No Bueno

I came across a very amusing/ unfortunate Tumblr page today that highlights companies who list "he" or "him" in their job descriptions and hence, inadvertently looks like they are only hiring men for the role. #headslap (Is it kosher to add a hashtag to a blog post? Probably not, but this is my blog, so I get to make the rules.)

To protect the names of the innocent (companies), I'm not going to list that Tumblr link here... because we recruiters have to stick together! However, I do want to point out how recruiters can sidestep this pesky little landmine, and avoid looking like a big, fat discriminator. 

I have mentioned before that I'm passionate about grammar because my mother was an English teacher and beat proper language in to me growing up (and posture, but that's a different story). I think I remember her teaching me that "he" was gender-neutral and could be used to insinuate either a man or woman. Really though, it depends on the reader who is deciphering the language rather than the intention of the writer, and it's easier to control the language than it is the perception. Perhaps it's for this reason that protocol has shifted in recent years. 

NOW, it appears that the rule of thumb is to avoid gender-specific language and only to use alternatives like "he" or "she" if there is no way to rewrite the sentence without the pronouns. (This technique should be used to avoid sentences with prepositions, as well - it takes practice, though.) And for the love of Pete, "they" shouldn't be used to take the place of a gender-specific pronoun. 

Let me clarify with some examples:

Wrong: A good recruiter takes their job very seriously.

Less Wrong: A good recruiter takes his or her job very seriously.

Best: A good recruiter takes the job very seriously.

OR 

Wrong: A recruiter must communicate clearly with their candidates.

Less Wrong: A recruiter must communicate clearly with his or her candidates. 

Best: A recruiter must communicate clearly with candidates. 

See what I did there? 

Anyway, sometimes recruiters aren't even the ones writing the job descriptions that we post online, but we are still responsible for them. Take the time to review your job descriptions to make sure they're compelling, legally compliant, and grammatically correct. OR you're going to end up on some Tumblr blog and never hear the end of it for the rest of your career. Mmmkay?

Miss Recruiter

Time Management

In this economy, I would venture to say that most organizations are running lean these days, which requires more than ever that we work smart! And for my team and me, it all boils down to time management. I've spent some time looking at best practices for managing time, in order to provide coaching on the matter, and have some tips to share.

Let's face it - change is hard for most people, but continually improving to the way we approach our jobs is critical to our career development and performance management. It's all about creating better habits that become an organic, automatic approach for you. That begs the question... what is the best approach for creating habits?

In 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey wrote that "You are what you habitually do, so adopt productive habits". For recruiters, that might include adopting social media as a candidate outreach method, pushing back on hiring managers who want detailed and manual reporting, including 45 minutes of your morning to check all your saved agents for future pipeline, or making time to update your neglected social media channels (like the Miss Recruiter blog, ahem). Here are some great tips for creating habits:

Choose one new habit at a time to introduce

If you try to take on too much at once, you are probably setting yourself up for failure. So focus on just one good habit for now—even if it's a small one—and move on to the others later.

Start slowly

It's going to take time and willpower to condition yourself, so don't beat yourself up if you miss days at the beginning. Start ramping up that good habit gradually for a more successful habit forming.

Get an accountability buddy

Surround yourself with supportive people who want to see you succeed and get a pal to help you stay accountable.

Chart your progress

Habits take weeks to establish, so keep track of how you’re doing for at least thirty days. Once skipping a session feels like you forgot something- like forgetting to brush your teeth -you can take your ritual up a notch or add a new habit.

Good Old Fashioned Bribery

Eventually habits produce their own motivation, but until then, external motivations like promising yourself a treat can keep you moving forward.

Track your time

Part of spending your time better is knowing how you’re spending it now. If you’ve ever tried to lose weight, you know that nutritionists tell you to keep a food journal because it keeps you from eating mindlessly. It’s the same with time - write down what you’re doing as often as you can. Use a spreadsheet, One Note or go old school with a pad and pen. 

Lastly, I think that prioritization is KEY to managing time. Recently, I obtained a great tool for helping myself prioritize my neverending to-do list, so please allow me to share with you. Look at your to-do list and see if your action items are:

Important and urgent - these are obviously top priority
Not important but urgent - 2nd most important in the priority list
Important and not urgent - 3rd most important; maybe interchangeable with not important and urgent
Not important and not urgent - HERE is where you need renegotiate!

Do you have something on your list that falls into the 'x box'? Then please consider renegotiating, delegating, or deleting that request - your time must be focused upon the highest priorities. Think about this method... let it sink in... and you  may adopt a new perspective on managing your time. 

Go forth and be productive! Miss Recruiter

Do You Have to Be A Manager to Be A Leader?

http://www.forbes.com/sites/dell/2012/06/05/do-you-have-to-be-a-manager-to-be-a-leader/
by Meredith Hall, Dell TA Manager


An account executive is promoted to sales manager. A journalist is promoted to editor. But does the ability to sell translate to motivating a sales team? Does the ability to write great prose translate to managing a team of reporters? When did we get the idea that you have to manage people in order to lead?

The truth is, not everyone wants to be a manager, and you don’t have to manage to lead. Management is a particular skill that involves guiding people with different motivations in the same direction. Leadership has more to do with influence; displaying courage and passion that persuades people to follow your course, whether they’re direct reports or not. As a Talent Acquisition Manager for Dell, I’ve come to recognize the traits that distinguish leaders – independent of their job titles. Individual contributors can cultivate them just as easily as managers.

Social media influence is sure evidence of natural leadership, and the attendant networking provides exposure to new people, ideas, and strategies. Individuals can use social media to promote their corporate and personal brands, as well as build relationships both inside and outside the company – a key tenet of leadership. Networking within your own company can only broaden your view of the corporate ecosystem. You never know which connection will lead to your dream job or create influence in unexpected places.

Consider the leaders who have influenced you throughout your career, and I imagine you’ll see that the best ones are confident and articulate. Exceptional communication skills are the hallmark of many great leaders, but they weren’t all born that way. A colleague who has been called a gifted public speaker told me she once considered herself phobic. Take advantage of opportunities to appear on panels or lead meetings – those experiences will allow you to “fake it ’til you make it.”

One trait that distinguishes successful leaders is that they are strategic thinkers, not tactical. Many professionals get stuck in the weeds of executing a project and lose sight of what’s most important. Educate yourself about the industry and think for your company, not for your position or department. Develop and direct projects that advance your strategic vision for the company.

None of this is to say that you shouldn’t aspire to manage a team. But don’t confuse management with leadership when you map out your career objectives. Becoming a manager is a narrow goal compared to helping your company achieve better results or moving your industry forward. Neither requires a staff.

Want That Dream Job? Be Prepared To Get (Very) Creative

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jmaureenhenderson/2012/06/01/how-a-creative-job-application-can-land-you-or-lose-you-your-dream-job/ 

J. Maureen Henderson, Contributor

How far would you go to get your dream job? Would you buy a Facebook ad targeting the company? Deliver your contact info to the corporate headquarters written on the back of a Frisbee? Stalk the hiring manager’s Twitter and write blog posts responding to things he had tweeted?

Mark Hayes has seen all of these tactics and more. The Head of Public Relation for Shopify is no stranger to receiving creative job applications in response to his company’s job ads – here are a few notable examples – and he says the best ones all have something in common. “If a creative application makes me respond, ‘I have to meet the person behind this’ then it’s mission accomplished.”

According to Meredith Hall, Talent Acquisition Manager at Dell, creative approaches to getting an employer’s attention – she cites a past candidate’s Pinterest portfolio as something that caught her eye – are a growing trend among job hunters looking for any and every advantage.

“We’re definitely seeing an increase in out-of-the-box approaches. I believe that it’s due to the mass adoption of social media and a tighter job market. People are definitely taking advantage of the opportunity to network online, build relationships, and then submit resumes once they have made a connection. Cover letters have gone the way of brief introductions via email, likely because most recruiting-related communication occurs electronically. A well-written resume or CV is still the best way to communicate the value someone brings to the table, but keeping a fully updated LinkedIn profile is a close second.”

Both Hayes and Hall agree that while a novel application might net a candidate a coveted interview, the hiring decision still comes down to qualifications over creative tricks. “It could help someone obtain visibility, but after that, the communication of their experience and education will get them to the next step in the hiring process; that could be a resume or online profile/ portfolio,” says Hall.

But skipping or augmenting the tried-and-true cover letter and resume combo isn’t without its risks. As career expert Jenny Foss counsels, you should do your homework about the industry and the company before sending the Director of HR a claymation YouTube video of critical scenes from your job history:

“Common sense is one good guiding method. No, really – job hunters should study the company’s online presence, marketing tone, personality, etc. and then try and deduce what the culture of that organization will appreciate – or bear. A highly conservative financial institution will likely appreciate a very different type of creativity and tone than a digital marketing agency that lets everyone wear flip-flops and bring their dogs to work, right? Gauge company culture and then proceed strategically. I have recruiting clients – I recruit within the robotics industry – who would laugh me out the door if I sent them a creative infographic instead of a resume for a candidate. Gauge the personality and conservativeness of the entity and proceed accordingly.”

Foss says the dividing line between appearing like a go-getter or coming across as desperate is often a blurry one and that job hunters should use common sense and their best judgment when it comes to deciding whether unorthodox measures are the right approach to landing their dream job and just how far to take such creativity. “Overboard for one company or industry might be just the ticket in another. As a rule, however, any kind of expensive gift, intrusive behavior or flat out weirdness is not going to set you apart in the way you’re shooting for.”

And for those companies eager to recruit outside-the-box thinkers into their ranks, Hayes has some advice – you better be just as creative as those you seek to hire.

“I’ve heard of companies that complain that they receive boring resumes and then I look at their job posting and the company and think, well, no wonder! If you’re an employer that’s looking for candidates to go the extra mile, not only does your company need to be a desirable place to work, but your job postings should encourage a creative response.”

Join #SMCA for the May Panel on Social Recruiting

Tuesday, May 22, 2012 from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM (CT)

How do you connect with prospective employers when everyone, including your current boss, can see your social profiles? Is your Klout score important? Should you cull your past tweets to get rid of your rants? Our Social Media Club Austin panel will discuss these and other burning questions that are top of mind for job seekers and top talent in Austin.


This May 22 panel focuses on how social networks have transformed the recruiting process. Learn how corporate and agency recruiters use social networks such as LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter to find and cherry-pick the best talent. Panelists will share both sound advice and cautionary tales about the importance of your online presence in today's job market.


Our panelists are Will Staney of SuccessFactors, Bryan Chaney of Aon and Social Media Breakfast Austin, and Meredith Hall of Dell, and Jodie Garrison of ARM. SMCAustin VP
Oscar Davila will moderate. Also, hiring managers from local companies including Spredfast, BuildASign.com and Third Coast Search, will be available to meet you, answer questions and talk about career opportunities. Check our Facebook group or Twitter feed as we add to the
line-up.

http://smcaustinsocialrecruiting.eventbrite.com/

Geeks Unite - I Heart OneNote!

What is OneNote, you ask? Alas, let me tell you! If you have read this far back in my blog - http://missrecruiter.blogspot.com/2008/04/green-recruiting.html -you'll know that I'm a little bit of a tree hugger and really love to proselytize a paper-free office.  Down with paper resumes, manila file folders and big boxes of people's confidential information lying around a cube farm! Dell is a leader in the environmental responsibility space and even collects all our pre-employment paperwork and offer letters electronically... this makes me really proud.


OK, back to my point. For those of you that also love clutter-free offices, OneNote is an amazing electronic organization tool. It allows the user to create notebooks, and folders within those notebooks to store notes, documents and projects. URLs, screenshots, and emails can be embedded into OneNote with a simple right click of the mouse, as well.


For recruiting, I use it to keep all my candidate interview notes (rather than writing them),  record intake sessions with managers, and track activity for certain teams or requisitions within a folder. I keep my to-do list there, take and store meeting notes, and track my performance management actions there, as well. For my team, each member has a tab, and I tuck away notes regarding coaching and accomplishments, so at the end of this year, I'll have all that information organized. I even started a folder for blog ideas. I just started a skeleton for a post to be published on Dell's external corporate blog Direct2Dell. Standby for that posting soon!


I also have a personal notebook as well. Each of my kids has a folder, and I track personal projects like the kid-free vacation to Maui I'm planning in September (had to throw that in there, because I'm counting down the days!) - I have my itinerary, rental car confirmation/ receipts, hotel confirmations, excursion ideas, etc. all in one folder.


If you're interested in learning more about OneNote, but don't know where to start, check out the links below. This awesome tool is definitely Miss Recruiter recommended!

Get started with Microsoft Office OneNote 2007

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/onenote-help/get-started-with-microsoft-office-onenote-2007-HA010032521.aspx

Video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_pB12Aw6fQ&feature=related

Miss Recruiter Got Schooled Today

I attended Blogging 101 today through Dell's Social Media and Community University, and feel inspired to do some writing! I logged on to Blogger to post something *brilliant* (still working on that), and got a notice that I needed to update my browser to Google Chrome for Blogger to function at its best capacity. I would assume because Google owns Blogger, they have the ability to force us to use their proprietary browser instead of Internet Explorer, a MS product. I thought briefly about switching to Word Press out of rebellion, but then I'd lose 6 years of content, and that would be a shame. So I gave in and downloaded the tool!

Are any of you out there Google Chrome users? How does it differ from IE? Should I use this for everyday, or just for blogging? Does anyone have best practices for using Google Chrome? 

I'm also interested in utilizing Google Reader to keep abreast of all my favorite blogs. What are some of the blogs that you follow and enjoy the most? Mommy blogs? Recruiting blogs? Technology blogs? Which ones do you recommend that I add to my Google Reader list?

And last, I learned in class what TLDR and DIAF means... Gold star goes to the first responder who knows what these mean! What's your guess?

Miss Recruiter