Hiring is a question of perfect candidates for open positions, and of perfect positions for talented candidates. Isn’t that just another jigsaw puzzle? A somewhat complicated one, since it has many open positions, and even more candidates. It feels good, fitting in another piece, completing the picture. Is this the way it works?

Here are 4 reasons why the contrary is the case:

1. No. The picture the candidate shows you is an illusion. The candidate wants the job, so he will do everything to make you think he is the one for this position. Maybe he is a good guy and really wants to fit in. Anyway, you end up hiring the candidate who fooled you best.
2. No. The picture of your team which you have in your mind is an illusion. You see what your team wants you to see. When I was 16, I made my first internship in a chemistry lab of a large company. The laboratory supervisor, an experienced man, told me: “The first thing you should learn is to look busy. You always have to look busy, then you’ll make it.”. This was a serious advice (and the hidden warning that I could not fool him). Every team looks busy when the boss is in sight.
3. No. A picture is static, a team is not. Humans are not static. Once the picture is finished, it only works as decoration. It shows the past. Even the perfect moment when you found a candidate who really fits in the open position is only a snapshot. Things move, work changes and people grow. When you don’t leave any scope for development of your people, they cannot grow. They can’t even move. But tensions can, as well as demotivation, when they try. As tensions grow, the picture cracks. So does the team.
4. No. Those who don’t move are the ones NOT to hire. They will not do anything by their own decision and look for the rules, even if their desk is on fire. From the former service regulations of the German army, some quotes are legendary, e.g. “When reaching the top of a tree, the soldier has to stop climbing”. Do you really want to hire people that need rules as detailed as this? Then you have your jigsaw pieces. A familiar quotation of people working for the German post some decades ago was: “Service by the book is almost striking.”

You cannot cut people to the right size. Trying it only cuts the motivation of your employee – to a smaller size. Hire outstanding candidates who show their edges and do not look like the “perfect fit”. They will solve unforeseen problems.

Place your people in the team, but do not fix them. Just choose a “starting position”. Put the rough gemstones loosely together, leave scope for development, challenge the team, and your people will move into the right position and grow together as one team. They fill the gaps, and cover additional areas of work where necessary. Do not block the development of your team, just keep monitoring it. You have to identify gaps which require additional talents.

That’s the heavenly part so far. Unfortunately  there are so many people lazy as hell, there’s always one left for your team. He works by the book. He is the reef where the other’s motivation is shattered. Give him hell and remove him. His gap will close automatically, and the team’s productivity will rise.

Hiring is not a game, and the result is not as predetermined as a jigsaw puzzle. The future is not predetermined. Scope for development enables your team to adapt to future challenges.

About the author:

Cornel Bruecher, born 1965, an IT-autodidact since the age of 15, experienced (and survived) many technical and management paradigms. Working as a Principal Consultant, he delivers “by the brain”-solutions – and if you want a “by the book”-solution, you will find it on Amazon Germany!

Here is a revised version on how to use a headhunter in the most efficient way for your career:

Many job-seekers are reluctant to use a professional recruiter. I consider this a mistake as a good headhunter has what you do not have: inside information as well as the knowledge of jobs that will never be advertised.

Here are 8 tips on how to use a headhunter – written by a headhunter:

• Prefer a specialist to a generalist: If you work in banking, find a headhunter who deals with banking people all day long as s/he will have a solid understanding of what you are talking about, what the client is looking for and how to councel you best
• Be careful: Do not give out confidential information about you or your employer on the phone without having met the headhunter or knowing who their customer is. There are some black sheep out there that are collecting resumes without an assignment. Find furthermore out how your headhunter works: if s/he sends out resumes without asking you or if they send “candidate flashes”, I would personally change the headhunter
• Be rare: Do not work with more than 3 headhunters. We try not to present a candidate who has already been sent by our competitor. You, on the other hand, will make a desperate impression if this happens
• Be prepared: I see candidates being late for the interview, badly dressed or with an outdated resume to the interview and then tell me “You know, this is only because you are the recruiter. I would never do that for the real interview”… Prepare your interview well, google us beforehand, meet us on eye-level and you will impress us and motivate us to do all for you
• Be honest: Do not lie to us as we will probably discover the truth through questioning or ref checks. I immediately stop the interview and blacklist the candidate when s/he is lying to me (usually when it is about the reasons for leaving or the last salary). We can talk about anything and if there are bumpy parts in your career, we will sort out how to explain them to our customer. But we must know
• Like us or leave us: Sympathy is an easy thing: If you do not like us, this will probably be the same vice versa. I rarely placed candidates I did not like. We are networker, sales people and if we like you, we will have a more convincing pitch. If you do not trust or like your recruiter, meet a competitor and ask the first one to delete you from his records
• Use us: A good headhunter will give you feedback on your presentation, your resume and will brief you thoroughly on the client including the people you will meet there. We know what the biggest challenges will be, what it takes to succeed in this given company and why the job is vacant. We have met your potential boss long before you do. Maybe we have even met former employees and know the weak parts of this organization. Ask for this information if your headhunter does not give it
• Keep in touch: Even successful headhunters place only 10% of the candidates they meet. Maybe you will not get the job you applied for – but you should do everything to make sure you get the next one that comes along. The biggest lie headhunters say every day is “I will call you by beginning of next week”. 9.5 out of 10 times they do not. If we do not call you, be strong and remind us in a gentle yet persistent way every other week of you: call us, send a message via LinkedIn, another time write an email

Conclusion:

A good headhunter with good values and business ethics can be far more efficient in your job search than you. His or her job is to find one for you. Do not forget that we have the same goal: if you get the job, we get the money. Use us wisely and we can be a catalyst for your career

Deciding to quit your job may seem easy. Reasons are plenty

But, while it might be easy to identify the reasons for leaving the current job, it is another story altogether to define the next one, or actually find it.

By jumping into an intensive job search, with your CV sent at semi-automatic rifle speed all around, you have a lot of chances to miss but few to hit. Not to mention that you burn your ammo – the prospective employers. If you failed to attract an employer’s attention, chances are you are ‘burned’ at this company for the foreseeable future.

On the other hand, not only one has to ensure the next job doesn’t have the same ‘issues’ as the current one. But also that these issues are not resulting from an inadequate fit between organization, job description, skill set and expectations.

This mixture can actually be explosive: can you imagine a sales engineer doing research in algorithms, or an administration expert working as sales manager? While these examples are extreme, we encounter glaring mismatches in every organization and at any hierarchy level. Did I tell you about the MBA appointed as Research Director, and got lost in translation?

The crucial question is therefore: Do you KNOW your next job? Do you know what you really want to do, and the environmental parameters that will make you thrive doing it? Here are 6 steps to revive your career and find the right and satisfying next job:

1. Take a day off: Sit down and write all what you don’t like about your past and current positions. Mark repetitive patterns. It should not degenerate into an exercise in negative energy. Rather, constructively try and define what you could agree to live with, and which are unacceptable transgressions.

2. Take another day off: Define in which environment your next job should be. Do you feel better in an international organization with thousands of employees, or do you prefer a smaller focused company? Would you rather be in the HQ dealing with business strategy, or a local subsidiary doing direct sales? Are you willing to move? To which locations/ countries? Do you thrive in a chaotic environment, or do you prefer clear directions? Are you a lone star who would happily work from home or do you need a collegial open office?… These are the boundary conditions allowing you to focus your future search for organizations and settings most adequate to you. Identify and list the companies that are most prone to fit your ideal. Get to learn about them via internet and friends, get a clear picture before you search for the adequate positions.

3. Correlate your skills, experience, education, and what can you do with them: Not just repeating CV stuff, but a true self-reflection on your abilities and expectations. It helps to browse job boards by keywords, to get a feeling of the market, nomenclature, and to initiate a coarse filtering of available options. Don’t be an account manager if you don’t want to keep the same position for a long period; choose a small start-up team if you want to have strong impact on a product strategy; You are a technical expert, but uncomfortable with customer interaction? Look for an R&D position;… This step is critical to ensure you will only look at options that really FIT you.

4. Put your dream position on paper: You are a sales engineer and want to be an account manager? Or you are a skilled programmer who now wants to lead a team? The path is clear. Make it also clear in your application. But if your dream job is far from where you are today, this is the moment to clarify how to get there. Be realistic: if you are a 40 year old programmer, you won’t become a medical doctor next Monday. In most cases however, far is about just one position away, if this position is well targeted. Rather than wandering in another unsatisfying job, evaluate if an intermediary step is a viable option.

Now is the time to start your job search:

5. Apply only to really well fitting positions: In a sense, the process is similar to choosing a new suit: if it is hastily chosen, chances are the colors won’t compliment you, the suit will not sit right. You will look and feel miserable – and you will never wear it again. Take your time, make informed choices, take measures, and you will find the one that is just for you, and in which you will look perfect. Apply only where and when it makes sense, it fits you perfectly and you have from the get-go a good feeling about it. This will also be positively felt by the recruiting side.

6. Make a dedicated, meaningful application: Very often, one tends to use a generic application cover, stating the boring and obsequious obvious. But now you have a chance to actually write stuff that matter: clearly write out why you apply to a specific position, make it stand out. It is not a sin to write your goals, especially if they fit the position. As each application is unique, this is time taking. But quality overcomes quantity any day of the week, and much fewer applications will bring significantly more interviews.

Conclusion:

In order to efficiently shake up your career, take your time, make informed choices, evaluate carefully potential employers, and treat each job application as if it was the only one. You will find the job that is just for you – fitting perfectly your personality, skills, and ambition. Now that you KNOW your next job, go get it! And when they ask you in your next interview, “why did you apply”, you’ll know what to say.

On the author:

Having shaken up his career before as well as having himself hired for different roles in the high tech industry, Gabriel has experienced both sides of the job search cycle. This led Gabriel to formulate his views to career development and job search, on the elements that help find, capture, and satisfyingly integrate in the new position. He shares them with you in this guest post.

Jorg: “As a recruitment consultant, if people talk to me about career transition, I say it’s very difficult. The wish for transition is one prior reason why people see Coaches. What’s your view?”

Mary Anna: “The truth is pretty much anything is possible. One of the reasons I’m a coach is my total belief in human potential and the power of coaching to catalyse major changes for my clients. Of course some career changes are easier than others.

When my clients talk about changing career, I start off asking them what it is about their current career that makes them want to move on. Then we think through what attracts them to the career they want. Many people who sift carefully through their thoughts find that actually it isn’t their career that needs to change. It’s the environment they work in, a conflict with a colleague, a stressful project, the need for flexible hours or many, many, other factors. Coaching is all about listening, questioning and scrutinising. Then when the bare bones of the reality is unearthed, plotting out a plan of action.

A good example is an Accountant I worked with. He had a successful career in banking, but was passionate about music and desperate to work in the music industry. His dream was to become a record producer, but had no skills or training in that area. However he had a degree and Masters and ten solid years’ experience in financial services. When we unearthed those bones of reality, we found that actually he wanted to work in a different environment. He felt the music industry was creative and energetic. When it boiled down to it, he was embarrassed to talk about his current work – he felt it was dull. When I’m coaching I ask challenging questions. I wondered why, with this passion for music, he hadn’t been producing records already? Why wasn’t he spending his free time learning the craft? After working together he realised that his skills could be of real value to the music industry and actually he could do the work he was fabulous at already, but in a different environment. He is now the financial manager for a company that travels the world providing top end equipment for huge music events. His working environment is dynamic and inspiring, and his experience highly valued.”

Jorg: “My experience is that clients just want clones, candidates who have done the same tasks at their direct competitor. Of course I try to convince them and fight for my best candidates. However, it is often a challenge to have a hiring manager meet an outsider in the same positive mind-set as a direct ‘clone’.”

Mary Anna: “We do hear a lot about transferable skills and competencies, but in a way you are right. Experience counts for a lot. In my previous role, when I advertised jobs I was sometimes inundated with applications. It’s natural to skim off the most recruitable by scanning for job titles and employers. However, new ideas are highly prized too. So if an applicant can explain why their experience is valuable and justify their career narrative then they can be at an advantage. The trick is to get your application through the filter and that takes care.

There are a few key things to consider:

• Transition can take time. You can’t quit your job as a chef on a Friday and turn up to work as a surgeon on Monday. Plan, ask people doing the job you want for advice, get training, demonstrate your passion.
• Applying for jobs can take a lot of time and effort. Sometimes it’s worth ringing: “I’m very excited by the job you have advertised, I’ve got x,y and z experience and skills that could be very useful to you because of a,b and c. I realise that I’m probably not the type of candidate you were expecting, but I would love the chance to show you I might be just the breath of fresh air you are looking for. What is the best way to proceed?”
• In terms of transferable skills, just about any senior level job needs what I class as the top three skills. They are communication skills, financial management and soft skills (influence, resilience etc). Get all the evidence you can about your expertise in those three areas, and your attractiveness to any recruiter is stronger.”

Jorg: “Can you give me any examples of how career transition might work in practice?”

Mary Anna: “Well my story might be useful here. I was a horsey girl who grew up in the country and became passionate about environmental issues. I studied Marine Biology and then my social life took off. I got into rave culture, dancing all night at big outdoor events. I loved the sense of connection and meeting like-minded people. We all wanted to save the world. I did a Masters in Human Ecology about how we interact with our environment then a thesis on rave culture which became a PhD on cultural change – a kind of neuro-sociology. This was part funded by me doing freelance writing, when I finished PhD I had an impressive portfolio of published work and got a job as a journalist for The Independent in London.

I hadn’t planned on a journalism career, and still had a hankering to save the world. Writing about things wasn’t enough, I wanted to change things. So I decided to side step into campaigning. I saw a job with senior management responsibility for an environmental charity that had a great reputation. The salary was tiny and I had to live away from home, but it was a great introduction into the charity sector. With that role under my belt, I was a far more credible candidate and soon got a better job back in London. My last role was for an inner London Council. I started off doing PR to encourage behaviour change, like recycling and sustainable travel. I was promoted and ended up as Head of Communications.

Deep down, I knew I wanted to work for myself. My husband is from Ireland and when we started a family he desperately wanted to move home. The behaviour change work had introduced me to coaching and I was totally blown away by the experience. First I did a couple of terms of evening class to see if I had what it takes to become a coach myself. As the field was becoming more professional, I discovered that to have any clout I would need proper international accreditation. I researched the best courses, got a bank loan, negotiated on fees and made a deal with my employers. I paid for the training and was given time off to attend courses.

I clocked up 100 hours coaching while in full time employment by working with clients before and after work. As my coaching skills improved I worked alongside the HR team with organisational change programmes. I spent weekends reading and writing assignments. When I was awarded my accreditation I took annual leave to mentor on a coach training programme in Ireland. A few years later we made the move and I felt like I stepped into a network of people I already knew. I also feel like I’m going full circle, because I am now exploring equine facilitated coaching to use for specific breakthrough sessions with senior leaders to help them connect to their vision for change.

So from personal experience and from the clients I’ve worked with, I can say that career transition is possible if you are prepared for some hard work. But remember, the journey itself may take a long time so make sure you enjoy the ride.

The four key things that helped me are:

1. Frank conversations with my employer about where I wanted my career to go and how I could be of use to them while I got there
2. Being prepared to take loans, volunteer, negotiate fees, give up holidays, do overtime and whatever else was needed to pay for training
3. Networking – I am now Vice-President of the International Coach Federation here in Ireland. Being a member has made me feel part of a team, developed my professional skills and helped me embody my new career
4. Being true to my values and developing a career path that still excites my passion”

Jorg: “This was very helpful. Thanks a lot, Mary Anna”

On the author:

Mary Anna is a coach and communications specialist. Having gained a PhD on cultural change, she moved into journalism and PR. Although aiming to work less and live more, she takes on a select number of coaching clients and is the Vice President for the International Coach Federation in Ireland. Contact Mary Anna on maw@maryannawright.com or +353 (0)871171972 to find out more about career coaching

It is not far, it’s somewhere in your existing network! But where? And how to find it?

Click here to read my latest guest post on Forbes on the 6 best ways to find your next job.

Did you ever wonder what we external and internal recruiters check when we decide within 5-10 seconds if your resume is of interest to us or not? Which are the red flags in YOUR resume – the reasons you will not make it to the interview?

Here are the 13 most flagrant warning signals we might spot in your CV – and the solution to fix them:

1. Unexplained gaps: It is OK to have a gap in the resume – if the explanation is good. PROBLEM: If we don’t understand its reason immediately, we will pass on. SOLUTION: This advice is unorthodox but if your last job ended four months ago, add a bullet point on top and call it “language course, move to another city, baby-break, taking care of a sick family member, business analysis to open a restaurant” or whatever. Yes, these are imperfect solutions but they are way better than… writing nothing. Alternative: meaningful executive education. See point 5 for more advice on this
2. Inconsistency in professional choices: Every career will become flat at one point of time and when you change jobs at fifty, sideward steps are perfectly okay. When you are younger and applying in a fast-paced environment however, it should go upward and demonstrate dynamic evolution. THE PROBLEM: If you have had  the same job three times but in different companies, we might assume that you are not able to do more or lack ambition – and put your application aside (I know of course that the reality is that you can not always freely choose…). THE SOLUTION: Add information on job content if the title does not reflect an evolution. Or indicate that the company was bigger. You learn somethings new in every job. Make sure your resume reflects this
3. Too many job changes: Careers where you retire in the very firm that hired you fifty years ago are over. Dynamic changes are part of a competitive profile – but not too often. THE PROBLEM: If you worked for three companies within the last three years, we might assume that you will not stay here either and not call you. THE SOLUTION: If you had good reasons for changing, add them (“reason for leaving: company went bankrupt” or “job was made redundant”.  “New management” is also perfectly plausible)
4. Not enough job changes: Did I say before that careers in one only company do not exist anymore? THE PROBLEM: The “life” of a job is 3-5 years. After that period, some kind of evolution should occur or we might consider you being inflexible or not ambitious. THE SOLUTION: Even if you have been in the same job for the last fifteen years, your job has evolved since, hasn’t it? Break down your current function into different parts, for instance “Since 04/2011: same job plus the responsibilities X, Y and Z”
5. Lack of formal education/ having an outdated one: The term “lifelong learning” is overused – but 100% correct. Returning regularly to school is an essential part of a competitive profile at the beginning of the twenty-first century. THE PROBLEM: If your last education dates ten years ago or more, we could think that you are not interested in advancing your skills or that your theoretical skills fall short. THE SOLUTION: This is an easy one: Take meaningful executive education. Choose wisely, as you send a message with the kind of module you have chosen. If you have been working in finance for the last twenty years, do NOT take something on finance but rather on strategy or leadership. Don’t have money to take a residential week at Harvard Business School or Stanford University? Have a look at www.coursera.org and enroll in “Smart Growth for Private Businesses” at Darden Business School. Or why not “Competitive Strategy” at Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich, Germany – for free
6. Fancy layout for non-fancy jobs: THE PROBLEM: You will shock no one with a plain layout and font but you might shock with strange colors or fonts in your resume. THE SOLUTION: No colors, make it plain and sober to be on the safe side
7. Poor grammar or typos: No ecxuse with this one. THE PROBLEM: We might assume that if you cannot write your own resume without mistakes, you will not be able to put anything else on paper without errors either. THE SOLUTION: print out your resume, check it meticulously, run a spell-check and ask a friend or family member to proofread it one last time
8. An unprofessional email address: THE PROBLEM: You can be 100% sure to make a bad impression with disco.fever@strangename.to in a traditional white-collar context. THE SOLUTION: Call me narrow-minded but I cannot come up with any alternative to firstname.lastname@trustworthyprovider.com. Also, do not change the orthography of your name: I know a “Francois” with an email address “Fancois” (his explanation: “Francois.lastname” was taken”). Eight in ten people will get it wrong when typing it or will simply think that you have escaped from the nuthouse…
9. Vocabulary that lacks energy: THE PROBLEM: “Involved in”, “assisted ABC” or “exposure to” do not show that you were in the driving seat of your career. THE SOLUTION: use active, not passive words such as “implemented 123”, “driven the project XYZ” or “headed up 123” to show you were you in charge and made it happen
10. Inability to get the message across: Again, you have got 5 seconds to make an impression on us… THE PROBLEM: … and if you don’t, we will file you. THE SOLUTION: use bullet points, talk about your achievements (“I created double-digit revenue growth for three consecutive years and built from scratch one of the top ten teams company-wide”). Be precise, clear and avoid jargon (a twenty-two year old intern could be the gate-keeper…). Your resume should be on two, maximum three pages. Make sure you put all essential information on top of page one, the part we see when we open your resume without scrolling down, for instance, by adding an executive summary such as “General Manager/ trilingual/ managed up to 100 million USD and 250 people/ service industry” on top. Because we might never scroll down if what we see does not click with us
11. Bad structure: THE PROBLEM: We are used to reading many, many, resumes. And if yours is too different, we might not understand it – and pass on. THE SOLUTION: Use the following structure: contact data, executive summary, education, last job then downwards. Clearly indicate year and month of the respective job If the month is missing and you write for instance “2011: job A, 2012: job B”, we will automatically assume that you lost job A in January 2011 and found job B only in November 2012 – because if you had nothing to hide, you would have put the months
12. Banalities: THE PROBLEM: we have read “accomplished leader”, “results-driven”, “excellent communication skills” etc. one thousand times before and won’t believe a word. THE SOLUTION: Don’t talk but show: Prove “accomplished” by demonstrating your seniority, “results-driven” through stating hard facts, “excellent communication skills” through plain and clear speech
13. No contact data: THE PROBLEM: In twelve years in this industry, I have seen it all: resumes without email address, phone number or post address… THE SOLUTION: Check your resume once, and do it again

Conclusion:

There are many valid reasons to do things differently than outlined here. Whether you agree or not with the above, bear in mind that an average reader will spend no more than 5-10 seconds on your resume before deciding whether to spend more time on it or not. You are a valid candidate, right? Help us to understand this fast – and ensure that we call you for an interview if you are the right fit

Here are 7 tips on how to get headhunted:

1. Getting ready: Do you have the right skills to make a difference? Be critical and realistic yet ambitious with yourself. If you lack a skill or a degree, go and get it. There are good executive education programs out there. Rule of thumb: if you did your last meaningful training longer than 10 years ago, take one. Do not only consider what you will learn but also the message it sends on your LinkedIn profile and resume. Example: an online course on Feng Shui versus “Leading Change and Organizational Renewal” at Harvard Business School. You cannot afford Havard Business School? Have a look at www.coursera.org and take for instance “Organizational Analysis” at Stanford or “Corporate Finance” at Wharton – for free
2. Step out of the shade and become visible: In order to be found, you must be visible – online and offline. Critical to online visibility are a watertight LinkedIn profile, Twitter, guest posts or publications. However, you cannot send a handshake by email and it is hard to build rapport online only. When did you last participate in a networking event? Find circles that interest you such as business, alumni, sports or other associations. Mingle and make sure you bring enough business cards. Headhunters will always be there too and your objective is to get on their radar screen
3. Be meaningful: Being visible is good, being meaningful is better. If the last point is the car, this one is the gas to get it moving. This part is about your personal branding, your marketing strategy or if you want: your sales plan. Going to conferences is good but you will make a real impact by raising the word during the Q&A part. And if you do so, I guarantee there will be at least 3 people that will approach you in the coffee break and talk to you about your contribution. Online, being meaningful is about sharing content on LinkedIn, Twitter or writing guest posts. LinkedIn discussion forums and updates are a very powerful means to communicate what matters to you and to position you as someone who has something to say. What do you want to be associated with? The information I share is usually on career management, the objective being that people think “oh, an update from Jorg. Must be on career management”
4. Be an expert: What is your expertise? Let’s say it is… step dance: your aim should be to become known as the best step dancer in your market. Establish yourself as an authority by communicating (online and offline as outlined above) about what you know best to ensure that your name comes up when a headhunter asks one of your contacts “who is the best step dancer in your network?”
5. “If we don’t call you, call us”: Who are the three specialized headhunters for your expertise or niche in your city? Which are the top tier recruitment firms are the most likely to find you a job if you needed one? If you don’t have the answer right now, google it. Contact us in an intelligent way (catchy LinkedIn invitation, a recommendation or a line prior to an industry event that interests us both (“Jorg, we share an interest in coaching. Will we meet Friday at the XYZ conference?”)
6. Treat headhunters on eye-level: Once we are in contact, do not see headhunters in a binary way (“Jorg’s only reason to exist is to find me a new job”). Follow the basic rules of networking and give first, ask second. Share industry information, give us leads, recommend us, send us a relevant article on our sector or our profession. I remember the candidates best who refer me to new interesting contacts than the ones I meet once and then no one of us follows up…
7. Be good: if you are not nice, fair and pleasant, people won’t like you. If people don’t like you, they will neither think of you nor recommend you. This was an easy one, right?

Conclusion:

These is not guarantee to get headhunted but these 7 steps tell you how to a) get visible, b) meaningful and c) what to do with us once we are in contact. Be strategic but most importantly authentic and honest and we can be a catalyst for your career

A growing market: reputation management

Most recruiters will do online checks on their candidates today – especially as the application is online too. Hobbies, friends, your recent postings in discussion forums – all this will determine the first impression a recruiter has. Remember: the internet does not forget anything! And as many people transfer their offline life online without giving it much thought, recruiters can sometimes even trace how you have evolved over the years.

Dozens of “online image defenders” use this fact and companies with catchy names such as Reputation.com or many others focus on what they call “reputation management”: the control and correction of entries on individuals and companies by trying to push negative comments to page 10 or so by manipulating the positive ones which will then appear on top of the search. Furthermore, they will “update” potentially negative entries.

Though an impeccable online image does not mean that you will get the job, a bad one can have the consequence that you don’t. It is therefore no surprise that the professional brush up of online images is a service that is in demand. 86% of all recruiters do online searches about their candidats according to the survey of a German reputation defender, 62% of the headhunters state that a positive online reputation has a positive impact on the selection process and more than two thirds give high importance to the digital appearance of their candidates. 94% of the recruitment firms state that this tendency will increase in the future and especially managers, high potentials but also young professionals can therefore expect that their online image will influence their career options.

4 basic rules for a digital hygiene:

1. Never: Inappropriate comments or pictures, lies or judgment of certain life styles. According to the above study, these are the top reasons why your candidacy might be refused after an online check. Be furthermore careful which groups you join on Facebook or other social networks
2. Private is private: Whatever you do during your time off should not be found on the worldwide web. Make sure that private activities remain private. If you want to comment in forums and have a controversial opinion, rather use an alias
3. Do your own research: Search you own name on the major search engines at least once per month, especially when you are currently looking for a new job. If possible, use different spellings and broaden your search to pictures and videos. You cannot change or improve your reputation if you don’t know it!
4. More is less: Do not register on forums or networks in order to be found by search engines without giving it a second thought. Rather use one or two well-kept profiles with a career service provider or on a business network

Conclusion:

In 2013, your online image will impact your career options more than ever – not always negatively. Using this knowledge wisely and understanding the name of the game can boost your image and as a consequence your career.

This is a guest article from Experteer, Europe’s executive career service for senior-level professionals and executives. Defined by your career goals, it alerts you to specific jobs and provides confidential access to an approved headhunter network. Please visit the Experteer-blog for more articles and career tips

Last week I attended three client interviews. I had three excellent candidates, but two of them talked themselves out of a job. The third guy got the job.

So. What did he do that the other two didn’t?

He entered the room and looked my client in the eye. He smiled and sat down when invited to do so. He was 5 minutes late, but he’d rung me some time in advance to say he was stuck in horrible traffic and he couldn’t get off the motorway. He showed he thought ahead.

The client asked him a question. My candidate answered it. He didn’t let his mouth run away with him. He simply listened to the questions and answered them. You’d think this was the least you’d expect from a candidate, but I’m afraid he was the exception. So he got the job.

The other two had impressive sales records. One, on asking to give a summary of his career rattled on for 17 minutes. I interrupted him and tried to steer him towards issues of relevance – but he continued to talk about a job from over ten years before. My client put his head in his hands. The candidate just carried on…………..and on………….and on. At the end, the candidate apologised for talking too much – so he knew he was doing it!

The second candidate was no better. He didn’t talk quite so much, but he mumbled a lot more! He looked at the walls, the desk, his crutch, but avoided my client. Now my client is no Brad Pitt, but come on!!! Just look at the bloke. Once would do!

To be fair, nerves clearly got the better of them. Their sales record was evidence that they must know how to talk to people, understand what they want, and ask for the order. But they were unprepared. They are used to surviving by the seat of their pants and took the same approach. It was only when they were in the interview, they realised they were in a big sale, and they didn’t know their own features and benefits.

This happens far too often to candidates. They think they can wing it and fall flat on their arses when they get in above their heads.

It’s simple:

1. Smile sometimes
2. Look the interviewer in the eye
3. Listen to the question. DON’T IGNORE ME – LISTEN TO THE BLOODY QUESTION!!!
4. And when you’ve answered the question. Shut up and smile!
5. And don’t anticipate the next question and answer it before it’s asked
6. Have a 2 minute summary of you and your career ready in your head
7. Do some research
8. Ask some questions (and make them open PLEASE) – and leave the one about salary to the end
9. Keep smiling
10. And if you’re going for a sales job, please demonstrate that you know how to ask for the order, by asking if there’s anything else the interviewer would like to know to help them make the decision to offer them the role

I know I am writing the bleedin’ obvious, but experiences like last week remind me that most people get it wrong. The guy who got the job did nothing extra-ordinary, but he didn’t talk himself out of the job. Most do.”

On Martin Ellis:

This is a guest post from my virtual friend Martin. Martin is a headhunter who “brings great people and jobs together”. He searches for senior people across many sectors. Martin says, “I simply see headhunting as a process, the extra value a headhunter brings is engaging high quality candidates in what they see as a high-quality process”. You can see how he works on his blog at www.fastheadhunter.wordpress.com or visit his website at www.corporatehandyman.co.uk

Another reality is that I have never seen any resume where there could have been improvements.

Here are my top 7 resume best practices that will help you to make it the first interview:

1. When writing your CVc, bear in mind that the recipient receives a lot of CVs. They have to understand quickly if you match the selection criteria or not. Up to 90% of the CVs received on any given vacancy don’t. One of my clients, a multi-billion USD firm, told me they had received 250 applications for their new CFO. Among those was one from a 27 year old oboe player who stated she had never worked in finance, but always wanted to become a CFO…
2. Most managers I know are short on time. So it is important that you deliver your message concise and to the point. Make it short. The cover letter or introductory email (one not both, preferably the email) should be 3 short paragraphs max on a single page. The CV itself should be no more than two pages and never more than three. The other day I met a candidate who had a 14 page resume and explained that he felt he had to compensate for his missing studies. Well, nobody who wants to work efficiently has time to read a 14 page resume.
3. All the essential information should be seen at a glance and on the first page. The crucial information being your name, contact data, current/ last job and studies. Whether you have studied or not, I recommend this on page 1 before your most recent job as it will matter for many readers. Hiding that you have not studied on page 14 won’t change anything. Next put the 3-10 most important tasks per job in bullet points, no more than 3 if it the role was more than 10 years ago. It is a plus to add your reporting line and if appropriate budget responsibility.
4. Also, choose a file name that can be easily saved for easy referral (e.g. “Stegemann_CV”). I received a file today titled “CurriculumVitae_english”. This file cannot be saved under its current name and has to be renamed by the recipient.
5. On hobbies or leisure activities: One candidate asked if it was ok to put “belly dancing” under skills or interests (well, I would say it depends what job you apply for…). Should one put hobbies or interests into the CV, if there is a connection to the job (e.g. “fast cars” if you apply with Porsche). Otherwise I would say no if there is no relevance to the job/ the reader.
6. Proofread: check (or ask someone to check) for gaps and inconsistency in the flow – and typos wich are always inacepptable (if you spotted three, you are on a good way). If necessary, explain gaps and try to establish a logical transition from one job to the other, e.g. by adding the reasons for leaving. Your future employer is looking for someone who knows what s/he wants.
7. Say the truth: It goes without saying that everything you write can be checked. Lying or “embelleshing” can result in immediate termination of your work contract and every court in the world will be on your employers’ side…

Conclusion:

Make it easy for us to invite you. We have to decide very fast. Only put data that is essential and relevant, the most important ones on the first page. If your CV has more than 3 pages, prioritize and shorten it. Finally, run one last final check for gaps – if you don’t, we will ask hard questions in the interview