Disconnect Between Recruiters and Job Seekers

2012-01-23T13:42:47-08:00

I just read a great article (a bit dated but still relevant) over at CBSNews by Kimberly Weisul called ‘Why You Didn’t Land the Top Job‘. It shows the disconnect occurring between hiring managers and job seekers. A study by The Career Advisory Board is showing that job seekers are emphasizing the wrong qualities for the position level they are applying for on both their resume and in interviews. Shockingly, the problem is most prevalent in candidates looking for the highest-level jobs.

Surprisingly, this failing is most pronounced among those looking for the highest-level jobs. These candidates tend to stress their work ethic, drive, and problem-solving ability — traits that are actually most desirable in entry-level and mid-level candidates. It’s almost as though senior managers are prepping for a job interview the same way they would have done at the beginning of their careers. And that doesn’t do much to sell them as truly capable leaders.

The Career Advisory Board surveyed 540 big-company hiring managers and 734 job-seekers. They asked the job seekers which traits or skills they thought hiring managers were looking for. They also asked hiring managers which characteristics were most important to them. The answers didn’t match up as well as one would expect.

Full Article at CBSNews.com

Image courtesy of jscreationzs / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Getting Noticed In Your Job Search

2012-01-22T00:23:55-08:00

On August 11, 2011 I arrived in Boulder Colorado after a week and a half of road tripping across the country from my starting point of Highland Lake, NY. Fast forward five months and I’m still unemployed searching for work, applying for up to six positions a day. My routine has consisted of waking up at 6:30AM Monday through Saturday, cooking two eggs over easy, buttering two whole wheat English muffin halves, and brewing one 16oz cup of coffee in my Target-bought French press. I’ve got the flip of the eggs with no spatula down pat; my coffee is now finished brewing just as my eggs are coming off the stove; and my entire breakfast is always “just so”; however, the rest of my day is a crap shoot.

The reason everything after my breakfast is so uncertain is because for the longest time I’ve spent upwards of nine hours a day applying for jobs that I will never hear back about, sifting through spam emails from bogus companies, and getting frustrated with the millions of awful sales positions that seem to always be available. Going through this day in and day out for five months is exhausting. I have tried all the outlets that I can think of for finding work and none of them have materialized into worthwhile results.

On the night of Friday, January 20, 2012 I had a stroke of genius. Fueled by a growing frustration, moderate sleep deprivation, and a mild caffeine buzz, I figured out how I was going to get myself noticed. Toward the end of last year I had the wild idea of standing on a busy intersection in downtown Boulder, CO handing out my resume next to one of the many beggars peddling for spare change. I would be dressed in business attire with a sign saying “Save your change for this guy, I just want a job. Ask for a resume and give me a business card.” While the idea may have worked, it seemed a bit too wild.

So back to my stroke of genius: I have experience putting together websites and a fairly keen eye for design. This paired with the fact that I had a blog that was lying dormant for close to five months gave me the idea to get my resume online. I don’t mean Monster.com or Careerbuilder.com; what I had in mind was putting together a site to display my experience and skills in a clear, easily consumable fashion. I wanted the site to be the starting point for potential employers to be able to get the information they wanted and only the information they wanted, quickly and easily.

With the idea planted in my mind, all I needed was a decent night’s sleep and I would bang this project out in a day. Saturday morning arrived and like clockwork I flipped my eggs, poured my coffee, and got started just like any other day. Fourteen hours and a healthy serving of dubstep music later and here are the fruits of my labor: A website that displays my information and experience clearly, effectively, and in a unique and intuitive manner. With any luck, this new approach will get me some exposure.

Image courtesy of renjith krishnan / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Bernard J. Carney

Disconnect Between Recruiters and Job Seekers

Getting Noticed In Your Job Search