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

Careful where you put your resume or enter your email address as it just might be a recruiting firm in disguise!

I received an email last week from a LinkedIn connection that read, “Come check out this exciting new website for medical professionals only…,” Well, you know me I had to check it out, just might be a great place to network with some of the people we are seeking for current or future job openings. Also, it seemed a bit “fishy” as the person sending this through LinkedIn is also an owner of a staffing company. So I bounced the link to my third monitor and started to peel back the layers of this so called networking site for “medical professionals only.”

What I found is an all too common scenario in the world of internet smoke and mirrors, a recruiter or recruitment firm trying to build their candidate pipeline and/or client leads through a misleading website. Yes, some recruitment firms are creating a false identity to attract in more traffic to their niche(s). A few have even gone as far as to post corporate client jobs or import them off the web to look like real networking posts. The truth is they are paid to do so or they literally take the Indeed.com model and apply it to their recruitment firm so their traffic is increased. All in an effort to get you to their site!

Some prime examples of these boards are Openreq! (the Recruiting and HR industry’s “job-board” but try to put a job on there for a staffing client if you are in the same niche as the creator/staffing company owner), LinkedIn spin-offs (abuse of the LinkedIn system and a nuisance to many professional users), Jobs 2.0, Blue Steps (candidate capture portal for AESC company Members = Recruiters), Beaker (no not another Biospace but recruiters working on commission trying to fill jobs), Med Careers Village (a recruitment company founder and firm),  and on and on.

Now I don’t have an issue with recruitment firms creating “fish nets” or niche capture job boards, what chafes me is the sneaky and questionable way they are going about this fishing. I have seen and given feedback to many that are using not just the internet but social media sites and user groups to help build their brand awareness in a very professional and productive manner. I applauded these people and hold many in high regard for their approach. My issue lies with false promotion / advertising and abuse of the general public who put their careers and livelihood in the hands of recruiters (one of them is me) each day.

Now since “no one is managing the internet,” as Jill on the TWG team often says, it’s up to the global user community to share with each other these questionable intensions. After all, you might just be looking for a group of “medical professionals only,” and not for your information to be logged and captured by a recruiter in disguise. So be aware the next time you are invited to a niche internet community for behind the flashy webpage may not be other niche professional, instead recruiters who want you or your information.

Chris

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

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

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.