Personal PSA: I’m on Waivers

Over four years ago, I would never dream about owning a business, but with the terrible situation I was in at that time, I had to make a move. I got some advice from my alums at George Mason, Facebook, fellow HR/recruiting peers, family  and some friends to start initially a contingent recruiting firm, which is currently a recruiting consulting firm for nonprofits and associations.

I was excited to kick my business into gear. Then I realize, I was starting when the recession hit in 2008. I had little to no business in my first year and trying to stay alive. Luckily, I saved my salary and vacation money to carry me over a year.  During that one year, I discover how to use social media not only personally, but professionally. When I establish my foothold in social media,  clients came by and business started to pick up.  My HR/recruiting expertise plus social media gave me an advantage for more clients. 2010 and 2011 were great years for my business and I was optimistic my business would carry through 2012.

The first month was great with the D.C. Greatest Sports Fan contest and publicity from Tony Kornheiser that I got some requisitions. However, 2012 has been a huge downhill as the elections were coming and dealing with my clients, donations were down and state and federal funding have been slashed, hence not a lot of job openings for my clients and likely not  going to use me for a while.

Thus, I’m announcing that I’m on the Waiver Wire (I was going to say Free Agent, but Dan Pink stole my thunder).

So, I come to you to help me find my next opportunity. Essentially, I’m looking for a recruiter position, contract or full-time; an HR position, either as administrator or generalist, preferably in nonprofits/associations or an organization that is creative and think outside-the-box. I also have being going outside of HR and looking at career services jobs since a lot of people still ask me for advice and thinking looking into being a community manager since I deal with George Mason Business School alums for almost four years, voluntary and, if this counts, the #nats and #mrtony hashtag. I would like to still be in the D.C. area, but if anyone wants me outside the D.C. Metro area area, I can work virtually or travel for a few weeks.

Also, if you’re wondering, although I’m closing Tran Recruiting for now, I will continue NatsJobs for next year. It is under construction as I’m updating the web and mobile site for next year and currently looking for a co-founder who is a web/mobile developer.

So if you know an organization that  is looking, please forward my information:

• Linkedin: my profile
• Twitter: use hashtag #hiretracy or if that’s too common, #hirethisdope
• Quora: WWTNTD?
• Pinterest/Instagram: Use an embarrassing profile pic of me. Free shot.
• Foursquare: feels stalkerish. You can skip that.
• Prefer by email, reply to me at tracy@tranrecruiting.com

Being an entrepreneur was the best career move I made so far as I set the standard, meeting wonderful people, had a variety of ideas for different clients, and controlling my own destiny. As Tony Kornheiser would say every June, “I had a great run!” I really did, but onto the next chapter in my career.

If I Were Running A Company…#iwilllovethisjob

People among my profession have been talking recently about the candidate experience. The candidate experience is telling organizations how to contact applicants.  It’s an approach to show organizations care that you applied, but for most instances, it is the typical generic answer that organizations thanks you, but tell you to find something else and they’ll keep your resume on file for a year. However, there is one person who has customized the candidate experience that blends the applicant, the organization, and himself.

Kevin Conroy is the Director of User Experience and Product Development at GlobalGiving. He recently posted a position for an Unmarketing Manager that he is hiring for. It has the job description and requirements for the position, but if you scroll down to the job posting to the “How to Apply” section, it’s very detailed. That is because Conroy want “… is make the process fun and engaging for everyone involved.”

I had a conversation with Conroy about why he did this. Conroy states:

“I’ve been the hiring manager for dozens of different positions at different companies over the years and I’m sick of reading boring resumes and cover letters that don’t tell me what the candidate is like – and doesn’t give the candidate a chance to express their passion for why they want the position. Even the best written cover letter can’t hold a candle to some of the creative applications that I’ve seen in the last week for this position. The goal here is to see who is really passionate about this position and the cause of GlobalGiving. We want to get a sense of if this person will be a good fit.”

Conroy then discuss his process:

“…if the team you want to join doesn’t like your creative approach to applying, will they welcome a creative approach that you take on the job? If you can afford to be selective about what job you want to take, then you owe it to yourself to make your application original, authentic, creative, and passionate. Anything less is just another paper on the stack of resumes and cover letters that every hiring manager gets.”

Is Conroy’s process innovative? In a job search…absolutely. Think of Conroy’s approach as casting for a reality show where the first show is people taping themselves to be on the show and then get picked.  Conroy has brought a “reality show” element to the application process and like any reality show, there will be challenges from:

• Writing a sample newsletter that you would send to engage our email subscribers.
• Show us how you would promote projects or content on Twitter or on Facebook.
• Tell us three specific changes you would make to the site to make it more engaging. Bonus points for mockups.
• Think outside of the box and unmarket yourself to us. If you pick this option, we trust that you know what to do.

After the challenges, it is to the final interview(s) to make sure the applicant is genuine and is not doing lip service. By making it a “reality show” feel, Conroy has succeeded in improving the candidate experience. However, Conroy did something else that only a rare few have done and that is telling the public what to expect working for him before the interview.

Many businesses discuss their workplace culture, projects, benefits, and others, but the hardest part of the hiring process is how the applicant and the hiring manager co-exist before meeting each other. On the job description, Conroy lays out who he is looking for and what is expected of joining his department. Simply, he’s doing acculturation through the job description.

So far, there has been a huge response to the Unmarketing Manager position from the #iwilllovethisjob thread and the applicants Conroy is receiving. From the looks of it, there are a bunch of passionate people who care about GlobalGiving and are willing to do anything for an interview.

Would I recommend Conroy’s approach in recruiting? That depends on the position and culture of the organization. If the organization is looking for an accountant or in-house attorney, it would never fly. However, if you have position openings in communications, development, marketing, and HR, you can pull it off, but you need an open culture and an open-minded hiring manager. For GlobalGiving, they’re fortunate to be an open organization and a hiring manager thinking outside the box. That is an organization I want to work for.

If I Were Running A Company…Reverse Job Application

I saw a Buzzfeed post on my Google Reader about someone creating a reverse job application.  In summary, a person name Andrew Horner, has been unemployed for two years after college.  He has applied to companies, but he has been passed by to all the jobs he has applied for.  After his struggles, he took upon himself to control the job market by announcing companies to apply of making him an offer…and there’s a form for companies to apply for Andrew’s services.

If you look at the big picture, Andrew has some onions and I love his bold approach.  It is in my top 3 most creative job seeking approaches behind this guy and ahead of resume shirts. I love his attitude that he wants control of situation and you can’t knock him on that.  I really think this is an innovative idea and hopefully he succeeds.

My overall problem with his approach is in two steps: “Who are you and what do you do?” It’s great that Andrew is “creative, professional, hoping to learn new things.”  Wonderful, he joins the other 150 Million people who have the same attributes.  He is not distinguishing himself from the pack.

Another problem I have for his reason to create his reverse job application is a quote from Andrew himself:

I’d sent out volleys of applications to a slew of companies, all of which I was qualified to work for, none of which ever responded.

There is no strategy in his job search.  Then this bother me as well:

Encourage me to make new friends. Networking opportunities will help me grow and ensure that my ideas stay fresh. The ideal candidate for employing will offer plenty of chances for me to meet new people.

You can’t do that at your own time?  There are times you have to network for yourself.  If he wanted a real-life reverse job application, he could of attend the Reverse Job Fair and stand out from the rest. My belief on Andrew’s job search is he was doing it the old fashion way.  I wonder why all this trouble?

Then, I discovered his resume.  After looking at his resume, I will say that he needed more information on his work experience and his accomplishments.  This is why most HR professionals are hesitant to ask Andrew for an interview because there’s so little to ask from that resume.  HR professionals and recruiters want a lot of information from applicants either on your resume, your cover letter, or your social media profile.  It’s a two-way street between the applicant and the recruiter.

If there are recommendations for Andrew, I would tell him to add information on his resume and get a Linkedin profile and join relevant groups.  After saying that, he has gotten a huge response from his Reverse Job Applicant, including Buzzfeed, so there might be a demand for him.

So Andrew, if you’re still not getting responses, I can help you out and good luck on finding the right company/organization.

If I Was Running A Company…Cover Letters

There is debate if it is necessary to have cover letters.  Here’s the breakdown:

• Recruiters look for information of your background.
• Hiring Managers look for style and substance.

Is it important to have a cover letter?  Yes, but the cover letter starts in the second round when the Hiring Manager receives it from HR/Recruiting department.  So when writing a cover letter, focus on the hiring manager, not the recruiter (unless the hiring manager is the recruiter).

If I Was Running A Company…Nonprofit Careers

In honor of Nonprofit Career Month, and since I deal with nonprofits all day, I’ll take a stab of what it takes to be in nonprofits.

This is a unique time for a nonprofit employee and job seeker.  The economy is still recovering from the recession, but nonprofits are laying off and eliminating jobs to save costs.   However, there are plenty who want to come into the nonprofit world but don’t know how.  Here are the three questions you must ask yourself:

The first question is what is your motivation.  You must have a purpose of why you’re going to nonprofits. Please do not say that you want to go to nonprofits for the sake of it.  In nonprofits, there are numerous choices to go work for nonprofits from the environment, education, civil rights, jobs, even Furry Animal Mascots.  The point here is have a focus on what you want to do and if its money, then work for a for-profit company (unless you want to make money digital and paperless, then there’s an organization for that, I think).

The second question you must ask is do you have the threshold to be in the nonprofit sector.  Remember that nonprofits don’t pay well and work long hours on occasion.  Can you take being underpaid but also take steps to budget yourself for the year?  Can you move closer to your workplace? What about alternative transportation? Eat out or go organic? Do I want to start a family?  All these questions (and more) must be answer and plan ahead.

The third and final question is do you have the skill set and dedication to move into nonprofits.  Every skill set can be transferable from all sectors, but can you be 100% committed to a new area?  Although skill sets transfer, the rules, procedures, and environment change.  Basically it is asking: Are you willing to convert from evil to good?

If your answer is that you still want to work for nonprofits, then act like a nonprofiteer and be proactive.  Go volunteer to events that you want to attend, attend  networking events for a good cause (like Twestival), find people through social media since most nonprofiteers are there, and find people who know how nonprofits operate in their area (HR, Finance, Programs).  To give you a head start, here are the Nonprofit Millennial Bloggers Alliance. 

In a nonprofit career, you have to be 100% committed and dedicated on what you’re doing and anything less than that, try to find another profession.  There are many causes to work or join;  you just have to find something that gets you motivated for your own reason to make your nonprofit career work.

Good Luck!

If I Was Running A Company…Authenticity

Authenticity is the hot word in the job and social media realm.  You can easily define authenticity as real, honest, transparent, and genuine.  If the definition is easy, then why is it so hard to find it?  The answer is it varies if you talk to individuals.

The thing about authenticity is everyone knows what they’re looking for, but can they find it?  Authenticity has two tiers: the one that’s on your profile and the one where you meet face-to-face.  The one on your profile (resume, social media profiles) quantifies your attributes while going into the real world and meeting other people is the quality attribute of you.  The latter is hard to determine and that is where most of us have a hard time looking for authenticity.

The main problem why it’s hard to determine if the person is authentic is we don’t know how many layers the person has.  The person could be a straight shooter in all of their conversations; the person knows how to speak in different environments from on and off work to home; the person might be a terrible employee but might have a heart of gold; or the person might be a great employee but is a terrible person.  There are a trillion plus possibilities of personalities, but people want to put labels.  This is where the line is blurred if each of us want o be authentic or be authentic according to our opinions.

There are two things about being authentic:

1. Keep an open mind to whoever you meet.  There are some will surprise and some you expect and some will disappoint.  That’s why we meet in person.
2. We know who we are, but if someone has a different view about you, can you accept that answer?  If not, can you defend yourself?

Basically, we all know what authenticity is, but can we see who’s authentic?  That question depends on your point of view and gut instincts.  Our judgment will lead to a certain direction, but is it the direction that you want?

If I Was Running A Company…Graduate Degrees

This is not a good time for new graduates (undergraduate and graduate) of getting a job.  They’re only hope is landing an internship or an entry-level job just to get a foot in the door.  Sadly, there are a few openings of those positions.  An easy solution is to get a graduate degree that you’re still honing your craft.  That might be true 2-3 years ago, but with all the information that is available, is it really necessary to have a graduate degree?

There are only a few positions that need graduate degrees from being a doctor, an architect, an engineer, and a lawyer.  A graduate degree in those areas is required because there’s an additional skill beyond what you learn and think.  Those positions are essentially a minor league farm system for firms in those areas.

What about the professional services positions like finance, communications, human resources, and others?  Although a graduate degree would be nice on your resume, it should not be a requirement in these jobs.  There are some positions that require or “strongly recommend” a Masters or MBA and some might be hesitant to apply for those positions.   Is there a way to go around it?  Absolutely.

Let’s be honest, if you are in a professional services position like myself, you’re expendable.  There are many financial, HR, marketing and communication positions.  If you’re doing a bad job, the employer can find someone else from the street and do the same work.  So, how could you differentiate yourself from the others?  You literally have to throw the kitchen sink.

Have the basics like your resume, cover letter, and references, but do not stop there.  Do some networking, build your social media profiles, join groups and follow your peers.  Then, study your position, the industry, and potential employers you want to focus from the resources you’re given from your local public library to the interwebs.  When you have the knowledge down, try to blend your knowledge, skills, and interests and start a blog.  Write a few posts of your experiences and ideas on how to tackle a situation and be very specific about it.

When you have all the materials needed, try to integrate your blog to the rest of the social media sites.  Also, start creating business cards with your contact information, background, your social media profiles and your blog website.  When you’re at a networking event, write your name on your badge and include your Twitter handle.  Then, follow-up on your contacts with your new signature line with the same things I mention on your business card.  It’s all about integration and if the recruiter loves what you’re doing, you might get a pre-screen.

A graduate degree is expensive, yet it brings a prestige to your resume which is great and all.  However, I would want employees who care about their craft.  If you’re willing to share your knowledge to an organization, do not be afraid to be out there and forward everything to a recruiter and flaunt it.  At the least, you might get a shot in a pre-screen.  .  The blog and social media would not help you get a job, but there will be someone who will give you an opportunity and when that comes…Seize It.   That is what all this information is there in the beginning: opportunity.  When you land a job, do not stop.  Continue writing your blog and still continue to learn through the different mediums because you never know the future will hold.

A graduate degree might cost a lot of money, but learning is priceless.  Don’t forget that lesson;  it might come up in an interview or a meeting.

If I Was Running A Company…Luck and Timing

After you applied for the position;  the networking;  the pre-screen interviews;  the face-to-face interviews;  the thank you notes;  the phone calls;  and the reference checks, two words that makes a difference when you are offered the job: Luck & Timing.

 

 

 

 

 

If you expect drawn out details on how to get lucky and know when it’s your time…you are thinking way too hard in your job search.

If I Was Running A Company…Advice

I rarely give advice to the general public, but there is one advice I want to share with everyone:  Information is everywhere.

You can get information from organizations and workers about the company culture and the people from talking face to face, research at the library, and/or go on the internet and utilize those resources on job searches and organizations you want to work with.  Read numerous sources and try to find your bullseye.  That’s it, you all have a great day, send me an email if you want to talk further about my advice.

It’s that easy for my advice, but…

There are bloggers and micro-bloggers that are using advice to bring in readers, especially this time where advice is crucial for job seekers and employers.  Paul DeBettignies and Lance Haun discuss about bad advice and how it can be prevented and what should we do as an audience.  The problem is since there are a boatload of advice on the internet, it’s hard to police which is good or bad because each has a different point of view on that advice.  There is bad advice out there, but some take it as gospel and they subscribe to their RSS feed, Google Reader, and comments to prove it. 

The best solution to maximize advice you were given is get numerous information from an assortment of people/blogs that you trust, believe it, and use that in their job search or research for your organization.  Also remember, there is no such thing as best advice.  If there’s such a thing, everyone would battle for the same crap.  The only advice you should listen is if the advice makes you comfortable and you react to it.  It does not matter if I agree with their advice even if it’s outlandish;  all it matters is how you feel about it.  The reason why there are wonderful HR and recruiting bloggers is not because they want an audience or did a terrfic marketing job branding themselves, although that play some role.  It’s their personality, their background, and their passion for the job/industry attracts not only readers, but trusted sources for our category. 

Finally, let me make a few points about my advice for your reference:

1. My HR/Recruiting advice comes from my 5 years in HR and recruiting.
2. I love using case studies from my unique experiences, popular culture, and intriguing stories people should look into as a HR/recruiting perspective (i.e. the Joseph Molloy story).
3. If you truly want my advice, please contact me and let’s chat since there are “different strokes for different folks.”  My expertise is in nonprofits and associations but I can forward people to HR and/or recruiters to certain industries you want to contact with and can help out.  Advice should be personal, not general.

With that, I hope I was a trusted source in your job search or helping your organization out at some capacity.  Now really, have a great day!