Tuesday, November 27, 2007

How Do You Want Someone to Contact You?

The job market, by definition, is competitive. You compete with people for interviews. You compete with people to get their attention? By the time you are hired, you have fought off many challenges. Many more than you will ever be told about.

So why don't you put a telephone number on your resume?

You don't want to receive a call at work? OK.

How about one at home? No, huh.

And your cell phone? Don't want to run up your minutes. I see.

How do you expect someone to evaluate whether you are worth interviewing? By your resume alone?

how do you expect the interview to be coordinated between the various parties? Oh, you are available at 12.15 for 30 minutes.

No phone number. No interview. It is as simple as that. Figure outa way to let people comtact you and then stick with it.

Personally, with a young child at home, I don't work 24x7 so I rarely make evening calls to screen someone. I save those for scheduling interviews, debriefing interviews and presenting job offers.

Maybe you'll find a beginner who will call at night . . . but then you'll complain about the poor service you receive.

And it all started off with not putting your number on the resume.


Jeff Altman

The Big Game Hunter
 Concepts in Staffing
thebiggamehunter@cisny.com

© 2007 all rights reserved.

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter, is Managing Director with Concepts in Staffing, a New York search firm, He has successfully assisted many corporations identify management leaders and staff in many disciplines since 1971. He is a retired certified leader of the ManKind Project, a not for profit organization that assists men with life issues, and a practicing psychotherapist.

To receive a daily digest of positions emailed to you, search for openings that The Big Game Hunter is working on, to use Jeff’s free job lead search engine, Job Search Universe, to subscribe to Jeff’s free job hunting ezine, “Head Hunt Your Next Job, or his staffing ezine, “Natural Selection”, or to learn about his VIP program, go to www.jeffaltman.com.

Explore some of The Big Game Hunter's products in "The Universe" series

Plus

Posted by
Labels: ,

Saturday, November 24, 2007

What Kind of Job Will You Be Asked to Do? A Reminder.

I like to distill things into simple ideas in order to help people see things more clearly. That is how I came up with a simple model for determining what you will be expected to do when you join a new firm.

In my way of thinking, employers ask people to do one of three tasks in a new job:

  1. Manage people who do stuff.
  2. Do stuff.
  3. Think about how things could be done better.

Most jobs have a certain amount of each as part of their description; however, the weight of the job will emphasize one component or another.

So when you are interviewing for a job where you expect to manage and the employer is spending most of their time talking about “doing stuff”, how much managing will you be doing.

If you interview for a job where you expect to be “thinking about how stuff can be done better,” and they talk about managing staff or “doing stuff”, how much planning or thinking do you think you’ll actually be doing?

Do you think you’ll be happy doing what they want you to do?

I’m not suggesting that you shouldn’t accept such a position if offered; in fact, many people will strengthen their credentials and make them stronger candidates for better firms if they do.

However, I do want you to make a conscious choice and not be surprised as so many are.

Jeff Altman
The Big Game Hunter
 Concepts in Staffing
thebiggamehunter@cisny.com

© 2007 all rights reserved.

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter, is Managing Director with Concepts in Staffing, a New York search firm, He has successfully assisted many corporations identify management leaders and staff in many disciplines since 1971. He is a retired certified leader of the ManKind Project, a not for profit organization that assists men with life issues, and a practicing psychotherapist.

To receive a daily digest of positions emailed to you, search for openings that The Big Game Hunter is working on, to use Jeff’s free job lead search engine, Job Search Universe, to subscribe to Jeff’s free job hunting ezine, “Head Hunt Your Next Job, or his staffing ezine, “Natural Selection”, or to learn about his VIP program, go to www.jeffaltman.com.

Explore some of The Big Game Hunter's products in "The Universe" series

Plus

Posted by
Labels:

Perspectives from Hiring Authorites

When I sit down to wrote a column, I try to instill the idea of looking at every thing from a hiring authority's perspective--what is it that your behavior communicates to them that will affect their decision about you.

Here are a few that I have compiled over many years:

One client has us ask potential employees to go to their website to learn about their business. The often tell me about people who lie about reading what is on the site and then tell them about experience they have that would help them immensely--experience in fields that have no relevance to their business.

Where do you see yourself five years from now? Apparently doing work that doesn't fit with what the business the employer does. Not too smart.

How about being taken for lunch by an employer, confirming a date, time and place well in advance, and then trying to juggle everyone else's schedule because you need to be back for a meeting . . . or trying to move three other people to meet much closer to you so you don't have to travel. Smart move, huh?

How about arrival time? Does arriving a few minutes early to complete paperwork seem like good sense? Apparently fewer people think so, preferring to arrive late instead. Then, the lateness is compounded by not acknowledging it or explaining it with something as simple as a call in advance (there was an accident that is delaying me a few minutes) or an explanation (I'm sorry I was a few minutes late; I was detained at a meeting that was called by someone I am supporting; it usually lasts 45 minutes; today it ran close to two hours because of a few problems that had occurred).

Have manners become unimportant?

Everything you say and do at an interview sends a message to an employer about what they can expect from you as an employee.

Has your behavior been sending the right message?


Jeff Altman
The Big Game Hunter
 Concepts in Staffing
thebiggamehunter@cisny.com

© 2007 all rights reserved.

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter, is Managing Director with Concepts in Staffing, a New York search firm, He has successfully assisted many corporations identify management leaders and staff in many disciplines since 1971. He is a retired certified leader of the ManKind Project, a not for profit organization that assists men with life issues, and a practicing psychotherapist.

To receive a daily digest of positions emailed to you, search for openings that The Big Game Hunter is working on, to use Jeff’s free job lead search engine, Job Search Universe, to subscribe to Jeff’s free job hunting ezine, “Head Hunt Your Next Job, or his staffing ezine, “Natural Selection”, or to learn about his VIP program, go to www.jeffaltman.com.

Explore some of The Big Game Hunter's products in "The Universe" series

Plus


Posted by
Labels: , , ,

Friday, November 09, 2007

Lead or Follow: Both Strategies Work

I receive a call from a man who I helped find a Director's job for in the late 90's. He had been CIO for a firm for 5 years and when the company was packaged for sale by a private equity firm, the firm slashed costs which means that he and a number of executives were fired.

He has been in outplacement since the middle of the summer with some of his former colleagues, some of whom are fairly close to landing positions with portfolio companies of other private equity firms. As a result, some of them have started to speak with him about joining them in their new firm.

And, despite the fact that networking doesn't come easily to him, it sounded like being dependent upon others to find a job to have one of his own was sitting uneasily with him.

I said to him, "It seems like your search methodology is to be the puppy that follows the owner. Have you considered working to aggressively create some options of your own?"

Is that your strategy? Waiting for someone else to find a job to bring you along?

You have to do your own networking and your own search work to find your next job. I provide access to a lot of sites to post your resume at www.jeffaltman.com including convenient and easy to use Careerbuilder links, plus more than 40 sites to post your resume to.

Are you on LinkedIn? Connect with me and get access to over a thousand of my contacts there.
How about Xing? Or some of the networks on Ning?

Do you know former colleagues from your last job? How about people from your children's school? Your church, temple, synagogue, ashram or mosque?

There are so many venues where you can aggressively pursue your search, too and not just be a puppy.


Jeff Altman
The Big Game Hunter
 Concepts in Staffing
thebiggamehunter@cisny.com

www.jeffaltman.com

© 2007 all rights reserved.

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter, is Managing Director with Concepts in Staffing, a New York search firm, He has successfully assisted many corporations identify management leaders and staff in many disciplines since 1971. He is a retired certified leader of the ManKind Project, a not for profit organization that assists men with life issues, and a practicing psychotherapist.

To receive a daily digest of positions emailed to you, search for openings that The Big Game Hunter is working on, to use Jeff’s free job lead search engine, Job Search Universe, to subscribe to Jeff’s free job hunting ezine, “Head Hunt Your Next Job, or his staffing ezine, “Natural Selection”, or to learn about his VIP program, go to




Visit DiversityJobs.com for information on Diversity in the workplace
Posted by
Labels:

Thursday, October 25, 2007

Your Answering Machine

They spoke individually."

"Hi! This is Karen."

"This is Corky," said their daughter.

"This is Mike," said their son.

"And this is Glenn," said their father.

Together they said, "We're the xxxxxxxxxxx family (I'll leave out their name to avoid embarrassing them). We're not home right now so leave your name and number and we'll call you back. BYE!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Your personal life is yours and I want you to enjoy it.

Your professional life is another thing.

A potential employer might call and leave a message for Glenn or Karen to schedule a time to speak.

Quite a first impression, huh?

Or, take a look at your email address and what it says: cutechick@deli.com or radicaldude@incompetentcode.com. In some industries, these addresses work extremely well.

In others, go to Gmail or Yahoo and open a new account with something simple and have the emails automatically forward to your real address. By doing this, you can cut off contact from spammers and recruiters by canceling your account when your search is over . . . or just keep the account open for job hunting purposes.

Jeff Altman
The Big Game Hunter
Concepts in Staffing
jeffaltman@cisny.com

© 2007 all rights reserved.

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter, is Managing Director with Concepts in Staffing, a New York search firm, He has successfully assisted many corporations identify management leaders and staff in technology, accounting, finance, sales, marketing and other disciplines since 1971. He is a practicing psychotherapist and is a retired certified leader of the ManKind Project, a not for profit organization that assists men with life issues.

To receive a daily digest of positions emailed to you, search job openings, use his free job lead search engine, Job Search Universe. to subscribe Jeff’s free job search ezines, Head Hunt Your Next Job and/or Natural Selection (his free recruiting ezine), or to find out about his VIP Personal Search Agent service, go to http://www.jeffaltman.com.

If you would like Jeff and his firm to assist you with hiring staff or locating consultants, or if you would like help with a strategic job change, send an email to him at thebiggamehunter@cisny.com (If you’re looking for a new position, include your resume).




Find thousands of Bilingual jobs at LatPro.com.
Posted by
Labels: , , ,

A Cute Way to Target Your Job Searches

When you do searches on some of the meta search sites like Job Search Universe, or Indeed (available at www.jeffaltman.com), have you ever tried entering a zip code into the search in order to see if you can actually find something close to home?

Another little technique on Google (you knew you could use Google for job leads, didn't you?As a matter of fact, Job Search Universe is a custom Google search engine that works just as Google would) is to add your search criteria and phrases like "Email your resume your resume" or submit resume to" in order to avoid some of gthe articles and other extraneous information."


Jeff Altman
The Big Game Hunter
Concepts in Staffing
jeffaltman@cisny.com

© 2007 all rights reserved.

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter, is Managing Director with Concepts in Staffing, a New York search firm, He has successfully assisted many corporations identify management leaders and staff in technology, accounting, finance, sales, marketing and other disciplines since 1971. He is a practicing psychotherapist and is a retired certified leader of the ManKind Project, a not for profit organization that assists men with life issues.

To receive a daily digest of positions emailed to you, search job openings, use his free job lead search engine, Job Search Universe. to subscribe Jeff’s free job search ezines, Head Hunt Your Next Job and/or Natural Selection (his free recruiting ezine), or to find out about his VIP Personal Search Agent service, go to http://www.jeffaltman.com.

If you would like Jeff and his firm to assist you with hiring staff or locating consultants, or if you would like help with a strategic job change, send an email to him at thebiggamehunter@cisny.com

(If you’re looking for a new position, include your resume).




Visit DiversityJobs.com for information on Diversity in the workplace
Posted by
Labels:

Your Search Can End With Your Last Exit Interview

Someone I commute with received a "heads up" from her boss that her position might be eliminated as part of a consolidation caused her company being bought. A person with almost 30 years of experience, she was a classic target of downsizing and at risk of a long job search.

Except for one thing.

She remembered that at the exit interview from her previous job of almost 25 years, the Chairman of the bank she worked for before taking this job told her that if she wanted to return to contact his office.

So, that became her first call--to the Chairman's office.

Within a week, she had four interviews with the bank, 2 very good ones that offered her terrific visibility and a new job. One of the perks in the new job was the ability to add to her pension.

At the HR interview, she was told by the recruiter representing the bank that in his years with them, he had never seen an exit interview report with such glowing comments in it including the word "YES!" written twice next to the checkoff box indicating whether the person should be eligible for re-hire.

Her search began at her former employer. Yours can too if you treat the exit interview as something more than a waste of time. You don't have to accept their attempt to extend a counteroffer (nor should you in my opinion).

However, if you have built strong relationships and do NOTHING to burn bridges, you might wind up with a terrific package like my friend did.


Jeff Altman
The Big Game Hunter
Concepts in Staffing
jeffaltman@cisny.com

© 2007 all rights reserved.

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter, is Managing Director with Concepts in Staffing, a New York search firm, He has successfully assisted many corporations identify management leaders and staff in technology, accounting, finance, sales, marketing and other disciplines since 1971. He is a practicing psychotherapist and is a retired certified leader of the ManKind Project, a not for profit organization that assists men with life issues.

To receive a daily digest of positions emailed to you, search job openings, use his free job lead search engine, Job Search Universe. to subscribe Jeff’s free job search ezines, Head Hunt Your Next Job and/or Natural Selection (his free recruiting ezine), or to find out about his VIP Personal Search Agent service, go to http://www.jeffaltman.com.

If you would like Jeff and his firm to assist you with hiring staff or locating consultants, or if you would like help with a strategic job change, send an email to him at thebiggamehunter@cisny.com (If you’re looking for a new position, include your resume).




Visit DiversityJobs.com for information on Diversity in the workplace
Posted by
Labels: ,

Sunday, September 30, 2007

Your Hardest Task in Looking for a Job is Dealing With "The Question"

Imagine this scene.

You're at a gathering with family at some holiday or at a get-together with friends when someone tries to make conversation with you by asking "The Question."

Or maybe "The Question" is asked by someone out of the blue who calls you.

What's "The Question?"

"The Question" is, "how is your job search going?"

Or maybe it's "How did that interview turn out?"

We all have questions like that in life. Mine is, "How is your book coming along? It used to turn my stomach because it is asked by people who want to see me fail and have no real interest in me succeeding. Maybe your circumstances are different but those are mine.

So the hardest task you have in looking for is managing your own emotions throughout the process. Even when an interview is internal to your organization, the impact of an interview failure can be emotionally disastrous.

A friend (who i hope remains a friend after reading this) had a disastrous internal interview that would have involved a transfer. His failure was humiliating and took several months to recover from.

You cannot afford several months of recovery time after coming in second.

More than a decade ago, I ran and finished the New York Marathon and from that experience, I learned that much of life is more like a running a marathon, instead of a sprint. You need to be prepared to go longer and further than you ever have, instead of just running for 9 or 10 seconds.

This is another of those cases where patience is a virtue.

Jeff Altman
The Big Game Hunter
Concepts in Staffing
thebiggamehunter@cisny.com

© 2007 all rights reserved.

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter, is Managing Director with Concepts in Staffing, a New York search firm, He has successfully assisted many corporations identify management leaders and staff in many disciplines since 1971. He is a retired certified leader of the ManKind Project, a not for profit organization that assists men with life issues, and a practicing psychotherapist.

To receive a daily digest of positions emailed to you, search for openings that The Big Game Hunter is working on, to use Jeff’s free job lead search engine, Job Search Universe, to subscribe to Jeff’s free job hunting ezine, “Head Hunt Your Next Job, or his staffing ezine, “Natural Selection”, or to learn about his VIP program, go to http://www.jeffaltman.com/.

Explore some of The Big Game Hunter's products in "The Universe" series

Plus




Visit DiversityJobs.com for information on Diversity in the workplace
Posted by
Labels:

Sunday, September 16, 2007

6 Ways to Know It's Time to Go

For years, I have said that the person who gets ahead, isn't always the smartest or work the hardest . . . although those are great qualities to have. The person who gets ahead is the one who remains alert to opportunity. Sometimes those are internal to your organization. Sometimes, those are external.

On the other hand, the person who avoids professioanal disaster is the one who remains alert to signals and can "read the tea leaves." Here's what to look out for:

1. You suddenly report to someone different. If you are a senior professional, the reporting structue has changed and you now are reporting a ruing or two down from where you were reporting. If you are on staff, you are suddenly re-assigned without even the pep talk about this being the great opportunity.

2. You've gone as high as you can. Look up from your desk and see a manager or director who is around your age and content with his job. Hmm. When you ask yourself the question of "Where can I Really go from here," your answer suggests improving your skills , rather than job function because no one of value will ever leave.

3. Your firm is up for sale or was recently sold. These are pretty similar problems but slightly different. In the first case, there is a warning that business is sour or that management would like to cash out. In the second, the deal is done.

In both cases, the result will be the same--you will help the new management integrtae the operation of the two firms, transferring knowledge that will help make for a smooth operation. Then you will be invited to accept a package to leave or pushed into a dead end job. Sounds exciting!

4. Everything is just being maintained or that's the only kind of work you're assigned. The people who tend to advance are the ones who deliver new "bright shiny objects" to management--the new projects, the sexy work that makes everyone go, "Ooooooooooh." If you are being asked to maintain stuff, you are on the
Dilbert career path."

5. Your new boss is a jerk. No amount of charm on your part will ever take away the loathing you feel when you go to work because you dislike the person you work for. it is compounded if you get the idea that the feeling is mutual.

6. Your industry is on its death bed. Part of what makes a person successful is business knowledge. There was a time where the "buggy whip industry" in the US was huge. Now, you are probably wondering what I'm talking about. In 2001, every telecom firm in the world was doing extremely well. Since, some of them couldn't get themselves arrested.

If your industry is dying, it's time to go before people start attending your career funeral, too.

Giving yourself time to execute an effective job search before things reach crisis proportion is critical. If you stopped and started thinking about any of these signals, it's time to act.

NOW!


Jeff Altman

The Big Game Hunter
Concepts in Staffing
thebiggamehunter@cisny.com

© 2007 all rights reserved.

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter, is Managing Director with Concepts in Staffing, a New York search firm, He has successfully assisted many corporations identify management leaders and staff in many disciplines since 1971. He is a retired certified leader of the ManKind Project, a not for profit organization that assists men with life issues, and a practicing psychotherapist.

To receive a daily digest of positions emailed to you, search for openings that The Big Game Hunter is working on, to use Jeff’s free job lead search engine, Job Search Universe, to subscribe to Jeff’s free job hunting ezine, “Head Hunt Your Next Job, or his staffing ezine, “Natural Selection”, or to learn about his VIP program, go to http://www.jeffaltman.com/.

Explore some of The Big Game Hunter's products in "The Universe" series

Plus




Find thousands of Bilingual jobs at LatPro.com.
Posted by
Labels:

Saturday, September 15, 2007

The Top 25 Places for a Person to Begin a Career

The September 2007 issue of Businessweek lists these companies as the top firms to begin a career:

1. Deloitte & Touche

2. Pricewaterhouse Coopers

3. Ernst & Young

4. IBM

5. Google

6. Microsoft

7. Walt Disney

8. Acecnture

9, Lockheed Martin

10. Teach for America

11. KPMG

12. General Electric

13. Goldman Sachs

14. Boeing

15. Abbott Labs

16. Merrill Lynch

17. JPMorganChase

18. BP America

19. US State Department

20. General Mills

21. Hyatt

22. Capital One

23. Peace Corps

24. Johnson & Johnson

25. Macy's


What was noticeable to me were the number of accounting firms on the list and how well rated they were.


Jeff Altman

The Big Game Hunter
Concepts in Staffing
thebiggamehunter@cisny.com

© 2007 all rights reserved.

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter, is Managing Director with Concepts in Staffing, a New York search firm, He has successfully assisted many corporations identify management leaders and staff in many disciplines since 1971. He is a retired certified leader of the ManKind Project, a not for profit organization that assists men with life issues, and a practicing psychotherapist.

To receive a daily digest of positions emailed to you, search for openings that The Big Game Hunter is working on, to use Jeff’s free job lead search engine, Job Search Universe, to subscribe to Jeff’s free job hunting ezine, “Head Hunt Your Next Job, or his staffing ezine, “Natural Selection”, or to learn about his VIP program, go to http://www.jeffaltman.com/.

Explore some of The Big Game Hunter's products in "The Universe" series

Plus

Posted by

Have You Ever Be Wrong?

People have opinions.

Most are wrong but people believe they are right about anything they say. I know that's true because, like you, I do it all the time.

I see something or someone and, when I listen to the voice that pops into my head, I notice how stupid or ridiculous those opinions are. My mind makes up stories about what that person is like-- How smart or stupid they are. How successful or what a loser they are.

As smart as I am, I have learned how ridiculous my mind can be.

When I interview people, I always ask, "Are there any firms, that for any reason, you would not consider working because of things you've heard, opinions you have? Any reason whatsoever?"

I do this, not to get into an argument but to learn the biases someone has.

So imagine my surprise when I called someone to schedule an interview and discover that my client was one of the firms that they wouldn't work for (even though I had asked them).

I listened for a while and then said, "Please go. I think your judgment of this firm smacks of the sort of criticism of people who left there some years ago. Maybe they failed. Maybe they were passed over for a promotion. I don't know. Just check it out for yourself.

"If, at the end of the day, you have the same opinion you do now, I promise I will not argue with you. I'll ask you what you saw and what gave you that idea so that I can learn from it. But I promise not to argue."

I would have kept that promise but it became unnecessary when I received a call after the person spent three hours with them and called me and said, "Jeff, I have never been so wrong about something professionally as this."

I won't go into all the details (I wouldn't be able to quote them like this anyway). They had spent three hours with them, met five people, gotten a feel for the firm and fallen in love.

So, I want to suggest to you that, when confronted by a situation like this, don't cancel the interview. Go, prepared to ask questions about the things you've heard. As my friend David did before an interview, he used Google to find former employees in the department he was interviewing for to learn about the good, the bad and the ugly about the firm so that he could ask great questions.

At the end of the day, if you don't feel differently or hear answers that make sense, if you don't trust the people or find the work boring, DON'T TAKE THE JOB.

But you may also have gotten a jaded former employees opinions that have nothing to do with you. You may, like this person, discover that the job is one you want and crave.

Jeff Altman

The Big Game Hunter
 Concepts in Staffing
thebiggamehunter@cisny.com

© 2007 all rights reserved.

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter, is Managing Director with Concepts in Staffing, a New York search firm, He has successfully assisted many corporations identify management leaders and staff in many disciplines since 1971. He is a retired certified leader of the ManKind Project, a not for profit organization that assists men with life issues, and a practicing psychotherapist.

To receive a daily digest of positions emailed to you, search for openings that The Big Game Hunter is working on, to use Jeff’s free job lead search engine, Job Search Universe, to subscribe to Jeff’s free job hunting ezine, “Head Hunt Your Next Job, or his staffing ezine, “Natural Selection”, or to learn about his VIP program, go to www.jeffaltman.com.

Explore some of The Big Game Hunter's products in "The Universe" series

Plus

Posted by
Labels:

Sunday, August 26, 2007

Have You Looked at the Stock Chart

Sometimes, people have silly ideas of a firm and its success through no more information than what seems like tea leaves or gossip.

Have you ever looked at a firm's stock chart for advice? Have you read Marketwatch, Google Finance or Yahoo Finance to geta sense of the stock and how it is doing?

I don't mean is the stock up or down for the day.

I men is the trend of the stock for the past year or two up or down? Have you read any of the business news about the stock or gotten research from your online broker?

This will help you with larger public firms and not with small firms where 85% of all new jobs are created in the US. Yes, 85% of new jobs are created by small business, rather than by the Fortune 500 behemouths you tend to think about.

For them, do Google searches (or use the search engine you prefer) to see if you can find any news about them.


Jeff Altman
The Big Game Hunter
Concepts in Staffing
thebiggamehunter@cisny.com

© 2007 all rights reserved.

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter, is Managing Director with Concepts in Staffing, a New York search firm, He has successfully assisted many corporations identify management leaders and staff in many disciplines since 1971. He is a retired certified leader of the ManKind Project, a not for profit organization that assists men with life issues, and a practicing psychotherapist.

To receive a daily digest of positions emailed to you, search for openings that The Big Game Hunter is working on, to use Jeff’s free job lead search engine, Job Search Universe, to subscribe to Jeff’s free job hunting ezine, “Head Hunt Your Next Job, or his staffing ezine, “Natural Selection”, or to learn about his VIP program, go to www.jeffaltman.com. Job Search Universe is also available at www.jobsearchuniverse.com To add your firm’s career page to “The Universe” email the url to jobsearchuniverse@gmail.com.

If you would like Jeff and his firm to assist you with hiring staff, or if you would like help with a strategic job change, send an email to him at thebiggamehunter@cisny.com (If you’re looking for a new position, include your resume).

If you have a question that you would like me to answer pertaining to job hunting or hiring, email it to me at: thebiggamehunter@gmail.com
Posted by
Labels:

Saturday, August 18, 2007

Blogging: It's Not For Kids Any More

When I started using blogs in August, 2001 (see www.thejobmarketblog.com), blogging was a pretty new idea, Blogger had just been bought by Google and was about to go mainstream.

Blogging as a recruiting tool has arrived with a bang as search professionals and corporate clients use Google and other search tools to locate blogs where the author might represent a possible fit for a job, as they try to get a sense of the person beyond the resume or find a reason to disqualify someone.

So what do you need to know about blogging that will help you with your search?

1. Firms look for confirmation that someone has good writing skills and good oral communications capabilities. Your blog needs to model those qualities, too. If you hastily write about something and show sloppiness, it may come back to haunt you . . . and you may never know it because you may never receive the phone call to interview you.

You see, the web, as we all know, has changed how available information is about someone.

2. Where possible, demonstrate that you are a "go to" person, a subject matter expert or just plain knowledgeable on a subject.

You may have started the blog to talk about life, the universe and everything but, heck, your work is part of the equation, too. If you have just had a technical or professional triumph, reveal it and go into details (without revealing anything that would violate confidentiality). The read what you've written as an outsider would. Would they find this interesting? Ordinary? A triumph?

3. Please don't talk politics.

Blogs are no longer private things and you're blogging to share a part of yourself with the universe. All that can happen as a result of your political rant is that you may offend someone who may not call you.

Recently, while doing a search for a client, I found a blog written by a contender for a role that was homophobic, to say the least (it was him--pictures don't lie). Suffice it to say, I withdrew the person, politely telling the client that I had no question about their professional capability but that I found something of a "personal nature" that caused me to recommend withdrawing the candidate.

After a few seconds that seemed like 10 minutes, they accepted the recommendation.

You may disagree with what I did and that is your prerogative. From my vantage point, that person could have acted in damaging ways that could have create risk to his new firm, a colleague or subordinate where the bias could have exploded.

No, thank you.


Jeff Altman
The Big Game Hunter
Concepts in Staffing
thebiggamehunter@cisny.com

© 2007 all rights reserved.

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter, is Managing Director with Concepts in Staffing, a New York search firm, He has successfully assisted many corporations identify management leaders and staff in many disciplines since 1971. He is a certified leader of the ManKind Project, a not for profit organization that assists men with life issues, and a practicing psychotherapist.

To receive a daily digest of positions emailed to you, search for openings that The Big Game Hunter is working on, to use Jeff’s free job lead search engine, Job Search Universe, to subscribe to Jeff’s free job hunting ezine, “Head Hunt Your Next Job, or his staffing ezine, “Natural Selection”, or to learn about his VIP program, go to www.jeffaltman.com. Job Search Universe is also available at www.jobsearchuniverse.com To add your firm’s career page to “The Universe” email the url to jobsearchuniverse@gmail.com.

If you would like Jeff and his firm to assist you with hiring staff, or if you would like help with a strategic job change, send an email to him at thebiggamehunter@cisny.com (If you’re looking for a new position, include your resume).

If you have a question that you would like me to answer pertaining to job hunting or hiring, email it to me at:
thebiggamehunter@gmail.com


Posted by
Labels:

What's That Old Saying about Lemons and Lemonade?

You made a serious mistake in your life and now you've returned from paying the ultimate price for it. Whether you call it jail or incarceration, you've been to hell and now you want to become an ordinary person with a job again.

What do you do?

One Canadian came up with an idea. In the "Jobs Wanted" area of his paper, he ran an ad:



Former Marijuana Smuggler

Having successfully completed a ten year sentence, incident-free, for importing 75 tons of marijuana into the United States, I am now seeking a legal and legitimate means to support myself and my family.

Business Experience: Owned and operated a successful fishing business -- multi-vessel, one airplane, one island and processing facility. Simultaneously owned and operated a fleet of tractor-trailer trucks conducting business in the western United States. During this time I also co-owned and participated in the executive level management of 120 people worldwide in a successful pot smuggling venture with revenues in excess of US$100 million annually. I took responsibility for my own actions, and received a ten year sentence in the United States while others walked free for their cooperation.

Attributes: I am an expert in all levels of security; I have extensive computer skills, am personable, outgoing, well-educated, reliable, clean and sober. I have spoken in schools to thousands of kids and parent groups over the past ten years on "the consequences of choice," and received public recognition from the RCMP for community service. I am well-traveled and speak English, French and Spanish. References available from friends, family, the U.S. District Attorney, etc.


Can you see where I'm going?


Whether it is from criminal action or professional mistake, there are ways to translate your skills into ways that are useful to someone.

Jeff Altman
The Big Game Hunter
Concepts in Staffing
thebiggamehunter@cisny.com

© 2007 all rights reserved.

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter, is Managing Director with Concepts in Staffing, a New York search firm, He has successfully assisted many corporations identify management leaders and staff in many disciplines since 1971. He is a certified leader of the ManKind Project, a not for profit organization that assists men with life issues, and a practicing psychotherapist.

To receive a daily digest of positions emailed to you, search for openings that The Big Game Hunter is working on, to use Jeff’s free job lead search engine, Job Search Universe, to subscribe to Jeff’s free job hunting ezine, “Head Hunt Your Next Job, or his staffing ezine, “Natural Selection”, or to learn about his VIP program, go to www.jeffaltman.com. Job Search Universe is also available at www.jobsearchuniverse.com To add your firm’s career page to “The Universe” email the url to jobsearchuniverse@gmail.com.

If you would like Jeff and his firm to assist you with hiring staff, or if you would like help with a strategic job change, send an email to him at thebiggamehunter@cisny.com (If you’re looking for a new position, include your resume).

If you have a question that you would like me to answer pertaining to job hunting or hiring, email it to me at:
thebiggamehunter@gmail.com


Posted by
Labels: , , ,

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

The Most important Lesson From the Last Recession PLUS 5 More

Last time, the job market started to slow down in March, 2001 and was about to exit recession in August, 2001 when millions of people lost their jobs and struggled for years to find work.

Because the job market collapse was so sudden and so deep, few were prepared for what happened.

That won't be the case with you.

It is pretty apparent that the financial markets in the US are suffering now and that CFO's at corporations will be hard-pressed to authorize much, if any, new hiring in 2008.

Layoffs have been plentiful in manufacturing for several years and, I expect, will broaden to other sectors.

The most important lesson I can give you from the last recession is this:

1. MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A FUNCTIONING NETWORK OF RESOURCES IN PLACE IN CASE YOU NEED IT.

Connect with as many people as you can on LinkedIn, MySpace, Facebook, Xing and any other social network site that you can.

2. Exchange personal email addresses and phone numbers with co-workers and former co-workers.

3. Stay in the "good graces" with as many leaders in your organization, former organizations, as you can.

4. Have lunch with someone new and/or different every day.

5. Write your resume.

6. Get involved with a networking group pro actively.

If I am right, the US job market will slow down a lot beginning in the late 3rd quarter with more and more firms suspending new hires.

Don't wait for a crisis to take action.


Jeff Altman
The Big Game Hunter
Concepts in Staffing
thebiggamehunter@cisny.com

© 2007 all rights reserved.

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter, is Managing Director with Concepts in Staffing, a New York search firm, He has successfully assisted many corporations identify management leaders and staff in technology, accounting, finance, sales, marketing and other disciplines since 1971. He is a Leader Emeritus of the ManKind Project, a not for profit organization that assists men with life issues, and a practicing psychotherapist.

To subscribe to Jeff’s free job search ezine, Head Hunt Your Next Job, or receive a daily digest of positions emailed to you, go to http://www.jeffaltman.com

If you would like Jeff and his firm to assist you with hiring staff, or if you would like help with a strategic job change, send an email to him at jeffaltman@cisny.com (If you’re looking for a new position, include your resume).



Posted by
Labels: , ,

Monday, August 13, 2007

Working with a Recruiter: Who to Choose?

I've been a recruiter for more than 35 years and, frankly, few people have more or better experience than I do.

Yet, I am not for everyone, nor am I interested in representing you. My focus is on serving my corporate clients--they pay me, of course, and you don't . . . unless you are in my VIP Program, a service I created to help me help more people and justify taking the time to do so.

Does this mean that I ignore individuals? Of course not. But the fact remains that my interests start off with the fact that I am paid to fill jobs for a living in service to my corporate customers. I don't "place people".

When you evaluate who to work with, I would try to see who has a job that fits what I do? Are they with a firm that seems to have positions for what I do? What is the experience level of the search professional (I am sorry to say that many have been schooled to lie when they answer that question so listen to what they say in order to figure out whether to take their advice with a grain of salt).

Unless you live in country where the norm is to pay the fee, do not pay for service.

A specialist or specialist firm does not guarantee success. Frankly, after spending most of my career as a technology recruiter, several of my clients pushed me into a few other areas, making me more of a generalist with strong technology capabilities. Does that make me "less competent" than a specialist with three years or thirteen years experience? Obviously, not.

If they ask to meet you, ask them what they will be screening for and what they hope to find out about you? Although many years ago, meeting you was designed to give you the "once over" to see how you presented yourself, most experienced recruiters are now capable of discerning what they need in a ten minute phone call. Why be dragged in for a meeting that does little more than seek confirmation that you know how to dress and can string three sentences together?



Jeff Altman
The Big Game Hunter
Concepts in Staffing
jeffaltman@cisny.com

© 2007 all rights reserved.

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter, is Managing Director with Concepts in Staffing, a New York search firm, He has successfully assisted many corporations identify management leaders and staff in technology, accounting, finance, sales, marketing and other disciplines since 1971. He is a practicing psychotherapist and is a leader emeritus of the ManKind Project, a not for profit organization that assists men with life issues.

To receive a daily digest of positions emailed to you, search job openings, use his free job lead search engine, Job Search Universe. to subscribe Jeff’s free job search ezine, Head Hunt Your Next Job, or to learn more and sign up for his VIP Personal Search Agent service, go to, http://www.jeffaltman.com. To subscribe to Jeff’s free recruiting ezine, Natural Selection Ezine, subscribe at www.naturalselectionezine.com

If you would like Jeff and his firm to assist you with hiring staff, or if you would like help with a strategic job change, send an email to him at jeffaltman@cisny.com (If you’re looking for a new position, include your resume).

Posted by
Labels:

References: At Least Do The Minimum

We recently had someone go on three rounds of interviews with a client and he won the battle for the job with a close contender. Our client asked us to check his references.

Here's what happened next.

Of the first four references provided, we received no phone numbers or email addresses. Two no longer worked there; one worked for a firm that did not allow him to provide a reference (he suggested we speak with the consulting agency that provided him to them); one was a divisional executive whose administrative assistant who, after several calls, politely said, "She doesn't remember him).

On to the second set of references and day 3 of the request that they be checked. Four more names provided. Two no longer worked at his firm, one was bank president who did not return calls; I was able to speak with and was very flattering.

On to the third set of references and 5+ days has gone by.

I reached three more people; they were all fairly junior and offered the best of what I had.

Folks, there are two basic points I want to make.

One is obvious--if you plan on using someone as a reference, get personal email addresses and phone numbers for them so you stand a chance of reaching them when you need them and then STAY IN TOUCH WITH THEM.

The other is that the delays in reaching people and being pushed away offers another possible interpretation--theis person was not particularly good and no one wanted to put that on record.

Great references, especially for positions in leadership can put someone over the top in someone's mind or create doubt which may cause an opportunity to fall apart.

Stay in contact with your references. In make all the difference in the world.


Jeff Altman

The Big Game Hunter
Concepts in Staffing
jeffaltman@cisny.com

© 2007 all rights reserved.

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter, is Managing Director with Concepts in Staffing, a New York search firm, He has successfully assisted many corporations identify management leaders and staff in technology, accounting, finance, sales, marketing and other disciplines since 1971. He is a practicing psychotherapist and was a certified leader of the ManKind Project, a not for profit organization that assists men with life issues.

To receive a daily digest of positions emailed to you, search job openings, use his free job lead search engine, Job Search Universe. to subscribe Jeff’s free job search ezine, Head Hunt Your Next Job, or to learn more and sign up for his VIP Personal Search Agent service, go to, http://www.jeffaltman.com. To subscribe to Jeff’s free recruiting ezine, Natural Selection Ezine, subscribe at www.naturalselectionezine.com

If you would like Jeff and his firm to assist you with hiring staff, or if you would like help with a strategic job change, send an email to him at jeffaltman@cisny.com (If you’re looking for a new position, include your resume).

Posted by
Labels:

Friday, August 03, 2007

The Pre-Employment Credit Check

Given the stories of foreclosures we are reading about in the financial markets these days, I believe that it is important to be aware of whether the firm you are interviewing with does a pre-employment credit check.

From a process standpoint, what will happen is that you will do several interviews, receive an offer of employment, be ready to say yes and discover that the firm administers a background check.

Although part of that check will cover dates of employment, confirming your wages and checking your references, many firms do a credit check, particularly financial institutions.

Trust me that there are few things worse than deciding to take a job after multiple interviews, telling every one of your friends that you've gotten a great offer and then losing the offer because you failed a drug test, background check or credit check.

If your credit is atrocious or if you have had a bankruptcy, find out at the beginning of the interview process whether the adverse credit information will make this job a non-starter.

Otherwise, why bother interviewing with this company if you know that you will be rejected.
Posted by
Labels:

Saturday, July 28, 2007

Managing Two Agencies When The Offer is Extended

Managing two agencies when the offer comes in?

Recently, an hr manager from a not for profit called me looking for advice.

He had interviewed at one firm through a recruiter and almost gone through their entire process when a firm he interviewed with at the beginning of his search re-contacted him and asked and asked him to interview for a different position that opened up that fit him like a glove.

Within a week, he was about to receive a job offer and called me in a panic.

“What do I do now? The (second) company wants to know what the first firm is offering.”

“Well, tell them.”

“But the first company will be mad at me.”

“Here’s what you do. Call up the recruiter for the first company and tell them that a company contacted you out of the blue, you met them and you expect that tghey will be extending an offer and that you are leaning toward them.”

“Oh, my! Oh, my!” He spoke in a very pained way.

“It won’t get any easier if you don’t tell them because, eventually, if you accept the second offer, you’ll have to turn down the first and tell them then.”

“But the client may raise their offer.”

“This is what I call a pleasant problem--two good offers. How can you go wrong? But the mistake is not telling the first recruiter about he second offer. It won’t get any easier if you don’t tell them and just surprise them when it is time to turn down the job.”


Jeff Altman
The Big Game Hunter
Concepts in Staffing
jeffaltman@cisny.com

© 2007 all rights reserved.

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter, is Managing Director with Concepts in Staffing, a New York search firm, He has successfully assisted many corporations identify management leaders and staff in technology, accounting, finance, sales, marketing and other disciplines since 1971. He was a certified leader of the ManKind Project, a not for profit organization that assists men with life issues, and is a practicing psychotherapist.


To receive a daily digest of positions emailed to you, search job openings, use his free job lead search engine, Job Search Universe. to subscribe Jeff’s free job search ezine, Head Hunt Your Next Job, or to learn more and sign up for his VIP Personal Search Agent service, go to, http://www.jeffaltman.com. To subscribe to Jeff’s free recruiting ezine, Natural Selection Ezine, subscribe at www.naturalselectionezine.com

If you would like Jeff and his firm to assist you with hiring staff, or if you would like help with a strategic job change, send an email to him at jeffaltman@cisny.com (If you’re looking for a new position, include your resume).
Posted by
Labels: ,

Friday, July 20, 2007

What Kind of Contact Do You Expect from a Recruiter?

What Kind of Contact Do You Expect from a Recruiter?

I received an email from someone who emailed their resume for a job a client was trying to fill, asking me about the status of their resume. Two weeks had already gone by and, I'm sure most of you know that two weeks normally means no interest on their part.

I responded to his email letting him know that they weren't interested and received a response back that I interpreted as being sarcastic. I then thought that if he thinks this way, certainly others do, too. That is the germination of this article.

A typical day has me arrive at my office between 8 and 8:30 AM to somewhere in the area of 100 emails (spam is filtered out via Postini; it does a very good job of it). As I start to read them, more keep arriving and calls start to come in. I try to respond to every email I receive with a call, an email acknowledging that I received their email and offering some services through my website that they might find helpful or with an email asking a few questions.

Often, these calls require additional action--interviewing someone, calling someone, inputting their resume into our system for later retrieval, submitting a resume to a client.

I leave messages; I read more resumes, receive more calls, schedule some interviews,

Opportunities start to present themselves that require that I check back to see if someone is still available. Sometimes I need to re-schedule an interview because one party or another needs to make a change.

Oh, yes, I eat lunch, do some networking, write an article or two for my blogs, ezine or book and answer a call or two from my wife or a friend.


So, what gives if I respond to everyone who wants to check and find out "what's going on"?

Unless someone is in my VIP program, you don't pay me for anything I do; I am paid by the institution to evaluate and assess people for their suitability for a job and I am paid quite well, thank you.

Obviously, I need to understand a person and their needs, wants, skills and such in order to bring the two sides together. But until someone starts paying me, I'll decide how I manage my time to help the most people.

Oh, yes, if you work with a recruiter who has the time to take all your calls and tell you ever piece of minutiae that they are doing to help you, there will come a time where they will not be there to help you in the future.


Jeff Altman
The Big Game Hunter
Concepts in Staffing
thebiggamehunter@cisny.com

© 2007 all rights reserved.

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter, is Managing Director with Concepts in Staffing, a New York search firm, He has successfully assisted many corporations identify management leaders and staff in many disciplines since 1971. He is a certified leader of the ManKind Project, a not for profit organization that assists men with life issues, and a practicing psychotherapist.

To receive a daily digest of positions emailed to you, search for openings that The Big Game Hunter is working on, to use Jeff’s free job lead search engine, Job Search Universe, to subscribe to Jeff’s free job hunting ezine, “Head Hunt Your Next Job, or his staffing ezine, “Natural Selection”, or to learn about his VIP program, go to www.jeffaltman.com. Job Search Universe is also available at www.jobsearchuniverse.com To add your firm’s career page to “The Universe” email the url to jobsearchuniverse@gmail.com.

If you would like Jeff and his firm to assist you with hiring staff, or if you would like help with a strategic job change, send an email to him at thebiggamehunter@cisny.com (If you’re looking for a new position, include your resume).If you have a question that you would like me to answer pertaining to job hunting or hiring, email it to me at:
thebiggamehunter@gmail.com
Posted by
Labels: ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)