The Hype Over Job Board Matching Technology Is Just That: Hype

Garbage in, garbage out photo courtesy of Shutterstock

Perhaps prompted by a recent article by Bloomberg about on-line job search software getting smarter, it seems that a lot of attention this week is being devoted to matching technology being used by job boards. In theory, matching technology makes a lot of sense as it would allow employers and job seekers to save time finding each other and reduce the noise by reducing and perhaps eliminating contact between employers and job seekers whose needs are different. But is theory the same as reality?

A number of people in the job board industry for whom I have tremendous respect are writing that candidates should be able to just submit their resume and have it turned into a search query. Some even advocate taking the search entirely out of the hands of the candidate by using computerized algorithms to “read” jobs posted by employers and resumes posted by candidates and then returning to the employer a list of what the software considers to be highly qualified candidates. The problem with either approach and especially the latter is that they assume that both are forward looking, the job posting is well written, and the resume is well written. The problem is that for the software to work properly all must be true yet generally none are true. Continue Reading

U.S. Department of State Launches Mobile Career App

Students who want to work for a large, stable employer often choose to work for one of the hundreds of departments agencies within the U.S. federal government. The lead foreign affairs agency responsible for formulating and implementing U.S. foreign policy overseas is the U.S. Department of State.

Most of the Department’s civil service employees work in the Washington, D.C., or other cities throughout the United States on everything from improving trade opportunities for U.S. businesses, to helping American couples adopt children from overseas, to monitoring human rights issues. Others work overseas in embassies, consulates, and other locations. These Foreign Service employees are hard to recruit because the hiring standards are high, the hurdles many, and the competition fierce. Continue Reading

Tips to Becoming the Best Scholarship Candidate

Scholarship application and books on a table. Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.

Millions of dollars in scholarship money is available to college students every year, and among the thousands of scholarships, you’re sure to find at least a few that are a great fit for you. That’s the good news. The rest of the story is that these scholarships may be hard to track down and the competition can often be quite fierce.

Let’s say you’ve conducted your search and successfully identified several scholarships for which you plan to apply. You are likely one candidate among many, so what can you do to make your application stand out in order to secure those much needed funds for your college education? Consider a handful of practical tips: Continue Reading

69% of Students Highly or Very Highly Stressed by College Admissions

Stressed student photo courtesy of Shutterstock

This is a very stressful time of the year for high school seniors and others who are waiting to hear back from the admissions offices of colleges and universities. Although some top students received “you’ve been accepted” letters months ago from schools with rolling admissions policies, most students are still waiting to hear from most schools. And the wait can be agonizing.

According to The Princeton Review’s 2013 “College Hopes & Worries Survey” – an annual poll of college applicants and parents of applicants – stress levels are high and worries about college costs are higher than ever.  Eighty-nine percent of survey respondents this year say financial aid will be “very” necessary to pay for college and within that cohort 66 percent say “extremely” necessary (a five percent increase over 2012).  Nonetheless, 100 percent of the respondents believe college will be “worth it” and 51 percent see a “potentially better job / higher income” as the main benefit of the diploma. Other findings were: Continue Reading

Moneyball for Recruiters: How Data-Driven Analytics Are Revolutionizing Corporate Hiring

Sarah White, Principal & CEO of Sarah White & Associates, LLC

Interesting discussion today at HuffPost Live about how the same data-driven analytics that revolutionized talent evaluation in pro sports are now being applied to the broader marketplace. Will the evolution away from traditional sourcing techniques, resumes, assessments, and other traditional hiring practices and toward new technology help or hurt?

The consensus — as well stated by my friend, Sarah White — was that the new techniques will help employers and candidates alike as the new technology will help the two connect even if they’re not aware of each other.In addition, the new technology is enabling employers to move away from flawed personnel selection tools such as Myers-Briggs and other personality tools.

Some of the most interesting aspects of the discussion to me were: Continue Reading

Video: How to Get a Job After College Graduation

I recently was interviewed via Skype by Jordie Kern of 1 Degree Hire, which is a resource for first-time job seekers. More specifically, 1 Degree Hire is a 21-day step-by-step program designed to make recent graduates more marketable, better understand what employers want, and give those grads an edge over others who are competing for the same jobs.

The 1 Degree Hire system includes 21 days of intense preparation through a series of eBooks and MP3 audio downloads. Members also enjoy a personal consultation, resume and portfolio critique, e-mail support, and weekly webinars. In addition, they get insider access to an extensive video library of interviews with some of the nation’s most powerful CEOs and human resource professionals, who reveal what they look for in a candidate and what key questions they typically ask in an interview.

Jordie and I talked about CollegeRecruiter.com and what recent college graduates should do in order to increase their chances of being hired. Listen in: Continue Reading

82% of Applicants Expect Answers From Employers Yet Only 25% Get It

Sanja Licina of Careerbuilder

Job hunting can be a frustrating process especially if you have no idea whether the employer made a decision or even saw your application. More than one in four workers reported that they have had a bad experience when applying for a job. The vast majority (75 percent) of workers who applied to jobs using various resources in the last year said they never heard back from the employer, according to a nationwide CareerBuilder survey.

While this speaks to the challenges of finding employment in a highly competitive market, it also brings to light negative implications for today’s employers. The survey shows candidates who have had a bad experience when applying for a position are less likely to seek employment at that company again and are more likely to discourage friends and family from applying or purchasing products from that company. The study of more than 3,900 U.S. workers was conducted online by Harris Interactive^© from November 1 to November 30, 2012.

How important is it to acknowledge every job applicant? Continue Reading

Employers Taking 30+ Days to Extend Offers After Interview Date

How long can a college student expect to wait for a job offer after an interview? And, after an offer is extended, how long will he or she have to accept or reject it?

NACE’s 2012 Recruiting Benchmarks Survey found that, on average, employers hiring new college graduates take 24.2 business days to extend an offer to a college student after an interview. If you add in weekend and holiday days, that means that the employers are asking the average candidate to wait more than 30 days from the date of their interview to receive an offer of employment. Once an offer has been extended, employers then give the candidate an average of 14.1 business days to make a decision. Continue Reading

Decoding Job Descriptions

The more time you spend searching job boards and scanning through job postings, the more you may start to recognize certain phrases and terms that appear over and over again. Some of these terms may be a little confusing or open to interpretation. Here’s a simple guide that can help you make sense of a few of the most common phrases. Continue Reading

Securing Government Employment – Part 2: How Do I Apply to Federal Jobs?

How do military veterans apply for jobs in the federal government?  The following post helps them understand the application process.

Link:

Securing Government Employment – Part 2: How Do I Apply to Federal Jobs?