July 2006
How to Sabotoge Yourself
in an Improved Job Market
By
President of Workforce Associates
and author of
NetWork: Maximizing Your Career Resources on the Internet
Available online and in print from Author House
July 2006
How to Sabotoge Yourself
in an Improved Job Market
By
President of Workforce Associates
and author of
NetWork: Maximizing Your Career Resources on the Internet
Available online and in print from Author House
There have been lots of articles about job searching websites this past month, indicating that the job market is HOT and that job hunters are once again in charge of the game of matching their skills and talents with companies that are sophisticated in their recruiting and retention techniques.
Here are a selection of websites on job searching that you may find of interest:
1) A website has surfaced lately with lots of fascinating facts, news articles, and hot tips regarding how to prepare for the assessment testing that often accompanies an interview. Charles Handler's site, Rocket-Hire, contains lots of valuable information about screening and assessment for HR professionals, and provides a guide to the many tools available. For you as a job hunter, the material in this website and through his email newsletter is of incomparable value. YouÕll quickly find out about the vast array of tools that HR professionals are learning about.
2) Gerry Crispin and Mark Mehler are veteran HR professionals who have been monitoring the Internet as a job searching tool for more than ten years. Their CareerXroads website and annual books are indispensable to those of us who love this field, and job hunters too. Their latest review of the quality of corporate career sections for Fortune 500 companies is now available online at http://www.careerxroads.com/news/062806.htm.
In July, they will be revealing the results of anonymous job hunters applying for jobs at companies who are on the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For. IÕll share the results with you from this annual exercise that Gerry and Mark have been conducting for several years.
3) SimplyHired is getting to be more influential every day as it ÒscrapesÓ job searches around the country from well known job sites like Yahoo/Hotjobs, CareerBuilder.com and Monster.com to less well known, but far more selective job sites among the 40,000 sites that have been registered.
4) Although the Internet is rapidly becoming #2 as a way in which to match job candidates with jobs, it will never replace informal networks, employee referrals, and just good old-fashioned networking. LinkedIn.com is receiving national attention because it concentrates on business networking that can lead to job leads of all kinds. There are six million professionals on this electronic network who help one another in a myriad of ways.
As their website notes, you can:
* Find potential clients, service providers, subject experts, and partners who come recommended
* Be found for business opportunities
* Search for great jobs
* Discover inside connections that can help you land jobs and close deals
* Post and distribute job listings
* Find high-quality passive candidates
* Get introduced to other professionals through the people you know
And here's what NOT to do in the job searching arena!
OfficeTeam recently published a list of the biggest job search blunders that their staff had heard of or witnessed firsthand. Some of the more common responses included over or underselling one's skills during interviews or on resumes, not researching the prospective company adequately, complaining about former employers, and treating clerical staff poorly before and after the interview.
And there were some doozies, too. The question "What is the biggest mistake you've heard of someone making during his or her job search?" elicited some interesting responses:
* I don't do interview questions: "An applicant came in with his recruiter and had the recruiter answer the questions."
* Honesty is not always the best policy: "When asked what he had been doing while unemployed, the applicant said, 'Staying home and watching TV.'"
* Hold the juice: "One gentleman submitted a resume that contained misspelled words and an orange juice stain."
* Honesty is not always the best policy, part 2: "A jobseeker wrote on her application, 'My boss was a jerk so I quit.'"
* But my bowling shirt was in the wash: "Applicants have shown up in torn shirts, blue jeans, and flip flops."
* I hope you brought enough for everyone: "I interviewed someone who had a jawbreaker in her mouth during the entire interview."
* Honesty is not always the best policy, part 3: "During an interview, when asked what his greatest faults were, an applicant gave too many answers. He kept going and going and going."
"Jobseekers are being evaluated from the moment they submit a resume," said Diane Domeyer, Executive Director of OfficeTeam. "It's critical that applicants behave professionally and treat everyone they encounter, from the receptionist to the person they bump into in the elevator, as someone who may weigh in on the hiring decision."
Poor communication etiquette was a mistake frequently cited by survey respondents, including applicants following up too frequently, failing to return calls or show interest in the job, and talking too much or too little during the interview. Other behavior that left a negative impression included jobseekers who admitted they were only interested in the money, failed to research the company or learn the interviewer's name, or were discourteous to the office receptionist when calling or visiting a prospective employer.
For more information, contact OfficeTeam.com.
Have a Grand and Glorious 4th of July! "Talk" to you next month.Jane M. Lommel, Ph.D.
jlommel@WorkforceAssociates.com
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