Can Employers Easily Find You on the Web?

Most job seekers spend their time applying to jobs, or hoping to hear responses related to resumes they've submitted through big job boards (a.k.a. resume databases). While these activities are an essential element of a job search, adding another Web component to your strategy might shorten the time it takes to find a job. One of the by-products of the global economic slowdown is that companies and recruiters have less money to devote to their recruiting efforts. This means they are spending less on recruiting services and relying more on the "free" Internet to look for potential candidates. Many smart job seekers are anticipating this trend, and have created personal Web pages that are easily found by recruiters using Google or Yahoo. Why You should Have a Professional Web Page:

1. Tell Your Professional Story: Many job seekers have Facebook and Myspace pages that offer less-than-professional views of the person. While it might be unrealistic (and less fun) to scrub your personal pages of wall entries that look juvenile from a distance, it's simpler to have a career-focused page that serves a different purpose. Companies routinely do Web searches on promising candidates as an informal background check. I'm sure you'd rather have a portfolio of your accomplishments, than pictures of last week's beer blast in front of the employer.
2. Guide Employers to You: Your professional career page will allow resourceful recruiters to find you. I know one recruiter who uses Google to search for people after he's heard about a mass layoff at a company. He types something like "Java programmer at Exodus Corporation" and often gets a few search hits to begin finding people. Since your professional Web page will be chock-full of job-specific terminology, it will not only come up in searches, but it will probably show up first in that search.
3. Offer a More Complete View: While resumes must conform to the time-honored 1-2 page format, it's much easier to adapt a professional Web page to include other important elements like references, work samples, or a photograph. While I used to think this was mostly relevant to people in creative fields, it's inspiring to see what people are doing to tell their complete story to employers.

It's my personal belief that resumes and career portfolios are rapidly moving to the Web. In the future, it might be about employers finding you versus today's model. Tens of thousands of Jobfox users have already created Professional Web Pages. We offer this service as a part of our Advantage Membership, which also includes our Employer Introduction Service, Special Mail Alerts, and being Featured to Employers using Jobfox. You can learn more about the Advantage Membership by clicking here. You can also out my Professional Web Page: www.jobfox.com/people/rmcgovern All the best in your job search, Rob McGovern Founder and CEO Jobfox.com

How to Ace a Phone Interview

During this recession, the initial phone interview has become a staple of corporate HR departments. They're short-staffed, flooded with candidates, and the reality is that the phone interview is more time efficient. In this email, I'm going to pass along five tips for acing a phone interview. Much of the wisdom I'm about to pass along comes from the hundreds of phone interviews I've performed while building my companies over the years. Purpose of a Phone Interview When an employer schedules a phone interview, it's usually because they saw something they liked on your resume, but have concerns or questions. Essentially, they'd like to get you on the phone and see if a brief conversation will tip the scales one way or the other. It's a moment when you can shine or rust, and speaking from experience, most job seekers don't do well in this setting. How to Ace a Phone Interview:

1. Sound Quality Matters: Use the best telephone available.Never use a speaker phone, and don't be in an echoing room. The recruiter wants to get a sense of who you are, and the worst thing you can do is sound like an echoing voice on a squawk box. You want to sound confident, grounded, and reassuring.
2. Use Notes: A phone interview is like an open-notes test, use your notes.Create bulleted notes for the most common interview questions you expect to hear, and feel free to quietly refer to your notes. If you think you'll be asked "Why do you want this job?", "What did you accomplish in your present position?", and "Why are you leaving ABC Corp?", then create notes for these questions.
3. Formulate your Answers into Sound Bites: Short and memorable.There's nothing worse than a candidate who rambles on, leaving the interviewer wondering when and how to cut him off. A good habit is to respond in sound bites. The interviewer can then easily capture these in their interview notes (which will be sent to the hiring manager). For example, say the interviewer asks, "What makes you qualified for this job?" Rather than a rambling response, you might say: "I believe I have three key strengths that make me a good fit for this job: One, I have three years of experience using the Gizmo 1000 software that's required for this job; Two, I'm a fast learner and can come up to speed quickly on your project; and Three, if you check my references, I believe you'll learn that I'm a true team player."
4. Remember the Word "Earnest": It's the perfect tone for any interview.When I interview, I'm looking for earnest people. I don't want to be sold, I don't want anyone overly enthusiastic and of course, I don't want to be put to sleep. In my mind, the word earnest best describes the tone and tenor that suits the situation best.
5. Ask Great Questions: Show off your intellectual curiosity.In fact, there's nothing worse than an interviewee who doesn't ask questions. Here are a few of my favorite questions that candidates have asked me during an interview:
   • "How do I get an 'A' in this position?"
   • "If I do a great job in this position, what would be a logical promotion path?"
   • "What personality and work styles work best for the hiring manager?"
   • "How would you rate my candidacy for the job?"

I hope you find these tips helpful in your next phone interview. All the best in your job search, Rob McGovern Founder and CEO Jobfox.com

Creating a Resume that Works Harder

By Rob McGovern, CEO of Jobfox

Here are some simple tips for how you can make your resume work harder in your job search -- especially during these tough economic times.

Keep in mind that today's hiring employer is inundated with resumes. At Jobfox, we routinely hear stories about recruiters receiving 300 to 500 resumes for each open position. The typical corporate recruiter is handling five to 10 job openings, which means they may be looking at more than 3,000 resumes at any one time.

Thus the challenge. Your resume must stand out in an environment where a recruiter only has about five seconds to screen your resume.

Here's what you can do to make your resume stand out:

Include an objective statement that says what you want. A recruiter needs immediate context to help them see where you might fit in the organization and what career steps you wish to make. Often, your resume is received in a general mailbox where it is mixed in with resumes for other positions. A recruiter, in a matter of seconds, needs to be able to look at your resume and know exactly where you belong.

Choose a layout and font that emphasizes readability — in print and online. You'd be surprised at the number of resumes we see that include a font that's not on computers, which can turn your formatting into gibberish. Remember that recruiters are looking at thousands of resumes. They have bleary eyes and will quickly pass on the overdone resume that's hard to visually digest. Simple, visually attractive resumes get far more interviews.

Illustrate what you've accomplished versus just cataloging your previous responsibilities. Most resumes are a laundry list of what the person did in previous jobs instead of what they accomplished and contributed. Today's employer is looking for people who can solve challenges. You can stand out as that person by showing what you've accomplished in the past.

Design your resume so a computer can read it. Many large companies use automated scanning computers that read your resume and route it to a person or, in many cases, a digital black hole. (Yes, if you're not hearing back from an employer you might be getting rejected by a computer.) A well designed resume includes the keywords and formatting that makes it easy for a resume parsing machine to learn about you and route you to a decision maker.

Don't do anything cute. Ever. We see resumes that use e-mail addresses such as "hotlegs41" and lists of personal interests such as ferrets, wine and losing golf. Nothing will get you rejected quicker than using poor judgment on your resume.

I hope you find these tips helpful. What are your resume pet peeves?

Rob McGovern, CEO of Jobfox, is a regular BetterMondays contributor.  He is also the author of "Bring Your 'A' Game: The 10 Career Secrets of a High Achiever."

�

Be Prepared for Behavioral Job Interview Questions

By Barry Lawrence

As a job seeker, you may have come across the topic of "conquering the behavior-based interview." This is a favorite technique of many recruiters and HR managers. In short, it is a line of questioning that helps a recruiter discover an applicant's working knowledge and real examples of how they go about solving day-to-day challenges.

The HR Specialist recently published a list of 20 questions that recruiters can use to "zero in on a candidate's skills, knowledge and temperament." BM believes this is a great list of job interview questions that, as a job seeker, you can expect to get.

Practice! Practice! Practice!

That is the best way to ace the job interview. Writing your answers down and practicing with friends are great ways to prepare. Keep in mind that the best answers to job interview questions have a "show and tell" ring to them. In other words, don't just tell them you're an excellent leader. Show them examples such as: "I have excellent leadership skills. In the past year, I have led (or helped lead) 15 marketing programs that led to a 30 percent increase in revenue."

There's an old HR saying that "past performance is the best indicator of future performance." Fair or not, this is the golden rule of recruiting. Don't just list your skills. Bring your tangible accomplishments to the table: work samples, reports, awards, recognitions, etc.

Providing specific examples of how you've met past goals is the best way to win the job. And by having these show-and-tell stories planned out ahead of time, you'll be able to pass the job interview with flying colors.

Here are four of the top 20 job interview questions mentioned by The HR Specialist to practice and a few suggestions (BM would also like to hear from it's readers on some of their best answers). Don't forget to add your own tangible examples of accomplishments with each answer.

How can we best reward you for doing a job well done? (Answer suggestion: "My reward is helping my team achieve important company goals. Last month, I led a team that did xyz.")

What have your mistakes taught you? (Answer suggestion: "I'm not sure I'd call them mistakes. I stress to my team that unexpected challenges are important learning experiences that teach us what is working and what isn't working. We recently tried x to increase the sales of our widgets. We quickly learned that it wasn't working. When then adjusted the program and sales immediately increased by y percent.")

What frustrates you at work and what do you do about it? (Answer suggestion: There are many ways to answer this one. The key is not to dwell on the negative — lack of sales results, for example — and get to an example that shows how you put a new process in place to reach sales goals.)

How do you like to be managed? (Answer suggestion: "I like to be managed in the same way that I manage other people." Then show examples of the way you have gotten the best results in working with people, including awards, recognitions and other kudos you have received.)

Hopefully, you get the point BM is trying to make here. Turn each question into an opportunity to showcase past achievement (those things that HR people are convinced will lead to future success). It's OK if some of your accomplishments are team goals versus personal goals. Just be honest about it and be able to explain your important contribution to the team achievement.

It's so important that it requires repeating!

Always frame your answers in ways that not only showcase your skills and attributes, but your accomplishments — especially those that are well suited to the job.

Here are some additional behavior-based queries (with BM asides to help get you thinking):

What kind of supervisor brings out your peak performance? ("Self-motivated, but always team and goal oriented.")

What is the most useful criticism you've ever received? Given? ("Criticism, I believe, is a very important part of day-to-day dialouge for continuous improvement.")

What one area of your performance do you struggle with? (The classic: "I often take on too much in my zeal to perform the job well." If you go this route, make sure to explain how you solved this challenge via communication with your supervisor, prioritizing, etc.)

Tell me about a time when you had to adapt quickly to change? (This one cries out for an example. So, give one!)

In your position, are you a risk taker or do you play it safe? (Examples of both are in order. In business, there is a time and place for both behaviors.)

Describe a time you had to sacrifice quality to meet a deadline? (Perhaps an example here when C-level leaders and other supervisors were made aware of the quality risks, were given time to weigh them and decided to move ahead anyway. An A+ answer would also include a follow-up description of how you help fixed those quality issues after the deadline.)

Again, please share your thoughts.

�

The Recession's Impact on IT Jobs

By Barry Lawrence

Jobfox CEO Rob McGovern, a 15-year veteran of the online recruiting industry, calls this the most tumultuous of times — since the dotcom bubble burst — for IT professionals.

"The IT sector remains one of the safest bets for job seekers," McGovern told BM. "But some IT professionals are and should be nervous."

McGovern was recently featured in a Network World podcast on the impact that the economic turmoil is having on IT careers. Although he believes that IT — along with health care — remains a strong career choice, McGovern warns that some pockets of IT expertise are holding up better than others.

"The obsolescence of skills is really the key issue for technologists," he said. "If you have contemporary IT skills, you can probably work anywhere you want. If you have older skills — pre-Java, for example — your circumstances are more tenuous."

What remains in demand, according to McGovern, are IT skills such as network security, mobile applications, VoIP, .NET, C#, Microsoft Silverlight and J2EE. Out are older programming languages such as C++ and network operating systems such as Novell NetWare.

"IT professionals should think about skills just like they think about new gadgets," McGovern said. "Unless you stay cutting edge, you'll be obsolete in a year."

"You have to make yourself a scarce commodity."

Rob McGovern, CEO of Jobfox

He urges IT professionals to take immediate steps to evaluate long-term career plans. Getting more education is one possibility. It may even make sense to take a pay cut to get on track with in-demand skills sets. Of course, IT professionals in stormy sectors such as banking, manufacturing, construction and retail, may have to consider moving into new industries.

"You have to make yourself a scarce commodity," he advised.

In his Network World podcast, McGovern sheds more light on how the recession is impacting IT jobs and how IT pros can best protect themselves from pink slips. He also provides insights for employers.

"Many companies continue to hold the line on personnel. I think companies learned from the last recession that it's incredibly hard to rebuild key teams. Employers are still waiting to see if this is a short-term economic seizure in the market or a long-term trend."

�

Recession Pains Create Shift in Job Market's Top 25 Hottest Professions

By Barry Lawrence

The Jobfox Top 25 Most Recession-Proof U.S. Job Candidates: October 2008 rankings are out.

The report provides the first look at the most in-demand jobs following continued stock market plunges, federal bailout announcements and general consenses among everyone that, yes, we are indeed in a recession.

Each month, Jobfox produces a Top 25 "hot jobs" list based on a sample of the site's employer activity. The new rankings are based on employer job postings that were initiated — and remain open — over a 120-day period ending October 28, 2008. In short, about the time we all realized we're in a heep of trouble.

Surprisingly, many of the old standards continued to hold up — despite economic woes. But there were also some changes in the Jobfox Top 25 rankings of jobs, including winners and losers. We'll have to keep our eye on the next report to see if these are permanent trends or one-month deals.

See the full report if you want to peruse the details. Here are some highlights:

 

The Top 10

1. Sales Representative/Business Development
2. Account/Customer Support
3. Accounting Staff
4. Counseling/Social Work
5. Software Design/Development
6. Administrative Assistant
7. Networking/System Administration
8. Nursing
9. Mechanical Engineering
10. Sales Management

New to the Jobfox Top 25

• No. 18 Medical Administrative Services
• No. 20 IT Security
• No. 22 Higher Education (Faculty)
• No. 23 Product Management
• No. 25 Human Resource Generalist

Exiting the Top 25

• Database Administration
• Advertising (Online and Offline)
• Testing/Quality Assurance
• Business Analysis (Research)
• Business Analysis (Software Implementation)

Biggest Moves

• Technology Executive (up 8 spots to No. 16)
• Counseling/Social Work (up 7 spots to No. 4)
• Mechanical Engineering (down 4 spots to No. 9)
• Electrical Engineering (down 4 spots to No. 14)

Barry Lawrence is the community advocate for BetterMondays. He is also a career and public relations evangelist at Jobfox.