These sites mean a job seeker can browse hundreds of available jobs, find the perfect job for them and apply for it, all in a matter of minutes (depending on how fussy you are). Technology is a blessing for job seekers, however it is definitely a double-edged sword.

While job boards and networks like LinkedIn offer effective tools to find jobs and distribute resumes, people must remain conscious of the fact that their personal lives are also available to potential employers, should the employers choose to search for them. And that’s how simple it is – type in a name, click search and anything from personal images to videos and conversations are presented to anyone who cares to look for them. Thank God for privacy options. However some people just plain forget the basic things like ‘don’t make those pictures of you passed out in a bear suit available to the public’ or ‘don’t add your boss on Facebook’, resulting in situations such as this:
But how far do employers have a right to go? Is it acceptable for them to seek out your personal profiles? Is it acceptable for them to ask you for your login and password so they can enter your accounts themselves? A company needs to know what sort of person they’re going to employ, but not at the expense of individuals right to privacy. But with social media, privacy is becoming more and more ambiguous. It’s a wonderful tool, useful in so many different ways, but people need to bear in mind during their use of it that their personal information is about to be projected into the Internet ether and that it will be available for access to millions of people and that, for the most part, your privacy is controlled by you.

Are you a recruiter or responsible for hiring decisions? What do you think? This is an open debate – do any job seekers out there have experiences they want to share?

True or false?

It is a fact that many applicants still have a less than favourable experience when they apply for a new job, be it a direct application to an employer or through a recruiter…

In this employment market where skill shortages do exist in particular areas, many employers are still acting to their detriment in the way they treat potential employees.

The “sins” are many – with the most common including:

• Not acknowledging applications received
• Taking months to fill a vacancy
• Not providing a contact person and phone number on a job advertisement
• Outdated and irrelevant position descriptions (sometimes none at all)
• Advertising a role when you already have someone earmarked to appoint
• Interviewing and never providing feedback

If an applicant does get to sit across the interview table, often the way an interview is conducted is enough to drive the conclusion home that this organisation, isn’t culturally a good fit.

An interview needs to be a two-way dialogue, where the applicant demonstrates the expertise they bring and how the organisation will benefit from their appointment.

The organisation in turn has to demonstrate what benefits the applicant will get from joining them over a competitor – whether it is training, challenge, growth or development…

I believe that a recruitment process where the opportunity is not provided to talk to someone about the role from the outset is a flawed one.  I believe that any employer not prepared to interview within 4 weeks of advertising is crazy.  I also believe that not acknowledging an application or providing feedback post interview is rude.

I also believe that if you are a serious job seeker – thinking that you can just hit the apply button and stand out in the crowd is laughable…

I’d be interested to hear your experiences… Please share your thoughts in the comment box below!

One day while casually trawling through job ads your spot your dream job… So you write a great application, get an interview; impress them enough in an hour to hire you and your referees stack up.

But that’s not the end of the process…..  Although for many it is.

No!  It’s only part way through the process.

Think about the last time you started a new job, how did you approach it? How did you plan, research? How clear were you on what you wanted to achieve in your first day?  First week?  First month?

Or did you just sit back and let on boarding take its course?  Ease through the first week and amble through your first month, hoping your team would like you and your boss would be impressed?

You only get a short time to make a strong first impression.  Coming new into a role and a new organization you have a unique opportunity to see things in perspective, you have an open mind and a higher level of energy and engagement.

This is not to say that you need to come into this with a level of aggression that will intimidate and aggravate your new work colleagues either.  There has to be a fine balance between energy, drive and questioning the status quo.

Do you consider the “unwritten ground rules” of this new team and organization?  Often these rules are subtle but the easiest damaged when you are new…

Often its not always what you do – its how you do it.  Actions speak louder than words and once you have built a perception of a person – it seldom changes.

How will you gain the respect of your team?  How do you ensure that you have the skills and capabilities on board to support you?

And how do you navigate through a new organization to determine who the key players are that you need to align your self with?

It’s a 2 way street both for the employer and the new employee.  On boarding is often an overlooked process by many employers, leading to lower performance and potentially disengagement of new recruits.

I’d be keen to hear your experiences – leave a comment in the box below telling us your story.

If you answered yes to any of these questions, then this is a timely reminder to make sure your resume stands out in order to give you the best chance of securing that dream job in 2012.

As an applicant, it’s important to remember you are competing against every other candidate that might be interested in a particular role. For some roles, we receive as many as 150-200 applications. So what is the key to making yourself stand out against the competition? It’s imperative that you know how to sell yourself to maximize your chances of securing an interview, which – let’s face it – is where the true test is.

I often hear from employers and other recruiters that they see hundreds of resumes across their desks that don’t seem to match the requirements of the specific position. This makes it very hard to shortlist down to a top few candidates to interview. The key is demonstrating how your skills and experience meet the requirements and showing the potential employer how you will add value to their team. If you can do this, it will significantly increase your chances of securing an interview. There are normally two key parts to a job application, the cover letter and the resume:

Cover Letter
If you are going to write a cover letter then make it count. In our time poor society, hiring managers don’t have time to read an exact rehash of your resume, so make it stand out! Use this as an opportunity to give a short outline on how your skills and experience would allow you to deliver in the role and how hiring you would add value to the business. Use this to also add a brief description on why you want this particular job.

Resume
As a recruiter I see hundreds of resumes every month and all of them are different in terms of the length, information included, layout etc. So what stands out in a good resume? As nearly all hiring managers are pressed for time, there are three main attributes to a good resume that will make it stand out from potentially hundreds of others in the applicant pool.

• Length – At most, a good resume should be six pages. Hiring managers simply don’t have time to read resumes that are ten or fifteen pages and sometimes more. Concentrate on your recent positions – the most relevant being your roles within the past ten years.
• Layout – Make sure your resume is easy to read. Break it up with dot points or shorter paragraphs at various intervals rather than long paragraphs that are time consuming to read. If it’s easy to read, the hiring manager is less likely to skip over parts of it.
• Content – Most people focus their resumes on the responsibilities or tasks rather than the achievements or deliverables. If you implemented changes that saved the business money, highlight it. If you delivered a project under budget or earlier than expected, then highlight those achievements. Proven performance is the main thing that hiring managers are looking for when recruiting so make sure you highlight your achievements!

The key is keeping it succinct, thus keeping the hiring manager engaged, as well as highlighting your achievements. If you can do this, it will give you the best chance of securing an interview for that dream job in 2012!

After discussions with a number of successful and senior Project Managers recently, there is a general agreement on the key attributes that successful project managers possess.

1) They understand the business! They have the patience and communication skills to listen to the key stakeholders and understand what the business is trying to achieve from the project. There is no point in delivering a product or service that will not fit the requirements of the organisation.

2) They are Problem solvers! Projects can vary in size and complexity and it is important that project managers are able to think outside the box to come up with solutions to overcome obstacles.

3) Flexibility! Some projects can change on almost a daily basis and thus, project managers need to be flexible when approaching a project. Project management methodologies are a great way to set the direction for the project but they are not strict procedures. Project Managers must have the flexibility to alter their approach to overcome any obstacles that arise.

4) They are delivery focussed! The reputations of project managers are made or broken on their ability to successfully deliver outcomes to the business. It is imperative that project managers liaise with key stakeholders to set the desired outcomes and do everything they can to achieve them!

5) Outstanding communication and leadership skills! Project managers must be able to engage with key stakeholders to get support from senior management. They also must be able to bring out the best in their teams. This means supporting and delegating to team members to make the most of project resources.

6) Ownership!! Project managers have to take complete ownership of their projects and have the drive and passion to do everything they can to ensure that the outcomes are achieved within time, budget and resource constraints. This is where project managers build their reputations as someone who will get the job done!

Do you have what it takes to be a great Project Manager? With so many large projects kicking off, the industry is booming in South East Queensland. It is certainly an exciting time to be involved in project management!!

Know who your best performers are, mentor, train and develop them, communicate and keep them informed of broader business strategies, get their feedback and input.  None of this costs a lot, but the pay back is guaranteed.

Employees are nervous about job security, they need to know how the business is tracking, they value hearing about the future plans and how that impacts on them.  If you want to keep your best people when the market turns, you need to invest in them NOW.

How you approach the market when you recruit new people is also a key aspect to building favourable impressions with employees.  With social networks booming, the world is getting better connected and information flows abundantly.  People readily share their impressions and gripes, with poor recruitment processes at the top of their list of complaints.

When you take a job to market – be READY.  This sounds silly, but we are seeing so many poor approaches to the current market.  Yes it’s an employers market, but your reputation is still important in any market!  Have the go ahead to actually recruit, update the PD, be able to put time aside to interview, be prepared to make a selection – don’t stall.  And induct!

All simple stuff, we know, but you’d be surprised at how many employers aren’t doing this!