Resumes seem to be getting a lot of air time on the internet lately, including our blog. I just read an interesting article this morning and thought I would share a couple of points that the author brought to my attention. The article is written for the job seeker, but if you would like to read it, you can find it online at the Minneapolis StarTribune website. It is titled – Don’t Sell Yourself Short. One of the author’s sources gives these suggestions: I like to see key words (job titles, degrees) in bold – that way I can immediately see whether the work history and education matches the needs.… Read More
Continue ReadingDebunking the High D Myth
Many companies believe that the High D (Dominance) selling style is ideal for successful sales. First, some descriptors of this style: Direct Daring Innovative Blunt Competitive Bold Risk Taker Problem Solver Challenge-Oriented Self-Starter Inquisitive Power These traits are all admirable in a salesperson but this style, if unchecked, if a ticking time bomb. Yes, sales requires a drive, even an aggressiveness to be successful. In a previous post, I briefly discussed this style in regards to a current news story. The salesperson I mentioned could be a case study in High D sales behavior. Another experience from this salesperson. He used to visit prospects and put an intense sales push… Read More
Continue ReadingThe “So What?” Factor
I thought I would tie in to the Rock Star’s post about Attracting the Passive Candidate. Let’s look at it from the other side – what do candidates have to do to “be attractive” to the hiring company. I was catching up to an older post from Guy Kawaski’s blog and something jumped out at me. Guy playfully submitted his email cover and resume for a Yahoo position and allowed these 2 items to be critiqued by a recruiting manager from Yahoo. I thought her analysis was excellent. This part caught my attention: The resume calls out the positions held and a brief description of the responsibilities. What it lacks… Read More
Continue ReadingAttracting the Passive Candidate
In a recent article on Weddles.com (the website provides resources for employment, personal development and career success) titled The First Four Lines, the author discusses the importance of catching the candidates’ attention in ads. In their own survey Weddles has found most visitors to the online job boards are now spending more time on the online sites than in the past. They do provide some stats in the article, but unfortunately they do not provide a frame of reference as in per day, per week or per month or how much this has changed from past surveys. The article does give some great tips on attracting the passive candidates: Passive… Read More
Continue ReadingFakin’ It
We can’t stress this enough, if your first pass on applicants is to sort resumes, you are making a big mistake. Granted, you have to look at their history, but odds are you are looking at an embellished document. From workforce.com: ResumeDoctor.com says nearly 43 percent of people in a new study fibbed about their qualifications. The South Burlington, Vermont-based company scoured 1,000 résumés for factual errors on seemingly insignificant items such as dates of employment, educational and professional credentials, and job titles. The résumé-counseling company found that many people intentionally misstate or exaggerate these details in an effort to get better jobs–a tactic it says usually backfires. The study… Read More
Continue ReadingBlogs & Recruiting
Blogs Could Become Newest Recruiting Tool from the SHRM website (membership required): Blogs offer businesses an excellent and interactive communication tool. For example Microsoft has close to 3,000 blogs posted by the company’s employees. Blogs can give an insiders view of a company’s work environment to potential job candidates. This is extremely important with the younger generations (ed.-see our article), it is as important to understand the culture as it is the responsibilities of the position. For this reason companies that don’t have employee blogs could find themselves at a competitive disadvantage in recruiting. Honeywell Corp. is a good example of a company that uses blogs as a recruiting device.… Read More
Continue ReadingJob Hopping Amongst Executives
Job hopping gets much attention from companies when they are in hiring mode and rightly so. This business article provides some interesting statistics in regards to upper-level management trends. Did you know: A total of 17,612 managers from chief executive officers to vice presidents changed jobs from January through July, more than twice the 7,251 during the same period in 2005, New York-based Liberum Research said in a study released Tuesday. Of the executive changes, 1,636 were CEOs, up 50 percent from 1,089 in the first seven months of 2005 The pressure hasn’t been just on CEOs. Some 1,444 chief financial officers left their companies through July this year, up… Read More
Continue ReadingBackground Verification
In an article on Salary.com titled – Can Your Credit Report Hurt You in An Interview? An interesting statistic popped out at me – only 1 out of 5 small to medium-sized businesses run any form of background verification. 20%! I was shocked that the number is so low. Soap box time: If you are not already completing some form of background verification, start with your next hire and all subsequent hires. A true story to illustrate my point. Roughly 2 years ago, we were working with a client that was impressed with a candidate’s ability to close the deal (ask for and start the job). They liked him so… Read More
Continue ReadingEntry-Level Pay
Good article here from CareerJournal written as a “How To” for young workers entering the workforce. A good tip for any candidate from the article: Try not to play hardball at this level,” warns Mr. Gordon. But you don’t have to be a pushover either. Once you’ve got a number, remain positive about the position. Ask, don’t demand. No one wants to hear you need more money to take vacations in Cancun, but you might have a case for a higher salary if you have to move to a new city. Ask for a day or so to think it over. Another topic to be aware of is the fact… Read More
Continue ReadingJobseekers & Sites
I thought I would pass along some stats and information I found regarding job boards & recruiting. This information can be found in a recent newsletter from Weedle’s, which is a research, publishing, consulting and training firm. They surveyed 750 job seekers and asked them how much time they normally spend on a job board. Here are their findings: 29.1% spend more than 30 minutes on each job board they visit 24.5% spend 11-20 minutes 22.3% spend 21-30 minutes 18.9% spend 6-10 minutes 5.2% blow in-and-out in 5 minutes or less They also provided some suggestions when trying to determine which sites to use in recruiting active vs. passive job… Read More
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