Welcome To The MN Headhunter Blog

This is a “what’s going on” here at MN Headhunter. Blog posts of interest, event announcements and links to Be Your Own Headhunter seminars and presentations.

You can also scroll down past this to see posts in chronological order.

Blog Posts (recent/popular)

• Paul DeBettignies Quoted In The Minneapolis StarTribune Career Article “Balanced Networking”
• Is Your Major Metropolitan Area A Smart City? Mine Is. Minneapolis/St. Paul #4
• Are You Ready for the Next Hiring Frenzy?
• Paul DeBettignies Included On Minnesota Social Media Innovator Lists
• Outside Looking In - Dealing with Job Loss

Events 

• October 20th University of Minnesota – Carlson School of Management (panelist)
• October 21st Human Resources Professionals of Minnesota (presenter)

Be Your Own Headhunter

Below is the schedule for the month of October. To see information about the sessions and to register click October 2009 LinkedIn, Job Search And Social Media Seminars

• Job Search Toolkit - Be Your Own Headhunter
• Oct 15 1:00 PM
• Oct 20 1:00 PM
• Oct 26 7:00 PM
• Oct 27 1:00 PM
• Oct 27 7:00 PM
• LinkedIn A to Z - Use LinkedIn Like A Headhunter
• Oct 22 1:00 PM
• Oct 28 1:00 PM
• Oct 28 7:00 PM
• Using Social Media For Networking, Lead Generation And Job Search
• Oct 29 1:00 PM
• Oct 29 7:00 PM

Have a question, comment or looking for some information? Leave a comment or send an email to paul@mnheadhunter.com

Paul DeBettignies
MN Headhunter

Join the Be Your Own Headhunter LinkedIn group

      

Why You Don't Stand Out From The Crowd - Here's A Tip, It's Your Resume

The following post is courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap:

From: Jessica Holbrook

Ultimately your goal is to create a resume that will garner the right attention and eventually the right job. Problem is – your resume is getting you absolutely no hits, zero feedback, and not so much as one call from a prospective employer. Sound familiar? Keep reading to figure out why.

– Your career summary is boring. It sounds like every other job seeker out there and is a large blanket paragraph that could describe half of the known workforce. Solution: Customize your career summary so that no one else could possibly use it for themselves.

Twitter Lists As A Networking Tool

One of the most frequent questions I get from (new) users of Twitter is who I should I follow. A great question and I would usually forward them to a directory like Twellow (for categories and/or location) or Twitterholic (for location and number of followers). There are lots of Twitter apps for this but they are for me the easiest to use and describe and they can get immediate results.

But Twitter rolled out Twitter Lists and it has become my new best friend of the moment. Rather than go through the many, many followers of someone I like, respect, follow, or find interesting to see who they follow I can take a bit of a shortcut and see who of their followers they are listing. Sure they have missed some cool folks to add to a list but I will rely on them to point out their favorites.

Here are some examples of Twitter Lists (click photo to enlarge):

Is Lack of Focus Dragging Your Resume Down?

The following post is courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap:

From: Jessica Holbrook

How many of you can honestly say you know exactly what you want to be when you grow up? Maybe you already have it figured out, and maybe you are already living and working it. If you are, does your resume know that?

I work with clients every day and speak to hundreds of job seekers every week that have no idea what they want to do. I ask, “Well, what do you want to do?” Then I receive the blanket, “I just need to feed my family.” Or, “I just need a job—I don’t care what it is.” I understand the current market and economy. But folks, having no direction or focus for your career and job search are going to get you nowhere fast. When I look at your resume, I need to know in the first three seconds: who you are, what you do, and why you’re good at it.

Do you know who you are... on paper?

The following post is courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap:

From: Jessica Holbrook

Do you know who you are ... on paper?

Thanks to an amazing membership with Career Directors International, I had the distinct pleasure of hosting a booth at the most recent National Careers Job Fair.  Three hours of job seekers pouring in through the doors and my assistant and myself providing free resume analyses.  I spoke to 100+ job seekers and found one common thread among them all—they had no idea who they were … on paper.

I must have repeated the phrase, “What do you want to do?” a hundred times.  I know I asked all but two job seekers that question.  I remember the two I didn’t ask because their resumes stood out from the rest.  They had professionally branded themselves, and it was obvious to me exactly who they were and what they wanted.

Increase Relevant Traffic To Your Career Site w/ Content Re-purposing

The following post is courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap:

From: Nicole Bodem Chief SEO Geek for Arbita

One of the biggest challenges with blogs is coming up with new and fresh content on a regular basis and you are not alone, note the date on my last blog post. It’s especially challenging in this economy where resources are completely tapped.

One solution is to use a resource called The Recruiting blogswap. The Recruiting Blogswap is a FREE service of job board, CollegeRecruiter.com, but is used by an international collection of job boards, recruiting blogs, and other career sites.

How it Works:

Job Search Marketing Toolkit – Interviews

The following post is courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap:

From: CareerAlley

Interviews. Sounds fairly easy, all you have to do is talk about what you’ve done and how that relates to the job opportunity. In fact, the interview is the hardest part of the job search process and the single largest reason why people don’t get the job. Yes, you must have a great resume with relevant experience, but can you interview? But interviewing is not just talking about yourself, it’s asking the right questions, giving the right answers and expressing yourself in the right way.

Career Amnesia

The following post is courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap:

From: Peter Weddle

You may have seen the news story.  A teen was recently found in New York City with no memory of her name or personal history.  Her amnesia was profound.  Happily, however, the story ends well, as a CNN viewer recognized the girl’s photo and identified her as a missing person from Oregon.  She’s now on her way to being reunited with her family.

But think about what it would be like to be in her situation.  Not knowing who you are.  Unable to remember anything that’s important about you or to you.  It would be a horrible even desperate condition.  Without our self-identify, we are … well, that’s the point—without our self-identity, we aren’t.

Job Seekers: Body-Slam Your Competition

The following post is courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap:

From: Lorraine Russo

As job seekers look for ways to stand out from the crowd—and as recruiters continue to whine and complain about the increasing volume of resumes of unqualified candidates filling their inboxes—job seekers today need to be more innovative with body-slamming their competition.

I use this term figuratively, of course.

Yes, job searching these days is a contact sport. With unemployment now at a 26-year high, your search requires solid action plans, follow-through, and the ability to assertively market and sell yourself — or an idea — to a potential employer. And while at all times you must remain professional and dignified, there ARE ways to get a hiring manager’s attention without having to walk the streets with a sandwich board saying “HIRE ME” hanging from your shoulders.

Who's Hiring NOW from the Fortune 500 - Vol III

The following post is courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap:

From: CareerAlley

“In the end, all business operations can be reduced to three words: people, product and profits. Unless you've got a good team, you can't do much with the other two.” - Lee Iacocca People.

If you look at every successful company that has lasted over the long term (not just a flash in the pan) you will see that one common theme is people. As in a strong culture, good benefits, collaborative work environment, competitive pay, etc. Just read some of the books by Jim Collins and you will see what I mean.

Pitfalls And Places You Should Avoid On Your Job Search

The following post is courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap:

From: Matthew Warzel, MJW Careers

When job seekers are out on their own and sometimes do not think long enough before they jump into an opportunity, that might come few and far between, it can sometimes backfire and in turn hurt them emotionally and financially.  These are some tips to read about some of the jobs out there that aren't worth pursuing:

Paul DeBettignies A Panelist At University Of Minnesota Carlson School Of Management Event

While I truly have enjoyed all of the opportunities to be a presenter/panelist over the years I am super psyched for an event Tuesday October 20, 2009 at the University of Minnesota, Carlson School of Management.

Being on the U of M campus is like being home for me and to be talking Recruiter, HR and Social Media topics is really cool. The bonus is the description of the event:

“Social Networking in Business: How to Navigate the Playing Field without Fumbling the Ball"

6:00 to 7:30 p.m.
Hanson Hall Room 1-109

Football is back on the University of Minnesota campus this fall and excitement is in the air!  This professional development event on the implications of social networking in professional work environments will kick off with comments from subject matter experts in the fields of recruiting and employment law.  We will also huddle as large and small groups to discuss using Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter, etc. in the business world from the perspectives of students, alumni and other human resource professionals.

The subject matter experts for this event include:

• Sarah Beaty, University Relations Leader for U.S. Recruiting at General Mills
• Teresa Thompson, Attorney with expertise in legal issues surrounding technology in the workplace, from Fredrikson & Byron, P.A
• Adam Sprecher, Business Development Manager, Oberon.
• Paul DeBettignies, Author of the Minnesota Headhunter Blog

So I get to be a part of a Recruiter/HR chat about Social Media on the University of Minnesota campus with a football theme. Heaven for this guy.

Go Gophers!!!

And a Minnesota Rouser too:

Who Uses Blogs, Facebook, Twitter, MySpace As A Recruiting Or Sourcing Tool?

Who do you know who is using the following tools for Sourcing and/or Recruiting:

• Blog
• Facebook
• MySpace
• Twitter

Let me also add in:

• YouTube (creating videos)
• Podcasts
• RSS Feeds (email subscription too)
• Newsletter

Finding Great Job Opportunities in Recession – Take Two

The following post is courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap:

From: HRM Business Practices and Notes

“It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed. ~Theodore Roosevelt”

How many of us who can identify with what Roosevelt said? It pays to remember that he was the sitting President during the great depression, so that you can put that on the right perspective.

Unfavorable circumstances can easily derail us from our goals; we never try for fear of failure. It is easier for us somehow to blame the global financial pandemonium or other life’s tragedy, or make an excuse out of them to justify our inactivity.

Paul DeBettignies Quoted In The Minneapolis StarTribune Career Article “Balanced Networking”

Below is an article from the October 11, 2009 career section of the Minneapolis StarTribune

Balanced Networking

October 11, 2009

By Brett Pyrtle, Minneapolis StarTribune

Facebook, LinkedIn and other electronic tools are great ways to build a network. But smart job seekers don't limit their connections to cyberspace.

Fueled by an economic downturn, social and career networking sites are full of people using their computers to stay connected with one another. But in a job search, an online approach to networking will only go so far.

October 2009 LinkedIn, Job Search And Social Media Seminars

For those not familiar with me and are wondering if a session(s) would be a good use of your time I am an IT Recruiter with 11 years if experience and have been speaking to groups of all ages and skill sets in groups of 20-200 and now online for 7 years.

Here is some background on presentations and interviews I have been a part of and recognition as a Minnesota Social Media Innovator:

• Presentations
• Interviews
• Minnesota Social Media Innovator

While Be Your Own Headhunter is under going a facelift this is how to stay in touch with upcoming seminars:

• MN Headhunter RSS Feed
• MN Headhunter RSS Via EMail
• MN Headhunter Newsletter

All presentations are 60-90 minutes with a Q&A that follows.

PLEASE NOTE: If you are unable to attend the sessions during these times (or are seeing this post after sessions have been held) either click MN Headhunter Blog or Be Your Own Headhunter where you will find a calendar of upcoming events or register anyway so you can get the slides via email.

Are You Ready for the Next Hiring Frenzy?

The following post is courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap:

From: John Butler, Vice President SearchLogix Group

Whether you believe the recession is over or not, now is the time for companies to get ready to find talent for the increase in business that is coming.  For the past 12 to 18 months, companies have had the luxury to be picky about when and who they will hire.  Most hiring managers have increased the job requirements and the interview process to ensure they got the best talent as they perceived it.

Companies now have to start preparing themselves for the hiring process to speed up.  We will not see the ridiculous hiring frenzy from the dot.com era, but hiring managers can no longer take months to hire a person and expect them to wait patiently to get hired. Highly qualified candidates are getting more recruiting calls and are beginning to have multiple job offers.  They are quickly entering the job market and just as quickly they are accepting good offers and are no longer available. 

The Most Admired Companies - Who's Hiring Now Vol IX

The following post is courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap:

From: CareerAlley

 

"If you come to a fork in the road, take it." - Yogi Berra

Maybe the most admired companies don't take the fork in the road as Yogi suggests, but they certainly do know how to navigate their business sector better than most. These are companies that you will want to consider in your job search.

Continuing to review Fortune's Most Admired Companies, today's list takes us from aerospace to retail sales. As you review each of these companies, keep in mind what has made them stand out in the crowd - financial soundness, social responsibility, people management, long-term investment, quality of products and services.

Which attributes appeal to you?

Is Your Major Metropolitan Area A Smart City? Mine Is. Minneapolis/St. Paul #4

I do not put a lot of emphasis on surveys because how one measures, asks questions and differing criteria can give varied results.

But I am competitive.

And I am a homer.

So when The Daily Beast announced the results of their survey and Minneapolis - St Paul is #4 I am going to blog about it.

They ranked cities with 1,000,000+ in population (including suburbs) from 1 to 55 and came up with the following order (click America's Smartest Cities—From First to Worst to get their criteria, slide show and brief commentary on each city):

Minnesota IT Jobs With Minnesota Non Profits

The following new Minnesota IT jobs have been added on the MN Headhunter Volunteer Page:

• Information Systems Coordinator - Full Time Job - Eureka Recycling

• Systems Integration Analyst - Full Time Job - Community Action

• Information Technology Coordinator - Full Time Job - Youth Encounter
  

Click weekly newsletter to receive the Wednesday message of nonprofit needs, IT jobs I am recruiting for, recruiter jobs, and most popular blog posts of the week.

If you are using a RSS Feed click Volunteer.

Ride-Alongs And Ride-Withs AKA Job Shadowing

The following post is courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap:

From: Peggy McKee, the Medical Sales Recruiter

What is a ride-along?  Why is it important?

A ride-along is just what it sounds like:  You spend a day with a medical sales rep who’s in the field you’re thinking you’d like to sell into, and see how a typical day goes.   A ride-along can be one of your greatest opportunities to differentiate yourself from another candidate.  It sets you apart as a go-getter.  It gives you critical on-the-job information that helps you in your job search.  Among other things, it helps you answer the question, “How do you see yourself in this job?”

Outside Looking In - Dealing with Job Loss

The following post is courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap:

From: CareerAlley

Losing your job is one of the most stressful life events (see the post "I lost my job, now what?"). With unemployment at the highest level in over 25 years, we all know someone (or several someones) who have lost their jobs. Whether it be downsizing, bankruptcy or mergers is unimportant, the result is the same. Some of my friends have been out of work almost a year. For some people who have been lucky enough to keep their jobs, the stress of worrying about losing you job can be devastating as well.

The good news is that you are not alone and there is a vast amount of advice to help overcome the stress as well as find a job. The better news is that there are thousands of jobs out there if you know where to look, are persistent in your search and have a plan of attack. Today's post covers a number of topics related to job loss, the threat of job loss and where to start in your search.

Rants: Economy And Jobs, Resumes, Job Descriptions, War For Talent And Wisconsin Badgers

I never get the things out of my head that are bothering me into a blog post like I want to so rather than a bunch of blog posts that will never get fully written how about a few items and thoughts.

Tell me what you think. Do you share these? Am I right, wrong or need to be medicated?

I hope this helps me sleep tonight.

Who’s Hiring? Week of 9/25/09

The following post is courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap:

From: Phil Rosenberg, President of reCareered

Who's Hiring is a weekly survey of companies showing the highest hiring activity. Not only is this valuable for job seekers, but for business analysts, corporate strategists, marketers, salespeople, investment analysts, financial advisers, and others who are interested in companies experiencing growth. Despite the recession, these companies are all expanding.

Total Job Openings:
The Telecommunications, Banking, Business Services, Health Care, and Retail verticals are the top industries currently hiring based on a survey of active job advertisements from the nations’ top job boards.

Based on surveys of US job advertisements in the top job boards and aggregators, the following companies added the most job openings:

Twitter Is A Silver Bullet: Do You Know Anyone Who Has Said That?

I need some help. Do you know of any articles, podcasts, blog posts, etc where a truly knowledgeable, experienced and practicing professional in any industry has said Twitter is the end all?

Here is why I ask. I am doing research for an article I am writing and a well known Recruiter/HR guy is poo pooing the use of Twitter and Social Networking sites in general. And he keeps talking about how people are talking about Twitter as the end all of recruiting much like people spoke about Monster.com and the job boards in the late 90’s.

The thing is I cannot find who this person’s sources are.

Sure a lot of folks are talking about this revolutionary new tool (memo, Twitter has been around a while) and how it can help companies, marketers and yes recruiters get their message out and find people to “sell” but I have not seen anyone say it is the end all.

Can you point me to any credible person in or outside of the Recruiter/HR world who says Twitter will change the axis of our planet?

Job Search Marketing Toolkit - Thank You Letters

The following post is courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap:

From: CareerAlley

Thank you letters are another important part of your Marketing Toolkit. The main purpose (besides the obvious thanks) is to ensure that the interviewer knows that, not only are you are a good match for the job, but that you heard everything that was discussed during the interview.

There is an expectation that everyone will send a Thank You letter, and those that don't may not get the opportunity to continue in the interview process. This is your chance to list those characteristics that match the job and company profile.

As with all writing related to your job search process, the Thank You letter should be well written and tailored to the interviewer. While you may have similar text in your Thank You letters, under no circumstances should your letters look similar to other letters for any one interview process (i.e. don't send the same letter to different interviewers at the same company).

3 FREE Online Seminars: Job Search Tool Kit September 29th | LinkedIn A-Z September 30th | Social Media October 1st

For those not familiar with me and are wondering if a session(s) would be a good use of your time I am an IT Recruiter with 11 years if experience and have been speaking to groups of all ages and skill sets in groups of 20-200 and now online for 7 years.

Here is some background on presentations and interviews I have been a part of and recognition as a Minnesota Social Media Innovator:

• Presentations
• Interviews
• Minnesota Social Media Innovator

While Be Your Own Headhunter is under going a facelift this is how to stay in touch with upcoming seminars:

• MN Headhunter RSS Feed
• MN Headhunter RSS Via EMail
• MN Headhunter Newsletter

All presentations are 60-90 minutes with a Q&A that follows.

PLEASE NOTE: If you are unable to attend the sessions during these times (or are seeing this post after sessions have been held) either click MN Headhunter Blog or Be Your Own Headhunter where you will find a calendar of upcoming events or register anyway so you can get the slides via email.

Four Job Search Frustrations

The following post is courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap:

From: Kevin Donlin

I just spent the morning reviewing several hundred emails from job seekers across the country, looking for common frustrations among people looking for work.

As you might imagine, many things are bugging many job seekers in this economy.

But I boiled them down to four prominent job-search frustrations.

Here they are, with suggested solutions.

Which ones apply to you?

Are All Your Job Search Eggs In One Basket?

The following post is courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap:

From: Jessica Holbrook is a former Executive Hiring Manager for Fortune 500 companies and President/CEO of Great Resumes Fast.

Are all your eggs in one basket?

I knew a guy once that would apply to about 100 jobs and get two call backs. First off, those aren’t great odds and pretty much tell me something isn’t right here. But, secondly – what was even worse was that after he received the call backs he promptly ended his job search. He would declare, I know I’ll get one of these jobs so I don’t have to look anymore. Ok, well maybe he wouldn’t march around, sword in hand, declaring these statements boldly; but that is pretty much what he was saying by abruptly stopping his job search. This wasn’t that long ago and I know you’re thinking who would do such a thing is this economy? Here are some no brainer tips for a successful job search:

So Tell Me About Yourself - STOP! It's A Trick Question

The following post is courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap:

From: Jessica Holbrook is a former Executive Hiring Manager for Fortune 500 companies and President/CEO of Great Resumes Fast.

After reading this the ‘Hiring Powers That Be’ are going to revoke my membership and then cut me off from ever working in the Human Resources field again. OK that may be a bit dramatic but I am revealing one of a hiring manager’s secret weapons.

The first question an interviewer most likely asks is “So tell me about yourself.” It may sound harmless but watch out, this is where it can get you in deep trouble and cost you the job! Yes, before you have even discussed qualifications and background experience your answer to this question will either keep you in the running or boot you out before the interview is over.

3 FREE Online Seminars: Job Search Tool Kit September 22nd | LinkedIn A-Z September 23rd | Social Media September 24th

For those not familiar with me and are wondering if a session(s) would be a good use of your time I am an IT Recruiter with 11 years if experience and have been speaking to groups of all ages and skill sets in groups of 20-200 and now online for 7 years.

Here is some background on presentations and interviews I have been a part of and recognition as a Minnesota Social Media Innovator:

• Presentations
• Interviews
• Minnesota Social Media Innovator

While Be Your Own Headhunter is under going a facelift this is how to stay in touch with upcoming seminars:

• MN Headhunter RSS Feed
• MN Headhunter RSS Via EMail
• MN Headhunter Newsletter

All presentations are 60-90 minutes with a Q&A that follows.

PLEASE NOTE: If you are unable to attend the sessions during these times (or are seeing this post after sessions have been held) either click MN Headhunter Blog or Be Your Own Headhunter where you will find a calendar of upcoming events or register anyway so you can get the slides via email.

2 FREE Online Seminars: Job Search Tool Kit September 16th | LinkedIn A-Z September 16th

For those not familiar with me and are wondering if a session(s) would be a good use of your time I am an IT Recruiter with 11 years if experience and have been speaking to groups of all ages and skill sets in groups of 20-200 and now online for 7 years.

Here is some background on presentations and interviews I have been a part of and recognition as a Minnesota Social Media Innovator:

• Presentations
• Interviews
• Minnesota Social Media Innovator

While Be Your Own Headhunter is under going a facelift this is how to stay in touch with upcoming seminars:

• MN Headhunter RSS Feed
• MN Headhunter RSS Via EMail
• MN Headhunter Newsletter

All presentations are 60-90 minutes with a Q&A that follows.

PLEASE NOTE: If you are unable to attend the sessions during these times (or are seeing this post after sessions have been held) either click MN Headhunter Blog or Be Your Own Headhunter where you will find a calendar of upcoming events or register anyway so you can get the slides via email.

New Job Search Ideas -- 50 Cents Each

The following post is courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap:

From: Kevin Donlin

I've written before that you can learn more about finding a job by emulating marketing experts than by reading every employment book in the library.

And I still believe that's true.

To illustrate, here's a tactic from Bob Bly, publisher of The Direct Response Letter (www.bly.com) and author of more than 70 books on advertising, copywriting, and other topics.

Bly suggests the following for publishers of email newsletters (e-zines), but it applies to your job search, too, as I'll explain below: