.
When I start submitting my resume (you’ll see why in a minute) and interviewing with recruiters, I know I’m going to be asked various questions; some of which I feel may be difficult to answer given my current situation. Why, you may ask, am I exploring other opportunities? It’s a long story, but I hope you’ll bear with me, and I’ll try and break it down for you as succinctly as possible…
I’ve been serving in my current role for over 20 years in a law firm, firstly as a paralegal after training with the former manager; and then as a lone gun with one secretary I inherited. Suddenly, about three years ago, opportunity knocked when the firm decided to consolidate the work from all our satellite offices (both nationally and internationally) into our office, and put me in charge of overseeing the work. I almost surprised myself when I rose to the occasion (thanks largely to your podcasts) and found myself interviewing, hiring, training and overseeing seven directs. Before I knew it, I was holding monthly staff meetings, weekly one on ones, and even dabbled in conflict resolution, as my staff and I grew the department into something we could be proud of.
My boss was one of the newer partners at this firm. He seemed like a nice enough guy insofar as my dealings with him were concerned. I always updated him on the progress of our department, and even had him sit in on our monthly meetings, which gave me a sense that I always had his support.
Imagine my surprise when I came into the office at the start of 2011, and discovered he had abruptly quit. Unfortunately, he should have listened to your cast on “How to Resign”, because the way he went about it created such a financial disaster for our firm, as well as his professional standing, that I’ve had my department slashed by nearly 70% due to all the business we lost as a result of his vindictive (and irrational) behavior. He didn’t simply quit – he literally went to the firm’s largest clients (and colleagues) and badmouthed the firm hoping to get their business. He subsequently even showed back up at our offices crying and apologizing, begging for his job back, (which seemed ridiculous, considering what damage he already caused). Whatever he said scared off our clients resulting in an immediate loss of 50% of our business in a matter of three days and I was forced to cut the hardworking cheerful and energetic team I spent two years building almost overnight. That was just the beginning. I’m sparing you many more gory details about the collateral damage this has caused but the fact is, my former boss apparently has serious mental issues.
This office is seriously antiquated and unprofessional in terms of measuring results, providing training and rewarding hard work (i.e., no annual review process, training was sink or swim, and 1 raise in 5 years – none since I’ve taken on all of the extra offices and managerial work). I’ve grown so much within the past 2½ years into a full-fledged manager, I feel I’ve outgrown the company, and (due to this downturn) am ready to move into a new role with the type of responsibilities and abilities I’ve developed.
So here are my questions:
1. How do I respond to the question: Why are you looking for other opportunities?
2. Who should I use for a reference? (No one at the firm knows I’m looking)
3. I think the company may have financial issues – do I mention this?
4. Assuming you’re not supposed to say anything negative about your current work situation, how do I explain that I was successfully managing 7 directs and am now down to 2? Do I tell the recruiter this whole story about my crazy boss?
5. How do I even get close to the money I should be making when I’ve been underpaid for so long?
What do you guys think? 1000 thanks for any suggestions you can offer!
1) It's always positive. No
1) It's always positive. No matter how bad the sinking ship you're leaving behind, the reason you are leaving is to find a nice pretty new shore to wash up on. Focus on what you want in the new place, not what you're fleeing.
2) References are best served when they are people you have worked with outside your company. A client who you did great work for, a supplier who you really saved once, or anyone else who you are on close professional terms with and thinks you walk on water. Assuming anyone checks your references anyway.
3) Nope. No wants to know about your ex-significant other's problems. Or your company's.
4) "Due to the current economiv situaion, we lost a significant portion of out staff...."
5) "Should" is all about your perceptions. A better focus is the market and its current pay scales. If the market will pay someone with your accomplishments more than you are currently making, then getting it "should" not be a problem, If the market won't pay what you want, then you probably won't get it..
#1: Simple. You're looking
#1: Simple. You're looking for something better, if you're still employed, that's totally reasonable. Or, alternately, there have been some changes in management that have made you interested in exploring new possibilities.
#2: They'll understand that you can't provide references from co-workers. Former co-workers, clients, vendors and co-workers from past jobs are good options, provided you can trust their discretion to keep your search private.
#3: No, no, no! That could get you in all kinds of hot water, not the least of which would be getting fired if your current employer found out your were bad-mouthing them in public. Be positive or non-committal about ANY company you've worked for. No point in burning bridges, anyhow. It's like we learned in Kindergarten: If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all.
#4: Saying that there has been a re-organization following changes in management is perfectly reasonable. Your new employer doesn't need to know specifics. Again, you'll end up bad-mouthing your current employer, and your former boss. Would YOU want to hire a person who would do that to you?
#5: If asked about your target salary, put it out there, and be prepared to support it. Unless you really KNOW what's the going rate in the industry and at a company of a given size, you're guessing to some degree, but you'll look like a jerk if you're way over or way under. But be honest, experienced business people understand that during a recession or business troubles, people don't get the raises they might deserve. But always answer straight, "I made five bucks an hour at my last job, but for this position, I believe I'm due $100K/year," and offer any qualifications after that first answer, "I didn't receive any substantial raises over the past three years due to difficult business decisions and downsizing. I don't believe that was a reflection on the quality of work I produced."
Good luck in your hunting!