Interview with CEO of Resumefit (Part 1)
After my video resume post, I received an e-mail from Tom Schmidt at Resumefit about his product. I went to the website and was really intrigued by the product and where the possibilities could lead. I asked if I could interview him for this blog and I am breaking it into two posts (so I am not being compensated).
According to their website,”Résuméfit in conjunction with CentACS, Center for Applied Cognitive Studies, and Qualitech Solutions, Inc. provides a comprehensive software solution to candidates and companies of all sizes trying to improve their selection and retention process.” If I could sum it up, I think this is a serious step forward for resumes.
This is long but really interesting. I really encourage you to read it if you are at all interested in a cutting edge resume product. Here is part one of two: Read more
Are Video Resume Sites Desperate?
I know it is crazy for me to suggest that video resumes won’t work. I am sure that’s what they said about locomotive, automobile and putting a man on the moon. And I know I should get my tinfoil hat on to suggest that video resumes might not be the no-brainer solution for people who wish to set themselves apart.
If that is the case, why would I get comments two months after I made a post to both my blog and RecruitingBloggers.com about the silliness of video resumes? As you can see, Peggy made a comment saying that most job seekers will benefit from having a video resume. And what do you know, Jason made a comment over at RecruitingBloggers singing the same praises. All within an hour of each other on the same night!
Please!
I maintain, and will continue to do so until my fingers are bloody little nubs, that the time spent on perfecting your video resume (or video supplement or whatever) is better used to perfect your paper resume and cover letter with time left to network with professionals in the field. I am assuming that we do have a finite amount of time here on the planet though. The samples I saw on that website didn’t compel me any more than the suggestion. And to further my point, their resumes could use some improvement without even mentioning their performance on their video resumes.
Video resumes don’t do it for me just like video conferencing doesn’t do it for me either. If you are going to speak, call me. If you have a presentation to give, send me the Powerpoint. Seeing your bobbing head on the other end of your voice may be novel but it adds little to job considerations.
Job seeking likely to be more difficult this year
Which, if you’re a corporate recruiter, is probably good news. A tighter labor market means more selection in the labor market. It can mean tighter salaries too. If you’re a third-party recruiter, this can still be good news but not necessarily. After all, less jobs can mean less work but I am guessing that even the best third-party guys aren’t having to be coaxed off the ledge quite yet. And people in corporate recruiting certainly cannot rest easy tonight either.
Recruiting is a fluid science and is certainly industry and regionally dynamic though. And the government has admitted that it still hasn’t found a great way of counting employment gains. People recruiting in Nebraska have different situations than those recruiting in Pittsburgh. Not to mention that it doesn’t take into account job movement (which can be spurned by job growth) which can be dictated by regional availability and unemployment rates. A peak over at bls.gov also shows that unemployment ranges state to state from 2% to over 7%. And that number may be more important to job seekers than any national figures.
Even if you do end up in a tight labor market, there are certainly things you can do to stand out. Here are three things to do right now in a tight market:
- Carry out a focused search. Focus on your particular area of expertise and do not go outside of it. Even if there are only a few job openings in six months in that area, focusing on it makes you spend time on researching and playing a good job candidate. Having the time to follow up and write compelling cover letters and resumes is worthwhile enough.
- Use all available resources. If you are serious about job seeking, use all of your available resources. From placement agencies, to free resources available online and at the library, there are a lot of resources that are simply ignored.
- Network today. Don’t wait until the alarms go off before you start networking with professionals in your field. Join an industry association, LinkedIn and even MySpace. Start with people you know, then people they know and branch out.
This list might even be worthwhile for recruiters in tight markets. Not that I think a tight market is inevitable. I just think that it is worthwhile to do these things anyway. 
Get the latest Internet recruiting scoop at Cheezhead.
How Would You Move Mount Fuji?
I read the book How Would You Move Mount Fuji? and I thought it was pretty interesting. It mainly focuses on how Microsoft interviews and why they ask the questions they do. It also gives you reasoning and logic behind some of the questions with right answers (or more correct answers).
I am always a fan of books about interviewing because they are usually so wrong. As I have never been interviewed (or interviewed for) Microsoft, I can’t tell you whether this book is good preparation for a Microsoft interview, I can tell you that it attempts to make a case for puzzle based questions.
Obviously puzzle based questions don’t work for everyone. Some positions do not require out of the box thinking. But for those in the company that do require that out of the box thinking, I could see it being useful (at least at a company the size of Microsoft). As the book points out though, this interview technique can leave people on the outside who can perform the job up to standards or even better than the person hired. And while leaving people on the table that could be hired might work for some positions at Microsoft, it might not work everywhere. As labor shortages increase, I wonder if this will change that technique some?
Bill Gates is going to be testifying in front of a Congressional committee this week on the need for more visas for highly skilled workers. One might wonder if the labor shortage could be averted by a simple change in interviewing technique?
How to Break into the HR field?
Many people who read this blog show an interest into breaking into the HR field. While I may question their sanity for this, I only know this is a popular topic because I get e-mails about it all of the time from all types of people. I realize that I keep repeating myself over and over again. So now I am going to put this out as kind of a catch all for those questions so this may be edited from its original version.
First of all, it is not very difficult to break into the HR field. I did it, and I don’t think I am that smart. That being said, it can appear to be very difficult to break into it from the outside because it is very difficult to do it from the outside. Most people want experience if they are hiring from the outside and don’t want a fresh face from college to get them into legal trouble because they mess up application. So here are the ways to get in with no experience:
- Work from the inside. College education: not required, additional educated needed though. Depending on your company’s size and culture, you may be able to break into HR from the inside. Good companies love internal HR hires because they understand the culture already. You will probably be required to get an HR certificate (PHR is a nice one that is recognized pretty well). Again, depending on your company, you might get this paid for (at least partially). The bad? Not a sure thing and totally cultural dependent. May mean you get crappy pay for a while.
- Start as a recruiter. College education: likely to be required. At many large companies, the easiest way to break into the HR department is through the internal recruiting team. Recruiting is relatively easy to understand and companies seem to be comfortable hiring directly for these positions plus they typically pay really well. The bad? Likely long hours, traveling, tons of time on the phone and … well, some of the stuff I complain about recruiting in this blog. Of course, I don’t think that stuff is that bad so.
- Start at an outsourcing firm. College education: likely to be required. HR outsourcing is big business these days and as such, outsourcers may be more willing to train entry level people because of increased demand and repetitiveness of tasks. Everything from payroll processing, to third-party recruiting, to full on HR department outsourcing is covered here. The bad? Third-party recruiting can be good money if you have the skills but almost everything else is going to pay you…well, entry level wages.
- Start at a smaller business. College education: probably. With the economy still doing relatively well, starting at a smaller business can be a good start to getting in with experience at other firms. Smaller businesses usually go after people with strong entrepreneurial drive who are willing to learn quickly and do a lot of other things inside the business. Targeting businesses between 25-50 employees (depending on industry) can be key to this. The bad? You might get pushed into doing payroll or other things at a smaller business and you may not be able to have an appropriate mentor like you would at a larger company.
These are the four places I would start if I had to do it again. Me personally? I did a combination of 2 & 4.
Why do people continue working for bad companies?
From the mailbag: Why do people continue to work for bad companies?
Brief answer: because it is easy.
What did I just say? I know, I know, the HR Guy has fallen off his rocker again. The stress at work must be unbearable.
The status quo is always easier though. It is always easier not to change. Change encompasses a whole range of emotions and uncertainties in life. Emotions that are uncomfortable for most people (like am I good enough?). Being rejected. Taking a pay cut. Doing something you really like.
Yes, even the fear of dropping your bad company for the picture perfect opportunity can have its range of negative emotions. After all, failing at the very thing you love is a huge blow. Failing at something you hate is much easier to stomach.
And that’s what keeps bad companies in business. Once you’ve finished a job search, you don’t want to restart it again. The job search being a miserable experience helps a bunch but staying with a bad company is simply easier than finding something else.
Finding something else means extra effort outside of work. It means possibly starting on a new career path. It means possibly taking a pay/benefit cut. And no, that’s not ideal but nobody said it would be. Making a decision to leave a bad company is either made through desperation or through very difficult work and sacrifices.
And while I’d love to believe that every single one of my employees are happy with where there are, chances are that at least a few are resenting their decisions to come to work for us but are putting up with it because it is easy. Possibly one day, they will take the difficult road to leave on their own but for now, they will stay. Because it is easier. And because even bad is safe.
Please ask me questions that I’ve already answered
There is a reason an e-mail address is included in job advertisements that is actually answered. Connecting with job seekers is incredibly important to me and answering legitimate questions is a side benefit. The great thing about the world wide web is that there is a ton of information about our company, our location and benefits on our website. If you have a specific request for information but asking me for “more information about your company” is really unnecessary. We aren’t incredibly old but telling you about our company could be a 30 second commercial or a couple hour conversation. What do you want to know?
When you e-mail questions like that and you don’t get a response, now you’ll likely know why. I will respond but I will ask you to clarify exactly what you want to know about us that isn’t available. Whenever you are talking to people that get hundreds of e-mails a day on a wide variety of subjects, a question with a very big answer isn’t going to be prudent.
And no, I don’t consider answering questions like this to be connecting with job seekers. If someone wants to have a conversation about the future of the company, our company culture and what positions may be open in the next year, I will happily comply. These are conversations that mean something. As far as I know, someone who e-mails me broad questions like this isn’t interested enough to look at all of the information we have there. And that is a shame.
Video Resumes are Awful
I am going to go with slightly stronger language than Secrets of the Job Hunt and Magic Pot of Jobs and say that video resumes are probably one of the worst things ever devised as part of a job hunt in the history of mankind*.
I was trying to think of worse things in this world then going to this site and having to shuffle through hundreds of video resumes. I had a very hard time but I think I came up with a couple things:
- Dropping a hammer on my toes
- Having to wear one of those big chicken suits on a really hot day
- Shaking the hands of hundreds of thousands people without any hand cleanser
I am just awfully disgusted with the idea that people would actually work on a video resume before they have come close to perfecting their paper resume. Not to mention the point that Tiffany made regarding introducing bias or the point that C.M. about actually charging for a service that is already free.
I guess the issue I have with it all is the absolute faddish things that come out because of people’s desperation during the job search. Using a video resume when you can’t find a job using your regular resume is like trying to master the double reverse jam before you can make a free throw in basketball.
But ultimately, what will prevent people from using video resumes will be the fact that they will not work. And if something doesn’t help them get a job, it likely won’t stick around that long.
Math can help you get the job…at Google
And I don’t mean the 2+2’s and all those good, elementary type of equations. I am talking about a long, complicated mathematical computation called an algorithm that can help you get a job. Now what company is most associated with algorithms? Google of course!
Now ranked the best place to work in America, Google is using a formula to determine if you are worthy of being talked to by one of their continuously busy recruiters. Slashdot has a bunch of comments on the issue but I figured I would add my own perspective.
If you are hiring as many people as Google is planning on (they plan on doubling their current workforce), and you don’t want a large expenditure in something that isn’t a core competency (namely: recruiting), do something that is in your core competency (create a formula that matches people with job openings and is intelligent about it) to fix it.
There is a lot of “cool” potential from this if anybody outside of Google gets to see a piece of it but I think this definitely could have some implications for corporate recruiters that isn’t positive for anyone.
No company is like Google so running an algorithm-based formula will probably not work for 99.999% of companies out there. Most places do not have that expertise. None the less, this development will spark interest in “smart” systems that are actually dumb at ranking resumes. Which of course leads to…
Panic! From job seekers specifically. If corporate recruiters get this bug, only those resumes who cooperate with all kinds of “smart” systems will work. It also increases barriers to application that are not needed. Most companies aren’t pulling a couple hundred thousand resumes a month with little out of network advertising.
With everything that could possibly go wrong, there is some opportunity for three groups of people:
- Employment lawyers: Who will get to represent job seeker and employer when an algorithm shows a questionable bias against a certain group. And the will be paid well.
- HR vendors: Those who continue to be on the cutting edge and make smart technological decisions and advancements win. And they will be paid well.
- Third-party recruiters: When the system breaks or sends away too many or too few people, third-party recruiters will be called in to clean up the mess. And they will be paid well.
I think the idea is interesting but probably not going to be useful outside of Mountain View.
Tip of that hat to Fritz for sending this my way!
Best Blog and Keyword Stuffing
For those who may be interested, this blog has been nominated for “Recruiting.com Best Blog” award. If you like this blog, take a minute and please vote for it. Also, please feel free to vote for some of the other fantastic blogs on there. While I don’t expect to win (after all, those pesky recruiters would hate to see a generalist win), I think it is good to recognize the top blogs in our industry.
Jim Stroud posts on CollegeRecruiter about how to be slick about adding keywords to your resume.
I don’t know about other recruiters but I think keywords are awful. Whenever I see them, they seem… oh how to put it… tacky? And while Jimmy’s idea is pretty slick, if your recruiter doesn’t have an application tracking system (ATS) that parses the resume with the included summary, you are out of luck. I would guess that would be a good guess if the company has less than a 1,000 people and would almost be a sure thing with less than 500 people. So that can help you get a job at the big companies but there are better ways to do keywords that will help you get a job period.
I know it is a radical idea but how about including some of those keywords in the actual content of your resume. If it isn’t important enough to be even be mentioned, it is unlikely adding the keyword is going to help that. If you have sales experience but you don’t mention sales in your resume, what makes you think that adding “sales” to your keywords is going to help you land the job.
Sure, adding keywords is easy and too few people do it… now. But if something is easy and effective, guess how long that will help you? It seems much more worth the effort to spend it on making your resume produce results, no matter what computer (or what human) is looking at it.
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About
Your HR Guy is a Human Resources Generalist practicing in the field. But don't let that fool you, this isn't a boring blog. I seek relevance and humor in a place we will spend much of our lives. Everything from workplace issues, job seeking and terrible bosses. Read more...
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