Why Are You My Ideal Candidate?

Over the past several weeks, I've had one-on-one meetings with dozens of job seekers in regard to their resumes. I often ask, “Why are you here today to meet with me? What do you wish to take away from our meeting?” Most often the response is something such as, “I am not getting many interviews or being eliminated early in the interview process and want to figure out where is, for me, the weak link in that chain.”

What I continue to find is one of the most common issues/problems with candidates…They are providing me/the hiring manager (in the resume or during an interview) with a lot more information than is relevant for the position, or spending all of their resume space or interview time relating what they DID vs. what they ACCOMPLISHED, and that is not how to communicate the “wow” factor and why they may be my ideal candidate.

What you DID relates to tasks, your ACCOMPLISHMENTS tell me about what outcomes were produced as a result of your actions. And, hiring managers really wish to hear about HOW you applied the sought after skills and competencies to produce exceptional results and why those results are/were considered to be outstanding.

Here is a typical bullet point that I've seen on literally hundreds of resumes:

“Sourced, interviewed & recommended candidates for open positions.”

Well, that’s just terrific. You and 1,000,000 other HR people do this every day. This is a “did”, not an accomplishment. Here are some questions that this job seeker should be asking themselves about this “achievement” (trust me, the hiring manager will be):

·         How did you source candidates and WHY was your manner of doing so much more effective than others?

·         What is different/distinctive (from all of the other candidates who applied for this position at my company) regarding your methodology for interviewing candidates for open positions?

·         What is the approximate retention rate for new hires that were sourced and recommended by you? How does that compare to your peers? Is it a “wow”? WHY?

·         How many candidates did you source/interview annually…one, ten, one hundred..? How did this compare to others at your company who had similar responsibilities?

The answers to such questions helps the recruiter or hiring manager determine which candidates will be on the list to call for scheduling a phone screen or interview. And, this number is normally only a small percentage of the total amount of resumes submitted for an open position.

Here is a sample of how to tell a more impactful story about your “Sourced, interviewed & recommended candidates” accomplishment in the resume:

“Developed large network of recruiters, business owners, peers and outplacement professionals, which referred an average of sixty strong candidates annually for consideration, dramatically reducing sourcing time from an average of six weeks to two weeks or by 67%. Engaged employees, from within the department in which the new hire would be placed, in the interview and selection process, contributing to an average new hire retention rate of 95%, which was the highest percentage ever achieved by the HR Recruiting Group in 25 years.”

See the difference?

Let’s say you are a Tool & Die Maker and wish to tell the hiring manager during an interview that you helped save time as a result of coming up with solutions to problems/more efficient operational methods. You could state:

“I saved a lot of time by coming up with ideas to make the workflow process more efficient.”

Again…OK, this might be very true, but the statement does not “wow” me about what you have done at your current/previous employer(s) and could possibly do if I brought you on board at my company. Something like the following would do much more towards capturing the attention of the hiring manager:

“I developed, during personal time outside of the workday, a solution to the problem, experienced by all 40 Tool & Die Makers at the company, of locating tools needed to assist in performing assigned jobs. Tools were often difficult to find by workers or had not been properly maintained, thus causing significant increases in the time necessary to complete a job. I drew up and then submitted to ownership detailed drawings and a step-by-step plan for the re-design of the Tool Room and establishment of a process for periodic maintenance of tools. This effort resulted in an average decrease of 100 man hours in the Production area on a monthly basis. The hours previously spent searching for tools or finding tools that were properly maintained and “job ready”, supported the completion of 25 additional jobs per month. I received from the company owner a bonus (no bonuses had been awarded to any employee by ownership during the previous three years) and a promotion to Senior Operator in recognition of this accomplishment.”

Once you “earn” the opportunity to interview, you need to continue the focus on accomplishments. Also, telling the interviewer about skills and competencies that are not even on the list of “Required Skills/Experience” for a company’s ideal candidate is a waste of time. It may seem/feel important to you to do so, but most hiring managers see such information as irrelevant or unimportant (and wonder why you are wasting their time by not focusing on the items noted in the job description).

Remember, a candidate has approximately 30 – 40 seconds to impress the reader of their resume or just a few minutes to “wow” the interviewer enough continue to the next step in the selection process.

How are you presenting yourself?

Are you telling me why you are "the one" - the ideal candidate for the opportunity?

Which Job Seeking “Expert” is Really Correct?

Tough question…but, it shouldn't be.

Although there is no “one and only” expert when it comes to the nuts and bolts of putting together a strong and effective job search strategy, there are a whole lot of folks out there giving advice that ranges from “not really accurate” to horribly wrong.

The frustrating part for job seekers is that they often hear presentations by or have one-on-one discussions with people (describing themselves as career experts) who may speak about similar topics, but provide sometimes wildly different advice. Unfortunately, this wide range of advice/opinions not only confuses the job seeker, but often adds significantly to their already high levels of confusion, frustration, anxiety, and diminishing feeling of self-confidence and self-worth.

For example, during a recent networking event co-sponsored by my company, one of the attendees (who has been in transition for several months) told me that she had attended a presentation at a local job seekers group at which the presenter (local career/job search/recruiting “expert”) stated to the 60 some attendees:

“I see from looking around the room that most of you are in your 50’s or 60's. Well, I’m not going to say that you won’t be able to get another job, but you’ll most likely be unable to get something at the same level as what you just came from, and probably will not be able to find something outside of that industry”.

WHAT..!!! That is not how you go about motivating a group of folks who are already feeling badly about themselves due to an unexpected job loss. Plus - It is not true!

I asked this person if she might have misperceived what had been stated by the speaker. “No”, she replied. “Everyone in the room looked at each other, shrugged their shoulders and said, ‘well, then…what are we doing here?’. At that moment I felt like I might never get another decent job”.

Wow.

I am asked to speak at corporate outplacement firms and job seekers groups about 80 times a year. On my worst day, I cannot see myself telling the job seekers assembled to hear me, the invited guest (expert) speaker, that they are “too old to get a good job”…Mostly because I just do not believe it and also – It Just is Not True!!!

This job seeker went on to tell me that another “expert” (recruiter) had told her – when she asked about the most effective manner in which to present her transferable skills (her objective was to change careers) – that, “You won’t be able to get out of the industry you are in. Don’t worry about focusing on transferable skills…that is overrated and has little to do with you getting another job”.

Again, WHAT…!!!

Hiring managers are focused on what skills/expertise/competencies you bring to the table. Case in point – Several years ago I worked with a college graduate on his job search. He had graduated with majors in Computer and Electrical Engineering and was seeking to find an entry level position as an Electrical Engineer designing control systems for custom built machines for large manufacturers. His only work experience at that time was 6 years at a local grocery store…with his title being, “Beer Aisle Manager”.

On the surface, one might perceive that to be a bit of a stretch to go from stocking beer to designing electrical schematics and programming complex control systems for large production machinery. As it turned out, his skill set matched up extremely well with the key competencies being sought by the engineering firm that ultimately wound up hiring him. That firm was seeking a college graduate, with a major in Electrical Engineering, having demonstrated expertise/proficiency in the following areas:

• Leadership
• Project Management
• Team building
• Decision Making
• Customer Service
• Communications
• Attention to detail

Guess what…he had numerous examples of his ability to apply all of these skills to produce exceptional outcomes.

After two interviews, he received a job offer...not the Beer Aisle Manager from the grocery store…but the guy who had all of those key skills/competencies that the employer felt would transfer well to their specific environment and culture.

Transferable skills not relevant…I absolutely disagree. I've assisted nearly 900 people with their job searches over the last 4 years and a significant number of those folks (the majority of whom, by the way, were in their 50’s and 60’s) earned a job offer as a result of proving that their skill set was transferable.

So…why do people like the recruiting expert tell a room full of job seekers that such things don’t matter or that they are too old to get a “good job”…?

Can’t answer that one, but it is terribly frustrating for those of us out there trying to provide the best advice possible to people in transition. Advice that is actionable and proven to improve a candidate’s job search results. We’re not telling people that they are too old to matter or that skills aren't transferable…because that is just not true. We are trying to help and motivate those with whom we speak…the folks who are spending those evenings at networking events and in the basements of churches at job seekers group meetings...people who are reaching out and trusting that the advice received from supposed experts is correct.

So, how can you avoid job search/career “experts” who are really not so? Here are a couple of tips:

• Check out the speaker’s profile on LinkedIn…Do they have any recent recommendations from people who they have assisted w/job searches or from those who may have heard them make presentations on job search related topics?
• Check out the firm at which the speaker works. What do they do? What is his/her position there? What is their background (again, LinkedIn) and does that background seem to fit w/their being an expert related to resume writing, interviewing and networking skills, and putting together an effective job search strategy/plan?
• Was the expert ever in transition themselves? Have they walked in your shoes?
• When was the last time the speaker/expert actually was involved in hiring someone (I've had people, who asked for my assistance regarding their resumes, tell me that, “Well, my resume should be good, I've had an expert work on it already”, only to find out that the “expert” is their next door neighbor who had absolutely no HR, recruiting or hiring experience at all!)?

If the results of just this research don’t convince you that the person is really an expert related to job searches…well, why put yourself through the frustration of hearing poor advice that is probably mostly opinion vs. the result of years of actual experience.

Reading a book about job searches does not make someone a job search expert. Anyone can claim they are a Career Coach…doing so does not make them one.

So much of the success of a job search is the result of preparation and the effort put into researching potential employers, industries, hiring managers, culture fit…etc. Save yourself some grief and frustration by extending that same effort to those who claim to be job search/career related experts. Isn't the job search already tough enough without throwing another log on the fire by listening to or working with a job search expert who really isn't one?

Actions Really Do Speak Louder than Words

If a company tells you that they brew the best beer in the world, but have minimal sales and no awards to show for their efforts, how believable is their claim of having an outstanding product? We can all say whatever we wish about our abilities and achievements, but, as the saying goes, “the proof is in the pudding”.

And thus is the challenge for today’s job seekers…making believers out of skeptical hiring managers. This is actually not that difficult to accomplish, but it does take a significant investment of a candidate’s time, which is something that the vast majority of job seekers are still NOT willing to do. This means that those candidates who do elect to put in the time and effort necessary to develop a truly “killer” resume and memorable interview discussions, can very quickly distance themselves from a large percentage of those competing for the same job opening.

Here are some tips that should help your actions (accomplishments) speak for themselves:

• Telling me what you DID makes your resume sound like a job description…the hiring manager wants to read about what you ACCOMPLISHED in each of the roles you held while at previous employers. Write/talk about how you applied each of the required skills/abilities being sought by the hiring manager (your actions) and how doing so produced outcomes that were considered (by supervisors, senior management, clients, co-workers or industry standards/averages) to be exceptional.

• Quantify with metrics (dollars & percentages) each of your accomplishments. And, be certain to relate why that level of success was considered to be outstanding. In other words, provide the hiring manager with some benchmarking that proves the results of your actions were actually exceptional. For example, don’t just state that you, “increased sales”. OK, maybe you did…but the hiring manager needs to know by how much and then see that level of production compared to peers in your company and/or a similar industry. If you really are as outstanding a salesperson as you claim, comparing your accomplishments in this manner will clearly support such a statement.

• Understand that the interview starts as soon as they look at your resume. Does the document reflect the skills and competencies required/being sought as noted in the position description? What type of image did you project during the phone screen (confident delivery of your answers – reflecting thorough research on the company on your part or taking the call at your house while children are yelling and dogs barking in the background)? Did you dress appropriately for the interview? Show up on time? Did you check out the interviewer’s profile on LinkedIn (I know of many hiring managers who will check to see who has looked at their LinkedIn profile…they are often looking to see which candidates made the effort to learn about them prior to the first interview)?

Remember that everything you do, say or write, is written or said about you is all considered as part of the job selection process.

What are your “actions” telling the hiring manager about you?

Now What Do I Do..?

Sometime over the next couple of weeks, I will be a first-time grandfather. Can’t wait, as I hear from other “new” grandparents how wonderful is the experience and how different it is than when we were new parents (way back when).

I remember when we brought our first child home from the hospital. My bride put him into a bassinet in the family room of our small house and we looked at each other and said, “Well, what do we do now?” The two of us realized that we must have left the “What to do With Your First Baby” manual at the hospital. As my parents have often reminded me about my first born, “he survived, despite you two”. Pretty funny, Mom & Dad..! But, I readily admit that I’m a believer in the “it takes a village to raise a child” concept.

Looking at the job search process, there are a lot of similarities.

When I was laid off in early 2001, after 25 years with the same company, I felt some of that same, “what do I do now” nervousness and sense of being a bit lost. Thankfully, I eventually (through networking) wound up connecting with the right people who provided me with priceless suggestions and guidance throughout the course of my search (which lasted a long time, due to a poor economy, millions of layoffs and a tough job market…Sound familiar..!).

After my own job search and assisting hundreds of others with theirs over the last few years, I continue to see just how critical it is for the candidate to develop a well thought out plan/strategy. Such a plan should definitely include putting together an experienced team to support the development and execution of the strategy. Your job search team should include people with expertise in everything from marketing & IT to public speaking and administration. Let them help you! Just like when you were leading/working on a project team (maybe w/some of these same people), a job search strategy that reflects “working smarter” translates into leveraging the talent that surrounds you to create a powerful synergy for success.

Oh, and do not think that, just because you have held a high level/executive position, you know it all…because that is pretty unlikely (e.g., over the last two weeks, I’ve met with three different former high-level executives…two of which were CEO’s and one an EVP. Each of their resumes needed a lot of work – from quality of content to structural layout/formatting. Each of them also admitted to not using LinkedIn proactively.

Every time I meet w/a person to assist them with their job transition, it strengthens my belief in the old adage, “never assume”.

Today there are a host of books, blogs and websites about taking care of babies and thousands on how to be successful when looking for a new job. But, remember…books and blogs don’t make you a good parent or a successful job seeker – YOU DO. It’s one thing to read/listen to advice…the real trick is being able to apply it to the task at hand.

That being said, here are some concepts to consider and tools to use after you receive notice of your layoff/downsizing and find yourself asking, “now what do I do”:

Determine the direction that your career will take from this point forward. What do you see as “the greener grass”? What are you passionate about doing every day at work? What type of opportunity would make what you do a “labor of love” vs. a job? Once you figure this out, then it is time to start working on developing a resume. Until then, writing a resume is a waste of time (i.e., if you don’t know where you are going, how do you know which road will get you there?).

You aren’t there when the HR Generalist or hiring manager reads your resume – it has to stand on its own. This document needs to deliver a powerful, clear and persuasive message about why you are one of the few candidates who will be selected for a phone screen or face-to-face interview. Ask some people, who you trust to be excellent proof-readers, to review your resume thoroughly and edit the document. By the way…their trying to be kind to you is not going to help…they need to be brutally honest. Ask them, “If you were the hiring manager, would you want to interview this person – based on just reading this resume?” Be sure to ask for feedback as to “why” or “why not”.

During a phone screen or “Skype interview” – dogs barking, babies/children crying or a candidate yelling at their spouse to “close the door!” is not going to do a whole lot in regard to supporting a professional image. Best advice…Clear the room!! And, for a video/Skype interview, dress and act as though you are there in the interviewer’s office. Remember, your actions speak volumes about you.

Emphasize in the cover letter, resume and interview discussion(s) why you are the clear choice for the opportunity being sought. Incorporate your research about the company into each of these items and tell me how you have flourished and excelled in similar situations/environments. Convince me that, not only did you excel in previous positions, but you can be a “game-changer” at my company.

Remember that your interview begins NOT at some scheduled date and time, but at the moment the HR recruiter or hiring manager dials your phone number to SET UP the appointment. They are going to listen carefully and take note of how you answer the phone or to your voice mail message. These first impressions are significant, but all too often not even considered by candidates.

The Receptionist and other employees at the company may take an active role in the interviewing process…without you knowing it. I hear from more and more hiring managers that they are involving key members of their staff in the interview process. This often equates to feedback provided to the hiring manager by these employees, after they have casually tried to engage the candidate in a discussion (while waiting in the lobby for their interview). Trust me, they report their feedback about any such interaction to the hiring manager…Remember, these folks may wind up being your future co-workers…wouldn’t you like for them to be telling the hiring manager, “We really hope you are considering Candidate XYZ, they would be great to work with as part of our team”?

Ensure that your email address looks professional. Trust me, “cutepoodle5@xyz.com” is not considered funny or “cute” by hiring managers (by the way…I did not make up the first part of that address…it was on a resume that someone sent to me about a year ago to review - and this candidate had been a SVP at a major corporation!).

Jobseekers groups present excellent networking opportunities…treat them as such. Don’t attend if you are going to just sit there with your head down. Think about the impression you are providing to the other attendees (who, by the way…just might know the president of one of your targeted companies) or the guest speaker (who is often a hiring manager or knows someone who is). Also, these should be considered business meetings…dress accordingly.

I do about 80 presentations a year at a dozen or so local job groups. I always arrive early and always love to see which job seekers make the effort to come up, introduce themselves and engage me in a conversation. Sadly, I’ve found that less than 5% of those attending such meetings make this type of effort. Although stated earlier in this post, it is worth repeating that your actions speak volumes about you, the person and you, the potential hire.

So, gather your “village” around you. Make certain they are clear on what is your desired “destination”. Leverage their individual talents, expertise and connections to help you develop a meaningful job search strategy that is actionable. Learn from the mistakes of others who have completed this same journey. Above all, don’t “look back”...don’t dwell on the fact that you were downsized, laid off or fired. As they say, “it is what it is”. Don’t get stuck on “what was”, but focus on “what can be”.

My first born…well, he turns 32 in a couple of weeks and his success, both personally and professionally, is in large part the result of the countless contributions and encouragement of the “team” of family and friends who have been with him during his journey. Now, he is helping to gather together the “villagers” who will be there to greet and help guide the newest addition to our family as his journey begins.

What's Your Story..?

My last post discussed what I felt were a number of good indicators over the last several months that the employment picture was looking better…not nearly great yet, but much improved when compared to even just a year ago.

The turnover experienced by job seekers groups has increased (this is one situation in which turnover is a good thing!) with the time period between separation to landing a new job significantly decreasing.

Yet, I continue to speak with people who are very frustrated with the lack of activity/success in their respective job searches. I know one of the main reasons why that is…but most folks don’t want to hear it or become exasperated when I tell them that:

Their resumes are boring.

Over the last month, I’ve done resume reviews at the networking events our company sponsors and a “resume clinic” sponsored by a local corporate outplacement firm along with making presentations at a Career Transition Camp, three job seekers’ groups, a corporate outplacement firm and for a Fortune 500 company that had just laid off a number of employees. With all of the resumes I reviewed at or as a follow up to all of these events, not even one of those documents would have caused me, as a hiring manager, to schedule the respective candidate for a phone screen or first interview…not one.

Why? The resumes read like a job description vs. an engaging “story” about the candidates' skills, competencies and accomplishments – customized to the criteria noted in the description for the job they were seeking.

Although the employment landscape is improving, it is still clearly a buyer’s market, with hiring managers continuing to exercise their right to be very picky and deliberate regarding their ultimate candidate selection…(by the way, employers continue to report receiving hundreds of resumes per posted job opening). Thus, one of the first objectives of every job seeker should be to put as much distance as is possible between themselves and their competition, and that most often begins with the resume.

The resume is your “novel”…the story of “you” and why you, the candidate, should be one of the few people who are selected (from the stack of hundreds of resumes received) that will be called for a phone screen or to schedule the first in-person interview. Think of it this way - You go into a book store where there are hundreds of books from which to choose…but you only budgeted to purchase one…so, the book selected has to be something that really sync’s up with your criteria for a “great read”.

Thus it is with resumes and hiring managers.

Here are some of the key components that will make your resume a “great read” for the intended employer:

• Key Achievement bullet points that speak to what you accomplished at your previous employers, NOT what you “did” (duties & responsibilities). Demonstrate clearly, using specific examples, how you applied the skills & competencies listed in the job description to produce exceptional outcomes/results.
• Provide perspective for each accomplishment. Include factors/metrics that describe timeframes, rankings, awards, recognition (i.e., don’t just tell me that you “increased sales by 30%”. Tell me that you “increased sales by $5MM or 30% in 90 days, which was the shortest period of time needed to achieve that level of growth amongst the 15 members of the sales team, resulting in recognition by the CEO as ‘Sales Leader of the Quarter’.) How do you think that compares to another candidate whose bullet point reads, “Built strong relationships that resulted in an increase in sales”..? Incorporating the use of perspective into your accomplishments will do much to separate you from the other candidates.
• Content customized to the specific criteria being sought by the hiring manager for the job you are seeking. Folks, cookie cutter resumes are not going to get any hiring manager excited about the prospect of you working for them. This also means only relevant information is included in your resume. What if author Dan Brown included several pages of love poems throughout the many chapters of his book, "The Da Vinci Code"? It would obviously disrupt the flow of the reader as it would have no relevance to the story. Dan Brown might be very good at writing love poems…but that is not why the reader purchased a copy of "The Da Vinci Code".
• Enable me to visualize you as a “game-changer” on my team by clearly demonstrating why you have been so while at past employers, in similar situations/environments to that found in my organization.

Just today I met with a job seeker who had held a high level sales position at a very large company. Her resume did not reflect what I believed to be (after meeting and speaking with her) the level of sales skills to support her verbalized accomplishments. I reminded her that hiring managers and HR recruiters have to rely on the resume – without her in the room to explain what each bullet point really means – to learn enough in order to decide to schedule an interview or send a “No thanks” letter. Her “story” – as told by the resume - fell flat and was not engaging to me, the hiring manager. I would not have spent more than 30 seconds or so on this person’s resume if submitted to me for consideration. And, there would have been no interview scheduled.

We discussed how, with some revamping using the concepts noted above, her resume could become a great read for hiring managers and recruiters.

In a job search, EVERY candidate is now a salesperson…and, they are the “product” being sold. The “features” of the product are skills, competencies, experience, drive, enthusiasm, passion and ability to apply the skills being sought to produce excellent results. The benefits of the “you” product are the many ways in which you will convince me that my team/group/division will be better because of bringing you on board.

So…time to write your “best seller”.

What’s your story?

Good Signs for 2012

Over the last few months I’ve made presentations at area job seeker’s groups and corporate outplacement companies to nearly 1,000 people in transition. The bad news is that there were nearly 1,000 people at the presentations (this is one of those situations where I would have welcomed a smaller audience!).

The good news (which never seems to make it to the various news media), is that virtually all of the leaders/directors of these groups and the employees at the outplacement firms report that people are landing new positions in nearly half of the time that it was taking just a year ago..!

Over the last twelve months, our company has co-sponsored a networking event with a local restaurant. The average number of attendees has remained somewhat the same, but that is because many who have landed new jobs come back to help those still in transition…they’re “paying it forward”.

I’ve heard the following statement dozens of times from people who find new employment after being in transition for a few months (or more), “I never realized how difficult it would be to find a new job after being laid off and I want to keep coming back to this job seekers/networking group and help those who are still here.” Kudos to those folks…they “get it”.

College graduates learn, over time, how valuable it can be to network with alumni in their industry or geography. Often, no matter how long it’s been since a person has graduated, reaching out to someone from your alma mater results in a quick return call/email. Job seekers are learning that there is also a growing number of “transition alumni” out there (and now employed) who are committed to providing them assistance (i.e., informational interviews, networking meetings, connections to decision makers within their companies…etc).

Unfortunately, this new and significant resource for job seekers is under-utilized. Although more job seekers’ groups are doing some record keeping regarding their alumni, there is room for improvement. This is another case where you never want to assume…Ask the staff at the corporate outplacement firm you are using/used or the directors of the job seekers’ group(s) you attend if they can provide you with contact information for their respective “alumni”. Never pass up an opportunity to make a good networking contact! And, remember – these folks have walked in your shoes and felt your pain…they’ll be more willing to help you than someone who has never been through a forced job transition.

• So, if you have not yet attended a meeting of a local job club/job seekers’ group – do so, as it is well worth the time (of course, remember that you’ll only get out of these groups what you put into the effort).
• If you are attending job club meetings or networking events – invest the time to do some meaningful networking with the others in attendance, the group’s director(s) and the invited speakers.
• If you have “graduated” from the job club circuit as a result of landing a new job – please consider returning to the group every so often to provide assistance to those still in transition and “pay it forward”.

All that said, I must take a moment to express my deepest appreciation to all of those folks who have volunteered their time to form, direct and maintain the job seekers’ groups and job clubs that have sprung up in nearly every city and town. You truly are unsung heroes..!! Quietly (few if any of the directors of these organizations ever take credit for their tireless efforts) these groups have played a significant role in the overall success enjoyed by the growing legion of “former” job seekers.

Thank you..!!

Employers' Big Frustration – “We can’t find the right people to fill our openings”

Did you ever hear one of your single friends say something like, “There are no good men/women out there”? You hear that and feel like you need to respond with, “But, there are lots of good men/women out there that would be great for you…you’re just looking in the wrong places”.

That is how more and more employers are beginning to feel.

On the surface, that statement seems ridiculous yet, maybe not so much…Last evening I heard one story on a national news broadcast about there being nearly 14 million Americans still out of work (with video showing thousands of people lined up for a job fair in Atlanta), followed by a story that Siemens, a huge multi-national company with over 400,000 employees in 190 countries (with 62,000 employed in the U.S. throughout all 50 states), has nearly 4,000 open positions and “can’t fill them”. A Siemens’ VP who was interviewed stated, “If we cannot fill these positions, it is going to limit our ability for growth.”

WHAT…?!

Not wishing to be one of those people who believes everything that they see & hear on TV, I did some poking around the Siemens website.

For just their U.S. locations, the Siemens’ Career page showed the following openings:

• Entry Level: 218 openings
• Mid-Level: 1,092 openings
• Senior Level: 590 openings

OK…I guess they could have nearly 4,000 openings world-wide. So, are they “looking in the wrong places” for good candidates?

Not likely.

They are probably experiencing the same issues that I continue to hear about from my large network of hiring managers and recruiters:

• “The vast majority of resumes that we see are mediocre to very poor. We aren’t interested in hiring ‘mediocre or poor’ candidates.”
• “A number of our openings are posted two or three times, because we cannot find the right fit for these opportunities.”
• “My frustration is that there are probably some great candidates in that pile of 400 – 500 resumes, but I cannot tell that from reading them…and, I don’t have the time to interview 400 – 500 people to try and figure out who is really a much better performer in regard to the skill set I am seeking, than what their resume represents them to be.”

I’ve not ever believed the statement, made all too often by folks in transition over the last three years, that “there are no good jobs out there”.

Yes…it is a “buyer’s market" out there in regard to the job market. Same applies to the current housing market…but, houses continue to be put up for sale and sold…just like “good” jobs continue to be posted and candidates hired to fill those open positions.

The other night I spoke to a group of out-of-work alumni from my alma mater. Most of those in attendance were more than a bit surprised to learn that their resumes and job search strategies might put them more in the middle of the “bell curve” of candidates, rather than at the leading edge of that same curve – where hiring managers feel they can find the pool of perceived “ideal” candidates.

My fellow alumni, like many other candidates, need to stop listening to the “talking heads” who preach, “there are no good jobs out there”…and, invest the time, effort and energy to put themselves in that small group of people at the leading edge of the bell curve of talent. Are there 14 million jobs open out there? No. But, there are apparently many thousands of job openings that continue to go unfilled.

Prove the “doomsayers” wrong - maybe start with a visit to the Career page on the Siemens website.