Here’s an inside look at the world of work:
The trap of Caller ID: More business phones than you would ever imagine now are equipped with Caller ID. And that’s why one employer warns that if you apply for a job on company time, you might be found out.
“Don’t call the prospective employer from your current employer’s phone on your current employer’s time,” advises James W. Randolph of Long Beach, Miss. “If you do that to your employer, the potential employer will know right away that you’ll do it again if you are hired and later decide to move on.”
Randolph, a veterinarian, has a staff of five, and when he has a position open, applicants are asked to fill out a questionnaire. One question is about honesty.
“A recent applicant said that honesty is very important to her and that she had called me from her cell phone and faxed information to me from home,” he said. “But the Caller ID showed she did it from work. She probably still wonders why she didn’t get the job.”
The trap of being nervous: Job interviews are tough, especially when so many other people are competing for the same job. That’s why it’s important to “pay attention to your non-verbal communication,” according to Barbara Pachter, president of Pachter & Associates, an international communications company based in Cherry Hill, N.J.
“Have a pleasant facial expression and look your interviewer in the eye,” said Pachter, who has a master’s degree in communications and is co-author with Susan Magee of “When the Little Things Count: And They Always Count” (Marlowe & Co., $12.95).
The consultant also urges you not to “play with pens or rings because you’ll seem distracted.”
But her best bit of advice, I think, is this: “Avoid nervous gestures, such as hand-wringing.”
Even if it’s appropriate!
The freedom of being in demand: There’s such a shortage of nurses and allied health students that most new graduates don’t have to be proactive in their job search. That’s a finding by CampusRN, which conducts employment surveys to connect hospitals and other health organizations with entry-level employees.
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Its recent employment survey of more than 1,700 job candidates shows that only 22 percent of them actively are job searching, while a healthy 55 percent said they “would be very likely to respond to employers who contacted them with an opportunity,” according to Matt Casey, CEO of CampusRN. “They … realize they are in great demand and expect employers to seek them out in the recruitment process.”
Another finding: More than 85 percent of the candidates said they “will have little or no difficulty in finding a job immediately after graduation.” And that’s a pretty rare situation in today’s job market.
The legal trap: You’re a lawyer who’s tired of practicing law. Or perhaps you can’t find a job in your profession. That’s why the idea of a non-legal career appeals to you. And where do you turn for advice? Why, to the American Bar Association, of course, recent publisher of “NonlegalCareers for Lawyers,” by Gary A. Munneke and William D. Henslee. The helpful book sells for $34.95.
Some alternatives the authors suggest: business and industry, securities, banks, insurance, high technology, accounting, government, energy, education, non-profits and unions.
And you won’t have to hire a lawyer to review your new job contract.
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Carol Kleiman’s columns also appear in Monday’s and Tuesday’s Business sections. Hear her on WBBM Newsradio 780 at 6:21 p.m. and 10:22 p.m. Mondays and 11:20 a.m. Saturdays. Watch her “Career Coach” segments on CLTV. E-mail [email protected].