It takes more than a résumé
For the AJC
Sunday, September 28, 2008
If the last time you searched for a job was 20, 10 or even five years ago, you probably feel like you’ve stumbled into a whole new world. You’d be right.
We’ve entered the world of “cloud recruiting and job searching,” according to Michael Marlatt, recruiting consultant with Search Wizards at Microsoft.
Photos by Leita Cowart / Special
Jim Stroud, social media manager for California-based GlobalEnglish, holds an online meeting with Florida-based Marie Journey.
Sherry Heyl, Chief Strategy Officer with Concept Hub, Inc. Sherry trains mid-sized companies in business applications on how to use social media.
It’s a techno-savvy world where recruiters search for candidates and job seekers find positions virtually, or in the “clouds.” It’s a world where people speak in terms of Web 2.0 (the trends toward an increasingly interactive Web) and Mobile 2.0, which is “the convergence of mobile services and Web services,” that allows people access to sending and receiving information anywhere, anytime.
For example, Marlatt spent a month in Vietnam this year on vacation with his wife. During that time he was able to recruit about 10 new hires for Microsoft by using his iPhone — which was synchronized to his work and home computers — and his laptop at Internet cafes to gather résumés, research candidates, make contacts and send files stored on virtual sites. “Cloud recruiting equals freedom,” Marlatt said. “You can work anywhere when you’re completely mobile.”
Forrester Research has projected that 1 billion people will own and operate a PC by the end of 2008; yet 2.4 billion people owned mobile devices in 2007. Marlatt sees mobility as the wave of the future for recruiting and many other businesses.
For now, learning new Internet and social media skills can greatly enhance your job search and career.
“Take a holistic approach when looking for a job,” Marlatt said. “You can’t just post your résumé on an online job site and wait for the phone to ring.”
He tells candidates to adopt an integrated strategy that uses online job boards (there are more than 60,000 of them, according to author/commentator Peter Weddle), social media sites and blogs; as well as their own personal network of family, friends, colleagues and association members.
With recruiters and hiring managers averaging about 300 résumés with every posting on a jobs board, they are turning to social networking sites, like LinkedIn, and blogs to find qualified talent faster, said Paul Terlemezian, president of iFive Alliances LLC and of the Atlanta chapter of the American Society for Training and Development.
“Résumés can be faked, but you can’t fake a response on someone’s blog. Other people will nail you,” Terlemezian said. “If you can figure out the top five blogs in your industry and participate in the dialogue, you can be perceived as someone who knows what he is talking about. It is possible to blog your way into a job.”
“If you have 15 years in a field, you’re an expert. You could design a Webinar and charge people for your knowledge,” Jim Stroud said. “My dad always told me, ‘If you can’t find a job, make one.’ “
In 2002, Stroud was laid off along with thousands of technology workers in the dot-com crash. Traditional job-search methods weren’t working, so Stroud decided to do something different. He strategically circulated his résumé to companies that interested him and he positioned himself to be found by recruiters looking for passive candidates. Today he works remotely in Atlanta as the social media manager for California-based GlobalEnglish, and writes three well-known blogs, the Recruiters Lounge, the Job Search Strategist and I Live Online. His strategies have helped him stay gainfully employed in what he loves to do.
“Job hunting is about positioning yourself to be found online,” Stroud said. He tells people to post their résumés online in multiple formats, on different Web sites, and with unique titles so that more search engines and recruiters can find them. Many sites, such as Geocities.com, Googlepages.com and Tripod.Lycos.com, offer free hosting of résumés. “If you are paying for Internet access, chances are you have free space available to you already through your service.”
He recommends adding a profile page where you can include keywords relevant to your background, links to your articles, blogs or presentations, and other career information. Protect your personal information by listing only your cellphone number or K7 number (K7.net is a free messaging service), he said.
“Companies and recruiters do check out candidates online, so only put on Facebook and other sites what you’d want everyone to see,” Stroud said. He suggests maintaining two identities — use Clark Kent (your real name) for all professional activities. “If you want to dance on the tables in Aruba, then use Superman or some other alias,” he said.
If you purchase your own domain site for a Web page, make sure that major search engines have it catalogued. You can also create your own ad (like the ones you see next to your search results) to link to your site or résumé with Google Ad Words. “People think it’s expensive, but it’s a $5 activation fee and then you set your own budget. Money is subtracted with each hit until it’s gone. It’s easy and a lot cheaper than you’d think,” Stroud said. You can even target the time and city where you want the ad to appear.
Sherry Heyl, chief strategy officer for Concept Hub Inc., a full-service social media agency, teaches companies and individuals how to use social media tools, such as blogs, networking sites, personal platforms, tagging and RSS feeds for business and professional purposes.
“This is a business of constant change. When Twitter [a micro-blogging site] started two years ago, everyone said who needs that, but when Hurricane Ike hit, CNN was using Twitter to connect to people in Louisiana and Texas to find out what was going on in various communities,” Heyl said.
When people tell her that it seems too overwhelming, or that they don’t have time to learn how to use new online tools, she reminds them that 10 years ago everyone learned e-mail and Excel because “the new tools made business more efficient.”
Heyl tells her corporate clients to encourage all their employees to join LinkedIn, a site that 25 million people use to extend their professional networks. “Who knows? Someone in your customer service department may be connected to the decision-maker of the company you’re targeting for a sales pitch,” she said.
Job seekers can use the site to network internationally and to investigate companies that interest them, or where they have sent applications. They can contact employees to learn more about the company culture or gain an introduction to a hiring manager. Research sets a job seeker ahead of the competition.
Recruiters regularly use LinkedIn and other social media networking sites to find talent, according to Marlatt. “With LinkedIn, I can ask someone in the field who has the abilities I need for help in finding other qualified candidates. Sometimes that person might be interested in the position, even though he wasn’t actively looking.” Job seekers should make sure that their profile information and links reflect competencies and accomplishments, because they’ll never know who will read it.
Heyl predicts that the use of social media will increase across all generations — some of the fastest growing sites are for retirees, she said.
“Social media is like a train going around in ever-widening loops,” Terlemezian said. “Don’t worry about learning to use all of it. Just jump on.”
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