Tag: Job Search Tips
Talent Tip #71: Career Choices: Let Passion Follow You
September 15, 2015
Talent Tip #71: Career Choices: Let Passion Follow You
Last month’s Talent Tip about James Abernathy and choosing a job you love prompted a heap of great feedback, including some words of wisdom from Zach Janowski, Yankee Institute’s Director of External Affairs.
Here’s what Zach said:
“I am glad James found the job that is right for him. While I agree working in our movement is a great privilege, I also think we give people the wrong…
Read MoreTalent Tip #70: Choose a Job You Love…Maybe Confucius Was Right
July 28, 2015
Talent Tip #70: Choose a Job You Love…Maybe Confucius Was Right
“Choose a job you love and you will never have to work a day in your life.”
I remember hearing people say this when I was just embarking on life after college. To be frank, I thought it was a bunch of malarkey. It was something that belonged on one of those really cheesy motivational posters from Successories. Ug. (No offense, Confucius.)
But after an unfulfilling stint in the…
Read MoreTalent Tip #69: It Was a Dark and Stormy Night: How to Make Your Cover Letter Stand Out
June 17, 2015
Talent Tip #69: It Was a Dark and Stormy Night: How to Make Your Cover Letter Stand Out
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…
In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit…
Call me Ishmael…
Who doesn’t love a good story?
Everyone loves a good story! And hiring managers are no exception.
That’s why they cringe when they read the same generic, banal cover letters…
Read MoreTalent Tip #67: The Key to Employee Retention: Convoluted Algorithms or Simple Communication?
May 22, 2015
Talent Tip #67: The Key to Employee Retention: Convoluted Algorithms or Simple Communication?
The Wall Street Journal recently featured an interesting article about predicting impending employee departures based on complicated algorithms.
It turns out some large companies such as Wal-Mart and Credit Suisse are hiring human resources analytics firms to develop intricate formulas that identify which employees might be getting antsy. These company-specific formulas involve a variety of data points, including “job tenure, geography, performance…
Read MoreTalent Tip #68: Ask the Magic 8 Ball: Why do Employees Leave?
March 20, 2015
Talent Tip #68: Ask the Magic 8 Ball: Why do Employees Leave?
Do you remember those Magic 8 Balls? You pose a yes/no question and then turn it over to reveal the answer. My childhood friend and I used to ask the Magic 8 Ball whether the handsome and oh-so popular neighbor boy would ever give us the time of day. We would turn that puppy over 100 times until it told us what we wanted to hear: “All…
Read MoreTalent Tip #66: Hotel California: Stuck in the Big City, Declining Mobility, and a Reminder to Consider Hiring Virtually
March 17, 2015
It turns out many young adults are sticking around the big cities longer than before. According to a recent Wall Street Journal article, young folks have historically descended upon the country’s largest metropolitan areas “to build careers before taking their talent and spending power elsewhere to raise families.” Now, thanks to an overreaching government induced recession, that trend is slowing dramatically and many people are “stuck” in the big cities.
As one Los Angeles writer put it, it’s like…
Read MoreTalent Tip #65: Roll Tide: What We Can Learn About Recruiting Talent from Nick Saban
February 17, 2015
Roll Tide.
I can’t believe I just typed that. I might break out into hives. As an Ohio native (Go Bucks!) and a Notre Dame grad (Go Irish!), it pains me to support Alabama. But I’ve got to give credit where credit is due: Nick Satan, er…Nick Saban knows how to recruit talent.
Saban’s recruiting prowess has long been a topic of conversation, and a recent article about it got me thinking about what we can learn from his…
Read MoreTalent Tip #64: Lookin’ Out My Back Door: Following Application Instructions
February 3, 2015
For some reason, I can’t get CCR’s “Lookin’ Out My Back Door” out of my head. This might be a result of watching The Big Lebowski a few days ago. Or, it could be that I’ve recently encountered some candidates attempting to “backdoor” the stated hiring process.
Here’s the scenario:
The job advertisement asks candidates to send application materials to a hiring manager (a department head, an HR team member, or, in Talent Market’s case, a…
Read MoreTalent Tip #63: Stand Out from the Crowd with an Eye-Catching Job Description
February 3, 2015
Talent Tip #63: Stand Out from the Crowd with an Eye-Catching Job Description
Standing out from the crowd can be a very good thing.
Now, I’m not referring to Miley Cyrus twerking like a fool, Bjork dressed as a swan, or Lady Gaga in a meat dress. I mean standing out in a positive way.
Take, for instance, the job posting my friend Steve Sheldon recently sent me. It was perhaps the boldest job description on which I’ve laid eyes.
… Read MoreTalent Tip #62 Take a Chance on Me: Nontraditional Candidates and Fundraising Roles
February 3, 2015
Talent Tip #62 Take a Chance on Me: Nontraditional Candidates and Fundraising Roles
You know what I have a boatload of?
Complaints about the government, yes. But do you know what else I have oodles of?
Fundraising roles.
As it turns out, I also have a Mayflower truck full of candidates who would love to break into fundraising for the free-market nonprofit sector.
So, what’s the disconnect? It’s that most nonprofits want to hire fundraisers with development experience (for roles…
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