According to a recent Microsoft survey, nearly 80 percent of employers research job applicants on the Internet, and 70 percent have rejected candidates because of their online profile.
The Boston Globe recently featured a story on college seniors’ efforts to clean up their online profiles in order to improve their job prospects. The article also mentions tactics and services to help job seekers clean up their online reputation. See the full article here.
Q: Are thank you notes obsolete? What’s the protocol for thanking someone after an interview?
Thank you notes are not obsolete. It’s as important as ever to thank someone after a job interview. In fact, for jobs where attention to detail and good follow-through skills are important, the thank you note is a chance to demonstrate your ability.
However, technology and how different people prefer to use it has muddied the waters a bit and has perhaps made the idea of a handwritten thank you note seem old-fashioned. People still write and receive handwritten thank you notes, but email thank you’s have become more and more accepted. It’s a matter of personal preference and sometimes timing, e.g. how quickly you want to follow up after the interview.
Here are some thank you protocols that I recommend following:
About the Recruiter
Kristen Coppins has 9+ years of experience in the staffing and recruiting industry. As a Director and member of the management team at Professional Staffing Group (PSG), she oversees the new hire training and development program. Kristen is also a member of ASA’s Continued Education Committee.
Q: I just found out my interview will be over Skype. Do you have any suggestions to help me prepare?
A: In many ways, interviews conducted over Skype, or other video technology, are just like regular job interviews. My colleague provides some good advice for general interview preparation in this earlier blog post.
But, of course, using video technology introduces some new considerations, such as:
Interacting with video – If you’re not a TV or movie actor it may not feel natural to look into a camera for an entire interview and it can be very tempting to look at the interviewer’s image onscreen (or the small one of yourself to check your appearance). However, it’s important to remember to look at the camera – and not your screen – during the interview.
The camera and microphone are on – With a video interview the camera will likely be focused on your upper body and face and, therefore, so will the interviewer. He/she won’t have the context of a whole room to look at, as they would if you were meeting together in an office. Any non-verbal cues, expressions or movements will be exacerbated because of this. Also, any nearby noises – such as shuffling papers or nervous tapping – will also sound louder because the microphone is focused on you.
Your surroundings will also be captured on film – Just as you would prepare for a phone interview, I recommend finding a private, quiet spot for the video interview. Consider your background too: a plain background is best.
Dress for success – While some interview candidates might be tempted to take advantage of the camera’s limited range and wear casual pants for a video interview, I recommend dressing as you would for a regular interview. You’ll feel more pulled together and ready to deliver your “A-Game” if you’re dressed for the part.
Check the equipment before the interview – We all have experienced technical problems and know that they happen when we least appreciate them. To improve your chances of having a smooth interview, set up the camera and do a practice video conference call with a friend or family member. Check the volume, the lighting and other settings. I recommend using a cable or hard wire connection (not a wireless one if you can help it) to get the strongest Internet connection.
Make sure your image is professional – Sometimes the little things make a big difference. If you’re using an email address, screen name or Skype profile name that you created years ago, consider whether it will hurt your professional image, e.g. a profile name like “Sk8tR GRL” could give an employer the wrong impression. Creating professional accounts are free and easy to do.
About the Recruiter
Lauren O’Brien is a five year veteran of the staffing industry. Lauren is the Group Manager of a team that services one of PSG’s largest and most valued clients. Lauren and her team specialize in direct hire and temporary placement of financial services and administrative professionals.
Q: What do people mean when they talk about culture fit? Why is it important?
A: Culture fit refers to the compatibility between employees and their workplace and it is a measurement of how well a worker will do in a certain environment. To understand the culture of a workplace and whether it fits the employee’s work style, you can look at the work environment, management style, collaboration among all staff, communication norms, and employee motivations, recognition and reward factors.
At PSG, we talk about culture fit all the time. We often meet with job seekers who are looking for a new job that is exactly the same as their last job, but in a different environment, because the culture fit was ‘off’ in their previous job. We also see people take a temporary job that may not have been their first choice and then, based on the culture at that organization, find that the job is a great fit and they end up electing to stay there. Temping and interning are great ways to try out an environment.
To understand if you are culturally a good fit with an organization, I recommend these tips:
About the Recruiter
Katy Leveque is a Senior Group Manager at PSG. Katy learned the recruiting business from the ground up. She joined PSG shortly after graduating college over five years ago and today Katy oversees the service teams that support some of PSG’s most valued clients.
Q: I’m thinking about getting my MBA and am trying to decide if it’s worth it. What are your thoughts?
A: Determining whether an advanced degree will help your career or not depends on several things:
First, think about why you are considering going back to school. Do you lack certain skills that would help you advance in your profession? Would you like to switch career paths? Do you see an advanced degree leading to a bump in salary? These are all reasons for pursuing a new degree. Knowing what is driving your desire will help you determine if getting the degree will be “worth it.” For example, if you feel that an advanced degree will elevate your pay grade it may be helpful to determine if this is true by talking to your HR department and then comparing the cost of getting the degree with the anticipated pay raise.
It’s also important to consider the industry you work in and your role within that industry. Advanced degrees can be essential to some jobs, such as highly technical roles like engineers, or to management positions that require well-rounded critical thinking. Other jobs – such as sales positions – rely more heavily on experience.
If you feel that an MBA or other advanced degree will help your chances of moving into a management position, I suggest running this scenario by your boss. Doing so will not only let you know if your boss views you as management material, but will also give you a sense of whether your employer values advanced degrees and whether they may pay for all or some of your education.
Of course it would be tough to overlook the current economic climate and that’s certainly another factor to consider. Recently, much attention has been paid to the high costs of college education and it’s important to consider whether you can handle the expense and, of course, the time commitment that going back to school would require.
About the Recruiter
Laurie Fiumara has 10+ years of experience in the staffing and recruiting industry. As a director and member of the management team at Professional Staffing Group (PSG), she oversees PSG’s major client relationships.
Q: How do I go about researching a company before I interview with them?
A: As a recruiter, I’m glad you’re asking this question! It shows initiative, which employers will appreciate too.
First, let me point out all the reasons why conducting research before an interview is so important:
I recommend spending an hour to an hour and a half researching online. Start with the company website, where you typically will find an ‘About Us’ section and other pages with detail on the company’s products and services. You can also Google the company to find recent news articles. LinkedIn is a good source for seeing whether anyone you know works at the firm or is connected to its employees. Be wary of information or comments on complaint boards or web sites that promise “inside information” as they might be tainted by their source, i.e. a disgruntled individual.
About the Recruiter 
Kristen Coppins has 8+ years of experience in the staffing and recruiting industry. As a Director and member of the management team at Professional Staffing Group (PSG), she oversees the new hire training and development program. Kristen is also a member of ASA’s Continued Education Committee.
Q: Do you have any tips for negotiating a job offer?
A: You’ve probably heard the saying that, in business, “everything is negotiable.” However, when it comes to hiring and job offers, there are some areas that are more negotiable than others. For instance, when it comes to benefits or practices that are standard for all employees – such as healthcare benefit policies, retirement fund matches and one-time annual bonuses that all staff are eligible for – employers are less likely to negotiate special considerations around these for one employee.
What is accepted as negotiable? Base salary, sign-on bonuses, vacation time, parking and other commuting expenses are the most popular areas for negotiation during the job offer process.
Here are some tips for negotiating these areas:
About the Recruiter
Greg Menzone is a 10-year veteran of the staffing industry who has made hundreds of successful placements. Greg and the team he manages specialize in direct hire placement of accounting and finance professionals.
Q. What is the standard protocol for following up after an interview?
A. Following up after an interview is an important step in the hiring process and sometimes how you follow up is factored into the employer’s decision making.
A thank you note is still standard protocol and it should be concisely written, to the point and error-free. I can’t stress this last point enough. I highly recommend asking someone else to review your note before you send it to ensure there are no grammatical errors, misspelled words or typos. I’ve had candidates lose out on a job at the offer stage because they sent a thank you note with errors in it. While a hand-written note is best (and collecting business cards will help ensure you have the correct spellings for names and correct titles), an email is fine if it’s written well. One other piece of advice when it comes to thank you notes: if you met with multiple people you should send a different version of the note to each one of them.
If you worked with a recruiter to land the interview, you should follow up with the recruiter immediately after the interview to de-brief. Often the recruiter will schedule time to do this. During this session the recruiter will ask you how the interview went, how much time you spent there, what you learned about the job, what you liked about the position, whether it meets your expectations, who you met and whether you have any questions or hesitations. The recruiter is trying to gauge your interest in the position and whether you’ll want to go back for a second interview if you’re invited. The recruiter will also be assessing whether this job fits your goals, how you answered any unusual questions and what insight you collected about next steps.
If you don’t work with a recruiter, it’s a good idea to do your own de-briefing session and to keep notes on what you learned in the interview, your likes and dislikes and next steps.
At the end of the interview, you should really have an idea of what the next steps are and the timing, e.g. when will the employer be making a decision and when will they be in touch about it. That way you can respond accordingly. My colleague Greg Menzone offers advice for finding out about the next steps in a previous blog post.
About the Recruiter
Frank Gentile is a 20+ year veteran of the staffing industry and an experienced recruiter. As a Director at Professional Staffing Group (PSG) Frank oversees the permanent placement division.
Q: I’m new to using social media for professional purposes. I know I should at least be on LinkedIn. Can you give me some tips?
A: Every job seeker should be conscious of their online profile since it’s common for employers to do a Google search on job candidates. LinkedIn is the social network most often used for professionals and, since many recruiters use LinkedIn to source candidates, it’s important to spend time and effort on your profile.
You don’t need to recreate your entire resume on your LinkedIn profile, but you should include enough information to attract employers. Your profile should include:
Recruiters and hiring managers are turned off by anything in the career summary section that is unprofessional and/or profiles that are incomplete. While most employers will tell you that a poor or incomplete LinkedIn profile won’t kill your chances of getting a job, I know from experience that hiring managers, when pressed for time and faced with an overload of candidates, prefer to contact those who have the most complete profiles.
Once your profile is up-to-date, seek out groups on LinkedIn that you can join to connect with others in your industry or your fellow alumni. You can also find more information about networking and job seeking with LinkedIn here.
About the Recruiter
Jessica Salerno Incerto has 10+ years of experience in the staffing and recruiting industry. As a director and member of the management team at Professional Staffing Group (PSG), she oversees career placement, client consultation and management and training. Jessica is also a member of NEHRA’s Diversity Committee.
Q: I’m changing careers and considering taking a job that’s less than ideal in order to position myself for the kind of job I really want. Any advice?
A: Many people find themselves on a career path they don’t really want to be on and decide to switch gears. It’s easier to do this, of course, if you don’t have to start from scratch and can leverage your education or your previous career experience in some way. For example, I work with professionals in the accounting industry and it’s not uncommon to meet a tax accountant who decides they’d rather use their skills as a financial analyst. To get to that position, they might consider an accounting position in the meantime in order to build up the right kind of skills and experience for the analyst position.
My first piece of advice is to be realistic about your desire to change careers. Think about why you really want to switch careers. Are you just frustrated with your current job at the moment? If so, making a 180 degree career change isn’t likely to help matters. Try to conduct an objective assessment of who you are, your skills and what’s realistic for you. Then ask yourself how you can get closer to your ideal.
It’s also not advisable to jump around too much. Having more than 3 jobs in a 5 year period gives employers the perception that you don’t have any loyalty. Employers invest lots of time and resources in training new employees and want reassurance that those workers will stick around.
If you’re certain that a new career path is right for you, here are a few tips for getting there:
About the Recruiter
Greg Menzone is a 10-year veteran of the staffing industry who has made hundreds of successful placements. Greg and the team he manages specialize in direct hire placement of accounting and finance professionals.
Professional Staffing Group 