I can't believe it's been so long since I posted! I've been super busy preparing for the next training class, and things are off to a grand start! Last week I traveled to our offices in Raleigh, NC and Atlanta, GA, and attended my very first career fair at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, VA. Needless to say I'm knee deep in voicemails and emails so I better get back to work.
For those of you that missed Vol. 1: "I swear if I have to create one more profile I'm going to set my eyelashes on fire...". Thanks Chris for revealing yet another of your secrets that has possibly saved me from public humiliation and shame.
I've applied for membership with MyLifeBrand so hopefully I'll get accepted. I'm not sure what the criteria is, but I had to write a little essay explaining why I should be granted access to their secret society of organized social networking. I imagine a group of graders sitting in a quiet, sterilized room, wearing anti-contamination suits, working under the guise of Big Brother.
My essay went something like "OMG This site rocks! I have a billion different profiles and this would be the best thing ever!".
I hope they don't do their research and discover that I'm quite possibly a genius simply posing as a mere commoner to gain access to their yummy pot of gold! (Cue Megalomaniacal Laughter. Starts off as a low rumbling, in the back of the throat, slowly ascending to a loud cackle.)
Mwahaha, muhuhaha, muwhahaha!
But what if they find out??? Is my fate to be tied to Excel spreadsheets to manage all of my online profiles? Will I be banned from online social networking all together? Will my Life remain Brandless....FOREVER???
Aaaaaand scene...
A Candidate's Blog
I'm coming across more and more of these everyday! This is one of the better one's that I've seen.
I recruit recruiters. During the interview process, one of the most important things that I look for is what drives them to be great, to be better than the day before, to graduate from college, to look for a new job, to enjoy their friends, to workout, to do a cross-word puzzle, to simply wake up in the morning. It's not a question that I ask during the interview, because then I'd get some cookie-cutter answer shoved down my throat and they'd figure out how to weave the word "motivated" into every single response from then on, and I wouldn't get even a glimpse of their true self.
Wikipedia defines motivation as having "the desire and willingness to do something. A motivated person can be reaching for a long-term goal such as becoming a professional writer or a more short-term goal like learning how to spell a particular word".
So what motivates a good recruiter?
I would say that the best recruiters are motivated by the challenges of recruiting itself, money, the high of actually making the perfect placement...the unparallel sense of accomplishment. I received my degree in Anthropology, so the tree huggin hippie inside of me is satisfied by knowing that at the end of the day I've helped someone. I'm in the unique position of being a college recruiter, and knowing that I've given someone their first opportunity to enter the corporate world the right way (training, a good team, great pay, etc) is worth more than my paycheck.
So tell me...what motivates you?
I've been phone interviewing like crazy, and the second round of interviews are starting pretty soon. I was thinking that if I were being interviewed today, and the recruiter asked me to name one of my weaknesses, I would say that I tend to build a rapport with my candidates too quickly. By the time I qualify them for the position, set up and confirm the phone interview, and call them for their scheduled time, they already feel like my BFF. Those candidates that get too comfortable tend to crash and burn in a Blaze of Glory.
Always remember that a phone interview is still an interview!! Never let yourself relax too much that you blow your chances for moving on to the next round.
Helpful hints to remember before you answer the call:
1) Don't chew gum or eat dinner or be drinking anything.
2) Use your professional phone voice! You know the one your mother used that drove you crazy.
3) Be alone so that you don't need to Shhhh... people as they pass through the room.
4) Putting me on hold is highly discouraged and frowned upon. I just may spontaneously combust the next time it happens.
5) Have your list of questions Googled already or written down. Don't wing it.
6) Have the website pulled up too. This is certainly an advantage when doing a phone interview.
7) Smile. Trust me, we can tell!! Have the same energy as you would in a face to face interview.
Good luck!
I'm all about social networking, but will someone please create a website where I can sign into all of my profiles at once?!?! I had to create a spreadsheet just to keep up with them all. I came across Ning and the RecruitingBlogs.com social network today, and I can't believe I was so out of the loop on this one! I'm loving the idea, but I swear if I have to create one more profile I'm going to set my eyelashes on fire...
The End.
I think this officially qualifies as a Short Post.
Check out this job posting that was created just for you. And recruiters and salespeople.
The same thing we do everyday Pinky...
I truly believe that the Recruiting Blogosphere wants to take over the world. Every spare second we get our hands on we're browsing blogs, doing research, writing our own blog posts, always trying to get ahead and stay there. Each one of us wants to make our own mark on the industry, and hopefully change the industry all together.
As technology continues to advance at warp speed, I have the suspicion that most of us will not be able to keep up with the pace and will settle into our ways. The recruiters that will last will be the ones that are a part of the very generation that we are trying to lure into our tangled web. What this means for you Gen Y, is that you need to pay attention to yourselves! When I first entered the industry Monster and Careerbuilder were completely changing the way we job hunted so I learned them inside and out and was able to build a pretty solid reputation as a sourcer. Now it's blogs, social networking sites, and video that are paving the way for the next big thing. As much as us recruiters want to take the lead, i'm convinced that it will be Gen Y to bring it on home.
There's already proof! Before video resumes can really get their foot in the door, Alumwire is taking it to the next level. It's CEO is a recent Berkeley grad who doesn't have our training or "recruiting expertise", but simply understands his generation. That's a privilege that us old fart recruiters don't have total access to.
So which way are recruiters going? Who knows! Who could have envisioned Alumwire a few years ago? Well maybe Jason Goldberg, but as a whole we're at the mercy of students who have no idea what they will want from one day to the next and who adapt very easily to change and new technology. Either way, the future of recruiting is very exciting for us computer geeks, and yes I will continue to browse the blogs and new sites that pop up everyday to try to stay afloat...and attempt to take over at least a small corner the world.
There's a lot of buzz about the future of recruiting, and with all of us geeks leveraging the internet to meet our career objectives anything's possible. Check out this job posting, and if you're anything like me the sting of "Why didn't I think of that" and pure intimidation will force you to step up your game... A LOT!
Pimento Cheese Spread
1 pound sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1 4 ounce jar diced pimentos, drained well
1/2 cup mayonnaise may need a little more
Dash of cayenne powder optional
1-2 garlic cloves minced optional
Mix all together until well blended. Serve with crackers or use as a sandwich filling.
The last training class lunch was catered in today and it was finger sandwiches from Celebrity. I thought about eating the Pimento Cheese, then decided that I needed to really think this through, so I Googled it and found this recipe. I also found out that Pimento is a Spanish word for pepper, it's very similar to a red bell pepper, and is the little red part in the middle of your olive. I hate olives. And I wasn't about to eat a cheese and mayonnaise sandwich. Yuck.
(Disclaimer: That's not a Celebrity sandwich! Celebrity is one of my most favorite places to eat for lunch, but this picture that I borrowed from the internet really drove home my point.)
There are 13 Cool people, 353 Friendly folks, 2 Crazies, 3 Comedians, and this Ridiculous guy. I'm on a mission to find Jobster's funniest tag ever...
Didn't someone recently write a blog about wasting time at work?? It mentioned that employees typically work 1.5 hours per day. Hmm...let's time it.
