Who's Clueless Here?

July 02, 1998

Age used to matter. If you were too young, you had too little experience to get a job. If you were too old, you had too much experience which meant you were too costly.

No more.

Just as high school kids are being plucked from interminable 12-year prisons before their time, so too are those who thought they were done being plucked from their rose gardens.

The politically correct Green Thumb company, whose mission is to strengthen families, communities and the nation by providing older and disadvantaged individuals with opportunities to learn, work and serve others, has joined forces with Microsoft (as if they need additional alliances). The goal is to help fill those 190,000 empty IT jobs that currently exist. And that's what they intend to do in Sacramento, Austin, and Baltimore.

The effort is part of the Microsoft Skills 2000 initiative aimed at bringing new people into the industry and keeping existing IT professionals up-to-date on technology.

But...

Green Thumb has no Web site. For information about their program, we were told to call 800-842-6553. Being willing to ferret out additional information, we called. Guess what?

It's only a voice mail line. We were told to leave our names and address (snail, no less) and they'd forward information.

A problem, of course, is apparent. How can a company without a Web site possibly hope to train others or compete in the information technology field?

A while back, in our sister newsletter "Electronic Recruiting News", we ran a column called Older Workers Arise. In it, we quoted stats that indicated more people over age 50 buy online and that it's the fastest growing age group on the Internet. So, does Green Thumb know this?

Are we all wet on this? Do you think it's a good idea to advertise a needed training program in information technology and do everything via the US Postal Service?

Where Does Your Resume Go?

July 1, 1998

Quite often, straight into a computer database.

Employees are a vanishing commodity. Many companies are desperate to find you--well, at least they're desperate to know who you are and what you can do. To achieve this, once they get your resume, they'll often scan it into a database.

Later, as a job opens, they'll query the database and look for keywords (check back tomorrow for a piece on keywords). If the terms the computer looks for are in your resume, you'll be queued into the "check it out" pile. If not, you'll go back to storage until the next time.

Given that scanners are not the most sophisticated machines around, it's important that your resume be created so that it will scan cleanly and neatly.

To do this, use white paper. Use a standard font--preferably sans serif-- in 10 or 12 point.

Forget the borders and the graphics, because the computer database doesn't take those into account. Sure, they'll be scanned, but they no longer serve to make your resume stand out in the crowd.

The two more common resume tracking software packages, used by more than 400 companies, are Resumix and Restrac. Resumix even offers tips on how to create a scannable resume. And, although Restrac offers information about its product, there is little of use at their site for the job hunter.

Don't Pull Out Your Resume

June 30, 1998

Rose McGinnis is a smart woman. She's the recruiting manger of SCT Corporation who got 300 people to apply for jobs in just 4 hours.

The people didn't even need resumes. In fact, they didn't even need clothes.

Expect others to follow suit.

The way SCT worked it was they ran an ad in the paper and on the Howard Stern show. The idea? You called in, were screened by a recruiter, and passed onto the hiring manager for the department you'd work in if you were hired.

Better yet, it all happened over the course of a weekend. Hunters didn't need to take time off from their other job or miss finals at school. They didn't have to drag out the map and learn an easy route to the company. They could lay abed and be interviewed.

Another company with a clue.

Their dial-a-thon is over now. But, they're still at work. Their employment opportunities page offers a good insight into the type of company they are.

It's dense with text, but you can tell they know what they're doing. Sure, there's a jobs page. But there's also a description of the training programs, career development opportunities, and their SCT Academy.

Help Enable Operation ABLE

June 29, 1998

One of our associates recently spent a few days in Chicago. He came back in love. Not with a woman, but with a place.

Had he only known about Operation ABLE online, he may have stayed on.

Originally, Operation ABLE was an umbrella organization for a slew of community and government agencies. It specialized in helping those who faced barriers to employment find a job-particularly older people. Now, because of recent corporate downsizing, ABLE serves workers of all ages and abilities

There is a rather odd side though. And perhaps therein lies the reason our associate did not stay on in the Windy City. Although ABLE appears to have the necessary technology along with someone to maintain the database, you can't see the jobs online. You need to go in person to one of the member agencies to view the jobs.

Ah, say what?

Apparently there are thousands of job listings, shared by the agencies. Each agency has a password to the site. But job seekers can't access the password unless they work through the member agencies.

The site also contains job hunting advice, events, and round table discussions. Helpful for all of those in search of a job. But, once again, you can't access it.

Our advice? Move east where Web sites do it all and don't ask you to visit in person. But, if you don't want to move, maybe ABLE is worth a trip. Check out the agencies nearest you.

LinkExchange Member