First off, the word “wacky” should not be used in any form of writing. Second, this Yahoo Hot Jobs article – Wacky Job-Seeker Stunts – lists some . . . zany gimmicks for attempting to land a marketing/advertising position: Puts up posters of himself in your company parking lot. Attaches pineapple scratch-and-sniff stickers to his resume. Announces his candidacy with a singing telegram. Sends lottery tickets with her resume. Rents a billboard that you can see from your office to list his qualifications. Bakes cookies with icing to write several reasons why she should be hired. Delivers pre-paid Chinese food, including a fortune cookie with his name and number. Yeah,… Read More
Continue ReadingNow Is The Time
We have been sourcing for a handful of sales positions around the country this past weekend and we are starting to see some potential movement of strong candidates. What I mean is that there is some contraction about to start among large sales forces. Some strong salespeople will be pushed out in the contraction which makes for an excellent time to expand or upgrade your sales team. Revenue-generating positions are always a priority no matter what the economy does. A slowdown generally pushes companies towards cost-saving maneuvers which is good for sales hiring – some good salespeople are going to be squeezed out. One example is a candidate we recently… Read More
Continue ReadingComeback Careerists
That title is for John Sumser – one more colloquialism for the recruiting world. The Wall Street Journal offers up this article to discuss mothers re-entering the workforce after taking extended time off (years) to raise their family. I have a soft spot in my heart for this topic since my wife recently reentered the workforce after taking 8 years off. It took her some time, but she landed an ideal position at a medical clinic. That isn’t always the case: Though 74% do find work, only 40% say they are gainfully employed in full-time, mainstream jobs. “There is still a tremendous amount of stigma and suspension when employers see… Read More
Continue ReadingAvoidable Sales Ads
Hiring strong salespeople is just about the most difficult hire any company can attempt to make. One of the reasons it is difficult is due to the types of ads that companies use when sourcing. Here is a prime example: Detailed Description Prospect region to identify new Referral vendors Provide regional support for National Referral relationships Re-engage Referral Endorsers not assigned to current reps Introduce (Company) to Referral vendors Manage paperwork for registering Referral vendors Educate Referral vendors on (Company) products and services Manage leads received through Referral vendors Develop (Company) solutions for referred leads Complete profit assistants and proposals for referred prospects Submit orders and process paperwork for provisioning… Read More
Continue ReadingQ2 Hiring To Remain Consistent
That title probably got your attention. The economy is completely dynamic so things can change, but the quarterly CareerBuilder.com/Harris Interactive survey came back with some surprising results (my editing). “The job loss reported in the first quarter signified a gradual deceleration in recruitment in the U.S. as the nation’s economy downshifted,” says CEO, Matt Ferguson. “In the next three months, employers anticipate marginal change in their hiring pace. While some industries are experiencing a contraction in employment levels, areas such as information technology, healthcare, professional and business services and sales continue to add full-time jobs.” …29% of employers state plans to grow their number of full-time, permanent employees from April… Read More
Continue ReadingCulling The Applicant Herd
Forbes.com offers up an article about companies hiring large numbers of employees. How large? Infosys received 1.3 million résumés last year. “In peak seasons we receive around 6,000-10,000 resumes in a day,” says Nandita Gurjar, vice president of human resources development at Infosys. And you thought you had a pile of resumes to get through. The article explains how many of these companies are using online tests or questionnaires at the first step in the process. Clearly, as cold as it sounds, they would have to do some sort of first-pass, automated filter to handle this level of response. After the initial culling, one casino uses a unique approach to… Read More
Continue ReadingShould Have Been A Court Reporter
My wife once took classes to become a court reporter. She even bought her own stenograph (is that what they are called?) for the training. Unfortunately, she never completed the training due to other circumstances. Unfortunate because court reporters earn an average salary of $59,970. CNN.com reports this number in their article Five surprising salaries: Surprising salary: $59,970*. You might not have thought typing could earn you so much money, but once you realize court reporters can’t miss a word — often in fast-talking situations — it makes more sense. Here is the other end of the surprising salaries spectrum: Surprising salary: $27,070. Seeing as paramedics have high stress jobs… Read More
Continue ReadingRecessions Are Tactical Problems, Recruiting Is Strategic
Steven Rothberg over at CollegeRecruiter.com provides a money quote in his post Why Today’s College Students Need Not Fear Exploding Offers. Obviously, Steven’s market is geared towards college students, but this paragraph is applicable to all businesses when it comes to hiring (emphasis mine): The recession of 2001-03 was worse than the recession of 2008 and employers are looking backwards in order to better understand what to do as they move forwards. Although many and perhaps most employers have scaled back their college hiring plans for this spring, there’s little talk of exploding offers. More employers realize that recessions are tactical problems and college recruiting is strategic. You don’t solve… Read More
Continue ReadingHow NOT To Describe Your Education
This sentence is from a cover email regarding a sales position: I am educated up to an MBA. I still am not sure what that means.
Continue ReadingGen Y Retention Strategies That Work
Yesterday I posted on this “determine your own vacation time” approach to management. It is totally foreign to me. Today I come across another company with the same approach. This HRE Online article – In Their Own Words – contains comments provided by Gen Y workers on a recent survey. First the vacation comment (my empahsis): CarMax “Time away from work policy instead of vacation and sick days. There is not a set amount of time you can take, you just work it out with your manager. The office’s atmosphere is very bright and open. Management is very accessible and will answer any questions that you have. They encourage management… Read More
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