Referral Required?

Whether it's fair or not, an employee referral is often the difference between getting your foot in the door of a company, or getting your resume thrown on the 'ignore' pile.

The New York Times posted an article on Sunday about this shift in hiring, using several large companies as examples. Referral programs are nothing new, but the trend has been to increase the number of new hires from referrals, at some companies up to 50 percent.

This seems to have the most negative impact on the long-term unemployed, as networks begin to shrink the longer a person is out of work. This is why it's important to remain active in job clubs, volunteer activities, and coffee dates with former (and hoped for) co-workers. The more active a person remains in their network, the more likely they are to get that often necessary referral for their next job. LinkedIn and other social media tools are other ways to get involved and stay visible in the market.

Working with a recruiter can also be a great way to get your name in front of the right hiring manager without necessarily knowing someone already inside the organization. Recruiters often have long relationships with their clients, and as such, their judgement is trusted when recommending someone for a position.

Once you're on the job, the 'what you know' side of things eventually takes over. But to get to that point, more and more it depends on who you know.

Good ‘N Plenty? No, Fabulous & Free!

We’re excited to share our latest effort to help jobseekers:

www.Mylandajob.com

This free, really, no-salesman-will-call, site is our effort to help jobseekers everywhere. It’s simple to sign up, easy to access tools for your job search, anonymous (naturally), and valuable. Did I mention it’s free?

The process is segmented into 3 parts: Preparation, Search & Connect, and Interview. Each of these areas contains 5 or 6 tabs to walk you through the process, like these:

*Assessments – again, free – find out what really trips your trigger
*Select: determine targets and your personal brand
*Resume/Cover letter/references – there’s a (free) resume builder, a resume review option and more (like a talking Career Wizard who encourages honesty)


There are some pieces you can choose to purchase, and only if you choose, and it won’t be a surprise. For instance, there’s a resume tune-up for only $59. There are other levels of resume re-write services that top out at $169 for a senior level jobseeker.

There are also (free) forms to help you, like an organizer (oh, joy! Have you really remembered to follow-up with every contact, every time, on-time?) and an interview de-brief form. There are video training clips, webinars (like “Objections are Buying Signs”), and one weekly email.

Here’s why we’re offering it: as recruiters for full-time positions and temporary staffing agents to the same clients, we are paid by the client companies who are hiring. And we can’t help every jobseeker as much as we’d like and remain in business. But most of us got into this work because we love helping great companies find great employees and vice versa. This career portal is our way of accomplishing that loftier goal.

The gates have opened ...

In the past couple of months, our inbox runneth over. We're averaging about 50% more resumes than we have in the past several years. It appears that jobseekers know the timing is right for a new job, or just a job, if they've been out of work. News sources have been warning companies that a lot of employees are unhappy and biding their time to make moves to new jobs. It appears they were right.

Digital traffic control is slowing down with this influx, so remember to re-attach your resume when corresponding with hiring managers or recruiters. This is especially helpful if you have followed the path of responding to a post and then are fortunate enough to have pull-through from a referral on the inside of the company.

There are new positions opening up every day, but most positions have narrow requirements and the line of qualified candidates is long, so make the effort to stand out from the crowd in a positive way.

Make it Easier for Them to Hire You

Heads up, job-seekers! It appears that hiring is on the increase. We're not promising anything, mind you, but here's what you really need to know:

You have to make it easier for those in H.R. and recruiting. Here's a list of Don'ts:

*Don't be coy and send a recruiter a message that you might want to "take a look around"; you're either motivated to make a change or you're not and when we're busy, we don't have time to help you figure that out. So we go with the talent who's persuaded us that they're ready, willing and able to present themselves professionally.

*Don't ask to "get together to talk about my future". A career coach is the path you need if you want to talk about it. Recruiters and human resources pros are looking for very specific skills, backgrounds, and education to fill positions with narrow requirements.

*Don't label your resume "resume". Make sure it has your name on it. Most of us are deluged with job-seekers and it's easier to find you digitally than it was in the old paper system, but this recession has everyone strained for resources when we're receiving hundreds of inquiries every week.

*Don't wander into the job hunt without the necessary tools. As with everything else in life, you'll get out of it what you put into it. Here are a couple of resources: bi-weekly e-newsletter at www.asktheheadhunter.com (free) and our career portal, www.mylandajob.com, also free.

Going Clubbing

It makes my heart beat a little faster. Well, it certainly made me smile. One of my favorite candidates returned my call this afternoon, apologizing for the delay (we have a temporary opportunity for him!). He said he'd been at two different job clubs today and was "going clubbing" again tonight.

Everyone says that networking is THE way to find that next job and there's no more focused way to network for a new job than at a job club. Most jobseekers, sadly, say things like "pffft" when we mention it. There's a great list available for metro Kansas Citians here (http://www.jccc.edu/home/depts.php/S00011/site/JobClubs) thanks to Johnson County Community College and you can easily find them in your community, too. You may have to try more than a few before you find one that fits your needs best; smart jobseekers are regularly attending more than one.

The fellow I mentioned? He sounds more confident and that's priceless!