When your un/underemployed, finding a new job can be all consuming. The last thing you're thinking about is giving up precious job-seeking hours to volunteer at the Boys Club or be a Brownie Club Leader. But these activities actually boost your professional portfolio. When a company fouces on quality hiring, well rounded candidates are a must. Leadership, communication, team work, and motivating others are just a few of the attributes that can be displayed and developed while volunteering. Don't forget to document those experiences in your free onine portfolio at CareerScribe.com.
Community work is also a great way to network. Some of the most powerful people in an industry will roll up their sleeves and coach kids or mentor students on the weekends. So take the focus off yourself for awhile, and reap the many rewards of volunteering.
Tools for American Job Seekers
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) is conducting a challenge to find online career and search tools. This is a perfect challenge for CareerScribe as we are a free, ongoing virtual career management system for individuals to develop their personal brand.
The DOL has created a website for this challenge, that allows a company in enter information about its solution. After a company enters into the challenge, it is up to the public to vote (and comment) on entries. CareerScribe has already submitted our application and would love your help in securing a top spot in this challenge, as we provide opportunities for both individuals and companies to utilize our online platform and services for career management and development.
One vote already cast for us summarized our tool in a great comment:
"As a Career Coach, I find this tool to be extremely useful in two primary ways.
1. Information -
While preparing my clients for a job search, this tool gives them the ability to collect all of their valuable information about their career in one place.
2. Presentation-
The CareerScribe system allows for a through and organized presentation of their skills to potential employers.
I am confident that this system has helped many of my clients in the acquisition of their next opportunities, and I intend on using it for years to come."
To cast your vote and help us continue the CareerScribe movement, and grow our community, follow these steps:
1) Visit the U.S. DOL Challenge
2) Click "Login/Signup"
3) Enter unique email address (each email counts as 1 vote) and create password
4) Answer the 2 questions and click "post data"
Here's the important part!
You are now logged in and can submit your vote.... to do so:
5) Visit the CareerScribe entry page
- Be sure it says "CareerScribe" before you vote!
6) Click "Recommend Tool" to vote
And your done!
We appreciate all your help, and look forward to helping more individuals develop their personal brand and manage their careers! For more information on how CareerScribe works with companies for quality hiring and our applicant tracking system, you can find more information here.
Candidates play the odds - an interesting encounter
I was speaking with someone about their job search today. They were frustrated by their job search. They were being selective about the jobs they were applying to through the big boards and not receiving any calls back.
This caused them to stop and reflect. The result of that thought, though, produced some interesting results.
Instead of concluding that he needs to find a way to seperate from the rest of candidates that are sending the same cover letter with the same resume attached to an email, the conclusion was that they were not sending to enough jobs. The odds were not in their favor.
What we are proposing is a change in philosophy. What a lot of people do not understand is that for good jobs, they are not entering a pool of 20-30 candidates. They are entering a poole of several hundred or more inside of a talent management system. They usually just use the big job boards for candidate sourcing.
Every hiring manager knows the secret to quality hiring is getting past the several hundred into a manageable amount. There are many different ways that different managers use, but obviously, someone that sticks out as interesting or deserving of more attention gets included in this.
The short story is most professionals are only beginning to realize they have to market themselves just like any other product a company buys. CareerScribe is a great tool that allows people to do just that. It allows you to market all of your skills and value in a professional and dynamic way and share a rich amount of information beyond a boring resume/cover. If you want that first interview, you can still be selective. It's just time to start being your own biggest fan and spend some time with CareerScribe.
How will you stand out?
When I coach clients through the task of finding new employment or moving ahead in their career, my first question is, "How are you unique?" Very few job seekers answer that question well. And I'll admit, it's tough; we spend so much time trying to fit in to the organizations we belong to, being unique rarely gets a second thought. But as a candidate in the market for a new or better job, it should be your first thought.
Every step of the employment process is potentially fatal - a rotten resume lands you in the trash can, a poorly executed interview drops you from consideration, lackluster follow through and ill managed salary negotiations thwart even the best of candidates. I'm stressed out even writing about it! What is a job seeker to do?
How about thinking and acting like a unique candidate. Present a resume in a non-traditional format - CareerScribe Profile - and start off on the right foot. Embed a resume that laughs at medocrity, shoot a video that screams, "I can think, act, and perform in a way that will bring in a profit," and proactively reach out to potential employers with enough included information to earn an interview. Online emlpoyee screening and applicant tracking sytems are time consuming and often fruitless. Give them something to really sink their teeth into.
And while CareerScribe can't hold your hand in an interview, it can buy you some confidence. Your potential employer, who is focused on effecient and quality hiring, has already met you through your video introduction. That dreaded first impression has already been made, on your terms, so you can relax and foucs on demonstrating your value and expertise.
Don't just send off your resume (yawn) and hope for the best. Send your career profile and knock their socks off when they begin candidate evaluations. Good luck!
Experience vs. Enthusiasm
Candidates in the Indianapolis job market know how tough it is get in front of the decision makers, especially if they lack one or two qualificaitons. Perhaps there is a sales person who misses the "3-5 years of experience" by 6 months, so your applicant tracking system omits them. But a tenacious, driven rep who is a little green is usually preferred over the guy with 10 yrs of experience in beating the system. On online career portfolio that includes video will help you include those candidate who lack some skill/experience without spending the time, energy, and money to bring them in for an interview.
So I really want to know...do you prefer experience or enthusiasm? Your comments are requested!
Singled out
Check out this latest blog. After viewing our product and meeting our people, he obviously gets it.
http://www.careerrocketeer.com/2009/06/new-site-for-you-to-check-out.html
Check out even more press in our news and events section.
Erice 4 hire
Eric in Austin, TX decided he would standout in a very very expensive way. I'm not sure how familiar you are with billboard advertising, but it's not cheap. Eric decided he would create an online presence, himself, since he's an IT guy, and market it...big time.
No targeting and it's more a PR stunt than anything probably, but hopefully he gets a job. Instead of focusing on a quality online portfolio or targeting jobs that really make sense for him and sharing information in a rich and meaningful way, he bought a billboard.
I hope he finds this blog and contacts me. We at CareerScribe would love to help him market himself, get a great job, and save an annual salary in marketing costs.
Twitter Wisdom
I'll admit, I hesitated for a moment to join twitter - but I'm glad that moment has passed. I'm following Chuck Gillespie, and I recently viewed a tweet that stated, "Amazed at how orgs worry about their applicant experience ten times more than employee experience. Why?" (http://crgillespie.wordpress.com) OMG, LOL!
But it's true, right? Firms wine and dine potential, but neglect assets? You'll knock yourself out to create a quality hiring process, spend countless hours screening potential employees, and endure long meetings to discuss candidate evaluations. But once you have found your golden boy, he's just another cog in the works.
Create an experience that's meaningful and lasting for candidates on both sides of the process. Those who want in should create a professional portfolio through CareerScribe so your evaluation is effecient and successful. Once that candidate is on board, they utilize that same application to create an on-going talent mangagement system that allows you to easily recognize and promote high performing employees. In the end, you're creating an environment that's attractive to people inside and outside of your organization.
Tweet, tweet.
A Better Resume - keyword tricks?
The article was about how you should format your resume and put certain keywords in there that will help you be found. They weren't suggesting you lie, but they were highlighting a serious problem with their software.
They search resumes. As we know by now, things have changed and we are not our resumes. CareerBuilder obviously agrees with this. How did they fix it? They decided, let's help our users make our search better. Instead they should be telling people to use tools that help them market themselves better. Using tools like virtual portfolios in their job search allow companies improve candidate sourcing without relying on keyword tricks.
Quality hiring has been a hot topic for companies since the dawn of time. Many are using sophisticated tools to help with their online employee screening. Candidates need to realize this and start using the same tools to better define what they want and what they have to offer.
Resume "keywords" aren't going to cut it.
Best Job in the World
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090506/ap_on_re_as/as_australia_world_s_best_job
Pretty amazing. In short, this guy submits one of 35,000 video applications to be the "caretaker"of an island off Australia and write a blog to promote the area. Skill assesments included swimming, eating, and relaxing. I'm now consdering a change in career - Professional Relaxer.
Seriously, though, how in the world do you fill the best job in the world (this lucky Aussie will pull down six digits this year)? It's hard enough to fill jobs here in the Indianapolis area with all the hopeful applicants who apply.
In a phrase, ONLINE EMPLOYEE SCREENING. Notice the story does not indicate that resumes were requested, but online videos were mandatory. This Queensland organization knew whoever they choose needed to represent them well, be well spoken, have a great personality, and strong writing skills. And make sure you check out the picture of this guy - obviously there were not looking for just another pretty face!
That's why CareerScribe is such a great choice when you consider improving your process for quality hiring. Asking candidates to complete their free online porfolio, which gives you the opportunity to conduct candidate evalutations earlier in the process, can make your hires quicker (fewer face to face interview with dud candidates), more in-depth (you already have good understanding of their background, expectations, preferences, etc), and ultimately more successful (better information, better hiring success).
So even if your open position does not require long hours by the pool, it is someone's "best job in the world." Make sure you find them - the right person, not just a warm body.
What's your time worth?
Want to look/feel better? Lose 10 pounds.
Need more time? Tough luck.
Time is the one factor we cannot replace, create, change, store, borrow, loan, or renew.
Time - it is what it is. Even as you read this it slips away...
What we can do, however, is assign a value to our time. You probably get paid X number of dollars per month, right? And based on X numbers of hours per week, you can say within a few dollars what your time is worth. And how many of those valuable (and your organization would likely say expensive) hours do you spend trying to recruit, identify, and hire quality applicants? If I told you that you could save the ONE thing you cannot create by making a simple request of your candidates would you do it?
By requesting a professional portfolio, you can weed out 25-40% of candidates you would initially consider bringing in for an interview. CareerScribe allows you, at your convenience, to view a broad, yet detailed, picture of candidates and offers the ability to conduct candidate evaluations before conducting time consuming interviews.
Candidates complete their free online portfolio, your talent management system runs like a well oiled machine, and you find the right fit quickly and effeciently.
Father Time would be proud.
Bigger Candidate Pool, Bigger Challenge
Isn't it overwhelming? Your focused on quality hiring, but are challenged at every turn. Applicants seem to seep in from every crack, but identifying the best ones can be elusive. Applicant tracking systems help, but it's a blind process that can leave out great candidates. And there's no way you're going to thumb through the 2,000 resumes you received to see if you're golden boy didn't make the cut. But it's all you've got, right?
No.
Welcome to 2009, where technology conqueors and innovation reigns. Applicants who are creative and proactive can create profiles that sell their skills and expertise, document those claims chronologically, and provide the proof. Candidates even have the opportunity to provide a brief (less than 3 minutes) video for you to view at your leisure. Which means you don't have to sit through 2 hours of interviewing to get a broad picture of the candidate.
Having a tremendous number of candidates respond for each position lessens the chances of you finding your needle in a haystack. So ask for more than just a resume. Simply requiring more than the bare minimun will dissuade many candidate from even applying. If all I have to do to apply is click "send" it's a piece of cake. Spray and pray, right? That makes finding quality candidate more challenging on your end.
But a system that allows you to understand the candidate in a dymanic way, and requiring thought, effort, and proof from their end, makes a better match. And that's the goal here - quality hiring and talent management.
Check out Craig and Jeff's profile on our home page and then ask yourself these questions - How much more do you know about them vs. having had only a resume. Would that type of knowledge be helpful in considering candidates to fill your vacant positons? How much more effecient is this than inviting a dozen candidates in for an interview?
Here's the last question - How much better can you hire if you have a career profile for each of your candidates?
Better people = better outcomes.
I hope this has given you something to consider as you move forward with your organization and cadidate sourcing. Have a great day!
Susan
Impossible is Nothing
From there it turned into a humorous attempt at a conference by Zig Ziglar. The only problem was he wasn't in on the joke.
Self-proclaimed CEO and professional athlete, Aleksey talks about the keys to success. He demonstrates how his physical prowess has helped him sharpen his mind by including footage of his 495lb bench press and 140mph tennis serve.
Unfortunately, all of the above were staged. It wasn't the true Aleksey Vayner, but it was hilarious! UBS thought it was so funny that they gave him an interview. Well, no they didn't and he didn't get the job.
Instead, Aleksey should have thought about what he wanted in his career. He was so busy selling his intangibles that he forgot about how valuable his experience at Yale and his financial skills really were. UBS prides themselves in quality hiring. Aleksey's professional portfolio would have been a great selling point.
Hopefully he will join CareerScribe soon and get his career back on track.
Here's the video and wiki:
http://www.veoh.com/browse/videos/category/comedy/watch/e1336748NgyMqyG
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impossible_is_Nothing_(video_r%C3%A9sum%C3%A9)
CareerScribe in the News
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/CareerScribe-Launches-Beta-bw-14713461.html
Here's some of the CareerScribe features most talked about:
- Sharing - Candidates can load their entire career portfolio into CareerScribe and, with the click of one button, share it with anyone they choose, even if the recipient is not a member of CareerScribe.
- Candidate Sourcing - For companies, the big benefit is being able to screen potential employees in a dramatically better way. Rather than look through a stack of resumes, companies are conducting online screening by looking at CareerScribe Profiles. So much more information, so much more quickly.
- Quality Hiring - Companies have all the chips on their side of the table now. And yet struggle is still present: the challenge now is to work around the applicant tracking system and find good candidates in a more meaningful way. There's just too many resumes to wade through.
Chased through a field?
It made me think about the whole concept of quality hiring and candidate marketing and the current state of the matter.
TheLadders has a good idea, but it's not fully baked. The notion that a service fee will keep the clutter down of qualified candidates is noble. Reducing volume is something many companies with great jobs try to do, but reduing volume through a service fee is the wrong plan.
CareerScribe allows candidates to use their career portfolio to keep someone alive when companies do a search. Through the use of this free online portfolio, candidates that have no business being in that search are eliminated. Also, companies can then use CareerScribe as an applicant tracking system that updates itself. No stale information.
So it brings me back to the commercial. If they want a high-back executive chair, they should get a sight that filters out the low-back chairs instead of only looking for chairs at a golf course
What kind of person are you?
So.... my questions is..... are you the person driving fast in the left lane in bad weather, or are you the person with your hazard lights on in the right lane driving slow, and upset with all the dangerous drivers in the left lane passing you?????
I contend that most people go through life in the right lane with their hazards on, afraid to take risks and get in the fast lane. They would prefer everyone slow down and get in the right lane.
Truth is.... the one's in the fast lane, although they may get in accidents, are also the one's that advance quicker in their careers because they are willing to try new things, and take risks. Tools such as free online portfolios, like CareerScribe offers, give professionals the ability to track their career accomplishments, and represent themselves in video job interviews. These tools are attractive to employers, and will allow them to do a better job of quality hiring.
So you can choose to take a chance and adopt new online technologies to manage your career, or you can keep your hazard lights on in the right lane and update your resume!
Top 5 Issues Solved By CareerScribe
CareerScribe has formed a great space in the new way companies and candidates are connecting. If you haven't seen it, check out our new article in the Indianapolis Star.
1) Candidate Evaluation Time - Companies spend a lot of time and money evaluating talent. In order to correctly achieve quality hiring, companies have traditionally gone to great measures to gather information about potential employees.
CareerScribe allows companies to get a wealth of information much earlier in the hiring process by leveraging items like free online portfolios for candidates, video, document sharing, and other items that indicate what that particular person is looking for in a new opportunity.
2) Future Talent Management - Companies aren't always hiring. We know that, but the top companies are always keeping in touch with emerging top talent and existing valuable veterans in the industry. This is hard when the talent pool is deep as it currently is with layoffs.
CareerScribe allows companies to maintain contacts or even track candidates and tie them to potential future positions. It's a talent pipeline that feeds your company.
3) Up-To-Date Data - Unfortunately, many companies collect resumes for the future because they understand the importance of issue two. However, by the time it's time to call on that candidate, that professional portfolio or resume is out of date.
CareerScribe has become a destination for that new talent. As they stay up on their career objectives and accomplishments, so do you. All of a sudden those stale resumes don't seem so stale do they?
4) Screen Candidates - A lot of larger companies have some sort of Applicant Tracking System. It's clunky and old and has been there since the 90 year old Recruiter (no offense to the 90 year olds out there)! This has even hightened the pain of issue 3. Smaller companies can't afford a first class Applicant Tracking System and even if they could, it's too complex for the resources of a medium sized business, not to mention the small business owner.
CareerScribe brings tools to allow candidates to pass through stages during the hiring process. Since CareerScribe already shortens the process at the get go, you start with a more qualified talent pool. Now taking those candidates and tracking them with an online tool...how much more could you get done? Ask CareerScribe companies.
5) Employee Screening - It's very hard for someone who does not manage an employee daily to really get insight into how much value they bring to the company, especially when it comes to evalutations. Most direct managers are doing those evaluations, but even they struggle to remember all the accomplishments that the best employees accomplished. All the while, that top employee may be looking or being pursued by the competition.
Many CareerScribe companies are using the tools to help organically grow their company and growing new managers and executives from the incredible talent inside. With CareerScribe, they are able to keep evaluations and notes on a particular person safe and secure, digitally. Documenting HR actions is great, not only for legal reasons, but for employee development.
Check out CareerScribe and see how much it can help a successful company become even better!
CareerScribe's Advantages Over the Competition
5. It's beautiful - The UI is pleasing. It's the most facile, simple place on the web to put your professional portfolio.
www.careerscribe.com
The Fate of the Resume
I remember the sound of typewriter coming from the spare bedroom. This bedroom had recently been converted to a home office because my dad chose to leave his job and begin looking for work elsewhere. He typed out resume after resume. This was before word processors. This was before digital communication. He and my mom literally typed out each resume, sealed it up in a brown envelope, and mailed it off. Bazaar.
Now, candidate sourcing is conducted via the Web, of course. Hiring managers pursue quality hiring by subscribing to job boards and accessing more resumes than they can possibly sort through.
I wonder when this particular tool for candidate evaluation - the resume - will become as antiquated as the typewriter.
Our identities now live on the Web, in amazing detail. Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, etc. Full personal and professional portfolios can be uploaded. This reality renders the standard resume (listing only previous employers, titles and time durations) seem so very limited.
When will online employee screening become entirely different, where hiring managers are reviewing entire career portfolios as the standard? When's the tipping point when we all realize how outdated the resume is?
In today's job market, where companies can be very fussy about quality hiring, I can't help but think it will be soon.
The two-page resume just doesn't make sense anymore.
Obama to add 3.2 Million Jobs
Currently the job market is looking a little heavier on the candidate side as companies are forced to release high quality talent due to shrinking markets and lower profits.
Many economists are predicting a turnaround in 2009 however. This will result in high candidate sourcing demands requiring companies to screen employees at a record level.
Obama is planning on using up to $850 billion dollars to create new jobs and stimulate the economy. Now is the time for candidates to update their career portfolio.
If candidate's do not have a career portfolio, creating a free online portfolio is easy. CareerScribe.com has the best portfolio and is improving candidate's ability to market themselves.
As the U.S. struggles to come out of this recession, it will all begin with new hiring and top talent. The job search begins with great career management. Companies will begin to hire this new talent. Even people with great jobs will find even better opportunity.
Obama's plan includes many public projects over the next 2-4 years. He also is planning to make Congress more transparent by making bills more accessible and publishing the plans online for the public to evaluate.
Now is the time to take advantage of the opportunity that will be created by this upcoming economic stimilus package.
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