“Never Be The First To Give A Number”: 30 People Are Sharing Their Most Valuable Job-Search Tips

This is true. A colleague of mine learned this the hard way, I warned him not to always promise ASAP since people tend to abuse your efficiency that and wait until the last minute to request something and just assume you can do it instantly. Until they figured it out, they were always working like everything was an emergency...which it is not .

This is the same concept of the Scotty Principle (named after the Chief Engineer of the original Star Trek TV series). It's the technique of adding extra time to your estimates when asked how long a task will take so that you appear to be a wizard when you accomplish the task quicker than you first claimed

Also keep a journal/log of any & all: research, assessment, joint department, financial, training, etc projects/special assignments you participate/collaborate in. This will be good during your evaluation, when you requesting/being reviewed for a pay increase, new department, or higher position. It also comes in handy when someone of higher rank requests your assistance or assigned parts of to you, but takes sole credit for the project that you made a significant and marked contribution to.

Yep, a while back there was a bank employee confused why his coworker was so much slower and kept telling him to slow down. The bank noticed employee doing so much and decided the best thing they could do was cut his hours in half since he'd still get the full day they expected done and only be paying him half what they did for others.

I call it the curse of competency.

This is excellent advice for all aspects of life, not just jobs. Be comfortable with silences, concise in your answers, and only provide the information being requested. You can add more detail later, but once spoken, you cannot take it back.

I'm sure this is all good information for surviving in today's world, but it's unbelievably depressing. So now we have to tell people to not accept responsibility for their own mistakes in the hope that other people will claim responsibility for mistakes. Encouraging poor communication. I just hate it. I hate everything that's going on in this thread. It's all manipulative c**p.

I can't express how much I wished I'd had this advice a good 30 years ago.

People saying this applies to every area in your life: Yes, not saying anything might keep you out of trouble, BUT if you don't readily share your motives, problems, thoughts etc. with others in a friendship or relationship, you'll be married 20 years or have 20 friends and still feel lonely as f*ck. I don't have to keep back any information when speaking with my husband or my family or my best friends, because I know they'll understand and they'll be interested and won't use the info to my disadvantage! Sure, I'll monitor HOW I say things to keep critique constructive, to solve problems instead of just complaining etc. But to only share what you're asked for? How depressing is that?!

Sometimes the less you talk the more you say.

Couldn’t agree with this more! I’m in my dream job right now and it’s for exactly these reasons.

JMil

JMil

Community Member • points

posts

comments

upvotes

FollowUnfollow

Premium

Premium user. Get details.

"dream companies" often don't need to take good care of their employees. They can always find another sucker.

Until that boss is replaced by a nightmare boss... that's why we need unions and regulations!

This comment has been deleted.

I've never known an "Amazing boss". To me they are like mythical creatures from fairy tales. Something you are constantly told about but never see yourself.

Mine did. But I work for the government and they expected taxes even before working that particular job.

I never put too much emotional energy into the company I work for. Instead I take that energy and put it towards the tasks I have to do, at hand. When I'm working I take pride in my job because I'm representing myself more than the company. The company could be complete s**t towards it's customers, but I can make a difference in someone. If I'm facing people in the flesh they have a face to remember and I may come across them again at another company and that previous interaction will make or break you.

Very true.

Spot on!!!

Yes! This is so important! Also, it will show that you are valuable and see the job as something serious - that you want a good match. So, never fear asking relevant questions.

I always ask a tonne of questions, but the one that tells me whether or not the company is terrible is: "What was the reason that made the last person quit working here?" If they get nervous, too charming or act vague, BOOM, you know they're going to treat you poorly. I told a friend of mine to ask that question, but she didn't... She quit 3 days after working there, complaining about how bad her boss treated the employees when customers weren't around, sexual harassment and a general disregard for people's well-being and comfort zones. I was like "See, you should've asked." Another good thing to do is talk to the employees about the job before you apply and ask them to be brutally honest, like if there's toxic employee politics, bad boss, the pay, unreal expectations and so on.

I keep hearing this "YOU are also interviewing the company" line... but I gotta say, it never feels like it. And that's partly due to the MASSIVE power imbalance in all of my interviews. Whenever I have had to do an interview, I didn't have a job and I didn't have a good amoubt of money in savings. Meaning I needed a job right away or I was going to be homeless on the street in a month. So... it is more about me pleasing the company so that they hire me (because I constantly had the threat of homelessness looming over me while looking for a job, which is by design. Employers want workers that are desperate and afraid which is why employers hate welfare systems that provide safety nets). And I quickly found that most of my interviewers HATED it when I asked about pay, benefits, working hours, etc. They would say things like "That is all decided when we send yiu an offer". (Continued in reply)

Yes! They often ask for the "dream person" with 20 years of experience and lots of extra qualifications. Doesn't mean that person applies (or exist) or that you are not good enough. Don't let it scare you.

Question: What does it really mean when they say "proficient at MS Word/Excel/etc"? Like, I'm not stranger to Word and Excel. Some of the less commonly used parts of the program I would need to be trained on, but I can format letters, make spreadsheets and whatnot.

"we need a dynamic self starter with a passion for..."

I replied to a job interview, asking for a master's degree. I only have a bachelor's. I've been working that job for three years now!

This has now become pretty standard. We posted for a junior developer to help me out last year, but we kept the posting very realistic to the minimums we were looking for. Vast majority of responses were from recent grads who had NO experience in the languages and tools we needed. The ones who had some experience BS'd that they had more proficiency than they did. Next time we will know to crank up the minimum requirements to filter out applicants a little better.

I feel for folks with social anxiety, but it does get in the way of strong team building. So that alone would be enough to not hire if there's another, otherwise equal candidate. My job in building a company is getting the best people/team pulled together... if I'm unable to hire people I already know or are personally referenced in, then I have to rely on a traditional hiring model (the worst model). And social anxiety or any other thing I think might be a bit of an obstacle will be; to some degree, a strike against the person. And yes, I get this is wholly politically incorrect to say. But also... reality.

I mean... Just don't be an a*****e? Why would you treat a RECEPTIONIST worse than a hiring manager? It's a person too

100% this! With my current employer, the first person you see is the head of a dependent sitting at the reception desk. The hiring managers all ask her opinion on every candidate, and anyone that she has a poor impression of will not get hired.

This is true. When I worked the service desk at a big box store if we didn’t think the person who came in announcing they were here for an interview was a good fit we’d call the interviewer while the person was taking the long walk bag to the office. Most of the time he listened to us and didn’t hire that person

Ask me about: the video/sound security camera, the attractive woman actor hired to walk by the Company Commander candidates waiting and lined up outside the building, as she walked by, and the subsequent comments, conversations, and actions that was recorded. Unbeknownst to them, the assessment started the minute they lined up, waiting to enter for the assessment.

Unless you’re me. Then you take a sip of water, somehow accidentally inhale instead of swallowing, massive coughing fit ensues, some water goes on me, some on the desk - “are you ok?!” Loads of coughing. *goes off to crawl into a hole*

what if I spill the water when I try to grab the glass?

Works great for meetings too. I always have a water bottle. When someone says something that I think is dumb or that upsets me, I take a drink of water. This gives me time to think about if my response is worth the effort or will get me in trouble

One of the biggest things in this case is to bring your own water in a clear bottle. This shows that you are prepared and do not expect them to provide the water for you. I always mark down when someone accepts the water or asks for it.

I am working at a company now where they ( at least my group is ) using teams as a substitute for hallway conversations, etc. We even use the whiteboard ( which not having a touch screen is hard but not imposdible). It really is the best of both worlds.

I can't agree with this, millions of workers put their safety and livelihood at risk while the people behind the Apps and Software sit comfortably at home being upset when they are asked to return to work. I have been dealing with many people day in and day out since the pandemic started, and have noticeably dealt with a decline in the way software and data is handled because the "engineers" and "techs" are too busy with their personal VPN issues and it truly affects the way many people work. But you know, if you'd rather not wear pants while typing code then that's cool I guess.