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August 30, 2006

Why Recruiters Don't Call

The Recruiter points to this posting by Jim Stroud which appeared on STLRecruiting.com

Jim is a recruiter, and he catalogs all the reasons his colleagues may not be calling you back. I like them all, but I think he misses a biggie - maybe your resume is just no good!

"Wait," I hear you cry. You're a resume writer so you would say that! But people, that's precisely why I know I am right. I see a lot of resumes every day and I could make 98% of them significantly more effective.

I don't get the chance to improve that many because lots of people never actually take us up on our services. They give lots of reasons - maybe it's too expensive, or maybe they've been ripped off in the past - but the real and only reason is that they are not convinced that a professional resume can make a difference.

And yet, time and time again, our clients prove that our resumes get results because they go out and get great jobs very quickly. (And this is true of any really good professional resume writer.)

The simple fact is that I am better at writing resumes than you are. I'm terrible at sports. I don't eat as well as I should. I'm very impatient. I'm horrible at chess and you should never hire me to paint your house. But I am damn good at writing resumes.

And so I want to add #9 to Jim's post of the 8 reasons recruiters are not calling you:

#9: Because, despite the fact that you are qualified, your resume is not clearly and quickly conveying what makes you so great.

(And by the way, I haven't even seen your resume but I know I have a 98% chance of being right.)

If you can't invest in a professional resume, go out and study ways to improve yours. Invest some time and energy and it will pay off.

If you like, sign up for my free e-course on resume writing.

Just don't sit back and blame recruiters if the phone isn't ringing. At least not until your resume is the very best that it can be.

Posted by Louise at 05:25 PM | Permalink

August 26, 2006

Harry Joiner on LinkedIn

Harry Joiner tells you why you should be using LinkedIn and how to do it effectively.

Harry points out that one of LinkedIn's strongest features is the ability to collect testimonials from other people. The system doesn't allow you to manipulate testimonials, and because each quote is linked back to a real person who also has a LinkedIn profile, they have great credibility.

Posted by Louise at 10:00 AM | Permalink

August 22, 2006

How Much Effort is it Worth?

Let me ask you a few questions: How much do you care about your next job? How much do you want it to be the right fit? How important is your career?

If the answers are (a) "a lot" (b) "a lot" and (c) "very," let me ask you another question: How much effort are you willing to put into your personal marketing and your job search?

I am always amazed when the answer to that question is "not much."

I just refunded a fee because the client felt that our self-assessment worksheets were too much work. She wrote "if I had time to fill out all that information, I'd have time to write my resume myself."

Now time is not the only thing stopping her from writing a resume as good as the one I can write for her, but I didn't argue and that's not my point in writing this post.

Our clients complete a comprehensive self-assessment questionnaire before we write their resume. It's a lot of work and I make no bones about that before they sign up with us. It's important work. No, it's ESSENTIAL work. Because I guarantee our resumes - a full 100% results guarantee. I can do that because I know that if you truly understand your own value proposition and if you can articulate it clearly, not only on a resume, but in person during interviews, you will be successful. But if a client isn't willing to spend a few hours preparing herself for her search, how can I guarantee success?

Job search is like anything else in life. you get out of it what you put in. When you hire people to help you, you are leveraging their expertise - not taking yourself out of the process.

Cross-posted at Career Hub

Posted by Louise at 01:12 PM | Permalink

August 18, 2006

Are you LinkedIn?

Seth Godin's Alexaholic shows LinkedIn growing in popularity.

Seth is tracking traffic to the new generation of websites that allow people to collaborate, share contact and network online. Sites like youtube.com where people can share videos, MySpace, where they can share personal details, and Flickr where they can share pictures, are all part of this growing phenomenon which is sometimes termed Web 2.0, to denote the supposed next generation of the Internet.

LinkedIn went from 134th six months ago to 17th now. Pretty impressive! If you're not LinkedIn already, you should be!

Posted by Louise at 09:56 AM | Permalink

August 16, 2006

Blogging + Recruitment

I'm really enjoying Spherion's new blog and Don Boone's post about blogging caught my eye because he's writing about the same thing I've been thinking about for a while - the different ways in which technology is changing recruitment, and therefore job search. As Don says:

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that blogging may just change the very way we look for job seekers. I've never seen a tool with such potential power for candidates seeking career advancement and for recruiters to not only find qualified candidates, but learn more about them before ever speaking to them.

I agree, and it's not just blogs that are changing the way things work and opening up the possibilities for job seekers. I have been guest blogging recently on various recruitment blogs, and I've written several posts on where technology is taking us. I am fascinated by the impact of blogging, as well as sites such as MySpace, Squidoo and LinkedIn because this new transparency offers incredible opportunity (and also carries incredible risk). On Jim Stroud 2.0, I talked about the uncertainty all this brings for job seekers and people in my profession:

The first wave of job boards, which simply moved our existing processes onto the Internet, is already on the way out. We're at the very beginning of a huge sea change in the world of recruitment and HR management, and while those changes are being discussed on some blogs (like this one) and by some industry leaders, for the most part they're happening around us while we carry on the way we've always done things.

And on Job Syntax, I explaned what I think all this means for job seekers:

I do think that the days of controlling your own image are disappearing fast. With all this information online, it’s just not going to be possible to neatly package and present yourself with a well-written resume or a nicely designed web portfolio. Because employers know they have access to unfiltered information about you, and they will assume that unfiltered information is more accurate than the pre-packaged stuff you gave them.

In the end, more openness benefits one group of people – those who don’t need to spin their background because they’re doing a fabulous job. If you love what you do, and write a blog about it, or create a Squidoo lens, or answer questions on forums, or write articles, or play a key role on high profile projects, or speak at conferences, or take a leadership role in a professional group, or do any of the things that make you a leader in your field, you will be less likely than ever to lose out to someone less qualified just because they wrote a better resume. But if you don’t take an active role in promoting your self every day, a great resume alone won’t protect you for much longer.

Posted by Louise at 12:34 PM | Permalink

August 14, 2006

Go on vent - you'll feel better!

Heather Mundell points to a great tool for creating your fantasy resignation letter. The Resignator allows you to choose the type of letter you want to write depending on your mood (choices include abusive, passive-aggressive, bitter or whiney).

Heather posted this under her 'just for fun'category, but I think it can also be a nice way of letting off steam. Just as long as you don't actually send the letter!

Posted by Louise at 05:41 PM | Permalink

August 11, 2006

Not Qualified?

George Blomgren wonders what people are thinking. After describing a vacancy in his company, he says:

Only three out of 14 applicants have indicated an experience level and salary requirements that are even in the same ballpark as those spelled out in the job posting. The rest .. I wonder what they're thinking?

They're thinking that they have all these skills and abilities that would work in the position if only George would give them a chance. But of course he won't, because he asked for those qualifications for a reason.

Don't apply for jobs you're not qualified for. Instead, figure how how to GET qualified. A much better use of time and energy.

Posted by Louise at 07:28 PM | Permalink

August 10, 2006

New Tech Job Board

Shannon at EXCELER8ion points to Crunchboard which is a new job board for tech jobs and is described as:

The electronic version of the ultimate insider's network. Use CrunchBoard to connect with the most dynamic programmers, designers, entrepreneurs, executives, venture capitalists and others who are deeply interested in the new web, and looking for their next career step.

There is no charge to search jobs.

Posted by Louise at 09:02 AM | Permalink