JobBurner CampFire

Internet discoverability

gretchen — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 23:37:00 GMT

Computer World: Web anonymity can sink your job search: Your Web presence can make or break a job application

The whole debate about "do recruiters and hiring managers look candidates up on the web?" (yes, many do) - and "can negative information hurt you?" (yes, if it's really bad) - has gone around and around the last few years. And if you read the comments of this article, apparently folks are still discussing it. :)

But the real intent of this article ... that when it comes down to applying for roles with web savvy companies which require influence / leadership with other web savvy people,not having a web presence could hurt you ... is a good message to get out. When I coach jobseekers, the first thing I do is look them up on the web. There's a lot of companies out there (start-ups, internet based companies, community-focused technology companies, etc) that want to hire people who are already passionate about interacting with others through the internet. When I find a jobseeker who has no internet presence at all, I usually advise them to do one of these things listed in the article. It's not only a great way to build an outline portfolio - but these activities can provide valuable experience and maybe help you realize an untapped passion.

Pairing tradition with creativity

gretchen — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 23:18:00 GMT

A few weeks ago, I talked about and linked to a ERE article on video resumes. Last week, Raghav Singh, the author of the original article, was back on ERE revisiting his first remarks on the subject. One point he raises, which he touched on in the first article and I reiterated over here, is that recruiting is a very traditional and structured process - and love video resumes or hate them - a recruiting organization's capability to accept, digest, and evaluate video resumes (or anything other than your standard paper resume) is limited. "Recruiting" as practice and profession just isn't very tech savvy and quick to evolve. I do think that we'll increasingly see company's recruiting departments adopting new technology and getting "hip" to their candidates ... eventually ... but it's a slow journey and I don't think certain elements of the recruiting process (like traditional resumes, in-person interviews, etc) will ever go away, no matter what new technologies pop up.

So keep this in mind when you are figuring out how to impress your next employer. It's ok to get creative, but also respect tradition and their tried and true processes. When in doubt, do what's expected / required and then go the extra mile.

gretchen

your burning job search questions

gretchen — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 23:59:00 GMT

I've been writing job search and recruiting blogs for a few years now, and at some point, I've probably blogged about every topic out there. Sometimes I focus on advice; sometimes it's interesting chatter out in the blogosphere; sometimes it's just my own observations. But I want to hear about what you want me to write about. I can pontificate in a vacuum all day but if I'm not giving you the content you want or need, there's not much point.

So what do you want to know? Do you want resume advice, interview advice, negotiation advice? Do you have specific questions? Do you want me to pass along hot job search or recruiting tips or stories that I read across the web - or have you seen all this before? Should we talk about interesting companies and jobs? Do you want to share your own experiences through this blog? I'm here for you - so let's talk about what you want to.

gretchen

crossposted to the employer hotspot

be choosy when it comes to your career

gretchen — Mon, 12 Mar 2007 23:19:00 GMT

Over on the CareerHub blog today, Louise Fletcher (whom I consider to be the queen of the job search) gives some great advice for how to go about choosing a career professional. This is excellent advice you if you are thinking about seeking help on your resume or job search.

HotJobs posts on Craigslist; Monster says "no way!"

gretchen — Wed, 07 Mar 2007 19:39:00 GMT

Golly. Everyone is all in a tizzy today over HotJobs posting one of their openings on Craigslist. As Dave Manaster says, from a recruiting perspective, this is a non-story. It's ridiculous to think that a company could successfully recruit from only one channel - and yes, even if that one channel is their own ... And as someone who is working with a job board while also consulting with employers and job seekers, I would NEVER suggest you put all your eggs in one basket. Job and candidate searches are multi-faceted processes. If you are an employer, you need to be driving traffic through job boards (yes, more than one), employee referrals, events, your own website, outreach campaigns, targeted sourcing, etc. And likewise if you are a jobseeker.

On another note, I recently noticed that Monster expressly states that competitors can't post their jobs on the site: "All Users agree not to ... post any jobs on any Monster Site for any competitor of Monster or posting jobs or other content that contains links to any site competitive with Monster." Gee, talk about touchy. None of the other big boys have this rule, and Monster even lists it very first in their "prohibited uses" section ... ahead of less important items like, I don't know, falsifying biographical information, promoting pyramid schemes, or reverse engineering the site? Hey, if HotJobs - or even Monster for that matter - wants to post over here on JobBurner, we welcome you. As long as your jobs are tech focused, of course. ;-)

cross posted to the hotspot blog

What irks you about job descriptions?

gretchen — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 23:18:00 GMT

Been thinking a lot about resume and job descriptions lately (what's new?) :) - and I wanted to throw this out:

What's your biggest pet peeve with job descriptions?

I'll start: Careless typos. Poor grammar. Internal acronyms. Absolutely no WIIFM (what's-in-it-for-me?) to sell great candidates.

You? I'm asking employers the same question about resumes over on the HotSpot Blog, and I'll report back. Hope to hear from you. :) It's been awfully quiet around here, and I'm getting a little sad ...

What jobseekers want: a stable and highly personal experience

gretchen — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 21:53:00 GMT

An article in yesterday's Boston Globe discusses the rebounding tech job market. The article mentions conventional compensation and new wooing techniques - something I definitely think makes this "tech boom" stand apart from the past:

One difference today is that job candidates are more concerned about salary and conventional compensation. The allure of stock options has faded in an era where initial public offerings are less common. "There were days in the bubble where it wasn't unusual for someone to take a $200,000 pay cut in exchange for 8 or 10 percent of the company and the promise of an IPO," recalled Flint at Polaris.

Today, employers have to offer competitive benefits. GetConnected, a company that creates specialized software for retailers, is sponsoring a job fair tomorrow at its offices in the North End. The company, which is trying to hire 20 engineers to support its growth, is boosting its contribution to employee health plans. It's also offering pet insurance along with its 401(k) and flexible spending account.

And company managers are trying to entice candidates with their collaborative culture and proximity to good Italian restaurants.

Most employers these days are thinking more rationally and long-term about what they can offer employees (fantasy stock options - no, awesome health care benefits - yes), and like-wise, jobseekers want to feel like the employers care. Established companies are having to prove they care about the individuals applying to their companies - or else they risk losing them and they know that. A trend you won't be able to ignore will be the increasingly "personalized" experience employers will almost have to mass produce for their applicants and interview finalists. I find it all very fascinating to watch - but then again, I'm a dork.

So be on the look-out. Which companies out there seem they care the most about your candidate and employee experience?

via BostonWorks Hiring Hub

Resigning with humor and ... um ... vengeance

gretchen — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 23:45:00 GMT

Ok, kiddies, it's Friday so time for some job silliness. Today, resignation letters. Hey, if you are looking for a new job, chances are a resignation letter is in your future ... but maybe you don't want to use these as your template. :) Excerpts from some of my favs:

Finally, I have to say that this place has eaten one year of my life and I am fully responsible for it, but you are the one who makes everyone’s life miserable.
You sucks & you stink like rotten pig.
Hate is a small word to describe my feeling for you.
Hope to see you bankrupt soon (which is inevitable).
I am resigning...
Submitted with due hatred

*************

Dear faceless corporate entity:

As you are doubtless unaware, many of your corporate decisions over the past few years seem to be guided by a confusing mix of one part tidal forces, one part astrology, and one part the mad ravings of some of our institutionalised clients. Many of your former staff have elected not to accompany you in your corporate journey of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. I intend to join them.

*************

Per our employee handbook, I am giving two weeks notice of my resignation. You will probably notice that I am not the first person to jump off this ship before it sinks. Perhaps my leaving will save the company enough money to purchase new mixers and replace the ones which were purchased when the company was started in the late 40s.

. . .

In any case, I wanted you to know that I'm not leaving because of the mistake on my holiday bonus last year, or the fact that I can't read half the document attachments that come in my email because I'm still on Word 95. No, I am leaving because you clearly do not believe that this company is worth the investment of good, well-running equipment for either your office or manufacturing staff. And if its not worth your investment, sir, it is not worth my investment, either, and I am certainly not going to waste 40 of the best hours of my week on a bad investment. Good day.

*************

I can no longer spread my sheets or e my mails. I just don't Excel. My point has lost its power, and my micro is soft. I can't access my binder, basically my photo is shopped. Time to be recycled.

College students, recruiting and the internet

gretchen — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 20:43:00 GMT

Over on ERE today, recruiting guru Kevin Wheeler discusses online recruiting and marketing for college students: Web Hell and the Black Hole
Make your college recruiting website most effective.

You are a 20-year-old first-time job seeker just about to graduate with an engineering degree. And you have no idea how to look for that first position.

You have just discovered that your school has a placement office, but you have missed all the interview schedules and aren't convinced the placement folks can help you very much anyway.

The people you talked to are either old fogies who have never worked anywhere but at the university or students younger than you are. One of your friends says, "Take a look at the websites at some of the companies you think might be cool places to work." So off you go into Web hell and the black hole.

Kevin goes on to talk about, essentially, how most college recruiting and career sites out there today stink - and why it's important for companies to realize the importance of connecting with their college audience through the web. As a marketing communications gal myself who has worked behind the scenes on many a career site, I'm all for this. The baseline needs to be much, much better.

But Kevin also says something interesting that I, in all my travels, haven't felt to be as true. He writes: "Every student that I teach or talk to tells me it (the internet) is their primary, and in many cases, only source of information about the company and employment at the company."

Yes, I think and know the internet is a huge part of college culture these days - but I still find word of mouth marketing is by far the strongest pull on college campuses. This word of mouth marketing could happen in class or on campus - and yes, a large portion happens out online (through places like blogs, myspace, facebook, etc). But, at least in my opinion, it's happening within a college student's existing network - online and in-person. I've found most college students use this network to help them determine where they'd like to apply, and once they have an interview arranged, then they might venture out to a company's career site to learn more. But they don't necessarily visit that career site early on to, as Kevin says, find "some of the companies you think might be cool places to work." They tend to rely on their friends, parents, and professors for that guidance.

I don't know. Maybe I'm a crazy recruiter type who has no idea what it's like to be in college anymore. What do you think? What's the role of the web in helping college students decide where to apply and work? If you are currently in college, how are you researching your career plans?

gretchen

The 10 second pitch at networking events

gretchen — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 23:33:00 GMT

I'm attending a networking event tonight (which I'll cover in more detail tomorrow over on the Employer HotSpot blog), and I always have to remind myself to practice that 10 second pitch beforehand. You know, the "where do you work, what do you do, why does it matter?" line. Back when I worked at Microsoft, it was easy: "I work in recruiting at Microsoft." "Oh, cool," people would reply. That pretty much answered all their questions so I didn't need to go into more detail. Now that I've moved on, I find it's as bit more difficult to explain my relevancy. Of course, the whole reason to go to networking events is meet new people and hopefully introduce them to something new about you or your company. But I do find I have trouble now succinctly explaining where I work, what I do, and why it matters. So I just have to take the extra time to practice in advance to make sure I spit it out before I feel that glazed look coming back at me. :)

Be sure you've always got that 10 second pitch down. And depending on the venue, it may change. It's important to make it relevant for your audience. Tonight, I'm attending a function hosted by some recruiting technology providers for Seattle area recruiters - so my pitch will be around recruiting and recruiting technology. But a few months ago, I attended the Blog Business Summit, and my pitch was around social marketing as it relates to recruiting. And occasionally, I attend developer events, like local user group meetings - where my pitch is more around my recruiting and marketing focus with the developer community.

Take a few minutes to write down your pitch and then say it into the mirror. It will make your evening go a lot more smoothly. I promise. :)

gretchen

Get relevant with your resume

gretchen — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 18:13:00 GMT

During an interview for my first post-college job, the recruiter asked me, “If you were to write an advertisement about why someone should hire you, what would it say?” I thought this was an odd question, and I think I rattled off something about being hard working, creative, blah, blah, blah. I suppose the idea of writing an advertisements about me just a seemed a little foreign. Who does that?

Flash forward several years. One of my responsibilities these days is advising jobseekers on how they should present their expertise and experience via a resume … and one big theme I always find is that most jobseekers don’t realize that their resume is an advertisement, just like that silly ad I made up in my head for the recruiter. In school, we are trained to write a resume that covers major highlights like education and work experience. And truly, most resumes I read are just that … lists upon lists of work responsibilities, training, extra curricular activities, etc. Most students and professionals (and I was one of them) view their resume as a document where you capture as much of your history as possible.

Instead, a resumes is a place where you should highlight your most relevant history, and while you want to be truthful, you should always approach it as advertisement to the employer. This is your chance to sell; don’t make the employer read between the lines.

Here’s what I suggest doing to infuse relevancy into your resume:

Determine a general career plan and start with a general resume. Ok, so you are software engineer and you want to stay a software engineer? Great. That’s your first hook: show the employer why you have been and continue to be a great software engineer. If details you might normally include – like specific job responsibilities or past training – don’t show a direct correlation between you and a software engineering job, consider if they even need to be on your resume. In most cases, they probably don’t, but at the very least, you can move them near the end.

Pinpoint specific jobs, companies, or industries. Beyond your general career plan, do you have specific goals? Maybe you want to work on web technologies. Or maybe you want to work in the healthcare industry. Or work as a developer but definitely not a tester. Or work for a specific company. Comb through your resume once more to make sure you are highlighting the most appropriate experiences. At this stage, you (hopefully) have more than one employer or job in mind so it’s ok to have a few customized versions of your general resume.

Include a clear WIIFM (what’s-in-it-for-me?) for employers. A summary statement at the top of your resume which states why you are qualified for the role is a great place to start. This is, in essence, your 3 sentence advertisement and should prove a direct correlation between your experience and skills and the advertised job. A summary statement is the "new" objective statment. :)

Call out your accomplishments, not just your responsibilities. This sounds self explanatory but there’s a fine line between describing what you did and describing why what you did was important. If it wasn’t important and just a task you did as part of your daily job (administrative work, for example), consider if you should include it. And if it was important, be sure to include as many details as possible. The reader will want to understand your specific role, the scope of the work, and the result.

And with a targeted and relevant resume, the next time a recruiter asks, "If you were to write an advertisement about why someone should hire you, what would it say?”, you'll know exactly how to respond. ;-)

gretchen

Bad interview techniques

gretchen — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 15:06:00 GMT

TGIF and time for some more don't-try-this-at-home stories. Today, I found a good list of interview no-nos: How Not to Act in a Job Interview. Here's a sampling, and trust me .... I totally believe these happened.

Applicant claimed to be so well qualified that if he didn't get the job, it would prove the company's management was incompetent.
Applicant wore a Walkman, claiming she could listen to the interviewer and the music at the same time. (This one has happened to me before.- GL)
Applicant asked to see the interviewer's resume to see if the personnel executive was qualified to interview him.
Applicant refused to get out of his chair until interviewer agreed to hire him. Interviewer had to call the police to have him removed.
Applicant asked who the "lovely babe" in the picture was. When the interviewer said it was his wife, applicant asked if she was home now and wanted the interviewer's phone number. The interviewer called security.

Put the "you" in resume

gretchen — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 00:42:00 GMT

I think we've mentioned this before, but CareerHub is one of our favorite jobseeker advice blogs. It's written by a group of resume writers and job search / career coaches and speaks to a variety of topics. Of course, I think I hand out pretty darn good advice, too - but you know CareerHub has to be good if it's the place where even I go for inspiration.

I really like the advice in this recent entry Using Your Personal Voice in a Resume by Jean Cummings. While resumes need to follow a standard convention, it's also possible to spruce things up, especially if you're applying to a company which receives lots of applications. Jean provides some advice in how to let your true voice shine through.

We talked about some ways how to attract (good and bad) attention yesterday, and while letting your personality shine through your resume isn't necessarily the most hey-here-I-am! statement, it's a great, simple place to start.

gretchen

Hi. I'm here. Hire me.

gretchen — Wed, 21 Feb 2007 19:30:00 GMT

You may have read about the guy who flew to California (with no appointment) to pitch a business idea to Google ... and he blogs about it on CanGoogleHearMe.com. Technically, Aaron wasn't applying for a job with Google, but I see these types of tactics pretty often - and before you jump a plane and show up in the lobby of your employer of choice (or even email them an unsolicited business idea), it's important to know what you are getting into.

First, the show-up-on-the-company's-doorstep-unannounced approach ... I wouldn't advise it. And I'm not just saying that because I think everyone should follow official HR application processes. I don't. But while you may think showing up off the street and asking for an interview may demonstrate how you love to take chances, have tons of passion, and never take "no" for answer, it may say to the employer that you may have issues with business maturity and respect for their boundaries. It also puts the employer in a very awkward position. You may be a total rock star, but is it fair to the rock star who couldn't hop a plane (for whatever reason ... work commitments, finances, etc) that you received an in-person interview just because you showed up? There's lots of reasons why an employer wouldn't be comfortable granting a spontaneous in-person interview and those reasons vary - but in general, there are better ways to get noticed and break through the red tape.

And what about sending in business ideas? That's another potentially sticky situation. I noticed on Aaron's blog that Google has a web form submission for business ideas, and there's a a few reasons for that, like legal protection for both you and the company as well as making sure your idea gets to the right people. You email a business idea to an employee; two years later that same idea emerges in a released product; you wonder why the company just stole your idea. They may not have ... it could just be one of those ideas that was a natural progression or even already in development. Chances are your idea never even reached the team you were submitting it to. But how do you know? You don't. I see business ideas frequently submitted as part of employment applications, and again, if you want your idea to be heard, I'd suggest submitting it through more official channels.

So what are some better ways to get your candidacy or business ideas noticed? Well, first, applying through official channels is always the best initial step. Legally, it gets you into the right systems. Next - and this isn't rocket science, network. This could be in-person or virtual networking - but good ol' fashion networking really does work in connecting with the right people. There are ways to network correctly so again be sure you're conveying the right image to employers.

And there are plenty of ways to get creative without hopping a plane. If you start a blog about your quest to work at a company, chances are the right people will find you - without your ever having to leave your home. That doesn't mean you'll be hired, but you won't be ignored either. And other tactics work, too. My personal favorite attention grabber was Michael Swanson's cardboard cut-out that he sent Microsoft (creative - but not obtrusive). More ideas and stories here.

So bottom-line, it's ok to be creative and passionate and professionally persistent ... but there's better and worse ways to go about it. Some of the best ways may be so much easier (at least less costly) than you imagined.

gretchen

More Friday resume funnies

gretchen — Fri, 16 Feb 2007 17:01:00 GMT

That's right. It's Friday so it's time for me to scour the internet for really bad excerpts from resumes. Today I throw in some cover letter bonuses, too. Enjoy.

Oh, and have I mentioned I hate cover letters. Really hate them. A short and sweet intro email is fine, but oh my gosh, these cover letter lines below are way too familiar.

Resumes:

I have a bachelorette degree in computers

I eat computers for lunch

Previous experience: Self-employed -- a fiasco

Married, eight children. Prefer frequent travel

Objectives: 10-year goal: Total obliteration of sales and federal income taxes and tax laws

Cover letters:

I saw your ad on the information highway, and I came to a screeching halt.

Please disregard the attached resume -- it is terribly out of date.

My fortune cookie said, 'Your next interview will result in a job' -- and I like your company in particular.

I don't usually blow my own horn, but in this case, I will go right ahead and do so.

You are privileged to receive my resume.