Chronicles of a Head Huntress

First published on November 20, 2006 in the San Fernando Valley Business Journal. This article has been edited to reflect changes in the job market as of 2009.


The job market today is much different than what we’ve seen in past years. According to the California Employment Development Department (EDD), California’s unemployment rate in September 2009 was 12.2 percent. Nationwide, unemployment rates increased to 9.8 percent. There are a multitude of job seekers who are wondering why they are not getting the right job offers. I’m sure many of you who have interviewed people say the common phrase, “This person really looked good on paper (resume) but meeting them in person is a whole different story.”

Being in recruitment and sales for the past 14 years, I have witnessed a handful of blunders made by individuals who want to get hired by the companies of their choice. Everyone wants to be considered to be a candidate who ranks as “the best of the best” but many candidates conduct costly mistakes that lets them get passed over. Here are common suggestions that will help people obtain satisfying and fulfilling career opportunities:

1. Always Stay Humble: As a top-tiered candidate, you can still articulate your strengths, accomplishments and reasons why you are the best candidate in the candidate pool. However, many people conduct themselves in interviews like they walk on water and have an aire about them like the company that they are interviewing with would be out of their minds if they don’t hire them. Many of the hiring managers I recruit for would rather hire someone who has produced slightly less to the bottom line than a candidate who acts like a primadonna.  Therefore, candidates should always communicate how team-oriented they are and their willingness to be flexible in order to achieve maximum results.  Especially in sales recruitment, I have seen many proven sales performers not get past the first interview because hiring managers say they come across as too “cocky.”
2. Be Open-Minded, Not Closed-Minded: From personal experience and numerous observations of the candidates I have recruited, job seekers should not judge a job opening from verbal or written descriptions. This would be like judging a movie without watching it. The best way to truly decide whether a job opportunity is right for you is to have an in-person interview, where you can actually check out the environment and meet the group of people you will actually get to work with.

Many years ago, I was very excited to interview for a Recruiter position that recruited graphic designers and other creative professionals. I thought that the job would be perfect for me. To my dismay, the hiring managers were very sarcastic and I did not want to work with them. Also, the opposite may be true where a company and position become more appealing after you get to witness the conducive environment and solid team you will be working with.

1. Double-check Your References: Most companies conduct reference checks and verify past employee information. Unfortunately, human resource departments or office managers can make mistakes. Before you plan to look for a new job, call all of your former employers to make sure they have all the information right for reference checks such as: dates of employment, position title and salary. Sometimes, many HR departments don’t update new information or have inaccurate information in their files of past employees. Therefore, make sure all of the information you will be giving to new potential employers is congruent to your past employer information.
2. Select a position based on long-term ramifications, not short-term: When job seekers receive multiple job offers, most people only consider compensation as the sole criteria for making a decision, which I know can seem logical. However, I have known many people who leave positions not because of the pay but because either there was poor management, lack of resources or poor training. I heard many stories that illustrate how people don’t excel in their jobs due to these reasons.

In making a decision, please consider other important factors besides the base salary such as:

• If I leave this position after 3 years, will this position make me a lot more marketable in the job market?
• Do they have a good leadership team?
• What is their turn-over rate?
• Are the existing employees happy overall?
• What is their training like?
• What is the growth potential of the position?
• How financially stable is the company?
• How many lay-offs have they had in the past 5 years?
• What are the employee benefits?

As companies prepare to compete and try to recruit top employee candidates, all job seekers must also prepare and make sure they are considered amongst the best. After all, candidates must receive “offers” before they have options.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009 at 3:45 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.