Please note: On a somewhat infrequent basis, Quintessential Careers asks noted
career experts five questions related to their expertise and publishes the interview
in the current issue of QuintZine,
our biweekly newsletter. Here is one such interview.
Kristen Griffin, experienced in the recruitment field since 1995, owns
Griffin Career Solutions in Richmond, VA.
Q:
What's the best strategy for attracting the interest of a recruiter?
A:
My first contact with a candidate is through his/her résumé and cover letter.
My first piece of advice is to ensure that your employment-search documents
are attractive, well organized, and quickly provide the recruiter with the
information needed to determine a possible match. If you really want to
catch the eye of a recruiter; I recommend sending your résumé and cover
letter the old fashioned way via regular mail; it shows initiative. Or deliver
it in person if you are able to. Another tip -- résumés that were enclosed in
9x12 white/off-white envelopes, unfolded, marked at the bottom right-hand
“résumé enclosed” always caught my eye first!
Q:
What is the most important thing every job-seeker should know when using a recruiter?
A:
When you apply to a temporary or executive-search firm, you may
be applying to a invisible position, meaning that recruiters often will
advertise for candidates based on a perceived need, not an actual
need. If they connect with a candidate that they feel to be “hot.” they
will pre-screen the candidate, check references, and then market the
applicant to employers. Recruiters, at least the ones I know, who
practice this “fishing” approach will not let the candidate know that they
have applied to a ghost position. So, if you only want to apply for real
positions, avoid advertisements that say something like “we need 12
people to fill the roles of blank, blank, and blank.”
Q:
Opinions differ on the extent to which the economy is recovering,
and the employment picture seems to change from day to day?
From your observations and experience, just how tough is the job
market today? How can job-seekers achieve success and stand
out from the crowd in such a competitive market?
A:
The economy is picking up slowly, and with this gradual pick-up,
employers are lifting hiring freezes and new jobs are opening up
daily. Unfortunately, on the other side of the coin, more people are
looking for jobs than there are jobs available. For a candidate to
succeed in a job search today, he/she must do homework.
Step 1: Learn about yourself. Perform self-assessments,
many of which you can find online, to determine what motivates you,
what do you excel at, who you are as a person, what your learning
style is, and more. Gaining a better understanding of who you are in
the long run will help you in finding a rewarding career that will
make you want to get out of the bed in the morning! [Editor’s note: See our
guide
to free and inexpensive online assessments.]
Step 2: Now that you know yourself better, RESEARCH
companies find out all you can including company size, annual income,
benefits, geographic locations, how to apply, and more. Based on this
information, determine what companies would work best for you.
Remember, take good notes; they will be very important to you later
on in your search process.
Step 3: Develop a powerful but concise employment marketing
package. Your résumé and cover letter are the first contacts you have
with an employer. You want to be able to summarize who you are professionally,
what you have done, how you did it, and what you have contributed or achieved.
Many wonderful résumé-writing books are available on the market today,
or you can make an conscious investment and hire a reputable professional
résumé writer. You can find someone through professional organizations
such as Professional Association of Résumé Writers and Career Coaches
(PARW/CC), National Résumé Writers Association (NRWA), Career Masters
Institute (CMI), and Professional Résumé Writing and Research Association
(PRWRA). These professionals are experts at résumé writing and can definitely
help you in achieving your employment document objectives.
Step 4: When applying for jobs, don’t just use the Internet to send your
résumé. Show some initiative and contact these employers -- unless they specifically
state NO PHONE CALLS. Basically, market yourself to the employer. And network.
Basically, you know five people, and chances are that they know five people, and they
know five people. Well, if you put the word out, you may receive some fantastic job
leads and contact names.
Step 5: Prepare for an interview by anticipating possible questions.
Participate in mock-interviews. Read interview-question books. Tape-record
yourself and listen to the answers. The better prepared you are, the more
comfortable you will be in an interview. Review your earlier notes about the
company, and prepare some questions for the interviewer.
Step 6: In the interview, dress to impress. Take a deep breath before
the interview. Keep good eye contact with the interviewer. Remember, it is OK
to pause to gather your thoughts when a question is asked. Have fun.
Step 7: FOLLOW UP by a phone call or letter, thanking the interviewer for
his/her time and expressing interest in the position.
It’s a lot of work, but in the end you will stand out and achieve your employment objectives.
Q:
What are the top 5-10 skills that most employers are REALLY
looking for these days? What are the key skills that make job
seekers employable?
A:
Every position is different, but recently the trend has been that employers are
REALLY seeking professionals with the following eight traits/skills:
Computer literacy
Verbal/written/interpersonal communication skills
Ability to work in a team effectively
Time-management skills
Organization skills
Problem-solving skills
Being results-driven
Leadership skills
These skills/traits can be best summarized by saying that employers
want to hire someone who can be highly productive, and provide a
significant contribution to the success of the organization and its environment.
Q:
We are hearing increasingly from job-seekers about frustrations
with Internet job-hunting. They complain that they never hear anything
from employers, and that employers increasingly put up impenetrable
barriers to keep job-seekers from following up and being proactive.
Are the old rules of job-seeking and follow-up changing?
A:
Times have changed, and job-hunting has changed with it. Personally,
I don’t recommend the Internet for résumé submission. The Internet is a
great tool to quickly send your résumé to a potential employer, but it is
not often effective. When a recruiter posts a job online, that job may be
viewed by the world -- and the world does respond. Often, I would receive
more than 500 applicants via email after only 48 hours. The “impenetrable barriers”
candidates often face have to be in place for time-management reasons.
Because of the typical number of applicants, it is also impossible for a
recruiter to respond to each candidate personally. You can send an email
or try a phone call (unless the ad specifically says NO PHONE CALLS)
to follow-up, but chances are that the recruiter will not know who you
are unless he/she has called you first.
Kristen Griffin, owner of Griffin Career Solutions, Richmond, VA, has worked in the
recruitment field since 1995 and has experience in both HR-based and
executive recruitment. Her company, Griffin Career Solutions, is a
one-woman shop offering a variety of recruitment/employment search
services geared towards career-seeking individuals and small/medium-sized
businesses, including recruitment consulting, job-search assistance/coaching,
résumé writing, career coaching, and outplacement support. Griffin is a
professional member of Professional Association of Résumé Writers and
Career Coaches (PARW/CC), National Résumé Writers Association (NRWA),
Career Masters Institute (CMI) and Professional Résumé Writing and
Research Association (PRWRA), Association of Job Search Trainers (AJST),
and the National Association of Female Executives (NAFE).
