Digital Marketing Skills Are Requisite for Marketing Jobs, Find Out Why!

Today, the marketing landscape has changed drastically. If we talk about the present scenario, digital marketing is the booming industry that is expected to create 1.5 lakh jobs in the next five years. There is a huge demand of digital marketers, but still there is paucity of talent and professionals. Below listed are the five compelling reasons as why a marketing aspirant needs to have skills in online advertising.

Digital marketing is the future of marketing
There have been ample surveys and reports which claim that online marketing would be the future of marketing. This is a digital age. The tech savvy present age generation and the ever-growing internet population has the paved the path of digital marketing.

The rising popularity of Smartphone's, tablets, smart TVs and so on have compelled the businesses to target and engage their potential audience through these digital channels.

Digital marketing skills are high in demand
Online marketing has been recognized as the top five careers to look out for. The hiring managers are readily looking for marketing candidates with the knowledge and skills in digital marketing. Be it real estate, hospitality, B2B businesses, retail, consultancy, manufacturing, export-import and many other industries are keen on hiring professionals with relevant skills in this domain.

Better pay in digital marketing jobs
Online advertising is indeed a lucrative career domain. I will tell you how. In online advertising, you can directly connect with your prospective client/customer and generate leads and sales in real-time. Since, professionals in this industry are involved in revenue generation, they are paid handsome salaries.

Wide variety of jobs in digital marketing
The prominent areas of employment include search engine optimization, social media marketing search engine marketing, content writing and so on.
So if you wish to land in your dream marketing job, make sure that you're armed with digital marketing skills as it will give you an edge over your competitors. On a conclusive note, it would be good to say that a job in booming online marketing field will help you to carve a niche career.

Searching for a job in Singapore, you can always check out the updated jobs in Singapore job bank WDA where thousands of jobs are available.

Seeking A New Job While Currently Employed : Tiptoeing Through theMinefield

So, you currently have a job but you are looking for something a little better. You are getting tired, uptight, and maybe just a little stressed out. This is a dangerous time - the time when job seekers can turn into wing nuts and make key mistakes. So, how do you avoid tripping over those pesky landmines, you know - your current boss, workmates, and customers - and still carry out an effective job search?

Here are some of the risky situations you are going to want to tip toe around so as to not have your job search blow up in your face:

Landmine #1: Oops, I did it again! Ready, fire, THEN aim that email

You've done all the right things: Tailored a cover letter, crafted a killer resume, and found the right contact, Bill Smithers at "The Best Company In The World, Inc." Now all you have to do is hit Send.

So you do, hit send that is. So far so good. OK, next target. Ms. Jane Topboss at "Dream Company Corporation." Let's see...type in email address...browse...attach file...and...send. Oops! I think I sent the Bill Smithers cover letter and resume to Jane Topboss.

Avoid this landmine by taking the necessary time and making sure you have reviewed and attached the correct file(s) to the correct email. One sure way to blow up your job search is to get in a hurry and mistakenly send the right email to the wrong person or the wrong email to the right person. Do not send ANY job search-related emails from your current place of work. Send all such email outside of work. Take the necessary time to make sure the right email is going to the right person, THEN hit the send button.

Landmine #2: Having potential employers call you at your current workplace

Jennifer Jobseeker had it all figured out. Since she was at work during work hours, it only made sense to list her work number as her contact number for potential employers. "Why burn my cell minutes and have to keep checking my home machine," she thought. Ah, poor innocent Jennifer, totally unaware of the dangerous trip wire she was about to trigger with the brand new patent leather Woodberry loafers she had just purchased as part of her job interviewing outfit. "After all, I can just grab all incoming calls, screen them and if it's an interview call just cross that bridge when I come to it." Then something went terribly wrong. Jennifer took a 15 minute break and that's when Mr. Murphy the hiring manager called. A coworker took the call, asked if he could take a message, and was surprised to learn that Jennifer had an interview scheduled for 11:00 am the following day. Take a guess at what the coworker did with this info...you've got it: The news spread around the office faster than Simon humiliating someone on American Idol and Jane was knocked completely out of her brand new loafers (metaphorically) and her current job (literally.)

Use common sense when giving out your contact info to potential employers. Never, ever, ever, ever, EVER use your current work phone number as the point of contact. Pass your cell or home number along to potential hiring folks and just let them know that if they get your voice mail, you will call them back as soon as you are able - they will understand. Two other things to keep in mind here: 1) Make sure your voice mail message is professional and not too cutesy, rude, or profane; 2) Never, ever, ever, ever, EVER call them back from your office number - if you do you will suffer Jennifer's fate.

Landmine #3: Using your current company's intranet or internet access for job seeking and interviewing

This should be a no-brainer. In most companies, every key stroke you make on your company computer is recorded and can potentially be tracked. Many IT departments now flag certain key words and phrases and automatically create reports detailing who is doing what with their laptops and desktops. These reports are then passed to management for review. Odds are you probably signed a computer use policy when you joined the company. And guess what? In addition to mandating that you can't play games, view any inappropriate sites, or conduct business outside of what your company is doing, there is likely a clause about using company property for private purposes or gain. And unless you are going to include your current company in the job search with you, you definitely do not want to violate this clause.

Landmine #4: Don't slack off at your current job

Even though you might have S.T.A (short timer's attitude) it's a good idea to not let it show. Keep doing the best job you can. Yes, it will be hard. Yes, it will seem pointless; after all you are searching for a new place to work. And yes, you will need to continue to support what you may think are mundane tasks and soon-to-be former coworkers and customers. But be aware that you are being watched. Cubicles and hard walls alike have both ears and eyes and they see and hear everything. If you change your behavior even slightly, your coworkers and your boss will likely notice. It's important to remember something here. Most bosses don't get to be bosses because they are dumb.

Most bosses get to be bosses because they are continually observing events around them and seeking ways to keep things running smoothly. Your boss will know something is up if you are slacking off. Whether you like and respect your current boss or not, you are obligated to serve him or her, the company, your coworkers and your customers as long as you are on the payroll. And it's the right thing to do. You will feel better in the long run if you do the right thing.

Commit to yourself to keep putting in the necessary time and effort that you are getting paid for. Remember, you are the one looking for work so it's up to you to figure out how to balance your current work situation with your job search efforts.

Landmine #5: Attending a job or career fair that includes a booth for your current company

Let's face it, you can often find excellent job leads through a job or career fair. These events attract a large and diverse group of employers who are looking for qualified candidates just like you. So, being the go-getter that you are, you schedule a vacation day in advance (very classy) so that you can attend the job/career fair guilt free. You polish up your shoes, dust off that business suit, brush your teeth, comb your hair, go over a few interview questions in your mind, print up a dozen or so resumes and head to the event. You are prepared, you are confident, and you are going to find that next best job! After all, you don't call yourself Cory the Career Conqueror for nothing.

Imagine your surprise, accompanied by that "I've-just-been-punched-in-the-gut" feeling, when the first booth inside the door is YOUR company's booth staffed by a couple of well known coworkers and a person or two from your Human Resources department. "Why Cory, what are you doing here?" the admin assistant from HR asks, as four pairs of eyes bore into to you like some evil demon guarding the secret passage in the latest Play Station game.

Career and job fairs are great, just make sure to learn what companies are going to be represented there, and if yours is, you may want to rethink attending.

Landmine #6: Listing your current boss or coworkers as references while conducting a stealth job seeking campaign

Consider the following from the movie script "Nightmare on Just Lost My Job Street":

Scene 1: Christina is having a terrible nightmare (dissolve...fade to dream sequence...phone rings...)

"Hi Mr. Jones. My name is Megan Hiringpro at XYZ, Inc. Just a quick question if you don't mind. Do you have a Christina CareerChanger working for you?"

"Why yes I do Ms. Hiringpro. Why do you ask?"

"Oh, you don't know? Christina has listed you as one of her references and we are thinking of bringing her in for an interview but would like to get some feedback from you first."

Christina wakens in a cold sweat and realizes she has dozed off at her desk. "Whew, thank goodness it was only a dream" she thinks with relief. (Fade out...)

Scene 2: As Christina slips a Cool Mint Thin Strip into her mouth, her boss, Mr. Jones, stops by her cube (close up of Christina as Mr. Jones asks)

"Christina, may I see you in my office for a moment."

Christina, now realizing it was not a dream after all, resigns herself to her fate and trudges slowly towards Mr. Jones' office.

"What was I thinking?!" she screams silently to herself.

Scene Ends (and so does Christina's current job.)

This is a tough one. On the one hand, the people you are currently working for and with are in the best position to speak about your qualifications. On the other hand, if you are conducting a stealth job seeking campaign, you can't really let on that you are doing so.

There are only 2 ways to handle this situation and each carries its own degree of risk:

1. Reveal to your current boss that you are looking for other job opportunities
2. Keep your job seeking under wraps and find other references you can use

As Christina learned, you really can't have it both ways. It is just a matter of time before your references will be contacted. It is important to have your strategy in place and all the bases covered so that you are not taken by surprise.

Conducting a stealth job seeking campaign carries risk. If it is not possible or appropriate for you to discuss your job seeking with your current employer, you owe it to yourself to take the necessary time and effort to avoid landmines you know exist on the path to your new job.

The best way to avoid landmines is to plan your job search strategically, continually scan the path ahead, and use as much patience and persistence necessary to arrive safely and intact in your new job.

Want to help people find a job,do something meaningful and make a difference in other peoples life by starting your own recruitment company? Check out Dougles Chan inspirational recruitment stories.

How to Use LinkedIn to Get Recruited

LinkedIn.com is one of the fastest growing recruiting tools currently used by Headhunters and Professionals alike. If you are used to networking and taking advantage of business meet and greets, then you can expand your networks and your professional name by using LinkedIn. If you are still coming to grips with how to network or even what it is - then LinkedIn provides a great base on which you can build for your "offline" world. If you become savvy at using LinkedIn as a professional advancement tool then your opportunities are exponential.

Why use LinkedIn to get recruited?
Headhunters are now using LinkedIn as one of their primary tools to source new talent for Employers. Business Owners and Employers have also become aware of just how useful LinkedIn is to search for talented professionals to fill positions - cutting out the middle man and major advertising costs. Over 130,000 recruitment agents including representatives from all of the Fortune 500 Companies are using LinkedIn to source their future employees and contractors.

Professionals who have developed their LinkedIn Profiles and are working on their connections report on receiving at least a contact a week from either Headhunters or Employers who have found them through LinkedIn. This is a great tool to advertise your skills to a much larger audience and also provides opportunities for networking yourself into your Company of choice. As you familiarize yourself with LinkedIn you will start to realize how this site and your connections can provide a personal introduction to the right person at the right time.

How does LinkedIn work?
Heard of six degrees of separation? LinkedIn works on the principle that by you inviting your contacts to join you on LinkedIn, you also gain access to their contacts and so on and so forth. Firstly, this builds up membership as a lightening pace (over 25 million users currently). Secondly, this creates a huge community of people who can professionally assist each other. LinkedIn is a professional driven social networking site, so no video uploads of late night opinions or family pics - just professionals linking in to each other.

How do I get started using LinkedIn for Professional Advancement?
A Basic Membership on LinkedIn.com is free. You just need to join and fill in your profile. If you're serious about using LinkedIn to get recruited, and then take the time to set up your profile properly, in the same vain you would offer your CV to a Recruitment Agent.

The next step is to start connecting! LinkedIn operates interactive tools that can upload your address book from various email programs including Outlook and web based mail programs. These tools automatically identify any members of your address book that are already LinkedIn members. Go through and carefully choose who you want to invite to become a connection.

Note: Your Connections will be visible to the rest of your connections.

You can also reconnect with old classmates and colleagues by using the Colleague Reconnect and Classmate Reconnect tools. This is a great way to expand your connections and you never know who may be working for what potential employer. Profiles with over 20 connections have an increased chance of success.

TIP: Don't just enter someone's email address or business card into your contact manager - see if they are also on LinkedIn. A few minutes a month can provide you a huge network of connections that can access your profile.

How can I use LinkedIn to get recruited?
Here are a few fast tips on how to optimize your chances for being recruited through LinkedIn. They are relevant to both individuals who want professional advancement, freelancing or consulting professionals and business owners who want to expand their reach:

1. Don't just sit on your profile - work your colleagues, former employers, clients and professional contacts for recommendations. Having recommendations on your LinkedIn profile is gold in terms of recruitment. You can also use your LinkedIn profile as a central repository for recommendations rather than having to re-contact your referees each time you apply for a job. Business can also use this as a tool to centralize their testimonials for prospective clients. You can then refer potential employers to your LinkedIn profile to view recommendations.

2. Use keywords when you are preparing your Profile, take advantage of search engine optimization wherever possible, while still ensuring your profile looks professional. For example systems analyst familiar with business intelligence software - work at getting the attention of your target audience. If you are running a professional or promotional blog, you can connect your blogs URL to your LinkedIn profile. Again - keywords - professional. You can also personalize your LinkedIn profile by customizing the URL to reflect your name and ensure you allow your full profile to be viewed by public users. LinkedIn is a friend of the major search engines - giving you the chance of a higher return on search results.

3. You can download the JobInsider toolbar from LinkedIn. If you are searching for open positions on many of the known jobsites, then the JobInsider toolbar gives you an inside track. When you view a listing, JobInsider will search for your inside connections in the prospective company. Using your connections you can gain inside information, advice and maybe even a helping recommendation.

4. Join relevant groups - you can join professional, alumni, industry and corporate alumni groups listed on LinkedIn. This is a great way to exhibit your profile and increase your connections. You can also create groups - bringing together your own major network of liked minded professionals.

5. People have had amazing results from just simply asking and answering questions using the Q & A tool on LinkedIn. Try for credibility rather than self promotion.

6. Take the few milliseconds to keep an eye on the LinkedIn notices that come into your inbox. It's useful insider intelligence to watch who's connecting to whom and what your friends, colleagues and former bosses are doing. Pretty soon with a large enough network you can start to build your connections in the right direction.

7. There are also mega connection boosting sites such as http://www.toplinked.com. Offering to help you expand your connections exponentially as long as you agree to some basic conditions, such as never declining an invitation to connect to someone referred by the site. Remember the more connections, the better opportunities for professional advancement and likelihood of getting recruited.

8. Get to know your "network statistics" under the People section of your LinkedIn profile. This will give you a summary of the industries your connections are related to. By clicking on an industry of interest, you can view the connections and how many degrees of separation there are between you and them. Using your common connections as a base, you can introduce yourself to relevant people.

9. You can also choose to upgrade your account to Premium at a cost. This offers further features for recruitment on LinkedIn.
Note: if you downgrade later on, you will lose all of your connections and profile and need to start again.

10. Last word on profiles - it's not just about who you're currently working for or what you are currently doing. Each time you update your profile with a former Employer or Qualification, LinkedIn will automatically search for other people who worked or went to classes during the same time period. Your ancient history could open up the door to tomorrow's dream job!

Looking for reputable professional headhunter,do visit the list at The Recruitment Guru @ dougleschan.com.

Job Search For Professionals - 5 Key Points

Job search for professionals is in many ways more difficult than for mainstream jobs because there are far fewer jobs at the right level. Professionals, such as Accountants, Architects, Chartered Engineers, Lawyers and Quantity Surveyors may also have expectations that are higher and be confident that a new job will be forthcoming very quickly. After all you have had a good number of years when your future employment prospects felt entirely certain, so why shouldn't you feel confident about your next job?

Unfortunately, a new economic era means that more of you with your professional background and qualifications, are feeling the same cold wind of unemployment and whilst you may be able to weather the immediate financial effects, you will need to replace that lost income before too long.
My job search for professionals ideas are based on long experience of working as career counselor and outplacement consultant to public and private organizations and the ideas are my way of helping you to deal with the consequences of unexpected unemployment.

First of all: do not spend all your time scouring the papers and signing up for online email alerts for advertised vacancies. My own experience confirms that less than one third of appropriate vacancies for you will be advertised in the press or online. So sign up for one or two such as executivesontheweb.com and take a couple of hours once a week with the best newspaper i.e. the Guardian or the Telegraph for public sector or private companies jobs.

Second: do not spend lots of time trying to find all the different recruitment consultants and employment agencies that may be able to help; you could easily spend days when it is more cost effective to invest in a targeted mailing to all the relevant headhunters by using a service such as CVtrumpet, which is the leader in professional, targeted executive and management CV distribution. With this professional service you can distribute your CV to up to 3,200+ recruiters in the UK, targeted by job function, salary level, employment level, industry and location.

Thirdly: although you are a professional with your own field of expertise, you will still have to demonstrate to a potential new employer that you will add value to the new organization, which means that you cannot sit back and expect your qualifications to impress, or your past work to speak for itself sufficiently to secure a new position.

Fourth: more jobs are filled by personal contacts than through any other means and in these times, companies would much prefer to save the recruitment fees and act on recommendations from people they trust, so whether you like it or not job-search for professionals will inevitable involve networking with known and newly-introduced contacts in person. My own guide to networking and finding unadvertised jobs will give you step by step instructions in how to to do this effectively.

Fifth: the most important facet of any job search for professionals is to remember that organizations hire people.

That means that you have to create the right impression of you both as a person and as a professional, and the first impression is most often created by how you appear on paper. Which simply put means that your CV and your covering letters have to be the very best possible. I would also add that neither one is more important than the other.

The cover letter must be customized to each individual application and worded to achieve the desired effect - that is to get you the interview. The cover letter is your sales letter and must radiate your interest, enthusiasm and confidence in being the best candidate for the position. On my website, I have prepared some cover letter examples for you to use as a template for your own letters.

Your CV on the other hand, must be informative and interesting to read, and show clearly what you have achieved that will be relevant to your success in the new role. Employers want people who can contribute and add value to the whole, so listing your duties and responsibilities, just will not do it.
The key to successful job search for professionals is to be seen as the right type of person, someone who will fit in and someone with demonstrable results that can be interpreted as a reliable indication of future success in the role.

Looking for a Singapore job, you can always check out the latest jobs in Singapore job bank WDA where thousands of jobs are available.

10 Ways to Use LinkedIn to Find a Job

LinkedIn brands itself as the social network for professionals and a lot of people do use it successfully for sharing information and news about their companies or discussing key issues in their industry. But what can LinkedIn do for the jobseeking professional? Many of us are not as clued in to all of LinkedIn's different features as we might be. However, it's worth getting to know this social network better as it has a surprising number of tools for helping your job search. Here are ten ways in which we can use LinkedIn in our pursuit for the right career.

Check out the jobs section
LinkedIn does actually have a dedicated jobs section. Employers post vacancies in the hope that a savvy jobseeker like you will come across them and turn out to be the ideal candidate. Click on the Jobs tab at the top of the homepage and you'll be taken to a keyword search box as well as a list of suggested vacancies based on what your profile says.

Complete your profile
The more complete your LinkedIn profile is, the more jobs LinkedIn will be able to suggest for you. A complete profile obviously also appeals to people viewing it, as the reason they're looking at it is to find out as much as they can about you. When a potential employer looks at your profile, they'll be forming an opinion based on your tag line, summary box, and specialities. Your experience and education will most probably be important to them too, but you have more freedom in how you word those first three fields mentioned, so make the most of them. Also, right at the bottom there's a field where you can put what you're 'interested in'. This basically means you get to say what you're on LinkedIn for and what people can approach you with. If you're on LinkedIn to boost your job search, don't be shy, select 'career opportunities'!

Join Groups
You'll get more traffic to your profile if people know you exist. One of the best ways to maintain a visible presence on LinkedIn is to join groups and take part in their discussions. If you join several groups in your chosen career field, chances are you will keep coming across a few people who are also in all those groups. People build up a rapport by contributing to one another's discussions in their shared groups. You can even start discussions asking for advice related to your job search, such as recommendations for good vocational courses.

Get Connected
Once you're more familiar with people who share your interests or specialities, you'll find yourself with more 'Connections'. Connections are to LinkedIn what Friends are to Facebook and Followers are to Twitter. You can invite people to become a Connection and be invited yourself. Don't wait to be invited though-if you believe someone could be beneficial to you, would genuinely like to connect with them on a deeper level, or just find them really interesting, send that invitation out. A major advantage of being connected to someone is that you can message them for free instead of having to pay for an upgrade to 'InMail'.

Get the Messages out
Why is the ability to send messages so important? Many LinkedIn Members don't have their email addresses on their public profile, so unless you know someone personally anyway, you have no way to contact them privately other than through the Messages function. Whether you message Connections to ask outright if they know of any job openings, to tap them for information on their organisation, or to arrange a voluntary/shadow placement, do it in the right way. Be clear about why you're contacting them and what you're asking for. Ask them if there's anything *they* need help with. I've contacted several Connections in this way and they've been all too happy to help me every time.

Take part in the Q&A
Another function that helps you meet people and turn them into Connections is the Q&A. Here you can ask the whole LinkedIn community questions on almost anything, provided the topic loosely fits in with one of the designated categories. Again, asking questions is useful for getting information and advice on a particular job role, organisation or industry. It's not the quantity of answers that you get but the quality. I've asked questions and only gotten one answer, but because that answer was useful to me, I went away happy. Just as important is answering questions. It's another way of drawing people's attention to you and your profile. And if you answer questions on your chosen specialties, potential employers get to see your knowledge and experience in action.

Share updates
Yes, LinkedIn, like every other social network, has the dreaded status update feature. Use it to your advantage by keeping your Connections up to date with your voluntary work, skills building or networking activities. This lets employers know that you're being active and creative in your job search-showing them your enthusiasm and commitment in targeting the right role.

Recommendations
People don't just have to take your word for it, though. The Recommendations feature allows people who've worked together in an organisation or on a project to endorse one another. Each recommendation only has to be 2 or 3 lines: sometimes 'Ms. Jobseeker is a very competent accountant and very easy to work with. She went out of her way to assist me' is enough to help a potential employer or client build up their picture of you. How do you get Recommendations? Ask! On your profile page, click on the 'Get Recommended' link and fill in the form it takes you to. Again, don't be shy-if the feature's there, you might as well use it!

Find events to go to
As useful as social networking can be, you don't have to deprive yourself of offline networking. In fact, LinkedIn can even help you find events to attend, as that's yet another thing Members are able to post about. On the home page, roll your pointer over the More tab and select Events from the drop down menu. In Events Home, you can then see which events your Connections are attending or interested in and you can also view the most popular events on the whole of LinkedIn. Click on the 'Find Events' tab for a keyword search filtered by date, location and type. It's a very handy way to quickly find local events connected to your specialities or chosen industry.

Explore the other applications

There are even more LinkedIn applications that could be of use to you. By getting to the Applications Directory through the 'More' drop down menu, you'll see that you can connect your blog and Twitter updates to LinkedIn; share a personalised Amazon reading list; content and presentations; and create polls. Put simply, these are all ways to inform people about yourself and/or gather information for your job search.

This is by no means an exhaustive list of all the ways a jobseeker can use LinkedIn. As with all online platforms, it's both fun and helpful to play around with it for a bit, using these tips to lay the foundations. Once you've found other ways to make LinkedIn work for you, be sure to let us all in on the secret!

Want to help people find a job,do something meaningful and make a difference in other peoples life by starting your own recruitment business? Check out Dougles Chan inspirational recruitment stories.

10 Reasons Why You Should Manage Your Business Ethically

Why are ethics in business so important? Isn't it enough to comply with the letter of the law and the rules of society? What's in it for the business enterprise?

These are all interesting questions. Many business owners feel that maximizing profits is the chief obligation of the firm. Other owners feel that operating a business in a transparent, ethical manner is also important. Both business management and business ethics are about making the right decisions. Does one have to exist to the exclusion of the other?

I think not, and here are the reasons why managing a business ethically is important:

1. It sends the right message to customers and clients. With all the choices available nowadays, who wants to do business with a shady, ethically-challenged company?

2. It sets the right example for the firm's employees. The temptation to cut corners or behave illegally, immorally, or unethically is reduced if employees are familiar with the firm's code of ethical conduct and the certainty of its enforcement.

3. It can make the firm a desirable place to work. Recruiting, and then keeping, high-quality employees is far less costly than managing a turnstile where people come and go in bulk quantities.

4. It establishes a prism through which a company views not just normal business dealings, but the handling of extraordinary events or crises. When all options have been considered, asking "What is the right thing to do?" ultimately becomes the basis for action.

5. It provides a clearer focus for the firm. That clear focus is found not just in the tactical day-to-day operations, but in the firm's strategic planning, as well.

6. It helps protect the interests of the firm. Ethical behavior doesn't always insulate a firm from lawsuits, bad publicity, or other such negative and costly conditions, but it can certainly reduce the probabilities or mitigate the damage.

7. It helps protect the interests of everyone with whom the firm comes into contact. Will suppliers become more reliable if they know they will get paid on time? Will regulatory agencies be more helpful and accommodating? Will clients be more trusting? There is an obvious higher likelihood of the foregoing answers becoming "Yes" with a company who is seen as highly ethical, than with one who is not.

8. It promotes mutual respect and integrity. This can happen both within the company and from those whom the company deals with.

9. It promotes accountability. This can occur not just within the ranks of the employees, but with the top executives and owners, as well.

10. It can yield a reputation in the marketplace that can be beneficial and sustaining. Isn't this a desirable condition for any company? If it isn't, it certainly should be.

Seeking for business for sale in Singapore, check out the "business for sale" page under opportunities at dougleschan.com

How to Manage a Poor Recruiter - How to Use a Recruiter

Networking is amazing. You never know where a connection will lead. Levi mentioned to his personal trainer he was looking for a new job as an engineering executive. She immediately offered to introduce him to her friend, a new recruiter at a local search firm. Savvy Levi took her up on her offer because he knows all leads are good leads if you know what you want.

The recruiter, Linda, didn't ask to meet in person. "Just send me your resume for now. When something comes up, I will call you." Levi sent the resume with the understanding she would not share his credentials with anyone without his permission; an important safeguard to having his resume "shopped."

Imagine his surprise three weeks later when she emailed him about an opportunity with a reputable local company. Linda sent Levi the job description and told him to look it over before he interviewed, thus revealing her junior status as a recruiter. She didn't require a face to face and appeared to be "throwing" a resume at the opening. While Levi is smart enough not to tell her how to do her job, if he wants to be considered seriously for the position, he has to exert some control over the process.

He learned Linda's firm had the search because the hiring company had no luck filling it on their own after three months. This is a red flag because their locale is filled with highly qualified technology executives. Why haven't they:

1.) Attracted a qualified candidate
2.) Hired someone. First question suggests the gossip mill in town knows something about the job or company that keeps great candidates away. The second implies the company has impossible to meet requirements. Their reluctance to hire may also indicate lack of consensus within the company about the tasks for the position, the sphere of influence or mission.

Because Linda is young in her career, it is incumbent on Levi to manage the relationships and learn details on his own. Time for him to consult linkedin.com to see who he knows who can shed light on the company and the opportunity. Better still, he can contact his favorite recruiter and ask him what he knows about the company and job. There are few secrets among Headhunters in the local search community when a job has been unfilled for so long. Levi needs to discover what the hiring company's priority is and why they have had little success on their own in a town filled with probable candidates.

MY ADVICE: Talk to Linda face to face if possible. Tell her you want to make her look good so the more information you have when you meet her client, the better. Is there anything about the corporate culture or team she can share


Don't ask: Do you know their biggest priority?
Ask: What did they say to you to communicate their biggest priority?

Don't ask: Why haven't they filled the job?
Ask: What do they have to see to fill this position based on their past attempts. What did they say was missing?

Ask: When you spoke with the person to whom I would report, what impression do you have about his/her style? Their energy level? This assumption gives her the opportunity to reveal the level of her contact which you need to know.

If Linda does not have direct contact with the actual hiring authority, she may invent answers or repeat the canned comments from HR. Keep in mind, if HR had the right fix on the priorities, the job would be filled by now. That's why your own research is imperative. You can't rely on Linda's answers for what you need to know to conduct a great interview.

Ask: Is there something HR said more than once when they talked about their difficulty finding someone on their own?

Ask: What did you see in my background that told you I was a good fit?

Ask: I want to make sure we are talking from the same play book. What do you have in mind as the most important part of my background to get them interested in me as a candidate?

Ask: What if anything did they actually say to you that would suggest my experience managing teams in a variety of countries is of value? Use this approach for any characteristic you feel she needs to accentuate when she makes your appointment

Ask: I always send email thank-you notes to people with whom I interview. Is there any reason you'd be uncomfortable with my contacting them directly? Once Linda says, "No, go right ahead," you can follow up as need be in the future. Don't go around her, always copy her on emails and always let her know if you have contacted or otherwise spoken to the company on your own.

Linda may be inexperienced and even unprofessional, but she is still a gatekeeper and her client is still depending on her to fill the position. One negative word from her and you may be removed from consideration. Ask the Recruiter the right questions in the right way. Don't be dismissive as she learns her role, but don't be handicapped by her ineptitude.

Want to help people find a job,do something meaningful and make a difference in other peoples life by starting your own recruitment company? Check out Dougles Chan inspirational recruitment stories.