So, what are you waiting for? Draw the line in the sand and make your mark.

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I have had the opportunity to interview several great companies and smart HR practioners and it started to become very clear that success does not necessarily come to those with the highest IQ, nor to those who went to the best schools, nor even those who chose the most in demand specialty at that time. Rather, lifelong drive and determination have been more influential in predicting professional success.  Unless you are working on something you love, it is hard to find the discipline to exhibit drive and determination with consistent conviction.

Calvin Coolidge, said “Nothing in the world can take place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.”

Many people, when making career plans, ask themselves what they are good at. However, as Coolidge pointed out, talents (or skills or strengths) are not the key issue, even if they are relevant.  Rather, what is important is what inspires persistence and determination – in other words, what do you care about.  Don’t worry about what you’re good at. If something turns you on, you’ll be good enough. If it doesn’t, you won’t.

Your strengths are irrelevant: What you like and enjoy doing is critical! Success, in my humble opinion, comes from doing what you enjoy – at least that’s what I believe. If you don’t enjoy it, how can it be called success?
Do you agree? I’d love to hear your thoughts on this.

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Team building is not an easy process for a startup. As one of the creators of WhyHire.me, I sometimes get so caught up in my own ambition of creating my vision that I fail to take a moment to recognize the tremendous weight and responsibility of asking others to join me on this journey. I have already made the decision to risk everything to see this idea become something successful; for my team (current and future), I am asking them to risk a lot to join our startup. Everyone that knows me well and has worked with me, understands that I will do absolutely everything in my power to make sure as a company we always march forward –- together.

As a leader, I’m subservient as much as I am controlling. My team understands that we have a plan that is well-thought-through, and does not rely on luck (i.e. low probability events), nor hope — but execution. At my very core, I believe in order to succeed, we need to build an incredibly tight unit. There will be times where I will need to ask each and every person on my team to make sacrifices, whether it be extra time at work as opposed to time at home, or helping out a team member whose code was accidentally causing SQL injection attacks or even asking my team to build something over from scratch because we need to change direction, or as they say in startup lingo – pivot.

The degree to which my team is willing to respond to decisions absolutely affects our ability to succeed perhaps more than any other factor in a startup. If my team is going to follow me into battle, then as a leader, I must serve them well. The Canadian Army abides by the military doctrine, “mission, team, self”. In a startup, I like to think it’s the same.

Steve Jobs calls himself a recruiter. I used to think that was weird, but more and more I am realizing that team is the only key to success and the reality is, great people want to work at a winner. I know I do.

If you’re in a startup or even, a member of a great team, I want to hear from you! “Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships.” – Michael Jordan

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If you think about your own life, your values form the cornerstones for all that you do, think, believe, and accomplish. Your values dictate your actions whether you are aware of it or not.

When I say values, I’m not talking about “honesty”, “integrity” or any of that standard stuff. I’m talking about what is the key reason or the key thing that drives and motivates you.

Part of the attraction toward a job or career is the satisfaction that comes from it.  Research has indicated that the most satisfaction we get from a job is associated with the degree to which our personal values match those of the other employees that you work with.  Both people and organizations have values and they need to be shared values.
Are your values real, meaningful, and sustainable? How do you think about your values?
When your values are clear to you, making decisions becomes easier.

The post Is it Time to Rethink Your Values? appeared first on blog.whyhire.me.

“What Color is Your Parachute” is considered by many as the most popular job-hunting guide. With well over 10 million copies sold, in 20 different languages, it’s certainly hard to argue its global success.  The book, by itself, does not cover everything you need to know about getting a job but it does provide readers with some useful employer hiring insight.

Finding a job today presents many unique challenges that did not exist even five years ago.  Job seekers should no longer rely exclusively on traditional ways to find work (i.e., sending out resumes and waiting for a response), but to utilize some of the more successful and proactive strategies.  Job seekers that rely exclusively on job boards to post their resume and then wait for their employer of choice to call them about an open position, will likely have a low success rate in finding a job.

One of the best diagrams in the book, illustrates how employers prefer to find job candidates (see image below).

I would argue that this is probably one of the most important things every job seeker should clearly understand.  You will notice 6 different layers to the funnel. When going from the top to the bottom, this is how employers prefer filling vacancies. When going from the bottom to the top, this is how job hunters prefer being found, and unfortunately, how most job seekers today search for employment.

With web innovation, social media growth and employers constantly looking to hire the ‘best’ talent for their needs, the traditional way people look for jobs (i.e. job boards) will eventually be replaced by new and innovative companies looking to disrupt the traditional model.  LinkedIn is one example, where users can get proof driven recommendations from their peers.

At WhyHire.me, we are focused on creating a proof driven platform that helps students with limited work experience showcase their initiative, demonstrate progress and help employers pre-qualify talented candidates, so they will have talent in the pipeline when those positions become available.  For example, if you’re a programmer, we’ll let you showcase your program and source code; if your goal is to be a counselor, you can share your volunteer work, and/or a relevant case study; etc.  Hiring the right candidate is about establishing trust, early and often, and the web will continue to transform this process.

Interested in connecting? Follow me on twitter @robsaric

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Hundreds of millions of the best-educated, most qualified job candidates are becoming members of social networking sites like LinkedIn, Doostang, Ryze, and Facebook.  Increasingly, smart recruiters & hiring managers are joining these sites too to connect with these individuals and cultivate lasting relationships.

Why do social networking sites attract desirable candidates?

One reason could be that high-achieving professionals are more drawn to networking, and that strong networks have contributed to their professional success. Also, these individuals tend to be savvier and more selective about where they work.They are more likely to periodically reevaluate their careers and seek out or at least be open to new opportunities for career advancement.

Resumes Are Not Organic

In the past, one big problem with job boards and resume submission was resumes would become outdated, sometimes making it difficult to even get in touch with a candidate. Because social network profiles are self-maintained, organic documents, they tend to be more accurate and up to date with a candidate’s most current experience, qualifications, availability, and contact information. Additional features of social network profiles, such as showing who you know in common, testimonials from colleagues, and profile search capability, makes the recruiter’s job easier.These features provide valuable additional insights that allow recruiters to qualify candidates earlier in the cycle and not have to waste their time or the candidates’ time when there is not a good fit.

Social Recruiting Will Be Transformational

Because there is a limited supply of good jobs, the ratio of jobs to job seekers is typically low. In contrast, there are far more product advertisements and sales pitches than interested buyers. Recruiting is also far more personal. Accepting a new job is a major life decision. Few goods and services can be classified with the same level of importance. Together, this means that interpersonal rapport between recruiters and candidates is even more important than in sales, and that online social networking tools have the potential to be even more transformational.  Job seekers should realize that their online  presence is another data point during the hiring process and can be a crucial differentiator in evaluating a candidate, depending on the position.

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Referrals Still King

It is estimated that half of all jobs are obtained through referrals.   Whether it‘s networking at a professional event, extending relationships with contacts you made online or even asking an old college roommate to refer you to their boss — finding a job has always contained a social element. And in today’s information age, social real-time interaction is becoming the norm. People spend 22 percent of all online time interacting through blogs and social networks. Services like Facebook (+500 million users) and Twitter (+145 million users) dominate the web space, and LinkedIn boasts over 75 million profession­als worldwide.

Job Search, Still a Disjointed Process

Despite the overwhelming presence of online social networking, the social aspect of job search remains a primarily offline process. Those who do leverage their connections for a job must engage in a disjointed process: asking around for contacts, calling friends of friends, schedul­ing in-person meetings, cold-calling hiring managers … even emails must be composed manually.  I’m confident that this reactive process will improve with new web tools that will intelligently connect job seekers with employers.

Social job search will look to bring our professional and social connections into the same plane as job listings, this is already happening on LinkedIn. When a relevant opportunity is discovered, a job seeker is able to see if any of their connections work at that company, or can otherwise offer help in obtaining the desired job.

The Shift is Happening

The offline social aspect of job search will continue to converge with online social networking.  This fundamental shift will be most widely adopted by the “Generation Y” audience.  This future generation of job seekers will expect a process that is transparent, social, personal, mobile and efficient.  To best prepare for these new job seekers, it is critical that employers understand the directions in which job search is evolving. The digital synthesis of personal profiles, social and professional networks, and online recruiting tools for employers will allow jobseekers to proactively stage their presence online and better position themselves as qualified candidates.

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If you don’t see the video above, then here’s the link: bchannelnews.tv » Megan Berry on Klout.

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