Category Archives: Uncategorized

Three new marketing adventures posted this morning.  Check them out here.

When you are in grade 10 in Ontario, you have to take a mandatory class called Careers.  It takes students through some personality assessments, different kinds of education venues and culminates with an assignment where they have to explore what it would take to get to their dream job.

The project has to include:

• A job description
• Career path from that position
• Income possibility
• Working conditions
• Education required to qualify for the position
• Where that education is offered
• How much it would cost to complete

I know all this because it was recently the focus of a Saturday afternoon at our house.  The profession selected by our 15 year old Prince Charming was “Pyrotechnics Expert”.

After considerable eye rolling on my part, we got down to business.  It turns out that we found lots of great information about becoming a professional firecracker-blower-upper.  Once you do college and an apprenticeship, you can get a job as a Battlefield Effects Simulation Technician or even work at British Aerospace as an Unexploded Ordinance Engineer.

We went through online course calendars and made a spreadsheet to calculate the costs: tuition, books, transportation, food, clothes.  He was a bit bug-eyed when he saw how much it was going to cost.  Even living at home, he decided he would have to make some concessions.  He will have to cut back on the hair tattoos and only wear t-shirts.  (If it were only that simple….)

I can’t say that I would be thrilled if Prince Charming worked with dangerous stuff everyday but as we discovered, it would be well paying, stable and probably pretty satisfying work.

This is a terrific exercise whether you are 15 or 51.  The next time you find yourself day dreaming about a different job, make an appointment with yourself to sit down for two hours of web research (that’s only two episodes of CSI) and map out the steps to get to that job and what it will look like when you get there.  You may end up crossing that option off your list or you may decide that you will actually pursue your dream job in 2010, but regardless, it will be an illuminating experience.

The other day, we were walking on Queen Street in downtown Toronto and as we passed one of the many bong shops, I noticed a sign in the window.

It said “Help Wanted. Resumes now being accepted.”

I could not help myself. I burst out laughing right in the middle of the sidewalk.

Exactly what qualities would a bong store manager be looking for in the ideal candidate?

Able to take deep breaths with ease?
Good at providing late nigh snacks?
Highly attuned to fuzzy thinking?
Comfortable serving customers without regard to personal morality.

Would previous experience be necessary? If so, how much? Would you need to attach a police rap sheet along with your transcript?
And who would you use for references? Your dealer? Your parole officer?
Would it add credibility if you belong to the Bong of the Month Club?

I wanted to go in to see if they needed help with their search. After all, it’s what I do for a living. (searching, not smoking….) but my husband convinced me that I was seriously lacking in street cred and that getting lunch was a better idea.

If anyone wants to apply, they are located here.

I spend a lot of time on linkedin.  My job is all about finding people to introduce them to opportunities that they might not know about and linkedin is a great tool for that.

I always tell people not just to keep their profile up to date but to reach out.  When you think of someone from your past, take a few minutes to see if you can find their profile. When you find it, suck in your breath and send a message.  I know.  It’s hard.  What if they don’t respond?  What if you find out that they married your best friend from college?  Or they got the promotion you were supposed to get?

Put the doubts aside and go for it.

Linkedin is not only for broadening your career horizons but also provides a platform for life enriching experiences.  And connecting with your past does that.  It gives you the chance to reminisce, talk about where you are now and all that’s happened in between.

I had first hand experience with this yesterday and boy, does it make you feel good.  I sent a linkedin message to someone that I had not spoken to in 21 years.  She did not respond for a while so I kind of wrote it off.  But then last week, there it was: a message saying how great it was to hear from me.

That, in and of itself was grin inspiring.  We went on to have a phone conversation and then had lunch yesterday.

The joy of having someone you have not seen for a long, long time waving wildly at you from across the street will carry me through a lot of crappy days.

So, take a moment out of your busy day to reach out. Your inbox will still be there when you are done.

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A few postings ago, I talked about a laid off event planner who had the opportunity to do a short term contract gig as a proposal coordinator at an engineering firm.  Even though she thought she would be right out of her element, she said yes and gave it her best shot.

The assignment went very well and she got to add a whole bunch of new keywords to her resume.  It also gave her the chance to learn about a new industry and to realize just how many other avenues are out there to explore.

I am happy to report that yesterday she signed an offer of permanent employment with the engineering company.

Last night, I was at a wine and cheese party for my volunteer group. (CFUW Oakville)  It was the annual night where the leaders of the group welcome the new members.  What struck me was that, as we went around the room, the leaders each said they had never intended to be in a leadership role.  In fact, their immediate instinct when approached was to decline.

This was quickly followed by how much they enjoyed the experience and how many new people they got to meet.  So even though they were hesitant, it was ultimately a totally rewarding experience.

Sensing a common theme yet? Be open to new opportunities whether for profit, experience or new friends. Don’t dismiss anything out of hand.  Take a few minutes to daydream.  Try it on for size.  Then decide if you want to take it on or not.

I was at a party talking about job hunting when person I was talking to rebutted with “It’s not what you know.  It’s who you know”.

Not true.

If you want a job in media, arts or culture, that approach still works. Hiring is still done with a smoke and a handshake at the back of the building.

If you want a job in construction, it still works too.  You can show up on a job site with a tray of medium double doubles and get hired on to a project.

But if you want to work in a company or an industry that is large enough to have “pay bands”, then who you know is becoming less and less important.  Pay bands are the key.  If a company has laid out specific layers of responsibility and what they are worth, then they have also more than likely formalized the hiring process. This process has squeezed most of the personal connections and individuality right out.  It’s all about databases and tracking systems.

This means that just because you connect with a hiring manager at some event and really hit it off, does not necessarily open the doors to the company.  That manager can certainly feed your information into the hiring machine and maybe add his or her recommendation into the mix.   Will this put you on the short list?  Maybe.

This is not to say that networking is a waste of time.  It isn’t.  Networking is where you find out who is hiring and who has new projects.  Consider it research.  It is also where you practice talking about yourself; something that is difficult for most people.  Successfully connecting with people gives you more confidence which, in turn, allows you to shine in an interview.

Bottom line:  it’s what you know, who you know and how you talk about it.

For years, we have been advising people to tweak their resume for each job they throw it at.  While I think that’s still a valid strategy, I’d like to add one more wrinkle to the process.

Tweak it not just for the job but for the eyes that will be reading it.  Sound odd?  Not really.

Here are three scenarios:  1) you just had a great networking conversation with someone and they ask you to send your resume  2)  you see a great posting and you are asked to respond by email 3) you are on a corporate website and you decide to put your information into their system.

In the first case, the person receiving your resume knows the context in which you are applying.   They already have an impression of you and your skills and your resume is confirming and adding detail what they know.

When you respond by email to a posting, chances are your information is being received by a person who is several degrees removed from the actual job.  They have been given a list of titles, education and perhaps technical skills to look for and only resumes with the right combination get forwarded to the hiring team.  Make sure you match as much as you can between your resume and the job posting because that is what they are looking for.

If your information is going right into a corporate resume pool, then it is wise to load it up with as many keywords as possible because that is how it will float to the job when a search is done.

Also be very clear and specific especially when describing education, certifications and technical skills.  You would hate to be overlooked because your resume describes you as a P. Eng and not a member of the Professional Engineers Ontario.  If a junior recruiter is doing a search, those types of nuances may be lost on them.

So before you hit the send or apply now button, think about where your resume is going to end up.  Think about who is going to look at it and how they will decide if you are the one.

Imagine if someone sent you to a shoe store to buy a pair of shoes for them.  Imagine walking in and asking for brown shoes in a size nine. That sounds pretty specific but will you really be able to get what they want?

• Slip on or lace up?
• Pointy toe or square toe?
• Dress or casual?
• Wide or regular?

Even if you had all of these qualities on a list, it would still be pretty tricky to find shoes that would be successful.

Finding employees is just as tricky.  You need to start with a clear and detailed list of characteristics and qualities.

Say you are looking for a new person to sell your service.  Do you a Chuck Taylor High Top kind of person or a Bass loafer kind of person?  Or maybe you need a stiletto kind of person?

All of these shoes are available in size nine and brown.  Invest the time to decide what’s really important to the future of your organization and what kind of shoes have already successfully navigated the halls of your company.

I had coffee last week with a candidate who was really frustrated because he had applied for lots of positions and not been contacted.

I asked him to tell me about one of them.  “Well, it was a mechanical engineering position in a manufacturing company.”

“What were they looking for?” I asked.

“An engineering degree and 5 years of design experience in a plastics manufacturing environment.  It was perfect for me.  It’s exactly the kind of company I want to work for.  I can’t understand why they have not called me yet for an interview.”

As we continued the conversation, I learned that while he did have experience in plastics, it was in equipment design not product design and that he did not have an engineering degree.

So at the risk of sounding harsh, I told him why he had not been called.  There were three criteria listed in the posting and he met only one.  In a resume sorting system, whether it’s human or digital, he won’t make the cut.

“But that’s not fair!” he wailed.  “I would be perfect for the role!”

That may be true but if you are replying to a posting where there are clear specifications, you better have most of them if you want to be considered.  Companies have reasons for their criteria and it really does not matter whether you think you are perfect or whether the criteria is justified.

If you are an “out of the box” candidate, then you need to apply in an “out of the box” method.  If your resume does not make the kind of impression you want to make, then you need to make your first impression in a different way.

Find someone who can introduce you to a hiring influencer.  Speak at a conference or workshop.    Post a comment on a Linkedin discussion or write an article. These avenues allow your expertise, handshake, eye contact, stature and general aura to make the first impression.

Bottom line: At the application stage, it does not matter if you think you are perfect for the role.  What matters is that there is a clear fit between your experience/credentials and their criteria.

We have nice offices with lots of tasteful plastic plants strategically located throughout.  Each year, one of our summer students is responsible for taking them all outside and hosing them off.  One year, a particularly enterprising fellow asked, after finishing the job, if he could put “Plant Manager” on his resume.  It got chuckles all around until I figured out that he wasn’t really joking.

He was legitimately, if only for a short time, managing the plants but I’m not sure that I could in good conscience send him to any of my clients.

What’s clear is that we have to focus on what needs to be done not the title.  A plant manager could be called an operations manager, an operations supervisor or a facilities manager.  The focus should be on the type of equipment and processes involved and the problem/challenge that has created the need to find this person in the first place.

On the candidate side, it is important to layout in clear, non-jargon phrases what you have done and in what contexts.  Instead of Plant Manager, it would be more accurate to say “in charge of cleaning and inventorying a large, cumbersome group of dirty, plastic plants”.  This would lead an employer to the conclusion that the candidate is able to do hands on, physical work, can handle detail oriented tasks and doesn’t mind getting dirty.

It all comes down to the 4 Ws.

• What
• Where
• When
• Why

Candidates need to identify the w’s of their experience and employers need to layout the w’s of the job.  Good recruiters line it all up in the middle so the match is easy to see for both sides.