Neil Hernandez's Blog

St.Ignatius Class 3A Boys Track Sectional- CPS Outlook

City long jump champion Cywettnie Brown(sr) of Simeon

Concordia University
5/17/12
10:30am � pole vault/shot/discus weigh-in
11:00am � Field Events
12:00pm - Track Prelims
2:20pm � Track Finals

Chicago (Brother Rice)
Chicago (Clemente)
Chicago (Dunbar)
Chicago (Hubbard)
Chicago (Juarez)
Chicago (Kelly)
Chicago (Kenwood)
Chicago (Lincoln Park)
Chicago (Morgan Park)
Chicago (Mt. Carmel)
Chicago (North Lawndale Charter)
Chicago (Payton)
Chicago (Simeon)
Chicago (St. Ignatius College Prep)
Chicago (Whitney Young)

Dunbar could come out of this meet as one of the meet's biggest stories. This is largely in part due to the recent performance of Darvell Harris(sr). His CPS FAT meet record time of 21.33 in the 200 meter dash is one of the fastest if not the fastest times in the state this year. But Dunbar is much more than Darvell Harris. Brother Trayvon Harris(sr) is almost as fast and sprinter Dion Williams(sr) was the surprise runner up at the CPS meet in the 100 with a blazing time of 10.93. If you really want to see some fun, you could see younger Harris brother Demoria Harris(fr) run an event or two. Demoria took the 100 and 200 at the CPS frosh-soph meet. With so much sprint talent, Dunbar could qualify in both the 4x1 and the 4x2.

North Lawndale will likely focus on the 4x4. They won the CPS meet in the 4x4 with a time of 3:27.54. North Lawndale also has sophomore hurdler Imani Payton and sprinters Deshaun Jordan(jr) and Imani Payton(so). I would run Jordan in one individual event- maybe the 400 and then run him in the 4x4. Payton, when healthy is a dangerous sprinter.

Whitney Young is riding high after a CPS meet victory. However, now comes the state meet. Freshman Joseph Toye(fr) will likley qualify in the triple jump and high jump. Dakari Howard(sr) qualified for state last year in the 400 but did not particualary run well at the city meet in the 400 to finish in 7th. Distance is going to be hard to tell what they are going to do. Logan Means(jr) ran a 1:59.64 at the city meet in the 800. He could qualify in the 800 if they choose to run him in that event. They could also load up a 4x800 team.

Also look out for jumper Cywettnie Brown of Simeon, Morgan Park middle distance runner Stedman Foster (if he runs), and Lincoln Park distance/middle distance runner Robert Rose(sr). Kenwood and Payton have outside chances of qualifying if they load up a relay.

Utilizing Social Media to Find a Job

With the explosion of social media on the scene in recent years, the methods of communication with others in the world we live in have completely changed. One of these methods is using social media as a tool for career success and advancement. Social media greatly enhances our ability to network with others, which is very important in any job search. Here are some ways to utilize social media to find a job:

• LinkedIn – This is the most popular site for posting your career profile. You can also view other individuals' profiles and connect and network with them. On LinkedIn, you can search for a company you may be interested in working for and connect with employees of that company. You can also email people on LinkedIn for recommendations in your job search. LinkedIn also now gives you the option of linking your blog or Twitter account with your LinkedIn profile.
• Twitter – While Twitter is best known for the rants and streams of celebritys' thoughts, it can also be a good social media tool to find a job. This is primarily due to it giving you the ability to network with people of similar interests. Connect with others for career advice, read bios of individuals of similar interests, and post your own bio for prospective employers to see. Twitter also has a new feature called Twellow, which is good for searching individuals' bios and URL links.
• Facebook – While Facebook is best used for connecting and interacting with friends, it can also be an effective networking tool for finding a job. Facebook has a feature in which you can list your interests with links to the respective interest area, which is good for connecting with people in a similar career field. Also, you can post "status updates" and let friends and family know about your job search. Many times they will leave comments and make suggestions or give you some needed moral support.

Perhaps you are interested in obtaining a college education or furthering your training to make yourself more marketable for a job. Check out some online classes for information on educational opportunities to help you achieve your career goals.

Sources

“The Guardian” (2012)

About.com (2012)

Indeed no longer posts jobs from free sites

It used to be that Indeed would scour the internet for all job postings. Wheter the site was a pay for a posting site like CareerBuilder, a company website, or a free posting site like Craigslist or Ebay Classifieds - the job posting would appear on the results of the Indeed job search engine result. Not any more. They no longer show results from free posting sites. So if your posting appears on Craigslist, ebay classifieds, or other free sites, it will no longer appear on Indeed.

This means, the recruiting strategy of posting on a free site and then have it appear on Craigslist will not work anymore.

 

How to Find Resumes on Google

http://www.booleanblackbelt.com/2009/02/how-to-find-resumes-on-the-internet-with-google/

ODesk

I just discovered a website called ODesk.com. It is a place for employers to post jobs that are online or remote based, and it is a place for remote workers to find online or remote jobs.

So a virtual recruiting company can post their virtual recruiting or other virtual jobs on oDesk for free. Applicants can apply for free. Of course, ODesk charges of the company hires a worker.

I have not tested it yet, but it appears to be in line with the virtual recruiting arena.

How to Approach a Passive Candidate on LinkedIn

One skill that a good recruiter must develop is recruiting passive candidates. One way to do this is to use LinkedIn. There are many ways to contact candidates on LInkedIn, but once you do the first moments of contact with them are crucial to the sucess of the encounter.

According to recruiting expert Lou Adler:

There are two prerequisites when using any of these techniques. First, you must get the candidate to agree to enter into an exploratory career discussion as a condition for beginning the conversation. Second, with this permission granted, give no more than a 20-second overview of the position, and then immediately ask the prospect to provide some preliminary background information.

The key then is to first ask the candidate permission to have an exploratory career discussion. This means to ask the candidate if they are even open to the idea of talking about their career. Once they say yes to that then give brief (no more than 20 seconds) overview of the position you are presenting to them. As soon after you do than, ask the prospect to provide some initial background information.

Why does Adler stress the importance of these two intial steps? Becuase it establishes you as the seller. ANd as the seller you can say no to a candidate and not the other way around.

Edit-Grid

I discovered this new online website that allows organizations to share spreadsheets and other things online to multiple users in real time. It looks like an advanced version of googledocs. I am in the process of testing it, but my first impression is that it looks really good.

TimeTrade- Online Appointment Setting

I discovered this new website called TimeTrade: http://www.timetrade.com/.

I have not tested it yet and it costs only $49/year for the lowest version. But it may be a great way to do automated and quick appontment setting.

 

Don't fall in love with your candidates

It was Valentine's Day the other day. Love is in the air. One place where love may not be advantageous is in the realm of recruiting. I've seen so many recruiters fall in the falling in love with your candidate trap. They find what they think is the perfect candidate for a job and then submit her to the hiring manager. Later when the hiring manager declines the candidate, the recruiter get's perturbed or worse falls into a tailspin because the hiring manager rejected their perfect candidate.

To be successful in recruiting you gotta take the emotional component out of it or at least minimize it. A good recruiter submits a candidate and then forgets about the candidate. A good recruiter focuses on the recruiting part of the job and does the best possible part in that role. Then when their candidate gets rejected (which happen way more often then not), take that as valuable feedback to improve your recruiting and not personal attack on your judgement.

Use Bullhorn Reach to Assist Your Social Media Recruiting

I discovered another web tool to help in social media recruiting called BullhornReach.com.

I have not fully tested it you, but if you want another possibly free source to find candidates you may want to look more into Bullhorn Reach.