Resume Digest Blog

Testimony of a Repentant Job Seeker

Mon, 20 May 2013 00:00:00 +1000

I once was the darling of the recruitment agencies - then I found instead of the wanted one I became the discarded one - why?

Changes can sneak up on us and it's a hard wake up call when you realise that what used to work so well no longer does.

What had changed was that instead of a human being I had become a commodity. Prospective employers were not interested in my potential as a member of their team they wanted hard evidence that I was a direct replacement for the guy who just left and that I came all packaged up with their industry knowledge in my head.

Recruitment agencies know how to make themselves look good by parading candidates who are over qualified and then switching over to some migrant who can barely speak intelligible English but will undercut the current rates.

It became obvious that my employment scene became a crowded space as I went for interview after interview without landing a job.

At least I was getting interviews - I thought that was a positive. In sport you get to see your opponents. In the job market you don't! You can delude yourself in thinking that what once worked will work again - it's just a matter of applying to more jobs. Unfortunately trying to fit square pegs into round holes is a loosing proposition - no matter how persistent you are. Candidates profiling is now an established practise in the employment scene and it is time jobseekers learn the new rules of the game. It's all to do with keywords. Literally (excuse the pun) these words hold the key to your employment success. If you don't have the XYZ industry buzz word in the last assignment of your resume - you won't make it to the shortlist - full stop.

Mostly for cost-cutting reasons employers have long given up on running a Human Resources Department. In fact it used to be called the Personnel Department. The message is clear for us job seekers: We have to be resourceful - not personal.

Things started to change for me when I realised I could no longer afford to blast the same old resume of mine at every job advert that came in sight. Instead I had to find out the specific requirements of each job. Then I would issue a revamped copy of my CV. Slightly more work than just hitting the Send button on my email program with the same attachment each time. Those days were over. It's amazing how ingenuous you become when you are hungry. It could take up to four hours to twist things around so that the ad's pet must-have features were now in front of their nose.

Being the enterprising sort that I am I resolved to get the computer to do some of that work. That is another story in itself but that's how the website resumedigest.net came about.

Lawrence Atkinson commented:
Thanks for this - an interesting read, and very true, particularly the last couple of paragraphs; people really do need to pay attention to the job specs and apply to hose specific requirements.

Running The Gauntlet With Recruitment Agencies

Mon, 13 May 2013 00:00:00 +1000

Let's face it recruitment agencies are here to stay. How can we manage the love/hate relationship between agencies and candidates? As a candidate you need to wise up to some conflicts of interest that are doomed to arise between you and your agent.

But first let's understand the job market. We've all become lazy and fallen down the path of least resistance.

Frustrated jobseekers assume that all it takes to land that perfect job is to blast as many resumes as possible over the internet. Dishing out the same resume to every job advert you're replying to is like trying to fit square pegs into round holes.

Unscrupulous recruiters would be quite content to steal their competitors' employees without any need for training or induction. They seek ways to move people out of employment altogether and hire them back as contractors who have to cater for their own insurance and superannuation.

Employers have axed their human resources departments and scores of recruitment agencies are clamouring to fill the gap. They in turn keep databases of candidates and are in the process of profiling people - treating them not as human beings but as a commodity they can on-sell to someone else. They like to pull up names that match a certain set of keywords and they use scanning software to skim through resumes hoping to find that 5 legged sheep that their client is after.

They sometimes advertise positions that do not exist for the sake of conducting their own job market research and finding out who might apply for that. Worse they sometimes ring you up to find out in not so subtle ways what interviews you've had so that they can field candidates in opposition to the other agent who got you there. So how can we bridge the gap between recruiters and jobseekers? The moment you consider the situation from the other party's point of view you will start to break the deadlock.

The question a savvy candidate should ask is "What about if I identify the employer's needs and go about to meet those needs?"

In fact they make it easier for you as most job adverts feature a bulleted list of requirements to fulfil. The message is clear: "If you don't have those skills don't bother to apply."

You might well have those skills but by replying with the same boring boilerplate resume you make it hard for the employer to search for them like a pin in a haystack. The truth is: if they don't find what they want in the upper third of the first page of your CV they will not bother to investigate further.

Within reason there are ways to make you look like the perfect fit. Unfortunately it may take you several hours to rewrite a tailor-made version of your resume which addresses specifically the requirements of the ad. That's why most people don't bother but that's where lies the prize.

Time to re-enter the job market

Mon, 06 May 2013 00:00:00 +1000

This is the time to beef-up your resume and hit the job market with new expectations. This is the start of the new financial year and companies have a new budget to spend. Some will create new positions to wrestle market share from their competitors.

Contrary to popular belief the job market is indeed seasonal and if you have pulled out in despair and resigned yourself that you won't secure a job - well guess what - that might become a self fulfilling prophecy!

On the other hand if you believe this is your opportunity to show up your face at interviews and hone in your ability to sell your unique combination of skills - go for it!

The first step of course is to work on your resume. But let us suggest a different approach: why not work on the job advertisement instead? You have sent scores of your resume without much success and are deprived of any feedback as to why it fails to generate interest. It could br the sheer number of applicants you are up against. It could be your resume lacks some specific industry buzzwords recruiters are skimming for. It could be the lack of substantiated achievements in each role you held as opposed to a bland statement of your duties.

Be as it may - why not take the opposite approach and work from the job advertisement back to your own resume? Pick the exact requirements found in the ad and match them each time with some specific instance in your work history where you have exercised and demonstrated that particular ability.

That could be a lot of work. In particular you may not be able to keep the chronological order of your work history. The most recent employment may not be the most relevant for the position at hand.

That's where Resume Digest comes to the rescue. Give it a go!

Selling Yourself - Fine Tuning Your Resume

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 00:00:00 +1000

Your resume is your self marketing piece on the employment scene. The problem is unless you are an artist or an author, it's not about you - it's about them who have the power to hire you.

It would appear that people still think in terms of me, myself and I, the trilogy of self promotion. People don't care about you unless you care about them. Translated to recruitment that means that because of the deluge of applications triggered by a job post in cyberspace, you don't stand a chance of being considered for an interview unless you precisely match the must-have-features called for that position.

Close enough is not good enough. You might indeed be suitable for the role but recruiters are not going to bother looking hard for your suitability unless it is right there in front of their nose in the top third of your resume. Why? When you are confronted with 200 to 500 resumes for just one position you raise the bar so high that only 20 or so will be eligible for an interview or some aptitude tests beforehand.

The bottom line is that you have some work to do. Yes it is a snap to hit the send button and dispatch a resume via email. Your job now is to reverse engineer the requirements spelt out in the ad and make sure they feature prominently on your resume. Short of that don't bother. With the sheer number of applicants out there someone is sure to come up as a perfect fit for the role and undercut your hourly rate as well...

Looks like we have become a commodity in the workforce and bosses can afford to be very picky at hiring someone who worked for a competitor for the last five years, doing precisely what the vacant position calls for - no training or induction required.

Sounds depressing, huh? Is there a way out of this bind? Maybe if you do a bit of research. If possible people prefer to fill in the role internally rather than shouting from the rooftops they have a position available.

First target the companies where you would like to work. Try to get to know some people who work there. How? Find out where they take their lunch break and practice talking to strangers (A daunting task for some - but what have you got to lose?) Rather than handing out a stock standard resume too early wait until a job description has been written for the new position. Then approach your contact again and pass on your skill based matching resume. They might still go through a selection panel so you need to play fair.

Do not despair. Smart job seekers are using an online tool to roll out a perfect match to the position they are going after. It's called Resume Digest

Also you might want to check Aptitude Tests an online service to prepare yourself for aptitude, knowledge and IQ tests which you are sure to encounter before or during the interview.

How to Start Your Perfect Resume

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 00:00:00 +1000

Starting is the easy bit. How is it going to end is what matters. Have you ever considered the situation from the employer's point of view?

There is a myth out there in job hunters land that all you have to do to get that dream job of yours is to sprinkle a bit of resume magic on your application and you will be called for an interview the next day.

Just compare it to a dating site for a moment. You have precious little idea who else is out there applying for the same job and what sort of relevant skills they have. You know it is so easy to apply for a job online now. Just hit the send button and your resume lands in someone's inbox out there.

If there is so much competition on the candidates' side guess what the employer is going to do? Raise the bar so high that only a manageable number of people will be called for an interview.

The stark consequence for you mere mortal is this: unless your application is a perfect match for the job description outlined in the advertisement you do not stand a chance. So here is the paradigm shift to dispel that resume myth once and for all: You have to work hard to line-up your experience and work history to fit the must-have requirement for the position.

We have moved from perfect resume to perfect match. Welcome to the real cyber age world of online recruitment. So before you hit the send button there is quite a bit of work to do on your part. The reason you can't reuse the same so-called perfect resume of yours is that the goal post shifts from one job vacancy to the next.

Because of the financial downturn and the resulting vast supply of job hunters, employers can afford to be very picky as to who they might hire. They have spent a fair bit of time designing their ad. (For them it also doubles as a public relations exercise "Did you notice so-and-so is hiring right now?")

How would you rate 200 resumes crashing in your inbox as to their relevance to the position advertised? That's right: whoever fails to deliver on the must-have features for the position will be discarded. Hopefully we wan to trim it down to a manageable shortlist of 10 to be called for an interview. That's a mere 5% of folks. That means 95% of job hunters are wasting their time aiming at everything in sight but never getting their foot in the door because they don't even match what is being asked.

Do not despair. Smart job seekers are using an online tool to roll out a perfect match to the position they are going after. It's called Resume Digest

Also you might want to check Aptitude Tests an online service to prepare yourself for aptitude, knowledge and IQ tests which you are sure to encounter before or during the interview.

Unusual Jobs That Pay Well

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 00:00:00 +1000

Going on with the latest trends you will find that some long forgotten skills are now back in demand. Also some new opportunities emerge in outdoors, entertainment and sport.

The great outdoors

Being passionate about your field of expertise will land you a job to match. Think about all the environment issues and see how local, state and federal governments want to be seen as doing the right thing for the planet. Being a nature park ranger is now very much sought after but don't stop there. Think of all the new rules and regulations about water consumption, monitoring water quality, surveying natural resources, etc... Don't forget how to measure your carbon footprint on your resume.

Animal husbandry

A dog is man's best friend or so the saying goes. If you are keen and knowledgeable with animals there are scores of opportunities to uncover. Don't stop at being a worker in a theme park, think about working as a scientist for a museum or a government department monitoring endangered species and natural habitats. In agriculture there are lost skills in farming unusual beasts like camels, lamas, crocodiles, kangaroos, etc... What about collecting poison from venomous snakes to produce antidotes. Even the RSPCA is hiring to enforce laws against cruelty to animals.

Parra medical industry

With the burgeoning of body part replacements there is a need for technicians to produce all those knee and hip prosthesis. Quality control is paramount and this is an industry flowing with money.

Entertainment

There are scores of unusual jobs out there from entertainers in shopping malls to stunt men in movies. Being a stand-up comic in a cabaret or bar will get you to travel and see places. Musicians are still in demand for live performances. Applying in a classical orchestra might teach you how to handle rejection but think about jingles at your local radio.

Sport

You don't have to be an Olympic champion to get a job in sports. You may not qualify to coach the brightest stars but you can be an expert in a local sport store or a consultant in sponsorship schemes. Local councils have lots of venues to maintain. Competitions need lots of volunteers to organise and this is your ground floor opportunity to mingle with the crowd and make yourself useful. You will find your enthusiasm and your cheerful disposition will open doors at a later stage - not always in sport but in other fields too because outgoing people are always in demand.

Resume Digest is an online service to customize your application for each job you are responding to.

Aptitude Tests is an online service to prepare yourself for aptitude, knowledge and IQ tests.

anonymous commented:
I took up a Santa Claus assignment in a Shopping Mall. It's good money for just sitting down and just having your photo taken with kids...

Being unwilling to relocate can hurt your career

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 00:00:00 +1000

Employers will give preference to those who have an address within reasonable distance from their premises. You need to use the address of a friend nearby if you are applying from interstate.

As a couple, are you prepared to follow your partner to seek better employment elsewhere? It is a costly gamble if you consider the implications of seeking a new dwelling, enrolling the children in a new school, making new friends, etc...

As a single person you are much more mobile and have little to lose.

For all, the best approach is to be transferred within your work organization. So why is the grass greener on the other side? (Some may add it is also tougher to chew once you get there...) If you are stuck in a static situation, relocating might be your circuit-breaker. Relocating or migrating is often a once in a lifetime opportunity where you cannot afford to fail. You will find extraordinary motivation from migrants to pull all stops.

You have two choices: either you wait for the opportunities to come to you or you go and uncover them where they are. Fortunately with the internet you can do a lot of homework before taking the plunge. Another approach which has worked for some is to find cheap accommodation near your new place of work and come back home on the weekend.

Some traditional families have young adults seeking opportunities overseas and sending a part of their earnings to their country of origin to support elderly parents. Not everyone has the benefit of superannuation. Some wise folks have seen the wisdom of investing into the education of their children and in due course are getting the return they deserve when their time of need has come.

An obvious barrier to relocation is language and qualifications. If you are after clerical work or customer facing roles a foreign accent will give you away but being willing to take a lower pay will also give you a foot in the door.

There is so much suspicion about fake foreign diplomas that large companies require candidates to undergo aptitude tests to check your claims and your suitability for the job. It actually works in your favour if you care to prepare yourself for it. It is a fair system where all candidates are assessed by the same standard. It is troublesome for mature workers who realised their experience is not being taken at face value and may fail the test because they are not mentally as sharp.

Resume Digest is an online service to customize your application for each job you are responding to.

Aptitude Tests is an online service to prepare yourself for aptitude, knowledge and IQ tests.

Resume Makeover

Mon, 01 Apr 2013 00:00:00 +1100

Aren't you sick and tired of dishing out the same resume at every job post that comes in sight? Can you think of ways to be a bit more remarkable?

Job hunting is the time where once in your life you have to sell yourself to the highest bidder for what you have to offer to prospective employers.

What is fresh, what is exciting, what is bubbly about your application that would make even a backroom office clerk put your resume to the top of the pile?

If you try to breakthrough via email you'll be like scores of would-be hopefuls spamming their candidacy through the system. Chances are you won't be elected... Why?

If you think the quantity of resumes you send is the name of the game you will be treated like a commodity. If you would rather present yourself like a uniquely gifted human being with attitude and passion you might find another soul out there in the corporate world who can resonate with you.

If job hunting is about selling your skills what can we learn from sales professionals? (even them have to find a job sometimes...) Instead of shooting at anything that moves save your bullets for the right target. Ask yourself long and hard what would be the ideal job that would fulfill your aspirations. Sounds a bit like a luxury when you have been out and about and the house could be repossessed any minute.. Here is the conundrum: the more desperate you look, the more opportunities will pass you by and the more people will be eager to take advantage of you. On the other hand, the more asserted, the more clued-up you come across, the more doors will open to you.

So what does a clued-up self-asserted sales professional do to get the business? Research. Target your ideal company, find out if you know someone who already works there, go and talk to that person. Find out who is the decision-maker with the power to hire and fire. Find out where that person eats, plays golf or has her nails painted (not quite, but you get the drift). Position yourself where you can be introduced to the people who can change your future. Don't tremble in your boots. The worst that can happen is to be turned down. You are already used to that - and there will always be tomorrow... Once you have figured out the type of position that could be vacant, then go and craft a unique version of your resume addressing each of the needs of the role and leveraging your past accomplishments in the light of what is to come.

Yes job hunting is a full-time job, but don't despair. Why not use an online tool like Resume Digest to do it like a professional?

Likewise you may like to train yourself with Aptitude Tests for aptitude, knowledge and IQ tests.

Your Resume Is Your Sales Brochure

Mon, 25 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +1100

Some people go about their job hunting without any idea of who they are competing against. If not handled properly rejection can induce resentment which will inevitably play against you at an interview.

Gone are the days where you would stand in the town square waiting for someone to hire you for the day.

Applying for jobs is a blind endeavour for candidates who have no clue about the number and calibre of other applicants. For employers it can be a daunting task which explains why so many recruitment agencies have sprung up everywhere.

Are you looking at doing more of the same of what you have done in the past or are you trying to switch careers? Do you have any idea how you come across when you respond to a job post? Is there any way to spare yourself the hassle of being treated like a commodity and get in early on a new opening?

The answer to all these questions depend on how you treat you job hunting activities. If it is a casual past time you will get average results. If you treat it like a full time work you will get the outcome your commitment deserves hopefully.

We are all tainted by our past experience and it is so easy to assume that what worked in the past will continue to work for us - it's just a matter of trying harder...

The way you see yourself is not necessary the way others see you - especially on the employment scene. Employers are lazy and greedy. If they can get it done in India they will. If they can find a clever monkey they will pay peanuts.

So go for the jobs where an Indian accent or a primate approach is not good for the corporate image. Talk to as many people as you can. Check out blogs and forums. Don't waste what money you have left in dubious courses and certifications. Instead train yourself in passing the relevant aptitude tests. Aptitude Tests is an online service to prepare yourself for aptitude, knowledge and IQ tests. See what jobs are in demand even if it means eating some humble pie for a while. If you have lots of time on your hands offer your services as a volunteer and get some credentials that way.

If migration has eroded some opportunities in your area you might have to re-locate but do it only as a measure of last resort. It is very expensive to set new roots if a family depends on you. Some people work in another city and only come home for the weekend.

Job satisfaction - where can you find it?

Mon, 18 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +1100

Do you feel caught in a career path that is leading nowhere? Do you sense your skills are not recognised? Do you watch the clock and pine away until it is time to go home? The question is: what are you prepared to do about it?

Is job satisfaction a luxury when so many are out of work wondering if they will be evicted out of their dwelling?

You can only tackle one problem at a time and when your pain threshold has been hit it is time to action.

Is there anything you can do in your workplace to improve things? Has anything changed for the better since you joined your current employer? Did you have anything to do with it? Have you made any friends there? Have you made any efforts to make it happen?

No matter how bad your environment is you need to sort your issues into two categories: those that are beyond your control and those you can do something about. Bosses are not totally stupid and unaware of what goes on. They simply have a different perspective to yours and different priorities also (like reaching their target or facing the sack...).

Ultimately an office or factory is made up of people. While you keep an eye on the job market why not make good use of your time to sharpen your social skills. Maybe you carry an invisible sign around your neck that says: "do not talk to me - I am not interested in you" maybe your peers have a certain idea of you that needs to be dismissed.

On your way home, review mentally opportunities during the day where you could have made a difference for someone else. Could you have spoken some genuine uplifting word? Could you have lent a helping hand to ease another person's burden? Could you have stayed a bit later to finish a report someone else is waiting for?

Work on your connections. Show yourself to be dependable, adaptable, broad-minded, aware of your surroundings. It may take some time for people to pick up on the changes in your approach. In a world where everybody is looking after Number One you will shine like someone worth getting to know better.

When people see you are prepared to give out of yourself for no obvious benefit in return you will be sought after. No more rejection, no more isolation, no more intimidation.

How long can you afford to be kind and let others take advantage of it? The answer: as long as you are prepared to wait to see a change in your circumstances. If you choose to leave it will not be a wasted effort. It would have been a perfect dress rehearsal for the real opportunity waiting for you in the wings.

Does your resume tell your story?

Mon, 11 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +1100

In the job market what is your unique selling proposition? What would make you stand out of the crowd? What sort of problems can you solve?

If you would care to look at it from the employer's side - hiring somebody is quite a risky business. No wonder bosses want to play it safe and shy away from "I can do it" con artists.

Instead of being reduced to a bunch a metrics (2 years in skill A, 5 years in skill B) why don't you tell a compelling story about your achievements? The problem is recruiters don't have time to play your 10 minutes You Tube video to shortlist you for an interview.

You can take either of two approaches: if a job is being advertised you should reverse engineer the requirements for the position and produce a custom version of your resume to match exactly those must-have features.

If you know a company where you would like to work, why not do your homework and find someone who already works there and could give you an introduction to the manager in charge.

You can actually combine the two approaches and ring up to ask more details about the job being advertised. Even if you miss out your efforts won't be wasted in case another position becomes vacant in 3 or 6 months time. If you cultivate this approach with 10 to 20 companies of interest to you the chances are something will come up that might be a good fit for you.

See your job hunting activities as a marathon, not a sprint. Each job post, each interview, each phone call gives you some feedback as to what people are after and how to present yourself in response.

Do not waste your time with recruitment agencies. They will not give you the feedback you need and they are working for the employer, not the employee. If a company refuses to talk to you because they use an agency they should at least give you the name of the consultant working on their account.

In a fast paced world where everything is timed, measured and categorised employers have become very picky. If there are far too many applicants they raise the bar by asking for a combination of skills that maybe nobody has.

People will speed-read the top third of the first page of your resume and make a snap decision on that. In response you need to come-up with a slogan describing you as the uniquely gifted individual they are looking for. For each work assignment listed (in order of relevance for the role, not chronological order) you must use action verbs to capture what you actually did and how it impacted your workplace.

Resume Digest is an online service to customize your application for each job you are responding to.

Aptitude Tests is an online service to prepare yourself for aptitude, knowledge and IQ tests.

Can't find a job? Be your own recruitment agency!

Mon, 04 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +1100

When was the last time you have been intimidated or abused by so called recruiting agents? If they treated you like a commodity rather than a unique human being could you do better than them? After all you know the product intimately well.

Welcome to the real world. Finding work is entering into a relationship where you trade your time and knowledge for cash. If someone is going to take a cut along the way and do a lousy job at it - fire them!

What is a recruitment agency after all and what prevents from doing for yourself what they are supposed to do? Agencies claim to companies they have a database of experts at the ready who can jump into a role with no training and no induction. You feel at a disadvantage because your database has only one person on it - you!

But wait a minute. Since you are a talented, versatile, articulate, knowledgeable, fast-learning professional that could count for as many aliases of yourself.

Another thing agencies do is to unearth job vacancies before they get advertised. Sometimes they even advertise vague roles on their books and you wonder whether there was really a role there in the first place. It is like the case of the real-estate agent with pretty photos of properties that are not really for sale. They are there just for the sake of not having an empty window...

Ever heard of LinkedIn? Can you be recommended by former work colleagues? Another drawback with agencies is their blind date approach to matching candidates. You have to tell everything about yourself first only to find out the job is with a company you don't really want to hear about.

Just like a sales professional you are only as good as your network of connections. Luckily it is not a static thing and you need to swap business cards where ever you go. When is the last time you went to a trade show in your industry? Have you heard of BNI, Toastmasters, Rotary, etc... don't kid yourself. You won't find a job on facebook but you might re-kindle with an old acquaintance.

The idea of maintaining your network of connected people will be a glaring need when you are looking for a job but that's something you should be doing year around.

The irony is that you might be able to find a job for someone else before the compliment is being returned!

Yes job hunting is a full-time job, but don't despair. Why not use an online tool like Resume Digest to do it like a professional?

In a Recession Be Passionate About Your Dream Job

Mon, 25 Feb 2013 00:00:00 +1100

Employers are after self-motivated people with drive. The type of person who can permeate the workplace with a healthy, positive attitude. Someone who sees every obstacle as a challenge to overcome, every problem as an opportunity to solve.

The only way you can have those attributes over a sustained period of time is by having some fire in your belly, something to live for, some passion to share...

Those people will be very charismatic during an interview but may non-the-less be screened out because of an average resume.

How do you translate the passion on paper? Step outside the box. When everybody else presents themselves as the sum total of their past work assignments, the champion tells a compelling story.

Instead of listing dates, places and mundane achievements, sell yourself as being the problem solver that you are.

Bear in mind that this is not for every run-of-the-mill type company. An average boss will feel threatened by hiring someone too bright who might take his job soon after...

Again a recession might just be the ticket to force an average company to put all hands on deck and score a marketing coup ahead of their competitors. That level of desperation might just be the climate you need to enter to make your mark. The challenge is to figure out who to talk to. The company might not be hiring right now... in fact they might just be doing the opposite trying to be more lean and mean. Only by reaching to the top can you get the audience that resonates with your message.

Your approach will be more like a partner than an employee. But if you come with ideas and no equity, they might just create a new position for you. Remember that a large number of positions filled never get advertised. Companies would rather procure a candidate through the grapevine rather than being, by a deluge of applicants. If you have never been a salesperson before, this is the one time in your life where you do have to sell your skills in the market place.

Taking rejection can easily be handled this way. Say your monthly salary will be $5,000 and it might take you to knock on 100 doors to get the role you want. Say to yourself each time someone turns you down: "I just made $50!" You might hope to bump into the person you will hire you first and forget about the other 99. But if it turns out to be the other way around you will have enough motivation to last the ordeal.

Recruitment Agency Not Your Best Interest

Mon, 18 Feb 2013 00:00:00 +1100

Even though a recruitment agency takes a cut on your salary or hourly rate they are not working in your best interest - instead they are doing the employer's bidding. This is exacerbated by the fact that few employers will grant an agency exclusivity to field candidates for a given position.

Agencies like to play it safe and build their reputation in front of their clients. That means they will go for the no-risk candidate who has already been in a similar role for years. The person who is the perfect mule who will not get bored doing it again twice as long. Too much passion and lateral thinking from an agency's point of view are risk factors.

Agencies have a predilection for a chronological resume that exposes you bare with gaps and changes of direction in your career. They store candidates' resumes on their database and check several revisions you submit for inconsistencies. That way they can screen out people who are fudging things. The chronological resume allows agencies to calculate your average tenure in a job and screen out applicants classed as high risk.

On the other hand the perfect fit for a given position will be a functional resume matching every requirement of the job with your own skills listed by order of relevance - not chronological order. With an agency that is not an option because they claim they are prevented by law to alter your resume... They already do that anyway by masking your contact details so that their client can't bypass them and call you directly. Sadly that shows the level of trust or lack thereof.

Agencies like you to go for a blind date - not disclosing the employer's name until you are booked for an interview. This has some severe drawbacks. You might be applying for a role to be filled at your current employer and through the agency indiscretion your boss will find out if you have itchy feet. You might wonder if in the future we could turn the tables around and apply for jobs with a dummy name - only revealing our real identity when we land the job and have to disclose our banking and insurance details...

Agencies like the bait and switch approach. They will parade you in front of their client as an articulate, well mannered candidate but also have ready on hand some migrant who will undercut you by 20% which they have especially sponsored into the country.

Agencies like asking for references. Normally you should only give references to the employer after the first interview. Agencies on the other end may ask for them as early as possible not so much to check on your background but to try to place other candidates there. Needless to say that when your valued referee gets a call to speak well of you all that bother will dampen their enthusiasm.

I will stop there in case you get depressed. There is hope though if you take the matter in your own hands and target one specific job that you like - one at a time. There are still employers out there who dare to advertise roles in their company name. It sounds that this boldness alone makes them people worth working for. In order to give yourself the best possible chance you will have to analyse closely their requirements and craft a functional version of your resume to suit.

What to expect from aptitude tests?

Mon, 11 Feb 2013 00:00:00 +1100

Hopefully whether you are apt or not! In a world where we are racing to do more with less, aptitude tests have become the recipe for personnel appraisal. Even if you are not currently job hunting, you may be faced with some online tests of some sort to check your OH&S knowledge or to indoctrinate you as to make sure your mindset is politically correct.

Obviously there are two sides to a coin and since aptitude tests are here to stay it appears there are benefits to both the candidate and the recruiter.

People may appear to have everything going for them but collapse when put under stress. Some have no shame in fudging their resume. It gets so bad that you can't take anything at face value from strangers. Every claim has to be substantiated. In recruitment you are deemed a liar until proved truthful. That's the level of trust in the 21st century. Compare that with 200 years ago when a real-estate transaction was done on the value of a handshake before witnesses!

Aptitude tests when well designed should be a reliable yardstick to rate objectively as many candidates as possible competing for the same position.

Candidates need to practise for this new environment as time-limited online tests can be daunting - remember the outcome being considered for the job or screened out.

Suddenly people computer skills improve dramatically because of what is at stake. People will soon walk around with a T-shirt displaying their IQ. Discrimination is never far away. There are already schools where people cram for all sorts of tests trying to fill-up their head with all the right answers.

What about taking a test where there is no right or wrong answer? Personality profiling is a gray area as 50% of people retested within 9 months will return different results!

Aptitude Tests is an online service where you can sit for several types of tests. Better test yourself and identify your weaknesses before someone else does. Recruiters can also sponsor candidates and receive a tabular report rating each individual in relation to the whole group. Finally experts in a given field can write tests and derive an income for their effort.

Tests are not limited to multiple choice questions. Sound clips are useful for testing your understanding of a foreign language. Graphics are used for perception tests and for assessing your knowledge of art, geography or technical issues.

An online service means candidates can take the test at home and be called for an interview once a shortlist has been established. Companies can benefit from scores of tests designed by several experts.

Could you do without a resume?

Mon, 04 Feb 2013 00:00:00 +1100

The moment you hand over a brief of your employment history you are inviting people to fit you into a pigeonhole. The problem? You're not a pigeon.

Fear is an extremely powerful motivator in the recruitment process where prejudice abounds. Your mission? By-pass the process altogether and be remarkable.

This is your choice: go for compliance and be the best (cheapest?) disposable cog that will fit the corporate machine. The alternate is to let your reputation go ahead of you. Let three reliable references laud your past achievements and show how you saved the day in a sticky situation.

What about a cover letter addressing all the "must-have" spelt out in the job advertisement - not in the first person, but through your references.

Do you think those people will need a bit of help to sing your praises? Certainly. Just like you draft a contract for someone else to sign, your references will receive from you a document to put their name to. That will be no other than the minutes of a prior telephone conversation where you reviewed with them how your past accomplishments would be the perfect launch into the new position you are contemplating...

The purpose of the exercise is not to get you the job or negotiate your remuneration. Your assignment? Get yourself in front of the decision makers for an interview.

Because you are one of a kind you should not let yourself be railroaded into a straightjacket type position. If people appreciate your skills and your background they will create a new position for you.

You no longer play the recruitment game where people add up your compliance score. In the first instance what people say about you has more weight than what you might say about yourself - especially if those people are some authority figures your prospective employer knows about.

All you have to do when you turn up for the interview is to confirm those positive vibes by giving evidence after evidence that all that was said about you is indeed true.

If you are passionate about your work, if you have fire in your belly, if you bring new insight as to how you might help them reach their corporate goals - then it will shine through and they will love you to bits.

What if a member of the panel will be one of your peers and becomes jealous? You have to sell yourself to both the boss and the subordinate. They both have different things at stake and different agendas. Sometimes people are afraid of hiring someone too smart because they fear you might take them over.

Your tactic is to demonstrate how a successful person creates a draft for the whole organisation where new opportunities are being created left, right and centre.

Like the flu, enthusiasm is catching. Who said work had to be boring?

Job-speak Translations

Mon, 28 Jan 2013 00:00:00 +1100

The articulate candidate learns to read between the lines during an interview. Here are a few examples:

We need someone with a minimum of 3 years experience is a similar position.

Translation
We want to do a brain dump of someone who worked for our competitor and then get rid of that person before they get disloyal against us.

This position has been created as part of our new budget expansion.

Translation
We have the money to pay you as long as you reach your target.

Somebody will leave us in 2 weeks. We need you ASAP to learn as much as possible from that person and then hit the ground running.

Translation
There is no guarantee the outgoing person will be cooperative - leaving you stranded might be their parting gift to an employer they can't stand anymore.

I need to replace someone I just fired last week. I don't have much time to train yet another person - I just need to find someone I can trust...

Translation
The last guy was a liar and a cheat - you'd better be on your best behaviour. Even if you last the distance you will still be taken for granted.

The last guy was OK but when he asked for a pay raise we decided to sack him and get someone cheaper...

Translation
If you pay peanuts you get monkeys.

We are in no hurry to hire somebody right now but given the right chemistry and the attitude to match we would like to talk to someone who can help us reach our corporate goals.

Translation
Some people enjoy conducting interviews without ever hiring anyone. They call it market research (thank you for wasting my time).

Artists and bureaucrats

Mon, 21 Jan 2013 00:00:00 +1100

Do you go to work in order to survive and pay off the bills or because you are fulfilled in your vocation? For many, job satisfaction has gone out the window but there is a sense where you get the job that you deserve. Let me explain.

As labour inevitably becomes a commodity you have two choices: you can become a bureaucrat who enforces the rules or you can be an artist who is creative at solving problems.

There is enormous pressure from the corporate mindset to avoid risks and tow the party line. The rule book has been refined to perfection and you have heard it said: "We have always done it like this before. Our methods have served us well all this time. Don't try to fix something that's not broken..."

An artist on the other hand doesn't mind rocking the boat for a good outcome. It is someone who believes in what they do and find satisfaction and fulfilment by going the extra mile. They like not just to do their work but to do it well and in an elegant way. They are experts at problem solving - the sort of problems that the rule book never thought of... They are the guys who don't mind breaking a few eggs to make an omelette. If everybody else has become a cog they are the ones who know where lubrication is badly needed.

If you are the boss of an artist in your organisation you can become jealous or you can see the benefit of a subordinate that makes your department look good.

Artists are those who can see over the business horizon and are prepared to try several things just in case one idea might work.

Bureaucrats will enforce the status-quo and spread rumours to stifle any creative attempt at making the corporate machine more adaptable in its environment. They have zero imagination, cannot handle risk but can only repeat what they have been trained to do all along.

In a start-up everybody is an artist. In a large conglomerate the majority are bureaucrats obeying the rules while a handful of artists are kept out of sight for their own protection. They come up with solutions that only someone on the shop floor with a different mindset could dream of.

If deep down you know that you are the artist-type you will have a hard time during the recruitment process. People will love to hear of your achievements but they will screen out anybody who doesn't fit the corporate mould.

The trap of a secure and boring job

Mon, 14 Jan 2013 00:00:00 +1100

What once happened to blue collar jobs is now happening to white collar jobs: The Commodification of the labour market.

By hiring drones who follow instructions factory owners can drive their labour costs to a bare minimum. We have seen so many manufacturing jobs fly overseas and we are delighted to import from these people what we used to produce ourselves. Some people call it progress. Progress for who?

Here comes the call-centre. An entire office floor of cubicles with in each a computer screen to read the script to the customer, a telephone headset to yap all day to strangers you never get to see and a mirror to remind you to keep smiling...

Yes - wake-up to it office jobs are now a commodity. There will always be someone else to take your place and undercut your pay.

By providing a script, a rule book, a procedures manual (whatever you want to call it) bosses are declaring that you are not allowed to think for yourself. You are not expected to show initiative or demonstrate problem solving skills - all you are expected to do is turn up on time and stay there for the duration of a day's work.

You have become a cog in somebody else's marketing machine. Everything that could be tried has been tried. Outbound automated telemarketing messages were the ire of homeowners who got interrupted at meal time by obnoxious appeals.

Failing that, we had the craze of calls from India to induce us to take up a new credit card or swap our telephone plan.

In the face of all this, it seems that average jobs are disappearing fast. You can either get undercut by a plethora of cheap labour eager to take your place. Or you can make yourself indispensable by providing initiative in a workplace where they didn't get around putting everything in the rule book yet. (They might actually ask you to pour all your knowledge into the rule book and then turn around and make you redundant...)

You think this is too far fetched? I worked in the IT industry as a contractor and the Indian effect was astounding in cutting down our hourly rates. The permanent staffers had a unique technique to hang on to their jobs: procrastination by obstruction. Under the cover of security of information they erected barrier after barrier of passwords and network access so that newcomers could waste an entire day's work by simply being unable to get to the data they needed to perform their task.

Paul Mendham commented:
This is all 'well-&-good' Bruno, but whilst true is a tad depressing! What would be the positive ways out of this downward spiral? Go out on a limb, take a huge risk, and set up by yourself (thence introducing your own systems!)? Or maybe look at the changing business landscape and get ahead of the curve? Or move to India? Face-to-face roles seem more free from systematisation, where can these be found outside sales? I look forward to the next instalment, including a solution, with interest. Cheers, Paul

Resolving the interview's 5+5 questions

Mon, 07 Jan 2013 00:00:00 +1100

Believe it or not a job interview is just as much a dicey affair for the employer as it is for the candidate. The whole power play can be summed up in just 5 questions in each camp which actually mirror each other.

For the employer:

Why do you apply for this role?

Are you knowledgeable about our industry and are you acquainted with our company ethos? Recruiters dislike people who put their hand up for a job without checking if the role will fit them.

What would you do to address our problem?

What is your track record in bringing about a successful outcome? Have you tackled this issue before? Chances are this candidate will just repeat what he did in the past - let's see the track record.

Are you a team player?

Will you blend in with our existing staff and cooperate rather than exacerbate the situation? Will this person be happy with us or will he move on at the first opportunity? Can a cheerful attitude be passed on to the people we already have? Can some informal coaching be taking place on the job?

What makes you different from the other candidates?

Why should we hire you? What is the significant difference that would make us feel we have spotted the right person out of this crowd?

Can we afford you?

Is this guy prepared to work within our budget?

For the candidate:

What is this job about?

Will I be satisfied and fulfilled working here? Am I going to learn something new?

What skills do you need?

How much of a learning curve is this going to be? Will I need re-training? How can I re-use what I already know?

What is the culture of the place?

Can these people be trusted? Are they playing a game of office politics? Do they keep their word? Do they stand by their employees? What about transport arrangements? Is the office space a good working environment or do they squeeze as many cubicles as can fit on the floor space? What about canteen or lunch break, staff kitchen, gym, kindergarten?

What is my drawcard to stand out from the competition?

Have I spotted a need I could fulfil in an elegant and effective way? Do I bring sorely needed extra skills into this outfit?

Can I get the pay I want?

How can I negotiate the price I believe I am worth? What fringe benefits will I get? What is the policy on yearly reviews and wage increases?

Finally remember that some interviews will get you nowhere for no fault of your own. Some people have their mind set on hiring a friend but have to interview a list of candidates to comply with the procedures. Just use each interview as a practice run to sharpen you listening and negotiating skills.

Are you job hunting back to front?

Mon, 31 Dec 2012 00:00:00 +1100

Did you know that employers and job hunters go about meeting each other in exactly opposite ways?

Let me explain. A boss would most preferably fill a vacant position internally - stealing a gifted person from another department within the company. If that fails they would seek people from their sphere of influence - service clubs, professional associations, churches, etc... If still no success, only then would a company hire a recruitment agency - despite the cost, it will take care of everything. If that's not an option they will reluctantly put an ad in the paper or online and brace themselves for the onslaught. And finally if they are totally clueless they will pull a cardboard box where all the unsolicited resumes that arrived in the mail are dumped.

Now look at the irony. What would most people looking for work do? Exactly the opposite! They compose a 'one size fits all' CV and blast it on the net onto resume farms. Next they would join the scores of candidates who replied to the same ad - unaware that the name of the game is selection by depletion: people who scan your resume look for reasons to discard you until they are left with a short list of 10 people they are willing to call for an interview. The more daring candidates would then call a recruitment agency and hope they will line up a few good jobs that would match their skills. Little do they know that recruiters don't work for candidates - instead they do the bidding of employers.

Finally la crème de la crème are the smart operators who do their homework and take the time to think about their dream job. They are the eternal optimists who go after jobs that don't even exist - they are such outstanding people that a job will be created just for them... no that's not a joke - their enthusiasm is catching. They can talk their way into a boardroom and convince people to put their good ideas into motion. Bosses are busy and lazy. If someone comes along and repeats out loud all the good things they know they should have been doing some time ago - they would take the plunge and hire the person on the spot. The new recruit doesn't need induction, they have done their homework on the company already. They don't need motivation, they will motivate other employees around them.

You might think that only applies to marketing gurus or public relation experts who do their own spin. But you can scale this approach down to the local workshop. Find out where people have their lunch break and strike a conversation. What have you got to lose? At least you will overcome your shyness and be good at talking to strangers.

Adrian McCabe commented:
Sounds about right. Thanks Bruno.

Who Needs A Functional Resume?

Mon, 24 Dec 2012 00:00:00 +1100

As soon as gaps or changes of direction appear in your employment history you may benefit from a functional resume. The time worn chronological format is a bit like a trail of where you've been as well as how long you stayed in one place on the employment scene. It gives out spurious information that can be used against you.

The first move towards a functional format is when people list their work experience in reverse chronological order. Obviously no employer is too concerned about how you started off in your work life since many students take part-time jobs unrelated to their studies.

So from an employer's point of view your last assignment is the most relevant because what you are doing right now gives many clues as to how employable you are to them.

But why stop there? If your purpose is to match the requirements laid out in the job specifications and you have to compete with scores of unseen other candidates for the same position why not give it your best shot? You've got it - your last role may not be the most relevant for the position you're applying for. Who said you have to list your experience in reverse chronological order? So what are the complications? For a start you can no longer list your start and end dates. What about posting the duration of each role you had instead? Does the employer read some horoscope to screen those who started their last job in May or April? Who cares!

What then will determine the order of your work experience in a functional resume? It will be the order of relevance for that one position you're applying for. Here lies the major trump card of the functional resume: it is custom written for one job posting in order to maximize your chance of being called for an interview.

This is in stark contrast to the reverse chronological resume that people would aimlessly blast on blogs or resume farms in the hope that the prince charming employer in shining armour will find you. Wake up and be real! It's not going to happen. What you have to do in a competitive employment scene is identify the jobs that will both give you the most satisfaction and give you the chance to unleash your skills. Then target each one of those job posts with a tailor-made functional resume.

Sound like a lot of work? Don't worry others are already using a tool to do just that.