Viewing All Posts Tagged ‘job search’

Job Seeker “Bill of Rights”

Seems the Universe is sending messages about the idea of a job seeker “Bill of Rights”.  I just finished watching the HBO series “John Adams” (highly recommend it) where the story of the original bill of rights was told.  Then I hear a caller on a radio show speak of how she wished our forefathers had also written a “bill of responsibilities” in exersizing these rights.  Really good idea.

So I wrote previously of a job seeker’s bill of rights and now I’m going to add a bill of responsibilities. 

2009 Job Seeker Bill of Rights

1. WE have the right to know if the position you have posted is an open, viable role and that you are currently recruiting and interviewing candidates to fill the role.
2. WE have the right to apply for a job and not get spammed with junk email offers for garbage jobs and poorly disquised get rich quick schemes.
3. WE have the right to know if we are being considered for the position to which we applied.  If not, simply tell us but don’t leave us hanging.
4. WE have the right to know why we weren’t selected.  If you didn’t consider us for the job, we just need to know why. 
5. WE have the right to disagree with your decision.

2009 Job Seeker Bill of Responsibilities:

1. We have the responsibility to honor your decision to pass on our application even though we may disagree with it and move forward in our job search without attempting to dispute your decision. 
2. We have the responsibility to NOT adjust our resume to fit the job description.  This wastes time and money and the truth always comes out in the interview process.
3. We have the responsibility to educate ourselves on the company and position we are applying to.  Not knowing the basics about a company when invited for an interview shows lack of earnesty.
4. We have the responsibility to only apply for jobs we are qualified to do.  Applying to jobs with a lack of qualfications is never a way into a company.
5. We have the responsibility to use the full array of tools availble to us in a job search.  Applying to jobs online is only ONE of the many tools and if we rely solely on this method our search will stall.

All rights come with corresponding responsibilities that must be adhered to to protect those rights.  If job seekers conduct a job search adhering to the responsibilities, it is our responsibility as Recruiters to ensure their rights are protected.

A Case for Annonymity – A Job Seeker’s Ally

Here we are in 2009 – still feeling the effects from 2008 in many ways.  With so many of our citizens unemployed or in fear of joining their unemployed brethren I can only imagine the rush to post resumes on the plethora of job boards out there.  Here’s a case NOT TO for all you would be job seekers or bet hedgers.

Now I know, you are told by everyone from your barber to your Father-in-law that if you are unemployed or about to be unemployed, you need to market yourself like Billy Mays (Oxyclean – classic pitch guy) markets miracle scratch removers.  I agree that you need to network like crazy and make sure people you trust know you are in the market.  HOWEVER, to post a resume on the Internet opens you to everything from spam to identity theft.

An article I read over the holiday points out that posting your resume on a typical job board can be at least annoying, at worst dangerous.

Be a lazy Google millionaire. Earn $64 an hour from home. Get 250 business cards free.

These are just some of the 80-plus junk e-mail messages, known as spam, that are pouring into John Gembecki’s inbox on a daily basis since he started looking for a job in July.

Gembecki is sure that every piece of spam is a result of the resumes he put on Monster.com and other employment sites because he created a Gmail account for his job search that he doesn’t use for anything else.

Leave it to spammers to take advantage of the underemployed but this is a true risk of posting resumes on any job board.

There are, however, alternatives which allow you to build a profile (not upload a resume – remember the “lazy google millionaire” – take the time and build a profile from scratch) and remain anonymous.  You only get contacted for opportunities that you define and you never divuldge your identity until you are contacted by a company (yes, an actual company) who has something of interest to you.  AllianceQ is built on one of these new technologies – QuietAgent.

Take the old addage in Recruiting that a job search is like dating.  If you wanted a date would you post your phone number and address on the supermarket billboard?  Nope, you’d probably go to eHarmony or Match.com and see what’s out there before you reveal yourself.  Smart strategy in dating, smart strategy in job seeking.