May 20, 2015 – Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter's Blog

Hangout with Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter: What Recruiters Look For and Don’t Look For

May 20, 2015 by Jeff

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter discusses what recruiters look for and don’t look for when they scan resumes.

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter has been a recruiter for more than 40 years.

Follow him at The Big Game Hunter, Inc. on LinkedIn for more articles, videos and podcasts than what are offered here and jobs he is recruiting for.

Visit www.TheBigGameHunter.us. There’s a lot more advice there.

Email me if your firm is trying to hire someone.

Connect with me on LinkedIn

Pay what you want for my books about job search

Trying to hire someone? Email me at JeffAltman@TheBigGameHunter.us

Do you need more in-depth coaching? Join my Coaching program.

Want to ask me a question via email, chat or phone ? Reach me via PrestoExperts or Clarity.fm

No B. S. Resume Advice: Using Links to Stand Out

May 20, 2015 by Jeff

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter discusses. added adding links to your resume.

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter has been a recruiter for more than 40 years.

Follow him at The Big Game Hunter, Inc. on LinkedIn for more articles, videos and podcasts than what are offered here and jobs he is recruiting for.

Visit www.TheBigGameHunter.us. There’s a lot more advice there.

Email me if your firm is trying to hire someone.

Connect with me on LinkedIn

Pay what you want for my books about job search

Trying to hire someone? Email me at JeffAltman@TheBigGameHunter.us

Do you need more in-depth coaching? Join my Coaching program.

Want to ask me a question via email, chat or phone ? Reach me via PrestoExperts or Clarity.fm

Tough Interview Questions: Add All the Numbers Between 1 and 100

May 20, 2015 by Jeff

In this video, Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter explains how to answer this tricky hedge fund brainteaser, add all the numbers between one and 100.

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter has been a recruiter for more than 40 years.

Follow him at The Big Game Hunter, Inc. on LinkedIn for more articles, videos and podcasts than what are offered here and jobs he is recruiting for.

Visit www.TheBigGameHunter.us. There’s a lot more advice there.

Email me if your firm is trying to hire someone.

Connect with me on LinkedIn

Pay what you want for my books about job search

Trying to hire someone? Email me at JeffAltman@TheBigGameHunter.us

Do you need more in-depth coaching? Join my Coaching program.

Want to ask me a question via email, chat or phone ? Reach me via PrestoExperts or Clarity.fm

Making Your Job Ads Sing

May 20, 2015 by Jeff

Most job ads (sometimes even my own) are an exercise in lazy copy writing.

I say that because they are a recitation of every skill known to be a part of the job with no discernment to suggest which are more important than others.

Here is a typical technology ad:

Sr. Developer – J2EE/web service/WebLogic 10.x

Job Purpose/ Description:

· 10 plus years of IT work experience in systems programming / analysis

· Experienced in web service development, both client and service side, preferably using SpringWS

· Experienced in front end development using JSF, Struts, JSP, JSTL Strong Java fundamentals and application of Design patterns

· Experienced in Spring framework, JAXB, XML Parsing technologies

· Experience with Java/XML-based J2EE application development, including experience developing SOA services using WDSL, SOAP, XML Schema

· Extensive experience with SOA and n-tier architectures, standards, and application development and testing best practices

JOB REQUIREMENTS

· J2EE/web service

· WebLogic v10.x experience.

· JSF, Struts, JSP, JSTL

· Spring framework, JAXB, XML

· SOA services using WDSL, SOAP, XML Schema

· Oracle Coherence experience a definite plus.

Contact Details Name and Email address

I can’t wait to apply to that one!

How about this gem:

Credit Administration Manager – Senior Level

A Premiere Central Coast financial institution has an employment opportunity for a Senior Level Credit Administration Manager. This position will oversee the Credit Administration function which includes collections, special assets and appraisal services; and will manage the loan portfolio in terms of works outs, asset recovery efforts, valuation of loan collateral and reporting changes in loan collateral.

Requirements

Must have 7-10 yrs commercial/corporate loan work out exp. in a financial services environment and a min. of 5 yrs supervisory exp.
Working knowledge of comm. credit, construction lending, and SBA lending.
Bankruptcy and credit law knowledge a must.
Excellent verbal, written and interpersonal skills required to interact with all levels of personnel and customers.
Proficiency in all Microsoft applications required.
Competitive compensation and benefits.
Community or Regional banking experience preferred.

Is it any wonder that most people believe their employers think of them as being disposable and “just another body.”

Have you thought of at least pretending that people might be interested in the job they would be performing and a few nuggets of information about your organization that might get them excited about working for your firm?

I don’t mean the usual nonsense of it being “a dynamic organization” or a job with “high visibility” when none really exists.

Tell people the truth about your firm. Tell them you are a $400 million firm that has been experiencing explosive growth with your product or that your company does $45 billion annually and projects top line growth of 7% for this year. These days, people get are excited when they believe they will be working for a survivor, let alone a winner!

Talk about the job . . .describe the manager as someone who is leading a group of 7 and needs one additional person. Speak of mentoring possibilities, opportunities to learn new technology and, please stop with the laundry list of job requirements and be honest with which are really required and which would be a plus.

And, see if you can actually make your ad fun and use video, a Facebook fan page, Twitter and LinkedIn to promote your opportunity!

Ozzie? Meet Ozzie. The Changing Workforce

June 30, 2015May 20, 2015 by Jeff

What’s different about the workforce in America today? Some point to the inadequate skills that the workforce has. Many point to an expensive labor force.

I look at a change in character and how important it is to adapt when you recruit.

Once upon a time, the American labor force was personified by tv characters like Ozzie Nelson from Ozzie and Harriet or Jim Anderson from “Father Knows Best.” These were individuals who worked hard, one was self-employed, the other an insurance salesman who were focused on career and family.

Today, Ozzie has been replaced by a generation that does not think of sacrifice, is used to being catered to and that extends to the workplace.

They expect companies to love them, hire them, take their interests into account . . . and I’m not talking about young workers; I’m speaking about the aging workers like me (I’m 59).

Yes, they put in time and effort, but they are not compliant like the worker in the 50’s was. They expect to be seen and praised and that their work be fascinating.

Yes, I know it is ridiculous but tell me this.

Are you on Facebook? Have you read what people tweet on Twitter or create videos of on YouTube? Do you notice how people speak with one another. Have you looked at the applications on their iPhone or mobile device and how it caters to them?

This is what we are as a country now.

And these are the people you are interviewing.

I am not going to tell you to cater to them.

I am going to tell you to communicate with people better in your interview process.

For example, do you know whether your candidates prefer being communicated with via text, email or phone?

Does your corporate website display properly on a mobile phone?

Does your firm have a Facebook fan page? A Google+ Brand Page? How is your company described on LinkedIn (you do know that people can look up your company on LinkedIn)?

You can’t just run an ad on a job board any more. They want to “know you first.”

The Myth of The Passive Job Candidate Exposed

May 20, 2015 by Jeff

I have been a recruiter for almost 40 years and many years ago, helped to create the myth of the superiority of the passive job applicant. The myth was created to combat the huge advertising advantage that larger search firms by inferring that the people they were representing were inferior.

The myth suggests that the passive job applicant is superior to because the active job hunter is the one who is a failure at their current firm or was cut by a company for inferior performance.

While those points may be true of some, most people who are looking for work were laid off because of economic circumstances, not because of incompetence and, if they are working and looking for work, because they are seeking a better opportunity elsewhere.

And, if you are someone who found a position by answering an ad, how do you feel hearing that others think less of your qualifications based upon the medium you were located by rather than through an evaluation of your skill and ability relative to others.

So, the next time a recruiter tries that that little speech with them, I hope you stand up proudly and tell them that you found your job through an ad (or found the recruiter who referred you to the job through an ad) and put this nonsense away once and for all.

Finding Talent in Aisle 4

May 20, 2015 by Jeff

“Attention all shoppers. J2EE developers are available on sale in aisle 4. Bring your developer to the register and receive 10% off the marked price.”

Since “The Great Recession” began, too many employers have treated individuals with special skills as no more than commodities to be purchased in bulk as though they were a blue light special (for those of you outside the United States, one American retailer would place a blue light in the aisle near a sale item and refer to it as a blue light special).

The result of this commoditizing of talent by your firm will probably impact your firm’s reputation in a marketplace that has started to show signs of labor shortages in certain critical areas like IT.

Don’t believe me?

A Director of a function with a firm was chose between three job offers based upon the firm’s reputation with his friends and the behavior they exhibited on his interviews and did not choose the highest money offer.

This is becoming a more common occurrence as people have ready access to information online, the ability to maintain relationships with former colleagues through social networking and the job market has become more active again.

Another person being hired to lead a function in an insurance firm was so impressed with how the executive leadership interviewed him and established a relationship with him during its numerous interviews, that he was prepared to accept a lesser offer . . . but did not have to. As a matter of fact, he received a job offer with a financial incentive to remain with them for several years (something that with his employment history was unnecessary).

My point is that we are back to times when it will be critical to return to the attitude of selling your organization and your job opportunity to potential hires.

And not just at middle and senior management levels but at seemingly junior staff levels.

Last week, I received a call from a good client asking for someone with 2-3 years experience with a particular skill and was unwilling gto consider someone a little more senior.

I asked, “Where do you think I can find this person? They don’t exist.”

“Why don’t they exist?”

“Because 2-3 years ago when we were in the midst of the great economic calamity that destroyed the Western financial system, no one hired anyone. Now there is no one with 2-3 years of experience.”

Yes, talent shortages are in our future in many job catagories as a logical outcome of corporate behavior the past few years.

Often, it doesn’t take money to advantage your business in your sector. It takes the persistent effort to build a great reputation and the willingness to expend effort in all your interviews to leave everyone with a great feeling about your business even if you don’t plan on hiring them.

No B. S. Job Search Advice: A Final Interview Reminder

May 20, 2015 by Jeff

Ever have an interview where you were told you had no competition? Well, you do. Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter reminds you of that fact and gets you ready for your final interview.

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter has been a recruiter for more than 40 years.

Follow him at The Big Game Hunter, Inc. on LinkedIn for more articles, videos and podcasts than what are offered here and jobs he is recruiting for.

Visit www.TheBigGameHunter.us. There’s a lot more advice there.

Email me if your firm is trying to hire someone.

Connect with me on LinkedIn

Pay what you want for my books about job search

Trying to hire someone? Email me at JeffAltman@TheBigGameHunter.us

Do you need more in-depth coaching? Join my Coaching program.

Want to ask me a question via email, chat or phone ? Reach me via PrestoExperts or Clarity.fm