GSETA

Beyond the Resume

According to a recent article in the Wall Street Journal, some companies are beginning to forego the traditional resume, particularly for positions that require higher skill levels and thinking:

Companies are increasingly relying on social networks such as LinkedIn, video profiles and online quizzes to gauge candidates' suitability for a job. While most still request a résumé as part of the application package, some are bypassing the staid requirement altogether.

A résumé doesn't provide much depth about a candidate, says Christina Cacioppo, an associate at Union Square Ventures who blogs about the hiring process on the company's website and was herself hired after she compiled a profile comprising her personal blog, Twitter feed, LinkedIn profile, and links to social-media sites Delicious and Dopplr, which showed places where she had traveled.

Some other application techniques recruiters are using include:

• Requiring candidates to complete an online questionnaire that asks about things like "your ideal job" and "the best job you ever had."

• Posting a series of challenges on the company website that job seekers must respond to. This gives the company insight into their thought processes. 

• Asking candidates to submit videos describing their love of the company's products. 

• Having candidates complete sample work products for evaluation. 

While some companies are using these technique in conjunction with asking for a resume, a number are getting rid of the resume requirement altogether as they feel it doesn't give sufficient information about the candidate's skills and knowledge. 

In some cases, this can work to the candidate's advantage. One gaming company put 30 people through a 6-week program that required them to demonstrate their programming chops. Six candidates were hired, several of whom would not have made it past a resume screen. 

For One Stop Career Centers, it's important to know this information in advising job seekers. But it can also be helpful to advise local businesses of these new techniques, which many companies report nets them much higher quality applicants than more traditional strategies. 

Managing Your Career in 2012

Penelope Trunk has an interesting article this week on Managing Your Career in 2012. She argues that you have about 15 years (until about age 35) to put together a plan and have a "young person job." After that, you need to be prepared to transition into something different. 

She points to a few articles that show the changing landscape we're working in in terms of the kinds of work that are available to people. Sara Horowitz says that more work will be short-term and freelance. Anya Kemenetz says we'll be seeing more back-to-back career changes and more lateral skill-building. 

What we know is that careers are more chaotic and difficult to predict, which makes "planning" harder to do. But there are strategies that people can use, including retro-fitting, blending and problem-solving their way to new work. 

Teaching people the right career management skills is becoming more important than ever. And educating them about the changing job market is becoming more challenging. 

3 LinkedIn Features You Need to Use

LinkedIn, the professional networking site, is quickly becoming one of the best ways for WIBs and One Stops to connect with both businesses and job seekers. Here are a few features you really need to use:

LinkedIn Today

Discover what the world's professionals are reading and sharing on LinkedIn. See articles shared by your connections, save articles and follow industries.

LinkedIn Today gives you a dashboard to track news and updates for each of the key areas you select. You can learn more about LinkedIn Today and get started tracking your own stories here. 

LinkedIn Company Pages

If you haven't set one up already, you should seriously consider starting a Company Page for your WIB and for your One-Stop Career Center(s). Company Pages are your online organizational hub for connecting with other organizations, business representatives and job seekers. Here are some resources to get you started:

• LinkedIn Company Pages Learning Center

• LinkedIn Company Pages Guide--advice for companies on how to get the most from their pages.

LinkedIn Groups

Anyone on LinkedIn can use the Groups feature to start their own Groups. Consider sponsoring Groups in particular industries or use them as a sort of online Job Club where you can provide your job seekers with tips, job leads, links to job search content, support, etc. Use them with your business customers as an easy tool for asking questions, getting feedback and sharing information on upcoming events and activities. Here are some resources on using LinkedIn Groups:

 

10 Reasons to Start a LinkedIn Group

Using LinkedIn Groups to Connect with Your Employers and Job Seekers

Some Links for Creating and Managing Your Own LinkedIn Groups

8 Tips for Managing a LinkedIn Group

5 Ways to Use LinkedIn Groups to Build Influential Connections

Best Practices for LinkedIn Group Management

 

How are you maximizing LinkedIn for connecting with your business and job seeker customers?

Are Jobs As We Know Them Becoming Obsolete?

An intereresting and provocative article that suggests that jobs as we know them are becoming obsolete: 

Marshall Brain, writing in his informative blog, cities the explosive growth in the use of robotics–not on the assembly line but in ordinary retail businesses, including McDonalds, Home Depot, and others. It is not uncommon now to get your food, money, gas, groceries, and other household items through a robotic kiosk.

Brain cites the principle of Moore's Law–that CPU power in microprocessor chips doubles every 18 to 24 months–to support his argument that a massive number of jobs will be replaced by technology and never return. He forecasts that almost all construction, manufacturing, transportation, whole, retail, and hotel and restaurant jobs will be lost to automation by the year 2050. This would create unemployment levels of up to 50%.

If automation is doing away with many of the jobs our current participants go into, then what are the implications for the workforce system? 

Friday Link Round-Up

New Jersey's Youth Agenda

View more presentations from GSETA.

Here's your first round-up of links for the Fall season. The summer went by WAY too quickly, didn't it?

• The Start-Up Daily--Great Ideas from Great Books--Each day this blog features a great idea/quote from a classic business book. This would be excellent information to share with your business customers, possibly in a daily email. 

• Manage Your Energy So You Can Manage Your Time--Some good advice on how to manage your time by taking advantage of your natural energy cycles. If you're not a morning person, don't try to get a lot of stuff done in the AM.

• That Was a Spectacular Fail!--Learning from failure is a key skill. This post includes some good resources and links for exploring this idea. 

• Generation X Stymied by Boomers--Apparently Boomers are staying in the workplace longer than expected, which is blocking and frustrating Gen X-ers who thought it was going to be their turn to run things. 

• The Poverty Crisis is Devastating Young Americans--Some VERY sobering statistics on how the recession and unemployment are disproprtionally impacting youth and African Americans. 

• Strategies for Managing the Boundaryless Career--For many people, the nature of work and careers has changed in profound ways. Here are some strategies for managing a career without boundaries. 

• 7 Easy Ways to Give Your Resume a Psychological Edge--It's all about influence. 

Friday Link Round-Up

Social Media for jobseekers

View more presentations from James Mayes

As everyone returns to work after the 2011 GSETA Conference, here's your round-up of links for the week:

• Fact Sheet on the American Jobs Act--from the White House, this fact sheet lays out the major provisions in President Obama's proposed legislation.

• American Jobs Act Promotes Promising Models to Help Low-Skilled Adults Earn Post-Secondary Credentials--In a related link, this article from CLASP explores one of the American Jobs Act provisions. 

• What Hiring Managers Really Look For--some of the areas job seekers should be sure to emphasize in all their contacs with employers. 

• The Full Scope of America's Job Crisis in 17 Charts--some pretty sobering statistics here. 

• 5 Quick Ways to Organize a Presentation--ways to organize your slides based on the purpose of your presentation. 

• Can America's Jobless Fill America's Jobs?--Is widespread joblessness the result of a weak economy or does it signal a broader shift toward higher-skill work that may leave many Americans behind even as the economy recovers? 

• 4 Ways to Manage Your Online Reputation--some good advice on setting up a "clean name" and then promoting your professional persona for job search. 

Friday Link Round-Up

Social Media for jobseekers

View more presentations from James Mayes

As everyone returns to work after the 2011 GSETA Conference, here's your round-up of links for the week:

• Fact Sheet on the American Jobs Act--from the White House, this fact sheet lays out the major provisions in President Obama's proposed legislation.

• American Jobs Act Promotes Promising Models to Help Low-Skilled Adults Earn Post-Secondary Credentials--In a related link, this article from CLASP explores one of the American Jobs Act provisions. 

• What Hiring Managers Really Look For--some of the areas job seekers should be sure to emphasize in all their contacs with employers. 

• The Full Scope of America's Job Crisis in 17 Charts--some pretty sobering statistics here. 

• 5 Quick Ways to Organize a Presentation--ways to organize your slides based on the purpose of your presentation. 

• Can America's Jobless Fill America's Jobs?--Is widespread joblessness the result of a weak economy or does it signal a broader shift toward higher-skill work that may leave many Americans behind even as the economy recovers? 

• 4 Ways to Manage Your Online Reputation--some good advice on setting up a "clean name" and then promoting your professional persona for job search. 

Positive Professional Development for Workforce Professionals

Positive Professional Development for Workforce Professionals

View more presentations from Michele Martin

We live and work in a knowledge economy where the skills you possess are key to your career. In this online workshop, you can learn how to use reflection activities and intentional action to build professional development opportunities into your daily work life. In particular, you'll learn how to use your work activities and experiences to add to your resume and make yourself more effective and more marketable. 

Friday Link Round-Up

Top 5 Resume Questions Answered

View more presentations from Monster.ca

Here's your round-up of links for the week:

• Why Our Employment Figures are Wrong--Reuters points out that 1/3 of the workforce--the latest number believed to be employed as freelance/contingent workers--are not included in the BLS employment statistics. This has implications for policy and workforce development. 

• The Freelance Surge is the Industrial Revolution of Our Time--Joining Reuters, The Atlantic argues that we are seeing a huge shift to a freelance workforce that is changing how we work. 

• The PowerPoint Skillbuilder--filled with tutorials that teach you how to get the most out of PowerPoint. 

• 400 Free Online Courses from Universities--something for everyone here. 

• Guide to Doing Research Online--helpful suggestions here. 

• What Do Employers Mean When They Ask For a "Proven Ability?"--Ask-a-Manager responds. 

 

Friday Link Round-Up

LLC Webinar Series: Are you a Network Weaver?

View more presentations from Leadership Learning Community

Here's your round-up of links for this last Friday in August. 

• 10 Psychological Techniques to Help You Get a New Job-"Hiring decisions are made on more than just skills and experience. It's also about gut feelings and instinctual reactions. All sorts of subtle psychological factors come into play; so here are ten techniques which can help you give the interviewer the feeling that you are the one."

• 10 Powerful Steps to Negotiating a Higher Salary--Another way to use the power of psychology. 

• This Space Intentionally Left White--The Harvard Business Review on why you need to set aside time in your week to think. 

• The Ultimate Cheat Sheet for Mastering LinkedIn--Job seekers AND staff should have this stuff mastered. 

• Gmail Ninja Tips--All job seekers should be using Gmail for their job search (here's why). These tips will turn them into Gmail Black Belts. 

• A Googly Job Search--Speaking of Google, here's how to run a Google-powered job search. 

• College Dropouts Cost the Economy Billions-According to a new study by the American Institutes for Research, college dropouts cost themselves and the economy at least $4.5 billion in lost earnings and federal and state income tax revenue every year.

• How Small and Midsize Businesses are Key to Growing the Economy--Is your WIB targeting small/mid-size businesses for services? Maybe they should, since these are the companies most likely to grow the economy. 

• Boomers Looking Younger for Job Search--Tips on how to be "appropriate, flattering and up-to-date" in clothes, hair, etc. 

• Overwhelmed by your "To Do List? How to Decide What to do Now--We can all use some help in prioritizing.