Should you apply online? The age old question I guess eh? Do you send in your resume thought the online application and hope it’s not a black hole?
Short answer? Yes. Long answer? Hell yes.
This isn’t really rocket science but when you are applying for a job, you have to cover your based and do anything and everything you can to get an interview. Applying online is one of those bases and honestly at most places it’s not a black hole...it’d just not the BEST way to get into company. As we all know by now....the best way to find a job is through referrals (ahem, NETWORKING!)
Applying online will do a couple of things for you and they are important...
- Get you “into the system” - Most companies use some sort of applicant tracking software. You will need to be in the system to go through the hiring process. Do your recruiter a favor and send the application in online. Less data entry for recruiters, means more happy people recruiting.
- Other jobs - Um, yeah...that’s right. Recruiters frequently run a quick search on their internal database when a new role comes open. You’re in the system, they need a person like you and voila you have a new gig.
- Multiple views - Applying online usually allow you to apply for multiple roles.....usually being seen by multiple recruiters. Remember, the goal here is to get the interview and then get hired. The more folks see your resume/experience, the better.
That’s it, short and sweet. Based on this and my other tips, here is my quick plan for doing all you can to get into a target company:
1) Apply online
2) Network w/ current employees you know
3) Network w/ current employees you DON’T know...
4) Meet some recruiters
5) Rinse and repeat steps 2-5 until you have an offer
Until next time, have a great week and good luck!!
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
How not to recruit someone
We all read a ton of articles about how to recruit people, where to find people blah blah blah. Right? I mean, it’s almost like information overload with regard to how to find great candidates. One thing I’m finding though, with all this talk of how to find people.....I’d like to focus on how NOT to recruit someone. Why? Well, l’m noticing all these great recruiting tools have made recruiters lazy. Rather than picking up the phone and having a conversation with potential candidates, we’ve gotten lazy and just use technology to blast out in the name of “networking”. The reality is, using social media or even email to just pummel your network with random information is probably doing more harm than good. So, with that, my few tips on how not to recruit someone........
1) Spam them - Spam is the worst, I mean really....send me an obvious spam recruiting email and it’s right to the trash for you. I got an email last week that was addressed to “Hi,”. My name is Jeff, if you really want to recruit me you should realize that a) I have a name and b) if you think I’ll forward this to folks in my network...you are dreaming.
2) Don’t spend any time doing research about the candidate - Why bother right? I mean, is it worth your time to understand who you are targeting? Um, yeah it is.... ugh! Again, I got an email (true story) asking me if I’d be interested in a “high paced role” perfect for someone with “1-2 years experience”. Um, yeah...thanks for that. I’ve been recruiting for a little more experience than you need. Thanks, delete.
3) Bait and Switch - This one is my favorite, the old bait and switch. Tell the person something they want to hear...get them on the hook and tell them something they don’t want to hear. Better yet, wait until you make them an offer and then spring the surprise. Candidates LOVE that move.
4) Don’t reply - Another personal favorite. Reach out, ask someone if they are interested in a job...and then don’t reply to their message if they get back to you. Sounds crazy but happens all the time. Doesn’t matter if you are actively recruiting someone or just trying to network. If you take the time to approach someone and they reply...um, take the time to have the conversation you initiated.
Ok that’s it, if you are recruiting or networking remember that the most successful people are thoughtful and responsive to EVERY person they contact. Networking and recruiting are about long term relationship building. Take your time and do it right.
1) Spam them - Spam is the worst, I mean really....send me an obvious spam recruiting email and it’s right to the trash for you. I got an email last week that was addressed to “Hi,”. My name is Jeff, if you really want to recruit me you should realize that a) I have a name and b) if you think I’ll forward this to folks in my network...you are dreaming.
2) Don’t spend any time doing research about the candidate - Why bother right? I mean, is it worth your time to understand who you are targeting? Um, yeah it is.... ugh! Again, I got an email (true story) asking me if I’d be interested in a “high paced role” perfect for someone with “1-2 years experience”. Um, yeah...thanks for that. I’ve been recruiting for a little more experience than you need. Thanks, delete.
3) Bait and Switch - This one is my favorite, the old bait and switch. Tell the person something they want to hear...get them on the hook and tell them something they don’t want to hear. Better yet, wait until you make them an offer and then spring the surprise. Candidates LOVE that move.
4) Don’t reply - Another personal favorite. Reach out, ask someone if they are interested in a job...and then don’t reply to their message if they get back to you. Sounds crazy but happens all the time. Doesn’t matter if you are actively recruiting someone or just trying to network. If you take the time to approach someone and they reply...um, take the time to have the conversation you initiated.
Ok that’s it, if you are recruiting or networking remember that the most successful people are thoughtful and responsive to EVERY person they contact. Networking and recruiting are about long term relationship building. Take your time and do it right.
Thursday, August 4, 2011
A deeper look at "Circles" to organize your network
A lot of great content has already been written about Google Plus and how we can use it for recruiting (or networking if you are not a recruiter). I continue to think circles are the key feature for those of us feeling unsatisfied with other social media platforms ability to organize and structure our contacts. I wanted to give my take on how to really dig deep and use Google Plus to organize your online world.
1) Start Big - Huh? Don’t people usually recommend starting small? Well bad idea here. Create as many circles as you find relevant to your purposes and vigorously add your contacts. For example...adding me to your Google Plus account? I should probably show up in the following circles - Recruiter, Googlers, MathWorkers, Boston, UNH, Framingham State and a few others. By putting people into multiple circles you can make sure that when you need to tap those networks you’ve fully represented everyone you know.
2) Don’t be shy - Circles are private, so you could add me to “People to ignore” and I wouldn’t know it. So, don’t be shy about creating circles that you might not want to share with the general public. For example - “People I’ve Hired”, “People I wish I hired”, “People I’d never hire”....lots of potential here, be creative and use this feature to its full potential.
3) Import Address Book - Another great feature, and yeah, most other sites have this but not with the easy to use circles. Here’s what you do. Import your LinkedIn contacts (easy to do, um, Google it) and any other .csv files you’ve got. Not sure who’s on Google Plus or what circles they should be in because you are a networking machine and have like a million contacts? Well, that’s ok. Add them all to a generic circle “LinkedIn Unfiltered” is mine...and as people add you to their circles you’ll get notifications back, review their profile (aka remember how you know them) and then resort into the appropriate circles. It works, seriously, takes all the manual work out of what could be a daunting exercise.
Hope this helps, would love to hear your comments. We are all just getting started with Google Plus and exciting to hear what other folks are doing to maximize the platform!
1) Start Big - Huh? Don’t people usually recommend starting small? Well bad idea here. Create as many circles as you find relevant to your purposes and vigorously add your contacts. For example...adding me to your Google Plus account? I should probably show up in the following circles - Recruiter, Googlers, MathWorkers, Boston, UNH, Framingham State and a few others. By putting people into multiple circles you can make sure that when you need to tap those networks you’ve fully represented everyone you know.
2) Don’t be shy - Circles are private, so you could add me to “People to ignore” and I wouldn’t know it. So, don’t be shy about creating circles that you might not want to share with the general public. For example - “People I’ve Hired”, “People I wish I hired”, “People I’d never hire”....lots of potential here, be creative and use this feature to its full potential.
3) Import Address Book - Another great feature, and yeah, most other sites have this but not with the easy to use circles. Here’s what you do. Import your LinkedIn contacts (easy to do, um, Google it) and any other .csv files you’ve got. Not sure who’s on Google Plus or what circles they should be in because you are a networking machine and have like a million contacts? Well, that’s ok. Add them all to a generic circle “LinkedIn Unfiltered” is mine...and as people add you to their circles you’ll get notifications back, review their profile (aka remember how you know them) and then resort into the appropriate circles. It works, seriously, takes all the manual work out of what could be a daunting exercise.
Hope this helps, would love to hear your comments. We are all just getting started with Google Plus and exciting to hear what other folks are doing to maximize the platform!
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