You have probably heard this before, but searching for a job really is a full-time job – and searching for a career can take even longer. As a job seeker, you have a variety of responsibilities to fulfill if you want to have a successful job search:

• 

  Get the wheels in motion – get the momentum going – do your due diligence and find the right recruiter. 
• Define what you want and map out a path of how to get there – and a recruiter can certainly help you with this plan.
• Break out of your comfort zone – sometimes the most rewarding opportunities are the ones you might be most afraid of.  Utilize uncertainty and lack of familiarity as motivators – you’ll never know what you’ll find outside your comfort zone until you take that leap. 
• Take control of your situation, your career, and your life. Your future will be a definition of your thoughts and actions – take the time to make the most of both – and really focus – for this exercise might lead you to exactly where you want to be, both in your career and in life. It might not be immediate, but it will happen eventually. 
• Enlist a professional recruiter to help you – one who has knowledge, has patience, has the time to listen to your requests; one who is very proactive, and one who is very well networked.  There is a lot of competition out there and if you have someone in your corner who has a direct line to the hiring manager and the partners of those specific companies, your chance of starting or continuing your career greatly increases.

Spencer Smolinsky
Director – Legal Support

The Execu|Search Group is pleased to announce the addition of its Locum Tenens division. Jeremy Schwab, a Director at the firm, will be overseeing the new division which will service physicians and clients throughout the nation.

“We are pleased to have Jeremy expanding our Health Services division into the Locum Tenens field,” said Kyle Mattice, Managing Director of the Temporary Health Services division. “We have recently seen a strong need for Locum Tenens services, and we believe that this addition will prove to be very successful.”

Offering full-time and temporary Allied Healthcare, Healthcare, and Physician recruitment services, The Execu|Search Group’s Health Services Division is one of the largest and most established health services placement providers in the City of New York and the Tri-State area. With the addition of the Locum Tenens division, The Execu|Search Group continues to expand its nationwide health services offerings. The Execu|Search Group’s Health Services division already offers permanent nationwide Physician Recruitment services as well as Execu|Search Healthcare Partners, its national retained executive search and consulting division.

About The Execu|Search Group
The Execu|Search Group has been one of the City of New York and the Tri-State area’s leading recruitment and temporary/consulting and retained search firms since 1985. Headquartered in New York City with additional offices in Purchase, NY and Bridgewater, NJ, The Execu|Search Group has an excellent track record for providing uniquely personal, top-level service to clients and candidates alike. Recruiters at The Execu|Search Group specialize in practice areas including Accounting/Finance; Architecture & Engineering; Creative; Financial Services including Front Office; Health Services: Allied Health, Healthcare, Physicians; Human Resources; Information Technology, Legal, Non Profit and Office Support.

To read more about The Execu|Search Group, please visit: www.execu-search.com

Recently, I was scheduled to meet a candidate with a pretty decent resume. The day of our meeting he showed up not at our scheduled time of noon, but at 9:30am.  He said he was in the neighborhood. He was in his shorts.

After our interview, he proceeded to email me for a good month, sending job postings from our company with subject lines such as:  “submit me for this job” or “submit me for that.”

This candidate’s resume could have mirrored Donald Trump’s and I still would not have worked with him. Why? Because he had no respect for my time, dressed unprofessionally when we met in person, and then acted in a manner which suggested that I owed him something. 

This is not a new concept- but it is good to keep in mind that interviews are like dating. You want to make sure your putting you’re best foot forward at all times. It’s important to think of the interview as an introduction to a company.

What if you spent as much time preparing for an interview as most people spend preparing for a first date? Be prepared to communicate clearly, share some basic background information, and highlight your best assets. Get the interviewer to fall in love with you and what you have to offer, and then walk out on a high note.

When you go on a first date it is best to be:

•    Confident, not cocky
•    Smart, but not a know it all
•    Personable, but not a chatty Kathy
•    Dressed appropriately and in a presentable manner
•    Interested and engaged in the conversation

If you follow these basic dating rules as you go into your next interview, you just might land your dream job!

Good luck!

Stacie Renna
Staffing Coordinator

Well, we’re finally back in the office, having just returned from the NALP (National Association for Law Placement) Conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
 
All things considered, there was an incredible turnout, with about 1,000 legal professionals in attendance.
 
Over the four days that we were there, we had an opportunity to interact with a tremendous amount of industry personalities, many of whom were familiar faces, and a great deal more of whom we had a chance to meet with for the first time. 
 
In speaking with so many law firm recruitment departments, the conference also confirmed what we’ve been sensing for a couple of months, which is that the associate market, dormant for a couple of years due to the recession, is now thawing out considerably.  This was a consistent theme that resonated with just about everybody we met with.  Geographically, this confidence went beyond just the NYC legal market.  We spoke to people representing firms from California to Chicago to DC, as well as major international financial centers such as London and Hong Kong, which echoed the same feelings of optimism.  We’re expecting a major up tick in associate hiring heading into the fall.
 
Todd & Andrew

Spring is finally here – the weather is warmer, it stays light out longer, and summer is just around the corner. As a job seeker, you may think it is time to slow down your job search and take a break for summer vacation. However, contrary to popular belief, the job market does not change when the weather gets hot, and companies do not go on vacation! Although it’s tempting to take it easy in the summer months, it can be the best time to look for a new position! Here are a few reasons why!:

Job seekers tend to have a false belief that sending out resumes during the summer months is a waste of time. In reality, there is less competition in the summer time. Working in the recruitment industry for years, I have seen a steady number of jobs available in spring and summer, but often times, there are less candidates who are looking! When employers lose some of their candidate flow, it’s a great time to stretch your skills for that “dream job.”

Several types of companies have deadlines in the fall. For example, tax specialists are mostly hired in the busy months of Feb and March before the April 15th tax deadline, but employment ramps up again in the late summer because there are deadlines in September and October as well.
 
Another advantage of job seeking in the summer is that people have more downtime to meet with you. In the summer, there are typically fewer scheduled business meetings because people tend to take vacations or personal time off. Consequently, business calendars are often more open and decision makers will be more likely to take time to meet with you as their business slows down.

Let the vacation spirit work to your advantage! When people are in a good mood (due to warm summer weather and weekend getaways) they are more likely to make themselves available to help others. It’s also much easier for you to take personal time off to interview during the summer or holiday times. Bosses are less likely to question your motives if you ask to leave early or take time off during summer months.

The moral of the story is that if you want to separate yourself from other job seekers, pick up your job search in the summer time when the market is less flooded with competition. I believe you’ll find that as the summer continues to get hot, so does the job market!

  Jennifer Kessler
  Healthcare Division

Q: I am looking for a position in a practice or hospital? Do I pay you to help me?
A: Absolutely not – 100% of our fees are paid by the hospital association. They hire us to find them the best possible doctor for their opportunity.

Q: As a resident, when should I start looking for a position?
A: This all depends on your specialty, but generally speaking, the larger the specialty and the higher the demand, the earlier you should start looking. You should give yourself 6 months before your expected graduation date, although the many physicians start looking an entire year ahead of time. Any physician on a Visa (H1B or J1) should look to secure employment 6 months before they begin practice to allow time for paperwork and processing.

Q: How do I protect my CV from going places I do not want to consider?
A: There are a few answers to this:
1) Do not send your CV to every recruiter that contacts you.
We only send out a CV with your permission. Hospitals work with many recruiting firms and if your CV goes to them twice it will make you look disorganized.
2) Keep track of where your resume goes, and only submit it if you want to seriously consider the opportunity.
3) If you find yourself sending your CV out but not getting any interviews, it is either because your recruiter does not have a strong relationship with the client, or your background does not match what the client wants.

Q: How many places should I interview with before making a decision? Will they cover my travel costs?
A: We encourage physicians to be flexible when entertaining practice opportunities when they first start their job search. Many physicians lose out on great opportunities because they hold out for the “perfect” job. If 50% of the total package is positive, you should entertain the phone interview. You can narrow down which facilities you actually want to visit and make an educated decision.

Q: I get calls from recruiters and it is hard to tell which ones to work with? How do I know?
A: There is a limited time window for hospitals to fill their roles each year, so you will be contacted by a lot of people both internally and externally.
We abide by the following practices:
- Confidentiality – Nobody should ever send your CV without your permission.
- Education – You need accurate information on potential employer before you go for an interview, but you also need to know what is going on from a national perspective.
- Preparation – Most residents are not experienced interviewers, it is very important to be prepared even before conducting a simple phone interview. It separates you from the rest of the crowd.

Q: Why do I need to provide information like where I am interviewing and when I want to make a decision? Should I use a recruiter to negotiate for me?
A: There are a few reasons it is important to provide this information to us:
1) The more we know, the more prepared we can be. We talk to our clients about compensation requirements and also help manage time frames. We know exactly what our client wants and what, so it important to be straight forward and provide us accurate information. It benefits the doctor long term, if everybody is on the same page.
2) In terms of negotiation, we know where our clients are flexible and where they are not. There is a certain line that neither the facility nor the physician wants to cross when negotiating an offer. Having us work with you is very valuable tool because we can prevent you from making mistakes that can cause a practice to lose interest. We use good judgment when disclosing information to clients.

Please feel free to reach out to me directly at barbarag@execu-search.com with any additional questions or if you are looking for a position.

  Barbara Giallombardo
  Executive Recruiter- Physicians

Today’s economic realities have created a “buyer’s” job market can be tricky to navigate.  Employers want to hire executives who can effectively perform the functions of a C-Level position.  However, employers are also wary of hiring someone who has been downsized or laid off, and who have expensive salary requirements.

As a retained recruiter, one of the questions I am frequently asked by potential C-level candidates is, “Why wouldn’t the company I recently interviewed with hire me at a lower salary than I previously made if I bring such great skills to the table?”  The answer is easy.  Companies are reluctant to hire talent at a lower salary because they fear the candidate will leave them as soon as the market turns around.  Decision makers may think you will eventually get bored, or worse, take their job.  Here are some practical tips to address this issue:

• During the interview, make sure you are prepared to explain what it is about the position that makes it so desirable to you besides compensation (picking up skills or experiences you have not previously had, rapid company growth that would allow for promotions in the future, the companies reputation in the industry, etc.)
• Let them know you will work hard at the new job, and preempt the argument by letting them know towards the beginning of the interview that you will not leave for a higher paying position as the market rebounds, based on your other motivations for seeking the position.
• Explain to your prospective employer that you will bring a short learning curve to the table.  You will be able to produce from day one.
• During the interview, talk about your accomplishments, and don’t be shy about discussing how you improved ROI, or saved your previous employer money.  This will motivate the employer to dig deeper and come up with a compensation package that is more commensurate with your actual worth.
• Let the employer know that although you have a lot of experience, you will also be taking on new responsibilities that will make the job both challenging and rewarding.
• At some point in the interview, interject that you are a team player and have glowing references from your previous bosses.  Make a point to mention how well you get along with co-workers, and have an example of a successful project that you completed based on teamwork. 
• Make sure to convey that you have always been loyal to the people you report to, it is in your DNA.  Subtly reference an example of how you made your former boss look good.
• If the employer persists that you have too much skill for the position, ask them to describe the perfect candidate.  They will most likely be describing you, and you can play to this in the interview.
• At the end of the interview, ask for the job.

Follow these tips, and it will help to defuse any preconceived notions of why the employer should not hire you.  On the flip side, I have some clients who are attracted to candidates who bring lots of experience to the table, and who have traditionally made more than the employer is offering.  Although rare, in some cases the employer may feel they are getting a deal.

  Dwight Scott
  Director- Retained Search

We’re going to be at the Education and Healthcare Professionals Career Fair tomorrow! Come and meet Fern, one of our healthcare recruiters, and find out about our latest opportunities!

Thursday, March 25 4:30 – 6:30 p.m.
Main Lounge, University Center at Seton Hall University

Seton Hall Education Students and Alumni: Meet with education employers to learn more about full-time opportunities and ways to gain career experience in elementary and secondary education, special education and other teaching settings.

Seton Hall Healthcare Students and Alumni: Meet with employers to learn about the healthcare field and possible full-time and internships opportunities in Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Speech-Language Pathology, Athletic Training and Nursing!

Find out more about this career fair, here

Everyday I speak with financial services professionals concerned about economic health and the presence, or lack there of, of the job market. There is one question I hear day-in and day-out: “Is the job market getting better?”

Short answer: Absolutely!

The market appears weak because of the massive competition- great opportunities may come and go before you even hear about them. Thankfully for you talented job seekers with an accounting background, it is most certainly an accountant’s market at the moment. Accountants, whether they are coming straight out of Public, going back into Public, entry-level, industry specific CFO’s, Fund Accountants, Auditors, Product Controllers, or Tax professionals, have been seeing a dramatic increase in the volume of opportunities in certain industries. CPA’s – You’re in luck…..and in demand!

The majority of my work is within Financial Services, and there has been a clear positive shift in demand for talented accountants of all sorts. That being said, it is also a buyer’s market and companies who actually have the head count are being ultra specific about what they want and whom they’ll meet. Fair enough. I suppose that as long as there actually ARE jobs out there, we can all feel a touch better about where this fickle economy is heading.

Happy hunting!

   Glenn Jordi
   Accounting/Finance & Financial Services

In today’s job market, many candidates spend time replying to jobs on various websites without knowing what companies they are contacting. Unfortunately many of the postings out there are staffing firms ranging from the stay-at-home entrepreneurs to the Goliath’s of the world. Knowing what recruiting firms you are contacting can put you in touch with the right networking circle and potentially help you find your next employer. Here are some tips to ensure you are choosing the right search firm:
 
1. There are staffing firms that claim to be generalists and those who claim to be specialists. Don’t take this lightly!

2. Ask Questions! Find out who your recruiter is. Learn their qualifications, their years in the business, tenure at the firm, the clients they work with and the firm’s history.

3. Does the firm you are applying at seem to have an up to date website? Does the staff handle your interview or phone call in a professional manner? You want to make sure your career is in the right hands. While image isn’t everything, it does show what firms are willing to invest in their office environment, web-site, staff and culture in order to hire and retain the best of the best!
 
Don’t be afraid to ask a recruiter why you should work with them. You’d be surprised with the answers you get.

Good luck!
 

Todd Shiner
Director- Temporary/Consulting Accounting/Finance