Executive Job Search - the Internet Story
Searching executive jobs on the internet is an interesting experience. I found that it is inefficient and lack of responses. (It could be my personal problem, though.) It is my strong belief that executive job searches, internet or not, can made easier with “insider” help; please see link “Learnings from executive job search - Pipeline generation”. And, you should always get edge of the insider help.
Internet job websites can be categorized into 2 groups. Companies (including recruiters) usually have their own job websites. The other type is the job posting websites for all hiring entities.
Job Applications on Company Website
It is interesting to note that most of companies do send a notification of receiving application, but that is probably only what one will get. My experience is that companies that respond to job applications are those true growth companies and they need to fill lots of positions in a short time, and they are really interested in hiring right talent.
The “insider” help is a must to get to the next level; he/she can help you identify how open is that position, at least.
Here is a conspiracy theory (or, the sour grapes theory, depending on how you read it) on the internet executive job postings. Companies normally like to promote from inside if possible, and it makes sense for doing so. It seems that most of the executive positions may have already been “designated” to a person, and the hiring company is collecting the resumes to justify their decisions. Moreover, if the job advertisement is out there, it means lots of people already knew it. You want to know the position before it goes public, and you have that info only with insider help. The competitive edge of insider help cannot be underemphasized.
I usually try to figure out the hiring companies, particularly those small companies that I have never heard of. My typical exercise is to locate the company contact phone number, and call them up. Here are my 2 memorable incidences.
The first one is a small public telecom company. From their SEC 10K filing, you can find how big the company is, and whether it is profitable or not. They have less than 500 people. I called the company main number, and asked to be transferred to a recruiter or HR department. I chatted with a recruiter about the company, job and hiring manager, but I just cannot find a reason why to continue pursue this position. The recruiter has been with the company for a while, but she does not know the answer for a simple question like “How many people are there in the company worldwide?”, which makes you wonder how well run the company is. And, no wonder, the company has been losing money and people.
The second one that I remember is a small, private company. I follow my normal routine to call them up. The receptionist answered the phone. I asked to be transferred to the HR department. She then asked me questions. Eventually, she told me that thy only take job application from the Internet, and their HR department does not take the phone call (read, cold call) from applicants. It is kind of bummer, but it also makes you feel that this company seems well-run and worth pursuing.
Applications on the Job Posting Website
There are lots of job sites; all of them post positions in all levels. The ways of application to those jobs can be generalized in two types. One type is that you directly apply to the positions on the website; the other type is that it will jump to the hiring company web site for you to apply to the position there. There seems no specific reason other than the hiring employer requires you to directly apply on their web site.
The hiring entities on the job posting websites can be categorized into 2 groups, a hiring employer and recruiters who hires for their clients. The names of hiring companies are kept confidential for those positions advertised by recruiters.
My experience is that companies do not respond much to the applications from the job posting web site for executive positions. However, the recruiters do respond to the applications much more often than a hiring employer. It seems make sense because recruiters do need to find the right candidates for the hiring companies, which is how they will get paid.
So, for the bang of the buck, focusing on the jobs from recruiters on job posting websites seems a good practice. At least, it is my experience.
Should Your Resume Be Searchable?
Most of the job sites have the feature of making your resume searchable, and I did it for a period of time. When I reviewed the statistics, I found that lots of people viewed my resume, and I did get some responses. My personal experience is that the ratio of responses to views is about 1 to 10. Not a good statistics, but it could be just my personal problem, again.
Interestingly enough, most of the responses are from, surprise!, “personal marketing” companies. What does a personal marketing company do? You paid them to find a job for a period of time, without any guarantee of getting a job. What a business model! The typical exercise seems to re-do your resume, mail your resume for the jobs that you selected, etc.
It is quite an experience talking to these companies. They know how long you have been in the market from your resume or your resume posting date. They all tried to create urgency (read, fear) that you won’t find a job and you need their help to find a job. One suggested that it takes a good commend of English to find a job and that they can help my English because my mother tongue is not English. One suggested that it is not easy to get job interviews close to the end of the year, and I need their help to have the final push to get interviews before the holidays.
I did experience one of the personal marketing companies that is well organized and has a persuasive approach, and they are glad to send you their marketing material. It is quite an interesting experience when I talked to one of the guys there, who pointed out how I can improve my resume. However, I decided not to go this route at the end. I do not like to pay without any results, will you?
Willie
Internet job websites can be categorized into 2 groups. Companies (including recruiters) usually have their own job websites. The other type is the job posting websites for all hiring entities.
Job Applications on Company Website
It is interesting to note that most of companies do send a notification of receiving application, but that is probably only what one will get. My experience is that companies that respond to job applications are those true growth companies and they need to fill lots of positions in a short time, and they are really interested in hiring right talent.
The “insider” help is a must to get to the next level; he/she can help you identify how open is that position, at least.
Here is a conspiracy theory (or, the sour grapes theory, depending on how you read it) on the internet executive job postings. Companies normally like to promote from inside if possible, and it makes sense for doing so. It seems that most of the executive positions may have already been “designated” to a person, and the hiring company is collecting the resumes to justify their decisions. Moreover, if the job advertisement is out there, it means lots of people already knew it. You want to know the position before it goes public, and you have that info only with insider help. The competitive edge of insider help cannot be underemphasized.
I usually try to figure out the hiring companies, particularly those small companies that I have never heard of. My typical exercise is to locate the company contact phone number, and call them up. Here are my 2 memorable incidences.
The first one is a small public telecom company. From their SEC 10K filing, you can find how big the company is, and whether it is profitable or not. They have less than 500 people. I called the company main number, and asked to be transferred to a recruiter or HR department. I chatted with a recruiter about the company, job and hiring manager, but I just cannot find a reason why to continue pursue this position. The recruiter has been with the company for a while, but she does not know the answer for a simple question like “How many people are there in the company worldwide?”, which makes you wonder how well run the company is. And, no wonder, the company has been losing money and people.
The second one that I remember is a small, private company. I follow my normal routine to call them up. The receptionist answered the phone. I asked to be transferred to the HR department. She then asked me questions. Eventually, she told me that thy only take job application from the Internet, and their HR department does not take the phone call (read, cold call) from applicants. It is kind of bummer, but it also makes you feel that this company seems well-run and worth pursuing.
Applications on the Job Posting Website
There are lots of job sites; all of them post positions in all levels. The ways of application to those jobs can be generalized in two types. One type is that you directly apply to the positions on the website; the other type is that it will jump to the hiring company web site for you to apply to the position there. There seems no specific reason other than the hiring employer requires you to directly apply on their web site.
The hiring entities on the job posting websites can be categorized into 2 groups, a hiring employer and recruiters who hires for their clients. The names of hiring companies are kept confidential for those positions advertised by recruiters.
My experience is that companies do not respond much to the applications from the job posting web site for executive positions. However, the recruiters do respond to the applications much more often than a hiring employer. It seems make sense because recruiters do need to find the right candidates for the hiring companies, which is how they will get paid.
So, for the bang of the buck, focusing on the jobs from recruiters on job posting websites seems a good practice. At least, it is my experience.
Should Your Resume Be Searchable?
Most of the job sites have the feature of making your resume searchable, and I did it for a period of time. When I reviewed the statistics, I found that lots of people viewed my resume, and I did get some responses. My personal experience is that the ratio of responses to views is about 1 to 10. Not a good statistics, but it could be just my personal problem, again.
Interestingly enough, most of the responses are from, surprise!, “personal marketing” companies. What does a personal marketing company do? You paid them to find a job for a period of time, without any guarantee of getting a job. What a business model! The typical exercise seems to re-do your resume, mail your resume for the jobs that you selected, etc.
It is quite an experience talking to these companies. They know how long you have been in the market from your resume or your resume posting date. They all tried to create urgency (read, fear) that you won’t find a job and you need their help to find a job. One suggested that it takes a good commend of English to find a job and that they can help my English because my mother tongue is not English. One suggested that it is not easy to get job interviews close to the end of the year, and I need their help to have the final push to get interviews before the holidays.
I did experience one of the personal marketing companies that is well organized and has a persuasive approach, and they are glad to send you their marketing material. It is quite an interesting experience when I talked to one of the guys there, who pointed out how I can improve my resume. However, I decided not to go this route at the end. I do not like to pay without any results, will you?
Willie
Labels: Job Search
posted by Willie Weng at
2:20 PM
0 Comments
