THE BEECHMONT CREST CAREER GUIDE:
SURVIVING AND THRIVING IN THE CORPORATE JUNGLE
Chapter 1: What do Employers Want?
Chapter 1 Summary & Appendix
Chapter Summary
-The hiring of an employee represents a major investment for any organization.
-All employers look at four basic elements when appraising job applicants. However, each employer will has a slightly different set of priorities within the “the four basics.”
-To get hired, see yourself as a product, and view your job search activities as a marketing campaign.
-Particular skills and educational qualifications often go in and out of style. As a general rule, however, more education = more $$.
-Big companies and small companies have different hiring priorities.
Chapter Appendix
Japanese Hiring Practices
The hiring and induction practices of Japanese corporations are quite unusual by American standards. Although customs are slowly changing, Japanese companies prefer to hire new college graduates exclusively. (There is a traditional resistance against mid-career hires because they are believed to be “tainted” by the ways of their past employer.)
Japanese companies induct new employees en masse each April. The new hires undergo the orientation process together, and are thought of as a single “class.” Fellow members of one’s induction class are known as dōhai. More senior employees are sempai, and one’s juniors are known as kōhai. These seniority-based relationships constitute an informal system of hierarchy which exists in parallel to the formal management hierarchy.
Working with Bill
Today Microsoft is a huge corporation with many levels of management and a complex chain of command. Only a handful of senior managers now take their marching orders directly from Bill Gates.
However, employment at Microsoft during the early days of the company meant lots of interaction with Microsoft’s famous co-founder. As detailed in the book Hard Drive HarperBusiness, 1993), by James Wallace and Jim Erickson, not all Microsoft employees enjoyed this experience. While no one can dispute Gates’ genius as a software developer and businessperson, he apparently had weaknesses as a manager. Former Microsoft employees report that Gates could be abrasive, inconsistent, and excessively demanding.
Bartleby the Scrivener
Bartleby the Scrivener was a character in a Herman Melville story of the same name. A scrivener was a professional scribe, or “copyist”. Scriveners were employed by many businesses prior to the proliferation of modern office equipment.
When asked to perform a task, Bartleby’s standard response to his employer was “I would prefer not to.” He offered no explanations for his refusal.
Four-year Degrees
Although the cost/benefit analysis of obtaining a master’s degree varies by the individual, a basic four-year degree seems to be essential. In 2001, the U.S. Department of Labor reported that workers with four-year degrees earn an average of 55% more than workers with only a high school degree.
A Dotcom Docudrama
For an especially telling look at the early dotcom era, watch the movie Startup.com, produced by Kaleil Isaza Tuzman. This docudrama offers a blow-by-blow account of the rise and fall of GovWorks, Inc. Launched with extensive venture capital funding in 1998, GovWorks provided web-based interactions between government and private-sector entities.
In April 2000, GovWorks employed 250 people. But GovWorks failed to turn a profit; and the company’s burn rate was about $1 million per month. In November 2000, staffing was reduced to 60 employees in an attempt to move to a new business model. By the end of 2000, efforts to secure additional venture capital backing had failed. GovWorks filed for bankruptcy in January 2001.
Copyright 2006 Beechmont Crest Publishing