Chris Wellington “The Recruiting Guy”, President, The Wellington Group

“optimistic (people) are more likely to create their own luck”

This was a great quote I read in a #BNET article yesterday, and yes it had me up all night thinking, “What if all job seekers behaved this way?” Now before you take major offense, stop and think about your attitude and approach to finding a new job. You don’t have to be a displaced worker. No, all job seekers from Executive level to college grads fall into my post. Most people I connect with, literally dozens on a daily basis, for the most part don’t allow for much work, optimism and even fun in their job search. Many people tend to put in little effort and have an unrealistic expectation that “HR” or a “Headhunter” will just pick their resume out of a sea of paper/emails/HRIS profiles and, wah-lah I am hired.

The problem with this false expectation is that people don’t realize just how many OTHER people are looking for a new job or looking to change jobs, so any great employment brand or true recruiting professional is inundated with 100’s (if not thousands) of applicants each day. To that end, those who are bitter or show less than pleasant attitudes, lazy in their application or follow-up, or allow their inner emotions to control their outer attitude to the people coordinating the effort on their behalf, well you get to see the delete key.

Yes I said it; selection is at an all time high!

So how do you navigate this challenge? First start by preparing mentally, that finding a job is real work. You have to develop and execute a strategy; the right tools, a plan for using those tools, network, network, network and follow-up to show you are different from the 300 others who sent a mass LinkedIn message or email (see my previous post on “Don’t Send Your Resume to 50 Recruiters at a Time!”).

As you work through this challenge, be overly optimistic, positive and even contagious with those whom you interact. The receptionist where you dropped off your resume or met as you went in to interview, the recruiter who you have talked with three times about the job (if they are any good), peers that you network with and all the new people you meet while you are on this journey. Put in your mind each morning that you will show a smile and have a great attitude and follow-up, even if not selected for the job. Heck, many times the first person who is selected does not take the offer…are you number two in line?

Also prepare yourself each day on the amount of time and energy you will invest on your job search. I highly caution you not to make it sporadic or from the hip. Calendar out the times each day you will look at your job search agents, alerts, job boards, the people you are following on LinkedIn or the Ladders. See what is new and relevant to your background, move on from those opportunities that are not! Have a well developed and written resume, one which you can tweak to the job you are applying for and speaks to you being a fit for this need.

OK, enough of my rant for the day. After all, I may just get you on the line 3 times as we work through your next career opportunity! But as we do, expect for me to put some work back on your plate to ensure we are making the right match. For as my grandmother would say if I took too long of a break from chopping wood in Alaska, “It’s not going to get done by itself honeyboy, you have to get off your toosh and put some effort into it.”

Good luck in your job search, but take the time to do it right!

Chris

For questions or help on this and many other ideas on how to make your career search more effective contact the staff at The Wellington Group @ info@twgrecruiters.com  or visit The Career Store.

Chris Wellington “The Recruiting Guy”, President, The Wellington Group

When did granny start “text speak?” I mean come-on, my mother using a cell phone to do more than tell my father she is on the way home and what’s for dinner or a true emergency situation was a big stretch, but not anymore. Now if she can’t read my blog post, see me respond to “Facepage” as she calls it or is not Skype-ing one of my three kidos to check on them, we are in trouble. Serious, granny is not LOLing when she needs to get a hold of one of the four of us, she needs to do it now!

OK mom, grandma(s), sis, cousins, family all over the world and friends…and of course the job seekers and fellow recruiters or HR professionals. The world has changed, and with that, the World of Work has dramatically changed, and continues its evolution at a daily rate! My I-Phone asks to update apps every day, just when I am getting to the mastery level of most of them.

One quick indicator of this is the recent Pew Research Center’s study on, “Americans and their gadgets.” Yes, 85% of Americans now own a cell phone…85%. How many actually own or have home telephone service anymore? I think a more amazing fact is that more people have a cell phone than a computer, 85% to 76%. Why not? With all the new smart phones out there you can get to the web and “Facepage” without having extra baggage!

So what does this mean for recruiters and HR professionals? Great question and if you are asking it now then you are falling behind the times. For instance, many of my clients text me quick notes now, interview updates or if they have a new staff need. They can get my twitter feed right from The Wellington Group main page, and for my international clients, they can just click on the blue phone number and Skype me from any device or computer in the world. Some will even do “face-time” live just to hear my Southern-Alaskan accent. Candidates can get SMS tweeted job alerts, various tips on resume writing, job hunting secrets, etc all by way of text or through numerous smart phone apps and social media we feed into now.

Many of the latest tools, and even some of the tried and true technology, have adapted. I have people on yahoo IM which is now embedded into my ATS and Outlook so I can text or SMS to their profile just as if I am on yahoo all the time. And if we need to send out an urgent job alert to specific people in a niche or say at the CEO level (yes, they ALL have these apps on their smart phones)…one, two, three and see who calls me back! And don’t get me started on our VoIP office system…its “sick.” In fact we have yet to unlock all the capabilities this technology has to help us to get the right people, for the right job in a very efficient and short amount of time. That is recruiting!

So what are you doing to ensure your job search is also leveraging technology to get you to the right recruiter fast? Recruiters, what are you using now to help you uncover that hidden gem of talent by alerting niche groups of your latest staff opening or even temp recruitment need (wow major possibilities coming in a later blog on the impact to the temp world).

OK, so mom is texting as is John to confirm his interview so I need to hit the I-Phone, plus Ray has figured out how us single parents can order a great meal with a few touches to the screen…way cool! Stay tuned for more tips on leveraging technology in the ever changing World of Work.

Make it an excellent day!

Chris

**Note, we will not catch my father even answering his cell phone, when grandpa starts OMGing, then we are all in REAL trouble!

To retain The Wellington Group on your current talent needs, contact us at info@twgrecruiters.com or +1 910-338-2795. You can visit us on the web at www.twgrecruiters.com.