Success!!!

After having dinner with a good friend of mine, this weekend, I have to say, I am encouraged that this blog was a good idea!!

She shared with me that she has been reading this blog recently, while also undertaking a job search of her own.  She directly reached out to an HR contact on LinkedIn, who worked at a company she wanted to work at.

She joined a group that this person was in, and then messaged this HR Manager directly, saying something along the lines of:

" Dear _______, 

I have been looking at your company's website, but haven't seen anything that matches my experience and background.  I am interested in working at (insert company name here), and hope you don't mind me reaching out to you directly, in case you may know of an opportunity which is a fit for my experience within your business. 

Thank you for your time, and I look forward to hearing from you, 

(insert your name here)

(insert your contact info here)"

This kind of a personal note - (yes... you have to make it your own and NOT copy and paste my note....) - really appeals to the HR Managers, as it's not pushy, but direct, and it allows them to have more access to people who are interested in working for their business.  Even if they don't get back to you... what can it hurt?

My friend got a call back, and is getting an interview this week!!! :)  

Hopefully you have some success too, and please feel free to share any ideas you have on here as comments... 

Setting yourself up for success - with Recruiters

Ok... how many of you have had a bad experience with an External Recruiter, or have no idea how to engage External Recruiters to help them in their job search??

It can be confusing, and I am not going to apologize for my counterparts in the industry;  goodness knows I'm guilty of a faux pas or two myself when it comes to candidate management.  What I can say is that there are a few things you need to know when opting to pursue a job through an Recruitment Agency, or an Executive Search Firm, and that Recruiters often get a bad rap, based on somewhat unreasonable expectations... by candidates.

Most Recruiters have a short attention span...
We usually have a mild form of ADD - well.... at least every Recruiter that I've met! :)  haha
Remember how the Hiring Managers are having to sift through hundreds and thousands of applications to get to YOUR resume?  Well -  times that by.... a lot!, and that's the life of an External Recruiter.  They have to be able to remember hundreds of people in an instant - on demand, and they must be able to leap over tall buildings, in a single bound! (oops wrong story)...  But seriously.... it's quite often all about meeting/speaking with people "just in case your dream job lands on their desk" ....and it could.... really.... I promise! :)

Recruiters are often terrible at returning calls, and they are bombarded with emails and candidates requesting help.  BUT they usually only get compensated for saving the world... if they make that elusive placement.  I am not trying to make it sound like a terrible job....it is a very difficult sales job, but one of the best jobs out there:

• We get to meet some amazing people who share their most personal and interesting experiences with us - so we're really smart! haha
• Helping someone land their dream job is awesome! (and that person is usually eternally grateful.... right?)
• It's a very sociable industry, so we often attend a lot of industry events to network with people
• We get to be on the phone all day... (for any parents who can't get their teenagers off the phone... we may have just discovered their calling?)

The reason I'm sharing all of this with you - the job seeker - is so that you don't set yourself up for disappointment, by expecting that every Recruiter you meet with is going to get you a job, and dedicate their time to finding a job for you - if they don't already have a client who needs your skill set.  Also - let's not forget that Recruiters aren't paid anything by the candidates; so in essence this is a free service, to you the job seeker... don't mis-use it!

Think of finding a Recruiter as going fishing.....

• Start by getting yourself out there on the lake in your boat, and see who nibbles; LinkedIn, Workopolis, Monster, or target a few recruitment agencies directly.
• If the Recruiters start biting, be selective which ones are going to be best suited to help you with YOUR search... look for someone who has relevant vacancies in their current or recent portfolio, and who seems to understand the essence of what you can bring to the table.  Look for firms which specialize in your area of expertise.  This person/firm is going to be your sales/marketing arm of your job campaign, so they better understand the product=YOU!
• Play it cool.... you want the big fish right?  If you fill your boat with a bunch of guppies, you won't have room for the big fish when you hook it;   Recruiters will want to meet you face to face (if possible)... if they don't request the face to face - ask yourself if this person is really invested in my job search?... and if you go meet with every Recruiter who calls you, you could end up wasting a LOT of "sick days" which you may need for the actual job interviews!!!
• When you land a few "big fish".... ensure you invest in the relationship, and arm that recruiter with the right information they will need to be able to sell you to their clients.  This may be a long term investment in your job search; I usually tell candidates, that if you're not appropriate for the roles we're working on currently, the hour you spend sitting down with me will be a down-payment on a future job we work on together.  Investing in the relationship with your Recruiter DOESN'T mean calling them on a weekly (god forbid daily!) basis when you have no open roles on the go with them.  They have hundreds of calls to answer per day - after all!   A little email to tell them you're alive and still looking every other week, or month, is about all you need to do to stay top of mind.  Don't worry - when the Recruiter has a job they think you're a fit for..... they're never going to stop calling you! :)

Recruiters are your allies 

Use Recruiters strategically - you remember my post about being one of thousands of people who are throwing their resumes into the abyss (i.e. the internet application??)  The value a recruiter can bring to your search is that they are able to (if you are appropriate for a job), put your resume on the top of the pile.... literally

Hiring Managers / HR / Corporate Recruiters are so overwhelmed with the volume of response they  get from candidates sometimes, that they will also engage search firms to find them passive and active candidates such as yourself - AT THE SAME TIME!  Not always... but it's one of those "sod's law" things....

Impatience can lead to frustration

My biggest pet peeve as a Recruiter is when my candidates don't check in with me before applying to every job on the internet.  (Again... I bring you back to my previous post about blasting the market with your resume... instead of being creative!)  One of your creative options for applying for positions online... is to check in with your Recruiters out there, who know you, and who you've developed a relationship with - BEFORE applying to an online posting.  Unless your resume screams "perfect match", often you will be overlooked in the pile.  If your Recruiter IS working on the very same position as you just applied to, and they call you 10 mins later to chat with you about this great role, that they think you're ideal for.... well.... sorry to say it.... you've just snookered yourself.  The Recruiter won't be able to do a thing for you - it becomes a conflict of interest, and you have to hope and pray that the hiring manager finds you in that pile.

Share your good and bad experiences with recruiters with me... Again I won't apologize or take any blame for the bad experiences.... :)

3 little interview questions

I have talked a lot about the need to be creative, and focus your presentation on the skills that hiring companies are looking for.  Of course, everyone has a unique skill set to bring to the table, so I don't suggest you homogenize yourself to appear the same as everyone else; you definitely need to showcase some of what makes you special too!

One of my favorite Strategic Hiring Managers (who I would consider an excellent interviewer and people reader), once told me that he looked for 3 things in an interview which would compel him to hire the person (once he had determined whether the person could DO the job):

1. Do I like this person?  Would I /the team want to be social with them?
2. Does this person bring a skill set to our team/company - that we don't already have?
3. Where do I see this person going next in our company; Is this person promotable?

As you can see, none of these are easy to pin point down into one single answer.  To impress this particular interviewer, you would have to have displayed these qualities throughout the course of the interview.

How do you prepare for this?  You are essentially preparing to present something you should know really well - YOURSELF.  Some may think that they can wing it.  We do know that being over rehearsed can seem unnatural, so you don't want to overdo it.  

You spend more time at work than you do with your family/friends at home.    

So it's understandable why interviewers try to ensure that they also enjoy the people they work with!  We go through long courting periods with people who we date, before we marry them; months, even years before we decide if it's a good long term fit.  We spend more awake time in our jobs, with our co-workers, so how can we possibly choose the right fit of a person in a 1-5 hour interview process?  Well, it's a risk, and I guess why companies have "probationary periods".... but you can make sure that you put your best foot forward, and be likable in the interview!  Easiest technique... 

SMILE, and be engaged in the process, like you're actually happy to be there, and looking forward to the job!

Next - pick 2-3 core values / skill sets you feel are you best,  and really try to make sure that they come across in the interview.  No matter how stock standard the Q&A is,  you have the opportunity to inject your style into your answers, and ensure your core traits are demonstrated.  (2-3 is a good number to focus on - otherwise you could try to over-do it.)  Do your research on the company, and see if you can find out what qualities the business usually looks for in new hires.

Project the desire to be more, and your desire to progress in your career.  Career being the operative word here.  You don't want to scare a company, by having them believe you are already looking towards your next position in their company; most companies have a 2 year (minimum) plan for you to be in the role you are interviewing for in order for them to get the best performance / return on training investment from their employees:

Having a vision of growth in your roles over time is good to display to your future employer too - but just don't appear impatient.  Very few people want to hire someone into their business who is hoping to be stagnant.  

Even if you find yourself sitting across from the most novice interviewer, this prep will do you no harm!

Just wear the suit already!!!

Where did this notion of casual being OK for an interview setting come from anyway?!!?


I get asked by about 50% of the candidates I send on interview... "do I have to wear a suit?"


(I am at risk of using too many exclamation points in this post... so please forgive me if it feels as though I'm yelling at you) :)
YES you have to wear a suit!  Why wouldn't you!?   We all know that most offices are moving towards a "business casual" model, but that's once you've actually gotten a job, and it totally depends on the business.   So let's have a look at the diagram below: (courtesy of a conference website - great idea to give people a sense of comfort before attending a big event)

You only have one chance to make a first impression.

Men: I would recommend a minimum of a Business attire, but if you've got the goods - go Formal.

Women:  I definitely recommend Business attire.  Skirt / Pants... up to you...

Invest in a good Dry Cleaning before you go to your interview. 

Shoes... 

• comfort - no 4" heels - if you're regularly a flats girl... you don't want to be walking like a horse, and looking awkward as your first impression... I don't care HOW cute the stilettos are.
• no winter boots! make sure to switch out your boots for a business shoe before entering the building / in the washroom before you go to the office.   It's not appropriate to track snow into someone's office, and it could distract your audience, especially if you are interviewing in an arm chair - without a table to hide your feet under!

The goal is to have people paying attention to you, not your clothes.  And though a lot of offices/professionals will be business casual when you go meet with them for an interview, YOU don't want to assume anything about them.  Wouldn't it be the worst, if the ONLY reason you didn't get a job.... was because the interviewer didn't like that you weren't wearing a suit??

Candidates do the darndest things...
I have had hiring managers tell me the most heartbreaking reasons why they discount candidates.  These may seem like common sense, but I can tell you - I know the people who did this, and they were very smart.... don't let this be you!

• "Candidate came into the interview with a Tim Horton's coffee in hand, and sipped away at it for the whole interview... if he'd offered to bring us coffee too, then that may have been acceptable... but he didn't"
• Director level candidate, went to an interview in an international head office, wearing a wrinkle shirt (remember those?!? - funnily enough I couldn't even find a pic like I wanted... that's how out those shirts are! AAAND - please note how genius the translation is on this website! :) hahaha)
• "Great candidate, but he tracked mud all through our office with his big winter boots, and didn't apologize, or even seem to notice... this kinda made us question his respect for our space and property."

Update that wardrobe...

This is essential.  You may not have been looking for a job, for over 10-20 years, and perhaps you have always worked in a business casual environment.  So your suit section of the wardrobe is, shall we say... lacking something current?  Men really luck out when it comes to this, as most suits are classic, and unless there's a fit issue, you should be able to wear the same one from 10 years ago without anyone noticing.  

I understand that if you're currently looking for a new job - especially if you are unemployed - that this is NOT the time to go out and purchase a new wardrobe.  HOWEVER... you just can't pull off that  80's / 90's look, if you want to be taken seriously: 

Vixens of their time... we just can't pull off this look anymore :(

More current, and can be oomphed up with a different color shirt.

If you are going to be going on a number of interviews, then a classic, timeless suit is going to pay off, and will hopefully also see you through many a corporate event, function, or wedding? :)  Here's a great custom tailoring company I found in Toronto.... for someone as tall as I am this is a great option  Women's Custom Suits, or http://savillian.com/

If you just cannot justify investing in the suit, please do consider you have other options:

• Dress for Success (International, with operations in US, UK, Canada and more - for women)
• Career Gear (only in the US I think... please let me know if you find any other orgs who are based in Canada for men.

Similar charitable organizations exist out there, and can have a very positive effect on your career search!  These organizations are always looking for volunteers too, and this is a fantastic place where those of us who are employed can give back... :)

To summarize.... put your best foot forward, and dress for the job you want; don't give a hiring manager any reason to be distracted from why you're the candidate they want to hire!

Resume writing; Where to start.... where to start!!??

The first step is to admit that you have a problem.  This problem stems from the lack of practice, and experience that most job seekers have, in actually composing a resume. (well hopefully you're not a career job seeker!)   Running a marathon isn't easy for someone who has only gone on one or two runs in their lifetime either.... so the good news is that no one is expecting you to be good at resume writing.... or are they?  

OK - so we know that you're a novice at this... but not all is lost.  You still have one MAJOR advantage going for you.... you know this subject inside outside upside down; the subject is YOU.  :) 

Try to see your resume as a piece of art - it's personal and original.  There are so many formats, and layout options to choose from, but formats are just the framing... if the painting isn't well composed, your frame could be the fanciest nicest frame in the whole world,  but the painting is still awful.  Therefore I suggest that people start with the composure and the content, before worrying about which font / layout to use. 

Building the Content:

Your resume isn't meant to be a list of responsibilities, or duties you've had.... those are the JOBs you were assigned.  Your resume is meant to be a snap shot of the experience you gained / projects you were part of, and the achievements you made in your various roles / career.  How did you do at your job?... as opposed to what you were assigned to do.  So don't just copy your job descriptions into your resume... please!

Start by writing a short summary of each role you've had, (3-4 lines).... which encompasses the scope of your role, the volume of work you were focused on, and the most important functions you managed / performed overall.  Then you can add some additional bullet points highlighting things which you did above and beyond or which sit outside of your assigned scope of responsibility.

THEN put a few key accomplishments in to really showcase your ability to achieve results, and show your future employer the value you can bring to their organization.  These accomplishments should/can be be tailored to suit each company / job you are pursuing.

Tips:

• Think about how your success was measured in each role; was it by volume? Percentage increase? Reductions in volume? etc.  If these values were positive, make sure you include them in your resume.  (a resume with NO numbers, can be concerning....)
•  Also - ensure if you're using numbers in your resume, that they give the reader a sense of the before / after effect you had on that task... i.e. "saved a million dollars" ... vs.... "with a cost savings target of $500,000, was able to save $1 Million dollars, by improving the current process, and reducing inventory waste".  (this will wow your readers!)
• If you had direct reports, mention how many, and if they spanned over a wide group of teams, make sure to name drop a few of the teams you managed too - sometimes titles can be very underwhelming and they don't really give your reader a true depiction of the breadth of your responsibility.  If you didn't have direct reports, try this: "liaised with Sales, Marketing, Finance, etc. to ensure ______ result."

The Result:

If you do this for each role, and just get it down on paper, you will now be able to summarize your experience quickly in an interview format, and formulate relevant examples upon request too!  Practice makes perfect!  The Interviewer will think you're fabulous because you have organized your experience for them, in a relevant easy-to-read way, and you can answer their questions without that awkward.... 

This exercise of re-thinking your resume, is FAR better than practicing all those interview questions that you can read online... or should at minimum, be used in combination with that method of preparation.  You may think you know all of your experience, and could draw it from your memory at will, but you'd be surprised how far a little memory refreshing will go in making you seem more polished, prepared, and confident!

This process is painful for everyone.

The pain is mutual; hiring managers don't like this much more than you do.  If you see a job posting online, or in the newspaper, you are seeing someone's plea for help.  Someone somewhere is over worked!  They need help, and they have convinced their company to allow them to hire someone to alleviate some of their workload.   On top of all this work, they now have to find more time in their constricted schedule,  to interview a group of people and hopefully select a fabulous person who is going to solve all of their problems.

Interviewing (by the way)  is also a task most hiring managers have never been trained in, and have very little comfort doing.  Then they have to convince a group of their peers and counterparts to agree on their choice of candidate, and then they have to negotiate to ensure they secure the candidate for a reasonable salary.  This is a formidable amount of work for someone who is already overworked.

Try to understand the sort of person you're going to be meeting when you apply for jobs, who's problem you are trying to solve, and who you are going to be sitting across from when you interview.  If you put yourself in their shoes, it's kinda like imagining the audience in their underwear! :)  You can see that they are usually as vulnerable as you are, and are just looking to solve a problem...

What NOT to do - when sending online applications

Another close friend of mine confided that when he graduated from University, he sent out hundreds (to the tune of 800+) web applications to any and every job he saw online. 

When I asked him “how did that go over?!”

He responded “I didn’t get one interview, and I received one scolding email from someone asking me if I had even read the job description!  I think it was for a CEO position (smug grin)”

This is something that a lot of people think is totally acceptable; the theory of “throwing spaghetti against the wall and hoping some sticks”.  I strongly disagree, as would most other good recruiters out there.   Be selective about the opportunities you apply for, ensure you are somewhat qualified for the roles, and also tailor your information to suit the requirements of the role.  If you have multiple skill sets (i.e. sales and also production), ensure you have a resume focused on each, and submit accordingly.  It’s not lying, but instead, giving your reader / interviewer the information which they are most interested in, before they find out all the goodness you bring to their team / organization!

Remember - Differentiate yourself from the thousands of other people out there!!!

Take it personally!

A few years ago, my good friend Pete decided to go about resume distribution the “old fashioned way”… He set out on the streets, with a fistful of resumes, and a bag of tricks... AKA root vegetables?  At each location he’d leave a resume and a root vegetable (turnip, carrot, potato, etc.)


When I asked him,  “how did that go over?!” 
He responded,  “I got two callbacks, and one interview!”

I can only imagine the look on the hiring manager’s face when receiving a parsnip with a resume attached.  :)



for any of you hiring managers who like Peter’s creativity, I'd be happy to send you his resume :)



One of the most common topics of complaint I hear as a recruiter is that the internet application process is SO impersonal!   

"How do I differentiate myself from my competition on paper?!"

… Clearly I am not suggesting you submit a vegetable with your resume, or pink scented resumes (like Reese Witherspoon in Legally Blonde).  :)

BUT - If you do the same thing as everyone else, the same way as thousands of job seekers, you are going to fade into the masses. We all need to think a little more creatively about how to get our information out there in this day and age.



Personally I love the fact that Peter took the initiative to do something different; it shows that he thinks outside the box, that he’s creative, is a bit of a risk taker, and is confident.  These are qualities that are   typically desirable,  that are also difficult to demonstrate on paper. 


(I’ll give you more information about how to get your personality across on paper - soon!)

LinkedIn - your network advantage

Yesterday I was at Ryerson University in Toronto, to give a presentation to the 2011 MBA graduates from the Ted Rogers School of Management on the importance of LinkedIn to their job search. I thought this would be a great jumping off point for this column, and YOUR job search!!

LinkedIn is your 9-5 professional networking tool vs. Facebook is typically your evenings / weekends social networking tool.

When you are actively looking for a new job, using LinkedIn is one of your best options.  Some of the core reasons why professionals choose LinkedIn:

• to provide future employers a snap shot of who you are beyond your resume
• to connect with professionals who are relevant to your industry and specialization
• to directly reach out to hiring managers and other professionals about open vacancies
• to leverage your network of past and current colleagues and their networks too

When you have a job and are not actively looking for work, LinkedIn is a fantastic way to continue to build your professional network, and become what we call a passive job seeker.

Getting started:

It's OK if you haven't already got a LinkedIn account... it's not uncommon for the average professional who has been steadily employed for the past 5+ years.  The important thing is to start building your profile, and ensure you keep active on the site, to maximize your exposure to the recruiters and hiring managers out there who ARE using this tool on a regular basis.  Begin by building your basic profile, and then add a few connections; these should be people who you've worked closely with, who know you, as you are going to have to request that they add you as a connection.  If you start asking people who have no idea who you are to become connections, you may have your account locked down.  It's a three strikes and you're out system... then you will have to haggle with LinkedIn to get communication back.  

The idea is - that you are connected to their connections now, and so on.  (For more information on how LinkedIn works click here.)

Here's a snapshot of my Network Statistics, which shows how powerful this tool is!

Some of the best FREE features for both active and passive job seekers to take advantage of are:

• GROUPS:  Joining industry groups, special interest groups, and alumni groups are one of the easiest ways to instantly expand your network, and your ability to reach out to people on LinkedIn directly.  This is MY personal favorite feature, and one I drive a LOT of positive activity out of.  While typically you can only message people directly if you are a 1st degree connection, when you share a group with someone, you can reach out to them directly.  You can join up to 50 groups, and you can elect to show the groups on your profile, or not, depending on your desire for privacy.  I suggest showing the groups; this way a hiring manager who wants to reach you, can see what groups you're in, and if they really want to reach out, they can join that group too - allowing them to send you a message without having to pay for an InMail.  I also suggest you turn off the group daily digest options... unless you want to be bombarded by daily emails.   As this is a professional networking tool, try to restrain yourself from  joining the "I love shoes" groups... :)

Example of a few of my groups

• ADVANCED SEARCH:  This is the jumping off point - to search for anyone or any company, or a list of people who share the same job title, or professionals who have common experience, etc.   Play around with this feature to get a handle on the capabilities.  Remember... if there's someone you want to get in touch with, but you're not connected to them, you should first check to see if they're in any groups that are relevant to you; if so, join the group and try sending them a message directly (free!).

Why LinkedIn?

Companies are starting to invest some of  their "recruitment budget" (which would typically be allocated towards Monster and Workopolis), and have now started spending money on LinkedIn.  They are also looking for a different way to screen candidates; On Monster and Workopolis, when a hiring professional posts a job, they get hundreds... even thousands of applications, that they then have to labouriously screen through.  That takes a LOT of time, and sometimes they don't even review all of the applicants!  

Wouldn't you rather be on the short list that hiring managers are reviewing, than the bottomless pile of resumes they are dreading screening through?

Hopefully you found this post helpful, or insightful.... I welcome any additional questions or opinions you may have about LinkedIn.  (I don't work for LinkedIn, nor do I pay them for their services...)

Welcome to your new full time job!

It's hard work getting a job. Most of us hate the process of searching through a seemingly endless list of vacancies,  and let's be serious.... no one likes sending their resume into the abyss for their dream job, never to hear back from the internet trolls who so closely guard dream jobs these days.  I know very few people that genuinely enjoy going on interviews, and unless they actually get the job they're interviewing for, most aren't pleased with the process either.  

I can't solve all the problems with job searching, but I hope I will be able to lend you some perspective, and help you set some reasonable expectations for yourself which may make the whole process a little less painful.