What does it take!?

As you know, the employment market has changed dramatically in the past few years. We came a long way form the times where all that was required to get a job was to wear a nice suit, bring a few hard copies of your resume, and go to the companies you wanted to work with and ask the receptionist if a manager could see you. Now, with technology, candidates only have their resume to make a first impression and employers are overwhelmed with the number of applicants. In this presentation, we will explore some strategies for both the candidates and the employers to find not just a job or any employee, but the best possible fit.

The following topics will be covered;  Writing your template resume  Submitting your resume  Preparing for an interview  The interview  Writing a job description  Posting your job description  Screening candidates  Interviewing candidates  Decision making  Conclusion

Writing Your Template Resume Before you start writing your resume, you should take a few moments and reflect on the following;  What kind of role do you want to be in  How much money do you want to make  What kind of internal culture do you like  Is there a specific technology you want to work with  Ect..

Writing Your Template Resume  Objective – this is where you state what kind on role you are looking for. It can be only one line.  Profile – this is often used in lieu of a cover letter. This is where you describe your soft skills and the kind of management style and internal culture in which you perform particularly well. If there is a particular reason you want to work for a company, this is the place to elaborate.  Summary of skills – this is where you list the technologies and methodologies you have knowledge of. This can be either in a table or in bullet form.

Writing Your Template Resume  Professional experience – this is where you list your previous employment. Following is a suggested format; Your title month and year of start and end Name of company: Short abstract of company Description of responsibilities – this can be in bullet points Technical environment – this can be a paragraph

Writing you template resume Following is your education  name the school, program and graduating year for any degree or diploma  List certifications and workshops taken chronologically Conclude with hobbies and activities you wish to share

Submitting your resume  Avoid sending your resume without reading the job description and doing a minimum of research on the company  Customise your resume for each role you are applying for  Keep in mind not all hiring companies post advertising. It is a good idea to attend networking events, work with recruiting firms, go to career fairs, use T-Net as a resource and to use your network

Preparing for an interview  Google the company and the person who will interview you  Search the company web site o to look at the ‘about us’ section is the bare minimum o the newsletter section will give you some good insight on the history and direction of the company o if a public company, look at the investor section o in the career section, look at how many jobs are open, and read them  Write some questions based on your research in a notebook  Make sure you know how to get to your interview

Preparing for an interview Make sure you have read and researched the job description. If there is any term you do not understand or technology you are nor familiar with, use

The interview Be yourself and be honest  Keep your answers fairly short and make sure you are answering the question asked (Am I answering your question? Would you like more details? Should I elaborate?...)  Ask your questions in a clear and concise manner  Don’t be afraid to ask about the hiring process and what the next step is  If you like what you hear, ask for the job  Ask when is an appropriate time for you to follow up and with who

Writing a job description  Before writing the job description, you must take a few moments and think about the kind of employee you are looking for  Consult and brainstorm with your team about what would the perfect fit look like  Determine what your budget is  Make a list of the perks you can offer (training, mentorship, benefits, exposure to cutting edge technology...). When you find you ideal candidate, it is likely you will have to ‘sell’ him/her the role. Be honest and realistic about it

Writing a job description Your job description should include;  A short description of the company  The title of the role you are trying to fill  A general summary of what the role involves in terms of the general responsibilities  A list of expected contributions  A list of required experience, knowledge, abilities and education  A list of desirable experience, knowledge, abilities and education  A way for the interested candidates to submit their resume

Posting your Job Description  Make sure your job description is on your web site and that the career section is easy to find  Let your current employees know you are hiring and make the job description accessible to them  If you are also hiring for another role, do cross recruiting  Use your personal and professional network  Try some free job board such as Craigslist

Screening Candidates In the interest of saving both party valuable time and effort, the following can be addressed in a phone screening;  Communication skills assessment  Salary expectation  Job-acceptance criteria  Availability  Eligibility to work in Canada  Investigation of any gaps between jobs, reasons/conditions for leaving current and previous employment  More details regarding the opportunity should be shared with the candidate  The hiring process should be explained to the candidate  It is a good idea to brainstorm with the candidate and arrive to a mutual decision on proceeding or not with the hiring process

Interviewing candidates  When it has been decided that candidate and hiring manager should meet, determine who should attend the interview – it is recommended that at least one member of the team is involved  Make sure all attendees read the candidate’s resume and the job description. All should be clear on what the perfect fit should look like

Interviewing candidates  Be yourself  Let the candidate know about the criteria you are looking for and give him/her a chance to tell you why they are a fit  Ask the candidate what they are looking for and be very honest on telling them what your team/company can or can not deliver  Let the candidate know you will now ask them technical questions and proceed  Let the candidate ask you questions and answer as best you can  Conclude by thanking the candidate for his/her time and giving a time line on when they will hear back from their contact person

Decision making This is the most difficult part  Brainstorm with all that attended the interview and discuss how candidates matched the initial criteria  If unsure, ask the candidates to come in and meet with the team.  Once you have chosen your candidate, it is time to present an offer

Conclusion So what does it takes to have a match made in heaven? In my experience, the perfect matches occur when both party have made use of courage. It takes courage to know and announce exactly what we want. It takes courage to ask those hard questions. It takes courage to answer those hard questions honestly.

When both parties have made use of that courage, the expectations are accurate and everybody makes an informed decision. We then have the perfect start for a match made in heaven.