We are all well accustomed to the following sentence in a job description:  “...minimum [#] years of experience in [insert role, skill, job function here].”  I encourage both employers and job seekers to assess this so-called requirement with a critical eye. Defining experience in terms of years often results in a disconnect between its intended purpose and effect on the recruitment process. In the bestselling book Re-Work, the authors from 37signals refer to the years of experience factor often found in job descriptions as years of irrelevance.

In a knowledge economy, attracting the best people is critical to a company’s success. In other words, talent management is kind of a big deal these days. An important and often overlooked element of the recruitment process is the job description: a list of ‘must haves’ and ‘nice-to-haves’ driven by an assessment of resource needs. Most job descriptions cite the years of experience factor as a ‘must have.’ This approach is very practical from the employer’s perspective. Hiring Managers, Recruiters, and/or recruitment software can weed out a large volume of the resumes based on the experience requirement. In addition to being practical, this approach is consistent with the business community’s use of metrics.

Continue Reading

Week In Review:

Toronto - Marketing Copywriter (Finance) Details / Apply
Toronto - Client Analyst (Market Research) Details / Apply
Toronto - Project Manager (Consulting) Details / Apply
Toronto - Support Rockstar (Computer Software) Details / Apply
Toronto - Content Intern (Internet) Details / Apply
Montreal - Marketing Manager (Computer Software) Details / Apply
Montreal - Analyst (Information Technology) Details / Apply
Vancouver - Account Executive (Computer Software) Details / Apply
Vancouver - Product Manager (Internet) Details / Apply
Vancouver - Affiliate & Search Specialist (Internet) Details / Apply

For the full rundown, log-in to Vestiigo.com

Some weekend reading
Career Savvy: Sinek Asks the Right Question
Career Savvy: Why your Boss is Overpaid
TED Talk: Misha Glenny: Hire the hackers!

Continue Reading

Why? Any person can tell you what they do and likely how they do it, but how many people can explain why they do what they do?

This oft-unexplored question is the crux of Simon Sinek’s brilliant and inspiring new book Start with Why, a manifesto that places the understanding of purpose at the center of success. Sinek shares this simple, yet profound, discovery of the Golden Circle – what, how, why. Leading organizations and individuals understand and can articulate their own whys, their reason for being. Everything they do and say—their whats and hows—is a manifestation of their why. With this consistency and alignment, leading organizations and people have the ability to inspire action with their customers, employees and followers.

For instance, Apple—a favorite example of Sinek’s—exists as a liberating and creative response to an otherwise confused world of marketing focused on the undifferentiating whats—the prices, the features, the technology. Apple focuses on its why, thus challenging the status quo. Apple’s philosophy manifests itself in all that it does, from the sleek modern design of its machines to its beautifully minimalist ad campaigns. This has generated a powerful and consistent brand that inspires action.

Continue Reading

Week In Review:

Toronto - Business Development Manager (Computer Software) Details / Apply
Toronto - Event Coordinator (Marketing & Advertising) Details / Apply
Toronto - Project Analyst (Market Research) Details / Apply
Toronto - Senior Project Manager (Marketing & Advertising) Details / Apply
Toronto - Education Coordinator (Computer Software) Details / Apply
Montreal - Manager, Financial Systems (Marketing & Advertising) Details / Apply
Montreal - Marketing Communication Manager (Computer Software) Details / Apply
Ottawa - Account Development Representative (Computer Software) Details / Apply
Vancouver - Learning Development Specialist (Marketing & Advertising) Details / Apply
Vancouver - Biz. Dev. Assoc., Global Partner Program (Market Research) Details / Apply

For the full rundown, log-in to Vestiigo.com

Some weekend reading
Career Savvy: How to Lose an Interview in 10 Steps
Career Savvy: Simon Sinek: If You Don’t Understand People, You Don’t Understand Business
TED Talk: Edward Tenner: Unintended consequences

Continue Reading

Week In Review:

Toronto - Customer Retention Marketing Manager (Internet) Details / Apply
Toronto - Community Developer (Computer Games) Details / Apply
Toronto - User Interface Designer (Computer Software) Details / Apply
Toronto - HRIS Administrator (Marketing & Advertising) Details / Apply
Toronto - Consulting Analyst (Market Research) Details / Apply
Ottawa - Product Specialist (Computer Software) Details / Apply
Montreal - Coordinator, Mkt. Comms. (Marketing & Advertising) Details / Apply
Vancouver - Professional Development Manager (Computer Software) Details / Apply
Vancouver - Solution Consultant (Computer Software) Details / Apply
Vancouver - Web Developer/Graphic Designer (Education) Details / Apply

For the full rundown, log-in to Vestiigo.com

Some weekend reading
Career Savvy: 4 Career Tips from the U.S. Open
Career Savvy: Matt Epstein: How to Get Hired
Career Savvy: Customer Love: Massive Damage Inc.
TED Talk: Marco Tempest: The magic of truth and lies (and iPods)

Continue Reading

We caught up with career seeker Matt Epstein shortly after he launched his now-famous GooglePleaseHire.Me campaign. Tired of sending out plain-text resumes and receiving no response to any of them, Epstein launched a campaign to get himself hired at Google. Not only did he get a call from Google, but he received over 60 calls for hiring managers at other top companies as well. 36 hours into his campaign, his video resume had nearly 100,000 views on YouTube and he was receiving calls with words of encouragement from people around the world. Here’s his story.

Continue Reading