I Can't Take It Anymore!

Why are you special?

I interview a lot of people.  Most tell me what they've done.  Some tell me what they want to do.  A few even try to just give me verbal repeats of what I've already seen on their resumes  When I ask the BIG BANG question, the majority of respondents freeze the question is easy to ask, difficult to answer!  "Why are you special"?  Usually, after several seconds of silence and followed by silly irrelevant answers to the question, I offer some help!  And I explain! 

How many interviews have you had and how many times have you been asked the same questions and how many times has someone said to you take me through your resume?  Its usually then that I explain that if no one has really asked them why they are special then that's what makes ME special and we start over!

Some get it, most don't.  I guess its a good question!

Unemployed Executives

I don’t want to really “knock” any of the people at the airports who work for the TSA but I can tell you that I have a better idea in view of the most recent headlines!

There are thousands, if not millions of people who are out of work who have had more responsible jobs than those people currently doing the screening!..Why don’t we take the current screeners (God forbid we should fire them) and have them check BAGS not PEOPLE??

Why don’t we then take these “more skilled” unemployed executives, send them to an intensive training program and give them permanent jobs checking PEOPLE.  A large percentage of these folks already know that they are in need of a career change!  Then lets pay them a really good salary to do this really important job the best part of my idea is how we would fund the program!

Lets get this guy Feinberg who is in charge of limiting the salaries of those executives in companies that have received government bailouts and just have him say to them and their companies….”you guys can get paid whatever you want, you will just have to kick in 10 or 15% of your salary to pay for our NEW TSA TEAM! …And your “contribution is tax deductible!

Everybody wins..the current TSA employees, the unemployed executives looking for jobs, the public looking for safety and politeness in the screening process, Feinberg who wants the citizenry to think he’s doing something, the highly paid executives who certainly can afford the money and the politicians who would look smarter than they are, for creating the program>>>>>>The only losers……The Bad Guys!

I find people jobs!

I find people jobs!  I fill jobs that need to be filled within companies, both large and small.  No matter what industry you are in, we seem to have opportunities in the ares of CRISIS MANAGEMENT!  This week you can chose from the following industries!

GOLF

GOLF

GOLF or

HEALTHCARE

If you have the skill these businesses have the crisis!

"Players who make great plays"

I love Sunday in the fall and early winter...that's when Pro Football really gets exciting!  After a good game, some great plays and a game winning catch, I begin to wonder!

Where do they get these players?

How do they find them?

How do they know they're even good before they sign them?

The answer is always the same:  Every Pro Football team has a group of people who are responsible for finding talent for the team's management to evaluate and ultimately hire so the team can win games!  That's what I do!  I'm a HEADHUNTER!  Companies hire me so they can find players who make great plays and win games.  And not just on cold Sunday afternoons.

"Invaluable Resource"

How many times have I heard from a recently displaced executive, "I wish I had taken all those Headhunter calls over the years.  I would have a built-in network and wouldn't be starting from scratch now that I need them"?

The facts are simple: It's to your benefit to have relationships with good executive recruiters.  If you are in a management position, a good recruiter will demonstrate value and trust in order to win your business. The recruiter's presence in your life can shine light on obstacles and can offer staffing solutions if you involve ( I didn't say ENGAGE) that person.  In a like manner if you are in a management position but it is your own career that is of immediate concern, the recruiter who is already "part of your life", will be an invaluable resource!

Is there anybody out there who buys your favorite headhunter a cup of coffee even if you are not giving him business or looking for a job?  Let me know who you are because you and that coffee treat are certainly not the everyday JOE?

The Executive Search

I have been in the Executive Search business for quite awhile.  I've advised middle and senior level executives on job moves and opportunities during this time as a Headhunter.  In a like manner, I have guided Corporate Executives in line management and Human Resources on organizational change and executive selection.  From now until the end of the year I will offer anyone who is interested, a telephone conversation structured to revive a lagging job search or a critique of a failed hiring process.  Just send me an email letting me know that you would like to take me up on my Blog offer and don't forget to include your telephone number.

Happy Holidays!

Positive Energy

Anybody have ideas or a formula for transmitting positive energy!  I'm looking for the kind of good Karma a good Yoga session gives you but I need it in one gulp kind of like a RED BULL for good vibes!  I am a headhunter and lately I've been speaking to a lot of people who are really down. It gets worse when the individual knows that I'm working on a job for which they are interested but not really qualified for!  No matter how nice or gentle one tries to be with people who are looking for work  sometimes their "deep funk" can be transmitting right over the phone or through the internet.  I would like to provide the reverse for them.  A quick shot of good feeling and positive energy not a long speech about how someday in the future they will work again!  Any ideas?

"YOU MUST NOT COMPROMISE!"

I can't tell you how many times clients list their "Musts" when I begin a search and by the way that's a good thing because there's nothing better than a focused client.  But how do you transmit "Musts" to a job board!

Must be employed!

Must have a personality

Must have a good reason for being available and unemployed Must fit with our culture.

There aren't enough KEYWORDS in the universe to do this properly! Funny, how saving a few bucks on a search eliminates the MUSTS.  At the end of the day, you just need one MUST to hire a great candidate!

YOU MUST NOT COMPROMISE!

"The subject is simple"

At the risk of getting some folks a little perturbed, I'm writing this so I get a response from someone whose been through the hiring process lately and read some of my blogs!  I would love to hear from anyone responsible for recently recruiting an executive for their company.  So far, I've received agreement, if not applause from fellow search firms, candidates looking for jobs and other types of disgruntled "Job Board Users"!  The subject is simple:  How many of you out there have found that using JOB BOARDS is the BEST way to find the BEST PERSON?  The statistics that I've seen would indicate that there aren't as many of you as the average candidate ( who shells out a nice piece of change to be on the Board) thinks!

Today's upside down world.

Everything seems to be upside down these days, in almost every facet of our lives.  Seems to me that a little bit of serious attention to things could go a long way to put some things right side up again.  The most simplistic example is probably what we pay for a good cup of coffee if a little time and conscious thought were applied, I would think that anyone could have a cup of coffee for something less than what we are handing over to our local "barista".  You might need to walk an extra block, you might need to brew your own, you might need to buy it in a place where they just sell no frills coffee! But if you just don't plunk down a couple of bucks like a robot every morning, the habit can be changed!  David Bach touches on many of these things in his wonderful little book!  Well, the art and skill of hiring is no different the overall objective should always be, "How do I hire the best person for the job someone who can contribute and grow within the organization"?

In today's upside down world the objective seems more closely allied to cost, speed and volume!  These are all important but they seem to be overshadowing the more important qualities of competency and quality of candidate. The robotic behavior of going right to the job boards and by passing the more important questions/solutions is upside down recruiting.  The first and most important question is "How do I recruit the best talent"?