DEAR JOYCE: I like the points an expert made in your recent column about candidates arriving on the dot for job interviews because, as he says, early arrivals pressure and may irk busy interviewers. So true.
But here’s my recommendation: Arrive five minutes early and tell the receptionist: “I’m here to see Sandra Smith at 3 o’clock. I realize I’m a couple of minutes early, so no need to announce me just yet. In the meantime, may I use your facilities?” This move allows you to glance in the mirror to check your hair, tie, makeup and so forth. You’ll look and feel your very best. The receptionist will view your request as neutral, or even mentally award you a slight plus for self-assurance and poise.
This strategy eliminates the chance that, when you arrive on the dot, the receptionist has stepped away or is busy answering the phone.
You get nervous — and you’re announced a bit late. You don’t want to seem late and then enter Ms. Smith’s office blaming someone else.
That’s why you’re wise to plan for (1) your comfort and (2) cooperation with the receptionist, who may later be asked about you.
Getting to someone perfectly on time — assuming he or she is on schedule — is like merging into traffic from an access road.
Alertness and skill pay off. — John Lucht, .
Author of the classic work, “Rites of Passage at $100,000 to $1 Million+: Your Insider’s Lifetime Guide to Executive Job-Changing and Faster Career Progress in the 21st Century,” John Lucht is one of the nation’s leading career-management gurus. Many thanks for the tip.
DEAR JOYCE: Are information interviews wasted time for job seekers today? — K.K.
Not if you can’t fill your dance card with job interviews, and if you expand your personal network. Remember to ask for information, not a job. Behavior strategist Joe Takash suggests conversation-launching questions like these: “What are your thoughts about …?” “What advice would you give me on …?” “What path did you take to get to this point in your career?” DEAR JOYCE: If I do get laid off, will I get severance pay? Can I collect unemployment checks? — P.K.
No law requires an employer to award you severance pay, says attorney Richard Corenthal, labor and employment partner at New York law firm Meyer, Suozzi, English & Klein: “You may be entitled to receive severance if your employer has a policy or practice of paying severance,” Corenthal explains. If so, ask what amount they typically pay.
Corenthal adds that some employer policies contain exclusions, such as no severance if you’re terminated for poor work performance.
Another dilemma: whether to sign an agreement that you won’t sue your employer as the price of receiving severance benefits. My advice: Unless you’re an ace researcher-negotiator (browse “employment separation agreements”), have the document reviewed by an attorney to be sure you’re not giving away the store. Additionally, Corenthal zeros in on a key point for your future: “Consider asking your employers to provide an employment reference as part of the separation agreement you are being asked to sign.” As for your eligibility to collect unemployment benefits, the probable answer is yes. But many federal, state and local laws apply, and you should check with your state department of labor (servicelocator.org/OWSLinks.asp) for the rules where you live.
DEAR JOYCE: You recently wrote about why employers don’t get back to interviewees after meeting with them and saying that they would.
People are rightly upset about this, and your answer was clear and good. But I thought of one more possibility that makes sense to me.
When times were good, managers needed to move fast or lose out.
Today, managers are taking more time to find the “perfect” candidate rather than merely settling on someone. So the best of intentions may be erased because a “more perfect” candidate was discovered later in the interviewing period — someone they like better than you. — P.T.R.
Thanks. For whatever reason, it’s maddening when you’re the one waiting for a call that never comes. Remember the job-warrior battle cry: Follow up!
