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SmartRecruiters’ GiveLabor: It Was a Good Day

September 5, 2012 in Uncategorized by newresource | Permalink

SmartRecruiters’ GiveLabor: It Was a Good Day

Check this video out (here).

Talk about your organizational integrity. Sometimes a partnership and relationship just feels right. For those of you who aren’t hip to the game, there’s an ATS company out there called “SmartRecruiters”. In its bare most basic form, they are a FREE applicant tracking system. And it does not suck either. The system is flexible it allows you to evaluate, update, share and categorize your applicants. It has a social network functionality which allows you to post to all the job boards quickly and easily. It even helps you with developing Facebook pages. It’s an adaptable system.

The guys and gals over at SmartRecruiters are serious about helping people get to work. Just like me. September 3rd was Labor Day here in America, the holiday where we celebrate all those people that go to work every day and make this country run. It’s become a great opportunity to chill out with family and friends while eating barbeque and enjoying a beverage or two.

SmartRecruiters came up with this idea titled “GIVELABOR Day” in which they asked all of their contacts in human resource, recruiting, staffing and leadership to do something kind for someone in the job market. So instead of taking the whole day off, donate a few minutes to offer someone free advice, a networking opportunity, consultation or even a job if you have that kind of power.

13% unemployment = +20 million people.

To support #GiveLabor Day, I jumped on Twitter to follow the hash tag, check out what was happening and offer some help. I was really proud to be associated with SmartRecruiters. To see the questions come in from people that I did not know, asking myself and others like Jessica Miller Merrell, Dwane Lay, and Tiffany Kuehl was fantastic. To witness the outpouring of support and the transparency of those that took advantage of the opportunity was amazing.

The folks at SmartRecruiters weren’t just online; they were out in the streets of California. (Hence the video above) handing out flyers, fielding questions, offering free tips to jobseekers. Sweet!

We need more companies like this. More companies that actually care about doing whatever they can to assist others any way they can, i.e. street campaigns and social media campaigns. If feels good to be down with a company that’s socially aware and responsible.

Cheers SmartRecruiters, you made my Labor Day more meaningful, I’m sure I’m not alone. Looking forward to #GIVELABOR Day 2013.

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Compensation is King on Main Street

August 20, 2012 in Business, HR Advice, hr fundamentals, HR principles, SHRM, unemployment by newresource | Permalink

The other day after leaving the park, I noticed an extremely long line of people stretching nearly 3 city blocks. At first I thought it was a visitor’s convention and a bunch of out of towners but after further examination, I determined it was something else. I pulled over and asked one of the people in line what was going on, she said it was the line for a job fair. Here’s an image from Main Street.

Humbling

Humbling because that was a line full of people looking for entry level positions. There were no big time corporate jobs, these were hotel industry, mostly service positions. Nothing that you would consider doing because let’s face it, you’re too good for that sort of thing right?

The harsh reality, is this line of potential employees was like looking at your credit score or your weight; it’s something you don’t necessarily want to do. You’d rather not see so many people competing for so few openings. Remember when job fairs used to be fairly opened; you could walk in and walk out, talk with the companies and get a little face time. Well no more of that.

That line was the reality or IRL to what millions of us do virtually every day; look for new jobs, opportunities or clients. We identify perspective clients and source for a chance to make a better living.  That’s why we blog, speak, write, present, promote and contribute; it’s why you go in everyday, and put up with your co-workers’ mess.

Maybe all of them aren’t all that skilled or very talented. It is said that extremely gifted, well sought after talent doesn’t need a resume or to stand in lines, they are sourced, tracked and located. If that’s happened for you, well LA-DI-DA but that ain’t going down on main street.

On Main Street they stand in lines, they fill out applications, they send resumes, they swallow their pride and they do what they have to do because they know that above all other benefits, compensation is king.

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Sorry, But We’re Fully Staffed

December 7, 2011 in Business, discrimination, Diversity, hr fundamentals, HR principles, TNSHRM by newresource | Permalink

Have you ever heard those words? It never feels good to hear it, especially, if the help wanted sign is still in the window. That’s exactly what’s happening now. Although the sign in the window has predominately been replaced with job boards and social media recruiting sites, blacks are still hearing that message. Maybe not verbatim but the inference is clear.

Last week, the Labor Department reported good news from the employment front. We were told that the unemployment rate had dropped to 8.6%. That is down from 9.2% and the lowest it’s been in 2.5 years. No doubt the number was affected by the aggressive seasonal hiring of places like Target, Best Buy, Toys R Us, Macy’s and Wal-Mart. I was happy to hear the news and on a personal note I know of 2 people that recently got hired in the retail industry. They both are hoping to turn the seasonal opportunity into long-term full time employment.

I reposted the unemployment numbers on my Facebook page, where one of my friends and former co-workers, made a comment about how the number is manipulated to make us all feel good. He pointed out (correctly I might add) that the number does not reflect the folks that have given up on finding gainful employment. He went on to ask about workers who are under employed or disengaged. Well, he planted a seed.

I looked into this and it didn’t take long. Once you examine the new numbers, really the more things change the more they stay the same.

Although the overall rate went down, it actually went up for blacks, yep from 15.1% to 15.5%. Here’s an article on it. So we still have work to do as far as inclusion, diversity and cultural acceptance. Now to address my friends concerns about disengagement, I have attached an infographic (here) that was shared on Twitter. Looks like most people are totally detached.

Lastly, I came across this article from Jim Tait, titled “Shadow Stat: Unemployment is Much Worse Than We Believe” it goes into the true jobless rate in America, something like 23% (read more here).

Reminds me of the old Stevie Wonder classic “Living for the City”

Her brother’s smart he’s got more sense than many
His patience’s long but soon he won’t have any
To find a job is like a haystack needle
Cause where he lives they don’t use colored people
Living just enough, just enough for the city…

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Racial Profiling

October 5, 2011 in Diversity, hr fundamentals, HR principles, randomness, unemployment by newresource | 1 comment

Warning: The race card, I’m playing that sonofabitch. If you are still reading, get ready to be fired up, challenged and a little embarrassed. I’m going to air-out some dirty laundry. These things have been on my mind for some time now and I can no longer keep it to myself. Here’s the situation for Blacks in America today, it’s all messed up.  We have to face the cold hard facts. We must do something about this foolishness!

The facts.

BLACK PEOPLE…

Lead all demographics in going to jail.

Lead all demographics in unemployment percentage

Trail all demographics in average salary; behind Whites, Hispanics and Asians

Are third in college enrollment; behind Whites and Hispanics

Are among the leaders in product consumption (especially depreciating items)

And are among the leaders in heart disease or stroke related deaths

So this means, we’re in jail, unemployed, broke, uneducated, and unhealthy.  I could go into teenage pregnancy rates, absentee parents, alcoholism, gangs and drug abuse but I’ll let you consider those things yourself. I believe that there is a correlation here.

I understand there are some systematic roadblocks designed to tempt us. We can’t keep falling for the banana in the tailpipe.

Handle your business people! Stop posing, flossing (that means showing off your material items) and let’s get serious about our responsibilities. We can do better. Let’s go.

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A Dozen Tips for Jobseekers

August 17, 2011 in Business, HR Advice, HR principles, Interview Advice, unemployment by newresource | Permalink

Yesterday I was on another social media site and I offered a few job tips. So I decided to post them here. Check them out, feel free to share and add something to the list. Let’s help someone today.

Tip#1: Remove the objective from your resume; replace it with a professional summary. Objectives are ineffective and symbolize an old outdated process. Most of them usually don’t add value. Objectives are generic and take up space.

Tip#2: Unless you are a new graduate, remove all graduation, certification completion and High School graduation dates. Someone may try to calculate your age and make a determination based on that, which should not factor in the process. Yes age discrimination is alive and well.

Tip#3: Update your resume every 2-3 months IF YOU ARE WORKING OR NOT. Make sure the email, address and phone are correct. You never when you may need to send it to someone. Keep it updated so you send it at the drop of a hat. Don’t get complacent.

Tip#4: Is not necessary to list every single job you have ever had in your life. 10-12 years of steady employment history is good. Always list the jobs that highlight the skills that can help you land your next position…So if you worked at Woolworth’s as a cashier 15 years ago…take it off the resume.

Tip#5: The interview: Be on time and properly dressed. This is not the club or dinner with the crew, this is a job, be conservative. Dress professionally, cover all tats. Ease up on the makeup, perfume, cologne and jewelry.

Tip#6: On your resume check the spelling, check the spelling and check the spelling again. Let someone else read it for errors. One mistake can be forgiven, two is a habit. It shows a lack of attention to detail.

Tip#7: In an interview, TURN YOUR CELL PHONE OFF, not vibrate OFF! Don’t send a text from the lobby or even worst in the interview room. Once you walk through the building doors that should be the most important thing in your life. This surprises me that you need to say this but it’s true.

Tip#8: In an interview, never talk badly about your previous employer, co-workers or ex-boss.  Now one likes bad publicity. If you will talk bad about a former job, it you would do the same thing again. It only makes you look bad.

Tip#9: If you are unemployed, find something constructive to do, like volunteer, or community service work, something to show you are stay sharp, useful and active.

Tip#10: Upload and create a profile on LinkedIn, Monster and CareerBuilder. 80% of employers search online for new talent. Don’t be afraid to social media for business instead of personal communication.

Tip#11: If you attend a job fair, dress business casual, bring a bunch of resumes and converse with the person behind the table (don’t just ask if they are hiring…they wouldn’t be there if they weren’t)

Tip#12: It’s okay to have a 2 page resume as long as the information is relevant. Remove affiliations that are not business related; Church groups, Black Panther groups, Sex Clubs. Even Greek membership. Unless a member of your sorority or fraternity is the hiring manager, take it off the resume.

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