Tag Archives | montreal careers

Stop Crashing Your Career By Doing THIS!

By on August 8, 2015 in Career Advise, Others

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.

Over 1M Recruiters, Who Is The Right One?

By on October 15, 2014 in Uncategorized

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.

14 Small Business, Big Hiring Mistakes

By on October 10, 2014 in Employer Guidelines

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.

“Tell Me About Yourself” What Do They REALLY Want To Know

By on August 7, 2014 in Career Advise

You are sitting in your dream company, across from your potential new employer all decked out. You have your freshly printed resume in their hands, they look through it briefly and say: “So….tell me about yourself”

And your brain goes like wildfire. You have done so much. You have so much to say but where do you start?

What they are really asking in the politest of ways is “who are you and why are you here?”

So your answer needs to be along the lines of “what have you done that will help their team and company succeed?”.

They don’t care about anything personal. This is your time to show how you fit in the company. They need to learn you know how to give long answers in a short period of time.

So you must:

Be precise.

Be consistent.

AND

Don’t ramble

Don’t worry about what they want to hear. Worry about the message you want to get across.

Think of it as you elevator pitch with more substance to get you to that higher level.

Remember every good story has a beginning, middle and an end a summary as this question gets you talking but don’t talk too much.

Here is how it’s broken down:

I am a ….

“I have done…with numbers and dollars and accomplishments and I’m looking for x, y, z which is what brings me to you today.

How does that work for you?”

Write down all your key points so it will help you not have to think once you are in your interview.

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Learn To Keep Your Employees!

By on May 9, 2014 in Others

You have employees, you are growing, you want to grow, that’s all great! Nerve wracking but great!! The only problem is, everyone is different and every company is different so as much as it’s fabulous to want to add employees you need to go about it the right way!
So what can you do to actually keep employees so people like me don’t take them out???

A steady job and paycheck is not enough to keep them happy.
Here are some not deep pocket examples that can help employees feel warm and fuzzy inside:

Relax on the dress code once a week or provide a free lunch of Fridays…offices love free!! Free coffee, free donuts, free time!!

Keep them motivated, keep them educated!
Lunch and learn sessions: The government of Quebec provides grants to companies that provide training. Take advantage of it!! It will save you money in the long run as well! If you need more information please do feel free to send jessica@mindhr.com an email. She will put you in touch with the right person.

Offer a flexible work schedule. I have a client that has a 7.5 hour work week. Everyone has to be in at 10am but they can come in anytime before and leave 7.5 hours later.

Don’t yell, it’s not good for you and it’s not good for the morale of the office. Keep calm and work on!

Dangle a carrot in front of the right people. Everyone has different motivations so work with what those differences. It’s not discrimination if everyone has something to look forward to. I worked with a sales woman who was motivated by time off. She didn’t care about the commissions, she wanted a half day off for every sale made. Not the end of the world.

Celebrate occasions and offer the option of It’s your Birthday take the day off. With smart phones we are always available, so a day off is never really a day off.

Participate in community events. Events bring up team spirit. You don’t have to make it mandatory but you can make it an option. Building a sense of community and family makes it harder for people to leave.

As a manager or an owner, bond with them and get to know them. You don’t have to be best buddies but you can get to know their favorite color.

If you can and have the space, offer gym memberships or provide the time for your employees to get out and exercise. Healthy body healthy mind

Work with your employees to show the progression of their work and the company, if that is something that interests them. Don’t worry, NOT everyone wants to the be chief and not everyone wants to be the soldier.

Don’t forget to congratulate successes not everything has to be about money, a simple well done, is really enough sometimes.

The employers who treat their employees the best will not only keep their current staff but also find the best employees flocking to them.

Happy flying!