Candidate sourcing is the single greatest opportunity to impact the total cost, quality, and performance of recruiting. Sourcers have tremendous challenges facing them, but somewhere tucked away in these challenges we have the potential for a solid sourcing plan.

Sourcers face many obstacles that recruiters don’t have to deal with. For instance, regardless of how strong your sourcing skills are, in some circles you’re still considered junior-level, or even worse, entry level.

So what’s the solution? Are sourcers fighting a losing battle? Not necessarily. Try the following strategies to tackle the unique sourcing challenges.

Strategy #1: Information Gathering

Don’t make assumptions, take the time to research and understand the client’s specific business needs. Don’t consider yourself exempt just because you may have seen that skill set before. Usually sourcers receive their job requisitions, begin to highlight the buzzwords, and within minutes start doing searches.

Save yourself time and money by doing your research first. You need to know more than just keywords. You need to know your prospective candidate’s industry, what they are looking for and what drives them. Once you know what they want, you can tailor what you have to offer them and make it more enticing.

Strategy #2: Technology and market development analysis: identifying and defining targets, approaches, and tactics

Tailor each approach to target specific candidates. Once you learn the specific needs it will be easy to define the appropriate approach and tactics. You can’t and shouldn’t have a cookie-cutter approach to sourcing. When your campaigns are targeted at technical people, speak in technical terms. Capture their interests and look for ways to capitalize on it.

Strategy #3 Short & Long-Term Planning

Once you have knowledge of your candidate’s industry and the tactics that would work best, you’re ready to begin your planning. Preparation and careful planning can effectively improve your chances of delivering on your sourcing goals. To achieve sourcing success, you must rely on a combined set of actions. Planning will ensure that you keep your sourcing on track.

Strategy #4 Implementation

Implementation of a chosen solution has to be effectively managed to deliver the desired effect. Link your activities to each other through your plan; don’t just see them as separate things to do. As you start implementing your well-thought out sourcing plans — whether it is internet sourcing, job posting, job board searches, name generation, e-mail campaigns, or whatever — you will see that your sourcing will take on new life because now it is not a routine but part of a strategic set of tactics to reach your goal.

Strategy #5 Monitoring Sourcing Performance With Regular Strategic Reviews

Usually as sourcer/recruiters we get so involved in our routine that we make assumptions. It is easy to think that being busy is being effective. Monitoring the performance of each sourcing tactic can help you determine whether you need to adjust to a different source or tactic. You may get a high number of responses to an e-mail blast, but the skills may be wrong, the ad may need to be tweaked, or your cold call script may need to be changed. The only way to know and truly measure your effectiveness is through tracking and monitoring each sourcing strategy.

Strategy #6 Trend analysis

Trending your sourcing activities is the best way to truly know the direction your sourcing is headed. It validates your judgments and provides for finding and implementing best practices. You need to distinguish your impressions from reality. Trending results will help differentiate between the two and drive you to deliver on your goals.

Conclusion

Remember that while sourcing goals may not change, the market does and so do sourcing research methods, which continue to evolve. That means sourcers need to stay on guard and up-to-date to stay in the game. Managing and monitoring your candidate sourcing activities is essential to maximizing the value you provide.

-- By Moises Lopez, of The Sourcing Corner blog.

This article is courtesy of Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates searching entry level jobs and other career opportunities

Posted by Steven Rothberg, CollegeRecruiter.com on May 31, 2007 at 4:38 PM | Leave a Comment (0)

The 75 million Baby Boomers who make up forty-five percent of the workforce are now starting to retire; in 2007 that rate is expected to hit three million people. And the mass exodus of Boomers from the workforce will only increase over the next ten years. So the question is: Who will replace these retiring workers?

While logic would dictate that the next generation (Generation X, as they're called) will simply step in and fill the newly vacant roles, that is simply impossible. Why? Because the Gen X population-those born between 1964 and 1977-totals a mere forty-five million people. That's a deficit of 30 million workers. As one economist from the Office of Labor Statistics noted, "over 500 occupations will be adversely affected by the boomers' departure." It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that a worker shortage is on the horizon.

To make matters worse, retaining Gen-X employees is a challenge that plagues many companies. A number of research studies suggest that one in five Gen-Xers is preparing to leave their current job. In addition, Gen-Xers are leaving the big corporations in droves to be entrepreneurs or to join smaller companies-even if it means taking a pay cut. According to exit polls and research studies, Gen-Xers are disgusted with the mismanagement of top corporate officials, hierarchical politics, corporate ladders, and the lack of job satisfaction and job fulfillment.

Gen-Xers across the country echo the same message: They want a Gen-X friendly workplace. And that, in fact, is the key to retaining these skilled workers in your company so you're not left in the cold when the labor shortage hits. Following are four strategies that will enable you to attract the Gen-X talent you will need to stay successful and competitive in the years to come.

1. Focus on collaborative relationships.

Gen-Xers grew up in social conditions very different than previous generations. Many were latchkey children, and fifty percent were raised in single parent homes. They often spent an excessive amount of time alone. As a result, today Gen-Xers are relationship builders. In fact, this need for strong relationships touches every aspect of their life-at home, at work, and as consumers. As such, companies need to develop new communication models that include strategies for building "it" together.

Unfortunately, many managers still don't use their workforce to collaborate on projects, goals, or the development of ideas. Instead, they use coercion or they dictate what is going to be done. But that approach won't cut it for the Gen-X workforce. Companies that retain these workers for the long haul need to take a collaborative approach to such things as decision making, problem solving, and product development. Yes, Gen-Xers want the company to do well, but they also want to be a strong voice in taking the company where it needs to go.

So rather than tell your Gen-X employees what steps to take to solve a problem, allow them to brainstorm with you to generate ideas. Or when you need to decide on a course of action, get their feedback on which option to pursue. Really listen to what they offer and act on their input. Be open to what they say; often their suggestions will amaze you.

2. Offer variety.

In the past, the Baby Boomers were interested in job status and climbing the corporate ladder. In contrast, Gen-Xers are interested in equality, flexibility, and a lattice corporate structure. The Gen-Xer is not impressed with status symbols like title or position; rather, they want an uncensored corporate structure coupled with opportunities to learn new skills. When given the choice, they prefer flex hours and the ability to telecommute over a higher salary.

Therefore, rather than restrict your Gen-X workers from trying new things, encourage it. Offer them opportunities to learn new skills, to job share, and to assist in projects in other departments. Gen-Xers yearn for increased intellectual stimulation. If you keep them "in a rut," doing the same thing day in and day out, they'll quickly get bored. That's when they start cyberloafing and looking for employment elsewhere…or mapping out their own entrepreneurial vision, which could be in direct competition with you.

Additionally, since Gen-Xers were raised in the information age, they expect to have the latest technology tools to do their job. Remember, this group was the first to do their high school papers on the computer, and they are technically savvy. To not provide the latest and greatest technology is equivalent to handing them the "want ads."

3. Work in teams.

Teaming and the ability to bond with others is core to the Gen-X work ethic.
And while many organizations give lip service to team-building training and activities, most organizations are rigidly bureaucratic and employees do not feel valued as a person. In fact, the "good old boys," "bureaucratic cultures," and the "double standard" of yesteryear are seen as draining, egocentric, and childish to Gen-Xers. That's why companies need to focus on creating a truly team-focused environment to keep these much needed workers.

For example, when it comes to leading Gen-X workers, managers need to do more than just manage; they need to work alongside the employees doing the daily activities. Also, assign teams within the department to complete projects. For each new task or project, rotate the team leader so that everyone has the opportunity to develop his or her leadership skills.
Additionally, have people work in dyads, where one team member helps another on a project to build internal working relationships. Finally, allow the teams to self-manage. After all, you hired them because of their expertise, so let them put that expertise to work and see the project through from beginning to end. The more you allow your Gen-X employees to be a part of the team and to participate as equals, the more likely they'll be to stay at your company.

4. Build a strong corporate communication process.

In most companies there's no open debate, and employees are always "watching their back." They know that if they say something out of turn, they're likely going to get projects they don't want or they'll get dinged on their performance review. Granted, some companies have attempted to create an environment of open communication, but when employees do speak their mind, the company doesn't listen.

Gen-Xers refuse to tolerate such an environment. They know it's hard to be productive and motivated when trying to always "watch your back." And while previous generations tolerated office politics and egocentric executives, the Gen-Xers respond by sending out resumes and seeking employment elsewhere.

Therefore, to keep Gen-Xers on staff, you need to encourage debate and opposite opinion. Get people to open up, discuss problems, and express opinions. Then, put in the processes so the ideas and opinions get acted upon. Equally important is to create an environment of instant feedback. Rather than force people to wait for feedback for days, weeks or until the yearly performance review, communicate regularly. Give updates on ideas that were generated, projects that were worked on, and anything else that impacts the company or employee. Just as Gen-Xers like to text message their friends because it offers instant communication, they expect the same communication speed from their managers.

The New Generation of Change

According to the US Census Bureau, the number of small businesses is growing. And Gen-Xers are starting to realize that smaller companies offer more in the way of opportunity, job fulfillment, and job satisfaction. As such, Gen-Xers are giving up the larger paychecks that large companies offer for a smaller company that is Gen-Xer friendly and more aligned with their values.

The world is changing at warp speed, and Gen-Xers are at the soul of that change. So if your organization is to survive long-term and avoid extinction, you must change and become Gen-Xer friendly-now!

-- Deanne DeMarco is an author of four books, speaker and corporate trainer.
Her successful training programs are nationally recognized utilizing a set of strategies aligned with her GenXer Factor© Management Model in creating corporate cultures where people like to work. As a keynote speaker she communicates the important lessons in managing the next generation. For speaking and consulting, Deanne can be reached at 866-91-COACH or at www.DeanneDeMarco.com.

Posted by Steven Rothberg, CollegeRecruiter.com on May 30, 2007 at 6:10 PM | Leave a Comment (0)

By Pete Johnson, Nerd Guru

Wired magazine recently had story about DARPA's string of human enhancement projects that contained the epitome of taking a bad situation and making good out of it. We all have down times in our careers and a key to advancing is to learn from how we got there and how we can dig ourselves out.

Recall that the folks at DARPA are the same good people (not Al Gore or even Tim Berners-Lee) who brought us the Internet. There is some very cutting edge stuff going on with enabling field soldiers to function more efficiently. The article focuses on two specific projects. The first has to do with regulating body temperature and how it is really heat, and not chemical buildup as is commonly thought, that fatigues muscles over time. The key then becomes finding a way to cool those tissues in order to improve endurance.

The second project I found more interesting, though -- not because it is any more or less impressive than the first, but because its genesis sure is. It tells the story of biochemist Mark Roth. Ten years ago, he suffered about the most devastating loss that a parent can experience: the death of a child. Roth eventually rose from his sorrow, unsurprisingly, with an interest in immortality, and that path ultimately led him to working with DARPA. For a soldier, what happens in the first hour ("the golden hour") after suffering an injury can be the difference between whether he or she lives or dies. In theory, if you could place a severely wounded soldier into a state of suspended animation within that first hour and then transport him or her to a more sophisticated facility than what is available in the field, the chances of recovery increase dramatically.

In 2005 DARPA held one of its famous contests that challenge scientists to achieve some set of criteria. This time, it was to keep a mouse alive for 3 hours with 60 percent of its blood lost, which simulates a lethal wound. Roth's studies took him from immortality to being able to stimulate a state of stasis in animals not known to normally hibernate. Using a combination of lowered oxygen levels and a dose of hydrogen sulfide (the latter inspired by a PBS show he saw on a caving accident), Roth was able to induce the mice into a hibernation-like state and then re-animate them after 10 hours.

Roth turned the loss of his daughter into the fuel for a research problem that shows potential to change the medical field forever. It is hard to think of another example where something so personally bad was turned into something so possibly good for all of society. How about you? The next time you find yourself in the pit of despair, how are you going to get yourself out of it? In what way will you better yourself or help others so that all can learn from what happened to you? Follow Mark Roth's example and make lemonade out of lemons and hibernating mice.

-- Pete Johnson is the Chief Architect of HP.com and writes at Nerd Guru about career best practices in the field of engineering. This article is courtesy of Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates searching entry level jobs and other career opportunities.

Posted by Steven Rothberg, CollegeRecruiter.com on May 30, 2007 at 2:18 PM | Leave a Comment (0)

By Shally Steckerl

What in 2004 started as a risky move when a few of us stuck our necks out to vulnerably make public our thoughts in an open forum has in a quick staccato grown to a cacophony. In the ancient history of our profession, around the turn of the century, there were only a few voices but they were clear as a crystal bell. These voices broadcast ideas through unidirectional vehicles like newsletters, both in print and online, as well as static websites that required considerable skill to publish. Comparatively a rank amateur in 1996 I was lucky to be a barely discernible junior voice among the ranks of big influencers who started revealing secrets online about our industry as early as a year before my meager beginnings in this industry. Some of those ancient leading voices have grown very strong while others are returning after a long hiatus.

But who cares about that? After all, its a time forgotten and things have changed.

Well, the truth is I care. Lately I have been having increasingly more disturbing conversations with my peers, mentors, apprentices, customers and business partners, about the growth of the signal-to-noise ratio. With the maturing of the "click here to post" blog technology, not only has the amount of new voices increased but also their volume is rising as is the diversity of opinion they represent.
scream
Signal-to-noise is the ratio of information to interference in the medium. In other words, when the ratio grows it gets increasingly harder to tell the useful information from the background noise. While I strongly believe our industry will benefit from numerous conversations among people of widely varied opinions, trying to listen to all of them will shortly be impossible. Good voices are being drowned out by noise and feedback loops. So, I'm doing something about it.

Actually, I have been doing something about it for a few years, but I just haven't made it known openly until now. I started out doing what many of us do when we are trying to have an important conversation and that is to grab the volume knob and turn it all the way down and to the left so I can knobhave a decent conversation. This temporary lull in the ruckus before turning the knob back to the right allowed me to conduct direct conversations with leading voices in our industry. What was initially a simple reaching out for direct connections eventually became a method of listening which in turn grew into limitless opportunities for me to learn, influence and be influenced.

Through my public speaking, blogging, and those unguarded dialogues I have forged partnerships that have lead to building unity among the voices and a choir has begun to form. I've been granted a great trust by this choir which I have used to promote the open sharing of knowledge and thought leadership. At my bequest many have taken the risk to start their own blog pages and fill them with revealing content, and some have chosen other instruments. What concerns me now is that even as a choir we are muffled.

Many of these partners, new and old, have asked that I keep our conversations to myself and since the ideas are not just my own I can't yet tell you much about their nature, or about the choir's master plan. What I can tell you is that great momentum is building behind a movement to combine our voices and share the sound stage for the purposes of presenting our ideas in a much more organized way to cut through the noise. You may have already seen or inferred how some of that is coming together. As always I'll keep you informed once I able to share more.

In the mean time I urge you to take a stand against the noise by joining in with your favorite voices and supporting their cause, or at least take a moment to turn the volume off once in a while and have a candid conversation. This way, instead of the rising commotion of a popularity contest with no ultimate winner we will create a natural consensus that can truly affect change in our industry.

-- Article by Shally Steckerl, Chief CyberSleuth, JobMachine, Inc.

Posted by Steven Rothberg, CollegeRecruiter.com on May 30, 2007 at 7:26 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

If you think the explosion of social networking is relegated to the high school and college crowd, you might be surprised at the results of a recent survey on online social networking. The survey, conducted by the Institute for Corporate Productivity (i4cp – formerly HRI) revealed that 65% of business professionals are clicking and connecting via personal and professional social networking Web sites.

“We expected to see a number of respondents utilizing social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook for personal reasons, but we were intrigued at the high percentage of business professionals that use social networking for professional purposes,” says Jay Jamrog, i4cp’s SVP of Research. “In an age where more and more employees work remotely and people frequently change companies, it makes sense that the business community would turn to the Web to stay connected.”

The most popular sites for professional use? Tops in the survey by far was LinkedIn, a site aimed at the business professional, followed by Yahoo! 360 and MySpace, which is more often associated with a younger generation.

The study revealed that employees are quickly gravitating toward leveraging social networks for very traditional business uses. About half (52%) of respondents whose organizations are using social networking sites do so to keep internal staff and remote employees connected, while 47% of total respondents use the networks to connect with potential clients and to showcase their skills. A total of 35% say they use networks to assist them in finding a job.

But it’s not all about connecting in the conventional sense. Networks are also being leveraged to raise the IQ of organizations. Over half (55%) of those using the networks do so to share best practices with colleagues, and 49% use them to get answers to issues they are currently facing. This is an area that experts think could help social networking really take off inside corporations.

“Companies and employees have often gravitated to trade associations and shows for one primary benefit: community,” says Jamrog. “Social networks have opened a new dynamic in bringing that community online, and the ability to share what’s working and what isn’t in real time is invaluable to many employees today. We expect to see this continue in earnest among corporations, and we particularly expect to see the small- to medium-size business market gravitate here so that they can augment traditionally thin staffs with expertise from larger organizations.”

Of those respondents who do not currently utilize social networks, the top reason (37%) is simply that they don't know what networks to use. The majority of respondents (59%) said they would likely use social networks if they knew that such use would assist their professional development (31% say they already do), and a full 77% would welcome using them if they thought the networks could aid organizational efficiency.

-- The Social Network Practitioner Consensus Survey was conducted by i4cp, in conjunction with HR.com, in May 2007. A total of 323 organizations participated.

Posted by Steven Rothberg, CollegeRecruiter.com on May 29, 2007 at 5:51 PM | Leave a Comment (0)

By Shally Steckerl

My good friend and "Chief Encouragement Officer" Vincent Wright wrote this up on MLPF and it was so funny I just had to share it with everyone!

By the way, you should join Vince's MyLinkedInPowerForum group on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/e/gis/1304/10BE4F71AFD0/

Oh and Vince is an open networker so connect with him here and enter his email address: mylinkedinpowerforum (AT) gmail (DOT) com

By Vince:

Wouldn't you just LOVE to be able to tell the complete truth about your work history, education, volunteer work, etc?

Wouldn't it be so cool if you could just experience the full joys of writing your resume under the influence of a good shot of Sodium Pentothal (Sodium thiopental) and at last would be able to truthfully say something like:

EMPLOYMENT (In no particular chronological order)

• Ran MLPF Into The Ground For Two Years (2005-2007)
  
• Developed 3 Totally Unusable Software Applications (1983-2007)
  
• Wrote 7 Books No One Can Understand (1985-2006)
  
• Accidentally Increased Company Profits By 5 Million Dollars (1994)
  
• Made Another 3 Dollars By Fully Exhausting a $300,000.00 Marketing Budget (1995-1996)
  
• Dramatically Improved Unemployment Ranks For Entire City of Hartford, CT (1996-1997)
  
• Successfully Depressed One of Central Connecticut's Most Optimistic Sales Teams (1998)
  
• Helped Multi-National Conglomerate Lose Key Personnel for 7 Consecutive Years (1996-03)
  
• Helped Reduce Connecticut's Hopes By 444% (1999-2001)
  

• Did Not Understand Anything At American University - Very attractive girl sat next to me from 1971-1977
  
• Completely Misunderstood My Masters Thesis (1981-1983)
  
• Successfully Spent 37 Years Rewriting My Doctoral Dissertation (1970-2007) (May be able to spend 7 more before having to turn it in circa 2014)
  

• Authored Successful Book Unintended for Publication (Still can't believe how well it sold once it was inadvertently released.)
  

• In Less Than 20 Years, Completely Drained The Joy Out Of 100 Year Old World-Class Church Choir Called "Endless Joy" - (1985-2005)
  

• Consistently Gave My Child and Friends Wrong Advice - (1985-2006)
  

Posted by Steven Rothberg, CollegeRecruiter.com on May 29, 2007 at 9:30 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

Over the past twenty years it has become painfully obvious that the majority of diversity initiatives fail to achieve their stated goals and objectives. The reason for this failure can be made obvious by reviewing a recent job description for a diversity consultant at a major law firm. The company wanted a high-level person who was capable of working with powerful attorneys to attract a greater diversity of staff into the company, reduce turnover of minority attorneys, increase involvement of affinity groups throughout the organization, develop and deliver multicultural sensitivity training to offices throughout the world and to help each office with their own unique diversity challenges.

This position had no support staff, was described as "a sixteen-hour-a-day job" and had gone unfilled over a year. Is it any wonder? In addition, this "director level" position reported to the head of human resources. Any company serious about diversity has the director of diversity reporting directly to the CEO.

Most diversity initiatives fail because they are overly ambitious and under-funded. While seeking to make major structural changes within an organization, they tend to lack support for the very top. It shouldn't be a surprise that no one wants to take on such a job. When some unsuspecting soul does accept the challenge they are usually frustrated and ineffective.

One of the major reasons diversity initiatives fail is because they aren't "SMART." That is they aren't:

S = Specific. For example, exactly how much do you want to increase the diversity of your work force? Most companies are afraid to set targets because they're afraid they won't reach them. To accomplish such a goal would require a total change in the way prospective employees are hired and trained. The standard interview process screens out people from cultures who tend not to be as verbal as white Americans, such as Hispanics and Asians.

M = Measurable. Most companies don't track or make available employee retention numbers by race. The problem with most diversity initiatives is that management feels they are working or not working. Diversity initiatives can be measured if you have solid and consistent data from inception to completion. Given the right information, you can show positive or negative change and return-on-investment to four decimal points. However, you must be clear on what outcomes you are trying to measure so you can track the proper inputs.

A = Achievable. A diversity initiative must be supported by attitudes, abilities, skills, and financial capacity to reach them. Without support from the top, these resources will just be another "nice to have" rather than a "need to have." Remember that to plan an initiative is strategic while implementing it is operational. How could any one person be both strategic and operational without being schizophrenic? A director of diversity is a strategic position while implementation is operational, which means that in order to develop and carry out effective diversity initiatives you will need at least two people plus support staff for both. To tackle a major diversity education initiative requires another fulltime person plus support staff and on it goes, depending on what you want to accomplish. You can see why most diversity initiatives are overly ambitious and under-funded. It requires a major commitment, not just a token effort.

R = Realistic. A diversity initiative must be an objective toward which the company must be willing and able to achieve. The goal can be both ambitious and realistic but should be consistent with the mission of the company. The leader of the initiative and others must truly believe that it can be accomplished. If the company has never accomplished anything similar in the past, what conditions have changed to make it possible to achieve this goal now? You can't expect a ninety-minute seminar to fix a diversity challenge that took years to develop. The rough rule of thumb is that it takes about half as long to resolve a problem as it took to develop, if you have the full support of management. So if an issue has been festering for six, years expect it to take three years to fix. Unfortunately, most initiatives are rarely given this long to work.

T = Timely. There must be a deadline for accomplishment of the initiative and every step leading up to its completion. A deadline is the soonest anything will ever be accomplished so they are crucial. Every step needed to implement the initiative must have a specific deadline. In addition, diversity initiatives must be tracked against known benchmarks. The easiest way to develop a timeline is to plan backwards. What is the specific outcome you are trying to achieve and by when? Next, ask, "What is the step that must be accomplished just before that and when must it be done to reach the outcome by the deadline?" Then consider the step before that and just keep going until you get to the very first step and you will clearly see when you must start the program to reach your goal by the due date. What most companies discover after going through this exercise is that they must start a diversity initiative much earlier than originally thought.

So start small and be specific with your diversity initiatives. Make sure they have the staffing and resources needed to accomplish its goals. You would never open a director-level position without proper support staff because such a person should be planning and coordinating, not doing paperwork or reports. If you remove the word "diversity" from the position title, does it have equivalent resources as comparable jobs?

-- Michael Soon Lee, MBA, is President of EthnoConnect™ a multicultural consulting company that helps organizations realize the promise of diversity. He is the author of four books on marketing and selling to multicultural customers and speaks around the world on the subject. His website is www.EthnoConnect.com and he can be reached by phone at: (800) 417-7325.

Posted by Steven Rothberg, CollegeRecruiter.com on May 23, 2007 at 1:50 PM | Leave a Comment (0)

Believe me--I'd rather spend my summer in the sun, relaxing and hanging out with friends. And if you've just finished a year of books, tests, and stress, that's probably your priority too. Let me ask you to test your priorities--and save you the stress of job searching later. Instead of laying low all summer, why not aim high?

Summer is a slow time for companies. People are taking family vacations and longer lunches, and both commutes and recruiting slow considerably. For college students--it's a smart time to think about speeding up. You already know the drill about internships--how they add to your experience,

But what if you need cash and the internship of your dreams doesn't pay? Or, you don't want to miss out on twirling the whistle and catching some

It's called a project. There are no rules, no time limits, no requirements--just what you set up. The process is easy:

1) Make a list of your dream companies
2) Ask anyone and everyone you know if they know anyone who works at any of those companies
3) Reach out to those contacts and offer your free labor

The results are incredible:
1) You can take on one or more small projects to show off your skills
2) You're helping the company when they may have many people on vacation
3) You can indicate how many hours you have to work for free
4) You've got tangible results at the end to demonstrate your efforts in an upcoming job search
5) You can work for more than one company
6) You now have an inside scoop at your dream company(ies)

Of course, you've got to do the work on your own, and you have to convince a company that your free labor is high quality and worth their effort. Ask for a small project at first and it may lead to a larger one later. When you start school again, you may be able to get academic credit for your work, and a full internship the following summer.

Bonus: instead of one internship on your resume, you've now got four different projects with four different companies.

So get off the lounge chair and get on the phone. Take on at least one small project and you can still enjoy your summer while getting experience at the same time.

Posted by Susan Strayer on May 19, 2007 at 10:35 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

When it comes to making a professional career change, it is well agreed that tattoos (and for that matter, any other highly personal markings) are inappropriate to have in evidence. “And yet, many candidates still unknowingly reveal far too much of themselves as part of today’s information-intense society,” said Robert Graber, founder of the online recruiting site, WallStJobs.com.

For example, companies now routinely search a candidate’s name on the web and check social networking sites as part of their research. “Does your Facebook or MySpace account evidence less than professional information?” cautioned Mr. Graber. “Don’t forget to note what others may have posted on your site. Everything is subject to scrutiny.”

Another often overlooked “reveal” that might not project the type of image you want is your screen name or personal e-mail address. “Some of these monikers were created years ago.” noted Graber. “At that time there was little career downside to choosing cute or suggestive labels. Unfortunately, like a tattoo, in today’s market these can often create cases of, ‘too much information.’ Be sure all of your on-line identifiers are appropriate.”

Graber offered two other non-internet “tells” that might spell trouble:

• Personalized license plates on your car. “These can be misconstrued as personality profiles,” notes Graber. “Put yourself in the place of a corporate executive and imagine how you would react to your employee handing out a business card with what is on the license plate. Is it less than professional? If so, it might be time to surrender them.”
  
• Bumper stickers. “Political affiliations, social action positions, and even allegiance to a particular sports team might work against you in some cases,” warns Graber. “Such public proclamations of personal information can be the tipping point when a company is making a hiring decision.”
  

-- Article courtesy of WallStJobs.com, a premier recruiting source exclusively for financial service professionals and member of the Jobosaurus family of uniquely specialized recruiting sites.

Posted by Steven Rothberg, CollegeRecruiter.com on May 18, 2007 at 8:37 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

Writing your first résumé can be a challenge -- you know you have the skills and a good head on your shoulders, but how do you convince someone else that you have what it takes? It seems like a daunting task when you've just graduated. You need a job, and you have a degree, but you don’t have a ton of concrete, long-term experience. Employers are looking for experience, but you can’t get experience until someone takes a chance and hires you. Fear not! There are ways to quell your worries and the anxieties of future employers by rounding out your résumé.

Don’t be fooled by the traditional résumé; when you graduate from college, you shouldn’t have a conventional résumé. Foremost, you have to tailor your résumé to the specific job for which you are applying. It’s important to carefully examine the specific qualifications the employer is looking for and evaluate how you could meet those standards. However, that’s just the beginning—below are some helpful tips for ways to elevate your résumé:

• Don't write a chronological résumé when you've just graduated from college. List your education at the top of the résumé, followed by a section entitled, “Relevant Experience” that details the skills you’ll bring to the table.
  

• Find a job description for your ideal position by using job postings on popular Internet job boards and identify key tasks and terminology used within. Under the “Relevant Experience” section, use your experiences from life and college to mirror the job description and use the same terminology used within the job description. For example, if you're looking for a job in sales, and the job description requests experience with "cold calling," you should list the fundraising calls you made for your fraternity/sorority in college as, "Performed cold calls for fraternity/sorority fundraising efforts." Using the same terminology will tie your experience to the specific skills the employer is looking for in a candidate.
  

• List internships and job experience at the bottom of your résumé and specify if a position was summer employment. If you only held a position for a few months this could raise flags for a potential employer; however, you can allay their concerns if you offer clarification. Next to these entries on your résumé, you should provide a brief explanation in parentheses such as, “Summer/Part-time employment to finance education.”
  

• Highlight extra curricular activities and your role within the organizations to which you belonged. Showing employers that you are able to balance extracurricular activities with academics demonstrates time-management skills. Likewise, if you held leadership positions in any organizations, you should list those to exhibit your leadership abilities.
  

-- Heather Mayfield is vice president training and operations for Snelling Staffing Services. Snelling delivers temporary, career and professional staffing solutions to companies, with almost 200 offices throughout the U.S. For more information, visit www.snelling.com.

Posted by Steven Rothberg, CollegeRecruiter.com on May 10, 2007 at 5:45 PM | Leave a Comment (0)

William is an aspiring attorney and has been working as a legal assistant in a prestigious law firm for the past 18 months. He loves the idea of fulfilling his dream and works long hours, without being asked. William is well-paid and enjoys every bit of his job; however, there is just one significant element of dissatisfaction. He has no knowledge of his value to the firm; he doesn't feel appreciated. Should this be a concern for management?

Yes! Management should be concerned because it greatly impacts an employee's view of you, the job, and the company as a whole. Research has consistently shown that people will not give their best for money alone, but they will work harder and with more passion, for recognition and a bit of appreciation.

It's important to show your employees how much you value them and their contributions - no matter how large or small - to the business. No special occasion is necessary. Small surprises and tokens of your appreciation spread throughout the year will help your employees feel valued.

While there are hundreds of ideas out there, here are a few inexpensive tips that you can implement in your office today:

Praise employees for a job well done. Identify the specific actions that you found admirable even if they are daily routine duties. It's easy to lose the thrill and challenge within certain job descriptions if they are performed on a regular basis and are considered menial. Simple statements such as "please" and "you're doing such a great job" or just asking if there is anything you can do to improve the quality and satisfaction of the job, can go a long way.

Take Sarah, for example. She had worked on the housekeeping staff at a local hotel for more than five years. She was primarily responsible for cleaning and stocking the public areas, including the rest rooms. She was always on time, never missed a day of work, and never received any complaints. She never received any compliments either. During her fifth year, the hotel came under new management. Shortly thereafter, she noticed that the new hotel manager would always nod and smile when he saw her. One day, he stopped and asked her name. Surprised, Sarah responded. Then, he said, "Sarah, these restrooms are always clean and stocked with everything our guests need. I can't tell you how much I appreciate how you help us to maintain high standards of service and excellence. If there is anything I can do to make your job easier, please let me know." Sarah was stunned. In all her years on the cleaning staff, she had never received any kind of compliment regarding her work.

When you praise employees for a job well done, they know that you have noticed their hard work and find their responsibilities to be just as significant as those higher on the corporate ladder.

No matter how large or small the job, remember to praise and show appreciation. It is a rare individual who does not want to be appreciated.

Recognize and respect diversity. Acknowledge the various holidays that are celebrated by your staff. Whether it's Christmas, Hanukah, St. Patrick's Day or Yom Kippur day, create a bulletin board that allows staff to express their individuality and cultural backgrounds. Provide a day off or allow for a "floating holiday" for staff members to use on days that not everyone celebrates, such as Good Friday or Rosh Hashanah. When you recognize and respect the diversity of your staff, they will respect you a lot more as their leader.

Show interest in your staff. Ask your staff about their family, hobbies, weekend or a special event. Your approach to this question may vary depending on the individual employee. Although it is rare, some employees may find it offensive to inquire about their lives outside of work. Asking questions about personal business may be perceived as an invasion of privacy. Make sure your employees know that your intent is to acknowledge their need for happiness and balance - outside of the workplace. An effective way to convey this is to have a friends and family day. Plan an event for the entire workforce in which they can invite family and friends to share in a day of fun, food, and relaxation. Try an amusement park, theme park or even a water park! It doesn't have to be expensive - even a day at the local park, zoo or water area will allow everyone to relax and have fun. By showing a genuine interest in employees' personal life, such as their family, hobbies or weekend, you will send the message that you care about them.

Offer staff members flexible scheduling for the holidays, if possible. If work coverage is critical, post a calendar so that people can balance their time off with that of other employees. Opportunities for time/day exchanges may be set up between employees; allowing them to fill in for one another. Allowing flexible scheduling sends the message that employees are valued.

Know your staff's interest well enough to present a small token occasionally. An appreciated gift, and the gesture of providing it, will brighten up your employees' day. For example, Sharon works as the administrative assistant in a small training firm. As a hobby, she collects books of matches from restaurants. Each time the company's president dines at a four- or five-star restaurant, he brings her a pack of matches. Since he conducts seminars nationally as well as internationally, Sharon now has matches from all over the United States and several foreign countries. A small token, but highly appreciated.

Say "thank you." These are two of the most powerful words in the English language. You can't touch it or see it, but it goes straight to the heart. Saying "thank you" builds staff loyalty. It also increases productivity, which leads to greater customer satisfaction, and opens the door for employees to give you more of what you want. When you neglect to thank your staff, you neglect to nurture the stability of your business.

Everyone, whether they want to admit it or not, likes to feel appreciated. An appreciated staff is a motivated staff, and this leads to a more productive staff. When you show your employees that their hard work and dedication is appreciated, this will motivate them to continue the good work for your business. Using the tips outlined above, tell your staff that you appreciate them, no matter how minute you may think the task may be. Every positive comment helps boost an employee's self esteem. When you continue to do this on a regular basis, don't be surprised if your staff starts thanking you and showing you more appreciation.

-- Daisy Saunders is a speaker, trainer and founder of Big Eyes International, a consulting firm specializing in personal empowerment and leadership development. With 15 years of experience, Daisy helps maximize potential at organizations like NASA, the U.S. Department of Transportation, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Freddie Mac and more. She is also author of "Big Eyes. Big Eyedeas for Achieving Optimum Success in Business and Life."
To find out more about her speaking and consulting, please visit www.BigEyesIntl.com or call 941-266-0676.

Posted by Steven Rothberg, CollegeRecruiter.com on May 9, 2007 at 3:13 PM | Leave a Comment (0)

Don’t think of graduation as an ending. Think of it as the beginning of your long-term career project. That is the advice of career expert, Robert Graber, founder of WallStJobs.com. “It is axiomatic that successful careers are built on effective networking and there is no better time to start building that network then when you still have a fresh connection with your school,” he said.

Graber suggests that you promptly introduce yourself to your school’s alumni relations office and offer to do volunteer work. “There is always a need for interested graduates to help them organize reunions or development projects and that will give you exceptional exposure to many alumni who are well along in their own careers,” he noted. “I am always amazed at how often a hiring decision is swayed in favor of selecting a fellow alumnus over another candidate.”

Graber also offered additional ways a new graduate can get involved in their school:

• Become a class representative
  
• Participate in fund raising events
  
• Become an alumni interviewer
  
• Attend reunions
  

-- WallStJobs.com, the premier recruiting source exclusively for financial service professionals, is a member of the Jobosaurus family of uniquely specialized recruiting sites. Article courtesy of HRMarketer.

Posted by Steven Rothberg, CollegeRecruiter.com on May 8, 2007 at 5:46 PM | Leave a Comment (0)

If you're frustrated in your efforts to elicit the best from each of your subordinates, chances are it's not that they can't be motivated, but that the wrong methods are being used to motivate them.

The secret is to package what you want from each individual in a way that makes them want to deliver for you. There are 7 classic work styles, each of which is motivated differently: Commanders, who need control; Drifters, who need flexibility; Attackers who need respect; Pleasers who need to be liked; Performers, who need recognition; Avoiders who need security; and Analyticals, who need certainty. Now here's how to use this knowledge to better motivate your staff.

Commanders: Results oriented, aloof, bossy and not terribly tactful, Commanders need to be in a position to take initiative. Delegate substantive assignments to them, and employ a hands off management style.
Articulate the desired result, and then stand aside and let them figure out the "how to's". To motivate the Commander, link what you want them to do to how doing so will improve order, control, or results. Most importantly, understand that the Commander wants to be valued and validated for their ability to overcome obstacles, to implement, and to achieve results.

Drifters: Free spirited and easy going, disorganized and impulsive, Drifters are virtually antithetical to Commanders. They have difficulty with structure of any kind, whether it relates to rules, work hours, details or deadlines. To motivate the Drifter, delegate only short assignments, and ensure assignments have lots of variety. Provide as much flexibility as possible, including what they work on, where they work, with whom they work, and the work schedule itself. Drifters want to be valued and validated for their innovation and creativity, their ability to improvise on a moment's notice, and their out-of-the-box thinking.

Attackers: Angry and hostile, cynical and grouchy, Attackers are often the most demoralizing influence in the workplace. They can be critical of others in public, and often communicate using demeaning, condescending tones or biting sarcasm. Attackers view themselves as superior to others, conveying contempt and disgust for others. Granted, these folks aren't exactly the most loveable of employees, but you do need to be able to motivate them effectively. Start by identifying what they're really good at, and then put them in positions of using or imparting that knowledge in ways that don't require much actual interaction with others. Value and validate the Attacker for their ability to take on the ugly, unpopular assignments no one else wants to touch, and for their ability to work for long periods of time in isolation.

Pleasers: Thoughtful, pleasant and helpful, Pleasers are easy to get along with. They view their work associates as extended family members, and have a high need for socialization at work. Unable to handle conflict, Pleasers can't say "no" to the requests of others, developing instant migraines or stomach problems to escape having to deal with negativity. Motivating Pleasers is pretty simple and direct - just let them know how doing whatever it is you ask will make you happy. The more difficult thing is to manage their tendency to subordinate what's best for the company to the maintenance of relationships. To manage this, you'll need to continually stress the concept of the "greater good". Value and validate Pleasers for the way they humanize the workplace, and for their helpful, collaborative work style.

Performers: Witty and charming, jovial and entertaining, Performers are often the most favorite personality in the workplace. They're the first to volunteer in public venues, and the last to deliver on their promises.
Performers can also be self-promoting hustlers who use others as stepping stones on their path to stardom. They'll also avoid accountability for any negative outcomes by distorting the truth and blaming others. Motivating the Performer requires that you link recognition and other incentives, such as high-profile assignments, to improved teamsmanship. Value and validate your Performer for their ability to establish new relationships, and for their persuasive and public speaking skills.

Avoiders: Quiet and reserved, Avoiders are the wallflowers of the world.
They create warm, cozy nest-like environments and prefer to work alone. They fear taking initiative, and shun increased responsibility because of the attendant visibility and accountability. They'll do precisely what they're told - no more, it's true, but no less either. Avoiders will sacrifice money, position, growth and new opportunities for the safety of status quo.

Motivating the Avoider requires that you always provide detailed instructions, in which the Avoider will find safety, and don't expect to be successful in pushing this fear-based individual toward increased responsibility. Value and validate your Avoider for their reliability, for their meticulous attention to your instructions, and for getting the job done right the first time, every time.

Analyticals: Cautious, precise and diligent, Analyticals are the personification of procrastination. This sometimes incapacitates them in times of urgency. Their ability to multi-task mentally results in poor eye contact and flat intonation, They scrutinize the ideas of others, and anticipate all that could go wrong, which creates an inaccurate impression that they're negative. They're ill at ease socially and prefer that all communications be written or electronic - not in person. Motivating the Analytical requires that you give them time to complete each task before assigning another, and that you demonstrate and articulate respect for data and for the analytical function. Value and validate your Analytical for their commitment to accuracy, and for their ability to anticipate and evaluate risk far enough in advance to allow risks to be reduced.

The "one-size-fits-all cookie cutter approach to motivating others won't work. Instead, Instead, you must customize our methods to each individual you manage. Doing so will allow you to access the discretionary energy of staff - that which they aren't required to, do but could do if use these tips to make them want to.

~

Francie Dalton is founder and president of Dalton Alliances, Inc., a premier business consultancy specializing in the communication, management and behavioral sciences. For more information, call 410-715-0484 or visit www.daltonalliances.com

Posted by Shawn Augustson, CollegeRecruiter.com on May 4, 2007 at 11:39 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

Today I launch into a new series - Top 10 Ways to Blow Getting the Job. Now it’s been a little while since I’ve done a series and I hope that many of my readers will find this one particularly useful. The topic I am going to cover should be near and dear to anyone who has considered changing jobs, and while I almost always write with a slant that gives my posts a restaurant flavor, there are lessons for everyone as Tim Totten [Hey this is the 100th post, but don’t read it.] and Greg [Customer service is a universal imperative] can attest.

One of the rules about writing blog posts, in fact any article for that matter, is to not be negative. However I chose the title because I think it is easier to tell people how to not blow getting the job by avoiding some easily avoidable mistakes than it is to tell them how to get the job, since there may be thousands of things that contribute to the success of the total job seeking effort. My (hoped for) words of wisdom are pointed most directly at the unit level restaurant managers. Those individuals who are on the front lines and directly responsible for providing leadership at the individual restaurant locations. There are many opportunities for them to move to different companies to obtain higher pay and expose themselves to better chances for promotion. By avoiding the ‘mistakes’ that I have identify, their job change campaign should be much more successful.

Let’s start out with the list of what I consider the biggest mistakes (below.) I’ll tell you that the order that I have them listed is intentional. I’ve listed what I think are the easiest to correct first and the most difficult to correct last. Each week we will discuss why I think each topic is such a big problem and how to overcome it. Hopefully we will be able to help guide a number of jobseekers to more successful outcome as a result of the series. Additionally, I’ll probably go ahead and create a PDF document (as Pat Lefler and Kent Blumberg like) so that those who wish, can have an offline resource to carry around, study, or distribute.

I’d also appreciate and enjoy my readers participating with some of their own ideas for errors or mistakes to avoid, which I would be happy to include, expound upon, or discuss. Feel free to email or comment here or on any of the posts. If we get more items than ten, I’ll just change the title. Now here is my list:

Top 10 Ways to Blow Getting the Job

Inappropriate dress - showing up for the interview in attire that is not proper for your industry and position.

Not showing desire - not showing the interviewer(s) at every point that you are ready, willing, and able to make a job change and that you want to work for them.

Not exhibiting a "can do" attitude - when asked to provide additional info, take additional tests, go to a different location, or do anything out of the ordinary; hesitating and making it out to be a hardship on you.

Talking badly about your former/current employer - mentioning information with a negative attitude or tone in your voice or really talking derogatorily about your employers.

Discussing your personal life - talking about things in your personal life to such a degree that it could cause negative feelings or outcome with the prospective employer.

Asking for too much money - when negotiating, going beyond the reasonable limits that have been pre-discussed with your recruiter, the hiring authority, or stated in the job ad.

Inflexibility with regard to location - unwillingness to consider relocation or working in a particular location that may require a longer commute than you would enjoy, for some period of time.

History of job hopping - moving from one company to another (more often than not, at the same level) so frequently that you look unstable.

Lack of knowledge - not knowing about your business and profession, and not knowing about the company where you are interviewing.

Poor language skills - inability to communicate effectively, inability to articulate ideas using proper English, using curse words or slang during the interview.

Carl Chapman
http://www.cecsearch.com/WordPress/

Posted by Shawn Augustson, CollegeRecruiter.com on May 3, 2007 at 9:34 AM | Leave a Comment (1)

I’d like to think I’m ahead of the technology curve compared to most of my baby-boomer buddies, but the communication trends and techniques of my twenty-something kids and their cohorts absolutely astounds me. I can barley keep up with mobile phones and email, so ‘texting’ and ‘IMing’ have me have me as confused as an Amish preacher at Circuit City.

I remember the days when teens and young adults spent far more face-time with their friends than they did talking to them on any kind of phone or electronical device. Today, it’s a completely different story, and our kids are always on and always connected.
You’ve got to read this article featuring a 19-year-old kid trying to explain the concept of ‘texting’ to his grandma. It will blow you away!

Source: Eric Chester, GenerationWHY?
Look on the front lines of your business. Standing between you and your profits are those talented, weird-looking, impossible-to-understand 16- to 24-year-olds. And if you're not connecting with them, they are not connecting with your customers, and you are leaving all kinds of money on the table. In short, your front line is the key to your bottom line.

Posted by Shawn Augustson, CollegeRecruiter.com on May 3, 2007 at 6:14 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

I remember the early 70s, when one of the "women's lib" battle cries was that a woman earned only 60 cents for every dollar a man earned. Since then, news stories on this pay gap have periodically surfaced, tending to emphasize the "bad news" side of the story -- the continuing gap -- rather than the "good news" -- the gap's continual and marked narrowing.

So is the glass half empty or half full?  The answer depends, in part, on how much of the continuing gap is due to unlawful discrimination rather than other factors, such as different occupational and lifestyle choices. Some pay differences are likely explained by the impact of many women's choice to be primary caregivers for their children, which leads them to work fewer hours and/or temporarily remove themselves from the workforce. Occupational choices are also a likely explanation, with many women choosing work in lower-paid fields.

AAUW Study

Last week, a press release once again drew media attention to the remaining gender-pay gap. On April 23, 2007, the American Association of University Women Educational Foundation announced a new study, Behind the Pay Gap

The AAUW study opens by stating that women's "remarkable gains in education during the past three decades . . . have resulted in only modest improvements in pay equity." It looks at college graduates one and ten years after graduation, and individually analyzes the impact of various factors on pay.

A key finding is that the gap sets in quickly following college graduation and worsens thereafter, with women's pay dropping from 80 percent to 69 percent of men's between one and ten years after graduation.

Probably the most significant aspect of this study is that it uses regression analysis to control for hours, occupation, parenthood, and other factors normally associated with pay, and finds that college-educated women still earn less than their male peers. This analysis results in an unexplained pay gap of about 5percent one year after graduation, widening to 12percent 10 years after graduation. The authors conclude, with some plausibility, that the most likely explanation is sex discrimination.

This conclusion is not without doubt, particularly since the study did not appear to control for another very important factor not attributable to discrimination -- gender differences in the willingness to negotiate over salary. "Men are more than four times more likely than women to negotiate a salary, which typically translates to more money in their pockets."ABC News: Take Control: How to Negotiate Your Salary.

Further complicating matters is a fact conveniently not mentioned by the AAUW -- there are many job classifications in which women make substantially more than men (in 39 jobs the gender-pay gap favors women by 5 percent-43 percent).

Hopefully, others much more qualified than I am will peer-review the AAUW study. There are some voices challenging conventional wisdom on the gender pay gap, so I suspect there will be further analysis and debate.

Maintaining the visibility of competing viewpoints and scholarly studies on this issue is important. Failure of the public and elected representatives to understand the significance and limitations of these statistics as evidence of a social problem can lead to poor policy choices.

Playing Politics with Wages

The release of the AAUW study was timed to coincide with "Equal Pay Day," supposedly "the day the average woman must work to in 2007 in order to have her wages match the average man's 2006 paycheck."

The mainstream media were not the only ones listening; so were Democratic presidential hopefuls. The Clinton campaign issued a press release highlighting legislation Senator Clinton introduced last month called the Paycheck Fairness Act.  The Edwards and Obama campaigns also issued Equal Pay Day statements.

In contrast, Republican presidential hopefuls ignored Equal Pay Day, as did the White House, according to one mainstream media source. Are Republicans just insensitive male chauvinist pigs with no interest in courting women's votes, or do they see past the rhetoric and statistical manipulation associated with this issue? Perhaps a bit of both. Perhaps they also have more confidence that the business community and labor markets generally pay people what they are worth because not doing so is simply not good business. Businesses have good reasons -- besides the Equal Pay Act ("EPA") -- for ensuring their pay practices are nondiscriminatory and fair.

Legislative Proposals

Does our success -- or lack of success -- in reducing the pay gap justify a call for new legislation? We've had the EPA since 1963, and it seems reasonably directed at this problem, generally prohibiting gender discrimination in pay "for equal work on jobs the performance of which requires equal skill, effort, and responsibility, and which are performed under similar working conditions." Sounds fair enough to me.

Yet many argue more legislation is needed, because the EPA hasn't succeeded in completely eliminating the gender gap. Congress is considering two bills, The Paycheck Fairness Act, intended to strengthen the enforcement of the Equal Pay Act, and the Fair Pay Act.

Paycheck Fairness Act

Provisions of the proposed Paycheck Fairness Act include allowing compensatory and punitive damages for EPA violations, making class actions easier, improving collection of pay information by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), precluding defenses based on factors such as a male worker's stronger salary negotiation skills or higher previous salaries, and allowing pay comparisons between employees at different physical locations.

These are not minor modifications to the EPA. They will result in more huge class action lawsuits; create substantial inflationary pressures, as employers feel obligated to set uniform pay at all geographic locations at levels appropriate for locations with the highest cost of living; and force employers to either take a pass on tough negotiators or raise everyone else when they sweeten the pot to hire them.

Fair Pay Act

The Fair Pay Act prohibits wage discrimination based on sex, race, or national origin among employees for work in "equivalent jobs," defined in terms of "value" rather than duties. Somehow courts are to divine the "value" of functionally dissimilar jobs so as to proclaim them "equivalent."

According to the National Committee on Pay Equity, very different jobs would be compared. For example, in an elementary school, head secretaries would be found of equal value to audiovisual technicians; in a hospital, registered nursing assistants equal to plumbers; in a retail food chain, cashiers, meat wrappers, and stock clerks all equal.

Forgive me for not finding those comparisons self-evident. Maybe we're all of equal worth and should be paid equally. I think I've heard that somewhere before. Wasn't it called Communism? It sounds trite, but we can't repeal the laws of supply and demand, which set the price of labor in a free society. Maybe more people would like to work as registered nursing assistants than as plumbers, a fact affecting the relative pay scales of these occupational groups.

Finally, a great quote from a woman who is a Harvard professor of economics:

Is equality of income what we really want?” asked Claudia Goldin, . . . who has written about the revolution in women’s work over the last generation. "Do we want everyone to have an equal chance to work 80 hours in their prime reproductive years? Yes, but we don’t expect them to take that chance equally often."

To the extent such lifestyle choices affect the gender-pay gap -- which is a significant extent -- the gap should not be considered a problem. To the extent the gap reflects discrimination -- a belief that women should be paid less because they are women -- it is a problem, but one the present discrimination laws and EPA adequately address.

George L. Lenard
Editor of George's Employment Blawg
http://www.employmentblawg.com

This article is courtesy of Recruiting Blogswap at http://www.recruitingblogswap.com , a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com at http://www.collegerecruiter.com/, a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates searching entry level jobs and other career opportunities.

Posted by Shawn Augustson, CollegeRecruiter.com on May 2, 2007 at 12:32 PM | Leave a Comment (0)

Fully 84 percent of sales in America take place as the result of word-of-mouth advertising. Some of the most important sales promotion sales activities are those that take place between customers and prospects, between friends and colleagues, in the form of advice and recommendations on what to buy, or not buy, and who to buy from.

The only way that you can be among the top ten percent of salespeople in your industry is by having your existing customers selling for you on every occasion. Because of the importance of mega-credibility in selling, your customers must be happy to open doors to new customers for you wherever they go. All top salespeople eventually reach the point where they seldom have to prospect because their customers do much of their selling for them. When you live your life consistent with your personal and business mission statements, both fitting together like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, your sales career will soar, as will your sales results and your income.

One important point with regard to vision, values and mission statements:
be gentle with yourself. It has taken you your whole life to become the person you are today. If you are like everyone else, you are not perfect.

You have lots of room to grow and improve. There are many changes that you can make in your character and personality in the course of becoming the excellent human being that you aspire to. But change in your personality will not come easily, and it won't come overnight. You must be patient.

The reason that people grow and become better and better over the course of time, is because they persist gently in the direction of their goals and dreams. They don't expect overnight transformations. When they don't see results immediately, they don't get discouraged. They just keep on keeping on. And you must do the same.

Once you have a clear idea of the person you want to be and the kind of life and career you want to create, just take the first step. Read your mission statements every day as you go about your activities, think of the different ways that you could practice the virtues and qualities that you are in the process of incorporating into your own personality. Remember, it is only your actions with regard to other people that really demonstrate the kind of person you have become. And if you persist long enough, you will eventually shape yourself into the exact person that you have imagined.

Now, here are two things you can do immediately to put these ideas into action.

First, treat every customer as if he is going to be a great source of word-of-mouth advertising for you. Remember that every person knows about 300 other people.

Second, resolve to become better and better in your dealings with others but be gentle with yourself. Behave every day in every way the best you can be and you will be sure to get results.

About the author
Brian Tracy is a legendary in the fields of management, leadership, and sales. He has produced more than 350 audio/video programs and has written over 42 books, including his just-released book "The Way To Wealth." To receive a free copy of one of Brian's CDs, go to www.briantracy.com and click on the Special Offers, Free Audio Program. Also check out Brian Tracy University of Sales and Entrepreneurship at www.briantracyu.com. Brian can be reached at (858) 481-2977 or www.briantracy.com.

Posted by Shawn Augustson, CollegeRecruiter.com on May 2, 2007 at 11:32 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

Start Going Above and Beyond Their Expectations

Recently, Francine went to her favorite restaurant, Pesca, on the beautiful river walk in San Antonio. The staff was warm and friendly, and the food was amazing. While she was waiting for her meal the manager walked up and started a conversation with her. Francine told him how much she loved his restaurant, and that after her last meal at Pesca, she went home and tried
(unsuccessfully) to recreate it for her husband. The manager then asked her for her e-mail address. To her surprise and delight, he offered to send the recipe. Though she hadn't asked him for it, he knew she would love to have it.

The manger wanted to provide those extras that would truly delight his customers. His approach was to simply talk to customers and listen for opportunities to meet or exceed their needs. He listens carefully for the clues that his customers give him. He admitted that he can't always find the right "thing" that would "surprise and delight," but that it worked a lot of the time.

The days when companies simply needed to meet customers' needs to succeed in business are over. Customers are more and more demanding, and the merely satisfied customer is not necessarily going to be a loyal customer. Service needs to be taken to a higher level, beyond just satisfying customers. Their expectations need to be exceeded. Studies have shown that when a company does that, they are far more likely to create loyal customers.

What will get a customer to remain loyal? Better yet, what will turn a loyal customer into your best source of advertising ?- someone who'll tell their friends and family about your products and services? Simply put, you need to surprise and delight them. The following steps will help you:

1. Satisfy your customers
Before you even begin to try to surprise and delight, you need to make sure that you are doing a great job of satisfying your customers. Too often people rush into doing all the extras before they do the basics. Make sure that you keep your promises and provide good basic service. How can you be sure that you are doing what you need to do to simply satisfy your customer?
You need to ask them. Survey your customers to see if you are providing the kind of service that your customers expect. Surveys can be simple to create.
Make sure that you make it easy for your customers to answer. Four or five questions will suffice. Also leave room for comments. Often times, customers may need to tell you things that you forgot to ask. If you get a negative comment make sure that you follow-up with the customer and fix the problem.

2. Find out what your competitors do
Learn everything you can about your competition. Find out what they do for their customers. It is perfectly acceptable to use them as a benchmark.

3. Find out what your customers want
Once you are sure that you are meeting your customer's needs, you can begin to learn more about your customers. You and your employees are in the best position to learn about your customers. Every time you get a chance, engage your customer in a discussion about what they want and need. If you discover something that you can do right away, do it. If you are not empowered to do what should be done, seek out a manager or owner and see if they will help you go the extra mile.

4. Make it your mission to surprise and delight
When asked, the people who provide the best customer service say that it's their personal mission to provide great service to each and every customer.

If you decide that your mission is to surprise and delight each and every customer rather than "make a sale" or "reach your quota," you will have a much higher success rate. Write out your mission statement and review it daily to remind yourself how important exceptional customer service is to you.

5. Make it personal
Although you can and should have some customer service processes and procedures for all of your customers (i.e., provide a warm greeting, listen well, etc.), in order to really provide exceptional customer service you need to make it unique to the customer. This means that you need to listen carefully to the clues your customers give you. You then need to find creative ways to give them something they may not have expected. Always listen to your customer's tone of voice and watch their body language to make sure you are properly gauging their reaction.

When you hear the words "surprise and delight," is the first thing you think, "Okay, what's it going to cost me?" Do you assume that the only way to "surprise and delight" is to spend, spend, spend?

Here's the good news: Some of the most effective ways to "surprise and delight" your customers will cost you little or nothing. All you need is just the right intent and a bit of creativity. Start by thinking about the small things you can do on a regular basis. You might consider how you could add a personal touch to your business transactions.

Here are some low-cost ways to "surprise and delight" your customers:

· Thank your customer for their business by handwriting a note on your invoice or sending a personal thank you. With the advent of e-mails, a handwritten personal note has an amazing impact.

· Follow up with a phone call to see if your customer is still happy. When you call them, ask about their family or something else personal that you may have learned about them.

· E-mail your customer information about something you and he or she spoke about.

· Contact the customer on their birthday with a phone call.

· Be warm, welcoming and excited to provide service. Your exuberance will be contagious.

· Have a great customer service recovery process. And make sure that you don't quit solving your customer's problem until they are fully satisfied.

It's clear that the more you know about your customer the more personal the service you can provide. It's this personal touch that really will make the difference. Start engaging your customers, learn what will "surprise and delight" them -- and then do it!

About the Author:
Laurie Brown is an international trainer and consultant who works to help people improve their sales, service and presentation skills. She is the author of "The Teleprompter Manual, for Executives, Politicians, Broadcasters and Speakers." Laurie can be contacted through www.thedifference.net, or 1-877.999.3433, or at lauriebrown@thedifference.net

Posted by Shawn Augustson, CollegeRecruiter.com on May 2, 2007 at 9:25 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

Ever want to know if your young employees are content in their jobs, or if they’re out looking for a bigger better deal somewhere else? Here’s a link to a recent story about a leader from a market research firm in Chicago that hired an outside consulting firm to interview her young talent to determine how they felt about working for her and her company. Although her results were what she hoped they’d be, many other employers would be shocked to discover how fragile their employee commitment level is.

If you don’t want to spend the dough on a consultant, you can get this valuable information about how your young employees feel about working for you through different means; ask them.

Source: Eric Chester, GenerationWHY?
Look on the front lines of your business. Standing between you and your profits are those talented, weird-looking, impossible-to-understand 16- to 24-year-olds. And if you're not connecting with them, they are not connecting with your customers, and you are leaving all kinds of money on the table. In short, your front line is the key to your bottom line.

Posted by Shawn Augustson, CollegeRecruiter.com on May 2, 2007 at 9:14 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

In the past year, this guy has done more to impact my professional career than anybody else on the planet.

Really.

And he just wrote his fourth book.

And you can buy it HERE, and HERE.

Or, you can download the complete book HERE, for free (just read through his post and you'll find the link that says, "right now."

That's the one you click.

Why should you read it?

Well, as Scott says,

"If you don't make a name for yourself, someone will make one for you."

Posted by Dennis Smith, T-Mobile Recruiting on May 1, 2007 at 4:56 PM | Leave a Comment (0)

Every now and then something comes along that revolutionizes an entire industry or brings about a new age. Without having to go all the way back to ancient history, we can refer to some of the most recent events that have taken place during our lifetime and which have shaped the world in a way that none of us babyboomers could have ever imagined.

The advent of the PC in 1974 - which became widely available by IBM in 1981 - was one of them and there is no need to expand on that. It took a number of years for most companies to catch on and realize that this was not simply a toy and that it would soon replace these huge mainframes and expensive workstations they were hooked into. VISION played a key role in some of these companies who became early adopters and led the way.

Moreover, a number of smaller companies who could not afford these huge mainframes and expensive workstations also saw opportunities hitherto unavailable to them and led the way to realize huge efficiencies in productivity and economic returns. Besides the fact that they had nothing to lose, VISION also played a key role in their decision.

Microsoft-Bill Gates's idea to license the operating system - in this case, purely a concept but, nonetheless, "revolutionary" - did more than anything else to bring the PC to the masses at a price they could afford. Besides the fact that necessity played a key role in Bill Gates's thinking - breaking away from a behemoth like IBM and the huge cost of manufacturing PCs and etc. being key factors - VISION was needed to make that decision.

Bill could have never anticipated in a million years that this concept would serve as the foundation for what was about to happen in later years starting from 1990 onward, the birth and rapid expansion of the World Wide Web. I might as well acknowledge Tim Berners-Lee and Marc Andreesen for their VISION of the Web as we know it today.

Which brings us to Today and the Recruitment Industry in particular. These technological advances have completely changed the world and transformed the way we do business on a huge scale. Companies are struggling to attract and recruit the sort of talent that they need in order to adapt to these technological changes and the resulting transformation which is rapidly taking place in this new global and interconnected landscape.

The Virtualization of business is taking place at a dizzying rate and, from a technology standpoint, the possibilities are endless in terms of communication, cooperation, and connectivity. Microsoft and others are gung ho on Virtualization of the workspace and virtual collaboration tools. Social networks are all the rage and companies such as ERE.net, LinkedIn, MySpace, Frappr and etc. are sprouting up on almost a daily basis; and even employers are forming social networks that are directly tied in to their website for talent recruitment and marketing purposes.

These technological changes are spawning a whole new set of challenges for executive management, and especially for human resources executives, worldwide. Primary among these challenges are these ever perplexing questions and dilemnas that they are faced with:

How do you harness in a strategic and orderly fashion this ocean of opportunities presented by the virtualization of the workspace? How do you quantify and analyze the results?

Are there any existing best practices, policies and procedures for managing a Virtual Organization?

What type of recruitment guidelines and assessment tools should be adopted in order to identify the best candidates who will be able to thrive in the new Virtual Organization?

How do we prepare and train our existing workforce so it can cope with the increasingly rapid and dizzying rate of virtualization of the organization?

The answer to all these questions lies in Virtual Organization Management Consulting instead of the old Virtual Team Consulting approach, that is assuming that certain companies made the big leap to hire Virtual Team Consultants in the first place.

Virtual Team Consulting is engagement specific and deals with a microview of a virtual situation, whereas, Virtual Organization Management Consulting takes a macroview of the entire organization from top to bottom and seeks to institute and incorporate best practices, policies and procedures for working in any type of virtual environment and for managing a specific virtual organization.

Virtual Organization Management allows an organization to make the transition from today's Virtual Chaos to the new Virtual Organization which is rapidly taking shape before our very own eyes. It provides the roadmap that an organization needs to follow during this rapid period of Virtualization of the workspace.

Which brings us to these HR-related questions previously stated:

What type of virtual organization recruitment guidelines and assessment tools should be adopted in order to identify the best candidates who will be able to thrive in the new Virtual Organization? Are there any existing standards available?

Where is Virtual Organization Recruitment training provided and by whom?

How prepared are today's recruiters - Corporate and Agency Recruiters - in dealing with these new challenges?

The answer is not that obvious. To this date, most recruiters of all stripes and persuasions have been doing a courageous and outstanding job at filling positions for their corporate clients and stakeholders. A great number of them are extremely internet-saavy and very adept at using the latest internet technology and recruitment tools. In fact, some Agency Recruitment firms are themselves, or consider themselves, virtual organizations because they have made primary use of the Internet for all communication and activities. Some recruitment firms and RPOs, such as Library Associates based in Beverly Hills, CA, even offer Virtual Team Consulting services to client firms.

However, this is NOT about who can best use internet tools and technologies to recruit more efficiently. Nor is it about Virtual Team Consulting or recruiting candidates who can best use internet tools and technologies. It's really about recruiters recruiting candidates who can adapt and thrive in the new Virtual Organization.

In light of the new challenges that the Virtualization of the workspace itself presents, most recruiters are ill-equipped to adequately address the Virtual Organization Recruitment needs of their clients; and their role and responsibilities need to undergo a radical transformation. After all, you cannot give what you don't have.

A paradigm shift must take place: from the role of Corporate or Agency Recruiter to an elevated and more prestigious role of Virtual Organization Consultant. A role which reflects the demands and greater level of sophistication needed for this new recruiting position. A role that is more consultative in nature and which helps their client to develop and put in place these specific guidelines and assessment tools needed to identify the best candidates who will be able to thrive in the new Virtual Organization.

To that end, NetWEB Elite Solutions, Inc. - a pioneer and inventor of patent-pending best practices, policies and procedures for managing a virtual organization with deep experience in that field since 1997 - through its newly formed division, Virtual Organization Management Institute, is the only organization in the world leading the charge in that effort. A shameless plug for an organization I chair.

And what about the Corporate Workforce itself? Who will train the hundreds of millions of new and existing workers at these companies that are undergoing this rapid Virtualization? Should this training be outsourced to a VOMT (Virtual Organization Management Trainer) or be conducted in-house?

At first glance, the most logical answer is for HR to immediately set up a separate Virtual Organization Management Training department entrusted with such task. However, upon closer reflection, the question is, "Who will train the Trainers?"

Therefore, the first and most essential task for Human Resources is to rapidly begin the gradual process of providing Virtual Organization Recruitment - NOT Virtual Team Recruitment - training to a new cadre of recruiters as well as to some of its existing recruiters, some of whom will eventually form the core of a new Virtual Organization Management Training department established by the virtual organization management consulting firm - the VOMT - in parallel with their training.

Concurrently, this in-house Virtual Organization Management Training Department, in consultation with the head of HR and other members of executive management, would immediately begin to provide Virtual Organization Management training to certain designated senior corporate executives and middle level managers. This should NOT be forced upon these individuals. Instead it should be considered a reward or badge of honor for those individuals who are initially selected to comprise the first team. The success of the first team will lay the groundwork and foundation for the successful implementation of this training throughout the entire organization.

For a number of critical and very important reasons, the details of which are outside the scope of this treatise, this initial training must be conducted ONSITE at the client's location and should be conducted over a minimum period of 6 months or, ideally, a 1-year period.

This new vanguard of Virtual Organization Consultants and corporate managers trained on that subject is critically needed NOW at companies at all levels and, from all indications based on previous and current experience, there is a groundswell of support in both directions - from top to bottom and from the bottom up - for this change to take place in certain sectors of the corporate world.

To this date, the corporate world - and by extension, Corporate Human Resources - is split into 3 camps: Camp Vision, Camp Aware, and Camp Oblivion.

Camp Vision

Camp Vision contains some of the more visionary companies who have been struggling with these vexing issues, then considered exotic, as far back as 1994; companies who have specifically allocated the resources needed for virtual team consulting and collaboration tools in their fiscal budget. Some of these companies, as they were then named, included BP Amoco, Canadian Tire, Ford and etc. They have long relied on Virtual Team consultants to provide them with guidance and assistance. Others have been "winging it," so to speak, and making the rules as they go along.

These companies, now at a critical juncture, are ideally suited and very well poised to make the transition to the next phase of the evolutionary process: from Virtual Team Consulting to Virtual Organization Management.

They were wise to make the initial steps as Early Adopters and have tremendously benefited from their decision which have resulted in savings of billions of dollars over the past 13 years. Most likely, they will continue down the path of innovation and progress and will continue to set the trail for others to follow with the adoption of Virtual Organization Management.

Although no definitive data exists on the number of companies that make up Camp Vision, one can safely say, based on anecdotal evidence, that they represent no more than 2% of the global corporate world.

As for the rest of the corporate world, it is split into the other 2 camps: Camp Aware and Camp Oblivion.

Camp Aware

Corporate Human Resources and Agency Recruiters at Camp Aware are aware of the fact that this is somewhat a gray issue that needs to be tackled with as soon as possible, however, they do not see any urgent need to do so at this time and nor have they made any attempt to include it as a separate line item in their fiscal budget. They have other pressing needs and priorities and, unless mandated by the CEO or Board of Directors, this is not something that needs fixing at this time. Rather, they view it as something that needs to be patched. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. I dare to say, they look at it from the standpoint: "If it is cracked, patch it." In which case, some of them are doing an excellent patch job.

Some do offer variations of flex-work schedule which includes telecommuting; a number of them employ statutory employees and independent contractors who telecommute in some capacity; others, such as Wells Fargo Bank, have remote global teams and engage in quite a bit of collaboration.

A number of them includes companies, such as Bank of America, who hire Virtual Recruiters to work directly from their home office for as much as $80-90 per hour after undergoing a 2-week training at their corporate location; after which time they are only required to report back to corporate on a quarterly basis.

But there is another but very important reason for the lack of enthusiasm in Camp Aware: HR is not really sure if this is an IT issue or a corporate management issue that falls within the HR domain but nonetheless they made the decision to take the initiative. Most are not aware that this is NOT an IT issue.

The third and most critical reason is the reluctance to go out on a limb and step out in front of an issue where there is no consensus by executive management that an issue exists. No one wants to be a maverick or see their ideas shot down before it has any wings. Very few of us want to be the first one on the dance floor.

That being said, we believe that Camp Aware companies hold a great deal of promise for the world's economy, the virtual organization recruitment industry in particular, because once their collective power and wisdom is finally unleashed, the thunder will loudly reverberate around the world. Based on intelligence gathered thus far, this should begin to take place as of the date of this writing, however, their effect will not be felt until the next year or two.

To quote Confucius, "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." They have already taken the baby steps; now it's time to walk and run; and some of them are beginning to make that walk.

And for those Recruiters and Corporate Trainers who heed the call for transition to Virtual Organization Consultants and Virtual Organization Management Trainers, they will be poised to reap the huge rewards and prestige these positions will bring and this will indeed be welcome news for them all.

Camp Oblivion

As for Corporate Human Resources and Agency Recruiters at Camp Oblivion, they are completely oblivious to the relationship between the Virtualization of the workspace-workforce and the need to recruit AND train a different type of workforce. They continue to do business as usual and are only interested in preserving the status quo. The word "virtual" is synonymous with "The Jetsons"; some exotic and futuristic concept not grounded in today's reality. As far as they are concerned, it's much ado about nothing; it's still a brick-and-mortar world and it's going to remain that way for quite some time into the foreseeable future; and all is well on the western front.

This catastrophic failure of imagination not only rests on the shoulders of Human Resources but also on those of the entire executive management team; and by the time executive management realizes what's going on, they will be so far behind their competitors that they will be faced with an almost insurmountable challenge to catch up.

They are the Late Adopters of the corporate world, extremely conservative and resistant to change. They are bound to get on board sooner or later, but only after everybody else has gotten on board and it becomes the "in thing" to do.

This group will represent the Third Wave of the transformation of the recruitment industry and, if history is any guide, this should take place within the next 7-10 years. With the influx of new entrants into the Virtual Organization Recruitment field, the rewards and benefits will begin to stabilize and level off and the prestige associated with the title of Virtual Organization Consultant will begin to lose its novelty and luster.

In conclusion, Corporate and Agency recruiters and Corporate Trainers with the VISION to heed the call and make the transition to Virtual Organization Consultant and Virtual Organization Management Trainer will have an opportunity to redefine the global corporate landscape on a scale such as it has never been seen before, revolutionize the entire recruiting industry, and bring about a new golden age. History is in the making, so go for the ride.

ABOUT AUTHOR: Pierre M. Coupet is the Founder, Chairman, CEO and Chief Virtual Organization Management Consultant at NetWEB Elite Solutions, Inc. He is also the Founder of their newly established division, Virtual Organization Management Institute. He is an author and prolific lecturer, speaker and trainer on Virtual Organization Management and is considered worldwide as the World's Foremost Expert on Virtual Organization Management. He previously founded and managed a national executive search firm for over 13 years. For additional information regarding NetWEB Elite Solutions, Inc. and the Virtual Organization Management Institute, go to http://www.netwebelitesolutions.com. To contact Pierre M. Coupet directly, please send email to chairman@netwebelitesolutions.com or call 818-793-0303.

Copyright 2007. NetWEB Elite Solutions, Inc. and Virtual Organization Management Institute. All rights reserved. Cannot be reproduced without permission. All trademarks are the property of their respective holders.

Posted by NetWEB Elite Solutions on May 1, 2007 at 2:14 AM | Leave a Comment (0)