Get Your House in Order Before Looking For a Job

This time my blog is catered to those looking for a new job opportunity.  I will try to alternate between those seeking talent and others who are selecting their company of choice.  I really appreciate any feedback or areas I have missed to help job seekers and recruiters alike.  I am hoping this will be a forum to share best practices on both sides of recruitment.

We all know that looking for a job is a full-time job.  Some job seekers dive-in head first without seeing how deep the waters are--they are deep and choppy waters.  There are many forums to find jobs and navigating these waters are tricky without a little help.  I will throw a lifesaver with some tips below to help get you started in an organized job search.  (the below is targeted for the Toronto/Ontario/Canada job market)

Helping Hand

• Get the support from your family and friends by asking for their encouragement and to keep their ears to ground if they hear of any suitable jobs.
• If you belong to an employee assistance plan ask for a coach that specializes in job search.  They may also provide feedback on your resume.

Roll up your sleeves

• Make a list of on-line job posting boards such as:  monster, workopolis, craigslist, kijiji, yahoo, etc.
• Get your resume and cover letter up to date and upload on applicable websites such as:  linked-in, monster, workopolis, yahoo groups, etc.
  • Prior to posting, have a second set of eyes to review your resume for grammar, spelling, formatting, etc.
  • You will need to customize your cover letter and resume for each job application.
• Research recruiters that specialize in your area of expertise.  You can search google, check out your library.
• Research companies that you want to work for and see on linked-in if there are any connections. 
  • Sometimes jobs are not posted but are in the works--pipeline jobs.
• If the job advertisement does not state "do not call" then I would advise you contact the person listed.
  • Ask the person for five minutes of their time to discuss the role as you have the value-added skills and experience for the job.
  • I would have handy the top 10 skills/experiences that benefits the company.

There is only 24 hours in a day

• Time management skills are key as you can get lost in the web of information.
• Block time periods on your calendar (outlook for instance) that you will research jobs, apply for jobs, and networking events.

References

• Reconnect with old employers and let them know you are seeking another opportunity.
• This is a good time to also ask those you reported to and worked with for permission to use them as a reference.

Keeping track

• Last but not least you will need to create a tracking mechanism of jobs that you applied for so that you look organized and professional.
  • You may use an excel spreadsheet, access database, etc.
  • The data should contain at a minimum:  company, website, contact name, phone, email, position name, date applied, associates (that work there from your linked-in research), interview date, interviewers name.

Also, please stay tuned for using social media on your job search.

I hope you found this helpful and any feedback/input is greatly appreciated.

 

Tips and Tricks for HR, Recruiters and Hiring Managers

So this is my second kick at the can at blogging.  My first blog mentioned some of the challenges a person faces when looking for another job; be it full-time, contract or consulting.   I thought it would be beneficial to anyone on the hiring seat by providing meaningful solutions to some of the problems I identified in my earlier blog.   In the future, I plan on blogging for those who are on the other side of recruitment that are in search of a new job opportunity.

Before I provide the tips and tricks I want to convey my enormous respect for recruiters both internally and externally.  I have partnered with a number of professionals that have 'saved my bacon' as an human resources (hr) manager.  I have also encountered a number of polished hr colleagues who have a strategic pulse of their organization and the external environment.  Some of these seasoned veterans in the fight for recruiting and retaining talent have shared their best practices with me.  Some of the points below are theirs and others are my own.  I would also like to mention that I was once a recruiter for Manpower, and for two recruitment firms--one was a partnership and the other was my own.  I still perform recruitment duties, from time to time, but I prefer to partner with the experts that have leveraged social media and have an established network of candidates.

Below are some tips and tricks that I have learnt and practiced over the years.  Recruitment and retention is an ever evolving process attributed to technology and globalization.  I would appreciate it if I could get some additional suggestions from you.

Have a Plan of Attack

• Have a recruitment plan/process in place.  The plan will describe who is responsible for what in the recruitment lifecycle.
• Communicate the recruitment plan to all stakeholders; the plan should take into consideration everyone who is affected by the process.
• If you are using the company's website, web/discussion forums, blogs, social media please ensure your information is current--remove all filled jobs from the websites.
• etc.
• If applicable, leverage from the employee referral network.  Provide the employees with useful tools such as postcards, a company website that outlines the company's culture and benefits of working there.
• If you are the hiring manager or hr and are using an external recruiter please provide them with a valid job description that does not change.

Time Management

• For those responsible for the hiring process, both internal and external, be honest with the candidates and get back to them on a timely basis.  Do not keep them waiting; be respectful of their time by keeping them in the loop.  It is your reputation on the line as well as the company's of being a company of choice to work for.

Staying Current

• Keep current with social media, hiring practices, legislation by:  attending seminars, reading association's website and staying current with the newspapers.  (web has some important information but you need to filter what is not reliable.)

Interviewing 101

• Make sure you have valid interview questions and that you use them for each interview.  
  • Make sure you take down notes for each interview
  • It is ideal if you can have a tandem interview; one person asks questions and the other writes it down.  Take turns in asking questions and jotting down the candidate's answers.
  • Ensure that they are compliant with human rights legislation
• In Canada; do NOT throw out the interview questions ever; this includes those selected and not selected.
  • The reason you need to retain information forever is that if a complaint is filed against you and/or the organization it is the onus of the company to prove they were not in the wrong.
  • You need to prove due diligence in your hiring practices for:  wsia, human rights, employment equity and pay equity.
  • There is no expiry date for pay equity.

Keeping track

• Use an applicant tracking system.  If you do not have one; acquire one or build one yourself.  This is to manage the talent database for current and future pipeline recruitment.  You also want to track who you do not want to call back as candidates did not make the cut.  
  • There are many systems available that range from standalone or are part of an Human Resources Information System  [HRIS/HRMS], or a dynamic system such as SAP.
    • (Adequasys, Dayforce, Peoplesoft, ADP, QHR, etc)
  • Worse comes to worse use your C: drive,  MS Outlook and place the candidates in folders labelled with the position name.
  • You can even use excel or access to keep track of candidates.
• Use a time management tool that tracks the beginning and end of the recruitment lifecycle for each hire.
  • This tool should also have a reminder system for you to contact the candidate on their status.
  • You can use MS Outlook or any other reminder system.  You can even leverage a sales system such as Salesforce for reminders--it could also be used as an applicant tracking system if you are creative.
• Use a dashboard or even a powerpoint presentation to show the C-Suite your efforts in recruitment.
  • Providing quantifiable information on:  how many candidates applied, pre-screened over the phone, interviewed, selected, offers accepted/refused, timelines of each of the above, costs, who referred them (vendor/employee),

There is so much more information that I have missed or purposely omitted due to blogging constraints.

I would appreciate other people's input to share best practices in this process so that all stakeholder's benefit.

 

Thought I would put pen to paper....or fingers to keyboard

Well this is my first blogging post and I already have writer's block.  I thought I would try this forum to put down my feelings, experiences as a job seeker for a way to journal my thoughts.  I firmly believe in helping others so I thought if I can garner enough unemployed people (should be in the millions) to share views--we can all rest one another's heads on this virtual shoulder.  I am doing this to help myself as well by learning from other's experiences.

What I find challenging about looking for another job/contract is the length of time in knowing where you stand.  The uncertainty of not knowing where I fit in the hiring manager's or recruiter's file.   I ask myself if I am in the 'no' pile, 'maybe' pile, or 'yes' pile.  I was a recruiter once myself and I know the game:   you get too many resumes, you shortlist them, you call people over the phone to screen them, if no one is suitable start again, if successful at the screening then bring the candidates in for an interview, bring them in for a second and even a third interview, then wait some more before the offer letter is cranked out, signed, sealed and delivered.  It is not easy being on either side of the recruitment table as the recruiter has a need to make the right hire quickly and the lack of knowing or control of the job seeker.  I understand the pain points of recruiters that sometimes the good ones get away.  I also know sometimes timing isn't on any one's side.

There are self doubts, the what-ifs, the shoulda, coulda, wouldas after the phone screen or interview.  Even when you do your best in creating an amazing resume, acing the phone screen/interview--you can still get the rejection email, letter or call. The best advice I can give is keep plugging along as the right job will come your way--these are lessons to be learned in the rejection process.

If I could give one piece of advice for recruiters and hiring managers is....to keep your candidate in the loop.  I know how busy recruiters, hr and hiring managers are as I have worn all three hats but we need to be respectful of people's time.  I am still a firm believer on what I told the first HR person I mentored "to make sure you call the people back that you did a phone screen and/or interview."  At the very least, in today's crazy, busy, technology obsessed society, please send an email to let the candidate know you are still in the process.   I have spoken with a number of job seekers and they have waited over a month for a call back after their interview.

As recruiters, hiring managers and professionals we need to keep in mind that our reputations are on the line as well as the organization we work for--if we do not respect peoples time it may affect the company's ability to attract superstar candidates down the road.


If anyone is reading this...what are your thoughts?