Candidate Services

MBA’S??

Q: I have received a couple of telephone calls from recruiters over the last month. While I am not currently looking to change jobs both opportunities looked intriguing enough to pursue. We had brief conversations where they outlined the position and asked me some screening type questions. Everything seemed to be clicking until they asked me if I had an MBA. I do not have one. In both cases the recruiters were polite but brought the conversation to an end because their clients required an MBA.

Since I am not looking I am not terribly disappointed but I am wondering in the future if not having an MBA will affect my chances when I do change companies.

A: I have discussed the subject of college degrees in some brevity in the past. This column will focus on MBA’s and their impact on a job search.

I want to start with a couple stories. A number of years back I had a Fortune 50 client that I did a good amount of work for. They were very big on MBA’s, especially at the more senior levels. One time I was doing a search for a director of product marketing (This was a senior director type position with a lot of responsibility, including a large revenue stream for their set of products.). I identified an exceptional candidate who came recommended from a number of sources. He interviewed with two divisional presidents and a number of VP’s. They all loved this gentleman, his experience and abilities. The only issue was he did not have an MBA. He also did not have an undergrad. They hired him without hesitation. The same company, another senior hiring authority in sales, asked me to find a sales director with an MBA. In sales most would think this isn’t really that critical. You would want someone with a proven track record. But there was no bending.

The bottom line is this is all a bit of a crapshoot.

Briefly let me review the creation of the job description. Most good job descriptions will have a list of desired experience and skills. Many times this list would require 2-3 people to fill it. Generally this list can be boiled down to 3-5 must haves. In other words don’t bother if you don’t have these certain credentials. A good recruiter will be searching off this shortened list. Now let’s review the MBA scenario from three perspectives.

Recruiter: As I mentioned a good recruiter has reduced this list to 3-5 must haves. They typically are not going to make exceptions to this list. First of all they know their client well enough to understand what will and won’t be acceptable. So they have already tweaked the list to incorporate that. Next the company might make an exception if they are hiring directly. But they are paying the recruiter thousands to find a pretty close match to what they want. That is the recruiter’s job. So if a recruiter has an MBA as one of the requirements (without a desired behind it) then that is what they want.

Human Resources: Human resources is similar in certain ways to the recruiter. The hiring manager has provided them a laundry list. The good ones will also have narrowed down this list to the must haves. The one advantage they have is they typically know the hiring managers pretty well and know what that manager will overlook. But remember the HR person’s job is screening and reduction, not typically the hiring decision. Also as another fellow coach said in a recent column another one of their unstated goals is to get the hiring manager off their backs. Bottom line if they are also requiring an MBA chances are there is no wavering.

Hiring Manager: This is the person with the most pain, hopefully. Typically they are already “bleeding” and need to fill the position. Someone has left with 2 weeks notice so they have not had a chance to prepare. Most of the time if they see a great candidate that fits everything else they are not going to be burdened by the MBA requirement. After all it is typically theirs anyway. See my example above. Now there will be a few where the MBA is more important than anything else, by far. These people, in my opinion, are being very myopic.

So where does this leave you? It just confirms what you have already heard from the knowledgeable sources. You need to get in front of the hiring manager. That is your best percentages and they are the ones, again, with the pain.

Obviously this is not black and white and can be impacted by different things such as:
· Labor supply. The greater the supply the tighter the requirements can be.
· Pay. An MBA will typically get a few more $$. If the pay is on the lower end of the range it is going to be harder for them to get an MBA.
· MBA School. There are 10-20 top MBA programs, Wharton, U of M, U of Chicago, Kellogg, etc that sometimes make hiring authorities go gaga. Nothing else matters except the candidate has that credential. All other MBA’s are pretty much equal in value.
· Two or more equally outstanding candidates. Many times an MBA can be a tiebreaker.
· The myopic view of a hiring authority. Covered above.
· Size of company. The smaller they are typically the less interested they are in MBAs.

I wouldn’t let all of this concern you. As I have said many times before, “It is what it is”. For every company that is insistent on an MBA there are 10 that aren’t. If you let it concern you or be a hindrance it will. If you don’t then you will have a much greater amount of success. If you come up against an MBA requirement do your best to overcome it and if you can’t, move on. An MBA has nothing, generally, to do with your skills and accomplishments. It is their loss.

I want to close by saying I have no desire to demean or discount MBAs or other graduate degrees. I think it is great that people have pursued them and have them. But there are many that don’t and I just do not want that to be a discouragement to them.

Here’s Wishing You Terrific Hunting,

Bill

Bill Gaffney has 17 years experience as an executive recruiter, and a career coach. Bill can be reached at 937-567-5267 or wmgaffney@prodigy.net. He doesn’t have an MBA but seems to do alright. For questions to be considered for this column please e-mail askamaxa@yahoo.com.

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How to Work with a Recruiter
By Kimberly Schneiderman

Working with recruiters often feels like a guessing game. It’s nerve–wracking for job seekers to learn the process as they go. They wonder how to make time to scout, screen and interview recruiters during the workday. Perhaps you can relate. Sometimes it seems like your search is at a stand still – even with so many moving pieces. Maybe you have other roadblocks that freeze your progress – trying to sell yourself, remembering ‘everything’ you’ve ever done in your career, explaining a bad situation and why you left, or writing a simple thank you note that hits the right points.

Well, it’s time to take a deep breath. While we cannot change the time required for an effective job search, there are some tips for working with recruiters to get the most out of your time. This article will provide some insights from recruiters’ points of view. How they look at the whole process, what they really think when you ask for a 7 a.m. interview and what you can do to make your partnership successful.

Taking the Screening Call

When actively searching, the first rule of thumb is to avoid answering your cell phone unless you are in the perfect position to talk. As many job seekers have figured out, answering your phone while walking past your manager’s desk does not work well. You end up sounding disorganized and unprepared to the recruiter – and your manager.

Take advantage of caller ID and let calls from unknown people go to voice mail. Only return calls to recruiters when you are in a position to speak freely. Lynn Diegel, Executive Vice President of a market research firm and former hiring manager, says, “Don’t go to Starbucks. That constantly running blender in the background is a distraction.” She suggests calling from your car (your parked car!) or finding another quiet place to return her call. And, don’t worry about calling back within five minutes – simply getting back to the recruiter by the end of the next business day is perfectly acceptable.

Scheduling the Interview

Every recruiter interviewed for this story gave the same piece of advice: give the recruiter blocks of time when you will be available to interview. John Ferrel, a recruiter at The Heiden Group, advises “My job is to drive the interview process. The candidate needs to give me windows of time that work for them to schedule these meetings. When someone can offer consistent blocks of available time from week to week, it makes my job easier.” And those early morning hours? No problem – recruiters agree that whenever possible they will work with your availability, whether it be 7 a.m. or 6 p.m.

What if you have a lot of freedom and can interview anytime? “Don’t be too available – it doesn’t give me any structure in trying to set up an interview,” says Ferrel. “Stick to offering blocks.”
Travel a lot? Not to worry. “I’ll wait for someone to return from a business trip without an issue, especially if their resume is interesting,” says Bernie Siegel, a former recruiter and current President of the International Coach Federation of New York City. Lynn Diegel agrees wholeheartedly, but on the flip–side advises that candidates should not claim to be in ‘all–day meetings’ constantly. She wants the potential employee to be low–maintenance. Scheduling multiple managers and candidates is already difficult enough without having to battle the unavailable job seeker.

Whatever your entry point, you need to be realistic and respectful of employers’ and recruiters’ time. Knowing the demand level for your particular skill set and expertise can also help you. Professionals in mid–level positions with widely–available skills can expect less flexibility, but those coming from senior–level positions and specialty fields may experience a bit more freedom. Based on that, you can gauge employers’ potential flexibility and willingness to accommodate your needs in the interview process.

Selling Yourself

Just because a recruiter has contacted you does not mean you should stop marketing yourself. “Help me sell you to the employer; help me build a best–case scenario for your candidacy,” requests Ferrel. “Articulate why the position is a good fit for you. Pull out a story about your sales experience, your best engineering qualifications, or the projects you have managed.”
Tony Shea of The Heiden Group advises, “Sales candidates should be able to discuss their statistical achievements. Performance, quotas, numbers, commissions.” In general, candidates need to be ready and willing to discuss their resumes in a succinct, concise manner.
Putting together several pertinent S.T.A.R. stories will help you communicate your accomplishments and selling points to a recruiter. S.T.A.R. is a story–telling strategy which stands for Situation, Task, Action, Result. The strategy helps you stay on track when describing an accomplishment and drives you from the beginning to end of a story. For example: “[Situation] At XYZ Company we had a line of widgets to market in a new territory. [Task] These same widgets were very well received in other territories, so our job was to educate buyers in the market and show the value of placing these widgets on their store shelves. [Action] I went store–to–store with samples of the widgets and requested meetings with the store buyers. Since my product was easy to demonstrate, I was often able to meet with the buyer right away. [Result] Results were impressive. Buyers liked the product and would place orders immediately. Ultimately, I achieved 85% integration into the market and reached $650,000 in sales in just three months.”

Take time to re–familiarize yourself with your career. Put together S.T.A.R. stories for each position and be able to talk about your value and your takeaways from each job over the years. If you have maintained a strong network, you can reach out to your former co–workers and managers to discuss past projects and company successes.

Discussing Personal Roadblocks

Some candidates feel very open when working with recruiting firms – as if they can divulge things to the recruiter that they would not in an employer–candidate interview scenario. There is some flexibility and openness in the recruiter–candidate relationship, but do not assume you can discuss anything.

Shea and Ferrel have been told about candidates’ divorce struggles, potential cross–country moves, and other deeply personal issues. “It’s an interview process, not a personal declaration. Keep the information you present pertinent to the job – focus on the job skills.” Shea says. However, divulging something personal that affects a job requirement is essential. For example, if driving is a requirement of a position (like outside sales in a suburban market) and you do not have a drivers’ license, you need to tell the recruiter upfront. This said, you do not have to go into the reasons behind that fact.

Sending Thank You Notes and Email Etiquette

“Yes, thank you notes are required,” expresses Diegel. “Simply make a few connections between your experience and my needs. And, don’t assume I’ll remember you – a quick reminder of when you interviewed and something we discussed is great to jog my memory.”
Thank you notes should be sent within 24 hours of the interview. Remember to collect business cards from each person you meet so you can send individual notes to everyone. Your note does not have to be long – just acknowledge your appreciation of their time and point out a skill, talent, or experience that makes you the ideal candidate for the position. While recruiters and employers will always have their personal preferences, both email and regular mail are widely accepted for thank you notes.

One thing that does not waiver from the employer’s point of view is your professional presentation, especially with email. Follow appropriate grammar rules and do not get creative with spelling or punctuation. It is not a text message – make a good impression in every note you send throughout the job search process. And, always include your phone number with your full name on your signature line.

Following each of the above tips can help you in the interview process. Recruiters and employers actually want you to be right candidate for a job – it means they can stop their search – but you need to do your part to get in front of them and market yourself. Good luck!

Kimberly Schneiderman is the owner of City Career Services, a company that provides job search tools including Resumes, Cover Letters, and Interview Workshops to goal-oriented professionals at all levels and across all industries.

Labels: candidates

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More of "INSIGHTS FOR THE JOURNEY ... NAVIGATING TO THRIVE, ENJOY, AND PROSPER IN SENIOR MANAGEMENT" Published by The Viceroy Press Inc.

From time to time, I've encountered a very senior executive who makes a point of asking for the most outstanding person that can be found to fill a position and then -- when confronted with several fine candidates -- unerringly chooses the blandest one. What about the extraordinary people I'm excited to deliver? The ones with the head-turning accomplishments? The ones I know their employers will hate most to lose and fight hardest to keep? They are NOT the ones this client wants! Bells and buzzers go off! Instantly, I decide never to buy stock in any company this client leads. Moreover, in my experience, anyone who worries about bringing in a too-successful subordinate is soon personally on the way out.

On one occasion, a respected CEO of a large regional media company told me to find several junior people with enormous potential who could grow up in his organization, lead various units, and wind up with one of them in his chair. To assure they'd fit into his management team, all would have to see his outside corporate psychologist. I didn't like sending candidates to a shrink, but I presented only people who agreed to cooperate. Besides, I was sure my superstars would WOW the psychologist.Not so! Every single one FAILED the psychologist's evaluation. Reluctantly I realized I'd been fooled. Superstars were NOT wanted. Only bland, dull, good, solid average people were wanted, and the CEO had a professional to enforce those limits. I got paid. But having scored so dismally, I was never asked to submit any further candidates. Today, one of that candidate group is CEO of America's second largest magazine publishing company. One heads a famous sporting goods company. One made a killing in the dot-com bubble. And another is CEO of a proprietary education company. And the CEO? Shortly afterward, the NYSE-listed company was acquired by a competitor. I think the CEO made big money on the deal, so his sins were rewarded. I guess everybody won. My candidates avoided relocation for a bum career opportunity. The CEO probably got more cash when the company was sold than he would have if it had continued. The psychologist and I were paid. Most importantly, I got a wake-up call. No matter how eloquently executives specify what they want in their subordinates, they may really want something very different. That's a truth I have never forgotten.

Nonetheless, I stand firmly behind today's Insight. From all that I've seen, it is absolutely true. From here on, you're reading the book... ARE YOU FEARLESS OF GOOD PEOPLE? Who should you delegate to? Obviously the best person you can find. Face it. If your company, division, or department is to perform notably well, you've got to assemble the best possible team to run it. So what, if one or even all of your subordinates are equal or even superior to you?If the business unit you are responsible for can turn in an outstanding performance and if the reason for that performance is that you have found truly excellent people, placed them in positions where their stellar talents will be best used, and empowered and encouraged them to do their best work, your superiors -- and if not they, then outside recruiters -- will be eager to apply your leadership to an even bigger business unit or perhaps the entire company.No one was ever promoted because "he has nobody under him who is quite as good as he is." Plenty of people have been promoted because "I don't know how she does it, but she surrounds herself with terrific people and gets absolutely the best possible performance out of them.

"Warmest regards and very best wishes,
John
From Insights for the Journey.
Copyright, The Viceroy Press Inc., New York, NY.
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The Dangerous Allure of Counter-Offers

"They'll be sorry when I leave!"What departing employee has not had that thought? In fact, has it crossed your mind? All too often, employers do seem sorry - suddenly offering the kind of salary, promotion or opportunity for recognition that they had refused to grant before. Of course they're sorry. You're about to leave on your timing, not theirs. There is probably work to be done, which they were counting on you to complete. You have just fired your boss, when he or she would prefer to have the right to fire you. You have created a vacancy, which they will need to fill at some expense. And if you weren't a terrific person, they wouldn't have hired you in the first place.

They say:"You can't do this to us." (Have a nice guilt trip)." We need you" (until the project is done, and we can find a replacement)." We never realized you were unhappy" (Our employee communications are not the best). Surprisingly, the very best companies rarely make counter-offers. They believe they treat their employees fairly and wish them well if a better opportunity exists elsewhere. If you work for one of them, don't be disappointed if you fail to receive a counter-offer.

But if you do receive one, take a moment for a reality check:

* First, executive search consultants know from long experience that there have to be strong reasons for leaving a job before most employees will consider taking a new one. If that is true in your case, have those reasons disappeared? Will staying on the job solve them?
* Second, if the counter-offer includes salary or job enhancement, what is the source? Are you simply getting your next raise or promotion in advance? And will you have to accept yet another job to get the raise or promotion after that?
* Third, your employer may appeal to your sense of loyalty. Ask yourself how loyal the employer has been to employees.
* Fourth, statistics are not in your favor. The National Business Employment Weekly reports that four out of five people who accept counter-offers are gone within the year. Like Caesar's wife, you cannot flirt with another and still be considered virtuous. Rest assured that your employer will assume you'll look again.
* Finally, let's not forget that new job. Just as there are reasons for leaving your current company, you have seen significant opportunities at your new company - or you would not have accepted the offer of employment. These do not disappear the moment you receive a counter-offer.

The best way to avoid the messy, embarrassing situation of a counter-offer is to take charge of the situation.Here are a few tips:

* Resign in writing but hand the resignation to your boss. This helps you keep the initiative and stay in control.
* Tell him or her that you've carefully weighed the merits of the two positions and have chosen the new one.
* State specifically that you neither seek nor want a counter-offer and hope instead for an amicable departure.
* Last but not least, avoid the temptation to recite a list of grievances. They will only provide your employer with ammunition for a counter-offer.

To quit or not to quit is often a gut-wrenching decision. It involves one of those "passages" in life that require abandoning the comfort of the old and assuming the risk of the new. Also, there may be guilt about leaving your tasks to others, not to mention the "buyer's remorse" that accompanies most big decisions. Your employer likely realizes the emotions you are going through and will use them in formulating and presenting a counter-offer, if allowed.

To ease the stress, stay in close touch with your Pegasus Group Account Executive from the time you resign until you are actually out the door. The Pegasus Group has helped hundreds of professionals make the right decision.
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How to Ace a Job Interview

Job interviews are a tough nut to crack. You have a short period of time to convince total strangers that you're the right candidate for them. Follow the tips below and your interview may end with a job offer.

1) Be Humble No one likes a pompous ass! A recent mistake I've witnessed is trying to exude confidence but instead coming across as a cocky know it all. Be sure to convey your knowledge and experience but don't turn them off by acting as though you're the best thing that's ever happened to your industry.

2) Be Google-Proof The inevitable question always follows an interview, "Has anyone Googled them yet?" Don't share anything online that you wouldn't want a prospective boss to know. I know of several cases where a promising applicant ruined their chances of being hired by details they revealed on their website.

3) Be Honest If you don't know the answer to a question, just say so. If they ask you to rate yourself on certain skills, keep it real. Otherwise they'll probe further and you'll lose credibility once they break through the facade.

4) Know Yourself My boss always asks some variation of the question, "What 5 words best describe you" or "What 5 words would your previous boss use to describe you." Who do you think comes across better, someone who can list off their strengths right away or someone who stares at the wall trying to figure out how to explain who they are? Make sure you can back your up claims, read the next tip for more on this.

5) Always Know Why An answer to a question often leads to another question. If you make a claim about yourself or your skills, make sure you can explain your answer to the interviewer. If you say "Java is the best development language hands down" but can't come up with a reason for your opinion then you're just full of hot air.

6) Share the Love It's important to figure out who the decision maker is in a group interview and sell yourself to them. However, avoid addressing all your answers and face time to them. What if you picked the wrong person? Or what if the boss will only hire based on a consensus from the team? For example, after a recent interview, our boss left it up to the three team leads whether we wanted the candidate.

7) Keep Skeletons in the Closet Beware questions like "Describe your worst job ever" or "Tell me about a bad experience you had with a co-worker or customer and how you handled it." Keep the answer short, to the point, and free of bad mouthing. Rambling on about your former boss or complaining about a previous co-worker puts a negative spin on things and may bring up questions in the minds of your interview panel.

8) Curb Appeal Show off your skills. Provide a link to your web-based portfolio before the interview and make sure you reference it during the interview as well. You'll have a limited amount of face time; give your prospective employer a chance to review what you're capable of both before and after the interview.

9) Go on the Offensive End the interview with questions of your own. In addition to answering your questions it reminds the interviewers that you're a valuable asset who is evaluating them as well. Suddenly they are trying to sell themselves to you, not a bad way to end the interview.

10) Make a Connection Make use of any personal details you pick up on during the interview. As you shake everyone's hand on the way out bring up these tidbits and it will stick in their head. Wish them well with their new baby son Joshua or good luck on their upcoming project. They'll notice your attention to detail and by human nature will appreciate the kind gesture.

There you have it, 10 tips to help you nail the interview for the job you always wanted.

Labels: interview

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