Here’s some things to keep in mind when giving references: 

·         Always more impressive to speak with a supervisory reference than a colleague – somebody whose neck was on the line if the candidate didn’t do the job well.

·         If possible, give references from several employment experiences to give a broad picture to the hiring company.  It’s also nice to have references spanning many years, so the company knows that the candidate’s behavior / work personality have remained steady. 

·         A past performance review, or a letter of reference from a past supervisor on letterhead and signed, would be of interest if phone contact with a past supervisor is not possible.  It is very impressive when someone comes in with letters of reference from all of their previous employers in a booklet – this doesn’t happen often, but if the candidates has it, it’s worth showing off. 

·         Candidate should make first contact with the reference especially if they haven’t spoken with them recently – a bad reception or a non-returned call reflects poorly on the candidate.  Sometimes references want to hear from the candidate first to make sure they’re talking to someone the candidate gave their blessing to.

·         Incomplete information, such as simply a name and company with no phone number won’t be well received.  If the company has to ask for something that is obvious to provide, or if they have to chase down a number or contact, this reflects poorly on the candidate.  Providing an extension number is a good practice – having to go through the automated messaging system gives the impression the candidate didn’t do the preliminary work to put their references in order. 

·         If asked for references on the spot and the candidate happens to not have them, the most impressive way to move forward is to ask for an email to send them to, and follow thru by sending references as soon as possible.

·         The harder it is to get a reference from a candidate, the harder the company will try to get a reference; gives the impression the candidate is not being open about past experiences.  A candidate should expect this if planning to go in empty handed as far as references, and should have good supporting documentation such as performance reviews, pay stubs, a phone number for HR if no other reference, reference letters, etc. in order to show accuracy in title, dates of employment, pay rate, and that they did the job well.  

·         Some companies have very thorough reference policies – a candidate helping versus hindering in this process, and understanding the policy, will be greatly appreciated.  Warming up the references, providing accurate and thorough information, and following through with any requests should more than suffice.

While social media is rising in popularity, social media is admittedly a low priority here at Aorist.  We are on LinkedIn, but we prefer to communicate with candidates via phone and emails – and of course, we always want to see a current resume!  This preference tends to speak more-so of the community we serve; it is a low priority to us, because our experience is that the technical candidates we serve, although in many cases they are the individuals who are creating technological advances, tend to shy away from social media for personal and employment use.  We’re sure this will change, as the generation that grew up using the technology for socializing matures, but for now, we’re not seeing a huge popularity regarding social networking with our candidates.  We found the article linked below to ring true in regard to engineers and social networking.  It also varies on the type of engineer – for instance, civil and structural engineers, engineering management, engineers with their own businesses, etc. often interact more directly with clients so they tend to be more likely to have use for an online network.

Social media is new enough that it is still hazy as far as work and what content can be used for assessing employees and in making hiring decisions – see article below.  Our general advice for candidates would be to keep your personal and professional social networking separate.  If you do a great amount of social networking or use it on a personal level, “google” yourself – see what can be found about you on the web and make sure the information that should be private is set on the appropriate privacy settings.  HR, recruiters, and your future bosses do not want to know, and should not know a great deal about you on a personal level as this information shouldn’t be used to make a hiring decision.  If you are offered an invitation to a personal account from a HR, recruiter, boss or colleague, direct them to your professional network or let them know you only communicate with family and close friends via these websites, or whatever is true and appropriate for your situation – it’s okay to say no, just address it in a polite and professional manner.

It’s important to show your personality, and build relationships while seeking work and networking with colleagues, however, this can be done while keeping all professional and on topic for the area of your life being discussed.  While seeking work, on topic means focused on skill set, past experiences in relation to the job and general employment, your educational experiences, your behavior in the workplace, and your behavior while seeking work.  We suggest keeping telephone conversations, resumes, emails, and face to face interaction on topic – “how are you doing?” is meant to be polite at the start of a professional conversation, not an invitation to discuss matters not associated with the professional venue.  This goes for your networking as well – keep it on topic to the venue. 

When you have a website regarding your professional profile, work samples, portfolio, etc., we suggest keeping this separate from any website you may have in regard to your personal interests, hobbies, blog about how your personal feelings (even if this is about how you feel about the latest SolidWorks program, etc.) or other personal pursuits.

As a side note, it is also appropriate to reach out directly to the individual before “friending” them – i.e. please send your resume or call before sending a request, especially if it’s been several years since the past contact.

Links mentioned above –

legal implications of social networking and work:

http://www.ntca.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4997&Itemid=2301

engineers and social networking:

http://www.itbusinessedge.com/cm/blogs/all/engineers-not-on-board-with-social-networking-for-work/?cs=45609

There are only so many changes you can make to your resume, since the majority of it should be focused on your job history and the tasks you’ve performed at each job.  These do not change, so once you’re comfortable with a resume where you’ve concisely and accurately described your past jobs, there is no need to keep changing the wording.  In general, a resume should touch on your current objective, education, skills, and job history with a short description attached to each job.  A link to company websites and a short description of each company’s business is helpful to those reviewing your resume, but not required.  There is no right or wrong way to write a resume - as long as the resume is an accurate description of your skills and past experiences, and has been meticulously proofread, you’ve done it “right”.

Our suggestion is to spend your time on your cover letter.  Most of us have been coached to put together an extremely formal cover letter that has a brief overview of our skills - one that is generic and we send over and over to employer after employer.  A cover letter geared at the particular company and job are always of more interest to the employer than a generic version that restates what they will find in your resume. 

Here are our suggestions on how to write a cover letter to increase interest in reading your resume:

Write your cover letter to focus on the job that is immediately available. 

• Tell why the job is interesting and how your skills relate. 
• Be honest and upfront on where you are strong in regard to the posted job, and where you might have a learning curve.
• Do not write that you meet all requirements when you truly do not; this makes you seem disconnected from reality.
• Make sure to provide any additional materials requested, and specifically address any information they requested from applicants in the job description.

Resumes are painted with a broad brush, so providing information that is not in your resume that further expands on your qualifications for the job, is always an interesting read.

• Review your materials to make certain the qualifications you have in relation to the job are in your resume.  This may seem obvious, but we often receive resumes that do not list the skills requested, but when we call, the individual has all of the skills.  Most employers will not call to inquire if they do not see the skills in your resume or cover letter.
• Be brief; this should be a quick summary to get them interested.  Mention your contact information and that you’d be happy to provide further information.

Make your cover letter match the formality of the job advertisement; if it’s formal, make your letter formal, if it is informal, keep your letter conversational.

Always showcase professionalism in your emails by using proper English and grammar and proofreading your letter before clicking “send”.

• Your letter will be taken as an example of your writing skills.
• Review your materials especially if you are reworking a previous document; letters addressed to different employers will automatically be  discounted. 

Letters should be brief and to the point regardless of how formal; you don’t want the reader to lose interest before they get to the pertinent information.

Showcase your true interest in the company by mentioning something you find exciting about the organization or the work they do.

• Take the time to browse the company’s website to get to know a little bit about the organization and their work.  Maybe go as far as doing an internet search on the company - you might find something that makes them more or less desirable to you as a possible employer.
• Be honest about what interests you about the company - if you don’t have a true interest, why are you applying? 
• Note what you mentioned, so if they ask you about it later, you can further elaborate and ask questions.
• Do not write a generic statement like “I’ve researched your website and would be very interested in working for such a wonderful company.” This probably won’t go far - write something individualized to the company.

Writing a cover letter specific for the job is always worth your time.  It is surprisingly rare to receive this type of information from a candidate, so it will single you out from the pack.  A cover letter connects the dots - why you match the current opening and why you want to work for the company.  Make it about the company and their current need, and this will be miles ahead of the generic cover letter most individuals send out.

This is a good time to keep your job search in pace with outside organizations, and to take “a breather”, allowing yourself to take some time off and regenerate to start your job search with “a bang” as new postings become available in the new year.  You do not have to stop entirely, but allowing a little more time to pass between searching for new advertisements, and reminding yourself that the slow pace is beyond your control, will greatly help to reduce some stress.  Regardless of how hard you push, it is difficult to make progress when half the staff of hiring organizations are out on holiday, and everybody is waiting to see the new year’s budget before making final decisions.  After forty years in the staffing industry, we’ve experienced this year after year, and have learned it’s best to save our energy to get a jumpstart on the new year’s activities, instead of getting frustrated by the lack of movement and limited feedback during the holiday season. 

Happy holidays from Aorist. 

Please read the below article for suggestions on how to keep the stress down in a long term job search:

http://msn.careerbuilder.com/Article/MSN-2425-Job-Search-Im-Experiencing-Job-search-Burnout/?SiteId=cbmsn42425&sc_extcmp=JS_2425_advice&gt1=23000

The likelihood of a past employee of a company truly qualifying as an independent contractor is highly unlikely.  The company had this person classified as an employee for many years and suddenly they’re an independent contractor? - the government is not going to buy that without a lot of other evidence showing this person truly did decide to go independent, especially when there’s plenty of taxes on the line. 

If your employer asks you to come back as a contractor through an agency, this is an entirely different matter.  This is W-2 contract work, meaning those taxes still get paid to the government through the staffing agency, and there is no reason for the employee to register as their own company or figure out what taxes they owe as an independent contract when tax time comes.  This is another situation when staffing agencies come in handy — a staffing agency can payroll the individual.  Perhaps the company is wary of bringing someone back as their full time employee during these sticky economic times, but they know someone that they would be very happy to bring back for a few days of work or perhaps on an ongoing basis, to fulfill some of the holes the layoffs left.  Payrolling through an agency is a good way to bring this person back, without having to worry that they’ll be the next company the government cracks down on, and it takes stress off of the employees who haven’t had experience with what being a 1099 contractor entails. 

http://www.inc.com/news/articles/2010/02/cracking-down-on-contractors.html

 http://www.inc.com/magazine/20080901/employee-or-contractor.html

We find it important to get to know the candidate and his/her job history and present the individual as a whole person, not just a resume, to our clients.  This helps the client to get more in-depth knowledge on soft skills than is typically received in one interview - they are receiving information regarding the candidate from different perspectives, from those who have worked with the individual before, from our reference profile, and from their own impressions when they meet this individual face to face.  This helps the client to achieve a good read on how this individual can fit the position and company.  Although many individuals may have the necessary hard skills, it takes a person who can effectively work within the client’s environment to put these hard skills to the best use.  A good soft skill and hard skill fit is what is wanted in all hiring scenarios - finding an individual whose attitude, personality and goals match those of the company are what create the best hires and increase the likelihood that the client will want to keep our candidate for the long run or work with our candidate again.

http://www.cobizmag.com/articles/great-hires-and-bad-hires/

Aorist works best in slower, strategic searches to help companies find the right person for their organization.  We take time to get to know our candidate and how they can contribute to the opening - we want to present them as a whole person to our client.  We take the same care in filling contract and contract to hire scenarios as we do with direct placements - this is the opportunity for the right candidate to shine.  We take pride that most of our contract to hires and even some of our shorter term contracts results in long term relationships between the candidate and company.

Many candidates wonder why a company would choose to go with a contract or contract to hire scenario over doing a search on their own.  Most companies simply want to try out the person before risking the high costs associated with a direct hire.  Sometimes the individuals doing the hiring within the company are so submerged in their daily tasks that they don’t have the necessary time to devote to finding the right candidate.  The contract relationship can be beneficial to the candidate because they can experience whether or not the job and company are the right for them - the “try out” goes both ways.

Before the hire is the best time to put in the due diligence necessary to ensure the relationship is long lasting.  This makes for happy clients and happy candidates.  Most individuals wouldn’t purchase a house or a car before checking out several different options and seeing which is right for them - we respect that companies what to take the same cautious approach with their major “purchase”.  Most individuals spend 30% of their weekday at their job - finding the right one is a major life decision and we want to assist the candidate in making the right choice.

http://isquare.com/turnover.cfm

http://www.cobizmag.com/videos/view/the-high-cost-of-hiring-wrong/

With Aorist – calling or email is fine, whatever your preference.   Email is very simple – feel free to send an email every week or couple of weeks letting us know you are still available and inquiring if there is anything new.  Let us know if you’ve acquired any new training or experience.  Email allows the recruiter time to become reacquainted with your resume before responding.  When calling, ask to speak to a recruiter and inquire what is new with Aorist – it may take a minute or so to open your file in our database and take a quick look.  If you’ve seen an opening of interest, we’d be happy to answer any questions or discuss your experience.

The more your name and skill set comes to our attention, the more likely we are to think of you when a matching opportunity becomes available.  Keep in mind, weekly calls or emails are a good frequency – it unlikely that dramatic changes will occur on a day to day basis, but a week or two can make a difference. 

It is likely that the majority of the time our answer will be “nothing new”.  This can be disconcerting.  However, this call or email is more about keeping in touch.  If we know you, we’ll be the ones calling when a good match comes along. 

Please do not feel disheartened if the answer is “we have a new opening, but we need this specific skill” or “we have another candidate of interest”.  Although we favor those candidates we know, the candidates we send over are ultimately driven by the skills the client is seeking.  We will not waste your time if we already know our client’s answer.     

A more passive way to keep in touch is to keep track of openings on our website and call/ email when you find one of interest.  Keep in mind, we do not always post openings we feel will be a quick fill.   

Please see the below link for an outside perspective on this subject:

http://www.geekinterview.com/articles/resource/25.html

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2009/06/09/ap6523233.html

It’s been a slow year for the staffing industry, but we are starting to see a bit more variety in the openings becoming available.  It is still an “employers market”.   We are seeing clients “holding out for the right one” and wanting to see candidates who match all their needs.  Employers seem more wary of making the wrong hiring decision in the down economy, and this is creating slow-to-fill openings … even those for which qualified candidates are few and far between.

We realize it’s frustrating out there.  It’s hard to maintain a positive attitude when it feels like your resume is being sent into a black hole.  Don’t blame yourself - get your resume up to par, but it is not necessary to rewrite and rewrite - in most cases, it’s the economy, not the resume, that’s the problem.

It is important to remain calm.  Although the hiring managers may understand that a candidate is showing the signs of stress, they might select another candidate who maintained a more professional bearing in their interactions.  Showing strength in the face of hardship is often the sign of a strong candidate who will be able to transfer this ability into managing stressful job situations. 

It is important to aim your resume or cover letter at the specific opening.  This is always important, but is even more important when there are many individuals competing for the same job.  Going that extra mile says that you are truly interested, not just shooting off resumes.  A little extra time spent giving specific details in a cover letter of when and how you developed the skills for the job can create immediate interest.  Forgo sending the same, overly formal cover letter to everyone you approach - the main focus should be how your skills match the requirements listed in the job description. 

Keep in touch with recruiters at places with multiple openings or companies of specific interest to you.  Remind them that you are interested in hearing about any available opportunities by email or in a brief phone conversation.  They’re more likely to contact you if they know you’re interested and looking.  Keep contacts to a minimum - once every week or two should be sufficient.  If your messages are not met with polite feedback, that company may not worth be your time.  A harsh attitude says more about that company’s values than your qualifications to work there.

Focus on the positive - refresh your skills by taking classes or through your own research.  Do some volunteer work to keep your mind off your search and to have something new to add to your resume.  Work at that hobby that you usually have to keep on the backburner.  Spending your time day in and day out looking for a job can make the situation even more stressful - there are a lot of factors out of your control and job searching is hard work - give yourself a break.    

It might take a while longer to truly pull our economy out of this, but keep looking and don’t lose hope.  You’re not the only one experiencing this - there are a lot of very skilled individuals looking for work.  We’re all looking forward to a strong recovery, and one of these days its going to break loose.

Aorist works on a job order basis.  This means that we keep in contact with many companies and respond to their staffing needs as they develop.  Our focus is on small to medium size engineering and manufacturing companies along the Colorado Front Range and in the Boise area.  When a need arises, we search out candidates for the client’s job.  We do not search out jobs for candidates.  However, we are interested in keeping in touch with individuals who are searching for jobs - we may not have the right match at the moment, but your skill set could be perfect for the next opening we get.  We typically search our internal database before we search other job sites.

When matching resumes, we are looking for the things that are most important to our client.  Often our client is focused on a particular skill set or experience in a particular industry, and if we hope to fill the job we have to address their needs.

Sometimes clients have changing needs and their job descriptions will morph.  They may start out believing that a general skill set will meet their requirements, but then decide they need a more specific skill set.  Sometimes clients are eager to make a quick decision and interview candidates right away, and sometimes they want to see a lot resumes before they make a decision.  Our clients are human beings dealing with dynamic situations, and its very tough for recruiters to predict what they’ll do.

We are paid by the client company when our candidate begins working at their company.  We focus on creating relationships that last, because we want to work with our clients and candidates over and over again! 

We welcome replies to our job postings and always appreciate it when candidates inform us of how they meet the requirements for the job, and also what they may be lacking.  This is simple to convey in a concise cover letter along with your resume.

The more information you provide, the better.  We want to understand your whole job history, and all of the skills you have acquired.   We don’t know what you don’t tell us.  If you have skills matching an opening and they are not described on your resume, you need to add them to your resume or tell us in a brief cover letter.

The recruiting business is fickle.  We need one thing one moment, and another the next.  We can’t make any promises that we will place you.  However, we take great care in presenting our candidates, because that is what creates great placements!  We’re looking forward to finding a good match for you.

http://www.careerbuilder.com/Article/CB-1220-Getting-Hired-What-Works-When-Working-with-Recruiters/