Most headhunters will automatically say you should never entertain a counteroffer under any circumstances. But how valid is this advice? Obviously it’s in a recruiter’s best interest that you don’t back out of a placement they’ve made, and if you do a Google search, you can find many articles, mostly written by recruiters, telling you what horrible things will happen if you accept a counteroffer from your current employer.

My experience has been that it’s not always such a clear decision. Let’s look at the pros and cons.

Some of the rationale for not accepting a counteroffer is that once you do, you will forever be branded as disloyal to your employer, and they’ll immediately start looking to replace you behind your back as soon as they can. To me, this is probably the least valid reason, and I don’t think it’s necessarily true. If you’re good enough that they want to retain you, particularly in the talent-scarce technology job market, you are probably fairly safe from such retaliation. I know several good engineers who accepted counteroffers and have remained happily employed for years at the same place. Whatever problems they had were able to be addressed satisfactorily, and for them, it was the right decision to stay put.

However, I’ve seen many more instances over the years of candidates accepting counteroffers, and then within a year, they’re gone anyway. Were they terminated by revengeful bosses? Not usually. Much more often, the original problems that caused them to explore the job market, covered temporarily by the band-aid of a counteroffer, continued to exist and fester, and eventually the candidate got frustrated enough to follow through on leaving.

If you get a counteroffer, ask yourself why the enticements being dangled in front of you weren’t being offered in the first place. Do you really want to work for a company where you have to threaten to resign in order to get what you want and deserve? There are plenty of good companies out there that will value you appropriately. Trust your intuition. If you felt that it was time to move on before you got a counteroffer, it’s probably still time to move on, no matter how rosy a picture the management team at your current company tries to paint.

So, in summary, while there are occasionally good reasons to accept a counteroffer, in general I would not recommend it. If I had to put a number on it, I would say it’s about a 9 to 1 ratio – for every one person for whom a counteroffer works out well, there are nine people for whom it’s not the right answer. Not quite “never”, but still … a life decision that you need to consider very cautiously.

I welcome your comments, and please don’t hesitate to contact me at phil@lynxinc.com if I can help you fill an opening at your company, or assist you with a personal job search.

If you are a new firm interested in attracting more candidates whose experience  is in the 0-8 year range then be aware that there is a clear trend emerging.

These candidates are repeatedly requesting that we find firms that are commutable on the T. Yes, you can get to the western suburbs by public transportation but the overwhelming demand from the applicant side is to be able to make as few changes as possible and be able to enjoy working and life after work without the need for a car.

Factors driving this trend are numerous. Many candidates are graduating from college with large student loans, eager to work but not interested in taking on more debt in the form of car payments. Boston and Cambridge real estate developers have taken note of the increased demand for housing in the city and many flexible and attractive options are available for city dwellers.

Social networking and tools for helping people connect to others sharing their interests has created many options for after work activities. Candidates want to work hard, be able to put in above average efforts and also have the ease of access to activities, friends, restaurants and entertainment. Long commutes to and from the suburbs make it difficult. The city life offers the diversity and numerous options that many find attractive.

More candidates are environmentally aware. People care about gas consumption, pollution, noise and keeping the planet green. When faced with the option of driving or walking or biking, many now are choosing to walk or bike. Again the city offers options often not available to the employee who works in a building on a major highway. Walking along the Charles River or riding your bike along the bike path is a pleasant option available for engineers working in town.

So, although an office space in the suburbs could be less expensive, consider the cost of losing a large group of potential candidates who have stated a preference for the city and who will eliminate the option of working at a company they have to own a car to get to.
We are seeing specific areas emerging as pockets of high tech startups. These are Kendall Square, The Boston Innovation District, and the Leather District. We also see activity in Central Square, Davis and Harvard Square. A few articles refer to the Red Line as the High Tech Line.

Trends come and go so it’s possible that years to come we will see life change but if you are making a decision now about where to locate your firm, consider if you can afford the city or at least a suburban area that is T accessible. You’ll find more employees willing and happy to join you.

I hereby offer my own humble version, based on my years of experience arranging interviews for software engineers. If you use this, I can’t guarantee success on your next interview, but at least you’ll make a unique impression!

“My Software Interview”

Thank you for having me here today to meet with your ______________ (adjective) startup company.  I’ve been particularly excited ever since I first read that _____________ (name of tabloid celebrity) was one of your investors. Of all the _________________ (large number) of interviews I’ve had, this one stands out!

I’d like to tell you a little bit about my previous _________________ (adjective) job experience. I’ve been fascinated by computers and ______________ (plural noun) ever since the age of _________________ (number). I spent hundreds of hours ___________________ (verb ending in “ing”) in front of the screen from the moment that I could _________________ (verb).

I’m interested in leaving my current ___________________ (adjective) job for a few reasons. First, my boss is really a _________________ (type of animal). He doesn’t know anything about writing code that’s _______________ (adjective), _____________ (adjective), or _____________ (adjective).  I should really be the manager, but they won’t promote me because there was a small _______________ (noun) in my code last year that caused our largest customer’s website to ________________ (verb) _______________ (adverb).

Speaking of customers, our company doesn’t know how to treat __________________ (adjective) customers. Our competitors are eating our _______________ (food). Our call center, which is headquartered on ___________________ (name of planet or star) keeps customers on hold for an average wait time of _________________ (number) minutes, and typically tells customers to try rebooting their _______________ (noun) ______________ (adverb) before contacting support. Our software engineers spend most of their time shooting each other with Nerf ______________ (plural noun), playing video _______________ (plural nouns), or enjoying some of the free ________________ (liquid) or ______________ (food) that our company stocks in the pantry.

But let’s talk about me. My deepest software experience is with ______________ (adjective) _________________ (plural noun), at least some of the older versions. Well, to be totally honest, I don’t have any actual hands-on experience with that, but I did get familiar with it from watching ________________ (name of reality show).  I’m sure I could come up to speed ______________ (adverb) on that in only _____________ (number) weeks. I haven’t worked in an Agile environment before, but I’m extremely comfortable with the _______________ (adjective) development methodology. Perhaps you’ve heard of it? When you’re using it, all the developers get together every single morning in a meeting that’s referred to as a ________________ (noun). We do a release every ______________ (number) days. We’ve even automated our __________________! (plural noun)

I participate ______________ (adverb) in the ________________ (adjective) source community. I have several GitHub __________________ (plural noun) that you can check out.

I want to work for your company because eventually my career goal is to become a ________________ (noun), or perhaps someday even start my own _______________ (noun) that Facebook or Google will acquire for _____________ (number) dollars. I’ve had a few other interviews, but the feedback I’m getting is that my knowledge of computer science fundamentals is too ________________ (adjective).

Well, in closing, I hope you’ll strongly consider me for your next ______________ (noun). It’s been nice meeting you.

While this is one of those times when there’s not a “one-size-fits-all answer”, it’s usually best to be up-front with future employers and add the position to your resume, particularly if it’s a one-time occurrence.

Let’s look at the pros and cons…

Certainly, the biggest reason software developers are reluctant to mention their short-term job is they feel it will hurt their chances with a prospective employer, and yes, there can be hiring managers who look at this negatively but in my years of experience as a software recruiter, I think that these circumstances represent a small minority of all the potential hiring managers you’ll encounter. In most cases, if there’s a reasonable explanation for making a switch so soon, a good manager will understand and take the circumstances into account, and knowing this information won’t jeopardize getting the interview or landing the new job. Most managers will appreciate the honesty and with all the facts in hand are able to make an informed judgment call.

On the other hand, let’s say you omit this experience from your resume. Perhaps you think “no one will ever know”, or you think you may have dodged a bullet. The software community is such a small world that you have to ask yourself if it’s worth the risk if this job comes to light later on, especially when references are being checked, and someone inadvertently mentions that you were employed for such a short amount of time. Or your new company will interview or hire someone who briefly worked with you at the short-term company. If this happens, your new employer may now have concerns with your level of honesty and transparency, and may wonder what other things you haven’t divulged. Over the years, I have seen a number of instances where a company has discharged someone, or rescinded a job offer, because of inaccuracies in the resume, job application or reference check. In virtually every one of these cases, the crucial issue wasn’t even the discrepancy itself, but rather the way the discrepancy was handled.

Now maybe you’ll have two short-term jobs to worry about!

Honesty is really the best policy. Besides the practical reasons I’ve outlined, ask yourself an important question; would you really feel good knowing you had to hide who you are or where you worked in order to get hired? In twenty-five years as a software recruiter, I’ve encountered only a few situations where an honest and reasonable presentation had a negative impact with a hiring situation.

Here are just a some of the things you might be able to improve upon by working for your next company:

1. Greater technical challenge
2. Better boss
3. Shorter commute
4. More money
5. Stock options, equity, ownership
6. More responsibility
7. More reasonable hours
8. Better work environment
9. Less stress
10. More stability
11. Better benefits
12. Smarter colleagues
13. More people using and seeing your work
14. More interesting work
15. Faster growing company
16. Promotion
17. Leadership and management opportunities
18. Tuition reimbursement
19. More flexibility
20. Better vacation time
21. Learn a new programming language
22. Improve your resume with more marketable technology
23. Better location
24. You’re bored
25. More meaningful work
26. Faster career growth
27. Stronger leadership team
28. Market segment is growing faster
29. You feel undervalued, underappreciated, underused
30. Be more passionate about what you’re doing

If any of these apply to you, don’t settle for a less than ideal situation. Please contact us at Lynx if you’d like a very low-pressure, consultative approach to finding the ideal next job opportunity. We have a knowledgeable, experienced, well-connected team that would love to get to know you.

We’re actively interviewing for one or two entry-level recruiting associates who could start with us in June or July. We have had a good track record in teaching and mentoring new college grads how to become successful in the search and placement field, and we don’t require a technical background.

Interested? Please send your resume to me along with a brief note saying why you’re interested: phil@lynxinc.com.

Right now in the competitive software world, internships and co-ops are becoming the norm.  Whether these positions are paid or not, this experience has become standard not only for resume building but building your network as well.  At Lynx, with our focus in the software industry, we have been seeing many candidates graduating from college with at least 2 internships, and hiring managers are expecting to see this on resumes of recent CS grads. Having an internship or co-op gives you real world skills, along with a huge competitive advantage over other, less qualified, candidates.

Many schools now offer some of type of guidance in helping undergrad students find and apply for internships.  There are a variety of internship positions offered by small or large companies. With more and more students going to college and the working world becoming more competitive, I feel the decision is simple: Apply for internships early on in your college career and it will not only strengthen your skills but it will help you figure out what you want to do!

Well, I sure can. In fact, that’s exactly what I myself did back in 1987. And I thought that this would be a perfect opportunity to write a blog post about what it takes to successfully make such a transition. But additionally, I want to say a little bit about what being a recruiter is – and isn’t – in terms of the rewards it offers as a career.

First off, let’s get it right out on the table for everyone to see. Recruiting is SALES. It’s not human resources, it’s not career counseling, it’s not social work, as important as all those professions are. Sales is involved in capturing the search assignments to work, in the painting of a compelling vision of better opportunity for passive candidates, in the qualifying and matchmaking of putting employee and employer together, and in the negotiation of mutually-acceptable offer packages.

We all know recruiting firms that take this idea to the extreme. Almost everyone has had experience with an overly-aggressive, hardball salesy type of recruiter. That’s not what we do here at Lynx, and that’s not the kind of sales that I’m talking about. You also don’t have to be a total extrovert either. Recruiting tends to work well for the type of personality that’s very good in a one-on-one listening and communicating situation, not necessarily for the “life-of-the-party” type.

Sometimes a person will tell me that they want to become a recruiter because they want to “work with people.” That by itself isn’t enough to be a good recruiter. You have to enjoy the process of building relationships, of constructively seeking to understand and discover what another person (candidate or hiring manager) is looking for, and then working to help them realize it. Sometimes, what they want may not be realistic to achieve, so an important part of your sales approach is to help uncover what’s truly important to them, and then suggest alternative ways of getting to that outcome. If you’re a good recruiter, you’re never trying to push someone to do something that they don’t feel is in their best interest, but you often are in the position of trying to influence someone to push beyond their comfort zone in order to get what they want.

You’ll have to be a good reader of people and situations, because a lot of what’s being communicated in any of these transactions is not being explicitly expressed. As a recruiter, you’ll have to face a lot of rejection, and you’ll have to persist when you feel like giving up, in order to finally achieve the rewards that come from succeeding, both in job satisfaction and in the above-average earnings that you can have when you’re good at this. And, hopefully obviously, you have to love and enjoy people to have a hope of being great as a recuiter.

In my experience, although I came from a technical background and spent four years working as an engineer, having actual technical experience isn’t nearly as important as having a high degree of interest in the technology field. I’ve known many fine recruiters who have liberal arts degrees, but who are so passionate about what’s happening in technology that they work to stay informed about the players, the trends, the technologies. That’s what’s really important. I’ve also worked with a few engineers-turned-recruiters who were very poor at the people-relating part of the job.

So, when you’ve decided that maybe this is for you, figure out who the best recruiting firms are in the niche that you’re interested in, and then contact the owners or managers of those companies. Take the time to find out what kind of business they do, and then tailor your approach to show that owner/manager how you can help him or her be more successful. Don’t wait to see who’s advertising a recruiting opening, but instead, be proactive, and make it happen!

After all, the first candidate you have to place is yourself.

make sure you put your best foot forward, educate you in communicating with the hiring manager, ensure that you are properly prepared for what to expect in the interview, and for the type of people you will work with.
Here are 4 key things that are essential for you to be completely open and straightforward with your recruiter:

1.       What are your career goals?
It is really imperative that you talk openly about this.  We will know if a particular company offers exactly what you are looking for in regards to career advancement, and how to best express your goals to the hiring manager in the interview.

2.       Why are you looking to leave your current job?
Your motivation/reason for looking for a new position is very important to me (and my colleagues) as your recruiter, as well as, the multitude of factors related to your ability to start a new job.  Some things to keep in mind when we discuss your career objective include: Do you have a vacation planned soon?  Do you receive an annual bonus (will you jeopardize it, when you leave)?  How much vacation/personal time do you currently have?  What is your availability, can you start a new position in 2 weeks?  How will you handle a counter-offer from your current employer?  These questions are all necessary and important to discuss with me, as your recruiter, so I can work with you and the hiring manager and ensure a smooth transition when a job offer comes through.

3.       What salary/compensation package are you prepared to accept?
This information is just as critical as what you are currently making for many reasons.  If you tell me you absolutely must make a $120,000 base salary to accept the position then my job as your recruiter is to make that happen.  I will negotiate your compensation to the level you tell me you must have.  However, if in reality you would have accepted $100,000 as a base salary, and I didn’t know that…you could miss out on your dream job simply because you weren’t honest with me.  We will always work as a team on the best way to present your salary requirements to the hiring manager; it will come up during the interview process and this will ensure that we are able to meet your salary goal.  This goes for your current compensation level as well.  This information will be critical at offer stage with the company and will provide your recruiter with the vital information to negotiate as best as he or she can on your behalf.  It benefits you and the recruiter to get you the best compensation package possible, so be sure you are open and honest about what you need, want, and will accept.

4.       Do you have other interviews going on and how far into the process are you?
This is very important for many reasons.  If you have had three interviews with ABC Company and are expecting an offer by the end of the week, it is extremely important you convey this information to your recruiter.  The main reason is so we can inform our clients, because if you’re the one they want to hire, they will need to make a quick decision or they will lose you to the competing company.  This could be the difference between a hiring manager emailing a document to HR to get signed (taking a couple days) or walking it down there personally and getting it done that day. 

Obviously, these are things that you will only want to share with a trusted recruiter that you feel confident has your career interests as his or her first priority.  Being open and straightforward with us really can make or break the deal for you.  In the end, you are the one that is the most important player here as it is your career on the line.  The experience can truly enhance your career search and ultimately provide a smooth career transition to your new position .

It is important for clients to disclose all relevant information regarding a position, whether it’s the first conversation or throughout the entire process.   Providing as much information to the recruiter is essential since our ultimate goal is helping you find the best fit for your company’s culture and fulfill the position with the perfect candidate.

Believe it or not, one of the biggest factors to help us in our searches is your feedback.   Whether it’s feedback on the candidates resume or why a candidate did not make it to the next face to face interview round.  When I send a candidate to a client, I am confident that they are a great fit for the position as well as the organization. Conversely, if the client is not interested in meeting with the candidate, or after a first round interview only states, “pass,” it is doing us both a disservice since we do not know the specifics as to why the candidate was not a match.

We know and understand how busy everyone gets during the day and this simple step would make it possible for me, as your recruiter, to not waste anyone’s time by sending in similar candidates to the ones that didn’t make it.  Even if the candidate is passed on or rejected for not being the right cultural fit, it still helps us to know “why” so when we meet with other candidates for the role we will have an idea of who may be or not be a good fit.

Important factors for the recruiter to know when finding you the perfect candidate –  knowledge of the company/organization, type of working atmosphere, its culture, the position and what important candidate qualifications are you looking for.  That’s why communication is a key factor in finding you the right candidate.