Cher Forman
"Ask Cher"
Cher Forman has over 20 years of domestic and international Human Resources experience in organizations ranging from startups to $3B. As Director or Vice President, she has managed Human Resources groups at Applied Materials, Stanford Telecom, Ask Computer Systems, Teledex and Tri-Data Corporation and consulted on H.R. philosophy, values and infrastructure with many start-ups as well. Cher has managed several of these firms through rapid expansion and significant organizational challenges. While at Applied Materials, she led her business unit as the company grew from 6,000 to 16,000 employees in three years. Ms. Forman has specific expertise in employment, corporate legal compliance, development of cost effective compensation/benefit strategies, organization development and international HR management. She has a degree in Organization Behavior from the University of San Francisco and has participated in advanced training at several other colleges and universities.
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Weekend Calls
June 02, 2011 by Cher Forman
Question:
Dear Cher,
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I have recently became unemployed and need job search help. Do I really need to be available all weekend for calls about jobs? My wife says I should, but my work isn’t the kind where you get calls, need to be in the office, or work at home on weekends. Why would I expect to be called about a new job on a weekend? Thank You
Joe, San Deigo, CA
Answer:
Hi Joe,
I’ve got to say, your wife makes a good point about being available for calls about jobs. If you have a cell phone, and I hope you do if you are doing a job search, it’s usually easy to always have it with you. The more available you are, the easier it is for an employer to reach you. That’s the key here, Joe. And no matter what your normal work hours are, it is not unlikely someone will try to reach you on a weekend. Often a Recruiter, Manager, or Employment Rep will be so swamped during the week that they end up using weekend time to make calls in peace and be able to give full attention to each conversation. They race through the week following up on the activities they already have going, maybe they even get around to picking out the resumes of the people who most closely fit their job qualifications. But when it comes down to carving out a time to make calls and be able to have a decent conversation, it will often be found on evenings and weekends. In honor of your question, I polled a few busy recruiters I know.
I asked them, “Which weekend day do you generally use to call candidates?” With no hesitation, each answered right away, either Saturday or Sunday. No one said, “I never call candidates on the weekend.” As it turns out, a little over 50% said Sunday was the day they found they were most likely to actually reach the candidate so they only call on Sunday. The others like to call on Saturday morning. If the person is not available, they will leave a message and try to complete the contact on Sunday. That way it is more likely they will be able to speak with their candidates before Monday when the circus begins again.
My advice to you, Joe, is to understand a weekend call is a possibility. It is not because you will be expected to work on the weekend; it’s about the recruiter’s schedule. But it doesn’t mean you should envision yourself waiting by the phone until you’re re-situated. Think about it this way. When you are in job search mode you need to be certain you are always “reachable” in some way. Cell phones make this fairly easy to do. If you are out with the family or doing something where it would be rude to answer your phone, be sure you have a message that tells the caller when you will return the call. For instance, “This is Joe Smith. I’m disappointed to have missed your call. Please leave a message. I will do my best to return your call within an hour, or at any time that will be convenient for you.” Then, you can set the phone on vibrate, or whatever setting works for you, and not have to drop everything right at that moment. If you know you will be tied up until later, or the following day, you can at least make a quick return call to acknowledge the person and say when you will be available to really talk. That will give the recruiter the message that you are eager to speak with them, but now is not a good time. It also tells them you are organized and have good follow through.
A couple hints: Don’t call back and say you’re just about to hit a jackpot in Vegas, or you’re just way too hungover to talk right now. You don’t need to give an excuse (and those are not good ones). The recruiter expects you to have a life. Just set a mutually agreeable time for the person to call back, preferably sometime during that same weekend. By rapidly linking back with the caller, even if the position a recruiter wanted to discuss is no longer available, you will have established your sincerity and openness to be contacted again.
So, Joe, I recommend you always be prepared to speak with a recruiter. Make a deal with yourself that it is OK to hear from a recruiter any day of the week, and always have your cell phone with you. Chances are you will never hear from a recruiter on the weekend. If a weekend call does happen, though, just be certain not to sound “put out” when you answer. Nobody wants a grumpy candidate!
Best, Cher
Dear Cher,
I have recently became unemployed and need job search help. Do I really need to be available all weekend for calls about jobs? My wife says I should, but my work isn’t the kind where you get calls, need to be in the office, or work at home on weekends. Why would I expect to be called about a new job on a weekend? Thank You Joe, San Deigo, CA
Answer:
Hi Joe,
I’ve got to say, your wife makes a good point about being available for calls about jobs. If you have a cell phone, and I hope you do if you are doing a job search, it’s usually easy to always have it with you. The more available you are, the easier it is for an employer to reach you. That’s the key here, Joe. And no matter what your normal work hours are, it is not unlikely someone will try to reach you on a weekend. Often a Recruiter, Manager, or Employment Rep will be so swamped during the week that they end up using weekend time to make calls in peace and be able to give full attention to each conversation. They race through the week following up on the activities they already have going, maybe they even get around to picking out the resumes of the people who most closely fit their job qualifications. But when it comes down to carving out a time to make calls and be able to have a decent conversation, it will often be found on evenings and weekends. In honor of your question, I polled a few busy recruiters I know.
I asked them, “Which weekend day do you generally use to call candidates?” With no hesitation, each answered right away, either Saturday or Sunday. No one said, “I never call candidates on the weekend.” As it turns out, a little over 50% said Sunday was the day they found they were most likely to actually reach the candidate so they only call on Sunday. The others like to call on Saturday morning. If the person is not available, they will leave a message and try to complete the contact on Sunday. That way it is more likely they will be able to speak with their candidates before Monday when the circus begins again.
My advice to you, Joe, is to understand a weekend call is a possibility. It is not because you will be expected to work on the weekend; it’s about the recruiter’s schedule. But it doesn’t mean you should envision yourself waiting by the phone until you’re re-situated. Think about it this way. When you are in job search mode you need to be certain you are always “reachable” in some way. Cell phones make this fairly easy to do. If you are out with the family or doing something where it would be rude to answer your phone, be sure you have a message that tells the caller when you will return the call. For instance, “This is Joe Smith. I’m disappointed to have missed your call. Please leave a message. I will do my best to return your call within an hour, or at any time that will be convenient for you.” Then, you can set the phone on vibrate, or whatever setting works for you, and not have to drop everything right at that moment. If you know you will be tied up until later, or the following day, you can at least make a quick return call to acknowledge the person and say when you will be available to really talk. That will give the recruiter the message that you are eager to speak with them, but now is not a good time. It also tells them you are organized and have good follow through.
A couple hints: Don’t call back and say you’re just about to hit a jackpot in Vegas, or you’re just way too hungover to talk right now. You don’t need to give an excuse (and those are not good ones). The recruiter expects you to have a life. Just set a mutually agreeable time for the person to call back, preferably sometime during that same weekend. By rapidly linking back with the caller, even if the position a recruiter wanted to discuss is no longer available, you will have established your sincerity and openness to be contacted again.
So, Joe, I recommend you always be prepared to speak with a recruiter. Make a deal with yourself that it is OK to hear from a recruiter any day of the week, and always have your cell phone with you. Chances are you will never hear from a recruiter on the weekend. If a weekend call does happen, though, just be certain not to sound “put out” when you answer. Nobody wants a grumpy candidate!
Best, Cher
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