Dr. Jekyll, Mr.... Tech Support??

A vast majority of my blog has been dedicated to candidate advice. I figured amongst the cold blasts of snow, a lighthearted candidate story or two would be appropriate.

#1 – The Cold Shoulder
I was working on a Technical Support role for a company in Boston. I had a lengthy phone discussion with said candidate, for sanity’s sake we shall call him “Bob.” Bob seems interested in the role, I explain the need to meet with him prior, etc. Shortly thereafter, I receive a few emails and a phone call from “Bob” asking a multitude of very pointed questions. We discuss them and hang up. Again, another phone call, and now a sound of frustration in his voice concerned about the location, etc. We discuss it, all is fine and dandy. He arrives for our in-person with a gift for me beautifully presented in a lovely piece of wrapping paper with a bow. He promptly gives me the gift explaining that he is very apologetic for being “difficult” over the last couple of days. I have him meet with the account manager for the client, we are in agreement that he feels like a strong fit, and he leaves – everyone feeling confident. Two days later, I get a very angry email from “Bob” demanding why we had not yet set up an interview. I explain to him that the client typically takes a few days and that as I had mentioned prior, they will do a phone screen first. He become more irate, demands an in-person within the week, or else – withdraw his resume. I assure him that I will check in with the manager and go from there. Angry email number three brings the demand “Remove my resume – I have lost all faith.” I inform the manager, the next day – they request an interview. J Long story short, I discuss the interview with him and after several phone calls we realize that he simply shouldn’t be interviewing with the client. His reason for being so sporadically angry you ask? He had been unemployed for two months and was simply tired of the process.

#2 – The Voicemail Bandit
Candidate who we shall call “John” was an out of state candidate for a mainframe position at a client in Pennsylvania. We discuss the position, he understands that they require an in-person interview after a phone screen and even exclaims with glee that he has family in the area so it would be a great trip to make. Sure enough, the client expresses interest in an in-person and the light-switch flips. The candidate refuses to attend an in-person and begins leaving fanatical messages on the company voicemail box for me and for the OWNER OF THE COMPANY. The kicker – the messages are so long that John repeatedly runs out of tape. On several of these messages, he discusses topics such as “how difficult it is to land an airplane” and my ever favorite message he left for my boss discussing that he must not be able to hire sales people because an in-person shouldn’t be necessary for someone of his caliber. My all time favorite “My wife told me that I am sounding a little crazy on these messages however…..” Long story short – he eventually stopped calling after approximately 8+ messages that were 10-15 minutes in length each.

I’m beginning to think that psychological profiles may be included in my interviewing protocol. Anyone else have stories to share?

Fa La La La - Layoffs??

2008 – What a year! We have a historic President-Elect who we are hoping will inspire the American public. It has been officially declared that the United States has been in a recession for the past 12 months. Companies are laying off ten’s of thousands of workers while others are closing completely. And finally to top it off – a Journalist in Iraq attempted to hit George W. Bush with not one, but both of his shoes and almost succeeded. This one is definitely headed for the record books.

Of these moments, my guess is that most Americans are going into the Holiday season bracing for what 2009 will bring – more layoffs? Who will be next? The longest recessions on record since WWII have been 16 months total – are we nearing an end?

For those of you out there affected by the layoffs, I offer some tips on putting yourself back out on the market.
1. Sit down and spend part of an entire day on your resume. Whatever you do, don’t throw together your most recent job history out of anger and spite – because let’s be honest, it won’t serve to hurt the company – just YOUR job prospects.

2. Be very detailed with regard to how you can help the company with whom you are applying by utilizing cover letters, well thought out emails, etc. Be your own best marketer. (BYOBM) If you’re applying for a Project Management role, your resume should talk about Project Management skills and your cover letter should indicate your strengths with regard to – Project Management.

3. Send your resume to a friend to have them proof it for errors – you would be surprised at the amount of errors despite your best effort to read it dozens of times.

4. Take your suits to the dry cleaner – yes I know that the world is more casual, however, hiring managers want to see you in a suit. This goes for both men and women.

5. Sell, sell, sell – Post your resume, consult with Recruiters that you trust (like me), and apply to roles on-line. Don’t expect the job to come to you. (Sidenote: Keep a detailed list of jobs that you have applied to and be very clear with Recruiters regarding roles that you have applied to directly).

6. Carry copies of your resume with you. Do not assume that they have one printed out – take the burden off of them. They will notice. You can print at Kinkos.

7. If you have non-competes, have a copy with you so you can speak to the restrictions.

8. Have your references ready to go – already contacted, primed, and excited to talk about you. A big red flag goes up when a company asks for references, and the candidate answers “ummmm. Let me check on that.”

9. Be very clear about your salary needs but be realistic. You may have been making $150,000 last year, but have you done the research recently to see what folks are now making? I bet you’ll be surprised to see it has dropped somewhat. You must let them know your flexibility.

10. Eye contact, firm handshake, and enthusiasm – they go a long way.

Just some friendly advice to those job hunters unexpectedly tossed back on the market.

Where is MY tall, dark, and handsome???

The executive team meets – an agreement is reached. The job description is written, then passed on and edited, and revised, and reviewed, and edited to include the typical “works well with others” sections – and TADA. You have your typical job description.

I often liken job descriptions to personal ads just as I have likened recruiting to matchmaking. My consultants usually chuckle when I give them the following analogy:

“Job descriptions are like personal adds. If you’re looking for a wife or husband or soul mate, you put EVERYTHING down that would make someone perfect for you. For the ladies – tall, dark, handsome, successful, a great cook, loves kids, athletic, protective, great sense of humor, loves the theater and opera. However, when push comes to shove, we’ll relinquish a few once we meet our next-to-perfect. Maybe he’s shorter than we had hoped or not a world renowned chef and maybe.. just maybe.. he’s balding. It’s the same with companies and job descriptions – they will often relinquish a few must haves to get their next-to-perfect. Because lets face it – it’s very few and far between that Goldilocks strikes our lives and gives us that – just right.”

They giggle, and think back to a personal ad they’ve read or potentially written. And the lightbulb goes off – maybe I have a shot.

Putting this down makes me wonder – how often are we discounting candidates because they’re not “just right” instead helping them understand they could be “next-to-perfect?” Are we working with our candidates to help them sell themselves or simply doing those key word searches hoping with our fingers crossed to find our elusive Goldilocks?

Please Remove the Pirate Hat.......

In this generation of Millienials, fashion forward companies, and casual days extending far beyond Friday – I’ve found these past few years a surge toward a new interview attire spotted with individualism, artistic expression, and an emphasis on reflecting personal style. We’ve all had the candidate who showed up wearing something completely inappropriate – flips flops, Technicolor t-shirts, jeans, short skirts, torn pants, etc…. The list goes on and on.

However, the more I think about it, I can’t help but wonder. As Recruiters, how far should we be going to impress upon our candidates the importance of the first impression? Even after they have been told Business Attire (suit and tie), should we be delving deeper? Should our prep questions include extensive lists of “What not to wear?”

Here are a couple of my stories – Please share…..

Do you get HBO with those earrings?? – Candidate arrived at a very conservative client to interview and could not get through the metal detectors. In his ears were earrings that went through the earlobe and had been stretched to the width of a quarter. I begged him to remove the earrings; he refused and continued to refuse all the way to the client’s office. When I later told him that he did not get the job despite being their first choice because of his jewelry choice – the candidate said “Well I wish someone would have told me!!”

I didn’t catch that – Did you say you took cold medicine?? – Candidate arrived to interview for a position at the client company wearing a clip on pony-tail, short-skirt, and repeatedly fell asleep while interviewing because she had consumed cold medicine before walking into the building to avoid speaking with a stuffy nose during the interview. She also asked the manager for a “do over” when she sensed things going badly.

Hats need not apply!
Captain Jack Sparrow – the candidate wore a pirate hat – and despite my urging refused to remove it prior to the interview. I will never forget saying to him “But you really should remove the pirate hat….” And thinking to myself – this cannot end well.

Moral of the story:
To the candidates out there looking for a new job – please leave wild jewelry, mind-altering pharmaceuticals, and head accessories at home. Leave those for the company holiday party.

For my fellow Recruiters – sometimes no matter how much we fear upsetting a candidate, we have to get them to take off the pirate hat…….Even if it’s their lucky pirate hat.

And what do you do?????

“And what do you do?”…. pause. I answer “I work in IT Software Consulting and Staffing.” Longer pause and blank stares. I continue “Staffing…. Recruiting…? Ummmm.. I get computer people jobs at big companies.” Ahhhh – recognition spreads across his face and like those before him, he smiles and snidely replies “So… you’re a HEADHUNTER.”

Now – I realize that there are several terms out there describing what I do – but Headhunter is my least favorite. It has a negative connotation – similar to Lawyer or Telemarketer. But I realize that there are certain terms that people recognize. So I smile coyly and respond “No… I’m a Head Huntress.”

There are many industries out there with a bad rap – I’ve mentioned two prior but recruiting/staffing seems to have one of the worst raps and ironically, one of the most noble of purposes. We help people get jobs. Now – don’t get me wrong – there are always a few bad apples. A few “headhunters” who treat people like a commodity instead of a living, breathing being who is enlisting our help to garner work. But unlike those bad apples, I guess I tend to think of every candidate as a critic. Negative word of mouth is more damaging than any other type of critique so I view every potential candidate or potential placement, as a “Kelly the Head Huntress” critic capable of giving me a bad review and therefore – making me no better than those bad apples.

Thinking of this I have to wonder: How are we treating our candidates out there? In a time of recession, are we treating them less like people and more like an overabundance of wheat because there are less jobs and quite a few folks out of work?

This blog going forward – resume advice, job hunting advice, overall dialogue surrounding the big bad world of job hunting, funny stories, candidate nightmares, and how every now and again – we recruiters serve a very useful function.