Job Hunt Blog

Responding to Requests for Your SSN on an Application or Your Resume

This issue has troubled me for a long time.  I see absolutely NO reason that a legitimate employer or a recruiter would require a job seeker to provide their SSN on an application, their resume, or anywhere in the hiring process before references are being checked and an offer is pending.  However, some do require it.

It baffles me that a legitimate employer would want the liability associated with protecting this information.  Most of them, when they answer honestly, would not want to provide the information themselves, so why are they asking/demanding that job seekers provide it?

Gerry Crispin, corporate recruiting guru of CareerXRoads.com, recommends that job seekers provide a bogus SSN.

Although I prefer honesty in all my "transactions" with fellow humans, in this instance, I must agree with Gerry.  I recommend taking Gerry's strategy a step further - when you are required by a LEGITIMATE employer or recruiter (verify, first!) to provide your SSN - provide almost your real SSN.

Not the real thing, but almost...

For example, convert this SSN, # # # - # # - # # # #, into a very similar number, e.g. # # # - # 2 - 3 # 5 # .

"Sorry! Just typed that a little too fast," when/if you get asked about your SSN being invalid later in the recruitment process.  Hopefully, by that point, they'll be so interested in you that they'll forgive you for typing too fast.  If they have an IQ above room temperature, they'll probably understand why you did it, and sympathsize, even privately.

This is NOT an ideal solution, but, when the employer/recruiter is legitimate, it’s the best one I can see.

Gerry has suggested that there will be an expensive law suit sometime soon associated with this issue, with an employer paying a severe penalty for collecting and storing this information about job seekers.

I hope he's right, and I hope that the pain from that law suit causes employers to stop requiring this of job seekers.  It is neither nice, nor wise, to demand this extremely sensitive information be provided too early in the hiring process.

Put Google Alerts to Work for Your Job Hunt

Google has a very handy tool called Google Alerts.  I've used them for years to track the job market, what's being said about me, Job-Hunt.org, and other things and issues that I want to track, and many other things.  Can be overwhelming, but usually they are just very useful.

They are easy to set up and easy to manage.  For information on how to set them up and use them, see the article I just completed about using Google Alerts on Job-Hunt.

Happy New Year!

The War for Talent

News bulletin from the recruiting industry to job seekers everywhere - they are in a "war for talent."  Yes!  Really!  They are completely serious about this!  They are working hard every day, trying to figure out how to attract (and, even, to keep!) great employees.

Why do I think this is true?  Recently, I attended a national conference for recruiters - over 1,000 of them, I think - corporate human resource staffers and corporate recruiters, mostly, but also others in related jobs and industries.  And this was the unofficial theme - The War For Talent!

One of the biggest names in accounting has actually put together a computer game they are distributing to high schools so they can get the kids interested in accounting (probably not the first career on many lists of dream jobs).  It also enables them start determining the potential accountants from the potential artists, writers, athletes, or others who don't have the characteristics of a good accountant.  I'm not sure how they figure that out, but they are very serious and sincere.  And the students seem to love it.  The company now leaves the game on all night, rather than shutting it down after "bedtime" so that students can play whenever they want to play.  With the cooperation, obviously, of the schools, the teachers, and the parents.  Wow!  Very impressive.  Kind of desperate.  And more than a little scary. To me at least...

What "War for Talent"?  Where?

The War is here in the good old USA.  You're stunned (unless you are a corporate HR manager).  I know - I was, too!  Going by the way that average job seekers are treated, the war for talent must be a truly "covert operation."  Even the CIA and FBI would be proud.

If there is so much competition for good employees, then, please, employers, do the following:

• Don't ignore resumes and job applications or the people who have sent/submitted them.
  
  RESPOND!  When a resume is received, it would be nice to let the sender know that.  You don't have to instantly make a job offer.  Just let the applicant know that you received their resume and are proceeding with the hiring process.  It used to be called "common courtesy" but it's not common any more.

• Attach a name and phone number to the job posting so job seekers can talk to real people about the posting.
  
  More often there is a note on the posting that says, "DON'T CALL!"  Why not?  If you are SO interested in hiring good applicants, in winning this war for talent, communicate with that talent or risk losing them to your competition.

• Don't put applicants in voicemail jail.
  
  Answer the phone.  Be nice (or at least polite).  Job seekers are people, too, and, wonderful as you are in your job, you may be a job seeker someday, too.  Layoffs happen ALL the time.  If you haven't experienced that particular career transistion, consider yourself lucky. But, just don't consider yourself "safe."

• Enough of the "active" vs. "passive" applicant garbage.
  
  Just because someone is currently employed (and, therefore, a "passive" applicant) doesn't mean they are actually good at their jobs, very desireable employees.  Think of some of your fellow employees.  All of them sterling corporate citizens, dependable and hardworking, too?  No?  Hmmm.... Isn't that interesting...
  
  Remember, the layoff fairy could tap you on the shoulder with his/her magic wand someday, too, dumping you into the deaded "active" applicant pool.  It doesn't mean you were bad at your job, just badly positioned when the axes started to fall.  It happens to other people too, all the time - imagine that.  Then imagine becoming instantly less qualified or desireable than some of the idiots you know who have jobs?  Make sense?  NO!

• And, last but NOT least, don't require an applicant to put their SSN on their application or resume!
  
  You don't need that information until you hire them!  Is that data perfectly protected by everyone in the company?  No, probably not!  Why assume the risk of hurting so many people for no good reason!  Why assume that liability?  Dumb.  Dumb!  DUMB!
  
  Beside, smart applicants won't give you their real SSN.  And, they are doing it out of self-preservation, not because they want to lie on their application.

What Goes Around Comes Around

The applicants ignored or badly treaded today are people who may be the customers, shareholders, competitors, and business partners of tomorrow, or (maybe worse!) the bloggers, YouTubers, etc. of today.

Think of all the companies who've had their reputations shredded when the reality of how they operate becomes public.  What kind of impression are you leaving when you stiff arm job seekers? What kind of reputation is your company building for the future?

As our mothers tried to teach us when we were little kids, let's play together nicely.  Use what is known as "common courtesy" and the work world will be a nicer place for all of us.

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MySpace Hacked - Alicia Keys Popular page

Well, I guess we shouldn't be surprised.  According to Information Week, reproduced in this Yahoo News page, someone has managed to figure out how to turn the background of Alicia Keys' MySpace page into a link to a site which puts "malware" on your computer.  So, if you happen to accidentally click your mouse while it's over the background on Alicia Keys' MySpace page, you activate the malware.  This may be happening on other MySpace pages - they don't know the extent of the problem yet.

Here's a link to the YouTube explanation, if you prefer video, which shows how they discovered this hack - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VipylmHnII

What should you do?

*  Personally, I'd avoid MySpace for a few days, until they de-fang this thing (for a while, at least).

*  If you MUST visit MySpace, be sure to keep your fingers off the clicker part of your mouse, unless you're over one of the obvious MySpace links.

Bottom Line

MySpace is a good site for social networking and personal branding, and I'm sure this particular hack will be blocked, but this is a sign that they scammers of the world follow the traffic because that's where they can gain the greatest number of victims.

So, as I've said countless times before, be careful out there!  The Internet and the Web can be very unfriendly and dangerous places.

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Job Search Depression - and Help

Yesterday (October 29, 2007) Jason Alba, who blogs very successfully on his JibberJobber Blog, wrote an excellent posting about the dark side of job hunting - the job search depression that seems to overtake many people after months of knocking on doors, sending out resumes, and trying to find a new job - a discouraging task that seems to have no end.

Seeing Tragedy First Hand

As a 1994 layoff "graduate" I have seen what happens when people cannot deal with losing their jobs or with the SEEMINGLY endless battle to find a good, new job.  My former employer was a Fortune 40 company, the # 2 computer company in the world at that time.  But the market zigged while we zagged, and thousands of people in this area, and across the globe, lost their jobs. The layoffs extended over several years as the company gradually shrank.  Now, it's gone - the remnanents sold to another (smaller) computer company.

Relatively quickly after the layoffs began, two true “victims” of the layoff, from nearby towns, committed suicide.  A third, a co-worker of mine for nearly 10 years, waited a couple of years after he was laid off to murder his wife and then commit suicide.  Appalling!  But, not really surprising when you consider how most people handle a layoff and look for a job.

The Problem - Self-Fulfiling Prophesy

The first time you go through a “pay period” without having a paycheck at the end is a terrible shock.  I remember being frightened, and also convinced that I would never receive another paycheck ever again.  It is terrifying to have bills to pay without money coming into the bank account. 

On top of that fear of not being able to pay bills, a job search can be a lonely and very discouraging process.  The repeated rejection and – perhaps worse – lack of response can be terribly discouraging, even to those with the most robust egos.  Over and over again, it can seem like people you don’t know (and maybe some that you do!) convey that you are worthless or just not good enough.  Of course, it’s not true, but after you get that message over and over and over again, you begin to wonder.  What’s wrong with me?  Why won’t anyone talk with me?  Return a call?  Schedule an interview?  Call back when they say they will call back?

After a while, job seekers get discouraged, expecting lack of positive response and lack of progress in everything they try.  This feeling becomes the classic "self-fulfilling prophesy" - you end up creating what you expect (and fear the most) by sharing your sense of hopelessness.  It becomes obvious to those who speak with you.

The Solution

You need to have a better additude.  But, how do you dig yourself out of this hole?  Get help!  Doing it by yourself is very difficult if not impossible. 

1.  Get some counseling.

This is typically something people try to avoid because of the expense potentially involved when income is already too low, but it may be the best money you've ever spent.

You may find free counseling at your local One-Stop Career Center.  You'll usually find local support through your state's employment offices.  See Job-Hunt's list of state employment offices to find the one for your state.

2.  Join a job search support group.

Job search support groups are wonderful if there is a good one nearby or a relevant one online. Most of them meet weekly, some less often.   In the U.S. every state has some form of state employment office, usually with One-Stop Career Centers where you can find counseling, help with your resume, and, possibly, retraining assistance.  You'll find comiseration from others "in the same boat" PLUS help with your resume, leads, advice, and help moving forward.  Knowing that you're not the only one being rejected and ignored can be very encouraging.  And, a positive attitude will help you reach that positive outcome sooner.

Find links to over 600 networking and job support groups on Job-Hunt’s Job Search Networking page.  (Let me know if you find additional ones to include.)

3.  Read "Beating the Job Search Blues."

This is an article I wrote in 2003, but it still applies.

The Bottom Line

The good news is that you WILL get another job!  Honest!!  You WILL!!!  It may not be perfect, but it will be income.  You will survive!  And, you'll have improved your network and your job search skills so that your next job search - if there is one - will be easier.

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Gray Googlers Strike Gold - Not as Easy as It Looks

Yesterday (Oct. 26, 2007) USA Today had a front page article on how "Gray Googlers strike gold" and ABC's Good Morning America also had a story on "Work at Home: Google for Dollars."  And, the people  making all the money who were interviewed were all in their 50's, 60's, and 70's.

YEA!!  Wonderful!  People in their "gray-hair" years working from home!  Just set up a Website, and you're rich?  NOT exactly! 

Is it true? Do people make money with Google ads?

Yes, it is true.  People do make money - sometimes LOTS of it - from their Websites by participating in Google's AdSense program

What's reality?

Sorry to rain on this parade, but it's not as easy as it looks.  The rest of the story is that it isn't easy or quick to create a Website that generates revenue consistently.

• These sites are not newly-created Websites.
  
  The people interviewed by GMA both had well-established Websites, one was 6 years old (CruiseDiva.com) and the other was over 10 years old (bees-online.com). It takes a while to build an Internet "footprint" - in-bound links from other Websites, bookmarks, etc. - unless you want to pay Google for traffic (the flip side of AdSense for publishers is AdWords for advertisers).

• These people were knowledgeable (maybe passionate) about their subjects.
  
  The CruiseDiva lady was already a professional free-lance travel writer when she started her Website, and she noticed that there was no information on the topic of picking cruises.  So, she was already comfortable with writing, very familiar with her subject, and filling a gap in the available online information.  And the bees-info man started the site at 64 when he retired to educate people about honeybees.

• It takes a lot of "traffic" to generate good revenue.
  
  Money is generated only when someone clicks on an ad. This is called Pay Per Click. Although it does vary by site, subject, and ad, most of the time the "click-through rate" (percent of people viewing an ad who then click on it) is between 1% and 2%.  So, to generate $10/day in revenue, a site typically needs at least 1,000 unique visitors a day and $0.50/click payout.  It's not easy to get that much traffic quickly, and the payout can vary widely, but less than $1.00/click is average and you're splitting that with Google.

• Anyone Google accepts can advertise on your Website.
  
  Publishers have some control over the advertisers whose ads appear on their Websites, but it's not much control.  You can add the domain names of competitors or those with products or services you don't like to a list of banned domain names, but you can end up hosting ads you don't want on your Website.  If you don't care, then it's not a problem.  If you do care, watch out.

Bottom Line

So, don't expect a quick boost to your revenue as a consequence of launching a Website, and don't expect it to be easy.  It takes a lot of work to create and maintain a Website.  It can be done – if you are really interested in your topic (passionate or, even, obsessed, might be best) and if you are willing to sink the time and energy into creating the content that will interest people.

Do NOT “borrow” content from someone else’s blog or Website without permission.  It’s not “fair use” – it’s copyright “infringement” when you do that, and you could lose your whole Website for doing that if you get caught.  And, don’t expect to automatically receive permission to use content even when you ask for it – search engines don’t like “duplicate” content, so it doesn’t rank well.

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Making a New Network after a Move

I recently answered a question from a woman who had moved to California for better job prospects after a divorce.  However, although she was well-qualified, she was having difficulty finding a job, and she was sounding desperate, contemplating yet another move for better prospects.

The problem really was 3-fold:  Her job search was unfocused, she had cut herself off from the network of people who knew her in her home, and she hadn't established a new network in her new location.

First, she needed to define the job that she wanted, and then she needed to develop a list of preferred potential employers, so she could focus her search and her networking efforts.  It's hard to hit a target when it keeps moving (or when you keep moving it yourself).

Then, she needed to establish a new network in her new location:

• Locate local members of the "old" network:
  
  Ask her friends and family to see if they know anyone who now lives in California, preferably near her new home.
  
  Also, check out LinkedIn, ZoomInfo, Classmates, etc. to find old friends, former colleagues, and others from the past who might live in her new location, too.

• Develop a new network:
  
  Check out her college's career center.  Most schools have caught on to the benefits of helping alums as well as recent grads, and they often have a network of alums scattered across the country who help other alums.  She can contact those people to ask for advice, preferably from someone in her target industry, profession, and/or one of her target employers.
  
  If she had joined a church, synagogue, etc. in the new location, she might find a job search support group there that would help her network.  These networks are usually very helpful, as long as they aren't all that you do.
  
  There are also many independent job search support groups run by local governmental agencies, non-profit organizations like the Jewish Vocational Services, career coaches who offer free or low cost services as part of their outreach, people who just like to help others, etc.
  
  She could also contact local professional and/or industry organizations where she could meet people who work for her target employers.  Volunteering in those groups is a great way to meet people and establish credibility at the same time.

Of course, the most important thing to remember about networking is to help others, to give as well as receive.

Bottom Line:

People with good networks don't often find themselves job hunting, because when they are ready to move, they tap into their network for new opportunities (or the new opportunities tap them).  If they do need a job, unexpectedly, they land one relatively effortlessly.

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Competitive Advantage - Paying Attention to the Employer

Recruiters are buried under avalanches of resumes sent by unqualified people. It makes them think all job seekers are lazy and incompetent. You can catch the recruiter's/employer's attention by proving otherwise - by showing that you were interested enough to visit the company Website and notice what was there.

Visiting the company Website before applying allows you to collect information about the employer that makes it easy to customize the resume and cover letter for that employer - drop in a few product or service names, mention the company mission in the resume objective, etc.

Those employer-specific terms will jump out of your cover letter and/or resume for the recruiter/employer. You will immediately stand out in the crowd of job seekers. This is a true competitive advantage!

And, BTW, many recruiters have told me that job seekers show how interested they are in a job by following up with a phone call. Otherwise, the recruiter assumes that the job seeker isn't (1) very interested and/or (2) very self-motivated - a.k.a. "lazy.". So, follow-up, follow-up, follow-up!

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Company Alumni Reunions

We just had a giant reunion of former employees of Digital Equipment Corporation (R.I.P.).  In the early 1990's, there were over 100,000 of us in many countries.  The company HQ was in beautiful, downtown Maynard, MA, and probably around 35% to 45% of the total staff were located in the Massachusetts-New Hampshire area.

[For a list of company alumni groups, visit Job-Hunt.org's Company/Military Alumni page.]

Most of us, including me, enjoyed our time at "DEC," as it was known, and I really looked forward to attending the reunion, hopefully seeing some old friends and getting reconnected or caught up with what has being going on in their lives over the past 10 years or so.  Didn't happen...  Why?

I ran into 4 people I knew from the old days (and it was WONDERFUL to see them!), but that was 4 people out of hundreds that I had worked with and out of probably over 1,000 people there.

1)  Overwhelming response - don't know exactly how many people showed up, but it was clearly many more than were expected.

2)  Not organized well - when it's hard to walk through a room because it's so crowded, it's too crowded for good networking.  You have no idea who's there, and where they are.  You can't see everyone.  Hanging out by the food (or bar) is usually good networking, but there were about 4 "stations" for food and/or drink scattered across 2 large rooms and a big outdoor patio area.

For "next time" in September, I hope that they put up big signs for where the people from Central Engineering, Government Systems Group, US Area Sales, etc. can meet other people who worked in those organizations during their DEC career. 

I signed up to volunteer for the September reunion.  We'll see what happens.

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Job Hunting Is Hard!

For some reason, everyone expects their job search to be short, simple, and easy.  And, they also expect that the Internet has helped make things simpler.

I'm not sure why we all think that, but I expect it's probably lack of experience and knowledge.  Or, maybe there's some built-in denial factor that tries to protect us from reality.

The problem is that we don't job search often enough to be good at it.

And, with the Internet becoming a significant factor, the ground rules for what worked in the past often don't apply 2 or 3 years later because of changes in technology and, unfortunately, the fact that the world's scammers have recognized and zeroed in on a jucy target - desperate job seekers.

So what?

So - don't assume that last year's or the last decade's effective job search strategies are still effective or even relevant.  Check out Job-Hunt.org, JobHuntersBible, the RileyGuide, and other good Websites and new books to understand what works and what doesn't.

So - stop being so trusting.  Keep your shields up!  A job seeker asked me how to get her Internet "employer" to pay her for the work she'd done when she should have been turing them in to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (a.k.a. IC3) - http://www.ic3.gov/  The "employer" was a scammer who just "hired" her to get her to tell him her SSN.

Bottom Line

Expect that your job search will be as difficult as it was the last time you looked for a job, perhaps a bit worse because of greater competition.  The good news is that the labor market is supposed to be turning around to favor job seekers, with a shortage of qualified applicants for most jobs.  Just don't underestimate the attraction and ease of out-sourcing, off-shoring, and offering massive numbers of visas to immigrants with "scarce" skills.

One assumption from the past DOES applies today - if it looks too good to be true, it probably is!  Verify BEFORE you trust in e-mail and online transactions with people you don't know locally!

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