Happy Layoff-versary!

Happy Layoff-versary! It was exactly nine years ago, on Friday the 13th, that I drove away from my last job for the last time. This is not a story of a guy ready to conquer the world, voluntarily leaving his job to get rich online this is a story of a normal guy who felt betrayed by the company he had worked so hard for a story of a guy who was scared out of his mind, wondering how he was going to make ends meet a story of not knowing what the next few days, weeks or months had in store. Here we are, nine years later, and Im starting a certification program for career professionals to become certified on the system that I conceptualized, and helped build, and helped fund, and have run Its a beautiful day, no matter what weather.com says! Happy layoff-versary! Happy Layoff-versary! It was exactly nine years ago, on Friday the 13th, that I drove away from my last job for the last time. This is not a story of a guy ready to conquer the world, voluntarily leaving his job to get rich online this is a story of a normal guy who felt betrayed by the company he had worked so hard for a story of a guy who was scared out of his mind, wondering how he was going to make ends meet a story of not knowing what the next few days, weeks or months had in store. Here we are, nine years later, and Im starting a certification program for career professionals to become certified on the system that I conceptualized, and helped build, and helped fund, and have run Its a beautiful day, no matter what weather.com says! Happy layoff-versary!

On the Job by Anita Bruzzese 3 Things to Consider When Youve Been Demoted

On the Job by Anita Bruzzese 3 Things to Consider When You've Been Demoted Few events in your career are as difficult as being demoted. It may be that you saw it coming verbal and written warnings from the boss indicated you were not meeting expectations or it may totally blindside you. Whatever the reason, being demoted is something no one wants to experience, and the pain is often so great some people will just quit rather than accept it. Still, thats not always the best move. For one, quitting means the paychecks stop, and thats pretty devastating for someone who has car payments, school loans, a mortgage and kids to support. And two, quitting doesnt accomplish anything other than putting you in the unemployment line and possibly facing the same consequences in the future. Because if you havent probed deeply the reasons behind your demotion, you may just be doomed to repeat it. Specifically, once you get past the shock and hurt, its time to think about: Sitting down with the boss and try to find out exactly why this happened.Let the boss know that youre interested in focusing on the problems and fixing them. It could be the boss will tell you that its merely industry restructuring, and its happening throughout the company. In that case, you need to consider your future job security not only with your current employer, but within the industry. Considering your overall value.Do you need to think about training and additional schooling in another area? Maybe jobs in your industry are being sent overseas or phased out because of technology. In that case, you need to seriously look at how you can get training in areas that are expected to grow and prosper. Setting new goals.With the boss's input, you should immediately establish some new goals to get you back on track. Get a professional mentor to help keep you focused and committed, and make sure you meet with the boss more frequently to ensure you're headed in the right direction. All of this will be difficult, of course. Its natural that you will be angry and upset, and going back to work after a demotion will be tough. Still, keep in mind that even if you want to quit, youre still going to need a good recommendation and youre still going to have to explain to another employer about why you left the job. So hanging onto that job is better in the short term until you figure out what you really want to do. Of course, your decision may be that you need to look for another job. Maybe the job was never a good fit in the first place (you disliked your duties, hated the hours, etc.), and the demotion was something that resulted from your lack of full commitment to the job. The point is that whether you decide to tough it out and earn back your old job (or an even better one), or leave the employer, take the time to make the demotion a learning experience. Was there anything you wish you had done differently? Use what happened to do some soul-searching and find out how you can avoid tripping again in the future.

When LinkedIn Can Hurt the Recent Graduate - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

When LinkedIn Can Hurt the Recent Graduate - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career For recent graduates, LinkedIn has provided a platform that allows the young graduate to apply to a mass quantity of job openings with little to no effort. The ease of the application process coupled with the curiosity in many different fields lends the graduate to apply, in some cases to over 100 positions. While they may only be serious about a handful, there is little downside to sending in ones profile. Or is there? On the surface, this plethora of career choices seems harmless if not beneficial. When it comes to interviewing for entry-level positions, many employers are highly flexible about background requirements and are willing to interview a wide-range of individuals with a myriad of backgrounds. Grads fully understand the lax screening processes and, with little effort submit their application. Their logic is: The more jobs they apply to, the more interviews they will get. The more interviews they attend, the more real-world experience they receive. The more people they speak with, the wider their network gets. The more offers a graduate can obtain, the more salary negotiation leverage they enjoy. In a perfect world, these all hold significant merit. Incorporating the Ivy League variable The above assumptions presume that all recent college graduates are searching on a level playing field. That means that each job they apply to they are up against students from similar universities, with similar internship experience, college majors and grade point averages. The majority of the time, this is far from reality. Many students from Columbia, Harvard, Brown and other known name schools also apply to these positions as a back-up. This carries adverse effects to the average student. When you put academic all-stars into the mix, the interviewing and job search steps usually follow this process: Employer posts open job on LinkedIn and receives hundreds of applications from recent graduates. Amazed at some of the applications they receive, they begin to only focus on recruiting the top-tier college graduates. Employers begin to aggressively pursue the top scholastic achievers and put other applicants aside. They quickly reject a large sum of applicants who would be a very strong fit. This results in over 2/3 of qualified applicants losing a potential interview that is fitting for their background and will most likely serve as a back-up for an Ivy League graduate. When the remainder do interview, its a formality in the eyes of the employer. They are rejected or put on hold despite peak performance during the meeting. Unaware that they stood little chance to begin with, recent college graduates who dont hear back or are rejected begin to lose confidence in their ability to obtain a position in their field. The rejection hurts future interviewing performance and lowers ambition. In the end, nobody wins. The recent graduate loses job search momentum and the 20 or so employers chasing after the small handful of applicants lose out to a more well-known company that can offer higher pay rates. What can be done Our account management recruiting firm comes across many recent graduates who are experiencing the same problem. Luckily, this can be remedied. What we recommend is to go the route less traveled. If LinkedIn is not working for the applicant, go directly to corporate websites. Most companies will list internal positions in a designated career section and the competition for getting an interview and subsequent offer is far less. Incoming resumes to most corporate career advertisements are a mere fraction when compared to the volume seen by LinkedIn or even traditional job boards such as Monster or Hotjobs. We suggest that they research companies in industries that may not be hot, but are highly lucrative, well respected and growing. For instance, instead of going after PR firms, the recent grad should try looking at companies in, for instance logistics and manufacturing. Yahoo! Finance and Bloomberg are a great resource for picking these organizations out. In need of candidates, these companies often pay more, will be interviewing less applicants and will share a realistic view as to the qualifications needed to get a job and be successful at the firm. For the recent graduate, LinkedIn isnt the only game in town, its just another tool to reach an end goal. Author: Ken Sundheim  is the CEO of  KAS Placement  sales recruiting,  an executive search firm specializing in sales and marketing recruitment across over 100 different industries.

What are the Challenges of Being a New Recruiter

What are the Challenges of Being a New Recruiter I was watching the highlights of the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge on Sky Sports which entailed 16 teams from around the world attempting to row 3,000 nautical miles from La Gomera to Antigua. It has been described as one of the toughest challenges on the planet. While I was watching, it occurred to me that many of the highs and lows the teams were facing  throughout the challenge can be attributed to other tests we face in everyday life. The emotional rollercoaster they were going through also reminded me of the trials and tribulations and ups and downs of being a young recruitment consultant. Here are my thoughts: Training: The initial training is tough and the learning curve is incredibly steep for new recruiters. Not only is there much to learn in terms of identifying candidates, interviewing, qualifying clients, writing job adverts, writing job and person specifications, canvassing new prospective clients and all other aspects of the recruitment process, you also have to learn how to communicate confidently with professionals many years your senior and learn to deal with rejection regularly. But like all aspects of life the more you practise, the easier it gets and, eventually, you will be able to achieve things that you would never have dreamed possible. As a young recruiter, with less than a  year?s experience, I recall the sharp intake of breath I took when a prospective client advised me they were seeking 3 Sales Directors (1 group, 2 divisional). The training kicked in: I qualified the requirements, timescales and decision making process. Having asked the right questions, I was well positioned to prescribe the right solution. Approximately 9 weeks later I concluded the successful placement of 3 Sales Directors resulting in considerable fee income and bonus, which ultimately allowed me to purchase my first property. This had come through considerable hard work and a huge amount of rejection beforehand, but would not have been possible without it. Neither would it have been possible without the training and coaching I received, particularly in the first 6 months of my recruitment career. Often during this period I doubted my ability, the process and the potential. When it gets hard and it feels like you are never going to make it keep going. The horizon may be the next call/ interview away! Preparation: How do you get the recruitment ball rolling with no network to speak of? How do you get people to trust you who have never had any contact with you before? Like with the Atlantic challenge, preparation is ultimately the key. All businesses are seeking to improve their business and if you can present them with the opportunity, through the introduction of an appropriate and excellent candidate, they will engage with you. Taking the time to thoroughly research the businesses you plan to target is time well spent and will ensure your credibility. It is also critical that you take the time to meet and understand the candidate (their skill set, their ambitions, their values etc?). In doing so, you will be confident that you can handle any questions that are thrown at you. You should know your candidate well and should not need time to reflect on their location, salary, why they are planning to leave their employer/why they have left. You should also have a detailed understanding of their role, goals and achievements and why they stand out as someone you have taken the time to work with. If you don?t have a thorough appreciation of your candidate, the market and the target client then don?t make the call. Devastation: Especially earlier on in your career, it is easy to get emotionally invested in a company or an individual when you have been working with them for a significant period of time. So it can be devastating when a storm sets in just as you think it is about to be plain sailing. A young recruiter described to me recently how he had taken a candidate to market, guided them right through the interview process, which included a meeting with the Sales Manager and then the Company Director, for the candidate to inform him that he had agreed to take a job with a ?mate? during a game of golf, just as the contract was about to be agreed. He said it felt like he had been punched in the face! Jubilation: During the first few weeks it can sometimes feel like you are fighting against the tide and there is no end in sight your first lead just isn?t going to happen, but then all of a sudden something unexpectedly appears over the horizon. A young recruiter recently told me his experience of a long process which eventually led to his first placement: he rang a Managing Director speculatively who initially showed very little interest in the candidate. Following the call, the MD asked for the CV. After the CV had been sent the H.R manager for the organisation called (almost immediately) to agree terms and conditions which seemed strange given the Director?s lack of interest, regardless terms were agreed. Due to challenging timescales and busy diaries of all concerned the process was challenging and seemed unlikely to be concluded. However his training had taught him to qualify, qualify and qualify again ? he did and eventually this resulted in the candidate being offered the job, accepting and starting the position. It was jubilation, celebrations and champagne all around when his first placement finally came to shore. Conclusion: Working in recruitment is a rollercoaster of emotions. It is exhilarating striving to surpass monthly targets, but there can be many disappointments along the way. It is exciting trying to find clients exactly what they are looking for or placing an exceptional candidate in an organisation where they didn?t think it would be possible. The sea can be extremely choppy for an experienced recruiter, never mind someone starting out, but if you are determined, resilient and can get through the initial few months without getting ship wrecked, then there can be many high points and the rewards can be great.

How to Start that Task You Have Been Avoiding CareerMetis.com

How to Start that Task You Have Been Avoiding â€" CareerMetis.com Do you ever think about all the things you might have achieved in life if only you could get started?Day after day, you spend accumulated hours procrastinating or poorly prioritizing unimportant tasks to prevent yourself from getting to the real deal: the important, boring, or nerve-wracking task that you keep blocking out of your mind.Maybe it’s your tax return. Maybe it’s that job search, or typing the first line of your debut novel. There’s always one more activity to do before you quite get around to concentrating on the one you’ve been avoiding â€" and meanwhile, a ton of other important stuff gets queued up behind it because you waste so much time refreshing Facebook or the news ‘one more time’ instead of getting started.evalYou’re not alone. In fact, maybe procrastination is what makes us human. Thankfully, this means some of the more priority-driven among us have figured out ways to get past that brick wall.The first step is to identify what your ‘iceberg’ t ask is: let’s say it’s that job search. Next, figure out what the ‘transition’ point is â€" the step you have to take to get started. In this case, maybe it’s typing your search into a web browser, or picking up the phone to make an appointment with an employment agency. Make that first leap, and everything that follows comes much easier.Indeed, dividing the whole project up in to tiny ‘sub-tasks’ and making a list can make the whole thing feel more manageable, and more fulfilling as you get to cross more achievements off your schedule. Add a timeline with deadlines for each sub-task and you’re more likely to ensure you hit them. Before you know it, you’re halfway finished.Be careful not to work yourself into a corner. The important thing is to get started; but you can soon get distracted and turn your ‘task you can’t get started’ into a ‘task you can’t continue’ if you burn out. Make your job search in measured periods of 60-90 minutes at a time, with 15-minute breaks in between. Use your breaks to stretch your legs, rehydrate, and regain some objectivity.Follow this new game plan for starting projects you’ve been avoiding, and before you know it, that impossible task becomes a proud accomplishment.Infographic Source â€" NetCredit.com