March 26, 2012
Plate Spinning, the Art of Successful Recruiting
 Leah O'Flynn By Leah O’Flynn
Plate spinning is an intense physical and psychological feat; it is both an art form and a methodology. Professionals focus on spinning numerous plates, simultaneously, while performing any number of acrobatic maneuvers, balancing goals, and bringing moving parts to a graceful crescendo. Sounds like recruiting, doesn’t it? (more…)
March 19, 2012
Job Search 101: Without a Well-Written Resume, You Won’t Get Results
By Christina Archer, Executive Recruiter, Resume Writer, Social Media Consultant and Author
Author Website: http://icareersearch.wordpress.com/2012/02/02/job-search-101-without-a-well-written-resume-you-wont-get-results/
I often hear candidates say they’ve been applying for numerous jobs, but all they receive is an auto-responder message from the employer or recruiter, stating their resume has been received. As a candidate, you need to realize that you won’t get answers to every application; neither employers nor recruiters can respond personally to each and every resume they receive.
If you do not get a response, re-evaluate your target and approach. It may be that you did not meet the exact specifications for a position. It may be that your resume isn’t properly presenting your experience, talent, and qualifications.
As a job seeker, your resume is your marketing brochure, with the goal of selling your skills and experience. I review many resumes that simply list in chronological order, all of the positions an individual has held over the span of their career. Does that really market you?
A quality resume has to spotlight and focus on your most relevant skills and experience, to the position you are targeting. One of the biggest mistakes I see candidates regularly make, is creating a one-size fits all resume, and actually thinking this will land them interviews. It can’t.
Here are 3 tips to ensure your phone starts ringing with interview appointments, today!
1. Know what your target job is. You cannot apply for every position out there, when you don’t meet the qualifications. Be deliberate in your approach, and know what position you want to get. Don’t give up too quickly; if you meet the qualifications, and your resume is crafted appropriately, you will receive calls.
2. Do your research before writing your resume. They can vary greatly, based on your industry and specialty. If you’re writing your own resume, look at the job description for the position you want, and include keywords you see within that description. In order to get results, your resume must be very focused and specific.
3. Consider hiring a professional resume writer. When you’re out of a job, it may seem like an unnecessary expense, but it’s literally one of the most important investments you can make in your career. Once you have a well written and impactful resume, you can easily update it as your career expands. Many candidates who utilize the services of a professional resume writer, find they obtain interview invitations and job offers exponentially faster than candidates who did not.
Receive your complimentary resume analysis now, and receive feedback via email with specific instructions on how to improve its performance.
Article courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates searching for entry level jobs and other career opportunities.
March 12, 2012
Staffing & Employment News
from Redfish Technology
How strong is the recovery?
+ Online jobs advertised grew in February, January and December, according to the Conference Board Help Wanted OnLine® (HWOL). The Supply/Demand rate stands at 2.9 unemployed for every vacancy. “In a positive sign the Supply/Demand rate dipped below the 3.0 level for the first time since November 2008,” said June Shelp, Vice President at The Conference Board. “This reflects both significant gains in labor demand as well as drops in unemployment levels since the end of the recession. Labor demand is up 227,000 over the past three months, continuing to narrow the gap between the unemployed and available jobs. With the monthly level of job demand around 4.4 million, labor demand is back in line with the pre-recession series high in 2007.”
+ The U.S. Economy added 227,000 jobs in February. This is the third consecutive month of gains over 200,000. December and January numbers were also revised upwards. (more…)
March 5, 2012
Republished with permission from the UBM Midsize Enterprise Strategies February 2012 Newsletter strategy section.
Finding And Hiring The Right IT Staff
By Alicia Stein
Many middle-market CIOs lack the resources—staff and budget—to fulfill all of their organization’s IT initiatives. Even though the last recession displaced millions of workers, it still remains difficult for CIOs to find individuals with the right mix of talent and skill. (more…)
February 27, 2012
How Jim Got a Job, or The Long and Winding Road to Employment
This is a thought provoking info-graphic on today’s hiring process.
It describes a fictional person’s job search starting online and spending a bunch of time filling out forms, only to get an automated email (Ug, yes another one of those – we use them too!) and a long wait. Success at last, someone from the employer he applied to calls about a different job. Next is a lengthy wait, then interview, then another waiting period, then another interview with an on-the-spot offer, followed by a wait and an official offer with a different title, manager and salary than was verbally offered!
While the road to new or re-employment can be long and twisty, does this process ring true for you? What crazy hiring processes have you been subjected to?
February 20, 2012
 What are Your Interview Takeaways?
Job Interviews are not the most natural situation for most of us. Typically you are meeting the interviewer(s) for the first time, most likely in a new place with a company you don’t know intimately. You need to convince the person that you are the best person for a job that you have not practiced with that employer. And hopefully you only do this every few years, so you may not have had a lot of practice lately. Ug.
Whether you are speaking with a recruiter or a hiring manager, there are proven ways to make a good impression and effectively communicate who you are and what you have to offer. First of all, prepare several talking points (and don’t forget the last one like happened in a recent political debate). Have the main points you want to make to the interviewer down pat. This will allow you to say on point.
Identify the company’s or the hiring manager’s priorities ahead of time if possible, or at the outset of the interview. If you work with a recruiter or have an opening conversation, ask what those priorities to prepare for the interview. Dialogue with colleagues and industry professionals to learn about what the company/position/sector really needs to succeed. Research the company’s culture, track record and mission/vision. Now tailor your talking points to how your skills and abilities will fit the company’s needs and strategic vision.
Armed with your talking points, you should relax and dialogue naturally incorporating your message into your responses. If you are asked about your track record, know how your successes will match up with what the hiring manager needs from his next hire. If you are asked about previous challenges and how you overcame them, choose an example that shows that your decision making would be an asset for this company’s needs. Align your answers to support the takeaways that you want to leave with the interviewer.
Remember, this isn’t a social call, it is a sales pitch. You must sell yourself, your experience, your abilities, and your fit, while demonstrating how you meet the company’s needs and effectively communicating your takeaways.
Redfish offers a number of job serach and career managment articles on the Redfish website in the Candidate Resource Library. Check it out!
February 13, 2012
 Greg Schreiner Job Boards and Social Media May Replace Recruiters…
By Greg Schreiner, Clean Tech Recruitment Manager
Many people believe that job boards are as useful as recruiters, and may even replace them. Companies post jobs on Monster and niche boards. Job seekers are using social media to target their next job. Anyone can post a job pitch on YouTube, the world’s second largest search engine. Networking is viral, right? So why work with a recruiter?
Ironically, using the internet and working with a recruiter are quite opposite methods of locating the talent you need. And yet both are useful of course.
Remember that expression about searching for a needle in a haystack? It refers to a difficult or impossible search for a particular object amongst a huge mountain of similar objects.
Recruiters are often enlisted for the more difficult or critical talent searches. Sometimes the company doesn’t have the dedicated resources to comb the pile of resumes that can result from a job posting or other talent outreach. Often if the hiring manager isn’t the one reading the resumes initially, and the right talent may be overlooked while the hiring manager is barraged by less qualified or less suitable potential candidates.
Despite the hype about social media and the new business models of paying a referral to someone who submits a friend for a job who eventually gets hired, most jobs are secured when the right talent is enticed by the right company’s opportunity and culture.
You need a well-written job description, and posting it on your website serves as outreach for active and passive candidate for today’s needs and tomorrow’s opportunities. But beware the time involved in sorting through resumes from job descriptions that are plastered all over the internet. But if you are serious about efficiently securing the top talent in your industry, you’ll get much farther much faster by using a professional.
A critical difference a recruiter can make is the ability and mission to woo prospects, even those currently employed, from specific target areas in a discreet and professional manner, thereby extending your talent pool reach. Working with a headhunter will increase your chance of finding the right candidates quickly. The reality is that good recruiters (and they won’t be around for long if they aren’t good) know how to find the needle in the haystack.
Your recruiter takes on the heavy lifting of sifting through job boards, mining their own database of professionals, conducting Boolean searches, and making hours of phone calls to network and chase down referrals. The recruiter will screen prospective candidates via in-depth interviewing, background checks, and references; and identify the right match between the talent and the company. Your recruiter will also help sell your company and the opportunity, and participate in successfully closing the candidate.
In the end, recruiters, companies and candidates have a whole variety of ways to meet. Despite the hype, social media and job boards will not take over the function of truly understanding a candidate’s value and abilities, and making the right matches for companies with which they work.
Recruiters know that success comes when long term partnerships are built and the highest level of satisfaction in career and talent matching is provided. So post your job descriptions and post your resume, and make sure you send a copy to your favorite recruiter.
About Greg Schreiner, Clean Tech Recruitment Manager
Greg Schreiner has a diverse business background as a team layer and individual contributor that serves him well in his role as the Clean Tech Recruitment Manager, serving GreenTech and Alternative Energy sectors. Greg’s passion for and expertise in the alternative energy space are readily apparent.
February 6, 2012
Staffing & Employment News
Recovery Gaining Speed
The economy produced more jobs than expected in January, with an overall net increase of 243,000 and a private sector addition of 257,000. The last two months of 2011 had a net upward revision of 60,000. Private-sector gains were led by professional and business services (+70,000), leisure and hospitality (+44,000), and manufacturing.
Unemployment dipped as well, falling to the lowest rate in three years. The household survey indicated a drop to 8.3 percent from 8.5 percent in December.
The U.S. Economy grew by 2.8 percent in Q4 2011 according to the Commerce Department. This was 1% higher than A3. The Federal Reserve’s Business Outlook Survey showed regional manufacturing activity continued to expand moderately in January, and firms continued to report hiring increases. The survey’s broad indicators stayed in positive territory again this month.
Recruiters in specialized sectors are staying busy. Greg Schreiner, Clean Tech Recruitment Manager at Redfish Technology, reports that 2011 finished off with a bang and January 2012 hasn’t showed any signs of slowing. “The hiring managers I work with a expressing continued optimism overall” stated Schreiner, “it is an exciting time in CleanTech recruiting, especially in Solar, ESCO, and renewable technologies.”
A recent survey by Talent Technology reveals that 63.4% of respondents see signs of economic pressure letting up within their organization in 2012, and 51.4% expect to increase in size within the next 12 months (by about 12%).
The Vistage CEO Survey reported the largest quarterly gain in confidence since 2009 as of Q4, and the employment picture in 2012 is looking rosy. Starting off the year with strong signs of improvement in the economy, hiring too is on the rise. The Q4 2011 CEO Confidence Index reported 94 percent of CEOs expecting their firm’s total number of employees to increase or remain the same in the next year.
January 30, 2012
 Rob Reeves, CEO - Redfish Will a Recruiter’s Fees Impact My Salary?
By Rob Reeves, President, CEO Redfish Technology
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been asked by a candidate if working with a recruiter will lower his salary. Some people think that a recruiter’s fee comes out of the same budget that a candidate’s salary comes from. “Isn’t the money for a new hire going to be split between the candidate hired, referral fees, headhunter commission, and Sally over at H.R.?”
Of course not! Companies budget for wages separately from recruiting efforts. Would a growing company who decided to create an H.R. department with internal recruiting lower the salaries of current and future staff to pay for this recruiting function? No – Everyone would jump ship! Talent acquisition is a separate cost, just like advertising, facilities management, or product launches all have their own budgets. Reducing the salary of a new hire when using a recruiter would be tantamount to reducing the Sales & Marketing team’s salary when a new product roll-out needs to be paid for.
“Okay, but if there are two candidates vying for the position and one was introduced via a recruiter, the company can save money by hiring the other, right?” Sure, they could. But companies are making a strategic choice to pay for external talent acquisition; their goal is to get the best talent they can afford. In the over 15 years that I have been in the business, I have seen only a couple of scenarios where an external recruiting agreement with the company was a factor in hiring the candidate. Typically such scenarios are resolved by an objective examination of the best candidate for the company, and the best person is hired.
“But would my overall compensation package be higher if there was no recruiter involved?” In our experience, the likelihood is that your compensation package will be better. It is the recruiter’s job to identify the talent sought, and position the skills, abilities, traits, experience, and fit for the company. We also know the salaries being paid in the industry for such talent and it is our job to help employers and candidates find the right compensation so that there is a win-win situation and long-term commitment on all sides.
Even though cost-savings are important, any company that chooses the candidate based solely on salary is not a company you’d want to work for. Honestly, if a company really did choose the lesser candidate to save on the allotted hiring fee, or offered the chosen candidate less because of it, would you feel confident about that company’s strategy and vision going forward?
Recruiting and onboarding the right talent requires time, networks, and expertise. Some companies outsource H.R. and/or recruiting functions, some do them internally – either way there is a cost associated, and budgeted for that purpose.
So rest assured, the company you want to work for is not going to short you for going through an external recruiter. And you can buy Sally a coffee when you start your new job. Heck, send your recruiter a gift certificate and chocolates. Enjoy your new job!
About the Author:
Rob Reeves has enjoyed recruiting for a long time. He founded Redfish Technology in 1996, and has taken it from a predominantly West Coast Technical recruiter to a nationwide, full service firm specializing in High Tech and Green Tech sectors. His tenured experience in the field of talent acquisition is called upon by some of the most dynamic technology companies in the United States.
January 23, 2012
Employee Compensation in 2012: Pent-up Demand
 Robert Teal By Robert Teal, CCP, CBP
During the recent recession, numerous organizations froze wages, reduced benefits and hours, and eliminated staff in an effort to remain competitive. By all official counts, the recession reportedly ended over two years ago, yet corporate compensation budgets are still very much stalled in a slump. With unemployment above 8%, many employers feel little or no pressure to increase wages or benefits. However those employees who have foregone raises or even suffered reductions are becoming restless. Yes, they were grateful to have jobs, while at the same they are beginning to question what their loyalty really bought them. Even in the best of times, a rubber band will only stretch so far before it snaps. So what options are available to an organization which needs to retain its talent in the face of little or no desire to increase costs? (more…)
« Newer Posts — Older Posts »
|
|
