Business owners/Mgrs I need some advice

[Buoy]

As many of you know, I recently relocated to AZ due to my wife getting a promotion.
We worked for the same Co., and this would have made her my direct report, which HR frowns upon, and there are no other positions in the Co. available.

Went and cold-called at a lab this morning looking for a job.
After filling out application, was immediately brought in for an interview by Lab Mgr.
Interview went well.
They are thinking of purchasing the type of equipment that I used to be in charge of (thin-film vacuum coating machine) by the end of the year.
I explained to him the other knowledge I have in the lab (Trying to get him to bring me on now), and that seemed to get the wheels turning for him.
I supplied him with letters of recommendation from my previous two Directors, as well as my resume - which he went through them all thoroughly while in the interview.
After the interview, he seemed kinda on the bubble. He walked me out to my truck, and once outside (away from employees) he asked me what I was looking for in compensation. I told him (which is quite a cut from what I was previously making), and he told me to call him on Weds.

I'm still close friends with both of my previous Directors, and they both have very good reputations within the industry (Very small industry - making Rx Eyeglasses). I usually speak to each them every few weeks. As a group, we had taken a Co. that was about to close it's doors, and turned it profitable in six months. So, we've naturally become friends after living out of each others pockets so-to-speak.

Here's the question:
Would it be beneficial, or an annoyance if I asked one of them to give this employer a call early next week to say something like...
"Hi, this XX with XX XX XX Co."
"I spoke with Tim this weekend and he mentioned he had applied there, and was really hoping to get the job"
"When Tim worked for me he...."

Basically ask them to call for a word of recommendation and to confirm the type of employee I am.

Would this Pizz off the guy that I'm trying to get a job with by wasting his time, or would he look at as an opportunity to ask more about me.
It would also keep my name in his mind.

I know that my previous employers would do this if I asked, just not sure if it would help or hurt. Times are tough out here right now, and it's hard to even get an interview.

Sorry for the long read, I just wanted to get some details out there so you guys/gals understood the situation.
I appreciate your thoughts.

 

[Wobble]

Honestly an unsolicited call would make me nervous, however a "to whom it may concern" letter of recomendation would be OK

 

[Buoy]

Honestly an unsolicited call would make me nervous, however a "to whom it may concern" letter of recomendation would be OK

That's the type of thing I'm wondering.
I'm just trying to think of anything I can do to push him over the bubble.
The "to whom it may concern" is exactly what I provided.
I'm just running out of options out here.

Thanks for the reply.

 

[MOBILEMERCMAN]

Tough call. I personally hate to be bothered on the phone when I am busy. I think if he had a question he would make the effort to ask on his own. Do these guys talk to each other anyway? If so maybe you friends could have a good excuse to call. If not..

I would suggest you call him on Wed like he said and invite him to call at his convenience if need be.

 

[Tony]

I know were talking apples to oranges on the type of industry and I know that you have some experience in construction type work. I realize that theese are desperate times but IMO a reccomendation call out of the blue from your previous employer is just going to make you look desperate to your potential future employer. Ive had similar calls in the past and that resume generally gets tossed in the trash or at least to the bottom of the pile. I do my own homework if im interested in something and I absofukinglutly can not stand people wasting my time on the phone.

 

[Wobble]

Unless the call comes from a well known industry name, then my assumption is that its your wingman:sifone:

 

[Buoy]

Thanks guys!

I appreciate the honesty, and I trust your opinions.
I'm just trying to do anything I can at this point to lock down a job.

I have a problem with impatience.
And the new Gov't plan ain't doing a damn thing to help me get by, fool that I am, I like to work. I'm still making 2 house payments, and trying to keep up with child support with only the wifes income...

 

[Chris]

If I got the call from someone like that- someone I could verify who they were, I'd be floored. If someone thought that highly of a guy to go out of his way and make a personal contact would impress me. Letter's of recommendation are called the "last fringe benefit" and are almost always written out of guilt. A brief call reinforcing your circumstances and your qualities would nkock me over. As long as they didn't say "Tim asked me to call..." It would have to be "Tim told me he was interviewing with you and asked my input on the co/position/whatever. I wanted to call and let you know some things..."

 

[Ratickle]

I'm with Chris if handled correctly.

Only if you have them as references on your resume however. Something like I hated to lose him and we keep in touch and he told me he had interviewed, etc.

If they're on your resume already as a reference to call, they're just saving the company a little time calling them, and it would be a pleasant surprise for me to say "that's weird, usually I have to try and try to get ahold of a reference".....

 

[sledge]

As a matter of procedure you should be calling your previous Dirs anyway so they're on notice for a reference call. That's a good opening to have the conversation as to whether they'd be willing to make those calls, and whether they thought they'd be a good idea. Hopefully the reason they made Director is because they have good judgment in things like this.

He wants you enough to ask you how much you want in comp. Maybe it's a number within their budget, maybe not. If not, and he knows good talent is worth fighting for, he needs some time to get the approval to go above the budget. This stuff happens all the time. If he's on top of things, you'll hear from him before Wednesday.

Best of luck!

 

[Buoy]

If I got the call from someone like that- someone I could verify who they were, I'd be floored. If someone thought that highly of a guy to go out of his way and make a personal contact would impress me. Letter's of recommendation are called the "last fringe benefit" and are almost always written out of guilt. A brief call reinforcing your circumstances and your qualities would nkock me over. As long as they didn't say "Tim asked me to call..." It would have to be "Tim told me he was interviewing with you and asked my input on the co/position/whatever. I wanted to call and let you know some things..."

I'm with Chris if handled correctly.

Only if you have them as references on your resume however. Something like I hated to lose him and we keep in touch and he told me he had interviewed, etc.

If they're on your resume already as a reference to call, they're just saving the company a little time calling them, and it would be a pleasant surprise for me to say "that's weird, usually I have to try and try to get ahold of a reference".....

Both of these guys are 25-30+ years professionals in the Industry.
Both have been mentioned, or featured in trade magazines many times.
They both left their positions to move up. They are also very close friends with my wife (as I said, we were kind of a family that assembled in Kentucky (amongst people from the area that weren't very smart) from all over the country, and turned a Co. around). We all sought each other to count on because we couldn't count on the locals.
Each of them are regional Directors, responsible for approx. 20M in sales per yr each.
They are both well respected in the industry.

Chris, I was certainly thinking of your second scenario.
I was considering also contacting some of my previous vendors to see if they could push for me a bit...
I'm really at a toss up if this would hurt me, I don't want the guy to think this is staged and I planted a guy to make a phone call - hell, I probably could have solicited someone from here on the board to make a call - but in reality, I know it would be genuine from either of these men. They offered to provide me with Letters of Recommendation, I didn't need to ask.
And both were trying to afford me every new opportunity in the Co. as I worked for them.
It's probably something I should discuss with them this weekend, before making a decision to get there input, but I wanted to get some input from everyone here also.
We have a very intelligent and successful group here, and I appreciate that I have this as a resource.

 

[Buoy]

As a matter of procedure you should be calling your previous Dirs anyway so they're on notice for a reference call. That's a good opening to have the conversation as to whether they'd be willing to make those calls, and whether they thought they'd be a good idea. Hopefully the reason they made Director is because they have good judgment in things like this.

He wants you enough to ask you how much you want in comp. Maybe it's a number within their budget, maybe not. If not, and he knows good talent is worth fighting for, he needs some time to get the approval to go above the budget. This stuff happens all the time. If he's on top of things, you'll hear from him before Wednesday.

Best of luck!

Thanks.
When he asked me a Comp. $$, I stated what I would take as a minimum, and based it on the position I would be taking instead of the manger role I was previously in, and adjusted accordingly.
His response to my quoted $$ amount was "That's a fair number for that position".
This would also get me in the door to show what I do, and when the new piece of equipment comes in, it would be all mine - simply because I'm the only one that would know anything about it. Thin-film coating is kind of a VOO-DOO optics to many.
That would give me the opportunity to renegotiate my compensation with the new responsibility.

 

[Trim'd Up]

I guess it depends on the guy, but honestly it would irritate me. I am on the phone way more than I like to be anyway. Unsolicited phone calls or even "in person" visits from salesman I don't know or need don't usually go over well with me. If I knew the guy the guy calling me about a potential new hire it would be a different story.

 

[Buoy]

I guess it depends on the guy, but honestly it would irritate me. I am on the phone way more than I like to be anyway. Unsolicited phone calls or even "in person" visits from salesman I don't know or need don't usually go over well with me. If I knew the guy the guy calling me about a potential new hire it would be a different story.

With this, I completely agree.
I frequently dodged phone calls from vendors, and uninvited visits.
If they had something to offer me, send me an e-mail/regular mail, describing what you have, and if I'm interested, I'll contact them.
That allowed me to look at things on "MY" time, and for only as long as it held my interest. I never knew what was going to be happening on any given day, and hated committing my time with people if I was unsure if I was going to be available - or if I'm even interested.

 

[BUIZILLA]

my take is your probably the first person to interview for this new equipment and he see's an opportunity to step right up to working status with the new equipment. He also now see's your comp $$$ starting offer as fair.... he has a machine coming, and someone in a VOODOO industry ready to run with it..... rare spot to be in... he'll call you.... if there is still a bubble, then offer to him that you will make sure the other guys call him directly if that would speed the selection process. I feel good about it...

 

[MarylandMark]

As a matter of procedure you should be calling your previous Dirs anyway so they're on notice for a reference call. That's a good opening to have the conversation as to whether they'd be willing to make those calls, and whether they thought they'd be a good idea. Hopefully the reason they made Director is because they have good judgment in things like this.

Bingo! What does the wife think? Sounds like she is in the same spot the person you interviewed with is in? Small industry- do they (wife & interview guy) know each other? Could help or hamper..

 

[Dude! Sweet!]

Tim,

First off, good luck bro! I wish I had someone with your attitude and drive interviewing with me... Secondly, I'll say that when I interview people, my decision is usually made in the inteview. I have heard that there's a higher rate of sucess when people hire straight off the resume vs. interview though. For what that's worth.

I think if I was on the fence with someone and a respected professional in my industry (that I'd heard of, or better yet know) called me and said "Dude, you've gotta hire this guy" that would make the difference (unless the person was a total a-hole).

Again, good luck bro!

 

[Dude! Sweet!]

Call you back in 20 minutes. I'm on a call.

 

[cigdaze]

Same company, right? Just different location?

Personally, I would highly value the recommendation, however, the cold-call would make me suspect. If you know the guy well enough where you could ensure he doesn't drop the "Tim's desperate, we talked. he asked me to call," I see no problem with it. Especially from an internal referral. On the flip sire, frankly, if HR didn't think it would work out with the direct transfer, they would still hold the same opinion. It's a place to tread lightly for sure. If it's a different posision altogether, I'd go for it. What could it hurt?

 

[FormulaOne]

Tim-
Heres my opinion on the matter. I would not hesitate for your former director to place a call. For one it shows you are proactive, for two it shows that you left on good terms and meant enough to your previous employer that they would take the time to place a call of this sort. If you were a sh&t employee that they could easily replace, he would nt go out of his way to help you.

If the current interviewer would be bothered by someone soliciting them with a call such as this then they really dont want to hire someone of value.

In my case, we interview a crop of grads every end of semester. I cant tell you how many people get axed from consideration based on simple things like a lack of follow up phone call, not sending thank you cards or emails, etc. regardless of their resume.

My industry may differ as a professional services industry bust still being proactive and a follow up go a long way.

Good luck.