Wes Bucey Job Threads

[Wes Bucey]

Rarely a day goes by that I do NOT receive a phone call, email, or a Private Message about some aspect of getting or keeping a job. In the six or seven years I've been a moderator here in the Cove, I've written about 90% of anything I ever knew about the subject. The remaining 10% I've found to be either

• invalid for the present time, OR
• I just have plain forgotten

Of that 90%, nearly all is contained in the following threads:

Candidates:
Thinking about a New Job for New Year?

Resume and cover letter - How good are yours?

The Job Hunt - Care and feeding of references

Tips to get past the "gatekeeper" when job hunting

Consulting – Is it in YOUR Career Future?

Contracting/Temping - Viable Alternates in Tough Times

If you find yourself looking for a new job, take the time to read through those threads - in the long run, you'll save a lot of false starts and heartache in the hunt.

Good luck!

 

[arios]

Rarely a day goes by that I do NOT receive a phone call, email, or a Private Message about some aspect of getting or keeping a job.

May be is not late for you to start you own recruiting company !!!!!

If you have a gift and the contacts, then why not let others be blessed with it

 

[Wes Bucey]

Re: Wes Bucey Job Threads-first step, create a SAM

I've noticed two characteristics shared by many folks in the quality profession:

1. shyness, accompanied by a strong reluctance to tout one's own talent or ability
2. a poor understanding of what one's true talents and abilities are

Let me introduce you to a tool called a "Skills Assessment Matrix" (SAM)
At its most basic, a SAM is simply a list of all the skills and talents one possesses or that a job requires placed into a grid where check marks are placed according to the skill level one possesses for each item (zero for "no clue" up to five for "top expert in the field."

Armed with such a SAM, a job candidate can more easily promote the skills he has which rank higher than 3 and avoid looking at jobs which require skill levels higher than possessed. (IT'S ALSO A GUIDELINE FOR WHICH SKILLS NEED TO BE GAINED OR UPGRADED.)

Take some time to google "Skills Assessment Matrix" or substitute the word "grid" or "template" for the word "matrix" to get a feel for the different kinds of SAMs and work on making your own, not only for a current job search, but as an aid to touting your value to the organization where you now work to help gain promotions and to learn what skills you may need to upgrade just to stay employed!

If you have questions about SAMs, start a new thread in this Forum (Career and Occupation Discussions) and we'll work on the tool for everyone's benefit.

 

[Wes Bucey]

Resume or online Profile loaded with cliches?

FWIW:
A Chicago Tribune reporter (Christopher Nelson) wrote this article (http ://www. chicagotribune .com /classified/jobs/chi-linkedin-job-cliches-010311,0,82925.story - DEAD (404) LINK DECOUPLED) which may only be available for a few weeks (for free) after which the Tribune charges for access to archives.

The key points of the article (excerpted here under "fair use" for educational and review purposes) are these:

• 85 million folks world-wide have Profiles on LinkedIn
• LinkedIn reports the list of words (buzzwords) which it (LinkedIn) characterizes as "overused"
• various job consultants and professionals say that relying on just the buzzword phrases without giving concrete examples actually hinders your chances of being selected for further review by recruiters
• the idea is to "set yourself apart from the pack" to make your Profile memorable and not easily confused with anyone else's out of that 85 million people pool of LinkedIn members.

The overused buzzwords [the quote is exact, but I reformatted the buzzword list as a list instead of the original paragraph-style text]:

". . . a must to remember is the idea of buzzwords.​

​

These are those quirky words that worm their ways into our writing when we're talking about our past achievements in the workplace. LinkedIn just recently did a little research and found the most overused words and phrases in members' LinkedIn profiles.​

​

The top 10 terms that are being abused and overused by professionals all across the United States, in descending order of ability to annoy, are:​

1. extensive experience,
2. innovative,
3. motivated,
4. results-orientated,
5. dynamic,
6. proven track record,
7. team player,
8. fast-paced,
9. problem solver
10. entrepreneurial."

So, what do YOU do?

First, look at your own Profile or Resume - are you using a term such as "team player" without giving a concrete example of a success you and your team achieved BECAUSE you worked as a team? How about "problem solver?" Have you described a problem and how you solved it?

Personally, I'm not even sure I could define "fast-paced" without having some reader look at it and say derisively, "That guy's concept of "fast-paced" would be "reverse motion" in MY operation." (first liar never has a chance, you understand)

If you'd like to try your hand at giving us some descriptive documentation to go along with YOUR use of any of the buzzwords, we'd be happy to see them. If you need "internet anonymity," you can send it to me via private message and I will strip it of your identity and post it for you.

 

[Jen Kirley]

Thanks for this, Wes. It's timely because I am setting up to apply for a really juicy job opening, titled "Leadership/Organizational Development Specialist" within my company. It is a big step up from the hourly in-the-trenches auditing work I am doing now, but I intend to present my last five years' worth of systems auditing - with organizational performance coaching mixed in - as a particularly beneficial qualification.

This is a really exciting opportunity! : If anyone would like to volunteer themselves as references, I would be grateful.

 

[BradM]

Re: Resume or online Profile loaded with cliches?

If you'd like to try your hand at giving us some descriptive documentation to go along with YOUR use of any of the buzzwords, we'd be happy to see them. If you need "internet anonymity," you can send it to me via private message and I will strip it of your identity and post it for you.

Good idea, Wes. Would you like to use this thread, or start another one?

 

[Wes Bucey]

Re: Resume or online Profile loaded with cliches?

Thanks for this, Wes. It's timely because I am setting up to apply for a really juicy job opening, titled "Leadership/Organizational Development Specialist" within my company. It is a big step up from the hourly in-the-trenches auditing work I am doing now, but I intend to present my last five years' worth of systems auditing - with organizational performance coaching mixed in - as a particularly beneficial qualification.

This is a really exciting opportunity! : If anyone would like to volunteer themselves as references, I would be grateful.

I've noticed one thing which may be important for a lot of folks to remember:
The search engines (google, yahoo, etc.) have changed the algorithms for search about "people" to practically eliminate any hits for articles or items those people have posted directly to the internet (blogs, discussion forums like the Cove, etc.), but give much more weight to second- and third-party references to that person. In the past, googling "wes bucey" +elsmar would bring up 10,000 hits. Similarly, "Marc Smith" +Elsmar would bring up 20,000 to 30,000. Today, the same search would bring up less than 25 for me and about double that for Marc. The search for "Jennifer Kirley" +elsmar brought up 15 hits this morning where about 60 days ago, it would have brought about 8,000 hits. ("wes bucey" +ASQ -elsmar brought up 93 hits - go figure)

In a way, this is good news, because some of the inane stuff we post from time to time will probably never show in a search result. It is more difficult in other respects because a casual search by a recruiter will rarely turn up some of the good stuff folks post unless they have a detailed list of search terms to add to your name. It's something to think about if a candidate wants to point to something special he/she has posted somewhere - give the recruiter the link or key words to use. For example, a search on "wes bucey" +"electronic document management" brought up 263 hits this morning - i.e. the more specific the search terms, the more likely to get meaningful results not demoted by the apparent "anti-personal message" algorithm.

Bottom line on this point - use references, but deal with them as we have discussed in The Job Hunt - Care and feeding of references

Good idea, Wes. Would you like to use this thread, or start another one?

This thread is a good place to start - if the "buzzword" thing gets a life of its own, we can always split it off to a thread of its own.

 

[Jen Kirley]

I tried the search and came up with 21,000+ hits.

This is the kind of reason I try to avoid saying inane things. One never knows who will see them.

 

[Wes Bucey]

Long time since I posted in this thread, but one of my news feeds came up with this item on how EMPLOYERS should be be recruiting.
What Employers Get Wrong When It Comes to Hiring

Here are some points which struck me (FAIR USE as critique):

Wise employers realize that it?s safer to hire someone referred by an employee or friend because they?re unlikely to recommend someone bad. There?s greater risk in hiring an unknown.​

​

​

But many employers ill-advisedly focus on unknowns by placing job ads. A report by CareerXroads, a consultancy to corporations on hiring, found that in 2013, 34.5% of hiring by the 250 large companies surveyed came from career sites and job boards. Ads often poorly describe what?s required of an employee. A wise employer, if using an ad, will list only the job?s central and difficult requirements. That results in clearer, fairer communication with job seekers. Also, an ad should post a salary range?for example, ?$85,000-$100,000 depending on the candidate?s qualifications.?​

​

Note that the "250 large companies only get 34.5% of hiring" [through job sites like Monster or Career Builder.] View our thread Tips to get past the "gatekeeper" when job hunting to see where the remaining 65.5% are getting their jobs.

Require all applicants to take an online test that simulates the job?s difficult, important tasks. To reduce cheating, applicants would be informed that the interview will include a parallel exam, proctored. That is typically a far more valid screening criterion than a cover letter or resume, which could have been ghost-written.​

​

This is the way to sort out the "cheaters" who lie or have professional ghost writers create resumes and cover letters. I think this should be followed up by an in-person interview question that asks how a candidate would process an investigation and resolution of a real world problem facing the organization - no generic queries available on a thousand "how to" web sites.

Alas, the stuff included in this article and in most of my job hunting threads here in the Cove are targeted toward mid level and higher rank job candidate openings, NOT for staff technicians and manufacturing machine operators.

The biggest problem is that most employers will not read this article and will continue to use ineffective and inefficient recruiting processes. this should be more incentive for job hunters to follow the suggestions listed in the threads in the first post to go around such an ineffective system to get an appropriate job fitting their abilities and experience and paying near the top end of the wage scale for that position.

Candidates:
Thinking about a New Job for New Year?

Resume and cover letter - How good are yours?

The Job Hunt - Care and feeding of references

Tips to get past the "gatekeeper" when job hunting

Consulting ? Is it in YOUR Career Future?

Contracting/Temping - Viable Alternates in Tough Times

If you find yourself looking for a new job, take the time to read through those threads - in the long run, you'll save a lot of false starts and heartache in the hunt.

Good luck!

 

[Wes Bucey]

Thread Bump

So, I hear and read that the job market is opening up. For those of you who have been out of work for a while and haven't been getting interviews recently, it means you probably should be revamping your job hunt strategy. For those of you who have been hanging in a dead end job for the "security," maybe it's time to stretch your wings to seek greener pastures.

Above all, I have stayed on message for the 11-1/2 years I've been in the Cove:

Research pays off!
​

1. Consider creating a Self Assessment Matrix (SAM), sometimes called a Skills Assessment Matrix (SAM)
2. Don't waste time on blind ads unless you can narrow it down to a few companies, THEN approach them as if you never saw the blind ad - you'll set yourself apart from all the sheep who send in resumes to be evaluated by machines WITHOUT AI
3. Take the time and effort to write individual, targeted resumes and cover letters - avoid that "me too" aura that surrounds the desperate who send out dozens or hundreds of identical letters and resumes, operating on the "throw enough s--- against the wall and some will stick" theory
4. Negotiate for combined money and benefits to get the package you deserve for the value you give - don't leave money on the table!
5. Learn how to be great in an interview - it comes from practice, NOT a book.
6. Finally, DELIVER THE VALUE you promise.