Looking for Positions – Page 2

Becoming A Better Domestic Candidate

There are many approaches to finding employment as a domestic professional. You can respond to classifieds, network through friends and former employers, or use a placement agency, to name just a few. No matter which path you follow to find a new job, there are some standard items that can help you rise above the other applicants in your field. Whether you are a chef, estate manager, chauffeur, nanny, or any other type of employee, being prepared is the name of the game!

Often in the domestic service industry, top candidates are not the ones with the most experience or the most skills, but those who understand basic business protocol in the job search process. For example, a chef may be extremely talented in his or her trade, but offer a very poorly written application package. He or she will stand less of a chance of getting an interview when competing against applicants with an up-to-date, well-constructed portfolio. Likewise, should an agency or employer request background information or documents from a candidate, any delays could result in the hire of another applicant. Lastly, if the information such as references, dates of employment, and contact information are hard to follow or incomplete, the application could seem “fishy” or the candidate could be thought of as incompetent.

For all of the above reasons, one should apply basic business “common sense” to the job hunt process. Spend some time educating yourself about conducting employment searches, interviewing, and writing a resume. Also, if you are planning to go through an agency for representation, read the article “Working with Domestic Employment Agencies.” It offers a behind-the-scenes perspective on the hiring procedure! Any inside knowledge and careful preparation will pay off tremendously as you go through the process of finding your next position.

APPLICATION PACKAGE CHECKLIST

Current Resume
I cannot stress the importance of the resume enough. In many cases, it is the only item an employer will see when deciding who to interview. Some agencies only send the resume to a client. Some employers only look at resumes. Make sure yours is up to date and has a professional look with no mistakes! You can hire a service if you are not good on the computer. Also, having a copy on disk is great for sending documents through email.
Letters of recommendation
Any time you leave a job you should get a letter of recommendation. Try to have them written on company letterhead or personal stationery of your employer. The more letters you have, the better. Be prepared to distribute copies that are as legible as possible. Even better, have color copies made of the most recent or most important letters.
Reference List.
You will have to supply this information on any job application so have it ready on a separate page, laid out as follows: Employer name; who to contact for the reference; the contact’s title; a current telephone number; and any notes about reaching the person. You may also request to be contacted directly for telephone numbers so you can tell your reference in advance who will be calling.
Current Photograph. Have a recent photograph of yourself ready to give out (color photocopies are a good idea) with an application. It should show your overall physical appearance and a nice touch is to be in the uniform of your profession. The extra step you can take here is to have the photo scanned and put on a disk to email to agents or employers.
ID Copies.
Usually agencies will ask for your identifying documents upfront to verify you are who you say you are. This includes driver’s license, social security card, passport, green card, work visa, etc. Be prepared by having a high quality black and white copy made for faxing and color copies for distribution.
List of Previous Addresses.
To conduct background checks, employers or agencies will require a list of the county, city, state, and address of where you have lived over the past 10 years. Have this information available and typed out. Make copies.
Background Explanation
If there is anything derogatory at all that you know will show up on your driving record; credit history; criminal background; or any civil litigation cases, have a detailed explanation ready. When these checks are done on you, the reports come back with codes and sketchy details about the events that are difficult to interpret. Your willing discussion of the incident can make certain situations less incriminating as a candidate for employment.

As with any endeavor worth pursuing, the job search can be tedious and frustrating. Approach the task with a positive attitude and commit yourself to being ready for any obstacles along the way. Also “put your money where your mouth is” when creating your application materials. You may have to spend a few dollars to have a great looking resume package with clean, legible copies of all your documents (both black & white and color), but the payoff is far greater than the costs you will incur.

Also remember, there is no such thing as “luck.” The word “luck” is just a description of what happens when preparation meets opportunity. So by preparing carefully and placing yourself in front of all the opportunities out there, you can be the “lucky” one who lands the perfect job.

David Gonzalez
President, DPN

The Job Interview Game

It has been my good fortune to work with various employers and employees of late, and I have some observations to make which may prove salutary to both groups.

When an employer graded a prospective couple as a B-, he was being overly generous, I thought, given that they had talked non-stop, the gentleman in a loud voice, and had complained vociferously about their current employer. This behavior was particularly egregious, as this couple had both been briefed by me to avoid these exact points in their interview, following my observation during two phone conversations that they tended in this unacceptable direction.

These two individuals were by no means the only applicants suffering from this lack of awareness concerning employers’ needs. A good household and even hospitality employee would do well to bear in mind Sir Winston Churchill’s remonstration: “A diplomat is a man who thinks twice before saying nothing.” The following is NOT meant to be insulting, and certainly does not apply to all Americans, but there is a subset of the populace that is sufficiently full of their own world and concerns that they feel compelled to talk incessantly about them.

The first lesson to learn for them is that there are other people in front of them, and then to observe whether these people are willing and eager to hear everything one is thinking of telling them. Factually, employees are there to listen, not talk, and that is the simplicity of the matter. Listen and respond, or better still preempt. Otherwise, as some clients have complained to me, “I begin to wonder who is working for whom.”

The issue of over-talkative employees brings to mind an observation that a number of people are attempting to enter the household profession without having worked in it before (nothing wrong with this at all), but without realizing that there is a mind-set that goes with working in a household situation, where one is in a private household, but not of it. It is not the same as working in a cleaning service or an office or the military. These all have their own codes of conduct, and they are not the same as those of the household, even if the mechanical actions (of cleaning or managing others) are the same.

Many Americans in private service and guest services in the hospitality industry have the proper approach, but to those new to (or even experienced in) the field who do not have it down, I would recommend reading Butlers & Household Managers, 21st Century Professionals. And then muzzle your desire to talk up a storm in the presence of, or concerning, your employer. You and they will be the better for it, I assure you.

Lastly, employers, as much as you know that looking after pennies means the pounds (or dollars) will look after themselves, please be aware that you do not increase loyalty or respect in employees by penny pinching on salaries. Here, I am not saying that you should feel bad that you are only paying your Household Manager $90,000. No, I am saying that beating him down from $50,000 p.a. to $47,500 may satisfy your bargaining instincts, but it only tells the employee that Scrooge is alive and well, and that his own services are not valued that much. He or she may well reciprocate by giving you the value of the service as you perceive it.

My question to you is: “What are you going to do with that extra $100,000 you saved over the years when you reach the pearly gates?” Share the wealth a bit more and enjoy the satisfaction of seeing another person (your employee) happy in servicing you. Whether you agree to the notion or not, the fact is that we are each responsible for each other. As the poem goes, “Send not for whom the bell tolls…” Another way of expressing the idea is: “What goes around, comes around.”

Your move.

Sincerely,
Steven Ferry
June 2002