General Recruiting

August 2, 2016 by Amy Shanks Leave a Comment

5 HABITS OF A HIGHLY INEFFECTIVE JOB SEEKER

The 5 Habits of a Highly Ineffective Job Seeker

Let me offer a brief preamble to acknowledge that the title of this article is in homage to the late Dr. Stephen Covey, the brilliant author of must-reads like THE 7 HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE PEOPLE^® and THE 8TH HABIT^®: FROM EFFECTIVENESS TO GREATNESS. Dr. Covey’s positive messages and practical advice has been boosting the productivity of professionals in business for generations. Therefore, I’d like to humbly reveal the seven bad habits job seekers should avoid.

In the spirit of full disclosure, the executive recruiters at Strategic Recruitment Solutions, LLC, typically do not work with the “average” job seeker.

Our firm partners with top-tier professionals and executives in industries like Legal, IT, Marketing, and Business Management. And even though our core clientele generally has impeccable credentials, immense experience, and/or advanced degrees…a large segment has very little real-world practice in the fine art of searching for and landing a job. After all, top-tier professionals often rise quickly (and seemingly effortlessly) during the first few phases of their career, so the opportunities for seeking out a job on their own are rare.

Naturally, it stands to reason that high achieving professionals will regard a job search as more-less an easy, methodical task rather than a skill that must be honed. And, without the benefit of previous trial-and-error or past failures at landing a desirable job on their own, many will very quickly develop bad habits which will render their current job seeking efforts ineffective.

1. Not Listening to Expert Advice and Guidance

You don’t know what you don’t know. So, if you truly want to know, you should listen to someone who does know. I’m not suggesting you heed all advice or be swayed by all the guidance offered, but simply listening to what verifiable experts have to say can AT LEAST identify what you don’t know, and AT BEST tell you something you didn’t know.

2. Ignoring Your Online Persona

You are who the internet says you are. Before you dismiss that statement as utterly ridiculous, consider that one of the first actions an HR representative is going to do is Google your name. And the results that Google returns will define YOU, regardless of your professional achievements, your educational background, or the hundreds of hours invested in charity work.

If an initial search returns only a smattering of vague and non-relevant mentions of your name (like in an Ancestry.com listing or an archived white pages listing of an old phone number), it generally portrays you as (1) having not done anything important enough to mention in a news or blog article, or (2) someone who is intentionally trying to hide something. Neither scenario is good for a top-tier professional job seeker looking for a prime opportunity!

3. Ignoring Your Social Media Identity

Many of our core talent partners – especially in the Legal and I.T. fields – are social media averse; some consider it a waste of time and other consider it as posing undue personal and professional risks. OK, point taken. However, when searching for a new career, you may have to adapt more to the “mainstream” in order to maximize your visibility and provide a bit of transparency for potential employers evaluating your non-academic, non-technical traits.

A decent social media presence can help “populate” Google search results with relevant content…thus, helping to fix the Online Persona issue discussed above. Having active and updated social channels can also convey that you have a network of industry associates, outside interests, and actual friends. Think of social media as a “humanizing” factor for high-end professionals.

The social media platforms most beneficial to job seekers are LinkedIn and Google Plus. Your LinkedIn profile should have a considerable amount of detail, as it will be the most relevant to anyone evaluating your credentials. Be sure to add as much detail as possible on past work history, credentials, professional associations, and education. This channel also allows you to connect with industry associations and other interest-based groups without flooding your email inbox with unsolicited messages.

Google Plus (YES, Google Plus is a thing!) is an essential tool for anyone looking to gain high visibility in a job search. The simple reason is because Google Plus IS GOOGLE! Whatever is entered into the “About” section on your G+ profile gets indexed on Google within minutes! This channel is especially important for someone actively looking for a new opportunity and is not concerned that a current employer may stumble across their G+ profile. Kissmetrics has a fantastic article on how to optimize your Google + profile and page.

4. “Call to Action” is Missing in a Resume and CV

Remember that Marketing class you were forced to take Junior year? Well, now you get to put those 3 credit hours to good use because, when you’re seeking a new position, you’re selling yourself! The first chance you have to make a first impression to a potential employer is going to be in your Resume and CV.

Forget templated, boilerplate intro sentences and personal statements. No…seriously…put them completely out of your head. A true top-tier professional is expected to come strong with a unique “call to action”; a compelling argument on how you could personally add value to the company. If you are feeling bold, use that call to action as the Subject Line of the email when submitting your credentials.

5. Relying On Job Boards to Identify Opportunities

The epitome of an ineffective job seeker is someone who responds to a plethora of job listings, then sits back and waits for the job offers to come rolling in. Sure, offers occasionally pop up…but they are probably not offers fit for a professional at the top of his/her game. The listings you see on job boards are broadcast to a huge universe and generate huge responses. These responses are filtered by automated screening algorithms and make it difficult for even the most qualified candidates to get the attention they rightly deserve.

The truth is, a majority of desirable opportunities for professionals are either found through industry connections or identified through an advocate, like an executive recruiter. In either scenario, you are likely to discover opportunities that have yet to be listed. Sometimes reaching out to people in the same industry may not be in your best interest…especially if you’d like to perform a very low-key job search. In that case, partnering with a professional headhunter or an executive recruiting firm may be your best route for forging a new career path.

Whether you are an executive-level professional at the top of your field, or up-and-coming talent looking to reach the next level, a job search can quickly be stymied unless you avoid these bad habits. So if any ring true, do yourself a favor and break the bad habits before you lose out on the opportunity of a lifetime!

July 25, 2016 by Amy Shanks Leave a Comment

3 MAJOR ADVANTAGES OF PARTNERING WITH EXECUTIVE RECRUITERS

The 3 Major Advantages of Partnering With Executive Recruiters

If you’re at the top of your profession, consider speaking with an executive recruitment firm prior to a career change.

Even top-tier professionals and executive-level talent often need assistance navigating their own career path. As executive recruiters in New Orleans and Baton Rouge, LA, we hear many of our clients from the legal and IT industries admit that when the personal decision was made to seek out new opportunities, they immediately faced a huge obstacle: where to begin?

The names and faces of “Top Performers” within a specific industry are likely to be recognizable inside their business circles, especially in a localized region. If everyone knows your name, actively conducting a covert job search becomes next to impossible. Even making casual inquiries about potential opportunities to cohorts in your circles creates a significant risk to anonymity.

However, partnering with an Executive Recruiter not only protects your privacy when forging a new career path, but the relationship also offers 3 distinct advantages for talent at the top of their professional game.

Advantage #1: You’ll Have an Advocate, a Coach, and an Agent

If you’ve never used executive recruiters to assist in a job search, you may not even know what to expect from the relationship. First and foremost, a recruiter is YOUR ADVOCATE; they are watching out for your best interests and are working to find you the best match available. Being an advocate for your professional career means they’ll need to know a lot of details about you, a ton of background information, and will need a clear understanding of your ultimate career goals. When your recruiter/advocate is aware of all the pertinent information, they can design a very detailed map for your career path.

Did you know that even the most accomplished Hollywood actors typically consult with an acting coach prior to taking on a new project? Seasoned actors realized long ago that in order to ensure success in a new role, they must prepare and practice…and this is made possible by getting guidance from an acting coach. In a similar way, an employment recruiter assumes the role of COACH. Your recruiter/coach is available to guide you throughout the job search process, provides education and resources about potential new employers, and helps you prepare and practice for interviews.

In the same way, a professional athlete needs a sports agent, top-tier talent needs their recruiter to act as their CAREER AGENT. In this role, your recruiter will be actively seeking out attractive opportunities that match your specific skillsets, talents, abilities, and other factors (e.g.; location, salary requirements, workload). The agent role is also vital when it comes time to negotiate with potential employers. And this brings us to the next huge advantage…

Advantage #2: Your Recruiter Offers Guidance & Negotiation Skills

As stated before, your recruiter has a vested interest in your success. Therefore, you should expect they will guide and educate you through the entire process. From the first step of identifying and evaluating desirable opportunities to negotiating with the new employer and transitioning from your old company, your recruiter should be right there with you every step of the way.

One of the most sensitive (and sometimes, awkward) aspects of pursuing a new career opportunity is negotiating compensation. Even skilled sales pros or experienced courtroom litigators often balk at conducting tough negotiations on their own behalf; sometimes we’re simply too invested emotionally to have the right perspective on what is considered “attractive compensation”! However, experienced recruiters can remove the emotional element and negotiate based on current market data and other competitive factors. In fact, many company executives prefer negotiating with a third party when it comes to hiring top-level professionals.

Advantage #3: Executive Recruiters Have Access to Insider Information

Recruiters are familiar with the culture, reputation, business models and work environment of most prominent employers. This valuable insider information not only helps thoroughly prepare their talent partners for the interview process, but it also assists in matching candidates with the most desirable employment situation.

But the biggest advantage of “insider information” is that professional recruiters have the inside track on available (or potential) opportunities that have yet to become public. Simply due to the nature of their business, executive staffing companies are in constant communication with the companies they represent and thus receive advanced notice on positions that are likely to become available. Naturally, they quickly alert their qualified talent clients about these opportunities, which means you’ll be competing with fewer candidates at the outset. And being “first out of the gate” provides a significant competitive advantage over other job seekers who must wait for the opportunities to be posted publicly!

So if you are a top performing professional looking to forge a new career path, consider partnering with a trusted executive recruiting firm like Strategic Recruitment Solutions. We work with most of the law firms and technology companies in the Louisiana Gulf Coast region, as well as top companies throughout the nation. Therefore, we can provide access to positions in the Legal and IT fields that may not be advertised on job boards or a company’s website. Search our current opportunities or submit your resume to get started!

Although they are sometimes referred to as “professional headhunters”, executive-level recruiters generally try to work with candidates within a few specific industries, allowing executive recruiters to maintain a high level of expertise within those select fields. Their expert knowledge is used to match talent clients with positions where they’d most likely excel, help prepare candidates for the interview process, and even facilitate negotiations based on the most current industry data.

September 24, 2013 by Amy Shanks Leave a Comment

WHEN TO COUNTER OFFER AND WHEN TO RESIGN

“WE ARE NEVER EVER GETTING BACK TOGETHER”

– How to handle counter offers

After great thought and mental anguish, after pondering the pros and cons, you have made up your mind. You began a job search in earnest or listened to opportunities that you believed represented a better situation than you currently have. You are going to resign but are surprised and maybe even quite flattered to be given a counter offer by your current employer. Your current employer may offer better pay, better working conditions, better benefits and a sincere apology for not valuing you more highly when faced with the reality of losing you. BEWARE!! CONSIDER THE CONSEQUENCES, EFFECTS OF ACCEPTING A COUNTER OFFER AND RESCINDING YOUR ACCEPTANCE OF THE NEW JOB.

Breaking up is really, really hard to do! Resigning from a job is probably the closest thing we will ever do as grownups that repeats high school. Do you remember breaking up with your girlfriend or boyfriend when you were young? Have you ever heard a significant other say, “Please don’t leave me. I will change.” Most of us learned that the only problem is that nothing every changed for long. Well, history repeats itself!

First, what will be the effects of deciding to stay with your current employer? You might initially feel relief that you do not have to leave your comfort zone. You might feel that you are finally truly appreciated. AGAIN BEWARE!! It’s all just business baby. Your current boss will now perceive you differently. She/he may privately resent you and question your loyalty. The counter offer may just be the way the boss buys some very valuable time to find a more loyal, qualified candidate. There is a huge likelihood that your boss will start looking for your replacement at a cheaper salary and just use you to bide the time until that replacement is found.

There are other situations which may arise after you have accepted the counter offer. You may find yourself under suspicion of interviewing for another job whenever you need to take time off. When there is time for promotions, you may not be considered because you almost left the company. Sadly, management often rewards blind loyalty. You may find yourself first on the list for layoffs and reductions in force.

Statistics show that 75 – 90% of those who accept counter offers quit within 6 months or are terminated within one year. Other considerations – coworkers may resent you. And those are just the repercussions of accepting the counter offer. Consider yourself bought off. Will anything really change? Was it just a better salary you were looking for?

Now consider the consequences of rescinding the offer you accepted when you resigned from your current employer. Your value was already established with the new company who thought you were worth more or saw your potential and chose to invest in that potential. The company that “you left at the altar” is expecting you and has cancelled their search, sent Dear John letters to the candidates that were not chosen, arranged for your training and purchased your new equipment and set up your email address. Your revocation of the offer will quite likely burn bridges with other prospective employers. Never doubt that negative press spreads like wildfire in tight niche spaces.

Accepting an offer and then getting cold feet can have a snowball effect on your reputation. Many times the acceptance of an offer of employment is a legally binding contract that holds you responsible for losses the company may suffer due to your actions.

You – the job candidate can become branded as unreliable and such reputations have a way of “getting around” in the business world as well as with the network of recruiters in your space. Relationships with clients and colleagues suffer. You may find yourself not put forward for other positions that you may have been suited for.

THINK !! Before you ever present your resignation letter, go back and make a list of everything that dissatisfies you with your current position. Read it several times before you present the letter. Make sure you understand exactly why you no longer want to stay with your current employer and be prepared for a possible counter offer. Remember, sometimes people get fired and sometimes people fire their employer. If you make the decision that it is time to move on then stand your ground, don’t be swayed by promises, and resign in style.

March 29, 2013 by Amy Shanks Leave a Comment

REMEMBER IN BUSINESS – YOU CAN’T RAPE THE WILLING

Malcolm Ford once said that, “only a handful of companies understand that successful business operations come down to 3 basic principles: People – Product – Profit. Without top people you can not do much with the others.”

In a capitalist or free market economy, companies often retain the services of search firms to bring talented people to their door. Recruiters, also known as headhunters, often take the blame or are viewed as evil when employers lose their extremely valuable human capital. Headhunting, also referred to derogatively as poaching, refers to a recruiter approaching a target candidate who is gainfully employed. The recruiter approaches the potential mover and questions him or her to see if he or she would be interested in working for another company or would be interested in hearing about positions that may represent better opportunities in their career. Poaching implies that people are prey and it is the recruiter’s goal to take them against their will…. Nonsense!

The cold hard truth is that in business, YOU CAN’T RAPE THE WILLING. Usually, the recruiter has been approached by a client to find a candidate with a specific skill set and then searches for candidates who work in companies employing people with these skills – i.e. prospective candidates.

Some might question whether it is ethical for companies to headhunt from their competitors? Since the days of indentured servitude are far behind us – companies do not own employees and the choice of where we work is fundamental in a free society. The U.S. Justice Department in September 2010 “settled with Google, Apple, Intel, Adobe, Intuit and Pixar over claims they colluded to not “poach” from each other.” THE U.S. GOVERNMENT RULED THAT IT WAS ANTI-COMPETITIVE FOR THE LABOR MARKET TO MAKE AGREEMENTS SUCH AS THESE!!! If a company is taking good care of its employees, why would it fear them entertaining other offers?

No one leaves a company because she or he had his or her arm twisted by a smooth talking recruiter. Almost every single Fortune 500 company engages senior level headhunters to find its A team. The simple answer to prevent loss of talent is to create the best possible work environment. We talked about this in a previously published article entitled “Karma is a B*TCH when it comes to retention” but many of these points are worth repeating.

Treat each employee the way you would want to be treated if you were in their position and as professionals.
Demonstrate respect.
Offer attractive, competitive benefits packages.
Provide opportunities for people to share their knowledge through training sessions and mentoring.
Offer performance feedback and praise good work.
Make work fun.
Enable employees to balance work and life by providing flex time.
Involve them in decisions whenever possible.
Recognize excellent performance and link it to pay.
Offer bonus potential on personal and company success.
Celebrate success.
Staff adequately.
Stand for something bigger than yourself.
Establish and nurture organizational traditions such as food drives during the holidays and community involvement.
Provide opportunities for career progression.
Promote personal and career growth through training.
Establish common goals and responsibilities so that they feel they belong.

Frasier Hill at the January ERE Recruiting Conference recommends starting with the candidate experience. Specifically, train hiring managers how to interview and best represent your company. *Structure an end to end interview process without using too many people who cannot make a decision. * Have a clear feedback policy for candidates. *Have a “first class onboarding process with adequate feedback channels” so it can be determined that newly hired candidates are satisfied. *Maintain accurate and up to date competitor salary and benefits information.

If employees are taken care of, companies have no need to fear the HEADHUNTER.

January 31, 2013 by Amy Shanks 3 Comments

EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE IN THE JOB INTERVIEW

Newsflash from SRS –

No one will pay you for being JUST book smart!!! Let’s talk about Emotional Intelligence.

There is, in fact, a kind of smart which can pay off in the job market, and it has nothing to do with IQ (a measure of a person’s ability to learn which – stays the same throughout life). That kind of smart is called Emotional Intelligence (a flexible skill set which can be improved with practice). The whole of a person is made up of Intelligence Quotient, Emotional Intelligence and personality. Which of these is the strongest predictor of performance in the work world? Emotional Intelligence or E I, many psychologists say, is responsible for 58% of success. It is seen as the strongest driver of leadership and personal excellence. In fact, a high degree of E I is reported to be responsible for a person earning an average of $29,000/year more than those with a low E I. This is true of all industries, at all levels, and in all parts of the country.

Emotional intelligence is an intangible that affects how we manage behavior, navigate social complexities, and make personal decisions in such a way as to achieve positive results. It falls into two primary competencies personal and social. Skills within the personal category are self-awareness and self-management. Is a person able to perceive his/her emotions and keep an awareness of them? Can this awareness be used to keep a person flexible and positive?

Within the Social Competency are the skills of social awareness and relationship management. Is the person able to understand other people’s moods, and behaviors and in doing so improve the quality of relationships? Can he/she manage interactions with coworkers?

This is no news to recruiters and HR professionals!

The interview process is designed to meet the person behind the resume’. In other words, it gives the interviewer an opportunity to separate the achievements on the resume which are largely a product of IQ from Emotional I Q which is difficult to quantify and list. For example, a candidate can have terrific accounting skills and great grades but yet be arrogant, have trouble working with others and be a person who blames others when things go wrong. When competing for the same job a more desirable candidate might have slightly lower grades and a more narrow skill set, yet he/she is polite, works well with others, stays focused and has leadership potential. She/he has the ability to manage emotions, relates well to others, adapts to the work environment, takes criticism and is eager to learn. Who will get the job? Who would you want to work with? It is much harder to train someone to manage his emotions than it is to strengthen his skills and train him for a particular job. Compared to IQ and expertise, emotional intelligence matters twice as much as IQ according to psychologist Daniel Goleman.

Given the huge pool of talent that most companies have to choose from in this competitive job market, doesn’t it make sense that employers will spend time in attempting to hire employees that are emotionally fit?

Job postings increasingly use terms such as mature and resilient as employers are more discerning in what they are looking for beyond skills and accomplishments on the resume’. The online shoe retailer Zappos.com weeds out candidates who don’t have their emotions in check. Christa Foley, senior HR manager at Zappos says “We ask a lot of questions to make sure they’re humble.” Arrogance has no place when talking to potential customers so an often asked question is, “Can you tell me a common perception people have of you?” Answers like, “I always have an opinion on something,” can be a red flag that a person can be arrogant.

Given a choice most employers would prefer to hire someone with limited technical skills (which can be improved) and a high emotional intelligence.

Before an interview, consider possible emotional intelligence interview questions – those that attempt to get information about your personal and social skills, i.e. self-awareness, self-management, social awareness and relationship management. Remember the interviewer is attempting to see the real you – particularly your E I apart from the resume’.

Consider your answer to the following questions:

Tell me about a time when you felt confident in your abilities. What was the situation? Why did you feel confident? How did you know? What was the result?
Think of a situation you faced where you felt angry or frustrated at work (whether you showed it or not). How did you know that you were feeling this way? Why were you frustrated? What did you say or do? What was the impact you had on the other people who were involved?
Everyone is better at some things than others. What is an example of something that isn’t one of your strengths? What have you done in your professional life to accommodate for this?
How would your current or previous co-workers, supervisor and staff describe your communication and interpersonal style? Give me an example or two.
Describe a difficult conversation you faced at work. What was it? What did you do? What was the result?

SPEND SOME TIME REALLY THINKING ABOUT ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS LIKE THESE. PRACTICE A RESPONSE THAT SHOWS YOU HAVE STRONG EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE. ENGAGE SOMEONE TO LISTEN TO THE QUESTION AND YOUR RESPONSE – YOUR RECRUITER IS AN EXCELLENT SOURCE/SOUNDING BOARD FOR YOUR POSSIBLE ANSWERS TO THESE AND SIMILAR QUESTIONS – USE THEM.

Remember in the interview to thoughtfully answer all questions. You are not being timed. Thinking through a question and asking for clarification if necessary demonstrates important characteristics of those with a high E I, which are self-awareness and the ability to manage behavior and social interaction.

“Opportunities are usually disguised as hard work, so most people don’t recognize them.”
Ann Landers

Good luck and remember that luck comes in abundance to those that prepare!

“The harder I work, the luckier I get.” Samuel Goldwyn