Can You Really Pass A Background Check? (Part-Two)

... http://careerprobryan.blogspot.com/2011/08/can-you-really-pass-background-check.html

    Can You Really Pass A Background Check? (Part-Two)

....Continued

       

     A background check company may send one of their researchers to the courthouse to collect records there is always room for error. Perhaps the background check company pays the researcher per document pulled and recorded. If this happens and they hire a sub-par employee that only focuses on quantity of records pulled and not the quality of information recorded then that could be where this fell through. This has allowed people with common names to be grouped together in data bases. So John Smith that shares his name with 6 other people within a 7 mile radius is bound to be in a situation like this. My candidate was clean, but an individual that lived nearby with the same name had a list of charges that would prevent my client from hiring him.

Another way background check companies collect records are through automated systems. Regardless of how the information is collected is not the issue, it is how the researched information is recorded that can create a catastrophe such as this. Once my candidate was able to get things straight with the background check company, my client ran the background check again, of course, and there was no charge from the background check company to the client. The candidate’s records came back clean and the client made the offer. Sweet ending for everyone involved.

But….

That’s not always the case. I’ve been in situations where the candidate was denied a job because of an inaccurate background check. Of course, those clients and background check companies were probably sued for discrimination.

For me, if I was denied employment for an inaccurate background check. I would feel that my name was slandered. I have a clean record, but if a background check company provided my future employer with inaccurate information about me and I was delayed or denied a position, I would have suffered a loss, not only that but I would feel embarrassed, especially if I had been referred to that company by a friend or someone in my social media connections.

Society views that you’re innocent until proven guilty, but in this case it is the exact opposite, you’re viewed as guilty of crimes and lies because of inaccurate information, until you have to prove your innocence.   

Bryan Moore

10 Years-Executive Recruiter

Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/CareerproBryan

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/careerprobryan

Email: careerprobryan(at)gmail(dot)com

Can You Really Pass A Background Check?

I recently had a candidate interviewing for a restaurant management position with one of my clients. He had taken the time to fine tune his resume and prepare for the interview. He had done his due diligence by visiting the restaurant and job shadowed with other managers just to be sure that he was the right fit for the company and that the company was a the right fit for him. He really impressed the hiring manager with his organization and preparedness for the interview and experience and skills of running a restaurant. As a matter of fact the hiring manager was ready to make an offer, but for most companies, the offer was contingent upon a clear background check.

The candidate lived in a small community and shared his common name with several other individuals. Before the interview process began I asked the candidate if he could pass a background check. He replied “yes”. As a seasoned recruiter I had to dig into his answer as I can only assume that sometimes candidates don’t think having 4-5 DUI’s or misdemeanor violence, theft, or drug charges are considered criminal, or perhaps they forgot they were arrested 15 years ago for whatever reason.

I continued to ask the candidate if they “ever” had any arrest or convictions. The candidate replied “no”. The candidate went on to say that he had never had any trouble, never a speeding ticket, and had passed background checks before with ease. Once I felt comfortable that the candidate was clean, I decided to him through to my client for the face-to-face interview.

I received a phone call from my client with the results of the background check. The client went on to tell me that my candidate had 3-4 pages of felony and misdemeanor charges and my client decided that they were unable to pursue his credentials.

My very next call was to the candidate explaining to him that the background check was not clear and that the interview process was over. The candidate said that he cannot believe that happened and went on to tell me again that his background was clear and that the information my client had was inaccurate, then he threaten to sue my client for discrimination.

My client sent the candidate a letter containing information on how to get things resolved. The candidate was instructed to contact the background check company to get things cleared up and he did. The candidate was telling the truth about his background being clean and clear.

So what happened?

Can You Really Pass A Background Check?
Part Two-
http://careerprobryan.blogspot.com/2011/08/can-you-really-pass-background-check_11.html

My Pursuit Of Happiness Has Been HACKED!!!

I’ve taken a few days away from Twitter, blogging, and posting anything serious or work related. I wanted to see what would happen to my clout, if anyone online missed me posting or tweeting, or if I gained or lost any followers or friends. I guess my test was to see if my online presence had any bearing on social media.

I would imagine that the experts of social media may say that they don’t agree with my absence as it may throw a wrench into momentum and offset measureable results. For the sake of statistics I did keep track of what has occurred in the last few days. As an optimistic person I would say that my results were positive with room for improvement.

During my absence I had time to ponder unemployment, economy, our “Leaders”, our Country and where things may go from here and how serious the divide is between the American people and our Government.

I’m not going to go into “political” details about what is ailing our Country. We all know what is happening. I just want to know who is going to do something about it.

The answer is not only in Congress, it’s also our voting system, and it’s outdated. I am tired of telling the political leaders and electoral colleges in my state how and who to vote for.  I want my vote to count for it’s authenticity of being a real vote. I want someone to see my name on a vote in the pile that decides who or who is not going to be the next President or Congressional Member.

As for the President, future Presidential Candidates, and the members of Congress, I think it is their duty to fix the economy and unemployment issues. They made the mess because for the past 12 years they have made bad decisions, they are all responsible for their actions aren’t they?  Whether Democrat or Republic, they have all screwed up, perhaps the real unemployment should be on their level, maybe would should eliminate jobs in Congress or remove some members. Maybe then they’ll “seriously” consider how unemployment is the reason this country has lost it’s AAA Credit Rating and squeeze that in on the next Hollywood-style budget deficit fight.

It’s funny they can raise millions of dollars in campaigns but cannot do a fundraiser to get the country out of debt they created-They are so lazy, and you voted for them. You hired lazy people to do a job and got lazy results. Are you satisfied with that? I’m not. I want to see changes in Congress and a positive America. I want to say I belong to a Country that has real heroes at home and abroad. So far the only heroes are our Military and their efforts over seas. But the leaders at home are destroying us from the inside. Are we going to let Congress and current and futures Administrations bankrupt America? Is this what you thought you were getting when you were sold in on who to vote for?

The middle class working America is what drives this country. The fat cats on Wall Street and Congress make all the decisions at the expense of the middle working class. If this continues then you’re the blame not them and we get what we deserve. This is not what I thought when I planned my “Pursuit of Happiness” 

Bryan Moore

10 Years-Executive Recruiter

Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/CareerproBryan

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/careerprobryan

Email: careerprobryan(at)gmail(dot)com

Building Candidate-Recruiter Relationships

"Real Life Job Solutions 

for 

Real Life Job Seekers"

by Bryan Moore

I once worked on a job order for a medical client in California seeking to hire a Resident Physician. One late afternoon, I was having a conversation with the prospect candidate and we both determined very quickly that his profession was medicine and mine was recruiting. As a recruiter I needed to dig and see if he was a candidate that my client would consider hiring; they were paying a really nice fee so I wanted to be sure to send them a quality candidate not just wallpaper their walls with resumes.

I asked him one key question, “Who do you think can present your credentials to my client better, you or me?”

His arrogance and defensive tone of voice clearly try to set me straight as he continued to tout his expertise in medicine and my lack of knowledge of how to even change a bedpan.  That being said he was right to some degree, but what makes sense to him may not make sense to the person he is interviewing with and his resume and what he planned to say in the interview did not match what my client described as the perfect candidate. So far he wasn’t a good fit and he just didn’t know it.

I told him immediately that with his 20 years experience in the medical field that I doubt very seriously that my client would even consider hiring him. Irritated and out of breath he asked me why. I responded by explaining to him that in his lifetime he may go on four or five job interviews and that I already had 20 interviews before noon, before I even picked up the phone to call him. As I put things in perspective he understood that he may have the medical knowledge but I know what the client is  looking for, so if you go into the interview with 20 years of ego thinking that you are a professional interviewer than they will see through you and your chances of getting hired are slim.

It is easy for that a person to say that they can interview and present their credentials to a recruiter’s client better than the recruiter can. I mean they always say that they always got the job and they were confident in their answers. Yet they cannot tell me simply how they build a team. Or tell me a little bit about themselves or much about the client we are chatting about.

In this economy where we have a 9%+ unemployment rate and increasing rate in underemployment….It is much more difficult to get the job. A good recruiter will take the time to ask you questions about your interest and motivations, what you’re seriously looking for in a career, and share with you the techniques on how to build your resume and interview skills to match your industry’s interviewing criteria. When they don’t take the time to do those things then it is easy for you to say that they are not recruiters, they are performing as a “used car (people) salesman”-the 80’s version.

As for the doctor, he humbled himself, took my advice, interviewed well and received an offer. He called me back several weeks ago and asked me to find nurses for several of his departments in the facility I had placed him in years ago.

This is what recruiting is all about, building relationships with candidates that have the potential to turn into clients.

If you want to learn more about how to work with recruiters, the pros and the cons, get tips on interviewing and building resumes, how to find decision makers (too easy), and other great job search related tips please follow my blog or email me directly with any questions

Bryan Moore

10 Years-Executive Recruiter

http://www.linkedin.com/in/careerprobryan

How to Get Your Resume in Front of the Decision Maker in 4 Easy Steps

Ever send your resume in through a high traffic job board posting and not know what the person on the other end is looking for, or if they are even the person that is going to decide whether or not they hire you?

Getting your resume to the decision maker requires a little bit of skill in investigation, networking, and playing dumb….Yep that’s right playing dumb will get you past the gate keepers.
In this scenario what how Sales Rep Cindy navigates her resume into the hands of the decision maker and quickly gets an interview.

Step Number One.

Target a specific company that fits your industry that has a good reputation and begin doing research online. Try to find job postings that will carry keywords that you can relate to on your resume, try to find as many contact names, email addresses and phone numbers on the website as possible, and bookmark the contact us form if applicable. Most websites have a contact form if you need to fill out a complaint or have questions about products and services; this area is also great for jobs seekers.

Step Number Two:

Once your resume/cover letter is fine written to the tune of what the company does and how your skills and qualifications match what that company’s website obtained, you now ready to email, fax, and make phone calls.

Step Number Three-Email:

You may have collected some emails from the website that are not HR related, they may go to the VP of the company or a customer service rep, maybe a receptionist. It doesn’t matter; blind copy all of them so that everyone gets a copy of your resume. You may get a response back that says that you sent your resume to the wrong department; the responder may give you the name and contact information of the right person to send it too.

In a perfect world Bob the responder might say “you sent this to me by mistake I work in the Sales Dept not HR, you need Donna Smith in HR her email address is Donna.Smith@xyzcompany.org and extension is 4533. Good Luck. 

But in most cases Bob in Sales won’t respond he will think it is just spam, delete it, and move on or perhaps use your email address as a marketing lead.

Step Number Four-Phone:

***Notice the emails you collected online contain names domains like Bonnie.Lewis@xyzcompany.org

You have sent in your emails now it is time to call to follow up to the only number listed on the website. Whether Bob responds to your email or not following up with a phone call is the key. You call in and Bonnie the receptionist answers, you say to Bonnie that you applied for a position in her company and wondered if she received your resume. Bonnie will say “yes I received your resume and forwarded it the HR department, I’m just a receptionist I don’t do the hiring”. You respond by saying “Bonnie I apologize for sending you my resume, I was unsure of who was the decision maker on the hiring (play dumb), I do appreciate your efforts in sending my resume to the HR department, can you tell me who is in charge of the hiring in HR?” Bonnie replies, “That would be Michelle Stafford” Would you happen to know her extension or can you direct me to her voicemail?

In most cases Bonnie would just send you to voicemail, but the good news is you are now getting somewhere. Cindy leaves Michelle a message “Hi Michelle, my name is Cindy, I recently spoke with Bonnie (name drop) about applying for a position within your company and I was wondering if I could have a moment of your time so I can ask a few questions about your hiring process? Please give me a call or email me with the best time to reach you, my number and email address is……..

At this point, you have sent in your resume to everyone except Michelle; however you left her a voicemail and gave her a call to action, partnered-networked with Bonnie, and now know the name of the person who will make the hiring decision. By using Bonnie’s email address it is not too difficult to figure out Michelle’s email address, so now you can send your resume and get it in front of the decision maker.

Please stay tuned, in my next post I will explain the features and benefits of following up with HR and how to sell yourself over the phone and get an immediate face to face interview.

I hope this information helps and good luck with your job search.

Bryan Moore
10 Years-Executive Recruiter
Blog: http://careerprobryan.blogspot.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/CareerproBryanLinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/careerprobryanEmail: careerprobryan(at)gmail(dot)com

Benefits of Recruiters using Google Plus (Google+)

Google Plus (Google+): Finally, A Recruiting Friendly Facebook 
(Read this article on Recruiter.com)


This is a great article for Recruiters using Google+. The organization of contacts is excellent. I can keep candidates for Nurses In Maryland in one circle and candidates for Engineers in Ohio in another circle. 


I agree that the Hangout is a great way to do group interviews and training. There is real value here for the right marketer.


I disagree that it should look more like LinkedIn and less like Myspace. I think this gives the personal emotional touch needed to communicate with candidates on a personal level. Recruiters don't have as much success on Facebook because Facebook was designed to be more about sharing with friends and family, LinkedIn is the opposite, they have the professional feel. Google+ is right there in the middle.


Fortunately for the job seekers that don't know any better and like to share party photos or nude photos or post inappropriate material they too can benefit from Google+, just hope they aren't too drunk to share them with the right circle or allow access for the Social Intelligence Agency to find it.

Tweetdeck vs Seesmic

Tweetdeck vs Seesmic-Can you tell me which is best?

For the past several months I have used Tweetdeck as my social media desktop. Over the weekend I continuously had issues where Tweetdeck would not post to my Facebook Pages. As irritating as it may seem I let it go for a couple of days before I decided to troubleshoot, thinking that Tweetdeck was just performing an update and that the issue would resolve itself-but I was wrong. Since troubleshooting didn't really fix the issue and after reading several reviews that pertained to my problem I decided to look into a new desktop manager.

Seesmic was the top of my list, I downloaded the web version and the desktop version. I liked the fact that I could adjust the font sizes and add as many accounts of Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn as I desired. Tweetdeck's fonts for multi-column version on web and desktop were way too small for me to read without adjusting my screen resolution settings. 

Since my wifey is an amazing cake decorator and a Southwest Ohio Region Avon Representative, I found it fitting that Seesmic allowed me to monitor and post from the web and desktop version with ease. Seesmic also has a marketplace where you can follow RSS Feeds, blogs, and other plug in apps. Pretty amazing versus the lack of resources Tweetdeck has, especially since they are owned by Twitter.

As I continue to build my social media brand around jobs, fundraisers, and the pursuit of happiness, help market and sell the Custom Cakes by Jenn Brand and helping Jenn with on-line sales and marketing for Avon, I need a social media desktop that can follow several #keywords and #trends and give the choice to cross post between my professional oriented Facebook Page, Professional LinkedIn, and Twitter. 

Blog by 

Bryan Moore

Work from Home Business Site

This is a really great site. Finally work-from-home-opportunities that are legitimate.
Please take a look and bookmark the site. Thanks Shelly

Other Reasons You Can't Get Hired

Recent article from Business Insider "These Are Just 73 Companies That Won't Hire You If You're Unemployed"  by Robert Johnson.


My take:
A lot of these companies on this list are staffing and recruiting firms. If they hire a mechanic the listing claims the mechanic needs to be "currently employed" These companies give recruiters like me a bad reputation. I would rather help a mechanic that is unemployed target a specific company, help build the resume to match what that company is looking for, help organize the candidate's research skills so they can learn as much about the company as possible i.e. the candidates they prefer to hire and the type of person the candidate will be working for, this way no interview time can be wasted. I'd also help the candidate prepare for the interview so what they say triangulates with what is on their resume and what they put on the application. Plus i'd help that candidate develop interview questions for the interviewee, and then teach them how to follow up.


On the other hand some of the companies listed said that the candidate must be "currently employed or recently employed" That is suggestive. My opinion is they want a restaurant manager currently employed as or has been recently employed as a restaurant manager. Meaning if you're a manager of an medical office, don't apply.


Another company suggest that the candidate "must not have more than two terminations in 5 years". Well apparently they don't want "job hoppers"  


“Unemployed job seekers continue to be excluded from work opportunities, and this disturbing and unfair practice appears to be more pervasive than previously thought,” said Christine Owens, executive director of the National Employment Law Project.


Of course it is unfair and disturbing, the fat cats that run those companies look out for themselves, their associative network of other people like them that can help them make a profit. That is what an entrepreneurs want. Cutting cost is a sound business decision, those CEO's are doing what they are hired to do. I must come to the defense for those companies just briefly; hiring candidates that are currently employed will save in training cost and anytime a CEO can cut cost it ultimately turns into a bonus for them, hence why most companies use social media these days to market candidates themselves and eliminating paying the high cost for Monster.com and CareerBuilder.com job postings and fees to third party recruiters.

Here is a scenario-I want to get paid for marketing, advertising, organizing and operations of event fundraisers for non profits. I want to get paid for the work that I do. The organization I'm working hard to raise money for would collect 75% of the profits, me only 25%. Win, Win, Win.  The organization gets paid, the people they serve benefit and I create a job for myself. The same fat cats that eliminate jobs or cut cost are the same individuals that serve as board of directors for the non profits and the have the nerve to call me unethical because I want to get paid. 


Why do I always have to give and sacrifice every time I do something for a non profit. If I have their best interest in helping their cause in mind why can't they help me at the same time?

My Input....Like It Or Not

I read a lot about how people are getting high off of bath salts, and synthetic marijuana. Recently Urbana Ohio, a small town, has banned the sale or possession of these drugs at the city level until the State of Ohio bans it completely.

I recently heard that people on Social Security may not be getting their check August 8th. However, the individuals that are holding up that process, will still collect their paycheck.

It is unfortunate that we live in a society where our government that is ungoverned messes everything up at the expense of people that have less power, money, and resources than they. It is horrifying to to know that the housing market, auto industry, healthcare industry and jobs and the pursuit of happiness of obtaining the American Dream is now a nightmare. The politicians decide how, when, where, and to what extent of your pursuit to happiness.

The Bible talks about Sodom and Gomorrah, and how God open the ground and swallowed up those people that rebelled against Him. Welcome to modern day Sodom and Gomorrah, it is part of the end of times prophecy for our country to be in shambles and eventually we too will be swallowed up, figuratively speaking.

We cannot depend on the government that is anti-American, anti-humanity, anti-trustworthy, anti-God to help us get out of out current situation especially as they are the reason were in it. We can only help each other. The government cuts funding for non-profits, they cut money for education, for fire, police, and medic. 40% of our dollar is outsourced to pay other countries that we owe. Once that money is gone-it's gone, it's never coming back. The national debt is ridiculous; but who is really the blame...the government or the people that vote them into office or those that don't vote at all.  Sounds like one heck of a poker game, that's rigged, and the winner is already determined, plus the American public is paying for the chips.

I say get a grip, I'm not cynical, I can only express the truth logically as I don't allow my emotions to interfere with the decisions I cannot fully make.  With all this that's going on bath salts and synthetic weed should be on the smallest scale of things to worry about.  Let's not have a war on drugs, let's have a war on politicians and take back our Country from the group of criminals sitting in Washington. I bet at least half or more of people that get high are high because they are suffering the repercussions of what politicians have done or not done. Just saying.

Please leave comments, I am interested in other's opinions whether you agree with me or not-It's a Free Country and I'm proud to be an American, at least the America it use to be.

Control your own job search-It's an investment in your career!

I just stumbled upon this article that talked about entrepreneurs making a quick buck off of job seekers. Should you be wary of resume blasters?
Maybe.  


"The Journal names three different services, MyJobHunter.com, JobConcierge.com and JobSerf.com.  For fees ranging from $10 to $98 a week, the companies answer ads as soon as they appear on the web, firing off résumés based on key words and parameters the job seeker provides. But the job hunter clients get no notice of where they are applying. Sometimes they receive calls from potential employers they’ve never heard of.  In other words, they’re paying a service to send out spam on their behalf."

If you want to learn how to control your job search, including how to get your resume in front of the decision maker without the hassle of going through the gate keepers, then let me suggest that you Google search and find a contingent recruiter or an employment counselor that specializes in your field and go from there. Resume blasters are not as effective as doing a little research on the company your applying for and networking your way to the decision maker.


http://blogs.forbes.com/susanadams/2011/07/12/dont-outsource-your-job-search/


Bryan Moore is a 12 year seasoned Executive Recruiter