Ok - so I mentioned a few posts ago that I, after 5 weeks of being back in America and unemployed, have pretty much gotten a job. The details to said job are interesting and such a modern way to do something that I think I love it more for this reason. Take notes on this story:
I currently live in Central New York. I originally wanted to move to Denver, CO for work, however because of my location, and inability to fly out there and be jobless and pay rent, I had to refocus my search. I started looking to relocate back to NYC. Through two friends I was able to set up interviews with two different staffing agencies hoping they do what recruiters do - and place me into something.
The first interview went as you'd expect - they loved me, great resume, but the job market's hard. The outcome was to get back in touch with her in two weeks.
I left feeling a little deflated, but it was what I expected. So I went into the 2nd interview with a nothing to lose attitude.
The recruiter, an older gentleman who has owned his business for roughly 30 years and runs a small office of successful recruiters told me the same spiel. He turned the focus to my resume, told me it was amazing, but he could fine tune it for specific jobs and probably get me 3-4 interviews to choose from. He mentioned my lack of address on the resume, and I asked him one question that changed the whole day: "I did that purposely for relocation, but I have been thinking about putting my social media information on there - like my LinkedIn profile, what do you think?"
From there the wheels started to turn, and we then took 20 minutes for me to enlighten him about the wonders of social media. He wanted to know how it could help his business. Would it be useful? Could he garner clients this way? Are there new methods floating around in the areas of recruiting? HE had so many questions for ME! It was such an interesting role reversal.
Because of this, and the fact that I could now tell him something I could for his business, he then introduced me to three others on his staff. They all had such great things to say, and by the end of it, instead of them finding a job elsewhere for me, they want me to come and work for them.
The best part about this - the company was not looking to hire right away, but after meeting me and seeing that the personality was a great fit, they moved up their plans. They are now giving me a two week trial period to see if I would like working for them while learning the areas of recruitment while helping to develop their social media plan. They want to teach me. At the end of those two weeks we'll discuss the next step. It's also amazing because I can still technically interview at other places during this time and really get a sense for what I want to do/leverage possible offers in negotiation (should I be that lucky).
But what I got from this (and hopefully you picked up on) were a couple of things:
Be Yourself - Personality over Qualifications sometimes helps (check out the linked Careerealism article about what a hiring managers wants from candidates)
Ask Questions - You might trigger something they hadn't thought about
Discuss What you Know
Show how YOU can solve a problem they didn't know they had
Be Flexible
Job Shadow if you can - it'll help you really research the company/environment/position
Think on your feet
NETWORK. I wouldn't have received either of these opportunities without the help of my friends
SO - we'll see what this next opportunity brings me, but I'm looking forward to the next chapter!
I currently live in Central New York. I originally wanted to move to Denver, CO for work, however because of my location, and inability to fly out there and be jobless and pay rent, I had to refocus my search. I started looking to relocate back to NYC. Through two friends I was able to set up interviews with two different staffing agencies hoping they do what recruiters do - and place me into something.
The first interview went as you'd expect - they loved me, great resume, but the job market's hard. The outcome was to get back in touch with her in two weeks.
I left feeling a little deflated, but it was what I expected. So I went into the 2nd interview with a nothing to lose attitude.
The recruiter, an older gentleman who has owned his business for roughly 30 years and runs a small office of successful recruiters told me the same spiel. He turned the focus to my resume, told me it was amazing, but he could fine tune it for specific jobs and probably get me 3-4 interviews to choose from. He mentioned my lack of address on the resume, and I asked him one question that changed the whole day: "I did that purposely for relocation, but I have been thinking about putting my social media information on there - like my LinkedIn profile, what do you think?"
From there the wheels started to turn, and we then took 20 minutes for me to enlighten him about the wonders of social media. He wanted to know how it could help his business. Would it be useful? Could he garner clients this way? Are there new methods floating around in the areas of recruiting? HE had so many questions for ME! It was such an interesting role reversal.
Because of this, and the fact that I could now tell him something I could for his business, he then introduced me to three others on his staff. They all had such great things to say, and by the end of it, instead of them finding a job elsewhere for me, they want me to come and work for them.
The best part about this - the company was not looking to hire right away, but after meeting me and seeing that the personality was a great fit, they moved up their plans. They are now giving me a two week trial period to see if I would like working for them while learning the areas of recruitment while helping to develop their social media plan. They want to teach me. At the end of those two weeks we'll discuss the next step. It's also amazing because I can still technically interview at other places during this time and really get a sense for what I want to do/leverage possible offers in negotiation (should I be that lucky).
But what I got from this (and hopefully you picked up on) were a couple of things:
Be Yourself - Personality over Qualifications sometimes helps (check out the linked Careerealism article about what a hiring managers wants from candidates)
Ask Questions - You might trigger something they hadn't thought about
Discuss What you Know
Show how YOU can solve a problem they didn't know they had
Be Flexible
Job Shadow if you can - it'll help you really research the company/environment/position
Think on your feet
NETWORK. I wouldn't have received either of these opportunities without the help of my friends
SO - we'll see what this next opportunity brings me, but I'm looking forward to the next chapter!