CM Access

Happy Halloween! And, may I just say, the grocery store was totally sold out of vegetable trays and lo-fat ranch dip last night! I guess every office party has that person who waits until the night before to bring something slightly healthy for the pot-luck (like me)

Just a quick post because I thought this was funny enough to share. (funny, not a political opinion)

Work vs. Prison:

Just in case you ever get these two environments mixed up, this should make things a little bit clearer.

@ PRISON
You spend the majority of your time in a 10X10 cell
@ WORK
You spend the majority of your time in a 6X6 cubicle/office

@ PRISON
You get three meals a day fully paid for
@ WORK
You get a break for one meal and you have to pay for it

@ PRISON
You get time off for good behavior
@ WORK
You get more work for good behavior

@ PRISON
The guard locks and unlocks all the doors for you
@ WORK
You must often carry a security card and open all the doors for yourself

@ PRISON
You can watch TV and play games
@ WORK
You could get fired for watching TV and playing games

@ PRISON
You get your own toilet
@ WORK
You have to share the toilet with some people who pee on the seat

@ PRISON
They allow your family and friends to visit
@ WORK
You aren’t even supposed to speak to your family

@ PRISON
All expenses are paid by the taxpayers with no work required
@ WORK
You get to pay all your expenses to go to work, and they deduct taxes from your salary to pay for prisoners

@ PRISON
You spend most of your life inside bars wanting to get out
@ WORK
You spend most of your time wanting to get out and go inside bars

@ PRISON
You must deal with sadistic wardens
@ WORK
They are called managers

If your work is more like a prison, isn’t it time to explore your options? CM Access and other recruiters are able to keep you in mind for opportunities without you having to broadcast to your current employer or HR department that you’re searching. You don’t have to post your resume on Monster.com to be open to hearing about a new position. Talk to people!

Technorati Tags: work life, prison life, recruiters, passive search, Halloween

Just wanted to share this information because I feel that it’s incredibly valuable in managing your career.

First– when looking at job postings on line, figure out if it’s posted by a staffing firm or the corporate HR. This will help you when applying. Most agency recruiters (like CM Access) don’t need a long cover letter. They need to see what job you’re applying for and your resume, possibly salary or rate requirements, but just the facts, ma’am. If it’s a corporation you’re applying to directly, cover letters are a good indication of your writing ability (IF it’s a job that would involve writing) and they should give clues about you and your personality. Make it worth reading, not a chore. And if you’re applying to Craigslist, see my notes here.

Second– working with recruiters is a good thing! The more people that know about you and your abilities and career goals, the more you’re marketing yourself, the more chances that someone might get you a great opportunity. However, be realistic about your expectations and your abilities. If you’re straight-forward with a recruiter, they should be realistic with you. It’s much easier for a recruiter if you tell them straight up that you’re not looking for certain types of positions, you’re not willing to commute more than a certain distance, etc. If you’re flexible, then that’s a different story. But if you have specific goals and needs and criteria, stick to them.

Third– Keep reaching out to those who know you and your resume. If it’s a recruiter, and you haven’t heard from them in a month, but are still looking for a new job, then reach out and say so.

Fourth– Recruiters are paid by client companies to fill the open positions within that company. Headhunters are paid by job seekers to find opportunities that suit them. [promotional plug: CM Access uses the needs of the job seeker as ammunition for the companies we work with=the best of both worlds!] You should only work with recruiters you feel are honest and genuine about the information they’re sharing. You should only work with recruiters who aren’t sharing your information without your knowledge (ie your address, phone number and email contact information.

I hope this helps! I sure wish I had known that recruiters aren’t evil, and how their business works. Knowledge is power. The more you know… and so on.

Technorati Tags: Recruiters, Headhunters, CM Access, How to, marketing you

And yes, they deal with a lot of people and a lot of resumes, so if they forget that your cat died last month, don’t take it personally.

I want to start off with the good news, so you don’t think I’m a ranting and raving type of blogger:

You are worthy of being the next great employee. You will find a great company that will challenge you, help you learn new skills, where you’ll make a difference in the success of your team and your company.

But the Burn Out from a job search is common, and it’s a dangerous place to be in. If you need to vent, do it here (or other anonymous blogs) but don’t do it in your cover letter.

The following information is for the benefit of job seekers in need of a reality check.

Have you become entirely disillusioned and delusional with your search?

Here’s how to tell:

Here’s how to recover:

CM Access is always willing to be a buffer for you, to help you assess your cover letter quality, and your search strategy. And even just to spell check if you ask!

Technorati Tags: Job search burn out, recovery, spellcheck, resumes

Too much to write, and too little time to do it in! I have been collecting thoughts, ideas, opinions to share with my wide audience of readers (ok, myself really) but today I have just one important tidbit to share:

Fall Networking event-o-rama!

There are so many ways to actually go and meet new people, build those ever-important relationships you keep hearing that you need to have during your career, that you had better have a darn good excuse not to try at least one before the end of 2007! This site is just one of many resources to find out what’s going on in Philly. Try the newspaper (they always have a business section, and a calendar) or meetup.com or search for associations that are of interest to you.

It’s not easy to talk to strangers, so take a friend or colleague with you. Your employer will be glad that you’re representing the brand (whatever it may be) and there are many things you can gain from listening to a speaker or panel, or just plain ol’ socializing.

The AMA in Philadelphia (yes, I’m promoting it because I am on the board, and I believe our content to be relevant and helpful to marketing profesisonals) is hosting some great events this year, and our October 10th luncheon at the Downtown Club (oooh ritzy!) is a presentation on how to use new Web2.0 tools in your business with Molecular internet consulting firm out of NYC and San Francisco.

More info is available at the PAMA site, (with a new design coming soon!)

Technorati Tags: PAMA, Networking, Philly, American Marketing Association, Molecular