Do Resume Gimmicks Ever Pay Off?
Job seekers hear, read and see so much advice about what to include on their resume, as well as what not to, that you might think that most people have a pretty good idea of how to write a great resume by now. However, as demonstrated by a recent Career Builder study that is not always the case. Human resources professionals were asked to submit the strangest resume inclusions they had ever encountered. Some of them were obvious ploys to grab the recruiter’s attention, while others? Who knows. Here are some of the best (or is that the worst?)
- A female candidate included a letter of recommendation – from her mother.
- A candidate explained (as he should) the reason for a gap in his employment history. He took three months out to mourn the death of his cat.
- Another candidate tackled the always sticky issue of a criminal record. He stole a pig, but it was, he went on to assure recruiters, only a really small pig.
- A gentleman listed one of his hobbies ( a no no these days in itself) as sitting on a levee at night watching the alligators.
All very funny, but in a job market that is still rather tight do gimmicks (and humor) actually work when you are trying to stand out from the masses? Once in a while you will hear a tale or read a news story about how a clever trick piqued a recruiter’s interest and helped the poor candidate get the job but in the real world it’s rare. On the whole whatever the industry, such things will not get you job. More likely you will become an anecdote for the recruiter you targeted to share after dinner at some future event (or to share with a national survey) but that will do little for your personal career prospects.
What Recruiting Firms can do for Employers
In a time when the economy still isn’t quite where everyone would want to be, companies who are still hiring may wonder why they should incur the potential additional expense of working with a recruitment firm rather than going it alone on the hiring front. However, whatever the state of affairs in the world there are still a number of excellent reasons that a company should certainly consider enlisting outside help when trying to fill vacancies:
Lack of Time – Much of the time a company has to hire quickly, to fill a void that has been unexpectedly opened up in the company, leaving others to fill in and perhaps even important tasks neglected. When hiring in a situation like this employers tend to “settle”, hiring someone who has most of the attributes they were looking for but not all.
Recruitment firms have a pool of prescreened talent and will usually only send candidates to be interviewed by their clients if they really are a match for the job requirements, increasing the chances that an employer will find talent that is truly capable of getting the job done.
Lack of Experience – As an employer you may know what you are looking for but that is rarely enough. Some people will say anything to get the job, especially in times like these. They will pad their resumes, make up degrees even have friends pose as references. Recruitment agency personnel are used to weeding these people out – they come across them all the time – and have the time to conduct the kind of in-depth background check that really needs to be performed, but the employer probably does not have time for.
Hiring from the Heart – In many companies, big and small, if there is a vacancy that desperately needs to be filled the boss will consider hiring a current employees mother, brother, sister , boyfriend, anyone if they seem to match most of the criteria. This however is rarely a good idea, how are you going to face Mars Jones, who has been with you for years, when young Wayne turns out not to be the man for job and has to be let go? Letting someone else locate and screen candidates for you takes much of the emotion out of the situation.
Here Come the Grads – What does the Future Hold for the Class of 2010?
Throughout the months of May and June there is an excitement on college campuses across the country that is unmatched by any other in academic life (except for maybe $1 beer night) as thousands of students get ready to leave their school books behind and graduate into the “real world”.
Heady times indeed, but what kind of job market can the Class of 2010 expect to walk into? According to a recent survey conducted by NACE (the National Associate of Colleges and Employers) their prospects are not as gloomy as one might think, given the current economic climate.
According to that survey in 2010 44 percent of the employers questioned do intend to hire college graduates. Last year 43 percent said the same thing so the good news is that the number went up (even if ever so slightly) rather than down. These same employers do admit however that they intend to scale back the compensation packages they offer to new grads though.
So what does the new college graduate need on their resume to put them ahead of the competition and land their first “real world’ job? Of the employers surveyed a massive 62% said that the candidate having completed some form of internship would be impress them greatly with only 31% caring about the level of class work a student had maintained over the course of their academic career.
When asked about what they personally might look for when interviewing graduates the top answer was a candidate that comes to the interview well prepared, asks intelligent questions and has some knowledge about the company that they are hoping to work for. In other words, exactly what they are looking for from any potential new hire.
So the bottom line is that there will be jobs out there for the Class of 2010, as long as they are willing to put as much work into finding the right one as they were their lessons over the last four years.
Pros and Cons of Probationary Periods
With unemployment still high, probationary periods – short-term periods employers use to try out job candidates before rewarding them with full-time status and associated benefits – are becoming increasingly common. Those workers who agree to being hired on this basis are often recent college grads or people who have been out of work for a while and are simply desperate to get back into the world of work.
This is a great scenario for the employer as they get to “test out” an employee before having to commit to investing in them, but often not so good for the employees involved. Before you agree to take a job on a “trial basis” there are some things you should consider:
Fighting Workplace Negativity
Over the last year or so a great many companies, large and small, have been forced to make some changes to keep their heads above water and ride out the recession. Unfortunately it often means inflicting a certain level of “pain” on employees. This can mean layoffs or reassigning duties, titles and tasks in order to try and keep the business on an even keel. Doing so can be a difficult balancing act for managers. The changes have to be made but you still need to keep the goodwill and loyalty of those staff that remain.
This is often where negative energy begins to creep into the work environment. It commonly displays itself in one of four ways:
- Sheer fear amongst employees that their jobs may be gone tomorrow, even this afternoon, and that fear becomes all they are focused upon.
- Employees feeling helpless because although they know how to do their jobs properly some of the resources they are used to have disappeared.
- As resources and staff are cut people on the team begin to fight with each over jobs not being done properly.
- People are unhappy in their jobs but feel they cannot leave because the poor economy limits their choices.
As a manager it is up to you to counteract this negativity so that the whole department/company/team stays together and pulls through the bad times in the best shape possible. Some tips:
Handling Holiday Time Off Requests
As the holidays roll around human resources departments have to invariably start dealing with an increased number of employee requests for time off. With all the hustle and bustle, all the shopping to be done and party arrangements to be made it is natural for workers to want to use their vacation days at this time of year.
Although you may feel that you should honor these requests in many cases doing so would leave the company critically understaffed. Here are a few hints for administering a holiday leave policy that is fair for all parties involved:
Holiday Job Hunting
Many jobseekers believe that the period of time between Thanksgiving and New Year is a dead zone, that hiring ceases during the holiday season and they should put their job search on the back burner until mid January. This is however a myth; the holidays can provide the jobseeker with a number of season specific opportunities, here are a few:
Interviewing with Employment Agencies
Prior to an interview you most likely spend some time preparing: reviewing interview questions, answers, and company information. However, do you handle an interview with an employment agency the same as you do with a direct employer? Do you practice interview questions the night before? Do you dress in a suit? You are not meeting your next potential boss so do you need to take it seriously? In short, yes. Impressing an agency recruiter is just as important as it is for a potential employer. Here are few things to consider before your meeting with an agency:
Employers Checking Your Facebook Page? Survey says Yes
By now most job seekers have heard the advice that they should be cautious about what their personal Facebook, Myspace, Twitter or other social networking pages contain as inappropriate content may kill a candidates chances of obtaining their dream job should a potential employer decide to include browsing the Internet for a candidates online history.
Many jobseekers shrug off this wisdom believing it to be media hype rather than reality. Why would a hiring manager waste their time on MySpace? However according to a recent CareerBuilder survey more of them are indeed including social media site activity as a part of their pre-employment background checks.
Job Fair Tips
Job fairs differ a great deal from one another, as does people’s opinion of them. To some they are a pointless waste of time, while others have had great success and have even been hired on the spot. Whatever your general thoughts on them, in a time when unemployment is still rising, any chance to get out and showcase your skills really might be worth your time. As long as you do a little preparation beforehand.
Before the career fair, check and see if there is an official website for the event (more often than not there is) Make a list of the companies who will be represented at the fair and spend some time researching those that interest you. Check for “maps” of the fair once you arrive to locate each employer’s booth.
