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By Hank Stringer

I get calls from friends with children graduating from college who ‘need some help’ finding internships or permanent employment. Two of the recent students I have helped are interesting to me because of the assistance they receive from their university’s career placement, as well as the contacts from companies that have been coming their way.

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It is interesting to me because reviewing the backgrounds of the two students would lead one to believe these two would have ‘no problem’ finding the right employer, really one would think employers should be doing all they can to pursue them, but they aren’t. I have a couple of ideas as to why the situation is what it is and more importantly, have suggestions for students looking for internships or work aligned with career desires.

One of the students I am working with is a merit scholar at a university in the southwest and is studying to graduate with degrees in economics, philosophy and Latin American Studies. The other will graduate from a top engineering school in the southwest with a degree in aeronautical engineering and has a high GPA.

So these descriptions beg a couple of questions:

1. What do students do to find the right opportunity?
2. Why are HR organizations for companies not aware of these students?

Let’s take these one at a time and we will get to suggestions, so bear with me.

What it appears students do to find work…

The answer to the first is what most people looking for work do – they review websites for job/opportunity postings and submit their resume, and then what happens? Nothing – crickets chirp louder and why? Easy, companies don’t have the resources to manage inquiries and few executives understand the need and upside for making investments in talent acquisition through great relationship management. In the late 90’s, because of the Internet the future was described as one where companies would seek out and value talent relationships ahead of need…that HR would become strategic versus reactive and all in the world would be wonderful. Based on the discussions I’ve had with these students and others, we missed and we missed badly. Not only are students not finding work easily, they hear a negative outlook on the future of work, at a time when the reality is we have positions to fill in this country and companies complain the right talent is not available. For smart people, we are not solving this problem very effectively.

Why don’t companies build relationships with talent ahead of demand?

Resources are at a premium and few companies understand the value of searching out talent ahead of need and establishing a relationship of value. In the descriptions here every company that does business in Latin America should know every merit scholar studying Latin American studies and Economics at major universities in the US and around the world. They should have already established a relationship and begun a nurturing process for future need. There are not that many and it is not that difficult. Same can be said for the Aeronautic Engineering major but rather than reach out it appears companies and students sit back, use the Internet and wait.

Students and companies alike must think about standing out in the market by doing things differently than everyone else:

Network to establish personal relationships
Students – look to Glassdoor to understand how employees think of their employer
Companies – look to Glassdoor to see how employees think of you
For both – be different by thinking and acting strategic in your search for work or talent

We as students, employees and companies must do a better job of career relationship, transition and transaction. It is past time to get this right.

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Guest Blogger Hank Stringer is a member of the Glassdoor.com, Clearview Collection and CEO of Stringer Executive Search and Chief Strategist to Novotus – a professional recruiting agency. In 2006 he co-authored Talent Force:  A New Manifesto for the Human Side of Business. (Prentice-Hall. 2006) with fellow Clearview contributor Rusty Rueff. Hank’s experience includes founding Hire.com, an early Internet recruitment solution acquired by Authoria in 2005. He has also served as a senior recruiter for Dell Inc. and Tandem Computers.

The Glassdoor Team is a small yet seasoned group of individuals looking to provide greater transparency into one of the most important aspects of our lives – our jobs. Contributions to the blog are designed to present a unique perspective on current events, offer commentary on the inside workings on specific jobs at a multitude of companies, and provide details on the latest happenings from within Glassdoor.

By Donna  Fuscaldo

Volunteering Your Way To A Job

It’s no secret the job market is tough. But whether you’ve been unemployed for two months or two years, you can still gain new skills, fill gaps in your resume and network, all the while giving back to your community through volunteering.

Long gone are the days when volunteering meant working in a soup kitchen or taking part in a clothing drive. These days, non-profits need all types of skills from marketing to accounting. Sure you won’t get paid, but the experience you’ll gain can go a long way in landing your next paying job.

“Volunteering is a fantastic way to build skills, contacts and get your foot in the door,” says Sara Sutton Fell, chief executive and founder of FlexJobs. “It’s a great opportunity to show your motivation and contribute.”

But how should you go about getting that volunteer gig? According to career experts you’ll need to approach it similar to how you would tackle finding a paying job. After all your goal is to get into a company where you can use your current skills or learn new ones and at the same time have access to the people that can help you transition from volunteer to employee.

“You have to do some soul searching and figure out what it is you want to do and then tailor all your volunteer work to filling the tool box with those skills,” says Mary Marino, founder of EmployementPipeline.com. “This market is very competitive so getting more skills and more experience is going to help.” Let’s say your chosen field is accounting but you want to move into advertising and marketing.  Instead of offering to balance the budget ask to work in the advertising department.

Strategically Find Volunteer Work

Once you’ve figured out what you want to do as a volunteer, the next step is to find a company to give your time to. That will require research on the internet and a bit of cold calling of non-profits and for-profit companies.  Don’t focus only on the large ones. Chances are there are a lot of small organizations in your neighborhood that would welcome the help. It also pays to align yourself with a cause you care about. It will make the volunteer work more rewarding if it’s something you feel passionate about.  “Even in a volunteer work setting you are selling yourself,” says Nicole Williams, a career expert and connection director at LinkedIn. “There are a lot of qualified people looking to volunteer. This isn’t a secret.”

The holy grail of volunteering would be to serve on the board of a non-profit as an un-paid member. It’s an ideal way to network since typically the people on the board are well connected in the community. But not just everyone will be able to pull this off. According to Heather Krasna, author and career coach and you’ll need to be a lawyer, accountant of have specific skills the non-profit is looking for.

Include It on Your Resume

After you’ve landed your volunteer job it’s important to list it on your resume and profile it on your professional networks like LinkedIn. These days hiring managers consider volunteering as legitimate work experience. What’s more, it shows you’re not just sitting around, but are out there trying to keep your skills fresh.  Don’t pretend it was a paying job but do make sure to highlight the expertise you gleaned and honed from the volunteering experience. “Employers don’t care if you were paid. If the work is substantial then its work,” says Krasna.

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Donna Fuscaldo is a freelance journalist hailing out of Long Island, New York. Donna writes for numerous online publications including FoxBusiness.com, Bankrate.com, AARP.com, Insurance.com and Houselogic.com. As a personal finance reporter for years, Donna provides invaluable advice on everything from saving money to landing that dream job. She also writes a weekly column for FoxBusiness.com focused on technology for small businesses. Previously, Donna was an equities reporter for Dow Jones Newswires and a special contributor to the Wall Street Journal. Through the Glassdoor Blog, Donna will provide tips on how to find a job and more importantly keep it.

The Glassdoor Team is a small yet seasoned group of individuals looking to provide greater transparency into one of the most important aspects of our lives – our jobs. Contributions to the blog are designed to present a unique perspective on current events, offer commentary on the inside workings on specific jobs at a multitude of companies, and provide details on the latest happenings from within Glassdoor.

By Meghan M. Biro

5  Trends for A New Year

I’ve talked before about personality-culture fit on Glassdoor,  and it hit a nerve with the community. Now that 2012 is here and hints of economic recovery are in the air, I’d like to look at five culture ‘musts’ organizations should adopt to attract job seekers as the market slowly improves.

It’s been difficult for organizations  to focus on culture fit with uncertain markets, wary consumers and business customers unwilling to make investments in new technologies or products. For job seekers it’s also been a challenge to put culture fit at the top of the list when just getting past a phone screen was near impossible.

But 2012 is supposed to be the year when the economy comes back, at least to 8 or 8.5 percent unemployment. Some of the money companies had on the sidelines is moving into play in the form of hiring, improvements to infrastructure to support employee productivity, and most importantly, refocusing efforts to improve upon or repair tarnished corporate cultures.

For organizations, it makes sense to start rebuilding a compelling company culture by looking at five key attributes of culture, which go way beyond a mission statement:

1. Culture is more than the personality of the workplace and its brand; it’s about the collective experience of working in that organization. Is your organization positive overall? If not, you have work to do.

1. Is your culture differentiated from the competitors’? Time to do that or face dropping sales and stepped-up employee attrition.

1. Do you use culture to attract and recruit talent? If the answer is no, it’s time for culture repair.

1. Are company values clear to all employee groups? If not, you won’t have alignment between line employees and strategic managers.

1. Are employees compensated fairly and competitively? Include health and other benefits in this review; compensation and benefits reveal how well a company treats its employees, one of the keystones of culture.

Because a company’s culture attracts and recruits and retains talent, which is differentiating, assessing your culture early in the year will not only help you learn why employees stay, but also what job seekers are looking for as they plan their next career move.

If you’re a job seeker, look for these five culture red flags – it’s a quick way to sort the great companies from the good or merely adequate:

• Does the company have a mission statement? Does it include reference to strategic vision, the role of the company in the broader market, and how the company views and treats employees?
• Does the company have programs which prove they value their employees? From employee of the month awards to bonuses and recognition on social media channels, demonstrating respect for the role employees play in the success of a company is an indicator of a positive culture.
• Does the company have high turnover? Check on Glassdoor, LinkedIn and other social media sites to learn what others think. If possible find out average tenure.
• Do your values match those of the company?  This one can be answered by researching online and talking with several employees.
• Does the company invest in growth - both employee and productivity? How long has it been since the website was updated? Look on the Wayback Machine for changes. Chat with employees via social sites and ask how the company invests in their growth and success.

I hope 2012 sees resurgence in companies investing in corporate culture. In my view, it will be the differentiating factor in retention and hiring in the New Year.

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Meghan M. Biro, founder of TalentCulture, is a serial entrepreneur and globally recognized career expert in talent acquisition and creative personal and corporate branding. Meghan has conducted more than 300 successful career searches for clients ranging from Fortune 500s to the most innovative software start-up companies. Meghan is also a new media strategist who enjoys accelerating collaborative business and community goals. When not recruiting, blogging, and innovating, she manages a dynamic coaching practice to empower corporate leaders, mid-level managers, software technologists, and recent college graduates. Meghan is a member of the National Association of Personnel Services (NAPS), The Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) and several entrepreneurial organizations. She serves on the Alumni Council for Greens Farms Academy, acting as a career mentor to high school and college students. Founder and co-host of “#TChat, The World of Work,” a long-running, weekly Twitter chat and radio show, Meghan’s ideas have appeared on Forbes, CBS Moneywatch and she blogs regularly at Monster, The 12 Most, Ragan’s HR Communication and several additional online destinations of note.

The Glassdoor Team is a small yet seasoned group of individuals looking to provide greater transparency into one of the most important aspects of our lives – our jobs. Contributions to the blog are designed to present a unique perspective on current events, offer commentary on the inside workings on specific jobs at a multitude of companies, and provide details on the latest happenings from within Glassdoor.