Don't Leave Your Phone At Home!

This morning we were desperately to get in touch with an applicant regarding a job opportunity. She had interviewed with a client earlier this week and wanted her to start on Monday. We called her at 9 am, then sent an email around 9:30 and a text message around 10 am- we tried all the communication venues possible. By 11:30, we were starting to get worried!

Good thing Bonny remembered that this candidate volunteers at the Botanical Gardens- SSI set her up with the opportunity. We finally got in touch with her there! Why wasn't she answering her cell phone? Because she had left it at home! Argh!

A lesson for ALL job seekers: if you are looking "hot and heavy" for a job, keep your phone handy, especially if you've recently interviewed for a position! Also, check your messages regularly and make sure you don't miss any calls!

Lucky for this particular applicant, we were able to reach her today. But we've had past situations where we've had to move on to another candidate because our client's first choice didn't get back to us in time! Please pass this message along to anyone you know looking for a job- it really could make the difference!

How to Introduce Yourself to an Hiring Manager or Agency

"I haven't sent you my resume yet, but I was hoping to introduce myself to you and your compay..."

"My son/daughter/friend is looking for a job and I was hoping that you might have something for him/her"

"I called to see what you can do for me..."

"I was in the neighborhood and thought I would stop by and show you my resume..."

These are all phrases that make hiring managers and recruiters (sometimes even receptionists!) cringe in their seats. They're the social equivalent to being cornered by someone at a party whom you've never met, yet insists on making you their new best friend, whether you like it or not!

What makes these attempts at introductions NOT OK? Well, there are a few reasons why:

1) It takes quite a bit of nerve to contact a hiring manager before sending your resume and expect him/her to sit and listen to your "elevator pitch". The people who make hiring decisions like to have a resume to refer to while on the phone/in-person with a candidate! Many of us are visual learners and aren't able to fully capture a person's skill set via storytelling.

2) It also takes some nerve to expect anyone to spend 10-20 minutes of unscheduled time on the phone with you! Anyone put in charge of filling open positions (or answering the phone for the department that fills positions) is probably pretty busy and can't always drop what they're doing to speak with an interested candidate at length!

3) Have you ever seen the episode of Everybody Loves Raymond, where Robert is trying to get a job with the FBI and Marie faxes a note to the hiring manager, telling them how wonderful her son is? Yeah, it was funny on TV, but not so funny in real-life.

4) Whether or not it's a candidate's intention, straight up asking,"What can you do for me?" (or anything equivalent) to a hiring professional comes off incredibly rude and selfish. Generally speaking, it's good to wait and see what the hiring professional has to say before assuming s/he is going to do anything for you!

5) Unless it's someone coming by to take you to lunch or a long-lost friend drops in to say, "Hi", I don't know anyone who's a big fan of the "drop ins" at the office. The salespeople who drop by and try to get your office managers to switch vendors are annoying, right? Well, so are job seekers who stop by unannounced and expect to meet with a recruiter or HR manager. It's one thing to drop off a resume on your way to an appointment- but to expect a meeting with someone in charge of hiring is just ridiculous!

Whare are some better ways to introduce yourself and get your "foot in the door"?

1) Send your resume first, then follow up with a phone call. Give it a few business days, then call and ask for Person X. Say politely, "I saw that you had a posting for (fill in the blank). I sent in my resume on (date) and wanted to be sure you received." OR "Bob Jones from XYZ Company referred me to you, so I sent in my resume the other day. Did you receive it?"

2) Always ask if the person you are contacting has time to talk. If not, ask if there's a better time to call back OR schedule a time to discuss your resume, skills and qualifications. On the same note, recruiters should do the same for you when following-up on your resume!

3) Even if your mom or your best freind is your biggest fan, do your best to prevent them from calling hiring managers or staffing agencies on your behalf. If they want to do some initial research for you (i.e., collecing names and numbers of agencies, researching companies, printing out job postings)- great. But it should be a candidate's responsibility to reach out to these places on his/her own.

4) Although you are selling yourself to a hiring manager or recruiter, try to stay away from overusing the words "me" and "I". Try to figure out ways that you can communicate what you bring to the table, rather than just asking questions about what a company can do for you.

5) Refrain from "dropping in" on anyone unannouced (unless you're prepared to treat him/her to lunch!). Most likely, you aren't going to get to sit down with anyone who makes hiring decisions and you've now wasted your time and gas money. In the long run, it pays off to be patient- if a recruiter is interested in your resume, s/he will call you! If not, you need to move on.

Although this may seem like "common sense" to the average person, many job seekers are getting frustrated and acting out in strange ways. Rather than stand out in a bad way, we are hoping that the advice above will help candidates learn the basic social graces that go along with looking for a job! Hiring managers and recruiters are very much appreciative of candidates who follow the rules and behave like understanding, normal humans!

What to Expect When a Recruiter Calls

Had a really interesting experience on the phone this morning with a potential applicant- thought would be good to share. This is how our conversation went:

Me: "Hi, this is Abby, can I help you?"

Jane Doe: "Abby, hold on a second" Screams at her kids in the background. "Hi, this is Jane. You called me yesterday. Do you have a job for me?"

Me: "Hi Jane. I didn't catch your last name...how do you spell it so I can look it up?"

Jane Doe: "Oh, the last name is Doe. D-O-E. You had called me about a job."

Me: Finds Jane's file. "Jane Doe, yes, you were referred to us by a friend. I actually called because you had sent your resume and I wanted to go over it with you. Do you have time to talk?"

Jane Doe: "Well do you have a job for me?"

Me: "I'm not sure, this is generally why I contact people...to talk about their resume, experience, background, etc. Do you have time to go over you resume right now?"

Jane Doe: "Actually I'm running late for an appointment. I'll call you back later." Hangs up

Although I can understand Jane's disappointment that I didn't immediately discuss a job opportunity with her, there were several things wrong with what happened today on the phone. I thought this would be a good opportunity to share some basics on what to expect when a recruiter calls OR when you are calling him/her back!

- Be sure to tell the person on the other end of the phone your first AND last name. Even if your name is rather unusual, it's helpful to tell us both first and last so we can track down your information.

- Expect to spend between 10-30 minutes on the phone with the recruiter. If you are busy or aren't in a good place to talk, ask if there's a more convenient time to call him/her back. From a recruiter's perspective, we would much rather you call us back than listen to family disputes, excessive wind, dogs barking or any other distractions in the background.

- Be prepared to discuss your job history. If necessary, keep your resume handy so you can refer to it from time-to-time. Here are things the recruiter wants to know: 1) What kind of company did you work for? 2) What was your job (on a day-to-day basis)? 3) Why did you leave? or Why do you want to leave? 4) Can you provide references?

- Keep it brief. If you can't summarize your job history in 5-10 minutes, then you need to edit your "elevator pitch". It's not that recruiters don't care about you or what you're looking for in a job, but they are usually on a deadline to fill a particular position. Also, someone who babbles on excessivly oftentimes doesn't show good judgement or focus.

- Don't forget to tell the recruiter what you can offer a company. Too many candidates spend time talking about what they want, what they need and what a company can do for them. It's a pleasant surprise when a candidate talks about how they can contribute something to the organization.

Not sure if Jane Doe is ever going to call me back, but I hope she reads this blog post and is able to correct her mistakes before responding to another job opportunity!

Earning the Trust of Applicants

Lately we have spoken to quite a few potential candidates who are wary of working with staffing agencies or submitting their resume in response to one of our postings. Unfortunately, many have been approached by scammers (i.e., "are you interested in selling life insurance") OR have fallen victim "bait and switch" approach (i.e., the agency claims that they have a legitimate job opportunity, only to add the candidate to their pool of resumes).

It is extremely discouraging to contact potential candidates for a great job opportunity and they decline because they are distrustful of staffing agencies! Staffing Solutions has a sterling reputation with our applicants and within the community.

Short of sending them copies of our applicant thank-you notes, lists of our placements for the year or offering a list of references, what can we do to earn the trust of potential appicants who are wary of an agency?

We want your feedback/ideas/suggestions on this!

How NOT to Respond to a Job!

Over the last few years that I've spent as a recruiter, I've gotten some very strange responses to our website and job postings. But this one (read below) is a kicker!

"I have seen your posting for 'Marketing/Communications Coordinator' and I feel I am qualified and want to apply.
I am currently employed, and am very-very cautious about putting my resume out.
If I apply to this postion via your website, and I only wanted people from 'this one posting' to see my resume (no other jobs that come up later). Is that possible?
Since I am inquiring about this position, can you tell me any more about the hiring company? Their Market? Size? Name?
I have over 8 years experience in the marketing field, tell me if I am over qualified. Anxiously waiting for your reply..

Thank You."

What ever happened to following directions on the ad posting? Our postings clearly state that if you are interested in an open job, please visit our website and submit a resume. Is it that difficult? Granted, some of the inquirer's questions were valid, but these would be address if s/he first sent a resume!

Thank You Note

Good news from one of our applicants- she found a job! Congrats to Sarah. She sent us a very nice note:

"Thank you for taking the time to test my skills and assist with finding me permanent employment. I have excellent news! I was hired at Sansone Group and I started work today. Being unemployed wasn't easy but just meeting with you helped to boost my confidence. I will continue to recommend Staffing Solutions to both job seekers and employee seekers.

Thanks Again,

Sarah N."

When and How to Apply for a Job

Just last week I posted some tips on how long one should expect to wait to hear back on a submitted resume. What I would like to add to that post is when and how one should submit a resume!

When should I apply?
When you see a job that interests you (and you're sure that you meet the qualifications), you should apply within a day or so. I have seen friends, family members and applicants who sit on a job opportunity until they get around to updating their resume- and by the time they're ready to submit, they're suprised when the job that they were interested in is already filled!

If you see a posting that's more than 2-3 weeks old, I would still recommend applying but beware that the job might not be available. At SSI, we've been acting pretty quickly on any open positions that we're asked to fill -and when we say "quick", we mean less than two weeks from posting the job to the client making a final selection. It doesn't hurt to send a resume, but beware that the window of opportunity may not be open.

How should I apply?
Quite simply, follow directions! Every employer has different preferences for resume submittals, so just do what the posting tells you to do. Many places ask for a certain format and might ask for further documents (references, cover letter, etc.). Do not add documents that weren't requested or send muliple versions of your resume- it's just more paperwork for the employer to sift through.

We have several clients who are very particular about following directions- if a candidate can't follow the preliminary steps towards employment, s/he doesn't stand a chance in the hiring process. At SSI, we get frustrated when an interested candidate calls us to ask how to send his/her resume...especially when directions on "how to apply" are clearly listed on all of our postings and on the homepage of our website!

Hope this helps those who are looking!