Splitworld

Happy New Year - 2012

2012-01-17T16:48:00.000-08:00

My last post was in November! What happened to December - it just flew by - the holidays took over and my life got crazy. We did close out the year in a great way! We placed quite a few people and it felt good to get people working in 2012. I did enjoy taking the week off between Christmas and New Years. We took the time to hang out with our boys and take it easy. Now I've been back to work recruiting but also spending a lot of time helping people craft their resumes.

I have a lot of resume tips spread out through this blog but no one - including me - wants to dig through the entire blog. In the next few weeks I'm putting together a resume guide to post here so you have one place to go for resume help.

Happy New Year!! We hope you all have a happy, healthy and prosperous 2012!! Call us at the office if you need any assistance with your search.

Thank You Note

2011-11-14T13:20:00.000-08:00

I was talking to one of my candidates this a.m. about a thank you note she was going to write. I was relieved to learn that she was hand writing a short note instead of emailing it. Email is great but not for thank you notes. I’ve found most emailed thank you notes candidates write to their interviewer to be too long, too much about themselves (instead of the company), and are often hastily and poorly written. I prefer a short, legible hand written note on good stationary. Keep it simple and to the point. Mail it immediately after an interview - it has a much bigger impact than any email.

Call us yourself!

2011-10-19T15:45:00.000-07:00

If your spouse or girlfriend, sister or cousin needs a job don’t call a search firm for them. At Ankenbrandt we are happy to give advice, coach you a bit and lead you in the right direction but - call us yourself.

If you’re looking for a management job you should be able to pick up the phone and call me, shoot me an articulate email and do a Google search on job hunting - yourself. Attention all you well-meaning spouses, siblings, and cousins don’t “help” by phoning us. These people are not children. You calling us for them diminishes them in our eyes. If they can’t handle a phone call or make time to chat with us how are they able to get a job done? How are they going to find time to interview? It sets up a bad first impression. Stop “helping” and let them do it themselves!

B4 Facebook

2011-09-12T13:05:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday I was distracted from work because I was waiting for feedback on an interview. (For those of you who get anxious waiting for interview feedback I feel your pain!) I usually have the discipline to continue to work but I couldn’t focus and I was checking Facebook - a lot. I took a long lunch while reading the Wall Street Journal but still had time to kill. So what did I do when I got back to my desk - checked Facebook!

In the past, did we hang out at the coffee pot waiting for a co-worker to stop by, visit the receptionist, pace the halls, clean the ever messy desk or call a few random friends? I can’t remember. Facebook has become my social hub and go to spot when I need a distraction. Will Google+ start being of interest to me now too?

I do know that with all our instant communication ability it’s tough to wait for people to get back to you but interviews do take time and my patience was being tested. The interview worked out, everyone was pleased and he’s moving forward in the process. But seriously, what did we do before Facebook?

NETS Meeting

2011-08-25T12:01:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday I went off to Corpus Christi Church in Aliso Viejo to a NETS meeting to speak about networking. I had a great time at the meeting explaining how recruiters network – which is how we work - and meeting a group of very nice people.

NETS is a good group because it’s not too big, the people get to know each other and they help each other out. This group is truly committed to each other and helping people transition through their career. I think if we all participate in a good group similar to NETS it would open up our networks tremendously.

Networking with Hooter’s Girls?? What??!???

2011-08-17T11:17:00.000-07:00

I received an invitation to attend an in person networking meeting with a large group I joined through LinkedIn. One of my work friends, E, also receive an invite so we decided to meet there and network as a team. Working a room with two people is easier than one. As I am parked in the lot waiting for her to arrive and talking to her via cell, a car parks and out hop the Hooter’s Girls. They grab food out of their trunk and head right into the networking group. I’m narrating the scene as it happens all E had to say was, “Are you serious?” Yes, I was serious. Right away my gut feel was is going to be bad and it was. The event was loud, unorganized, the food was all in one cramped location, and you had to yell to hear anyone.

E also had a few thoughts about the networking event I thought I’d share.

“It was very disorganized. You would think there would be some kind of welcome speech by the organizer with an explanation of the purpose of the gathering and some tips for networking, so that people did not just wander aimlessly. The set up was not conducive to meet and greets – just a mass of people huddled together looking befuddled. Also, there was no rhyme or reason to the broad cross section of industries represented. Perhaps if they set up areas for people with similar industries/interests to meet that would be much better. I just did not get a good vibe there. Zero interest in talking with anyone.

Then of course, you said it all when you commented that based on that experience you will never attend another event by them. Unfortunately, it leaves one with a negative impression of the whole group. Also, one last note – they made us go through the trouble of registering for the event, but then they never checked to see if we were actually registered – i.e. they did not check us in via a list of registrants. Now I get that they just wanted to fill the place up, but not checking names discourages people from taking them seriously when the appearance is that they letting anyone in off the street, and are just collecting business cards to bombard us with some sales pitch for some other nefarious reason.

Of course! Too bad you didn’t take a picture of the mess – it would have been a good visual of what not to do if you want a successful event. A photo of me looking very annoyed would have been good ;-). ”

I do agree with E’s appraisal of the event. This was the second one I’ve attended and I don’t plan on attending third. Lesson learned – sometimes large networking events are a waste of time and you’re better off cultivating the network you already have.

Working with Recruiters

2011-07-13T15:45:00.000-07:00

Last week a CFO candidate call me about a job opportunity, great guy, good skill set but he came out of the wrong industry for my client. When I told him he may not work for my current client he got angry, frustrated and said my client didn’t know what he is doing.

I don’t like to waste time. As a recruiter, I work on commission and I am talking to you because you've been referred and I respect all my referrals or I found you and I think you maybe a fit. I prefer to talk to people who I think I can place either now or in the future. If at the end of our conversation if it's not a match for our current client we may have another one down the road. Plus you don’t know all the requirements for the job. We typically give you some of them but hold back on releasing all the information because it’s confidential. So please don’t get angry, frustrated or resentful. You can use me as a great networking contact and a resource for information.

Bottom line, the client, the company paying us, is who I work for and I may have to tell you no. Remember when you are job hunting you will hear a lot of no’s before you hear a yes. The yes will come.

Lee Hecht Harrison's Recruiter Roundtable

2011-06-15T17:07:00.000-07:00

Today I had a great experience at Lee Hecht Harrison’s Recruiter Roundtable. There were four recruiters, including me, on the panel answering industry questions. I recruit, interview, cold call, schedule, coach, market and coordinate all day long. When it’s your job to find jobs you forget how difficult it is for those of you searching for a job.

Lee Hecht does a good job teaching people how to find a job and how to work with recruiters. The candidates there had some great questions and got some good answers. One of the questions that got the most attention was - What are the most important questions for a candidate to ask?

The general gist of the conversation lead toward the wrap up of an interview. It’s good to ask questions but not too many. The max you should ask is five. You need to close the interview. What do I mean by that? Ask what the next step is, ask the interviewer if there is anything you need to clarify, ask for the job. Never, never leave without asking a question. The kiss of death is not asking a good question. So do your homework on the company and the people you’re meeting with then ask a great question!

Plastic People

2011-05-23T16:32:00.000-07:00

I’ve been working for a plastics/foam company searching for a Sales Manager, so my work these days revolves around what I call my “plastic people” search. Plastic people make me think of hunting down my kids little Lego people around my house. Consequently, I am now hunting around the Western United States for a “Lego” for my client. I can’t get the image out of my head – I’m around Legos often! The good part of this is that it keeps me smiling even when on a harder-than-it-sounds mission to find the perfect candidate for my client. To also better serve my client, and quite frankly to satisfy my own curiosity, I went on an internet research binge to learn more about foam. I started with Wikipedia and typed in foam. This is what I got –

A foam is a substance that is formed by trapping many gaseous bubbles in a liquid or solid.

A foam is normally an extremely complex system consisting of polydisperse (A collection of objects is called polydisperse or polysized if they have a broad range of size, shape and mass characteristics.) gas bubbles separated by draining films.

It goes on from there, but it’s so technical that this is definitely not the blog for that particular subject. Although, if you know of a blogger specializing in said topic, please let me know as it might lead me to the right candidate for this job!. Most of the guys I’ve talked to (very few women seem to be attracted to foam; I’ve only talked to one,) pretty much fell into foam. They are not academic tech types who specialize in foam. They do not have degrees in chemistry or biology. Most of them happened upon the industry and learned on the job about their product.

I’ve learned about foam too. I’ve learned it’s in pretty much everything - cars, airplanes, couches, computers, phones, medical devices, TV’s, buildings, etc. Some of it is so specialized that before I call a sales rep I have a bit of research to do on what type of foam they sell. The point of my foaming at the mouth message? (O.K. I couldn't resist saying it.) Sometimes something that seems so simple really isn’t, it’s quite complicated and the search process can become quite complicated too. However, this can be the most fun and interesting part of the job as well. One thing is for sure, I will never look at all of those little Lego people scattered about the floor of my house the same way again either.

So off I go through the recruiting maze armed with new information and some silly images to keep me smiling while searching for the perfect plastic person.

The Bench

2011-04-26T16:31:00.000-07:00

I got benched. I just spent a week being very frustrated. I got a horrid cold/flu along with laryngitis.

First off, I don’t do sick well. I like to be busy and doing almost anything other than resting. This means my version of sick is me trying to pretend I feel fine and then collapsing in a heap on the couch. My kids love the laryngitis part of the whole gig. I can’t talk, so they get away with a lot more bad behavior. What kid wouldn't like that?? That said, I did learn something about myself this week. Apparently, I normally sing a lot around the house - I know funny huh? I discovered that it’s not nearly as much fun listening to Pink crazy loud when you can’t sing along.

Working as a recruiter with laryngitis is almost impossible. All of my "sign language" can’t be seen over the phone and face to face meetings with me sounding like a frog are less than desirable - ugh. On the other hand, some people say my voice sounds great this way. However, the price to pay to have a , to quote a client - "sexy-raspy" voice for a week is too great. It plain ol' hurts to much to talk, so I shut up.

I guess I’ll have to reflect on this week as a rare week of Zen like silence – almost. It is definitely a lesson in taking better care of myself, which seems to be the true lesson being imparted to me through this experience. I guess occasionally getting off the roller coaster ride is a necessity in spite of the fact that I much prefer it! Sitting on the bench some days and letting others take the ride might not be so bad every once in a while. Regardless, it seems to be something I’m going to have to learn to do a little more often.

Now where does the line start? I want to get back on that coaster!!!

Taking my own advice - get out of your own network!

2011-04-06T13:04:00.000-07:00

Last Friday I decided to take some of my own advice and get out of my normal work and social network. I rsvp’d for the Chapman Woman in Film conference. What a great conference for women in general, and what fun it was learning about the film industry. I majored in Communications/Public Relations. When I graduated from Chapman I thought I’d never use the skills I learned in school recruiting. I was wrong. My classes taught me how to write and market. In the past recruiting was all about talking and networking face to face. Now with recruiting becoming an on-line profession with more written communication than verbal all those classes with Janell Shearer and Veston Rowe came in handy. So going back to my roots was a good thing. I reconnected with some people I have not talked to in years and connected with some new people. Getting out of your normal network does work!

Writing A Thank You Letter After An Interview

2011-03-08T13:24:00.000-08:00

When you’ve interviewed you must send a thank you letter! Very few people send one so be the one to stand out. A few things to remember when you do start writing -

Don’t start every sentence with “I”. When you say “I” all the time it makes you look self centered. It’s about what you can do for the company, not what they can do for you. Get creative and restructure your sentences to change things up.

Watch your grammar and spelling – double check everything.

Make sure you pitch (sell) yourself and do it well. You interviewed there and now you know more about the job. Every sentence written should show why you should be working at the company.

Keep it short and simple. Never go over a few short paragraphs and never over one page.

Proof read before you hit send.

2011-02-03T16:38:00.000-08:00

Proof read your emails before you hit send. In the last week I’ve received four emails all with typos. We all make mistakes but when you are emailing your resume to a recruiter or potential employer it’s not the time to make a typo. Compose your note and proof it before you add an email address in the To box. First impressions are huge in this business and you want to make your first impression a good one.

Proof read before you hit Send.

Should you send a recruiter references and letters of recommendation?

2011-01-27T15:47:00.000-08:00

I get this question a lot. Recruiters don’t need any letters of recommendation or references immediately. I'd recommend that you don't offer them up to recruiters unless you are asked.

Why? Many recruiters will just add the names to their database and/or contact them to introduce themselves and they do it without asking you. In addition to that, you don’t want your references burned out by recruiter calls. Save that favor from your old boss for when you get a job offer and you need your references checked.

Fried Creative Ability

2011-01-11T15:12:00.000-08:00

After taking time off during the holidays and being in full mommy mode I find myself back at work and working well recruiting but my creative, writing energy is zapped. I think all the art, cookie baking and Christmas projects I did while trying to entertain our kids who were stuck inside a lot during all the rain - fried any creative ability I have. I need a creative vacation. I have nothing inspiration to say this week but I do have a few things I learned over the holidays.

7 days in a small cabin is too much. 5 days is great. We’ll do 5 days the next trip. The last 2 days of temper tantrums we don’t need to relive – yes, I had one too.
Baking lots of cookies during bad weather is not smart – the kids need someplace to run off the sugar. Sliding down the stairs backwards in a sleeping bag to burn off steam just makes me crazy – yes my kids did that not me.
No giving gifts or getting them makes Christmas a piece of cake. We celebrated the season without commercialism.
When in doubt let your kids take the lead in fun. There was no sledding, but lots of rain so they made a mud slide and had a blast. The laundry after that was a bit was daunting.
If you’re lucky enough to have your husband say, “Can I help?” Always, always say, “Yes you can!”
Dave can handle the office by himself and he does it well.
Taking a true family holiday is priceless and I can’t wait to do it again.

Ba humbug!

2010-12-15T15:31:00.000-08:00

Ba humbug! I am in such a Scrooge mood this year. I’m over all the holiday madness and in need of a Christmas intervention from the all the Ghosts from Christmas past, present and future. Or maybe I’m need of a vacation? Good thing is I’m going to get a bit of a vacation this holiday season. I’m hoping to arrive back to work with my good attitude intact again. So in the spirit of holiday sarcasm and snarky behavior here are a few fun quotes for you –

Next to the circus there ain’t nothing that packs up and tears out faster than the Christmas spirit.
– Kin Hubbard

The one thing women don’t want to find in their stockings on Christmas morning is their husbands. – Joan Rivers

In the old days, it was not called the Holiday Season; the Christians called it “Christmas” and went to church; the Jews called it “Hanukkah” and went to synagogue; the atheists went to parties and drank. People passing each other on the street would say “Merry Christmas!” or “Happy Hanukkah!” or (to the atheists) “Look out for the wall!” - Dave Berry, Christmas Shopping: A Survivor’s Guide.

Christmas begins about the first of December with an office party and ends when you finally realize what you spent, around April fifteenth of the next year. – P.J. O’Rourke

And an Irish Man’s Life Philosophy –
In life, there are only two things to worry about, either you are well, or you are sick. If you are well, there is noting to worry about, but if you are sick, you have two things to worry about; either you will live, or you will die. If you live, there is nothing to worry about, if you die you have two things to worry about; either you will go to heaven or to hell. If you go to heaven, there is nothing to worry about, but if you go to hell, you’ll be so busy shaking hands with your friends, you won’t have time to worry!

Have a happy Christmas and a very merry New Year –

H.

Arrogance is so outdated!

2010-12-02T16:47:00.000-08:00

Webster’s definition – Arrogance n. the quality of state of being arrogant; overbearing pride or self-importance. Also arrogancy. Arrogant. Adj. full of or due to unwarranted pride and self importance; overbearing pride or self-importance.

No one likes an arrogant person especially an arrogant job searching person. It’s time to drop the attitude and humble yourself. Haughty, overbearing, self promoting and obnoxiousness is not flattering. Tone it down.

Yes, show what you’ve done, yes promote yourself, but don't act like you are on reality TV. Stop the talk and the false reality TV show glam and show us who you are and what you can do with sincerity, honesty and integrity. Those traits will take you a lot further when searching for a job than self importance, over bearing pride and narcissism.

Tapped Out!

2010-11-08T13:25:00.000-08:00

A sick kid on Friday, the Dad off at football commitments all weekend, a football award celebration leading to a trip to Chuck E. Cheese (or as we fondly call it Chuck E Sleaze), a long hike through a nature preserve has found me on Monday morning, pretty darn tired. When my co-worker actually told me I need to eat more chocolate, you know I’m dragging.

So, I’m sitting here looking out my window at the mountains (yes, I have a great view here) thinking what should I do to combat being tired? I’m not in the mood to chat - which is what I do for a living – and just plain cranky. I went on Facebook for a few minutes – stalling my day - and now I thought why not write about it. We all have cranky days, days that we need to spend recovering and re-energizing ourselves. Sometimes it’s best to embrace the crankiness and run with it. It’s like yelling a good old explicative when I hurt myself – it just makes me feel good to whine a bit when I’m this tapped out!

Q&A for Job Seekers

2010-10-21T14:05:00.000-07:00

So Todd Herschberg of the OCEAN group on LinkedIn sent me a request to answer a few questions. He’s on a panel this weekend for Lifetime Television's "The Fairy Jobmother's Career Kick Start Boot Camp", discussing "Career Dos and Don’ts". In the interest of providing a diverse set of viewpoints, he wanted feedback/responses/advice from me for those in transition. No idea if he’ll use my stuff but I thought I’d provide his questions and my answers.

1. Question - Facing unemployment in today’s world is complex. Can you give us perspective from different points of view, say a college grad versus someone at mid-career, a woman or Veteran re-entering the workforce, or a degreed versus non-degreed job seeker?

Answer: College grads vs. mid-career. I’m volunteering right now as a Mentor for the Chapman MBA program. I actually think the college grads will have an easier time finding work. They can intern for free and prove to their employers that they are worth bringing on. A mid-career person has to slug through the resume, interview hiring process without the help of a career placement office to push them in. Both types of people need to get aggressive to get a job. You must show why they should hire you. Don’t expect whoever is hiring you to fish it out you must sell yourself.

2. Question - What is unusual about our current economic situation that makes the job of getting a job completely different than in past decades?

Answer - Unusual about current economic situation – companies are cutting back and expecting you to do three jobs not one. So when they decided to replace, rehire or create a new job they combo skills. Quite frequently during our searches the combo is almost unheard of and we’re out seeking that needle in the haystack. Also normally in harsh times companies still need accounting/finance types but not as much now. As accounting/operations gets more automated it takes less people to manage the systems.

3. Question - Other than the economy, what is the number one barrier that prevents people from gainful employment?
Answer - Not demonstrating why they fit the job, not explaining what they bring to the table to help the company and not asking for the job.

4. Question - What does one do if they have been historically employed in an industry that is showing no signs of growth or is in fact diminishing altogether?

Answer - What to do when you are becoming extinct – like mammals did, you need to adapt. Think out of the box, figure out what skill sets are transferable and market yourself to companies that can use those skills. People have a tendency to see what they can’t do instead of what they CAN do.

5. Question - What are the first steps you recommend for a job seeker to prevent feeling overwhelmed?

Answer - Take a deep breath and call a recruiter friend.

6. Question -. What are some of the key pitfalls job seekers face when looking for a new position?

Answers – Their ego – lose it. You won’t be making as much money as before and you’ll be working harder than before.

7. Question - Many unemployed workers start to focus on their passion and look to turn hobbies or dreams into entrepreneurial companies. At what point in the unemployment process do you recommend people begin to look at this as the best or worst option?

Answer - It all depends on the person and how entrepreneurial they are. Running your own business is not easy - you have to market your company constantly and work. Many people don’t understand that or are capable of doing that. Before you launch on something new I’d suggest finding a mentor/coach to talk with. Also do lots and lots of research on your new industry. The more you know the better off you are.

8. Question - What is your most memorable story or experience of a job seeker overcoming obstacles and realizing successful employment?

Answer - No idea - I work mainly with people who have jobs currently and I’m recruiting directly.

Box of Chocolates

2010-10-07T13:16:00.000-07:00

Some days I just love my job! This week I was cranky because one of my clients keeps on changing the job description of what they need. It makes me crazy – when I keep on having to change up my search. I’m like a lion out for the kill. If you tell me what to go get – I’m on it. BUT I need to know what I’m after. Changing the job as the search progresses is part of the recruiting game but it’s a part I don’t particularly like.

So, one of our favorite Marketing VP’s, Michelle, called in – if you need a good VP she's available – and I started ranting - OK it really was complaining about my day. I admit it was totally unprofessional but she is a good friend of the firm and she gets my sense of humor. I went on about how I’m being sent all over kingdom come to find a specific type of person only to find out my client changed up the job AND…. I ran out of CHOCOLATE. This was bad.

To the rescue! About an hour later Michelle showed up with a 2 lb. box of See’s candy. Happiness!!!!! What a fabulous person to take time out of her day to go out of the way and be nice. So I got my chocolate and got back on my search.

Interesting side note - the box is hidden because the men over hear eat more chocolate than me!!! Boys leave my box of chocolate alone! My gawd, the box is almost empty and seriously - I’ve only had 3 pieces.

The internet is blessing and a curse!

2010-09-23T18:07:00.000-07:00

We love the net, we use it daily to find candidates, research companies, check the news. It’s quick, easy and often times incredibly accurate. But it can also work against us. Often candidates develop their expectations of what we can do for them, how much money they can make and who they should be working for by doing a quick internet search. They hit one or two sites and consider their research done! Give them an A for effort but there is lots of information on the net that can get you into trouble - trouble a good recruiter can get you out of. We know our clients, we know our market we know if you’ll have to take a cut in pay or get a fantastic increase. We know because we keep tabs on the market and close tabs on our clients.

Bug Smasher

2010-09-01T13:03:00.000-07:00

Today I was interviewing with a Director of Sales and a bug was flying around. It was a tiny moth type of bug and it was bugging me. (Couldn’t resist, sorry.) Without thinking, I smashed it. I think the Director will always remember me as the recruiter/bug smasher. He was nice enough to give me some Purell so I didn’t have to go down the hall to wash hands. Thanks Director! Sometimes we do things without thinking. Smashing a little bug is funny and I don’t think too harmful. Other things I’ve seen people do during and interview can turn people off. Stuff not to do:

Chew gum
Cackle at the interviewer, laughing good, cackling not so good
Eat candy
Answer your cell phone or office phone
Tell too many personal stories – what will we talk about later?
Adjust your clothing
Pick at body parts – eyebrows, nails, noses – gross.
Apply lipstick
Putt your feet up on the table/desk
Spill coffee all over the person interviewing you
Smash bugs

Customer Service???

2010-08-19T13:49:00.000-07:00

Customer Service. I Wiki’d it - Customer service is a series of activities designed to enhance the level of customer satisfaction – that is, the feeling that a product or service has met the customer expectation.

My customer satisfaction got tested today. I had a bunch of charges on my credit card from Snapfish for a service/product???/who knows what it was that I had never ordered. So, I called customer service last night and after over 20 minutes stuck on hold, I hung up – had to go get the kid.

Today, I was on hold for 10 minutes, got transferred 4 or 5 times. I lost track off all the people I was talking to and finally got to someone named Monica. I suggest if you ever need help at Snapfish just call her at the Consumer Affairs department - 1-866-829-8484 instead of the main customer service number – that number was a nightmare. Go straight to Monica and avoid all the middle men who seem to be some where in a call center far, far away.

After much discussion about this “Value Pass”, which I never ordered, asking them for proof that I ordered the service, which they did not have, I got my refund.

Am I satisfied with the result? Yes. Would I use them again? I’m not so sure. I didn’t like being signed up by them for something I never would use. I order cards once a year at Christmas and being signed up for a monthly "value pass" for product that I use yearly, not so cool. Do the pictures look cute that I’ve ordered? Darn right they do because my kids are cute. I know, I’m biased about that. So, in December will I use them again despite the customer service nightmare? We’ll see? Check back with me then.

Ankenbrandt Group Trivia

2010-08-04T14:36:00.000-07:00

Browsing through The Ankenbrandt Groups old TAGBits newsletter I found out some fun and interesting stuff about the firm -

Our logo is over 10 years old and we still think it looks good – thanks Rikki!
We’ve been preaching tech solutions to recruiting for over 15 years. We still love technology.
We have shared loads of Christmas, Halloween, Thanksgiving trivia.
We are continuing re-inventing ourselves. We have recruited in almost all industries – the only industry I know we have not placed people in is hospitality. Anyone want to change that?
We have found fantastic quotes over the years which are posted on this blog.
We have been through recessions, earthquakes, fires, floods, huge periods of growth, a relocation to a new office etc.
Dave “retiring” and then coming back - it’s hard not to work when you don’t have a hobby.
Dave won’t quit – ever.

Caller ID

2010-07-29T12:14:00.000-07:00

I’m annoyed, agitated and needing to vent. I’m on the phone recruiting for a Customer Care person (I have a great job open if you know anyone) and sometimes I get a wrong number. When I know it’s a wrong number I do not leave a message – I hang up. Leaving a message wastes time.

It’s amazing to me that I get so many calls back from people demanding to know who called them and why. When I ask if a message was left they say, “No” and I tell them it must have been a wrong number. Seriously - do you really have that much time on your hands to go through your caller ID to phone everyone back????
Please call back the people who leave you a message, but if a message was not left, why are you calling? Ugh!

I feel much better now. Thanks.

House Rules

2010-07-22T15:59:00.000-07:00

At my home we have house rules posted on the wall. These rules are simple but work and I thought they might apply in the work place too. So here is the home version and the work version:

Home:
Play don‘t hurt – not hitting, pinching, body slamming, tripping, etc.
Do as you are told.
No complaining/whining.
No name calling.
No foul language.
Be friendly and thoughtful.
Respect is earned not given.

Work:
Play well for the team - don’t hurt the team.
Do what your boss asks you to do unless it’s illegal and unethical.
Find solutions to problems don’t complain about them.
No name calling. Has calling your co-worker a nasty name actually furthered your career?
No foul language – we all have better vocabulary than that. Do you really need to let out a f-bomb all the time?
Be friendly and thoughtful – works at the office too. It never hurts to be good to your team.
Respect is earned not given.

Running under the yellow flag

2010-07-15T14:20:00.000-07:00

While chatting today with a great CFO, Bruce R., he mentioned how companies are holding back during this depression/recession. During his search process he’s been offered several jobs but with no monetary incentive to push the company forward and drive revenue. He’s been seeing employers cautious, cutting salaries and thinking short term by undercutting salaries, which does lead to resentment and people leaving for more money when they can.

He had an interesting analogy revolving around NASCAR. During NASCAR racing when there is an accident the official yellow flags the race – the cars are under caution and need to be careful while driving the track. Bruce thinks there are lots of companies running under caution and believes it’s the wrong time to be cautious.

It’s time to crank up the business and take an aggressive posture. Don’t let the recession dictate how you run your company.

Go to green and come home with the checkered flag!

Snooze button

2010-07-08T14:38:00.000-07:00

Today is flying by and I keep on getting all these notices popping up – “post to your blog” and I keep on hitting snooze. Ever have one of those days where you keep on hitting snooze because you’re so swamped? I’ve found that if I just stop for a second, quit hitting snooze and just get whatever I need to get done, and then my day goes a lot better. So stop hitting snooze and just get it done!

Best of TAGBit’s Quotable Quotes

2010-07-01T14:32:00.000-07:00

Be at war with your voices,
At peace with your neighbors,
And let every new year
Find you a better man.
- Benjamin Franklin

When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on it. – Franklin D. Roosevelt

The secret of success:
1. Get a job.
2. Get a better job.
3. Get an even better job.
4. Repeat as often as necessary.
- Matt Groening

It is well for people who think to change their minds occasionally in order to keep them clean. For those who do not think, it is best at least to rearrange their prejudices once in awhile. – Luther Burbank, scientist.

There are three types of people. People who make things happen. People who watch things happen. And people who don’t know what’s happening. – John Madden

Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people do that, but the really great make you feel that you too, can somehow become great. – Mark Twain

Being tolerant dos not mean that I share another’s belief. But it does mean that I acknowledge another one’s right to believe, and obey his own conscience. – Victor Frankl

Good leadership must be for the future, not for the past or present. – J. Arthur Urciuoli

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit. – Aristotle ** Heidi’s favorite quote!!!!!

May the most you wish for be the least you get. – Unknown

Minutes are worth more than dollars, spend them wisely. Thomas P. Murphy

Whatever you are, be a good one. – Abraham Lincoln

Character is a by-product; it is produced in the great manufacture of daily duty. – Woodrow Wilson

I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past. – Thomas Jefferson

Change it Up

2010-06-23T14:38:00.000-07:00

What fun - today I changed up my blog with a new format, added our company logo and a link to You Tube. It was great to change up the look of my blog to be similar to my company. I like it - it's clean and easy to read.

Dave has been on You Tube for awhile and this week I joined him asking questions. It was totally off the cuff, no rehersal and no script - you'll see that is very evident! So check us out on the daveankenbrandt channel on You Tube. Dave has lots to say on career, how to find a job, what jobs are hot etc.

The Handshake

2010-06-16T14:48:00.000-07:00

What’s in a handshake - A wet noodle, limp fish, or an iron grip? Is there a happy medium for a good handshake? Of course there is. When shaking hands, you are portraying your self-confidence, friendship, power, status, and self worth. Your handshake says a lot about you. Make it firm but don’t squeeze the life out of the hand you are shaking. A good handshake bridges the gap between you and the other person. It should be a warm greeting, not a power play or an intimidation factor.

•Your handshake should be firm but gentle. Men -- firm does not mean squeeze the hand like it’s in a vice grip.
•Palms should touch, but not be compress. Again, don’t flatten out their hand until they are saying ouch.
•If you have sweaty palm syndrome wipe your palms in your suit jacket/pants pockets, casually, before you shake hands. You can keep a dry Kleenex in your pockets to help dry your hands.
•The encounter should be long enough to make contact but not too long, usually two or three quick shakes or a quick count to three.

Shaking hands is a salutation, treat it as such. First impressions do matter – the handshake, the polished shoes, the clean shirt, well groomed hands. Make sure your handshake is part of the package that makes a great first impression.

Combo Pak

2010-06-09T15:53:00.000-07:00

Interesting coincidence happened to me this week. I ran into two different people with very similar backgrounds. Both of these people, “Fred and Ted”, had finance and operations experience and also their JD’s. They each have a combination of finance, strategy, marketing, operations and law.

Fred made a career out of his finance/JD background by assisting running companies as the COO/CFO. Ted did a lot of VP Marketing/Ops work and just got his JD. It was nice to be able to tell Ted he doesn’t have to pick one thing. You just might be able to “combo pak” it.

If you are out there searching for something to do to make work more interesting why not be more like Fred and Ted and combine some of your skills in order to venture into new areas? I think it is very viable way to jump out of the preverbal “box” and take another direction.

Oh, and also Fred and Ted, it was nice to meet you this week. I always enjoy talking to very bright and interesting people who are doing what they love but are also pushing the envelope. And yes, I think I’ve been reading way too much Dr. Seuss. (The Fred and Ted stories by Dr. Seuss.)

Internet Black Hole

2010-05-25T15:57:00.000-07:00

Today while talking to a terrific, very smart USC MBA (he has a MS in engineering too), he mentioned the black holes of the internet – job/resume portals. He said they don’t work, on line networking doesn’t work and emailing resumes directly to HR doesn’t work. For the most part, he’s right. Our world of instant emails, instant gratification doesn’t always work for finding a job. So, note to job hunters – finding a job is very hard work and sometimes you have to go the extra mile. Finding a job is harder work than having a job. In order to not end up in the black hole you need to go the extra mile .

Create - a list of companies that interest you. Then find out who is in charge of what you want to do. Example, if you are a marketing person, find out who is the Marketing Director or Marketing Vice President. Then, send your resume directly to that person – after you customize your resume – see below for more on that. You can also send it to HR.

Tailor - your resume to fit the job you are applying for. Do not lie, do not embellish but do highlight those skills that are applicable to the job you are applying for. Your resume is a marketing tool. It helps you get the job but you need to get in the door to sell yourself.

Follow - always follow up a resume with a phone call. You can call twice and send one email, after that you become a stalker. You do not want to become a stalker.

Interview - When you get the interview remember your elevator pitch, know your resume and sell yourself. Know enough about the company to be able to explain why your skill set fits their needs.

Thank you – write a thank you note, don’t just email it. Personal well written notes are still a nice touch.

Got the job – great! Now get ready to work. Didn’t get the job – make sure you tell the people you interviewed with that they can forward your resume to anyone they think might be able to use your skill sets. Always stay on good terms with anyone you’ve interviewed with – you never know who they know. It’s best not to end up in the black hole of a burned bridge.

An idle mind is the devil's workshop.

2010-05-13T14:57:00.000-07:00

An idle mind is the devil's workshop. --- Lately I’ve been getting very irritated with people who have too much time on their hands. Idleness typically means you have no particular goal in mind and can be easily distracted, or in the case of a few, fixated. I’ve been finding these easily distracted or highly fixated people annoying.

First off, why do you have time to go through missed calls and actually call back those people who did not leave messages? It was probably a miss-dialed number. If they didn’t leave a message don’t worry about it. Second, don’t call people multiple times and not leave a voice mail. You might have the time to constantly phone me, but once I’ve seen you’ve called three times without leaving a message you become a stalker. Yes, our receptionist remembers you’ve called three times. Just leave me a message. Stalking people is not OK. Finally, story telling, when you keep telling the same people the same story over, and over, I think you need to find something else to do or someone new to talk to.

Retired – great, go find a charity group and volunteer. Not working – you should be on the net, on the phone networking all day. You should not be fixated on one person – branch out, meet lots of people. If you are one of those people who think they need to check their PDA constantly and be in constant communication – get over it. Seriously, how narcissistic can we be these days?

Laugh it up fuzz ball

2010-04-29T14:22:00.000-07:00

You know those times where you get writers block. I mean really stuck. Usually I can come up with something, anything. Today all I was thinking about is my son repeating a line from Star Wars, “Laugh it up fuzz ball.” I had to know who said the line so off I go to the net to find out. It was Han Solo. So today all I’ve got it is, “Laugh it up fuzz ball. Maybe I need a day to laugh it up instead of sitting here stuck like a fuzz ball.

Fake it until you make it.

2010-04-21T15:52:00.000-07:00

The calls we are getting from some of our candidates can break your heart. People are stressed, not working, frustrated, scared and desperate -- but those traits won’t get you hired. When you talk to a potential employer be confident, happy, smart, sensible, and strong. And if you don’t feel that way, fake it until you make it.

Seriously, fake the happy, sensible and strong. Fake the confidence. Don’t give into fear and insecurity no matter how you really feel. If you need to vent, dump your frustrations and fears on your family, friends and your shrink, not on a potential employer. Then, sit down and put together an employment plan and work the plan.

Volunteer your time.

2010-04-14T12:39:00.000-07:00

Not working? Have you finished the honey do list? Need something to do while you are searching for a job? Work for a Non-profit. Yes, volunteer your time. What volunteering does for you -

1. Makes you feel good. You are helping those who need help while you are helping yourself.
2. How are you helping yourself? By expanding your network. You are meeting people you might not normally meet.
3. Develops new skills or refines skills you already have.
4. Keeps you busy. Idyll hands, idyll mind. Keep yourself sharp by keeping busy.

Working hard and in need of a raise?

2010-04-07T12:32:00.000-07:00

There are many successful companies today, companies that are showing a profit. If you work for one of these companies and are thinking you deserve a raise - it’s OK to ask for one, but do it in the right way.

You are not entitled to a raise. You must earn one and demonstrate why you deserve one. Especially in this tough economic climate where cutbacks are the norm, you need to make sure you have all your preverbal “ducks in a row” when you go talk to your boss. Show, preferably using positive examples, why you deserve a raise. Your credit card bills, your stock market loss and your kids’ tuition increasing are not reasons to get a raise. Saving the company money, increasing the bottom line, and turning around a difficult situation to the benefit of your company – those are all reasons to receive a raise.

So, get your pitch together with all the facts, be genuine, and state your case. If they say no, at least your boss learned all the good you’ve done. If they say yes, celebrate!

Plug & Play

2010-03-31T13:45:00.000-07:00

Part of an easy job search is to develop a document to use with your resume. This “plug and play list” will have all your accomplishments and all of your skill sets. You list all of them out separately. When you are applying for a job and re-writing your resume you can “plug and play” what is appropriate to the job.
Keep in mind, this is a working document not one you will share when taking in your resume. If you have a web site you formalize the list and post it. Mostly, this document is strictly for convenience when you are styling your resume for your next job.

A few rules –
• No stodgy boiler plate phrases.
• No exaggerating the truth. If it was a team effort that is OK. You were part of a successful team.
• Write in your own voice. Writing like you are someone else shows up in the interview. When we drill you down and get the – who, what, where, why and when (5W’s) we can pick out all the truths and falsehoods.
• Be prepared to go into detail about all your accomplishments. Again the 5W’s.
• We like numbers -- Increased sales by 200%. Saved $71 million. Reduced over due balances by 25%.

So, get going on your plug and play and make it easy to change up your resume as needed.

The Droid

2010-03-24T11:46:00.000-07:00

One pound of learning requires ten pounds of common sense to apply it. - Persian Proverb. I’m taking that proverb to heart and have read my instruction book on my new cellular phone. Now I need some common sense!

I am having the hardest time getting used to my Droid’s touch screen. I feel like a child having to learn how to tie their shoes and I’m getting really frustrated. I got the Droid because I was told that in about 2 years we won’t be able to get key pads anymore. Cell phones are going completely over to touch pads. So, I embrace the change.

Well, yippee on the totally cool technology but my fingers don’t want to do it. So, for the next week if you text me or email me, you just might be getting some very interesting messages back. Be patient with me as I attempt to learn how to use my phone! This is so ridiculously my life.

Dinosaur

2010-03-17T12:13:00.000-07:00

I did not call Dave a dinosaur last week. He’s been on the phone all day Tuesday and now Wednesday, today, insisting I said he’s a dinosaur. Dinosaurs are the creatures my son is fascinated with - they are cold blooded, larger than life, ancient and quite interesting. OK, maybe I should be calling Dave a DINO????

Dave can be cold blooded, especially when he turns the air conditioner down so low my feet go numb, he is always larger than life and lets us know that! Dave, by some standards, could be considered ancient in the recruiting industry. However, in our family where people live into their late 90’s he’s still considered young and quite, of course, interesting – it’s never a dull moment around here.

Way to go “Dave the Dino” you got yourself written into my blog – AGAIN.

Think 3

2010-02-25T15:04:00.000-08:00

Think 3. My three year old doesn’t know he can’t do stuff; he doesn’t know he’s too young, inexperienced or small to try. He rips it up on his razor every morning going to school chasing after my 6 year old and our 7 year old neighbor. He can jump the curb, do “babies” which is sitting on the razor while flying down the sidewalk and then hopping back up again; he can balance on one foot. It’s amazing and we get stopped daily about his skills. So, why am I talking about this?

Think like 3. Quit telling yourself you’re too old, too tired, too slow, and too embarrassed to try. Go for it – act like my three year old and just go for it. Attack that project you think you can’t do, jump in with enthusiasm and go for it, quit holding back and just try it. As any kid will tell you, sometimes you fall down, sometimes you skin your knee, but eventually you do get up and do it again and do it right.

Be 3.

How to Interview a Candidate for your Job Opening

2010-02-17T15:16:00.000-08:00

1. Remember this is not a social event. This person is not your friend.

2. Remove your ego from the equation. Be genuine.

3. Especially in this economy, do not assume the unemployed person you are interviewing is second class. In fact, don’t treat anyone like they are second class.

4. Start with a plan. Write down the important questions you need answered and ask them. If you need to make a check list of your questions do it and then check them off as they are answered.

5. If they don’t answer directly ask the question again in a different way. Candidates are trying to avoid difficult questions as much as possible. They like to talk around things. Sometimes it takes a few tries to get a real answer out of them. Yes, this speaks to their character.

6. Take notes – write all over their resume.

7. Be real about your needs and wants. Understand the job you are hiring for.

8. Listen. Quit talking so much. Ask your questions and wait for an answer. Stop the chatter.

9. If you don’t like the person at all be gracious and kind when you exit the interview. That person could know the perfect person for your job and will refer them – if you are cordial to them.

10. If you think the person is fantastic don’t over sell the job or the company – again, be real.

No one will call me back!

2010-01-28T14:44:00.000-08:00

I am hearing a lot these days, “No one will call me back.” The internet has become the go-to place for recruiting and hiring. The net is great, it makes things easy, but the “people part” sometimes gets forgotten. It’s easy to avoid people with email. So while you are searching for a job – pick up the phone and follow up. Yes, email is great but we are finding that those who spend more time on the phone creating relationships with people are finding jobs faster. Pick up the phone and use those great communication skills you’ve developed over the years.

Friends who need help.

2010-01-14T12:57:00.000-08:00

Juggling time is such the dilemma these days at work. What to do? We have recruiting work we want/need to get done but we also have friends of the firm who need help. These friends have given us business in the past but are out of work now. So, I’ve been doing a lot of career, life counseling which I enjoy, but we have clients who need our help and I hate to say it but, our clients pay the bills. So my dilemma is how to split my time?

I think managing my time has always been a problem –well, it has been for me, but when people need assistance with their lives it truly is a dilemma. We have people in crisis. How do you say, “I can’t talk to you now.” You don’t. So I guess why I’m writing this is if you friends of the firm call us for help, we’ll help but just remember, we also have work to do so - be patient – we might not be able to call you right back but we will call you back. We do remember the people who help us out, we do remember who is loyal to us – just be a bit patient.

In the moment

2009-11-19T16:05:00.000-08:00

OK so I"m sitting at home the other day trying to schedule a working lunch meeting with my three year old kid on my lap. I scheduled an overnight meeting - 24 hours. Task master that I can be, that was ridiculous! Very funny though. Good thing my business partner knew me well enough to laugh. So, my work is creeping into home and vice versa. Why am I talking about this?

I just read a hilarious article from Chris Erskine called "The tricks of 6". It's all about how 6 year olds are in the moment. To quote his article, "All hat and no horse.", but in the moment. I think more people need to be in the moment. So when I'm at home I need to pay attention to the 3 year old on my lap - put down the computer Heidi -- and when I'm at work I need to only check Face Book - OK, maybe twice a day? Let's all try to occasionally quit multi-tasking and be in the moment. We might actually get a bit more done.

STOP paying for bad resumes.

2009-11-04T14:34:00.000-08:00

Please quit paying thousands of dollars for bad resumes!

We have had too many people coming to us with a bad resume they have paid thousands of dollars for. It is frustrating and infuriating to me to see good people taken. Most of these people are unemployed and I think are having their fears preyed on.

If you need resume tips go through this blog. I have lots of resume writing tips here. If you are totally stuck phone us, and we’ll help. Don’t spend your mortgage, car payment or a month of groceries on a bad resume.

Bad Attitudes Don't Sell

2009-10-21T11:01:00.001-07:00

Recently we’ve had a few candidates come in to meet with us with such doom and gloom attitudes. Maybe they are letting down their guard with their old recruiter friends but seriously, bad attitudes don’t sell.

No matter how awful your day, week, year has been, most people prefer their potential employees – leaders of their company -- to have a positive outlook. I’m not saying you can’t gripe every now and then. Life would not be fun without a few sarcastic comments, like the old snarky saying goes, “If you’ve got something nasty to say come sit by me.” But in an interview, please keep the snarky attitude to yourself.

Addition to your team -

2009-10-06T14:48:00.000-07:00

Create an accurate and detailed job description. The number one difficult thing about a search is when the hiring manager has no idea what they want. If you don’t quite know what you need ask around, talk to your employees. They typically know exactly what you need and what you don’t need. Open up those lines of communication.

Think about the intangibles -- the person’s personality. Develop and idea of who would work best on your team. If you have too many introverts who never speak up, maybe you find yourself an extrovert. Make sure you round out your team.

Use your network to find your ideal candidate. Yes, email all your friends and ask who they know. If that doesn’t work then call us. We’ll start using our network.

Conduct an in-depth interview. Make sure you get all your questions answered. Going off the cuff works when you interview all the time (like us) but if you don’t interview often make sure you cover the essentials. Over here we start out new recruiters with an interview cheat sheet. Bring your interview cheat sheet into the interview in case you forget what you need to ask.

Background checks tell all. Make sure you run one on the final candidate. We’ve a had lots of skeletons come out of the closet with a detailed background check.

I'm not a computer, I'm a recruiter

2009-09-24T15:50:00.000-07:00

We keep on receiving what we call “marketing resumes". What is a marketing resume? It’s a shortened version of a candidate’s history that is written for a computer -- just in case they are scanned and never get seen by human eyes. The resumes usually look good, they give some information but they are not what a recruiter wants. Keep in mind they are useful and have a purpose but send those marketing resumes to the databases and large companies who want them. I am not a computer, I’m a recruiter! I do not scan for key words. When I recruit someone I actually read their resume. So, when you are approached by a recruiter, a person not a computer, and asked for a resume please, please send us a real “old fashioned” resume.

Now, don’t go dig out granny’s typewriter. We expect them to arrive in an acceptable format like Word. I still like them to look good and read well. I also like a chronological resumes with things like titles, dates of employment in chronological order, what you did there, where you went to school, your address, phone and email. We do not want a mishmash of information that I have to figure out and piece together. I already have to dig through your background. For example - and keeping in mind I’ve been watching Jurassic Park too much due to my 3 year olds obsession with dinos – picture a paleontologist digging up a dino. They don’t need anyone else dumping layers of dirt on top of what they already need to dig up. They are not bringing in the dump truck full of dirt to spill all over the dino so they can spend more time in the dirt. Think minimal digging, keep it simple.

So help us out – send a solid, well written, looking good resume. Keep your marketing resume for the job boards, networking events and throwing it at some huge corporation’s computer to scan. Me the human, send me the readable resume, the one my client wants to see. When we recruit you we really do want you to get the job!

The multi tasking mommy

2009-09-10T14:47:00.000-07:00

I am attempting to refine my multi-tasking/organization skills because....

School started! The mommy in me has had to get extra crazy disciplined and refine my multi-tasking and organization skills. It’s amazing how much I can get done, not always as quickly as I wish, but I get it done. A few things that have helped me out:

Plan the family dinners. If you have a weekly plan it makes each night easier. Plus, it makes shopping easier.

Pack lunch ahead of time and lay down the law. What I mean by that - If the kid doesn’t tell you what he wants when you’ve given two choices - he gets what you give him – no exceptions, no substitutions. What is the old saying, “You get what you get, don’t put up a fit.”

Homework must be done soon after school – before football! Get it over with.

Highlight each family member’s schedule on the main calendar in different colors. It helps everyone know who is doing what and where they are headed to next.

Return all important email, calls and mail immediately. The more you put it off the more it seems to stack up.

Delete all unimportant emails and voicemails immediately. Don’t let your in-box clog up. This includes mail – throw out everything you don’t need and sort it before you get into the house – i.e. sort it into the trash bin. Keep the bills (although you should be on-line by now with all that) and invites.

Whew – then get to work and relax for a few minutes before you need to GET BACK TO WORK!

Catching Up

2009-08-19T14:09:00.000-07:00

Whew – I’ve been swamped streamlining TAG’s social networking efforts as well as recruiting. On top of that, I’ve been out and about going to networking events and to add to my chaos, at home, we just started football season. Football is a huge commitment and I’m trying to figure out how to get through the season. I think my biggest issue the last few weeks is figuring out the logistics for practice each night. It’s all about feeding the dudes healthy food, not fast food – I’ve gone way too organic for that! I might actually start blogging about the football food issue and posting all that recipe madness on another blog.

So, to wrap it all up, I’m up on Twitter now - you can find me at Splitworld. I’m sending out our most current jobs and anything else I think is helpful. The company should be up this week Tweeting any new jobs and/or some of Dave’s short rants.

A huge thank you to Andrew Bermudez at Lee & Associates for his insights into these social networking sites. We’ve always had a great network here at TAG and now it’s getting even better.

2009-07-30T12:29:00.000-07:00

Taking it to the next level.

Ever meet someone who takes everything to the next level but not in a good way? This person is the worry wart, the pessimist, the “what if?”, and “what scenarios should we play out – just in case” person.

Why go there? Why not assume the positive will happen, that things will go well? The disagreement was just that, don’t escalate it. Your health will be restored, don’t go to a bad place or think extreme. The kids will behave, they are good kids. Let’s just focus on the positive and assume that everyone, most of the time, means well.

I realize life is not always rosy but if we have faith that most people are acting in good faith and with goodwill I bet things will get easier for everyone. So you grumpy person, quit picking fights, quit worrying, quit thinking it’s all bad. Try to focus on the good, assume people are good and take it to a good level! We need a bit more positive attitude out there these days!

2009-07-28T16:05:00.000-07:00

So, Gramps and I have been chatting again and he sent me another gem -

Working Smarter
Most of us employed in the many small business enterprises that constitute the backbone of this nation are obsessed with the idea that hard work and long hours are the secret to success. Most of us get that idea from the fact that those we know who are already successful tell us that is how they did it. We have a tendency to follow suit simply because we hear so much about role models and setting examples. The truth of the matter is that this is only part of the reason for success. It is a most important part and critical to the outcome, however this is only a step in the right direction when you analyze the action for its basic premise. All you’ve done so far is to implement the old stand-by procedure nomenclature: net-working – or – thinking inside the box. The real secret to success is not in working harder or longer, it is in working smarter.

Yeah, easy for you to say but just how do you do that? You do it by working the old fashioned way, and that is: by working harder and longer – but by making sure you do not do the same old things that put you into this slump you are now in. Isn’t that smarter? Of course it is. How do you do that?

Here is the idea:Get out the information on your last success and read it.

What is the one thing that tells you why you made the sale?

Can you see when things were beginning to jell for you?Can you see what that special acceleration was?

Something you said?
Something you did?
Some product you introduced that enhanced the deal?
Some unexplored perk that needed clarification?

Can you also see where you could have made a bigger success of the deal if you had altered some words, taken some words out – or –? These are hints – or clues -- for future successes, are they not?

By now you should be thinking again and ready for the next phase:

Plan a new success story using what you have just taught your brain to do using your present client as your chief character. Once you start this process and see how successful it is, you will never stop and you will be so rich you can afford your own health insurance plan and forget Obama’s. In the meantime, remember the key duty in a salesman’s repertoire. Contact your client daily or more often making sure he knows you are there to serve and don’t forget to ask how their family is. Remember: contact, contact, contact!

If you are interested in Gramps writing you can find him at www.josephconover.com

Gramps view of The Great Depression

2009-07-15T14:44:00.000-07:00

My 92 year old Grandfather sent this letter to Dave, my Dad. Dave forwarded it to me I wanted to share my Grandfathers experience with the Great Depression. This is his response to a email my father sent him about the economy. Thanks Gramps for allowing me to share your thoughts. I think this is a powerful message about how lucky we really are today. ----

Hi Dave I am not trying to be a wise guy, Dave. I am one of the few left alive who can honestly say they went through the GREAT DEPRESSION OF 1929. I was 12- 13 years old when the Great Depression hit. I can remember when the NY brokers were jumping out the windows. There wasn't ANY money. The whole world was poor.

The crime rate dropped to zero --- there was nothing to steal or fight about. We had a steady stream of bums and hobos at our door and my mother fed each and every one some kind of a sandwich. Even a mash potato sandwich was appreciated.

I wore the same pair of pants all the time I went through high school. My dad was lucky to be demoted only and held onto his job with a 1/2 cut in pay. Mother finally found a job sewing pajama bottoms for an army contractor who owned a sweat shop sewing factory. She worked 5 1/2 days a week and made $5.00. Dad was making $19 a week laboring in a factory.

I was a big help I had a paper route that started out paying me $0.50 a week after a year I had managed to get another route and with two routes I was making $1.75 a week. It was like heaven. I could not play sports in high school because I had to carry my paper route at that time each day. In my senior year, I took a chance and quit my paper route job so I could play football. I was the star player. After graduation, I did whatever job I could. Worked for nothing some places just to learn how to do the job, hardware store, grocery store, farm work, etc. Best job I had was filling bags with mothball flakes at $0.16 an hour. The job lasted a week when the plant blew up. I was lucky to be laid off that day but that ended that job.

When I was 18 I whezzled a job in a factory by lying about what I could do. I got a job emptying coal cars for $0.34 and hour. Boy was I riding high. I asked for your mother-in-law's hand in marriage. Didn't get it till two more years passed. Finally the WWII came and we all got money working in defense plants. Things were tough. I think the world will have to go through it all again just as me and my associates and peers did, Obama is a fluke. He ain't never gonna be able or have the brains to do more. Them's my words. Hope I didn't spoil your day but with the right adjustments I think you can do as some did who had businesses already established. Bite the bullet; hang on and save your money. Dad.

2009-07-14T13:58:00.000-07:00

Here is a great article about networking from the TAG archives. I have some great old articles from TAGBits hanging around in our files!

Networking At An Event

Body language -- Don’t fold your hands in front of you. Keep your hands at your sides so when you’re ready to meet someone you can extend your hand quickly.

Ops? Where’s my card? Business cards -- carry lots of them and keep them in an easily accessible pocket. Like your left pocket. Shake with your right hand pass the business card with your left hand.

Keep your name tag on the right side of your body so when you shake hands it’s visible. If you’re eating and networking put your food in your left hand.

The obvious – the handshake. Have an effective handshake. Don’t give a “bone-crusher" handshake – ouch - and why bother shaking hands if you’re a "limp fish." If you don’t have a good handshake find a good friend and practice.

Bored with all the chit chat? Remember always listen with interest even if it is boring. Be polite. The person you’re speaking with may not be your next client but could be your next great lead.

Building --- Remember networking is about building relationships and building takes time. Follow up with the people you’ve talked with – but please, not with one of those typical after the conference “form” letters or emails! Maybe catch them on LinkedIn and being a dialoge after the networking event.

Filling the Silence with Chatter

2009-06-24T13:23:00.000-07:00

Filling the Silence with Chatter

In these times of texting, instant messaging, reality TV, basically information/media everywhere we forget to stop talking and stop texting, just be quiet. Quit filling the silence with chatter. It’s OK to take a moment to think, it’s OK not to disclose all of your quirks, it’s OK not to friend someone on Facebook. Here are a few interviewin/networking tips in this age of sharing too much information:

During an interview answer the questions asked with a direct, honest and concise response.
Don’t volunteer excess information. If you have a tendency to talk a lot, focus on keeping your mouth shut in between your concise answers. Actually listen to the question, focus on what the interviewer is saying.
Don’t Facebook, LinkedIn, or MySpace people you’ve just met. In this instantaneous age not everyone is your friend. “Open networking” is collecting people. It’s OK to be an open networker, but collect quality not quantity. Take a bit more time to get to know the people you are networking with. It’s about relationships, not how many “friends” you have.
Think before you speak, email, text, etc. Don’t give a knee jerk response when conducting business - you might regret it.
Don’t use texting jargon when speaking or writing. Always use proper English during an interview and any correspondence during the process.

Basic Resume Writing

2009-05-26T15:36:00.000-07:00

Do not write in 3rd person. Remember how we all learned that rule in High School? Stick with this basic grammar rule.
Keep your detailed job descriptions to the last 10 years. After that, just list the company names, your title and dates of employment. Or if you prefer, you can do a one page resume with just the last 10 years.
A two page resume is plenty of information about you. There is a reason why companies conduct interviews – to get to know more about you.
If you list your Facebook/LinkedIn/MySpace, etc. addresses make sure what is on that site is appropriate for your future employer to view.
Put your home address, email address, phone and cell on your resume.
Keep your resume format simple and do not use Times Roman type face. It’s a great type face but everyone uses it. You want to look a bit different from everyone else. Once you've picked a type face use just one. You can bold, italicize, increase the font size in places but keep it all the same type face. Keep it simple.
Make sure each page of your resume has a footer with your name, email address and phone number on it. Recruiters and HR people have occasionally been known to lose the first page of a resume and it’s usually the “perfect candidates” resume. Yes, oops, we occasionally have bad days.
Always explain what industry your company is in.
If you had 5 different titles under one employer put the employer, your current title and the total dates of employment at the top. Below the company name, preferably indented, break out the titles and the dates of each of your jobs.
If you are comfortable listing some of your personal interests put something fun and true, for example - I’m a member of the Surf Rider Foundation, I’m a 20 year member of whatever sorority you belonged to, I coach football. It gives us, the interviewer, something different to talk to you about besides all the rank and file information. But keep in mind, if your interests are unusual, like you eat only bugs, please, keep that to yourself.
Finally – no embellishments of your work record. List your accomplishments but do not indulge in any creative fictional accounts of your success.

Home Address?

2009-05-21T15:25:00.000-07:00

No home addresses on resumes?

When you send your resume to a recruiter please put your full home address the resume. There is a trend currently to omit the address. What’s up, why the secrecy? Let me tell you why we need the address -

To mail (yes, using the US Postal service) you a letter when you’ve changed your email address for the 10th time and we cannot reach you.
To mail you a letter when your cell/home/work number has changed.
To note what your commute would be. How many of you would go from downtown San Diego to downtown LA on a daily basis? We need your address information. Some of our candidates won’t even go past the El Toro Y. (Me, I don’t go outside my 5 mile radius except for a client OK or a vacation -- we all have our limits.)

Bottom line even with all the new tech out there we sometimes need to go back to basics and mail you a letter. So, please put your address back on your resume. Thanks.

Just do it

2009-04-29T16:20:00.000-07:00

Whew – I have been thinking about this for weeks now and it’s time to put pen to paper.

Shut up and just do it.

Please quit telling me how you are going to lose weight, quit smoking, exercise, or cut back on whatever bad thing you are doing right now. It’s time to just do it – go for it. Don’t wait until after Memorial Day to start that new diet, to walk a few blocks or put out the cigarette -- start NOW.
I read a great article in Oprah’s January edition of her magazine called Escape your Rat Race by Martha Beck. This article was all about making changes, even little ones, to make your life better. I highly recommend everyone getting a copy of the article. The link to the article is below. So, anyhow here goes my version: Think before you take another bite of that cookie, think, before you decide not to go to the gym, think, before you buy another pack of cigarettes or do anything else “naughty” THINK. Think about the positive choice and quit doing the thing you don’t want to do. Get it? THINK and then go with the good and with the change. In the end the good thing will make you feel better.

So, if you can’t just do it then please quit telling me what you are going to do but, sadly -- never do. I’m getting cranky listening to all endless chatter about all you’re planning on doing. ACTIONS do speak louder than WORDS. Think action and quit being so wordy. JUST DO IT.

Link to the article on Oprah’s site: http://www.oprah.com/article/omagazine/200901_omag_beck_rat_race/3

Elevator Pitch

2009-04-16T11:23:00.001-07:00

Eelevator Pitch

Today I interviewed a HR Director, Robert S. – oh, he’s looking for a job if anyone needs a good HR Director. We started talking about all the ways we network - LinkedIn, Facebook, seminars at outplacement firms, alumni networks, and all the various groups affiliated with LinkedIn, like OCEAN. I just joined OCEAN so I had no opinion on it – yet. We talked about likes and dislikes of networking and the one thing he said he really missed is the elevator pitch.

I had to ask – elevator pitch? An analogy for -- “elevator pitch” -- it’s the 30 seconds you have in an elevator to pitch the Vice President you just happened to run into. It’s your commercial, your 15 minutes of fame in the world of finding a new job or getting a better job. So, Bob (we were on not so formal terms by now) gave me his pitch. It was a good one.

We all need a good “elevator pitch”. You need it for your Facebook page, LinkedIn page, for the 30 seconds standing in front of the networking group. Yes, even in this email/texting/instant messaging age we still sometimes have to talk to people. You need a stutter-free pitch that demonstrates who we are quickly without too much fluff. Have you refined your elevator pitch lately? Work on it and get it down pat, it’s a good thing to have.

From the BullPen, Knakal & Crumply

2009-03-24T15:13:00.000-07:00

Thank you, Robert Knakal of Knakal StreetWise and Charlie Crumpley of the LA Business Journal. You two speak truth. The Medias constant incessant whining about our bad economy needed a rebuttal. All we hear and see on the TV, the net, newspapers and on the radio is how the US is tanking, how horrible things have become, and oh my goodness -- they are going to get worse. What Knakal and Crumply point out is that we are nowhere close to the Great Depression. We currently have a National unemployment rate of 7.6% not 25% as it was in the Great Depression. We do not have mortgage rates of 18% like in the 1980’s. We are not at 11% inflation rate as we were in the 1970’s.

We acknowledge that people have lost jobs (check my blog post “Playground Layoffs”) but overall, a lot of Americans are working and they can pay their bills. We have faith that American ingenuity, hard work, courage and pure genius (we have some brilliant Americans!) will get us out of this down turn. So again, thank you Robert Knakal and Charlie Crumpley for speaking positively and stating FACTS. We do not need to see, hear or read about anymore “complete economic breakdowns”. Hey CNN, CBS, ABC, NBC, etc. we challenge you to stop preaching fear and start reporting with hope and faith in the American people. How about trying in a headline, “The U.S. has over a 90% employment rate” or maybe that won’t sell? Aha…..

You can find Robert Knakal at http://www.knakalstreetwise.com and Charlie Crumpley at the Los Angeles Business Journal http://labj.com . His article was in the Feb. 23rd OC Journal issue on the back page – the Viewpoint section. In my opinion. it should have been on the front page. But I guess good news is not news.

2009-03-17T16:46:00.000-07:00

Technology appreciation.

Yikes - yesterday my email inbox was corrupted, a few weeks ago we lost power, and a month ago I lost my cell phone. What a mess! Daily life can be very difficult when technology doesn’t work, gets lost, or has no power. The last few weeks my technology mishaps have made me change things up and learn a few lessons.

My corrupted inbox. How do you communicate with candidates, clients, friends, your kid’s teacher without email? I had the internet so, Facebook, helps with the friends. LinkedIn helps with the clients and candidates but the people in-between. The in-between people, the people who have sent me an email with a resume attached? I couldn't get to you. Lesson #1 – have patience with your IT guy and pick up the phone and talk to people they can always fax over a resume.

My lost cell phone. A few weeks ago I lost my cell phone and never found it. Within hours I was amazed at how much I actually use it and missed it – especially to text! Without my cell I lost a lot of my contacts. I had never put them into my computer. Ah – Lesson #2 back up your phone contacts you just might need them. And now that I’ve lost my contacts in Outlook - back that up too.

The lights were out. A few weeks ago a Mylar balloon hit a power line and took out power in parts of Costa Mesa. I got home just as it was getting dark. We needed candles – lots of candles. We had a gas stove so we could cook but it was tough to see anything once it got dark – including the food we were eating. Trying to work from home that night was impossible because my battery on my old Dell computer only lasts for 30 min. and our cell phones – when there is no power to recharge your battery you conserve it. Lesson #3 – be better prepared for a emergency. We need more candles, a battery back up, water - the refrig filtered water doesn’t work when the power is out – and more fun easy to see games to play with the kids. When the last time you double checked your earthquake/emergency kit? Oh and Lesson #4 don’t buy Mylar balloons – they are bad for the environment and the electricity lines!

Now off I go to sort through all my emails. Yeah TAG’s IT guy!!! Thanks for fixing my computer. I truly appreciate when all my tech stuff works.

2009-02-25T15:13:00.000-08:00

The Butterfly vs. the Mule

As always, I am trying to find ways to work with Dave. (Those of you who are new to my blog should know that Dave is my father and I work for him.) So, when I get frustrated, I often times email my friend, Kate, who has worked here and has known Dave for 20 years. Kate is funny with her advice and usually hits the problem dead-on with some hilarious analogy. As usual, she came through for me.

To set up the scene -- I’ve been trying to get Dave into this century. For example - getting him to use LinkedIn - remembering his password is an issue - , using his cell phone besides when he’s in his car – it works at lunch too, and just changing a little bit - Dave just a little bit, please. Basically, the same old fight we’ve been having every year.

So as a company, we are moving out of a sole focus in the Real Estate industry and into other areas. I’m trying to drag him along but he’s kicking and screaming. So I emailed Kate and this is the response I got, “There is definitely work out there, you just have to be flexible, able to adjust on the fly and go after it. Uhhhh...well....that didn't really describe Dave at all these days now did it? Sounds like the start of your first online blog argument with dear ol' dad! The butterfly vs. the mule! He can't actually kick you, but man he ain't goin' anywhere. He can carry a lot and you can see at the 20,000 foot level.”

So there we go. She summed it up. I’m running around at 20,000 ft. looking forward, moving forward and he’s still hanging out at the barn kickin’ and braying. Maybe we can get our mule working with the butterfly – any ideas?

Playground layoffs

2009-01-30T12:00:00.000-08:00

It’s hit the playground --- being laid off.

I’ve been approached on the kindergarten playground at drop off about being laid off from work and what to do. It’s hitting too close to home now so I think it’s time for my --- “What to do when your laid off speech.” It’s pretty basic but it seems like people always try to complicate things.

1. First don’t panic. Give yourself 24 to 48 hours to take it all in.

2. Start a notebook with ideas and write down all your career ideas. Sometimes the craziest ideas start you in a new direction that works. Be creative and think out of the box.

3. Go over your resume in detail if you have one. If not start writing one. (If you have not written a resume in a long time I’ll have another blurb for you to read later on how to get started.) Clean the resume up and email it to some of your friends to proof. Do not send it to any companies until you have gone over it several times. It’s hard to take a candidate seriously who has silly typos in their resume. People send resume with some major typos in them.

4. Tell everyone you are looking – yes everyone. The postman’s sister could be the CEO of a company so start talking. (I hope you postal people have a good sense of humor about my last posting about going postal on Dave. It was supposed to be funny! I actually think my postman, Tran is the best. The only time our mail gets messed up is when he doesn’t deliver it! OK enough about the postal service.)

5. Revive whatever network you have. Pick up the phone and call people. In this world of email and texting it’s nice to get a phone call. Join LinkedIn, Facebook, Myspace etc. and start networking on line. If you’re uncomfortable with doing that check it out – it works.

6. Get your references together and let them know someone maybe calling. Also ask them who they know and if they would forward your resume. They are part of your network. Do not include your references with your resume give them only if you are asked to preferably AFTER you have interviewed. Be careful, some recruiters will ask for your references to get other names for their databases. Protect your references.

7. Speaking of recruiters send your resume to at least three. If you are willing to move send the resume to three in the areas you’ll move to.

8. Dust off your best suit, press your shirts, polish your shoes and get ready to interview. Remember very little perfume and don’t try to break your interviewers hand with your handshake.

Good luck.

Ground Hog Day

2009-01-30T11:51:00.000-08:00

All right, we all love Dave, or we love to hate Dave, it’s all the same to me. Here at the office though I’m about ready to go postal on Dave.

You know the movie Ground Hog Day? We’ll that is what goes on here at TAG. Dave is constantly saying the same shtick over, and over, and over again, “Have you gotten your check from the Messiah? The Messiah has arrived, there is supposed to be a chicken in every pot, a bail out check, check in the mail, any check,…… “Ugh, it might be funny to you all but we hear it daily, hourly, minute by excruciating minute.

Hey Dave – we have a suggestion for you – change your story daily! We all are quick to get bored these days. You know us, this instant gratification generation – instant email, texting, streaming media. Can you come up to date just a bit and maybe change your story daily? We don’t need hourly just daily. It would be a huge break to our ears. This Ground Hog Day stuff has got to go.
Thanks Dave.

Collections Anyone?

2009-01-14T13:41:00.000-08:00

Collections Anyone?
Oh my goodness, when is it OK to do business with a company and then not pay your bill? It’s not! We have a few clients who refuse to pay their bills. The candidates are happily working at your firm but we have not been paid for our service.

Un-paying clients, what you are doing is unethical and it’s putting un-do stress on our firm - PAY YOUR BILL. Seriously, is this what you want to teach your employees? Take what you want – you don’t have to pay for it? Why not open up the company supply closet and let them take all the supplies home? The kids need a new computer – take it off the administrative assistant’s desk, your wife needs a new home copier – take that too. Believe it or not, you are what you do and people will take notice.

You signed our contract, we provided a service, now PAY YOUR BILL!

2009-01-07T13:52:00.000-08:00

1996 Economy - From the Bullpen

Wow! I was looking through some of our old marketing letters and found a letter from 1996. Here is how it starts:

“I have some good news and some not-so-good news.
Let’s get the not so good news out of the way first. Times are tough, really hard. The National economy is sputtering Orange County has not see times this tough in years.
But on to the good news! Out of these tough times come truly outstanding opportunities. One such opportunity is the chance to avail yourself of top flight executive talent. “

It’s amazing that just 12 years ago we were in the same situation as now. I remember graduating from college 1992. (Ok that is more like 16 years and now I can’t believe I’ve been working here for that long.) All of my peers took jobs working for minimum wage. I ended up working for Dave (my Dad) because I figured earning a commission was better than working for minimum wage. (I was right!)

So, looking back at 1996 and our company history I now know even with our current “sputtering economy” we will pull through and be OK. To quote the old man (that’s my Dad), “Just keep your nose to the grind stone and stay focused on our client’s needs.” Maybe we all need to take a look back and realize that the economy cycles and this is all part of its cycle – this too shall pass.
And on a really happy note – Merry Christmas and may you all have a prosperous New Year! Welcome 2009!!!
- H

Why a Splitworld

2009-01-07T13:21:00.000-08:00

Welcome to my Blog!

I'm Heidi McLeod and I work at The Ankenbrandt Group for Dave, he's my Dad - but more of that later. I decided to call the blog Splitworld after chatting with Deanna, one of our recruiters, over lunch about my fun and crazy kids. Both the boys like to "potty talk". I was commenting how hilarious they are even though I have to act like it's not funny, more like a huge sin, and how the little girls don’t potty talk like the boys. What a difference gender makes. The difference between boys and girls is huge and the difference between the executives we work with and my kids at home is even greater.

So, my world is split between the hilarious potty talking 2 and 5 year olds at home, to the savvy and smart executives negotiating their way through corporate America. Sometimes they are a lot alike and sometimes not so much. This blog will focus on work but with the occasional side note about my very funny little dudes. – H .