Advice

Help Out Your Recruiters

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Recruiters can be indispensable to your job search.  They hear of jobs not otherwise posted, they have contacts you cannot make, and they know the ebb and flow of the market.  A good recruiter is a valuable too to find a job because of their unique positions and knowledge.

However, if you're engaging the services of a recruiter to help you find a job, keep in mind that you have to help them do their job.  A recruiter's lot is a challenging one, as they have to not only find the right position for you, but they also have to demonstrate to a potential employer that you can do the job.  The recruiter thus is also relying on you, just as sure as you're relying on him and her.

Here is what you can do to help the recruiter do their job – and help you get your job:

  1. Know what you're looking for and communicate it clearly.  Even if what you communicate with great clarity is "anything in this lousy economy" it's something they can work with.  Give them an idea of what you want.
  2. Have a good resume and communicate your abilities.  The better done your resume is, the easier it is for the recruiter to send it to a potential client.  The better you can define and explain your skills and knowledge, the easier it is for a recruiter to match you to the right position.
  3. Have a "pitch."  The recruiter doesn't necessarily know you that well, and can only do so much in selling you as a potential employer.  Help them out by having your own "pitch" on who you are, what you do, and so on.
  4. Know and explain your limits.  Do you want a job in a given area?  On the bus line?  A company of a certain size?  Make sure the recruiter knows these limits and specific requests.
  5. Provide "extras."  If you're a progeek, you've got those extra Geek Edges we've talked about – a portfolio, a web page, a book, a history of running conventions, etc.  Provide these to the recruiter – they can't know about them if you don't tell them.  If they know about them, these extras can often be the vital edge you need to get that job.

This may seem to be quite a list, but keep in mind how challenging a recruiters job is – many clients, many potential recruits, economic changes, and the omnipresent concern a competitor has an edge on them.  They've got enough to do getting oyu a job – help them out by following the above advice.

This way you both win.

– Steven Savage

Combining Careers and Interests: What You Do?

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(This is a launch of anew series on ways people can reconcile their interests, hobbies, fandom, and geekery with their careers.  In it I will explore the different options we have to turn what we love into what we make a living at).

One of the surest ways to combine what you like to do with how you make money is this:

Do something you enjoy doing for a living skill-wise.

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Are You Suffering From Learned Helplessness?

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I was introduced to learned helplessness in my psychology studies many years ago, and it's one of several concepts that made a deep impression on me.  To sum it up simply, animals and humans exposed to situations where they have (or don't think they have) control eventually act helpless, even at times when they can restore control.  In short, people and animals can  be exposed to experiences that make them act and be helpless even when things change.

This is an incredibly important psychological finding because it's a reminder of how experiences – and approach to handling them – affects our ability to take control of our lives and deal with stress.  Many is the time I've witnessed people in the throws of learned helplessness, and I'm sure upon reflection you've seen it too.  In fact, chances are you've experienced it now and then yourself.

I also see it a lot in people's careers, especially in this economic climate.  I would go as far to say that I think learned helplessness is making the Great Recession far worse for many people.

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