I am often surprised when negotiating an offer on someone’s behalf about how little he know about his total compensation. What about you? If you are like most people, you probably know your hourly rate or top-line income before taxes.  Some people can recite it to the penny.  But what about the other value hidden in your pay stub?  Things like health insurance costs, retirement contributions and how your paid time off works.

For working candidates, you must review your pay stub and understand your deductions so that you can negotiate an offer that will meet your needs.

How terrible would it be to make a job change thinking you had received an eight percent raise, only to find out on your first paycheck that the increased cost of health insurance wiped out your gain?

And, in some cases, the net result of a lateral to small increase in compensation can actually increase your pay if your out-of-pocket benefits costs decrease.

For these reasons, I encourage you to take a Compensation Inventory before negotiating a new offer. To help, I have put together a few questions to ask in the main benefits categories:

Health Insurance

Find out:  What is the cost of your current health insurance? What is your deductible, copay, prescription costs? Are certain treatments that are important to you covered or not covered? 

Health insurance coverage typically starts right away or the first of the month following hire. However, if there is a 90 day wait, you will have to make provisions for interim coverage. If you are currently working, perhaps you can negotiate a signing bonus to cover your COBRA payments.  Make sure when comparing costs that you are looking at pay frequency as well.  There is a difference in total cost for deductions from semi-monthly (24 pay periods/year) vs. biweekly (26 pay periods/year), for example.

Occasionally, I’ve had candidates inquire about coverage for specific treatments that are important to them. In these situations, the company HR person either provided me with the coverage detail or put the candidate in touch with their benefits administrator.  Sensitive questions of this nature should be asked only after an offer is made and before it is accepted.

Retirement Plan

Find out:  What is your current plan? Are your contributions matched? What is the vesting schedule?

You will want to find out eligibility requirements for your new retirement plan.  Sometimes you may have to wait up to 12 months to contribute to a new plan.  If this is the case, you may want to make arrangements to contribute to a traditional or Roth IRA in the interim.  If you are fortunate to go to a company with an immediate vesting schedule on employer contributions, this is like an extra boost to income. A three percent profit sharing contribution on a $60,000 income is $1,800. This is a terrific benefit with real value, especially if it vests quickly. Keep in mind that employee retirement plans have to be fair to all; a company cannot change it just for one person.

Paid Time Off

Find out: How is your PTO allocated currently? How many holidays do you have? 

Some companies break PTO into specific categories of Vacation, Sick and Personal Leave.  Others combine it altogether into one category of Paid Time Off. Do some research to find out how much time you have off currently so that you can compare it to the new company.  A caveat:  some companies start all employees the same when it comes to PTO while there is room to negotiate with others. Some companies allow you to “buy” extra days of PTO.

Holidays typically aren’t negotiable as they are the same for all employees, but it is good to know which are observed. Most companies offer at least six standard holidays: New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. If you are fortunate, you may get the day after Thanksgiving; and if you are really, really fortunate: MLK Day and/or Good Friday. If Columbus Day or Veteran’s Day is a vacation day for you, then you either work for a bank or the state and it’s unlikely you’ll get them off in your new job… unless you go to work for another bank. Or another state.

Bonuses & Overtime

Find out:  Did you receive a bonus last year? How much?

Some candidates tell me that they were eligible for a 10 percent bonus the year before, but they didn’t receive it due to market conditions. This isn’t really a strong point of negotiation.  Employers are more likely to be interested in W-2 of actual income earned. Don’t be surprised if you are ever asked to verify your past income in the form of your W-2. For a new position, you’ll want to know if there an annual or quarterly bonus.  If so, what are the criteria?  Was it given last year?

Regarding overtime, most professional positions are salaried exempt from it.  However, some consulting companies pay straight time for hours worked in excess of 40 per week. If you are going to work for a company like this, consider the opportunity for overtime income an additional incentive.

Dental, Vision, Life Insurance and Short & Long-Term Disability

Find out: Do you have these benefits currently?  What is the coverage and what is your cost?

You always can purchase these benefits separately, but it may be more cost effective in an employer plan. It is good to know if they are available. 

Flexible Spending Account

The benefit of FSAs is that you can deduct medical, dental and vision related expenses pre-tax.   Without an FSA, there is no tax relief for these expenses.  In addition, you can save $1,500 in taxes for qualified childcare expenses if you are in a 30 percent tax bracket.  If you can use and manage your FSA, it’s more money in your pocket each month. 

IN CONCLUSION

Chances are, if you are changing jobs, the benefits won’t align perfectly from one company to the next. 

But not all career moves should be money motivated.  Smaller companies, for example, may not be able to offer the same level of benefits that more mature, established companies can offer. In these cases, the value in changing job comes from something other than what is found on a pay stub; perhaps it is the opportunity to build something new or to work in a more forward-thinking company culture.

No matter your reason, going through this exercise will prevent surprises and will give you the ability to negotiate on certain points that are important to you… monetarily or otherwise. 

So get out that calculator and start crunching. Happy negotiating!

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Okay, I admit I took a little time off during Thanksgiving, which is why I didn’t post last week. But mostly because I didn’t think I’d be alone in that and that gave me the idea for this posting.

As we move into the holiday season, or I suppose we’ve already done that with Thanksgiving – the recruitment process for both the recruiter and candidate can become increasingly frustrating.  Let’s be honest, recruiters are people and they can become increasingly busy this time of year with the business of planning the holidays.  But let’s not put it all on the recruiters.  After all, we don’t have the final say on a hire and we are often thwarted by candidates’ holiday plans and even more so, hiring managers’ plans.

How often have you gotten the “no word yet” message from your recruiter even after you’ve gone through several interviews?

Believe me, it’s not that recruiters want to put you off.  We really, really do want to fill the open reqs on our plates because that’s how we’re judged by our companies and realistically, that’s how we keep score with each other.

So here are some things that most people don’t think about that hopefully will make this time a little less frustrating.

1) Once the holidays get started, people just aren’t around to make a decision.  The more consensus driven the decision the more difficult it is to gather opinions for the hiring decision. Anybody ever work in a matrix organization?

2) Fourth quarter forecasts.  Yes, companies need to hire people but realistically if budgets are tight and since we really are near the end of the year some companies will hold off on hiring until the beginning of the first quarter.  This will hold down base costs and make the year-end numbers look better.

But it’s not all bad news.  Because like any cycle, hiring generally picks up at the beginning of the first quarter and many companies that aren’t disciplined will front load their hires in the first few months of the year.

Although it’s normal to be impatient, you really have to view the situation in context.  If a hiring manager has gotten this far without filling the position, it’s pretty easy for her to put off hiring until her and her team’s schedule has cleared a bit.  So remember, make sure you’re staying on their radar screen, make sure your recruiter and your contacts know you remain interested and make sure you let them know what your holiday schedule is looking like in case they are able to move before the end of the year.

In other words, treat them as partners in your job search.  They’ll appreciate it and how you handle the stress of the holiday job search goes a long way to showing how you would handle stress during the rest of the year.

Remember, your skills are your job security.

Best,

James Seetoo

Here are some growing new job trends:

1. Facilitators – Specialists of social media, collaboration tools, and telecommute solutions.  Facilitators will support distributed teams with technology and communication know-how.
2. Green – Many existing positions will take on the new “color”, helping existing companies and teams gradually shift to more sustainable practices and skills.  This is a good time to paint your own toolbox green and reapply your skills with a fresh approach.
3. Social Media Experts – Some strongly argue that brand control and message through social media is not just important – it’s CRUCIAL now.  Companies and individuals are struggling to grasp and adopt the social media concepts and capabilities:  Social Media Experts can keep them focused on their core competencies while bringing them into the new social media age.
4. Generation Liaisons – Bridging between the Millennials (born 1977 – 2002) and the Baby Boomers (born 1946 – 1964) will be an important role played by savvy GenXers (born 1965 – 1976).  The tools, attitudes, work ethics, motivational drivers, and communication preferences between the Millennials and GenXers will be an important gap to bridge.

Thanks spotlight to: Dee McCrory #DeeMcCrory and SDForum  Tech Women #sdtechwomen

 Had a phone interview with a recruiter.  The position requires a Master, which makes me feel hopeful that the previous 2 years of my life weren’t a complete wash.  The interview went surprisingly well, though he later told me that he was driving to a meeting while speaking to me.  This could possibly work in my favor if he happened to zone out on the two things that I glossed over.  He said that he’d pass my info to his client, the CEO of the hiring company.  He said that he’d call to set up a face-to-face meeting, probably to make sure that all my limbs are in tact and I wasn’t busted. Now I wait as if I were getting asked out on a date.  Meanwhile, more LinkedIn and some Craigslist (when times get desperate).

Maybe it is a good thing, but apparently I am at the point in my blogging life where I am able to take requests.  So here is one, where we can look at the different Government procurement vehicles and how they work.  I would like to focus on the following:

1. Task-Based Informatics Professional Services (TBIPS)
   1. Standing Offer
   2. Supply Arrangement
2. Temporary Help Services (THS)
3. Standing Offer(s)
4. PS Online

I would like to focus on these because they are the ones that I more commonly see in my day-to-day grind. 

1.  Task-Based Informatics Professional Services (TBIPS)

TBIPS is the newest form of procurement vehicle the Government is using and it was brought in to replace the existing procurement vehicles (THS, GOL, PS Online, etc).  While the transition to TBIPS has been rocky for many departments, more and more departments are becoming familiar with how it can be used.  TBIPS certainly appears to be the procurement vehicle of choice.  It is better then THS as its dollar maximum is much higher then THS is and it allows for a contract to have options years.  This allows an organization to bring in a resource for a length of time and takes away the need for continuing to renew the same resource over and over again.  The important thing to note about TBIPS is that each firm who is qualified under TBIPS has submitted a ceiling rate for each category and they are unable to exceed this rate.

1.a) TBIPS has two categories, the first being the Standing Offer (SO) which means that the department looking to hire a resource picks the category and then goes to the lowest priced firm and works its way up until it finds a firm who can supply the resource at their ceiling rate or lower. 

1.b) The second category is the Supply Arrangement (SA) which is where multiple firms (no less then three) are invited to compete against each other  for the same position.  Firms will bid separate resources and usually the lowest cost-per-point candidate is chosen to fill the contract.

2. Temporary Help Services (THS)

Was probably the most common procurement vehicle until TBIPS came around!  The challenge with THS is that the value of the contract can not exceed $89000 so if you have a high priced resource, $89000 does not gone a long way in keeping that resource on-site for a while.  The good thing about THS is that your rates are not set in stone and you can adjust them accordingly.  If you know of an up-coming THS requirement, you can increase or decrease your rate in order to accommodate your client or your candidate.

3. Standing Offers

They are slowly no longer being issued as TBIPS was supposed to replace them and give everyone a fair chance at filling any contract position.  How they work is that a department would issue an RFP for a supply arrangement and would pick as many firms as they felt necessary and used only those firms who qualified to select their contract resources.  It is like using the same 10 companies every time and having them compete against each other.  This allows for good relationships to be formed between the client and the firm however it could also back fire.

4. PS Online

PS Online is interesting in that candidates need to be pre-approved to be on PS Online.  Categories are defined with specific skill sets and your candidate(s) must have those particular skills in order to be deemed compliant in that category.  Only candidates who were pre-approved at the time of the requirement can be submitting and closed against any open PS Online Requirement.

I hope this helps you get a better understanding of how consulting firms procure contract resources into the Government.  It can be tricky to wrap your head around it.  I am still learning on a daily basis.

There’s been a lot of debate recently about the future recruitment landscape, and how current events and technological advances will transform the way companies recruit. I took part in at least 2 separate discussions about this at London Unconference.

Certainly we 3^rd party recruiters have many challenges ahead, and one the biggest, I believe, will come from the generational shift in decision makers from Baby Boomers to Generation X.

Over the last 20 years or so agencies have mainly been briefed by Baby Boomers. They’re the generation that have been the key decision makers, and in the main they like external recruiters. We have been their friends; helped them to build careers, kept them in mind for the big jobs, also helped them to build their teams. They have trusted us with exclusives and retainers, and we have entertained them…lunches, networking drinks, sporting events. We have been their eyes and ears in the market and they have valued this, putting little pressure on the traditional recruitment sales model and fee structure.

Inevitably, the decision-making baton is being passed on and nowadays we are more likely to be briefed by Gen X. They are stepping in to key roles as hirers and decision makers. And there’s a difference…I’m not sure they see 3^rd parties the same way.

Whilst I do subscribe to the view that Generational classifications can often be no more than a state of mind, I do think that with Gen X there are certain effects of cultural, social and economic changes that define their experiences. In career terms they certainly seem to have things a bit tougher…largely entering the job market in (or at the end of) a major recession they now find that at just the time they should be making the big career step up the ladder…there’s another recession.

They have also built their careers during the rise of a different recruitment ethos. Whereas the Baby Boomers were comfortable in the knowledge that they had a trusting business relationship with recruiters, Gen X have rarely had the same luxury. During the growth years they have found a lot of recruiters to be focusing on the deal not the detail, instead of building deep relationships they have been  more concerned with speed, CV, size of fee, and swiftly moving on to the next deal. There has been no continuity, no engagement, little post-placement care, and when Gen X have started briefing 3^rd parties, they have too often received just a CV shifting service, with no proper matching, value add or consulting.

Any wonder they’ve gone for multiple briefings, with reduced fees and a winner takes all approach?

And any wonder that if you ask them about their resourcing plans for the future they talk about direct resourcing and reducing agency spend?

They usually ‘get’ social media, are big users of LinkedIn and Facebook (with a growing awareness of Twitter) and can see the business benefit of going down this route.

It will be a long haul to win them back, and I’m not sure that they will ever see us the way that Baby Boomers did…the challenge won’t be to turn the clock back, but to work with them collaboratively to map out the future.

On Talent Street the 3^rd parties used to lay the paving stones, and often also  had a hand in filling the cracks too…moving forward, could we just be filling in the cracks?

Today I reached 10000 LinkedIn connections and I must say that I am rather proud of this accomplishment.  While you may think that social networking is not really a task, I would argue otherwise.  It took a fair amount of time and work to grow my network to that size.  It is the time associated with having a network of that size which makes it time consuming.  I am believer that you get out of life what you put in to it and social networking is the same.

I have relied on my network on more than one occasion, especially when it comes to growing this blog and it has always amazed me and the feedback I have received from people who I do not have a face-to-face relationship with per say.  It has been important for me, and obviously others to give back to my network and support them.

I would encourage anyone to grow their network and use it to its fullest extent because it really can be such a beneficial tool.

Recruiter Job Search Resources

If you are job hunting, you should send your resume to recruiters. Recruiters know about your industry or occupation and they know about job openings that you may never find on your own.

Recruiters and search firms work for the employer or hiring entity. The employer pays them a fee for locating the right individual for the job opening. Recruiters never work for the job-seeker. A recruiter will not act as your personal employment agent by trying to find a position for you. If your credentials happen to match an employer’s needs, the recruiter will try to place you. But don’t expect an employment firm to go out of its way to find a job for you.

Retained and Contingency Recruiters

There are two types of recruiters, retained and contingency. A retained search firm has a contract with a company to find a candidate and receives some payment as a retainer during the process. A contingency recruiter has no search contract and receives no payment unless a placement is made.

Some employers prefer working with contingency firms and some with retained firms. Both are respected by employers and useful in your job search, but, the two types of firms will not be handling the same positions with the same employers simultaneously.

The retained recruiter has entered an exclusive contract with an employer to fill a particular position. The retained recruiter is likely to advertise a position, sharing the specifics of the position, location and employer openly. The retained firm feels a great obligation to fulfill the contract by finding the best person for the job. Retained firms generally work with higher level positions.

The contingency recruiter, on the other hand, usually does not have an exclusive relationship with the employer, and is only paid a fee if the search is successful. Often, if the employer uses contingency firms, there will be more than one contingency firm competing to fill a certain position. Contingency recruiters generally work with more mid-level management and professional positions.

Research & Contact Recruiters

Different recruiters know about different positions. They do not usually know about the same ones. This is particularly true with retained firms. By sending your resume out widely, you will be placed in many different confidential databases and be alerted of many different positions. If you send your resume to only a few, it may be that none you send to will be working with positions which fit you background and qualifications.

Do not think that you should limit yourself to contacting only recruiters that work in your region. Very few recruiters work only in their local area, most work all around the US or Canada and some internationally. If you really only want to remain in your area, you can specify that preference in your cover letter.

When you interact with executive recruiters, you are essentially interacting with an agent or representative of the employer. You should develop your relationship with the recruiter with the same integrity and professionalism that you would with the employer.

Tips for Your Search

Recruiters are an important resource in any management, professional or executive search. Use a Recruiter Directory to locate the firms that specialize in your profession or industry. Research the generalist firms. Many firms only recruit for positions at or above a certain salary level, and you should consider this when deciding which firms to contact. Review recruiters just as you would evaluate a potential employer. Be sure their style is compatible with yours and that you feel comfortable trusting them. Investigate the material and resources available on each site for immediate use or for future reference.

Contacting and submitting your resume to the firms specializing in your occupation or industry should be a priority. Recruiters work for the employer. They can’t help you if they don’t have any suitable assignments but these are the firms most likely to have suitable positions now and in the future. Once your resume is in the database you will be considered for future opportunities. After you have contacted the specialists, contact the generalist firms. By sending your resume out widely, you will be placed in many different confidential databases and increase your chances of being contacted.

It is normally not worth the time and effort to contact recruiters that specialize in industries or occupations that do not match your background and qualifications. If your background is Accounting a recruiter specializing in Electrical Engineering is unlikely to help you now or in the future and your time is better spent on other activities.

Ethical recruiters will contact you before they share your resume with another recruiter or a client company. However, at the manager or executive level it is best to clearly state that any resume distribution requires your express approval.

You must follow the path of the Recruiter God even on twitter!

I was a guest on Paul Paris’s ex-recruiter show on Tuesday. During the call I made the statement that there is no recruitment god that brought a flurry of tweets and quite a lot of comment. To clarify for the hard of hearing, I did not say “There is no God!” Please don’t burn my house!

My point is that there is no divine path to success in recruiting. The key is finding the right model for what works for you, your business, and your market sector and in some cases your national culture.

Just recently i have read 2 blogs from people whose views i respect @AndyHeadworth & @BooleanBlackBlt. Glen’s (BooleanBlackBlt) blog covered the talent pool v just in time sourcing debate. Readers from the U.K. may not be familiar with the sourcers role, for clarity, they are not resourcers. A sourcer identifies candidates on the web, profiles them and delivers names and profiles to the recruiters to make approaches and build relationships. Other sources such as @MaureenSharib are phone sourcers who find people using the phone. this is a technique we are more familiar with in the U.K. in the name gathering stage prior to headhunting. If you are interested in finding out more about sourcing you can listen to an excellent show by Maureen and @radicalrecruit, Talk Sourcing.

Glens point was that it is far more effective to source the market once you get the green light from your customer than it is to stockpile possible contacts in a talent pool. His argument is that you can not possibly maintain a relationship with 5000+ people in the hope that you might get an opportunity for them at some stage. I don’t disagree with this argument which is why i favour a much smaller talent pool (probably no more than 50) who you can maintain a relationship with. @alanwhitford would describe this as the talent puddle, a theory i prescribe to and promote to my customers. Personally I think this is because i have always been sales focused and taken the approach that it is easier to find a job for a candidate than it is to find a candidate for a job. Glen would no doubt disagree because his skills lie in the mysterious arts of sourcing and boolean strings. I get bamboozled by exercising simplest search concepts, try as I might, I’m not that technical. I can however, build great client and candidate networks and sniff out vacancies for my placable candidates. Applying basic retail principles I promote my stock and know who is most saleable. I also have a strong belief that candidates are increasingly looking for relationship and understanding over speed because decision making takes twice as long right now and the candidate is looking to the recruiter for good advice. Trust is essential and this can only be built over time.

Andy’s excellent blog Sirona Says questions if recruiters are apathetic, confused or have they got their heads stuck in the sand when it comes to social recruiting.

I know where the question comes from, I spoke at the R.E.C. convention with Andy and @MattAlder on social recruiting and it was concerning how little involvement recruiters had in social recruiting. The fact that 1/3rd of the delegates attended our session shows me that there is at least some interest and a curiosity to do more.

Prompted by another great blog post from @mervyndinnen on the same theme and some evangelical posturing by others, I took a look at the statistics. Without boring you, I can confirm that the proportion of recruiters with Linkedin profiles (1/3rd of U.K. recruiters) is about the same as the rest of the population when it comes to using social media.

I don’t think there is enough use of social media for building client and candidate networks, but equally i don’t believe those that steer another path will become extinct or worse recruiters. I know some excellent recruiters that would rather streak naked down the high street than use twitter. They see it as time consuming and largely ineffective in generating revenue. I argue passionately with them but I also recognize that something else works for them.

Personally, I’m more concerned by the lack of phone time in many recruitment businesses, with limited time invested in building relationships or getting to know people. Despite all the tools available, for me, the phone is still the best one. Social recruiting will give those who use it well a real competitive advantage provided it is combined with good recruitment practice and it is the passing of these practices that we should really be lamenting. I think more emphasis should be on encouraging those who are using social media as a recruiting tool to use it properly before too much damage is done to other recruiters that are using it well. Once this is achieved, maybe then we should be encouraging others in to the arena and not before.

In summary, Glen and Andy make excellent points, as do many other commentators on these subjects. Both routes work well for both of them and they should not change. While we have to be open to other ways of doing things, and should never be scared to try doing something different, there is no one divine path to recruiting success. Find the path that suits you best and don’t change your route as often as you change your pants. there’s no recruitment god that knows all the answers and no substitute for hard work, honesty and activity.

Be ambassadors for good recruiting, whichever path you choose.

Bill

STATS: Each Negative Social Media Comment Costs 30 Customers.

Research by Convergys Corp. has shown that a negative customer review on YouTube, Twitter or Facebook can cost a company about 30 customers.

Here’s the math:
Each remark/comment would be viewed by an average of 45 people and about two-third of them would avoid the brand that was being criticized (45 x 2/3 = 30 customers).

Source: Bloomberg

We saw how social media has transformed the way we communicate and consume information. Marketing is no longer in a company’s full control. It is now largely dependent on what people say about it; especially with the rise of social media.

You can lose but you can also gain!

30 customers are lost when a company gets a negative comment on social sites. But would a company gain 30 customers if it earns a positive comment instead?

I would probably think so. It just highlights the importance of tracking the social media buzz surrounding your brand.

So what can you do to make sure you are on top of what people are saying about your company on the social media sites. Well aside from searching on each individual social network, a good place to start is by setting up a free and simple tool known as Google Alerts.

Check my previous two article on Google Alerts to learn how it works and also how to easily set up your company with an account.

***Don’t do it yet though, finish this article first then come to the links for the other articles ***

How it works

http://marketing4recruiters.wordpress.com/2009/09/29/who%E2%80%99s-talking-about-you-your-recruitment-agency-online-find-out-for-free-reputation-management-using-google-alerts/

How to set it up

http://marketing4recruiters.wordpress.com/2009/09/29/how-to-%E2%80%93-use-google-alerts-for-online-reputation-management/

Once you’ve got yourself set up on with the google alerts monitoring you’ll start receiving emails about mentions of you and your company online. Start with Google Alerts and then consider searching Twitter and Facebook to keep up to date with online mentions of your brand. Look out for future articles from me teaching you how to automate this next phase of online reputation management.

Cheers,

Kohlben Vodden

Marketing4recruiters

Email: Marketing4recruiters@gmail.com

Blog: http://www.marketing4recruiters.wordpress.com

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/marketing4recs

LinkedIn Group: http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=2317988&trk=hb_side_g

Facebook Page: http://bit.ly/CH2bz

Welcome to West Coast Careers’ official blog! It’s been a long time coming, but we’re now officially up and running and could not be more excited about it.  Now is an especially important time for us to reach out to our clients and any visitors to offer up any advice, statistics or serve as an industry resource for those seeking information regarding positions, industry trends, etc.  This is designed to be an open forum to improve the customer experience and provide assistance as best we can, so please let us know how we can make this work for you.

My firm recently started sourcing campaigns where we are going to target a specific type of candidate or technology for a month and try to find as many people as we can.  We have made it into a bit of a contest within the office and have dangled a small carrot at the end of it.  My personal opinion is that this is a good idea however I would caution any firm to stress the focus of the campaign. 

 The primary focus still needs to be recruiting the regular orders.  The sourcing campaign is something that should be done for a small portion of the day or during some downtime.  You would not want your recruiters to stop sourcing their real positions for a sourcing campaign that may not pay any immediate dividends.

 Does anyone else have any ideas or tactics their office uses this way?

Very funny short cartoon film about LinkedIn and how useful it really is.

USE THIS LINK

http://current.com/items/91503521_linked-in-to-what.htm

Cheers,

Kohlben Vodden

Marketing4recruiters

Email: Marketing4recruiters@gmail.com

Blog: http://www.marketing4recruiters.wordpress.com

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/marketing4recs

LinkedIn Group: http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=2317988&trk=hb_side_g

Facebook Page: http://bit.ly/CH2bz

• Money for big solar projects, frozen since January 2009, has begun to slowly flow again since late summer.
• Talented job-seekers going crazy from the silence of 2009 are starting to hear their phones ring with calls from recruiters who have heard of them through their networks, not job boards or applications.  There is an expectation that hiring will really open up in January 2010.  Recruiters are fattening their candidate pipes and trying to get interviews for January seats conducted by their clients now, if possible.
• In addition to new seats opening in January 2010, there is a prediction that a game of musical chairs will also be underfoot.  Many employees have played it safe with their jobs this past year, or have taken available positions with too long a commute, or not their aspirational fit:  These folks will likely be on the move.

-Valerie Fahs-Thatcher

If you are marketing your recruitment services on Facebook or considering doing so, read on for some important points that you should avoid if you want to be taken seriously.

1. Incomplete Profile/Fan Page.

An incomplete profile or fan page does not give enough insight of who you are and what you do. It makes you and/or your business appear insincere about your activities on Facebook.

2. Focusing on the Numbers of Fans.

We all want a lot of fans but we need to be able to engage and build a relationship with them. So rather than focus on the number of fans you have, focus on the quality. You only want fans that are part of your target audience. There is no point having uninterested fans they will take up your time and worse still may start making negative comments about your activities on Facebook. Lots of people accept page recommendations before even checking what the page is. Then when they start getting updates they realise the content isn’t relevant and either leave the page or start making negative comments about the business behind it.

3. Using Personal Profile for Commercial Gain.

Facebook has updated the Terms as recent as August 2009 and this is a violation of their Terms. Fan pages are for marketing, not personal pages.

4. Advertising/Selling via Wall Post.

Profile pages are cluttered up enough with Mafia Wars and FarmVille – trying to sell by interrupting someone on their wall with a post screams spammer!

5. Improper Event Invitations.

This is becoming more and more frustrating as events that people want to see are being overshadowed by poorly targeted event invites. No-one says it better than Peter Shankman.

6. Bulk Messages.

Not every fan or “friend” fits into the same category of your message. Take a minute to know your fans/friends and target the right ones with the right message. Just because they are single does not mean they want a dating service. Nor does it mean that if they happen to work in the sector you recruit within, that they want to hear about the latest jobs. Trust me on this one!

7. Being Non-Responsive.

Same rule applies as it does to blog comments. Be the most frequent voice on your fan page. The best conversations and friendships are born from responding and talking.

If you make a mistake – fix it and apologize. People will appreciate it greatly and respect and learn from you. Social media marketing is about learning and sharing – the good and the bad. No-one has all the answers and those that are the most respected have made mistakes but correct and apologize.

Most of all enjoy this amazing media and have fun

Cheers,

Kohlben Vodden

Marketing4recruiters

Email: Marketing4recruiters@gmail.com

Blog: http://www.marketing4recruiters.wordpress.com

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/marketing4recs

LinkedIn Group: http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=2317988&trk=hb_side_g

Facebook Page: http://bit.ly/CH2bz

It’s getting harder than ever to get your foot in the door. Often times, employers and recruiters use phone interviews as their first line of defense to weed out unqualified candidates.

I recommend reading this article from Talent Zoo, which includes lots of helpful tips on how to improve your chances getting past the gatekeeper so you can score an in-person interview.

Some of my favorites are:

• Do your research about the company AND THE INTERVIEWER ahead of time
• Write out your answers to common interview questions, as well as your top selling points you want to make sure you get across to the interviewer no matter want
• Draft up a list of questions and make sure you ask at least a few during the call if given the opportunity

Who’s Phone Is Ringing?

Almost all of interviews for travel nursing positions occur over the phone.  While you are reviewing available positions with your Recruiter, also go over your schedule for the next week.  Let them know when you are available, when you are at work, the best time to call you, and what phone number is the best one to reach you on.  All of these factors can make or break you getting that travel assignment you’ve always wanted.

Remember, most nurse managers will only call you once or twice before moving on to the next candidate.  Make yourself available during the times you’ve provided and keep your phone handy.  If you’re going shopping or have an appointment, make sure that you have cell phone reception in that area in case the call comes through.

This is one phone call you DON’T want to miss!

Spontaneous blog time…

Jedward – young guys brimming with confidence.

They can’t sing, rap or dance very well, but they muddle through using a mixture of exuberance, tenacity and confidence and because they’ve got a manager constantly telling them that they’re the best and they can do it.

‘The Judges‘ don’t like them but recognize that the general public have an affinity with them so they tolerate them.

As soon as the general public lose the affinity, ‘The Judges‘ get rid of them.

Now replace the word ‘Jedward’ with ‘Recruitment Agencies’…

…and ‘The Judges’ with ‘Businesses’ and what have you got…???

Any ideas….???!!!

(note for non UK readers – Jedward are an act that were voted off of last night’s X Factor (the original American Idol) … no-one could understand how they kept in the competition right until the last 6, but they did!)

I had a great time at the Recruiting Unconference (trulondon) last Thursday…lots of interesting and thought-provoking debate and information. Over the next few blog posts I am going to write about some things that have had me thinking.

A key track for me was the one on Social Media…I have certainly tried to embrace LinkedIn, Twitter, Blogging over the last year or so and talk passionately to candidates about the need for them to get connected and get in the conversation. I was keen to learn more…

Track host Matt Alder started by asking each group member what social media they used and why…and four things immediately stood out for me:

Hardly any recruiters seemed to use any Social Media other than LinkedIn

Those that use LinkedIn seem to regard it as a database, a source of names to headhunt, and a medium to advertise jobs

Most recruitment companies seem to regard a consultant’s LinkedIn connections as owned by the company not the consultant

The only interest in Twitter seemed to be as a medium to advertise jobs

Clearly there are a lot of recruiters in the UK who haven’t yet got Social Media. There was little talk of developing networks or communities, of engaging candidates and clients in groups. It seemed depressingly familiar, just another medium for finding names to headhunt and for advertising roles. I’m not saying that there aren’t recruiters who provide a service doing just that, but why do we have this amazing new medium which opens up all sorts of possibilities, can really transform the way we work and interact, enables us to deliver some real value for candidates and clients…and then just try and find ways of using it to do the same old, same old…

I’m going to share some of my thoughts about LinkedIn here…Twitter will get its own post, hopefully soon!

On the question of ownership, I firmly believe that my contacts are mine…and I say that having been employee and employer within the industry. I appreciate that I have made contact with people whilst in employment, but it is how I have worked and interacted with that network that has provided fees and therefore revenue for the business. I know that there was a court case involving Hays last year which they won, but I believe in that case that the employee in question was sending invitations to clients that he hadn’t met or worked with, whilst at the same time setting up in competition. Sorry, but that’s unethical. Also when it was heard, use of Social Media as a business tool was still fairly embryonic.

I have met virtually all my contacts; those that I haven’t met I do have a working relationship with, and would have spoken to them at length on the phone (or social media). I have never invited (nor accepted an invitation from) anyone that I have not had interaction with. I can share information with them through status updates, and will call or send messages on a regular basis especially acknowledging when they have a relevant change to their status. Used properly it provides a great platform from which to start building a network/community (Twitter can help further develop this)

My LI network has delivered fees, not just for me but also for colleagues…and I am transparent with the network, giving them visibility of my Twitter feed, and this blog, on my LinkedIn profile.

Someone on the track, who owned a small IT recruitment business, legitimately raised the fear that a consultant leaving and taking his LI connections was taking business away…and Paul Harrison (Carve Consulting) who co-hosted the track made a great point when he said that the company may lose someone’s contacts, but then they would hire in someone who would bring with them a whole new set of contacts.

My personal view is that the attempt to protect is old, sales led recruitment thinking and does not take into account the possibilities opened up by social media.  Recruiters, in future, will be hired because of their network…not just who they know, but how they engage with the network, what information and knowledge they build, what business opportunities the network offers. There’s an onus on the recruiter to behave ethically and professionally if they want flexibility and trust from their employers…certainly not adding connections that are not technically part of their network, and with whom they have had no personal interaction, particularly if their intentions are to leave soon.

I did make the point on Thursday that in my opinion recruiters probably would not join a business that made them leave their contacts when they left…I certainly wouldn’t sign a contract that effectively said ‘we want you for your contacts, and when it’s time for you to leave, we’ll keep the contacts, thanks’

Social Media policy will soon be an extremely important criteria for candidates to consider when assessing a company (actually, why isn’t it now?)… and a legitimate question for the interviewee to ask. In fact as recruiters I think we should be finding out what the policy is when we take a brief.

I can certainly see a time soon when businesses will be rejected if their policies are not forward thinking, encouraging, empowering and trusting.