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Some people don’t realize that there is such a thing as "resume phishing", and there are two basic definitions that job seekers should be aware of. The first is that yes, there are real "recruiters" (and I use the term loosely and with professional contempt) that will send you an email saying they saw your resume and you would be a great fit for an opening they have. The second is a more insidious type of phishing scam that appears to be in regards to a job, but is really trying to gain personal information to misuse for identity theft. It isn’t that expensive for those that are practicing identity theft to purchase recruiting packages on Monster, or Careerbuilder.

Now, below is an example that came across one of my online communities as a "job announcement" (I have redacted information about the individual and company):
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Job Description: Hi, I Hope you are doing well. This is with reference to your resume posted on job Portal. I came across your profile and want to let you know about an opportunity we have that I think you might be interested in. We have a following contract opening with our client. Please go through the job description that has been attached below, and if available and interested, please send me your Resume in word format ASAP. (Also, do not forget to send the details that have been asked in the end). Note:- Please ignore this email if you are already working with <company>, Inc Our client or our Recruiters.

Title: Business Development Executive

Duration: Fulltime

Location: Bellevue, WA

Job Description:

The role of Business Development Executive has the following major

components:

1. Build a network of contacts in the operational (manager & director)

levels of the targeted accounts

2. Identify opportunities within that network for sales of value added

consulting, software development, software testing, systems support (e.g.

DBA, Sys Admin, Design, Business & Systems Analysis) and solution visioning.

3. Develop written definitions of client success and satisfaction and

monitor the relationship to ensure highlights are communicated and issues

are processed to resolution

4. Work as part of the delivery team to capture, communicate, value and

position Ramp as the preferred solution provider

5. Work to extend the solution reach within the client

6. Identify longer term strategic changes in the services and

relationship that will add value to the client and Ramp

The BDE will be expected to come to us with a book of contacts that can be

leveraged to build the relationship network. Also required is the

experience to understand the client business model and communicate it to the

rest of the delivery team.

The successful candidate will also need to be able to discuss their ability

to:

-Identify specific sales opportunities for the different types of

consulting

-Understand how and when to focus prospect s in the different

responsibility models (responsibility vs. staff augmentation, fixed

price/scope/price, support models and SLA’s)

-Understand how and when to focus prospect s in the different

fulfillment models in consulting (i.e. managerial, general, systems,

process, etc.)

The compensation package will be base plus commission. Active accounts

will be provided to allow time for the BDE to develop new accounts to take

their place of in revenue and margin credit for comp plan purposes.

Desirable additional skills and capabilities would be

– Background in consulting delivery, pre-sales support or systems engineer role

– Exposure to or background in project management issues

Please provide a resume with experience and account lists to validate your interview responses to the above criteria. Client references will not be required for interviews but will be requested later in the hiring process.

Referral Program: Referrals are greatly appreciated!. If you know someone that is a fit for this position please have them send me the information requested below along with your name as the referrer. If I can put them to work I will send you a $500-$1000 referral after they complete their 3rd month on contract.

**Need to know the following details to expedite the process*****
B />-What is your current location? :

-Are you currently on a project, If Yes-Why you are looking for new project?

-Define your job position you are looking for more clearly:

-Are you willing to be flexible to work in technology or areas that you are not familiar with?

-Have you had any current interview experience lately: If yes, please let me know Client name, interview date, Feedback or expected Feedback?

-Are you Willing to Relocate?:

-Availability (earliest date you can start)? :

-Your Work Authorization?:

-Current Salary and Expected Salary?:

-What is the best number you can be reached at? :

Give me your employer details:

Two References Details (Must) with Name of the person, Company name, Phone

About US: <company> is a dominant and dedicated provider of Oracle applications, PeopleSoft, SAP & Microsoft Technologies consulting, hosting, and managed services. We are a Platinum Partner as well as a client of Oracle Corporation. People Tech Group is seeking talented consultants who will be integral to creating winning teams. With a work environment that offers an opportunity for real career growth, People Tech Group is a true consultant’s company! People Tech Group offers a competitive benefits

package including 401(k) plan.

Thanks & Regards,

| Operation Head | <Company>

Direct: (253)-999-9999| Fax: 253 999-9999 |person at <Company>.com

|Address, Bellevue, WA. 98007 |

If you receive something like this, even if you are unemployed your internal alarm system should be going off big time. Let’s start with the opening. Notice that they got you off of a "job portal". They don’t tell you which "portal" or job board; an ethical recruiter will *always* tell you where they sourced (found) your resume. Monster.com, CareerBuilder, their own internal database. They also ask that you not answer if you are currently engaged with their client, but they don’t mention the client by name. This is a ruse

Now while the job description sounds real, please note the area where it asks for all sort of information that you should NEVER give unless you are actually interviewing for a job, certainly *never* in just an email. Most especially the information about reference details. This is just asking for someone you don’t even know to hijack your identity.

Even if this is a "legitimate" recruiting agency, this is still a form of phishing. There are tons of off-shored resume "services" that are used by agencies to try and go after business by having resumes "on file" that they have acquired by any number of less than ethical means, the above illustrated example being just one. Below is an offer from one recruiter to others. He is responding to a professional job inquiry for a sourcing recruiter, basically someone that is a headhunting researcher (which is one of my main recruiting talents and titles.) Please note the verbiage of the reply/offer:

"I have used virtual folks equipped with Monster, CB, and DICE licenses who can do this and internet searching for $6.25/hr.

They will provide you with up to 150 resumes/week for 1-15 openings, and offer a free trial… However, some companies may prefer to spend 5-8x as much to get almost as much work done by a person onsite- which is their right."

Cheers, KH"

What he is referring to is exactly the type of operation that sends the type of phishing mail above. >

-For those that are desperate or don’t know how to work with employment agencies (either contract or direct-placement), there are some things you can do to minimize exposure to this sort of practice.

-If you are using job boards such as Monster or CareerBuilder (CB), take your email off your resume and anonymize the contact info, but put a phone number on there (I highly suggest GoogleVoice for just this sort of thing.) If a recruiter is truly interested in your for your actual skills, they will *call you*.
<
-Never give the information they are asking for above. Set up a job hunting email address and use it. Reply and ask the "recruiter" who the client is or even what industry. Tell them you are happy to come by their office to meet and discuss opportunities and go through the application process.
BR >-Check LinkedIn to see if the person is who they purport to be, then send them email to validate their inquiry. -Ask other professionals in your field of they have had experience with <Company> either as a candidate or as a hiring manager.
B />
-Throw the proverbial ball back in their court: ask them for references and their client list. Call those companies, ask for the Recruiting Manager and verify that they have, indeed, successfully placed candidates or contractors there in the past, and ask what the corporate recruiter thinks about them.
B >Remember, your identity includes access to your credit report/history, banks, job history, address, legal records, driving record/history and a host of other things you may not even consider when replying to this seemingly-honest job opportunity.

Yesterday one of my network discussion groups shared this URL:

<a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203750404577173031991814896.html">No More R’sum’s, Say Some Firms</a>

I wrote a letter to the author and thought I would share it here in case you are getting excited about the prospect of being able to throw your resume away:

—-Original Message—–

From: Kristen Fife

Sent: Tuesday, January 24, 2012 6:32 PM

To: Silverman, Rachel

Subject: Your article "No More Resumes" on WSJ

Rachel,

I’m a senior recruiter in the Seattle tech market. I read your article, and while I can see how the employers you profiled are trying to connect with "today’s" (ie younger, more tech savvy) candidates, there are a number of things which your article did *not* cover from the employer side.

There are several governing bodies and regulations such as EEO, Affirmative Action, OFCCP, USCIS (immigration) and SOX compliance which require a very strict adherence to recruiting standards that employ repeatable, auditable processes that ensure that all candidates are being considered fairly, equally, impartially, and objectively for *each and every position*. In the recruiting world, OFCCP especially has turned our industry upside down in the last 5+ years. Basically, the simplified version of this entails

1) Defining the minimum quantifiable/qualitative qualifications for each position.

2) Developing a single process that makes sure that *each and every candidate is qualified for each and every job based on those minimum quantifiable qualifications*

3) At each step of the process, if a candidate is disqualified, that the reason is objective, quantifiable, and justified.

The processes your outlined in your article are going to give many job seekers unrealistic expectations of job hunting and will create even more divisiveness between recruiters and job seekers. There are some ways to combine "new media" with traditional recruiting processes, but the companies you outlined are not doing so.

If you would like to write a follow-up article I would be happy to be a source; I have been quoted in the WSJ before, as well as the Seattle Times, ABC News, and a host of other publications. (I also had my own employment column on the Seattle Times NWJobs.com until October).

Sincerely,

Kristen M. Fife, Sr. Recruiter and Sourcing Specialist

(Her response, BTW, was to thank me for my thoughtful comments.)

Some of the issues I, as a recruiter have with the methods that are outlined in this article:

1) As you can see from my response, these employers are not following regulatory-compliant practices. Now, it’s very possible that they don’t fall under any of the agencies, with the exception of EEOC and Affirmative Action. *It is the law that all candidates must be considered objectively and hired based on qualifications for every job in the US*.

2) Video resumes *NEGATE* objectivity in the initial screening process. Once candidates have been objectively screened, video interviews are fine. This includes Skype, pre-recorded questions/answers. Companies are not required by law to interview anyone to make a hiring decision. It’s standard practice, but by no means mandated by law.

3) For most of the other types of compliance I mentioned above, organizations must have a repeatable process that applies the same criteria (the "job description" or requirements) to all candidates. Pre-screening questions are fine if all candidates are given the same questions to answer. In the case of the StickerGiant, as long as the questions adhere to legal requirements as far as non-discrimination and are applied evenly, there is no issue with using that method. IGN’s approach was unique, but applied equally across the board and relevant, so was fine.

4) Regarding social media profiles, there is a potential for serious error here. I know for a fact that there are at least 3 "Kristen Fife’s" in the US. How do I know that a potential employer is looking at ME as vs. the woman that played the drums in a Japanese band from California? It’s the same reason people sometimes have their credit profiles mixed up with someone that has the same name. Not to mention people that choose to use an alias or "nom de plume" for their online activities.

*Companies are opening themselves up to serious lawsuits by using social media profiles as one of the sole determinations of employee screening.

I have always supported some sort of online or media portfolio. There is almost no industry where you cannot create examples of your work efforts to share with potential employers. Having an industry blog is a great way of doing so, and totally appropriate to put on your actual resume/CV. Just make sure that what you are volunteering to share is polished and professional.

I received an email question from a business acquaintance today having to do with disclosing contact information to contract/temp agencies during her job search.

"I was filling out an application for a job and they are requesting not only the phone number of my former supervisors but their e-mail address. What is the typical policy about them contacting former bosses? I was surprised because I thought they could only contact HR to confirm that I worked at a particular company. One person no longer works for a company, but the other two still do work where they are at."

There are two pieces to this question. The first is the actual application (online or paper). This is the legal document that organizations use for EEOC/Affirmative Action tracking. She was asking about the former employers section which includes your title, job duties, supervisor name and title, pay rate, etc.

For the purposes of *employment verification*, you should include the corporate phone number for this area. These days most organizations have fairly strict guidelines about how questions can be answered. Usually, they will confirm (or deny) that Jane Doe worked at XYZ job from A date to B date, was paid $1.23 and is/not eligible for rehire. This is the information you *want* them to have.

But if you provide a former manager/supervisor’s contact information, they could contact your current or past manager and ask them questions about you that skirt Human Resources. If it is a current manager that doesn’t know you are seeking a new position, obviously this is a bad way to find out. The other reason you don’t want to provide direct contact information is often an agency will use it for a sales call. Obviously if they are hiring you for a temporary role, then the company you are coming from has similar roles. Believe me, finding out you gave this contact information to an agency can really annoy a former supervisor, regardless of your positive relationship with them. In the case above, don’t worry about whether or not a former manager is no longer with the company.

If you worked a temp job at another company, the information you want to use is the temp company and the name of your recruiter or employee rep as your supervisor, NOT the client company. You can indicate the client company on your resume, but the application should reflect the company that actually issues your paychecks. (Again, this is *legal* document.)

The second type are your business references; these are people that you have asked to attest to your work. These should be the people that will sing your praises to a potential employer and let them know how awesome you are. Business references should be recent (the last 2-5 years) and should include at least one supervisor or manager. If you had an exceptionally good temp experience, you could ask an individual manager if they would be willing to be a reference.

You should ask them what method of contact they prefer (email or phone call), and when you know they will be contacted, let them know that you have used them as a reference. Give them a head’s up of what the position is (or general type) so that they can think a bit about what they want to say. These are the same people you might ask to give you LinkedIn recommendations. The question often comes up as to whether or not to provide business references on an online application. I usually tell people that are leery that it is fine to put in the box "References provided upon offer" and then fill in the phone number with something like 425-999-9999 (as this often is a required field.)

I find it helpful to keep a .txt version of my full employment history and references handy. This may or may not be the same as your resume (for example I have a part-time retail job that I used as one of my most recent employers, but isn’t on my resume.) You’ll want their full mailing address, general telephone number (switchboard or HR line), your title, the month/year to month/year of your employment, your pay rate at hire/separation, manager/supervisor name and title. That way it’s easy to copy/paste or print up if you are applying in person via paper application.
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In honor of Veteran’s Day and because this scenario in general breaks my heart, I’m going to focus today on helping Veterans with some tips for job seeking. These tips are coming from a civilian recruiter and will help outline the challenges and communication barriers that are affecting us both in the recruiting process. Most of this will be geared toward young service men and women that joined the military soon after high school or with little civilian work experience.

1) Your resume needs to be in corporate-speak, not military jargon. 90% of the resumes I see from veterans list a bunch of military acronyms and terms that have absolutely no meaning to me. You need to work on getting your resume ready for the civilian world. And that means you need to talk to people that have experience in both worlds and can help you translate your experiences appropriately. Most state unemployment support offices have a liaison or specialist of some kind that can help you with this for free. You can also use LinkedIn and other business communities to find civilian recruiters that have military experience in their backgrounds and can help you. Most of them are happy to donate their time to a fellow veteran.

2) Attitudinal Changes. I’m not trying to tell you that your attitude is bad or wrong, but it is different and to join the civilian world, you need to make an adjustment in your thinking in how you interact with other people. When you are interviewing, you have to remember that although you come from a very structured environment where life or death decisions depend upon following orders, a strict changing of command and established protocols, in the civilian world employers are generally looking for people that think for themselves and understand how to prioritize depending on a much different set of circumstances, and that very very few decisions you are going to make will result in a life or death situation outside of specific industries (like health care).

3) Leadership in the corporate world is very different than leadership in the military. People that are leaders in the civilian world don’t expect instant obedience to every decision, and in fact they look for employees that can challenge those decisions and help deliver a better product or service through questioning and respectful disagreement. That isn’t to say that you should question everything directly, but it does mean that if you disagree with a leader or a process, you should explore how you might make it better or what a different approach is and then speak up. There are many individuals in management positions that may not be the best leaders, and there are ways for you to work within the organization (such as HR or mentoring outside your direct reporting structure) to address this when it becomes frustrating. When you are interviewing, you need to think of examples of experiences you had that you may not have agreed with or disliked; why you didn’t agree with them, and how you might have made changes to the process if you had the chance.

4) Learn to negotiate effectively. You need to know how to compromise and when to give and take (negotiation). Performance expectations are merit-based on an individual level in the corporate world, and the bell-curve is alive and well. "Huh?" you may be thinking to yourself. In the corporate world (a bit less in industries such as health care or any collective bargaining industry), you are judged on your performance in competition with your peers. It isn’t a cut-throat competition, but you need remember that although you are part of a group for the outcome of your efforts, you are being judged individually against your coworkers. And when employers are considering you for a job, part of the evaluation process is making sure you are aware of your own worth and can articulate it well to them *against other candidates*.

5) Understanding the value of networking outside the military. There is no doubt whatsoever that the military is one of the strongest professional networks on the planet, but when you are leaving the service, you need to think outside that network and find those people that will have a broader range of contacts. That isn’t to say that you should ignore your valuable contacts, but the people you need to be contacting are those with ties to industry and civilian employers. Think of those people that your network knows outside of their military career. For example, maybe the cashier at the PX is married to the manager at the local Costco. Or your Commander’s brother coaches a junior league soccer team in Duluth, where your wife wants to move to. That soccer coach is going to know local service providers like realtors and insurance agents, and they in turn are going to have clients that may be able to help you find connections for opportunities in the civilian world. Conversely, you have something in common with a lot of civilian manager right now in a shared military experience, and this is a way for you to form an instant rapport with them. It’s the equivalent of belonging to a sorority or fraternity or an alumna of a high school or college. It’s an instant bond that generally will make the other person feel good about being able to help another vet.

6) Work hard, play hard, know when to stay and when to go. The military is both a 24×7 job and also very structured in terms of shifts. You are on guard duty from 6 AM to 3 PM, then your time is your own; you are monitoring subs on the second shift, and your attention is 100% focused, then you are off (unless of course you are in a war zone, when you are duty every minute). You *are* the military in terms of conduct at all times. Being in the service isn’t a job, it’s a lifestyle commitment for as long as your serve. When you go into corporate America, you start a job or a career, and then when you leave your job, you change your role like you change your hat. Your life becomes your own. But here’s a fact to understand: very few jobs are not somehow entwined with your everyday life. You may work from 8-5, but you may need to be prepared to stay an hour extra to answer an email and finish a presentation, or give up your evening to attend an industry event. But, by the same token, you can take an extended lunch to go sign closing papers on your new house, or schedule a doctor’s appointment into your day. Your life becomes an ebb and flow of intertwined roles. But the one thing that is true regardless: what you do off the clock needs to be done with integrity and a degree of professionalism, and what you do on the clock needs to carry the same passion and conviction that you take with you to your son’s baseball game or the barbecue with your folks on Saturday.

It’s a tough economy, and there are tons of stories out there about how difficult it is for veterans to find jobs. Part of it is lack of jobs, but I also believe a large part of it is culture shock when leaving the military. Believe it or not, most employers sincerely *want* to hire vets. Some because it’s the right thing to do; some because it is mandated by law that employers consider vets and even get tax breaks of some sort for it; others because they have found that military training makes for a great employee. But to hire you, they have to get you in the door and through the vetting process.

One of my social contacts has been working in the same field for the same company pretty much since she graduated. They have been doing layoffs, and she has been advised to, ahem, "get her ducks in a row", so to speak. This is a brand new process for her, and I’m helping her out with it. Given that many people are going through this, I thought I’d put together a snapshot of things you need to be working on and considering.

The most obvious step people think of is "update your resume". That’s preparation 101. Yes, having your resume in order is key, but there are so many other things to do *while you are still employed* if you have any inkling that layoffs are in the wind.

1) Get LinkedIn recommendations *now* from managers, co-workers, vendors, business partners, etc. Once layoffs occur, many companies have policies against this.

2) Start building your job search strategy. This includes identifying companies/organizations you are interested in potentially joining, or that you know may have the contacts to help you in your search.

3) Start reaching out to known professional industry contacts. This might include sales folks, HR/recruiting types, association members that you interact with at those mixers or conferences; former managers or colleagues that have left the company in the last couple of years.

4) Build your reputation (also known as your "professional brand"). This is where Twitter, LinkedIn, online discussion groups/forums, and blogging all come in. There are two ways of doing this: asking thoughtful questions, and answering or commenting on online content. I was sitting in a staffing meeting with my team last week, and we were going over the results of the LinkedIn Talent conference my manager had attended. One of the slides he brought up had to do with LinkedIn. On the slide, he had "Ask Kristen about this; she’s got lots of expert ratings". It goes beyond just showing your knowledge, it is also one of the best *free* ways to build your network with offline conversations. Since LinkedIn made it possible for anyone to publish an article/blog, and you can share said article with anyone on any social channel, this is a great way to build credibility.

If you don’t have one, start a professional blog, and if you do have one, be religious not only about posting there, but also disseminating that information: on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter as status updates. Read online articles and blogs from other folks, and make thoughtful comments, especially if you disagree with anything they have to say, but be willing to support your dissent with "and here’s why" statements.

What you are doing is creating your own PR for the aggregated masses that are interested in the subjects you are expounding upon. (Like reading a blog on job seeking from a successful recruiter 😉

5) Start actively trying to be a speaker on industry panels, and be a resource for quotes in publications. How do you do that? Become friends with freelance reporters/journalists; they are always looking for sources. I did that and it landed me a year+ long gig as a columnist for the Seattle Times. I met my current manager when we both spoke together on a recruiting panel six years ago. We exchanged contact info, stayed in touch, and he actively pursued me when he started managing a tech recruiting team.

6) Start networking with non-industry professionals, and that means people like neighbors, service providers, those people that may yield unexpected leads for you.

Hopefully this list will help you prepare a little bit. It is good to do many of these things consistently throughout your career, but getting started before you are laid off can help mitigate some of the fallout.

It’s been a bit frustrating for me at work reading resumes of late. I’m seeing a lot of actual applications from the class of May/June 2012. I’ve got *one* entry level software engineer opening. But here’s the thing: we need someone that can start *now*. Not in January. Certainly not in May or June. So, class of 2012, unless you are looking at bona fide internships, let me ‘splain something to you about jobs and recruiting.

Those companies that you meet via your campus career center? They have what is called a campus recruiting process. Campus recruiting teams start hiring for candidates starting a good six-eight months out. Their organizations have built out what is called headcount (anticipating future hiring needs by budget and by actual future openings) to include the new hires fresh out of school (both undergrad and graduate students.) These are usually larger organizations that have robust businesses and the resources to train, onboard and mentor new graduates. And believe me, new graduates are a huge investment of resources for any organization beyond just "getting you in the door." You lack business savvy in addition to the training needed for your immediate job. It isn’t that you aren’t a valuable employee, it’s just that you need to learn about business as well as the job for which you are hired. Your education has given you *theoretical knowledge* which is geared for a perfect work situation, which rarely exists. Those of you with internships are a bit ahead of the curve, but two or three months in one job still isn’t the same as a seasoned employee with real-world experience in the business world (or non-profit, or academic or healthcare or whatever industry you are joining.)

It’s generally a waste of time for you to apply for positions you cannot start for well over two or three business quarters. And here is why. When my company opens a new job, it’s because there is an immediate need, either through attrition (someone left the job or team) or through organized headcount forecasting. And truthfully, that means we need someone to start in weeks, not months. And we need someone to hit the ground running, someone who can pick up the nuances of the organization’s culture and the mechanics of the job they are hired for in about 90 days or less.

So what *should* you be doing now?

First off, get an email address other than your "janedo@university.edu" account. Gmail, Yahoo, Live/Hotmail, whatever; keep it professional, not cutesy and please make sure your full name shows in the "From" field. Create a robust resume and LinkedIn profile (and upload your resume to your profile). If you haven’t done so, you should be getting at least one internship under your belt, and getting glowing references from both your manager and your co-workers; you should stay in touch with them after you return to school. Send them LinkedIn invitations and get recommendations from them! About 3 months before you are ready to start work (February, March), circle back with them and ask about entry-level openings in their company *and if they know of any other companies in the industry hiring entry level professionals*. Most people keep at least a few ties to former colleagues and companies, and they will occasionally ask for candidates or refer other great people.

You should be working with your career center to identify companies that have hired from your school in the past and creating a list of target companies. And go back further than just the last 3-4 years. Maybe a company used to come every spring but was hard hit with the recession or was bought by a larger organization. Go back five to ten years. Use LinkedIn to reference recruiters for those companies now. Not only that, if you have met any recruiters in the last few years, contact them. I’ve spoken on four panels *this year* around Seattle, and critiqued resumes at two other schools. I have given my contact info to almost all the students that have asked for it, and connected up with them on LinkedIn. I may not have a job for them, but I am certainly happy to forward requests for introductions to other recruiters or professionals in my network.

Join professional organizations in your field/industry, and start going to meetings. Take business cards (you can get cheap professional ones on VistaPrint, or even at FedexOffice, Home Depot or Staples) with you and start meeting people in your industry. Schedule informational interviews with professionals in the job you think you are interested in.

Ask your professors, coaches, and advisers if they know anyone at all in xyz industry, and if so would they be willing to introduce you via email? Then do the same with your parents, aunts, uncles, older siblings, cousins, and neighbors. Think of the professions where people *meet other people*. Bartenders, real estate agents, school parents that are sports coaches, ministers/priests/rabbis, hair dressers or barbers, doctors, dentists, attorneys, cab drivers, hotel managers, musicians, small store/cafe/restaurant owners, event planners including wedding coordinators. Anyone that has *clients or customers* knows people and has a network you can tap into.

This is the time for you to set the stage for contacting the right people *at the right time*. Whatever you do, don’t wait until three weeks before you start you graduate to start your job search, or you will still be looking this time next year. And please, stop applying for jobs you cannot start soon.

There was a question over on LinkedIn last week from a software architect debating an Executive MBA or FEMBA program. He works for a global company, and wants to get into a VP/C-level position for a "major player". But here’s the catch: his time frame is that he wants to do it in ~5 years. He was evaluating which MBA option was going to get him there faster and he wanted my opinion. And the truth is: neither is going to "get you there". An MBA is a great tool for someone that is an individual contributor and wants to get into management (or own their own business). But on its own, it’s not enough to catapult you to a leadership position. You need to combine it with experience, and going from being an IC to being a VP/C-level employee in a "major" company (ie Fortune 500) in five years is unrealistic. I suggested to him that he move in his current company aiming for a Director level position, then he can focus on moving into another company. But with no department, then business unit/division management experience, he cannot just expect to move into a senior leadership role in a large company.

Here in Seattle, there are ads on the bus for a local Technical MBA program. It starts with a point that says "Technologist" then it has a line that says "18 months ROI" and at the end it has a picture that says "Technology Strategist". This ad makes me so angry because of the blatantly false advertising. Getting an MBA isn’t going to miraculously change you into a "strategist". That takes several years of experience (which ten years as an Architect would qualify as). It’s a fallacy to believe that getting an advanced degree is automatically going to guarantee you a job as a leader in whatever industry you are entering, unless of course you open your own business.

I’m not saying that advanced degrees aren’t worthwhile or that they don’t open doors. Education is rarely a bad thing. And if one is in business and hopes to join management and "climb the ladder" as it were, an MBA is certainly helpful and can give you insight into business from several different angles; I’ve recruited for senior positions where an MBA is a hard requirement. But your education needs to be leveraged in tandem with *related work experience* to be of great value.

Just finished the annual JobMob contest. My entry:

First off, I want to be transparent.

I’m a member of GenX.

That being said, my own career and resume are much more reflective of current GenY statistics, something which has actually helped *me* professionally so I tend to be more more forgiving of short work stints although this is not the norm.

I recruit in the technology sector, which is generally much more in ‘tune’ with the younger workforce.

But there are some stereotypes about GenY that are based on truisms that are giving young professionals a bad rap.

4 Ugly stereotypes about Gen-Y job seekers

1) Rude

If you are applying to an established company, chances are good you will be going through a formal application process. This generally means applying online. This process is uniform and required so that all candidates are considered as objectively as possible, so trying to circumvent the process only gives recruiters and hiring managers a reason to start off with a bad impression.

It may seem cumbersome, but if you are looking for someone else to pay you, just play by their rules.

In the last three months, my company has been hiring interns and I cannot tell you how shocked my hiring managers and my recruiting colleagues are at the rudeness of candidates that we have scheduled for interviews.

Emailing us hours before an interview loop is scheduled to start and saying you’ve taken another job is unprofessional. It’s happened several times with my company in the last few months, and I’m hearing similar stories throughout the recruiting community.

At the very least, you should give a potential employer the courtesy of advance notice; time that busy professionals carve out to meet with candidates means that other work-related meetings cannot occur.

Even better, go on the interviews even if you have another offer in hand; it never hurts to have more than one offer.

2) Lacks Critical Thinking Skills and Self-Motivation

I’ve been seeing a couple of trends in phone screens and interviews the last few years that are leading companies to ‘no hire’ what appear to be great candidates.

Most companies are looking for highly self-motivated and driven professionals. When I was at Microsoft, I was screening recent MBA candidates, and all-too often I heard them say that they are looking for ‘mentoring’ from the organization that hires them.

It’s vital for GenY professionals to understand the difference between ‘the opportunity to be mentored’ and a formal, structured, mentorship program, sponsored and run by Human Resources.

I don’t know of any company that doesn’t encourage their employees to establish a relationship with other, more experienced leaders and to learn and grow. But in a company that values self-motivation, saying you are looking for ‘mentorship’ sends the impression that you are, quite honestly, looking for someone else to tell you what, when, and how to grow your career. And if you cannot do that yourself, you come across as lacking critical thinking skills and indecisive.

Given how ambitious most GenY’ers are, this is a major paradox.

I also have found that in interviews, many candidates talk about the successes and experiences of collaborative projects they have worked on. It’s vital for candidates to remember that they are being considered *individually*, not as a group. Interviewers want to know about you and your contributions and successes, not your teammates.

3) Commitment-phobic and Lazy

The average GenY professional statistically stays at jobs less than two years. Whatever the reasons, this gives the impression that you are only interested in money or the ‘cool factor’; you seem to be someone with either a short attention span or that doesn’t care about what they are doing enough to become invested in your career and employer.

It takes a lot of time to recruit, hire, and train one employee, so longevity is huge to employers.

You need to seriously think about your motivations and what you are looking for. It starts with your resume, and moves into your interview skills.

I mentioned earlier that I have a lot of short stints on my resume; in my case, it is because I contracted for a long time at Microsoft, where there is a 1-year cap on each contract. I’ve also had the same part-time job for over nine years. Put the two together, and I can show a steady history of commitment and growth. This is what employers are looking for.

4) Unrealistic Expectations

Finally, probably the most damaging stereotype is that of being both lazy and entitled. They go hand in hand.

Most companies have processes in place that are proven successful over the long haul. While having great ideas to contribute is always positive, going into a new job and convinced that you know the way to overhaul the company in the first three months isn’t practical.

Be patient, get to know the processes and the business landscape and don’t be shy about questioning them (Why? What? Who? When?). Do it respectfully, and if you can make a business case supporting your ideas for process improvements, start with the appropriate channels (generally your manager).

Leaders want improvement, but they want it to be backed by data as to how it positively impacts the bottom line.

When you are interviewing, keep this firmly in the back of your mind when you are answering ‘tell me about a time when’ questions. The truth is, in a few years, you’ll be in management and will start to make as many changes as you want and the rest of the world will be able to watch in amazement.

True stories: where Gen-Y stereotypes come from

I sent a ‘shout out’ to my recruiting community for additional feedback and experiences. Below is a response sent to me by a fellow recruiter just finishing up interviewing interns for a Fortune 100 company.

This is an object lesson in why these stereotypes exist:

Not showing up and calling days after the scheduled interview asking to reschedule. Typical excuses are food poisoning and grandmother died.

Showing up late to the interview and not apologizing.

Bringing family members with you to the interview including siblings. Family members not being respectful of the fact this is a place of employment.

Dressing inappropriately for the interview (wearing jeans with holes in them, low cut blouses’, flip-flops), overwhelming smells of smoke and or perfume or cologne, chewing gum.

Not having a properly formatted resume ‘ pasting job descriptions into the resume vs. showcasing the value and contributions they have provided.

Sense of entitlement: I have a degree, why are you not moving forward with me?

Excessive calls to the recruiter asking for status updates, decision status etc. Multiple calls within a week and emails.

Not being respectful of a recruiter’s time: rambling on about personal problems or trying to sell you on why they should have the job, unable to take no for answer.

Unrealistic salary expectations: ‘I have a degree therefore you should pay me this amount’ even though they do not have the actual work experience.

Unrealistic work experience: School projects do not necessarily translate into actual work experience

Lack of follow-up when action is requested or required from the applicant

Coming to the interview unprepared: application, not researching the company

Job hopping: boredom, dissatisfaction with their manager

Not acknowledging team work vs. individual collaboration. In most jobs we work with a variety of team members and to position yourself and the sole contributor doesn’t showcase your ability to work in a cross functional manner that most employers are looking for. And in some cases it comes off as bragging about your contributions.

If you can act professionally and create a great first impression, you have a chance to overcome the stereotypes that are perpetrated by your peers, and blow your competition out of the water

Read more at: http://jobmob.co.il/blog/generation-y-stereotypes/#ixzz1Ymt7xmCp

There has been a lot of talk the last several years about using Social Media as an pre-employment screening tool. In HR and recruiting circles, practices and opinions have varied widely. But the FTC has finally settled the matter: in June of this year, the FTC approved Social Intelligence Corporation, in the business of background verification specifically of Social Media. Their finding is that SI’s methods do not violate federal statutes aimed at guaranteeing an individual’s privacy.

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2387315,00.asp

What does this mean to the average job seeker? More than your realize. If you read the article, toward the end it gives examples about people losing a job offer or being out of the running for a job (ie someone that joined a Facebook group "I shouldn’t have to press 1 for English" was labeled a racist.)

The largest search engine is Google. Think about the latest craze to join Google+. Under the Terms and Condition’s of Google+ user agreement, you give Google access to anything you post on the site *in perpetuity* and agree to allow them to share that information with anyone they partner with (usually we think of advertisers, but I see Social Intelligence as a huge customer). They also have some strict identity strictures, such as anyone registering must use their "real" name and information. Put that together, and you are just opening yourself up for scrutiny. This is why it is so vitally important to guard your online persona as carefully as possible.

Part of my job is to find candidates. There are a large number of websites that can pull up archived information if a person has enough background information to actually create a profile for you. My favorites include http://archive.org, http://spokeo.com, and Google itself.

Just because you delete something off of a site doesn’t mean that it is deleted permanently off the internet. There are snapshots of content all over the place. Try running a Google search for anything. When the results come back, hit the blue hyperlink that says "Cached". It will bring up information that is stored on a server that is a snapshot of the original, which may no longer exist. Keep all this in mind when you are joining online groups, posting comments with your real name, and uploading photos of yourself that you might not want a potential employer to see. In the US, there are a lot of questions a recruiter cannot legally ask you such as marital status, ethnicity, religion, etc. But if you are on Facebook and you join the group "Pakistani Muslim Dating Connector" you’ve given that information away for a company like Social Intelligence to find.

Privacy online does not exist anymore. All we can do is try and safeguard our own profiles as much as possible by being smart and knowing the risks inherent in sharing too much.

This past weekend I was on vacation. Technically, it was a camping trip; realistically it was very much more than that. There were 11,000+ people with a common interest that all volunteer together. Think something like Burning Man but older, more established, and with participants around the globe.

I taught two tracks on using volunteer experience in our group for resume content and networking. I asked everyone in both class tracks "how many of you know the title and companies where your fellow volunteers work?" I was greeted with a few blank looks.

When you volunteer with someone, you *work* with them. They know your strengths and work ethic. They are also a valuable resource for job seeking. As a recruiter, one of the first things I ask when I meet someone is about their careers/jobs. It’s natural for me in my profession. But it is also relevant for anyone that is job seeking.

But it isn’t just your volunteer organizations. Your 3rd grader’s teacher may be married to the CFO of a local company looking for an Accounting Manager. Your yoga instructor may have a roommate that is a manager at an auto parts store looking for a sales associate. My point is, "networking" isn’t about asking for a job. It’s about building your resource pool, and getting to know the people around you and how you can benefit each other. And that is a key concept: benefiting EACH OTHER. It isn’t just recruiters that know who’s hiring, it’s also anyone that is working.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: the single most effective way into any organization is employee referrals. So get to know the employees of target companies you are interested in working for.