Wolf Gugler Executive Search

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  • Job Hunting tips from the Recruiter’s perspective

    It’s a fact today that competition at every level is fierce, especially with electronic job posting media. But, don’t let that fact stand in the way of putting your best foot forward when applying via email to a third party Recruitment firm like ours. In this article, we’ll try to provide you with a few tips on making yourself stand out from the crowd, and getting the Recruiter on your side.

    1. Do the recruiter a BIG favor and name your resume attachment with your given name, e.g. John Doe. Many recruitment software packages find it easier to have the candidate’s name as the file name, rather than “JD newest 03/03”. Even if the company doesn’t have a job for you today, it may mean the difference at a later date when they are able to retrieve your file and keep you abreast of new positions as they become available.
    2. Your cover letter is your chance to sell yourself to a potential employer as the best candidate for a specific position. As such, it’s just as important as your resume. In fact, you should never send out a resume without one. The most important thing to remember is that your cover letter serves a separate function from your resume and should not be used to repeat the details of your resume, such as work history, education, or personal objectives. The resume is about you, your experience and your skills. The cover letter is about what you can do for the employer. Try to cover off  a) introducing yourself, b) your reason for writing, and c) your next steps re: calling to follow up by a certain date. Make it succinct; bullets are easier to read that flowery paragraphs. Send your resume with it as one document, not two separate attachments.
    3. Make sure in your contact information you provide name, phone numbers (home, cell number, etc.) and your email address. You don’t have to send job hunting information from your company email address; simply set up a free Yahoo or MSN email account, and use this specifically for your job search.
    4. Have your resume ready to go in electronic format, e.g. with the “.txt” extension. Some firms do not accept attachments, and in this case, you need to be prepared and have this ready to send. The text version of your résumé will not look as nice cosmetically, but everyone will be able to read it, despite what word processing software they may be using. To do so, simply take your completed résumé in MS Word, WordPerfect, etc. and use the “File”à”Save As” commands. Then highlight “.txt” as the document type, and presto! You’re ready. Don’t forget to name it with your given name.
    5. Follow up with an email or phone call a week or so after forwarding your resume. While many Recruiters try to respond to all inquiries, sometimes it can become laborious to get to everyone in a short time period. Remind the Recruiter about your background in a few sentences, to help you become top of mind to them. See if you can gain a short amount of “face time” with them, in order to promote your skills further. But, do realize the Recruiter receives many request like this on a daily basis, and has to try and meet only those potentially suited for active searches.

    In our next article, we’ll provide you with some Interview tips. In the meantime, good luck with your career search.

  • The Importance of a Good Job Description

    One of the most important pieces in the entire recruitment process is the Job Description.

    When considering an addition or replacement to any staff lineup you have to ask yourself, have we clearly defined the role and responsibilities of the position?   Most jobs are pretty self-explanatory right?  Sales representatives sell, accountants count and merchandisers, merchandise.  It all seems pretty simple – not quite so.

    How many times have you heard, “it’s not in my job description.”   We can resolve this problem quite simply.  Every individual within the organization or on your team needs a job description.

    A clearly defined job description clarifies the role and responsibility so that everyone knows exactly what he or she is supposed to do and what the company’s expectations are.

    The importance of a job description:

    • Improves the corporate culture as it is clear what it means to do a “good job” and what it means to “go above and beyond”.
    • Assists in the recruitment process.  By clearly defining the role you are looking to fill, it is easy for potential candidates to understand your expectations of them.
    • In addition, the candidate gets a sense of the definitive career paths within your organization.  Individuals more junior can see early what it takes to secure a job more senior than their own, if that is the route they want to pursue.

    A good job description will:

    • Explain the major functions, duties and responsibilities of the job.
    • Highlight the specific skills that are most relevant to the job.
    • Explain what it’s like to work in your environment.

    A job description will rarely be a laundry list of every single task associated with a job.

    As a business stakeholder, manager or owner you are likely responsible for defining the roles of those who work within your organization but you don’t have to go it alone. Invite those currently executing the job to provide feedback on what they think their job is and what it should be. This can be a very revealing exercise!

    In most cases, job descriptions do not need to be overly complex especially if you are a small company.

    With excerpts from www.expertbusinesssource.com

     

     

     

     

  • Being an Assertive Manager

    There are many of us who aren’t assertive by nature, but we’ve all seen and commented about managers who let others “walk all over them”. It’s not necessary to be a bully to get one’s point across to these types of employees, and not necessary to terminate them either. Rather, it takes an assertive approach to making them understand who’s in charge and what the consequences are for poor behaviour or under-performance. Here are a few pointers that may make life easier for both parties:

    First, remain calm; showing excitement or hostility will simply escalate the situation. Second, qualify whether the employee is being difficult due to being aggressive, passive or assertive.Aggression is simply one who doesn’t budge on an issue and likes being hard on people. They’re difficult when they like to place roadblocks to productivity. These types will not take action to resolve a situation and aren’t typically confrontational. The passive person is usually noticed due to their inactions. Don’t confuse this though with someone who simply made a mistake.

    Third, do respect others’ rights and look for compromise if it’s appropriate. If you want others to listen to you, you better have listened to them, even if you disagree with them. Sometimes being an assertive employee is fine, if they  stick to the facts and don’t let a situation deteriorate into a shouting match or retaliation.

    There are different types of assertive statements that can be used in different situations:

    Factual; offer a straightforward response that makes your thoughts very clear with no misunderstandings.

    For example, “I need you to be at the meeting tomorrow by 9AM” leaves no room for misunderstandings.

    Expressive; showing your negative feelings on a specific situation, without becoming emotional, e.g. “I get annoyed when you tell my staff what you want done; in the future, I’d like you to check with me and I’ll delegate the tasks to the appropriate person.”

    Empathetic; “I know you’re swamped with customer service issues, but I just need five minutes with you to go over this sales proposal.”

    Responsive; finding out what the other person’s thoughts on a situation are, e.g “what do you think our chances of winning this piece of business are?”

    Differing; “We do expect weekly sales call reports, but yours have been monthly; we do need them weekly to track our sales statistics.”

    Understanding the difference between being assertive and confrontation can, in many cases lead to better morale, productivity and make you a respected leader in your organization.

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