Be Your Own Headhunter

Why You Don't Stand Out From The Crowd - Here's A Tip, It's Your Resume

The following post is courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap:

From: Jessica Holbrook

Ultimately your goal is to create a resume that will garner the right attention and eventually the right job. Problem is – your resume is getting you absolutely no hits, zero feedback, and not so much as one call from a prospective employer. Sound familiar? Keep reading to figure out why.

– Your career summary is boring. It sounds like every other job seeker out there and is a large blanket paragraph that could describe half of the known workforce. Solution: Customize your career summary so that no one else could possibly use it for themselves.

Twitter Lists As A Networking Tool

One of the most frequent questions I get from (new) users of Twitter is who I should I follow. A great question and I would usually forward them to a directory like Twellow (for categories and/or location) or Twitterholic (for location and number of followers). There are lots of Twitter apps for this but they are for me the easiest to use and describe and they can get immediate results.

But Twitter rolled out Twitter Lists and it has become my new best friend of the moment. Rather than go through the many, many followers of someone I like, respect, follow, or find interesting to see who they follow I can take a bit of a shortcut and see who of their followers they are listing. Sure they have missed some cool folks to add to a list but I will rely on them to point out their favorites.

Here are some examples of Twitter Lists (click photo to enlarge):

Is Lack of Focus Dragging Your Resume Down?

The following post is courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap:

From: Jessica Holbrook

How many of you can honestly say you know exactly what you want to be when you grow up? Maybe you already have it figured out, and maybe you are already living and working it. If you are, does your resume know that?

I work with clients every day and speak to hundreds of job seekers every week that have no idea what they want to do. I ask, “Well, what do you want to do?” Then I receive the blanket, “I just need to feed my family.” Or, “I just need a job—I don’t care what it is.” I understand the current market and economy. But folks, having no direction or focus for your career and job search are going to get you nowhere fast. When I look at your resume, I need to know in the first three seconds: who you are, what you do, and why you’re good at it.

Do you know who you are... on paper?

The following post is courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap:

From: Jessica Holbrook

Do you know who you are ... on paper?

Thanks to an amazing membership with Career Directors International, I had the distinct pleasure of hosting a booth at the most recent National Careers Job Fair.  Three hours of job seekers pouring in through the doors and my assistant and myself providing free resume analyses.  I spoke to 100+ job seekers and found one common thread among them all—they had no idea who they were … on paper.

I must have repeated the phrase, “What do you want to do?” a hundred times.  I know I asked all but two job seekers that question.  I remember the two I didn’t ask because their resumes stood out from the rest.  They had professionally branded themselves, and it was obvious to me exactly who they were and what they wanted.

Job Search Marketing Toolkit – Interviews

The following post is courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap:

From: CareerAlley

Interviews. Sounds fairly easy, all you have to do is talk about what you’ve done and how that relates to the job opportunity. In fact, the interview is the hardest part of the job search process and the single largest reason why people don’t get the job. Yes, you must have a great resume with relevant experience, but can you interview? But interviewing is not just talking about yourself, it’s asking the right questions, giving the right answers and expressing yourself in the right way.

Career Amnesia

The following post is courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap:

From: Peter Weddle

You may have seen the news story.  A teen was recently found in New York City with no memory of her name or personal history.  Her amnesia was profound.  Happily, however, the story ends well, as a CNN viewer recognized the girl’s photo and identified her as a missing person from Oregon.  She’s now on her way to being reunited with her family.

But think about what it would be like to be in her situation.  Not knowing who you are.  Unable to remember anything that’s important about you or to you.  It would be a horrible even desperate condition.  Without our self-identify, we are … well, that’s the point—without our self-identity, we aren’t.

Job Seekers: Body-Slam Your Competition

The following post is courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap:

From: Lorraine Russo

As job seekers look for ways to stand out from the crowd—and as recruiters continue to whine and complain about the increasing volume of resumes of unqualified candidates filling their inboxes—job seekers today need to be more innovative with body-slamming their competition.

I use this term figuratively, of course.

Yes, job searching these days is a contact sport. With unemployment now at a 26-year high, your search requires solid action plans, follow-through, and the ability to assertively market and sell yourself — or an idea — to a potential employer. And while at all times you must remain professional and dignified, there ARE ways to get a hiring manager’s attention without having to walk the streets with a sandwich board saying “HIRE ME” hanging from your shoulders.

Who's Hiring NOW from the Fortune 500 - Vol III

The following post is courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap:

From: CareerAlley

“In the end, all business operations can be reduced to three words: people, product and profits. Unless you've got a good team, you can't do much with the other two.” - Lee Iacocca People.

If you look at every successful company that has lasted over the long term (not just a flash in the pan) you will see that one common theme is people. As in a strong culture, good benefits, collaborative work environment, competitive pay, etc. Just read some of the books by Jim Collins and you will see what I mean.

Pitfalls And Places You Should Avoid On Your Job Search

The following post is courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap:

From: Matthew Warzel, MJW Careers

When job seekers are out on their own and sometimes do not think long enough before they jump into an opportunity, that might come few and far between, it can sometimes backfire and in turn hurt them emotionally and financially.  These are some tips to read about some of the jobs out there that aren't worth pursuing:

Paul DeBettignies A Panelist At University Of Minnesota Carlson School Of Management Event

While I truly have enjoyed all of the opportunities to be a presenter/panelist over the years I am super psyched for an event Tuesday October 20, 2009 at the University of Minnesota, Carlson School of Management.

Being on the U of M campus is like being home for me and to be talking Recruiter, HR and Social Media topics is really cool. The bonus is the description of the event:

“Social Networking in Business: How to Navigate the Playing Field without Fumbling the Ball"

6:00 to 7:30 p.m.
Hanson Hall Room 1-109

Football is back on the University of Minnesota campus this fall and excitement is in the air!  This professional development event on the implications of social networking in professional work environments will kick off with comments from subject matter experts in the fields of recruiting and employment law.  We will also huddle as large and small groups to discuss using Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter, etc. in the business world from the perspectives of students, alumni and other human resource professionals.

The subject matter experts for this event include:

• Sarah Beaty, University Relations Leader for U.S. Recruiting at General Mills
• Teresa Thompson, Attorney with expertise in legal issues surrounding technology in the workplace, from Fredrikson & Byron, P.A
• Adam Sprecher, Business Development Manager, Oberon.
• Paul DeBettignies, Author of the Minnesota Headhunter Blog

So I get to be a part of a Recruiter/HR chat about Social Media on the University of Minnesota campus with a football theme. Heaven for this guy.

Go Gophers!!!

And a Minnesota Rouser too: