September 2008 Archives

Translation of Guillaume Couture's article: Doit-on se méfier des médias sociaux?

Social Media such as Facebook, MySpace, Hi5, etc. have become very popular, especially with the younger generation, and we are beginning to observe different reactions to this phenomenon.

As in the past, the emergence of new means of communication creates reactions of rejection from a certain public. Let's take for example the alarming articles about the dangers of social media, especially in the field of employment, that have multiplied in the traditional media recently. Fear of progress or denial of change?

I want to draw a comparison with passed technological revolutions. Take Télévision for example, in its rapid development in the 60s and 70s. The older generations among us will remember 2 extreme reactions: entire families having supper in front of the television, hence the invention of "TV Dinners", but at the opposite: people rejecting completely the concept of TV. They argued that watching TV was akin to intellectual laziness. I remember clearly, when I was little, the various debates about the negative influence of Television on children and older people who cursed the diabolical invention.

Ok, I spent a great portion of my childhood staring at the cathode-ray tube and I didn't turn silly! It seems to me that even during teenage years, my general knowledge was far greater than my parents' when they were the same age.

Of course, it is all a question of usage. Too much of a good thing can be just a bad as too little, and we should always exercise judgement. You need to keep in mind that employers will make more and more vists to social pages of their employees. The risks are different and so are the possibilities, but that is the reality of our modern times. It is important to keep in mind that what is private should remain private because sometimes, what we put on the internet cannot be removed (or we forget that it is "out there") and try not to bad mouth your employers on your blog!

photo by Dianna Blackwell

During my research, I stumbled on a great post by Marty Nemko, a Career Coach from California. Here are 3 great metaphors that I wanted to share because I believe it creates a different perspective on job hunting. I think the best metaphor is the last one:

When you contact someone and it proves useless, think of it as a library book that turned out not to be helpful. No emotion expended, no sense of rejection, you just put it back on the shelf and try another book.

I quit my previous job before my current job and I can understand the stress and pressure of looking for a job. I had to constantly self motivated myself because when we don't receive feedback, it can be very depressing. I think half of the job hunt is mental and Marty's metaphor is a fresh perspective that can help you stay positive. It also helps at relieving pressure. If this call or interview doesn't work, that's fine, there are plenty of others. I don't need to waste any emotions or energy.

Job hunting just got easier for the active and passive job hunters. We created a page that displays Télé-Ressources’ job offers description: http://www.teleressources.com/emplois/. If you want to browse all the jobs we have to offer quickly, you can still do it at jobs express. The job descriptions will unfortunately only be available in French.

The great news about the new job page is that you can now get job offers for free via web or cell phone. Thanks to the beauty of social media, if you use RSS, you can subscribe to our feed and if you have twitter you can follow us @teleressources, therefore you can be notified of our job offers without having to visit the web site.  

In order to get job offers on your cell phone, sign up to Twitter and follow their instructions to set up your cell phone. You may have to contact Twitter to turn the service on. You can read the instructions here: I'm using 21212 and I can send, but not receive, messages from Twitter!

Now, whenever we have a job offer, you will automatically be notified. Please note that standard text message fees can be applied by your service provider and not by Télé-Ressources or Twitter. Contact your service provider for more information on fees.

Of course, you can still visit our website directly to view the job offers. You can also search for job offers by using the search tool or you can click on a tag in the tag cloud located on the right to find a job that you are interested in.

I want to share a key job hunting strategy I overlooked when I was looking for a job.  After I quit my previous job, I turned to the internet and career counsellors to find information that will help my job search.  The information was overwhelming and was also confusing at time.  

The best suggestion I received was to write 2 or 3 sentences explaining my job or career objectives.  I ignore the advice because I already had a hard time keeping my resume under 2 pages without giving a headache to the reader.  Thankfully, I got a job that I love but now that I look back, I understand that my job search would have been less painful if I wrote an objective paragraph.  Even if you wrote a cover letter, the most important file you send is the resume so make sure that your objectives are stated on it.

Recruiting is not in my job description but I had to go through (what seems like) an endless list of cv this week.  Most of the time, I didn’t even know what type of job the person wanted.  I had to look for the “work experience” section and look at their last job.  The ones who did write their objectives (took me less than 5 seconds to read) stood out a lot more and I can tell you that they have a much better chance at getting a call from the hiring manager or the staffing agency.

Writing your specific career objectives is very important and should be at the top of you resume.  Be concise and state what you want.  Try to keep it around 3 lines.

Who said Facebook was only about poke wars or converting friends into zombies or pirates. You can get a new job just by having your profile on Facebook! History was made this summer at Télé-Ressources, as we placed our first Facebook candidate.

We have all been in the same shoes; the job hunting shoes (or is it boots?) and we can all relate to the stress and discouragement caused by low funds and little feedback on the job search. However, thanks to Facebook and after working with one of our counsellors, Angenie started her new job in a lawyer’s firm. I sent a Facebook message to Angenie 3 days after she started to get some news. I was very pleased by what she wrote and I thought it would be nice to share what she has to say about her experience in getting a job through Télé-Ressources. Here is what she wrote:

Hello Alphonse,

First, thank you for this little attention and yes, it is a good thing that Facebook exists!

Ms Rupp did an excellent work. I appreciated her dedication and have made my experience with Tele-Ressources, a great satisfaction. I must say that when I met Ms Rupp, I was somewhat discouraged but her help, her advice, her honesty and especially her commitment immediately lifted my spirits. This change in attitude also helped me see progress and the outcome… it happened so quickly!!! I would also like to mention that you have taken a great initiative as well. This said, continue your good work and a I would like to say thank you to the whole team.

Today is my third day at my new job and I must say that although I’m going through an adjustment phase, I feel very good, people are friendly and the atmosphere is particularly pleasant for me. I hope that things will go well in the future for you because I hope to make you proud. Anyway, as discussed with Ms Rupp, we will keep contact to make sure everything remains well.

By the way, I have already referred you somebody. .

I will send a card to Ms Rupp (don’t say anything).

Thank you again!

Yours truly, Angenie

If you have Facebook, visit us on Tele-Ressources' Facebook page and keep yourself updated about the web trends of employment. Who knows, maybe you will find a great job without even having to hunt.

English translation of Guillaume Couture's article: Erreurs fréquentes dans la préparation d'un CV

We have all been told that companies and staffing firms receive many resumes a day, and thus we must differenciate ourselves and stand out from everybody.  Yes, this is true.  However, do not overdo it in fact, less is more.  Here is a list of mistakes job seekers often make that we recommand you to avoid:

• Use a readable file format!  Most word processors produce acceptable files and the acrobat format (pdf) can be read by many computers.  However, avoid incompatible or uncommon softwares.  Believe it or not, we have received resumes on Excel spreadsheets, in PowerPoint, Publisher or Photoshop format (!) the list goes on.  Keep in mind that the employer at the other end is not necessarily equiped with the same softwares as you.
• Password protected files: to avoid!  Employers are rarely interested in playing Sherlock Holmes in order to look at your cv...
• Files containing non-compressed pictures and images.
• Scanned documents attached to resumes: these files are very large and can be bounced or create problems your the employer's inbox.  Do not attach them unless they were explicitely requested.
• Files infected by a virus! Make sure you always have an updated anti-virus.  Sending a virus to a potential employer is not the best first impression.