Internet Black Hole

I get asked the question, “How do I get their attention?”, all the time from candidates looking for a job. They have trouble getting anyone at the company they are interested in to pay attention to them. Typically, it’s because they have emailed a resume or put an application in online into the internet black hole. 

It doesn’t work.

We all get too many emails and electronic communication – it’s overwhelming. Try something old school – mail your resume directly to the person in charge. If you are applying for a finance or accounting job – the CFO. Need an HR job – VP of HR, General Manager or often the CFO. Need a sales job – hit up the VP Sales.  No one gets mail anymore – USPS mail. Think about it? When you do get mail it’s the occasional medical bill. Go old school and mail that letter directly to the person you want attention from!  Then follow up with an email article that they might be interested in inquiring about your mailed resume. It works a good amount of the time! Now go mail that resume.

What the world really needs is more love and less paperwork. – Pearl Bailey

What the world really needs is more love and less paperwork. – Pearl Bailey

Paper work is what I keep hearing is the most horrible aspect about looking for a job. That and the lack of “love” you get from the hiring managers and many recruiters. Quite a few people I’ve talked to say that they submit resumes, write letters, email and call and never hear back from anyone. They get dead air.

I realize that people are busy however, I think common courtesy has been thrown out the window. Please get back to the people who are interested in your company. If you are a recruiter, please remember the long term ramifications of being rude and not calling back or following up after you’ve interviewed people. We all mess up and forget to call or put it on the back burner for too long. Let’s make the time to develop relationships and make the time to show respect and courtesy to the people that are trying to work for you and/or your clients. 

Help A Friend

One of the great things about being a recruiter is making people happy and finding them a great new job. I work for my client (the company) and I talk to a lot of people. Not every candidate is happy with me because I can’t place everyone I talk to. This time, luck was on my side by placing a friend happily in a new job. I’m usually wary of working with friends because losing the friendship over a search gone sour would be horrible.   A friend is more valuable than the placement but this time it all felt right and ended up with a great result.

My friend had not been happy in her job. We’d talk on the blacktop at school (It’s a recruiter habit to keep tabs on what everyone does for a living) and her eyes never lit up when she talked about work. She’d recently transitioned to a new career and missed her old career. She needed a bigger challenge and wanted to get back to a corporate job. A few weeks later I took a job order and it was a great fit for her. It was perfect timing and a perfect fit. Her placement made me feel great because I know she’ll be happier at work which translates to a happier home-life too.  

We’ll be going to dinner soon to celebrate and I'm be excited to hear all about her new job. It’s a good day at the office when you can help a friend. 

Recipe For A New Job

This Recipe works for getting a new job. It’s worked over and over again for candidates I’ve worked with over the years. If they worked The Recipe they all got new jobs. One of them, DJ,  got a job for 100K more than he was making at his prior job. The Recipe works.  In fact it works so well that I repeat The Recipe so often I decided it needs to go up on my blog. Now I can just say, “Go to my blog.” 

1. Your resume must be unique and tailored to the job your want to find not the job you have now.

2. The top ½ of your resume is your real estate – treat it well and put all the stuff you do that corresponds to the job you want up there. Use bullets of info – don’t use sentences, it’s old fashioned – go with short bullets of information. 

3. Stop going to networking meetings where there are only unemployed people. You can get more done in 15 minutes on social media sites talking to employed people – network there and meet people you don’t know but need to.

4. Snail mail (USPS) your resume to the hiring manager, not HR. Find the name of the person on the net. Also, mail your thank you follow up notes. No one gets mail anymore so it’s become a novelty, which makes it interesting. 

5. Join a non-profit that is out of your normal network and has a great board of directors. Then, participate.  You’ll meet good people and broaden your network.  

6. While you are at the networking meeting, the grocery, the mall, talk to anyone within 2 feet of you.  Strike up a conversation.  They might know someone that needs to hire you.  

Now start cooking!