The Perfect Fit

The 50 Best Recruiting Blogs!

I received an email this morning from Alissa Alvarez, telling me that my blog had been selected as one of the 50 best recruiting blogs in the country!  I'm very pleased, and humbly flattered! I'm re-publishing Alissa's blog in the hopes that many of you will find some valuable tips in the blogs of other recruiters!

With many qualified people out of work and looking for jobs, you might think it’s one of the easiest times to be a recruiter. Yet finding potential employees with the right talent, skills, and drive is never easy, regardless of the size of the pool of applicants or the type of businesses with which you work. Knowing what to look for and how to match the right person to the right job is something that can take a long time to learn and a lifetime to perfect, something most recruiters know all too well.

Whether you’re new to recruiting or an old pro, there’s always something new to learn about the profession and ways to make yourself better at what you do. One of the best ways to do that in today’s world is through the help of recruiters and HR experts who share their skills on blogs, both independently and through their agencies. Here, we’ve compiled a list some of the best recruiting blogs out there, in no particular order. Take a look — you may just learn a few new tricks that can help make you a standout at your job, helping not only you, but also your company and the people you hire, get ahead.

I think Alissa Alvarez missed an excellent site.  My friend Jim Durbin at The Social Media Headhunter is an excellent blogger and recruiter.  I thank Jim for his advice and help in getting this blog started!

News

Make sure you stay in the loop when it comes to industry news by following these blogs.

Here's the rest of the article and the listing of 50 Best Recruiting Blogs.

The Creep of (Employment) Expectations

The economy has changed . . . forever.  Expectations have changed . . . forever!

As a result of that change, employers have changed their approach to hiring and their expectations of employees' performance.  Employees are caught in the middle and not everyone will suvive . . . many have already been cast aside.

When you don't survive at one place or your looking for that next career opportunity, the bar for hiring qualifications is being raised.  In this era of multi-tasking, "smart" phone ubiquity, client/customer expectations soaring, work-family life balance barely existing, hours increasing and professional "fun" decreasing . . . Employers (rightfully) want premier, stand out from the crowd employees. It's no longer sufficient to simply be "qualified" and/or experienced. 

I ran across an excellent article on this point at B-To-B Magaine,in the September 19, 2011 edition written by James Rogers, VP of Marketing at Hoover's:

"I still remember the first time it happened. I was interviewing a candidate for a marketing position, asking fairly routine questions. It was a pleasant, efficient exchange. Twenty minutes or so later, after I had mentally checked all the boxes, I was satisfied that the candidate was perfectly qualified. As I shook his hand and concluded the interview, I felt a pang of uneasiness in the pit of my stomach. In that moment, I knew I wouldn't hire him.

This wasn't a simple instance of “going with my gut.” No, it was more than that. Something was missing ... something equally, if not more, important than an impressive litany of credentials.

The candidate was competent. That's why I decided not to bring him on board.

These days, competence is good, but it's not good enough. The world of marketing is drastically different than it was five years ago. Economic pressures are shrinking discretionary marketing budgets and forcing accountability and traceability to all programs. In addition, analytics tools, digital marketing programs and the social media explosion are constantly changing the landscape. So, yes, marketing success requires core competency, but it also demands innovation and agility.

 

Indeed Makes it Official and Launches Resume Search

This article by John Zappe, originally appeared in ere.net daily (a blog for recruiters), earlier today.  I thought that in view of the ongoing employment crisis, it would be useful for job seekers to know about this new tool.  I've always recommended to people looking for their next opportunity to keep their eye on Indeed.com.  It'll be interesting to see if this new feature dilutes, or enhances the site.  Read the comments, there are interesting thoughts about privacy!

Taking the next logical step in its evolution from job search engine to job board, Indeed today unveiled its resume search service.

The carefully planned launch had been scheduled to occur tomorrow, but an error in distributing the press release forced the company to lift the embargo it had placed on bloggers, analysts, and others who got a preview of the service earlier this week.

It’s a straightforward search, identical in most regards to the site’s job search. It is keyword based, though it will accept some Boolean and Google query types. Searches can be easily narrowed by simply selecting from a menu on the left that shows up on results pages.

Searching and reviewing resumes is free and will remain that way. But contacting the candidates — free for now — will eventually cost. How much, said Chris Hyams, Indeed’s VP of Product, who piloted the demos, won’t be released for a while.

For now, the “goal is to introduce the system to as many people as possible,” said Hyams.

Job seekers will appreciate the simplicity of the system. It accepts all forms of resumes and will import a user’s LinkedIn profile. Users can elect to keep the resume private and not findable in a search, or make it public. In the latter case, the contact information is stripped out. Employers use a form to contact the job seeker, who decides whether or not to respond. Job seekers can also apply to jobs they find on Indeed with their resume.

The interface, said Hyams, was designed for ease of use. “We always start with the question: What is best for the job seeker?”

Since Indeed began collecting resumes several months ago it was only a matter of time before the site offered resume search. After more than a million resumes, the time, obviously, has come.

Even Hyams more or less joked about the resume service being an open secret, especially to the job boards whose relationship with Indeed can best be described as “frenemy.”

“This is not going to be an earth-shattering surprise,” Hyams said earlier this week during a preview.

Pardon the pun, but indeed it isn’t. There’s been no response from the job boards, nor is it likely any of them will have much to say publicly. Many of them are Indeed customers, buying PPC ads to drive traffic to their own sites. Many of them, though far fewer these days, depend on Indeed to distribute their own listings to a broader market.

Secrets Of Successful Job Hunting . . .

The first half of this year exhibited many signs of economic improvement, including increasing hiring activity in the regional marketing industry.  Now that Summer's "officially" over as of last weekend, we have President Obama making a major speech on the economy and job creation this evening.  We're obviously not out of the woods yet.  Unemployment runs high and many are frustrated.  I found this excellent article with ideas on job hunting.  I wanted to share it with those of you who need a little new inspiration and/or direction!

This article was written by Jessica Stillman and originally published online on the BNET blog:

"As BNET’s sister site MoneyWatch pointed out recently, in a climate where it takes the average job hunter more than seven months to find their next position, big job boards like Monster and CareerBuilder are of only limited use. The post’s author Eilene Zimmerman writes:

"Forget CareerBuilder, HotJobs, and all the other mass job sites. While these boards seem like a good place to start, how many people do you know who actually found a job that way? Even hiring managers don’t want to sort through the hundreds and hundreds of resumes they get for each position they list on these sites, so they’re increasingly turning to industry-specific job portals, says Debra Yergen, author of Creating Job Security."

And Zimmerman isn’t the only person pointing out that job boards are often a waste of time. Everyone from the WSJ to Ask the Headhunter’s Nick Corcodolis has written posts advising that there are probably more productive ways to spend most of your job search hours. But if job boards are on the wane, how are companies and recruiters finding people to hire? And how can you best position yourself to be found?

Writing on recruiting blog Fistful of Talent recently, Kelly Dingee, a “professional stalker” with Staffing Advisors, lets the cat out of the bag and offers up seven things employers should tell job seekers about how to get considered. Dingee isn’t convinced job boards are totally over saying, “there will be people looking for you on there. At least for a little while longer.” But overall Dingee agrees with consensus opinion that too much time on job boards isn’t productive and offers tips to help you get hired in a post-job board world, including old standbys like networking — “Find someone who works at your targeted company who can pass your resume along” — as well as less well known advice:

Make yourself findable first. Google yourself right now. Did your LinkedIn profile come up? No? Build one, make it public. If you have a preferred method of contact, note it. Use inmails. Use a separate email.

Make yourself even more findable. Post your resume, or your bio, or whatever you want to call it.  Use Posterous, use WordPress, use a .me site, use doctoc or slideshare… use something.

Make sure when you build those profiles you use every keyword that applies to you. I like to say I’m a researcher but my title is Strategic Recruiting Manager… and if I was anticipating a job hunt and tweaking my profile I’d make sure every word related to recruiting and research both are enmeshed in my online profile.

Respond to recruiters. Third party or corporate I don’t care. If you don’t deal with contingency staffing firms, fine, send ‘em a quick note of thank you/no thank you, get removed from their mailing list. But do your due diligence, because you want to work with a retained search firm…. There’s a significant difference between retained and contingency search firms. You can go around me and apply directly through our client, but they are still going to route you my way because our firm has been hired — and already paid — to alleviate their staffing burden."

LinkedIn is a valuable tool, and is used by both internal and third party recruiters as their "go to" database for identifying possible hires.  It's worth your while (it's essential) that you build out your LinkedIn Profile with as much detail, as possible.  My suggestion is to get several recommendations from your superiors, or clients. 

The Benefit of Urgency in a Talent Short Market

I ran across this blog posting yesterday.  I think it's excellent because it addresses many of the points that I try to make to my clients, both existing and prospective.  It was written by Tony Kubica and Sara LaForest.  You can find the original here.

"The job market has been picking up, and hiring managers are aggressively trying to increase human capital to reach their 2011 revenue goals. Having the right people in the right seats is key, and we see many companies take too much time when seeking to hire good talent. The most successful recruiters create a sense of urgency for their hiring managers, whose priority is acquiring top talent.

 It is folly to assume there is an unlimited talent pool in this market. The current 8.9% unemployment rate (based on February 2011 data) is deceiving. First, the actual unemployment level is higher than the numbers suggest because of the number of people who have stopped looking for jobs. Also it is distorted. Many of the jobs that were eliminated during the recession are never coming back. So looking at unemployment levels alone will create the one thing you cannot afford to create: complacency.

In our experience, many recruiters understand this, yet they too need to act on it. (Referenced as “the knowing:doing gap.”) And their challenge is often to help the hiring manager (and the organization) understand it.

Another challenging reality is that the best talent may already be working. This is especially the case in fields such as healthcare, science, and technology. As an example, hiring clinicians who have management experience is a challenge for many healthcare organizations. It may also be the situation for the unique job requirements in your company. While the first challenge is finding qualified candidates, the bigger challenge is closing the deal and hiring them. The reason: they have options. Time is critical!

So, when a candidate or candidates are identified, understand that they will be vetting you as carefully as you are vetting them. Delays and perceived indecision will be seen as a lack of interest in their candidacy and they will quickly move along.

There are four critical points of contact for viable candidates, and they are:

1. Their first impression of you
2. Their first impression of the hiring manager
3. Their general impression of the organization garnered from interviews with other people in your organization and their travels within your organization
4. Follow-up

In hiring highly qualified people for your organization, there are no casual moments. Just because a candidate has agreed to an interview doesn’t mean they will be excited about and stay committed to your opportunity. All it means is that they may be ready to take your job if it is the best opportunity at the time for them and their career. If the candidate is greeted by interviewers who are late, unprepared, misaligned in interview approach, appear harried and rushed, and do not get back to the candidate (in a timely manner) with information they promised, there is a very strong likelihood that only the weakest candidates (with the least amount of options) will still be interested...

 

How To Find Headhunters, Executive Recruiters And Consultants In St. Louis And Elsewhere

I had several calls last week asking "what do you do"?  I explained that I'm a consultant and retained recruiter with an expertise in marketing, advertising and communications.  When the caller realized that my area of expertise did not match up with theirs, invariably the caller will ask if I know how to find other recruiters.  Well, yes I do. 

I thought I'd write a post compiling some of the regional and national websites that can help you find a recruiter by geography AND specialty.  There are dozens of sites that can help do this, but I have the names of several, so I thought I'd share them with you.

Regionally, the Missouri Association of Personnel and Staffing Services (MAPSS) has a website at www.MAPSS.net.  At the top of the landing page, you can search member specialties, or just click here.

Here are some other sites for both regional and national identification of recruiters who might be able to help your search.

The National Association of Personnel Services (NAPS), Premier National association of recruiters and staffing professionals.  You can match specialty and geography here.

NAPS above, awards a credential . . . a certification for those professionals who make the committment to undergo additional training and who want to be recognized as recruiting and employment law knowledgable experts.  You can find a list of those recruiters at another NAPS site, here.

The Kennedy Directory, venerable listing of retained and contingency recruiters by region and specialty.  Likely the oldest and most comprehensive directory out there.  Paid subscriptions, either online or print.

The Recruiters' Connection, a newer, free and online solution

The Recruiter Network, free service to distribute resume to appropriate recruiters

The Recruiter Directory, free online resource allowing recruiters to identify up to five areas of special interest/expertise.

St. Louis Business Journal's Resource Directory, free, no search for specialty capability (until you open a company to see their Profile).

There are of course scores of other listings . . .  there are niche job boards, etc..   It shouldn't be terribly difficult to find recruiters in your geographic area and with knowledge of what you specifically do.  Contacting them, delivering all your information and then diplomatically (and patiently) staying in touch in the long term is the idea (hand written notes, rather than emails go a million miles!).  It's possible you won't hear very much from the recruiter . . . until your name pops up for a search they're working on.  Believe me when I tell you that at that point, they'll get in touch with you promptly!

One other piece of advice . . .  address the recruiter by name.  Don't send a blast to several (or scores) recruiters at once.  I get those email blasts with resumes every day . . . probably a dozen a day.  If the candidate can't even take the time to address me by name, I don't have the time to deal with them.  They simply get deleted.

In addition to all those "Impersonal" resumes, I get another dozen or more each day with my name in the salutation.  I'm impressed when they write me a cover letter, and actually mention something about my website or blog, so I know they've spent some time to get to know my company.  I like that.  I like that the candidate is diligent enough to want to know who they're contacting for employment assistance.  That's the sort of candidate I'll start to try to develop a relationship with.  Once again, quality beats quantity every time!

 

"Richer Resumes, Portfolios and Cover Letters!" . . . Include A Verbal Pitch

I working with a senior marketing candidate who's just done something I think is just outstanding . . . simple, easy . . . just brilliant. 

I had previously written a post about how a free online service called Dropbox can help add dimension and depth to your resume, cover letter and/or portfolio, without adding additional pages.  As I said previously, "It would be terrific if there was a place to "host" those compliments, recommendations, white papers and other media files, so that they could easily be incorporated into letters of introduction and resumes."  Dropbox provides this ability. Check out more thoughts on Dropbox and resumes/portfolios and cover letters here. 

The new idea that's so simple, is voice.  That's right . . . use your own voice to create a short (60-90 second) verbal pitch for yourself.  You can provide a verbal overview and add context to a resume.  You can highlight one or two brief case studies . . . If you're applying for a specific position and know the name of the hiring manager, you can even introduce yourself specifically to the job and call the hiring manager by name!  You can deliver a "call to action" . . . Ask that hiring manager to give you a call to hear more!  Imagine the impact!

This works with more than introductions during the employment search.  Imagine a verbal introduction to accompany introducing yourself to a new client . . . There are endless opportunities to utilize this.

In addition to your other qualifications, background and skills, you've now set yourself apart from the competition by being clever, and obviously in control of current technology.  I just love the idea of being able to highlight specific career achievements that directly relate to the position you're applying for.

You can also create your own "elevator pitch" for use in other social media applications.  You can add links to the Dropbox hosted sound files to your LinkedIn and Facebook accounts . . . or send a tweet with sound!  You'll think of more ways to use this . . .

Most of us have a micropohone built into our computers . . . we can create sound files instantly.  Dropbox is  a free place to host those files, and allow you to use them in your career enhancement efforts.  My goal is to figure this out for myself in the next several days.  When I do, I'll post the solution with a litle added "voice encouragement".

Depending on the usage, for example a link on LinkedIn that was more of a "generic" introduction of yourself, or if you're not a terrific speaker, you might spend a modest amount of money and have professionals assist you.  For the charges of one hour of studio time and some editing, you might be able to get this done for $200.00 or less.

I have total faith that my readers are clever enough to figure this out.  If you decide to utilize this idea, please send me a link when it's finished!  I'd love to hear what you have to say!

References, Job-Hoppers and Talent Shortages

My good friend and colleague of Egret Consulting and irsa has written an article for his newsletter "The Buzz" that I think resonates and deserves more exposure.  Ted and Egret specialize in the electrical manufacturing industry.  What he says about that industry applies identically to marketing and advertising.  So, with a very minor edit or two, here are Ted's thoughts.

"We’ve conducted roughly 70,000 interviews over the past 11+ years. We’ve successfully placed over 500 new employees and we’ve weathered two deep recessions, so we feel pretty good about our track record. Nationally, “WE” are facing a talent and hiring condition that has never been faced before. Despite the daily dirge of bad news about unemployment, let me give a few other statistics:
•    The average tenure of a new employee is 34 months (and that includes CEO’s)
•    The unemployment rate for college graduates is 3.8%
•    The predicted number of jobs for Gen Y employees is 8 jobs before they’re 40 years old
•    Reference recommendations correlate to performance at a value of 0.29 (which in statistic-speak means the predictability is less than 9%)
•    Over 35% of resumes are fraudulent, over 75% have mistakes or ‘little white lies’
•    The level of open job postings has hit a record high level
Most companies don’t believe there is a talent shortage. With 9.8% unemployment it’s easy to assume your next engineer, branch manager, marketing director or operations manager is sitting outside your door with his/her resume in hand and the desire to go to work on Monday at a 25% discount in compensation. If only it were true.

The talent pool is very thin right now. We only work in this industry so our view is limited to people who work and succeed in the electrical (marketing/advertising) industry and we don’t recruit people out of automotive, healthcare or paper companies. The pool is additionally thinned by the housing market; relocations are very problematic for a household to move if their house is currently at a low equity or under water. The ability to sell the house and provide cash to buy into the new market, despite the lowered values is in many cases untenable. Job security for most companies has been seriously damaged by the deep recession and companies’ reactions to that through aggressive downsizing, so we’re at a unique confluence of competing challenges; employees are more open to leaving their current company, but they’re very limited in where they can go, geographically.

We’ve seen a significant increase in companies adding talent over the past 90-120 days. All of these positions are net-adds, not replacements. So the market has already shifted, the talent pool is poised to hearing options, but the creativity of those options will have to cater to the needs of the prospective new employee.

There is never a ‘perfect’ employee, just as there isn’t a perfect employer, yet employers are still functioning as if the talent pool is unlimited and they have the ability to design the perfect employee on an assembly line; complete with a life-time guarantee. That isn’t reality, the talent market right now is considering multiple offers, expecting significant flexibility in work/life balance and not anticipating finding their ‘last job’, but gaining experience and building a resume for the next challenge.

Create "Richer" Resumes With New Technology

Resumes and portfolios are only two of the elements necessary to make a powerful first impression when presenting yourself to a new employer (or recruiter!).  There are a myriad of additional elements which can help separate you from your colleagues when being considered for a new career opportunity.

Testimonials, recommendations, white papers, case studies or other "documents" (In this case, I'm using "documents" to include images, videos or any other kind of media file.) that you may have can help show your career achievements and your ability to add value to your employers.  It's surprising to me that more top professionals don't utilize what their employers, peers and clients have to say about their performance on a particular project or team.  It can be anything from an email from a either a client or your boss thanking you for a job well done, to a formally recognized achievement, like an award.  Your LinkedIn Profile is certainly one place where displaying recommendations can be a significant credibility builder.  Having someone else say something positive about you is obviously better than saying it yourself!  I believe it's a powerful marketing technique and frequently use it myself, for example on our website.

It would be terrific if there was a place to "host" those compliments, recommendations, white papers and other media files, so that they could easily be incorporated into letters of introduction and resumes.  The ability to create a free blog has been taken advantage of by many who want an online place to "host" all of the documents relevant to a job search . . . and they work very well. 

Others are less comfortable with creating the blog and organizing all the documents so that the visitor to that blog can quickly and easily navigate to the right place (document) at the right time.  For those of you who find yourselves in that particular boat, there's some relatively new technology out there that can be a tremendous asset for you.  It's called Dropbox.

Dropbox allows you to sync your files online and across your computers automatically . . . up to 2GB worth for free!  That in itself has tremendous value.  My computer was recently taken out of service for several days as a result of some killer (literally) virus.  While I had a backup laptop and was able to do some work, I didn't have access to any of the documents on the "sick" computer.  I have now uploaded all of the documents that I used on a daily basis to Dropbox.  I can now access those files from any computer with internet access . . . Fabulous!

The way Dropbox can be used on resumes and cover letters is this.  Suppose you have a number of testimonials/recommendations from colleagues or clients or other media files that can enhance your presentation.  You can now put copies of each of those documents (or other media) in a Dropbox "Public" folder.  That public folder attaches a unique link for that document, which can then be embedded in your resume.  Click here to see how I handle it, or you could link to each document or file individually.  That link is being handled through the Dropbox public folder.

Now, even your Word.doc can become a much more compelling document with the additional capabilities provided by Dropbox.  This is now a very simple (and free!) method of adding significant new information to your resume, without adding any additional pages.  I'm betting that you can think of all kinds of clever ways to incorporate this technology into your your document and your work flow.

I'm also betting you'll find the value in hosting some frequently used documents with Dropbox.

Social Media Shouldn't Cause Your Career To Crash!

We all know that social media can be a very positive force in networking, advancing your career and if necessary, supporting that job search.  We also know that as professionals, it's essential to be careful what's out there in our online profiles.  If you don't think that recruiters, hiring managers and employers don't "really" look at your online presence, you're wrong!  It's that simple.

I liked this blog I read yesterday, and decided to share Tim Tyrell-Smith's thoughts with you.  His LinkedIn Profile and Group can be found on his blog on job search strategy.  We appreciate his thoughts:

"It’s a good thing no one is watching.

Because I saw a ton of tweets yesterday where someone in a job search was crashing and burning on Twitter.  And I’ll bet I could find a few on Facebook.  Maybe less so on LinkedIn. 

Whoops! Turns out people are watching.  People in HR, recruiting.  And potentially your hiring manager.

Just like someone is always there to watch you fall when skiing or snowboarding.  And, interestingly, the poor guy to the left has fallen on a really well-groomed hill.  Twitter is kind of like that hill.  You can have a nice enjoyable ride on Twitter.  Networking and making new friends.  You can also make a mistake and fall flat on your face.

How many of you hiring managers are looking at Twitter pre-interview?

And how many of you candidates are putting on the wrong kind of show?

Here are 10 examples based on a simple Twitter search of “job interview tomorrow” (the bold type is mine – the rest in quotes is real):

1.  Desperation: “I need this job tomorrow I hope the interview goes well….it better lol!”

2.  Graphic: “Job interview tomorrow f__kkk!”

3.  Bad Impression: “i got an interview tomorrow wit a job i applied for online *sticks out tongue & does bbm dancing face* what now HOE”

4.  Over-Exposed: “Woooooo Job Interview Tomorrow now ill have 2 Jobs and a Full time band. Bye Bye Free Time”

5.  Scary: Have an interview tomorrow for a long term temp assignment. Surely, dressing up as a Dracula will get me the job, right?”

6.  Conflicting: “i got a job interview tomorrow, i hope my job doesnt call me today askin me to come in tomorrow unless its around 3″

7.  No Bull: “job interview tomorrow better scratch up on how to talk bs!”

8.  Unqualified: “Phone interview tomorrow for a job I’m not qualified for, so that’s always fun. Let’s see how I can bulls__t my way out of this one.”

9.  Way: “Holy s__t, no way. Actually have a job interview tomorrow!”

10.  Spinning Yarn: “Ahh! I just rolled another interview into my “churches help job seekers” story. am scrambling now for additional story. deadline tomorrow!”

So why am I sharing these examples?  I don’t need to embarrass anyone.  But I do need you to pay attention.

Because the hiring market is starting to pay attention to people exposing their job search journey on Twitter.

So is my advice to stay off Twitter?  Of course not.  Use Twitter with a purpose and you’ll get great value during your job search.

Here’s a tweet I’d like to read from a candidate:

“Interviewing tomorrow for my dream job at @XXCompany.  Excited to share what I can do.”

How would you write one?"

The Most Difficult Market For Finding Candidates In Years . . .

I've spoken with two prospective clients in the last week who were amazed when I told them that right now is the most difficult market in which to identify, recruit and hire premier employees in years . . . and it's going to continue getting worse.  Their response was uniform is their disbelief . . . they always point to the unemployment rate, which nationally is currently 9.6% . . . sounds pretty high . . . and it is. 

Most of that unemployment rate is made of manufacturing and construction related labor.  The housing crisis and decline of American manufacturing is swellling the unemployment rates.  The vast majority of our clients require candidates to have a minimum of a college degree.  When you plug that fact into the unemployment rate, it all of a sudden drops to around 4.5%!  The unemployment rate for college graduates is 4.5% . . . not 9.6%.

To complicate the reality, as most of you know "full employment" is not 0%(State of economy in which all eligible people who want to work can find employment at prevailing wage rates. However, it does not imply 100 percent employment because allowances must be made for frictional unemployment and seasonal factors  If you want to read more, you can do so here.).  While economists have different opinions of "full employment" it is generally accepted to be between 2% and 7%.  An unemployment rate of around 4.5% for college graduates, given the full context of the number, really suggests that there aren't all that many unemployed college graduates out there!  There are even fewer "premier performers"!

The education level of candidates is not the only complicating factor in the market for candidates being weak.  The significant drop in housing prices has made the relocation of superior candidates very difficult, because they are unwilling to personally suffer the loss in the current valuation and selling price of their home.  If clients are not willing to support the move by helping with temporary housing and/or subsidizing the loss of revenue in the candidate's home sale, candidates simply won't move . . . and who can blame them?  Would you walk away from 20%-30% of your home's value from when you bought it?  I doubt it.

Premier candidates are additionally becoming increasingly difficult to move because of the size of the counter offers they receive from their existing employer.  Remember we're talking about top performers here, in many different executive level functional roles.

When a current employer hears a top performer is going to go somewhere else, they'll hand them a check for $20,000.00 to stay, along with increasing their compensation.  They make it very difficult for a top performing candidate to leave.

It's unfortunate that history show that once an employer finds out an employee was ready to leave, the counteroffer notwithstanding, that candidate has become "blemished" in the employers eyes.  They can be perceived by the employer to be "disloyal" or "not to be trusted".  Often times the career path of the candidate who accepts the counter offer will never be the same as it was before.

Candidates who receive a counteroffer almost always think to themselves, why did it take my deciding to leave to get this raise?  What were they waiting for?  Why didn't they give it to me sooner, and I might not have considered moving in the first place . . .

The point it, there are multiple factors that have converged to make it very difficult to find top employees.  The demographics of the country, with baby boomers retiring and fewer highly trained professionals entering the workforce will continue to increase the difficulty in identifying, recruiting and hiring top performing candidates.

Prohibited Employment Policies/Practices

According to the EEOC (The United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission): "Under the laws enforced by EEOC, it is illegal to discriminate against someone (applicant or employee) because of that person's race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information. It is also illegal to retaliate against a person because he or she complained about discrimination, filed a charge of discrimination, or participated in an employment discrimination investigation or lawsuit."  We all know that perspective, and think we understand it.  To read a summary of those employment practices that are specifically prohibited by the various appropriate Federal laws, go here.

As I mentioned in my previous post, one of the practical results of equal employment practices is the applicable Federal law relating to using photographs on your resume, or by inference, using photographs at any time through the employment application process (e.g. photos on resumes).

I've received a number of resumes over the years with photographs on them.  It's sort of ironic that the photographs are usually of attractive young women.  It's obvious that a photograph at the very least identifies the applicant's gender and race/color and/or ethnicity.  Each of those characteristics is protected under Federal law.  The employer (every time I use the word "employer" in this article, it also refers to recruiters) is not allowed to use any of those characteristics as a part of the application process.  The only certain way to insure that an employer won't  (can't) use them, is to not give employers that information.

The EEOC specifically states: " . . . employers should not ask for a photograph of an applicant. If needed for identification purposes, a photograph may be obtained after an offer of employment is made and accepted."  Employers should not ask for a photograph . . . that's clear.  It's also clear from EEOC rulings and case law, that a photograph should simply not be apart of the application process.

In this world of websites, social media, LinkedIn and Facebook, much of the content might have been created in support of the employment (job search) process, what's one to do?

Here are my suggestions to utilize social and new media, without compromising employers and getting the attention of the EEOC.

You should not:

• Include a photograph on your resume or any support materials created by you and used as a component of the application process.

• Include a photograph on a blog or website (created by you or soemone you hire) that you use as a part of the application process.

What about LinkedIn and the profile photograph?  Many professinoals use LinkedIn in support of the employment application process.  So far, there is no case law that suggests that the profile photograph on LinkedIn cannot be utilized.  That's not to say what rulings will happen in the future.  Relative to the speed of the EEOC and Federal Courts, LinkedIn is a relatively "new" phenomenon and may very well be dealt with in a larger context than it "contains a photograph".  (I consider Facebook to be personal, and LinkedIn professional . . . so I'm not dealing with Facebook now).

You can include your LinkedIn Profile link on your resume.  I cannot send your LinkedIn profile to my client as part of my introduction process.  I cannot send a website with your picture as part of my introduction process.  It is permissable (so far) to include your LinkedIn Profile link on your resume (even with the profile picture).

This is important, because once employers see your picture as a result of how you apply, or introduce yourself, they have to disregard you as a candidate.  They may or may not inform you of that decision.  Don't put them in the position of having to make that decision.  Become a candidate based on your experience, passion and goals . . . not your looks!

The Newest St. Louis Certified Recruiter With CPC Title

 Over the past few weeks, I've voluntarily subjected myself to the anxious anticipation of having to take a test . . . I'm pleased and proud to tell you that I have passed a two and a half hour examination to become a "Certified Personnel Consultant", or CPC.  This certification is administered by the National Association for Personnel Services, or NAPS. 

My goal was to take one more step in separating myself from other recruiters who have not spent the time and money necessary to achieve this certification.  Over the past weeks, I've really felt like I was back in school learning the details and intricacies of Federal laws like The Civil Rights Act of 1964, The Age Discrimination Act of 1967, The Equal Pay Act of 1963 and others, not to mention various Executive Orders and employment case law, all affecting the relationship between an employer or recruiter and a candidate.  I never realized that recruiters are literally treated just like employers in the eyes of the law.

There are generally four categories of readers of this blog, clients, candidates, colleagues and friends.  There is no longer any doubt in my mind that getting certified was worth the time and effort and will be beneficial as time goes on.  There is no question that I can better consult, and recruit for the benefit of both my clients and candidates.  I can now confidently say that you, as either a candidate or client should deal with certified recruiters.  If you don't deal with Bishop Partners, you can consult the National Registry of Certified Staffing Industry Professionals to find other certified recruiters.

For almost 10 years, I've conducted myself and my business with what I considered to be the highest ethical standards.  In becoming certified as CPC, my peers and NAPS have put additional responsibility and now, accountability on my conduct.  I'm proud to be continue to strive to live up to the ethical standards of the certification.

Some of NAPS Standards Of Interest to Consumers include:

Relations between Recruiters & Employers/Clients:

   1. A candidate's employment record, education, qualification and salary requirements shall be stated to the employer/client as accurately and fully as possible. Clients shall be advised by the recruiter if the recruiter disclaims liability for the accuracy of any information it transmits to the client.

   2. A candidate shall be referred to the employer/client for interview only with prior authorization of the employer/client, which may be given verbally.

   3. Confidential information relating to the business policy of employer/clients, which is imparted as an aid to the effective handling of their job requirements, shall be treated accordingly.

   4. In the absence of an agreement to the contrary, a recruiter shall not attempt to recruit candidates for placement who are still employed by the company with whom they have been placed by the recruiter's firm, unless the candidates directly request the recruiter's assistance in seeking new employment.

   5. Direct mail, bulletins and resumes of candidates presented to employer/clients shall represent bona fide candidates.

   6. In the absence of an agreement to the contrary, a recruiter shall not attempt to recruit for placement candidates employed by a client company within one year of the most recent placement with that client company at the same location, unless the candidates directly request the recruiter's assistance in seeking new employment.

Relations between Recruiters and Candidates:

   1. Candidates shall be referred to employer/clients for interviews only on job openings for which at least verbal authority has been given by the employer/client.

   2. Representations made to candidates about the duties, probable length of employment, hours, benefits and salary of prospective positions shall be in conformance with the best knowledge of the recruiter.

   3. Precaution shall be taken against referring any candidate to employer/clients who are known to engage in illegal or questionable business practices which might jeopardize the safety of the candidate.

   4. Information about a candidate will be used only for the purpose of finding employment for that candidate. Confidential information shall be treated accordingly.

   5. A candidate shall be aware of charges, if any, before being permitted to incur any obligation for services rendered. Any monetary obligations, including interest charges, shall be fully disclosed in a written agreement, a copy of which shall be provided to the candidate, and it shall set forth any circumstances in which a candidate must pay for services.

   6. No candidate shall be referred to any employer where a strike or lockout exists or is impending (according to the best knowledge of the recruiter) without being notified or such condition.

Over the next few weeks, I intend to share some of the knowledge I gained as a result of studying the Manual and spending a full day in class.  There's some specifics and nuance to the Federal law, that frankly isn't common knowledge.  The fact that you don't know the law does not excuse you from having to obey the letter of it.  Federal employment law can have serious, and severe penalties.

Just to give you an idea of something you might not expect;  Did you know that it's illegal for a recruiter to send a resume to our client, if that resume has a picture?

Your Resume is Boring . . . How To Write A Resume To Get A Job!

I've just run across an article by John Sullivan, a "well known thought leader in recruiting and retention of employees", and someone I've come to respect over the years.  He always delivers a thoughtful and comprehensive approach to what he writes.  This is one of the best articles I've ever read on the subject of "how to write a resume", and I've read scores of them.  Before this article, I would send interested parties to my website to read an article entitled "Prove Value".  I'll add this article from now on!  It's a bit long, but covers every base in detail!

If you are wondering why you aren’t called in to interview for great job opportunities, it’s undoubtedly because your resume is not “powerful,” and significantly undersells your abilities and experience. Having worked with major corporations on the design of their hiring and resume screening processes, I can attest that nearly all applicants fail to adequately highlight themselves in a way that increases their chances of being selected for further evaluation. While you may actually be a very good fit for the roles and the organizations to which you have applied, chances are that your boring resume doesn’t instill that perception in the 15-20 seconds that those charged with screening resumes typically spend per applicant.

 
Even if you are not currently seeking a new role, failing to adequately highlight your achievements is a weakness that can impact you throughout your career. When it comes to performance appraisal, promotion consideration, and even day-to-day work assignment, learning how to influence the perception of you as a performer is key to ensuring that your career reaches the heights you desire.

Over a decade ago, Fast Company magazine dubbed me the “Michael Jordan of hiring,” so if you want to have a resume as powerful and effective as Michael Jordan’s actually is, consider each of the checklist items that follow.

Bolster the Content of Your Resume

While an unusual format may garner a few seconds more of attention, it may also prevent your resume from making it through electronic sorting and filtering tools used by larger corporations, so it is best to focus on what your resume says about you, versus the font, layout, and embellishment used. (This is true for online profiles as well; spending hours adjusting the color pallet and background and only minutes on the content doesn’t facilitate stronger networking.) To maximize your appeal, focus on powerful “selling” points that cover your results, your impact on the organization, your skills and your ability to manage and lead.

For each of the items on the checklist, mentally review your working life, as well as other outside work responsibilities, for experiences/activities that relate to the item. For example, if you are seeking a role that calls for leadership skills, ask yourself how many times you were a leader of a project, a subproject, a team, or even a meeting/event. It does not matter if you were never formally appointed a leader or given a leadership title; if you have successfully led others, you should reference leadership as one of your attributes. Feature leadership terms throughout the content that comprises your resume, including sections covering your experience, education, and extracurricular activities.

Continue through the checklist until each of the factors appears at least once in your resume. When you have reached the end of the checklist, step back and admire all that you have done and accomplished, and can do again in your next job, ad then raise your career goals and expectations!

Thirty “Power Factors” to Bolster the Content of Your Resume

1. Result or accomplishment — everyone wants employees who produce results, so you need to find a way to list every significant result, output, or accomplishment. Your resume should include dozens of performance-related references. (Example: Achieved 100% of ___ rollout project milestones while being first to implement ___ within the division.)
2. Quantify results in dollars — the language of businesses is dollars, so characterizing the dollar impact of your accomplishments on the organization can be a key differentiator. It’s OK to use estimates if you can explain your logic. (Example: implemented changes to the ___ process that resulted in a 32% increase output with no noticeable impact on quality).
3. Skills used — listing the work you did but omitting the array of skills that you need to accomplish that work is a major omission in most resumes. You should never mention a task or accomplishment without highlighting both the technical and people skills required to accomplish it. Start with a list of all the skills that you can find in job descriptions of interest and try to mention each one. (Example: Used root cause analysis to track an emerging issue back to a change that had been overlooked many times and used strong Internet research skills to gather supporting information and build a business case to successfully convince a skeptical manager to address the issue.)
4. Demonstrate the quality of the work — you need to clearly demonstrate that you do high-quality work and that you understand and deliver quality consistently. Whenever you mention the volume of your work, also mention indications of its quality. (Example: Consistently ranked top producer within the division while maintaining the lowest error rate and a 98% customer satisfaction rate.)
5. Awards and honors — mention all recognitions received for outstanding work. Don’t forget shared and team awards, or informal awards created by local managers. Include awards received both in school and on the job. (Example: Awarded employee of the month six times.)
6. Leadership — employees who can lead are always in demand. Mention cases where you led a team or project, even if informally. Highlight challenges addressed and leadership methods used. (Example: Assembled and led a team responsible for developing a plan to expand scope of services provided, overcoming resource limitations, personality conflicts, and communication breakdowns to successfully present the case to the executive committee).
7. Management tools used — even if you were not a manager by title, show that you did use common management tools and processes during your assignments. (Example tools to highlight: team work, quality control, conflict resolution, CRM, time management, process reengineering.)
8. Technology tools — few things are more important these days than the ability to use and understand technology. Look for work examples that demonstrate your ability to learn and leverage emerging technology. (Example: used online groupware to create a project management office providing a common document repository, shared calendar, alerts, and staff assignments for key projects within our division.)
9. Worked with key people — individuals who have the opportunity to work with key people and executives are assumed to be among the best. If you worked for or with a famous individual, highlight them. Also include enough information so that the reader will know their importance. (Example: Was selected by my divisional vice president to serve on a committee led by our CEO to evaluate key customer satisfaction.)

"What Are Your Salary Expectations"?

I received a LinkedIn message this morning asking a question that frequently comes up . . .

"My position was recently terminated and now I'm going online to apply for positions and all of the positions ask what salary I''m looking for or what did I make before? How can they ask those questions before they've even met me? And it seems if i don't answer those questions NOW I can't even get a meeting. Is there anything to do to avoid doing that as I feel like it prices me out of the job before I've even been in the running."

I don't like it when companies ask that question, but I do understand it.  Employers have to have some idea of previous compensation, because it can frame your expectations (and need) for future employment.  We all realize that "it's not all about money", but if there's a significant discrepancy between your past income and the value of a particular position, you're going to be screened out.

The general perception is that if you're not making as much as you did previously, you're not going to be content, and you're going to jump to another job that pays more as soon as you find it.  That concern will limit an employer's interest and willingness to invest in your training for the future.

I tell my clients not to ask the question about salary expectations, and my candidates not to answer it.  The real question is what's the position worth, given the amount of responsibility and the level of experience needed.  The skill set required also will influence the positions value and resulting compensation.  At the same time, I think it's fair for a company to know what you've made in the past . . . just not what you want to make in the future.

Frankly, one solution to this issue is to spend less time with online "job boards".  They are not very efficient for senior level people, whose time would be better spent networking, and making more of an effort to target specific companies and "communities".  The big job boards (as opposed to more niche sites) are not perceived to have the best candidates, because those candidates are not "passive" . . . they're looking for a job.  The resulting perception can be that they're "never happy" where that are (the grass is always greener . . . ), or that they "aren't loyal".  LinkedIn is different . . . and valuable.

Clever Introductions Still Win Employment

In case any of you missed this in AdFreak last week, I thought it was worth sharing.  It's a historic fact that those who approach an agency or creative entity with a clever, innovative or unusual approach, get attention.  Here's a recent example:

Vanity Googling helps copywriter land a job

Alec Brownstein was another copywriter/director in need of a job when he decided to take advantage of human nature—or at least, the nature of people who like to Google themselves. Brownstein bought up Google keywords like David Droga, Tony Granger, Gerry Graf, Ian Reichenthal and Scott Vitrone, and when those folks Googled themselves, a message from Brownstein popped up asking for a job. The price was 10 cents a click. For a grand total of $6, Brownstein got four interviews, landed a job at Y&R, won a Clio and got some press. Another great example of knowing your audience.

—Posted by Rebecca Cullers

13 Ways Your Resume Can Say "I'm Unprofessional"!

I was reading through some materials on Electronic Recruiting Exchange and found this article that I thought has value and should be shared.  You would think that professionals understand how important every element of a resume is.  I can testify that many do not.  I can tell you that I have seen every one of these mistakes, and many others . . .

If you're going to take the time to create a resume (and everyone should have one ready, you never know when a new opportunity may arise), please compose it like your career depends on it . . . because it does!

Hiring pros share the faux pas they find in real resumes, including wacky e-mail addresses, defunct phone numbers and cookie-cutter templates.

By Lisa Vaas

"No offense, thebigcheese@domain.com, but if nobody has told you yet, we’re telling you now: That e-mail address is not making you look particularly professional.

Unprofessional e-mail addresses are just one way of sending hiring managers the wrong message. If you want to be taken seriously when you apply for jobs, you need to put some polish on your resume, your cover letter and everything contained therein. Hiring professionals repeatedly run across these red flags that scream “unprofessional.” A number of recruiters and HR managers shared with TheLadders common errors from their own professional experiences.

1. Random/cute/shared e-mail accounts

E-mail accounts are free. There’s no reason not to sign up for your own. Yet many mid-career professionals share an e-mail account with a significant other or the entire family, generating addresses such as dickandjane@domain.com or thesmiths@domain.com..Also stay away from cutesy addresses. After all, butterfliesaremyfriend2010@domain.com, you can always share your admiration of Lepidoptera with colleagues after you’ve been hired. Ditto for offensive, flirtatious or sexual e-mail addresses.

Think we’re exaggerating? These are actual e-mail accounts cited by Jillian Zavitz, who’s responsible for hiring as the programs manager for TalktoCanada.com, an online English language-training course based in Canada. (We’ve changed the domain names to protect the innocent.)

Instead, adopt an address that incorporates the name you use professionally on your resume and cover letter.

2. Failure to proofread

Deidre Pannazzo, executive director at Inspired Resumes, said it’s “amazing” how many people submit resumes that contain “numerous typos and misspellings.” Even better than spell check, she said, is to have a friend review the document for you.

“Make sure your dates are consistent, and that you don't confuse your story with overlapping time lines,” she said. (For an in-depth look at how to tackle proofreading your resume, click here.)

3. Bikini pictures

Resume experts advise against attaching pictures or any image files to a resume. They can “choke” an applicant tracking system (ATS), the software that automatically scans and parses resumes. (Click here for an in-depth look at how your resume is handled by technology after you press submit.) In addition, hiring professionals warn against giving anyone a reason to prejudge and form a negative opinion based on your appearance. Indeed, some HR departments will immediately discard resumes with photos to avoid any possible accusations of discrimination on this basis.

But still applicants send photos. Most troublesome of all, said Zavitz, are the beach shots. “(No) pictures where you are in a bikini at the beach (real story, and it wasn't a flattering picture either) or at a New Year’s party with your friends (obviously drunk). Not cool.”

4. Unprofessional voicemail

If your resume is strong enough to convince the recruiter or hiring manager to reach for the telephone, be sure what he finds at the other end of the line represents you in the best light – that means your voicemail or whoever might answer the phone.

Marlane Perry, managing director of the Executive Search Division of Magill Associates, said she is unimpressed when a phone number on a resume leads her to an unprofessional recorded voicemail or a conversation with a third party who can’t be trusted to take a message. “If you don't trust your roommates to answer the phone and take a decent message, then only list your cell phone,” she said.

5. Lazy words, ‛etc.’

Perry said that use of “etc.” on a resume is a sign of laziness: The job seeker obviously “can't even take the time to list out all of [his] duties.” She has seen the error on both junior- and executive-level resumes. Another no-no is saying "same as above" anywhere on a resume. “If you had similar job functions at your last two jobs, summarize the responsibilities and then bullet out some of your accomplishments,” she suggested.

6. Cookie-cutter resumes

Samantha Goldberg is a celebrity event designer and TV personality who’s always looking for employees for administrative duties or to help plan an event. She said she often reviews resumes and cover letters that aren’t even vaguely customized for her business.

“It’s more like ‛Mad Libs’ — they just fill in our name as they send them off!” she said. “Just once, I would love to have them describe me on the cover letter instead of saying that they respect my career status and have been following my career.”

On many occasions, Goldberg said, she specifically lists a prerequisite of at least three years’ experience with planning events that does not include friends, family or applicants’ own weddings. “They obviously don’t read my prerequisites and send an e-mail stating that even though they haven’t orchestrated events for anyone they have always been told they should be in the industry if I would just give them a chance.”

7. Everything but the kitchen sink

“I don't care, nor have time, to read about your life story,” Zavitz said. “If you can't whittle your resume down to a page or two at max, I will not read it. If it's not related [to the job or your work history], don't include it.”

8-13 ad infinitum...

Larry Lambeth, president of Employment Screening Services Inc., which helps companies review job applicants, offered a laundry list of professional gaffes he’s seen on resumes and job applications:

• Listing a spouse as a reference
• Not spelling out the name of an employer or school (“LSU” instead of “Louisiana State University” or “ZDE” instead of “Ziff Davis Enterprise”)
• Not providing a city or state for an employer or school
• Omitting the area code from a phone number for a reference or employer
• Providing only a first name for a supervisor or reference
• Including phone numbers that are no longer in service for references or employers."

I have another posting from a while back, where I talk about "How To Get Your Resume Read".  You can read it here.  I would also refer you to our website, for the single best article on what makes for a powerful resume.  Here's the article (available as a PDF), "Prove Value".

Fake References, For A Real Price

A colleague of mine just sent me an article with a link to a company from which you can "Buy A Job Reference" . . . Unbelievable!  Need to fill in a gap of unemployment or replace a bad work history?  Buy a job reference starting from the low price of $39.95 for one month and up to 5 references! Seriously!

Here's a little snippet from their site . . .

"You apologize for nothing.  And sure, sometimes that means burning a few bridges with fiery tirades and oversized truth bombs. But you're just keeping it real. Which means that you need an ally who will do anything possible to help you in your quest for realness. Even if that means lying like no one's ever lied before...

Introducing "Buy a Job Reference", a new service that sets you up with fake references and expertly tells tall tales on your behalf for the next time you're hunting for a job/apartment/mate, taking calls now.

Now, we feel obliged to tell you this: this site is dodgy as hell and potentially illegal, and we're not saying
you should do this, but what we are saying is it's nice to know there's someone out there who has your back and will tell the story the way it deserves to be told.

So when your next employer calls, your new reference will expound on your finer qualities and send you an email saying how their little tête-à-tête went."

There's another site called CareerExcuse.com, for "Outsourcing your job references"!  It brightly states,

“Our employment verification process takes the frustration out of your job search and eliminates annoying blots on your resume.”  Further, they go on to describe themselves as a “one-on-one personalized job reference service.” Among its offerings:

• Choose your career history
• References from bankrupt companies
• Positive responses need to compete against hundreds of other applicants.
• Create your career history (!)"

The brazenness of this whole approach is just amazing to me. Maybe I'm naive . . . As I was reading through the Buy A Job Reference site, I found myself literally shaking my head in disbelief!  I smiled and laughed out loud . . . but it's not really funny!

Job references aren't the only thing they'll fake for you . . . ever had trouble renting an apartment because of a "inconsistent" payment history?  No problemo!

Legal or not, there are candidates who will try it, especially in today's job market...  While I understand that someone who needs to feed their family will do what they need to survive, fraud like this seems inappropriate.

This is just one more reason for recruiters and employers to spend the time necessary for the due diligence required for in depth background and reference checks . . . not just a couple of cursory questions.

I'm curious what you think . . . !

 

How To Get Your Resume Read!

I heard it again today, “I’ve applied to 300 jobs in the last month.”

WHAT????

Why would anyone waste their time like that? Sounds to me like this person was simply doing the “Click and Go” dance with his computer. I certainly understand the desperation that comes with the economic climate we all live in today, but I’m concerned.

If a job seeker would just sit back for a few minutes and consider a plan of action, concerning the goals for the day and write it down, then the day’s efforts might be a little more fruitful! More focus would be given to the list below and less work would be done with better results.

Not all recruiters search the same way for potential candidates. They don’t post job descriptions the same way. They don’t read resumes the same way. They certainly don’t communicate the same way, which is often to the disadvantage of an excellent candidate. They all have differing levels of concern for things like ethical values, integrity and credibility. Some recruiters are educated and some are not. Some have common sense and some don’t have any sense at all.

I can’t begin to tell you how any other recruiter will process your resumé, even if I think I know them. What I will tell you is how I process resumes, and what I expect before I receive it from you. These tips should help you, by giving you the best possible chance at getting an interview…if you are honest with yourself as you prepare your resumé!

Reason #1.
You’ve given me what I want by reading the job description COMPLETELY! If you haven’t, why would you apply? Would you only read what stands out on a medicine bottle, only to find out later that there are side effects (in the small print) that may adversely affect your health? The health of your personal economic stability depends on reading completely.

If you are just posting resumes everywhere, hoping one will stick; you’re wasting YOUR time. Give me what I want by writing a short and concise cover letter. It should include a short summary of your experiences that “MATCH” the job description. If they don’t match, DON’T APPLY! If a job description is short and vague, contact me and ask for any clarification I can offer.

Make SURE you are qualified before you apply. You’ll save yourself a lot of precious time by focusing on the importance of being qualified. I don’t currently work with clients or other recruiters that will accept a candidate that has skills that are “transferable.” You are either qualified to the specifics of the job description, or you are not.

Can You Afford To Turn Down A Job Offer?

It depends . . .

There are lots of reasons to jump on a particular opportunity, and probably an equal number which would suggest, you should keep looking. 

You have to be happy doing whatever it is you're doing professionally, or your work, your employer (and their clients/customers) and yourself will inevitably suffer.  Possibly all three.  It seems obvious that if you're employed, you should always be looking for that next opportunity for career advancement.  It doesn't necessarily come around very often, but when it does, you should be open to hearing about it and ready to pursue it (see "Are You Ready For Your Next Career Opportunity?".  If you're unemployed, the thinking will necessarily and understandably be different.

If you are unemployed and have the emotional and financial wherewithal to keep looking, I would suggest that if there's any doubt about whether you're going to like the job, keep looking.  Marketing and advertising opportunities are slowly increasing.  If you're unemployed, you should be working every day to identify those opportunities that will excite you and reward you professionally (it's a full time job to find a full time job).  You accomplish that by networking with friends and colleagues and online research (not "just" job boards!).  If you're unemployed, have you given enough thought to what you actually want to be doing and who you want to be working with/for?

It's amazing to me how many people actually take the time to research whether or not they want to work for a particular employer (not as many as you'd think).  Rather, (especially if unemployed) they will fire their resumes off based on a job description, without knowing anything about the employer.  I realize this changes if someone is unemployed, but if the position ends up not working out, permanent damage could be done to your career path. Why would you take a job you don't like or really want?  The point is you should be job searching proactively, not reactively.

You should be able to describe (at least to yourself) the sorts of positions you're looking for, and understand why they appeal to you.  Similarly, you should know why something isn't right for you.  The better you're able to describe that to yourself, and those who are trying to help you network and identify opportunities, the better off you're going to be.