In the March 27, 2012 Ask The Headhunter Newsletter, a business owner defends business cards: I just read an article in the L.A. Times that says Passing out business cards is quickly becoming passe. Instead, I’m supposed to “bump” my phone with someone else’s to trade contact information. If cards are optional, then so are [...]
The Wall Street Journal reports that you’re screwed if you’re looking for a job, in Your Resume vs. Oblivion. A guy at IBM who sells the systems employers use to process incoming resumes says that 90% or more of employers use sophsticated technology (“which can cost from $5,000 to millions of dollars”) to scan resumes. So [...]
In the January 10, 2012 Ask The Headhunter Newsletter, a long-time reader ruminates about how stupid the recruiting and hiring process seems to have become. Employers aren’t really looking for talent — they’re shopping for mediocrity, using lists of keywords: I’m a career changer and I’m finding it very hard to get past the recruiting agency [...]
In the December 20, 2011 Ask The Headhunter Newsletter, a reader asks for ATH in a nutshell: Can you please summarize the Ask The Headhunter strategy and explain the main differences between ATH and the traditional approach to job hunting? Thanks. (This Q&A was such a hit last year that I’m reprising it — hope [...]
In the November 29, 2011 Ask The Headhunter Newsletter, a reader who’s run a business for years wants to know whether it’s true that the self-employed are unemployable. I was on a discussion forum today where the consensus is that you’ll never get hired if you’ve been self-employed. Is that true? I have had my [...]
In the November 22, 2011 Ask The Headhunter Newsletter, a successful executive who took time off then worked as a consultant says headhunters won’t touch him. What’s up? I was an executive with a financial services software company for 20 years. I joined when it was a start-up. After the company was sold, I took a [...]
In the November 15, 2011 Ask The Headhunter Newsletter, a job hunter who tries to take a personal approach to an employer is told to “go tell it to our website” in order to comply with federal rules: Nick, this is a new one to me. Do we really need to apply online for positions [...]
Suppose that every time you applied for a job, some guy in a little room checked an Excel spreadsheet and notified the employer: “No interview for this guy. He’s a bum.” It’s already happening. Several years ago I published a series of articles about identity theft via job boards, including a report about Monster.com’s troubling practices [...]
In the October 4, 2011 Ask The Headhunter Newsletter, a job hunter asks whether social networks like LinkedIn are a great way to get a foot in the door when looking for a new employer. I am currently looking at new job opportunities. Your suggestions are to network in order to find out more information [...]
In the September 27, 2011 Ask The Headhunter Newsletter, a job hunter says he’s got personal introductions to two C-level execs at a company where he wants to work. He worries, is it even a good idea to use them? The CEO of my former company just gave me two of the best contacts that [...]
