Job Seekers vs. Skills Holders, Champions and More

The professionalism and attention to detail that Angela Loeb and Jay Markunas of the Job Search Boot Camp made our job search podcast particularly good. I think you’ll enjoy it.

As always, thanks to JobCannon.com (formerly CardboardResume) for their support of The Market for Me. JobCannon is the software that I recommend to my readers.

Here are a few excerpts:

Brian, let’s start out by talking about the idea behind your book’s premise “Corporations hire without joy and fire without remorse” – can you tell us what you’ve observed, and what’s motivated you to reach out to job seekers like this?

This is a somewhat cynical statement, but it underscores the imbalance between what a corporation is willing to commit to in exchange for your services and what employees are willing to commit to in exchange for a paycheck. We’ve seen this movie: your boss loves you. She fights for you. Get’s you raises. Promotes you internally. And when the stock price drops, she lays you off.

Corporations have the lawyers, HR people, policies and procedures in place to optimize their workforce. Employees on the other hand, offer blind loyalty. We don’t look for work when we have work. We identify ourselves with the company. We join and leave a company with great emotion. This works to the advantage of the corporation.

Brian, I know you like to talk about the differences of attitudes between Job Seekers vs Skills Holders. Can you tell our listeners what you mean by this?

The most striking distinction between a job seeker and a skills holder is that job seekers want something. Skills holders have something. The skills holder has skills that they will sell to the company that pays the most for them. The job seeker needs a way to pay his mortgage.

Job seekers exchange time for money. Skills holders exchange value for money, and thus skills holders grow their value. Job seekers can’t grow their time.

For a Skills Holder to advance, they must be in the market for better opportunities. Job holders have a much smaller market for their talents: one company.

Job seekers are expected to be loyal, while skills holders offer dedication. Job seekers don’t anticipate an end to their employment. Skills holders expect to have several career transactions as they grow their skills and income. Skills holders are always looking for the next opportunity.

Job seekers are afraid to admit that they’re on the market, and this saturates every communication they have with low confidence.

You mention having an attitude of valuing your worth in the market. When it comes to negotiation, I always advise people to always negotiate. Could you elaborate on this idea you bring up about “time vs value” and “fair vs best”?

Negotiation is easier when you know your value. When you know how much people with your ability are making, you come from a different place when discussing your wage and benefits.

So many of the job seekers I talk to have not looked for work in years. They don’t know what they can negotiate for. Too many underestimate their skills. Never ever stop looking for a job again. In the negotiation, job seekers try to find a “fit.” Skills holders try to find a weakness, a whole that they can fill. They have a very different conversation around compensation.

Brian, in the Job Search Boot Camp, I use a quote from Dan Miller. He says that young people graduating from college nowadays might have as many as 14 to 16 jobs in their career. This equates to getting a new job every 2-3 years. What do you think about this?
Do you think it’s a realistic assumption that we might have to change jobs that often?

Dan is just one source of this kind of research, and the days of long stays with one company seem to be over for many of us. Let’s turn it around. Do you want to prepare yourself for a rapid-change environment that may never actually develop, or prepare yourself for a long-tenure environment that may be over?

Most of us could end up working for 25 years at jobs, but that will probably mean slower wage increases. It’s profitable to change companies. New skills are learned when you change companies. The problem is our fear of change. I say plan for this “new” job market and be pleasantly surprised if companies rise to the occasion with longer term positions.

One of the biggest attitude hurdles I see with job seekers, Brian, is fear. Many people are afraid to talk about their situation. What do you suggest?

As I said, skills holders are looking for holes, weaknesses in an organization that they can fill.

Instead of talking about “what you’re looking for” or “that you’re between opportunities,” start by asking “What are you trying to accomplish at your company?” “What is your biggest challenge” in my area of expertise? “What do you have to accomplish this year in sales?” “Are your store managers doing the things you need? Have you thought about this?”

Be interested in their problems, and position yourself as a solution.” I also recommend having a list of companies that you’re interested in. Instead of saying “I’m looking for a job as…” ask “Do you know anything about ACME here in town? I’ve heard good things and want to check them out.”

What other attitudes would you say hinder job seekers or skills holders?

“I don’t want to bother people, even if I am looking at a specific position or company.”

“I have a job. Why should I keep looking?”

“Why should I help someone else find work. I need a job!”

“The company I want to work for is not hiring for people with my skills.”

“I’ll take whatever I can find before I run out of money.”