Who can I connect YOU to today?

Because I am a technical recruiter people contact me all the time looking for help navigating the job market.

The first thing I always tell people to do is “breathe”.  It’s a scary place out there in the unknown, especially if it is a place that you have never visited.  However, it is not as bad as the media is making it. There is hope.

The reality is that even if you were on the job market 2 years ago, it looks entirely different now. Heck, it’s different than it was this time last year. 

How is the market different right now

This is speaking to what it looks like in Austin, Texas. However, my guess is that it is the same everywhere. It ain’t pretty.

In recent job markets a person would get laid off and they would go out and post their resume on a jobboard (Monster, CareerBuilder, Dice, you get the point). They would get a few hits from people trying to convince them to work in a triangle scheme or sell insurance.  However, for the most part companies (or recruiters) who were interested would contact them and tell them about some great opportunities that they had to offer. The job seeker could then choose whether or not they wanted to work in that job. They might ask friends or acquaintences if they were aware of something.  They might apply to a few positions that they saw come up on a job board or company website. On the whole, compared to now, it was pretty easy.

Last year the disciplines that suffered the most were the middle men – the project managers, the IT managers, the “strategic” people (remember I deal with techies). When companies had to cut costs they looked at the people who were doing the work and thought that higher up the executive food chain they could handle the teams.  So, those people really were the ones that had to hit the ground running the hardest.  For some people this meant being out of work for over a year. However, the successful trailblazers learned that they needed to change their behavior from the good ol job board days and take action.

What do things look like now?  We still have a lot of people who are out of work from that middle management tier and not that many middle management roles have come back.  In fact, we have more people unemployed then we currently have jobs.  There are still jobs out there, there just aren’t enough to hire everyone.

The jobboards are swamped. Most of the postings that you see out there are for staffing companies not the companies doing the hiring. I had talked to one company who was brave enough to put a posting out on Monster for a Network Admin position.  They received 400 resumes in 24 hours before they shut down the position. The resumes were for people who were recently tattoo artists, plumbers and even ballerinas. Sure there were network admins in the mix but the majority of the resumes were for people who didn’t know the difference between Windows and Linux ( a basic idea for network admins).  Companies are hiring, they just aren’t going to the jobboards anymore.

So, why is this happening:

1. Texas Workforce Commission requires that you have proof that you are actively seeking a job  – so the people who have given up and don’t want to find something right now are applying to obscure things they will never fit
2. People are getting desperate – every month you don’t have a job your cashflow dwindles and you are willing to accept more and more that you would never accept before and apply for jobs that you don’t fit

This means that unless you are very lucky, even if you are highly qualified your resume is probably not going to get pulled from this mess.

So, what can I do now?

The very first thing I would do, if you have been laid off and have not chosen to enter this job market by your own decision, is let your emotions run their course.  Take a few days to cry and be angry.  Feel the natural rejection that you are going to feel.  Pamper yourself a little bit. And file for unemployment, immediately.

If you go out and spew nasty hate blogs out on the web, they will come back to bite you.  If you go to a job fair and you’re just in a downright angry mood you will alienate the people who are trying to help you.  Let your wounds heal a tiny little bit. However, don’t wait long because it’s very easy to get into a rut of sitting on your couch sulking and watching Oprah.

Discover what you want to do

Now that you’re done sulking a little bit and you’re ready to roll up your sleeves and get to work – you need to figure out what you’re going to do for the rest of your career.   Do you want to go back and do the same thing that you have been doing?  Do you want to chase that dream that you’ve been putting on hold? Do you want to see if you’re better suited to do something else?

I’ve known people who’ve gotten laid off and sold everything they owned and went down and traveled in Central America for 6 months.  Some of the most successful businesses were started during a down economy with the spark of an idea. Lots of people leave their desk jobs and go and pursue their passion for photography.  So, it’s not unheard of for people to go out and do something completely new.  However, realize that you’re going to have to get out there and convince people that you can do it – if you’ve never done it before.

It’s a very personal decision and you have to figure out what it is that you want to do. You also have to take into consideration whether or not the responsibilities that you have will allow you to take on a new adventure.

There are several very good career coaches out there that can help guide you through this process.  A few are listed on the Bridge Austin website.  Although they will cost you some money out of pocket, they may end up setting you off on a career that you never expected.  They can also save you a lot of time and heartache in searching for that next great job.

Identify and sharpen your skills and WRITE THAT RESUME

So, now you kind of  know what you want to do.  You need to identify which skills you have that make you suited for that position(s). Identify which skills you need to sharpen and what tools you’ll use to do that (Informal Classes, Online Tutorials, Books, Seminars, etc).

Sit down and list out the things that you have enjoyed doing at other jobs.  Maybe you like to turn chaos into order. Maybe you like to plan events. Maybe you like to shut yourself in a room for 3 days and work on an impossible problem and come out with a solution.

Take those things that you like to do and start to draw out your resume. Don’t use the one from the last job hunt, start fresh and new.  Emphasize the things that you enjoyed in those last jobs. Emphasize the things that you were really good at. 

If you have difficulty putting your ideas into words - review places like Salary.com or Indeed.com .  Enter the job title that you think applies to you and look at the descriptions for those positions. Pull the nuggets from each that you like. Try some different job titles that you think might be close.

Of course, there are a lot of really good resume writers out there that can help you craft a stellar resume.  Again, some are listed on the Bridge Austin website.  A great resume can make the difference between landing a new job in 6 weeks or 6 months.

Where do you want to work?

So, now that you know what you want to do and you have fine tuned your resume.  You need to find out where you want to work.  Do you want to work for a small company or a big company? Are you willing to relocate? Do you want to work in a particular industry? Do you want to work for a company who challenges you hourly or a company where you’re just expected to produce something by the end of the week? Define your ideal company.

There are lots of good resources out there that talk about Austin companies.  You can talk to the Chamber of Commerce.  You can follow Austin Business Journal, Austin Business District or Austin Startup. door64 (www.door64.com) is a great place to research information on tech companies.

Develop your top 10 list for companies that you want to work for. This is where you start.  Overtime more companies will begin to be added to your list.

It’s not what you know, it’s who you know

80% of all jobs come through referrals. Most people do not just blindly walk up to a receptionist at a company and get offered a job. You have to know someone or you have to know someone who knows someone.

Communicate out to your network that you are looking for a job.  Use LinkedIn to play connect the dots between your network and the company that you want to work for.  Use Facebook to reach out to friends that you may not have talked to in a while. Send out emails to everyone you know.  When you do this – make sure that you outline a direct action.  Sending an email to a friend you haven’t talked to in 3 years that says “I’m desperate and I need a job” is not going to get you very far.  However, if you send an email to a friend that looks something like this:

Hey Friend –

I was recently laid off from Super Corp after working there as a Network Admin for 3 years.  I spent a lot of time working out complicated issues between various systems and I was able to save Super Corp over $3 Million in operating expenses.

I have created a short list of companies that I think would really benefit from my skills.  Can you please take a list and see if you know anyone that can put me in touch with the right people at these companies?

1) Mega Corp

2) Big Big Big Company

3) Giant Super Fun Co

Of course, if you know of any other companies that might be interested in my skillset then I’d appreciate those leads as well.  You can review what I have done on my Linked In Page – http://linkedin.com/in/SomeNameIPutInHere.

Thanks!

Yours Truly

There you have something really direct that says that you’ve thought things through and you just need help connecting from point A to point B.

Network, Network, Network

No one ever has a strong enough network. There’s always someone new for you to meet.

Austin is great in the fact that there are so many different networking opportunities out there.  I’ll have to do a seperate blog to list a bunch of them.  I suggest you go to sites like door64 (www.door64.com) or Network in Austin (www.networkinaustin.com) and review their calendars to see who is holding meetings.  Find the ones that interest you and then go.

If you don’t feel comfortable getting out there and networking, figure out who your heavy networked friends are. Talk to them and get their tips and tricks.  Go to events with them and have them begin to introduce you around.

Be sure to take advantage of recruiters.  Read my previous blog on the difference between placement agencies and staffing companies. With that understanding, make friends with one (or several) recruiter(s). They are going to know the inside track on who’s hiring. They are going to know which kinds of companies would be ideal matches for you.  They are going to be able to promarket you to the right people even if there isn’t a position available.  A good recruiter can become your best tool in navigating through this market.

Be Realistic

So, at this point you should know what you want to do, where you want to work, who can get you in touch with those people.

As a recruiter, nothing chaps my hide worse than when someone comes to me and says – “I’m a Project Manager who is looking to work in Austin and make $130K, find me my job”.   Okay, buddy, you need a reality check.   Right now in Austin, there are very few jobs that actually pay over $100K and I’m not sure of any Project Manager jobs out there that are doing that. Talk to recruiters and find out what realistic pay expectations are for a job. Listen to their knowledge. Feel free to get second opinions.   However, as I always say “Build Bridges, Don’t Burn Them”.

Make sure that you are setting realistic expectations for what is on the market today so that you don’t spend your time holding out waiting for something that isn’t going to come your way. At the same time, you also don’t want to sell yourself short. Clearly define what you are willing to negotiate over and what you aren’t.

If you are chasing the Big Bucks, you’re going to have to move out of Austin.  Austin doesn’t have that many big companies.  Smaller companies don’t have the money to pay the large cash sums. Austin prides itself on the culture that it provides for its employees not the money.  If money is your motivator then you really should consider moving to Houston or Dallas or some other big city.  This is not to say that people aren’t making a bunch of money in Austin.  This simply means that there aren’t many jobs currently being offered that pay over $100K.

In Summary

With a clear direction and a good attitude you can find yourself the job that you are looking for.  Hopefully this has shed some ideas for you and pointed you in a good direction to get you started.

Of course, this is all only my opinion.  Feel free to comment as you’d like.

A very dear friend of mine and current job seeker emailed me today to see if I had any advice for a Career Fair that she will be attending on April 1st. Of course  I have advice, and I’ll share it with you, my dear readers.

The key to any job fair is to make yourself stand out – in a good way.  A job fair is your audition. Count on having 30 – 45 seconds to make an impression on the recruiter standing on the other side of the table.  That recruiter may end up seeing 1000 people over the course of the day.  They will likely have some mechanism for sorting out the wanted and unwanted resumes. If you are just like everyone else in attendance you’ll simply end up in some pile for someone to review later.  The key is for them to run across your name and your resume and have them say “Oh yeah, this is a candidate I want to talk to later”.

Career Fair Preparation

The first thing to do is find out which companies are going to be at the Career Fair.  Go through them all and find out what they do.  Figure out which ones are on your “not to miss” list (this becomes important later).   Understand enough about all of the companies so that you can have an intelligent conversation with a recruiter. I’ve had great conversations with people in the ladies room or in the lobby that ended up building a lasting relationship, purely because I knew something about the company.

Next, search the company websites for the current job postings.  Company websites are not always current, but they will give you an idea of the kind of person that company is looking to hire.  You may score an extra bonus and find a position that they are hiring for that you are uniquely qualified for.  You can also go out and search places like Indeed (www.indeed.com) to find out if there are any recent job postings for that company that are not on the company’s website.

Next, search Linked In to find out if you have any contacts at those companies.   You never know when bringing up “Fred from Accounting” may end up sparking a memorable conversation.  However, DO NOT refer to someone that you don’t actually know because this could end making you look like a company stalker.

For the companies who are on your “Not to Miss” list (and the rest if you have time) research recent press releases to see if there’s any new news that you can bring up when talking to the recruiter. Refer to the company website as well as sites like Austin Business Journal (Austin.BizJournals.com) and Texas Tech Pulse (www.texastechpulse.com).

The last item of prep that I would suggest is to tailor a cover letter for every company that you want to work for.  Outline why you think you would be the perfect hire for them outside of what your resume says. This is another way for them to remember you once you have stepped away from the table. If there is a position that is listed that you are a fit for, make sure that you create a very customized resume for that company and that position so that they can see why you are the perfect person in a sea of 1000 people for that job.  Dare them to hire you.

Consider more than one copy of your tailored cover letter and resume because a company may have more than one recruiter at a table. You may wish to talk to all of them.  However, I would think that they don’t need more than 3 copies. 

Be sure to take several copies of your standard resume.  You never know who you might bump into that you didn’t expect.  Sometimes other candidates have the best leads of all.  If you have personalized business cards be sure to take those with you as well.

The Day of the Event

Business Casual Attire is normally the best bet when interviewing in Austin.  However, I would always suggest that a candidate wear whatever attire they feel confident in.  If that means that you don’t feel comfortable interviewing without wearing a suit – then by all means wear a suit!  However, I would not suggest dressing below the level of business casual. Most of all the key is to have a very professional appearance.

When choosing your outfit pick something that has some item that stands out.  I can’t tell you how many events I have gone to where it’s a sea of men in blue button down shirts and khaki pants – while they look nice and are professional they are utterly immemorable. Be careful what you choose because you still want to make sure that it is appropriately professional.  It should be uniquely you.   I like to wear some sort of bright color when I attend these kinds of events.  Frequently I pick hot pink or red colored tops. I would not suggest hot pink on a man.   You can add a lot of personality in your accesories.  For women, this is easy – a colorful scarf, memorable jewelry or just the outfit itself. For men, this frequently means a carefully chosen tie.  However, I have seen men wear modest blinky lights or stickers (”Hire Me” or “I’m your next employee”) to draw a little bit of attention.  The key is to pick something that accurately reflects your personality but does not offend the recruiters.  You want to make yourself memorable not a laughing stock.

Prepare a 30 second elevator pitch. This means that you should be able to tell a recruiter exactly why they should continue listening to you in 30 seconds or less. Besides your appearance, this is the most critical piece of making yourself memorable to them.  It could look something like:

“Hello, my name is Kim Brushaber.  I think I would be an ideal employee at BazaarVoice because I love working with Social Interactive Media. I have 300 friends on Facebook. I have 150 followers on Twitter. I have 700 connections on Linked In.  I live and breath Social Media. I noticed a posting on your website for an Implementation Engineer.  I think I would match that role perfectly due to the fact that I have 6 years of experience in front end web design including CSS, HTML, PHP and I can find my way through a database”

-or-

“Hello, my name is Kim Brushaber. I think that I am the candidate that Rackspace is going to hire today.  No other salesperson is as uniquely qualified as I am. I have been working with Data Storage systems for my own personal website for over 8 years now. I have a vast amount of experience selling to mid-size companies. I bring with me a client list of over 250 mid-size companies in Austin alone.  I understand both the product you are selling and the market that you are selling to”.

In both cases I have used the research that I gathered about the company in advance to engage the recruiter in having a longer discussion with me.  After you make your very quick pitch, pause and wait for them to say something.  If they continue the conversation, you’re in.  Let the conversation go where it may from that point.  If they don’t simply thank them for their time and hand them your prepared cover letter and resume. Do not take offense to the lack of a response, if that happens. Any kind of disinterest on your face will leave a bad taste in their mouth. 

At the Event

Be sure to get to the event as early as possible.  People have a lot of energy to talk to candidates at the beginning of the event.  By the end of the event, their feet hurt, they are tired and they really don’t care if the perfect candidate comes along any more. If you must delay your arrival until later in the day, then make sure that you are able to engage the recruiter in enough conversation that they care to listen to what you have to say.

When you get to the event plot out your list of companies that are on your “not to miss” list. Make sure that you know where every single one of those companies is on the floor map.   I would suggest either choosing your order based on how important each company is to you – or – how big the crowd is at each table. You want to use your time as effectively as you can to hit the ones that are the most important.  After you have hit all your “not to miss” companies then you have time to double back and talk to all of the rest of the companies.  Do not leave the event until you have talked to every company on your list or until they are kicking you out and locking the doors on you.

When you stop to talk to each company be sure to pick up a business card with the name of the person that you spoke to. Make sure to make any relevant notes from your conversation on the back of their business card.  These notes will become important in establishing rapport when you follow up with them.

Do not linger longer than necessary.  Judge your audience (the recruiter) and the line behind you to make sure that you aren’t upsetting anyone by taking too much of the recruiter’s time. However, make sure that you have had a long enough conversation with them to be able to establish a little bit of rapport.  You can always go back later in the day and talk to them if the line is short.

Ask the recruiter what the follow up process will be after the event.  This will allow you to know whether waiting a week for a response is a long time or whether it will realistically take 2 – 3 weeks to get back to you.  It saves you some of the time of worrying that you missed a crucial phone call or email.

After the Event

Follow up with EVERYONE. Send a personal note to the people you talked to thanking them for their time and consideration.  Interject points from your conversation in order for them to remember who you are. You can also refer to your appearance (if you wore the Hot Pink Blinky tie ) in order for them to have a visual reminder of who you were.  If you want to go the extra mile make it a hand written card instead of an email.

If you have not received any communication from the company by the follow up date (plus a day or so), send a friendly follow up email to your contact to find out if the time frame has been extended for response.  

Most of all go in there, smile and be confident.  They have already hired you for that position they just don’t know it yet.

These tips and tricks were listed on the main candidate webpage.  However, I wanted to move them over to the blog so that they could be captured with other tips and tricks.

There is also a new Candidate Resource page – www.bridgeatx.com/cand_resource.html  Check it out!
Take Ownership of your Search- No one has more interest in seeing you happy in a rewarding job than you do.

Use your network – Bridge Austin prides itself on its very connected network.  However, a personal recommendation from someone you know goes a very long way.

Set Follow Up Times – If someone has promised they will do something for you, make sure that a follow up time is set.  That way if they get busy you have a time set for a friendly reminder

Find the Tools that work for you – Different people find success with different tools during their job search.  If a tool is providing results, use it.  If not, do something else.

These are some Job Seeker Tips that I sent out on 3/3/09

1)      Staffing vs Outplacement – I hear complaints all the time from candidates regarding how they feel that recruiters are chasing the $$ and don’t care about the individual candidate.  I think that candidates should understand the difference between a staffing firm and an outplacement firm.  In the case of a staffing firm – the firm works with companies to understand their staffing needs and then is paid by the company when a placement is made.  In the case of an outplacement firm – the firm works with the candidate to make sure that the candidate finds a good job and is then paid by the candidate.  So, if you feel like an agency has moved heaven and earth for you and is charging you to do it – it’s an outplacement firm.  If an agency only calls you when a job comes up – it’s a staffing firm.  Please understand the differences it might allow you to decrease some of your frustrations with various recruiters.

2)      Evaluate the agencies you are using – You may be using a variety of different agencies in your job search.  Evaluate which ones have the potential to work for you and which do not. If you’re unhappy with the way things are going with one agency then stop using them.  If you think that you are getting value from a lot of different agencies, then use several.  However, be sure that you are honest with all of the agencies that you are using another firm in your search.  There is nothing worse than submitting a candidate over to a company who has already been submitted to another firm. I will NEVER submit you to a company without checking for permission first.

3)      Remind people that you’re on the market often – Any tools that you are using in your search whether they be agencies, job boards, networks, etc need to know that you are still searching.  You should have frequent interaction with your tools to make sure that they know that you are still looking.  If a recruiter hasn’t heard from you in 3 weeks they will assume that you are no longer on the market.  If a company is searching on a job board and they find that there has been no action on a resume in 2 months they will assume you are no longer looking.  If your friends hear that you are on the job hunt and then don’t hear from you for a while they will assume that you have a job.  So, stay in everyone’s awareness.  This is why there is so much excitement at the beginning of a search and why interest falls after that.