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Recruiting The Different Types of Job Seekers

There are many types of job seekers, and knowing which you¡¯re recruiting for can make your job attracting the right applicants and getting them through to the offer process much easier. Here¡¯s a profile of 3 major types.

The High Maintenance Job Seeker
High maintenance job seekers tend to increase when the stakes are higher. These might be for senior talent or leadership positions. In fact, it¡¯s perfectly appropriate for these job seekers to be higher maintenance ¨C there¡¯s more on the line for both the employee and the company.

The high maintenance job seeker is marked by the need for more attention, more information, more interview time, more decision making time, and more negotiation. The reason for the extra time is simple ¨C money is not as important. When a senior talent or leader is thinking of joining your organization, the employer brand, culture and peer group are exponentially more important. It takes time for a person to decide if the employer brand is real and if the employees that surround them will match the personal needs of the job seeker.

By tailoring your recruiting strategy to the high maintenance job seeker for the appropriate positions, you¡¯ll be more able to understand their unique wants and needs and have more success in converting them to employees.

The Habitual Job Seeker
Being a habitual job seeker is not necessarily a bad thing. Most of these people should probably be consultants, but not all of them may qualify. At the lower levels of employment and maybe at the senior levels, habitual job seekers may not be desirable. At the lowest level it may not actually matter, but you don¡¯t really want to train receptionists and administrative assistants on an ongoing basis. Similarly with senior leadership positions, they will need enough time to execute on their strategy and see it successful.

In the middle tier, there might be need for short and mid term employees for specific projects or to act as turnaround agents. These are the perfect spots for habitual job seekers. They enjoy new challenges and get bored easily if they don¡¯t constantly try new things. Occasionally you¡¯ll find a habitual job seeker that is worth hanging on to (in fact there are many out there who are wonderful ¨C they just have commitment problems). This is where your recruiting department¡¯s partnership with talent management is critical. Transferring these employees from project to project or allowing them a growth path unrestricted by manager¡¯s desires to ¡°hold on¡± to them can give you the benefits of these employees for a much longer time.

What¡¯s important about the habitual job seeker is that the work is important, but not the employer brand, culture, or other employees.

The Indifferent Job Seeker
The indifferent job seeker may be the most problematic. Even with alternatives where high degrees of employer brand exist, the indifferent job seeker is really looking for the highest wage. This employee is hard to engage and will easily choose to leave when a better wage opportunity exists. Identifying and avoiding these types of job seekers early in the process and certainly before you offer them a job will save you much headache in the future.

Recruiting in the Creative Age: Portfolios

Experience and education are the two pieces of information that most recruiters use to determine whether someone is a fit for a job. These two measures are easy to understand, widely accepted and easy to communicate. They are perfect measures of a likelihood that someone will be able to do a great job. Except for the fact that, in the Creative Age, they don’t work.

Regardless of which age it is, it is hard to describe all the factors that go into deciding whether someone is a good fit for a job: personal factors, relative maturity, diversity of background in experience, comfort with learning, flexibility and openness to change and reaction in difficult situations are all important. None of them can be described by looking at a diploma or a resume.

In the Creative Age, a person’s ability to create / produce under highly unique and individualized situations is the single most critical factor in deciding whether someone can produce in your situation. So how do you determine this if you can’t use experience and education? A portfolio.

Artists of all types have been using portfolios to show their ability since before the renaissance. It’s now time to expand that concept to all candidates. When I talk with someone about a project management job, or a software engineering job, or even an administrative job, I ask them for examples of their work. I am always very specific with them: don’t share something that is proprietary or confidential. If they say they don’t have any examples I ask them what kinds of work they have done in the past. No matter the type of work, they always have some example somewhere. Once you lead them through how to ¡°clean out¡± any confidential data (take out names, dates, descriptors, etc.) they can usually come up with a great portfolio.

Once you have the portfolio in hand, you need to review each piece while asking behavioral questions about each piece:

1 – Describe the situation in which you did this work. What was the specific outcome that was demanded? By who? What specification or instructions did they give you?
2 – Who did you work with on this project? Describe at least one conflict that happened during this project and what it was about. How did you resolve it? Where is that exhibited in this work you have given me?

And so on. Use the portfolio as a way to guide the discussion. Finally, ask for references that can verify that the candidate did the work.

The information you get out of a portfolio and subsequent question session will be much more valuable than simple statements about education and experience.

The Recruiter Obstacle Course: What Type of Candidate are You Recruiting?

couple of weeks ago in The Job Search Obstacle Course, we discussed how difficult it can be for job candidates to find the right type of recruiter. There are several different categories of recruiters out there, and if you¡¯re working with the wrong type, your search is going to encounter some problems.

The situation for recruiters isn¡¯t all that different. There are various types of candidates out there, and different tactics need to be employed to successfully recruit each one. Systematic HR recently provided an overview of their ¡°3 major types¡± of job candidates and how to recruit each one:

¡±The high maintenance job seeker is marked by the need for more attention, more information, more interview time, more decision making time, and more negotiation. The reason for the extra time is simple ¨C money is not as important¡­

¡±In the middle tier, there might be need for short and mid term employees for specific projects or to act as turnaround agents. These are the perfect spots for habitual job seekers. They enjoy new challenges and get bored easily if they don¡¯t constantly try new things. Occasionally you¡¯ll find a habitual job seeker that is worth hanging on to (in fact there are many out there who are wonderful ¨C they just have commitment problems)¡­

¡±The indifferent job seeker may be the most problematic¡­Identifying and avoiding these types of job seekers early in the process and certainly before you offer them a job will save you much headache in the future.¡±

Once you know the type of candidate you¡¯re working with, you¡¯ll have a much better idea of how to successfully recruit them and match them to the right job. But how do you know exactly which category they fall into? Slowly but surely, recruiters and hiring managers are realizing that the simple resume doesn¡¯t quite do it any more:

¡±Artists of all types have been using portfolios to show their ability since before the renaissance. It¡¯s now time to expand that concept to all candidates. When I talk with someone about a project management job, or a software engineering job, or even an administrative job, I ask them for examples of their work.¡±
(From Simply Hired)

Recruiters should have the same advantages as hiring authorities. They should have access to candidates¡¯ ¡°portfolios¡± before committing their time and energy to the recruiting process. With a fuller representation of a candidate¡¯s history, education, skills, etc. it will be much easier to identify which type of candidate they are, and it will make recruiting them or choosing not to recruit them a much faster and more effective process.

What does it take to win

In this ¡°flat¡± world, you gain competitive advantage by capturing the best talent, wherever they are. In Indiana or India. Gone are the days when recruiting was an administrative activity. Now it needs to be repositioned as a strategic weapon. You need to remove the gloves. Attack. And counter-attack.

Leading global recruiting strategist Dr. John Sullivan will show you how. His aggressive presentation includes topics like:

Why “but we are different” is no longer a valid excuse
How to use talent poaching to disarm competitors
How to identify, improve and build these capabilities
How to prioritize internal recruitment needs and external recruitment opportunities
How to block your employees from being poached
Get ready for an experience that will challenge your ideas about recruiting and turn you into a winner in the global war for talent.

China to introduce 30,000 overseas specialists

Dec.18 – China next year is to introduce 30,000 overseas specialists that the country is most in need of but also is in great shortage, according to the Ministry of Personnel.

“The government is to fund the introduction of 10,000 economic and technical specialists and 20,000 educational, health and scientific specialists in 2007,” said Minister of Personnel Zhang Bolin.

Zhang said China should further explore international intelligence resources which has provided strong support to the country’s overall development.

China has recruited a total of 400,000 specialists from overseas, Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions and Taiwan, and has dispatched nearly 40,000 qualified personnel to study overseas.

The Chinese government will fund 10,000 Chinese talents to go and study overseas in 2007, Zhang said.

He calls for more preferential policies for returning students from overseas study so as to draw more Chinese students back to the motherland.

Since 1978, more than 400,000 Chinese students have studied abroad, with more than 100,000 returning to the country over the last two decades.

Official statistics show that government scholarships have allowed 26,658 Chinese to go and study overseas since 1996, and 97 percent of them returned to China after completing study.

Most students go to top notch universities and research institutes in the United States, Great Britain, Germany, Australia and Canada.

Software Engineer lead

Company introduction:
Our client company is the worldwide leader in networking for the Internet.

Responsibilities:
This position is opened to a Technical Leader I or Software Engineer IV.

Join an energized team focused on developing platform and tools of globalization / internationalization / localization that may include the following list of responsibilities:

1.Lead a small group of engineers working on a brand new product. Provide highly specialized technical leadership to the group. Mentor junior team member.
2.Write complete functional and design specifications independently.
3.Design and develop new software product features, implement large portion of software independently.
4.Take a product through some or all stages of product development.
5.Responsible for design reviews and code walkthroughs.
6.Helps engineers find ways to attack new or difficult problems.
7.Contribute innovative ideas for multiple module architecture.
8.Contribute to the development of project goals, schedules, and resource planning.

Requirements:
1.Solid background in SW design, documentation and implementation, and hands-on experience with programming, networking and distributed system.
2.Extensive knowledge of Java, J2EE, JSP on both Windows and Linux. Extensive knowledge of network application development and very good GUI design skills. Strong Java/C/C++ programming and XML development skills. Solid background in object-oriented design and development.
3.Strong experience in developing multithreading and client/server applications.
4.Experience working on database, SQL.
5.Strong experience in defining and developing component level API and API definition guidelines for other to use.
6.Experience in the entire lifecycle of software product development.
7.Ability to plan, design, develop and successfully deliver projects on time with quality.
8.Good oral and written communication skills
9.The idea candidate will have an understanding of globalization / internationalization / localization, translation memory and relevant software systems.
10.Project management skills with emphasis on execution and product delivery.

* Please send us your complete resume (both in Chinese and in English) to: ‘topjob_it089sh@dacare.com’

Software and Hardware Project Coordination Manager (IP Phones)

Company introduction:
Our client company is the worldwide leader in networking for the Internet.

Responsibilities:
Join the enterprise voice development team as a strong, contributing member of the Unified Voice Over IP(VoIP) Phone team focused on developing the industry’s best IP Phones. Candidates must have a proven track record in all aspects of the software and hardware development lifecycle, including the following list of responsibilities:
1.Oversee all IPCBU-CRDC Project processes for hardware, software and dev test teams.
2.Work with cross functional project teams to develop, track, edit, and report on the status of all project deliverables and schedules throughout the product development cycle and provide overall program management support for IPCBU teams in China on a daily basis.
3.Drive IPCBU-CRDC teams to deliver projects on schedule and on budget
4.Create and edit program plans, and program status presentations
5.Manage IPCBU-CRDC project priorities
6.Run weekly product team meetings for IPCBU-CRDC projects
7.Work closely with CRDC manufacturing teams and external hardware vendors to ensure milestones are tracked and schedule or budget impacting issues are escalated to IPCBU management
8.Assist IPCBU-CRDC manager with resource allocation and daily team deliverables
9.Update IPCBU status pages with current issues and risks on a regular basis and when appropriate participate in IPCBU Ops reviews and R and D meetings
10.Coordinating information transfer across time-zones and development teams
11.Ensure that teams adhear to company’s Engineering process standards
12.Work with US based Program Managers and Engineering leads on IPCBU projects that require IPCBU-CRDC deliverables
13.Willing to travel occasionally and can attend off-hour meetings with company’s teams around the world

Requirements:
1.Oral and written fluency in Mandarin and English
2.Minimum of two years experience project/program management
3.Minimum two years of experience in facilitating cross team development projects
4.Demonstrated experience with the principle practices of the product development cycle
5.Demonstrated ability to articulate complex project dependencies in verbal and written communications.
6.Strong project/program management skills. This includes a working knowledge of MS Project.
7.Track record of delivering on-time, high-quality product/project deliverables and optimizing outcomes per objectives & priorities.
8.Experience working with cross-functional teams, identifying potential problems, ability to work issues at appropriate levels, and drive issues to timely resolution.
9.Experience in working with contract manufacturing to deliver high quality hardware products.
10.Experience in delivering Joint Development Manufacturing projects with external vendors
11. An understanding of hardware manufacturing process used with Foxconn desired
12.A solid understanding of software and hardware development cycles desired
13.Strong skills in working with different groups and managers in a matrix project structure.
14.Demonstrated strength in listening, learning & adapting based on team and partner feedback.
15.Excellent communication skills, including the ability to communicate appropriately with upper management and stakeholders. Know when to discuss details, when to make decisions and, most importantly, when to escalate issues.
16.Good negotiation skills. Demonstrated diplomacy when working with diverse groups with different priorities.
17.Demonstrated ability to influence for results across organizations, functions and organization levels.
18.Demonstrated effective judgment when making tradeoffs. Able to communicate pros and cons of resolution and explain conclusions. Adept problem solving skills.
19.Working Experiences with US based multi-national companies is a strong plus.

* Please send us your complete resume (both in Chinese and in English) to: ‘topjob_it088sh@dacare.com’

Hardware Engineer Lead

Company introduction:
Our client company is the worldwide leader in networking for the Internet.

Responsibilities:
1.Self-motivated, team oriented engineer to be part of a geographically disparate engineering organization developing the next generation IP telephony platforms.
Responsibilities include participating in all areas of platform development including design and architecture of modules, timing analysis, system and module testing.
2.Developing tests for prototype bring up and verification,working with cross-functional teams (hardware, software, diagnostics, signal integrity and more) to ensure technically robust product development. Explore and evaluate new tools and methodologies.

Requirements:
1.Ability to communicate clearly with team members and teamwork skills.
2.Excellent understanding of digital hardware design, power design, audio, high speed interfaces, timing analysis and signal integrity issues.
3.Understanding of analog electronic concepts and EMC.
4.Working knowledge of Concept schematics capture, Signal Integrity simulation, verilog HDL, familiarity with Allegro.
5.Experience with high volume run products.
6.BSEE/CS or equivalent with 10+ years relevant experience in internetworking technologies and applications. Experience in Voice Communications, Ethernet Switching and IP is a plus.

* Please send us your complete resume (both in Chinese and in English) to: ‘topjob_it087sh@dacare.com’

Advice from employers

Just because the job market is a good one doesn’t mean you can or should get cocky about getting the job you want. If you want some control over your opportunities, consider this next section your homework¡ªit’s advice employers¡ªthe people who are recruiting and hiring¡ªoffer. Most of the following sounds like common sense, but you might be surprised by the number of job candidates who blow off these details (and employers can tell which students/new graduates have taken their advice seriously).

Research
Take 60 minutes, go online, and learn everything you can about any company you might want to work for. Your goal is to be able to articulate how you will be a good fit within the company. If you have trouble putting your research into words, ask a career services counselor for help.

Experience
Do you know what you want to do? An internship or co-op experience (or several of these positions) on your resume will tell an interested employer that you’ve tested your career up close and you’ve learned some of the basics of the workplace. Almost three-quarters of employers say they prefer to hire students who have relevant work experience, and a little less than a fifth of employers said they are willing to consider any type of real-workplace experience.

If you’re an underclassman, line up your experience as early in your college career as possible (go to your career center for leads on internships and co-op positions). Some employers recommend getting that first internship during your freshman year so that you get to know a company well and have your “foot in the door” at graduation!

Prepare
Employers rate the influence of attributes when choosing between two equally qualified candidates Attributes Rating
Has held leadership position 4.0
Major 4.0
High GPA (3.0 or above) 3.7
Has been involved in extracurricular activities (clubs, sports, student government, etc.) 3.7
Has done volunteer work 3.2
School attended 3.0
(5-point scale, where 1=no influence at all, 2=not much influence, 3=somewhat of an influence, 4=very much influence, and 5=extreme influence)
You’d think getting organized and ready to apply for jobs would come naturally, but it doesn’t. Just because you learned to write a nice thank-you note in sixth grade or put together a rudimentary resume in “career class” in high school doesn’t mean you have the skills to crank out the appropriate cover letters or build resumes that attract employers. Among the skills you need to learn in college include:

how to write a cover letter that markets you to employers.
how to compose a well-written, error-free resume that articulates your skills and course work as a match for the company and position.
how to interview and explain the value you can bring to a potential employer.
Take advantage of the resources on your campus provided by the career center. Trained, professional staff are available to guide you through the process and teach you how to take the various steps in the process with success. Plus, these career counselors know the employers¡ªthey work with them on a regular basis¡ªand can put you in touch with the organizations where you’d like to work.

Don’t be fooled. A career counselor won’t find you a job or “place” you in a position. They’re on campus to teach you something more important: the tools and contacts to successfully find a job today¡ªand in the future when you’re looking for your second, third, or 10th position!

Research, experience, and preparation: If you have these, you won’t need “good luck” to be successful in your job search.

Striking tire workers lose cool and present case to customers

STRIKING union members battling Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co took their picket lines to about 150 tire retailers in the United States and Canada on Saturday.

They decided to take their case over health care and retirement benefits directly to consumers.

In Lincoln, Nebraska, 50 United Steelworkers’ members protested at two Goodyear retailers, decrying the company’s use of replacement workers during the two-month strike.

“We know what it takes to build tires, and unskilled workers just can’t do it,” said Gary Schaefer, 54, vice president of the United Steelworkers’ Local 286 in Lincoln. “We do not want the general public riding their lives on temporary workers.”

Goodyear spokesman Ed Markey said the protests do not affect plans to return to the bargaining table in Pittsburgh today for the first time since talks broke down on November 17.

“Our goal in the negotiations remains the same, and that is to reach a fair agreement that enables us to be competitive and win with our customers,” he said.

The company’s temporary workers are qualified and received the same training as all new employees, Markey said. “Goodyear will never compromise quality.”

About 15,000 workers are on strike at 12 US and four Canadian plants.

Goodyear workers went on strike on October 5 after talks broke down on a new contract.

Since the strike began, Goodyear has been making tires at some of its North American plants with non-union and temporary workers, as well as some managers, and relying on production at its international plants to help supply home customers.

In suburban Pittsburgh, more than 80 people handed out fliers and urged holiday shoppers driving past a Goodyear service center to honk in support of employees.

Leo Gerard, USW international president, said the protests were intended to inform consumers about treatment by Goodyear, including plans to slash health care and retirement benefits.