January 29, 2008

Generation Y Can't I Get a Job

Check out the interesting article I found out at itzbigblog.com. Generational Stereotypes are out there, and while I'm not a believer in placing labels it's still a common topic and sticking point for a large number of recruiters and hiring managers. I am from the Generation X camp and will say that often times I feel like I'm having to constantly prove myself and my worth just because I'm the same age as someones daughter.

I think it's important to take a step back and evaluate the situation. I've done a lot of research and read several books and articles that discuss the so-called differences between generations. While I personally do my best to not make assumptions, it's good business to understand the people you are working with and for.

Next time-Sales and Your Job Search



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Generational Workplace Woes: Geezers vs. Geeks

As a result of efforts to retain aging workers longer and to fill the new jobs being created as well as replace retiring workers, the workforce is becoming much more multigenerational. Today, we have four distinct generations sharing the workplace: the "Traditional" older workers, the Baby Boomers, Generation X, and Generation Y (also called the "Millennials" or the "Net" generation.) This means that the workplace will be increasingly characterized not just by an aging workforce, but also by increased age diversity.

According to a survey by Lee Heckt Harrison, more than 60% of employers say they are experiencing tension between employees from different generations. The older generation has always complained about the younger one, but, in the modern workplace, the misunderstanding works both ways. Today, you might have a fresh college graduate managing a person thirty, or even forty years older! It can be difficult, on both sides, to handle the disparities of this reality.


I recently overheard the following discussion that summed up the problem. Common conversation between "seasoned" workers is that "I can't find young people to put in a good week's work anymore" (aka - 60-hour work week). To that young Millenials reply: "I will work 60 hours if I have too!" What Gen Ys are really saying is "I'm sorry it takes you 60 hours to complete in what takes me only 40 hours." Gen Ys will work long and hard - they just don't want it to be a way of life.

This generational "crowding" is making for some major conflict and miscommunication in the workplace. That's because each generation has its own distinct set of values, shaped by their unique social conditions, political events, economic conditions, major crises and childhood experiences. Each generation also reacts to the generation before them, and this reaction becomes part of its own identity and defining characteristics. These differences can lead to major misunderstandings between coworkers raised in different eras.

Authors Warren Bennis and Robert Thomas have their own unique view of this situation. They see the generation gap as being between what they call the "geeks" (the younger, "digital" generations) and the "geezers" (the older, "analog" generations.) The analog world in which today's older generations grew up was primarily linear. It rewarded specialization and experience, followed a mechanical understanding of the world, and favored organizational hierarchy. The digital world of the younger generations is nonlinear; it favors a flat organizational structure and rewards the generalist with the beginner's mind. Rather than a mechanical view of the world, it favors a more fluid and changing "living systems" model. This is a major paradigm shift that increasingly divides different generations in the workplace.

Managing this conflict, and finding ways to value the unique contributions made by these four unique generations in the workforce, will be a challenge for all businesses in the future. To learn more about bridging generational gaps and reducing workplace conflict, got to
http://www.super-solutions.com/generationalstyleassessment.asp or call 800.803.4303.

January 10, 2008

Recommended Reading

An important part of the job search process is selling yourself. An easy read is Jeffrey Gitomer's Little Red Book of Selling. Check out his website at http://www.gitmore.com/. In addition to a large selection of inexpensive books, Gitmore has sales training and seminars at various locations and venues throughout the country. I, myself will be attending his Little Black Book of Connections Training in late January here in OKC and I'm totally psyched about it!!!!

A quote from his book, Little Black Book of Connections I felt really hit home. "To climb the ladder of success, you don't need more techniques and strategies, you need more friends." I'm considering this as my mantra for 2008.

Happy Reading!

January 9, 2008

Check out my sister blog. . .

I'm pleased to announce, my sister blog's debut. It's called Recruiting for the Non Recruiter and is geared towards professionals who are involved in the hiring process. Now bloggers can understand multiple perspectives--those in the job search and those who conduct the candidate search.

Feel free to check out at:

http://www.ere.net/blogs/Recruiting_for_the_Nonrecruiter/.

The ERE Network is a professional site for those involved in selecting, recruiting, and hiring. I feel very privileged to be a part of their site and the recruiting professionals who use and are affiliated with the site.

January 7, 2008

Recruiter's Take on Resume Posting on Job Boards

For myself as a recruiter, online job boards are a great source of candidates. In the staffing business, we call this resume mining. As a recruiter, when I log onto Monster, Hotjobs, or CareerBuilder and select the search function, I can select the parameters to mine resumes. Some options include search by zip code, recent updated or newly posted resumes by 1 week, 30 days, 60 days, or 90 days, and by keyword search.

Some things to consider when you post your resume:

1. Update your resume frequently. Resumes that are updated frequently get more hits and contact from a recruiter. Resumes are listed by relevancy to keyword search and by most recent.

2. Consider the title of your resume. When your resume title is, "J-dawg's updated resume," a recruiter can see this. What first impression do you want to leave the recruiter with? Consider creative and professional ways to get the recruiter's attention in 7 words or less.

3. Use a professional email address. Hotchick59@yahoo.com and others are absolutely not appropriate to use for an email address on your resume. Use gmail, yahoo, or hotmail to create a new, professional email. I caution you from using the year you were born in your email address as well.

4. Make sure your resume includes "buzz words." Buzz words are industry or position specific words that as a recruiter I will search for resumes that include these words. Do some homework to determine which words are commonly used.

5. Be honest. Don't waste your or the recruiter's time by misrepresenting yourself with a false resume.

6. Steer clear of confidential resumes. Include at the least an email or a phone number where a recruiter can contact you. Yes, you will receive some spam and unwanted solicitations but it is much easier for me as a recruiter to associate a name with your resume. If you are concerned with identify theft, don't include your address or only use the first initial of your last name like Steven P.

Next time. . . Generation Y--Y Can't I Find a Job??

January 4, 2008

The Proof is in the Pudding. . .

Another interesting article on networking. See below. Sometimes attending every networking function isn't a good idea. I'm more for Quality not Quantity.

http://men.style.com/details/features/full?id=content_5871&pageNum=2

Funny story from one of my recent candidates who was recommended to me by a networking contact. My candidate was shopping at the $1 store when a woman asked her if she was looking for a job. Through the course of the conversation, the candidate learned she was a HR Manager and that the position the HR Manager was recruiting for wasn't a fit for her. The HR Manager did, however, provide her with my information and some basic information on one of the Sales positions I was and am recruiting for. The candidate emailed me her resume later that day and the rest they say is history. Her first day was earlier this week!!

Ever wondered about posting your resume on one of the online job boards? Tune in next time to find out. . .

January 2, 2008

References Revisited


Below is an excerpt from an interesting article regarding the topic I discussed last week, references and networking. Check out www.employmentdigest.net. It's a great site that has interesting information. Within your cirlce of networking, everything you do is important and can affect you in the long term. Never burn a bridge and be honest with the company you are interviewing. See below to learn more.



An e-mail that a veteran marketing executive recently blitzed to 12,000 contacts begins: “On Sept. 11, to my complete and utter surprise, I was terminated …”


She identified her ex-employer and why the small market-research firm fired her. Copies of her message inadvertently landed in her old boss's inbox, prompting the company to make her sign a separation agreement limiting how she spoke about her departure, her attorney said.The otherwise effective technique could have been hassle-free. Broadcasting bad news about your job is a bad idea.


“I am a prolific networker,” the dismissed executive said in an interview.
But in hindsight, she concedes, the emotionally charged e-mail “wasn't the most professional or politic way to do it.”


Everyone knows you must network to find work following a job loss. Too often, however, unemployed people make networking missteps, prolonging a job hunt.


A common flub involves name-dropping without knowing how a contact feels about the person.
A few weeks ago, an out-of-work executive phoned recruiter Jane Howze for permission “to stop by your office and have you look at my resume.” He cited an unimpressive candidate whom she met once in 2000 but never referred to an employer.


Howze, a managing director at Houston's Alexander Group, refused to see the job seeker. “He was a little presumptuous,” she states.


Exaggerating your relationship with mutual acquaintances can set you back, too.
Recruiter Fred Whelan conferred with a financial-services marketing vice president soon after his layoff because he had claimed to be a client's friend.