So you are looking for a job. Well, sooner or later someone is going to suggest you find a recruiter (sometimes called a head hunter, or a job placement agency). It’s not a bad idea, but it’s not a panacea either. If you are going to work with a recruiter, there are some things you should know.
1) Recruiters do NOT work for you. It’s NOT their job to find you a job. Recruiters are paid by a company to find candidates. As such, you are part of their inventory. Nothing more and nothing less. This may sound “cold”, but understanding that fact up front will save you heartache and time. It will also help you work more effectively with recruiters.
2) A recruiter will not pass your name along to a company if they don’t feel you are a perfect fit for the position. If they pass along a candidate that is determined to be “unqualified” they risk their reputation with the hiring company. If you feel you are a great fit, you need to work with your recruiter to understand the needs of the position and re-tool your resume to fit it exactly. If you can’t, you should not force the issue.
(Continue reading this post at: http://www.CareerAdvice4U.com/blog)
[Editor’s note: Guest blogger, Larque Goodson, has been unemployed for 7 months and has become a Careers 2.0 client within the last couple of weeks. She says that the resources in the Premium Membership are some of the most valuable tools she has found in her entire job search. She lives in Portland, Oregon and is searching for a communications job that utilizes her excellent skills in writing, presenting, photography, marketing and sales. If you would like to share your story, please send an email to: info@orcms.com.]
It has been seven months since I was laid off. My credit cards are maxed and my husband and I juggle bills like circus performers on a tight rope. Yet, this journey is helping me examine my own self-awareness and work on my personal ideology. I have gained some invaluable insights, like the following (read more at: www.CareerAdvice4U.com/blog)
We’ve all heard the advice. “You must have a great resume in order to get a good job.”
That piece of career advice is one of the reasons why resume writing services are so popular these days. Many professionals will shell out anywhere from $500 to $1,000 just to have a professional write their resume for them. I’m sure you’ve seen the websites for these resume writing services. They promise you will make over $100K or increase your income by $10k per year, just because you have a professional resume and cover letter. But do these resumes work any better at getting the job? I don’t think so, and here’s why.
In a traditional job search the purpose of a resume is to help you get an interview. Nothing more. A good resume gets your foot in the door and allows you to talk to the person (or persons) who make the hiring decision. In the old way of finding a job a resume is pretty much a blind introduction. (read more at: www.careeradvice4u.com/blog)
There are no tricks to finding your perfect career, but going about it in the wrong way can distract from your job search and making it take longer to find your next position. For instance, many job seekers spend much of their day on the Internet searching the job boards. Unfortunately, only about 6-10% of all jobs are ever posted on these job boards. Smart job seekers understand that the key to finding the perfect career fit requires them to conduct a career marketing campaign. (continued at: http://careeradvice4u.com/real-cost-unemployment/)
I don’t often hand out testimonials for other career coaches, but when it comes to getting the most out of your job search I’ve been impressed with the work of Joshua Waldman. Joshua runs a website called Career Enlightenment (at www.joshuawaldman.net). Joshua is a former sales and marketing professional who brings his expertise to help job seekers learn how to effectively use social media in the job search. His career advice is right on. In my opinion, Joshua gets it. . . . (article continued at www.CareerAdvice4U.com/blog)
I hear it all the time. Unemployed people tell me that because of the current economy they are willing to take any job just to get by. They write their resume to fit every job posting that comes along. They are willing to expand their job search to cast the widest net possible. They search the Internet for ”fast hiring jobs” and “free resume examples” to copy what others have done, believing that they will increase their luck by increasing the volume of resumes they send out.
Let me offer a bit of free career advice as to why this is a BAD IDEA! (continued at http://careeradvice4u.com/job-bad-idea/)
