Book review Archives - The Voice of Job Seekers

Book Review: The 7 Hidden Reasons Employees Leave

Editor’s note: This book review is a part of The Voice of Jobseekers content partnership with AMACOM Books, who sent it to me complementary. This is a non-paid review of the book.

The author Leigh Branham, CEO and Founder of Keeping The People, Inc., has written two other workplace books including the 1st edition of this book. The 7 Hidden Reason Employees Leave by Leigh Branham is not only for the employee, but is also for unemployed and under-appreciated job seekers.

Whenever I receive books from AMACOM Books, I consider the benefits of the job seeker value first. When I sent the inquiry, I went to YouTube and searched another site to see if there is practical for the unemployed. I agreed to review the book but it wasn’t a resounding yes, until I started reading.

BAM!

What a useful resource this is! It gives job seekers more reasons to research companies and continue the needed due diligence to find the ideal workplace.

Another factor is that there are job seekers who are ready to leave their current positions. As mentioned last week, job seekers are looking for new opportunities, despite the overall job outlook. For many of them, this is not a suggested career move. The study states that only 17% are prepared to tackle a job search.

Included with my thoughts on the book, I am offering reasons that job seekers should read and engage the principles that are included. Branham’s book should be read as a standard and reasonable advice for management professionals and non-management personnel looking to plan his or her career:

1) Job seekers must evaluate what he or she values, then pursue that career

Branham confirms that out of the many reasons that employees leave a position is not financially driven. Branham discusses that employees disengage from the position sometimes years before leaving the company. If you value training, promotions, or a flexible schedule more than your ideal salary, you must make that a part of your search criteria.

2) Job seekers must seek clear expectations from future employers as much as possible

Branham states that the #1 reason for employees disengaging and leaving is that the “job or workplace was not as expected. Exit comments from surveys said that, “Improper representation of the job description and hours of work” and “Things are not explained well by HR when you are hired” are noted by Branham as, “At the root of all these comments is an expectation that was not met.” Job seekers must ensure that expectations are written if they wish for guarantees.

3) It’s all about the relationships, networking, and feedback

Branham observes as indicated in the surveys mentioned in the book that the more coaching and feedback is given, the more engaged the employee will remain. Job seekers must accept and pursue relationships that sustain momentum in his or her job search. It is likely that a job search success means more when you talk to people than CareerBuilder results. As the workplace should be an environment of continual coaching and feedback, a job search that has that much engagement will be successful.

4) Whose responsibility it is to enhance your career path? Yours.

The book contains a number of studies and results that points away from the company and re-directed to the employee. Branham states that many of companies do not cultivate a clearly defined career path. Job seekers must own and steer his or her career path, no matter the decision the future employer makes.

The amount of detail included in “The 7 Hidden…” will provide much food for thought as it becomes clearer what each reader desires out of his or her career path. After reading this book each job seeker should learn and be advised:

How to ask and research questions about company culture and environment that helps define immediate and future expectations through networking contacts and informational interviews
Not only look for inconsistencies in what employers say about his or her company, but what is not said. What employers say they are willing to do and what they commit to are two different things
Grow clarity about tolerances and intolerances (what you don’t like but will put up with).

I can’t express the importance of reading “The 7 Hidden …” to gain additional insight to your job search arsenal. Since I am raving about this book, my content partners at AMACOM Books agreed for me to give-a-way a copy of the book. Here are ways you can qualify for a FREE COPY of The Hidden:

Share this review through your Twitter account and include me so I can see it (@MarkADyson)

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About Mark Anthony Dyson

I am the "The Voice of Job Seekers!" I offer compassionate career and job search advice as I hack and re-imagine the job search process. You need to be "the prescription to an employer's job description." You must be solution-oriented and work in positions in companies where you are the remedy. Your job search must be a lifestyle, and your career must be in front of you constantly. You can no longer shed your aspirations at the change seasons. There are strengths you have that need constant use and development. Be sure you sign up to download my E-Book, "421 Modern Job Search Tips 2021!" You can find my career advice and work in media outlets such as Forbes, Inc., Fast Company, Harvard Business Review, Glassdoor, and many other outlets.

Bill Holland, the author of The 7 Rules for Getting Hired in Any Economy: Cracking the New Job Market, preferred to teach the choir, than “preach to the choir.” Job search education is forefront of Mr. Holland’s book applies to all of the job search communities and segments, especially to the white-collar worker. He promotes the notion that in the age of the supposed “hidden job market,” people are likely to focus on finding the secret jobs than to create and unearth their professional value. I will also give away a copy of this book FREE, as my review copy was FREE. I assure you, that I was not compensated for this review.

This practical book is essential to job seekers who have challenges in creating value, and demonstrating professional acumen through their resumes, interviews, and business networks. It is not full of resume and cover letter templates. Mr. Holland reasons that a strong resume and cover letter is not about you, but more about what the employer wants.

Mr. Holland presents a compelling case for 7 useful and dogmatic strategies:

Rule #1: Always Demonstrate Value. At the heart of what resumes should be about, Mr. Holland explains that the successful resume includes what “The value the hiring organization is looking to have created.” It’s a powerful statement since many job seekers look for the quick fix, and do not cultivate worth from their personal well of professional accomplishments.

Rule #2: Your Resume: It’s About the Value You Create. In this chapter, Mr. Holland not only shows how to “infuse your experience with value”, and explains how that selecting key statements accrue the attention of a potential employer. On his website, he states that he can provide courses contingent on the feedback he receives.

Rule #3: Use Social Media and Other Sites for Job Leads. In tackling the hot issue of “hidden job market”, he states that the “job market is not so much hidden as it is splintered.” He suggests that no longer job boards and Sunday classified ads monopolize job announcements. Social networking sites are one of the best places to discover opportunities, and build relationships that can lead to key information about employers and available positions. One of the few snags in this book is the broad overview of Social Media tools and services. Holland discusses Linked In, Twitter, and Facebook, but in general.

Rule #4: Interviews: They’re About the Value You Demonstrate. Throughout the book, the emphasis of “value creation” remains consistent and urgent. Infusing value throughout an interview remains a challenge of many job seekers, not only on resumes and interviews, but also pre and post-interviews. He discusses interview attire, references, thank-you letters, and follow-up which ha an impact on employers.

Rule#5: You Get What You Negotiate, Not What You Deserve. Holland inserts that successful negotiation takes preparation that starts when you realize that you have to find another job. He has provided 7 rules for skillful negotiation that will help a job seeker land the desired salary and benefit package.

Rule #6: Career Choice is More Than Following Your Passion. Holland states that passion can be an overrated determiner, “Those who look at career success solely through the prism of their passion can be in for a long and frustrating experience.” My takeaway from this considers the work I want to do, and the lifestyle I wish to create for myself is a part of the negotiation components. Holland provides a chart that helps to sort out what is beneficial to you during the negotiation period.

Rule #7: The Best Way to Reenter the Job Market Is to Never Leave It. Holland reminds us that going back to school, volunteer work, and temporary work are options to remain in the job market. This is also part of the value creation strategy that is re-emphasized through the book by not allowing “…your career-related activities to lapse… .”

After reading the book, I felt as Holland has achieved the need for job seekers remain competitive in the job search. One of his strongest premises is the notion of the nonexistence of the “Hidden Job Market.” Having worked with clients that heard the term, it scared them; however, Holland supports the premise through connecting value creation with sustaining an enduring personal brand that attracts employers.

As stated earlier, one of the few snags in the book was the lack of depth of Rule #3 on social media. I felt it was a genuine attempt, and the mentions were accurate. At the same time, Social Media is also about blogging, and learning to use it effectively. It is hard to talk about personal branding these days without embracing the full scope of tools or possibilities.

I recommend this book because of the key straight forward strategies offered could be used immediately. The importance of ready-to-use strategies is crucial to everyone. He aptly puts the responsibility in the hands of the job seeker by emphasizing their own personal and professional value. Cheers to a book that is relevant, and significant, that helps job seekers everywhere to envision their worth.

NOW, about the give away

This is how you can get a copy of this book:

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I hope to post the interview with Mr. Holland within the next two weeks. Please stay tuned by subscribing via RSS or email.