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Alison's Contribution:
I hate to say it, but the quick answer is to do a search on Answers for tips on using linkedin.....
My advice would be to use your network wisely. There is no point "burning" your contacts on a bi-weekly basis with emails that you are job hunting - use the status updates and a personalised approach After you research the companies you are targeting. By all means, use LinkedIn and Facebook to research them.
Hope this helps you.
Alison
posted 12 hours ago
Alison's Contribution:
I'd certainly consider it.
I'd want to make sure that all candidates had the same quality of recording first - eg mike, lighting, etc. so that I didn't get distracted by the hygiene factors.
I'd use it for qualitative questions to discover how the candidate spoke only about themselves and their colleagues (amongst other things).
posted 8 days ago
Alison's Contribution:
You've been very open with your sharing of your IP. I believe you have the right intention to deliver great service with the goal of:
Finding out WHAT your client needs to see and HOW it needs to be presented to them so they can process the content quickly.
What are my thoughts about the questions?
I would probably ask the same questions in a different way to suit my style and because I like to tinker to try and get an even better result.
For instance, "What would immediately disqualify a resume, cover letter or candidate?" I would change to something like
What kinds of things would immediately disqualify a candidate when you look at their cv or covering letter?
I would not even ask the questions in Section 2 - I'm happy to share the research I've found on the internet... Use the time saved to get better intelligence.
I believe asking more open questions would make it even better. I tend to use HOW to find out what other's think the solution should be. For example:
"How could they provide the evidence that they have the _____ skills you seek?"
You may be surprised at the answers....
Oh and I have lots of additional questions you might like to consider.
All the best,
Alison
posted 8 days ago
Alison's Contribution:
I'm afraid the short answer is that you will always find what you expect, so the first place to start is to change the way you ask yourself the question.
I don't know if your issue is that you are short of cash or not interested in the role you currently have. I would ask:
"How might I use the skills I have developed over the years in a way which would be meaningful to me?" "How much money would I need to bring in so that I could use my talents in a more rewarding way?" "Which jobs can either give me enough money on which to live OR the money and time to do this 'out of hours'?"
Art, like music (my background) is one of the creative areas which both touches and inspires virtually everyone you meet. They develop intangible skills which provide a unique way of working.
Some of the skills I would imagine you have from the words you use above include: imagination, visioning, making a vision a reality, experimenting, diligence.
Your focus seems to be helping other learn, improving the community.
I believe that if you set your mind to it that you could use these talents every day in which ever job you do. Whether you get paid or not, I believe you have a lot to offer.
I wish you the best to help you get started along this path - where ever it may lead.
All the best,
Alison
posted 8 days ago
Alison's Contribution:
As Ramesh has pointed out, most people are good at supplying answers to questions about how good they are. They aren't very good at supplying questions to those that ask
- how bad they are,
- how the react when things go wrong,
- how they describe their worst failings,
- what kinds of things would the lie about on their cv or to colleagues,
- how they would work with someone they didn't trust
- what would they do if they saw someone being assaulted
- how "green" are they
Maybe you think you may never be asked these kinds of questions. The point of the exercise is not to prepare for every question that could possibly asked, but how to respond to a question which throws you.
Regardless of the question, realise that they may actually be looking for something else.
My advice: practice something like the following. 1. Breathe, 2. Repeat back the question, 3. Say something like "That's a Difficult one/an easy one" for me - I'd XXX." or "That's a difficult one, let me have a think about it. My initial reaction is to XXX."
Practice these steps so they become second nature. (You could even record and shuffle them on an mp3 player with appropriate pauses to rehearse answers).
The purpose of this type of approach is to provide time for your brain to process the challenge and come up with the best possible answer to you at that time.
Hope this helps,
Alison
posted 9 days ago
Alison's Contribution:
One recommendation is to search the internet. Here are some strings I prepared earlier.. LOL Use Google - then it's the hard slog of trawling through them.
~"natural language processing" ~inurl:cv|resume -inurl:job
~ContextWeb inurl:cv|resume
Then of course, you could mine LinkedIn - again use Google
~ContextWeb site:linkedin.com -inurl/dir/
Hope this helps. If you have trouble, come back to me.
All the best,
Alison
posted 9 days ago
Alison's Contribution:
I would say that trying to build any type of relationship with a recruiter is the hard part. To cover the market, you need to have 100 of them looking just for you.
Sometimes I think the best you can hope for is that when they get a requirement which kind of sounds like you that you get their email asking if you know anyone.
It's not a criticism - just an observation.
All the best,
Alison
posted 9 days ago
Alison's Contribution:
Yes, I too hear when you need someone to listen.
Here's something I kind of remember which I'd like to share:
A professor stood at the front of the class of exceptional bright graduates and started telling them a story which went something like this.
"Your future is like this large glass beaker," he said as he placed it in the middle of the table which held a number of rocks, stones, sand and two cups.
"You can fill it up to the brim with with all the important things in your life" (large stones went into the beaker until it was completely full).
"You'll make time to fit in some of the not quite as important activities which just need to get done" (smaller rocks dropped through the large stone, filling in the cracks).
"At times you will be so busy you'll feel like you can't fit anything else in" he said as he poured sand until it to filled to the brim and overflowed.
All that was left on the table were two coffee cups and the now completely filled beaker. "Any questions?" he asked.
Finally one of the student timidly put he had and said, "I get the picture, but what are the two cups of coffee for".
"Well," said the professor as he poured the two cups of coffee into the beaker. "No matter how busy you are, you'll always have time for a cup of coffee with a friend."
Hopes this touches someone who can tell it better.
All the best,
Alison
posted 9 days ago
Alison's Contribution:
Silence can be hard to handle. I've learned that it may not mean anything important. Best thing to do is to get busy doing something.
By all means, call the recruiter. Find out what is causing the delay. Could just be that someone is on holiday.
Better yet, do something constructive. How many small projects don't get done. Somehow motivate yourself to get on with one new task a day.
Here are some ideas:
Learn a new skill. Read a new book. Write something. Spend time with someone you don't see enough. Take a walk. Sing a song just for the sheer joy of it.
Research the internet. Find other companies to approach. (see my blog for some research techniques).
Answer a few questions.
Time will fly by - so remember to check your favourite job boards and consolidators for new opportunities. Research and call the recruiter before you respond.
Tailor your cv for every response; take care to write a personalised note. Make it easy for them to articulate your value add to their clients.
(Great advice - now I just have to follow it. LOL)
On the jobs consolidator, www.indeed.co.uk / www.indeed.com is a good one.
All the best,
Alison
Links:
http://internetresearchtechniques.blogspot.com/
http://www.indeed.com
http://www.indeed.co.uk
posted 9 days ago
Alison's Contribution:
I believe he following is what you're looking for. In Contingency recruitment - if the company hires, a fee gets paid. For Permanent staff, it is usually either a fixed rate or a % of first year salary and monetised benefits.
For Contract Staff, some firms have a policy that they will only pay a set %on top of the amount paid to the contractor. However, I believe most companies specify a day rate range and the recruiter takes home the difference between the two they can negotiate.
Hope this helps to explain what you have observed.
All the best,
Alison
posted 9 days ago
Alison's Contribution:
I seek clarification.
Is aggiecareers.com an official Texas A&M alumni career site? If not, how many competitors do you have?
If it is an alumni career site, then I would suggest you target alumni to post openings at their firms on the site.
Hope this helps.
Alison
posted 9 days ago
Alison's Contribution:
Gosh, you have your work cut out for you on this assignment. Good luck.
I'd like to find out what you mean by best practices... do you mean ROI, qualitative assessment of how to best go about using new technology, faster time to attract, etc?
One company you might like to look at is Google - they are certainly adept at some of it.
I can certainly share what I know about deep searching the internet for what you seek.
I also know a bit more than the average user about mining LinkedIn for clients, suppliers and candidates.
I believe you can codify the process of building your brand and disseminating that information in a consistent way across any media type which I would suggest forms part of your solution.
Then, sourcing and recruiting employees can be tackled as a related, albeit separate step.
All the best,
Alison
posted 9 days agox
Alison's Contribution:
I empathise - you need to look competent, but you want to fit in. And yes, first impressions count. There are no prizes for second place - so you have to do a good enough job to be asked back or hired.
So, I would go for something which makes you look professional in the industry. Ere on the side of caution - Jacket and trousers with a nice blouse/sweater is one option.
The important thing is to look competent - it's the deciding factor. Snap judgements will be made in the first 30 seconds or so. I recommend rehearsing all the major points you want to make.
How do you want to be remembered? Make sure you make that impression in the first 30 seconds-5 minutes. So, rehearse your greetings and any other important points you want to make.
What do I mean by rehearsing? Take a tape recorder and stand in front of a mirror. Really watch yourself as you record your greeting.
Do this at least 100 times for all the points you want to make, refining them along the way.
Write down exactly how you want to say your major points and read from them another 100 times.
Put on your outfit. Go back to the mirror and practice again.
Remember Perfect Practice Makes Perfect. (Vince Lombardi)
See other answers for tips. There was one I wrote for women in business next week which has some information I believe any candidate would find useful.
All the best
Alison
posted 9 days ago
Alison's Contribution:
You asked this as a candidate experience - here's the worst one I've encountered.
I've seen an increase in the numbers of recruiters not using their real name to conduct business with candidates.
When you try to contact them, they are never in the office... and can't be found on LinkedIn either. Sometimes they are on Linked In, but have changed their profile name so know one "knows" who they are - LOL.
All the best,
Alison
posted 9 days ago
Alison's Contribution:
One of the simplest things you can do is to run the following in your Google Search page, substituting your job function for "speciality" below and your location for "city"
recruiter "speciality" "city" site:Linkedin.com -inurl /dir/ | /companies/
Try out a few different strings, and vary recruiter with other terms they might call themselves.
This will give you a list of recruiters whom you can contact (go to their companies page or search the web for a phone number).
I've posted a number of ways to use LinkedIn for a job search and how to search the internet - see my other answers or go to the blog for other mechanisms.
I've also published a How To: Job Search using the Internet which is available for a modest £5.
Hope this helps,
Alison
posted 10 days ago
Alison's Contribution:
Gosh, 125 people is a lot to handle in one discussion! Happy to share some tips from a voice coach privately.
By chance, I've just written a "How To Job Search using the Internet" - happy to supply it to you, just respond with an email address.
Here's one tip: If you want to find companies in a geographic location use the following.
1. Go to your local maps.google.xxx (eg www.google.com)
2. Type in the endings for public companies - in the uk, Ltd and PLC are most common. I assume LLC might be one you could use. Then select the geographic region - I suggest city name. (eg LLC seattle)
Narrow your search by using more qualifiers (use the + sign).
BTW, I'll post this to my blog today - yesterday's post was on how to find potential employees on the internet. Which brings me to my second tip:
Post your cv online. Find a free site and post your details in full so you can be found.
Enough for now.
All the best, and good luck with the workshop!
Let me know if you need more.
Alison
Clarification added 8 days ago:
Apologies - the link to the maps site above should either be
maps.google.com or go to www.google.com and select Maps
Alison's Contribution:
I suspect you're going to have to look a bit harder to find someone looking for work. Try the following or a variant Google string to find people who have their cv online - doesn't necessarily mean their looking, but they might very well know someone.
~"software engineer" + "Los Angeles" -inurl:job inurl:cv | resume
you could also try
unemployed + "los angeles" + "software engineer" site:linkedin.com -inurl:/dir/ | /companies/
Hope this helps.... and if you need any further help, I have a bit of time on my hand whilst I secure my next PMO contract... LOL
All the best,
Alison K Murray
posted 6 days agox
Alison's Contribution:
I agree with Sheilah - great points.
Another thing to consider is that you need some dedicated time for your family. It's all to easy to let business intrude until you wind up working 24/7 from home. So switch the phone off for a couple of hours and really enjoy family life - they grow up quickly.
The important thing to remember is "How do you want your kids to remember you?" -
Lots of choices, but the one who's too busy to listen ties equally last with the one who constantly tells the kids he has to work - along with a lot of other contestants.
On the raising children front, I recommend Triple P - Positive Parenting Programs - they even have a one day course for Dads. For Mums it's a 3 month programme one night a week - and they recommend that you keep that time for yourself after you finish the programme. (For many women, it's the first time in years they have had a break from either work or family commitments.)
Good luck!
Alison
posted 7 days ago
Alison's Contribution:
A friend got caught up with one and lost thousands.
The police wouldn't touch it because it was international. Some sort of money laundering scheme.
The banks were no help - they said that if it sounds too good to be true, then it is.
So, if someone asks for your bank details "in order to pay you money", then all I can suggest is that you open up a new account so they can't empty your regular account. Make sure it doesn't have an overdraft facility. Also never give your home address if you can avoid it.
Evidently the way this scam worked was that the "agent" took a commission on payments which were forwarded by Western Union to an email address.
Everyone knows the saying "buyer beware". In the current economic climate there will be many who need to follow the saying "employee? - beware".
Alison
posted 26 days ago
Alison's Contribution:
This is a complex and challenging area and I deal with "diversity" issues for companies seeking to redress the balance. Some of the technologists I've spoken with have said they are the only female in the entire department or the only female on their floor.
I don't think I have all the answers, but I think it starts at a very early age. For instance, girls in the west are not rewarded for doing well at Maths and Science - they are probably more rewarded for having a "cool" outfit or doing their hair nicely in terms of the compliments they get. Having had to search for top female talent, I know that education wise, even doing an MBA, that the numbers are far lower - in my class there were 15/65 females.
The next area is more difficult - as I've written elsewhere, good technologists do one of two things (in general) - 1) If they want to stay as a developer or engineer, they tend to contract - why? simple maths, they can take the contracts when they can, earn twice to four times as much money for the same job. OR 2) get promoted out of their technical expertise - brains and the ability to organise get turned into team leading and project management skills for male and females alike. The result is that after 5 years or so, many of the technical skills are falling by the way side.
Having set the scene, back to the question: What can be done to improve the number of women in the Technology sector? First instill in every child that they are a creative genius who can build anything they want. Secondly in primary, secondary education ensure that the teaching mechanisms allow everyone the opportunity to learn (eg NLP in the class room with a wide mix of theoretical and practical work which builds confidence and self-esteem). Third, create the competitions for all female teams to design the gadgets of the future - after all it's the women who think the mobile phone is an essential gadget which they could not do without (far more than the men). Once young females get the notion that gadgets can keep/build relationships there's no telling where their application centred desires will take them.
University and beyond: ensure that technologists are not viewed as the lowest level team member on projects or "the last to know" about changes in project design and priorities. Create "career" management paths to ensure that skills are kept up to date. Ensure that as life changes - eg having kids - is not seen as a detriment to producing good work - after all, with technology advances anyone should be able to work at home and be in communication with the office.
I'm afraid I've added nothing new to the pot, though I hope the perspective is one which when added to others will help move everyone forward.
Alison Murray
posted July 11, 2007
