If we could just get the name of the right person in that particular company. You know, the one who's in the know about certain things. The one who can connect you to the right people or point you in this direction instead of that. The one who can provide the hints about which doors just might lead to Opportunity. There is a way to find the name of that person. It's a form of passive networking. It's called reading.

More than being conversant on a particular subject because you've read so many books and attended dozens of programs or classes, this is reading for several reasons. It's also critical reading, reading for more than the superficial content. It's reading for the deeper information that's just sitting there waiting to be exploited by whoever chooses to see it.

Have you read the newspaper recently? No, I don't mean speed reading for the sake of saying you're up to date on the general news. I mean have you read the newspaper on a particular topic? Did you notice who was named in the article and what their position is? No doubt that person was quoted in some way. Their insight could be the stepping off point to getting some inside information about where you want to go. One recruiter was astounded at the names that could be found by simply reading the TV Guide.

Another thing that is rather subtle as you read the news[paper] is the information that you gain about the company. (You really need to make a habit of reading the Business section of the paper each day.) The stories talk about current decisions the company's made. A good reporter will talk about why the decision was made and who the decision makers were.

The Business stories will also yield information about the company's current economic situation which will in turn provides useful insight into whether the company is expanding or contracting its workforce and where. That tells the recruiter where the hiring needs will be. It also tells the job seeker where the jobs will be opening or where the fruit is essentially picked.

There's lots more to gain from critically reading an article. Who was quoted or mentioned? What's their department? Who do they influence or who influences them? Take a look at today's news and see if you can pick out those pieces of information. What else is buried in that article that wasn't touched on here? Very possibly quite a bit.

Reading can not only help you prepare for the interview but also get some leads about who to contact for more information or setting up an informational interview. Those passive networks, the ones available through reading information about some aspect of the company, are priceless when you cultivate them. There's more than just the superficial information.

It's hard to understand why some people don't see the richness of some articles. It's astounding when some people feel you use a crystal ball in order to divine information to propel your career (business). There's no crystal ball, unless you consider the writer's mouse just that.

Speaking of leads, maybe we should send all the writers of business articles a thank you note to acknowledge the profound help they've provided in generating business and career leads for us!

Posted by Yvonne LaRose, CollegeRecruiter.com - Career Coach on December 27, 2005 at 8:32 PM | Leave a Comment (0)

The words were uttered between clenched teeth under a cool, regulated, muted voice. "I won't be coming back." The words were stern and unequivocating.

The breaking point was reached several days before but there was forgiveness. It must have been a mistake, was the reasoning, that whole scene that was part of pushing the envelope too far. But it happened again. Again, it was dismissed as a mere joke. But the joke was taken farther and lasted longer than was appropriate for a transient joke.

The seasonal work was completed. At every opportunity to do alternative tasks in order to get away from the abusiveness, the worker did so. But as the project wound down to its final days, there was no luxury of alternative projects. The camel's back broke.

The outrageous demands, the self-centered magnification, the pitting one against another, the yelling and chastising for the sake of raising one's voice, the forcing of workers to stand around for half an hour waiting for the supervisor, the fault finding over minor issues accompanied by withholding of useful (and necessary) information, the micro-management finally took their toll. One worker finally announced that the day had come to an end. Not only had the day come to an end but the news was even more profound.

"I won't be coming back."

At least this worker gave notice. There were others who made a quiet determination that they would either be too busy or just not respond to the next invitation to work on the special project.

It's time for an organizational development consultant to step in and offer some gravely needed advice. Unfortunately, neither the manager nor the client are, at this point, amenable to hearing the words nor accepting the proferred advice for remedying the people bleed.

Will there be a time when there is receptivity to counsel? Maybe. But it will be very far down the road. Unfortunately, the internal problems are cultural (as in corporate). It is only when the behavior becomes outrageously obvious to the general public that any steps are taken to curb the harm. Then life goes on until the next volley.

It's difficult to deal with losing staff and having no clue as to why they're leaving in droves. It's even more difficult to live in a glass bubble filled with cloudy vapors that prevent having a clear view to the problems that need to be fixed. When the turnover reaches a higher pitch and there are no longer announcements such as "I won't be coming back," then there will be some motivation to consider what may be needed to get people to say, "I'll see you next time!"

Posted by Yvonne LaRose, CollegeRecruiter.com - Career Coach on December 24, 2005 at 6:04 PM | Leave a Comment (0)

Our new CollegeRecruiter.com Insights by Candidates Blog launched only a couple of weeks ago, and already there are dozens of entries by college students and recent graduates who are unemployed, underemployed, and employed. When you read through the entries, a common thread emerges. Many seem to recognize the critical importance of getting great work experience prior to graduation and, when presented with a good opportunity, not to get greedy by holding out for the perfect opportunity.

I do not advocate that candidates should automatically accept the first job offered to them. To the contrary, as such jobs are often poorly suited to the candidate's credentials. If they are overqualified for the job, they'll be bored and likely will quit after only weeks or months. Not exactly a great resume builder. On the other hand, if they're underqualified, they'll be stressed and will likely be fired. Again, not exactly a great resume builder. Candidates must research their competencies, interests, and values to determine which industry they wish to target. Then they need to research that industry to determine which organizations to target. Then they need to research those organizations to determine which departments to target. Then they need to identify decisionmakers within those departments and network with them. If that sounds like a lot of work, well, it can be. But professionals spend about one third of their working lives on the job, so isn't it worth the investment in yourself?

Life is simply too short to accept a job which is not a great fit. There are so many jobs out there. And because we live in a free country with a robust economy, we all have choices. Don't settle and don't over reach. Find a good job, not necessarily the perfect job, and invest in yourself. For an investment in yourself is probably the best investment you can ever make.

Posted by Steven Rothberg, CollegeRecruiter.com on December 24, 2005 at 12:22 PM | Leave a Comment (0)

Recruiting.com just announced the category winners for the 2005 Best Blog awards. CollegeRecruiter.com was nominated in three categories and we won two of them.

The first award was for the Best Recruiting Advice Blog. Of 571 respondents, 119 (20.8 percent) voted for the CollegeRecruiter.com Blog. Runners up were David Perry, Recruiting Career, Steve Levy's Blogging Outside the Box, Recruiters Dumping Ground, Talentism, and Let's Dream Big.

The second award was for the Best Human Resources Blog. Of 488 respondents, 149 (30.5 percent) voted for the CollegeRecruiter.com Blog. Runners up were Michael Specht's Blog, Jason Corecello's blog, Online Hiring In China, Systematic Viewpoints, Dub Dubs - systematichr, and El Foro De Los Recuros Humanos.

The CollegeRecruiter.com Insights by Candidates Blog, which we launched just a few days before the start of voting, also did quite well given its age. In voting for the Best Job Seeker Blog, there were 818 respondents. Gretchen's JobsBlog landed in first place with 186 votes (22.7 percent) and the CollegeRecruiter.com Insights by Candidates Blog was a runner up 54 votes (6.6 percent).

This contest wasn't about winners and losers. It was an effort to recognize the effort being made by some very good people and organizations to share their knowledge. The writers of these blogs understand that they're building a community and learning as they go. The better blogs tend to have a focus, but even the best sometimes stray into areas that are outside of those areas of focus. And that's okay, because readers of blogs tend to read for content, but the value that they place upon the content depends largely upon the credibility of the author. So when the authors stray a bit, they're also making themselves better understood by their readers and that can only be healthy.

To all of the nominees, congratulations!

Posted by Steven Rothberg, CollegeRecruiter.com on December 23, 2005 at 1:23 PM | Leave a Comment (0)

Millions of New Yorkers have been harmed by the city's latest transit strike. Most are finding a way of getting to work, getting errands done, and generally staying mobile. But the loss of mass transit has made the already stressful process of getting to and from work almost intolerable. And with the holidays right around the corner, little gets done at work at this time of the year even without a strike, so many workers have decided to avoid the mess and instead work from home.

Coincidentally, I wasn't able to get much work done today either, although my situation wasn't due to the transit strike. Instead, I was knocked sideways (not as bad as being knocked backwards) by some kind of virus. Almost like the flu. Almost like the common cold. But not quite either. Yet due to the incredible advances in modern communication, I was able to be almost as productive from my living room as from my office. I checked and returned emails. I instant messaged with key vendors. I talked on the phone with a client. And I participated in a conference call during which we won a significant new client.

So what does the transit strike and my illness have to do with each other? Well, nothing and everything. They're unrelated, yet directly related. The strike has nothing to do with my virus, yet the outcomes were the same. Many in New York stayed home yet worked. I did the same. They were productive. So was I. They probably enjoyed the experience. So did I. Yet they know that staying home and wearing their favorite bunny slippers won't allow them to be as productive over the long run as being at work where they can collaborate with others.

I'm a huge fan of telecommuting. I'm a huge fan of people being able to work from home. I'm a huge fan of flex time, of job sharing, of distance education, of all of the things that allow us to unchain ourselves from our desks and enjoy life's fleeting moments. But I'm also a realist. While some joke that everyone should work from home, including police, fire, medical, 7-Eleven Slurpee makers, and other essential employees, there is no way that will ever happen. Nor should it. But what should continue to happen is that those who are able to work at home and who choose to work at home should be able to do so in a manner that is productive both for them and their employer.

Long live the bunny slipper!

Posted by Steven Rothberg, CollegeRecruiter.com on December 22, 2005 at 7:37 PM | Leave a Comment (0)

Interesting post today at Recruiting.com that warns candidates to be wary of scams under which candidates are convinced to pay for information about employment opportunities. While some will infer that means that you should never pay for a job and that's technically true, it also isn't quite that simple.

Many candidates will incorrectly continue that line of logic and get upset when asked to pay a franchise fee or a distributor's fee when they aren't actually being considered for a job but are instead buying a business. Every legitimate franchisor and distributor charges a fee. Unfortunately, so do the scum who try to scam those looking for business opportunities.

Headhunters / third party recruiters will almost always collect their well deserved placement fees from the employers, but not always. While some employment experts will counsel candidates that they should never pay a fee to a recruiter, I do not agree. In fact, if I were looking for a new position, I would be very open to paying the fee. The reason is that if I'm paying the fee, I truly am the client of the recruiter.

While most recruiters can separate out the issue of who is paying their fee (typically the employer) from who is their client (typically the candidate), some can't or won't. These recruiters struggle because they know that the employers butter their bread. While a recruiter may place the candidate more than once, it is very unlikely that they'll do so more than a few times over the course of the candidate's career. But a recruiter may place dozens of candidates a year with one employer. So if a struggling recruiter is faced with a choice of being loyal to the candidate who they'll likely never see again or being loyal to the employer who send enough business to the recruiter so that the recruiter can afford to pay for college education for his kids, guess who ends up winning out? The successful, ethical recruiters understand that they must be loyal to the interests of the candidate in order to succeed. It is difficult for them to do so and easy to stray, yet they know that their own long-term success depends upon them being loyal to their true client: the candidate.

So what's a candidate to do when asked to pay a fee? Research. Just like you'd research an industry, employer, department, and job opportunity if applying for an employment position directly. Talk with others in the same industry. Talk with others who used to be in the industry. Contact the Better Business Bureau and your state government to see if the organization has a long history in your area and if they have any unresolved complaints. And remember that if it sounds like it is too good to be true, it is.

Posted by Steven Rothberg, CollegeRecruiter.com on December 20, 2005 at 8:47 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

One of the benefits of being one of the owners of a high traffic web site targeted to college students and recent graduates is that you get lots of freebies. Organizations send products to me regularly so that I can try them out and, if I like them, perhaps write about them.

Recently, I received a couple of games for the new Nintendo DS. Very cool. Animal Crossing Wild World and Metroid Prime Pinball are both rated "E" for everyone. Although the "E" rating refers to content, it could also refer to fun because these games are both fun for everyone.

Animal Crossing allows you to decorate your own home, go fishing, chat with the characters, and even interact with your real-world friends using the wireless technology built into the DS. Metroid Prime Pinball is definitely more exciting than cerebral. In addition to be able to play dozens of different pinball games, you'll collect hidden artifacts, find weapon upgrades, battle characters, and, if you wish, interact with your real-world friends.

Now if only the good folks at the Lamborgini dealer could be convinced that their car sales would spike shortly after I reviewed one of those sweet vehicles....

Posted by Steven Rothberg, CollegeRecruiter.com on December 19, 2005 at 8:14 PM | Leave a Comment (0)

Voting just began for the 2005 Recruiting.com Best Blog Awards. We're in two categories: Best Job Seeker Blog for our CollegeRecruiter.com Insights by Candidates Blog and Best HR Blog for our CollegeRecruiter.com Blog.

I would greatly appreciate it if all of our readers and contributors could take out two minutes (that's all it takes--really) and vote. Or, as they used to say in Chicago, vote early and vote often! To vote, go to http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=622441607077. Did I mention that it will only take two minutes?

Posted by Steven Rothberg, CollegeRecruiter.com on December 14, 2005 at 5:57 PM | Leave a Comment (1)

I'm pleased to announce the launch of our second blog, the CollegeRecruiter.com Insights by Candidates blog. The students and graduates who will write for Insights by Candidates blog will describe their career development and the career development of their friends and family. We'll learn from them about the labor market for students and graduates. What job search techniques are working and not working. What they like and don't like about their career service offices. Which employers are doing an effective job of reaching out to this generation. For anyone involved in college hiring, our new CollegeRecruiter.com Insights by Candidates blog should be a fantastic source of information.

Posted by Steven Rothberg, CollegeRecruiter.com on December 12, 2005 at 10:33 AM | Leave a Comment (1)

The CollegeRecruiter.com Blog has been nominated for the Recruiting.com 2005 Best Blog Awards.

Well, okay, so I nominated our blog. But if you don't like what you do, then why do it?

Posted by Steven Rothberg, CollegeRecruiter.com on December 11, 2005 at 10:44 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

I had the pleasure of speaking today at the 2005 Mountain Pacific Association of Colleges and Employers (MPACE) Annual Conference. What a great job the organizers did.

The conference was at the Pointe Hilton Squaw Peak conference center in Phoenix, Arizona. The keynote speaker was Randy Snow, an absolutely brilliant, gifted motivational speaker. I'm not usually one who enjoys these types of speeches because they often come across more as group therapy sessions than anything else, but Randy was really something else. He's been in a wheelchair since the age of 16 as a result of a farming accident but has never let his disability get the better of him. Truly a remarkable person. No excuses for him. So no excuses for us so-called able bodied people.

My presentation was designed to help employers and college career service offices better engage students and recent graduates through their corporate and school career web sites. There were about 50 attendees, so rather a large crowd, and were they ever inquisitive. Question after question. Actually, great question after great question. I knew that I was in for an engaging, energetic hour whena gentleman asked the first of these questions barely two minutes into the presentation. I love when that happens, because it creates dialogue. I better understand the needs and wants of the attendees , as a result, they receive better information.

At the end of the presentation, I was rewarded by MPACE with a gift card to Starbucks (as if I needed any more caffeine at that point) and a copy of the evaluation sheets. There were about 50 evaluations and 49 of them ranged from very positive to glowing. One of them must have been written by a kid whose arm I accidentally (really!) broke when I was in elementary school. Oh well. You can't please all of the people all of the time.

Posted by Steven Rothberg, CollegeRecruiter.com on December 8, 2005 at 5:47 PM | Leave a Comment (0)

Although the economy can and hopefully will do better so that everyone who wants to work will find rewarding work, given what this country has been through recently there can be little doubt that the economy is in great shape. In case you missed the news, the Gross Domestic Product grew 3.8 percent in the third quarter. That is a great growth rate at the best of times, but some unusual problems were thrown at the economy during the third quarter. Problems like Katrina. And Rita. And $70-a-barrel oil. The strength and diversity of our economy never ceases to amaze me.

Posted by Steven Rothberg, CollegeRecruiter.com on December 7, 2005 at 11:31 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

Good news out of Washington, D.C. The October Labor Statistics from the Department of Labor (DOL) indicated that the number of unemployed persons, 7.4 million, and the unemployment rate, 5.0 percent, were virtually unchanged in October. There had been concern that the massive unemployment and shifting of population as a result of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita would have caused the rates to jump.

Several interesting items came out of the report:

- Since May 2005, the unemployment rate has been relatively stable, ranging from a low of 4.9 to a high of 5.1 percent. While many would consider those numbers to be healthy given the much higher rates of unemployment in most of the other western industrialized nations, it is still about 25 percent higher than what many economists regard as being the full employment rate of about four percent.

- Construction employment increased by 33,000, with much of the gain occurring in residential contracting, which saw an increase of 20,000 jobs. Hmmm. Can anyone say Katrina? How about Rita? I thought you could.

- Employment in the manufacturing industry increased by 12,000 jobs in October. Great news, especially in light of all of the very legitimate concerns about U.S. manufacturing jobs being sent offshore. Maybe, must maybe, we've begun to turn the corner in this area and that most of the manufacturing jobs which economically could be performed in lower wage countries are now being performed in those other countries. If so, then we'll likely see little to no further manufacturing job losses and perhaps even some continued gains as we add more of the manufacturing jobs which require greater skill levels than are available in many of the low wage countries.

- Employment in the transportation equipment sector increased by 22,000. This is due primarily to the return of 18,000 workers in the aerospace industry. Given the high wages that many of those workers earn and the importance of the transportation equipment sector to our economy, this is also great news.

- Employment in the financial activities sector continued to grow. In October, we picked up 22,000 jobs. This is a sector that had been really hurting, so it is great to see the rebound.

Overall, a pretty good report considering how terrible it could have been. The report is a testament to the strength and diversified nature of the U.S. economy.

I was in Montreal for a family celebration over the Labor Day weekend. The news was full of the devastation being wrought upon Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana by Hurricane Katrina. One of my Canadian relatives said to me that the devastation would surely put the U.S. economy into recession. Although he is very bright and has years of experience on me, I knew that he was wrong and told him so. There is no doubt that the U.S. economy has its share of problems and that many of our citizens should be better off than they are, but the U.S. economy is amazingly resilient. I believed that it could withstand Katrina even before anyone knew that Rita would be following up just a few weeks later. Thankfully, this was one of those rare occasions when I was right.

Posted by Steven Rothberg, CollegeRecruiter.com on December 6, 2005 at 11:02 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

Great news from the nation's capital: the U.S. Army is not only hitting its recruiting goals for reenlistment but is exceeding them. For months, there has been significant concern in many circles about the negative impact on recruiting resulting from the war in Iraq and continued engagements in other hot spots around the world, including Afghanistan, South Korea, Kosovo, and many, many others.

But apparently the Army has found a way to retain its soldiers and that's good news for all of us. Over the past three years, reenlistment rates have been at least six percent higher than the Army's goals. The Army attributes these strong rates to unprecedented cash bonuses and a renewed sense of purpose in fighting terrorism. To make the record bonuses even more enticing, some are tax-free if soldiers reenlist while in Afghanistan and Iraq.

While I doubt that many soldiers are choosing to reenlist just for monetary bonuses, even if they're tax-free, there can be no doubt that such bonuses are well deserved and needed. Those of us with friends and family fighting in Iraq know of the terrible hardships suffered by the patriots of these families. Sending a little extra money to these families will at least help to alleviate their financial suffering. While they would likely all strongly prefer to have their loved ones at home rather than deployed overseas, if faced with the choice of bonus or no bonus, they're going to opt for the bonus every time -- and they should.

Although the high reenlistment rate is certainly good news, the Army still has significant recruiting challenges. The Army still is two-thirds short of its recruiting goals for the year, which translates into a projected 12,000-troop shortfall. In addition, the reenlistments won't address some key personnel vacancies, such as military police and bomb-disposal experts.

I've been working with Army recruiting experts for 10 years, and I've always been impressed by their dedication and strategic vision. They know where their best soldiers come from. They focus on hiring the best, not just generating leads. They test and track the effectiveness of their advertising. They're not afraid to take chances and try out new ways of connecting with and engaging their target market, as seen by their use of pay-per-lead programs with job boards such as CollegeRecruiter.com and the training and battle simulation game on their web site.

The higher than expected reenlistment rates prove that the Army is taking care of its people. It just needs to continue to work to get that message out to those who are still candidates but who may be tomorrow's soldiers.

Posted by Steven Rothberg, CollegeRecruiter.com on December 1, 2005 at 9:44 AM | Leave a Comment (1)