Are you busy?

Your number one priority is to get a new job!!!  It's a full time job for you, and one that you are committed to every minute of the day - right??? (well within reason). 


So when you get a live person on the phone, or a lead on a job that you are interested in, you take action!  You storm the castle and you take no prisoners.   Good stuff!

JUST HOLD ON A SECOND...

You need to consider who you are contacting about this job, and what's on his / her plate.  A good candidate can spoil their chances of even being considered for a position, by being inconsiderate of the person they are approaching to help them acheive their goal.   Most recruiters have multiple priorities / jobs which they are working on at any given time.  

(One of my clients currently has 65 open jobs on her desk!)  

Recruiters are getting plenty of phone calls and emails from people daily to ask for a moment of their time, and they can't possibly get to everyone immediately. 

You want to catch them at the best time, ensuring you are being considered in the best possible light, and with the appropriate amount of attention being paid to your resume / file.   People aren't really good at mentally switching gears that quickly, so I suggest a quick  

"is now a good time for you?" or, " are you busy at the moment?" 

can really go a long way to capturing the right kind of attention.  

How not to become a stalker:

• Give someone time to respond to your call / message / email.  Hounding them is not going to win their favour.
• Email is a great way to stay top of mind, and get your name in front of a Recruiter's eyes (as opposed to filling their voice mail box daily
• Send a recruiter your resume before you call them, or launch into your story; I always like to have a resume in front of me when I am talking through someone's background, as I retain more info that way!
• Don't push your way into someone's office; if a Recruiter has time to meet you they will, and if they can't spare the time from their busy day, then don't push it!

Resume DON'T # 13,243

Once upon a time, I was searching on Workopolis.com for candidates, and came across someone who met some of the criteria in my search. 

I thought... "hmm this person looks good - I'll add them to my system and give them a call". 

As I was adding the resume to the system, I hit "select all" and "copy" (as you do...)

This particular candidate had quite a bit of white space at the bottom of their resume, which as it turns out... wasn't white space at all.  And of course when I highlighted everything the white space showed a giant paragraph.

The candidate had used white font, to include a quite elaborate text at the bottom of the resume, with intimate details of their life, etc.  It was QUITE long, and waaaay too personal.  Not sure if it was a mistake or not, but double check your resumes to ensure you didn't hit PASTE by accident!

Some things you just don't want to put on your resume.

To Contract... or not to Contract...?

So, I often get push back from candidates who are reluctant to take a contract, as they see this as a negative.  This could be a side-effect of the typical candidates who I work with - Supply Chain / Procurement professionals, who are paid the big bucks to be cost conscious and risk adverse for their companies.  Why then would I expect them to be willing and ready to jump into a short term engagement with little stability, and which has no benefits?  Well there are some great positives to the Contract world. 

Contracts are great when:

• you want to try out a different industry "You don't have food manufacturing experience".  This is a classic!  Companies stick to what they know, and they are reluctant to hire someone on a permenant basis with little "proven track record" of experience in their specific industry.  It's not rocket science... most of us are capable of picking up new industry idiosyncracies, but when a Contract opportunity is available, a business is usually more lenient on this "industry experience". 
• you are between engagementsShowing that you worked through a "lay-off" period, or similar, is better than being unemployed for 6-18 months.  If you have to take a step back / sideways, just to keep yourself busy, and current, then at least try to get some different exposures, so you are still learning. Companies want to know that you're not going to be rusty when they look to hire you for permenant gigs!
• you would like to gain more experience Companies are more likely to "forgive" some of the experience you don't have, when they are hiring on a contract basis, as they realise that they are in a position where not as many "ideal" candidates are going to be interested.  I am not suggesting you are a misfit if you take a contract, but it's a great way for you to expand your experience!  How many people have been turned down for great roles, given the reason that "you don't have the experience we're looking for".  HOW are you supposed to GET that experience if noone gives you the chance!?  - Contracts are how!
  

Some food for thought....

• Even permenant opportunities have 2 week notice clauses, and can end at any time
• Most full time permenant opportunities have a 3-6 month probationary period - at which point an employee has as much security / benefits as a contractor
• Contracts usually offer a higher compensation range compared to equivalent roles in the market
• A good employee is a good employee!  Most companies will try to keep someone who is a great fit for their team and their business needs.  If they are unable to extend / turn permenant your role, they will most likely be very happy to refer you to their colleagues, and will provide a great reference!

Try out Contracting... you may never look back!!!

Picture This!

One of the major questions I get from job seekers is whether they should post a picture of themselves on their LinkedIn profile, Twitter, etc. 

"Is this really going to help me in my job search?"  

"Someone could discriminate against me based on what I look like."   

"I have a baby face, and a photo could work against me in acheiving a role as a senior professional." 

etc.

I understand the reason for their concern, but would advocate the picture on LinkedIn / Twitter for a few big reasons:

1. LinkedIn is a networking site.  You are meant to have met these people if you are connecting to them, and or you are intending to meet with them at some point.  If you only met someone in passing at a live networking event, and that person would likely remember your face as opposed to your name, then the picture will ensure that they connect to you.  Also - for people you are only connecting to online, it's nice to put a face to a name, and it subconsiously allows that person to feel a more personal connection.  If you don't post a photo, you run the risk of people being able to say no quicker.

2. If you are looking for a job, and are qualified for the positions a company has available, it shouldn't matter what you look like.  If a company / individual at a company is going to discriminate against you based soley on your LinkedIn picture, then did you really want to work for them anyway????? (that's not the corporate culture I'd want to work within!)  Your experience will speak for itself.  As long as you have a PROFESSIONAL photo up, you're doing as much as you can.

tips for professional pictures - DIY style:

• Dress up - business casual or business attire should be worn... no tank tops, T-shirts, etc.  Guys.... golf shirt minimum.  You want your future employer to be able to envision you working for them.
• No sunglasses - even if you are on the golf course!  Again - this is supposed to be a professional networking photo.
• Head & Shoulders - not the shampoo (although that's not a bad idea either!)  - Make sure that your photo is only from the chest up - and ensure you're not showing too much cleaveage ladies!!
• No Logos- ok...so I am committing a major faux pas on my profile at the moment, as I have my company logo on there - to help promote the new brand launch... but guess what.... I'm not looking for a job at the moment!  YOU are.... so please do have your own picture up to ensure you are maximizing your personal brand exposure.
• Minimal Distractions - Try not to have too much going on in the background of your picture... if you are at a party, or wedding, it's not uncommon to see people drinking and carousing in the background... let's not have your future hiring manager thinking you're at a bar etc. (Also - try not to have photographs in the picture behind you)

Happy Snapping! :)

One for all you Procurement and Supply Chain people out there!

Here's my analogy for the day - Job Seeking and RFPs. 

If you've ever participated in an RFP process; either on the Client side, or the Vendor side.... you will get what I'm talking about here.

You recieve a job description from Company X...

Think of a job description as an RFP, that a company has put out there, hoping for vendors to respond with relevant information for their review.  They have a need, they have detailed the way that they want that pain fixed, and have asked for someone to show them skills that will satisfy that need.  They didn't just write down random bullet points; these are the functions that this role is responsible for, and skills which the company has had trouble finding someone to do.  Hence why they're looking for a new employee!

You send a resume...

If you were a vendor, responding to an RFP, you would ensure that you tailored your information to the requests specified by the company, perhaps accompanying that information with some additional benefits you can provide as a service / product offering.  Your resume is a dynamic document, which you can change, depending on the type of job you're going for. 

Most of us have more experience than we could ever capture on a 2-3 page resume; so what do you elect to put on this magical document which is meant to represent YOU?   Try to satisfy the points requested in the job description first, and then augment your resume with some additional skill sets you bring to the table, which are relevant to the company / department / function at hand. 

Company X recieves your resume and reviews it in comparison with their job description...

If you were in charge of reviewing a number of RFP responses - you would most likely only review the ones which answered the questions / gave you information which you had requested.  Otherwise, one could feel that the vendor didn't take your RFP seriously, or wasn't able to perform the function / service you had outlined as your need. 

As a candidate, please think about this... Recruiters have got a limited amount of time to go through resumes recieved via job postings.  They will look for ones which relate to the job posting, through titles, key words, and relevant examples outlined in the resume.  If you don't enhance your resume, and tweak the experience you have down on paper to suit the roles at hand, you are really leaving something on the table, and risking being seen as a serious candidate in consideration for the role you want.