Posts Tagged ‘recruiter’

Think Like A Recruiter

Last year I wrote a blog post encouraging #Job Seekers on Twitter to think like a recruiter. Why? Because if you use name sourcing skills, boolean search strings (semantic search logic) and understand how algorithms can put you in touch with your target companies, you will astounded how quickly you will find work.  In fact, I’d venture to say that you could increase the chances of your re-employment by more than 50%.  My unscientific data is backed up by my 10 years of experience trend spotting career development. In 1997, I worked in the outplacement industry for one of The Nation’s leading outplacement firm, Right Management Consultants.  I used to say to clients, every new begining starts with a good ending.  If you did not have an leave on good terms, you can heal, and recreate a good ending through processing your feelings, experiencing the grief, and envisioning a brighter feature. William Bridge’s great book, You and Company is a helpful tool for recovery and brand building.   Recently, I wrote a post entitled: Your Fired, Now What? It will be published next week. I taught how understanding The MBTI assessment tool can help you make informed decisions about your career.  There’s a wonderful book entitled, “Do What You Are,” by   Maria Sinatur.     I also recommend a book by David Keirsy entitled, “Please Understand Me.” Every effective job search begins with identifying how your temperament can shape your decision for your signature path.

In order to think like a recruiter you must do the following:

1. Assess your core competencies, and compare them to the job descriptions for where you apply.

Take your resume and look at it side by side next to the job description and write out answers for how well you match each of the requirements.

Use those talking points in your cover letter, and one your interviews.

2. Identify the key performance indicators which will predict whether or you will be a success in your new position.

3. Determine whether or not you will work effectively with your recruiter to make rapid decisions, and answer the offer within 24 hours.

4. Don’t make your recruiters angry by stalking them. They are busy people.

Pace yourself, woo them, and give them a good reason to send your resume out to the client, & seal the deal.

5  Use ‘Phone Sourcing Tips ‘ to find hiring managers, their names, and other people in the department.

Find out what it is really like work at that company, seek these people out, and they will tell you what it is really like to work for their boss.

6. Without being creepy, let them know in a round about way that you have conducted your research and were fascinated by their recent product release.

Share an article you found in the news paper. Butter them up a little. Most importantly, lead them to the conclusion that they need you because you are smart, and knowledgeable. Convince them that they should bring you in for an interview.

That way, neither asked them if they had an opportunity, nor did you have to say “I want to work for you, do you have any job openings.  Job seekers, that is a big mistake.  Lead them to believe that hiring you is their idea, not yours.

Use the inbound marketing. you are the product. Pull instead of push.  It works, it really does.

7. Package yourself like a product that everyone wants to have. Articulate your value proposition. You are not a job beggar, rather you are a resource professional. You are highly a skilled,  ”A” player.

8. Act as if you are in high demand. When you believe in yourself, others will believe in you too.

9. Never lose sight that you are a stainless being. You shimmer and shine.

Even if you were fired, downsized or quit, even if you do have job search fatigue, don’t shut down because of depression, or funky morale.  You have skills knowledge, and abilities.

10. All you have to do is uncover the most sales worthy part of what you have to offer it.  Remember it’s not how you fall, it’s how you get back up that matters.  It makes you the person that you are.

Never lose sight of the fact that you can make someone’s day in 140 characters.

A friend alluded to the fact that if you get fired, it’s actually a good thing because if you don’t you’re just taking up space, and preventing someone who can do well in that position the opportunity to perform at his peak.  That may not be what you want to hear, but it’s true.

I told him that even though he had no idea what I was going through that day, he changed my perspective, nurtured a more productive attitude, and made a difference in my life.  Think about that for a moment, take it in and realize that with every encounter you have, you have the power leave a recruiter, human resources professional, or hiring manager with a nugget of wisdom that offers them hope, happiness, and comfort. I say this in love for the community, and in the positive energy and attitude that can and will change your life for the better.  Here at HRMargo.com I am not concerned about making money, I want to change lives for the better by building a small group where I can make a differnce in your life.  Building community can be the most powerful, transformational experience.  You can be better not bitter.

Even if you were fired.  Here’s what Seiden says:

9. A great recruiter is a masterful sales person. World-class recruiters are masterful negotiators, and communicators. Recruiters want to be reassured that they will be able make, and keep their commission. After all, they worked hard for it.

If you don’t work out, a third party recruiter will have to pay the company their commission back any where between 90 days to 6 months.  Trust me, that is not something they want to do.

When was a 3rd party recruiter, and a temporary services coordinator I can boast that I only had 5 send backs after hundreds of send outs.

Think like a recruiter, and develop a sense of empathy, an compassion, they won’t be afraid that you will screw them by not working out.

Sometimes if you don’t work out it’s not your fault at all, but if you go into a company and intentionally sabatoge your position, everyone loses.  Everyone is effected by your negative situation.  It hurts you.  It hurts the recruiter.  It hurts the company.

An ounce of prevention is a pound of cure: prepare yourself before your interview, take a moment and make an honest assessment of the company culture, and ask yourself: Will I be happy in this position. Will I rise and shine in the morning, “and show the world all the love in my heart,” as Carole King sings.  Life is short.  It is not worth putting yourself in an early grave with a type A-heart attack.  You have to do what you love, and the money will follow.

10. You have two ears, two eyes, an one mouth the recruiters who go from good to great are the ones who know how to LISTEN. They listen for buying cues, hot buttons, and signs that the client is sold on the candidate.  Now think this through, if you learn how to think like a recruiter you will listen, mirror the hiring managers body language, listen and interpret the tone of their voice, and make them feel comfortable with you.  Again, a good sales person is flexible, and adapt to the potential buyer. 10. Communicate with people the way want to be communicated you to with communicate with you. Do not communicate with others the THEY want YOU want them to communicate with you. If you think like a recruiter you will cut the time cycle of time to fill the position, reduce the cost of hire, and convince the human resources representative that you are going to reduce their costs, increase their profitability. Human resource managers are plagued by the pressure to justify their existence with metrics that they have to report to their bosses.

Will you please leave a comment.  What’s your opinion about this. Don’t be afraid to let me know, I care about your opinion.

Your HR Pal,

HRMargo Rose

Contact me at (513) 549-3025

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Use Social Networks to Network, Prepare, and Get Your Confidence Before Your Next Interview

Don’t Fear The Job Search:

There are five best practices that job seekers can use to work through the jitters. Butterflies. We all get them. According to speech experts, the number one fear reported is the fear of public speaking. The second is the fear of dying, so in essence, some people would rather die than speak in public. Apply that figure to your job search, and you could probably double those numbers. People who are unemployed are frightened, and rightfully so. Job hunters have to face the reality of economic insecurity on top of the valid concerns of being able to muster up the courage to interview with experience and poise. Here’s a few top tips to help you get over the fear of making a presentation during a job interview. Even if all you are doing is interviewing with an individual, or a panel, there are strategies that you can apply to help you.

1. Breathe: Harness the power of breathing to center yourself before making your interview presentation.
2. Print out the job description.  Place it side by side by your resume.  Write out a script of bullet points in the form of sound bites.
3. Practice rehearsing your the bullet points that you wrote, and get comfortable articulating your strengths and value proposition.
4. Focus: don’t let your nerves throw you off balance during the interview.  If you are facing an individual, read their body language, and adjust your responses accordingly
5. If you are facing a panel in an interview, breath, center your focus, and make eye contact with each person around the table.  This will help you both read the unspoken signals, and refine your presentation in real time.  Remember, you are always presenting-particularly in a job interview.  You may not be standing in front of an audience with your slide deck, but you most definitely are building that relationship to establish your credibility, build trust, and ultimately be asked back for a second interview.

Each organization varies in their hiring cycle.  The smaller the organization, the shorter time of the hiring cycle.  Typically large companies require more buy-in from different people in their respective departments.  The levels of approval up the chain of command varies from company to company.  As an outsider, dear job seeker, you may not be privy to that information.  Follow the lead of the interviewer.  Listen to the recruiter, the hiring manager, and the executives from the phone screening interview to the final interview.  Your chances of getting the job offer, and getting hired will increase if you respect the company’s hiring process.  Depending on the level of formality, consider asking for the job.  Or at the very least, let the interviewer know how interested you are in the company and in the job.  The best way to overcome fear is to be 100% prepared.

That’s my advice for day.  I leave you with the following song.  I like to listen to empowering songs before I make a presentation, or interview.  This song is by the Moody Blues (compliments of youtube.com)

Maybe you have a song you like? Listen to it, be prepared, and go get ‘em tiger. You can do this. You can get that job!

Disclaimer: The views expressed on the blog are strictly my own. Thanks to youtube for the video clip, and google images for the artwork.

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HFChat-Charting Your Course

Phone Screening Interviews. Like them, or hate them, you’ve got to score well on the phone screening interview to be invited to the real thing. A face to face interview is ideal, but how many of you take stock in the importance this first step? Job hunting can be hard. It can also be an opportunity for tremendous growth. Be that as it may, when you score a phone interview there are a few pertinent things you can do. Today on HFChat on Twitter, we discussed phone screening, and how that can impact your career. Moises Lopez, a sourcing expert at Accenture led today’s chat.

Our questions were basic, and yet the answers from today’s chat were truly astounding. Some of the things that were mentioned would surely make you laugh. Some would make you cry. The bottom line is this, there some basic things you should keep in mind.

1. Prepare: get ready to speak to the hiring manager, or recruiter by studying the organization, the website, or the product.
2. Make sure you are in a quiet environment. That means no external, or environmental noise.
3. Be articulate, make sure you sound clear, and smart.  Try practicing in front of a mirror, or pre-record your voice so you can hear it back before the phone screen.
4. Talk to someone in the company in advance (if you know someone) or tap into your LinkedIn network to identify a contact.
5. LinkedIn is a great place to do research about the company to prepare for the phone screening interview.  (You can also learn more about the internal recruiter and hiring manager).
6. Stand up, and smile during the interview.
7. Breath deeply before the interview, but not during-you want to sound steady, stable, and sharp.
8. Make sure you eat before, but not during the phone screening.
9. Take your dog, or cat outside, background noise might distract the interviewer.
10. Be kind, courteous, and say nice things about the company where you are currently working.  If you are not employed, say nice things about your volunteer work, or the worthwhile things you are involved in-this makes you sound sharp.

Remember to cite your sources, if you are quoting someone give them credit.  It adds to your credibility.  There is an old saying, “If I have a great vision, it’s because I’ve stood on the shoulders of giants.”  Sincerely, I must give credit to all of you, and particularly those of you who participated in today’s chat.  There’s too many people to mention in this one post.  Sincerely, I’d like to thank the HireFriday Leadership Team: Cyndy Trivella, Tom Bolt, and Steve Levy.  I’d also like to thank each and every person in The HFChat and HireFriday Community.  It is YOU that makes our chat and our community the helpful place that it is.

Your job search pal,

@HRMargo

P.S. I’m really excited to be speaking at The Brazen Careerist Social Media Bootcamp November 18.  I’ll share more about this in future posts.

Be sharp during the phone screening interview

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What follows is my photo-journal of the ERE Expo, 2011: Featuring some of my favorite people!

Career Builder-Exhibit at ERE Expo

Adam, Jeff, Carmen

HireClix ERE Expo 2011

Indeed Job Analytics-ERE Expo 2011

Jibe ERE Expo

Steve Boese and John HRHappy Hour broadcast live from ERE Expo 2011

Kevin Wheeler, Dinner at Azia, ERE Expo 2011

Kevin, Master, Steve Boese at The ERE Charity Poker Game

Don Ramer, Margo Rose, Shally

Nicole & Chris Hoyt, ERE Charity Poker Game

Don Ramer, Shally

Simply Hired ERE Expo 2011

Taleo, ERE Expo Exhibitor Booth

Margo Rose, Social Media Recruiter, ERE Expo 2011

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Cameras were rolling as the live stream blasted viral over the web. Key boards were burning from the finger tips of people tweeting rapidly, both at the conference, and inside offices around the world. If you haven’t been paying attention to the feed at EREexpo-it’s not too late. Hurry. You have one more day to reel in the information that’s flowing at lightening speed. Trends were unveiled. Raw data that hasn’t yet seen the light of day was secretly divulged to an exclusive group in a select break out session. A famous football coach (from OSU) gave an inspirational speech that made every recruiter in the room open their minds and take notice. The sponsors stole the show with eye popping exhibits, and open arms. Four words come to mind to describe my first impressions; inclusiveness, encouragement, and intellectual empowerment.

The highlight of the conference for me on both a personal, and professional level, was getting face time with my mentor, Don Ramer, CEO of Arbita.  I was thrilled to see Shannon Myers of Walton Research. Elaine Orler stole the show with her information about “The Candidate Experience.”  There are no words to describe just how much I liked each of the sessions.  This year, I had a different strategy than the previous year.  I made a decision to spend time meeting the exhibitors at the Expo, and to interact with the sponsors, and vendor partners.  Far too often people go to conferences to only attend the sessions.  I found equal value in the time I invested speaking with the people who were bringing the new technology to organizations.  That’s where the value is.  That’s where the real knowledge is exchanged.  It’s the one to one interaction that made the whole experience come to life.

Whether you were new to the occupation, returning to the occupation, a trench practitioner, or an old pro-everyone had a place, everyone learned, everyone grew, and most importantly everyone had an impact. Each person brought something interesting to the conference, be it a fresh perspective, a point of view, a tip, top technical tool, or a new way to solve a problem. What stands out in my mind as memorable is how each presenter brought their own panache, clarity, passion, knowledge, and incisive wisdom.

Old friends embraced, new friends met enthusiastically, and people were gathered in twos, and threes exchanging valuable information. This is what I call a successful conference. ERE Expo would not be complete if it wasn’t for it’s charity poker game. Sure, poker is being played, people are having fun, but did you know that the proceeds of the game go directly to charities that support educational initiatives? This year (and the count isn’t final) $8,000 was raised.

Tomorrow, I’m going to discuss in great detail what I took away from each session. I will then share information about the people I met, and interviewed for this blog. Tonight, I will leave you with this message from Mr. Todd Raphael from ERE.

Your roving reporter,

@HRMargo
Social Media Recruiter
Founder of HireFriday and HFChat

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