CheckMate

The discussion about what works and what doesn’t for recruiters and employers trying to find solid qualified candidates, and vice versa, is as hot now as I’ve ever seen it. The whole Web 2.0 concept including social networking sites like LinkedIn and Facebook…what appear to be ever-increasing needs for very specific experience with a limited talent pool to supply those needs…recession fears… All of that makes for a glut of information that can leave your head spinning.

So, I wanted, as always, to give you something that would be useful to you, and right now. Because, no question, there are things you can do as a candidate when dealing with recruiters that will make a big difference.

Tons of things have been written, but I’ve still never seen anything better than “10 Ways to Make Recruiters Love You”, which was written over a year ago by Carl Chapman at Confessions of an Executive Restaurant Recruiter. Carl’s idea originally was that there needed to be a “Recruiter’s Bill of Rights” to go along with a Candidate’s Bill of Rights that had previously been published, and that evolved into this list.

You can download the much longer PDF here, but here’s the summarized list:

1. Confidentiality - Recruiters are entitled to have confidentiality and security of the information shared with prospective jobseekers regarding the companies with whom the recruiter is working and the positions which he is trying to fill. Any sharing of information with colleagues or co-workers should only be done with express prior permission of the recruiter.
   

2. Credibility - Jobseekers that apply for positions or express interest in a position during recruitment will do so and substantiate that he or she is willing to accept a new position based upon the criteria that is outlined to the recruiter. This means that a jobseeker is ready, willing, and able to commit to a job change for an acceptable offer.




3. Accuracy - The resume and all other documents presented to the recruiter accurately depicts the experience, work history, and accomplishments of the jobseeker. All items will be a true representation of fact.




4. Consideration - All interested candidates, will work with the recruiter based upon their ability and aptitude, and that consideration should be free from racism, sexism, and other forms of prejudice and intolerance.




5. Consistency - Decisions to accept or reject offers will be made on the basis of facts and parameters discussed with the recruiter prior to the jobseeker receiving an offer. There will be no eleventh hour “gotta haves” that are sprung on the recruiter.




6. Follow-Up - Recruiters are entitled to consistent communications regarding the status of their candidate, regardless of the how busy the candidate might be or any change in the status of the candidate as regards his or her job search. Recruiters make their living by being available for phone calls, they are always available or have a system of notification such as pagers, forwarded telephones, or voice mail. There is no acceptable excuse for not calling your recruiter back, other than death - either yours or his.




7. Preparation - Each candidate pledges that they will review all relevant information about the organization provided by the recruiter and do research that is appropriate for the level of the position on which they are working.




8. Respect - Scheduling of interviews will occur in a manner that connotes mutual respect for the hiring manager, their time and their efforts, as well as the needs of the company and formalized hiring process.
   




9. Communication - Every inquiry from your recruiter regarding the status of candidacy or application with him or any other company is worthy of a response.
   




10. Information - The recruiter will be provided with the necessary and truthful information about the candidate, his or her work history, compensation, performance, felony record, drug use, and other legal hiring criteria etc. in order for the recruiter make an informed decision about the candidate’s suitability for the position.

“Follow-Up” is probably my favorite, but I like all of them - I don’t see how as a candidate you can go wrong following those guidelines.

Here’s another one you may have missed - an AP story that’s been reprinted in many newspapers, but it sure wasn’t front page (you already know my attitude about that stuff). It’s appeared under several headlines, including this one: “Defying the surveys and statistics, some small companies are expanding their payrolls”.

Key points:

• “While the government has reported job losses in the hundreds of thousands since the start of the year, many small businesses are looking to build their staffs, not cut them.”

• “The good news is that small business owners in general don’t seem to be looking to eliminate jobs.”

• “Having a service or product that’s in demand, particularly in a downturn, is helping many small businesses flourish.”

Now, if you’re trying to go to work for a big wirehouse, you may be thinking, “OK, that’s great, but what’s it got to do with me?” I’m actually hoping you aren’t thinking that, because that would definitely show you’re ahead of the game when it comes to becoming a financial advisor, but, in case you are, here’s the deal…

Small businesses make up a significant portion of the target market for many financial advisors. The owners have money to invest, and also, in many cases, need financial planning done for the employees of the business as well.

In fact, one of the very best networks a potential financial advisor can have is small business owners. Financial services firms will be looking at your potential target market when you are trying to come on board, and most will be very happy if you can tell them you have a strong network of many local small business owners.

You should already be thinking about what your target market will be before you pursue a financial advisor career. As you’re doing that, determine just how many of your friends and acquaintances own their own businesses. And, if you don’t know any people like that…well, you need to get out and meet some.

If you’ve ever thought the career website you were on wasn’t so hot, a new report from Forrester Research called “Best and Worst of Career Web Sites” that was just written about in Network World won’t surprise you.

Forrester evaluated 12 very well known career websites for job seeker usability - the four largest financial services firms, the four largest retail firms, and the top four job boards. All of them failed the evaluation.

Now, my point in talking about this isn’t to slam these sites, particularly the financial services ones since there are some outstanding firms on that list. In fact, just the opposite - I don’t want someone to miss out on a great financial advisor career with a top firm because they got frustrated with the career section of their site, or had problems with a listing over on one of the major job boards.

So, with that in mind, what can you do to make your job search efforts more effective? Here are three suggestions:

• It’s been said many times, but don’t depend solely or even mainly on the major job boards (specifically Careerbuilder and Monster) for career guidance or your job search. For example, while we do have listings online, you won’t find them on any of the boards Forrester evaluated, since we very intentionally ceased posting there some time ago (and, while things can always change, we don’t envision going back at this point).

• Tough as it may be, don’t judge the company by what you see on the career section of their site. As I said, there are some outstanding financial services companies whose career pages and online application processes could be better.

• Last, and by far most important, get help - enlist the services of a knowledgeable, competent, external recruiter to steer you through the process.

I can’t emphasize that last point enough, and before you dismiss it as just another blatant sales pitch, hear me out.

We spend a major portion of our time helping candidates navigate through the search and hiring process. These are sharp, independent, take-charge, self-starters - if they weren’t, they wouldn’t even be candidates - whose first inclination is to do everything on their own. And many times they’ve still had trouble finding the position they want, or getting in front of the hiring manager, or making their way through the online application, or with any number of other variables in the process.

We know the positions, we know the hiring managers, we know the process, and we know the frustrations, and that’s a big reason why we continually harp on the idea that we won’t let you go through this process alone.

Of course, we’d like to have you use us, but whoever you use, make sure they can say that about themselves and will do those things for you.

A key focus of this blog has always been the subject of changing careers to become a financial advisor, and the kind of person the major wirehouses look for and that we deal with and place all the time. Namely, someone with a number of years in the working world, ideally in a professional career, with at least a bachelors degree, and a strong network of both personal and business connections.

Well, here’s a must-read article and must-watch video from yesterday’s Lakeland Ledger “How I Got My Job” series about someone who is almost the prototypical example of that kind of person.

Susan Musser is a Smith Barney Financial Advisor in Lakeland, Florida, who left behind a 28-year nursing career to pursue that opportunity. Her background includes:

• Professional Career: Registered Nurse
• Working Experience: 20+ years of experience in the same career with ever-increasing responsibilities
• Degrees: Masters and Bachelors degrees
• Personal Network: Many long-term business and personal relationships

Sound familiar?

You can watch Susan’s short video interview here - it’s under two minutes:




Please also read the entire article - there’s a lot of information there, and it is “right from the source”, real-world advice and guidance about why someone would make this change and what it takes to do it: