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How to Get a Recruiter to Notice You

When looking for a job, it's easy to discount having a personal relationship with a recruiter, but nothing could be further from the truth. Having a recruiter notice you and look out for your interest can be the fastest and most effective way to network your way into a new position. Filling out a job application is required, but in no way should it be your first step with a recruiter. Get in...

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Emotions for Hire: The Role of "Emotional Labor" in the Workplace

"Ironically, those employed in assembly-line manufacturing jobs like these, which are generally regarded as the most regimented, have an enviable freedom that most white-collar professionals do not: the freedom of emotional non-expression..." When you place staff, your obligation is, of course, to ensure that they can do the job and perform as well as, or better than expected. But are you...

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To Friend or Not to Friend....The Dangers of Social Networks

In an age when Recruiters have more options to them than ever before, we can consider ourselves lucky for the LinkedIn, Twitters and Facebooks of the world. Where professional networking used to be confined to conferences, professional development events and User Groups, we Recruiters find ourselves in a golden age of networking.  Indeed, professional networking is taking place at all the old...

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Interview with Ty Abernethy of ZuzuHire

Today, Recruiter.com sits down with Ty Abernethy of ZuzuHire. Like many other recruiting technology startups, his inspiration comes from trying to solve a real world recruiting problem. Can you tell our audience a little bit about yourself? My background is in 3rd party recruiting.  In fact, I grew up in the business.  My dad started a staffing agency back in 1979 that's grown to...

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Career Development Centers: Job Seeking Resources in Your Backyard

Almost every city and town in the United States has a career development center within its limits. Most commonly, these offices are part of your town's local Department of Labor or unemployment office. Some community colleges, trade schools and universities also have career development centers that community members may utilize, but some may be for alumni only so it's best to call ahead...

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Social Media and Self Discovery

Social media (remember when it was called social networking?) gives everyone the opportunity to connect, share, and participate with other people. Social media has gathered so much attention that it has transformed the way that we communicate, discover news, and in some cases, perform our jobs. Entire professions and departments of companies are devoted to researching methods and improving use...

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Don't Call Me, I'll Call You... Getting the Call Back

So you've found the perfect candidate, a coup in and of itself.  But now that candidate isn't calling you back.  There have been a few calls, a few voice-mails and at least one or two emails.  So why aren't you hearing back after that first recruiting call? There could be a few reasons...perhaps the candidate is a passive searcher and isn't really interested in looking at new...

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Mobius Recruiting Bets

"There are two sides to every question: my side and the wrong side." –Oscar Levant, American pianist, composer, author, comedian, and actor Whenever you bet on a candidate, you assume that, of course, there are two and only two distinct outcomes: Either the candidate you've just placed will be right for the job, or not—which usually entails that she is or isn't is what she...

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Herding (Rabid) Cats....The Art of Managing Consultants

A lot of the online recruiting tricks and tips target the day to day of recruiting; finding and placing your rockstar candidate.  But what about the weeks and months after?  If you spend any of your time in the temp recruiting and staffing industry world, you know that your hard work doesn't stop there.  In fact sometimes, that's where the real work truly begins. Managing consultants...

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What is Your Competitive Edge? Strategic Planning for Your Brand

Do you have a competitive edge over your competition? Do you have a clear vision for your brand? Do you know the difference between the two, and is there really a difference? What is Your Brand? Your brand is the essence or soul of your business. Every action you take impacts your brand. Ideally, you want a brand that is memorable, has a great reputation and clearly explains to potential...

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Recruiter Ethics: "But What If Everybody Did That?"

How Not to Think About Recruiter Ethics Virtually all the rules in any code of ethics, including recruitment ethics,  seem to make sense from at least one perspective: consideration of the adverse consequences of not following them. Example: "Thou shalt not lie to candidates or clients"—of course, thou shalt not. It's a no-brainer. Look at what would happen if everyone did...

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Marketing with Social Media: Twitter Tools

As a modern marketing professional, you already understand the power of Web 2.0 marketing and social media marketing. But how can you make your new Twitter marketing campaign shine? To make your social media marketing campaigns really successful, you should take advantage of all the free tools out there that drive traffic to websites via the most popular social media sites like Twitter. You can...

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It's Not You...It's Me? Breaking Bad News to Candidates

As an agency recruiter, more than likely, you're extremely busy and crunched for time.  Not only are you juggling a multitude of clients and open job orders, but you're also juggling an abundance of candidates and expectations.  The clock is ticking; you're manning calls from clients, candidates and a string of emails...not to mention your Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn accounts.  You...

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Professional Growth, or Equilibrium?

- Climbing career ladders vs. skating career ponds Breathing Again vs. Breathing Better Imagine two very different recruiters: Recruiter A is always on the go, striving to make progress, to do better today than yesterday, to set himself or herself challenges, records and goals that will push the performance envelope, while filling the pay envelope, and to climb higher and faster,...

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The Benefits of Online Accounting

These days, it seems like everything is happening online, and accounting is no exception. While many financial bookkeeping practices have been computerized for some time, online accounting and bookkeeping is still relatively new. Not all businesses have become comfortable with accessing financial records online, but there are many different benefits for adopting online accounting practices....

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Interview with Maren Hogan of BraveNewTalent

Recruiter.com sits down with Maren Hogan of BraveNewTalent, a new social recruiting tool. We all know you, except for the ones who... don't. What's your background? Okay well, I'm Maren. I like puppies, long walks on the beach and some recruiting stuff. Just kidding. Probably most know me from my blogging and community building in the recruiting space. I have nearly twelve years of...

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Beating the Recruiter Blahs

As a recruiter, you get what you put in.  It's an old cliché, but in our business, it's time tested and quite true.  That means that you work hard, stay focused and drill into resumes as quickly, efficiently and deeply as possible. However, there are times when that level of commitment and delivery is just not there.  It may be that the position you're trying to fill is a purple...

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Project Management Tips: Dealing With Criticism

Have you ever felt defeated after a critique session? Do you take it personally when your boss picks apart your plans? Is it a personal failure if someone can't share your vision for a project? It can be hard to cope with criticism of our work, but one of the most important skills of successful project managers is knowing how to deal with criticism appropriately. Here are some of the most...

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Exit Interviews: Why You Want to Offer to Handle Them

Client relationships are the cornerstone of a solid recruiting firm. Simply put, the more your clients trust and depend on you, the more secure your firm's financial future will be. There are a million and one ways to keep your clients happy, and every recruiter will have different formula for success. One, often overlooked, service that can add to your "building loyalty" arsenal is the exit...

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Geologists Make Bad Recruiters

"Color: Minor color tonal variations exist but within the tolerance limit....Hardness: 6.5 to 7 on Moh's Scale... Density: 2.3 to 2.4 Kg/cm3... Water Absorption: 1.0% – 1.2 %... Porosity: Low to very low... SiO2:  95%-97%"—Variation range of selected sandstone properties, www.mineralszone.com Wouldn't it be nice if candidates were as easy to read as rocks?—If only all of...

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Media Recruiters: Swim in Your Local Talent Pool

Working in an industry that thrives on change and uses the latest technology, you can often rely on the Internet to find great talent. As media recruiters, we can get caught up in searching LinkedIn and social media networks, looking for the best and brightest talent using the newest technology. We of often confuse interest in the medium (social networks and digital properties) with the most...

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Career Advancement

We all want to see our work rewarded. It's only natural to feel good when a boss says good job or be told that you've earned a raise. Accolades or financial awards are nice, but we as humans need to feel like we're getting somewhere and making progress in our work-lives. Many people desire advancement, but they don't follow a specific plan in order to achieve this goal. To meet your...

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Project Damage Control Plan: A Must for Every Project Manager

Project failure is not an option if you pride yourself on being a capable project manager. Unfortunately, failure can and does happen due to poor time management and organization, unanticipated staff issues and underestimating project costs and scope of work. While project snags and setbacks can occur in any project, they don't necessarily have to lead to project failure. Project failure can be...

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Tips for Independent IT Consultants

If you are tired of working as corporate IT career, you may be considering making the move to independent consulting. As an IT consultant, you can use the skills you honed in a corporate environment, but before you make that leap, there are some aspects of independent IT consulting that you should understand. Understand You Client's Needs When negotiating a new job, it's very important...

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Overcoming The "Your Competition is Cheaper" Objection

When recruiting, recruiters face a lot of opportunities to overcome objections. It's what we do. We overcome objections during the sourcing process with nearly every cold call we make. We overcome objections when we are prescreening candidates that aren't entirely sure they want to keep the door open to new opportunities. We overcome objections when we close candidates on our client's...

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Creating your own Marketing Hook

Any promotion is built around a marketing hook. Think of a hook as a thirty-second pitch, your most important, and often only, chance to attract attention and interest during limited interaction with potential clients and customers. A Hook is the Most Basic Element in Promotion. Think about yourself, your product and service for a moment. If you cannot immediately conceive of a simple word...

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Branching Out: Tips for Coaching Candidates for Interviews at Banks

A lot of banks use general recruiting firms to fill branch-level positions, and this can be a great opportunity for general recruiters who want to branch out. Just like a finance professional, you can start with your local bank and build your way to becoming a high-level banking executive recruiter. If you want to build some roots in the industry, start asking around at banks with branches in...

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Circumplex Models in Recruiting: Part I (The Blenders)

The image you are looking at is an abstract rendering of what is called a "circumplex model", a term coined in 1954, by Professor Louis Guttman, creator of the "Guttman Scale", widely used in statistical surveys. The circumplex model—a system of variables that have a circular law of order—has  numerous applications in personality and personnel assessment and is a powerful...

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Creating a Conference Planning Checklist

Conferences are excellent opportunities to educate and inspire, encourage industry players to network, or synchronize team members' efforts for a common goal. When organizing a conference, it is important to consider not only the obvious elements such as speakers and seminar topics, but also many behind-the-scenes details that make the event go smoothly. A conference plan is essential to its...

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Finance Recruiters: Tips for Better Candidate Screening

As recruiters, we want to see our candidates succeed, and we can sometimes be a little too general in our screening questions and too forgiving about the answers we receive. When you don't ask the tough questions and expect stellar results, you do your candidates, your clients and yourself a disservice. As a finance recruiter (or if you're just recruiting in that industry), it's your job...

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McDonnybrooks: McDonald's' Second Battle

"Donnybrook Fair, annual Irish event known for its brawls; first known use: 1852"—Merriam Webster, on the origin of the term "donnybrook", derived from Donnybrook, Dublin McDonald's has recently had a two-front war on its hands: While making its contribution to the battle against the threat of a double-dip recession by launching a recent massive hiring campaign, it is also...

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Common IT Interview Mistakes

Here are a few common IT interview mistakes. A lot of things can go wrong for you in an interview--prepare in advance to avoid these common gaffes, and you'll give it your best shot. Don't Talk Only in Techspeak Discuss you knowledge and qualifications, but be prepared to talk about it with managerial or HR staff, who won't necessarily share your expertise. Resist the urge to wow them...

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Dehiring: The Job of Job Destruction

"Full unemployment: the ideal state in which no one has a job, because no one needs one, and all economic effort is voluntary."—a working definition Two well-dressed men happen to be sitting beside each other on a commuter train. Having left his newspaper in his office, one of them starts a conversation. First man: "Too bad these trips always have to be round-trip." Second...

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You Don't Have to be an Information Technology Recruiter to Fill IT Openings with Your Clients, or "IT, it's all Greek to Me."

Let us imagine a situation in which your best client enthusiastically comes to you with a great new position for you to fill. The salary is significantly higher than what you usually recruit for the client, which means a very large fee. You are beyond excited with your good fortune, and then the bomb is dropped. The person they need is for a highly specialized IT position and your niche is way...

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Being vs. Becoming: The Metaphysics of Making Money

"The American lives even more for his goals, for the future, than the European. Life for him is always becoming, never being."—Albert Einstein If you are a recruiter who is also a home owner or if you buy lottery tickets, you are well-prepared to understand the first of the two main points of this article: the real excitement in a recruiter's job and more generally in life itself...

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Career Salaries: Are You Getting Paid What You Are Worth?

The amount of money a person earns is often a taboo subject, especially among co-workers and particularly in American culture. Whether due to social faux pas or company policy, finding out what others in your position and industry earn for a yearly salary can be tough to figure out. While it may not make much of a difference when you are happily employed, it can be an important bit of knowledge...

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What Makes a Top Recruiting Firm, Anyway?

If you want a good laugh, do a quick Google search for "top recruiting firm."  Seriously, go ahead, do the search. Now, what do you notice? Probably the same thing we noticed. Nearly every recruiting firm out there, big and small, new and well-established, is using the phrase "top recruiting firm" on their website. Now, let's be realistic. We can't all be the top recruiting firm...

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Bullets and Flashlights: The Quantum Ways of Being Honest

"When you can't make them see the light, make them feel the heat."—Ronald Reagan You have had moments when you've wanted to or had to tell an applicant or an associate (and maybe even a client) the hard truth, but hesitated, because you didn't want to "hurt" his or her "feelings", or maybe it was professionally and "politically" too risky. You've probably had other...

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Handling Overflow Work: Freelance Recruiter, Agency or New Hire?

We all want to be in a position where we have so many job openings to fill that we have to turn away work. But when you do reach the point of having overflow work, you will quickly realize you don't want to just walk away from potential opportunities for profit. If your recruiting firm is lucky enough to be in this position, you may be scratching your head and wondering how to take on the...

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Zebra Stress Management Techniques for Recruiters

"I'm not the type to get ulcers. I give them."—Edward Koch, former New York mayor Modern medical science has identified a nasty bacterium, Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori), as a key causal factor in the development of most human ulcers. However, there remain important psychological and environmental factors at work in your office and in your mind that may contribute to your getting...

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Recruiter Group Dynamics: Fostering a Team Environment in a Competitive Industry

Recruiting is, by nature, a very competitive industry. We face competition from other firms that specialize in our niche. We compete against our own clients at times to source the perfect candidate. And unlike most other industries, we even compete within our own teams for the highest paycheck, instead of working together. It is a fact that the vast majority of recruiters work on a contingency...

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Recruiter Fortune Cookies

"A commission is like a fortune cookie—sometimes there is no need to split it to succeed."—recruiter fortune cookie No. Not a joke. Seriously—consider contracting with a Chinese fortune cookie manufacturing company to make "recruiter fortune cookies" as a promotional tool.  The idea is serious enough for it to have been and remain a standing practice for more than 25 years...

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A Critique of The Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)—Part Two: a Personal Review

Recently, I "peeked" at the results of the Myers-Briggs Type Inventory—without ever having taken the test, and faced a very puzzling outcome: Upon carefully reviewing the detailed official Myers-Briggs descriptions of the 16 MBTI types, I discovered that even though the MBTI gives and claims only one type as a personal "score", there are at least seven different purportedly...

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Is Top Prospect Competing with Recruiters?

There are lots of companies springing up in the general area of social recruiting. Many of them leverage your social networking connections to create recommendations for jobs and job referrals. It's a very interesting area of recruiting technology right now. One of the companies to watch is Top Prospect. However, you also have to ask if Top Prospect and other job referral systems are actually...

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About Being "Serious"

"The one serious conviction that a man should have is that nothing is to be taken too seriously."—Samuel Butler, Victorian satirist, author of Erewhon In matters of personal professional performance and job and applicant selection, "serious" is generally considered to be a generally good thing—unless the job is clown or court jester. Across the gamut of jobs and in one way or...

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Animal Farm and Recruiters

"Somehow it seemed as though the farm had grown richer without making the animals themselves any richer—except, of course, for the pigs and the dogs."—narrator George Orwell, in Animal Farm In the April 1st online edition of the Wall Street Journal, an article by WSJ senior economics writer Steven Moore was published with the eye-catching title "We've Become a Nation of...

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Ask Jill: What I learned from walking my dogs this morning...

Dear Jill, It seems the winter months give me the blues. I notice that I am more "on edge" and not as motivated. Now that spring has sprung (sort of), what tips do you have for us to keep our chins up in this tough recruiting environment? Sincerely, Blue in Baltimore ************* Hey, Blue, I saw some Iris' start to pop their pretty, purple heads up with morning will I was out...

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An OK Personality Theory for Recruiters

"I'm OK, make sure you're ok..no matter how long it takes."—lyrics, "I'm OK, You're OK", by the 70s punk group the Dickies Given that there are so many personality-type classifications that are floated, many of which sink after even the casual scrutiny test, it's nice to find one that is at least on intelligent inspection not only interesting and fun, but also useful...

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