Q:
I have a potential employer asking for a direct manager reference and I'm looking for advice on how to handle it. I've sent him three references from co-workers and clients, so he has good reviews in his hands. Now, he's asked for one reference who has managed me directly. I've been in my current job for four years, and would rather not have my current manager know that I'm job searching. In my last job of 5 years I didn't have the best relationship with my manager, so I'm not confident that I'd get a good reference from him. I'm not sure how to handle this situation. Can I really go back 10 years for a job reference? What have you seen or what would you recommend?
A:
I'm not surprised you're being asked for a direct manager reference. In the PR industry, it's common to be asked for references from a direct manager, a direct report, a client, and a reporter. Most employers will want to speak to the people with whom you have had a working relationship most recently.
It's understandable to be concerned about giving your direct supervisor as a reference at this point in the process. Without a job offer, risking your current position and letting your employer question your loyalty is asking for trouble. I would only give your direct manager as a reference IF he or she already knows you are leaving the company.
Considering you have already given a few colleagues as references, it should give sufficient material to move forward for an offer. The best approach is to be honest and to tell him if you give your direct supervisor as a reference now it will put you in an uncomfortable position and you don't want to risk your job just yet. He should understand. If that reference is really important to him, you could agree to giving it once you have you have received and accepted a formal offer. It's standard practice and should be an acceptable compromise.
Providing a reference from a manager ten years ago is too far in the past. The types of questions and information an employer would ask your manager reference at this point in your career is much different than the information sought early in your career.
This post is part of an on-going series featuring readers job search and hiring questions. If you have a question you would like answered in this blog, please send it to me here. Your information will be kept confidential.
My column on PRNewser is posted. It's about how LinkedIn Groups could add value to your career and job search. You can read the post on PRNewser's blog here
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Paradigm Staffing launched a Public Relations & Communications Job Community a few weeks ago. Feel free to join us!
Links:
PRNewser: From the Recruiters Desk - The Value of LinkedIn Groups for Your PR Career
Anita Bruzzese recently wrote an awesome post on her blog, 45 Things, about being a good interviewer. If there was any doubt, the title says it all: Being a Hiring Manager Doesn't Give You the Right To Be a Jackass. I've too heard my fair share of stories from candidates on the job search. Lack of common courtesy and outrageous expectations
seem to be recurring themes these days. The interviewee-interviewer mistake ratio is 1:1.
Anita outlined five rules for being a good hiring manager.
1. When you post a job, be prepared.
2. Be on time.
3. Clear a chair.
4. Pay attention.
5. Be honest.
Read her commentary and the entire post here.
Each rule is equally important, but number 4, Pay Attention, is the one that bothers me every time. It's also the rule even usually good interviews break the most.
Interviewers/hiring managers:
An interview is not the time to be checking your email and Blackberry. It doesn't matter how "busy" you are. Please turn off the cell phone and the computer monitor. The silent buzz in your pocket is distracting you, and, even if you don't check it, we know you want to! If a candidate answered his phone during an interview, it would be considered inappropriate - the same rules apply to the interviewer.
I'd also like to add a couple more good rules for the interviewer to follow:
6. Read through the candidate's resume prior to starting the interview. I've heard of situations where the interviewer didn't even know the candidate's name. Optimize the time available for the interview by preparing questions prior to meeting the candidate. If there is more than one person involved in the process, make sure each interviewer is not asking the same questions.
7. Tell the candidate about the position. Candidates are expected to walk into an interview prepared to show how all of their experience matches the job. Often they are only provided with a generic job description such as "seeking candidates with excellent communications skills" or "seeking individuals with strong attention to detail". These generic descriptions are often quite vague when it comes to explaining what the person will actually be expected to accomplish in the role. It's important to feed the candidates specific information about the job so they can demonstrate how their most relevant skills and previous experiences prove to you they are a viable candidate in the short amount of time they have.
Remember, even if you don't hire the candidate in the end, his or her experience interacting with your company can either build or slowly kill your employer reputation. This same candidate could be your future customer, client, or even your employer.
What would you suggest be added to the list?
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This is a guest post by Chris Perry. Chris is a Gen Y Brand and Marketing Generator, a Career Search and Personal Branding Expert and the Founder of Career Rocketeer, the Career Search and Personal Branding Blog.
Being an avid fan of Michael Jackson, his music, his moves and his effect on the evolution of music itself, I was truly sorry to hear of his death on June 25th.
However, all of the recent media attention and tributes to his life and his music career made me realize how effective his personal branding efforts were throughout his career and how powerful his personal brand has become as a result.
While personal branding did not exist in its now-better-defined form when Michael first started to shine in the Jackson 5, Michael, like all musicians, did encounter the need to build up and protect his reputation in order to continue to rise to greater levels of fame and success.
Michael Jackson was a personal branding genius with respect to music and dance. He never ceased to push the limits with his look, his dress and his new moves and dance routines, and he continued to produce hit after hit in the height of his career, thereby totally revolutionizing the industry.
Despite multiple factors that detracted from his overall personal brand, including his eccentricities and the legal allegations against him, his natural strengths and promotional efforts in music and dance were so overwhelmingly powerful that they have almost overridden any negative memories of him. Regardless of whatever personal problems he grappled with, I have respect for his personal brand and the unique and differentiating value he brought to the table throughout his life.
What are some lessons you can learn from the late King of Pop about personal branding?
- Establish your own personal brand by identifying your true strengths, values and goals and by combining them into one-or-two-word personal brand and supporting brand pitch or statement. Remember, Michael Jackson was the self-proclaimed King of Pop; however, because he always reinforced that claim with his unique strengths, hit songs and musical and dance performances, that′s how he will always be remembered.
- Make yourself present and be heard on each and every stage on which you play a role. No one had any doubt when Michael Jackson entered the stage, because he made himself known and promoted himself and his personal brand through his performances. Make yourself, your strengths and your personal brand known whenever you enter "the stage" through your performance and actions.
- Be consistent in all of your personal branding efforts both online and offline and both professionally and socially. This includes your one-or-two-word personal brand, your appearance, the look of your online social networking profiles, your performance on the job, your contributions at and outside of work and more. MJ′s peculiarities and the legal allegations against him unfortunately weakened the social side of his overall personal brand; however, his professional side was so strong that it frequently compensated for the personal. Imagine how powerful your personal brand could be even on a more local scale if you remain consistent across all of the spheres in which you choose to exist and be active, both publicly and privately. Declare yourself, and then be what you declare.
Fast Food Nation release
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According to the Wall Street Journal, many employers in this economy think that the best candidates are those who are still employed and are "bypassing the jobless to target those still working, reasoning that these survivors are the top performers." See it
for yourself.
Bobby Fitzgerald, the restaurant owner quoted in this article, seems to think that restaurant servers and managers are only worthy of being hired if they have a current job. Even though he claims 'two dozen or more unsolicited résumés come in each day', he'd rather fly a candidate from Alabama to Phoenix to interview for a job based on the candidate's current employment status - employed. He's also proud to flaunt his guerrilla recruiting tactics by sending his managers to poach talent from his local competition because he thinks that an employed worker brings more value to his restaurants.
Perhaps it's Mr. Fitzgerald's proud photo along with the negativity and his comments in the article that bother me so much. Millions of professionals are unemployed in the market due to the economic crisis, many at no fault of their own. We're so far past the point of equating the unemployed with damaged. This kind of short-sightedness in this marketplace makes my blood boil.
While it is common, especially during good economic times, to give preference to an employed candidate or to question the reasons behind a layoff, there are many other factors to consider before running off to the WSJ to tell the world about your company's silly hiring policies. Some of these story sources didn't even bother to think about how their comments may affect their reputation. Ticking off the community of unemployed readers and their friends and family members isn't the smartest way to drive business to your company or enhance your employer brand.
Companies don't always make cuts based on performance issues. Entire departments are being eliminated and other companies are going through three of four rounds of layoffs. Sometimes the business just can't sustain even the best performers. And even if the layoff had something to do with the person, such as a cultural or personality clash, it doesn't mean that the candidate couldn't be a top performer in the right environment.
Let's make it clear though. I'm not advocating that preference should be given to an unemployed candidate because he or she is out of a job. I just hope most employers can set aside their preconceived notions about unemployed applicants and evaluate potential prospects based on their relevant experience first, not their 2009 employment status.
This blog is to share my recruiting experiences and discuss thoughts on the job market, PR industry and technology.
Alison Kenney is an independent PR practitioner with more than 15 years of PR consulting experience.
