Posts Tagged ‘recruiter’

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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HireFriday is a grassroots group of volunteers who band together to help candidates around the world find work.  Today, I need your help.  If you are a recruiter, a resume writer, an executive coach, a human resources professional: WE NEED YOU.  I’m working on recruiting and deploying a team of volunteers who can work with people displaced from their jobs.  They will need immediate career transition support.  Granted, not all companies will feel the impact, but for those that do, I want to be able to pair a volunteer with a professional who will help them, guide them, lend a hand, encourage a heart, but most importantly help hurricane victims develop a job search strategy.

I am just one woman, with a tiny voice, well no a LOUD voice.  I can’t do this by myself.  I need YOU.  If you would be willing to work with our team to help hurricane victims get a leg up you will not only be helping them you will be helping our country.  We must spring into action.  The time is now.  Please, I beg of you, all I am asking for is your time.

HireFriday helps people find resources to help accelerate the re-employment process.  Our group on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter reaches out to help people every day.   The Emergency HireFriday Project is designed to serve as a rapid response to grassroots effort to help people who just need advice, help, and a source of inspiration to get back on their feet.

If you can help us, please email your telephone number to me hrmargorocks@gmail.com.

Join us, lend a hand. Encourage a heart. Change the world.

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This week on HFChat we ask: Are job boards dead or alive? Only job candidates can answer this question. Every touch point with job search candidates should be a source of positive attraction. If not your candidate attrition, and online application abandonment rate will be high (25-40% according to Afton Funk of HRMDirect.) Afton opened my eyes.

In order for job boards to remain viable, the system must interact, and engage with the candidates in a meaningful way. Every step of the process should make the candidate feel comfortable, and welcome. The days of post and pray recruiting should end. The days of job boards emailing jobs without relevancy should end. Are job boards dead or alive? This is a rhetorical question. The question is, what do candidates think? That is what matters most. What is relevant, and resonates with job search candidates? Are we listening? Are we paying attention to the candidate experience? Gerry Crispin, and other leaders in the recruitment industry have published important, and note worthy stories on this topic.

Now, how will we as a candidate community facilitate this topic? From the job search candidate perspective of course. Margo Rose will host, our weekly moderators Tom Bolt, Steve Levy, and Cyndy Trivella will have great content to share. YOU will have great content to share, because everyone wants to know your level of satisfaction, and your opinions. Please job seekers, chime in, and don’t lurk this week. We need your active participation, and we are here to add value to your job search process. Jobs are important, but your experience in the job process is critical. The candidate experience doesn’t begin at the job board, it begins when you anticipate you are ready to make a change. It doesn’t end when you get a job, it continues throughout your tenure with the company.

What are this week’s questions?

What does the candidate experience mean to you?

Are job boards friendly to your job search experience? (candidate perspective)

What do think happens to you when you input your resume into a job board? Is it going into a black hole?

Are you afraid of fake job postings, or loss leaders posted by unethical people?

How do you feel about connecting your linkedin & facebook contacts into your job board network?

How often do you refresh, and update your resume on a job board? How about Linkedin?

Are you paying a premium to have your resume sent to recruiters?

Are you a paying to be a premium member of a job board to receive priority visibility?

If you aren’t refreshing your resume (regularly) it loses it’s ranking, this particularly in legacy job boards. Are you targeting effectively? If not why? Add your comments to this list. We will address this and much, much more tomorrow.

I’m a lot of positive feedback from people that you are reading and enjoying our HFChat transcripts. I’m so happy to hear that. Please keep communicating with us. We want to hear from you. If you’d like to receive our newsletter, please click on contact us. Thanks community.

Margo Rose, Founder of HireFriday and HFChat

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Think Like A Recruiter

THINK LIKE A RECRUITER

Oh, go job yourself.  That’s right, I said it…find that job, go get it.  It’s there, it’s within reach.  There’s jobs large and small, big and tall.  Even if it seems out of reach, that job is just inches beyond your fingertips.  Never lose sight of the fact your skills have value.  They may need to be sharpened.  If they do, take that class, enroll in that apprenticeship, consider that vocational college certification.  Just do it: Go job yourself.  Don’t let anyone tell you that just because we are still in the midst of a inflationary recession there are no jobs to be had.  You might have to look a little harder.

So, here’s my suggestion: THINK LIKE A RECRUITER.

SEARCH FOR A JOB JUST AS A RECRUITER WOULD SEEK YOU-HERE’S MY SPECIAL TOP TEN TIPS FOR SECURING YOUR NEXT JOB

1. Smile and Dial. Call all the companies you want to work for, and identify the hiring manager, or business decision maker (usually the receptionist can tell you who that person is so ALWAYS be nice to the receptionist.)
2. Find someone in your contact network who can make a referral into the company where you want to be.
3. Construct a simple boolean search string. Go to google, and in the search window type (intitle: job or in url social media community manager) “manager of digital media” I use this example to demonstrate that the job social media community manager might also be called digital media manager, or manager of new media services. Your current job title may not be the same in other organizations.  Find out and search for it. For more information, follow @Shally @DaveMendoza @MaureenSharib @LevyRecruits @MarieJourney & @JimStroud. Their blogs and websites are well worth the read.
4. Copy and paste the url into a google doc for tracking. Date, and time activate the document so it tickles your calendar for follow up. (This idea came from Marie Journey.)
5. Get inside a recruiters head, and figure out what is he or she looking for–look at the job description they send you–parse your resume into bits, and pieces to accurately assess the relevant information. Remember, most employers want to know: will you do the job well, and will you be a good fit. A recruiter is paid once  you are placed.  Furthermore, they might have to refund their fee if you leave within the first 90 days to 6 months.  Remember: there is a vested interest for to you out well.  Go the next step, ask yourself? Will I fit? Do I want to do this job? Will I stay? Don’t waste your time if the answer is no.
6. Be the square peg in the square hole. If you don’t have the best qualifications for the job, a recruiter may not consider you, and send your resume on to the client.  So, when applying for a  job on your own, ask yourself, “if I were recruiter, would I hire me for this position?” Do I have the skills, knowledge, and abilities to do this job really well?  Can I deliver on the promise I’m making in my resume?  The answer better be yes.  If it isn’t, move on to the next job description.
7. Track the dates you will follow up on a calendar, be assertive not aggressive, persistence pays off in the end.
8. Be stealthy, lean and mean. Recruiters are on their A-game, I suggest you do the same. Use the internet to identify all you can about the company. Most annual reports are online, as are the names of the company’s executive.  For instance in Cincinnati, The Business Courier publishes “The Business Book of Lists.”  You can find just about anything in the resources at your local library.
9. Make friends with someone that’s really good at internet research.  Ask them for advice.  Ask them who they know. Ask them what they read. Most people love to talk about themselves. Give them a chance to do so, and listen.  Listen for interest cues, find out what their needs are, and then suggest a way you can help them fill them.
10. Be a closer, and seal the deal. Persuade the individual with whom you are dealing with that you are indeed precisely the person they are looking for, and leave them with the impression that they can’t do without you.  Be the solutions provider, be the resource.  Most of all be helpful.  People just love helpful people.  Helpfulness is contagious, make sure people want to catch it.  Do these simple things, and you will be on your way to securing that new position.

Don’t believe a word I say. Go out there and try this for yourself.  Take what you like, and leave the rest.  Some of these ideas might work for you.  Go ahead and read all you can from my colleagues. Check out this video if you have any doubts. It proves my points.

Now go out there and job yourself.

Your job search pal,

HR Margo

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Job Seekers. How do you view the world today? Are you experiencing a sense of abundance, or a sense of loss? Your viewpoint will shape what you experience. Your thoughts can color your world. Your actions can color your thoughts. Take for instance, this song, “EYES, by Rogue Wave.”

Recruiters will size you up, and your response to their cursory phone screening will determine whether or not you get to the next level. I challenge both the recruitment, and candidate community to re-tweak their lenses. Do you have 20-20 vision, or is your view clouded by your circumstances? My Mother (of blessed memory) used to say, “everybody has their bag of rocks.” Your bag might have different rocks, some might be semi-precious stones, some might be diamonds, some might be just ruddy old stones.”

Regardless of what your bag of rocks contains, polish that one gem in your bag today, and make it shine. Your attitude, experience, and demeanor is bound to improve.

Recruiters, I recommend that you not make snap judgements based on your 30 second resume scan. You might overlook an outstanding candidate. People are bound to surprise you.

Here’s my philosophy: in the final analysis, leave the place where you are a little bit better than the way you found it. My former boss, Shirley Bonekemper used to say that. That was 17 years ago. That thought has stayed with me all these years. And, you know what, every time I do that, I get letters of recommendation, and am able to continue to build future relationships.

Whether you are a candidate, or a recruiter-put on a new pair of glasses, see things clearly through the viewpoint of someone else’s eyes.

How's the view from your corner of the ring?

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