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25 fact-filled articles
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Tips for Recruiters
Table of Contents
Strategy & Tactics
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Make Placements --
FAST!
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Voice Mail &
E-mail: Eight Simple Rules
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Job Orders --
Better, Faster, Smarter
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How to Switch Desk Specialties
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Who Makes the Most
Money?
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Retainers: Look
Before You Leap
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How to Add Value, Not Redundancy
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Intelligent Online
Recruiting
Skill Building
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Counteroffers: Can You Spot the
Signs?
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Resume Makeovers: Quick Tips
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Is There a MAGIC to Closing?
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Finding the Right Recruiting Script
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Storyboarding for Maximum Impact
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How to Stimulate Candidate Referrals
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Expand the Supply of Candidates
Candidate Management
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Playing Softball
with Your Candidates?
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The Power of Interview Preparation
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Control: The Key to Recruiter Success
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How to Fight the Counteroffer Bug
Employer Relationships
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You’re Worth the Money You Charge!
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Negotiate for Higher Recruiting Fees
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Anti-Discount Tactics for Recruiters
For Candidates &
Employers
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Graceful Exits for Job-Changers
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Advice for Engineering Candidates
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What’s Your Capture Strategy?
Q & A
for Recruiters
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Answers
to Your E-mail Questions
Bill Radin answers letters from recruiters around the world.
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Engineering
Candidates:
Does Your
Career Strategy
Make Sense?
By
Bill Radin
Would you dump
your life savings—every single dollar—into a single NASDAQ stock?
Probably not. It’s far too risky to put all your eggs in one
investment basket.
And yet,
you’d be surprised how many people manage their careers with a
single-stock mindset. They toil away, year after year, investing their
talents in a narrow field of interest.
Until
recently, this approach made a lot of sense. Conventional wisdom
dictates that if you do one thing really well, you’ll never be out of
a job.
A
New and Versatile Breed
But times have changed, and
so have strategies. While it’s still true that a solid career is built
on a foundation of position-specific expertise, it’s become
increasingly important to maintain a balanced portfolio.
When employers
look for talent, they typically settle for people with the proficiency
to perform certain tasks. But what they really want---especially
in today’s hyper-competitive market---is an adaptable breed of cat,
whose broad-based set of skills crosses over into a variety of
disciplines.
Want proof?
Poke your head into any meeting room in which star performers are
present. You’re likely to hear a sales manager exploring the potential
of XML technology; or an engineer debating the virtues of a strategic
alliance; or a CFO pondering the benefits of a co-branding opportunity.
In other
words, as organizations flatten, more is expected from each individual
contributor. Which means that versatility is not only fashionable,
it’s become a key ingredient in modern-day career progression.
Jack
of All Trades?
Now, I’m not suggesting you spread yourself so thin as to master
nothing at all. But in order to reach top-percentile status in today’s
rugged job market, you’ll need an expanded arsenal of skills to
deploy.
To round out
your resume, look for areas of weakness (or “blind spots”), and try
to develop them into strengths. For example, if you’re a design
engineer and you want to improve your company’s product or advance its
market position, here are some issues to consider:
• Customer
profile. Learn all about your customers, and what they need in order
to succeed. Where are they positioned within their market genealogy? Are
they end-users or OEMs? VARs or integrators? Businesses or consumers?
And how would new customers benefit from your design?
• Channel
characteristics. How are your products brought to market? Through a
direct or indirect sales force, or via a company Web site or e-commerce
supply-chain? Which of these channels is most effective, and which is in
decline? And are there new ways to reach customers and facilitate sales?
• Alliances,
partnerships and branding. Think of all the ways your products can
be used with other products. Now ask yourself: How can a commercial
relationship be formed? Should an alliance be interlocking or merely
commissionable? And by which method can your company express its brand
identity—by print advertising, electronic media or viral marketing.
By gaining
knowledge in areas that were formerly considered the domain of
“somebody else,” you’ll increase your overall market value. The
more you can offer a multiple spectrum of knowledge—rather than a
single color of skill—the less likely you’ll be to paint yourself
into a corner.
As the new
economy has forced a leaner, more accountable business model, take the
time to invest in your career like you would a mutual fund. Over the
long haul, you’ll be happy with the dividends a balanced portfolio
pays.
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