When times are good, it is easier for people to pursue work that they will love. This is simply because their basic needs are being met and hence they look to satisfy higher level needs. However, during bad times, when people are losing their jobs and there are fewer jobs available, people are less concerned with finding their ideal job.

This is why one important component of career discovery is being realistic. The process/outcome must be practical and take into account business reality and your personal constraints (financial, family, time, and so on). It is also a good idea to try to aim for a mix of jobs in terms of ease of attainment:

Reach - jobs which will not be very easy to get, based on your current education and experience. You might need to get additional training/education to attain these

Fit - jobs which are a good match, based on your education and experience. You will be very competitive for these roles

Safe - jobs for which you are slightly overqualified. The hiring manager would find it hard not to hire you for the position

Some scenarios to consider:

a) If the ideal jobs you identify during career discovery are in areas where you already have relevant work experience, education, training, skills and so on; then the discovery process will help you showcase and market yourself very effectively during the job search

b) In case your ideal jobs require you to obtain new education/training/skills, then focus your efforts on keeping your current job, or finding jobs (fit/safe category) that match your existing experience. The output from a career discovery exercise, will help you conduct a better job search here also. Use some of your spare time to obtain necessary education/training/skills, so that when the market turns you are prepared to get your ideal job right away.

c) You might lie somewhere in between the above extremes i.e. your ideal jobs are a mix of (a) and (b). You could then use a mix of the two approaches, depending on your personal circumstances

Article courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates searching for entry level jobs and other career opportunities.

Article courtesy of  Carl Chapman - Founder CEC Search, LLC
    © Copyright 2009 CEC Search, LLC | All rights reserved

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With the media blitzing us about the economy and spending time adding to the low morale, I feel we should also spend time talking about the companies who are actually growing with the intent of taking market share.

I had lunch with a vice president of a leading supply chain software company last week, and we were discussing his staffing needs for 2009. His company is adding positions in certain vertical markets that could use some growth. They are also “top grading” talent that is underperforming. Top grading is a term used to replace people with better performing people. This is done to overtake the competition. Like most sales people, he understands that this economic situation will turn and they fully plan to overtake their competition.

We have seen many lesser known companies adding talent with the intention of overtaking their competition. CEO’s openly admitting we are aiming to overtake the market. While others sit with glazed eyes and indecisive attitudes, other companies are taking your clients from you.

When sales are down, it’s time to add to or replace your current sales force. We recently worked with a company that has one inside sales person and delayed hiring a sales person for no apparent reason. Ironically their number one competitor is hiring additional sales talent in the same city with the same objective.

If your product or service has a reasonable ROI, who would not invest immediately? Work out different pricing options or payment schedules but invest in your business now. Companies need to grow even a small amount. Otherwise your competition will be courting your current client base.

This Ronald Reagan quote is uniquely American and appropriate for our world right now.

“I do not believe in a fate that will fall on us no matter what we do. I do believe in a fate that will fall on us if we do nothing. So, with all the creative energy at our command, let us begin an era of national renewal. Let us renew our determination, our courage, and our strength. And let us renew our faith and our hope. We have every right to dream heroic dreams. Those who say that we’re in a time when there are no heroes, they just don’t know where to look.” -Ronald Reagan

About the Author:

Brett Stevens is founder and President of The SearchLogix Group. Brett has enjoyed remarkable success in the executive search business in the fields of Software Sales, Logistics, Supply Chain Management, Distribution, Warehousing, and Transportation. He has achieved the industry’s highest level of professional certification: Certified Senior Account Manager (CSAM). He has received numerous regional, national, and international awards through meeting the needs of his clients. He continues to achieve record breaking performance and has been nationally recognized for those results with The SearchLogix Group. Brett is a member of The Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals, formerly The Council of Logistics Management (CLM), The Association for Operations Management, The Warehousing Education and Research Council, and The Institute of Industrial Engineers. He has been recognized in many trade and online magazines and is a notable guest speaker. Most recently, Brett was recognized internationally by both the American Stroke Association and the Prostate Cancer Foundation for his fundraising efforts. You can email Brett at brett.stevenspr@searchlogixgroup.com or telephone him at 770-517-2660 x20.

Article courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates searching for entry level jobs and other career opportunities.

Article courtesy of  Carl Chapman - Founder CEC Search, LLC
    © Copyright 2009 CEC Search, LLC | All rights reserved

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I don’t know about you, but I’m sick and tired of the government telling me "what’s best for me" and trying to legislate my "perfect life."  What in the heck are they thinking up there?  We don’t know that kids love ‘Happy Meals’, mice that sing, or toys with the french fries?  Come on.  Can we not find better things to do with our tax dollars than fund ridiculous investigations of the fast food industry and whether or not they are trying to sell more hamburgers to kids.  If it were me, as CEO of one of the big chains, I’d say "Yep you caught us, we are trying, really hard to sell more hamburgers to kids!  So now what are you going to do?"  Wasn’t our country built on capitalism and the free enterprise system?  Last time we tried communism here, wasn’t it William Bradford who discovered that it just doesn’t work.

Come on Washington, enough already.  How ’bout spending your energy on something important like figuring out how to win the war on terror.

You can read more about this story and other restaurant related news at the Restaurant Industry News pages on our website.

Article courtesy of  Carl Chapman - Founder CEC Search, LLC
    © Copyright 2009 CEC Search, LLC | All rights reserved

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The only thing that I could find in the FLSA (Fair Labor Standards Act) with regard to hourly wages for tipped employees is that a tipped employee is defined as one who receives at least $30.00 dollars in tips during one month (this is the federal definition, some states vary.)  And that reported tips plus the hourly tipped employee wage rate ($2.13/hr) must equal the federal minimum wage which is now $5.15/hr.  I couldn’t find anything that delineated the amount of time spent in tipped or non-tipped activities.

As the estimates are that as many as 60,000 servers may be included in the class, if an average server worked only 20 hours per week, the judgment could zoom past $60 MM not including interest, if the payment shortage was just one dollar per hour.  My conclusion is that this is just another example of a frivolous lawsuit brought to court by a greedy firm hoping to cash in big because of the size of the class.  When I was in unit level management (at Shoney’s during it’s heyday) all the managers were out earned by the good servers on the wait staff. 

Too bad this judge doesn’t seem to have any restaurant management in his background… he’d have thrown the case out with a big belly laugh.

You can find more restaurant news stories of interest on our restaurant news page and our news archive page.

Article courtesy of  Carl Chapman - Founder CEC Search, LLC
    © Copyright 2009 CEC Search, LLC | All rights reserved

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You see, Larry was discussing a new study that had just come out (and he compared it with an older study) about the disparity in pay between men and women. Of course the study was backed by scientific method and statistical analysis. I’ve always believed the old saying that there are lies, damned lies, then statistics. This report reminded me of that fact.

It is easy, if you are prone to victimhood, to get exercised when some study from a prestigious sounding group announces that your "group" is getting the shaft. I imagine that is how a lot of women who first heard the news that they were only making 80% of the pay that men make felt. They were more than likely whipped up into a frenzy of anger because they weren’t being treated fairly.

I’m all for fair treatment, and in my recruiting practice, we don’t discriminate in anyway (other than skill set and experience) in our recruiting process. Men and women are treated equally, and paid equally for the same work with the same background and experience level. Because we live in a free market economy (well mostly free market, I lament the amount of government interference that we have now, but that is a topic for another time) it is impossible for the study to be correct.

As Mr. Elder points out, one needn’t refute the methodology, which is obviously flawed. There is no need to point out that there are sufficient justification to pay people differently based upon background, education, skill set, and accomplishment, that one could not possibly pin the pay differences between men and women solely on their gender. Mr. Elder has a much easier theorem that doesn’t involve knowing sample size, statistics, or sampling methodology. We just use simple logic of economic theory.

Here is how to easily disprove the irresponsible statement that women are only paid $.80 on the dollar compared to men. If you were a business owner, and women could be paid at only 80% the level of men, wouldn’t a business, one that was "for profit," stop hiring men and hire only women, thereby saving 20% of its labor costs? Of course it would, but that doesn’t happen. And it doesn’t happen because it isn’t real. Are there different salaries for workers based on what they know, what their education is, what they have accomplished in the work place, how long they have continuously worked, the skills that they bring to the job – absolutely. Are any of those things based upon gender, not really. Sometimes women choose to leave the workforce to raise a family, but sometimes men do as well. Those people will suffer a pay gap as compared with someone continuously in the workforce since leaving school.

So next time you are confronted with outrageously exaggerated "findings" of a study, use some common sense to filter what the ‘authors’ are telling you. No doubt if you utilize this methodology, you can save yourself some time trying to prove every instance where the authors have skewed the result.

-author: Carl Chapman. Carl is the founder of CEC Search – Executive Restaurant Recruiters. He has 20+ years of restaurant industry experience, spent 5 awarding winning years as an executive recruiter with a top 25 MRI franchise office. Carl graduated from the US Naval Academy in 1980. You can find Carl’s bio on his blog "Confessions of an Executive Restaurant Recruiter" you can also review his LinkedIn profile at http://www.linkedin.com/in/carlchapman

Article courtesy of  Carl Chapman - Founder CEC Search, LLC
    © Copyright 2009 CEC Search, LLC | All rights reserved

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Sharpton, Jackson, and other black leaders are concerned about his "abusive and degrading remarks" and that "they have no place in our society." No place in our society, really? What about hip hop and rap lyrics? Have either of the ‘big two’ listened to any of the music (I use the term very loosely) that is generated by the gangstas and thugs who call themselves rappers? Bitches, hos, and words that I’m not going to print here… Sharpton thinks that Imus’ remarks are degrading, what kind of drugs is he smoking.

Do I think Imus was wrong for saying what he said, yeah, I wouldn’t have said it. But do I think there is huge overreaction about the ‘incident’? Yep, I sure do. People need to get some perspective. If you want to respected, respect your self and your community, and your neighbors. It is too much of a double standard for me to support severely punishing Imus for saying something distasteful that is much milder than the words that rappers use to degrade females of their own race. Those same females who idolize and spend hard earned money to buy their CDs and download their music.

If people want the issue of race to not be a negative factor in their lives, then they need to stop playing the race card. I am tired of the double standard that some black so-called leaders try to enforce on the ‘white’ community. Learn to have respect for yourselves and demand it from everyone in your community before you start throwing around the "R" word at people just because they are white.

Article courtesy of  Carl Chapman - Founder CEC Search, LLC
    © Copyright 2009 CEC Search, LLC | All rights reserved

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Just to bring you up to speed, The Animal is convinced that the recruiting bloggers have no influence. To that I say balderdash. Not only am I influencing the candidates and clients within the restaurant industry, but the influence of this blog has spread to at least two other industries (that I know of.) My article on customer service “What can broken eyeglasses teach us about customer service?” was made required reading by the manager of a call center (who just happens to be a resident of BC, a fellow countryman of the Animals’ and therefore a sterling source of evidence) that employs over 250 agents. And recently I found out that my article was featured in a prominent blog in the funeral industry – Final Embrace. So Animal, I can ask them for a discount for you after our grudge match on Wednesday.

For those of you who are interested, the radio show will air at 12 PM EST on Wednesday March 7th.

The Segment ID is 14974 and the call in number is (646) 652-2754.

I’m not sure when the pay-per-view will be scheduled, but I’ve heard that Animal is in discussions with DirectTV and OnDemand. Hope to see you there!

Article courtesy of  Carl Chapman - Founder CEC Search, LLC
    © Copyright 2009 CEC Search, LLC | All rights reserved

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It is clear from his behavior during the standup routine that he completely lost his cool. What isn’t clear is if he was under the influence of some substance that alters ones ability to control themselves. I would give you two quick pieces of advice that should help keep you from committing career suicide:

Caution: Video contains objectionable material 

1) Don’t take substances which alter your mood. That means when you are in the public eye, don’t drink, or if you must drink do so with extreme moderation so that you don’t lose control of yourself. What you do or say in public can very easily effect your job. The company picnic, the Christmas party, the bosses birthday celebration – all opportunities for career meltdown if you lose control.

2) Don’t lose your temper. That means if you get mad, you need to get calm before saying anything to anyone. If it is a long term problem, then seek professional help. See a therapist, work with anger management programs so that you can control your emotions and respond in appropriate ways to stimuli that make you angry.

Now, I’m not in a position to judge whether or not Michael Richards is a racist. I’m not sure that there are very many people in the world who are. But I can tell you that his remarks were ugly and hurtful and no employer would allow those kinds of words to come out of an employees mouth without serious consequence. I can’t address the racist content of Michael Richards’ heart, and certainly not yours if you have any.  But racism and racist speech is something that should remain out of sight and under control as you work to improve as a human being. I think racism is a terrible thing, and it isn’t acceptable behavior.  If you harbor feelings that are like those expressed in loud, obnoxious screaming sessions by Mr. Richards, the very least you can do is protect your professional career by keeping those thoughts to yourself as you work with a therapist or your clergyman to learn to love your fellow man.

Article courtesy of  Carl Chapman - Founder CEC Search, LLC
    © Copyright 2009 CEC Search, LLC | All rights reserved

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Wage-hike initiatives pass in six states

DENVER [Nov. 8] - Ballot initiatives mandating increases in the minimum wage were approved by voters in six states during Tuesday’s elections.
Despite strong opposition from operators, state restaurant associations and the National Restaurant Association, the minimum wage measures, which all tie future increases to the inflation rate, won strong public support, reported local media outlets. Most of the increases go into effect Jan. 1.

About 66 percent of Arizona voters approved Proposition 202, which raises the wage to $6.75 per hour.

In Colorado, Amendment 42, which raises the wage to $6.85 per hour, garnered about 53 percent of the vote.

Nearly three-quarters of voters in Missouri and Montana approved minimum wage hikes. In Missouri, Proposition B raises the wage to $6.50 per hour.

In Montana, Initiative 151 raised the pay floor to $6.15 per hour. The wage remains $4 per hour for employees at businesses with gross sales of $110,000 or less.

About 69 percent of voters in Nevada approved Question 6, which sets the minimum wage at $6.15 per hour if the employer does not provide health benefits. The minimum remains at $5.15 for those employers that do offer benefits.

And in Ohio, about 56 percent of voters voted yes on Issue 2, which raises the wage to $6.85 per hour. The minimum wage for employees under the age of 16 and employees of businesses with annual gross receipts of less than $250,000 remains at the federal minimum wage rate of $5.15 per hour.

Article courtesy of  Carl Chapman - Founder CEC Search, LLC
    © Copyright 2009 CEC Search, LLC | All rights reserved

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