Notice ME!

Have I mentioned the job market stinks? Unless you have been living under an umbrella in Bali with a never-ending supply of fruity umbrella drinks I am certain you know the job market stinks. Getting an interview is incredibly tough right now, not to mention actually getting a job. CEOs are working at convenience stores, grown adults are working fast food and many, many people are working unemployment.

There have been a few articles lately that discuss the lengths candidates will go to in order to get noticed by a company or hiring manager. They camp out in the lobby, the send flowers with resumes attached, the stand out in the parking lot and pass out resumes and at least a hundred other non-traditional methods. The tough part is how many job seekers see these tactics used and are then confused as to what is really appropriate for their own job search. I figured it is about time for me to weigh in on the discussion.

Without further ado, here are some common questions and my humble opinion on each.

How the heck do I get my resume past their evil on-line application system?
This is a question I get a lot. In my current role we use a system that allows us to effectively track all of our applicants. As you can imagine, we get hundreds of them for each posting and keeping up with them all without that tool would be impossible. While these onlines systems are necessary in many cases, they do not replace the human element...thank the resume gods because I kind of like my job, thanks! What they do is tell us if a candidate meets the minimum qualifications of the job. The system can't tell me if you are a hard worker or if you have a great personality. It can only tell me you have X years of experience and a particular education level. The rest is up to me.

SO...what does that mean for the job seekers? It means to apply for what you are qualified for. If the position asks for a Bachelor's degree and you only have a high school diploma then don't apply. If the position asks for 5 years of marketing experience and you have 2 years of experience working in retail then don't apply. What ends up happening to the "chronic appliers" is the recruiter begins to recognize your name as soon as they see it and no longer takes you seriously. I need to know that my candidates have an understanding of their skills and they know what they are bringing to the table. And NO...owning a home computer does not, in fact, make you a Director of Information Technology.

How long do I wait until I follow up and HOW do I follow up?
This is a tricky one. Unfortunately, all the people out there in bunny suits have ruined it for the rest of the job seeking public. Recruiters and hiring managers are "hiding out" to avoid the onslaught of crazy. I can no longer answer the phone at my desk because of the volume of phone calls I get. And that is AFTER the front desk and the HR administrator screen as many as they can catch. I couldn't possibly answer every voicemail and email I get from candidates wanting an update.

I know what you are thinking. "But, Jayna. I apply to nine hundred places and never hear a single thing back. What else am I going to do but call or email them?" To that I say - GOOD POINT. Companies not responding to applications is one of my major pet peeves. I think it is incredibly inconsiderate; however, it is often a result of too many applications and not enough recruiters. **I must interject at this point that I respond in some way to every single applicant to every single job we have. Just didn't want anyone to start pointing and screaming "hypocrite." So, if you are left hanging and want to follow up you should do a couple of things.

First, don't apply on Monday and then call on Tuesday. Many companies post a position for a specific amount of time and don't begin reviewing resumes until the end of the posting period. I would suggest following up 3 days after the posting close date. If there is no posting close date then wait 5 days from the time you apply.

Second, you should call and ask the receptionist how best to get a status on your application. The front desk typically is a great source of such information. And BE NICE to the front desk. They are my first line of defense and if you are rude to them or lie to them or wear a bunny suit they let me know. And that? Moves your application to the very back of the pile.

So, what does all this mean?
1. Make sure your resume is impeccable. No spelling errors. No grammar or punctuation errors. You never know when that missing comma is going to be the straw that broke the recruiter's back.

2. Be sure you are applying for jobs you can actually do. If you aren't a nurse, don't apply to be a nurse. If you aren't a software developer, don't apply to be a software developer. These jobs, just to use two examples, take education and experience. While I am absolutely certain that you are, in fact, a very fast learner like your resume says; it doesn't make you qualified for the job.

3. Don't harass the recruiter, the front desk receptionist, random extensions throughout the building that you find on the automated directory or the human resources department. Follow up on your application professionally and with a bit of consideration that the person you are mentally throwing in front of a fast moving train is also a person who is probably buried under a mountain of resumes.

4. Don't show up and pretend to have an interview. Um...I have a calendar and if I scheduled you to come in I think I would know it. Also? The receptionist is pretty savvy and if you don't know who exactly to ask for she'll probably catch on that you are being less than truthful. One teensy, little career tip? Lying = bad.

This may not all be the best news for job seekers. This is no magic trick or shortcut or pill you can take. I know looking for work is frustrating and irritating and sometimes demeaning, but I promise you -- being professional, leaving the bunny suit, resume cake and balloon bouquet at home will pay off in the long run. You WILL find a job and those other guys? They'll just be a punch line in some recruiter's blog.

Interviewing 101

It is no secret that the job market is tough right now. I am willing to bet that everyone out there is either out of work or has someone close to them who is. As a recruiter I see the impact every single day and it really stinks. Don't get me wrong, I love my job and I am very grateful every day that I have one, but the down economy is tough to take. The hardest part is getting to know my applicants, getting to like my applicants and then having to tell them they didn't get the job they have been so excited about.

Yes. There have been tears. And sometimes they are even the candidate's.

Many times they didn't get the job because of a poor interview. Sometimes the interviews are downright bizarre. If you are a recruiter, or have known a recruiter, the phrase, "I should really write a book about all the crazy things candidates do" isn't new to you. I know I have said that on many occasions. So, in an ongoing effort to help candidates improve the odds of getting a job in a poor economy, here is a list of interviewing tips and suggestions.

1. Attire. If the recruiter sends you an email confirming your interview time and in that email she encourages you to wear a suit?? WEAR. A. SUIT. Yes, it was just a suggestion, but it is the same suggestion made to every other candidate. If every one of them wears a suit and you don't...well, you can pretty much kiss the job good-bye. Listen to your recruiter, folks. Our goal is to fill the position with the best candidate possible and our candidates are a direct reflection of us. I want my candidates to impress the hiring manager. That way we BOTH look good. Thus the reasons I make suggestions for things you may want to do if you want to impress the hiring manager. SO...if I suggest you wear a suit just go ahead and consider that an order.

2. Be on time. Seems simply enough, right? Well, apparently not. I can't even begin to tell you how many times I have a candidate show up exactly at 2:00 when I told them that I need them to arrive 10 munutes early so we can walk to the conference room that is 2 buildings away and the entire panel of 4 interviewers is going to be there at 2 ready to start and it would really be nice if I could get you in there before them so I can introduce you and we can all start off on the right foot instead of having to speed walk to the buidling and run up a flight of stairs and slide into the conference room at 5 after and everyone is already looking at their watches wondering where the heck the candidate is. Whew...let me take a breath. Just make sure you know where you are going, how long it will take you to get there and barring any loss of limb or imminent death PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE get there on time. Oh...and in case you were wondering...on time? That means 10 minutes early.

3. Don't get too familiar too fast. I know, everyone wants to feel comfortable in the interview and it is really, really awesome when the interviewer is great to talk to and everyone is having a nice, easy conversation. It doesn't even feel like an interview, right? Maybe not, but here's a little tip, it is, in fact, an interview. Even when you are talking about this really great band you all love and want to follow around like the Grateful Dead IT IS STILL AN INTERVIEW. Please don't tell me about your great aunt's chronic bad breath or your dog's really rank farting problem. Don't say, "hell this" or "damn that" and PLEASE, PLEASE for the love of all that is professional don't use terms like "craptacular" or "trashtastic" or anything else that really shouldn't be used outside of 5th period History with Mr. "I'm Really Just Here To Coach Football So Why The Hell Am I Teaching This Subject." Be professional. Have a laugh. Smile. Enjoy the conversation, but keep it professional.

4. Let me ask you the ENTIRE question before you answer. This happens all the time. People think they know exactly what I am going to ask based on the first 4 words and they proceed to interrupt me and begin their brilliantly thought out answer. Hey...I'm all about enthusiasm, but don't you think it would be helpful to know what we are talking about? I know this interview is really all about you and I really appreciate your willingness to bare your soul, but let me at least have a few lines in the "You Movie." I might actually ask a good question here and there and sometimes, just sometimes, I ask something you didn't anticipate and you just spent 15 minutes waxing philosophical on something really, really irrelevant. Who's the idiot now? Hmm?

5. Don't bring a friend to the interview. Or your Mom. Or your girlfriend. Yes - I know. Support systems are a good thing, but seriously? Tuck a good luck note in your pocket or enjoy a pre-interview text message exchange, but leave your cheerleading squad at home. I mean, seriously, people.

Alright. I don't want you to think I make this stuff up so I now present you with some true stories from the front lines...

In the city I live in there is a river that flows through the middle of town and it is a very popular pasttime to float the river during the summer months. A candidate timed her float so that she would be able to float half way down, get out on the bank and be on time. Punctuality = Good. Showing up to an interview in a bathing suit and water shoes = bad. (Thanks Lisa for sharing this one!)

A candidate arrived for an interview during lunch hour and he showed up with fast food, spread it out on the desk and proceeded to chow down during the interview since it was his lunch hour.

A candidate brought in his cell phone, answered the cell phone when it rang during the interview and proceeded to argue with his wife while I sat and waited for him to hang up.

I now challenge my fabulous readers to share their own stories of bizarre interviews you have survived. Maybe one of these days we can actually put them all into a book! I know I would buy it.

Need a job? Here's a little tip. Or three.

**NOTE**
This is a blog I posted on my personal site, but I thought it was very relevant for this blog, too. I am reposting it here for all of you wonderful people! Enjoy!



I don't generally talk much about work on this blog and that is for several reasons. First, I don't like to think much about work when I am writing on this blog. Second, the first rule of blogging is to avoid talking about things that can get you fired from your job. Third, most of this time the really hysterical stuff that happens to me at work can't be talked about on the blog because of rule number 2. Lastly, I would like to think I have better things to talk about than work. However, judging from the number of posts lately I may be seriously deluding myself.

Anyway, for those of you who don't know, I am a recruiter. I mostly recruit IT folks and I have been a recruiter for a really, really, reeeellllyyy long time...that means I am either very dedicated or completly insane. Today I was dedicated. Tomorrow I may be insane. You just never can tell. And that? Part of my charm.

I bring this up because with the economy as crappy as it is and with the unemployment rate as high as it is I thought I would share a few little tidbits to possibly help job seekers. Basically, here is a very condensed list of my pet peeves (which means "these are the things that most recently irritated me, but it is by no means a complete list of my pet peeves because I am far more irritate-able than this measly little list").

1. No matter what the completely useless and overpriced "consultant" told you - DO NOT PUT YOUR FREAKIN' PICTURE ON YOUR RESUME. Seriously? Do you really think showing me your whimsical smile and snappy sweater are going to result in my overlooking the fact that your two years of experience selling printer cartridges at Office Depot DOES NOT, in fact, make you qualified for the Senior Network Architect position you just applied for? Really? Ummm...NO.

2. The next time you are driving down the freeway tailgating the car in front of you when they are already doing 5 miles over the speed limit in a work zone and you are honking, swerving, flipping them off and generally making an ass of yourself regardless of the fact that it is rush hour and there is literally NO WHERE FOR THEM TO GO -- I want you to consider that at your next job interview that person is the recruiter. Just think about it. For a second. OK...good. Now. Thank me for my time and go home and remove "Calm under pressure" from your resume. 'Cause you? Aren't getting the job.

3. At your next interview please don't show up an hour early. Cause that? NOT. ON. TIME. It is, in fact, an hour early. And irritating. I know I don't have to go out in the lobby and greet you and interview you right then because you will quite happily wait until the actual scheduled interview time, but that doesn't help. See - I will sit at my desk for that hour thinking about you sitting in the lobby and I will wonder if the receptionist thinks I am a total loser for making you wait there because I must be too good to actually treat my candidates nicely and I will wonder if you are beginning to get irritated at me and if maybe you need to pee and I can't focus on the task at hand and so I end up going out and getting you early and interviewing you early, but I am all irritated and I don't really like you anymore because I was totally going to go to Starbucks real quick for my latte until YOU showed up EARLY and I just really hate you right now because I really need caffeine and YOU screwed up my master plan and you know what? Not hiring you!

I could so go on, but I am ready to go to bed. All the grumpy made me tired. Now go and take your freakin' picture of your resume. Seriously? A picture? Sheesh.

Hello? Remember me? Your candidate?

All the recruiters who have been given a requirement that is HOT HOT HOT and must be filled RIGHT NOW raise your hand.

OK, put 'em down.

All the recruiters who have submitted rock star talent to that requirement in a flash and then waited two weeks for feedback raise your hand.

OK, put 'em down.

All the recruiters who have then lost the rock star talent to another position only to have the hiring manager call back the very next day and want to hire them raise your hand.

OK, put 'em down. Now slap the hiring manager.

Just kidding about the slapping part, but I know you thought about it. I know I did.

So how do recruiters keep from losing our candidates when the hiring managers are slow on the response? COMMUNICATION. If you are not talking to your candidates frequently and keeping them engaged in the process they are going to move on. Good candidates don't sit around waiting for the phone to ring. They are either working or they are very actively seeking a position and won't wait around for you.

One of the chief complaints from job seekers working with recruiters is, "They submitted my resume and I never heard from them again." Recruiters are notorious for calling a job seeker and telling them how great the job/manager/opportunity/location/etc is and then they interview the candidate and then submit the candidate and everyone is all happy and in love and then....nothing. {insert sound of crickets here}

No feedback from the manager often means no feedback for the candidate. Little tip. Candidates hate that. Not calling a candidate only makes things harder in the long run because they are going to call you at some point and they aren't going to be happy and they are going to leave tons of messages and you are going to avoid them and then they are going to start following you and stalking you and you are going to get all paranoid and...oh wait...maybe that was a movie.

Most of the time the issue is simply a recruiter that doesn't want to call a candidate and tell them they don't know anything yet. They don't want to call and tell them the manager wasn't impressed and doesn't want to interview them again and most certainly doesn't want to hire them. They don't want to call and tell them the hiring manager won't return calls or emails. It is much easier to not call at all.

Bad recruiter. No cookie.

Call your candidates people! Call them and tell them you are doing everything you can to get feedback from the hiring manager, but the hiring manager is extremely busy and has not gotten back to you yet. Tell them you respect their job hunt efforts and while you hope you don't lose them to another opportunity you understand they can't sit around and wait.

I know what you are thinking..."How the hell am I supposed to recruit on 20 positions and get all these new submittals AND keep in touch with all the old submittals? Do you think I never sleep?" The trick is to make it part of your weekly schedule. Every Friday afternoon send an email to each and every candidate you have submitted and tell them that you haven't forgotten them and you will keep them posted, but unfortunately you don't have any information. If you need to you can even do one email and blind copy everyone.

Trust me. Sending a short email on Friday will save you a ton of time on Monday. Why? Because all those candidates aren't calling you on Monday asking what is going on. They have all entered the weekend fresh from an email from you and are thrilled with your personal touch and responsiveness even though you have just told them...well...nothing.

Oh yeah...and don't forget one very important thing. Your candidates? Prefer to know the hiring manager didn't like them rather than sit around and wonder what the heck is going on. Don't be afraid to pass along bad news. Just make sure to package in a non-hurtful, constructive criticism kind of way. It's a far, far better thing to know you didn't get the job than to always wonder how bad it must have been for the recruiter to never call again.

Orthopedic Shoes Optional...

An interesting topic was brought to my attention a few days ago by one of my readers...what agencies are out there recruiting for older candidates? I had to admit that I was stumped. ARE there any agencies out there for an older demographic? I wasn't sure...and I said as much. I guess the upside of not having an answer is that it got me thinking about my approach to candidates in the "older demographic."

What is my approach, you ask? Well, my approach is that I am looking for the absolute best candidate to fill my client's open position and I don't really give two figs how old you are, what brand of shoes you prefer or how you take your coffee. What I care about is:

ARE YOU A FIT FOR THE JOB?

As a recruiter it is important to consider many things during the screening process and your skill set is only one of them. When I talk to my candidates about a job I want to know many, many things and your age...well...let me repeat: I.DON'T.CARE. And any recruiter worth the paper their business card is printed on doesn't.

OK...I'll be me and you be the candidate. I'll ask some questions and you think about the answers:

--- What are you doing in your current role?
--- What do you like about it?
--- What would you change about it if you could only pick one thing to change?
--- What do you want to get out of your next job?
--- If you could go back to school and study for any profession you wanted to then what would it be?
--- If you were in charge (assuming you aren't already) what would you change about the corporate culture specifically?

I bet I know what you're thinking..."What's with all the 'touchy-feely,' 'let's sing a song by the campfire' crap? Pony up some technical questions Ms. Technical Recruiter." I do actually ask questions about the skills you bring to the table, but in my not-quite-as-humble-as-I-probably-should-be opinion, your technical skills are secondary once I get past the resume review part.

What good are your skills if you hate the work environment my client offers? No good at all I tell you. No.Good.At.All. You won't be successful if you prefer a board shorts and flip flops environment and I put you into a boardroom and suit environment. You'd probably rather hang yourself with that tie. Right?

Where does age come into all this you may possibly be wondering right about now...well, it goes hand-in-hand with the environment you prefer. If I know my client has, for whatever reason, a team that is all "down with the man" and you ARE "the man" then you may possibly be heading into a lion's den. If you are someone who has never worn a suit - much less actually knows how totie a tie - well, it is very possible your co-workers could end up hanging you with the tie.

I guess what I am saying is that age is irrelevant to me. I only care that you are going to absolutely love the culture I am hoping to put you into and that you can do the job I am hoping to put you into. My advice to any job seeker is to find a recruiter that feels the same way I do.

I encourage you to identify a recruiter that both specializes in your career field and who you build a positive rapport with. That recruiter is going to see your value and they are going to work hard for you. Ask the recruiter this: "Are you looking to fill your open position with A person or THE person."

When the recruiter talks to you about a job you need to pay attention. Do they ask you about the kind of culture you like? Do they tell you anything about the company with the job opening or just the job itself? Do they ask you what you want to be doing or just what you are doing?

Those distinctions matter...A LOT. So, in answer to my reader's question about whether or not there is an agency out there specializing in an older demographic...well, I still don't know the answer to that one. What I do know is there are a lot of really good recruiters out there specializing in making the best match between their clients and their candidates and those recruiters make age irrelevant.