Give yourself the Interviewing Edge
September 16, 2008 at 6:27 pm | Posted in career development, interviewing, leadership, recruiting | Leave a commentTags: Add new tag, interview, interviewing, job search
Give yourself the edge in an interview by turning it into a business meeting. What do I mean by that? Let the conversation flow and instead of waiting until the end of the interview when the interviewer says, “Now, do you have any questions for me?” and outlining your three prepared questions – let the questions flow from the answers you’re giving to the interviewer’s questions. Once this flow gets going the conversation becomes more like a business meeting and less like an interview.
Here’s an interesting thing to consider: with the exception of recruiters most of the people that are interviewing you HATE to conduct interviews – and if they haven’t done much interviewing they will be as nervous as you are. If you control the conversation, ask questions and put your interviewer at ease, they will like you that much more!
Just Say No! …to Video Resumes
September 15, 2008 at 4:42 pm | Posted in career development, job search, recruiting, resumes | 2 CommentsTags: career development, job search, resumes
Should you have a Video Resume? My short answer is NO! Don’t do it. No matter how cool and cutting edge you think it is – its just not a good idea.
On the surface it seems great – how better than to show how witty, charming and outgoing you are than by having your resume convey that! A paper resume does little to nothing to showcase your personality. So, if you are witty, charming and photogenic then a video resume may seem like the answer.
But, the truth is, recruiters hate them – hiring managers don’t have time to watch them – and HR regards them as a lawsuit waiting to happen. (The “I didn’t get the interview because of the way I look.” kind of lawsuit.) Many companies will not accept resumes with a photograph on it, let alone a video. So, in truth, you are doing yourself a disservice because many companies (and I assure you all companies with an employment law savvy HR professional) will delete it before they even open it, relegating you to the status of not even being considered.
So, my stance on Video Resumes is ‘Just Say No!’
Is there really a candidate shortage?
September 10, 2008 at 4:54 pm | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a commentSo, I keep reading about how the job market is softening, that companies are freezing hiring, and that unemployment is on the rise. Yet, when I talk to HR professionals – and even reading articles on the subject of recruitment – HR professionals continue to place “difficulting finding qualified candidates” as their number one recruiting challenge!
We read over and over again, as Baby Boomers get older and start retiring in droves (okay, they’re already retiring in droves – but those droves are going to get bigger!) we are going to start seeing these recruiting challenges more and more. Plenty of applicants, but none that are qualified.
I have a theory – I think there are a lot more qualified candidates out there, but with today’s recruiting techniques they aren’t getting through! With the initial screening often being done by software, if you don’t have all the right key words on your resume its not going to get picked! I’ve also noticed that companies tend to discount the resumes of candidates who have changed careers – so someone who might be great for the position is discounted because the majority of his or her experience is in an unrelated feild.
Candidates need to find ways to stand out in a crowd.
As a recruiter, I can assure you that if you are simply submitting your resumes to jobs you find online you are NOT standing out. Unless you have an amazing resume – but few people do. You have to learn to stand out without being obnoxious. Recruiters hate being “stalked” (and we use that term) but we also LOVE to find the right candidate. If you show us that’s what you are… we’re going to be thrilled to talk to you!
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