Progress

 

Progress! On the home front we have the shingles dropped for the roof and are waiting for the permits to be approved.  It’s nice to see progression and a relief to get this process started. Our neighborhood is getting cleaned up slowly and everyone is in the process of repairing their homes.   

Workwise we felt a slowdown a few months before the election and heard about a lot of real estate construction projects being put on hold or scrapped and sold. Now I’m hearing that the market is freeing up. I’m hopeful that since we are past the election cycle we can all get back to work! 

2024 Hiring Trends

 I’m seeing a few trends in hiring right and it’s going to be interesting to see how this plays out –

  

A big push back with working from home, especially for anyone in the finance and accounting world. Employers want them back in the office with little to no work from home.

Hiring people over 35 is trending.  Yes, ageism is in reverse. I’m hearing the younger generation doesn’t want to work. They are on their phones more than working and have challenges with communication and interpersonal skills.

Employers don’t want to hire anyone who’s moved around a lot. Understandable if it’s been 10 – 15 years of constant change. But if they had movement during Covid it’s a hiring mistake not to talk to them. The average person moved 3 times during Covid.  A lot of people had to move jobs due to issues with their industry/company and it wasn’t by choice.

Fear – people are fearful right now because of the economy and the political climate. It’s been putting a damper on hiring. 

No Notes and a new recruiter at our firm!!!

 

The last two months I’ve had the opportunity to talk to a lot of Dave’s clients and listen to their stories about him. It’s been awesome to hear how many people he’s helped over the last 30+ years.  Dave has helped people since they first graduated from college until now!  A funny musing anyone he knows well he never kept notes on them – he’d just remember everything about them. So, it’s been an interesting process with no notes – I’m interviewing people that the firm has known for years just to complete their file – we like to get as much detail as possible, so we place them at a great company!

Exciting news - we have a new recruiter at the firm, Sharon Ryder. She has over 25 years of experience recruiting and is excellent with sales, marketing and biz dev people.   Call us, she’d be happy to assist any of your recruiting needs.

The power of YES... and

 

When I’m recruiting on social media, I’ll ask for someone to connect to me and if I can send the job description. Occasionally, I get a NO. It doesn’t happen that often but when it does, I think about the power of YES. You can open your network, develop more friends, meet your new boss with YES.

Think about this - If you’re not interested and happy in your job you can always say, “Yes, please send it, although, I'm  currently very happy at my job.” Who knows the job could be an amazing fit if not you just made a new connection/friend. Use YES, and.

By using YES, and - It keeps the connection open and creates a positive interaction.  Positive YES networking can get you a job, a spouse, a new friend, a business associate. It opens your world to new people and ideas.  Say YES.

Grace

 

So, life moves on and things get back to normal.  It’s odd to say but they eventually do. Works is back to normal, daily life - pretty normal. 

I’ve learned these last few years to give lots of grace to myself and others. As we head into the holiday season remember to give grace. It doesn’t take much to be kind and gracious to others. 

Pass on the grace and have a very happy Thanksgiving.

The Grass is Greener

Wow what a difference 10 years makes.

10 years ago, most of my blog posts were about how to survive the Great Recession.  Those blog posts include advice from my Grandfather and how he survived the Great Depression, which is still an interesting read.  They also included how difficult it was for me to talk to friends on the kid’s school playground about their layoffs but, times have changed and for the best!

Right now, unemployment rates are crazy low --   Los Angeles, CA is at a 4.4. Orange County, CA is at a 2.4 and Tampa Bay FL area at 3.3. Times are good and shockingly some of our clients are still very conservative with salaries and pulling the trigger with hiring. They learned a big lesson and a good one from the past, but we do caution them on taking too much time and offering too little money.  Good people are getting hired quickly and if our client finds someone they want to hire, it’s like the crazy housing market, you need to jump on it and make an offer! A start date can always be contingent on background checks and references so if someone is that great fit – make the offer! 

The grass is greener right now – go for it.

*Amazing lawn care and photo credit go to Holden McLeod

Smash it. Break it. Crush it.

Dinner out with business associates, potential clients and co-workers is quite common in the corporate world. In fact, extending an invite to the persons spouse is also normal.  I was shocked when a candidate who was going to become a potential manager/partner, in the interview process and close to an offer, got offended by our client asking if he and his spouse would like to, “Go to dinner?”

He acted indignant and shocked. I was told it was inappropriate and asked, “Is my spouse interviewing for the job?” No it was just dinner and then it got WEIRD. Really WEIRD.  

My client was just extending a friendly offer for them to all get to know each other better. It was a small firm and they get together often.  It had nothing to do with the spouse’s race, sex, education, looks, gender, interviewing the spouse, etc. It was just dinner. A basic civil small talk dinner to meet and see if a future partnership could be made.  Dinner. 

The offer was pulled, the hope of a new employee was smashed and I was relieved. Can you imagine the dinner conversation had they met?

Networking - getting those new connects

Online networking can be daunting. It’s reaching out to someone you don’t know, attempting to make a business connection, and hoping that you get it right. I don’t accept everyone connects and it’s often because they don’t bother to introduce themselves. 

I like an introduction – the 15 second elevator pitch  - but a softer version. Give a reason why you want to be connected.  It can be as simple as I’m interested learning more about your industry or I’m new to the industry/area/profession and I thought I’d introduce myself.  Be genuine and once they connect to you thank them with another short note. Most people are friendly and appreciate increasing their network too.

East Coast for Ankenbrandt

We did it! After talking for so many years about moving we made the jump. SoCal is a great place but we’ve been hankering for a change and new digs. Scott and I relocated and now Ankenbrandt has both West Coast and East Coast offices.  Dave and Deanna are still in West while Scott and I have settled down in the East  -- where we are lucky enough to still enjoy West Coast sunsets! We continue to recruit out of CA but we are more easily available to our East Coast clients. We’ll pop into CA as needed but right now we are enjoying laying down new roots in Florida.

Moving

Moving a house and an office is nerve -wracking. I read a lot about moving before we decided to move, and we did most everything recommended but I realize now we should have done more --

Get rid of more stuff before you move. We got rid of a lot, but we also moved a lot of stuff we could have left.  After the move we donated a truck load to Salvation Army and our trash guys are saints for all the trash they haul out weekly.   

Unpacking takes a lot of time. It’s not just about unpacking the boxes it’s about where the stuff goes and figuring out a new system. I have moved stuff around several times much to our kid’s frustration. Their snack drawer got moved twice!

Setting up an office in the new home – this took a lot of thought and I still don’t have it right. I like my location and my view out the window, but my storage and desk are not big enough. Again, new location, new layout means new desk, new storage and new habits. I’m still working the kinks out.

Need to get some attention with your resume?

Resume Tricks that Actually  Work  - 

Bullet the top of your resume with as many of the skills you have that match the job description. Be specific to what the company needs.  


All very important information needs to go on the top half of your resume - not the second page or the third page.  Fold your resume in half to make sure that everything important - top skills, email address, phone etc fits up there. The top half is the prime "real estate" section.  

Don't forget your phone number and LinkedIn profile link! I've had resume sent to me with no contact info. It's about the details.   

Mail  - Don't just email your resume ---  USPS mail your resume. No one gets actual mail anymore so you have a better chance of getting some attention if you actually old school mail it.  Seriously when is the last time you got a real letter? 

For resume format ideas go to our Pinterest page - https://www.pinterest.com/ankenbrandtg/

Traveling with a pack of dogs

We traveled with our three dogs for two weeks. I thought we’d be fine because we have taken them with us on vacation previously but this trip we were in hotels the entire time  -- 

I learned a lot.

Lower your expectations.

You will not be staying in any high end or glamorous hotels. We ended up at La Quinta Inns and Candlewood hotels because they allow 3 dogs. They were nice and clean just not fancy. Not many hotels  - Ok pretty much no hotels allow 3 dogs. 

Per the contract we signed at both hotel chains we could not leave our dogs in the room by themselves so that pretty much puts the kibosh on any dinners out. We took advantage of the breakfasts served for a 10 minute break from the beasts. Dinners were take-out or delivery to our room.

Most “dog friendly” hotels have dog friendly grounds but be advised if you are in a big city find the nearest park ASAP and bring your own doggie bags.

Most outdoor attractions like State and National park attractions are OK with your dogs on the grounds but you can’t take them inside – plan ahead. You may not be site seeing as much as you had hoped.

Bring travel bowls for the car, food, water and all their medication. We were never asked for their vaccination records but we still had them just in case.

Be flexible and walk the dogs a lot – you can see a good portion of a city walking.  

Laid-Back

I traveled to the South East recently and wow what a difference in manners.  People opened doors and held them open, people were gracious, driving was pleasant and overall it was just such a relaxing and friendly experience. Our manners out here in Southern California have become almost nonexistent. People cut off each other driving, don’t stop at stop signs, doors rarely get held open, people don’t say hi or even give a friendly nod when you walk by.  It’s changed here. The once laid-back surfer style has become more of a city style.  I prefer the laid-back friendly pace of the past. Let’s try to bring it back.

Internet Black Hole

I get asked the question, “How do I get their attention?”, all the time from candidates looking for a job. They have trouble getting anyone at the company they are interested in to pay attention to them. Typically, it’s because they have emailed a resume or put an application in online into the internet black hole. 

It doesn’t work.

We all get too many emails and electronic communication – it’s overwhelming. Try something old school – mail your resume directly to the person in charge. If you are applying for a finance or accounting job – the CFO. Need an HR job – VP of HR, General Manager or often the CFO. Need a sales job – hit up the VP Sales.  No one gets mail anymore – USPS mail. Think about it? When you do get mail it’s the occasional medical bill. Go old school and mail that letter directly to the person you want attention from!  Then follow up with an email article that they might be interested in inquiring about your mailed resume. It works a good amount of the time! Now go mail that resume.

TEAM

Years ago, with my business coach Tony, we defined our companies version of team. It’s a pretty good definition and holds up today be it your home team or work team - 

A group of people who function together in an extraordinary way – who trust one another, who complement each other’s strengths and compensate for each other’s limitations, who have common goals that are larger than individual goals, and who produce extraordinary results.

Texting a Job Offer

Since my blog post in 2012 about not texting offers – it’s happened a lot – texting an offer. And it works.  To make a text offer go smoothly the key is to make sure as a candidate, that you’ve had a detailed communication with your recruiter/HR representative/potential boss about salary, benefits, vacation, bonus etc.  Seems obvious, but in this age of minimal phone calls and even shorter texts - good, solid communication is ideal.  Have that detailed talk sooner rather than later.  

Holly, jolly tips and tricks for the holidays!

Food -

Don’t make everything from scratch – cheat a little with quality premade delicious treats and sides.

If you decide to cook everything get most of your side dishes and desserts done ahead of time.

You don’t need 6 side dishes - pick 2 or 3.  

Put out a bar so people can make their own drinks.

Say yes to help in the kitchen!

Travel -

Ship gifts ahead of time.  

At the airport pack your food and toiletries in their own separate zip lock bags so you clear security easily.

Pack fun toys or candy for the kids.  

Load up your iPhone or tablet with lots of games, music and books.

Day of the party -

If politics are too much to talk about - plan an activity. Make ornaments, decorate cookies, play a game or grab the old photo books and go through them. Create something to do to avoid the discourse.

Set the table ahead of time and set out the serving dishes too.

 If the standard gift exchange is getting old – go with a theme – white elephant, flip flop exchange (I’d say socks but we are here in SoCal and we are in flip flops more than socks!), cooking spice exchange, snack/cookie exchange, favorite Christmas movie or favorite candy!  There are lots of fun possibilities – get creative.

Again, if people ask to help clean up just say YES!

Merry Christmas! 

Our Kids at Work

We are a family run company so sometimes our kids end up at the office. For instance my son after hitting a few balls walked over from the local golf course near our office. He is now practicing putting into a cup down the hallway. He was supposed to be reading but the hallway is just too perfect for putting.  Having them be able to come in occasionally is convenient but other days it’s hugely distracting.  It’s a balance of fun vs. productivity.  Good thing I got most of what I need done because the fun is out weighing productivity. 

The Climb

Some weeks it’s all about the climb. It’s the insurmountable odds, the failures and the frustration.  It’s about the people who ignore your calls, the unreturned emails, the lack of communication and trying to work around it.   Eventually I’ll get to the top of the wall. 

Spring has Sprung

Spring is here! How do I know this --  our desert tortoise is out and about. Indy, the tortoise is similar to Punxsutawney Phil with Spring predictions but, he’s the Southern California version of him. 

Once Indy is up we know Spring is on its way.  So, get out there and enjoy the weather before it gets crazy hot again!