"CHANGING DIRECTIONS"
For the past several weeks, I have been meeting excellent candidates/jobseekers with a stable work history and terrific skills. Unfortunately, they have all wanted to pursue a career distinctly different from the one they built their professional resume with!
Don't get me wrong; I am all for the pursuit of something that is a PASSION or a CALLING...but that's not what my clients are paying for. When an employer contracts with a recruitment firm; they are expecting that they will be introduced to a professional that VERY CLOSELY matches the job specifications they have provided.
Therefore; the odds of me securing a candidate that has been an Executive Assistant for the past five years a position as a Marketing Coordinator are slim! It does not matter that you are "willing to take a pay cut" or that you are "willing to start at the bottom"! I as a recruiter am being paid to present EXPERTISE...not POTENTIAL.
This should not discourage all of you from going after an opportunity that you really want. It's just a search that is better conducted on your own rather than a recruitment firm. You should do research...find out contact names...draft compelling personal notes...network, etc.
It is still an "employer's market" and they are being extremely strict and rigid with regard to "grey areas". Companies want EXPERTS...employees with a CLEAR DIRECTION...LOYALTY and a desire to do well at the job they are interviewing for. These Hiring Managers are not interested in your "projected career path" and the fact that you are seeing the position you are interviewing for solely as a means of getting to the next position that you TRULY desire.
Your job search and interview process is an elaborate sales process and human chess game. You go in and sell yourself...they sell you on the position and the company...you both strategize about salary...and ultimately through a complex set of moves and counter-moves...you come together. Knowing how to play the game is half the battle. Putting yourself in the mind of the interviewer (empathy) is paramount. Doing your due diligence on researching the company...it's stability, financial health, growth potential...all are instrumental in making a sound decision with regard to employment.
You should be marketing a CORE SET OF SKILLS that you feel are transferable and are meaningful to the position in question. Ultimately, it will be qualities that you cannot be taught that are the catalyst in securing your new job. They are: COMMON SENSE, INTERPERSONAL SKILLS, PRESENTATION SKILLS, PRIDE IN THE QUALITY OF YOUR WORK, FLEXIBILITY and PERSONALITY TYPE! These QUALITIES quite often outweigh EXPRIENCE in the decision making process.
This brings me to a HUGE GRIPE I have with candidates who come to see me. There is no bigger TURN-OFF than a jobseeker that is VOID of ENERGY, HUMILTY & HUMOR!!! Why bother to come to an interview if you are not excited? It is human nature to be ATTRACTED to the three qualities I listed. How am I supposed to get my client excited about someone who sat across from me with an expression on their face like they just smelled something terrible? Why would I want to introduce someone who gave one-word answers to most of my questions and appeared as if I was keeping them awake? It is probably a very good idea to get whomever you are asking to assist you in your search EXCITED about helping you!
There are many new and exciting opportunities being offered. You have to come with your "A" game! Your competition are likely 3-6 people with similar educational and professional experience. So, what is going to set you apart?
ENERGY, HUMILITY, COMMON SENSE, INTERPERSONAL SKILLS, THE MANNER IN WHICH YOU CARRY YOURSELF (PRESENTATION SKILLS), FLEXIBILITY and do not forget HUMOR!!!!
Remember; hiring authorities ultimately hire people they can see themselves spending time with!
"I'M A HUSTLER, I'M A, I'M A HUSTLER...@##$%*@ ASK ABOUT ME!" - CASSIDY
Don't get me wrong; I am all for the pursuit of something that is a PASSION or a CALLING...but that's not what my clients are paying for. When an employer contracts with a recruitment firm; they are expecting that they will be introduced to a professional that VERY CLOSELY matches the job specifications they have provided.
Therefore; the odds of me securing a candidate that has been an Executive Assistant for the past five years a position as a Marketing Coordinator are slim! It does not matter that you are "willing to take a pay cut" or that you are "willing to start at the bottom"! I as a recruiter am being paid to present EXPERTISE...not POTENTIAL.
This should not discourage all of you from going after an opportunity that you really want. It's just a search that is better conducted on your own rather than a recruitment firm. You should do research...find out contact names...draft compelling personal notes...network, etc.
It is still an "employer's market" and they are being extremely strict and rigid with regard to "grey areas". Companies want EXPERTS...employees with a CLEAR DIRECTION...LOYALTY and a desire to do well at the job they are interviewing for. These Hiring Managers are not interested in your "projected career path" and the fact that you are seeing the position you are interviewing for solely as a means of getting to the next position that you TRULY desire.
Your job search and interview process is an elaborate sales process and human chess game. You go in and sell yourself...they sell you on the position and the company...you both strategize about salary...and ultimately through a complex set of moves and counter-moves...you come together. Knowing how to play the game is half the battle. Putting yourself in the mind of the interviewer (empathy) is paramount. Doing your due diligence on researching the company...it's stability, financial health, growth potential...all are instrumental in making a sound decision with regard to employment.
You should be marketing a CORE SET OF SKILLS that you feel are transferable and are meaningful to the position in question. Ultimately, it will be qualities that you cannot be taught that are the catalyst in securing your new job. They are: COMMON SENSE, INTERPERSONAL SKILLS, PRESENTATION SKILLS, PRIDE IN THE QUALITY OF YOUR WORK, FLEXIBILITY and PERSONALITY TYPE! These QUALITIES quite often outweigh EXPRIENCE in the decision making process.
This brings me to a HUGE GRIPE I have with candidates who come to see me. There is no bigger TURN-OFF than a jobseeker that is VOID of ENERGY, HUMILTY & HUMOR!!! Why bother to come to an interview if you are not excited? It is human nature to be ATTRACTED to the three qualities I listed. How am I supposed to get my client excited about someone who sat across from me with an expression on their face like they just smelled something terrible? Why would I want to introduce someone who gave one-word answers to most of my questions and appeared as if I was keeping them awake? It is probably a very good idea to get whomever you are asking to assist you in your search EXCITED about helping you!
There are many new and exciting opportunities being offered. You have to come with your "A" game! Your competition are likely 3-6 people with similar educational and professional experience. So, what is going to set you apart?
ENERGY, HUMILITY, COMMON SENSE, INTERPERSONAL SKILLS, THE MANNER IN WHICH YOU CARRY YOURSELF (PRESENTATION SKILLS), FLEXIBILITY and do not forget HUMOR!!!!
Remember; hiring authorities ultimately hire people they can see themselves spending time with!
"I'M A HUSTLER, I'M A, I'M A HUSTLER...@##$%*@ ASK ABOUT ME!" - CASSIDY
