Non-Competes Banned
Last week, the Federal Trade Commission announced that they are banning non-competes across the country. And, this new ruling applies to almost all workers. You read that right. The FTC does not want your employer to be able to force a non-compete onto you.
Employers have long believed that a non-compete allows them to protect their trade secrets. They believed, non-competes allowed them to protect their financial investment into workers. And, employees often had no choice. If you wanted to take a job, a non-compete was just part of the arrangement.
In reality, non-compete agreements often tie the hands of employees. When an employee has spent the bulk of their career in one industry, it prevents them from going to other companies in the same industry. Often, a non-compete will remain in effect for multiple years, and can sometimes prevent employees from working in entire industries. It’s also worth mentioning that many companies invest less of their resources into workers today than they have in the past.
Non-compete agreements discourage employees from switching jobs. And, they prevent those same employees from pursuing more money, or a better workplace. Non-competes take away the options an employee has when switching jobs. It can lock someone into a company where they are underpaid, and may have an unhealthy work situation.
Even before the FTC decision, I would often hear people say that it’s hard to enforce non-competes. Some people felt they didn’t really matter. But, I would argue that this is not true. Even if an agreement is not very enforceable, the employee must go through a lengthy and expensive legal process to prove it. And, many employers don’t want to risk being involved in such a process with a new employee. Companies would rather play it safe than hire someone with an active non-compete.
The FTC estimates that one in five workers today are bound by a non-compete agreement. That means that this change will impact 30 million people. The FTC estimates this ban will grow startup activity by 2.7 percent. And, they believe an average worker stands to make $524 more per year because of this change. The FTC believes that allowing people to switch companies and remain in the same industry will create more competition. By allowing workers to switch jobs more freely, companies will be forced to pay a higher wage.
Going forward, companies will have to move beyond the non-compete. They may want to look at fair pay and treatment. And, they must focus on protecting their actual intellectual property in more specific ways. Protecting intellectual property is fair. Blindly restricting someone’s right to work is not.
Unfortunately though, the fight is likely not over. It is expected that the FTC will get a significant amount of pushback from companies who wish to keep their non-compete agreements in place. But for now, this change is a big win for workers.
I hope these tips have helped you. Visit CopelandCoaching.com to find more tips to improve your job search. If I can be of assistance to you, don’t hesitate to reach out to me here.
Happy hunting!
Angela Copeland
@CopelandCoach
Recognize Your Employees
After spending many years as an executive coach, I learned a clear lesson. People hate looking for jobs. They hate switching jobs. The process is stressful and painful. Most employees only consider a big job change as a last resort. They wait until the pain of staying is bigger than the pain of walking away.
So, why do employees change jobs? It’s complicated. There is no one size fits all answer. Many people are looking for an opportunity to grow their skills at work. They may feel stuck. But, more than that, they may feel unhappy. They may feel unrecognized. They may even feel mistreated.
In the past, it could be said that money would not be the primary reason to leave a job. Employees were more concerned with their fulfillment. But, after the last five years, more employees are concerned about money – which makes sense. Prices have gone up, from groceries and gas to housing. Interest rates are up. And, pay has been going up.
Your loyal employees have not benefitted from these big jumps in pay. While their bills have gone up, their pay has stayed about the same. Many companies continue to believe that an annual three percent per year raise will maintain the standard of living employees are used to. This is not the case.
As well-meaning as companies may be, tiny raises are just not enough. Younger employees, and parents are hit extra hard. Younger employees are struggling with increasing rents and expenses. Many twenty somethings are being forced to live at home for longer than prior generations. Employees with children are balancing the cost of rising childcare with their flat wages.
This can put both employees and the companies they work for in a difficult situation. The employee is forced to move to potentially less fulfilling job in order to be paid the current market rate.
And, the employer also faces a difficult situation. When the employee leaves, their role is left empty for a period of time. That puts pressure on the remaining employees, to pick up the extra work. Then, the company must find a new, qualified candidate. They must pay an internal recruiter or an external placement firm to find candidates. The company must go through the process of interviewing those candidates. When a candidate is selected, they must be trained. Not surprisingly, the new candidate will likely be paid the current market rate.
So, what is a company to do? First, don’t wait for your best employees to leave. If you know they are underpaid, so do they. Just because they don’t bring it up doesn’t mean they aren’t aware of the going rate. Keep an open door policy for conversations around compensation. And, when someone brings it up, be willing to have honest conversations. And, advocate for them. In the long term, it may very well save you time and money. It could even help you to retain great talent.
I hope these tips have helped you. Visit CopelandCoaching.com to find more tips to improve your job search. If I can be of assistance to you, don’t hesitate to reach out to me here.
Happy hunting!
Angela Copeland
@CopelandCoach
Time and Money
It’s no longer socially acceptable for a company to ask an interview candidate how much money they currently make. It’s also not terribly good to ask the candidate how much they want to make. These days, the standard is to share the pay range for the role. Then, the candidate can decide whether or not the range is acceptable.
In the past, recruiters would argue that asking questions like these made sense. They wanted to know if the candidate was “within their budget” for a particular role. In reality, if the candidate provided a salary number at the low end of the range, they would be paid on the low end of that range. And, they might not ever know it.
Fortunately, many states across the U.S. have agreed that this practice is not okay. It’s not fair. And, it allows pay disparities to continue, and to grow. In other words, if you are currently underpaid, and your future salary is based on your current salary, you will continue to be under paid in the future. If a company pays a fair market rate, then you have a better chance of making what your skillset is truly worth.
Unfortunately, not all recruiters have gotten this message. When a recruiter shares that they have been working as a recruiter for over thirty years, you can bet there’s a decent chance they aren’t playing by the current rules. They will continue to ask questions they should not.
Unfortunately, as a candidate, there’s not much you can do about this issue. If a recruiter asks your salary and you don’t provide it, you’ll likely be eliminated from consideration. You’ll be perceived as difficult, because you aren’t willing to go along with this outdated line of questioning.
The good news is, you can decide not to work with a particular recruiter. You can decide you won’t participate when something like this occurs. There are many recruiters who will care about the candidate experience, and who are willing to follow the laws and this current way of interviewing candidates.
In addition to questions that a company is not allowed to ask, there is a question that candidates are allowed to ask. In certain states, it’s the law. A candidate can ask the company what the pay range is for a certain position. The company should be willing to provide the range. This gives the opportunity for the candidate to share with the company whether or not the range provided is one they are interested to pursue.
Sadly, this is another area where some recruiters are trying to do their own thing. When asked for the range, it is not uncommon for the recruiter to respond with, “My company hasn’t set a range for this role. We’re trying to see what the market will bear.” As you can imagine, this is most not likely accurate and is an antiquated way of interviewing candidates.
I hope these tips have helped you. Visit CopelandCoaching.com to find more tips to improve your job search. If I can be of assistance to you, don’t hesitate to reach out to me here.
Happy hunting!
Angela Copeland
@CopelandCoach
Giving Grace
If there’s anything I have learned recently, it’s just how important it is to give grace to others in the workplace. How often does a coworker not respond within the timeframe they agreed to? How often are they short with you when speaking? I would bet this happens pretty often.
In the moment, it feels personal. It can make you feel angry. How could this person speak to me this way? Or, why is this person not following through as quickly as they promised? You may wonder what you did to be on the receiving end of this. You may wonder why they don’t respect you enough to do better.
The problem is that work isn’t just work. Every single person we work with has many things going on outside of work (and sometimes inside of work) that we cannot see. Our personal lives are made up of family, friends, children, pets, clubs and organizations, religious groups and more.
When things are normal, someone is able to show up as their best self to work. But, when things are out of whack in one area of a person’s life, it can create a larger impact. For example, if someone recently had a new baby, they may be struggling to learn how to balance both work and take care of the baby. Or, if another person suffered the loss of a family member, that person may have a hard time containing their grief during work hours.
When someone is going through these terrible personal things, they very often do not disclose them at work. They are simply trying to get through each day. They are trying to keep their family together or trying to help a loved one through a serious illness.
They try to keep issues from bleeding into work, but we are all human. And, it can happen to anyone and everyone.
Fortunately, change is not permanent. It’s what takes us from one destination to another. And, when things calm down again, people are able to return to their prior selves. They begin to be more present. They begin to deliver their assignments on time. They again become the former person you knew.
The universal truth is that we all go through change. We are not ever all perfect all the time. Giving someone grace or assuming positive intent is one of the kindest things that you can do for them.
And, some day in the future, you will need the same grace in return. It can be surprising how quickly life can change. You can be cruising along when suddenly, someone you love becomes ill. Or, there is some other problem that may feel giant in the moment.
It would be great if we could all compartmentalize. If we were productive robots between business hours, that would be wonderful. But, that’s not really how life works. What does work is giving grace to those around you.
I hope these tips have helped you. Visit CopelandCoaching.com to find more tips to improve your job search. If I can be of assistance to you, don’t hesitate to reach out to me here.
Happy hunting!
Angela Copeland
@CopelandCoach
Mixed Signals in the Job Market
What does the job market have in store for us this year? The answer seems to be mixed. We are continuing to hear about company layoffs. Yet, at the same time, the stock market just hit a new all-time high. This doesn’t paint a clear picture for would be job seekers. And often, uncertainty in the market can discourage employees from seeking new employment.
For example, major companies are continuing to lay off workers. In January alone, companies such as Microsoft, Sports Illustrated, Google, Amazon, and NBC all laid off workers. On the other hand, the S&P 500 has been setting records as earnings have continued to grow. And, a few of the very same companies that are doing well are also laying off employees. So, what gives?
Unfortunately, the answer is not straight forward. There are a number of factors at play. First, in the last five years, many industries have seen a shift. Since 2020, it is more common to work from home. People are wearing more casual clothing. The auto industry is in the midst of an evolution. I could go on, but you get the idea. The way we work and play has shifted. Some industries have gotten smaller while others have grown.
Another very unfortunate factor is that layoffs have become more normal in business. In the past, layoffs were typically a last resort. Companies avoided them at all cost. Companies wanted to protect their employees. Employees were the fabric of the company. Layoffs were considered shameful.
Although employees are still important, companies now consider many other factors. Some companies focus more on the short term value of the company rather than looking into the future. This can mean that a company may elect to lay off employees simply to save money in the short term. In fact, it is at times perceived as a responsible thing to do. In other words, the short term cost savings of layoffs may at times be considered smart.
What does this mean for the job market, and for your job search? If you have been thinking looking for a new job, don’t give up hope. Despite the unusual market, many companies are still hiring.
But, before you accept a new job, do your research. Look online for any news about the financial health of the company. Research where the industry is going overall. Research the company on sites such as Glassdoor.com. Glassdoor allows employees to leave reviews about the company. If layoffs are being handled poorly or employees are being mistreated, they will often share their feedback on Glassdoor.
Whatever you do, keep your resume current. With the current environment, unplanned things can happen. By keeping your resume up to date, and by staying in touch with contacts, you can create some level of insulation from the unknown. The more proactive that you are, the more choice you will have if things change in this market.
I hope these tips have helped you. Visit CopelandCoaching.com to find more tips to improve your job search. If I can be of assistance to you, don’t hesitate to reach out to me here.
Happy hunting!
Angela Copeland
@CopelandCoach
Copeland Coaching Podcast
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