Elephants in Your Search!

Are you ready to face up to the obstacle[s] in your way? Have you noticed that when you are in a group [small or large] and a common problem/issue is staring you all in the face, how no-one will stand up and say – 'Hey I want to know how to deal with that Elephant! So it does not become a permanent obstacle' and you look around the room and see lots of others give a veritable sigh of relief…

Let me remove one of the biggest 'Elephants' for you – TIME - job search is a full time job! If you are not investing 40+ hours per week [assuming you are un employed and a Active Job Seeker] or 10+ hours per week [if under employed or Passive Job Seeker] then you are only playing at the game – knock that elephant out of your mind and get to it!

So what other Elephants are you encountering? The list is endless and so I have simplified some main categories:

ATTITUDE: your un-willingness to do what is required by others to successfully enter the marketplace [or in layman's terms – I have always done it/used it/applied it this way and am not going to change it]

POSITIONING [1]: to observe, adapt and fit into the cultural environment of the new company/position/industry/state/country and to bring value that others need time to see [their elephant is the resistance to see]

POSITIONING [2]: using the same resume/cv/script for every position/company/industry

POSITIONING [3]: not fully engaging and embracing social tools and search tools to position yourself for success [fear that a social footprint will lead to identity theft]

POSTURING: un-preparedness to be flexible in your 3 key criteria – What / Where / How Much [3 Legged Stool analogy]

COMPREHENSION: the failure to read, listen and hear what is being asked for/said and to learn and include the words, terms, tools, techniques into your conversation [written or verbal]

ASSUMPTION [1]: the pre-conception that the reader of your resume/cv/profile will be able to interpret what you say into what they require

ASSUMPTION [2]: the whole world knows you are seeking a new job because you told the next door neighbor [or you posted your resume/cv to local job board]

ASSUMPTION [3]: that networking is effective when you turn up and make an appearance

EGO: that you are alone and nobody else can possibly know you so how can they provide help/support/assistance

So let the elephant hunting begin! With practise you will overcome the obstacles [elephant/s] blocking your future success.

Recruiter [Men] Behaving Badly?

Many challenges face the industry and profession of Recruiting!  From the effective and beneficial use of Social Media to attract, engage and interact with both companies and individuals...

too the Cowboys [not politically correct but you will see my point shortly] who work in the space and claim to be 'Recruiters' and operate unethically, inappropriately and without remorse for their behaviour/actions/activities...

Who is at fault for the following Tale of Woe?  You tell me your opinion - I have mine.

Since arriving in Canada in 1998, I have practiced my art of 'Recruiting' and the applied the process of 'Recruitment' to the highest moral, ethical and respectful standards possible - IMHO.  As the industry and process is not Nationally Regulated, but Self-Regulated by such associations as ACSESS, NAPS, APR and in direct competition with the recruitment practices as defined by the regulated body HRPA, it is paramount those who work and practice in the recruiting/staffing marketplace do so correctly, ethically and respectfully - as the saying goes - 'We should all sing from the song-sheet and to the same tune'.  After several infamous companies / organizations in 2004 were caught and punished for misuse of personal data/information, mis-representation and down right fraud - I thought the industry and profession had seen the light and got rid of the 'Bad Boys'.

So the tale: Last week [February 2014] there I was sitting quietly searching away for that elusive needle in a haystack and the phone rings -

"Hello John its Gary XXXXX [name changed to protect the innocent], do you have a minute I have a situation and don't know what to do?"

" Hi Gary, certainly, no problem, what seems to be the problem"

"Well - I had a call from someone [MALE] who says they are a Recruiter from a company in Toronto, located on Bay Street, who specialize in IT and staffing.  They sent my resume/profile to a company located in Waterloo and the company want to meet with me!" - long pause...

"That's great news Gary! - so what's the problem?"

"I don't know who this recruiter is, I have never talked to them before, never sent them my resume for anything before and certainly did not give them permission to represent me."

"As you know John, I only work with people I know and who know me!" - "I [Gary] have told the recruiter to give me details of the company/position and I will check them and opportunity out and get back to HIM - that was an hour ago and HE has called me back twice asking when I am going for the interview and what is the problem - HE is very pushy, in fact RUDE and I feel THREATENING".

"John, is this normal and acceptable practice today for Recruiters to find and present and claim to represent a candidate for a job without talking with them, AND getting permission to represent them? And then to harass you to go for an interview?"

"Absolutely NOT Gary - I can't believe someone would do this TODAY and they are not a Professional Recruiter, please don't tar all of us with the same brush."

"Gary - quick question - How or where did HE get your resume/profile and contact details to present you in the first place?"

"HE got it from my On-Line information and portfolio - he openly admitted it and said it was the companies normal practice"

The conversation continued and I appraised Gary of my thoughts and opinions and even suggested a course of action to take...  2 days later Gary called me back, he had just returned from the interview, the Hiring Manager had asked him [Gary] to send in some samples of work 'directly' to him and not the recruiter, and to go back in on Monday for a 2nd interview with himself, HR and a VP.

So my questions to you:

What would you have advised Gary to do?
Who is at fault - Gary for having his information On-Line, or the Recruiter for presenting it with out permission?
What should the company do upon learning of this [philosophy] practice by the staffing firm and so-called recruiter?

The Professionals Trifector - Emotional / Disruptive / Constructive

Courtesy of commons.wikimedia.org

Passion, knowledge, desire and ability are key components for any good professional. Emotion can be disruptive yet constructive in the eyes, mind and opinion of others who do not have the same level or degree of passion for the profession.


I have used the Urban spelling of 'Trifector' rather than the conventional spelling Trifecta 

[definition - "a type of bet, especially on horse races, in which the bettor must select the first three   finishers inexact order"] - mind you for recruiting I wonder if the later would be more appropriate?

The ramblings below are aimed at HR/Hiring Managers, ATS developers/programmers/analysts, Recruiters, Job Seekers (passive or active), Business decision makers - If you allow the status quo of today to frame the actions of tomorrow you are setting yourself for a fall - I can think of several famous Canadian Technology companies who prove this point.  

Job Seekers are at the forefront of change and are often the Change Agents, through the application of Emotional Intelligence by considering Disruptive Influences and driving Constructive Change, in present and future activities of talent engagement and interaction.  Shouldn't HR/Recruitment Professionals be taking the reins to ensure they lead in the race and win the Triple Crown [Engagement, Interaction and Selection] ?

EMOTIONAL Intelligence (EI) - we have all encountered the professional who uses their educational or experiential knowledge or position within the organization [Group] to secure the outcome they require/desire by applying emotional driven arguments, with the outcome that the recipients of the argument allow the emotional pressure to overcome realistic objections [it used to be called emotional blackmail] - EI is by definition a trait those involved in recruiting [and job seekers to a certain extent] need to resist as the controlling actions associated with it.

DISRUPTIVE Influence (DI) - this is delivered by the person who is going to change the world [in their own mind at least].  They can use EI to disrupt and influence the outcome.  For businesses and those involved in influencing the strategic and operational effectiveness, have viewed Social Media / Social Recruitment as a DI, today's market place and used EI as the tool to resist change, the professionals who are exponents of SoMe/SoRec need to step up and use their EI to deliver effective DI.  Businesses and certain departments who are advising/guiding the business are basically resistance to...

CONSTRUCTIVE Change (CC) - is in every professionals life and businesses operations. The ability to keep up to-date with best practices and future developments in your professional field does not make you a Change Agent, just a professional who is capable of treading water. CC comes about from considering the numerous DI activities, applying EI to each one and then become the driving force behind CC as the Change Agent for the profession/business...


Question to ponder - If Infographics are being used increasingly, when will businesses permit a visual graphics of an individuals career [replace CV or resume] to be considered and processed by their ATS?  Just asking!!!

Do You apply Reciprocity to your Social Media activities?

Practice what you preach!  That is an old saying from my youth...And at a speaking engagement I had to  practice what I had just preached...

My presentation was to a group of local Job Seekers, Facilitators and Job Developers and 4 other excellent speakers - the title of the event was #UnJobsearchKW.   Being the last speaker, it was my task to pump the attendees up and provide them with some insight to what social media tools recruiters use in finding candidates.

After all the presentations were completed, an open forum took place, where each of the speakers availed themselves to the audience to answer questions more specific to the attendees needs...

One gentleman made a beeline for me and introduced himself as someone who had been trying to 'attract my attention' through various social media and traditional outlets, and sought my help with his job search.  Within a few seconds I recognized 'him' from his previous attempts to connect and asked why he had not returned my messages I had left for him previously (he had some excellent and in demand skills and experience).  He said "he only talked to people in person as he found that he had greater success that way".  He did say how much he enjoyed the shared information I put out on the various sites and that my presentation was very good, especially one particular slide:

So why did he 'only talk to people in person'?  Simple really - he has a severe hearing impairment and even with modern technology has found people on the phone mis-hears him or he mis-interprets what they say. One of the features I suggested he utilize is video calling [Skype or Google Hangout] either of these would all him to see and be seen by the interviewer.

So what does this have to do with 'Reciprocity'?  Not only had he seen information that had been shared by myself and others - to his benefit - but he had also heard the words and deeds put into action at the presentation and then shared his experience [challenges].  Reciprocity is 2-way, everyone must share knowledge, experience, views, opinions, thoughts, etc... with the wider world - you will never know who might 'see it' - but someone will.

May 2014 prove to be more reciprocal than 2013 - John

A Cautionary Tale - Mobile Messaging Apps

What you might say has 'Mobile Messaging Apps' to do with recruitment, sourcing or job seeking? [my usual topic/subject of area]

Let me explain, but must start with a location based bias for my recommendation at the end of this post...I live in the Waterloo Region of Ontario, Canada, home of Global HQ of Blackberry (formally RIM or Research In Motion) and despite the changes in the companies fortune - they are still technologically ahead of the competition for its secure messaging and email service.

Explanation by way of a question - What happens to your connections when you die, or change phone number?  Read this recent article "WhatsApp users are identified only through their phone number, rather than a user name."  and then yourself What if...?

The mobile space is growing and individuals and businesses are [if not already] engaging and interacting with customers, consumers, potential employees, etc... on their mobile device, so it is important that contact information and details are up to date, an App that by design fault, would provide incorrect data is a vulnerability for users and suitors alike.  Also, security is a concern - and the with the question [Just how much does big brother know about me from my digital footprint, messages, email, etc...?] hanging over our head - Is there a way to minimize the risk?


Security and cross platform compatibility has been the challenge up to now, with the launch of Blackberry Messenger [BBM] for Android and iPhone, this week - 10 million downloads already and growing - rumours are strong that BBM for Windows devices are close to release - a gaping hole has been filled in somewhat.

So, why does this make sense for recruitment, sourcing and job seekers - with BBM updates, status and information can be broadcast and viewed with your audience without needing to send a message, and when you do want to send a message, you can see when it has been delivered and subsequently read.  One of the downsides [but great security feature] is that if you change platform/devices/number you will need to get a new PIN and let your connections know - small price to pay me thinks...

If you are on BBM [no matter which device or platform] you can send me an invite to connect to my PIN: 284DE350

Happy BBM'ing and share the message and keep secure....

UPDATE 27/10/2013:
Thank to Jeff Lam, MSE for providing this service comparison table:

 

NO I WON'T PAY FOR YOUR TUITION!

Three times today I have talked with recent University graduates (Computer Science) and each one gave the same reason for their stated salary expectations....

"I had to pay a lot for my tuition and degree"

STOP IT people, do not use this reason for seeking ridiculously high starting salaries.

In addition, your 3 Co-Op/Internships of 4 months duration do not mean you have 3 years of experience so should be treated as a Intermediate or Senior Level candidate...and I do not care what your Professor or next door neighbour says you are worth - Industry and businesses will tell you different.

Several good ideas to prevent YOU [the 3 individuals and others who use the same flawed  thinking] joining or adding to the estimated 25% of under/not employed recent graduates is to be realistic in your salary expectations for not only your chosen discipline/profession, but also target business, geographical location and market value.

Recruiters are like...!

Find the right pair for you!

So you find yourself thinking about engaging with a 'Recruiter' and need some guidance as to who, where, what, when...

Recruiters are like Underwear!

• Some crawl up your arse - and annoy the hell out of you

• Some snap under pressure - and let you down

• Some don’t have the strength to hold you up – and leave you hanging around

• Some get a little twisted – and cause irritation

• Some are your favorite – they always work for you, with you and you know they are without checking

• Some are completely unsuitable – they look good on others, but not on you

• Some are cheap and plain nasty – they sell in bulk and don't care about fit or size

• And the good ones - cover your arse when you need them too!

So when you are looking to 'engage' a Recruiter, shop around, find ones that can meet your needs and 'fit' - ensuring that you are comfortable with them.

Photos courtesy of Photopin.com - under creative commons license.