Should Recruiting Report Into HR?

The Punk Rock HR Girl Laurie Ruettimann caught an interesting thread of conversation while she was at the ERE Expo. The question of the moment was, “Should Recruiting Report Into HR?“

Ruettimann’s response:

None of it matters. The only thing that matters are results. Your reporting relationship is an excuse — not an explanation — for your inability to make a dent in the way that talent is acquired and managed at your company.

So here’s the answer to the great Recruiting/HR conundrum.

• Do your job.
• Do it with integrity.
• Fight mediocrity

Great advice, Laurie!

Summer Break is over!

Dear Readers,

Thank you for your patience as I took a desperately needed summer break. Instead of locking myself inside at the keyboard, I got out and did some camping, helped with a few scout activities and worked on growing a face cord of zucchini. I also got to work on some interesting projects at work.

However, I did miss commenting on a few items over the summer, topics like:

• Ricci v. DeStefano aka the New Haven Firefighter Testing Case, in June.
• The July article on How Not to Write a Resumes by Max Messmer, chairman and CEO of Robert Half Intl.
• The recent college grad who sued Monroe College because she hasn’t found a job (on CNN in August), diploma shown above.
• The Canadian Navy’s employment branding campaign tackles recruiting problems (also in August).

Ah, but it is good to be back.

Memorial Day 2009

All gave some…
Some gave all.

I spent last Saturday with my kid’s scout unit helping put flags on the graves at Fort Logan National Cemetery. It was a reminder of those who have sacrificed for our country.

Two stories in the old Rocky Mountain News capture some of the details about those who gave all and are buried at Fort Logan:

• Silent eulogies whispered in stone
• Wake for an Indian warrior

Thanks to them for their service.

Wake for an Indian warrior

NotJobs: How NOT To Get a Job Interview

Dustin Williams, a career counselor at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, has a career advice column on the InkKC blog.  In his recent column, Dustin covers his top 5 tips on How NOT To Get a Job Interview.  His topics are:

5. Use an unprofessional email address: Smokedog420@whatever.com or 1hotmama@youwish.com
4. Not following instructions when submitting application materials
3.  Submit a junky resume
2. Have cute/sleazy/stupid human trick pictures on social media sites
1. Avoid networking!

See the full details on the InkKC weblog:
http://www.inkkc.com/dustin+williams/blog/4062

NotJobs: How Not To Nail An Interview

Steinar Skipsness describes himself as “a 27 year old Seattle native who doesn’t drink coffee.” Skipsness consults on search engine marketing, but seems to be looking for new employment. To help his chances, he taped mock interviews with some unsuspecting candidates.  I’m not sure I agree with his ethics, but his conclusions are strong.

Skipsness offers his 22 tips on “How to Nail an Interview.” His site contains a number of video snippets which support his points. As shown in the video above, some of his examples better demonstrate how NOT to get a job.

IMHO, his top ten tips are:

3. Be on time
4. Cell phone off
5. Know the company, and why you want to work there
8. Dress in a clean conservative manner
9. [Facebook & MySpace] Profiles to private
11. Don’t babble
12. Don’t badmouth a boss
14. Don’t play with your face/hair
19. Have accomplishments
20. Have passion

Take a look at all 22 tips on his web page:
http://www.howtonailaninterview.com/

How Not to Get a Job: Job Fair Division

Don’t do this:

Hat tip to Boozeworthy for the image!

1987 Computer Salary Survey

After graduating from college, I set out on the job hunt. One of the companies interviewing me at the time was Source EDP Personnel Services. Source EDP provided IT consulting services, and billed themselves as “the world’s largest recruiting firm devoted exclusively to the computer profession”. As part of their offering, they shared their 1987 Computer Salary Survey and Career Planning Guide. After I got the another offer, I stuck the salary survey in a file, where it stayed until last week.

The first graphic image in the publication is of a stack of greenbar paper with large dollar signs in ASCII art.  But, even though the data is old, it can still offer a useful comparison to today’s technology salaries. We’ve come  a long way!

Here’s the meat of the survey for non-management positions:

I. Non-Management	Annual Compensation ($000)
(salary according to length of time in the profession)	15th Percentile	Median	85th Percentile
Commercial Programmers & Programmer/Analysts
1 year – 2 years	18.5	22.5	26.5
2 years – 5 years	23.5	27.8	32.0
Over 5 years	28.0	33.0	39.0
Engineering/Scientific Programmers & Programmer/Analysts
1 year – 2 years	19.6	25.0	28.5
2 years – 5 years	25.5	30.0	35.0
Over 5 years	31.0	38.0	46.0
Personal Computer/Microprocessor Programmers & Analysts
1 year – 2 years	18.0	22.0	27.0
2 years – 5 years	22.0	28.0	33.0
Over 5 years	28.4	35.0	42.0
Systems (Software) Programmers
1 year – 2 years	23.4	27.2	31.0
2 years – 5 years	27.7	33.0	37.5
5 years – 7 years	32.0	38.0	45.0
Over 7 years	36.0	42.0	50.0
Software Engineers
1 year – 2 years	22.0	27.0	30.1
2 years – 5 years	27.5	32.	37.0
5 years – 7 years	31.5	38.0	44.0
Over 7 years	37.2	44.5	53.1
Data Base Analysts/Data Management Specialists
1 year – 2 years	22.0	26.0	31.5
2 years – 5 years	26.0	35.0	42.0
5 years – 7 years	34.0	40.0	48.2
Over 7 years	37.2	44.5	53.1
Communications Analysts/Technical Specialists
1 year – 2 years	22.0	26.0	30.0
2 years – 5 years	28.9	37.0	47.0
Over 5 years	33.6	43.0	51.2
Information Center/Office Automation/Decision Support Specialists
1 year – 2 years	18.5	24.1	27.1
2 years – 5 years	23.5	30.0	36.0
Over 5 years	29.5	37.5	45.0
EDP Auditors
1 year – 2 years	22.0	25.0	29.0
2 years – 5 years	26.5	31.0	37.3
5 years – 7 years	30.7	36.0	46.2
Over 7 years	35.0	42.0	51.0
Technical Writers & Editors
1 year – 2 years	17.5	1100	27.5
2 years – 5 years	23.0	28.0	33.0
5 years – 7 years	26.0	31.0	38.0
Over 7 years	27.0	34.0	41.0
Senior Analysts, Project Leaders & Consultants
2 years – 5 years	27.0	33.0	39.6
5 years – 7 years	32.5	37.7	44.5
Over 7 years	36.0	42.0	50.0
Computer Operators
1 year – 2 years	14.0	18.0	20.0
2 years – 5 years	17.0	21.0	25.0
Over 5 years	20.0	25.6	31.5

Source EDP was purchased by Romac International, and later became Kforce Technology Staffing. Kforce still offers a salary survey and career guide. Download the latest version in PDF format from here.
http://www.kforce.com/files/documents/2008_Tech_Job_Seeker_SS.pdf

NotJobs: The Interview That’ll Bag a Job (or NOT)

From the 14 April Wall Street Journal comes an article with tips on How Not to Interview:

The Interview That’ll Bag a Job

By SARAH E. NEEDLEMAN

In recent weeks, recruiters for Consolidated Container Co. have seen job candidates arrive up to an hour early for interviews. Other candidates have alluded to financial hardships while in the hot seat, and one person even distributed bound copies of documents describing projects he completed for past employers.

These sorts of tactics aren’t exactly winners.

Not winners, but tips to remember (to avoid.) The article goes on:

At an interview, you want to stand out for the right reasons. To do so, you’ll need to leave your baggage and anxiety at the door. For starters, wait until 10 minutes before your scheduled interview time to announce yourself. Arriving any sooner “shows that you’re not respectful of the time the hiring manager put aside for you,” says Loubaton, adding that a candidate who arrived an hour early made workers uncomfortable. “Companies really don’t want someone camped out in their lobby.”

The earliest I’ve seen a candidate arrive was over 75 minutes before the interview. That candidate wasn’t hired either.

If all has gone well, don’t stalk the interviewer. Wait at least a week before checking on your candidacy. “There’s a fine line between enthusiasm and overenthusiasm.”

Indeed!

See Needleman’s  whole article here.

Job Fair Calendar updated

Notices of some new local job fairs landed in my in-box, so I’ve updated the list in the right column. Here are some of the events happening this spring:

Colorado Construction Industry Job Fair
21-APR-09:8:30AM-2:30PM
National Western Expo Hall, Level 2
4655 Humboldt St., 80216

Fort Carson Defense Technology & Intelligence Career Fair
21-APR-09: 10:00AM-2:00PM
Elkhorn Catering & Conference Center
1725 Woodfill Road, Building # 7300
Fort Carson, CO 80913

Peterson AFB Defense Technology & Intelligence Career Fair
22-APR-09: 10:00AM-2:00PM
Peterson Club
260 Glasgow Avenue, Building 1013
Peterson AFB, CO 80914

Post-News Diversity Job Fair
22-APR-09: 10:00AM-3:00PM
INVESCO Field at Mile High
1701 Mile High Stadium Cir W, 80204

Jobing.com Fair
28-APR-09: 2:00PM-6:00PM
Colorado Convention Center
700 14th Street, 80202-3213

RecruitMilitary Career Fair
7-MAY-09: 11:00AM-3:00PM
Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum
7711 East Academy Blvd, 80230

Women Job Fair
14-MAY-09 10:00AM-3:00PM
The Oxford Hotel
1600 17th St, 80202

Post-News Healthcare Job Fair
20-MAY-09: 10:00AM-3:00PM
Belmar Center
405 S Teller St,80226

Denver Career Fair
27-MAY-09: 11:00AM-2:00PM
Crowne Plaza Denver
1450 Glenarm Place, 80202

Pepsi Interview Commercial