SOARmethod Blog

What to do and not to do at a Career Fair

bdavis — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 15:52:55 +0000

Here are the keys to successfully navigating a career or job fair. Follow these simple rules and you should achieve success in this important strategic tool of job-hunting.

Do have a specific strategy for maximizing your time at the event. And don’t bother spending time with recruiters from companies that do not interest you.

Do pre-register for the event, and do attempt to get the list of attending companies before the fair.

Don’t eliminate companies because they are recruiting for positions outside your field; take the time to network with the recruiter and get the name of a person for your particular career field.

Do attempt to research basic information about each company you hope to interview with at the job fair. A common career fair question from recruiters is, “Why do you want to work for our company?”

Don’t just drop off your resume with the recruiter and walk off.

Do prepare a one-minute “personal commercial” that focuses on the unique benefits you can offer the employer – your unique selling proposition.

Do be prepared to talk about your work experiences, skills, and abilities. And for college students, do be prepared for a question about your GPA by some recruiters.

Don’t be afraid or intimidated by the recruiter; he or she is there to do a job — to meet and screen potential candidates.

Do have a few questions prepared for each recruiter, but don’t ask questions that any good job-seeker should already know, such as “What does your company do?”

Do say the recruiter’s name several times during your conversation, even if you have to keep glancing at the recruiter’s nametag and do get a business card from each recruiter.

Don’t forget to eliminate such bad habits as playing with your hair, chewing gum, fidgeting, rocking from side-to-side, acting distracted, rubbing your nose, etc.

Do remember all the keys to successful interviewing, including a firm handshake, a warm smile, eye contact, and a strong voice.

Don’t use filler words such as “um”, “like”, “you know.”

Do bring enough copies of your resume to the career fair. And do bring different versions of your resume if you are searching for different types of jobs.

Do take advantage of the time you have to build rapport with each recruiter, but don’t monopolize their time.

Don’t ever just walk up to a booth and interrupt a current conversation; wait your turn and be polite.

Do dress professionally — business professional is always the safe choice.

Don’t waste the opportunity to network, not only with the recruiters, but with fellow job-seekers and other professionals in attendance at the career fair.

Don’t ever say anything negative to the recruiter about your college or previous jobs, companies, or supervisors.

Do be sure to ask about the hiring process of each company, but don’t ask too many “What’s in it for me?” questions (salary, vacation, benefits, etc…)

Do take the initiative and ask about the next step in the process. And do be prepared to follow-up all job leads.

Do be sure to follow-up with each opportunity Call and leave a message on their voicemail right after the job fair, but at a minimum you should send each recruiter a thank you letter.

Top 100 Search Words by Recruiters

bdavis — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 04:34:21 +0000

Do you want to get your resume to appear in search results by recruiters looking for candidates to fill open positions? Well, you better have some of these key words in your resume. Here is the list from TheLadders.com…

1	sales	51	director
2	CPA	52	accountant
3	TAX	53	“financial Services”
4	marketing	54	surgical
5	Finance	55	project manager
6	Healthcare	56	accenture
7	controller	57	ibm
8	software	58	PMP
9	insurance	59	compensation
10	retail	60	Oracle DBA
11	supply chain	61	Ecommerce
12	business development	62	tax manager
13	pharmaceutical	63	hr
14	human resources	64	litigation
15	manufacturing	65	nuclear
16	sales manager	66	software sales
17	vp	67	Staffing
18	hvac	68	packaging
19	cfo	69	financial advisor
20	audit	70	treasury
21	accounting	71	Oncology
22	Hospital	72	Marketing Manager
23	java	73	logistics
24	RN	74	emc
25	engineer	75	chemical
26	security	76	Aerospace
27	food	77	b2b
28	inside sales	78	mobile
29	SAP	79	cpg
30	cisco	80	analytics
31	Medical	81	energy
32	IT	82	erp
33	wealth management	83	advertising
34	technology	84	general manager
35	storage	85	“inside sales”
36	oracle	86	ccie
37	wireless	87	deloitte
38	construction	88	pharmacy
39	manager	89	sec reporting
40	Operations	90	business intelligence
41	pharmacist	91	VP Sales
42	medical device	92	procurement
43	Nurse	93	physical therapist
44	engineering	94	bank
45	business analyst	95	communications
46	Product Manager	96	saas
47	attorney	97	dermatologist
48	Public Relations	98	clinical
49	benefits	99	target
50	“business development”	100	strategy

Translating Military Service For The Civilian Work World

bdavis — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 19:34:07 +0000

The original content you are reading was posted on ERE.net and published originally at http://www.ERE.net/. We at SOARmethod.com are huge fans of ERE. Stop by and subscribe to their RSS feed today!

As Johnny and Jane come marching back from war to prepare for the next chapter of their lives, they face the daunting challenge of turning their military experience into machine-readable resumes and elevator speeches that convince corporate recruiters to give them a second look.

“The novelette of their experience in the military,” says Sherrill Curtis, doesn’t always translate clearly.

Agrees Carl Blum, “The hardest problem they have is translating their military experience into civilian language so a recruiter can understand what they have to offer.

Curtis, Blum, and Blum’s partner in an organization called Tip of the Arrow, Bob Deissig, and Sgt. Major James Clark were the prime movers of a program last month at New Jersey’s Ft. Dix called “Ultimate Warrior Career Workshops and Job Fair.”

They had plenty of help. The Garden State (New Jersey) SHRM council signed on early to the project, supplying dozens of recruiters, supplemented by career coaches from the state’s professional association, and representatives from federal agencies and area colleges.

But this was no ordinary job fair, although some 70 employers showed up and Blum tells us 200 of the participants expect offers.

What made this different were the one-on-one counseling sessions and workshops that prepped the servicemen and women — and some dependents — for the next day’s recruiter meet and greet.

Blum and Deissig, who founded Tip of the Arrow, began working with returning soldiers at Ft. Dix last year. Retired from careers in staffing and search, they both quickly discovered that while the men and women they met had held positions of leadership and responsibility, they were not skilled at explaining to a recruiter how what they did had value in the corporate world.

Blum told a story about a 24-year-old National Guardsman returned from Iraq who described himself as a clerk who had also been in charge of a security detail.

“I had to draw it out of him, really talk to him about what he did,” Blum says, learning the soldier had traveled Iraq returning money recovered from captured terrorists to their victims. In another assignment, he was in charge of protecting teachers and students from attack.

Saying he was a military clerk who also had worked security wouldn’t have meant as much to a corporate recruiter as explaining he was entrusted with a small fortune in cash and was responsible for the lives of a classroom full of children. Putting it that way, Blum says, lets a recruiter know that the soldier in front of them has integrity and has handled more responsibility than any job they may have is likely to require.

When Blum and Deissig connected with Curtis, who heads the state council’s Workforce Readiness committee, they found a firecracker of organization who mobilized the council and local chapters to provide the training the military personnel would need to launch successful civilian careers.

“I saw bright, articulate people,” Curtis reports. But like so many workers in the civilian world seeking a career change, “they have a very difficult time explaining what they are, what they have done, and how it applies.”

Career coaches and professional recruiters met one-on-one with the nearly 500 personnel — many of them Army — who attended the workshop the day before the job fair. The volunteers would review resumes, teach basic job hunting techniques — there was a how-to session on career networking — and even do role-playing to help the job seekers get a feel for interviewing.

There was a panel of experienced, senior recruiters to answer audience questions on everything from what to wear to concerns about military related disabilities. International recruiting consultant Gerry Crispin, a principal in CareerXroads, talked about using technology for job searching. He also set up a LinkedIn group to carry on the day’s work.

The goal of the workshops was to get the military job seekers ready to “meet with an employer with confidence and articulate what they have done and how it applies to their job,” Curtis adds.

Curtis and Tip of the Arrow, which was founded to provide just that kind of help, are hoping that other state SHRM councils will pick up on the project and hold their own workshops and job fairs, with the Ft. Dix program as a model.

Focus on your brand, not your school’s

bdavis — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 16:14:40 +0000

Mon, Aug 17, 2009

This post was featured on http://www.cheezhead.com/ and written by Chris Perry, a Gen Y Brand and Marketing Generator, a Career Search and Personal Branding Expert and the Founder of Career Rocketeer, the Career Search and Personal Branding Blog.

There is no doubt that colleges and universities, both private and public, have their own unique reputations. Each institution’s reputation, or brand, is based on a combination of different factors, including its history, size, location, academic prestige, arts, athletics, resources and alumni.

There will always be some schools that are better known or that have stronger reputations than others; however, no matter where you go to college or graduate school, your school’s brand doesn’t make or break your personal brand or the value that you would bring to an organization.

Here’s my advice:

If you go to an ivy league school or any other institution with a strong, well-known brand, be sure to take advantage of this already-established brand equity and leverage it in your job search efforts. Candidates from your school may already be valuable to and sought after by certain employers and recruiters depending on the successes of past alumni or the current relationship between your school and those specific employers.

However, do not—and I mean, do not—solely ride the coattails of your school’s brand when seeking job opportunities without supporting that brand and even working to overshadow it with your own personal brand. Show employers, recruiters, or anyone interviewing you that you’re a top candidate above and beyond what particular school insignia may grace your diploma.

You should be confident in your interviews. However, if you have attended what is considered to be a “top school,” do not make the mistake of being overly confident by believing that your school’s reputation will be the tipping point in getting you the job. Your personal brand must be even more impressive than the brand of your alma mater. Steer interview conversation to your personal achievements, strengths and contributions.

If you attended a good, yet lesser-known school, don’t be intimidated in your job search by other candidates, regardless of where they went to college, and don’t let your school’s brand discourage you from pursuing your dream opportunities.

Obviously, if you can work through professionals within your alumni network, you can leverage that connection in your outreach to employers and in your interviews; however, establish and consistently express and reinforce your personal brand in all of your communications.

As a personal anecdote, I was actually asked in an interview, “Why should we pick you over all the other candidates from the top programs in the country?”

Now while I am very proud of my college and my graduate business program, I recognize that it is not ranked nationally as highly as some of the programs from which my fellow candidates had graduated. But, I did not let this become an obstacle in my self-presentation. I looked the interviewer confidently in the eyes and said, “You know, my fellow candidates are definitely qualified and come from schools with very strong brands; however, it has been my experience that your personal brand means more to an organization than your school’s, and I believe my personal brand to be …” This proved to be very powerful and successful, as I was offered the opportunity.

Therefore, regardless of how much clout your alma mater’s name may carry, go forth to the job search with confidence in your own personal brand.

Candidates With Strong Resumes Often Fail to Meet Expectations in Interview

bdavis — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 04:21:46 +0000

This post was released from Robert Half today…

MENLO PARK, Calif., July 23 /PRNewswire/ — For many hiring managers, evaluating a job applicant may feel like going on a blind date: the applicant looks good on paper but disappoints in person. More than seven out of 10 (72 percent) senior executives interviewed said it is common for candidates with promising resumes not to live up to expectations during the interview.

The survey was developed by Robert Half International, the world’s first and largest staffing services firm specializing in accounting and finance. It was conducted by an independent research firm and includes responses from 150 senior executives with the nation’s 1,000 largest companies.

Executives were asked, “How common is it for a job applicant who has a promising resume to not live up to your expectations when you interview him or her?” Their responses:

Very common 11%
Somewhat common 61%
Not very common 23%
Not at all common 1%
Don’t know 4%
–
100%

“A resume tells a hiring manager only a limited story about the job applicant,” said Max Messmer, chairman and CEO of Robert Half International and author of Human Resources Kit For Dummies(R), 2nd Edition (John Wiley & Sons, Inc.). “In making crucial hiring decisions, nothing replaces in-person interaction to ensure the candidate has the requisite technical qualifications and the soft skills that will likely make him or her a good fit with the organization.”

Robert Half offers the following tips to help hiring managers make the best hires:

Fish where the fish are. Create finely tuned job ads that describe the ideal candidate and post them in targeted places, such as industry publications and professional association websites, to attract strong candidates.
Network. Seek recommendations from colleagues, staff and other professional contacts. Also network online and with members of industry organizations to ensure you cast a wide net.
Stay front and center. You know best what you want in an employee. Help prevent delays and potential hiring mistakes by remaining closely involved in the process from beginning to end.
Narrow the field by phone. Following up on promising resumes with a 10-minute telephone interview can help ensure you invite only the best candidates to in-person interviews. This can be a time saver because you’ll get an early reading on a person’s interpersonal skills and potential fit with your team.
Audition candidates. Bringing in workers initially on a temporary or project basis can give you the opportunity to observe firsthand their skills, performance and fit for a full-time position.
Get help. Specialized recruiters can help you pinpoint your staffing needs. And through their networks, they have access to people you might not be able to locate on your own, including professionals who may not be actively looking for a job but are open to making a change for the right opportunity.
Don’t delay. Don’t procrastinate when you identify strong applicants. By moving too slowly, you risk losing your first choice — and extending the hiring process.

How Recruiters Can Get Comfortable In Interviews with Veterans….

bdavis — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 17:38:05 +0000

The original content you are reading was posted on FistfulOfTalent.com and published originally at http://www.fistfuloftalent.com/. We at SOARmethod.com are huge fans of FistfulOfTalent. Stop by and subscribe to their RSS feed today!

With an estimated 185,000 Service Members due to reenter the civilian workforce in 2009, many Internal Recruiters are seeing extremely non-traditional, Veteran resumes hitting their desks. And while many of these resumes can be rather cryptic, there is a growing body of knowledge in terms of translating military experience into resume-speak. Furthermore, many hiring organizations have developed their own aptitude in terms of understanding ‘likeness of work’ and some have even instituted customized training programs geared at transferring military knowledge to specific roles within the company. A perfect example is that of Southern Nuclear, a subsidiary of Southern Company that actively recruits departing Navy members who have graduated from the Navy Nuclear Power Program. In this regard, significant progress has been made, both on the side of the military as well as private industry.

However, speaking from my own personal experience (gained as a result of leaving Marine Corps active duty in mid-1999, as well as assisting disabled veterans at the VA Hospital in Atlanta, GA with their newfound career searches), I believe the greatest risk a departing Service Member faces is the notion of military bearing. Marines, in particular, have a difficult time leaving their military bearing at the door, mainly because it is an integral part of what makes a Marine who he or she is. It is ingrained from the first moment you step on the yellow footprints at Paris Island . . . and throughout your career.

So what exactly is military bearing? The responses would be varied, but most would be in the way of acting with honor, dignity, self-discipline, tact, etc. A perfect example of military bearing would include the full realm of Kevin Bacon’s conduct through the HBO documentary, “Taking Chance.” There are moments where we can see Bacon’s internal torment when facing Chance’s family upon escorting his body to them, however he maintains his military bearing as a testament to not only his honor of the Marine Corps, but also to Chance himself, as well as his Mother and Father. In fact, Bacon is so dedicated to Chance that even cracking a smile is heavily calculated under the circumstances.

The problem is that acting with military bearing during an interview is that it can be interpreted by the untrained eye as a tendency to be “overly robotic” or “personality-less.” To someone who hasn’t served, this type of behavior can often be judged incorrectly. The paradox is that the Service Member may be exhibiting the highest level of respect for the interviewer, however the interviewer may perceive this as being disrespectful or “guarded”, “stoic”, or “as if they are hiding something.”

If I can convey anything to my fellow Recruiters today, it’s that education frees the mind . . . and simply digesting the fact, that years of maintaining military bearing in difficult situations is not a quality easily disregarded for a 1-hr interview, will open your mind to what the candidate may be feeling. Sprinkle in the fact that the candidate is likely quite nervous, and their most natural inclination will be to maintain their military bearing as a way to overcome this emotion. A way for the interviewer to break down that barrier is to simply state that you would like to get to know the candidate personally, and while it may be difficult, you’d like them to relax their military bearing and open up as best they can. This simple act takes less than 10 seconds and can shift the entire aura of the conversation into one where you can truly gauge fit. Good luck!

Editor’s Note - Josh Letourneau is the owner of LG and Associates, a Strategic Sourcing, Executive Search, and Human Capital Intelligence firm based in Atlanta. Prior to founding LG & Associates, Josh worked as a Sales & Marketing professional in the software biz and was a hard-charging Sergeant in the Marines. In his spare time, Josh enjoys shooting at other sourcing and search professionals as available in random paintball games.