Make Recruiters Work for You

There are many misconceptions about recruiters and what they do. Some people see them as magical, job-finding elves, who are going to solve all their problems. Others see them as the bottom feeders of the HR world, who will staff any position for a buck. Regardless of your opinion…we have all the jobs. You need to learn how to make us work for you.

Understand There Are Different Types of Recruiters

Internal Recruiters – These people work directly for the company you could be working for. They often have direct access to the hiring manager and are probably the most well versed in the position requirements and the corporate culture. They likely also work in other areas of HR, which means if you’re hired, they will have to work with you. If they determine you are unpleasant at any point during the recruitment process, they will have to think very hard about whether you will be submitted to the hiring manager or end up in the “not qualified” pile.

A Recruiter From an Agency – Depending on the Agency’s relationship with the company, they could have any level of knowledge about the position and the company. A good recruiter will do their research and be very knowledgeable about both of these things. Some companies have no interest in engaging in the recruitment process, they will outsource it to an agency, and provide very little information. Regardless of how skilled a recruiter is, they may not be able to answer your specific technical questions about a position, but they are still the gatekeeper between you and the hiring manager… so play nice. Also, the quality of the candidates they put forward are a direct reflection of how effective they are at recruiting. They’re depending on you to be impressive to make them look good. When you suck, it’s embarrassing for everyone. Don’t take your interactions with these people lightly… because they’re not.

How to Talk to Recruiters

You already know that when you apply to a job ad, you should tailor your resume to that position. You sift through the ad and the company website and make sure you fit with that company and that position. Many people are very good at this, but when they don’t have those tools to guide them, they flop.

Think about how recruiting works. Clients contact agencies, who specialize in recruiting, to make sure they choose the right candidate. Recruiters talk to a million people per day. You need to make an impression with your skills and experience and your personality in order to stay out of the Applicant Tracking System “Black Hole.” To do this, you need to make sure that several key messages stick in the recruiters mind:

·        Your area of expertise

We understand that being unemployed is difficult, but you’re not doing yourself any favours by telling us you can do anything… because you can’t. When we staff a position, we want to have a perfect fit between the employee and the employer… We’re not interested in finding you something to tide you over until the next position comes along. 

·        Your marketable skills and relevant work experience

What job would you be perfect for? Which skills make you perfect for that position, and what relevant, real-world examples can you tell me about where you exhibited those skills? These are the most important things to have recruiters remember. Terrible recruiters may not actively ask you for these specific tidbits of information, so you may need to work them into the conversation on your own.

·        Your name (or personality… or both)

There is something about you that’s memorable. Find out what it is. For some people it’s their work experience, personality or even just your laugh.  You can go as far as to develop a tagline for yourself that helps the recruiter remember who you are.

Keep Your Leads Warm

Job hunting is just selling yourself. Keep in touch with them the same way you would a sales lead. Any recruiter could have an opportunity for you at any time. Connect with them on LinkedIn. Congratulate them on new positions (especially if it’s with another recruiting agency), and find reasons to engage with them on a regular basis.

When the jobs come in, you need to be already known to the people handing them out and they need to know you well. Before speaking with a recruiter, picture this scenario…

A new position has come in. Several recruiters are sitting around a table discussing the qualifications. The lead recruiter asks “does anyone have any candidates for this position?” If you were successful in your interaction with the recruiter, they automatically say your name in this meeting without having to consult the applicant tracking system. 

Telecommuting: Is Banning it a Terrible Idea?

In light of the alleged ban of telecommuting by Yahoo CEO, Marissa Mayer, I took the opportunity to address some key points on the issue. I read the memo and despite the media coverage, there was no mention of a “ban.” Employees were “asked” to come to work physical locations in the interest of fostering a more collaborative environment … and then the world exploded.

As someone who has worked on both the administration of a telecommuting policy, and telecommuted myself, the media coverage of this issue struck a chord with me.  First, let’s take a look at a few of the issues.

Entitlement

Granting your employees the ability to work from home gives them the flexibility to balance their personal lives and their work. This type of flexibility really lets your employees know you appreciate that they can benefit from not having to be in the office all day. Nothing says work-life balance like being able to take a conference call on the toilet, while there’s a roast in the oven. Employees who have enjoyed this privilege up until now will be just as outraged and offended as if their pensions had been rolled back.

Legal Obligations

Employers are required to provide telecommuting as a reasonable accommodation for disabled employees. An all-out ban would be completely illegal. The interesting component to this will be how Yahoo addresses employees who refuse to come back to the office on a full time basis. Do they have a clause in their contract that requires an employee to be in the physical office when asked, and does it cover the frequency with which they are now being asked to be present? Could an employee argue that the terms of their employment included the assumption that they would have telecommuting privileges?

Cost

A remote workforce obviously reduces overhead for the company, but also reduces the cost to the employee. This includes daycare, transportation, parking and more. This is going to be another bone of contention as employees start to experience increased work-related costs as a result of this new initiative. It’s not good for Mayer’s PR that she’s increasing daycare costs for some of her employees after building a nursery onto her office. However, she paid for that nursery with her own money, and rich people have babies differently than the rest of us.

Innovation

The whole purpose of the change in Yahoo’s telecommuting perspective is to foster innovation within the company (I used the term perspective, because there doesn’t appear to be any changes to a policy anywhere in the memo). There are many strategies and tools companies can use to encourage employees to communicate with their peers remotely, but honestly nothing really beats living with your co-workers for 8 hours per day. You never accidentally bump into anyone at your home office, and you rarely interact with anyone you don’t work with directly. Being physically present in the office creates a lot more opportunity to interact with co-workers on a more personal level.

Example: Employee A bumps into you in the hallway and complains about project X, and you (as an outsider) can provide input that may different from other employees assigned to the project.

Yahoo is really just going to have to gauge the feedback from employees to determine how this will play out. The media backlash is really coming from people talking about efficiency, and it WAS implied that employees cannot be as efficient from home, which contradicts a whole lot of recent research. Many are shocked that this reduction in flexibility is coming from a working mom…she went to work two weeks after childbirth…why would you think she would sympathize with someone who doesn’t want to drive to work in the morning? 

Networking Doesn’t Stop Being Important Just Because You’re Employed

Remember when you were looking for work, and people kept telling you the best way to find employment was to network both on and offline? Specifically, you should remember ME telling you that. Well once you start working, your networking shouldn’t stop. Opportunities are going to continue to present themselves outside of your current position and you still need to be visible to really take advantage of them.

Reasons to Network

Side Projects: Other motivated people will always have some kind of side project on the go that will enhance your resume beyond what your current job can offer you.

Random Really Cool Stuff: There is always some kind of event going on that you only really know about because you’re connected to the right people.

Finding Out How Much You’re Worth: If you’re decent at your job, and others see what you can do, you could start getting offers to “jump ship.” Then you see things like how much another company is willing to pay you, and you can feel confident asking for a raise.

New Job Opportunities You Never Would Have Thought of: Sometimes, you SHOULD jump ship and try something completely new. Sitting at your desk doing the same thing over and over followed by going directly home and not engaging with people outside your circle of friends really limits this opportunity.

You Could Be Looking Again: Someday your company could shut down, downsize, or just start to suck altogether. You’ll want to be able to exploit all of your contacts for a speedy job search. Remember, the bigger your network, the shorter the search.

Networking at Work

Meet Everyone at Work: Make a point to engage with as many people within and outside the company as possible. Vendors, agencies, clients…pretty much anyone.

Be Involved in Your Community: People are 300% more impressed with you when you are working vs when you are unemployed (Warning, may not be an actual statistic). So why not meet people at these events when you’re impressive rather than waiting until you’re sad and poor?

Leverage Social Media: Your community is going to have some kind of event calendar posted somewhere whether it is created by your local Chamber of Commerce or the city or town that you live in. Whoever has created it is going to love it when you comment, share or retweet it. This will also increase your presence among people who attend these events, even before attending them. Make sure to add all of your contacts to LinkedIn and Twitter as you meet them, so it doesn’t look so desperate later when you contact them (i.e. try to exploit them).

There are millions of ways to network. For a reminder on how to use social media to do it properly, check out an earlier post Dude, Where's My Job 2 - Networking Revisited. Remember, if you’re an introvert and have difficulty networking and meeting new people, just get over it cause there’s no real alternative that would yield the same results. 

Recruiting for Social Media: It’s Easier Than You Think

Your company understands that it needs to be active on social networking sites. Your Facebook page is quickly becoming more important than your website. The dilemma most small business owners face is though they understand the need for social media, they don’t understand the most effective ways to use it. You’d like to ask your marketing guy to do it, but yesterday you saw him make a voice call from a landline to a record store to see if they had the latest albums. At this point you resolve to hire someone to create and manage your online presence. Here are a few tips for when you’re looking.

1.  Age Doesn't Matter

Most people will assume that a young person will be better at social media, because they grew up in a generation that uses it more readily. This is incorrect. As a young person, I can tell you that we are literally not better at ANYTHING. Experience trumps (whatever the hell you think young people have) every time. We are more apt to engage in social media, but someone in their 40’s with an affinity for social media also has “life experience,” “related job experience,” “industry experience”  and other things to draw on that a younger person wouldn't.  Social media skills require a specific way of thinking. The person can’t be intimidated by a new program or feature, because there’s a new one every 5 minutes. There is no reason someone in their 30’s or 40’s can’t have this skill.

2. Hire a Writer

It’s all words. Your employee needs to make the words happen and he needs to make ‘em happen good.

3. Check Up on Them Online

If this person is planning to work in social media, they should have given you links to their social media accounts, and their presence should be quasi-professional. As much as you think you would like to separate the people from the organization, now that everything’s online, you really can’t. They will put your company’s name on their LinkedIn, and attach their Twitter feed to this account. Others will look your company up on LinkedIn and see who your employees are.  Anything they've made publicly available on purpose is fair game to use in your assessment.

4. Beware of Experts

Someone who walks into an interview telling you they know exactly what needs to be done and exactly how to do it is a dud. Social media is social, therefore you need to get to know the clientele before you’re able to really understand the best way to engage with them. A good candidate will offer suggestions of possibilities along with the caveat that everything is subject to change based on the results of the interaction.  

Don't make assumptions based on what you believe a good social media expert should be. Put these people through the same process you put all of your employees through. Identify the key skills and relevant experience you're looking for. Assess them thoroughly, and hire someone who is the right fit for your organization. 

Why Recruiting is as Awful as Dating

Here’s a neat little tidbit about recruiters. They’re real life people and everyday is full of disappointment. E-recruiting, much like E-dating, has many success stories. You’ve probably met a lot of happy couples who met online, but for every happy couple, there are 10 horror stories of people showing up 10 years older or 50 pounds heavier than their picture. The sad part about recruiting is that you don’t get to date the winners for very long. You give them to the hiring manager and then you have to start all over again.

A little insight into the process

First the recruiter crafts their profile:

I like long walks on the beach, Reggae music and I love to cook. I’m looking for someone with 5 years’ experience in marketing, experience with popular software with excellent attention to detail and willing to work in a remote location.

…then we sit back and laugh, knowing that person probably doesn’t exist, especially in the remote region the hiring manager needs them in. This is basically the equivalent of asking for someone with a six-figure income who is ok with the fact that you’re a single parent of five. If you ever see someone in a restaurant writing on a laptop, swirling a glass of brandy and laughing maniacally like a Disney villain, but crying at the same time...that’s a recruiter having a normal day.

Speed Dating Round

Recruiters schedule entire days of interviews just to meet the people, make sure the person matches the profile and isn’t a complete douchebag. You need to get through the first date to get to the second date with the hiring manager.

Step 1 – Make sure you can back up what’s written on your resume.

You were chosen to be interviewed because of several things you wrote on your resume. We’re going to ask you about them to make sure you did them. Be prepared to elaborate on specific projects.

Step 2 – Know yourself really well.

You are going to be asked to give an overview of your work history as well as what you’re passionate about. Print off your resume and make notes if you have to. Just be prepared to talk about this. It sounds like a given, but a lot of people fail here.

Step 3 – Be Charming

I interviewed a woman who had her own tagline. She told me she was “a small town girl with a big city attitude.” I never forgot her name as a result. Just like people don’t forget a good date, they certainly don’t forget a bad date.

Fact: Sometimes the HR guy won’t know all of the intricacies of the app development position you applied for.

Fact: They will be completely aware of the condescending attitude you have towards them.

Here is a list of things that will not get you to a second date

·      Name dropping: Tell me on your resume what companies you worked for, don’t spend a significant amount of time asking me if I know so and so. I’m not impressed by the fact that you worked for Donald Trump unless you can effectively tell me what you did for him.

·      Questioning my questions: If I ask you to elaborate on something, don’t ask me why I want to know that or how is that relevant to this position unless the question makes you uncomfortable for some reason. Often recruiters will want to know about all of your skills (even the ones that don’t pertain to the position you applied for). They can contact you for other positions, unless you were uncooperative.

·      A Shi**y Tone: Be intelligent, but don’t get smart. You would be surprised at how many professionals, after they realize they’re talking to a lowly recruiter, develop a smarmy attitude. Newsflash! In order to be hired, HR still needs to want to work with you.

I actually had an interview where the applicant told me to go to his website, because I could stand to learn a little about the field I was recruiting for…resume deleted.

Don’t be a douchebag. We share all of our notes with the manager.

Example: John Smith, 10 years of marketing experience, excellent portfolio, possibly overqualified for the position. Complete ass. If you hire him, I’m quitting.

Bottom Line: Most successful organizations are looking for someone who is a cultural fit. Being an attractive candidate does not give you carte blanche to be an ass. Getting through the first round is not a difficult task. Know your resume, be confident and courteous and welcome to date #2. 

Protect Your Career From Your Personal Life

Remember a couple of months ago when we were discussing whether it was a good idea to use Social Networking to find job applicants? Some of us were a little gun-shy. These online profiles have pictures, and information about age, political affiliations, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, and all of the other things recruiters/employers aren't supposed to know. Then, as HR got its feet wet, it got braver.

 

Companies started asking job applicants to open their Facebook accounts and show them the content. This made some people uneasy, but it could be justified. Your Social Networking profiles are publicly available information. It could be assumed that the average social networker (is that the correct term for us?) publishes their employment details online. It is important for a company to know how you are going to portray yourself as one of their employees. Look at some Twitter profiles if you want to see some examples. People put their employer’s name and position title…and then write “tweets are my own and do not represent my employer.” Your tweets do represent your employer though. Especially if you’re one of the people the client will need to interact with when receiving the company’s service. “Hey remember that douchebag who posted his unpopular opinion about the situation in the middle-east? I don’t want to buy a car from him.” Candidates even had the ability to make their profile employer friendly, and use it to their advantage in the interview. They could show pictures of travelling and engaging in activities that make them appear more well-rounded.

Now we’ve crossed a line into ridiculousness. Asking for someone’s Facebook password so you can peruse its content at your leisure is like asking for their personal cellphone so you can read their text messages. The ONLY reason companies have the ability to do this is due to a lack of legislation regarding online profiles of any kind. If you’re an employer and you’re debating whether this is a good idea or not…I’d play it safe and wait for some relevant case law. If you’re an employee, go back through your Facebook profile messages. Did you just realize that if you’ve never deleted them, they’re all still there? I did! What is an employer going to think of those messages…especially without the context of the relationship you have with that person?

For Example:

• If someone did not understand my sense of humour, they would think I was really mean to my Mom.

• Did you ever subscribe to a dating app for Facebook? Did you meet a lot of people? Is your status still set to single? They’re gonna think you’re either a big player or just a sad, sad man.

• Remember that time the obviously fake Facebook profile sent you a message asking for your banking information, and you responded in the most inappropriate manner you could think of to see if you could gross them out enough to stop messaging you? Facebook does! The employer isn’t gonna know that’s what you were doing. They’re gonna think you’re filthy…and double-jointed.

Technically, employers shouldn’t be allowed to ask for this information, and I’m confident they won’t be allowed to in the future. However, in the interim it might be a good idea to clean it up. You already know that anything you post online stays there forever. Well so do your emails and private messages. If an employer interviews one of your friends, they can access all of the messages you sent your friend as well. Just because you deleted the message, doesn’t mean they can’t find it. If you are talking to someone online, and you feel the urge to be inappropriate try not to use a site an employer would think to request access to. Telling someone off is much safer and more effective when done in person, or with a good old fashioned telephone call. 

Dude Where’s My Job? Panel 1 – Straight Talk on Resumes: Part 2

 

Hey everyone!  Remember last week when I got other people to write the content for my blog….I mean when I consulted professionals in the field to give you some well-rounded advice on resume-writing? Well go ahead and get excited, because this is part 2 of that panel.

We’ll start by re-introducing the panel:

Kathy Wishart, Recruiter and Job Search Consultant with Priority Personnel Inc. 

Priority Personnel Inc. is an independent and locally owned New Brunswick recruiting services company. Operating since 1993, our office is conveniently located in the downtown core of New Brunswick's capital city of Fredericton. Wendy Southworth, President, leads this dynamic, forward-thinking organization. Priority Personnel Inc. is driven by a commitment to meet and exceed the needs of our diverse customer base. 75% of our business comes from repeat clients and word-of-mouth referrals.

A wide range of job classifications and services are provided to all levels of Government; not-for profit organizations; and private business such as consulting, legal, insurance, financial, accounting, development projects and corporations, communication, and information technology.

Click here to follow them on Twitter

Dana Leavy is the founder of Aspyre Solutions, and a self-proclaimed "Entrepreneurial Wingwoman", helping aspiring entrepreneurs & creative freelancers start, build & grow sustainable small businesses, through career transition and business consulting. As a career advisor and small business entrepreneur, Dana has helped hundreds of professionals in advertising, marketing, design, multimedia and other industries in creating and executing effective career plans to find and DO the work they are passionate about.

Click here to follow her on Twitter

Mark Babbitt is CEO and Founder of YouTern, where emerging talent connects with entrepreneur-driven businesses and non-profits through high-impact, mentor-based internships. Mark has been quoted on internship, experiential education and career matters in Forbes, Mashable, Under30CEO.com and ReadWriteWeb. Mark also contributes to Business Insider, StudentBranding.com and Intern Advocate. A serial mentor, Mark was recently honored to be named to GenJuice’s “Top 100 Most Desired Mentors” list.

Click here to follow him on Twitter

Participants were asked to answer the following questions:

6. If you are over-qualified for the position, should you leave out some of your qualifications?

Kathy Wishart - If you are over-qualified, please reconsider your application.  It’s not likely to go well if you do get the job.  If you need the job, however, be honest.  Omitting items on your resume is treading dangerous ground since most are likely to regard intentional omissions as on par with lies and misrepresentations.  You might try using the cover letter to leverage your reasons for wanting the job.

Dana Leavy - There's no one right answer here.  Generally speaking the last 10-12 years are going to be the most relevant information, and you want to be aware of dating yourself if you're a senior level candidate, or you're breaking into an industry and vying for a more entry-level role.  Do your best to only include the information that's going to be most relevant to the role and the organization.  If you're breaking into the creative industry and going for an entry level designer role, they're not going to care that you have 12 years of professional work experience, especially if it's in a completely different field.  You're not misrepresenting yourself.

Mark Babbitt - No. You want to get the interview – and to do that you have to confidently display your abilities. Once your foot is on the right side of the door, you’re in a much better position to counter the “over-qualified” objection.

7. Chronological, Competency Based or Other? How do we organize our resumes to screen in and catch your attention?

Kathy Wishart - A combined format is probably the most informative type of resume since it links skills and experiences to actual jobs in a chronological order.  In terms of catching my attention, I’m old school.  Make it visually appealing and don’t give me too much to read or wade through.

Dana Leavy - I prefer and often recommend using a hybrid-style resume that includes the summary, a skills or core competencies section, and work experience & education.  I like this formatting because again, it's really effective for presenting the resume as a branding tool, really communicating who you are and what you're bringing to the table.  But it also flows really well in terms of each section - the summary is a general overview of your top skills, followed by additional skills and core competencies you have, and then the experience section goes into more context about where you've used those skills and expertise to be successful and contribute to the organization.

Mark Babbitt - Again, depends on the career and industry. For old-school medical, legal, and engineering firms, for management positions and academia a chronological resume is standard – and expected. For other industries – including digital media, advertising, public relations and more – a hybrid resume (summary statement and then chronological) tends to work best.

8. Is there a better font, font-size, length etc.? When the employer doesn’t specify these things, what do we do?

Kathy Wishart - I’m personally flexible on font type.  It needs to look professional.  Most fonts are fine at a size 11 or 12.  Some people recommend a page of resume for every ten years of work experience.  I certainly wouldn’t go more than 3 pages EVER for a resume; a two page resume with a cover letter is ideal.

Dana Leavy - It's an antiquated myth that the resume HAS to be on one page, but do keep it under two if possible.  Really it's about what is the most effective format for presenting the information, keeping readability, aesthetic and communication in mind.  As far as fonts and sizing, stay with the standard fonts that work on both Mac and PC (Ariel, Helvetica, Georgia, Palatino, etc.).  If you use a Microsoft-based font that doesn't translate to Mac platform, and it's in a Word document, you risk throwing off the formatting of your entire document, and it can look sloppy.  With that in mind, I always suggest presenting your resume in a PDF format, so as avoid any issues with margins when your reader opens it up.

Mark Babbitt - Same criteria as above. Old-school industries and positions stick to Times New Roman 12 or maybe a non-serif Arial 11. For other industries use a Cailbri 11 or similar visually appealing font. Just please don’t use more than two fonts on the resume; if the resume comes across as loud or obnoxious – it gets discarded.

9. Are graphics and other media helpful in getting through the screening process? If yes, do you have any tips on this for applicants?

Dana Leavy - I don't suggest getting overly creative or putting graphics on the resume, outside of maybe a sidebar as a formatting tool for listing additional information.  Besides taking up space, graphics on resumes don't really serve a purpose, impress anyone, and in my opinion they're cheesy.  If you're a designer, your portfolio should speak for itself.  Video resumes are kind of cool, but they're still up and coming, and most companies prefer the standard resume that they can scan really quick instead of watching a several minute multimedia presentation - they don't have time for that.  The only time I would say it's okay to get creative with your branding package is if it's something that's really going to appeal to the type of company to whom you're applying.  If that's what they do, they might enjoy knowing that you're knowledgeable in that area.  But I would still have a standard resume, and then maybe redirect them to your blog, or website, if you want to give them more of an in-depth creative branding presentation on who you are.

Mark Babbitt - Links to social media sites, as well as an online portfolio or blog, is more than welcome. Graphics can be a distraction for most industries (design and digital media are exceptions). Infographic resumes – when well done – can be a great way to get noticed in new media companies and positions.

10. Is there any advice you would give to job applicants regarding their resume that you have not already addressed?

Kathy Wishart - You wouldn’t walk onto a construction site without a hard hat and steel-toed boots.  Why, then, would you approach your job search without the adequate tools to get the job done?  I’m talking about your resume. Unless you’ve been formally trained on resume writing and are an accomplished resume writer, don’t go it alone.  Consult a resume writing service.  It’s an investment in your career.

Dana Leavy - Once again, just remember that the resume is a branding tool that's meant to tell the story of your career, and the biggest aspects of that to keep in mind are professionalism, formatting/readability, and messaging.  Is your brand consistent throughout?  What do you want the employer to know about you as a candidate, and are you communicating that?  Are you using words and phrases that describe what is unique about YOU, and not just presenting you as someone with the basic qualifications?  If you look at it as a branding tool and build it in that way,  instead of a standard required document, it's going to work much better for you.

Mark Babbitt - Your resume must be positioned to compete. That does not mean the resume has to be perfect; it just needs to be a little bit better than your competition. To do that, the resume must be:

1.            Free of grammar and spelling errors

2.            Tailored to each position/application

3.            Peppered with keywords directly from the job description

4.            MUST contain a statement summarizing your soft skills

5.            MUST contain quantified substantiation of your performance (i.e., “exceeded quota by 132%)

Proper execution of these five issues alone places you ahead of at least 90% of your competition, and should be considered mandatory elements of a good resume.

Thanks again to all of the participants. If you have any questions or comments feel free to add them below, or follow the panel members on twitter and ask them yourselves. I hope this unraveled some of the mystery behind what the "rules" on resume writing are. 

Happy job-hunting

Dude Where’s My Job? Episode 6 – The Follow-Up

A lot of people think that once you've finished the interview it’s all up to the employer. Wrong! You need to make sure the employer remembers your name and stays engaged with you until they make their decision. This isn't even limited to after the interview. You can keep them engaged from the time you submit your application to let them know you are still interested. You just have to make sure you don’t cross the line and become the annoying person who they can’t wait to be rid of.

Step 1

This is a repeat of Episode 2, where I told you to follow the company’s Twitter account or Like their Facebook page. If this is new information to you, go back and read these from the beginning. Why would you start reading from the Episode 6? This isn’t Star Wars, where Episodes 4 – 6 were awesome and then you watched Episode 1 and it immediately made you want to rant about it online….all my Episodes were equally awesome. Keep them engaged through the recruitment process by retweeting, liking, and commenting on their posts. This is done either before or immediately after submitting your application, and continues until you’ve been hired…..or rejected.

Step 2

Keep track of all the positions you apply for. You need to decide, based on each individual position, what would be an appropriate length of time to wait before contacting to check on the status of the competition. Larger companies will have a longer lag time between soliciting applications to the interview stage. A rough heuristic would be one to two weeks from the deadline to submit applications if they haven’t already given you a timeline. Once you have received a timeline, you should avoid asking questions until a couple days after they said they would get back to you. They will get annoyed and start to hate you.

Step 3

Following an interview, some people will instruct you to one or all of the following;

• ·         Send a thank you email immediately following the interview
• ·         Send a handwritten thank you note immediately following the interview
• ·         Call the interviewer after the interview to thank them for the interview

Warning: Doing all of these things lets the employer know that you are not only enthusiastic and excited about the position, but also just a little bit crazy. If you’re applying for anything other than a stalker position, this is not recommended.

Choose which course of action best suits your personal style. You should probably only do one of those things. In the interview, you should ask what the anticipated timeline is for finding out if you were the successful candidate. After the interview, thank the interviewer for their time using one of the three methods above and then after the date they give you, ask if a decision has been made.

Step 4

If you didn’t get the job, ask for feedback. What was it that eliminated me? Most companies won’t tell you what it is, but every now and then you get lucky and they say exactly what it was. Some companies will be as specific as telling you exactly which question you answered incorrectly or insufficiently. You don’t want to keep making the same mistake if it’s something you can help. Don’t wait to get an interview to ask this question. If you don’t get an interview, ask them why you were eliminated. A wise man once told me that “knowing is half the battle.”

Dude Where’s My Job? Episode 5 – The Interview

Congratulations on getting your foot in the door. Now all you have to do is spend a short amount of time with your potential employer and not screw up.

Step 1 – Suit-Up!

There is a lot of advice available on what to wear for an interview. They tell you everything from what colour or brand of suit to wear to how to knot your tie. Most of this information is bull.

Fact: A Windsor Knot does not make you look more confident. It makes you look like you’re wearing a tie with a Windsor Knot.

The best advice I’ve heard is “dress like you already work there.” Find out what the other employees are wearing and dress accordingly. If the company has a laid-back dress code and all of the executives wear jeans and blazers, following suit could make them feel as though you already belong there. It’s also possible that they will expect you to be a little more polished at the interview and count the jeans as a strike against you. (I bet you thought I was going to give you real advice for a second, huh?)

Ladies… It doesn’t matter how big or small they are. You still MUST cover them up. Even the women in the room are staring at them…fail!

Most advice will tell you to wear something conservative with neutral colors. This is your safest bet, as the employer will focus more on what you have to say than your appearance. However, a friend of mine landed a sales position with a Fortune 500 company after showing up to the interview with purple streaks in her hair. The employer thought it showed she had spunk (I’m sure she said a couple things in the interview to lead them to believe that as well).

Step 2 – Do a Little Homework

Learn about the company you are interviewing for. Get a little history and a general working knowledge of what they do. Focus specifically on the position you have applied for. They will want to know why you are the perfect fit for that position. You want to demonstrate a thorough knowledge of the industry you work in, while being as specific to the position as possible. Let’s pretend you’re applying to a government position. Learn about the branch, it's function, and be able to talk a little about the legislation they would use most often.

The job ad will have listed both technical skills and behavioural competencies. Be prepared to talk about your past experience/current proficiency with these technical skills.  

Example:  Must be proficient with Microsoft Excel

“In my last position, I was required to create and maintain a database of all employee vacation and sick time in an excel spreadsheet that calculated monthly totals and averages. I also took an Operations Management course where I learned to solve complex mathematical functions using Excel’s Solver function.”

Human Resources is going through a phase where everyone thinks Behavioural Event Interview Questions are pretty much the best thing ever. To prepare for these types of questions look at all of the competencies listed in the job ad and think of examples of times when you exhibited those competencies.

Step 3 - Stay Positive

Keep the tone on the positive side. Don't bash old bosses or companies. Keep your answers positive too. If someone asks you how you respond to change in the workplace, they are most likely looking for someone who would respond positively to change. Your answer should not include the fact that you are able to adapt, but don't like to (It sounds like common sense, but you'd be surprised).

Step 4 – Don’t Not Prepare

Yeah it’s a double negative….no I don’t care!

If you received any communication prior to the interview, read it carefully and follow any instructions. Failure to do so will result in the recruiter raising one eyebrow and bein all “are you serious?” It will enrage them to a point that will make them want you to fail miserably.

Step 5 – Don’t Stress

Sure your entire future could be decided by this one short meeting, but don’t worry about it. It’s the interviewer’s job to make you feel comfortable, and help you explain how you qualify for the position. When you’re not comfortable, it makes the rest of the room uncomfortable. This makes the interview awkward for everyone. You don’t want the recruiter to be glad the interview is over.