Liar. Liar.

Pittsburg, KS High School principal Amy Robertson was fired after journalists at the student newspaper discovered her credentials were bogus. Their work was picked up by many major news outlets including Fox, CBS, NBC, LA Time, the Chicago Tribune. The list went on. Not to mention the hundreds of thousands (or possibly millions) of views in social media.

Needless to say, this was a major black eye to the district and a national embarrassment for Ms. Robertson. The district claimed that the competitive nature of hiring school administrators caused them to miss a few check-marks on the background.

No kidding.

As much as I’d love to say this is an isolated incident, it’s much more common than you may think. There’s plenty of other examples of public figures getting caught with their hand in the proverbial cookie jar.

Scott Thompson, then CEO of Yahoo!, claimed to hold a degree in Computer Science when in reality his degree was in Accounting forcing him to resign.

Marilee Jones worked at MIT for nearly twenty years, becoming their Dean of Admissions before resigning after being caught lying about her academic credentials.

George O’Leary was hired to coach Notre Dame football after falsely claiming to have a Masters Degree. He doubled-down by claiming to have played football despite never being on a college football roster. Notre Dame fired him.

Even celebrity chef Robert Irvine was fired from Food Network’s “Dinner Impossible” after it was discovered that his claim to have designed the wedding cake for Princess Diana & Prince Charles was false. He simply picked out the fruit used on the cake.

This tactic isn’t just for the rich & famous. Here’s just a sampling of what I’ve run across:

Bogus Credentials. Any employer worth their salt verifies credentials. I will find out that you were not honest about your degree. I will also verify any relevant certifications you claim to hold. You would be shocked at how many times I’ve caught someone red-handed misrepresenting their credentials. If you attended college but don’t have a degree “coursework toward a Bachelor of Science” is truthful, “Bachelor of Science” is lying.

Diploma Mills. The former High School principal claimed to have degrees from unaccredited schools. Many of these “schools” will issue a “degree” when your check clears the bank. If I have any questions about a college I just plug it into this site.

Mis-matched resumes. Years ago when paper ruled this was tough to catch. Today I have resumes from 15 years ago. Just this week I caught a person who did an assignment for us in another office send me a resume with different employers, different dates, with a degree from different schools. Turns out this person was released for cause after only a few months on the job.

Mis-matched people. There’s a disturbing tactic used by a handful of disreputable staffing & solutions agencies when it’s necessary to hire someone without meeting them first. Send a completely bogus resume, have someone that knows their stuff go through the interview process, and then send someone else to work. It’s becoming common enough that there’s a Twitter feed dedicated to outing people.

If you misrepresent your credentials eventually it’s going to catch up to you.

Marilee Jones initially applied for an entry level position at M.I.T. and rather than come clean, she continued the charade as she moved up the ladder. Her resignation letter read in part “I misrepresented my academic degrees when I first applied to M.I.T. 28 years ago and did not have the courage to correct my résumé when I applied for my current job or at any time since, I am deeply sorry for this and for disappointing so many in the M.I.T. community and beyond who supported me, believed in me, and who have given me extraordinary opportunities.”

I’m sure in hindsight she wishes she would have mustered the courage. She felt painted into a corner with no out. However, there is an out and it starts with courage. You have to muster the courage to come clean. With the right attitude and outlook lying about your background is not the end of the world.

Marilee spent nearly twenty years handling admissions at one of the most prestigious schools in the world. She knows a thing or two about what it takes to get a letter of acceptance and has parlayed that knowledge into a private consulting practice.

Despite not having a Masters Degree or experience as a player, it turns out George O’Leary is a pretty damn good football coach. He continued to coach in both the NFL and at the University of South Florida where he was head coach for over a decade.

Scott Thompson spent four years as the CEO of an online shopping company before leaving last fall to take the CEO chair of a company that provides a student loan management platform that allows employers to help employees pay off their student loans.

Robert Irvine was re-hired by Food Network to host Dinner: Impossible, launched a spin-off called Restaurant: Impossible and is a regular guest on their Iron Chef series. He has used his celebrity to launch the Robert Irvine Foundation which honors the men and women of the US Military. In the Spring of last year he was awarded the U.S. Department of the Army Outstanding Civilian Service Award.

We all make mistakes & do things we regret. Have the courage to come clean, make amends, and use your God-given abilities to do great things.Liar

Should Human Resources be Recruiting?

No doubt you've heard about "The War for Talent." The economy is rebounding and organizations are scrambling to find people to help keep up with a growing business. Some of you reading this may be wondering why these organizations aren't fighting to find you. My answer is simple: they are, they just have broken mechanisms to find you.

In most organizations the responsibility for finding people falls on Human Resources. This is the department that is in charge of ensuring that the company is compliant with federal, state, county, and municipal law; researching, negotiating, and administering increasingly complex benefit programs; developing programs to maximize return on employee investment; making sure employees are properly trained, that leaders are following prescribed procedures for managing & promoting people on their teams, that existing employees are happy, and that no one is being sexually harassed or discriminated against. They make sure the workplace is safe and (while they're at it) they're charged with attracting, screening, vetting, and on-boarding new talent (seeing as how they have so much spare time).

Job seekers generally give HR a bad rap. Some of this reputation is earned - when I see job descriptions that include requirements such as "While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk or hear" it makes me question their understanding of how to attract talent. I'm fairly certain silly requirements like that come from legal, but just as bad is "must have excellent communication skills" which I'm pretty sure was included in a description 20 years ago and the HR team has never bothered to take it out.

The big reason they have a bad rap isn't their fault. People educated and/or trained in Human Resources have a LOT on their plate. Take a look at the required courses for a Masters Degree in HR Management at one of the top schools in the area for HR (Ottawa). One class in recruiting. ONE. It's not a priority. They have too many other pieces of the organizational puzzle to manage to be effective at talent acquisition. 

HR professionals are simply too busy to dedicate 100% of their time to recruiting. Frankly, I'd be shocked if they have 20% of their time available to recruit. They aren't effective recruiters because they simply aren't given the time necessary.

Here's the rub - to say recruiting is a full time job is an understatement. 

Recruiting is the only job I've had where I could work 24x7 and not run out of things to accomplish. Organizations that are effective at talent acquisition usually have two strategies. The most effective is a great referral program. Happy employees make great recruiters. They other strategy is having dedicated Talent Acquisition teams. These may or may not be people trained & educated in Human Resources, but their time is 100% dedicated to recruiting. Without one (or both) of those programs I have to question how much priority the company puts on hiring great people.

If it was up to me, recruiting would be a separate department under sales and marketing. They're already out there promoting the company brand, they know how to get the audience's attention and get them to act. Good customers like your company and trust you enough to earn their business. 

I'm sure some of them would like to be on your team.

Recruiter Do's and Dont's

As a technical recruiter / recruiting manager with over a decade of experience I know having a good recruiter in their corner is important for IT Professionals. The IT market is Red Hot right now which means weekly calls from recruiters. I've seen a lot of mistakes made by candidates over the years so I wanted to share my Do's and Dont's for building a good working relationship & optimizing the time you spend with an agency.

DO consider recruiters as a partner. They should be asking questions about your expectations beyond how the buzzwords on your resume align with their client's job spec. The more they get to know you; your goals, aspirations, interests, style, and "hot buttons," the better they will be able to serve you.

DON'T be afraid to engage with a recruiter, even if you're not actively looking. You never know when the next layoff is coming or your great boss is about to be replaced by the office politician. Having the relationship in place before you need their services will make the process a lot easier when you do.

DO ask about their client base. A recruiter needs to tell you about their clients. Knowing who the agency covers lets you determine what other agencies should be in your portfolio. If their clients aren't of interest to you, you're wasting your time. You can also strengthen the relationship by providing insight you might have about their clients.

DON'T work with every recruiter that says they have a job for you. Get to know 3-4 recruiters local to your targeted area and let them go to work for you. If you know their client base, have a great relationship, and have an open and regular line of communication you'll be able to cover all your targets without getting 10 agencies involved in your search. Good recruiters generally will shy away from candidates who aren't selective - they're usually either desperate or simply don't appreciate the value a recruiter brings to the table.

DO meet with recruiters. There's nothing that can replace the value of a face-to-face meeting to get a comfort level with one another. Recruiting is a numbers game, and some recruiters like to shortcut the relationship to get the numbers. There's recruiters out there just trying to serve their needs by hitting their daily quota rather than engage on a deep level to serve your needs. Agreeing to be represented after a 5 minute phone call increases the chances of things going south dramatically.

DON'T mislead a recruiter. There's nothing that will kill a relationship quicker than being dishonest. Good recruiters are your agent - they need to know the good, bad, and ugly in order to best serve you.

DO seek out recruiters that live and work in the area you're targeting. Local recruiters will be better connected and have a much better handle on the local job market. Agencies hit their numbers using regional recruiting call centers that "smile and dial" through resumes they find online and in their database. These recruiters generally have minimal experience and nearly no understanding of the local market. Some of the national agencies have outsourced these call centers to India.

DO disclose companies where you've applied and agencies that have already submitted you to their clients. Keeping this information to yourself makes both the agency and you look bad if your resume ends up on someone's desk from two sources. In some cases it will automatically disqualify you from consideration.

DO expect an ongoing line of communication. Good recruiters are proactive about keeping you in the loop on immediate and ongoing opportunities. You should expect to hear from them at least every week or two if there's a job cooking. If you have to initiate all the contact and they're slow to return calls (or completely unresponsive) find another agency that will interact with you without feeling like you're pulling teeth.

DON'T be afraid to say no to an opportunity. Recruiters wanting to hit their numbers might use strong arm tactics to get you to say yes - don't let them. Good recruiters understand if it's not right, it's not right. They'll reset and hopefully find something that will work for you.

With that said....

DON'T be afraid to explore something if you're on the fence. Agreeing to be represented or interview is simply one step in the process. If you're curious about something that may have potential but aren't certain it's okay to do some exploration. Just be sure to discuss your concerns with the recruiter before you agree to be submitted so they aren't blindsided if you say no.

DO fully understand all the aspects of their client's offer before saying yes. If you think your company might counter when you turn in notice talk to the recruiter about what they could do to keep you. If you still aren't sure about the offer clarify EVERYTHING before saying yes. One of the biggest things you can do to erode the trust of a recruiter is to say you're going to start with their client and then back out (especially if you back out the night before via email and yes, that has happened).

Working with an agency will uncover some great opportunities that might not have been available otherwise. It also gives you an advocate in the hiring process as well as during employment that can help you sort through critical decisions.

DON'T be afraid to engage with a good recruiter - they can be a great asset for your career.

Why Recruiters are Jerks

I’m guessing if you’ve been an IT professional for any length of time you’ve run into a recruiter that was a jerk.  One who over-promised and under-delivered.   Who didn’t return your messages after they had ‘the perfect job’ for you?  Ever have a recruiter get downright nasty because you accepted a competing job offer?   It happens.  And it gives the entire industry a bad name. 

I don’t want to pretend I know exactly what makes recruiters like that tick, but I have experienced some general “jerk factor” behaviors that you will want to keep in mind when talking to a recruiter.

1.    They think you’re a ‘great fit’ for a job even when you're not.  You look at the details of the job and you’re not even close.  This is the hallmark of a ‘numbers game’ recruiter searching keywords in a database and reaching out to EVERYONE that meets their search criteria.  Either they’re not reading your resume or they don’t know HOW to determine someone’s expertise from a resume.   Either way it demonstrates a lack of commitment to recruiting professionalism.  I’d cut a newbie some slack but if they’re not inquisitive about what you do they’re not going to last long.

2.    There's a “hot job” for you so they’re your best friend until your resume is in front of the client.  Then they go radio silent – calls aren’t returned until a year later when they have another “hot job” for you.

3.       The conversation never strays off your resume and experience.  They don’t seem to have much interest in what will be important to you; they only want to make sure you’re a fit. 

4.       There’s not much enthusiasm to help you beyond a specific job they have in mind.  A good recruiter will always be a source of information and leads outside of their immediate client needs.

5.       You know the used car salesman stereotype?  Not that all used car salespeople are like this, but you know what I’m talking about – there’s just something about their approach that doesn’t sit right with you.  You can’t quite put your finger on it, but you have a gut instinct that this person shouldn’t be trusted.  Your gut is usually right.  The implications to your career are too important to not implicitly trust the recruiter.

6.       Commission drives decision making.  This one is a little harder to detect, but if you see other behaviors that make a recruiter a jerk this is probably an issue.  Recruiters in this business who are primarily driven by money don’t have a heart to serve & will not have your interests in mind.  Often it will manifest itself with a ‘hard-sell’ to get you to make a decision that you don’t necessarily think is the best decision.

To be honest, recruiters who are jerks usually have a ‘me first’ attitude.  You have to accept that there are people who are simply consumers.   They take every opportunity possible to use what they can to get where they’re going.  They don’t see the value in giving anything back.  This type of personality does not make a good recruiter. 

I had a conversation with a friend yesterday who has been a customer of mine for some time.  He recently decided to get into the recruiting game and said something that any good recruiter will have at the core of their value system.  He said what we do has such a profound impact on a person, both in the immediate and in the long term, that we can’t afford to get it wrong.  

He’s right, there’s nothing more important to me as a recruiter than making sure that we’re making a good match between candidate and employer.  And that goes well beyond buzzwords on job descriptions that align with buzzwords on a resume.

Some recruiters are jerks simply because there's jerks who are recruiters.  

Rock Star Ninja Warlock from Mars?

If you read my last post you know the market for top talent is tight.  To attract that talent means I spend a lot of word-smith time authoring job descriptions. Part of the challenge I face as a recruiter is when we get clients asking for resources it can be hard to accurately paint a picture of the job from the description provided.  Maybe I'm wrong, but descriptions like the following are so generic I don't see them as something that will get a top flight software engineer to reach out.

As a Java Developer, you will be enhancing systems created using the following technologies:  J2EE 1.5, Java Server Pages, Java Servlets, Struts, Javascript, HTML and XML.

SKILLS & QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED:

• The ideal candidate must have atleast 3 years’ experience with Java development
• The ideal candidate must be well versed with J2EE, JavaScript and JSP
• The ideal candidate must be well versed with Unit testing.
• The ideal candidate must have experience working within the Oracle or SQL environment

SKILLS & QUALIFICATIONS PREFERRED:

• Experience with JDBC or ODBC
• Experience with UNIX
• Experience with stored procedures, CGI, Access
• Experience with MVC, web services, SOAP, and xml
• Experience using Jbuilder or Eclipse

This was not sent to me by a client, I just pulled this off a job board as an example of what I frequently run across.  Notice the repetitive verbiage and "atleast" typo?  That's how much thought can go into this very important aspect of marketing an organization to potential employees.

I've been authoring and editing job descriptions for years, and am always experimenting with different styles.  Yesterday it seems I crossed the line from informative / creative to lame.  At least that's what I'm starting to sense from the audience I'm trying to reach.

Based on the feedback I've gotten so far, and on some other things I've been reading, this description I wrote is lame.  And that's cool with me - I'd rather make mistakes trying to make something happen than be like everyone else.  After talking to a few people I trust and respect, and going through this thread from a developer forum, I make this solemn pledge - no more job postings for a "Rock Star Ninja Warlock from Mars" (unless I need to hire Charlie Sheen at some point).

Which brings me back to what's important in a job description.  If I was looking for a job I'd want the posting to 'pitch' me a bit.  Give me a little flavor of what I could expect doing the job and what the company thinks is important.  Of course I'd want some qualifications, but if your description leads me to believe you aren't interested in hiring me because I don't have X amount of years of experience, or specific hands-on expertise with some obscure piece of software you happen to be using (even though its EXACTLY like something I use every day) I'm going to be turned off.

So my question to you is what do YOU want to see when you read a job description.  In general, what types of things spark your interest and what turns you off? 

Yet another .NET Developer needed.....

If you are a good .NET developer I suspect your inbox and voice mail have been blowing up for weeks (if not months). It seems like every Microsoft shop in the city needs a developer. And while employers are certainly feeling the pain of a drained resource market, it also seems there's finally people out there ready (or close to ready) to make a change.

I read an article this week at Network World that projects 54% of 'disgruntled' IT workers will seek new employment. It didn't say what made them 'disgruntled', but it goes on to say that 41% of IT employees feel they have been left behind in their jobs because of the poor economy.

Market demand for software engineers in general has been increasing since Q3 of 2010 and certainly all indications are it will continue to grow in 2012.  Currently unemployment in the IT sector is 2.7% according to Network World (a full 3% points below what's considered "full employment").  The question is if we still have 9% unemployment why is the IT sector so robust?

In my opinion this supply/demand imbalance is a combination of factors related to how business operates and how people make decisions.  It started in late 2008 / 2009 when the job market crashed.  Companies are in business to make profit.  The single biggest cost to a business is their employees, so when profits start to wane employers reduce their workforce.  For the first time in their history, some companies that had prided themselves on providing a stable employment platform suddenly had to swallow that pride in the name of survival.  The press hit the panic button, unemployment soared to nearly double-digits and all of a sudden there was a tempest in the employment teapot.  The days of working for a single employer for 25 years and retiring with a nice pension were over. 

When it became obvious the economy was not going to recover quickly a new term arrived that the New York Times called "The New Normal".  Their story from the summer of 2010 references the Great Depression.  Employers either by choice or necessity, simply had to do more with less.  That means new initiatives were put on hold and the people left in the organization were 'taxed to the max' (you Tower of Power fans will get that reference).  Real or not, the perception was the employer was taking advantage of the economic situation and the employee's only alternative was to join the ranks of job seekers who were taking an average of 250+ days to secure employment.  Not exactly the type of "low risk" environment that is conducive to considering a change of employers.  So here we are in 2012 where overall unemployment still hovers around 9%.  There's still a perception that making the wrong move could result in a prolonged period of unemployment.

Reality (at least in the IT world) is there are more opportunities than people looking.  Which is why I think Ms Marsan at Network World is spot-on.  I've been optimistic about the market for well over a year and a half.  Organizations that generally do not use agencies are calling us for help.  A skilled software developer is like the hot Christmas gift that is sold the minute it hits the shelf.  There's a hoard of HR and recruiters at the front of "Engineers are Us" waiting for the Black Friday sale to start.

Companies can see blue sky through the clouds.  Banks are loaning money again.  Software has a shelf-life, you can't run your .NET 2.0 applications forever.  They're ready to replace the COTS system that is 7 versions old running on green screens (which still exist).  Projects that have been on hold for months (or even years) need to get done.  Now.  That means hiring analysts, managers, engineers, testers, and anyone else necessary to deliver and support these systems.

So take heart IT professionals.  Demand is high.  Employers are getting very creative to attract and retain top talent.  There's even a small company in South Carolina that will give you a $50,000 cash bonus on your five year anniversary.   The market needs you when you're ready.