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.

“Chris, this is the 15^th email this week along with 22 from last week, multiple LinkedIn messages, 12 voicemails, mailed in my resume…and by the way I applied to all the open jobs on your website…”

Ok that might be extreme but I hope you get the jest, either you are showing signs of being desperate for a job or have no other resources to help in your job search. Either way, don’t become one of “those people” as many individuals don’t have the same patience in Human Resources or Recruiting and Hiring Manager rarely follow EEOC or OFCCP guidelines or employment law so they just throw you away per-se.

Now I am not advocating for just sending your resume and not following up nor the “spray and pray” method of sending out resume to every job on a prayer that it gets looked at. Direct contact to a recruiter or HR is great, providing they 1. Are accessible  2. Want to truly hear from job seekers. That’s right, many “don’t have time” unless you are the ideal match which is one of my pet-peeves to lazy HR or Recruiters in my PROFESSION! But you still can gently nudge them for some feedback.

The best way to approach applying for a job is as follows:

1. Only send your customized resume to jobs you are qualified for or have a strong interested in DON’T apply to all jobs a company has open
2. Select a read receipt option if sending via email so you know if it is opened and reviewed
3. If sending to a “black hole” HR tool or even ATS, put in the job code in your subject line. Review my previous blog “Job Seekers – Put That Job Code in Your Subject Line”
4. Look for other resources. For instance at The Wellington Group I am a Senior Partner to a much larger group of recruiters giving you access to thousands of open jobs and other recruiters. You can check it out here, and let me know if you see something of interest so we can work it the right way!
5. Leave one or two voicemails and one follow-up email per week. We recruiters and HR get busy sure, so follow-up is great but excess not so much!

While the competition is tougher these days or companies are hiring slower, don’t become one of “those people” but rather have a strategy in your job search. If needed, seek out other resources to find that right job or additional opportunities. You want to make a strong impression, not an annoying one.

Good luck with your job search!

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.

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. 

Social Media and the Corporate Impact Part I 

To put this blog piece in context, Social Media for this blog is any third party on-line or internet based networking or people-connecting tool. Examples of such are Facebook, Eacademy, Plaxo, Myspace, U-tube and Twitter. What I am not referencing are internal corporate “wanna be” social networking tools, associations (most of which have gone “on-line” now to save on cost), static websites, email, instant messaging or even the ever prevalent texting.

Why did I highlight the difference? In the next couple of blogs I will be talking about the trends I have seen and researched and the data which exists about social media or social networking and its impact to the corporate environment. Those non-social media types are many times already present in the workplace as companies provide employees with limitless emailing, cell phones (or the policy that it’s ok to have it with you and work) and texting, instant messaging solutions, web-based company portals, on-line meeting programs, and on and on.

The goal of my blogging about this topic is not to create hype or fear about allowing such uses in the work place, but rather highlight the fact that the World of Work has changed. In just a few short years we have gone from telecom and land-lines ruling the communication method and business sectors to flat screen monitors with built in web-cams on employee desks and Blackberry’s in the hand of all those around the conference table.

I hope you enjoy these pieces and please do leave your thoughts and feedback on this topic as you never know who on the web might just like what you have to say!

Chris

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

Recruiting and Technology: Session 3

There was a recent discussion on ERE and LinkedIn about what a “modern” applicant tracking software (ATS) tool should include and the ROI for your business. Many of my consulting clients in the staffing or executive search business ask my opinion on, or are seeking, a new tool as the current tool they have is not being used or does not have the latest bells and whistles. Below is my response to this question, which has generated a lot of interest and discussion.

It seems people are looking to buy or enhance current ATS systems as technology continues to advance. I have done a lot of work with various ATS tools over the years through my exposure with sitting in technology positions / chairs within industry and HR associations. While I do have favorites and have gone as far as to be a SME and / or reference for 2-3 tools, I would say “it depends.” A true ATS tool used in the staffing / recruitment arena is very robust and not just a tracking and on-boarding tool utilized by HR. A true staffing / recruitment ATS tool not only tracks applicants, but is intuitive to the job order(s), client(s), and end user(s) for the candidate so one note in the system follows all points. The top tools on the market right now even go as far as to incorporate the following:

1. Web based
2. Integrated email which auto-tracks to all records
3. Third-party tool friendly (i.e. able to utilize some of the hot tools like Contact Capture and Diver)*
4. VoIP / Network phone integration for auto-dialing and call tracking
5. Can produce reports easily with NO extra costs
6. Integrates with your website
7. Email or at least sendouts tracking (are they being looked at, if so how often and by whom)
8. Applicant tracking back to the specific job (auto-parsing)

The reverse should be true as the ATS should also be able to act as the CRM tool for client management so recruiters are not trying to track down notes, a sales rep or looking through other systems to get valuable information about a client or manager. The best tools are based on a CRM platform where both the client and the candidate are treated as a potential lead and everything has a time stamped tracking (this way you can meet various employment standards and regulations by clients and the government). Bad tools make you work for it on the client side. Worse, bad tools require more tools to manage clients in say salesforce.com* or ACT.*

One should look through all the activity for your company to see just how robust of a tool you need and use this as the benchmark for making a decision. Far too many recruiters and firms jump into a tool based on costs or the friendly rep and it cost them 10 times to get out of it! If it is not easy and intuitive for the staff, it will not be used…hands down from experience!

Feel free to connect with me off-line and I can share what my top 5 ATS tools are…

*Contact Capture, Diver, salesforce.com and ACT are all trademarked products.

For assistance with your Job Search from Chris Wellington and others on the staff visit
The Career Store or Get in Touch.

Recruiting and Technology: Session 2

As I tour the country and work with various recruiters and professional headhunters I can’t help but to chuckle at the complaints the modern recruiter (corporate, executive search, staffing and basement dwellers) all seem to have. My internet is too slow, CareerBuilder is down again, my wireless mouse is not working, and on and on. It was not that long ago when we had to fax or hand deliver resumes and you were lucky to get a company email to contact some hiring manager or job seeker.

Now, I have a flat screen TV in my office and can’t live without all the small technology toys to include the so aptly named crackberry! Well most of it I can live without and probably become an even more productive recruiter and member of society, except my multiple monitors! I remember the first time I heard about running dual monitors for recruiting. I had seen the concept for call centers and IT developers but never thought it would apply to me. I was wrong.

I was attending a Top Echelon conference and one of the main presenters was hosting a training session. He had two screens being projected and showed how to run their ATS tool on one screen and look at a candidate or job order on another. What? Yeah I said that and laughed it off but Tiffany who was with me said, “Pretty cool.” Ok, so maybe there was something we were missing here. So, we asked what does it take to set up dual monitors in our office.

The set up was very easy, and after a few years now I have assisted numerous recruiters and companies, with various laptop or desk top hardware configurations, transition into the multiple monitor mode. If you are paying attention I said multiple monitors as I have found out with my laptop and docking station that I can have three monitors, and have since found a great USB product that will allow me to run up to five (yes, not enough desk space).

So why multiple monitors? As I learned at that conference; efficiency, efficiency, efficiency. I am sure there are a number of other gains like cost savings on printing, speed to market, enhanced phone time, etc. But it is great to have the resume of the person you are talking with on one screen, your ATS on another and the job order or client website on the third. Not to mention, but hey I am the boss, facebook or Yahoo IM running to see who I might ping during the day.

All told, running a dual or multiple monitor configuration is not that big of an investment, even for an entire team of recruiters and researchers. The enhancements you gain far outweigh the time and cost to set this technology up. Plus, you seem smarter to the person on the other end of the phone when you can Google a word or phrase they mention and say, “oh yeah here is what you are talking about!”

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.

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.

I seem to be a magnet for publishers, direct mailing companies, aspiring writers and all in between…to include my neighbor’s mail at times! The flip side to this is that I AM a knowledge pack-rat. I have books upon books, magazines that have come and gone, brochures, conference binders, clipped WSJ articles and entire newspapers all which had some nugget of information or learning moments I could put into practice. So it’s no surprise to visit the mail box at 12:16 each day to find a new magazine.

This week I received a recruiting / staffing magazine, Employment Marketplace. Now forgive me as I may have received these in the past, but I had idle time on the exercise bike to flip through this 24 page (cover to cover) magazine and read each article. What follows are my thoughts on the magazine and some of the writers, one of which I think very highly of for many years now.

Apparently Employment Marketplace has been around for 26 years as their website quotes. The publication I received was Vol. 27 Issue 111, for what that might mean. To me it’s like a check number. “Mr. Wellington, what check number would you like to start with…2009?” Not being facetious but it’s very colorful, lots of pictures, MANY advertisements and oh-so very Thin. I think most of the publication is vendors, advertisers or people trying to sell their works through snippets or rushed articles.

It’s understandable in tough times to adjust and modify to survive, but most companies that survive make this morph with more service than pay, not true in this case. While I like some of Steve Finkel’s work, the Manager’s Corner piece was a tough read. What was the point, I never got there? Temp Track was even less understandable, although I did highlight a couple pieces in the last two paragraphs. Frank Risalvato’s sales call advice is sure to get you fired in reputable company.

It’s obvious this magazine is funded by NAPS and vendors for they had Frank Burtnett write a piece on NAPS National Conference. I have known Frank for years, think very highly of him, and assisted or initiated his support in dozens of people becoming NAPS certified at conferences or even in my offices. That said, he is the fly-in fly-out consultant there for certification and rarely seen during the remaining hours of any conference? I would like to see more on how to achieve and maintain certification and why that sets you apart as a true Professional from him. 

My favorite piece by far was Tuning out the Noise by Neil McNulty. I have no idea who Neil is but I will be watching for more of his work. This article was only one page but very precise and on message. So much so that I sent a copy to each member of my team, some of my peers and a couple clients for the accountability he wrote about transcends the recruitment industry.

It’s too bad the entire page of pictures on the NCASP and SCAPS annual conference were taken at the cocktail party or lunch verse the actual learning sessions as it would have been great to see the 3 people attending from The Wellington Group on the page verses the NCASP board.

In short, was worth the time to review and read verses my current book or CD. I did pick up a couple of pieces of information to use and put to memory. Will not be paying the $148 for the annual subscription to get a 24 page, self-indulged magazine 4 times and some on-line info.

As a professional headhunter paid to uncover names and talent my final question is…how did they get my current address?

Chris

Follow The Recruiting Guy on Twitter…@therecruitinguy.com

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

*Employment Marketplace and EMinfo can be found at www.eminfo.com.

First and foremost, this blog title and piece are based on the tried and true principals of Napoleon Hill in his 1937 book titled Think and Grow Rich.

As a consummate learner and researcher, I am always intrigued to find nuggets of information which to both share with jobseekers / clients and apply in my practice. This information caught my eye as many of his suggestions from 1937 still hold true today, but seem to be lacking in numerous resumés we receive, from new grads to seasoned executives!

“Eight Musts for an Effective Resume”

1. Education
2. Experience
3. References
4. Photograph
5. Apply for a specific position
6. State your qualifications
7. Offer to go to work on probation
8. Knowledge of your prospective employer’s business

While some of these principals may seem odd or “old school” I view them as genius. Education, Experience, References, Qualifications and Applying to a specific position with a resume that matches the employer’s needs or the job description are all crucial to setting yourself apart in the current sea of competing candidates. Going to work on Probation is great for new grads and may be stated in your Cover Note or in the resume. Employers may not take your up on the offer, but they will love the commitment.

Most HR Professionals and Professional Resume Writers would tell you not to post a picture on your resume, and I agree. Current ATS systems, HR tracking tools and OFCCP / EEO regulations may present an issue with this type of information. What I do suggest however is putting a nice, professional picture on your social media sites such as LinkedIn or Facebook. People want to work with and hire people, the more true and real you can be the less “mystery” of your candidacy becomes for that hiring manager or recruiter.

I will suggest you go to the library and check out this book and use it as a tool or guide for your career search. After all, your resumé in many instances is THE FIRST IMPRESSION of you to that new potential employer or to the recruiter with the job opening.

Good luck in your career search!

Chris

 For assistance with developing your perfect resume or cover note from the TWG staff visit the Career Store or contact The Wellington Group @ info@twgrecruiters.com.