This is a line we either hear every day or we ask each other jokingly here at The Wellington Group. See we get this question from various clients we are calling or those who reach out to us for help with their talent search needs. We also seem to be asking this a lot of both other recruiters and VARIOUS vendors that want us to lock into some over-priced contract to attain more “resume traffic flow.”

So, Human Resources and company Hiring Managers or Executives ask all the time now, “Do you really have candidates?” This is for good reason, in two parts. The first, they have exhausted their own candidate pool and resume flow or the flip side is happening and they are just too overwhelmed to go through all the applicants! The second part to this question involves all the countless one-time callers from various recruitment firms, staffing companies, mom and pops firms, or recruiting professionals who see their needs and are looking for new clients. Well why then would they (HR and Hiring Managers) continually ask this question if they need the help? Easy, too many recruiters who call and say, “We have the people for this job,” and a few days later…nothing, nada, zilpo, zilch. Not in their niche, did not truly have the candidates or was the sales person for the recruiting company and they are now trying to sell the recruitment team on this new client…crazy!

“Mr. Wellington, this is Jack from ABC Recruitmentpros, Inc and we have people to meet your needs…” Calls I get, or my staff does, daily from another firm or from those in our recruiting networks who seem to have people…not really. Again, what we get is either NOTHING or they send us people who have a few keywords and no true sound interview details as the recruiter/firms has not honestly read the job description off our website. “Jack, we don’t need a 30 year career Scientist for a Jr level Chemist job.” Extreme example, perhaps but nonetheless it’s true. Just looking to move some paper and not truly looking for that ideal career match for their candidate.

Finally it’s the vendors we get massive calls from, or in my consulting I hear about all the time from clients. Yes the product or service sounds great, but is it? What can they guarantee? What, no guarantees in the job board, job posting, job anything space…nope! You get a contract and service, can’t find what you need here (like I said you would in my sales pitch) then on to my next potential client while you burn up valuable time using our tool in hopes to find some, any relevant talent.

So what can you learn from this…it depends? What side of the desk or phone are you sitting on? If you are on the HR or hiring side, ask for references from current clients, search their site to see if they really have other similar candidates or current talent searches (no matter what vendor), heck even look at their LinkedIn profile for details about their recruitment expertise. But, what you should be doing is negotiating a way out, if in a short amount of time the service or tool is not performing. If in fact you are making that call into a client, good. Just ensure the database, network or tool you are trying to push is what the client needs and wants. Are you in their niche? How many similar clients has your firm / tool serviced? What is the count of those types of people in your database, tool or network? Will your recruiters truly engage and help your new client find this person?

It floors me that clients will ask many of these questions of our firm or expect us to layout why a person is an exact fit with painstaking detail but turn around and take anyone on who “may” have a solution but “has” no clue to these answers. Maybe I can just start saying, “I don’t know.” Not a chance. Do your homework and make sure your call into HR, a Hiring Manager or a fellow recruiter is advantageous and not a time waster. After all, time has become even more precious in the changing World of Work as we are all doing a lot more with a lot less.

Do you really have candidates? Great, well let’s get them to work and get this economy moving!

Chris

To hire The Recruiting Guy as a speaker or trainer visit The Recruiting Guy or contact The Wellington Group @ info@thewellington-group.com. 

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.

Are you consistently showing up as the person everyone expects? Or, are you Chris, Kris, Christopher, “The C Man,” etc as your mood, personality, professionalism and even attire change based on how you are feeling that day?

When you walk in the office door each morning, pick up the phone to call clients or peers, are you doing so in your own character OR in the character that your environment or current emotions have allowed you to be at that moment?

If you are in a management position or “the boss” can your staff count on you to be consistently you with very little deviation, OR is there a Scout or Forward Observation Post in place so they can all secretly inform each other of the either impending danger or gleeful cheer of the person, YOU, they will have to face that day? Do your internal and external clients feel the same way? Do they perhaps screen your calls to gauge the person calling them, and then MAY call you back based on the message and tone?

Now that I have you thinking, “How am I showing up?” I will elaborate and explain on why this is so important for your career and in the World of Work. For my entire readership, network and those just stopping by…this personal character trait transcends all Careers; from Corporate Executive, the Military, Healthcare Professionals, Sales, Administrative Assistants, Small Business Owners, Assembly Line Workers and Consultants. You see we all have a personal value of what we are worth to ourselves and in the eyes and minds of those we work for and with each day. This value is not just based on a tangible list of skills, how many acronyms are after your name or where you attended school. Your value goes well beyond this measurable set of “workplace criteria” to items like; team player, nice person, ethics, a smile, compassion for those around you and the commitment you bring to the job each and every day!

Many people I help coach on their career transition fail to stop and conduct a self evaluation on their personal value in the work place. Most people are all too quick to blurt out where they have worked or what they have done and overlook the cultural and interpersonal aspects of their accomplishments. What types of culture do you thrive in, do you know? In the evolution of the World of Work we have gone through in recent years, companies have slowed their hiring decision and organizations in general have reevaluated their staff promotion criteria. No longer is it “what have you done lately,” it’s now also about, “who are you every day.” Sure we can blame this on the strong advent of social media, more people than jobs, and perhaps we can say it’s the darn new HR trend. NO! People value people who show up consistently and predictably every day.

So what do hiring managers, human resources, peers and the overall corporate community look for in you?

1. Personality = Can you in a name or describe your personality type? What do those close to you, management or staff, have to say about your personality? Don’t know…ask!
2. Appearance = Are you in jeans and inappropriate shirts one day and a suit the next? Are you consistently aware of the first impressions OR are you always in repair mode for the impression people have of you?
3. Reliability = Can management, peers, staff and clients count on you to get done what you say you are going to do?
4. Effort = Do you go the extra mile as often as you can? OR do you wait for that 5pm “Bell” and run for the car or a means home? 
5. Attitude = Different from personality and character, what attitude do you display each day? Can you maintain this in an emergency, with a client complaint, or days when your personal life is at an all time low?

As you move forward in your current job, a job search, management of staff, or working with clients, think about how you are showing up. Take some time to perform a self-evaluation, or go the next level and conduct a proactive 360 group evaluation with those around you in the work place. Then, take this invaluable data and apply it to be the person you want showing up every day. It will take some consistent effort and work, but the end result is worth walking the path!

In short, be the person you want others to see each and every day! It just might help you get that next job, promotion, new client or the respect from those in your network and work environment!

Go be you, but be consistently you each and every day.

Good Luck!

Chris

To hire The Recruiting Guy as a speaker or trainer visit The Recruiting Guy or to retain The Wellington Group for your staff search needs contact us at info@thewellington-group.com. 

…ring, ring

Me:  This is Chris

Jeff:  Chris, this is Jeff Smith, man how are you?  I need your help!

Jeff Smith is calling and needs my help?  I immediately get into my normal excited state knowing that something great is coming.  Either he needs to hire a new team member or perhaps has a client that can utilize the support of my team for their hiring needs or recruitment training.

For years Jeff was consistently a top competitor when we worked together at the same company, relentlessly trying to outperform each other in a very positive but “A” player sort of way. Not just making the President’s list but getting the shiniest trophy and most time with the CEO and other Sr Managers.

Me:  Jeff how can I help you? What is going on with the greatest global sales manager I know?

Jeff:  Nothing good, I was just released (from Fortune 225 Company) last week…

Wow, not the call I expected from Jeff. How will they manage the millions in revenues he has brought in over the years?

…Pop, pop, pop CK is sending me instant messages.

Me:  Hey CK, what’s up, how hot is your desk right now?

CK:  Not so great, I need your help.

Me:  Can you give me 5 and I will call you, where are you in the US today?

CK:  At home, not sure I can talk right now.

Ok, if CK is IMing me and needs my help then we must get ready to put a new staff member on her team or she has a project she needs us to help recruit on which they have sold. After all, she is 300% above budget for the year and the last hire we made produced revenues in her second week! CK is the top GM for her niche and is great about not only hiring, training and managing her people but also the strongest operations manager I know.

Me:  Ok, must be swamped how can I help?

CK :  Need a job, and a few minutes tonight to help me walk through where I might have gone  wrong

Me: Job? Did you quit lol

CK:  No Sir, they cut my entire staff 30 minutes ago, including me and replaced us with a support team from home office

If you have not clued in yet, the two examples above are “A” players in their industries and have been released from their respected (well not by them any longer) companies. See, I am writing to bust a myth I keep hearing and reading about from various periodicals, organizations and “people in the know;” Talent Management, SHRM, NAPS, SalesDrivers, News Paper Writers and Editors, Employment Gurus, Trainers, and Business Coaches. The myth which seems to persist is that “A” players don’t or are not being cut nor impacted by the current economic conditions. WRONG!

Ridiculous I say, spend a week on my phone or in my email and I can show you hundreds of “A” Players who have been impacted over the last 20+ months now, and it continues. For definition, an “A” Player is someone at that top 3-10% level in any company, any skill set and in any industry. Some are only known internally in large-mega organizations while others are known internationally or industry wide. It has long been a myth, and more so true with the current economic conditions, these people just don’t get released, laid-off, downsized, or whatever your terminology is for them losing their job while still being at the top.

So why do the top 10% of any job category get impacted?
Too expensive – Top 10% performers generally receive compensation rates commensurate to the level of their performance. One way companies perceive they can impact the bottom line and make true reactionary decisions is to cut the most expensive people and replace them with technology, jr-level home office support or in some cases they do nothing with the expectation that it will not negatively impact the company’s revues or client retention.

Marginalized business – Many companies and some industries operate on such low margins that any blimp on the economic cycle creates major cash-flow and credit issues, so the top just have to go and more jr people or senior management get handed business or jobs the “A” players worked so hard to attain.

Poorly supported region or geography – Lack in upper management leadership or true “out of site out of mind” support for a region that may be profitable but not large enough or unknown to senior management is likely to get the axe.

Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) – As we have seen in all industries, the consolidation has created duplicate roles or left individuals and their projects totally unsupported or not needed as the new company has a different vision and/or resources.

Person was miss-hire to begin with – Some of these cases are truly a miss-hire and the company was overly ambitious or sometimes exceedingly lucky to gain the addition of an “A” player in their industry. The company has just not been able to keep pace with this individual and in many cases their production has lead to cash flow, product production or servicing issues for smaller companies

Why this blog piece? I thought it was important to highlight the reality behind the unemployment numbers as we continue to hover around >10% in the US. These 8 million or more impacted are not all the bottom performers of our workforce, nor just hourly, nor retail or manufacturing, nor in outdated industries. In fact, many were high-earners for their employers that for some reason or another their organization just could not “afford” to keep that individual onboard. So I caution, before over-looking the unemployed take a minute to truly study this individual’s background and track-record. After all, unemployed is not, and should not be a four letter word when hiring for top talent!

UPDATE: Jeff went on to take one of three offers, running the West coast Division of another fortune company. CK is managing a new company that has a unique service offering, adapted to the changed economy we now love.

Chris

To hire The Recruiting Guy as a speaker or trainer visit The Recruiting Guy or contact The Wellington Group @ info@thewellington-group.com.

Now, yes now is the time to get proactive for the upswing in the economy and the coming job market. As we headhunters know, companies are hiring again and new positions are being approved daily. And this is not just a US based movement but an international lift to the global World of Work.

Great news right? Yes, but with so many people either out a of job, in a temporary or “quick fix” job or looking to change jobs you better be ready for the competition! One of the best ways to get noticed quickly on the web in our current technological times is with an internet resume. What the heck is that?

An internet resume is quite simply a way for perspective employers and professional recruiters to find you quickly and easily on-line. More than just a LinkedIn or Twitter account, having a true-to-form resume existing on the internet, outside the mainstream jobs boards, can help you get noticed instantly and more efficiently. Without getting too technical or giving away all my trade secrets, it’s like typing in your name, experience and a company you have worked for and WHAM the internet delivers your resume right to my computer screen.

Some great examples of internet resume building and hosting resources are Google Resume, Visual CV, Resume-Builder and getmyonlinecv.com. For a little more time and investment into your future you can build your own custom site like my friend Scott Corwin has done. As I mentioned above, your internet resume should be outside a pay-to-play job board or niche network and more public so you can be found. Thus, Google, Yahoo, and personal URLs are great places to build, house and control your internet resume.

Need help developing that perfect resume, no problem as the internet has you covered. Many sites and services like CVTIPS and iProfile exist with ideas on formatting and keyword building to help make your internet resume even more attractive to current technology. Or, you can always visit us at The Career Store to receive expert advice from Linda Gutin and others on the team.

So get busy and get your resume online. How else am I supposed to find you for that next great career opportunity? Good luck. 

Chris

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

Released just over three hours ago and already a lot of web-chatter, news announcements, emails and calls to my office about the latest job numbers from the US Department of Labor. The summary report can be found at Department of Labor New Release.

So what is all the hype about? 331,000 reported job losses for the month of July. Now that may seem like a very high number but its more “normal” than the losses from November 08 to April of this year, which averaged almost twice as many at 645,000 job losses per month. Total unemployment was down by.1 percent to 9.4%, not a significant change. The sector which had job gains continues to be Health Care with an increase of 20,000 jobs.

Since my ear is constantly to the ground for the staffing and recruiting industry, I had to take notice and point out the impact of the past 10 months. The temporary help market has lost 844,000 jobs while the entire business services sector has been impacted by 1.5 million jobs lost. The release notes this decline has lessened Substantially over the past three months. These numbers reflect the contract, contract to hire and consultant employment areas and not so much the direct hire or executive search services.

While this appears to be good news, the job losses we are still seeing in the staffing and recruitment industry to me is a key indicator that the US is yet to hit the “bottom” of the job loss portion of this economic turndown. In studying trending data for the last 25 years, until we begin to see a rise in staffing numbers we have yet to make a full turn in the positive. With staffing companies (IT, Engineering, Administrative, Day Labor, Etc) still laying off internal staff I don’t see a lot of confidence or stability in overall employment for the US.  

So, is it good news that perhaps the US is slowing on the job loss front? Unemployment seems to have stabilized for now right at 9.5%, not at the 10% plus which so many news media and talk show host predicated. Unfortunately I foresee these numbers rising again for a short period of time this fall as government and state budgets get approved, many of which will call for job cuts.

Chris

OK I SAID! Now that I got that off my chest let me point you to the root of my angst. Recruiting, like any other profession, has it s own social media / networking sites where we all get to share insight, tips, tricks and yes even humor. One such site is ere.net. The post getting all the attention today was “Bullet Point to the Head” by Matt Charney.

Matt’s post was very well written and very much on target. Just look below the article at all the comments. Everything from “I can relate” to “no, that is not me.” In my years of living as a professional recruiter I have seen his comments in-action more times than not. Too much perceived work on a recruiter or even HR’s desk so they have to fly through resumes as fast as they can, learning tricks to skim and weed-out in what they feel is an expeditious manner. Why, because they are lazy.

Don’t believe me, ok. But here is a true fact. Most large HR groups, Staffing Firms and Professional Search Groups receive so much resume traffic they have to hire staff just to filter and scan or purchase software to totally remove the human component. I can remember weeks at Manpower where we might receive 5,000 applicants. In addition to this the recruiting publications are now telling HR and Talent Manager they NEED to automate. Check out the latest Talent Management article on “Make HR Happy.”

On top of this, many of today’s recruiting demographic has the technology / MTV curse of “if it’s not instant it’s not worth my time.” So, they expect every candidate to have a resume laid out in a similar fashion with all the goodies at scan level in 2.3 seconds. The trouble is that many professionals are great at their jobs but not with working on their resume (see my previous post on 8 Musts for an Effective Resume). Lazy recruiters are grab-and-go, great recruiters are diamond miners, polishing off the mud to find the sparkle below…many times at their own expense.

What is the solution? I think the bump we hit in the economy helped create some of the cure, causing recruiters and HR to transform their skills or try performing it from the unemployment line. The other solution, better management of both corporate and third-party recruitment practices. Accountability to the primary goal, recruitment and review with the intention of uncovering the best talent for the right job.

Chris

To hire The Recruiting Guy as a speaker or trainer visit The Recruiting Guy or contact The Wellington Group @ info@thewellington-group.com.

For those who are unaware of what Bounty Jobs appears to be here is the website; no secrets, as I truly believe success in the recruitment business all has to be transparent or the end result, the job seeker taking a position with the hiring company, will not happen. www.bountyjobs.com

Bounty, like many other “tools” or HR / Recruitment short cuts before and after them, truly does not understand the motivation of human nature. People want to communicate and be part of an engaged community. Honest people genuinely want the resources a Bounty or others can provide to help make these invaluable connections possible. Most run-of-the-mill, basement dweller or 3 month recruiters can’t provide the knowledge base, infrastructure, bandwidth or network a “tool” like Bounty Jobs promises to deliver. A couple great examples are Facebook and inside919.com. For the most part they are free and unrestricted and as a result, people are making not only money but building empires, finding careers, creating causes and even reconnecting with old friends from remote Alaska. If this is the case then why do these “tools” want to restrict the very ingredient which can make them a king’s ransom?

Here are excerpts from the “non-typical email” myself and my staff, industry peers, clients and vendors received TODAY from Bounty Jobs, cut into the pieces that one assumes to hit their message to the core.

We want total control of a process that can’t be totally controlled in order for it to be a true success.

“Unlike the typical “how it works” email… With 20,000+ registered headhunters (and counting!)…, we will be [re] moving the name of the hiring company one step further into the BountyJobs process… BountyJobs remains absolutely committed to providing an efficient communication and recruiting solution. ”

While my firm is using Bounty at the request of a couple clients, we (the team, the clients and all involved) agree the handcuffs by this “tool” inhibits communications and any chance of immediate success and long term survival of this “tool.”  How long will they be around? I am not sure, but I have seen many “tools” come and many go, with most that are remaining now on the edge of financial crises in this current economy because they do not allow for full human interaction which is the very root energy of the recruitment and HR professions.

The complete link to their new Q&A for recruiters and hiring companies on these changes can be found at: http://image.exct.net/lib/fefc1174706500/m/1/Company+Name+FAQ.pdf

My advice is think twice before engaging in these resource robbing “tools.” Take the time to ravage their sites for information on the true fulfillment rates verse just number of jobs posted and recruiters involved. After all, graduate school did teach me statistics and how numbers can always “look beautiful in the eyes of the reporter.” Best of luck in your recruitment efforts.

Chris

To engage The Recruiting Guy to train or consult with your staff visit our services page or contact The Wellington Group @ info@thewellington-group.com