HRinmotion Blog – Career advice from HR Pros

So you are well-qualified, you submitted a killer resume and you nailed the interview.  The recruiter was very enthusiastic and said they will contact the successful candidate in the next week.  Looks like you are home free, you can see nothing in way of you and an awesome job offer, except for your voice mail.

In today’s post, I am going to cover a very important yet often over-looked item in your job search – your voice mail.

Jobs Online Canada	Jobs Online UK	Jobs Online USA

Earlier in my HR career, I hired for entry level management professional positions.  When recruiting for junior level or entry level jobs, we weren’t looking for experience.  Instead, we were looking for bright young candidates who would bring fresh ideas – you know, some “new blood”.  I couldn’t tell you how many times, I contacted a potential candidate only to be greeted by an unprofessional voice mail.  Some of my favourites included:

“It’s John, you know what to do”

“Sup it’s Dave, leave a message” (with the gangster rap music playing in the back)

“Hello, it’s Chantelle, leave me message, later!”

Or my personal all time fav:

“Hello you have reached Tom, I am currently unable to take your call.  Please leave a message and I will respond as soon as I can.” (*insert toilet flush)

Messages like the ones above, are not professional and do not create a favourable impression with potential employers.  Employers need to trust that if they leave you to a client, assignment or otherwise that it will be left in capable hands.  So if you are looking for work, ask yourself, “Does my voice mail sounds professional?”.  The logic is simple, if you want an employer to see you as a professional you must present yourself as a professional, and this includes a professional sounding voice mail.

For more information on job search,

Take our interactive online course and ace your next interview!

Hire a personal job interview coach and learn from HR professionals

Jobs Online Canada	Jobs Online UK	Jobs Online USA

Need help with your resume? Get your resume written by HR professionals!

Would you prefer to do it yourself? Take our interactive online course for skills to last a career!

The following article – Make your resume sizzle, was written with the job seeker in mind during these tough economical times. What better advice can we start with to bring in the new year then resume writing. The article below provides valuable information for job seekers to sell themselves on paper from a human resources perspective.

For more information on resume writing and cv writing services:

Need help with your resume? Get your resume written by HR professionals!

Would you prefer to do it yourself?Take our interactive online course for skills to last a career!

Sometimes, it’s easy to overlook important items when searching for work.  For this reason, we have created a convenient job search checklist for you below.  Making a job search check list is like making a list when you go grocery shopping.  By making a list, you are a more efficient job seeker and you wont forget anything.  Well, the same reasoning applies to “job shopping”.  So if you are currently looking for work, take a look at the list below to see if you have missed anything important.

Remember that Intelligent job search is beyond firing out a few resumes on the online job board.  It is a well-thought out and executed plan.

The Job Search Check List

CLARIFY YOUR JOB TARGET

• Decide what type(s) of position(s) you want.
• Make a “To Do List” in order to outline your job search methods.
• Keep a list of all the companies you have contacted or plan on contacting (get contact information)
• Do some company research prior to applying (e.g. location, market, service, company culture etc.). Use the internet as a tool to check company websites.
• Select your preferred geographic location and starting salary.

WRITE YOUR RESUMÉ AND COVER LETTER

• Attend a workshop, use book and/or internet searches to help with resumes and cover letter writing
• Use the handouts on writing resume and cover letters to assist yo
• Hire  a professional resume writer
• Have a friend, family member or other professional(s) look over and critique your resume and cover letter before sending it out
• Make sure the information on the resume and cover letter is correct and current

PREPARE FOR YOUR JOB SEARCH

• Networking is very important. Let people know that you are looking for a job, especially if you know someone that works in the field in which you are interested
• Join a professional association related to your field of interest. This is a good way to network.
• Use different methods of looking for the right job (e.g. Newspapers, internet job sites, notice boards and recruitment agencies)
• Send Unsolicited cover letter and resumes to targeted employers of interest.
• Use different methods of sending your resume and cover letter to companies of interest (e.g. In-person, fax, mail or e-mail)
• Keep extra copies (hard copies) of your resume at all time
• Purchase professional business attire for your interview.
• Make sure all your references are in current and aware

Jobs Online Canada	Jobs Online UK	Jobs Online USA

CONTACT POTENTIAL EMPLOYERS

• Begin contacting potential employers with phone calls, visits, letters, and e-mail
• Start keeping records on employer contacts.

PREPARE FOR THE INTERVIEW

• Attend a workshop, read a book and/or use internet sites to help you prepare for an interview
• Gather as much information on the company as you can
• Set up a mock interview with friends, family members or hiring professionals. Use an audio and/or video recorder as coaching tools. Both are helpful ways to improve your interviewing skills.
• Hire a job interview coach
• Dress To Impress
• Pack case/portfolio for interview (extra resumes, references, work sample, pad/paper, company research and questions for the interviewee(s))

FOLLOW UP

• Send thank you letters to organizations that interviewed you.
• Contact organizations again that interviewed you, if you have not heard from them after 5-10 business days

Need help with your resume? Get your resume written by HR professionals!

Would you prefer to do it yourself? Take our interactive online course for skills to last a career!

If you are interested in a career in policing and law enforcement, here is an article that might interest you.

The RCMP – Royal Canadian Mounted Police have implemented an accelerated hiring process.  The faster process reduces the time to hire from 333 days to 83 days.  If you are an applicant, this is good news since previously applicants had to wait almost a year while they go through extensive background investigations, physicals and so forth.  With the former process, many applicants got frurstrated and may have even moved on.

From an HR view, it is a common fact that talented candidates are always the first hired.  So while increased rigor in theory may decrease the chances of a bad hire, the other side is that it often lengthens the hiring process which is leaves less competitive candidates (since the good ones don’t usually stay unemployed for long).

So it seems like a win for both the employer and the candidate.  It would be interesting to find out how this process has impacted the quality of hires.  Are these accelerated candidates doing better in training, on the job, and so forth.

Take our interactive online course and ace your next interview!

Hire a personal job interview coach and learn from HR professionals

So what’s with all this hype about creating a resume on video, is it for real? Many large job boards such as Monster and Careerbuilder seems to think this is a new trend catching the job search community by surprise. Yes, it is a great tool to consider, but will it last and will the human resources market welcome this new trend with open arms? Although we can’t speak for all employers, we can tell you from our own experience of screening thousands of resumes that the video resume is just a short term fad and we aren’t the only ones who think so. Speaking with our fellow HR colleagues and reading various articles online, it doesn’t seem like the market is fully ready to embrace the video resume. Most employers continue to support a traditional resume over the video resume. So if you are considering creating one of these youtube like video resumes, think twice. Here is an article that points out some of our not so positive thoughts about the video resume.

View Article

Regardless of a staffing company’s size or location the process generally seems to be the same from one to another. Staffing companies are in the business of trying to match a perfect candidate to a specific position request and not in the business of preparing a candidate for the job. This was the message last week when we met with a Vice President of a reputable global staffing company who had flown into town to meet us over some mouth watering sushi. After years of going down the same process path he was looking to change and find some value added service to give back to candidates; hence contacting HRinmotion. With a competitive staffing industry and constant pushing and shoving for candidates amongst one another, the pressure to change is definitely in the forefront.
We asked this particular VP why he is looking to change his process? He had mentioned that his recruiters only work with resumes they have received and placed into their system, but many times resumes that are missing skills or information are passed over. The result is overlooking these highly skilled workers or as he mentioned “diamonds in the rough” because key information is not updated on the resume. He stressed that providing candidates with well written resumes and job interview training can benefit his company and represent them better to clients. This particular VP mentioned “there have been many times where staffing companies are looked upon as being miracle workers or not doing enough to push a candidate to an employer – this is a false assumption we try our best; its actually the job seeker not taking the time to update their resume or job interviewing skills before approaching us; we can only sell what we receive”.

After a fantastic meal and a productive meeting we concurred with the VP and couldn’t agree more. Being on the other side of the table as recruiters for employers, we have screened thousands of resumes and gone through numerous job interviews only to overlook highly qualified candidates ourselves. Job seekers really do need to take the time to prepare and keep their skills current. A little work will go a long way to open doors to new employment opportunities.

For more information on job preparation, see our online job interview and resume writing courses or resume writing service. So until our next post, we wish you much luck and success in your career search.

if you enjoyed this post, we invite you to subscribe by email or RSS feed. Leave us a comment or contact us by email.

Email:

Need help with your resume? Get your resume written by HR professionals!

Would you prefer to do it yourself? Take our interactive online course for skills to last a career!

Introduction

In our posts Firefighter Job Interview Questions Part 1 and Part 2 , we shared with you some question you can expect in an interview for a firefighter. In this post, we are going to talk about some useful strategies for what you can do while waiting for your job interview.

The Waiting Game

So you have all your firefighting credentials (NFPA I/II, Class 3, First Aid and so on) and you are eagerly job hunting. But as you know, for most people, the process does not exactly move at lightening speeds.  From some of the stories I have heard, it can be almost a nightmare trying to get in. I mean the whole process which is quite extensive with testing, physicals, etc. can take a while. But don’t be discouraged, I have also heard of some stories where guys get in right away. Like with most jobs, timing and persistence iseverything. Each fire department recruits at different times of the year, and it also depends on things like when the veterans decide to step down.

Make Time Your Friend

So outside of waiting what can you do to put yourself in a good position when your opportunity comes? Keep yourself prepared and sharp by strengthening your resume. Things like volunteering to show your community involvement is an excellent thing to do while waiting for a hiring cycle. Look for places to volunteer your in a first-aid capacity. There are many worthy causes like the Special Olympics, and public sporting events like bike races, and triathlons that will demonstrate your commitment to the community, give you practical first-aid experience and keep your skills sharp. Most importantly, it will show your hustle and dedication to your career goal, cause remember their are a lot of candidates competing for a few positions.

Outside of first-aid volunteer, if you don’t already do so, you could look for a part-time job driving with air brakes. Or take some courses, language courses, or specialty skills like diving, or climbing can a long way to making your application stand out. Not only will it make you look better on paper but it will give you more ammunition in job interviews. Just imagine how fantastic you will look when the hiring manager asks you what you have done to prepare yourself for the job? Or if they ask you to tell them about a time when you worked under pressure and you can cite an practical experience delivering first-aid.

Expand Your Horizons

What else can you do to expand your options? Well if you are open to opportunities outside of your local community then you will have more options. One good thing to do is to expand your horizons and possibilities. Research other departments outside of your local area and look for hiring opportunities. You can not only search online job boards but create a google alert with the keywords so you will be notified when there are firefighter job openings around the world. Here is an article that I found using my google alerts about how short staff the fire departments are in South Wales, UK. So if you are up for an adventure on top of your job in firefighting (which is already an adventure on it’s own), check out this article and use the web to find firefighting opportunities in other countries. Until our next post, we wish you much luck and success in your career search.

Fire Fighter Staff Shortage South Wales

Fire Fighter Job Interview Coach

Take our interactive online course and ace your next interview!

Hire a personal job interview coach and learn from HR professionals

For any of you out there who are looking for career opportunities (and in today’s job market who isn’t?) ensure you give LinkedIn a look if you haven’t already done so. There are 12 million users on LinkedIn including many many employment professionals who use LinkedIn to source candidates.

Staffing professionals, recruiters and headhunters often use social network sites to build their candidate pools especially just in case their internal database does not have the candidate they are looking for. With today’s talent shortage, increasingly staffing professionals turn to alternative sources (that is sources other than newsprint and online job boards to find talent) to find key people. But don’t take my word for it, check out this article from Lou Adler a respected staffing professional and best seller publisher on recruiters using social network sites.

So make sure you give sites like LinkedIn and even Facebook a look. There are a pile of professional and common interest groups in Facebook so make contacts not only with HR and staffing people but also industry peers.Of course it goes without saying that if you are wanting to use these sites for professional networking keep it professional. There are known instances of where prospective applicants and employees have gotten into trouble with their employers with these sites. For more information check out this post on how social networking sites like Facebook can get you fired or hurt your job application. So use with caution but use them as they provide a great potential to tap into the hidden job market.

Also remember that the power of a network that drives results is not only based the number of connections but the quality and type of connections. So until next time, happy networking.

Well, I have been hunting high and low now for eight weeks now and I have still not yet found a job. I have had some interviews and some leads but nothing has turned out. Either I was “miles” away from the salary expectations, I was too senior for the position, or I did not get the job. I am wondering if I should pay a headhunter to help me get a job I did meet with a staffing company 5 weeks ago but have not heard anything since. I am losing hope, any advice or thoughts?

- Steve, IT Professional, BC

I can hear your urgency and frustration from putting in effort job hunting and not getting the kind of results desired. It seems like while you have had some employers job leads, you have not found a job that was a good fit. I can hear that you are now beginning to lose hope and wondering if there is anything you can do to improve your chances of finding the right job. Sometimes, finding the right job and the right fit can be difficult.

I wonder if it might be beneficial for you to analyze the job search process for areas where you can improve? That is, when you reflect on your job search so far, what step in the job search process represents the greatest opportunity for improvement if any? I have outlined some common steps the job search process for your consideration.

Poor Resume. A bad resume is a show stopper since this is the first step in the process. How can you tell if your resume is the culprit? Well if you are applying for a lot of jobs that you are qualified for but not getting interviews, it might be a sign that your resume needs a second look. Research some resume writing tips and do it yourself or hire a professional resume writer.

Shaky Job Interview Skills. Perhaps you are getting called for interviews but not getting further in the process. How can you tell if the problem is your interview skills? Well, a good way is to ask for feedback from the interviewer after the interview or selection process. Ask the interviewer to give you some feedback on your interview skills, strengths, weaknesses and so on. I know it can be intimidating to ask for critical feedback and while you may not always get it, don’t pass up this great opportunity to get some valuable coaching. It also shows the employer your receptivity for feedback and commitment to continuous improvement.

Another good question to ask here is how to do you feel in the interview? That is do you feel confident in an interview? After the interview do you feel as thought it went really well? If you feel really nervous and lack confidence then it is important that you address it. However, if you feel confident in interviews and think you interview well but never get an offer then it might suggest a lack of awareness. It is not uncommon for people to over estimate their own ability when it comes to job interviewing. Could this be the case with you? If this could be the culprit, then it is important that you seek some training or help to improve your interviewing skills.

Not a Good Person/Job Fit. Sometimes you fail to get the job offer simply because it is not a good fit with your skill set. Are you under qualified for the jobs you are applying for? If many employers tell you that you lack some required experience, skill, education and so on then it may be an indication of a poor fit. Perhaps, you are being told that you are over qualified. Are your salary expectations way above the employer’s offer? If you answered yes to any of these questions, the problem may be that you are applying for the wrong jobs.

So it may be worthwhile for you to consider the points above to determine potential problem areas. While there is always room for improvement to your resume and job interview skills, based on your situation, it looks like you may be applying to the wrong jobs. By this I mean if you are repeatedly finding yourself having salary expectations greater than what’s offered, and employers repeatedly indicate that you are over qualified, then you may need to reconsider the kind of jobs you are targeting. Unless you are making a career transition and applying for entry level jobs to break into a new career, it may be worthwhile for you to reconsider the jobs you are targeting.

As for your last question about seeking the help of a recruiter or staffing professional. I think this could really expand your options. Reputable staffing companies have vast networks of strong relationships with high profile employers. By seeking the services of a good recruiter you will tap into the hidden job market and take advantage of this network. However, in Canada (and in many countries ) you as the job seeker should not have to pay for the service. Standard practice is for the staffing company to charge the employer to find candidates. In Canada, there is specific legislation (in BC, Employment Standards Act Part 2, Section 10) that prevents employers to charge for employment. Most countries have similar legislation since it is in the public interest to have laws that support individuals to seek employment. If this were not the case, then it would be possible for an employer and agents to charge a fee to hire applicants only to fire them shortly after taking the payment.

Since it has been 5 weeks and you have not heard from your recruiter, it is unlikely they will find a placement for you. Typically, if you have heard back from a recruiter in the first 3 weeks your chances for an immediate placement decrease significantly. I would suggest that it would be wise to shop around for another recruiter and look for a mutual connection. As for how to choose a recruiter, here is a good article on finding a staffing company with some tips. Regardless of what you do, if a recruitment agency charges you the job seeker for search services then you should really think twice. While not common, this kind of practice still happens with unscrupulous companies. I can imagine it is easy to get discouraged but try to keep your spirits up. Be prepared that good staffing companies turn away way more candidates than they agree to represent. But stay hopeful and be prepared when your opportunity comes.

Best luck with your job search.

Mike

PS – Be sure check out our online job boards regularly with jobs being updated daily you might just find the right job today.

Need help with your resume? Get your resume written by HR professionals!

Would you prefer to do it yourself? Take our interactive online course for skills to last a career!