What I Learned About Jobs in 2009

Last year was the biggest learning experience I’ve had. In 2009 I had to learn how to stay positive when almost on a daily basis I was interacting with candidates who were losing their homes, savings and any sort of self respect. And I had to be flexible when we saw our own company’s recruiting efforts become fruitless because there were so few jobs to fill.

After all, last year drove home that people who are able to change and adapt to the changing economy were the most successful. With zero experience in radio, we launched a web radio show, landing interviews with Keith Ferrazzi (author of Never Eat Alone), Michael Port (author of Book Yourself Solid), and the brash Jeffrey Fox (author of How to Become a Rainmaker). We put up their bios and shared the interviews with our talent pool. Did it make us a single penny? No. But we learned (some more) and were able to give back.

I think 2010 is going to be an interesting year–and it will be more successful if we use all the lessons we learned in the last 12 months:…

Why that Headhunter Won’t Call You Back

Recruiters can be like cads: They lead you on, pretend to be interested, and then never call you back. Lots of people have horror stories about recruiters who reach out for their resumes, interview them in-office, and then never speak to them again.

There’s a reason. And, it’s not pure malice. Generally. But I might need you to thicken your skin for a moment.

1. They Don’t Have Anything For You Right Now. The simplest answer is often the truth. Why, you ask, would they waste everyone’s time if they don’t have any positions for you? It’s in their interest to find out what you’re all about so that you’re good to go when a position does arise for your background…

How to Turn a Phone Interview into a Face-to-Face

When time and budgets are tight many employers start their interview process with a phone interview. Though it may sound like a lower hurdle than an in-person meeting, that’s not necessarily true. There are things you need to know to get you to a meeting with the hiring manager—and eventually, to a fantastic new job.

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Be positive and energetic. Remember that the person interviewing you can’t see any body language and can only read the inflection of your voice. Practice this if you need to—and if you have trouble with it, put a mirror in front of you to watch your face as you are talking on the phone.

Show you’re listening. The occasional “I see,” “Yes,” “Great,” make for a better conversation—as do any positive vibes you can give during pauses…

Recession Briefing 9.23: Candy is Dandy in Downturn

What you need to know today to survive and thrive in the recession.

In a broad recession-related shift, many Americans have lost their taste for fancy cars, clothes and vacations, but their appetite for candy, it seems, only has become more pronounced. (San Francisco Chronicle)

The recession is apparently prompting more women to try to delay having babies, according to the first survey aimed at documenting the effects of the economic downtown on childbearing. (Washington Post)

The recession is complicating job hunts — and the lives — of two-career couples, particularly when one lands an offer out of town. The search for employment is forcing more couples into long-distance relationships. (Wall Street Journal)…

How to Negotiate a Job Offer in an Employer’s Market

Finally, the hours of prospecting, submitting resumes, attending networking events, developing new relationships and attending job fairs have paid off. A company has made you an offer.

Now what?

In this environment, you may feel like you’re lucky to get a job offer at all. But you also want to be paid fairly. So how do you cut a good deal? Follow these guidelines.

Networking for Non-Networkers

Network, network, network.

After getting a JD from the University of Michigan and working at one New York’s top law firms, the last thing I anticipated was to be scrambling for a job. Welcome to the new reality. Part of my severance package was career counseling from an outplacement firm that offered coaching classes on networking. “Network” was their mantra—and if I’d heeded their advice more closely back in March, I might have avoided a few missteps.

Lots of people, including me, chafe at the idea of leveraging their contacts to meet people who might be in a position to help. And I’m not suggesting, as the New York Times recently did, that you start hitting people up for business cards on the subway. But it doesn’t take a degree in math to know that the more people you know, the more likely you are to hear about career opportunities. And assuming you make a good impression, anyone you meet is one more person who can recommend you, serve as a sounding board for ideas, or even a potential client once you have landed that dream job.

As I’ve learned the hard way, there are better and worse ways to approach people. These tips will help to make your networking more effective and efficient and get you on your way to landing a job—or at least figuring out the next step…

How Not to Look Desperate

Desperate times can lead you to show how desperate really are to land that job. But no matter how tough a time you’ve been having—dwindling savings, unemployment running out, bills overdue—that’s the last impression you want to give a prospective employer.

Job hunting is like dating. People are attracted to confidence and turned off by the hard-up. So how can you seem self-assured while looking for work and land that job as the market heats up? Keep in mind these dos and don’ts.

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Remember that the more you have going on, the less desperate you will feel…

Sotomayor Had It Easy

A severe company-wide crisis is underway and, as a mid-level manager, you have to decide: Push forward with a risky new plan that could save jobs and bring in more revenue — if it works — or scrap your costly team now and stay the course. But wait. Now you’re a lower-level worker facing the same situation from a different perspective. How do your elegancies shift? Would you remain loyal to the company? Or stand by your fellow co-workers as part of a team?

Such role-playing games are the type of exercises Hallie Crawford, a certified career coach in Atlanta, Ga., says some of her clients are being run through in job interviews. “It’s kind of a no-win situation,” Crawford says of the above scenario, which a recent client faced. Side with upper management and you’re a yes man; side with co-workers and you‘re disloyal.

Think this week’s vetting process for Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor was tough? Try sitting through just about any mid-level job interview these days …

Recession Briefing 7.17

What you need to know today to survive and thrive in the recession.

A roadside billboard campaign funded by an anonymous donor tells motorists “Self worth is greater than net worth” and “This will end long before those who caused it are paroled.” (Associated Press)

Most people believe the economic downturn has led to more gang violence, according to a new national survey. (Associated Press)

Economist Nouriel Roubini said yesterday the worst of the financial crisis is over and reiterated that the recession may end this year. (Bloomberg)…

Off the Page…and Into the Real World

I couldn’t help but laugh when, right as we were approaching the final stretch of the presidential campaign, the economy went off the deep end. I laughed because I sure as hell didn’t need the 24-hour news cycle to tell me how bad things were.

I’m a screenwriter, a card-carrying member of the Writers Guild of America, and though I have had nine movies made (credited and uncredited), business has been abysmal from about six months before the November ’07 writers strike to…oh, say, today. Tomorrow. Next week. The foreseeable future.

I weathered the strike, as I had weathered a previous career dry spell. But the weathering, ladies and gentlemen, is over. I’m looking for a real job. But as I awaken to the lifeless moonscape that is the present economy, I have to wonder: what was wrong with me that I didn’t start looking for one sooner?

I know most of the answer to that. I had it in my head from a young age that being “talent” was an end in and of itself – if you can make 100 percent of your living off said talent, you win. That’s how my grandfather did it as a commercial artist. That’s how my cousin Molly Picon, legend of the Yiddish stage, did it. That’s how my TV producer cousin Bruce has been doing it since the ‘80s.

A very short time ago, I wasn’t certain whether this notion of purely being a screenwriter was more important to me than my marriage. Two things changed that in a hurry. The first was news that a paying gig I had been counting on wasn’t going to happen anytime soon. The second was our checking account balance…