Controlling your own Brand Management!

Hello all! Going into 2nd quarter is very exciting this year. Quarter 1 was excellent. You can see the growth in the market, as well as the opportunities out there are solid. With Job Orders being strong, the one thing that I am seeing more of everyday is that this year clients' aren't just looking for short term people. It seems as if the employment strategy has changed. Pay scales are more competitive than I have seen in 3 years. The same goes for benefits. However, Along with those changes, clients are now not only looking for great talent, they are also looking for great talent that will stay with them and be a strong contributor. This year, there seems to be more of a focus on whether or not the candidates are a cultural fit. Basically, Employers want to know if candidates can “Play Well with others! “. That brings me to the subject of this Blog. Controlling your own Brand Management! With the internet being readily available, and networking sites such as LinkedIn and FB, Clients now have the resources to reach out and find out what it's like to work with any given candidate. Like it or not, who you are as a professional does have a brand, and that brand is easily found. It's not uncommon at all for someone from the client to be networked with someone the candidate has worked with or for in the past. This is why I cannot stress enough how important it is to be aware of your brand, and how you are building it.

In the past, Candidates could rely on professional references as a stamp of their work history and ethics. This is not the case anymore. Networking sites and groups have changed this dynamic. The reality now is that who you are, what you are, and how you execute your profession on a daily basis is information that is available from multiple resources. It's easy to forget in the course of your daily jobs that people are constantly taking in an opinion of you and your work ethics. In today’s information technology driven work place, you cannot turn a blind eye to this reality. If you are choosing to not control your brand, unfortunately your brand will control you.

This brings me to this point: Do you know what your Brand is? Does your current Brand work for or against you? I know these are hard questions, but I would like to challenge you to take a look at how you are perceived, and what your Brand truly looks like in the eyes of a potential employer. Keep this in mind: Your work ethics, how effective you are, and how well you work with other is the formula of your Brand. Be aware that in every conversation and interaction with clients, managers and co-workers you are contributing to your Brand. Good or Bad.

With this in mind, I’d like to relay a scenario that deals with this very subject. A former co-worker of mine recently was in the process of filling a SR SW Developer position. In the final stages of the offer, the hiring authority unexpected withdrew the pending offer. The client sited that the common word on the street was that the candidate was an excellent developer, but also had quite the temper. They were concerned about how that would affect their team dynamic. So, after much thought they opted to pass on him. What’s interesting though, Is when the recruiter reached out to the candidate to relay this information, the candidate exploded. Unfortunately, this only re-enforced what his Brand had already relayed. Now, on the flip side of that, I have had many experiences where the candidate Brand helped open the door of opportunity for them. I have had clients extend interviews to candidates simply because of their excellent reputation.

In conclusion, my goal for writing this blog was simply make you aware of how your Brand now has a vote in the opportunities that you may be pursuing. Be aware of. Choose to manage it, and build it in a way that will be a strong advantage to you. Make it work for you, not against you! The IT industry has so many brilliant people in it, and that’s why I love doing what I do. My hope is that you view the information in this blog as simply another tool that you can work to your advantage!
Power to the People and wiffle bats!

Qualified Job Orders VS. Wish Lists

Hey all, Recently I spent time with a group of Executive Recruiters comparing market data, trends, and really challenging each other to excellence. I asked them what they felt separated the successful Account Managers/Recruiters in their industry as opposed to the ones that seemed to be pretty busy with minimal to no results. Their answers were all the same. They all referenced that the professionals in their networks that were considered Jedi's in recruiting really focused in on qualifying Job Orders, and were very quick to let go of JO's that were obviously not urgent.


My buddy, who is one of the top 3 performers in a company of over 400 Account Managers/Recruiters said this to me:"The key to my success has been that no matter how hard it is, If I am not getting qualified information, why the JO is open, and an urgency and willingness from the hiring authority then I will not put my efforts towards the JO. Instead, I go find a client who wants the job order filled as much as I do. I refuse to be more invested into a position than the hiring authority is. This is hard to do. Its much easier to blame the recruiting team and the economy, and often even the candidates. Unfortunately, Allot of people would rather place the blame anywhere rather than looking at an Account or Job Order and being willing to ask the hard questions. I think this place is where most people fall into the black hole of getting no where fast."

There are allot of sources for what a qualified JO is or is not. I found this link and thoughts is was worth reposting. Its from Bullhorn:
http://menemshagroup.com/files/pdf/art_realorders1.pdf

Remember: If we want quality placements, we first must have quality JO's to attract quality candidates. There is no room for being loose in this process. Let's keep the bar high. By having this standard clients and candidates will not only value you, but they will trust you.

Power to the people and wiffle bats!