Tag Archives | canadian headhunter

Top Tips For A Job Seeker

Work For A Terrible Boss! It’s Great For Your Career!

No one accepts a career anticipating a horrible, terrible, awful,  no good boss but perhaps it is something you should consider as you go through a career assessment. Working for a terrible boss is like opening the golden gates to your career and here’s why:

You Simply Learn More From A Bad Manager Than A Good Manager:

You Learn To Wear Different Masks: You learn quickly that the way you talk to one person is not the way you can or should talk to someone else and a terrible boss will make that very clear, quickly.

You Learn To Do Be Resourceful: You want to avoid your boss so you will find different ways to get answers and you will certainly be sure to get the right ones, the first time around.

You Learn To Work With Difficult And Different Personalities: It’s easy to work in an office where everyone is more or less easy going…try working with the 50 shades of an office…

You Learn What To Keep To Yourself And Vice Versa What To Say Allowed: A bad boss normally doesn’t want to hear or read from you, or they want to hear and read from you every second so you will learn to discriminate your thoughts regarding what to say when and to who.

You Learn Self Respect: Deep down you know you are great at what you do, so you tell yourself that and you know what you just won’t tolerate.

You Learn Patience: There’s a reason patience is a virtue and many deep breaths come with a bad boss.

You Learn Not To Associate Yourself With Gossip: It’s that simple. You are working. You learn to be more like your boss and care less about the world around you and more about your work.

You Learn To Think Before You Speak Or React: It’s very common for people to react in action and speech but with a bad boss, your mouth and body language is sealed since you want to keep your job…don’t you??

You Learn To Value Feedback And Know How To Accept Criticism:Bosses can be rough, mean and tough. Having a bad boss, means you understand that some things are genuine points you need to improve on and other points that just need to slide. You accept criticism and feedback as you know it is to help you improve without crushing your ego…in fact it makes you stronger.

You Learn How To Understand People: Some people flourish when working with difficult people and it’s simple, because they “get it”. They can read the good days, the bad days, and even the moments. They understand that EVERYONE even a bad boss has great moments!

You Learn Negotiations Skills: If your mind is set on something you will be as articulate as possible to ensure what you are about to present or offer is sure as hell worth it. A bad boss, doesn’t accept mediocre.

You Learn How To Help Others: When someone new comes to the office you can’t help but feel a little bad for them. You go up to them, console them and work with them. They are not your new best friend, you are their confident and what keeps them from quitting, and you know that!

Learn To Read People: You know how to read body language and quickly!!

Learn To Value Relationships: The people outside of your office are important to you. They are what keep you grounded and the people you get along with in the office are your common ground and they are your release center as well..as they understand you.

Learn What to Do When Left Alone: You don’t need to be hand held, micro managed, or babysat. You know how to prioritize your work and your time because you know what will get you in trouble and what won’t.

You Learn Everything You Are Doing Today Is Preparing You For Tomorrow: When you go to work day in and day out working for a bad boss you aren’t looking at the now, you are looking at the big picture. You know it’s more important for you as you know it’s your stepping stone to the mountain top.

So next time you are about to turn down an interview or a job at that “terrible” company. Look deeper as there is a company out there for everyone and just because you may know a lot of people who didn’t take a job at that company, know the company survived somehow and those that did survive have an amazing learning ground.

Should You Ever Work For A Family Member? Should You Hire Family?

Stop Crashing Your Career By Doing THIS!

You are sitting at your computer, ready to apply for your dream job. You have been waiting for the perfect job to be posted or the certain person to reach out to you and so you start to ponder your cover letter. The butterflies are in your stomach and anticipation of getting the job is in your head. You are sitting there thinking “What should I write in my cover letter??” Well, be relieved that as much as you hate writing covering letters, hiring manager hate reading them.

It takes 7 seconds to review a resume and 1 second to scan your cover letter. So the truth is if we see another cover letter that expresses the “desire to learn” or how your education and experience matches that of the job, or how you managed 15 people which can clearly be seen in your resume please, don’t shoot us, just pull our eyes out! As there is no such thing as an “eye catching” cover letter. Don’t be fooled by posts with information that must be in the cover letter. For the love of anything do not have one…it’s old school!

In the new school of thought, there is no secret to writing a great cover letter, except for not having one and here’s why:

Cover Letters Have Proven To Be Your Window For Error: Countless people make so many errors in their cover letter. Aside for the fact people still make spelling and grammatical errors, people also forget to ensure their cover letter matches their resume and social media platforms.

The ATS- Applicant Tracking System Is Against You- All recruiting firms and most companies use an ATS to make their recruiting efforts more efficient so your cover letter isn’t even kept! It gets deleted as your resume put into the system.

Your Resume Tells Your Story: We know your cover letter is full of jargon about how you want the job but would you apply if you didn’t want the job or work at the company your writing about in detail??

It’s So Damn Long!! What the heck are you writing?? You make it as though we have all the time in the world to sit an read a novel during our work day. If you can’t write quickly, what will it be like meeting you??

The Cover Letter Profiles Your Monotony: Everything you have written in the cover letter is profiled in the resume..we get it. You worked at a, b c company for x years, managed so many people etc etc…again there’s no need to reiterate it in your cover letter.

Your resume, if strong enough, will highlight the elements of your resume that will ensure you are the right match for the job and company you are applying for. If it doesn’t then revamp your resume. Gone are the days when it had to be one page. If you have experience profile it, highlight it, embrace it but let the cover letter die in peace.

If you want to get noticed, don’t write a cover letter write an introductory email about the person you are writing to, as it’s not all about you.

Jessica Glazer is the Recruitment Director/Founder of www.MindHR.com-a head-hunting and resume writing agency. She can also be heard on Montreal’s NewsTalk Radio CJAD and seen on BTMontreal and Global television speaking about employment related issues.

How Picking An Intern Is Like Picking Your Stock Portfolio

Gone are the days when interns were a burden to your company.

Gone are the days when having an intern meant you had someone to get you coffee and clean your office and gone should be the days, when they become a burden to your time and your company.

Interns can be an integral part of your organization. In this day and age they are probably more technically savvy than the directors in your organization. They know how to research, type, network, code and decode better than any generation before them. They love technology and more so, they love the idea of success, fame and fortune, as it’s all over their social media world.

Do they have a short attention span? Most of them.

Can they be driven to succeed? Absolutely.

They need to be given the right tools so you don’t just have them for a few months but rather a few years. If you play your cards right, you won’t be wasting your time just to see them run out the door when their internship is over. So make the most out of your interns so you see a return in your investment.

Pick Wisely: Before even having an intern, know what the role of the person will be. Just like your stock portfolio you wouldn’t just go with the seat of your pants, you would look at industry, the company, the potential. Don’t just have an intern because of the free or almost free labour. What is their potential in your company? How do you want them to grow with the company? How do you want to see them succeed? What type of person best fits your organization from the get go? Don’t pick anyone, pick with purpose.

Proper Onboarding: They are human and they are just like any other new employee in your organization. They need a proper onboarding process which means, an email prior to arrival, indicating the information they need to succeed the first day, an introduction to the team, the company, a computer and even a cell phone, if that’s normal protocol for your organization. Ensure they have an email address as well. Treat them with the same respect you would any other new employee. Just like a stock if it’s doing poorly, you have two choices, stick with it and hope it/they pick up or get rid of them!

Remain Calm: They are interns, which means they are learning, which also means you have to allow them to try things and make mistakes. The biggest mistake you can make with an intern is being extremely overbearing and watching their every move. Watch your stocks from a distance. Watching them every second won’t make your life easier, just more stressful so when it comes to an intern, let them learn, they will stay.

Let Them Speak: They are new, they have questions, they have ideas. Some ideas might be outlandish but some might actually work for your organization. Don’t discount them just because they are young. They see things differently then you and that’s not a bad thing. Their creative juices can allow you to think differently as well and create something incredible.

Give A Pat On The Back: It won’t kill you to say “Good job” “Thank You” “Love That!”. Don’t flood their head with compliments that they think they can feel they can run the company today but give them a sense of value by providing positive feedback every now and again so they can see themselves a huge part of the company in the future.

Remember It’s Not About The Money: Your intern is there because he/she wants to learn the ropes of your company and/or your job. They aren’t there for the money as much as you might be. Some interns aren’t even paid and that you need to be well aware of and remember! They are there because they genuinely want to be. Perhaps taking that into consideration and paying for their lunch or a movie or a show can be a nice way to reward them. The $10 lunch can save you hundreds and thousands of dollars in the long run as they grow your company, with you. Appreciation goes a long way.

When you are hiring an intern, you are hiring someone to help you build your team, your company and your dreams. They come in with zero experience so you must groom them properly, and invest in them wisely so all your efforts aren’t wasted and they essentially leave to help build someone portfolio. If that happens, you have no one to blame but your own market value.

Jessica Glazer is the Recruitment Director/Founder of www.MindHR.com-a head-hunting and resume writing agency. She writes for Huffington Post, can be heard on Montreal’s NewsTalk Radio CJAD and seen on BTMontreal and Global television speaking about employment related issues.

14 Small Business, Big Hiring Mistakes

Expanding a small company is never easy. Everyone has a role and in a small office a bad hire has a greater impact. Below are 14 of the biggest hiring mistakes small business make:

Hiring A Friend Not A Fit: Your friend is great but unless you already have an established company keep them out of the office. There are studies that less work is completed when hiring a friend plus there is a reason you don’t mix business with pleasure…not everyone can separate the two.

Not Knowing What You Need:You know you need someone but do you know where or how. Write a list regarding where you feel your company is lacking strength from there you can decide where you need to hire but once you decide to commit to hire, hire.

Hiring Someone With Limited Skills: Don’t pin one person into a specific category. When hiring, think of their growth potential as you intend on growing.

Hiring Someone Do To A Bit Of Everything:You don’t want a jack of all trades with skills in none. You want someone who can fill a specific void or strengthen a weakness.

Hiring Someone Who Is Cheap: When push comes to shove if you hire the cheapest option you will get the least results. There are times you need to pay more to get more or at least know the market value of what you are looking for. Pay less and you risk losing that person which will cost you a lot more in the long run.

Hiring Someone To Help Them: You need someone, and yes many people need work but even a non-profit has to be selective and you are not a charity. You became an entrepreneur to run your own business, make your own hours and see success where there were clear issues in the systems out there. Remember that when hiring.

Making People Partners Too Soon:If you can’t afford someone, don’t hire them. Making someone a partner too soon means you will not have control over your own company, is that what you want so soon?? Hire those with potential but don’t make them partners off the bat.

Take Too Long To Take A Decision: Great talent who is interested in your company will get off the market quickly if they decide to interview at other places so don’t take too long to hire your ideal candidate. If you like them, put a ring on it!

Nitpicking: Being overly picky will hinder your chances of hiring the right person. There is no such thing as perfect. You have to make compromises

Over Hiring: Do not hire so many people that you don’t know what to do with them or that you have to train everyone at once. Know what your needs are then hire accordingly. Everyone will have their place but there’s no point in hiring 10 people if there’s only enough work for 4.

Over Interviewing: You need to know the person you are going to bring on is the right person for you. You can interview them, have them interview team members, give them a test and have a trial but after all that, you really need to make a hiring decision.

Not Prepared To Conduct An Interview: When someone arrives at your office, have your questions in hand. Know what you want to know from the person. Respect their time and ask questions about them while giving information about your company. This is not a you show. You do not need to prove why you are worth working for. Let them figure that out through their own answers.

Do Not Do Background Checks: You love the person, they have everything you need and want. They are 11 on 10 but don’t jump the gun just yet. Make sure you or someone you know checks their references or does a background check on them. Just because they appear great, know they might just be great interviewers…be weary.

Don’t Consider Head-Hunters: Small companies work on tight budgets. Shop around as some agencies aren’t as expensive as you think they are and can work with you to ensure you make the right hire. As stated earlier a bad hire can cost you a lot more then a little recruiting fee and a great recruiter will help you through the entire process.

Resume & Cover Letter Mistakes You Don’t Want To Make But Others Have!!

Sometimes you just have to stop and laugh at what the universe sends you but we can actually learn from these humerous errors as well.

Below are just a few laugh out loud errors that have been sent my way. Happy Laughing. Happy Learning.

In Cover Letter: Benefits currently include…”Ham at Christmas” That was conversation I will never forget. I had to call him confirm it was real…it was!! “Ham can be expensive at Christmas, you know?” Was his response…for the record this was a 90k figure guy!

Email address: missyshakes@*******.com Your email address should be professional…Missshakes might agree…and it does exist!!

A gap in employment because…..”Dog Was Sick” I understand people love their pets but not everyone is a pet person this smells like a person with serious issues

“Perfectly Bilingual Written/ Spoken English, French Spoken, Some Italian” Umm..Perfectly bilingual in itself doesn’t make sense but then to break it down to not being bilingual at all???

Sent out a resume on the back side of a draft cover letter to another firm with the words “Pays attention to detail in the cover letter” Just Pay Attention!!

Wrong Name And Company In The Message. Hi, I’m Jessica, Not Jennifer, Not Jasmine, Not Stacey, Nor Susan or Marissa or Nancy…although nice names, they are not mine. My name is Jessica and my company name is MindHR, pretty simple 🙂

Send Cover Letter On Current Company Letterhead! I get you are working but can you at least have the decency to NOT use your current company’s property…it makes me very uneasy

Including Naked Pictures/Half Naked Pictures- If you think you are hot save the gogglers for the beach…I am not Candy-Dating. I am trying to get the best of the best for my clients not the egocentric, narcissistic ones.

Bachelors In Arts 1990 to present…Ummm so when are you going to be finishing that???

Reason for leaving for 4 careers in a row Layoffs but all companies are still in working order and there are no references RED FLAG!!

“Turnaround Consultant- Turned X Y Z companies around” And let me guess you are also a well educated, articulate person with many words!!

15 Page Resume!! I didn’t think it was ever going to end!! DO NOT DO IT!! Send a 2-3 page MAX!

Gardenview Elementary School I really never need to know when you went to elementary school…I’m trying to think of a time I need it, but nope…never…I don’t even need to know when you went to high school…keep to college and above and should we know people in common let’s figure it out when we speak.