Greetings Friends and Colleagues-
Please accept our apologies for the hiatus in blogging. We have been rapidly moving forward with the launch of our web app, CareerHub. If you are interested in learning more about the app or our work with the Workforce Innovation Accelerator project that is funding our pilot, give us a call. We are happy to give a demo of the app to your staff. We plan to launch the app officially for public use this spring.
This month we are focusing on understanding college and career readiness in the context of what today's business leaders are looking for in entry-level employees. Pathways Consultants is leading a peer learning community with 12 youth workforce development agencies who are grantees of the San Francisco Department of Children Youth and Their Families. The peer learning community is focusing on understanding the San Francisco business community. As such we are speaking with human resources managers, observing workplaces and visiting career and technical education training programs. Last month we met representatives from Whole Foods, Sephora, Levi's, Starbucks, the Intercontinental Hotel and UC Berkeley who gave our group advice they would give to entry-level job applicants. Here are highlights of the themes we heard.
- Apply Apply and Apply: It's OK to apply for the same company multiple times. Human resources looks at each application uniquely and when an applicant applies to a business or organization multiple times, it shows perseverance, tenacity and passion for the mission of the organization.
- Be Specific About Availability: Make sure to list the specific hour you are available to work when applying. When applicants say that they are available any hours it doesn't help the human resources department to determine where a candidate would best fit. Be specific!
- Attention to Detail: One of the biggest reasons an applicant fails to make the first cut in a screening process is that the application materials have errors or are missing key pieces of information. Applications must be flawless. Human resources screens fast and if you don't quickly demonstrate your skills and attention to detail you don't proceed to the interview stage.
- Tell Your Story: If you are changing careers, sectors or are an entry-level worker, tell your story in your application. Use the cover letter and the entire online application to highlight your transferable skills.
- Give Examples of Your Skills: If you're going to list a skill, tell them how you used it and in what setting. For example don't just list Excel but tell how you have used it, in what settings and for what kinds of projects.
- Overlooked Skills: Skills that people often overlook are their language skills. If you speak another language, make sure to mention it.
- Change in Requirement to Report Convictions During Application: One of the most exciting developments is that San Francisco and many other counties in the Bay Area have banned employers from asking about criminal convictions until after a conditional employment offer or finalists are selected. Check out the National Employment Law Project for more info. If youth are completing applications that still ask this, advise them to not disclose this information until they are a finalist.
- LinkedIn Matters: For nonprofit agencies seeking to partner with businesses, LinkedIn really matters. It is a source for informational interviews, researching companies, professions and a place to build community. Reach out to business partners and build relationships first, not only when you are helping a young person submit an application. Many of the recruiters and human resources representatives recruit for hundreds of positions over large regions for multiple stores or sites. They don't have the time to respond when you reach out on behalf of an applicant but they are interested in building lasting linkages with organizations that provide pipelines of quality workers.
Amanda Gerrie and Kim Coulthurst
(510) 325-6959
1 comment:
Thanks Amanda and Kim for this great post. Its important for all job seekers and especially youth to know that for about 80% of my employers Google searches about people have replaced the resume as the first place employers will look to learn about a candidate. People need to be very careful about what they put out about themselves on the Internet.
Larry Robbin
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