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. 

“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.

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.

OK job seekers…this one is for you! Here is a quick tip to help you stop some bad habits we are seeing in the World of Work or avoid them and put yourself ahead of the competition when it comes to applying to a job either with a professional recruiter, staffing company and even the Human Resources department.

Here is the scenario…

Jane sets out this weekend to apply to all the jobs that she has been finding on-line or through some sort of job alert strategy she has in place. She amasses all the individual email addresses and even the “apply to” or “hr@” and attaches her resume, ready to send. Jane hits send, with all 50+ contacts copied, CCed. See, she has put some very valuable time into perfecting her resume or has perhaps hired a professional to write her resume. So she is very proud of it and is sure that when all these people see Jane’s email, her week will be full of calls. Right?

Wrong! Here is the problem. While she did all the right actions to find a new job; set up alerts, targeted her niche and areas she wants to work, gathered contact email information or apply to email address, etc. She did not put in the extra effort to send an individual email to each contact or job opportunity. Instead, she mass emailed the entire group, hoping it would be seen.

Unfortunately when you do this, the recruiter seeing it hits delete as they feel you are just reaching out for anything OR that you applied to competing recruiters, the hiring company, etc. The ATS system, HRIS tool or even Outlook on the receiver’s end sees this as spam and tucks it away into a neat little folder or completely abandons the email message into the black hole of the internet. Jane’s resume is never really looked at by anyone, and she never does actually “apply to” a job for it won’t go through the system with this approach. Ouch right? Below are some tricks to avoid this from happening.

How should you send out your resume?

1. Send to one contact, recruiter or job opportunity at a time
2. Take the time to make sure your resume summary, bio or intro talks to the job and company you are applying
3. In your email, write a brief summary of why you for that job; skills, experience, education, etc. Bullet point out the critical areas is most ideal
4. Select the “read receipt” option before you send, at the least you know if someone did view your resume
5. Follow-up with a call within 24 hours to ensure your resume was able to be seen, many times it may get bumped out of the tool, dumped into spam, over-looked, or even deleted without review

Take the few extra minutes and put some thought and time into each resume you send out or job you apply to, put yourself ahead of the competing job seekers. After all, you have done this much work and a couple minutes more here and there to better your chances can’t hurt.

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 at 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. 

What is the predominate first step in this day and age of interviewing with a potential new employer? The telephone! Call it whatever; Prep-call, Pre-interview, Phone-screen, Telephone-interview, Video-interview…etc. The simple fact is that it has become easy and cheap for companies to hold telephone interviews or even video (like Skype) interviews before bringing on-site or in-person the final round of people.

With that said how are your telephone interviewing skills? Are you preparing well, in a location of minimal distractions and ready to sell yourself? Below are a few quick tips to help you better prepare for that next telephone interview.

Telephone Interview Tips from The Recruiting Guy:

• Have a copy of your resume and the job description with you on the call or video call. In addition, have a note pad and a couple of pens ready as well for points of interest and questions during the call, and to capture any name(s) and contact information for follow-up thank you note(s).
• Thoroughly review the job description and any associated information you have about the job for which you are being considered. Write out any areas you have of strength, add in some specific examples in case you are asked to elaborate. For any areas you are not sure about or are “rusty” do your research or decided how you are going to respond (so it’s not off the cuff). Example, “I don’t know that particular piece of email software, BUT I would love the chance to put my computer skills to work and learn about it quickly.”
• Do your homework on the company. Check out their website, fan pages on social media, latest 10k reports or other financial reports, the management team close to the job (if not the person interviewing you) by reviewing their LinkedIn or ZoomInfo profiles. What do you have in common?
• Write out the questions you would like answered by the interviewer. REMEMBER, this is an initial interview in most cases so don’t control the time with your questions, be specific and brief.
•  Prepare for the right phone presence. Even though you are not in suit on the other side of the desk with this person, be mindful of your personality, tone, enthusiasm and articulation of both questions and answers.
•  Take or make the call in a place of minimal distractions and if possible on a land line and not a cell phone. You want to ensure all information is promptly communicated in a professional manor with no dropped calls or noisy background traffic.

In many cases the telephone interview is your first, and can be your last, introduction to a company. Use this time and opportunity to prepare well, and to put your best effort forward! This is the chance to “sell yourself” and the skills, knowledge and experience you bring to this job and the company.

Good luck with your next telephone interview!

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@thewellington-group.com or visit The Career Store.

Do you want to increase the chances of your resume and cover note making it to desk of that elusive recruiter or hiring manager? Every wonder why job postings have a funky job code either in the title or somewhere on the job posting / listing? And what does it really take to navigate the so called “black hole” of databases so many Corporations, HR Departments and Recruiters are using?

These are all great questions but unless you have worked within an HR Department or a Recruitment Firm in the past you probably know very little about the true inner-workings and why job codes are utilized so extensively in the current job market. For this blog post, I am going to cover job codes and systems from the job seeker’s perspective and how to best navigate this technology while searching for your next career opportunity.

Let me start with a quick summary of “why the job code any way.” Job codes are used when a company of any sort is working with either an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) or a Human Resources Information System (HRIS). Sometimes these can be one in the same, but most likely they are not. In major corporations, the HRIS system can also be a small functioning part of the overall ERP system, such as SAP, SAGE, IQMS and hundreds of others you may be familiar with. These tools have been developed not to deter would-be employees or job applicants, but rather to better assist the recruiter, HR personnel and hiring manager on the receiving end in becoming more effective and efficient in their hiring practices.

In a nutshell, job codes allow for your resume to go straight into the exact job “bucket” within the ATS or HRIS system and to the attention of all parties involved. If your resume is just sent into the system with no job code or job identifier, well it is lost forever in the black hole we so often hear about. Let me repeat that, no job code on your application or response, no one will see your resume and you just sit idle in a sea of thousands of other applicants through the years. It’s a sad fact, but most corporations and recruiters do a very poor (if any) job of sourcing back through their own database throughout the lifecycle of a job opening. Your precious resume, that invaluable tool you invested so much time and money into if done right, is just lost data.

So what’s the trick when you see a job code and you are applying to the position? Here is the million dollar (or perhaps at least getting an interview answer)…PUT THE JOB CODE IN YOUR SUBJECT LINE WHEN APPLYING. Now systems are not fail-proof after all they are just linked tools using computer code to best capture and “parse” your information. So the more you can aid this process and help eliminate the bugs, the more you help yourself in achieving that next job. Below is an example of a how our firm, The Wellington Group, leverages the use of technology to both comply with OFCCP regulations and to ensure your resume is seen by everyone on the team working a new search.

A Craig’s List job posting has a link to our website or an email address you can apply to, CMC Manager – Regulatory Affairs. At the end of the job title you see BHJOB3594_271. This is our unique Bullhorn job code and allows you, the job seeker, to apply right to the job and be seen by Heather, Lisa and myself as a candidate interested in this opportunity. But, if you fail to use this job code when applying, we have to search back through Bullhorn each day to see key words or review every miscellaneous resume and then forward them to the appropriate job.

When you apply for a job within a system say like Taleo (you will know, look at the internet navigation bar and I am willing to bet in that line of html tag there is the word Taleo, Kenexa, Bullhorn or others) the system automatically pushes your resume to that particular job. But don’t stop there! If it allows for you to put in a subject header or free-text then make sure that job code number is listed in your response. Again, errors are frequent within these tools so the more you leverage the technology’s hierarchy of code the more you increase the chances of being seen. Below is an example of this situation.

A new Becton Dickenson (BD) job posting through indeed.com takes me to, WW Vice President, BDDS Infectious Disease Regulatory Affairs. Immediately upon clicking on this link you can see that it now has a job code at the end, REG0002D. You will also notice that although it looks like you are still on the BD site, you really are on the customize Taleo site, look closely and you will see “Powered by Taleo” on the page! Since you can apply through this system to that job AND put in additional text you can follow these tips to ensure your resume gets into this job “bucket.”

In addition to aiding the recruiter or hiring corporation, job codes can be a great clue for the job seeker. Having a job code is a true gauge about the professionalism, resources and overall investment a company has made into its recruiting and hiring practices. You see the smaller organization or the less professional or ill-equipped recruitment firm / independent recruiter generally will not have a system in place at all. Perhaps they are managing through their outlook folders or a gmail/aol account, but most certainly they are not completely complying with current OFCCP and EEOC recruitment regulations, makes you wonder? How are they tacking and managing your information and the job opening, by sheer memory?

One immediate question I will get from this post is, “will applying to only one job with a single job code eliminate me from other openings at the same company?” The answer, in true fashion, is it depends. Since most companies do a poor job of leveraging their own database and spend more time seeking people outside of it than mining the prized data they already have, I say go ahead and apply to that next job using these same techniques. This action will at least give you piece of mind that your resume is in the job “bucket” for the additional position(s). Most systems have become so intuitive that as long as your contact information and the name on your resume are the same, it will not duplicate your data in the system but rather add another note indicating your interest in multiple opportunities.

In review, job codes are not a hindrance to the job seekers but rather a great tool for the hiring authority or recruiters to notice your information ahead of the competing job applicants. In many cases, you must comply to the system requirements and apply using the job code to be considered an applicant per new OFCCP and EEOC regulations. To best leverage the technology behind this process, you should always have the job code as the subject line in your email application to the job or when applying through a job board or a corporate system (Taleo as an example) you should re-reference the job you are applying to with free-text and the job code repeated. This is but one small tip that can have a major impact on the “where-abouts” of your resume in a company’s ATS or HRIS system.

Good luck in your job search!

Chris

To hire The Recruiting Guy as a speaker or trainer visit The Recruiting Guy or contact The Wellington Group @ 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.

Ok people, we were all given a “proper” name or at least one much longer or more formal than the one in which we go by, send out emails with and answer to when called. So why is this important in the World of Work? Just like in my previous post, “Is Your Resume Format Hurting Your Job Search,” there are some challenges with not knowing and following how modern technology(s) and recruiters work so you can take full advantage of these systems. More so, you don’t want the little items such as what I rant about below to be the cause for not getting the job! While I am sure my mother had good reason to give me such a grand name as Christopher Clyde Wellington (Wellington came from my adopted Alaskan family), if I don’t use this across the web, in my emails or even in answering the phone how would the recruiter or HR person looking for me, well know it is truly me?

The biggest challenge lies with modern HRIS or ATS systems (you know, that “system” many recruiters and all HR people say you need to apply to). The platform has advanced such in the past few years to more accurately capture or “parse” the information off your resume in a very automatic, non-human operation. The computer has evolved as has the software, but it still can’t call Christopher Clyde Wellington just Chris. No, now when the recruiter goes into the system to look for me, well I am just not there. Truth be told I am there just not as Chris. This is much more of a problem when people use their middle name, nickname, family name if not from the US, etc.

The same holds true for social media profiles and being found on the web. Today’s recruiter, even some in corporate recruiting jobs, use social media more and more for their primary recruitment tool, or to find you on the web. But it’s impossible to truly swim through the sea of Christopher’s if I am known only as Chris. Besides all the fun people will have in “reviewing” and sharing my given name (thanks mom), it does not help my personal branding efforts, a critical component in this modern era of high visibility.

So what happens in this situation? Again if you have been following my blog posts, trainings or web articles you will know recruitment has evolved to a lazy, speed game in my opinion. Instead of seeking out why Jonathan J Weeber is not in the “system” the recruiter or HR person will tend to move on to the next candidate they can find. So what if Jonathan goes by Luke with no Middle Initial* on the internet nor in his email, next! If you are Jonathan J Weeber but go by Luke Weeber, have Luke Weeber on your resume, job boards, social media profiles, and so forth.

In short, don’t try to get overly fancy and presumptuous on your resume. Throw out the old-school rules of having the formal name given at birth (or after) and go by what you are called on a daily basis so that your resume and the social media profiles can allow you to be found in the current sea of competition. After all, you will have plenty of time to write out that more formal name, over and over again, on all the mandated paperwork and internal hiring documents ONCE YOU LAND THAT NEW JOB!

Good luck and keep working at it!

Chris

*One side note, careful using your Middle Initial on your resume. Most applicant tracking systems and even major job boards are still struggling with this extra name field and as such so are the recruiters and HR people using them.

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