Jason Blais: From the Recruiting Front Lines

Just another tireless week on the Recruiting Front Lines…

This week, we hosted a job fair for the first time ever in New Hampshire. After partnering with a radio group for additional exposure, and capturing 10 second TV spots, we felt confident that we could attract a significant number of job seekers for this event. As it turned out, we hit our goal of 1,000 attendees (this is an actual number, within 10 or 15 plus or minus based on sign ins), during the 5 hour event. Since 2004, the job board I work for has been the number one resource in the state for employment advertising, and our local focus and connection with the labor market really supported a tremendous event.

You can see a brief article on the event here: Greatest Job Fair Attendance in NH this year!

I was very proud to be part of this event, and am happy to report that many exhibitors considered this event to be among the best job fair they’ve ever attended. We prepared job seekers by asking them to register in advance, and then providing reminder emails and updates with articles and tips for making a good job fair impression. We believe this truly impacted the quality of the attendees, and provided the employers with good potential candidates.

It was great to see a room absolutely stuffed full of eager job seekers and well-prepared recruiters. On the other hand, I do have to question the motivating factor behind the turnout. While I’d like to believe that this was simply the power of the state’s leading employment resource focusing all it’s energy on bringing some of the best employers in NH together in one place for one day, even my hubris doesn’t extend that far.

Is the market really causing an increase in the unemployed? OR, has the pervasive reporting of a potential recession stirred the fears of those who are working, inciting them to prepare for potential job change? I’d love to hear your opinion on the market in NH, if you have one. Please send in a comment!

MEMORABLE JOB SEEKER STORY OF THE DAY: Acting as the host for this event, I spent the greatest amount of time and energy ensuring the comfort and success of our employers. This gave me little time to talk with job seekers. I did have one conversation, though, with a job seeker who had been laid off from high tech software sales (project management) and was now looking to start over. Unlike many other stories, this was a highly technical, qualified, experienced hi-tec professional, who, due to losing a major account to a competitor, was laid off. It was interesting to hear about the process and obstacles that he now faces. In his previous career, he was selling 6 and 7 figure solutions to hi-tech companies, so a single account was worth a great deal of money. As you can imagine, there aren’t too many jobs like that in New Hampshire. So, here he was, unemployed, but not in an urgent enough situation to take a big step backwards, walking through our job fair. I spoke with him briefly about transferring his skills and professionalism to a career in Volvo sales, thinking he would relate well to that market. I hope he had a successful day, and wish him all the best for a smooth transition into his next phase.

MEMORABLE EMPLOYER STORY OF THE DAY: Every event presents me with an opportunity to meet a great new business that is enjoying great success and growth in an industry that I’m not familiar with. This time around it was CNC manufacturer of Plastics, who was attending a job fair for the first time. Normally the rely on internet and word of mouth, but were hoping to reach a new audience through the face to face event. They were unsure what to expect, and I believe ended up with a decent number of good candidates. I was glad that they made the time to attend, and hope that they fill a few positions with us. I also spoke with a representative of another manufacturer who also never attended a job fair before. Prior to the start of the event, I was showing him where the lunch room was and walking him back to the exhibit hall when he mentioned that he wasn’t even sure he should be there, because of all the work he had waiting for him. As is true of so many recruiters and personnel directors in mid size companies, he likely wears many hats, and finding 5 hours in work week isn’t easy. I stopped by during the middle of the event, and he was very happy he made the decision to come. In fact, he said he found some candidates with potential for a few positions he hadn’t even thought to hire for yet. Thanks for coming, if you are reading this, and I hope those resumes work out for you!

Well, that’s all from the recruiting front lines in Bedford, NH. Happy Hiring, and Joyous Job Hunting everyone!

Jason

Wow. Some days really make you wonder about the future, and about the real employment adversity faced by many Americans.

I spent the better part of the day on Monday, March 10th, at the August Civic Center exhibiting at the Augusta Job Expo. The company I work for was there promoting our service to job seekers, and providing tips and advice to job seekers. These bits of wisdom (okay, so humility may not be my strongest personality trait) range from how to use our internet job board effectively to find the type of job they are looking for, to how to write a more effective cover letter, to how to approach an employer when you aren’t sure what you’re really looking for, to how to format a resume to be more searchable in a database.

During the event, I spoke with around 70 of the 200 or so job seekers that came through, and was a little saddened by some of the stories. I really felt for some people, like the former telephone line repairman who was out of work and looking to get in with Fairpoint Communications (they weren’t actively hiring for those jobs, and now-a-days they want a 4 year degree for that position; so, I guess you go to the other telephone companies to find work right?… oh, yeah, how many phone companies are there?), while for others, I had little compassion. I can’t tell you how many job seekers came in wearing tee-shirts or sweats, with no resumes, hair not brushed, and no real plan for finding a job.

I guess I’ve become a little jaded over the past few years. Back when I started working these events, I would have felt bad for those that don’t prepare, assuming that they don’t have the means to get a tie, or print out a resume, or look presentable. Now, after working at so many under utilized career centers and with so many social service and non-profit organizations that provide free assistance, I see just a lack of effort or desire. Am I the only one that feels this way? I’d love your thoughts on this matter, please add a comment if you’d be willing.

At any rate, there were also a goodly number of people who were well prepared, eager, and focused on finding a good job, and I tried to offer the support that I have available. For these folks, the obstacles may be technology shifts that render their skills useless, a geographical dilemma, confusion about how to DO a job search after dozens of year with a job, and fear or anxiety about starting over. Some of the tips I provide to these more experienced folks include approaching employers by stating the highlights of their experience first, and then mentioning that they are looking for a change or a new way to apply their skills, instead of walking up and saying “I don’t know what I’m looking for, what kind of jobs do you have?”. I also provided hands on training on how to find jobs using the internet, and how to use keywords. One of the most important pieces, though, is reviewing their resume and helping them to see the positives that they may have overlooked, and showing them how they often have more transferable skills than they realize. I do have to say, many of these conversations are VERY rewarding, and people feel that our company has provided them with assistance that they can use. I like those conversations.

Well, on the recruiting front lines of Maine, I can tell you that the present is uneasy for many out of work Mainers, and the future is foggy. I believe in economic development and good business growth, but in truth, it’s my opinion that growth MUST be slow and natural to be good. One of the reasons that Maine is such a desirable place to retire or raise a family is that we aren’t too business friendly and Maine residents are well taken care of. Yes, the median income is low, but amount of real true poverty is also very low. I’ve seen over the last few years on the road that the areas with very high wealth are always neighbored by areas of extreme poverty.

ONE JOB SEEKER STORY THAT STOOD OUT TODAY: I met a gentleman who had been working for a print shop doing pre press and bindery room work for years. With the new technology his skills are no longer of any value and he had been laid off. Now he is faced with having years of experience in an extremely specialized capacity in an extinct field, and he lives in a sparcely populated region with little business opportunities. I don’t know what he’ll do, but I believe he was motivated to work, and hope that he is adaptable so that he can seize the opportunity in this change.

ONE RECRUITER STORY THAT STOOD OUT TODAY: I had a great conversation with a member of the Diversity Hiring Coalition for the ME state HR council. She was discussing all of the great businesses that work to help promote and exemplify good diversity hiring practices, and she was clearly enthusiastic about this work. She is also a recruiter or Northern New England for a cell phone company, and exhibits at many career fairs. I’m always happy to see younger professionals so engaged in their work, and looking to take on additional activities to help do good. Nice work!

Ideas, thoughts, or questions? Click on the Comments tab below and share!

On March 5th, the Community College of RI hosted a career fair for their students. I attended to speak with students about career opportunities in the state, and promote our website. The event was well run and organized, held in the cafeteria during mid-day. This allowed for good traffic, maybe 125 to 175 students came through, along with a small number of non-student job seekers. CCRI did a good job of preparing their students, and promoting the event, so the job fair was fairly beneficial to the companies involved.

Unfortunately, several employers came for the sole purpose of finding soon to be nursing grads, and none were seen at the fair. There was a rumor that the nursing students were testing that day. However, a number of CNA students were available to speak with. The community college fairs are always interesting for me because of the diverse body of students you meet.

My favorite story of the day: I met a lady in her late 30’s or early 40’s who recently graduated and was looking for work. She had gone back to school to get an Associates in Computer Science, and was now embarking on her new future. In my experience, people who complete their schooling later in life tend to be much more enthusiastic and focused on applying their education to their career. This woman was very excited to seek out internships, as she could afford to work for little or no pay for a little while. In speaking with her, I urged her to stay focused on internship opportunities.

Students offer undervalue the resource that an internship provides. For many, it’s a way to get a foot in the door and then have access to a wide variety of projects and work duties. In many companies, everyone wants some help from “the intern” so that student ends up with more multi-departmental and cross-functional experience than the full time employees! What a great start to a career, and a great way to explore what direction is best.

Well, that’s all for now. See you soon on the recruiting front lines!!!!