Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/matthew_solle/2870185419/

Having recently been made redundant, the knowledge that you’re out there with several thousands of others who find themselves in the same situation doesn’t really provide much comfort. Welcome to the world of hard knocks. In Israel, the mature employee (anyone over the age of 40 or 50 depending on the company) who finds him/herself in this position has to compete not only with eager Israeli 20 year olds, but also with often highly qualified new immigrants from here, there and everywhere. Competition is tough, but this is the nature of the country.

No company anywhere in the world will admit to the cardinal sin of ageism, but here in Israel, ageism is not only alive, but thriving. On saying farewell to some of the senior partners in the largest of the Big Four firms in Israel, where I worked for over 11 years, several of them repeated the same very telling sentence. “Sorry to see you go, but hey, no-one ever gets old at …” Ageism, or just looking out for the dollars and cents? Why pay for knowledge, experience and professionalism, if you can pay peanuts, albeit for a lousy job? And when the company tries to fool its employees by bandying about expressions encouraging excellence, well then the nausea quotient really rises. Cronyism is directly linked to excellence. Especially if you are happy to go along with the “you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours” philosophy. This is especially true of former public servants who find themselves sitting pretty i.e. most “gainfully employed” in lieu of services rendered in their previous positions.

Headhunters and employment agencies abound. Some specialize: executives only, high-tech only, legal only, French speakers only, residents of the north only, while others cover all eventualities. Beware of the free-lance headhunters. This often translates as human resource “professionals” who are between jobs or who have been unable to find or hold down a job. It can also mean that they are left dealing with the most difficult clients - individuals and companies who the more reputable, established companies are not prepared to touch. The free-lance headhunter may be desperate for the commission, and certainly will not have your (the prospective employee’s) best interests at heart. All they need is for you to stay in a position for x amount of time, and they get their longed for commission or payment.

A case in point – I unknowingly responded to an ad posted on one of the better Israeli job websites by just such a free-lancer. The ad gave no indication that it was placed by a headhunter, freelance or otherwise, and appeared as if a private person had placed it. During the initial telephone contact, she sounded reasonably ok. I guess most English speakers automatically sound ok to the somewhat biased ears of other English speakers. But nevertheless, I googled her, and sure enough, reading between the lines, the scenario described above, rang true.

Be aware that as a prospective employee, you have every right to ask questions and find out as much as you can about your prospective employer, and you should! This specific headhunter was most reticent about the finer details of the job offered and about the employer. The ad also mentioned “joining a team”, which later translated into a team of one. A few weeks later, she provided the name of the employer, and again after spending a few minutes on the internet, it was indeed apparent that this incredibly high-flying business person belonged to the “daughter of…” breed and that all was not quite as it appeared.

Never one to balk at a challenge, I nevertheless called, and was bowled over by the unabashed gall and lack of civility displayed. Issues which this person had with the purported headhunter were bandied about in a most unprofessional manner.

When reporting back on this conversation to the free-lance headhunter, she calmly mentioned that she was not bothered by occurrences such as this. However, this attitude simply reflected her total lack of professionalism. Prospective employees should not have to bear the brunt of misunderstandings between headhunters and their clients (prospective employers). This was another totally unpleasant experience which needed to be put down to experience.

Below, a checklist for the jobseeker, presuming you were retrenched and not dismissed for any wrongful doings:

• You are ok; being retrenched does not reflect on you or your abilities; be proud of your achievements
• Screen your headhunters carefully
• Screen your prospective employers just as carefully
• You have a right to receive details about the company/individual (but it does help to do some independent research)
• You do not have to accept just any offer
• You can negotiate (for extra days leave, director’s insurance, car allowance, study stipends, and other social benefits)
• Ask to see where you will be expected to sit; you will be spending many hours there…
• If it doesn’t feel right, just walk away

Wishing the best of luck to all those job seekers out there.

After spending many years in the corporate world, Debrah is today a professional translator, a lecturer and an aspiring author. She is currently working on an exciting new venture, and hopes to be able to deal exclusively with pleasant people from now on.