Job Seekers

I just finished reading an article by Tim Sackett about great recruiters. He is a regular contributor to Fistful of Talent and a blog called The Tim Sackett Project. Tim lists 8 things that he believes makes a top recruiter.

His list looks like this: Read the rest of this entry »

Today’s guest blogger is Nicholas Hutchison, our membership marketing associate. Thanks for sharing your experience, Nick!

Last week I had the opportunity to meet many new friends and fellow business professionals at a GRYP – Grand Rapids Young Professionals meet-up. Within a few of the groups I got to meet, there was some conversation about do’s and don’ts of networking events. I kept mental notes on what tips were discussed and I wanted to share them with you as a job seeker or business professional in hopes that you will make your next networking event a successful venture. Read the rest of this entry »

What I am about to say may seem obvious. Location is a critical factor in a successful job search. For some job searches, location may be as significant as your experience and qualifications. An old saying goes “eggs are cheaper in the country.” Well, some jobs are just more plentiful based on location. In addition to the availability of open jobs, there are also other factors that make location important. Read the rest of this entry »

In today’s job market, the first thing many job seekers do is start searching Indeed for a job. Some of these jobs are posted by corporate recruiters or HR staff making internal hires, but a significant percentage are posted by independent recruiters seeking candidates for the employers they represent. I recently asked a group of independent recruiters what a job seeker should do before going to Indeed and applying for jobs. Here are the results of those conversations: Read the rest of this entry »

Today’s guest blogger is Nick Hutchison, business development intern for NPAworldwide. Nick is a junior at Davenport University studying business and marketing. We are happy to have him on the team!

After recently attending an etiquette training session as a team building experience with NPAworldwide, we had many takeaways. The most important takeaway for me was the importance of a thank you note. Thank you notes can happen in many fashions; email, handwritten, etc. The importance of a thank you note is best described by this survey infographic from CareerBuilder:

Some of the highlights from the infographic are:

• 22% of employers are less likely to hire a candidate if they don’t send a thank you note after the interview
• 86% said it shows a lack a follow-through
• 56% said it indicates that the candidate isn’t really serious about the position
• 89% said it is okay to send a thank you note in the form of an email

Thank you notes from both candidates and employers can make all the difference in the hiring process.  Following are some job seeker tips for writing thank you notes:

• Send the note on the same day as the interview
• Keep notes brief, 2-4 sentences
• Send after every interview, not just the first interview
• Mention a key topic from the interview
• Make each note personal
• PROOFREAD!

To improve the candidate experience, here are some tips for thank you notes from employers:

• Send a “thank you for your time” note after a candidate is chosen
• Offer where to look for new opportunities within your organization
• State the position the email is in reference to

Whether you are a job seeker or an employer, it’s important to write thank you notes. Be timely and follow the job seeker tips above for the best results! Do you have any other job seeker tips you can share?