So You Hate Your Job: Recruiter Mailbag Part III

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I’ve been getting a good mix of questions lately that actually cover a wide variety of key things to touch upon, but maybe don’t necessarily require a full-length column to address. Let’s dive in here as a number of these questions were very similar in nature which means those who asked them were most certainly not alone.

A position recently came across my desk and they said I am 100% going to get it. It’s mine to lose. With that being said, they asked me to apply on their website which makes me think otherwise. Should I be worried I have to apply for this and is there a reason I have to?

First off, yes, there’s a reason and I actually get asked this question frequently by transitioning military, so they need to know this, as well. Any company that has contracts with any form of government (local, state, federal) is required to meet certain hiring “benchmarks” when it comes to their workforce. Essentially, the percentage of people they hire from protected demographics (women, minorities, LGBT in some states, and Veterans) need to meet or exceed the national average or the company could get sued. They have you formally apply even though it’s your position to lose so they can capture that data to ensure they’re in compliance.

If you’re a Veteran who is coming straight from the military, you usually have to create a profile within your company’s applicant tracking system before they can go full-on help you out mode. Once you’ve created a profile, you’ve demonstrated interest in that specific company so they can utilize their vast array of resources to help you come aboard. This all centers around revolving door policies, and recruiters are not allowed to “poach/headhunt” Veterans straight from the military and recruiters cannot help you until you’ve basically exposed yourself to them.

Yes, the law seems stupid once you’re out of the military, but think back to when you were dealing with those contractor pricks on Bagram Air Force Base. They have incredible access to the military which at times was super annoying for those still serving. If they had free reign on military forces, they could have snagged anyone and everyone they wanted to very, very easily. These laws prevent them from doing that (in theory, but some still do).

Hey KISC, have a performance review coming up with my boss. She said I should be G2G but is there a way to negotiate a pay raise within this process?

Two different ways to go about this that I would recommend.

If you did NOT counter/ask for more money when you accepted the job use that:

Say something along the lines of “Hey boss, I’ve really loved all of my time here and how you’ve truly let me grow within this team. Because I wanted my performance to speak for itself, I didn’t counter your initial offer because I knew that I needed to prove that I was worth that. I feel like my performance thus far has demonstrated what I am capable of and based on X project/Y audit/Z customer retention (pick something you did that brought in money) I was hoping to talk about my base salary and potentially increasing it. I truly love working at this company, and it’s everything I had hoped it would be and can’t imagine myself working anywhere else. One of the main things about this company that attracted me was the ability to move up the ladder in terms of responsibilities, tasks, titles and pay increases. I feel that based on my performance thus far I’m ready for those things.”

If she pushes back on that and says that you’re NOT ready for that, ask her what she thinks you need to do to get there. Ask her to give you more responsibility/tasks or even a guideline of what she thinks you need to do to move up whether that is title or $$$. Sure, you won’t get more money right away, but she will at least give you the steps you need to take to get there.

Second scenario: let’s say that you did counter their initial offer and they gave it to you. This situation can be tricky, but there’s a way to go about it. If you’re clearly performing compared to your counterparts, I would totally use that. Be selfish. Say something along the lines of “Hey boss, I know that when I came on board I initially countered your offer because I knew that I could bring serious value to the team here with my skill sets, and I think I’ve demonstrated over the past year what I am capable of. I also knew that because I had asked for more money than was initially offered I was going to have to back that up each and every day and then rise to challenge of demonstrating I was worth that extra amount. With that performance in mind, I would like to talk about my current base salary/bonus structure/whatever. I truly love working at this company and it’s everything I had hoped it would be and can’t imagine myself working anywhere else. One of the main things about this company that attracted me was the ability to move up the ladder in terms of responsibilities, tasks, titles and pay increases. I feel that based on my performance thus far I’m ready for those things.”

Throughout all of this you have to remain firm, but don’t be a dick. Also, don’t ask anything in terms of a question. Don’t say, hey boss can we talk about my salary? Say that you’d like to talk about it. Make it a statement. Also, don’t say “hey boss can we maybe talk about my salary” as the maybe makes you seem like you’d like to get it, but it won’t turn you off if you don’t. I know it’s awkward, but stay firm but respectful. Everything is a statement, nothing is a question.

Is there a way to use an offer from another company to bump your pay at your current one?

Yes, but carefully. I would emphasize that they approached you and you’re never one to turn down a conversation about anything just to stay on top of the market or something like that. Say you’d ideally want to stay on the team, but you can’t turn down more money as your family is important to you and the end goal is a combination of your professional growth and their well-being.

Judging by the user name you in SC right? Even further off topic question, how weird is it learning everyone’s real name and what they do for a living? Have you actually played Kiawah Island and what did you shoot? Favorite Golf Courses?

This was combination of like three questions but fun to answer. I am actually down in Texas near Austin but won’t be for long. I am headed up to the PNW for a new company/role in about a month, and I’m still coming to grips with having to leave Austin for Seattle. I’ve done my absolute best to not associate usernames with actual names; it keeps it way more fun that way. The only exception to this is for Veterans. If a Veteran shoots me their resume, they get an immediate LI connection request from me and we can get way more in-depth on their stuff because I know a ton of people in the Veteran recruiting industry. I’ll gladly help literally everyone on this site, but Veterans can find out who I am if they actually want to know.

As far as golf, I played Kiawah Island and the Ocean Course back in 2015. I shot a 74 with five birdies which I was super thrilled about. We were also the first tee time of the day, so getting to see that course at sunrise and not having to dick with the wind too much was amazing. I cannot emphasize enough how nice of a course that is. As far as favorite courses the Top 5 that I’ve played would probably be:

1. Kiawah Island (Ocean Course)
2. TPC San Antonio Oaks Course
3. Bethpage Black
4. PGA West Stadium Course
5. Cowboys Golf Club (Dallas, TX)

Before you think I am stupid rich, I’ll say this (also for Veterans, sorry if this is military heavy). If you have a military ID you can stay at the Sanctuary Hotel on Kiawah Island for $110 a night (Su-T) and you can play the Ocean Course for $70 and all other courses for $50. This rate is good for anyone who has an ID. If you have a military or law enforcement ID you can play both TPC San Antonio courses for $65 any day of the week and the rate is good for your entire foursome. AKA as long as one person is military, the entire foursome plays for $65 each. Military can also play for I think $70 at Cowboys Golf Club (Su-T) up in DFW. The rate is only good for each person with an ID.

Is job-hopping a thing that can scare some companies away?

Lol. This has been on my mind as well. Starting next month, I am going to have cashed checks from four (technically the Army +3) separate companies since the start of 2016. That is not a humble brag by any means, just shows that it is possible. The big thing in this scenario is that the companies and/or titles 100% have to get better each move you make. If you are moving around from low role to low role (even if the pay is great), that could get looked down upon. You can’t say “they paid be so much more money” on a resume. You need to demonstrate very obvious bumps in responsibilities and/or companies on the resume. If I see the following, I’ll probably be okay with it:

1. Manager at PwC (January 2017-Present)
2. Individual Contributor at KPMG (May 2016-December 2016)
3. Individual Contributor at a Fortune 1000 (January 2016-May 2016)
4. Individual contributor at Mom-n-Pop (July 2015-January 2016)

As long as you have a damn good story come interview time about why you won’t jump ship again, you should be okay with frequent job-hopping on the resume. More and more companies these days look at work stops as projects rather than lifestyles. Some are more okay with hopping than others, but you/we are hardly alone when it comes to having a couple stops in a short time period on the resume..

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Kiawah Island Strip Club

I'd rather be golfing. Seattle sucks so I write about that. Also work...ish in recruiting. Shoot your resume to kiawahislandstripclub@gmail.com for any and all job hunt questions.