Be Your Own Headhunter

Jobs from the Fortune 500 Vol 11

The following post is courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap:

From: CareerAlley

“Go for a business that any idiot can run - because sooner or later, any idiot probably is going to run it.” - Peter Lynch

Excellent quote, and I'm sure we've all known an idiot or two. I'd like to think that any company that makes it to the Fortune 500 is run by an intelligent person, but I'm also sure that this group of companies has seen its fair share of idiots as well.

That being said, the Fortune 500 is a rich field for job search (no pun intended) and these companies are generally the best placed for bad times and many have strongly recovered in the current recession. Of course, some also did not do well and some are no longer with us (not to say they were run by idiots, I'm sure there is some correlation).

You Say You Are A Social Media Expert Or Guru. OK, Prove It

I swear (it seems literally and often lately) that if I see one more self professed Expert or Guru I am going to spontaneously combust. Which is to say, this would be me last Will and Testament because no doubt by the time I finish typing this I will have two new Guru followers.

So here goes... if you are such a person I hope you have a track record. You better be able to show some results.

Why? Besides the obvious your competition is now FIERCE:

Self-Proclaimed Social Media Gurus on Twitter Multiplying Like Rabbits and the above graph are from a few weeks back about the crazy number of Social Media Experts and Social Media Gurus on Twitter and the exponential growth in the use of such terms. I used to think that an expert was in the top 5% or 2% of their industry.

Wow, we are so blessed to have so many talented people amongst us. (read with sarcasm)

How to Find Hidden Jobs From Last Year’s Job Applications

The following post is courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap:

From: Lorraine Russo

How many of you applied for dozens, if not hundreds, of jobs last year? If you’re like most people, chances are pretty good that your resume went into the stratosphere, never to be seen by the overworked eyes of our nation's recruiters.

But what if some of the jobs you applied for are still open?

It's possible when the company originally posted the job, there was a reasonable expectation that they would fill it. However, consider that the last quarter of the year is typically when department heads submit their budgets for the following year.

It’s entirely possible that hiring for certain positions was put on hold until the budget was finalized.

Who Is Looking For Your LinkedIn Profile?

The following post is courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap:

From: Laura Vezer is an IT recruiter and creator of the blog, IT Matters Canada! The blog contains resources and advice for IT Professionals looking for work in Canada.

Recently, the Recruiting Animal had a LinkedIn specialist on his online radio show. Neal Schaffer spent the hour analyzing various LinkedIn profiles that were sent by courageous volunteers through Twitter.

This got me thinking. Who do you think is looking for YOUR profile?

There are recruiters out there who conduct searches through search engines like Bing and Google, to find their candidates. They can even key in search commands to search LinkedIn beyond their own networks. When you come up in one of these searches, it is the information that you have on your profile, is it going to sell your capabilities in the most effective way?

Here are a few points that came up during the show.

Uncover Hidden Jobs Through Federal Business Opportunities

The following post is courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap:

From: Lorraine Russo

At any given time, the Federal Business Opportunities website has tens of thousands of Requests for Proposals (RFPs) that allow vendors to bid on the opportunity to provide goods and services. By law, the government is required to conduct an open and competitive bidding process for any purchases meeting certain criteria. (The federal regulations for government contracts are known as the FAR: Federal Acquisition Regulations.)

A provider that has registered at fbo.gov can bid on any opportunity. Also, subcontractors (which include small and minority-owned businesses), can add themselves as an Interested Vendor for any posted opportunity. Go to any new opportunity and you’ll see the Interested Vendors List tab. Click here for an example.

Jobs in Marketing & Advertising Vol 1

"Advertising is the most fun you can have with your clothes on." - Jerry Della Femina

Closing the sale. That's what it is all about in Job Search, selling yourself, closing the deal, elevator speeches, etc. Intuitively, you would think that someone who is good at marketing and advertising would have an easier time selling themselves at a job interview than non-marketing types would have. And, that may just be the case.

But it doesn't make the search process any easier and closing a deal for a product is very different from closing a deal on yourself.

So what are the basics? Well to start, review some sites that focus on exactly this topic - Market yourself. There are plenty of these sites (two are listed below). Most have similar information, although a few have a slightly different slant.

Talent Management? I Just Want a Job in HR!

The following post is courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap:

From: CareerAlley

"We’ve all been blessed with God-given talents. Mine just happens to be beating people up." — Sugar Ray Leonard

Talent is many sometimes subjective. Who is to say who is talented and who is not? And, like everything else, talent comes in all shapes and sizes. Some people are talented at losing their jobs, others are talented at being CEOs and most of us fall somewhere in-between.

Entry Level And College Grad Jobs Vol 4

The following post is courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap:

From: CareerAlley

"Action may not always bring happiness, but there is no happiness without action." - Benjamin Disraeli

Action is the key word for this post (as well as your job search). It may seem like an endless job hunt with no end in sight, but there are many things you can do to help your search.

Job Seekers Creating “Black Lists” Of Employers

The blow back at employers for not being able to reply to job seeker inquiries has finally hit a level of frustration where quite a few job seekers are creating lists of companies they will never talk to again.

No doubt most employers are receiving more resumes, email and phone calls than they can handle and no doubt many have downsized their HR and Recruiter staff. Why keep these folks when there is no hiring right?

WRONG!!!

If there ever was a time to be creating those talent pools) it has been the past 18 months but most “C-Level” decision makers have their head in the sand.

Who's Hiring in Finance Revisited - Vol 1

The following post is courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap:

From: CareerAlley

"Every morning I get up and look through the Forbes list of the richest people in America. If I'm not there, I go to work." - Robert Orben

You know what they say - "another day, another dollar. One million days, one million dollars". Of course one million days is 2,740 years. The world of financial services was hit the hardest of any industry, and I would venture to guess that there are more financial services people looking for work than any other field (in percentage terms).

While I have nothing to support my comment, true or false, it certainly feels that way. Hard to say what the prospects are for financial services. It does seem that those companies that survived with little intervention have already turned the corner on both profitability and stability.