A simple Google search on topics such as the problems in recruitment, job-seeker troubles, how-to find a job, etc… will yield a ton of results. Most of these results are targeted on what the job-seeker is doing wrong and how he/she can fix their “problem”. Well, if you’ve ever had a conversation with me, or have ever read any of my previous posts, you’ll notice one main theme, I don’t in any world agree with bashing the job-seeker.
For the next few weeks, I will be taking the main points that I’ve seen all over the internet and will spin them in the opposite direction. I believe that hiring managers, recruiters, and businesses need to do better with their applicants, need to do better with their process, and simply need to do better with people.
Today’s “mistake” number 1 – Job-seekers fail at branding themselves
Okay, this is a big one. Online resources will continually tell you to use LinkedIn to brand yourself, which I agree with. It’s always best when looking for a job to have an updated and easily searchable online profile. What I don’t agree with? Experts telling you to perfect every aspect of your profile, make sure your summary has every detail of what you’ve done, what you’re looking to do, and where you want to be. Why don’t I agree with this? Simple. Most of us don’t know. Most of us don’t know where our past and current roles/education can bring us. Most of us simply don’t know the opportunities that are open to us. And most of us don’t even know what we want to do with our skills.
Deciding your future is hard, even harder when you have limited experience in the corporate world, or when coming from a different background or region.
This tip is good, but it’s taken far. Job-seekers are not expert marketers (unless of course, they are!). Not everyone is built with the ability to brand themselves online, not everyone knows how or where to start, and not everyone has the time to learn. In school and through the various and differing paths we all take in our lives, we acquire different skills. With that said, it’s unfair to expect everyone to be perfect in their technical field as well as in their personal online branding.
My suggestion?
For the job-seeker: Create a LinkedIn profile. Tell us where you’ve been and what you’ve done. Tell us about the skills you’ve acquired, the languages you’ve learned, the education you’ve completed, and the positions you’ve held.
For the employer/recruiter: Don’t generalize, don’t assume, and don’t expect. As experts in the field of hiring and sourcing, we need to do better in looking at a simple profile and speaking to people to learn more. We NEED the human aspect in recruitment. We need to KNOW people, and the only sure way to do so is to have a conversation with them.