The Dead Company Club

The Company is Gone But We Live On.

The Dead Company Club header image 1

Interview Tips for Club Members

June 17th, 2010 · Finding a job, War stories

Confessions of a recruiter and how to respond

Insiders’ Interview Tips



Going for an interview? Then “True Confessions of a Recruiter,” by Connie Thanasoulis-Cerrachio is a must-read. Connie, a former Fortune 500 recruiter, confesses how she weeds out candidates starting the first second she sees them.

No Debby Downers

As a Dead Company Club member you have unique experiences that can be booby traps in an interview.  Watch out for the invitation to complain about how your company failed, how employees got screwed and how bad your life got.  Even though you may have a strong opinion about who is to blame, hold that thought. According to Connie, “anything negative will immediately shift me to the next candidate.”

Do you know your strengths?

Rolling your eyes isn’t an answer to the question, “Tell me about your strengths.” Recruiters expect a thoughtful, serious answer, and you have something unique to offer.

Remember: you’ve been through the fire. When your company died, your assumptions and plans blew up. You had to start over, maybe reeducate, possibly relocate.  You discovered you can march through dramatic changes. You’re more aware of risks and appreciate contingency planning now. Your expectations of an employer have changed. Non-members can’t offer these strengths.

Seeing the good in your hard-won experience — and not whining — might be what wins the job.

Laurie Phillips writes for and about businesses. She is a multi-time member of The Dead Company Club.

cool photo courtesy of flikr.com/emilio_labrador

Post to Twitter Tweet This Post

→ 1 CommentTags: ··

Surprise! Companies Are Still Closing!

May 12th, 2010 · Losing a job, New members

“History is merely a list of surprises.”                 –Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

This March, The Wall Street Journal Blog, “Laid Off and Looking” ended. They had followed out-of-work professionals and their struggles to move on. Their readers, a fraternity of survivors, were bummed. “Do not shut this sucker down” was one response. “Pls do not shut this blog down. I need it.” What’s the WSJ missing?

Then a couple of weeks ago, The Vault discontinued their blog, Pink Slipped, which gave job leads and tips for Pink Slippers.  They stated:

“The economic conditions that served as the founding raison d’etre … increasingly seem to be waning.”

I tentatively agreed. The headlines didn’t blare business obituaries like last year. Sure, there are substantial companies like Goldman and Ernst & Young that are facing the big bad wolf, but collapse seems unlikely.

So I was surprised when I started updating The Memorial Garden, our list of dead companies. The number of newly closed companies is mind boggling.

Have corporate failures become second page news? If you’re among the 2010 company bankruptcies, liquidations or flat out busts, what is your story?

Laurie Phillips writes for and about businesses. She is a multi-time member of The Dead Company Club.

cool and creative photo courtesy of flikr.com/bensonkua

Post to Twitter Tweet This Post

→ 4 CommentsTags: ···

Lehman Leadership Vindicated?

March 19th, 2010 · Company profiles, War stories

Lehman Brothers Dick Fuld

Lehman Brothers Dick Fuld

Former Lehman Brothers employees keep getting a pitchfork in the butt. The latest round of abuse comes from Dick Fuld, Lehman’s former CEO, in response to a bankruptcy examiner’s report released March 11, 2010.

Ex-employees were understandably pissed by the 2,200 page report. A March 13th Wall Street Journal article titled “Lehman Report Confirms Former Employees’ Suspicions” begins:

“For Ted Larkin, a Lehman Brothers technology executive when the firm collapsed, the revelations from a bankruptcy examiner Thursday reinforced his angry hypothesis: That it only took a few executives to put thousands of people out of work.

“It confirms my feelings that the majority of the firm were honest, hard-working people that suffered from the hubris of a few individuals,” said Mr. Larkin.”

Yet four days later, the New York Post reported that Fuld – The Boss – felt vindicated by the same bankruptcy examiner’s report. The article reads:

“Fuld privately believes that the report by examiner Anton Valukas provides proof that he did nothing illegal as he steered Lehman through a financial mess that ultimately led the firm to file the largest bankruptcy in US history…”

Confused? Let’s give Dick some help.

Dear Dick:

Illegal or not, you have screwed thousands of employees. You have trashed the financial world. The ripple effect has been more like a tsunami. Vindicated? PLEASE go to dictionary.com and read the definition, Dick.

Sincerely,

The Dead Company Club

Laurie Phillips is a member of The Dead Company Club. She hasn’t yet seen a company that was destroyed by excellent leadership.

Post to Twitter Tweet This Post

→ No CommentsTags: ···

How to Reclaim Your Future

March 17th, 2010 · Coping, Motivation, Solutions

Peacock

“Giving you a handout will help pay the bills, but it won’t give you dignity.”

My self-esteem was slaughtered when my company was shut down. My lifestyle flipped and my dignity – how I assessed my value to society – evaporated.

Fast forward to 2010. In the eBook, What Matters Now, Jacqueline Novogratz writes:

“Dignity is more important than wealth…It comes from creating your own destiny and from the respect you get from your family, your peers and society.”

By that definition, I was broke. I floundered, waiting for someone to restore my former career success. I expected my imaginary benefactor would offer me the best job I could imagine with an intriguing, prestigious company. But fantasy was a toothless substitute for dignity. It got me exactly nothing.

I eventually learned a very simple lesson:

Only you can create your own destiny.

If you’re sitting on your butt feeling sorry for yourself, you are creating your destiny. If you’re reading this while you take a break from writing a business plan, you are too. It’s your choice.

Do you look around and see others in the same situation? Is the problem of crushed dignity too widespread to overcome? Do you think the phrase “create your own destiny” is too cliche? If so, take heart. I was there too. Cynical, jaded, victimized. But no one could pick me up and point me in a direction to restore my career – except me. You can do it too.

Do you need to restore your dignity? What are you doing to create your own destiny?


If you want to catch up on the trends affecting the working world and society, read the eBook, What Matters Now.

Laurie Phillips writes for and about businesses. She likes to ride motorcycles because it’s life without a safety net. Follow her on Twitter at @ljp26.

photo courtesy of Darren Stone

Post to Twitter Tweet This Post

→ No CommentsTags: ····

Take This Productivity Test

March 2nd, 2010 · Motivation, Series, Solutions

“Will we know a fork in the road when we see it?”

I had to finish about 200 things on my to-do list before I sat down at my desk today.

Wait. That’s a lie.

I chose to spend my time slaving away at that list, which is hefty enough to make a pack donkey bray.

Someone once asked if I got any satisfaction from a day spent checking things off my list. If so, they continued, did that satisfaction last more than a day?

Sometimes rhetorical questions are the safest way to give advice.

In the eBook What Matters Now, Gina Trapani offers a productivity test. She writes:

Getting things done is not the same as making things happen.

You can…

…reply to email.
…pay the bills.
…cross off to-do’s.
…fulfill your obligation.
…repeat what you heard.
…go with the flow.
…anticipate roadblocks.
…aim for “good enough.”

Or you can…

…organize a community.
…take a risk.
…set ambitious goals.
…give more than you take.
…change perceptions.
…forge a new path.
…create possibility.
…demand excellence.

Don’t worry too much about getting things done.

Make things happen.

If you’re at a fork in the road, read the rest of the eBook, What Matters Now. It might be the smartest thing you can do to catch up on the trends affecting the working world and society.

Laurie Phillips writes for and about businesses. She specializes in technology and motorcycling.

cool and creative photo courtesy of flikr.com/drcornelius


Post to Twitter Tweet This Post

→ No CommentsTags: ··