Breakfast Thoughts

Almost there! #MeetYourRecruiter Day 4 is here: "Share something from the Zeitgeist" - pretty broad category IMO

So here are some thoughts from the mind of Paul over this morning's breakfast:

The labour market has shifted significantly in the last year and a half. Economy has slowed, as has growth, and thus hiring everywhere, including BCLC has slowed down. Many companies have chosen to lay people off, It is, for the time being at least, an employer's job market. We have hundreds of people applying to the same job and I suspect we're not much different from other employers.

Because competition has picked up, job seekers really need to find a way to stand out. My suggestion is to focus on submitting quality applications, even if it means sending fewer applications overall: tailoring your resume, writing a cover letter, completing all the questions in-application. We often say applying for a job is a full time job in itself, and it is. Focus less on what we call "spray and pray" where you blast your resume to every company that has a job, and focus more on the jobs you really want, and you really feel you have a good chance at getting. Often times this means taking a good hard look at yourself and that self awareness helps inform your job search direction.

I've had many people this week approach me to see if I have any jobs for them, and since hiring has slowed right down, I don't, and they ask me to keep their resume on file. This is exactly why we use software to track our applications, as we get hundreds of them for each job. Better yet: take some time to set up your profile and sign up for email alerts so you're notified of relevant jobs as they arise. You can do this at the top of the page here: https://careers.bclc.com/

Networking: I would love to spend time with everyone that asks to connect, as I appreciate the more personal aspect of a job search, but with the amount of requests coming in, recruiters can't spend the time we would want to with everyone requesting it, and do our job at the same time, so we have to prioritize. Hiring managers are likely busier than we are. I'd suggest using LinkedIn to find people doing the job you'd want to be doing at the company you want to be working at. They'll have the time, an intimate understanding of the job in question, both positives and negatives, and I think many would love such a request and the opportunity to talk about the work they do! - afterall, don't we all love talking about ourselves most of all?

Cover letters: many of you are doing them wrong. Old school advice was to use your cover letter to summarize your resume and persuade why you're the best fit for the job. You probably don't want to be writing the same thing twice, and recruiters probably don't want to be reading the same thing twice, so as a result many of you don't do cover letters anymore. Instead, use your cover letter to address what you can't on your resume: talk about why you want to work for the company in question, or address any challenges you think you might have: are you making a significant career shift? Talk about your transferable skills. Do you have a gap in your career? Talk about how you were caring for an aging parent or taking time to travel! Make your cover letter brief and impactful. Use simple formatting for both cover letter and resume.

Nerves: It's completely normal to have nerves during an interview, but please don't worry: we're just people with jobs. We could even be your neighbours, or (hopefully not) cut you off in traffic. Take a few seconds after each question is delivered to take a deep breath and strategize your answer. Deliver.

Be findable: The best recruiters out there? We're looking for you. Make sure your LinkedIn is up to date. Do you have a Github or use Behance? Freshen those too.

Thursday is eggs benny day in our cafe. When you start at BCLC , I'll introduce you to Derek and Danny who will make the best eggs benedict you've ever had!

That's all for today, best of luck in your searches and hopefully our paths will cross soon!!