Job Search: what type is yours?

There are probably as many types of Job Search as there are Job Seekers.

But the global increase in unemployment has brought about a new surge in job applicants, many of whom have not have experienced the task of the Job Search in many years. The result is many dissatisfied job seekers, who feel that their Job Search efforts are not being appreciated by the employment profession, with a resultant increase in long term job seekers.

However, if they knew which type of job search they were undertaking, they would know what type of result they should expect.

Direct Offer: The insider

The direct approach and offer from a company, is often a surprise to the person, who probably as not an active job seeker. This type of job seeker is already directly known by the organisation, normally through being an existing employee. You could also be presently working for a competitor, supplier or an existing customer of the organisation. If you are approached, you have a 90% chance of being employed using this method.

Networking from: The Virtual Insider

This type of direct approach offer again is a delight to a person who is probably not an active job seeker, but is presently not known to the employing organisation. The result of this approach is a testament to their clear personal elevator pitch and track record of delivery, and the advocation by others often within the employing organisation, or by people within a common mutual network. This is a fast expanding area of recruitment, with companies now paying existing employees for successful introductions of new hires. If approached, you have a 50% chance of being employed using this method

Executive Headhunter: The Star!

Modern headhunting is about direct from client business orientated briefs, which are fulfilled quickly. While the client side of the business has changed little but niched more, the search and find side of the business has been transformed by the boom in social networking. Now, techniques like Boolean search allow headhunters to create larger lists of suitably qualified applicants, and hence offer better candidates who are more researched in a quicker timescale. The result is that these types of job seekers are again often not active job seekers, but can be concluded as stars within their chosen profession or market. You have a greater than 35% chance of being employed if approached using this method

Networking to: The Inside track

We now move from mainly passive job seekers to active job seekers, those who are either employed or presently between positions. This next two types of job search require the job seeker to:

• Know themselves, and what they offer
• Know what they want to do
• Be able to communicate the combination in a personal elevator pitch
• Be willing to research the desired/targeted organisations

This type of job search requires effort, and hence most job seekers avoid it not because they are more successful – often ten times as successful as other active types of job search; but because other options require less thought and effort.

The inside track approach requires that having decided to job search, that inside your target organisation/s you already have a previously developed contact/s. This inside contact may be as a result of you being a customer, supplier, competitor or business network contacts. Your initial approach is based on person to person conversations often over cups of coffee, making a subtle research based informational interview approach to asses who you should be talking to, and what they are seeking to achieve for the business. If you use this method, then you have a 20% chance of being employed from companies you target

Direct approach: The Navigator

The navigator approach is similar and statistically as successful to the inside track, but as you have no developed contacts inside the target organisations (start with a list of 50, whittle them down to 20 through simple research), you need to develop a contact base. With the development of business orientated social networking, and the increase in the number of companies offering existing employees bonuses for the successful introduction of new hires, this method is a lot easier than it ever was. It requires the same clarity of though on who you are/what you want out of your career as the inside tack, with similar levels of research effort on the target organisations, but development of suitable insider contacts. On average five times more successful than applying via job adverts in newspapers or job boards, with a 15% chance of being employed from companies you target on your researched list. This can easily be improved to virtual insider levels of success of 50% or greater with some more simple research and networking techniques, it just depends on how much you want a job with that company?

Recruiter: The Mountie

The next set of three job search options have differing rates of success, but have two things in common:

• You will follow a defined HR process to be hired
• As the positions are openly advertised for, you will have high levels of competition. Expect 5 people to make it to the interview stage for each single position being recruited for, multiplied by three fold back down each stage of the recruitment process (ie: application, CV sift, online testing, telephone interview, etc). This could presently result in 100 original job applications

If you undertake your job search via a recruiter advert, and having checked out the strength of the recruiters relationship and brief to make sure you are not being CV fished, and further have not broken the “three recruiters and out” rule; then your chances of employment via this route are 15% or greater. You can easily improve this to 35% or more if you know the right tactics and questions to ask. The recruiter often works in a competitive environment, against other recruiters and the organisations own HR people, to fulfil a position. If the recruiter successfully fulfils the position and gets their man, then they get paid; if not, then its on to the next opportunity. Good recruiters always get their man, and after introduction to the employer you follow the organisations defined recruitment process

Newspaper or company website job advert: The Jockey

Newspaper adverts and company websites are a good source of real job opportunity. Firstly, they require effort and or cost on behalf of the hiring organisation, which means that the jobs are real and not CV fishing exercises. Secondly, you are direct on to the organisation, although you have to accept that you probably won’t be talking to the hiring manager, but about to ride through a sanitised, wholly locally legal/ethical and HR managed/monitored recruitment process. Don’t expect to be treated like you or a human being, the process is designed to be selective in a non-judgemental way. You hence have little choice in the race you are about to take part in, expect that you chose to enter it, and hence have little ability to affect its outcome. Your chances of being recruited via this method once you hit the apply button or send your application through the post are between 3% and 5%, although this can easily be doubled with some simple effort

Job board: The donkey

Of all the methods of job search, the job board is the most common and actively used by many present day job seekers. Yet, the statistics show that only 12% of all positions are fulfilled by job boards in any market. If so few jobs are fulfilled by job boards, why do most unsuccessful long term job seekers spend most of their days trawling job boards? Simply, it doesn’t require much effort to find or apply for jobs on a job board, but gives the job seeker the regular internal satisfaction of being able to say at the end of each day “yes honey, I spent the day job seeking!” As a recruiter, I know that some of those jobs “advertised” on job boards do not exist. The job board market is so competitive – with around 50,000 job boards in North America, and 50,000 around the rest of the world – that the cost of advertising a job on a job board can be as little as free. If the cost of doing something was free, and add in that you can repeat the same job advert for ever simply by ticking a repeat button, how often would you do that task? In a recent test, of 126 jobs advertised as available in a large city, an employment organisation found that the actual number of jobs fulfilling the search criteria was 10! When there are so many “false” or repeat job adverts, and when it is so easy to CV fish, is it any wonder that you chances of success via a job board can drop as low as 2%?

Job Search: conclusion

So, what type of job search are you undertaking? Statistics from various parts of the world show that a majority of job seekers focus most of their efforts in responding to job adverts from recruiters, newspapers or spending their time on job boards, where at best their average chance of success if 15% or less. Yet, over three quarter of jobs fulfilled in the past year have never been advertised, of which at least half of them are open for application from job seekers who just have to put in a little effort and know a few simply learnt tactics.

For instance, one job search tactic takes: 1second to understand; 1minute to learn; and within 5minutes applied to take your job search success in responding to job adverts from 15% or less to 35% or greater. Yet most would just prefer to go on proving the well known and proven job search results that they and others have always achieved.

The job search: what type is yours? Good Luck!

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Job Search: Employment in 24hrs

Is it possible, in a job search, to get a job and be employed in less than 24hrs? Simply yes – here is how to do it in 8steps or less!

A friend of mine rang me a few weeks back, and asked if I could help him. We both worked together a few years back at his and my first positions in a recruitment company, and while he had moved back into IT, I has stayed in recruitment.

My friend had spotted a job opportunity a week before……

• Step1: have a profile in your market, and know who in that market is employing or where to find their jobs posted

He had found via LinkedIn that an old work colleague of his was now employed at the company……

• Step2: if you want to get employed consistently or quickly, find an insider. You might not know someone, so find someone using Social Networking on sites like LinkedIn

Having been assured that the job was available, that he had the skills to do the job, and that the company was good for him…..

• Step3: Do your research. Too little research = risk, and that increases your chances of not being hired

He knew he needed help: a new Professional CV!

• Step4: be very honest with yourself, in knowing what you are good at, and what you are not. If you think you are good at something, and not getting the results, then stop doing it

So, he rang me, with the opening business line after a quick catch-up: “Ian, you always love writing, and I need a favour – in 24hours or less!”

• Step5: If you are going to employ someone, find someone who is both enthusiastic about the task, and busy

Unfortunately for me, he picked the right person. Now much as though many recruiters look down on recruiters who do more than pure recruiting, I do love the employment market, and I do love writing. I also enjoy learning, and having a view of both the applicants and employer side of the market means quicker learning – which results in our Professional CV clients getting an interview on average once in every three job applications. I enjoy being a CV Writer, although I still do the recruiting because I enjoy it as much and it pays a lot more. Plus, as he wanted it done quickly, and as I knew him, he trusted me to do the job

• Step6: once you have outsourced something, trust the expert and let them get on with it. You may not like the result, but you employed them because they are the expert who gets results for others. If you don’t like something, ask for an explanation as to why they did it that way, rather than later removing or changing it

8hours later, we had a conversation as he travelled home on the train with his new CV in hand. “There is just on thing I want to change, and its one letter” was his comment. What’s next I asked?

• Step7: Know the companies employment process front to back, ideally before but at latest just after you have placed a job application, and the time scales of each step

He rolled off a set of steps and dates, the next of which was sending in his CV that evening. He was expecting an interview in a few weeks

The following afternoon, I got a call: as a result of his internal recommendation and his impressive CV, he just had his first, second and third interviews, and was now walking away from the building with a job offer. His basic was £5000 more than the job was advertised with

• Step8: If it flows quickly through the process, and you gain confidence, then you will get employed

If you look at these steps, three of the eight are about researching the company and finding internal confirmation that they are right for you, and you for them. Much as though these particular steps are about taking action to make a job application, they are not actually involved in responding to job adverts placed in newspapers or on job boards. If there is one thing in my experience that successful job seekers do very well, and unsuccessful job seekers do poorly, it is focusing their efforts on jobs they can do and win, and less about applying for any job they can click to apply for.

Good Luck!

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Testimonials on a CV?

Jennifer Scott asks: Do testimonials on a CV/resume appeal to you? As a recruiter of 16+ years, I have my own opinions on this. I have spoken with resume writers who disagree… so I’m turning to you, the hiring decision maker, for your opinion. Let’s assume, for argument’s sake, that the resumes in question are all from qualified candidates. Technically, they could all “do the job”, at least from what you can see on paper. Do you LIKE to see testimonials on resumes? Or, do you find them distracting? Are they beneficial? harmful? benign? Do they help candidates stand out from the crowd in “good” way? What are your thoughts? And, thanks in advance for your time.

In answer:
As a recruiter looking at the CV/resume of a job applicant, love them: that’s another few people for my database, after a quick couple of phone calls! Oh, and I suppose I ought to review the applicants suitability for the job….

As a CV Writer, hate them: see above answer, plus it tales away space from actually communicating your suitability for that job.

This whole testimonials/references in CV/resume question seems to be continually appearing and being asked in different forms. I conclude at present its being driven by the online generation, who seem to want to include their Social Networking comments from their mates as references.

What ever the driver, any references are wholly to be kept to yourself until you have an offer stating “conditional, subject to references.”

Good Luck!

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Ian,

Thank you for a very well thought out response! As a recruiter, I also love the leads! As a hiring manager, I do not see the value in them. I have friends who are “resume writers” who have never actually been hiring managers (that’s another topic all together!)… and they seem to think these testimonials are the best thing ever! I’m trying to show a different view.

Thanks again for your input!!

Jennifer Scott
www.hireeffect.com

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1000 Job Applications, No Job

Thomas asks: I have sent out over 1000 CV’s and Job Applications, so far with no job offers. I am in the Armed Forces, I have a degree, I have experience and I am willing to move. I find jobs all the time. What does society want from me? Why in interviews does the company say they will, ” call you back next week and let you know,” but then never call? Help!

In answer:
Thomas: sorry to hear about your pain – I have great sympathy. Thank you for serving your country and our world, so lets see if we can help you here.

I read your CV, and it says: “My objective is to obtain a career working with young people within a community.” I read your question here and it opens: “I sent out over 1000 CV’s.”

Taking a military perspective here to an easily solved employment problem, its sounds like you are using a blanket bombing technique that has no clear objective.

Communicate the Solution

Let me explain: employers want solutions to problems. They create a business plan, agree its needs staffing, create a job description with at least five skills in it, and use those as both the basis of their advert and their five key selection criteria.

If your success ratio is less than 1 interview per 5 job applications – yes, even in the present economy – then you are either choosing the wrong jobs or to apply for are not communicating in your CV or Job Application, and not following through in interview, that you have the required 5+ skills: its that simple! If you are using that same CV for every job application, then I can understand that anyone will go through 1000 job applications without success: it is not specific enough, and as an employer I wouldn’t have a clue what you could do for me.

Be Specific

If we come back to your unspecific career objective, how many organisations within say a 30mile commute distance of your present or desired home base would fulfil that criteria? (NB: employers will nominally reject you outside that radius, unless you use a local address). Create a list, and doing some simple research finding out which ones are:
interesting
expanding, or recently gained local or national level funding.
Then, use social networking sites liked LinkedIn to find contacts in that organisation The aim is to write to the CEO/board with specific reasons that you want to work for them and how you could help them, asking for an Informational Interview. Yes, its a sniper technique, but its very effective.

The employment world is tough, and as a military man its tough adjusting to civilian life – I know, we employ ex-British Army people. But is a different and more subtle application of the same processes you have learnt in the army.

If I can help you, please just ask, and Good Luck!

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No response after initial interview, now what?

Jason, an MBA student, asks: I interviewed for a position with a company I really want to work for. However, I have had no response from the HR recruiter or hiring manager since my initial interview. I have called and emailed more than 4 times in the past month but no response. I understand I probably didn’t get the job but I’d like to keep in contact for future opportunities. What shall I do now?

In answer:
Much like sending a Cover Letter when applying for a job, the act of sending a Thank You letter after the initial physical interview is also an essential art of Job Search etiquette

Send a physical letter on good paper to the hiring manager who interviewed you – not the HR person, or the recruiter, that:

• Thanks them for their time
• Expresses your continued interest in working for their company
• Close out like a Cover Letter with a call to action, which says something along the lines of: “As discussed at the interview, I look forward to hearing from within the next X days/before X.” If nothing was agreed, then insert 10days from the date of the interview

Only if you made a complete hash of a question, do you need to address any such issues in your Thank You letter. Stumbling is OK, as is feeling the pressure in an interview. Only if you made a complete failure at the interview on one question, should you even think about addressing such issues in your thank you letter. If you do, then insert the question and developed answer on a separate sheet titled “Follow Up Issues from Interview.”

The main reason for sending the thank you letter is that it then gives you the opportunity in the timescale stated in the call to action to follow through with a telephone call. If you don’t send the letter, then you look desperate – sending the letter means you just look professional, and greatly reduce your chances of the employer not responding after the interview.

Interview no response

If you find that you don’t get a response by any form of communication, then you are licensed by their lack of response to take more direct action – if that is where you really want to work.

Write a second letter – or email with a read receipt -stating that you assume they have filled the position, but that you would like that they keep your CV on file for any suitable positions that might open up in the future. Copy this correspondence to the HR person, and if you were referred through to the recruiter as well.

If you can identify an in house recruiter, give them a call – physical effort counts over eMail every time for getting a response. Tell them how great a company they have and ask what the general hiring outlook is? Their role is to swiftly propose good candidates when someone in the company says we need to hire someone. Hence, if the recruiter knows you, you will be on the list of people they mention.

Lastly, if all else fails, use Social Networking tools like LinkedIn to find people who work for that company. Make a connection and ask them to send an internal note to HR about you. If nothing else, you will get a note or an email with Thanks, but we have found someone else, but at least then you will have closure.

If you are really truly set on working for that target company, I’d be chatting up that internal recruiter and watching their website like a hawk for posted openings.

Good Luck!

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Career Change CV

Howard asks: Over the years I have worked with several small teams in quite “changeable” companies – this has resulted in a lot of experience in a lot of areas, but not exactly focussed expertise. What’s the best way to present this “jack-of-all-trades” type of experience without it appearing negative or CV-padding? Is it even seen as a negative, and why?

In answer:

As a UK recruiter specialising in IT and Telecom, and running a Professional CV writing service, it is a typical problem with technologists and engineers Howard. As the technology moves, so does the skill set – but often, people have a particular love for a certain technology, so want to keep it on their CV.

I think the factor missed here is: what do you want to do? To help that along, it often helps to see how people describe themselves across the Social Networking platforms, and your self description is consistently found under a Google CV search as:

System/Network Admin with in-house software development experience on a variety of platforms. Particular interest in software integration and monitoring.

Now, that to me sounds like a great description of what you want to do – unless of course like many, its an old description.

Accepting technology moves on, you will accept some of your way back skills are probably no longer needed in the market and are a bit rusty – but they do show your deep interest in software development and integration. Remember, HR managers who will be first to review your CV and will authorise any hire, will just be looking at the deployable skill sets required by the job description – hiring managers may look at more and deeper skill sets.

A CV is a factually based sales pitch against a particular job – no more, and no less. Decide what you like and want to do next and focus your CV as such, adjusting the personal statement and skill sets deployed as required for each job application.

If you need a Free CV Review, then please submit via the link – always happy to help.

Good Luck!

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Social Networking

photo credit: Spencer E Holtaway

The modern world and the internet brings many advantages to many people, and changes in the way in which opportunity is provided. Not least of these changed sectors is that of recruitment, where the rise of job boards such as Monster and WorkThing has brought about the opportunity for individuals to become aware of more job vacancies over a greater geography, and do better research on employers.

However, have you ever thought about switching the question, and asking what advantages the internet brings to the employer, particularly in the area of Social Networking? In fact, rather than worrying about big-brother syndrome and what information is on the internet about you, could it be argued that unless I the employer can find you, I couldn’t hire you?

Jobs Boards advertise many jobs for a vast range of employers, from both local start-ups to global corporates. Although pre-credit crunch jobs board activity was in slow decline, the growth area presently over the early generalist brands like StepStone (who have retreated to become a back end process supplier), is now in focused job boards. These can either be targeted on a geographic or sector basis, or both. For instance, specialist financial sector job boards exist in London and New York, while specialist IT sector boards exist in Silicon Valley, Northern Virginia and even the UK’s Thames Valley. However, the greatest growth is in localised geographic job boards, which fulfil two driving needs: local SME employers realising the reduced costs of employment of using job boards over recruiters; the news print industry wanting to enter the online world, to replace reduced revenue flow from print media sales.

photo credit: Spencer E Holtaway

Increased job board proliferation means that candidates have a far greater choice of opportunity – but the process under lying these job boards is effectively the same process used 50 years ago to apply for a job: the CV. Accepted, that now the candidate places their CV online at the job board – encouraged to do so by the job board owners making this “service” free – and they have control over whether their CV is in the public domain of the job board, or hidden and only shown to employers whose jobs they apply for. Part of the perceived problem in job board usage drop-off pre-credit crunch was that many recruiters seeking to gain early access to candidates with rare skills placed false or non-briefed requirements on the job boards to attract them. This type of activity – to the detriment of the recruitment industry – has always gone on. But when recruiters and employers are the only participants in the job board business model who pay to participate, one can understand why they may well seek to use tactics which create additional value beyond those marketed by the job board owners.

One thing that the job board model has created is a surge in known candidate data for any job search – from about 25% to at least 35%/40% in less than 15 years. This in theory means that there are still two thirds of potential candidates who are invisible to employers and recruiters, but Social Media has brought about a huge change in this visibility.

The main driven fear of job seekers when assessing their use of Social Media is “will I be excluded from a job selection process, because of what my Social Media profile says about me?” This mix of data about them found on the internet is often now referred to as their Google CV. For instance, telling your mates and friends on Facebook about the latest intimate details of last weekends trawl of local bars, your current relationship, your hobbies – or your love of Fetish wear – are all raised concerns of job applicants when deciding what to do about their Social Media profiles. A couple of thoughts……

1. If its out there and could have been found, then it’s out there and stored in Google’s cache. If you think its socially cool and highly accepted to walk down your local high street with a white placard board with all your intimate details written on it, then that’s what you are doing when you place all your intimate thoughts and details online. Did you know that by just placing three pieces of information online, most criminals could replicate your ID sufficiently to get a credit card or bank account in your name? May be next time before your put everything into the public domain to attract a few more new interesting mates online for a better weekend, you might want to just keep public the things you would tell someone you meet in a bar/at a meeting during a 10minute conversation. Assume the rest is for best friends/for the bedroom only material, and keep it private
2. If that’s you, then that’s you – would you really want to work for an employer, or even survive in an environment which didn’t accepted you were a socially connected individual, and had a life outside the 9-5? The best employers reflect internally their external customer audience that they market/sell to, so hire people who reflect that targeted audience. Probably the most extreme example of this in their hiring process is Oakley sunglasses, who want all applicants for both internal hire and regional franchisee’s to explain their social and leisure activity first before considering them for an interview. Oakley want a series of wholly credible with their customers ambassadors, who actually are die hard sports people first over corporate people a distant second. If applicants can not explain how they enjoy relaxing doing their sport or hobby first, then Oakley won’t consider them for an interview.

If an employer can’t accept that a socially single 20-something does occasionally go out and have a few too many beers and a dance around a mirrored ball in their local bar, then – really, would you want to work for them? Accepted that perhaps a 40-something trawling bars like a 20-something might be a caution sign to an employer, but if they were part of a social group like a rugby club or were meeting up with old friends on an annualised basis, then again – if that was unacceptable, would you really want to work for that company?

Employers always seek socially connected individuals – much as though an overtly active social life may be a caution to some employers, a lack of one to all is an equally if not greater caution sign. It is hence why many CV Templates include a CV Interests section. It is there mainly for school/university graduates who may have little work place experience; but it also serves to show/confirm to an employer that you are a “normal” individual and have a developed capability for social integration.

Which brings about the question: if I can’t find you as a candidate/human being with a life online, are you degradating your employment prospects in the modern connected world? Undoubtedly, yes.

Much as though you might not want to stick a board on your chest and advertise yourself as “available,” a non-existent social profile equally robs the modern professional of being employed. Perhaps the more socially-perceived Social Networks such of Facebook are not for you: but consider that it has the greatest average age of any Social Network community of 35; and a user community which stands at 174 million, the equivalent size of Brazil. Business focused social networks such as LinkedIn and Doostang are aimed solely and squarely at professional business people, and are useful minimum social marker posts where the modern business professional should be found.

Are there downsides to having a professional social network profile? Yes, it could and probably will attract some unwelcome attention of over-enthusiastic recruiters seeking those skill-short or rare candidate skills. But a 50 word profile doesn’t give them all your details, it just says you exist – and professional recruiters will always accept a no is a no. Fools can always be controlled by reporting them to either their own managers, or the Social Networking sites own administration network: they don’t want you to go away, so they will happily deal with persistent and unprofessional conduct.

What does your profile need to say? Not a lot more than the basics you would tell another professional in any first business meeting, after presenting them with your business card. A typical 50 word summary should include: (a) what you do, (b) major projects, and (c) your responsibilities. If you are a job seeker, then include an additional set of words which indicate that. You may not want to go that far, but a professional statement along the lines of “presently seeking employment in the areas of X, Y or Z” will in a professional manner attract more than enough employer and recruiter views.

So if you are job hunting, or just wanting to improve your career management, try some focused social networking – because if I can’t find you, I can’t hire you.

Good Luck!

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Social Networking

Jennifer, a job seeker asks: Where do you draw the line? how do you decide which photo, information, etc is appropriate to be there for some of your contacts (specifically professional contacts) to see??

No- I am not talking about super inappropriate pictures or anything like that…It’s just that when I started facebooking- it was more of a personal page just like myspace or friendster wherein most of the people you will have there are your friends and that is one great way to update everyone of what is going on in your life by posting photos where you travelled, with your pets, family and some good fun times at the bar where you are probably holding a bottle of beer or liquor with your girlfriends or buds..lol

I guess…now that I am about to start a new job and I am planning to definitely utilize and make full use of my facebook page to do networking..is it time for me to get rid of my bacheloretter party pics? I guess the best thing to do is create a separate professional facebook account?

In answer:

Keep one account, but tone it down to a “I am a professional, but am not as grey as a brick and do have a social life” formula. Apply a test of “would I tell my mother this in a busy coffee shop” – and its alternate of “if it makes my mates laugh, its unsuitable” and all should be OK.

Having two accounts just makes recruiting and HR people looking to employ you conclude that you DO have something to hide – and hence its a reason for a CV/resume first stage sift exclusion. Where as restricting access to a set of pictures on a girls trip to Vegas can be easily understood.

Employers want to see socially connected people, so having a Facebook account which includes social things appropriate for your age/the event being attended is more than fine. But how you handle your own image and information reflects in part how you will handle their image and information: HR people are taught that patterns repeat.

Good Luck!

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Facebook: employment liability

We are on Facebook, the social network: you can find me here: http://profile.to/recruit/

A very socially cool website valued at over $1Bn US dollars, on Facebook you can:

• See comments from your friends and new people
• Play scrabble or poker
• Find out where people are right now
• What people think of others, including you
• What’s in their social diary
• Who they are dating/going further with

And you know that in a few hours time, thanks to a 2MegPixel camera in their mobile phone, the resulting evidence of the pub crawl will be online and in their Facebook page. I mean, how really cool of an inside look in any friends life is that – possibly too close?

But with regards employment, Facebook is both a godsend and a nightmare. Do you really want everyone from the North Pole to the South Pole, and any potential employer to see the photographic evidence of your weekend away?

I am hence very careful on who I am connected to on Facebook; and I don’t put stuff on my Facebook profile which could harm my personal or business reputation.

Two stories have recently hit the headlines about employee’s being disciplined from entries they made themselves on Facebook:

• Australian call centre worker Kyle Doyle, who after a grand night out and resultant hangover, pulled a sickie. His HR manager alerted by his manger asked for the certificated evidence, which then was responded to by an reference to his Facebook entry
• Virgin Atlantic sacked 13 staff at their Gatwick hub who criticised the company for lack of cleaning, and rated customers as “chav’s.” I think they could have got away with the former with a caution, but not with the later which potentially brought the company into disrepute

Much as though employers have to be more aware of the use of social networks and make allowances in employment contracts, that doesn’t mean it is all flowing in the employee’s direction. Hence when I am searching for people for clients, half the reason I have a Facebook page is that I can both find new and check on recommended potential employee’s – it is constantly amazing what you can find out, and how daft many are with their personal reputation.

Please, please, please – be aware of what information you place in public. Social networking and Facebook can be fun – but it can also get you sacked, or rejected from a job search.

Good Luck!

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Job Search

I read this article this morning, and thought – “does he know what’s going on?” And then I thought – “Hmm: its just a piece of seminar fodder!”

The reality of recruiters, and even employers using web 2.0 is – they already do. We just often at present don’t use it to advertise vacancies…..

In a previous blog, I wrote about how much information there is now out there in the public information space, and how social networking (Web 2.0) was being used by recruiters and employers to more thoroughly vet applicants. Only last week, I coached a pre-grad University student on how grooming and possibly hiding her Facebook and MySpace pages may assist her in both finding employment and on being vetted.

What really amazed me about the article was that, as in example a member of LinkedIn LION’s where an outsized proportion of members are recruiters; they join because of who they want to connect to in both potential candidates as well as other recruiters, so that they can both more easily find people and check them out.

So, just to repeat – if you are looking for a job on either permanent or contract basis, and have a professional pitch to make: just watch what you have about yourselves on your Web 2.0 pages. Honestly, Google and social networking is a god-send in the recruitment market.

Good Luck!

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If you want to check the suitability of your existing CV, then get a FREE CV review

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