By now it’s no secret that we (along with almost everybody else) have some serious problems with the major job boards that are out there.

Hey, they just can not handle the number of jobs and number of candidates that are on the web today. Even though they continue to draw candidates in, people have been looking for an alternative that will get them closer to the types of jobs that suit their skill set. Imagine that.

Enter the niche board. When niche job boards started to pop up, the candidate and recruiter communities hoped that their problems might finally be solved. They wouldn’t have to spend wasted time wading through pointless postings or countless resumes anymore, IT folks wouldn’t get lumped into computer sales jobs, and writers might even be able to find a gig that actually involved, you know, writing. Almost every industry would be represented and every candidate would finally find the perfect place to work and recruiters would finally find the perfect candidate to present to their perfect clients. Ah, the niche boards were going to be like some kind of beautiful dream. Well, let’s just say the dream hasn’t quite come true yet. Many niche boards have simply become more specialized sites that present almost all of the same problems as their “general” counterparts:

“With each new niche job board that charges $250 for a 30 day ad it is becoming increasingly clear that the people who build these job boards don’t care nearly as much about ‘connecting companies with talented _______ (fill in blog’s target market here)’ as they do getting a piece of the easy cash cow that is online job recruiting.” (From Moustache)

The need to drive “ad revenue” is seen by many as the death of the job board. As soon as ad cost becomes the primary focus, the true purpose of the board (i.e. getting people jobs) just falls by the wayside. It was hoped that niche boards might avoid the whole ugly high-cost ad mess, but it’s becoming clear that they haven’t:

“The corollary from this is that niche boards are not exempt from facing the same risk as a generalist job board. Like everyone else, niche sites need to pursue content and volumes to drive the momentum required to get the community going…” (From Musings from Australia)

Hey, they just can’t handle the number of jobs and candidates on the Web today, sound familiar?

As long as ad price is the driving force behind job boards, niche or otherwise, candidates and recruiters will never be served effectively. It’s time for a different approach. Money can be spent more wisely by recruiters and companies, and candidates deserve better than sites that will milk every post possible just to get a few extra bucks. The job board was originally intended to match the right person to the right job. It was a pretty simple concept. It’s time to get back to that. We know that this time around it’s going to work, because we’ll soon have more effective tools, a dynamic design that encourages communication between all parties involved, and no love for the current ad-buy system. The niche boards aren’t the alternatives we all hoped for, but a true alternative is on the way.

Share This

News You Can Use: A Daily Round Up of Links for Recruiters, Job Seekers and Quiet Working Professionals

[Daily Post from itzbig] The itzbig Blog: Go To Plan B

“So whether you’ve made the decision to make a move, or you would simply like to dip your toe in the opportunity waters, you’ll be faced with a variety of issues when it comes to taking a look at what’s available and what kind of fit it might be for you. Unless, of course, you don’t mind losing your current position before you have another one. As we’ve talked about before, current job boards don’t provide the confidentiality that quiet working professionals need.”

Six Degrees From Dave: SIX RULES TO SIX DEGREES: SHALLYISM’S TO GUIDE YOUR NETWORKING HUMANITY

“…too often we discuss process and spend little time focusing on the substance of relationships which is where the power of a network actually resides. Numbers are easy to measure but the true value of a network is based on the strength of a core group of relationships within key ‘niches’ that are can supply you with vital assistance.”

Windows Live™ Spaces: Are IT Recruiters Worthless? Whaddaya YOU know?

“Drew Brennan of BioTechnologyJobs wrote an interesting ERE blog post, ‘Research Recruiting: Beyond the Acronyms,’ about an open req he was handling that was chock-full of biopharma terms he wasn’t that familiar with. As he said, ‘While it is extremely important for a recruiter to know the meanings of these acronyms, it is just as important to know what each of these techniques are, what they are meant to achieve and how they would fit together in the eyes of the researcher.’”

Jobs Blog: How to get noticed at a career fair

“Do quick research on the companies you plan to visit: Most Career Service Centers will post which companies will be attending the fairs. By spending a few minutes on each of your targeted companies, you will learn about the opportunities they offer. This helps you highlight your skills relevant to those positions while speaking to the recruiter and you stand out as a driven candidate. Knowing what you want is really important to us; it’s often not just about what you can do, but what you want to do.”

Milt Jensen: Active vs. Passive Candidates

“There are primarily two classifications of candidates that you will encounter when trying to fill your open positions, ‘Active and Passive’. The active candidate has already made up his/her mind that they are leaving their present company (or they have been laid off)…The passive candidate in the majority of cases becomes the best employee. You can attract the active candidate by posting on job boards and running news paper ads, but you spend hours sifting through the ‘Want a Be’s’ and may end up with a hand-full of candidates to interview.”

Job Search Secrets: It’s Just A Series of Choices

“Choosing to get a career by coincidence will seldom (read seldom as never) yield a role with expansive growth potential and long term satisfaction. It is not easy; it takes expertise, competitive edges of timing, better exposure and more powerful communications about capacity to win a position of your choice.”

OnRec: Niche Job Boards Provide the Best Value For Employers

“When it comes to job boards, volume isn’t everything. Instead, recruiters should focus on more precise data in deciding which boards provide the best value in the form of the number of qualified applications per job advertisement, says the leading association of targeted employment Web sites in the U.S.”

Share This

Almost everybody wakes up at one time or another filled with dread just at the thought of having to go into work. For many this feeling only leads to an impromptu “sick day” or the realization that it’s time to take that vacation to Barbados or Jersey or wherever it is that people go. However, for some the feeling of dread never goes away. They find themselves stuck in a job that makes them miserable for one reason or another, whether it be a pain-in-the-ass boss, no chance of advancement, or the ever popular lack of pay. If any of this hits a little too close to home, it might be time to start keeping and eye out for possible alternatives:

“Think you have a lousy job? You’re not alone. So do about half of your fellow workers–and about a quarter of them are only showing up to collect a paycheck, according to a survey conducted by London-based market information company TNS. Grumbling over the size of that check is common, too. About two-thirds of workers believe they don’t get paid enough, says TNS–even though many of them may actually be overpaid, compared to average compensation data.

“A recent Salary.com survey found that 65% of workers plan to look for a new job within the next three months. The most common reason for leaving? Not enough pay.” (From Business Week)

So whether you’ve made the decision to make a move, or you would simply like to dip your toe in the opportunity waters, you’ll be faced with a variety of issues when it comes to taking a look at what’s available and what kind of fit it might be for you. Unless, of course, you don’t mind losing your current position before you have another one. As we’ve talked about before, current job boards don’t provide the confidentiality that quiet working professionals need. The boards also make it very difficult for you to find a position that’s better than the one you currently hate, let alone your dream job. In the past, we’ve mainly looked at Plan B in terms of people who don’t mind their current work but believe that there’s something better out there. Well, an effective Plan B strategy will benefit anyone who is looking to get something more out of work, and according to that study that’s well over half of the currently employed. Safely being able to continuously explore Plan B alternatives will ensure that you’re not ratted out (intentionally or unintentionally) to your current boss, it’ll make it easier for you to focus on jobs that you could actually see yourself doing for an extended period of time, and it allows you to control the interaction such that you only engage and develop relationships with recruiters who what they are doing and what their clients are looking for.

The capability to enable the execution of a successful Plan B strategy is on its way, and we’re going to give it to you. In the meantime, take solace in the knowledge that yours probably isn’t the worst job out there:

“Well, I thought I had a bad job but when I saw these pics I thought to myself I may be lucky, somehow!

These photos on JanMania’s blog, particularly the one with elephant, will make you shudder. But they’ll also give you some great perspective. If you’re having trouble holding on till itzbig launches, tape the pachyderm pic to your bathroom mirror so you can see it every morning while you get ready for that dreaded job. Ah, perspective.
And if that’s not enough to motivate you to get in the car and begin your commute, then consider joining our beta test and help us ensure success with your recommendations.

Share This

News You Can Use: A Daily Round Up of Links for Recruiters, Job Seekers and Quiet Working Professionals

[Daily Post from itzbig] The itzbig Blog: Forgotten Job Candidates, Forgotten Resumes

“…Another scary thought is that you’re locked into the job board with no hope of escape. It’s like some horrible gym membership that keeps bleeding you dry long after you’ve given up the dream of dropping those extra 20 lbs. you packed on that year after graduation.”

KC Recruiting: Ask The Headhunter: The Job Market

“Companies are familiar with this model, but they call it post-and-pray. You post your jobs to your careers site and job boards, and then pray the right people apply. For candidates, you apply to jobs posted on career sites and job boards, and hope someone responds.”

Joel Cheesman: a day in the life of a monster sales rep

Monster just lost another one: click here

Employment Digest: Sorry, no one’s reading that resume you sent

“Baffled because you nailed the qualifications for a job and never heard a word? Peeved because you blew an entire weekend polishing your resume? Here’s the likely truth: No one ever saw it.”

Employment Digest: Tips to get a job fast

“Pinpoint your ideal position and what it will take to land it. Know your skills, pay needs and learn about the employer.Just started looking for a job? Mark your calendar for January, because that should be just about when you will start your new gig. No joke. The U.S. Department of Labor reports it takes the average American about four months to find a job. January is four months away. So what if you could slash months from that search and be sitting thankful around Thanksgiving with a new job?”

JobsBlog: Don’t get discouraged

“So you made it through your final round of interviews and received positive signs throughout the entire day, but when it is all said and done, you don’t receive the offer.”

Dorks and Losers: To Be Or Not To Be

“My job searching seems to have ended. After what was a disastrous interview on Friday, my outlook looked bleak. I drowned my sorrow in alcohol and took in bed early.
Zip to Monday. Today. I took a look over at Craigslist and Careerbuilder for job postings. Saw none that I liked and pondered whether to make myself a mojito at 10 AM in the morning”

Digital Digressions: How Much of Work is Really Just Spin?

“So armed with a pinch of salt I did what so many do, started casually glancing at job postings on various websites, signed up for alerts from some others…It didn’t take me long to become bombarded with the most random job postings, although I was sure I hadn’t checked the box in the preferences section for ” I want to be contacted about complete monkey-*** jobs, that only an individual deprived of a brain would agree to do without immediately afterwards considering jumping out of the nearest office window to commit suicide”.- kind of box. It is truly disheartening”

Recruiting.com: Who Really Has the Upper Hand? Employers or Job Seekers?

“According to the survey: 42 percent of hiring managers report it was difficult to find qualified candidates one year ago. 32 percent say it’s even more challenging today. The vast majority — 86 percent — think it will be equally or more challenging to find qualified candidates one year from now.”

Share This

There are days when you might wake up and say to yourself, “Maybe these current job boards aren’t so bad. Maybe all this harping on the state of online recruiting is misguided.” If you ever have one of the moments of lunacy, just take a breath and spend two or three seconds online. You’ll most likely come across a story such as this:

“Yesterday I got a surprising phone call from a recruiter. As she introduced herself she began pitching me a job I ‘would be perfect for’.

“I haven’t been in the job market in quite a while. 6 years to be exact. So her call was very surprising based on the 6 year old resume profile she found on me on a site called Data Frenzy. I politely explained that I work for myself now and she asked if I would pass the job lead on to anyone I could recommend…I managed to login to the Data Frenzy site to try and delete my resume. But when I got in there was NO way to delete my profile. All I could do was remove the resume details and change my personal info to some “gobbledyguck” text…” (From Recruiting Fly)

There are at least seven things wrong with this scenario. One of the most disturbing is that your personal information might still be floating around out there in the ether even though you wanted it to just disappear years ago. Another scary thought is that you’re locked into the job board with no hope of escape. It’s like some horrible gym membership that keeps bleeding you dry long after you’ve given up the dream of dropping those extra 20 lbs. you packed on that year after graduation.

What’s even more disturbing is that for every former candidate who wants to get rid of an old resume and to just be left alone, there are countless current candidates that want their information to be looked at seriously and who want recruiters to call them up with a job that is actually “perfect for them.” Unfortunately, like the six year-old resume, they’re often forgotten, too. The problem is getting worse as recruiters are bombarded with more and more resumes from job boards and other sources. Many times, if yours isn’t the last resume that was put in the recruiter’s hand, you might as well not even exist:

“Resumes filed (even those truly filed … not tossed) tend to be forgotten. The new applicant is the proverbial “bird in the hand.”" (From For Job Seekers)

So, we’ve got recruiters calling people that haven’t been in the hunt for over half a decade and we’ve got recruiters discarding candidates who sent their info in last week. Yeah, maybe those job boards do work. A little. Maybe online recruiting is as effective as it can be. Don’t worry. Things are going to change. At itzbig, we believe that candidates should have control over their personal information and their resumes. They should be able to update, alter, or eliminate their data when they want. We also believe that recruiters and hiring authorities should have access to real-time data on all of their clients. This new solution will ensure that candidates and resumes don’t get lost in the shuffle or trapped on a board ever again.

Want to be one of our beta testers? Sign up here!

Share This

News You Can Use: A Daily Round Up of Links for Recruiters, Job Seekers and Quiet Working Professionals

[Daily Post from itzbig] The itzbigBlog: Exploring the Job Candidate Bill of Rights (Part 3)

“It’s amazing how often the things we talk about that need to be done in recruiting are things that we’ve all probably be hearing since we were three. In this case, don’t lie and make sure people know exactly what they’re getting into before they meet with you. It’ll make it much easier for the candidate, but it will also give recruiters and hiring authorities a much better chance of finding the type of talent they’re looking for.”

CM Russell: Monster’s Madness

“In their quest to be the top job board, Monster.com has become a junkmail site for online job hunters. They seem to accept any and all kinds of jobs and provide a distracting user experience.
Job seekers want relevant, professional job listings but Monster gives them too many ‘ads’ and not enough jobs.”

Dyepot, Teapot: Some job posts are bad, and then there’s this one

“I was reading through the job board on 37Signals earlier, when I spotted this one: ‘…as stated so eloquently by our Creative Director: CHIEF GEEKY DUDE THAT CAN ACTUALLY MAKE THE GREAT IDEAS AROUND HERE A REALITY DIRECTOR. We are looking for a highly talented, web focused flash/technology ‘mad scientist’ who wants to be part of delivering amazing online experiences for some incredible brands.’ Aside from the fact that it reads like the writer was drunk at the time, there’s one huge glaring problem with this. I can’t think of any way that one might reasonably read the job title and think that this company was equally interested in hiring a man or a woman, which means there’s a good chance that they’re violating the equal employment laws on non-discriminatory job ads.”

Job Search Secrets: Resist The Urge To Oversell Yourself During The Interview

“An interview is a selling situation. In most cases, you are trying to sell the interviewer on hiring you for the job. In our efforts to present ourselves in the best possible light, it’s easy to forget that it is actually possible to “oversell” oneself. Most sales experts will tell you that listening to the customer is more important than talking. Interviews are no exception. It’s unfortunate, but selling an interviewer on one of your capabilities could actually hurt you if it’s a skill that’s not central to the job.”

Job Jungle: A Job-Seeker’s Schedule

“‘A job search is a full-time job.’ Okay, that’s true to a degree, but you just cannot spend forty hours a week searching for a job. You have personal errands to run and things to do and anyway, pure job searching is exhausting. So I’m outlining a 25-hour-a-week schedule - you can adjust as you wish.”

How To Use Entrepreneurial Mindset in Your Career

“For many people, searching for a job doesn’t feel natural because there isn’t a set structure to it. Like being an entrepreneur, being a job seeker requires imagination and initiative. Most people want to get their job search over with as quickly as possible so they can get back to the comfort of a corporate job.”

Moustache: Too many job boards

“With each new niche job board that charges $250 for a 30 day ad it is becoming increasingly clear that the people who build these job boards don’t care nearly as much about “connecting companies with talented _______ (fill in blog’s target market here)” as they do getting a piece of the easy cash cow that is online job recruiting.”

Funny Hub: Wrong Job Ad #2

This guy definitely has the wrong job! Click here

Sun-Sentinal: How to keep your job search under the radar

“To keep an interview under wraps, I once had to change in my car while driving through a car wash. Thankfully, I have tinted windows. Another time I changed between cars parked in the furthest reaches of a parking garage.”

Share This

This marks the third Tuesday in our ongoing series based on the Job Candidate Bill of Rights by John Younger. Last week we took a look at #2 and discovered some variations on the definition of “Credibility.” Today, we’re going to get up close and personal with the concept of accuracy.

Accuracy
The description of an open position should accurately and specifically identify the unique attributes of that position as they relate to the Hiring Manager, organization, geography, work group, work to be completed, and performance measurement criteria.

On the surface that looks pretty simple and straightforward. However, anyone who’s gone back to the job boards time and time again is probably aware of the fact that accuracy isn’t on the top of the list for a number of job posters. More often than not, you’re met with vague descriptions or job titles that don’t really tell you anything. You’re also rolling the dice when it comes to requirements. While some posts give an in depth description of the type of education and experience the company is looking for, they don’t always paint a clear picture as to what you’ll be doing, who you’ll be doing it with, and how they expect you to do it.

As with many of the problems in today’s online job search, candidates simply don’t have access to the all of the information they need. Many blame this inaccuracy for the seemingly perpetual disappointment of job candidates and consider it the reason why employers are continually complaining that the “right people” aren’t coming into apply for a job, but others believe that there’s a variation on the accuracy issue that needs to be addressed as the real problem:

“I’ve just read a post where the writer advocates writing accurate job descriptions to ensure applicants aren’t disappointed with their jobs…In my experience as the President and Founder of several online career centers and an HR Consulting company, the vast majority of disappointed employers tend to complain about the unqualified applicants who apply to their jobs. However, the root of the problem is really the unclear job posting. The employers complain that the unqualified candidates who apply to their jobs are wasting their time but in fact it is them who are wasting the candidate’s time. All of the articles I read in the marketplace are for candidates helping them write cover letters, format their resumes and conduct a job search. Nobody does anything to help the employer with writing a clear job description.” (From HRevolution)

The article goes on to give a few tips on how to write a clear (or accurate) job posting, which raises the issue of a possible Hiring Authority Bill of Rights, but let’s not get into that right now.

For many posters, it’s not about accuracy, it’s about language. Let it be said, though, that clever marketing-speak should never take the place of the truth. Yes, we probably did sound like your mom just then, but there’s no easier way to anger a legion of candidates and get yourself virtually blackballed than by continually going for the post that’s all flash and no substance. You know the ones where you try to make a receptionist job sound as though the fate of the entire industry, nay the world, depends on the person that fills the position. Not that receptionists aren’t important, but don’t make it sound like the job’s going to let them travel to space or fight a dragon or something like that:

“Recruiting may be sales, but it doesn’t have to be the same old marketing. Most experts will tell you that you have to put together “sexy language” in order to get people to apply for your job. But in the New World of Recruiting (NWR) people can find out the truth whether you put it in the job description or not. If you are honest with someone right from the start you can use that trust to decrease hiring cycle times and costs. Sell them your “sexy language” and when they find out it isn’t true (and it never is), you will experience higher turnover and lower employee morale. Sexy language doesn’t pay off in the NWR.” (From Talent Seeker)

It’s amazing how often the things we talk about that need to be done in recruiting are things that we’ve all probably be hearing since we were three. In this case, don’t lie and make sure people know exactly what they’re getting into before they meet with you. It’ll make it much easier for the candidate, but it will also give recruiters and hiring authorities a much better chance of finding the type of talent they’re looking for.

Make sure to join us next Tuesday for an expose on “Consideration.”

Share This

News You Can Use: A Daily Round Up of Links for Recruiters, Job Seekers and Quiet Working Professionals

[Daily Post from itzbig] The itzbigBlog: Recruiting: Getting to the Source

“So, online recruiting will continue to shape the face of the industry. What that means for sourcing is that communication is even more important than ever. Candidates, recruiters, and hiring authorities should have the ability to share data, inform each other, and make the process more effective and easier for everybody involved.”

El Paso Times: Building job relationships best way to get foot in door

“Baffled because you nailed the qualifications for a job and never heard a word? Peeved because you blew an entire weekend polishing your résumé? Here’s the likely truth: No one ever saw it. ‘The first thing that job seekers have to get over is that it’s not personal,’ says Gerry Crispin, a recruiting technology expert. ‘The chance when you apply for a job that someone actually sees your résumé is probably less than 5 percent.’”

Jeff Hunter: Fact or Fiction?

“…people who are looking for a job would rather know the facts than be impressed by well-written fiction. That you, the job seeker, would rather not waste your time applying for a job that you know you aren’t going to like. And that you would be especially interested in working for a company that took the risk of being transparent and authentic.”

Recruiting.com: Googling Candidates: It’s not just for entry level hires anymore.

“Last week I pointed to an article about how college kids are being advised to clean up their on-line image (i.e. the myspace stuff) in order to prevent employers from finding out potentially embarrassing stuff about them, thus nixing their job prospects.
However if you are a senior business executive chances are there is a lot more “dirt” about you than you think. And it can lead to trouble.”

Recruiting Fly Blog: The Forgotten Resume

“Yesterday I got a suprising phone call from a recruiter. As she introduced herself she began pitching me a job I ‘would be perfect for.’ I haven’t been in the job market in quite a while. 6 years to be exact. So her call was very surprising based on the 6 year old resume profile she found on me.”

Coaching Catalyst: Recruiters Reveal Interview Secrets and Employment Gaffes

“Talking too much is the most common interview mistake that job candidates make, according to 36 percent of recruiters who completed the ninth edition of the quarterly Executive Recruiter Index. Other common mistakes cited by recruiters include lack of knowledge about the company or position (22 percent), over-inflated ego (16 percent) and appearing overly confident (9 percent).”

Guerrilla Job Hunting: Job Hunting: Are you Google friendly?

“If you don’t rank among the first 3 people a recruiter thinks of when they’re starting a project… you won’t get “clicked” for the opportunity. Increase your visibility and expand your network by presenting at conferences, seminars – even usergroups. Ask to be your company’s designated speaker. You can have someone else write the material if need be.”

Share This

“I am just re-entering the recruiting industry and am looking for a way to get up to speed quickly. Any ideas would be helpful on sourcing seasoned application architects, business analysts and IT managers with financial services or energy backgrounds. I’m afraid my networking skills are not up to speed….Help!” (From ere.net)

The above is a common call among new recruiters, those that have been out of the game for awhile and veterans who just feel like they’re not making things happen like they used to. Of course, the number of ideas on successful sourcing techniques is probably close to the number or recruiters out there. However, there are a few things that we all have to acknowledge about sourcing in this day and age. The first might seem a bit obvious, but that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be stated: The Internet has changed every aspect of recruiting, including sourcing. At a recent gathering, a group of experts in the industry reiterated the point:

“Panelists shared insights from varying perspectives on adding value to the online recruitment process, and all agreed the increase in overall online usage estimated at 15-20% annual growth has led to increased online job searching, sourcing, recruiting and screening. With more happening online than ever before, the future of online recruitment is booming and will continue to advance as companies deliver new solutions to stay ahead of consumer usage and demand.” (From HR Marketer)

So, online recruiting will continue to shape the face of the industry. What that means for sourcing is that communication is even more important than ever. Candidates, recruiters, and hiring authorities should have the ability to share data, inform each other, and make the process more effective and easier for everybody involved. Unfortunately, this communication is not taking place today. A large part of the blame rests on the design of current job boards that use static data and close off one group from another, but recruiters do have to take some of the responsibility. Whether it’s good old fashioned hubris or a question of time management, too many good recruiters with too many jobs to fill lose touch with their customers once they take on a job, and that can just kill effective sourcing:

“Once the job is started, communicating the issues and challenges you’re meeting with to your customer has a benefit attached: many times the customer has suggestions how to overcome some of the challenges. Chances are they’ve attempted the search before you and have met up with some of the same problems you’re having. There are two schools of thought on this; the second being this: One says ‘I’m supposed to be the professional and I don’t want my customer to know I’m having trouble/I don’t know what I’m doing.’ I say phooey–if it was easy they’d be doing it and most will only respect you for your frankness in asking…” (From More Sourcing Mistakes)

If online recruiting and sourcing is the future we have in store (and it is), it’s time that there was an online system in place that encouraged the type of communication necessary for success. You know, one where all three parties have access to real-time, dynamic data, and where recruiters have the ability to truly assess candidates’ qualifications and to look for the exact type of candidate that the customer wants. That doesn’t exist right now, which is why everyone involved in the process seems to approach the others as adversaries. Put everyone on the same page, and new recruiters as well as weathered old warhorses will be able to find the right talent.

Share This

News You Can Use: A Daily Round Up of Links for Recruiters, Job Seekers and Quiet Working Professionals

[Daily Post from itzbig] The itzbigBlog: Spamalot: The Job Boards’ Not-so-Dark Secret

“The spam/spam filter problems serve as another reminder of how broken the system has become. Candidates don’t know if their info is safe, recruiters are missing out on potential clients, and everyone is spending far too much time trying to get down to brass tacks. There simply doesn’t seem to be a job board or online recruiting system in place that is able to cope with the number of candidates and recruiters out there.”

Yahoo! HotJobs: Will Social Networking Get You a Job?

“Networking is one of the best strategies for finding a new or better job. Right? Right. And, social networking clearly involves networking. Right? Right. So, social networking is the new and improved way to land the job of your dreams. Right? Wrong.”

Hans Schultz: Job search takes more than resumes

“Do your homework. Review the company’s Web site, talk to people you know who work there, prepare questions. Learn as much as you can about their products and services. The company’s mission, vision and value statements will tell you what is important to the organization.”

Jobsearch Secrets: Does Too Much Info Kill Your Resume?

Q-”‘They say my résumé should be only one page long. Is that correct?’”A-”Not necessarily. Many résumés are rightly two, three, or even more pages in length.”

Legal Andrew: It’s All In the Follow Through (or, Up) - Follow Up Your Job Search Letters

“This principle applies to law firms too, especially when conducting a job search. If you send a targeted mailing to firms and never follow up with a phone call, two things are likely to happen. First, your resume might get lost in the sea of resumes that sits in a corner of someone’s office. Second, the firm might decide that you were not that interested in them and simply disregard your resume completely.”

Drudge: Odd Job: Ex-Con Job Recruiter

Is this what job recruiting has come to?
“Although it’s not uncommon for employers to visit Texas prisons looking for workers, Carter MacKenzie is the first job recruiter the prison system has ever hosted.”

Jobs Blog: What not to ask in an interview

“It’s important to note that a question may not technically be illegal, but if you are denied employment based on your answer, than the interviewer may have broken the law. For example, it’s not against the law to ask your age or birthday, but it is illegal to deny you employment because you are age 40 or older.”

Career Journal: Recruiters Are Using Games to Assess M.B.A. Candidates

“L’Oreal, Booz Allen Hamilton, Procter & Gamble, Groupe Danone, and other recruiters are encouraging more students to play strategy competitions that just might lead to a job offer. Some contests are open to undergraduate and graduate students, while others are limited to M.B.A.s.”

Share This