Talk about having to take a pause... The National Debt Clock in NYC can no longer show the true national debt. Read this article to see the details, but apparently when it was put up in 1989, no one thought the national debt would grow greater than 9.9 TRILLION dollars. This week, it went over $10 Trillion, hence the problem. There aren't enough digits available on the sign.

Now that isn't as scary as the bottom number... the "Your Family's Share of $86,017." How is it possible that each family's share of the national debt is double the average earnings of an average family, with most families living on wages that are a third of their share of the debt?  I also must mention that this is in addition to each families personal debt, such as their mortgage, car payments, credit card debt. Are you listening now??

Assuming the average family has at least a $200,000 mortgage, $15,000 car loan and $5,000 worth of credit cards (and believe me, these are VERY low assumptions, most everyone I know in my age group has higher balances than this) and earns $43,000 per year (approximately the national average) it will take them over 7 years to pay off both their debt and their share of the current debt.

Keep in mind, that these figures DO NOT include groceries, gasoline, or other daily living expenses! This is paying every dime in income to either their *assumed* personal debt, and their income taxes (not property taxes, not sales taxes and certainly not STATE taxes).

A person earning $43,000 per year, would pay about $13,330 in income taxes alone. (Remember, these are all approximate, made up numbers I am just playing with right now). Realistically, if those taxes were dedicated to the national debt, after 7 years, this wage earner would have paid $93,310 in income taxes. The problem lies in the fact that this is not the final debt, and does not take into account the annual federal budgets. Those budgets eat up every cent of income tax that every taxpayer pays, and then some, since there are other taxes that I don't even get into for this one, so every year the national debt increases to make up the difference.

After 7 years, and payments of $93,310, the nation and the taxpayer will not have reduced either of their shares of the national debt at all. So... how will you pay your share, if what you do pay does not contribute to paying off the debt, and you can't control what is spent to begin with?

I am researching companies in my area, that are currently hiring recruiters. I research most of the companies prior to sending my resume (if possible) just to make sure that not only would I fit their needs, but also to make sure the opportunity would fit MY needs. Sometimes I can tell by their website (or lack of website is more appropriate) if I should send in my resume.

One company that is currently hiring for an IT recruiting position does NOT have a working website. They have a web page (with inactive links) so the only information I can see about them is their 2 paragraph "blurb" about the company, and they have NO job postings (not even old or expired ones as far as I can see) on any of the major job boards.

I only have one thing to say... NEXT!

The next company has a working website, and is also hiring an IT Senior Technical Recruiter. When you pull up their website, their career page is static, without even a link to send in your resume. No contact information visible anywhere on the career page... they do at least have 3 or 4 active postings on major job boards.

The next item I find is on their client list... several of the client names are spelled wrong! These are major brands, and one of them happens to be one of my favorite brands of all time. Maybe they don't have permission to use their client's name in their advertising (I know some of my former clients had to jump through hoops to give permission to vendors to advertise as a partner to their group) but if that's the case, they would be better off leaving that client's name off of their website, instead of including their name on a bullet list...

The reason I research every company I send my resume to is to prevent wasting their time. If I had sent my resume to either company, and proceeded to the interview stage, before I found out about these items I would have not only wasted their time, but mine as well.

Take a couple of minutes and look at the websites before sending your resume. See if they are recruiting using social media techniques (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn) or if they are relying on the job boards.  It's worth it!

Have a job opening you are recruiting for? Not sure how to get the best results by posting it on line? Below is the way one company did it... but this must be one of the worst methods of recruiting... EVER.

First off, I am not against posting job descriptions. As a recruiter, you need to be able to post job descriptions for prospects on the internet, preferably on one of the major or niche job boards. If you are on the phone with a lead or prospect, they may ask you to email them the description while you are on the phone with them to discuss it, especially if you are cold calling passive candidates. A link to either your company website where the job description is posted or a link to a reputable job or niche board is also effective if the description is clear, concise, and correctly describes the position you want to generate interest in. Even if the person you are on the phone with isn't interested, they may know someone who is, and a professional email, with a link to the job description is easy for them to forward to their networks.

So, what exactly did the company I referred to earlier do? Let's look at the key words they included in the bottom of their vague job description. If I was considering sending my resume before, I would reconsider when I saw this at the bottom... it just screams "scam" to me.

• Keywords: sales, customer service, intern, internship, manager, marketing, student, accounting, clerical, entrepreneur, management, administrative, administrative assistant, business development, business, internship, advertising, human resources, receptionist, entry level, retail, insurance, education, outside sales, strategy-planning, project manager, part-time, accountant, engineering, teacher, server, promotions, pr, customer service, full-time, restaurant, quality control, assistant, secretary, public relations, salesman, office, writer, hotel, safety, executive assistant, communications, training, human resources, office manager, media, general, social services, social work, sales manager, realtor, pharmaceutical sales, buyer, food services, jobs, recruiter, sales, bartender, general business, project management, hospitality, server, collections, bookkeeper, management trainee, purchasing, salesman, logistics, bilingual, inventory, counselor, travel, teaching, help desk, law enforcement, trainer, media, professional, trainee, data entry, internship, administration, new graduate, hostess, executive assistant, hostess, sales management, coordinator, cashier, medical sales, distribution, financial, manager, sports, entertainment, international, consultant, real estate, telecommunications.
• People from all backgrounds seeking full time opportunities or internships in the following areas are encouraged to inquire about our program: sales, customer service, part time, manager, accounting, marketing, clerical, management, public relations, human resources, driver, security, administrative assistants, purchasing, medical, administrative, receptionist, retail, maintenance, warehouse, sports teams, entry level, education, finance, director, telecommunications, real estate, training, engineering, insurance, data entry, project manager, information technology, part time, printing, technician, legal, automotive, teacher, winter, banking, analyst, nursing, restaurant, controller, network, public relations, environmental, nurse, design, quality, safety, secretary, office, assistant, hotel, accountant, account executive, vice president, medical assistant, transportation, supervisor, general, public relations, advertising, writer, fraternity, social services, finance, java, all, graphic, public relations, mba, holiday, office manager, sales manager, field representative, mortgage, social work, training, cms, attorney, research, payroll, oracle, executive assistant, paralegal, courier post, drivers, pharmaceutical, operations, president, web, help wanted, rn, advertising, law enforcement, auto cad, health care, executive, food, production, chef, sports oriented, cad, project management, tax, auto, editor, hospitality, hvac, training, team player, pharmaceutical sales, tourism, it, collections, spanish, unix, art, buyer, facilities, professional, mechanical, bartender, help desk, hospitality, travel, logistics, call center, truck driver, inventory, financial ,computers, communications, pharmacist, police, teaching, counselor, chemist, plant manager, ncaa, photography, promotional advertising, book keeper, medical sales, electrical engineer, health, trader, bilingual, business analyst, recruiter, junior executive, cfo, accounts payable, account manager, sports, sorority, cashier, financial, music, social worker, publishing, project, support, business development, lpn, welder, clerk, technical, quality assurance, promotional sales, government, distribution, secretarial, sales management, mental health, nanny, child care, registered nurse, cna, Japanese, technical support, administration, property manager, cook, shipping, pharmacy, coordinator, entertainment, management training, new grads.

Call me a cynic, but after reading the vague job description it was attached to, and seeing this at the bottom, there is no way they are getting my contact information! Keyword stuffing is done all over the web and social media sites, we all know it and it's not just recruiters. (Sounds a lot like black hat SEO methods doesn't it?) I guess it just depends on if your goal is to attract or repel prospects. The goal seems to be trying to attract as many applicants as possible, but in the end, it's probably repelling many more away from the job than to it.

My resume has received a complete overhaul recently, and is still being tweaked daily. The reason? It is all about the wording.

The day to day duties of a recruiter involve looking at hundreds of resumes for each position they are recruiting for. Most of the qualified applicants will have the same subject matter on their resumes as well. It begins to get boring. Most of the top candidates will figure out a way to have their resume stand out from the hundreds of other resumes out there, and they accomplish this through careful consideration of the wording used on their resumes.

Take a look at your own resume, and see how many times you have used the following words (or any variation of these words)

• Responsible
• Produce
• Refer
• Schedule
• Supply
• Respond
• Achieve
• Represent
• Coordinate
• Communicate

These are the 10 words I have seen the most job descriptions, so my natural tendency should be to reflect those same words multiple times in my resume, right? Wrong. Every respondent is doing the same thing. What the top candidates should do is show or demonstrate their experience to the recruiter, without doing the same thing every body else is doing.

There are enough words for everyone. Get a little creative, choose the words that will best highlight your experience, and leave the job description to the recruiter.

I had previously mentioned I was a recruiter in the real estate industry, and given the housing market that is obviously NOT the most booming industry for a recruiter. After my vacation, I went back to work Monday and found myself on the OTHER side of the desk. Sadly, I was laid off, but fortunately there aren't many people in ANY industry that will not acknowledge there is not much a recruiter can do when their industry goes from booming to bust in less that 12 months. My employer assured me that the decision had nothing to do with performance, but that the position was being eliminated because of the dire circumstances the company has found itself in.

After a day and a half on the other side of the desk, I have already encountered a Top 5 list for this post. These are the Top 5 things I have noticed in less than 48 hours on this side of the desk. The purpose of this post is not to point fingers at others, but it is more to acknowledge that we have all done of some of these things, and can enhance a candidate's first impression us if as a group these issues are addressed.

Too many conflicting job descriptions for the same position. Posting the same title with completely different job descriptions on the same job board makes it seem the opportunity is either a "jack of all trades" type position, or the employer doesn't really know what they are looking for yet. It seems better to wait and know what you want, than ask for anyone that can fog a mirror to send in their resume for review until one "jumps" out at the manager. 

No way to apply for the position once it is posted. A post on a major job board directs the candidate to a company website career section. The company website either uses an alternate title for the position, or a different location for the position that what was posted on the major board, so the candidate can not find the title or location of what they are searching for, or the position is not posted at all. Talk about frustrating! This candidate has gotten "clicked" off of some interesting opportunities due to this very reason.

Boring job descriptions. Why is it that as a recruiter, we can creatively describe every other position for the company, with the exception of our own? Go ahead, review some of the descriptions for recruiters, and see if they don't all begin to look alike after about 15 minutes. We recognize the need for creativity in describing the company and yet fail when it comes to communicating how great of a career choice recruiting is. I am inspired by my career choice, and would love to see a company that is just as excited as I am to bring great people into their organization!

Not allowing an applicant to email a real person directly. Sure, it's always easier on the recruiter to receive resumes that are auto forwarded from the job board, but it's hard for a candidate to show their passion and creativity when there is not an alternative method to apply for the position. Some recruiters are not comfortable putting their email address on their postings because they are inundated with responses. That's understandable, but just say so! "Due to the overwelming interest in this position..." would be a great start.  

There are too many job boards. In the days of social media, there are major job boards, niche job boards, job boards attached to every social networking website, corporate job sites, and seemingly on every website encountered. I know, there is nothing that can be done about this one, but it was one of the things I noticed. Every recruiter wants their opportunities to be viewed by as many qualified candidates as they possibly can. Just as every job seeker wants their resume viewed by as many potential employers as possible.

Any suggestions?

That's right... I am out of the loop. I have been out of the office and out of the loop on vacation for a week now, and will be heading back to the office tomorrow. It's a very odd feeling, not knowing how many messages are waiting for you, how many emails... are there any resumes to follow up on?

When you go too long without a vacation, you really need one. You need to unplug completely, unwind and relax. You need to take a step back and just be. I felt that I was all over the place before this time out of the loop, and now I intend to go back to the office more focused, energized and ready to jump back into the loop... until my next vacation

I posted "Looking For Motivation in All the Wrong Places" over at my ActiveRain blog today, and immediately thought of my poor neglected "Recruiting Minutes" blog. I have a long way to go in getting every thing done these days. Too many of my tasks have been pushed off in my personal life, because my work life has been hectic.

For the record, I will devote more time here soon. I am still alive and recruiting! In case you were wondering, and don't want to wander over to Active Rain, here is the beginning of the post...

"Ever feel like you need a boost in the motivation department? Recruiting in real estate during the summer can make a person feel depressed, leaving endless messages for people that are otherwise occupied, most likely with some fun diversions. Emails are answered with an auto-response that the agent is out of the office on vacation until next week. Meetings are postponed or cancelled. It all just adds up to a loss of motivation."

If you want to read more, go ahead and click the link at the top. I'm not a fan of duplicate content (my own or otherwise) so I won't be reposting it here... sorry.

There are thousands of people on Twitter, some are following thousands of people, but I think most are like me. I follow the people I know from other social media sites, as well as some of the new twitter friends I made when they started following me.

I follow about 200 people, and have about the same number following me. Some are real estate agents (which is the prospects I recruit) some are other recruiters (to keep up with the recruiting industry) some are news sites. The more people you follow, the harder it is to follow the conversations. Too much chatter. Keep it simple for the best experience.

Happy Twittering!

Ok, this is me, asking for help. I have about a dozen subscriptions to podcasts, but only 2 or 3 are useful career wise. Most are for entertainment, but I did manage to find a couple that were a great fit for recruiting.

One is "Take Control of Your Career" it's a great look at the minds of people that are unhappy in their current situations in their careers. It helps a recruiter identify the mindset, and symptoms of those that may be looking to change careers, what their fears are, and how they are approaching their respective changes.

Another is "Morning Coach" which is motivational, and keeps one focused upon their personal goals.

Do you have any other suggestions for pod casts that can help a recruiter? I'd love to hear some recommendations!

Recruiting is hard enough when the economy is good, but it is super hard when the economy is bad. Think about it, people that are not in jeopardy of being downsized are less likely to move in a down economy, since the grass isn't always greener.

Those who do feel threatened are paralyzed with the fear of being downsized, and are more likely to try and fly under the radar, they don't want to jeapardize their current position, by looking for a new one, since their grass is definitely not greener.

The key is to keep in contact with your prospects, and have these conversations with them. Find out how they feel about their current position. Do they feel they are safe? Is your opportunity really better than what they have? Are they in jeopardy of downsizing? Can you help them find their next opportunity?

Chin up, no one ever claimed recruiting was easy.