How to Use Social Media in Your Job Search

By Heather R. Huhman - http://heatherhuhman.com/

Networking has always been a key to success in the job search—and social media is a prime way to build mutually beneficial relationships while on the hunt for a new job. These relationships can lead you to unadvertised job openings, help you gain knowledge and understanding of your industry, and even land you a referral to a company you’d love to work at.

Getting Started

If you don’t already have a presence on the top social networking sites (LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook), set up an account on each one you plan on using for your career and job search. You might also choose to blog—so search around for the right platform for you. If you already have accounts on any of these sites, make sure that it’s appropriate for your job search. You never know when a potential employer might be looking! Delete the questionable content or change your privacy settings to make your online presence as professional as possible.

Completely fill out your biography, about me section, interests, skills, etc. Many recruiters and employers use search tools to find candidates that match the job description using keywords and phrases. Share your experience, education and accomplishments in your profile to help employers learn the most they possibly can about you.

Use a similar handle across networks. Make it easy for others to find you on whichever platform they use by using your first and last name in your unique URL or as your handle. If you have a common name, consider differentiating yourself by incorporating your skills or profession into your username. To check username availability across multiple platforms, use tools like KnowEm or NameChk.

Upload a professional profile photo. Help others get to know you by putting a photo in your profile. A close-up, professional headshot should do the trick.

Social Media & Your Job Search

Why do you need social media profiles to be successful in your job search? Well, there are a few reasons:

Networking opportunities. Eighty percent (or more) of job opportunities come through some form of networking—and I truly believe that networking is one of the most important tools in your job search toolkit. Meet new contacts from across the world by engaging in conversation on social media and participating in chats, groups and more.

Professional online presence. Employers today are screening candidates based on their online reputational data—profiles, search results, websites, photos, and anything else they can find that’s attached to your name. Proactively creating professional results shows that you’re serious about your job search and career.

Thought leadership. Show that you’re committed to your career by positioning yourself as a thought leader in your industry. Write blog posts pertaining to recent trends in your field, share advice from other thought leaders and participate in online groups and chats.

Connect directly with employers. Recruiters, hiring managers and CEOs are now active on social media. Read their blog, connect with them on LinkedIn or Twitter, and comment on the content they share. It’s easier than ever to build relationships with folks you might never meet in real life—take advantage of it!

Tips for Successful Social Networking

·      Focus on building mutually beneficial relationships—don’t just connect with people that can help you. Think about how you can help them, too.

·      Regularly post interesting articles, photos, videos and other content to stay visible online.

·      Don’t spam your network by constantly talking about yourself.

·      Look for folks in your industry and geographic area to follow and connect with.

·      Dedicate a portion of your day to your maintaining your online presence, following new people, thanking others for sharing your content, etc.

Be Your Own Best Publicist: 7 Job Search Lessons From PR

If you find it difficult to present your best talents, maybe you need professional help in promoting yourself.

Two public relations executives, Meryl Weinsaft Cooper and Jessica Kleiman, have written a new book that combines public relations and career advice. They believe today’s job seekers must “find ways to be creative and resourceful so that you rise to the top of anybody’s list,” said Kleiman.  “They have to work a little harder to stand out.”

Called “Be Your Own Best Publicist”, the book draws on their 30 years experience: Kleiman is a top publicist at Hearst Magazines and Cooper who works for a New York PR firm, DeVries Public Relations, and once represented the Screen Actors Guild. “We took our PR expertise and are trying to help people apply them to their own careers,” said Kleiman, who also contributes to their blog.

Here are seven tips from the PR duo and their book:

• Develop your pitch. It could be your 30-second elevator pitch, or it could be a thoughtful creative way to answer the sometimes-tough question ‘Tell me about yourself,’ said Kleiman. Either way, this succinct story about you and your talents must answer the question: “What do I bring to the table?” It also should highlight why you are unique and where you really excel. If you have trouble with this, ask your mother, your best friend and a professor for suggestions.
• Keep it to three key points. Be clear about your main message. In an interview or conversation, it’s better to focus on two or three focused topics or selling points, and repeat them a couple of times so they stick. Write them down and make sure you have specific examples to back them up for the job interview.
• Become the answer person. Position yourself as a resource and someone who will give good guidance and make connections. Or become the ultimate expert in one subject – and hope that subject is important to future employers. Serving as a connector or information source increases your value – and makes it more likely you’ll be clued in on something big as it’s developing.
• Build a backup plan. Your dream job may not be within reach right now. Or your first choice for a best company may have just filled its only opening. “Have a contingency plan,” they say. Explore other companies or sectors; “you always want to be ready with another route to success.
• Answer without answering. If you’re asked a difficult question, say something like “That’s a really good question, Bob, but what I think is more important today is ….” and go back to a topic or area that you feel shines a positive light on you and your talents. Or if you’re asked what you dislike about your current job or situation, you could reply by saying you’ve learned a lot there and worked on “a number of interesting projects.”  That way you don’t insult anyone or anything in your response.
• Learn to spin your experience. Whatever job you had taught you something that will be worthwhile to future employers. If you worked as a waitress when many other college graduates were toiling at summer internships, make the best of that. You learned to thrive in a fast-paced environment, to handle difficult people, good customer service skills and to be outgoing. Said Klaiman: “It’s not so much the job you’ve had, it’s about how you take that experience and skillet and spin it as a PR person would do.”
• Show a little humility. Confidence is important, but too much and you end up sounding like someone who no one will want to work with. You don’t want to sound boastful or crass, even if you have had some great successes. Ask for help and admit you need some guidance. Allow yourself to make mistakes – and learn from them.  In an interview, this means you wait until the second interview to ask about the career path and moving up “I haven’t even finished asking you questions about your resume and you’re asking how soon you can advance here,” said Kleiman.

Her final advice, also based on convincing journalists to cover stories or people she represents, is simple: “Don’t give up. Keep going on your pitch.” You will lose out on jobs, and you will be rejected. But you can learn from that and still end up with success if you keep working on your career goals.

Originally published on the Glassdoor Blog by  Nancy Mann Jackson, Glassdoor.com Contributor

Why Employers Use Executive Recruiters

One employer explains why he retains recruiters to find job candidates.

March 12, 2009

By Elizabeth Bennett

 

“Recruiters are the first line of attack — almost a gatekeeper,” said Arthur Mandell, who has worked with executive recruiters to fill hundreds of positions during his 25-plus years in the commercial lending and equipment-leasing industry.

Mandell said he tends to play a very active role in the recruiting process. He also leans on recruiters when evaluating job candidates. “I would ask them to find out more about certain points [in their job history], how they would benefit the business, or about things in their background I don’t understand,” explained Mandell, whose most recent post was as executive vice president and managing director of Equilease, a privately held equipment leasing and financing company.

Like many employers, Mandell’s main concern when hiring is that the candidate be able to execute ideas and bring results. To that end, he has frequently called on his recruiting partners to plumb the depths of a candidate’s work history. “I would say, ‘Do you know this guy? Were they successful or not at their last position?’ You try to get as much information as you can.”

Having also spent time as a job seeker, Mandell is sympathetic to candidates who resent recruiters who seem unwilling to espouse their application when their background isn’t an obvious fit. “Most recruiters are advocates for employers, so if an employer has said they want someone with 15 years of experience and someone comes along with the right experience over a different number of years, they’re not necessarily going to fight that battle.” And these days, he observed, with so many people in the applicant pool, companies are in the position to be even more choosy than in the past.

Mandell is currently working with recruiters on his own employment search, and his years of experience on the other end of the process have provided some useful insights. “Job seekers can blame recruiters for not being able to communicate the position requirements, but the burden is with the employer’s senior hiring manager and the degree to which he has shared his vision with the recruiter,” Mandell told TheLadders. “Sometimes the recruiter is just the messenger.”

Headhunters Reveal 11 Ways To Ruin Your Chances Of Getting A Job

Holding back information can make you look sneaky.

It’s important to be as honest as possible with your recruiter about your career, preferences and anything else that could affect your job search. “Job seekers sometimes fail to tell their recruiter when their company, position, or compensation preferences change. Second, job seekers hurt themselves by not telling recruiters about personal obligations and other things that might interfere with their job searches,” says Katy Keogh, of the staffing firm Winter, Wyman. “Bring these things up at the last minute, and they can be a deal-breaker. Why? Changing the game at the last second with a hiring company makes you look sneaky or complicated for no reason at all.”

Providing a vague description of your accomplishments makes it harder for a headhunter to place you.

 “Leave out the jargon,” says Caroline Ceniza-Levine, a career coach and co-founder of SixFigureStart. “Show specific and measurable results."

"Don't make me as the listener/recruiter/prospective employer have to translate what you're saying into how it will benefit me or fill my needs. Talk to me in terms of my needs and what you will do for me.”

Don’t assume that a headhunter will do all the work for you.

Jennifer Lenkowsky, a managing partner of The Corporate Ladder, sees it all the time. “The biggest misconception a job seeker makes is that they assume because a headhunter agrees to meet them, that headhunter will find them a job," she says. 

"And then, they (job seekers) tend to put all of their eggs in a headhunter’s basket. Unfortunately if the companies that we work with don’t pick up on your resume, it’s out of our hands.”

"A headhunter's job is to find the right candidate for the client (company) who hired the recruitment services - not to find a job to every single job seeker who contacts the recruiting firm," adds Laurent Guerrier, CEO of the staffing firm, Luxe Avenue.

Not tailoring your resume to a specific job tells a recruiter that you are either lazy or the wrong candidate for the position.

“Whether you’re using a headhunter or applying directly through a company’s website, gear your resume towards the position," says Lenkowsky. "There is nothing wrong with having different versions of your resume as long as everything you list is truthful. If you are applying for a position that requires event planning experience, then be sure to include all information that’s relatable.” 

"A job summary should consist of 4-5 sentences on what you can bring to the table,” adds Terri Lee Ryan, a career coach.

Don’t waste time by applying for jobs that you are not qualified for.

Be realistic about the jobs that you apply for, say recruiters. "Don’t apply for jobs that you want or think you can get (when you know you can’t) … rather apply for jobs that you are qualified for," says Lenkowsky.

“For example, I was recently recruiting for a position as the Executive Assistant to the CEO of a multi-billion dollar hedge fund. The salary was listed at $150-200K and asked for candidates will similar experience to apply. Many of the responses were from people who just graduated, had never been an assistant, or were overqualified but unemployed. This is just wasting the job seekers time as well as the headhunter/hiring manager’s time,” she says.

A poor online reputation will torpedo your chances of getting a phone call from a headhunter.

“Recruiters don’t work for you, we work for the employer. When we submit a candidate we are putting our reputations on the line. We are risk adverse, so make our lives as easy as possible so that we don’t consider you to be a risk in any way, shape or form,” says Bruce Hurwitz, president and CEO of Hurwitz Strategic Staffing.

Remember to monitor your online presence on networking sites such as Facebook and by simply Googling your name. Another way to keep track of what shows up about you online is to create a Google Alert for your first and last name.

The best time to contact a headhunter is when you are employed.

"Headhunters don’t typically work with job candidates that are unemployed," says Terri Lee Ryan, a career coach and author. "Companies don’t pay them big money to present workers that aren’t gainfully employed. In this market there are many good workers on the sidelines, yet companies still want to see candidates that are gainfully employed and on the 'top of their game.' This is why I tell workers to never quit their job until they have a new one." "These days, you never know if your job could disappear tomorrow," says Erik M. Tomasi, Chief Operating Officer of DTG Consulting Solutions Inc. "Anticipate the problem before it happens by networking and responding to headhunters, even when you're happy with your current job."

It is not a headhunter's responsibility to tell you what you're good at.

"The biggest mistake most job hunters make when they approach a headhunter is not knowing what job they want," says David Perry, an executive recruiter and co-founder of Perry-Martel International. "It's not a headhunter's responsibility to tell you what they think you might be good at -- that's the job of a career counselor. The headhunter's job is to find that opportunity. When the job hunter says that they are 'open to new opportunities' a headhunter hears, 'I'm clueless.”

"They'll ask you to 'send us a résumé and you'll never hear back from them."

Not revealing your compensation requirements or being inflexible is a huge turn-off.

"I typically ask for this [a job seeker's required compensation] in the first or second phone call and it is usually to make sure that the candidate and the position in question are in the same ballpark," says Patricia H. Lenkov of Agility Executive Search LLC.  "If not, there is no sense in wasting anyone's time so it is best to make this as clear as possible early on. It is usually the least-experienced candidates who resist this."

“More companies now prefer to try an employee out as a contractor, with the possibility of hiring them full-time.” Job seekers should be open to various forms of compensation.

Not personalizing your cover letter practically guarantees your letter will be recycled.

 “I get hundreds of cover letters every day and I’m more likely to respond to a personalized cover letter addressed to me,” says Greg Ambrose, president of Catalyst Search Group.  Also, make sure you have the correct spelling and gender of the person to whom you are writing.

"If you can’t do some research to market yourself as a candidate, why would I think you would take the initiative for my client?" he says.

Don't harass the recruiter.

Following up with a thank you note or email to remind the recruiter of your skills is appreciated. What is not appreciated are numerous phone calls or emails requesting an update on your status. Being assertive is a good thing, but be careful of coming across as desperate, warns Ambrose.

"Being desperate or overly insistent can make a candidate seem insecure about their abilities," he says. "Even if you're unemployed, the secret to getting a job is acting as if you don't need one."

SOURCE: www.businessinsider.com 

Read more: http://read.bi/mcrB67

Six Sloppy Speech Habits

By Diane Diresta, Monster Contributing Writer

You may look good on paper or in your interview suit, but if you're looking to nail your big interview, looks aren't everything. How you sound is often more important. But many job seekers let careless speech habits sink their chances of landing that plum job.

Here are six common language mistakes and how to keep them from sabotaging your interview:

1. Nonwords

Filler words such as "um," "ah," "you know," "OK" or "like" tell the interviewer you're not prepared and make you sound like a Valley Girl (or Boy). A better strategy is to think before you speak, taking pauses and breaths when you lose your train of thought. Everybody utters an occasional "um," but don't let it start every sentence.

2. Up-Talk

A singsong or rising inflection at the end of every sentence creates a tentative impression and makes it sound as though you're asking a question instead of making a definitive statement. You need to speak with conviction when selling yourself in an interview. Bring your intonation down when ending a sentence to avoid talking up.

3. Grammatical Errors

The interviewer may question your education when you use incorrect grammar or slang. Expressions such as "ain't" "she don't," "me and my friend" and "so I goes to him" aren't appropriate. Be sure you speak in complete sentences and that tenses agree. The interview is not the venue for regional expressions or informality.

4. Sloppy Speech

Slurring words together or dropping their endings impairs the clarity of your message. To avoid slurring and increase understanding, speak slowly during an interview. Make a list of commonly mispronounced words, and practice saying them into a tape recorder before the interview. Some common incorrect pronunciations include "aks" for "ask," "ath-a-lete" for "athlete," "wif" for "with" and "dree" for "three."

5. Speed Talking

While everybody is a bit anxious during an interview, you don't want your information to fly by like a speeding bullet. A rapid speaking rate is difficult to follow, and speed talkers are seen as nervous. Slow down your racing heart by doing some breathing exercises before the interview. To avoid rushing, listen to the question, and then count two beats in your head before answering. When you finish a sentence, count two beats again before continuing. Don't be afraid of silence. Pausing is an effective communication technique. The interviewer needs a few seconds to process what you just said anyway.

6. Weak Speak

Wimpy words modify or water down your conviction and in the end your position. When you pepper a conversation with "hopefully," "perhaps," "I feel," "kind of" and "sort of," the message you convey is a lack of confidence. Use power words such as "I'm confident that," "my track record shows," "I take the position that," "I recommend" or "my goal is." The language you use gives the listener an impression about your level of confidence and conviction.

The Bottom Line

You don't have to study elocution to speak well. Simply slow down, take time to pronounce all the syllables and leave slang at home.

Companies want job candidates who are well-spoken and articulate, and recruiters won't represent a job candidate if they don't match the client's profile. According to Lori Zelman, vice president of human resources at Strategic Workforce Solutions in New York City, "The people most highly sought after are the ones who are succinct in the explanation of their work experience."

5 Reasons Why You’re Not Getting Called Back (And What To Do About It)

by Jasmin French  - http://blog.brand-yourself.com/

So much of the conversation about personal branding focuses on being noticed. Whether it’s creating a blog or maintaining a great personal style – much is said about the need to stand out among the masses and make a great first impression.

I definitely don’t discount the importance of making a great first impression (after all, according to a University of Illinois study, it may take up to 21 interactions to undo a bad first impression); however, I always encourage my clients and the audiences I speak in front of to stop focusing on being noticed and instead focus on being remembered.

You may be wondering, “What’s the difference?” Being noticed gets you a business card. Being remembered gets you a returned phone call. As you develop your personal brand, your focus should be on creating ways to stay at the forefront of the minds of the individuals whom you’ve identified as valuable contacts.

KEEP READING IF THIS APPLIES TO YOU: You’ve identified the right contacts. You’ve managed to get their contact information and have reached out to them. Now you’re simply waiting for your phone to ring. Below are five potential reasons you haven’t heard back from them (and what to do about it).

1. You Tried To Get Married on the First Date

When you fail to properly establish a relationship, it is easy to move too fast too soon. We would all raise our eyebrows if someone proposed to us (ring and all) at the end of a first date. Why? Because we know the value of timing and the importance of investing in a relationship over time in order to be in a position to take things to a more serious level.

The same can be said for your relationships with the people in your network. Exchanging business cards isn’t a guarantee for business, a referral, a job, etc. Take the time to invest in the relationship and work your way up to the big ‘ask’.

2. You Failed to Manage Your Expectations

Making a leap and assuming that an employee at your dream employer is well connected or well respected within that organization could be problematic. If you approach them with the expectation that they are your ‘in’ to securing a job or business – you will likely be disappointed. Unless your key contact is a key decision maker or directly involved in the hiring process, they may be limited in what they can do for you.

Instead, adjust your expectations and treat them as an additional pair of hands involved in the project of building your career. The project does not live or die by their involvement but instead can be enhanced by it. Alleviate the pressure you might be placing on a contact and meet them where they are. Manage your expectations and let them help you where they feel most comfortable (believe me they’ll be better at it).

3. You Forgot About the Jerry Maguire Mandate

In the 1996 cult classic “Jerry Maguire”, sports agent extraordinaire Jerry Maguire (played by Tom Cruise) gets an ear full from his all flash/little substance client Rod Tidwell (played by Cuba Gooding Jr.) as Tidwell reminds him about what was most important to him – “Show me the money!!”

In order to get that sought after returned phone call, email or face-to-face meeting, you must be able to clearly articulate the value you add. How? You must show that individual or that organization that you solve a (real) problem that they have and that you solve it better (and not just cheaper) than anyone else. Effectively you must prove to them that they would miss out by not returning your phone call. Show them the value!!

4. You Ignored Non-Verbal Cues.

There are times in life when someone just isn’t interested. For whatever reason, they have no desire to buy what you’re selling. One can only hope that realization is made early on in a relationship allowing both parties to go their separate ways (the challenge occurs when a lot of time, energy or money are invested before arriving at that point).

Perhaps your audience has made it clear – using non-verbal cues – this is one of those instances. But unfortunately in your zeal to establish the relationship, you completely ignored those clues. Now you’re phone isn’t ringing and you’re not sure why.

Pay attention to whether they are reluctant to hand you a business card or seem very vague and evasive when asked about the proper time for a follow-up. For example, if you’re at a networking event and after meeting someone they fail to acknowledge for the rest of the night – there might be an issue. Listen with your eyes as well as your ears. Non-verbal signals may be telling you to move on.

5. Your Disappearing Act Rivals David Blaine’s.

If you’re genuinely stumped and can’t figure out why you haven’t heard back from that person you met a few weeks ago stop and ask yourself, “Am I consistently putting for the time and effort necessary to build this relationship?”

If you are sporadically reaching out to your network with no real rhyme or reason, you are making it extremely difficult to stay at the forefront of their minds. If you find yourself reaching out to them only when they have a job posting, when you want an introduction to someone in their network or simply too infrequently to have an impact – you’re probably sabotaging your own efforts.

You shouldn’t be popping up and appearing when you need something and then disappearing not to be heard from again. There must be a method do your madness. Use your Outlook® calendar for reminders well into the future. Or, create a spreadsheet listing your most valuable contacts and track how often you reach out to them and the results of that contact. You may find that you’re spending too much time on some relationships and not enough time on others. Be strategic and ensure that you are consistently staying on the radars of the power players in your network. Retire the “Now you see me; now you don’t” routine.

Truth or Consequences...How to Give Employees Feedback

By Judith Lindenberger

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In the bestseller, Good to Great, Jim Collins discovered that, "the good-to-great companies continually refined the path to greatness with the brutal facts of reality."

And, in his recent autobiography, Jack Welch reports that he spent about half of his time on people: recruiting new talent, picking the right people for particular positions, grooming young stars, developing managers, dealing with under performers, and reviewing the entire talent pool. Says Welch, "Having the most talented people in each of our businesses is the most important thing. If we don't, we lose."

Why is it that many of us put off giving feedback to our employees even though we intuitively know that giving and getting honest feedback is essential to grow and develop and to build successful organizations? Maybe it is because there are so many ways to screw it up.

Here are ten common feedback mistakes:

1. Speaking out only when things are wrong. "Praise to a human being represents what sunlight, water and soil are to a plant--the climate in which one grows best." - Earl Nightingale
2. "Drive-by" praise without specifics or an honest underpinning--"Great job!"
3. Waiting until performance or behavior is substantially below expectations before acting on it.
4. Giving positive or negative feedback long after the event has occurred.
5. Not taking responsibility for your thoughts, feelings, and reactions. "This comes straight from the boss."
6. Giving feedback through e-mail messages, notes, or over the telephone.
7. Giving negative feedback in public.
8. Criticizing performance without giving suggestions for improvement.
9. No follow up afterwards.
10. Not having regularly scheduled performance review meetings.

Giving and receiving clear and constructive feedback requires courage and skill, and is essential to building good relationships with and motivating peak performance from your team.

Here are four tips for how to do right:

1. Be proactive. Nip issues in the bud and avoid the messy interpersonal tangles that result from neglected communication. Meeting with employees on a monthly or quarterly basis instead of annually, for example, conveys, "Your success is important to me, so I want to be accessible to you."
2. Be specific. It's never easy to provide negative feedback regarding someone's work, but as a leader you can't avoid it. Be as clear as possible when providing feedback (both positive and negative). Give specific examples that illustrate your points. For example: Instead of saying, "Your attitude is bad" or "That didn't work," you might say something like, "When you miss deadlines, then cross your arms and look away when I discuss it with you, it gives me the impression that you don't care about the quality of your work. I'd like to believe this isn't true. Can you help me explain this better?"
3. Develop a progress plan. Be clear about the specific changes in behavior that you expect in a specific period of time, and follow up as scheduled.
4. Link employees' performance to organizational goals. Reinforce the value of your employees' contributions by giving specific examples of how their work and positive behaviors serve the organization and its customers.

If you are not doing these things, why would anyone else in your organization do them? Craft a performance appraisal process that encourages truth or consequences.

Judith Lindenberger, MBA has a distinguished career in human resources consulting and is recognized for her innovation and excellence. The Lindenberger Group, LLC provides results-oriented human resources consulting, organization development, customized training workshops, and personal career training to help individuals and organizations improve their productivity and performance. The Lindenberger Group is a two-time recipient of The Athena Award for Excellence in Mentoring. Contact them at 609.730.1049, info@lindenbergergroup.com, or www.lindenbergergroup.com.

Copyright © 2008 by The Lindenberger Group, LLC. All rights reserved. You may reproduce materials available at this site for your own personal use and for non-commercial distribution. All copies must include this copyright statement.

Cover Letter Preparedness

Before you submit your cover letter to recruiters or hiring managers, consider the following questions to gauge its readiness.

How is your cover letter addressed?
Most cover letters are overly generic. Letters addressed to “Dear Hiring Manager,” “To Whom it May Concern” or reference “The Open Position,” suggest you aren’t taking the time to personalize your application. Your willingness to spend a few extra minutes to find out the name of the hiring manager and to personalize your letter can go a long way.

How does your cover letter show you’re the right fit for a job opening?
Mention one or more of the stated qualifications from the job posting and outline how you meet them. If the job posting you are responding to states specifically that you need 7 years experience in Help Desk Management, your cover letter needs to be clear that you meet that qualification. You are putting a spotlight on a qualification that the hiring manager was specifically looking for.

How does your cover letter show the employer that you’ve read the job posting?
Follow the instructions regarding how to apply. If the posting states to specifically mention qualifications listed in posting or specifically mention the job listed in the posting then do so. The hiring manager is not looking for a generic format cover letter, they are looking for someone who has taken the time to follow the steps in the add and understood them.

What job opportunity does your cover letter say you’re interested in?
Mention the specific job title in the job posting. If you have been looking for an Executive Assistant position, but you are responding to an Office Management position make sure you update your letter. The last thing the hiring manager will want to see is a cover letter that does not seem to pertain to the posting at all.

Last, but not least…    
Take the time to read and re-read your letter before sending it. Yes, you want to be on the top of the pile and get your resume in first, but you will not get there by having spelling and grammar errors, or not taking the time to be specific about the position you are applying to. It never hurts to have a second pair of eyes, have a friend or colleague read your cover letter before sending it, they may catch something you didn’t.

Now you’re reading job postings carefully, customizing your cover letter to address what you see, and doing your homework to ensure your correspondence doesn’t sound like a form letter. You should be meeting with the hiring manager in no time at all. Good Luck!

Why hire an Executive Search Firm to help with your next search?

If you are running a company with executive positions that need to be filled, then you would benefit from the assistance of people who are dedicated to finding the right person for the right job. Executive Search firms specialize in finding great executives to fit perfectly into your business. Not only is this move practical for you because of faster job placement, but surprisingly it is also quite cost effective, especially if the vacant positions are critical to the development and growth of your company.

Commitment – You get a high-level of commitment from your executive recruiter. Search firms utilize many techniques in finding prospective employees for your company; there is a greater chance for you to get only the best candidates. Your recruiter focuses exclusively on searching for the best people to fill the job, usually producing results faster than if you were to search on your own.

Experience – In many cases you are paying for 30 plus years of professional experience when hiring an executive recruiter. Your  recruiter has established relationships to find talent in the shortest time possible. Because of their contacts, as well as different databases specifically designed for their work, you will have experts dedicated to searching for prospective employees for your company. They do the job with integrity, honesty, and your best interests in mind.

Caliber – You will only get top caliber talent from your executive recruiter. Because of the resources they have on hand, they are more likely to find the best qualified candidates. This is especially true when looking for very specific skills sets.

Value – The value of your search goes beyond finding the right resume to send to you. Your search can include background checks, extensive candidate screenings, pre-interviews and assessments, and surveys on expected compensation and benefits. This will result in saving time and resources and that is always of value.

These reasons may help you to decide on hiring an executive recruiter for your next search. If you have questions about how to start your search or if TriStaff is the right firm for you please do not hesitate to call. We are always happy to help!