Still Not on the Social Media Bandwagon? Could Be a Big Mistake!

Up to now, I've frankly been exerting a somewhat half-hearted effort to use LinkedIn, and only just in the past week started to explore the potential of Facebook and Twitter. I intend to change that, and after what I've heard today, would encourage executives, professionals, and managers who want to proactively manage their careers to do the same.

For some highlights from a seminar I attended today exploring how you can leverage social media effectively in managing your career, see my post over at CareerHub.

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Video Resumes Not a Great Idea - Part Deux

As a followup to my recent post on video resumes, some information I just received today confirmed my growing conviction that they are an idea whose time has not yet come, and maybe never will.

A colleague and Certification Chair at the National Resume Writers Association Cliff Framer noted in his article in today's newsletter entitled "Video Resumes. Yea or Nay?" that when this question was recently asked on LinkedIn, the response was unanimous. Recruiters and HR respondents without exception replied with answers that could be summarized as "no way in Web 2.0 h**ell!" Issues noted included some of those I noted in my previous blog post, including slowness of viewing time, vulnerability to discrimination or the appearance thereof, and storage difficulties.

Then Cliff made another observation that I consider astute: Perhaps the biggest problem with this idea is that video resumes force the reader into a passive role, forcing information down the viewer's throat rather than allowing them to do what recruiters typically do--scan the resume quickly to find needed information and read between the lines. All the flashy thingies and interactive features that technies can come up with in a video or multimedia resume will never replace articulate and succinct expression of your value as a job candidate in a printable executive resume.

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Network, Network, Network to Uncover Job Opportunities!!

Nearly 40% of all positions filled within a company result from internal transfers or promotions, according to the latest Source of Hire Study from CareerXRoads. The study (8th in a series) also affirms once again that for the remaining hires originating from external sources, referrals from current and previous employees, customers, and vendors are the number one external source, accounting for 27.3%. Notably, job boards (excluding company sites) produce just 12.3% of external hires and seem to have reached their peak. The big boards such as Monster and Career Builder also seem to be losing ground to niche boards.

These facts make cultivating “insider” connections one of your best sources for job leads. With the implied endorsement from a trusted source that you have when referred to a company, you gain a great advantage over your competition. Not only are you most likely going to get an interview ahead of the pack, you are also an attractive candidate due to the fact payment to a recruiter may be partially or totally removed from the equation, substantially reducing the employer’s cost of hiring.

In a tough job market, proactively building your network is arguably your best strategy to identify and pursue a new job before hundreds or even thousands of others have beat you to the door.

What Does Your Resume File Name Say About You?

I received yet another executive resume for evaluation from a prospective client today with a filename that was not only nondescript--it consisted of jibberish characters! I routinely counsel my clients to make sure that they include their full name (last, first) in their resume file name, and to avoid cryptic language or information that is meaningless to a prospective employer or recruiter, or worse yet, could make an unfavorable impression.


With today's incident in mind, I encourage my readers to see my recent blog entry over at the CareerHub blog about the importance of Resume Filenames.

Recent Executive Job Trends by Industry and Position

Indeed.com has some really useful and informative features, not the least of which is their tool that tracks job trends by industry. Here are some recent stats from their site:

Industry -- Job Postings (Annual Change)
Accounting -- 123,813 (-34%)
Construction -- 59,571 (-35%)
Education -- 55,300 (+ 22%)
Financial Services and Banking -- 122,187 (-30%)
Healthcare -- 599,186 ( +4%)
Hospitality -- 56,128 (-25%)
Information Technology -- 405,057 (-29%)
Manufacturing -- 67,470 (-31%)
Media and Newspaper -- 19,044 (-38%)
Real Estate -- 19,590 (-52%)
Retail -- 310,241 (-26%)
Transportation -- 52,231 (-34%)

As far as employment prospects for executives by field of expertise are concerned, a recent ExecuNet Recruiter Confidence poll shows that the following are fields where recruiters see the greatest possibility for growth in executive hiring over the next six months:

Business Development -- 17.3%
Sales -- 15.0%
Engineering -- 10.4%
Operations Management (incl. supply chain, logistics, quality) -- 8.7%
Marketing -- 8.7%
Consulting -- 8.2%
Finance -- 7.9%
Research and Development -- 7.7%

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