Rethinking Recruiting...

Job tip of the week - Jan 29th, 2012...Be stupid enough to try

2012-01-29T11:21:00.000-08:00

I'm pretty fired up this week so you'll have to just bear with a bit more snark than normal but I really think this blog will do you right. The advice - Be stupid enough to try.... This might sound like crazy advice but I've been following this advice for ages. A few examples:

- I moved to Washington DC with "no job and no clue" as I like to say....but knew I wanted to work in politics. After four months of unpaid internships, crazy night jobs and some excellent connections...I was working on Capitol Hill

- I wanted to work at Google...so badly actually, I applied for a job in Zurich. After the shortest interview ever (I bombed both questions) the recruiter asked me if I'd prefer a role in Boston....bingo! Six years later I'm still loving it.

- Just this week....I was looking for Super Bowl tickets. So, I tweeted out asking if anyone out there had a pair I could buy. 15 minutes later, I'm going to the Super Bowl. No joke.

See, being a little stupid (or crazy or whatever adjective you'd like) can give you just enough of a push to really try something you'd NEVER try if you were thinking straight...but just might land you the opportunity or job of a lifetime. Trust me, it's worked for me and it will work for you.

More later this week....

Jeff

Job hut tip of the week - January 19th, 2012 - Show your work!

2012-01-19T18:16:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone! Been a really busy crazy week for me...lots of great work and a bunch of “Hangouts On Air” via the @googlestudents page. You can find the videos from the HOA's here! Tons of fun! Regardless...I still have time for a tip of the week.

This weeks tip? Show your work.

What do you mean Jeff? It’s easy. When you are looking for a job, especially if you are out of work. You have to keep track of what you are doing. Make a spreadsheet, list target companies, networking contacts and when you have been engaged with them. Doing this will give your search a sense of purpose and also allow you to keep track of everything so you can be diligent and deliberate in what you do.

Most people treat their job search like a part time job...it’s not, it’s a major commitment and keeping detailed notes of what you do will make it much more rewarding in the long run.

Until next week...happy hunting

Job hunt tip of the week...Jan 12, 2012

2012-01-12T16:58:00.000-08:00

Ok, I'm determined to blow away all my 2011 blogging stats this year so get ready to keep hearing from me. It does mean fewer epic novels and more quick hitters...as such. My job hunt tip of the week is: Be relentless.

Be relentless. Sounds weird right? It's not. If you are looking for a job (especially if you are unemployed) you have to be relentless in your pursuit of a new role. By that I mean, take detailed notes of all your interactions, network network and more networking. Don't take no for an answer and keep working until you find that dream gig.

Finding a new job is a full time job, treating like anything less than that...is doing yourself a disservice. That's it...now stop reading and get searching. Good luck...

Jeff

You're looking for a job...but can people FIND you?

2012-01-06T19:22:00.000-08:00

Quick blog this week but I think it’s important. When you are looking for a job, you should make sure to figure out how easily you are found. Because if you are really actively looking for a job you want to make sure that 1) You’re looking for jobs but also that 2) People can find you if they are out looking for great employees.

So, here’s what you might think about doing...

1) Search for your name - Of course you know, “Google” yourself. What’s funny, I did this and the results were very different depending on the search engine. On Google, I’m the first or second result for any combination of my name...good. Yahoo, um, not so much but I’m pretty findable...especially if you do “Jeff Moore Recruiter”....Bing? Um, apparently I barely exist there. That gave me a chuckle. Will have to work on that :) Anyway, figure out how people can find you and do things to help make it easier to find you. Blog, tweet, write articles, whatever...get out there.

2) LinkedIn - Get your profile 100% complete and up to date. Add connections and get some professional references. When you meet with someone...tell them “I’ll send you a connection so we can stay in touch.” Building your network is the most important thing you can do whether you are in a job search or not. Finally...LinkedIn is a HUGE recruiting channel now and if you are not there....you’re nowhere.

3) Experiment - Play around with different things. Find ways to contribute to the online world and get yourself “out there”. Attend industry events. I have a saying about lottery tickets (don’t ask!) which is “You’ve got to play to win”....the same could be said for your job search.

That’s it this week........get out there, it’s a new year so there are new opportunities!

Pushing Forward Back - Goodbye 2011, Hello 2012

2011-12-31T11:10:00.000-08:00

Well, here we are at the end of the year and I wanted to get one last blog done before welcoming in 2012. You may be wondering, what does “Pushing Forward Back” mean? Well, it’s a great tune by Temple of the Dog and you know me....I love me some grunge music. You can check the video here if you haven’t seen it. Anyway, the idea of this post is a chance for me to push back on 2011 and look forward to 2012

Pushing Back

- Huge thank you to all the folks who took time to read my blogs this year. Between this blog and cross posts on Recruiterblogs.com and the Google Student Series over 20K people took time to listen to me ramble...it’s humbling, thank you. Extra special thanks to those of you who commented on my posts and reached out for additional advice/thoughts

- Major thanks to all the folks on Twitter and G+ who shared their thoughts/insights with me. Its shocking to me how much a tool like Twitter can teach you about recruiting

- Personally and professional 2011 was a great year. TONS of great stuff with fantastic family, friends and colleagues....2012 you’ve got big shoes to fill

- Congrats to my Boston Bruins for winning the Cup this year. So happy to had a chance to see my Boston teams win a title (or two...or three) during the last 10 years....awesome.

Pushing Forward

- 2012 will be presenting a great deal of professional challenges for me...and I’m ready. Can’t wait actually.

- Social Media is going to take a huge leap this year...trust me, great stuff coming....especially on G+. Trust me, this will be so cool.

- In a strange sense of irony, I’ll be teaching a course this Spring at Northeastern University on Social Media. Specifically related to strategy, assessment and governance. I hope I’m up for the challenge.

- Finally, I hope to keep this blog growing. I wanted to really expand the amount of content here and went from 17 posts in 2012 to 32 in 2011 so that’s good progress. REALLY want to break 50 next year.....not sure I’ve got that much to say but I’ll try. I almost hit 50 if you count the Google Student blogs....but I don’t. So here’s to 50 in 2012.

Happy New Year everyone, here's hoping 2012 brings a good fortune and exciting opportunities to everyone!

Jeff

Recruiting during the holidays

2011-11-30T18:03:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone, hope you are doing well. Sorry I’ve been slow to post here lately, I’ve been really with the Recruiter Tips and Tricks series on the Google Students Blog that posts have been few and far between. However, I did have some things I wanted to get out there this week. Recruiting during the holidays. It’s tough right? No one wants to do anything and people are taking time off for vacation and shopping all over the place...meanwhile, you’ve got jobs to fill. Here are a few thoughts!

Be Sensitive - This time of year it’s impossible to try and stuff interviews in...there are just too many things going on. You’ve got to be sensitive to people and how they celebrate the holidays. When trying to schedule an interview you’ve got to think not only of the candidate, but also of your team. I mean, some of these people might celebrate Festivus and you don’t want to offend those folks.....

Timing - Timing is brutal this time of the year. No one works the last week of the year, and if they do....they are not cranking along at full speed. So you need to be smart about who you schedule for interviews and when they come in. The worst thing you can do is book something on a day where no one wants to be there....and have the candidate suffer from a poor interview experience.

Expectations - Last but not least...make sure you set expectations properly. Don’t tell the candidate you’ll have an offer on 12/23....only to not call them back until January. Same goes for hiring managers, lets face it...if the job isn’t filled yet it’s likely not getting filled until 2012. Turth hurts people but being upfront and setting realistic expectations will go a long way towards your 2012 goals.

That’s it, I’m going to try and get one more of my stupid movie related blogs by the end of the year.......we’ll see. Until then, good luck wrapping up the year!!

A few thoughts on building a diverse organization

2011-11-07T19:14:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I have no idea where this diversity series is taking me....but hopefully you’ll come along for the ride. I just got back from speaking on a discussion panel so my mind is going a mile a minute on this topic. What I’d like to address is how, we as recruiting professionals can help our organizations continue to hire and grow awesome, diverse talent. Here are a few thoughts:

Pipeline - Build a big, massive, diverse pipeline of candidates. A lot of times our hiring managers are looking for the perfect candidate...as well the should! However, if we don’t have a huge pipeline we are doing them a disservice. How will they know they have the perfect candidate if every person looks the same and has the same background? Taking the time to create a robust pipeline of candidates will ensure that when a req opens you can show your managers a broad set of candidates so they can make the best hire. Exposing your managers to more diverse candidates will allow them to hire the best...while moving the needle on diversity. That’s a win-win folks.

Process - When thinking about diversity, we should all be looking at how our process works and make sure it’s not screening out potentially great people...we should be screening great talent IN! What’s this you say? I like to think of the entire recruiting process as a series of “microdecisions”. Recruiters figure out who to talk to based on a bunch of factors, managers do the same thing, interviewers and so on and so on. Another phrase I like is “Death by a Thousand Papercuts”. Now, you don’t want a process that does this to great candidates. Some amazing people didn’t go to college, others went to State schools (ahem) so you have to be really careful that your process doesn’t just nuke candidates b/c of preconceived notions of “who” or “what” makes a great candidate...on paper.

Advocate for the great - Again, we as recruiters have to keep the goals and objectives in mind when trying to make a hire. We are the experts in hiring, defenders of the culture..voice of the candidates. We need to speak up and advocate for people we think are great. Again, you’ll notice I’m not saying pick the diversity person over the non-diverse...what I’m saying is, hire the best, period. The best might be a diverse candidate...the best might be a white dude from NH...doesn’t matter “who” is the best. What matters, is that we recruiters are advising our managers and forcing them to think long and hard about what “great” means for every job.

Ok, that’s it, sorry if this is a little rambling. I wrote most of this on a flight home from California and wanted to get a few thoughts out there and see if we could keep the conversation going from my last blog. To me, diversity recruiting is about awareness and making sure that when we hire, we show our managers as broad a set of candidates as we can.

An Intro to Diversity and Diversity Recruiting

2011-10-21T16:32:00.000-07:00

I’m back from a trip to CA and a week of vacation...feeling pretty good. I wanted to get started on a small series about Diversity and what Diversity recruiting means to me. It’s an issue that is a real challenge for those of us recruiting but it’s bigger than that. I honestly don’t know what this blog series will look like....but that’s the fun part right? So, let’s get it started....

What is Diversity?
Diversity is about having a broad set of employees that represents people from all kinds of backgrounds and makes your internal population representative of the population as a whole. Make sense? People from different backgrounds (ethnic, sex, financial, geographic, sexual orientation, etc etc) bring different perspectives and ideas to the workplace than if your team is made up of a bunch of folks with identical backgrounds.

Why should your company care?
Well, regardless of any legal or social responsibility things....it’s a competitive advantage. Companies thrive on new, innovative ideas. What better way to increase the innovation engine than to have a set of employees who have the ability to take their diverse experiences, apply them to your companies hardest problems and come up with great solutions. Diversity is a lot of things, but most importantly it’s good business.

What Diversity is NOT...
Diversity is not about lowering your hiring bar or excluding others in order to hire a diverse team. No, no, no, wrong attitude. I’ve heard the word “reverse discrimination” and couldn’t disagree more. Diversity, from a recruiting and hiring standpoint, is about building the biggest most diverse pipeline of candidates you possible can...and hiring the absolute best of that group.

Hopefully these few quick thoughts will set the table for a deeper dive on this topic as it’s a real passion of mine. Also, for those of you loyal readers out there I wanted to apologize for the scarcity of my blogs lately. Doing the series over at the Google Student Blog has been sapping my creative juices...but I’m getting my groove back.

Ok, that’s it for now....next week I’ll get more into how to build a diverse pipeline of candidates...and hire them.

Vacation ramblings.......

2011-10-05T18:40:00.000-07:00

As many of you know, I’m on vacation this week. I didn’t want to write a full post, did that already for the Google Students site. BUT, I did want to share a few thoughts. This vacation has been awesome and has really helped me clear out the old brain....I’ll be back next week full recharged. With that, here are a few rambling, disconnected thoughts from a recruiter on vacation:

As the economy continues to sputter, I worry we’ve got tough times ahead...again....hold on tight

Hire the best. Don’t compromise or apologize for insisting on the best person.

Networking is an absolute must, if you aren’t networking you are falling behind.

Diversity isn’t just a catch phrase or social mission....it’s a competitive advantage.

Changing jobs is a life decision for for people, we as recruiters, hiring managers and peers need to keep this in mind. This is serious stuff.

Why do you leave vacation on the table? Take it all and don’t burn out.

Hire for the work, not the “role” you want to fill.

The only way to increase diversity in your workplace, is the build a bigger pipeline of candidates...and hire the best.

Coffee is for closers (ahh, that never gets old)

Ok, that’s it this week....hope you’re all having as much fun as I am......and until next time, good luck.

Interview tips from Gunnary Sergeant Hartman....Full Metal Jacket Recruiting

2011-09-23T20:05:00.000-07:00

A colleague got me going on this blog idea...and after a little research I love it!. For those of you who don’t know who Gunnery Sergeant Hartman is, he’s one of the main characters in Full Metal Jacket and is pretty much crazy. If you haven’t seen the movie, I’d highly recommend it. Stanley Kubrick is a genius. Anyway, Hartman is the drill sergeant training new troops before the head to Vietnam and has a bunch of good lines...most of them pretty inappropriate. That being said, there are a bunch of funny/good recruiting and job search tips. Here are a few of my favorites:

Gunnery Sergeant Hartman: “I'm Gunnery Sergeant Hartman, your senior drill instructor. From now on you will speak only when spoken to, and the first and the last word out of your filthy sewers will be "Sir". Do you maggots understand that?”

Just to make sure we are all on the same page here, if you ever have a boss or interview with someone who even remotely sounds like this. Quit, walk out, start over...regardless, not a good place. Ok? Now onto the tips.

Gunnery Sergeant Hartman: “What's your name, scumbag?”

Be nice in your interviews. What’s funny is the smallest things can really ruin your candidate experience. Now, hopefully you’d never call your candidate a scumbag but you get the point. Even just showing up late to an interview, talking short or expressing frustration makes your candidates uncomfortable. If you’re having a bad day, take a deep breath and clear your thoughts...then do the interview and do it well.

Gunnery Sergeant Hartman: “And my orders are to weed out all non-hackers who do not pack the gear to serve in my beloved Corps.”

I love this one. Really, it’s good advice for anyone doing interviews. If you are conducting an interview, you’re the front lines of defending your corporate culture and employee brand. You have to your best to make sure that anyone you do recommend for hire...is good and fits into the organization. Take this responsibility seriously.

Gunnery Sergeant Hartman: “Do I make you nervous?”

Another tip about interview etiquette. The goal is to evaluate candidates and hire the good ones. Play nice, make people comfortable and learn as much as you can to determine if they are a great fit for your team.

Gunnery Sergeant Hartman: What's your excuse?
Private Cowboy: Sir, excuse for what, sir?
Gunnery Sergeant Hartman: I'm asking the f#&king questions here private. Do you understand?

Final piece of interview etiquette. Make sure you leave time for the candidate to ask you questions and do your best to interview them in as much detail as you can. Changing jobs is a life decision for people, the more information you can share on why someone should join...the more likely they are to want to accept your offer.

Gunnery Sergeant Hartman: Are you quitting on me? Well, are you? Then quit, you slimy f#&king walrus-looking piece of sh#t!

Last tip and in my opinion one of the most important if you hope to have a long career. People will quit their jobs, people will leave for better opportunities and people will leave for reasons you don’t understand. It happens. No need to get angry about it. Wish them luck and keep in touch with them...remember, networking is your friend and former colleagues are some of the best people in your network.

Ok, that’s it this week. Kind of a different post which was a lot of fun but I hope you enjoyed it. Until next week, good luck out there.

Update on where to find me

2011-09-21T19:19:00.000-07:00

As many of you know, I'm guest blogging for the Google Students blog over the next several weeks. If you are interested in these posts you can find them here

I'll have some new content here in the next few days too so keep an eye out and let me know what you think of the Google Students posts!

Why you should use Twitter to recruit

2011-09-09T07:10:00.000-07:00

Twitter....that mysterious and intimidating social media platform that many people find totally confusing. If you haven’t seen it, this video is amazing will give you a good laugh about Twitter.

All joking aside, I use Twitter all the time and find it to be a great recruiting tool. Unfortunately, most recruiters I meet either tweet for fun (see above video) or don’t touch Twitter. I wanted to share a few tips/tricks on why I’m a recruiter who tweets.

1) Learning - That’s right, I’ve learned more from other recruiters sharing on Twitter than I even care to admit. There are literally hundreds of recruiters who are sharing info, blogging and networking on Twitter. If you are a recruiter who’s looking to learn/grow I can’t recommend Twitter enough. Go to a list like this one on “The Recruiters Lounge” and follow these folks...trust me you’ll learn a ton.

2) Networking - Twitter networking is one of the coolest things for those of us who enjoy networking (even if you don’t enjoy networking, Twitter is still a tool for you). By following people on Twitter you get to see what they talk about and how they interact with their social community. Basically, you get to know them a little bit. Once you know them....it’s really easy to find a connection and start networking (disclaimer, don’t talk people that’s just weird)

3) Random connections and opportunities- I think this is my favorite thing about Twitter. It makes the world smaller. One day a while back, I was cc’d on a tweet by someone asking “Does anyone know a recruiter at Google?”.....come to find out, someone who follows me connected me with this person and sent me their resume (for a job outside of my area of expertise). Now, they didn’t get hired but what was great is I sent their resume directly to the hiring team so they got reviewed ASAP by the proper team. Without Twitter....this person applies online and has one fewer connection in their network. (I actually told her to apply online too as you have to cover all your bases...see last weeks blog but whatever I digress). Being active and tweeting in your field introduces you to a huge cross-section of people and opportunities that you won’t find unless you join the party.

That’s it this week.....get out there, tweet...trust me, your career will thank me!!

Google Students Blog - #googleoncampus

2011-09-08T18:33:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone,

Wanted to just do a quick update this week that for the next several weeks I'll be guest writing for the Official Google Students Blog helping New Grads prepare and navigate the college recruiting season.

You can find the first post here:

http://googleforstudents.blogspot.com/2011/09/recruiter-tips-tricks-preparing-your.html

I'll still be doing updates here...they just might not be as frequent until we get through the fall!

Thanks!

Give me the job!

2011-09-01T17:47:00.000-07:00

A tip you hear from a lot of recruiters is that at the end of the interview you should “Ask for the job!” You know, when the person interviewing you says “Any questions for me?” you say stuff like: “ Do you think I’m a good fit for this job?”, “Are there any concerns with my background relative to this role?”, “What would keep you from hiring me?” there are a million of them but you get the idea...ask for the job.

The real question I have...is this a good idea? Should you “ask for the job”?

Honestly, it depends. Sometimes I like it and think it’s great. Other times, it’s obnoxious and totally out of line. I think “asking for the job” is a great tool to have in your interview toolbox but not something you want to do with every interview. If things are clearly going well, it’s great. You’ve killed it with the hiring manager and you ask for it....boom! you’ve got the job. Interviewing for a sales or recruiting role....again, feeling it.....rocking it....boom! you’ve got the job.

BUT! Wait a minute!! Interviewing for an engineering job and you ask the recruiter...um, I don’t know and won’t know until I talk the folks who did the technical evaluation. Interview going terrible (hopefully you realize it) and you ask.....um, you’re obnoxious. True story - I interviewed a person one who had a lie on their resume. Obviously didn’t like the answer and ended the interview in about 15 minutes (it was supposed to last an hour). This person then “asked for the job”....I was shocked. Horrified even. And responded “um, no, I don’t think you’re a fit, not at all.” Not the answer this person was looking for to say the least. So, you’ve got to be careful if you’re going to be aggressive and ask for the job...you might not get the answer you’re expecting.

So, like all things interviewing you have to use your judgement and if things are going well (and you are talking to the final decision maker) I don’t see any harm in asking for the job. But if you aren’t sure or you’re not talking to the final hiring manager....let it slide and follow up a few days later for feedback.

Enjoy the week and happy hunting!

Should you apply online?

2011-08-24T18:11:00.000-07:00

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!!

How not to recruit someone

2011-08-17T17:56:00.000-07:00

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.

"You're so money and you don't even know it"...words of wisdom from the movie "Swingers"

2011-08-12T04:42:00.000-07:00

Swingers is one of my Top 10 favorite movies. Amazing story of the lives of struggling actors in LA trying to meet women. Mikey is sort of the lovable loser who is having a hard time getting over an ex-girlfriend...who ends up meeting “Lorraine” (a young Heather Graham) and ends up basically breaking all the rules that his friends taught him about women....only to find Lorraine loves it! Anyway, great movie...just a few words of wisdom related to recruiting and something fun that I wanted to do this week. Anyway, onto the movie lines.....

“This is like the skank shift.”

Great scene and a great line. Walking around looking at the blue hairs playing blackjack. Ever get this feeling when you enter a place that it’s the skank shift? Yeah? Don’t take the job. If you don’t understand “skank shift” um, nevermind....move along

“Give me the fucking part”

Trent explaining to the girls from the casino his experience interview for a part....unfortunately that part was to be of a boy, not a mid-20’s dude. Again, great scene. Recruiting link? When you feel like you’re a slam dunk for a role....you should take a deep breath. Overconfidence in the job search is deadly and will kill your candidacy almost instantly.

“You're so money and you don't even know it! “

Ahhhh yes, Trent explaining to Mikey how money he is...and he doesn’t even know it. The opposite of overconfidence. When looking for a new job, be sure of yourself. You’ve got skills, there is a reason why the company asked you in for an interview. Prove them right.

“You know what. Ha ha ha Mike, laugh all you want but if you call too soon you might scare off a nice baby who's ready to party.”

Another fantastic scene examining the science of calling a girl back after you meet here...moral of the story, men are pretty silly. However, for your job search this is great advice. Don’t call 10 minutes after your interview asking for feedback. Give the team time to evaluate you and send a nice thank you note. Haven’t heard back for 3-5 days...follow up and see if they have an update. Anything else might scare them off.

“So let me get this straight. The party started at eight. Why are we going to a bar at ten? “

Party scene in Beverley Hills....classic. Fasionably late for a party? You’re cool. Late for an interview? You’re toast. I think I say this every blog, show up on time for your interview.

“You're a big winner. I'm gonna ask you a simple question and I want you to listen to me: who's the big winner here tonight at the casino? Huh? Mikey, that's who. Mikey's the big winner. Mikey wins. “

No recruiting link here, this is just my favorite line from the movie.....who’s the big winner? You are!

Ok, that’s it this week....stupid topic but it was fun and definitely a great movie if you haven’t seen it (or seen it lately) I’d highly recommend! Until next time, happy hunting.

A deeper look at "Circles" to organize your network

2011-08-04T04:48:00.000-07:00

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!

Team or Company?

2011-07-22T05:19:00.000-07:00

When looking at a new job you’ve got to consider a bunch of things...one in particular is what’s more valuable to you: the company name or the team you’re joining.

Now, in some cases they are the same thing right? Joining a start up? The team IS the company. However, joining a larger organization like Apple or Microsoft you really need to consider the specific group you are joining as much as the overall company. The question is, how do you make that call? Alas, a few tips:

1) What can you learn? This is really the crux of the issue right? I mean, if a job is with an amazing team you can learn a ton even if it’s not the worlds greatest company. Assuming you learn a ton, you can then grow your skill set and long-term you’ve made a great move even if it ends up being a shorter term gig.

2) Reputation - Great team but a company with a bad brand? Tough call honestly but I think you stay away from companies with bad brands if you can....for example. Enron calls? Um, pass. Now, there are exceptions right and you can justify anything but as a general rule....avoid it if you can, even if the team appears awesome. Not worth the risk.

3) Networking - The flip side of bullet #2 of course is networking right? Some companies or organizations have AMAZING networks...getting into that network can be as valuable as the role. (Think Harvard) So, if you have an opportunity to join an org with one of those legendary networks you should jump on it.

4) Other opportunities - Huh? Consider other gigs before you even take the new one? That’s right. Here’s why. If you are joining a company like Microsoft or IBM...whatever.....there are TONS of opportunities within the org that you’ll have the ability to compete for in the future. So, let’s say you join a team in Boston...18 months later you’re a top performer and the world is your oyster. Of course the flip side of this is you absolutely-positively have to perform to take advantage of these roles....and typically, it’s hard work so just be ready to bust your tail and make things happen.

5) Trust your gut - Sage advice here but if you gut tells you something is off....it probably is the wrong company or team. If you just can’t stop thinking about how great a gig it is and how cool the people are then you’ve meet a good crew. You might think I’m crazy but I’m a huge believer in trusting you instincts when looking at gigs.

Ok, that’s about it......just remember a new job is about much more than just the job description and your day-to-day work. It’s about personal growth, professional brand and how it fits into your overall career........until next time, good luck out there.

Early thoughts on "Google+" for recruiting and networking

2011-07-14T17:50:00.000-07:00

Ok, so we all know that Google+ is the hottest thing in social media right now. Everyone have an account already?? (I have a few if you need one)

I’ve been playing with it for a while now and I have to admit, as a recruiting tool there is a lot of potential here. To me, the problem with social recruit is and continues to be that it’s very hard to draw the line between the “personal you” and the “professional you”.

Anyone who’s friends with me on Facebook has to put up with all kinds of posts about my family, concerts and political rambling......oh, and the occasional recruiting insight too. So what I’d done is drawn the lines myself....Twittter is for work (mostly), Facebook is for fun and my professional Facebook page has about 4 followers....um, yeah, not a big winner there. Then, of course there is LinkedIn.....social for sure but definitely more professional. My issue with LinkedIn, it’s hard to organize. If you’ve got 500+ connections it’s really hard to organize them and going back in time to 2005 to add notes on my connections is not happening.

Well, I think, Google+ has a change to be that recruiting tool we’ve all be looking for and will take social recruiting to the next level.....here’s how:

Circles - Ok, by now we have a million names for the people we associate with via social media (friends, followers, connections, etc etc) but Circles are a little different. Basically Google+ allows you to decide VERY easily who goes into what Circles and also allows folks to be in multiple Circles.....all of them only visible to you. How do you use this as a recruiter or job seeker? Easy. Create circles and target your content. Here’s an example:

Jeff recruits engineers, has a bunch of friends from college and also does a lot of networking with other recruiters (some of them former college buddies). So, I’ve created Circles for “Software Engineers”, “Coworkers”, “Recruiting Folks”, “College Buddies” and “Family”. Some of my content goes to all of those folks, some of it is VERY targeted and some of it crosses multiple genres allowing ME to control who sees what and make sure I’m making efficient use of my social network and not just spamming away to people who only care about my open roles

The key here is quickly and efficiently use Google+ to split you network into easy to use Circles and maximize your impact. If you are a recruiter, setting up Circles for each of your candidate types and tailoring your content to those folks is an absolute no-brainer and something the other social networking tools don’t do as well as Googe+

Takeout - This honestly is so cool. Takeout allows you to take your data out of not only Google+ but any Google product. You can learn more here but the reason this is so cool is that the data is yours and it comes in portable open formats that you can import that data to other services as you please. My favorite thing? You can download any content you’ve pushed through your Google+ account. Not to mention, quick and easy downloading of all your contacts from Google+ in easy to use vCard format organized the same way you organize them via Circles.....without jumping through hoops. Also, shout out to the Google team in Chicago on this....rock on guys!

Sourcing via +1 - This one isn’t a reality yet...but give it time. +1 (more info here) basically allows your social circle to recommend links and push relevant content into your search results. Um, give this time but for recruiters this could be the holy grail. Imagine you have 1000 folks in your Circles...organized well so you are pushing them fresh and exciting content. Now, imagine these folks using +1 to recommend articles and other content related to whatever field they work in. Still with me? Ok good...because when you search the web for the latest news in your field...voila.....some of the people you are connected to happen to be recommending all kinds of content related to your search. As a recruiter, these folks are great networking contacts or even potential candidates because they are looking at the same content you are! Now, again, this is NOT happening right now but give Google+ and the idea of being able to “+1” content and you can imagine a world of much more robust and targeted recruiting.

Just a few quick thoughts, obviously more to come but If you are using Google+ and have a few more tips please share them here, I’ve seen a few other blogs on this so it’s exciting to watch as everyone takes a different look at this new and exciting too. That’s it for this week, until next time good luck and happy hunting

Summer Job Search Tips

2011-06-30T18:18:00.000-07:00

Ok, it’s officially summer and the 4th of July is coming (my favorite holiday if you were wondering...LFOD baby!). The sun is finally out and vacations are starting actually happen. Alas, the summer is also one of the hardest times of the year to network and get a job. All those things we love about the summer make finding a job slow and painstakingly annoying as things get rescheduled and pushed out to make sure the whole team is around. With that, before I go on my vacation....I give you a few tips and works of wisdom for the summer job seeker.

Lower expectations - Take a deep breath, relax and understand things will be a little slower this time of year. Nothing you can do about and you’ll be better off just chilling out. Don’t change anything you do but realize it will just take more effort and time to accomplish your goals.

Amp up the networking - Summer is a great time to network. Let’s be honest, everyone is looking for an excuse to enjoy the weather...so why not take advantage of that and do a little networking. Coffee outside at Starbucks? Sounds good to me!! All joking aside, with interviews and offers taking longer in the summer.....the best way to keep momentum w/ your job search is to network like a crazy person.

Look beyond the postings - As we all know by now, in the current economy most jobs are being filled without ever being posted. So, in the words of those dudes from Inception....you must go deeper. Ping your network, do that networking thing and aggressively poke around to find roles that aren’t posted out on the web.

Refresh - Simplest tip of them all. Use the summer to refresh and recharge your job search. Recognize things slow down and take advantage of this time to make sure you are not burnt out by an endless quest for kick-ass work. Having a great attitude will get you a long way during your job search......so, enjoy the summer and knock whatever interviews you do have out of the park.

Ok, that’s it, short post by me this week. I’m taking the next week off for some RR and work around the house (hello 8 yards of mulch). Good luck with the search and until next time....

Oh, if you are looking for more summer inspiration....one of the best....

Coughlin’s Laws and Recruiting

2011-06-23T18:38:00.000-07:00

Ok, bunch of you guys are wondering what the hell I’m talking about...so, quick history lesson. In 1988, Tom Cruise starred in “Cocktail” the story of a “talented NY bartender”. Well, I’m not sure I agree with that but this movie is the essence of 1980’s bad cinema....and I LOVE it! One of the main antagonists is Doug Coughlin who’s basically a drunk jerk.

That being said, he has the "laws" that he lives by and is generally obnoxious about them. Pretty much throughout the movie Coughlin sort of drops them into the conversation. Like I said, it’s amazing stuff and it is ALWAYS on cable. I was thinking about a few of these laws and how they actually make great recruiting “laws”. So, without further adieu I present you with Couglin’s Laws of Recruiting:

Coughlin's Law: Anything else is always something better.

Sounds like the job search doesn’t it? I mean really, anytime you leave an interview it’s like the greatest thing ever.....well, remember, that’s probably not the case. See cliche “The grass is always greener” for further reference

Coughlin's law: Never tell tales about a woman. No matter how far away she is, she'll always hear you.

So many recruiting references here. I mean really, this isn’t specific to women but trash coworkers, former colleagues, companies, etc etc and someone will always find out. Be better than that people!

Coughlin's Law: Bury the dead, they stink up the place.

LOVE this Law. Lots of HR and Recruiting references here....I’m not even going to elaborate

Coughlin's Diet: "cocktails and dreams."

This has nothing to do with recruiting or HR but Tom Cruise opened a bar called “Cocktails and Dreams”. Seems like it would still be a good name for an 80’s bar...I’m just saying...

Coughlin's Law: Never show surprise, never lose your cool.

Best interview tip ever given by a drunk. Take this law to your interviews and you’ll do well.

And Finally..........

Coughlin's Law: As for the rest of Coughlin's Laws, ignore them. The guy was always full of shit.

Well, you could probably apply this one to lost of career advice you get...including my blog. So make sure you trust your gut and go with how you feel about a role when interviewing.

Until next time, happy hunting and good luck in the search!

P.S.
If you really want to...but the movie here

Interview tips for the rest of us.....

2011-06-06T19:41:00.000-07:00

Ok, so loyal readers will know that most of my interview tips focus on engineering type roles. Well, I can’t code....not a lick. So, I thought I’d spend a few minutes talking about some interview tips for the rest of us. Those non-technical masses who must prepare a little differently for an interview. Here you go, how to prepare for that non-technical role you are dying to get!

1) Study - Take time to study the company. What’s the business model? How are they doing? Any current issues that might impact your decision? You should know all this stuff. Take some notes, print some articles and bring them with you. Why? Well, you want to be able to have an intelligent conversation with your interviewers. If someone asks you how you feel about XYZ...you better know what XYZ is!

2) Cliff Notes are for smart people - Remember Cliff Notes from High School? Everyone always associated them with slackers and cheaters? Well....maybe, but not this time. You are going to create your own cheat sheet of notes to bring to the interview. Trust me, I do it for any interview and look at is as a must have when it comes to interviews. What is on this list? Examples of things from your work for example:

- A successful project you’ve worked on
- An example of your leadership skills
- A time you had to learn something new
- Data and more data (sales quotas, hiring goals, etc)

Basically, anything you want to make sure you stress should be on this sheet....the worst thing you can do is leave an interview saying “I wish I told them about....”

3) Know your audience - If you know who you are meeting with (sometimes you do, sometimes you don’t) take a few minutes to do some Google searches (ahem, shameless plug) and check them out on LinkedIn. Why? Well, you don’t want to say something stupid or offensive just because you didn’t do your homework. True story: I was once asked how I felt about hiring people from 2nd tier schools. I went on the explain how I believe people go to school for different reasons and that you can find diamonds in the rough if you look hard enough at these schools. Good answer on my part, this person attended a lesser known school and agreed with me. You’ll thank me for this tip during your next interview.

4) Who do you know? - Tap your network for a few insider tips. Now you may not have any contacts and that’s fine but if you have someone on the inside just spending a few minutes with them can be invaluable before your interview. Another true story: I had coffee this morning with a person interviewing for a role with Google. Great guy, mutual former colleague made the connection for us. Could I help him prepare for the interview? Absolutely not, but I could share some insights on what I love about the company as well as give him 20 minutes to soak in the atmosphere and have a little coffee. I’m guessing he felt much better when the interview started than he would have without our short chat.

5) Relax - Take a deep breath and go rock the interview. That’s the biggest and best tip I can give you. Seriously, I meet a lot of people and they are so nervous the interview is over before it begins. If you aren’t relaxed and comfortable you’ll have a hard time explaining why you are a great fit for the role. So....chill out, you’ll be fine.

That’s it, I hope these help....if you have any other tips you’d like to add I’ve love to hear them. Until next time, happy hunting!

For anyone looking for more tips/tricks you can also try this book!

My review of "The Google Resume"

2011-05-24T17:16:00.000-07:00

A lot of people ask me about interview prep and I’ve blogged on it a few times but I wanted to share a few thoughts/insights on “The Google Resume” by Gayle Laakmann McDowell. This book came out recently and I picked it up the first day or two it was out and REALLY hoped this book would be the one I could tell candidates....”Go buy this book and you’ll be fine”. Well, it’s not perfect but I would definitely recommend giving “The Google Resume” a quick read if you are interviewing for a software engineering job.....doesn’t have to be at Google, lots of the tips in this book will serve you well in any interview.

You can buy the book by hitting this link -

The Google Resume: How to Prepare for a Career and Land a Job at Apple, Microsoft, Google, or any Top Tech Company

I don’t want to go crazy and rewrite the book here, but there are a few tips/chapters that I want to call out. They are:

Chapter 3 - “Getting in the Door” - Great chapter here and really useful tools for anyone in an active job search. Gayle gives some of the same advice I give all the time. Hit your alumni networks, do your homework, getting personal referrals, doing information interviews, all GREAT stuff. However, one thing really jumped out. She gives a tip on how to reach out and find recruiters at companies. This is a great idea, especially if you are targeting one particular place. Only thing I’d add to this....use LinkedIn too, building out that network can help you find recruiters much easier than ever before.

Chapter 5 - “Deconstructing the Resume” - Good stuff here, I’m not a huge stickler on resumes but her advice here is spot on and should really help you build a better resume (frankly I may try and do this myself to see how it comes out) The best advice here is on page 88. Parting Words. I won’t deconstruct them all but “Too big, Too bulky and Too boring” should be on the front of your mind when writing your resume!

Chapter 8- “Interview Questions” - One tip I always give people when they are interviewing (especially at a place like Google or Apple, etc) is to “Search for Company X interview questions”. You’ll find good stuff, horror stories and some just plain weird stuff....but the info you find should give you a general idea what to expect. Gayle takes things a step further and breatks down behavioral based interviews, estimation interviews, brain teasers and design interviews. Fantastic stuff. MUST read if you are actively interviewing.

Chapter 9 - “ The Programming Interview” - Gayle takes things just a little deeper and this is gold if you are interviewing for a software engineering role. She breaks down coding, design, algorithms, memory usage and scalability in this chapter. The best part though, is page 167 where there is a grid of about 25 concepts that you have to understand to be successful. That grid is a “how-to” for landing a great software job. Trust me on this one.

Chapter 11 - “The Offer" - Everyone has different opinions on negotiating. Page 219 Gayle gives a few tips on how to win a negotiation. I can say, I don’t agree with all of these. Some of them are good “Have a specific ask” for example is a must....know your worth and ask for it. Totally cool. I really disagree with “Don’t name the first number” and I realize why people might think it’s bad to do but here’s the deal. Your recruiter is trying to fill jobs, that’s it. We don’t get credit if you don’t take the job so be honest about what you want and/or need and do a deal. Don’t play games during the negotiation. And here’s why....recruiters negotiate ALL the time. Honestly, throughout my career I’ve negotiated hundreds of offers. Recruiters will do their best when you are upfront, honest and sincere with what you are looking for in a new compensation package.

So, there you go...good read and I’d recommend you pick it up regardless of where you are interviewing. Like any “self-help” book you’ll agree with some of it and disagree with some other parts but that’s ok. When preparing for an interview, the more research you do the better. This book is certainly no silver bullet for getting a job but adding “The Google Resume” to your list of preparation materials will be money well spent.

Thinking about a career in Recruiting?

2011-05-18T18:31:00.000-07:00

Recruiting is one of the careers you don’t aspire to when you are a kid, you just become one. Not really sure how or why to be honest. For me, it was an opportunity to try something new and come to find out I was pretty good at it (well, maybe?). A lot of people see recruiting, especially when the economy is strong as a way to make a ton of money...and you can, but the fact is, to survive as a recruiter you have to love it and realize that it’s an up and down kind of career. Another thing about recruiting....it’s hard, like really hard.

If you are thinking about a career in recruiting here are few tips that will serve you well.

1 - If you bat .300, you’re an All-Star - My first boss in recruiting told me that the hardest thing in recruiting is dealing with rejection. He’s right. In baseball, if you hit .300 you’re in the All-Star Game....same is true for recruiting. If three out of ten people take your call, you’re on you way to being a good recruiter. What makes this hard? That means at best, 70% of your calls will be either voice mail or “Leave me alone”. It can wear on you, trust me. I once had a day where I made 140 calls, and spoke with zero people. Every single call went to voicemail or I was hung up on. What did I do the next day? Pounded the phone and tried to make 150 calls.

2 - Changing jobs is an emotional decision - This same boss explained to me that changing jobs is one of the most stressful things people can do (along w/ buying a house, getting married or losing a loved one). In order to be a good recruiter, you have to realize this is stressful and be prepared to coach your candidate through the decision and be respectful of their situation. A good recruiter listens to their candidates and helps them come to a decision as it relates to their career. Why is this hard? People will make decisions that don’t make sense to you. And they won’t make sense because at the end of the day, your candidate won’t share EVERY detail with you. Sound crazy? It’s not, it’s just part of the job you have to learn to embrace.

3 - Stars don’t align - This one drives me crazy. I’ve had great candidates, people I KNOW are good and for some reason I just can’t find them a job. Lots of factors go into this but as much as you try there are times that the stars don’t align and that superstar candidate finds another gig before you can help. Frustrating...

4 - When the going gets tough..you’d better be good - Recruiting in a down market is tough stuff. Companies slow down or stop hiring and the first folks to go are the recruiters. Fact, not opinion on that one folks, sorry. So, how do you survive? For starters be REALLY good. A good recruiter is worth their weight in gold and companies will keep you around for when things change. Another key to survival is to find great companies. Corporate or agency, doesn’t matter. Great companies are always hiring and can use a good recruiter.

I hope this helps you looking to get into recruiting, it’s a great gig if you are into it. Work hard, keep networking and you’ll be fine. Until next time....

Total Comp is what really matters

2011-05-10T17:59:00.000-07:00

Negotiating compensation is a core part of any job search right? One thing to remember is that when you’re looking at an offer is to consider the entire package being offered and not get too caught up on base salary.

A few easy to digest thoughts on total compensation and negotiating for your new job:

1) Base salary DOES matter - Its not the end all be all of the package but you do have to make enough to pay the bills. Life is about cash flow and base salary is the most consistent form of it. You won’t notice the difference between 45K or 46K so don’t freak out over small numbers but also, be aware of what your budget requires and make sure your base covers regular expenses.

2) Bonuses are great, especially if they pay out out - Lots of companies have a bonus percentage that pays out annually as part of a total package. Trust me, they are great but tough to evaluate. The question you have to ask is “What percentage of the bonus actually paid out last year. Once you know that, you can safely evaluate whether the bonus is legit or not. If it is, rock on!

3) Equity is a wild card - It’s really hard to evaluate equity as part of an offer so you’ll have to make a few assumptions in order to help come to your decision. For example, is the company public? If yes, then you can sort of guestimate the value and have a ballpark idea of the value. Private company? MUCH harder to do but again, not impossible. What percentage of the company do you have? Is it significant? Is the company trading private equity on the secondary market? What is the internal valuation of your grant? These are important questions to ask because equity can be a HUGE piece of total comp so you’ve got to make sure you’re doing your due diligence.

4) Sign-on the dotted line - Like I said before, cash flow is king so a sign-on bonus should be considered a great thing if you have one in your new offer. A sign-on can also help bridge the gap between a small cut in base salary or waiting until some equity vests. Long story short, a sign-on bonus can give you or your candidate JUST enough of a nudge to make taking that new job easy.

Ok, that’s it today...remember, it’s about total compensation and making sure you’re happy with the deal.

The post interview follow-up

2011-05-05T19:06:00.000-07:00

Sorry I’ve been out of touch the last few weeks, SUPER busy and barely any time to tweet....scary. Anyway, I’m back and hope that this short blog will get me back and dedicated to this.

This week’s topic...post interview follow up. Nothing crazy here just common sense recruiting advice. When you interview with someone for a job or even if it’s just an informational chat you’ve got to do a few things:

1) Ask the person if you can connect on LinkedIn - This is networking in the 21st century 101 here folks. You should be connecting to everyone and anyone you interact with professionally. Built that online network, you’ll need it eventually.

2) Send a follow up thank you - I prefer email but sometimes it’s nice to get something in the mail. If you are going to mail something, use professional stationary and make it nice. Emails, you can you be a little more causal but you still want to make it nice and sincerely express your thanks for the persons time.

3) Stick to your commitments - Said you’d follow up with a resume? Do it. Offer to send some referrals? Do it. Nothing worse than having someone promise to help you with a few things...only to never hear from them again. Don’t be that guy.

There you go, a few simple tips that if you follow them after every hiring related meeting....you’ll find your job search is much more successful!

Grunge Recruiting Part 5....the Final Episode

2011-04-13T17:47:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I'm finally back and blogging. It's been a really busy few weeks with work and other fun stuff....

Regardless, this is the final installment of my series on Grunge Music and how it relates to recruiting. This has been a really fun project and I wish I could keep going but I'm pretty toast and my music collection is hard to search! Anyway, hope you enjoy this even half as much as I enjoyed doing it......

She lies and says she’s in love with him, can’t find a betterman – Betterman by Pearl Jam from the album Vitalogy

Sad song really, but I like it. If you aren’t familiar with this tune its worth checking out if for nothing else to get a taste of how good an lyricist Eddie Vedder was and still is really. Basic theme of the song is a couple who settled and lie to each other saying they are in love because they couldn’t find anyone better. I like I said, it’s sad.

The recruiting link is pretty sad too frankly. Settling for a candidate is never a good idea. There IS always someone better out there but the trick is not to settle and just hire someone else because you couldn’t do any better. Recipie for disaster my friends. When hiring you need to hire the best people you can, period so settling is a surefire way to poison your corporate culture and start down the path to medirociry. Now, that being said, you shouldn’t wait forever to hire someone. There is a balance between business needs and the need for the best person…what that balance is for your organization is key and will help you determine who you should hire and when.

She remembers bridges and burns them to the ground - Cumbersome by Seven Mary 3 from the album American Standard

Seven Mary Three, a very obscure grunge band. Seriously, I don’t think I can name another tune by them. I actually found out that you abbreviate their name 7M3...who knew...

Recruiting link for this lyric is pretty obvious. Don’t burn your bridges. Recruiting, finding a new job, all that stuff requires you to have a good network of connections. Burning bridges is a bad idea. I will say, there are times that burning the bridge happens. Either on purpose or by accident. If it does, you have to deal w/ it and be comfortable explaining the situation if someone asks. Need a reference from a previous job but your old boss won’t give one? Explain the situation and find someone else who worked with you that can speak to your experience.

People they wanna give you free advice, well that's some'n that I always try.
But you get what you pay for that's what I say and now I'm pay'n and pay'n and pay'n
- Scratch by Morphine from the album Yes

Morphine is typically a “Alternative Rock” band...very unique sound with only a bass, drums and saxophone. The singer Mark Sandman died of a heart attack, super tragic as his voice is amazing. I’d say, Morphine is probably one of my favorite bands regardless of the musical style. If you aren’t familiar with them....pick up “Yes” and you’ll thank me.

Recruiting link again...like usual is pretty simple. When you are looking for a new job, you’ll get tons of advice. A lot of it will be crap. And people you think are experts will even lead you astray. True story - My friend Matt from Boston interviewed for an engineering job in San Diego. Asked me what to wear...I told him to dress nice. WRONG! The team made fun of us shoes the whole interview....they hired him but ugh how embarrassing. So, if you have questions or need a few tips....ask your recruiter. Ask the hiring manager. You can ask for friends/family for “free advice” but just make sure you don’t list too much or you’ll end up regretting.

When you call me out I can’t hide anymore, I have no disguise you can’t see through - You call me a dog, Temple of the Dog from the album Temple of the Dog

Temple of the Dog....the first real Grunge super band if you will. A good mix of Soundgarden and Pearl Jam. Good stuff. Best song on the album is Reach Down...totally unappreciated gem from the era.

Recruiting link here? You can’t hide from the background check. Most companies do them now, and for good reason. Studies have shown that people lie about their backgrounds.....and doing a formal background check mitigates the risk of hiring someone with false credentials. Moral of the story....don’t lie on your resume, don’t like in your interviews...your future employer will find out and rescind the offer.

If you’re hot to trot, you think you’re slicker than grease I got news for your crew you’ll be sucking like a leach. – So What’cha Want by the Beastie Boys from the album Check your Head

Ok, Beastie Boys are definitely not grunge but they are from the same time period and frankly, Check Your Head is pretty grungy. This song is their big hit, maybe the biggest hit of their career. The video is amazing, I mean, really amazing…see it here.

The recruiting link is simple. Show up to an interview thinking you are the man or being a jerk? You’re not getting hired. It’s that simple. I’m still shocked at the number of people I mean who’s ego barely fits into the interview room. I mean, we are all confident. Everyone thinks they are a “top performer” it’s just human nature but when you are on your way to an interview you've got to check it at the door. I used to ask our front desk team what they thought of candidates when someone came in for an interview. You’d be surprised what they tell me. Total Jerk. Nice guy. I LOVE her/him. My theory was this – Candidates know if they bust an ego on me, I’m going to recommend we don’t hire them so they’ll be on their best behavior so I’ll ask the person at the front desk for their impression. If the person was a jerk to a total stranger, I don’t want to work with that person. You can’t get the job by being nice but you can definitely lost the job by being a jerk.

Until next time, good luck and happy hunting.....

2011-03-17T19:12:00.000-07:00

Ok, so here we go with Part 4.....and Part 5 will be the last one. This has been a ton of fun, but man it's a hard blog topic. I'm sure I could do more if I just started doing random tunes or something but I feel like that's a sellout and I'm not going there.

So, a few more of my favorite Grunge tunes and how they relate to recruiting...hope you enjoy!

Met a girl, thought she was grand fell in love, found out first hand. Went well for a week or two then it all came unglued – “She Hates Me” by Puddle of Mud from the album Come Clean

So, Puddle of Mud is an interesting case. They classify as a Grunge band but really don’t jump out when you think of the era. That said, fantastic tune and they have a few others on this album that are great. I had a hard time picking one lyric from them honestly. The song Control on this album is really, really good too....a little disturbing but good.

The recruiting link is quite simple really. You’ll meet candidates, think they are the greatest thing ever, hire them...and regret it. I’ve been recruiting for a while now and as much as I’d like to say recruiting is foolproof, it’s not and you cannot avoid it.. Candidates will come in and knock your socks off in the interview and then frustrate you with their inability to get things done. Now, because it happens doesn’t mean you should accept it. Improve your process, ask good questions and minimize how often this happens!

For three strange days, I had no obligations, My mind was a blur, I did not know what to do. And I think I lost myself, When I lost my motivation - “3 Strange Days” by School of Fish from the album School of Fish

Another really obscure band from the early 90’s. Great album, they only had two...and I’ve never heard the second one. Kinda sad, the lead singer died at age 32 of testicular cancer....that sucks. Anyway, I’d recommend this album if you are looking for something different, it’s good.

Recruiting link.....lose your motivation and you’re toast at your job. Sounds like a basic tip but in order to really get your career on track you have to find ways to self motivate and keep yourself pushing harder and harder to do great things.

I ain’t your little fool. I know that ain’t a part of the deal. We’re through. - “Buttercup” by Brad from the album Shame

Love these guys, really awesome band and they are still making albums. Brad is a mix of guys from other bands like Shawn Smith formerly of Satchel and Stone Gossard of Pearl Jam fame. If you are looking for classic Grunge, that’s really mellow and easy to listen to...then Brad is for you. Buttercup is the first song on their first album, one of my personal favorites. I saw them live in 1997 down in DC, great show...WAY too many drinks for any other insight on that show. Sorry

Recruiting link again is easy. Jobs and careers are a give and take. You bust your tail for a company and they pay you, treat you nice, etc etc. That being said, most people today are employee’s at will meaning you can be terminated pretty easily. Which by the way, is totally fine. BUT, if you find yourself treated like a fool by your employer...that’s not part of the deal and it may be time to find a new job. If you’re employer doesn’t appreciate you.....find someone else who will.

Forever in debt to your priceless advice - “Heart Shaped Box” by Nirvana from the album In Utero

You knew I’d eventually get to a Nirvana tune right? I mean, hard to exclude them from a Grunge series. I’ll be honest though, they are not my favorite band from the era....not even close. I used to get really pissed off when people said Kurt Cobain was the voice of my generation. I mean, sure, great lyrics but the dude had some serious problems and like most of my musical idols...he killed himself with drugs. So, love Nirvana but not as much as some of the others I’ve discussed. Regardless....this is off the In Utero album which was sort of the beginning of the end for them but this song was HUGE.

I actually really like this lyric for recruiting advice. Everyone wants advice or has advice on job hunting. Seriously, does anyone NOT have advice when you tell them you are looking to make a move? It’s kind of crazy. The thing is, a lot of this advice is great and provides insight you may not have had without the advice. So, when you are looking for a new job or looking to add people to your team....hit your network and get some advice on to get started. You may just find that priceless piece of advice that helps you accomplish your goals very quickly!

What do you mean I can't get to work on time, I've got nothing better to do. - "Peace Sells" by Megadeth from the album Peace Sells by Who's Buying

Megadeth, definitely not grunge again…I’m guilty as charged. This is metal. Great song, probably their best but you could debate that with me. The opening guitar riff should be familiar to those of you who loved MTV back in the day....it was the opening audio for MTV News.

Simple message for those of you interviewing…..show up on time! Really, it’s not hard. Leave early, do what you need to do to get to the interview on time. Showing up late shows you didn’t plan properly and really messes up the interview schedule. Messing up the schedule might seem minor but if you don’t meet with the right people you might not get the job. So again, show up on time, you’ve got nothing better to do the day of an interview.

That's it this week, I should have a non-Grunge blog soon and then the final Part 5 of this epic thread. Until then, keep networking and hiring!

How Grunge relates to Recruiting...Part 3

2011-03-08T18:45:00.000-08:00

Part Three of my epic serious about Recruiting and Grunge Music. Still having fun so I've got another one or two of these in me. Regardless, I'm trying to dig a little deeper in to my collection and find tunes that maybe you've never heard or forgot about them. With that, I hope you enjoy this weeks entry.....

You say that money isn’t everything, well I’d like to see you live without it - “Tomorrow” by Silverchair from the album Frogstomp

Silverchair is one of those bands that their first album came out and I remember thinking, “WOW these guys are like 16 and they’re awesome...they are going to be HUGE!” And um, well, not so much. The burst onto the scene in 1995 with “Frogstomp” had a few hits...and that’s about it. Classic grunge sound, just not the worlds most famous rockers. Anyway, this tune is awesome. Trust me.

The recruiting link is pretty easy. We all hear candidates who say “Money isn’t what motivates me. I’m looking for a great opportunity” Well sure, we all are but I’m here to tell you money DOES matter and if a candidate every says that to you it requires a much deeper conversation. I’d recommend pushing back and finding what exactly matters. For example, a candidate making $100K maybe you say something like “So if money doesn’t motivate you if we were to offer you the dream role but could only pay $85K would you accept?” The goal here isn’t to be a jerk, quite the contrary. The goal is to find out the bottom line and make sure you are wasting a bunch of time on a candidate you can’t afford.

Every word I said is what I mean, every word I said is what I mean, everything I gave is what I need - Slave and Bulldozers by Soundgarden from the album Badmotorfinger

Pound for pound my favorite grunge era song. Driving beat, amazing lyrics and Chris Cornell at his finest. Badmotorfinger is also for my money the best grunge album of the era. The lyric here makes me think of interviewing. Say what you mean when you interview, no BS. Trust me, making stuff up and bullshitting during an interview is a lose-lose and you’ll end up miserable. What’s more, when you are interviewing give it your all and do your best job. Give everything you have got to get the offer. I’m not saying you need to take every offer but if you are going to the trouble of interviewing you owe it to yourself and the company to be honest and engaged during the interview. BTW - On the way to the interview, crank this song on your iPod and you’ll walk in feeling like you can conquer the world.

You got a sack full of candy, All I got was a rock. Overblow by Mudhoney from the soundtrack to the movie “Singles”

Mudhoney is one of those bands you either love or you’ve never heard of them. They are one of the pioneers of the 90’s grunge scene are were responsible for really defining the sound coming out of Seattle. The soundtrack here is great and the movie is fantastic and really does define an entire generation of people (yeah, that’s me). Mudhoney has a lot of good songs but this one stands out because it received a little mainstream recognition unlike most of their other stuff...

The HR/Recruiting link is pretty easy actually. It’s about employee benefits. Some companies give away sacks full of candy (free lunch, flex hours, onsite massage, etc) while others don’t do anything to attract new employees. So, next time your company hands you a rock and you’ve decided you’ve had enough....polish up that resume and find a new gig at a company that will treat you right. There are plenty of them out there you just have to look!

Keep on dreaming boy cuz when you stop dreaming its time to die – “Change” by Blind Melon from the album “Blind Melon”

Ah, Blind Melon probably the most unappreciated and least understood bands of the Grunge Era. their big hit was “No Rain” which is pretty dreadful and doesn’t really show these guys in their best light. The lead singer, Shannon Hoon died of some sort of overdose…basically ended up having a heart attack. Amazing, most of the music I enjoy is made by dudes that overdosed……weird.

That being said, I love this line. Really, why do you work? Do you live to work or work to live? For me? I work to live. LOVE my job but at the end of the day, I love spending time with my family and friends much more than a day in the office. That being said, you still have to dream big to really enjoy what you do. I know I do it. I have HUGE aspirations and then work like crazy to try to make them happen. If you can’t look at your current role or company and come up with big dreams….it’s probably not the perfect role for you. A great job will encourage you to think big and then try to make your dreams a reality.

Until next time, keep rocking and happy hunting.....

Feedback to improve your process?

2011-03-01T18:56:00.000-08:00

Going back to my airport reading, I read Managing Oneself by Peter Drucker (link here) as part of The Essentials book from the Harvard Business Review. Good article. One big take away was how this would relate to how we recruit. Specifically, how can you improve the hiring process?

Drucker says “The only way to discover your strengths is through feedback analysis” which if you think about it is dead on. Peer reviews, 360 reviews and manager feedback are all critical to self-improvement. But...how do you get this to relate to recruiting? Here are a few quick thoughts:

1) Track your metrics - Any data you can analyze about your process is sure to help you discover your strengths and improve the process. Find your time to fill is terrible but you have a 100% acceptance rate? Maybe your process does such a good job selling candidates that it takes a long time but as an org you’ve decided it’s a worthwhile trade-off. Whatever the data, taking a deeper look and analyzing the feedback will help you discover your strengths.

2) Survey your new hires - That’s right, 30 days after you have a new employee start you should sit down with them and do a post mortem of the process. What went well? What could be improved? Take this feedback to heart, discover the strengths and weaknesses of your process....adjust as necessary!

3) Ask people you don’t hire - File this under “take with a grain of salt” but I think there is value in talking to some of the people you don’t hire about your process. I’m not saying this is the end all be all of feedback but if you have a few selected candidates who maintain a good relationship with your organization you can get a ton of value from their thoughts. That said, I’d use this feedback as a way to verify feedback from the other sources as opposed to changing your entire strategy based on people outside the organization.

For now, happy recruiting and I hope to have another grunge post later in the week!

How Grunge relates to Recruiting...(Part 2 of many)

2011-02-22T19:21:00.000-08:00

I have to admit I’m really enjoying this blog topic...it may lead to a whole new favorite lyric (regardless of genre) being related to recruiting but we’ll see how long I can keep this grunge thing going. So, here goes a few more Grunge lyrics and how I relate them to recruiting/HR:

I know someday you’ll have a beautiful life I know you’ll be star in someone else’s sky but why, why why can’t it be mine. – Black by Pearl Jam from the album “Ten”

I think this may be my favorite single lyric from the Grunge Era. I mean, it’s an amazing line from a truly amazing song. Really makes me think about those fantastic candidates that for some reason you just can’t hire. Either they don’t like your company, your team doesn’t like them…something just misses. BUT, you know, you absolutely know this person will be a star at their next company. Honestly, I think this is the most frustrating thing for a recruiter as you are powerless to change the outcome. I’ve actually taken to keeping in touch with these people just to see what happens and yep, you guessed it…more often than not they end up as total superstars in their next gig (not with you). Thanks Eddie Vedder, this one really rings true to use recruiters.

Through all those complex years I thought I was alone, I didn’t care to look around and make this world my own. – Cemetary Gates by Pantera from the album “Cowboys from Hell”

Ok, so Pantera isn’t really grunge, it’s heavy metal…I know, I know, but I love this song. I’d say it’s honestly, it’s one of my 10 favorite songs regardless of genre. Another song about death and all that stuff but alas, it has a great recruiting message to it. The message here, make the most of your opportunities. Doesn’t matter what they are or how you come across them….take the time to make this world your own. What does this mean? Well, lots of things really and I’ll break it down:

At your job –At your current job it means making the most our of your role. Have a chance to travel and your life makes it an option for you? Then go! See the world! Is your boss asking you to take on more leadership? Do it! Leadership will push you in ways you’d never imagined and force you to grow not only as an employee by as a person.
For your next job – This is easy. Take the time to talk to people. You don’t have to be “looking” for a job to come across great opportunities. Have coffee with people in your community. Talk to the dudes next to you on that cross country flight. Respond to that random Linked In request. Or make a connection with a former coworker. You don’t know what the world has in store for you unless you take the time to see what’s out there.
Personal – I usually avoid non-work type stuff in this blog but seriously, take time to enjoy your life. I have a daughter and every waking minute with her is precious. I can just watch her and giggle as she discovers the world around her…we all start that way, don’t lose it.

No one plans to take the path that brings you nowhere – Your decision by Alice in Chains from the album “Black Gives Way to Blue”

This isn’t 90’s grunge but it’s grunge. As you know, or will now know…Layne Staley the original Alice in Chains singer died of a heroine overdose. Sad, tragic really, he’s probably pound for pound the best singer of the Grunge Era and I’ll argue this with anyone (yes, I actually think he’s cooler than Chris Cornell) Also, this song is off their album “Black Gives Way to Blue” which was done with a new lead singer. William DuVall is the new singer, and he’s great especially when you pair him with Jerry Cantrell you just can’t go wrong. But, this is a recruiting blog…so, what’s the importance of this lyric. Well, you see a lot of resumes these days from people who were laid off in the early 2000’s and during the current downturn. The thing is, and we all should remember this….recruiters, hiring managers and just as humans frankly…no one and I mean no one takes a job and things “This is great, maybe they’ll lay me off”. Of course they don’t it would be insane….so, why do we always go “ohhhh” when someone says they were laid off? There is a stigma, and it’s unfortunate and I think we should do away with it. No one plans to take the path that brings you nowhere, that’s right, and without knowing the situation the person was in there is no way for us to REALLY understand what happened and why they were laid off. Some of the best hires I’ve made in my career were people who were “between jobs”….so let’s all get over it and give these people a shot and stop acting like a layoff is the worst thing ever. The fact is, it happens and most of the time the people most affected had no influence on the decision.

If we could see tomorrow, what of your plans. - Don’t Cry (Alt Lyrics) by Guns N’ Roses from the album “Use your Illusion II”

Again, I’m stretching the limits of grunge with Guns and Roses but Shannon Hoon from Blind Melon sings back up on this one and frankly the Alternative VersIon of this is so much better than the original its like a different song entirely different song. It’s so much better than the original version I won’t even talk about it. But anyway…if you could see tomorrow what of your plans? I absolutely LOVE this line for career advice. Do you have a Plan B if you lost your job tomorrow? How about a Plan C? In this day and age, you absolutely positively MUST have a plan for the future. I don’t care what that plan is or how you get there but you’ve got to be forward thinking. Complacency kills. Back in 2008 when lots of companies were laying people off I realized I had been very complacent with my career up to that point. What did I do? Developed Plan B, Plan C and started thinking about what Plan D would look like if I needed it. Certainly, I’m not saying you should be always looking for your next gig. Quite the opposite really you should be making the most of your current gig but in those quiet moments at home sitting on the couch it wouldn’t hurt to think about “What would I do if I lose my job tomorrow” and start putting some plans in place.

Until next time, happy hunting and don't forget to keep networking...

HBR "Essentials" and Recruiting....

2011-02-16T18:23:00.000-08:00

As some of you know, I’ve been spending a lot of time on planes and in airports lately. So, one of the things I did was read the Harvard Business Review “Essentials” which is a really cool collection of articles and a nice quick read.

A few of them really jumped out to me as relevant to recruiting. Sometimes I feel like people just assuming staffing is this black art and most recruiters would never spend time reading stuff like the Harvard Business Review and think about how to relay it to hiring. Well, you’re in luck fellow recruiters…after about 48 hours on planes and in airports I’ve read a few and will give a quick summary with a few thoughts on how we can all be better recruiters!

The first one that comes to mind was “Innovation – The Common Traps” by Rosabeth Moss Kanter. REALLY great article! It covers something near and dear to my heart too as I love innovation! I’m not going to do a full review but pull out a few thoughts on innovation that I really enjoyed…

1) “Add flexibility to planning and control systems” – I love this line. In my opinion, no better way to stifle innovation than to have rigid systems that cannot flex to meet business needs. As recruiters, we need to innovate and adapt to the changing competitive landscape. Adding flexibility to our systems is the only way to ensure we are innovating and looking to continuously improve what we do. Is your hiring process set in stone? How about your tools for measuring recruiters? How about team metrics like “Cost Per Hire”? If you are still using the same processes you used in 2005 it’s time to innovate and develop some new systems.

2) “Tighten the human connection between innovators and others throughout your organization” – I really think this rings true in large organizations. It’s hard to have your innovators building relationships around the team and creating a culture of innovation but it’s absolutely critical. One of the things that I’ve found is that people who are innovate are important not only because they spread the innovation energy but they also know HOW to innovate within the organization. They can tell you who else thinks like you do and how to get a team or project started. If you think about projects like Social Recruiting they require strong human connections to work within the organization to get the project started.

3) “Select innovation leaders with strong interpersonal skills” – Similar to the line above but slightly different. You need innovators who can also evangelize their ideas. Having a great idea but lacking the ability to articulate it won’t work. If you have a recruiter on your team who has wonderful ideas but they can’t seem to get them off the ground…put them on a team a fellow innovator who’s got world-class interpersonal skills and you’ll see results. What’s this mean? Want to create a new innovative recruiting strategy? Build a team about the most outgoing folks who can leverage the thoughts of the team and make the innovation a reality.

Clearly I didn’t go to Harvard but I’m trying…..until next time, happy hunting….

How grunge music relates to recruiting (Part 1 of many)

2011-02-02T11:28:00.000-08:00

Being stuck in this snow/travel chaos I've been listening to a lot of random music...which has inspired me to actually just start blogging about lyrics that I think are cool and relate to recruiting. It's kind of funny because most of these songs have NOTHING to do with business and frankly most of them are dark and miserable...so, I figure, why not share some of my favorite lyrics from the "Grunge Era" and have a little fun with recruiting analogies! So, without further adieu here is Part One of Many on this topic....

You can’t understand the users mind, but try with your books and degrees – Alice in Chains

This lyric is from the song Junkhead by Alice in Chains on their very popular album Dirt. Its probably my favorite tune from the 90’s grunge era. It’s dark, it’s creepy and it’s about drugs. How can this relate to recruiting you ask? Easy actually. We as recruiters or hiring managers can try as hard as possible to understand our candidates but at the end of the day….people are people and they make decisions that we won’t understand. It’s true, as hard as we try to get to know a potential recruit we’ll never know the whole picture and thus we won’t FULLY understand their decision making process. So, when a candidate makes a decision (good or bad) that you just don’t understand….don’t worry, it happens and no amount of education or experience will help you understand how every candidate thinks.

Too much tripping now my souls worth thin – Big Empty - Stone Temple Pilots

This lyric is from a sort of Grunge Ballad by Stone Temple Pilots. Really great band that was kind of obscured by other bands like Pearl Jam and Nirvana…and they got a lot of crap for the Plush video but that’s for another blog. Really this is a great lyric from those candidates that trip between jobs. Ever see a resume from someone who switches jobs every 12 months? People talk about how it’s ok in this new economy but it’s not. Seriously, I realize the job market if volatile and I get it….layoffs happen and I don’t hold that against people but if you are voluntarily moving jobs every few months for a better job, more money, shorter commute whatever…..I’m unlikely to hire you because I’ll be just another stop on the subway of your career. If this sounds harsh, I’m sorry…but really if you decide to take a new job stick around a while and make the most of the opportunity.

Disclaimer: I realize that BAD jobs happen too. I’ve had one, ask me about mine sometime I’m happy to discuss. So, if you’re in one of those “must leave now” kind of jobs it’s cool I get it….but please don’t make a career out of bad jobs.

You gave me life now show me how to live - Audioslave

I realize I’m stretching the limits of Grunge here but Chris Cornell has enough street cred that I’m counting it. Audioslave was his attempt at a super band with the guys from Rage Against the Machine…really good, heavy cool stuff. I can’t say ALL of it is amazing, but this is probably another one of those Jeff Top 10 kind of songs.

Recruiting link? Well, it’s more of an HR link than anything. We as HR and Recruiting professionals spend a lot of time telling people why they should join our company or why they should be happy..but how often do we actually SHOW them what we mean? Not as often, and frankly it’s hard.

How do we remedy this? Well, it’s easy. And any of my hires, I hope will tell you this is exactly how I pitch a role. I give real examples of things the company has done that I think are cool and why I love the company. Ask me about The MathWorks? I’ll tell you about the summer outing, cookies on Friday, super technical software and really good co-workers. Ask me about Google? I’ll tell you about random raises, stock exchange programs, ridiculously great co-workers, my rock-star massage therapist and a host of other things that make it one of, if not the best place to work on the planet. The key here? I’m showing you how I live and love my job showing you with real examples of how I think you’d live too if you joined the company.

That's it for now...but I've got many more I'll share soon...hope you enjoy this as much as I do!

Coffee and a chat?

2011-01-20T19:53:00.000-08:00

I’m a huge proponent of networking, it’s easy and frankly it works. Unfortunately, most people don’t really do much networking. Well, here is my biggest tip on how to get the networking going and going well....

Grab a coffee with someone....doesn’t matter who just do it. Taking the time to sit down over a beverage (drinks work too....), chat casually about work/life issues and have a good time. Networking should not be a huge ordeal, it should be fun and worth the time. Networking is not like dating, there should be no pressure and everyone realizes this is all about work and helping each other accomplish their professional goals.

Personally, I’m always up for a coffee. I rarely turn down the chance to do a little networking and enjoy a latte...so, here’s the question. Are you actively networking? You should be, especially as the economy recovers in 2011 you may just find that opportunity of your dreams.

Keep in touch

2011-01-10T18:45:00.000-08:00

I tell a lot of people who I interview to keep in touch because you never know what the future will bring. Ironically, I never hear back from about 99% of them...fair enough, I’m sure you hear this same line a thousand times during the job search.

However, I’ve noticed something lately.....this advice works and frankly it works pretty well. Here’s how it works:

1) Things change and you actually get a job - Shocking right? Well, looking through my database I realized that this happens quite a bit. One of my favorite new colleagues is someone who we didn't’ hire a few years ago...things changed, projects launched an voila he’s now a great fit for the team. This made me think back over my career and it’s happened quite a bit.

2) Build your network - Keeping in touch with people is the only way to build your network. So, dropping a call to that friendly recruiter or hiring manager may not lead to an immediate role but will build up your professional network...which will eventually pay dividends.

3) Referrals! - Didn’t think of this one did you? That’s right, keeping in touch with people keeps you in the front of their mind and when someone they know has a need....they’ll think of you.

Quick post, but I really wanted to share how important I think this is to do. People say “keep in touch” all the time but no one ever does........trust me, build this into your daily routine and you’ll find yourself with an improved network and just maybe a great new job too.

Wish you had a Computer Science degree?

2010-12-06T18:51:00.000-08:00

Interviewing for a Software Engineering role is tough, we’ve discussed it before in this blog so I’m not going to recreate the wheel. It’s especially hard if you come from an engineering background but not Computer Science. Lots of great engineers have degrees in Physics, Electrical Engineering, Math.....anything really, including no degree. However, some companies interview in a way that really gives classically train computer scientists an advantage as the really look for the kinds of skills you’d learn in a Computer Science program.

So, you’re interviewing at one of these places or thinking about it so what do you do? Well, here’s what you do...you take a free set of courses from the MIT Open Courseware program and give yourself a crash course in Computer Science that’s what you do.

It’s amazing really if you think about it, a school as prominent and prestigious as MIT offering free courses online. If I was a Software Engineer, these resources would be critical to my success and long term ability to keep learning new things.

Anyway, here’s a few quick recommendations on courses to take and give yourself an ad hoc Computer Science education:

- Introduction to Computer Science and Programming - have to start here. Some of this info might basic but getting the basics right will ensure you’re on the right path.

- Introduction to Algorithms - this course covers common algorithms, data structures and search trees.....have to know this stuff and know it like the back of your hand.

- Introduction to C++ - I’d consider this one the bonus course. Not every job requires C++ programming skills so it’s not like you HAVE to know this stuff...I will say thought that knowing C++ is never a bad thing so taking a few days to knock the rust off your coding skills will serve you will either in the interview or in your next job.

That’s a start, there are a ton of great free resources out there that people tend to ignore. If a school like MIT offers you free courses.....take them, learn some new skills, improve a few old skills and ace that next interview!

Good luck!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone...

2010-11-23T16:39:00.001-08:00

It's that time of the year again, hopefully everyone will take a little time off to relax and recharge the batteries.

That being said, here are a few things I'm thankful for as we wind down 2010 and start looking to 2011.

- I'm thankful for my job at Google. Great gig, they treat me really well..........thanks!

- Thankful for my coworkers. Work is easy when you work with great people.......seriously such a treat.

- I'm thankful for anyone that reads this blog, I still consider it a work in progress so any feedback/thoughts on what I write is more than welcome

- Finally, I'm thankful for all the social media interactions I've had this year. Tools like Twitter and others are so cool and hep make the world a smaller, smarter and more amazing place.

Have a great long weekend everyone and hopefully I'll have another post soon!

Jeff

Do coding interviews work?

2010-10-31T11:23:00.001-07:00

I hear a lot of talk that coding interviews are a waste of time and don’t really tell a potential employer anything. Well, I disagree and here’s why:

It’s like role playing, but different – Every interview I’ve had has asked some variant of “Close me on a job w/ XYZ company” Which asks me to go through who I “close” an offer. Isn’t a coding interview the same thing? I mean, if I can’t close than I can’t recruit right? If you can’t code up some simple problem on the fly…..um, well, yeah…exactly.

Thought process – It’s not about coming up with the master solution…although it helps. What people are trying to assess is your thought process. Did this person attack the problem in a thoughtful manner? Did they use the right algorithm? Data structure ok? Sloppy code is forgivable if you’re solving the problem the right way.

Bugs Kill – The old saying is that your average engineer produces zero lines of code a day b/c of the amount of bugs created. So, um if this is true why even build software? Well, if this is true then you have to try and find the engineers that don’t break the code. How? Coding interviews. Ask them how to improve performance, complexity, testing philosophy etc etc and try to reduce the odds of hiring the engineer who breaks your code.

Hiring engineers is hard, I mean really hard. Take a look at a few resumes. They are all covered in buzzwords and everyone claims to be an expert in Java, C++ and a few other things I’ m not even sure exist. In my opinion, the only way to truly figure out who knows their stuff and who doesn’t is to get them on the whiteboard and ask them to code up a solution.

Refer a friend?

2010-10-21T19:43:00.001-07:00

Everyone knows that referrals are the best source for great hires. Makes sense right?

So why do so many companies drop the ball here? Because you want to treat your referrals REALLY well so the employee is happy w/ the experience and the potential new hire is encouraged to refer their friends too and that is hard to do. What makes this hard is that one bad experience does more damage than 10 good experiences. Hire 100 people, ten of them are bound to have had a glitch, or something go wrong….negating the good experiences of the other 90. So, how do you do a bang-up job with your referrals and have a great referral program?

First, the execution must be flawless by the staffing team. Staffing teams are made of people, people are not perfect and here lies the problem. Now, the occasional mistake is not a big deal but continually botch up good referrals and people stop referring their friends regardless of how much they love their job they don’t want to punish their buddies.

Second, most people refer friends in their first 6 months and then never refer anyone again. Why? Because they THINK they don’t know anyone….when they really probably do. A good recruiting team will work w/ employees to help generate good quality referrals…..and as you may have guessed is REALLY hard to do without overextending yourself and falling into pitfall #1.

Third, referrals are a reflection on the person who refers them (say that three times fast!). When someone you really respect sends you a referral who’s a total jerk and make the whole process miserable you start to rethink how much you really like that other person too. The old “If you’re friends w/ that jerk than you must be a jerk too” disease. I’m here to say, don’t worry about it, referrals come in all shapes and sizes. Hire the good ones, treat the bad ones really well so they will say nice things about you and the organization and everyone wins.

Finally, set your incentives properly. Remember the 90’s when people would give away cars? 10K? Well, crazy times meant crazy incentives. Figure out what works with your team and implement it aggressively. Cash? Prizes? Pats on the back? Doesn’t matter as long as the team responds and helps you find great people.

Hiring great people is about doing what it takes to build a great team, referrals absolutely have to be central to any plan you’re developing.

How recruiting has changed...

2010-10-13T08:46:00.001-07:00

People always say they want change; but the truth is most people are afraid of change and struggle to embrace it. Why? Who knows but try floating some new ideas around your office and see what happens.

I’ve been recruiting for over a decade and I can tell you without a doubt…if you don’t like change don’t get into recruiting. Here are just a few ways things have changed since the pre-internet days (and yes, I’m dating myself):

1) Rolodex, what the hell is that? Right, anyone have a hard copy rolodex anymore filled with cards? I doubt it. But that was THE tool back in the day and if you didn’t have a good one you were clueless. (I still have “most” of mine, in a stack of nasty cards on my desk, I call that Old School). Nowadays we use LinkedIn (you’re welcome Janice) or Plaxo or Facebook or something to track our leads……..paper rolodex on the desk? Not so much.

2) Cold calls – I love cold calls and frankly miss them but they just don’t work like they used to back in the day. Why? Most people don’t answer their desk phones or even have them anymore! I know a TON of great engineers who never answer the phone and only respond things via email. Ten years ago, you had to make your 100 calls a day (minimum)….now, you need to keep making contact via email, “In-Mails”, Chat or Facebook……cold calls are for dinosaurs.

3) Research – Ten years ago, research was the holy grail of recruiting. Hit the library for some data; cold call the after-hours night security guy for some names, read the paper for articles on a company etc. etc. Now? Um, “Google it”. Post a question on a “Linked In Group”, we’ve literally got hundreds of sources to do research, all of them at the tip of our finger, free and produce results in seconds. Amazing.

4) HR Generalists who recruit – This may be the biggest change of all. When I started, HR Generalists did 90% of the recruiting and outsourced the work to agencies…than in the late 90’s or so companies started hiring “recruiters” to do the staffing. HUGE HUGE HUGE change! Why? Because you now had companies building teams of people that could fill any job, in any industry without paying an external fee to find the person.

There is more change coming. Facebook, Twitter, Google, etc are all changing the face of recruiting again. Social networks, video resumes, tweets, blogs etc etc make recruiting a never ending game of innovation, creativity and competition to find the best people you can for your organization.

P is for Process...

2010-09-27T18:24:00.000-07:00

How good is your recruiting process? Most people think they have a pretty good process…odds are, it’s not and it’s completely dependent on the people running it. A good process works regardless of who’s on the team and scales to handle the the needs of your organization.

Here area few tips on building a great recruiting process.

1) It serves the needs of your organization – Need 10 pieces of data to make a hiring decision? Then build a process that gets you 11. Need to hire huge a ton of employees fast? Build a nimble process that can handle a huge volume of candidates. Get this right and the rest will follow….get it wrong and the whole thing falls apart.

2) Repeatable – Every candidate, no matter the location or job level should have the same experience (or at least a very similar experience) Why? Because you need to evaluate who to hire and a consistent “standard interview” will give you the same data over and over again allowing you to really determine who’s the best and who you want to hire. File that one under “common sense”

3) People independent – Don’t build a process that relies on the institutional knowledge of your recruiters. Asking for failure. Build a process that is systems based and allows your team to use their tools properly to do their job. You need a rock solid process that works with anyone running it. Why? Star Recruiter is on vacation, anyone can cover for them. Star Recruiter leaves to start their own agency? Hire someone else, plug them in and no one misses a beat.

4) Automate, automate, automate – The more you can automate the easier things will be. Asking your recruiters to send a “test” to every candidate after the 3rd interview is a disaster waiting to happen…instead, customize your ATS or email systems so that the recruiter can’t do anything until they’ve sent out this test. Looking to have an offer approved? Automate your systems so recruiters can’t generate an offer letter until they have all the data the organization asks for to make a hire. Your process will only be as good as the systems you use to manage it.

Your process is the most important thing you’ve got, most people just throw one together and hope it works. Don’t do it. Develop a process that works and tweak it as the needs of your organization change.

I'm finally back...

2010-08-31T18:37:00.000-07:00

OK, it's been WAY too long so apologies to all who follow and actually care what I have to say...thanks! It's been a crazy summer....bought/sold a house, lots of time off w/ the family in NH and work has been crazy to say the least...

BUT, I'm back and ready to get blogging again......more soon, I'm working on a new piece and should have it up and ready soon!

Thanks again for the support.....!

Building a world class team - Part 1

2010-06-03T18:46:00.000-07:00

When you are starting a company or launching a new project, you absolutely need to hire the best team you can. Everyone talks a lot about they only hire "the best and the brightest" but really, what does that mean and how do you REALLY do it? And quite frankly, even if you do hire the "best" if you aren't creating an culture and environment for these people to succeed......you'll be replacing the best and brightest before you know it.

Over the next few weeks, I'll be going much deeper into this topic and giving you a few tips/tricks to help you build a team that can not only accomplish all of your professional goals...but have some fun while doing it. You can catch these posts here or find them as a guest blog on "VentureFizz"!

Without further adieu......Part 1 - Who are "The best and brightest"

At first pass, you'd think you can measure this by things like type of degree, pedigree, track record, etc etc. And in some ways, yes that's absolutely true if you are looking for a textbook definition of "best and brightest"....we however are not, we are looking for a team of folks that you can build a company or organization around. Great companies always have a solid foundation of founders and/or early contributors. I'd argue that companies like Microsoft, Google (ahem!), Yahoo, Amazon, Facebook, etc were founded and built with some of the best minds on the planet. Were some of them trained in elite Ivy League Schools.....absolutely, but not all of them.....and that's the key to truly hiring the "best and brightest". Find the best possible people regardless of anything other than their ability to be successful in your organization.

Now that we've recognized there is more to this than the textbook definition of "best and brightest".....let's dig in little deeper and identify criteria you can use when building your next great team

Hiring "Experts" - Depending on the project you may need some kind of expertise on the team to help design and drive product development. The trick here is NOT to get caught up in only hiring people who have "done it before". You want the best possible people for your project, focusing on their potential, ability to come up with innovative ideas thrive in your environment will ensure you are able to build a world class team. The "best and the brightest" candidate blows you away with their creativity, their ability to communicate their ideas clearly and will convince you they are the going to help make your vision a reality.

Ability to learn and master new skills quickly - The best hires can learn new things and change direction on a dime. These people don't worry about gaps in their skill set or areas they'll need to learn...the thrive on this challenge and are looking for opportunities to grow! Finding the potential employees who can learn new things and roll with the punches is REALLY hard.....you know why? Because everyone wants them!! You ask the best engineers on the planet "What's your favorite programming language"......some will say Java, some will say Python, but the BEST, the absolute best will tell you that programming languages are just tools and they'll use whatever tool they need to accomplish the goal.

Willing to do whatever it takes to succeed - Do I even need to explain this one? The best employees get the job done, period. They don't complain if they have to attend a trade show, they write code over breakfast and are happy do their own testing, they answer the door if there is no one manning the front desk in the office. The best people, don't care about what they have to do, they want to succeed and will do whatever it takes to make the team/project successful.

Top talent attracts more top talent - Great people refer their friends and help you hire other great people. This is like Recruiting 101....hire a great person, ask them who they know and hire those folks too. There is more to it than that though....really, the BEST people draw attention to your team and/or project. They are asked to speak at conferences where other great people roam, they are interviewed by the local press and attend industry events were they are viewed as the expert in their field. At many companies, employee referrals frequently represent over 50% of the new hires.......enough said right?

Ok, we've identified "The Best" and why you want to hire them......next we'll discuss how to hire them.

A guide for using Twitter to find a job in Boston!

2010-05-13T19:04:00.001-07:00

Sorry it's been so long since my last post! Between buying a new house (yes, I'm moving!), a vacation and a bout with the flu it's been a tough few weeks...but I'm back!! Quick blog this week but an important one.

I talk to a lot of people who are looking for jobs in the Boston. What's weird is, I can't seem to find a single blog or article that lists "all" of the resources available to help you in your search. So, I figured I'd pull a quick list of folks I follow on twitter who I think are worth following/reading to help with your search. This list is only a start and if you have other folks you'd recommend please comment, email me or DM me!!

Without further adieu, here is one man's guide to using Twitter to find a job in Boston

Industry Sites/Job Boards - Not all of these are directly job related but are great places to learn about different companies, projects or ventures in the Boston/Cambridge area.

@hbsjobs

@venturefizz

@xconomy

@masshightech

@webinno

@bostontweetup

@BostonHiring

@innovateMAtech

@MassInno

People - The folks below are a broad mix. Lots of recruiters, HR professionals, consultants, entrepreneurs or VC's. Use these folks to learn more about the market, hire someone to help with your search or get into their professional network.

@jtodonnell

@mcappas

@mistysutton

@jason_j_davis

@pamclaughton

@BolzanGcc

@dissero
@MeganMBiro

@tyandel

@bostonrecruiter

@rowe

@bussgang

@recruitermoe

@jeffernst
@tsummit

I hope this list is helpful to people, I'm really just scratching the surface...frankly there are folks I follow I've even left off this list! So again, if you have folks to add please send them my way as I really think we need to build a definitive list. Boston is a great market with a TON of great Tweeters so take advantage of it...you may just find your dream gig!

Enjoy!

Ace the Software Engineering Interview....

2010-04-14T18:06:00.000-07:00

Going in for that awesome software engineering job interview next week but no clue how to prepare? We'll you're in luck....here a a few tips, some of them pretty basic but the lesson here is that there is no substitute for being prepared.

(For anyone hoping I'll reveal the secret sauce of the Google interview.....sorry, during this blog we'll pretend I'm interviewing for an engineering role at Microsoft)

1) Remember what you've done - Sounds simple right? It's not. What technologies did you use in 1999 when you built that "web application'? Now, just because you used Visual InterDev on Windows 95 doesn't mean you should go buy an InterDev book and brush up.....not at all. But you DO want to take a few minutes, remember what you did, how you did it and what you liked about it. So that way when someone asks the information is fresh and you can answer even the most trivial question intelligently.

2) Dust off your old CS books - That's right, take them off the shelf and relearn everything you've forgotten about Computer Science. The goal here is to be able to show your interviewers that you know the core principles of your job. Crank out data structures, algorithms and nail a few complexity questions and your interview will go much better than replying with something thought provoking like "when I need answers like that, I Google them".....um, that's great but it's likely the company your interviewing with wants you to push the envelope, not just use Google (Bing? or Yahoo? Altavista still around?) every time you get stuck....

3) Do your research - Recurring theme here, preparation. Take a few minutes to search out blogs or news groups to give you some sample interview questions. Sounds simple, but so few people do it, it's amazing. Let's say I'm interviewing at Microsoft for a job as a software engineer...ha,ha, riiiight. Here's what you do:

- Search "Microsoft Interview Questions" and you'll get about 2.3 millions results - this one looked pretty good http://www.sellsbrothers.com/fun/msiview/default.aspx?content=question.htm#algs

- Check out http://microsoftjobsblog.com/ (propaganda alert!!!!) and get some "insider information

- Ping people in your LinkedIn network or other folks who you know have interviewed with Microsoft....pick their brains and learn from their experience.

4) Practice, practice, practice - Go to a site like "stackoverflow.com", "topcoder.com" or find other coding contests, competitions etc. You can also find tons of puzzle sites and things like that to really help you get your head around the kinds of problems you are likely to find. Check out books like "Smart and Gets Things Done" by Joel Spolsky, or "Ace the Technical Interview" by Michael Rothstein. A quick search on Amazon for "Technical Interviews" will find a ton of great resources.No magic bullet here, just time and due diligence. Trust me, THIS will pay off.

I think those tips will help, there is no one piece of advice to help you with the technical interview. Just be prepared, know your stuff and take a deep breath....you can't interview well if you aren't relaxed.

I'm on vacation next week...but good luck and happy hunting everyone!

When should you look for a new job?

2010-04-02T18:17:00.000-07:00

I've been a bit busy so apologies for not writing lately.....but, this is a topic I've been meaning to discuss for a while now. For any job seeker, I think it's a critical thing to think about...when do you decide, it's time to look for a new job? If you're not the kind of person who thinks about long term growth and building a personal brand....stop reading now as this won't be of interest to you. If you care about where your career will be in 10 or 15 years...this is for you. The following are my quick thoughts on when it's time to make a change

1) You're miserable - Wake up cranky? Dread going to work? Complain all the time about how much your job stinks? Time for a change my friend. Life is to short to be miserable 40 hours a week. This is so obvious I'm not even going to go deep. And for those of you saying, "Yeah, but I'm always miserable at work"....find a new career, again, life is too shot

2) You're not growing - Maxed out? Doing your job with your eyes closed? Time to move on then. A good job forces you to learn new skills, to grow and progress as an employee. If you are done growing, start looking around and find a job that will force you to push the envelope.

3) Good job, bad company - Seem like a weird reason to look around? It's not. If you are working for a "bad" company or a place that's known to be a tough environment but love your job.....you should find the same role or a better role at a better company. Think about this - you are the #1 performer at your company but most people look at your employer and aren't impressed....now, do that same job, same performance at an industry leader or "cool" company.....presto, your personal brand is worth a lot more and suddenly your the person everyone wants to hire.

4) It's a recession - What? It's a recession so I should look for a new job? Yep, that's right. Not saying you need to TAKE a new job but recessions are the best time to network, interview and potentially land a new gig. Companies who are hiring during a downturn are likely come out of the recession even stronger....and usually with a significantly stronger position in the market. Yes, it's harder to find jobs and lots of them will be uninteresting.....but if the market slows (like now, although the "experts" say we are recovering) than the time is now to start poking around. A side benefit of this, by interviewing and keeping yourself current when things REALLY turn around you're interview skills will be sharp as ever helping you land the perfect gig.

5) You're happy in your job - Jeff are you crazy? No, I'm not. Looking at new jobs while being perfectly happy is the BEST time to consider new jobs. Why? Because you'd be making the decision to change jobs when you don't have to make a change - better comp? better commute? better team? Does not matter, whatever is most important to you. Take the interview, evaluate the job and if it's better than your current job....accept it. LOTS of people will disagree with this sentiment, but really, anytime you can get a better job or join a better company or do anything to upgrade your career....do it and don't look back.

There are many, many other reasons to look for a new job but these are a few of my favorites. What do you think? When do you start looking?

(note to any current colleagues...I'm not looking, no really I'm not!)

It's what you know AND who you know!

2010-03-13T16:27:00.000-08:00

I remember as a kid hearing the phrase "It's not what you know, it's who you know."...and thinking it was a weird statement. Now that I'm a little bit older it makes a ton of sense. Although, I think we should amend it to be "It's not what you know, it's what you know AND who you know".

Here's why - you could be the greatest recruiter, salesperson or engineer on the planet but if you don't have a solid professional network (who you know?) it won't matter you'll never show the world how great you are. At the same time, you could have the greatest network in the history of networking..but if you aren't exceptional at your job (what you know) you'll doomed to the same fate of mediocrity.

Makes sense right? So, how do you avoid one of these pitfalls and live up to those lofty goals of your childhood?

1) Master your job - Not easy right, because in theory you should be constantly pushing yourself and never become an "expert". True, but master your core job so you feel comfortable and confident with your career and skills.

2) Seek out the advice and tips of Industry leaders - You know who they are, they are the people you think - "Wow, now that's someone I respect" Between blogs, LinkedIn, podcasts, Twitter and numerous other tools it's easy to find these people. Find them, follow them, engage with them. The best part of this is you'll learn a TON about your profession while at the same time expanding your professional network.

3) Give something back - Ok, so you're an expert now and rubbing elbows with your industries best and brightest. Now what? Give back. Start blogging yourself, tweet, engage with a local group to share your experience. Think of it as some weird professional circle of life thing....you were the inexperience newbie once, now you're the pro...........so help out those newbies who look to you for advice.

4) Take advantage - This is the last piece of the puzzle. You're a master at your craft (Isn't this some pasta ad or something?), you're networked with industry pros and scrappy newbies looking to make a name for themselves...all that is left is using these skills, connections and reputation to find a great gig.

What are you waiting for? Get working and expand "Who" and "What" you know.........trust me, your career will thank you for it.

Jeff

PS - Special shout out to Steven for inspiring this post, hope you enjoy NH/Boston

PSS - Watching "2012" while I write this....wow does this movie suck, makes me wish it was true.

Ace any (non-technical) interview

2010-03-03T17:56:00.000-08:00

Ever wonder how to ace an interview? Seriously, walk in, sit down and blast through the questions and walk out feeling like a million bucks? Well, it CAN be done and you can do it. I will say, this advice does NOT pertain to technical interviews......those are a whole different animal, more on that in a later post so for now consider this advice for most any "non-technical" role.

Here's how you do and there are only two things you need to do.

1) Answer questions with detailed, specific, and relevant answers - Simple right? You'd be surprised. If someone asks you "Tell me about a time you were proud of your work"....give the a specific example, cite the company, the project, the folks you worked with, how you did it and why you were proud. This is called "Behavioral Based Interviewing"....and it's very powerful if you know what you are doing. Most people ask these questions because they sound good. You can ace them by being prepared. Have specific examples in mind before you interview so when you get asked these questions you can quickly gather your thoughts and ace it.

I've asked these types of questions for years and although they are not perfect...good candidates can fire back specific answers that really get to the meat of the question. You can find a bunch of sample questions here - http://www.quintcareers.com/sample_behavioral.html and by searching for "behavioral based interview questions" on your favorite search engine..ahem, Google.

2) Leverage your experience to fill in the gaps in your experience - What? Is that even a sentence? Let me explain. Let's say I'm interviewing for a role as a Biotech Recruiter. HR Manager asks me "Jeff, tell me about your experience recruiting computational biologists?" Well, I've never done that. Pretty sure I could, but have never done it. So here's the deal, you don't say "Well, I've never done that but I haven't done it before." BAD ANSWER!! A great answer would be this " Well, over the last 10 years I've been recruiting some of the best software engineers on the planet. I order to do this I have to spend a lot of time networking and really learning the engineering community. By doing that I've learned that in order to attract top tier technical talent you need to really explain the opportunity and why it could be a good fit for them. So while I've never hired computational biologists, I have been hiring some of the best talent in my current industry and I'm confident that my recruiting skills are transferable to the biology market"

Make sense? Let's face it, if you are in the interview your skills are at least CLOSE to a fit for the job. Your task as the candidate is to use your experience to your advantage and allay any fears the interviewer has about your background to prove you are a great fit for the role.

So there you have it, two HUGE tips this week. Detailed, specific and relevant answers and if you get asked about something you know is a weakness, use another detailed specific answer from your past to turn that weakness into a strength.

Until next time, good luck and let me know how I can help in the search!

Jeff

Put away that suit!

2010-02-14T18:32:00.000-08:00

Got an interview coming up soon and don't know what to wear? Don't assume you should just wear a suit. It's not 1950 anymore and most companies don't expect or even want you wearing a suit to the interview. Now, that's not to say you should NEVER wear a suit...quite the contrary. Here are a few tips to help you figure out what you should wear in your upcoming interview

1) Dress for the role - Interviewing for the CEO role? VP of Sales? Wear a suit, executives wear suits. You want to be a big shot you've got to look like one, in this case wear the suit and make sure it's not "dated". No one wears a 3 piece double breasted Olive Green suit anymore.

2) Know the company - Don't show up assuming a suit is appropriate. Take some time, do some research. You don't want to show up and be "that dude in the suit" who everyone wonders what/why you are interviewing. Many companies are "business casual" now, meaning you'd NEVER wear a suit to work.

3) Be comfortable - Can't stress this one enough. You may be in a 6 or 8 hour interview, you've GOT to be wearing something that you can be comfortable in for the whole day. I know personally, wearing a tie is brutal for a few hours, so if I can avoid it, I do!

4) Ask somebody!! - Seems like common sense, but ask someone. Ask your recruiter, the hiring manager, your buddy in accounting.....doesn't matter. Take a few minutes to find out the inside scoop and plan accordingly. Take advantage of your connections to make sure you look the part.

That's about it......don't just assume you need to wear a suit or even a tie in your interviews. Those days are over for most employers (finance, legal, C-Level, excluded of course). Remember, it's not about what you wear, it's about how you interview, communicate and your fit for the job.

Good luck, sorry for the short blog been battling a cold the last week....

Jeff

Don't ask stupid interview questions!

2010-02-03T18:02:00.000-08:00

Like any recruiter, I'd heard some really crazy interview questions. The worst one I've heard was "what's your favorite kind of music? Now, we're not talking about someone working at a record store or Christian radio station.........this was for an engineering job. Needless to say, that question does nothing to help evaluate an engineering candidate.

Why does this matter? A few things:

1) It's a waste of time! Other than breaking the ice, every conversation with a candidate needs to be helping you make a hiring decision. That's it, nothing else matters. When you are done with the interview do you want to hire this candidate? If the answer is "Not sure" but you know they like Snoop Dogg than you're missing the whole point

2) Stupid questions, give the wrong impression - Never get a second chance to make a first opinion.....riiiight. Image having an interview full of silly questions, would you want to work there? No way!

3) You're hire the WRONG people - This is the most important. Interviewing is a science and and art. You need to be consistently asking questions so you are calibrated to determine good or bad answers. Asking about musical tastes, or favorite book, etc are not good predictors of future success. By focusing on the wrong stuff, you're hire the wrong people and ultimately undermine your whole effort.

The point here? Don't ask stupid interview questions. Find out what the job requires, ask relevant and detailed questions....over and over again so you can tell the good candidates from the bad............and if the person you hire likes some form of music or book you'd never enjoy....maybe you should just open up, relax and realize that you work with these people, and that's it. What they do or enjoy in their own time...will most likely not impact their ability to perform in your company.

Building a better recruiting metric?

2010-01-18T10:07:00.000-08:00

How do you measure a good recruiter? Metrics of course, but really are the metrics we use that accurate in determaining how your recruiting team actually perfoming? Probably not, most of the metrics I've seen or talked to people about tend to be things like : Time to fill, Cost per hire, Acceptance Rate, Number of hires, Source, etc etc. Some of these are GREAT metrics but can't we do better? I feel like these metrics have been around forever with very little innovation or change.

So, let's dig a little deeper and see if we can find a few better metrics based on the Sabermetrics that they use in baseball. Wikipedia says the following:

"Sabermetricians frequently call into question traditional measures of baseball skill. For instance, batting average is generally considered by them to be a statistic of limited usefulness because it turns out to be a poor predictor of a team's ability to score runs.^[2] A more typical sabermetric reasoning would say that runs win ballgames, and that therefore a good measure of a player's worth is his ability to help his team score more runs than the opposing team. In particular, they tend to emphasize on base percentage."

Ok, so let's think about "recruiting skill" by questioning some traditional recruiting statistics. Let's start with number of hires. You have two recruiters, Recruiter A hires 10 engineers while Recruiter B hires 7 over the same time period. Traditional recruiting metrics would say Recruiter A is the stronger performer. Now, in some ways, number of hires is the most important metric however, if dig deeper there may be more to the story.

If we cross-reference the performance rating of each hire, there may be a different picture. Assuming we rate employees on a 1-5 scale, the average performance of Recruiter A's hires is 3.5 while Recruiter B's folks perform at an average rating of 4.5. You metrics would know look like this:

	Number of Hires	Average Performance Score
Recruiter A	10	3.5
Recruiter B	7	4.5

Now multiply the average score by the number of hires we come up with a statistic we'll call "Total Performance Score", which isl basically measuring not only how many hires your recruiter had, but what kind of a performance impact those hires actually had. The metrics would now be:

	Number of Hires	Average Performance Score	Total Performance Score
Recruiter A	10	3.5	35.0
Recruiter B	7	4.5	31.5

Does these metrics tell you anything? Well yes, Recruiter A hires more people but Recruiter B hires better performers. But there is more here. Recruiter A's scored a 35 out of a possible score of 50 while Recruiter B scored a 31.5 our of 35. So the performance difference is even more profound. Doing the math here we come up with a statistic we'll call "Hire Impact Ratio".

	Number of Hires	Average Performance Score	Total Performance Score	Hire Impact Ratio
Recruiter A	10	3.5	35.0	.70
Recruiter B	7	4.5	31.5	.90

This "Hire Impact Ratio" shows us that Recruiter B hires candidates who have a much bigger impact within the company than Recruiter A. Does this matter? Sure it does! The goal of every recruiting organization is to hire the best people possible! I'm not saying this metric above is the greatest thing ever, but I am sure that we as recruiters can and should do a better job of finding ways to measure our performance than the same old metrics of the past! Thoughts?

Pushing Forward Back...

2010-01-03T11:50:00.000-08:00

Those of you who know my musical taste may recognize the tune I'm referencing for this post. (See Temple of the Dog for more). Anyway, as my first blog of 2010 I thought I'd take a quick minute to give thanks for some great moments in 2009 and queue up a few things for us all to look forward to in 2010!

Back.......

- We should all be thankful that although the economy has been pretty bad, it didn't take quite as badly as many experts expected. It's still tough out there, but all signs seem to indicate we avoided the Great Depression II (I hope!)

- I'm thankful for Twitter, I've been able to meet a bunch of new folks from around the world who share their expertise and experience. If you don't tweet yet, you should!

- I'm thankful for my friends and family, another year of health and prosperity, hopefully this continues into 2010.

- Finally, thanks to all my readers, I'm still a pretty novice blogger but am hopeful I can really contribute something in 2010.

Forward........

- Social Recruiting is the future? We'll see, I think the future is now

- Shout out to the team a Google, great bunch of folks and looks like 2010 will be the best yet

- Is 2010 the year that the Boston/Cambridge market REALLY comes back? I think so, between the VC activity and large software shops building out in town and honestly think the next decade will result in the rebirth of the tech market locally.

- I'm personally planning on being much more active this year in the local community, blogging, networking, etc.............

Good luck and Happy New Year everyone.............hope 2010 lives up to the hype!

Blog about your job search?

2009-12-11T18:51:00.001-08:00

This may sound like a crazy question, but here we go....should you blog about your job search? My take? ABSOLUTELY, POSITIVELY, YES YOU SHOULD! Here's why:

1) Share your experience and help others- Other people are looking for jobs too, other people are having the same frustrations you are....so why not share and build your own community. You'll feel better about each interview and with a little luck find a few folks who you can use to bounce ideas off of as well as do a little networking. Think about it, you interview at Company X and find that the deli across the street was a fantastic place for a coffee before you go into the meeting. I'm sure other candidates would love to have a great place to grab their pre-interview coffee **Disclaimer - if you have to sign an NDA, don't share anything that would put you in violation!**

2) Get your thoughts down, in writing - Ever leave an interview and have a full range of emotions? It was great! It was terrible! The LOVE me! Well, what better way to put your immediate thoughts down than to write a quick blog once you are done. This forum will also allow you to send it to your friends and colleagues to get their thoughts. Rarely will you get instant honest feedback from the company about your interview, why not get your thoughts/impressions out to your network and see what they think. I think you'll be surprised at some of the tips and advice you'll get **Same NDA advice here**

3) Polish up your skills - Write much? I'm a terrible writer but blogging has helped me polish up my skills (UNH education here...) I'll never be mistaken for Hemingway but blogging allows you to show the world what you've got. Blog about your interviews, resume, experience, luck with job boards, distaste for job fairs, networking expertise, you name it, blogging about your experience will help you reflect on things and improve yourself.

4) Show people you care - Blogging means you are passionate about something. Props to @garyv (www.garyvaynerchuk.com) for really showing me the way on this topic. If you are passionate about your job search, blogging will show people you care and allow you to tell the world "Yes I'm looking for a job, and proud of it".

Finally....

5) Social Media is the Future - Duh right? File that under "cliche'" but it's true. Using your blog or twitter account to thank your interviewers is cool. I've had several candidates ping me via Twitter or blog about their experience with me and think it's cool. It's a great way to say "thank you" but also to show the company you "get it" and are someone who's got an eye on the future. **Last disclaimer - don't trash people in your blog, it's poor taste, never goes a way and send the WRONG message no matter how much the other person might deserve it"

Mail me your resume?

2009-11-30T19:00:00.000-08:00

There is a school of thought that mailing or faxing your resume to a company is a bad idea........well, schools out on this topic. Don't mail or fax your resume. It's one of those things that you learn growing up. Use nice paper, write a professional cover letter.....that advice was good in 1989, but today it's old fashioned and shows a potential employer that you are behind the times. Here are few tips one how you REALLY want to go about submitting a resume.

1) Apply online - Um, yeah, resume black hole? Maybe. But doesn't matter you absolutely positively have to apply for a job online. Why? It gets your resume into play officially and also puts it into a format that the company can use to manage and track your application. Every company needs to track its applications, make it easy for them to hire you.

2) Find someone who works there and have it submitted as a referral - Companies hire employee referrals at a much higher rate than any other type of candidate. Does it matter how strong the referral is? Not really. What really matters is that someone within the company thinks you are a potential hire. So, ping your network, reach out to friends, do whatever you need to do and find someone to refer you to the company. Trust me on this one, it works

3) Email it to the recruiter - That's right, it's that easy....but don't do this until you've applied online. Why? Because the first thing recruiters do is go and check if you've applied and are already in the system. If you are, then the application is easy for the recruiter to manage and allows them to quickly get the ball rolling.

4) Find a good agency who can help get you in - Sound crazy? Depends on the company. Some companies don't have an HR or recruiting team to do this stuff....so they outsource all of it to agencies. They are selective and only work with those vendors......find them engage with them and work with them to get the interview.

That's it for now, hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and that your job search is heating up!

Are you ready to hire?

2009-11-22T16:05:00.000-08:00

Most economists seem to agree our economy is starting to turn around and experience positive growth. Unemployment is still high, but as the economy grows eventually the job market will take off again. When it does...will you be ready? In order to remain competitive here are a few tips to help make sure your organization continues to hire the best!

1) Get lean - Is your interview process too long? Take forever to get an offer approved? Now is the time to streamline your process. Reduce your time to fill and start hiring those great employees that you'll need to take your business to the next level. Why get lean do you ask? Because your competition is not only getting lean but getting mean.

2) DO NOT get mean - I'm of the belief that trashing your competition is the worst thing you can do. Lots of companies do it, and lots of recruiters do it. Waste of time, in my opinion. You should want to work with me because my company is better than your other options. I don't need to trash the competition, I know we're better and so do you.

3) Hit your network - When hiring ramps up, and it will...referrals will be your lifeblood. People you know are trustworthy, qualified and easy to find. So, is your LinkedIn networking current? Maybe it's time to start hitting those alumni events again.

4) Be prepared - You really need to understand who's hiring, what they are offering and be able to prepare your organization. If you are trying to hire a bunch of new college grads, it helps to know what the hip new startup across town is doing. Competitive intelligence in recruiting? Absolutely. You can't beat the competition if you don't know why they are successful.

5) Beef up the Staffing team, NOW - You don't want to need 5 recruiters and have a hard time finding them because the market took off while you were debating 4 or 5 new hires on your team. My advice, while you are figuring it out....start interviewing. You can always hold off on making offers until you have budget or approval but waiting for the ink to dry is setting you up for failure before you even start.

Anyone else have a few tips/tricks for getting ready for when the job market heats up again?

New post coming soon!

2009-11-16T18:09:00.000-08:00

Hey Everyone, it's been a REALLY crazy few days at work but I'll have a new post soon.

Hope all is well and will get thing done this week!

Jeff

You can always say no!

2009-11-01T17:10:00.000-08:00

I have a motto that I use a lot, "You can always say no". It's really great advice if you are looking for a new job but keep turning down interviews. You should never, ever turn down an interview if you are looking for a new job. Not related to your current job? Take it. Not really in the industry you are in now? Take it. Interviewing for jobs is the only way you can be sure to really, truly find a job that makes you happy. Here is why:

You don't know what you don't know - How do you know you don't want a job if you don't interview? Need I say anything else? Really, if you don't take the time to talk to people you are letting preconceived opinions and biases influence your decision making. Stop doing that! Take the interview, learn as much as you can and make a decision based on the facts.

Practice makes perfect - Interview much? Most people don't.....so most people aren't good at it. So, what better practice than the real thing. Seriously, think about how much more relaxed and "on" you'll be when you have an interview you REALLY want if you've had a few practice interviews over the previous months. Plus, see tip above.

It's all about the network - Not the right fit for a job? Decide to pass? That's ok, maybe the person you met would be a great future contact or lead for you. Sound like a long shot? It's not, I've got a few folks who I've interviewed with and now keep in touch with professionally as well as personally (HUGE shout out to Sanjay here!)

So that's it, take the interview. Doing this will allow you to make decisions on jobs based on the facts, meet new and exciting people and fine tune your interview skills for that job you really want to get.

Do your homework before you interview!

2009-10-18T07:55:00.000-07:00

Got an interview coming up and feel like you are prepared? Well, here are a few tips to make sure you are ready and have done your homework!

1) Have you researched the people you are meeting? You may only know a few or maybe just the recruiter...that's ok. Do the research. LinkedIn or just a Google search can tell you a ton about someone. You may be surprised to see that you went to the same college or if you can search Facebook that you have common friends. Seriously, no better way to start the interview right having something in common with the folks you are meeting.

2) What's the interview like? Ask your recruiter what you should do to prepare (do I even have to say that?) The other thing is to spend some time searching the web for blogs or web pages to give you a few tips. Some companies (like my current employer) have pages set up to help, and provide links to Youtube videos that can help. The Google example is here, other companies like Yahoo do similar things here. Plus, if you are having a technical interview you should be able to find a few sample questions that will help you understand the style of interview.....be careful here though, if you see a question on the web and it gets asked during the interview you should tell the interviewer you've see it. Why you ask? Well, let's say you get asked a technical question that takes an excellent candidate 35 minutes to answer and after reading it on the web you can answer it in 10 minutes....um, not good, people will notice, TRUST me. So, research the interview as much as you can but be honest if you uncover something that comes up in your interview.

3) Have friends at the company? If you have friends at the company, ping them, ask them for a referral. Companies typically hire about 50% of their new employees via referral so if you can take yourself out of the random pile and put yourself into the "referral" pile.....you'll be much better off.

4) Read the news - Big announcement at Microsoft yesterday? Well, you'd better know what's going on at the company you are interviewing. Nothing more annoying than a candidate who knows nothing about the firm, especially if there has been some really big news that has everyone buzzing.

5) Know the environment! - Again, not the most earth shaking advice but really important. Interviewing at a Financial Services firm? You probably want to wear a suit or at least ask your recruiter if that's appropriate. Coming to meet w/ a software start up? Doubtful you need to wear a suit. This sounds so simple and silly but it's really important. Not sure how to find out what you should wear? Ask your recruiter, ask friends, as anyone you know to make sure you don't stick out as the dude in the suit.........it just sends the wrong vibe. And finally, part of the environment is knowing the location. Don't be late, don't show up and say things like "My car is double parked out front, can you move it?" (that really has happened). With Google Maps, Streetview, GPS, etc etc not being on time or getting lost is just not cool. It never was cool but now it's just really lame.

That's it, do your homework people and you'll find your interviews are much more successful!

A job, a career or an opportunity?

2009-10-06T17:25:00.000-07:00

Something a little different this week! A friend of mine, had a question that I thought would be relevant to anyone looking for a job right now. Hope you enjoy!

Hello, my name is Bonnie, and I am unemployed. It sounds like an admittance statement at a support group for the jobless, doesn’t it?

To some, this admittance may evoke a shameful reality or an overwhelming feeling of failure. And yet, to others, it elicits a sense of relief and an impetus to try something new or escape from the dissatisfaction of the status quo. When the world hands you lemons, make some lemonade, right!?

But I have to wonder how those lemonade makers got into a life of drudgery in the first place. Did they settle for below-average compensation? Did they choose the wrong company? Or, was it because they fell into the wrong career path altogether?

I have friends who have turned down good jobs in which they have great experience, in the hopes that their ‘dream job’ will come around the corner. And yet, they continue to search as their bank accounts dwindle, looking back with regret because they turned down a job during a recession.

Personally, I find myself stuck in a ‘seller’s market’ where competition is tough, and the ‘perfect’ job opening is hard to come by (let alone define). My grandmother, who grew up in the Great Depression, calls me weekly with worry over my jobless state. And my bank account too is dwindling day by day.

As I pursue my next employment opportunity, I can’t help but question whether I am looking for a job (a way to make ends meet) or am I truly paving a road by which my life’s happiness is dictated?

Hi Bonnie, I think this is a really critical question and also a great time to think about it. I was at U2 this week and had a revelation about your question. With Bono singing "Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of" I had an "Ah Ha!" moment!. Here's a quick sample of the lyrics:

I'm not afraid of anything in this world

There's nothing you can throw at me that I haven't already heard

I'm just trying to find a decent melody

A song that I can sing in my own company

I never thought you were a fool

But darling, look at you

You gotta stand up straight, carry your own weight

These tears are going nowhere, baby

You've got to get yourself together

You've got stuck in a moment and now you can't get out of it

So, you're stuck w/ unemployment....well, it's time to get out of that way of thinking. So, when in comes to taking a job or finding an opportunity I think you need to do both......sounds silly right? If you get a "job" who cares about other opportunities. Wrong attitude. You can take a job, pay the bills and be a strong performer without having to feel like this is something you want to do long term for your career.

For example, let's say you always wanted to be an EMT or a Lab Technician. You could find a job, a job you like even that helps you pay the bills while you go through the requisite training to become an EMT. Make sense? Let me give you another example from my past employment history - I moved to Washington DC in 1996, "no job and no clue" as I like to say. I wanted to get into politics and work ideally on "The Hill". Well, anyone who knows anything about DC knows you don't just get jobs on the Hill they require a ton of networking and even that doesn't usually work. So, what did I do? Well, I first got an internship (unpaid!) for a place called the Center for Security Policy. A defense "think tank" where I did a ton of government affairs work and started to build up a network of connections. To pay the bills, well, I sold Karate services....that's right, I sold Karate. My friends in DC can verify this if you need confirmation. Pretty much, the worst job ever. I started in "collections" and was promoted to "sales" after one day on the job. I can honestly say say, these were some of the hardest days of my life........BUT, it worked. After four months of 16 hour days, I found an open role with a Senator from my home state, was referred to the Chief of Staff by a friend and now not only had an interest in the role but had four months of government affairs experience that sealed the deal.

So I think if I had to give advice right now, I'd find something to pay the bills. Doesn't really matter if it's a good job, bad job, whatever......but make sure that it is something that gives you the freedom to keep looking for great opportunities. Of course it's not realistic to work 16 hour days or do crazy things forever but if you can find something you are passionate about than do it even if you can only do it on the side, weekends or at night. Eventually you'll build up a set of skills and experiences that will allow you to do what you love full time.........and then you'll be on that road to happiness! Happy hunting, if you are reading this and would like to try and hire someone awesome, ping me for an intro to Bonnie!

What questions do you have for me?

2009-09-29T18:05:00.000-07:00

Anyone who has interviewed with me has heard me ask "What questions do you have for me?" It's always my first question and is usually the hardest one I'll ask because it can lead us in a bunch of different directions. It's a silly and simple question but really allows me to address any issues you have and make sure we are all on the same page.

Well, with this blog getting more and more readers I felt it would be cool to create a forum where people can ask questions. So, if you have a question for me about recruiting, hiring, interview, job search you can go to Google Moderator and I'll try to answer as many as I can.

Sounds like fun right? So, give it a shot, I'd love to create a cool way for us to interact and really start a great dialog. Oh, and it's a shameless promo for one of the cool new tools Google has launched.

More soon!

Save the phone!

2009-09-13T18:51:00.000-07:00

I fear the day of the phone is dead, certainly when is comes to a job search the phone is sooo 1995. I'll be honest, it makes me feel old and say things like "I remember and enjoy the days of pounding the phone." Cranking out 500 calls a week, trying to build up the network. That's what recruiters did back in the day, I believe we now call it "old school". Many recruiters today have never and will never make a "cold call" and spend most of their time emailing candidates, performing Boolean searches, tweeting, etc etc.....

The problem with all this new fangled technology? Picking up the phone is still the best way to really get to know someone when you are looking for a job. People are busy so meeting with someone from every company you are interested in is not realistic, sorry, but picking up the phone and talking with someone possible. It's also possible for us recruiters to pick up the phone, cold call, network and find that hard to find great candidate.

The morale of the story here? If you are looking for a job or trying to recruit the great candidate...........pick up the phone! Sure, it requires you to be a little more outgoing than sending off hundreds of blanket emails to make contact but I can promise you that without a doubt you'll find more value from the call. For most of us this is a dramatic change in behavior so start easy - call your friends, former colleagues etc etc and make sure you are comfortable with the medium. Once you feel good, call that cool company and try to talk to a recruiter or (gasp!) call that candidate you saw profiled in the Wall Street Journal and "recruit" them!

That's it, just a short blog but REALLY important as nothing says I'm serious than a phone call to discuss.

Have a great week!

Are you just "filling jobs"?

2009-09-09T19:08:00.000-07:00

When I started this blog I said it would address not only issues for candidates but also for companies who are really trying to break traditional recruiting models and really innovate. So, in that spirit....a few quick thoughts if you are running a company or trying to build a team. I am re-reading "Winning the Talent Wars" by Bruce Tulgan ( www.rainmakerthinking.com) and one of his points is worth digging a little deeper. The line is "Staff the work, not the job", think about it. Does your company fill jobs or hire people to do work? There is a difference. If you need to hire 5 software engineers, you don't need a full-time recruiter to join your team. You need a contractor or temp to come in, fill the jobs and leave. Most companies, COMPLETELY miss this point and end up having all kinds of people on staff being underutilized or even worse, people who are supremely talented just wasting time looking for candidates that don't exist.

Let me give you an example.

Company A is looking for a "Patent Attorney who understands Computational Biology". They need this person to come in and help the company develop a patent strategy for their new biotech business. So, they spend two years, countless hours interviewing and a retained agency fee of $50K to find the 5 Patent Attorneys in the US who have Biology degrees. Make an offer and by the time this person is up to speed they missed their window and spend years playing catch-up. (Semi-true story,btw.....)

Company B is competing w/ Company A and needs to find the same person. They decide to outsource the work to the best law firm in town. Working closely with their internal engineering team the firm is able to develop and implement a strategy in 6 months. By moving fast Company B not only gets working on this problem first, but they also seize the market and are able to gain the upper hand against Company A.

Company A is thinking about recruiting and hiring as a "job" based problem, Company B recognizes that they need to hire some people but they can also supplement that core team with temps, vendors and contractors to get the work done quickly.

How do you hire for your organization? Are you filling jobs or do you staff the work? If you aren't thinking about this, my guess is that you are filling jobs and not thinking about the strategic implications of talent management. If you are a recruiter you should be working with your clients to make sure they are not only "filling jobs" but managing their talent in the most strategic way possible. Showing your clients how to "Win the Talent Wars" will be a "win-win" and help you build the type of relationships that every recruiter needs to be successful.

Like I said, this idea comes from Bruce Tulgan. Great read and great stuff if you haven't read any of his stuff I'd recommend it!

Until next time!

How to work with a recruiter.....

2009-09-02T17:26:00.000-07:00

I've had a bunch of requests lately for a blog on how to effectively work with a recruiter. If you really want to maximize the services of your recruiter try the following tips. Also, these tips are true for agency recruiters, corporate recruiters, high tech, bio-tech, nursing, doesn't matter.......at the end of the day, all of the good recruiters operate the same way.

1) Be honest - I know right, do I really have to write this? YES. Don't tell the recruiter that you are making $200K if you are making $50K. Don't tell them you have never applied for a job at the company before even though you've now been interviewed for every job except Chief Bottle Washer. Your recruiter is your partner in your job search. Be open and honest with them, and trust me it will pay off. If you tell a recruiter EXACTLY what you are making now and explain what type of comp package you'll need to make a switch........they'll get it for you....and if they can't, it's not b/c they didn't try as hard as possible. The thing to remember about recruiters, we like to hire people and get deals done. So, be honest and upfront with your recruiter as it will help them help you!

2) Communication is a two way street - If you are wondering what's up with your application email or call your recruiter. Again, rocket science here but most people miss this one. Recruiters are busy, and in some cases they are ridiculously busy (ask me some time how may calls I do in a week). I figure, after meetings and other "non-candidate" related things, I probably spend 20 hours a week talking to people. It's really hard to talk to everyone as frequently as they'd like. So, don't be shy, I think I can speak for every recruiter on the planet when I say we appreciate the anxious candidate and know that if you are engaged with us you are probably excited about the opportunity. One last thing on this, send email and leave a voicemail. If we are on the phone all day (it happens) I may not get your message for several hours but I can usually email you back pretty quick.

3) Leave a message if you call - You'd be amazed how many people call me but never leave a message. I've been either on the phone or in meetings while the same candidate will call 5 or 6 times without leaving a message. Um, seriously it's REALLY annoying. If you left message and then follow up with an email you'll get a much faster response than just calling and calling and hoping we pick up.

4) Explain your timeline (in detail) - Not really looking around? Need a new job tomorrow? Going off to hike Europe for 8 weeks? The more your recruiter knows about your timeline the better job they can do for you. Recruiters are trained to push people through the process as fast as possible so we are always thinking "Go, go go!" If that doesn't work for you, tell your recruiter! Nothing more frustrating than sending a few emails and voice mails for a candidate only to get a call back 3 weeks later saying "sorry, I was on vacation".....um, thanks.

5) Ask us questions, LOTS of questions - Our job is to get you a job, so ask as many questions as you can possibly think of about the opportunity. You should be able to ask us anything, if we don't know the answer, we'll find it. I'm always amazed at some of the questions I get and really appreciate when someone stumps me. Questions about the role? Ask. Questions about the company? Ask. Compensation? Career path? If it's something you are curious about, ask....if your recruiter doesn't know ask them to find out for you. Really, it's our job.

6) Do your homework and confirm it with us - I hope this makes sense, but spend some time doing Google searches about the company, the team, your recruiter (that's right) pretty much learn as much as you can....and then when you speak with your recruiter use this information to make sure you understand the opportunity. For example, I had a candidate ask me "You spent a long time at The MathWorks and now at Google. I've heard they are both great places, what are the differences from your perspective?" Great question and really made ME think. So, do that homework and make sure you are 100% prepared for the interview.

Sorry I haven't blogged in a while, been REALLY busy lately not only at work but at home........so, more soon. Until then, I hope you enjoy!

Are your references "professional"?

2009-08-20T18:31:00.000-07:00

What do your professional references say about you? Ever think about it? You should because no matter how good your interview went, if your references don't say good things about you....you're not getting that new job you want. Seems kinda harsh doesn't it? But it's true, a bad reference can single handedly sink an otherwise great opportunity.

Ironically, most people pay little to no attention to their references. I hear things like "I haven't talked to him in ages.", "I didn't really work that closely with her.", "I'm just his friend" but my favorite is the "one word answers" - yep, no, yes, maybe, absolutely. Joking aside, if you aren't taking the time to really cultivate and inform your professional references you are putting yourself at a disadvantage in any job search. Someone who takes their job search seriously has educated, informed, prepared and PREDICTABLE references. I recall a candidate interaction a long time ago where the recruiter asked a reference "Would you hire so and so again?". Simple stuff, nothing major, should be a straight forward response and it was just that...."I wouldn't hire that guy to stock shelves". End of interview, no hire, thanks for playing. If your references say they wouldn't hire you again, it's pretty bad but when they go out of their way to torpedo your application it's apocalyptic.

Without further adieu, a few quick tips on how to give the best professional references:

1) Give people who you know, trust and who will absolutely, positively say nice things about you - I know, right, who WOULDN'T do that? You'd be surprised. I'm not even going to talk about this anymore, do your homework, call your references so when they talk to potential a employer they don't throw you under the bus.

2) Give a former manager - Again, I know, not rocket science. I'm always happy to hear how great a guy someone is, or how they play a mean guitar or how they can finish Halo without dying..........but, at the end of the day it doesn't matter. I want to talk to someone who can tell me what kind of an employee you'll be once you are hired. Former managers are critical to making sure any potential employer can get the info they need to hire you without reservation. If you don't have a former manager who'll say nice things, try someone else in a leadership role. You need someone besides your lunch buddies to say nice things about you, especially in a competitive job market like we have now.

3) Make sure your references are available and expecting the call - This one drives recruiters crazy. Nothing more frustrating than leaving voice mail after voice mail for a reference only to follow up with an email that bounces back "On vacation until September 2013". Good times! It's common courtesy for everyone involved and will help also make sure our references say nice things about you.

4) Have a few people recommend you on LinkedIn - Simple stuff, and frankly it doesn't matter if this is a former manager or not. With the rise of social networking, more and more companies are searching the web for potential hires. No better way to reinforce that you are a quality hire than to have a well groomed LinkedIn profile that has several people singing your praises.

5) Keep in touch with your references to make sure you have a big stable of people to use -This is the final tip, and probably the most important. You want to keep in touch with people who can serve as great professional references. Seriously, think about it. How many former managers can you give that would say nice things about you? The more you have, the better off you'll be long term. You don't need to talk to them every day, week or even every month however, you should be just touching base once every quarter or two, JUST in case you need them or, get this.....maybe they need you. That's right, your former boss may be looking for a job and need a "former direct report" to say nice things...next think you know you guys are colleagues again. So, trust me on this one, figure out who will give you a stellar reference and then maintain and build on that relationship.

That's it, nothing crazy, nothing complicated. Follow these simple tips and I can guarantee you'll have much more success converting those interviews into offers. Happy hunting and if you are reading this and like what you see please let me know. I'm new to blogging and still feel like I'm getting my groove.

Networking 101

2009-08-09T17:59:00.000-07:00

I'm sure you've heard by now that networking has become the best way to find a job in the current job market. This makes a ton of sense because it's a lot easier t hire someone you "know" than some random person who floats in off a job posting. This trend unfortunately makes it harder and harder to get hired than ever before, PLUS networking is not easy. Networking is a skill most people use only when they need it to find a new job.

The problem with this, is that by ignoring your professional network until you absolutely need it; is that your networks is in no condition to help you find that next gig. Think about a garden, if you don't tend to things it gets overgrown and becomes pretty much useless. However, if you keep it clean and put in the time/effort to maintain things, next thing you know you have a beautiful garden that provides beautiful flowers and home grown produce. Your professional network, is a garden and with the right amount of attention it can provide great things. Ignore your network and it goes to the weeds.

So, want to get your professional network in order? Here are a few tips to help. They are listed in order from easiest to hardest so don't try to tackle the last item first, gotta crawl before you can walk people :)

1) Develop and maintain your online profile - Do you have a LinkedIn profile yet? If not, stop reading and go open an account. It's free and has pretty much turned into a who's who of the professional world. Spend some time, developing your profile and make sure it's "complete" meaning that you have your job history, education, etc, filled out completely. Once you've done that, you should connect to other people that you know. LinkedIn is great because based on your profile it automatically pulls a list of people you may know from your work and educational history. Connect to people who know and watch your network grow. It's really amazing, once you've got a few connections you'll notice that you'll have access to 2nd and 3rd degree connections and your network is well on it's way. Keep finding new connections, join groups that interest you and keep expanding your network on LinkedIn - between professional connections and the number of jobs posted on LinkedIn its an amazing place to build your network. If you're not connected to me, you should be....find me and ping me a note that you read my blog so I'm sure to accept.

2) Reach out to old school connections - Remember Bill from the fraternity? Yeah, he runs his own company now and is hiring. That kid you made fun off in math class? Well, he's working at a new web start-up and they are hiring too. The moral of the story here? In college you develop bonds with people. Some of them last a lifetime, some of the don't....regardless, you should be using these relationships to help your career. I can tell you, my first two jobs were a direct result of my college connections. Ok, so this makes sense right? Well, how do we find these people who we haven't talked to in years? A few ways - Facebook, LinkedIn or your local alumni chapter are all great sources to find former college friends and reestablish those connections. The great thing about these connections is the are really easy to reestablish. Pick up the phone or send a quick email and next thing you know you'll be right back in the swing of things reminiscing not only the good old days at school but also talking about the future.

3) Touch base with former colleagues - Former colleagues are vital to your network. They know you, they know your work and they are likely to have jobs that would be a fit for you. Even better, former colleagues eventually move on the greener pastures too, and assuming things go well these greener pastures will need to hire too...that's where you come in. I'd recommend you try to talk to one or two former colleagues every week if you can. You don't need to have a 30 minute conversation, just a quick "hey, how's it going" and you are good to go. If you were to do this, you'd be talking to 8 people a month, and almost 100 folks a year. One hundred connections, who know you and your work could be a real asset if you had to REALLY start looking for a job.

4) Networking groups, user groups and other industry associations - TONS of these groups exist for the purpose of networking or exchanging ideas. A quick Google search will find you a huge list of groups that might be a perfect place for you to expand your network. What I really like about these groups is they give you a low risk opportunity to talk to people not only about "jobs" but also to talk to them about best practices and learn a few tips/tricks along the way. Another cool thing about networking groups, is they allow you to meet people and make connections in new industries. Many of these groups have sites in "LinkedIn" so you just sign up for the daily news feed and start meeting new people.

5) Industry Leaders - So, this is the hardest but potentially most exciting type of networking. Most industry leaders are active bloggers or tweeters and it's very easy to read their thoughts and learn from them. If you aren't reading blogs (um, riiight) or following people you respect/admire on Twitter than you should again, stop reading this and sign up for Twitter. Ok, welcome back.... So, you follow the people and heed their advice, great, now to incorporate them into your network. Ask these people for advice or their thoughts on your most pressing issue. Working on a new start-up? Ping some of these industry leaders a quick ask their advice. Trust me, most of these people really appreciate the opportunity to talk to someone directly. You may not always year back from people, but some of them will follow up with you and with a little luck and a lot of work you can build a relationship with thought leaders in your industry that should help you get better at your trade when you have a job but also help you find a great job when you need a new one.

Ok, so those are a few quick tips on helping to grow your professional network. Its not easy and its a pain to find time to network but you HAVE to do it if you want to succeed in today's hiring environment. Start slow, and take time each week to dedicate yourself to growing your network. I personally try to talk to at least two former colleagues a week as well as one "new" person a week. I'd really like to get that "new" number closer to three a week but I'm not there yet.......oh well, time to stop blogging and start networking. Let me know how it goes!!!

Quick thoughts on "Smart and Gets Things Done"

2009-07-25T18:57:00.000-07:00

Can't believe it's been a month since my last blog, wow, guess it's been a busy summer! Yikes!! I promise to post more consistently in the coming weeks/months!

Anyway, I just finished re-reading "Smart and Gets Things Done" by Joel Spolsky. You can find a link to Joe's blog and this book here. If you recruit for a living or manage a team of engineers you really HAVE to have read this book. I was wondering, has "Smart and Gets Things Done" been so over-recommended that no one reads it anymore? I've read it several times, but it strikes me as the kind of book that any recruiter worth their salt should read over and over again. So, I did a little research and Amazon has it ranked as number 94,865 on their site for books. Honestly, I found it pretty shocking as this is one of the few "must read" books on recruiting technical talent that I've ever come across. I'm hoping this ranking is because most people who recruit either have a copy already (doubtful) or they buy it used (maybe?)

Regardless, it got me thinking that I should do a quick blog that covers a few of the points that Joel talks about that really ring true and can help anyone who's looking to build a team, especially in the current economy. Hey, maybe I can even push "Smart and Gets Things Done" to number 9300 or something on Amazon.....riiiiight.

So, here goes! A few insights and thoughts that you can use to hire programmers or most any type of person.........(quotes from the book in bold)

The real trouble with using a lot of mediocre programmers instead of a couple of good ones is that no matter how long they work, they never produce something as good as what the great programmers can produce (page 11)

Can anyone argue with this? A bunch of mediocre programmers will create mediocre products, end of discussion. I'd argue that you could say mediocre salespeople would generate mediocre results, mediocre marketing people create mediocre campaigns...and on and on it goes. Even mediocre recruiters hire mediocre people! You could have the best idea but with a mediocre team it's unlikely to be enough. It's that simple, if you don't you'll be destined to a team of B players doing B work. The only way to succeed in business is to hire a great team.

The best people in every field, are quite simply never on the market (page 20)

THIS is the best quote from the book in my opinion. How many times have YOU put your resume on a job board? Zero? That's right, great people don't look for jobs. Jobs find them. Networking, employee referrals, alumni groups, etc are the only way to find great people. If you are a small or medium sized company that's using standard recruiting methods and job boards...good luck to you my friend. If you can't figure out how to attract/hire/retain great people then you will be playing catch up to those organizations who are magnets for the great employees you covet. Take the time to invest in your organization - facilities, benefits, technology, etc etc and figure out how to attract the best people in your industry. They won't be on the market, you won't find them on the job boards so you'd better be thinking of innovative ways to attract employees

To top programmers, the most maddening thing about recruiters is their almost morbid fascination with keywords and buzzwords (page 79)

I'm a recruiter and this drives me crazy...so I can only imagine how it would make me feel if I was actually an engineer. Great engineers look at programming languages as tools. They LEARN new things if needed and are constantly improving. If you are looking for a great engineer to do some Python work but won't hire the best Perl programmer in the world...you're missing out on a great opportunity. Hire the person, not the keyword. I can tell you that as a recruiter, I pretty much toss out the keyword section on the resumes I read. If you tell me you are an expert HTML, Java, C, Assembly and Cobol programmer.....um, ok, you MIGHT be but I have my doubts. My advice, skip the keyword section on your resume and only talk to recruiters who know what they are talking about.....and if you are a recruiter, spend some time understanding technology so you don't become just another add-no-value-keyword recruiter.

If you do have to say no to someone, do it quickly and respectfully....It's just common decency to let them move on to the next opportunity (page 119)

Couldn't agree more. This is hard, I mean REALLY hard to do if you are a recruiter. First, it stinks. No one likes to be the bearer of bad news. Second, you've got a million other things to do so this slides to the bottom of the list. As I write this, I know that I've told a few folks this week that they weren't a fit for my organization. They've gotten word, but I owe them a longer chat.... The worst thing you can do is become a black hole for your candidates, give them word as quick as you can. Voicemail, email, whatever you have to do just make sure you don't blow them off and further perpetuate the "recruiters never get back to me"

Ok, those are just a few of my quick thoughts on "Smart and Gets Things Done" by Joel Spolsky. Again, I highly recommend you give this book a read. It's a really short and easy read, maybe a day or two. Most of what this book says is great, I don't agree with 100% of Joel's conclusions, but that's what makes hiring and recruiting great as you can do lots of different things and still get great results.

You can learn more about Joel and his work at www.joelonsoftware.com or follow him on Twitter (@spolsky)

Finally, Joel if you read this, we've never met but I would love to chat sometime and pick your brain on recruiting!

What's a resume anyway?

2009-06-21T16:20:00.000-07:00

A lot of people ask me for advice on resumes, especially with the current job market being so difficult. It's made me think, what exactly is a resume and what makes a "good one".

Here is what Wikipedia has to say: "A resume is a document that contains a summary or listing of relevant job experience and education. The resume or CV is typically the first item that a potential employer encounters regarding the job seeker and is typically used to screen applicants, often followed by an interview, when seeking employment."

So, really a resume is just the first step in the process of getting a job...you're first impression if you will. If you think about it then, the goal of the resume is NOT to get you a job! Your interview performance will determine if you get the job or not. The resume gets you in the door, that's it, nothing more. A great resume gets you the interview...a bad one gets you "filed". Making sense? So this is easy right? Any resume that gets you an interview is a good one. If you are looking to write a great resume here are a few tips/tricks to help you build that perfect resume:

1) Focus on your strengths - Go to Harvard? Working at a top company? Received a Rhodes scholarship? Put it near the top of your resume! Most recruiters have about a minute to review your resume but make the decision if you're resume is "good" in about 15 seconds. Based on that, why put your "best" experience at the bottom of your resume! If you have great experience or education, don't bury it beneath a bunch of useless information. If the goal of this document is to get you the interview, show people you have the experience and show them early. Don't wait until the end of the resume to tell people you went to Harvard or MIT....it might be too late.

2) Customize It - Use the same resume for every job application but can't figure out why no one calls you back? Is your resume the job search equivalent of spam? If you don't customize your resume for each situation, you are selling yourself short. Every job is different, so every application and resume should be customized for that unique opportunity. This requires a lot of work but it will pay off. Read the job description and then develop your resume to show the employer that you are worth an interview.

3) Details, Details and More Details - I read a ton of resumes that have no detail and are filled with keywords. Conventional wisdom says recruiters and HR professionals only look at keywords. Not true. When I read a resume I'm looking for reasons to interview the candidate. Leaving out details is the biggest mistake I see when reading resumes.

Who would you want to interview if you read these two sentences?

- Developed application to help track customer satisfaction

- Wrote 12,000 lines of Java on a Linux platform to develop web application to track customer satisfaction.

Exactly...so, if something is worth mentioning on your resume than it's probably worth adding a few details and making sure that when someone reads it they think, "Hey, I want to interview this person". That is after all, the goal.

4) Keep it short and sweet - Make sure your resume isn't a novel. No one and I repeat no one wants to read a 15 page resume. I've seen them, and can tell you by the end of page two my eyes are glazed over. You want your resume to be somewhere between a page and maybe three pages maximum. Lots of people will tell you that if you are fresh out of school you should have a one page resume - I disagree. If you have a bunch of internships or great experience, write a two page resume! At these same time, if you have ten years of experience don't write a ten page resume. Make your resume crisp and to the point. Use this document to tell your potential employer you're worth an interview. If you have to add a "Previous Experience" section to keep it short, do it! Most recruiters and HR people only care about your last few jobs and most recent experience....no one cares that you were a hall monitor in High School...trust me.

5) Email Only Please - It's 2009 people, I know you'll hear that sending in a paper copy makes you unique. Not really. Most companies use some sort of applicant tracking software, sending in a hard paper copy of your resumes means someone will have to scan it and then manually enter that into the system. Now, if the goal here is to get an interview than making more work for the gatekeeper is about the worst thing you could do! So, don't listen to people who tell you to mail in a resume - email it. If you want to impress someone with your eagerness, than figure out the email and send it to them directly. It's much more personal than applying online and is way more effective than killing a tree.

That's it, just a few random thoughts on doing a great resume. But remember, the resume is about getting you in a door. Make your resume relevant and readable because like they say you can only make a first impressing once!

Let me know if you want some tips on making your resume "Great!"

Welcome to my blog and a few quick thoughts!

2009-06-04T18:08:00.000-07:00

This is my first attempt a real blog to talk about recruiting, professional networking, how to search for a job and other random topics. I'm open to any tips or recommendations on things I should discuss! I hope you enjoy!

I'll start with a few tips on how to maximize your professional network, especially if you are in the middle of a job search!

1) Are you REALLY using LinkedIn?

Most people are NOT using these tools to their full potential. If you are serious about building your network you should be actively connecting to college friends, former colleagues, that guy you met on your last flight home from Aruba and anyone else who you've met that might be a potential lead. Just because someone doesn't work in your industry, doesn't mean they don't know people that might want to hire you. Be proactive, make connections and search through your extended network...I think you'll be surprised how many great people just a connection or two away!

2) Facebook is for kids

Um, no it's not...plenty of recruiters and managers are joining groups and working through their network to find future employees. Join Alumni groups, interest groups and reach out to people work at places that interest you. You've heard of Eric Barker right? Great story of thinking outside of the box and using a tool like Facebook to enhance your search. Full article on Eric is here - http://www.ere.net/2009/05/27/mba-grad-seeks-job-with-microsoft-posts-ad-on-facebook/

3) Follow up with people, especially those who offer to help you network!

I tell almost every candidate I talk to to "keep in touch! If can help you out in the future, let me know." How many people actually follow up? Very few. When someone offers to become a networking contact for you, use them! Connect to them on social networks, keep in touch with them and leverage their network too! Recruiters and other serious networkers may not help you in your search today, but overtime may help you find your next great gig.....trust me on this one.

4) Old-School Press the Flesh Networking is still extremely effective

People think because of the popularity of social networking,they don't need to attend industry events or alumni networking session anymore.....um, WRONG! Technology will never replace the experience of a face to face chat or a shared laugh at a conference. You really have to get out to these events, meet people and then incorporate them into your network. Don't stand against the wall being shy either, everyone is there for a reason...NETWORKING.

5) Keep an open mind

Talk to anyone who might have a job for you. It doesn't matter what that job is, just get out there and talk to people. If nothing else, you can use these conversations and interviews to fine tune your interviewing skills so when you do get an interview for the PERFECT job....you'll be ready to knock that interview out of the park! A wise man once told me, "As long as you have options you'll be ok." He's right, don't close doors before you take the time to make sure it's not the right opportunity for you.

That's it for tonight, I'll try to post more this weekend.....if you like what you read - find me on Linkedin, Twitter, etc and get me into your network!

Jeff