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Cleveland chapter of the
National Society of Hispanic MBAs hosted a career
readiness seminar at Cleveland State University, on Sept.
16, 2011, providing 45 students with skills and tools to
navigate jobs in a tough economy.
Students received
one-on-one mentoring and résumé critique from recruiters
representing NSMBA corporate partners, Sherwin Williams,
Forest City Enterprises, Fifth Third Bank, NASA Glenn
Research Center, and Amersco LLC.
Karan Gurney, Director of
Research at Career IQ moderated questions that provided insights
to pitfalls many job seekers fall into. The panel of experts
revealed most common errors that keep a candidate from becoming
an employee, error laden resumes, to inappropriate salary and
benefit negotiations, to social networks.
LaToya Smith,
Assistant Vice President and Corporate Recruiter from Fifth
Third Bank, said very low percentage of employees are hired
through career fairs, “Forty five percent come from referrals
from current employees,” she said. Smith said companies
encourage employees to recruit friends with similar work ethic,
who fit well into the environment, “It is who you know and
not what you know.”
She emphasized networking,
active participation in professional organizations like NSHMBA.
Smith said while most companies do not search for potential
candidates on Facebook, professional networks like
LinkedIn are becoming increasingly popular for passive
recruiting. Smith said LinkedIn is a great tool because it is
cheaper, easy to use and narrows targets.
She recommends keeping a
Linked In profile updated, with a professional headshot, and
same rules of a flawless résumé apply to an online profile.
Suzanne Nebe,
Senior Partner and Talent Acquisition for Forest City
Enterprises, said she often will post jobs for entry level
positions on Craigslist. She said pictures should never
be included with a résumé because it places recruiters in a
difficult position. Nebe encourages candidates to follow up with
a handwritten note, “Emails get lost.” She suggests every
candidate should prepare a 30 second ‘elevator speech’ to
introduce themselves effectively and with confidence in any
situation.
Ken Wade,
Human Recourses Lead at Amresco LLC, said the few candidates
hired from career fairs approach the company with confidence,
have done their research and have intelligent questions ready
and present themselves in a professional manner.
Sharing various styles his
fellow recruiters use Wade stressed brief silence or pause is OK
during interviews. Ask for a moment to think about the question,
consider the intent of why it is being asked before responding
rather than giving an incoherent answer.
Smith said recruiters
compare notes on candidates, listen carefully and measure a
candidate’s enthusiasm. “Don’t bring a friend, be focused and no
shopping,” she said.
Being prepared for the
interview is critical; and Dena Cyrill, Human Resources
Manager for Corporate Division at Sherwin Williams, suggests
paying close attention to the soft skills mentioned in the job
description and using those as examples of your strengths.
Cyrill said the interview
is a two-way process and while the company is assessing the
candidate, the candidate should also be assessing the company
carefully and ask intelligent questions.
Tim Spicer,
Deputy Chief, of Human Capital Management at NASA Glenn Research
Center, said some great questions to ask include the future of
the organization, their philosophy on diversity and how often
the company coaches and provides feedback. He also suggests
candidates know their worth and research the salary range for
the job description, “Person who throws out a number first
loses,” he said.
He also recommends
considering a lower salary job with more benefits, “Some jobs
start you off at a higher salary but that is where you stay.”
Cyrill said consider
negotiating for vacation days, or benefits if the base pay is
non-negotiable, but never be too persistent. “Ask one, or maybe
twice, and the worst that can happen is they say no.”
For a candidate in need of
visa support Gurney recommends they seeking out non-profit
organizations that can utilize their cultural and language
skills. She said the average job seeker waits 3 – 6 months
before asking for help, “I want to reduce that period
significantly.”
She encourages candidates
to have a strategy, evaluate their skills, weaknesses and goals
and start a fresh résumé based on the job description they are
applying for. She suggests creating a believable online persona
that reflects professional integrity and goals and recommends
never picking up the phone during a job search process. “You are
being screened the moment you pick up,” she said; instead,
returning the phone call when you are prepared puts you in a
better position.
Robert Romero,
Vice President of Education for NSHMBA Cleveland, said the
seminar is an example of partnerships and networking in action,
bringing together leaders of tomorrow with organizations seeking
their talent today.
Yolanda Burt,
Director of CSU Career Services, said the university is
committed to providing students with access to opportunities and
partnering with organizations like NSHMBA strengthens the
caliber of students. The Career Services Center offers students
etiquette training, mock interviews, résumé writing, and career
preparedness workshops before they enter the job market or a
career fair.
Daniel Acevedo,
a Mechanical Engineers student at Cleveland State, said the
seminar was very informative and a rare opportunity to hear
feedback from recruiters on why candidates never hear back from
prospective employers. “It helped me a lot to know what kind of
questions I should be asking,” he said.
Acevedo said as a junior
he will utilize the tools provided in the seminar to assess his
skills and weaknesses and take advantage of the mentors
available to him through his internship with NASA Glenn Research
Center.
Cleveland State will host
its Fall career fair on Oct. 28. More than 100 employers are
expected to participate. For more information and registration
visit:
www.csuohio.edu/career
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