While you may think your recruitment methods are great, what do job seekers really think of your recruitment methods? StandOutCV, a resume writing service based out of the UK, recently put this question to the test.
Having a great resume is a very valuable career tool. It will help you get your foot in the door, get the attention of recruiters and hiring managers, and it is what will land you job interview requests. A poorly crafted resume will do the opposite – it will get buried in the pile of other bad resumes, never to be looked at again.
As far as agency recruiting goes, there are way too many “fly by night” shops that give our industry a terrible reputation. I have worked with countless recruiters over the years, many of which are phenomenal, and many others – not so much. Too many are focused on their commission instead of the human beings they are trying to help match up.
People make mistakes, jobs and companies aren’t what they seem, and there are many who wish they would have stayed in their previous position a little longer than they did.
There’s a story about Pablo Picasso that speaks well to the enormous time investment that recruiters make (to know the candidate market, to really understand the industry we serve) well in advance of actually being engaged in a search. It goes; a woman sees Pablo Picasso sitting on a park bench, idly sketching. She approaches and asks for sketch. He says yes, does it and as he hands it to her says “that will be $5000.” The woman is outraged and says “that only took you 15 minutes!” to which Picasso replies, “No Madam, that took me 40 years.”
With 70% of employers spending less than 5 minutes reviewing your resume, and with 48% spending less than two minutes, you MUST ensure your resume is accurate, mistake free, and offers something that intrigues recruiters and hiring managers.
Having great references is essential if you want to land your dream job and make the ascent up the corporate ladder. While most job candidates are diligent with polishing their resume and cover letter and updating it each time they go on a job interview, many also overlook the importance of maintaining good references over the long term.
The truth is you can tell them as much or as little as you want, but if you are not upfront and honest, you risk hurting your relationship with them and losing out on a source of leads for potential jobs in your field.
No one wants to get laid off or fired, but it happens, even to good employees. When times are tight, finance companies have to make hard decisions about their staff. To ensure you are not caught completely off-guard and can create time to start looking for alternative career options, you need to be aware of the signs that you might be the next employee on the chopping block.
