Monthly Archives: March 2011

H1B’s and Non-Green Card Holders Wanted

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Have you ever seen “H1B’s and Non-Green Card holders wanted” in an ad?  I have not but what I have seen is the opposite being stated.  What I usually see is an ad that states the “right candidate must be a US citizen or Green Card holder” yet people who do not have this status still send their resumes.

Can you tell me why?  Has anyone with an H1B ever gotten a job they applied for when the ad specifically states no sponsoring??

They then get pissed off when you do not respond to them with an email.  Is it really my job to respond to someone who sends me their resume when they clearly do not qualify?  That’s like applying for an accounting position when you’re experience is in landscaping!

Let’s say we are working with a client who tells us that there is no relocation money for the position.  We will then put that information in our ad that goes out to various job boards.  A potential candidate applies for this position and happens to live in another state.  As a recruiter, you tend to assume that they read the part where there is NO RELO.  During the first conversation we have with this potential candidate we discuss the fact that they would have to move for this role and more times than not they tell you that they need relocation money.  This does not have anything to do with negotiating; this really is about being stupid!  As a recruiter I’m about bringing two sides together and creating a happy scenario, which is how we get repeat business.  We try our best to find talent within the parameters of our clients’ needs.  What we don’t do is disregard our client’s needs and throw anyone at them.  That would be like showing them a great candidate that happens to have died six years earlier.

My question is:

A)    Do people really take the time to read a job ad?

B)     Do they just forward their resumes off to any job ad?

C)     Are they just arrogant enough to think that they have what no one else has and therefore things like Citizenship and relocation money does not apply to them?

D)    None of the above.

Interview with the PC: What’s Next?

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And you thought a phone interview is challenging. How about the next phase, which will involve using Webcam technology? Many major employers have become more sophisticated in the use of such technology and are using the services of companies like Interview Stream for Webcam interviewing. The Webcam is an additional selection tool a company can use before it’s willing to commit further time and money.
Here’s how it works: A candidate receives an e-mail invitation to click on a link that takes the candidate through the process. Some job seekers, though, are using older computers that can’t be quickly upgraded, and to work with a Webcam would generate an additional expense. What are they to do?
Preparing for an interview is challenging enough by itself. Nowadays, there are several additional layers of difficulties that have been added on. In terms of a Webcam interview, first there’s the technical part. This involves setting up the Webcam, adjusting microphone settings, arranging for proper lighting and a background the lens captures, deciding on the angle that’s most flattering for you, and doing many other things an amateur videographer can’t even begin to imagine. Second, the candidate has to quickly learn how to become videogenic, since a big part of the hiring decision is based on a candidate’s image. In order to look good on video, the candidate has to look constantly at the video lens. This by itself is a monumental test of one’s ability to do so, since very few people are trained to appear on video camera.
The next step happens when the program shows the candidate a countdown—3, 2, 1—and then the words NOW RECORDING appear, as does a countdown for two minutes. The candidate gets five questions to answer. After recording the answers, the candidate gets one more chance—to redo the two minutes if not satisfied with the first go-round.
The last step is to click Submit, and then the praying can start. Hopefully, you’ll hear back from the company. I’m wondering whether there’s an Academy Award for those who’ve mastered this 21st-century innovation whose use is limited to just being screened for employment.

Job Search: What Changed?

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People who haven’t been looking for jobs for a while are in for a real shock. The rules of the game have changed significantly. To be effective at finding a job, one needs to involve everybody one knows. Finding a job while being low-key and discreet like in the past will take forever! Newspaper ads have been replaced by the Internet, and one needs to learn to use company Web sites, online job boards, and online social networks—not to mention extensive use of the computer.
Among the online job boards, some are broad and general, while others are specific to an industry or a profession or other criteria. Most job boards let you post your résumé, search for open positions and, fill out applications online. Often, the communication is one way except for unsolicited spam. Among the most popular sites are careerbuilder.com, careerjournal.com, craiglist.org, and monster.com. And there are several aggregators such as indeed.com, juju.com, and simplyhired.com, which help make the search more efficient.
Using external recruiters is another avenue for job seekers. At the medium-income level, they are called contingency recruiters, and they’re competing with other recruiters. At higher income levels, they’re called retained recruiters, and they’re paid for the work they do regardless of whether they place people. Recruiters whether retained or contingency typically specialize in certain fields. Developing satisfactory and long-term relationships with some of them is a good investment of one’s time.
Today’s résumés have gone through a face-lift. Generic résumés are lacking and need certain fine-tuning so they match the specifics mentioned in the job description. Last decade’s résumés listed the various activities similar to the job description. Today’s employers want to see quantifiable accomplishments—and in dollars and percentages. One needs to emphasize specific skills and abilities to accomplish results as a member of a multidisciplinary and, possibly, international team. The résumé needs to show flexibility because of the dynamic nature of business today, and it needs to show resourcefulness and expanded responsibilities over time. But probably the most important change lies in the fact that the résumé has to contain the right keywords. Most résumés are scanned into an applicant-tracking system and will never resurface unless they have the right keywords.

Protect your resume

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As a job candidate you need to make sure that no one is sending your resume to a company without your permission!  That means your recruiter needs to tell you the name of the company that they want to send your resume to.

Three good reasons are:

  • Has your resume been submitted to ABC Company within the past year?
  • Do you have any issues with ABC  Company?
  • Would you be interested in this job description with ABC Company?

Some recruiters have relationships with hiring managers who are always looking for top talent regardless to whether they have an open position or not.  This too needs to be explained to you up front before the recruiter sends your resume.  This is what we call “clearing the candidate”.

I can’t get over the fact that recruiters, I use the term recruiters “loosely”, still send resumes without clearing their candidates.  An ethical recruiter clears their candidates every time. The problem is that certain recruiters have weak relationships all around and they are simply trying to make something happen for themselves, but what ends up happening is the job candidate gets hurt.   If your resume makes it to the same place by two different recruiters then it will become a problem for you.  Two recruiters, same job, both recruiters say that they are working with you.  Icarumba! You see the company is going to need to get to the bottom of this to determine who gets the credit if you happen to get the  job.  You might not even get that far.   The last thing a company wants is a fight over who is really the one working with you on this job.  It creates a negative reaction from all parties and starts you off on the wrong foot regardless to what you may think.

Today, more than ever before, you need to protect your resume.   There are people out there that if they were to get a hold of your resume would send it all over the place.    Some recruiters will ask their  job candidates if its OK to send their resume to some of their contacts and most job candidates think “sure, why not”.   The problem is that you are going to get burned by this tactic.   You should never allow anyone cart-blanche with your resume.

Another excuse that I hear from recruiters is that they could not get in touch with the job candidate so for the sake of time they submitted the resume.  Listen, we all understand that in the contingency market it can be a race to submit a resume but when you cannot clear a job candidate then that’s just too bad.  You the recruiter have no right to hurt this job candidate’s opportunities.

Some recruiters will send a resume to a company to try to get a job order.  This happens a lot and they could be using your resume to do it.  Did you ever get this phone call before? “Hey I got great news!  ABC Company wants to interview you.   I would be like “great news who said you can send my resume there”?   Some recruiters will send a resume to test the waters to see if this is the type of candidate they are looking for based on a job description.  I don’t have a problem with that as long as they remove the job candidates’ name, address, phone number, email address and the names of prior companies that the job candidate worked for.  This allows your client to see the talent and to tell you that they would be interested in meeting this candidate, however, you have NO claims to this candidate with your client if your candidate has already been submitted.  What we would do in this scenario would be to notify the contact at the company and to tell them that the candidate told us that their resume has already been submitted.

This approach of always doing what is best for our clients and our candidates seems to work well for us!