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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: New Year’s Resolutions for the Job Search

“Respect is a two-way street, and one of the major complaints from job candidates is that recruiters don’t really treat them like human beings. On the other side of the search, companies have to deal with overbearing recruiters that seem far more concerned with cashing checks than with finding the right match for a job.”

Wireless Jobs: 7 Hiring Trends for 2007

Trend prediction #1:

“Bigger paychecks
Eighty-one percent of employers report their companies will increase salaries for existing employees, and nearly half of employers (49 percent) expect to increase salaries on initial offers to new employees.”

About: Top 10 Principles of Employee Empowerment

“If there is a consistent theme in my writing about managing employees, it is that employees must be treated like adults in the workplace. Think about it. Employees have spouses and families; they have mortgages and they save for retirement.”

Job Tuition: Take a New Angle for the New Year

First, you should think back over the last year. Try to remember the step you took that was most productive in your job search. If you can’t narrow it down to one, come up with a few…Once you have a handle on this step, think about ways to use it again. Can you find other networking contacts that will produce great leads? What qualities should you look for? Can you find other really helpful books or blogs out there to read?”

Job Search Secrets: Personal Pluses That Ace A Job Interview

“Promptness is one attribute that employers appreciate. It doesn’t come naturally, but it doesn’t take a great deal of work to acquire either. A little planning, or putting thought into your daily routines and habits, mean you are not only on time for work, but for outside activities as well.”

Independent Mail: Resumes 101: Be professional, even when applying for jobs online

“To get a job, obviously. When applying for jobs in this day and age, many companies look online. Don’t forget to stay professional, polite and grammatically correct. With the objective, be clear and concise. This may be the only way to get the boss to read on, and that is the goal. Use key words listed in the job description to catch the employers’ attention, Ms. Davidson said. And in all things, don’t place all bets on one job; be open to options”

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Maybe it’s just a sign of getting older, but each year seems to go by faster than the last. 2006 is already coming to a close, and it’s time for all of the countdowns, best-of lists, and predictions for ’07. It’s also time to come up with those pesky resolutions that you swear you’re going to stick to for more than two weeks this year. While exercising more and changing the face of the job boards top our lists, we’d like to suggest a few New Year’s resolutions that job candidates, hiring managers, and recruiters might want to think about. We hope everyone gave the gifts we suggested in our Christmas List post, but if not, sticking to these resolutions will definitely make the other parties involved in the job search very happy.

Job Candidates
Stop treating everyone else in the job search like they’re the enemy. We know recruiters and hiring managers can be a pain to deal with, and at times you’d rather throw something at them than say a kind word, but opening up effective communication can go a long way. Even a bit of politeness can get you closer to a job:

”Mom was right. Interviewers notice this, I kid you not. Thank the person for the interview, for the coffee, for opening the door, and for granting you the interview after. Do not worry about too many thank-you’s or pleases.” (From What Would Dad Say…)

Recruiters
Respect is a two-way street, and one of the major complaints from job candidates is that recruiters don’t really treat them like human beings. On the other side of the search, companies have to deal with overbearing recruiters that seem far more concerned with cashing checks than with finding the right match for a job. We know these are generalizations and that many recruiters are perfectly friendly, hard-working folks who really do want to help the candidates and companies they work for. However, with so much bad blood out there, recruiters resolve to at least respect the wishes of others involved in the job search:

”Since posting the listing for a job opening here at Moon River Software about three weeks ago, I’ve gotten a number of calls from various recruiters. It has picked up in the past couple of weeks. I believe that last week alone I received about a dozen calls.

”It wouldn’t be nearly as irritating if I hadn’t put this line at the bottom of my job posting: ‘Principals only please. Unsolicited resumes from third party agencies will not be accepted. No calls please.’

”Doesn’t that mean anything to anyone? Do these people not read? Apparently not. I’ve gotten all sorts of recruiters calling and telling me all about the latest and greatest .NET or Java programmer that would be perfect for my position.” (From Mike Taber’s Blog)

Hiring Managers and Employers
Find and hold onto talent. One of the greatest complaints regarding hiring managers is that they don’t seem all that interested in finding top talent. It’s time to commit to bringing in people that can positively affect your company. The talent is out there, you just have to be willing to do the work. There are quiet candidates that might be looking for everything you’re offering, but if you don’t use the tools at your disposal, you’ll never find them.

Once top talent comes onboard, you have to hold onto them. Recent reports and surveys suggest that close to 75% of all working professionals are on the job hunt and that:

”Seventy-three percent of HR professionals indicated that they were concerned about the voluntary resignations at their organizations.” (From Society for Human Resource Management)

Different people blame high rates of turnover on different factors, but most agree that talented employees are more likely to stay onboard if their talents are being used:

”If performance management is a key driver of performance and engagement is also a key indicator, does it not make sense that talent management includes engagement?

”Engaged employees will also be easier to apply talent management to. These employees tend to track themselves on the right paths and continuously achieve more and grow faster – because they want to.” (From Systematic HR)

Those are just a few resolutions that can lead to more effective job searches and happier people in the workforce in 2007. Like all resolutions, they’ll take some work, but they’ll be worth it in the long run.

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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: Breaking Down the Recruiter Bill of Rights

“Recruiters can get you where you want to go, but they do need a little bit of help along the way. If candidates are willing to take some time to look at themselves, if they have the means to compare themselves to other candidates on the market, and if they have the tools to truly explore what different companies have to offer, they’ll be in a stronger position at the onset of the job search. Then recruiters can really get down to doing what they do best.”

…from the trenches:Job Boards – Misconceptions and Realities: Part 2

“According to Lou, the workforce is split into four categories: Active, Less Active, Semi-Passive, and Passive…But the true value is in appealing to the Less Active category…There is alot of great talent to attract, but you have to know how to attract that talent better than anyone else.”

College Recruiter: Highest Paying Jobs in the U.S.

“I believe that it is not wise to choose a position and certainly not a career based upon the pay. You can make a lot of money and still be miserable. Instead, look at your competencies, interests, and values. Your values may be to find the highest paying internship or the highest paying entry level career opportunity or a job that is the highest paying amongst all available to you, but don’t forget about your competencies and interests.”

Zoom Info: The 2007 Recruiting Landscape

“It is hard to believe that it’s that time again … time to look back on what we accomplished in the past year, and what we hope to accomplish in the year ahead. If you’ve been in recruiting for a while, it’s impossible to look at the industry trends from 2006 without seeing how far online recruiting has come in the past decade.”

Systematic HR: Attracting and Holding People

“Do we see managing our talent and engaging our workforce as separate functions? If so, why do we do this even when all studies show that engaged workforces are more productive. If performance management is a key driver of performance and engagement is also a key indicator, does it not make sense that talent management includes engagement?”

Job Search Secrets: How to Tie a Tie: 3 Tips to Enhance Your Job Interview Attire

“If someone asks you “what’s the most important part of your job interview attire?”, what would you answer? The suit? The shirt? The shoes? Perhaps. But did you know that the tie, to your outfit, is what the focal point is to a picture?”

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