By Melanie Evans, taken from www.modernhealthcare.com
Fitch Ratings said operating margins improved in 2009 for not-for-profit hospitals and health systems, regardless of overall credit strength. The median operating margin was 2.8% among the 244 not-for-profit hospitals and systems included in the ratings agency's yearly report on key financial measures, up from 2.2% the prior year and 2.6% in 2007.
Fitch also noted a key capital spending ratio declined 18% in 2009 and said the two trends—improved operations and tighter capital spending—helped boost cash reserves along with investment gains. The number of days that reserves could fund operations climbed to 166.8 days from 151.6 days the prior year.
The hospitals and systems' operating gains were as a result of cost cutting, collecting more from patients, reduced bad debt and lower interest rate costs.
The rating agency said operating income before subtracting capital costs rebounded as well, but it questioned long such performance could last. “Whether such improvements can be sustained as the sector moves towards a more restrictive reimbursement environment remains to be seen,” the Fitch report said, “but, thus far, the sector has demonstrated a surprising ability to maintain operating profitability, especially with many hospitals experiencing declining volumes and rising uncompensated care.” The ratings agency said it continues to consider the sector's outlook negative.
Friday, July 30, 2010
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Ask a Recruiter: Murphy’s Law
Q: I’m traveling for a face to face interview—what can I do to ensure a worry-free trip?
A: It’s an interview, so good luck with the not worrying part, but I always recommend that candidates plan for the worst case scenario. Remember Murphy’s Law: anything that can go wrong will go wrong (especially if you really, really, really want the job).
So, protect yourself:
► Make sure you leave your house with the appropriate identification, at least one credit card and cash (yes, even if they’re paying for everything).
► Bring copies of your resume—one for each person on your itinerary and extras just in case—and the directions/map, meeting agenda and emergency contact info provided by the company.
► Double and triple check that you have your phone and its charger, laptop and USB flash drive (if you need it) and any presentation materials. For further insurance, email any presentation materials and your resume to yourself as a backup.
► Never, ever check your luggage if you can avoid it.
► Arrange for one, but assume you won’t get a wake-up call. Set the in-room alarm and the alarm on your phone.
► Contact lens wearers? Bring your glasses.
► Packing pantyhose, ladies? Better bring two pairs just in case.
Don’t be caught unprepared—as the expression goes, you’re better safe than sorry!
A: It’s an interview, so good luck with the not worrying part, but I always recommend that candidates plan for the worst case scenario. Remember Murphy’s Law: anything that can go wrong will go wrong (especially if you really, really, really want the job).
So, protect yourself:
► Make sure you leave your house with the appropriate identification, at least one credit card and cash (yes, even if they’re paying for everything).
► Bring copies of your resume—one for each person on your itinerary and extras just in case—and the directions/map, meeting agenda and emergency contact info provided by the company.
► Double and triple check that you have your phone and its charger, laptop and USB flash drive (if you need it) and any presentation materials. For further insurance, email any presentation materials and your resume to yourself as a backup.
► Never, ever check your luggage if you can avoid it.
► Arrange for one, but assume you won’t get a wake-up call. Set the in-room alarm and the alarm on your phone.
► Contact lens wearers? Bring your glasses.
► Packing pantyhose, ladies? Better bring two pairs just in case.
Don’t be caught unprepared—as the expression goes, you’re better safe than sorry!
Monday, July 26, 2010
Weekly Wisdom: July 26, 2010
A Move Down the Job Ladder Might Give You a Leg Up
Whether you’ve taken a less-senior position or started serving coffee to pay the bills, you can create the impression of career progress.
By Debra Donston-Miller
We like to consider our careers a progression. And a progression only knows one direction.
What happens when you have to make a career move that feels like a step sideways, backward or down? Will your next employeer recognize the change in direction? Will progress, once stopped, cease to restart?
If the stories of hundreds of job seekers and career experts are to be believed, such a move might feel like retreat, but it’s all part of a modern career path that involves sidings and tangents but ultimately represents progress. Taking a less-senior position won't necessarily derail your career, as long as you are smart about how you present the experience — and the reasons for it — to prospective employers.
“The key is to make ‘lesser positions’ sound interesting and worthwhile to future employers," said Nacie Carson, a career-development specialist who focuses on career transition. Regardless of the job, you can create the impression of progress, she said. “Unemployed individuals can spend their time doing absolutely anything as long as they can explain to someone else how it gave them new skills and justify how the experience helped them grow," she said. "Employers at all levels want to see people using their time well, not just waiting for the next best thing."
People who are actively engaged in the workforce — even in a position that may not be their first choice — will usually be more appealing to employers, especially when interviewing for the kind of job that will right the career ship, said Dianne Durkin, founder and president of the Loyalty Factor, a consulting and training firm.
"Learning opportunities are everywhere, and it is important to continue to move forward even when you are looking for the perfect career move," Durkin said. "While working even in less senior positions, your brain maintains growth and focus, both of which are important in growing your career. You may learn skills that you would not have the opportunity to learn in your desired position. There are always learning opportunities in every environment."
Bud Whitehouse agreed, saying it's a matter of marketing. "When you come down to it, what you're marketing in the job search is not your last job; it's the package of skills that you bring to solve somebody's problem, said Whitehouse, the director of Career Management of Virginia and a career coach for nearly 20 years. "Interviewing is an art, and what it really comes down to is your mindset."
Debra Yergen, author of the "Creating Job Security Resource Guide," said taking a step down can work to your advantage if you use the trends you observe to give you a fresh take on a company, an industry, or how employees are thinking and behaving today. "In an interview, it's important to let a future employer know that while you may have taken the position to keep the lights on, it was invaluable to your career because of what you learned," Yergen said. "Share something you observed and how it changed your thinking and ultimately made you a better senior-level manager. Relate your newfound understanding in a way that can benefit a future employer, especially if your 'step backward' gives you a significant leap forward in better connecting with future staff."
Serving coffee in the morning, interviewing in the afternoon
There may be value in taking a less-senior position; that doesn't mean it will be easy to get one, especially in the same industry in which you have been working. Many hiring managers are leery of hiring an overqualified candidate, for fear the person will leave at the first opportunity.
Kimberly Bishop, an executive recruiter and career-management expert, said it's very important to be proactive at all points in the job search: On your resume, address why you are seeking a less-senior position, and during the interview, create a positive message about your experiences. If you don't address the elephant in the room up front, Bishop said, people will form their own — potentially negative — assumptions.
With that said, Bishop acknowledged that shifts in industry and the current economy have changed perceptions about resume gaps and frequent job changes.
This is something that Cynthia E. Kazalia, placement specialist at New Directions Career Center, has seen many times. "This shift, undoubtedly prompted by this challenging economy, has softened long-held, fiercely guarded tenets," she said. "Recruiters and human-resource professionals seem to understand the basic need to survive and applaud efforts to do so. I think this is, perhaps, because few families have emerged unscathed by the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. It has served as a great equalizer between rich and poor, young and old. Quality candidates now serve morning coffee at Starbucks, then transform themselves for an afternoon interview within their field of expertise."
Kazalia said she believes employers will ultimately benefit from these detours taken by senior management. "While the job seekers may shed their survival jobs as employment opportunities in corporate America expand, it will be virtually impossible to let go of the life lessons learned on the road less travelled. These individuals will return to their more familiar roles with a deeper understanding of life and a better awareness of their fellow human beings."
Whether you’ve taken a less-senior position or started serving coffee to pay the bills, you can create the impression of career progress.
By Debra Donston-Miller
We like to consider our careers a progression. And a progression only knows one direction.
What happens when you have to make a career move that feels like a step sideways, backward or down? Will your next employeer recognize the change in direction? Will progress, once stopped, cease to restart?
If the stories of hundreds of job seekers and career experts are to be believed, such a move might feel like retreat, but it’s all part of a modern career path that involves sidings and tangents but ultimately represents progress. Taking a less-senior position won't necessarily derail your career, as long as you are smart about how you present the experience — and the reasons for it — to prospective employers.
“The key is to make ‘lesser positions’ sound interesting and worthwhile to future employers," said Nacie Carson, a career-development specialist who focuses on career transition. Regardless of the job, you can create the impression of progress, she said. “Unemployed individuals can spend their time doing absolutely anything as long as they can explain to someone else how it gave them new skills and justify how the experience helped them grow," she said. "Employers at all levels want to see people using their time well, not just waiting for the next best thing."
People who are actively engaged in the workforce — even in a position that may not be their first choice — will usually be more appealing to employers, especially when interviewing for the kind of job that will right the career ship, said Dianne Durkin, founder and president of the Loyalty Factor, a consulting and training firm.
"Learning opportunities are everywhere, and it is important to continue to move forward even when you are looking for the perfect career move," Durkin said. "While working even in less senior positions, your brain maintains growth and focus, both of which are important in growing your career. You may learn skills that you would not have the opportunity to learn in your desired position. There are always learning opportunities in every environment."
Bud Whitehouse agreed, saying it's a matter of marketing. "When you come down to it, what you're marketing in the job search is not your last job; it's the package of skills that you bring to solve somebody's problem, said Whitehouse, the director of Career Management of Virginia and a career coach for nearly 20 years. "Interviewing is an art, and what it really comes down to is your mindset."
Debra Yergen, author of the "Creating Job Security Resource Guide," said taking a step down can work to your advantage if you use the trends you observe to give you a fresh take on a company, an industry, or how employees are thinking and behaving today. "In an interview, it's important to let a future employer know that while you may have taken the position to keep the lights on, it was invaluable to your career because of what you learned," Yergen said. "Share something you observed and how it changed your thinking and ultimately made you a better senior-level manager. Relate your newfound understanding in a way that can benefit a future employer, especially if your 'step backward' gives you a significant leap forward in better connecting with future staff."
Serving coffee in the morning, interviewing in the afternoon
There may be value in taking a less-senior position; that doesn't mean it will be easy to get one, especially in the same industry in which you have been working. Many hiring managers are leery of hiring an overqualified candidate, for fear the person will leave at the first opportunity.
Kimberly Bishop, an executive recruiter and career-management expert, said it's very important to be proactive at all points in the job search: On your resume, address why you are seeking a less-senior position, and during the interview, create a positive message about your experiences. If you don't address the elephant in the room up front, Bishop said, people will form their own — potentially negative — assumptions.
With that said, Bishop acknowledged that shifts in industry and the current economy have changed perceptions about resume gaps and frequent job changes.
This is something that Cynthia E. Kazalia, placement specialist at New Directions Career Center, has seen many times. "This shift, undoubtedly prompted by this challenging economy, has softened long-held, fiercely guarded tenets," she said. "Recruiters and human-resource professionals seem to understand the basic need to survive and applaud efforts to do so. I think this is, perhaps, because few families have emerged unscathed by the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. It has served as a great equalizer between rich and poor, young and old. Quality candidates now serve morning coffee at Starbucks, then transform themselves for an afternoon interview within their field of expertise."
Kazalia said she believes employers will ultimately benefit from these detours taken by senior management. "While the job seekers may shed their survival jobs as employment opportunities in corporate America expand, it will be virtually impossible to let go of the life lessons learned on the road less travelled. These individuals will return to their more familiar roles with a deeper understanding of life and a better awareness of their fellow human beings."
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Regional GPOs work to offer value, services that their national counterparts often don't provide
by Shawn Rhea courtesy of modernhealthcare.com
When regional group purchasing organizations consolidated into a handful of national groups throughout the 1980s and '90s, the moves were largely based on a belief that healthcare providers leverage better pricing when large organizations band together to contract with suppliers.
But recent efforts by organizations such as the Colorado Hospital Association, Illinois Hospital Association and a group of providers in Kansas and Missouri to establish new regional GPOs suggest a growing number of healthcare providers are finding value in the nimbleness of smaller groups that share more aligned purchasing and supply-chain goals.
“When you boil down to the local level, we make every attempt to create a face-to-face relationship with our customers in a way a national GPO might not be able to,” says Jerry Welsh, president and CEO of Hospital Purchasing Service, a regional GPO serving 128 hospitals plus 1,100 alternate sites such as nursing homes and physician offices in the Great Lakes area.
Bob Meling, senior vice president and chief operating officer for Associated Purchasing Services, a regional GPO that serves 122 hospitals and nearly 400 alternate-site facilities in Kansas and Missouri, offered similar perspective. “A lot of the hospitals outside of the Kansas City area are critical-access with 25 beds or less,” he says. “The nationals can't afford to do hands-on servicing of those facilities. Our people are willing to drive seven hours to sit down and walk them through the contracts and make sure they're getting savings.”
Such enhanced service opportunities are part of the incentives driving the creation of regional GPOs in areas where providers see a chance for greater savings and supply-chain efficiencies through local affiliations. While none of the newly established regional GPOs Modern Healthcare spoke with was far enough along in development to submit a response to our 2009 Group Purchasing Survey, four of the 11 GPOs that did participate in the survey were regionals: Mid-Atlantic Group Network of Shared Services, Hospital Purchasing Service, Associated Purchasing Services and Resource Optimization & Innovation.
As in previous years, Irving, Texas-based Novation ranked highest in purchasing volume among the GPOs that reported this information. Members of that organization bought nearly $35.8 billion in contracted healthcare supplies and services in 2008 and are expected to buy just under $36 billion in 2009. Resource Optimization & Innovation, which ranked fifth in purchasing volume with members buying $580 million in contracted goods and services in 2008 and expected to buy $652 million in 2009, ranked highest among the regional GPOs reporting in this category.
With 750 hospitals among its membership, Mid-Atlantic Group Network ranked highest among regional GPOs in the hospital membership category and came in fifth overall based on the number of hospitals. Novation again reported the highest GPO membership, with 2,533 hospitals.
Overall, projected purchasing-volume growth appears to be trending steady for both regional and national GPOs during a year in which hospitals have been plagued by spending cuts. Outliers include Consorta, whose purchasing volume is expected to fall from $943 million in 2008 to $340 million in 2009 as a result of its membership being switched over to HealthTrust Purchasing Group following a merger of the organizations in 2007. Associated Purchasing Services also expects to see purchasing volume fall from $55.6 million in 2008 to $42 million in 2009.
Regional GPOs are re-emerging largely because national supply-chain organizations are acknowledging they have limited influence on their members' use of negotiated contracts, and that it's impossible for centralized organizations to address the idiosyncratic needs of their members. In their newest incarnation, regional GPOs are not competitors but partners to national purchasing organizations. Their efforts are synergistic, supply-chain experts say.
“We view our (regional) GPO as having the ability to negotiate local contracts for our members, and we have MedAssets to negotiate the large, national contracts,” says Steven Summer, president and CEO of the Colorado Hospital Association, which in June 2007 began working with MedAssets to create a regional purchasing group.
The association is hardly unique in its partnership with a national GPO. In fact, unlike a couple of decades ago when regional GPOs stood on their own, the vast majority are now affiliates of large national supply-chain organizations like MedAssets, Novation and Premier. In many cases, national GPOs are in fact supporting the formation of regional purchasing groups.
Mike Alkire, president of Premier Purchasing Partners, says his GPO has dedicated staff members who assist regional groups with administrative work and work on spending analysis, among other services. Alkire says the partnership between Premier and its 19 regional purchasing groups has to date brought an additional $15 million in savings to members during fiscal 2009.
The financial arrangements for regional GPOs vary, with some like the Colorado Hospital Association's being for-profit organizations that are paid fees for bringing new members and business to the national GPOs. Others like Hospital Purchasing Service and Mid-Atlantic Group Network are not-for-profit organizations. Some regional GPOs also charge membership fees. Associated Purchasing Services, for example, charges annual membership fees of $1,100 to $5,000 per year based on the number of staffed beds a member facility has.
“Regional contracting by itself probably doesn't deliver better cost controls than national contracting,” says Pat Sonin, COO of the Premier-affiliated Illinois Purchasing Collaborative, a regional GPO launched in May 2006 by the Illinois Hospital Association. “But if you put regional contracting efforts on top of the national contracts and write contracts for regional suppliers and services that the nationals don't offer, well then that's where I think you find real value.”
Taylor White, senior vice president of supply networks for Novation parent company VHA, says regional GPOs help drive providers' front-end commitment to contracts. He notes that Novation is currently working with 30 regional purchasing groups as a means of addressing contract commitment on a more intimate level. “Every time you get a group of hospitals together, each one has a different desire in terms of the level of commitment they want” to give to contract purchases, he says.
Christopher O'Connor is executive vice president of GNYHA Ventures, a Premier-affiliated regional GPO that serves members of the Greater New York Hospital Association. O'Connor says his hospitals are able to realize even greater savings by aggregating their contract purchases and buying at high-volume tiers that providers could not reach as individual hospitals or systems.
“What we do is work with all our members to get them to that top tier,” O'Connor says. “We can say, ‘All our hospitals will commit to buying from a particular supplier.' That way, the supplier views all of us as one entity, and our small hospitals will be put into the system” at top-tier pricing.
O'Connor says confidentiality agreements prevent him from detailing any specific savings his members have received as a result of regional aggregation, but he does say “savings are all over the map” and have on occasion been 20% greater than what the national GPO originally negotiated.
The benefits of regional GPOs can go beyond aggregated purchasing power, VHA's White says. “The other value that groups are trending toward is not just contracting, but also, how do they implement certain standards in their regions so that they can be more effective and eliminate certain redundancies?”
That's precisely the thinking that brought together providers to form Mid-America Service Solutions, says Dale Montgomery, vice president of 147-bed Hays (Kan.) Medical Center—one of the hospitals involved in the partnership.
Formed this past January, Mid-America consists of provider investors in Kansas and Missouri that are attempting to save money not only through aggregated purchasing, but also through shared order processing, distribution, warehousing and invoice processing.
“It's a limited liability corporation formed by six hospitals,” Montgomery says. “We have a group of about 90 to 100 affiliated hospitals that we eventually want to bring into the organization.”
The investors—which in addition to Hays include two-hospital CoxHealth, Springfield, Mo.; 11-hospital St. Luke's Health System, Kansas City, Mo.; two-hospital Freeman Health System, Joplin, Mo.; 219-bed Salina (Kan.) Regional Health Center; and 348-bed Stormont-Vail HealthCare, Topeka, Kan.—provided $1.5 million in seed money to fund the effort. Mid-America partnered with VHA on the project since all six providers were already members of Novation.
Under the partnership, VHA is providing Mid-America with a shared information technology platform that will process orders and route the product delivery. The system essentially treats the hospitals' purchases from any one supplier as a single order, allowing the providers to automatically aggregate their purchases. It also allows members to seek out a vendor's lowest price and best contract terms from among the six providers.
“If we found a price in any of the systems that were better at one hospital than the others, we went back to the manufacturer and said, ‘We want best pricing,' ” Montgomery says.
The purchases will also ship as a single order to a central warehouse in Kansas City, Mo. Mid-America has contracted with distributor Owens & Minor to store the goods until the member hospitals are ready for them to be shipped to individual locations.
A group order from any one supplier will also be paid as a single invoice, Montgomery says, but the hospitals aren't billed until they pull products from the Mid-America central inventory. “With all our orders going in through the same system, we'll have a really good sense of actual use,” he says.
Montgomery says warehousing and shipping supplies as a single organization, along with aggregating its contracted purchases, should help Mid-America shave about $2 million off its members' supply-chain costs this year. The collective expects those savings to increase as they improve efficiencies and add members.
To maximize savings opportunities, Mid-America will require all of its members to make at least 85% of their purchases through the regional collective, Montgomery says. And while the group has chosen to partner with VHA/Novation, it isn't obligated to use those contracts, according to Montgomery. “If we think we can negotiate a better agreement, or if Novation doesn't offer a product or service, then we'll go out and negotiate” its own agreement.
Montgomery says Mid-America is currently considering negotiating a contract with a local IT equipment supplier and that it has already negotiated a regional contract for customized procedure trays.
Other regional GPOs are also looking beyond their roles as agents for national GPOs, and are negotiating contracts with local suppliers. “There are a number of contracts that are best done regionally,” says Meling of Associated Purchasing Services. “Something like medical gas—that's a difficult contract to manage, and a national group will often choose a solution that's excellent for delivery to a metro area, but not for a rural area. When you negotiate regionally, you can adapt and secure favorable terms that blend the region's characteristics.”
Welsh of MedAssets-affiliated Hospital Purchasing Service echoed Meling's assertion, saying that while national GPOs can secure best pricing for a number of supplies, some items such as perishable food, equipment maintenance and medical-waste removal are typically offered through local and regional businesses that, out of necessity, limit their geographical customer base.
“National GPOs tend to limit contracting to large national vendors,” Welsh says. “But by us being able to fill a truck that travels on a regional basis, we can offer an economy of scale” to local vendors. As a result, Hospital Purchasing Service offers its members several contracts with suppliers that were negotiated independent of MedAssets. They include, according to Welsh, a contract with a local medical-surgical supplier for gloves, wound-care and other products used by Hospital Purchasing Services' alternate-care members.
Illinois Purchasing Collaborative's Sonin says his group also engages in direct contracting. “We've gone outside in one case on an office-supply agreement because we found better value than what we could get through Premier. We also went outside to get a contract for printing services, which weren't really covered by Premier.” According to Sonin, the 88 regional contracts negotiated by the collaborative provide members with an average savings of about 13% greater than what they would get through Premier-negotiated contracts.
But even while regional purchasing groups engage in their own contracting, it is unclear exactly how independent these organizations are of their national affiliates and whether if, as a single entity, any of them wield enough power to get providers within their organization to move with them should they decide they could be better served by another affiliation or by going it alone.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Ask a Recruiter: On Takesies Backsies
I took the job, but now I'm having second thoughts--how do I get out of it without destroying my relationship with the recruiter?
My short answer is: follow the golden rule and put yourself in the recruiter's shoes.
S/he may never let on, but the recruiter that got you your last job came to work every day between your signed offer letter and your start date just a little bit uneasy. We're superstitious--like baseball players. In our office, we don't put the placement on the board until we're sure it's going through because we don't want to jinx it, because every recruiter has at least one nightmare story about the candidate who didn't show up on her first day or the guy who swore up and down he'd never accept a counteroffer (obviously, he did).
Here's the thing. Sure, we love our commission checks--we're recruiters, after all--but we do what we do at least in part because we recognize the enormous impact a job change has on a candidate's life. We go into this knowing they're not all going to work out the way we'd like. The point is that they work out the way you'd like and it's our job to pay attention and do the best we can to make that happen. But when it doesn't, when something, anything, casts doubt or comes between you and that start date, it's time to pick up the phone and call your recruiter. If you respect us enough to let us know what's going on as soon as possible, we can respect your decision--whatever the outcome may be. We're grown ups; we can handle it. Furthermore, we can plan appropriately for it. If we know there's a chance, however remote, that you aren't going to be able to move forward we have time to get back in touch with that number two candidate or make some calls to qualify a solid backup in time to save the deal and preserve our relationship with the client.
My short answer is: follow the golden rule and put yourself in the recruiter's shoes.
S/he may never let on, but the recruiter that got you your last job came to work every day between your signed offer letter and your start date just a little bit uneasy. We're superstitious--like baseball players. In our office, we don't put the placement on the board until we're sure it's going through because we don't want to jinx it, because every recruiter has at least one nightmare story about the candidate who didn't show up on her first day or the guy who swore up and down he'd never accept a counteroffer (obviously, he did).
Here's the thing. Sure, we love our commission checks--we're recruiters, after all--but we do what we do at least in part because we recognize the enormous impact a job change has on a candidate's life. We go into this knowing they're not all going to work out the way we'd like. The point is that they work out the way you'd like and it's our job to pay attention and do the best we can to make that happen. But when it doesn't, when something, anything, casts doubt or comes between you and that start date, it's time to pick up the phone and call your recruiter. If you respect us enough to let us know what's going on as soon as possible, we can respect your decision--whatever the outcome may be. We're grown ups; we can handle it. Furthermore, we can plan appropriately for it. If we know there's a chance, however remote, that you aren't going to be able to move forward we have time to get back in touch with that number two candidate or make some calls to qualify a solid backup in time to save the deal and preserve our relationship with the client.
Monday, July 19, 2010
Weekly Wisdom: July 19, 2010
20 Common LinkedIn Mistakes Online Job Seekers Make
Abbreviated from original by Kevin Cormac @ http://www.newgradlife.blogspot.com/
1. Not personalizing your LinkedIn public profile URL.
2. Not including a photo.
3. Not adding links to websites or web pages.
4. Not having a searchable professional headline that brands your unique promise of value and resonates with your target audience.
5. Having no (or only 1 or 2) recommendations.
6. Not immediately generating chemistry in the Summary section with value proposition and differentiating positioning statements.
7. Not including your “Interests” in the Additional Information section at the bottom of your profile.
8. Not reinforcing your executive brand throughout your profile.
9. Not proofreading and re-proofreading and having someone else proofread your profile for typos and grammatical errors.
10. Not having a 100% complete profile.
11. Not updating your profile regularly.
12. Neglecting LinkedIn Groups.
13. Inviting people you don’t know at all to join your LinkedIn network.
14. Automatically accepting invitations to join someone’s LinkedIn network.
15. Not personalizing the default invitation to connect message.
16. Not including a link to your LinkedIn profile within your email signature.
17. Promoting yourself (or product) too heavily in LinkedIn Groups.
18. Not checking out LinkedIn company profiles.
19. Overlooking the LinkedIn Jobs tab.
20. Not diving into LinkedIn Answers.
21. Not using the new LinkedIn and Twitter interface, updating your LinkedIn profile with all or select tweets.
Abbreviated from original by Kevin Cormac @ http://www.newgradlife.blogspot.com/
1. Not personalizing your LinkedIn public profile URL.
2. Not including a photo.
3. Not adding links to websites or web pages.
4. Not having a searchable professional headline that brands your unique promise of value and resonates with your target audience.
5. Having no (or only 1 or 2) recommendations.
6. Not immediately generating chemistry in the Summary section with value proposition and differentiating positioning statements.
7. Not including your “Interests” in the Additional Information section at the bottom of your profile.
8. Not reinforcing your executive brand throughout your profile.
9. Not proofreading and re-proofreading and having someone else proofread your profile for typos and grammatical errors.
10. Not having a 100% complete profile.
11. Not updating your profile regularly.
12. Neglecting LinkedIn Groups.
13. Inviting people you don’t know at all to join your LinkedIn network.
14. Automatically accepting invitations to join someone’s LinkedIn network.
15. Not personalizing the default invitation to connect message.
16. Not including a link to your LinkedIn profile within your email signature.
17. Promoting yourself (or product) too heavily in LinkedIn Groups.
18. Not checking out LinkedIn company profiles.
19. Overlooking the LinkedIn Jobs tab.
20. Not diving into LinkedIn Answers.
21. Not using the new LinkedIn and Twitter interface, updating your LinkedIn profile with all or select tweets.
Friday, July 16, 2010
Ask a Recruiter: Compensation
When is the best time to ask about compensation?
If you're talking to a recruiter: after you volunteer what you're currently making.
If you're talking to a hiring manager: never.
Never, you ask? Yes. Seriously. Never.
The compensation discussion should always be initiated by the hiring manager.
1. In most cases, the person you are speaking with already knows what you make, so unless you have given him/her some reason to believe you're willing to take a ridiculous pay cut to be considered for this opportunity, it's fair to assume that what they're looking to offer is within a reasonable range of your current package. The hiring manager isn't going to waste time talking to you if your expectations are light-years apart.
2. The number one red flag in recruiting is a candidate who seems overly concerned about the money. It's our job to get you a fair offer and it's in our best interest to get you the best offer we can because what we earn is based on that number. So, have no fear; we will not invest countless hours taking you though a process that we know won't get you the number you're looking for. Asking too soon or too often gives the impression that you're for sale, that you're willing to work for the highest bidder. And there are a about a million reasons why that makes you a terrible investment for us and our clients.
3. It's the law of supply and demand; the more they like you, the more they need you, the closer you are to a generous offer. Don't ask them to commit to a number or a range before you've had the opportunity to demonstrate your true value.
For more on the topic, visit The Ladders.
If you're talking to a recruiter: after you volunteer what you're currently making.
If you're talking to a hiring manager: never.
Never, you ask? Yes. Seriously. Never.
The compensation discussion should always be initiated by the hiring manager.
1. In most cases, the person you are speaking with already knows what you make, so unless you have given him/her some reason to believe you're willing to take a ridiculous pay cut to be considered for this opportunity, it's fair to assume that what they're looking to offer is within a reasonable range of your current package. The hiring manager isn't going to waste time talking to you if your expectations are light-years apart.
2. The number one red flag in recruiting is a candidate who seems overly concerned about the money. It's our job to get you a fair offer and it's in our best interest to get you the best offer we can because what we earn is based on that number. So, have no fear; we will not invest countless hours taking you though a process that we know won't get you the number you're looking for. Asking too soon or too often gives the impression that you're for sale, that you're willing to work for the highest bidder. And there are a about a million reasons why that makes you a terrible investment for us and our clients.
3. It's the law of supply and demand; the more they like you, the more they need you, the closer you are to a generous offer. Don't ask them to commit to a number or a range before you've had the opportunity to demonstrate your true value.
For more on the topic, visit The Ladders.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
The Importance of Enthusiasm
So much of the hiring process is about instinct. Research shows that only 60% of any job’s requirements and qualifications need to be met in order to make a good hire but there are times when even the guy/gal with 100% on paper doesn’t get the job. Never underestimate the importance of chemistry and never ever take for granted that you need to demonstrate that you actually want the job during your interview.
In today’s recovering job market, it is still extremely important for those who are trying to return to the workforce and those who are currently employed to demonstrate appropriate energy and enthusiasm throughout the interview process because while there is certainly a bounty of new jobs out there now compared to the market 12 months ago, companies still have (IMO, legitimate) concerns about bad hires and fall offs. Companies have been making do with less for, in some cases, 12-24 months, so while there is a definite need, they don’t have to make an offer to the first qualified candidate. They have the ability to wait for the right candidate for the job. Therefore, as the job seeker, it is your responsibility to demonstrate that the right candidate for the job is you.
If you’re unemployed, that means:
► You are enthusiastic about this opportunity because it is a good match for your interests, skills and background, not just because you are eager to return to the workforce.
► Doing your research in order to demonstrate that you understand what the company does, you have enough interest in what they’re doing to ask thoughtful questions and you can speak directly to your ability and desire to contribute to what they are trying to achieve.
► Respecting your own value. Jobs are back in a big way but the days of massive signing bonuses, naming your price and demanding 12 month non-recoverable draws are still far behind us. I understand the temptation to take a step back in compensation given what you might be hearing out there, but if you are willing to take a 50K cut on your base salary today, what’s to keep you from taking the next job that would get you back up to where you want to be tomorrow?
► Keeping your hand in. Whether you’re out of work for six weeks or six months, it is important to have a good answer to the question: so what have you been doing since you left your last position? The best place to answer this question is on your resume but if you have not had the opportunity to take up temporary work in your industry, you should be networking with your contacts, remaining involved with industry organizations and doing what you can to develop your knowledge and skills.
If you’re currently employed, that means:
► Remembering that you are very possibly interviewing against at least one person who is currently out of work and understanding that your level of enthusiasm about making a change, your level of investment in the interview process, is being compared to the enthusiasm and investment of someone who has more at stake than advancing his/her career or obtaining a bump in salary.
► Doing your research in order to demonstrate that you understand what the company does, you have enough interest in what they’re doing to ask thoughtful questions and you can speak directly to your ability and desire to contribute to what they are trying to achieve.
► Being realistic. If the last time you took a new position was pre-September 11th, this job search has probably already felt like a rude awakening. You need to be sure that you’re making a change because you want to and that you’re doing it for the right reason—kicking the tires as we like to say in recruiting, is not going to get you very far in this market. You need to be committed to making a change (you have made good faith efforts to address the issues that are causing you to look outside of your organization), cognizant of the fact that your ‘worth’ needs to be relative to what’s going on across the market (don’t sell yourself short, but don’t expect the moon either), and aware that accepting a counter offer signals your company that it’s time to start looking for a replacement (you have broken a sacred trust; prepare to be part of the next round of cuts because now your boss thinks every dentist appointment is a job interview).
In today’s recovering job market, it is still extremely important for those who are trying to return to the workforce and those who are currently employed to demonstrate appropriate energy and enthusiasm throughout the interview process because while there is certainly a bounty of new jobs out there now compared to the market 12 months ago, companies still have (IMO, legitimate) concerns about bad hires and fall offs. Companies have been making do with less for, in some cases, 12-24 months, so while there is a definite need, they don’t have to make an offer to the first qualified candidate. They have the ability to wait for the right candidate for the job. Therefore, as the job seeker, it is your responsibility to demonstrate that the right candidate for the job is you.
If you’re unemployed, that means:
► You are enthusiastic about this opportunity because it is a good match for your interests, skills and background, not just because you are eager to return to the workforce.
► Doing your research in order to demonstrate that you understand what the company does, you have enough interest in what they’re doing to ask thoughtful questions and you can speak directly to your ability and desire to contribute to what they are trying to achieve.
► Respecting your own value. Jobs are back in a big way but the days of massive signing bonuses, naming your price and demanding 12 month non-recoverable draws are still far behind us. I understand the temptation to take a step back in compensation given what you might be hearing out there, but if you are willing to take a 50K cut on your base salary today, what’s to keep you from taking the next job that would get you back up to where you want to be tomorrow?
► Keeping your hand in. Whether you’re out of work for six weeks or six months, it is important to have a good answer to the question: so what have you been doing since you left your last position? The best place to answer this question is on your resume but if you have not had the opportunity to take up temporary work in your industry, you should be networking with your contacts, remaining involved with industry organizations and doing what you can to develop your knowledge and skills.
If you’re currently employed, that means:
► Remembering that you are very possibly interviewing against at least one person who is currently out of work and understanding that your level of enthusiasm about making a change, your level of investment in the interview process, is being compared to the enthusiasm and investment of someone who has more at stake than advancing his/her career or obtaining a bump in salary.
► Doing your research in order to demonstrate that you understand what the company does, you have enough interest in what they’re doing to ask thoughtful questions and you can speak directly to your ability and desire to contribute to what they are trying to achieve.
► Being realistic. If the last time you took a new position was pre-September 11th, this job search has probably already felt like a rude awakening. You need to be sure that you’re making a change because you want to and that you’re doing it for the right reason—kicking the tires as we like to say in recruiting, is not going to get you very far in this market. You need to be committed to making a change (you have made good faith efforts to address the issues that are causing you to look outside of your organization), cognizant of the fact that your ‘worth’ needs to be relative to what’s going on across the market (don’t sell yourself short, but don’t expect the moon either), and aware that accepting a counter offer signals your company that it’s time to start looking for a replacement (you have broken a sacred trust; prepare to be part of the next round of cuts because now your boss thinks every dentist appointment is a job interview).
Wisdom from The Ladders on "How to Work with a Recruiter"
5 Ways to Make Your Recruiter’s Job Easier
Tactics job seekers can use to work more effectively with recruiters.
By Elizabeth Bennett
Here’s a short list of tactics to make the recruiter’s life easier — and increase your chances of landing that job.
Don't try to be a square peg in a round hole. If the hiring company is looking for a candidate with 10 years of experience in small companies, don’t act as if your 20 years at large companies isn’t right there on paper. “Candidates need to know that nothing would make us happier than saying, ‘Yes, this is a good fit,’ “said Marian Rich of Bonell Ryan. “But our clients pay us to bring candidates who most closely align with their ideal profile.”
Don’t be cagey about compensation. The first question that hiring managers tend to ask recruiters is how much the job seeker is earning, Rich said. So when candidates hesitate to disclose their compensation or instead inquire about what the prospective job would pay, Rich takes pause, wondering why the candidate is not forthcoming. “It is always better to give us the information that we need to represent anyone to our clients and to be as honest as possible around issues concerning compensation,” Rich explained.
Establish an understanding about phone calls and e-mails. If your every phone call is not promptly returned, it could be that the recruiter is extremely busy or that your background won’t help him fill an immediate position. While you may disagree, sending frequent or belligerent e-mails won’t change his mind and may make him not want to work with you on future positions. “Every now and then I get a nasty e-mail that will say, ‘This is the third time I’ve sent you my resume and you’re not even bothering to respond,’ ” said Frank Laux, president of Strategic Search Partners in Keller, Texas. “ But they didn’t understand that they weren’t qualified for anything I had.”
After your interview with the hiring company, contact your recruiter right away. You may be busy or feel like the interview was lousy, but it’s still your responsibility to let the recruiter know how it went. It could be that the hiring company wants quickly to schedule another interview. “The lack of follow-up may show a level of disinterest, which isn’t always the case,” noted Harold Laslo of the Aldan Troy Group in New York.
Refer talented friends and colleagues to your recruiter. It could only work to your advantage to recommend talented people to your recruiter(s), even for a role that you wanted but weren’t qualified to perform. Your recruiter will appreciate the help and he may return the favor in the future.
Tactics job seekers can use to work more effectively with recruiters.
By Elizabeth Bennett
Here’s a short list of tactics to make the recruiter’s life easier — and increase your chances of landing that job.
Don't try to be a square peg in a round hole. If the hiring company is looking for a candidate with 10 years of experience in small companies, don’t act as if your 20 years at large companies isn’t right there on paper. “Candidates need to know that nothing would make us happier than saying, ‘Yes, this is a good fit,’ “said Marian Rich of Bonell Ryan. “But our clients pay us to bring candidates who most closely align with their ideal profile.”
Don’t be cagey about compensation. The first question that hiring managers tend to ask recruiters is how much the job seeker is earning, Rich said. So when candidates hesitate to disclose their compensation or instead inquire about what the prospective job would pay, Rich takes pause, wondering why the candidate is not forthcoming. “It is always better to give us the information that we need to represent anyone to our clients and to be as honest as possible around issues concerning compensation,” Rich explained.
Establish an understanding about phone calls and e-mails. If your every phone call is not promptly returned, it could be that the recruiter is extremely busy or that your background won’t help him fill an immediate position. While you may disagree, sending frequent or belligerent e-mails won’t change his mind and may make him not want to work with you on future positions. “Every now and then I get a nasty e-mail that will say, ‘This is the third time I’ve sent you my resume and you’re not even bothering to respond,’ ” said Frank Laux, president of Strategic Search Partners in Keller, Texas. “ But they didn’t understand that they weren’t qualified for anything I had.”
After your interview with the hiring company, contact your recruiter right away. You may be busy or feel like the interview was lousy, but it’s still your responsibility to let the recruiter know how it went. It could be that the hiring company wants quickly to schedule another interview. “The lack of follow-up may show a level of disinterest, which isn’t always the case,” noted Harold Laslo of the Aldan Troy Group in New York.
Refer talented friends and colleagues to your recruiter. It could only work to your advantage to recommend talented people to your recruiter(s), even for a role that you wanted but weren’t qualified to perform. Your recruiter will appreciate the help and he may return the favor in the future.
Social Media and Your Job Search
Social networking tools can be a fantastic resource throughout all phases of your job search—you have probably already discovered LinkedIn, a tool that can be leveraged to promote the quality of your work, lead you to job openings, advertise your credentials and connect you directly to hiring managers and recruiters in your field (all without actually advertising your interest in making a job change). And Facebook isn’t just for teenagers anymore; your company, your favorite restaurant, your high school sweetheart and even your boss are more than likely just a few keystrokes away.
The demise of undo...
In April, it was announced that the Library of Congress would be archiving all tweets—even those no longer accessible to account holders. And you may have noticed changes to the privacy settings on your Facebook page about six months ago; according to founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, if he had it to do all over again, he would make the entire site public.
[For the record, if he had it to do all over again, I imagine he would also think twice about posting that drunken, shirtless, teddy bear photo that started circulating immediately after the setting changes took place: see GAWKER article here.]
Which brings me exactly to my point: Facebook is a great tool for connecting and reconnecting with friends and family but if you don’t understand your privacy settings, it can easily be used against you.
According a Careerbuilder study conducted last summer, nearly half (45%) of all hiring managers visit social networking sites as part of the candidate evaluation process. Of those, 35% reported at least one instance of not hiring a candidate based on something discovered in that process. On a positive note, 18% reported at least one instance of hiring a candidate based on something discovered in that process.
What you need to know...
► As of December, ALL of the following is considered public and cannot be hidden by privacy settings: your name, gender, profile photo (choose carefully!), current city, friends (you CAN pick your friends), networks and fan pages.
► You can make your profile ‘un-searchable.’
► You can change privacy settings for everything down to individual albums.
► Always edit your content—especially photos and wall posts.
► Remember that you are not the only person generating viewable content on your page; your friends have the ability to tag you in photos, add you to notes, and post to your wall if you let them.
► Resist the urge to “overshare”—don’t use Facebook to announce personal details like your breakup, what a jerk your boss was today, that you just started looking for a new job, that you hate your current job (or anything else, for that matter), that you just found out you’re having a baby…you get the picture.
For more great tips and step by step instructions, visit: Facebook Privacy Settings Explained
Ask a Recruiter: Giving Thanks
As recruiters, some days it feels like all we do is give advice. We have a unique perspective that allows us to see our industries from all sides and we are often in the unique position to influence (and educate) both clients and candidates through the hiring process. With that in mind, here’s our first weekly installment of “Ask a Recruiter,” where the team at The Monticello Group will share answers to our most frequently asked questions and give you the opportunity to submit your own!
Why should I write a thank you note?
Good manners are often good business sense, especially when you are engaged in the process of trying to establish a new relationship. Sending a timely thank you note can do a lot more than express gratitude—it can be used to reiterate your enthusiasm for the opportunity and your desire to move forward in the process, it can be a great tool remind the interviewer of key points from your conversation, you can use it share industry news and express thoughtful insight, or you can use it to further address concerns that (s)he may have expressed during the interview. It should be brief, professionally written (you must proof read) and personal (do not send all of your interviewers the same message)—and remember, writing a poor thank you note can be worse than not writing one at all.
Should I send a hand-written note or an email?
There are a number of schools of thought on this one, but I always recommend email unless you live in the immediate area—and even then, probably both. Time is essential to making the best impression; ideally, you want the interviewer to receive your message within 24 hours. The amount of positive influence a good thank you note will have is inversely proportional to the length of time that passes between the interview and its receipt.
Why should I write a thank you note?
Good manners are often good business sense, especially when you are engaged in the process of trying to establish a new relationship. Sending a timely thank you note can do a lot more than express gratitude—it can be used to reiterate your enthusiasm for the opportunity and your desire to move forward in the process, it can be a great tool remind the interviewer of key points from your conversation, you can use it share industry news and express thoughtful insight, or you can use it to further address concerns that (s)he may have expressed during the interview. It should be brief, professionally written (you must proof read) and personal (do not send all of your interviewers the same message)—and remember, writing a poor thank you note can be worse than not writing one at all.
Should I send a hand-written note or an email?
There are a number of schools of thought on this one, but I always recommend email unless you live in the immediate area—and even then, probably both. Time is essential to making the best impression; ideally, you want the interviewer to receive your message within 24 hours. The amount of positive influence a good thank you note will have is inversely proportional to the length of time that passes between the interview and its receipt.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Just one more reason to keep it simple…
Why the Top Third of Your Resume Counts
Make sure your resume is smartphone friendly
by Abby Locke
PalmPilot, BlackBerry, laptop — you name it – it’s hard to imagine functioning in today’s world without having access to on-the-go technology. With this in mind, it’s no surprise that technology continues to play a big part in how job seekers and recruiters find each other.
Imagine for a second that you have spent hours crafting a standout resume and e-mailed it to a recruiter or hiring manager. Guess what? You can never be sure how they'll end up viewing it. The recruiter could view it on a BlackBerry, a desktop computer or as a hard copy. Picture what your executive resume looks like when viewed on a handheld device — it simply does not have the same effect.
If only the top third of your resume is displayed on a mini screen, can your resume still effectively sell you? The answer is yes, if you have strategically placed a strong, branded profile on the top portion of your executive resume. Generally your resume profile would contain a combination of a few key bits of information. This can include a title header, personal branding statement, unique selling proposition, areas of expertise, industry preferences, job targets, top career achievements, degree from a top university and/or much more.
In order to create a resume profile that communicates your immediate value and prompts the reader to contact you, it’s vital that you determine the following:
1. How do you want to be perceived?
Keep in mind that your executive resume is not a career obituary, so only the key career highlights that are most relevant to your target position will count. Consequently you want to maximize your professional reputation and position yourself as a solution for the company. Are you a turnaround strategist, finance and investment guru, technology innovator or marketing specialist? Determine what you want your reader’s key take-away to be and keep this in mind as you prepare the top third of your resume.
2. What title header best represents you?
A title header on your executive resume should be like a handshake. It should confidently say, “I am a senior marketing executive,” or “My areas of expertise lie in human resource management and global technology.” It is generally placed immediately following your personal contact information on the resume. For example, an operations executive with extensive experience in global markets could have a title header that simply says:
OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT EXECUTIVE
Without meeting this individual, you can immediately get an idea of their background. It also sets expectations for the type of achievements you’re capable of.
3. How would you summarize top career achievements?
Once you know how you want to be perceived, you must support your title header with evidence of top performance and achievements. Looking over your entire career, what is the consistent trend of achievements and contributions that stand out? Have you repeatedly grown startup companies into industry leaders, are you highly competent at spearheading cost-cutting initiatives or do you maximize emerging technologies to power internal operations?
For example, a marketing executive who excels at building companies through market share expansion could have a title header and unique selling proposition that says:
SENIOR MARKETING EXECUTIVE
Senior Vice President / Vice President
"I deliver growth for companies every time." Accurately forecasting industry trends and consumer interests that allow companies to exceed revenue projections, maximize ROI performance, achieve strong profitability and realize significant market growth.
Because the body of the resume will provide detailed content about specific position and industry-related achievements, you could opt to use an executive summary instead of a unique selling proprosition. This approach showcases performance trends overall.
SENIOR MANAGEMENT EXECUTIVE
Non-Profits & Philanthropic Organizations with Focus on Mental Health, Children and Education
Visionary Strategy...Innovative Thought Leadership...Collaborative Management Style...
Another good approach for those with many focuses is to follow the title header with an area of expertise. Going back to the Ops executive, here's an example of how one could lay this out:
OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT EXECUTIVE
Supply Chain Management • Planning & Inventory Management • Logistics • Systems Implementation
Startup, Turnaround & High-Growth Companies — High-Tech & Manufacturing Industries
Domestic & International Markets
It takes extra effort and careful planning to achieve a technology-friendly layout, but it is certainly worth the time in the end!
Make sure your resume is smartphone friendly
by Abby Locke
PalmPilot, BlackBerry, laptop — you name it – it’s hard to imagine functioning in today’s world without having access to on-the-go technology. With this in mind, it’s no surprise that technology continues to play a big part in how job seekers and recruiters find each other.
Imagine for a second that you have spent hours crafting a standout resume and e-mailed it to a recruiter or hiring manager. Guess what? You can never be sure how they'll end up viewing it. The recruiter could view it on a BlackBerry, a desktop computer or as a hard copy. Picture what your executive resume looks like when viewed on a handheld device — it simply does not have the same effect.
If only the top third of your resume is displayed on a mini screen, can your resume still effectively sell you? The answer is yes, if you have strategically placed a strong, branded profile on the top portion of your executive resume. Generally your resume profile would contain a combination of a few key bits of information. This can include a title header, personal branding statement, unique selling proposition, areas of expertise, industry preferences, job targets, top career achievements, degree from a top university and/or much more.
In order to create a resume profile that communicates your immediate value and prompts the reader to contact you, it’s vital that you determine the following:
1. How do you want to be perceived?
Keep in mind that your executive resume is not a career obituary, so only the key career highlights that are most relevant to your target position will count. Consequently you want to maximize your professional reputation and position yourself as a solution for the company. Are you a turnaround strategist, finance and investment guru, technology innovator or marketing specialist? Determine what you want your reader’s key take-away to be and keep this in mind as you prepare the top third of your resume.
2. What title header best represents you?
A title header on your executive resume should be like a handshake. It should confidently say, “I am a senior marketing executive,” or “My areas of expertise lie in human resource management and global technology.” It is generally placed immediately following your personal contact information on the resume. For example, an operations executive with extensive experience in global markets could have a title header that simply says:
OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT EXECUTIVE
Without meeting this individual, you can immediately get an idea of their background. It also sets expectations for the type of achievements you’re capable of.
3. How would you summarize top career achievements?
Once you know how you want to be perceived, you must support your title header with evidence of top performance and achievements. Looking over your entire career, what is the consistent trend of achievements and contributions that stand out? Have you repeatedly grown startup companies into industry leaders, are you highly competent at spearheading cost-cutting initiatives or do you maximize emerging technologies to power internal operations?
For example, a marketing executive who excels at building companies through market share expansion could have a title header and unique selling proposition that says:
SENIOR MARKETING EXECUTIVE
Senior Vice President / Vice President
"I deliver growth for companies every time." Accurately forecasting industry trends and consumer interests that allow companies to exceed revenue projections, maximize ROI performance, achieve strong profitability and realize significant market growth.
Because the body of the resume will provide detailed content about specific position and industry-related achievements, you could opt to use an executive summary instead of a unique selling proprosition. This approach showcases performance trends overall.
SENIOR MANAGEMENT EXECUTIVE
Non-Profits & Philanthropic Organizations with Focus on Mental Health, Children and Education
Visionary Strategy...Innovative Thought Leadership...Collaborative Management Style...
Another good approach for those with many focuses is to follow the title header with an area of expertise. Going back to the Ops executive, here's an example of how one could lay this out:
OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT EXECUTIVE
Supply Chain Management • Planning & Inventory Management • Logistics • Systems Implementation
Startup, Turnaround & High-Growth Companies — High-Tech & Manufacturing Industries
Domestic & International Markets
It takes extra effort and careful planning to achieve a technology-friendly layout, but it is certainly worth the time in the end!
6 Simple Rules of Resume Writing
My last post drew on the wisdom of CEO, Marc Cendenella (The Ladders)—reading his thoughts on simplicity inspired me to take it a step further. So, while advising people to keep it simple, I would like to extend that advice specifically to resumes.
In a competitive market, I certainly understand the temptation to add more detail when you should probably be taking some away. Trust me when I say that we’ve all been guilty of “under-editing.” The resume is important; it’s two pages (or less) that represent your entire career to a complete stranger. And as that complete stranger, what I want every job seeker to remember is: time is money.
Now, if you’re currently unemployed, I know it seems like no fact could be more painfully obvious. But it’s important to understand what that means to those of us on the other side of the ropes.
For people like me (recruiters), that means getting the right candidate in front of my client as soon as possible. For my clients, that means filling the position as soon as possible because every day that it’s open is not only costing them money, but also negatively impacting the satisfaction of the people sharing the burden of those extra responsibilities. And with employee-company loyalty at an all-time low, that’s something no company can afford right now.
The bottom line is: hiring managers and recruiters don’t have five minutes to devote to deconstructing each resume that comes across their desks. In truth, a typical initial assessment—his or her or my first pass at your information—will go from start to finish in less than 30 seconds.
So, with all of the above in mind, here are some tips that can help make the difference between a call back and ending up in the recycle bin—jobseekers who want to get noticed, take heed:
1. Be consistent. Check for spelling and grammar but also make sure that your tabs, justifications, punctuation, fonts (no more than 2; no exceptions), spacing and character size are consistent throughout the resume.
2. Keep it clean. When you have completed writing your resume, preview the document and reduce the view to 50%--enough to obscure the text so you can focus on the image of the document. Did you leave enough white space, is your line spacing even, did you use a reasonably sized font (12pt) and leave at least a 1” margin?
3. Headings. Put your contact information at the top of your resume; it should be complete, easy to read and above all, easy to find.
4. Experience. Surprisingly few people seem to realize that your resume should not read like a job description; your resume should clearly outline what you have done but it should do it in a way that demonstrates why a hiring manager should talk to you.
5. So, highlight your accomplishments. This can most easily be done by using bullets—a very reader-friendly tool. Tangible successes and quantifiable accomplishments should be out in the open and found throughout your resume.
6. BE CONCISE. Never put a paragraph where a sentence could convey the same message—anyone who looks at your resume should be able to quickly and easily come away with a sense of whether or not you could perform the job functions. Make sure hiring managers can get enough in a glance to know they want to read the rest.
In a competitive market, I certainly understand the temptation to add more detail when you should probably be taking some away. Trust me when I say that we’ve all been guilty of “under-editing.” The resume is important; it’s two pages (or less) that represent your entire career to a complete stranger. And as that complete stranger, what I want every job seeker to remember is: time is money.
Now, if you’re currently unemployed, I know it seems like no fact could be more painfully obvious. But it’s important to understand what that means to those of us on the other side of the ropes.
For people like me (recruiters), that means getting the right candidate in front of my client as soon as possible. For my clients, that means filling the position as soon as possible because every day that it’s open is not only costing them money, but also negatively impacting the satisfaction of the people sharing the burden of those extra responsibilities. And with employee-company loyalty at an all-time low, that’s something no company can afford right now.
The bottom line is: hiring managers and recruiters don’t have five minutes to devote to deconstructing each resume that comes across their desks. In truth, a typical initial assessment—his or her or my first pass at your information—will go from start to finish in less than 30 seconds.
So, with all of the above in mind, here are some tips that can help make the difference between a call back and ending up in the recycle bin—jobseekers who want to get noticed, take heed:
1. Be consistent. Check for spelling and grammar but also make sure that your tabs, justifications, punctuation, fonts (no more than 2; no exceptions), spacing and character size are consistent throughout the resume.
2. Keep it clean. When you have completed writing your resume, preview the document and reduce the view to 50%--enough to obscure the text so you can focus on the image of the document. Did you leave enough white space, is your line spacing even, did you use a reasonably sized font (12pt) and leave at least a 1” margin?
3. Headings. Put your contact information at the top of your resume; it should be complete, easy to read and above all, easy to find.
4. Experience. Surprisingly few people seem to realize that your resume should not read like a job description; your resume should clearly outline what you have done but it should do it in a way that demonstrates why a hiring manager should talk to you.
5. So, highlight your accomplishments. This can most easily be done by using bullets—a very reader-friendly tool. Tangible successes and quantifiable accomplishments should be out in the open and found throughout your resume.
6. BE CONCISE. Never put a paragraph where a sentence could convey the same message—anyone who looks at your resume should be able to quickly and easily come away with a sense of whether or not you could perform the job functions. Make sure hiring managers can get enough in a glance to know they want to read the rest.
Sage advice from Marc Cenedella, CEO of The Ladders...
Theirs a problem with you're emailGrammar and spelling mistakes, such as those in the subject line of this e-mail, are sure to get you the wrong kind of attention in your job hunt. Modern software has made writing e-mails so quick and easy that you can easily find yourself clicking "send" before you really should have.
Spell-checker is your enemy
That darn, deceptive spell-check feature is your enemy. Sure, it fixes the obvious misspellings, but it misses the context, so you can end up using the wrong their / there / they're or its / it's by accident.
(My weakness, because of the way I type with a very dominant right hand, is writing "form" instead of "from" and the dang spell-checker never catches it... because it's spelled right even if it's the wrong word!)
You need to re-read your emails carefully -- my best advice is to set them aside after you've drafted them, take a bio break or a walk around the block, and come back and proof-read once more before hitting "send."
The need for clearing your head to make sure your email is simple and makes sense leads to my next suggestion, which is:
Simpler is safer
A lot of the bad emails I see aren't bad because the person writing them is unintelligent. Quite the opposite. They are bad because an intelligent person is trying to say too much, in too complicated a way, with too much complexity, in a bid to sound qualified for the job.
But that is just exactly the wrong approach.
Because, in fact, what employers and hiring managers are looking for is somebody who can communicate clearly and effectively. Rarely do long, complicated words and compound, complex sentences make you sound easy-to-understand.
And those longer, more turgid e-mails have a much higher chance of a misspelling, or grammar mistake, or unclear meaning, than a simple email.
Look, we're trying to get you a job here, not win the Nobel Prize, so don't over-complicate it and get too fancy.
It reminds me of a famous exchange between two writers who did win the Nobel Prize, William Faulkner (famous for complex, dense prose) and Ernest Hemingway (who rarely used words greater than two syllables):
Faulkner: "Hemingway has never been known to use a word that might send a reader to the dictionary."
Hemingway: "Poor Faulkner! Does he really think big emotions come from big words?" If you're trying to get a job, simple, clear communication is far more effective than big five-dollar words.
As an example, which of these two people would you rather hire?
Sally Simple writes, "I work well with teams, that might not necessarily like each other, to get them to understand the other side's viewpoint, sometimes with a bit of humor, and work together so that we can all be successful as a company."
While Terry Turgid elucidates, "My background indicates a capability to bring together disparate elements of the organizational structure in which inherent tensions arise due to the substance of the work output, the cross-utilization of organizational resources, and competition for allocations and prioritzations that occur as a result, and to enable those elements to optimize their effort co-ordination and process implementation in order to achieve synergistic outcomes on behalf of the global organization."
Now both of those say the same thing (I think), but which candidate would you put in charge of getting sales and marketing to work together? Or leading the product and tech groups on an important new initiative?
I'll take Sally Simple every time.
My rule of thumb for job hunt emails is: if Mom can't understand it, you're not communicating. Not so incidentally, this rule applies to 80% of business email communication, not just the job hunt.
OK, folks, that's my two bits on e-mails. I hope you have a clearly successful and simply wonderful week! How do you prevent yourself from making the type of mistakes I just made in the subject line? My advice is to not trust the computer and to keep it simple.
Spell-checker is your enemy
That darn, deceptive spell-check feature is your enemy. Sure, it fixes the obvious misspellings, but it misses the context, so you can end up using the wrong their / there / they're or its / it's by accident.
(My weakness, because of the way I type with a very dominant right hand, is writing "form" instead of "from" and the dang spell-checker never catches it... because it's spelled right even if it's the wrong word!)
You need to re-read your emails carefully -- my best advice is to set them aside after you've drafted them, take a bio break or a walk around the block, and come back and proof-read once more before hitting "send."
The need for clearing your head to make sure your email is simple and makes sense leads to my next suggestion, which is:
Simpler is safer
A lot of the bad emails I see aren't bad because the person writing them is unintelligent. Quite the opposite. They are bad because an intelligent person is trying to say too much, in too complicated a way, with too much complexity, in a bid to sound qualified for the job.
But that is just exactly the wrong approach.
Because, in fact, what employers and hiring managers are looking for is somebody who can communicate clearly and effectively. Rarely do long, complicated words and compound, complex sentences make you sound easy-to-understand.
And those longer, more turgid e-mails have a much higher chance of a misspelling, or grammar mistake, or unclear meaning, than a simple email.
Look, we're trying to get you a job here, not win the Nobel Prize, so don't over-complicate it and get too fancy.
It reminds me of a famous exchange between two writers who did win the Nobel Prize, William Faulkner (famous for complex, dense prose) and Ernest Hemingway (who rarely used words greater than two syllables):
Faulkner: "Hemingway has never been known to use a word that might send a reader to the dictionary."
Hemingway: "Poor Faulkner! Does he really think big emotions come from big words?" If you're trying to get a job, simple, clear communication is far more effective than big five-dollar words.
As an example, which of these two people would you rather hire?
Sally Simple writes, "I work well with teams, that might not necessarily like each other, to get them to understand the other side's viewpoint, sometimes with a bit of humor, and work together so that we can all be successful as a company."
While Terry Turgid elucidates, "My background indicates a capability to bring together disparate elements of the organizational structure in which inherent tensions arise due to the substance of the work output, the cross-utilization of organizational resources, and competition for allocations and prioritzations that occur as a result, and to enable those elements to optimize their effort co-ordination and process implementation in order to achieve synergistic outcomes on behalf of the global organization."
Now both of those say the same thing (I think), but which candidate would you put in charge of getting sales and marketing to work together? Or leading the product and tech groups on an important new initiative?
I'll take Sally Simple every time.
My rule of thumb for job hunt emails is: if Mom can't understand it, you're not communicating. Not so incidentally, this rule applies to 80% of business email communication, not just the job hunt.
OK, folks, that's my two bits on e-mails. I hope you have a clearly successful and simply wonderful week! How do you prevent yourself from making the type of mistakes I just made in the subject line? My advice is to not trust the computer and to keep it simple.
How to Avoid Bad (or Mediocre) Employers
By Alison Doyle, About.com Guide
As you may know, I always encourage job seekers to make sure that their application materials are perfect. I tell you to be sure that your resumes and cover letters are targeted to the jobs you are applying for. Then, I remind you to check, double check, and triple check, for typos and grammatical errors.
Most job seekers do a good job of making sure everything they send is perfect. What happens though, when someone goes to all that effort, only to discover that the employer doesn't pay similar attention to detail?
When the Company Isn't Professional
An example is the email I received from Sonya who said, "I sent my resume, portfolio URL, and cover letter to a company last week; addressed to a Vice President as indicated in the advertisement. Several days later I got back a letter that was grammatically incorrect and unprofessional. I guess you could say at least I got a reply."
She went on to say, "Sometimes you just get a little put off when you try so hard to do things correctly and you either don't get a response or you get a really bad one from someone who has the title of Vice President."
I'd be put off too, and, to be honest, I'd wonder whether I would want to work for a company that was that unprofessional.
Communication Skills Matter
It's not just written communications. It can be off-putting to be called repeatedly by an overly aggressive recruiter who has an opportunity that is absolutely too good for you to pass up, but, who can't divulge the employer until much later in the hiring the process.
I'm not impressed either, by hiring managers who don't show up for interviews, without rescheduling in advance. One job seeker I spoke to me told me he spent over an hour getting to the interview site, only to be told by a secretary that he needed to come back at a later date.
Keep in mind, that even if you need a job very badly, you don't have to accept a job you're not comfortable with. All of the above scenarios, are red flags and should give you pause. At the least, you will want to consider whether the employer who doesn't communicate effectively or appropriately is one you want to work for.
Warning Signs to Watch For
Poor Communication Skills
When an employer can't communicate effectively, by email, phone, or in writing, with candidates for employment, be careful. If all their communications are handled that way, how well are they running a business?
Overselling
Whenever I hear a recruiter or hiring manger say that you absolutely can't pass up this opportunity and you have to send your resume, drop everything and interview, etc. right now, I wonder what the sense of urgency is. Perhaps, it's a legitimate opportunity that needs to be filled immediately or maybe it's just an overzealous recruiter or manager trying to meet a hiring quota.
Limited Contact Information
Vague contact information (no contact person or company name) and phone numbers that don't show up on Caller ID are another warning sign. You should be able to easily search Google and find the company and company information.
Jobs That Sound too Good to be True
That old mantra that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is, still holds true. One person who was in the midst of a job search was told by a recruiter that an employer was hiring a high level executive for a top secret multi-million start-up company. When the job seeker inquired further, he found out that the start-up wasn't funded, that it had no existing products, or even a marketing plan.
What a Job Seeker Can Do
There are a few things you can do when you see a red flag. You can stop, or at least, halt the hiring process temporarily while you research the company. There isn't anything the matter with delaying sending your resume or scheduling an interview if you're hesitant about whether you want to work for the company.
Research the Company
Google the company name to find out what you can discover about it online. Post questions on Bulletin Boards, like the About.com Job Searching Forum, to see if anyone is aware of the company. Check web sites, like Vault, that have company specific forums to see if you can get any information that will help you decide whether to continue with the hiring process, or not.
Use Your Connections
If you have a connection that will help you find inside information, use it. Do you know someone who works there? Ask them about the company. If you belong to a professional association, they may be able to help you network with people who can give you advice. Use online networking resources, like LinkedIn, as well. You may be surprised at how much you can find out.
Evaluating Bad (or Mediocre) Companies
It's important to keep in mind that not all companies are "good" companies. They don't all operate professionally and you may not want to work for a company that doesn't match your standards. You always have the option of declining an interview, withdrawing your candidacy for employment, or declining a job offer.
When it comes to accepting a position, the ball is in your court, and you'll want to make an educated, informed decision to be sure the opportunity is the right one for you.
As you may know, I always encourage job seekers to make sure that their application materials are perfect. I tell you to be sure that your resumes and cover letters are targeted to the jobs you are applying for. Then, I remind you to check, double check, and triple check, for typos and grammatical errors.
Most job seekers do a good job of making sure everything they send is perfect. What happens though, when someone goes to all that effort, only to discover that the employer doesn't pay similar attention to detail?
When the Company Isn't Professional
An example is the email I received from Sonya who said, "I sent my resume, portfolio URL, and cover letter to a company last week; addressed to a Vice President as indicated in the advertisement. Several days later I got back a letter that was grammatically incorrect and unprofessional. I guess you could say at least I got a reply."
She went on to say, "Sometimes you just get a little put off when you try so hard to do things correctly and you either don't get a response or you get a really bad one from someone who has the title of Vice President."
I'd be put off too, and, to be honest, I'd wonder whether I would want to work for a company that was that unprofessional.
Communication Skills Matter
It's not just written communications. It can be off-putting to be called repeatedly by an overly aggressive recruiter who has an opportunity that is absolutely too good for you to pass up, but, who can't divulge the employer until much later in the hiring the process.
I'm not impressed either, by hiring managers who don't show up for interviews, without rescheduling in advance. One job seeker I spoke to me told me he spent over an hour getting to the interview site, only to be told by a secretary that he needed to come back at a later date.
Keep in mind, that even if you need a job very badly, you don't have to accept a job you're not comfortable with. All of the above scenarios, are red flags and should give you pause. At the least, you will want to consider whether the employer who doesn't communicate effectively or appropriately is one you want to work for.
Warning Signs to Watch For
Poor Communication Skills
When an employer can't communicate effectively, by email, phone, or in writing, with candidates for employment, be careful. If all their communications are handled that way, how well are they running a business?
Overselling
Whenever I hear a recruiter or hiring manger say that you absolutely can't pass up this opportunity and you have to send your resume, drop everything and interview, etc. right now, I wonder what the sense of urgency is. Perhaps, it's a legitimate opportunity that needs to be filled immediately or maybe it's just an overzealous recruiter or manager trying to meet a hiring quota.
Limited Contact Information
Vague contact information (no contact person or company name) and phone numbers that don't show up on Caller ID are another warning sign. You should be able to easily search Google and find the company and company information.
Jobs That Sound too Good to be True
That old mantra that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is, still holds true. One person who was in the midst of a job search was told by a recruiter that an employer was hiring a high level executive for a top secret multi-million start-up company. When the job seeker inquired further, he found out that the start-up wasn't funded, that it had no existing products, or even a marketing plan.
What a Job Seeker Can Do
There are a few things you can do when you see a red flag. You can stop, or at least, halt the hiring process temporarily while you research the company. There isn't anything the matter with delaying sending your resume or scheduling an interview if you're hesitant about whether you want to work for the company.
Research the Company
Google the company name to find out what you can discover about it online. Post questions on Bulletin Boards, like the About.com Job Searching Forum, to see if anyone is aware of the company. Check web sites, like Vault, that have company specific forums to see if you can get any information that will help you decide whether to continue with the hiring process, or not.
Use Your Connections
If you have a connection that will help you find inside information, use it. Do you know someone who works there? Ask them about the company. If you belong to a professional association, they may be able to help you network with people who can give you advice. Use online networking resources, like LinkedIn, as well. You may be surprised at how much you can find out.
Evaluating Bad (or Mediocre) Companies
It's important to keep in mind that not all companies are "good" companies. They don't all operate professionally and you may not want to work for a company that doesn't match your standards. You always have the option of declining an interview, withdrawing your candidacy for employment, or declining a job offer.
When it comes to accepting a position, the ball is in your court, and you'll want to make an educated, informed decision to be sure the opportunity is the right one for you.
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