Though the unemployment rate dropped by .3% to 7.8%, which marked the first time in 3 ½ years it dipped below 8%, a lot more needs to be done. For example, if you total: a) Unemployed (12.1 million) b) those involuntarily working part-time (8.6 million) and c) those who have just given up looking (2.5 million), the aggregate figure actually rose from 23.1 last month to 23.2 million Americans this month! Fortunately, there is a three-pronged approach to increase job seeker’s probability of success:

1. Developing a quantitatively laced resume.
2. Selectively using recruiters
3. Networking, which is the most important of the three!

Let’s take these from least important to most important. First, having a resume is a necessary evil. Most hiring managers (especially human resources) require it. Therefore, you need to mold your resume into a quantitative one. Please go to http://www.strategicsearch.com/interview-preparation-tips/interview-preparation-tips.php and review my 1st Commandment of Interviewing. The key is seeding your resume with numbers (e.g. % improvements or dollar savings to employers).

The Second prong is the selection and use of recruiters. I recommend using both recruiters who place full time and temporary positions. Access both: a) The Directory of Executive and Professional Recruiters for full time and b) the website http://www.americanstaffing.net/jobseekers/find_company.cfm for temporary agencies. There is no magical formula to selecting recruiters. Instead, develop a list of questions to ask, contact them and select a few that you feel meet your needs. However, DO NOT RELY UPON ANY RECRUITERS! Some may provide some assistance, but the primary way to land a good job is through networking.

Finally, the third and most important of my recommendations is networking. There are two types of networking: a) the old fashioned form of meeting people and b) e-networking. Please refer to my 2^nd and 3^rd Commandments of Interviewing for more information. However, one of the cornerstones of any networking approach is developing and applying a 20-30 second elevator pitch. During this pitch you want to quickly convey three things:

1. Who you are?
2. What you are looking for (be specific)?
3. Your 2-3 greatest strengths.

Practice pitching this information aloud into either: a) a tape recorder or b) the mirror at least 50 times until you feel it is very concise, “rolls off your tongue” and conveys everything you wish to convey very powerfully. Also, time yourself with a stopwatch until you can complete it in no longer than 30 seconds!

Once you have a pitch finalized that you feel comfortable with, you want to use it on everyone you know and meet. Also, use the written version of this pitch on social media sites like LinkedIn. Join appropriate business groups and meet people. When you meet someone new, don’t forget to share your 30-second elevator pitch because you don’t know who might know about your next job.

This is a very tedious process that requires a lot of diligence, but there is no secret to landing a job especially in this terrible jobs market. You have to be work harder than everyone else since there are so many people now out of work! Finally, remember that networking is your most important tool. As part of that you need to develop a very strong, 30-second elevator pitch.

Recently, I have been bombarded by requests by friends, family and clients to help them find a job. Unfortunately, there is no secret to landing a job especially with this terrible economy with the real unemployment (including those who are involuntarily working part time because they cannot find a full time job and those that have given up looking) at about 16% or 1 in 6 workers! However, I do recommend being very diligent and using a three-pronged approach including:

1. Developing a quantitatively laced resume.
2. Selectively using recruiters
3. Networking, which is the most important of the three!

Let’s take these from least important to most important. First, having a resume is a necessary evil. Most companies (especially human resources) require it. Therefore, you should mold your resume into a quantitative one. Please go to http://www.strategicsearch.com/interview-preparation-tips/interview-preparation-tips.php and review my 1st Commandment of Interviewing. The key is the mantra: numbers, numbers, numbers. As a rule of thumb, when you put some wording in your resume, ask yourself the questions: a) “so what?” or b) “what does this mean to an employer?” or c) “what is the benefit of this to an employer?” Then add one of the following (or some variation) sales bridges to what you say:

1. The benefit of (whatever you wish to say) was (e.g. a 40% increase in sales or $560,000 profit etc.).
2. That was important because (tell the benefit in quantitative terms).
3. The result of (whatever you mentioned) was (mold the result into dollars or profit or percentage change).

You should not lie on any of these “numbers”, but you can error on the high side. Remember that your resume is an advertisement about you! It is not an encyclopedia of your entire life. It is only meant to quickly share your highlights. For example, if you think you saved your employer somewhere between $10,000 and $45,000 with a new computer control system you selected, then say, “the result of the new computer control system was about $45,000.” Once again, the key is to seed your resume with: numbers, numbers, numbers! Also, try and keep it concise (e.g. no more than two pages). However, do not spend too much time, effort or money on developing a resume, because as my 2^nd Commandment of Interviewing says, “Resumes don’t get you hired, you do!”

Second is the selection and use of recruiters. I recommend using recruiters who place both full time and temporary positions. To access full time recruiters, I recommend getting a copy of The Directory of Executive and Professional Recruiters. Please go to http://www.recruiterredbook.com to learn more. It is available at most libraries. It divides recruiters into two main categories: a) retained and b) contingency. Retained recruiters, like myself, work mainly for the company to find talent. Contingency recruiters only receive their fee when they place someone. It also further divides each group into their specialty areas.

I also recommend using temporary (also called contract or staffing) agencies. This is an often-overlooked tool. Please review my 9^th Commandment of Interviewing for more details. The key is one of the trends today is towards temp-to-perm conversions. This means companies hiring you on a temporary basis, trying you out and then hiring you full time after you have proven yourself. Unfortunately, many people think temporary positions are beneath them. However, if you overlook this avenue you may loose out on a tremendous job! Please go to http://www.americanstaffing.net/jobseekers/find_company.cfm to view and select several temporary agencies.

I recommend selecting 1-2 retained recruiters, 4-6 contingency recruiters and 4-6 temporary or staffing agencies within your areas of expertise. The reasons are: a) contingency recruiters and temporary or staffing agencies will probably work harder for you since they will only get paid if they place you b) temporary or staffing agencies may know of a few good assignments that will lead to full time work c) temporary agencies can probably find you more immediate income (and you can continue your job search with a pay check coming in) and d) it helps to also add a few retained recruiters because they have access to higher level jobs. There is no magic formula to selecting recruiters. Instead, you should follow several steps:

1. Review The Directory of Executive and Professional Recruiters find: a) 5-6 retained recruiters and b) 10-15 contingency recruiters in your specialty areas.
2. Review the database of temporary or staffing agencies and find 5-10 that seem to meet your needs.
3. Develop a list of questions to ask these recruiters (e.g. how many searches have you done in the last two years in my area of expertise).
4. Call these recruiters and narrow it down to: a) 1-2 retained recruiters b) 4-6 contingency recruiters and c) 2-4 temporary or staffing agencies that you feel comfortable with. Some may ask you for an exclusive. I would tell them they have an exclusive, but do not sign anything. You do not want to narrow your possibilities!
5. DO NOT RELY UPON ANY OF THEM! They will all help to some extent, but your main way to help yourself is networking (below).

The third and most important part of my recommendations is networking. There are two types of networking: a) the old fashioned form of meeting people and b) e-networking. Please refer to my 2^nd and 3^rd Commandments of Interviewing for more information. However, one of the cornerstones of any networking approach is developing a 20-30 second elevator pitch. During this pitch you want to quickly convey three things:

1. Who you are?
2. What you are looking for (be specific)?
3. Your 2-3 greatest strengths.

To develop this pitch, I recommend following these three steps:

1. Write down on paper your most pertinent information.
2. Work and rework this information until you have a very concise document that fits into 2-3 paragraphs.
3. Practice pitching this document aloud to yourself into either: a) a tape recorder or b) the mirror at least 50 times until you feel it is very concise, “rolls off your tongue” and conveys everything you wish to convey. Also time yourself and do not take any longer than 30 seconds to complete your pitch!

Once you have a pitch that you feel comfortable with, you want to practice it on everyone you meet and know. Also, use the written version of this on social media sites like LinkedIn. Join appropriate business groups and meet people. When you meet someone new, don’t forget to share your 30-second elevator pitch because you don’t know who might know about your next job.

Remember, there is no secret to landing a job especially in this terrible work environment. You have to be very diligent. However, remember that networking is the key and as part of that, you need to develop a very strong, 30-second elevator pitch. I hope this helps.

In case you missed  my appearance discussing the current state of the jobs market on First Business on Tuesday, June 26, 2012: please go to http://www.strategicsearch.com/media.php and scroll down to “Television Appearances” to view.

The BLS (Bureau of Labor Statistics) recently reported that the unemployment rate rose to 8.2% in May because only 69,000 new jobs were created. However, many fields have continued to grow including: a) Health Care, which added 33,000 in May and 340,000 over the year, b) Manufacturing, which added 12,000 in May and 495,000 since a low point in January, 2010 and c) Transportation and warehousing, which grew by 36,000 last month. This has created a shortage of key talent in countless areas. What can a hiring manager do to win this war for talent and gain differential advantage?

On Saturday, Saturday, September 8th from 9 to 11 a.m. CST in Chicago we will host a symposium sharing many of our top recruiting techniques. The foundation will be our 12 Commandments of Recruiting. Please go to http://www.strategicsearch.com/technical-recruiting-tips/technical-recruiting-tips.php to view. Normally only offered during on-site, ½ day client workshops at $5000! However, as a special introductory offer for only $199, you will gain both: a) much of the same benefit and b) insights working beside peers who are experiencing similar recruiting problems.

During this special event, we will sequentially discuss each of the 12 Commandments and then break up into small work groups to practice them. We will critique your applications and offer suggestions for improvement. Then we will repeat this process for each of the twelve. At the end, will be a summary and question and answer session.

Space is limited so please sign up quickly.

The prospects are grim these days for high school grads who look for work after graduation rather than going to college, according to a recent study by the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University.Only three in 10 of these recent grads are employed full time, according to the study, which tracked the employment outcomes of 544 young people who graduated from high schools across the country between 2006 and 2011.

The Great Recession has had an impact on everyone, but for young people without a college degree, the employment picture is crippling.Only 16 percent of those who graduated during the recession (2009-2011) are employed full time, although nearly half are looking for work. A third are unemployed and 15 percent are working part time. One in six have left the labor market altogether. Thirty-seven percent of students who graduated pre-recession (2006-2008) are employed full time, according to the report.

It’s a debilitating reality faced by many young people in D.C. face every day, explains Raymond Bell, founder of the HOPE Project, an IT training and development program in Washington (the inititiave’s moniker stands for Helping Other People Excel). “They’re unable to get McDonald’s, Wendy’s, retail,” he said. “Twenty years ago in D.C., you could graduate from high school … and you could go work for the federal government or the postal service. Now they’re competing with a kid from George Washington University with a 3.9 GPA.”

The study shows that although employment is better than the alternative, the jobs young high school grads are landing are predominantly low paying and often are temporary. Nearly 90 percent of those surveyed said they were paid hourly. The average hourly wage was $7.50, only a quarter more than the federal minimum wage. Three quarters of the jobs reported were temporary. “With this combination of temporary, low-wage work, it is likely that few of the recent high school graduates would have been able to earn an annual income of $10,890 to exceed the official federal poverty level for a single household,” wrote the study’s authors.

Of those who worked part time in their first job after college, about 58 percent earned considerably less than a poverty-level income, according to the study. That has consequences for everyone, Bell said. Young grads without prospects for solid employment are more likely to be teen parents, become homeless, or engage in petty crime, he said.

The Great Recession depressed wages for all young graduates, according to the report. Wages for young high school grads dropped 10 percent from 2007 to 2011. Pay for young college grads also dropped by about 5 percent. In 2011, young college grads earned an average of $16.81 per hour – about $35,000 annually, according to the Economic Policy Institute.

The unemployment rate for all workers ages 16 to 19 was three times the national average – 24.6 percent in May, according to the Labor Department.

Therefore, I have three suggestions:

1. Stay in school if you can. Also, try and keep your grades high.
2. Try and focus on quantitative classes such as math, science and other technical fields.
3. If you have to end your schooling after high school, try and keep current with current technologies.

The BLS reported two alarming statistics today: a) paltry jobs creation and b) a spike in Americans involuntarily working part time. Only 69,000 new jobs were created in May as the unemployment rate ticked up to 8.2%. Furthermore, the number of reluctant part-time workers, because they could not find a full time job, rose by 200,000. This means that the total number of U.S. workers who are either unemployed or underemployed (i.e. involuntarily working part-time or just giving up and as a result not being reported) reached 23,200,000 or a gain of 400,000 over April. This is 1 in 6 of all Americans! Fortunately, a cure exists in applying SEO to job-hunting.

Because of my coverage of SEO (Search Engine Optimization) over the last several years for several media outlets, I have come to realize its importance to energizing job searches. As a result, I launched the largest, non-profit, professional SEO group in the Chicago area with almost 600 members. Our main objective is to explore cutting-edge SEO techniques. On Saturday, August 4th starting at 10:30 a.m. at 200 S. Wacker we will host our first ever symposium devoted to analysis of one’s online presence. Two major goals are: a) to evaluate one’s Internet footprint (or lack thereof) and b) to suggest improvements. These techniques can significantly increase a job seeker’s chances of getting noticed by prospective hiring companies and being hired.

If you would like more information about this topic, attend our upcoming symposium or to interview Mr. Sargis about his expertise on jobs, careers and workplace issues, please call 312-944-4000 or e-mail ssargis@strategicsearch.com

CEO Location: Austin, Texas

The Company: Venture-backed startup on the cutting-edge of nanosensors. We have a wide portfolio of patents and potential applications for state-of-the-art sensors including: 1) novel, medical diagnostics that will revolutionize preventative medicine (e.g. “Star Trek-like” scanners that can quickly identify what maladies a person has and recommend quick preventative care to solve those problems) and 2) CBRN (Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear) sensors that can quickly detect microscopic amounts of security threats, which will transform worldwide security detection.

First Year’s Compensation: First year’s salary $200-250,000 plus a guaranteed bonus of $75-100,000 based upon reaching certain mutually agreed upon milestones.

Future Compensation: Endless potential. For example, stock options alone can conservatively net up to $5 million within three years based upon certain reachable goals.

What we need: We seek a very creative leader with a proven track record in launching new companies and products to assist us with: a) commercializing our unique, multi-patented technologies b) raising money and c) building our company. Our ideal candidate will have a unique mixture of scientific, marketing, operations and investor relations background including:

1. At least one example of building a new company (or new division within an existing company) from concept through a successful launch into a profitable entity.
2. A proven track record in commercializing new products (especially cutting-edge technologies).
3. At least one example of working with investors to raise money including venture capitalists, angel investors or investment bankers.
4. At least one example of quickly building a high quality team from scratch, including technical, operations, program management, financial, marketing and administrative personnel.
5. At least one example of getting involved with a company or product line that was underperforming or unprofitable and turning it into a profitable venture.
6. A strong grasp of cutting-edge technologies.
7. The ability to successfully communicate with and manage high-level technology personnel (e.g. PhD level scientists who are cutting-edge in their field).
8. Past experience with medical products, devices or applications (especially medical diagnostics)?
9. (Plus) Past experience with sensor technologies (especially nanosensors).

What Is The Cost Of Hiring The Wrong Person? You don’t want to find out. Instead, I recommend taking an investigative approach to interviewing.

For some ideas, please go to my 9th Commandment Of Recruiting video. at http://www.strategicsearch.com/technical-recruiting-tips/ and click on 9th (below) to view the video. The caveat is some technical positions are becoming scarcer due to increased demand. As a result, I recommend becoming even more thorough in your interviewing process to separate the wheat from the chaff. Include four investigative checks: a) criminal records b) civil records (e.g. bankruptcies) c) educational verification and d) detailed reference checks. This is the case because past behavior is the greatest predictor of future performance. As a result, you need to dig deep to uncover hidden problems and find the best possible candidates for your needs.

I would like to invite you to an extraordinary event that can benefit you and your colleagues in several ways. On Saturday, August 20th starting at 10 a.m. I have arranged a special symposium showcasing two experts well versed in applying SEO (Search Engine Optimization) to job hunting and recruiting.

You may recall that I am an executive recruiter on the cutting-edge of applying state-of-the-art techniques like SEO to recruiting, including running the largest SEO group in the Chicago area with over 530 members. Please go to http://www.meetup.com/chicago-seo/ to learn more about our group and http://www.flickr.com/photos/62192465@N08/sets/72157626449504491/ to view some photos from one of our recent events.

The first segment, will target job seekers and be entitled, “I Want To Be Found: Using SEO to Enhance Your Job Search.”

Employers and recruiters are increasingly relying on online search as a way to uncover and attract qualified candidates. But how can job seekers ensure that they will be found? What SEO techniques can enhance one’s prospects? Expert Gordon Dymowski will discuss these topics and more including optimizing online channels to create a “communications hub” to make oneself a lot more “visible” during online searches, resulting in a higher frequency of contacts and more job interviews!

Mr. Dymowski has over ten years experience in non-profit/cause-related advocacy and marketing, building communities one cause at a time through a strategic, creative approach to social media (and other online channels) and interpersonal engagement, allowing non-profits and small businesses to outperform their competitors through engaging their constituency. His past employers include, Harvard School of Public Health, Salvation Army, the National Council on Alcoholism & Drug Abuse, and Zocalo Group. Gordon continues to indulge his passion for community building, co-organizing the Chicago Net Tuesday group (which enables social benefit organizations to leverage the tools of the social web) and coordinating marketing efforts for the Chicago Red Cross’ Mission. He also blogs on a variety of subjects ranging from comics and popular culture to non-profits, and is a frequent contributor to the Chicago Now Job Stalker blog. Gordon has a master’s degree in counseling psychology from the Loyola Graduate School of Education. Please go to http://www.gordondymowski.com/ to learn more about Mr. Dymowski.

The second segment will be devoted to applying SEO to recruiting and is entitled, “Candidate Sourcing Makeover – SEO Style.”
Job seekers are changing the way they look for job opportunities, which means that employers need to change the way they locate good people. It’s not surprising that candidates use search engines to find jobs. Unfortunately, less than 2% of the time they’ll locate a targeted company’s career website and job postings. Attendees will learn: 1) why candidates are not currently finding their company’s career websites and job postings and 2) how to leverage SEO to make their organizations more “visible”, which will attract many more qualified candidates.

Leading this discussion, Nicole Bodem, Director of Search Marketing at Bernard Hodes, will be flying in from her offices in Minneapolis to speak to our group. Her areas of focus are SEO strategy, implementation and candidate traffic growth. Prior to joining Bernard Hodes, she held positions at Arbita, a recruitment-advertising agency as well as Jobs2web, where she was responsible for defining the SEO methodology used on their recruiting platform. She has lectured at many search industry events including Search Engine Strategies (SES). She also regularly leads webinars and writes about SEO as it relates to the recruiting space on her blog. Please go to http://www.hrsearchmarketing.com/ to learn more about Nicole.

The seminar will be hosted by TechNexus in their 15th floor conference room at 200 S. Wacker, Chicago, Illinois 60606, on Saturday, August 20th from 10 a.m. to 12 noon. Please go to http://www.technexus.com/ to learn more about this unique venue.

Though this event is closed to my SEO group, seating is limited and RSVP is required, I would be happy to squeeze you into this unique event if you contact me directly.

Today’s unemployment rate of 9% came despite gains of 244,000 non-farm jobs in April. After falling 1% over the past 4 months, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported a .2% jump to 9%. However, many sectors showed job gains including manufacturing (+29,000 jobs), health care (+37,000 jobs), leisure and hospitality (+46,000), retail (+57,000) and mining (+11,000). The culprit may be the throngs of unemployed workers who, had previously given up looking and were thus not counted by the BLS figures, have started to search for work again. As a result, companies, which have not considered hiring in almost two years, have started to aggressively recruit again!

Despite the jump to 9% I have noticed many of our clients starting to hire again. Unfortunately, many recently hired or promoted managers lack the recruiting acumen necessary to successfully complete an effective staffing assignment. As a result, many hiring mistakes will be made in the upcoming months. That is one reason for an enormous, recent spike in our consulting assignments to advise companies on their recruiting practices. One useful tool is our 12 Commandments of Recruiting. Please go to http://www.strategicsearch.com/technical-recruiting-tips/ to view. These can be very helpful for novices to increase their recruiting efficiencies.