Job Search Tips2getajob

Job Coach Jacqui, conducts an interview with Recruiters or HR Professionals on Tips2GetaJob Series. This is excerpts from my recent interview with Chrystal Moore, PHR, Senior Recruiter for Philips.

What do you like most about working there?
I love being able to have the tools and resources to perform my job and am also fortunate to work with an amazing team and group of customers (hiring managers and HR managers).
How did you get your job?
I wasn’t looking at the time and someone that I was networking with reached out to me to let me know that a position was going to be opened at Philips. Since I was recruiting for similar types of healthcare candidates at my previous company, my peer thought it would be a good match. Six years later…I’m still here!

What industry, specialty or function are you in now?
Philips has three divisions: Healthcare, Consumer Lifestyle, and Lighting. I started off in Philips Healthcare however have touched on every area of the business including Campus Recruiting. My primary focus now is Philips Healthcare and I mainly recruit for the Customer Service portion of the business. The functions that I mainly recruit for are service engineers that repair medical equipment such as MRIs, X-Rays, Patient Monitoring equipment, and more. I recruit for both the engineers that repair the equipment hands-on as well as the team that supports our customers over the telephone.

Do you have a degree &/or certification; If so, what kind and from where?
I have my Bachelor’s degree in Marketing from NC State University (GO PACK!). I have my MBA from Valdosta State University. I have my Professional in Human Resources (PHR) certification since 2002 and have recertified every three years. I also have the AIRS Advanced Certified Internet Recruiter (ACIR) certification.

How do you stay current in your industry?
I stay current by keeping abreast of what my peers in other industries are doing. I also like to keep track of what our competitors are doing so that we can continue to stay competitive in the marketplace. I’m constantly reading news articles and information online to keep my recruiting skills up to date.

Name two ways you’re networking now?

Professionally, I would say that I used LinkedIn extensively and like connecting with people that I’ve worked with over the years as well as candidates that I’ve spoken to. Over the last year, I’ve started using Twitter as well and have made some great networking contacts through this resource. I have my personal recruiting account which is @RecruitMoore and I also tweet occasionally from our Philips North America Recruiting account which is @PhilipsJobsNA. Twitter has also allowed me to stay current in my industry due to the large amount of resources that are shared by other industry professionals.  It has also allowed me to network with candidates that have expressed interest in working with Philips and some have connected back with me to say they’ve been hired!

What are your top 2 blogs and why?
I don’t subscribe to blogs since I tend to follow quite a few people through Twitter that post their blog posts through that medium.

What are your top 2 recruiting sources and why?
From a sourcing perspective, I would have to say LinkedIn is one of my widely used recruiting sources. Another source that I use frequently is our Applicant Tracking System as well as my previous notes of candidates that I’ve spoken to over the years. Most recruiters tend to forget to check their current ATS for candidates.

What do you like most about being a Recruiter?
My Bachelor’s degree was in Marketing and although I’m not a big-time Advertising executive like I thought I would be while I was in college, I love that I get to use my marketing skills every day. I’m constantly marketing and advertising to potential candidates about the benefits of our company and I’m marketing to my hiring managers why I think a particular candidate would be a great fit. Another reason why I love recruiting is that I feel it’s the “happy part” of HR. I love the satisfaction of extending an offer to someone that truly wanted to position and the opportunity to work with Philips.

What do you look for in a job candidate?
First and foremost, I have to look to see if the candidate has the necessary skills to do the position. Many of my positions require specific, tangible skills such as experience repairing a CAT scan. Once I’ve determined if they have the necessary skills, I then see if they have the behaviors and attributes that are tied to our Philips behaviors. Sometimes if a candidate isn’t the right fit for this one particular job, I’ve considered them in the future for another position that was a fit. I often tell candidates that you have to be tenacious because that right opportunity may not be right in front of you right now but will be right around the corner.

What are the top 2 job search strategies, job seekers should do?
One…continue to build your network! If a candidate doesn’t have a LinkedIn profile…create one and build your network through this channel. Employee referrals are one of the top sources of candidates and you never know who in your network may be aware of that next great opportunity for you. Another strategy is if there is a particular company or industry that you are interested in, see if that company has a LinkedIn company page, Twitter page, Facebook page or any other social media page and then follow them. This will allow a candidate to get more insight into a company and learn more about their culture as well as potential job opportunities that may not be advertised in other channels.

When, why and how should a job seeker contact a recruiter/hiring manger?
This can be a thin line to cross and I think it would depend on the situation. If there is a position that a candidate is qualified for and the candidate has the recruiter’s contact information, it should be okay to reach out to inform that recruiter of his/her interest. I would recommend that the candidate first apply to the position online before reaching out to the recruiter. Regarding reaching out to a hiring manager, I would recommend only doing so after the candidate has had the opportunity to interview with the hiring manager. A nice Thank You letter to show the candidate’s interest in the position would be great since Thank You letters are rare. Just make sure that the Thank You letter is specific to the position as well as highlight some of the points that were mentioned during the interview.

Share your funniest recruiting experience?
I sat and thought about this for a while and I don’t think I’ve had those “rolling on the floor laughing” recruiting moments. Now, I’ve had quite a few “shaking my head” moments but that’s probably for another day and time!
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Chrystal Moore, PHR has more than 10 years recruiting experience and has been with Philips for over six years. She is very active on Social Media and actively engages with candidates through LinkedIn and Twitter. She received her Bachelor’s degree from North Carolina State University (Go Pack!) and her MBA from Valdosta State University. You can network with Chrystal on Twitter at @RecruitMoore or on LinkedIn 

Volkswagen adding 800 jobs at Tenn. Passat plant

What Stores heading to Gloucester – 40 new jobs

Lincoln factory adds 10 jobs, spends millions on equipment
New businesses come into the Southeast 
Lowe’s Home Centers 600 new jobs
Greenway Medical Technologies 400 jobs
Husqvarna Consumer Outdoor Products 500 jobs
Caterpillar 1,400 jobs

New jobs are in the works for the Greater Lafayette area

New bottling plant to add 110 jobs

Rock Hill Collection Company adding 100 jobs

JET Industries adding jobs as business continues to pick up

Sonata Health building two memory care assisted-living facilities, adding jobs

Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino to Hire Over 400 New Team Members

XPO Logistics Plans To Open Office and Hire 200

Andrea Rosenthal, Career/Life Coach and Founder of Career Soulutions, Inc excerpts from recent interview. Job Coach Jacqui, conducts an interview with Recruiters or HR Professionals on Tips2GetaJob Series.

What do you like most about working there? 
Career Soulutions is about supporting individuals to live a life that is congruent with their core. Being in the drivers’ seat of your life. Attracting peace, passion prosperity and purpose, effortless. I enjoy what I do and the vendors and supplies to Career Soulutions also enjoy what they do.

How did you get your job? 
I worked for ten years as a career management consultant so to start my own business doing the same thing was a natural fit.

What industry, specialty or function are you in now? 
I work with all industries, my functional area is career and life coaching.

Do you have a degree &/or certification? 
I have a masters in Counseling and am certified in many personality and behavioral assessment tools. I also am NLP certified and a trained Kinesiology’s. I am currently being trained as a Gestalt therapist as well.

How do you stay current in your industry? 
I attend conferences, lectures and read books and article in my profession.

Name two ways you’re networking now? 
I speak monthly to different networking groups and meet weekly.

What are your top 2 blogs and why? 
I do not have 2 favorite blogs –I just like to keep current on the key leaders in the industry and profession what they are writing about.

What are your top 2 recruiting sources and why?
LinkedIn seems to be the best and then industry and profession specific sites

What do you like most about doing the work you do? 
Anyone can have an extraordinary life; we work together to clarify who they are, what they want, what their calling is and what is stopping them. I love watching individuals push past perceived or real barriers to create the life they have dreamed of. I have worked with over 2,000 individuals and every success no matter how big or small is exciting to me –I just love what I do and enjoy sharing my passion with others.

What do you look for in a job client?
The ideal client is someone who is open to self awareness and change but does not know how. They are bright, successful and interested in being the best they can be.

What are the top 2 job search strategies, job seekers should do? 
The most important thing is to be clear about what you want and why you want it. Then get a coach or mentor and work with them. Job search can be tough –lots of ups and down you need a partner in this process so you are not experiencing the ups and downs alone.

When, why and how should a job seeker contact a recruiter/hiring manger?
The best way is when you a have a personal contact or connection. My advice, be creative to find and create the connections.

Share your funniest jobs?
I have had some fun jobs in my day – pet sitter, water ski instructor, high ropes instructor, weight loss counselor.

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Andrea Rosenthal is the founder and president of Career Soulutions Inc., a career consulting firm built on 20 years of experience in coaching, career management and corporate recruiting and training. She is recognized as an expert in her field and has been featured on Georgia Public Television’s Business Review program, by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and several local and national radio stations. In addition, she has served as the SME regarding career transition and career management issues for corporations and organizations nationally including: Emory MBA and Executive MBA program, Turner Broadcasting, SHUMC, Scripps Network (HGTV, Food Network), Columbia Hotels, Gas South, Jefferson Chamber of Commerce, CDC, Coke, Barclays, SITA, and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)  She is certified in the following assessment tools: Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) Steps 1 and 2, The Strong Interest Inventory, Team Dimensions, DISC and Right Path. Andrea served for 10 years as a senior consultant for Lee Hecht Harrison, a career management firm with 240 offices globally. She has experience working with teams and individuals from some of the largest U.S. and European companies. Andrea is passionate about supporting her clients to make the changes necessary to live a life full of passion, purpose, prosperity and peace. Send an email if you would like to contact Andrea Rosenthal at andrea.rosenthal@careersoulutions.com

Job Coach Jacqui, conducts an interview with Recruiters or HR Professionals on Tips2GetaJob Series. This is excerpts from my recent interview with Hugo Negron M.A., M.A., PHR Senior Recruiter for Iron Mountain.

 
What’s your job title and role?
Senior Recruiter for Iron Mountain – responsible for recruiting functions of our Central region which is comprised of 17 states from ND to FL and including Puerto Rico.  In addition I teach resume classes for District 211 for adult learners as well as assist clients on resumes/interviewing techniques through my business Phoenix Rising Solutions, along with my wife Jennifer who does counseling/stress relief/yoga for our business.

What do you like most about working there?
With Iron Mountain – collaboration and creativity – coming on board, there was not a consistent recruiting process and a big part of my job was to help develop standards for the  recruiting process – basically starting up from the ground floor up and being given the opportunity from HR and recruiting leadership to develop tools, metrics, standards, outreach partnerships, and roll them out.  With my other two ventures – the ability to be accessible to people who need help with resumes/interviewing.  I have come across many people who were impacted by company RIFF’s or downsizing and had never had to interview before, or were unfamiliar with social networking which is imperative in job sourcing today.  Today, candidates are salespeople selling themselves through their resumes – it’s a different mindset, a more proactive one you need to have to promote and self-brand yourself.

How did you get your job? 
Structural changes in the company I worked for prior had me thinking it was time to look for new opportunities.  Through a linked in contact (Barbara Leja) with Arlington Resources, I learned about the opportunity with Iron Mountain and through her, interviewed for the position.

What industry, specialty or function are you in now?
Iron Mountain provides solutions to enable customers a way to protect and better use their information through management of physical and digital data.  It’s a rather unique industry with physical/digitized storage services.

Do you have a degree &/or certification; If so, what kind and from where?
I have an M.A. in clinical psychology from Roosevelt University, an M.A. in industrial/organizational psychology from the Chicago School of Professional Psychology and am PHR certified.

How do you stay current in your industry?
Networking, attending seminars, and researching topics related to my field.

Name two ways you’re networking now?
I maintain ongoing communication with many of my prior Directors/VP’s of Recruiting, getting together when possible to discuss current trends in their businesses and mine.  In addition Linkedin is a powerful tool for reaching out and maintaining contact with HR professionals.  Through conventions, job fairs and workforce center reachouts, I have met many professionals in the field and we continually share best practices.

What are your top 2 blogs and why?
I don’t really follow specific blogs per se, but I do follow groups on Linkedin such as SHRM and Recruitment Process Outsourcing – great way to get updates from colleagues and hear about news in the field!

What are your top 2 recruiting sources and why?
Linkedin and referrals!  Networking and developing partnerships with other professionals is a great way to share job and candidate information.  A lunch with a prior employer, a VP of Recruiting Operations, gave me a chance to reach out to a colleague on Linkedin to share a job opportunity which resulted in that colleague interviewing with the VP and landing a job – all of this out of a casual lunch!

What do you like most about being a recruiter?
Whether in my full time job, instructing, or consulting through Phoenix Rising Solutions, the ability to match great people with great opportunities.  Many times a person has a great resume but lacks in interviewing techniques, or vise versa.  Being able to bridge those gaps and seeing people succeed is a great win for me personally, and of course for my employer, professionally!

What do you look for in a job candidate?
“Wow” factors as I call them – candidates need to focus on accomplishments, not activities – what processes have they developed, what ideas did they generate?  How did they show they added value beyond the job description of their current position, and can they share/present great examples of this? And anyone can do this – whether entry level or experienced professional.   Use those action verbs in a resume – created, developed, supervised, etc.  A person in one of my classes once told me, “I’m just a cashier, how can I show I created or developed anything?” – I asked her had she ever trained anyone on the job like another cashier, or helped a customer with a solution, or created something for herself to make her job easier.  She said she had done all of these things – so why werent they on her resume? Why didn’t she showcase her training ability, relationship building, customer management, and process improvement skills?  That brought out an “aha” moment which made my day.  Applicants need to look at their resume as if they were an employer.  Would you hire yourself?  If there were three other resumes from applicants who had the same type of background/experience as yours, how could you stand out?

What are the top 2 job search strategies, job seekers should do?
Networking and using social media such as Linkedin.  Merely sending in resumes and waiting for a response back doesn’t work – it’s a numbers game.  You may be the most qualified applicant for a given position, but if 50 people have applied prior to you online, the odds are no one will see your information out there – no hiring manager or recruiter has the time.  These days it’s a quick hot key search, and cherry picking from the first sampling of applicants received based on compliance rules for a given company.  You need to brand yourself, reach out to companies, make strong contacts with managers/peers.  You need to be aggressive, and follow up with job submittals – most companies will not accept manual applications or resume drop-offs because of compliance and litigation, so you are forced to apply online.  Join networking/job seeker groups, do research on a company you have interest in, find a contact via Linkedin, follow up on your candidacy status and don’t be reactive, be proactive!

When, why and how should a job seeker contact a recruiter/hiring manager?
During an interview you should always ask what time frame for when you will receive a response.  If you have submitted a resume online, unless the company states they will not accept phone calls/inquires, within a week and then once a week, unless told otherwise.  If more than a week has passed beyond the date when you were told you would hear something from the employer, call or email to politely inquire about the status of the organization’s decision-making process.   A polite inquiry shows that you are still interested in the organization and may prompt the employer to get on schedule with a response.  Mention the following: name of the person who interviewed you, time and place of the interview, position for which you are applying (if known), and ask the status of your application.  And don’t forget to send thank you follow-ups after an interview!!

Share your funniest recruiter experience?
Well, there was a time when a person came in to interview with me, and his wife and family were in the reception room.  His wife was taking care of a newborn and she would continually knock on the door of the interview room to either drop off something for the husband or to ask for his help!  Needless to say, always go alone to an interview! If you do bring someone have them wait outside or meet you somewhere afterwards!  Interviewing while going through a baby bag looking for milk with a spouse impatiently standing by you with a crying baby can be quite challenging…!
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Hugo Valentin Negron has had over 10 years of Human Relations experience as a senior recruiter, consultant, and in a variety of Human Resource roles. Other experiences include instructing resume development/interviewing techniques classes for the Township High School District 211’s Continuing Education Program and volunteering a resume workshop for the Hanover Township’s Youth and Family Service Department in Hanover Park, IL. He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration from Olivet Nazarene University, and both a Master of Arts Degree in Psychology from Roosevelt University and a Master of Arts Degree in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from the Chicago School of Professional Psychology. Hugo has also achieved PHR (Professional in Human Resources) certification.

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