Via philly.com …

For thirty years as an employment counselor I spent a lot of time getting jobseekers to write résumés that would capture the attention of a human reader. Occasionally, companies would assign initial résumé screening to trainee fresh out of college. I taught 1970s jobseekers to write catchy résumés with impressive bullet points and bold print. The challenge I gave my charges: “Your job is to write a résumé that gets through to Bill, my mythical screener, in 15 seconds.”

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Via CareerBuilder.com …

Employers throughout the world are increasingly struggling to keep pace with expanding hiring needs. A recent workforce planning study conducted by Aon Consulting for one of its clients showed that nearly 60 percent of its key knowledge workers and leaders would need to be replaced in the next five years.

But, demand for talented employees exceeds the supply, leaving many organizations wondering what strategies to adopt to retain and expand the workforce to maintain competitive advantage. Systematic workforce planning linked to key strategies and business challenges is a foundation for informed talent strategies and processes that will impact the bottom line favorably.

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Via New York Times …

GETTING a rejection letter is a painful part of job hunting, but at least it means you’ve been noticed. These days, I’ve been hearing about more job hunters who respond to online job postings, only to hear nothing back from the company. Ever.

Was the position filled? Is the company just taking a long time to fill it? Did the hiring manager even see the application? You may never know.

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Today’s job market has created a conundrum for growing companies. The landscape is rich with qualified candidates. But issue a want ad, and some statistics note that 200 applications are likely to respond.

How can any employer reasonably cope with that flood of candidates?

Those corporations, healthcare organizations and government departments using an applicant tracking system find they have a powerful, enterprise-wide job acquisition and talent management solution ideal for businesses in hiring mode – or even those that are fully staffed.

Today’s ATS provides web-based applicant tracking and candidate management systems that empower businesses with easy-to-acquire and easy-to-use tools to reduce costs and streamline business operations. They automate candidate application and resume management – and create an invaluable competitive advantage.

The solution starts at the beginning of the job requisition life cycle. Job requests entered into the system automatically are distributed to Indeed.com, SimplyHired.com and GoogleBase, expanding the reach of the company’s corporate career center and saving thousands of dollars in premium job board costs. Some ATS providers even leverage social media sites for locating applicants.

Once applicants begin responding, that’s where the magic occurs. Employers with an ATS solution in place make quick work of managing inbound resumes and pre-qualifying candidates. Even unsolicited resumes are handled easily and quickly. Every required form or document, from resumes to supporting documentation, is submitted online and stored on the host server. No more paper resumes and faxed applications, thereby simplifying handling, review and storage needs. Once reviewed, the candidate immediately can be entered into the prospect pool, or saved for future consideration.

The solution manages applications by categories, enables cross-department searches, facilitates job requisition approval chains, and allows for feedback on specific candidates from anyone in the organization– even if those submitting feedback aren’t paid users on the system.

What about the list of qualified applicants who weren’t hired? Companies used to delete or toss those applications. No longer. An ATS enables companies to retain documentation of pre-qualified applicants for when job openings arise. Just search – by geography, criteria, skills or other fields – from among the pool of highly skilled candidates who already have been vetted and met company criteria. Having this storehouse of candidates close at hand makes filling openings fast and easy.

An ATS also enables a company to be less reliant upon its human resources staff for such processes as forwarding applicants to appropriate departments or managers for review. The system collects and organizes information in a centralized database accessible not only to a particular HR staffer’s computer, but to anyone with account access.

A well-designed ATS also is highly scalable to meet the needs of a growing organization. Like many software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions, the modern ATS is an evolving tool. New features and functionality that help users gain efficiency and streamline the candidate management process are added seamlessly. More recent additions include background check, onboarding and payroll functions. This makes today’s ATS an end-to-end solution for the entire candidate-to-employee life cycle.

Moreover, the best solutions feature a short learning curve. They’re staffed by experienced advisors with a wealth of knowledge about candidate management, and customer service representatives are standard as part of the service.

Simply put, a right-priced ATS application delivers leading-edge solutions and compelling return on investment. Starting at $100 a month, an ATS can be a cost-effective solution at a reasonable expense – regardless of whether your company is hiring today or tomorrow.

Via CollegeRecruiter.com …

There’s been an interesting discussion in the NACE JobPlace discussion list about the perception by many employers that students who do a more effective job of searching for employment opportunities will have a better chance of being hired.

I agree but caution those who believe that the best candidates are those who try the hardest to be hired.

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Human resources research and information site Staffing.org has published an excellent report titled, “Internet Best Practices,” which details how candidates are finding and applying to job opportunities.

It is packed with interesting stats that most recruiters will find useful and informative, for example, “While the Internet is it not yet a universal tool, it approaches that in certain demographic groups. And as it continues to mature, usage patterns are continually changing. Three years ago, major job boards were all the rage. Then niche job boards started gaining ground. Now it’s all about Twitter, Facebook and social media.”

Here is a link to the report: http://staffing.org/library_ViewArticle.asp?ArticleID=450

Via MercuryNews.com …

A recruiter who left Google last year says that the company had maintained a “do not touch” list of companies including Genentech and Yahoo, whose employees were not to be wooed to the Internet search giant.

That revelation could be significant in light of this week’s disclosure that the U.S. Justice Department is investigating whether Google, Yahoo, Apple, Genentech and other tech companies conspired to keep others from stealing their top talent.

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Via Knowledge@Wharton …

Failing to manage your company’s talent needs, says Wharton management professor Peter Cappelli, “is the equivalent of failing to manage your supply chain.” And yet the majority of employers have abysmal track records when it comes to the age-old problem of finding and retaining talent.

Supply chain managers “ask questions like, ‘Do we have the right parts in stock?’ ‘Do we know where to get these parts when we need them?’ and ‘Does it cost a lot of money to carry inventory?’ These questions are just as relevant to companies that are trying to manage their talent needs,” he says. In other words, the principles of supply chain management, with its emphasis on just-in-time manufacturing, can be applied to talent management.

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Via Lifehacker …

Whether you’re suddenly unemployed or just looking to change up, starting out in a new career is daunting. Take our advice on how to write—and plan—your way into a new field.

Why switch careers?

Blogger, career writer, and Brazen Careerist founder Penelope Trunk knows from jumping ship. From her own ups and downs at work, both office-based and freelance, she’s compiled a (relatively) low-stress approach to making the switch. More important: She lists reasons why you should and shouldn’t move on.

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MENLO PARK, Calif., Feb. 3 /PRNewswire/ — In a competitive job market, a polished professional reputation can make or break someone’s chances of landing a coveted position. And since the word google became a verb, that reputation includes information that can be found online. This is particularly true for IT professionals who are evaluated on their technical savvy, noted Dave Willmer, executive director of Robert Half Technology.

“As a growing number of employers search the Internet for information about job seekers, it’s become more important for applicants to actively monitor and maintain their professional reputations online,” said Willmer. “The current economic environment has made hiring managers increasingly cautious, and any information that raises a red flag can quickly take candidates out of consideration for a job.”

Willmer offers the following seven tips for managing your digital imprint:

1. Take stock. Discover what information about you — if any — already is online by performing a search using popular search engines. If you discover an item that you wouldn’t want hiring managers to see, ask the person who posted the information or website administrator to remove it. Similarly, untag any inappropriate photos of yourself.

2. Activate privacy settings. If you belong to social networking sites or have a personal blog, adjust your privacy settings so you control who has access.

3. Exercise discretion. When interacting online, be selective about which venues you participate in and who you allow into your personal and professional networks. If you regularly contribute to blogs or forums, give thought as to how your statements may be interpreted by those outside your community. Consider using a pseudonym if you wouldn’t want a potential employer to see your posts. You can use BlogPulse or Technorati to track online conversations about you or your sites.

4. Network wisely. When using professional networking sites such as LinkedIn to look for job opportunities, behave graciously with everyone you encounter and follow posted protocols. Thank anyone who assists you, and be sure to return the favor when possible.

5. Stack the deck. Business information websites such as ZoomInfo allow users to post information about themselves, so consider including details about your professional involvement and qualifications on these types of forums.

6. Share your insights. Posting useful advice and commentary on industry forums and authoring online articles in your area of expertise can add to your credibility.

7. Monitor the conversation. Set alerts using Google or other tracking services under your name so you receive an e-mail notification every time something new is said about you online.

“Professionals should always post prudently — not just when they’re looking for work,” said Willmer. “The business world is more transparent than ever, which means people need to be aware that what they say and do online can have both positive and negative consequences.”

About Robert Half Technology

With more than 100 locations worldwide, Robert Half Technology is a leading provider of information technology professionals for initiatives ranging from web development and multiplatform systems integration to network security and technical support. Robert Half Technology offers online job search services at http://www.rht.com. For additional tips on conducting an online job search, download a free copy of Search Smarts: Best Practices for Conducting an Online Job Search at http://www.rhi.com/onlinejobsearch.