Some analytical industry trackers are now suggesting gas prices may go to $10 per gallon! Yes, you read that correctly, and yes I wrote it correctly. Don't believe it? Go check out - this link.
We are all starting to see the impact of already too high, and continuously increasing gas prices on our economy. Just look at the airline industry as a whole. What a mess, at best. Then look at our grocery prices. Another mess in the making. All of this is causing many to re-evaluate our home budgets, which in turn is causing a re-evaluation of our jobs and income.
Is it time for a second job for many? Or is it time to find a better paying, and more importantly - closer to home job? What about a job that allows us to work from home? These are going to be great topics of discussion in the months to come.
What I would suggest to do if you are one of those laid back, comfortable and confident in your job individuals believing that climbing gas prices will not effect your financial situation is to research how these high costs will impact the company you work for, both directly and indirectly. The energy costs may not directly impact the company you work for, but what about the customer base your company relies on for it's primary source of revenue?
This is not a time to be over-confident and more of a time to be prepared!
JTL Services is working on a business model that will allow all of our recruiters to work from home. You see this happening in corporate America and can start to see it trickle down in to small business America as well.
What are your thoughts about working from home? Chime in and let us know.
For job advice and information, please visit http://www.jtlservices.com/
Greg Angelillo
Online Editor
JTL Services, Inc.
725 Meriden-Waterbury Turnpike
Southington, CT 06489
Phone: (860) 426-0583
FAX: (860) 628-5008
216 East Chatham Street, Suite 101
Cary, NC 27511
Phone: (919) 465-7289
FAX: (919) 465-7281
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Friday, April 25, 2008
Should You Embellish Things On Your Resume?
Absolutely, positively NOT! Aside from the fact that it is always a good idea to be honest, there is also a very high likelihood that you will get caught. By the way, just so we are clear, that notion still holds true as a general rule in life, and not just in the career & job world.
With the Internet serving as a backbone to nearly everything we do these days, it is incredibly easy to dig up an abundant amount of information about an individual. So stating you went to Yale on your resume when you didn't - not such a prudent concept.
And if you do choose to be fraudulent on your resume, and are propitious enough to land the job, don't think it is over and that you've beaten the system. Just when you think everything is wonderful at work, that someone you thought was your work-buddy discovers you're a phony and reports your dishonesty to upper- management. It's a dog-eat-dog kind of world – even at work. Treat it as such. And don't think this stuff doesn't happen. It does.
So if you’re applying for a new position and believe your resume isn’t adequate enough with regard to your education level, there are many alternate options you have to make improvements. Continue your education, obtain certification(s), volunteer in areas that are specific to the industry you work in, and join networks – just to name a few. Enhancing your resume by fabricating accolades is just not in your best interest, especially in this technology, online social networking world we now live in.
For more advice and information, please visit http://www.jtlservices.com/
Greg Angelillo
Online Editor
JTL Services, Inc.
725 Meriden-Waterbury Turnpike
Southington, CT 06489
Phone: (860) 426-0583
FAX: (860) 628-5008
216 East Chatham Street, Suite 101
Cary, NC 27511
Phone: (919) 465-7289
FAX: (919) 465-7281
With the Internet serving as a backbone to nearly everything we do these days, it is incredibly easy to dig up an abundant amount of information about an individual. So stating you went to Yale on your resume when you didn't - not such a prudent concept.
And if you do choose to be fraudulent on your resume, and are propitious enough to land the job, don't think it is over and that you've beaten the system. Just when you think everything is wonderful at work, that someone you thought was your work-buddy discovers you're a phony and reports your dishonesty to upper- management. It's a dog-eat-dog kind of world – even at work. Treat it as such. And don't think this stuff doesn't happen. It does.
So if you’re applying for a new position and believe your resume isn’t adequate enough with regard to your education level, there are many alternate options you have to make improvements. Continue your education, obtain certification(s), volunteer in areas that are specific to the industry you work in, and join networks – just to name a few. Enhancing your resume by fabricating accolades is just not in your best interest, especially in this technology, online social networking world we now live in.
For more advice and information, please visit http://www.jtlservices.com/
Greg Angelillo
Online Editor
JTL Services, Inc.
725 Meriden-Waterbury Turnpike
Southington, CT 06489
Phone: (860) 426-0583
FAX: (860) 628-5008
216 East Chatham Street, Suite 101
Cary, NC 27511
Phone: (919) 465-7289
FAX: (919) 465-7281
Monday, April 21, 2008
Update Your Resume!
People, if you haven't updated your resume in a while.... PLEASE DO! There are so many FREE resources available out there that can give you advice on freshening up your resume. It would be a shame not to use them quite frankly. Believe me, it not only may help you when you are seeking your next job, it just may be the variable for how you get your next job.
In recent posts, you have read how much I feel that keeping your resume updated is important. What may be of equal importance is creating multiple versions of your resume. Let me explain.
If you are a marketing candidate applying for a marketing position for a manufacturing company, then you should gear your marketing experience to anything related to that specific marketing position. In fact, you should read the job description for the open position and if you have qualities specific to some of the open position's listed job requirements, then you should make mention of this on your resume for that specific job.
These specifics on your resume are exactly what hiring managers are looking for. They need experienced individuals and want to try and find the best suited individual for the specific job.
You have to still remember that a resume is sort of a disqualifier for a hiring manager. They sift through resumes looking for reasons to put you in the "no" pile.
For more advice and information, please visit http://www.jtlservices.com/
Greg Angelillo
Online Editor
JTL Services, Inc.
725 Meriden-Waterbury Turnpike
Southington, CT 06489
Phone: (860) 426-0583
FAX: (860) 628-5008
216 East Chatham Street, Suite 101
Cary, NC 27511
Phone: (919) 465-7289
FAX: (919) 465-7281
In recent posts, you have read how much I feel that keeping your resume updated is important. What may be of equal importance is creating multiple versions of your resume. Let me explain.
If you are a marketing candidate applying for a marketing position for a manufacturing company, then you should gear your marketing experience to anything related to that specific marketing position. In fact, you should read the job description for the open position and if you have qualities specific to some of the open position's listed job requirements, then you should make mention of this on your resume for that specific job.
These specifics on your resume are exactly what hiring managers are looking for. They need experienced individuals and want to try and find the best suited individual for the specific job.
You have to still remember that a resume is sort of a disqualifier for a hiring manager. They sift through resumes looking for reasons to put you in the "no" pile.
For more advice and information, please visit http://www.jtlservices.com/
Greg Angelillo
Online Editor
JTL Services, Inc.
725 Meriden-Waterbury Turnpike
Southington, CT 06489
Phone: (860) 426-0583
FAX: (860) 628-5008
216 East Chatham Street, Suite 101
Cary, NC 27511
Phone: (919) 465-7289
FAX: (919) 465-7281
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Job Interview and Credit Checks?
Add another personal variable to the job screening process everyone. Evidently the growing trend of credit checks as part of the job placement process continues. While on some levels I can see a partial parallel, I do have my mixed feelings on this one.
First let me start with some of what may kind of make some sense - to me anyway. Let's say I am a hiring manager screening an applicant applying for a position with a pay scale of $55-60K. Now lets also say that this job candidate is currently out of work and has a tremendous amount of historical debt issues and credit problems. These facts may lead me to assume that the individual may take a position too quickly because they are out of work while looking for a higher paying job elsewhere to help them get back on financial track. The high costs of job (re)placement to the company may force me, as a hiring manager, to move this applicant to another pile if you will.
Credit scores and historical data may also be indicative of a candidate's overall character. However, and here is where I have some issue with this entire concept, what about the people who for years have had great credit and due to the latest credit (mortgage) crisis are in financial distress? These people applied for a home mortgage loan and got approved by the lenders using calculations that should be illegal. They trusted in their mortgage brokers and did okay for a year, two or three and now that their interest rates have shot up, they can no longer afford their homes. And now their home has lost value in a downward market and is not selling easy because the increased housing inventory. These people are now in trouble from every financial angle possible - and now maybe including their ability to get a new job. I would like to know how you feel about this issue. Please comment on this issue that may be effecting countless Americans looking to find a new job and get their families back on track.
An important note in closing - no one can legally access your credit history without your consent. What I recommend when asked to run your credit check by a hiring manager, is to reply that you will allow it but only when a formal offer is made.
Do this for a few reasons. First off, let them see who you are and what you can bring to the table. The interview process as a whole should allow them to determine this. A credit check to early in the process may be used as a dis-qualifier. You can justify your reasoning for allowing it only after a formal offer is made by stating the fact that frequent credit checks have a a negative impact on your credit score.
And in the meantime, if you want to know your credit score, here are the three companies to contact. You are allowed one free credit report from each of these three per year.
Equifax P.O. Box 740241 Atlanta, GA 30374-0241
(800) 685-1111
Experian P.O. Box 2104 Allen, TX 75013
(888) EXPERIAN (888-397-3742)
Trans Union P.O. Box 2000 Chester, PA 19022
(800) 916-8800
Let us know how you feel about this issue by going to the following website and voting on this topic - http://www.jtlservices.com/
Greg Angelillo
Online Editor
JTL Services, Inc.
725 Meriden-Waterbury Turnpike
Southington, CT 06489
Phone: (860) 426-0583
FAX: (860) 628-5008
216 East Chatham Street, Suite 101
Cary, NC 27511
Phone: (919) 465-7289
FAX: (919) 465-7281
First let me start with some of what may kind of make some sense - to me anyway. Let's say I am a hiring manager screening an applicant applying for a position with a pay scale of $55-60K. Now lets also say that this job candidate is currently out of work and has a tremendous amount of historical debt issues and credit problems. These facts may lead me to assume that the individual may take a position too quickly because they are out of work while looking for a higher paying job elsewhere to help them get back on financial track. The high costs of job (re)placement to the company may force me, as a hiring manager, to move this applicant to another pile if you will.
Credit scores and historical data may also be indicative of a candidate's overall character. However, and here is where I have some issue with this entire concept, what about the people who for years have had great credit and due to the latest credit (mortgage) crisis are in financial distress? These people applied for a home mortgage loan and got approved by the lenders using calculations that should be illegal. They trusted in their mortgage brokers and did okay for a year, two or three and now that their interest rates have shot up, they can no longer afford their homes. And now their home has lost value in a downward market and is not selling easy because the increased housing inventory. These people are now in trouble from every financial angle possible - and now maybe including their ability to get a new job. I would like to know how you feel about this issue. Please comment on this issue that may be effecting countless Americans looking to find a new job and get their families back on track.
An important note in closing - no one can legally access your credit history without your consent. What I recommend when asked to run your credit check by a hiring manager, is to reply that you will allow it but only when a formal offer is made.
Do this for a few reasons. First off, let them see who you are and what you can bring to the table. The interview process as a whole should allow them to determine this. A credit check to early in the process may be used as a dis-qualifier. You can justify your reasoning for allowing it only after a formal offer is made by stating the fact that frequent credit checks have a a negative impact on your credit score.
And in the meantime, if you want to know your credit score, here are the three companies to contact. You are allowed one free credit report from each of these three per year.
Equifax P.O. Box 740241 Atlanta, GA 30374-0241
(800) 685-1111
Experian P.O. Box 2104 Allen, TX 75013
(888) EXPERIAN (888-397-3742)
Trans Union P.O. Box 2000 Chester, PA 19022
(800) 916-8800
Let us know how you feel about this issue by going to the following website and voting on this topic - http://www.jtlservices.com/
Greg Angelillo
Online Editor
JTL Services, Inc.
725 Meriden-Waterbury Turnpike
Southington, CT 06489
Phone: (860) 426-0583
FAX: (860) 628-5008
216 East Chatham Street, Suite 101
Cary, NC 27511
Phone: (919) 465-7289
FAX: (919) 465-7281
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Should you have an agent (recruiter) like Alex Rodriguez?
Um, YES! That is our answer. You determine your own answer after reading this.
Follow me on this one. Let’s try and understand the facts for what they are for a moment, and leave our own presumptions aside. Let’s let the curtain of perception unveil reality and face it for what it is. And since the season just officially started, let me use baseball as my sport of choice to illustrate the points that I want to drive home in this article.
Undeniable Fact: One of the reasons that Baseball players make the substantial money they make is because they HAVE an agent, not because they DON’T HAVE ONE!
No, I am not a professional sports agent. And no, I am not a professional sports team negotiator. But, as a job recruiter, I do share some of the basic business model components of a professional agent for sports athletes. On the surface, we both help negotiate earnings for our candidates in working with our clients, leaving that daunting task out of the hands of the applicant themselves, who may not be experienced enough to wade through a not-so-easy to understand hiring process.
Would baseball players really be earning the money and endorsement contracts they earn today without the injection of sports agents? I am a realist and therefore, highly doubt it. It wasn’t until these sports agents surfaced that big money in MLB became a norm and expectation for the athletes entering the arena.
And just like a sports agent, we as recruiters know when a particular company (team) may be looking for a particular position (player), and can work towards connecting those two dots with a great deal of efficiency and pure speed. You see, timing is everything when it comes to job placement. Employers understand this and realize the return on investment from using a reputable recruiting firm.
Today, like so many others, we are convinced at the reality that a candidate will do much better all around with a recruiter than without one… and for many reasons, some of which I would like to share. And it just confuses me why job applicants don’t see this for what it really is. Like so many other things in life, the perception hides the reality. C’est la vie.
Here is an example of why an agent or recruiter is something you want when you are seeking a job. As recruiters, we have long-term relationships with hiring managers. We have focused on job placement processes for years and understand the many complexities involved with job search and placement. We receive candid feedback from hiring managers shortly after an interview is completed. All of this allows us to quickly determine if a candidate and client are a good mutual fit. We don’t have to wait weeks to find out the answer.
And sometimes those weeks of waiting can prove to be invaluable time lost to a job candidate. You see hiring managers, or interviewers, by and large will not persuade you to believe one way or the other if you are “the one”. It’s just not something they do, nor is it good practice for them. So, many times, candidates come out of an interview with the warm and fuzzies believing that they did so well that they feel they will get an offer. They are told the much heard comment, “Ok, great. It was a pleasure to meet you. Everything looks great. Give us a few more weeks to go through the other potential candidates and we will reach for you”. In many cases, that same day we get the call and find out the reality.
You see, many times a candidate with the warm and fuzzies will play that waiting game, believing they got the job when in fact they did not. Those weeks can sometimes cost thousands in lost revenue to an individual, even worse, during that waiting period there could have been another opportunity that would have been a good fit that they now have passed on. The reality is you may have been good, but someone else may have been better or at least better represented!
What made me write this article is an occurrence that happened just a few weeks ago. We were working on a $130,000 - $150,000 range open position for a company in Massachusetts. We actually had two of our candidates go through their first round of interviews.
We would have had an immediate third when I reached out to a previous potential candidate of ours to see if he also was interested. He informed me that he had actually already interviewed for that very same position and felt pretty good, and in fact was just waiting for a formal offer from the company itself. I asked him “Why, did they give you some feedback indicating this”?
He told me that he got the interview on his own so he didn’t get any feedback other than from his own feelings on how he felt about how well the interview went. In his own mind and his words, the interview went very well and he really felt sure that he was going to wrap it up within a few weeks.
He also, very confidently might I add, said since he got the interview on his own and not through an agency that he would probably get an offer for $175K not the $150K that I spoke to him about. I asked him why he thought this. He said because the client would be saving money from not having to pay a fee to a recruiter.
Well, less than a week later I received an offer from the company for one of my two candidates that I had interview. The offer that I received was in fact a little more than the range offered. This other gentleman was in fact right about at least one thing I guess.
The feedback that I received was that both of my candidates were actually the top one and two candidates for the position. I asked them about this other gentleman and they told me that he was a good candidate but was simply that he was not a good fit for the role they needed to fill.
You see, his own personal (un-experienced) feedback that he confidently believed in was misguided. He was wrong. Worse, he tried to negotiate outside of the offered range and more than likely mentioned the fact that he wasn’t working with a recruiter as if he was going to “save” them money when he was in fact attempting to take these savings and pay himself for years to come. He actually thought he was smarter than them I guess. And this was an accounting position so this candidate must not have looked too bright when he mentioned these comments… for obvious reasons that need not be mentioned.
So should you use a recruiter? We will let you determine that answer.
For more advice and information, please visit http://www.jtlservices.com/
Greg Angelillo
Online Editor
JTL Services, Inc.
725 Meriden-Waterbury Turnpike
Southington, CT 06489
Phone: (860) 426-0583
FAX: (860) 628-5008
216 East Chatham Street, Suite 101
Cary, NC 27511
Phone: (919) 465-7289
FAX: (919) 465-7281
Follow me on this one. Let’s try and understand the facts for what they are for a moment, and leave our own presumptions aside. Let’s let the curtain of perception unveil reality and face it for what it is. And since the season just officially started, let me use baseball as my sport of choice to illustrate the points that I want to drive home in this article.
Undeniable Fact: One of the reasons that Baseball players make the substantial money they make is because they HAVE an agent, not because they DON’T HAVE ONE!
No, I am not a professional sports agent. And no, I am not a professional sports team negotiator. But, as a job recruiter, I do share some of the basic business model components of a professional agent for sports athletes. On the surface, we both help negotiate earnings for our candidates in working with our clients, leaving that daunting task out of the hands of the applicant themselves, who may not be experienced enough to wade through a not-so-easy to understand hiring process.
Would baseball players really be earning the money and endorsement contracts they earn today without the injection of sports agents? I am a realist and therefore, highly doubt it. It wasn’t until these sports agents surfaced that big money in MLB became a norm and expectation for the athletes entering the arena.
And just like a sports agent, we as recruiters know when a particular company (team) may be looking for a particular position (player), and can work towards connecting those two dots with a great deal of efficiency and pure speed. You see, timing is everything when it comes to job placement. Employers understand this and realize the return on investment from using a reputable recruiting firm.
Today, like so many others, we are convinced at the reality that a candidate will do much better all around with a recruiter than without one… and for many reasons, some of which I would like to share. And it just confuses me why job applicants don’t see this for what it really is. Like so many other things in life, the perception hides the reality. C’est la vie.
Here is an example of why an agent or recruiter is something you want when you are seeking a job. As recruiters, we have long-term relationships with hiring managers. We have focused on job placement processes for years and understand the many complexities involved with job search and placement. We receive candid feedback from hiring managers shortly after an interview is completed. All of this allows us to quickly determine if a candidate and client are a good mutual fit. We don’t have to wait weeks to find out the answer.
And sometimes those weeks of waiting can prove to be invaluable time lost to a job candidate. You see hiring managers, or interviewers, by and large will not persuade you to believe one way or the other if you are “the one”. It’s just not something they do, nor is it good practice for them. So, many times, candidates come out of an interview with the warm and fuzzies believing that they did so well that they feel they will get an offer. They are told the much heard comment, “Ok, great. It was a pleasure to meet you. Everything looks great. Give us a few more weeks to go through the other potential candidates and we will reach for you”. In many cases, that same day we get the call and find out the reality.
You see, many times a candidate with the warm and fuzzies will play that waiting game, believing they got the job when in fact they did not. Those weeks can sometimes cost thousands in lost revenue to an individual, even worse, during that waiting period there could have been another opportunity that would have been a good fit that they now have passed on. The reality is you may have been good, but someone else may have been better or at least better represented!
What made me write this article is an occurrence that happened just a few weeks ago. We were working on a $130,000 - $150,000 range open position for a company in Massachusetts. We actually had two of our candidates go through their first round of interviews.
We would have had an immediate third when I reached out to a previous potential candidate of ours to see if he also was interested. He informed me that he had actually already interviewed for that very same position and felt pretty good, and in fact was just waiting for a formal offer from the company itself. I asked him “Why, did they give you some feedback indicating this”?
He told me that he got the interview on his own so he didn’t get any feedback other than from his own feelings on how he felt about how well the interview went. In his own mind and his words, the interview went very well and he really felt sure that he was going to wrap it up within a few weeks.
He also, very confidently might I add, said since he got the interview on his own and not through an agency that he would probably get an offer for $175K not the $150K that I spoke to him about. I asked him why he thought this. He said because the client would be saving money from not having to pay a fee to a recruiter.
Well, less than a week later I received an offer from the company for one of my two candidates that I had interview. The offer that I received was in fact a little more than the range offered. This other gentleman was in fact right about at least one thing I guess.
The feedback that I received was that both of my candidates were actually the top one and two candidates for the position. I asked them about this other gentleman and they told me that he was a good candidate but was simply that he was not a good fit for the role they needed to fill.
You see, his own personal (un-experienced) feedback that he confidently believed in was misguided. He was wrong. Worse, he tried to negotiate outside of the offered range and more than likely mentioned the fact that he wasn’t working with a recruiter as if he was going to “save” them money when he was in fact attempting to take these savings and pay himself for years to come. He actually thought he was smarter than them I guess. And this was an accounting position so this candidate must not have looked too bright when he mentioned these comments… for obvious reasons that need not be mentioned.
So should you use a recruiter? We will let you determine that answer.
For more advice and information, please visit http://www.jtlservices.com/
Greg Angelillo
Online Editor
JTL Services, Inc.
725 Meriden-Waterbury Turnpike
Southington, CT 06489
Phone: (860) 426-0583
FAX: (860) 628-5008
216 East Chatham Street, Suite 101
Cary, NC 27511
Phone: (919) 465-7289
FAX: (919) 465-7281
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