Mar 12, 2008

BUSINESS MATTERS: Middle of week is best time to apply for employment

By Mildred Culp / Daily News columnist

Q: Dear Dr. Culp,

My company moved to a major city in the Southwest, but I wanted to stay here; so there went my job. Some of my friends went, because they are earning more than their husbands and didn't want to lose the main family income. The fact that their husbands are having problems finding work is creating difficulties in the marriages. I've spent three months looking, but I haven't gotten anywhere. It hasn't been so easy here, either.

Another Direction


Dear Another: Your direction is forward. Summer looms. So get back on the trail now, while employers are more serious about hiring. Concentrate your efforts all day long on Tuesdays, if possible, because employers are still somewhat refreshed from the weekend but not overwhelmed, as they are on Mondays, or looking forward to the weekend, as they are on Fridays.

The next two best days are Wednesdays and Thursdays. Remember to pick up the telephone and call people. Get up from your desk and circulate. Internet-based job searches are only part of the winning package. You'll find something if you try everything.

Q: Dear Dr. Culp,

I'm 31, and I have a good job. In fact, I'm not complaining because my income is high, my company treats me well and I really don't have to work very hard. But I'm having a hard time getting through the workday. I'd like to retire - and could - but I honestly don't know what I'd do. Any suggestions? I don't want to keep feeling blah all of the time.

Blues



Dear Blues: Don't sing them. You've let the wind out of your sails by getting to Cloud Nine without a plan for your future. You can do lots of things . . . help a younger person become the star you've become, learn something new or enhance your life outside of work by giving something back, such as actively volunteering for a community group. If you have no non-compete, you might also start a business, which will enable you to spend the rest of your life setting more goals and meeting them.

This is a marvelous time of your life. Don't just sit there. Branch out. Make the most of it. Use what it took to get you where you are now to catapult you into your future.


BlogTip

PASSED OVER: If you get a new title or an accolade rather than a promotion, you might be hoodwinked, according to Alan Weiss of Summit Consulting Group (summitconsulting.com). "Real promotions always entail more real money," he says. "That's why banks have so many vice presidents and companies create chief customer service officers."

So, you got a new title and that's not enough? Thinking about quitting? Keep mum, Weiss advises, "unless you're willing to do it as soon as you utter the remark. Otherwise, you'll be bluffing with a pair of threes when the boss holds four aces."

Do you think that politics have caused you to be passed over several times? Not so, he maintains. A "vital" person won't be passed over. Do you think you're vital? If so, go where your brand will fly.

Weiss recalls giving a workshop and getting the attention of a reporter, who claimed that he should be paid more, should be better appreciated, ought to have new equipment on the job and couldn't stand his editor.

"I asked him why he didn't just leave," Weiss states. " 'Are you crazy?' he said. "I love this work!'" In other words, there's no need to settle for so little when you could get so much.



E-mail your job-hunting questions to award-winning journalist Dr. Mildred Culp at culp@workwise.net. Copyright 2008 Passage Media.