Back to Work: Recruiter Q & A Session 2

In the last recruiter workshop of the day, Vault?s John Flato moderated a discussion between two industry professionals and a rotating cast of around 50 attendees. FDIC New York Regional Director John Lane and Markham Media Executive Search President Beverly Weinstein dished out advice on the vital elements that make or break a candidate?s job application. A few of the essentials: ?Bridging the gap? on your resume to fill in elapsed time between jobs (their suggestion: call yourself a self-employed consultant in your area of expertise?even if you have no clients); suppress the urge to take creative liberties on a formal job application (though nothing on a resume is legally binding); jump into online networking via LinkedIn, Facebook and the like (but avoid posting ?party hearty? pics); and make sure your resume is air-tight (?no typos,? all agreed).

Around 40 percent of the panel?s audience appeared to be?how do we phrase this?job-seekers with ?considerable experience.? Lane no doubt struck a chord with this faction when he announced that ?I have a couple friends who are looking for jobs, and they haven?t looked for a job in 15 years.? Some might be wise to turn to Lane?s organization, which is looking to fill more than 500 new positions approved in December (no doubt one of the reasons Lane and his extremely helpful colleagues made an appearance today). With the finance world turned upside-down, the FDIC is ramping up its operations, especially in departments that deal with capital markets.

Weinstein, in turn, emphasized that ?looking for a job is absolutely a job. You should prepare for looking for a job the same way as you do a job that you?re performing.? And that search, she noted, can be aided by a stated interest in a common extracurricular activity?well, certain extracurricular activities. Like sports. References to lacrosse, wrestling and sports mega-agent Scott Boras came up during the session, and Weinstein informed me afterward that a candidate?s participation in endurance events like marathons can be especially helpful in gaining instant respect from a prospective employer. ?It shows that you?re goal-oriented?that you can stick to something,? she explained. Proclaiming your general enthusiasm for cooking, travelling and reading on a resume? ?A little softball,? Weinstein said.

Couldn?t have said it better myself.

-posted by Ben Fuchs, Vault Staff Writer