Throughout the past few days the career and jobs blogging community has been manufacturing countless editorials with this exact headline, “Career Resolutions for 2010″.  Each list was a slightly mutated clone of the last. After looking at some of these ‘resolutions’ I put together my own reconstructed clone. The result is a list of positive steps that anyone with a career should be keeping in mind on a daily basis, or risk become the mindless unhappy drone in the corperate beast. Do yourself a favor and don’t become that employee. Become the employee.

1. Introspection
2. Always be learning
3. Put distance between yourself and the chaos
4. Get a veteran to mentor you
5. Engage with others. Always be networking
6. Create goals. Long term and short term
7. Integrity is everything
8. Stay positive
9. Reward yourself
   
10. Have a Plan B

I purposely left out details of each point. Those are for you to fill in yourself. Write these down and formulate your own plan to Boost Your Career Potential.

With the recent struggles surrounding the job market, receiving a job offer has been a huge problem for many job seekers. Once a person finds a job and receives an offer, the problem does not stop there. People are often so relieved that they have found a job in this economy that they often forgo salary negotiations and accept whatever comes their way.

Just because you feel reluctant that you have received a job offer in this economy does not mean you should take the back seat when it comes to filling out your prospective salary. People who have been offered jobs  are asking for salaries that are well below their expectations only because they feel relieved that they have been hired in this rough economy. This can be a burden because when the economy strengthens, you will continue to be under-paid while others with the same job are being paid more just because they were hired later.

When accepting a job, you do not want to tell your employer the salary you are expecting. Typically, the first person to speak loses. For instance, you can run into the dilemma where you give a number that is below the employer’s expectations and the employer will accept your number with open arms. If the employer gives a number first that is too low, you have the ability to negotiate for a higher number. Do not be scared to negotiate, your employer selected you to take the job because he or she felt that you were the most qualified person for the job, and they want you!  Just a reminder; try and leave that salary line on the job application blank.

Before accepting a job offer, do some salary research on your prospective job to gain information on how much you think you should be paid. It will do no help if you accept a job offer with no knowledge on how much you should be paid.

Ask Our Recruiters

Working at Neohire I am connected to some of the top VC funded start-ups. Not only do we work with top companies on immediate hiring needs, but we are in constant communication with various industry leaders on the future goals of their companies. I know what they need now and what they will need in the future so I am always looking for the best of the best when it comes to talent.

Being on top of industry trends and needs makes the difference between proactive recruiting and reactive recruiting. An important part of recruiting is not just knowing what your clients need now, but the organizational goals for the future and how they plan on getting there. Who will they need and when. Who will succeed on their team.  It’s important to know what your company wants to achieve and who they will need to help them get there.

Good tip for candidates- hiring does not slow at the end of the year. Most of the companies we work with want to finalize hiring decisions now to get great employees on board and ramped up for the beginning of the new year. Recruiters are constantly looking for top talent. Make sure your resume and profile are updated on the tools we use such as ResumeBucket and Linked-In. Talk with recruiters about the companies they work with and ask them to get you visibility to companies you are interested in. They could have an immediate role to fill or may need someone like you in the future. Keep making those connections and getting visibility to the right people.

…And if you ever are looking for a tech job in the greater Los Angeles area contact me, Gemma via Linkined or Gemma@Neohire.com

Ask Our Recruiters

More companies are using recruiters to play the middle man.  Sourcing, arbitration, screening … more and more you’re going to find that recruiters are your foot hole into a lot of networks, and can be a job seekers best friend.  So what should you know about working and talking with recruiters?  Here’s a few simple Do’s and Don’ts for when talent hunters are knocking at your door:

-DO utilize the internet.  Put your resume on sites like Linkedin and Resumebucket.  Get it out there where recruiters can find it.  Make sure it has all the important and pertinent keywords surrounding your career/field.  Make your resume and contact info as visible as possible if you want people to find you, and if you’re job hunting, you definitely do.

-DO NOT misrepresent yourself.  Recruiters want to find the best fit for the candidate and the company.  Give them the tools and facts that will help them find the best fit for you.

-DO ask questions.  You know what you want/prefer out of a job and workplace.  “How big is the company?”  “What is the work atmosphere like?” “What would my role be?”  “Who would I report to?”  If it’s important to you, make sure you know.  Again, it’s all about finding the perfect fit … plus, being proactive makes you stand out.

-DO NOT apply for the opportunity outside of the recruiter.  A recruiters job is to hype you up and give you exposure.  if you work around them, you’re up against a larger pool with no one in your corner.

-DO fix up your resume.  Get a list of the requirements and how the company operates from the recruiter.  Then do a little homework … look at the company’s website.  Make certain that if you have experience that lends itself to the position and company, that you add to your resume.  Ask your recruiter if you should fix it up .. they should have pointers.

-DO NOT be a flake.  Be responsive to your recruiter.  if you’re remotely interested, keep pursuing it until you hear negative feedback, or discover you don’t want the position.  If you DO want it and you’re not responsive then you may miss out .. and worse yet, the recruiter may not ping you with future opportunities.

-DO call NeoHire … and ask for Patrick Dorsey if you’re a tech in the LA area … I heard that guy is the bomb!