Get a Beauty Treatment & Get a Raise

Merrainiacs:

Read a fascinating article today, "Ways Your Appearance Affects Your Paycheck." Here were some of the "nuggets" I learned:

• Men who are at least six feet tall (David - our Managing Director and several of our Associates) make at least $5,000 more than their counterparts half an inch shorter
• For every three inches taller than average they are, women earn 5% to 8% more than women of average height (Marci - our Director of Marketing)
• For women: A 1% increase in body mass translates to a 0.6 percentage point decrease in family income (Barb - our VP of Career Development)
• People who are more attractive make a considerable amount more than everyone else (Miriam, Kevin & Christina)
• The better a person looks, the more people trust them (Eric & Steve)
• Attractive men earn 9% more than unattractive men and attractive women earn 4% more than unattractive women (I better not name names here.....I'm in enough trouble already)
• Facial hair is a bad sign (Don't tell Dave.....he still talks about how he really started this business so he could grow a beard because his old boss never let him have one)
• Men say balding hurts their careers (Harry)
• Women who wear make-up look more professional (no comment)
• Good posture makes you feel more powerful and so on......

In short, now that I've alienated so many people here at the firm by "naming names," let me just say that I think the medical community has moved beyond all of this. Perhaps that's why "scrubs" were invented. Maybe a new way of leveling the playing field. Either way, I think I'll skip my morning donut tomorrow........

Merrainiac

Divorcing Your Work Spouse

Merrainiacs:

About seven months ago a candidate I became rather close with shared with me the fact that she had a "work spouse." Having never heard the term before I asked her for some clarity. She basically told me that she had a "very close friend" (also an RN in Surgical Services) that she had lunch with at least once a week, confided the most telling secrets to and even attended out-of-town nursing forums with. She also shared with me that she was unable to make a career change (although her spouse of 23 years was open to relocation) because she was not sure she could withstand the pressure of the OR without having the day-to-day support of her "work spouse." I had a hard time understanding this concept and decided I needed to speak with one of my mentors here at the firm. "Sure, it's a growing phenomenon particularly in high stress professions" (i.e. nursing, the stock market etc.). Indeed, it seems I was behind the eight-ball on this one and I've now learned a new objection some consider when making a career move. So my question is this....if you do make a career change, must you file for divorce from your "work spouse?"

Merrainiac

A Japanese Valentine's Day

Merrainiacs:

I hope you all had a wonderful Valentine's Day. It truly is one of my favorites, even though I do think the cost of roses are getting a bit out of hand. In Japan, Valentine's Day is reserved for women to give chocoloates and other assorted gifts to their male bosses or other male c0-workers they admire. Good thing that's not the custom here. Apparently in mid-March the men return the favor and are out purchasing gifts for the women. Seems kind of nice on one hand to separate the two days....Equality amongst chocolates, perfume and flowers. Not a bad concept. However, if we gave chocoloates to our bosses here in the USA (or any type of Valentine's Day gift), it would probably be looked upon as strange. Perhaps even inappropriate.

Speaking of inappropriate, I came across this article about inappropriate questions during an interview. None of them had to do with Valentine's Day, but they are all "no-no's." I would think they would be rather obvious today but given that someone wrote an article on it, maybe I'm wrong. If you're asked any of these questions, it may be time to keep looking for another position.

Merrainiac

Take This Job & Shove It

Merrainiacs:

Not to worry....I'm not quitting my job here at Merraine Group. I love what I do. However, there was an interesting article posted by our friends at CareerBuilder today which made its way to CNN: 2 Weeks at this job and I HATE it -- should I quit?. The author, Anthony Balderrama, asks if an individual can afford (financially) to quit when they have just accepted a new job? In other words, do they have the resources in the bank until their next position comes along.

However, we'd like to think the question of "affordability" comes down to more than just money. In other words, when one quits after a short period, are they hurting their reputation? We've averaged a year-over-year retention rate of 97% because we look at candidates that have solid tenure. Sure, there are plenty of applicants that have very good reasons for making a change, but sometimes it's best just to "bite the bullet." A change in your manager, a change in your responsibilities, a change in your structure can take place before you know it, and can dramatically impact your happiness quotient. If you take a job and make a change before you've given it a fair shake, the person you're probably most short-changing is yourself. These things have to be given a chance and it's often smart to just get back to the basics and remember why you made the change in the first place.

Making a career move is something we all consider at one stage or another, but our counsel is when you're in a new job, "Rough it out," if need be. Give it a chance before making any impulsive decisions.

Merrainiac

Job Security

Merrainiacs:

Over the last year, the total number of unemployed workers in the United States fell from 15.2 million to 14.5 million. Before the recession, there were around 7 million workers unemployed. If job creation were to continue at the same pace, it would take more than ten years to return unemployment to pre-recession levels. Thankfully, nothing ever stays the same.

According to government estimates, there will be a shortage of 14 million college-educated workers over the next decade. At last count, just over 2 million of the unemployed in the U.S. held Bachelor's degrees or higher and an additional 3 million had a level of college education short of a four-year degree.

The recession provided employers the opportunity to increase automation and streamline processes allowing productivity to rise nearly 9 percent at the beginning of 2009 in the depths of the recession. Many hospitals that had a receptionist switched to automated phone systems. Medical centers that used to outsource graphics and design work learned to do some of these things in-house. Laboratories invested in more automated machinery, requiring less human interaction.

In the last 12 months, the number of job openings, as reported by the Labor Department, increased by over 30 percent. During the same period, hiring activity only increased 1.2 percent. In our industry, the shortage of talent never seems to end. As more hospitals and medical centers open and requirements become more stringent (think Physical Therapists), shortages only seem to become more dire. For example, by the year 2020 the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA), which provides accreditation and monitoring of physical therapy programs, believes that Physical therapy treatment will be provided only by board certified practitioners with a doctorate degree.

Perhaps this is where executive search firms come into play. Demand for our services seems to be increasing and the three month period ending February 28, 2011 is on track to be one of our best ever. So I'd like to think I've got a little job security as we do our part to ensure our clients hire and retain the very best talent in the industry.

Merrainiac

Does Your Office Space Measure Up?

Merrainiacs:

Stephanie Chen wrote an article for CNN.com today called: "Goodbye office space? The shrinking American cubicle." The article details how major firms such as Intel have downsized their workstations from an average of 72 square feet to 48 square feet. According to the International Facility Management Association, the average office worked had 90 square feet of office space in 1994 and today has only 75 square feet on average. While the article talks about companies such as SAS that are steering clear of the cubicle model and feel private offices actually help productivity, it also mentions firms like Intel where 30% of the employees do not have assigned cubicles. Essentially, employees can take their blackberry and their laptop and "boot up" in any open office space. Here at Merraine Group's corporate office, we have dedicated work stations and the executive team members have their own private offices. However, if a computer goes down, you can go to any open terminal, enter your password and "Presto," your database, schedule and e-mail pop up without delay. This is a nice feature, but I like having my own work area. David encourages us to bring in pictures of our family and mementos from home that make our workspace a little more "user friendly." Apart from Jeff's "Family Guy" calendar, all the wall decorations are pretty tame.
Our business development team and our recruitment and research teams sit in the "bullpen." It's a noisy work area, but the energy is contagious and the place hums at certain times of day. I imagine there's something to be said for this type of layout as the place comes alive.
We hear from nursing directors all the time how important it is to be "on the floor," but also to have a nice, private office where they can confer with employees and have a spot away from where the action is. We actually have a few clients that send us digital photos of their workspace so we can forward it to potential candidates. Not a bad idea if the walls seem to be closing in.

Merrainiac

Meg the Recruiter

Merrainiacs:

It struck me funny the first time I interviewed at Merraine Group's Corporate Office that one of the interview questions I was asked was whether or not I liked dogs. I didn't inquire as to why I was being asked this question. After all, it's not as if canine-haters are a protected class according to EEOC regulations. Fortunately for me, I answered the question right. Little did I know the corporate office took a page from a number of California-based companies that allow, dare I say encourage, employees to bring their pets to work!

As fate would have it, my first day of employment I was greeted by Coby (a large Rhodesian Ridgeback owned by the firm's founder) and a rather small Bichon named Meg (pictured), owned by the head of the Career Development division. While most of us don't bring our dogs to work every day, we have had up to three labradors, Meg and Coby, a three legged Siberian Husky, a Collie and a Jack Russell Terrier here at various times during my tenure. Coby doesn't come to work every day as the FedEx man had an abrasive relationship with him, but over time Meg has become the "office mascot." Depending upon the time of year Meg can be found attending a presentation in our conference room, a nursing roundtable, the weekly staff meeting, greeting clients in our waiting room or my favorite....enjoying some appetizers at the office holiday party. As a matter of record, Meg has worked here at Merraine Group for close to ten years and has been a fixture since the firm's inception. I'll be the first to admit, it can be a bit distracting when Meg decides to "voice her opinions" through some high-pitched bark while I'm talking to customers or candidates, but her love of this office has endeared her to all.

Meg seems to have an affinity for talent and this is what I find most remarkable. She seems to favor nurses when they come to the office, and she tends not to spend much time in the waiting room with people that change jobs too frequently. I know it sounds a little crazy, but if you ever visit....be sure to ask for Meg. Chances are, she'll find you before you find her. After all, that's what recruiters do best!

Merrainiac