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A Right Recruiting Newsletter, 10/2006
Right Recruiting is uniquely situated in the business world. Since we work with small and mid-sized firms, we get assignments for a wide variety of people. Our web site shows everything from CEO/VP level jobs to entry-level engineer and junior sales/marketing positions. Our candidate pool includes all types of professionals in every age group. For candidates, looking for a job is tough enough. However, for those on both ends of the demographic curve, both younger and older, technology can create tensions between candidate behavior and company expectations. Let’s look at these changes and how they affect each group of candidates. An understanding of how the process has changed over the last 5-10 years can help you adapt your strategy to become more successful.
Technology has changed the mechanics of how companies select, interview and hire people. It affects everything from how resumes are received and evaluated to the actual interview process itself. On the junior end of the spectrum, we have candidates who are very comfortable with technology but who, in some instances, have no understanding of its use in a business setting. On the more senior side of the candidate pool, we have the reverse. People who have had no exposure to the recent automation of the selection process. These are often people at the 20-year plus level who hold executive positions in their organization. Perhaps because they have powerful jobs they are often shocked to discover that the depersonalization of recruitment actually affects them too. Maybe because they didn’t grow up a cyber age, running into it technology in a job search isn’t natural to them. However, understanding the changes in employment processes can help a more senior candidate become less frustrated. An understanding of how technology in used in a business setting can help the junior candidate become more successful.
Two quick pieces of advice on resumes in general. Remember, most companies scan all resumes so:
1. Don’t include a photograph of yourself on the resume. It can screw up scanning, and, trust me, you probably don’t look that good anyway.
2.No strange fonts and/or graphics. Also screws up scanning. Don’t show off your Adobe and graphic skills.
OK, let’s start with the junior candidate. They are very comfortable using technology in day-to-day communications. They know how to email resumes and communicate electronically over the Internet. They know how to do a web search. They use cell phones regularly and IM each other constantly. As a rule, they have grown up in today’s tech world.
However, this candidate sometimes misses the forest for the trees. They can forget the point of the communications – to get a good job that will lead to a good career. We see a breakdown in two areas – importance of process and quality of communications.
Importance of process means learning the rules. We see problems in a few areas. The first is acknowledging the profound importance that career choices mean in your life. Without sounding preachy, besides who you marry, the work you do is the second most important decision you will ever make. It will define where you live, the type of house, your lifestyle, your children’s education, etc. If you are miserable in your job, everyone around you will be miserable. If you make career decisions that lead to employment instability, your family will feel the stress. If you make career decisions that lead to a poor financial future, your family will have limited options for the future. If you are 25 years old, you will not have your father’s career. Your margin for error is greater. Just like your grandfather did not have to compete with women in the professional world, your father did not have to compete with workers overseas. You do.
An earlier Newsletter for fresh grads focused on how, with each year, your career arc becomes more limited. You and your peers each become more specialized, making your "fit" for a job more important. In this regard, technology can confuse a candidate and allow them to overestimate their options. Here is an example.
Take Joe, a typical professional at the 3-year level. He’s been working for a foods company in outside sales selling to national accounts. He just got married, is tired of travel so it’s time to change jobs. He gets on Career Builder or Monster and does a search and sees hundreds of local sales jobs. He goes home convinced that he will have no problem finding a job. After all, plenty of employers are seeking him.
This is where perceptions and reality sometimes collide. He sees an ad and sends in a resume. He’s a good salesman so he’s sure he’s getting an interview. Unfortunately, he may be in for a surprise when told he is not right. Maybe the company has an engineered product and is looking for someone who sells to engineers. Maybe they are looking for strong Inside/Telephone Sales experience, not Outside Sales. Maybe they sell high-dollar services and want someone with at least 8 years experience. The variability of job specs can be astonishing. As a fresh grad, Joe was good for every job. As an experienced professional, his experience put him on an arc, which can be difficult to get off. Someone with limited experience in the employment world can misinterpret the multiple job visibility that the Internet has brought to job searches. This can lead to Joe’s incorrect assumption that he fits all those jobs. That disconnect can lead to initial complacency and eventual frustration on his part. I’ve had people like Joe actually get angry when I tell them that my client does not see them as a fit. As a rule, anger does not help a job search.
OK, Joe now understands that he is not good for every job. But, there are jobs he fits. He’s getting interview requests. Once again, Joe’s use of technology can get in the way.
Joe is an aggressive guy. That is why he’s a good salesperson. When he sees a job that is close, he sends out a good cover letter selling himself with his resume. He might send out 5-10 resumes daily. Unfortunately, Joe doesn’t bother to keep track of them all. Joe does not understand that the company’s evaluation process has already begun. Here is what happens. ABC Manufacturing gets Joe’s resume and thinks he may be a fit. Their Manager gives him a call to discuss the job. That was one of 40 jobs he responded to last week and, when he answers the phone, he totally forgets the company and the job. He’s not ready to discuss how his background relates to the job. In his first impression, he leaves the manager with the impression that he is either stupid, unprepared or sloppy. It goes no farther.
What Joe should have done is to take the technology one step farther. It’s not hard to create an accessible file that keeps records of every job to which you’ve responded. Sure, it may take some time to set up but, as we pointed out above, career decisions can be mighty important. I’ll bet Joe has all the stats for his Fantasy League football team on his PDA by Monday. Can’t he do the same for his job search? Nothing impresses a hiring manager more than a prepared candidate and, if his competition for the job is unprepared, he is halfway home.
Another way that the junior candidate can miss-use technology revolves around e-mail and cell phones. You can’t go through the whole employment process only using email. A few years ago I had a job for a BSME who was going to be put on a track to a supervisor job. They needed someone with strong communications skills and 3 years experience from a specific industry. A good resume appeared and I left a message for the fellow.
Two days later I got an answer – an email saying that he had received my call and was calling me back with an email. What questions did I have? It took me a few minutes to understand that he expected a dialog by email. I responded by reminding him that this was a manager’s track position and that we needed to speak over the phone. I gave him my cell phone but never heard from him again. Too much trouble to pick up the phone? Here was a candidate who wanted to use technology to either control the process or hide a communications flaw till the last minute. Whichever, it violates the first law of employment – make sure you are seen as a person. See the other side as a person. Use technology as an introductory aid but do not let technology get between you and the other side of the relationship. People have careers, robots have jobs.
Our last advice for the young at heart revolves, predictably enough, around cell phones. Many young people exclusively use cell phones. That’s great till you use them in a phone interview. Two-way dialog can be limited by a cell-phone. If that’s your only communications option, make the best of a bad situation. First, let the other party know you are on a cell and apologize for any potential problem. Second, learn how to complete thoughts and to not interrupt. On a cell, interruptions on either side can result in a disjointed conversation. Third, pick a quiet location. Last week, I swear, I think someone wanted to hold a phone con with me about their career while they were at the gym. I could hear the music and noise in the background.
In short, for younger professionals going through a job search for the first time, avoid filtering out your personality by relying to heavily on email, Internet and cell phone technology. You are your greatest asset, don’t hide.
Now, let’s look at the other end of the spectrum - the CEO/VP. Here you have a different set of issues, all revolving around the intersection of technology and employment, with a little ego added in. One quick question though, why do high percentage of executives never acknowledge that they look at ads and respond to them? A recent VP of HR ad is a typical example. Of the 100 or so people who responded to the ad, about 80% said that the ad was forwarded to them by "a friend". That is typical of senior level jobs. Not sure why but maybe you can explain it to me.
Back to the topic, a few rules for applying to jobs. First, if you see an ad or hear about an interesting job, E-mail a resume. It saves everyone time. A recent CEO ad brought me the following email:
"With a mechanical engineering degree from xxxxxx, MBA, Six Sigma certification, and demonstrated success as a manufacturing General Manager/COO, you can understand why I am interested in hearing more about the Philadelphia-area CEO opportunity that you posted on Monster.com. Prior to opening up a discussion, I would appreciate answers to the following quick questions:
- What is the industry?
- What type of group holds voting control: public; private - actively involved; private - not actively involved; or family?
- What is the potential for equity?"
What’s wrong with that, you say? Legitimate questions for sure. But it’s inefficient. That’s a lot of questions from someone who I never even met or spoke to. At that point I had 200 resumes to evaluate. These were people who took the trouble to respond with more than a brief synopsis of their wonderfulness. Since they took the trouble to do as asked, I owed them first consideration, especially since this was a confidential search to begin with. I did answer his questions while also reminding him that potential for equity depends on the person, and suggested he send a resume. Since he was looking at ads, he must have a resume ready to send. Never heard from him again.
As an executive, it is important for you to realize that technology has automated the early part of the employment process, for you and everyone. If you are ambitious but you want to wait to be courted and wooed for a job, technology is allowing more energized candidates to get in the door ahead of you. Don’t try and hijack the process like the guy above did. Small and mid-sized companies value polite people, at least my clients do. An understanding of this fact is critical. The competition for executive level jobs in fierce and if you have a strong background, the resume will show it better than anything else. If you are so self-important that you don’t want to go to the trouble of a resume, you are not right for my client base. You have to play the game. I didn’t make up the rules.
Other suggestions, don’t email the resume and call one minute later to go over it. Honest, I had a guy do that last week for a VP Sales job. One minute – sixty seconds. Imagine being in the middle of something and having someone say, " I just sent you an email. You just got it. I want to talk about that job. I am a perfect fit." Sure, let’s drop everything, put all calls on hold and lock the door so we don’t be disturbed. His time was so important he had no consideration for anything else. When I looked at the resume, he wasn’t even close. His tactic was to do that everywhere he sent a resume. Geeze.
Lastly, don’t use snail mail. Occasionally I get resumes on expensive paper in the mail. I can’t use them. They don’t scan well. You must use email to send a resume. If you don’t, you are signaling that you are not computer savvy. Save the fancy paper for a wedding announcement. It’s a digital business world. It’s what your resume says that’s important, not the bond of paper it’s printed on.
Executive level candidates are successful people, no doubt about it. However, they need to remember two things. One, they are competing with other successful people. Two, they should not expect people to accept behavior from them as a candidate that they wouldn’t accept themselves. It’s the reverse of the junior person who wanted to hide behind emails and depersonalize the process, many executives want to personalize the process too early. Timing is everything. You want to emerge from the pack as a good candidate, not explode into the scene like an unguided missile. We know you are used to being in charge but sometimes you’ve got to let the process unroll.
Understanding the process will help you maximize your chances of success. Use the technology available to be the best candidate, whether it’s for a $50,000/year sales job or a $200,000/year CEO job. Good luck, have a great career and don’t forget Right Recruiting as a source for the area’s best jobs. Thanks for your time. Jeff
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