internshipnews

Volunteering Can Boost Your Resume!

oceanflash08 — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 12:00:00 +0000

With the unemployment rate in the Silicon Valley climbing into double digits it’s important for job seekers to look at all of their options. New graduates are joining the ranks of the recently, and not so recently, laid off making the job market more competitive than ever.

Get a leg up by taking a side step in your career and increasing your portfolio, volunteer. One of the best programs that I have found for engaging in community outreach while receiving a paycheck is AmeriCorps.

Launched in 1993 AmeriCorps is best described as a domestic Peace Corps program. With the recent authorization of the Serve America Act, signed in April, the Corporation for National and Community Service (the parent company of AmeriCorps) has increased the number of AmeriCorps positions from 75,000 to 88,000 next year and 250,000 by 2017.

Along with receiving a nominal stipend during their service AmeriCorps members who complete their term are eligible for an education award that can be applied to future college tuition or to repaying federal student loans. Current legislation could raise that award from $4,725 to $5,350, the first increase since the program started.

President Obama’s call to service along with the desire to create positive community impact has created an era where “service is a cool thing to do” says Megan O’Leary, Development Director of City Year. O’Leary goes on to state, “Asked to step up and serve people are responding,” and they responding in numbers like never before.

AmeriCorps applications reached 9,731 in February, more than three times the number for the same month last year. Beach Pace, Executive Director of City Year (which exclusively employs AmeriCorps members,) remarked, “If I were 17, I would have a better chance of getting into Stanford than getting into City Year.”

Living within the AmeriCorps stipend of less than $1,000 per month in the Bay Area can be challenging. Derek Stephens, New Mexico native and AmeriCorps Capacity Corps member at Rebuilding Together recommends, “Silicon Valley is really expensive. Map out a budget and figure out if you can do it without going broke in the end.”

Yet AmeriCorps members can look beyond the stipend for their reward. For those who are seeking to pursue an education, giving a year to service means that the dollars will be available after your term is complete. In many cases, educational stipend dollars are matched dollar for dollar by schools including several schools in the San Francisco Bay Area.

For those who are seeking money for their children or grandchildren to attend school the Silver Scholars AmeriCorps program is available to those 55 and over.

Far and away, the biggest boost to the member is the experience they receive from their year of service. For Tim Lynds, San Jose native and AmeriCorps Capacity Corps member at Rebuilding Together, his work as a police office was rewarding but he wanted to serve the community in a different capacity. “Not only did I want to do community service, but I wanted to learn about non profits and eventually go back to school and earn my MBA. AmeriCorps has afforded me that opportunity.”

Beverly Jackson, Executive Director of Rebuilding Together currently has two AmeriCorps members and will be receiving a third at the end of summer. She has been overwhelmed with out of state candidates for her recent opening, “People recognize an incredible thing about non profits and community building in the Bay Area and they want to check it out.” She has also noticed “What I see now is that we have people who want to volunteer, but it’s folks who have been laid off who want to be engaged and productive. They want to get involved.”

Pace recognizes that employers seek out potential employees with ties to the community, “AmeriCorps members come into a community and stay.” With the network that they gain through their year of service, AmeriCorps members create the ties that bind and employers want to know that they are committed for the long term.

As any job seeker knows, it is not only your job skills, but your experience and your network that will assist you in finding your next position. The exposure that AmeriCorps members receive in their local community is akin to a crash course in “Community Connection 101.” In a climate where employers can hire the exact person they are looking for, they want to see if the candidate has that something extra that outshines the competition. That special something may very well be their choice to invest in their local community.

In the end, AmeriCorps succeeds on many levels. Not only does the organization and the communities that they serve benefit, but the member comes out as the biggest winner by the service they are providing as well as the skill set they have gained. Talk about good return on your investment.

http://www.examiner.com/x-15414-San-Jose-Community-Volunteer-Examiner~y2009m7d15-Volunteer-to-boost-your-resume-and-pocketbook

How to Recruit Generation Y Employees

oceanflash08 — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 12:00:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8oELQdkZvrM

7 Secrets to Get a Job Using Social Media – do you know them?

oceanflash08 — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 12:00:00 +0000

Between current economic conditions and the technological evolution of the Internet, the traditional approach most job seekers have taken in the past is no longer viable.

The approach — developing a resume and cover letter, locating jobs on and submitting your resume to corporate sites and job banks, and crossing your fingers in hopes of receiving a call from a hiring manager — is, for the most part, a thing of the past. The new approach is far different. It boils down to the fact that there are fewer jobs available, more competition for those jobs and more touch points for recruiters and seekers to interact.

The current environment

There will be 1.5 million college graduates this year, yet the job growth rate is at a six year low, at 1.3%! The amount of jobs posted online is decreasing at over 13%, which has all led to the ratio of 3.3 job seekers per each job.

Social networks are starting to become part of the criteria that both hiring managers and college admissions officers are using to weed out applicants. One in five hiring managers conduct background checks using social networks (primarily Facebook), while one in ten college admissions officers do the same.

It’s time for you to be open-minded and think differently about how you’re going to get your next job and keep it. I’m not saying you shouldn’t submit your resume to job banks, corporate websites, vertical job agents (Simply Hired/Indeed) or attend job fairs, but these should only consume 10% of your time. The other 90% should be concentrated on the following seven social media secrets, which will not only get you a job, but help you create your own dream job!

1. Conduct a people search instead of a job search

The majority of jobs aren’t posted online. Hiring managers get a list of employee referral candidates before they even bother to view resumes from those who submit them online. Sometimes the listed jobs aren’t available or never existed in the first place. Many studies have noted that 80% of jobs are taken through networking, but few have sought to use the web to search and locate people they would actually enjoy working for at companies that they get excited about.

The 3-step people search:

1. Identify the top five companies that you would like to work for.
Use a focused approach instead of flooding thousands of inboxes with spam. You want to brand yourself, not just as the person of best fit for a job, but as someone who is eager and ecstatic to work for the company.

2. Use search engines to track employees that currently work there.
There are over 130 million blogs in Technorati and you can search through them to possibly find someone who works at one of your top five companies. You can search through corporate groups, pages and people on Facebook. You can even do the same on Twitter. Then there are people search engines such as pipl, peek you, and wink. Once you find a contact name, try googling it to see if there is any additional information about that person.

3. Connect with the person directly.
Social media has broken down barriers, to a point where you can message someone you aren’t friends with and don’t have contact information for, without any hassles. Before you message a target employee, realize that they receive messages from people asking for jobs all the time and that they might not want to be bothered on Facebook, where their true friends are. As long as you’ve done your homework on the company and them, tailor a message that states who you are and your interest, without asking for a job at first. Get to know them and then by the 3rd or 4th messages, ask if there is an available opportunity.

2. Use attraction-based marketing to get job offers

The traditional way of searching for a job was proactive, forcing you to start a job that you might not have enjoyed. The new approach is about building a powerful personal brand and attracting job opportunities directly into your doorstep. How do you do this? You become a content producer instead of just a consumer and the number one way to do that on the web is to launch a blog that centers around both your expertise and passions.

You need to be passionate to be committed to this project because it requires a lot of writing, creativity and consistency in order for it to actually help you. A blog is a non-intrusive, harmless and generous way of getting recruiters interested in your brand, without you even asking for a job! Make the recruiters fall in love with you and only send you opportunities that are related to your blog content, so you end up happy in the end.

This works a lot and is expected for new-age marketing jobs that require experience in social media and can even help you jump-start a new business off of your blog platform. By pulling recruiters into your world, you are able to impress them with what you want them to see and they can make a quick decision whether to hire you or not, without you hearing about rejection. Start a blog today using WordPress.com (for beginners) or install WordPress.org onto your own host (such as GoDaddy or Bluehost).

3. Be proactive on Twitter

Twitter has become the ultimate utility to connect directly with recruiters and employees at companies you want to work for. By conducting Twitter searches, following recruiters on your account and using the “@” sign to communicate with them on occasion, you will start to learn a lot about them and their companies.

Before you follow anyone on Twitter, you HAVE TO have a completed profile. This means, you should have a short bio, the location where you’re from, a link to a site that recruiters can go to for more information (I recommend your blog or your LinkedIn profile) and an avatar of yourself (not a clown or Homer Simpson please). This way, you stand a better chance of securing an opportunity or a relationship with people who care enough to read your profile.

Most people get jobs on Twitter by already having hundreds or thousands of followers. For example, I’ve heard of at least ten people getting a job by tweeting “just got laid off, looking for a job in finance” and then receiving a few direct messages with people who want to help them. Of course, these individuals had built trust, credibility and relationships with their followers over time, so they were more inclined to come to their rescue. You can do the same, just start right now!

4. Capitalize on LinkedIn

It’s no surprise that LinkedIn has been extremely profitable and successful as of late. Recruiters are starting to use LinkedIn as the main place for sourcing candidates because it’s free and the top professionals are on there. Many people don’t use LinkedIn to the best of their ability and fail to complete their entire profile, such that it says “100% complete.”

Just like any other search engine recruiters are using, keywords are extremely important. You want to fill out your entire profile, just like you would a resume, but include the same avatar you are using on Twitter (see above) and ensure that the summary section is complete. You’ll also want to get at least one recommendation from a supervisor or friend, which will give you a “1″ next to a “thumbs up” graphic when people search for you.

Then, you should import all your contacts from Outlook, Gmail, etc, so that you can start to build your network or grow your existing network. The more people you’re connected to the better because you’re only able to reach other people in your network (1st, 2nd & 3rd degrees) by having these connections. You may want to pay for a premium account, so you can contact other recruiters that may help you. Finally, you should conduct searches on there for jobs that you may be interested in and reach out to those individuals that may supply you with an interview or referral.

5. Advertise your brand using AdWords and Facebook Social Ads

Google AdWords is Google’s advertising platform, which offers CPC (cost-per-click) and CPI (cost-per-impression) pricing for advertisements on Google and partner sites. Some of their partner sites are newspapers, radio and TV.

Before running your advertisement, you need a landing page. If you have a website or blog, then use the resume page within it to display through advertising. This works beautifully because recruiters can see that single resume page and notice all the other pages/options on your website, to get a better sense of your brand.

Here’s how to create your ad:

• Title. When you create your ad, label yourself as a specialist, expert or guru on the title tag. You might want to state the fact that it’s your resume first.
• Description. In the next two description tags, pull out your biggest achievements in 6 words or less and list your personal brand statement or a few descriptors.
• URL. For your URL, don’t use the URL for your resume page. Instead use yourname.com for personal branding purposes. Drop the “www” from the domain you want to promote because it’s unnecessary.
Facebook Social Ads allow businesses and individuals to advertise using Facebook’s news feed or left rail (will change to 2 ad spots on the right when the new interface swaps over). This program works similar to Google’s but you can use a picture and it’s more “word-of-mouth friendly” because ads travel through the news feed of friends.

Here’s how to create your ad:

• Title. What is the ad for? The title is the most important piece of your ad because it has the most “text” emphasis. I would say “I want to work for ” or “Resume for .” Try and be as specific as you can.
• Picture. Just like your Facebook picture, don’t use a picture that you wouldn’t want shown to your future employer. I would go for a professional yet personal picture.
• Description. Don’t write your resume, but instead give the viewer a quick description of who you are, what you do and what job you want in 25 words.
Once you create your ad, either link it to your Facebook page, LinkedIn profile or blog/website. These ads are all about targeting a specific group that would care about your resume or hiring you for that matter. When you select your target audience, keep your major in mind, as well as the company and location.

6. Construct a video resume and upload it to YouTube

A search for “video resume” on YouTube will give you over 1,700 results. Many video resumes are good, while others are so amateur and rehearsed that they subtract from a given candidates marketing program. The key with a video resume is that very few people have actually created one, so they serve as a differentiator in the recruiting process.

A good video resume is short, describes the value you can contribute to a given position, explains why you’re the best person for the job and talks about your background in a story-like format. If you aren’t a person with an outgoing and lively personality, then don’t bother creating one. Since you’re filming yourself, don’t rush because you can always try it a hundred times before you upload the final version to YouTube.

7. Subscribe to blogs that have job listings

We all subscribe to blogs to receive information based on our interests, at least I hope. Over time we rely on these sources for information to keep us updated on what is happening in certain industries or different trends that are developing. In the past few years, the larger blogs have started to integrate job banks into their own websites, using software/hosting from companies such as Job-a-matic.

Blogs that have taken this approach include Guy Kawasaki’s blog, GigaOM, and Jeremiah Owyang’s Web Strategy Blog.

Other blogs, such as Darren Rowse’s Problogger Blog offer blogging jobs, and Mashable has a job board highlighting jobs in social media and tech.

This targeting will save you from hours searching and help escort you to jobs that you’d actually want.

Integrate the traditional and social media approach

These seven secrets are extremely important in your next job search. The most successful job searches come from those who have already built up strong networks, both online and off. You need to integrate this new-age approach with the traditional approach you’ve already been using, in order to be consistent, so there are no surprises from the recruiter’s perspective. They want the candidate they see on paper or online.

I would recommend that you use a link to your blog, LinkedIn profile and YouTube video resume on your traditional resume. You’ll also want to link your existence on all social networks together. You need to be where recruiters are searching, as well as become a content producer so you can attract them directly to you. That is how you have a successful job search and stand out for years to come.

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Dan Schawbel is the author of Me 2.0: Build a Powerful Brand to Achieve Career Success, and owner of the award winning Personal Branding Blog.
http://mashable.com/2009/01/05/job-search-secrets/

Recruiting Generation Y Employees – tips

oceanflash08 — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 12:00:00 +0000

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8oELQdkZvrM

Researching a Prospective Employer – how to do it

oceanflash08 — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 12:00:00 +0000

Researching a prospective employer is an often missed step when applying for work. It easy to get excited when you find a dream career and the perfect job. But not digging deep into an employer’s current situation and past reputation can prove to be a costly mistake.

You bet your bottom dollar that employers are checking your references, online profile, digital dirt, and credentials before extending an offer. You would be mistaken to not do the same with any prospective hiring organization. So before you rev-up your resume and complete your cover letter, let’s take a closer look at why you should research employers, what to look for, and how to sleuth like Sherlock.

Why research employers?

I’ve worked for many companies over the years. Some jobs have been wonderful while others have left me wondering. I’ve learned the hard way to always spend some time learning about an organization before applying for a job. Here’s why you’ve got to do some detective work and unearth the employer’s dirt:

1. To determine if the company is right for you. You may just find a dislike towards a particular industry, dig up unfortunate corporate digital dirt, or uncover poor employee relations. It’s also possible to be disinterested in the company’s products or services.

2. To decide if you’re right for the company. Some companies or industries may not be the right fit for your skill set or for your ethics.

3. To help tailor your application (resume, cover letter) to the position. Knowing specifically what makes the company tick can turn your application into the bomb.

4. To help address the needs of the organization. Knowing why the company needs to hire for a position is key to addressing how you can help the company.

5. To prepare excellent interview questions. Knowing specific industry information or advanced product knowledge can get you closer to an offer.

6. To demonstrate your interest in the organization. A common interview question is “Why do you want to work for us?” Having an educated answer puts you ahead of the competition. One of the most important ways to distinguish yourself in an interview is to speak knowledgeably about the organization.

7. To educate yourself about a particular industry. Perhaps this job is in a new industry for you. Get in the know before writing your application and heading into the interview room.

When do I research employers?

It’s a good idea to start snooping before you prepare your resume or apply for a position. By doing some due diligence early, you can quickly rule out any company not fitting your needs, ethics, or desired career path. It’s better to pull the plug early on a job and turn your focus on positions more worth your effort and time.

Where do I start looking?

Conducting employer research is much like preparing any other project or even school assignment. The idea is to put together a list of resources and based on findings, decide whether a particular company is the right fit for you. Be sure to consider your goals, strengths, and passions to see if the company is a match for your direction in life. Here are a few good places to start your investigation:

• Corporate Website. Look for industry information, product or service details, and management information. Any decent corporate site will list company age, size, partners, and leadership details.

• Google. You’d better believe any new employer is going to dig for your digital dirt. Why not do the same? Search forums, websites, blogs, and online articles to see what others have to say about the company’s products, services, and employee relations. You may be surprised.

• Better Business Bureau. Bureaus can alert you to complaints against companies in your area. Be sure to consult them to see if your prospective employer is on the list.

• Trade Publications. Research the employer’s industry activity in trade papers. Find their contributions to science, technology, or research. Read magazines, trade publications, and journals related to the field and organization.

• Professional Associations. Is the company affiliated with an association? Consult the association website to see if the prospective employer is in good standing and how they contribute to the profession.

• Annual Reports. Is the company public or private? Look to annual reports to reveal LOTS of interesting corporate details like their financial situation, health of the industry, mission statement, and staff numbers.

• Advertisements. Check out any product or service ads the company runs in the media. Seeking out marketing information may be a key to how successful the company is in business and with clients.

• Employee Handbook. Ask the Human Resources Department for the company’s employee handbook to find details on health packages, compensation, retirement details, vacation time, sick leave, and personnel policies. It’s amazing how a simple handbook can change your mind about a prospective employer.

• Past Employee References. Do you know of a former employee of this company? Ask them why they left, who they reported to, and if they would ever work there again. A poor reference may be a good tell-tale sign.

• Current Employee References. Do you know a current employee? Will the human resources department let you speak candidly to current members of staff? Interviewing current members of the team is an excellent way to judge if you want to work with this employer in the future.

What details should I uncover?

You now know where to look, it’s time to make a little list of what details to uncover. Consider finding these details when researching an employer:

• Mission or philosophy statement
• Source(s) of funding
• Company ownership (private or public?)
• Board of Directors
• Reputation
• History or background
• Clientele list or membership
• Strategies and goals
• Areas of specialization
• New projects
• Age
• Size and growth pattern
• Recent layoffs
• Number of employees
• Locations
• Office condition or facility types
• Personnel policies
• Types of people they employ
• Health of the industry
• Compensation and benefits
• Services or products sold or provided
• Career path or other opportunities available

Be sure to consider other details specific to the field or industry you are interested in. It’s important not to be shy about this process, as any employer worth your time is sure to conduct similar research on you.

What now?

Researching a prospective employer may seem like some work, but the results can be very rewarding especially if you decide NOT to apply for a job based on your findings. It just makes sense to do some homework on a company before applying for a job as you or your family may depend on this paycheck in the future.

When researching any prospective employer be sure to consider your goals, desires, and ethics to see how they fit given the information you’ve dug up. Depending on your findings, the organization may not be an ideal fit for who you are as a person. Short of uncovering criminal activity, everyone’s criteria will be different.

Do you conduct employer research when job hunting? Have you uncovered some dirt which has led you not to apply for a job? Any sleuthing advice for others?

http://www.squawkfox.com/2008/06/04/how-to-research-a-prospective-employer/

Get More Efficiency Out of Female Employees

oceanflash08 — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 12:00:00 +0000

If the title of this article got you going, I understand. 11 Tips on Getting More Efficiency out of Women Employees was an actual article in the magazine Mass Transportation published in 1943. As checked with Snopes, it is real and here is the cover. (To see the story in full, go to Snopes.com)

Here is the article with the word “employe” changed to “employee”:

1. Pick young married women. They usually have more of a sense of responsibility than their unmarried sisters. They are less likely to be flirtatious. They need the work, or they would not be doing it. The still have the pep and interest to work hard and to deal with the public efficiently.

2. When you have to use older women, try to get ones who have worked outside the home at some time in their lives. Older women who have never contacted the public have a hard time adapting themselves and are inclined to be cantankerous and fussy. It is always well to impress upon older women, the importance of friendliness and courtesy.

3. General experience indicates that “husky” girls – those who are just a little on the heavy side – are more even tempered and efficient than their underweight sisters.

4. Retain a physician to give each woman you hire a special physical examination – one covering female conditions. This step not only protects the property against the possibilities of lawsuit, but reveals whether the employee-to-be has any female weaknesses which would make her mentally or physically unfit for the job.

5. Stress at the outset, the importance of time; the fact that a minute or two lost here and there makes serious inroads on schedules. Until this point is gotten across, service is likely to be slowed up.

6. Give the female employee a definite day-long schedule of duties so that they will keep busy without bothering the management for instructions every few minutes. Numerous properties say that women make excellent workers when they have their jobs cut out for them, but that they lack initiative in finding work themselves.

7. Whenever possible, let the inside employee change from one job to another at some time during the day. Women are inclined to be less nervous and happier with change.

8. Give every girl an adequate number of rest periods during the day. You have to make some allowances for feminine psychology. A girl has more confidence and is more efficient if she can keep her hair tidied, apply fresh lipstick and wash her hands several times a day.

9. Be tactful when issuing instructions or in making criticisms. Women are often sensitive; they cannot shrug off harsh words the way men do. Never ridicule a woman – it breaks her spirit and cuts off her efficiency.

10. Be reasonably considerate about using strong language around women. Even though a girl’s husband or father may swear vociferously, she will grow to dislike a place of business where she hears too much of this.

11. Get enough size variety in operator’s uniforms so that each girl can have a proper fit. This point cannot be stressed too much in keeping women happy.

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Tara Gowland, Seattle Jobs Examiner, March 24, 2009
http://www.examiner.com/x-1495-Seattle-Jobs-Examiner~y2009m3d24-Guide-to-hiring-women–11-tips-on-getting-more-efficiency-out-of-women-employees

Recruiting WITHOUT a Headhunter

oceanflash08 — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 12:00:00 +0000

Just as the economy is slowing down, there may be positions that still need filling. If you are employer, you know the pain of having a vacant position, especially if it is a key one – typically you are doing the work yourself or are having to overburden your staff to get the job done.

Here is my response, albeit changed a little, to a similar question on Linkedin:

Recruit through associations and industry organizations

First thing that comes to mind when an employer is looking to recruit is to advise that they go directly to the associations or industry organizations that these type of candidates are members of. Depending on who you are looking to recruit, there will be whole membership lists online if you look carefully. Also, sometimes they have meetings and you can attend, sometimes you can advertise – it is worth getting involved as much as possible with these professional organizations as you will no doubt pick up a ton of leads from working with them.

Ask for referrals

Do you know at least one person that works within the area you are looking to recruit from? If so, you can build upon that. You can this person for referrals within and outside the company – sometimes if you take the time to discuss the opportunity with them (preferably after hours), they will open up more and be willing to help you out especially in the event that they are not the right fit for the position. I find that people are looking to share their knowledge and if you give them the opportunity, they will talk – both about themselves and about others, their company and the industry as a whole. (And don’t be put off if you are new to the particular area they specialize in – many people actually enjoy educating you about their career and specialty!) Then of course keep that relationship alive – how I like to do it is by calling them after a week or so and give them a few names of people I have found and who I think may be a fit – and I and ask their opinion. Not only will you learn about the individual you are talking to as well as the people you mention, but you may be on the way to getting business from them as a client (since you are so thorough and professional with them, why not give you some business?) Ph, and one more thing about getting referrals – when asked, some people respond with “I don’t know anyone who is looking.” If you hear this, don’t just say OK – tell them “I understand…what I would like to know is who does this kind of work within your organization?” Most will say AH, I understand as people assume you are looking for someone who is actively looking for their next opportunity…

Find one phone extension and you can start recruiting

Once you have exhausted that avenue, one thing you can do is to get into the company’s voice mail system after hours – many systems have a dial by name directory. Start by calling the extension of your contact (and if you don’t have any contacts, try Jigsaw, ZoomInfo, LI etc – there is bound to be at least one person who works in the target area whether they are the right level or not), and listen to the options after you hear the recording..sometimes it says “to be transferred to the person taking calls for ____, press O or an actual extension…” In this case you may get a colleague or an assistant – either way it is valuable information. The next thing you can do is to try extensions in the same sequence – increasingly I am finding companies no longer use the proper sequence for a variety of reasons, but play around…you might be surprised!

Cold-calling options

Once you have a list of names of potential candidates for your open position (even if you do not have all of their titles or extensions), start by calling reception and asking for the exact spelling of the person’s name and then “and I have them as the Tax Manager of XYZ area, am I right?” Oftentimes they will correct you and you have everything but the extension.

Another trick you can try is to dial security during the night, as Paul suggested – often it is one lonely person sitting waiting for something interesting to happen – I find they are very helpful and generally have no problems reading to you the entire department list, including titles and extensions.

Another idea is to ask for the mailroom – they typically do not get a lot of calls and you can always call and ask the same thing you asked of reception – especially if they have been trained to be a pitbull gatekeeper – and get results.

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Tara Gowland, Seattle Jobs Examiner, May 22, 2009
http://www.examiner.com/x-1495-Seattle-Jobs-Examiner~y2009m5d22-How-to-recruit-without-a-headhunter

How to Use Social Media to Land a Job

oceanflash08 — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 12:00:00 +0000

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http://www.videojug.com/film/how-to-use-social-media-to-get-a-job

What to Ask a Candidate During an Interview

oceanflash08 — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 12:00:00 +0000

So you have just lost an employee – maybe they quit, maybe you fired them, maybe they moved within the company. Regardless of the reason, now is the time to decide the type of person you want – not the background or experience-level (that part is easy), but the things not seen in a resume.

Here are some of the questions you will want answered before making an offer

• What is this person’s real weaknesses?
• How loyal is this person?
• Is this person as proactive, organized, creative etc that they claim to be?
• Can they work autonomously?
• What really motivates this person?

To determine a candidate’s weaknesses, ask:

• If I were to contact your last boss, what would they say would be the biggest area you could improve upon?
• What is a weakness that you are currently working towards making a strength?
• What things do some of your coworkers may say are your weaknesses but you believe are your stengths?

To determine a candidate’s loyalty, ask:

• What did you do the last time a recruiter called you?
• Thinking of past managers, which managers did you feel more loyal to and why?
• What type of person do you respect the most?

To determine a candidate’s initiative, creativity etc, ask:

• Initiative - Tell me about project XYZ – how did you identify the problem and what were the steps you took to implement a change. Tell me a time when you identified a problem and had to communicate it to management – what was it about the problem that caught your attention and what did you do to convince management to allow you to implement change.
• Organized – Tell me a time when your ability to organize was challenged the most and did you find a way to create order from chaos? How do you plan your day? What tips would you give someone who is overwhelmed with paperwork or tasks?
• Creativity - Tell me about your last idea. What inspired you and did you change you idea after consideration? How would you improve upon this process? Tell me a time when you creatively solved a problem in a way no one had considered in the past?

To determine a candidate’s ability to work autonomously, ask:

• Tell me about the last time your manager was not reachable and you needed their immediate input. What did you do?
• Describe for me on a scale of 1 to 10 how hands-off you prefer your managers to be?
• Describe a time in your most recent job where you were given responsibility for a project that you had little experience in but were provided with reference materials. How did you handle it and did you feel you received enough guidance?

To determine a candidate’s motivation, ask:

• What motivates you?
• What are your long-term goals?
• Why are you looking to leave your current position?
• If money were no object, what are the things you would look for in your next position.

Of course there will be questions you need to know the answers for that are not listed here. My advice is to be probing – especially when the candidate is nervous and gives you short answers. Ask them why they answered the way they did and ask them to explain in detail the things they say. And remember to also allow the candidate to ask questions of you!

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Tara Gowland, Seattle Jobs Examiner, May 25, 2009
http://www.examiner.com/x-1495-Seattle-Jobs-Examiner~y2009m5d25-The-best-interview-questions

How to Research a Job

oceanflash08 — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 12:00:00 +0000

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