career – Page 4

Hotline Bling: Getting Companies to Call you Back

November 3, 2016

I recently attended a scholarship breakfast for a local school of business in the area. A top businessman was the keynote speaker and the topic was “Disruptive Leadership.” It was really interesting to hear about leadership, uncertainty and strategies on thinking ahead and preparing for change and industry advancements. To sum up the talk, sometimes to get things done things have to be disrupted. I thought this discussion could definitely apply to job seekers.

As you look for job opportunities there is a measure of uncertainty, because once you express your interest in a company or position, often times you are left wondering what will happen next. If you want the “Hotline to Bling” you need to implement a disruptive leadership approach to job searching. You can’t just sit there and wait! Let’s think outside the box and be unique. As a recruiter, I love when quality and qualified candidates reach out to me via various mediums it show grit and well, disruptive leadership. In a situation where there is a mound of uncertainty, a candidate took the time to find me and express interest, that’s AWESOME! All of the jobs I’ve had in my career have been because of God and the guts to go out and get what I wanted. Here are some things that you probably already know but that stand as reminder of what you need to do for companies to call you back:

Use Social Media
- There are literally conferences that recruiters go to that teach them how to use social media to find great candidates. Reverse engineer that and initiate engagement with recruiters or hiring managers on social media for your benefit.
Go to Networking Events
- Networking events have become much more results-oriented than those random career fairs at large conference centers. Let Google be your friend and find out what’s going on in your city to network with companies, in person.
Pick up the phone!
- Some online job descriptions say ‘no calls please’ but those that don’t are fair game. Pick up the phone and call the recruiter or hiring manager (don’t stalk them and call repeatedly but you can call to see the status of your application if you hadn’t heard anything in a while).

Now that I’ve reminded you of “disruptive” things to do, what are are you going to do to get your hotline to bling?

Molly…You in Danger Girl!

October 5, 2016

Are you on LinkedIn? As I sit here on a plane to the annual LinkedIn Talent Connect Conference my frustration is growing. Why is it growing? Glad you asked. Literally thousands of recruiters and HR professionals are traveling to Talent Connect to discuss and learn how best to find and retain TALENT through things like employment branding, employee referral programs, creating better job postings, data/analytics etc. with a LinkedIn narrative. I hear people say all the time there are no jobs and I would have to say that’s not completely true (I’ll explain more in a separate post). One of the biggest and best tools to find a job or networking opportunity is, LinkedIn.

The majority of the world’s professional talent and hiring authorities are on LinkedIn. I tell jobseekers all the time there has to be more effort on your part these days. I know it’s probably not fair, but when you have hundreds of candidates applying for the same role it’s necessary. We are living in a digital world and you, the jobseeker, have to physically reach out to people to highlight what separates you from other candidates. I have personally used LinkedIn as a tool to pursue 3 job opportunities that have been wonderful for my career. Submitting your resume and just letting the chips fall as they may, is not always going to get you that dream job. Companies pay thousands of dollars to LinkedIn for sourcing great talent despite the fact they have a stream of online applications. My charge to you is, make sure you have a professional online presence via LinkedIn and that you use it to your advantage. Here are a few tips to get started:

Go to LinkedIn.com and setup a profile
Upload a professional headshot/photo (no selfies!)
Make your summary interesting and marketable (include keywords that make you searchable)
Don’t list jobs dating back to 1990
Make sure to check your settings so people can find you
Connect with people you know you build your initial network (i.e. school alumni, former colleagues, etc.)
Join affinity groups based on your skill set

We’ll be talking about LinkedIn more in the coming months so stay tuned. Our friend Julie Huval from Benchley Design, wrote a great post last week on Branding Yourself like a BOSS! Take her advice and follow through with creating a profile on LinkedIn.com. If you’re not on LinkedIn, in the words of Oda Mae Brown (Whoopi Goldberg) from the movie Ghost, “Molly, you in danger girl!”

Follow @thecareersalon on Instagram and Twitter to keep up with the happenings at the LinkedIn Talent Connect Conference this week!

Style Resume: Faith Wimberly

September 29, 2016

Career and Style Summary:

The Career Salon is proud to feature Faith Wimberly, for our Thursday, Style Resume Series. Faith serves as one of the Lead Recruiters for Sales Empowerment Group. She is an MBA with a broad range of experience in Business to Business sales, Corporate Sales Recruiting, Leadership, and training both in corporate America and in the non-profit sector. Faith currently serves as Founder of The Empowerment Group, a nonprofit that focuses on community development. She has won various awards, one being “40 under 40” from WVON radio station for her work with mentoring girls and working with women in the community. She brings a variety of experiences in the work place that allows her to connect with people and help them reach their goals. When Faith, is not at work, she can be found hanging out with friends and family, traveling, laughing, singing, and spending quality time with her husband and two beautiful children. The Career Salon is honored to highlight such a mover and shaker!

Experience:

What’s your current occupation and how long have you been in your career?

I am currently a Senior Lead Sales Recruiter for a small boutique recruiting firm, in a hip area of downtown Chicago. Lots of good eats and hang out spots in this area and great shopping as well. Since college I have spent most of my career in a professional Sales role, but I have also done recruiting as well. I have been in my current role for over two years and I love it. I am pretty certain, connecting and helping people via finding their dream job, and helping clients hire top talent is where I am meant to be. My career, all of my experience and quests landed me here and I am happy camper. This role is going to open doors for bigger opportunities in my career. #StayTuned

Education:

Where did your style originate and who or what are some of your influences?

My mother was pretty stylish growing up and so were both of my Aunts. I especially loved playing in my Aunt Sissy’s shoes and clothes as a child. Like most, I appreciate certain trends and I follow fashion bloggers and Hollywood to check out what’s hot and best for me. I love a good mix of Trendy, funky, classic and chic. Hip hop (old school) was always an influence as well.

References:

Who are some of your favorite designers? What stores do you prefer to shop?

Some of the designers I love are Alexander McQueen, Balenciaga, Diane Von Furstenburg, BCBG, Marc Jacobs, Elie Saab, Givenchy and Tracey Reese. Of course, being more practical (hello? Lol) I tend to shop at Top Shop, Nordstrom (who always has super different styles from different designers to try), H&M, Zara and gotta love a quick stop at Forever 21 to piece some things together.

Do you think personal style is important as it relates to your work? If so, how?

I think it’s important to be true to who you are and to always be the best representation of yourself both inside and out. In my line of work, recruiters come a dime a dozen, and being a fashionista isn’t very important depending on the industry. However, it’s always important to stand out with confidence no matter what your style may be. That speaks louder than anything else.

If you had a dream career/occupation what would it be?

This is a great question. I have wanted to be and do different things throughout my life and I have always been of the mindset that it’s never too late to try! I wanted to be an Attorney, a real estate mogul, owner/operator of community centers throughout the city of Chicago, radio personality, you name it. I think my dream at this point is to be the captain, owner, and operator of whatever it is I do. I want to be CEO and call all the shots, while being a resource for others and helping people.

What’s the best career advice you could give someone seeking a new career?

Talk to people in the field and reach out to them. Network and connect with others via LinkedIn and other avenues. Never be afraid to step out, introduce yourself, and sell yourself. No one can sell you, like you can. If you can afford it, seek out a professional resume service (I have just the person you need :)) and invest in yourself and your future. Lastly, never, ever give up. You may have a million interviews and get NO’S… But always KNOW, that NO’S lead to YES and a door will open just for you!

Quote that keeps you motivated?

“I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me” -Philippians 4:13

Thanks Faith, for stepping into the salon to chat!

The Interview that Ended Before it Started

September 13, 2016

flowers

As a point of intro, this website will sometimes discuss simple topics that everyone should know and sometimes not. As an HR/Recruiting professional there are just conversations that I need to facilitate, especially if you’d like to take your career a little higher. I find that after years of recruiting there are some things candidates should be reminded of, to prevent inadvertently ending the interview before it even starts. One of those things is definitely, not doing research on the company.

It happens numerous times per week to myself and colleagues, that phone screen/interview we’re excited about and then we are quickly let down at the onset of the phone conversation by simply inquiring, “Do you know much about the company?” While this seems simple to some I’ve lost count on a weekly basis of how many candidates haven’t done research on the company they are interviewing with and are totally clueless. I’ve even interviewed graduates of Ivy League schools that give answers of dumfounded silence. Some candidates have even asked me to tell them about the company…the nerve! We all know that construction companies build buildings and toy companies make toys DUH! Hence the GIF above from one of my favorite movies. When you get that question we’re looking for more, what you know about the company and where your interests lie. Your answer is a key indicator of things like attention to detail, preparedness, and generally caring about things that are important.

There are so many places you can research a company and I’ve listed just four below:

Company Website
Google
LinkedIn
Glassdoor

These sources are helpful to prepare you for the interview process whether it’s a phone interview with HR or you’re speaking with a hiring manager or team. There are too many resources to be ill-prepared and while conducting researching make sure to get information on the person you are going to be speaking with. I’m always impressed when candidates do their homework and can find commonalities between us, it shows a finesse that I don’t come across often. I’ve just barely scratched the surface of preparing for an interview and we’ll dive into it a little more soon, but what are some ways you prepare for an interview? Feel free to post in the comments section below.

The Salon is Now Open!

September 9, 2016

This is 36. Today is my birthday and the launch of what I hope to be a great resource for people in whatever career they’re in. I want people to walk confidently into an interview, salary conversation with the boss, or a client meeting exuding their personal style and creating a path to walk in purpose .

Why “The Career Salon”?

My dad was a part-time barber growing up. People young and old came to the barber shop for haircuts and wisdom. It was a melting pot of topics and you could even take a chance on dominoes or checkers. In the barber shop there were seasoned people giving soapbox (sometimes hilarious) speeches, sports rhetoric, and advice from life experiences. I also went to the hair salon with my mom to get the proverbial “tea” on celebrity or neighborhood news, fashion trends, etiquette, and oh yeah a new style for the week. Those environments were so interesting to me, as it celebrated and discussed so many things in one single place.

So this is it, the place where there is NO filter, we rid the internet of ridiculous interview advice, ill-fitted pants suits, and go behind the scenes of the recruiting and acquisition functions to achieve that next great opportunity with style.

Welcome to The Career Salon!