Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter's Job Hunting Advice

The New Way for Resume Inconsistencies to Be Uncovered.

2008-03-29T06:50:00.002-04:00

Last week someone senta resume to me who was already in our ATS (Applicant Tracking System). ATS's are used by recruiters and employers alike to track resumes received and actions taken with candidates.

So, having looked at the resume and having a perfunctory sense of the background, my eyes noticed something--the dates were changed and a few months added to their employment last year (this was a resume inputted by a former colleague so I was not familiar with them).

At that moment, I debated about whether to hit the delete key.

Why? Because if they insisted upon perpetuating the lie I would have to confront them and no one likes a recruiter doing that to them, right? We're all so, "pushy" and concerned about "making a buck."

So, I decided to call the person and, in the midst of qualifying them, ask them about it.

After a brief denial, I asked, "How do you think your resume from one job ago got into our system with these dates unless they were on your resume?"

Silence and then the admission.

Look, I took the time because we all make mistakes (Hillary Clinton "misspoke", right?) but employers are rarely so kind as to tolerate being lied to.

If you have ever sent a resume to a company or a recruiter has emailed a resume to a company, it is likely in an applicant tracking system where a lie will be caught and your ability to work for that company destroyed.

DON'T DO IT!

Jeff Altman

He is the author of “Get Yourself Hired NOW! The Big Game Hunter’s Guide to Head Hunting Your Next Job and Every Job After That” (in ebook and audio formats) and “Get Your Job Search Organized NOW!” (ebook) Both are available at www.getyourselfhiredNOW.com Register at the site and you will receive free copies of The International Job Board List and a Guide to Resume Writing.

To receive a daily digest of positions emailed to you, search for openings that The Big Game Hunter is working on, to use Jeff’s free job lead search engine, Job Search Universe, to subscribe to Jeff’s free job hunting ezine, “Head Hunt Your Next Job, or his staffing ezine, “Natural Selection”, or to learn about his VIP program, go to www.jeffaltman.com.

Explore some of The Big Game Hunter's products in "The Universe" series

Job Search Universe: Search thousand of Job Boards and Corporate Job Sites for job leads at the same time
The Resume Universe: Information about Resumes and Cover Letters
The Consulting Universe: Search and Post Consulting Assignments and Consulting Jobs
Self-Employment Universe: Business Opportunities and Work-At-Home
The Diet Universe: Health & Wellness Information
Personal Finance Universe: Taking Care of Your Money better

Plus

Search4Candidates.com: Refined Searching for Resumes and Candidate Leads
Search4JobLeads.com: The site that recruiters use to find job leads
VIP Personal Search: Hire Your Own VIP Personal Search Agent
The Job Market Blog: Blogging and news about the job market since August 2001
4ITProfessionals: Search for jobs, resume services and post your resume—targeted on IT professionals
HeadHuntYourNextJob.com: 3 Search Products in one place
Indian Job Network: Network for Work in India

Passively Looking Aggressively: Ten Things You Can Do To Be Found and Why You Need To Do Them.

2008-03-15T14:54:00.006-04:00

Having been a recruiter for almost 40 years (GASP!), I started in the industry at a time where running ads meant in a newspaper and cold calling candidates from company telephone directories and lying to them was far more common than it is today (thank goodness).

We were trained to present ourselves as updating telephone books to get names, to call the operator at a company, pretend we were at the airport and . . . I'll skip telling you all the fraud that recruiters would engage in in "days of old."

One of the things I was extremely proud of was helping to create a myth that has gained such wide acceptance today--The Myth of The Passive Candidate.

The way the story goes is that passive applicants are superior to active ones because they are busy doing their job and not reading the newspaper looking for work. That you could run the largest ad in the newspaper and it wouldn't be sen by this person because they were too busy working to know.

As a result, through "aggressive recruiting," I was representing the best person available and not just the best person reading the newspaper on a given Sunday.

I started using this strategy because at the time I started my first business, I didn't have the budget to compete with the larger firms with enormous ad budgets. Thus, in the mind of many clients and firms I was marketing to, I diminished the referrals from my competitors who did advertise and put a halo around mine all at once.

Today, I read posts from recruiters who swear on a stack of Bibles that passive candidates are superior to active ones. It is ridiculous how easy it is to put a hole in the argument but, no mind, zealots exist in religion, politics and recruiting.

However, YOU need to understand that the bias exists and, in good times and bad, construct your job search in such a way as to maneuver some of the people who have this belief system, particularly if you are at a C-level.

Why?

Because to these people, the active job hunter is inferior an unworthy of their client's time.

So here are some strategies to entice and seduce this segment of the search profession.

1. Start by understanding what is your online persona by searching your name. When you run a Google search on mine, I show up in the 4th position behind the comedian, Jeff Altman (he is very funny). When you add "The Big Game Hunter" to the search, there are about 3900 answers including job ads I've written, my websites, articles I've written and much more.

What is yours?

2. Write a professional bio for yourself and post it on your own website (You do have a website, don't you).

3. Use LinkedIn, Xing, Konnects and Zaabiz.
LinkedIn is the largest in the US; Xing, the largest in Europe and growing in the US as is Konnects and Zaabiz (they are Australia/New Zealand based and growing in the US, and Asia).

4. Write articles about your competence for trade publications.

5 Become active in online communities.

6. Give referrals to recruiters.

7. Blog about your work.

8. If you aggressively look for work, only post "blind resumes." Post a resume with your name on it and a different one that does not and is different than in some respects from the public one.

9. Collect contact information from people when they leave your firm. They may be great sources of leads, particularly if you send them

10. Christmas and holiday cards that tell the detailed stories of the year for you professionally and personally.

Remember, for this class of recruiter, you can not look good to them if you are looking for work publicly. Thus, put yourself in the position to be "found" so that they can have the false feeling of success and accomplishment.

Jeff Altman

Explore some of The Big Game Hunter's products in "The Universe" series

Job Search Universe: Search thousand of Job Boards and Corporate Job Sites for job leads at the same time
The Resume Universe: Information about Resumes and Cover Letters
The Consulting Universe: Search and Post Consulting Assignments and Consulting Jobs
Self-Employment Universe: Business Opportunities and Work-At-Home
The Diet Universe: Health & Wellness Information
Personal Finance Universe: Taking Care of Your Money better

Plus

Search4Candidates.com: Refined Searching for Resumes and Candidate Leads
Search4JobLeads.com: The site that recruiters use to find job leads
VIP Personal Search: Hire Your Own VIP Personal Search Agent
The Job Market Blog: Blogging and news about the job market since August 2001
4ITProfessionals: Search for jobs, resume services and post your resume—targeted on IT professionals
HeadHuntYourNextJob.com: 3 Search Products in one place
Indian Job Network: Network for Work in India

Thirteen Sites for Finding an Internship

2008-03-15T05:43:00.003-04:00

This job (and technically it is not a job) may not be for you, personally. It may be for the teen in your family. Regardless, I hope it helps whoever reads it.

According to the US Department of Labor, an internship program must meet six specific standards.

1. The intern has to receive training that is equivalent to a vocational school.
2. The intern benefits from the experience
3. The intern cannot displace an employee
4. There is no immediate advantage from the Intern's Activities
5. There is no guarantee of a job
6. There is an understanding that the intern will not be paid

To translate the legalese, an intern is an unpaid person who works for a company that should get nothing substantial from the work the intern performs, yet the interns learns from the experience, doesn't replace a current employee and receives no promise that they will be hired.

Sounds real enticing!

In addition to the support provided by your student's university, here are a few websites that can help your "intern-to-be" find an internship program

1. Search4JobLeads.com: This site aggregates information from thousands of other sites as does
2. Indeed.com: I carry Indeed on www.jeffaltman.com/links.htm
3. CollegeRecruiter http://tinyurl.com/25jsn2: This site focuses on the college age person to recent grad
4. Careerbuilder: I have convenient Careerbuilder links on www.jeffaltman.com Search using the entry level link.
5. Monster http://tinyurl.com/yuof36 The Big Daddy site has many openings
6. Internjobs www.Internjobs.com
7. FashionInternship http://tinyurl.com/2qmlyf
8. AdvertisingInternships http://tinyurl.com/2sbbel
9. Entertainment Internships http://tinyurl.com/3by8ze
10. Marketing Internships http://tinyurl.com/359jro
11. Music Internships http://tinyurl.com/368gwm
12. PublicRelationsInternships http://tinyurl.com/2m2cxh
13. Yahoo HotJobs http://tinyurl.com/ytpnje

I hope these sites help.

Jeff Altman

He is the author of “Get Yourself Hired NOW! The Big Game Hunter’s Guide to Head Hunting Your Next Job and Every Job After That” (in ebook and audio formats) and “Get Your Job Search Organized NOW!” (ebook) Both are available at www.getyourselfhiredNOW.com Register at the site and you will receive free copies of The International Job Board List and a Guide to Resume Writing.

To receive a daily digest of positions emailed to you, search for openings that The Big Game Hunter is working on, to use Jeff’s free job lead search engine, Job Search Universe, to subscribe to Jeff’s free job hunting ezine, “Head Hunt Your Next Job, or his staffing ezine, “Natural Selection”, or to learn about his VIP program,go to www.jeffaltman.com.

Explore some of The Big Game Hunter's products in "The Universe" series

Job Search Universe: Search thousand of Job Boards and Corporate Job Sites for job leads at the same time
The Resume Universe: Information about Resumes and Cover Letters
The Consulting Universe: Search and Post Consulting Assignments and Consulting Jobs
Self-Employment Universe: Business Opportunities and Work-At-Home
The Diet Universe: Health & Wellness Information
Personal Finance Universe: Taking Care of Your Money better

Plus

Search4Candidates.com: Refined Searching for Resumes and Candidate Leads
Search4JobLeads.com: The site that recruiters use to find job leads
VIP Personal Search: Hire Your Own VIP Personal Search Agent
The Job Market Blog: Blogging and news about the job market since August 2001
4ITProfessionals: Search for jobs, resume services and post your resume—targeted on IT professionals
HeadHuntYourNextJob.com: 4 Search Products in one place
Indian Job Network: Network for Work in India

You Hate Spam, Don't You?

2008-02-29T17:45:00.003-05:00

So Why Are You Spamming Me?

One of the reasons I like Gmail as much as I do is because its spam filter is extremely good. The spam filter or local ISP provides is horrible and requires that every time I open it, I have to manually create rules that direct future spammer emails to go directly to my delete files. It is too time consuming, so I've switched to Gmail and abandoned the ISP's email account for me to the spammers.

At work, every day, I arrive to at least 100 and, more often, 150+ emails from individuals whose resumes in no way shape or form reflect the specifics of the requirements of the job description they are applying for.

I wonder why they sent the resume.

Many people are brought up with the idea that if your resume fits 20% of the requirement, you send it because maybe . . .

Or that if a recruiter does work in a specific field, but the ad doesn't fit your experience, you send them your resume because they might have something else. This strategy may work with junior recruiters but is frustrating to people like me who have high demanding and extremely demanding clients.

So let me explain why this is so troublesome.

On Monday, if I walk in to 100 new resumes, call and speak to each person for 5 minutes, I will take 5 hours qualifying every person. I will have done nothing to help the people who contacted me on Friday who may or may not fit the requirements. I probably won't actually speak to everyone; I'll need to leave messages that may or may not be responded to that day. I will need to keep everyone's resume organized and easily locatable so that when they decide they have the time to call back, I can easily retrieve it which delays my contacting someone from that day's group of 100 resumes.

And then I will have discovered that the resume was sent speculatively.

I know I am not unique in having this problem. Recruiters I connect with all over the country lament that they spend all day reading one useless resume after another.

So, here's a piece of simple and EXTREMELY USEFUL ADVICE. If you have the experience that is required of the job, make sure it is in your resume, even if that means adding it to your basic resume.

Do not just include it in a cover letter or cover email; PUT IT IN THE RESUME. Pretend that someone even busier than I will be reviewing it so MAKE YOUR RELEVANT EXPERIENCE OBVIOUS.

By doing that, you will get many more interviews and your resumes won't look like spam.

Jeff Altman
The Big Game Hunter
Concepts in Staffing
thebiggamehunter@cisny.com

© 2008 all rights reserved.

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter, is Managing Director with Concepts in Staffing, a New York search firm, He has successfully assisted many corporations identify management leaders and staff in many disciplines since 1971. He is a retired certified leader of the ManKind Project, a not for profit organization that assists men with life issues, and a practicing psychotherapist.

He is the author of “Get Yourself Hired NOW! The Big Game Hunter’s Guide to Head Hunting Your Next Job and Every Job After That” (in ebook and audio formats) and “Get Your Job Search Organized NOW!” (ebook) Both are available at www.getyourselfhiredNOW.com Register at the site and you will receive free copies of The International Job Board List and a Guied to Resume Writing.

To receive a daily digest of positions emailed to you, search for openings that The Big Game Hunter is working on, to use Jeff’s free job lead search engine, Job Search Universe, to subscribe to Jeff’s free job hunting ezine, “Head Hunt Your Next Job, or his staffing ezine, “Natural Selection”, or to learn about his VIP program, go to www.jeffaltman.com.

Explore some of The Big Game Hunter's products in "The Universe" series

Job Search Universe: Search thousand of Job Boards and Corporate Job Sites for job leads at the same time
The Resume Universe: Information about Resumes and Cover Letters
The Consulting Universe: Search and Post Consulting Assignments and Consulting Jobs
Self-Employment Universe: Business Opportunities and Work-At-Home
The Diet Universe: Health & Wellness Information
Personal Finance Universe: Taking Care of Your Money better

Plus

Search4Candidates.com: Refined Searching for Resumes and Candidate Leads
Search4JobLeads.com: The site that recruiters use to find job leads
VIP Personal Search: Hire Your Own VIP Personal Search Agent
The Job Market Blog: Blogging and news about the job market since August 2001
4ITProfessionals: Search for jobs, resume services and post your resume—targeted on IT professionals
HeadHuntYourNextJob.com: 3 Search Products in one place
Indian Job Network: Network for Work in India

Mapping Your Network

2008-02-24T15:19:00.005-05:00

As you start to prepare to change jobs, one of the many things you can do to prepare to change jobs is to map your network. What's that?

Some of you may be familiar with the term from technology where a diagram or schema of a local, wide or metropolitan area network may be developed so that everyone has a sense of how the network has been constructed, who is on it and what the topology is.

Mapping your network is similar.

Start with your first level of relationships--who do you know? Look in your phone book, your online address book, your online connections and accumulate office and home email addresses, phone numbers and addresses. How about people you know from religious relationships? People you connect with on Facebook, myspace, LinkedIn and other social network sites

Your second level of relationship is to ask yourself who they might know who you could ask them to put you in contact with. Do they have a spouse or partner who works for a desired organization. How old are their adult children. Where do they work and what do they do professionally. How about the people from the online networking services. Who are they connected with and who is in their families?

Keep expanding outward for each person and develop a schema of your relationships and of those you are connected with. Once you've done this, you can figure out who you can ask for help and to do what for you.

Jeff Altman

He is the author of “Get Yourself Hired NOW! The Big Game Hunter’s Guide to Head Hunting Your Next Job and Every Job After That” (in ebook and audio formats) and “Get Your Job Search Organized NOW!” (ebook) Both are available at www.getyourselfhiredNOW.com

To receive a daily digest of positions emailed to you, search for openings that The Big Game Hunter is working on, to use Jeff’s free job lead search engine, Job Search Universe, to subscribe to Jeff’s free job hunting ezine, “Head Hunt Your Next Job, or his staffing ezine, “Natural Selection”, or to learn about his VIP program, go to www.jeffaltman.com.

Explore some of The Big Game Hunter's products in "The Universe" series

Job Search Universe: Search thousand of Job Boards and Corporate Job Sites for job leads at the same time
The Resume Universe: Information about Resumes and Cover Letters
The Consulting Universe: Search and Post Consulting Assignments and Consulting Jobs
Self-Employment Universe: Business Opportunities and Work-At-Home
The Diet Universe: Health & Wellness Information
Personal Finance Universe: Taking Care of Your Money better

Plus

Search4Candidates.com: Refined Searching for Resumes and Candidate Leads
Search4JobLeads.com: The site that recruiters use to find job leads
VIP Personal Search: Hire Your Own VIP Personal Search Agent
The Job Market Blog: Blogging and news about the job market since August 2001
4ITProfessionals: Search for jobs, resume services and post your resume—targeted on IT professionals
HeadHuntYourNextJob.com: 3 Search Products in one place
Indian Job Network: Network for Work in India

Are You The Target?

2008-02-24T15:02:00.002-05:00

If an earthquake had devastated your home, would you sit and complain about it or would you be making new plans?

Too often, the first thing people do when their firm is experiencing problems is to sit and mope, complain, do anything other than fit for their jobs or hit the exits. After all, complaining does nothing. Action does.

So if you learn your firm is experiencing financial problems severe enough to put layoffs in the cards or your job in jeopardy, here are a few things to do.

If you run a business unit or a company and the numbers disappoint, don't just take it; make your case to the board, to the president, to anyone who should hear it. Don't let the numbers stand unchallenged. Make sure people know that it is not unique to your firm and that you have a plan to change things.

If you're the Average Joe or Josephine, be the "backbone of the organization." Come in early and leave late. Care about what you do and document everything. Make sure people know how much effort you put in without seeming like a martyr.

If you're fairly new to the firm when problems occur, become "the eager beaver" by becoming a sponge for knowledge. Ask lots of questions and get advice from everyone important. Get going!

If you're an "old timer" become a work machine. let everyone see you as important so that they don't believe that you and your high salary are disposable.

And while all of this is going on, prepare your resume and start connecting with people inside of your organization to see if you can transfer to a division where layoffs are unlikely or outside of your organization so that you can start interviewing before you are fired.

Jeff Altman

He is the author of “Get Yourself Hired NOW! The Big Game Hunter’s Guide to Head Hunting Your Next Job and Every Job After That” (in ebook and audio formats) and “Get Your Job Search Organized NOW!” (ebook) Both are available at www.getyourselfhiredNOW.com

To receive a daily digest of positions emailed to you, search for openings that The Big Game Hunter is working on, to use Jeff’s free job lead search engine, Job Search Universe, to subscribe to Jeff’s free job hunting ezine, “Head Hunt Your Next Job, or his staffing ezine, “Natural Selection”, or to learn about his VIP program, go to www.jeffaltman.com.

Explore some of The Big Game Hunter's products in "The Universe" series

Job Search Universe: Search thousand of Job Boards and Corporate Job Sites for job leads at the same time
The Resume Universe: Information about Resumes and Cover Letters
The Consulting Universe: Search and Post Consulting Assignments and Consulting Jobs
Self-Employment Universe: Business Opportunities and Work-At-Home
The Diet Universe: Health & Wellness Information
Personal Finance Universe: Taking Care of Your Money better

Plus

Search4Candidates.com: Refined Searching for Resumes and Candidate Leads
Search4JobLeads.com: The site that recruiters use to find job leads
VIP Personal Search: Hire Your Own VIP Personal Search Agent
The Job Market Blog: Blogging and news about the job market since August 2001
4ITProfessionals: Search for jobs, resume services and post your resume—targeted on IT professionals
HeadHuntYourNextJob.com: 3 Search Products in one place
Indian Job Network: Network for Work in India

Long Distance Job Hunting: Not For the Faint of Heart

2008-01-31T07:05:00.001-05:00

More people are looking for jobs away from their home territories in order to defeat regional issues that make it difficult to find work near home. They hope that their next employer will provide benefits that make it easy to move (some do; many don't), but forget that long distance job hunting is extremely difficult.

Here's why.

1. You are at a major competitive disadvantage with local talent. Local job hunters can come to interviews tomorrow or the next day. You may have to take a day off from work, drive 250 miles for the meeting, stay overnight, interview and return home. You may have to book a flight (at their expense, you are costing them money; at your expense, to get cheaper rates, you may need a few days to get a reasonably priced air fare).

2. Firms worry about you adjusting after the move. Even if you are 22 and living with a roommate, employers wonder about how you're going to find an apartment or new home, move your things and be able to perform given the stress of the move.

3. You cost an employer more. Look at these costs--flights, meals, hotels, a car to take you o their offices and to and from the airport, relocation, temporary living, travel to a second and perhaps third interview. Some firms don't want to bother, especially during slow economic times.

Ideally you don't want to be planning a move "under the gun" of needing a job. Hopefully, a move is a planned event in your life.

To help defray some of the costs and make more opportunities available to you with firms that do not pay interview and relocation expenses consider these alternatives:

a. Accumulate frequent flyer points and use them for interviews.

b. Group your interviews so that you can do several on your trip

c. Find a friend or family member with whom you can stay when interviewing

d. Make sure your wife, husband, partner and kids are OK with moving BEFORE you begin interviewing

If you are out of work, or if you making an interview trip as part of a job search, the more you can do while on a trip, the better (for you),

If firms in your new market don't usually pay interview or relocation expenses, the more you can do to erase their apprehension of hiring someone who is not local to them, the better off you will be,

He is the author of “Get Yourself Hired NOW! The Big Game Hunter’s Guide to Head Hunting Your Next Job and Every Job After That” (in ebook and audio formats) and “Get Your Job Search Organized NOW!” (ebook) Both are available at www.getyourselfhiredNOW.com

To receive a daily digest of positions emailed to you, search for openings that The Big Game Hunter is working on, to use Jeff’s free job lead search engine, Job Search Universe, to subscribe to Jeff’s free job hunting ezine, “Head Hunt Your Next Job, or his staffing ezine, “Natural Selection”, or to learn about his VIP program, go to www.jeffaltman.com.

Explore some of The Big Game Hunter's products in "The Universe" series

Job Search Universe: Search thousand of Job Boards and Corporate Job Sites for job leads at the same time
The Resume Universe: Information about Resumes and Cover Letters
The Consulting Universe: Search and Post Consulting Assignments and Consulting Jobs
Self-Employment Universe: Business Opportunities and Work-At-Home
The Diet Universe: Health & Wellness Information
Personal Finance Universe: Taking Care of Your Money better

Plus

Search4Candidates.com: Refined Searching for Resumes and Candidate Leads
Search4JobLeads.com: The site that recruiters use to find job leads
VIP Personal Search: Hire Your Own VIP Personal Search Agent
The Job Market Blog: Blogging and news about the job market since August 2001
4ITProfessionals: Search for jobs, resume services and post your resume—targeted on IT professionals
HeadHuntYourNextJob.com: 3 Search Products in one place
Indian Job Network: Network for Work in India

A Creative Idea for Marketing Skills

2008-01-28T17:51:00.001-05:00

Time Magazine carried a story a few years ago about an unusual auction on eBay.

"Team of 16 employees from major ISP willing to leave as a group," the posting read. "Total minimum bid would be $3,140,000."

Although the team did not sell, it does open the idea into your mind that in certain areas and with certain skills it might be possible to market group of skills collectively and get a number of people hired.

For example:

Complete trading team (this is pretty common)
Entire sales department
7 Accountants
6 architects
5 engineers
4 systems administrators
3 French hens
2 turtle doves

And a partridge . . .

Joking aside, why not market a group as a package?

If you are laid off, why not ask your former employer to create a website, complete with domain name registration, web design and the like for everyone affected to have their resume available for search?

Jeff Altman

The Big Game Hunter
Concepts in Staffing
jeffaltman@cisny.com

© 2008 all rights reserved.

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter, is Managing Director with Concepts in Staffing, a New York search firm, He has successfully assisted many corporations identify management leaders and staff in technology, accounting, finance, sales, marketing and other disciplines since 1971. He is a practicing psychotherapist and is a retired certified leader of the ManKind Project, a not for profit organization that assists men with life issues.

To receive a daily digest of positions emailed to you, search job openings, use his free job lead search engine, Job Search Universe. to subscribe Jeff’s free job search ezines, Head Hunt Your Next Job and/or Natural Selection (his free recruiting ezine), or to find out about his VIP Personal Search Agent service, go to http://www.jeffaltman.com.

If you would like Jeff and his firm to assist you with hiring staff or locating consultants, or if you would like help with a strategic job change, send an email to him at thebiggamehunter@cisny.com (If you’re looking for a new position, include your resume).

Priorities

2008-01-28T17:22:00.001-05:00

A new client contacted me about a consulting assignment that they needed filled.

I found someone who fit their requirements called and left a message with the wife who told me that he would call back after taking their child to school/

No problem.

Three hours later, I called again and spoke with him, reviewed his experience, discovered he was out of work for 8 months (red flag) but decided to go ahead with trying to arrange an interview for him.

The client liked his background and I called him to alert him to the probability of receiving a call from them late that afternoon.

"But I'm grouting the floor!"

"Sir, you;v been out of work for 8 months, are not close to landing a new job, I waited three hours for a return phone call and never received one, despite your wife's promise that I would receive one about a half hour later. Now you have an interview and you tell me you would rather grout your floor? Help me undertsand this."

He hung up and I was glad. A colleague called him back in an hour and gthe man described me in unkind terms for having pointed out how inconsistent his behavior was (I want a job, I won't call you back; I won't interview at the time I told you I could interview in our first conversation because I would rather grout the floor). I was thankful for not having my time wasted any more.

Jeff Altman

Everyone Should Know You're Looking

2008-01-28T17:04:00.000-05:00

I sat with John Sampson last week for an hour and talked with him about the importance of networking. If you don't know John, he is a technology manager in New Jersey who rums a large networking group called MIS Network Associates as an act of giving back (I know, I suggested ways he could make it more profitable and he rebuffed the ideas, saying it was an act of love for all the help he has received.

Beyond helping people develop their elevator pitch (you know, the 30 second commercial about your work), John encourages members to tell everyone that they are looking for work and what kind of job they do.

Can your wife explain what you do in 30 seconds or less? Make sure they can!
Blogger: Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter's Job Hunting Advice - Create Post
He told a wonderful story about how one of his members has being pushed by their cleaning person for a resume. Eventually, the man's wife told him, "Give her the resume so I can get her off my back!"

It seems that the woman's husband managed a function at a large employer in the area and hired him for a terrific job.

Have you told your mechanic, doctor, hairdresser, accountant, lawyer, best friend, pastor, rabbi, monk, priest, nun, shoemaker, former boss (gasping for air) that you're looking for a job?

Tell everyone and tell them what you do!

Jeff Altman

The Top Six Ways You May Be Sabotaging Your Search: #2

2008-01-20T12:12:00.000-05:00

#2: Circumventing Your Recruiter to Do Your Own Negotiating

Too often people subscribe to the thinking that trusting a recruiter during financial discussions costs them money. In fact, not listening to their recruiter will cost you everything.

You see, a recruiter is having conversations with their corporate client (in my thinking, the real client since they are the ones who are paying them) and have access to their tyhinking.

Sometimes this will come across in how they "manage you" into accepting a particular salary or package.

Read between the lines in what you are being told. After all, recruiters, whether retained or contingency are paid for success and failure does not help them achieve their fee (or the balance of their fee if they are retained) and additional business.

So, often they are sending messages to you about what their client is thinking.

Contacting a firm behind their back, attempting to negotiate a salary different than what you are telling them hurts you, not them. After all, the recruiter is the trusted party by the client, not you and they will thow you under the bus and align themselves with their client's interests at that moment to preserve the relationship rather than defend you, despite what you may think.

A friend with another search firm told me a story recently about an applicant who she was representing who after two interviews decided they wanted another $20,000 more than what they had expressed to the recruiter and to the firm directly. The reasons are unimportant; the reaction is.

The client was bewildered; they asked the recruiter about the candidate and their thinking; the recruiter was dumbfounded by being blindsided, pointed out that this was the first she had heard of the applicant changing their thinking, and calmly accepted the rejection of this candidate by the client.

If you have issues with the salary that is being discussed or might be proposed, talk to your recruiter.

They may not be able to get any more because, after all, budgets are fixed for particular jobs.

But if they can, they will. Why, because it is their interest to. After all, recruiters are paid a percentage of your compensation. The more you make, the more they make. But they make nothing unless the negotiation is successful AND they come out with less than what they started with if, in fact, you embarrass them and they defend you without being prepared to do so.

Avoid this tactic unless you believe that scorched earth is the best environment to start a relationship.

Jeff Altman

The Big Game Hunter
Concepts in Staffing
thebiggamehunter@cisny.com

© 2008 all rights reserved.

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter, is Managing Director with Concepts in Staffing, a New York search firm, He has successfully assisted many corporations identify management leaders and staff in many disciplines since 1971. He is a retired certified leader of the ManKind Project, a not for profit organization that assists men with life issues, and a practicing psychotherapist.

To receive a daily digest of positions emailed to you, search for openings that The Big Game Hunter is working on, to use Jeff’s free job lead search engine, Job Search Universe, to subscribe to Jeff’s free job hunting ezine, “Head Hunt Your Next Job, or his staffing ezine, “Natural Selection”, or to learn about his VIP program, go to www.jeffaltman.com.

Explore some of The Big Game Hunter's products in "The Universe" series

Job Search Universe: Search thousand of Job Boards and Corporate Job Sites for job leads at the same time
Self-Employment Universe: Business Opportunities and Work-At-Home
The Consulting Universe: Search and Post Consulting Assignments and Consulting Jobs
The Diet Universe: Health & Wellness Information
The Resume Universe: Information about Resumes and Cover Letters
Personal Finance Universe: Taking Care of Your Money better

Plus

Search4Candidates.com: Refined Searching for Resumes and Candidate Leads
Indian Job Network: Network for Work in India
Search4JobLeads.com: The site that recruiters use to find job leads
VIP Personal Search: Hire Your Own VIP Personal Search Agent
The Job Market Blog: Blogging and news about the job market since August 2001
4ITProfessionals: Search for jobs, resume services and post your resume—targeted on IT professionals
HeadHuntYourNextJob.com: 3 Search Products in one place

The Top 6 Ways You May Be Sabotaging Your Job Search: #1

2008-01-19T15:09:00.000-05:00

Having been in the search profession for more than 30 years, I have seen a lot of ridiculous things that people do that subvert their efforts.

Yet there are six things that I believe do so much harm that I can't sit still any more and allow you to make these mistakes any more. Time will be too short for many of you and even in markets that will not suffer the effects of a slow down, correcting these mistakes is critical to making sure that you don't lose opportunities that you really want.

This is the first in a series of articles designed to help you avoid many of the mistakes people make when they look for work. I am not presenting them in any particular order.

#1 Way People Sabotage Their Job Search: Flipping Resumes to Job Ads Like They Were Flipping Hamburgers in the Kitchen of a Fast Food Restaurant.

Think of that image for a moment. A fry chef kid at a fast food restaurant is preparing orders for lots of people. Lots and lots of people. He or she has to turn them over and is flipping so many of them.

Well people keep submitting the same resume to job after job as though the job requirements in every position they are applying for are identical. They do nothing to emphasize particular skills that the employer might care about. They just keep sending out the same resume again and again without tweaking it.

The broken watch is right twice a day and sending the same resume again and again will get some interviews but miss far more.

Don't you really want the interview when you send the resume? If you do, tweak your resume to make it obvious that you fit the ojb, instead of just sending the same resume again and again.

Jeff Altman

Be Conscious When The Phone Rings

2008-01-18T15:20:00.000-05:00

I was calling a job hunter this week for a relationship manager role (with this client, it is a sales role for farming existing clients for new business) with a client. I introduced myself, confirmed that it was a convenient time (it was).

I described the job I was recruiting for to which he had forwarded his resume and started to ask a few warm up questions like "Why are you trying to make a change" and "Tell me about the work you've been doing," when I had to stop and ask myself, "Did I wake this man because he is dead and its almost noon."

His voice showed no life; he answered questions sloppily.

I asked him point blank whether I had interrupted him from something else (it wouldn't be the first time I interrupted someone doing some "personal" [wink. wink}).

"No, I've been up for hours, he told me.

I paused and decided to be helpful, explaining how I was disappointed in his presentation; that for someone with his experience I was expecting a lot more of him than what he gave me.

Then he said those immortal words, "Well, you're only the recruiter," and explained that he didn't think he had to sell to me.

So, in a polite manner, I explained that I was there to evaluate and assess people for my client and not "flip resumes like the staff does with burgers at a fast restaurant." I wished him well and left.

So, the moral to this story is take no one for granted when you are looking for work. Although I believe that many skilled professionals will be safe during the 2007-2008 recession (yes, I believe it has already started), many people won't be and shouldn't cavalierly come to interviews unprepared.

Jeff Altman

Explore some of The Big Game Hunter's products in "The Universe" series

Job Search Universe: Search thousand of Job Boards and Corporate Job Sites for job leads at the same time
Self-Employment Universe: Business Opportunities and Work-At-Home
The Consulting Universe: Search and Post Consulting Assignments and Consulting Jobs
The Diet Universe: Health & Wellness Information
The Resume Universe: Information about Resumes and Cover Letters
Personal Finance Universe: Taking Care of Your Money better
The Shopping Universe: More than a thousand stores in this mall AND help a child at the same time.

Plus

Search4Candidates.com: Refined Searching for Resumes and Candidate Leads
Indian Job Network: Network for Work in India
Search4JobLeads.com: The site that recruiters use to find job leads
VIP Personal Search: Hire Your Own VIP Personal Search Agent
The Job Market Blog: Blogging and news about the job market since August 2001
4ITProfessionals: Search for jobs, resume services and post your resume—targeted on IT professionals
HeadHuntYourNextJob.com: 3 Search Engines in one place

Text Messaging: The New Tool in Job Hunting

2008-01-07T05:57:00.001-05:00

Many of us have been brought up to believe that testing is for kids. That email and cell phones are far better ways to communicate.

But if you work in an environment where you can't take calls (others are close by, you work on a trading floor, to name two reasons) and people need to convey info to you quickly, what can you do other than demand they call you off hours (I'm not the only person with a family in the search profession; plus how many corporate people are going to call you at 8PM)?

Get a text messaging plan for your cell phone and let people know on your resume that they can text you (next to your cell number, xxx-xxx-xxxx cell/text).

In this way, you can get critical information that can't wait for you to get to your personal email account outside the office or to a private place to make a call. You can handle everything via text easily.

Jeff Altman

Explore some of The Big Game Hunter's products in "The Universe" series

Job Search Universe: Search thousand of Job Boards and Corporate Job Sites for job leads at the same time
Self-Employment Universe: Business Opportunities and Work-At-Home
The Consulting Universe: Search and Post Consulting Assignments and Consulting Jobs
The Diet Universe: Health & Wellness Information
The Resume Universe: Information about Resumes and Cover Letters
Personal Finance Universe: Taking Care of Your Money better
The Shopping Universe: More than a thousand stores in this mall AND help a child at the same time.

Plus

Search4Candidates.com: Refined Searching for Resumes and Candidate Leads
Indian Job Network: Network for Work in India
Search4JobLeads.com: The site that recruiters use to find job leads
VIP Personal Search: Hire Your Own VIP Personal Search Agent
The Job Market Blog: Blogging and news about the job market since August 2001
4ITProfessionals: Search for jobs, resume services and post your resume—targeted on IT professionals

Don't Just Answer Ads and Network

2008-01-05T08:14:00.000-05:00

Most people make the mistake of conducting a job search just like people did in the 70's--they answer ads in the newspapers or online and wait for th phone to ring.

Others think that they are doing a good thing by networking. Networking is a terrific way to use your relationships in order to make contacts that leads to work. (By the way, if you want to network with my 1300+ contacts on LinkedIn, send me an invitation through their system. My public page is http://www.linkedin.com/in/thebiggamehunter (Please note I do not connect with third party recruiters).

The third way to find work is using a two pronged approach--find a company that has a need and then either network to the person or people who are charged with fixing the problem or use Jigsaw to find the person or someone near the person who you can contact.

Jigsaw is an online directory of business contacts; they have a pay service where you are charged $25 at registration, receive 25 contacts and get access to 25 contacts and can purchase more as needed' they have a free service where you get 25 contacts but also commit to adding 25 names and contacts per month or else you are charged $25.

However you do it, adding the effort to contacting companies with needs to your repertoire will widen the scope of your search quite a bit.

Jeff Altman

Explore some of The Big Game Hunter's products in "The Universe" series

Job Search Universe: Search thousand of Job Boards and Corporate Job Sites for job leads at the same time
Self-Employment Universe: Business Opportunities and Work-At-Home
The Consulting Universe: Search and Post Consulting Assignments and Consulting Jobs
The Diet Universe: Health & Wellness Information
The Resume Universe: Information about Resumes and Cover Letters
Personal Finance Universe: Taking Care of Your Money better
The Shopping Universe: More than a thousand stores in this mall AND help a child at the same time.

Plus

Search4Candidates.com: Refined Searching for Resumes and Candidate Leads
Indian Job Network: Network for Work in India
Search4JobLeads.com: The site that recruiters use to find job leads
VIP Personal Search: Hire Your Own VIP Personal Search Agent
The Job Market Blog: Blogging and news about the job market since August 2001
4ITProfessionals: Search for jobs, resume services and post your resume—targeted on IT professionals

January Isn't Just For Resolutions

2008-01-05T08:02:00.000-05:00

Every January, people sit down and resolve to lose weight, save money, stop smoking and a host of other things.

For years, I have suggested that people use the start of the new year to take a career and job inventory, something that will be far more likely to be useful than the well intentioned resolutions that will be forgone by the second week.

What are your career goals?

Are you still pointed in the right direction?

How is your job helping you on the path to achieving them?

Are you reading about your company in the newspaper for growth or struggle?

How does your salary match up with the job market for what you do? Is the difference worth sacrificing (sometimes it is)?

What do you need to learn in order to advance yourself? Should you go back for another degree or will a different type of training be sufficient (and cost thousands less).

Write down your accomplishments for the past year. These will be particularly helpful at review time. As a matter of fact, if you can do this at least every six months or, better yet, every three months, you will have the best information imaginable when you are reviewed by your boss.

Making a regular habit of professional critiquing will help you waste less time on doing things that are not useful for you professionally and keep you pointed in the right one.

Jeff Altman

Explore some of The Big Game Hunter's products in "The Universe" series

Job Search Universe: Search thousand of Job Boards and Corporate Job Sites for job leads at the same time
Self-Employment Universe: Business Opportunities and Work-At-Home
The Consulting Universe: Search and Post Consulting Assignments and Consulting Jobs
The Diet Universe: Health & Wellness Information
The Resume Universe: Information about Resumes and Cover Letters
Personal Finance Universe: Taking Care of Your Money better
The Shopping Universe: More than a thousand stores in this mall AND help a child at the same time.

Plus

Search4Candidates.com: Refined Searching for Resumes and Candidate Leads
Indian Job Network: Network for Work in India
Search4JobLeads.com: The site that recruiters use to find job leads
VIP Personal Search: Hire Your Own VIP Personal Search Agent
The Job Market Blog: Blogging and news about the job market since August 2001
4ITProfessionals: Search for jobs, resume services and post your resume—targeted on IT professionals

How Do You Want Someone to Contact You?

2007-11-27T10:47:00.001-05:00

The job market, by definition, is competitive. You compete with people for interviews. You compete with people to get their attention? By the time you are hired, you have fought off many challenges. Many more than you will ever be told about.

So why don't you put a telephone number on your resume?

You don't want to receive a call at work? OK.

How about one at home? No, huh.

And your cell phone? Don't want to run up your minutes. I see.

How do you expect someone to evaluate whether you are worth interviewing? By your resume alone?

how do you expect the interview to be coordinated between the various parties? Oh, you are available at 12.15 for 30 minutes.

No phone number. No interview. It is as simple as that. Figure outa way to let people comtact you and then stick with it.

Personally, with a young child at home, I don't work 24x7 so I rarely make evening calls to screen someone. I save those for scheduling interviews, debriefing interviews and presenting job offers.

Maybe you'll find a beginner who will call at night . . . but then you'll complain about the poor service you receive.

And it all started off with not putting your number on the resume.

Jeff Altman

The Big Game Hunter
Concepts in Staffing
thebiggamehunter@cisny.com

© 2007 all rights reserved.

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter, is Managing Director with Concepts in Staffing, a New York search firm, He has successfully assisted many corporations identify management leaders and staff in many disciplines since 1971. He is a retired certified leader of the ManKind Project, a not for profit organization that assists men with life issues, and a practicing psychotherapist.

To receive a daily digest of positions emailed to you, search for openings that The Big Game Hunter is working on, to use Jeff’s free job lead search engine, Job Search Universe, to subscribe to Jeff’s free job hunting ezine, “Head Hunt Your Next Job, or his staffing ezine, “Natural Selection”, or to learn about his VIP program, go to www.jeffaltman.com.

Explore some of The Big Game Hunter's products in "The Universe" series

Job Search Universe: Search thousand of Job Boards and Corporate Job Sites for job leads at the same time
Self-Employment Universe: Business Opportunities and Work-At-Home
The Consulting Universe: Search and Post Consulting Assignments and Consulting Jobs
The Diet Universe: Health & Wellness Information
The Resume Universe: Information about Resumes and Cover Letters
Personal Finance Universe: Taking Care of Your Money better
The Shopping Universe: More than a thousand stores in this mall AND help a child at the same time.

Plus

Search4Candidates.com: Refined Searching for Resumes and Candidate Leads
Indian Job Network: Network for Work in India
Search4JobLeads.com: The site that recruiters use to find job leads
VIP Personal Search: Hire Your Own VIP Personal Search Agent
The Job Market Blog: Blogging and news about the job market since August 2001

What Kind of Job Will You Be Asked to Do? A Reminder.

2007-11-24T06:32:00.000-05:00

I like to distill things into simple ideas in order to help people see things more clearly. That is how I came up with a simple model for determining what you will be expected to do when you join a new firm.

In my way of thinking, employers ask people to do one of three tasks in a new job:

Manage people who do stuff.
Do stuff.
Think about how things could be done better.

Most jobs have a certain amount of each as part of their description; however, the weight of the job will emphasize one component or another.

So when you are interviewing for a job where you expect to manage and the employer is spending most of their time talking about “doing stuff”, how much managing will you be doing.

If you interview for a job where you expect to be “thinking about how stuff can be done better,” and they talk about managing staff or “doing stuff”, how much planning or thinking do you think you’ll actually be doing?

Do you think you’ll be happy doing what they want you to do?

I’m not suggesting that you shouldn’t accept such a position if offered; in fact, many people will strengthen their credentials and make them stronger candidates for better firms if they do.

However, I do want you to make a conscious choice and not be surprised as so many are.

Jeff Altman
The Big Game Hunter
Concepts in Staffing
thebiggamehunter@cisny.com

© 2007 all rights reserved.

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter, is Managing Director with Concepts in Staffing, a New York search firm, He has successfully assisted many corporations identify management leaders and staff in many disciplines since 1971. He is a retired certified leader of the ManKind Project, a not for profit organization that assists men with life issues, and a practicing psychotherapist.

To receive a daily digest of positions emailed to you, search for openings that The Big Game Hunter is working on, to use Jeff’s free job lead search engine, Job Search Universe, to subscribe to Jeff’s free job hunting ezine, “Head Hunt Your Next Job, or his staffing ezine, “Natural Selection”, or to learn about his VIP program, go to www.jeffaltman.com.

Explore some of The Big Game Hunter's products in "The Universe" series

Job Search Universe: Search thousand of Job Boards and Corporate Job Sites for job leads at the same time
Self-Employment Universe: Business Opportunities and Work-At-Home
The Consulting Universe: Search and Post Consulting Assignments and Consulting Jobs
The Diet Universe: Health & Wellness Information
The Resume Universe: Information about Resumes and Cover Letters
Personal Finance Universe: Taking Care of Your Money better
The Shopping Universe: More than a thousand stores in this mall AND help a child at the same time.

Plus

Search4Candidates.com: Refined Searching for Resumes and Candidate Leads
Indian Job Network: Network for Work in India
Search4JobLeads.com: The site that recruiters use to find job leads
VIP Personal Search: Hire Your Own VIP Personal Search Agent
The Job Market Blog: Blogging and news about the job market since August 2001

Perspectives from Hiring Authorites

2007-11-24T06:00:00.000-05:00

When I sit down to wrote a column, I try to instill the idea of looking at every thing from a hiring authority's perspective--what is it that your behavior communicates to them that will affect their decision about you.

Here are a few that I have compiled over many years:

One client has us ask potential employees to go to their website to learn about their business. The often tell me about people who lie about reading what is on the site and then tell them about experience they have that would help them immensely--experience in fields that have no relevance to their business.

Where do you see yourself five years from now? Apparently doing work that doesn't fit with what the business the employer does. Not too smart.

How about being taken for lunch by an employer, confirming a date, time and place well in advance, and then trying to juggle everyone else's schedule because you need to be back for a meeting . . . or trying to move three other people to meet much closer to you so you don't have to travel. Smart move, huh?

How about arrival time? Does arriving a few minutes early to complete paperwork seem like good sense? Apparently fewer people think so, preferring to arrive late instead. Then, the lateness is compounded by not acknowledging it or explaining it with something as simple as a call in advance (there was an accident that is delaying me a few minutes) or an explanation (I'm sorry I was a few minutes late; I was detained at a meeting that was called by someone I am supporting; it usually lasts 45 minutes; today it ran close to two hours because of a few problems that had occurred).

Have manners become unimportant?

Everything you say and do at an interview sends a message to an employer about what they can expect from you as an employee.

Has your behavior been sending the right message?

Jeff Altman
The Big Game Hunter
Concepts in Staffing
thebiggamehunter@cisny.com

© 2007 all rights reserved.

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter, is Managing Director with Concepts in Staffing, a New York search firm, He has successfully assisted many corporations identify management leaders and staff in many disciplines since 1971. He is a retired certified leader of the ManKind Project, a not for profit organization that assists men with life issues, and a practicing psychotherapist.

To receive a daily digest of positions emailed to you, search for openings that The Big Game Hunter is working on, to use Jeff’s free job lead search engine, Job Search Universe, to subscribe to Jeff’s free job hunting ezine, “Head Hunt Your Next Job, or his staffing ezine, “Natural Selection”, or to learn about his VIP program, go to www.jeffaltman.com.

Explore some of The Big Game Hunter's products in "The Universe" series

Job Search Universe: Search thousand of Job Boards and Corporate Job Sites for job leads at the same time
Self-Employment Universe: Business Opportunities and Work-At-Home
The Consulting Universe: Search and Post Consulting Assignments and Consulting Jobs
The Diet Universe: Health & Wellness Information
The Resume Universe: Information about Resumes and Cover Letters
Personal Finance Universe: Taking Care of Your Money better
The Shopping Universe: More than a thousand stores in this mall AND help a child at the same time.

Plus

Search4Candidates.com: Refined Searching for Resumes and Candidate Leads
Indian Job Network: Network for Work in India
Search4JobLeads.com : The site that recruiters use to find job leads
VIP Personal Search: Hire Your Own VIP Personal Search Agent
The Job Market Blog: Blogging and news about the job market since August 2001

Lead or Follow: Both Strategies Work

2007-11-09T11:41:00.000-05:00

I receive a call from a man who I helped find a Director's job for in the late 90's. He had been CIO for a firm for 5 years and when the company was packaged for sale by a private equity firm, the firm slashed costs which means that he and a number of executives were fired.

He has been in outplacement since the middle of the summer with some of his former colleagues, some of whom are fairly close to landing positions with portfolio companies of other private equity firms. As a result, some of them have started to speak with him about joining them in their new firm.

And, despite the fact that networking doesn't come easily to him, it sounded like being dependent upon others to find a job to have one of his own was sitting uneasily with him.

I said to him, "It seems like your search methodology is to be the puppy that follows the owner. Have you considered working to aggressively create some options of your own?"

Is that your strategy? Waiting for someone else to find a job to bring you along?

You have to do your own networking and your own search work to find your next job. I provide access to a lot of sites to post your resume at www.jeffaltman.com including convenient and easy to use Careerbuilder links, plus more than 40 sites to post your resume to.

Are you on LinkedIn? Connect with me and get access to over a thousand of my contacts there.
How about Xing? Or some of the networks on Ning?

Do you know former colleagues from your last job? How about people from your children's school? Your church, temple, synagogue, ashram or mosque?

There are so many venues where you can aggressively pursue your search, too and not just be a puppy.

Jeff Altman
The Big Game Hunter
Concepts in Staffing
thebiggamehunter@cisny.com

www.jeffaltman.com

© 2007 all rights reserved.

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter, is Managing Director with Concepts in Staffing, a New York search firm, He has successfully assisted many corporations identify management leaders and staff in many disciplines since 1971. He is a retired certified leader of the ManKind Project, a not for profit organization that assists men with life issues, and a practicing psychotherapist.

To receive a daily digest of positions emailed to you, search for openings that The Big Game Hunter is working on, to use Jeff’s free job lead search engine, Job Search Universe, to subscribe to Jeff’s free job hunting ezine, “Head Hunt Your Next Job, or his staffing ezine, “Natural Selection”, or to learn about his VIP program, go to

Visit DiversityJobs.com for information on Diversity in the workplace

Your Answering Machine

2007-10-25T07:49:00.000-04:00

They spoke individually."

"Hi! This is Karen."

"This is Corky," said their daughter.

"This is Mike," said their son.

"And this is Glenn," said their father.

Together they said, "We're the xxxxxxxxxxx family (I'll leave out their name to avoid embarrassing them). We're not home right now so leave your name and number and we'll call you back. BYE!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Your personal life is yours and I want you to enjoy it.

Your professional life is another thing.

A potential employer might call and leave a message for Glenn or Karen to schedule a time to speak.

Quite a first impression, huh?

Or, take a look at your email address and what it says: cutechick@deli.com or radicaldude@incompetentcode.com. In some industries, these addresses work extremely well.

In others, go to Gmail or Yahoo and open a new account with something simple and have the emails automatically forward to your real address. By doing this, you can cut off contact from spammers and recruiters by canceling your account when your search is over . . . or just keep the account open for job hunting purposes.

Jeff Altman
The Big Game Hunter
Concepts in Staffing
jeffaltman@cisny.com

© 2007 all rights reserved.

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter, is Managing Director with Concepts in Staffing, a New York search firm, He has successfully assisted many corporations identify management leaders and staff in technology, accounting, finance, sales, marketing and other disciplines since 1971. He is a practicing psychotherapist and is a retired certified leader of the ManKind Project, a not for profit organization that assists men with life issues.

Find thousands of Bilingual jobs at LatPro.com.

A Cute Way to Target Your Job Searches

2007-10-25T07:26:00.000-04:00

When you do searches on some of the meta search sites like Job Search Universe, or Indeed (available at www.jeffaltman.com), have you ever tried entering a zip code into the search in order to see if you can actually find something close to home?

Another little technique on Google (you knew you could use Google for job leads, didn't you?As a matter of fact, Job Search Universe is a custom Google search engine that works just as Google would) is to add your search criteria and phrases like "Email your resume your resume" or submit resume to" in order to avoid some of gthe articles and other extraneous information."

(If you’re looking for a new position, include your resume).

Visit DiversityJobs.com for information on Diversity in the workplace

Your Search Can End With Your Last Exit Interview

2007-10-25T07:14:00.000-04:00

Someone I commute with received a "heads up" from her boss that her position might be eliminated as part of a consolidation caused her company being bought. A person with almost 30 years of experience, she was a classic target of downsizing and at risk of a long job search.

Except for one thing.

She remembered that at the exit interview from her previous job of almost 25 years, the Chairman of the bank she worked for before taking this job told her that if she wanted to return to contact his office.

So, that became her first call--to the Chairman's office.

Within a week, she had four interviews with the bank, 2 very good ones that offered her terrific visibility and a new job. One of the perks in the new job was the ability to add to her pension.

At the HR interview, she was told by the recruiter representing the bank that in his years with them, he had never seen an exit interview report with such glowing comments in it including the word "YES!" written twice next to the checkoff box indicating whether the person should be eligible for re-hire.

Her search began at her former employer. Yours can too if you treat the exit interview as something more than a waste of time. You don't have to accept their attempt to extend a counteroffer (nor should you in my opinion).

However, if you have built strong relationships and do NOTHING to burn bridges, you might wind up with a terrific package like my friend did.

Visit DiversityJobs.com for information on Diversity in the workplace

Your Hardest Task in Looking for a Job is Dealing With "The Question"

2007-09-30T08:19:00.000-04:00

Imagine this scene.

You're at a gathering with family at some holiday or at a get-together with friends when someone tries to make conversation with you by asking "The Question."

Or maybe "The Question" is asked by someone out of the blue who calls you.

What's "The Question?"

"The Question" is, "how is your job search going?"

Or maybe it's "How did that interview turn out?"

We all have questions like that in life. Mine is, "How is your book coming along? It used to turn my stomach because it is asked by people who want to see me fail and have no real interest in me succeeding. Maybe your circumstances are different but those are mine.

So the hardest task you have in looking for is managing your own emotions throughout the process. Even when an interview is internal to your organization, the impact of an interview failure can be emotionally disastrous.

A friend (who i hope remains a friend after reading this) had a disastrous internal interview that would have involved a transfer. His failure was humiliating and took several months to recover from.

You cannot afford several months of recovery time after coming in second.

More than a decade ago, I ran and finished the New York Marathon and from that experience, I learned that much of life is more like a running a marathon, instead of a sprint. You need to be prepared to go longer and further than you ever have, instead of just running for 9 or 10 seconds.

This is another of those cases where patience is a virtue.

Explore some of The Big Game Hunter's products in "The Universe" series

Job Search Universe: Search thousand of Job Boards and Corporate Job Sites for job leads at the same time
Self-Employment Universe: Business Opportunities and Work-At-Home
The Consulting Universe: Search and Post Consulting Assignments and Consulting Jobs
The Diet Universe: Health & Wellness Information
The Resume Universe: Information about Resumes and Cover Letters
Personal Finance Universe: Taking Care of Your Money better
The Shopping Universe: More than a thousand stores in this mall AND help a child at the same time.

Plus

Search4Candidates.com: Refined Searching for Resumes and Candidate Leads
Indian Job Network: Network for Work in India
VIP Personal Search: Hire Your Own VIP Personal Search Agent
The Job Market Blog: Blogging and news about the job market since August 2001

Visit DiversityJobs.com for information on Diversity in the workplace

How Do I Choose?: 6 Steps to Choosing Between Job Offers

2007-09-25T09:23:00.000-04:00

I want to offer a methodology for choosing between alternatives.

Step 1: BEFORE you start interviewing, jot down what the most important things are in your next job or organization.

Step 2: During the search, as companies start to come into focus and you start to see the choices that will be available. Make up three lists.

a. What do I like about this opportunity
b) What I do not like about the opportunity
c) What am I unsure about in this opportunity

Step 3: Get answers to your uncertainties and move them the questions to one of the other two lists.

Step 4: Negotiate your job offer

Step 5: Prioritize the alternatives based upon Step 1 (REMEMBER: NO PLACE WILL BE PERFECT. Some will be less perfect than others.

Step 6: Decide!

Jeff Altman

Explore some of The Big Game Hunter's products in "The Universe" series

Job Search Universe: Search thousand of Job Boards and Corporate Job Sites for job leads at the same time
Self-Employment Universe: Business Opportunities and Work-At-Home
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