The Undercover Recruiter

INFOGRAPHIC: How Most Employees Are Open To Job Offers [Passive Candidates]

Employment is something on which we all rely. It’s a mutually beneficial relationship between employer and employee.

Over the years, the dynamics of this relationship has evolved. The onset of the Internet, social media and technology, jobs become few and far between for some and plentiful for others.

Regardless of the field of work, everyone has a wandering eye. In Jobvite’s annual Social Recruiting Survey, they found that 61% of employees are open to or actively looking for a new job and more than 30% of employers expect new hires to stay two years or less.

Think about the repercussions of this data for a minute. If every employee transitioned in and out of your company every two years, what would happen?

Fast Company recently deemed these workers as “Generation Flux.” This means that companies need to rise above the competition in their respective industries as well as in the job market. An employment brand becomes more and more important; and driving these initiatives requires more strategic thinking.

Jorgen Sundberg

The original Undercover Recruiter, after 7 years in tech recruiting Jorgen now runs Link Humans, a social media marketing agency in London.

Filed Under: Hiring, Infographic Tagged With: Employer Branding, Hiring, Infographic

Top 3 Ways To Become an Expert in Your Industry

how you can become the expert in your industry

In traditional branding, the goal is to position your product in the premium segment. When you achieve this you can increase the price of the product and the demand will stay constant. In personal branding, you can do the same thing – you can become an expert.

Who is an expert?

An expert is someone that knows their stuff better than anyone else in their field. When you start a job, you are likely to look up to your seniors and ask them for advice. One of these senior colleagues will be an expert, the person that basically has the best subject matter knowledge and can tell the others how to do things. An expert is not necessarily a people manager, oftentimes they prefer hone their own skills than managing others.

Whenever you see traditional titles like professor, chief architect, field marshal or anything else pompous you can expect the person to be an expert. Nowadays, you get the ‘new’ titles such as ninja or guru to denote an expert. Thought leader is another popular label used liberally across the Internet.

Some would argue that you can only earn your expert status from your customers and peers, never by simply saying that you are one.

Why should you want to become an expert?

It may sound a bit dull but there are a number of advantages to being an expert. Two of these stand out with clear benefits.

The fist one is that everyone wants to work with or buy from the person who has the reputation, credibility and knowledge of an expert. This means there is an increase in demand but not in supply; the person only has so much time to do their work. The first benefit of being an expert is that with more demand, you can choose which customers to take on as opposed to engaging with everyone.

The second clear benefit of being an expert is one of classic economics. I just mentioned that demand goes up but the supply stays the same; this means the supplier can set a higher price for their product or service. Again, instead of catering for the masses and competing on price like everyone else, the expert can choose who to work with and request a higher fee.

How you can become an expert in your field

There are probably as many ways to becoming one as there are experts out there. Some of these ways keep being mentioned and to me they are the top three. The three activities you have to be doing to become an expert are: listening, communicating and creating.

1. Listening

Listening is the first one, by this I mean picking up information from all corners of your industry. Read blogs, magazines, books, go to seminars and workshops, watch and listen to the right programmes on TV and radio. When you listen and take onboard all that information, you will by default be improving your skills and getting closer to being the expert every day. Information is power as the old saying goes.

2. Communicating

Communicating is all about being out there and talking to the people that matter in your industry. Whether it’s a client meeting, a networking event or you are commenting on a blog – it’s all interaction with your target audience. When you are engaging with the community, you will notice exactly what problems they are looking to solve – allowing you to adjust your service offering accordingly.

3. Creating

Creating finally is where you produce content that secures you that expert status. Choose your channel wisely here according to what fits your audience. You could for instance write blog posts, newspaper articles, record podcast or produce video content. If you are really serious about becoming an expert, try your hand at writing a book. Whatever you choose to do, the results of your creative output will lead to further promotion of your personal brand and increased interest from customers.

The expert’s advice

Chris Brogan says that as a rule of thumb, you should listen 50% of your time, communicating and creating each 25% of the time. He produces quality blog content every day that ensures he stays at the top of his game. As a result of his blogging, he provides consulting services to major blue-chip companies, charging top dollar as an expert.

Bottom line

It may sound a bit odd but becoming an expert has many benefits to it. If you are into personal branding, blogging, social media and networking you will have seen that some people enjoy a lot of attention and can exert a great deal of influence. If you are serious about your business or career, becoming the expert is the way forward.

Do you create content of some sort in order to be an expert?

photo by: JonoMueller

Jorgen Sundberg

The original Undercover Recruiter, after 7 years in tech recruiting Jorgen now runs Link Humans, a social media marketing agency in London.

Filed Under: Personal Branding, Professional, Reputation Tagged With: expert, Personal Branding, reputation, thought-leadership

The Hunger Games Survival Lessons for Jobseekers

Do you have what it takes to be a victor in your job search?

Like 16-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who fought her way to victory in the 74th Annual Hunger Games, unemployed job seekers are widely regarded by hiring managers as underdogs in today’s job search. With unemployment at 8.3 percent, the lucky few who are called to participate in a job interview find that they have a lot to prove in the fight for one coveted position.

Let’s face it, in our current economic climate, if you’ve got gaps in your resume, went to a lower-tier school or are too old/young, you are not as likely as other job seekers to be called in for an interview. Job seekers must make sure that the odds of obtaining that interview are “ever in your favor” by using all of the tools at your disposal to stand out to potential employers.

Keep reading for job search survival tips:

1. Volunteer.

Katniss volunteers to participate in the Hunger Games in place of her sister, Prim. She is the first-ever volunteer from District 12, and her selflessness endears her to the Capitol. There is some debate among employers regarding whether or not it pays to work for free, but many experts believe that volunteering at a company provides important connections, experience and encouragement to discouraged job seekers.

2. Become the “Girl on Fire.”

Katniss becomes “The Girl on Fire” after making a powerful first impression with potential sponsors at the opening ceremony of the Hunger Games. An interview is your first opportunity to present yourself to a potential employer dynamically. Make sure that you remain confident and you dress appropriately. You want people to remember you.

3. Shoot a squirrel in the eye.

Peeta can throw a heavy bag of flour over his head as a result of working at a bakery for his whole life. Katniss is an expert with a bow and arrow – shooting her prey in the eye to make a clean kill. Make sure that you, too, are emphasizing your unique skills in the job search. What can you bring to a potential employer that no one else can?

4. Remember they already love you; just be yourself.

Katniss’ mentor, Haymitch, cannot decide how to present her to the public. In response, her stylist tells her just to be herself. As your job search progresses, you may find yourself frustrated by the specific demands of potential employers – and you may feel obligated to start applying for jobs that are not an exact fit for your skill set. Keep in mind that the best job for you is one that is challenging, that makes use of your skill set, and that allows you to learn and excel. Wait for that job – or create it for yourself and pitch the benefit to your favorite companies.

You’ve probably already heard that The Hunger Games grossed $152.5 million during its opening weekend – making it Hollywood’s third-biggest opener of all time. And if you saw the movie, you probably cheered for Katniss as she worked to perfect her image, navigate a seemingly impossible situation and to survive.

As a job seeker, that is the trick to an effective job search – to perfect your image, to cheerfully navigate a seemingly impossible situation, and to survive. May the odds be ever in your favor.

Suki Shah is the CEO and co-founder of GetHired.com, the leading video-based social recruiting platform and job board that is improving the way employers and job seekers connect in today’s digital world. Connect with him on GetHired.com’s blog at Blog.GetHired.com or via Twitter @GetHiredInc.

Image credit Lionsgate

Guest Blogger

This post is written by a guest blogger. If you are interested in submitting a guest post, check out our Guest Post Guidelines - we look forward to hearing from you!

Filed Under: Job Search Tagged With: Job Hunting

How To Write Career Documents To Influence Your Reader

We use writing skills to engage, inspire or persuade people in our personal and work lives. In a career transition or active job search, writing skills are under sharp scrutiny. Each transition task, whether it is completing self-assessment exercises, creating a resume, crafting a cover letter or preparing additional marketing tools requires focused writing – one that is targeted, has meaning for your reader and clearly outlines your value to the potential opportunity.

I. STRATEGY – Focus & Purpose

Why are you writing?

The purpose of your writing must be clear. Is it request for a networking conversation? Is it to apply for an open position? Is it to share research information with a decision-maker in your target company? Give the reader a reason to read your letter!

What do you want the outcome to be?

The clearer the intended outcome, the more effective the writing. A reader typically asks, “Why am I getting this letter and what do you want me to do with it?” Invite the reader’s curiosity with compelling reasons.

Who is your audience?

Different readers make different meaning from the same piece of writing. Is it someone from within your field of expertise? Or is it someone who will not understand the terminology used from your field? Or will your writing reach people beyond your intended audience? Understand your audience and tailor your writing in content, tone and language to meet the needs of your audience.

II. STYLE – Organization & Design

Decide on the content.

Research the opportunity first. Second, identify and prioritize information according to importance and value to reader. Is your paragraph organized around one main idea? What kind of supporting statements can elaborate or explain your main idea? Are you using active verbs to engage the reader?

Match the style to the document.

Understand industry writing standards for your document. Each document, for example resume, cover letters, memos or addendums have unique writing attributes. Can a reader find information easily where s/he expects to find it on the document? Are profile statements or headings clearly identified? Have you emphasized your main ideas using italics, boldface or underlining as appropriate?

Organize the information.

Each document is typically divided into separate sections. Select information carefully for each section so that your writing flows quickly and easily. Use examples, charts, numbers or tables as appropriate to inform and persuade your reader.

III. IMPACT – Return on Investment Factor

Value Offered.

The employer has a current and potential need. Can you solve business problems now and in the future? Use information and language that is future focused and clearly links your skills to the deliverables in the opportunity. Make a business case for hiring – What will you bring immediately? Why are you the right fit? How will you be productive and engaged in the employer’s culture?

Create a Picture.

Use succinct examples to create a visual image of your success stories in the reader’s mind. Pay attention to the tone of your letter. Is it personal, courteous and positive? Does it clearly communicate benefits to the reader?

Follow-up Plan.

Close strongly. Revisit your purpose and share a proactive follow-up plan with the reader. When will you call to schedule a time to talk? What else can you do to invite curiosity? Ask for the sale!

Keep the communication simple, specific, conversational and inviting. Above all, keep it error-free.

photo by: Drew Coffman

Sunitha Narayanan

Sunitha Narayanan is a certified career coach with a passion for connecting people and their talents to life and work opportunities. She is a co-active coach, empowering her clients to believe in their dreams, set actionable goals and actively create joy in their work lives. She is with OI Partners Promark Company, a firm that offers executive coaching, leadership development and outplacement services. Learn about her interests by visiting her LinkedIn profile.

Filed Under: Career Management, Job Search, Resume, Writing Tagged With: Career Advice, Job Hunting, Writing