Five ’ClockNews
The
from America’s Premier Career-Coaching and Outplacement Service
Nov. / Dec. 2006 A Publication of The Five O’Clock Club®—www.FiveOClockClub.com
“One organization with a long record of success in
helping people find jobs is The Five O’Clock Club.”
FORTUNE
E-mail, Snail-Mail,
Blackberries,
and Cell Phones
Technology Etiquette for Job Hunters
by Kate Wendleton
O
ur coaches recently exchanged their thoughts about
the use of technology in a job search, largely in
response to inquiries about how to use all of the
gadgets and formats appropriately. After all, the abuse of tech-
nology can mark a person as arrogant, insensitive, immature
or just careless.
How you use technology speaks volumes about your
skills, your style, your ability to connect with future employ-
ers and your manners! The devices you use, when and how
you use them and the content of your messages send subtle
(or not so subtle!) signals to a prospective employer that can
improve … or derail your chances for getting the next inter-
view and ultimately landing the job.
Were our coaches in agreement on what a job hunter should
do? Not at all. But we did come up with a few suggestions.
1. Use Snail-Mail for the First Contact Unless You Were
Referred by Someone
Hiring managers already get too much e-mail and too
much spam. They are prone to delete anything they don’t
immediately recognize, even if your unsolicited e-mail actually
gets through. Administrative assistants are much more sympa-
thetic than spam filters.
Snail mail allows you to take advantage of the quality of
paper, résumé design and typefaces—like a printed marketing
piece. It empowers you to control the initial impression and
differentiate yourself from other candidates. Since e-mail is
filtered, the appearance of your cover letter and résumé is at
®
$4.95
Vol. 20, No. 10
the mercy of settings on the web, on the corporate network
and on the recipient’s computer. This triple-filtering means
there is no guarantee that the HR person or the hiring man-
ager will see what you sent the way you intended it to be seen.
Postal mail gives you the best chance to shape the initial
impression and the best odds of getting your message deliv-
ered. And for many recipients, yours may be the only person-
ally addressed mail they actually get that day!
The coaches’ conclusion: “It all depends.”
That was the majority opinion. However, a few coaches
tended more towards e-mail for first contact: One said,
“There is no single right way, especially in this very compli-
cated job market. Our clients need to assess and develop their
individual targets, research the companies and functions
they’re focused on, and then, based upon the information they’ve
gathered, use the prevailing and appropriate approaches for
the companies and functions they’ve identified. That may
mean e-mail with the right dynamic subject line.”
E-mail for a first direct contact may Continued on page 3
In this issue
! Holidays are Great for Job Search
! Executive Compensation
! Career Danger Signals

Holidays are the Best Time to Job Search
OUR ANNUAL REMINDER
I
n the old days, when I had a day
job and ran the Club on the side, I
sometimes had to job search just
like the other Club members. But I
knew the Club’s statistics, so I only
searched between Thanksgiving and
New Year’s and during the summer.
That’s when the competition lays back,
thinking that nothing is going on. The
number of job seekers drops precipitously
but companies are still hiring. So I pushed
harder. Our members have gotten offers
on Christmas Eve and even on New Year’s
Eve. The Five O’Clock Club tells our
members to keep up the holiday job
hunt—while everyone else is shopping!
Looking for a job between
Thanksgiving and Christmas actually
increases your chances of getting hired.
First of all, managers are more relaxed
during this time of year because of the
prevailing good cheer. Managers who
usually travel are often in their offices
now. Once you get in they will spend
more time with you—and there will be
few other job hunters asking for meet-
ings.
Second, hiring managers know that
you are serious about finding a job if
you are searching during the holidays.
They will take you more seriously and
respect you for your perseverance.
Third, budgeting and hiring deci-
2 THE FIVE O’CLOCK NEWS / NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2006
sions are being finalized for the new year.
If you are available to be hired during
this time they won’t have to worry about
who to put in that new position. January
is a high hiring month for our members,
and those who get hired in January are
those who have been searching in
November and December.
Remember also that this is a party
time of year. Get out there and meet
people. Let everyone you meet hear
your 30-second pitch and what you are
looking for. If appropriate, ask for more
formal meetings later so you can learn
more about companies and tell your
story in greater detail.
Remember that your goal is to get in
to see the manager and others when there is
no job opening. The Five O’Clock Club
measure of a good search is meeting with six
to ten people on an ongoing basis, that is,
the right people at the right level in the
right organizations—and have them say to
you, “Gee, I wish we had an opening right
now. I’d like to have someone like you on
board.” If your target market is giving you
that kind of positive feedback, you have a
good search. Now you simply need to get in
to see more people who say the same thing
to you. Then it’s only a matter of time.
Five O’Clock Clubbers are like the
Energizer Bunny: they keep going and
going when everyone else is slowing
down. And they
assess their search-
es so they can tell
what is working
and what is not.
They think hard
about how to turn
those interviews
into offers—The
Five O’Clock Club way.
So keep on going—while making
sure you are doing the right things. The
holiday season is more than just a time
to be thankful and of good cheer. How
about adding this to your holiday shop-
ping list: a new job—in just your size. l
Kate Wendleton,
President and Editor-in-Chief
THE FIVE O’CL OCK NE WS
from America’s Premier Career-Coaching Network
VOL. 20, No. 10 ISSN 1082-3492 Nov./Dec. 2006
The Five O’Clock News is a publication of The
Five O’Clock Club, published ten times a year for $49.
The Five O’Clock Club is a non-denominational organi-
zation based on traditional religious ethics: putting job
hunters and employees first. It provides affordable, state-
of-the-art outplacement services directly to individuals and
via the corporate market. Services include lectures and
career coaching in small
groups through a nation-
wide network of branches,
and private job-search as
well as executive coaching
through certified Five
O’Clock Club coaches.
Article submissions
based on 5OCC methodology are welcome. There is
no guarantee of publication. All submissions become
the property of The Five O’Clock Club, Inc.
Address all comments, questions & suggestions:
KATE WENDLETON
The Five O’Clock News
300 East 40th Street, 6L
New York, N.Y. 10016
Kate Wendleton, President, Editor-in-Chief
David Madison, Associate Editor
Call 212-286-4500 for information on
becoming a member and subscribing to
The Five O’Clock News.
E-mail: Info@FiveOClockClub.com
Copyright ©2006 by The Five O’Clock Club. No
portion of this publication may be reprinted without
the express written consent of The Five O’Clock
Club. The writings contained within the pages of this
publication do not necessarily reflect the opinions of
The Five O’Clock Club. The Five O’Clock Club®,
Workforce America®, The Forty Year Vision®, and
The Seven Stories Exercise® names and logos are
registered trademarks. All rights reserved.
TECHNOLOGY ETIQUETTE FOR JOB HUNTERS
be appropriate for junior-level people
who are contacting a few hundred organ-
izations in the hopes of being interviewed
for an entry-level position. This is the
equivalent of trying to win lotto.
However, if a job hunter really does care
about meeting with a specific person he
or she is contacting, more thought needs
to go into that first contact.
One Five O’Clock Club coach,
who specializes in information technol-
ogy (IT), said: “I suggest that even my
IT clients send letters instead of e-
mails. After all, what better way to dif-
ferentiate yourself from your IT com-
petitors?”
You can follow-up by either
snail-mail or e-mail or both.
One coach summed up the blog to
that point: “So which is more effective?
How about both? Send an e-mail that
tells of your interest (plus a relevant
article or web-link) and says to watch
for a real letter to follow. Of course, use
The Five O’Clock Club Direct Mail
and / or “Influencing” formats. People
usually scan e-mail and may save — or
delete your message — depending on
the recipient’s mood, interest, work-
load, etc. But a hand-written addressed
envelope may get more attention. How
do these people, who say we should
modernize our communication, feel
about being inundated with e-mails
from job hunters? Snail-mail is more of
a novelty that could make it more effec-
tive.”
Another coach summed it up:
“Different approaches may be most
effective for specific situations. We all
believe there’s a place for e-mail; my
sense is that it’s effective only for setting
up meetings after a relationship has
been established.”
So, job hunters, it’s up to you and
your coach. Like many other techniques,
its effectiveness depends on the situation
— such as your industry and your level.
Most importantly, notice whether you
are indeed getting a significant number
of meetings with people you don’t know
by using e-mail vs. snail-mail for your
first contact. That’s the research-based
approach to job search.
2. Use E-Mail for Follow-Up Notes
and Networking
E-mail is generally viewed as
acceptable for communication after a
meeting, especially when you want to
send a link to showcase your work or to
indicate a relevant article reflecting the
content of your conversation. E-mail
may also be acceptable for follow-up
notes meant to influence the hiring
team. But important follow-ups should
always be sent by snail-mail as well, to
assure that the formatting will be cor-
rect and the letter won’t get lost in
cyberspace.
E-mail also is ideal for contacting
someone recommended by a member
of your network. Put the person’s name
in the Subject line (e.g., “Bob Smith
Suggested That I Contact You”) to be
sure you are not automatically deleted.
This is also the preferred format for
using business-oriented social networks
like LinkedIn to broaden your contacts
or to solicit referrals. (More about
LinkedIn later.)
Be careful constructing the body of
message. E-mails are often scanned or
read quickly, and they are easily misinter-
preted. Many readers pay less than 100
percent attention and seek the key words
or phrases, so they miss a nuance or a key
point. There is a growing body of thought
that the speed of e-mail affects the way
people read and react to messages. This
can hurt a job-seeker who chooses
words haphazardly or doesn’t carefully
consider how to frame a message.
3. Follow Up After a Job Interview:
Think Strategy!
In the old days, job hunters asked
us how to follow up after a job inter-
view: “Should I follow up by phone or
letter?” Our coaches told clients that
the issue of follow up was far more com-
plex than that and involved a consider-
able amount of strategy. Phone vs. letter
was the least of their worries (see our
book, Mastering the Job Interview.) Now
THE FIVE O’CLOCK NEWS / NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2006
clients ask whether they should follow
up by e-mail or snail-mail, and our
answer is the same. The communica-
tion device is secondary to the overall
strategy, and clients usually need the
help of a coach and their small group to
determine their follow-up strategy.
If the issue were simply, “snail-mail
or e-mail,” follow-up would be easy and
no coach would be needed. One coach
says regarding follow-up: “Given the
speed with which some hiring decisions
are made, some clients are e-mailing
and then sending the snail-mail copies
of their influence letters. This is partic-
ularly true when the next round of
interviews is a few days from the origi-
nal interviews and they are questioning
the need for snail-mail.”
Yes. Once a job hunter has met the
manager, he or she should do what is
appropriate, given the situation.
Track r esults! Are y ou
getting a significant
number of meetings with
people y ou don’t kno w b y
using e-mail vs. snail-mail
for y our first contact .
4. Only Use Mobile Devices in a
Pinch
Many people type rapidly and badly
with their thumbs on Blackberrys, Treos
and similar devices. The typical mobile
message has at least two typos in it
because most messages are composed in
a hurry, and in quick reaction to an
inbound e-mail. And the tone tends to
be terse or glib and subject to misinter-
pretation. If you need to appear thought-
ful, insightful or expert, the mobile
device may undercut your credibility.
And, while we’re on the subject,
one coach reminds us that the general
rule about e-mails holds when job
hunters use these devices: Always proof-
read!
One coach noted: “The value of a
Blackberry is not in communicating
from one. The value is that busy execu-
tives can monitor their e-mail through
3
 TECHNOLOGY ETIQUETTE FOR JOB HUNTERS
their Blackberry or BB-like devices
such as a Treo. If you have sent a
thoughtful, compelling e-mail, they
will see it no matter where they are in
the world!”
5. Try Not to Use a Cellular Phone
We all have them, we all use them
— so we know the drawbacks. Sound
quality and consistent transmission are
iffy. Background noise is ubiquitous. So
our coaches recommend never using a
cell phone for telephone interviews,
even if it’s just a cursory screening
interview. The interviewer could easily
miss words, lose the tone of your voice
or not hear your emphasis on a critical
question. You may not be able to com-
municate energy or enthusiasm without
shouting.
What if you receive a cell call from
a hiring manager? One rule is: always
have pen and paper handy to take
down information. One coach, a for-
mer HR manager, said, “I have actually
had applicants ask me to e-mail infor-
mation to them about an interview
because they were using a cell phone.
No way! You need to make it easy and
convenient for the people who are try-
ing to hire you.”
Also: Never make an initial or
introductory call to a hiring manager’s
cell phone, even if you manage to get
the number. In contrast to landlines,
everyone still perceives their mobile
phones as private as their home
phones. It is the ultimate intrusion, the
ultimate audio spam to receive an
unsolicited call from a job hunter on
one’s cell phone. The same holds true
for Instant Messaging. It virtually guar-
antees a negative result.
Remember the Seinfeld notion
that only second class communications
take place on cell phones. The person
you are calling will think, “Does he/she
think I’m not worth a real phone call?”
Spare yourself and your future employ-
er the trouble. Rely on landlines for
formal interviews and formal conversa-
tions.
Use your cell phone to set up or
change an appointment, to call ahead if
4 THE FIVE O’CLOCK NEWS / NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2006
you are running late or to get in touch
quickly with a recruiter.
One of our executive coaches
thinks it is a bad idea to list a cell
phone number on a résumé: “A hiring
manager could call someone and get
this response, ‘I’m sorry, but I can’t talk
now; I’m about to go into the butcher
shop…’ or ‘I can’t hear you; I’m in the
subway.’ If you do rely on your cell,
TURN IT OFF if you’re in places
where you don’t want to receive calls or
don’t answer. A voice message left on
your cell phone can also present prob-
lems: You hear parts of the message,
miss the person’s name, and don’t get
the phone number. End of job oppor-
tunity.”
This coach works primarily with
senior executives, so his advice may not
apply to everyone. Many young people
may not even have landlines and use
cell phones exclusively.
6. Avoid Instant Messaging, Internet
Directories and Social Networks
IM is a permission-based concept.
People invite others of their choosing
to interrupt them with instant mes-
sages. Rarely are job candidates invited
to use this technology by prospective
employers. Seeking out and finding a
hiring manager via IM is considered
extremely rude and intrusive and
should be off limits to job seekers.
And even though the Internet
enables you to search out to an individ-
ual using directory tools or through
social networks, it is not acceptable to
approach future employers using these
tools. There is a work-life dividing line.
Unless someone explicitly invites you
to check out their MySpace or
Friendster page or contact them
through a social network — don’t.
7. “Networking” Through LinkedIn
and Other Sites
LinkedIn.com has been getting
rave reviews at The Five O’Clock Club.
Says one member, “Linkedin is a terrif-
ic Web-based tool that can help extend
a person’s network and simplify the
Continued on back page
The Job-S ear ch
B uddy S ystem
D
o you
wish
you
had someone to
talk to—fairly
often and infor-
mally—about
the little things?
“Here’s what I’m planning to do today in
my search? What are you planning to do?
Let’s talk tomorrow to make sure we’ve
done it.” You and your job-search buddy
could keep each other positive and on
track, and encourage each other to do
what you told the small group you were
going to do: Make that call, send out
those letters, write that follow-up propos-
al, focus on the most important things
that should be done—rather than (for
example) spending endless hours
responding to job postings on the Web.
With your buddy, practice your Two-
Minute Pitch, get ready for interviews,
bounce ideas off each other. Some job-
search buddies talk every day. Some talk a
few times a week. Most of the conversa-
tion is by phone and e-mail.
Sometimes, people match them-
selves up as buddies. Just pick some-
one you get along with in your small
group. Sometimes, your coach can
match you up. However you do it,
stay away from negative people who
talk about how bad it is out there.
They will drag you down.
The small group changes over
time: people get jobs; new people come
in. If you lose one buddy who got a
job, get another buddy.
Your buddy does not have to be in
your field or industry. In fact, being in
the same field or industry could keep
you focused on the industry rather than
on the process. But you do have to get
along! The relationship may last only a
month or two, or go on for years. Some
buddies become friends.
Of course, you should see your
Five O’Clock Club career coach pri-
vately for résumé review, target devel-
opment, salary negotiation, and job
interview follow-up. It’s usually best to
get professional coaching advice for
these areas. !
H R N E T W O R K S E M I N A R : E X E C U T I V E C O M P E N S AT I O N
The Implications for Business Strategy and the Role of HR
Director of The Five O’Clock Club National Guild of Career Coaches
The following article is based on a panel
presentation at a meeting of the HR
Network at the American Management
Association headquarters in Manhattan.
The HR Network is co-sponsored by The
Five O’Clock Club and the AMA, and is
a vendor-free venue for HR professionals
to meet informally and hear discussions of
important issues of the day.
The panelists were:
! Jose Irizarry, Vice President,
Worldwide Compensation Consulting and
GMSA for American Express
! Gangadei Deonarine, Executive
Director, Compensation & Benefits for
Estée Lauder
! Diane Lerner, senior executive com-
pensation consultant, Watson Wyatt
! Alan Sklover, Partner, Sklover &
Donath, LLC
Policy to Fit the Times
In the 1954 Broadway musical, The
Pajama Game—recently revived in New
York City—the workers at the Sleep
Tite pajama factory stage a work slow-
down to pressure management for a 7½
cent raise. In the song, “Seven and a
Half Cents,” they calculate how much
more money will be in their pay
envelops over the next five, ten and
twenty years.
Our prestigious panel on Executive Compensation addressed over 100 HR executives.
Executive Compensation
by David Madison, Ph.D.
Getting ahead on money
requires mastering games of
finesse and strateg y.
The story and the sentiment seem
quaint now, but this bit of memorabilia
from the Eisenhower years provides
insights into the mindset of workers a
half century ago: employees expected to
stay in their jobs for a long time, and
they assumed that hard work would be
rewarded gradually. Few people these
days, however—from the hourly factory
worker to the CEO—expect to get
ahead by staying with a job or a compa-
ny for twenty years. With the average
job lasting only about 4.5 years, most
assume that getting ahead on money
will require jumping to greener pas-
tures, and mastering games of finesse
and strategy. Employees are more than
willing to play this game, and corpora-
tions know that managers and HR pro-
fessionals must learn the complexities of
executive compensation.
A simplistic definition of executive
compensation would be “what executives
get paid,” but the term is now used
more comprehensively to mean the
THE FIVE O’CLOCK NEWS / NOVEMBER / DECEMBER
Panelist Alan Sklover, Partner,
Sklover & Donath, LLC, a law firm that
represents and counsels executives on how
to negotiate with their employers.
executive compensation policy. And in
the policy sense, executive compensation
is understood to be a component of the
over-all business strategy: How can it be
formulated in such a way to help the
bottom line and advance the position-
ing and image of the organization?
Executive compensation
policy is a component of an
organization’s over-all
business strateg y.
We can identify at least three pur-
poses of such policy:
! Getting the best people to do the
job, which, in today’s global economy,
is no small achievement. A few years
ago we began hearing talk about the
“war for talent”—and it might have
seemed a trendy term, but that war
remains a fact of life. As one specialist
has stated: “The war for talent is not
going away. Companies are looking for
2006 5
 H R N E T W O R K S E M I N A R : E X E C U T I V E C O M P E N S AT I O N
people who not only have a global
mindset, but who may have to travel or
relocate at the drop of a hat.
“Organizations need executives
who can manage in challenging and
uncertain times—and be able to inspire
others in such environments. They need
people who are not only comfortable
with technology, but who embrace it.
Anyway you cut it, these people are in
short supply, and the need for such tal-
ent will only increase. You need such
people to compete in the global econo-
my.” Executive compensation policy
must enable an organization to be com-
petitive in the scramble for talent.
! Rewarding and motivating those
who are already on board. Everybody is
hired to meet specific objectives. There
are goals, tasks and assignments to be
achieved. Is the executive compensation
package designed to pull people toward
these goals and reward achievements
and productivity along the way? This
assumes that there will be standards of
measurement—the metrics—by which
to measure performance, and these can
be defined and specified as components
of executive compensation policy.
! Retaining the brightest and the
best. If you’ve hired the right people,
who have chosen your company over
competitor organizations in the indus-
try; or if you’ve trained and nurtured
people so that they become coveted in
the marketplace—then, clearly, you
want to be able to keep them. It will be
especially costly to find replacements.
Metrics for measuring
per formance can be defined
as components of the execu-
tive compensation policy.
Reward and Punishment as
Incentives
While this need for an effective
compensation policy is widely acknowl-
edged, developing the specifics and put-
6 THE FIVE O’CLOCK NEWS / NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2006
ting them into practice has usually been
more difficult than imagined. Perhaps
because managers and policy writers
often fail to understand basic truths
about human motivation, the difference
between rewards and punishments can
be overlooked. Rather than focusing on
the benefits that can lead employees to
say, “Wow, that’s fantastic,” thus
prompting them to work harder and
feel greater loyalty to the boss and the
company, managers have commonly
worked on the assumption that inflict-
ing pain—or promising to inflict
pain—can result in desired behavior.
Diane Lerner, Senior Executive
Usually it has the opposite effect. Compensation Consultant, Watson Wyatt.
In some corporate environments,
ees, the formula of the three Cs may
there’s a lot of nervousness around the
provide a sound template.
time bonus checks are handed out.
“Who’s going to leave once the checks
1. Commitment
have cleared?,” is the guessing game.
Commitment in this context means
But, as one authority has observed, “If trying to overcome the atmosphere cre-
the executive compensation program is ated by at-will employment laws. In
working, you would not be worrying many states, employment is strictly at
about who is leaving when the checks the will of the employer; bluntly put,
clear.” In fact, retention policies com- the boss can fire you on a whim. That
monly don’t have enough depth in may strike some of us as a farfetched—
terms of sweet incentives; many have are organizations really so much at the
actually become no more than a cata- mercy of personalities?—but when a
logue of the painful things that will new COO arrives and wants to clean
happen if an executive leaves. The poli- house, or bring in his or her team, the
cies have become heavily weighted with dismissal can look very much like a
threats: delayed vesting, for example, whim. Of course, the employer is in
which was supposedly conceived as an jeopardy if discrimination on the basis
incentive for getting people to stay of race, gender or other factors can be
longer (but why would employees view proved. But in the absence of that,
delayed vesting as a reward?); the
requirement for 50 to 75 days notice
before leaving a job—which may appear
to be protection for the company, but
which can never work in practice; non-
compete agreements, which likewise
appear to be protective, but which are,
in truth, problematic. Disincentive
measures usually don’t make executives
feel wonderful about working for an
organization.
So Where Do We Go from Here?
To bring executive compensation
programs more in line with the best
interests of both employers and employ- Gangadei Deonarine Executive Director,
Competition and Benefits for Estée Lauder.
H R N E T W O R K S E M I N A R : E X E C U T I V E C O M P E N S AT I O N
there is no social contact guaranteeing
employment. Americans are usually
aware that an entitlement attitude isn’t
appropriate.
Hence, sound executive compensa-
tion policy should seek to overcome this
atmosphere and convey to employees
the idea of employer reliability. That is,
the policy message should be: “Our cor-
porate policy favors keeping employees
as long as possible, and keeping them
happy.” Trying to find the best talent in
a very competitive global market, with-
out conveying the sense of commit-
ment, is, as one expert puts it, “a race to
oblivion.”
Retention policies commonly
are loaded with threats
instead of sweet incentives.
2. Contracts
Perhaps one of the most common
laments of employees who have been in
their jobs for a while is that “things did-
n’t turn out the way they were supposed
to.” Responsibilities and assignments
may have been added or taken away,
departments reorganized, bosses and co-
workers changed; or expectations have
not been met in terms of reviews, pro-
motions, raises and bonuses. Frequently,
job offers are made and accepted over a
handshake, and bosses and employees
have differing memories of what was
agreed to during several hours of inter-
HR executives were informed about the importance of the three Cs -- commitment,
contracts and consideration.
Jose Irizarry, Vice President,
Worldwide Compensation Consulting
and GMSA for American Express.
viewing. Formal offer letters may do lit-
tle more than describe a job in broad-
brush strokes. Positive impressions
about reliability can be enhanced by the
use of contracts. “Identify your brightest
and best,” advises one expert, “and do
not be fearful of that horrible word
‘contract’—but do not put threats in
the contracts!”
3. Consideration
Does it sound too soft in the busi-
ness world to speak of consideration, in
the sense of being considerate of others?
Another “c” word is usually thought to
be the fundamental principle of busi-
ness, namely competition, but being
considerate or even compassionate can
be good for business as well. One con-
THE FIVE O’CLOCK NEWS / NOVEMBER / DECEMBER
What Human R esour ces
E x ecutiv es S ay A bout
the HR Networ k
B r eakfast S eminars!
Thank you for providing this morn-
ing’s program. It stimulated several
ideas and confirmed my thinking on
others. The handouts are extremely
useful. When I returned to the office
we had an impromptu meeting of our
executive team, where I described the
topic and talked about the key points.
We had a good discussion—all thanks
to this morning’s program.
Each of your panel members con-
tributed excellent ideas, enthusiasti-
cally and sincerely. It was an excellent
morning.
The session was excellent, one of the
best. I make a habit of attending a
wide variety of events and yours is by
far the best in terms of organization,
speakers, content and attendees. It is
one of the NY Business community’s
best kept secrets.
What Is the HR Network,
and Why Does It Offer
Breakfast Seminars?
The HR Network Breakfast was
founded in 2003 by The Five O’Clock
Club to provide a learning forum for
HR professionals—to help them do their
jobs better and advance them in their
careers.
This is a way for The Five
O’Clock Club to give back to our
customers and to serve the HR com-
munity, which has shown increasing
appreciation for our innovative out-
placement services.
We work hard to present six sub-
stantive HR Network Breakfast
Seminars every year, so that HR pro-
fessionals can take away information
to give them a competitive advantage.
And, by the way, we never allow
vendors to attend, so HR officers can
focus as well on getting to know each
other.
2006 7
H R N E T W O R K S E M I N A R : E X E C U T I V E C O M P E N S AT I O N
tract specialist commented: “Instead of
the increasing use of threats and legali-
ties—a trend that has been driven by
bad experience and attorneys—it would
probably be better to look to the
Golden Rule. Imagine what would
motivate you and make you want to
make commitments in return.” Yet
another “c” word can guide policy as
well: clarity; as one leader has put it:
“There are increasing demands for clari-
ty, pay for performance, transparency
and consistency between corporate
interests and individual interests.”
Disincentive measures usually
don’t make executives feel
wonder ful about working for
an organization.
Big Ticket Violations
Even the advocates of executive
contracts, however, caution that it takes
a lot of thought and hard work to craft
them appropriately, so that the best
interests of everyone are protected. One
major danger zone, for example, is exec-
utive severance. Perhaps the poster child
for a bad severance policy would be
Michael Ovitz, whose multimillion-dol-
lar severance claims ($38 million in cash
and $100 million in stock), after only
14 months with Disney, were litigated
for a decade. As one industry consultant
commented: “If you have a big mistake
embedded in a contract, your executive
comp policy may end up on the front
Key topics of interest included being considerate of employees and following the Golden Rule in the workplace.
8 THE FIVE O’CLOCK NEWS / NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2006
page of the Wall Street Journal or the
New York Times.”
Employers should convey a
sense of their commitment
and reliability in the execu-
tive compensation policy.
Enormous severance deals are com-
monly resented and ridiculed by the
public, but company investors actually
feel the pain. One survey of 55 institu-
tional investors, representing about
$800 billion in assets, revealed that fully
75 percent were of the opinion that
executive severance, at the levels com-
monly seen today, “was not shareholder
friendly.” In other words, the big pay-
outs to executives who, in many cases,
haven’t lived up to expectations, mean
less money in the pockets of investors.
One consultant observed: “You clearly
aren’t going to run your company based
only on what your institutional
investors think, but it is important to
understand that they really are not
happy with multi-million dollar pay-
outs, particularly when people are ter-
minated.”
The Need for Due Diligence
Because of the media we’ve all
become familiar with outrageous sever-
ance arrangements, and there’s been a
lot of press as well about outrageous
executive salaries and bonuses. The first
Kate Wendleton enthusiastically moderated
the panel and fielded questions.
thing that comes to mind is the power
of the Old Boys’ Network, which
enables the wealthy to protect the
wealthy. We wonder if all sense of pro-
portion and fairness has been aban-
doned. The main lesson to be drawn,
however, is not that there’s something
wrong with executive contracts. Rather,
we need to make sure that somebody is
minding the contracts. We need to make
sure that there are checks and balances.
Appropriate contracts depend on due
diligence, common sense and a commit-
ment to fairness.
The complexities involved are
daunting, and can be glimpsed by con-
sidering an example. Giving a generous
severance package to an executive who
failed to do the job is obviously bad busi-
ness—and looks like cronyism. But
many executives want to be protected in
H R N E T W O R K S E M I N A R : E X E C U T I V E C O M P E N S AT I O N
case they’re
doing a great
job, and
things still
don’t work
out. Hence,
contracts
commonly
stipulate sev-
erance if there
Adrienne Hickey, Editorial is “resignation
Director, AMACOM, for good rea-
and our AMA host. son.” One of
the good rea-
sons, for example, is that corporate
headquarters moves to another state. Or
another good reason may be reduction
in pay—perhaps because of new man-
agement, a merger, or poor company
performance. But what if pay was
reduced because bonuses were down? As
was mentioned earlier, there can be a
lot of nail biting when bonus checks
have cleared. Should resignations in the
wake of low bonuses be considered for
good reason or not? Who needs to be
protected most in such situations—the
company or the employee?
Positive impressions about
organizational reliability
can be enhanced by the
use of contracts.
Minding Contracts: the Role of HR
If “winning the talent war” has
emerged as a common concern for HR
professionals in the battle to keep their
organizations competitive, “earning a
place at the table” has become just as
much a concern in looking out for their
own careers. Any HR officer who wants
to have an impact on the bottom line
should ask, “What more can I do to
make myself and my role indispensable
—so that the CEO and CFO want to
consult me on strategic issues?”
Compensation and payroll tradi-
tionally have been HR functions, so it’s
logical for HR to move into compensa-
tion at the strategic level. Thus, HR
professionals should take the initiative
and the lead on this front—and in the
minding of the contracts.
Is there indeed a kind of power
vacuum here? Not that this is a realm
lacking in experts—there are the attor-
neys. Review of contracts is not a covet-
ed assignment, but effort here by HR
can reap major rewards. One leader
observed, “There are so many details in
the contracts that can create problems.
These documents are so boring—they
are so dry that people just don’t pay
attention. It really is a struggle. As HR
professionals we need to focus on the
details and advise our companies about
what they’re really getting into. Is that
what they really want? We can save our
organizations a lot of embarrassment
and trouble down the road.”
There are several areas in which
scrutiny can be applied. When one
company buys another, for example,
there may be long-standing employee
contracts to consider, usually with com-
pensation commitments. Or contracts
made one or two decades in the past
that were based on conditions or cir-
cumstances that no longer exist. As one
HR consultant reports, “My experience
typically has been trying to fix contracts
made many years ago that have blown
up in our faces and created tremendous
problems—so there’s a lot of trou-
bleshooting.”
It’s logical for HR
to move into compensation
on the strategic level.
Clear Thinking and Balance
HR can also simply help with clear
thinking, which, when it comes to con-
tracts, is another way of saying: read the
fine print. “We can help our companies
understand the implications of what
they’re agreeing to,” suggests an HR
specialist. “If you decide to give some-
thing to somebody because that’s what
it takes to recruit the person, fine. But
if you really didn’t realize what you
were getting into, or what precedents
THE FIVE O’CLOCK NEWS / NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2006
you are setting, that’s not so fine.”
The byword in establishing strate-
gic executive compensation policy
remains balance. The need to offer
attractive packages to the brightest and
best clearly can drive policy, but there is
another master to be served as well.
Contracts should be devoid of threats,
but they should emphasize company
expectations. “The key thing,” accord-
ing to one HR expert, “is to get a bal-
ance between the protection that is
being offered to executives, and the
protection that the company is get-
ting.” For example, the contract can
include provisions that the executive
will work full-time, and will check with
the company before going onto
boards—so that she or she will not be
“over-boarded” and distracted from the
job. The company can also specify rules
about confidentiality and define some
kind of fair-play non-compete agree-
ments. So many non-competes turn out
to be unenforceable because the
employer asks for far more than is rea-
sonable. But HR can bring common
sense to bear on what is reasonable and
enforceable, and thus help to create
realistic non-competes.
Paying Well for Defined Deliverables
Executive compensation policy
should be linked closely with perform-
ance and results. Careful attention
should be paid to the measuring of
results. This is a clear summons for the
involvement of HR, which has tradi-
tionally coordinated performance
reviews. There has been much talk in
recent times about the importance of
metrics, and especially when executive
compensation is contractually defined,
performance should be as well. One
HR executive states the case well: “Are
you crystal clear on the performance
metrics that are required for this level
of compensation? The role of HR is to
be the eyes and ears of the company in
helping managers to see if performance
is meeting expectations.” !
9
N O T F O R E X E C U T I V E S O N LY
Career Danger Signals
What to Look for
by Hélène Seiler and Bill Belknap, Five O’Clock Club Coaches and
authors of For Executives Only: Applying Business Techniques
to Your Job Search (Five O’Clock Books, 2007)
Overview
! Your career traffic signals…are
they green, yellow or red?
! What to do when your career
light changes color.
W
hen you drive your car and
approach a traffic light it
tells you how to proceed to
the intersection. Wouldn’t it be nice if
there were a “career traffic light?” Good
news, we think there is, but unfortunate-
ly, as we have found, most successful
managers are paying so much attention
to the tasks at hand that they often end
up “running their career traffic lights.”
! How clearly are you seeing your
career danger signals?
! Did you ever get blindsided when
your boss said, “We need to make a
change”?
Here is a quick guide to reading
your personal career traffic light and
This article is an excerpt from
Hélène Seiler and Bill Belknap’s forth-
coming book, For Executives Only:
Applying Business Techniques to Your
Job Search.
10 THE FIVE O’CLOCK NEWS / NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2006
what to do when you see it change color.
You will know your career is in the
Green Light mode if:
! Your career is on track. This means
you have written career objectives,
including a time line. By the way, studies
have shown that people with written
career objectives make considerably more
income than those who just keep their
career objectives in their head.
! You have a good reading on your
next one or two moves.
! You have recently been told by your
boss or the board, hopefully in writing,
that you are exceeding their objectives.
! You enjoy your job.
! Your boss has delegated to you
things he or she would normally do.
! You are being considered for a sig-
nificant promotion.
! You are in good health and are satis-
fied with your work-life balance.
However, Green Lights don’t stay
green forever. We encourage you to
maintain and develop your internal and
external networks, volunteer for the
cross-functional task forces and accept
those speaking engagements. Do not
drop your guard when you are in the
Green Light mode and remember, “The
best defense is a good offense.”
Yellow Light Mode
You know that driving through a
Yellow Light can get you into trouble,
but how about at work or at home?
Below are situations where you should be
prepared to brake. We will also give you
some tips on what to do when you see a
Yellow Light in the distance.
In our experience two or more of
Bill Belknap Hélène Seiler
the following mean that you are looking
at a Yellow Light for your career:
At Work
! You are not clear about your next
move. Here we don’t mean the exact title
but directionally, such as operations,
marketing or finance.
! No one has discussed a long-term
career plan with you.
! You haven’t had a career discussion
with your boss or your boss’s boss in the
last 12 months.
! You aren’t sure whether you fit in
with the culture of the company.
! The company is highly leveraged or
has cash flow issues, or both!
! The company or division is not per-
forming in the top quartile of its indus-
try or market.
! A merger, takeover, management
buyout or sale of your company is mate-
rializing. It doesn’t matter what side of
the deal you are on.
! A re-organization is underway.
! You have a new boss, even if you
know her.
! There is a change in the relationship
with your boss. For example, your review
just dropped a rating in one category or
several categories.
! You have lost key people on your
team or new team members have been
added without your approval.
! A major new account, client or proj-
ect has been added to your responsibili-
ties.
! Your mentor or a strong supporter
leaves.
! You are assigned to a new position,
especially if it requires changes in geogra-
phy, function, industry, size of business,
nature of your team, or amount of travel
N O T F O R E X E C U T I V E S O N LY
required.
! You are no longer invited to some
key meetings.
! There are persistent rumors about
your department.
! There are key people in the organi-
zation who make no secret that they dis-
agree with your direction and style.
! Friends or co-workers are frequently
asking, “Is there anything wrong?” “Are
you okay?”
At Home
There has been a change in:
! Your mental or physical health.
! Your residence; this can be very
deceptive because on the surface it may
appear positive but any relocation is
high on the stress scale.
! Your commute.
! Your intimate relationship, such as
marriage, divorce, or a new relationship.
! Your family life; birth of a child,
eldercare, death of a family member or
friend.
! Your financial obligations; unex-
pected expenses, remodeling the house,
college expenses.
Okay, so you have a couple of these
situations going on in your life. What
should you consider doing besides slam-
ming on the brakes?
! First, take your foot off the gas for a
second.
! Don’t make any quick decisions.
! Talk with people in the company
you respect. Ask them how they perceive
your potential. Listen to what they
think.
! Have a serious career discussion
with your boss and his or her boss.
! Get to know more decision-makers
and influencers inside the company,
especially those outside of your function-
al or operational area.
! Step back and assess exactly what’s
going on. Is this event having an impact
on your work, your attitude or your
motivation?
! Reach out to your boss, mentors,
peers and friends. Ask for feedback if
you aren’t sure how you are coming
across.
! Start listing the resources you may
need to address the challenges; include
both office resources and family
resources.
! Begin strengthening your network.
! Stay visible, speak at conferences
and industry organizations.
! Help mentor others.
! Consider seeking professional help:
an executive coach, a spiritual leader, a
psychologist or family counselor.
! If you decide the changes and chal-
lenges will lead to a no-win situation,
then you may decide it is time to leave
the company and begin an aggressive
search.
! Make an effort to build bridges to
your key detractors. This takes guts but
can pay big dividends. The important
thing is to understand how much is a
perception problem and how much is a
strategic or operational difference of
opinion.
! Stay current on global trends in
your industry and be aware of your mar-
ket value. The latter can do wonders for
your confidence.
! Work harder to have a more bal-
anced life.
! Protect your health with exercise,
proper diet, relaxation and fun! While
this is last on our list we think it is the
most important.
Case study: How Josh Dealt with His
Yellow Lights
Two years ago, we received a call
from Josh, a successful general manager
of a $1billion U.S. subsidiary of a
European financial services company.
Josh had been with the company for
four years and he called because he
wanted to know what his market value
was and he wanted us to provide him
with some benchmark data. We first
asked why? He said he thought he was
underpaid and wanted to look for a sim-
ilar job but in another company. We
agreed to meet with him and sensed that
there was something more going on than
just a comp issue.
Josh told us that he was working
too hard. On paper he was successful,
T H E F I V E O ’ C L O C K N E W S / N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 2 0 0 6 11
delivering above expectations, but Josh
did not have time for anything but
work. In his late forties, he was single
but was anxious to start a family. He also
had been very athletic but could not
find the time to exercise. He said his
relationship with his European boss was
courteous, but distant. He was uncom-
fortable bringing up the topic of com-
pensation. He had no mentors or spon-
sors in the company. In addition, he was
not getting along very well with three of
his direct reports who were having per-
formance problems and, in fact, he had
lost his temper with them several times.
He also admitted that he had a fairly
negative attitude.
Obviously Josh was facing a bunch
of Yellow Lights! No wonder he wanted
to leave.
So what did we recommend? First,
we discouraged him from leaving prema-
turely. Then, we encouraged him to
work on the relationship challenges with
his boss and subordinates. We told him
a new company would not be tolerant
about his temper and, in fact, would fire
him quickly if he had serious relation-
ship issues with new subordinates. Josh
agreed and began to prepare a proactive,
positive strategy.
He immediately sat down with his
direct reports and began to positively
coach two of them. The third was not a
fit for his area and was transferred.
We also urged him to plan more
frequent trips to the European head-
quarters and other subsidiaries to
strengthen his relationships with his boss
and other key operating people. This
turned out to be a gold mine. He re-
connected with a former boss and asked
him if he would consider becoming a
mentor and, to his pleasant surprise, got
agreement.
The ending: After six months Josh
went back to his boss and put his hat in
the ring for a General Manager spot in a
much larger business unit. Yes, he got
the job and has now been there for over
a year.
The story has a wonderful ending
but we must put in a quick disclaimer.
N O T F O R E X E C U T I V E S O N LY
The ending is a result of Josh’s executing
his plan effectively not because we coach-
es had the answers. We provided some
candid feedback and lots of encourage-
ment, but Josh did the heavy lifting.
Another important lesson we can
learn from Josh and that is to first look
inside your own company!
Experienced marketers are always
telling us that increasing the loyalty of
existing customers is much more effi-
cient and cost effective than acquiring
new ones. The same goes for a job
search. We strongly recommend looking
first in your own backyard. Explore all of
the areas in the company. The grass may
appear greener on the outside, but it sel-
dom is. It is also a thousand times easier
to network effectively and schedule
meaningful meetings inside your compa-
ny than to make those dreaded cold calls
to people you don’t know.
Red Light Mode
Red Lights are the easiest to see. We
all know we need to stop immediately. A
Career Red Light also calls for immedi-
ate action.
Let’s look at a few of the most com-
mon Red Lights and what to do about
them.
At Work
! You are fired from your current
position.
! Your boss suddenly resigns.
! Your division or company has a
series of bad quarters.
! Your position is eliminated and
there are no alternative positions.
! Your company has been acquired
and they already have “one of you”!
! You have just received an “average”
performance review or worse.
At Home
! You are unable to continue your job
because of an illness.
! You have to resign from your job
because of a life-changing situation.
Here are a few ideas from a number
of Five O’Clock Club clients who found
themselves faced with one of the Red
12 THE FIVE O’CLOCK NEWS / NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2006
Light situations. You will notice the key
pattern, in all three cases, is how proac-
tive and immediate their actions were.
! Mary, an experienced Marketing
Director, just learned that her company
was being acquired by another company
which had a major marketing depart-
ment with an experienced, highly com-
petent Marketing Director. She immedi-
ately pulled her family together and
described in detail what was going on at
work. She asked for their input and
shared her “draft” strategy. There was a
lot of give and take, but everyone agreed
she should immediately begin reaching
out to her network and pursue outside
opportunities. She also sat down with an
old boss and mentor to get his advice.
! Immediately pulling your family
together may sound like a no brainer but
we often have to take our clients kicking
and screaming into this step. Yet when
you think about it, it is the quickest way
to get the family behind you rather than
have them wondering why you are so
edgy or why you now get home at 5
P.M.!
! Corey was Director of an equity
trading desk at a major bank. The day
his boss told him his position had been
eliminated, he went back to his office
and did three things:
1. He called home to share the
news and put the home renovation proj-
ect on hold.
2. He called his major clients to
tell them his company had decided to
eliminate the trading desk and he would
be leaving. The good news was, most of
his major clients asked him to be sure
and tell them where he was going
because they wanted him to continue to
manage their accounts.
3. He reached out to all the
Directors and VPs he knew at his current
competitors and told them the following:
the trading desk has been eliminated and
he would like to explore whether there
were any similar opportunities with
them. And, of course, he mentioned
what his major clients had told him.
! Jane, the VP of Finance in a large
manufacturing company, had just gotten
great news: she was having triplets!
Unfortunately, there were some medical
complications that required considerable
bed rest early in the pregnancy so she
couldn’t maintain the pace of her
demanding job.
Within 24 hours of learning about
her pregnancy complications, she sat
down and outlined a proposed transition
plan to review with her boss and the SVP
of HR. Fortunately, she had been devel-
oping one of her direct reports, Jeff, who
was now considered promotable. Her
boss and the SVP of HR agreed with her
plan to begin transferring duties to Jeff.
They also agreed with her suggestions
about her career path once she returned.
Summar y
If you are in a Green Light situation:
! Leverage your current position and
strengthen it.
! Be visible and build your internal
networks.
! Continue to hone your leadership
skills.
! Get on high visibility task forces.
! Keep job, family and your health in
balance.
! Constantly scan for Yellow and Red
Lights.
If you are in a Yellow Light situation:
! Don’t think that changing compa-
nies will solve your problems.
! History shows most of our problems
are ours.
! If you own your problems, history
also shows the chances of your fixing
them are excellent.
If the light turns Red:
! Be strategic as well as tactical.
! Start immediately.
! Procrastination is guaranteed to
bring unhappiness.
! Networking is the key.
! Reach out quickly, build an advisory
board, consider a coach and make your
family part of your support system. !
For Executives Only: Applying Business
Techniques to Your Job Search (Five O’Clock
Books, 2007) will be available through
Amazon.com and The Five O’Clock Club’s
website (www.FiveOClockClub.com).
 Boomers and Echos and
Nexters — Oh, My!
By Harriet Hankin
I
n the past, companies could put
generations into three tidy little
groups, each with its own area of
focus:
! The older generation: retired or
getting ready to retire and concerned
with their pensions
! The middle generation: the bulk of
the workforce focused primarily on ben-
efits and compensation
! The younger generation: the work-
force of the
future, in need of
training and edu-
cation
Besides being
very shortsighted
in its time, today
it fails to reflect
the many genera-
tions active in
the workforce
simultaneously, each with its own con-
cerns and expectations from work:
! The Silent Generation, born 1922
to 1945, may be due or overdue for
retirement but they are becoming open
to remaining at work if given adequate
flexibility;
! The Baby Boomers, born 1946 to
1964, gave us 80-hour workweeks but
seem more interested in work/family in
their later years;
! Generation Xers, born 1965 to
1976, have redefined loyalty and are
more committed to the teams with
which they work than their employers,
want some fun in the workplace and
have a pragmatic approach to getting
things done;
! The Baby Boom Echo, born 1977
to 2000, are multitaskers and teamplay-
ers, preferring to work in groups rather
than alone, and interested in challeng-
ing work that matters, clearly delegated
assignments balanced with flexibility,
increased responsibility as a reward for
accomplishment, ongoing learning
opportunities and mentor relationships.
Many Generations: One Workforce
Insight into the differences among
the generations is beneficial to employ-
ers seeking to create a workplace where
people can do their best work.
Generalizations aside, every one in
every generation is a person. At the end
of the day, each individual wants to be
recognized as such: an individual, not a
number or statistic or label. For us all,
this is priority insight #1.
What generation are you in?
I am considered a Baby Boomer. In
researching the generations, I found
characteristics I shared with my Boomer
brethren and ones I did not. No big
surprise! I bet you would say the same
thing. More importantly, though, I
found a common thread throughout all
of the generations—as individuals,
regardless of their age, they share a
desire for individual dignity. In the
workplace, this translates into respect,
fair treatment, equality, balance, flexibil-
ity, appropriate feedback, job enhance-
ment and advancement opportunities.
Organizations should seek
generational diversity
in its employee base.
The Value of Generational Diversity
It’s inevitable that you will have
members of at least three, if not all four,
generations at one time. If your organi-
zation is smart, it will even seek this
generational diversity in your employee
base for a number of reasons, including:
! Wisdom and experience. A new
appreciation for the corporate wisdom,
T H E F I V E O ’ C L O C K N E W S / N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 2 0 0 6 13
but also the life wisdom, of the older
worker is renewing their role as a valu-
able asset.
! Fresh ideas and fearlessness.
Younger workers bring a value in their
“why not” ways that have come as a
result of their fresh approach and inde-
pendence.
! Individual wisdom and skills.
Regardless of their age, each individual
brings a unique skill and experience set.
Finding just the right blend for a given
position requires that we open up
opportunities across the generations and
reach out for the diverse and wonderful
things they each can offer.
Get the wisdom of age, the
fresh ideas of youth, the
workers you need and a
reflection of the marketplace.
! The need for more workers. Many
sources predict worker shortages in the
millions in the first half of the 21st cen-
tury.
! Reflection of the marketplace. All
these vital and active generations will be
the vital and active marketplace from
which your customers will come. An
employee base that mirrors the market-
place is largely accepted and expected to
be more effective.
Harriet Hankin is the president and an
owner of CGI Consulting Group, Inc. This
article is excerpted from The New Workforce
by Harriet Hankin. Copyright 2005,
Harriet Hankin. Published by AMACOM,
AMA's book division. For more information
on this title and other AMA books, visit
www.amanet.org/amabooks
And talk to an AMA Training Consultant at
800-262-9699 to choose the seminar that’s
right for you. !
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS FOR THE FIVE O’CLOCK CLUB

Professional, Managerial, Presentation Schedule (all locations) Fivee O’Clock Club ®

The Fiv
Over 40 groups meet nationwide. Below is a sampling.
Executive and CareerStarter Week of Topic
or visit us at www.FiveOClockClub.com

Job-Hunt Groups Oct. 30-Nov. 3 The 5OCC Approach to Interviewing

Meetings are held weekly Nov. 6-10 Handling Difficult Interview Questions Branches
via teleconference or at Nov. 13-17 The Five O’Clock Club Approach to
various physical Job Search THE POPULAR # East
locations. Nov. 20-24 HOLIDAY WEEK -No Sessions Scheduled INSIDER PROGRAM Tuesdays, 7:00 p.m. EST
Nov. 27-Dec.1 How to Turn Job Interviews into Offers
# Hear one lecture per week at a physical branch or Dec. 4-8 Developing New Targets for Your Search You are near a meeting of
Anita Attridge
The Five O’Clock Club — Tuesdays, 8:30 p.m. EST
via one of 16 lectures on CDs by Kate Dec. 11-15 Four-Step Salary Negotiation Method
with over 40 groups meet- Phyllis Rosen
Wendleton. (The boxed lecture set: $150 or Dec. 18-22 Advanced Interviewing Techniques ing weekly. To join the
FREE with the purchase of 10 “Insider” sessions.) Dec. 25-Jan. 5 HOLIDAY WEEKS -No Sessions Scheduled “Insider,” a weekly small- Thursdays, 7:30 p.m. EST
Jan. 8-12, 2007 Keys to Effective Networking
℡ Join the weekly small group discussion with Jan. 15-19 HOLIDAY WEEK -No Sessions Scheduled
group teleconference,
call 212-286-4500.
Ciro & Louise DiSclafani

a senior Five O’Clock Club career consultant (for Jan. 22-26 Two-Minute Pitch: Keystone of Your Search Students / Recent Grads
the “Insider” program: via teleconference from the Jan. 29-Feb. 2 Beat the Odds with Search Firms & Ads Sr. Executive (less than $40,000)
convenience of your home, or anywhere else). Feb. 5-9 Shortcut Your Search: Internet & Other ($200,000 plus) Ask for Richard Bayer -
% Enjoy The Five O’Clock Club website. Download Research
Tuesdays, 7:00 EST
212-286-4500
Feb. 12-16 Developing New Momentum in Your
worksheets from the Members Only section. Bill Belknap
Campaign THE PHYSICAL
Feb. 19-23 HOLIDAY WEEK -No Sessions Scheduled Executive BRANCHES
Prices: Insider Program Feb. 26-Mar. 2 Getting the Most Out of Your Contacts ($100,000 plus)
Mar. 5-9 Getting Interviews: Direct & Targeted Mail # NEW YORK, NY
Grand Central; Mondays
Because of the popularity of “Insider,” our costs have Mar. 12-16 The 5OCC Approach to Interviewing # West
Jim Borland
decreased over time. The savings are passed on to you. Mar. 19-23 Handling Difficult Interview Questions Wednesdays, 5:30 p.m. Pacific at Roosevelt Hotel -
Physical branches are more expensive. Prices are for indi- Mar. 26-30 The Five O’Clock Club Approach to Terry Pile Madison Avenue at 45th
viduals. If your employer is paying for you, please see our Job Search 212-255-6458
“outplacement” price schedule on the next page. Apr. 2-6 HOLIDAY WEEK -No Sessions Scheduled # Central
Apr. 9-13 How to Turn Job Interviews into Offers Wednesdays, 7:30 p.m. Madison Square Garden
This is a members-only organization. Chip Conlin; Wednesdays
Apr. 16-20 Developing New Targets for Your Search Central
FEES: $49 annual membership plus session fees, HQ Global Workplaces
Please see our website (www.FiveOClockClub.com) Max Lorenz
which are based on member’s income. 11 Penn Plaza - 5th fl.
for the coaching staff and full offerings. on 7th bet. 31 & 32
# East 914-788-5482
Income
< $100,000 $100,000 + $200,000 + Mondays, 8:00 EST
Price Per Price Per Price Per
Attendance Bert Marro # WASH., DC
sess. sess. sess. (DC, MD, Northern VA)
• Reservations required. Tuesdays, 7:00 p.m. EST Tuesdays
20 sessions $540 $27 $810 $40.50 $1215 $60.70 • Unused sessions are transferable to anyone you choose or Phil Ronniger Harvey T. Kaplan, Ph.D.
10 sessions $360 $36 $540 $54 $810 $81 will be given to those in financial difficulty attending Wednesdays, 8:30 p.m. Pacific
301-460-1883
more than 16 sessions.
Single session (one time only) for $50 or $70. • Most branches are geared to professionals, managers, Terry Pile # CHICAGO Loop
Fee for books: $40 executives, and recent grads from a wide variety of industries Wednesdays
and professions. Most earn from $30,000 to $500,000. Half Professional / Robert Morris Ctr.
Career Starters: Students; recent grads or are employed, half are unemployed. Managerial 402 S. State
less than 10 yrs. out < $40,000; others
• Attend at least 10 meetings in a row to develop ($30,000 to $100,000) Joy Muench; 773-784-1528
$490 package includes 1.5 hrs. momentum and perhaps land an appropriate position.
Our research proves that those who attend on a regular # Central
of private coaching, basis get jobs faster and at higher rates of pay than those Do your friends a favor . . .
Tues., 7:30 p.m. Central
10 group sessions, book, who attend sporadically, search on their own, or even Tell them about us.
Sylvan Von Burg
16 lectures on CDs, 2 years’ membership. only see a coach privately.
• After ten sessions, still try to attend regularly.

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14 THE FIVE O’CLOCK NEWS / NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2006

 When employees
are given a choice,
they choose The Five O’Clock Club
for their outplacement program.

“The Five O’Clock Club program is far more effective than conventional outplacement.
Selecting The Five O’Clock Club was one of my best decisions this year.”
SVP, HR, consumer products company

Old-Fashioned Outplacement: Five O’Clock Club Outplacement:

• Saddled with real estate costs.
• Very limited one-on-one career coaching.
• Overburdened coaches.
• Vanilla career coaching methods developed
in the 1970s.
• One year of outplacement — even if employee loses next job, decides to do con-
sulting work for a while, or needs help handling the political situation in a new job!
• Guaranteed number of hours of private coaching coupled with weekly small-
group strategy sessions headed by a senior coach.
• Method based on 25 years of research. Not vanilla job-search coaching.

Fiv e O’Clock Club O utplacement Pr ices

Price Private
Hours
Senior Executives earning over $200,000 / yr
Platinum (2-year program) $15,000 40
Premium (15-month program) $10,000 28
Standard $7,500 18

Executives earning $100,000 to $200,000 / yr

Premium $5,000 14
Standard $4,000 9
Bare-bones $3,000 5
Professionals / managers: under $100,000 / yr
Premium $3,000 8
Bare-bones $2,000 3

The Best Job-Search Materials Anywhere

Each job hunter gets:
• The set of 4 books.
• Boxed set of sixteen 38-minute lectures on audio CDs.
• 2-year subscription to our monthly magazine,
The Five O’Clock News.

T H E F I V E O ’ C L O C K N E W S / N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 2 0 0 6 15
TECHNOLOGY ETIQUETTE FOR JOB HUNTERS
Continued from page 4
process of identifying members of
your network in target companies.
LinkedIn is free and a way
to put yourself out there.
“It’s free to join so I’ve tried to
recruit lots of other Five O’Clock
Clubbers. In fact, I received a cold call
this morning from a distant contact in my LinkedIn network
who is looking for help on several projects. I was the perfect fit.
A perfect lead! If you join, make sure to connect to [other Five
O’Clock Clubbers]; the bigger your network the more effective
it will be.”
Should you consider LinkedIn? Sure, just as you should
consider contacting search firms and answering ads, two other
passive techniques. When job hunters use LinkedIn, they are
simply putting themselves out there (just as with search firms
and ads), but someone has to contact you. Use these passive
techniques and then get on with your real search.
Read more about LinkedIn in our book, Shortcut Your Job
Search: The Best Ways to Get Meetings.
8. Use Your Judgment
After the coaches had blogged for a week or so, one coach
summed it up. “We cannot develop definitive conclusions that
we can transform into consistently-correct advice for our clients.
THE FIVE O’CLOCK NEWS
quality work that The Five O’Clock Club
The Five O’Clock Club
300 East 40th Street — Suite 6L
New York, NY 10016
Email: Info@FiveOClockClub.com
· Technology Etiquette for Job Hunters · Career Danger Signals
YOUR SUBSCRIPTION ENCLOSED
There may be too many variables: the industry, the urgency to
hire, the linguistic skills of the client and potential employer, the
communication style preferences of sender and receiver, the
quality of the cellular devices on both ends of the call, the com-
patibility and revision level of the software in place on both ends
of the e-mail message, the attitude and skill of the sender re:
proofreading. How can you set up ironclad rules to play by
when the game is so convoluted and constantly changing?
“Our dilemma: We want to use the speed provided by
the technology but we also want some control over how the
message is received and perceived. As long as one can’t be
assured of the quality with which an e-mail, Blackberry, or
cell phone message is received, there will be risk in using these
methods. Under what circumstances is the risk worth taking?
The bottom line: Talk it over with your
coach and group to find your best strateg y.
“The new devices enable more timely and more widely
broadcast communications with far less effort, but a poorly or
improperly received e-mail message, e-mail attachment, or cell
phone voice-mail may damage a client’s image and chance of
employment.”
It is a complex issue. The bottom line for you is to talk it
over with your coach and small group to determine the best
strategy for you, and then keep records to notice what is work-
ing. Note how many meetings you get using e-mail vs. snail-
mail for the first contact. That’s the acid test. !
PRSRT STD
“We greatly appreciate the always high US Postage
PAID
does for our former employees.” Permit 244
San Antonio, TX
Head of HR, major not-for-profit
· Executive Compensation