I really like the concept of climbing the "career lattice" that this HR exec from Deloitte discusses in this recent Times article Up the Ladder? How dated. How literal.
If only it were true. In PR...you step to the side and you're toast. You want to leave for a few years and come back...good luck. Not one of my clients tolerate a background that is anything but straight as an arrow linear. Maybe HR folks and hiring managers are harder on headhunters than they are when reviewing resumes that come in from job boards or through a referral. But what I see is that clients want people who don't stray off the path, and if they do, there better be a good explanation for taking the risk. And it you're too long on the path without upward mobility, that is sorely noted as well.
Maybe it's just a lot of HR babble to make them look good. I don't buy it.

I don't get it...This NY Times article says ground-breaking Generation Y is using networking to get new jobs. What's so different about that? I never wanted to do what my parents told me to do when I was their age, and "networking" with your friends when you need a new job is common sense 101.
Here's the article

This article, written in 1899, talks about how difficult it is to find a truly effective and trusted employee, and how once that person is found, they'll never be let go. A Message to Garcia, written by Elbert Hubbard.

Labels: Job Hunting Advice

Last week I put "I'm really busy" on my linked in status and got two responses! First of all I didn't know you could get a response from your status, secondly I thought wow, people actually read that, and third -- was me being busy really that startling? That's scary. Truth is that I decided I had bought into the doom and gloom just a little too much and the next thing I knew, I wasn't working very hard. Then dozens of stupid things to do started popping up. Next thing you know, my inbox was overflowing and no candidates are being sent for jobs and no marketing Charet & Associates was a thing of the past. Now I'm actually telling people who write to me how slow it is and what do you know...I'm spreading the doom and gloom myself!
So, I decided to get really busy. To start communicating to people, send letters and emails, answer my phone calls again (what?) call old clients, get out and meet people. I'm promoting getting busy. If feel good doing that.

In this current economic climate, job insecurity and a climbing unemployment rate means more resumes are flooding in to answer job ads. Since sending a resume takes just a click of the finger, you can just imagine how many people send their resumes to jobs that they don't qualify for. But you qualify...why don't you ever hear back? It may have nothing to do with the way you say it. It could be as easy as this: THEY DON'T KNOW WHO YOU ARE.

There are lots of opinions on the subject of writing resumes. These tips have nothing to do with how you say what you do. They have to do with getting your resume to first base: under the nose of a live human being.

First, you need to name your resume with your NAME. I'm talking about the name of the document, which has to be simply, your NAME. So the first DON'T is this: DON'T name it "Resume" or even worse, don't call it "Resume 6" or "Tech PR Resume" or something like that, which would indicate that this version of your resume is slanting your experience in one industry or discipline, and that you have several versions floating around. I'm not saying here that you should not emphasize different areas of your resume for specific jobs. I'm just saying that you shouldn't let everyone know that. Every hiring manager dreams about that special person out there that has everything they're looking for in the perfect proportion. Definitely show them that you are that person by adjusting your resume for the job. But don't advertise that you're morphing yourself into a "square" but also could be a "round" for another job, by naming each version of your resume. Just name your document with your own name, and use a sneaky code of some sort (not too obvious of course) to help you quickly determine, for your own records, which version you're sending. Keep in mind that the name of your document is not a field used only for your own internal filing. It is the name of the document that also gets filed in the potential employer's system.

Big DON'T #2: Don't put your name and address in a header. It's true that headers make the resume look more professional. But think about whose hands we want this resume to get into before using headers. Headhunters and HR professionals use software programs that pull information off resumes and put it directly into a database. The resume is saved and inserted in the record with the information pulled from the top few lines of the document. Information in a header is not 'seen' by these programs so your resume is saved with no name and address on it. Your great credentials are stored in the database that way: a homeless soul with no name.

Keep in mind that especially in times like this, an HR person or the hiring manager may be receiving hundreds of resumes and it's overwhelming. Make it easy for them. When there is a volume of responses, something that could take as much as two minutes to correct is not worth it and they'll just hit delete. It's sad, but true. And that my friend, may be why you never hear back even though you were perfect for the job. They didn't know who you were.

Labels: Job Hunting Advice

One of our favorite clients serves healthcare companies with corporate and financial PR support. As products hit the market, the firm will need to help these clients with supportive marketing and PR strategies to compliment the corporate work. We're looking for strategic communicators with experience working on marketing PR initiatives for healthcare clients in an agency setting. This person should be ready to take on responsibility for developing and implementing these programs, and building a successful marketing PR group. To be considered, candidates MUST have agency experience - ideally five to ten years. The company rewards accomplishments and provides an entrepreneurial, friendly environment where one can learn from knowledgable and encouraging professionals and get the chance to show their worth and really feel the good impact they make on the client side, as well as for the agency itself.

Labels: PR Job Listing

One of the top boutique firms in the ccountry is looking for a Mandarin speaking account person for their NYC office. The right person will have excellent client relationship skills, and an understanding of the basics of IR and PR, to work with a variety of Asian accounts, helping to provide them with strategic communications programs. Frequent travel to Asia. Work with a great team of professionals.
We're looking for anywhere from three to eight years of experience. The job depends more on the right fit than a particular level. Salary will be comensurate. It's an agency that pays well, and rewards good work. Excellent benefits.

Labels: PR Job Listing