Tweak Your Biz » Management » Extra! Extra! Read all about it!

Extra! Extra! Read all about it!

by Greg Fry on May 19th, 2010
38 Comments



Have you signed up to Recruiters Newsletters? Many recruitment agencies send out monthly HTML  newsletters updating their candidates on the latest and hottest job vacancies in the marketplace. In fact this is something that every Recruitment Consultant should do.  I have found newsletters an excellent tool to keep in touch with candidates………….And this got me thinking!

During a recent “Personal Branding” session with a job seeker we were looking at creative ways to get noticed in the marketplace and then it struck me! What if a job seeker created a professional newsletter updating agencies and employers on their latest activities? You could include interviews you have attended, any courses you have signed up for or completed, what books you have been reading, a link to your online cv, articles you have read and recommend reading and links to your latest blog articles etc. This would be a super way to demonstrate how proactive you are and that you have been busy up skilling over the last month and not busy watching Ricky Lake and other day time TV cancers!

The newsletter should be send to companies you have applied for positions with, recruitment agencies , business contacts and friends and family.  A really good site to build a newsletter on is Mail Chimp.

My client has had twice as many interviews in the last two months, since he has started his newsletter than he had in the previous 6 months…..So maybe there is something in this approach?



Category: HR and recruitment, Self- development

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Author:

Greg qualified from the Marketing Institute of Ireland and is passionate about helping organisations achieve more from their social media efforts. Greg is a Social Media trainer and workshop facilitator with the Digital Marketing Institute. He has also delivered lectures and short courses for leading organisations including SureSkills, Socialmedia.ie and The Michael Smurfit Business School. Greg also works with the Ahain Group as a Social Business Consultant. He believes that in order to make social media work for your business you must have a clear business goal, a clearly defined strategy and make sure that everything you do is measureable. Specialities include: Social Media Training | Personal Branding |Social Business Consultancy | Social Strategy Workshops | Interview Techniques | Psychometric Profiling | LinkedIn Training | Facebook Training | Twitter Training | Blogging | Online Video and You Tube Training | Emerging Social Media (Pinterest, Foursquare, Instagram, Google+ etc.) More information at: www.ahaingroup.com and www.careerscoach.ie http://www.careerscoach.ie

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  • http://www.cgonlinemarketing.com/ Christina Giliberti

    Hello Greg,

    How lovely to be the first one to reply!
    Why didn’t I think of this? Its a great idea for candidates.
    My concern with it is that the gap between those who go the extra mile and those who don’t is widening. The internet is transparent and if you share ‘some’, you tend to end up sharing ‘all’.
    Still – this appraoch is proactive. personal, highlights the candidates experience and interest and I’m sure, would assist the selection process.

    How many agencies would be willing to do this? Would they be selective with which they sent?
    Just curious…

    Thanks Greg….great idea.

    Tina

  • http://www.btbtraining.com/blog Niall Devitt
  • http://blog.myprojecttracker.com Barney Austen

    Hi Greg. Sounds like a great idea. I suspect the blocker may be agencies being prepared to take the time out to read them? or is this not an issue do you think? (and what’s wrong with Ricky Lake… :) – kidding of course!)
    Best

  • Anonymous

    @Niall – Heard about this story but not seen the video – superb!! I received €50.00 free Google ads voucher in the post yesterday too – might post a nice message to myself.

    @Greg – Certainly a new idea to me – well done!! If this strategy delivered 100% increase in interviews you can’t question it. Increasing visibility and standing out involves stepping outside comfort zone, taking risks and trying new ideas like the one outlined. If an idea works then great and if not then tweak it or move on ……

    @jobseekers – Stuff to consider for anyone considering this strategy …..

    Information to recruiters – Be careful divulging the full list of where you have interviewed especially the roles you hunted out that were not advertised in the public domain. You could be giving away your lunch and opening the door to more competition.

    Information to companies – I would be reluctant to inform companies targeted about other job hunting activity and interviews. This a bit like telling a girl you want to date the names of the other girls are trying to date. Mind you the “making girl’s jealous strategy” worked in the past so could work in a company context :-)

    Thanks P
    http://www.paulmullan.ie

  • http://twitter.com/CareerMoves Career Moves

    Hi Greg,It’s a good idea, certainly. Candidates really do need to start thinking outside the box. A recent post on the Career Moves blog shows how one job-seeker did just that using search advertising to target high-profile employers. [EDIT] just read @Niall’s reference to the same thing below… came in as I was typing the comment.One possible stumbling block with the e-mail newsletter idea though is building a legitimate opt in list that targets employers and agencies.Trolling company websites and forums for likely looking e-mail addresses doesn’t really count as opt in. Harvesting e-mails like this means that any mail you send is unsolicited = spam. How many employers or agencies, realistically, are going to fill in a form and subscribe to receive e-mail updates from prospective candidates?It’s a tricky proposition… would love to hear what people think.

  • http://www.btbtraining.com/blog Niall Devitt

    I feel a “how to” post coming up :-)

  • Anonymous

    Thanks for your comment. I am delighted that you brought up the newsletter subscription point. And this was one of the biggest concerns. That said recruiters very often bombard candidates with updates and newsletters that they have not signed up to. Many companies do the same, this week i have had 4 newsletters come in that I had not subscribed to. So I think as long as you are strategic with your newsletter and highlight the reason why you are sending it, offer an easy way to opt out of future newsletters it will be received well.

    I believe the newsletter will be welcomed as proactive and that few recruiters or HR managers would punish you by being so. However things will change quickly should many job seekers adopt this approach.

  • Anonymous

    Thanks for your comments Paul.

    You raise a very important point re divulging too much information on who you are interviewing with. If writing an update on your activity on a blog or in your newsletter – I would keep the info broad. (as specific as a recruiters advert) ie. Interviewing with 3 large FMCG Multinationals.

    And yes I would be a fan of the “making girl’s jealous strategy!”

  • Anonymous

    Thanks for your comment.

    I think your concern is valid for all newsletters. However as it is a unique approach maybe it might get noticed and more attention than the average newsletter?

  • Anonymous

    Thanks for the link Niall. A great story.

  • Anonymous

    Thanks for your comments. I would hope that a proactive recruiter in this competitive marketplace will use every tool possible to “sell” their candidate over the competition.

  • Anonymous

    PS. If anyone wants to subscribe to my newsletter you can do so at http://www.careerscoach.ie/ and join our mailing list;)

  • http://www.seefincoaching.com/blog Elaine Rogers

    Hi everyone,
    When I was job-hunting last (like never!) a thought occurred to me. Actually I was doing interviews for my own replacement when I went self employed back in 2004, and got bored of all the samo samo CVs.

    How cool would it be for a HR Professional or Manager to get a CD/DVD in the post with either:
    An interactive flash type Resumé, or
    A Video resumé from the job seeker!!

    I thought it was such a very good idea, I immediately decided it was potentially dangerous for various reasons.
    But for Mr. Joe Soap, it’s something outside the box (if Media types can do it why not anyone?) It’s original (ish), shows initiative, it’s proactive etc etc etc (add your own benefits here)

  • Anonymous

    Thanks for the comment Elaine. Video Resumes are starting to make an impact in the US. However I don’t think Ireland is quite there yet. I have got clients to use a Video intro before to accompany the traditional cover letter and cv.

  • http://blog.myprojecttracker.com Barney Austen

    Hi Greg. Agree, that makes sense.

  • Mfhoward

    Hi Frank,rnrnReally like the MindMap idea. I am a Trainer and one of my courses ‘Worklife Balance’ incorporates this thought process and my clients find it really works in every aspect of their life.rn rnValeriernrn

  • Nutan Erathi

    Great Post ! I think I need to implement the GTD methodology and be an effective communicator for my project to be a success. Visualize the outcome is one way of mind mapping, because this is one way I work on my ideas.

  • Noel Wilson

    Agree Mind-Maps are a great tool that can be used in just about any area. I use them a lot when designing training programs. Useful too for problem analysis and excellent study aid, particularly for visual oriented learners. I’ve used them for job/task analysis, great way of capturing the key knowledge, skills and atttribs and spliting out the soft skills and the tech skills.

  • http://www.seefincoaching.com/blog Elaine Rogers

    Interesting quote – “In defining a funnel, it is important to identify the page or link at each stage on the funnel and ensuring that it has the appropriate call-to-action to progress the visitor onto the next stage.”nnI have seen this peeter out half way through the cycle, it’s like walking away from a customer as they approach the till (which I have also witnessed)

  • jaya

    nn n n n Hi there, n n u2028u2028Just following up from my recent email about your RSS feed beingn published to Before It’s News. u2028u2028I’m the Environment editor atn Before It’s News. n n Our site is a People Powered news platform with over 2,000,000n visits a month and growing fast. u2028u2028n n We would be honored if we could republish your blog RSS feed in ourn Technologyu00a0 category. n Our readers need to read what your blog has to say.n n Syndicating to Before It’s News is a terrific way spread the wordn and grow your audience. Many other organizations are using Beforen It’s News to do just that. We can have your feed up and running inn 24 hours. I just need you to reply with your permission to do so.n Please include the full name and email of the person who willn assigned beu00a0 to the account, and let me know the name you want onn the account (most people have their name or their blog name).n n u2028u2028You can also have any text and/or links you wish appended to then end or prepended to the beginning of each of your posts on Beforen It’s News. Just email me the text and links that you want at then beginning and/or ending of each post. If you know html you can sendn me that. If not, just send me the text and a link to your site. Itn should be around 200 characters or less (not including links).n n You can, if you like, create a custom feed for Before It’s News thatn includes multiple links back to your blog or web site. We onlyn require that RSS feeds include full stories, not partial stories. Wen don’t censor or edit work. u2028u2028n n Thank you, u2028u2028n n Jayan — nn Jaya Gibsonnn Editor, Before It’s Newsnn http://www.beforeitsnews.comn

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  • http://www.bloggertone.com Niall Devitt

    Hi Ben, I really like “Social is a habit so build it daily”, these are some great tips and thanks for sharing.

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  • http://twitter.com/bengii bengii

    Thanks Niall – it was a tough at first to get out there and engage, but the benefits are considerable and it is now (almost) second nature.

  • http://twitter.com/bengii bengii

    Thanks Keith. Great site – I see you already have subscribe and feedburner info so you are well on the way. I had the same yet I was getting nowhere, so I highlighted them using a plugin and now I am starting to highlight the benefits to users of signing up. It is early days but feedback from users has been very positive. I love your phrase ‘no pestpassing’ :)

  • http://www.facebook.com/elish.bulgodley Elish Bul-Godley

    love it – snappy , handy and to the point – thanks! Why did you use the word Zen in your title though?

  • http://www.thesmarttrain.com/ Elaine Rogers

    Great post Ben,

    You followed all your own advice – well done!

    I enjoyed – Emulate. Practise. Refine. Repeat. – it is so tempting to fall into the imitate hole when we find great blogs and ideas – challenge is to stay true to our own personalities when researching and writing – I read a tip a few days ago about rehashing older (and still relevant) blog posts – what’s your thinking on that?

  • http://twitter.com/bengii bengii

    Thanks Elish! Zen teaches ‘effortless effort’ which is all about striving to master a topic, always improving, cutting out waste and working to bring about a great result with nothing extra added – get to the point and leave ego at home

  • http://twitter.com/bengii bengii

    Hi Elaine – Thanks! Consider bringing a new perspective to an old problem, by all means – perhaps using a different format rather than just a straightforward re-hash of a post. The way users consume information is constantly changing so consider translating to video, or incorporating in a wider series via an eBook or Howto Guide. Also, be sure to use the ‘most read’ plug-in to keep relevant posts on the landing page. If it ain’t broke………

  • http://www.facebook.com/elish.bulgodley Elish Bul-Godley

    nice to see a fellow Zen enthusiast – am working on a Zen blog soon

  • http://twitter.com/bengii bengii

    Aha! keep me posted!

  • http://www.thesmarttrain.com/ Elaine Rogers

    Hi Ben,
    Thank you for the tips – very useful. I have been considering audio versions of blog posts, using Audioboo plugin. Video is on the cards too :)
    I will check out that plugin you suggested, thank you!

  • http://www.callbox.com.sg/ Jayden Chu

    Hi Ben,

    Such a great points you have here. Precisely, It takes many steps to succeed especially in business blogging. The first thing to do is your content. The content could take many forms-written articles, visual media like images, infographics and video. The way you choose to present content will vary depending on your industry. Engage your audience and keep them participate to come back for more. Bloggers should practice constantly and become persistent to have a better business blog.

  • ben mccahill

    thanks Jayden – consistently good content is vital, and if that simply means you post once a week or so then that is OK – quality not quantity! Then engagement – folks need to feel acknowledged and appreciated so make sure your channel allows you to regularly pick up comments

  • http://www.callbox.com.sg/ Jayden Chu

    You’re Welcome Ben. Thanks for sharing your valuable tips.

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