Natasha Gargiulo and the BT Breakfast Televsion team speak with Jessica Glazer of MindHR Recruiting placement agency about self-promoting at the office. It can sometimes feel unnatural and uncomfortable but it’s an important way to get ahead in your career.
Recruitment specialist Jessica Glazer offers tips to help you promote yourself.
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.
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.
Every job has it’s perks and down falls and the biggest downfall in recruitment is the quality of talent that comes through staffing firms directly so here are the qualities needed for top performing recruiters you should know about if you are going to be working with them:
Emotional Intelligence: Being smart is one thing but a great recruiter needs to be able to read people and situations. They need to know what to say when and how, and WITHOUT LYING! Lying gets you nowhere but trouble
Diligent To The Point of Obsession: It’s one thing to be a perfectionist however top performing recruiters are people of the now with the vision of the long term as everything has to happen instantly for their candidates and their clients but building the solid relationship is always #1.
Multi-Task Masters: There is no way a top performing recruiter will take on one job at a time or talk to one candidate for one search. The don’t NEED a retained search as they know that they will find the top candidate and there’s no way they are working with one company so why make a company work with only them? Due to their busy desk, they need to know how to manage a different projects at different stages, hand while being observant enough to know what priorities are. As I was once told it’s “Magic hands”.
Listen: In sales it’s always important to listen but recruiters aren’t just sales people selling a glass. Their class walks, talks, speaks to other glasses and if they fall of the shelf, the recruiter can’t just find the exact same glass. So it’s so important they listen to the needs of their clients.
Caring: In all jobs the bottom line is important but someone who is in recruitment for the money is in it for the wrong reasons. The career placement industry isn’t a numbers game, it’s about changing lives.
Friendly: If the recruiter you are working with can not take the time to talk to you with a smile and caring voice, you have a problem
Sense of Sportsmanship:Recruiting is the People Person Sport. It’s impossible to be a successful recruiter without a team. It takes a village to make the right higher. They need the right tools and guidance from their clients and their candidates so if they aren’t working with you, they aren’t going to be able to help you
Energized: If a recruiter sounds like Eeyor you have a problem, they shouldn’t be like Tiger either. You need them to be a healthy balance of professional, fun and educated regarding your needs.
Self-Motivated: A recruiters lively hood depends on the clients they manage and the jobs they fill. If they are happy with just being at the level they are at, they will not strive to fill your jobs as they have no drive. A top preforming recruiter has drive faster then a formula 1 racer.
Ridiculous Researcher: A top recruiter won’t just research a company to know what they do, they will know the company and the match of what they are looking for better then an adult tooth moving into a mouth. They love to research, to the point of almost stalking. It;s their passion to research, learn and talk to others. It’s just in their blood.
Laugh At Themselves: If they can’t laugh at themselves they will die as some things said and done along the way can kill them…literally.
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.
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.
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