What the Recruiter Sees

What the Recruiter SeesWhat the Recruiter SeesA recruiter for CDW shares the tactics his company now considers its most fertile source of new candidates Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.CDW is a leading provider of technology products and services that employs more than 6,000 people. The company, based in Vernon Hills, Ill., just outside Chicago, does a lot of hiring. And more and more of it is done online, said Charles Bretz, CDW s senior recruiter and sourcer.Social networking sites have become the companys most fertile platform for identifying and engaging with potential employees. He shared with Ladders how you can polish your personal brand on social networking sites, as well as social networking practices that have resulted in hires this year at CDW.CDWs strategy is to use social networks to cast a wide net for talent and to find the right employees by looking for them where theyre living and breathing and playing. CDW is also tapping into social networks to get ahead of the tal ent curve. Instead of waiting to look for talent after a position opens, Bretz said, CDW is engaging with promising professionals on an ongoing basis.CDW is currently tapping mostly into the big three social networks LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook. All three work, Bretz said. CDW has made hires this year from all, with LinkedIn yielding the most new employees.On all of the networks, Bretz and his colleagues reach out and identify people who will be a fit for open positions or for positions that may open up in the future. We reach out and identify people who will fit the positions we have, begin dialoguing with them, have conversations, tell them about who we are and what it is that we do, he said. We then find out what it is that they want and whats the next step for them.So what will catch Bretzs and other recruiters eyes? While there are some general dos and donts, each network has its own personality and requires specialized treatment.LinkedInOn LinkedIn, were looking for individ uals who use profiles, groups every tool and resource that LinkedIn has available, said Bretz. A lot of that will be a direct tap on the shoulder to an individual.If you want to be found on LinkedIn, he said, make sure your profile is complete Make your profile read like your resume, because if it reads like your resume, I can find you more easily. Fill in your name, put in all of your employers, highlight all of the different projects or what it is you do.On LinkedIn, your connections are key. Connect with as many people as you can, said Bretz, even if you no longer work with them or they have moved on to another discipline. Recruiters follow network connections to find new job candidates.After youve connected with those people, ask them to write you a reference. (And, if they do, return the favor.) Bretz said a lack of references may not knock you out of consideration, but that a healthy number of solid references may push you to the top of his to contact list. If I look at two p rofiles and they look pretty similar but one person has 10 or 12 references and another person has none, I might call the one with 10 or 12 references because those people in their network were willing to vouch in public for them Id still talk to the other one, but it might be a day or two later.Bretz also urges job seekers to join as many groups as they can. Join professional groups, join networking groups, join alumni groups, he said. Recruiters are going into those groups, as well. If you have a small network, joining these groups will open you up to other individuals. If were both members of the same group, I can find you even though we might not be directly connected, or even by a second- or third-degree connection.Posting the events you have attended or presented at is also key, said Bretz. Even if the conference you went to happened a year or two or three years ago, list that you went. Ill go into, say, a Microsoft conference from two or three years ago, and see who attended or who was interested or who presented. If you go to a conference, youre doing something to further your career, to gain knowledge. And if you presented, obviously youre considered a subject matter expert in those areas. You can raise your profile to a recruiter that way.Finally, make it easy for recruiters like Bretz to contact you. Put out an e-mail address, he said. Create a Gmail account if you dont want to put your main e-mail out there. If youre comfortable with it, put your phone number out there so I can even pick up the phone and call you. The easier you make it for me to find and contact you, the more likely it is that Im going to reach out to you.TwitterCDW connects with Twitter users in a number of ways, Bretz said. Users could be following CDW, or they may be following the individual recruiters because the recruiters are tweeting about positions they have open or about technology. CDW, in turn, will follow people who are tweeting about relevant subjects and then get in volved in conversations.As with LinkedIn, the organizations and associations you follow are important in terms of connecting you to a recruiter and eventually a new position.I follow organizations, associations that you belong to, said Bretz. Recruiters will look to see who is following those groups or following, lets say, the Society for Women Engineers. Recruiters will look at discussions, what are people tweeting about, and then reach out and engage in conversations with them.Indeed, thoughtful, relevant, timely tweets may lead a recruiter right to your door. As things are happening in your industry, tweet about them, link to the articles, deutsche bundespost relevant information, Bretz said.Bretz said its OK to have a mix of personal and professional updates, but just make sure that the personal isnt negative or embarrassing.FacebookGood behavior is especially important on Facebook, Bretz said.Most people start their accounts for personal uses, but if you do move into a job sear ch, you want to pull anything that could potentially be seen as negative - just take it down, he said. Bretz added that most recruiters dont go looking for negative information about candidates, but they dont ignore it when they see it either. Its best to make sure it doesnt exist at all.And because most people use Facebook primarily for personal interactions, CDW tries to keep everything to the groups and the fan pages, versus digging up a profile and reaching out and tapping somebody on the shoulder. Its not there in acceptance yet, Bretz said. You could freak too many people out. You err on the side of caution in that regard.

How Job Seekers Should Set Time-Management Priorities

How Job Seekers Should Set Time-Management PrioritiesHow Job Seekers Should Set Time-Management Priorities0As its been said, looking for a job is a job.If youre serious about landing a job, you need to take that saying seriously.It also means you need some judicious time management to ensure the job of finding a job is given your best performance.The first task with your time management is to prioritize your activities. Not everything you do has the saatkorn impact on your results, and in the case of a job search, youre looking to land interviews. You wont get a job offer without one so its the indicator of whether or not youre conducting an effective job search.This doesnt mean we ignore the crown jewel, which is the job offer.It means job search is a process, and if the process is well managed, your best indicator is whether or not youre getting interviews.Use these five tasks to help set your time-management priorities during your job search1. Craft a great resume.Most of your tim e investment for your resume should be up front or in your job searchs startup phase.Youll discover the resume is never really finished.Youll tweak it as specific jobs and situations demand and when that happens, you want time to edit it for the occasion.2. Manage a LinkedIn profile.This is THE most highly utilized site for recruiting and as such, you want to be as serious about a well-crafted LinkedIn profile as you are about your resume.3. Be sure to network.Your best method for landing a job is through other people. Obtain referrals and support from your network. This will be time consuming if you do it right as youre emailing, texting, calling, and arranging meet ups.You dont want to wait to nurture your network until you begin your job search as thats predatory. So, hopefully youve done a good networking job before you begin. If not, start today.4. Be mindful of follow-up logistics.This includes returning emails, voicemails, and texts from recruiters, employers, or your network . It also includes interview follow up. This has to be your highest priority.If youre typically lazy in this area, change your behavior for this group. People lose job opportunities because of poor contact management.5. Properly schedule interviews.This is kind of obvious but interviews can be tricky to schedule, especially when youre working.Figure out ahead of launching a job search how you plan to accommodate interviews, especially if your job search will be confidential.Follow these secondary time-management priorities during your job search tooApply for jobs online.You can do this work at midnight if you have to, but some of your high priority actions cant be done at any time of the day. Also, depending on the site and type of jobs youre pursuing, your chances of finding a job with this method are low so treat it that way.Its too easy to get lured into spending too much time with other job posting sites. If you have nothing else better to do, thats ok.But if your time is tight, give yourself a time limit per week or day.The exception to this is, which is ahighly specialized site with vetted jobs and employers.Participate in job fairs.These can be either really great or a waste of time, and you may not know until youre there. Be willing to go and be willing to leave if you think its just a PR event for local businesses.The second task is to determine the days, time of day, and amount of time youll spend working on your job search. If you allow yourself to simply figure it out on a day-by-day basis, you wont do it. Keep in mind, this is a job and like all jobs, you have a schedule. Make your schedule, put it into your calendar, and stick to it.If you determine the schedule doesnt work completely, you can tweak it but dont blow it off.Youll have things like networking meetings or events that wont completely coincide with your job search schedule. When that happens you can make a decision whether you will slide your standing scheduled time or if it needs to b e in addition to your schedule.Another time-management tip is to manage expectations of friends and family.These people are used to a certain level of availability from you and may make your job search difficult if you dont speak to them about what they can expect from you ahead of time. You want to get the most results out of whatever time you put into your job search. By following these suggestions, youll be focusing on the critical activities and using your time efficiently.Readers, what successful time-management tips can you share? Post your responses in the comments section below

DionData Solutions Work at Home Data Services

DionData Solutions Work at Home Data ServicesDionData Solutions Work at Home Data ServicesData management firm DionData Solutions uses home-based independent contractors to perform data entry from home. The company also uses in-house staff and promises a 24-hour, 7-days-a-week production environment to efficiently process data for clients in any time zone. Data entry typically involves transferring information from one source to another. For example, a client may have paper records containing information they would like to be entered into an online database. Information might already be in digital format, but the key data needs to be entered into the proper fields in a separate program. Work-at-Home Opportunities Independent contractors with DionData enter data from images of documents, often applications or other handwritten forms. The work is compensated on a per-piece basis. In addition to using scanned images, DionData Solutions needs contractors to provide accurate data entr y from Hard copiesHandwritten originalsTyped copiesOnline sources The company promises clients a 98.5 percent or better accuracy rate for data that is not considered highly sensitive by the client and a 99.995 percent accuracy rate for extremely critical data, which iskeyed in twice, each time by a different individual. The second operator does not see the data entered by the first operator. The ordnungsprinzip stops on keystroke mismatches, prompting corrections. Work-at-home contractors typically key data for Medical claimsCatalogsSurveysInventoriesWarranty cardsProduct registration cardsSubscription fulfillmentMailing lists Qualifications and Requirements DionData requires its independent contractors to be able to type 60 words per minute accurately, in addition to having basic computer skills, such as sending and receiving emails with attachments, using the internet, and uploading and downloading files. Contractors are expected to have excellent communication skills and to b e able to work independently on multiple projects simultaneously. They also are expected to provide and maintain their own desktop computers- dual monitors are considered a plus- and high-speed internet connections. DSL or cable is preferred. Operators also must be able to prove they are legally able to work in the United States. Applying to DionData Solutions Even when DionDatas website says it is accepting applications, that doesnt necessarily mean the company is hiring. They are constantly looking for qualified candidates, though, and keeps a list of possible contractors and hires as needed. Applications are accepted by email only. You must download a Word document, fill it out and then return it byemail. It is a fairly standard job application, asking about your skills, education, and references. It asks for your availability in days of the week, about days you are not available, and your preferred times of day to work. You are asked about the type of computer you own, its operating system and about any other relevant office equipment. Although DionData says it cant respond to all applicants due to the high volume of applications, the company encourages applicants to resubmit after 90 days. Pay and Benefits All data entry agents are hired as independent contractors, which means there are no benefits and no guarantee of a tiefpunkt wage. Home data entry jobs often pay less than the minimum wage, especially at the beginning before the data entry worker has developed sufficient familiarity with the process to work quickly. DionData Solutions pays its data entry operators on a per-piece basis, which is typical. Data entry jobs in brick-and-mortar office settings pay an average of about $15 per hour, as of 2017, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The per-piece pay system for work-at-home jobs makes it difficult to measure exact pay rates, but its rare for anyone to come close to that $15 per hour mark. Those capable of working fast and v ery efficiently are most capable of earning decent money. Other Opportunities DionData is not the only company offering work-at-home data entry jobs. Like most work-at-home jobs, though, there are a lot of scams on the internet, so its important to be sure any companies you do work for are legitimate and do pay you for your work. These are a few legitimate companies that offer work-at-home data-entry positions Great American Opportunities This is not exactly what people might think of when they think of data entry, but they do offer the work. This is a company that contracts with schools and other organizations to run fundraising campaigns. The data entry jobs involve keying in information from order forms. According to an online review of the position, efficient workers can expect to earn about $9 per hour doing this. But, again, this can vary greatly depending on how fast the work can be completed. Xerox The company occasionally offers full employment that includes the opportu nity to work from home. There are not an abundance of such positions available, but when they are available, they typically pay a little more than $10 per hour, according to Real Ways to Earn Money Online.Amazon Mechanical Turk This is Amazons foray into online freelancing, and it is not specific to data entry, but there are occasional jobs available that are related to data entry. On this site, businesses post tasks that they need to be completed, and workers can bid on those tasks.