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. 

Work at Work

I don’t write about my kids much in here.  I realized that while at work I’m supposed to be working, not doing kid stuff, and I think that stretched into my writing. So, even though my world is split between work and the kids/family -  I mostly write about work.  Work at work is easier than mom at work most days.  Although a few weeks ago I was volunteering for the school Carnival and my kid’s life spilled into work.  I enjoyed it.  It was fun to combine work and the Carnival – it livened up my already busy day. Who doesn't love a good Carnival? 

This Monday on the other hand was the opposite, having home spill into work wasn't fun. Our oldest kid came down the flu - the kind no one wants to get because it's brutal.  I spent Monday nursing a sick kid and attempting to work because I needed to check references on a candidate I placed. Yes, the references could have waited one day, but that’s not my personality. When I say I’m going to get it done – I get it done.  So, Monday was spent 80% on my kid and 20% of the day getting my work done.  It wasn't perfect but it worked out.  He’s healthy now and the references are checked and tomorrow he’s off to his last 3 days of school. 

My Splitworld sometimes goes 80/20, 50/50 or 100% depending on the day but the good thing is I've finally realized that it's OK not to feel like I need to be at 100% at all times because I still get  it all done!  It may be a bit unconventional but it works for me and my family. 

Photo credit goes to my friend Christy  - **Christienne Grey Photography 1760 Monrovia, Studio A Costa Mesa, CA 92627www.ChristienneGrey.com

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! 

Unbridgeable Gaps?

The same conversation keeps on happening over and over again with my clients - lack of talent to hire. They can't find good, young, talented people who want to work hard and have the communication skills to be able to work.  There is a gap in the market. It  might be the entitlement that kids felts growing up wealthier before the recession/depression hit? Maybe they're thinking they don't need to work hard or maybe these workers have a different spin on what work looks like?  They also have huge problems communicating - looking you in the eye and using complete sentences.  I realize that there are always generational gaps but this gap seems to be vast and tougher to bridge. Could it be unbridgeable? 

My advice to anyone young and looking for a job:

• You will work hard with long days and late nights before you make an impressive salary. You have to earn those six figure salaries. 

• You will probably start working in a job that is lower than you originally expected. Learn from it. 

• Try to use complete sentences when communicating - the texting should stop when you put your cell phone down. 

• Find a mentor at work to help you understand the corporate culture and how to succeed. 

Speaking Dave

Dave, the owner and founder of The Ankenbrandt Group has his own language. He speaks and writes in quotes and short clips.  Sometimes it’s a challenge to take his thoughts and get them written down in understandable English. It’s like his brain is going too fast to get it all on paper. I try to make it all work for TAGBit’s  so I thought I’d give you a peak at how I transform his quotes and clips -  

Below is copy he sent me for October’s TAGBit's and his column Ank’s Angle. This is what he sent me –“Fall is upon us and winter is coming – we need rain - and Halloween is right around the corner. There will be a tomorrow – sure wish that we had leaders in this good old US of A…Seems the problems just keep stacking up. Had a boss one time – if there was a problem you would had to come up with a solution. Back in the day when people had manners.. Maybe go back to those days….”

And this is what I turned it into – “Fall is upon us, winter is coming and Halloween is right around the corner. There will be a tomorrow, but I sure wish that we had leaders in this good old U.S. of A. It seems the problems just keep stacking up for our “leadership”. I had a boss at one time who taught me if there was a problem you would have to come up with a solution but that was back in the day when people had manners, good work ethics and respect.  Maybe we should go back to those days….”

I’d leave it in the original form but then we get too many people calling us telling us we have typos and grammatical errors in our newsletter.  There really is only so much explaining we can do so I change it but still try to capture the essence of Dave. 

Take me off!

We send out an email list almost monthly. The list is taken from our database of candidates and clients we've talked to. We don’t buy lists we don’t send out spam. If you've sent us a resume or have corresponded with us, that is how we got your email address. We keep great records and we know when you want off our newsletter.  Each time we send out TAGBits we get a report on who wants off and we make a note in your file and take your email address off the list.

Understandably we all get too much email, but it’s not very forward thinking to have us take you off the list. You’re better off just deleting our emails and letting us think you’re reading them. When working with a recruiter you want to nurture a relationship not cut it off.  Who do you think gets called first for a job? It’s not just the person that fits well, it’s the person who has kept in touch, who occasionally reads our emails and responds.  We champion the people we like.  Yes, playing favorites is part of the game so think and act like a favorite.  

Why You Didn't Get The Job.

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) had an article in it about “Didn’t get the job? You’ll  never know why”.  It was an article telling you that you’ll never know what you did wrong because no one wants to be sued for telling the truth. I’m going to tell you why you didn't get the job.

1. You didn't prepare well.

2. You never sold them on why you should work there. Which means you didn't prepare well.

3. You didn't know your resume and your background well. 
(Yes, you need to remember the years you worked there. Saying, “It was long ago, I don’t remember” is a lazy response when you’re interviewing. You didn't prepare well.)

4. You did something like wear too much cologne/perfume, looked ill kept, had bad breath, wore the wrong thing or forgot your resume. Check the company's website for their corporate culture (how to dress) to learn how to fit in. Bring a resume.  Again - you didn't prepare well.

• Got the hint? Prepare well. Know the company and know yourself! Sometimes the chemistry is just off - it happens -  but if you found a great job at a great company that's a good fit and you blew the interview, it's because you didn't prepare well.

To learn how to prepare well check out this video from Dave.