Category Archives: Recruiters

Using a mirror to find your problems

Posted on September 7, 2021 | Leave a comment

Most people have no clue what happened in a job interview. Did you do well?  Did they hate you? Is there a big mistake you keep making? You lose sleep, hope, talk to yourself, and relive the interview, praying to find a clue.

It is like when you want to see the back of your head or you want to see the middle of your back. It takes at least two mirrors and a lot of luck, twisting, and patience.

A friend’s eye is a good mirror.

Find a couple of job interview mirrors, like the ones you use to see the middle of your back. You need a friend who won’t just parrot back what you say. Someone who listens and will feel comfortable telling you what they really think is critical. They need to walk you through three questions. Not just ask them, but make you stay on track. They need to pull you back to reality and away from your emotional state. Have them explore these three questions:

  1. Walk me through the interview like a movie. What exactly happened without any emotional coloring?
  2. In the interview, what were their hiring priorities? What did they explore and worry about the most?
  3. In your gut, how do you really feel about it?

You can go through those questions yourself and it will help. But, there is something about having to answer to someone else that often clarifies the situation. That’s one reason that a recruiter earns his keep. He becomes a sounding board after an interview for both the candidate and the client, helping them stay in sync with each other.

Having someone who can point out your mistakes and help you find where you need to work on to get a job is important. A friend or a family member is helpful but only if they know saying the bad things not just the good things is good for you. A recruiter is a great choice too, because it’s their job to help you find a job.

Something to do today

Find that mirror. Who will be honest with you? Who will YOU be honest with?

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Posted in Finding jobs, Interviews, Recruiters

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Using friends and relatives to help get a job

Posted on August 13, 2021 | Leave a comment

To stop a giant cockroach from leaving the earth, one of the heroes in Men In Black steps on some earth sized bugs. They are relatives of the big one. The giant one comes back down and “engages” the hero. “Hiring managers are like giant cockroaches. They just want to hide in their offices and get away from you.” 

If you can get a relative, friend or recruiter to help you, you multiply your chances of getting a job instead of a rejection from that hiring manager.

Let’s start the way we did in the last article. First, make sure you want the job and that you are a decent fit. You can only use friends and relatives two or three times. They are the big guns to use when you really are well qualified and motivated. If you are not qualified for the job, just send a resume through Indeed or ZipRecruiter. That way it only takes you 10 seconds to send it and the computer will delete it for them. Relatives and friends are too important to overuse. A recruiter won’t let you overuse them, so use recruiters as heavily as you can.

Once you identify the job you would be excellent for, you need to figure out a plan of attack. 

First: who really respects you that can help? A recruiter who respects you is a much better reference than a brother who thinks you would bomb. The person who you know directly will hand your resume to someone you don’t know. The enthusiasm that is passed on with your resume is the big advantage you get from a friend, relative, or recruiter handing over your resume.

Second: figure out the final target who will be given your resume. Particularly if your friend works there or is a recruiter, they will have several options. If possible, have them give it directly to the hiring manager or their boss. If you cannot get it directly to someone making the decision, figure out who else it will be given to. Just handing your resume to the HR department may do nothing for you in a huge company.

Third: follow up. If you know the hiring manager or their boss got your resume, give them a quick call to verify they got it and see if they have any questions. You may only get their secretary, but you can still ask them if they have any questions. This is where you can reinforce your advantage. If a recruiter handed in your resume, ask the recruiter to follow up, and then you can follow up with the recruiter to ask what the manager thought. 

Using a friend, relative or recruiter can get your resume put on the top of the pile of applicants. It will not guarantee you a job, but it will sure help you get an interview. 

Use friends, relatives, and recruiters when you are prepared and the stakes are high. That is the best way to get a hiring manager’s attention.

Something to do today

Networking time. Identify the 5 companies and jobs you best fit and most want to fill. Start asking people you know, who they know who works there. You can invite that stranger to lunch with a friend. Scary? That’s okay. Invite them out to lunch anyway. With the friend along it will be more comfortable.

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Posted in Finding jobs, Interviews, Negotiating, Networking, Recruiters, References, Resumes, Time management

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What to ask a recruiter who is going to help you

Posted on June 30, 2021 | Leave a comment

“I’ll help you get a job. Trust me. Give me two weeks.”

When a recruiter says something like that, ask him, 

  • What exactly will you do? 
  • Which companies will you be submitting me to?
  • When will you report to me on what you have done? 
  • Which companies am I likely to get an interview with?

If the recruiter gives you a list of companies you will be submitted to, that’s perfect. Also acceptable is a specific industry group he will be calling. Not just “local companies.” The recruiter also needs to give you dates you will get progress reports. If a recruiter really is going to “make a hundred calls”, then he should be happy to tell you when the calls are done.

Don’t let your job search be like in the movies where the car driver, you, takes their hands off the wheel and has the person in the passenger side steering the car. It’s not the recruiter’s job they are choosing, and it’s not their future. You need to be the person driving in your job search. No one else has your interest in your career.

You are building your career. The recruiter is looking for their next sale or placement. It is the difference between the commitment a cow and a chicken make when they volunteer to be part of a steak and eggs breakfast. For the cow it is a life and death decision, but for the chicken it is just a day’s work. For you it is a multi-year commitment, but for the recruiter it is a few day’s commitment. Who do YOU think should be in charge?

It’s your career. Make sure you are driving the job search. Only trust recruiters who tell you who they are calling, and report back when they are done.

Something To Do Today

Time to update your job journal with your accomplishments this week. Give a report to your boss in a format he can use.

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Posted in Career choice, Finding jobs, Recruiters

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What to do if they haven’t called after a week – the job search

Posted on July 1, 2016 | Leave a comment

teen waiting with phone

Are you waiting to see if you got the job?

Why don’t companies say “Yes” or “No”?  What can I do about it?

Most of your frustration in a job search comes down to 3 situations at the company you are applying for.

First the receptionist is told:

“Jill, there are 250 resumes in my in-box.  Please go through them and give me the 10 best resumes.  Throw the rest away.”

Maybe the hiring manager was told:

“We’ve got to redo our budgets.  Put everything on hold.”

Or, the recruiter is told:

“We have a candidate we like better, but we want you to keep Jim warm, okay?  We might end up hiring Jim if this other guy doesn’t work out.  Don’t tell Jim anything.”

Those are the three scenarios that account for most of the frustration in a job search.  In either case you will get no useful reply to your job inquiries.  In the first case, you will never get a reply.  In the last two cases they may be forbidden to give you a reply.

You still should call and ask for information about your application.  Many times your call will cause them to pick up your resume one more time and take another look.  One unusual

company I know of rarely hires someone unless they have called 3 or more times.  I only know of one company that does that as policy.  I know a lot of companies that need their memory to be jogged.

If a company is hoping to hire you, that’s good.  It may be frustrating to wait for a month while they make up their minds, but so what?  If another job comes along, take it.  Anytime you go two weeks without an interview or an offer, assume the job is on hold while they look at other candidates. Call regularly, look for another job, but leave yourself available in case something good happens.  What can it hurt to be patient?

Deal with reality.  At the job you apply for, and get no response whatsoever, they are trying to work quickly.  If it takes one minute apiece to answer each of 250 job inquiries, that is over 4 hours of drudge work.  That’s why most companies don’t reply anymore.  The time it takes is too great. Many times you won’t get an answer.  That’s reality.  If you follow up with a call, you have a little better chance of something happening.  That’s also reality.

Don’t get mad, deal with reality. No one wants to insult you.  It is best not to be offended.  Just accept the fact that unless you are hired, your job application will end up in limbo, not in a straightforward “Yes!” or “No.”  Deal with it. Follow up, but also keep your job search active.

Something To Do Today

Call the companies that have not given you a final response every week or two.  Jog their memories.  Don’t get mad, just let them know you are still interested.

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Tomorrow:      The company’s reputation

Later:               Lose 10 pounds in 3 days–is not job hunting

Well, if I called the wrong number, why did you answer the phone? (James Thurber)

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Posted in Followup, Perseverance, Recruiters

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The Mythical Man Month

Posted on December 2, 2015 | Leave a comment

sand sculpture of a sphinx

The mythical man month is another impossible beast.

I hate firefighters–people who commit a project to disaster.  “Leaders” sometimes think that if one woman can have a baby in 9 months, then surely 9 women can have a baby in one month. Those leaders/firefighters create career death marches for their subordinates and coworkers.  Too often they are rewarded for being able to get so many hours out of their team.

The Mythical Man Month is a great book about the fallacy that projects can be infinitely divided and finished sooner.

To increase productivity on a 2 person project by 50%, you have to add 2 more people.  Adding one more person does little.  More time is spent communicating and coordinating than the person adds to the project.

A 9 month project with 7 solid, committed, experienced programmers will take as long to complete as the same project with 25 engineers, a manager and 4 team leaders.  Why?  Because communication becomes a major burden in a large project.

One machine can do the work of 50 ordinary men. No machine can do the work of one extraordinary man. (Elbert Hubbard)

In any complex project, adding people in the last month rarely speeds things up.  The folks who can finish the project have to train the new people, supervise them, and check their work.  The experienced people lose all productivity and the new workers are marginal no matter how strong their background.

In your job do you know how people really work together?  Do you know the cost to productivity of adding more people to a project?

For your job search

Are you making your job search more complicated than it needs to be?  Are you dooming your search with lots of undirected activity?

Are you spreading your search efforts so broadly that you are depending on luck?  Contacting 500 recruiters is rarely as productive as closely working with one or two or ten.  Spamming 1000 companies is not as effective as calling 10 managers who may be able to use you or refer you.  Networking with 5 CEO’s or Directors beats lunch with 50 production line workers.

What really gets more done?

Something To Do Today

Find a copy of The Mythical Man Month.  It is a classic.

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More firefighting problems:    The Elmer Fudd job hunt

Doctor No

Dead fish

Poisons

Liars

The incredible strength of weak connections

And later:        How to work a convention

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Posted in Finding jobs, Focus, management, Recruiters, Time management

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5 Weeks – How to find a job in 5 weeks

Posted on November 18, 2015 | Leave a comment

Do you need a job now?  Then use the best job search plan ever created.

Come on!  How could it possibly be the best EVER created? Because it was created for only one person.  You.

I have seen it happen over and over.

One guy is out of work for less than a month, and he gets a job offer with a raise.

free from a bad job

Find a job in 5 weeks – that is freedom

It takes 6 months to get a job for the guy who sat next to him.  This poor guy was doing exactly the same job, got better performance ratings, and would get rehired first if the job was re-opened. To make things worse, the guy who took six months accepts a huge pay cut.

          It isn’t fair, but it happens every day.

It isn’t luck.  The guy who finds a job quickly did things differently.  He may have instinctively done the few most critical steps within the first days of losing his job.  He may also have mapped out a strategy and executed it.  Either way, he got the critical steps executed.  He got the job.

The critical steps most often screwed up by the guys who take 6 months to find a job.

For 22 years I’ve been watching people get jobs in days, or wait a year to find a job.  The steps most often screwed up are:

  • The resume stunk, and he never found out.
  • He burned his best leads before he was prepared.
  • Monster became his momma.
  • HR (Human Resources Department) was his master.
  • He never expanded his network, but he talked to a zillion people.
  • Interviews never seemed to go right.
  • He waited for a phone call back.
  • He thought recruiters were his friends

Give me a call or research these topics on my blog.

If you want to have the shortest job search possible.  Fill out the survey at this link and then contact me.  bryan@dilts.us or call Bryan Dilts at 717-975-9001.

No, I don’t guarantee that you will get a job offer in 5 weeks.  But I will put 22 years of experience behind your job search.

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Posted in Accomplishments, Attitude, Finding jobs, Followup, Interviews, Job Boards, Networking, Recruiters, Resumes, Time management

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Secrets Of How A Recruiter REALLY Works

Posted on March 3, 2015 | Leave a comment

A job?  No.  This is war.

My old partner Karen Woodworth was accused by a candidate of  ”Just being in this for the money”,  and submitting other candidates.

She wrote the following email to describe exactly what she did to fill that job.  Changes to protect privacy have been made.

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Julie,

I have a client (an HR Rep) who calls me out of the blue with a problem. She needs to fill a position in her IT department, a position that they have been trying to fill for several weeks/months with no success. When I try to get some of the unwritten needs described I’m told that I need to talk to the department manager who’s out of town. Oh yes, and the HR Rep is going out of town next week as well so I’m to chat with Phyllis (someone I’ve never spoken with) when she gets back.

In the meantime, I search my files. (Picture this! Resume by resume I go through several hundred, maybe a thousand, each file is opened and examined page by page.) I actually have not spoken to Phyllis yet, so I am searching without full disclosure of her needs. I find a number of candidates who can do this job. I narrow it down to what I feel at this time are the best from which to select my finalists and begin to contact them for further qualification. Now, all this time I’m thinking Julie Beck, Julie Beck… I gotta talk to Julie Beck, I think she’s perfect for this but I know that Bryan’s been marketing her to Arizona. Out of respect for her desire to go to Arizona and Bryan’s working in that direction I hold off contacting her. (“Hell, Julie and her husband are ready to become permanent snowbirds, she won’t be interested.” I tell myself for days.) And I’ve not yet spoken with Phyllis.

So when Phyllis returns I get to ask some questions and find out that I really like this lady. I like her upfront simple responses and lack of playing games. I begin to submit what I think are the right kinda folks and she steers me into a finer appreciation of what she’s really looking for and I’m not on the mark. (God, I want to do this right. I want to serve the HR Rep that called me for help, but more than that, this opening is becoming a full time search. No, more like an obsession. I’ve set my mind on it… Other recruiters have failed at filling this and I wanna do it! Damn, I want to be the one who heard and understood and succeeded.) And, if I could only talk to Julie, oh hell, she’s working on something for $135 an hour, she won’t even talk to me. Geography’s wrong and salary’s too light. Don‘t even bother to call her… But she’s so perfect…

So I begin to refine my search and submit a couple more guys who can do the job. Telephone screening goes badly, I’ve not hit the mark but I’m still thrashing around the files and putting it out on the net and sharing my needs with cooperative recruiters I trust…

Now Phyllis’s sister-in-law dies and she has to go out of town again. I’ve submitted a couple of guys that she’s not seen cuz she’s gone. And in desperation, I finally screw up the courage to call you, Julie. (If you tell me to get lost, I deserve your rancor… I know you’ve got bigger fish to fry.)

You and I decide to look at this… And I feel like I finally have a serious candidate in for consideration. At this same time, if you don’t get or take this job I’m still, and even more committed to filling it! Damn am I committed! Intellectually and professionally I need to succeed here because others have failed.

And all at once, I’ve managed to give Phyllis three serious candidates… I haven’t told the others, but my money’s on you.

And, girl friend, the money has nothing to do with it! This is personal! It’s my ego!

Do I want you to get the offer? YUP! Do I want you to get the best offer I can get for you? YUP! Do I expect to do the negotiating? YUP! I have 25 years of experience in this job that has proven to me time and again that I can and will get for my candidate a better offer than my candidate can get for him/her self. In that you’ll need to trust me.

And, at some point, I would like you to believe in me, and not compare me to another recruiter you’ve dealt with before. This is my profession, not my job. I’m here because I can do what others fail to do.

I’m not here for the money! That happens to be a by-product not a score card.

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Would you trust the above recruiter with your resume?  I would.  That is the kind of recruiter you want to find and keep in contact with for your whole career.  She may not help you get every job she submits your resume for, but if she finds you a job, you will love it.

Something To Do Today

Write down what you got done this week.  What things are better because you were there?  Did you save money, earn money or keep a customer?  Write it down.  Submit a report to your manager in a format he can use to show his boss.

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How to motivate a recruiter to find you a job

Posted on January 20, 2015 | Leave a comment

Many recruiting offices have a button that rings a bell.  You can only push the button when you make a placement.  Some recruiters live only to press that button.  When they do press it, they keep their finger down for a full minute.  It drives everyone else nuts with envy.  Recruiters are competitive people.

Placing someone in a job motivates recruiters.  Sure recruiters want money.  That’s not their base motivation.  Their whole job is centered on making placements.

Want to motivate a recruiter?  Convince them they can place you quickly.

Some things that help:

  1. A great resume showing accomplishments, not responsibilities
  2. A positive attitude
  3. Talents that are in strong demand
  4. Winning interview skills
  5. Reasonable salary expectations
  6. Motivation to take a new job
  7. Little job hunting done on your part already
  8. A list of companies you would like to work for
  9. An exclusive relationship with the recruiter
  10. Your spouse and kids back you in the move
  11. Willingness to relocate or commute
  12. Ability to interview at a moment’s notice
  13. Great references that can be checked immediately or that are already on LinkedIn
  14. A current job

If you bring me all of the things above, I’ll start salivating.  I’ll drop everything I am doing and find you a job.  So will any other recruiter worth his salt. With that list, you should find a recruiter who will market you.  Get his commitment to report back how his marketing is going. If he won’t commit, he is the wrong recruiter.

The way to motivate a recruiter is to be a great candidate.  If you have a motivated recruiter, soon you’ll have a new job.

 Money was never a big motivation for me, except as a way to keep score.  The real excitement is playing the game.  (Trump)

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Something To Do Today

Go back over that list.  Can you figure out how to line up more of those things for your next job hunt?  Ask a recruiter for his honest opinion, AHow marketable am I and what can I do to make myself irresistible to employers? You can, get a commitment from your recruiter of how much he’ll do and when he will call you back to report on his results.

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Posted in Accomplishments, Finding jobs, Recruiters, Resumes, talent

Motivating recruiters

Posted on December 8, 2014 | Leave a comment

Many recruiting offices have a button that rings a bell.  You can only push the button when you make a placement.  Some recruiters live only to press that button.  When they do press it, they keep their finger down for a full minute.  It drives everyone else nuts with envy.  Recruiters are competitive people.

Placing someone in a job motivates recruiters.  Sure recruiters want money.  That’s not their base motivation.  Their whole job is centered on making placements.

Want to motivate a recruiter?  Convince them they can place you quickly.

Some things that help:

  1. A great resume showing accomplishments, not responsibilities
  2. A positive attitude
  3. Talents that are in strong demand
  4. Winning interview skills
  5. Reasonable salary expectations
  6. Motivation to take a new job
  7. Little job hunting done on your part already
  8. A list of companies you would like to work for
  9. An exclusive relationship with the recruiter
  10. Your spouse and kids back you in the move
  11. Willingness to relocate or commute
  12. Ability to interview at a moment’s notice
  13. Great references that can be checked immediately or that are already on LinkedIn
  14. A current job

If you bring me all of the things above, I’ll start salivating.  I’ll drop everything I am doing and find you a job.  So will any other recruiter worth his salt. With that list, you should find a recruiter who will market you.  Get his commitment to report back how his marketing is going. If he won’t commit, he is the wrong recruiter.

The way to motivate a recruiter is to be a great candidate.  If you have a motivated recruiter, soon you’ll have a new job.

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Something To Do Today

Go back over that list.  Can you figure out how to line up more of those things for your next job hunt?  Ask a recruiter for his honest opinion, “How marketable am I and what can I do to make myself irresistible to employers?”

Get a commitment from your recruiter of how much he’ll do and when he will call you back to report on his results.

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Posted in Accomplishments, Attitude, Finding jobs, Focus, Recruiters, Resumes

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Cockroach resumes, paper resumes, and carpet bombing

Posted on November 13, 2014 | Leave a comment

An 18 inch cockroach is the best resume I’ve seen. A friend of mine was applying for a job as a programmer of railroad simulators. He knew that many programmers could do the technical part.  He also knew that the artistic part was just as important. Drawing is difficult, but sculpture is even tougher.  He sent a giant cockroach sculpted in great detail as his resume. He got a call back, the interview and the job.

A good resume gets you an interview. Electronic, paper, CD, metal, cloth, or clay.  If it gets you an interview, it is a success.

Sometimes I hate success.  Every time I get a paper resume I like, I have to ask for an electronic one.  I hate it.  Those few paper resumes are successes.  They get a call from me.  I hate those successes. The candidates love them because they work.

Should you send out paper resumes?  That depends.  Some places automatically trash paper resumes. At those companies paper is a waste.  How about a multimedia CD?  I get the resume off and then throw them away.  I don’t like those either.  But that isn’t the criteria.  Does it get you an interview?  If it does, it is a great resume.  And notice I said I get the resume off the CD’s. That means I had to browse them.

I suggest you send paper or CD resumes out in small quantities only.  Target your recipient. Follow up closely in case they require a different format.

Some people strongly disagree.  They will ask you to pay them a few thousand dollars to send out a huge postal or email blast of resumes for you.  I just heard sending out thousands of resumes called “carpet bombing.”  Some services carpet bomb recruiters.  Others carpet bomb companies. I receive carpet bomb resumes every day.  I’ve never made a placement from one, but I will admit I at least glance at them whether they are paper, faxed, or by email.

I do think ResumeRabbit is a good way to get your resume on a lot of internet job boards, if you really want broad exposure and know the downside. There is no other carpet bombing/resume blasting service in paper, electronic or fax media that I recommend.  Before I would spend money on that, I’d spend it on getting another certification to help my job search.  But I’m not you.  Just be careful with your money.

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Something To Do Today

Go through the list of companies you sent a resume to.  Are there some that really should have contacted you but didn’t?  Can you do anything to your resume to get a call back from them?

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Next:     Certifications – gold and lead

Later:              Recruiter motivation

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Posted in Finding jobs, Job Boards, Recruiters, Resumes, Time management

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