A blog written by a Minnesota IT Recruiter about Minnesota jobs and business news, covering Recruiter, HR, career, job search, networking and social media topics, technology and the Minnesota IT and tech startup community. And a little Gopher football.
“When you are asked if you can do a job, tell 'em, 'Certainly I can!' Then get busy and find out how to do it.” - Theodore Roosevelt
I remember all of the jobs I had while I was in college and none of them, thankfully, led to the career I pursued once I graduated. I didn't get to do any interesting internships (actually, I didn't get to do any internships).
I think the most memorable job I had while I was in college was working in a deli, fishing pickles out of huge barrels (and I don't think I've eaten a pickle since). But it's not always the job (or jobs) you had while you were in college. It's how you leverage the experiences you've had that will determine your success.
When you apply for a job or are waiting to hear back from an interview it’s tempting to want to call and email to find out when they’ll be making a decision but there is a fine line between being persistent and being a pain. Let me explain.
After sending your resume to a company it’s perfectly ok to call and verify that they received it. Same with an after interview follow up phone call (although this doesn’t take the place of a post-interview thank you letter!). You can call to express your continued interest in the position and thank them again for the interview.
Now that you’ve done that you may need to sit back and wait. If they have given you a date that they will be making their decision it is not going to help you to call every day until then. You might think it shows determination, tenacity and perseverance. But how you will come across to others is desperate, irritating and a nuisance. Not exactly someone they will be eager to hire.
Since posting I have been asked what content do I have, what expertise can I share.
Last year I created the Be Your Own Headhunter concept with the focus of HOW to use Blogs, Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn and other tools like newsletters, RSS feeds, video and more to achieve goals.
I used HOW because my emphasis has been doing demos to show how to do this versus the why. How I use this every day so I can show metrics, successes and failures and how I have evolved different tactics.
There are enough people doing the WHY so I leave that to them when possible.
I get that for some positions and career tracks a financial background check should be done. Careers in financial services, senior executives who deal with budgets, banks and most of their staff regardless if they touch the cash. Sure there are more to list.
But I wonder if a credit check is needed for someone developing logistics software. Or how about a PR Director. I doubt for a Recruiter or HR professional and yet they are the ones involved in this process.
That’s what I think anyway.
I have seen studies that show there is no correlation between credit score and job performance. I am guessing though there are others show some proof that bad scores and fraud cases correlate.
Let me get to the here and now, with what has happened to millions of people who have been hit hard in this economy, will this be held against them?
Here is a list of the ways to market you on the Internet. We discuss each topic in more detail throughout this handout.
• Setting up profiles on company portals and job boards to showcase your resume and skills.
• Creating a personal resume website that is tailored towards your skills and resume. Although it can be expensive, the chances on being found increase due to the Internet being used a main search tool for recruiters. Post projects you have worked on and a portfolio of your services you can offer to a prospective employer.
"There is no elevator to success. You have to take the stairs." – Anonymous
There are few of us who enter college knowing what we want to be when we grow up, and many of us change our major one or more times. So what does that mean about finding your first job out of school? Well for one, don't stress out looking for the right answer (or the elevator to success) because there isn't always a right answer.
The trick is to find a job that closely aligns to your skill set with a company that offers the best chance for achieving your career goals. Sounds easy, but in practice it takes a lot of work.
Take the stairs, it will take you longer to get there but the rewards are worth the pain.
Fact: The advertised job market is literally the tip of the iceberg.
Fully 70-80% of jobs go unadvertised by employers, who fear being deluged by hundreds of resumes from applicants, most of whom won't be qualified.
With that in mind, it makes sense to spend about 80% of your time cracking this "hidden" market of unadvertised jobs. And a good way to do it is to contact hiring managers at companies you want to work for. Your aim? To prove that hiring you would be a terrific investment, one that makes or saves them more money than they would pay you in salary.
So, where do you find a list of these hiring managers?
The Human Resources Executive Council is made of Minnesota companies who have 1,000+ employees or $100M+ in revenues. Companies included are 3M, Best Buy, Delta Airlines, Ecolab, General Mills, Honeywell, Land O’Lakes, Medtronic, ShopNBC, Target, Travelers, U.S. Bank, United HealthGroup and others.
This is an evening dinner, reception and education event the evening before HR Tomorrow 2010
I wish I had written this post two years ago before the Great Recession started.
Last week during a job search webinar I was asked how to get back access to a LinkedIn profile. The woman asking the question had been let go by her employer, she had used her work email address on the account and now cannot remember her password.
So when she sends a password request it goes to the work email she no longer has access to.
That sucks.
I suggested she contact LinkedIn Customer Service but I would bet this is not an easy process.
This event will bring entrepreneurs, innovators, mentors, support providers, and investors together in an informal and energetic setting.
Think ´America Idol´ — selected entrepreneurs will have 4 minutes to pitch their company to both a panel of experts & a live audience, followed immediately by a 3-minute Q&A session with the panel.
A free networking lunch will follow the formal pitch.
Companies now have to put on their “selling shoes” to the candidates. They need to articulate the positive points of the company, culture and the position; create some excitement with the candidate. Companies are so busy “screening out” that they forget to “screen in” candidates. We no longer can assume that we have the only position open in a poor economy and candidates should be grateful for this position.
Within the last two to three months candidates are interviewing for one or more positions at the same time. We no longer have the luxury of “taking our time” to find the right candidate. The “right candidate” is now coming to the interview while engaged in two to three other opportunities.
Welcome to the Minnesota Headhunter Blog. My name is Paul DeBettignies (pronounced De-Bett-ingz).
I started writing this blog in May of 2005 to share thoughts and ideas I had as an IT recruiter.
Since then I expanded this site to include local recruiter jobs, help Minnesota nonprofits find IT volunteers and employees, links to Minnesota business news, and promote the local tech community.
I am the Managing Partner of Nerd Search, LLC a Minneapolis IT search firm, Co Founder and Coordinator of Minnesota Recruiters and a frequent local and national speaker and article contributor on recruiter, HR, career, networking and social media topics.
