Why Fast-Food Recruitment Sucks

Why Fast-Food Recruitment Sucks Those who know me, know that I embrace modern technology, social media and social communications in marketing, branding and networking my business and profile. I believe it is a massive opportunity for good recruiters to attract great people seamlessly. But the growing desire to make the recruitment process faster and more accessible; which on the face of it SEEMS like a good idea (with mobile technology and push-button calls to action such as Apply With LinkedIn),  actually in my opinion does the contributors to large portions of the  recruitment cycle more harm than good. Why? Well ok, lets look at the positives for push-button options: Easier and faster application process for the candidate. More opportunities for more people to see and apply for our jobs. More applications for our jobs. Greater data collection, more applications allows better tracking options. The creation potentially of a talent pool through minimal administration for the recruiter. So thats all nice. Jobs are more accessible, applications are faster, easier and selecting is more simple. So why am I not comfortable with this? Well actually, I dont actually see that this, in the main, is massively beneficial for the recruiter or the candidates. Heres why for the candidates: The LinkedIn CV is (apart from its wording) pretty standardised, linear and robotic. Not good news for the applicant, who surely should be aiming to present themselves as a stand-out candidates choosing their own layout, font and optimisation and not looking the same as everyone else! The fast-food routes encourage the option to apply without a covering letter again denying them the opportunity to accentuate their key points of suitability to the role. If the process is faster and easier, and significantly more applicants are applying with ease; then it is more difficult for each applicant to stand out in the busier crowd. The greater the amount of easy applications made, the greater the ratio of rejections. Thats just basic maths. This is not encouraging to a job seeker. The greater the amount of easy applications made, the greater likelihood of minimal or no contact from recruiters lessening the candidate experience as a consequence. And for the recruiter: Actually, good recruiters dont want MORE applications, they want the RIGHT applications! The easier it is to apply, means a greater percentage of unsuitable applicants. More applications are more time-consuming, deflecting focus on the right candidates, the important jobs, and increasing time spent on catering for bad applications. The recruiter in most industries wants to differentiate candidates by more than words. They need to see individuality, stand-out features, cultural factors, presentation skills and attention to the job application. This is lessened by the fast-food methods. Actually, I could go on but you get the message: As an agency recruiter, I have a fee to earn and justify. If I go fast-food, I dont justify my service. I dont want to ask jobseekers of all kinds to freely apply, and then ask them to form an orderly queue. I want to identify them as specialist and niche, on mutual ground, discussing mutual matters; be able to be recognise individual talent, be recognised for my work as a specialist, and be approachable as a person or company rather than a click. Short-cuts are not the answer. For recruiters or for applicants. The job application and selection process is a serious business that requires the necessary attention and consideration on both parts. If you have 100 Call Centre or Retail staff to find, or 50 operational IT professionals with simple skill identification and selection processes then sure these tools will help. Faster doesnt always mean better.  Easier  definitely  doesnt mean better. Theres a reason why a gourmet restaurant serves better food than Maccie-Ds!

Tips on Writing Technical Documentation Resumes

Tips on Writing Technical Documentation ResumesWriting technical documentation can be a very tough task. However, by following some tips, you will surely be able to write a good technical documentation resume. In fact, if you follow these tips, you will also be able to put a document into the market that you are proud of.Firstly, you should make sure that your technical documentation is well written. As with many other types of documents, your technical documentation must be informative and be convincing enough. It should include details about the product or service that you have sold or provided. It should also include some details about the methods and processes that you have used in the process of writing the document. A technical documentation resume that is well written and well presented will certainly increase the chances of getting your product or service listed.Secondly, it is also important that you provide proper contact information in your document. You should not hesitat e to contact the customers or potential customers that you have written about in your document. This is important for two reasons.First, it is a way of showing your ability to offer quality and good customer service aspect. This means that if you don't respond to any inquiries or questions made by your clients, they will be less likely to buy from you.Second, this shows that you value the opinions of your clients on your technical documentation resume. For some companies, it can be really risky to allow your document to be written by someone who doesn't have sufficient experience in the field. You need to do this in order to make sure that your clients will be satisfied with the document.Lastly, you should always make sure that your technical documentation resume is well-organized. In order to help you out, there are a number of products that you can use to help you organize your documents.To ensure that your technical documentation resume is well-organized, it is important that you use a tool that helps you categorize the documents. This tool can help you organize the documents according to their main points, for example, the tools that can help you do this are the MS Word CRM and SCOM tools.Following these tips will definitely help you write a good technical documentation resume. Remember that a good technical documentation resume can give you an edge over your competitors.

LinkedIn Recommendations How Many Do You Need and How Do You Get them

LinkedIn Recommendations How Many Do You Need and How Do You Get them Most of us are on Linkedin; we have pimped our profiles and thrown in the buzzwords so that we can be found by whoever has a nice juicy opportunity for us. Apart from joining and getting active in groups, the best way to raise your profile is to get online testimonials from people you know professionally. The beauty of Linkedin recommendations is that everyone can see who has endorsed you. No more of that “references provided upon request” b-s, the references are right there on your profile and you can leverage them as much as you like. Recruiters, HR and hiring managers all skim the recommendations section of your profile so it’s worth investing some time in getting the right ones. Every time you do get a recommendation, it will appear on your contacts home feeds and thus giving you an additional plug. How many LinkedIn recommendations are normal? Some employers claim not to consider applicants with less than ten recommendations on their profiles. Other employers couldn’t care less. To play it safe, I would recommend anyone to get to at least ten recommendations and build from there. Getting them is not going to hurt and it will also allow you to pick up contact with old colleagues, clients, and partners. A good rule of thumb is to get two to three recommendations from each job you have had. How can I get more? Social media networking is all about karma and the best way to get a recommendation is to write one first. Pick someone that you would love to get an endorsement from, write them an honest and useful recommendation and they are bound to reciprocate. Another way is to ask people just after you have done them a favor; your goodwill is still fresh in their minds. This is a classic trick of the trade for recruiters and is typically applied just after you they have found you a new job. If if you have got more money and responsibility, you will be happy to write something nice for the recruiter in return. Learn from the masters and apply this to your situation. Whatever it is you do in your profession, ask for the recommendation when you most deserve it. Put it on a plate Everyone is busy these days, or at least they think they are. You will get people promising to write you a recommendation but they don’t deliver and keep dragging their feet. Just like with your typical employment reference, you can provide them with a little text or bullet points you put together. They can then choose to publish it or make amendments. The point is that you make it easy enough for them to take action. Who do I ask for a recommendation? Whoever you request a recommendation from, consider how it will be perceived by the reader. Recruiters and employers are likely to rate it by who wrote it and therefore the more influential people, the better. Having a CEO endorsement on your profile could do more for your job search than ten from your colleagues. Strive for diversity as well as quality. You will want your recommendations to be from a tasty mélange of colleagues, customers, managers, partners, suppliers and anyone else that is relevant to your professional career. Too many from one of these groups will look weird, so try to keep a nice balance. Stay away from any recommendations written by friends and family unless you have actually worked with them. In case you are a LION (LinkedIn Open Networker), you might be requested to write a recommendation for a random connection. Although they promise to do the same for you, it’s not worth it as it will completely wipe out your credibility as a networker. Call to action Get busy with recommendations today; it will typically take a few weeks to get to ten of them. Just like with any personal branding, you want to get cracking on it now so that you are prepared for when you need it the most. How many recommendations do you have and have they helped you at all? Image: Shutterstock

How to Create Compelling Visual Slides That Will Make Your Audience Sit Up in Their Seats

How to Create Compelling Visual Slides That Will Make Your Audience Sit Up in Their Seats We’ve all heard of “death by PowerPoint.” Either we’ve been one of its unfortunate victims or, worse still, one of its perpetrators. But how do you go about creating captivating slides that don’t put your audience to sleep? The first step is to understand that our brains are wired to process visual information faster than text. According to the latest studies, we can process images in as little as 13 milliseconds. At least 65% of the population are visual learners, while the remaining 35% are auditory learners and 5% are experiential. So all these statistics beg the question: Why aren’t we all master visual communicators? The answer is that while most of us have dedicated many years to mastering verbal and written communication, we’ve never learned the principles necessary to communicate visually. Visme have created an illustrated   e-book  full of practical tips for those who want to seriously level up their presentation design skills but don’t have the time or resources to take design courses. Let’s take you through a quick overview of each chapter’s main takeaways: 1. A new way to think about presentations The first key to moving an audience is understanding that all good presentations have three things in common: Good content Purposeful design Engaging delivery Yet most presenters concentrate mostly on transferring information alone without any forethought as to how to make audience members care about your message and help them process it with as little effort as possible. This is where deliberate design choices and an effective delivery make all the difference in how your message is received. Learn more about the three pillars of a good presentation here.   2. What Is Your Message? The next step to creating an unforgettable presentation is honing in on your key message. The best way to start is to determine who your audience is and what problem they need to solve. To get a better idea of a typical audience member, ask yourself these questions: What is their demographic and psychographic information, such as gender, income level, interests, values, personality traits, etc.? What problem can you help them with? What do they hope to learn from your talk? How do they best process information? Are they expecting a detailed report or a general overview? How familiar are they with the subject matter? Are they familiar with the terminology you plan to use? What objections might your audience have to your message? Once you’ve created a representative audience persona, you can then draw out an audience journey map, which is nothing more than a visualization of the narrative arc of your presentation. Like your favorite TV shows and movies, the most memorable and effective presentations have a plot and narrative structure that takes your audience on an engaging yet informative journey. By carefully weaving facts and stories together, you can create desire in your audience to know what comes next and, at the same time, transmit concrete information that will help them understand a concept or solve a problem. Learn more about the process for creating your own audience journey maps here. 3. Creating Visual Slides Once you have a bird’s-eye view of how your presentation will unfold, you can now proceed to create your individual slides. Instead of choosing a template and inserting bullet point after bullet point, why not make deliberate design choices to communicate your message more effectively? For example, rather than using small images next to your bullet points, opt for full-bleed images that cover the entire space of your slide. And instead of using a 12-point font that may be too small to read for those in the back of the room, make sure to use text with a point size that is no smaller than 30. This way, you will replace the unnecessary document-made-slide for something more akin to a billboard ad, which can be processed in a matter seconds. Besides fonts, colours can significantly influence the way your audience perceives your message. For instance, a red-and-black colour scheme may seem bold, edgy and intense, while a dark blue-and-white color scheme with orange accent colors can send a message of professionalism with a splash of optimistic energy. For more information on how to find the perfect colour combinations for your slide deck, including a section on how to extract colour schemes from the images in your slide deck, download the full 125-page visual guide  here Author bio: Nayomi Chibana is a journalist and content editor at Visme, a browser-based infographic and presentation tool. Besides researching trends in visual communication and next-generation storytelling, she’s passionate about data-driven content marketing. Follow her on Twitter  @nchibana.

How to Make Sure That You Use the Right Asingnmient of Resume Writing

How to Make Sure That You Use the Right Asingnmient of Resume WritingThe Asingnmient of resume writing is one who can give you the services that you will need to begin to raise your career. By this, I do not mean the person who is to write your resume for you, I mean the person who can help you with everything that you need to know about your career. They are the people who will be able to make sure that you achieve all of your goals and dreams.One thing that you will need is advice from people who have already succeeded in your field and who are involved in the online career communities. These people will have a lot of information on how to improve your career. They can tell you things that you might not even think about. Things like what types of career improvement tactics are going to work best for you.Your resume should also include a cover letter and other documents that are going to prove that you are capable of succeeding in your chosen career. These documents should come dire ctly from the person who is responsible for your resume writing service. This person is going to be responsible for ensuring that your document is up to standard and meets all of the standards of the company that you are going to be working for. If the person who is writing your resume does not proofread your resume and your documents before they are sent off to an employer, then you could find yourself stuck with an awful document.You will also need to look into the types of information that are going to be included in your resume. There are different types of documents that can be included in a resume such as the educational history and the training history. You will also be given the option to add your hobbies and interests to your resume as well.When it comes to the resume itself, there are certain things that you will need to remember. One of the most important things to keep in mind is that the more information that you can include in your resume, the better. You will be able to know exactly what it is that is required of you in your current job or industry.Another thing that you will want to keep in mind when it comes to your resume is the type of person that you are. While some people would be happy to get a basic resume that contains all of the basic information about them, you will want to make sure that you are getting a resume that has more information on it than just basic information. Make sure that the resume is informative, easy to read, and is very professional looking.The job that you are currently employed is going to also be another thing that you will want to take into consideration when it comes to writing a resume. The more specialized skills that you have, the more information that is going to be required on your resume. If you have a particular set of skills that make you stand out from the rest of the competition, then make sure that you include those skills on your resume.The Asingnmient of resume writing can help you create a resume that is professionally written and appealing to the employers that you are seeking employment with. They will be able to make sure that you meet all of the requirements that the employer has set out for you. Make sure that you take the time to research all of the Asingnmient of resume writing companies out there and find the one that you are going to work with the most.

If Endorsements Work on LinkedIn Why Wouldnt They Work on Resumes

If Endorsements Work on LinkedIn Why Wouldnt They Work on Resumes Sometimes when I write a resume for a client, I include an excerpt from the performance review as a strategy to better market the client. Occasionally when I use this technique, I get some push back from clients. The response is often, Ive never seen that on a resume before; is that common?No, its not. Because most people who write their own resumes dont include testimonials. Because they have spent years reading other peoples poorly-written, cookie-cutter resumes and they assume that what they see over and over again is the correct way to do it. But one of the main goals of an effective resume is to stand out as a unique candidate with a compelling message of value. Trying to look like everyone else has never been a great marketing strategy. Here are some other reasons why it makes a lot of sense to include a testimonial on a resume.Many hiring managers and recruiters read endorsements on LinkedIn profiles. Why wouldnt they want to read one on your resume? Endorsements can influenc e how your LinkedIn profile is perceived. Recruiters can even organize candidate profiles based on the number of recommendations a person has. Generally speaking, on LinkedIn a handful of recommendations is better than none and if no recommendations are present, the hiring authority may wonder why. Many hiring managers value endorsementsso it shouldnt matter whether they find them on LinkedIn or on the actual resume.The opinions of others can elevate your candidacy. Its one thing to communicate your achievements on a resume. Its another thing to have a third party validate those achievements. Most people ask their friends about products and services before making a purchase. Hiring managers prefer candidates that have been vetted by others. Testimonials on resumes can help instill buyer confidence in job candidates.The testimonial can capture a personal nuance about a person without being cliche. Sometimes the testimonial is the perfect way to convey that you are a dedicated, hard-w orking person of integrity without using those overused phrases on the resume.Obviously, the selection of testimonials needs to be handled with care. Joe is a smart, hardworking guy wont cut it. But if the testimonial reads Joe worked diligently to appeal to all stakeholders to bring a stalled IT project in on time and $500K under budget. a hiring authority is bound to believe that Joe is the type of candidate that can build consensus and get things done. Find a cheerleader, get a compelling quote from him, and add it to your resume to build trust and rapport with the hiring authority. The testimonial may help get you in the yes pile faster than you think.

Job Search Strategies for Highly Ambitious Individuals - CareerAlley

Job Search Strategies for Highly Ambitious Individuals - CareerAlley We may receive compensation when you click on links to products from our partners. If youre determined to secure an excellent job, youll have to go further than just sending off a few CVs and hoping for the best. To stand out, youll need to have an extra couple of useful strategies up your sleeve. Here, we take a look at ways to secure the very best jobs out there. Work out who you know on the inside Its not what you know, its who you know. Go through all your contacts on networks such as Facebook and LinkedIn, and establish whether you know anyone within the business that youd like to work in. Dont let it put you off if you dont know the person too well, or they just happen to be a friend of a friend or casual acquaintance. Research in the field has shown that people are much less likely to put in a good word for close friends. Whether you know a trainee or the CEO, your contact could make all the difference. Always follow up Sending off an application then just waiting to hear back is one of the biggest mistakes that you can make. Never be afraid to pick up the phone and ask the person in charge of recruitment if they require any more information to help them make a decision. A proactive approach will ensure that you stand out from the crowd and dont get lost in the sea of other applicants. Optimise your LinkedIn profile More and more recruiters are using LinkedIn to headhunt highly skilled candidates. The benefit here is that you could be approached about jobs that havent even been advertised yet. To increase your chances of being found, make sure that you have a full profile, complete with all previous work experience, and think carefully about your use of keywords. Ensure that you have included all terms that people would typically use when looking for individuals with skills just like yours. When youre looking at the very best jobs in your field, its these strategies that will help you to beat the competition and create the right impression. When you apply these to every job that you apply for, youll start to see much better results from your job search. Are you currently applying for high-level roles? What tactics are you using to increase your chances of success? Wed love to hear about your experiences. This article was brought to you by Ruth Hinds on behalf of All The Top Bananas. ATTB allows you to search for and browse through UK jobs in one place, from London engineer jobs to Liverpool receptionist jobs. You can also upload your CV to increase your chances of being headhunted. This is a Guest post. If you would like to submit a guest post to CareerAlley, please follow these guest post guidelines. Good luck in your search. Joey Trebif