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"ASK HR" is our advice column where we answer readers' questions about pressing work dilemmas, job search queries, resumes, and navigating Hollywood. If you have a career-related question, email us, and the answer could appear in a future newsletter! All submissions will remain anonymous.
Dear Hollywood Resumes, I’ve been running into a consistent problem during job interviews. After I tell the interviewer about my role and all the things I’m doing in my position, they say, “Wow! Sounds like a lot of interesting work! Why are you looking for a new job?” I never know what to say. The truth is, I am doing interesting work, but I’m severely underpaid, and the culture of my workplace isn’t great. I’m leaving because I have to GTFO! Obviously, I can’t say that. But I get thrown off every time I answer, and I can feel the interviewers hesitating that something is off. I need a new job, yesterday. How can I answer this question next time? Inept at Interviewing Dear Inept at Interviewing, First of all, good for you for realizing you deserve to work somewhere that pays you fairly and treats you well. It’s hard to escape an abusive or toxic work situation, and we’re glad you are actively hunting for a new job. There are a lot of toxic workplaces like yours in Hollywood, so this is a very common conundrum, and one we’ve faced ourselves. The key is to remember that the interviewer is trying to ascertain whether you’d be a fit for the role they are hiring for. This includes whether you’ll be happy in the role, and if your expectations will be met. With this question, they’re trying to figure out what you hope to gain from this new position. If you’re applying for lower-level jobs out of desperation (which is very common!), you’re more likely to get that moment of surprise. In that situation, the interviewer is expressing concern that you may be bored in this role. Before you try to convince them otherwise, consider what it really means to leave a toxic role only to land in a place where you’re totally stagnant. If there’s no room for growth, and your work is below your level, you may feel just as taken advantage of as you do now. You don’t want to wake up in five years and realize you spent the first half of your career in the wrong jobs. If you really need to leave your current situation that badly, you may be better off quitting and taking a short-term gig to pay the bills while you focus your job search on appropriate roles. If you can handle your current situation a little longer, let them pay your bills while you phone it in at work and focus on applying for roles that are more appropriate. That said, if you’re applying for roles you’re qualified for (not underqualified for) and still flubbing this question, you’ll want to reframe it when you answer. Instead of thinking about why you want to leave an old job, think about what you hope to gain from this new job. What does this specific company offer that interests you? Maybe they work on a different style of content you’re excited about. Maybe they have a larger slate of projects, or a more focused one. Maybe they work with different types of clients than you’re used to. As you do your pre-interview research, consider what excites you about the prospect of the position, and answer positively about that. “Why are you looking for a new job?” becomes “Why are you looking for this new job?” Avoid talking negatively about your current employer or sharing gossip. Stay focused on the future, and you’ll have a much more confident and convincing answer! -- Angela & Cindy "ASK HR" is our advice column where we answer readers' questions about pressing work dilemmas, job search queries, resumes, and navigating Hollywood. If you have a career-related question, email us, and the answer could appear in a future newsletter! All submissions will remain anonymous.
Dear Hollywood Resumes, I finally got hired at what I thought was a great job, only to find out a few weeks in that the company was a nightmare to work for! I ended up resigning and am now back searching for jobs, but I'm nervous about the same thing happening again. I'm wondering if there's a way to tell whether a company is horrible to work for before you apply. -- Scared of the Search Dear Scared of the Search, Kudos to you for prioritizing your well-being and walking away from a situation that didn't feel right! That takes a lot of bravery and strength. It's not always possible to know what a company is like until you're already working there, but there are some red flags you can look out for along the way. When you a read a job posting, you should consider if anything sounds sketchy, like a promise of money down the line only after your work is done, an application fee, or other any other financial or invasive personal information request. If you haven't heard of the company previously, Google it to see if you can find a website. No online presence at all is a red flag, and if any articles come up about past lawsuits or allegations, avoid applying. Even if the company is reputable, there may be other red flags in the job posting. Does it describe a position that sounds like it really should be multiple roles (meaning: can you envision one person being responsible for all of the tasks, or are there so many disparate responsibilities listed that it would be more typical for 2-3 people to share the duties)? Are there any trigger words, like "thick-skinned" and "no ego?" These can often mean you're expected to keep your head down and be yelled at from time to time. It's also important to read the posting carefully to see whether the role matches what you're looking for, as not all jobs that are wrong for you are objectively bad. Read the company overview section (if there is one) to find out if the organization's values align with yours. Ask yourself if you're interested in spending your day doing the responsibilities listed and if they match your expectations for the position's title. Note whether the posting includes information about limited work/life balance -- sometimes, this is transparent, like "Must work long hours and occasional weekends," and sometimes it's less so, like "Looking for a dedicated team-player to contribute at a high level in our all-hands-on-deck, fast-paced, maximum-output environment." Keep an eye out for culture indicators, like the types of benefits offered; you might be the type of person who wants a relaxed, fun atmosphere with free lunch and a ping pong table and a gym on site, or you want to keep your head down at your desk from 9-5 and leave your socializing and fitness regimens out of the workplace -- sometimes you can find clues about these things in the posting. Often, you can't determine everything about a company's culture or whether it's bad to work for before sending in your application, especially if it's a large company, and you're trying to assess one small department. Luckily, you have additional opportunities to evaluate during the interview process. Ask questions at the end of your interview, like "What is the company culture like?," "What is your day to day like?," or "What would success look like for a candidate in this role?" If there are yellow flags that come up in your interview, you can also address them -- "I noticed our interviews have all been scheduled for 8pm; is it typical to work into the evenings here?" While it's important to put your best foot forward at an interview and not ruffle feathers, it's equally important to protect yourself and make sure the company is a good fit for you. Lastly, you can see if any of your contacts have experience working at the company or with anyone on the team and ask them for their insight. You can also check sites like Glassdoor and read reviews, though they're not always 100% accurate. If you're part of a tracking board or other networking group, you can ask if anyone has experience with X company and would be willing to chat with you, but know that these groups are often quite large and not as private as they may seem. All this due diligence can be helpful, but it's not foolproof, as companies will sometimes act very differently in an interview than in practice, you might not meet some of the more problematic managers or get enough insight into problematic practices in the interview process, and your contacts may have had different experiences with the firm than you'll have. Ultimately, you'll just have to trust your gut, and know that if you end up somewhere that's not right, you can always do what you've already done: have the strength to quit. -- Angela & Cindy "ASK HR" is our advice column where we answer readers' questions about pressing work dilemmas, job search queries, resumes, and navigating Hollywood. If you have a career-related question, email us, and the answer could appear in a future newsletter! All submissions will remain anonymous.
Dear Hollywood Resumes, A few months ago, I applied for a job, but I never heard from the employer, and the posting was taken down soon after I submitted my materials. I've noticed that over the last 2 months, the posting keeps popping up again, getting taken down, and then resurfacing. I just saw it yet again on the company's careers page, and I'm wondering: Should I reapply in case they missed my materials the first time around? Ignore it? Is this sort of thing normal, or am I stuck in my very own job search Groundhog Day? -- Perplexed in Punxsutawney, Dear Perplexed in Punxsutawney, You're not alone in your own time loop! The truth is, no one really knows why this happens in any given circumstance, but it is fairly common. Jobs become available and go on hold all the time, often because budgets change, priorities change, or the role that was supposed to open up doesn't. Sometimes jobs get taken down because the posting expired or is getting pushed down in the search results due to a long hiring process, and the recruiters repost to bump them up on search engines. It could also mean more roles are becoming available in the same department, or someone quit, or the new hire didn't work out...and so on. Especially at a bigger company, things are constantly changing when it comes to open roles. It doesn't hurt to reapply just this once to show your continued interest. However, it is possible that they saw your resume and didn't think you were right for the role. If you'd heard back from a recruiter or have a contact at the company, you can reach out to them to follow up and see if they're open to reviewing your materials again. Keep in mind that if you don't think they saw your resume in the first place, you probably weren't doing your due diligence in going through the proper channels to get your resume into a real person's hands. You should always take this extra step to make sure someone is actually reviewing your resume. If you submitted blindly, it's okay to submit again one more time, but make sure you're really reading through the job posting carefully. First, are you 100% sure it's the same role? It's possible the title is the same but the department is different, or they rewrote the job posting after an internal restructure. Then, ask yourself if you're truly qualified, and not over or under-qualified. If they're looking for someone with 1-2 years of experience, and you've got 10, they probably ignored your application the first time around because they want someone green. The same is true if they're looking for specialized skills you might not have -- like they need someone who has successfully navigated the film festival circuit, and all your experience is in broadcast TV. Not that we're suggesting you never apply for a role that's a stretch -- just that you recognize it's a stretch (in either direction!) and don't double down when the chips fell exactly as you expected. Unless you can get insider insight (and a referral!) or are really convinced your resume aligns almost perfectly with the role, move on to the next job opening. If you do decide to apply a second time because it's just that good of a fit on your end, make that the last time. You don't want to get blacklisted by spamming a company -- especially a dream company -- with multiple applications when they've already vetted you. The right job will come around -- just keep checking for new postings! -- Angela & Cindy "ASK HR" is our advice column where we answer readers' questions about pressing work dilemmas, job search queries, resumes, and navigating Hollywood. If you have a career-related question, email us, and the answer could appear in a future newsletter! All submissions will remain anonymous.
Dear Hollywood Resumes, How do you manage your network? I have a lot of contacts, but I'm not sure how to stay in touch with them. Is there a way to know whether someone's not responding to an email because it got buried or because they're annoyed by the outreach? I don't want to come off as a bother to them, nor do I want to waste my time chasing down a contact who isn't interested in a relationship...but I also don't want to fall off someone's radar entirely if they were just busy when I happened to reach out! How can I decide when to "let go?" -- Persistent or Pesty? Dear Persistent or Pesty, There are a few ways to manage your network, like meeting contacts for drinks/coffee (in person or virtually) and sending check in emails from time to time, including around the holidays. Eventually, you amass different tiers of contacts -- close friends, people you work with regularly, and people you can reach out to a couple of times a year. You might find it helpful to track your contacts in a spreadsheet, especially if you're currently searching for a new job and planning to reach out with requests for referrals. This way, you can note who's responding, when, and what you discussed, and you can easily set reminders for yourself to get another date back on the books. It's also okay to let the relationships form and grow naturally and reach out to your contacts when there's a specific reason, like congratulating them on a promotion or because you really want to get together. It's impossible to maintain the perfect relationship with every single person you meet, so you'll have to find a balance. When it comes to staying in touch, the best answer -- as unsatisfying as it may be -- is to use your gut. If someone hasn't responded to an email after one follow up, and they aren't someone you know very well, it's not worth being too persistent unless there's a very specific reason to reach out -- like you just applied to a job at their company, or you saw that their pilot got picked up to series. If the person not responding is someone you've met a few times in person or worked with directly, and you didn't do anything offensive to them, it's likely that they're just busy -- reach out again in a few weeks. In general, with contacts you don't know too well or haven't been in touch with recently (think: someone you did an informational interview with 6 months ago, or an internship boss you haven't spoken to in a year), it's helpful to give context when you're reaching out, either by emailing on top of an existing thread and/or reminding the person who you are and how you know them, and then including a little sentiment about why you've decided to contact them. Is it to congratulate them on something? Ask for a favor? Check in because there's something exciting happening with you? You should be reaching out from time to time without a specific "ask," but it's always good to give the person something direct to respond to, like a question, kudos about a new project announcement, or a request to meet up. Simply asking, "What's new with you?" won't generate a lot of responses from casual contacts who are likely too busy to offer a rundown of their goings on to a virtual stranger. Overall, your most useful contacts will be people who go from being "contacts" to people you have relationships with. It can be hard to make that transition, and don't expect it to happen with everyone you meet. Lean into the relationships you have with colleagues, people you've worked with on various projects, friends of friends, and anyone you've met that you had an easy time talking to. With time, you'll build a rapport with enough people, and as your career grows, you'll have a wider net of people you can reach out to with ease. -- Angela & Cindy |
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