As the crucial voting for energy legislation draws nearer, the American Wind Energy Association or AWEA will be taking a majors step towards advocating the use of wind power for energy consumption. The said group will launch a massive ad campaign today. The said ads are aimed towards supporting the move to have a renewable electricity standard or RES. The advocacy campaign will invade different mediums from TV commercials to print ads.

“The ad campaign is part of a broader effort to focus attention on this crucial referendum on American energy policy,” said Gregory Wetstone, director of Government and Public Affairs of AWEA. “We believe that greater public awareness will translate into more Congressional support for renewable energy sources like wind and solar power, which are overwhelmingly popular, but face well-financed opposition,” he added.

The RES being debated on widely is a mechanism which is based on the market. The RES calls for a fixed portion of the country’s source of electricity to be produced using renewable resources. Today, 25 states have already enacted renewable energy standards. But experts agree that a national RES will be much more beneficial.

This week, the House of Representative will decide on the matter. This issue is being targeted early on because of the increasing awareness to the threat of global warming.

There have been studies conducted to find out the benefits of an RES. According to results of these studies, an RES in place will slow down global warming. With renewable energy sources being tapped, less petroleum fuel will be burned. That translates to less greenhouse gases. This move will be beneficial in the future as automakers are now experimenting with vehicles which run on electricity alone. Automobiles like the Acura CL compressor -equipped luxury car are considered as one of the biggest producers of harmful greenhouse gases.

Another benefit of an RES is that it creates jobs. According to a study conducted by the Union of Concerned Scientists, an RES will help create about 185,000 American jobs. Wind and solar energy are expected to be the biggest source of alternative energy. With a national RES, these industries will experience a boom thus creating jobs for Americans.

Studies also reported that an RES would “revitalize rural America”. According to the studies, rural land owners will be able to take about $3,000 to $8,000 per turbine annually while still being able to work their land. These benefits will be deliberated for sure before the House of Representatives decide on the issue.

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As painful as looking for a new job can sometimes be, job seekers often overlook the simplest way to make the search easier: work with a recruiter. A recruiter can ease the pain of the search in several ways: she has contacts you can only dream of, she knows where the jobs are that you probably won’t, and she will help you prepare for interviews with inside knowledge of the company and an objective eye for you. However, sometimes there are misconceptions about recruiters that cause a candidate to question the process. The two main questions candidates have are always the same: “How much does it cost?” and “Why can’t I apply directly to the company?”

All contingency recruiters work in basically the same way: Candidates pay nothing. Clients pay if a match is made.

HOW A RECRUITER WORKS:

1. You submit your resume to the recruiter.

2. The recruiter looks to see if she has a job order that is a fit for you–or if she knows a company that could use your skills and experiences in their organization. Some of the best jobs are created for candidates– more specifically, great candidates.

3. If she sees a good match, she calls you and describe the opportunity. If you agree, she submits your information to the client company.

4. The company puts you through its hiring process.

5. If they hire you, they are billed by the recruiter. If not, you get the news that they are not moving forward. And then the recruiter keeps you in the database in case there’s another appropriate opportunity for you. And since the recruiter has gotten to know you, you will likely be remembered every time she works with a firm that could use your specific talent. Recruiters frequently make introductions between companies and candidates sometimes before they even realize there is a need.

WHY CAN’T YOU GET THE JOB ON YOUR OWN?

So, why shouldn’t you apply directly to the company? Because it’s much riskier for you. When you apply directly, your resume goes into a company black hole. Very few companies mine their database like recruiters do. (If they do, your resume had better be absolutely incredible for you to surface to the top.) You’re stuck waiting for them to call you. If you call them, you’ll likely get less than a direct answer. At best.

WHAT A RECRUITER CAN DO FOR YOU:

On the other hand, a recruiter has the freedom (and the responsibility) to call the company after she submits you, push for a first interview, help you prepare for the interview since we know the company and what they’re looking for, correct some mistakes before you make them, and give you specific feedback after the interview. Even though you’re not “the client,” a recruiter is going to be an advocate for a successful placement. If the recruiter has taken a chance on you, he or she is going to have a vested interest in your success. It becomes an advantage for you.

Having said that, if a recruiter finds out that you’ve already applied directly to the company, he or she won’t deal with you on that. You will have shot yourself in the foot on that one, because you’ve taken away the incentive for the recruiter to work for your chance at that job: if the recruiter doesn’t place you from the beginning, he or she won’t receive a fee. In other words, you can’t apply and then decide you need help. You won’t get it.

It’s almost always going to be to your advantage to use a recruiter from the very beginning of your job search.

Peggy McKee is the owner and chief recruiter at PHC Consulting. PHC Consulting has been providing top sales talent, sales management, marketing and service / support personnel to some of the most prominent high growth companies in the medical and laboratory products industry for over 9 years!

Our client companies provide capital equipment and reagents for the clinical laboratories or research laboratories, equipment and consumables that aid the physician/clinician in diagnostic, therapeutic and prognostic information, software that provides the workflow improvements that have unending positive impact on the patient, physician and the laboratory professional and a number of service offerings in the medical arena (for example: laboratory service, imaging etc).

Our expertise is in providing: Sales, Sales Management, Marketing, Technical Service, & Support Professionals

We provide top talent (usually the top 10% of sales force rankings) and reduce turnover (through exceptional client knowledge and candidate screening) this in combination with our reputation for smoothly facilitating the hiring process makes us the search firm of choice in this arena.

See our website at http://www.phcconsulting.com, our blog at http://www.phcconsulting.com/WordPress, or Peggy’s LinkedIn page for more information.

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The self-marketing capsule is a valuable piece of marketing collateral that job seekers need to position themselves effectively during a job search. Whether in a networking context or a job interview, job seekers must always be ready to deliver their personal pitch in an exciting and memorable way. Ultimately, you want to be able to recite a message that is clear, targeted, and easy for anyone to understand. When the capsule is presented in this way, you are more likely to create an advocate for your candidacy who can refer your qualifications on to the next appropriate person in the networking or hiring chain. Below are the five key components of an effective self-marketing capsule.

Create a professional identity.

Job seekers must be able to tell their audience what type of position they are targeting. Sometimes people confuse professional identity with the job title that is listed on a job description. These titles can be misleading and do not always fully describe the nature of the persons responsibilities. By using such titles in place of a professional identity you run the risk of compromising your self-marketing campaign. For example, in the world of finance, many back office administrators are simply called clerks. Such a title can place severe limitations on your marketing capsule. A more targeted and effective professional identity might be Financial Custody Administrator or Securities Administrator.

Showcase three strengths.

Highlight three areas of competency that show your value add and differentiate you from the competition. Chose traits that can easily be coupled with examples of how you have helped the organizations you have supported make money, save money, save time, maintain the business, or grow the business. For example, being proficient in Microsoft Project can position a project manager as a candidate that gets the job done expeditiously and in turn saves time, money, and resources.

Use accomplishment-focused, metrics-driven examples to support your strengths.

Just like the resume, the marketing capsule must include proof that you have successfully completed job relevant tasks. A good strategy is to marry a strength with a specific example to prove that you are accomplished at what you do. Quantify accomplishments using numbers, percentages, and dollars whenever possible.

Discuss your background as it relates to the target function or industry.

Draw on your past experiences from several positions to solidify the scope of your skill set, show career progression, and build the business case for your candidacy. Also include relevant education such as a job-related or advanced degree, industry certifications, advanced technologies, or leadership roles within a professional organization to showcase the diversity of your experiences and position you as a unique contributor.

Make a match between your experience and the skills needed for a particular job function or industry.

Bring the conversation full circle by relating your traits back to the needs of the employer or the needs of a particular industry. By doing so you prove relevancy and demonstrate why your skills are a good fit for a certain type of position.

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With the cutbacks in Human Resources and the fewer jobs to work with out there, contingency recruiters are working even harder to fill those jobs.  You may be asking what is a contingency recruiter and how do I work with them?
A contingency recruiter is a third party recruiter, often referred to as a headhunter.  They are an outside recruiter, or third party, which has partnered to work with a Human Resources department to help them fill their positions.  They usually work with multiple companies at one time and often times they specialize in a particular industry.  As with any industry, there are honest headhunters and those that are unethical or dishonest.
Contingent recruiters will find you either from a variety of places, such as the job boards, LinkedIn, a referral or from an internet search if you have your resume posted on your personal website.  When you agree to work with a recruiter, they will be submitting your resume to their client company for a position they’ve been asked to fill.  From that point forward, most of your communication will be through the headhunter, including interview arrangements and salary negotiations.  The client company will not be given your contact information unless you give it to them during the interview.  The headhunter is paid by the client company, usually a percentage of the first years salary.
Here are some things to consider when working with a headhunter:
Know with whom you are dealing – Get as much information from the recruiter as you can to find out if they are someone that you want to represent you.  Make sure they are a legitimate recruiter with a solid reputation.  Ask around to people in your network to see if anyone has had a good or bad experience working with the recruiter.  Ask them for references before you commit to allowing them to represent you.
Ask questions - What is the relationship with the client?  Have they placed anyone with that client before?  Who is on their client list?  How long have they been a recruiter?  What is the best way for you to work together?  Ask enough questions to feel you are comfortable working with this person.
Find out where they are submitting your resume – many recruiters will not tell you the name of the company to which they are submitting your resume.  However, you may have already submitted your resume to the company, in which case the recruiter wouldn’t get paid.  As early in the process as you can, find out the name of the company – it may not be until the recruiter submits your resume.  This is their way of covering their bases so that you don’t back door them.
Don’t back door them - This means that once you find out the name of the client, you submit your resume via their website either before or at the same time as the headhunter does.  What happens in this case, is if the client wants to play hard ball and cut out the recruiter, they can say that you have submitted your resume independently of their service.  That means the recruiter doesn’t get paid for their hard work in finding you and pre-qualifying you.  Be fair to the recruiter and let them represent you once you know the name of the company.  After all, you may not have known about the lead until the recruiter told you, so they deserve the credit.
Be honest with them - once you determine that this is a recruiter with whom you’d like to work, consider professional work ethics.  Be honest with them every step of the way.  They could be your best advocate, because they are motivated to get a placement.  However, they may also have other candidates in the loop, so don’t assume they are loyal to just you.  Tell them if you have been contacted by another recruiter.  Tell them if you have another offer.  Tell them if you have a friend at the company who has already submitted your resume.  Tell them the truth throughout the process to keep your karmic slate clean.
Don’t put all your eggs in one basket - Last, once you’ve been contacted by a headhunter, don’t assume they are out there combing the job boards for you.  You still need to proceed with your search as you normally would.  Tell the recruiter that you want to be notified if they are going to submit your resume to a new company.  Partner with the recruiter, but don’t limit yourself.
Working with a headhunter can be a great way to find a new position.  If you follow these guidelines, you should be able to nurture a positive working relationship with a headhunter and have a mutually rewarding outcome.

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