Wendy Weber on Executive Recruiting

…so says Betsy Goldberg, in her article entitled, “Get a Leg Up on Your Job Search”, in the March 2010 issue of Money Magazine.

Goldberg outlines these strategies for getting onto, and staying on, a recruiters’ radar:

FIND THE RIGHT RECRUITERS
Headhunters often specialize by industry or job function. Thus, the best way to find someone is via your network. You’re likely to get a better response if you’ve been referred, so ask friends in your field which pros were helpful to them, or use LinkedIn to check whether current or former co-workers are connected to recruiters; alternatively, see whether your industry association can suggest someone. It’s worthwhile doing all this even if you’re not job hunting just yet. Building a network takes time, and you might as well get a headstart.

MAKE THE INITIAL CONTACT
Write a brief introductory email explaining where you’ve worked, what you have accomplished, and what you’d like your next move to be. Attach a resume.

MAINTAIN THE RELATIONSHIP
Refer candidates when appropriate; people like to help those who have helped them. Return calls quickly and be open-minded about opportunities.

And if you land the job? Be sure to tell the employer about your positive experience with the headhunter – because recruiters especially like people who help them get jobs!

I am a member of a group of direct marketers called the Direct Marketing Idea Exchange. We meet periodically at New York’s Yale Club to share ideas and listen to speakers who are leaders in our industry.

Today Bob Allen, interim CEO of the Direct Marketing Association, joined us. Our meeting began with a lively dialogue on the relevance and future of the DMA. It was a productive discussion that resulted in a number of interesting suggestions intended to invigorate the association.

It was interesting, and somewhat disheartening that the 4 speakers at today’s luncheon are NOT DMA members, nor do they define themselves as direct marketers:

Michael Ferrante, CEO of Endai Worldwide
Chris Humber, Group Director of SEO for 360i
Ben Kirshner, CEO of Elite SEM
Jon Queen, CEO of El Toro

They represent the new breed of direct marketers. While “old time” direct marketers speak of “traditional media” and “new media”, to this new generation of marketers, it is all simply “media”. And it seems that the term “direct marketing” is associated with “old media”.

If you define direct marketing as one-to-one marketing that is quantifiable, it certainly would still be considered very relevant. But if the new generation of thought leaders don’t embrace the existing definitions, where does that leave the rest of us? Call it symantics if you wish, but it was an eye-opening revelation to our group.

The DMA, and those of us who make our living in the arena currently known as direct marketing, must change with the times. Some of it will be as simple as becoming better acquainted with different terminology; some of it will be more complex…learning more about, and embracing, some of the newer direct channels.

It has been said that the only constant is change. That is true in life, and true in our industry…whatever we call ourselves.

Have you ever heard of “white-fonting?” The practice of considering every possible keyword an employer’s parsing system might seek during it’s resume screening process, and putting them in the margins of your resume in small type, then setting the font color to white.

If you have encountered the frustration of forwarding your resume to a large company that posts job openings, and then utilizes a computer screening program to select the most qualified candidates by scanning for certain keywords that match the job’s required qualifications, read on…

After you “white-font”, no human looking at the document can see the words, but if all goes as planned, the computer will read them, and send your resume straight to the top of the pile!

In an enlightening article in the New York Post, this practice is revealed. Click here to read the entire article.

I am in the trenches, so to speak, reviewing resumes and speaking with employers every day. I had never heard of this practice. Although the article quotes career strategists and executive recruiters who claim to be familiar with white-fonting, it’s the first I’m hearing of it.

Have you heard of white-fonting? As an employer, have you felt deceived by it? As a job seeker, have you been successful by utilizing it?

This story captured my imagination, and I would love to hear from you about whether this practice actually exists, or whether it is “an urban myth.”

This is just fun! Glassdoor.com has compiled the Top 25 Oddball Interview Questions.

Questions include:

How would you move Mount Fuji? (Asked at Microsoft)
If I put you in a sealed room with a phone that had no dial tone, how would you fix it? (Asked at Apple)
How many lightbulbs are in this building? (Asked at Monitor Group)
If you saw someone steal a quarter, would you report it? (Asked at Amazon)

Glassdoor.com is a career and workplace community where anyone can find and anonymously share salary details about specific jobs for specific employers or company and interview reviews describing life on the inside of an employer. What sets them apart is that all their information comes from either the employees who work there or the candidates who have interviewed there.

Crandall founder Hal Crandall had an unorthodox but unyielding requirement of any potential hire: they had to wear a wristwatch. (Of course, this was in the days before everyone had a computer screen with the time displayed in front of them). He felt that it was critical to be aware of the time, so that deadlines could be met and appointments could be kept. When interviewing someone who said that they “didn’t like” to wear a watch, and would just ask a co-worker what time it was he became doubly upset…that not only meant that time wasn’t valuable to the interviewee, but that that person would be willing to distract a worker that did wear a watch!

I’m not convinced the 25 interview questions above yield answers that would result in the most enlightened hires. Have you asked, or been asked, any interview questions that might sound oddball but resulted in an intelligent hire?

ExecuNet, a private network for business leaders, conducts a monthly survey of executive search firms known as the Recruiter Confidence Index. According to their latest survey, recruiting firms now expect a 19 percent increase in management search assignments from corporate clients – the highest since early 2008 – and are adding staff in anticipation of the growth.

According to December’s survey of 153 executive recruiters, 54 percent are confident or very confident the executive employment market will improve during the next six months – up from 50 percent in November. In addition to forecasting a double-digit increase in assignment growth in the year ahead, 21 percent of all search firms are planning to add professional staff in the first quarter of 2010.

Mark Anderson, president and chief economist of ExecuNet says: “The anticipated increase in search activity shows companies have started to expand their workforces after a long period of cutbacks.”

Introduced in May 2003, the Recruiter Confidence Index is based on a monthly survey of executive search firms. A leading indicator for the economy and the executive job market, a reading above 50 percent indicates recruiters expect the number of search assignments in the next six months will increase.