Career Hub

Teaching Is Tops!

Two interesting survey results (one American and one from the UK) when juxtaposed indicate that teaching may be making a comeback in public perceptions. With the need for more teachers, especially in math and science, this resurgence in the teaching profession is a breath of fresh air.

According to a poll by Harris Interactive reported in a career management article by CareerJournal, teaching is the ONLY occupation that has seen a dramatic increase in perceived prestige since 1977 growing 23 percentage points (from 29 per cent in 1977 to 52 per cent in 2006). This beats out doctors, lawyers, executives, scientists, and more - in fact, many of these professions have slipped in prestige since 1977.

Combine that with the first "Workforce Boredom Index" results from the UK which reveal that teachers have identified themselves as the least bored profession. Administrative and secreatarial occupations self-identified as most bored (10 out of a possible score of 10), followed by manufacturing and sales. In fact, half of all the employees who indicated they were bored have considered changing careers in the last year, and teaching is the most popular choice (more than 12 per cent).

Prestige and lack of boredom are two powerful intangible "rewards" for teaching. Are they sufficient to motivate a new generation of committed education professionals? What are your comments?

The Key to Great Marketing

Great entry at MarketingProfs about innovative and effective marketing that its creators think of as "not marketing." As MarketingProf says,

Maybe that's the key to creating great marketing... finding a way to put the wants and needs of your community on an even or higher plane than your own?

Applied to job search, that's a brilliant statement and the absolute truth. When you think of having to "market yourself" for your next career move, it becomes a task (and one you may hate). Why not, instead, think about the needs of potential employers, recruiters, and people in your network? What can you do to help them? How can your knowledge, expertise, skills, and experience benefit them?

With this approach, you'll build a great reputation and "empower" others to rave about you, recruit you, and eventually hire you.

Color Me Confused

Like HR Guy, I'm surprised at the comments made on Ragan's recent recruiting.com post about networking. Ragan contacted a current Google employee looking to make contact and add him to her network. His reponse was "TAKE MY NAME OFF YOUR LIST." She reports receiving a similar reaction from a number of Google employees.

Most of the commenters on her post seem focused on whether recruiters are always honest about their intentions. To me that misses the point.

In this day and age, I think it's the height of arrogance (and ignorance) to assume you don't need a relationship with as many recruiters as possible. None of those people will be working at Google until they retire, and at some point they will be looking for a new position.

It wouldn't have taken much longer to type a polite response, and it could have resulted in a great job 10 years from now, or a connection that ultimately helped a friend or family member get their next opportunity.

Are recruiters often selfish? Yes of course! They're trying to make a living. Do they sometimes fudge the truth when approaching candidates? Absolutely! But when you need a new job, it's always nice to know you can pick up the phone and contact people who actually, you know, have vacancies to fill.

And the Award for Best Corporate Career Site Goes To...

Inside Recruiting recently blogged on Gerry Crispin and Mark Mehler of CareerXroads' review of the jobs/recruiting sections of Fortune Magazine's list of America's 500 Largest Public Corporations. According to the review, the top 25 company sites that create the most positive experience for the job seeker are Agilent, Bank of America, Bell South, C.H. Robinson, Capital One, Federated, Ford, GE, General Mills, Goldman Sachs, HCA, Intel, Kodak, Lilly, Merck, Microsoft, Morgan Stanley, Proctor & Gamble, Sherwin Williams, Southwest Airlines, Starbucks, Target, Texas Instruments, Whirlpool, and Xerox.    

Crispin and Mehler bestow accolades on these firms' career portals because they successfully touch on four dimensions of the candidate's experience:

Target
Winning firms use their websites as a vehicle for recruiting the employees that best match their strategic goals and corporate vision. Companies with sites that don't portray gender, ethnic, and age-related diversity may turn off many visitors.

Engage
Employers must communicate a clear message and engage the job-seeker. They must explain why a candidate should work with and stay with the employer.

Inform
It is critical that companies use their sites to inform visitors with strong content and show potential applicants how they fit in with the human capital of their organization. For example, a woman should be able to find out how many women are in the organization and what percentage of these women are in leadership positions.

Respond
Employers should manage expectations that affect choice. They should respect candidates' rights and give them information regarding the status of their applications.

Wanted: Passive Job Seekers

According to an article in  Workforce Management, after four years of economic slowdown in the United States, recruiters last year began to feel the squeeze for talent as hiring increased and the unemployment rate moved down. In the war for talent, recruiters will more aggressively search for the passive job seeker...not the candidate whose resume is plastered all over the job boards, but the candidate who is found through an employee referral program or is data mined via public and private databases and social/business networking sites. Even if you are actively searching, try to source creative ways to build credibility for your candidacy through passive networking opportunities including contributions to professional organizations, industry publications, and relevant blogs and build community through on line networking tools and social networking events. You may just find that your next job lead comes from the place or person you least expected!

Ask for What You Want!

As per usual, I was looking for one thing on the Internet and came across another -- this really neat article by Richard Bolles on asking for what you want, be it in a job interview or in life. Great message!

Going Digital in Your Job Search

How connected do you have to be to land your next job?

It would appear not as connected as the recruiters you are trying to impress need to be according to a recent article in the Globe & Mail - "Searching for a job in the digital age". But that in itself is an important piece of information that you need to consider when submitting your resume by e-mail (does anyone mail their resumes anymore?!) and its going to get read on a PDA away from the desktop.

The retained executive search consultant is spending a lot more time away from their desk and traveling than your average contingency recruiter - they are meeting and networking, not dialing for dollars and you need to be mindful of that because the chances are you might have only 30 seconds and less than 5 lines to make a first impression. That is at least my average when I am using my Blackberry to scan e-mails coming in when I am on the road and a recruiter may be even less!

So the words that you use in the subject heading and in the e-mail itself are going to be completely different to the time and space you might afford yourself in a cover letter. Think about what you need to say that is going to make that recruiter take a second look at your resume when they get back to the office.

How Not to look for a Job

I just received this email to my company's general email account (info@...):

Dear Staffing Agent (Is that what I am now? A Staffing Agent? What is a Staffing Agent anyway? My name is right on the website for anyone to find):

A few weeks ago I contacted you expressing interest in working with you. As I had mentioned then, I am looking for a position in the design field. (So why is he writing to a small career management service that doesn't list a designer on its staff list, and hasn't advertised for one?)

I was wondering if you had come to a decision to meet with me (Yes. That was a pretty easy decision actually since we don't employ designers) or have been able to forward my documentation to another office (which other office? I don't have another office.) Enclosed are my updates and my resume and the link to my online portfolio. (Well, great. Thanks. Although I'm still not sure why I received this email).

<sigh> This is such a shame. This job seeker is wasting everybody's time. How much more effective would his communication be if he actually targeted companies who do hire designers, and then addressed his email to a real person as opposed to a 'staffing agent'? Or even better, if he networked his way into a meeting or phone call with someone at that company.

Mass emails like this are spam - they're just as bad as the Nigerian prince who wants to give me all his money, or the notice about the penny stock that's about to shoot up in value and make me rich beyond my wildest dreams.

If your email isn't carefully targeted and addressed to a real person, please don't hit 'send.'

Do you think Kevin Bacon can share?

Recently Paul Copcutt - fellow Career Hub Blogger and Branding Guru Extraordinaire - and I were traveling to the CMI convention and to pass the time I introduced him to the Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon game.  At the time I am sure he thought I was a bit nuts... big shocker there - and probably an accurate assessments but anyway.... today Paul shared this article with me that I thought would interesting to share with all of you.  So check out this article  How Kevin Bacon Can Help You Recruit No-Cost Referrals by Dr. John Sullivan from ERE.net.  The theme is on Rolodex Parties and Sharing your networking contacts.  Oh and if anyone reading has less than 6 degrees to Kevin Bacon you can SHARE that too!  Cheers!

Chris Rock and Your Resume

We are currently participating in The Great Recruiting Blogswap  and I'm honored that this week's guest poster is the Canadian Headhunter whose Recruiting Animal blog is one of my favorites, and whose perspective as someone who actually reads resumes is invaluable to anyone looking for a job.

You're supposed to be effective and efficient, dummy.

Do you remember those mock conversations Chris Rock used to have with losers whose standards were so low they would expect a pat on the back for fulfilling their most ordinary responsibilities?

--  I take care of my kids!
-- "Hey, Dummy!. You're supposed to take care of your kids!"

-- I never been to jail !
-- So what do you want? A cookie!!

I feel the same way when I read a resume that boasts:

-- Successfully did this.
-- Effectively did that.
-- Efficiently and effectively blah, blah, blahed.

Hey, Mr Professional, you're supposed to be efficient and effective. That ain't no added value so why on earth should you mention it? Especially in such a moronic way. Like I'm going to take it on your say-so alone.

Listen, you can crow about your effectiveness till the cows come home, but when I get you on the phone I'm going to ask you to prove it. And, chances are, you won't like that because you haven't even thought about objective measurements.

And, listen, if you've read some idiotic article on how to dodge honest, straight-forward questions in an interview, forget it. Nothing irks me more than when a candidate resists answering questions about basic issues they left off their resume.

And, don't think I want to hurt you. I'd like to get everyone whatever job she wants. But, my boss, the hiring manager, goes crazy if I don't get the information she wants.

So, listen, if you feel like blowing chunks, go find a toilet. Don't do it your on resume. You'll spare me and make yourself look smarter.

- Canadian Headhunter, Recruiting Animal.com