via jobs.aol.com
The Recruiting Industry is Broken
Recruiters and HR departments would rather hire someone who is working, instead of someone who is unemployed. Yet, they will call and speak to you as if you have been breathlessly waiting by the phone for their call.
It has become a comodity where skilled contractors are simply a means to their paycheck. The personal side of recruiting seems to have disappeared only to be replaced with a callus high pressure sales technique previously reserved for used car lots.
Recruiters and contractors form a symbiotic relationship to serve our clients. One cannot live without the other. We must work together to maintain our respective incomes.
I propose that there is a huge opportunity for a recruiting company that is transparent and provides a service instead of just jamming resumes into clients inboxes praying that one will hit.
Maybe it is time for a contractor co-op. Or maybe contractors need agents instead of Recruiters.
Networking Tip for People Who Don't Like to Network
Here is a networking tip for all of you who don't like to network.
Send a request to connect with your job reply.
Most people have posted their resume on the internet somewhere (Hot Jobs, Monster, Etc). When someone sends you a job request, send them back an email that briefly describes who you are and what you want to do. Include an invite to linkedin or other social network.
Here is my canned response (apologies to my recruiters if you thought I wrote this just for you).
Thank you for your email.
I am a PMP project / program manager and have been managing projects both in the US and overseas since 1996. If you would like to talk to me about this position please contact me at 916-799-4398. I have attached my resume for your database. Please keep me in mind for opportunities that fit my skill set.
I also work with the three PMI chapters in Northern California helping their members who are out of work. Please send me your PM and BA postings and I can forward your request to those PM's who are out of work and looking for a new position.
Please connect with me on Linkedin.
-- Andy Wergedal
Andy Wergedal==================================
What are your ideas to help those who don't like to network?
Image by The Rocketeer
Change Your Resume Format and Get Recruiters To Call
Is your resume format keeping you from getting calls from recruiters?
Answer: YES!
Here is my story. I went to a job team meeting after fighting the urge for about a month. At that time I was getting 2-4 calls per week and had no real job prospects. They suggested two things to me. The first was to get on linkedin and the second was to change my resume format from a slick ambiguous one pager to a detailed multiple paged document with tons of keywords.
Of course I resisted. I mean, really, I've been working in my industry for 15 years and been successful. Why should I change now?
( internal monolog: Well, dummy, why was I at the meeting instead of work, because I was not getting any traction with my current resume?)
So after a few weeks of hearing the same gentle advice, I updated my resume to their suggested format, posted it to dice.com and do you know what happened?
My phone started to ring. In fact that first day I was on the phone for five hours with recruiters about real job prospects.
They were right and I was wrong.
Here is the formula.
- Summary statement
- Skills / Keywords by industry or job type
- Qualifications (1 sentence)
- Professional history
- Professional Development (schools, degrees, certifications, etc)
- Recommendations (some of my linkedin recommendations)
Make sure that you mention every keyword again in the history section.
That is it. I put down everything I ever worked on and every thing I ever worked with.
image by Steve Rhodes
Why Build Your Network?
image by by Refracted Moments™
If I offered you $1.00 for every person that you could contact in the next 5 minutes, how much money would you get?
Here just the twitter volumes of a few folks:
@chrisbrogan $156,906
@guykawasaki $285,377
@britneyspears $6,096,638
How much would I pay you?
3 Steps To Build Your Network, From Scratch
You finally have decided that you need to build your network.
Awesome. How do you do it?
- Make a list of everyone you know.
- Get their contact information
- Contact them
Lets talk about everyone you know.
Start with everyone you interact with daily, then add all the other people you forgot. Seriously! As you write down everyone, add their boss, kids, wife, father-in-law... everyone.
Here is a list of categories of people you know. Hint, you may have to introduce yourself to people you "see" all the time but do not know.
- Friends
- Family
- Neighbors
- Co-Workers
- Boss
- People at church
- Pub / bar / coffee shop
- Parents at your kids sports events
- Retail clerks
- Police / fire / utilities / delivery drivers
- Hobby / training / gym / bike
- Internet friends / facebook / myspace / chat / email / twitter (google these if you do not know what they are)
Then get their contact information.
Introduce yourself and ask if they have a twitter account / facebook / email. Connect with them and send them a message thanking them for connecting with you. If you are more than just the nod-as-you-walk-by friends ask them for their email.
Then contact them.
I send out a quarterly email and blog post to everyone in my network. You can see it at whatsupwithandy.posterous.com. I write a blog post, send it in email, tweet it, put the link and invitation to read it on facebook and linkedin.
That should get help you started.
Image by Marc_Smith
